Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I don't make any profit from writing this.
Still being written. I am determined to finish this.
Sasuke woke up the next morning with Karin sprawled over the right half of his body. She was warm and soft, her belly pressed against his arm. He huffed out a breath and sat up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, get his bearings, and think up a plan to get his cellphone back from Naruto.
At the thought of the teen's name, Sasuke shot up off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom in time to throw up last night's mix of alcohol and leftover meatloaf. He felt shame wash over him, at the thought that he kept giving in to Naruto, like the blonde was his drug of choice and he just couldn't quit.
Sasuke stood up and flushed the toilet, then brushed his teeth twice to get the taste of acid out of his mouth. After that, he stripped out of his pajamas and turned the shower on, making the water as hot as he could stand it. Under the spray of water, he scrubbed his skin until it was raw; until the other night was washed away down the drain.
He was just rinsing his hair when the bathroom door clicked open and Karin pulled the curtain to the side. She had taken off her clothes somewhere between the bed and the door, and the ring Fugaku had given Sasuke was sitting mockingly on her finger.
Karin gave him a sleepy smile as she stepped into the shower with him, her hands immediately going up to his cheeks. Her palms were cold on his face. She hummed as she pressed their lips together. Sasuke took a step back but she followed and pressed him into the shower wall. The wet tiles were even colder than her hands.
Karin's skin was wet where he put his hands, on her shoulders so that he could push her away a little to look her in the eyes. They were still glassy with sleep but he could clearly see her devotion to him somewhere in their depths. It made feel sick with guilt.
"You don't have anywhere you have to be, right?" she smiled shyly as she pushed back into his personal space, her lips brushing feather-light against his. Sasuke shook his head minutely and licked his lips. Karin’s smiled widened, like she’d finally gotten hold of her prey, and she slid her hand down his belly to curl her fingers loosely around him.
His stomach clenched painfully at the feeling and he only had a second to move before he was puking into the toilet again. Karin cooed softly as she brushed the hair off his forehead, using her other hand to rub his back. It seemed to last forever and when it was over his skin was clammy.
“Maybe you should cut back on working for a while.” Karin suggested as she pressed her lips to his shoulder. Sasuke reached for the toilet paper and tore off a piece to wipe his mouth with and then tossed it into the trash can next to the toilet. Karin helped him to his feet and then ushered him into the bedroom where she pulled a pair of clean clothes out of his dresser and tossed them onto the bed.
"Ten minutes." she smiled, kissing him on the cheek before she disappeared back behind the bathroom door. Sasuke stared at it for a few moments and then turned back to the bed so he could get changed.
His mind was a jumble of thoughts, half of them on Naruto and the other half split between his forgotten cell phone and the ring on Karin's finger.
Sasuke was just pulling his shirt over his head when a knock came from the front door. Frowning to himself, Sasuke padded out into the living room to the front door and peeked through the eyehole before he pulled it open. Itachi was dressed for business as usual, looking like an ass in his expensive suit with his hair pulled back into its usual ponytail. All he wanted to do was slam the door in his brother's face. Itachi never showed up at his apartment unless it was something serious. His stomach clenched again but he didn't feel like puking this time. He was more nervous than anything.
“What do you want, Itachi? I doubt you came here to socialize.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his older brother in askance, but the man just tilted his head and answered with knowing smile.
“Is that any way to talk to your elders? I thought our parents taught you better than that, little brother.” Sasuke scowled and let his brother into the apartment, shutting the door harder than he meant to behind them. Itachi had only been to the apartment once or twice so he took his time looking around, leaving Sasuke irritated and burning to know what exactly he was doing there.
Itachi didn’t say anything as he sat down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other. Sasuke stood standing, leaning back against the counter with his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweat pants. Minutes passed without either of them speaking and Sasuke was nearly at breaking point.
“I want you to stay with me for a while.” The words came like a kick to the gut. Sasuke opened his mouth to protest – he wasn’t a fucking kid anymore – but one look from Itachi had him snapping his mouth shut. “Karin called early this morning and insisted I come get you. She’s on-call for the rest of the week, so she won’t be joining us until later.”
“And if I refuse?” Sasuke asked. Itachi shot his brother a sideways glance and shrugged his shoulders a little inelegantly.
“I wasn’t asking for your permission. I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in this.” Itachi sighed, like the whole world was balanced on his shoulders. Sasuke felt rage sweep through him. He wanted to punch Itachi for pulling something like this on him.
Karin chose that moment to come into the room, buttoning up the rest of her top with a small smile on her face. She stopped when she noticed the two brothers glaring at each other and flinched when Sasuke’s gaze abruptly jerked to her. There were a few things he wanted to say to her, but Itachi cut him off before he could even open his mouth.
“I’ve told Sasuke what we talked about earlier. Konan and I already cleaned out one of the bedrooms for your stay.” Itachi told her. He shot Sasuke another look that said how displeased he was at this turn of events. “Since you’ll be staying in my house, I only ask that you keep it clean and refrain from any activities that might scar my child.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
“That sounds easy enough, doesn’t it, sweetie?” Karin smiled at him, coming over to kiss him. He wanted to pull away, but he could feel his brother’s eyes on them. He managed to smile back at her though it felt more like a grimace. “Some time away from work will do us both some good. Shizune already promised to cover my patients.”
“She sounds like a kind woman.” Itachi said in a monotone. He stood up from the couch and waved his hand in the direction of Sasuke’s bedroom. “Go pack some things, little brother. Enough to last a few weeks.”
Sasuke almost blanched at the idea of missing work for two weeks, but even more so for the fact that he wouldn’t have a phone. His first order of business was to get it back. Sasuke pushed away from the counter and walked into his room, where he pulled a duffle out from under his bed. It was a little dusty from not being used, but it was better than nothing. He filled it with some of the essentials, like his toothbrush and the few hair products and then stuffed it full of clothes.
Karin appeared at the bedroom door just as he was zipping up the bag. He wanted to be mad at her, but he couldn’t blame her for how she felt about him. He was starting to realize that you couldn't control who you fell in love with.
Sasuke turned his back to her as he zipped up his bag. She came further into the room and sat on the bed, her hands clenched in her lap. He didn’t really have anything to say to her, not anything she wanted to hear.
“I was worried about you.” She said quietly, her finger drawing patterns on the bedspread. “You’ve been drinking at work more and more often. Ino said you spend all day up in your office instead of in the bar where she needs you.”
I’m fine, he wanted to tell her, but he decided not to say anything and lifted his bag and swung the strap onto his shoulder. Karin stood up from her spot on the bed and came around to the side, but Sasuke turned his head at the last mintue so that her lips landed on his cheek instead. She looked hurt and Sasuke tried to give her a reassuring look, but he was sure he came off as more of an asshole.
“I'll see you soon.” he murmured, hiking his bag higher onto his shoulder and turning to leave. Itachi was standing patiently by the front door, but he was frowning down at his phone like it had personally wronged him. Sasuke walked passed past him and outside, breathing in the cool air and letting out a sigh. There were a lot of thoughts going through his head and a lot of them circled around the fact that his life had fallen into chaos. He was lost and he didn't know what his next move was supposed to be.
Itachi appeared next to him and Sasuke didn't flinch when a hand fell onto his shoulder, steering him in the direction of the staircase. His older brother was silent all the way down to the limo – and Sasuke silently judged Itachi for being so extravagant – and let the man push him into the back. He set his duffle bag on the floor and was putting his seatbelt on when Itachi finally said something.
“It's been a while since I've had to clean up one of your messes. Kakashi was very forthcoming in that regard.” he said lightly. Sasuke stiffened and bit his tongue because he knew if he opened his mouth if would only be worse for him. Itachi had always been critical of his every move, just like his father had been, and it was a miracle Sasuke hadn't gone crazy. “Really, Sasuke.” Itaachi continued. “I thought you were smarter than this. When did your preferences change to teenage boys?”
“It's none of your business who I sleep with!” Sasuke snapped, the tips of his ears burning. Itachi chuckled softly and reached over the space between them to flick him in the forehead, like he used to when they were children, but Sasuke shot him a filthy look and turned his head away. He wasn't in the mood for the bastard's mind games.
As they left the parking lot of his apartment complex, Sasuke thought back to the moment he saw Naruto in the club and his heart skipped a beat. It was something he was starting to become familiar with, but he didn't want to examine it too closely.
“I need to make a stop before we leave.” Sasuke muttered, glancing quickly at his brother. When Itachi raised an eyebrow in question, Sasuke swallowed and said, “I want to break it off.”
The lie felt thick in his mouth.
*~*
Itachi dropped him off at the back of the building and made Sasuke promise to be done with the goodbyes by the time he'd circled around the block. His heart was pounding as he walked up to the doors, knowing the blonde was going to be walking out of them in just a few short minutes. He wasn't expecting to see Tsunade coming out of them as soon as he got close enough. She didn't notice him at first, too busy shouting back to someone still in the building.
When she saw him, she immediately narrowed her eyes and that's when Sasuke knew he was in trouble.
“I would say I'm surprised to see you here, but I'm really not. You Uchiha just live to piss me off.” Tsunade said unkindly, stepping forward and letting the heavy door fall shut behind her. She hadn't aged in the years since Sasuke was a student. “What do you want, boy?”
“I'm sure Kakashi's already told you everything. I'm just here to break it off.” he relplied, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly.
Tsunade laughed harshly, “From what Kakashi told me, you had already
stopped seeing him.” She took a few steps closer, menacingly, and Sasuke fought to hold his ground. “I'm not going to even question why you think it's okay for a grown man to do these things. I suggest you-.”
“I'm not leaving.” Sasuke spoke over her. Tsunade raised one of her eyebrows and Sasuke raised one of his in retaliation.
“You can’t be here, Uchiha. Naruto’s parents don’t want you anywhere near him.” Tsunade hissed at him. She took another step forward, unblocking his view of the backdoor. He saw Naruto behind her, looking bewildered as they continued to argue. “Just leave, or you will force me to call the authorities.” she said just as the blonde came towards them. Sasuke felt the stiffness in his shoulders loosen just a bit.
“Sasuke.” Naruto stepped in between them without a thought and leaned up on his toes to kiss Sasuke on the mouth. Tsunade looked scandalized by it all but Naruto just asked questions about why he was there and ignored her.
“I need to talk to you.” Sasuke replied, glaring at Tsunade as he took Naruto 's hand. She stalked off back into the building and Sasuke pulled the blonde furhter into the parking lot, away from his friends, who were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“What's wrong? You look a little stressed.” Naruto leaned up to kiss him again and Sasuke melted into it like an idiot. There were so many things he wanted to tell the teen, he didn't know where to start. The smart thing would've been for him to break it off, to take his phone back and go to Itachi's, forget this ever happened. The smart thing to do would've been better for them both in the long run, but Sasuke wasn't ready to let go. This thing growing between them was consuming him.
So he said things that Naruto would want to hear, let the blonde keep his phone, and promised they'd see each other in a few months. He let himself drown in the feelling of Naruto's lips on his, and when Itachi came to get him, ignored his knowing looks as they got back into the limo.
“You're going to break that boy's heart.” Itachi said a few moments later, when they had made it to the freeway and the light was starting to fade from the day. Sasuke looked out the window, at the darkening sky above them and the hundreds of cars passing below them on the road.
He wanted to deny it, but Itachi was right. Nothing good was going to come of Naruto and his involvement, but he didn't know how to stop, but he knew Naruto wasn't the only one that was going to end up hurt.
tbc
