Artist

second time trying to add this chapter... i'm trying to be a good author, so why can't i update! anywho this one is longer than the last, so hopefully that will make up for not updating (my mom died and then tons of other shit happened)this story should be complete by New Year's. hopefully. i love you all!

QUICK NOTE: I got a fun (not! lol) email that I had to take away my demand for reviews before I would post more: I never meant to say I wouldn't update unless I got reviews. I hope nobody was offended or anything, and I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I love getting reviews because I thrive on feedback, and while they do motivate, I WILL UPDATE with or WITHOUT THEM. The only reason I haven't been updating is because real life has been kicking my ass, but I'm fighting back now. I still write slow, but that's because I'm trying to be careful with plot details and proofreading.
So reviews are nice but I WILL UPDATE NO MATTER WHAT, as soon as the next chapter is ready. I'll be more careful in the future so that it doesn't even seem implied in any way (and I'm taking anything out of the other fics just it case it's being mistinterpreted there too.)
I'm (sincerely) sorry for any confusion or frustration I caused.

* * *


Here he was again, hesitating outside the same doorway. There was no doubt this time that this was the classroom he wanted, but on Monday Sasuke had left under awkward circumstances. It was going to be embarrassing to walk and have them all stare at him again, and even though he knew they wouldn’t laugh at him, all he could think about was how weak he must have seemed to have a panic attack on his first day—well, the official story was that he fainted, but still—*fainting* on his first day was mortifying. Walking in just as class was starting should be enough to avoid any awkward sitting-around-and-talking. Then again, the professor had been late to his own class, so perhaps he could arrive late and blame the unreliable bus system or something.


Sasuke would have remained conspicuously hanging around outside the door for the next five minutes if Mr. Tough-as-fluff hadn’t shown up. He approached Sasuke cautiously, looking apologetic which was baffling. Sasuke was sure he himself had been the troublemaker in class the other day and was the one who should be sorry. “So, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said on Monday.”


Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. “What?”


“You know, about showing you some fun uses for paint? I was just trying to be funny, and I knew it would bug Sakura so…” Damn. Another good-looking, thoughtful man right in front of him. Singleness would be an impossible state to abide in if fate kept being sadistic. “I’m Kiba, btw. Oh! Sakura’s that pink freak.” Didn’t this guy know that no one used the letter abbreviations in conversations? It made him sound like an idiot. But Sasuke couldn’t help smiling, and luckily Kiba knew why. “I’m the only one allowed to call her a pink freak, so don’t get any ideas.”


“I wasn’t planning on talking to her much anyway.” Kiba raised his eyebrows. Sasuke figured elaboration would be a good idea so he didn’t sound so snobby. “I’m gay, so I’m sure that destroys all the conversation topics she has for the two of us.”


Kiba laughed, shifting his bag to his other shoulder. “I’ll tell her the news. It’ll wipe out any motivation she has to smother you. I’m happily taken though, so don’t start thinking about me, okay?” He wiggled his finger at Sasuke, then stared off into the corner with a dopey expression. “My man has the softest hair and the cutest smile, though he’s totes into bugs which is pretty much the grossest thing since leopard print, IMO, but he doesn’t listen…” He trailed off for a moment. “Speaking of scary things,” he lowered his voice to what he obviously thought was a whisper. “I’ve been wondering—how scared were you the other day?”


Great. So other people were aware of his weakness and were going to pick on him for it. Maybe he should try to get a different job—


“I mean, Orochimaru is creepy, but Uchiha is the scariest guy in the class! And he caught you and everything. Very dramatic. It was almost like he knew it was going to happen.”


“Oh yes,” He said sarcastically. “Being saved from a painful landing by a handsome older man is my worst nightmare.”


Kiba somehow missed the sarcasm and nodded enthusiastically, taking out his cell phone when it beeped at him. “Freaky, right? I totally feel for you, man. Sakura and I are almost positive he’s a vampire, cause he’s all pale and his eyes are dark and we’ve never seen him eat anything and when Sakura asked him out he shut her down really harshly and he’s really smart and talented vampires are always like that—“


“Whom are you talking about?” A new voice chimed in, though Kiba was too busy “multitasking” by texting while talking, and the voice was similar enough to Sasuke’s that the mistake was easy enough to make. Sasuke smiled at the newcomer in greeting, inwardly cringing at the thought that Itachi might have heard Sasuke say he was handsome, but Itachi put his finger over his mouth to communicate silence and stood near Sasuke’s side.


“Weren’t you paying attention?” He sent the text and closed the phone. “Obviously, I’m still talking about—” he looked up to see Uchiha and changed his topic mid-sentence, “about that guy in those books. You know, the one that sparkles?”


“Hmm.” Itachi said. “I thought pre-teen girls were the only ones reading about those kinds of vampires these days.” The dark man ignored Kiba’s half scared, half angry, and wholly embarrassed expression and turned again to his shorter look-alike. “How are you feeling today, Ritsuka?”


“I’m fine. I had mac ‘n cheese for lunch, and Naruto made me some kunai and shuriken for breakfast.” He said without thinking.


“He what?” Apparently curiosity beat out Kiba’s fear of the Uchiha, because he leapt back into the conversation.


“My guardian is into ninjas and is using me as a guinea pig for some food projects before he brings them to his students. This morning he left breakfast for me in ninja weapon shapes.” It was ridiculous, but Naruto’s middle school students would love them.


Kiba laughed loudly. “That sounds just like this guy I work with! See, I work at Panera with this guy. He’s a little crazy like that, but he always covers for me when he can.”


Sasuke gaped. “You mean you’re that Kiba? The one that calls out sick nearly every evening?” He’d never actually met any of Naruto’s coworkers. Panera was Naruto’s second job so he didn’t spend much time there. It made sense that the two would get along, though.


“No way! Your Naruto works with me? I can’t believe I know him! He’s blond, right? And got these gorgeous blue eyes that shine like sunshine? And…” the two men could actually see the pieces put themselves together in Kiba’s mind. Sasuke smacked himself on the forehead at revealing, yet again, the one piece of information that pretty much guaranteed his privacy was now gone. Itachi patted his shoulder lightly to comfort him, pulling back before the younger man had a chance to flinch.


The brunette looked at Sasuke carefully. “So… you’re really Sasuke Uzumaki then, aren’t you?” His voice was quieter than one would expect from looking at him.


“Yes.” He crossed his arms and prepared himself. Would he have to bribe this guy for his silence? Or Naruto could threaten him with physical harm…


He nodded. “Okay. I get it. I won’t say a word.” He winked and checked his madly beeping phone. “Oh shit! Sensei’s in there already! This never happens!” Kiba rushed the door, but paused to lean in and mutter to Sasuke, “If you ever need help with anything or,” with a meaningful look at Itachi, “anyone, let me know.”


He nodded and followed his new friend into the classroom. Sasuke glanced back over his shoulder and shrugged his shoulders with a half smile. He was happy there was someone else in the class he could trust to watch out for him, but Itachi should be the last person people suspect of seeking to harm or deceive others.


As for Itachi, he rolled his eyes and nudged Sasuke’s back. “Come on. We’ve to see what outfit sensei picked out for you today.” He entered the room, wondering at how easily his tension had melted away once he’d seen Itachi arriving down the hallway behind Kiba. Even if everyone stared at him in there, he could handle it if this strong man was nearby.


Everyone was setting up her or his drawing materials, so Sasuke looked around for Kakashi, successfully suppressing a shudder when he saw Orochimaru all ready to draw and smiling like a wolf at him, following his every movement with glassy gold eyes.


“Ritsuka! Over here!” Kakashi called from behind the screen. He walked over quickly, eager to begin. The art teacher instructed him to put on the same suit as last time, but to leave off the jacket and roll the sleeves up a bit. “I want you to look like you’re in the middle of work and are into it and intense and stuff. So make focused expressions this time, ‘kay?” The smile made the lone eye become a crescent moon again, and somehow it made him feel a little more optimistic.


