Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been at Katsucon in Washington D.C... I bought a yaoi paddle and smacked a bunch of hot gay guys:Hearts: AND I got a picture taken with the best Kyo (from Dir en Grey) cosplayer EVER! He looked exactly like him, sang, and screamed just like him. God, I was on cloud nine! ... and I got humped by a gay guy! XD
This chapter was typed on one of my "uber exhaustion days". Meaning, right after I got back from the convention. So sorry if it sucks. I'll make it up with the next chap, promise. So sleepy... :Collapses:
"You're going to what?" Ten Ten asked Sakura, who was humming happily as she put the new shipment of toys on their appropriate shelves. The whole day, the pink-haired worker had been singing, humming, and dancing around as she worked, annoying Ten Ten to no end. She loved her friend to death, but sometimes, Sakura was just too... bubbly.
"I'm going to ask Sasuke-kun out on a date," Sakura smiled dreamily as she imagined the raven holding her hand as they walked through the mall together, only smiling for her, "but I don't know how. He's always hanging around with Naruto," yes, she was jealous of her blond friend. She knew he was straight and would never steal her precious Sasuke-kun away from her, but she was still angry that her crush was never alone.
"You know," Ten Ten started, her arms crossed, "you could just ask him out, anyway. How is Naruto being there stopping you?"
"I want to ask him in private!" she blushed, "under the stars."
The other worker rolled her eyes and began walking away from her friend, "You have fun with that. My break's over, I'm going back to the deli to help Hinata."
Sasuke-kun will soon be mine, Sakura cheered inwardly, not noticing the little boy walking down the aisle, browsing around for a toy. She threw her arms in the air and let out a loud "all mine!". Being pulled out of her dream world by the small boy tugging on her vest, she looked down.
"I'm sure they don't pay you to daydream, lady," he pointed up at the top shelf, "and hand me that toy."
Sakura felt her right eye twitch.
xXxXx
Naruto freaked when the doors to the other room opened, the kids and watchers coming back in from their lunch break. He shoved Sasuke towards the door and they both ran. Well, Naruto ran, Sasuke just moved quickly, looking annoyed.
"What about Silo and Jack?" he asked as he was practically thrown outside.
"Oh, they'll be let out eventually. LET'S GO!" Naruto unlocked his car and they both got in. He started the engine and backed out.
"Do you think he confessed?" Sasuke asked, crossing his legs.
"Silo cracks under pressure. And, you see, when he was younger, when I wanted him to tell me things, I'd lock him in a closet--"
Sasuke sighed, "So you abused him?"
"It wasn't abuse, Teme!" the blond growled, "now, do you want me to drop you off at Kiba's place? Or do you want to hang around with me in my trashy apartment?" he grinned, "you can help me clean!"
"Hn, take me home."
Naruto scrunched up his nose, "You're no fun."
xXxXx
Walking up the gravel path, Sasuke pulled out his cellphone, noting that he had one missed call. Putting it to his ear, he listened to the voice message.
"I've arrived in Maryland, Otouto. I should be at Kiba's within the hour."
Yanking the phone away, he looked down at when his brother had called.
11:43 a.m.
And right now, it was 1:20 p.m.
He walked faster and entered the home, but no one was in the kitchen, dining room, or living room. Placing his cellphone on the counter, he walked further inside, stopping after he heard a creaking of floorboards upstairs. Going up the stairs, he glanced down the empty hallway, noticing a shadow on the open door of one of the guest rooms.
"Otouto," a voice behind him purred.
Sasuke turned harshly and came face to face with his older brother, Itachi. The man looked very similar to the actor, except his dark hair cascaded over his shoulder in watery locks, and there were long lines going from his eyes to mid cheek. The elder had raised brows and his lips were in a straight line as Sasuke frowned.
"You don't look happy to see me," Itachi stated and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, the piercing on the lobe shimmering under the hallway lights.
Sasuke tucked his hands into his pockets and frowned, "You just scared me. I thought you were in the guest room."
