I had to double-check the date on the last chapter to make sure that I really haven't updated in a year and half! I really thought it hadn't been more than 8-ish months.

I had things that I never thought could happen to me, happen to me last year, and they've been keeping me depressed enough to keep updating my angsty Fit of Madness and Passion story, but not this one, haha.

Thanks for everyone who waited so patiently. We're half-way through.

Chapter 12

Posted on February 23nd, 2024

Surprisingly, Sasuke finds he doesn't mind Suigetsu's pool party. There's nothing insane or extreme going on (unlike the night parties Suigetsu threw in the city). The open space outside, the woods, and the huge villa actually provide enough of a buffer in-between people that Sasuke doesn't feel annoyed with being in a crowd. The weather is comfortable and refreshing.

Sasuke finds himself dozing off on a far-away sunbed. It's the first time since getting that cryptic text from Naruto last night cancelling their date that Sasuke is actually able to kind of take his mind off of it. The sun is comfortable and gentle against the skin of his open shirt and on his legs.

He would have thought it was a cloud covering the sun if it wasn't for a new presence next to him. Sasuke blinks behind his sunglasses and opens his eyes just to see Juugo looming over him and covering the sunlight. Before Sasuke can say anything, Karin is already jumping on the sunbed next to him and embracing him.

"Aiii! How we've missed you, you sourpuss!" Karin squeezes Sasuke and squeals. Sasuke pushes her off and sits at the side of the sunbed. He readjusts his shirt and sunglasses just for Suigetsu to appear from somewhere behind him and ruffle him up again by leaning against his shoulders and embracing him, putting all his weight against the Uchiha's back. Sasuke pushes him away as well and fusses about how annoying they all are.

"It's only been two days. You're acting like I went off to war."

"That's what it felt like to us! You've ignored all of our calls!" Karin protests.

Suigetsu's smile stretches from ear to ear and his eyes twinkle with mischief. He puts his hands at his hips.

"Of course he was ignoring our calls Karin-chan. Our little Sasuke-kun has been very busy the last few days."

Sasuke glares daggers at the tall lanky male. Suigetsu giggles.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Karin blinks at them, confused. Juugo catches the tone of the conversation and looks away, blushing.

"Apparently, our Sasuke-chan-" Suigetsu starts but Sasuke stands up and glares at him so threateningly that Suigetsu decides the gossip is not worth it. At least not right. "Uhhh- apparently our Sasuke-kun has been studying ahead for next year! Can you imagine?!" Suigetsu lies.

"Uuuuhh?!" Karin exclaims. "That's insane, Sasuke! Your ambition will drive you insane. Here, let's go get you something to drink." Karin urges them. Since Sasuke has no more hopes about napping under the sun now that his university study group was reunited, he considers a drink to be in order. Especially since his mind is right back to thinking about Naruto and how she's been silent since cancelling last night. Sasuke felt ghosted.

Suigetsu goes off somewhere being a social butterfly and mingling with his guests when he sees a new car pull up. He blinks and turns around to get a rough look at the guests already present. After all, nobody missed a chance to attend one of his events. He can't think of who else might be coming. When a young woman with a green sundress, hat, and pink hair comes out, Suigetsu curses under his breath.

"Shit… I must have been really coked out if I invited her. Ahhh… Sasuke-chan will be so mad…"

Suigetsu sighs. However, being the great host everyone always says he is, he walks out to the gate to greet the newly arrived guest.

"Sakura-chan." Suigetsu greets from afar, still walking to her.

"Suigetsu-kun," Sakura nods to him, kind of timidly. She has a nervous smile on her face. "I hope it's okay that I stopped by… Some of our classmates told me you were throwing a party today."

Ah, thank god, Suigetsu thinks. I knew I could not have invited her. Now Sasuke will have to kill someone else and not me.

Suigetsu holds Sakura's gaze. She seems nervous at his silence. She was obviously aware of how exclusive Suigetsu's parties were. It was obvious the woman knew Suigetsu would never let her into one of his city parties without an invitation. This casual pool party, however, Sakura had seen as an opportunity to maybe be allowed in honor of them being classmates. She was obviously dressed and ready for a pool party at a fancy villa, making it even more awkward for Suigetsu to turn her away.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan. Everyone invited is already here."

"Suigetsu-kun. Please. Just this one time." Sakura steps closer to him and pulls out her phone. "I've made detailed study plans for all of next semester. I can drop them in your drive right now."