Quickly he changed and went back to the main room, happy to see Kakashi-sensei had stuck around this time even if it was to supervise him and not the class. Instead of a chair on the platform, there was a chair at a desk with papers, books, and files scattered across it. With those props, he really would look like a working businessman. “If you have any homework or books with you, feel free to add them to the props. Just don’t move too much.”


He had brought a history book he was required to read through for his Thursday morning class, so he brought that from his book bag up to the table and settled the book among the papers so it didn’t stick out so much.


“Hey Ritsuka, slouch a bit, will ya?” Kiba called out. “Perfect posture like that is just weird for a kid like you.” Thank heavens the moron remembered his alias. Perhaps the artist had used his name to prove he wasn’t so much an idiot as he seemed.


“I’m not a kid.” He answered grouchily, offended to be called a kid but did as he was asked and slouched a little. “How old do I look?” The question was safe, though Sasuke was a little disconcerted at the sudden familiarity he felt with the group. Kakashi’s presence was nice and knowing Kiba was safe helped, but most of his ease, even with more than twenty people watching him intently, came from one particular set of eyes.


“I dunno. Like, seventeen?” Kiba scratched his cheek and accidentally marked his face with the charcoal he was using. He didn’t notice, and did it again a second later. Sasuke tried not to laugh as he was the only one who noticed since everyone else was concentrating.


“Hm.” Everyone he had met previously thought him to be older than his real age. Sasuke knew he was mature, mostly because of his troublesome childhood. The events over the last two years had definitely made him feel older on top of that.


“What does ‘hm’ mean? Am I right? I knew it!” He pumped his first in the air in victory, then frowned at the line he unintentionally made on his paper. “Damn.” He muttered.


Sakura threw an eraser at him to shut him up. “I can’t focus when… you’re tal… um, cha… um… something. You know. With words and things…” She mumbled out a barely comprehensible sentence, already back into ‘the mode.’ Kiba only knew what she meant because he’d hung around her long enough to know she spoke oddly when concentrating.


“You’re off by two.” Sasuke highly doubted telling his age would give these people enough information to find him on their own. Plus he didn’t want people thinking he was that young. It was insulting.


“There’s no way you’re fifteen.” A blond girl near the windows said.


“He’s nineteen, idiot!” Half the class laughed at the irony of Kiba dissing someone else’s intelligence.


A smooth voice slipped in after the giggles quieted, which disappeared entirely when they realized the quietest man in class was participating in their conversation. “Our professor would not employ someone younger than that because that would mean additional paperwork.” Graceful hands never slowed or faltered in their activity though Itachi looked more at his subject than his actual drawing. “Right, Hatake-sensei?”


“Yup. You know me too well, Uchiha.” The man had a different book from the other day; this one was a deep red. Though he answered his gaze never left the book in his hands, gently turning a page as he read from his perch on the windowsill. “Ino, you need to draw Ritsuka as he actually is. You can’t pretend his clothes aren’t there, no matter how well you imagine he looks without them.” The raven distracted himself from blushing by wondering how the art professor knew what his students were doing. From the angle Hatake was sitting at and without looking away from his book, there was no way he could actually see what was going on, was there?


“What are you reading?” Orochimaru asked. Sasuke was surprised, because he figured that guy would keep the conversation on the topic of naked men (himself, in particular). Plus the man had gleam in his eyes that indicated he enjoyed humiliating people.


It was a struggle to answer civilly. “The Tao Te Ching. We’re currently learning about Lao Tsu in my history class.” Maybe he should’ve kept that a secret, too, though the class was a general requirement and not his major.


“Oh? Where are you taking classes?” If anyone else had asked, it would have sounded like a simple question and not a rapist about to find another victim.


“At a college.” He was definitely uncomfortable with this topic and squirmed involuntarily, causing someone to mutter a ‘stop moving’ to him. He stilled and went back to reading to discourage further conversation between them.


“Very endearing,” Orochimaru said, though the tone he used communicated he did not really think so. “I meant which college. Perhaps we’ve heard of it?” The careful stress of ‘we’ didn’t fool Sasuke, and he was tried to find another way around this without being rude. The boy looked up at the creeper, who was still smiling pseudo-pleasantly, and tried to seem more annoyed than freaked. Luckily, Itachi interrupted.


“Hatake-sensei, could we turn some music on? I’ve having trouble concentrating.” Itachi cut in pointedly, giving Orochimaru the briefest glare, who sent it back with the same ferocity.


“Certainly.” As Kakashi fought with the CD player, Sasuke sent his once-again-rescuer the most grateful look he could without others catching on. In return he received a slight nod and something between a smile and an I-told-you-so expression.


Orochimaru alone noticed their wordless exchange. He excused himself from the room under the pretence of needing a drink from the water fountain in the hallway to hide his livid reaction. Uchiha must have worked very quickly to have his claws sunk into the unsuspecting model so soon. Orochimaru just knew that Itachi had poisoned this young man against him, too. Damn gullible teenagers.


It wasn’t like Orochimaru didn’t know people thought he was creepy, but people should give him the benefit of the doubt. He certainly hadn’t hurt Sasuke, though the way things are going it will never be an issue. That’s not to say other people won’t end up hurting the boy. Poor Sasuke! The child was so blissfully unaware of what Uchiha really was.


The light murmurs between the members of the class helped the time pass more smoothly than Sasuke would have initially guessed. Once the focus was off him (conversationally, anyway) he found it was much easier to sit still. His gaze was naturally drawn to Itachi (Sasuke’s eyes ignored him every time he reminded them that there were no exceptions to the no-boyfriend-for-a-while rule) and after he was caught staring for the third time (duh, because Itachi was drawing him. It’s not like Itachi was staring because he wanted to) he resumed reading.


History homework was interesting enough; he had one more chapter to read before tomorrow when Kakashi announced that class was over. Slowly, Sasuke rose and stretched. Sitting still wasn’t a problem for someone like himself, but it felt nice to move after so long. He almost smiled when he noticed Itachi packing up so slowly it must be intentional. Only the briefest look was needed for Sasuke to understand it was so they could hang out a bit, and since Itachi had promised to abandon the uncomfortable topic, he was looking forward to another conversation.


He swiftly returned to his own clothes but upon reentry to the main classroom he was sorely disappointed to see two lingering students instead of one. No matter how much he disliked Orochimaru, politeness was too ingrained into his personality for him to ignore the older man. The promise from the other night rang loudly in his mind, though.


“Have a good evening, Orochimaru.” Itachi said with a fierce look, then dug through his bag. “I look forward to seeing you Friday.” Polite to people he clearly hated? Another good point in this man’s favor. Could it be possible that Sasuke had found a man without flaws? Impossible. But so far, Itachi was perfect—or at least exactly what he’d been looking for. Forget not dating! The promise had been before he knew someone like Itachi existed in the world. Sasuke decided to seize the next opportunity to hint at what he felt. Paradoxically, the thought made him feel oddly shy and confident at the same time.


Sasuke stood as near as he could to Itachi without looking too close before speaking. “Have a good evening, Mr. Orochimaru.” Sasuke assumed a farewell was safe. He fiddled with his cell phone so he looked busy and maybe avoid talking to Orochimaru.


A rapist’s smile replaced the all-too-interested stare. “No need to be so formal. Forget the ‘mister,’ if you please.” He also sought his keys, but the way he ‘missed’ looking in his pocket proved he knew where they were. Why didn’t Kakashi-sensei stay this time? Any interruption would be welcome.


“I would rather not become too close with anyone here. This is merely a job.” In vain he hoped that Orochimaru would ignore how close he was standing to Uchiha (but if he moved farther away, he’d be more likely to run out the room altogether).


“I suppose you don’t mean literally.” He gestured to Sasuke’s hand, which was tugging on the older raven’s sleeve. Damn creeper was making him edgy! Nervousness was overriding all his ‘no-touchy’ policies so he was now nearly clinging to his friend’s arm, who searched faster for his keys in response.


The more Orochimaru looked at him, the drier his mouth became and tighter his throat felt. He gripped Itachi's arm harder, hoping the man would find his damn keys already. Such a predatory stare was too reminiscent of everything he was trying to leave behind—he wasn’t a piece of meat to be chewed on and spit out, and he wasn’t a fuck-toy to be played with and thrown away—but the eyes told him he was, and that’s what this man planned to do with him too. The look of intense interest blended into a more concerned one. “Are you alright?”


