How Cliché

Naruto: Part1


mis·take
–noun
1. an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto stared down at the sleeping teen with wide eyes. He could not seriously believe that was his Sasuke. The boy was so pale, way too pale. Granted, he was always pale, but he usually had some color. His neck and arms were bruised in an unsettling way. An IV was connected to his arm. Naruto shivered as his gaze fell upon it. It scared the hell out of him, though he would never admit it, lest he be told to leave. He had absolutely no intentions of leaving his Sasuke’s side. He wanted to touch the boy he loved. It hurt so much to see him lying there like that. A heavy hand descended on his shoulder. It massaged him gently. Naruto sniffed loudly.

“He is going to be okay. Weren’t you listening? Naruto, they got him stabilized. Kakashi got there just in time,” his father tried.

The younger blonde nodded numbly. Minato understood. His words had not been lies. Yes, he had meant them to cheer his son up, but he understood. Kakashi had really only a few minutes to spare: The boy was fast slipping into a comatose state. They were all lucky the man did not panic under the pressure. Minato stored a mental note to commend Kakashi on his coolness later. He looked down at the cell phone in the hand not soothing his offspring. The teacher should be arriving soon. He had called Minato upon his departure of the house, and had said he had an escort. They were only just moving Sasuke ten minutes later. They had stabilized him in the ambulance, had pumped his stomach, and had hooked up the IV the moment the got him into a room. They had commented on how strong Sasuke was. Any ‘normal’ kid his age would have died, they said. How could anyone do such a thing to a child? Minato scoffed at the remembered question the naïve nurse had asked. The million dollar question. His grip tightened on Naruto’s shoulder. His son turned and latched his arms around his father’s chest. He buried his face in the shirt and sobbed. Minato rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be so melodramatic.”

“H-he could have…. Could h-h-have d-died!” Naruto choked out.

“But he didn’t. And he isn’t going to,” the Namikaze assured him.

Naruto continued to sob into the cotton shirt for several minutes. He was hiccupping cutely when finished. He looked up to his dad with tear-stained cheeks and puffy red eyes. Minato could not stifle the chuckle. He ruffled Naruto’s hair.

“It’s okay now.”

The door was opened after a soft knock. The annoying nurse Minato had seen earlier led Kakashi into the room. He bowed his gratitude to her before striding smoothly over to the other three occupants. One look between men and they shared a common knowledge. Minato urged Naruto to step to the side without leaving the safe embrace of his father. Kakashi stepped forward. His mismatching eyes were burning with an unspoken rage. He touched Sasuke’s forehead gently. The occasional hiccup from the Uzumaki boy ruined the moment. Sasuke’s eyes fluttered wildly beneath his eyelids and his nose scrunched up unpleasantly. The man touching him would not have blamed him in the least. He had a vague idea of what had happened. He had been late walking in due the fact that the doctor had pulled him aside to tell him the condition of the kid now under his care. He had already known, of course, but he humored the man speaking to him.

“Naru, go get us something to drink, please?” Minato asked softly.

“’Kay,” the teen agreed solemnly.

He separated from his dad and took the money the man fished from his pocket for drinks. Naruto slipped away quietly. He was not that stupid that he could not tell when people needed to discuss important things. He took his time in walking down the hallways to the waiting room. He sniffed a little and wiped his nose with the back of his hand and the sleeve of his shirt. He pushed through the double doors separating the almost empty waiting room. He played with the coins in his hands as he approached the vending machine. He assumed teachers would drink coffee, so that would be what he would get Kakashi. His dad always preferred tea. The coins fell smoothly into the slot. Naruto pressed the button to dispense the can of cold coffee. He picked it up and dropped more money into the machine. He had an armful of drinks minutes later. He was turning to head back to Sasuke’s room when something knocked into him. The drinks fell from his arms loudly, rolling in three different directions as the blonde was left sprawled on the floor.

“Tch. Ow!”

“Gomen, Naruto-kun!” A familiar voice exclaimed.

Naruto looked up to see a worried face and an outstretched hand. The scar running across the bridge of the man’s nose sparked the memory of earlier that day. The boy took the offered hand and was hauled to his feet. He looked around sadly for his drinks.

“Damnit. Dad didn’t give me any more money,” he grumbled.

“M-Minato-san is here, too?” Iruka stuttered,

“Yeah. Sasuke was brought in earlier.”