Suigetsu holds her gaze and considers the possible implications and outcomes of her presence. He hadn't invited her and Sasuke would definitely be pissed off if she went and talked to him unprompted, which she was most certainly going to do. The study plans would be helpful, but Suigetsu could pay people to do that for him if he needed it. The man hears the party going on behind him and knows he has to make a decision, preferably without causing a scene. And he wasn't sure that Sakura would leave without a scene.

Sakura is looking up at him, her eyes look hopeful and insistent.

"Tsk. Whatever. You'll owe me a favor, though, and I am allowed to call on it at any time," Suigetsu states, a finger up to make a point.

"Deal." Sakura beams, hugs the tall man, and half-runs up the small hill to the villa, not even waiting for Suigetsu.

Sasuke is sipping on a drink while Karin is talking very passionately about something at him and Juugo. Sasuke tries to follow the mesmerizing beats of the music playing from inside the house in the hope to distract himself from the thoughts of his failed plans with Naruto today. However, like with most things associated with the blonde, it proves to be out of Sasuke's control. She should've been with him now. Here or anywhere else. They would've gone out and continued where they left off last time…

"Saaaasssuuuukeeee hellllooooo" Karin is waving a hand in front of his face. Sasuke blinks and pushes her hand away. "What has you so distracted today? I thought you'd be happy to see us after we've been apart for so long".

Before Sasuke can say anything, Karin's eyes zero out on someone behind Sasuke. "Holy shit. What is she doing here?"

A little tremble passes through Sasuke's chest. He turns around, hoping to see blonde hair and a wide smile. Maybe Naruto had somehow found him, had reached out to Suigetsu and had come to accompany him to the party-

Instead, Sasuke sees Sakura standing outside by the window. When their eyes meet, Sakura's cheeks flush and she tucks a strand of pink hair behind her ear. The corners of Sasuke's mouth fall down. He quickly turns back around so Sakura doesn't get any ideas about coming over. He downs his drink in frustration of another disappointment today.

"I'm seriously starting to think this girl is stalking you," Karin speaks as the three friends dive deeper into the crowd inside the house. "How did she even get in here?! I know for sure she is not on Suigetsu's list of invitees."

Sasuke is already in the middle of another drink when Suigetsu finds his university friends.

"Yooo, here's my favorite people!" Suigetsu dives into the small group, ends up embracing Juugo and Sasuke around the shoulders. The drinks had made Sasuke slower and he scoffs, annoyed that Suigetsu is hanging off his shoulder for the who knows what time today.

"My, my, you look good, Sasuke-chan. So much better than when you came in today. Party life seems to suit you," Suigetsu coos at his side and Sasuke fights the urge to shove him away. "Are you having a good time?!"

"Hn. I was having a decent time up until about five minutes ago." Sasuke answers.

Karin crosses her arms and furrows her eyebrows at the white-haired man. "Suigetsu. What is the pink stalker doing here? She looks like she's going to put herself in the trunk of Sasuke's car just to go home with him. Why did you allow her in here? It's enough she always stares at him when we're at university."

Suigetsu booms out with laughter. "Aw, Karin, hun. You're always the funniest!"

Karin keeps glaring at Suigetsu, recognizing the nervousness in his laughter and movements. Suigetsu detaches himself from Sasuke and pats Karin on her shoulder. "Never change Karin, never change! Anyway, I have to go mingle with my other guests, bye now."

Suigetsu leaves with a nervous chuckle and a nervous glance back at Sasuke.

"Gosh, he's so obvious…" Karin mutters.

KArin takes a second look at Sasuke then. She'd immediately noticed the slight slump of his shoulders and the lack of the usual protesting when Suigetsu would bother the Uchiha and hang on his shoulders. Karin takes notice of how fast Sasuke is getting to the bottom of the third drink she'd witnessed him bottom out in the last twenty minutes.

"Sasuke, do you want to come with me please? I want to get some water and I don't want this one guy to bother me," Karin makes it up. She takes Sasuke out to the back porch, gets water bottles for both of them. Sasuke notices the gesture and appreciates it, downs half of the bottle in one go. He really didn't drink all that often and definitely feels the alcohol fucking him up. And what was worse, the alcohol hadn't made him think of Naruto any less.

Something of what he was thinking must have shown on his face because Karin takes notice.

