Did I mention that I'm on a roll? This chapter is much shorter though...

There were some question marks about last chapter. Hope they're sorted out in this. If I miss something that I've written and something doesn't make sense, it's great if you let me know.

Anyway, this chappy is just... cute? No smexy time sorry.

I'm proud of myself for finishing this so fast, especially since my little sister was doing her best to distract me with Supernatural all afternoon... At least this time it was just funny stuff and not the actual series, because they scare the shit out of me...

Btw coming up with chapter titles is so difficult!


Chapter twelve: Talking

'

Slamming the door shut to their apartment, Naruto sighed and leaned his back against it. His bad feeling about tonight had been right, and now he felt drained of energy. He looked at Sasuke, who was standing in the hallway with his hands in his pockets, watching him uncertainly. Naruto closed his eyes and smiled wryly.

"It's hard to believe that Kiba dumped me for you of all people and used Hinata like that" he said, thinking back to what Hinata had explained in the cab back home.

"It's hard to believe I slept with him too" Sasuke said. "To my defense, I was drunk and extremely irritated because my Jacuzzi just broke."

"Yeah? But how the hell did you end up sleeping with him of all people? And didn't you say he hit on you and you hated people like that?"

Sasuke looked away guiltily. "Well…" he started and cleared his throat. "That was the first time I ordered food from your restaurant, can't remember why, but he seemed willing enough and I wasn't really thinking clearly. And then after that, I ordered that food again because I kind of liked it, the food I mean, and he seemed to think I'd ordered it just so we could meet up again."

Naruto wasn't sure of what to say. It was a little disturbing to know that his ex had cheated on him with his current boyfriend, but on the other hand it was immensely satisfying to know Sasuke had wanted to keep Naruto and thought that Kiba was a whore.

"But what was that thing you said at the restaurant, about not fucking whores like him or something?"

"Oh, that. I didn't think you heard that. Actually, that's what I told him that second time, when he went all 'oh, I know you just ordered the food because I was such a good fuck, I wouldn't mind getting fucked by you every day'." He glanced at Naruto, a grimace on his face. "I… well, I didn't have sex with that many people while I was with Sakura but even if I hated her I'd never start something continuous, besides the fact that he was…" Sasuke hesitated. "You know what, it doesn't really matter. I fucked him, then turned him down and he couldn't just let it go. End of story."

Sasuke looked uncomfortable, and Naruto decided not to push it. It's not like he really wanted to know anyway. And of course Sasuke wouldn't have said 'by the way Naruto, I fucked your ex while you were still together' that time Kiba delivered food to them, or after he'd picked him up at the restaurant. Because that would have been kinda awkward.

"You're right. End of story." Naruto dragged a hand through his hair and slipped out of his shoes. "I'm tired, mind if we just go sleep?"

Sasuke shook his head and took off his own shoes and coat, hanging it up next to Naruto's and following him into the apartment.

"You know what else is hard to believe?" Sasuke said when they were in the bathroom.

Naruto looked at him.

"That you're friends with Neji."

"What, you know him? Actually he's Hinata's cousin."

Sasuke blanched. "Really?" he said nervously and busied himself with searching for something in a cupboard.

"What? You really do know him?"

"We've… met."

"Oh my god, is there any of my friends you haven't slept with?"

Sasuke poked his head out of the cupboard and glared at Naruto, because the blond had apparently found that fact to be very humorous.

"It's just those two. But really, Neji was five years ago, so it hardly counts." He went back inside and finally found the cream he was looking for.

"U-huh. Well, I think it's kind of crazy. But whatever, it's not like you knew we were gonna meet."

Naruto started brushing his teeth, rolling his eyes at Sasuke's put out look. They were silent for a while, both of them just going about their business in the sort-of routine they'd created during these two weeks. Once in bed, Naruto snuggled up to Sasuke, an arm over his chest and a leg bent over pale ones. The raven hugged him tight and nuzzled the top of his head, both of them sighing as they closed their eyes and tried to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later Naruto squirmed impatiently. His mind was exhausted but his body refused to let him sleep. Damn it.