Chuckling, Itachi started unbuttoning his red and black cloak. The item of clothing was always on him when he went out. It was a mark of who he was, who he used to be, and what he will always be in the future. A member of the Akatsuki, "That is dear Tobi. He wanted to come with me on this trip, and how could I deny him?"
Tobi was another member of the Akatsuki. He had short brown hair and always wore a bright orange mask over his face, even when he slept (amazingly enough).
Now, the Akatsuki is a group of nine members who are well known in the acting industry. They're called assassins, for the reason that they could destroy any actor or actress's career overnight. They could favor someone and put them high up in status just as quick, too. But they do this all secretly, nobody knowing their identities.
Sasuke knew that if Itachi didn't like Naruto, the blond would never be able to become famous, never be able to make the money he wanted in order to live a good life. But he knew Naruto was good enough.
"Now, where is this Naruto person?" Itachi asked as he folded his cloak over his left arm.
"At his apartment."
"Hm, I see. Bring him over tonight for dinner... I'll see if he's worthy of becoming an actor contracted to our company," he walked around his younger brother and went into the guest room, Tobi greeting him politely as he entered.
Frowning, Sasuke went back downstairs, Kakashi coming through the front door.
"Is Itachi here yet? Kiba called from the store and told me he arrived at the airport earlier," the silver-haired man placed his car keys on top of the microwave.
"He's upstairs with Tobi," Sasuke answered and sat down on the couch, "and don't say anything about the dobe while around him. I can tell he wants to use him for his own amusement," yes, he could definitely figure out his older brother's intentions by the type of smile the man wore on his face.
xXxXx
Naruto stood outside of the daycare, glancing at his watch every once and a while. He had quickly left with Sasuke earlier, but now it was time to pick his son up and he waited patiently outside the glass doors. Well, he wasn't really being patient because he was constantly leaping from foot to foot, eagerly awaiting for the long hand on his watch to strike twelve.
I hope it went well for him. Being shot down when you're five wouldn't be so great, he thought to himself, but was rattled from his thoughts by the alarm on his watch going off. Immediately running inside, he saw Silo talking with Jack, the raven-haired boy smiling and blushing, his hand covered by the other boy's. The blond felt himself melt at the cute scene before him.
"Silo!" he called.
The crow turned and saw his father by the door. He looked at Jack and his blush deepened as the brunette brushed his lips against his cheek in good-bye. Smiling and standing up, Silo grabbed his bag, "Bye," he said softly and ran to Naruto, his smile bright and strong.
"I'm guessing it went well?" Naruto asked, grinning. The both of them went outside and got into Naruto's car, Silo's smile never wavering.
"He said he liked me, too," the crow whispered, cheeks still dusted pink, "a-and he kissed me on the cheek, Chichiue..."
Naruto smiled and drove out of the parking lot, "Sounds like I'm going to be seeing a lot more of him in the future. You should invite him over for dinner."
Silo blinked, "Chichiue... we're only five, not sixteen."
Laughing out loud, Naruto nodded as he stopped at a red light, "So true. But you're growing up so fast... It seems like just yesterday you were crying in my arms, wrapped in a baby blue blanket, no hair on your head whatsoever," he grinned at the memory, "and tomorrow you'll be married with some nice gentleman," he sighed, Damn, I thought it was only the mothers who said crap like that.
Silo giggled, "Chichiue, tomorrow I'll still be five."
"Yeah, I know..."
xXxXx
Walking up the stairs to their apartmert, Naruto and Silo talked about random things, ranging from what they were going to have for dinner to why they thought millipedes had all those little legs. As they entered the second story hallway, Naruto saw their landlord standing outside of their door, putting a piece of paper on it.
"Chiyose-san?" he asked, approaching her, "what's that?"
"Everyone's rent is going up and extra $300," the old woman said, her voice raspy from years of smoking. Her gray hair was tied up in a messy bun and her slanted eyes were a dirty brown, "I need the money in order to keep the building. Some big business wants to buy the land."
