Title: Leftovers

Authors: WolfPilot06 and Lazuli

Warnings: AU, shonen ai, angst, language, med-speak, stuff

Pairings: SasuNaru, LeeSaku

Notes: The first part of a cowritten story between Wolf and Lazuli. ) Spawns entirely from an idea that Lazuli had with another friend that Wolfie then commandeered, wrote the first part of, and then demanded a cowrite of. XD

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"Oi! Dumb ass!"

Startled by the sharp voice cutting through the snow-laden quiet of the evening, Naruto nearly slipped and killed himself turning to see what poor idiot the person was yelling at. It was with some surprise, then, that he saw the dark-haired waiter from the restaurant approaching him, a plastic bag that Naruto recognized as the leftovers he'd forgotten held in one shivering hand as the other rubbed briskly at his upper arms, clad only in a thin dress shirt as he was.

"You forgot your leftovers, dumb ass," the waiter informed him, and impatiently shoved the bag into Naruto's shocked hands.

"Er..."

"Next time you order a doggy bag, remember to bring it with you when you go, idiot."

Without further ado, the waiter began to retreat back into the warmth of the restaurant's interior. Feeling as if he should thank the waiter, Naruto galvanized himself out of the state of shock he'd fallen into.

"Hey, er, thanks!" he called. The waiter waved a dismissive hand in his direction, not sparing him a glance, and Naruto found himself irritated by the man's apathetic, abusive demeanor. "You prick!"

Since when do waiters go after someone who forgets their meal? He wondered absently, clutching the food tighter and making his way across the icy roads. He was kind of grateful - that was his meal for tomorrow - but the waiter didn't have to be such a prick about it.

"Who does he think he is?" Naruto muttered as he arrived at his apartment and tossing the food on the table. "Just because he works in my favorite restaurant and probably sees people leave food all the time..."

He couldn't get the superior look out of his mind, and then he remembered how the waiter came out without a coat. "Who's the dumb ass now?" He gloated briefly.

Briefly, he deflated as he realized that the waiter probably hadn't had time to grab a coat before coming after his dumb ass with his food, and it was his fault that the poor prick had had to freeze his prickish ass off.

"I should tip him next time I go there," he mumbled to himself as he shrugged off his coat and threw it in the approximate direction of his couch. "But I'll be damned if I'll let him call me dumb ass again."

--

Naruto idly played with the remainder of his food, realizing that he couldn't finish it again. This place always gave enormous portions (part of the reason why he liked coming here) and so it was almost impossible to finish them. Still, it was his once-a-month treat to himself: eating something besides ramen.

He started shoveling stuff in a box that he asked for beforehand - he knew himself too well to not ask for one - and left a good tip for the waiter. He could leave a note as well - 'for the dark haired prick from last time', but the boy had been actually somewhat civil, if still wearing that damn smirk.

"Don't forget to bring it with you this time, sir," said a vaguely familiar voice. Naruto looked up, startled, in the midst of pulling on his jacket, to find himself gazing into the darkest pair of eyes he'd ever seen. Automatically, he frowned to realize that it was the same prickish waiter who'd come after him last time, smirking at him knowingly and waiting with one hip jutting out to clean his table.

"I won't, thanks." Naruto snapped, and stormed out of the restaurant, annoyed at the waiter's attitude. It wasn't until he had huffed himself halfway down the street in a righteous rage that he realized that he'd forgotten the leftovers - again. With a sinking heart, he turned and took the package from the waiter's expectant hand, scowling.

"Shut up," he mumbled, tucking the package into his coat. The waiter almost smiled.

"You're welcome, dumb ass."

--

Naruto was starting to get vaguely annoyed at himself. He usually wasn't this forgetful, and it was starting to get rather annoying to see the waiter - which he learned did have a name besides 'prick' - wearing that damn smirk all the time.

"You don't always have to bring it out to me." He muttered, not enjoying the amused tilt of the other boy's lips. "And you can stop calling me dumb ass, too!" He protested. "I... I'm still a customer!" He said triumphantly.

"Hn," said 'prick' dubiously, "I'm not paid enough to go venturing into the cold after a customer on a regular basis. 'Dumb ass' suits you better."

Naruto swelled like an indignant hen, snatching the leftovers from Sasuke's hand.

"You shouldn't treat a customer that way!" Naruto frowned, and then stared at the boy. "Then why do you come out into the cold and bring me my stuff?"

"You're thin enough that I can practically see your ribs through your shirt," the other boy murmured, absently, it seemed, reaching out and adjusting the threadbare length of Naruto's scarf to settle more warmly against his skin. "You need every bite you can get."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that, mouth falling open as he failed to form a reply.

Sasuke smirked as he made his way back to the warm interior of the restaurant. "And don't stand around with your mouth hanging open like that. It makes you look dumber than you are."

When Naruto finally managed to rouse himself from his surprise, Sasuke had already disappeared into the restaurant. Still, he shook his fist at the glass, practically trembling with frustration as Sasuke merely looked at him and smirked.

"Bastard!" he yelled, and stomped off.

He pulled his coat tighter around him as he wandered home, cheeks flushed with just more than the cold. What was a random person—never mind that he was practically Naruto's regular waiter - commenting about how thin Naruto was? Nobody made it their business before.

"I'm not too thin," he said later that evening, frowning at his reflection in the dirty bathroom mirror and poking at his flat stomach. "I'm just...muscular. Yeah. Stupid waiter."

Shivering from the cold of his apartment - his tiny little portable heater was barely enough to heat the area around his bed, forget the rest of the room - Naruto curled under his faded covers and tried to fall asleep, haunted by the image of mocking black eyes.

--

When he ate at the restaurant next, he didn't have enough money to order one of his bigger portions, and what he did have he ate it all. There was no extra box this time, and he wondered vaguely what his waiter would think of it as he paid his bill and made his way out into the seemingly perpetual cold, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Oi, dumb ass!" Came the call from behind him. Scowling, Naruto turned.

"What?" he demanded testily as Sasuke approached him, shivering slightly. Wordlessly, the dark-haired boy shoved a box into his hands and turned to leave. Naruto blinked at the package in his hands.

"H-hey! Wait!" Naruto trotted up to Sasuke, who had turned in the doorway of the restaurant, looking impatient. "This can't be mine - I mean, thanks, but I didn't have leftovers today."

"I know." Sasuke said simply, and an almost smile crinkled the corners of his dark eyes. "Consider it a reward for being a regular customer here."

Naruto scowled down at the box, then back up at the waiter--Sasuke-- and gave a half smile. "Heh - I guess that I am your best customer, coming in all the time." He wasn't going to show the still arrogant, always calling him dumb ass, waiter how grateful he really was that he'd have food for the next couple of days.

Sasuke frowned at him for a moment. Abruptly, he spoke, shifting his weight unconsciously and folding his arms across his chest.

"What do you do for a living, dumb ass?"

"Don't call me - huh?" Naruto blinked. Where did that come from?

"You do have a job, right?" An elegant dark eyebrow arched, "I assume that's how you pay for your meals here."

Naruto shrugged. "Temporary work, mostly." He hedged. "Odd jobs, you know?" He forced a smile on his face, not saying the jobs were more suited to high school kids that already had allowances and lived with their families.

"Hm." Sasuke's face was impassive as he shifted his weight again. Naruto was beginning to notice that it was an unconscious habit for the dark-haired waiter. "There's an opening here. You want to work here?"

"I... I, uh... have a job already." Naruto said quickly, wondering just why he was being offered job - and by the formally prick-like waiter. "I gotta go, actually. