Chapter Four Part Three
“Naruto?” Naruto immediately recognized the voice on the line as the detective. Sasuke. He smiled slightly, curling on the couch and trapping the phone between his ear and shoulder.
“Hello,” he replied. “How did you get my number?”
He heard a low chuckle over the line. “I’m a cop, remember?”
Naruto’s smile was bitter. “How could I forget?”
There was a brief pause. “Anyway... I was just calling - are we still on for that, uh, thing?” He was careful not to call it a date. He heard a slight rustling, and then Naruto answered.
“Yeah.” Another pause. “Today?”
“If you’re free.” He heard nothing in Naruto’s tone that implied he knew Sasuke was snooping about - of course not, he scolded himself. Why would he? “Tonight?”
“Okay,” Naruto glanced about the dark apartment. Gaara hadn’t returned and, though Naruto was worried sick because he hadn’t seen his brother for a few days, he was just a tiny bit relieved. Maybe, a little voice said, maybe he’s not coming back. He shook his head. “Any time’s fine.”
“Eight o’clock, I’ll meet you,” Sasuke said, and hung up. Naruto blinked, surprised at the lack of ‘goodbye’, then hung up as well.
“How are you?” Sasuke greeted the teacher with a smile. Naruto shrugged and locked the door behind him. Sasuke didn’t meet his eyes as he did so and walked side by side down the hall. They walked in silence all they way to the same little cafe they’d visited earlier.
“By the way,” Sasuke said casually as he sat down at the booth, “How is your roommate...?”
Naruto’s head jerked up. No matter this man’s intentions he was still wary of the detective. “Fine,” he said cautiously.
“Is he still living with you?”
Naruto had to think about that one. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I haven’t seen him for a while, so...” he deliberately let the sentence hang. Sasuke nodded and ordered a coffee and a sandwich, then waited for Naruto to order. He glanced up, then ordered a sandwich. “No coffee?” Sasuke said.
“Not a fan,” Naruto said, and Sasuke didn’t question his previous order of the last time they’d been here. Instead they sat in silence, each in their own thoughts; Sasuke thinking about Sakura and Naruto about Gaara. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a while, thinking: is he really capable of such a brutal, inhuman action like murder? Naruto, his lashes lowered, wasn’t looking at Sasuke. No, Sasuke decided. I count myself as a pretty good judge of character, and I don’t think he is the murderer. He’s too... he’s just too... he frowned. He didn’t know where that thought was taking him. Naruto glanced at Sasuke and, noticing his speculative gaze, blushed ever so slightly and looked back down quickly. A smile tugged at the corners of Sasuke’s mouth as he thought, how cute. He’s blushing! He glanced out the window. Sakura, he thought fondly, would be happy.
“You don’t talk very much, do you?” he said suddenly to the shy man before him. Naruto, surprised, glanced up.
“I don’t?” he said blankly, completely caught unaware. Sasuke chuckled.
“No. You don’t.” At which point they both fell silent - until Naruto broke it.
“You...” he said softly, then shook his head slightly. “Do you think that’s a bad thing?”
For a moment Sasuke stared at Naruto, then answered, “No.” He paused. “Why would you?”
Naruto was silent as he briefly thought of Gaara but tactfully did not mention him. “Some people might find it annoying, is all.”
Sasuke leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table. “And who thinks that about you?”
“No one,” Naruto lied, taking a bit of his previously untouched sandwich. “It’s just a thought.”
“And so you’re silent because of it?”
Naruto didn’t answer right away. “I guess so,” he said, finally.
“Mm.” Sasuke said nothing after that, content merely to watch Naruto nibble at his sandwich. “You’re also very timid,” he said.
Naruto glanced up at him with amusement in his eyes. “And you must be practicing psychiatry.” He grinned to show he was joking. “You make a lot of assumptions.”
“Part of being a detective.” Sasuke shrugged. Suddenly reminded of his job, he looked away. Remembering the shirt he’d found in Naruto’s apartment - which was sitting in his home right then - he knew that he would probably have to arrest Naruto on suspicion of murder. But by Kami, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to think that this shy and unobtrusive man was responsible for the brutal deaths of seven girls. Seven young, innocent women who did not deserve to die the deaths they did. He shook his head in an effort to clear it and was only partly successful. A part of him would always carry his job with him, with its grisly memories and grim determination to catch the killers, and another part of him always tried to forget it, to distance himself from the lives that were so unfairly taken away from the victims, just so that he could go home and sleep, only to face another day.
