"So you haven't forgotten the passport, the ticket reservation, money, anything else?"
"Noooo ero-sennin. Man, I have already been through this, you think I'd forget about something as basic as all this?" Naruto shouted to the laptop as he was organizing his luggage.
"Well, there was that one time when you forgot your driver's license when you were the one responsible for driving your drunken friends—"
"Hey, that was back when I was in college and at least you gave me the brilliant idea of dumping them into a gay whore house and selling 'em out…" Naruto trailed off, remembering a certain memory involving a certain duckbutt-haired brunet.
"…what? Naruto?" Jiraiya's voice beckoned him to wake up to reality, as Naruto replied with a shake of head.
"Nothing, was just remembering about that, it was hilarious."
"Ok…then." Jiraiya's tone was slightly doubtful. "What time is your flight?"
"11:30 am." Naruto answered. "I already reserved the speed rail to Narita Airport, so no problem, I'll arrive there roughly around 9:30." He scanned his luggage, checking to see if he had forgotten any clothes, documents or chargers. Everything seemed to be in perfect order.
It'd been 1 week since the main earthquake had happened. Slowly but surely, everyone's lives had fallen to their usual routine, returning to Tokyo's frenetic rhythm and lifestyle. All kinds of transportation were normalized two days after the earthquake, with some exceptions of broken roads or rails, though the government was busy fixing them at top speed. TV stations also resumed their usual schedule, but they still maintained a higher priority in reporting news regarding the present situation. The stock market was turbulent for the first days, however after receiving news regarding Japan's speedy recovery altogether with the government economic decisions, the fluctuation had calmed down enough to finish the day with neutral profit.
Naruto began reformulating Mitsukoshi's whole structure and blueprints, getting to work the very next day when he was rescued from the old mall, contrary to Sarutobi's concerned wishes, in which he insisted the blond take some days of vacation, and ignored Jiraiya's outrage; in which his yell; 'stop being such a stubborn brat and fucking rest idiot!', rumbled the whole floor but generated a roll of blue eyes from his adopted son.
To his surprise, the only one who not only didn't deter him from working but also aided him in modifying the project was Shikamaru:
"You can be a real workaholic when you want." He grumbled as he downloaded all new data from Naruto through Skype. Ever since, they had been trading information and adapting new concepts on the design, Naruto inspecting the hotel he was currently living in as well as going to the last remnants of the old Mitsukoshi to compare the resistance of materials.
It was odd, considering that most people wouldn't approach ten miles from the place that generated such traumatizing feelings, but Naruto found himself visiting it frequently and even staying for a reasonable amount of time inside. All the memories that would usually haunt victims in their lives, he used as inspiration to work harder to help, making sure this type of experience wouldn't happen to others in the future.
However, he was still understandably a bit wary every time he approached that place. Before he was authorized to enter inside the old mall, Naruto witnessed the firefighters checking the place and identifying the corpses, many families gathered around the site and waited for the dreadful news to arrive. He didn't know which deaths were caused by his misplaced decision, but it was later reported there were 10 casualties in total.
The blond sighed, closing his eyes in a frown as he went to the former 8th floor. He wished he could know the identity of the people buried in the emergency exit, so he could pay his respects to their families, although he wondered if they would welcome the one who inadvertently led them to their deaths…
It appeared after close inspection that what caused the ruination of that Emergency Exit was a leakage in some pipes from the water system, corroding the main pillar and the nearby stairs as a consequence, the earthquake speeding up the whole process and destroying those floors. Naruto collected the following material as well as photographed the evidence while he wrote the description in his notebook to later send to Shikamaru, so they could evaluate a better type of steel that wouldn't suffer oxidation so quickly. Usually, those specific technical parts weren't an architect's responsibility, as those segments were divided into designated specialties –those being engineer, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design, but somehow Naruto felt that he should breach this limit and extend his knowledge to benefit the whole team.
Nevertheless, seeing the whole crumbled scenario once again, when only a few days ago he was there suffering an intense emotional experience was somehow…disconcerting. It didn't help that in one of Tokyo's frequent aftershocks, he was inside that floor. As the blond exited the emergency exit and glanced at the various empty cans haphazardly scattered on the floor, he mused that it was a difficult memory that would take time to overcome.
He fought back another urge to sigh, remembering a particularly grating memory. Yes, that memory which kept him awake, frustrated and horribly, horribly aroused from those recollections. Naruto was actually expecting that the bad memories would take a bigger part of his dreams, but somehow Sasuke succeeded in occupying most of it. The more Naruto made an effort to forget the whole event, the more his libido effortlessly enriched his remembrance with more details of that particular night.
