On the Other Side
"It's in the--the place," he mumbled over the rim of his bowl, not looking away from the TV. The news was going on in a language that I didn't understand--Russian, he said once, before whispering a few guttural, teasing words in my ear. He had been eating non-stop for the past half an hour. Bowl after bowl after bowl. But then again, it was a Sunday, and he ate on Sundays, made a job of eating with a dedication, sincerity, and occasional murmur of approval that would flatter any cook.
At times like this, it annoyed me.
"What place?" He seemed, to my annoyance, surprised that I asked. After a few moments of silence, he waved his chopsticks vaguely in the air and added, as if he honestly thought it helped remedy the confusion at hand, "That place."
I tried not to growl at him--he was looking at me with his blank, dark stare again, the one that made me want to smack something--and padded off into the bedroom. That place might as well have been the bedroom. Might, I thought, have been the bathroom.
I pushed open the closet door and shoved aside the clothes--mine, his, more of his, and some more of mine. My search was useless, as I had predicted it would be. "I don't understand," I began, raising my voice a little. I was facing the closet, so the clothes muffled my sound a little. "How my articles walked off my desk and ended up in the place."
There was silence, and then the door to the bedroom opened. I turned to stare at him, trying to make him understand that I was angry and in no mood for amusement. He was (still) eating. "What place?" He didn't understand. And even if he did, I realized with a scowl, he did not care. I threw up my hands and let out all the breath in my lungs in one long gush. He was still looking neutral, still obtuse to my frustration, so I scowled and was about to push myself past him and into the living room when I felt his hand around my wrist. He pulled me towards him, balancing the bowl in his other hand.
"It's a Sunday, Naruto." Finally (finally), his eyes shifted from their neutral black into something that I knew all too well.
"Yes, I know," I snapped, pushing his hand off my waist. "And I have articles to edit. Articles which you hid somewhere." He watched me, a slight smirk on his face, before moving aside.
"Find them, then," he mumbled, shoveling more food into his mouth. He chewed a little absent-mindedly, and I thought, watching his perfectly chiseled jaw line, God, I hate Sundays.
**
"He's been working more and more," Eiji explained. I watched him shuffle about the kitchen in Sasuke's apartment, movements quick. He had, as always, rejected my offer to help.
"How late does he stay?"
"Late, very late." Eiji picked up the small pad of post-its that he always had with him, and from the depths of his pocket, brought out a small pen.
"He hasn't said anything about any projects," I mumbled, slightly offended that Sasuke hadn't mentioned his new work load. He almost always talked about his work after I had pestered him in bed for a good half hour, but recently, he had not mentioned anything unusual. "Do you know anything about this? What about Lady Wazuka?"
Eiji opened the fridge and bent down to take inventory before talking. He was slow to pick his words, and even slower to form a sentence that was coherent enough for me to understand. "He's--he's not spending all his time. At the office, that is."
"So he's working from home?" I smoothed my fingers over the marble of the kitchen's island. I had barely spent any time in his apartment over the last three years. Made occasional visits, sure, but Sasuke had always shooed me out the door and driven me to my place on the other side of the city.
I realized, with a frown, that the marble had changed color in the past few weeks. I was about to ask, Has there been a remodeling of the kitchen, when Eiji answered the question that I'd forgotten I asked. "No. He's not been working from home."
"That's odd..."
"He's." Eiji stopped, made a few quick notes on his post-it and became silent. I watched his back, hunched over his post-its for a few minutes before it slowly came to me, like the breaking of sunlight on a slow, winter morning.
"Eiji? Tell me what's going on."
"He's not been spending much time at the office," Eiji said, his voice lowered. "And not at home." He left the rest for me to analyze, and I did, tracing the curve of the island's edge. Suspecting Sasuke was not something I did very often. Occasionally, I suspected that he stole my stationary in his absent-mindedness, but never anything as serious as... It was as alien a concept to me as was the idea that someone might not like ramen.
There were, I told myself, slowly, calmly, some things that I was certain about. The Sun rose in the east, and set in the west. Kiba loved Akamaru almost as much as Shikamaru loved his car and Lee loved green. And I loved ramen almost as much as I loved Sasuke. And Sasuke--I paused here, tapping my finger impatiently on the table--loved me.
He hadn't yet admitted it. Will, in fact, never admit it. I did not wait for the day when he will admit it to me, because it would be superfluous and entirely not in line with the Sasuke that I fell in love with almost a year ago. And besides, I thought, pressing my palm against the marble again, and hearing Eiji shuffle, I already knew.
So. He had been spending time elsewhere, and since it had not been with me, I could make a guess where. I was not sad, I realized with a strange sense of recognition, just angry. In the back of my head, a familiar voice sighed out, That idiot. "How long?"
Eiji turned around, and when I looked up at him, his eyes were pleading. "Please, Master Naru--"
"How long, Eiji?"
"The past few months." He seemed sorry, as if repenting for Sasuke's sake.
Months. So. I had been oblivious for months. The thought angered me, and I gritted my teeth to prevent any hurtful words from escaping. "Where?"
"There's this--" He trailed off, fumbling for his words again. "I have heard Master Sasuke talking at length to a lady named Anko."
I bristled. Professor Anko, I correct to myself. Who, conveniently, in a few months, was going marry Iruka.
Eiji plunged on, sensing my distress, without meeting my eyes. "He calls the Department of Political Science at Kyoto University, Master Naruto. It's--been going on for months."
I wrinkled my nose at that word again. Months. So.
"All right, then, Eiji. Thank you for the information. I appreciate it." I slipped off the stool and nodded at him once before walking out the apartment. I'd originally come to give Sasuke a pleasant surprise after work. He had not been able to come over the past weekend (now, I thought with a bitter chuckle, I know why) and I had assumed that he would have liked to go to a movie or maybe--
The elevator door opened with a bing, cutting off my thoughts, and Sasuke looked up from the papers he was carrying. His frown slowly disappeared off his face and his posture relaxed. "Naruto."
"Sasuke." He blinked at the tone of my voice once, and then twice, before quickly stepping out of the elevator. He tugged me close by my tie and tilted my face so that I was looking up at him. I was used to this, his concern. And like everything else, Sasuke assumed that he could fix it.
With a kiss, and later with sex.
I turned my face away when his lips were a few millimeters from my lips, and he paused. "Naruto?"
"Sasuke."
"What--"
"I'm going home," I snapped, and pushed past him into the open elevator. As the doors closed, I saw him turn around and consider me, the closest thing to confusion that he would ever register on his face.
When the elevator door opened again and Natsumi straightened, ready to drive me home, I began to list in my mind all the synonyms for "idiot."
**
"That blockhead!" Sakura bit out. I heard some rustling, and then, "Kyo! Kyo! Lee, could you--hold on, Naruto--thanks, Lee...Yes, one is good. Just give it to him. He's learned how to eat it by himself...Naruto?"
"I'm here."
"Look, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow? Lee?"
There was a bit more rustling and then Lee's voice came onto the line. "Come over, Naruto. It'll be easier to talk about this here than over the phone."
I sighed and shifted the ramen in my bowl listlessly. "All right."
"Good. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at the office."
"Okay."
"Don't worry, Naruto," Lee reassured. "It'll be fine."
"Right," I muttered, and a few seconds later, said 'bye' before Lee felt obliged to persuade the doubt in my voice away. I went to bed, dumping the ramen in the trash can with a frown, and woke up the next day when Shikamaru knocked on my door. True, he had gotten married, and so had Kiba. But some things, we decided, were tradition, and we would stick by them.
"Friday, thank god," Shikamaru said. He tapped his foot impatiently while I locked my door.
"Ino still asleep?"
"Like a pig," Shikamaru scoffed. "Why is it that women get--" He stopped, and then, "Naruto? What's wrong?"
I walked heavily up the stairs with Shikamaru a step behind to Kiba's apartment and knocked on his door. There was barking, and then, Hinata opened the door, dressed for work, her face breaking into a smile when she saw me. "Naruto! Shikamaru! Just in time for coffee. Come in, come in."
She stood aside, and the two of us walked in, Shikamaru scowling at Akamaru until the dog stopped wagging its tale and returned forlornly to its perch by the sofa. Hinata walked into the kitchen and a few minutes later, came back holding a tray full of mugs. I took mine and held it until my fingers tingled with the warmth. "Naruto. What's wrong?" Shikamaru's voice made me glance quickly up. Hinata was looking at me now as well, her brows furrowed with slight concern.
I thought, I'm overreacting. Thought, This is a false alarm. Thought, Freaking Professor Anko, and then, Screw it, before speaking. "He's having an affair." Silence fell. "Eiji told me. I think he's had his suspicions, and finally told me the other day."
Finally, Hinata spoke, her voice low with anger. "That numbskull."
Shikamaru shook his head, his jaw tight. "Imbecile."
I ticked the words off on my finger. Three synonyms so far. And counting. I was about to add one of my own when Kiba padded in, fumbling with his tie. He was about to say something when he stilled at the expression on Hinata's face. "Is everything all right?"
"Sasuke's cheating on Naruto," Hinata bit out. She straightened her posture and wrinkled her nose before handing Kiba his coffee. He took it, his expression changing from surprise to disbelief to anger.
"Jackass."
"That was mine," I mumbled, and ignored his confused look.
"You should talk to him," Hinata began, but I silenced her by getting up.
"I'm going over to Lee's tonight," I said, by way of an explanation. "Let's get to work, Shika."
They didn't talk about it all the way, and even at work, Lee and Kiba avoided mentioning Sasuke. When Shizune jokingly pointed out that my first year anniversary was coming up, Kiba glared at her until the topic dropped.
When, later that evening, Lee drove me in his car to his house, I expected that dinner would be the usual affair. Sakura, me, Lee, and occasionally, if he was still awake enough to play, Kyoji. When we stepped into the house, though, I saw Ino stand up with a scowl on her face.
"That pinhead," she hissed, pulling me into a rough hug. I felt her stomach--it was getting harder and rounder now--press against me.
"How's the baby?" I asked half-heartedly. She patted her belly a few times, waved dismissively at the air, and dragged me inside. I looked over to see if Lee was following and saw that he was opening the door for someone else. Hinata and Kiba walked in a few seconds later, followed closely by Shikamaru.
I groaned, realizing that this would be a full-fledged therapy session. Great. "Sit down," Ino ordered me. She looked up and motioned for Lee, Kiba, and Shikamaru to do so as well before taking Hinata by the hand and dragging her away into the kitchen. I sat stiffly, silently, wondering if I would be able to weasel my way out of this situation when I heard the three woman walk out of the kitchen.
They set the food on the table before sitting down on the floor as well, and finally, the table was full of people. There was one unoccupied seat where Sasuke usually sat. I turned my head away from that emptiness and began to eat. "Talk," Ino snapped, and I heard myself automatically obliging, just to avoid one of her whiplash slaps on my shoulder.
"I went to surprise Sasuke because he didn't come last weekend. I talked to Eiji. He told me that Sasuke's been working late and not in the office or at home. He was talking a lot to Anko from Kyoto U."
"Anko?" Kiba sputtered. "Professor Anko?"
Shikamaru's eyebrows rose. "Impressiv--" Ino slapped him. Hard. He closed his mouth shut with a click of teeth.
"Well, he's making a stupid mistake," Sakura said. She looked around the table as if rallying everyone else to the front line.
Hinata nodded her head in agreement. "He doesn't realize, sometimes," she said, her voice softer and calmer than anyone else's, "When good things come his way. He's sometimes a little..." She trailed off, and then, blushing, added, "Spoiled."
"I think we should beat him up," Kiba said. He looked to Lee for approval and found an ally. "It's a plan, then, Lee. Let's beat him up."
"Shut up, you two," Sakura mumbled. They all sat in silence for a while, ignoring me. Hinata began slowly, "He could..."
"Make him jealous by having an affair with someone else!" Ino said, snapping her fingers. I put down my bowl of food loudly to get their attention.
"No," I said, just as Sakura piped, "That's the Plan C. We still need Plan A and Plan B."
There was silence, and then, finally, Shikamaru spoke. "I'm not usually into this entire thing," he said, slowly. He looked to Lee who nodded his head as well.
"He could..." Hinata began again.
"Seduce him back!" Sakura chirped. Ino looked impressed and looked to Shikamaru who considered in silence.
"That's Plan B," Shikamaru said finally.
"He could..." Hinata began again. When Ino opened her mouth to cut her off, Hinata rapped her knuckles on the wood crisply. Silence fell. Hinata straightened, took an indignant huff, and finally let out, "He could talk to him about it."
Silence again, one that Kiba broke. "That's the Last Ditch Effort."
True, I thought. Talking to Sasuke was not an option. Was so far from being an option, in fact, I might as well hand him a gun and ask him to shoot me. I jabbed my food viciously. "He'll probably try to weasel his way out with sex," I muttered.
"Okay, man, way too much detail," Kiba sputtered. I glanced up and saw that Hinata was blushing a deep, deep red, and Sakura and Ino were looking at each other with smirks.
