My Ex Want To Marry Again

Part - XXIII

9th Nov, 2023
15:38

Naruto heard a knocking on his door. It was late for unexpected company, after 9pm. Frowning, he went and opened the door. And froze.

Sasuke just stood there, looking at him. "Can we talk?"

Naruto just stood there, still frozen. He had felt so emotionally exposed from yesterday's exhibit that he had literally spent the entire day just locked in his apartment, trying to regain his sense of privacy and restore his emotional equilibrium. The very last person he was prepared to talk to in this universe had shown up on his doorstep. How did Sasuke even know where he lived? But of course. This was Sasuke.

Naruto forced his brain to come up with something to say that would

end this conversation as quickly and painlessly as possible. There was only one possible reason that Sasuke was here. "Look, I told Itachi that any decision to buy me out should go through Shikamaru and Gaara. I don't want to do the negotiations any other way. And if I decide to come back and train my replacements, I will work that through Kiba, not you. If you don't like who Kiba hired to replace me, then take it up with him."

"Naruto, Sasuke took a step towards the door, but Naruto didn't back away to allow him entry. That's not what I'm here to talk about."

Anger began bubbling within Naruto. "What else could there possibly be for us to discuss, Sasuke? I think that you pretty much said all there was to say that night two years ago."

Naruto saw the flash of pain and guilt in the onyx eyes, but steeled himself against it. "It's too late now if you've decided you've become 'un-bored with me. We both signed the fucking divorce papers that you wanted so badly. The company is the last thread and I'm trying to move that along, too, but I won't do this with you directly. It's a legal matter. Let the lawyers do their jobs."

A door down the hallway opened, and one of Naruto's neighbors walked out, clearly dressed for the night club. She eyed Sasuke appreciatively, slowing her steps to see if he were going inside, or potentially leaving with her.

"I don't want to do this in the hallway. There is something I need to show you. I want to explain-"

"Fine," Naruto's eyes narrowed, and Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because he was annoyed at being somewhat forced to let him in, or annoyed at the girl who was clearly checking him out.

Naruto walked into the kitchen, leaning against the counter crossing his arms across his chest. Sasuke glanced around the apartment. It smelled of Naruto, a warm, earthy scent. Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to both fill himself with it and steel himself against its effects. As expected, the apartment was full of vibrant colors. He felt a small twist in his chest as he recognized the orange couch. There were paintings, all Naruto's, on the wall. Some were landscapes of what looked to be European cities, children playing soccer, and a tiny old man in a dojo. There were sketches - faces that Sasuke didn't recognize, but he knew must have some importance to Naruto. It hit him suddenly how much things had changed. For almost their entire lives, they had shared their friends, experiences, thoughts... there was no event that had happened in Naruto's life that Sasuke was not either a part of or at least knew about. But that had all changed, and Sasuke found it disorienting. He had stayed in the same place, with the same people, doing the same thing. Naruto had - changed.

"Nice place," Sasuke offered, trying to start the conversation in a neutral fashion while getting his bearings. So much was riding on what happened in the next ten minutes. He didn't want to fuck this up if there was any chance at all.

Naruto snorted. "Cut the shit, Sasuke. Compared to your place, I'm sure this is a dump. Just like anything of mine has always been relative to yours. Just tell me what you want and let's get this over with."

Sasuke's eyes widened and the uncharacteristically biting words from Naruto. He didn't miss the underlying sense of bitterness in the blond's voice. He was clearly hoping to push Sasuke into an argument that would give him the right to throw him out and end the conversation. In the past it might have worked. Naruto had always been the only one able to get under his skin instantly like that. But too much was riding on this now. And he remembered what Itachi had said about Naruto never really understanding what Sasuke had seen in him in the first place. He had to tread lightly here.

"That's not true. I never felt that way, Naruto." Sasuke let his guard down so Naruto could read the sincerity in his eyes.

Naruto searched his face for a second, then let his gaze drop. "Just get to the point, Sasuke. You didn't come all the way here to discuss my apartment."

Sasuke realized there was not going to be a smooth way to bring

this up, so he just pulled out the folder he had brought with him and

handed it to Naruto. "I received these the day after I left for Okinawa.

And the letter I received this morning. I wanted you to know -" Sasuke blew out a short breath as Naruto opened the folder and saw the photos, shock evident on his face. Shock. But not guilt. "I wanted you to know why I filed for divorce. The real reason."

Naruto just stared at the photos, frozen. He flipped quickly through the hotel ledgers, then finally read the note from Sakura. The small hairs on Sasuke's arms stood up when Naruto began to laugh.

"You fucking... you fucking bastard!" The shift from laughing to blazing anger caused Sasuke to tense, and he forced himself not to take a step back. "God Sakura is completely right about you. If you had just fucking asked me about this. I told you I had gotten food poisoning that night and -"

He snapped his head up to look Sasuke directly in the eyes, shoving the papers back at him. "You ass. You fucking coward! You threw away our entire marriage because you couldn't bring yourself to fucking ask me-" Without warning, Naruto threw a punch that caught Sasuke directly in the jaw. Sasuke's head snapped back and he staggered a step back, but didn't even try to dodge or block it. He just stood there, arms at his sides, eyes searing into Naruto's.

"Get out," Naruto's voice was shaking with emotion.

"Naruto -"

"I said get out!" Naruto was walking towards him, his body shaking with the clear need to physically restrain himself from hitting Sasuke again. "I can't talk to you right now. I don't want to end up in jail for beating the fuck out of you if you aren't going to even defend yourself.

Get out."

Sasuke hesitated, but walked to the door, opening it, knowing Naruto

deserved time to sort out his own feelings. Nothing good would

come of pushing him on it right now. "I'll leave for now. But we need to

talk about this, Naruto. This conversation isn't over."

"It's over for tonight, Naruto said, placing a hand on Sasuke's chest and pushing him into the hall, then slamming the door, the lock snicking closed. Sasuke stood there, his jaw throbbing; he winced as he heard the sound of something loud and heavy crash against the wall and break.

This could definitely have gone better. But then again, it could have gone worse. Naruto had essentially agreed to talk to him about this again later. Sasuke was going to make sure that later was not very far away.

______♡♡♡______

TBC..

Well, don't forget to check out my other stories as well 😉
I'll be back soon with the new chapter..
Take care and stay healthy and hydrated. love you all 🥰❤️

Cr: NaruLove11
Dt - 09/11/2023 - 15:38
1357 words