Naruto had tried everything to change this situation - cold showers, picturing anything that would deflate his erection, trying to substitute this memory with his past experiences from his ex-girlfriends or occasional one-night stands, but all of those were a futile effort. His traitorous cock insisted in getting hard and orgasming solely to that particular event. Naruto wanted to scream in frustration whenever he recalled for the umpteenth time on how the usual aristocratic features were contorted in pleasure, dark strands of hair were plastered on sweaty skin as Sasuke bounced in synch with his thrusts. Naruto had never felt so horny in his life, and this didn't help his increasingly confused feelings at all regarding Sasuke, this sudden change of emotions that he couldn't properly deal with yet, especially not when they were results from such an extreme situation.
He hadn't personally seen Sasuke since that episode. He had been reporting all updates on the Mitsukoshi project directly to Fugaku , who stoically reported that his son needed some time to rest and would later resume his schedule once Naruto was back in NY. The blond occasionally saw Sasuke in the news onTV, and being a reasonably popular figure, the press elected him as representative of the victims that suffered the earthquake. Sasuke's speech wasn't adorned with any excess of flourish though, his words being concentrated on the rebuilding of their city and helping the Japanese population.
Before Naruto could notice, one week had already passed by and it was time to return to his home country. While he was still unsure if he gathered enough information to improve the current design, the feeling of relief mostly filled his heart. He could barely wait until the moment he would see his father's face once again, his close friends, everyone.
"We were thinking of waiting for you at the airport so we could give you a proper reception once you return to America, Naruto." Jiraiya said and his adopted son raised a blond eyebrow.
"Nah, I'm arriving during working hours, it'd be better if I don't bother everyone just for my sake."
"Fine…but at least we're going to have a huge barbecue party on Saturday and everyone has already confirmed the invitation! We still have to celebrate your return, obviously." Jiraiya said excitedly.
"What? No Ramen?" Naruto grinned.
"I bet you had enough Ramen while in Tokyo, now it's time to show some patriotism and eat the food from your own country brat. You're probably craving for it after being away for so long."
"Not really, the people with whom I had meetings thought the same, so they dragged me to Italian or French restaurants. Either that or they thought that ramen wasn't high-class enough, so they preferred to show me sushi restaurants or contemporary ones, no matter how much I insisted that I just wanted a warm bowl of ramen." Naruto sighed despondently.
Jiraiya laughed in response. "Ok ok, I'll order two bowls of ramen especially for you once you're back."
"Thanks ero-sennin! Oh yeah, speaking of which, I should go too, it's almost time." Naruto glanced at his watch and sighed. "Ugh, I can't say that I'm looking forward to sitting on a narrow seat for over 12 hours though. See you soon!"
"See you and have a nice trip!" Jiraiya answered before ending the conversation.
Naruto briefly scanned his room, searching for any stray clothes or forgotten electronic devices. Once he had finished re-checking, he glanced at his hotel key.
One week. So much has happened in such a short time. Somehow, he was still unwilling to go, as if there was still an uncompleted piece waiting to eliminate a void gaping in his heart. Shaking his head to focus, the blond grabbed his suitcase and inhaled, already heading to the door. He briefly thought, while waiting for the train…it'd be nice if he could see Sasuke one last time before boarding the plane.
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His mother was…humming contentedly. How many years ago had it been since he had heard such soothing melody before? Sasuke contemplated before considering this enquiry foolish, his mother was in high spirits after such a long time, so he should properly appreciate it. The whole incident amended the distant relationship with his parents, valuing the bonds between them and increasing the feelings of care and affection between them. They still approached each other clumsily at times, being subjected to such intense emotions in such a short time, but slowly everyone adjusted in their own way, Mikoto being the bridge that sustained the family.
As expected from their predictions, once Tokyo's stock market had re-opened, many economic measures were required to control the crisis into bearable levels, as this effort called for their constant involvement to intervene. This truth had somehow divided the tasks between his family members. Mikoto was in charge of helping Japan's economic plans to prevent worsening of the recession, Fugaku was mainly responsible for international affairs and Sasuke was required to administrate the main offices of the Uchiha Corporation.
Contrary to his parents' insistent suggestions, Sasuke had promptly resumed his work, not sparing the luxury to rest when his active presence was needed to aid his country. However, Mikoto and Fugaku drew the line regarding him going to the headquarters or exiting his home unless necessary, worried that their son needed more time to completely recover. Therefore, Sasuke talked with the board of directors via e-mail or conference calls and revised all necessary documents that his secretaries brought to his mansion, still not satisfied with not working at his full capacity but acquiescing in consideration for his parents' feelings.
