Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto characters and I make no profit from their use.
Chapter Seven
**Day Seven**
Sasuke sat in silence, unable to answer Naruto’s question as it replayed itself over and over in his mind. ‘Please say yes, teme.’ He didn’t have to guess what Naruto meant and Sasuke would have answered immediately if it wouldn’t have been the way Naruto asked it. He had sounded so broken and desperate that it shocked him to hear it.
Naruto gasped when he realized what he just said. He turned wide eyes to stare at Sasuke, fear clear on his face. That was enough to jolt Sasuke out of his reverie and he laughed softly. He placed his hand on Naruto’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over the faint whisker marks.
“Yes.” Sasuke smiled.
“Really?” Naruto asked with breathless amazement.
“Don’t sound so surprised, dobe.” He laughed.
“How can I not be surprised?”
“Dobe?” He questioned when he witnessed tears in Narutos eyes, clinging to his eyelashes as he stared at Sasuke.
“You mean it Sasuke?” Naruto pleaded. “You’re not playing some cruel joke on me? Because if you are I swear…”
“Shh, dobe, I’m not joking. I’m serious about this.”
Naruto smiled against the hand on his cheek, pure happiness lighting his face despite the flowing tears. Sasuke smiled himself feeling an odd sensation bubbling up in his stomach. He felt lighter than air and was extremely happy something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Thank you, teme.” Naruto whispered.
“Thank me for what, dobe?”
“You didn’t leave me.”
“Why would I leave you?” He murmured softly. This wasn’t the first time he heard Naruto say that and Shikamaru had confirmed it, but he wanted to hear it from his dobe.
“They always do. It goes so well that I begin to think that, maybe, they could be the one. But then they just up and leave one day and sometimes for no real reason. I’m always left alone.” He cried.
“But you’re not alone. You have me and your friends and…umm, Shikamaru.” Sasuke muttered earning a small laugh from Naruto. “What is their loss is my gain.”
“Possessive much?”
“Only with what matters the most to me.”
“I matter to you?” Naruto whispered, wiping at the tears in his eyes.
“Yes. You matter a great deal to me.”
“You should watch what you say teme or I might just get used to hearing it.” Sasuke slid forward in his seat, his eyes lowering to Narutos lips.
“Then I would say it to you every day so you would get used to it.” And with that said Sasuke closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against Naruto’s.
~CALM~
“You’re not sure at the moment? So that means that there was or is something between them.” Genma asked.
“Yeah,
‘something’.” Shikamaru mumbled staring at the door as Sasuke disappeared behind it.
“Elaborate, Shikamaru; you know how important details like this could be.”
“Naruto didn’t return to our hotel room two nights ago. I don’t think you have to put much thought into what he was up too, Genma.”
Genma nodded as he pulled out a toothpick and popped it in his mouth, chewing. “I thought Jiraiya talked to him about that.”
“He did and Naruto was doing well…up until we arrived here. Naruto got in one of those moods again.”
“And you did nothing with him?” Genma questioned. It was no secret that the two had relations, it was common knowledge. Chief Sarutobi only allowed it to continue because it never hindered their working relationship.
“I haven’t been with Naruto for over a year.”
“But you believe that Naruto and detective Uchiha were together the other night?”
“Sasuke confirmed it.” Neji muttered strolling up behind Kakashi.
“Ok, so when did detective Uchiha admit this.”
“He stated it when we were in the waiting room right before Itachi arrived.” Neji offered. Genma nodded and stared off lost in thought.
“What are you thinking Genma?” Sai asked.
“Nothing really; I’m just trying to understand it all.”
“Understand what?”
“Well, detective Uchiha doesn’t strike me as the kind to be bottom?” He eyed Itachi with a hint of apology. He was speaking about his precious little brother after all. To his surprise Itachi and Neji both let out a chuckle.
“Sasuke is certainly not the type to bottom.” Neji replied between his laughter. Genma turned quickly to Shikamaru, confusion written on his face. Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the wall.
“He wouldn’t talk to me about it.” That was all he needed to say. Naruto no longer needed him, just like Jiraiya wanted. Damn that stupid promise!