"Sasuke?" he whispered, and Sasuke hummed to show he was awake. "I can't sleep."

"It's only been fifteen minutes" Sasuke told him, but he didn't sound as if he believed more time would help.

Naruto sighed. "I just keep replaying Kiba's words in my head" he mumbled, burying his nose deeper into Sasuke's neck and breathing in his calming scent.

"What did he say?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, just thinking the words over.

"Stupid things" he sighed finally. "It's not like he didn't say worse when we broke up."

They were both quiet for a while, before Sasuke shuffled down and onto his side instead so that they were now facing each other, not quite able to make out the other's face in the dark but close enough that it didn't matter.

"You really liked him." It was more of a murmured statement than a question.

"Yes. No. I don't know." He sighed again. "I thought that I liked him, but now… I'm starting to doubt if I really did."

"Hn. It doesn't matter, you like me now" Sasuke said with conviction, causing Naruto to smile.

"I do. But I guess I did think he and I were going to last pretty long… I'm glad I was wrong though" he said and got even closer to Sasuke. He could feel Sasuke's heart beat and hear the breaths fanning his face, and it all just felt so incredibly good. Much better than anything had ever felt like with Kiba. "Honestly, I feel more for you after two weeks than I felt for Kiba after two years" he confessed, and smiled when Sasuke pressed his lips against the corner of his mouth and pulled him even closer, so close it was actually kind of uncomfortable but it didn't bother him. With the risk of sounding repetitive, it felt pretty damn good.

"Not that I have anything to compare to, but I really like you too" Sasuke murmured, and they just lay like that for a while, seeping up body heat and letting their emotions surface inside their minds. The darkness in the room amplified everything, every movement as well as every thought not uttered out loud. But after a while, some of these thoughts were starting to make themselves known quite persistently, and Naruto sighed again and closed his eyes.

"When I walked in on them, it hurt really badly" he suddenly broke the silence with, and Sasuke squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. "I mean, I already suspected that things were going downhill, but that was… And then Kiba asked if we could meet up, and I thought he was going to explain, or at least apologize, but do you know what he did?"

"I'm not sure it's safe to tell me" Sasuke mumbled, with a hint of humor that made Naruto feel a lot more at ease.

"Maybe not. But he pretty much told me how stupid and worthless I was, and how I was…" he had to clear his voice before continuing, "How I was a disappointment to him and a waste of two good years."

Sasuke was quiet for a few seconds, probably trying not to overreact. "It's more like he wasted your years" he then growled.

"Mm. It's sad I couldn't have a happy break-up like you had." When Sasuke was silent he continued. "I mean, you could just shrug it off like a bad dream and start something new."

Sasuke went over the words in his head before answering. "Yes, well, but if you think about it, I'd take a month of shit over five years of crap any day."

Naruto stared at him, as well as he could in the dark, and suddenly felt very selfish.

"I'm sorry" he said. "I didn't think of it like that."

Sasuke turned them over, so that he was laying half on top of Naruto, one arm bent at the elbow and supporting his weight and his free hand slowly tracing Naruto's face.

"It's fine. You make me forget."

Naruto bit his lip, the emotional moment so strong he couldn't form words. He felt Sasuke sinking lower, their lips brushing, Naruto's eyelashes fluttering and finally resting against his skin as his eyes shut close when he started moving in sync with Sasuke. It was an emotional kind of kiss; hardly any pressure because the pressure was felt in the atmosphere, in the low thumping of their hearts and the slight trembling of their fingertips. When Sasuke pulled back Naruto had to swallow the rather large lump in his throat. These feelings… they were almost too much to hope for.

"Do you want to know what happened?" Sasuke asked, his voice so low he almost couldn't hear it himself.

Naruto nodded.