The raven checked himself, only to realize he was panting slightly and the hand that wasn’t clutching his crush’s arm was grasping at throat as if it could pull away the restriction that was making it feel tighter. Itachi hadn’t been paying attention until then, but the moment he saw he forced Sasuke into the nearest chair.


“Dizzy? Lightheaded? How’s your vision? Your hearing?” The rapid fire questions were getting him dizzier, not to mention the dark eyes bright as fire and deep as a ninja’s shadow so closely in front of him. The gentle gaze pulled him in, strong to the edge of overwhelming; concern and the need to protect beamed out. And now that Orochimaru wasn’t looking at him like a creeper his chest felt normal again. Of course, it helped that Itachi was checking his pulse—the cool hand on his wrist and the pressure were soothing and distracting at the same time.


“I’m fine.” He remembered Monday, and elaborated. “Really. My body felt weird because I was sitting for so long and suddenly standing up…” he trailed off, the end of his sentence obvious. Since Itachi was now facing away from the unwelcome observer, he was free to gesture with an eyebrow if Orochimaru was the cause. “So, yeah.” Sasuke said it like he was finishing his sentence but also to answer Itachi's unspoken question.


“What’s going on? You ok?” Kiba bust in noisily. Even if it was a little late, Sasuke was relieved. The fourth party in the room dissolved the building tension. “No way! You collapsed again?” He asked incredulously. He then noticed the other two men staring at him, and realized he needed an excuse for coming back to the room. “I, uh…” he gave Sasuke a questioning look and Sasuke shrugged, unsure what the man wanted.


“I wanted to make sure the kid was ok, cuz I don’t trust either of you.” Sasuke facepalmed mentally at his bold yet honest statement. At least he’d never have to worry about double motives with this guy, right?


Orochimaru laughed, possibly the last reaction the other three expected. He gracefully went to hold the door open as Sasuke stood to leave, saying with a meaningful glare at Itachi, “I’m the one you should worry about least… Ritsuka.”


What was up with that awkward pause? If he was any younger he would have made the ‘awkward turtle’ gesture.


“I don’t care. You both look shady.” The two men didn’t seem bothered by him, but that’s mostly because wise men ignore the words of a fool. “And you,” he turned to Sasuke. “Why aren’t you more guarded? As jumpy as you’ve been, I figured you’d be wary.” Kiba looked so serious that Sasuke felt bad enough to hold in his laughter at his use of wary. It was a little disturbing, though, to think even the less intelligent members of the class noticed he was skittish.


“Thank you for worrying about him, but he’ll be fine, I assure you.” The Uchiha jingled his keys to signal to his young friend that he’d found them, and Sasuke readjusted his coat. “I’m good. Honest.” He gave a big smile, which while thoroughly out of character for him accomplished the job of getting Kiba to believe him. Especially since Kiba didn’t know that the man rarely smiled and as soon as Kiba looked away he had to rub his cheeks. Smiling hurts when you don’t practice it regularly.


“Alrighty then. Toodles!” and Kiba ran down the hall, singing ‘Bad Romance’ at the top of his lungs.


Itachi checked that he had everything before approaching the door, making a point not to acknowledge his classmate’s presence. “Your dad asked me to drive you home, so we can leave whenever you’re ready.” The words were said carefully, both an explanation of why the two of them were so close (still, because Sasuke felt safer walking past the creeper with a hand on Itachi’s arm) and a dismissal for Orochimaru to leave them alone. Sasuke gave him a quick bow and said, “Thank you for your concern. I’m all right now,” and raced after his crush, too fast to see the dark scowl on Orochimaru’s countenance.


* *


“I hope you don’t mind, but giving you a ride home was the easiest excuse to get away from that man.” The walk to the car was much shorter than last time; they moved briskly to get as far as possible from Orochimaru and into the warmth of the car. The younger man repressed the urge to glance over his shoulder, because he just knew that the creeper man was right behind them. Like the serial killer always was behind the main character in horror movies.


“Not at all.” He let himself smile a small smile (his cheeks still hurt from the last one, after all) at the prospect of spending time with this person. “I’m sure Naruto will be happy to see you again.” Hopefully his guardian would be a little late today so they could have a bit of alone time. A small part of his brain questioned him about his resolve not to be romantically involved until the scars on his leg disappeared, but it was sucker-punched by the part of him that had decided to pursue Itachi. There was nothing wrong with him so far; the man even had Naruto’s approval, which none of his past boyfriends had received and few of his friends had obtained.


“So Naruto teaches now?” The older man asked after a moment. The car rumbled to life and air blasted through the vents, chilly, but still warmer than the air was outside. The students walking home from their classes looked like trains—their breath came out in puffs as they trudged through the parking lot and throughout the campus. “I bet he’s in middle school. He’s insane enough to handle it.”


“Indeed.” He replied. “At the beginning of the year the students pretty much hated him, but somewhere along the way they realized they couldn’t hate a guy like him.” Sasuke’s only visit to Naruto’s classroom had been disastrous. With the forgotten test papers in his hands, he’d walked into the classroom in time to see his guardian getting yelled at by the principal for scolding [yelling] at a student. Of course there had been other factors and it was justifiable, but that didn’t matter because the entire student body wanted to be taught by the teacher that brought them fun food and parties and really understood them and shared their obsession with ninjas. “He’s the kind of guy that’s impossible to hate truly.”


“Hm.” He answered, and Sasuke was amused to note that they both ‘hm’d often. “Will he be home by the time we arrive?” Sasuke checked the glowing blue numbers of the car clock.


“It’s about fifty/fifty. He’s supposed to be home by now, but he likes to stay late in case his kids need extra help.” Sasuke peeked over in what he hoped was a subtle way to try to ascertain what Itachi thought of that. The man said he was just driving him home, but Sasuke was sure he could convince him to stay for a while.


“Um…” he suddenly noticed that not only had they sped up significantly, they went right past his house. “That was my home back there…” he said, bemused; it didn’t seem like the older man would forget where the house was since Itachi had remembered months after visiting Naruto there only once. Sasuke looked at the man, saw his tight expression, and helpfully supplied with an accompanying gesture, “There’s a back way up ahead. If you make this next right—”


They zoomed by this too, going further beyond the speed limit, and Itachi’s expression darkened further. “We’re not going to your house.” He replied as he checked his mirrors and played with some of the switches around the stereo— he turned the police scanner to an audible but background-level volume.


A familiar panic started bubbling in Sasuke’s stomach. Within the past ten minutes, the older man had shifted from attentive to ignoring him in favor of listening to where the police were. What if this guy wasn’t really who he thought he was? What if Naruto was wrong? Or if Itachi had changed since Naruto had last met him?


“Call your guardian. My cell’s right here if you don’t have yours with you.” The older man’s black eyes were full of angry fire as he glared into the rearview. ‘Oh shit, is this a kidnapping?’ He unsteadily took the phone from Itachi’s hand; it didn’t escape his sharp black eye. “There’s nothing to worry about, Sasuke. As long as everything goes just as planned, you won’t be harmed.” Seemingly for no reason, Itachi changed lanes and starting shifting to the left.


The young Uzumaki figured he could pretend he didn’t have his phone and call the police at the first chance he got. He blanked on the number for a moment, and his chest tightened with the thought of telling Naruto the ransom demands. “Are you feeling ill again?” Sasuke nodded, giving his driver a pitiful look. Maybe he could get out of this by making Itachi pity him enough to let him go. The man responded by patting him lightly on the head, mussing his soft hair a bit. “I’m sorry, Sasuke, but I don’t want the *asshole* following us to know where you live. We’ll go to my apartment first, just in case don’t quite we lose him.”


Sasuke’s head whipped around as he looked over his shoulder and saw a white SUV trailing behind them at a conspicuous distance. He squinted, thinking it might be too convenient an excuse. He blanched when he saw the driver was indeed Orochimaru, though he was too far away to make out his expression.


Oops. This is *not* a kidnapping. Entirely the opposite—more like a rescue. Thank heavens he hadn’t opened his mouth and voiced his suspicions. He immediately felt guilty for mistrusting Uchiha.


“Watch out” was the muttered warning Itachi gave before jumping a lane of traffic and executing a sharp turn, and Sasuke accidentally head-butted his shoulder and reflexively let the cell phone in his hand go. Uchiha caught it—without looking— using ninja-like reflexes as he executed another turn into a tight back road. “You might want to face forward.” Itachi sounded amused, but was still looking angrily behind them through the mirrors. He handed Sasuke his phone again, and he took it more shakily than the first time. He focused on dialing the number to keep from thinking about why he was being stalked by a creeper he’d met only two days ago. “Deep breaths, kitten.” The ‘kitten’ opened his mouth to spew protests except Naruto picked up the phone.


“Do the next problem and I’ll look over it, ok?” Naruto had answered, but sounded far away as he was obviously talking to a student. His voice grew even louder as the blonde focused on the phone. “What’s up? You didn’t have any problems today at work, did you? I can be there in ten minutes—”


“No, I’m fine.” He wanted to roll his eyes at the automatic ‘worry mode’ his guardian went into but hearing Naruto’s voice stabilized his growing panic level. “Itachi and I are heading over to his place for a bit…” he trailed off, catching the driver’s attention with a poke to his elbow. He covered the speaker with his thumb and whispered, “What am I supposed to tell him?”


“The truth.” He answered with an unspoken ‘duh.’ They were travelling at the speed limit now, passing through a couple quiet streets that Sasuke recognized. They weren’t all that far from his own home.


“I am not telling him I have a stalker. He’ll make me quit!” His voice was strained from frustration and wanting to shout, as well as annoyance that his companion was not cooperating.


“Sasuke? You still there?”


“Yeah. The phone must have cut out.” He looked at his companion again, then went with his gut. “I said, I invited Itachi to eat dinner with us tonight but he wanted to check in on his cat first at his apartment.” He twitched in response when a hand gripping the steering flinched at that, then figured it was because he’d given such a silly reason. “I wanted to make sure that was ok with you.”


“It’s your night to make dinner, so as long as you don’t mind I’m all for it.” Sasuke heard the student asking something, and Naruto sighed. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve gotta focus here.”


“You know how to focus?” Poking fun at Naruto was normal behavior; plus his guardian was distracted so he was less likely to notice the leftover panic with sarcasm in his tone.


“Shut up. See ya later.”


Sasuke hung up and placed the phone in the hand that Uchiha outstretched across the center console. Instead, he tipped the phone into his lap and took a firm hold of Sasuke’s hand. The boy blushed and tried to tug it away but Itachi arranged his grip so it was snug and he had thumb pressed against his wrist. “I know you’re uncomfortable, but please bear with me. I’d like you to answer some questions. Why wouldn’t you tell Naruto the truth?”


Great. More uncomfortable talking in addition to unexpected, somewhat overwhelming physical contact. “I thought you weren’t going to ask things like this?”


“No, I agreed to let discussions of your past stay where they are unless you bring them up. This is happening right now, and I need to know you have a decent reason for deceiving your guardian.” He paused a moment to look Sasuke in the eye. “If I’ll be lying to him to cover for you, I want to know why I should.”


“I need some way to be independent, and if he finds out there’s been more trouble he’ll make me quit. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but with the way I am around people,” he hesitated, half out of embarrassment and the other half shame, “most other jobs are difficult because I’d be working with tons of people all the time. A job like this is easier. In theory.” He added, because so far it had *not* been easier.


“I understand this is important to you. However, don’t you feel the danger you’re in?” His voice rose slightly, notes of anger intertwining with sincere concern. “If I hadn’t been there, or suppose Kiba hadn’t come back, that pervert could have gotten you.” His hand tightened further at the mention of the man, and all of Sasuke’s annoyance towards Uchiha disappeared. Aside from Naruto, it was beyond his memory the last time anyone genuinely cared for his well-being. If it was Itachi, perhaps things could be different—there might be a chance for them to work out.


“I guess if…” however, he didn’t want to admit such feelings to the man yet. He was gorgeous, sophisticated, intelligent, sensitive yet manly—for all he knew, Itachi could be happily attached to someone. He wasn’t sure if Itachi was gay, and even then Sasuke didn’t know if the older man found him attractive, or dated younger guys, or wanted a relationship. And on top of all that, Sasuke had anxiety, intimacy, and self-esteem issues of his own to work out that his crush knew about so there was very little reason for Itachi to be interested in him *that way* at all. “I can defend myself. Naruto signed me up for some karate classes in high school.” Such a small fib couldn’t hurt; the last thing he needed was Itachi thinking he was defenseless to any old man that felt like raping him.


“I can tell when you’re lying, by the way.” Immediately, Sasuke felt stupid for thinking that the older man was holding his hand out of affection; the thumb on his wrist was obviously monitoring his pulse. “I don’t mean to imply you’re weak or any less capable as an adult or a man. Nevertheless, when I caught you the other day I noticed your lack of serious muscle. Additionally, you have the disadvantage in height and weight, and your strength is hindered by your habit of sleeping less than you should.”


The assessment bothered Sasuke though it didn’t surprise him since the man already proved his powers of observation. Itachi gave him a brief moment to argue the point, but the younger man knew it was the truth so he let it go. “If it came to a fight, Orochimaru would win from the sheer size difference. Plus he’s stronger than he looks.” Uzumaki was touched that the man analyzed his chances since the motive was clearly to see if he could protect himself. Still, he didn’t want to declare the main reason he felt safe with him though he had a feeling Itachi would get it out of him sooner or later.


“It’s true I could have been in trouble, and if I had been alone I would have been careful to leave with the others, or ask Naruto to come pick me up. But Kakashi-sensei promised to look after me too, and he only left because he trusts you, and Naruto trusts you, and …I trust you. When you’re with me, I don’t feel like I’m in danger. When you touch me, I don’t get freaked out like I do with everyone else. And every time you’re near me, my mind calms and it’s nothing can get to me.” Damn. That sounded too much like a confession.


Luckily, the answer was enough. Uchiha even had a hint of a smile around his mouth, his grip changing. “I suppose I can’t skip class now, knowing it’s my job to keep you safe.” He teased a bit, and Sasuke’s heart fluttered at the full smile sent his way. “So how did you know about my cat?”


“What?” This was puzzling and felt out of nowhere, though he was distracted from answering when they finally pulled into a parking lot and Itachi released his grip to park the car. Sasuke instantly missed the warmth. He climbed out and grabbed his things, continuing, “You told Naruto I was going back to take care of my cat, but I haven’t told anyone about him. How did you know?”


Sasuke followed him to a door on the first floor, surprised. “I just made that up. I didn’t realize there was any truth to it.” He watched Itachi’s ponytail swaying back and forth with each confident step, trying to synthesize the little information he knew but couldn’t make a definitive assessment of Uchiha or his character. Still, Uchiha simply didn’t seem like a cat person.


“He might pounce on you. Careful.” He nodded and followed him inside. It was neat and spacious; the walls were light and the furniture dark though the colors were muted enough to avoid a stark contrast, the overall picture tastefully quiet. There was at least one bookshelf against every wall and they were all crammed with books about a plethora of topics, plus a great deal of old literature, a few pieces of modern fiction, and the occasional DVD. Portraits, landscapes, a bit of photography mixed in here and there… artworks of every sort covered any wall space not occupied by bookshelves or windows. The owner’s passion for art was clear to see, and if Sasuke wasn’t mistaken there were a few originals mixed in. The living room merged with the eating area and into the kitchen, all with new appliances and furniture, which reminded Sasuke that Itachi had indeed been a lawyer and a very good one at that. Off to the side was a short hallway with three doors, closed too far to see into.


“Here.” He turned around and the man pushed his hands out of the way to undo his scarf for him. “About two weeks ago, the little beast had gotten into my garbage. I shooed him away but that only provoked him to attempt a break-in.” Sasuke’s skin tingled where Itachi’s fingers brushed against him; along his neck as he untied the cloth, even against his chin as the older man gently nudged it up to get to the zipper on the brunette’s coat. “When I noticed him back on my doorstep five days later, I figured ‘why not?’”


