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Moving Memories
3: Exorcise My Demons
~ (^.^) (^.^) ~
Naruto stared at Kiba in astonishment, his face twisted into an expression of absolute confusion.
"You think he liked me?" Naruto asked incredulously. "If you think that was taking a liking to someone, then you're delusional."
He scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes away. "That'd explain why you thought Gaara'd like me too."
Even more quietly, as if it was meant to be a passive-agressive quip under his breath, Naruto added, "You clearly don't know what it means to like someone."
"I like you," Gaara defended.
Naruto's eyes lifted to Gaara, who looked passionate about his denial.
"Who said I didn't?" Gaara challenged. "Not me."
"Uh, well, let's see, when you glower at someone incessantly, that's not usually a sign of friendship ," Naruto answered, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"I'm not glowering at you," Gaara stated in the same obvious tone, though defending himself to Naruto was pushing him right to the precipice of glowering all over again.
"Well," Naruto began in exasperation, "you were! Just because you're not now doesn't mean you weren't!"
"True," Gaara agreed. "Let me ask you something, Naruto. Do you think everyone should love you?" Gaara didn't even pause for an answer. "I don't light up for you the second we meet... Sasuke doesn't go against everything that defines his entire personality and upbringing just to smile at you... Can a person have a moment of their own around you? Or does it always have to be rainbows and butterflies?" Gaara's eye brow rose high, as if he were challenging Naruto.
And the blond found it difficult, if not impossible, to ever back down from a challenge. His response was about to come out hot and spirited when Kiba interjected.
"I remember saying Gaara would like you," Kiba recalled. "—not that he'd like you from the second he met you, and I can remember telling you that he takes a bit of warming up too."
Naruto scowled. For some reason, he was feeling attacked here. "Well, whatever! That's not the point!" the blond exclaimed. "The point is that—" Naruto gestured to where Sasuke had just been seated. "—that was loathing, not liking."
"Yeah, but loathing is typical of Sasuke. If he took to you brightly, I'd be concerned for his mental health," Kiba insisted. Then, in a lighter tone that bordered on laughter, he added, "—and your life too."
"Well, that's great," Naruto said sarcastically. "If he's not absolutely unpleasant, then he's off his rocker. What a fun guy."
"He's fun," Kiba defended, although there was no true conviction in his tone. "He's just a bit sour that I went behind his back like that. If anything, he loathes me and you by association."
"If that's your attempt at comforting me," Naruto began, "it's terrible. I feel like shit."
"Why? Who gives a fuck what Sasuke thinks of you?" Gaara pressed. "It's Sasuke."
"I give a fuck!" Naruto exclaimed. "I... I'm interested in..." He trailed off, not sure how exactly to experss his investment in Sasuke. "I want his painting," he decided, turning passionate eyes once more to Kiba and Gaara. "—and I won't get it if he's loathing me by association, will I?"
"Naruto is a lot like me, Gaara," Kiba began to explain. "When people are mad at him, it tugs at his heart. He's a sensitive soul"
"Am not!" Naruto defended quickly.
Kiba smiled sympathetically, though it came off as patronizing to Naruto. "Are too," argued Kiba.
"Oh, whatever! Shut up," Naruto demanded. "I'm just… I just want that painting."
"You want that Sasuke tooooo," Kiba jested, dancing playfully in his chair and wiggling his eye brows at Naruto, who began to truly seethe.
"He's just poking fun at you," Gaara said sternly, acknowledging how riled up Naruto was getting.
Gaara couldn't decide if Naruto was embarrassed by the insinuation that he might be attracted to Sasuke, or if he was angered by it. Maybe Naruto just couldn't decide how he felt about Sasuke, or maybe he knew for certain and he wasn't going to tolerate being misinterpreted. Gaara couln't tell, but he could see that Naruto was taking the jokes to heart. Gaara knew that sometimes being too playful could be hurtful, but Kiba was often oblivious of that fact.
"You do have a sensitive soul though. So do I!" Kiba added when Naruto glared at him. "Who cares? Why deny it? It's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you're a good guy. Right, Gaara?" Kiba turned expectant eyes to his companion.
"Sure," Gaara said dismissively. His brows pulled together slightly in an expression of concern as he watched Naruto clench his jaw in irritation and pick at the edge of the table, which he stared at intently.
"Excuse me?" Kiba insisted. "I said, isn't that right Gaara?"
Gaara sighed, rolling his eyes to Kiba. "Of course, dear," Gaara agreed. "Your sensitive soul makes you a great guy. No, a wonderful guy, no, stupendous, no—" Gaara's dramaticized excitement grew until he was just about to shout when Kiba slapped his hand firmly against Gaara's mouth, laughing at him.
"Alright," Kiba said, chuckling, "I get it. Don't get carried away."
Gaara removed Kiba's hand from his mouth and said seriously, "I could say the same to you." He nodded his head toward Naruto, giving Kiba an intent stare full of unspoken expectations.
"I'll bet you can still get the painting," Kiba said to Nauto.
The blond looked up at Kiba, his expresion relaxing slightly.
Kiba couldn't help himself when he added with a wink, "Probably Sasuke too."
