Did I just? Yeah, I just wrote another chapter, ahead of schedule and definitely not planned. Lucky you:p No lemons in this one though, but probably next one will picture Naruto's uke-kink... Question is what it's going to be...
It's really late, and it's a funny fact that my little sister is stalking me on ff but only reads the AN:s and reviews for this story... hello little sister, shouldn't you be doing your homework instead of reading this? Seriously who reads the AN but not the chapter? Crazy crazy.
Now, this is another more serious chapter, but there shall be more on this theme later on as well. Just so you know, since it's pretty short.
I blame the title on my sleep-deprived brainX)
Chapter fifteen: Visiting the dragon's lair
'
"This isn't going to end well."
Sasuke frowned at hearing Naruto's mumbled comment. He was busy straightening the blond's tie, completing his outfit. He was currently wearing a dark blue suit, fresh from Sasuke's favorite store, and his personal tailor had done a good job.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, stepping back to admire his boyfriend. A good job indeed. "When we get back home we're going to have sex, how is this not going to end well?"
"But Sasukeee" Naruto whined. "I'm going to be roasted alive! And then your mother will decorate me with diamonds and exotic sauce and all the guests will eat me…"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and met Naruto's despaired look with a blank one.
"And why did you have to buy me this ridiculously expensive suit, I bet it's worth more than my yearly income! Seriously Sasuke I'm going to be so out of place I might as well wear a Lolita dress!"
"As cute as that would be, the invitation said formal."
"God damn it Sasuke listen to me!"
"No Naruto" Sasuke said and stepped forward again, gripping Naruto's upper arms and staring into his eyes. "You're going to listen to me. My mother is looking forward to meeting you, and as much of a lie as that is it would be even worse to not show up."
"But-" Naruto protested half-heartedly, shutting up and biting his lips when Sasuke silenced him with a glare.
"Secondly, I've been dreaming about this for a longer time than I've known you, so don't you dare back out now."
The last part Sasuke said hotly, his face barely an inch from Naruto's, the blond gulping loudly before processing the words.
"Wait what?"
Sasuke sighed and let go of him, running a hand through his hair and grimacing when he remembered he'd just fixed it. He really needed to stop doing that.
"You know" he mumbled, looking to the side as if embarrassed. "Introducing my boyfriend to my family officially…"
"And to the rest of the country's business society" Naruto snorted, but he still smiled a little. "Look, I'm just worried I'll mess up okay? It's not like I'd know what to do and say, I mean, I'm just a…" He trailed off.
"Don't say that" Sasuke snapped at him, glare returning. "You're not 'just a' something, you're my boyfriend and that makes you a hundred times better than all the people at that dinner party."
"Even Itachi?"
Sasuke returned the amused look Naruto gave him.
"Well, maybe only ten times better than him. But still, in my books you are currently number one, and I intend," he paused and walked closer to Naruto again, putting his arms around his lower back and pulling him forwards the rest of the way so the blond was satisfyingly pressed against him, "to keep you that way."
Naruto looked down, and then glanced up again, meeting Sasuke's serious eyes. Sasuke definitely had a thing for saying mushy stuff to make him blush and feel a warm tingling throughout his body. Then he sighed and leaned his forehead against Sasuke's.
"Just don't let me do anything stupid" he said, and Sasuke smirked.
"I'll do what I can, but I can't perform miracles."
"Bastard!" Naruto yelled and punched him, but Sasuke hugged him closer and pressed their lips together hard, just holding them there before releasing them with a loud 'mwah!'.
"Have you been reading too many love stories on the internet again?" Naruto asked with amusement, and Sasuke huffed.
"No" he denied, thinking that telling Naruto about that had been a very bad idea. "I'm just trying to tell you that whatever you do, it's not like I'd mind getting fired or having people think I'm crazy.
"Of course you'd mind, you're just trying to be nice."
"Well, at least I'm trying."
Damn it, Sasuke had a point. Naruto sighed again in defeat.
"Fine bastard, but only if you let me have ramen for dinner tomorrow. And you'll bake me a cake."
"Hn. I should have never made you that cake. You'll get fat."
"Ha! My body doesn't know what the word fat means! I mean look at me!"
Naruto pushed Sasuke off and started flexing his muscles, as much as he could wearing the suit.
"By the way, I bought the suit because you look hot in it."
"Really?"
"I'm going to have to beat people off you with a stick."
Naruto flashed a smug grin, then strolled into Sasuke's wardrobe to admire himself in the mirror.