Sasuke would have felt like a child if anyone else was doing this (especially Naruto), but with this man, he just felt like he was being taken care of. It was nice. “So long as he behaves, I’ve no reason to kick him out. He’s entertaining.” The garments were placed in the closet near the door, and Itachi gave him free reign to look around or sit as he pleased. “Just don’t start thinking I’m one of those sissy men that girls fantasize about,” he warned with an accompanying finger-waggle. “I helped the little beast because doing the right thing is more important than perceptions.”


“I wasn’t going to say anything about it.” He couldn’t, however, conceal the giggle or the unspoken words ‘but I was *thinking* it.’


To avoid Itachi’s slightly annoyed expression, Sasuke satisfied his curiosity by looking at the titles of the books; had their owner really read them all? “Would like a hot drink?” The boy nodded, and Itachi moved to the kitchen. The man was graceful in all his movements; his soft steps across the apartment, the slender hand that grasped the cabinet and pulled it open, his muscles even showed through his just-the-right-amount-of-tight pants and his midriff peeked out as he reached for the higher shelves. Long arms—muscled, but not obscenely—extended, and slim fingers wrapped around the handles of the mug.


So enthralled was Sasuke in watching the man’s simplest movements that Itachi had to ask a second time “tea or hot chocolate?” Sasuke pretended he was mulling over the decision in a lame cover for his silence. “Um… I guess… tea. I’m not picky about flavor, so whatever you have is fine with me.”


That definitely didn’t fool Itachi, but the man didn’t comment on his staring. He resumed scanning book titles, relieved that when Itachi handed him his drink he was too busy looking around distractedly to notice the traces of pink still scattered on his face.


“Please, sit down and relax.” He ushered his guest onto a comfy couch but didn’t sit down himself. “I have to see for myself that this kitten isn’t in any mischief before we go.” The man checked under the table and around the chair. “Excuse me,” he murmured pleasantly as he purposely leaned over Sasuke to check behind the couch, with a hand gently placed on the younger man’s shoulder for balance. He smiled inwardly at the startled look he received as he straightened and headed for the doors in the hallway. There was just enough space for a kitten to slide through, and he had a feeling that’s where the troublemaker was. “He likes to play hide and seek. Well, he *thinks* I’m playing.” He muttered.


“I was wondering about that, actually.” He sipped his drink, remembering the nickname his crush had called him when they met. “Why did you call me ‘kitten?’ I’ve never thought of myself as catlike.”


He heard a chuckle from the other room and frowned. What was so funny? “You have similar personalities.”


“You’d only just met me. How could you have known that?”


“Because—dammit Sasuke!” The boy on the couch jumped at the shout and carefully set his cup down on the coffee table. He stood and tugged at the hem of his shirt nervously, wondering how he messed up this time. He hadn’t even gone in that room, but clearly something was his fault. “What is wrong with you?” He didn’t know what it was, but if Itachi didn’t want to go through the trouble of driving him home, he was fairly certain he lived close enough to walk. He was about to suggest that course of action when Itachi came out with a small dark grey cat in his arms. It struggled, but not against his owner—the rubber bands tangled around his paws were the source of his distress. He meowed at the newcomer in his territory.


“Do you mind holding Sasuke? I have to find scissors.” He gathered Sasuke’s hands with his own and deposited the kitten into his arms. With a soft push on the shorter man’s shoulders to urge him to sit down, he went back to the kitchen to search for a tool of feline liberation.


“You meant… the cat. Of course.” He muttered to himself, embarrassed that for the second time in the today, he had assumed the worst and been proven soundly wrong. He felt like a complete idiot for suspecting his crush of evil so easily. The cat blinked up at him owlishly and meowed again. Sasuke rubbed his ear; it was pretty cute, but he still wasn’t sure what they had in common.


“It’s in your eyes, really.” Itachi continued. “You both have this proud, defiant spark. Unfortunately,” the man returned to the couch and sat very close to Sasuke, legs brushing together as he carefully got hold of the rubber bands wound tightly around the tiny paws. The cat meowed again but wisely didn’t resist. “The spark is muted—repressed, stained, damaged,” he said the words carefully, looking Sasuke in the eye. “It’s a look so forlorn, I can hardly stifle the urge smother you with love, to pull you in close and protect you from the world.” The rubber bands fell away with a few snips, and the kitten instantly tried to tackle his owner. His claws got stuck in Itachi’s sweater and he clung helplessly (though too stubborn to consider meowing for help); the man was too focused on Sasuke’s reaction to notice.


It was hard to move, to think. He could be wrong, but he was pretty sure Itachi had just said he liked him. It felt so sudden! So unexpected, the idea of another person—especially somebody who was good and kind—genuinely wanting him, to *protect* him, and on top of that, to discover it was the selfsame person he’d been becoming to like and desire—all this compressed into a moment, so that he sat there with a shocked expression and completely still.


When Itachi sensed he wasn’t going to answer he assumed the worst. He knew he should have held himself back more, at least until the younger man knew him better. This had been one of the few times he gave into his impulses, and now he may have lost his chance. “I’m sorry for being so forward.” Hopefully he hadn’t scared him off, jumpy as he was—he’d say anything to keep the man from hating him. “I won’t say things like that anymore. I’ll stay away from you from now on if that would make you more comfortable—”


“No!” The word burst forth finally. “No, I also... feel that…” Because of his past, how he had been treated too badly, it was impossible to rush into this; yet stronger than the memories of pain and betrayal was the feeling that he wanted Itachi more than he’d wanted anything. He wanted... he swallowed, shakily initiating physical contact with a hand on Itachi’s, light as butterfly landing on a flower—but contact nonetheless. “I want to be protected, held, loved. By you.” He took a deep breath; this was it; rejection must surely await the following statements. “But I am damaged, there’s no way around that. You deserve the best, and I’m nowhere near that.” His throat tightened to the pain sure to come. “So if you don’t—I mean, if I’m not—I could never hold it against you if—I wish I wasn’t like this—” he cut himself off, unable to continue.


Itachi frowned heavily. “Don’t think of yourself like that,” he said, guiding their hands to his mouth and placing a firm kiss on the back of Sasuke’s hand. “Regardless of any physical or emotional or *any* kind of issue, you are more than that. I didn’t mean to offend you or imply that you’re damaged or less than anyone else. However you are, you’re more than enough for me. I want you.” The kitten finally freed himself, pouncing on Sasuke next, startling a chuckle out of him and momentarily derailing their conversation.


Uzumaki smiled at the ball of fur, using both his hands to pick it up under its arms and bring it to his eye level. “How did he get his name, anyway?” He raised an eyebrow, not ready to assume the cat was named after himself because of hidden, creepy, stalker-like tendencies.


“My mother,” he answered with a sigh, a mixture of love, strained patience, and bitterness. “Her day to sneak over here was a few days after I let him in. She thought he was adorable and insisted on naming him, since I’d been referring to him as ‘kitten’ up to that point.” He frowned again, going quiet. The cat fidgeted and Sasuke let him back down on the couch, but the little one turned and made himself comfortable on his lap.


Quiet wasn’t unusual, but Sasuke wasn’t familiar with bitterness in the older man’s expression. Generally the sophisticated features were vaguely amused or deep in concentration, but the far-off expression and frustrated undertone were obvious signs there was a problem. “What’s wrong?” He asked tentatively, not sure if it was his place to ask nor if his crush would be willing to share.


“There’s a bit of a story to this, but I’d rather you hear it from me than from anyone else.” He handed Sasuke his mug again and paused, tapping his finger against the coffee table a few times as he organized the relevant pieces of information into a proper story. “I guess I should have told you these things before I told you how I felt about you. It’s not too late to back out now,” he said, trying to hide his reluctance.


Sasuke shook his head vehemently. “Your history won’t change my mind. I’m in no position to make judgments.” He was a little bit offended, and Itachi saw this and explained himself.