Naruto's eyes widened, "$300?.!," he screeched, "you're kidding, right?.! What I'm paying now is all I can afford!"
"I'm sorry, kid, but you either pay up or move out," she snapped and shuffled to the stairs, intending to go upstairs to put a notice on everyone elses doors, as well. When she was gone, Silo looked up at his dad, seeing his usually happy blue eyes tainted with anger.
"Ch-Chichiue?"
"That's a bunch of shit!" he cursed, kicking the wall harshly, "how am I supposed to pay the rent now?.!" he growled and pulled the apartment key out, unlocking the door. Silo followed him inside, but kept his distance, knowing that they'd probably have to move out. It happened to them before, but he'd thought that his father's job could pay the rent now and that wouldn't happen.
"Are we... going to move again?" the crow asked quietly, Naruto seething in the kitchen as he pulled out two cups of ramen.
Swallowing his rage, Naruto answered, "I don't know. I-I can't really ask for another raise..."
Silo sat down at their table and looked down, "It's ok if we have to... I understand," he blinked when he was hugged by Naruto.
"You're so mature," the blond laughed bitterly, "of course, living a life like the one you have can make you grow up a lot faster," he let go when the phone began to ring and went to answer it. He picked it up and pressed the talk button, "Yeah?"
"Naruto-san, it's Sai. I wanted to know if I could come over for a while."
"About that," Naruto practically growled, "that's not such a good idea. I'm going to start packing right now."
"Packing...?"
"The frickin' rent went up a few hundred bucks and I can't pay that much," he sighed, running his fingers through thick, blond locks, "so I suppose I'm going to have to start packing soon... Do you think you could help me look for another apartment?"
"Of course, but you should know that you two are always welcome to stay with me," Sai's voice was filled with worry.
Naruto smiled, "I know. You're the best, Sai, but I don't want to take up any space in your house. Just help me look for a place around here, ok?"
"Alright. But I'm coming over," then he hung up.
Putting the phone down, Naruto turned, watching as Silo came out of his room, Kohi in his arms. The little crow tried to smile, "W-we can take Kohi back and get the money for this month's rent...?"
Bending down and ruffling his son's hair, Naruto smiled, "No. You love Kohi."
"But I love you too, Chichiue. You like this apartment... I want you to stay here," Silo weakly argued.
Naruto pulled him into a hug and whispered, "I love you more. I want you to keep Kohi. We'll just look for another place, a better one."
Silo nodded and hugged back. He looked over his father's shoulder when the front door opened, Sai stepping in. The male was wearing a thick coat and boots, a white scarf around his neck.
"Naruto-san, I can help pay your rent if you want," was the first thing he said as he walked in.
Standing up, Naruto smiled, "Thanks, but you have bills to pay, your own rent to keep up with. I'll just find a cheaper place. It'll be fine."
Silo hugged Kohi against his chest, the snow white rabbit's nose twitching. She made no move to jump out of his arms, loving the warmth, "Ro-chan..." he greeted, despite the situation.
Sai lifted the small boy into his arms, careful of the bunny in his grip. He'd always been like another father to Silo, taking him places when he wasn't at work or busy, giving Naruto time to rest. Being a single father took a lot out of him sometimes. And knowing that Silo loved him so much... it made Sai believe that maybe that'd give him a chance with Naruto...
"You know, I don't want to be here right now," the blond said suddenly, "just sitting in here is pissing me off," he explained, walking towards the door. He then gave them a small grin, "how about we head over to see dear ol' Teme?"
Silo smiled brightly, "I want to see Uchiha-san!"
Sai just shrugged, feeling a bit jealous that Silo was starting to like Sasuke.
xXxXx
Kiba took off his muddy boots and tossed them onto the back porch, raking his hands through his hair, brushing dirt out. He'd been out working in the fields and needed a rest. It was getting late anyway, so he'd decided to just head in for the day. Stepping in through the back doors, he saw Sasuke taking a nap on the couch and he guessed Itachi was still upstairs with Tobi. Only God knew what the hell they were up too, but Kiba already knew it was nothing sexual. Itachi wasn't really a ... touchy kind of person.
