A Stack of Letters 2 (rewrite)

[catriana_fiction]

Title: A Stack of Leters (rewrite)
Series: Naruto
Pairing: SasuNeji
Genre: Romance
Chapters: We'll see.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The rewrite of the original. I had never really liked how the pacing of the story had gone, I had always felt that it could have been expanded on and made better. So here we go.
Notes: If you've read the original, you will notice some familiar things in it...but it wasn't just straight copypasta. I went through and tweaked things so don't let it fool you! I will not be putting a limit to this like I did initially, so I don't know how long it'll end up being.

 

2

xxxxx

The two didn’t speak again until they reached the parking garage “Hyuuga,” he waited until he had Neji’s attention “What exactly do you do here?”

“I’m the head of the engineering department. Actually, I am usually at one of the factories and only come in here for meetings and paperwork.”

“Huh. Guess we won’t be seeing much of each other then.” He sounded a mix between disappointed and thoughtful.

Huh. Odd. “No, I suppose not. Unless you were the one moving into the apartment next to mine this morning. Ah, that’s where I remember seeing you, it was this morning.” That had been bothering him for a while now because he has looked so familiar but hadn’t been able to place it.

Another one of those weird looks. He wanted to say it was getting on his nerves but it strangely wasn’t. It was uncomfortable and yet...not. “Yeah, that was probably me. I thought I bumped into someone, I guess that was you.” The Hyuuga shrugged and Sasuke smirked a bit as they got into Neji’s car. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

They had one conversation the entire ride there and it had probably been one of the most uncomfortable conversations he had held with the exception of when he had told his father that he was gay. That had not ended pretty.

“So,” Dark eyes took in his ringless hand “No ring so I’m assuming you’re not married. You dating anyone?”

It wasn’t so much that he had asked the question as opposed to how he had asked it. Alarms went off in Neji’s mind and he tried very hard to wonder where the Uchiha was going with all of this. He kept getting this strange vibe from him but then he’d do or say something that would make him think he was reading too much into things. “No, I am not seeing anyone at the moment.” His voice was guarded.

“Huh.” There was a long pause “Are you looking?”

What the hell…I don’t get this guy at all. I cannot tell if he’s just being nice or if he’s inadvertently flirting. “W-why are you asking something like that?” He was trying very hard to fight the heat rising to his cheeks. He was definitely attracted to this man but since he was sure he was straight that was a very uncomfortable question for him. He made it a habit not to hit on straight guys and he was feeling conflicted by all of this. What was with this guy?

“It’s just a question.” He shrugged and turned his gaze towards the window. Nothing more was said until they reached the sushi restaurant.

It was the standard sushi-go-round and it was fairly busy but there were two chairs available. Once more it was silent, companionable thankfully, until Uchiha finally broke the silence. “What are your hobbies?”

Had the Uchiha not been making him feel out of sorts with his weird questions and stares he wouldn’t have taken the question as personally as he was doing right now. He had to be reading into things but his attitude was making him unpredictable and so Neji wasn’t entirely sure how to act or react around him. “I practice martial arts, I meditate, and I go hiking from time to time. Beyond that I don’t do much, I work a full schedule and I do not have time for much else.”

Sasuke merely nodded and little else was said until the car ride back. This was mostly because Neji’s mind was all over the place trying to figure the guy out; normally he would have tried to have been more sociable because his father would have wanted that. The Uchiha once again broke the silence.

“You should go out more.” The Hyuuga felt dark eyes on him “What are you doing this weekend?”

Is he…is he asking…is he asking me out? Have I been reading into this too much? Gods, I’ve never met someone that has thoroughly confused me as much as this man has. “I…I did not have any plans…”

He nodded. “Alright. Do you think you could show me around then? I used to live here a long time ago but everything is different now.”

That was news “Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Something in his tone made Neji take a quick glance at him while driving. Uchiha was giving him one of those stares again and he was beginning to feel a little freaked out by it. Why did he keep staring? He really wished he’d stop doing that. “Ah. Well, I do not mind. When and what time?”