“I only mentioned it because you may become involved, too. Almost definitely, in fact. I’ll do everything I can to keep them away from you,” he said earnestly, “but I have to admit there’s a chance that they’ll try to harass you in order to get to me. It’s unpleasant and people have backed out before. You deserve the same opportunity, and I wouldn’t think any less of you for it. So please hear me out.”


He paused, tracing a few stripes on the couch with his slender finger, then began.


“When I was born, complications occurred that kept my mother from having another child. After her third miscarriage, my father decided to have an affair.” He subconsciously rubbed an eye like he was trying to stay awake, the action replaying with the memory of peeking through cracks of doors at night to listen to conversations and looking up the word ‘adultery’ in the dictionary the next morning. “Mother wanted to adopt and went to every orphanage in the state, but father declared his heir had to be of his blood. And so my half-brother was born. Naturally, my jealous uncle said the child was illegitimate and therefore couldn’t takeover in the event of my death. Though since mother ‘s inability to reproduce was backed up with medical records and it was not my father’s, the head of our family’s fault, my half-brother was voted legitimate within the circumstances.” He spoke about it casually, but resentment stirred deep within the words.


“All that... for his company? For money?” It was hard to believe such things happened outside of movies and novels.


“My father broke my mother’s heart and screwed with her sanity was to have—in his words—a ‘backup son.’ Anyway, the mistress was given money and sent away since she had fulfilled her duty. Father kept the child in our house to monitor his progress. Mother couldn’t look at the child that her husband cared about more than her, though to her credit she tried. Barely a month passed before she was prescribed medication. I hated father for what he’d done; for the child himself, he was like a robot. He didn’t react to anything… other than following orders, he would merely sit and stare.


“Fortunately,” he said in a tone that indicated he meant the exact opposite, “father’s second son was as smart as the first and excelled in everything. Uchiha Son® 2.0. Father’s favorite part— this son followed orders.” No bitterness now; a slight smirk appeared instead. “Eventually I became aware of the things father did with the company under the table, thanks to your guardian. I gave my father an ultimatum. When he claimed I could never do anything on my own since all I’d accomplished was because of him, I left and took only what I had earned without him.”


He smiled fondly in the direction of the door. “Except for the car. It may be childish, but I knew taking the company’s car would bother him. He won’t try to take it back, either, because he doesn’t want to bring any attention to the fact that I’m still alive. He’s been telling his associates that I’m more or less dead. Mother visits (though I’m sure it’s to maintain her sanity while having to live with that man) but she has to sneak over, faking receipts for the spa to do it. As for the name of this little monster,” said too affectionately to be taken as a serious sentiment, “mother said had she not miscarried, her next son would have been named Sasuke. It’s really too bad she won’t have the chance.


“Here’s the part that affects you: my half-brother has been after me since he became aware of his illegitimate status. His attempts were pathetic then and even now he’ll try silly pranks just to remind me that he’s where I used to be. I would pity him if he weren’t such a bastard.” A certain small smile flashed across Itachi’s mouth, and the younger man found it difficult not to smile with him. “Pun intended, of course. My past relationships fell apart when they had enough of his juvenile nonsense. Perhaps it’s intimidating to know he’s the kind of man that will sue you over made up charges and get away with it.


“I guess I should have told you before, so you would know what you’re getting yourself into. You can still change your mind.”


As much as he wanted to respond with a vehement ‘no, I’ll never change my mind!’ he respected his crush enough to consider seriously all he’d said. There was enough complexity, strife, and mayhem in his life. And for the past few years his boyfriends were the source of so many problems.


Yet: this man here was forthcoming, honest, intelligent, caring, kind-hearted but firm, and speaking of firm Itachi’s muscles were very nice…


And Sasuke physically shook his head to refocus. Lusty thoughts aside, he could find no reason to suppress his desire (‘to be near this man’ the rational part argued. his lusty side kicked the rational half in the shin). “I couldn’t abandon you for something like that. You won’t change my mind. Anyway, you’re much too nice. You didn’t have to tell me any of this.” Maybe if he knew how awesome he was, he’d quit the silly notion and realize how far above Sasuke he was.


“Nice?” The raising of an eyebrow never looked so sexy. “You have misunderstood me. I most certainly am not ‘nice.’”


He loomed over the younger man, and several variants of ‘oh shit’ ran through Sasuke’s head. The cat scurried away and Itachi slowly pushed him down flat on the couch. “You’ve known me for less than a week; the little you’ve found out about me came from myself and for all you know I’ve been lying. Your guardian might have said something, but I could have easily deceived him. He hasn’t seen me in a while, plus I kept trying to charge him my outrageous fees to represent him in court.”


Sasuke tried his hardest to look unaffected. he hadn’t been touched so much by anyone for quite some time and squashing down his panic took every ounce of effort he had; forget processing the sudden—or, according to Itachi, *not* sudden—personality change. His every retreat backwards was matched by Itachi moving forwards, until Sasuke’s head bumped into the armrest and Itachi settled over him, lightly enough so he could breathe but too heavily for him to escape easily.


“And on top of that,” he chuckled lowly, “rather, on top of *you,* since the first second I saw you I’ve been calculating how to best get you into my bed.” He looked down at the man he’d pinned, just smirking, before it fell off his face and he moved away suddenly. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed, long hair covering his face.


Blink. Blink. The image before him didn’t change. “Um…” Sasuke cautiously sat up, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.


“You’re the one who’s too nice.” The older man’s concerned glare caught him off guard. “You didn’t fight back, even though I pushed you and you were clearly uncomfortable.” He rose from the couch, bringing the mug over and washing it out. “By the way, you’re supposed to be yelling at me and storming out right now.” His young crush was still sitting on the couch, somewhere between bewilderment and enlightenment. “You need to be mean sometimes, otherwise you’ll get trampled.”


A glance at the clock persuaded Itachi they should leave, and he said so. They made their way to the door, and Itachi aided his guest in putting his winter gear back on. Though not sure why, Sasuke allowed this. His scarf was carefully adjusted for him, and he looked up to thank him for the tea. Itachi was studying his face—as if he wanted to say something, if the twitch of his lip was anything to go by—and the hand at his neck drifted up slowly to rest on the side of his face. He knew instinctually why Itachi was getting closer, but somehow his body didn’t react to stop him. Quick and hard, he kissed him, holding him tightly for a minute before licking Sasuke’s lips with the tip of his tongue as pulled away. “I can’t seem to help myself around you.”


“I…um…” that had been pleasant. However…


“Ow!” Itachi was more startled than hurt. He touched his cheek, though he knew the redness would go away in a moment.


“You told me to be mean sometimes. And as good as that was, I’m not ready for that yet.” He responded defensively. He pushed the guilt away from himself. He was justified, and the remnants of remorse dissipated when the man smiled at him.


“You’re right. I’ll try to restrain myself.” He ushered Sasuke outside after double checking the cat couldn’t get into anything else. “So you’re making me dinner tonight?”


They climbed into the car, and Uzumaki nodded. “Yeah. I’m pretty good, and I can make whatever you want.”


“Whatever you feel like is fine.”


The silence stretched out and fell on them like a blanket. They were tons of things Sasuke wanted still to ask, things about his family and his interests and all sorts of things, but for now he was content to sit and enjoy the silence.


* *


Day five of work. That was all? Sasuke checked the calendar on his phone to be sure before he slipped it into his bag, since the outfit Kakashi had him in today had no pockets. It seemed like he’d been doing this job for much longer than that, but when he counted he really was only on his fifth outfit. The soccer uniform shorts, when worn correctly, came very close to showing the scars that weren’t fading as quickly as he would like. Maybe he should switch to a different ointment. For now, though, he scooted down the shorts until he was sure they couldn’t be seen. If they were just some random slashes he could have made up a plausible story for the marks. But Juugo—bastard that he was—had carved into his thigh either the word ‘snake’ or ‘ekans.’ It was hard to tell, since snake made more sense as a word but Juugo loved Pokémon more than any grown man should.


“You done back there, hot stuff?”


