Talking to Strangers

A/N: Hellooooo~ you AFF people! I come bearing Kaka/Sasu-ness! This was posted for the Kaka/Sasu exchange at Copycock over on livejournal. (So if you want more of these two...you know where to go!)

My prompt came from frackin_sweet, and this is what I've come up with! ^^;


He was coming down with something.

The symptoms were all there: boredom, frequent glancing around, constant sighs of discontentment, all combining to form a severe case of I-don’t-want-to-be-here-itis. Was it that time of year already? He hadn’t even seen the news specials urging citizens to get their vaccinations yet.

And—being a frequent sufferer—Sasuke needed one badly.

The minor discomfort grew more noticeable the longer he stood. Out of all the rides of course everyone had to flock to this one. Its sure-fire promise to have you puking up last night’s dinner seemed to be a real hit with the rebellious and simple minded. But honestly he didn’t care how popular it was. That was still no excuse for people to stand so close that it left his nostrils flaring and skin prickling.

Oh how he hated the fucking carnival.

With its cheap forms of entertainment and ghastly odor that could only be best described as fried garbage a la mode. Breathe in too quickly and you’re dry-heaving before you’ve set foot through the gate. And Sasuke deeply regretted stepping through that gate.

It was amazing, what he was capable of when under the impression of a lie. Several in this case. He expected as much from Sakura; she was always looking for new ways to photoshop herself into his life. Naruto on the other hand…well it wasn’t as if Sasuke didn’t expect it, more like he didn’t think the other was smart enough to pull one over on him successfully.

He was disappointed in how successful it was, too. Being friends for ten years had apparently numbed the sneaking suspicion that something was amiss. It seems that it also played a significant role in getting him out of the house, into Sakura’s car, and driven thirty minutes west to some backwater lot he’d carefully avoided for the majority of his adolescence.

After being lost in the House of Mirrors for two hours, courtesy of his sadistic and dark-humored older brother, Sasuke hadn’t been too keen on going back…

And he was proud to say he had upheld that silent oath to himself, until now. Stupid did not even begin to describe how he felt. Naturally, the defensive part of his brain was quick to point out he wasn’t the only one tricked into this predicament. That much was true; Shikamaru had somehow been dragged into this mess as well. Suffice it to say Sasuke didn’t feel much pity for him, though.

After all he wasn’t standing here right now, was he? Because the last time Sasuke checked, the backseat of Sakura’s car didn’t fall under the ‘here’ category. The bastard had fallen asleep before they’d even had time to unhook their seatbelts. Of course there were no objections to letting him stay behind. Sasuke supposed there was some invisible sign above him that said “Bother Me Instead!” because when he opted to hang back as well, the other two were hearing none of it.

He bristled against the feeling of fingers touching his arm, wishing more than anything that people would adopt some etiquette and keep their hands to themselves. When it happened again, he was quick to snap his head and scowl at the person who so boldly chose to invade his personal space. Sakura. What a surprise.

“Better get your tickets out, we get to ride next!”

Ten years seemed to have its numbing effect on her as well. Only in this case it came in the form of adjusting to—and ignoring—his frequent dirty looks. Sasuke recalled a fond time where a single glare on his part was enough to make the girl panic and distance herself as much as possible. But alas kindergarten was so long ago.

Still she had a point, so he simply grunted in affirmation and began fishing in his jeans for his wallet. It startled him a bit when his fingers didn’t nudge familiar worn leather, and the nervousness began to leak in when he realized the square bulge was nowhere to be found. Then, both hands were on the hunt. Front pockets…no. Back pockets…no. And before he knew it he was out of pockets to search.

“Naruto, have you seen my wallet?”

Politeness seemed to be thriving that day because the person in question had no problem with waiting until after he finished his text message to acknowledge words had been spoken. “What?”

He really needed to get some new friends. “My wallet. Have you seen it?”

“Oh…umm,” the squinty ‘I’m thinking’ look was not appreciated. Sasuke already knew the answer. “I thought you had it.”

Well obviously I don’t. But he didn’t say that. Didn’t say anything, for that matter. He did, however, swiftly step out of the line, putting some much needed distance between his fist and Naruto’s face.

Maybe he wasn’t the most emotional one of the group, but anger still easily directed his leash. Should someone play their cards right, he was known to lash out. And Naruto was quite the gambler as of late. Sasuke was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to get on this ride, unhook the idiot’s harness, and watch him fly. More than once.

It seemed like a really good idea, and he was ready to give it a shot before remembering one thing…no wallet, no tickets. Thus he was back to square one, reminded of the problem once more, and the anger was getting harder to hold back. It was his wallet, after all! Money, license, credit cards, the whole shebang.

With that in mind, he turned and began to head back to the central area. About two— maybe two and a half—steps were made before Sakura’s voice chimed in.

“Sasuke, wait! I’ll go with you!”

Would you believe if he said he wasn’t in the mood for that? Regardless, Naruto’s disappointed shout was quick to follow.

“Hey, Sakura! Don’t make me ride this alone!”

And so the plotting began.

Yes, with Sasuke out of the picture, Naruto would be able to put his game-face on. Alone time with Sakura—forty mile per hour ride, or no—was always a good thing. Because then he could ‘woo’ her with a zero percent success rate. Most would take notice of that and give up, but for some reason the hope could not be knocked out of him. Then again, Naruto never was good at math.

And Sasuke was never good with girls clinging to him, so he had no problem informing her of just how much her company was not needed. Only a second was spared to watch her defeated retreat, along with Naruto’s no-so-discreet thumbs up, before he turned on his heel and left.

Honestly, he’d been waiting an entire hour for an excuse to leave and it just had to come at the cost of his possessions.

