When Love Fades

Chapter 1 - Dissatisfaction I

Naruto stood in the shower, feeling the stress of the day slowly leaching out of his shoulders as the hot water pounded his flesh before swirling down the drain, carrying it away. He took his time washing himself. There was no rush. As usual, Sasuke was working late. Or maybe he was home, working in his office. It didn't really matter. It had been almost nine months since Sasuke had stopped being around even occasionally to join Naruto in the shower before bed. And seven months since Naruto had stopped delaying his shower on the off chance that Sasuke would slip into the steamy room behind him.

Naruto's hands lathered the soap, washing under his arms, across his tan, muscled chest, then slowly lower. He felt himself hardening under his own touch. He sighed, half in frustration and half in the early stirrings of arousal. Given that they hadn't had sex in months, he supposed it wasn't surprising that his body was reacting to the slight stimulation. He slid his hand lower, trying not to think about the fact that when they'd first moved into the apartment three years ago, they'd had to soundproof the bathroom and bedroom walls to avoid complaints from the neighbors.

There were no complaints to worry about now.

Both rooms were always silent, even on the few nights when Sasuke did come to bed before Naruto was asleep. They used to have sex for hours. Now, the few times it even happened, it was over and done in ten minutes - from foreplay through to afterglow. A simple release of tension for the both of them, but there was no 'playing' anymore.

Naruto felt his arousal fade at his thoughts. It wasn't that he didn't love Sasuke anymore.

But he resented the hell out of him.

When they had graduated college, Naruto had been offered an internship at one of the leading magazines in Japan as a photographer. The pay wasn't much, but it would have jump-started his career. But the job had been in another city, and Sasuke had landed his dream job at one of the leading consumer electronics companies where they lived now. At the time, it had been an easy choice and Naruto had turned the job down without a second thought. He could be happy with a different job even if it wasn't as prestigious, but he didn't want to live hours away from his boyfriend for the foreseeable future.

But three years later, they were barely living together. Sasuke worked late almost every night and often on weekends. And even when he was home, he was usually either thinking about work or so exhausted he was catching up on his much needed sleep. They hardly ever spent any time together anymore.

Naruto was... lonely.

Naruto was a physically demonstrative guy. He liked to show affection physically, and to receive it in return. Sex wasn't all he cared about in a relationship, but it also wasn't totally insignificant, either. Naruto would never cheat. Ever. If he was with Sasuke, then that was who he was with. But the problem was that Sasuke wasn't around to be with anymore. And it seemed like there was no end in sight to the rut they'd fallen into. Naruto wondered if this was what their relationship would be like from now on.

They still caught up every once in awhile with their friends from college who had stayed in the area, but that happened with less frequency with everyone moving on with their lives and Sasuke being so busy. A few of their single friends still went out to the bar or a club on weekends, but Naruto didn't really like to go without Sasuke. It felt... wrong to go to a bar alone when he was in a relationship, even if he wasn't going to pick someone up.

He had known that things would change after college. He wasn't stupid. They had more responsibilities now and worked in different places, with different people, on different things. It wasn't like back in college where they had shared friends and shared classes and were both students, even if it had been in different subjects.