“I’ll be right there, idiot.” One of the main reasons Sasuke felt he’d been here so long was how quickly he’d grown accustomed to the class. Everyone (including Orochimaru) had been friendly and polite, and most were easy to talk to. He’d allowed himself to become involved with them since they seemed to an optimistic (if at times too idealistic) bunch; they had managed to get him to join in on conversations. Quite impressive. So by now it was second nature to walk in the doors and to catch up with what the students had been doing during the days they didn’t see each other, to listen to them discuss other teachers and tests, to chime in, and to shoot insults at Kiba. Classes at his college had nothing like the family atmosphere, and he’d admitted to Naruto that if he wasn’t so paranoid about people knowing his real name and stalking him, he’d transfer to this university for the environment alone.


It was routine by now to get on the platform, find a comfortable position, and listen to the music and conversation.


“So, like, Bianca totally is better! She’s all sweet and innocent but then Kate’s just going around being mean to everyone, just cause they like Bianca better. I mean, tying her sister up for no reason! Kate’s such a bitch.” Sakura said, popping bubblegum that matched her hair in color.


“Kate’s supposed to come across as mean. It’s called ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ after all.”


“Yeah, and Bianca’s not innocent. Did you even read the footnotes, pinkie? Half her lines have sexual subtext.”


“Of course I did!” Kiba shot her a doubtful look that Sakura ignored. “And Patrick is way too good for Kate, even if she isn’t as bad as all the other characters say she is.”


“Anyhow, why is she such a shrew? People don’t turn bad without a reason.”


“It’s the nature versus nurture argument, isn’t it? We don’t know what happened before the play, so we can’t tell either way. I think she’s always been like that, and I can’t understand why people feel bad for her.”


“What I don’t get is how you don’t feel for her. Nobody wants to marry her, her dad clearly favors her sister, and now she’s got the pressure of her sister’s happiness hanging over her head. If you were in that situation I doubt you’d be much different.” One of the quieter girls, Hinata, said. It was a mystery how she could speak so softly, yet everyone always heard her and listened to what she said.


“Society wasn’t kind to women then, either, so her father was actually looking out for her by making sure she was married.” Sasuke hadn’t read it, but he was familiar with it enough.


“Yeah, he’s got a point. Though it doesn’t justify how her dad didn’t say anything to the guys calling her a devil and making innuendos and shit right in front of her.”


“What do you think, Itachi? You’ve read the play before, I bet.” Kiba asked.


The man looked surprised they were seeking his input. It’d only been a week since they’d involved him in their conversations, and this was the first time they’d asked him a question directly. “I’d have to say it’s a combination. Kate was probably unruly by nature, but her father didn’t know how to handle her, her mother was as absent, and the other sibling was clearly favored—I think it’s mostly the circumstances, but she was definitely born with spirit.”


“Yeah! That makes sense. Plus, at the end, she was quite changed so I think it was more like she became what she would have been and wanted to be, once she got over her stubbornness and pride. Good thing someone came along that wanted to change her.” Ino added, sounding much smarter than her blond hair implied.


“Patrick was motivated by money, not really changing her, so that counts against him even if he is super hot.”


“Except—wait a second, did you say Patrick? And hot? Well, Heath Ledger is really hot—but you never read the play at all, did you?”


“So what? I didn’t have time.”


“So get out of the discussion. If you don’t actually know the play then you aren’t helping. We’ll have to talk about something else, cause I don’t want you stealing all our ideas for your paper again. You didn’t do the work, so you shouldn’t reap the benefits.”


Sakura looked pretty upset, but Kiba was there to handle it so the rest of the class tuned them out, not wanting to get involved in the massive drama that followed the pair everywhere.


The main conversation revived, turning towards the unfairness of a certain teacher’s tests, and since neither topic was interesting to Sasuke he gazed out the window, careful not to move his head too much.


Class was over before the subject was exhausted, and students were still trickling out the door by the time he was done changing back into his regular clothes. Nearly out of habit, he walked over to his crush and smiled. “I’m ready when you are.” He thought of all the possibilities—maybe they could watch a movie or something, and then he’d attempt to continue the kiss Itachi started the other day. He’d been feeling so much better lately that he figured he could at least try it and if he didn’t panic, well, there were other things they could do…


The man looked up and frowned. “I actually won’t be able to take you home today. I have to meet with my study group, and then I have to meet with another group to work on a project due next week. Maybe next time,” he poked his forehead gently, “Sasuke,” he whispered so no one could hear his name.


“No, it’s fine.” His fake smile jumped into place without his permission, but he let it stay there. No need to make the man feel bad, especially when he was being selfish. Of course he had a life outside of him.


The man frowned in response. “Don’t think for even one second that you’re fooling me. I do appreciate the effort, but I prefer honesty.” All his things assembled, he made for the door and held it open. “I can at least walk you to the bus stop.” They left, walking suspiciously close to each other, not giving the slightest attention to the tall man hiding behind a pillar. He followed them at a safe distance, ducking into alcoves at times when he might be seen. The oblivious pair laughed lightly; they stopped, and the older man grabbed Sasuke’s hand and placed a kiss on it. The younger man smiled as he blushed faintly, waved to his departing companion, then continued the few feet to the bus stop. Waiting until Itachi’s car left the lot, he approached Sasuke, who was checking his watch. A snowflake fell on his nose, and he crinkled and brushed it away. Cute.


“Hello there.” Orochimaru didn’t appreciate how startled the young man was, and he most certainly did not like the half-fearful, half-glare he received. The boy was, of course, polite enough to cover it as soon as possible and adopted a friendly, if guarded, mask. Not much better, but at least it seemed possible that Sasuke would listen to what he had to say.


For his part, Sasuke was freaking out; yet while he waited for his panic level to rise and become unbearable, it stayed at a surprisingly normal level. It wasn’t because he wasn’t approached by the creeper in a public place and thought the openness of the location would protect him, though he was grateful for that; he had been much calmer since meeting Itachi and attributed his (relative) calm to that. That’s not to say he wasn’t prepared to run or fight if the situation called for it. “Hello. How are you?” He finally responded, then gave himself a mental smack. Asking questions will only engage conversation, and that should be avoided—but too late now.


Orochimaru smiled, and somehow it didn’t look as creepy as it did before. Maybe it was the lighting. “I’m well. I hope you’re doing fine? No more panic attacks?—excuse me, fainting spells?” He corrected himself. He smiled a little wider at the alarmed expression he received. “To the untrained eye you may have nearly fainted, but I’ve seen panic attacks before. But my purpose now isn’t to make you uncomfortable. I’m trying to ascertain that you are indeed alright.”


“Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be alright. Itachi’s a friend of my father’s, so he’s been watching out for me.” He replied stiffly. He was miffed his reaction the first day had been seen through by yet another person, even more irked that the one person who seemed like either a serial killer or a rapist had caught on from the beginning.


“I’m glad to hear that. I must confess though, that I have a secondary reason for stopping you here. I wouldn’t feel right knowing that nobody warned you.”


“About what?” Sasuke meant to ignore Orochimaru, really he did, but his curiosity was piqued. Maybe this would explain was he was trying to follow him home the other day. And strangely, those golden eyes didn't seem so glassy. They were kind of cool looking...


“I fear that you won’t like what I have to say.” He sat down on the bench, subtly glancing down the street to check for the bus. Impulsively, Sasuke joined him (with plenty of space between them, naturally). “Itachi is more dangerous than you think. He’s been hiding things, things about his family. Sooner or later it’ll get to you.”


The young man relaxed. So that’s what this is about. “Does this have to do with his controlling father or his vengeful brother? He’s told me about both already.” He tried to avoid looking smug at Orochimaru’s disturbed reaction.


“He… told you?” His disappointment was so heavy he slouched a bit, breaking his perfect posture.


“Yes. He felt being honest was best, and I agreed.”


“I… am grateful, then.” He definitely didn’t sound it. “I still advise you to be cautious around him. Merely knowing the danger you could be in might not be enough.”


Genuine appreciation grew, and he briefly touched the man’s shoulder. If Orochimaru was a creeper, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to warn him. People shouldn’t judge each other by appearances, Naruto always said. “Thank you.” He heard the screech of the bus brakes, and stood. “I’ll see you later.” Waved, and smiled naively.


