Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Soup's On	By : OfFansAndFlames Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1793 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters mentioned. I make no money on this fiction.

Chapter List
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"Where the hell were you?" Naruto hissed under his breath.
Sasuke rolled his backpack off of his shoulder and threw it on the bed.
"It's like...nine o'clock! Your brother's been home since four. I've had to piss for like two hours! I don't even..."
Sasuke quickly closed in on Naruto, cupping his cheek in his hand and kissing him softly. Their tongues entwined momentarily before Sasuke withdrew. Naruto blinked up at Sasuke, a flush misting his cheeks.
"I've been waiting to do that all day."
Naruto tilted his head towards the side. It wasn't like Sasuke to be so affectionate.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Sasuke? Like...any hallucinations today? Uncontrollable laughter?"
Sasuke smiled back at Naruto ever so lightly. If Naruto had known what he'd been up to, would he have even wanted to kiss him? Sasuke turned on his radio, using the comfortable volume of the rock music to conceal their whispered voices and avoid being overheard.
"It's just...been a long day."
Naruto gestured at the clock by Sasuke's bed.
"It sure has. What were you even doing?"
Sasuke inhaled, casting his eyes out the window as he slowly let the air out. He needed to explain to Naruto why Itachi would be "calling off of work" again tomorrow. He glanced back at Naruto, the blond's face expectant and blissfully unaware.
Indeed, the Uchiha was a secretive man. But was it right to hide these sorts of secrets from his lover? He frowned. How much would he reveal? He would have to explain why Itachi would be home so often now, and his illness was sure to be made evident in time as well.
But did he really have to know where all the money was coming from? Maybe what Naruto knew wouldn't hurt him. But he was going back on the promise he had made to Naruto. He at least owed the blond an honest explanation. He'd debated this with himself all day, and yet he still seemed as uncertain as ever.
"I have some shitty news for you."
Naruto frowned.
"I knew something had to be up. I just thought you were starting to lose it."
The raven snickered.
"You're saying that I need to be insane to miss you?"
"In your case? Probably something like that."
Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes in benevolent exasperation.
"Don't leave me in suspense, dude. What's going on?"
Sasuke sighed. God, Naruto was going to hate him for this. But maybe if he explained the situation beforehand, explained his reasoning, Naruto might be understanding.
"Last night, I found out that Itachi got fired. Sorry for lying to you, by the way. I just wasn't ready to talk about it."
Naruto nodded slowly.
"So... What does this mean for you guys?"
Naruto was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding one knee into his chest. Sasuke eased himself down next to Naruto, placing his head on the pillow and lying on his back. He was very glad to be home, and he certainly was not looking forward to school tomorrow. Naruto joined him, facing Sasuke as he lay on his side.
"It looks like we're going to live off of instant ramen for a while."
Despite the situation, Naruto gave a wide grin.
"Don't tell me you actually like that crap."
Oh what little Sasuke knew. Naruto responded in a dry tone.
"Sasuke, I want nothing more out of life than to swim in a pool of creamy chicken ramen."
Sasuke huffed, "Disgusting."
Naruto only chuckled in response. The words of a White Stripes song filled the room as conversation ebbed temporarily.
"Itachi's going to be home more. We need to be more careful."
How long could they keep going like this? It was shocking that Itachi hadn't already caught them, even with his hectic work and school hours. Sasuke was absolutely painstaking in covering their tracks, but now that Itachi would only be gone school hours... It was only a matter of time, now more than ever. Now that he Naruto's brows were knit in thought, troubled sapphire eyes staring down at the pillow.
"What's wrong?"
"Look," Naruto's breath stuttered as he spoke, "I don't want to put the two of you out, given that you're already having money troubles. I understand if you want me to leave."
Sasuke shook his head, almost as if by reflex.
"No. If you really like that instant ramen shit as much as you say you do, it wouldn't make much difference"
He didn't want to admit that he liked Naruto around, that he wouldn't know what to do with himself now without him. With everything that was going on, he felt that Naruto was one of the few things that kept him grounded. Naruto made him stronger, and he needed all the strength he could get.
Naruto's relief was obvious when he nodded.
"Alright then."
"Though...with Itachi being around so often, we need to figure out what we're going to do once you're caught."
"I know where you're going with this, and I'm not..."
Sasuke sighed, "I know, you won't go to foster care. We need to do some research. Not now, though. There's other stuff we need to address."
Naruto rolled his eyes, not seeing why Sasuke was so against Naruto just returning the streets. It had worked before, hadn't it? Sasuke's bangs fell across his forehead as he turned to Naruto.
"When Itachi lost his job, he lost his tuition waivers and our health insurance. The latter wouldn't have been so bad, except... Itachi's had a tumor in his stomach for about two months now, which he thought was a good idea to hide from me until last night. So now he has no health insurance and desperately needs this twenty-five thousand dollar surgery which we can't afford."