Naruto's lips pulled into a tight line, but he chose to ignore that quip. "How so?" he asked simply.
"Well, he did like you," Kiba pointed out.
"Not that," Naruto interrupted quickly, perhaps a bit hotly. "The painting!"
Kiba chuckled, but Gaara elbowed him in the side. "I'll bet he'd hand it over if you asked nicely," Kiba suggested. "Like I said, he liked you."
Naruto rolled his eyes at the suggestion. "Whatever. He did not like me."
"He liked you before Kiba went and told him about the painting," Gaara pointed out, turning an accusatory glance to Kiba. But it didn't late. It melted the instant Kiba's eyes met his.
Despite Sasuke's temper and attitude, he could end up being fun with a few drinks in him, as long as you were careful to let him steer the conversation and events to transpire in his own way. His company was actually quite important to Kiba and Gaara both, though for certainly different reasons. Kiba tended to hide his true feelings under humor, and Gaara tended to just never admit he had them in the first place. Truthfully, Gaara was annoyed and disappointed that Kiba had run Sasuke off after a mere half an hour, but he knew Kiba was feeling guilty and disappointed about it too.
"Hey!" Kiba began to defend himself, but Gaara interjected with a gentle touch to the man's lower back and a nod of understanding. There was a moment of silence between them before Kiba went on. "The painting was the whole reason I invited Naruto," he explained. "I said he could meet Sasuke over beers." His eyes fell to his lap and his voice was weakened when he added, "What was I supposed to do?"
"Not piss Sasuke off," Naruto offered, raising an eyebrow and daring Kiba to argue.
Kiba's eyes lifted to meet Naruto's, and his expression was pathetic. Naruto actually felt bad.
"You're accusing me of treason too?" Kiba asked.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders in what was supposed to be innocence. "You dug your own grave."
Kiba just stared for a moment, but Naruto's lips cracked into a tiny semblence of a smile. The brunet grinned and made to punch Naruto playfully, but he fell from his bar stool instead. Gaara reacted quickly, catching Kiba before he could really fall. Naruto laughed at Kiba's expense, and Kiba chuckled along with him.
When the laughter died and with the promising return of a pleasant atmosphere, Gaara asked, "Seriously though, Naruto, what's so interesting about that painting?"
"I don't know," Naruto answered, shrugging his shoulders and trying to seem casual, like he wasn't all that interested. "It's… It's just interesting, I guess. I think it says a lot. About Sasuke, I mean. About a lot of things, actually."
"So do I," Kiba agreed. "I'm glad someone understands my point of view." With that, Kiba shot Gaara a sideways glance. Clearly, they had disagreed over it.
"What d'you think of it?" Naruto asked Gaara.
"I think that all of Sasuke's work says something," Gaara said matter-of-factly.
"What?" Kiba exclaimed automatically. "You do?"
"Well, yeah," Gaara said, shrugging as if the answer should have been obvious.
"I didn't know that," Kiba replied. "I thought you just enjoyed arguing with me about it. You didn't explain that to me when—"
"You never gave me a chance to explain," Gaara interjected. "I've always thought Sasuke's work was interesting. It should go to people who truly admire it, but Sasuke is… Sasuke. You can't butt heads with him. He'll always win."
"So you don't think that this piece is any more extraordinary than the rest?" Naruto questioned.
"No," Kiba answered for Gaara at once.
"Yes," Gaara disagreed, much to Kiba's surprise. "I do."
"What?" Kiba exclaimed again, repeating himself exactly. "You do?"
"I do," Gaara confirmed with a light chuckle. "I'm more curious as to why you see it as something extraordinary," he directed to Naruto.
Kiba also looked to Naruto, who shrugged. The blond was trying to seem casual again.
"It's complex," Naruto began. "It makes me curious, about a lot of things. It makes me wonder about Sasuke and his methods," he explained slowly, his vision blurring as he remembered the image in his mind.
A small smile tugged at his lips, though his brows pulled together in a more serious expression, as if he were scrutinizing it in person all over again.
"It makes me wonder what caused him to start with it, what caused him to end. How did he choose to paint it that way? And when he got deep into the thick of it, how did he pull away and let it go?" There was a momentary pause, in which Naruto became increasingly more serious. "Did he let it go?" he ruminated.
When he refocused on his new friends, Kiba and Gaara were exchanging significant glances and smiling at each other.
"What?" Naruto asked, suspicious.
"If you wanna understand Sasuke, you're shit out of luck," Gaara said blatantly. "There is way too much baggage in—"
"It sounds like you're the perfect person for the painting," Kiba interjected, negligent of Gaara's remark. "Just like I've been saying."
Naruto would have ran with the topic of Sasuke's baggage though.
"Sure," Gaara agreed.
Gaara had to wonder about Kiba's motives. Was he truly concerned about Sasuke's painting receiving the praise and attention it deserved? The way Naruto spoke about the painting, making it so personal... it made Gaara wonder if Naruto would be able to help making Sasuke so personal too. Did Kiba want Naruto to look for answers about Sasuke instead of just the painting? Naruto had said that he was curious about Sasuke's methods, but would he also be curious about the motivation? Would he want to find the source of Sasuke's pain? And if so, what would he want to do? If he truly was like Kiba, then he would never let go until he smoothed every rough edge out of Sasuke. Was this Kiba's intent? Was he trrying to fix Sasuke up for real this time?
