Taking Time

Month One

Sasuke woke up in his Tokyo hotel room. He felt the lingering sleep coat his mind in a blur. Gently, he let his head fall to the side of his pillow, where his eyes were greeted with a small, digital clock. It was earlier than he'd expected—almost 6 AM. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, which was odd for him, since he usually was able to tune out the noise of his mind. However, he'd been waking up randomly, unable to get a strong nights rest. And the reason for his whack sleeping schedule was pretty clear to him. Although he didn't like to admit it to himself.

As he continued to stare at the clock, he couldn't help but wonder why his subconscious was affecting him this way still.

He'd left for Tokyo the evening after his unexpected confrontation with both Naruto and his brother. It was chaotic, to say the least. And, on top of that, it drained Sasuke so much that he was unsure when he'd feel stable again. He tried to always be the one with his feet firmly planted on the ground, but for the first time in years, he'd felt as if he'd been struck with vertigo. He'd get tired quicker, he'd zone out during conferences, he'd forget his wallet or keys... The list went on and on. To anyone he was close with, he'd look unhinged. Fortunately, no one like that was near him, so they couldn't call him out on it. The only person he ever really saw was Sakura and her employees.

Sasuke sat up in bed and wiped his eyes, moving his hair from his face to behind his ears. He made his way into the kitchen. He knew he wouldn't be able to get that last hour of sleep he'd so desire anyway. And so, coffee it was. He ground up some beans, put them in the hotel's french press, and waited for the water in the kettle to boil. Once it did, he poured it over the grounds, allowing it to sit as the aroma filled the luxurious room.

With his fresh brewed coffee now in hand, he sat at the desk and opened his laptop to browse through his email. At the top of the list was one from Itachi, his older brother, with the subject line: Please respond.

Sasuke grunted as he burned his tongue. He clicked it open and it only had two sentences, but it was enough to get Itachi's point across.

Sasuke, I know your mind is solely focused on business right now, but please understand that you personal well being is more important to me than any business dealings. If you're not going to respond to my texts, calls, or emails, you'll leave me no choice.

It wasn't a threat, but, at the same time, it was. Sasuke placed his cup of coffee down and for the first time in two weeks, he responded to his brother.

Itachi, here is me responding.

He clicked send and shut his laptop just as quickly as he had opened it—forgetting about the other mass of emails he'd received.

Yes, he'd been in Tokyo for longer than he had expected. He was only meant to stay for a maximum of four days, in an effort to secure the building for the Uchiha and Haruno joint business merger. However, he'd missed his return flight—on purpose. Something was keeping him in Tokyo... Or something was just pushing him out of Konoha. It felt like both, honestly. While he was in Tokyo, he felt as though he had a purpose. There was no one there that he knew, besides Sakura. He was slowly getting to know the team she'd selected to bring into their contract, but Sakura was the only one he actually cared to have chats with. In his down time, he was exploring Tokyo, which felt nice. He was enjoying the freedom of being in Tokyo alone. He was also enjoying the bland luxury the hotel suite provided. Mainly because it didn't have anything that would remind him of the home he once shared.

Yet, while the days were easier for him to deal with his issues, the nights made it extremely hard. He'd find himself downing an entire bottle of wine and just staring at his phone... He couldn't help but wish Naruto would text him. He knew it wouldn't happen. He knew he shouldn't wish painful things like that too. The man wasn't even in love with Sasuke anymore. Sasuke should feel the same. Bu he still felt something towards Naruto and that's what made it so painful. He had hoped that Tokyo would bring about a path for him to forget the blonde, but it still hurt. He knew these types of things took time, but Sasuke didn't want to wait. He was impatient, constantly trying to find the quickest way to move on.