Heading to the kitchen for a cup of lemonade, his opened the fridge, but not before loud knocking echoed throughout the home. He cursed under his breath and headed towards the front door, opening it, "What the fuck do you... want?" he blinked at Naruto, Sai, and Silo, "um, fox boy? What're you doin' here?"
"We came to see Uchiha-san!" Silo chirped happily, too elated to think about their apartment problem. He ran inside and looked around, spotting the male sleeping on the couch, his silky bangs brushing against his neck, lashes caressing pale cheeks. He silently moved over to him and bent down, placing a hand on his arm, "Uchiha-san?"
Naruto and Sai stepped in, after Kiba finally moved ut of the way. The brunette mumbled something about Sasuke gaining fanboys and he went back to his task of getting a drink to quench his thirst.
"Yo, Teme!" Naruto called, effectively waking the raven from his beauty sleep. He went over to the couch and sat down on Sasuke's stomach, grinning. He was still in a pretty bad mood, but for some reason, being around the actor made him feel a bit better. Plus, even though Sasuke was a bastard, he could always lighten the mood with his rude remarks or surprisingly sweet and supportive words.
Eyes snapping open, Sasuke glared at the blond, "What are you doing here, Dobe?" he snapped. He turned to see Silo and Sai beside him. The little crow was smiling while the other raven just had a light smirk on his face, similar to his own.
"I can't pay the rent to my apartment, and--"
"Let me guess, you want money?" Sasuke kept himself from rolling his eyes. He should've known from the very beginning that the blond was like everyone else. He only wanted his money.
Itachi watched from the stairs, his interest piqued. He guessed that the loud and bold blond was Uzumaki Naruto, and he smirked when he thought Naruto was going to ask for money. But he was surprised when after Sasuke cut him off, the blond scowled.
"No, I don't want your money, Ass hole, I want you to help me find a new place. Jeez, you think I'm your friend because I want your money?" he remained sitting on Sasuke stomach, his arms crossed.
"No," Sasuke apologized, "I'm just used to people asking me for money."
Naruto snorted, "Well, I don't need it... Actually, I do, but I'm not taking it. Let's just all sit down at the table and look for a place in the newspapers," he grinned.
"Naruto-san," Sai interrupted, "if I would've known we came over here for this, I would've--"
"Come on, Sai!" Naruto jumped off of Sasuke and draped himself over his friend, "I'd appreciate it if you stayed and helped us. Please?"
Failing to resist those gorgeous blue eyes, Sai huffed, "Alright."
"Good! Everyone, let's start looking! Kiba," he turned to the brunette in the kitchen, "you want to help?"
Kiba raised a brow as he continued to gulp down cup after cup of lemonade. Wiping his mouth, he raised an eyebrow, "Help you find a place, man? Nah, I have better things to do."
Naruto frowned, "Ass hole."
Sasuke sat up, rubbing his sore stomach, and looked up as Itachi came down the steps, Tobi beside him. The elder Uchiha smiled over to the Naruto, who had heard him approach, "You must be Naruto-kun. Very pleased to meet you I'm Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother," he held out his hand, hoping the other man would take it. Sasuke watched as Naruto grinned and shook his hand, the fingers of Itachi's curling around a tan palm.
"Nice to meet you!" the blond said brightly, "you own an acting company, right? The one that Sasuke's a part of?"
"Yes," Itachi smoothly answered.
"It'll be a pleasure to work with you. Oh, um, but you'll be my boss... right?" Naruto laughed nervously.
Itachi felt his lips twitch upwards into a smirk, "Yes, but I treat all of my contracted actors and actresses as equals," he lied.
Sasuke loved his brother, he really did, but sometimes he hated the games Itachi played with himself. Ever since Itachi had became a member of the Akatsuki, he'd changed. He was still a very good brother, smart, handsome, and the perfect company owner... but he'd started playing mind games with himself, trying to entertain himself when alone and bored at work. It became a habit, and almost everything he ever did in life became a game.
