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In his penthouse apartment, Itachi watches a movie. Kiba eats a bowl of popcorn as the images flash on the screen. The acting terrible, the gore poorly made, the camera man is obviously off his medication and the writer has only heard of pacing from the slurred lips of drunk sailors that speak neither English nor Japanese.
In other words, Kiba’s favourite type of movie.
Itachi is only here because he is a good boyfriend.
Though he is more into watching Kiba than the screen, his boyfriend's legs to be precise. They are folded under him as they sit on the couch. Kiba is just wearing one of Itachi's grey shirt. The dark skin is out for him to see, almost with a golden hue under the dimmed lights.
He thinks how pretty they looked wrapped around his waist earlier today. The sweet mews Kiba made when he sunk his fingertips into the quivering thighs pulling him to his pelvis. When Kiba is on his back holding his legs up, face flushed and turned on, offering and waiting for Itachi.
Kiba's nose twitches at the sudden change in the room's scent. He leans against him, unfolding his legs, Itachi touches his knee and the scent becomes even stronger. Kiba looks at Itachi, licks his lips and says,
“I wonder how Naruto and Sasuke are doing?”
And just like that the scent is gone.
Kiba turns his gaze back to the movie.
***
Sasuke offers him a cigarette. Naruto shakes his head and Sasuke puts it in his mouth and lights it. They sit on the grassy hill and watch the stars dance in the night sky.
Naruto doesn’t smoke but Sasuke does. He smokes the same brand as his brother, the one in the black box with the fancy purple embellishments and symbols scrawled on the front.
(Kiba’s pretend irritation when Naruto told Kiba that he could smell the smoke on his clothes. How Kiba lifted the collar of his shirt to smell cursing under his breath, “Fucking Itachi” revealing the hickeys all over his stomach. They were an angry red as if they were painted by some possessive brush. Naruto scowled at Kiba’s need to show off)
Sasuke stays far from Naruto as he smokes. Not out of habit but out of consideration, he exhales purple smoke and watch it disappear in the air.
(Too many memories of Naruto’s face twisted in disgust at teens smoking bright multicolours outside of clubs, standing on the curb or behind the building. Drinks in hand, they sway to the muffled thumps of the music. “It’s too sweet, almost putrid” Naruto explained. “Smells like fruits that were left out too long”)
The stars dance slowly, a sweet dance between no one yet with everyone. There is no music, but their rhythm is languid and smooth. They are moving a thousand times than faster than the New Horizon but from this distance it is a slow dance too unpredictable to call a waltz.
(Kiba was the one who suggested it. An arm slung over Sasuke’s shoulders, another pointing at nothing in the sky. Kiba was always a theatrical. “You two should go. It’s pretty. It’s simple but dramatic. It’s also fucking romantic. It fits you dorks perfectly” he teased. Naruto didn’t ask if Kiba went with Itachi. They probably did, the losers.)
Sasuke outs the cigarette before the smoke clings to him. It’s a waste of an expensive brand but a bit of nicotine is all he needs, to calm his nerves and comfort his brain. He moves beside Naruto.
(Sasuke didn’t remind Kiba that Naruto had a boyfriend and Naruto didn’t say anything, so he didn’t say anything either. He didn’t like saying it out loud, he didn’t like mentioning Gaara)
Naruto sighs and a dust of sparks escape his lips. Sasuke leans against him, the warmth against his skin makes him tingle. Naruto runs hot, like that part of an old laptop when you’re trying to play games on the highest definition. Sasuke’s skin is always cooler because Sasuke is human despite what his eyes can do. The only time Naruto has ever been human was when he was a new-born, before they shoved a fallen in him.