"Sasuke, what is going on? For the school year I've known and spent multiple days a week with you, I've never seen you trashed like you are now. And you're at Suigetsu's party? I thought I'd never see you at one of those."

Sasuke sips some more water and looks at the perfect grass. He couldn't talk to Itachi or Shisui about it… and holding it all in maybe hasn't been the best option so far. Karin seemed like someone he could bring himself to confide in.

"It's nothing… just… I was supposed to be doing something else today. Suigetsu bullied me into coming here when my other plans fell through."

"Did you other plans have blonde hair?" Karin asks. Sasuke looks at her, his face unchanged but his dark eyes show honest surprise. "What, you think we didn't know? I'd kill to have someone look at me the way you looked at that girl."

Sasuke doesn't say anything, looks back at the luscious backyard and the forest beyond. The sun is getting ready to start setting down. Luckily, Karin had decided to be pretty mild and in-tune with Sasuke's mood today, so she just stands with the man and keeps him company.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Karin tells Sasuke she's going to head back but to find her if he wants to talk. Sasuke briefly thinks how different his life is now compared to a year ago . He now had allowed in people outside of his surviving family to get to know him and worry about his wellbeing and state of mind. Although Sasuke still kept his study group friends at a distance, he appreciated they value him enough to keep wanting to hang around him even when he hadn't been exactly welcoming before. Honestly, he didn't know what the three had seen in him to make them try to initiate him into the group after the multiple (rude) rejections on his side.

Sasuke walks in after a few minutes. At the door, he gets pulled into a group that is taking shots. The water had helped a little bit, but the moment he steps back into the music and people standing closely together, Sasuke feels dizzy with the strength of the previously consumed alcohol. He takes a shot that is shoved in his hand, then tries to make his way through the house. He'd decided it's time to go home and was trying to find Suigetsu to say bye. Sasuke could feel the alcohol buzzing in his head, his heartbeat was drumming in his ears. He'd drunk way too much way too fast.

Sakura appears as if out of nowhere in front of him. Sasuke attempts to walk past her quickly, but as hammered as he is, he bumps into her instead. The motion makes Sasuke dizzy and he blinks a few times, just to find himself in a secluded corner of the house. His forearm feels warm, he looks down and finds Sakura's hand lingering there. She must have dragged him there when he was trying to find his balance.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura begins and tucks a strand of pink hair behind her ear. She shifts her weight and her cheeks get a cute ruby hue on them. "I was wondering if you'd like to have a drink with me too, and then maybe dance together?"

She is smiling at him sweetly. Buzzed with alcohol, Sasuke can't even register her words fully before she hands him a drink. Fuck it, he thinks, I literally could not feel any worse. He accepts the drink and takes several sips from it. Sakura is smiling up at him, interpreting his ready acceptance as acceptance of her advances.

Sasuke can hear she is still talking to him, but doesn't care to understand the words. The drink is biter on his tongue, a lemony taste. He wonders how much alcohol he'd have to engulf to stop thinking about Naruto cancelling their date out of nowhere and ghosting him… He should have been with her right now, they could have been coming back from dinner. He would have embraced her, kissed her, tasted her mouth, tasted her breasts again… She was so warm against him…

There is something warm on Sasuke's chest – it takes him several moments to pull himself out of his alcohol-induced daydreaming to realize that Sakura has both hands on his chest, leaning her body against his. She is looking up at him and when he finally looks down at her, realizing how close she is, Sakura takes it as a green light and leans up to kiss him.

If Sasuke hadn't been medically trained, he'd believe that instant soberness was possible. His hands wrap around Sakura's upper arms in the matter of milliseconds and he separates her from himself, a hair before her lips had touched his. He is pinning her down with the darkest eyes a human being could ever possess, overflowing with anger and resolve.

"Sakura. Don't ever try to do this again. Ever." Sasuke warns through gritted teeth, every muscle in his body clenching to sustain self-control and not cause a scene. When he lets go of her and goes to walk away, Sakura clings to him.

Sasuke-kun, please, wait, please!" she pleads, clutching to his sleeve. Sasuke becomes aware people are starting to throw glances at them, so he clicks his tongue in anger and turns around, backs her back into the corner.

"I don't understand, Sasuke-kun! We were talking so well! And then you suddenly reject me…" Sakura's eyes are watery and her voice is shaky. Sasuke doesn't know and is not interested in finding out how much of that is genuine and how much it's manipulative behavior. However, he decides to be completely clear, so he can walk away from her uninterrupted and unfollowed, without a scene unfolding.

"I'm in love with someone, Sakura," Sasuke hears himself say. He'd never thought in his life that he was capable of falling in love. At first the statement makes Sasuke feel like he's having an out-of-body experience, like it's someone else making the statement. He takes a deep breath in, grounds himself, and repeats. "I am completely and utterly in love with someone else. You are genuinely wasting your time with me. You should look for someone who could return your interest."

With that, he walks away. Sakura doesn't attempt to stop him or catch up to him this time. The steadfastness of the Uchiha's body language and the resolve in his voice as he made the statement didn't leave Sakura much room for immediate negotiations. She remains in the corner, watching Sasuke disappear in the crowd. A few people still glance at her to make sure she is okay, but then stop when she walks out in the opposite direction.

Soon after he'd left Sakura, Sasuke begins to feel the effects of that last shot and drink. The profound revelation of his feelings for Naruto, combined with the alcohol, send him off-balance. His sensorium becomes clouded and he feels dizzy again. Unsure how, he'd apparently stumbled upon (or had attracted the attention of) his university friends. All four of them were now in a huge, luxury bathroom with Suigetsu lounging on the counter and Sasuke vomiting his guts out in the toilet.

"Shit. Fucker's hot even when puking! What do they put in these Uchiha genes!" Suigetsu laughs loudly, smoking a cigarette and watching Sasuke puke from the bathroom counter. Suigetsu gets out a vial and pours some coke on his hand, then offers Sasuke some when he is in-between vomiting.

"Fuck…off." Sasuke cuts off, his eyes closed as he rests his forehead against the toilet. Karin is rubbing his back and muttering poor baby while Juugo offers him some water which Sasuke also declines.

"Still sassy, I see," Suigetsu notes and smiles that wide smile that makes his sharp canines show. "Well, your loss. It's some good shit." He snorts the cocaine off his hand and rests languidly against the wall, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"I don't know if it's the alcohol making me puke, or the disgusting smell of you smoking in here," Sasuke bites out, with what little energy he had left.

"It's definitely you getting wasted on alcohol, but if it makes you feel better to blame me, then go ahead. You said to hide the drugs and the hookers so you'd attend, but it seems like I should've hidden the drinks instead."

Sasuke slants an exhausted but angry gaze at Suigetsu.

"Okay, I… I think I'm done. I feel better." Sasuke says and goes to stand up, but ends up propped against the wall instead.

"Perfect." Suigetsu jumps off the counter and tosses the cigarette bud in the toilet before flushing. He exhales the last of his smoke and aids Juugo in getting Sasuke up.

"You're definitely not leaving," Suigetsu commands before rummaging through the drawers. He pulls out a brand new tooth brush, toothpaste and mouthwash. You can stay here, sleep it off until you're sober enough to drive or until you're ready to come out and hang out with me again. Towels are in that cabinet over there. Get some rest, I'll make sure tonight's orgy doesn't come in here. Or at least not until you're ready to."

At Sasuke's stern stare, Suigetsu laughs again and pats Sasuke on his back. "Man, I just love fucking with you, and you being so wasted makes it even more fun!"

"Suigetsu," Karin, addresses him firmly, "let's leave him alone. He looks exhausted."

"Sure. And don't worry about the cigarette smell, the vent in this bathroom is special. I had it installed to hide I was smoking from my parents. One minute and the smell will be gone – poof!" Suigetsu laughs. He throws an arm over Karin's shoulder as they're walking out and leans down to speak closer to her ear. "So for tonight I was thinking…"

The three head out and Sasuke is left alone. He doesn't say it, but he is grateful for how they'd handled him getting so wasted. Sasuke couldn't say that he'd vomited in front of three other people before, and the interesting thing was, he wasn't even embarrassed because those were his friends and he knew they cared.

When Sasuke wakes up, the party is still going. He honestly doesn't remember brushing his teeth and getting into bed, but the minty taste in his mouth lets him know he'd definitely tended to his pukey mouth before sleeping. He looks at his phone – it's thirty minutes before midnight. He'd slept like a log for what – four? five hours? However long it was, Sasuke feels exponentially better and has the full intention of asking Suigetsu what brand his mattress is.