+++

Grumbling out loud wasn’t a pastime Sasuke normally partook in, but recent events held the frustration at the forefront of his mind. On the plus side, it kept people from rubbing up against him as he passed. Shit if he’d have known that was all it took, he would have started doing that ages ago.

Still, it wasn’t as if his behavior hadn’t been warranted. He had plenty of reasons to be upset. The only real issue at the moment was deciding who he was angrier with, Naruto or himself. After all, it wasn’t as if the other had swiped the thing from his pocket. As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had handed it to him willingly. But that just led to further brooding, because his pride wouldn’t let it rest until the blame compass no longer pointed at him. Because it wasn’t his fault.

It was Sakura’s.

Yes! That’s whose fault it was. She had used her feminine wiles to hypnotize Naruto into paying for a game.

…If that’s what you wanted to call it anyway. Sasuke preferred scam, because a quick glance around showed next to no individuals proudly carrying around stuffed things or equally trivial prizes. There was just no way carnivals could survive from overpriced food and tickets alone, they also had to rob you with their seemingly-innocent “knock the tin cans down even though they’re super glued to the table” or “pop the balloon by throwing the dart with the obscenely blunt tip”.

Of course Sakura had to choose the worst one of the bunch. The one that didn’t even have to be sneaky to scam you. Quite the contrary, it was pretty clear how slim the chances of winning were. Still, it never failed. There was always that one girl who wanted someone to guess their age, weight, or height and be thrilled with the aspect of appearing younger, thinner, or taller.

Sasuke just wished that one girl didn’t have to be Sakura. Not when Naruto made it a point to tell her how attractive he thought she was every damn day. And that was for free. Three whole dollars could have been saved.

His wallet would also be tucked safely into his front pocket. Yet, sadly that just wasn’t the case.

The three of them had most definitely stopped at that wretched booth, Naruto had hopelessly pilfered his own wallet in search for smaller bills, and Sasuke was forced to listen to both of their incessant nagging when he declined to help out.

Do you see what he put up with on a regular basis? And people wondered why he had a short fuse.

Obviously he wasn’t about to fork over cash to hear some overly-eccentric guy guess Sakura’s measurements to the exact centimeter. Ten years could get him to do some things, but they were sorely mistaken if they assumed he was going to suddenly turn generous.

Although, that wasn’t to say he couldn’t be bargained with.

You see, Sasuke had an odd compulsion…to keep as few paper bills in his wallet as possible. Maybe it was because he was a neat freak. Maybe it stemmed from his fetish for organization. He didn’t know for sure. All that mattered was that Naruto knew of this odd quirk and used it to his full advantage.

His nosy friend had seen the wad of dollar bills the lady at the ticket booth had given him, and he knew Sasuke had been itching to get rid of them. Naruto could be downright smart when he wanted to be. Or conniving. Whichever you prefer.

So Sasuke had given in. He’d huffed with a heavy layer of annoyance and flopped his wallet down on the ledge of the vacant neighboring booth he’d been leaning against. The lonely twenty dollar bill was snatched, while the cluster of ones was hastily shoved into an awaiting hand. He recalled stuffing the paper bill messily inside and…

And…slamming it right back down while he watched Sakura lose at what she was never destined to win. Fuck he hadn’t picked it up. It was his fault…shame painted an ugly color, and he was suddenly immensely happy the other two weren’t here to see it.

With a much-less volatile demeanor, he returned to the booth. A bit of self-loathing was always useful to mellow an individual. Needless to say, people were brushing past him once again, but this time Sasuke tuned them out. The retrieval of his wallet—well, the hope for retrieval—weighed heavy on his mind.

However, each step was chipping a fragment of that hope away as doubt set in. Who knew how long it had been sitting there? Someone could have swiped it the second he walked away. Logically speaking, it was foolish to believe it remained on that empty ledge, untouched.

And just like that, the optimism he had miraculously upheld began to waver, while his footsteps became haggard with just a touch of depression.

Negativity always had Sasuke on speed dial. That was just an inevitable part of his life.

A small cloud of dust arose as his feet came to a quick halt. This was the place. The same lower corner that contained the last of the carnival’s booths and food stands, where just a few steps further led you out into a grassy field of nothingness, swallowed soon after by the darkness of the woods. The only illumination in this area resulted from the stars overhead and the gaudy neon-yellow lights haphazardly hung on every other structure. Everything was exactly the same as earlier…save for one thing.

The booth Sasuke vividly remembered as vacant, wasn’t so vacant anymore. Although the splintered wood and shoddy design of the foundation were familiar, the two large feet—crossed at the ankle and propped up on the tiny shack’s ledge—were not. Little could be seen past that, the large awning overhead draping an eerie shadow over anything distinguishable. And it was because of that eeriness that Sasuke found himself moving forward, a rare and often-suppressed curiosity directing his footsteps.

Slowly, a figure was brought into view. It was a man. Reclined in a collapsible chair, noticeably adult magazine in hand, and more noticeably…asleep. Clearly a lousy worker slacking on the job. Nothing interesting.

In all of his seventeen years, Sasuke had never been one to take notice of people. Strangers tended to meld into one big faceless blur in recognition of how much effort was put into examining them, which was never much. Yet this guy, whose form lacked the proper lighting for an appropriate visual, had somehow found a way to change that.

Because Sasuke had yet to turn away, even after realizing his wallet was nowhere in sight.

The man was interesting, and Sasuke’s eyes scrambled to match his brain’s reasoning of why.

He leaned closer, aware and yet not aware of how the action caused the dull wood to dig into his lower ribs, much too preoccupied with identifying a stimulant to the wave of intrigue sweeping through his insides. Disappointment bubbled with confusion in his stomach when he failed to pinpoint a physical aspect that would cause such a reaction from him.

The man wasn’t an alien, after all, he was just…a man.

A man possessing a lithe body adorned with a mess of winding limbs, laces that were untied yet shoved into shoes to prevent likely hazard, jeans that looked a little too big, and a shirt that looked a little too small. By squinting in the dark, the barest of raised skin could be seen forming a line down the left side of his face; a scar that would surely ignite further inspection had it not already been occurring. Then—perhaps most thought-provoking of all—that hair.

Bizarre styling aside, it was a shade most did not come across until later in life; a mark of aging. And yet this man bore no semblance of someone elderly. In fact, he didn’t look to be much older than Sasuke himself. Ten years tops, though that hair was certainly mind-boggling enough to make you think twice.

This was perhaps the only person in the vicinity with enough enigmatic qualities to give the booth next door a run for its money. Dark eyes shifted to look upon said booth, picturing the green-clad man, who confidently churned out numbers, sputtering and grasping for accuracy once he gazed upon his perplexing neighbor. Now that was an amusing thought.

Redirecting his stare, it was all Sasuke could do not to visibly jump, because not only was the man no longer sleeping, he had also soundlessly moved three feet forward and taken residence against the building’s ledge not six inches away. No, Sasuke may not have jumped, but he did mask his alarm by taking his palms off the wood and straightening his spine—maybe quicker than was necessary.

“See anything interesting?”

And then Sasuke was forced to take a further step back because the man just had to lean forward and look at the booth further down, his voice slurred by a lazy drawl--no doubt a side effect from his previous snoozing.

"No, not really." Talking to strangers, his mother would be so proud.

"What about when you were looking at me?"

Boom! Just like that, a few things were suddenly brought to Sasuke’s attention. One: the man hadn’t been asleep at all. Two: he’d been caught staring of all things. And three…three…wasn’t really surfacing because now the guy had propped his chin in his hand and was staring at him looking cocky as fuck.

Sasuke didn’t like cocky people. He found them unpleasant, aggravating, and firmly believed they should be taken down a notch, no matter how interesting they looked.

“No, not really.” Boredom was a tone he’d always excelled in, although his arched eyebrow gave him away. Still, the take-that! part of his brain was rolling in its own smugness, no doubt causing the corner of his mouth to twitch. So maybe he was a bit cocky, but there was nothing wrong with being a little hypocritical once in a while, was there?

“Aww.” The man slowly rose from his slump, lips pressed together in a not-quite frown, which only caused Sasuke’s mouth to twitch harder. “And here I was thinking you’d come to get your wallet back, what a shame.”

Watching him extract a familiar object from his pocket, combined with the reappearance of that god-damned smile was enough to slap the sneer off Sasuke’s face and bury it in the dirt. Of course this man would have it. What luck.

“Hand it over.” His outstretched palm left no room for questions.

“Ah-ah, not yet,” that condescending tone was enough to make Sasuke bite his tongue. Yet even the pain from his incisors couldn’t fully keep away the urge to hurl himself over the counter and swipe his wallet from those grasping, grimy fingers. “You’re my first customer, how about a game?”

The only “game” Sasuke was interested in playing was how many times he could pummel this man before the police got involved. He was willing to bet on three…possibly four, if he could use his feet. “I don’t want to play a game.”

“Well, one of you is lying because Mr. Washington says you do.”

Eyes widened with a mixture of horror and disbelief, as the asshole opened his wallet and slid two dollar bills out, even having enough nerve to wave them in front of Sasuke’s face before stashing them in his pocket. At this point, Sasuke wasn’t even aware of what he was saying, he just knew he’d never been this infuriated by one individual in his entire life.

“Wipe that stupid smirk off your face, and give me my wallet and money back. Now.” Wood creaked in protest beneath the pressure of his fists, his best death glare armed and ready for execution. Really, there was only so much patience one could have.

“A liar and a dictator. Ever think of a career in politics?”

Rather than replying, Sasuke was quick to snatch up one of the previously-ignored ping-pong balls the man had sat next to him, flinging it straight into the other’s forehead, along with two others in rapid succession. It was mildly satisfying to hear the first thunk of plastic against bone, even if the others were deflected. Mildly, he thought…as his mouth twitched upwards again.

“You might have missed the objective,” the man mused amid his crouched clean-up. “Either way it just makes me relieved I don’t run the stand with the darts.”

Sasuke hmm’d in thought. No, he would never be merciless enough to throw sharp objects at someone—Itachi aside—but that didn’t mean he was going to admit it. He immediately squared his shoulders, realizing he’d let this man carry him to a different subject yet again.

“You’ve had your fun, now just give me my belongings back so I don’t have to report you as a thief.” Somehow that didn’t come out as menacing as he’d intended.

“Thief sounds so criminal. I’d like to think I’m…holding it for a friend.” Then he gestured to his hand, still clutching the wallet, as if to say ‘yes, holding as in literally’. Hilarious, those puns. “But really I should be thanking you.”

That was confusing and suspicious and a large part of Sasuke’s psyche urged him not to go there. But it was the irksome smile and I-know-something-you-don’t body language that made him reconsider. “Why?”

Then, without further ado, the man slid over the makeshift counter to stand at Sasuke’s side. Before he’d even opened his mouth, Sasuke wagered he wouldn’t like what was about to be said.

“Because now I have something to do on my break.” It didn’t fully click until a handful of blue tickets were pulled from a side-pocket—his wallet’s side pocket—and even then Sasuke’s brain clung to denial like a child to its mother. “Hmm…what should we ride first?”

Instinct, and the last of his patience going out the window, drove him to initiate two swift grabs, one for the wallet and the other for the string of tickets. Both came up empty-handed, because—as expected—the man used his extra height to promptly yank them out of reach, leaving Sasuke’s palm smacking the air instead. It was like being in the elementary school cafeteria all over again.

Growing angry, he lunged forward, severely disappointed in the way the man seemed to anticipate his moves and act accordingly to dodge them. Still, he didn’t give up. He was getting his shit, and he was getting it now. His hands came faster, his feet walking him forward as the man continued stepping back, looking like his face would rip apart if his grin got any wider.

Their unintentional dance came to an abrupt halt when a duo of snickering girls walked by. Sasuke hadn’t realized how far they’d travelled, and his shoulders slumped in humiliation, arms immediately flying back to his sides. He was seventeen for God’s sake, just because this idiot in front of him wanted to act like a child didn’t require him to stoop so low.

“Why are you doing this?” he hissed at the ground.

He heard the footsteps, but avoided looking up until two very scuffed and untied shoes stopped just inches away from his.

“Because you look like someone who doesn’t get to let loose, and I want to change that.”

The sincerity of those words was penetrating, or perhaps it was the heaviness of those gray eyes that made his body feel like it was being sucked into the earth. Sasuke wasn’t used to being analyzed, and those that tried were always leagues from being even half-right. When faced with an accurate description, especially from someone he’d barely known for ten minutes…well, it made it harder to come up with a patronizing comeback.

Harder, but not impossible. “Letting loose is for carnival workers who are too out of touch with reality to identify with anything else.”

Too bad this man proved adept at shrugging off insults and even more adept at counterattacks. “If that’s the case, it sounds like I’m the perfect candidate for the job.”

The guy was relentless, and somewhere in the ensuing silence Sasuke grudgingly raised his white flag in surrender.

“Tch, what makes you so confident to think you can?”

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

It did surprise him when the tickets found their way back into his possession, though he couldn’t resist a last-second attempt to grab his wallet as well. Unsuccessful.

Couldn’t blame him for trying.

+++

Ten minutes later found them in yet another distant corner of the carnival. Sasuke made no protests as he tagged along. The further away from the crowd, the less likely the chance of running into Naruto or Sakura. Those two may have been the closest thing he had to friends, but he still wasn’t eager for either of them to see him with a complete stranger. Anyone would agree that was a situation best avoided.

After stumbling into a pothole, which appeared out of nowhere, Sasuke felt compelled to ask, “What is all the way out here?” Although, once they rounded an empty ticket stand, the answer became readily available, so he reiterated. “What is a funhouse doing all the way out here?”

Yes, they’d walked all this way for a funhouse. Complete with a giant clown face plastered on the front, mouth marking the entrance and tongue rolling out in the form of red rickety steps. The chipped paint added a nice effect, but that was the only compliment Sasuke was willing to give.

“Actually, it’s quite the story. Some kid got hurt inside of it about a year ago, and we were supposed to close it down while the court case is pending. But the owner just decided to move it out of the way, instead.”

There were a lot of questionable things about that story, and Sasuke’s ability to turn a blind eye deserved a gold medal because he still hadn’t voiced his objections about going inside such a thing. Not that it would make a difference. His opinion obviously stopped mattering a long time ago.

Surprisingly—well no, actually, it really wasn’t—a brown-haired man stepped out from the other side of the stairs, re-zipping his fly as he took his position at the front of the building. Classy.

“Nice to see you working hard, Genma.”

The man—Genma—squinted over at them, apparently not noticing their presence until then. The toothpick in his mouth shifted as he broke out into a sly smile. “At least I man my post. Shouldn’t you be handing out cheap plastic shit to little dumbasses?”

“Nope, I’m on my break.”

“Tch, your life is a break, Kakashi.”

Sasuke maintained his indifferent demeanor throughout the others’ exchange, staring off at the distant woods, and yet listening to every word. His only involvement came in the form of handing over the tickets, though it seemed hardly necessary. Genma hadn’t even asked for them.

Once inside, he cursed his stomach for doing an odd twist as the words “play nice” echoed merrily from behind. But the man next to him showed no signs of acknowledging it, so neither did he.

The first room consisted of nothing but black lights and splatters of neon paint all over the walls. A hidden fog machine fulfilled its duty to dim visibility, and the floor creaked with each unsure step as it twisted and tilted in every manner imaginable. At one point, he could swear it even shifted to become a wall, leaving Sasuke stumbling to right himself yet again. Loss of equilibrium was not enjoyable in the slightest, especially after his neighbor lost his footing and sent Sasuke’s body into a similar state of oh-fuck-don’t-fall.

By what could only be properly defined as a miracle, both of them made it to the next room without any life-threatening injuries. Beyond flickering strobe lights, the floorboards were level and the walls looked significantly more stable, but Sasuke wasn’t about to take any chances just yet. Luckily, he wasn’t mocked or prodded at for choosing to remain in the doorway for a bit longer than necessary.

However, now that they weren’t moving the noticeable silence became that much more noticeable. Especially when the room’s other occupant was staring at him, analyzing him, dissecting him. Like he knew everything about Sasuke, while Sasuke in turn knew nothing about him. Well, maybe that’s because he did. Or, at least, his acting was convincing enough to have Sasuke believing it.

In any case, their playing field was horribly unbalanced, but that was okay. Sasuke was going to level it. Genma had already let one piece of information slip, proving an unsuspecting ally.

“So, your name’s Kakashi.”

The room was greeted by a third party as that smile emerged yet again. But this time the urge to smack knuckles with those pearly front teeth didn’t come, leaving Sasuke to ponder over the delay. Since when was that expression less annoying and more…distracting?