Naruto did a poor job at hiding the shock on his face. No wonder Sasuke had seemed preoccupied last night. How could he just roll something off like that? Other than seeming a little tense, Sasuke seemed his typical, misanthropic self. The Uchiha was every bit as stoic under pressure as Naruto had imagined he would be.
"Holy shit. Is he...gonna be okay?"
Sasuke hesitated before nodding.
"Yeah, it looks like it. The doctor gave him a ninety-something percent probability of survival, and it's benign. It just started growing really quickly over the past couple weeks and has connected to other organs, so it's urgent. Shitty timing."
Sasuke thought he'd done a good job of concealing his worry. Perhaps he had. But Naruto's hand reached over to Sasuke's face, his thumb tracing down Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke swallowed.
"Are you scared?"
Terrified, he'd been tempted to say. Sasuke's eyes traveled up to the ceiling.
"Like I told you before, I don't scare so easily."
Naruto snickered lightly, tugging at Sasuke's cheek with his thumb and pointer finger. Sasuke knit his brows in annoyance as Naruto's prodding distorted his face.
"Alright, bastard."
He was glad to at least gotten this much out of the way, but the worst was yet to come. Sasuke edged away from Naruto's concern, his light touches... They made Sasuke feel guilty. He suspected that they'd all come to an abrupt halt after he finally came clean.
"I loaned Itachi my college fund for the surgery, so we only need a few more thousand. As for what I was doing tonight, I took the bus out to the mall and looked for a job. As you'd expect, no one wants to hire someone my age, especially given the economy."
Sasuke would do this for his brother? The bond between the two brothers was something that Naruto had never observed before. Maybe this was what it meant to have a family. Though it made him a little jealous, he was glad that Sasuke had something like this in his life.
"But I did find something..."
"Seriously?!"
"And you're going to hate me for it."
Naruto didn't know what to make of this statement, his features scrunched as he stared back at the younger male.
"Sasuke, I don't think you could make me hate you if you tried. You're already such an asshole, so I don't see how it could get much worse."
"I'll hold you to that."
Naruto's persistent smile reassured him.
"You're welcome to."
Why was he even telling Naruto this? Was it worth worrying Naruto? Upsetting him? Risking their relationship? If Sasuke confided in no one, then he would have no one to hold him accountable. He worried that he'd drift too far, and maybe he'd even end up like Kabuto one day. But more than that, there was something about the wide-eyed blond that made him very difficult for Sasuke to lie to. The closest Sasuke could come to explaining this was that it seemed like Naruto deserved the truth.
The words were sticking to his tongue. He forced himself into speech.
"But I know some people who sell...pills and stuff around school. I'm going to help them out, but the instant we can afford that surgery, I'll have nothing to do with it."
Sasuke's words seemed to stick somewhere between Naruto's ears and his brain.
"Wait... What?"
Sasuke sighed.
"That was pretty clear. Don't make me get into it."
"You don't mean like...selling drugs, do you?"
Dumbfounded blue eyes were wide and disbelieving, as if he hardly even comprehended what Sasuke was telling him. They filled Sasuke with guilt, so he turned away.
"I wasn't aware there were other types of pills."
"Sasuke, this is crazy! You told me you weren't going to do this stuff anymore!"
An undertone of anger laced Naruto's voice. Sasuke's voice traveled in the opposite direction, conciliatory.
"I don't like this either, but what other choice do I have?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Nuh uh. There has to be some other way."
"I'd love to hear it."
"Can't your brother raise the money?" Naruto challenged.
"There are plenty of ways we could raise the money, but it would take months. Itachi's going to help, but he tells me that his health is deteriorating too quickly for him to put in the same hours he used to. We need to find a faster way, and this is it."
The older male shook his head again, refusing to accept this.
"No, this is bullshit. Do you really think they're going to let your brother die? If he's really that bad, they have to operate."
The Uchiha fought to control the anger and even desperation in his voice as he answered.
"I'm not going to let his health deteriorate to the point that the hospitals have no other choice. He's already forecasted to have some complications."
Sasuke sighed.
"You didn't see Itachi the other night. He's a genius, literally, and he looked terrified, like his back was up against a wall. If there were another solution to this, Itachi would have figured it out. I'm sure of it."
"Still... This? This isn't a solution. This is just..."
Sasuke turned onto his back again, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply.
"Itachi is the only family I have left, Naruto."
When Sasuke's eyes opened again, they were stubborn and unyielding. They bore directly into Naruto's.
"I'm not taking any chances with him."
The other frowned, staring down at his pillow. He knew that there was no convincing Sasuke now, though as much as Naruto couldn't stand it, he couldn't exactly blame him. His memory returned to the night Sasuke returned to the house, drugged and completely disoriented.
"Are these the same people who drugged you that one night?"
Hesitantly, Sasuke nodded.
"Sasuke, if you get yourself in juvie or even killed, it's not going to help your brother any."
Death? Sasuke couldn't help but smile. Maybe he wasn't the only one who could take his worrying a bit far.