“I heard. I was coming to check up on him,” the teacher admitted.

Iruka led the way over to the drink machine and dropped his money in neatly, r e-buying the drinks that had been so unceremoniously deposited onto the floor just minutes prior. Naruto caught them up as each fell out of the machine. He smiled brightly at his new teacher, the sadness still lingering in his blue eyes.

“Arigatou, sensei.”

“N-no need to thank me. I ruined them,” Iruka laughed nervously.

Naruto shrugged and started off for Sasuke’s room, fully expecting the man to follow him.

“So, what are you teaching?” The teen attempted small talk.

“You don’t really care do you?” Iruka asked sadly.

“Kind of. I’m not much for school. But if it gets my mind off tonight, I’ll talk about it,” Naruto admitted.

“I’ll be sitting in on Kakashi-san’s language arts classes. I’m just an assistant for now.”

Naruto nodded and pushed open the door to Sasuke’s room. He handed the drinks off to his father and teacher. Iruka waved somberly and stood in a corner. Kakashi was sitting in a chair near the sleeping boy with his head in his hands. Naruto pouted a little.

“Did anything happen while I was gone?” The smaller blonde asked.

“No. He seems a little more stable. Naruto, maybe you should-”

“NO!” The boy yelled, closing his eyes and raising his fists to his shoulders, knowing what his father was going to say.

“The only one here excused from school is Sasuke-kun,” Minato said firmly.

“I’ll be fine.”

“There will be no sleeping in class either,” the man warned.

“I know, Dad. I won’t sleep,” Naruto groaned.

He glared at his father and slipped over next to Sasuke, opposite of Kakashi. He took up a pale, slightly chilled hand in his own. He rubbed his thumbs over the back of the hand. Sasuke’s eyes fluttered under his closed eyelids. Naruto had been warned it may take awhile for the other boy to wake up. He had been instructed to leave him alone when he did. Sasuke would open up and talk when he was ready, and over-stimulation could hurt him more. Naruto bit down hard on his lip. He wanted to say so much and hope his boyfriend, the one he loved most, could hear him. But, not with the adults around. They would not want him disturbing Sasuke’s rest. He could hardly blame them. The other boy was weak and recovering from god only knows what. Naruto sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He brought Sasuke’s hand up to nuzzle it against his cheek. After a few moments of the affection, he jumped and gasped, dropping the hand. His phone vibrated violently in his pocket. He blushed and shoved his hand into his pocket to pull the thing out. A text message. From Itachi.

“I-I’ll be back, Dad. I need to go clear my head.”

Minato had been staring at the clock one the wall. His son’s voice stirred him from his musing.

“Huh? Oh, okay. Don’t leave the hospital grounds without me.”

“Sure thing.”

Naruto bolted from the room before opening the message.

‘Is Sasuke okay? He didn’t look too good when I left him at Kakashi’s house.’

Naruto tightened his grip on his phone as he read the words on his screen.

‘What the fuck are you playing at?’ He responded with.

Naruto shoved his phone back in his pocket to prevent himself from breaking it. He started down the hall and out of the building while he waited for his answer. He kicked at something only he could see on the ground. His phone went off and he rushed to retrieve it.

‘Why don’t you come talk to me. I’ll leave him alone if you do.’

Naruto looked up from his phone slowly to see Itachi leaning against a car across the parking lot. He dropped the phone, and swallowed hard. Itachi pushed himself off the car and opened the passenger door as Naruto bent over to quickly scoop the phone up and return it to his pocket once more. He looked back at the hospital doors. Seeing no one, he headed for the car quickly, jogging the distance and climbing into the open door without hesitation.

“Eager are we?” Itachi teased darkly.

“Don’t you drive off. I’ll call someone or jump out. You’d better leave him alone,” Naruto warned.

“Naruto-kun, what makes you think I’m doing all this to get to him? I just want to know if he is okay.”

“You fucking drugged him!” The younger boy yelled angrily. “If Kakashi-sensei hadn’t gotten to him when he did, Sasuke could have died because of you. Died!”

“And now why would I do something like that to my precious otouto?” The raven smirked.

“Like I can understand some psycho’s train of thought. B-but you did promise. You won’t hurt him!” Naruto exclaimed, his voice betraying his own uncertainties.

“An Uchiha remains true to his word, Naruto-kun. I will not hurt him.”