“And your name’s Sasuke. Do we shake hands, or are we past that by now?”

That voice, however, was just as annoying as he recalled. Annoying enough to make him smack away the outstretched hand and stroll unceremoniously into the next room. When the man—Kakashi—when Kakashi kept his mouth shut, he wasn’t so bad, Sasuke figured. Otherwise, he was just—

Psssssssst!

Sasuke’s entire body contorted as a gust of air ricocheted up his pants leg, causing him to stumble backward and trigger yet another that swept up the hem of his shirt. The air was like ice against the heated temperature of his skin, sending streaks of chills sweeping up and down his spine. The disorienting need to get away from the damn things had him wobbling in a crooked half-circle before he finally found solace against the wall. Whatever grainy substance he found there scratched unpleasantly against the bare skin of his elbows and forearms, but he wasn’t about to step away.

When choked laughs reached his ears from the other end of the room, he couldn’t say he was all that surprised.

“You know, they’re just air jets, not the monster under your bed.”

“Funny,” he decided to keep the fact that it took him ten years to realize there was no monster under his bed to himself, “I don’t see you walking across it.”

And just because every force in the world was against Sasuke on this particular day, he was subjected to watch miserably as Kakashi—hands in his pockets, and with an unnecessarily slow gait—strutted across the room without so much as a hiss from below.

“You’ve been in here before.” It was out of his mouth before he could think. Before his brain could stop replaying that stupid fucking smile long enough to tell him no, don’t engage! But it was too late. There wasn’t some invisible netting to block the words from Kakashi’s ears before they were interpreted as a child’s desperate attempt to defend himself. A very sad attempt.

“Surprisingly, no.” To Sasuke’s displeasure the rough texture of the wall didn’t even warrant a grimace from Kakashi as he leaned against it. “Today’s the first day I’ve really wandered around since I got my job here, at least to this extent.”

Psssssssst!

Psssssssst!

… Psssssssst!

“Hm.” Because, really, it was hard to come up with a response when one was doing their best to avoid becoming cryogenically frozen. There was no way in hell that was air. Liquid nitrogen, more like. He’d have to check for frostbite later.

Luckily Kakashi kept his pretty little mouth shut while Sasuke made his way across the room, which was relieving. It gave the latter fewer opportunities for embarrassment…not that being sprayed with invisible ice wasn’t a prime set-up. A proper retort still eluded him once he’d reached the man’s side, so he brushed past him without so much as a glance. Whatever tolerance remaining in his body had been washed away by the recent overdose of cold. Now he just wanted to get out.

It seemed their little adventure was finally about to come to a close. Even if he wasn’t aware the building allowed for a maximum of three small rooms, the sign ahead made it blatantly obvious.

“‘Choose the correct door to reach the exit’ huh?” Kakashi mused from somewhere behind, to which Sasuke bit back a sarcastic remark about the man being able to successfully read. “I say we go for the one on the right.”

With crossed arms, Sasuke surveyed the doors ahead. Now that Kakashi had stopped being annoying—or at least toned it down a bit—he found the man’s voice not to be so bad. It was actually somewhat pleasant. The thought was quickly shrugged off, justified with the fact that his ears were used to Naruto’s abrasive screech more often than not. Kakashi’s deep rumble, when not marred by words that made Sasuke’s eyebrows knot together, was a welcome reprieve from the usual.

He paused at the feel of his eyebrows knotting together regardless, knowing it had absolutely nothing to do with the three doors he appeared so preoccupied with. The sound of Kakashi shifting forward initiated a slight wave of anxiety as Sasuke attempted to relax the tensed muscles into a much-desired disinterested expression. It was surprisingly difficult, but somehow achieved just as the man sidled up to him.

“Well, what do you think?”

Intentional or not, that was said way too close to his ear, causing Sasuke’s shoulder to stiffen in reflex. Needles to say, his stomach had engaged in another twisting fit, and it left him desperately wanting the irritation and resentment to come back—and fast. This, whatever he was starting to feel…he didn’t like it.

Under the guise of further inspecting the exits, Sasuke stepped forward and away, shifting his shoulder out of its locked-up position. Whatever poisonous fog Kakashi seemed to emit hadn’t infected that part of the room yet, and he was finally able to think clearly.

Out of the three doors, he knew it wasn’t the one to the left. He didn’t care how red and eye-catching—not to mention bizarrely shaped—it was; nothing was ever behind door number 1. That was just common sense.

Door number 2 was a large half-circle and blue. Being in the middle also gave it an aesthetically appeasing influence to be the correct choice…symmetry and all that. Obviously the right choice.

To be fair, he decided to consider the third door as well, even if he’d already decided Kakashi was wrong. This one came in the appearance of a tall rectangle, and the same shade of green as a certain individual’s shirt, causing Sasuke to internally remark about how it looked better on the door. Only it didn’t.

But he wasn’t going down that road again. No, he was in fact on a frantic migration far away from that road.

“It’s the middle one,” he muttered after a long pause.

“Or maybe they just want you to think that.”

Or maybe you just want to be a disagreeing ass. “And just who are ‘they’?”

“I don’t know, whoever created this place. If I was behind the design, I would make it look like it was two…but then make it three as a twist.”

Sasuke covered a laugh with a dry cough. Kakashi may have been successful when it came to counters and jabs and just about everything else, but it was apparent he struggled when it came to explaining basic logic. It was reassuring, actually. Knowing there were flaws—even if they were expertly buried—made Kakashi appear human.

Reality abruptly doused his tiny flame of warmth as voices began to echo. Voices that were close. Alarmingly close, if the reminiscent hiss from the previous room was anything to go by. And as if that wasn’t enough, he heard a laugh—one that was heart-stoppingly familiar. Naruto.

