fic: Point me a direction and I will follow [for cutsycat] 1/1
Title: Point me a direction and I will follow
Recipient: cutsycat
Author: wooblywooble
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Itachi/Naruto, background Sasuke/Sakura
Word Count: 7.177
Warnings: Consensual sex, some foul language
Summary: Itachi owns a company and works day and night to make ends meet. One day he meets the oddest man he has ever seen, and who just might be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Disclaimer: The characters hereon belong to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this work.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to my beta, Lily (sakuralilian), for her suggestions and much-needed criticism.
Day 1
It is dark out by the time Itachi gets the chance to finally leave his office. He scrubbed a hand over his face as he tiredly stood at the curb waiting for a taxi. He had been able to finish all the paperwork due tomorrow, but unfortunately that meant staying for far more hours then he would’ve liked.
He saw a yellow blur in the distance and extended his arm to wave it over. At the same time he thought he saw another blonde flash leaving the office building through the corner of his eye, but maybe he was indeed starting to overwork himself to a state where he was seeing things. It wouldn’t be unheard of.
The cab stopped near him and he bent over to open the door.
“I’m really sorry!”
Itachi turned his head and there actually was a blonde person behind him - for whom he was honestly thankful; adding psychiatric visits to his schedule would have been difficult. The man, a kid really since he didn’t look a day over 20, had a helpless expression on his otherwise handsome face and Itachi immediately felt somewhat sorry for him already.
“But would you mind if I took this one?” He gestured for the cab, where the driver had a dark scowl of discontent etched around his mouth for having to wait. “Or maybe we could share? I’m really late.”
Itachi was slightly taken aback, “I’m very tired…”
The boy gave him a kind of soulful whine and a pout, which reminded Itachi of his younger brother whenever he wasn’t allowed something he really wanted. He sighed; he had never been able to resist his brother anything when he gave him that pout.
“Sharing is fine. Is your destination very far?”
“No!” The boy was quick to say, already coming into the taxi faster than Itachi could process.
“Oh.” Itachi said, climbing on the vehicle after him.
What an odd man.
.
Itachi stared at the piece of paper with a scrawled number and name on it. He barely remembered what the boy - Naruto, apparently - had said as he spoke faster than anyone Itachi had ever met in his life. And with hand gestures to mimic his words.
What he did understand was that Naruto was late for an engagement party between his two best friends and didn’t have time to buy them a present because of working hours, which seemed to frustrate him greatly because apparently his boss was a ‘dick’. He also learned that Naruto was bisexual, and that he enjoyed television more than literature, though he did open an exception to pornographic literature since he knew one of the genre’s most famous writers.
And somewhere along his monologue he had asked Itachi out on a date. An actual, real life date. Itachi couldn’t even remember when he had been asked out for a friendly drink, much less a date.
And somewhere during Itachi’s silence Naruto had decided the matter was settled and ripped out the date 12th of January of his planner to write down his name and phone number, before climbing out of the vehicle and waving good-bye.
It all happened so fast Itachi was having a hard time wrapping his head around it. He now had a date with a bisexual, perverted, 20-something blonde and his cab driver was giving him a mean look through the rear mirror.
He shook his head. This was insane; he was going insane.
He gave his address to the cabbie and pressed his fingers against his eye sockets hard, watching millions of little starts explode behind his eyelids. Tomorrow this idea of blondes in cabs would hopefully be gone and he would be able to focus on work.
.
Day 2
“I’m looking for a man named Naruto. That’s N-A-R-U-T-O.”
A slightly boyish laughter sounded on the other side of the line and Itachi knew then that he was talking with the same man that yesterday sort of - not really - stole his cab.
“I was kinda thinking you wouldn’t call.”
“Why? You gave me you number.”
“Yeah, but, you know, you meet a hot guy in a cab, not exactly love at first sight, right?”
“Hot guy?”
“Of course you’d focus on that.”
“I’m sorry, are you saying you wish I didn’t call?”
“I mean, I wanted you to call, I just didn’t think you would.”
“But I did.”
“Yeah.”
“And you did ask me out yesterday.”
“Yeah, but that was kind of a long shot.”
“I’m available tomorrow.”
“Available? This is a board meeting now?”
“Need I remind you that it was you who asked me out?”
“Tomorrow’s good. Eight o’clock at Danny’s?”
“I don’t know where that is.”
“I’ll text you the address, no biggie.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Itachi stayed silent, his heart slightly accelerated.
“It’s a date.” Naruto said, and Itachi could imagine just the right smile to go with his cheeky tone.
“It is.”
Naruto then diverted the topic to something else entirely, but Itachi tuned him out in favor of listening to the pleasant lilt of his voice. Not very deep, but not obnoxiously high-pitched either. He had a peculiar speech pattern, something about the way he spoke that he couldn’t quite pinpoint, but found amusing nonetheless.
“So I told Sasuke he was being a prick, because, c’mon, who gives a speech like that at their engagement party, you know? And I knew he was really nervous and needed to blow off some steam before going back and talking to Sakura.” Naruto said, “And I said, go there and talk to your girl, man, don’t be a bitch.”
Itachi raised his eyebrows at the other’s vocabulary, “I’m to guess he didn’t take it too well?”
“Who? Sasuke? No, he’s always a bitch, always whining about something or another. He’s a good guy; he just gets so much stuff wrong most of the time.”
Itachi hummed under his breath as he held the phone between cheek and shoulder in order finish tying his tie. “You seem to understand him well.”
He heard a faint snort on the other side and assumed he was correct.
“Yeah, well, if you knew him as long as I do you would too.”
There was a moment of silence and Itachi felt it was best to initiate a new topic himself.
“My brother is also a Sasuke.”
“Really? Does he whine a lot too?”
“No, I mean his name is Sasuke too.”
“Oh.” Naruto said, “That’s cool. Is he older than you?”
“Younger. But I haven’t seen him a while, we had a,” Itachi tried to find a better word, but couldn’t think of anything, “Fight. A big one.”
“Oh.” Naruto said, and Itachi thought he could hear his face melting to a more sober expression.
“But we still talk, occasionally.”
“Like Christmas and birthdays?”
“Something like that.”
Naruto laughed quietly and Itachi felt his own lips turn upwards a little. He glanced at his watch.
“I have to go now.”
“Yeah, me too. So, tomorrow?”
“Eight o’clock at Danny’s, correct?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
“Yes.”
Itachi watched as the seconds kept counting on the screen and realized Naruto haven’t ended the call either. He pressed the red button and pocketed his mobile, feeling lighter and more good-humored than he could remember being in a long time.
.
Naruto was in his fifth cup of coffee. Or maybe sixth? He couldn’t remember. There was a huge stack of folders on his tiny, cramped desk at the end of the hall and he did not want to go back there.
He had been working in this company for nearly five months now and he still couldn’t figure out how it was possible to survive such a boring job day after day after day. All he ever did was read stuff, respond to e-mails, drink coffee, forward e-mails, read more stuff, maybe copy some documents, make spreadsheets of doom that showed how many boring things he had done that week and drink more coffee. Oh, and go to the bathroom, because after two cups it was kind of a necessity.
He didn’t feel particularly happy in this job, but the pay was good and that meant being able to pay the rent and buy some food. Sure it wasn’t what he imagined himself doing as he got older, but he was a 21-year-old dropout with no parents and almost no other alternatives, so there really hadn’t been much of a choice.
It could be worse. It could be a lot worse. At least he had friends and a nice income. Of course it didn’t mean that he would stop complaining about how much of an ass his boss was, because he could. And he did. Often. Very often. For one, since he started working here his boss had not left his office to mingle with his employees; always so full of himself and sending monosyllabic memos that pissed Naruto off to no end.
He threw his paper cup into the bin and made his way back to his cubicle. He bet what his boss lacked was a sex life; a good, active one, with plenty of spanking to take that hard shell off.
.
Itachi was definitely overworking himself to insanity. He had read the same paragraph for the last twenty minutes and all he could think about was what he had missed in Naruto’s talk about his friend’s speech in his engagement party. It had been nagging him since he came to work and now he couldn’t stop thinking about what Naruto could have possibly said when he wasn’t paying attention.
He decided to let someone else deal with the paragraph problem and forwarded the document to one of his employees with a quick note asking him to summarize it and send it back as quick as possible.
.
Naruto stared at his computer screen in utter disbelief. His boss really needed sex. He had just sent him an e-mail ordering him to basically read stuff for him.
He reached for his cell phone and wrote a quick message to his cab crush.
boss being a dick. fml
.
Itachi’s phone chirped and he retrieved it from his pocket. Naruto had sent him a text message from work complaining about his boss. He texted him a curt reply after, admittedly, searching what fml meant on the internet.
.
