How Orphan Boys Play
Chapter 10-Boys kissing Boys
Usually, Sai relished errand days with Yamato because, that
meant having to travel around half of Konoha, spending ages
waiting for the plant man to finish talking to really boring
people Sai didn’t even know. Today, he welcomed and even
hoped it would last all day. It had been two weeks since it
had happened and Sai felt like he was drifting further and further
away from the two people he shared his closest bonds with.
Like he cared. They didn’t. Still, the
whole thing had made the first week back at school pretty lonely.
Poor Sai had the unfortunate luck of being last to enter the
classroom, making him the odd number and had to be put at a desk
all on his own instead of being able to share it with someone.
Plus, Gaara and Naruto had been paired up to sit together and were
all the way on the other side of the room next to the windows that
overlooked the view of the forest hills. Like Sai cared. The
further away he was from them, the better.
The longer these errands took today, the better too.
Unfortunately, there was only one errand today and it was the
foxes den of Konoha; the Yamanaka Flower Shop. If gossip and
rumours could breed, this would be where they would spawn.
It was also home to the most annoying and ugliest person alive
that Sai had ever known, Ino Yamanaka. She considered
herself to be the rose of Konoha with her long locks of blonde
hair, her vast assortment of purple miniskirts and amazing
intellect...... apparently. All Sai could see was a screechy, half
naked, loud mouthed cow with holes in her ears that her brains
probably leaked out of. Like Sai cared though, better here
than with-
“Hello there, Miss Yamanaka. Is Mrs. Yamanaka
around?” Yamato was always oddly cheerful when it came to
clients, it creeped Sai out a little. And there was Ino, right
behind the counter with her head propped up on her elbows, eyeing
up Sai like he was made of chocolate. Yamato never seemed to
notice.
“Not today”, Ino beamed. “She and Dad are
away on a long weekend get-away. My Aunt is filling in though”.
Sai noticed a peculiar twinkle in Yamato’s eye, something
he’d never seen in the plant man before and the ebony wasn’t
sure why.
“Hey, Sai,” said Yamato suddenly. “I
think you should take Ino out for a little while. I’ll be
here all day filling out papers. I know how much that bores you so
you might as well go and enjoy the day”.
With every facial muscle Sai could find, he begged Yamato
to take all that back and say he was joking. It seems
whatever made Yamato’s eyes twinkle like that was blinding
the man from his son’s expression of dire terror.
Before the doomed boy could get a word in, Ino had already hopped
over the counter, latched onto Sai’s arm and flew out the
door with him. Sai cast a ‘you’re dead’
look that went completely unnoticed by the perky parent.
XXXX
ONE HOUR LATER..........
“And that cow’s like, ‘ya-huh!’
and I told her, ‘nuh-uh’! She thinks she’s so
cool. No-one’s cool with a forehead that size. You’ve
seen it right? It’s like a bill-board. I bet if I shined it
I could see my reflection”
Right about now, Sai wished he carried mushrooms in
his pockets instead of pens. Something red and filled with poison
would bring such sweet satisfaction.
“Oh, look! There’s Sasuke! Hurry, Sai,
put your arm around me. This’ll make him so jealous”
Like he had any choice over the matter.
If it made her stop talking, he’d glue his arm
onto her face. Sasuke Uchiha was coming their way along the
street. Sai didn’t really know him that well other than by
name and that there was never a moment where he wasn’t
surrounded by really loud girls, Ino included. Just then,
when they were about to cross paths, Ino suddenly bolted right up
to the Uchiha, yanking Sai behind her like a rag doll.
“Hey, Sasuke! Check out my new boyfriend”
Sai was tossed between Ino and Sasuke.
The dizzy artist was starting to lose track of which
way was up. The Uchiha barely blinked. He just stood there with
his hands tucked into his pockets. When he spoke, his voice was
noticeably deeper than anyone else in their class.
“Good to hear, Ino. That means you
won’t be mad at Sakura”
“Why would I be mad at her? She isn’t
your girlfriend. Is she?”
“No,” he answered while reaching for something
in his pocket. “But you might have gotten mad at the present
she gave me” The Uchiha plucked something pink from his
pocket that made Ino’s face drop into a sickly white and
rose into a red, fiery rage.
“That little whore!”
Sasuke gave the already pissed off pig another poke by
twirling the panties on his pinky. She snatched them and
glared at the pink, lacy item like it was a dead animal. A split
second later, Ino bolted down the street and yelled every foul
word mixed with ‘forehead’ until she was out of sight.
“Thank fuck. I can hear my thoughts
again”, said the Uchiha before turning to walk off.
However, he was stopped mid-way because something
caught his arm and pulled him back around. Sasuke suddenly
felt a hard nib run across his the skin of his forearm before he
saw the kid, who was with Ino, scribbling away. Whether he was
startled, confused or curious, Sasuke just stood there and waited
until this weirdo finished.