When he comes out, Sasuke goes to look for Suigetsu, this time with a steady gait and a clear head. He finds him in the living room with women taking shots off of his chest and snorting lines of coke from his abs.

When he spots Sasuke, his body language immediately lets everyone else know that his attention will be shifted to the Uchiha now.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke informs the other man. Just then, two half-naked girls come to dance around him and smile up at him.

"Sasuke. Are you sure you don't want to stay? It's just now getting fun?" Suigetsu offers, his sharp tooth showing through his sly smile.

"Are you sure we can't convince you to stay? You look like such a treat, I can't wait to take a bite of you! You were right, Suigetsu, he is gorgeous," one of the girls at Sasuke's side says seductively and traces a hand down his abs.

Sasuke politely gets them off himself, repeating again that he's leaving.

"Aww, girls. You were too forward, now you scared him!" Suigetsu muses from the couch. Then he gets up and walks out with Sasuke to his car, another cigarette in his mouth.

"Well thanks for coming, Sasu-chan. You definitely look better. I hope you had fun during the time when you were not puking your brains out." Suigetsu says as they stand in front of Sasuke's black SUV.

"I actually did enjoy myself. Pretty mild for a party of yours, huh?"

"Pretty mild," Suigetsu confirms and laughs, taking another drag from his cigarette. "But I'll throw more mild parties if it means you'll come to them."

"I may," Sasuke finds himself genuinely saying. "Thanks for the invite."

Sasuke doesn't know if it is himself or Suigetsu that initiates it, but the two share a solid bro hug.

"I'm really glad you came out, man. It made me happy to see you. Even if you make fun of us for missing you after only two days. Also whatever you have going on that made you sad today, I hope it gets resolved for you soon. Call me if you want to talk."

Sasuke gives a small smile. Behind all the bravado and super extroversion to the point of being annoying, Suigetsu was a really solid and genuine friend.

It's just past midnight when Sasuke enters his apartment and to his surprise, his phone vibrates in his pocket. His surprise is even bigger when the caller ID says Naruto.

"Naruto?" Sasuke finds himself answering the phone, some disbelief in his voice, followed by concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm okay." Naruto answers on the other side. Relief and so much more blooms in Sasuke's chest just at hearing her voice. "Sorry, I know it's so late – I was just about to hang up realizing how late it was-"

"No, don't worry," Sasuke assures, really not wanting her to hang up. "I'm still up. Is everything okay with you?"

"Yeah, so sorry for the vague message last night, I had to leave town in a hurry – nothing bad, but I couldn't call during, there were aways multiple people around me. I'll tell you more next time I see you. But I wanted to give you a call and clear the air and apologize."

"That's okay. There is no reason to apologize," Sasuke assures her, as if he hadn't spent the last day and a half tormenting himself over the belief that Naruto had ghosted him and wasn't interested in him, as if he hadn't gotten himself wasted in the middle of the day with how upset he actually was.

"Great! I'm glad to hear that. Listen, I wanted to see if you'd be free tomorrow? Maybe we can make it up for today?"

"Sound good," Sasuke says in his usual, monotone voice, but inside he feels giddy with the relief of hearing her voice and her willingness to still go out. "What time are you free?"

"I have something in the morning that may stretch out, but I should be done by the afternoon. Say, early evening?"

"Sure. I'll pick you up at six. Text me the address and I'll text you where I'll be taking you."

"My, my, so organized," Naruto muses on the other side of the line. Then, in a lower, huskier voice, she adds, "I can't wait to see you. I thought about you all day today, and how we had to cut it short last time…"

Sasuke recognizes the lust in her voice for what it is. His mouth is suddenly dry with anticipation to see her. He contemplates just asking her where she is now and just inviting himself over – that's how much Naruto influenced his famous Uchiha self-control.

"We can make up for everything tomorrow," Sasuke assures in a dark voice.

"Mmm… I like the sound of that," Naruto breathes into the phone. "Sasuke, my ride is here. I have to go. Have a good night, and I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and Sasuke," Naruto continues in a low, hushed voice as Sasuke hears a car pulling up in the background, "I know you're hard. Think about me when you touch yourself tonight."

With that, the line is cut off. Sasuke looks at the phone, then breathes out a genuine laugh. His pants did feel tight around his erection.

He goes to drink some water and electrolytes to make sure he is good for tomorrow. He doesn't know it, but he is smiling the whole time.