Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

In times like these, there must have been a certain point where everything went wrong.

A wrong turn on the way home, or maybe a yes when he should’ve said no. Something had led up to this. Or maybe, it was fate.

But Naruto didn’t believe in fate. He believed in sheer will and effort, nothing more and nothing less. 

Unfortunately, Naruto didn’t want to admit that sheer will had him in a headlock, pinned against a naked man on the side of the road.

It had all happened so quickly, he wasn’t even sure how it happened. He took the regular way, through the main road that passed through the forest and led into the city, yet something had caught his eye. He shouldn’t have pulled over. He shouldn’t have asked the guy if he was okay, but it wasn’t like him to ignore someone in need. Not to mention when the guy turned around and proved to be fucking gorgeous…

“Dammit.” Naruto grit out as the guy’s grip tightened, squeezing his throat between his elbow and forearm as they backed into the trees. There wasn’t much he could do, unless he threw the guy over his shoulder…but they were nearly the same size and that wouldn’t be easy. “What is your deal? I’m just trying to help you!”

He didn’t get a response.

Naruto tried to relax; he knew panicking would put him in a worse situation, and maybe he could get the guy to see reason.

“Look…it’s cold and you’re…not in the best situation. I’m not trying to use you or pick you up for anything. If you need clothes or a meal or whatever…I can help you out okay?” Naruto gave the guy’s bare arm a light pat. “Please, can you let go?”

After an excruciating amount of time, the man loosened his grip before letting go. Naruto stumbled away, clutching his chest as he tried to draw in a few deep, needed breaths.

“Thanks.” Naruto wheezed.

His attacker wasn’t much of a talker. He glared at Naruto like a predator marking its prey, his eyes dark and focused on every movement he made. He didn’t seem fazed by being naked at all, despite the January weather, and Naruto feared he was on the verge of hypothermia.

Slowly, so he wouldn’t be attacked again, Naruto shrugged out of his parka and held it out.

“Here, at least take this.” 

Hesitantly, the jacket was taken.

Naruto scratched his head and frowned. “So uh…you got a name?”

Silence.

Naruto sighed. “Right. So, you can come with me as long as you don’t attack me while I drive. Deal?”

“Come where?”

Naruto’s head snapped up when he finally spoke up. “Name?”

The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes, zipping up the jacket as he debated whether to speak again. 

“Sasuke.”

Naruto took in the sound of his voice, despite half of it being carried away in the night breeze, and wondered what the hell he was getting himself into. He knew he was nice, but weren’t there things like being too nice? He had helped stragglers and hitch-hikers in the past, and nothing had happened…but that was always a gamble. Maybe this was a mistake.

Even so, Naruto couldn’t just leave someone out in the snow like this. Despite the tough look in Sasuke’s eyes, he was cold. He was human, like everyone else. Hell, even Naruto was starting to shiver through his sweater now that he’d given up his coat, he couldn’t imagine being naked.

“Coming to my place. I can give you some clothes, you don’t have to stay if you aren’t comfortable.” Naruto rocked back on his heels and started back tracking towards his parked car. “But I am kinda hungry and I was thinking about ordering pizza…”

Naruto wondered if his half-assed tempt would work.

He barely caught the interested glint in Sasuke’s eyes at the word “pizza” before it was shut out and replaced by the vacant look Naruto recognized. He knew the guy was playing hard-to-get; there was no way someone would turn down free pizza in this kind of situation.

Naruto paused at the passenger door before opening it and raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not going to offer again. It’s a long walk into the city from here.” Naruto wanted to add, and a pretty boy like you won’t last very long out here.

Sasuke let out a sigh that seemed to physically pain him, and approached Naruto, giving him one last wary look-over before sliding into the passenger seat.

Driving back towards his apartment, Naruto felt victorious. He had somehow coaxed a cornered animal into his car, and possibly escaped death.

While they sat paused at a red light, Naruto fidgeted with the heating and cast Sasuke a curious glance. Pale skin, physically fit, and flushed from the cold…his features stood out, and lucky for Sasuke all of those features seemed extremely positive. The guy was good-looking, that was for sure, but what was his personality like?

“What’s a guy like you doing naked on the side of the road?” Naruto couldn’t help but ask. “It’s cold as fuck out here and you look like you’d have some common sense.”

Naruto wasn’t expecting an answer, but he got one.

“I don’t remember.”

“Hah?” Naruto missed a beat leaving for the green light, earning an angry honk behind him. “What do you mean you don’t remember? You just woke up in the snow naked and confused?”

“Sounds right.”

Naruto shook his head. “Unbelievable. You should call the police, that’s like…some strong roofies or something they gave you!”

“I don’t want to get the police involved.”

Oh God what did I get myself into?

He’d taken in a criminal. There was no other word for it. He was about to bring a possible serial killer into his house. How else would he have locked Naruto into that choke hold like he was a defenseless child? Especially when Naruto had been taking martial arts since he was a kid.

He risked another glance once he turned onto his street.

Despite being so stiff and prickly earlier, the guy seemed to have relaxed a little once he warmed up. Naruto was glad he had found him, who knew how long he’d have been out there wandering through the trees like a pale ghost.

Naruto pulled into the parking lot for his building, cutting the engine and snatching his keys before Sasuke would try any more funny business. Not like he expected him to carjack, but Naruto couldn’t be more cautious. 

“Shall we?” Naruto stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind him, and took a few steps towards the courtyard area. When he didn’t hear the passenger door open he slowly turned in confusion. 

“Oi.” Naruto pulled open the opposite door and gave Sasuke a light pat, but the guy seemed to have fallen asleep. In such a short amount of time; yet then again who knew how exhausted he probably was…

“Geez…” Naruto straightened up and glanced around the parking lot. How suspicious would he look if he dragged a mostly naked guy out of his car at eleven at night? Pretty fucking suspicious. “Come on Sasuke, wake up…”

Naruto froze when he noticed the scarlet running down Sasuke’s pale leg.

In horror, he unzipped his coat on Sasuke’s body, revealing an ugly gash he hadn’t noticed earlier along Sasuke’s side. It was deep, and it was bad. Sasuke’s breath came out ragged and shallow, and Naruto was just noticing the sheen across his forehead despite the weather.

Without a second thought, Naruto scooped Sasuke into his arms and shut the car door. First, he would stop the bleeding, then he would take him to the hospital.

Now, juggling a grown man in his arms and unlocking the door proved to be difficult, but Naruto wasn’t a quitter. He shuffled them into the entryway and up the stairs to the second floor, only to struggle again with the last door. Sasuke owed him big time.

“Don’t you die on me.” Naruto muttered as he carried Sasuke to his couch, stripping off the coat as he laid him down. He figured Sasuke probably wouldn’t care so much being exposed, considering the situation, and Naruto didn’t have time to feel weird about it.

He only focused on cleaning the wound, covering it up, and making sure Sasuke was warm.

As he was about to head into his room to find some clothes, a hand weakly gripped his pants.

“I’m just getting you some clothes so we can go to the hospital.” Naruto explained, but Sasuke’s grip tightened.

“No. No hospitals.” Naruto had to lean in to hear his voice.

“What do you mean no hospitals Sasuke? That cut is going to need stitches or else you’ll bleed out!”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” What was Sasuke’s deal? No cops. No hospitals. He was definitely a criminal. “Sasuke, how did you get that knife wound?”

Sasuke dropped his hand, drawing in a shaky breath. “I…”

“Let me guess, you don’t remember.” Naruto deadpanned.

Sasuke shook his head.

“But you can remember that you don’t like hospitals or cops.”

“…za…” Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto could feel his patience wearing thin. “What?”

“Pizza…you said you were ordering?” Sasuke seemed to be sleep talking, but he kept an unwavering gaze on Naruto’s.

Unbelievable.

The guy had been stabbed and fucking bleeding to death in the woods and all he cared about was some pizza? Not only that, but it wasn’t even going to be good pizza. The place Naruto frequented used too much grease and not enough cheese, hardly a dying man’s wish.

“You…still want pizza?” Naruto asked incredulously, but he reached for his cell phone.