The blonde regarded the man skeptically. Itachi’s cell phone rang and he answered it calmly.

“Yes?” A long pause. “Perfect. I will contact you later.”

He ended the conversation and gave the boy sitting in his car his full attention.

“What was that?” The Uzumaki demanded.

“Nothing to concern yourself over. Just business.”

“Sure.”

“Naruto-kun, if I were you, I‘d be watching my words a little more carefully,” Itachi commented with an icy tone.

Naruto swallowed hard at the underlying threat the man’s voice held. He dared to look directly at the Uchiha. The black eyes staring at him were unreadable. Naruto had always known the man was all business. He had always even known his little adventures with him had only been permitted because the man had his own needs as well. Otherwise, there was no way Itachi would have given the annoying blonde friend of his brother’s a second glance. Naruto wilted a little upon the realization that the man was still messing with him in ways he should not be allowed to. It was supposed to have been a purely physical relationship. Naruto sure had not been in love. Sasuke had always been number one in his heart. So why was the older brother now tormenting the finally happy couple?

“Itachi-san… can I go now?” The boy asked meekly.

Itachi sighed heavily. His shoulders sagged wearily as the weight of everything he held pushed him down. The blonde next to him continued to glare at him. He did not trust the elder Uchiha anymore. The boy really had good reason not to. It only served to destroy Itachi further. He looked away and leaned on the steering wheel before him.

“I pray that one day you will believe me, Naruto-kun. I do not want to hurt you. Not you.”

“S-sure. Why the hell are you messing with my relationship with him! You’re hurting him, I know you are,” Naruto growled, his voice starting heated and angry and fading as he looked at the man.

The raven-haired god was tired. Naruto knew he was tired, he always had. He did so much to prove himself to everyone. The expectation had been set on him at a young age. His genius was his downfall. Naruto had always admired him. He was everything someone would want. He had chosen a blonde idiot for his lover. It had never made any sense to either of them. One could say it was to make the Uchiha feel better about himself, but he had never once insulted or brought his ray of sunshine down. He left that to his little brother. He was merely there to pick up the pieces Sasuke so wantonly scattered.

“Naruto-kun, go back to him,” Itachi instructed.

Naruto started to say he would. He started to tell the man all about how strong they were, how they would not let him toy with their love anymore. Itachi sunk even deeper into himself and his seemingly eternal depression. Naruto felt the familiar pangs of guilt he had always felt when he had called the man even knowing he had had a long day at the office. Uchihas were never defeated. So, why was it that this gorgeous, intelligent man looked so beaten down? Naruto’s hand reached out of his own accord and brushed stray locks of hair from the pale cheek. His own face flushed when his fingertips glided over the soft flesh. Itachi caught the hand before it could retreat and nuzzled into the palm.

“How I miss you. I wish you had never fallen for him,” Itachi whispered.

The almost-confession snapped Naruto from his daze. This was the monster torturing the only person he would do anything for. He had long since vowed he would kill for Sasuke. He would go to hell and back if he could preserve a smile on that face forever. He struggled violently and ripped free of the grip. Itachi’s face hardened when he looked up to see the panic in Naruto’s eyes.

Itachi chuckled darkly.

“Scared of being alone with me for much longer?” He voiced the teen’s fears.

“N-no! I just don’t want my dad to worry. He doesn’t know about… about us.”

“Well, maybe I should go let him know what a naughty little boy he has for a son,” the raven mocked him.

Naruto paled a little and shook his head violently. He muttered words very fast, making his speech very incoherent to Itachi’s ears. The man growled his disapproval at such noise, pressing the palm of his hand over the teen’s mouth to stop the rattling.

“Shut up. If you’re good, I’ll keep our little ‘secret’ and leave otouto alone.”

Naruto hesitated before nodding his head. His instincts were screaming that he would regret this. Itachi let him go and leaned over him to open the passenger door for him.

“Have a good night, Naruto-kun,” he whispered huskily into the delicate ear hovering near his mouth.

A shiver passed through Naruto’s body at the hot air assaulting his weakest point. He scrambled out of the door and fell onto the asphalt on his hands and knees. He threw a glare over his shoulder and pulled himself to his feet, brushing himself clean of gravel.