"Yeah, well, I'll never get it now," Naruto stated unhappily.
"I'm sure you can still get the painting," Gaara assured.
Naruto smiled at Gaara, mostly trying to convince himself to be happier, and nodded, even though he didn't really believe Gaara's words.
"And I do like you," Gaara added with a smile.
Naruto's smile widened and grew more genuine. He nodded again more earnestly.
"It looks like they're off," Kiba noted as a change in subject, nodding past Naruto at the band that had stopped playing in the background.
Gaara turned his attention past Naruto too and toward the lead singer, who was pronouncing his love for the crowd dramatically. When Naruto also looked that direction, turning his head over his own shoulder, Gaara leaned close to Kiba.
"Is he willing?" he whispered, bringing up what should have been the elephant in the room from the beginning, not the painting.
When Kiba looked at him, Gaara could sense that Kiba hadn't thought this through at all.
Gaara sighed, his expression becoming concerned. "Kiba, does he know—"
Naruto looked back at the pair before him. "You know the band?" he asked, slightly impressed. People who knew bands were always cool.
"Yeah," Kiba affirmed, trying to smile. "They're friends of ours."
Naruto looked at Gaara, who would not stop staring at Kiba's face intently. When Kiba noticed Naruto noticing the sudden shift in mood, he elbowed Gaara and looked at the man expectantly.
"Hardly," Gaara added bitterly.
Naruto knit his brows in confusion, unsure of the cause of the sudden shift in dynamic.
"You don't like them?" he asked Gaara.
Gaara scoffed and finally looked from Kiba, to Naruto, to the band mates once again.
"He likes them," Kiba answered, more as a warning to Gaara than as a response to Naruto.
Gaara snorted with humorless laughter. "I don't hate them all, just one."
"Gaara," Kiba warned. "Be nice."
Gaara rolled his eyes back to Kiba's face. "I'll play nice, but if that asshole presses me, I'll rip his throat out," he said hotly.
"He's always perfectly polite to you," Kiba argued.
"Yeah, perfectly polite and smug as fuck," Gaara spat. "And don't forget the situation we're putting him in Kiba," Gaara added. "When faced with Naruto, we're basically asking him to let his inner fuck out. I'll be surprised if he plays nicely."
Kiba looked guilty, and ashamed, and disgusted, and nervous all at once.
"Kiba," Gaara began very seriously, beginning to look conerned himself. "I can't intervene and bi—"
"Okay!" Kiba interjected loudly. A nervous gaze flickered to Naruto, and then settled back on Gaara. "Ita'll make it tokay."
Kiba was the first to look beyond Naruto to the man behind the bar, who was already looking their way with a stern and disapproving gaze. Gaara's eyes followed, and Itachi nodded assuringly at the redhead. When Naruto also turned that way, Itachi had already looked the other way. When Naruto turned back around, Kiba and Gaara were just staring at him.
"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked in total confusion.
"Nothing," Kiba said cheerily, though Naruto could tell it was faked.
"Sai," Gaara said at the exact same time as Kiba with a growl.
Kiba gave him a reproachful stare.
"What?" Gaara said innocently, perhaps even a bit gruffly. "He's not allowed to know Sai? Cause he gonna know in no time at all, whether he wants to or not."
Kiba huffed in defeat. It was the truth. He couldn't bring Naruto to this particular bar with this particular crowd and then pretend like Naruto would remain oblivious to all its quirks. Even if he fought tooth and nail to keep Naruto ignorant, there was pretty much no chance at all that the blond would leave without a new understanding of this city's underground crowd.
"Now, if Sasuke was still here, I'd say things could turn out very differently," Gaara added. "He'd keep that leech in check."
"What does Sai have to do with Sasuke?" Naruto asked with interest. Perhaps, a bit more interest than he was willing to let on.
"They're dating," Kiba said simply.
"No, they're not," Gaara disagreed. "They're fucking. There's a difference. Sai doesn't date."
Kiba huffed. "Maybe he's changed for Sasuke. I sure think he has," Kiba argued.
"Of course, that's because of your gentle, naïve soul, Kiba," Gaara informed.
"What?" Kiba exclaimed with offense. "Oh… You're just… Urgh…" Kiba ended the sentence with yet another huff of frustration. "You yourself just said that Sasuke could keep him in check!"
"Through the force of his death aura that screams 'don't you dare cross me'," Gaara replied. "Sai ain't the kinda guy that obeys. He falls in line. Sasuke just happens to be higher up in the food chain. It's that Uchiha blood."
"Well what about your blood?" Kiba argued. "Uchiha. Sundama. Same thing essentially."
Gaara barked a laugh. "Please!" He rolled his eyes. "He's in a band with my sister and she can hardly even stand to be aroud him for a single set. Sasuke is a special kind of prickly that Sai respects... sorta... in a way. Not even Itachi would make the same difference as Sasuke."
Kiba gave up on the argument, which truly was moot, and turned back to Naruto. "I think they're dating," he said. "You can think whatever you'd like."
Naruto nodded slowly. "So… you think your friend is dating someone but you still send fans of his paintings to him as hookups?"
Gaara and Kiba seemed to, finally, come to an agreement and laugh at Naruto's question.
"No," Kiba said. "Well, yes, but I just send girls. They're not Sasuke's type," he explained. "It's..." Kiba trailed off and tried to find a feasible explanation for the situation. In the end, he settled on, "It's just funny to watch." But he didn't look like he thought it was funny at all. "I wouldn't undermine a... friend like that for real."
By now, Naruto had accepted that awkward pause that seemed to always come before the word 'friend' with Kiba.
"Although," Gaara began, breaking the momentary placation between the two, "I wish you would undermine Sai."
Naruto looked over his shoulder when the crowd broke into a quiet cheer, some clapping here and there. The band members had already hopped off stage and scattered, though one remained on the stage to return his guitar and gear to their rightful cases for safety. Naruto's eyes floated to the source of the quiet cheering. The lead singer was leaning over the bar and Itachi was leaning to meet him in a kiss. But when Naruto caught sight of them, they were just breaking apart.
Loud enough for everyone to hear, Itachi informed, "We've got a fresh one!"
Naruto could feel the attention in the room shift to him.
"Dei, greet him," Itachi said, tossing a nod in Naruto's direction.
The singer nodded his affirmation and then he and Itachi winked at each other, sharing a momentary but serious gaze. The singer rounded the corner of the bar and sat in the empty chair that was Sasuke's. He was tall with long, blond hair that fell midway down his back. It was tied up in a sloppy ponytail on top of his head with some fabric and there were chunks of hair that hung loosely out. He smiled wickedly at Naruto as he held out a hand for Naruto to shake.
"I'm Deidara," he greeted, "but you can call me Dei. Everyone else does."
Naruto shook his hand politely. "Naruto."
He tried not to sound intimidated or nervous. He was a very social guy, but he was feeling oddly resigned about meeting new people tonight. There was something in his gut constantly telling him to not let his guard down so easily.
"Nice to meet you," a silky voice interjected.
A new face had popped up out of literally nowhere, at least according to Naruto. The man's black hair fell perfectly touseled just above his eyes, drawing attention to the dark color that seemed to shift between black and red as Naruto watched.
"This fuck," Deidara began once again, waving a dismissive hand to the man that had taken up the space between him and Gaara, "is Sai."
Deidara's words weren't all that kind, but his energy was still beaming. Naruto decided that it was just friendly jeering.
"Hi," said Sai in a voice that was as smooth as molasses.
He was smiling at Naruto, his eyes shimmering, as he further inserted himself between Deidara and Gaara to lean over the table. Gaara scoffed irritably and rolled his eyes as Sai extended his hand for Naruto to shake.
"I play bass, in the band," Sai informed. "I've gotta, y'know, keep the rhythm," he practically purred.
Naruto shook his hand politely too. As he let go, though, Sai slid his hand seductively up Naruto's arm, even though Naruto was trying to pull it away. Naruto stared at Sai incredulously as the invisible line Sai had just traced on his arm tingled. Sai was, clearly, very flirty. Naruto swallowed hard and shrugged it off, trying desperately not to look at Sai, though Sai's eyes were burning into his face. He felt himself blush unintentionally and Sai giggled. Then, Naruto heard an even louder and angrier grunt escape Gaara and everyone at the table seemed to tense up.
"Well—" Deidara began, regarding Naruto again. There was a devilish gleam in his eye.
"Uh," Kiba interrupted. "Let's just not do this, okay?"
Everyone at the table looked at him.
"Why not?" Deidara asked. "It's not like he's not expecting it."
"I don't even know if he's..." Kiba cleared his throat and threw Deidara a significant glance. "—gay." His eyes flickered to Gaara for support, but Gaara just looked away. As Gaara had tried to say earlier, he couldn't intervene in this matter.
"Well then why is here with this lot?" Deidara exclaimed.
Naruto felt more confused and concerned than before as Kiba looked like a child who had done wrong.
"I met him in a gallery today and I just invited him. He was into one of Sasuke's paintings!" Kiba exclaimed in defense. "It's not exactly the perfect atmosphere to just ask someone if they're... gay or not!"
"You invited a potentially straight guy to a predominantly gay bar," Deidara asked incredulously. He stressed the words so strongly that Naruto was starting to believe they were code words. "The fuck?"
"I… well… I…" Kiba tried to argue but settled on a defeated huff.
"I'm not straight," Naruto confirmed meekly, unsure whether that was a good thing or not. He wasn't even sure if they were actually talking about his sexuality anymore.
Deidara decided to take that as Naruto's understanding of their conversation and as an offer of his approval. In truth, Naruto had no clue what he was inadvertently agreeing to.
"Perfect!" Deidara smiled, still looking at Kiba. "It's tradition, Kiba. And better me than anyone else, right?"
"It's still… not… no!" Kiba demanded.
"Oh, but it must be done," Deidara said happily and he turned quickly to Naruto.