“…yeah.”

With a sigh, Naruto dropped onto the couch at Sasuke’s feet and dialed the number he knew by heart.  “You like pepperoni?”

“Sure.”

Naruto found himself grinning as he listened to the dial tone. What were the odds he’d end up in a position like this? 

The other line picked up, and Naruto could feel his life starting to shift in a way he’d never imagined.

“Hey Kiba? Get me the regular, but double it.”

“Wait slow down. There’s a beautiful naked guy upstairs who you picked up, off the street, and is currently staying with you?” Naruto’s friend Kiba raised a dark eyebrow at him as he handed over the two large pizzas. “And on top of that, the guy was stabbed?”

“Even I still don’t understand.” Naruto fished in his pocket for Kiba’s tip. The two had been whispering to each other in the lobby area of Naruto’s apartment, and Naruto didn’t want to keep the delivery guy any longer than he already had. Kiba still had a few hours left on his shift and the guy already had a bad habit of coming to Naruto’s to crash instead of running deliveries on the night shift.

“You have to keep me updated on this Naruto. If you end up dead, you’re a fucking idiot.”

“I’m glad you care Kibs.”

“Yeah yeah. Enjoy your heart attack.” With that, Kiba turned on his heels and left the apartment building to return to the old station wagon his work supplied.

Naruto watched him go before directing his gaze to the car pulling up on the street, nearly hitting the curb as it screeched to a halt. A familiar pink-haired girl jumped out of the driver’s seat with a duffel bag in hand, and she and Kiba exchanged a few brief words outside before she jogged up to the front door.

Naruto had to admit Sakura was always perfect at timing.

He had called her right after ordering pizza, asking her to stop by after her shift at the hospital. Normally, she wouldn’t complain about coming over to help considering Naruto managed to hurt himself more often than he cared to admit, but he did speed up her determination to come over by mentioning that her patient would be a pretty boy instead of him. 

“Where is he?” she huffed as she threw open the heavy door. “And really? He’s injured and you ordered pizza?”

“Hey this was by request of said injured person.”

Sakura blinked back at him. “He didn’t want to go to the hospital?”

“Nope. You can see how stubborn he is yourself.” Naruto turned to lead her up the stairs and back into his apartment. Sasuke hadn’t moved from his spot, as Naruto expected, and he heard Sakura gasp.

She darted to Sasuke’s side in a split second and Sasuke threw Naruto a murderous glare.

“Relax, she’s just going to patch you up. She’s a doctor, it’s nothing shady like you’re probably used to.” Naruto knew the jab was a little uncalled for, but it was plain as day that Sasuke had some deep and dark secrets he kept to himself. Which was good. Naruto didn’t want to be involved. It was hard enough getting sleep, going to work, and being an adult; he didn’t want to add ‘housing a wanted fugitive with a murder history’ to his to-do list.

He set the boxes of pizza on the coffee table within arm’s-reach of Sasuke and opened it up to reveal the cheesy goodness inside.

Sakura looked between the two of them before giving Sasuke her full attention.

“Hi, my name is Sakura and I’m a friend of Naruto’s. What’s your name?”

Sasuke looked like he didn’t want to answer. He glared back at her while reaching for a slice of pizza. 

“Sasuke.”

“Okay Sasuke, can you tell me how you got this?” Sakura had peeled back the bandaging Naruto had done and examined the wound with a contemplative expression. 

“Nope. Don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember being stabbed?”

Naruto chuckled at Sakura’s expression.

Sasuke took a bite of his pizza and shook his head once. “Nn.”

With a sigh, Sakura rustled through her things, gathering the tools she’d use. “Well you’re going to need stitches. I’d say at least twenty. Once you get them you need to stay still and make sure the wound is clean at all times so there isn’t an infection. Naruto are you listening? You’re going to have to watch him and clean it for him.”

“Eh?” Naruto paused mid-way through his third piece. “I have to do it?”

“Yes.”

Naruto dragged his eyes back to Sasuke, who met his gaze with an identical, if not more intense, look of disgust on his face.

“I’ll manage.” Sasuke huffed back.

“My ass.” Sakura snapped, pinching Sasuke’s skin together so she could close the wound. The guy didn’t seem fazed by the pain, but watching made Naruto flinch and retreat a few steps. He never liked getting stiches and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he lost his appetite.

“Oi Sakura go easy on the guy okay? I’m sure his day hasn’t been that great…”

He trailed off when Sakura threw him a murderous gaze. With a “humph” she went to work to close Sasuke’s wound. During the operation, Naruto wandered his small apartment as he nibbled on his pizza. He was lucky it was a Friday night, otherwise there was no way he could host someone injured on his couch for longer than a day. Even so, he had things to do. Why the fuck did he decide to put himself through this misery? He watched the cars speed along the interstate, which he could just barely see from his kitchen window, and wondered what kind of life he would’ve had if he had left the city back when he wanted to.

“Done.” Naruto jumped at the sound of Sakura’s voice directly behind him. He whipped around to face her, and gave her an apologetic smile.

“Sorry to call you out here again.”

Sakura shook her head. “You know I’d do anything for you. I stitched it up and put ointment on it, the rest of it is on the table along with a few spare bandages. Just use soap and water like you’ve done before and he should be good by Monday.”

“I doubt he’ll stay that long. He’s kind of…jumpy? He might run away.” Naruto crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen sink. “Do you think I was stupid for bringing him in?”

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Sakura leaned in and lowered her voice.

“I don’t think you were stupid. You saved a life. And as much as an attractive asshole as Sasuke seems to be, I think he can appreciate that much. You just need to make him feel comfortable enough to stay, but if he leaves he isn’t your responsibility. If anything else pops up, just give me a call okay? I’ll run right over.”

Naruto pulled her into a hug. “Thanks Sakura, you’re the best.”

“Damn right I am.” She returned it with a tight squeeze that made Naruto’s ribs protest. “Be careful okay?”

“Yeah.”

Naruto showed her out, locking the door behind her. As much as he dreaded it, now it was just him and Sasuke.

He slowly approached the couch and peered at Sasuke’s new bandage.

“She didn’t treat you too rough, did she?”

“No.” Sasuke dropped the leftover crust of one of his slices back into the box. “She tried.”

Naruto’s mind derailed onto another, unrelated path. “You don’t like crust?”

Sasuke caught his side-eye. “So what?”

“Natural selection is coming for you man.” Naruto dropped to the floor and started shoving the leftover pieces into his mouth. “I mean, clearly it already has.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, his hand picking absentmindedly at the tape.

“Are you really feeling alright? I can get you some Tylenol or something.”

Sasuke shook his head. “Just need sleep.”

Naruto nodded in understanding, wiping the crumbs from his mouth.

“Uh…look, I just want you to know that you can stay as long as you need. I don’t want to wake up and you ran off somewhere, since your stitches have to heal and everything…I’m just saying it would be a waste if you opened your stitches right after getting them…”

Sasuke cracked open an eye and smirked at him.

“Why does it sound like you want me to stay?”

Naruto was at a loss for words. The guy could smile?

“Shut up…I don’t get company very often.”

“It seems you have plenty of friends.”

“Two is not plenty Sasuke.”

Sasuke closed his eyes again and sighed. 

“It is when you don’t have any.”

Naruto dropped his gaze and stared at his hands. As sad as Sasuke’s statement was, Naruto knew it was true, and he knew it too well. It had taken him a long time to open up to others and make connections, and sometimes just one other person could change everything.

Sasuke looked as though he had followed a similar path. He seemed to understand what human suffering was, and despite the fact that Naruto knew nothing about him…he wanted to connect.

Slowly climbing to his feet, Naruto closed the empty pizza boxes and moved to turn off the light.

“Just promise you won’t leave without telling me? And if you need any more blankets, just yell or break something and I’ll probably wake up.”
“Probably.” Sasuke snorted, but didn’t add any complaints or requests. Nor did he promise anything.

Naruto hesitated before he turned off the light. He could imagine Sasuke just disappearing into the darkness, as if he never existed. Like Sakura had said, if he left it wasn’t his responsibility anymore, right?