Seeing that Sasuke suffered from the earthquake, the press had somehow focused on him to describe the tragedy most victims had to pass through. Sasuke for once, wasn't minding this situation, using this opportunity to draw sympathy from the global community and hasten the reconstruction of Tokyo. He did stay in a reserved position, never wanting to draw too much attention other than the necessary, preferring to concentrate on organizing an effective non-governmental institution to provide shelter, food and any comfort to the affected population.
Even so, lately the whole family had spared more time at home, giving more priority to interact with themselves in something outside their work. They had cancelled all kinds of trips (aside one or another) inside the period of two weeks, since Mikoto desired to have at least this time reserved to see the family united. Obviously, even if they had many tasks waiting for solution, both men suspended them temporarily in favor of Mikoto's appeal.
Even now, this new routine felt a little bit off-place, too different, too abnormal, but refreshing and comfortable, to a point that Sasuke wished this was a part of their regular life, though logically he knew that their circumstances would never allow this to fully concretize.
But Mikoto was humming, with that same soft tune used in his long lost reminiscences, so for now…this was enough. This family had suffered enough through all those years, with broken pieces that would never be fixed; one small brief breath of fresh air was enough to make Sasuke content.
"Sasuke." His mother turned around to glance at him and went back to chop shiitakes. "Could you pick up the spinach for me? It's inside the refrigerator, second cabinet. Oh, and select the leaves for me too please."
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, not commenting on the oddity of seeing his mother cooking when they had a personal chef and staff to perform these chores, but instead dutifully obeyed his mother and did as she asked. Mikoto's cellphone rang while she was frying fish, in which she picked up with a soft sigh.
Unfortunately, the received call was from the prime minister, and she reluctantly turned off the stove to properly discuss the matter presented. She briefly threw an apologetic glance towards her son as she exited the kitchen and headed to her room.
Since his task was delayed until Mikoto was able to return to cooking, Sasuke went to the living room to check the news on TV. He saw, however Fugaku talking on the telephone:
"Yes, I'd like to upgrade Uzumaki Naruto's seat to first-class on behalf of Uchiha Corporation. I will send one of my employees at once to pay for the upgrade."
Sasuke's curiosity was inevitably piqued. "Is there a problem?" It'd been one week since he had heard from Naruto, so just the mention of his name caused a strong reaction inside him. His father turned, hung up the telephone and spoke to him:
"Uzumaki-kun has been dutifully working even after experiencing such a strong earthquake, it'd only be fair to give him some extra compensation for his hard work. I just called the airline to arrange for the upgrade, and they will change his reservation once he arrives at the airport. I'll have to ask someone to pay the amount of money for this exchange, maybe someone in the headquarters will go to their office and—"
"I'll go." Sasuke interrupted.
Fugaku paused and stared questioningly to his youngest son. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll go to the airport and pay the difference with my credit card. What time is his flight and what airline is he using?" Sasuke answered, already picking up his wallet and jacket.
"…11:30 and American Airlines. Why? Is there any specific reason why you would want to personally meet Uzumaki-kun?" Fugaku asked, observing Sasuke's hasty movements.
Sasuke froze for a moment before relaxing his features. "Nothing out of ordinary. I thought it'd be nice if someone would thank him personally on behalf of Uchiha Corporation. After all, if he hadn't been working on our project, he wouldn't have had to face such a strong earthquake. Considering I was the one who had constant contact with him before, it's more fitting if I do this task."
He observed as Fugaku narrowed his eyes in contemplation, considering his words. Finally, the eldest Uchiha shook his head and declared. "Fine. I guess after knowing each other for a reasonable period of time, even though it was work related, it is natural you would both bond somehow."
Talk about bonding. Sasuke felt his cheeks getting a tad warmer but he willed his blood supply to not go anywhere past his neck. "Thank you. But mother asked me to help her out with the lunch, maybe I should warn her that I'm going now. Why would she insist to personally cook this meal and why didn't she ask for help from one of our maids…?" They glanced at the distant figure as Mikoto returned to the kitchen.
Increasing Sasuke's bewilderment, Fugaku only quirked an enigmatic smile, patting his shoulder. "You just don't understand your mother well enough. There's nothing more comforting than a homemade meal and it's not like she'd allow a stranger to interfere with her cooking. You should go; I'll take care of helping her out in your stead. Remember to return as soon as possible so we can have our lunch together."