When it was done, Sai pointed at his saviour's arm with alert
in his eyes and squeak in his throat. Sasuke allowed a little
emotion in his face to show he was actually impressed with the
design. It was a gruesome dragon with an ugly pig snout and there
was a smaller figure with spiked hair driving a mighty sword
through the beast’s chest. That’d make a cool tattoo
Sasuke thought to himself.
“You’re welcome”, said the Uchiha
in a cold tone. “You looked like you needed saving”
Sai quickly scribbled on his own palm and showed Sasuke the
pair of underwear accompanied by a question mark he had drawn.
“You’re lucky I saw you before she saw
me. She thinks they belong to another annoying pain called
Sakura”. The Uchiha jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I
just yanked them off someone’s wash line. They could belong
to my Great Aunt for all I know” Sasuke suddenly
sighed like he was bored of his own story and started to walk off,
leaving Sai to just stand there on his own.
“You coming or what?”
The ebony artist’s ears perked up and he
quickly trotted until he and Sasuke were walking side by side.
XXXX
The pair didn’t say much all day. In fact, they
didn’t do much all day either which left an unusual
sensation in Sai’s stomach. Normally, his day never had the
chance to do nothing. With chores, school, planting and just
trying to keep up with Naru-other stuff......there was never time
for nothing. It was actually kind of nice.
Sai just sat there on his spot on the branch, looking over
the rooftops of Konoha and feeling quite content while Sasuke sat
back against the body of the massive oak. Sai wasn’t
sure if Sasuke was doing it on purpose but the Uchiha looked
pretty cool relaxing like that; one leg propped up to keep
balanced while the other dangled off the edge, arms pillowing his
head and eyes closed like he couldn't care about anything else
around him. Whether Sasuke was sleeping or not, a loud rumble
disturbed him. The ‘yawn effect’ kicked in and
set off another rumble inside the other young teen’s
stomach. The ebony pair glanced at each other and somehow managed
to share the same thought without sharing words. Food.
Sasuke led Sai to a dango stand on the east side of
Konoha, where all the famous families lived. Sai however,
considered them more numerous than famous. Almost everywhere he
could pick out the distinctive feature he’d only ever heard
of until now; the umber shades of the Aburame, the lavender tinted
eyes of the Hyuuga and the ivory fangs of Inuzuka dogs.
It wasn’t until the scent of baked dumpling dough
wafted through the air that Sai realized he didn’t have any
money. It was okay though because, the stall owner owed the young
Uchiha a favour for finding some runaway chickens a few days ago
and saving him a week’s worth supply. So, the ravenous pair
wasted no time in diving straight into their meal with Sasuke
practically growling as his teeth with a piece of stubborn meat
filling stuck to the wooden skewer. That had made Sai giggle
a little which only got him teased by Sasuke for having a girly
laugh. No matter. Too hungry to care. They ordered another round,
taking their time with this batch now that their appetite was
sufficed. Sai spent the quiet time doodling swirls on his
arm. From the corner of the artist’s eye, he saw the Uchiha
watching and quickly put his pen away.
“No, keep going,” said Sasuke
halfway though chewing. “I want to see what it turns into”.
Sai blinked but he felt a twitch of admiration. Lately, he’d
been getting into trouble from Yamato for constantly drawing on
himself. Apparently, it was bad for his skin. Yamato can be a real
pain when he wants to.
“You planning on being a tattoo guy or something”
The little artist bit into his food, not quite sure what to say.
He’d never thought about that kind of stuff before. “You
don’t talk much do you?”
Sai shrugged.
“Meh. It’s okay. So what are you-“
“There you are, Otouto” A very deep
voice that could have belonged to a fabled night demon appeared
from behind the snacking pair and Sai’s mouth hung open in
complete awe.
He was standing right in front of an older, double version
of Sasuke. The guy was just a few inches taller but emitted a
strange, heavy aura. The hair was pretty long for a guy but it
seemed to suit the guy’s round face. He really did look like
the double of Sasuke apart from the heavy bags under his eyes.
“What do you want, Aniki?” Sai quickly
stuffed the last dango into his mouth. For some reason, this guy
scared the little ebony and he couldn’t believe that Sasuke
could talk in such a brash tone.