Naruto snorted at the reply. Maybe he was just fated to live among men who couldn’t express themselves through technology, just his luck.
.
Day 3
Danny’s was a surprisingly clean and pleasant restaurant, Itachi discovered the next day. It was small and clearly very popular, but it seemed nice and it smelled of food, which was really all he cared about at that moment. He had to work after hours again to wrap up things for tomorrow and that meant a lot of caffeine and no real food.
Naruto waved him over from a distant booth tucked into a corner. He had a beer in front of him and an expectant look on his face.
“So? What do you think? It’s not anything fancy, but it’s not that bad, right?”
Itachi allowed him a small smile. “No, it’s not. It’s actually very nice.”
Naruto beamed at him. “Do you want a beer? Coke? Soda?”
“A water is fine. Would you mind ordering now? I’m famished.”
“No, I wouldn’t mind at all. I really recommend the cheeseburger, by the way.”
“The cheeseburger?”
“Yeah, trust me, best thing you’ll ever taste in a greasy package.”
Itachi lips turned down in slight disgust. Naruto laughed.
“Trust me, it’s really good.”
Itachi raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, but nodded his consent in the end. Naruto called the waiter over to order their meal. The man wrote it down and gave them an assessing look as if trying to decide whether this was a work meeting or not. Itachi guessed it felt odd to go out with someone so much younger than him, but Naruto winked at him and started talking in that fast, nonstop way of his and soon he couldn’t care less about anything that waiter might have thought.
.
It turned out Naruto was right. The burger really was good.
.
“And then I said to him, Sasuke, you’re my best friend and I love you, but your hair is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.”
Itachi snorted amusedly. He blew warm air into his hands to warm them up and tried to keep up with the story Naruto was narrating. It had something to do with his friend’s bachelor party going terribly wrong, but what Itachi was really paying attention to was the faces Naruto kept pulling as he spoke.
Naruto’s apartment was close to the diner and he had suggested they walk instead of calling a cab. A decision Itachi was starting to regret because the cold night air was more than a little upsetting and he briefly wished he was still inside the restaurant where it was warm and there was food.
“And you know what he did? He just gave me this kind of hurt look, like I had said something bad about his mom or something.”
“A man’s hairstyle is a very personal matter.” Itachi said.
Naruto chuckled and poked Itachi’s arm with his elbow. “You would know, right?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Naruto just laughed harder.
.
Itachi was so thankful for the warmth inside Naruto’s apartment he even considered saying so, but caught himself before he did.
“You can leave your coat on the couch.” Naruto said, quickly stepping inside and out of Itachi’s sight. “Want a beer? I’m gonna go grab one.”
Itachi took a moment to look around and didn’t reply. The apartment was small, but it seemed practical and lived-in, in a cozy and inviting kind of way. There were things like forgotten glasses of water scattered around the living room, and a book shelf with only a handful of books that Itachi suspected contained nothing but pornography. Every thing seemed to remind Itachi of Naruto; everything fit.
He could see Naruto living here. He could see him in the DVD collection and the well-worn couch.
Naruto came back with two cans of beer. “You didn’t say anything so I took it as a yes.”
Itachi reached out and took the cans from his hold, placing them on a stack of magazines nearby.
“What…?” Naruto made a half attempt to ask, but seemed to get the idea midway. His mouth was still open when Itachi closed the space between them and pressed their lips together.
A pair of arms circled around Itachi’s neck and he thought this fit too.
.
Hungry kisses and roaming hands turned to cold hands under shirts. Hands fisting hair turned to unbuckling belts. Ragged breathing turned to sucking necks and the hot press of unclothed erections.
Naruto’s bedroom was small and cold and there was streetlamp light coming through the cracks of the blinds. Itachi saw sweat pool on the hollow creases of Naruto’s skin and promptly licked it away. Naruto had Itachi’s hips in a tight grip as he used it to grind their groins together impossibly close, closer. Itachi keened into Naruto’s shoulder, gripping the bed’s cover to support his weight and keep himself from crushing the boy. Naruto chanted his name in worship, seizing skin to hold in a hard grip, harder.
Itachi came suddenly and with a cry, as if his orgasm had been punched out of him. He felt mildly embarrassed, but it really couldn’t be helped; he didn’t even remember the last he reached second base on a first date. Naruto’s hands cradled his skull with surprisingly gentleness and guided him to lazy kisses as he rode off his high, hips still stuttering weakly.
“We need to do that again.” Naruto said in a breathy voice.
“Give me fifteen minutes.” Itachi replied, earning him a hiccupped laugh.
He felt the hot press of Naruto’s erection against his abdomen and planted his knees on the mattress, using it as leverage to pull Naruto towards the center of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
He moved down Naruto’s body, mouthing nipples and ribs and hipbones until he focused his attention between his legs.
“Oh.” Naruto breathed out as Itachi swallowed him down. “Oh.”
Itachi only half heard the string of nonsense spilling from Naruto’s mouth, choosing instead to lift the boy’s legs over his shoulder and getting a couple of fingers between his cheeks to press against his rim. Naruto squirmed even more and his voice cracked around the words.
“Fucking tease.” Naruto whined with a gasp. “God, where did you even learn that?”
Itachi felt Naruto’s balls constricting, and pulled out. “Where is…?” He asked, and even he could hear the rasp on his own voice.
“Drawer, second.” Naruto said, taking deep breaths. “Good God, fuck me already.”
Even with Naruto’s legs enveloping like an octopus Itachi was able to find a bottle of lube and a condom. And since he wasn’t in a hurry, he took his time preparing Naruto, holding the base of his cock to keep him from coming too soon as the fingered him relentlessly. By the time he rolled on the condom and lined up, Naruto was silently gripping cover and sheets and making a mess of the bed underneath him.
The first thrust in was a glorious thing; tight blinding heat clouded Itachi’s eyes with white sparking fireworks behind his lids. He gave it a few unmeasured thrusts before setting in a decent rhythm. Naruto clawed at his back with one hand and used the other to crawl between them and cover Itachi’s fist in a strong grip. They worked in unison, sharing damp breaths and sticky sweat, the room quickly heating up until it was almost unbearably hot.
Itachi pushed Naruto’s hand away to move faster; the sounds spilling from the boy’s mouth spurring him on. Soon Naruto was coming apart at the seams, a cry strangled in his throat as his body shook in short spasms. Itachi held him through it, still stroking him in slow, lazy movements that made the boy’s eyelids flutter. He waited until Naruto relaxed again, boneless and pliant, to pick up where he left off. His thrusts were steadier and deeper now, and Naruto kept pressing fingertips along his shoulder blades, letting out small sighs of contentment that were making Itachi’s skin coil in anticipation and excitement, until Itachi clutched at Naruto’s relaxed body and groaned against his neck, enveloped in thick, moist warmth.
Naruto moved his head and looked at him with dazed eyes, “Fifteen more minutes?”
Itachi laughed breathlessly and nodded.
.
Day 4
Hi!!1 :)
Hello, Naruto.
u free tonight?
I’ll have to work late. : /
maybe i can come over 2 keep u compny ;)
I can’t see how that will be productive.
but itll be fun
Naruto’s phone chirped some minutes later with a full address plus alternatives routes.
.
Naruto was sure he had broken some kind of record after he had arrived in Itachi’s office through an old fire escape staircase and already had him over his own desk, legs spread wide to accommodate Naruto’s body between them and mouth sealed to his in a powerful lock.
It came as no surprise when Itachi texted him the address that they were sharing the same office building since everyone knew the building allocated several floors to different companies. What was startling was that Itachi worked just one floor above him and somehow Naruto managed to not see him for almost all five months that he had worked there.
His fingers undid Itachi’s belt and pushed his pants open to palm the bulge between his legs.
“Listen I was,” Naruto said accompanied by a gasp, “Talking to my friends.”
Itachi made an impatient noise, “Is now really the right time to talk about it?”
Naruto ignored him. “I was telling them about you.”
Itachi groaned as Naruto’s fingers began rubbing him through his pants. “Oh.”
“Yeah, and they asked us to have dinner tomorrow. Is that okay?” Naruto said against his jawbone, biting it gently. “You’re so hot like this.”
“Yes.” Itachi answered, not sure to which statement he was agreeing with, and Naruto grinned against his skin. Itachi gasped when Naruto brought his cock out of his underwear and started stroking it with nimble fingers. He felt Itachi’s legs close around him and bring him closer. Naruto held him in a firm grip and guided it to bulge on his own pants, smearing pre-come on his jeans. Itachi threw his head back from the friction, moaning raggedly, his shoulder-length dark hair messy from Naruto’s hands.
