When Love Fades

Chapter 44 - The Damage Done II

Sasuke stepped outside. A gust of wind whipped his jacket open but he didn't pay it any mind. He felt slightly numb from the conversation he'd just had with Konan. His mind was replaying arguments from the past where Naruto had been unhappy with the long hours Sasuke worked but unable to articulate why he was angry about it. At the time, Sasuke had written it up to the fact that Naruto had simply had unrealistic expectations of what life after college would be like.

It had pissed Sasuke off back then. Sasuke had busted his ass to put himself through college with no help from anyone, and he wasn't going to sabotage the job he'd just to play at being in college again. He had to pay off his debts and needed to prove himself, to show at least to himself that he was worth something, even if his parents would never see it. Naruto had known what Sasuke had wanted to do since they day they'd met, and Sasuke hadn't been able to understand why Naruto had reacted the way he had.

Sasuke had thought that - if anything - Naruto should have been happy that Sasuke was willing to bear the brunt of their financial burdens, giving Naruto some breathing room to figure out his own career. Instead, Naruto had just seemed resentful. So when Naruto had finally stopped bringing it up, Sasuke had been relived. He'd assumed that Naruto had finally realized that Sasuke was just doing what he had to do.

But that hadn't been it at all.

For the past six months, Sasuke had felt sure in his anger at Naruto's betrayal of trust. It had seemed like Naruto had just walked out to find someone who was easier to live with or that Naruto hadn't cared enough about their relationship to fight for it. Sasuke had been angry that Naruto hadn't given Sasuke the chance to fight for it, either, making the decision all on his own to end their relationship for a reason that Sasuke didn't understand. It had totally blindsided Sasuke and he had just shut down his feelings for Naruto, writing their relationship off as a huge mistake on his part. That Naruto somehow hadn't been the person he'd thought he was.

His conversation with Konan had cast everything in a new light. Slowly, the pieces were clicking into place that hadn't made sense before. The inconsistency between the way Naruto had told Sasuke that their relationship was the most important thing to him compared to the way he'd left. The fact that Naruto used to argue about everything, but had walked away without a fight in the end.

Everything had gone wrong, but... not for the reasons Sasuke had thought. It made all the decisions he'd made seem less certain, less clear. Sasuke's phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, but he ignored it. He just pushed his hands deeper into his coat pockets against the chilly evening air. Right then, he didn't want to talk to anyone. He just needed to think.

Instead of heading back towards Itachi's apartment, Sasuke walked down towards the well-lit city park. His brother's shift would go for another hour. It would give Sasuke some time to try to think through what he'd learned about the man he'd dated for six years and obviously failed to understand.

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Itachi looked up from his laptop as Sasuke walked in. Sasuke braced himself for an interrogation, but Itachi didn't ask him any questions.

"I got back an hour ago. I was beginning to wonder if you'd left." Itachi's words surprised Sasuke. He must have completely lost track of time walking around the park for that long.

"You look cold. Where did you go?" Itachi's voice sounded neutral, but Sasuke knew his brother well enough to detect the hint of concern within it.

"I went for a walk," Sasuke said as he removed his jacket and shoes.

"I haven't started dinner yet. If you want, we could do take-out instead tonight," Itachi said.

Cooking was a ritual for the brothers, a throw-back to their childhood where they mostly had to take care of themselves with both their parents working long hours. Take-out was expensive and had been reserved for times when the brothers had not been able to cook, either due to illness or finals or some other traumatic event.

The last time they had ordered take-out was when Itachi had lost a patient, a child that had been the victim of a hit-and-run. They had ordered take-out and watched movies, not speaking, but sitting together on the couch under a shared blanket. They had fallen asleep together on the sofa, Sasuke knowing without being asked that Itachi had not wanted to be alone.

Sasuke looked over at his brother, wondering if Konan had called him or if Itachi just had a sixth sense for when Sasuke was upset. He supposed it didn't matter.

"Sushi?" Sasuke suggested, his reply sufficient acknowledgement of his emotional state. Itachi could be a ruthless bastard when he wanted to be, but for the moment, he was going to simply be there for Sasuke.

Itachi ordered sushi and brought out some sake to have with it. They set the sake out on Itachi's coffee table as Itachi selected a movie to watch while they waited for their food to arrive. They didn't bother with small talk, both men fully comfortable with silence. There would be plenty of time to analyze the situation later, when Sasuke was ready to do so.

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"I'm going to have to talk to Neji," Sasuke said as the third movie ended.

Itachi looked unsurprised as he handed the remote to Sasuke, letting him search through the Netflix menu to pick what they'd watch next. Sasuke selected The Usual Suspects and set the remote back on Itachi's coffee table.

"I think that would be a good idea," Itachi finally replied. "And Naruto?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment, watching the opening scene of the movie. It had been six months since they'd broken up and Naruto was now seeing someone else, or at least dating. Based on their last conversation, it was clear that Naruto thought Sasuke had cheated on him or at least had not been completely honest about Neji. And there was the fact that Naruto had slept with Sasuke after he'd made the decision to walk out.

"I don't know," Sasuke said, pouring himself the last of the sake. "But either way, I need to talk with Neji."

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TBC..

I'll be back soon with the new chapter..
Take care and stay healthy and hydrated. love you all 🥰❤️

Cr : NaruLove11
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