"Plan A," Ino said, with a firm thwap on my shoulder, "Seduce him."
"Plan C," Sakura continued, "Have an affair with Kakashi."
I opened my mouth to say something at Plan C, found that my mind was blank, and decided instead to make something out of my facial muscles. Sakura grinned at my expression.
"What's Plan B?" Lee hesitantly put forth.
"Talking to him," Hinata asserted. She received blank stares, so sighing, she threw up her hands in resignation.
"Plan B is that we beat him up," Kiba said. Shikamaru nodded in approval, and Lee cracked his fingers in anticipation.
Sakura rapped her chopsticks against the rim of her bowl. "All in favor?"
Five voices spoke at once. "Here, here."
"I'm not in favor."
The conversation immediately ceased and five heads turned to stare at me. I stared back for as long as I could until, finally, Ino slapped me on the arm again (I winced, imagining how red the skin would be there). "Stop being stupid, Naruto."
"I'm not--"
"Who wants seconds?"
"Oh, I do."
"Yes, please."
"--being stupid, you know--"
"He should wear one of those really sexy yukatas they're coming out with these days."
"What did I say about too much detail?"
"--I don't think this is a good--"
"Shut up, Kiba. Are they the ones that are slightly transparent? Oh, good! Let's go shopping for one, Sakura."
"How about tomorrow?"
"Perfect. I'll pick you up. Hinata, you coming?"
I rose my voice a little, hoping to get their attention, but they were in full dinner-conversation mode now. Which meant, that I had a snowball's shot in hell of being heard in completion. "--idea. You guys. This isn't going to w--"
"I don't see why not."
"Lee, pass me the rice would you?"
"Sure thing. Hey, Shikamaru, you guys looking for a new house?"
"We're thinking about it. Know any good places?"
"--ork." I leaned forward. "I mean, Sakura seriously!"
"Hey, if you move, I have to move too, Shikamaru. And then Naruto."
"Well, let's all move, then."
"Let's all move in this neighborhood!" Hinata's voice put a stop to all the conversation. Silence as her suggestion sunk in, and then, voices came back up again.
"Perfect! We can be neighbors!"
"Oh, this is too good. There's a house a few doors down that's for sale. And some others on neighboring streets. Shikamaru, Kiba, Naruto, you should look into it."
I wrinkled my nose. "I don't need to move to a house," I said. "I don't have a family and all, and--"
"Oh, shut up," Sakura said, waving her hand. "Of course you need a bigger house. Sasuke's going to move in with you sooner or later, and you'll be living together, and next thing you know, you'll adopt kids."
I swallowed a growl. "He's having an affair."
Ino rubbed soothing circles into my back. She rarely did anything like this, which meant that what she was about to say was something of a warning. A threat. A death sentence if disobeyed. I felt a pang of sympathy for Shikamaru, and then, decided that it would be best if I focused on saving my self at this point instead of pitying Shikamaru. "Which is why" Ino said, her voice close to my ear. I could see the grin on her face even though I wasn't facing her. "You're going to seduce him."
**
"I am not wearing that."
"Yes, you are, Naruto. You'd look hot," Ino said. I heard gagging from the living room, and restrained myself from looking towards the noise. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe-- "Come on, Naruto." Sakura pushed the bag into my hands with a smile on her face. "Sasuke's going to show up any minute now."
I looked to Hinata and saw her smile sympathetically. "Sorry."
"Kiba," I called, without looking away from Ino.
"Sorry, buddy," came the voice. "Can't help you here."
"Shikamaru. Lee." Lee would help. If anyone helped, it would be Lee. He would come to me in my time of need. I knew he would-- Two voices at the same time. "Sorry, Naruto."
I grit my teeth and felt a muscle in my neck clench. "It's not slutty or anything. Just wicked sexy. You'd look hot. Trust me on this."
I tried to push the bag back into Sakura's hands, but she looked determined and pushed it back. When, I turned to look out of the kitchen into the living room for support, I thought, I can stall until he comes and not wear it. It all happened in slow-motion, in my mind. I opened my mouth to say something, to muster courage in the fallen troops who were lazily watching TV, and then felt hands at my shirt and belt. My eyes widened, something of a "what the hell?" came out, and then next thing I knew, my shirt was off, the yukata was on, and they were tugging away at my pants without mercy. I pulled the yukata close around me when I felt the zip of my pants come undone and then they pulled in one huge effort, and I was falling back into the chair, and still trying to finish my "what the hell" before the pants were off.
"--hell?"
I stared up at Ino and Sakura. They grinned at me, Ino holding my jeans by the leg. Sakura had control over my button-up shirt, and she was calmly folding it against her stomach. "Now," Sakura said, her voice calm, as if she hadn't just undressed me. "Don't make a fuss. You look wonderful. Doesn't he, Ino? Yes. All right. Sasuke's going to be here in a minute. Just sashay around him for a bit and he'll fall for you. Let's go guys."
I stared at them, still not comprehending how two women had manhandled me, undressed me, and somehow, during the entire thing, managed to make me pull the yukata on. Hinata patted me lightly on the shoulder before following Ino and Sakura out the kitchen. There were murmurs in living room, the TV's noise fell silent, a click of the door, and then I was alone, all within the next minute. I sat still for another minute or so, letting it all sink in.
Finally, deciding, I shot to my feet, ready to bolt to my room to change when the door handle rattled, and opened. I glanced over my shoulder, saw Sasuke pocket his set of keys, and then still. Sasuke froze at the door, and slowly, very slowy, he closed the door behind him. Without looking, he dropped his bag, his suit that was draped over his shoulder, and walked towards me, loosening his tie.
I stepped back, counting, in my head, the distance from where I was to the bedroom. I could make it, I thought. I could run in, shut the door behind me, and change.
This was a disas--Sasuke's eyes moved down my body, and I followed his lead. The yukata, I realized with a blush, was white. Slightly transparent, but not entirely. The cut at the neck was lower than was necessary, and it was tailored so that when it was tied, the split at the legs was...well. A little risque. Not to mention that Sasuke had a strange fetish with me in yukatas, kimonos, bathrobes, anything he could push up around my legs.
"Sasuke," I began, stepping back slowly. He was still advancing, a small smirk on his face now. "Sasuke. Stop. I mean it. This was an accident. Ino and Sakura went a little shopping crazy and they manhandled me into it, and oh gods, will you stop your train of thought right now?"
He cocked his head at an angle. "You know what I'm thinking?"
I reached behind me for the door knob of the bedroom, fumbled a bit, and finally, found it. Slowly, I twisted and heard the door click open. "Sasuke. We need to tal--"
"No, we don't," Sasuke said. He was closer to me now. I pushed the door quickly open, and was about to close it behind me when I felt Sasuke's hand around my waist. The door closed behind me, all right. Just with Sasuke in the room. Eating my neck.
"Sasuke. Stop. Sasuke."
He ran his hands up and down the length of my back, settling, finally, at my waist. "You can't seriously expect me," he groaned against my skin, "To keep my hands to myself with you like this."
"I'll change!" I pushed him away and held him at arm's length. "I'll change into something much less...erm...well. I'll change."
Sasuke smirked. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"No! I'm being serio--" He lunged, pulling me close again. "Sas--" Foreplay, I realized, was not what he had in mind. I tried to push him away, felt him deepen the kiss, tried to make him let go of my waist, felt his hand slid down to cup the back of my thigh, trie--
"Now," Sasuke moaned, and rolled his hips against mine. I saw stars at the back of my eyelids, and felt my knees buckle. He caught me, pushing me onto the bed and crawling on top of me a split-second later, his belt now gone and his zip undone.
This was not how it was supposed to go. Against the heat traveling down my spine and pooling in my stomach, I mustered as much anger as I could (which wasn't much, with Sasuke entirely focused on me) against Ino and Sakura and thought:
Plan A sucked.
**
Two hours later, sore, tired, sticky, and angry, I shoved Sasuke off me and onto the other side of the bed. He rolled onto his side, naked, the thin cotton sheet barely covering him. He smirked, breathing a little heavily. I glared at him. "That," he said after a moment. "Is not helping your case." He reached up to pull me down by the collar of the yukata, and I swatted his hand away.
"No more."
He looked sincerely grief-stricken. "Sasuke, three times in the last two hours is ridiculous for anyo--No!"
He grinned, and kept tugging at me, eyes light and playful. I tried to get up, felt the yukata catch on something, and fell back onto the bed. Two seconds later--before I could even try to get up again--I was on my back and Sasuke was looming over me, a combination of a smirk and grin still on his face.
"I'll have to thank Ino and Sakura."
"I'll have to kill them," I snapped, pushing at his shoulders. He didn't budge, just pushed back down so that our bodies were lined up again. Slowly, almost experimentally, he bucked his hips against mine, and I heard my heartbeat still just as a breath got caught in his throat.
"Naruto," he groaned and began to rock. The headboard hit against the wall with a sharp snap, and at the back of my mind, I realized that sooner or later, the neighbors would start minding and complain. Sasuke and I had been breaking the bed pretty loudly and then there was the fact that sometimes--sometimes--Sasuke made me get pretty loud and I made him get pretty loud.
"Gods," he moaned, and moved faster. I saw black, came back into focus again and saw that he was still holding himself over me, moving, moving, moving.
"Sasuke, come on," I grunted out. He didn't do anything, so I shifted my legs until he was pressing against me even more. "Come on. Come on."
He began my name, but trailed off into a grunt. Somewhere in the background, like percussion to our moans, I heard the thumping of the headboard against the wall. I arched into him, clawing at his back--his back would sting later--and he pushed back down on me, moving, moving, moving, moving, moving, moving, moving, moving--I felt a strangled cry tear through my throat, went rigid, and he stilled a minute later. Heat spread between us, and I fell back onto the bed, his weight heavy against me.
"I really need to thank them," Sasuke panted, moving a little and using the blanket to clean us up.
"I really need to kill--" The doorbell rang, cutting me off, and the sound ricocheted through the room. Sasuke rolled off me and onto his back, breathing a little heavily still. I waited on my back for a little while longer and then, slowly, moved. I tied the yukata around me, making a knot once and then twice before getting up and walking out the room. Whoever it was, I thought, was interrupting at a bad time--
I cranked open the door a little so that only my head and shoulders were visible to anyone outside, and saw the landlady, blushing. Behind her, there were several other people--Ino and Sakura, who were grinning and waving madly at me, Hinata who was blushing even harder than the landlady, and some other neighbors, who looked equally awkward and petrified.
My heart sank at the sight. Oh, gods, please... "Can I help you?"
"Ah...Mister Uzumaki," the landlady began. She fumbled with the hem of her shirt, and shuffled. "We were all just wondering if you could...erm...well, you see. For the past two hours. Nevermind. Could you just--"
The door was pushed open fully and then, I felt Sasuke's hand on my waist. I glanced at him, my eyes widening, and saw that he was mostly naked, with only the bed sheet around his waist, riding a little low. His hair was a mess, his skin a little damp with sweat still. Kill me now... "Any problems?" Silence in the hallway. I tried to move away, and felt Sasuke's hand tighten around my waist, dipping a centimeter lower.
"My, my, Naruto," Ino crooned. Hinata slapped at her a little half-heartedly. "You are a sight to see."
The landlady shuffled and moved her eyes away from Sasuke's face and onto a spot on the floor. "Is that a hickey?" Sakura's breathless voice made the landlady's eyes snap up to a point on my neck. I swallowed a ball in my throat under that gaze. "It's huge," Sakura continued.
"Thank you," Sasuke said, off-handedly. I felt the blood rush to my face again. Kill me now. "What seems to be the problem?"
Finally (finally) one of the neighbors strangled out, "The noise--"
"We'll keep it down," Sasuke interrupted. He nodded once, almost pleasantly, at the crowd that had gathered outside our house, and then shut the door close. I turned to say something to him when I felt myself being pressed up against the door, yukata bunched up around my waist now, and his hand cupping my thigh.
Plan A, I thought again, really sucked.
**
"Man," Kiba said, sitting back into his sofa. He waved vaguely at me. Again, "Man."
I shifted in my seat and held onto my coffee mug for dear life. "I left after the first half hour," Shikamaru commented. "It was getting...pretty loud."
I stared at the spot between my feet and wondered if I stared long enough at it, maybe I could count each individual fiber of the carpet. "Oh, tell me about it," Sakura said. I felt my neck become hot at the comment, and wondered why Sasuke had a strange obsession with my neck. Turtlenecks were really not my thing.
"I mean," Ino began, "It must have been a success. Three hours of continuous sex has got to say something."
Sakura nodded her head, and almost clinically, went on. "It didn't sound as if you guys were taking a break between each round. It was almost inhuman the number of times you went at each other, and then you just kept going. I'm imp--"
"Please," I groaned into my mug. "Can we not analyze what happened?"