Naruto quickly opened his zipper and used both hands to hold them both together, feeling their combined weight on his palm. Itachi was supporting himself on his hands and Naruto could see the muscles quivering beneath layers of the clothing. He could smell the heavy scent of pre-come and sex, and pressed his forehead to Itachi’s cheek, “God, you’re so beautiful.”
Itachi’s legs tightened around him and Naruto thought for a moment that he was going to fall on top of Itachi and they both would fall off the desk, but they somehow managed to rebalance themselves. He pumped their joined cocks fast and hard, Itachi’s mouth seeking his before going slack as his whole body uncoiled violently, his whole body shaking with it. Naruto came soon after; the rapture on Itachi’s face was enough to trigger his own orgasm.
He rested his sweaty forehand on Itachi’s, taking deep breaths until Itachi started fidgeting and the muscles of his arms seemed about to give out.
Naruto was glad Itachi had stayed after hours or else they would have to worry about someone coming in to see what the hell was going on. He backed away a few steps to allow Itachi’s feet fully back on the ground.
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to work now.”
Naruto laughed. “Sorry.” He pointed to the paper bags he had brought with him. “I did bring food, though.”
“Which is probably cold.”
“Which is probably cold,” Naruto agreed.
Naruto watched Itachi pull himself back together and walk over the paper bags to inspect them.
“What is this?”
Naruto tucked himself in too and thought some paper towels right about now would be have been awesome and made a mental reminder to bring some the next time. “It’s ramen. There’s a place near here, I always go there when I have to stay late.”
Naruto handed him a plastic bowel and chopsticks. Itachi sat on the floor with his legs crossed and started eating. Naruto frowned a little at how odd it seemed to see him like that, but took out his own bowl and sat beside him. He wondered if post-sex meals always had this effect on Itachi, and, if they did, how he could exploit that in the future.
They ate quietly for a moment before Itachi decided to break the silence.
“What is your boss like?”
“You mean besides him being a jerk?”
“I mean physical appearance.”
Naruto chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him to be honest.”
Itachi raised his eyebrows at him. “And how do you communicate?”
“Through memos and e-mails. He sends a shitload of e-mails, but they’re all, like, one line each.”
“Is that what you don’t like about him?”
“Nah, not just that, it just pisses me off. What I don’t like is his policy of never showing up to talk to me or any of the other guys, it’s like he thinks he’s too important to come out of his lair or something.”
“Maybe he just has a lot of work. Me, for example, I’ve been running this company for years, and I used to know everyone. But now there are so many customers that I haven’t had time to get to know any of the most recent employees.”
“Yeah, but you’re a nice guy.”
Itachi seemed about to add something more, but shook his head and flashed a small smile in appreciation for the compliment.
“So this.” Naruto started, lowering his chopsticks for a moment. “Us, I mean. Are we dating, like, officially dating?”
Itachi stirred his noodles in slow circular movements. “Do you want it to be?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“With the guy you met in a cab?”
“With the guy who gives amazing head and has a really cool office, yeah.”
Itachi laughed and it surprised Naruto how nice it sounded. He realized then that this was the first he heard him laughing, actually laughing. He bumped shoulders with him and enjoyed the comfortable silence as they finished their meals.
.
Day 5
Itachi felt strangely out of place as he and Naruto stood in the elevator waiting to meet Naruto’s friends. He was carrying a bottle of white wine Naruto had made him buy to, quoting him, cause a good impression.
He sensed Naruto’s nervousness as a physical thing, but he guessed it couldn’t be helped. He would have felt the same if he were to introduce him to his parents or his brother. He understood friends were very important to the boy and that their opinion could influence his decisions. But the obligation to be nice to other people was something Itachi had never really been comfortable with.
The elevator came to a stop on the fifth floor and the metal doors slid open.
“If you could, like, smile a lot, that would be nice.”
Itachi gave him a look.
Naruto pursed his lips. “Never mind.”
They stopped in front of the door number 504 and knocked. Soon a pretty girl that Itachi guessed was about Naruto’s age, with bright green eyes and a sweet smile opened the door.
“So this is the mysterious boyfriend you’ve been talking about.”
Naruto shifted beside him, and Itachi raised an amused eyebrow at him.
“We brought wine.” He said, taking the bottle from Itachi’s hand and shoving it in the girl’s direction.
Naruto’s friend laughed and stepped aside to let them in. “You’re such a gentleman.” She said mockingly.
“Where’s that bastard you decided to marry?” Naruto asked already taking off his coat and gesturing for Itachi to do the same.
“Oh, he decided to cook,” the girl said with a deep frown, “But I don’t think he actually knows what he’s doing.”
Naruto laughed whole-heartedly, “Sounds like him.” He pointed at Itachi, “This is Itachi, by the way. Itachi this is Sakura.”
The girl smiled at Itachi and extended her hand, “Hi, nice to meet. Naruto’s been talking about you a lot.”
Itachi shook it politely, “Has he?”
“I’m gonna go check out what Sasuke’s doing, see you guys in a bit.” Naruto said and left. Itachi felt somewhat betrayed for being left alone with a stranger, but remembered to not let it show on his face.
Sakura licked her lips and motioned him to the couch. “So, come in, let’s take a seat.” Itachi positioned himself near the arm rest and stayed rather stiffly observing as the girl moved to sit near him. “I’m sorry; I didn’t even ask if you wanted something to drink.”
“I’m fine.” Itachi said.
The girl nodded and sat beside him in silence. There was an uncomfortable pause during which Itachi watched as Naruto’s friend tapped her fingers over her bony knees repeatedly.
He saw her open her mouth to initiate conversation and internally groaned.
“So,” She started, extending the vowel to show just how awkward this was for her too. “You and Naruto work in the same building?”
“Yes.”
She nodded again, “That’s nice.”
Itachi hoped she would stop there, for both of their sakes.
“You know, Sasuke got him the job there.”
But clearly that was not the case.
“Really?”
“Yes, his brother owns a company with offices there and heard that they needed new people.”
“That’s fortunate. But from what I heard the job bores him. He complains a lot.”
Sakura smiled, “Naruto is way too overactive, he gets bored very easily.”
“He also complains about his boss.”
“Yeah, about that.” Sakura seemed unwilling to talk about it further, but now Itachi’s curiosity was picked.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Look, don’t tell him I told you.” She looked in the direction where Itachi assumed was the kitchen. “But Sasuke and his brother haven’t been on the best terms for a few years, and I think that’s why Naruto doesn’t like him. Maybe he feels it’s his duty as best friend to always side with Sasuke.” She looked at her own hands for a moment. Her engagement ring had a single diamond on a thin string of yellow gold and Itachi found it oddly familiar. “But, to be honest, I don’t think he should.”
“That’s a very beautiful ring.” Itachi said.
Sakura looked a little startled by the sudden change in topic, but smiled. “Yes, it belonged to Sasuke’s mother.”
Itachi took Sakura’s hand in his and brought it closer to his eyes. He frowned as he turned her hand to look at it in a better angle.
His own mother had owned that same jewel in the years she had been engaged to his father.
Could it be--? Could it possibly…
“Food’s ready!” Naruto’s voice pierced through the air. Itachi dropped Sakura’s hand and looked up. Naruto noticed this and came closer with a concerned frown. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Sakura have you seen the oven mitts?” asked the man coming from the kitchen behind Naruto, and Itachi instantly recognized him, though his hair was longer and he seemed different from the last time he had seen him.
Itachi rose from the couch. What could he do or say? He hadn’t seen his brother for so long it was almost as if he didn’t know him anymore.
Sasuke stopped mid-stride when his eyes found Itachi, and he seemed to be in the same situation, mouth hanging on the air.
Naruto looked between them, and Itachi could almost see the gears turning in his head.
“No.” He said, “No way.” His eyes grew impossibly large and Itachi felt his heart give a painful twist inside his ribcage at the expression forming on his face. The look of concern and confusion in Naruto’s eyes quickly morphed into anger and shock.
Sakura seemed to be the only one not understanding a thing of what was happening. She looked at the three men, eyes finally resting on her fiancé. “Do you know him?”
Sasuke blinked and tried to regain some composure. “Yes. Yes, this is Itachi, he’s... He’s my brother.”
Itachi felt the tension build incredibly fast in the room. He had much to tell his brother, but he knew now was neither the time nor the place. “I should go.”
“No, wait a minute.” Naruto protested looking slightly lost between supporting his friend and reassuring his boyfriend. Itachi couldn’t deny he was a little disappointed, even though he knew there was no way he could compete with the bond between Naruto and his friends. “So, you are… You are Sasuke’s brother? Your Sasuke and my Sasuke, are, like, the same guy?” He saw Naruto swallow and shudder, and the voice with which he asked again was so quiet and fragile Itachi feared it would break. “So… this means you’re my boss?”
