The Café

A/N: Hi!! Yes, I have the 6th chapter up so soon after the 5th. Amazing is it not? Spring Break is in 2 weeks, I hope to have Ch. 7 up before then, and then write more during the break. Also, I've seemed to have lost my beta.... *cries* I apologize for anything wrong....

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!


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Ch. 6
*******

Sasuke’s first conscious thought was, “Oh, holy fuck it hurts.”

His second was, “Where the hell am I?”

The last thing he remembered was seeing his gorgeous ex-boyfriend up close and personal and getting punched in the face by said ex.

Now, he was laying in a huge, plush bed with fresh clean sheets and a thick duvet, both in a light beige color. He felt dwarfed in the bed so he made to get out of it. Immediately, he regretted his decision as the pounding in his head increased ten fold.

Sighing with resignation, he laid back down. Looking around, he noticed light brown walls with paintings of nature done by local artists. In one corner of the room was a tall cabinet, carved beautifully out of oak, which contained a small flat screen television on one shelf and a mini fridge below that on the bottom. Directly in front of the bed was a huge, dark mahogany dresser. It was simple, almost masculine, with drawers that were deep enough to fit a woman’s entire wardrobe. It dominated the room, standing at waist height. Two long mirrors were placed over it, as if there was a ‘he’ side and a ‘she’ side to the dresser. An antique Tiffany lamp was all that graced the surface.

Turning his head, he found the customary bedside tables, again made of oak, each complete with a smaller dark metal lamp, matching the Tiffany. This was obviously a room for two. Sasuke couldn’t help but wonder if those damn Bibles were in the drawers of these bedside tables.

Gently rolling over to the left, Sasuke couldn’t stop his hand reaching out and pulling the drawer open. Peering inside, he felt heat creep up his neck and settle in his cheeks.

The Bible was there, alright, but the other occupants seemed to cast the Bible into a long dark shadow.

There, nestled as if waiting, was a small bottle of lube and a half empty box of condoms.

It was then that Sasuke realized just how naked he was.

“Find something interesting?” a voice drawled from the doorway.

Startled, Sasuke slammed the drawer shut and whipped his head to meet the voice. Instantly, a dull pounding started up again. Groaning, Sasuke squinted the pain away and laid back down.

“Nothing I haven’t seen or used before,” Sasuke coldly stated.

Naruto was a little amused to see his old lover snooping. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, he was a snooper. He loved prying into other peoples things to see what they had to hide. Steeling himself against the amusement, he took in the sight before him.

The man in his bed was even paler than he remembered. His dark hair had gotten longer, styled almost exactly the same as when they first met. His face was older, though, with the slight shifting of bone. His bare chest and broad shoulders peaked out of the covers, as if beckoning for Naruto to join them in bed.

Naruto strode into the room, all business, and placed a full glass of water and three brown pills on the same table Sasuke was snooping in.

“Here. Breakfast is almost ready. Feel free to use the shower. I have clothes that will fit you in the dresser.” Naruto made his way out of the suddenly small room.

Sasuke laid there for a moment longer, contemplating the events of yesterday. He recalled the lost look on Naruto’s face, which was quickly replaced by rage as Naruto’s fist swung to meet his face. It had been unexpected and too fast for him to block.

Feeling the soreness on his face, Sasuke brought his hand up to prod. There, right beneath his left eye. It was tender, his eye would probably be lined with a bruise.

‘Well, that’s just fucking fantastic.’ Sasuke thought sarcastically.

Sitting up cautiously, Sasuke grabbed the pills and water. After swallowing them down in one gulp, he threw the covers off and got out of bed. Pissed, and with a roaring headache, Sasuke marched to the connecting bathroom.

As Sasuke prepared the water to a warm temperature, unwanted images of a naked and sweating Naruto played in his mind. Apparently, Sasuke’s dick thought it was time to play. Cursing, Sasuke threw the tap on ‘cold’.

‘I hate cold showers!’ The cold shower did nothing for Sasuke erection and made his headache worse. Giving up, Sasuke turned it back to warm.

Immediately, pleasure flowed over Sasuke. The warm water enveloped him, and ran over his cock, caressing it. Sasuke adjusted the shower head to a different angle and leaned against the wall, allowing the water to run over the front of him.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke rode the pleasure. His hands moved on their own, stroking his chest and stomach, making their way down to Sasuke’s erection. Once there, Sasuke thrust his hips into his hands, groaning as they gripped his dripping erection.

It didn’t take long, which pissed Sasuke off even more that he was still affected by Naruto this way.

‘At least my damn headache is gone.’
***********

Naruto was pacing in the kitchen. It wasn’t that big, so Naruto turned around more than he actually paced. However, it gave the same result. Naruto working himself up.