Chief Sarutobi cleared his throat gaining everyone’s attention and effectively quieting Sai, who was preparing to reply what could only be assumed as something nasty. “I think that we have done enough poking into Naruto’s personal life. Anything that is not important to the case will not be mentioned further.”
“Of course, Chief Sarutobi.” Genma agreed, nudging Sai in the ribs when he didn’t agree as well.
“Of course.” He smiled.
“Let us get back to the investigation then. Tsunade was on her way to speak with Danzo; no doubt she will return to the station afterwards. I think it best that we return there and allow Naruto and Mr. Uchiha to rest from their injuries.”
With that the hallway cleared out leaving Shikamaru, Neji, and Itachi. Itachi took one last look towards the door and turned to leave without a word. Once he turned the corner Shikamaru pushed off the wall and made his way towards the door, Neji falling in behind him. What Shikamaru saw halted him in his tracks causing curiosity to thrum through Neji. He looked ahead of him and paused, his mind blanking. Sasuke and Naruto were kissing…
Falling back, Neji leaned against the wall hurting in heart and soul. Shikamaru gulped and turned away, intent on getting as far away from there as possible. He saw the dejected being of Neji and sighed. “Want to get out of here?” He asked. Neji focused his attention on Shikamaru and, not understanding why, nodded. He followed the limping man from the hospital informing Chief Sarutobi that he was going to make sure Shikamaru made it back to the hotel safely.
~CALM~
Sakura slowly crept down from the maternity ward, intent on making her way to Naruto’s room. She had to navigate through nurses and her searching husband who had almost caught her twice. She exhaled in relief once the ICU doors shut behind her. Making her way to Naruto’s room she paused on the threshold, caught by the scene playing out in front of her.
Sasuke was settling back into his seat after having just kissed Naruto, his hand rubbing against the scars on Naruto’s cheeks. With a smile she knocked on the door and entered; smile still in place when she reached Naruto’s bedside.
“Sakura!” He exclaimed happily.
“Naruto, how are you feeling?”
“Much better than yesterday!” He exclaimed, his blue eyes crackling with happiness.
“Good, Naru, that’s good.” She laughed. She took a seat on the end of his bed and turned her attention to Sasuke.
“How are you holding up Sasuke?”
“You don’t have to worry about me Sakura; I’m more than ok…now.”
“It’s nice to see you two happy.” She murmured, tears rising in her eyes.
“Don’t cry Sakura. I’m ok, the teme’s ok, see we’re fine.” He muttered trying to comfort her.
“You almost died, Naru. Sasuke was injured too!”
“I didn’t die though.”
“But you could have!”
“But I didn’t.” He whispered, grabbing her hand in his.
“How can you be so calm?”
“I don’t know.” Naruto admitted. Sakura smiled softly and gripped his hand tightly.
“So how are your twins?”
“They are sleeping now and will be that way for a little while longer.” She laughed turning into the proud mother.
“I can’t wait to see them.” He exclaimed excitedly.
“I’m sure they would appreciate seeing their godfather, if you’re willing that is?” She whispered and turned to Sasuke. “Both of you? Lee and I couldn’t make up our minds so we decided that we could just have two godfathers instead.”
“I would be honored.” Naruto exclaimed, a wide smile adorning his face. The sight gave Sasuke a pause as he admired his lover.
“I would be honored as well, Sakura.” He agreed.
“Thank you!” Sakura smiled. She jumped up and kissed Naruto on the forehead before rounding on Sasuke. “Can I talk to you for just a minute?”
With a nod Sasuke agreed. He followed her into the hallway. “I wanted to know what you are doing, Sasuke?”
Sasuke turned a glare on her, his brow knit in mild irritation. “What…?”
“With Naruto, what are doing with Naruto?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
Sakura took a step back at the venom in his voice, but she didn’t back down. “You misunderstand me.”
“I don’t think I am.” He muttered crossing his arms in front of him.
Sakura settled against the wall staring at the overhead clock. “We met in kindergarten.” She started, recalling images from the far corners of her memory. “Naruto was such a vibrant person and I admit that we didn’t hit it off as friends at first. I was envious of everything about him and I didn’t treat him kindly because of it, but he kept trying to be my friend. He even went so far as to declare in front of everyone that he was madly in love with me and that he would marry me someday. Well, as you can see that didn’t happen, but if Mom hadn’t been transferred when I was in Jr. High, who knows?”