"I do look pretty sexy don't I" he commented, coming back out and grinning at Sasuke who simply rolled his eyes.
"Yes dear, now let's go, we're cutting it close as it is."
Naruto pouted, but followed Sasuke into the hallway. As reassuring as Sasuke had tried to be, he still had a heavy stone of unease rolling around in his stomach. His rather empty stomach actually. He hoped the food would be good at least.
~Line breaker~
Naruto held his glass of champagne so tightly his fingers were starting to cramp, trying very hard to not look as nervous as he felt. It didn't help that everyone else in the room was watching him, probably talking about him too. And no, he was definitely not exaggerating. And Sasuke… Well, maybe his transformation shouldn't have come as such a shock to him, but it did. He walked the earth as if it had been custom-made for him and him only, the other guests thought of as hardly worthy of his presence. He greeted a few of them, introducing Naruto but never indulging in conversation. Oh, Naruto could feel the eyes burning into his back as they moved across the spacious room, curiosity in a lovely mixture with jealousy and possibly some contempt. And of course complete and utter adoration for Sasuke.
His nerves were so tightly strung he felt like any sudden movements would cause them to snap, the cut clean and sharp, and then the beautifully clad men and women would feast on his weaknesses… Naruto sent a silent thought to Sasuke, thanking him profusely for the lack of words he'd had to utter in front of the others so far. At least he hadn't managed to screw up yet, but oh his brain was probably just waiting for the right moment.
As they moved through the people, a goal only Sasuke knew in mind, Naruto tried not to stare at the interior of the house and the present guests too openly. Sasuke's childhood home was located in a part of the city that Naruto had actually been to before, visiting museums and walking through some of the parks, usually because of school bringing him there. There were few houses here that people actually lived in, and Naruto didn't want to think about the house prices. This particular one was overlooking one of the city's small harbors, the outline of the city clearly visible across the stretch of water. The view was, of course, great. And Sasuke had promised to show him his old room later. Which would be fun, if he could somehow survive through dinner first…
A passing waiter offered to refill Naruto's glass, which wasn't even half-empty, but Naruto allowed him since Sasuke also held his already empty one out. They were almost at the other end of the impressive - maybe hall was a good word for it - which was empty save for the people moving about like slow softly colored waves and the large modernist paintings on the walls. It all looked very tasteful and modern, but Sasuke wasn't looking at any of this. His gaze was fixated on someone standing by the windows taking up almost the whole wall that faced the harbor, the glittering lights from the city and the ships and smaller boats easily seen through the dark evening outside. Too late Naruto noticed the object of Sasuke's intense staring, but once he did he wanted to turn around and run. There stood Itachi, conversing with some old lady, and there, dramatically illuminated underneath the bright light of an artistic lamp hanging down from the high ceiling, stood Sasuke's mother. If Sasuke hadn't held Naruto's arm in such a tight grip he might have actually ashamed Sasuke for eternity and slipped away to hide out in the bathroom. Now, he felt as if Sasuke was dragging him towards his Doom, capital D. Because there was just no way in hell Mikoto would like him. Even if Naruto had a record of 99.99% of successfully making people like him, Sasuke's mother would surely fall under that 0.01% that didn't. It didn't help that his brain had ceased to function and he felt as if he was sweating floods, his fingers trembling almost imperceptibly but his heart beating so loud in his ears he just knew the whole damn city could hear it.
It was with a sinking feeling in his gut that he realized that he'd never wanted to impress a human being as much as he wanted to impress Uchiha Mikoto. And that, if anything, told him how important Sasuke had become to him during the five weeks they'd known each other. And he really, really didn't want things to end here. It didn't matter that Sasuke had told him over and over again that his mother's opinion didn't matter, because it did. It mattered to Naruto, and it would matter to everyone else who felt like they had a saying in their relationship, because Sasuke was a man known to the public even if that was easy to forget sometimes. Naruto didn't want to be a smudge on Sasuke's reputation, which had already gotten a few due to the affair with Sakura.
In the middle of all the thoughts tumbling over each other in Naruto's head that was starting to feel a little dizzy, they'd reached their destination. Itachi acted like Uchihas apparently were supposed to in public, shaking Naruto's hand shortly with a nod of recognition after doing the same to his brother, but otherwise not giving any hints to the fact that they'd bonded over Sasuke's shopping hysteria three times already. He then turned back to the old lady he'd been talking to and resumed their conversation. Naruto wanted to sink through the floor like quicksand, but swallowed and told himself angrily to man up. His mouth felt dry and his palms sweaty, and he hoped Mikoto wouldn't notice too much as he stretched out his right hand to meet hers. He smiled at her, panicking inside his head because she didn't say anything, and he had no idea if he was supposed to start talking himself or just shut up and pray that this was all he had to do.