‘Why did I hit him?’ Naruto was mentally hitting himself now. Hinata had given a small scream as Sasuke was hit and a gasp as he fell unconscious. Then she promptly started yelling at Naruto, demanding that he learn to control his temper. As his punishment for such an act, Naruto was granted the privilege of looking after the Uchiha until he woke up. This, of course, meant taking him back to his hotel suite.

‘I swear, Hinata has a sadistic side to her that nobody but me knows about.’ Grumbling under his breath, Naruto paced more, pausing to gulp more tea. Distracted, he set a fresh kettle of water on the stove to heat.

Waiting impatiently for the water to boil, Naruto paced more.

‘Stupid. He probably thinks that you are trying to get back together with him. Well, no, sir! He left me. I’m not going to crawl to him, especially since I don’t know what I did wrong in the first place!’ Nodding to himself, Naruto turned to pour the now hot water into the tea kettle, steeping the tea leaves.

The shadow at the doorway startled Naruto, causing him to jerk and splash hot water all over his left arm.

“FUCK!” Naruto yelled. Pissed at the pain, and at the man who inadvertently caused the pain, Naruto let loose.

“God-fucking-damn-it! Why the fuck is this happening? Why the fuck did you go to the damn concert? Why the fuck did I let my manager book me into a New York concert? Why the fuck did Hinata force me to take you home? SHIT!”

Naruto was raging through the tiny kitchen. He threw his arm under the cold water tap, seething. “Your damn breakfast is on the platter in the oven.” He nearly growled.

Sasuke stood there, mouth open in astonishment. He knew that Naruto had a temper, but he also knew that it took a lot for Naruto to reach the breaking point and start lashing out.

Hesitantly, Sasuke walked forward and opened the oven, seeing a huge platter of fluffy eggs, crisp bacon, and sourdough toast. Sasuke’s favorite.

Smiling slightly at the fact that his dobe remembered, he grabbed an oven mitt and removed the hot plate. Placing it on a table placemat, Sasuke put the oven mitt back and selected some silverware. While he was waiting for his food to cool off a little, Sasuke turned to take the tea kettle to fill it with more water and set it to boil.

Naruto’s arm was still underwater, but his eyes were locked on Sasuke. He moved the same. Maybe a bit older with the weight of experience on him, but he moved the same. Naruto saw how easy it was for Sasuke to move back into their old rhythm. When Sasuke turned to take the tea kettle, Naruto felt lost between the present and the past.

Shaking his head, Naruto focused on his arm again. The pain was subsiding. Giving a sigh, Naruto shut off the water and turned to leave the room, intent on getting away from Sasuke.

“Aren’t you going to have some tea?” Sasuke’s voice followed him.

Hesitating, Naruto replied, “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be back for some tea later.” And he left.

As Naruto stood in his hot shower, he found himself flashing back to nine years ago, when he was in the height of his relationship with Sasuke. The arguments, the love, the happiness, the banters, the smiles, the shouts, the passionate love they made, even the couch that one would be forced to sleep on.

When he came to, the water was freezing, the conditioner was still in his hair, and he felt hot tears trailing down his cold cheeks. He shook his head to clear it, and quickly rinsed the conditioner from his hair. Shivering, he shut off the water and quickly grabbed a towel to warm himself with. Feeling vulnerable, Naruto quickly walked into his adjoining bedroom. He focused on making himself look good to help get rid of the unwanted feeling.

Sasuke was sitting at the table nursing his third cup of tea and trying to read a magazine he found lying on the counter. He was distracted by thoughts of Naruto and their past together. He couldn’t stop wondering what Naruto was up to now.

On one hand, he knew that he shouldn’t be waiting for Naruto; He should have taken this opportunity to grab his stuff and leave. Naruto cheated on him! He didn’t understand why he was thinking about getting to know him again, eight years later.

Then it hit him.

“I missed him,” he said aloud.

“Missed who?” Naruto asked as he walked into the kitchen area.

Sasuke’s mouth dried up, preventing him from answering. Not that he wanted to answer that question. He tried to swallow, but his mouth fell open a little bit instead.

There, before him, was sex on legs.

Tight dark blue jeans, a white unbuttoned dress shirt, a black tank underneath, and bare feet were what met Sasuke’s eyes. Flowing golden hair brushing the color, startling blue eyes outlined slightly with grey eyeliner, and a hint of cologne stained the air. Sasuke could feel his eyes widen and heart start to beat harder.

Sasuke’s reaction was not lost on Naruto. With a plan forming in his head, Naruto walked toward the stove to prepare himself a cup of tea. Determined to have the Uchiha begging and regretting his decision to leave all those years ago, Naruto turned toward the raven haired man.