~Approximately two weeks earlier~

Our protagonist sat at the bar, listlessly swirling his drink and watching the clear liquid as the centrifugal force caused it to press against the sides of the glass. He was bored. He was more than bored. It was the kind of bored that you're so used to it ceases to be boredom, because there's no wish for something more fun to compare it with. Just hopeless acceptance. Here he sat, Uchiha Sasuke, twenty-three years old, successful and engaged to a respectable woman from a good family. If he had been more prone to depression he might have managed to kill himself and get away from this nightmarish life, but no. As it was now, the feeling of responsibility towards his family and the shame a suicide would bring upon it stopped him before he'd even formed the thought in his mind. No escape then. So: acceptance. He'd play the role of Uchiha Sasuke – responsible citizen, engaged successful young man perfectly, like he'd done for the larger part of the five years it had been forced upon him, ever since his father died. On the inside though, he was seething. Nothing that would boil over, just a dull ache around his heart, and even that he'd gotten used to. No wonder his therapist berated him for not putting in an effort. But then again, his therapist reported every little thing straight back to his oh so caring and concerned mother, and it wouldn't do to let her know.

He raised his eyes to watch the people present; fat toads with their trophy wives, young men and women with aspirations to become either of the two previous, all in all just a bunch of worthless uninspiring mannequin dolls. In the beginning he'd wondered if maybe there were others who shared his loathing of all this, but he quickly realized that finding one that didn't just agree to every word he said just because he was Uchiha Sasuke was as probable as his father returning from the grave and confessing to be a drag queen. He skimmed over the crowd, the occasional girl trying to catch his attention. It was common knowledge that his involvement with Sakura didn't reach behind closed doors, and there were always girls who believed he'd be indiscreet enough to 'meet up' with them. Then, of course, he'd supposedly fall in love with them and dump Sakura, and then they'd live happily ever after in a large house with little brats running around and clawing at the furniture… Or was he mixing up kids with cats? Anyway, if only it was that easy. Not that he wanted another fiancée, at least not a female one, but the thought of falling in love had always intrigued him.

~Back in bed~

"The thought of falling in love has always intrigued you?" Naruto asked, not knowing if he should laugh at the way Sasuke told the story or just give him weird looks.

"Shut up and let me tell you the story, you're breaking my flow" Sasuke complained with a poke to Naruto's cheek.

"But seriously Sasuke, mixing up kids with cats, it's not even funny."

"Do you want to hear it or not?"

Sasuke's impatient and annoyed tone made Naruto finally shut up and nod in defeat. If Sasuke wanted to tell him about his break-up with Sakura as if it was a scene from a book (with a rather self-centered and overly dramatic 'protagonist') then sure, go right ahead.

~At the bar again~

Now where were we? Oh right, Sasuke was rotting away on his bar stool as he noted the antagonist, that's Sakura obviously, approaching. He straightened up, that mask of indifference on his face, and watched her as she came closer. Other people would probably call her pretty, beautiful even, in a long green dress of the latest fashion style. Sasuke, on the other hand, would rather call her an eyesore. Seriously who has pink hair? Anyway, as was routine during these little gatherings Sasuke had retreated to the bar after greeting all the important people, and Sakura had come looking for him after spending an hour of whatever it was that she did. She would try to convince him to socialize, and he would refuse. It would go something like this:

Sakura: Come on honey, why do you always hide here at the bar, everybody wants to meet you!

Sasuke: Well everybody can shove strychnine down their throats and maybe then I'll have some fun.

Sakura: You're impossible, how difficult can it be to just go out there and talk to people? It's not like it'll kill you! And we should walk around together, you know this doesn't look good in your mother's or anybody else's eyes.

Sasuke: And you should know by now that none of that matters to me. Now leave me alone or I'll just go home.

Usually the conversation would end here, and Sakura would go fetch his mother or brother and they'd nag at him until he relented and played the role of social Uchiha Sasuke for a sufficient amount of time, but tonight something was different. Maybe he should have noticed it earlier, but it's not like he ever paid much attention to Sakura.