“Because,” the older guy started, “you’re
supposed to be helping Mother with the preparations. When Father
finds out you ditched he’s going to be pissed off too”
Out of nowhere, the older guy poked Sasuke on the forehead quite
sharply. “I’m just trying to do you a favour and save
you from dealing with Father’s temper. You’ve been
pushing you’re luck with him lately”
“Fine! Just quit nagging me already. Sai, I
gotta go okay? I’ll see ya around”
As Sai raised his hand to wave, he watched something
amazing happen. Sasuke turned to walk by his Brother with a sour
look on his face but, as he left his Brother’s direct line
of sight, the young Uchiha shot Sai a wicked sneer. In a split
second, Sasuke swung hard at his older Brother’s crotch,
grabbed Sai by the arm and ran like fuck! Sai dropped the empty
stick and nearly tripped over his own feet in the haste. Somehow
they managed to turn two corners already when the howl of the
demon roared behind them.
“Shit! I really pissed Itachi off this time.
Hurry and climb!”
Sai wobbled when they suddenly stopped running for their
lives and was amazed to see that they’d both somehow found
their way back to big Oak. In no time, they scrambled high into
the thickest set of leaves and branches but, also into the
tightest. Sasuke was determined not to be found and seemed equally
set on keeping Sai out of danger too. That could have been avoided
by just not dragging me or not punching your Brother, Sai thought.
“Shhh, I can see him coming. Hold on to me so
you don’t fall”
Sai swiftly found himself being tugged by the waist
and his chest pressed right against Sasuke’s. The young
Uchiha was looking down, his Brother several feet below and his
heart beating hard next to Sai’s. Seconds seemed to
stretch but eventually, Itachi kept running and was far from
sight. Sasuke let out a long and heavy sigh or relief and Sai no
longer felt the rapid heartbeat next to him.
“So........that’s your Brother, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s an annoying douche”
“He’s kinda short too” The leaves
suddenly shook as Sasuke’s laughter flew through the tree.
It was then, that Sai felt his chest tighten. It wasn’t like
he even knew Sasuke well enough, he didn’t even know him a
day. However, Sai had the impression that the young Uchiha didn’t
smile much. It looked nice on him. When Sasuke could finally
breadth again, he patted Sai on the back.
“So you do talk then. You’re funny too”
XXXX
For what Yamato lacked in choice of colour and personality,
he made up for in lining in Sai’s opinion. Ever since
his first night in this boring house, Sai had slept like a baby.
Tonight though, his sweet slumber was disturbed by a series of
noises. First, a loud tapping, then the patter of rain on
the window, followed by more tapping with some heavier rain, then
the drum of thunder clouds, then more tapping and finally, a loud
sneeze.
It was half-assed but Sai managed to sit up and turn his
head to the window. For a second, he was sure he saw two lights of
red glowing from outside. It almost looked like they were staring
at him. Sai reached over to his bed lamp. As light filled the
room, Sai nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Sasuke at his
window. With a dozen questions flying through his little ebony
head, Sai rushed to the window, thrust it open and heaved Sasuke
through it at the same time. The pair fell into each other and
landed quite hard on the floor. Sai was so close to using his
rarest loud voice but Sasuke covered his mouth with a hand to
prevent it. The young Uchiha quickly got up and shut the
window before the room could get as soaked as he was.
“Jesus!” The Uchiha exclaimed. “Do
you drug yourself up or something before going to bed? It
felt like I was banging that window for hours”
“Why were you even out there anyway? It’s the
middle of the night” Sasuke slumped to the floor, letting
out a long sigh as he did.
“I know. I know. Look, I’m sorry alright? But I
had to get away from that house. They’re having a
god-dammed party and it’s still going on. I can’t
stand anyone there. Can I stay the night? Please?”
Late evenings seemed to bring out the worst in Sai because even he
could feel his face screw up in agitation. But then........
“You did buy me lunch. So, fine” Sai plucked
himself from the floor and searched for that towel he left lying
around. Luckily, it was dry and half clean so, it would do. When
Sai turned around to give Sasuke something to dry off with, the
young artist nearly squeaked with fright. “Woah! Why
are you taking your clothes off?”
“They’re soaked. Duh! Don’t worry you
pussy, I’m keeping my underwear on”
Sai just stood there, fiddling with the towel as Sasuke
stripped and tossed his wet, over sized shirt on the floor along
with his shorts. The boy still standing at the other end of
the room could feel his knees shaking, unsure about what was going
on in his stomach right now.
“Why...why are you getting into my bed?”
Sai felt his throat tighten but he managed to keep his voice from
quivering. What was coming over him, he kept thinking to himself.
“Like I’m gonna sleep on hardwood floor.
Now hurry up and get in here already, the light is killing my
eyes”
Again and again, so many thoughts were bouncing back and
forth. None made any sense or hinted a solution. Nevertheless, Sai
dropped the towel, walked to his bed, turned out the lamp and
pulled the bed covers over himself and the boy who would be
sleeping next to him tonight. Immediately, Sai made sure to
turn his back against Sasuke and instinctively curled up.
While the other ebony seemed to drift off in no time, the smaller
was very aware of how much and how hard he was breathing.