Sasuke had fallen asleep after a while, sprawled across the sofa in the living room. I had dozed as well, and then, when I had woken up, made a quick dash into the bathroom before he could wake up and get interested all over again. The love bite that Sakura had pointed was actually big, I found out in the bathroom with the mirror as witness. I winced when the fabric of my turtleneck moved against the bruise. Not just big, I corrected myself, it was also a nice, deep purple with hints of pink at the edges. Sasuke had been genuinely proud of his work and sat, clean, showered, and clothed, considering it for a good ten minutes.
"He'll probably never go near anyone else again," Ino concluded. "Not after yesterday."
"Oh goody," I muttered and took a long gulp of my coffee. It scalded my tongue a little, but not minding, I finished the rest, and stood up.
"I'm going now," I snapped out. "Tomorrow, I will kill you. Both of you."
I walked to the door and put on my shoes. Ino held the door open for me, grinning. "Glad to be of help, Uzumaki," she said, and after smirking at me one last time, closed the door to her apartment. I glared at it sullenly before walking up the stairs to my own apartment.
If, I thought, closing the door and leaning heavily against it, Plan A really worked, I might not kill them. I went over to the sofa and sat down heavily in it, slightly sore still. Deciding that it would be best to get as much rest as possible before work tomorrow, I fell asleep, wondering how I was going to pull off normal business attire for the coming few weeks.
**
"My, my, my," Tsunade said. She sat back in her chair, grinning. I had walked into work--a black turtleneck and jeans on--and received a few stares of admiration, some of curiosity, and others of confusion. Shizune was the first to pick up on the reason why I had dressed so differently and had announced her suspicions in her usual loud voice in the lounge.
A split-second later, Tsunade waltzed in, a feral look on her face, and made her way towards me. Casual wear was not acceptable in Tsunade's book, but then she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw my blush. And without further ado, she pulled me to my feet, peeled away the neck of my turtleneck, peered in, and whistled. Long. And loud.
"My, my, my, my, my," she said again. I blushed a deeper shade of red and stared resolutely at my food. Without lowering the volume of her voice--she was perpetually yelling and it seemed a foreign concept to her, the idea of low tones--she added, "Feed your neck to Sasuke over the weekend?"
I ducked my head even further and tried not to groan. Tried.
"He seems vicious," Tsunade commented. "That"--she pointed at my neck--"Is a work of art."
I put down my fork and covered my face with my hands. I knew, just knew that if I bothered to look around, I'd find the entire staff listening in on Tsunade's public announcement. "How big?" Shizune piped in.
I made a little gap between my fingers and stared at Tsunade who gestured with her hands. "Big. And a really good, deep color."
"You won't believe," Kiba contributed. I made a note to kill him along with Ino and Sakura. They would all die. "You won't believe how loud they were. For three freaking hours."
There was a whistle, and this time, it was not Tsunade. In fact, it wasn't anyone at our table. I pushed my food away and lowered my face into my hands, resigning myself to another session of embarrassment.
"Three hours?"
"Non-stop. No joke. And there was all this noise. Pounding, groaning, moaning, yelling, and a lot of 'Come on's and 'yes's."
"They should move," Shino said, quietly. I wanted to hit him, but refrained.
"The entire building had to go up and complain, and when they did, apparently, first Naruto opened the door and was all polite and stuff. Then Sasuke came out, half-naked, and according to the landlady, with only a bed sheet for pants."
There was giggling, some chuckling, and another whistle. Those damn whistles. Those damn whistles. "And then?"
"He said 'thank you' when someone pointed out that and then said that they'd keep it down."
"Did they?"
Around a mouthful of food, Kiba answered, "No. Another half an hour. Apparently, they went at it against the door the second it closed on the neighbors."
There were more chuckles, and then, another long, loud whistle of approval that had me up and ready to strike. "One more time," I hissed out into the room, "Someone whistles. I will rip out your lungs with my bare hands."
There was silence.
Then, "I read somewhere that a lot of sex makes people snappy for a week or two afterwards."
I saw red.
**
All his fault, I told myself, punching the numbers on my phone. I was not bothering being gentle, and vaguely, some logical part of my brain wondered whether the phone might break under all that pressure that I was giving it.
"Sasuke. Now," I hissed into the phone when his secretary picked up. She was silent for a moment, and then, "Mr. Uchiha's busy right now. Can I take a message?"
"I understand that he may be busy," I snapped, "But please tell him that it's me on the phone and that this is important."
She conceded and put me on hold for a a few minutes. When she came back, there was fear in her voice. "Mr. Uchiha said that he'd get back to you after finishing his call. He said--"
"What?"
"He said," she began again, hesitant, "That he'd get bac--"
"Tell him that he's risking access to my apartment for the next two years."
She put me on hold again and then came back. "He said--" She fumbled with her words, terrified now. "He said that his call was time-sensitive. It would be hard to get Kyoto University on the line aga--"
My heart stilled. "Kyoto University?"
"Yes, he said--"
"Is he talking with the Department of Political Sciences?"
"Yes," she said, and then, plunged on, "He said--"
"With Professor Anko?"
"Right, he is. Mr. Uzumaki, Mr. Uchiha said that--"
"Forget what he said." I sat down heavily in my couch. "Just. Forget it." I hung up on her, feeling something twist in my stomach--still not sadness, I realized, just angry.
"That idiot."
**
"He what?" Sakura's voice was at a very, very high pitch. Ino looked dumbstruck. Hinata placed a hand around my shoulders and hugged me lightly. I glanced up and saw that Kiba had his teeth bared in a feral grin.
"Plan B," he said. Lee stood up as if on cue and rolled his shoulders.
"For added effect," Lee muttered, "I'll use the boxing gloves he gave me."
"Right," Shikamaru said, getting up lazily. "I suppose now I have to join you guys."
Hinata half-rose. "He could still just talk to hi--"
Kiba cut her off with another "Plan B" and walked resolutely out of the room. I sighed, considered the benefits of punching a hole through the wall, and decided instead to lean into Hinata's hug.
There was silence in the room until Sakura turned on the TV with a sigh and sat down on my other side. Ino joined us and during commercials, commented, "He loves you, Naruto. We all know that. He's just being a fool."
"I know," I muttered and watched with half-lidded eyes as the news rolled by. Something about gay marriage in Japan. I sat up straighter. In the past few years the issue had come up and gone all the way to the supreme court once already. This was the second time, and I knew from experience, not to get my hopes up. Japan was much too conservative, even if half the population lived in closets.
"You think they'll rule on this?" Hinata muttered next to me. I mumbled a 'no' and leaned back into the couch again. Ino responded in kind, said something about America and the Netherlands, and that was the end of that line of conversation.
