Bruises & Bitemarks (SasuNaru)

73.

We all set up the sleeping space for Takeshi and Takeshi in the living room, then sit around and just talk. Shiroi talks about what he knows of psychology, of Freud's theory that everyone basically just wants sex and of his student Jung's disagreement and eventual study of symbols in general, especially in dreams. He talks about different types of people and the way we interact in society, and how our culture differs from Western culture. Sasuke is particularly interested in all of this; eventually we get him to explain an idea for a story that he's working on. His main character is a boy from a poor family who gets into a prestigious, expensive boarding school because he's so brilliant. The story talks about the difficulties he has to endure from being in a different social class, as well as his new best friend, a spoiled, pampered prince, and his respective adventures in the world of the working class.

He and Shiroi get further and further into their discussion on the characters and their attitudes, and Takeshi and I find ourselves saying less and less, so we kick out the semes to talk outside while we continue to practice our dance, keeping the music quiet. It's a mark of how deeply interested Sasuke is that he doesn't even argue against leaving me and Takeshi alone without his or Shiroi's supervision. I can't help but smile to myself.

We each interact in our separate groups late into the night, until a woman across from Sasuke's back porch sleepily, albeit kindly, asks him could he please turn off the light because it's hours past midnight. So they come back inside and we stop dancing. Takeshi and Takeshi go off to shower (it doesn't escape my notice that they're going together, although it doesn't seem weird at all to me), while Sasuke and I return to the bedroom to wait for them to finish.

Sasuke flops down on the bed and reaches up for me, so I give him my hands. He tugs me down onto him and I settle comfortably against his body. He takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly.

"What's up?" I ask quietly.

He glances down at me. "I feel... at peace."

"Mm." I nuzzle my face into his neck and smile. "I'm glad."

"Shiroi knows so much about psychology. It's amazing. It's like he knows exactly how to make my stories work the way I want them to, just by hearing my concepts. I want to build a character like so, and he lays out the key points perfectly."

I nod. For some reason, I feel uncontrollably happy. I should probably be a little upset that Sasuke's focus is shifting away from me, but I'm not at all – I'm ecstatic. It lifts my heart to hear that he's interested in something. Sasuke always seems so detached from anything besides me. He doesn't talk about his writing much, although I would love to listen if he did. But I wouldn't be much help. Shiroi really is the perfect friend. What Sasuke needs most is someone he isn't inextricably linked to.

The sound of the shower, muffled through the walls, sifts through the crickets' chirping outside. We listen to its soothing noise for a bit. It's lulling me into a sense of peace. My mind is slowly powering down, the edges of my thoughts fading to black.

Then a quiet, muffled groan strikes me right in the groin.

My eyes snap open, and I look at Sasuke, whose face mirrors my own thoughts. We practically hold our breath, and then it comes again: barely audible through the sound of the night as well as the shower, but – unmistakably, undeniably – the sound of Shiroi's voice.

"Mmn..." comes the breathy moan. "Nngh – T-Takeshi—"

Takeshi murmurs something in reply. The words are lost in the muddle of sound, but the smirk in his voice is unmistakable. Shiroi moans again. I feel a warm tingling start to creep into my limbs as I realize Takeshi and Takeshi are getting... touchy... in the very next room.