My Lover's Keeper

54. Reconciling

Kurama was livid when he knew Sasuke had left. He knew his baby brother was hurt by the action despite the plastered smile.

Jiraiya on the other hand knew where the raven was. The teen Uchiha was in the workshop working on fixing that old guitar.
The redhead drove Jiraiya back home after that disaster of a dinner and then he walked to the store.

It was late but he could hear the commotion from outside the shop. He unlocked the door with his keys and got in.
"Knew I'd find you here."

"I'll be fine, I can finish it on my own."

"An extra set of hands won't hurt," Jiraiya hung up his coat on the side.

Sasuke stopped and removed his goggles for a bit. "It's not that I don't want your help, Jiraiya; I have to do this myself." Determination gleamed in his tired eyes.

The old man understood immediately, smiled then simply tousled the raven's short hair. "You don't mind me giving you pointers. You have one shot at doing it right."

"Ha.." Sasuke slid back his goggles on. "I can finish it by Sunday evening right?"

"It'll be a tight squeeze." Jiraiya looked at how much work he still had. "You know Kurama will beat you up for leaving Naruto even momentarily. You have to let him know."

"He can't keep a secret even if his life was on the line so I'll risk getting beaten up. Is Naruto okay?"

"He isn't. He says he is but I gave that look to people many times before. I can recognize it." Jiraiya stated without looking at the raven in front of him. He smiled to himself when the teen left the room.

The young Uchiha got his phone and turned it on. The text message tore him open and he called Naruto.
"Baby-..."

"Sasuke-kun, he is asleep. He keeps calling your name."

"Iruka-san, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, sweetie,"

Sasuke proceeded to tell the brunet why he had left. He begged the man not to tell his boyfriend or anyone else.

He sat down after the phone call, feeling weighed by Naruto's well being.
But he gathered himself quickly to not waste more time; the sooner he finished the sooner he goes back to Naruto.

It was a long hard weekend. He had not even had more than a couple of hours of sleep in total. He might not have looked the best or felt physically apt. But he was emotionally satisfied and happy.
"Jiraiya, I'm off for the night. I'll see you tomorrow after school."

"Take the day off." The man smiled. "Get some rest okay."

"Are you going to do what we talked about?"

"Maybe. I'm still thinking about it." Jiraiya stretched and started cleaning up. "You go ahead."

Sasuke smiled and hugged Jiraiya tight. "Thank you, for everything."

"Ha..." The old man cleared his throat, partially shocked from the sudden hug. "I'm glad Naruto is with you. Now go get him."

Sasuke blushed a bit and took the guitar case that he had also fixed. His sewing abilities might be subpar but still good enough to be decent.

He had arrived just around midnight. Sasuke felt his feet glued at the entrance. His stomach dropped and his heart ached more than it had the past few weeks.

But the door was opened by Iruka who stayed up waiting for him after getting a text. He led the boy in.
"Go right up, he's in his bedroom." Iruka smiled.