Spiral Falling

Title: Spiral Falling
Author: BeccaAmon
Genre: AU
Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto
Warnings: Shounen ai, yaoi, lemon, language
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Archived at: [Voyeurism]http://www.geocities.com/serenitatishime/
[Banana Oil]http://www.bananaoil.tk/
Author’s note: My first Naruto and NC-17 fanfiction. Be kind, enjoy^^. Thanks for reading. Thank you Ailetoile for beta-reading.
Feedback: Always welcome, especially constructive. If you’re just e-mailing me to tell me you’re enjoying the fanfic, that’s deeply appreciated.

“….” - Dialogue

*

Chapter 20 – Ghosts

"Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked up from his bag, pausing in his quiet rush to leave the already empty classroom to meet with his blonde friend. Kakashi-sensei was leaning against his teacher's desk, flipping through the test sheets that Sasuke had helped in marking.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver-haired teacher gave a tiny smile and waved stack of sheets in his direction.

"You're looking better, Sasuke-kun."

Caught off guard, Sasuke could only nod.

"Is everything all right at home?"

Kakashi-sensei never pried. Unlike most of the teachers in Konoha High School who felt it was their sworn duty to be a vital part of their student’s lives, Kakashi only inquired and left it up to the student how much he or she wanted to reveal. Sasuke was thankful; he had never possessed any patience for those who only wished to pry, hiding behind the pretense of concern.

"The same as always, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke replied.

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully and then turned back to his papers. Sasuke knew when he had been dismissed. He gave a quick bow and exited the classroom.

He left the third building, strode through the school yard and headed straight towards the gates where Naruto should be waiting. Stopping a few steps away from his friend, he found the blonde boy looking around the opposite street curiously as if searching for something or someone.

"Naruto," he greeted as he neared the boy.

Naruto gave a distracted nod in return, his eyes still glued on something up the street. Sasuke followed the boy's gaze and saw only a sea of navy and white uniforms as the students filed out of the school gates.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke inquired, prompting the boy to start walking.

Naruto began to walk, humming in thought. Closing his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest, looking a little baffled. “Maybe I was just seeing things after all," the boy dismissed.

"Seeing what?" Sasuke pursued.

Naruto smirked and re-adjusted his grip on his school bag, tossing his blonde fringe of bangs out of the way of his eyes. His hair has grown enough that it occasionally poked at a blue eye or brushed against sun-kissed cheeks.

"Seeing doubles,” Naruto explained. “I thought I saw you across the street, but there were too many people. Ah... It's nothing. Like I said, maybe I was just seeing things."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully, feeling a little reluctant to let the subject go. He had an unsettling sensation all of a sudden, like a ghostly hand on his shoulder that he couldn't quite shake off.

"Oh! Sakura-chan's working today. She asked if we could visit or something." Naruto grinned impishly.

Allowing himself to be distracted, Sasuke looked over at Naruto suspiciously. "Let me guess, she promised you some ice cream?"

The other boy nodded, brandishing a free dessert coupon. "An extension to her apology, sort of."

Sasuke raised a skeptical fine brow. "You're going to accept dessert from someone who would've loved to have been searing you with hot pokers two days ago?"

"What? You think she would poison me?"

Sasuke grinned. "Oh nothing like that. Maybe she's trying to make you fat so I'll leave you."

Naruto scoffed, punching Sasuke's shoulder lightly. "Asshole."

The cheerful jingle of several bells announced their entrance into the cozy ice cream parlor. The parlor had an ideal location. It was only two blocks away from the high school and was always populated by its students. Contemporary styled tables and booths occupied the sparse room with tasteful paintings and photographs lining the walls. The lighting was just right, not too bright yet not so dim. It created ambience but also showed how clean and neat the place was. Good music mixed smoothly with the mild chatter of the crowd, enhancing the calm atmosphere as opposed to disrupting it. The staff was friendly and always accommodating. It was a popular place.

Most of the seats were occupied and a line had begun to lengthen at the register. The staff worked calmly with practiced efficiency, moving together as if in a dance.

They found a table with four seats beside the floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the sidewalk. Sasuke placed their bags on the chairs before they made their way to the counter to order their desserts. They stood in line and looked over at the menu board to see what they wanted.

Cold hands suddenly covered Sasuke's eyes and he stiffened momentarily, but Ino's familiar greeting somewhat calmed his ruffled feathers.

"Welcome Sasuke-kun!"

He pulled her hand away from his eyes and turned around. Ino stood behind him in line.

"Mou Naruto! I told you to wait for me!" She looked over his shoulder at the blonde.