“Am I supposed to be jealous of what you just said?” Sasuke asked bitterly not quite sure where she was going with this trip down memory lane.
“Not at all.” She laughed, tears in her eyes. Sasuke realized a second too late that they were tears of deep sadness and not regret for a lost chance. “When Naruto goes after something he does it with passion. He shines so bright that it nearly blinds you to stand next to him. I just never realized until now how much I truly love him.” She cried.
“Sakura...”
“You treat him like the precious gem he is, but don’t treat him like a fragile object that will break either. He is precious, but durable. Love him every day, tell him that you love him every day, and make sure that he wants for nothing, Sasuke. He deserves to be happy so you make damn sure that he is for the rest of his life!” She threatened.
“Hn, you don’t have to worry about that.” Sasuke muttered cockily.
“Make sure that I don’t.” She threatened again. Seeing the nod from Sasuke she turned and made her way back to the maternity ward, wiping her eyes as she went. All she wanted was for Naruto to be happy; if he was happy than she was happy. Sasuke watched her go before returning to his dobe’s room where he was met with silence. Naruto had fallen asleep on him.
~CALM~
**Day Eight**
“I’ll kill him! I swear one of these days I will kill that man!” Tsunade muttered, striding into her packed precinct with purpose. This was definitely not how she wanted to start off her mornings. Genma looked up from the files, staring at her over-sized breasts in admiration. He didn’t have a chance to appreciate them when he first arrived, but now that he could, he was drinking them all in.
“Who now?” Kiba practically whined. Tsunade shot her detective a glare before growling and biting her thumb.
“That damn Danzo, he is such a thorn in my side; sitting there with that nasty smirk on his face. He doesn’t care one bit that he may have further endangered a young man’s life!”
“Calm down Tsunade.” Chief Sarutobi soothed, stepping forward and laying a supportive hand on her shoulder.
“I can’t bring myself too, Sensei. Do you know what he is trying to do; what he is
threatening to do?” Her knuckles cracked menacingly and Kiba took a small step back, his hand bumping the top of Akamaru’s head who took to cowering beneath his master’s desk.
“You must calm yourself and allow me to handle Danzo.”
“I can’t!”
“Tsunade?” Chief Sarutobi soothed.
Tsunade released a heavy sigh and bit her thumb again, nodding in agreement and taking a deep breath. Everyone knew how much this meant to her and to rile her up now was akin to suicide. This Danzo had better watch his back from now on!
Genma stood up and stretched catching sight of Raido entering the small precinct, a look of bewildered amusement adorning his face. Sighting Genma he made his way to him swiftly, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving. Honestly, he was used to the glances and murmurings because of the scars across the left side of his face. “I have files for you to look at, Genma, they may prove to be useful with the investigation.” He muttered, handing his partner the thick folder.
Genma nodded and sat down, delving into the depths of the manila envelope as Raido made his way to Chief Tsunade and Chief Sarutobi. He gave a passing glance to Sai fully aware he had decided to stay on and help with the investigation. “Chief Tsunade, I’m Raido Namiashi. I apologize for my delay in arriving and for Sai’s behavior. It was unacceptable and disgraceful. Our department is better than that.”
“I understand, but you should not be apologizing for him.”
“If I didn’t there would be no form of apology. Sometimes it is better to hear those words than to hear them from the mouth of the offender.” Raido murmured.
“Hmm, are you up for this?” She asked, eyeing the man with a critical eye.
“I am more than up for this.” He agreed. With that said he excused himself, Tsunade agreeing with a wave of her hand. She turned to see Sarutobi frowning in disapproval.
“Sensei?” She asked.
“Let me speak to Danzo. I may be able to get him to pull back.” Tsunade nodded agreement, content for the moment to step back, but readying herself for the fight Danzo would no doubt give her in retaliation.
~CALM~
Genma stood up and made his way to the clear dry erase board that had been wheeled out for their use. He pulled out pictures and started to tape them in place: first Jiraiya’s picture, then Fugaku and Mikoto Uchihas picture, and lastly a picture of Naruto. He grabbed up the white marker and listed the highlights of the cases for Jiraiya and the Uchiha’s, but his hand stalled under Naruto’s picture.