“A little before noon on Saturday if that’s okay. I figure we could grab lunch as well.”

I know he’s just asking because I’m his neighbor and he wants to learn the area but it still feels as if he’s asking me out on a date. “That sounds fine.”

This guy made him very uncomfortable, mostly because he didn’t seem as if he was interested in men but he kept saying strange things around him. Neji didn’t exactly hide the fact that he was gay but he didn’t broadcast it either, many people in society were still uncomfortable about things like that. This was definitely true in a company environment so he made it a point to act as neutral as possible.

There was also the fact that he really didn’t like crushing on straight men and Uchiha was making it very difficult. The other man was handsome and appealing; had a nice body and that voice…

Stop that. You do remember what happened last time don’t you?

The last time he had fallen for a ‘straight’ guy – he actually wasn’t straight, Neji learned later – it had gotten ugly. It had happened in college and the man had been...he had looked, acted, and borderline had dressed like a female. He had been so sure, until the guy had panicked and his girlfriend of five years harassed him for months on end after the fact. Now Haku, that was the man’s name, was dating some bouncer named Zabuza. Well, he had when Neji had graduated college anyway.

Neji tried hard not to repeat his mistakes so he really wished this guy would stop doing...whatever it was he was doing.

 “Hyuuga.”

“Hm?” Neji looked over at the other man who was giving him another one of those strange looks.

“Stop by my apartment tonight when you get off of work.”

For a moment he was struck speechless “What?” Was he just interpreting all of this wrong and this guy really was into men because really…

Sasuke laughed for the first time at the other man’s flustered expression. “There’s something I want to show you, that’s all.” His smile was surprisingly warm as he regarded Neji.

“O…oh.” He hated feeling so out of sorts around this guy “Sure. I’ll be back a little late because I go to the factory today but…”

A small shrug “It’s cool. It won’t take long anyway.”

He is just being friendly, he is not hitting on me, I am obviously imagining things, I really need to get a grip on myself…

“Here.” Sasuke handed Neji a slip of paper as they were walking over to the Uchiha’s car. He was leaving for the day to take care of his apartment “It’s my cell, I don’t have a land line yet.” He flashed Neji a grin that he was almost positive was flirty as he got inside his car “You can call me whenever you want.” He said, sounding very amused “See ya later, Hyuuga.”

xxxxx

What the fuck was I doing? Sasuke thought to himself as he drove back to his apartment. The moment he had laid eyes on the Hyuuga when he had entered the room he had known. It had been the eyes, he had stared into them enough as a child for him to have remembered. He had ended up staring at him the entire time, not looking at him had been impossible.

He...he looked so... He honestly hadn’t expected to feel the way he had when he took in the adult Neji. His features were more angular and he – obviously – had a bigger build; he looked good. Real good.

But why doesn’t he remember me?

Sasuke had been trying to figure it out the entire time. It was obvious that Neji recognized him; it just wasn’t clicking. He didn’t think he had changed much. His hair was the same; he didn’t look too terribly different. Hizashi had even said his name...

Oh, that’s why. ‘Sasu’ was what Neji had called him after that fateful day when they met; more than likely he didn’t even remember his full name. He had looked confused so that was good at least.

Then the flirting. That hadn’t been intentional either and he knew he had been making Neji uncomfortable...but yet he was almost positive that guy had been checking him out earlier. Sasuke knew when someone was doing it; he’d had enough females do it to him growing up. So he had tried to test the waters but all it had done was made him agitated. Maybe he was still in the closet?

Had Neji not told him he wasn’t seeing anyone he would have assumed that and backed off. So why had he been so uncomfortable? It had been fun to tease him, especially when he had been all embarrassed, but he was pretty sure the guy probably thought he was some sort of weirdo – he’d given him the look a few times. Well, staring at him the entire time probably hadn’t helped. Most people didn’t enjoy being stared at.

He didn’t know if he was in love with the Hyuuga but he was very attracted to him. It had been hard not to react certain ways around him, there had been so many times he had wanted to just reach over and kiss him like he had the day he had left. Sasuke felt very overwhelmed; seeing Neji again had brought back all those old feelings and it was like they had just seen each other yesterday instead of sixteen years ago. He wanted to get to know him; he wanted to see how far he could take things with him.

