Naruto's PoV
I said I had to be clean and not look dusty, not that I had to wear some super hot, expensive clothes while bringing the pie to some random guy living across from me.
Mom was really pushy sometimes.
Sometimes...
Like now, when she made me change out of my shirt that had 'fuck you' print. She said it wasn't nice for the first impression, giving me the glare so venomous, like I was about to drown a bunch of kittens.
Sasuke's glare was cute compared to my mom's. This was pure evil! So, of course, I had to obey.
Sasuke... That dude kept popping up in my head way too much. I felt kind of bad after realizing he was definitely avoiding me.
"Just go, the pie is getting cold!" Mom ordered, and I had to pick up the thing she baked so carefully, and carry it to some random guy.
I could think about Sasuke later... Not like I did anything except think about him lately.
No, fuck that. I won't be thinking about Sasuke later. I really needed to get laid. Fast. And soon.
Taking the carefully wrapped present, I left the apartment slamming the door after me.
Of course, I heard my mom screaming at me for doing so, but served her right, it's not like I wanted to be the delivery guy...
I took barely two steps and rang the doorbell at the apartment 13.
Nothing.
I tried again, holding the bell a bit longer and I was just about to turn around, escape into my own place, give the excuse of nobody is home, and have this wonderful pie all to myself.
But when were things simple for me?
I'll tell you. Never.
The door was opened by a man, that I thought I recognized. I mean, Sasuke was in my head so much that I was seeing him in other people. It was why I thought that the gorgeous man who opened the door was him.
Realizing that I was staring, I muttered a lame "Hey", and once I heard him speaking, I was aware of my brain playing tricks on me.
It wasn't Sasuke. But they looked alike so much... Or maybe I just wanted this guy to look like Sasuke?
Anyway, the moment he spoke, I knew it wasn't Sasuke's voice I was hearing, and that calmed me to a certain degree. This guy had a deeper voice, and unlike Sasuke's, which had an alluring tone, this guy's voice sounded calm, yet it had a note of authority which Sasuke's voice lacked, at least to me. Everyone else in Konoha News looked at him as if they were afraid of that sex on the legs.
Bad thoughts, Naruto. Very, very bad thoughts.
I turned different shades of red, blame it on my interesting thoughts, and realized the guy was waiting for an answer.
"Uh, my dad ran into you today. I'm the guy moving in across from you. My mom baked this pie as an apology gift." I said hurriedly and presented him with the pie I was clutching in my hands.
I really wanted to disappear, urgently. Thinking of Sasuke in front of this random guy, who accidentally had the similar face and onyx hair, much longer than that bastard's and very piercing eyes, made me feel uncomfortable.
Why?
Because all of a sudden I wished Sasuke was the one who opened the door so I could ask him about his stupid avoidance and tell him I didn't mean to offend him... And why was I thinking of that damn Uchiha again, goddamn it...?
I felt like punching myself.
The man was speaking again, "Uh, I believe you have the wrong guy. That person was probably my brother. Hang on... Otouto!" He yelled 'little brother', surprising me and a couple of neighbors' dogs who follwed up with loud barking.
So this wasn't the guy my father accidentally hit. Man, I wish he wasn't as clumsy as he was. I inherited that from him... I couldn't even drink coffee without spilling it all over myself and it was embarrassing, especially now when I worked with...
Sasuke.
No, my eyes didn't play tricks on me this time.
That was Sasuke, getting out of his kitchen... completely shirtless... in a pair of worn out shorts... and jesus fuck was I drooling???
"Naruto."
Shit!
"Sasuke?!"
Sasuke's dark eyes widened slightly as he approached the door. I bet my ass he was as surprised as I was, if not even more, considering he was trying really hard not to have any interaction with me, until yesterday, that is.
The silence that fell upon us was uncomfortable, I won't lie. It hit me then that my lovely parents knew exactly who lived across from me. Even Iruka knew... Which is why he refused to talk... which is why they decided not to tell me more details about the neighbor, which is why... they set me up.
Those damn traitors.
I bet mom was grinning widely and I couldn't help but imagine the pair of horns on top of her head as she looked upon me with all the 'I told you to fix your shit' look.
Screw that.
Uchiha fucking Sasuke was silently standing in front of me. Next to him, was a guy, who I now identified as his older brother, judging by what he yelled. No wonder he looked like Sasuke to me...
Ok, not the point. Focus Naruto.
Focus.
"That Naruto?" Ok, that wasn't Sasuke's voice.
Still blushing, I turned from Sasuke to his brother and raised an eyebrow in question. Was I missing something here?
The older Uchiha brother was carefully scanning me, and when I said scan I meant it.
The guy looked like he was trying to get inside of my head. It looked like a protective brother gesture, but it wasn't like he had any reason to be protective over Sasuke when it came to me... Unless Sasuke said stuff about me, and...
Oh my god this guy probably thought I was a complete dickhead, because there was no way in hell Sasuke would say anything nice about me.
"Sorry, I was being rude. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I just moved there." I pointed at the door with number fourteen, which were right behind us. I assumed mom was looking through the peephole at us right now and gloated contently.
Shit!
The man smirked knowingly and extended his hand towards me, "I'm very pleased to finally meet you Mr. Uzumaki. I heard a lot of things about you. I'm Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."
I took his hand in a firm handshake, giving him a sheepish smile, the man seemed pleasant.
Unlike his brother...
But who was I fucking kidding, even with the unpleasant vibe he was purposly giving off, the guy standing in front of me looked so damn asorable. And yes, I was referring to Sasuke.
"I guess I am that Naruto, huh?" I didn't know if I should be terrified by Itachi Uchiha's smile, or flattered that he smiled at me. The grip he had my hand in, suggested towards the prior.
One thing I was sure of, Sasuke's brother was absolutely stunning. There was something about that family, apparently, that made people want to drool the moment they see them.
My thoughts were rudely interrupted by the younger Uchiha brother who stepped between us and nudged his brother in the side, the look he gave Itachi spoke murder.
Itachi Uchiha smirked before letting go of my hand, and then he turned to his younger brother who was keeping an eye on our palms that were being separated. Much to Sasuke's relief, if you asked me.
Beats me why.
"If you're done with ogling my brother", his voice low, carrying something the hint of warning, "then tell me why you're here."
Why was I here, again? I swear my mind stopped working the moment I looked at the one called Sasuke Uchiha. Especially if that particular person was standing almost naked in front of me.
"I came to deliver you this." I eyed the thing in my hands, reverting them to Sasuke immediately. "I didn't know it was you who my father crashed into today. He's sorry about it." I repeated my purpose of being there, sounding awfully suspicious, even to myself.
How could you blame me? The younger Uchiha was even more stunning than the older one. Especially shirtless.
Damn, I surely hoped I wasn't drooling.
Sasuke moved towards me, taking possession of the pie and accidentally brushing his fingers on mine.
I swear to god, if his brother wasn't here, I'd so take a hold of his arms, pin them above his head and kiss him senseless.
That small touch made my breath hitch, it was a painful reminder he hadn't touched me ever since he gave me the ear piece for the show.
"Thanks." Sasuke said, as he took the pie with the plate it was on. Ohhh the plate...
Mom was smart.
We would have to see each other again so I could take it back. Damn that woman and her scheming.
"Ah, yeah... bye." I just wanted to go back, take the cold shower and erase images of Sasuke's naked chest from my mind. It was becoming too much, and this was not the time or place for me to sport a boner.
"Why don't you come in?" the not-Sasuke person said, because if anyone expected Sasuke to invite me, you were so wrong.
"Ah, it's better if I don't disturb you guys." I replied scratching the back of my head nervously. But then Sasuke acted faster than anyone expected and shoved the door completely open, while looking at me straight in the eyes.
An unreadable expression on his face.
"Don't even bother saying no to that", Sasuke spoke as he gestured with his head in Itachi's direction, "He'll drag you inside if you don't come in on your own." He finished, moving away from the door and stepping aside, for the two of us to enter.
"I think someone wants to avoid me laying my fingers on you, Naruto." Itachi commented with an amused chuckle while looking at Sasuke.
"Yes, your goddamn boyfriend. Piss off." Sasuke retorted almost instantly, if he wasn't so pale skinned I would totally miss the slight pink blush that dusted his cheeks.
Cute.
I was utterly confused and maybe a bit scared of Itachi. I wasn't sure yet. I still couldn't determine if he wanted to hurt me for messing with his little brother, or he was trying to be friendly in a very strange way.
Sasuke's PoV
Naruto was here.
As in, physically in my apartment, sitting in my chair, eating my food here.
I wanted to kill Itachi.
The only reason I told Naruto to get in was because I knew Itachi would do anything to drag him inside, including touching him or embarrassing me.
And I wasn't okay with either of those options. I couldn't even start explaining the amount of jealousy I felt when they shook hands and lingered way more than necessary. All I could think about was whether Naruto liked his touch more than mine.
Sick.
The silence in the dining room was only frequently broken by clanking of the utensils. It was painfully awkward.
Well yes, it was, because my brother kept glancing between me and Naruto like we're some caged bunnies for him to experiment on us. It was creepy and I wouldn't blame Naruto if he ran out of here.
I would, if it wasn't my own apartment.
"How do you like Sasuke's cooking, Na-ru-to?"