Itachi held Naruto’s stare of disbelief and felt sick to his stomach. He was dating his brother’s best friend, worse even, he was dating his brother’s best friend who also happened to be his employee and who had spend the last five days saying how much he hates his boss.
How much he hates him.
Itachi turned to Sakura, who was still sitting on the couch with an expression of mild confusion. “I apologize for not staying for dinner. It has been a pleasure.”
Itachi passed Naruto and his brother, sparing a glance to the latter. He knew his and Sasuke’s conversation would be long and stressful, and thankfully his brother seemed to be aware of that too, if the tight look he directed at him was anything to go by.
He loved his brother dearly, but his and Sasuke’s relationship was still too strained. He knew Sasuke still blamed him for leaving their parent’s house and he still wouldn’t accept the man Sasuke had become in his absence; bitter and angry and confused. Sasuke had been too young to understand his motives, but he had not been able to stay in that house any longer without going completely mad. The resentment Sasuke nourished had corrupted their relationship, and as much as he wanted to be closer to his brother again, things were still too sore; too raw.
It was best to retreat now; give them both some much needed time to think. Especially now, when things were covered by so many more unexpected layers, including Naruto.
Especially Naruto.
“Congratulations on the wedding.” He said before leaving.
The door closed with a quiet sound and all three remaining people in the living room were still too stunned to move.
“What just happened?” Sakura asked with a tiny hint of hysteria in her voice that made Naruto shiver.
“That was my brother.” Sasuke said, sounding shaken and lost. He slumped in the nearest armchair and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “I can’t believe Naruto’s dating my brother.”
“Dude, I didn’t know.” Naruto was quick to say. He too felt more than a little disorientated. Everything that happened in the past few days coming back to him in a rush, and he tried desperately to understand how could he possibly have missed something this big. “I’m sorry.”
Sakura rose from her seat and walked up to Naruto, giving him a very serious look.
“Sakura, what. What are you…?” Naruto tried to protest as Sakura’s hand closed around his bicep hard enough to bruise and she dragged him over to the door.
“Look here, Naruto. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but if you don’t go after your boyfriend now I’ll have to hurt you.”
Naruto stared at her as if she had just grown another pair of limbs. “What the hell, Sakura, I can’t just leave Sasuke like this!”
Sakura slapped him on the shoulder and Naruto had forgotten how strong she was.
“I’ll deal with Sasuke. You told me over the phone that that guy was making you happy, remember?”
“Yeah, but…”
“No. No, you’re not going to throw this away because of Sasuke.”
“But Sasuke is my friend!” Naruto exclaimed.
“He’s also a big boy, Naruto. If he has issues with his brother I’m sure he can figure those out on his own, you don’t need to protect him all the time.”
Naruto stared at her. He knew rationally that what she said was right, but his heart felt heavy thinking that to keep something he liked, he would have to betray a friendship he fought so hard to keep. He didn’t want to choose. It wasn’t fair that he had to. When he finally found a guy he thought he could be happy with he finds out he is also the guy his best friend couldn’t stand and his asshole of a boss. If he could go back and never find out his friend and Itachi’s brother were the same person he selfishly would; he would do anything to be blessedly ignorant again and forever.
Sakura shoved his and Itachi’s coats into his slack hands and opened the door. “Don’t be a coward now.” She said and Naruto felt her words perforating his skin like daggers. “Go after him. I’ll call you later.”
Naruto’s numb feet carried him out of the door, clutching both coats against his chest. He forced himself to walk a couple of steps in the direction of the elevator.
“He seems like a nice guy.” Sakura said, and when Naruto turned to look at her she had one of the saddest looks Naruto has ever seen in her eyes.
Naruto gave her a weak smile and punched the elevator button. “He is.”
.
i got ur coat. where r u?
Naruto sent the text message and stared at his phone. It was probably too late, he thought. If he had been in Itachi’s position he would never answer that text.
But he wasn’t in his position, and thankfully his phone chirped to life a moment later.
I’m in my office.
Naruto frowned, rereading the message thinking maybe he had got it wrong. He walked to the curb and thought that it was ironic how he never seemed to get a cab when he needed one, and how he was always late for the most important things.
.
Everything was dark and empty and cold, and considering it was a Saturday night and it was really close to ten o’clock Naruto thought it was supposed to be dark and empty and cold.
He didn’t come through the fire escape this time and it felt incredibly odd to be walking to his boss’s office to meet his still-possibly-maybe-boyfriend. He saw the light coming from Itachi’s office and knocked gently on the door.
“Come in.” Itachi’s voice spoke, and though it didn’t sound any different from normal, Naruto knew it was.
“Hey.” He said opening the door and stepping in. “You forgot your coat.”
Itachi looked up from his computer screen and gave him a long look that made Naruto feel like he was being examined. He was, in a way.
“Thank you.” Itachi’s voice was polite, but dry, and Naruto knew he was pissed.
He debated whether he should come closer or stay by the door. Maybe he should just run away screaming.
“I didn’t know; that you and Sasuke were brothers, I mean. I didn’t know that.”
Itachi was still giving him that long look that Naruto couldn’t decide if it was of anger or disappointment. Both, most probably. He knew he would be feeling both and a few others if it were him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I’m sorry I blew everything up between us.” Naruto walked over the desk, the same desk he had pressed Itachi against just a day before, and deposited Itachi’s dark coat over it. He paused with his hand still lingering on the fabric, not wanting to let it go.
He had liked Itachi from the moment they were on the cab, talking about everything at the same time - Naruto did all of the talking, to be honest - and even more when he had actually called him after that. He liked how Itachi kissed his neck and how he looked like a wet cat every time he left the shower.
He liked talking to him and walking with him and watching him eat burgers.
But he had been friends with Sasuke before he met Itachi. He had been there when Sasuke’s brother left him alone with their crazy parents and he had been there to help him pick up the pieces and try to move on with his life. They had gone through so much and it wouldn’t be fair to him.
I wasn’t fair to Naruto either.
“I’m sorry we didn’t work out. I’ll send you my resignation on Monday, okay?”
His fingers abandoned the smooth texture of Itachi’s coat, and he turned around, heading towards the door.
“I came here,” Itachi said, and Naruto turned to him so fast he felt his neck crack a little. “Because I needed to understand why you hated me so much.”
“I don’t hate you.” Naruto responded quickly.
Itachi looked at him, but now it had a tiny hint of amusement in his eyes. “Professionally.”
Naruto looked at him without understanding for a moment. Then he remembered all the times he had complained about his boss to Itachi. About how much of an ass he was and how stupid his demands were, but now that he knew Itachi had been his boss all along and the he had actually been talking about his own boyfriend the whole time, he wished the ground would swallow him whole and never spit him out again. As if this things between them wasn’t messy enough.
“I-I don’t…” He felt bright red shame color his neck and face, “I was just venting about work. I didn’t really dislike you, I was just. It didn’t mean anything.”
Itachi was still looking at him with that tiny hint of something in his expression, but Naruto felt too small and inappropriate to even look him in the eye anymore. He was angry and confused and ashamed, and all he wanted was to leave and never come back.
“I think you were right.” Itachi said, “I was reading some of the emails in the sent folder and I understand now how some of thing I wrote could have been interpreted as rude.”
Naruto noticed Itachi was moving, but didn’t dare look or even breathe. He had too many conflicting feelings and too little time to deal with all them at once. Itachi came to stand before him and he felt his body heat reach him in tantalizing waves.
“Sasuke and I haven’t been a family for some time, but that is something between us. As for this,” He said, and Naruto understood that now he was talking about their relationship, “I think we worked rather well together.”
Naruto breathed in and out to calm the heart threatening to explode within his chest that couldn’t possibly be his own.
“I know you love your friends and I don’t wish to make you choose between my brother and I.” Itachi took a step forward and Naruto thought he could smell his own shampoo that the bastard had stolen that same morning when taking a shower in his apartment. “All I’m asking is for more time with you.”
Naruto stared at him, looking for something, anything, that could mean that this was actually happening and that things weren’t lost forever. He crossed the distance between them and pulled Itachi in. He loved Sasuke, but he kind of liked Itachi too, and he wanted, more than anything, to keep this. All of this. Sasuke and Itachi and all the great things he had just a few hours ago. He wanted this to be right and he wanted it to be okay. He wanted to fight for this until there was no strength left in his body. Naruto smashed his face against Itachi’s shoulder and held him tight, scared that the man might slip away if he let go.
He felt Itachi’s fingers on his hair, cradling his skull and tilting his face upwards to kiss his lips chastely, gently.
“Yes,” Naruto said around his mouth, holding him close and stealing his breath. They would try and struggle and fight, and maybe in the end everything would work out fine. Naruto hoped it would. “Yes.”
