To Protect and To Serve

Sorry for all the time jumps in the last chapter; it was probably very confusing. I don’t plan on doing it in this chapter. I do not own the Elliot Bay bar referred to in this chapter, nor have I ever been there considering I don't drink. I've heard the beer is shitty, which is why I put that in there. There are three instances of dating violence (assult category) in this chapter. They occur at the end. Naruto is punched, Sasuke is shoved into a wall repeatedly so that he bleeds and Naruto stomps on his foot. Be forewarned.

“Sasuke!”
Loud, irritated grumble.
“Stop tossing and turning so much! You’re making it really hard for me to sleep!”
“Well, how do you think I feel?”
“I have no idea! I don’t live inside your head!”
“Dumb blond.”
He kicks me.
“I’d scream spousal abuse if we had a legal relationship.”
“You bastard.”
“Moron, this is rough for me. Recovering isn’t easy and don’t I get any credit? I haven’t gone down that street since last time I did meth, and I won’t be again!”
Naruto runs a hand through his hair and exhales forcefully. “It must be hell for you.”
“You have no idea.”

The alarm buzzes loudly, annoying, hours later. I entangle myself in the bedcovers and curse furiously, kicking Naruto hard a couple of times as I fight to disentangle myself. I fall painfully on my side and turn the alarm off forcefully, striking it so hard that it falls to the floor. This makes me yell louder. Naruto puts the pillow over his head and burrows under the covers Last night before we went to bed; I worried out loud for hours about losing my job. The night before, I started to hallucinate. I was also suicidal, not eating, had no energy and didn’t want to go to work, at all, for three weeks, and this happened four weeks ago. These are all crystal methamphetamine withdrawal symptoms. They’ve been going on for a month even though I’ve physically detoxed. N.A. is helping me detox psychologically, but it’s a challenge. Through this all, I’ve gone to work every day and functioned as a decent member of society. I want this all to be over. I want to be normal again.
Two weeks pass.

Iruka hugs Kakashi and strides away. It’s his last day here for awhile since we’re headed to trial. Soledad will be back at her desk on Monday. Everything is back to normal—even better because Naruto and I are still dating. I learned last night that he’s been dying his hair with black styling glue or something fancy like that, and it rinses out when he washes his hair. I’ve only seen him with black hair though. It’ll be different to see him with blond hair—if we stay together that long.

My phone vibrates loudly on the nightstand. “Uchiha.”
“Let’s get together for a drink if you’re not busy.”
“For you, I’m never busy.”
She sighs. “That’s a relief. Let’s meet at Elliot Bay.”
“Are you in a bad mood, Soledad? The beer there is so shitty.”
“I’m not going there to drink, Sasuke. I’m going there to talk to you and to not be surrounded by cops or gang members.”
“See you there.”

The bar is dark, damp, filled with barflies, and the atmosphere makes me uncomfortable, but no one makes me as a cop. Soledad greets me with a warm hug, and I place a hand on her shoulder. Her voice is husky. “It’s good to see you. How have you been?”
We talk for an hour and half, spending another half hour in content silence.
“I’m happy you’re doing so well, Sasuke. And I’m really happy I’ll be at my desk on Monday.”
“Me too.”
A beat of silence.
“Soledad?”
“Huh.”
“Kakashi’s gay. He’s with Iruka.”
“It’s about time those two got together.” She smiles with her eyes. Her mouth is a firm line, as always.

A loud orange and blond blur blares through the squad room, zooming by as fast as his voice is loud. As Soledad materializes by her desk, the loud orange and blond blur stops and silences. What appears to be a silent conversation begins between them. I knock on Hatake’s office door and am admitted. “Your partner’s back,” he remarks cheerfully, setting aside a book with a bright orange cover. I recognize the characters on the cover, bright red and written perfectly. -Icha Icha Paradise- “Yeah. It’s good to have her back.”
“I think so too,” Hatake glances longingly at his book before facing me and debriefing me on more cases. I walk out of his office twenty minutes later, saddled with this week’s twenty cases.

Naruto pulls away from Soledad. Their body language indicates they have pulled back from a kiss. He holds her by the elbows and she stares up at him. My rage blocks out the looks on their faces—deep sadness and shock blended with anger. Soledad turns away as I punch Naruto. His head whips to the side with the force of my fist, and he falls back against my desk, regaining balance a few seconds later. I start screaming at him. This is the first time I have seen his natural hair color, and the loud orange shirt is a surprise as well. Oh, the thoughts that enter one’s head when they have just been cheated on…His jeans are old and well-worn. He looks more and more ashamed as my voice increases in volume. Finally I storm out of the squad room, seething.
There’s a meeting tonight, and I don’t want to miss group. It’s helping me. I want to stay sober but Naruto—what he did—I have to get high. To forget what I saw and to assuage this feeling right now. I have to. I can’t. No. Fuck.

“My…” I hesitate. “It’s okay, Sasuke.” The staff member overseeing the meeting encourages me. I glare at the floor and mumble. “I think my boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend.” My ears turn pink with the admission of my homosexuality. “How did that make you feel?”
“You’re such a therapist,” I grumble, then answer the question. “I wanted to get high on meth.”
“Did you?”
“No, I promised my boyfriend I’d never even go down the street where I got the meth ever again. I’ve kept that promise.”
The staff member who has a background as a therapist nods. “Any input?” he addresses the group. “Sasuke’s story makes me feel hopeful,” someone pipes up. “If he can keep his promise to a loved one to stay sober, so can I.”

I open the door to the apartment and plod silently in. The lights are on, as is the heat. Yakisoba is cooking. Naruto is home. He’s in the kitchen, stirring the noodles on the griddle. My anger returns. “Naru—”
“I ought to have you arrested for what you did. How dare you punch me, you’re lucky I didn’t report you to your own captain for dating violence assault!” He slams down the wooden spoon onto the counter, whirling around and shoving me into the wall. He slams me into it repeatedly as he yells. I angle my body so most of the impact is in places that can withstand the damage. “How could you do that to me, you bastard! You didn’t even know the situation!” He pulls me to him, preparing to shove me again. I punch his solar plexus and kick his legs out from under him. He lands on the floor with a thud. “So talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
“It’s a long story…Dinner is on the griddle. We should eat first.”
I scowl and help him up from the floor. He stomps on my foot and returns his attention to the food.

We eat in tense silence. The table is cleared, the dishwasher is loaded and the kitchen is cleaned with that same mutual, tense silence. Finally I decide to break it. “Naruto, I’m sorry for hitting you, I’m sorry for screaming at you in front of the squad.”
“Asshole, you’re such a poor liar,” he fumes. “I’m the fucking Special Agent In Charge of a very dangerous mission, and you think you can lie to me. You should be interrogated by the Bureau!” Whatever color there is in my skin drains rapidly. They use torture on people they don’t like (which is everyone except heterosexual white males), but they call it harsh interrogation and claim it’s legal. Naruto told me that.
“You shoved me against the wall repeatedly!” I look over at it for damages to prove what happened. There’s blood spatter. Oh shit. I quickly run my hand over the back of my neck and head, then find the gash.
“Because you nearly knocked me flat on my ass!” he retorts.
“You betrayed me,” I thunder. The wound will just have to heal. It’s too small for a bandage, my hair will get in the way, and it’s not deep enough for stitches.
“What?!”
“You kissed Soledad! I consider that cheating! You know that and you also know how important she is to me! She’s my partner!”
“That’s not at all what happened!”
“Then what the hell happened?!”