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During the short trip to Narita airport, Naruto marveled at feeling quite relaxed, sitting in a wide chair as he snapped some photos of the scenery outside the train. The cabin itself was packed with foreigners desiring to return to their homeland, but everything was neatly organized creating a tranquil atmosphere for each passenger.
Once he arrived at the airport, he headed straight to the counter to check in his luggage to give him free time to explore the place. Blue eyes widened considerably when he spotted Sasuke waiting for him in front of the check-in and the blond approached cautiously, blinking in confusion towards his guarded expression.
"Hello." The brunet muttered.
"Uh…hi!" Naruto responded, scratching the back of his head a little bit.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Sasuke exhaled briefly and offered a rectangular piece of paper to Naruto. "Here."
Naruto took it, not sparing a glance to examine the contents as he continued to stare at Sasuke. "Uh…ok…thanks?" There was a non-voiced inquiry in why Sasuke was there, waiting for Naruto and the brunet calmly answered.
"On behalf of Uchiha Corporation, I'd like to offer this small gift for your exhaustive efforts. We appreciate your hard work—"
"WHOA! That's a first class ticket to the USA! Fucking awesome!" Naruto blurted out interrupting Sasuke, noticing at last the golden letters carefully inscribed on the piece of paper.
The young man closed his onyx eyes in mild annoyance and said. "I take it from your sudden outburst just now, that you're satisfied with this token of appreciation. Therefore…" Sasuke moved, ready to exit the airport.
However, to his surprise, the blond continued to gaze at his ticket and actually hesitated putting in his backpack, returning it to Sasuke's hands. "Thanks, I really appreciate it but…I can't accept it."
Sasuke picked it up with a frown. "Why not?"
Naruto shrugged inelegantly, one hand holding his backpack's strap. "I'm guessing your father was the one who came up with this idea right? Since he was the one who I've been meeting with since after the earthquake hit. So thanks… I don't think I did anything extraordinary to deserve something granted so freely and it sounds like I'm only being given it for witnessing the earthquake. I'd gladly accept it if I fulfilled my assignment, but not because I was only in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The blond shifted from one foot to another, not daring to look up, waiting for any kind of movement coming from Sasuke. No words were exchanged, the stillness making the surrounding noises especially deafening to them.
At long last, Naruto saw the brunet relax his guard, causing Naruto to release his tenseness as well.
"Look." Sasuke moved one step closer to the blond and sighed. "My father is not someone who would flippantly give a free plane ticket to anyone, especially a first class type. If he spent this money, if he bought this, it is because you're someone worthy of his respect."
"But…" Naruto still stared at the ticket with wary eyes.
"If he bought this plane ticket, it is because you had achieved something that he deemed worthy. It wasn't because he pitied your suffering from this earthquake and gave some kind of compensation for it. It was through your hard work and he recognized your effort.
"But…" The blond frowned and muttered. "I can't…what about…" His voice died out, not daring to continue what was painfully obvious between them.
Another silence hung between them as Sasuke really appeared to consider the situation, undoubtedly touched (and slightly worried that the blond remembered their shared intimacy from that night) by Naruto's humility. Sasuke slowly whispered.
"Don't worry about me. I…wouldn't mind." He paused to contemplate some more, only to raise his head and concentrate his eyes on cerulean ones. "No. Actually, I would be offended if you refuse it. If there's anyone who would have my father's respect, anyone who I would allow this concession, then…that person would be you. So just accept it." The Uchiha said as he offered the ticket to Naruto.
"Okay…" The blond said hesitantly as he took the ticket from Sasuke's hand. Eyeing the ticket in gawked admiration, Naruto's mouth finally widened a bright grin. "Thanks Sasuke!" He noticed his mistake and sputtered. "I mean, Uchiha…sor—"
"I don't mind." Sasuke interrupted, breaking eye contact and crossing his arms. "Call me whatever name you prefer."
"Oooookay…" Naruto raised one eyebrow, uncertain. He then declared with an energetic voice. "Hey, so if I call you Sasuke, then you can call me Naruto then."
The Uchiha glanced in apparent confusion, his eyes asking Naruto to elaborate on his idea.
"Well, if it's alright for me to call you Sasuke, then I also wouldn't mind you calling me Naruto." Naruto continued, opening the backpack's zipper and picking up his documents. "So that's how it's settled. Thanks again for the ticket Sasuke."
"You're welcome." The brunet paused for few seconds on purpose and smirked. "Usuratonkachi."
"Bastard." Naruto grumbled, walking towards the counter. "Gotta go, have to check my luggage."
"Don't make a fool of yourself while you're on the plane dumbass." Sasuke taunted.