And right now, Itachi wanted to see how Naruto worked. He wanted to see if he could learn all of the blond's weaknesses, strengths, pleasures, etc. Hell, Sasuke would stop him, but he knew his brother would never use the information in a negative way. Sure, he's continue to play the game until Naruto either freaked, broke down, or had sex with him. But Sasuke knew that neither of those options would happen. The blond was already too weird to be freaked so easily, he was too strong to break, and he was too straight to submit to Itachi.
"And I thought I told my otouto to invite you over for dinner. Food hasn't even been prepared yet," Itachi smiled handsomely, another part of his game.
Naruto blinked, "Dinner? No, he didn't invite us for dinner... We just came by ourselves. I wanted him to help me find a new place. The rent sort of went sky high," he scratched the back of his head.
Itachi's dark eyes gleamed as he took in that information. Knowing that Naruto had money problems was something to remember, "I see."
Standing up, Sasuke interrupted them, "Naruto, can I speak with you?"
"Huh? Sure," Naruto replied, "Sai, start looking for some places, ok?" his raven-haired friend nodded and took a seat, Silo crawling up to sit on his lap. Kiba sat down at the table as well, but not to help, just to take a nap.
Itachi watched Naruto and Sasuke go up the stairs and he smirked, then turned to Tobi, "I like him," he said, "call Deidara and Sasori. Tell them to spread the name Uzumaki Naruto all over Japan. 'Fresh American actor joins young Uchiha in romance film' is what I want to see in the headlines of the Nippon paper," he smirked.
"Hai," Tobi pulled out his cellphone from his red and black cloak, then walked outside to call two other members of the Akatsuki.
I already knew the boy could act. If my otouto says he can, then I believe him... I just wanted to see Naruto-kun for myself. I wanted to see if he;d be fun to toy around with... his smirk widened.
xXxXx
Upstairs, Naruto leaned against the wall.
"What did you want to talk about? You're not about to confess your feelings to me, are you?"
Sasuke chuckled, "Hardly. I just wanted to ask about your housing situation."
Naruto crossed his arms, "Well, the rent suddenly went up. Something about Chiyose-san not having enough money to keep ownership of the building, or whatever. It went up about $300 and there's no way in hell I could pay that much more. I already had trouble paying for the rent at it's previous price," he sighed, "but you know what really pisses me off?"
"What?" Sasuke moved next to him and leaned against the wall, too.
"That she raised the rent right around Christmas," he chuckled bitterly, "one week before Christmas, Sasuke! I wanted this year's to be the best for Silo... but I guess I failed at that mission," he looked down, "I couldn't get him the Playstation 3, and now we don't have a house of our own to live in. I doubt I'll find a place before Christmas..."
"I'll buy you one," Sasuke suddenly interrupted.
Naruto coughed, "Wh-what? Teme, I already told you I don't want your mon--"
"Merry Christmas."
Now blinking, Naruto frowned, "Huh?"
"Merry Christmas, Dobe," Sasuke smirked, "I'm buying you a new place for Christmas, so Merry Christmas."
Falling silent, Naruto's fingers twitched and a wide grin spread across his face and he laughed until he snorted. And no matter what anyone else said, the sound wasn't annoying at all, not to Sasuke.
"Damn, I could never refuse a gift from anyone," his grin widened, "thanks, Sasuke, you don't know how much this means to me and Silo."
Sasuke smiled a bit, "It's no problem. I have millions of dollars, I had to find something to spend it on."
Naruto playfully punched him in the shoulder, "Teme!" he laughed
xXxXx
Downstairs, Itachi had seated himself beside Kiba, across from Sai. Ever since Sasuke and Naruto had gone upstairs, they'd been in a continuous argument about the type of place Naruto should be living in.
"It should be near the ocean," Itachi had snorted rather childishly, his younger personality coming out.
"Naruto-san dislikes places near the sea. He's afraid of hurricanes and such," Sai hissed.
"But with eyes as blue as the sea, one should live by it."