It was so crazy, because he had never held a steady relationship and hadn’t wanted one. He slept around, but he had never had a girlfriend. It felt different with Neji and he wondered if maybe this was fate; had his father thrown out the letters instead of keeping them, he never would have known and they probably never would have seen each other again.

Sasuke hated being so confused; he needed to figure out what it was he truly felt for the Hyuuga and go from there if possible.

Just before he got on the highway his cell phone buzzed. He took a look at the caller and scowled. Already?

“Shisui.” He put the phone on speaker “Why are you calling me?”

“Hello to you too.” His cousin said, sounding amused “Well, I’m sure you know why I’m calling...”

“The answer is no.” He absolutely refused to go back home, this was where he was going to stay “I thought my resignation paper had been submitted and filed considering I was the one that did it. The Hyuuga hired me to be their IT head...and they pay me more.” He smirked at that.

“You know that’s only because you are who you are. They want to rub it in our faces.”

He shrugged “Don’t care. If he really wants to know why I left, ask him if he can find four boxes that had letters in them addressed to a Hyuuga Neji. I’m sure it’ll ring some bells.”

There was a moment of silence “I see. I remember Fugaku talking about that a few times years ago. Said he didn’t want you associating with any Hyuuga, especially one that you were holding ‘inappropriate feelings’ for.”

That wasn’t surprising. His father was somewhat homophobic and Sasuke had never hid his feelings for Neji. “Whatever. I found them so I’m here. I also found the guy; the one I had ‘inappropriate feelings’ for.”

“Seriously? I didn’t know you swung that way.”

“I don’t ‘swing’ any way, I thought you knew that by now. Anyway, I know there’s more; he wouldn’t have had you call me just to ask me to come back.”

The silence was tense “Well...he says he wants you to give up your copies of the files.”

So he knows I copied the information? Huh.  “What files?”

Shisui sighed “You know what files and he knows you have them. Did you like, hack into the system or something?”

“I don’t know what you talking about and no, I didn’t do anything he hadn’t already told me to. I can’t give you files I don’t have, tell him that.”

It wasn’t a lie, he didn’t have them. Considering the amount of illegal bullshit his father was into; he had ensured that the information was put in a safe place. He didn’t really plan on blackmailing his own father, but he liked to be prepared for anything. Money was thicker than blood to some people and he wasn’t going to be caught with his pants down.

His cousin sounded exasperated “Please don’t do this Sasuke. This is serious –“

“And I seriously don’t have whatever files you’re talking about. I handled a lot of files, that was my job, but whatever it is he wants, I don’t have.”

“...Alright. I’ll tell him you don’t have them. You serious about not coming back? I mean, can’t you two talk it out?”

“No.” the Uchiha sighed “Listen, I know you like to think the best of people but I don’t. He let me believe that someone I was really close to didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I keep asking myself ‘what if’ so I’m here.”

“What about your friend? Wouldn’t he think you had stopped caring?”

“Not if I explain it to him. Look, I gotta go, unless you got anything else pressing...”

Another sigh “No. No, I have nothing. Take care of yourself, Sasuke.”

“Yeah.”

He would tell Neji tonight and see where things could go from there. He wanted friendship if nothing else, he really did, but that hot feeling in his chest that had he had thought long since simmered was emerging again and he hoped there could be more.

xxxxx

I. Am. So. Exhausted.

It was around midnight when Neji pulled into his parking spot at the apartment. There had been an emergency at one of the factories and they had ended up having to stick around until it had been fixed. He could have gone home and let the others handle it but the Hyuuga wasn’t that sort of person; if his people had to stay late he stayed late.

Somewhere along the car ride his hair tie had been lost because brown hair was now flowing over his shoulders and he could not find the energy to care. Grabbing his bag and briefcase he dragged his tired body up the stairs. Upon reaching his door he thumped his forehead lightly on it, closing his eyes. He could sleep here right? No one would see him until morning anyway…

Oh, I promised to stop by Uchiha’s for whatever it was he wanted to show me. Still out of it, he unlocked his apartment and tossed his stuff inside before walking over next door and ringing the door bell. There was silence for a while so he pressed the button again.

“Who the hell –“ the door wrenched open and there stood Sasuke in little more than boxers looking rather pissed off. Realizing it was his neighbor he gave Neji a look “You do realize it’s midnight, right?”

“It is?” the Hyuuga yawned “You told me to stop by so I’m here.” Eyes hooded he found himself staring at the perfection that was the man standing in front of him. Yes, definitely nice body underneath the suit…

I’m staring. Stop staring.

Obviously the Uchiha caught him because he motioned for Neji to enter and then said he was going to go put on some clothes. Oops. Groggily, he found himself plopping into the side of Uchiha’s sofa that wasn’t covered in stuff and closed his eyes.

He had a crazy dream in where Uchiha walked in on him sleeping and knelt in front of him with one of those intense stares of his. Then the other man had leaned forward, framing his face with his hands and kissed him. It had been a rather nice kiss and in the dream the dark haired man had made a comment about how he liked his hair and something about having it draped over his body but it was a dream so it had been all muffled and weird.

A hand shook him sharply “Hyuuga. Wake up.”

“Hm?” pale eyes opened to gaze into onyx. He blinked. “Uchiha?” Where was he? Why was Uchiha here?

His smile was thin but it reached his eyes. “You fell asleep. Come on, I’m going to help you back to your apartment, this couch really isn’t comfortable with all the stuff on it.”

Slightly delirious he let out a tired sigh when he felt his arm being wrapped around someone’s neck and was pulled up. “Hm. I probably should go to sleep on my own bed.” He heard the other male chuckle lightly as they began their wobbly trek to his apartment.

“Yeah, it might help.” He said nothing when Neji’s head fell on his shoulder.

“Will you join me?” he laughed lightly at his own joke, he was extremely tired to be saying crazy things like that. “Sorry, I’m incredibly exhausted, ignore my ramblings.”

He was met with silence so he closed his eyes and drifted back and forth between consciousness. It wasn’t until they were walking into his bedroom that he heard the low thrum of Uchiha’s voice.

“Do you want me to join you?” It was asked low but seriously. Obviously, he was still dreaming because there was no way that question came out of the Uchiha’s mouth.

Flopping down on his bed he looked up at the man, smiling “You are incredibly attractive but I am also sure you are incredibly straight. It is quite alright and I was joking in any case.” He closed his eyes.

There was pressure on his bed and then he felt something soft and warm brush along his lips. Pale eyes flew open before lowering once more automatically. What a nice dream, he really couldn’t complain. Those lips moved over his passionately and when he felt the warmth of the other’s tongue he parted his lips, letting out a soft noise when he felt the other delve in. A warm hand slid up his shirt and he let out a light moan; it felt so good, he felt good.

They were like that for a while and when they parted Neji found himself frowning slightly in confusion. He was dreaming, wasn’t he? So why did he feel more alert and awake? Why had that felt so real?

“I missed you Neji.” The words were spoken softly, whispered against his lips. Then there was nothing and the sleepy Hyuuga eventually surrendered to the loving haze of sleep. This time he dreamed of when he had been seven.

There was another boy with him and they were playing, obviously very happy with one another. For some reason, however, he couldn’t see the boy’s face or remember his name, only the feeling he had with being around him. He remembered that boy vaguely in the dream, he had moved away but Neji was sure that the boy had probably been the first person he had held romantic feelings for. The first boy he had ever loved.

Upon awakening the next morning Neji realized a few things. One, he had been helped to his bed. Two, he was almost positive it had been Uchiha Sasuke that had done it. Third, he was almost absolutely positive the man had actually kissed him.

“I missed you Neji.”

What had that meant? It had sounded as if he had known him before. How strange, he had been sure yesterday had been the first day…

No…even that morning when I saw him I had thought he looked familiar. What does he remember that I do not?