As Naruto walked to his room, it was starting to feel like it would be. If Sasuke left, he knew he’d go looking for him. Even when he knew this was outside of his control. That this guy had nothing to do with him. Even so…

Naruto crawled under his sheets and mumbled a string of swears until he managed to fall asleep.

He woke up to the sun burning through his eyelids; a sore reminder of the curtains he had forgotten to close last night. His alarm clock told him he was up a little early for a Saturday, yet somehow he felt fully rested and too anxious to go back to bed. So instead of trying to, Naruto rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

Last night didn’t even feel real.

Maybe it was all a dark and complicated dream he had, a subconscious message that told him he should find a roommate to be less lonely. Or a hobby. 

There was just no way last night was real. That was the stuff seen in movies, or the beginning of a catchy book series, not Naruto’s life. His life was simple. Somewhat tragic perhaps, but he was still kicking and moving forward. Complicated didn’t match his lifestyle.

With a drawn-out sigh, Naruto sat up to shed his T-shirt and tossed it onto the floor, joining the pile of dirty laundry gathering by his bed. He slowly approached his door and pulled it open, somewhat dreading what he would see. Did he want Sasuke gone? Or did he want him to stay?

He didn’t know. 

The apartment was still fairly dark in the hallway, but the living room was starting to let in a little of the morning light. As he got closer, he could hear the faint sound of voices.

“Ah.” Naruto peered around the corner to see Sasuke, still situated on his couch and the TV remote in hand as he flipped through different channels.

“Finally awake?” Sasuke tilted his head back to meet Naruto’s gaze.

“Finally? It’s eight o’clock…”

“You look like you sleep in.”

Naruto took another hesitant step forward, and he felt himself break into a smile.

“So you stayed.”

Sasuke seemed to contemplate his response as he tapped the remote against his forearm.

“Didn’t want to tear the stitches…and there’s food here, so…”

It felt like half of Sasuke’s claim was the truth, but Naruto didn’t question it. He felt strangely elated that he still had company, even if said company was a little too suspicious.

“Well I’m glad.”

Sasuke quickly looked away, as if Naruto’s smile were too bright for him to look at directly. With a newfound kick of energy to his system, Naruto dropped onto the couch at Sasuke’s feet. They settled on one of the morning cartoons since nothing else was on, and somehow Naruto managed to pull Sasuke into a conversation. When it came to the things Sasuke actually remembered, it was trivial things like his name, his birthday and age, what color he preferred…but when asked his specific preferences for hobbies or food, he had no idea.

“I don’t think that’s because I can’t remember it, but because I never had one.” Sasuke tapped the side of his head and frowned. “It feels like the harder I think, the harder it is to remember. Otherwise I feel like I know everything.”

“What kind of amnesia…” Naruto dropped his head and sighed. “Does your head hurt? Like maybe you suffered brain damage and they knocked the memory out of you?”

Sasuke shook his head. “No, aside from my memory there’s nothing wrong with my head.”

“Damn.” Naruto’s eyes wandered back to the TV screen. “So basically…you have to start from scratch and hope something triggers your memory.”

The entire situation sounded like a massive pain in the ass. Trying to get by in this day and age was hard enough, but to not even know where you came from? Sasuke seemed to be the type to take things in stride; he didn’t appear to be panicking, as Naruto would have been, nor did he particularly concerned about his situation. 

Despite being stabbed. Naruto chewed on his lower lip. 

In the end, Naruto really didn’t know anything about Sasuke, and unfortunately Sasuke didn’t know anything about himself either. Would this make it easier or harder to connect to him?

Wait. That shouldn’t even matter. He wasn’t expecting to establish a relationship with a guy who clearly had more issues than anyone could ever ask for. And Sasuke didn't look like the type to hang around. Naruto decided he’d do what he needed to get the guy on his feet and leave it at that. If they ended up friends, so be it, but Naruto wasn’t expecting anything. He figured that would be safest for him anyway.

“Well when your stitches heal, I can give you a tour of the town and tell you what you need to know. Having a car is pretty convenient around here since you can’t walk everywhere.” Naruto stood up, stretching out until his joints popped, and widened his eyes when his stomach growled loud enough for Sasuke to hear. “Haha…you hungry?”

Sasuke blinked back at him in what looked like amusement.

“I can always eat.”

Naruto waited until Wednesday before he gave Sasuke the clear to move around. All throughout Sasuke’s stay, he found himself hovering around the guy to make sure he didn’t do anything to tear his stitches or hurt himself. He knew he was being annoying. It was just a habit he couldn’t shake, and as he expected, Sasuke was furious.

“Are you my fucking mother?” Sasuke growled when Naruto denied his request to go out again. “Or am I turning into your hostage?”

“Look, I told you. Once your stitches heal you can do whatever you want! You’re the one that doesn’t want to go to the hospital!” Naruto shrugged into his coat and flashed Sasuke a wide smile. “I get home around six and you can eat anything you find in the kitchen. Wednesday we’re going out.”

“Wednesday?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he didn’t offer any other input aside from an annoyed huff. “Fine.”

Since that conversation on Sunday, Naruto had hell trying to placate the monster he had brought into his home. The fucking attitude, the mood swings, the entitled personality, and not to mention…

Sasuke was high maintenance.

Naruto knew he was doing it deliberately to piss him off, but Naruto wouldn’t budge from his decision to keep Sasuke indoors. If they were going to coexist in the meantime, there had to be some kind of understanding.
Sasuke never wanted to go to sleep. He only liked a certain shampoo and conditioner, which happened to be one that Naruto didn’t own. He hated cup ramen, and boy did Naruto fight him on that one.

“Why is your memory conveniently working now?” Naruto questioned after another chewing out by Sasuke. This time it was something completely out of his control: Sasuke’s stitches itched and Naruto happened to be the closest thing for him to direct his irritation at. Figures.

Sasuke only glared back at him. It made Naruto wish Wednesday would come faster so he could hopefully, just maybe, manage to get this guy out of his place before he murdered him.

Once Wednesday finally came, Naruto and Sasuke left the apartment and went for a drive around town. Naruto gave an informal tour of the area, pointing out popular places and landmarks that should spark Sasuke’s memory if he were truly from Konoha. Even though the city wasn’t that big nor that impressive, it did have its charm points that made it a memorable place to live. As much as Naruto had imagined moving away, something about this town kept him rooted in place. 

In silence, Sasuke looked over every building and every street with a tight scowl set in place. Whether it was in deep concentration or general annoyance, Naruto couldn’t tell. Luckily, the evening traffic was finally dying down, allowing them to take the more popular streets toward the nightlife district on the west side of town.

The sun had long set, but the bright streetlamps overhead kept the city lit as though it were still daytime. After they toured the west side, Naruto planned on calling it a day considering he didn’t know what else he could physically do to help Sasuke get his memory back. How did someone even begin to handle that?

As much as Naruto wanted to help, he didn’t think he would really be able to.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke in curiosity. He kept his scowl directed out the window, but with the angle of his neck, there was something slightly visible near the back of his neck. Once he reached a red light, Naruto slightly leaned forward to get a better look.

A tattoo?

“I never noticed you had a tattoo there!” Naruto used his right hand to pull down the collar of Sasuke’s (actually his, but whatever) T-shirt to get a clear view of it. It looked like three black commas spun into a circle, a design that kind of reminded him of a wheel. It was no bigger than a bottle cap, but it was still pretty cool.

Without thinking, Naruto brushed over it with his index finger and something like static electricity shot through his body, making his hand retract as if he had touched something hot. Sasuke flinched back, his hand moving to probe at the mark.

“S-sorry, I shouldn’t have…” Naruto coughed, his focus switching back to the road as the light changed. “Does it…hurt?”

“….yeah.” Sasuke sounded just as confused as Naruto felt. Had he experienced the same jolt when Naruto touched him, or was it just his imagination? Either way, the tattoo would only hurt if he had gotten it recently.

“You don’t remember getting a tattoo?” Naruto asked.

“No.” Sasuke suddenly sat up straighter, his attention fully focused out the window. “Naruto pull over here.”