(The fallen was the clan’s god, Kyuubi, the fox god of fire and a ridiculous amount of power. He was cruel, he was merciless and greedy. But then he fell, a victim of his own greed, thrown from the heavens becoming a fallen. The Uzumaki ripped his form apart, tore and destroyed until only his core was left, and they shoved that core into a babe. They did not do it out of ambition or greed. They did it out of spite and for eight generations, continued to do it out of spite)
“Hey Sasuke” Naruto says, his voice is soft and his breath tickles Sasuke’s cheeks. “Can I tell you something?”
Sasuke frowns.
Naruto never asks. He blurts without hesitation or thinking, he never doubts Sasuke’s response. Does not even entertain the slim chance that Sasuke might reject him.
(Sasuke would never reject him. Sasuke could reject the world, his family and every living being that came, comes or will be in existence but not Naruto. Never Naruto)
Naruto sees his apprehension and takes Sasuke’s fist. He holds it in his lap and with gentle fingers, pry it open. Sasuke does not fight him but he does not look and that makes it worse. Not watching but feeling the sharpness of Naruto’s nails writing against the roughness of Sasuke’s palm.
His face is hot, and his brain is frying. Naruto stops and says,
“What do you say?”
Sasuke blinks, his brain cools and the message processes. He opens his mouth but the sound that comes out is insensible. He clears his throat and tries again,
“What?”
Naruto stares at him and a flash of fear consumes Sasuke. But Naruto traces his nail against the palm of Sasuke’s hands, his cheeks slightly flushed but enough for Sasuke to see in the darkness.
(There was always a running joke in Konohagakure when it came to its clans. Stereotypes like The Inuzukas were destructively wild, the Uzumakis were spiteful shits and the Uchihas were emotionally stunted geniuses)
Sasuke ignores the shudders the action sends throughout his body and feels the message. He yanks his hand out of Naruto’s and stares at the blond.
“What happened to Gaara?” he demands. Gaara who belongs to Naruto and vice versa. Gaara who despite having a fucked-up childhood is a good person. Who fits Naruto better than Sasuke ever can, who can relate to him, can understand and support him like a proper boyfriend.
“We broke up.” Naruto looks confused. “Didn’t Kiba tell you?”
(No one loved gossip more than Kiba, not even Mikoto Uchiha. There was something about how he spoke to people, how he put them at ease, making them willing to talk and share. Kiba loved idle gossip, inane things like who stole whose partner, who embezzled from their company or why Sai is never allowed back at the local zoo)
“How long ago?” Sasuke asks, he ignores the burning inside of him. His expression is cool, but the intensity of his eyes makes Naruto look away.
“A month”
“And you’re just telling me now?”
“I thought Kiba told you!” was the petulant response.
“IT’S NOT KIBA’S JOB TO TELL ME!” Sasuke shouts, a stream of flames escapes his lips. “YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND, NARUTO. I SHOULDN’T FUCKING HEAR IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE!”
(He was the one to set them up. They were good together and Gaara would make Naruto happy. How many couples did he have to manipulate into creation just to get them in the same social circle? All that, just to set them up. One relationship was so toxic that he had to break them up for his own conscience)
Sasuke glances down and his shirt is on fire. He rolls his eyes, “Fuck”. He knocks out the flames, ignoring Naruto. Naruto takes his jacket off and offers it, Sasuke concentrates on his shirt.
“I’m sorry” Naruto mumbles, pushing the jacket in his hands.
“Fuck you” is the immediate reply and Sasuke pulls the smouldering remains off. Naruto puts the jacket around Sasuke’s shoulders. He lowers his head down and stares up at Sasuke,
“Forgive me?”
Sasuke slips his arms into the jacket, he stops shivering but he isn’t looking at Naruto. Naruto tugs at him, and leans against his bare chest, “Sorry S’uke” he mumbles, face against his skin. Sasuke sighs, he feels Naruto’s grin.
“Asshole”
“But I’m your asshole”
(Kiba grabbed him aside, a week after he broke up with Gaara. “I’m going to teach you” he declared. “How to turn an Uchiha into putty!” Naruto was confused and Kiba rolled his eyes. He waved him off, “Play stupid with someone else” he paused. “In fact, don’t. Just shut up and watch”
So, Naruto did and was left confused. Genuinely confused.