He was not an old lover, the Hyuuga had held two ‘lovers’ in his life and that man was not one of them. So why the kiss? An amazing kiss but a kiss nonetheless. It killed the notion that the man was straight, obviously he wasn’t if he had kissed him like that last night. Everything about that man confused the hell out of him and he wasn’t sure if he should be intrigued by the challenge it gave him or disturbed.

More than likely he wouldn’t see the Uchiha at work, they worked in two completely separate departments and Neji was hardly at the office as it was.

I suppose I will have my answer by this weekend.

xxxxx

His phone was buzzing as he stepped out of the shower, trying to force his body to stop reacting to the way he had felt upon kissing his childhood friend just a few minutes ago. Well, it was a pretty safe bet that he wanted the other male, if his hardened lower extremities meant anything. The cold shower had done absolutely nothing to rid him of the images of his lips moving over Neji’s, the way it had felt when he had swept his tongue into the other’s mouth.

A hand went through his thick and damp hair as he regarded the cell phone blandly. He had an idea of who could be calling him at almost one in the morning. He wasn’t going to answer. He wanted to continue to marvel over the way the thinner male had felt under him, the low noise of appreciation he had let out as they had kissed. Sasuke couldn’t believe how strong these feelings were and he wondered if perhaps he hadn’t gotten over him like he had thought.

It would make sense, he supposed. Sasuke didn’t have a sexual preference but being around another man had always felt...off to him. As if he had been betraying something or someone. Girls he had never taken seriously, mostly because they had rarely been serious with him. He had been a cute face and a nice body, and that was how he had treated them. He had slept with plenty of women but had never been able to actually sleep with another man. Was it because deep down it felt like he was betraying Neji? It sounded so ridiculous but seeing him made him second guess himself.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his feelings had come to hit him in full force; he was in love with the man again. Well, at least he was so far; who knew how the Hyuuga really was now? Maybe he was just in love with the image or the possibility and not the man himself. Sasuke really didn’t want that to be it; deep down he knew he wanted there to be something between them.

He’d give anything to feel those lips again.

The phone buzzing again snapped him out of his thoughts and he scowled. He didn’t know what the hell his father or his cronies thought they were doing calling him up so late at night but he wasn’t answering. Screw that and screw him.

He wondered if he should contact Itachi. His brother still lived in the area and was married with two kids. He hadn’t seen his brother since the older Uchiha had left home when he was thirteen. Maybe when he figured out his situation with Neji. It would be nice if the both of them could go and visit, even as just friends.

Tossing his towel to the side he flopped down on his bed unclothed, putting an arm over his eyes. Damn, he was thinking about that guy way too much for his liking. Now he was thinking about the way Neji had looked at him when he had first opened the door. Had he not gone and changed, he probably would have done something stupid when he had taken in the heated gaze.

The sooner he figured this out, the better.

Surprisingly enough, although he thought about the Hyuuga often during that week, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had thought it would be. They didn’t see each other at all and he refrained from trying to contact him again – mostly because he didn’t want to possibly come on too strong. Sasuke was sure he hadn’t made much of an impression from staring at him.

He had a pretty good IT team and was pleased with what they were doing and how they had their system set up. Despite most of the females – and two males – flirting with him they were mostly tolerable. He avoided Administration since he wasn’t a fan of being molested and fought over by women he didn’t know. Had they one, not worked in the same building and two, been around before he had known about Neji...it probably would have been a different story.

The current IT head was...odd. The only real reason Sasuke ever got into the computer field was because he was good at math, was intelligent and he hated business so had refused to get a business degree. He knew his way around computers and he was good at whatever he put his mind to, but he had never considered himself to be a tech geek or even a gamer.

He had gotten into World of Warcraft once with his friend – and insomniac – Gaara and he was never doing that again. He had known his social life – which included getting laid – had gone down the toilet when he had hit level 80 for the sixth time with an undead Warlock. That wasn’t including the fact that his main and two others had been seriously geared out for raiding and PvP – he and Gaara had stomped and melted faces in Arenas. Being the highly competitive individual that he was, player versus player battles had appealed to him the most; but that game was like crack and Sasuke didn’t like being addicted to anything. He was still swearing off video games for the moment.