Naruto hesitantly obeyed, pulling into a free spot on the street. As soon as he could put the car in park, Sasuke jumped out of the car and looked around before heading off down the street.

“Oi Sasuke, wait!” Naruto cussed under his breath and locked the car. He didn’t even have time to check if he needed to pay the parking meter; he chased after Sasuke before he could leave his sight. “This isn’t a safe neighborhood; you can’t just go running around here!”

Sasuke ignored him, leading them around corners and down streets until finally, he slowed down. Naruto huffed as he came up to Sasuke’s side, a flare of annoyance starting to pick at him. The guy never explained what he was doing. He clearly didn’t know what the hell he was doing either. 

Naruto checked over his shoulder in paranoia as Sasuke scanned the tall apartment buildings around them. They were standing in the middle of a street that Naruto could easily imagine a dead body splayed out on, and Sasuke was acting like it was a tourist spot.

“Look, let’s just go back okay? We can come back again when it’s daylight…” Naruto trailed off when Sasuke confidently marched up to one of the apartment buildings and opened the door.

Naruto watched him go inside in disbelief. It only took him a few seconds to snap out of it and follow him inside.

“Sasuke!” Naruto hissed. “What the hell are you doing?”

The entryway reeked of cigarette smoke and mildew. A creaky looking elevator dominated the left wall while the tenants’ mailboxes lined the right. Either the lights were off or there was no electricity in the main lobby, leaving the building dark and cold.

“I recognize this place.” Sasuke pointed to a door straight ahead, which to Naruto’s slight relief, led to a staircase. He had half-expected Sasuke to make them ride the elevator.

Naruto gave it a wary once-over as he passed, pretty sure the thing had been broken for years anyway. 

Despite Naruto’s protests, Sasuke led them to the third floor, guided by some invisible compass that told him to stop at door three-hundred and five.

“Okay, so now what?” Naruto asked, exasperated. “So what if you recognize this place, what does that do—”

Without missing a beat, Sasuke bent down to flip over a dirty welcome mat at the foot of the door. He rose to his feet with a silver key in his hand and unlocked the door as if he’d done it a million times.

Naruto remained rooted in his spot and watched Sasuke walk into the apartment. Maybe it was fear that stopped his feet from moving. Maybe it was suspicion. 

Here they were, in this run-down apartment building on the wrong side of town, because Sasuke had a hunch? No. It was more than that. Sasuke was acting as though he knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.

Did Sasuke really lose his memory?

Naruto wanted to punch himself for failing to understand that Sasuke could easily be lying to him. No hospitals. No cops. No memory of anything specific about himself? It was too convenient, and having a place to stay while injured would be a score considering the cold weather.

It was highly likely that Sasuke was going to get him killed. Whether Sasuke was going to do the killing or not was irrelevant, but Naruto knew when his instincts told him to do something, he should do it.

Right now, they were telling him one thing, and one thing only.

Run.

He could turn heel and bolt out of here. Never look back. Sasuke could just become a bad dream that he’d get over in a week or so.

He wanted to go home and watch TV and act like everything was still normal and fine, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t just leave like he wanted to.

Slowly, Naruto stepped into the apartment. It was dead-quiet aside from the rustling that came from further in. Naruto didn’t dare to call out; he ran his eyes over the empty apartment, wondering how the hell someone could live here without a couch or even a table to put stuff on. On top of that, there was no stuff. A cardboard box in the corner with a lamp, yeah. Not a picture on the walls or anything else on the floor…

Naruto approached the rustling noise and listened to his own footsteps creak against the old floorboards. As he rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, he found Sasuke situated at the kitchen counter where he had dumped out the contents of a black backpack.

Without a word, Naruto moved closer to inspect the contents and flinched away once he realized what he was looking at.

“Sasuke…what the fuck is this?”

Sasuke picked up a stack of cash and held it up to examine it.

“Looks like about five thousand dollars…” without another word, he tossed it back into the backpack alongside a notebook, a cell phone, and a slip of paper.

Naruto was too focused on another object to notice.

“No…I’m talking about that. The fucking gun, Sasuke.”

Sure enough, the pistol stood out loud and proud on the counter as if it belonged there. When Sasuke reached for it, Naruto clamped a hand over his arm.

“Don’t touch it! You’ll get your fingerprints all over it!” 

Sasuke shook his head. “Relax, I’m just going to put it back in the bag.”

“Are you crazy? Just leave it where it is, we can’t be responsible for that!” Naruto looked Sasuke in the eyes, praying he could see the panic in them. “Let’s just leave it.”

“I can’t do that Naruto.” Sasuke’s gaze moved from the gun to his, and he almost looked sad when he added, “I think it’s mine. This apartment, everything…how else would I have remembered it so well?”

Naruto let go and took a few steps back, his hands reaching up to scrape through his hair in disbelief. He let out a long breath through his mouth. Then another. 

No way.

Nope. This wasn’t happening. As sketchy as his life had become in the past couple of days, Naruto still had hope that everything would turn out fine. That Sasuke wasn’t actually a criminal, but a lost kid with amnesia or a patient that escaped the mental hospital. Something normal. Anything normal.
Naruto turned his back to Sasuke and paced the room, his hands still buried deep in his blonde hair. What was he supposed to do?

“Are you okay?” Sasuke asked tentatively. It was the first time Naruto had ever heard a hint of concern in his voice since they met.

“No. How could I be okay?” Naruto looked up to the ceiling and groaned. “I think I’m having a panic attack.”

He heard Sasuke zip up the backpack followed by footsteps coming up to him. A hand lightly touched his shoulder before Sasuke walked past him.

“Let’s go then.”

Naruto turned around to see that, as he expected, the gun was missing.

This time, he wasted no time in following Sasuke out of the apartment and back to his car.

In the days following their visit to the apartment, Sasuke became a lot more docile. 

He would usually be sitting on the floor, reading through the notebook he had taken back, searching desperately for something Naruto didn't want to know. He greeted him when he came home and said goodbye when he left. That was a first.

At work, Naruto tried to escape his reality by immersing himself in his day-to-day tasks, but in the end, it proved to be useless. His mind always strayed back to Sasuke. The guy was clearly mixed up in something bad, but he didn’t seem to be a bad person. Sasuke could be nice when he wanted to, and he was barely older than Naruto was. He wanted to believe that the shoe could have easily been on the other foot.

Naruto wanted to trust Sasuke.

As hard as that was, there were a shit ton of concerns he had towards everything as well. Where did that money come from? Where did the gun come from? What was Sasuke going to do with that gun? How much to the story did Sasuke actually know?

The list went on and on. The longer the day dragged on, the angrier Naruto got about it. He hated being lied to, especially when he was trying to go out on a limb and give Sasuke the benefit of doubt. He knew what it was like to be left on your own, and it was terrifying. It made it seem like the world was against you or didn’t care what happened to you.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t sulk about it.

Naruto stopped at the store on his way home, proudly hauling his twenty-four pack of beer inside the apartment with him.

He dropped off his keys, set his beer on the counter, and shrugged out of his coat before seeing Sasuke in his usual spot, scribbling away in his notebook.

“Any breakthroughs today?” Naruto asked sarcastically as he hung up his coat. 

“I’m going to start going out tomorrow to work on it.” Sasuke replied. He closed his notebook and looked over to meet Naruto’s stare. 

Naruto blinked back at him. “What do you mean ‘work on it’? What are you going to do?”

“Walk around. Follow the clues in my notes. Doing something is better than just sitting here and worrying about it.”

“Look Sasuke, maybe you really don’t remember,” Naruto knew it was unnecessary, but the jab just slipped out as it usually did when his patience was wearing thin, “but the city is getting dangerous. It’s not safe at night. You can’t just go wandering around looking for something you don’t even know you’re looking for! Especially alone!”

“I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself. Or did you really start to get the impression that you were my mother and taking care of a literal child?” Sasuke directed those cold, onyx eyes on Naruto and for a moment, he thought Sasuke was actually joking. The bastard always had the same monotonous, cynical tone to his voice that ruined any chances at a sense of humor, and for the first time in a while, Naruto wanted to punch him in the face.