"Asshole." Naruto rolled his eyes, entering in line to the counter. "See you next week."
"Hn." Sasuke acknowledged with a brief nod. "Next week then. Have a good trip Naruto." He spoke nonchalantly.
Cerulean eyes blinked astonished, absorbing this tidbit of information before Naruto grinned warmly. Sasuke stared dumbfounded, heartbeats increasing in a soft rhythm as the blond said,
"Thank you Sasuke." He turned away to talk with the attendant, a quick wave of goodbye before he began checking the documents with her.
Neither of them consciously realized it but this…was the start of a whole new relationship.
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Report 08: Begin another report.
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Sasuke checked his watch impatiently to confirm that, as usual, the dumbass blond moron was late by almost half an hour for their scheduled meeting. It appeared that holding a grudge against him or not, Naruto still maintained the habit of being tardy. No, he wasn't disappointed that Naruto didn't look eager to see him again; neither did he adjust his hair three or four times in the men's room mirror for the usuratonkachi's sake. He was simply feeling self-conscious today…nothing out of ordinary, was it?
Groaning as he stood up from his seat, finishing his third cup of coffee, the brunet went to the main part of Sarutobi's office, determined to hunt down the idiotic blond and give him the most blistering earful Naruto had ever received in his entire life. What kind of moron would have this kind of bad habit when he constantly met important clients every day and thus would give a bad image of the office he was now representing?
"The top view plan is ready now!" A sudden yell almost rendered him deaf as a young woman passed by, running fast while she rolled the paper.
"What about the left view?" Another shout inquired further.
"Five more minutes!" A distant scream answered while Sasuke observed everyone going in every kind of direction; chaos ensued inside.
"Naruto!" A red-haired woman shouted, picking up Sasuke's attention as onyx eyes narrowed sharply as he stalked towards the mentioned man, the predator preparing to surround his prey. She approached the blond as both had their backs facing Sasuke, holding a gigantic piece of paper and asked. "Could you check if there's any mistake in this print?"
Naruto easily grabbed the plan and moved it to a drawing table so he could properly revise it. Too hasty to find a chair and calmly re-check it, the blond simply bent forward with his arms propped against the metallic surface, the position providing Sasuke with a nice eyeful of taut ass, snuggly fitting into Naruto's khaki pants.
With a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, Sasuke temporarily halted his actions and found a secluded spot to savor this vision without any interruption. Only an idiot would waste this kind of opportunity and Sasuke definitely was no idiot. He lamented inwardly when the blond straightened up and returned the paper to his assistant, running to another spot as other people interrupted him with multiple questions regarding everything. It was entertaining to see Naruto move around frenetically; Sasuke had to admit to himself, and oh—there he was, bending over again to sign some paper on the desk, Sasuke slowly tilted his head to appreciate the new angle given.
Now, Naruto didn't consider himself a superstitious person but he felt a constant presence looming everywhere he went. No one aside from himself had noticed that presence, so perhaps it was targeting him specifically, chasing him and attracting bad luck and disaster around him. Naruto had heard rumors regarding a crazy employee that had committed suicide on the office below his floor and how he haunted every young worker, resenting the fact they were successful where he, in his previous life wasn't.
Swallowing dryly and too scared to turn his neck and see a transparent body, Naruto thought of every kind of prayer from every kind of religion and prepared himself to face this mysterious enemy. He turned around, widened his eyes and then squinted, confused:
"Huh? Sasuke!" Naruto observed as the brunet straightened up from his previous position, emitting a completely stoic aura and growling back.
"What."
"Why are you here? I thought I was seeing a ghost!" Naruto complained. When he saw a dark eyebrow raised in response, he sputtered, a little bit embarrassed. "What. You were just standing there, not moving one inch, all pale and wearing a black suit, above all. You were giving an image of a pretty creepy ghost, in my opinion."
Sasuke frowned even further, seeing many people giving tons of rolled paper to the blond as he took some to alleviate the weight. "I don't look like a ghost, and I'm not creepy." They walked back to the conference room; the brunet gripped the handle and raised his chin slightly imperiously. "And I'm certainly not that pale."
Naruto rolled his eyes heavenward. "Well fine, but you definitely need some tan. Whenever I look at you, I feel that you suffer anemia."
Sasuke let this comment pass by as he finished his sentence. "And I went to search for you because you were late. Again."
"We already have had many meetings before this. I thought you would know about my uh… scheduling challenges by now." Naruto muttered, placing the rolled papers on the desk.
"I acknowledge this bad habit but it doesn't mean I approve of it. You should fix this attitude or what will happen if you meet a client that is less tolerant of those mistakes than me?"
