The Weakened Crutch

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Pairings: Sasu/Naru Gaara/Naru Sasu/Sai and possible others.

THE WEAKENED CRUTCH

CHAPTER ONE: THE CRUTCH, THE CRUX, THE CROSSES WE BEAR

“I need to get a new place,” Naruto told his door as it tried to fall off its hinges at him. Upon getting inside the apartment, he bolted the door shut in an attempt to keep it from falling into the street and killing anybody. He considered duct taping the hinges, but he realized he would look like a criminal, always coming and going through the windows (half of which were boarded up, and god knows he couldn’t afford to have them fixed on his salary) like a common thief.
The apartment itself was nothing short of a dump. There were water stains on the ceilings, and most of the walls were brown from the constant leaks and nicotine stains, and the place reeked of mildew where the walls were rotted-out inside. Naruto wondered if getting a cat might keep the vermin populace in check, but then, the rats in this place were mostly the size of small dogs and probably wouldn’t hesitate to eat the cat if he got one. He sighed and wondered just what the hell he was doing with his life.
He made decent money working at the hospital, but he’s living on his own in a shit-hole apartment trying to put himself through med-school. He sighs to himself and collapses onto the couch, only to have a spring jab him in the back.
“Stupid couch,” he muttered into his arm. “Stupid door. I need a new place. I wonder if Sasuke would let me move in with him for a little while.”
The spring in his back driving him mental, Naruto pushed himself up off the couch and decided to make himself a cup of ramen. He would need to go grocery shopping soon, he realized upon opening one of the cupboards. He grabbed one of the foam noodle cups and shook it, hoping it hadn’t fossilized or something up there.

Water boiled and noodle cup in hand, Naruto sat down at his kitchen table and tried to clear a space for himself.
“Bloody textbooks.”
He had done all his readings for the week, and was almost done his latest paper. It wasn’t exactly his greatest work, but considering the catastrophic state his life was in at the moment, he was willing to forgive himself for that.
The only reason he was in medicine in the first place was to please his parents, not that it mattered now. They would never be proud to have him as their son, whether he became a wealthy doctor or not.
Coming from a Catholic-Irish family, Naruto knew it wasn’t exactly wise to tell his parents that he was an openly gay man with a boyfriend, but Naruto was an honest man and he had felt it would be best if his parents knew their son for who he really was, rather than what they wanted their son to be.
His father had thrown him out that night after beating him within an inch of his life for the disgrace he had brought upon their family.
Thank god his brothers were all straight with plans for marriage, Naruto thought. He wouldn’t wish that same pain on anyone.
Speaking of brothers and boyfriends, Naruto rather thought he should go visit his. Maybe Sasuke would have something other than dried up noodles in his cupboards. Maybe he could even stay the night. It was worth a shot, Naruto decided.
So, he got up and tossed the Styrofoam cup in the trash and got changed into something slightly more fashionable rather than hospital. Finding a pair of jeans that were sufficiently clean he got changed and left the apartment, letting the door bang worryingly behind him.

Sasuke—otherwise known as ‘the boyfriend’—lived in an uptown estate with his older brother. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke’s parents were wealthy and rather dead. They had been killed when he was seven years old, leaving all their wealth to their two sons.
Their murder had never been solved, but for whatever reasons, the Uchiha boys were never too worried about the killer coming back. Sasuke had been young when they died, maybe all of seven years old. He never spoke of missing his parents, but just the same, Naruto assumed he did. Maybe he should leave medicine and get into counseling.
He giggled to himself at the thought.
The house they lived in was beautiful, half hidden by the oak trees that stood out front of the sprawling lawns. It was fenced in to keep the unwanted out. Naruto rarely felt like he belonged there when he visited, but Sasuke assured him it was fine and his older brother Itachi didn’t really seem to mind.
Itachi never really said much of anything, beyond the cursory polite greetings, so it wasn’t exactly easy to tell just what Itachi minded. Well, that might not be entirely true, Naruto thought to himself. People Itachi didn’t like had a tendency to disappear pretty quickly.
Naruto meandered up the paved walkway, taking in the scenery and the birdsong. There was nothing beautiful or peaceful in his part of town, so he took his time enjoying it. The nearest park to his house was little more than a burnt out patch of grass and a thoroughly graffitied wall.
Coming back to himself, Naruto fought back the urge to gulp, staring up at the massive door in front of him. For some reason, standing here always made him feel so small.
He rang the bell and was surprised to find it opened from the inside by a shirtless boy, mopping at his head with his towel. He wasn’t wearing pants either, Naruto amended. Just another towel hanging kilt-style around his hips.
“Hey, Sai,” Naruto said. “I didn’t know you would be here.”
“Hey, Naru-chan. How’s that penile-extension program going for you?” The boy asked, smiling politely. “I hear it gets great results.”
Naruto bristled and blushed. “Don’t call me that: it’s girly. And my penis is long enough that I don’t need any extension program, thank you very much.”
Sai grinned at him and shrugged, opening the door wide enough that Naruto could step inside, which he did, carefully taking off his shoes.
“Who’s there, Sai?” called a voice from upstairs that Naruto recognized immediately as his boyfriend’s. Sasuke himself appeared a minute later at the top of the stairs, also mopping at his hair with a towel and looking as freshly-showered as Sai did. “Oh. Hey, Naruto.”
“Did you guys go swimming or something?” Naruto asked. “Sorry about dropping by without calling.”
Sasuke shook his head and walked downstairs. He wrapped an arm around Naruto’s waist and kissed him hello. Naruto was too caught up in the kiss to see the look on Sai’s face as he did so.
“That’s fine,” Sasuke told him, as he released Naruto from the kiss. “I was thinking about inviting you here for dinner anyway.”
Sai shook his head and did his best not to growl. He turned away so that Naruto wouldn’t see the look on his face. “I’m going to go put on a pair of pants. I’ll be outta here shortly.”
“Sure thing, Sai,” Sasuke said, never taking his eyes off of Naruto. “You wanna stay here tonight?”
Naruto nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
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