"It's going to be his apartment. If he wants one away from the ocean, then it will be away from the ocean."
"But don't you think he would look gorgeous walking along the ocean early in the morning, blond hair--"
"I don't care how hot he looks, he doesn't want a place by the sea!" Sai growled, scaring Silo.
Itachi blinked slowly, long lashes brushing against high cheek bones for a slow instant, "I'm not very fond of you," he said bluntly.
Sai glared at him.
xXxXx
The next morning, Naruto had a bounce in his step as he worked. Customers stared at him oddly, but they didn't say anything. Why would they? They didn't know him. So he continued to work with a large smile, his words friendly as he talked with customers.
"G-G-Good morning, Naruto-kun..." Hinata stuttered her usual greeting when she saw the blond. She blushed cutely when Naruto flashed her a brilliant grin, "y-you seem very h-happy..."
"I am, Hinata!" he picked her up and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, making the girl's face heat up. Her breasts were uncomfortably pressed against Naruto's chest and she struggled a bit, but not much, being the polite person she is.
"N-Naruto-kun, p-p-please put m-me down...!" there was a slight whine in her voice. She was quickly put back down and she tapped her pointer fingers together shyly, her pale eyes staring down at her two feet that were pressed together.
"Sorry," Naruto apologized and laughed sheepishly.
"I-It's quite alright... S-so what h-has made you so happy?" she asked, looking up at him with flushed cheeks.
"My lovely Sasuke, that's what," he chuckled, "can you believe that he bought me a new apartment for Christmas?.! A new apartment!" he waved his arms around.
Hinata smiled beautifully, "H-How nice of him..."
"Oh, by the way, did you see your therapist yesterday?"
The blue-haired girl nodded, her bangs covering her eyes, "H-he said I-I'm getting s-slightly better."
Naruto smiled, "That's good. Pretty soon, you'll lose that stutter, become more confident in yourself, and be the most beautiful woman, Hinata," he said surely.
Hinata blushed prettily and took Naruto's large hand in both of her small ones, a small smile on her pink lips, "Th-thank you so much, Naruto-kun."
Bending down and kissing her on the cheek, Naruto said, "You're welcome."
"Hitting on young girls now, Dobe?"
Naruto straightened up and turned, seeing Sasuke approach his register, two items in his arms. Lube and rubber gloves, just like before. He grinned, "Planning on shoving your fist up some guy's ass, Teme?" he licked his lips enticingly, "why don't you shove it up mine, hmm? I haven't gotten laid in a good while."
Chuckling, Sasuke sat the items down, "They're for Kiba's horses."
That made Hinata blush like crazy and she muttered her good-byes before scurrying away.
Naruto raised a brow, "For... his horses?"
Sasuke glared at him, "It's for medical reasons, Dobe, not--"
"I know, I know," the blond laughed, ringing up the items, "just teasing you. Soooo what kind of place are you getting me? Ocean view?" he joked.
Sasuke played along, "I don't know. One with a big bedroom, so I can put in a large bed," he looked at Naruto with heated eyes, "big enough for you to squirm and thrash around as I pound into your tight ass."
Naruto began choking on his laughter, making his fellow workers look at him like he was nuts, "You're such a fag!" he bagged the groceries and handed them to his friend.
Sasuke smirked and took them, "I'll see you around, Dobe."
"Sasuke-kun!" a high-pitched voice called.
Sakura came running through the clothes section and she came up to them, panting. She fixed her skirt and gave the raven her best smile, a light blush on her cheeks. She seemed more dolled up today than usual, a butterfly clip in her hair, a dress snug on her curvy frame. She swung her hips from side to side, a light blush on her cheeks. She looked up at the actor with blinking emerald eyes. With the way she was acting, Naruto would've though that--
"Sasuke-kun, will you go on a date with me?"
... that Sakura liked him.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, no matter how crappy I thought it was!
Next chapter- Sakura's persistence and finding Naruto and Sasuke in a very compromising position, buying more Christmas gifts, Sasuke's talk with Sai, and a camping trip with Jack?