He’d hit him right in the jaw, or maybe fuck up that pretty face of his for a week or so.

Instead, Naruto took his case of beer and sat at the table to open it. He tried to control his anger as he tore open the cardboard, but Sasuke had already gotten deep, deep under his skin today.

“You have the survival instincts of a child, and you don’t think before you act. You can’t just go out and look for answers when you don’t know anything about yourself! Sasuke, that apartment was suspicious as fuck. And a gun? What if it’s registered under your name? What if you’re putting yourself in more danger by snooping around?!”

“All you say is ‘what if, what if’…so fucking what?” Sasuke stood up, tossing his notebook onto the coffee table in annoyance. This had to be the first time Naruto had seen him so angry. “My priority is recovering my memory and finding out who the hell I am! This is the closest I’ve ever been and you’re telling me it’s too dangerous? You don’t have to help me, but you sure as hell can’t stop me.”

“Fine, then I won’t.” Naruto opened his beer bottle with more force than necessary and averted his gaze. “Do whatever the fuck you want, since you’re going to do it anyway. But I won’t be scooping you off the street a second time.”

Naruto knew he was being childish and stubborn, but he was sick of being pissed off by this guy. He was pissed off at Sasuke’s attitude, his situation, and Naruto was even more pissed at himself for getting involved. He had done some really stupid things in his lifetime, and he meant stupid…but this entire ordeal took the cake. Naïve would be an understatement, hell it was absolutely idiotic that he allowed himself to get in this deep.

Sasuke was going to get himself killed if he kept sticking his nose around in the city. It wasn’t a safe place to live anymore, and considering how shady Sasuke’s circumstances were from the fucking beginning, the guy wasn’t going to find anything good. Missing memory? A bag full of cash, a gun, and an untraceable cell phone? Fuck that. That was drug rings, or mafia, or some other shady shit Naruto had no business in. His parents may be dead, but they’d kick his ass in the afterlife if they found out how their idiotic son chose to die.

Sasuke stormed out the apartment without another word, and Naruto was grateful. He quickly finished off his first beer and immediately opened the next one. Sasuke was going to give him a stroke. He already heightened his drinking problem.

Out of spite for both Sasuke and himself, Naruto chugged the second beer and opened his third. Then his fourth. He wanted to call Kiba and bitch about what happened, but all he’d probably get was an ‘I told you so’ or ‘tough shit, I’ll bring by a pizza and we could smoke our woes away’. Weed was Kiba’s solution for everything, but Naruto didn’t function that way. He also preferred to keep the smell out of his apartment since his neighbors were snitches.

“Fucking bastard.” Naruto growled as he stared down at his phone. There was no one he could call. To be fair, there wasn’t anyone he really wanted to talk to. Talking to someone meant he’d get feedback when all he wanted was to vent. Normally, he’d go jogging and try to burn off all his pent-up energy, but the area was getting dangerous at night and he didn’t want to risk running into Sasuke either. 

This sucked.

It fucking sucked.

Naruto opened his fifth and sighed, pushing the bottle away without taking a sip. The buzz was getting stronger, leaving a tingling sensation in his veins that reminded him to slow down. He wondered why Sasuke bothered him so much. Maybe he was thrown off by his personality; the guy acted so calm and smooth like his entire existence wasn’t in question. He had no issues keeping Naruto in check and calling him out despite his dependent situation. They butted heads over what to eat for dinner, who showered first…the stupidest shit Naruto could imagine. 

And he didn’t hate it.

Naruto dropped his head, buried his hands in his hair, and let out an irritated groan.

Fuck, he liked Sasuke’s company. At first, he thought it was just him getting used to the guy being around, but it was more than that. He liked waking up in the morning and seeing Sasuke making coffee at his counter like it was natural. He liked the feeling of sharing his space and booze and clothes with somebody who could make him laugh or seethe in a matter of seconds. He liked the second presence in the apartment, someone who could respond when Naruto needed more toilet paper or told him to shut up when he sang too loud in the shower.

Naruto dropped his head lower until it thunked against the wooden table.

He liked the way Sasuke looked at him, like he had never met someone as weird or amusing in his life. He liked the way Sasuke held himself together despite how fucked up his life had gotten. God, don’t even get him started on the way his sweatpants hugged the dip in Sasuke’s waist after he showered in the morning…

Naruto lifted his head in confusion. His brows furrowed deeper when he felt something stir in his pants. 

Yes, Sasuke was attractive. He walked around shirtless all the time, which didn’t even matter since Naruto had already seen him naked…more than once, oddly enough. It didn’t faze him that badly, but thinking about Sasuke naked now felt different. It felt…

Naruto reached for his beer again and drank until he felt his cheeks start to burn. He wanted to push these feelings down. Way, way, way down where they wouldn’t dare to climb back up again because Naruto did not need that shit right now. He would not pine for a stray mafia member or drug dealer. He would not do something as stupid as fall in love with Sasuke, no no no.

Naruto reminded himself that there was a difference between attraction and love. Unfortunately in his experiences, Naruto couldn’t seem to tell the two apart. It was too soon to tell. There was no way this was love. This was something else.

“Something that doesn’t exist.” Naruto muttered aloud, as if to convince himself. “It doesn’t fucking exist…”

He sat in silence for the next hour or two, listening to the clock tick on the wall. Eventually, each tick made his anxiety climb, and instead of reaching for the next beer in the case, Naruto reached for his wallet and keys. He was going to find Sasuke and bring him back before he got himself in trouble. Even if he went on foot, he could still catch Sasuke. They just needed to talk. Figure some things out. Naruto wanted to apologize.

He stumbled into his shoes and pushed his way out the apartment, barely remembering to lock the door behind him. He had to move fast, or else he wouldn’t have a chance.

Naruto turned his last corner and leaned against the brick wall of the building. He had looked everywhere; he had searched the city within an hour’s radius of him hoping he’d catch up to Sasuke. He tried the shadier areas, he looked at the abandoned apartment again, he even checked every grocery and convenience store he could find. He had run out of options and was preparing to give up and go home when a familiar figure caught his eye a few stores away.

He approached them quickly, out of fear that somehow he’d lose sight if he took too long, and soon got close enough to make out Sasuke’s features dimly lit by the convenience store sign overhead. He had his gaze cast downward, a thin trail of smoke drifting from the cigarette pinched between his pink lips. He glanced up as Naruto approached him and kept his face expressionless.

Naruto moved close and casually fell back against the wall beside Sasuke. “I didn’t know you smoked.” 

Sasuke exhaled a cloud of smoke and watched it rise into the night air.

“Neither did I. I just bought a pack on a whim.”

Naruto plucked the cigarette from Sasuke’s lips and stared at it pensively. The burning ash at the bottom hung loose, and the smell reminded him of his younger school days. A part of him considered taking a drag for old time’s sake, but just as quickly as the thought came Naruto dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.

“It’s a dangerous habit to pick up again, trust me.” Naruto muttered.

Sasuke stared at him with a bored expression.

“Those are expensive.”

“I know.”

“Why are you out here?”

“Looking for you, isn’t that obvious?”

Sasuke sighed, now sounding annoyed. 

“You’re drunk.”

Naruto tilted his head up and watched the stars instead of the occasional car that drove by. It was surprisingly nice out at this time of night, and Naruto could catch the glimpse of little flakes of snow dancing in the streetlights.

“Not really.”

The two stood in silence for a while, watching the snowflakes gather until they were visible without the help of the lights overhead. The news didn’t say anything about snow today. It was supposed to be spring soon, for fuck’s sake.

“I’m sorry about what I said. You should be looking for a way to get your memory back.” Naruto finally looked back at Sasuke and frowned. “I won’t get in your way with that anymore.”

“What you said wasn’t wrong.” Sasuke fiddled with the pack of cigarettes, but didn’t take one out. He simply stared at it as he turned it over and over in his hand. “Maybe I’m just not going about it the right way…”

Sasuke sounded troubled, which was surprising. Sasuke usually exuded an air of confidence that made Naruto think the guy didn’t have as many fucks to give as everyone else. This expression made him look a bit more…average.