Sakura: That's what you want isn't it?

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this.

Sakura: For me to leave you alone. Because you don't care, do you? Not about me, not about your family, not about your job or anything. What a dream-guy you are, but you know what? I'm sick of you using me like this! Acting as if I'm nothing to you! And don't think I haven't noticed you've been seeing others behind my back!

Sasuke raised his other eyebrow at Sakura's poisonous tone and the way she crossed her arms and glared at him from a much too close distance.

Sasuke: I see you've become less delusional. Tell me, how did you lose your naivety, another diet?

That's when she raised her glass full of red wine and threw it all over him, and hardly a second later she threw the crystal glass down on the marble floor so that it broke into a hundred tiny pieces, quite the spectacular scene actually. Surprised, but not one to lose his cool in the middle of all these people, Sasuke dried off some wine drops that had hit his eyes and eyed Sakura who looked quite upset now.

Sasuke: Anything else?

He was rather pleased with the way he handled her outburst, but had he known where this was going to end he would have put in, like his therapist wanted so badly, a little more effort into the fight.

Sakura: Yes, there's something else!

She screeched this out, attracting the attention of the few that hadn't already zoomed in on the scene. Sasuke mentally groaned, wishing he'd just pretended to be sick like he'd do on half of these occasions. But what Sakura did next had him widening his eyes in disbelief and his heart started hammering in his chest, as if it suddenly came to life again. She pulled off her engagement ring, the one she never failed to flaunt in everybody and their mother's faces, and threw it on him. She actually voluntarily let it part with her flesh and then threw it at him, and somehow he managed to catch it with his left hand. He stared down at it, then back at her, wild hope burning in his eyes.

Sasuke: What is your meaning with this?

She looked at him with tears streaming down her face, a look she didn't pull off very well.

Sakura: It means we're over Sasuke! There's no more us, and I'm not taking you back even if you apologize on your hands and knees and promise to change!

She seemed as if she wanted to say more, but maybe she suddenly became aware of her surroundings, or maybe she just broke down, but she turned and ran, her dress restricting her movements but her skills at running with high stilettos hinting at practice. And thus ended the story of Sasuke and Sakura. Well, right after poor Sasuke had been yelled at by his mother and harassed by evil reporters.

~Back in bed~

Naruto stared at Sasuke. "You really enjoyed that didn't you?"

If Naruto had been able to see Sasuke's face it would have probably been adorned with a highly pleased look.

"Well, I can't say it was as boring as sitting at that bar" Sasuke admitted, letting out an indignant 'Hey!' when Naruto smacked him over the head.

"I should be mad at you for making Sakura out to be some stupid bitch, but I get what you mean about you being an ass before we met and why."

"Hn."

"You really know how to tell a story though."

"Hn." It sounded more pleased this time.

Naruto smiled and pecked Sasuke on his mouth, the raven smiling back and returning the small kiss. Sasuke was still leaning over him, but now Naruto pushed him back down and nestled into his side.

"I think I can sleep now" he said, and felt Sasuke make himself comfortable as well.

After some silence, Sasuke shifted to look at Naruto again.

"There's something I wanted to ask you" he said, and continued when Naruto asked what it was. "That thing Kiba said about you not being normal, what did he mean?"

Naruto didn't respond for a minute, and Sasuke wondered if maybe he should just drop it. But then Naruto started talking so he swallowed the 'forget it' he was about to say.

"It's… something stupid really, but I guess it's something I'll never get rid of."

"What?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Well, when my parents died… I survived obviously. But people say that I shouldn't have, that it was a freak accident and a freak survival. And that I got these scars back then…" He traced them with a finger, meeting one of Sasuke's halfway. He turned his face towards Sasuke. "But really, I could have just been born with them, just that nobody remembers or cared to find out which it was. But the thing is, I guess, that I tend to survive a lot."