"Mother, meet Naruto, my boyfriend."
Naruto met Mikoto's dark eyes as they sized him up, and he concentrated desperately on staying steady. Watching her face, and the grace with which she moved her body, it was easy to see where Sasuke got it all from. She was beautiful, could easily have been a model in her younger years, - hell maybe even now! - and the faint wrinkles in the corners of her eyes suggested that none of it was fake. Her dark bluish hair was styled but falling freely, the dark cocktail dress making her skin look even fairer than it was but not to the point of making her look sick. If you looked closer though, you could see that she seemed a little… worn. She hadn't managed to completely hide the dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes were detached rather than interested as they looked him over, then settled on his face again.
"A disappointment, the same as you."
Her lofty, disinterested voice made Naruto want to scream. How could she say that!? But Sasuke squeezed his arm, sending him a warning look, and Naruto bit his tongue to keep it all inside.
"If that's how you see it, I see it differently however."
Sasuke's voice was like steel, building a protective construction around the two of them, and Naruto wanted to hold his hand but that wouldn't do for an Uchiha to do in a setting such as this. He hadn't really thought of all this before, that being with Sasuke would be more than just hot sex and a lot of fun. Even Sasuke's prissy moments were fun. But standing here, in front of Sasuke's mother, watched by all these people… People calling our modern-day society equal and claiming class to be a thing of the past had clearly not been to this dinner party before. He could see himself in the other's eyes; his moderate high school grades, his low-paying job as a waiter at some unimportant restaurant, his up-bringing lacking the etiquette these people had probably known before they were born…
Naruto wasn't the kind of person who cared about things like social status, he'd be friends with anybody anywhere, but there were moments when he just felt so, outside. He'd grown up in a run-down apartment, spending quite a few years being looked down upon, never being particularly bright in school and forced to work hard to get through that as well as any sports he'd taken part in. And sometimes he'd walked past houses that looked so nice, and the people in them always seemed so happy to him, and whenever he talked to people who had more money than average, or just more than he himself had, he'd feel as if they were living in another, separate world, even though they shared the same city, the same school or whatever. Naruto couldn't buy a new phone simply because he wanted to, even if he needed to, and he shared that with a lot of people, but not these people. And he hated that this fact made him feel so belittled. He glared at Mikoto, her face not showing any reaction. If she wasn't able to act properly in public, then Naruto would prove himself better. He straightened up, head held high and a pleasant smile on his face. He'd always been good at faking smiles.
"It was a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Uchiha, but I'm sure you have many important guests to tend to. Please, don't let us interrupt you. The house is lovely by the way." He turned to Sasuke, offering his arm, just to subtly piss Mikoto off with their gayness. "Shall we?"
Sasuke stared at him for a second, but then he smiled and breathed out, looking as if a heavy weight fell off his shoulders. "Lead the way" he said and laid his arm on Naruto's, with a grace girls would be jealous of. With a last polite nod to Mikoto, who was looking rather disapproving with her lips in a thin line, Naruto walked Sasuke across half the room. They stopped at a small table where appetizers had been placed, and their eyes met briefly. Naruto's were resolute, a tad of worry showing, but Sasuke was screaming 'I want you so badly right fucking now' silently, and Naruto had to look away before he did something that was considered indecent in public. Whatever he'd done it didn't seem like he'd messed up at least, and he felt his limbs slowly relaxing. He took a big sip of the champagne, he'd never been a fan of the taste, and let it moisten his dry throat. Sasuke was still watching him, but so was the rest of the room, and both of them heaved sighs of relief when dinner was announced. So far still alive.