.
.
.
.
Recipient: cutsycat
Author: wooblywooble
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Itachi/Naruto, background Sasuke/Sakura
Word Count: 7.177
Warnings: Consensual sex, some foul language
Summary: Itachi owns a company and works day and night to make ends meet. One day he meets the oddest man he has ever seen, and who just might be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Disclaimer: The characters hereon belong to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this work.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to my beta, Lily (sakuralilian), for her suggestions and much-needed criticism.
Day 1
It is dark out by the time Itachi gets the chance to finally leave his office. He scrubbed a hand over his face as he tiredly stood at the curb waiting for a taxi. He had been able to finish all the paperwork due tomorrow, but unfortunately that meant staying for far more hours then he would’ve liked.
He saw a yellow blur in the distance and extended his arm to wave it over. At the same time he thought he saw another blonde flash leaving the office building through the corner of his eye, but maybe he was indeed starting to overwork himself to a state where he was seeing things. It wouldn’t be unheard of.
The cab stopped near him and he bent over to open the door.
“I’m really sorry!”
Itachi turned his head and there actually was a blonde person behind him - for whom he was honestly thankful; adding psychiatric visits to his schedule would have been difficult. The man, a kid really since he didn’t look a day over 20, had a helpless expression on his otherwise handsome face and Itachi immediately felt somewhat sorry for him already.
“But would you mind if I took this one?” He gestured for the cab, where the driver had a dark scowl of discontent etched around his mouth for having to wait. “Or maybe we could share? I’m really late.”
Itachi was slightly taken aback, “I’m very tired…”
The boy gave him a kind of soulful whine and a pout, which reminded Itachi of his younger brother whenever he wasn’t allowed something he really wanted. He sighed; he had never been able to resist his brother anything when he gave him that pout.
“Sharing is fine. Is your destination very far?”
“No!” The boy was quick to say, already coming into the taxi faster than Itachi could process.
“Oh.” Itachi said, climbing on the vehicle after him.
What an odd man.
.
Itachi stared at the piece of paper with a scrawled number and name on it. He barely remembered what the boy - Naruto, apparently - had said as he spoke faster than anyone Itachi had ever met in his life. And with hand gestures to mimic his words.
What he did understand was that Naruto was late for an engagement party between his two best friends and didn’t have time to buy them a present because of working hours, which seemed to frustrate him greatly because apparently his boss was a ‘dick’. He also learned that Naruto was bisexual, and that he enjoyed television more than literature, though he did open an exception to pornographic literature since he knew one of the genre’s most famous writers.
And somewhere along his monologue he had asked Itachi out on a date. An actual, real life date. Itachi couldn’t even remember when he had been asked out for a friendly drink, much less a date.
And somewhere during Itachi’s silence Naruto had decided the matter was settled and ripped out the date 12th of January of his planner to write down his name and phone number, before climbing out of the vehicle and waving good-bye.
It all happened so fast Itachi was having a hard time wrapping his head around it. He now had a date with a bisexual, perverted, 20-something blonde and his cab driver was giving him a mean look through the rear mirror.
He shook his head. This was insane; he was going insane.
He gave his address to the cabbie and pressed his fingers against his eye sockets hard, watching millions of little starts explode behind his eyelids. Tomorrow this idea of blondes in cabs would hopefully be gone and he would be able to focus on work.
.
Day 2
“I’m looking for a man named Naruto. That’s N-A-R-U-T-O.”
A slightly boyish laughter sounded on the other side of the line and Itachi knew then that he was talking with the same man that yesterday sort of - not really - stole his cab.
“I was kinda thinking you wouldn’t call.”
“Why? You gave me you number.”
“Yeah, but, you know, you meet a hot guy in a cab, not exactly love at first sight, right?”
“Hot guy?”
“Of course you’d focus on that.”
“I’m sorry, are you saying you wish I didn’t call?”
“I mean, I wanted you to call, I just didn’t think you would.”
“But I did.”
“Yeah.”
“And you did ask me out yesterday.”
“Yeah, but that was kind of a long shot.”
“I’m available tomorrow.”
“Available? This is a board meeting now?”
“Need I remind you that it was you who asked me out?”
“Tomorrow’s good. Eight o’clock at Danny’s?”
“I don’t know where that is.”
“I’ll text you the address, no biggie.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Itachi stayed silent, his heart slightly accelerated.
“It’s a date.” Naruto said, and Itachi could imagine just the right smile to go with his cheeky tone.
“It is.”
Naruto then diverted the topic to something else entirely, but Itachi tuned him out in favor of listening to the pleasant lilt of his voice. Not very deep, but not obnoxiously high-pitched either. He had a peculiar speech pattern, something about the way he spoke that he couldn’t quite pinpoint, but found amusing nonetheless.
“So I told Sasuke he was being a prick, because, c’mon, who gives a speech like that at their engagement party, you know? And I knew he was really nervous and needed to blow off some steam before going back and talking to Sakura.” Naruto said, “And I said, go there and talk to your girl, man, don’t be a bitch.”
Itachi raised his eyebrows at the other’s vocabulary, “I’m to guess he didn’t take it too well?”
“Who? Sasuke? No, he’s always a bitch, always whining about something or another. He’s a good guy; he just gets so much stuff wrong most of the time.”
Itachi hummed under his breath as he held the phone between cheek and shoulder in order finish tying his tie. “You seem to understand him well.”
He heard a faint snort on the other side and assumed he was correct.
“Yeah, well, if you knew him as long as I do you would too.”
There was a moment of silence and Itachi felt it was best to initiate a new topic himself.
“My brother is also a Sasuke.”
“Really? Does he whine a lot too?”
“No, I mean his name is Sasuke too.”
“Oh.” Naruto said, “That’s cool. Is he older than you?”
“Younger. But I haven’t seen him a while, we had a,” Itachi tried to find a better word, but couldn’t think of anything, “Fight. A big one.”
“Oh.” Naruto said, and Itachi thought he could hear his face melting to a more sober expression.
“But we still talk, occasionally.”
“Like Christmas and birthdays?”
“Something like that.”
Naruto laughed quietly and Itachi felt his own lips turn upwards a little. He glanced at his watch.
“I have to go now.”
“Yeah, me too. So, tomorrow?”
“Eight o’clock at Danny’s, correct?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
“Yes.”
Itachi watched as the seconds kept counting on the screen and realized Naruto haven’t ended the call either. He pressed the red button and pocketed his mobile, feeling lighter and more good-humored than he could remember being in a long time.
.
Naruto was in his fifth cup of coffee. Or maybe sixth? He couldn’t remember. There was a huge stack of folders on his tiny, cramped desk at the end of the hall and he did not want to go back there.
He had been working in this company for nearly five months now and he still couldn’t figure out how it was possible to survive such a boring job day after day after day. All he ever did was read stuff, respond to e-mails, drink coffee, forward e-mails, read more stuff, maybe copy some documents, make spreadsheets of doom that showed how many boring things he had done that week and drink more coffee. Oh, and go to the bathroom, because after two cups it was kind of a necessity.
He didn’t feel particularly happy in this job, but the pay was good and that meant being able to pay the rent and buy some food. Sure it wasn’t what he imagined himself doing as he got older, but he was a 21-year-old dropout with no parents and almost no other alternatives, so there really hadn’t been much of a choice.
It could be worse. It could be a lot worse. At least he had friends and a nice income. Of course it didn’t mean that he would stop complaining about how much of an ass his boss was, because he could. And he did. Often. Very often. For one, since he started working here his boss had not left his office to mingle with his employees; always so full of himself and sending monosyllabic memos that pissed Naruto off to no end.
He threw his paper cup into the bin and made his way back to his cubicle. He bet what his boss lacked was a sex life; a good, active one, with plenty of spanking to take that hard shell off.
.
Itachi was definitely overworking himself to insanity. He had read the same paragraph for the last twenty minutes and all he could think about was what he had missed in Naruto’s talk about his friend’s speech in his engagement party. It had been nagging him since he came to work and now he couldn’t stop thinking about what Naruto could have possibly said when he wasn’t paying attention.
He decided to let someone else deal with the paragraph problem and forwarded the document to one of his employees with a quick note asking him to summarize it and send it back as quick as possible.
.
Naruto stared at his computer screen in utter disbelief. His boss really needed sex. He had just sent him an e-mail ordering him to basically read stuff for him.
He reached for his cell phone and wrote a quick message to his cab crush.
boss being a dick. fml
.
Itachi’s phone chirped and he retrieved it from his pocket. Naruto had sent him a text message from work complaining about his boss. He texted him a curt reply after, admittedly, searching what fml meant on the internet.
.