“My regards to Sasuke.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto dropped heavily into his seat with a loud groan. He was exhausted to say the least. Itachi had only served to ensure he didn’t get any sleep. The only upside to that was his father mistaking the bout of insomnia for pure worry for the boy’s friend. Naruto had been allowed to stay up by Sasuke’s side drinking energy drinks for the next day. The Uzumaki boy had deftly steered all questions away as he gone through his day. He had finally crashed at the lunch table for a quick nap, counting on Sakura, Ino and Hinata to wake him up. Only the girls would be sympathetic. As Naruto pulled his books out for class, he numbly watched the other students filling the classroom and taking their seats. Red caught his eye and he snapped from his stupor.

Of all the times to notice, why now?! Why, when Sasuke lay sick in the hospital, did he have to notice (and quite frankly by aroused by) the transfer student? Gaara took Sasuke’s usual seat beside Naruto and watched him turn the color of a tomato with an expressionless mask. He was laughing inside.

“We’ve heard the rumors about Uchiha,” he stated boldly.

Naruto swallowed hard. He was about to blurt it all out. No one, not a single one of his friends, had gotten any information on his boyfriend from him. He was ready and willing to spill everything for this boy. Gaara nodded to him.

“Give him our regards, Naruto.”

“H-hai! Arigatou. Shukaku-kun.”

“Just Gaara.”

“Gaara-kun.”

“Just. Gaara.”

Naruto paled a little at the forceful tone used. He nodded weakly. Gaara stood and reclaimed his seat. He left Naruto very much awake. Their lessons passed by quickly for the blonde. He was very self conscious about glancing over to the red head. Gaara had paid full attention in class, whereas Naruto found the boy too distracting for him to hone in on a single word his teacher said. He spent his hour wondering what on earth could attract him to the pale stranger over the teenager he had loved for so long. No, that was a lie. Sasuke was still more attractive. Sasuke still had his heart. But, shouldn’t he be incapable of looking at another person with lust? Wasn’t that the point of being in love? Naruto had dated while waiting for the Uchiha, hell he’d slept with the older brother for years! He had never once thought himself in love with any of them.

Naruto tried to tell himself that nothing should have changed. Since he had always loved Sasuke and still went with other people, he should theoretically still be able to look at others, so long as it just that. Looking. But something felt different. Since they had become an official couple, those he once found sexy were just another face in the crowd. Even celebrities lost their sparkle. He knew that something had changed in him. So he would curse himself every day that he found himself staring at Gaara, because no one else could get that kind of attention from him anymore besides his true love.

“Don’t forget your homework!” the teacher pleaded as the bell rang and the students flooded the door way, eager to get home.

Naruto jumped in his seat at the bell. No! He hadn’t taken any notes for Sasuke at all! He slammed his head on the desk and laid there, waiting for the sounds of teens leaving the room. He picked his head back up and slammed it back into the wood a few more times.

“I really am a dobe!”

“No you aren’t. Would you like to copy my notes before you go visit him?” a voice said.

Naruto looked up, leaving his chin resting on the desk. Gaara glared down at him. Where the former Suna resident was used to seeing fear, he saw relief as the boy smiled at the face. It would seem Naruto had grown immune to such looks. But then again, with friends like his, that was to be expected.

“Oh my God, really?! Gaara, I would love that! God, you just saved my life, man,” those kissable lips formed the most adore smile as the boy found his energy and sat up quickly, cramming things into his bag at lightning speed and standing up hard enough to push his chair back fast enough.

Gaara chuckled darkly as Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed his neck, bending over and straightening the chair, but not before giving Gaara a nice view of his nicely rounded backside. The older teen licked his lips. He offered to take the boy to his place, since he was new to the area and was not sure he could find his way home from Naruto’s. He received the expected agreement and led the way out of the classroom. He smiled inwardly to himself. He never did think too much of monogamy.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto’s mouth opened and hung there as he let the strap of his bag fall off his shoulder. The house was huge. It could have rivaled the Uchiha‘s foundation. Gaara led the way inside, hands stuffed in his pockets and his “pissed off” face on. Naruto had decided that would be the name of the frown on the way there. He had not stopped talking since Gaara had offered to let him copy notes. When the talkative boy saw the size of the house, he promptly shut up and stared in disbelief. He had stayed that way as Gaara steered him inside.

“Do you want something to drink?” Shukaku asked over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

Naruto shook his head violently and jogged after him. If he did not keep up, he would get lost.

“So--… I mean, tea, please.”

“Tea?” Gaara scrunched up his nose as he scrutinized his guest. “I would not have assumed you for someone who drank tea.”