Why is this happening? It’s no big deal. He’d
slept in the same bed with.... with Gaara and Naruto before.
Dozens of times in fact so why was this so......frightening? Sai
couldn’t think of a time when he’d been half this
scared. It almost felt like his heart would find it’s way
out of his throat.
Out of the blue, Sai let out a long yawn and the heavy,
welcoming relief of sleep curled over him. Any moment now and all
these weird thoughts would be gone and be no more than sleep gunk
in his eyes in the morning. Until, a certain someone’s arm
found itself lain across Sai’s shoulders and brought back
every anxiety in an instant. It’s okay. It’s cool. He
just rolled over in his sleep. It’s okay. It’s okay.
“Turn around, Sai”
The one now shaking like a cold leaf unintentionally gasped
aloud when he heard his name. Just like earlier, when Sai’s
legs seemed to walk on their own, his body rolled itself over and
forced the wide eyed boy to face the person calling his name. The
red glowing from before, it was Sasuke’s eyes. A deep ember
red iris that seemed to stare inside whom they were gazing at, as
if to take you in.
“Like my eyes, Sai?”, said that deep, cool
voice. “Tell me what else you like”
That arm had strength running through every muscle.
It pulled Sai in with ease and moved him, something he should have
seen coming but had forced himself to ignore the signs. His first
kiss. With a boy! And with someone he literally only knew a day
long.
“Like that?” Sai felt dizzy and feverish
but nodded all the same. “Want more?”
Another nervous nod that seemed to happen on it’s
own. Sai’s thin frame of a body was abruptly pinned down by
strong hands and a heavy mass sat on his stomach. There was still
some evening light coming in through the window, revealing the
broad and very naked shoulders of Sasuke’s body. The word
‘sexy’ appeared in Sai’s mind and the meaning of
it was looking down at him in its underwear.
The Uchiha lowered himself down, his mouth and teeth
moving very close to Sai’s hidden navel. Inch by inch, ivory
fangs dragged the baggy, black t-shirt upward, Sauske pulled it up
as high as it would stretch when he reached Sai’s neck and
quickly tugged it over the smaller boy’s face but, the
Uchiha didn’t remove it. Sai was left blind and practically
bound to his own bed. Something tingly was moving though his body.
It was like when you had too much fizzy juice; that feeling your
stomach could pop any moment if someone poked it roughly.
“Wha....what are you going to do?” Sai
gulped. He could feel Sasuke moving lower down his half naked
form, the weight that had been settling on his stomach now between
his legs. Long, cold fingers tucked themselves into short, black
boxers. A low and menacing chuckle echoed in the room.
“I’m going to eat you”
“NO. No. Don’t do tha-ah!” Sai had never
had the area around his belly button licked before but the
sensation left him trembling all over. If he were still able to
see, he’d probably have his eyes shut tight.
“You moan like a girl, Sai”, Sasuke
chuckled.
As the Uchiha spoke, the helpless Sai could feel his
boxers slowly being pulled away from him. Very soon, he’d be
totally exposed. It wasn’t the thought of being naked in
front of Sasuke that terrified the poor boy, it was the nightmare
of being caught if all the noise he kept making woke up Yamato.
Well, maybe the prior did take up a chunk of that terror.
“Well, look what I found” That evil laugh
again. Why couldn’t Sai just get up and punch Sasuke in the
face? He wasn’t really tied up and the Uchiha wasn’t
even sitting on the little, ivory skinned body any more. So why
couldn’t Sai move? Why was he letting someone he barely knew
touch him in such a weird way?
“Because you like it, Sai” The
frightened ebony gripped his sheets and swallowed a large lump.
“But.....but how? This isn’t....supposed to
feel.....good? Is it?”
A strange memory flashed over Sai’s blind eyes. It
almost felt like it happened a long time ago but the memories and
the feeling were still so fresh to him. It was that night back at
the camp when Sai had watched Naruto milking Gaara. Sai kept
trying to forget it all but every thought he turned to only led
back to that night. Now, weird thoughts like; ‘did it feel
good?’ and ‘what was is it like?’ were popping
up in Sai’s mind no matter how hard he tried to shake them
away.
“What...what are you going to do, Sasuke?”
“I told you”, the Uchiha growled as he
ripped away the final piece of cloth. “I’m going to
eat. You. Up.”
“Sasuke! Sasuke, wait!”
WHACK!!!!!!!!
“OW. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow” Sai clutched
the massive throb on his head.
He rapidly looked around and
had to cover his eyes from the blinding light. After a few minutes
of fighting a headache from hell, Sai could finally think and see
straight. He was on the floor for one thing and so were half the
bed sheets.
“Wha.....?” It took a moment but, “Sasuke?!
What happened-!” No-one was around. Just Sai, in an empty
room with the tossed up bed he’d fallen out of.