Naruto grumbled, opening one plan and examining the contents. "Bah, I'm not that stupid and I know which clients are nagging asses and which won't mind if I do something like this. You could learn to be like them too, arrive half an hour later since they already expect I'll be late." He widened a mischievous grin.
"But because of your laziness, it's almost time for lunch, we won't be able to progress at this rate if we continue like this." Sasuke pointed out.
"I can grab my laptop and we'll talk about it while we eat our lunch. I know a good Italian restaurant nearby." Naruto declared as he organized the papers and exited the room.
Sasuke crossed his arms bewildered. "What? Wait, I—" He couldn't continue because the blond suddenly shouted, calling Nara's name as the other architect threw the backpack to Naruto's arms and the blond turned around, beaming.
"C'mon, I'm ready, let's go!"
Sasuke mutely grabbed his briefcase, unable to come up with any words of refusal. His feet were moving without his permission, irreversibly being pulled to that magnetic orange whirlpool, his ears barely hearing Naruto declaring excitedly that they were going to eat the best Italian cuisine in all of New York City. He followed hypnotized, fixing the memory of that bright smile inside his mind.
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The restaurant was located in a commercial area, everyone hastily walking around as they entered inside. The place was scarcely decorated but wasn't too simplistic, a couple of paintings placed on the wall and wooden furniture gave a homey ambiance overall. Since they arrived just on time for lunch, every table was occupied, making Sasuke wonder if they would have to wait until there was a vacancy available.
Fortunately, Naruto knew the owner and asked them to hasten cleaning up an empty table, and as they sat down, the blond excused himself to go to the bathroom.
"You can order while I'm gone; the staff already knows what I usually want for lunch."
Sasuke shrugged, staring at the menu and realizing; to his horror, it was written in Italian. The waiter was waiting impatiently therefore the brunet simply asked:
"What's today pasta?"
"Fettuccini Alfredo, it's our restaurant's specialty." The waiter replied with a heavy Italian accent.
Sasuke glanced at the description written on the menu, using his limited knowledge with Spanish to comprehend it, both were kind of similar languages right? There weren't any 'camarones' written on it…and he surely didn't need the help from the usuratonkachi to decipher a simple dish, so he simply nodded, returning the menu to the waiter.
Naruto later returned and once seated, turned on his laptop, and began discussing the needed building plan adjustments while they waited for their lunch to arrive.
The waiter approached the table with steaming plates and Naruto hastily closed his laptop with a happy sigh. "Man, finally! My stomach was growling non-stop!"
Sasuke chose this moment to return with a teasing retort when he stopped dead, looking at his dish –or more accurately at some ingredients included in the dish. Naruto also glanced curiously while adjusting his napkin.
"Is there anything wrong? Do you need to change the dish?" The blond asked. Sasuke smoothly picked up his napkin, placing it on his lap.
"No need, we don't have the time right now. It's still manageable." Sasuke mentally sighed .He would need to keep the shrimp far away from his mouth, , although his allergy to it wasn't severe, he always disliked the diarrhea caused from any accidental slip. He saw a stray fork spearing the shrimps and glanced forward, seeing Naruto taking some and putting them on his plate.
The blond said sheepishly. "I remembered that you said that you were allergic to shrimp, it'd be better if you leave all of them on my plate to avoid any accident. You wouldn't mind, right?"
Sasuke shook his head, also picking up some and putting them on Naruto's plate.
"Sorry, you probably didn't know that there was shrimp on the dish because the whole menu is written in Italian. It's just that I frequently eat in this restaurant that I forgot about this detail." Naruto apologized.
Sasuke dismissed with a shrug, before asking. "When did I mention being allergic to shrimp before?"
"Um…that…night?" The blond offered the explanation through scattered words, eating a mouthful of spaghetti and glancing sideways awkwardly.
Oh. Wait.
"Do you also remember the conversation regarding our fathers? How much do you remember about all that?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. "I'm sure we were pretty drunk by then, so how is it possible that you still remember all that?"
"Ah, about that…I've always had a high resistance to alcohol, that's all. My hangovers aren't very bad either, so I usually have a good memory about what I've done the night before when I've been drinking." Naruto explained.
Sasuke glared, not expecting this turn of events, the blond having a slight advantage about it when he could only remember blurry parts about that night.
"What. Now you're going to kill me for sullying your name and will eliminate anyone who was involved with you and now know your dirty secrets?" Naruto snickered, picking another shrimp from his plate.