When commercials came around again, I felt Hinata gently rest her head against my shoulder. "He loves you," she repeated firmly. "I know my own cousin. He's in love with you."
Lee, Shikamaru, and Kiba came back two hours later with grins on their faces. Sakura was the first to rise and interrogate them. "Oh, we beat him up all right," Kiba said, waving his hand dismissively. He sat down where Sakura was and put up his feet. "Just give him a few more weeks, Naruto. He'll be done with the Professor by then."
Ino's voice was low and controlled, but her anger was loud and clear. "A few weeks?"
Shikamaru answered on Kiba's behalf. "A few more weeks. Minimum."
"Minimum?" There was an icy chill in Hinata's voice that made all eyes turn to her. She rarely sounded so angry. "You went there to snap him out of his haze of stupidity and all you came back with is a promise that he'd come back to Naruto in a few weeks minimum?"
I shifted away from her as inconspicuously as possible, but even that small movement caught her attention. "I'm going home now," I said, getting up. None of them made a move to protest, so I made a quiet exit. The minute the door closed, sound erupted on the other side, and I quickly walked down the stairs into my own apartment.
**
"Naruto, let me in."
I stared at the slightly open door, willing it to explode in his face. He had keys so he could open it easily enough, so I had put the chain in as well, which, at this point, was the only thing keeping him from opening the door.
"Naruto, can you just let me--"
"No." I bit off the word, heady in my anger.
"It was an important call, Naruto--"
"And I'm not important?" I saw his fingers fiddling with the chain to slide it across and out. He was having mild success in his endeavors, so I reached forward and slapped his hand away.
"Naruto, I'm serious. Let me in."
"I'm serious, too, Sasuke. Stay out."
I heard his growl, low and deep, and then, "This can't be over something as trivial as a phone call."
I was silent. Let him come to the conclusions himself. Surely, he wasn't stupid enough to think that I didn't know of his tryst with Anko. Especially after Lee, Shikamaru, and Kiba had gone to talk with him.
"I couldn't hang up on the other person, Naruto. It's just one call of yours I missed."
I threw up my hands. He was being stupid. As always. "What would you do," I began, formulating a plan to get him to understand. "What would you do if I died?"
He was silent. "You're not dead."
"What if I were. What would you do?"
"You're no--"
"Damnit, Sasuke, I know I'm not dead. Hence the artfully placed 'if' in my question."
He was silent. "I don't know."
I grit my teeth, and deciding, wrenched open the door. He looked startled. "Well," I hissed, "Here's what I think you should do. Go find someone else. Find some nice woman and marry her. Beget children with her. Have a nice, wonderful future."
Sasuke still looked surprised, so I reached over, snatched away my apartment's keys that he had in his hand, and shut the door on him.
Let him come back, I told myself, when he realized who exactly he loved more at the end of the day. If Anko wanted a fight--I sat down in my sofa and stared sullenly at the screen before throwing away the keys in some random direction--she would get a fight.
**
A week later, there was a knock on my door. I went to open it, a triumphant smile on my face. Anko stood no chance, I told myself. Sasuke might have been curious with her, but he was in love with me. He was just being an idiot--he was usually an idiot one way or another--and now he had realized--
Sasuke looked irked, but ground out in a monotonous tone, "I'll go find a girl, beget children with her, and be happy after you die. Can I come in now?"
I stared at him, blinked once, then twice, before shutting the door on his face.
All right.
He needed time, that was all. He'd come back again. With the right answer this time.
**
"I refuse to stay in the same room with such an insensitive jerk," Ino snapped. She shoveled a few more spoons of ice cream. Sakura followed suit. Hinata watched them both, a worried look on her face.
"A few more weeks," Sakura hissed. "A few more weeks, my ass."
"Language..." Hinata reminded, but sat back. She, too, had moved out temporarily until her husband regained his senses. I shifted, a few feet away from them, feeling out of place. True, I loved them as friends, but I was not sure I would be able to stand their...feminine presence for so long. I stared at the luggage they had brought with them. In the bathroom, there were already several facial creams spread out.
Right.
"Erm, ladies." Three fierce stares swiveled towards me. I shifted again. "I appreciate that you're taking offense on my behalf, but I have to ask...how long will you be staying here?"
"As long as it takes," Ino offered casually. She went back to her ice cream, and I watched, a little surprised, at the quantity and speed with which she ate. Pregnant ladies, Shikamaru warned me once, were a scary thing.
"As long as it takes for what?" I mumbled, scared that Sakura might throw the spoon she had been waving about in anger for the last hour.
"For them to realize that Sasuke's the one who's--you know what, Naruto?" Sakura stared at me, her spoon mid-air.
I felt my heartbeat speed up. Pregnant women were scary, I decided. Very scary. "No, what?"
"You should be angry too."
"I am," I lied. True, I was slightly offended that Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee were on Sasuke's side, but I couldn't be angry at them for something that Sasuke did. That was ridiculous.
And so was the toddler sleeping in my bed with his hand thrown over a large, orange fox that Sasuke and I had given him on his first birthday.
"You're such a kind person, Naruto," Hinata said. "You're taking this so well."
"I am?" I remembered the look on Sasuke's face when I shut the door on him. "Right. Of course I am."
"Well, we need to figure out sleeping arrangements," Sakura said, standing up. "Kyo can sleep with me and Ino on Naruto's bed." She considered me for a second before adding, "You have a big bed, Naruto."
I blushed. And so I did. Courtesy Sasuke. Which also explained the large, flat screen, plasma TV mounted on the wall, the comfortable sofa--tailed to look exactly like my old one, so I wouldn't complain too much--and finally, the expensive new shower installments--so Sasuke could join me in the mornings. The man moved in, I realized, feeling the blood drain from my face. And he was having an affair.
"Hinata, you can sleep on the futon that Ino brought with her. We'll set it up in the room. Naruto, you take the couch."
I felt my heart sinking. Sleeping in a couch. In my own house. That was usually Sasuke's fate, when he pissed me off. "Right. Okay."
"Come on, Ino pig," Sakura said, stretching. Her shirt strained a little against the bulge of her belly. "Enough ice cream for today. We'll eat again tomorrow."
Ino got up and stretched as well. They were more or less in the same week of pregnancy, but Ino was much bigger and rounder than Sakura. Shikamaru's guess: Twins.
"I have a craving for apricots," Ino said, making her way with Sakura and Hinata to the bedroom.