“It doesn’t make sense to me, Raido.”
“What about?”
“Why Naruto? How does he fit into all this besides being the next Senator?”
“You think that the person that shot him knew that?”
“I don’t know.” Genma murmured. “It seems strange, even illogical to believe that they could know what he looked like.”
“So it was just a coincidence?” Raido asked, skepticism lacing his words.
“It may just be.”
“You do know that there is no such thing as a coincidence.” Kakashi stated.
“What else could it be?” Genma asked.
“That’s what we have to figure out.”
“What do you think about this: could Jiraiya have been looking into the Uchiha murders?”
“We found nothing in his home that even remotely resembled an investigation; especially where the Uchiha’s were concerned. I don’t even think that they knew one another so why would Jiraiya be investigating them.” Raido asked.
“Maybe we overlooked something?” Genma asked, not truly believing that himself.
“Not possible. Naruto gave us free rein to look through every nook and cranny. If there was something there we would have found it.” He grabbed the marker from Genma’s lax grip and started to write under Naruto’s name, compiling a short list of facts from the shooting. “You do know that if Jiraiya was investigating anything that it would be...”
“And we both know that he ended that search years ago when it hit a brick wall.”
“Hmm, it couldn’t hurt to look; but let’s solve Jiraiya’s murder and Naruto’s shooting first and then we can look at those files.” Raido replied.
“I’m sure you will have an enormous amount of help when you do.” Kakashi smiled and indicated the small precincts detectives. “All you have to do is ask.”
“Thank you for the offer, it will be appreciated.”
“So, Naruto said that there were two people besides him and Detective Uchiha.” Genma replied, returning the conversation back to the present investigation.
“Two?”
“Yes, when Sai and I questioned him, he reported two perps. There was one in front of him on the second level landing and one behind him. He was adamant about there being two.”
“Do you believe him?”
“There was no evidence.”
“How many times have we been proven wrong by Naruto when there was no evidence to support his claims?”
“Twelve.”
“And how many times have we been proven right?”
“Zero.” Genma supplied, causing Kakashi to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
“So, we go back and look. If we can’t find anything we look again until we do. This is Naruto we’re talking about...”
“You guys seem to think very highly him?” Neji leaned against his desk and crossed his arms staring at the two men. Shikamaru seemed unnaturally subdued as he sat in Neji’s chair.
“Naruto is special; it is hard not to like him...” He whispered, not lifting his gaze from the desk in front of him. Genma and Raido shared a look waiting to discuss it until later. This was definitely not the Shikamaru they were used to.
“That is unless you absolutely hate him.” Sai smiled.
“Why do some people hate him?” Temari questioned.
Raido sighed, but it was Chief Sarutobi who answered. “There are very few who truly hate him, they just don’t agree with his choices. There are more than a few individuals who believe that he shouldn’t be risking his life when he has a larger responsibility; a larger part to play in the scheme of things. Naruto hasn’t conformed to what they want from him, instead paving his own path, and they have found fault with every little action he has performed.”
“How terrible.” Ino muttered.
“Hmm. He has risen above it spectacularly, though.” Genma allowed silence to permeate the room as he handed Raido all the files to look over, giving him time to read them over quickly.
“Do we have Detective Uchiha’s statement?” Raido asked, frowning at the files before him. He flipped through the pages expectantly, but came up empty-handed.
“We haven’t
officially taken it yet. When I talked with him I only asked one question.”
“Then how did you…”
“Detective Hyuga was helpful and reiterated it to Sai and me. I was waiting for you to arrive before I took his statement, especially after what happened during Naruto’s statement.” He shot Sai a pointed glance before turning back to his partner.
“What happened with Naruto?” Raido asked quietly though he had an idea.
“You know how Naruto can get worked up at times; well, there was a slight issue with his blood pressure. It was just Sai being an ass as usual.”
“Naturally.” Raido muttered darkly. He snapped the folder shut and exhaled, glancing at the board again. He couldn’t help but to agree with his partner, it didn’t make sense; none of it did. “I want to get detective Uchiha’s statement as soon as possible.”