Sasuke relaxed under the joke, twirling his fork to eat his Fettuccini. "I guess not, unlike the character that had inspired my name, I'm not exactly vengeful."
Naruto looked surprised, pausing to stare at the brunet. "What? Your name also came from the Japanese legend of the ninja Naruto Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki Naruto, and unfortunately, yes."Sasuke corrected, placing another shrimp on Naruto's plate. "Mine wasn't as awe-inspiring as your origin, my father and mother met, thought it was amusing they had the same name as the legend and decided to give the same name to their child. They even went through the effort of making sure I share the same birth date as the character in the legend." He then sighed in a good-naturedly way, shaking his head.
"Whoa, really?" Naruto said, chuckling and Sasuke found himself transfixed with that pleasant sound, returning the gesture with a small smile. "Can't believe this. What kind of sane parents would choose to name their baby from a character that almost destroyed his home village out of revenge?"
Sasuke smirked, not affected from his taunt. "Probably because this character was an important key to help the dumbass main character in achieving peace. If it wasn't for him, his best friend wouldn't be able to defeat the main villain of this legend."
Naruto snorted, not having the heart to come up with any retort as he finished his food. He suddenly realized a fact and whispered slowly. "Wait…so that means that you also have an older brother right?"
Sasuke turned rigid, closing his hands into a fist until he consciously relaxed his posture. "Yes…I thought that the media had already covered this."
"Yeah…maybe…but I'm not much to listen to gossip and all, ya know." Naruto shrugged, noticing the apprehension emanating from Sasuke and finishing lamely. "He didn't murder anyone from your family or anything like that right? I hope."
This time, a loud and tired exhale came from Sasuke as he confessed. "No…but he did run away from home years ago, when I was a teenager."
"Oh…" Naruto stared at the onyx eyes hardening to a steeled edge and muttered. "Sorr—"
"Don't be." Sasuke answered, raising his hand to the waiter and picking up the tab. It was clear reading through his body language that the brunet didn't desire to speak any further on the subject.
"Ok…" Naruto answered hesitantly. Then, he noticed something while they exited the restaurant. "We ended up chatting instead of doing our work."
"Maybe this whole thing wouldn't have happened if you were a little bit more punctual, usuratonkachi." Sasuke returned to his teasing tone.
"Maybe this would have been easier if you didn't schedule unholy hours for our meetings, near lunch time or at the end of the day, making me suffer from sitting in traffic." Naruto grumbled back.
They spent the entire way bantering back and forth as they walked towards the office.
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The following days turned out to be full of atypical changes. Although abnormal, Sasuke had to admit that they were quite…pleasant. Whatever acidic exchanges of words they used to trade weakened to playful bickering without any real venom. It was unexpected, Naruto no longer held any kind of resentment towards him, probably as a reaction towards his own absolution in forgetting any feeling of envy towards Naruto concerning his father. He slowly came to realize that it was easy to chat with Naruto once given the chance for positive interaction. Sasuke found himself looking forward to meeting Naruto for those scheduled meetings, even though the blond still didn't regard his warning and remained tardy by a half hour every time. Whatever, at least he had some free time to rest while he waited for the dumb blond.
What he gradually noticed too, was the increased amount of furtive glances Naruto threw at him when he thought Sasuke wasn't paying attention to it. It was clear that something was bothering the blond and Sasuke knew that this problem was somehow related to him. Whenever Sasuke questioned Naruto he simply dismissed it with an awkward shrug, focusing on his work as a way to change the subject.
Eventually, after observing Naruto's actions and behavior towards him, Sasuke could only conclude that the blond was still affected about that fateful night. It was particularly evident the hesitancy and confusion emanating from him whenever Sasuke was close to Naruto, the latter looked frustrated with himself about this entire situation.
Sasuke had several lovers in the past, but they were nothing short of some kind of partnership, fleeting and devoid of emotional investment as his past relationships never breached over the sexual exchange. He didn't mind though, having an image to uphold made sure that both, him and his partner wouldn't desire to let their situation come to public. His cravings were sporadic as it was, and he generally viewed romantic relationships with distaste when everyone appeared to only be interested with either his physical looks or the impressive name behind him.
But Naruto didn't really count as Sasuke's regular type of lover because first of all, the blond wasn't exactly his lover and they didn't have sex under normal circumstances. It was still difficult to ignore the fact that it was one of the best sexual encounters he had till now.
It also didn't help that Naruto was one of the best-looking men Sasuke had ever met in his life.
Sasuke sighed, troubled with the admittance of these facts. Before, it was easy to ignore Naruto's handsome features when he was able to concentrate on hating the blond for stealing his father's respect. But now that this whole situation was resolved, it was becoming progressively more difficult to attempt to block his libido that continually reminded him of the unforgettable night that occurred between them.