"I was thinking kiwi--Night, Naruto--Nice, sour kiwi." Sakura's voice faded and then ended with the click of the bedroom door closing. I stared at the pillow and quilt that Sakura had procured out of her bag. Gifts, she had said, since they would all be intruding for a while to come.
It took me a while to find a comfortable position--I spent a solid thirty minutes tossing and turning--, and when I finally did, Kyoji woke up crying.
**
"They've moved in," I whined, catching Shino alone in the office. He tutted in pity, but made no comment. "Today morning, I found a diaper in the kitchen trash can, and lipstick where my shaving cream is."
"You're a good friend, Naruto," Shino said, patting me on the shoulder. I stared at him across his desk. I had taken to hiding in Shino's office ever since the three women moved in, hoping to avoid Lee's and Kiba's sad, longing looks in my direction. They never directly mentioned their wives; in fact, they avoided talking to me in general, preferring instead to wallow in their pity for each other. Finally, I asked, "What should I do? It's been three weeks. I can't take it anymore."
He considered it for a minute, and then, "The only logical thing is for you to get them back together with their husbands."
I felt despair smother me in its embrace. Of course, that would work. The only time when they would get back with their husbands was when I got back together with a sincerely apologetic Sasuke. Which, I realized, would not happen, and told Shino as much.
"Pretend. Fake it with Sasuke. It'll work."
I heaved a sigh and sat back in my chair. Shino typed away for a few more minutes before perking up, "Say, breaking news. Released a minute ago. This should make you happy...Heard about the new law?"
"What law--"
The door burst open and then Lee stormed in with Kiba. "We want our wives back," Kiba began. Lee nodded in agreement and added, "I can't cook." As a side-note he tagged on, "And I miss my son."
I stared at the both of them, and finally, "Dinner. Tonight."
They both grinned, and Kiba hauled me to my feet, dragging me away from Shino's office and towards my own. "What's the plan?"
I took a deep breath, and plunged in, extemporaneously added details to the dinner plan as I went along. When Lee mentioned Sasuke, I grudgingly said, "We're fine now. He'll be there too."
**
Sasuke's secretary took down all the details without making much of a fuss. When, a few minutes into our conversation, she suggested that Sasuke was now no longer on the phone with Anko (I bristled and took deep breaths to keep myself from throwing the coffee mug at the TV screen) so I could talk to him myself, I declined and hung up.
The day passed with Lee and Kiba (occasionally Shikamaru over the phone) fidgeting nervously about the dinner to come. They refused to talk about what they said to make the women so angry, and were even more secretive about their meeting with Sasuke. "You'll see," Shikamaru said, tapping his finger impatiently against his steering wheel. We were driving over to the restaurant, and in the backseat, Lee and Kiba were deep in a hushed conversation. Occasionally, I heard "policy" and "Constitution" and "America."
When I turned to them to join in their conversation, Kiba waved me away with an annoyed look. "Have you read the papers?" Lee asked, finally.
I growled at him. "With the three of you going into menopause over this entire ordeal, I didn't get a chance." Lee had the decency to look slightly guilty, but Kiba just scoffed.
We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later, and in the parking lot, there was a few minutes' worth of shuffling about ties, suits, and general appearances. I had to adjust Kiba's tie five times before he was satisfied--he didn't listen to me when I pointed out that Hinata had already fallen in love with him once, no need to make her fall in love with him again--and then, finally, we walked in.
The maitre d' lead us to a corner of the restaurant and we all took our seats, arranging it so that Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke would be forced to sit across from us. I ordered drinks for all of us--Shikamaru was too nervous to take the lead this time, although he wouldn't admit it--and waited.
When, finally, the women walked in, all with scowls on their faces and took a seat opposite their husbands, silence fell. I tried to make conversation, received a jab in my shin from one of the men and a glare from all three women. Ino ordered drinks for all the women, staring at the waiter when he suggested wine for Sakura and herself until he blushed and stammered an apology saying that he didn't notice they were pregnant.
I tried to muffle a laugh at that excuse--Ino and Sakura were practically oozing pregnant women-ness--failed, and finally, let out all my laughter in one steady bubble. Lee was the next to join, Kiba followed, Hinata began to giggle, Shikamaru's lips twitched dangerously, Sakura covered her mouth delicately, and Ino barked a few more orders at the waiter between chuckles.
It was then that Sasuke arrived, his hands buried deep in his pocket. He looked slightly hurried, and when he sat down, I made sure not to meet his gaze. Ordering food took care of the need to start conversation, and once that was done, everyone turned to stare at me. "Ino, Sakura, Hinata," I began, taking a measured pause between each name, "Shikamaru, Lee, and Kiba are very sorry for what they did. They don't know how to say it because they're idiots like that. But they're sorry. They all miss you."
There was silence, so I added, "And I know you miss them as well because I overhear conversation in the kitchen sometimes."
Silence again, and finally, noise erupted. Sakura reached over to take Lee's hand, her eyes misty with tears, and a tale of Kyoji's latest adventure bursting forth. Hinata smiled fondly at Kiba asked him what he'd been eating in the past few weeks and laughed when he said take-out. Ino was the last to forgive, but she was close to tears when she took Shikamaru's hand in hers, saying how being pregnant all alone for a few weeks without a husband was ridiculously hard.
I watched them, feeling relieved that peace was finally back again, ecstatic that I'd be able to sleep in my bed again, and positively thrilled to have a bathroom all to myself instead of sharing it with two pregnant women, another female, and a toddler.
Heaven.
"--all because you were being so stubborn about it."
"And insensitive. You were insensitive towards Naruto, too. I can't believe you took Sasuke's side. I thought you went there to beat him up."
"Beat me up?" Sasuke's voice was followed by silence. "Who?"
Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee looked at each other guiltily. Ino was the first to react. "Don't tell me," she began, half-rising, "That you didn't go to confront Sasuke about it."
"About what?"
Lee chuckled. "About that..."
"See," Kiba began and looked at Shikamaru for support.
"We went to see Sasuke," Lee explained, looking pleadingly at Sakura. She had crossed her hands over her chest.
"Then we met Kakashi who told us everything," Shikamaru concluded. "So that's that."
"Confront me about what?" Sasuke asked again. I took in a deep breath, getting angry at Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee. Slowly, I put my napkin down and pushed back my chair, ready to get up.
"About your--"
"I'm going home," I cut in, standing. Sasuke stood as well, his eyes moving between me and Sakura who had begun to answer his question.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing," I snapped. The restaurant fell silent around us. I took deep, calming breaths.
"Oh, stop it, Naruto," Sakura said. "It's about your affair," she said, looking at Sasuke.
There was silence, and I strained to keep my face neutral. "My what?"