“That’s surprisingly simple”
“They’re rather simple for geniuses”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Kiba threw his head back and laughed. “That’s what makes it fun. They know what you’re doing but like most humans they have a soft spot for the people they love”)
Naruto pushes forward until Sasuke is on his back and Naruto is lying on his chest, like a star, burning and bright. Sasuke can feel Naruto chanting his name like a spiteful heathen.
“I hate you” he grits out and Naruto snickers against him, looking up at Sasuke with eyes big and blue.
“But what do you say? Date me?”
(If Gaara was asked what was the moment he knew he had to break up with Naruto, he would first respond with,
“Who the pink fuck are you?”
If it was someone who he cared about, he would tell them that there were tons of moments. But the final tug that tore the thread was when he decided to visit Naruto on a whim, he entered his boyfriend’s home. He went in to the kitchen and there stood Naruto stirring the pot while Sasuke was behind him, arms wrapped around his waist and chin in the crook of Naruto’s neck. They were talking softly to each other, Sasuke tasting the curry and complaining about the lack of tomatoes. Naruto laughing and mocking him for his obsession with the fruit that lived a lie.
It was a touching scene; Gaara felt like an intruder. Gaara felt like an encroacher on this touching moment with his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s best friend.
What made it worse was when he coughed, gaining their attention, neither of them looked guilty. As if they were not aware of how weird the situation was. Naruto beamed and rushed to hug him with his usual over the top affection and Sasuke, the only person he was expecting at least something from, just looked calm. The type of calm a person had when they accepted that this was their lot in life. Because Gaara knew that Uchihas weren’t as emotionally ignorant as people made them out to be. But Gaara was not going to accept that shit. The Uchiha could choke on his fucking martyr complex.
Gaara was not having it.
He broke up with Naruto that night. They talked about it, of course because Naruto had to know why. What did he do? What didn’t he do? And they spoke for a long time.
By the end of the night, the break up was mutual)
Sasuke stares at him, “Are you sure?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be someone that can...I don’t know…relate more to you?”
Naruto squints his eyes then snorts, he pulls on Sasuke’s cheeks, “You’re not serious?” he rests his chin on his hands. “People don’t need people that are 100% like them. You don’t have to relate to all my experiences, Sasuke. You would never expect that from me, why would I expect that from you?”
Sasuke opens his mouth to explain why Naruto is wrong. He is ready to cite all the scientific articles and dissertation he’s read the moment he realised he had feelings for Naruto.
“Sure” is what comes out instead.
Naruto grins before leaning forward and kissing him.
***
“You’re cute when you sulk” Kiba says aloud as he puts in another movie. The title flickers on in an overdramatic fashion.
“I’m not sulking” Itachi grumbles. He raises an eyebrow at the title, it was a familiar one. It was a movie that Kiba had seen more times than Itachi would like to count. He watches Kiba who sits back on the couch but he’s facing Itachi. His legs are stretched out, toes touching Itachi’s thighs and his hands are pulling the ends of the large grey shirt between his legs.
“‘tachi,” he says in a tone that makes a lot of promises. Kiba grins, pressing the pads of his feet against Itachi. “Wanna play a game?”
Itachi looks between Kiba’s legs and meets his gaze with a smirk, “That depends” he answers. “Is it fun?” he grabs Kiba’s ankles. Kiba widens his legs a bit, but remains covered.
“It’s very fun.” Kiba teases, “It’s called ‘Is Kiba Wearing Underwear?’”
“That does sound fun” Itachi replies, voice husky and deep. “If I win?”
“You get to fuck me”
“And if I lose?”
“I get to fuck you.”
Itachi grins back at him, “My, my” he kisses Kiba’s knee, hands trailing against his inner thigh. “I wonder which one it shall be?”
And he makes his guess.