Out of his peripheries, Naruto noticed Gaara leaning in and whispering something in Kiba's ear, but he was too mesmerized by Deidara's stare to really turn his attention that way. What Deidara's plans were, Naruto didn't know. But the look in his eyes matched the look he had donned while kissing Itachi, and Naruto was sure that he was either going to kiss him or kill him. Before he had a chance to do anything, though, Sai was upon Naruto and, to Naruto's great surprise, it was Sai's lips that were attacking him.
Naruto sat in utter shock for a long moment, in which he looked at everyone at the table. Kiba was plainly furious and Gaara was a mix between satisfied and disgusted. But it wasn't the good satisfaction. It was the kind of satisfaction that you feel when you've caught your best friend's boyfriend cheating and you're happy cause you've always known he's a cheater but you're also mad because he's cheating on your best friend. Deidara was stuck between the same satisfaction of Gaara, the fury of Kiba, and utter amusement.
Sai made a strong hissing sound and detached from Naruto's lips. He pulled Naruto's head back firmly by gripping his hair. Naruto was, finally, able to relocate his arms, due to panic, and he pushed his chair, and Sai, back roughly. He was mostly offended by the kiss but partly terrified by the noise Sai had just made. He couldn't be sure, but he was positive that he didn't want it to happen.
Now standing, Naruto turned to face Sai and backed up. "What the fuck?" he exclaimed hotly, but his tone didn't match his expression. He was looking shocked and sounding angry.
Sai simply smiled at him, his upper lip twitching.
"Seriously!" Kiba added furiously. "You're taken, you bastard!"
"I hardly think my relationship status is the issue here. I don't think he knows about our tradition," Sai said plainly. "And, no, I'm technically not taken. Sasuke and I are flexible," he added, not even looking at Kiba. "Nobody said I was his boyfriend." With those last words, Sai winked at Naruto and Naruto looked away, blushing ridiculously.
"What've I been telling you?" Gaara snarled.
"Shut up Gaara!" Kiba snapped. He was clearly in no mood for Gaara's gloating. "There's a bigger issue at hand."
"What's your problem, Sai?" Deidara piped in, looking quite anxious. "You are taken and by someone who's practically my little brother too."
Deidara chose to pass up the real issue in place of this one, giving everyone time to assess what to do next. Naruto was blatantly ignorant of what was really going on, and he wasn't going to make finding out seamless or easy.
Sai shrugged innocently. "He's cute. If anyone was going to… kiss him, I wanted it to be me," he said flatly.
"You shouldn't've," Deidara said coolly.
"You were gonna do it," Sai argued calmly, turning to look at Deidara. "But, assuming we're still worried about Sasuke, what difference does it make? You're dating Ita and you were still gonna… make out with him."
"Yes," Deidara hissed, "except Itachi and I talked about it. Like I said, it's tradition, but I don't do it just because they're cute. You are cute," Deidara added to Naruto as if trying not to offend him. Then, he rounded back on Sai. "I'm faithful to my boyfriend, Sai. This is all for the sake of the tradition."
"Or is it for—" Sai began darkly.
"It's not because he's a cheater, like you," Gaara interrupted loudly.
"No one was asking you, Gaara," Sai said almost sweetly. "Plus, I'm not a cheater. Like I said, nobody said I was Sasuke's boyfriend. If he thinks that, then oh well."
Gaara leered at Sai. "Can I punch him now?" Gaara asked through clenched teeth.
"Please, do!" Kiba exclaimed loudly and Gaara was jumping from his seat instantly.
"Do not!" Deidara snapped, grabbing Gaara's shoulder and pushing him back into his chair. "Ita wouldn't be happy about it."
Once certain that Gaara was composed, Deidara heaved a heavy sigh.
"What about Sasuke?" Deidara asked Sai, turning back to regard him. The tension in the air was thick. Naruto could tell that Sai's next answer would decide his fate.
"What of him?" Sai asked plainly. "He'll never know that I've kissed this guy. He's still mine to toy with, so don't worry. I'll be fine," Sai said, as if anyone was worried about him. Gaara grumbled quiet threats. Deidara's blood was beginning to boil too.
"We'll tell him," Kiba promised.
"He's not your toy," Deidara added coldly.
"Oh," Sai began, "but he's really is, Dei. Trust me, he's wrapped around my finger. Your words will be useless against me. He won't leave me. Not to mention, he'd have done it himself." A sickening satisfaction crossed his eyes as everyone at the table, aside from Naruto, stared at him for a long moment, measuring his words.
"You can't tie Sasuke down so easily," Deidara assured, but the look in his eyes wasn't so convincing. He only partly believed his words.
"Is that so?" Sai asked with amusement. "We'll see, won't we? You may think otherwise, but he's running with me every night, isn't he?" Kiba looked aghast, and both Gaara and Deidara tensed up visibly. This seemed to amuse Sai to no end.
"No way," Gaara denied weakly.
"Oh, yes. But shh," Sai said, setting his finger against his lips and shushing softly. "Don't tell Ita."
Through this heated conversation, a look of confidence and satisfaction never left Sai's face, and it was infuriating. He, then, turned to Naruto and trailed his hand all the way up Naruto's arm and toward his neck. Before he could make it there, though, Naruto threw his hand away. Sai paused, giggled, and then sauntered away totally unperturbed. Gaara, Kiba, and Deidara all watched him retreat with deadly glares. Naruto turned to watch him go too and saw Itachi vaulting straight over the bar. In a flash, Sai was sprawled out on the ground with Itachi towering over him.
