Hanging in the Balance

Well, heres part of the next chapter, i liked where it ended, but i don't know if thats everything i wanted to put in it. i may add more later, or i might just put it in the next chapter. either way, tell me if it feels complete or not?


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Sasuke had moped around for most of Thursday night, or what was left of it by the time the drama had ended. Still, he hadn't been able to sleep very well, worrying about the relationship, hoping he hadn't hurt Sakura in some way, and hoping she did come back, so that everything could go back to normal. There was a little voice in the back of his head though, that told him this was a good thing, that he shouldn't have been stringing her along in the first place, and that now she would be out of his way. He had hated that voice.

That was how to normally perfect Sasuke Uchiha had ended up running into the office late the next morning, looking slightly rumpled. For once he hadn't really cared, figuring that the only people he would be seeing were his business associates, all of them in his employ, and it didn't really matter how they saw him, just this once. Besides, he was hoping to talk to Sakura today. Fate, it seemed, was not on his side though.

"She called in to say she was taking her vacation days for the last two months. You mean she didn't tell you?" The secretary on the top floor had sounded so shocked, too. It did nothing to lighten his mood, it just made him more angry, though at what he wasn't exactly sure. He tried his best to hold onto that anger as he stormed into his office, checking his messages and his inbox. He felt safe behind that anger, safe and within his rights, after all she had said she'd be back soon, she hadn't said she'd be taking off somewhere and not coming in. That was not professional.

He managed to do a good job at first, nearly scaring the new mail boy to death with the cold tone of his voice alone. He'd even managed to keep up the front when Naruto had come in, looking a whole lot more put together and professional than usual. Sasuke swallowed hard, when he'd seen Naruto open his office door and lean there, against the frame, not really coming inside, all of the anger and hurt and panic and paranoia in him came to a head, and he was ready to tear the guy limb from limb. This was all his fault after all.

"Oi, Sasuke! Where's Sakura run off to? She was supposed to go out to lunch with me today, I got reservations and everything. We were going to go over the client requests and the budget analysis spreads for last month, to get the report done to pass off to Ino, but neither of them showed up today." Naruto sounded disappointed, and the open, almost sad look on the boy's face made everything just disappear. Maybe it was all happening because of Naruto, but in the end it couldn't really be the blond's fault, because he'd done nothing to encourage it. The situation was out of his control. Sasuke sighed, his head falling forwards into his hands, propped on his desk. Naruto's brows furrowed.

"Oi, earth to Sasuke! What's wrong? Trouble on the home front?" Sasuke didn't reply, he just picked his head back up, but only enough to glare at Naruto, who was still standing in the doorway. He couldn't keep up the attitude though, he didn't have the energy. Being a cold hearted bastard took a lot of work after all. He sighed again instead.

"Sakura thinks I've been cheating on her. She accused me of having another girl on the side, and I told her I didn't, we had a little fight, and now her and Ino are off somewhere 'thinking it over'." Naruto's eyes widened a little.

"You were cheating on Sakura?" Sasuke shot him a harsh glare, before going back t rubbing his temples.

"Please, Naruto. I don't give a crap about other girls, you know me. Fuck, I haven't looked at another girl since we graduated." Sasuke sounded so tired and miserable that Naruto couldn't help but be a little bit concerned.

"Hm. Well, how about you come out to lunch with me then. You can give the figures a look over, and we can figure out what to put in the report. We really should have that done by tomorrow so we can send it down to the corporate communication office so they can have it done by the shareholders meeting on monday. Besides, wouldn't want to let the reservations go to waste, right? We'll call it a business lunch." Naruto beamed over at Sasuke. The Uchiha managed a small smile, and a nod. It was enough for Naruto.

X

Naruto was worried now. Sasuke Uchiha never showed emotion, the man never smiled, only smirked, he never frowned, only glared, he never looked that tired, or that worn down. There must be something seriously wrong to make him actually show feeling. Naruto didn't like the idea of Sasuke having problems with Sakura, even if there was a little part of him that was happy, in a way, overjoyed that maybe, possibly, now Sakura would see him, not just look at him but actually see him. He'd been in love with the girl since they were in high school, always following her around, always trying to make her laugh. In the beginning she'd been mean, she'd used him like some sort of a tool, a perpetual back up plan, but as they'd gotten older, and more mature, they'd become friends.

Then Sasuke had come along, in college, and Sakura had fallen madly in love. Naruto hadn't quite missed the irony of the situation when Sasuke had barely tolerated her back, coming to their study meetings and such, but never really showing her any emotion. He had hoped, at the time, that Sasuke would break her heart, would treat her exactly how she'd treated him, and that then she would realize that it wasn't fun, and in his vague adolescent fantasy she would always come back to him. It didn't quite work out that way though. Still, he wasn't quite mad at Sasuke for it, Sasuke was his friends to after all, and sometimes he thought that maybe they were closer than him and Sakura could ever have been. It was sad, but he didn't let himself linger on that.

Still, Sasuke seemed eerily distant when Naruto came by to pick him up for lunch, the sheaf of papers and bound reports under one arm. Naruto let himself babble on about the figures and the fiscal projections, extrapolations based on current data, most of it only guesses to begin with. He could tell Sasuke wasn't really listening though, but he still chattered away, feeling a need to fill the slightly tense silence. He'd never really seen Sasuke like this before, not in all the years he'd known the man. It was unnerving to say the least.

Naruto swallowed hard as he opened the door to the company car, calling a polite hello to the driver, a familiar face to him. He was glad to have someone to make small talk with, someone who would respond, laugh at his light jokes and return his banter. Still, the mood was a little tense the whole ride over, and it didn't get any less oppressive when they got to the restaurant. If anything, it got a touch more awkward. Sasuke stared at the entrance to the small tuscan restaurant with an arched eyebrow.

"You were going to take Sakura here for your little business lunch?" Naruto blushed. The little café was rather chic, a hangout for the more fashionable denizens of the city, and also a very popular destination for young lovers, what with the dark, romantic atmosphere inside. Even at lunch time the lights inside were dimmed, an arrangement of candles flickering on each table. Naruto laughed nervously.

"Yes, well, we come here for most of our lunch meetings, she seems to really like it. She always complained that you never took her here so I thought I'd do her the favor..." He trailed off, fidgeting with his hands slightly, walking forwards to hold the door open for Sasuke almost automatically. Sasuke shook his head a little, the dark expression on his face loosening a little, less bitter now and more withdrawn, almost sad. Naruto was confused by that, he'd been studying the other man closely out of the corner of his eye the whole time, trying to pick up on his mood.

"Hn. She is my girlfriend after all. If I didn't know she'd been turning you down since highschool I might be a little pissed off right now." Naruto snorted.

"Middle school actually, and I never give up, not if it's something I really want." Naruto paused then, his words sinking in for a second before he panicked, adding a quick, "Not that I'd try to steal your girlfriend or anything, Sasuke. Besides, she'd never leave you, no matter what you did or didn't do. She likes you too much." Sasuke allowed himself a self satisfied little smirk at that admission, even if he did doubt it at the moment. Any other day he would be agreeing with the boy wholeheartedly, but in light of the changes that had happened of late he was inclined to wonder if that was really the case anymore.

He sighed, not knowing which way he would prefer it at this point. He knew that if Sakura were to become a proverbial free agent again, even now Naruto would be the first one there, nipping at her heels like an over anxious puppy. Sasuke was no longer sure she would turn him down either, not after everything he'd done, not after the blond had stayed by her side for so long, always treating her so well, always being there. Why would this time be any different?

He shook his head as the waiter led them to their table, Naruto chatting happily with him as if they'd met before, and Sasuke was sure they probably had. He felt a swell of envy in his chest then, though whether it was for Naruto's warm and easy way with people or the waiter's close and comfortable banter with the blond he wasn't sure. Still, he couldn't help the slight squirming tightness in his chest when the waiter left them at their table, secluded in the back, next to the windows to the street, with the only the deep velvet café curtain blocking their view beyond the glass. He stood for a moment, looking out over it, his mind telling him that maybe being here right now wasn't that smart. He was almost ready to take off running when Naruto's voice broke the trance, the note of concern vibrating oddly in his stomach.

"Hey, earth to Sasuke once again! Come sit down, man this is making you a nervous wreck. I hope you to can get things sorted out soon, I hate seeing you like this." Sasuke took the seat opposite Naruto with a small exhale, a little shocked by that admission. Still, he forced himself to snort indignantly at the comment as he picked up the menu, running his fingers over the slightly rough paper of the pages, expensive and rustic looking, like everything here.

"Whatever. We both know you'd be happier if me and Sakura broke up, it would give you another chance at the woman of your dreams after all." Sasuke was surprised at how bitter that sounded, his eye darting up to gauge Naruto's reaction. He froze when he caught the widened blue eyes, the other man shocked to silence by the comment. Sasuke forced a light smirk to his face, even if it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll take that as a yes then. We both know it's true after all." He went back to scanning the menu, trying to decide on a dish when none of them sounded even remotely familiar in his head. He was startled by the sound of the fist hitting the table across from him.

"Shut up, Bastard! You know I only want you guys to be happy, I've gotten over trying to pull you apart a long long time ago. I just-" All the indignant anger drained from his tone then and he just let out a defeated sigh. "-I just want you both to be happy, you're my friend as much as she is at this point." Sasuke paused to consider this with a sigh, but decided there wasn't much he could allow himself to say to that really. The whole situation only seemed to get more painful then, heavier on his shoulders. He wasn't happy with Sakura, hadn't been for quite some time, but he'd pushed on, mainly for the sick knowledge that Naruto loved her, that there wasn't another girl he wanted. It was Sasuke's sick way of making sure the blond didn't get too close to anyone else, stayed right there, where he could keep an eye on him.

He let his head fall forwards into his hands with a deep sigh. He didn't know what had made him think he could do this right now. Naruto looked over at him, suddenly concerned again.

"Are you okay, Sasuke? This seems to be getting to you. If you ever want to talk about it, you know-" Sasuke cut the boy short, not able to stand the simple, naïve care in Naruto's voice then. Sasuke probably didn't deserve it.

"I did it. I cheated on her." The admission was quiet, resigned, but it still froze Naruto in his seat. The boy just stared for a second, processing the information. His mouth opened and closed on air, mesmerizing enough that Sasuke couldn't help but stare. He felt so weak right now, so unsure. "I really really did, and not just once either. But it's not what she thinks, it's not-" Naruto caught up with the conversation then, interrupting Sasuke, his voice filled with righteous anger.

"Oh, and what exactly is it then? Were you having a tea party and there was a little accident? Fuck, Sasuke! This is a little more serious than that, don't you think? And besides, back in the office you said there wasn't anyone else." Sasuke winced. He probably did deserve that, really.

"It isn't-" Naruto cut him off again.

"I don't think excuses will get you off this time, Sasuke, and I'm not the one you need to justify this to. You need to tell her this stuff, you-"

"Fuck, Naruto, shut up, just SHUT UP." The blond fell silent under Sasuke's glare. "It's not fucking like that, okay? I said there wasn't another girl and I wasn't fucking lying, I wouldn't lie, not to you Naruto. There is no other girl, it was a guy. More than one actually." He glanced up at Naruto, gauging the boy's reaction, but Naruto's face was blank, unresponsive, like he hadn't registered any of this yet.

"Wait, what?" His voice was quiet, confused and distant sounding. Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Naruto, I'm pretty sure I'm gay." Silence reigned for a moment, a single heartbeat that seemed to ring on to eternity. Then Naruto ran.


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A/N: well, Good? Bad? Ugly? Read, Review, and Let Me Know! ^.^