Naruto snorted at the reply. Maybe he was just fated to live among men who couldn’t express themselves through technology, just his luck.
.
Day 3
Danny’s was a surprisingly clean and pleasant restaurant, Itachi discovered the next day. It was small and clearly very popular, but it seemed nice and it smelled of food, which was really all he cared about at that moment. He had to work after hours again to wrap up things for tomorrow and that meant a lot of caffeine and no real food.
Naruto waved him over from a distant booth tucked into a corner. He had a beer in front of him and an expectant look on his face.
“So? What do you think? It’s not anything fancy, but it’s not that bad, right?”
Itachi allowed him a small smile. “No, it’s not. It’s actually very nice.”
Naruto beamed at him. “Do you want a beer? Coke? Soda?”
“A water is fine. Would you mind ordering now? I’m famished.”
“No, I wouldn’t mind at all. I really recommend the cheeseburger, by the way.”
“The cheeseburger?”
“Yeah, trust me, best thing you’ll ever taste in a greasy package.”
Itachi lips turned down in slight disgust. Naruto laughed.
“Trust me, it’s really good.”
Itachi raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, but nodded his consent in the end. Naruto called the waiter over to order their meal. The man wrote it down and gave them an assessing look as if trying to decide whether this was a work meeting or not. Itachi guessed it felt odd to go out with someone so much younger than him, but Naruto winked at him and started talking in that fast, nonstop way of his and soon he couldn’t care less about anything that waiter might have thought.
.
It turned out Naruto was right. The burger really was good.
.
“And then I said to him, Sasuke, you’re my best friend and I love you, but your hair is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.”
Itachi snorted amusedly. He blew warm air into his hands to warm them up and tried to keep up with the story Naruto was narrating. It had something to do with his friend’s bachelor party going terribly wrong, but what Itachi was really paying attention to was the faces Naruto kept pulling as he spoke.
Naruto’s apartment was close to the diner and he had suggested they walk instead of calling a cab. A decision Itachi was starting to regret because the cold night air was more than a little upsetting and he briefly wished he was still inside the restaurant where it was warm and there was food.
“And you know what he did? He just gave me this kind of hurt look, like I had said something bad about his mom or something.”
“A man’s hairstyle is a very personal matter.” Itachi said.
Naruto chuckled and poked Itachi’s arm with his elbow. “You would know, right?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Naruto just laughed harder.
.
Itachi was so thankful for the warmth inside Naruto’s apartment he even considered saying so, but caught himself before he did.
“You can leave your coat on the couch.” Naruto said, quickly stepping inside and out of Itachi’s sight. “Want a beer? I’m gonna go grab one.”
Itachi took a moment to look around and didn’t reply. The apartment was small, but it seemed practical and lived-in, in a cozy and inviting kind of way. There were things like forgotten glasses of water scattered around the living room, and a book shelf with only a handful of books that Itachi suspected contained nothing but pornography. Every thing seemed to remind Itachi of Naruto; everything fit.
He could see Naruto living here. He could see him in the DVD collection and the well-worn couch.
Naruto came back with two cans of beer. “You didn’t say anything so I took it as a yes.”
Itachi reached out and took the cans from his hold, placing them on a stack of magazines nearby.
“What…?” Naruto made a half attempt to ask, but seemed to get the idea midway. His mouth was still open when Itachi closed the space between them and pressed their lips together.
A pair of arms circled around Itachi’s neck and he thought this fit too.
.
Hungry kisses and roaming hands turned to cold hands under shirts. Hands fisting hair turned to unbuckling belts. Ragged breathing turned to sucking necks and the hot press of unclothed erections.
Naruto’s bedroom was small and cold and there was streetlamp light coming through the cracks of the blinds. Itachi saw sweat pool on the hollow creases of Naruto’s skin and promptly licked it away. Naruto had Itachi’s hips in a tight grip as he used it to grind their groins together impossibly close, closer. Itachi keened into Naruto’s shoulder, gripping the bed’s cover to support his weight and keep himself from crushing the boy. Naruto chanted his name in worship, seizing skin to hold in a hard grip, harder.
Itachi came suddenly and with a cry, as if his orgasm had been punched out of him. He felt mildly embarrassed, but it really couldn’t be helped; he didn’t even remember the last he reached second base on a first date. Naruto’s hands cradled his skull with surprisingly gentleness and guided him to lazy kisses as he rode off his high, hips still stuttering weakly.
“We need to do that again.” Naruto said in a breathy voice.
“Give me fifteen minutes.” Itachi replied, earning him a hiccupped laugh.
He felt the hot press of Naruto’s erection against his abdomen and planted his knees on the mattress, using it as leverage to pull Naruto towards the center of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
He moved down Naruto’s body, mouthing nipples and ribs and hipbones until he focused his attention between his legs.
“Oh.” Naruto breathed out as Itachi swallowed him down. “Oh.”
Itachi only half heard the string of nonsense spilling from Naruto’s mouth, choosing instead to lift the boy’s legs over his shoulder and getting a couple of fingers between his cheeks to press against his rim. Naruto squirmed even more and his voice cracked around the words.
“Fucking tease.” Naruto whined with a gasp. “God, where did you even learn that?”
Itachi felt Naruto’s balls constricting, and pulled out. “Where is…?” He asked, and even he could hear the rasp on his own voice.
“Drawer, second.” Naruto said, taking deep breaths. “Good God, fuck me already.”
Even with Naruto’s legs enveloping like an octopus Itachi was able to find a bottle of lube and a condom. And since he wasn’t in a hurry, he took his time preparing Naruto, holding the base of his cock to keep him from coming too soon as the fingered him relentlessly. By the time he rolled on the condom and lined up, Naruto was silently gripping cover and sheets and making a mess of the bed underneath him.
The first thrust in was a glorious thing; tight blinding heat clouded Itachi’s eyes with white sparking fireworks behind his lids. He gave it a few unmeasured thrusts before setting in a decent rhythm. Naruto clawed at his back with one hand and used the other to crawl between them and cover Itachi’s fist in a strong grip. They worked in unison, sharing damp breaths and sticky sweat, the room quickly heating up until it was almost unbearably hot.
Itachi pushed Naruto’s hand away to move faster; the sounds spilling from the boy’s mouth spurring him on. Soon Naruto was coming apart at the seams, a cry strangled in his throat as his body shook in short spasms. Itachi held him through it, still stroking him in slow, lazy movements that made the boy’s eyelids flutter. He waited until Naruto relaxed again, boneless and pliant, to pick up where he left off. His thrusts were steadier and deeper now, and Naruto kept pressing fingertips along his shoulder blades, letting out small sighs of contentment that were making Itachi’s skin coil in anticipation and excitement, until Itachi clutched at Naruto’s relaxed body and groaned against his neck, enveloped in thick, moist warmth.
Naruto moved his head and looked at him with dazed eyes, “Fifteen more minutes?”
Itachi laughed breathlessly and nodded.
.
Day 4
Hi!!1 :)
Hello, Naruto.
u free tonight?
I’ll have to work late. : /
maybe i can come over 2 keep u compny ;)
I can’t see how that will be productive.
but itll be fun
Naruto’s phone chirped some minutes later with a full address plus alternatives routes.
.
Naruto was sure he had broken some kind of record after he had arrived in Itachi’s office through an old fire escape staircase and already had him over his own desk, legs spread wide to accommodate Naruto’s body between them and mouth sealed to his in a powerful lock.
It came as no surprise when Itachi texted him the address that they were sharing the same office building since everyone knew the building allocated several floors to different companies. What was startling was that Itachi worked just one floor above him and somehow Naruto managed to not see him for almost all five months that he had worked there.
His fingers undid Itachi’s belt and pushed his pants open to palm the bulge between his legs.
“Listen I was,” Naruto said accompanied by a gasp, “Talking to my friends.”
Itachi made an impatient noise, “Is now really the right time to talk about it?”
Naruto ignored him. “I was telling them about you.”
Itachi groaned as Naruto’s fingers began rubbing him through his pants. “Oh.”
“Yeah, and they asked us to have dinner tomorrow. Is that okay?” Naruto said against his jawbone, biting it gently. “You’re so hot like this.”
“Yes.” Itachi answered, not sure to which statement he was agreeing with, and Naruto grinned against his skin. Itachi gasped when Naruto brought his cock out of his underwear and started stroking it with nimble fingers. He felt Itachi’s legs close around him and bring him closer. Naruto held him in a firm grip and guided it to bulge on his own pants, smearing pre-come on his jeans. Itachi threw his head back from the friction, moaning raggedly, his shoulder-length dark hair messy from Naruto’s hands.
