When Love Fades

Chapter 18 - No Chance II

Okay, before you start, go grab your tissues. This shit is gonna hurt..
Try not to Cry.. 😭

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Sasuke hadn't stayed one second longer than absolutely required in the CEO's office, calmly accepting the thanks from the senior executive for the success of the call with the American analyst and then heading home as fast as possible.

He'd had to force himself to stay focused during the call, but the whole time his mind had been buzzing trying to figure out what was going on with Naruto. Things had been going better between him and Naruto in recent months. Naruto had been less angry, and they'd been talking a little bit more. Sasuke was closer than ever to getting the next promotion, and then he would have more control over his schedule.

But the expression on Naruto's face when he'd left.....

Sasuke had never seen it before, and he never wanted to see it again.

Something was terribly wrong, and he needed to get home and fix it.

Sasuke opened the door to their apartment, the smell of cleanser sharp in the air. It was a scent that Sasuke usually found soothing, but it did nothing to take the edge off the uneasiness that he felt at the moment.

Naruto looked up from a dish he was washing in the sink. Sasuke felt his wariness grow at the look of grim determination in Naruto's eyes as he tried off his hands. There was something odd about the degree of cleanliness of the room, but Sasuke couldn't quite place it because all he could look at was Naruto's face and the way the blue eyes watched him with a sort of resigned sadness that Sasuke didn't know how to interpret.

"How did the call go?" Naruto asked, snapping Sasuke out of his frozen state.

"Fine," Sasuke replied, slowly setting his bag down and toeing off his shoes, his gaze never leaving Naruto's. "Now are you going to tell me what the fuck you meant by introducing yourself to Neji as my roommate?"

Naruto gave a humorless smile. "Cutting right to the chase, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto sighed as he pulled out a chair at their kitchen table and sat down. "Given that you didn't seem to want anyone to know you were dating me, I figured there was no point in introducing myself as your boyfriend. Especially not now."

Sasuke paused. There were so many things wrong with what Naruto just said he didn't even know where to start. He sat down at the table across from Naruto.

"I don't talk about Itachi or my parents or any of my personal life at work. Just like I didn't in college. And you know that, so don't read shit into it. What do you mean 'no point, especially now'?"

Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke knew Naruto was conceding at least his first point. It was true. In college, Sasuke never discussed anything with people unless it was part of a class assignment. Naruto had changed that, though the process had been an outright battle. Neither boy had liked to talk much about their pasts. Slowly they'd dragged bits and pieces out of each other. It had been like pulling teeth to get Sasuke to open up about anything, but Naruto hadn't been much better. Not really. Naruto would talk endlessly with anyone about shit that didn't matter, but that was all just a front to keep people from getting to know him beyond a superficial level. Sasuke had been the only one he'd told the dark stuff too... the things in Naruto's past that had shaped him. Sasuke didn't let his gaze waver from Naruto's, daring his lover to refute that truth.

Naruto met his gaze, but there was no acknowledgement in the blue eyes. Sasuke felt his anxiety grow. Usually, they would be on the same page with things like this, understanding what the other was thinking, but now... Sasuke had the feeling they weren't even in the same book. And Naruto's next words bore that out in brutal starkness.