Touching the untouchable

Chapter 18

Naruto was grumbling to himself when Sasuke came into the office once again, not to speak to Itachi but to bother the blond. "What do you want Sasuke?"

"Hang out?" Sasuke asked this every single time he saw the blond, even though the blond kept rejecting it claiming that he was busy. It wasn't that he liked the blond or anything... yep, definitely not. "I'm busy. I have all this to go through." Naruto said, gesturing to the big pile of folders on his desk. It was the completed pile but Naruto wasn't about to tell the raven that. "Just for an hour." Sasuke added, hoping that would persuade the blond to come along as he wanted to rekindle their friendship. He had thought about it long and hard, he realised that it had been his fault all along. All the blond did was put in effort to make sure that they gathered once in a while to have a chat, catch up, whatever. But Sasuke had thrown that all away, taking Naruto's efforts for granted thinking that he would be around for Sasuke forever.

Naruto pressed his lips together, it was almost time to knock off work. He had wanted to go out with Itachi to have dinner but Sasuke has been so persistent for weeks already. Naruto looked over towards Itachi's desk where the man was reading a file before but is now watching the interaction curiously. Itachi tilted his head at Naruto and the blond lifted an eyebrow, communicating with the older Uchiha silently before turning back to Sasuke. "Fine. We'll go after work."

Sasuke looked so relieved and happy that Naruto accepted his offer. Sasuke scribbled out his personal phone number for Naruto who hesitated but did the same. Sasuke gave him a small smile, one he hasn't seen in years before disappearing behind the door. Naruto sighed, hanging his head. Why did he cave in and agree?
Naruto banged his fist on the table, the constricting feeling in his chest making it hard for him to breathe rose again. The blond tried to calm himself, recognising that he was having another attack. He tried to take slow deep breaths but his heart kept pounding harshly in against his rib cage and he felt like he was going to pass out. Naruto pushed his fingers into his hair, gripping at the hair tightly. 'Come on you idiot. Get a grip. There's nothing wrong, you wouldn't want Itachi seeing you like this.'

Itachi frowned when he looked up from the computer, only to see Naruto looking distressed. The blond was gripping his hair so tightly that Itachi could see his knuckles turning white. When he got up to check on the blond, he saw the blond hit his own chest with a tight-fisted hand. Itachi ran out, worried. "What's wrong?" Itachi muttered as he grabbed Naruto's hands to stop him from hurting himself more. Itachi almost flinched when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes. He looked so upset like he was going to cry and the blond was taking ragged breaths as if he was struggling to breathe on his own.
When Naruto saw Itachi in front of him, he almost burst into tears in front of his boyfriend. Itachi looked so worried and stressed out for him. "What's wrong?" Itachi repeated again softly, easing Naruto's tight grip to kiss his knuckles gently. "I don't know!" Naruto said, panicking. Itachi bit his lip, unsure what to do. He walked away quickly, locking the doors and pulling the shutters that showed the main office close.
He went back to Naruto who curled into himself, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He ran his hand through Naruto's hair, the soothing motions in hopes of calming the blond. He didn't want to force the blond out of his self-made cocoon as it could hurt Naruto. He waited patiently for the blond to uncurl himself and the blond tugged at his hand, wanting an embrace which Itachi complied. "I'm sorry." Naruto muttered into Itachi's shoulder, making the man lift an eyebrow.

"What for? There is nothing to apologise about." Itachi said, rubbing his hand on Naruto's back. He felt the blond tighten his embrace.

"I... I have been trying to keep my... emotions in check, I don't know what happened just now." Naruto said, letting Itachi go but the Uchiha kept his arms around Naruto. He leaned back a little to observe Naruto. His eyes were a little puffy from not resting and the crying before.

"It's okay, it is okay to not be okay, you know that right? You are great at a lot of things but you should learn to seek help when you need it okay? I'm here for you and I am not going anywhere." Itachi said, kissing Naruto on the forehead. Naruto stared into space as he listened to Itachi's soft deep voice wash over him. He suddenly felt like he couldn't function anymore and Itachi is the only thing right now that is keeping him from jumping off the building.
"Thank you, Itachi." Naruto said softly as Itachi rested his chin on the top of the soft blond locks, "I don't see why people call you ice king." Naruto muttered softly as he leaned his head on Itachi's chest, he could hear a deep beautiful rumbling as Itachi chuckled at Naruto's comment. The Uchiha merely shrugged and continued holding the blond, enjoying the quiet moment that they have all to themselves.