Naruto quickly opened his zipper and used both hands to hold them both together, feeling their combined weight on his palm. Itachi was supporting himself on his hands and Naruto could see the muscles quivering beneath layers of the clothing. He could smell the heavy scent of pre-come and sex, and pressed his forehead to Itachi’s cheek, “God, you’re so beautiful.”
Itachi’s legs tightened around him and Naruto thought for a moment that he was going to fall on top of Itachi and they both would fall off the desk, but they somehow managed to rebalance themselves. He pumped their joined cocks fast and hard, Itachi’s mouth seeking his before going slack as his whole body uncoiled violently, his whole body shaking with it. Naruto came soon after; the rapture on Itachi’s face was enough to trigger his own orgasm.
He rested his sweaty forehand on Itachi’s, taking deep breaths until Itachi started fidgeting and the muscles of his arms seemed about to give out.
Naruto was glad Itachi had stayed after hours or else they would have to worry about someone coming in to see what the hell was going on. He backed away a few steps to allow Itachi’s feet fully back on the ground.
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to work now.”
Naruto laughed. “Sorry.” He pointed to the paper bags he had brought with him. “I did bring food, though.”
“Which is probably cold.”
“Which is probably cold,” Naruto agreed.
Naruto watched Itachi pull himself back together and walk over the paper bags to inspect them.
“What is this?”
Naruto tucked himself in too and thought some paper towels right about now would be have been awesome and made a mental reminder to bring some the next time. “It’s ramen. There’s a place near here, I always go there when I have to stay late.”
Naruto handed him a plastic bowel and chopsticks. Itachi sat on the floor with his legs crossed and started eating. Naruto frowned a little at how odd it seemed to see him like that, but took out his own bowl and sat beside him. He wondered if post-sex meals always had this effect on Itachi, and, if they did, how he could exploit that in the future.
They ate quietly for a moment before Itachi decided to break the silence.
“What is your boss like?”
“You mean besides him being a jerk?”
“I mean physical appearance.”
Naruto chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him to be honest.”
Itachi raised his eyebrows at him. “And how do you communicate?”
“Through memos and e-mails. He sends a shitload of e-mails, but they’re all, like, one line each.”
“Is that what you don’t like about him?”
“Nah, not just that, it just pisses me off. What I don’t like is his policy of never showing up to talk to me or any of the other guys, it’s like he thinks he’s too important to come out of his lair or something.”
“Maybe he just has a lot of work. Me, for example, I’ve been running this company for years, and I used to know everyone. But now there are so many customers that I haven’t had time to get to know any of the most recent employees.”
“Yeah, but you’re a nice guy.”
Itachi seemed about to add something more, but shook his head and flashed a small smile in appreciation for the compliment.
“So this.” Naruto started, lowering his chopsticks for a moment. “Us, I mean. Are we dating, like, officially dating?”
Itachi stirred his noodles in slow circular movements. “Do you want it to be?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“With the guy you met in a cab?”
“With the guy who gives amazing head and has a really cool office, yeah.”
Itachi laughed and it surprised Naruto how nice it sounded. He realized then that this was the first he heard him laughing, actually laughing. He bumped shoulders with him and enjoyed the comfortable silence as they finished their meals.
.
Day 5
Itachi felt strangely out of place as he and Naruto stood in the elevator waiting to meet Naruto’s friends. He was carrying a bottle of white wine Naruto had made him buy to, quoting him, cause a good impression.
He sensed Naruto’s nervousness as a physical thing, but he guessed it couldn’t be helped. He would have felt the same if he were to introduce him to his parents or his brother. He understood friends were very important to the boy and that their opinion could influence his decisions. But the obligation to be nice to other people was something Itachi had never really been comfortable with.
The elevator came to a stop on the fifth floor and the metal doors slid open.
“If you could, like, smile a lot, that would be nice.”
Itachi gave him a look.
Naruto pursed his lips. “Never mind.”
They stopped in front of the door number 504 and knocked. Soon a pretty girl that Itachi guessed was about Naruto’s age, with bright green eyes and a sweet smile opened the door.
“So this is the mysterious boyfriend you’ve been talking about.”
Naruto shifted beside him, and Itachi raised an amused eyebrow at him.
“We brought wine.” He said, taking the bottle from Itachi’s hand and shoving it in the girl’s direction.
Naruto’s friend laughed and stepped aside to let them in. “You’re such a gentleman.” She said mockingly.
“Where’s that bastard you decided to marry?” Naruto asked already taking off his coat and gesturing for Itachi to do the same.
“Oh, he decided to cook,” the girl said with a deep frown, “But I don’t think he actually knows what he’s doing.”
Naruto laughed whole-heartedly, “Sounds like him.” He pointed at Itachi, “This is Itachi, by the way. Itachi this is Sakura.”
The girl smiled at Itachi and extended her hand, “Hi, nice to meet. Naruto’s been talking about you a lot.”
Itachi shook it politely, “Has he?”
“I’m gonna go check out what Sasuke’s doing, see you guys in a bit.” Naruto said and left. Itachi felt somewhat betrayed for being left alone with a stranger, but remembered to not let it show on his face.
Sakura licked her lips and motioned him to the couch. “So, come in, let’s take a seat.” Itachi positioned himself near the arm rest and stayed rather stiffly observing as the girl moved to sit near him. “I’m sorry; I didn’t even ask if you wanted something to drink.”
“I’m fine.” Itachi said.
The girl nodded and sat beside him in silence. There was an uncomfortable pause during which Itachi watched as Naruto’s friend tapped her fingers over her bony knees repeatedly.
He saw her open her mouth to initiate conversation and internally groaned.
“So,” She started, extending the vowel to show just how awkward this was for her too. “You and Naruto work in the same building?”
“Yes.”
She nodded again, “That’s nice.”
Itachi hoped she would stop there, for both of their sakes.
“You know, Sasuke got him the job there.”
But clearly that was not the case.
“Really?”
“Yes, his brother owns a company with offices there and heard that they needed new people.”
“That’s fortunate. But from what I heard the job bores him. He complains a lot.”
Sakura smiled, “Naruto is way too overactive, he gets bored very easily.”
“He also complains about his boss.”
“Yeah, about that.” Sakura seemed unwilling to talk about it further, but now Itachi’s curiosity was picked.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Look, don’t tell him I told you.” She looked in the direction where Itachi assumed was the kitchen. “But Sasuke and his brother haven’t been on the best terms for a few years, and I think that’s why Naruto doesn’t like him. Maybe he feels it’s his duty as best friend to always side with Sasuke.” She looked at her own hands for a moment. Her engagement ring had a single diamond on a thin string of yellow gold and Itachi found it oddly familiar. “But, to be honest, I don’t think he should.”
“That’s a very beautiful ring.” Itachi said.
Sakura looked a little startled by the sudden change in topic, but smiled. “Yes, it belonged to Sasuke’s mother.”
Itachi took Sakura’s hand in his and brought it closer to his eyes. He frowned as he turned her hand to look at it in a better angle.
His own mother had owned that same jewel in the years she had been engaged to his father.
Could it be--? Could it possibly…
“Food’s ready!” Naruto’s voice pierced through the air. Itachi dropped Sakura’s hand and looked up. Naruto noticed this and came closer with a concerned frown. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Sakura have you seen the oven mitts?” asked the man coming from the kitchen behind Naruto, and Itachi instantly recognized him, though his hair was longer and he seemed different from the last time he had seen him.
Itachi rose from the couch. What could he do or say? He hadn’t seen his brother for so long it was almost as if he didn’t know him anymore.
Sasuke stopped mid-stride when his eyes found Itachi, and he seemed to be in the same situation, mouth hanging on the air.
Naruto looked between them, and Itachi could almost see the gears turning in his head.
“No.” He said, “No way.” His eyes grew impossibly large and Itachi felt his heart give a painful twist inside his ribcage at the expression forming on his face. The look of concern and confusion in Naruto’s eyes quickly morphed into anger and shock.
Sakura seemed to be the only one not understanding a thing of what was happening. She looked at the three men, eyes finally resting on her fiancé. “Do you know him?”
Sasuke blinked and tried to regain some composure. “Yes. Yes, this is Itachi, he’s... He’s my brother.”
Itachi felt the tension build incredibly fast in the room. He had much to tell his brother, but he knew now was neither the time nor the place. “I should go.”
“No, wait a minute.” Naruto protested looking slightly lost between supporting his friend and reassuring his boyfriend. Itachi couldn’t deny he was a little disappointed, even though he knew there was no way he could compete with the bond between Naruto and his friends. “So, you are… You are Sasuke’s brother? Your Sasuke and my Sasuke, are, like, the same guy?” He saw Naruto swallow and shudder, and the voice with which he asked again was so quiet and fragile Itachi feared it would break. “So… this means you’re my boss?”