Sometimes he would feel blue eyes looking in his direction, a steady gaze that wasn't questioning, neither was it filled with any kind of discernible desire. Naruto was simply staring at him longingly, making Sasuke feel embarrassed and flustered at the same time.
Embarrassment and fluster. Two emotions that he wasn't used to dealing with.
Time passed and the date approached where Sasuke was responsible to present the project to the board of directors of Mitsukoshi. Naruto was helping to add the details necessary for this presentation.
Once finished, Sasuke closed his laptop after turning it off. "I guess that's a satisfactory presentation, there's no need to adjust it any further."
Naruto nodded, also turning off his computer and stretching his arms. "Hopefully they won't complain much about all the changes we've made in consideration of the effects of earthquake."
"Don't worry about it." Sasuke smirked haughtily. "They wouldn't dare." Not waiting for any kind of sarcastic remark, he placed the laptop in his briefcase and said, "That's enough for today, thank you for your help."
"Ok…" Naruto followed with his eyes as the brunet approached the door and suddenly blurted out. "Um, Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned around with a questioning raised eyebrow.
Naruto bit his lower lip in contemplation, undecided on how to approach this subject. "You remember…about that night?"
The brunet released the door handle, closing the door, expecting this conversation to be painfully long. "What about it?" He asked.
"Well…many things happened here and there…so I was also wondering if you remember most of them." Naruto mumbled.
"I guess…so?"
"The last thing we did together…" Naruto practically extracted those words from his mouth, his eyebrows knit together as he pressed on. "If you remember it…what do you think about that whole…uh…occurrence that happened that night…?"
Sasuke stared evenly at the awkward blue eyes, considering his question. Logically thinking, Naruto was a risk to him, unlike his previous lovers, he was not bound to keep Sasuke's sexuality a secret. But even so, Sasuke was sure that if he asked, Naruto would keep his word, not revealing anything between them for the sake of his public image.
However, Sasuke could feel a slow tide of emotions hatching and emerging from the deepest confines of his heart. Containing a shapeless form, its intensity was difficult to be measured as Sasuke refused to yield to those unknown feelings, choosing to keep a tight grasp on his controlled but monochrome life. He should put an end to whatever monstrous thing that might engulf them, before it was too late.
And it was supposed to be an easy task, Sasuke had rejected numerous people in his life so far and Naruto would only be one more on his list. His eyelids fell heavy as he fixed his onyx eyes to the ground nevertheless, as he muttered back.
"I told you that we should forget it. We wouldn't have done it if we were in our right minds, after all." Sasuke couldn't meet Naruto's eyes yet, not wanting to face disappointment showing on the whiskered face as Naruto responded.
"Oh." Another silence ensued until the blond repeated once again, applying more energy. "Oh. Well…" Sasuke saw Naruto raising his arm to scratch his head as the blond said. "I guess you're right. We weren't in our minds at that time."
"Yes." Sasuke agreed, finally leveling his eyes towards cerulean ones.
"Yeah, well. I guess we should count this as an accident right? An unfortunate accident."
There was a sharp pang in his heart but Sasuke ignored it. "Yes, accident."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. A very unfortunate accident." Naruto appeared to be mulling to himself as he thought out loud. "I mean, there's no way I'd be interested in your frigid ass under normal circumstances, so I guess that such a thing would only happen if we hadn't encountered such a dire situation."
Black eyebrows furrowed together though Sasuke didn't mention anything further.
"It was really an accident right? No one in their right mind would be interested in having sex with such an arrogant bastard, after all."
Sasuke felt one of his eyebrows twitch.
"Yeah, an accident." Naruto nodded to himself as he confirmed with a more reassured tone. "Pft, I wouldn't spare one eye to glance at you normally, so definitely this extreme situation was the only reason I would do something absolutely crazy like that!"
"Splendid. Now that you have happily reaffirmed your sexuality, am I allowed to go now?" Sasuke replied dryly.
"Oh." Naruto realized and smiled sheepishly. "I guess I just wanted to clear up any possible misunderstanding. Well…" He stared at his hand before offering to Sasuke. "Friends?"
Sasuke gazed at the raised hand with a skeptical eye before returning with a handshake. "Friends."
AN: Once again, thank you all for your reviews and a special thanks for my beta. :3
Oh, forgot to add: Although in Spanish shrimp is called "camarones", in Italian is called "gamberetto". Which is the reason why Sasuke mistook and asked for Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp.