Crossing The Line

A.N: Thank you very much to the few of you that reviewed!


Chapter 2: Seeing the Parts, But Not the Whole

Naruto stared, quite unhappily, at the colorful collection of sea life displayed in vibrantly decorated aquariums along the wall of the pet store, and considered ending his life by way of drowning.

Kiba, still quite sore despite his congeniality the night prior, stood there with his arms crossed, stout and oh-so-stoic, perusing the collection of goldfish intently. Beside him, Naruto sighed for the sixth time in the last fifteen minutes, and he gave him a nasty look.

“Don't look so pissed. It's your fault my fish died,” he spat, situating his footing to better see the happily swimming orange flashes that he had taken a liking to.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Naruto started, spiteful. “It's Sasuke's fault, not mine, and seriously – what the hell? Shouldn't he be the one buying your new fish instead of me? I didn't throw the pillow!”

Kiba rolled his eyes. “Give me a break! Like that tightwad would pull his head out a book long enough to spare me a breath, let alone a dollar.” He leaned in, a particularly large fish catching his eye. “Bitch at him, not me.”

Naruto resigned to his fate, begrudgingly turning to watch the dull happenings of a brightly colored parrot in a large cage at their rear. He couldn't scorn Sasuke now that he'd agreed to accompany him to the show – that would be counter-productive, and the last thing that he wanted to do was give Sasuke a reason to change his mind.

“That one!” Kiba proclaimed suddenly, jarring Naruto out of his daydreaming.

At the checkout, he pulled a $20 out of his wallet, handed it over to the clerk, and then stared woefully at the cartoon frog on the fake leather, whom refused to share his sentiments and maintained its big-eyed contentment.

“Hope you're happy. Now I can't afford ramen until my next pay,” he complained, backing away from the register when the clerk offered over the bagged fish to a gleeful Kiba. He deposited his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans, frowning.

“Get over it, man. You can afford not to stuff your face for a week,” Kiba said, slowly turning the bag to watch his new pet wobble around in its temporary home. “Make Sasuke buy it for you.”

Naruto laughed, and continued to laugh all the way to the car, throwing himself down into the driver's seat and quieting finally when the CD player kicked on and his favorite rock band blared through the speakers in the middle of a song. He twisted the volume knob, turning the music down to a low hum.

“You guys have a weird relationship, anyway,” Kiba commented when they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, settling his fish onto his lap lovingly.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Like,” Kiba started, attempting to find the right words while he browsed through Naruto's jumbled collection of burned CDs. “Even Sai says this, so it's not just me,” he added quickly, ignoring the flat expression that came over the driver's face at the mention of Sai. “It's like you two fuck or something.”

The car came to a screeching halt thirty feet from a red light, sending Kiba forward violently and the CDs flying, an immediate barrage of angry horns blaring behind them.

Naruto jerked in his seat, twisting to the side and glaring at Kiba darkly. “The hell did you just say?”

“What the hell, man!” Kiba shouted, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and hostility. “What the hell's your problem! We're dudes, right? I thought I could ask you that kind of shit!”

“Yeah, but you don't just come out with shit like that out of no where! Warn a guy first! Jesus Christ!” Naruto rebutted, hitting his head rest in anger.

Along side them, a collection of cars were pulling out from behind them and crossing around. An enraged driver shouted a curse out of his window, and to that, the both of them turned and hollered a simultaneous, self-righteous 'fuck you', temporarily forgetting about their own argument. Then, they returned to it.

“Whatever, man, I'm done. Just hit the gas. Forget I ever said anything,” Kiba resigned, settling back into his seat and glowering at his goldfish.

Naruto hesitated, watching him sourly for another moment before heaving a sigh and focusing back on the road, hitting the gas, and bringing them back into the flow of traffic. After a few moments of bitter silence, he spoke. “Forget about it, man. It's cool. Stuff like that... – You just don't hit a guy with stuff like that, y'know?”

Kiba risked a glance, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, I know. But I figured it was cool because you never gave a fuck before when I called you a fag.”

“Sasuke's different. He's been my best friend since... well, forever. That's just a line you don't cross,” Naruto replied, noting Kiba's nod, and then he grinned wickedly. “Besides, I am a fag.”

He dodged to the best of his ability when Kiba tossed a CD at him, swerving on the road with the force of his laughter.


~*~

“Can you count? Really, Naruto, it's not that hard!” a pretty, rosy-haired woman reprimanded, slapping him lightly on the back of his head.

Naruto countered by covering his head with both of his hands and hiding his face away against the table, snickering mischievously. “I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! Please don't hurt me! ...Unless you have handcuffs hidden under your shirt.”

That earned him another slap, and the library was filled with Naruto's uproarious laughter, so loud that they earned an evil group of glares from the surrounding students that had the same idea that they had – studying.

“I hate math!” he whispered, pouting, after Sakura had warned him at the risk of death to be quiet. “It's a bunch of bullshit – all these numbers that go over all these lines and little... squiggly things. What's the point?”

“If math didn't exist, you wouldn't be able to access the funds in your bank account, drive cars, use any kind of technology, or even brush your teeth – these things wouldn't exist,” Sakura explained sagely, pulling his worksheet closer to her and then continuing to mark all of the wrong answers with a bright red pen. The originally white page had gradually taken on an ugly red pattern in the hour that they had been stationed in the library. “So stop complaining. If you want to pass math, you'll learn to listen. It's really not that hard.”

“I'm hungry.”

Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead, letting out a frustrated sigh. Naruto grinned oafishly.

“We'll break for today. You're hopeless. But I'm not going to give up on you, Uzumaki Naruto. You'll learn math yet,” she assured him confidently, picking up the littered papers, pencils, and folders, organizing them brusquely.

“You're so good to me,” Naruto sucked up, lifting a finger to make an attempt at poking her on the nose adoringly.

Her eyes crossed, watching that finger warily, and then she took hold of it, drawing it back down to the table with a surprising amount of strength. “Don't test me, kid.”

Not much later, they walked the mostly empty halls of the English building's first floor, heading for the east exit that lead to the parking garage. Naruto threw his arms up behind his head, finding joy in walking alongside a pretty girl. He felt, truly, that Sakura never got enough attention from the opposite sex. He didn't know why. She was quite the catch behind those little reading glasses and bookish personality, and it hurt him to know that she could never keep a boyfriend. Spending a lot of time with her fulfilled a personal goal for him.

“So I thought we'd hit 5th Avenue first. You know, Banana Republic and The Gap,” Sakura said, pulling the tie from her hair and letting the short length fall freely. “That way we can bypass the mall if we find some good deals there.”

Naruto watched her shamelessly, grinning goofily. “You're really pretty.”

“Oh, will you stop?” she said with a small amount of irritation, though it was quite superficial. She blushed in embarrassment, lips pursing. “I need a new jacket for going out in.”

“S'that mean you're gonna' let me take you out to dinner?” Naruto asked cheekily, stepping forward to hold the door open for her when they reached the exit.

“We both know you don't have any money, Naruto,” she reminded him. She walked through the door, fishing her keys out of her tote and heading for the elevator that would take them to the second floor of the parking garage. “But you can take me out for sushi, if you want. That's not too expensive,” she continued, smiling.

Inwardly cursing his skinny wallet, Naruto followed her into the elevator, letting her press the button for the second floor and settling back against the wall when they lurched upwards. “Yeah, okay. Sushi it is. I really wish I could take you to a fancy restaurant...”

“Stop,” Sakura interrupted his pity party immediately, holding up a hand. “You're a college student. College students aren't supposed to have any money, so before you get all depressed, remember that.” She was the first to step out of the elevator when they reached their destination, pausing briefly to remember where she had parked and then heading in that direction. “Feel free to take my mom and the money she puts in my bank account every two weeks. I'd gladly give it all up to rid myself of her daily phone call that she calls 'checking up on her baby'.”

Naruto didn't bother reminding her of how good she had it, and instead agreed, and within ten minutes they had left the garage and were headed down the road toward the shopping district not too far from the university. With a hip radio station playing and Sakura busy with driving while simultaneously looking for her sunglasses, he checked his cell phone for text messages. Most of his friends were busy with their part-time jobs and night classes, so he didn't expect any messages, but at the notification that he had one awaiting his reviewing, he blinked.

“What are you doing?” It was from 'Saucekay', his phone relayed to him. Sasuke.

“Going shopping with Sakura. Aren't you at your brother's?” he responded.

“Typical. Yeah, but he had to leave to meet a business partner. He's pissing me off, anyway,” Sasuke responded after a moment. Naruto grinned to himself, gaining Sakura's attention.

“Who's that?” she asked, eyes on the road.

“That asshole,” he responded amicably, pressing buttons.

“Sasuke-kun, huh? Tell him I said hi,” she said, turning a corner at an intersection. After a moment of silence, she gave him a furtive glance, noticed his deadpan expression, and explained herself begrudgingly. “Naruto, I don't like him anymore. I'm just being nice.”

Naruto returned his attention to his cell phone, placated. “Good. You're too good for him.”

“We're just not right for each other,” she corrected him. “I was just sexually attracted to him, and he was just being polite.”

Naruto groaned. “God, Sakura-chan! I don't wanna' hear about that!”

She went on, seemingly ignoring him. “I mean, we only had sex one time.” Naruto simulated strangling himself. “It was really awkward and I could tell he wasn't into it. That's when I knew it wasn't right.”

“Y'know, if you wanna' try with a real man...”

“Don't make me hit you,” she threatened. “We're too good of friends, Naruto. It'd just be weird.”

“I wasn't serious,” he muttered, frowning down at his phone where a half-typed message glowed up at him, waiting for him to finish it. He pretended not to see her pitying glance.

“Why'd he pissed you off?”

Sakura turned up the radio, and halfway through a Pink song, Sasuke replied. “Usual shit. So I punched him, and he punched me back, and it just degenerated.”

Naruto hesitated in replying, suddenly growing hot under the collar. “Where's he at? I'll fucking kill him.”

“I can handle my own shit. Besides, it was my fault. His face just makes me want to hit it.”

His irritability subsiding at the way that statement made him want to laugh, he replied. “You coming home tomorrow?”

“Tonight. Why?”

“Men In Black marathon? I'll give you a back rub.” He added a smiley face for effect.

He didn't get a response until he and Sakura had parked and were heading down the busy sidewalk that was littered with shops of all kinds, and between discussing why window shopping was bad for the self-esteem, his phone beeped.

“Probably going to go stay with my cousin. He's been wanting me to come over.”

Naruto stared at the message for a good ten seconds, his chest tightening uncomfortably. “Fine.”

Sitting on a chair outside of the women's dressing room in The Gap fifteen minutes later, his phone beeped, and he ignored it until he could no longer, pulling his phone out of his pants pocket and flipping it open to read the message.

“Are you pissed or something?”

What a question. Before he could reply, Sakura came out of the dressing room, modeling a flattering pair of dark skinny jeans with a pair of layered tees and smiling hopefully. He gave a cheerful thumbs up and she beamed, disappearing back into the dressing room. He resumed his message.

“Just kind of disappointed. We never get to hang anymore.”

He received a reply almost immediately. “We live in the same dorm room, idiot.”

Naruto closed his phone without replying, dropping it back into his pocket and then leaning back into the chair, frowning. He wanted to say, 'it's not the same', or 'you're my best friend', or even, 'I hate you', but the will to retrieve his phone never came. Sakura went in and out of the dressing room a few more times, and finally when she disappeared again after stating that she had finished trying all of her outfits on, his phone beeped.

Sighing, he retrieved his phone, flipped it open, and without noticing that what he'd received was in fact a media message, he opened it.

The entire population of the rear half of the store turned to him in confusion when the loud, high-frequency tune of 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time!' roared from his person, bringing an immediate flush to his face while he hastily, clumsily attempted to end the video without realizing that if he had shut his phone, it would have ended immediately. Sakura came out of the dressing room quickly, giving him a weird look.

He sunk as far as he could into the chair without falling off, placing a hand over his face in embarrassment, but couldn't, for the life of him, wipe the smile from his face. “...That asshole.”


~*~

Sasuke pulled into the driveway of the renovated duplex that his cousin's family owned, the colonial-style building sporting its double white-washed pillars within the gated front yard with all of its pruned floral vegetation giving off an intimidating presence. He was too well-acquainted with the house to feel any sort of trepidation, and parked close to the back porch, getting out of his car and locking it with the handheld attached to his keyring.

A tall young man with long, dark hair looked up from his novel from where he was lounging on the porch swing, acknowledging his cousin with a small smile and then reaching for his bookmark. Sasuke stepped onto the porch, meeting his cousin's informal handshake. “Hey, Neji.”

“Hello,” Neji greeted him, releasing his hand and then going back to his perch on the swing. He waited for Sasuke to sit on the cushioned wicker chair nearby before speaking again. “Safe trip, I assume.”

“Yeah, no casualties,” Sasuke replied, reaching into his pants pocket and withdrawing a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one free and brought it to his lips, and then fished around for his lighter. “How's the family been?”

“No casualties,” Neji mocked congenially, lifting his leg to rest his ankle on his other knee. “Hinata's been asking after Naruto. I told her I'd have you tell him she said hello, but I don't recommend you telling him anything if you value your life.” He was smiling, but Sasuke knew that, somewhere behind that dubiously amicable expression, his cousin was deadly serious.

“Yeah, yeah...”

Sasuke retrieved his lighter and gave it a flick, and then drew in a deep inhale of smoke. He exhaled, enjoying the way the spring breeze gave peaceful noise to the trees that surrounded the generous back yard and cooled through his hair. His cousin's house was a quiet sanctuary, his family very rarely intrusive, set aside from the bustling city in a gated neighborhood that provided just enough privacy for those that required it to lead a happy life. If not for his aversion to being subjected to the on-goings of a big family, he would have accepted the offer of moving in three years ago.

“The guest room's all ready. My mother fussed over it for the last week, so I suggest you thank her if you don't want her to be lingering over your shoulder all evening like some kind of unsatisfied ghost,” Neji said, brushing a few strands of hair back behind his shoulder.

Sasuke smirked. “What a good son you are.”

“So how's school?” Neji asked immediately, avoiding the sarcasm entirely. He didn't seem to be too interested, but favored conversation over social satire. “Still rooming with Naruto and Kiba, or did they eat you out of house and home?”

“Close,” Sasuke answered, drawing in another breath of nicotine.

“Is he still fawning after you?” Neji questioned neutrally, taking up his book again and flipping to where he'd bookmarked it.

Sasuke gave him a questioning look, eyebrows drawing together. “What?”

“Don't forget that I sat at the same lunch table with the two of you for four years back in high school.” Neji turned a page, skimming. “Inseparable, the two of you. Had to take as many classes together as possible, always tossing notes back and forth, and when he failed a project, the both of you failed.”

“So what?” Sasuke exhaled a puff of smoke, averting his gaze to where his Mitsubishi was parked.

“So don't tell me he hasn't confessed his feelings for you yet,” Neji continued, lifting his gaze from his book and smiling a wide, smug smile. “He's loud enough with everything else he does. Something like that should be very easy for him.”

“Get off it,” Sasuke spat, the ridiculous nature of that statement reflecting in his glare. “Just because you're gay, doesn't mean everybody else has to be.”

“So quick to defend him,” Neji hummed, returning his gaze to his book, that devilish smile remaining. “I'll leave it at that. You know how much I enjoy teasing you, cousin.”

“I get it enough of it from Itachi. I don't need you doing it, too,” Sasuke said after a moment, taking in one last acrid inhale and then putting his cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe before tossing the used butt into the nearby trashcan. He stood, pulling his jeans up as he went. “I'm going to sleep early. School kicked my ass last week.”

“Don't hold a grudge against me,” Neji said, and truly meant it, noticing Sasuke's sudden upset.

“I'm tired,” Sasuke affirmed, and with that, he entered the house without another word and made quick work of getting to the guest bedroom while avoiding any family members that may have been lingering about. He got himself off while in the shower, willing away his stress, dressed for sleep, and then settled onto the substantial queen-sized bed, plugging in his cell phone so that it could charge.

In a week, he would be attending a drag party with Naruto. While it wasn't the end of the world, and midterms were all ready done and over with, the idea of being surrounded by so many openly transsexual men and women with Naruto, of all people, was just a little bit unsettling. He had no qualms against free love, free marriage, and free sexuality, but he was afraid that his nerves wouldn't be able to take it. He was never much of a party person, of any kind.

From the corner of his eye, his phone lit up, and then a riff from one of his favorite band's songs played. He sat up and reached over to pick up his phone, and acknowledged the name of the caller with a small deal of annoyance. Naruto.

He answered, and immediately, the sound of a toilet flushing assaulted his ears. He drew the phone away from his ear, stared at it as if it had bitten him, and then brought it back to his ear at the sound of an over-processed voice reverberating incomprehensibly from the speaker. “...Hello?”

“Help,” came Naruto's voice in a pained whisper, and then the call cut out.

Sasuke felt his heart leap into his throat, and then he leapt from the bed, snagged his keys, and tore out of the house for his car.