Itachi held Naruto’s stare of disbelief and felt sick to his stomach. He was dating his brother’s best friend, worse even, he was dating his brother’s best friend who also happened to be his employee and who had spend the last five days saying how much he hates his boss.
How much he hates him.
Itachi turned to Sakura, who was still sitting on the couch with an expression of mild confusion. “I apologize for not staying for dinner. It has been a pleasure.”
Itachi passed Naruto and his brother, sparing a glance to the latter. He knew his and Sasuke’s conversation would be long and stressful, and thankfully his brother seemed to be aware of that too, if the tight look he directed at him was anything to go by.
He loved his brother dearly, but his and Sasuke’s relationship was still too strained. He knew Sasuke still blamed him for leaving their parent’s house and he still wouldn’t accept the man Sasuke had become in his absence; bitter and angry and confused. Sasuke had been too young to understand his motives, but he had not been able to stay in that house any longer without going completely mad. The resentment Sasuke nourished had corrupted their relationship, and as much as he wanted to be closer to his brother again, things were still too sore; too raw.
It was best to retreat now; give them both some much needed time to think. Especially now, when things were covered by so many more unexpected layers, including Naruto.
Especially Naruto.
“Congratulations on the wedding.” He said before leaving.
The door closed with a quiet sound and all three remaining people in the living room were still too stunned to move.
“What just happened?” Sakura asked with a tiny hint of hysteria in her voice that made Naruto shiver.
“That was my brother.” Sasuke said, sounding shaken and lost. He slumped in the nearest armchair and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “I can’t believe Naruto’s dating my brother.”
“Dude, I didn’t know.” Naruto was quick to say. He too felt more than a little disorientated. Everything that happened in the past few days coming back to him in a rush, and he tried desperately to understand how could he possibly have missed something this big. “I’m sorry.”
Sakura rose from her seat and walked up to Naruto, giving him a very serious look.
“Sakura, what. What are you…?” Naruto tried to protest as Sakura’s hand closed around his bicep hard enough to bruise and she dragged him over to the door.
“Look here, Naruto. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but if you don’t go after your boyfriend now I’ll have to hurt you.”
Naruto stared at her as if she had just grown another pair of limbs. “What the hell, Sakura, I can’t just leave Sasuke like this!”
Sakura slapped him on the shoulder and Naruto had forgotten how strong she was.
“I’ll deal with Sasuke. You told me over the phone that that guy was making you happy, remember?”
“Yeah, but…”
“No. No, you’re not going to throw this away because of Sasuke.”
“But Sasuke is my friend!” Naruto exclaimed.
“He’s also a big boy, Naruto. If he has issues with his brother I’m sure he can figure those out on his own, you don’t need to protect him all the time.”
Naruto stared at her. He knew rationally that what she said was right, but his heart felt heavy thinking that to keep something he liked, he would have to betray a friendship he fought so hard to keep. He didn’t want to choose. It wasn’t fair that he had to. When he finally found a guy he thought he could be happy with he finds out he is also the guy his best friend couldn’t stand and his asshole of a boss. If he could go back and never find out his friend and Itachi’s brother were the same person he selfishly would; he would do anything to be blessedly ignorant again and forever.
Sakura shoved his and Itachi’s coats into his slack hands and opened the door. “Don’t be a coward now.” She said and Naruto felt her words perforating his skin like daggers. “Go after him. I’ll call you later.”
Naruto’s numb feet carried him out of the door, clutching both coats against his chest. He forced himself to walk a couple of steps in the direction of the elevator.
“He seems like a nice guy.” Sakura said, and when Naruto turned to look at her she had one of the saddest looks Naruto has ever seen in her eyes.
Naruto gave her a weak smile and punched the elevator button. “He is.”
.
i got ur coat. where r u?
Naruto sent the text message and stared at his phone. It was probably too late, he thought. If he had been in Itachi’s position he would never answer that text.
But he wasn’t in his position, and thankfully his phone chirped to life a moment later.
I’m in my office.
Naruto frowned, rereading the message thinking maybe he had got it wrong. He walked to the curb and thought that it was ironic how he never seemed to get a cab when he needed one, and how he was always late for the most important things.
.
Everything was dark and empty and cold, and considering it was a Saturday night and it was really close to ten o’clock Naruto thought it was supposed to be dark and empty and cold.
He didn’t come through the fire escape this time and it felt incredibly odd to be walking to his boss’s office to meet his still-possibly-maybe-boyfriend. He saw the light coming from Itachi’s office and knocked gently on the door.
“Come in.” Itachi’s voice spoke, and though it didn’t sound any different from normal, Naruto knew it was.
“Hey.” He said opening the door and stepping in. “You forgot your coat.”
Itachi looked up from his computer screen and gave him a long look that made Naruto feel like he was being examined. He was, in a way.
“Thank you.” Itachi’s voice was polite, but dry, and Naruto knew he was pissed.
He debated whether he should come closer or stay by the door. Maybe he should just run away screaming.
“I didn’t know; that you and Sasuke were brothers, I mean. I didn’t know that.”
Itachi was still giving him that long look that Naruto couldn’t decide if it was of anger or disappointment. Both, most probably. He knew he would be feeling both and a few others if it were him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I’m sorry I blew everything up between us.” Naruto walked over the desk, the same desk he had pressed Itachi against just a day before, and deposited Itachi’s dark coat over it. He paused with his hand still lingering on the fabric, not wanting to let it go.
He had liked Itachi from the moment they were on the cab, talking about everything at the same time - Naruto did all of the talking, to be honest - and even more when he had actually called him after that. He liked how Itachi kissed his neck and how he looked like a wet cat every time he left the shower.
He liked talking to him and walking with him and watching him eat burgers.
But he had been friends with Sasuke before he met Itachi. He had been there when Sasuke’s brother left him alone with their crazy parents and he had been there to help him pick up the pieces and try to move on with his life. They had gone through so much and it wouldn’t be fair to him.
I wasn’t fair to Naruto either.
“I’m sorry we didn’t work out. I’ll send you my resignation on Monday, okay?”
His fingers abandoned the smooth texture of Itachi’s coat, and he turned around, heading towards the door.
“I came here,” Itachi said, and Naruto turned to him so fast he felt his neck crack a little. “Because I needed to understand why you hated me so much.”
“I don’t hate you.” Naruto responded quickly.
Itachi looked at him, but now it had a tiny hint of amusement in his eyes. “Professionally.”
Naruto looked at him without understanding for a moment. Then he remembered all the times he had complained about his boss to Itachi. About how much of an ass he was and how stupid his demands were, but now that he knew Itachi had been his boss all along and the he had actually been talking about his own boyfriend the whole time, he wished the ground would swallow him whole and never spit him out again. As if this things between them wasn’t messy enough.
“I-I don’t…” He felt bright red shame color his neck and face, “I was just venting about work. I didn’t really dislike you, I was just. It didn’t mean anything.”
Itachi was still looking at him with that tiny hint of something in his expression, but Naruto felt too small and inappropriate to even look him in the eye anymore. He was angry and confused and ashamed, and all he wanted was to leave and never come back.
“I think you were right.” Itachi said, “I was reading some of the emails in the sent folder and I understand now how some of thing I wrote could have been interpreted as rude.”
Naruto noticed Itachi was moving, but didn’t dare look or even breathe. He had too many conflicting feelings and too little time to deal with all them at once. Itachi came to stand before him and he felt his body heat reach him in tantalizing waves.
“Sasuke and I haven’t been a family for some time, but that is something between us. As for this,” He said, and Naruto understood that now he was talking about their relationship, “I think we worked rather well together.”
Naruto breathed in and out to calm the heart threatening to explode within his chest that couldn’t possibly be his own.
“I know you love your friends and I don’t wish to make you choose between my brother and I.” Itachi took a step forward and Naruto thought he could smell his own shampoo that the bastard had stolen that same morning when taking a shower in his apartment. “All I’m asking is for more time with you.”
Naruto stared at him, looking for something, anything, that could mean that this was actually happening and that things weren’t lost forever. He crossed the distance between them and pulled Itachi in. He loved Sasuke, but he kind of liked Itachi too, and he wanted, more than anything, to keep this. All of this. Sasuke and Itachi and all the great things he had just a few hours ago. He wanted this to be right and he wanted it to be okay. He wanted to fight for this until there was no strength left in his body. Naruto smashed his face against Itachi’s shoulder and held him tight, scared that the man might slip away if he let go.
He felt Itachi’s fingers on his hair, cradling his skull and tilting his face upwards to kiss his lips chastely, gently.
“Yes,” Naruto said around his mouth, holding him close and stealing his breath. They would try and struggle and fight, and maybe in the end everything would work out fine. Naruto hoped it would. “Yes.”
.
.
.
.