“I’m leaving tomorrow to go back to San Francisco. Since you live here, why don’t you show me around the city today? For old times sake.” Naruto grinned innocently. “And to give me a chance to apologize for how I treated you yesterday and this morning.”

Immediately on his guard after the words ‘for old times sake,’ Sasuke eyed Naruto warily. His head was screaming ‘no’ but his heart was letting him know that it was okay to trust Naruto and there was nothing to worry about. The goddamn feeling that forced Sasuke to stay during Naruto’s performance last night was back, this time nodding his head and moving his mouth in an affirmation of the day’s plans.

“Excellent!” Naruto was pleased. ‘Ha, got you where I want you, teme!’

After twenty minutes of Naruto enjoying his tea and them planning their day in the City, the men left the hotel suite.

*************
Early afternoon…
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Early afternoon found the men in a small charming café near Central Park. The place was booming with business, with people coming and going constantly. 57th street was crowed with traffic, with the distinct sounds of car engines, horns, and yelling from windows. The warm sun bathed everything in a yellow white glow, with the sky clear.

They had spent most of the morning in different museums and music stores. Naruto was fascinated with the Museum of Modern Art. He always left museums in awe of the raw imaginations that were so evident. Sasuke would never forget the look on Naruto’s face as he studied and wondered, even if he didn’t fully understand it.

“I hate how music stores consist of mostly guitars, drums, and pianos now. What happened to the classical instruments?” Naruto had said, later as they entered yet another music store full of guitars. In response, Sasuke escorted him a couple of streets over to a ‘real’ music store, as Naruto had called it.

Sasuke’s heart leapt at the look of pure joy that crossed Naruto’s face.

‘I had forgotten how much passion he has for music,’ Sasuke thought to himself. With a small smile, he allowed Naruto to drag him all over the store, pointing at different instruments, neck straps, reeds, pads, swabs, and sheet music. At one point, Naruto was looking at an oboe. It was a Fox model, bordering on $4000.

Striking up a conversation with one of the clerks, Naruto managed to get his hands on the delicate instrument. The owner approached and soon he was shaking hands with Naruto, discussing the pros and cons of the oboe model. Upon finding out who Naruto was, the owner quickly showed Naruto his variety of flute models, even asking his opinion about several of them.

Sasuke began to grow bored, but didn’t want to drag Naruto away from his obvious contentment. He wondered the store, looking at all sorts of things he had never thought existed; like the photograph of a huge metal instrument that resembled a flute, but it stood upright from the ground and was obviously huge in comparison to the man holding it up.

‘A double bass flute? How interesting. I wonder if Naruto has ever played one.’ At that thought, Sasuke felt a pang of guilt for not being with Naruto over the last eight years.

‘Oh, shut up! He cheated on you. You shouldn’t feel guilty.’ Nodding to himself, Sasuke moved on.

Naruto had ended up purchasing the oboe and an intermediate model flute for one of his students. He made arrangements with the owner to have them shipped to his home in San Francisco.

Now, at the café, Sasuke had to wonder what kind of flute instructor he was to purchase instruments for his students like that.

Before he could stop himself, Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled and chuckled lightly. “One of my students is playing on this very old beginner’s model flute, and she is in dire need of an upgrade in order to improve her skills. She’s extremely talented.” Naruto’s smile faded a bit. “She’s been trying to save up for one, but I’m afraid that she would buy a cheap intermediate model as soon as she had enough money. Such an instrument wouldn’t help her improve much.” Nodding, Naruto added, “So I got her one.” He winked at Sasuke.

It was in that moment when Sasuke realized that he had never stopped loving Naruto. He was always such a generous man, giving even when he didn’t have much to give.

The sun was shining warmly on the pair as they nursed their Chai teas. The taste was nostalgic to both men, throwing them back in happy memories.

Before Sasuke could stop himself, he said, “It doesn’t taste as good as yours does.”

Sasuke froze. What the hell was wrong with him today?

Naruto also froze. His heart thudded in his chest for a good while. Finally, he nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Sasuke.”

After several long moments, Sasuke stood up. “Let’s walk in the Park.”

Naruto smiled. “Okay. That sounds nice.”

As the men left the café, a couple watching them leave commented to each other about how in love the men seemed.

**************
Central Park
*********

The men walked on one of the numerous paths in the Park. Naruto embraced the bright, warm sun and the slight chill to the air. The trees were blooming, getting ready for the summer. Seeing a woman run with her golden lab, Naruto smiled warmly.

Feeling his heart swell with general happiness at life, Naruto turned to Sasuke. What he saw perplexed him.