“Oh”, Sai said to himself solemnly. “It
wasn’t real”
Sai began to lay his bumped body on the hard floor
boards, just to rest his head and hopefully forget all that
nonsense. How stupid could he have been to believe all that?
Anyone with half a brain could have figured it out long ago and
not needed to fall out the bed to realize it. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot!
Then, like an a guardian angel, Sai saw something that lit up his
dank and dreary day. It was a note with ‘SAI’
written on the front of the folded piece of paper.
.
Hey Thanks 4 putting up with me last
night. I’ll make it up to ya
P.S. She sounded like
a good time. Cya l8r sheet humper!
What the? From there, the note suddenly acted like an arrow
and it pointed itself straight at a large, wet patch that had
spread all over the crotch of Sai's boxers. Sai dared to take a
peek and cringed at the mass of sticky strings. For the rest of
the morning, poor Sai lay hidden under his bed, failing to hide
from his first and most embarrassing moment of his life.
XXXX
Our day to day habits are often the things that help us
feel the most safe and secure. For some, forgetting to brush
your teeth leaves you feeling more aware of them in that one day
than you ever have before. Those who become so accustomed to
having a certain item in the same place everyday can fall apart at
the seams when it becomes misplaced. It’s a mad concept but
it’s common to just about everyone. On the other hand, some
only require a good cup pf tea to see the day through.
Sai was discovering his new daily habit was doing wonders
for his drawing mojo. For the last week or so Sai and Sasuke had
met up every day after school on their tree. Sasuke never seemed
to want to do anything but nap in his usual spot against the trunk
and always managed to make that look cool somehow. Sai just loved
the view from up here. So much so that he would stuff his paper
pad and best pencils into his backpack, with all the bulky books
he had to carry, just so he could draw it all. It was worth the
neck cramp from lugging that stuff all day.
Every day he tried something a little new; cross-hatch with
Biro, solid colours, grey monotones and detailed. Today......why
not try drawing Sasuke? The smaller ebony had never really
tried to draw people before. For one thing, the only people he
might have asked could never sit still. Sai’s art teacher
did say that life drawing is an essential skill for every artist.
An hour passed by and Sai had already accomplished six proud
sketches. He only had one good pen with him today, too much
homework all due on the same day meant limited space in his
backpack, but it was forcing the young artist to stretch his
skills out. One more and that’ll be enough for today.
This time try just the face to focus on the facial
details. That’s when Sai noticed a mean looking insect
lingering over Sasuke’s cheek. The smaller ebony recognized
it as a chicker beetle. Who would have guessed that weird bug kid
from class actually had some handy advice? That little thing can
actually leave a nasty bite that itches like hell for days. It’s
easy enough to brush off though so Sai just leaned over to flick
it away. Little did the poor ebony know that that was the moment
Sasuke decided to wake up.
The next few seconds saw a new found friendship crash
to the ground, literally. The Uchiha had opened his eyes,
only to see the face of another guy very, very close to his own.
Instinct, and a touch of something Sasuke would never believe,
made him throw his fists at Sai’s chest, knocking the
smaller ebony off balance. It was fortunate but painful as he
landed from the ten foot fall on the sharp bushes below. Through
the twigs and thorns, Sai heard a bone chilling roar being thrown
down at him.
“You faggot!! You try that again
and you’re dead! You hear me?”
The confused and prickled boy rolled off nature’s
needles. Sai looked up with bewilderment and questions in his eyes
only to see a kind of look that made him feel so tiny and
terrified. Then, like a black bird of prey, Sasuke swooped
from the tree in one leap and landed with a force that shook the
dirt beneath his feet. He stood over Sai, teeth gnashed and eyes
shadowed by his thick, sharp bangs.
Sai’s only wish was that he had the foresight to see
the heavy sole aimed at his face. Poor Sai’s cheek stung
like hot needles were inside his skin. He pulled his hand
away for a second and a deep red smudge on his palm. He stayed
laid out on the ground, his face in the dirt and tears salting the
wound. It wasn’t until he couldn't hear Sasuke’s
fast running steps that he picked himself up and ran hard in the
opposite direction.
XXXX
Now, every family has their golden child. In the
Uchiha family, where talent and skill wasn’t exactly few and
far between, there was a figure of pure platinum that stood out
above the rest, Itachi Uchiha. While the family have
many offspring that were skipped ahead a year or two in education,
Itachi was the first in several generations to be moved into high
school at the age of eleven. His skills and talents were
exceeded by his status and possibly, charm.
By senior year he’d already had his name on
every qualified achievement there was to gain from athletics to
academics despite the age requirements. However, the clever
bastard seemed to have a way with words when it came to persuasion
and he had managed to sweet talk the vice principle into ignoring
the age restrictions and take a long vacation. Why he did that,
no-one is quite sure why. There were few people he talked to
and even less people he liked. Hell, he could probably count
the number of people he actually cared about on his hand alone.
One person he especially cared about and looked out for was his
baby Brother, Sasuke.
It could have been sixth sense or something but he always
had the feeling he could sense his Brother’s moods, even
from a far distance. The evening was creeping in over the
air and leaving its mark along the twilight skies. It was
the one evening in the week where both parents were out of the
house and Itachi had the whole place to himself to just relax.
While dozing on the wooden walkway that bordered their traditional
style house, Itachi’s gut tightened slightly and he felt an
odd tingle along his knees.
What was Sasuke getting himself into now? Speak of the
little black haired devil, here he comes now and he looks pissed.
Still lying on his back, Itachi propped up his legs to block the
door way. If there was one thing Itachi looked forward to was
teasing his little Brother. It earned the elder Brother a kick to
the shin but, forgetting how strong he was, sent the force of it
straight back into Sasuke’s foot. The poor kid winced
and cursed but eventually gave up, knowing it’d be a waste
of time and energy to try and escape. In his defeat, the
younger planted himself down on the floor, legs crossed, arms
folded and his face made itself very clear how pissed off it was.
“Asshole”
“Nice to see you too, Otouto. So, what
happened?”
“Nothing”, he grumbled.
“Doesn’t sound like it. Have a fight with
Sai or something?” Itachi didn’t have to read Sasuke’s
body language to know he was right.
Sometimes being born a genius had it’s quirks,
even though it was child’s play top figure it all out.
Sasuke never had any friends, until last week. It made the older
Uchiha happy and a touch sentimental even though he got punched in
the dick. His little Brother didn’t like being social.
Their Father was too busy to notice anything that didn’t
glitter and their Mother just assumed her youngest had so many
friends that he was too busy to be home all the time.
Itachi was the only one who knew and, until Sai came along,
Sasuke’s only friend. Itachi also knew Sasuke well enough to
fake tease his little brother when he was genuinely concerned.
Sasuke didn’t like to be smothered over with affection.
Itachi sat up, legs crossed.
“Sasuke”, he said calmly. “Look at me”
Sasuke did and got poked in the head quite sharply.
“What the fuck, Itachi?” Sasuke yelled,
rubbing his forehead.
“Now tell me what happened between you and Sai or
I’ll do that every five minutes until you do” Sasuke,
having been subjected to his older Brother’s torture
sessions for years, complied.
“I don’t talk to that
faggot any more” Now that, earned Sasuke a violent punch to
the back of the head, nearly knocking him over. “AH! Shit!
What the a hell?”
“Since when are you fucking homophobic?!”
Sasuke was suddenly scared shitless. That look in his Brother’s
eyes, it was like....looking into the eyes of someone who could
kill barehanded.
“Since that fa- he tried to kiss
me”
A vulture like grip clutched Sasuke’s jaw, digging
deep enough to leave some nasty bruises to meet tomorrow. Too
scared to hide his fear, Sasuke panted loudly and could feel each
trickle of sweat crawl down his shaking neck and back. Itachi was
really gonna let him have it this time.
“You’ve been bitten”
What?
“What?”
“You’ve got chicker bites. Now, tell me.
Was Sai any closer to your face that I am now?” Sasuke
shook his head, “Did he touch you in any way other than
maybe having his hand near your face?” Sasuke shook again.
“And what did you do?”
“I....kicked him”
Itachi let go and sighed heavily. “You’re a
big fool, do you know that?”
“What you on about?”
“You basically just kicked your only fucking
friend for something he DIDN’T do! What’s wrong with
you? Drag your sorry ass back over to him and apologize it off!”
Sasuke took either a brave or really stupid move and punched
Itachi in the chest. Again, all it did was send the shock back and
hurt like hell.
“What difference would it make now?”
Sasuke pulled in on himself a little and started fiddling with his
shoe laces. If the younger one was actually looking, he might have
caught the sudden but sincere saddened expression on his Brother’s
face.
You don’t know how lucky you have it sometimes,
Sasuke. Yeah, Itachi was the platinum child of the large family
that made up the Uchiha’s but, what does that really mean?
Top grades. Awards. Recognitions. Multiple future prospects.
Loneliness. Solitude. Hiding. Yet, Itachi didn’t envy his
little Brother. Sasuke might not have the problems that Itachi
kept to himself but it did not mean the little fool wasn’t
without his own share of problems too.
Their Father rarely had a word of praise for anything
other than excellence. Sasuke’s grades were good but not as
good as Itachi’s were at that age. Their Mother was overly
motherly. Too much of good thing maybe but every teenage needs
some breathing space. Sasuke could never get one the second he
came through the door with Mother following him around half the
house with a mouthful of questions. Itachi never got that kind of
treatment. Everyone knew what he could do.