Genma agreed and within minutes they were making their way into the hospital, navigating through the crowds still gathered outside. It wasn’t hard to find Sasuke, who was sitting next to Naruto’s bed as the blonde slept peacefully.
Sasuke looked up when they entered, rising from his seat. He greeted Raido with a shake of the hand and sat back down watching the rise and fall of Naruto’s chest as he slept.
“We wanted to get your official statement.” Genma whispered, trying not to disturb Naruto’s rest. Sasuke nodded and followed them from the room and down the hallway to the vacated waiting room.
It didn’t take long for Sasuke to give his statement; a carbon copy of what he told everyone the before and what had been told to Genma through Neji. “And you still believe what Naruto says about there being two people?” Genma asked.
“I do.” Sasuke stated.
“And this has nothing to do with your relationship with him?” Sasuke snarled as Raidos brows shot up in surprise.
“Relationship?”
“Naruto has gone off and gotten himself a boyfriend this time.” Raido gave Sasuke an appraising glance before concluding that he wasn’t Naruto’s usual type. “And Naruto reversed his roles.”
“Interesting.” He took another glance at Sasuke before coming to the conclusion that Itachi had been right. Sasuke was the best match for their little Naruto.
“Excuse me?!” Sasuke demanded.
“Thank you, detective Uchiha.” Raido muttered. “We’ll let you get back to Naruto, now.”
Sasuke frowned in annoyance as they disappeared quickly through the door, leaving him alone in the waiting room. Standing up he made his way back to the ICU and Naruto’s bedside.
~CALM~
**Day Fourteen**
The investigation ground to a halt almost as soon as it began. Genma and Raido, helped along with Kakashi, Neji, and Sai re-examined every aspect of the crime scenes multiple times, focusing on Naruto’s part intently. They came up empty-handed, but had found a way that there could have been two perpetrators. Through the third floor there was a doorway that led out to the roof where they found the lock sawed off, but found no evidence of fingerprints anywhere. It was assumed to be the point of entry.
Thus they were forced to abandon Naruto’s case and focus instead on Jiraiya’s where they were having just as much luck in solving it. Genma sighed and dropped into the nearest seat he could find. “You would think a murder in a small town would be easier to solve, but this is ridiculous!”
“You should know that small town investigations are in fact harder to investigate than city investigations.*” Naruto laughed, causing everyone to turn and stare in shock. He stood there looking at them with a small smile on his face, skin not as pale as it had been a week ago, and his right arm in a sling.
“What are you doing out of the hospital?!” Sakura demanded throwing a file on her desk and rushing to him.
“I could ask you the same thing, what are you doing here?” Naruto asked, returning Sakura’s embrace.
“Lee can handle the twins…”
“Sakura?”
“He can. This is where I want to be.”
“Sakura?”
“No, Naru…” She spoke soothingly, just like a mother would her child, and shook her head.
“Thank you.” Naruto smiled, causing Sakura to stall what she was preparing to be a long-winded tirade.
“You’re welcome.” She whispered, shock written on her face and in her emerald eyes.
“So what brings you here and out of the hospital?” Genma asked as Raido reached for the board to flip it.
“You don’t have to do that.” Naruto stated, turning to Raido. “I’ve already seen the photos.”
“I’m sorry.” Raido muttered, truly sorry.
“Should you be out of the hospital?” Tsunade asked, leaning against her door frame sipping at her cup of coffee.
“Hn.” Sasuke grumbled, causing Naruto to frown at him.
“There is this wonderful thing called AMA**...”
“Hn.”
“And I have chosen to use it.”
“Dobe.”
“Teme!”
“Is that wise?” Kiba asked, rubbing behind Akamaru’s ears.
“I feel fine, it no longer pains me constantly and I was tired of sitting in a bed looking at white walls.”
“I was there too.” Sasuke hissed in a whisper that no one heard.
“I’ll admit that was tempting...” Naruto laughed, raising his voice to be heard. “...but I couldn’t lie there a minute more.”
“Hn!”
“Hn, yourself teme. It was driving me up the wall being confined to one room. They wouldn’t even let me walk the halls! No, I had to pace my room and return to my bed every time a nurse came in to check on me, which was every ten minutes! I couldn’t take it anymore!”
“Hn.”