So he didn’t really consider himself to be ‘nerdy’, which made hanging around the IT head...awkward. Not only was he an extremely nervous and jittery man; he was the epitome of the ‘nerd’ stereotype. He seemed in a real hurry to turnover everything to him and bolt; as if someone was going to jump him at any moment. He spoke very quickly so most of the time his sentences sounded like one word and he was pretty positive the man was intimidated by his very presence. Sasuke found himself constantly restraining the urge to pat the guy on the shoulder and tell him everything was going to be okay.

When the man had needed to go down to Sales to grab a few items someone had borrowed; Sasuke had volunteered to go alone – for no other reason than to get away from him. Besides that, he had never been down to that floor and was curious about the entire company building. It never hurt to know one’s surroundings.

“Hey,” he walked up to the receptionist’s desk and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes when her face turned bright red at his appearance. He really didn’t get what was so fascinating about his face. Sure, he looked good, damn good; but it wasn’t that serious. “I’m looking for Rokusho Aoi. I heard he works down here?”

Surprise moved through him when she gave him a very strange look; as if she couldn’t believe he had even asked the question, and blatant disappointment. Disappointment? The hell?

“It’s always the cute ones...” she mumbled under her breath and now he was giving her a look because what the hell was that supposed to mean? “Um, Rokusho-san’s superiors say that he’s no longer allowed to receive...um personal acquaintances.”

The Uchiha just stared at her for a good minute before opening his mouth “Lady, what the hell are you talking about?” Oh, he had a good idea, but acknowledging it would make him give the woman a piece of his mind and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with a crying female. “I’m Uchiha Sasuke, I’m taking over the IT department and Ota said the guy had some stuff he had borrowed. Is he in or what?”

“Oh!” she looked genuinely surprised and he made a mental note never to come down to Sales again if he could help it. “Um, oh yes, he’s the third office to your left.”

The door was actually open, so he knocked on it as he entered, taking in the blue haired male chatting idly on his cell phone while – Sasuke was positive – dicking around on the computer. Violet eyes flickered over to him and...

Did this bastard just give me a once over? This Rokusho guy didn’t even try to hide his obvious ‘appreciation’ of Sasuke’s figure and he felt the sudden urge to give the man two fists to thoroughly examine as they connected to his face. Aoi looked him up and down again before turning back to his computer.

“Hey, I have to go, something interesting just walked in.” snapping the phone closed he turned in his chair to face his guest “Can I...help you with something?”

You just got hired, try not to get fired before you can even start working. The Uchiha briefly closed his eyes in an attempt to calm his temper. This guy really rubbed him the wrong way “Yeah, Ota said you got some of his stuff and he needs it back.”

“Ota?” he looked genuinely perplexed for a moment before slapping a fist over his palm “Oh! You must be Uchiha Sasuke.”

...Why do I feel like I’ve just been set up? Aoi’s tone seemed to imply that he had wanted him to come down here all along “Do you have his stuff or what?” If this had been a setup, he and Ota were going to have a really long talk. He’d give the little worm something to squirm about.

Aoi smiled at him and Sasuke could only guess that he had been trying to look sexy or something. “I heard you just moved to this area, are you liking it here so far?”

He seriously contemplated snapping something extremely rude to him and thought better of it “I used to live here before, so some stuff is familiar. Now, do you have Ota’s stuff or do I need to tell him to come back later?”

The other man looked surprised “You did? When? I’ve pretty much lived here my entire life; I’d love to show you around sometime.”

“Not interested.” He finally snapped, having enough. “You know, I could very well be straight and you’re openly hitting on me; it’s annoying.” You’re annoying.

If he was insulted, it didn’t show. Instead, he smiled smugly “Are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He turned to leave, screw Ota and this crap “I already got someone ‘showing me around’, maybe you and Ota can get together and plan a night out in the town, considering.” He waved a hand dismissively as he walked out “Later; I’ll tell Ota he can get his own crap.”

And he had thought girls were annoying. That was it, never again was he going down to Sales. Ever.

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