He stepped onto the bus, paid the fare, and sat down at a window seat. Orochimaru was still sitting on the bench, smiling gently. The bus drove away, and Orochimaru could hardly wait until the vehicle was out of sight before walking away with his smirk hidden by his long dark hair.


*


Once he got home, Sasuke changed into his last pair of sweatpants with a sigh. Looks like it’s his turn to do laundry again. He threw in as much as would fit and dug around in the cabinets until he found something that only had to be heated. After his Spaghetti O’s were ready, he settled on the couch with his books to complete his homework for tomorrow. it was only when he was halfway through his book when he realized he hadn’t taken in a single word, and that all his thoughts were fluctuating between boyfriends past and the possibilities of the future.


He’d been hurt, badly, but moving past it was becoming easier everyday he spent with his new boyfriend. He smiled at the thought of the word—Itachi had referred to him as his boyfriend for the first time today, and it still made him want to giggle like a child that figured out how to open the cookie jar. Musing over the fun things they could do next time he came over, he carelessly spilt the rest of his meal on his sweatpants. “Damn,” he cursed, took them off, and put them in the wash machine. It was time to start the next load anyway. Now to put on a different pair… oh. Right. All his other pants were either soaking wet and in the dryer, wet and in the washer, or dirty and unwearable. Most of his shorts were in the attic, and the few pairs he kept in his closet weren’t worth digging out. He’d just put on new pants when they were dry and use a blanket in the meantime. Naruto had no tolerance for cold so the house was always toasty, but Sasuke didn’t like having his scars visible. His guardian was more sensitive about it then he was, considering Naruto believed it to be a failure on his part to protect his friend, and it made them both feel awkward. But whatever. He had homework to do.


His devotion to his schoolwork lasted nearly twenty minutes before he laid down on the couch to get comfy. He was only reading, so it was fine. When he started getting sleepy, he rolled over, hoping that he wouldn’t fall asleep if he lay on his stomach since it was uncomfortable. Logic defeated him not too much later, and he slept for two hours or so, until his guardian came home.


Naruto is the kind of person that never does anything or goes anywhere quietly. It makes it easy to find him if you lose track of him in a supermarket, but if you’re the kind of person who might be cranky when you wake up, then smashing his head in is something to fantasize about occasionally. With a groan, Sasuke grabbed a pillow and put it over his head, not realizing the motion moved the blanket enough to reveal the uppermost letter scars. “Shut up, Naruto! You’re so loud.”


“Hey! Aren’t you even worried about why I’m home so late?” He dumped his stuff at the door then turned to their guest. “You can have a seat, if you’d like. Once he gets over being grumpy from his nap, I’m sure he’ll be happy to socialize.” Sasuke heard noises, but didn’t care. Probably another student that needed extra help, though every now and then students had home problems and needed a place to stay—and the bleeding heart that he was, Naruto invariably offered his own home.


Instead of the dip of the couch cushions like he expected, Sasuke felt a warm hand slowly pull the book from where it dangled from his own and place it on the table. Another hand reached down to be delicately placed on his exposed thigh, and a deep voice said his name. He froze; his breath stilled. Slowly he lifted the pillow, and as he expected Itachi was there. And he can see the scars.


For some reason Sasuke wasn’t freaking out—possibly because there wasn’t pity in the dark eyes studying him. Anger, yes, and frustration, but not pity. The deciding factor was ultimately the unconcealed desire. It took him by surprise, and it must have showed because he received a sexy smirk and a squeeze from the hand still on his leg in return. The younger man nearly darted forward to kiss the lips so close, but Naruto fell over something in the kitchen and ruined the moment. He sighed. “So what’s up? Actually, what are you doing here?” Both he and his man moved; Itachi sat next to him on the couch, sitting sideways so he could see over the back of the couch and into the kitchen where Naruto was while Sasuke focused on sitting up, covering himself with the blanket again, and getting the sleep out of his eyes.


“That would be my fault, Sasuke.” Uzumaki picked himself up off the floor and reentered the living room. “Hey, shouldn’t you put on some pants?” The glare he got in return explained everything. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot to do wash before I left—but I’m making dinner right now.” The annoyed look didn’t leave completely, so the blond threw the towel he was drying his hands with at his ‘son.’ “Your face will get stuck that way.” He chuckled as he returned to the kitchen, talking louder so they could still hear him. “My car wouldn’t start, and no one else could bring me home. Not even Gaara.”


The blanket became a makeshift toga, and Sasuke ventured into the laundry closet for clothes from the dryer. “How is he? I haven’t seen him since he started his student-teaching.”


“Quiet as ever, but once he gets in front of the class you’d never think he ever had a problem with public speaking. Anyhow, the kids love him, and he’s going to be great. You staying for dinner?” He asked their guest.


The Uchiha reluctantly shook his head. “I have to get back to my group. They’re useless without me.” If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded like bragging. But neither Uzumaki doubted that it was the truth. He hadn’t taken off his coat or shoes, so he stood and waved to Naruto as he ran around the kitchen. “Let me know if you need a ride again. And when you call the car shop, make sure you tell Graham Specter that I sent you—that should get you a nice discount, and he does good work. Just ignore anything else he says, since he’s more or less insane.” Naruto nodded, said his goodbyes, then returned all his focus to cooking.


Sasuke walked him the few feet to the door. He checked quickly to see if Naruto was looking, then gave Itachi a swift kiss. “Don’t tease me.” The taller man grumbled, but he didn’t really look like he minded. “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow, alright?” Sasuke nodded, dismissing the fleeting thought that he should tell Itachi about the conversation he’d had with Orochimaru. It had been harmless, and there was no need to worry his boyfriend unnecessarily.


“Sure. Goodnight!” The sound of the door shutting was loud in the sudden silence.


“Soooooo.” He heard from the kitchen. “Did you get your homework done?”


“Enough,” he replied with an accompanying eye roll. “I’m not a kid anymore, you know.”


“You’ll always be that cute little kid to me. I miss how adorable you were. Why can’t you go back to following me around?” He laughed. “It’d be creepy if you did that now. How’s your job?”


“It’s fine. And yours?”


“Oh, you know. Most precious little terrors I’ll ever meet.” He paused and thought—two actions that rarely combined, least of all with the furrowed eyebrows and slight frown. “I’ve been wondering… um,” the blond paused again. “Are your… scars faded?”


He sighed. “Not yet. They’re better, though. And I haven’t had any nightmares recently. No panic attacks either.” Talking about serious stuff happened rarely since neither of them liked it, so they were generally as honest about it as possible so they could talk about other stuff. “I may or may not have, um, met someone.”


Most people didn’t think Naruto could glare, and really, he couldn’t, though this came close. “Tell me you’re being careful.”


“I am. And we’re… not quite official. But don’t worry, because he’s different from the others, even different from other people in general. He’s got a comforting vibe, and I make sure I’m taking all the necessary precautions.”


“Are you going that fast?” He asked, looking quite alarmed.


“What?”


“If you already are playing with—wait, when you say ‘vibe’ you mean—”


“No! I mean like he has a good aura, like being around him is peaceful.” He punched Naruto’s shoulder as he left his seat to get drinks for them both and set them on the table. “You’re not mad, are you?” Sasuke faced the other direction. Sometimes he hated how much Naruto’s opinion mattered to him. He wasn’t expecting the hug from behind.


“Of course not. I’m only worried about you. But I want you to be happy, so…” he shrugged. “But if anything happens, I’m going to put a tracking device in your brain and do background checks on everyone you meet. If I ever let you out of the house again.” There were the jokes again, and any tension hanging around became a vapor in the wind. “I wouldn’t ever be able to do that, though. It’s not your fault, none of it. Nothing that has happened so far has been because you did something wrong, so you shouldn’t be punished.” He let his best friend go to stop the timer from beeping. “Dinner’s ready.”


“Hey, after dinner, will you play for me?” The request was a rare one, but Sasuke knew that asking would make his guardian happy. It had been awhile since he last had a chance to sit at the piano, after all.


“Sure.” Sunshine leapt out of his smile.

***

happy holidays!