Did Itachi really have to sound as if he was asking about a blowjob rather than cooking?
Trust me, I wasn't the only one who thought so, judging from Naruto's faintly red ears, he thought the same thing. I could bet my ass on it.
He looked cute though, in his home edition, ears slightly flushed and enjoying the food he was eating. I took extra pleasure in knowing I was the one who made the food.
I had no clue where all these thoughts were coming from. But then again, I also had no idea why I jerked off to the guy in question either, it just happened...
"It's delicious." Naruto gave a short answer to Itachi then faced me, his vivid blue eyes narrowed slightly, before he addressed me. "Didn't know you could cook."
My eyes searched his, for any trace of mocking or teasing, or any additional remark, but none came.
"You don't know a lot of things about me." I commented, smirking. Served him right for all the bullshit he pulled onto me... and to think I was feeding him now.
Naruto kept watching me as he chewed the bite, and I opened my mouth slightly, taking the bite of my own, when Itachi jumped in...
"Except for his dick size, you know that one. More like, probably the whole Konoha knows that one, by now... Hn."
Well...
My food successfully left my mouth as I spit it while coughing rapidly. Yeah, I choked when I heard Itachi speak, couldn't help it... That fucking bastard of a brother was laughing ever since he so politely jumped into the conversation.
Naruto found my brother's sense of humor funny, because that fucking idiot started laughing too.
The sound of his laugh was so melodic, it wasn't forced, wasn't the TV laugh. Naruto Uzumaki truly laughed and... He was beautiful. Watching him and Itachi enjoying my misery, I shook my head in disbelief and joined them, laughing alongside the two of them.
"Oh man, that episode skyrocketed my popularity. The next day I was invited to Konoha News and offered a spot for Sad Fact. I..." Naruto trailed off, laughter ceased, his face set in a sad smile. "My grandpa used to love the 5 PM show. It was the reason why I accepted the offer." He gave a slight explanation, looking at me. "I didn't know the editor of that show was the guy who bragged about his dick size on Sad Fact."
"I didn't brag, you accused me of being small." I pointed out.
"Hn. You bragged, alright."
If looks could kill my brother would've been 10 feet under ground, long time ago.
Itachi was smirking so much that I thought his jaw would start hurting. I wondered briefly if Naruto would have the same problem with all the laughing he went through. The blond was wiping tears from his eyes at this point as he looked at me again.
"I try not to talk about work when I have my free time, so let's leave it for now. I bet he will start murdering us with his infamous death glare if we keep teasing him." Naruto said, catching his breath from all the laughter.
Was he actually trying to spare me humiliation? Him?! The guy who asked me if I was a virgin in the office building?
"I can respect that." Itachi was the one who started talking and for some reason I was grateful to Naruto. Maybe there was more to him than just a playboy image he was displaying for everyone to see.
"I was mortified when I realized you of all people are my neighbor." Naruto's pointer finger landed on me and I gave a slight smirk, the feeling was mutual.
"Why did you move here?" I asked before I could stop myself. It was a private matter, and the two of us weren't even on friendly terms to be discussing such thing.
"We have a massive estate in Suna and I lived there with my parents and my grandparents. When my grandpa died it became too difficult to be there, since everything reminded me of him. I was searching for an apartment for quite some time and then I noticed this one, that was relatively close to work, compared to Suna, so... here I am." Naruto explained without second guessing my intention or feeling restraint.
"I'm sorry for your loss." I said quietly and Naruto's eyes slightly widened before he gave me a small smile and a quiet "thanks".
"Speaking of your parents, I don't know how I didn't realize Minato is your father. You're spitting image of him." I wanted to lighten up the atmosphere a bit, it was pretty obvious that Naruto felt sad when he mentioned his grandfather.
Naruto smiled comfortably and spoke with much more energy than he had in his voice when he mentioned grandpa, "Oh, you have no idea. I swear, I inherited everything I shouldn't have from both him and my mom." He started laughing, making Itachi and me laugh with him.
Itachi gave a story about our parents, he told Naruto our dad owned a company, and that he was a lawyer. He didn't miss telling the short story of father's almost heartattack upon confessing he played for the same team and I couldn't help but double over in laughter at that.
I mean, you should've seen uncle Mada's face at that time.
"Ah, from what I understood you have a serious relationship, Itachi. Is your boyfriend staying here as well?" Naruto innocently asked, but Itachi's face took an expression of sadness and I was sure he didn't want to talk about it.
I chose to remain silent, though. It wasn't my place to answer such question.
"No. He's not here. I'm intruding on my little brother because we had an argument..." Itachi gave a reply which was absolutely honest. I didn't know why he trusted Naruto with this one, but, again, Itachi was reading people like an open book. He probably deemed Naruto worthy of a reply.