"You don't fuck with my brother," he said gruffly. "Get off my floor and get outta my bar."
Sai stood from the ground slowly, cupping his bleeding nose in his hand as if it wasn't really urgent business. He had, somehow, managed to retain that smug, unfazed attitude through getting punched in the face. Most of the bar remained unconcerned with the activity and buzzed on.
"Actually, I do, Ita," Sai said daringly. "I fuck with him every night."
Itachi tensed up at the words and Naruto thought he would punch Sai again, but he didn't.
Sai went on menacingly as he began to walk away, "Don't get so riled up, Ita." He, then, placed an annoyingly fake hand of sympathy on Itachi's shoulder, pausing in passing. "It's a waste of energy. Sasuke likes it better when you stay out of his business. You're better at that anyway."
Deidara stood quickly and rushed at Sai with his fist cocked, apparently pushed past his limit. Itachi caught his fist, though, and yelled so loudly that everyone in the bar stopped and looked to see what was going on.
"GET OUT!"
Sai's smiled only widened and he seemed to grow even more satisfied too. Surprisingly, he opened his mouth as if to taunt Ita even further but Deidara placed his foot on Sai's ass and pushed hard, seeing as Itachi still had a hold of his fist.
"Fuck off, Sai!" Deidara shouted angrily as Sai was jolted forward, his expression still failing to falter.
Itachi was trembling with anger but was, clearly, fighting the urge to hit Sai again. Sai turned and looked Deidara in the eyes, opening his mouth to tease him too before a loud voice boomed through the bar and caused him to snap it shut.
"Enough!" the voice demanded. Sai froze and his eyes widened momentarily. Finally, he was fazed. "Let's go, Sai!" a man commanded loudly as he forced his way to the front of the crowd. He was tall with long, black hair and eyes that seemed to pierce the back of Sai's head. Sai reacted immediately, turning to face the man.
"I—"
"I said, go!" the man roared and Sai promptly walked toward the exit.
"I hope you'll forgive his insolence," the man said gruffly, obviously out of etiquette rather than sincerity.
Itachi nodded, sporting the same forced etiquette. "I suppose I can manage that. Train him better, won't you?"
The man's eyes slit into a glare, but his lips turned up into a smile. It was the same creepy, infuriatingly smug smile of Sai's, but it was being used differently. "Of course," he said quietly and turned to follow Sai out of the bar. The crowd buzzed on immediately, like it hadn't even missed a beat.
"I hate that bastard," Deidara said scathingly.
Itachi released Deidara's fist. "Who doesn't?" he added.
"But he's good at bass," Deidara reminded himself, as if trying to convince himself for the sake of his band, but failing.
Itachi smiled sympathetically. Deidara's music was very important to him. "He is," Itachi agreed. "Irreplaceable in that matter, actually."
Deidara needed the permission to keep the bastard in his life, and he was thankful that Itachi understood. He fell into Itachi and hugged the man. "Thank you."
"I always knew Sai was worthless," Gaara stated angrily. "I mean, look where he comes from."
"Oh, rub it in then!" Kiba exclaimed.
"I wasn't," Gaara defended. "I was just pointing it out."
Kiba made to argue but huffed instead.
"Well, fuck him," Deidara said, then looked at Naruto. "Not literally, of course."
Naruto knew that this was meant as a joke, but he couldn't laugh at it like the others did. They were surprisingly quick to recover from the tense exchange. Naruto felt wrong though. He felt violated, that was for sure, but he also felt guilty. Sasuke didn't seem like the kind of guy to be wrapped around anyone's finger... but if Sai was telling the truth, then Sasuke would be really hurt by this news. Naruto couldn't help but feel responsible.
"If he loathed me before, he'll downright hate me now," Naruto groaned as he sat back down.
"He will not," Kiba tried to disagree but his face was, clearly, saying the opposite.
"You'll fare fine," Itachi comforted, patting Naruto on the shoulder. Then, he hopped back over the bar and returned to work.
"Sasuke doesn't even like Sai," Gaara tried to assure, but his face was shouting the opposite too.
Deidara was the only one who spoke the truth. "Sasuke doesn't like anyone but Sai, actually."
"Dei!" Kiba reprimanded.
"What?" Deidara said innocently. "It's true. He likes Sai a lot, oddly enough. Anyone could see it."
"Can't you see we're trying to console him here?" Kiba pointed out.
"Ah, whatever." Deidara shrugged. "The truth is the truth. If you wanna date him, you should know," he said plainly to Naruto.
"What? I… I don't…" Naruto tried to defend, but he sounded rather unconvincing. "I don't even know the guy."
"You don't like him?" Deidara asked with a raised brow. "It seems as plain as him liking Sai to me."
"All I know about him is that he's hot, temperamental, and rude!" Naruto exclaimed.
"But Sasuke likes him," Kiba chimed in with a smile, trying to keep the mood as light and positive as possible.
"Liked," Gaara corrected, "past tense. That was before you made Sasuke loathe him, and before Sai made sure Sasuke would detest him."