"Exactly," Kiba said, raising his voice a little. "Your what, because it's not true. Kakashi told us."
"What did Kakashi tell you?" Sasuke said, looking at Kiba with narrowed eyes.
"About what you were doing with Anko," Lee explained. "You know. The papers today."
There was silence again, and finally, deciding, I began to move. I was walking past Sasuke when I felt myself being tugged back by the wrist. I half-turned, saw that Sasuke was holding lightly onto my wrist with an unreadable expression in his eyes. Angry again, I wrenched my hand away. "I'm going home," I repeated.
"Naruto, wait."
"What about today's newspapers?" Ino asked. She was silent for a moment, and then, a little too loudly said, "Oh my god!"
I began to walk away again and got two feet away when I felt a hand on my wrist. I turned around, ready to snap something at Sasuke when I saw him fumble in his pockets and bring out something solid and black.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to go," he mumbled. He clasped his hand around the box, eyes narrowed. Then, he moved, his knees bending a bit, before he straightened again. He repeated the motion again, and I saw the irritation on his face. In the back of my mind, I realized this looked familiar, and then it hit me. In Jixi, Sasuke had gotten onto his knees so he could face me in my chair to apologize.
He was getting on his knees to apologize. Which, for Sasuke, was overkill. Which also meant, he did have an affair, if he felt so obliged to apologize to such a great extent.
He bent his knees one last time, cursed, and then mumbled, "The things I do for you," before getting onto one knee.
I stared down at him. "Sasuke, what are you--"
"I heard," he cut me off. I saw him swallow. "Flowers are supposed to help. But since you don't like flowers." He snapped his mouth shut with a click.
I felt my face contort into a strange expression. When Sasuke fumbled again, my eyes traveled down to the box in his hand, and then, slowly, like a steady trickle of water, the truth dawned on me. "Oh."
Sasuke still looked irritated, but he managed to take my hand. He stared up at me, eyes intent, scowl firmly in place for a good minute before finally asking a little petulantly, "Will you marry me?"
I stared at him, and vaguely, I heard a few gasps. The restaurant was dead-silent now, and even peripherally, I could detect no movement.
Then, it hit me. I heard him wrong. "Sorry?"
Sasuke looked angry. He had, I knew for a fact, never been on his knees voluntarily to please anyone else. Only once, and that too in Jixi for me. This was his second time, and I was prolonging the duration of his perch. "I said," he bit out, "Will you marry me?"
"Oh." So I heard him right. I blinked at him once, and then twice. "I can't."
His eyes narrowed, so I clarified, "Legally. I can't."
"Yes you can," he snapped, angrier now. "I just spent close to twenty million dollars bribing old judges to make it legal."
"You what?"
Sasuke looked ready to murder someone. "You work for the newspaper, dead-last. Can't you read?"
I spluttered in anger. "I do read, you bastard. I just didn't get a chance today. Those"--I pointed an accusatory finger in the direction of my table--"idiots were eating away at my ear all day long, wondering if their wives would divorce them."
"Well, it's legal now," Sasuke hissed. "Became legal today."
"Is that why you were talking with Professor Anko so much?"
"Yes." Sasuke threw up his hands, still on his knee. "Which is why I couldn't take your call."
"But," I countered, looking down at him and getting exasperated myself, "You said that after I died you'd marry a woman, beget children, and be happy."
"Because you said I should, dead-last."
"I didn't mean it, UB. And you never listen to me anyways, so why did you start at the stupidest time possible?"
"You looked genuinely angry."
"I was genuinely angry, you nitwit."
"I'm the nitwit? You're the one who made stupid plans for me after you died."
"I thought you were having an affair with a woman!" Our voices had risen by now.
"Well, I wasn't!" Sasuke snatched my hand again, "So will you or will you not marry me?"
I stared at him. Right. There was still that question I had to answer.
Marriage. Me. Sasuke.
Right.
"You could ask me nicely, you know," I muttered, stalling.
Sasuke heaved a sigh and snapped the lid of the box open. He took hold of the ring nested inside, shook it until the box dropped the box onto the floor and showed it to me. I stared at it, disbelieving. It was a ring. An honest to goodness, solid, real ring. There was a diamond in the center, and I could tell, just by looking a it, that he'd spent an obscene amount of money on it. He was serious.
"Will you marry me?" Sasuke repeated voice lower now, but still layered with annoyance. "I'm not going to ask you again."
I stared at him. This was too easy, my mind said. A trick question. But maybe I was thinking too much. So I nodded dumbly. He looked slightly puzzled, and then, "You're supposed to say something."
"I am?"
"That's what Anko and Kakashi said."
"Oh, right. Ask me again?" There was murder written all over his features, so I added, "I can't just say it without context."
"Yes you could."
"No I couldn't, UB. This moment is going to last a lifetime, so you better get it right."
Sasuke took a deep, steadying breath, and finally, "Will you marry me?"
I felt a smile coming to my face at his sour look. If anything, he had proposed in character. "Yes."
He blinked once, and then, looking a little hesitant, put the ring on my finger. He stood up slowly, hesitant still, and stared at me. "You could have just said, you know," I said, taking a step towards him.
"The plan," Sasuke muttered, "Was for it to be a surprise."
I took hold of his tie and straightened it, tightening the knot. "You spent all that money on me?"
He waved his hand, a little irritated. "It happens."
"Well, then," I said, pulling him down by the tie so that our noses touched. I reached up and ran a thumb over his cheek. The skin was rough, and when I closed my eyes, I realized that I had memorized the texture of each and every single inch of his body. A little vaguely, I felt a hand cover my own and press it firmly against his cheek, and I thought, I loved this man, was going to marry him, and how had I ever managed to become the luckiest--"You going to kiss me?"
A split-second later, his lips were on mine, and I tightened my grip on his tie and cupped his cheek a little more firmly. He kissed me long--very long--and deep, abandoning all sense of propriety. When we pulled apart, he mumbled against my mouth, "I missed that."
"Well," I said, pulling back and considering him for a moment, "I missed you and your mad conversation skills."
His lips twitched and turning his head slightly, he kissed my fingers. "The weather's nice."
I laughed and wound my arms around him, pulling close. Our noses touched again, and I brought our foreheads together. "You idiot," I said, grinning, "We're getting married. Say something romantic."
He gave me an offended look before hugging me and burying his face into my neck. I felt him smile against my skin, felt his eyelashes flutter as he closed his eyes. "I did say something romantic," he said, voice slightly muffled. I could hear laughter in his voice, laughter meant only for me. "The weather's nice today."
End of On The Other Side