Fuck!

Not ten seconds later found them awkwardly smashed together in the less-than-spacious alcove behind door number 2. It would have been plenty spacious had there not been some one-eyed, six-foot-tall vampire thing taking up the majority of the area, leaving Sasuke intimately pressed against its large rubber belly and Kakashi even more intimately pressed against him.

The icing on the cake? There was no exit in sight.

For a short while, the only audible sound came in the form of stunted breaths, and then Naruto could be heard again. Panicking, Sasuke thought to make a gesture for silence, but quickly realized it was too cramped for movement, not to mention too dark for Kakashi to see anyway. A whisper would have to suffice.

“Just be quiet until they’re gone, that’s all I’m asking.”

“Sounds more like a command than a question to me.”

Sasuke’s heart was thudding dramatically in his chest. Now was just not the time for Kakashi’s mind games, not when he could hear Naruto stepping into the room that very second. “Just—please shut up!”

And, to his relief, everything fell silent. Well, everything on their end…

“Sakura! You’ve been talking about him this whole time! You’re making it hard for me to bring my A game!”

“I can’t believe you, Naruto! He’s supposed to be your best friend, and you’re not even concerned about him in the least. What if something happened to him?”

“Oh, like what? You think he’s going to get kidnapped or something?”

“I…don’t know. I just have this bad feeling he’s somewhere he shouldn’t be…”

At this point Kakashi nudged him, and Sasuke would have rolled his eyes if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with listening. If only she knew.

“Sakura, I told you! The bastard probably moped around over his wallet for a while, and then went back to your car. It’s not rocket science!”

“Yeah…you’re probably right. I just wanted to spend some time with him, that’s all.”

“Well you’ll just have to settle for me…” Oh yeah, that was a blow to his ego.

“Naruto…”

“And I’m way more awesome!”

“Let’s just get out of here. He’s probably waiting for us, and I don’t want him to be mad…”

“Tch. Fine, fine.”

Quiet flooded the room and Sasuke’s spine began to ache from the cramped positioning, but as soon as his friend’s voice returned less than two feet away none of that seemed to matter anymore. Because Naruto was about to open their door. Through blind instinct alone, his arms shot past Kakashi’s side to grip the handle just as it began to turn.

“Hey, it’s stuck!”

Another award Sasuke should have received that day: Outlasting Naruto’s Persistence. Most would have given up after a couple of tugs, but of course that idiot couldn’t leave well enough alone. With grit teeth and a lung-full of held breath, Sasuke was forced to counter ever twist, turn, pull, and yank from the opposite side, all the while keeping his presence unknown. A loud thud in the form of Naruto’s foot was like a bucket of ice water as it planted itself on the nearby wall to give extra leverage.

“Come on!”

In his panic-stricken state, Sasuke began to formulate hastily-thrown-together excuses. Something, anything, to explain, because he knew he couldn’t last much longer. With mounting horror, he felt the buzzing numbness seep into his fingers. A death sentence.

“NARUTO!”

So maybe Sakura was the reason he wasn’t discovered, but Sasuke felt he still deserved a participation ribbon for his effort. In any case, her high-pitched squawk was enough to cease all attempts on Naruto’s end, which was a welcome relief to Sasuke’s lifeless hands. He wasn’t about to let go, though. Not yet.

“The exit is this way, let’s go!”

“…But I wanted to see what’s behind this door. They’ve gotta have it locked up for some reason.”

Apparently Sakura was finished verbally negotiating because it was with quite an audible display that she successfully dragged Naruto back from the door and away. With a final slam somewhere off to the left, the room adapted to the silence once again. And Sasuke’s lungs adapted to their new oxygen supply as he remembered to breathe.

Stumbling out, hunch-backed and winded, he worked to peel his clothes from his body while watching the other out of the corner of his eye. An eye which narrowed considerably as reality smashed into him like a bus. This—all of this—was Kakashi’s fault!

His wallet. The tickets. The stupid emotions. And the sneaking around. Everything! It all could have been avoided if he’d just—

“Give me my wallet.”

Had he not spat the words out like razor blades, it may have sounded civil. But Sasuke was done playing. An embarrassingly close call—one which required him to swallow his pride and hide behind a fucking door just so that his own friends wouldn’t find him with a complete stranger—truly was his breaking point.

And when Kakashi made no movement, Sasuke took the initiative. He stalked forward, vastly aware and frankly uncaring of personal space, rested his palms against the man’s wrinkled green shirt, and he shoved. Swiftly closing the gap, every muscle in his body tensed, he stopped just short of repeating the action, instead balling his hands in the fabric and holding on tight.

“I said give it to me!”

The height difference was noticeable now more than ever, and Sasuke’s newfound rage left him dissatisfied with yelling into the other’s neck. No, he wanted to yell into Kakashi’s face. So, like any other person with a disadvantage, he resolved it by giving the material in his hands a forceful tug downward.

Maybe too forceful…

When Kakashi’s nose nudged against his, his memory did an abrupt tailspin as the anger was booted and replaced with rapidly growing unease. Events of just how they’d arrived at this uncomfortable proximity dissipated as sheer physicality hijacked his thoughts. His heart had been replaced with a jackhammer. Kakashi wasn’t moving. And his own hands seemed incapable of unknotting themselves from the other’s shirt.

The two eyes mere inches away were nothing more than black smudges distorted from their closeness, yet still Sasuke’s pupils flicked back and forth from one to the other, frantically looking for answers to questions he refused to ask himself. Feelings from earlier curdled in his gut stronger than ever, making themselves known despite his desperate wishes to remain in the dark.