He didn’t need Mother to ask over and over again, to
see if there was anything worth mentioning to friends to make them
jealous. Itachi knew that Sasuke hadn’t intentionally
isolated himself all his young life, but the elder figured the
desperation for approval from those his younger Brother loved most
had made the kid bitter. Itachi swung his legs over the edge of
the platform; his feet were softly graced by the green grass
below. There was tiny bud growing in front of his soles.
“Sasuke, what would you think if I told you I
was gay?” The elder had expected a number of reactions but
he hadn’t predicted a silent one. His little Brother
was just staring at him like a dog that was just shown a card
trick.
“Who?” HA! Priceless. Not, ‘what’,
or a ‘you’re lying’ or some homo bashing
slander. The little fool wanted to know who. As if, it might
lessen the blow of it all somehow. Itachi smiled to himself and
lay back on the platform again with his arms behind his head and
legs dangling off the wooden edged surface.
“I’d like to tell you, Sasuke. But, I
promised I wouldn’t. Neither of us are ready to go public
so, you realize I’m trusting you with this right?”
“Yeah.....sure. So......how long?”
“Nearly a year now. On my seventeenth
birthday would you believe? We were both drunk as shit and it was
the classic, ‘one thing led to another’”.
Itachi waited to hear what Sasuke had to say. The elder
wasn’t showing it but his heart was racing a thousand miles
a minute. He’d broken the promise on a slim chance of
acceptance from someone who’d already displayed his opinion
toward the subject.
“Do you.....you know.....love this guy?”
Well, that was a bit of a shocker.
“Yeah, I do. I even said that to him once, not
too long ago either. I wish I could have taken a picture of his
face”, Itachi giggled lightly. Somehow he looked happy and
close to retching all at once in Sasuke’s eyes.
“Big Brother?”
“Yeah?” Here it comes. Itachi prayed to
every God he knew and didn’t believe in. Here’s
hoping.
“I’ll go apologize to Sai. He....probably
wasn’t trying to pull anything”
Phew. That was good to hear, even if it was all Itachi
would hear from Sasuke about the subject. The younger Uchiha got
up and started walking. Itachi didn’t move. Half way between
the house and the front gate-
“Hey, Itachi”
The elder sprang upward, a rare expression of surprise and
hope over his face.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone,
especially Dad”. Suddenly, Sasuke bolted and, just as
suddenly, stopped at the front gate to yell one last thing. “I’m
glad you found someone you love!”
Then he was gone. Itachi sat there, bewildered and
dumbfounded probably for the first time in his life but proud as
hell too. Now, all he had to deal with was the boyfriend he’d
been hiding earlier. If he hadn’t stopped Sasuke going
through the doorway when he did, well it would have raised some
awkward questions. Standing in the door way, now that Sasuke was
out of sight, was Itachi’s broken promise. In its underwear.
“Well. That was pretty ballsy of you, Itachi. We both
agreed to never tell a soul”
The Uchiha kept quiet, still looking out at the front gate.
Either he hoped saying nothing would make it all go away or just
make the argument easier to bare. It’s not easy being a
pacifist when you tend to piss people off. A large, cold, but
welcomed hand took hold of the back of Itachi’s neck and
gently caressed it.
“Think everyone else will take it as well as your
little Brother did?”
“I doubt it. Not many people jump for joy when
two blood related cousins become involved with each other. But, I
think I’m content with just that little fool accepting me”
“You know, I could tell you were terrified. Did you
really think he’d use it as a way to gain respect from your
Father? Even if it meant you being disgraced by your whole
family?” Itachi clutched that gentle hand that often helped
ease all the tension this young genius carried around with him.
“I tried not to”. They were both
quiet for a while.
“Itachi....I love you too.” Just a shame the
first time Itachi had said it wasn’t to the face of the guy
it was meant for. Damn that Sasuke sometimes.
“Hey, don’t get soppy on me, Shisui”
“Then can we please go back inside? My ass is
freezing. Why I am always the one who gets stripped down first
anyway?”
“’Cause you’re my bitch”
“Asshole”
“Love you, too.”
XXXX
Poor little Sai could feel a dark void surrounding him.
Something he hadn’t felt in quite a long time. A deep, dark
and lonely space all around that echoed the words, one after
another and never ceasing. So many feelings were clawing at Sai’s
heart. Anger. Frustration. Confusion. Betrayal. Hate. They all
screamed at the poor boy to lash out. To hurt everyone who hurt
him. Only worse.
Hadn’t he blocked out these kind of
feelings long ago? The way he was taught? How could one
person....no how could all of them do this to him? Danzo had been
right. What did Sai do to deserve all this though?
It wasn’t fair. The only friends he’d ever had
abandoned him like an empty cola can. His chance for a new friend
and....maybe something more had kicked him out. Threw him away.
Now there was no one. It’s better this way. No-one can hurt
you if you’re on your own. Nobody can dump you like an old
toy. Nobody can tug you on a leash. It’s much better to be
alone, right? Everything will be all right now?
Sai knew he was only kidding himself. He’d long
forgotten what that old fascist had tried to teach him before
Kurenai found him. Sometimes he’s wished that woman had
never taken him away from there. How had everything managed to rot
away so quickly? He’d been so happy. Happier than he ever
thought could exist inside him. And love. He tried to brush that
silly feeling away long ago but, it was still there. Like it
mattered now.
Poor Sai. He’d hidden himself away in Yamato’s
greenhouse and was tucked in-between the tall, thick stems of the
sunflowers. Even if there was someone who might give a damn, Sai
didn’t want to be seen. He’d curled up as tight as a
seed in dry soil. Hidden away in darkness. Alone. Away. Never to
be seen or found.
“I found him, Gaara!” Sai’s heart
nearly popped out of his chest. He fell back, legs and arms
flailing and crushing a couple of the sunflowers along the way. A
red head and a blonde appeared above him. One was smiling
brightly, the other a little cautious.
“You always were the best at hide and seek, Sai”,
said Gaara. “Although, I doubt you’ve been hiding in
here the last two weeks. Where have you been anyway? We missed
you”
At that moment, Sai could feel his throat closing up. His
whole body trembled from tip to toe and finally, he shattered. He
shot up from the ground and wrapped his arms around Naruto and
Gaara as tightly as he could. His heart wanted to cry out so badly
but he’d sworn a long time ago he’d never do that
again. No matter how much it hurt. It was getting harder and
harder to keep so much in. So many times he just wanted to say
sorry. Had all this been his own fault? Could he ever make it
right again? Gaara tried to shrug Sai off but the little ebony
just held on tighter.
“NO!” He finally cried out. “Please don’t
leave me again. I can’t take that again!”
Again? What the hell? Naruto was much stronger than both
his friends put together and was able to take Sai by the shoulders
and force a gap between them. The look in the blonde’s was
the only thing keeping Sai from fighting back. Gaara quickly
jumped in before Naruto could say or do anything that might make
this all worse somehow.
“Sai”, the red head said firmly, placing a hand
on Sai’s shoulder, “why would you think that? Did you
think we had ditched you or something?” Sai nodded
shakily, his eyes shut closed. “Why?”
His
pale lips quivered but Sai managed to work out a mumble. “I
saw you two....kissing, back at the hot springs. So, I left”
A little bell chimed in Gaara’s mind. This was why he
always left class first before Naruto or Gaara had the chance to
catch up? This is why they haven’t been able to find, play,
or even talk with him for nearly two weeks.
“Sai....”, Gaara sighed the name in a
low, long syllable before taking his own hand and using it to give
Sai a good whack to the back of the head.
“OW!” The little ebony yelped and looked up at
Gaara with shocked eyes. Even Naruto had to do a double take at
that move.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Sai?”
Gaara scolded. “I know you don’t like to talk about
that kind of stuff but, come on! If you’d said something,
you could have joined in. We’ve been worried
sick about you!”
Sai body language molded itself into something hinting
curiosity. “Join in?”
“Yeah”, Naruto finally burst in. “It’s
always more fun when it’s all three of us and who says
kissing’s just for two people? Here, I’ll show ya!”
Sai barely had the chance to blink before he got pounced
on, but he couldn’t think of a better place to be. Naruto
was all over Sai; hands holding his shoulders down, knees on
either side of his legs and rough, chapped lips pressed over thin,
pale ones. Trust Naruto to take a first kiss in such a crude way.
This time though, it was a real first kiss so what did it matter?
“Your turn, Gaara”, Naruto called over his
shoulder only to see the red head looking through the some of the
untrammeled sunflowers stems. “Hey, you in there? We
can’t leave you out on all the fun. What are you looking
at?”
“I thought just I saw Yamato outside the
window”, Gaara replied coolly.
Then Sai immediately bounced up, toppling Naruto over like
the blonde weighed no more than a paper clip.
“Just kidding.”
Gaara was then mauled by his
friends for scaring the crap out of them like that. They laughed
and laughed until their sides nearly split. They were together
again. Gaara had lied though. He had seen someone outside the
window looking inside and catching a glimpse of Naruto and Sai
kissing together. However, there could have been a number of
reasons for Sasuke Uchiha to have been out there. On the other
hand, Gaara could only think of one for that look of absolute rage
glaring in Naruto’s direction. Gaara knew he was going to
have to keep an eye on that guy with the blood red eyes
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