Naruto turned away from the menu board to watch in amusement as Sasuke tried to pry Ino off his side.

"Hmm... What are you talking about Ino?"

"I asked that lazy ass Shikamaru to tell you to wait for me."

"Eh? I didn't see him after school."

Ino huffed, finally letting go of Sasuke's arm, much to his great relief.

"Damn! I should've known."

"You have far too much trust in that boy, Ino."

They turned and realized that the line has moved gradually and it was their turn to order.

"Hi Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke watched the trio interact. At first glance it looked as if nothing has changed for the girls. They spoke and acted the same. Naruto acted the same as well; there was no awkwardness to his actions or voice. However, if one was to take a second glance, one could see the tightening around the girls' eyes and lips. Their movements seemed forced and deliberate, like how one would act if they were faced with a cobra and were trying to convince the reptile that they meant it no harm. There was a sort of awareness in their features; the usual ignorance has been replaced. And just as suddenly, Sasuke realized, the awkwardness was because of him. The girls were nervous because of his presence.

They ordered quickly and Naruto got his free coupon's worth. Sasuke was offered a coupon as well but he refused the offer gently.

Naruto had wheedled Sakura to take a short break to join them for a bit. The staff of five was too quick to agree. They kicked her out from behind the counter, proclaiming that she needed a break from working non-stop.

The four of them could have sat almost comfortably among the chatter if only the girls had stopped swiveling their eyes curiously back and forth between himself and Naruto and ceased making such obviously hesitant noises, Sasuke thought.

At the end of a strained conversation, Naruto abruptly got up from his seat and with a light squeeze on Sasuke's shoulder he made an excuse about going to the bathroom. Sasuke knew exactly what the blonde's intentions were, and he promised himself that Naruto would pay dearly for leaving him alone with Sakura and Ino. He entertained the nice thoughts that danced enticingly through his mind briefly.

The girls, knowing Sasuke a little too well, knew he wouldn't volunteer to talk first so they went on ahead and addressed the obvious subject.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura began, tapping her spoon against the empty ice cream glass unconsciously. "I'd like to apologize for what I said." She didn't refuse to meet his eyes as much as it looked like she wanted to.

He stirred the long spoon of Naruto's unfinished dessert and glanced at them casually. He wasn't really bothered with what they thought or had said of him. His only concern was of the grief Naruto had been put through for the past two weeks trying to apologize. Despite Naruto’s assurance that it didn’t bother him, Sasuke had woken some nights, when he slept over to hear Naruto apologizing in his sleep.

"Ah," was all he said. Feeling the rapidly thickening discomfort in the air, he made a bit more of an effort to be forthcoming. "I apologize for leading you on. I should have told you I was screwing Uzumaki the minute it happened." He smirked.

Their eyes bulged and it seemed like a rush of hot air had fled their bodies, leaving them red and sputtering. He was much amused.

A hand smacked the back of his head not-so-lightly as Naruto reclaimed his seat. It only prompted Sasuke to snigger and he noted the girls' mild surprise. He supposed that they hadn't seen much of this side of him. Then again, this side of him had been almost non-existent until Naruto had gotten a hold of it and forcefully dragged it out.

The girls relaxed immediately and from the looks in their eyes, they seemed to have fallen even more in love with him. Oh great, he thought in mild amusement.

Sakura went back to work practically floating on a cloud, Sasuke noticed. Ino had to leave to help at her parents' shop and he and Naruto, after waving 'goodbye' to Sakura, left soon thereafter. Instead of going back to Naruto's apartment, they opted to go to Sasuke’s house. He recalled that he had laundry to do and he had a load of work impatiently waiting for him to acknowledge it.

Naruto stretched beside him as they walked the short distance between the bus stop and his house. He hardly paid attention to the large houses and manicured lawns as they passed them by. Naruto's constant chatter had his attention and he wasn't surprised to hear himself contributing to the conversation as well.

"I'm glad it wasn't as awkward as I thought it was going to be," the boy beside him observed.

"Hmm? You were nervous?"

"Yeah! I was shaking in my boots!"

"You didn't look it," Sasuke observed, pulling at Naruto's blonde fringe teasingly.

"Heh." Naruto ducked his head. "Well I was. I didn't know how it would turn out, but I'm glad it went well."

Sasuke placed his hands inside his pockets and met the other boy's gaze. "Me too. I'm glad."

They shared pleased smiles and walked to his house at a sedate pace. As they entered through the gates and walked up the driveway, he saw the curtains at the front window flutter and then close.

