When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 12 -

Sasuke awoke the next morning feeling more exhausted than he had when he went to sleep. Even though he'd gotten a full night's rest, his dreams had been haunted with memories of his parents' deaths. It had been years since he had nightmares about that fateful night, and it angered him more than anything else that they'd returned.

Dammit, Naruto...

Sasuke knew that he had no one to blame but himself for his current predicament, though. Naruto had tried to talk the Uchiha out of telling his story, but Sasuke hadn't listened. No, he'd momentarily forgotten his goal and revealed everything about his tortured past. What had he been thinking, letting Naruto get to him like that? And then to react the way he did, by snapping at that perfectly innocent blond – it wasn't like him to lose his cool so easily. Why did he even yell at Naruto to begin with? It wasn't like he'd done anything wrong – in fact, he was just trying to help, and Sasuke went and threw it back in his face. Sasuke felt guilty about that, in spite of himself, knowing that if anyone could possibly identify with that overwhelming sense of loss, it was Naruto.

Maybe Kakashi was right... maybe I am just trying to delay the inevitable...

Sasuke shook his head, clearing this thought from his head immediately. No, Kakashi was wrong – he could keep Naruto out of his life. All he needed to do was remain focused and stop telling the blond all about himself. It wouldn't be easy, but Sasuke was determined enough to see it through.

Thus, in this mindset, the Uchiha stepped out of bed, scratching his bare side groggily as he searched the room for his clothes. After a few moments, he realized that Kakashi must have left them outside, and stepped out into the hallway, dressed only in his navy boxers. He wasn't in any way concerned about being seen in this state of undress, as he was certain that Kakashi would still be gone visiting Obito's grave at such an early hour.

He ultimately found his clothes resting on the coffee table in the main room of the apartment, though he grimaced at the sight of the vibrant orange shorts sitting atop the pile. After throwing these clothes on, he headed over to the kitchenette, where he fixed himself a bowl of Rice Krispies. As poured the milk over his meager breakfast, resting his head on his hand, Sasuke found himself thinking about Naruto once again.

Even when I try to forget about him, he always manages to force himself back in. Maybe I should just leave his clothes here, pretend that I never had them... Hmm, I'm sure Sakura would love that, seeing me roaming the streets of Konoha in my boxers...

As funny as this thought was, Sasuke quickly erased it from his mind and turned his attention back to his cereal, which he proceeded to shovel monotonously into his mouth. He really wasn't sure what he was going to do about Naruto, after his outburst the night before. They still had to finish their project, but what could he possibly do to set things right, without further endangering himself? He couldn't just ignore it, but if he made too big a deal of it, he had a feeling that he'd just end up closer to Naruto, which he wanted to avoid.

By the time Sasuke had finished his bowl of cereal, he realized that he had only waffled back and forth on the issue, with both sides seeming equally dangerous. Rather than dwell on it further, though, he decided to simply head home and wait for things to work out on their own. Sasuke knew that Kakashi would want to give him a ride home later, but the Uchiha wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of listening to his teacher pry into his love life any more. Thus, he simply stepped out of the apartment and started down the street, enjoying the still, Saturday morning.

To think, it had only been five days since Sasuke had first bumped into that blond in the halls. Five days – that was all it took for Naruto to barge into his life and turn everything upside down. It wasn't too late, yet – Sasuke could still keep him out if he tried – but Sasuke knew that it was growing increasingly difficult to keep Naruto off his mind.