“Can we go back home? The snow’s really starting to come down.” Naruto zipped up his jacket and gestured back the way he had come.

“You mean your apartment?” Sasuke clarified before following after him. “I guess so.”

Naruto swallowed his response and lowered his head as he led the way. Sasuke’s wording was blunt, but Naruto had no one but himself to blame for Sasuke feeling that way. Of course the apartment wasn’t home to Sasuke, how could it be when Naruto didn’t make him feel welcome in it sometimes? It was just a place to rest until he could start the next day. 

Sasuke joined Naruto’s side as they walked back towards the apartment. The sidewalk refused to hold the snow, and each flake disappeared as soon as it hit the concrete around them. It was a beautiful night, but Naruto wasn’t enjoying it at all; a heavy feeling between them just made everything feel lonely and fake.

Rules.

Naruto figured as long as they established some rules, they could at least stop fighting all the time.

Sasuke, surprisingly, accepted the rule that he wouldn’t go off without Naruto to look for clues.

“We’re in this together, okay? Let me help out.” Naruto told him, but it felt more like begging. He didn’t want Sasuke to disappear without a trace, and he certainly didn’t want him to get hurt again.

So, they established their own little system. While Naruto was at work, Sasuke researched. When Naruto came home, they went out searching. Day after day they came up empty-handed, but at least they were spending some quality time together.

Naruto formally apologized.

He didn’t know how to make things right, but he never stopped trying to bridge the gap between them. He was hoping that they could at least be friends. Friends helped each other out.

Sasuke started to smile more.

Okay, maybe it was more of a smirk, but the guy seemed to be more amused by Naruto’s mishaps and shenanigans than he was before.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an idiot?” Sasuke dropped his chin into his palm as he sat at the kitchen table, watching Naruto try to juggle oranges. Again.

Naruto groaned and bent down to pick up the ones he dropped. He could feel his face burning, and he didn’t know why.

“Look, I swear I could do it yesterday, just give me a minute…”

Sasuke tilted his head back and laughed. Naruto watched him in awe, not daring to move in case he’d miss it.

“Unbelievable.” Sasuke sighed, and his eyes met Naruto’s. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Sasuke rolled his eyes. “What are you gaping at, dumbass?”

“Want to go out for dinner tonight?”

“Ah.” Sasuke tapped his cheek in pensive thought. “I guess it is Friday.”

“So is that a yes?” Naruto finally stood up, wincing as his joints popped back into place.

“You make it sound like it’s a date or something.”

Naruto smirked. “Maybe it is. We do live together.”

“Haha.” Sasuke made sure Naruto knew it was a fake laugh as he stood up. “I’ll get my jacket.”

“Finally, an article of clothing you actually own.” Naruto called after him. It was true; they went out over the weekend to buy Sasuke his own clothes with the suspicious amount of cash he now had. When he tried to pay Naruto’s rent, he got smacked on the back of his head. Naruto wasn’t doing this to be repaid. It didn’t feel right, and he didn’t want it. Sasuke helped around the house a lot too; Naruto couldn’t remember the last time he did laundry or the dishes…he also vacuumed and organized his stuff to make it look like they were functional adults.

“Fuck you, Naruto.” Sasuke’s voice drifted into the kitchen and Naruto smiled.

They decided to go to the sushi place downtown, which was a bit too far to walk but only a short drive to get to.

“I haven’t had sushi in ages.” Naruto said just as his stomach angrily growled at him. Sasuke shot him a humorous look before getting out of the car.

“You said conveyor belt…so am I going to get food poisoning here or?”

“Nah it’s like legit sushi Sasuke, you’re going to love it.” Naruto eagerly ushered him inside the restaurant, and luckily they got seats without having to wait.

As they settled in their seats, Sasuke examined the conveyor belt beside him and the plates of sushi as they passed by. Naruto wasted no time in snatching plates off the belt and lining them up in front of him.

“So you just grab it.” Sasuke made the mental note aloud and looked up at the monitor. “Is this where you make personalized orders?”

“Exactly.” Naruto mumbled around his mouthful of fish.

The hour passed as the two threw themselves into a sushi-eating competition. Naruto started off extremely confident in his abilities, but it turned out Sasuke was not only competitive but capable of putting down a heavy amount of food.

Naruto was just as stubborn, but once their plate count started reaching the thirties, he had to call it quits.

“If I eat another roll, I’m gonna puke.” Naruto set down his chopsticks and fell back in defeat. “Fine. You win.”
Sasuke groaned in what sounded like relief.

“Good because if I had to eat this piece I would’ve puked.”

The two broke into laughter at that. It felt natural, just two friends going out to eat on a Friday night. The only thing unnatural about it was their stack of plates at the end of the table; Naruto was aware of the shocked gazes passing customers and waiters sent their way when they noticed them.

“I think we ate a good chunk of their fish supply.” Naruto chuckled as he started to dispense the plates back. “Maybe we’ll win a prize.”

“We fucking better. We have like sixty plates…”

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke slumped over the table. It looked like he was acting tough just to get the win, and now he was paying the price.

“If you’re gonna puke, just don’t do it on me.”

“That would be a waste of money.” Sasuke looked up from the table and smiled. “I won, so you can pay the bill.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Jerk.”

“I’ll pay next time.” Sasuke waved it away, letting his arm thunk across the table in exhaustion.

In that moment, Naruto wasn’t sure what came over him, but he reached across the table to brush Sasuke’s hair out of his eyes. As his fingers trailed through Sasuke’s hair, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by how silky it was.

He didn’t realize he was petting Sasuke’s head in a trance until Sasuke spoke.

“I’m not a dog, you know.” Sasuke watched him with his head resting on his arm, a humorous expression in place. “Is the mercury going to your brain already?”

“S-sorry.” Naruto stammered and retracted his hand as quickly as he could. So fucking embarrassing. “I’m gonna go pay the bill.”

“Okay.” Sasuke murmured before closing his eyes again.

The next Friday, things went a little bit differently.

Naruto went to work as he always did, bidding Sasuke goodbye until he’d return at six o’clock. That didn’t give Sasuke too much time to do as he pleased.

He had finally gotten a lead. 

Sasuke flipped open his cell phone and double checked the message. Sure enough, the location was the old apartment complex. That would take him some time to get to, but it wouldn’t be terrible.

Sasuke grabbed his backpack and left Naruto’s apartment with determination. 

When they had entered the apartment last time, Sasuke had found a brief note on the counter addressed to him beside a black backpack. The letter simply had a phone number and a name, but the name felt so familiar that it drove him nuts.

Itachi.

Sasuke had no idea who this person was, but they had to be someone who could help him recover his memory. Otherwise, he’d be stuck in a standstill with little left to go after.

Pain.

That’s what Sasuke first noticed about his memory loss. Every time something triggered his memory, a sharp little pain resonated in the back of his neck. The same spot Naruto had probed in the car. 

A tattoo, he’d said.

Sasuke hadn’t even known it was there; it was hard to see in the mirror, and it was small enough to go unnoticed. When Naruto had touched it, for a brief second it felt like his entire body had caught on fire.

It didn’t feel like a tattoo, but Sasuke didn’t know what it was.

Maybe this Itachi person could tell him what it was.

Any answer would be more than what he had right now.

Sasuke approached the old apartment complex and climbed the stairs, listening for any other suspicious noises. He wondered if he knew how to use the gun if he really needed to.

As soon as Sasuke opened the door to his apartment, a dark figure came into view. He stood in the center of the living room, as still as a statue, with his dark eyes trained on Sasuke as if he were a threat.

His long dark hair was pulled into an elegant ponytail, and Sasuke found himself at a loss for words. Although this man was older, Sasuke felt like he was looking in the mirror.

When he spoke, his words were smooth and melodic, and it made the pain in Sasuke’s neck erupt, forcing him to his knees and gasping for air.

“It’s good to see you little brother.” Itachi kneeled to Sasuke’s level and lifted his chin to look him in the eyes. “I think it’s time we get your memory back.”