"Hmm? Is someone waiting at the windows?" It seemed Naruto had noticed too. "I always see it moving whenever I come over."

Some of Sasuke's good mood vanished as he dragged Naruto to walk faster.

"It's my mother, but she's not waiting for me."

Naruto threw him a confused glance which he chose to ignore even though he knew that Naruto would extract an explanation from him sooner or later or that he would eventually offer the details himself without much prompting necessary on the other boy's part.

They entered the house and he halted in his steps when he saw his mother standing at the foyer, looking as impassive as usual. She greeted them home in an even tone of voice. Behind him Naruto greeted her cheerfully while Sasuke merely nodded and pulled Naruto up the stairs toward his room.
"I'll bring you some snacks and drinks later, Sasuke."

He froze and heard Naruto grunt in pain, prompting him to loosen the strong grip he had on the boy's arm. "That's not necessary."

"I want to, Sasuke."

He wondered briefly why she kept saying his name. She hardly said it; they hardly spoke at all.

"Fine. Do what you want." He ignored Naruto's disapproving glance and walked up the stairs. Naruto followed immediately after throwing a polite thank you to his mother.

Sasuke shut his bedroom door behind them and threw his school bag on a nearby chair.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Naruto asked, sitting on the bed.

"Don't pretend you know enough of what's going on in this house to judge such things."

"Hey I didn't say that! I just thought it was a little rude that's all." Trust Naruto not to back down, Sasuke thought.

"Forget about it, dobe. It's always like that here," he said as he pulled his shirt up and off, throwing it into the overflowing hamper. His mood was becoming ugly, fast.

Unexpectedly, strong arms surrounded him from behind as lips kissed the nape of his neck. His rigid shoulders began to melt at the onslaught of nips and kisses until he deflated and leaned back into Naruto's arms.

"Geez, don’t get so angry," Naruto hissed.

He sighed, chastising himself for taking his insecurities out on Naruto. It just threw him off a little to find his mother actually paying attention to him. He nodded and apologized by taking one of the boy's hands resting on his stomach to his lips and kissing it affectionately.

Sasuke drew away from the warm arms and grabbed a fresh shirt from his closet as Naruto sifted through the miscellaneous things in his room.

Once they were settled, they made themselves comfortable, seated across each other at his low desk with their various homework spread around on its surface. Soon they were hard at work, only talking every now and then.

Naruto jumped when a knock came at the door but Sasuke simply stood to open it. He had heard his mother’s quiet footsteps as she was ascending the stairs. He opened the door and she quietly let herself in, placing a tray of snacks and drinks on top of his desk where Naruto had cleared a corner of it for her.

Naruto thanked her, accompanying his gratitude with one of his irresistible smiles and Sasuke thought his mother's eyes melted just a tad. Underneath the table, Naruto nudged his foot and he allowed himself to be a little courteous.

"Thank you, mother."

She paused at the threshold and, without turning around, said, "It would be nice if your friend stayed for dinner, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at Naruto who was nodding happily. "Yes, Mother."

With a silent nod, she closed the door behind her.

"It is okay if I stay?"

Naruto often visited, but he had never stayed for dinner or to sleep over. Sasuke usually got them some food to share in his room or they ate before they went to his house.

He smiled, assuring Naruto that it was alright. He had never really liked the idea of the other boy eating all alone in his too-often silent apartment.

His answer was met with a wide, teeth-flashing grin from Naruto as he grabbed some of the snacks off the plate.

Taking a break from studying, Naruto helped him load his laundry in the washer and fold a few clothes fresh from the dryer. He discovered he and Naruto shared a small indulgence in burying their faces in warm and fragrant clothes fresh out of the dryer.

Sasuke surrounded Naruto with a warm towel and pulled the boy toward him, kissing the tempting and perpetually grinning lips. He rested his forehead against Naruto’s as their lips and tongue melded, intensifying the heat surrounding them. He nipped Naruto’s chin teasingly as they stayed in the embrace until the towel cooled. Sighing audibly, they turned back to folding the quickly cooling garments.

A thought ran through his mind and he asked Naruto the question before he could think about it.

"Hey, who taught you how to do the laundry?"

Naruto looked up from folding a t-shirt and shrugged. "I watched my aunt do it when I was little. It wasn't as easy as it looked and I still end up with the occasional pink uniform shirt courtesy of a red sock every now and then, but I've gotten better."