“I hate you!” Naruto barked and turned away from him.
“Love you too.” Sasuke stated.
“Uhh...? What the hell?!” Kiba demanded confusion etched on every line of his face. “Are you two not together?”
“What?!” Naruto demanded. “What would make you think something like that? I couldn’t get rid of him even if I wanted too; he’s such a leech!”
“I don’t hear you complaining, dobe.”
“You don’t give me a reason to complain, teme.” Naruto muttered, looking away from everyone with a blush on his face.
Shikamaru hid the pang he felt in his heart at those words. A hand sought out his and squeezed tightly, giving a supporting grip. He turned slightly and looked at the man beside him, thankful. He squeezed back in support, knowing that seeing Sasuke with his partner was causing the same emotions to swirl within. Two men bonding over losing who they wanted the most and they only had themselves to blame.
Neji smiled when he felt the support returned. He still wanted to be bent over the nearest desk and taken by the Uchiha, but that was an impossible dream now. He had Naruto and somehow he knew that he could never compare to the blonde in Sasuke’s heart. You can’t fight soul-mates.
“So what are you doing here?” Tsunade asked.
“I just wanted to stop by before making my way home.” Naruto muttered sadly. It didn’t go unnoticed how his hand shook or how Sasuke’s hand found his, stilling it instantly. “I think there are a few things that I need to take care of there.”
“You’re going with him, Sasuke?” Sakura asked, eyeing their combined hands with intense scrutiny.
“Hn. There isn’t much for me to do here now and I don’t want to leave the dobe alone. He did check himself out of the hospital before he was supposed to be released...”
“I heal fast...”
“I can’t have him hurting himself further.” Sasuke growled.
“Moving in already?!” Kiba grinned.
“That is not what he said, Kiba!” Ino shrieked and hit him over the back of the head.
Naruto burst out laughing, instantly lightening the mood in the room until he groaned and rubbed under his shoulder, tears of laughter in his eyes.
“What did you do dobe?” Sasuke asked, reaching to inspect the wound, but Naruto danced out-of-the-way, laughing as he went.
“It’s fine, teme; I just jarred it by laughing. Really, I’m not going to break, so you can calm down.”
Sasuke stared at him before he walked forward and cupped his face, showing everyone just how much he really cared for the blonde, lest they doubt it. “You make it incredibly hard to be calm when you act like that. If you could just slow down...”
“But then you would be able to catch up?” Naruto chirped.
Sasuke laughed kissing him lightly on the lips. “You can’t outrun me for long.”
“Are you sure?”
“YES!” Sasuke growled possessively.
“Get a room!” Genma shouted, effectively shattering the moment and causing Temari, Ino, Tenten, and Sakura to glare pointy daggers at him. He actually had the gall to look unfazed by their combined death glares.
“That can be arranged.” Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.
“There will be no need for that!” Naruto muttered, too loudly.
“We’ll see.” Sasuke whispered for his ears only.
“Teme...” Naruto whined, but froze, staring at the board, or more specifically, his crime scene photos. He stepped forward and looked at it intently, a look of utter astonishment on his face. Everyone grew quiet, shooting worried glances at their neighbors. “I should have died...” Naruto whispered to himself, unheard by anyone.
His crystalline eyes roamed over every picture, drinking in the images, searing them to his memory. Yet, there was something that made his skin crawl and his stomach fall, his gut clenching around the fluttering feeling. He was focused on the staircases, reliving the memory as it played out frame by frame in slow motion: the shadow of the man walking towards him, raising his gun at him, the click of a gun being cocked behind him, his body turning to see the man behind him before the searing pain and instant darkness that descended on him. Naruto rubbed at his tan cheek, frown still in place, as he recalled again and again and again. Something seemed off about it to him, he was certain.
Then it finally hit him, his eyes widening in shock. It seemed so clear to him now, as clear as day. He knew he was right, but there was no way to prove it. He turned to stare at Sasuke and whispered softly to him. “The person behind me wasn’t there to shoot me! He was aiming at the other guy!”
“What are talking about, dobe...?” He whispered back, conscious of the focused attention on them and the straining of ears to hear what was being said between them.
“He wasn’t going to shoot me! He wasn’t going to shoot me!” Naruto whispered again his hand coming up to cover his mouth.