When Naruto returned from work, he came home to a quiet house. 

Naruto set his things down and made his way around the apartment in confusion. He walked down the hall, peeked in his bedroom, and then the bathroom before returning to the living room to see that Sasuke was in fact here, Naruto had just completely missed him.

Sasuke was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. It was unusual since the guy never seemed to nap, let alone sleep through the night. And every time Naruto offered for Sasuke to sleep in his bed, he declined. The couch wasn’t that comfortable, and Naruto had a big bed, so he really didn’t mind.

He could at least use it while Naruto was at work.

“Hey, Sleepyhead.” Naruto ruffled Sasuke’s hair in an attempt to wake him up. Sasuke scooted away from him before swatting away his hand in annoyance.

“What?” Sasuke turned over to glare at him, but its intensity was lost as Naruto took in his bed hair.

“Your hair…” Naruto couldn’t help but laugh at the way Sasuke’s hair stuck up thanks to how he slept on the couch cushion. “You look like a chicken!”

Sasuke didn’t reply or laugh. He just watched Naruto from the couch in reserved silence. 

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” Naruto’s hand flew to Sasuke’s forehead. He frowned when he didn’t find a temperature. “You never nap.”

“I was just tired.” 

Naruto couldn’t place it, but it almost sounded like Sasuke was feeling down about something. His usual presence seemed off, and it made Naruto feel a little uneasy. They hadn’t been able to find much about Sasuke’s case, and it must be frustrating to go for so long without knowing who you were or what to do. Sasuke took everything in stride and he didn’t complain about their lack of progress. Of course he would be feeling down about it. It was discouraging. It wasn’t even Naruto’s memory and it was starting to make him stress out.

“Hey, I got an idea.” Naruto squatted to look Sasuke in the eyes. “We’ve been working hard this week, so I think it would be good for us to just take a break and have some fun tonight.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Sasuke slowly sat up and stretched. “I’m not eating any more sushi.”

“No. Even better.” Naruto smiled. He could feel that giddy excitement building in his chest. 
“We’re going to get drunk.”

Once they got through the bouncer and the ridiculous cover fee, Naruto led Sasuke to the bar with a hungry look in his eyes. He had been itching for a drink all week, and he was oddly excited to get Sasuke drunk; there had to be a break to that cool and calm exterior…if anything he’d learn something new about the guy. 

He decided to start off easy, grabbing two whiskey and cokes for them and claimed a booth along the wall. Sasuke dropped next to him and took his drink without a word. He still seemed to be sulking over Naruto dragging him out, but he relaxed a little when Naruto bumped him with his shoulder.

“I promise we won’t do anything crazy! Just a couple of drinks to kick back!” Naruto had to shout over the blasting music overhead. The bass was so strong it shook the seats underneath him and reverberated through his bones. Sasuke didn’t look like he believed him, giving him a skeptical expression as he sipped his drink.

After three rounds of drinks, a familiar pink-haired girl walked by their table and paused in surprise.

“Naruto? And Sasuke?” She stumbled closer to the table with a wide smile, a few of her friends followed behind her.

“Sakura!” Naruto sang and threw his hands up. Sasuke rolled his eyes next to him. Maybe he could tell Naruto was starting to get drunk. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as you! We were back at another club but it was pretty dead so we came here!” Sakura had to lean close for Naruto to hear her. Eventually, she and her friends moved farther into the club with their new drinks, picking up men along the way.

Typical Sakura.

Naruto shook his head and laughed.

“Ready for the next round?”

By one o’clock, both Naruto and Sasuke had managed to get whisked away by a hoard of women and found themselves in the back half of the club, surrounded by dancing bodies, flashing lights, and spilling drinks. Naruto couldn’t even remember how it happened. One moment he was talking to Sasuke, the next two hands snuck under his arm and pulled him further into the place.  The place Naruto was trying to avoid for Sasuke’s sake was the dance floor, yet there they were, roped into crazy havoc.

Naruto was drunk enough to go with the flow, letting the music guide his body as he humored the women around him, grinding against a few and allowing their hands to graze across his chest. He kept a firm grip on his drink until he finished it, and he barely noticed the girls trying to get his attention. Yeah, he could feel their hands across his body, he could feel when they’d push their ass flush against his groin to the beat of the song, but he was surprised he wasn’t reacting the way he normally did. He was more tired of the heavy attention on him, and his mind was on someone else. At the moment, he was far from Naruto’s grasp but could be seen across the dancefloor stuck in a conversation with six other girls that was probably more of a shouting match than a chat. And Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn’t shout. It was uncool.

He had been dancing earlier, but he probably got bored or tired of it, and from the way the girls were clinging to him it didn’t look like they’d be letting him leave anytime soon. Naruto’s eyes focused on the hands pulling on Sasuke’s shirt, but he couldn’t pay attention to the hands pulling on his own, dragging him back and forth among the crowd as the music shifted from song to song. Was Sasuke having a good time? He never meant for them to get pulled into the center of the club, and he got the feeling Sasuke wasn’t a fan of the whole nightlife thing. He should go over and help him.

Hands snuck up Naruto’s shirt, brushing against his stomach and hips. He glanced down to see a pretty girl looking up at him with bright green eyes and a playful smile. It was an open invitation, and she was wondering if he was interested. At least, that’s what Naruto assumed when her hands moved down to his crotch. He gave the girl a polite smile, but pulled away from her and the group around him, ignoring the disappointed protests from the others. Naruto squeezed past the dancing partygoers, avoiding elbows and drinks until he reached the back wall where Sasuke stood. 

Sasuke glanced up from his conversation, his eyes widening at Naruto’s disheveled appearance with a hint of humor. He didn’t seem to be too upset about the turn of events, and Naruto had the alcohol to thank for that. 

“Sorry ladies but I have to borrow him!” Without waiting for a response, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and pulled him into a different section of the club where the bass got a little louder and the lights danced across the close walls and high ceilings in alternate shades of red and green.

“Dance with me!” Naruto swayed with the beat and gave Sasuke a suggestive smile.

“I don’t dance.” Sasuke shook his head before finishing off his drink. Naruto wouldn’t take it as an excuse; he took Sasuke’s empty glass and set it aside on a nearby table before pulling him close and grinding against him. At first, Sasuke was adamant about not dancing, but something must have changed his mind. Maybe it was Naruto’s persevering nature or the pink tint on his face that convinced Sasuke to humor him, even for a night. Sasuke started to move to the beat naturally, and the two found themselves in a crazy dance-off. They couldn’t tell if it was against each other or for each other, and Naruto couldn’t process anything with Sasuke’s body pressed flush against him in the dark. It was different from earlier, where he couldn’t tell whose hand was touching him and where. Now he was over-sensitive, loving the way Sasuke brushed against him or bumped into him when somebody pushed by. 

Song after song, they tirelessly danced together, until Naruto couldn’t control himself anymore. They were both so close, sharing laughter and smiles, nearly nose to nose as they tried to communicate with one another. Naruto finally gave in to the one thought controlling his drunken mind and leaned a little closer to press their lips together. 

He half-expected Sasuke to push him away, brush off his mouth with his arm and storm out, but Sasuke only blinked back at him in surprise before laughing. He didn’t widen the distance between them, in fact, he leaned closer and didn’t protest when Naruto kissed him again, swallowing his laughter. Naruto slipped his hands through Sasuke’s dark, glossy hair and held him close, purposefully grinding their groins together until Naruto felt something stir in his pants. Sasuke’s tongue roamed the inside of Naruto’s mouth, surprisingly smooth and graceful enough to make Naruto think that they’d kissed like this before. 

Naruto could feel something poking the inside of his thigh, and he smiled at the thought of Sasuke being turned on by him. The two made out near the back wall, still swaying to the music, but trapped in their own little world. Naruto couldn’t stop himself from rubbing against Sasuke, but he knew he had to stop soon or else he’d come in his pants.

Sasuke’s breathing hitched, and even though his groan was swallowed by the pounding music, Naruto knew Sasuke felt the same. Naruto wondered if it would really be such a bad thing, considering it felt so good and they were so close…who cared if they made a mess in their pants, right?

