Muted Love

Chapter 10

Naruto awoke the next morning, his head aching painfully and his stomach feeling nauseous. He groaned loudly and slowly sat up in his bed. He looked around the room to see that he was in his bedroom at the Uchiha’s. “Shit.” He muttered out loud as his actions from last began to pop up in his mind. “I’m so fucked.”

He checked the time to see it was still early. He walked through the bathroom and tested Sasuke’s door to see if it was unlocked. The knob turned easily and he peeked inside to see Sasuke asleep, his back facing him. Naruto slowly closed the door and locked it. With a sigh, he turned the shower on, stripped, and stepped inside.

When he was done, he got dressed and headed down stairs. In the kitchen, Itachi was at the island, sitting on a stool and sipping what he could only assume was coffee.

“Uh, good morning, Itachi.” Naruto greeted nervously. He walked into the kitchen and stood at the counter across from Itachi.

Itachi looked up from his phone and placed it on the counter, giving Naruto his full attention.

“I would like to apologize for my actions last night.” He started off, giving him a slight bow. “I was way out of hand and my priorities should've been focused on Sasuke and not my personal interests. I promise, from now on, something like that will never happen again. I’m not normally that type of person.”

Itachi carefully studied the blonde and Naruto fidgeted underneath his gaze. “I figured this isn’t something that you would normally do. Sasuke kind of told me what had happened before you left.”

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. “I overreacted. I shouldn’t have been offended by something like that. I won’t let it happen again.”

Itachi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to apologize for your reactions to someone offending you. Especially not from my foolish little brother.”

“Even still, it was very unprofessional.”

“Listen Naruto,” Itachi shifted his position so that he was leaning forward, resting his arms on the counter. “To be honest, if it was anyone else, I probably would be firing them right about now. But,” Itachi smirked as Naruto’s eyes lit up in hopefulness. “You’re intentions with my brother seem to stem from nothing but kindness and I like what you’re doing. Sasuke is showing more emotion in these last couple days than the past five years. So, I would like for you to continue to be his caretaker.”

“Of course!” Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

“But, there is a condition.” Itachi paused and Naruto looked at him nervously. “No more leaving Sasuke alone. You can have your fun, and go drinking and what not, but at least wait until I get home. If Sasuke gets on your nerves, which I know he will, it’s okay to just stay away, but only in the house.”

Naruto nodded vigorously. “Of course!”

“Now, Sasuke seemed a little upset about the whole situation last night. He put you to bed, but I didn’t hear anything from him since.”

“He put me to bed?” Naruto asked, surprised. Itachi nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “Guess I’ll go talk to him then.”

“Sounds good to me.” Itachi stood up from the stool. “I’ll leave you to it and I will see you later.” He walked out of the kitchen and out the door.

Naruto let out a shaky breath. He was relieved that he still had his job, but now he had to be on good terms with Sasuke. He walked up the stairs and towards Sasuke’s room. He knocked on the door and soon enough, Sasuke opened it, looking at him with a bored look, still in a pair of sweatpants with no shirt on.