"You sound as if you've been close to dying a lot." Sasuke sounded worried, so Naruto intertwined their hands.

"Not really. But I heal pretty fast, and there were some incidents when I was a kid that got people talking…" He squeezed Sasuke's hand in his. "It wouldn't be so sensational if it weren't for the fact that my parents were most likely murdered."

He could feel Sasuke's shocked eyes on him, but acted as if it was no big deal. "My mom was a scientist and my dad a politician. Someone didn't like them and went crazy. It happens."

"It happens?"

Naruto lay still for a while, his grip on Sasuke's hand starting to loosen up. He sighed and rubbed his cheek with his free hand.

"What I mean is, that there's nothing weird or suspicious about it. But people obviously need something to gossip about."

Naruto sounded pretty bitter, so Sasuke held his hand harder again in silent support.

"You know I actually went through all the articles that were written about it when I was sixteen, I even talked to the police who handled the case. But no one knows anything, so I decided to just let it go. It's not like anybody was teasing me for it anymore like when I was a kid, so that's why I'm okay talking about it.

"So what it comes down to is that you've got these super powers that keep you alive when you should be dead?" Sasuke asked, sounding as if he was serious.

"It's not funny" Naruto grumbled, but couldn't help chuckling when Sasuke climbed onto him and lay right on top of him, nuzzling their noses together.

"I think it's awesome, I won't have to worry so much about you" Sasuke said in a more teasing voice. Then he grew more serious again. "Isn't tomorrow All Saints' Day?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We can go visit their graves. I can introduce you to my father too."

Naruto frowned, but then relaxed again. "Sure, we can light some candles, it'll be nice" he said and put his arms around Sasuke's back. "You're kinda heavy you know."

"Don't say that, I'm comfy here."

Naruto snorted. "Right. Let me know if you get uncomfy then."

"Not very likely."

"Sasuke…"

"Can we have sex instead? I'm wide awake now."

Naruto sighed and leaned his head back into the pillow. "Seriously?" he groaned.

"Only if you want to" Sasuke said hurriedly.

"Let's save it for tomorrow."

"Fine" Sasuke pouted and rolled off of Naruto, settling for cuddling instead. "And to think I even rushed to get dressed like you told me before we left" he mumbled.

Naruto pinched him. Sasuke pinched back.

"Thanks, by the way" Naruto said.

"You're welcome."

"Do you even know what I'm thanking you for?"

"No, but it's the polite thing to answer isn't it?"

"Yeah, whatever."

They were silent for a while.

"It's for doing all that for me, I mean, Kiba and listening and everything."

"Don't make this awkward just before we go to sleep Naruto. We were having such a great- ouch!" Sasuke rubbed his arm and glared at Naruto's dark form. "What was that for?"

"You being a bastard."

"Hn."

They were silent for another moment. Then Naruto rolled to his side and leaned over Sasuke, mimicking his earlier position.

"I wasn't trying to make things awkward."

"I know. But it's fine if you just kiss me you know."

Naruto snorted again. But he did close the distance, kissing Sasuke, just lips moving against lips.

"Sleep well Sasuke" he murmured and found a comfortable position, on his back with his head on Sasuke's arm, their hands intertwined again.

"You too" Sasuke whispered, and soon they were both fast asleep.


Just to clear any confusion up, in Sweden (which is where I live if anybody missed that) All Saints' day is not a set date, it's the Saturday between the 31st of October and 6th of November. Apparently we needed another holiday in the 50's... So yeah today was Friday! Heh...

Btw this chapter was FUN to write:p And all your praise just forces me to write more, not that I'm complaining...

My mom is watching this really sad drama/documentary about the aids epidemic in Sweden during the 80's, and it's sad I tell you. But good. Sucks to know that even Sweden that's now such a gayfriendly country treated homosexuals like shit not long ago. I'm just gonna go sleep now...