He smoothed out the lines on the folded shirt with a distant sort of gaze. "I remember standing in the middle of my new apartment a week after I moved in and seeing the pile of dirty clothes on the floor." He laughed bitterly. "I panicked and just stood there, having no idea what the hell I was going to do. I avoided the pile for another three days until I was left with a bare closet and I was down to my last shirt and pants with mismatched socks. Then I kicked myself to the laundry room and told myself, 'To hell with it. Whatever happens happens.' And then gradually, it wasn't so hard to do everything else."

"It must have been tough."

Naruto snorted and turned to him, eyes blazing knowingly. "Life's tough, but you just keep living no matter what!"

Sasuke saw it then, that small piece of darkness that lingered inside Naruto. It was a black bitterness that would eat away at any soul if they allowed it, but Naruto was strong and he wanted to live.

Sasuke smiled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Just as they finished folding the laundry, they were called to dinner. His father had come home without his knowledge and now sat at the head of the table. His mother served the food and then sat at the other end. Naruto sat beside him. An empty plate was placed across from Sasuke's own in front of the seat opposite his. He controlled the urge to break it.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Occasionally his mother or father would address a question toward him or Naruto. His answers remained clipped and distant, while Naruto gladly answered and asked questions of his own. Perhaps, Naruto knew not to ask, because he remained silent about the empty plate until they were back in his room, sprawled on his couch.

Naruto patted his full stomach happily and then turned to him, asking carefully. "Who was the empty seat for?"

Sasuke sighed, not wanting the nice day to be ruined. He pulled Naruto to him and silenced his inquiring lips with a kiss.

"I'll tell you another time, alright?" he whispered against Naruto's parted mouth. Thankfully, Naruto nodded in agreement before attacking his lips demandingly.

Later, as he watched Naruto walk away from his front steps, his mother came to stand a short distant away behind him. "It's nice that you have a friend, Sasuke."

He didn't say anything in return and pretty soon he felt her presence leave him alone, Naruto’s retreating shape having long ago disappeared from his sight.

*

Sasuke ran the pad of his thumb over the smooth surface of Naruto's pendant, a habit he had gradually acquired. In the faint moonlight that streamed through his windows, it glimmered faintly. Naruto had said that he received the necklace from his parents on the day of his birth. The boy had not taken it off except when it needed cleaning and when Sasuke had snapped it off his neck. That time seemed ages ago, Sasuke thought, and yet, Naruto hadn’t asked for it back ever since they came to their mutual agreement.

He let it dangle in the moonlight and wondered whether it was time he returned something that clearly did not belong to him and something that Naruto treasured deeply. He recalled a moment when Naruto had been writhing beneath him and, gasping around a moan, had pressed the pendant against his chest firmly. Even before the pendant was confiscated by Sasuke, Naruto had often unconsciously run soft fingers over the chain that peeked out of his shirt, catching Sasuke’s notice every time.

A sudden heavy feeling of being watched aroused him from his pondering and he looked quickly beyond his reflection in the glass to look out onto his yard. There, past the gates, a person stood away from the eerie glow of gate light, unmoving except for the long jacket waving in the breeze. That sense of foreboding he had felt earlier returned to him now, but it was much stronger. He wondered who the person was.

‘Is he looking at the house?’ he wondered, realizing the person could not possibly see him in the darkness of his room.

He gasped suddenly, “Naruto?” The boy had never called and only visited when Sasuke was with him. It was an irrational thought, but Sasuke got off his perch anyways and dashed down the hallway and the stairs. He fought with the locks momentarily as his naked feet found slippers in the dark. Flinging the front door open, he ran out into the yard. Shivering in the midnight breeze, he steadied his stride and stopped short of the gates. The figure remained hidden in the shadows while he in turn was bathed in yellow light.

He was going to call out, but he knew at that moment that the hidden figure was not his friend. He didn’t know what to say, and for an unknown span of time they stood and gazed at each other. He was tall, Sasuke observed, and slim, but he was kind of unsure of that since the large coat covered most of the body. The wind chimes sung; he blinked and the figure was gone.

Sasuke stepped back in surprise. He looked around him, gripping the iron bars of the intricately melded gate and looked to his left and then his right. The street was empty. He pinched his eyes to see past the spots of darkness in the street, but gave up when he found nothing. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he turned back to his house. When he reached the open door, his mother stood watching him, clad in her silky robe.

“Is something wrong, Sasuke?”

He refrained from looking back into the streets just to make sure and shook his head ‘no.’ He passed her and quietly climbed the stairs. He didn’t hear the front door shut until he lay on his bed, in between the states of waking and dreaming. That night, his mind chased away dreams of the past and welcomed more pleasant dreams of Naruto instead.

TBC