~Line breaker~
Dinner was stiff, boring and there is absolutely no point in indulging in a description. The food was decent, although Naruto seemed to think it was a gift from heaven and ate as much as he could without being rude. Sasuke couldn't stop the blood rushing through his body in mind-numbing waves, he'd suppress them only to have something remind him of Naruto again and he'd be helpless against the heat making him almost shudder. What Naruto had done… Sasuke hadn't had any illusions that his mother would like Naruto. His brother had already told him how she took the news about his relationship, and it wasn't good. It grated on his nerves that he'd always had such trouble standing up to his parents, when he stopped Naruto from talking back it was out of habit, the way he'd stopped himself so many times before. But Naruto had swallowed the hasty words his sudden anger had produced and instead acted so incredibly mature, much more mature than Sasuke felt in that moment. That was the cause for his happy rushes, unable to deny how his mind relished in knowing that Naruto was able to act like that, and doing it to avoid conflict and to protect Sasuke. And god knows Sasuke could use a little protection between himself and his parents' (since his father's death only his mother's, but still) harsh words. He'd been too close to throwing himself in Naruto's arms in front of everybody, which would be embarrassing even without an audience, and he couldn't wait to show Naruto his room after dinner. So many feelings were swirling in his head, creating quite the storm, and he kept as quiet as possible throughout the three courses of the seemingly never-ending dinner.
When they were finally free, Sasuke discreetly brought Naruto into a quieter part of the large house and up a flight of stairs. Alone at last he took Naruto's hand in his, the warmth reassuring and calming him down. They reached the door to his old room, he hadn't entered it since early that summer when he'd stayed over a few nights, and he pushed it open with the sense of nostalgia that always washed over him when he did that.
He stepped inside, Naruto following closely but then letting go of his hand and walking over to the window.
"Nice view" Naruto commented, and turned his head to find Sasuke sitting on his old bed, a light red bedspread covering it.
"It's the only thing I miss about living here."
Naruto didn't reply, he simply looked back out into the night before walking over to the bed and dropping down beside Sasuke. He let himself fall back down on it, his head almost bumping into the wall. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering what it must have been like to wake up in this bed every morning as compared to his own.
"What are you thinking?" Sasuke asked, his voice subdued as he put his hands behind him on the bed and leaned on them, turning a little so he could see Naruto.
It took a while before Naruto answered, and when he did he met Sasuke's dark eyes.
"I kinda get why you don't like these kinds of dinner parties."
Sasuke snorted and then lay down as well, turning his head towards Naruto.
"I'm really impressed by you."
Naruto raised his eyebrows in apparent disbelief.
"It's true, my mother is going to have a fit and the best part is, she can't even claim you were acting impolite."
Naruto sighed and closed his eyes, but turned onto his side to face Sasuke when the raven put his hand against his arm. He intertwined their fingers, shuffling slightly to make himself comfortable on the narrow bed.
"Your bed is pretty small" he commented.
"Well, it's not like I was supposed to have company."
"Do you think-" Naruto started, then bit his lip as if unsure of how to continue.
"Do I think what?"
Sasuke watched Naruto, tracing his features with his eyes. His cheeks with the scars in straight lines, his nose, eyebrows, forehead and then back down to his lips that were still being gnawed on. Naruto's eyes were serious, the same seriousness he'd had the first morning when telling each other about their problems, and it felt so long ago.
"That we can really do this. That we can, well, work out. For real. Not just being together because we kinda like each other, but…" he trailed off, the rest of his sentence communicated wordlessly through his eyes, and Sasuke felt his chest constricting and stealing his breath, and it felt so utterly and incredibly right. He let out the breath he'd been holding, and moved closer to Naruto, their intertwined hands uncomfortably pressed between their bodies and the heat from the other making their hearts beat more soundly.
"Yes" he breathed onto Naruto's lips, his blood doing that rushing thing again and his whole body feeling all tingly and sensitive, and he wanted to be closer to Naruto, he wanted to know everything about him, his dreams, fears, past and future. "I want that…" His heart was pounding, drenching out all sounds except his and Naruto's breathing as he leaned even closer, their lips brushing and his chest exploding.
"I want you" he breathed, and they were kissing like there was no tomorrow.
Who cares if Sasuke's mother is a bitch? Who cares if they had a lot of things to work on, bucket loads of baggage and doubts? Their hearts were yearning for more, and the feeling conveyed in that kiss, that they wanted each other, needed each other just as much as the other did, it wasn't enough. Maybe they would never get enough, but Sasuke secretly liked the thought that one day, he would love Naruto so much it simply wasn't possible to love another person any more than he already did, and when Naruto let go of his hand and instead reached around him to hold him close he knew that if that point was even possible, then he'd reach it because of Naruto. And that could sound however damned sappy it wanted to.
How cute are these two? Like really? This chapter just struck me as I was (un)happily reading a novel for school... I can't say I minded the distraction. Do you want more of Mikoto in next chapter, or should I just write another kinky lemon? XP