"They wouldn't kill me. They're not that bad. A few of my other friends were drugged at the party too. They all had a great time and were fine, apparently. I think the only reason I got so sick was because it interacted with some medication I'm taking."
The vague inference to his medication reminded Naruto that Sasuke didn't know that Naruto had already found the Zoloft bottle. Naruto had no clue about the interactions of alcohol, some random other drug, and psychiatric medications. Sasuke neglected to mention that whatever the case, Kabuto had given him a formidable dose. The raven's words reassured Naruto in part, but the situation was concerning nonetheless.
Still, Naruto was angry. After all that Sasuke had endured at the hands of his so-called "friends," couldn't he see that involving himself again could only lead to trouble? Sure, he had a much better motive now, but motives don't keep people out of jail cells. He had actually thought that Sasuke was going to turn around. Yet now here he was, even deeper in than he had ever been before. Under better circumstances, he would've punched him.
"I suppose there's no talking you out of this."
Sasuke shook his head.
"Don't worry so much. I'll probably only be doing this for a month or so, then it's all over. Back to proms and video games and all that other teenage shit. And I'm going to be looking for legal stuff I can do the whole time."
To say he still had his reservations was an understatement, but Naruto nodded slowly. He was angry, but more than that, he was terrified. What would happen to Sasuke? What would happen to him? Naruto didn't have much, but now he could lose what little he did have. For this reason, he tried to stave his anger, reminding himself that as much as he personally had endured, he could never truly understand what Sasuke was going through right now. And more practically, the more grief he gave Sasuke over his decision, the more secretive Sasuke would become about all of this in the future. Naruto wanted to know as much as he could, so this would be one of those rare times that Naruto actually thought before he spoke.
"Can you really raise that much money doing this?"
Sasuke's face was flat.
"I made four hundred bucks in an hour today."
Naruto's mouth swung open so quickly it was comical.
"What?! No, you're full of shit."
Sighing, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and forced it upright. He dug in his pocket and plopped the remaining money on Naruto's palm. Naruto, who might not have seen that much cash before in his lifetime, seemed like he was ready to burst at the seams.
"This is a lot of money!"
"I wouldn't do something like this for chump change."
Naruto was still staring at his hand. He didn't like this situation any more, but Sasuke's decision was beginning to make a little bit more sense to him.
"How are you going to explain this money to your brother, anyway?"
Sasuke placed his forearm over his eyes, grumbling back reluctantly, "I told him St. Magdalene's took me on for some extra work."
The blond's voice came back dry as a desert.
"You're selling drugs..." He paused. "So you told your brother you're working at a church?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"You don't have to say it. I'm a horrible person."
Despite everything, Naruto couldn't keep a hint of laughter out of his response.
"You certainly have a flare for the ironic, don't you, S'uke?"
"So it would seem," Sasuke mumbled.
"I still think this is a horrible idea, but I understand why you feel like you need to do this."
The paler of the two could think of no response, merely grunting. Naruto leaned forward, kissing Sasuke's forehead.
"I know you like to be all...mysterious and shit, but promise me that you'll tell me if anything big happens."
Sasuke's brows furrowed. He didn't like this promise. But perhaps this would be good for even him. After all that had been happening recently, he was beginning to question whether or not he really trusted himself. Naruto could hold him steady when he might have otherwise drifted away. Of course, he'd rather die than admit this to Naruto.
"Fine. I'll tell you."
Chapped lips graced a sad smile.
"I know you're worried about your brother, but I'm worried about you."
Sasuke rested his large pale hand against Naruto's cheek. It had seemed that Sasuke's hands had taken the effects of his growth first, and sometimes Sasuke felt they were even too large for his wrists. But Naruto smiled, nuzzling deeper into its flesh. He feathered his thumb over Naruto's cheek.
"I'll be as careful as I can."
Naruto placed his own hand against Sasuke's, giving a shaky exhale.
"I can't handle losing you, so..."
Sasuke's bravado failed him for the moment. A voice deep down in his mind urged him to tell Naruto that he felt the same. He had only met Naruto months ago. Since when did he bond so quickly? He was leaning on Naruto a little bit more than he was comfortable with.
"I know we're young and all, and this situation is sort of crazy. Sasuke, do you think we can last?"
Sasuke bit his lip in thought before answering. He couldn't answer that question any better than Naruto could, and he wasn't one to give a fluff answer. Naruto was right. They were just kids.
"I hope so, for both of our sakes."
Naruto didn't reply, kissing the Uchiha softly and leisurely. This wasn't where Sasuke saw this interaction going. To be honest, he considered himself fortunate to still have an unbruised face. Months down the line, would they still be lovers? Years? Perhaps they were too young to be thinking that far down the line, but still, he wanted to imagine that he'd be staying by Naruto's side for a very long time.

Hope you all like. Don't forget to review! -points down-
Thank you, everyone, for reading. :)
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