Sasuke was frowning slightly. ‘How could anybody frown on such a lovely day?’ Naruto wondered.

“Sasuke.”

Sasuke lifted his head, frown instantly gone. “Yes?”

Naruto plunged ahead. “I know our history is complicated.” After a breath, he continued. “But I want to thank you for showing me around the City today. I’m very happy that we managed to put aside our past and had a good time today.” Naruto smiled warmly.

Sasuke stopped walking. Naruto’s words seemed so mature. ‘And sincere,’ he thought. Looking at Naruto’s happy deep blue eyes, Sasuke felt something melt in his heart.

Suddenly wishing that he could hold Naruto in his arms, Sasuke found himself stepping toward Naruto. He stopped himself, but just barely.

Sasuke nodded to Naruto, giving a noncommittal ‘Hn,’ not trusting himself to say anything.

The men continued walking, enjoying the company of each other.

***************
Evening
*********

Sasuke had told Naruto to dress his best because he was taking him to dinner before he had to leave in the morning.

“Think of it as a farewell dinner,” Sasuke smirked.

Now, the men were at a very classy Italian restaurant. While Naruto had enough money to eat in places like these more often, he still preferred the good Subway sandwich on the drive home from work. Feeling slightly out of place, Naruto glanced at the menu. Upon seeing Italian, Naruto casually laid down his menu and proceeded to stare holes into the Uchiha’s forehead.

Feeling that he was being watched, Sasuke raised his eyes. Clear black clashed with faintly amused blue eyes. Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke waited.

“Since when have I been able to read Italian, teme?” Naruto drawled.

Sasuke smirked in amusement. “My apologies. What would you like translated?”

Naruto glared. “Uh, the whole thing?”

Chuckling slightly, Sasuke glanced at the menu. Seeing a familiar dish that he knew Naruto used to appreciate. He wasn’t sure if he did anymore, but he could ask.

“How about the shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo? I remember you liking that a while ago.”

“Yes. Caesar salad too?” Naruto asked.

“Sure.”

At that point, the waiter returned at took their order. Discreetly making his exit, the waiter left the men. The low lighting and candle at their table created an intimate environment. Sasuke’s breath caught slightly at the flickering light reflected in Naruto’s eyes.

Making small conversation, Naruto found out a little of what Sasuke had been up to lately. He found out that Sasuke did in fact take up the family business. He wasn’t sure if he was proud or disappointed. He knew that Sasuke wanted to pursue other things in life, but he also was happy with all of the hard work Sasuke poured into the company.

“Neji and I will be merging companies soon. Then I can relax and maybe get back into science like I wanted,” Sasuke continued, unknowingly calming Naruto’s racing brain.

“What about you, Naruto? I know you perform, and tutor, but did you ever become the music therapist you wanted to be?” Sasuke inquired.

Naruto smiled. “I did. Oh, Sasuke, it’s the most rewarding job! It’s so frustrating and heart wrenching at times, but then you make just the slightest progress with the patients and it suddenly makes it seem just that much more worth all the hard work.” Naruto sighed.

Sasuke saw how Naruto’s face just glowed at the mention of his job. ‘I wish I felt that happy about my job,’ he thought, slightly bitter.

Their food arrived shortly after. They praised the food to each other and switched bites, unconsciously slipping into old habits of feeding each other their dinners. It went unnoticed as the men enjoyed the good food, wine, and conversation.

They opted for coffee afterward, both wanting to delay ending the night.

When Sasuke excused himself to use the restroom, Naruto found his thoughts flowing back to that fateful night. ‘Why did he leave?’

Sasuke returned to see Naruto frowning. Sasuke slid into his seat, sending a questioning look to Naruto.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto steeled his resolve.

“Why-” He was cut off by the waiter delivering their coffee. Waiting patiently, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke across the table, Naruto watched the waiter. After the waiter left, Naruto gathered his strength again and met Sasuke’s eyes.

As soon as Sasuke met Naruto’s eyes, he knew exactly what he was going to ask. He wanted to shout ‘No!’, he wanted to stop Naruto from ruining what little pretending he had been able to do today, but he couldn’t.

“Why’d you leave eight years ago, Sasuke?”
*************

A/N: *ducks and covers* I know................... I'm sorry! Seriously, I wasn't planning on ending it like that, but as soon as I typed that question, it was like, "OK, this chapter is complete!" So yeah.... I'm sorry!! I'll try to get Ch. 7 out soon.

Thank you for reading and thanks to those who reviewed! *Cookies as promised* Please review! I like to know how I'm doing. And it may urge me to get Ch. 7 out quicker. *HINT!*