Muted Love

Chapter 21

Sapphire eyes fluttered open, making a mental note that he was tucked into his bed. He sat up, looking around and noticed his phone sitting on the nightstand. Memories of the previous night flooded him. He sat up with a sigh, running his hand through his hair.

After using the bathroom, he checked in Sasuke's room, only to find the door open and the room empty. With a slight frown, he made his way down the stairs. The living room also turned out to be empty. Finally making it to the kitchen, he found Sasuke sitting at one of the bar stools, his phone in front of him.

"Hey." Naruto greeted softly, sitting in the stool next to Sasuke. The raven looked up and gave him a half smirk in greeting. Naruto gave him a sheepish smile. "So, what happened after I fell asleep?"

'After dinner, Gaara just left.' He signed casually, giving a shrug afterwards. 'Itachi asked me about your relationship with Gaara once he left. I told him that it's a rocky relationship. He wanted to know more but I let him know, it wasn't my place to tell.'

Naruto studied the raven carefully, his eyes wavering. He bit his lip before he let out a choked sob, shocking the raven. "I just can't believe he's trying to come back into my life." He shook his head, tears falling steadily. "I feel like he's going to sabotage everything. Like he has this sick need for control over my life. It just makes me feel so angry."

Sasuke stared at Naruto, unsure of how to respond.

Naruto let out a sigh, trying to calm his tears. His lips trembled and he bit them gently to stop it. Onyx eyes briefly glanced at the action. "I don't want to feel so helpless and frustrated."

The tears seemed to just keep steadily falling. Sasuke sat up straighter in his stool before awkwardly reaching out and pulling the blonde closer to his side. He wrapped his other arm around him and let him cry in his hold.

It didn't take long for Naruto to compose himself, pulling out of Sasuke's hold and standing up. He raked his fingers through his hair, not looking at Sasuke. "I need some time to clear my head." He turned and left the kitchen before Sasuke could try and stop him.

He let out a sigh as he went to look for Itachi. He heard noises in the living room and made his way there. He walked in to see Konan and Itachi on the couch.

"Hey Naruto." Itachi greeted with a half smile, Konan giving her own wave in greeting.

"H-hey Itachi." Naruto nervously returned the greeting. Itachi raised his eyebrow in concern but said nothing. "So uh, I was wondering if I could get the day off today? I know it's sudden and last minute but I was just hoping that I could. I really need the day off and I-"

Itachi chuckled, putting his hand up to stop the blonde's rambling. "Naruto, it's okay. Take the day to yourself."

Naruto gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks Itachi." He turned to walk away.

"Don't get yourself in too much trouble." Konan called out.

Naruto shook his head and made his way out the door and to his car. He climbed into the driver's seat, both hands on the wheel. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning the car on. He knew where he needed to go next. With a determined nod, he began his drive to the bar.

He barely remembered how to get to the bar that he was just at with Sai, but a couple wrong turns eventually landed him where he needed to be. He parked his car and tried the door but it was locked, still too early for a bar to open.

Naruto glared at the closed doors and looked around. There were definitely at least a few people here from the couple of parked cars in the lot. He raised a fist and began to violently bang against the door. "Gaara! Sai! I know one of you two is in here! Open the fucking door!" He kept up his pounding.

It didn't take very long for the door to open and Sai stepped out. "Naruto." Sai frowned and then opened the door wider. He sighed. "Come in."

Naruto walked in, making sure to bump into Sai as he passed. He stepped in front of the bar, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for Sai to follow.

Sai slowly made his way over to Naruto, his hands shoved into his pants pocket. He stopped in front of the blonde, a bored look on his face.

Without waiting for him to say anything, Naruto uncrossed his arms. "What the fuck do you two think you're up to?!" His voice was loud, causing Sai to flinch at the noise. "Sending Gaara to the Uchiha's who the fuck do you guys think you are?!"

Sai gave him a confused look. "Naruto, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. Here, come sit and I'll pour you a drink. We can talk this out."

"Fuck off, Sai!" Naruto shouted.

The few workers who were in the building paused, looking at the pair. Most pretended to go back to working at a slower pace to listen in. Others didn't mind being obvious with their staring.

"Just tell me what you two are up to!" The blonde's voice seemed to echo in the empty club.

A loud bang captured everyone's attention except for Naruto who was still glaring at Sai. Gaara walked in, nonchalantly, and the employees quickly scrambled back to work.

Naruto turned his glare onto the red-head who just smirked as he approached. He stopped in front of the pair. "Tell me what the fuck you're up to Gaara."

Gaara's smirk seemed to grow sinister. "You seem to have such a nice thing going, Naruto." He dodged the question easily. "Itachi, an excellent cook. I can just imagine the meals you're eating there. Konan herself is such an independent woman, such refreshing conversations. And Sasuke," his smirk turned sinister. "His loyalty is astounding."

Naruto stayed quiet at Gaara's words, his anger now mixed with a feeling of suspicion. He waited on edge for Gaara's next words.

The air around the trio grew tense as Gaara seemed to begin to radiate with a malicious aura. Sai nervously stepped back. "I'm going to head back to work." He excused himself.

"No." Gaara's voice was quiet but the demanding tone had Sai frozen in his tracks. "Stay."

Naruto's suspicion was raised. He could now feel the hairs on the back of his neck raise, his body on high alert. He felt his blood run hotter as his anger flared once again. "Gaara." He managed to growl out.

"You know Naruto, that could all be taken away. Just like everything else in your life."

Naruto stilled, his body going cold. All the earlier feelings of anger drained from him. Instead the cold rush of fear of losing the life he was trying to build for himself, flooded his being. His new job, the place he was living at, his new friends and worst of all, "Sasuke."

"Oh, but rest assured, Naruto." Gaara got closer to the blonde, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Naruto leaned back, trying to keep as far away as possible. "Sasuke will be safe."

Naruto gave him a look of disbelief.

"I promise. As long as you do exactly what I say." The sinister on Gaara's face said everything Naruto needed to know about his intentions.

He let out a heavy sigh, bowing his head in defeat. "Alright. I'll do it."