It was troubling.

It was maddening.

It was possessing.

Sasuke counted the seconds between puffs of air against his mouth, lungs hitching in reaction as they came quicker and quicker. Adrenaline spiked and ran a collision course through his chest as his thoughts began to flicker like a dying battery, rationality fading in and out, and his vision following suit until all went black.

Somewhere, something clicked. And it wasn’t just their teeth.

Inhaling foreign breath, and exhaling his own past another’s lips, the world was forgotten. All in favor of preserving this one moment, a single moment far too complex to be understood by the mind and all too simple for the body to comprehend.

It couldn’t be explained. There was only the here and now.

They collapsed against each other, too engrossed by the feel of one another’s bodies to maintain any sort of equilibrium without assistance. The surrounding air became stuffy with congestion of heated sighs and reckless abandon. And as their internal temperatures rose, they engaged in a sloppy and staggering shuffle until Kakashi’s form crashed against the wall with an ignored thud.

Pure animalism. Mouths tearing into each other, fingers digging into flesh, and bodies driving together with a perpetual motion of hips, legs, and torsos.

Sasuke’s lungs burned with overexertion, but he’d be damned if he stopped. The thought wouldn’t even register. Not when Kakashi’s hands were like iron clamps on his waist and successfully dragging him across and up a bulge too prominent to miss. Not when Kakashi’s mouth proved a carnivorous exploit that refused to be tamed. Not even when those teeth marked his neck or when his own arousal throbbed to a painful degree just behind his zipper, not even then did Sasuke even consider stopping.

Because he knew…deep down…if the thought even began to surface, then everything would stop. So he submerged it, fought it back in the same way he fought against Kakashi’s tongue. Pushing, panting, and fighting like someone who didn’t want to give up control. No, Sasuke wanted it stolen from him.

Pants became unbuttoned, fingers reacting long before orders from the brain instructed them to do so. It was nearly automatic, instinctual, as fabric was parted and twin towers of flesh rose like rigid steel columns. Dim lights from above showcased the stickiness at the tips like beacons, and it became all too clear that their desire for each other—for this—was of an equal degree.

Sasuke watched breathlessly as Kakashi’s cock twitched untouched beneath his gaze, and abruptly shut his eyes against a hiss as the man took a hold of his own. He obeyed the flexing fingers of the hand at his hip and shifted forward slowly, nudging closer and closer until a ferocious heat burst through his stomach as their bodies touched so intimately. Each of Kakashi’s five fingers came alive against his flesh as he drew their shafts together into a spit-slicked palm.

The shoulder he’d fallen against flexed beneath his forehead, and Sasuke couldn’t fight the sound in his throat as Kakashi began to move his hand. Desperate to steady himself, he placed his hand up against the wall and reestablished his footing, drawing himself up to his full height, and using the opportunity to look the other in the face for the first time since they’d began.

Kakashi’s lips were parted, although his mouth looked ready to unhinge completely, and his eyes were half lidded. Yet even with only half-open eyes to look into, Sasuke could still see how affected the man was. He could visualize how affected he would be towards the end. How his mouth would fall open and his eyes would clamp shut, how his eyebrows would knit and blood would rush into his cheeks…

Sasuke wanted to see it. He wanted to see it badly.

With his newfound purchase against the wall, he drew his other hand down to nudge against Kakashi’s briefly, tracing the man’s knuckles as the stroking motions quickened. His palm alone was enough to nearly encompass both of their erections in its grip, but not entirely. Sasuke’s hand however, fingers merging with Kakashi’s, was enough to cover the rest. He tightened the grip from his side and easily fell into the other’s rhythm, even as it began to grow clumsy.

Together they writhed and jerked beneath the dual sensations of their hands, fucking up into the slick tunnel they created, such a simple activity becoming far more pleasurable than either had ever experienced. Every few seconds their mouths would lunge forward, snapping like ferocious wolves looking to devour each other, uncaring of the consequences as long as contact was made. It was every bit as rough, unforgiving, and mind-blowing that Sasuke needed in order to keep rationality at bay.

Fog swirled at their feet and steadily rose, adding to the murky pollution that already clouded his head. The pollution that distorted right and wrong and yes and no. The pollution that let him ignore the fact that he would never be caught dead doing something like this.

The pollution that allowed groan after groan to rise past his lips, unguarded.

He inhaled sharply around Kakashi’s tongue when he felt a familiar liquefying sensation in his abdomen, triggering his cock to throb and swell with each increasing stroke, and recognizing it as a warning when his body broke out into a feverish sweat. Desperation caused him to detach their lips and frantically look away from their pumping hands, the sight a definite catalyst to send him over the edge. Kakashi’s face wasn’t much of an improvement either, but once those gray eyes locked on him it was impossible see anything else.

The spiraling pleasure was growing more concentrated, swirling into a tighter and tighter coil that manifested at the base of his dick. Kakashi’s jaw was slowly inching open, and Sasuke had just enough time to see the man’s eyebrows furrow in a lustful wince before his lungs contracted and froze.

From base to tip, his cock began to surge, face contorting with euphoria and speaking volumes when words failed to form.

Kakashi was fast.

Sasuke felt his shirt being yanked up to the neck just as his cock seized beneath the man’s hand, which continued to move even after his own had frozen. Every muscle in his body grew taut, nerves relocating to where they were needed and creating an explosion of sensation.

Primal growls tapered off into deep gulps of air, causing him to tilt his head back just as Kakashi began to bodily thrust against him, the man’s silent breaths becoming louder through clenched teeth. The hot splashes against his bare stomach took a backseat to ecstatic tremors that had his jaw tightening and nails collecting splinters from the wall.

It hurt.

But—fuck—it hurt so good.

+++

Outside, Sasuke leaned against the cold stone steps in front of his house. The wind whistled by every once in a while, making matters worse for his chilled skin. Still, he didn’t budge. It had to have been at least forty-five minutes by now, not that he’d checked. His hands still shook each time he reached for his pocket. He’d long-since lost grip on his keys and dropped them into the bush on his right. He hadn’t tried since.

There had been silence when he climbed dazedly into the backseat of Sakura’s car, followed quickly by an uproar of interrogation. He made sure only to answer the yes-or-no questions. Are you okay? Yes. Did you get your wallet back? Yes. Did something happen?

…Well he didn’t answer all of them.

Thud!

It took a while for him to realize that was the sound of something colliding with his skull, but once the pain set in he was on his feet and wincing like a sonofabitch. Through the tiny black spots in all corners of his eyes, he could just make out the bored expression on his brother’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was your head right there? Dad says to act like a moody teenager in the house so the neighbors stop calling.”

Had he been on top of his game, he would’ve retaliated in a form much worse than getting your head hit with the front door, but for some reason Sasuke just couldn’t shrug off his jaded bewilderment. Not that it made much of a difference. Itachi was gone before he could retract his tongue from his teeth.

Sluggishly, he pulled himself to his feet and retrieved his keys after a moment’s search. Finally, he looked to his feet, down at the leather wallet that lay open and tossed aside, acknowledging what he’d been trying to ignore for nearly an hour.

His license was gone.

Tomorrow…he’d have to go back.

+++

His footsteps fell heavy across the flat terrain of the makeshift parking lot. The same mindless trance he’d fallen into last night continued to hang densely overhead, most likely the source of his hazy recollection. Sure, he knew how he’d ended up here, and he also knew why. But if someone were to ask if he was “all there”, answering with a curt ‘yes’ would be questionable.

The bothersome crowd Sasuke took great care to distance himself from yesterday was nothing but a mere obstacle today. Today wasn’t for leisure. Today…it was strictly business. Go in. Get it. Get out.

Yet no matter how much stone-faced reassurance he exuded, there was always a different story on the inside. What went unknown was that with each step closer to that damned game stand, something leapt from his stomach to his throat only to fall back down again. What went unsaid was how he would be perfectly content to keep walking and never reach his destination.

Alas, some things were just not possible.

Whatever sketchy plan his brain had come up with most certainly had not counted on Kakashi’s booth being empty. Yes, he was sure this time. At the risk of his dignity, he’d even peered hard over the ledge just to confirm he wasn’t mistaken.

“See anything interesting?”

The familiar low rumble from behind had Sasuke’s shoulders hiking up toward his ears, his jaw doing a firm snap to the right to fix the man with the most scathing look he could manage. He should have been the one to approach Kakashi, not the other way around. This was his bone to pick!

“Nothing I should be wasting my time on, and yet here I am.”

That earned him a smile, and thus some of the tension behind his eyes lessened. Just a little…

“My, how generous. And, driving all this way without a license, how reckless.”

And just like that Sasuke’s gaze hardened again. He couldn’t lose focus; he wouldn’t let Kakashi do this to him again. He wouldn’t let the man drag him back into the quip-filled banter and reserved—but now obviously-intended-to-be-there—flirtations. Because everything had to stop. No matter how easy it was to fall into that pattern…

“Why did you take it?”

It wasn’t like he didn’t already know. Kakashi obviously had an issue with taking things that didn’t belong to him, something Sasuke repeatedly learned was wrong at a young age. He’d been quite the eraser thief once upon a time.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t come back without a legitimate excuse.”

Some day, in the near-distant future, Sasuke would have an extensive list of things he didn’t see coming. Hearing that would be one of them.

“Well…” he scoffed. What exactly does one say to that? “You don’t know that for certain.”

“Maybe not,” the man replied as he kicked the dirt off one of his shoes, an action that Sasuke slowly realized was a cover for the momentary pause, “but I really didn’t want to take the chance.”

Suddenly, Sasuke was aware of something. He needed the banter. He needed the teasing and for Kakashi to say things with hidden meanings that only appeared when he intentionally looked for them. He didn’t want any of that to stop. Because, for it to stop would rewrite any type of foundation they’d had. For it to stop, things became serious. They became personal. Awkward.

“Because you look like someone who doesn’t get to let loose, and I want to change that.”

Kakashi should have been fired by this point. The most significant thing he’d done so far was make Sasuke question his sanity, along with a few other things as he stumbled out of that fun house last night. Even now, he questioned them because some unknown force had him wanting to give a second chance. Or maybe just extend the first…

“I’m here now, so hand it over.” Sasuke knew the man wasn’t stupid, so maybe he would take an opportunity when he saw one.

“What’s the rush? You might as well stick around for a while. Besides, you got me fired for leaving my booth last night, it’s the least you can do.”

And, to Sasuke, that wasn’t really that shocking. Kakashi left on his own accord, it had nothing to do with him, but the words served their purpose as a touch of guilt emerged anyway. Just the leverage Kakashi needed to get him to bend to his will. Manipulate him. Sasuke knew this. He knew it, and yet he still stepped away from the stand to follow the man into the crowd. It seemed his sanity really had been shot to pieces.

But…maybe that wasn’t so bad.


A/N: Please don't kill me for the lack of rides! I sat and thought for a ridiculously long time about what would work given the situation and...this was the best I could come up with ^^; (And nobody worry about Kakashi, he was rehired right away...he just didn't tell Sasuke that 8D)

All that aside, did ya like it? Hate it? Did you smile? XD Tell meeeeeeee!