“I don’t, usually. It just seems so… inappropriate to drink anything else besides water here,” Naruto explained, hauling himself onto a stool placed at the counter top.

“I have soda. It’s okay to drink it.”

Naruto nodded happily as he looked around, absorbing the sight of a tastefully decorated house. His family was not poor by any means. Their house was fairly big and well furnished as well, but it was still no mansion. Naruto was a person with an eye for design, even though he never broadcasted that. His bold color choices in clothing reflected his personality. Alone, one would find such things vulgar, but when on his body, they just worked. If one stopped to assess the boy and his style, they would find he would have had to put a lot of thought into it to pull of bright oranges with his bleach blonde hair.

The can of soda was placed on a coaster before his eyes. He laughed and popped the top.

“And what, pray tell, is so amusing?”

“Coasters! They just seem so… pointless. Especially with marble as high quality as this.”

“Maybe. I don’t like cleaning up water rings,” Gaara mumbled.

Naruto smiled and poured the contents of the can down his throat. The caffeine would be more than welcomed into his system. The other teen watched in fascination as Naruto chugged the liquid. He had to struggle to chuckle or smirk when the blonde let out a loud burp and turned bright red again for a second time that day. He was beginning to find such a blush beyond adorable. Naruto mumbled something about getting the notes.

“I’ll show you upstairs. My siblings are unbearable. If they find you here before you copy them you won’t get it done.”

A few minutes of gawking on the Uzumaki’s part later, they were settled into the large room comfortably, both boys sitting on the bed with notebooks open. Naruto kept eying the gaming system in the corner of the room. “This is for Sasuke” was his mantra to look back to the notes.

“What the hell is this stuff anyways?” He groaned. “Like I’ll ever need this in the future.”

“You might.”

The blonde threw himself backwards and frowned up to the ceiling. The notes were long. He could not believe he had missed all that talking. He could only assume the notes were detailed, but it would have still been a long lecture. He was only halfway through them, being the slow writer he was.

“Do you need something else to drink?”

“No, thanks. I just hate school work.”

Gaara nodded even though it could not be seen. Naruto had closed his eyes and chosen to relax. He was even more exhausted now than before. His inner turmoil was not helping him one bit. He was honestly surprised he was not acting nervous in the bed he was in. It was just so big and comfortable. Maybe he could get away with a nap….

“Gah!” He sat straight up, pushing his palms down in-between his legs into the mattress.

Gaara’s body jerked upwards. He was inches from the boy’s face. He had leaned over to check and see if the boy was still awake when Naruto had shaken himself from his dozing state. He threw his hands back and leaned away from Gaara.

“Wh-what?”

“I was checking to see if you were alive,” was his calm response.

“Oh! Sorry, I probably scared you.”

“No, you didn’t. Maybe a little surprised,” Gaara admitted.

Naruto nodded his understanding. His cheeks tinted pink when the teen hovering so close to him didn’t move.

“A-ano… Gaara?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you still so close to me?”

Naïve. Gaara shook his head. He was very good at being bold, but oh how he hated doing it when the partner was so naïve. He crawled over to straddle Naruto and knocked his hands away. The blonde’s back hit the mattress. Warm lips fell on the ones they had been longing to taste for awhile. Naruto’s mouth opened in surprise and granted the seeking tongue entrance, whether intentional or not. At the soft caress of such a skillful tongue, Naruto moaned and closed his eyes. He let his body go with the moment, his arms snaking up to wrap around the strong neck. One of Gaara’s own arms had already been wrapped around Naruto’s chest from behind.

Naruto knew what was happening. His head spun wildly as he played back with Gaara’s tongue and deepened the kiss. He could only partially blame the exhaustion. He had wanted this. It was only a lust for the mysterious boy. Once he had tasted the fruit, he was sure he would not want any more. He hated being wrong. He arched his body up and pressed his pelvis into the other’s. His arousal was too obvious. Gaara groaned at the feel. He let his free hand slip between them and grasp the bulge.

“Naruto,” he breathed as he broke their kiss finally. “Are you sure about this?”

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip. His gorgeous blue orbs were frosted over with his lust. His mind raced behind them. He should say no. He should not betray Sasuke, lust and exhaustion considered or not. His boyfriend lay in the hospital waiting for him. He should just grab his things and leave now….

“Yes.”