“Dobe...?” Sasuke asked uncertainly.
Naruto focused his gaze on Sasuke and lowered his hand. With a sigh, he shook his head and muttered “It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“No, but now is not the time.”
“Hmm...”
“I think it is about time to be going. I’ve put this off long enough.” Naruto exhaled a puff of air, loosening the tightening in his stomach and chest.
“Surely they’re not pushing you to...” Shikamaru asked.
“No, I still have time to recover, but they want this over with as soon as I’m physically capable. They’ve waited long enough I guess.”
“Before you go, can I talk to you alone, Naru?”
Naruto nodded and smiled at his partner. Shikamaru grabbed up his crutches and hobbled his way into the nearest interview room, Naruto following behind. He let his tan fingers slip through Sasuke’s pale ones only to wrap around the cold metal of the door knob as he pushed it shut on the curious group.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for not visiting you much.” Shikamaru started.
“That’s ok.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”
“Don’t be, it was beyond our control.”
“I always thought I would be with you if something like that ever transpired.”
“You were there when it mattered the most.”
“I’m sorry for everything.”
“What do you mean?” Naruto asked confusedly, his head tilting slightly to the side.
“For interfering with your life the way I did. I only wanted what was best for you; I guess I went a little overboard...”
“Oh, I’m not mad or angry with you because we had a little quarrel before...everything.”
“Why?” Shikamaru asked, genuinely confused. Only Naruto could make a genius like him confused.
“I lost my virginity to you, Shika.”
“That doesn’t give me the right to demand information from you. I had no right to know.”
“It’s fine.”
“I was never going to be good enough for you...” Shikamaru whispered shaking his head. It was hard to admit it out loud, but for the two of them to move on it had to be said.
“Why?” It was Naruto’s turn to be confused, his sparkling eyes shining with moisture.
“I couldn’t forgive myself for taking your virginity and I couldn’t forgive myself for leaving you the next morning, before you even woke up.”
“Your father had an emergency, I understood.” He whispered.
“What about all the times since then, Naruto?”
“I never worried about that.”
“I know and that was part of the reason I had to distance myself sexually from you. You always understood and it pained me to know that I wasn’t good enough for you.” Shikamaru muttered sadly.
“But you were good enough for me, Shika. I wanted you to stay, I wanted you to take me, but you grew distant from me and no matter how much I tried to tell you I wanted it, you just didn’t listen.”
“I always felt guilty for taking your virginity, and I knew that I could never do anything to make it up to you.”
“Shika...?”
“I know you don’t remember much about it, Naru; but I came on to you knowing you were drunk. I enticed you and you drunkenly followed. I had wanted you for a long time and I saw the opportunity arise and I took it. I wasn’t drunk like I let you believe...I was selfish and I took what I had no right too.”
“I knew you weren’t drunk and I knew that I was. You didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do and for the record, Shika, I had wanted you too; for quite some time really.” Naruto smiled. Shikamaru snorted sadly as the realization hit him. He was his own worst enemy!
“You have Sasuke now.” He whispered.
“And you have Neji.” Naruto smiled as Shikamaru’s head shot up in shock.
“How did you...?”
“I want you to be happy Shika and I think that, given a bit of time, Neji can do that for you. Call it a gut feeling.” Naruto laughed slightly, not his usual care-free laugh, but one laden with sadness and regret; of missed opportunities. Shikamaru’s shock softened into a smile similar to Naruto’s, sadness and regret swirling deep within.
“It was an honor to be your partner, Shikamaru Nara.” Naruto sniffled, moisture thick in his eyes, as he held out his hand to shake.
Shikamaru nodded, extending his hand to grasp Naruto’s firmly. “Indeed; a great honor, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.”
Naruto released his grasp and laid his hand on the doorknob, turning it silently. “Promise you won’t give up on them?” He whispered.
“I promise.” Shikamaru nodded as the door swung open on the silent precinct. Sasuke was next to Naruto in a second, his hand finding tan fingers and threading between as they made their goodbye’s, descending the stairs quietly.
“What do you promise?” Genma asked, but he already knew the answer.
“That I won’t give up.”
“None of us will, Shikamaru.” Raido murmured.