"Does nobody understand the pretense of consolation?" Kiba exclaimed, rounding on Gaara in exasperation.
"I don't wanna be consoled," Naruto proclaimed. "I wanna be exorcised of the demon from that kiss." With that, Naruto shook his body comically and everyone laughed. "Seriously, though," Naruto continued, "I need a miracle. He already hates me and he doesn't even know me. How will I be your friend now?"
"You wanna be our friend?" Kiba exclaimed excitedly.
"We're touched," Gaara added, chuckling at Kiba's response. "At least he is." Kiba paid Gaara no mind.
"Seriously," said Naruto. "What the fuck do I do now?"
"Well," Deidara said, resting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Hope he doesn't find out. That's a fluke, though, cause we're gonna tell him. So, hope he'll forgive you. But that's a fluke too. Sasuke doesn't forgive easily. You could always try to woo him. That's your best shot, I bet."
"You want him to pretend to be smitten with Sasuke just to avoid his wrath?" Kiba exclaimed in disgust. "That's terrible!"
"It's not pretending," Deidara argued. "He really thinks Sasuke's hot!"
"That's not liking someone! That's just stupid, Dei," Kiba retorted. "No one is playing with Sasuke's feelings. Got that?" Kiba snapped at Naruto.
"I never said I would!" Naruto defended. "So… then… what do I do?"
All three men exchanged looks for a long moment. Deidara looked back at Naruto and shrugged. Gaara just looked away. Kiba gave Naruto a look of absolute sympathy.
Naruto sighed. He had made an enemy of someone he desperately wanted to befriend if not to know Sasuke, then at least to obtain his painting.
"Great," Naruto grumbled. "Now, I'll never get that painting. I'll never know what it means to him. I'll never get to Sasuke." He slumped in his chair.
"See!" Deidara beamed. "He's smitten!"
"That's not what I meant," Naruto added quickly. But... he had to wonder... did he have a crush on Sasuke?
Of course not! Sasuke was absolutely unpleasant and enjoyed mixing with guys like Sai. Why would Naruto like him? Not to mention, Naruto didn't even know him. You can't like someone you don't know, right? No! No, definitely not. Naruto didn't like him, right? No… right?
"He likes him," Deidara whispered to Gaara and Kiba and Naruto groaned loudly in response. Deidara looked at him. "Well, you do. You'll see it soon enough too. In the meantime, I need a shot!" With that, Deidara was rounding the bar and rushing to the middle of the bar to order from Itachi.
"Can you," Naruto began uncertainly. "uh… I mean… I'm curious about Sasuke and his past… y'know… like his family and stuff?"
Naruto was afraid they'd start teasing him again, but both boys were surprisingly serious. Gaara looked to Kiba with a question in his eyes. Kiba shrugged a tiny, one-shouldered shrug that seemed more uncomfortable than it was nonchalant. Gaara turned back to Naruto and pondered if he even felt like divulging.
"Sasuke's family is loaded with money," Gaara decided to begin. He had to choose his words carefully. To scrutinize each and every word carefully, his speech came out slow and riddled with pauses. "His dad is... hard on him... He hates that Sasuke's into art. Can't get over the fact that he's paying for art school and not one of his own suggestions... Um... He originally wanted Itachi to join in with the family business, but Itachi declined... in a way... Well, Fugaku never really outright asked, and Itachi never really outright said no, but a huge deal was made about it... one way or another... I guess after everything with Itachi went down Fugaku was too hesitant to ask Sasuke.. I mean, if I were him, I'd fear Itachi's reaction to it..."
"What, exactly, is it you wanna know Naruto?" Gaara asked. It would be easier to answer direct questions than it was to pick and choose himself. At least with direct questions it was easier to pick out what not to say. When he was just rambling, the list of things not to say seemed endless and daunting.
"Well, what happened with the family business then?" Naruto asked. "If Itachi refused, Sasuke's the only other option. Right?"
Gaara shrugged. "I guess Fugaku just made alternative plans, but he's still all over Sasuke about his future. Well, as much as he can be," Gaara revised. "—seeing as Sasuke does a great job of pretending Fugaku doesnt exist. But Sasuke doesn't defy him too much, cause of the financial support, even though he drives Sasuke mad."
Gaara glanced sideways at Kiba for the shortest of moments.
"He agrees to try out a few classes to appease his father, and Fugaku fusses less when Sasuke complies more," Gaara added. "At least he doesn't force Sasuke to talk to him needlessly."
"Sounds like an absolute terror to me," Naruto commented.
"Fugaku is a really nice guy," Kiba defended. "—if you look past his hard exterior," he added. "I mean, he just wants Sasuke to be happy. He just thinks that happiness equals money. Doesn't make him a bad guy."
"You disagree?" Naruto asked Gaara, who had turned an expression of surprise to Kiba.
"Not exactly," Gaara said, wiping his face clean of the shocked expression. "I have good experiences with the guy. He's been a permanent fixture in my entire life really." Gaara's eyes meandered to stare at the table, his voice lowering too. "Drove home some lessons my own dad wouldn't've been able to teach me on his own."
"Then why the look of surprise?" Naruto asked.
Gaara just shrugged, staring resolutely at the table.