He hadn’t realized his expression had gone bitter until Naruto, his voice concerned, said, “Are you all right, Sasuke?”
He looked up. Naruto had leaned forward slightly, his eyes filled with worry and confusion. “Huh?” he said, then, “Oh. Yeah. I’m okay, thanks.” and smiled warmly at Naruto, who smiled - slightly - in return. “Yeah,” he repeated, and nodded. “I’m just fine.”
“Okay,” Naruto, thusly reassured, said. “I’m glad.”
Later, after they’d finished their little dinner, Sasuke walked Naruto back home. He thought it was funny, really - it almost felt like he was back in high school, escorting the shy young
date home. All the awkwardness and uncertainty resurfaced and, as Naruto unlocked his door, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to look uncomfortable. Naruto noticed anyway.
“Would...” he said, then cleared his throat. “Would you like to come in?”
“Uh...” Sasuke hesitated and he remembered the day he’d broken into the apartment. But, he quickly reassured himself, if he had his wits about him there was no way Naruto would find out. “Sure,” he said, finally, and followed Naruto into the living room, trying to look as though seeing the place for the first time. He cast an appreciative glance around, which in fact he hadn’t had time to do when he ransacked the place, and really studied the room. It was very interestingly decorated. It seemed like a battle - a battle of happy things and not so happy things. He saw a tiny glass sculpture of a cat playing with a ball of yarn, and next to it a dragon snarling, its tail curled around a bloody sword. He noticed, too, that most - no, all - of the windows had heavy, dark curtains pulled over them, casting the whole place in a gloomy and permeating ambience.
He noticed Naruto watching him with a sort of awkward fascination. He felt a smile cross his lips as he questioned, “What?”
“Nothing,” Naruto answered, and ducked his head as he turned around, nervously fiddling with a deck of cards that lay on a small table. Sasuke saw he was blushing again, only a light spray of pink over his cheeks, and chuckled. Naruto’s head jerked up at the sound of Sasuke’s laugh, and his blush deepened at Sasuke’s grin. “What?” he said almost defensively. “What’s so funny?”
Sasuke shook his head. “You.”
Naruto’s mouth worked, his eyes wide and full of confusion. “Me?” he managed at last, and Sasuke laughed again.
“Yeah. You.” He shook his head with humor at Naruto. “Well,” he said at last, “I guess I’d better go then.” He gave Naruto a warm, happy smile and Naruto nodded.
“Yeah,” Naruto said and nervously fiddled with his keys. “Yeah,” he repeated and held out his hand. “Thank you.”
Sasuke looked at the hand, shrugged, then hugged Naruto. Naruto stiffened as the detective’s arms went around him, millions of thoughts immediately plaguing him, but he didn’t pull away or fight. Sasuke released him, smiled, and said, “I’ll see you later.” Then he was gone. Just like that. Naruto blinked in the sudden - and rather depressing - silence and emptiness, then sighed and slumped into the nearest chair.
“Yeah,” he said aloud in the dark apartment. “I’ll see you later, too.”
A/N: It probably will take longer for me to update now that I am officially computer-less.... But I'll manage. I hope. >.< I will try my hardest to get my laptop fixed (Believe me, I'm dying without it) and keep updating!! ^^ I have begun work on Invincible, Machination's sequel, but it's slow work because again... I have no computer. It'll be posted when Machination is completed. ^^ Enjoy and have a good day! Please review!!!! SBP
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Chapter notes: Hey, sorry all for the extremely long update, but my laptop's power cord has stopped working, the battery is dead, and all my stories are saved on it. This computer I'm on now doesn't read the Brain (it's an external hard drive that has my stuff stored on it) so, until I can get on a computer that has both internet and that can read my Brain I'm afraid it's going to be a little while before I can update. But it will be A.S.A.P, I promise and in the meantime please review! The next chapter will be great!! So, thank you all for your patience, please read and review, and I promise to update soon!!!!!!!!!
SBP
P.S. I am unashamed to do a little promoting while I'm at it. Currently I am working on a SasuSaku, Beneath the Cherry Blossoms. Aaaannnddddd, if I like all the reviews I get, and I get a lot of reviews, I will be working on a sequel to Machinations called Invincible. It's already all plotted out, and it will be great, I promise. Just keep me in your favorites and I will add an extra "chapter" at the end of this story saying that I have added Invincible.
Thank you all for your support and reviews and keep it up! I'll keep writing fueled by your reviews!!!!!!
SBP