Naruto quickly pulled back from the kiss, a small line of spit broke between them. 

“I have to pee.” Naruto answered Sasuke’s confused look with an excuse that wasn’t entirely a lie.

“I do too.” He admitted.

Hand-in-hand, the two navigated back to the front of the club and down the narrow staircase towards the bathrooms. They passed couples making out against the wall and drunk people stumbling their way back to the dance floor before reaching the men’s bathroom. 

They claimed two urinals, and Naruto dared to sneak a peek to see if Sasuke was as turned on as he was. He immediately regretted his decision and tried to force the blood back to his brain so he could actually empty his bladder.

“I think it’s time to go home.” Naruto sighed in defeat. He barely managed to accomplish his goal, and it was only a matter of time before he and Sasuke locked lips again.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but only succeeded in making himself dizzy. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Was any of this real?

He glanced back to Sasuke, taking note that despite how drunk Naruto knew he was, he still looked put together and beautiful. His eyes still had the shine, his hair was a little disheveled but he managed to make it look intentional, and his lips tight in concentration made Naruto’s mind scatter to dirtier things.

He quickly zipped his pants again and stormed to the sink, splashing cold water on his face in rising panic. No more drinking. Clearly it was ruining his self-control.

Naruto couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief until they were outside the club, walking down the dimly lit streets to get home. They wordlessly joined hands, fingers softly interlocking together as they stumbled down the sidewalk and filled the night air with their drunken recollections of the night. Sasuke’s laughter was soft and relaxing, and it made Naruto’s chest tighten with a mixture of glee and what he thought was blooming adoration. Sasuke was so unique and, although stubborn at some times, full of surprises. He could be kind and thoughtful, he could be dark and mysterious, and like now…he could be breathtaking.

“You’re beautiful.” Naruto found himself blurting out into the night. He nearly froze in his tracks, horrified at what had slipped out.

Sasuke slowed down with him, his eyes searching Naruto’s face.

“I know.” He smirked, taking it in stride. It didn’t look like the confession unsettled him, and if anything, his grip tightened on Naruto’s hand. Despite the happiness that flooded through his system, now something colder began to weigh on Naruto’s mind. It was murky and full of uncertainties. It made the smile on his face waver before he forced it to stay in place. He should be living in the moment. He deserved to be happy right now, and it wasn’t possible for him to ignore the pure happiness coursing through his veins as they bumped into each other on the way home. 

They struggled to climb the apartment stairs together and Naruto laughed as he fumbled with his keys at the front door.

When Sasuke moved towards the couch, Naruto refused to let go of his hand and brought him into the bedroom instead. For once, Sasuke didn’t refuse his offer and climbed into bed with him after discarding their pants. They lay face to face, continuing the conversation they held on the walk home, and laughed until their stomachs hurt and the clock read four a.m. The longer they talked, the more Naruto was drawn to Sasuke, and his eyes focused on every little detail of his face while Sasuke did the same to him. They both scooted closer, almost unconsciously, and melted into another kiss a lot softer than the one before.

Sasuke broke the kiss to close his eyes and let out a content sigh. “I had a lot of fun today.”

Naruto tried to hide his shock, but his jaw still dropped at his expression.

Sasuke cracked open an eye, catching him red-handed. “I feel like I haven’t done that in a long time. So, thank you.”

The tightness in his chest only grew, constricting around his heart until it felt like he was suffocating.

“I had a lot of fun too. I think…meeting you was a really good thing. Even if the circumstances are fucked up.”

“I’m lucky it was you.” Sasuke sounded like he agreed, and Naruto caught him nodding at his own words. “Not as many people are as nice as you. Or as stupid.”

“I take that as a compliment.” Naruto laughed, but Sasuke silenced him with another kiss. Being with Sasuke was addicting, every touch left sparks tingling through his veins like a drug. He had never felt this from anyone else before, and it made him wonder if this was what he was looking for. He slid his thigh between Sasuke’s legs, committing the groan Sasuke made to memory. Naruto didn’t know why he assumed Sasuke would just let him do as he pleased, but he wasn’t expecting Sasuke to straddle his waist.

Sasuke took off his shirt and tossed it aside, muttering “hot” under his breath. Naruto didn’t know how to respond, considering all his attention was now directed towards the blood pooling in his groin and the sweet pressure Sasuke was putting on his waist. Sasuke was awakening a beast Naruto had thought he put to rest earlier in the night, and every brush of movement made him grind his teeth. Sasuke bent down and pulled him into another deep kiss that made Naruto’s head spin; he dug his fingers into Sasuke’s thigh, earning a small groan and a delicious rock against his erection in return. Naruto groaned aloud and bit his lip.

It felt amazing…in fact, it felt too amazing. Naruto could feel himself being swept away in his tide of emotions, carried away by the moment and he knew it was something he’d regret again. It was that dark and heavy feeling that lingered over him, reminding him of the circumstances and it left him doubting everything.

“Sasuke wait…” Naruto somehow managed to find his voice as Sasuke rocked against him again, back and forth, his erection pressed tight against Naruto’s abdomen and teasing every ounce of sanity in Naruto’s hazy mind.

Sasuke paused, halting his movement, and then cocked his head to the side in a small, but unbearably cute manner. Naruto almost wished he didn’t listen to him.

Naruto pushed down the images he had of himself bending Sasuke over and fucking him until the sun came up, a fantasy that he knew he wouldn’t be able to get rid of for some time.

“I really want to do this…God, I want to so bad, but…” Naruto fumbled for words, trying hard not to focus on Sasuke’s toned thighs and godly-perfect ass in his hands. “I really like you…like a lot, okay? So…if I did it with you and then you left…honestly I don’t know what I’d do…I’m tired of hooking up with people and moving on, and I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with me…” Naruto felt like he was rambling on, so he faltered at the end of his sentence as he reluctantly met Sasuke’s stare. 

It was surprisingly…vacant.

“I’m not making sense, am I?” Naruto sighed. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t want to have sex, but I think I get attached too easily…if I’m not already…” Naruto meant to mutter the last part under his breath, but it just slipped out without warning.

Sasuke nodded. “I get it.”

Naruto blinked back in surprise. “You do?”

“The gist of it.” Sasuke slid off Naruto’s lap and back onto the bed. “If you have sex with me, you’ll fall in love with me, right?”

Naruto shook his head. “No…no it’s a little different from that…”

He couldn’t find the voice to tell Sasuke the truth. That he thought he had already fallen in love with him, and whether they had sex or not, Naruto would suffer from a broken heart.

Sasuke shrugged before lying down beside him, his eyes trained on Naruto.

“You don’t want me to leave?”

Naruto met Sasuke’s gaze. As intense as it now was, the guy seemed to be searching for an answer. Naruto knew full and well that Sasuke couldn’t, and wouldn’t, stay with him. That’s not the way things worked, and the circumstances were far more complicated than that. Yet…Naruto had gotten used to sharing his apartment with him; even if Sasuke rarely laughed at his jokes, he had someone to share a beer with after a long day at work, someone to talk to when he’d otherwise be alone…that was something Naruto didn’t realize he’d been craving. He didn’t know if he was in love with Sasuke or the idea of him being around.

“I don’t.” Naruto answered honestly. “I know it’s impossible, but I’d want you to stay forever.”

He knew it was impossible, and he ended his words with a heavy sigh as he pulled the comforter over the two of them. 

“I’m going to miss you when you leave Sasuke…know that, okay?”

Sasuke slowly pulled his gaze away and towards the ceiling before turning over in bed to face the other direction. His voice came out impossibly quiet.

“Okay.”

Naruto closed his eyes, wondering why he felt like he was minutes away from bursting into tears.

When Naruto awoke in the morning, he turned over in empty sheets and woke up to an empty room. There was no sign of the man who had stayed with him the past few months, nor any evidence that he’d ever existed aside from the scent he left behind in Naruto’s bed.

The only thing he left behind was a heavy lump in Naruto’s chest that made him roll over in bed, bury his face in his pillow, and cry himself back to sleep.

 And just like that, Sasuke had disappeared.