"Fugaku's real problem is he has this idea that Sasuke'll be a starving artist," Kiba said, earning Naruto's attention and giving Gaara some relief.
"He won't!" Naruto assured passionately. "Sasuke's amazing at what he does if that one painting I saw says anything about his work!"
"Exactly!" Kiba agreed with equal passion. "Fugaku has no idea how easily Sasuke's work sells. And even if it didn't sell so frequently or for such high prices, Sasuke's doing what he needs to be doing with his art. Money be damned. This is the man's calling in life!"
"If Sasuke's making money though, then what's his dad's problem?" Naruto asked. "I mean, if he can see that Sasuke is prospering, then why even bother making him take extra classes or anything?"
"Fugaku doesn't much understand art." Kiba's eyes rolled as he added, "It's all just finger painting to him. He can't see how valuable it is. It comes down to a personal issue with him. I guess... he just thinks Sasuke's wasting away doing something like that, even if he makes his own living from it."
There was a sad expression in Kiba's eyes. Naruto wasn't sure if Kiba was sad for Sasuke's sake, or if it was something else. In fact, it almost seemed like longing, but Naruto couldn't pin down why Kiba might feel that way.
"Well, fuck him," Naruto said firmly. "Why doesn't Sasuke just let the man walk outta his life?"
"Financial support, remember?" Gaara answered.
Naruto turned his attention to the redhead. "Nah, fuck that," he disagreed. "Sasuke makes enough money, doesn't he?"
Gaara shrugged. "Only Sasuke can decide whether or not he makes enough money to support his lifestyle. It wouldn't be that easy anyway. Fugaku knows that cutting Sasuke off would raise hell with Itachi," Gaara explained. "And enough of hell has already come up between those two. Even if Sasuke was the one to stop meeting Fugaku's compromise, Itachi wouldn't let their father just walk away from Sasuke so easily. Of course, you can never really control an Uchiha. Those two had to get their unruly genes from somewhere, after all. Between the three of em, it's like a giant pissing contest. I don't even think they realize what's at stake anymore. I think it's more about them all refusing to give in."
"So, Fugaku won't cut Sasuke off because of Itachi, but he insists on controlling Sasuke in order to keep supporting him?" Naruto asked.
"To put it simply," Gaara confirmed.
"So then, I guess I just don't understand where Sasuke's say in this whole thing is," Naruto complained. "I mean, I know you said Itachi won't let Fugaku walk away, even if Sasuke told him to. But for what reason would Sasuke possibly not tell his father to fuck off for? I mean, he could probably support himself. He doesn't gain anything from his relationhip with his father. He doesn't even seem to like Itachi, judging by the way his goodbye tonight was a middle finger. Why would he care to be in the middle of those two?"
"Like I said, it's complicated," Gaara replied simply.
"Not good enough!" Naruto exclaimed. "I wanna know—" he began to demand.
"Naruto," Kiba interrupted. "I think you'd do better to just ask Sasuke himself. After all, no one knows what the hell's going on in that guy's head. We can't tell you why he lets himself be in the position he's in with his family." Kiba's gaze fell away. "He just is."
Naruto huffed and folded his arms, but he conceded... a little bit. "Fine. But what about their mom?" Naruto asked. "Where's she sit on this matter?"
Gaara glanced at Kiba, who turned his face completely away from the both of them.
"Uh," Gaara started awkwardly. "Tsume is... sweet... she... worries... um..."
Kiba laughed dryly, shaking his head. "Gaara. Just stop."
"It's complicated," Gaara said. "Sasuke's family is complicated."
"Get to know him if you're really curious," Kiba suggested.
"I've known Sasuke since preschool," Gaara informed. "He and I come from similar pasts. Seeing how good Kiba's been for me makes me think you'd be good for Sasuke too." Gaara turned adoring eyes to his partner, but something less warm mingled in his expression too, something Naruto was missing.
"Ahh, stop it," Kiba insisted, even as he smiled at Gaara's claim.
"I mean it, Kiba," Gaara assured, wrapping an arm around the man's waist.
"Without this guy, I don't know where I'd be," Gaara admitted, looking back to Naruto. "I don't know where Sasuke'd be either. It'd be good for him to have his own Kiba. Or, rather, his own you."
When that sentence was done, Gaara leaned in a ksised Kiba softly on the cheek. Then he whispered something in Kiba's ear, something that had Kiba smiling bashfully and stifling a giggle with his hand.
Naruto found himself smiling too as the weight of Gaara's words sank in. He felt proud of the compliment he had just received. Gaara thought he'd be good for Sasuke. Between Kiba and Gaara, Naruto felt enough encouragement to believe that maybe he could actually get close to Sasuke. It would be no easy task, but if he just wanted it badly enough... if he just pushed hard enough... then, Sasuke wouldn't be able to help himself falling for Naruto's charming attitude. Naruto was made for this.
His first hurdle was powering through this whole Sai thing, and Naruto felt like the Sai thing would snowball into something huge if he wasn't the one to break the news himself. Maybe that could be his very first act of solidarity for Sasuke.
"Where'd Deidara go?" Naruto suddenly asked. "I think I need a shot too."
To be continued...