"Fix it." Naruto looked at Itachi straight in the eyes and I noticed my brother was a bit taken aback by blond's boldness. "If you love him, fix it. The way you talked about him sounds like you can't imagine your life without him being in it. That kind of thing is rare... Perhaps he feels just as lame and miserable as you do, and I saw that look on your face, so don't even bother denying it. Don't let slight misunderstanding, or whatever it was, get in the way of both of your happiness." Naruto said calmly, but sternly. He sounded confident in his words and even his face had the most serious expression when he was talking to Itachi.
"I guess it was a misunderstanding..." Itachi mused, a look of awe in his eyes as he scanned Naruto's face.
The blond smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.
"I heard my father tossed an invitation already, but I want to make it official. I'd like you to come to my move in party on Friday. Bring your boyfriend, Itachi." Naruto's statement left no room for argument, and I found myself admiring his attitude.
Oh, he was definitely much more than a braindead playboy, of that I was assured as I watched him sit there and lecture my brother.
"We'll be there." Itachi replied, swallowing his beer. "I'll make sure to bring Dei. The two of you have a lot in common, dare I say." He smiled as he finished the sentence and looked at me, "I'm off to bed. I have something important to do first thing in the morning."
Itachi got up slowly, taking his time to move his plate to the dishwasher.
"Thank you, Naruto. It really was a pleasure meeting you." He said as he approached the door, but before he left, he turned towards us and added, "Take it easy with Sasuke. The wall he has built around himself may take some time to break."
With that, Itachi was gone to my bedroom. Damn bastard. And what was that last part? He really didn't have to give unnecessary information to this guy...
I barely gathered strength to look at Naruto, only to find his eyes digging holes in me...
Great.
"Don't listen to Itachi." I exclaimed, knowing the blush on my face was visible.
"I'm sorry." Naruto's voice was quiet and emotional.
"What?"
"I'm sorry... for teasing you to the point of making you feel like you had to avoid me." He was speaking as he looked at me, there wasn't any playfulness in his ocean blue eyes, just honesty and regret.
"It's fine."
"So, will you stop avoiding me?"
Hope. I could see it clear as a day when a gentle smile found a way on his beautiful face.
"Yeah..."
I gave in, figuring I couldn't keep my distance from him for too long anyway. I didn't want to keep that distance.
"Good!" He smiled brightly and then moved to get up, "Do you need some help with the dishes?"
I shook my head 'no', but he started picking up the plates anyway.
"You don't take a 'no' for an answer?" I asked as I got up and moved to help him with what he was doing.
"I don't mind helping you clean up, it's why I asked. Otherwise I wouldn't bother wasting words." He replied seriously, but most of his attention was directed to the dishes, and god knows why I missed having those eyes on me.
I was such attention whore for Naruto.
"Thanks." I replied as I purposly brushed my fingers over his knuckles while putting the remaining of the dishes in the dishwasher.
Naruto paused, his eyes landed on the place where my hand touched his. I didn't look at our hands, I was trying to inprint the memory of his small shy smile deep inside of my brain.
"Let me." He gently took my hand in his and pulled the forks out of it, to place them in the dishwasher instead of me.
I moved my hand and pulled slightly back. What the fuck was I doing? Did I lose my mind? I was nearly groping a guy, a guy I wasn't supposed to have been obsessing over, a guy who was my new neighbor, a guy who worked with me, a guy with whom I bickered more often than not, a guy I was avoiding nearly whole week...
A guy who had the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
Maybe groping was too harsh word.
Or maybe you're a fucking moron Sasuke Uchiha. That's what concerned you?! Not the fact that you were literally swooning over the guy in front of you or that you jerked off to him?
Fuck.
My brain was a mess. Or maybe it was something else that was messy... Something I didn't dare acknowledging.
"Naruto..." I said quietly, as if afraid that this was a dream and he'd disappear.
Why was I scared of his disappearance?
I wasn't supposed to...
"Hm?" His eyes were so peaceful, completely different than when he teased me.
His phone beeped, and that was it. I snapped back to reality, shattering the thoughts that consumed me.
"I should go. See you on Monday, Sasuke." Naruto said while reading the message on his phone.
Our eyes met again as I nodded in acknowledgement. He gave me the same smile I saw on his face a few seconds ago, or maybe minutes, when I touched him.
As I walked him to the door and opened them I barely suppressed the urge to ask him to stay.
It was nice talking to him and being around him without being at each other's throats.
"Bye, neighbor." I tossed him a smirk which he returned eagirly.
"See you around, neighbor."
I closed the door as he opened his, then I leaned against them for support. Overwhelming emotions were crawling out on the surface and I was terrified of letting them out.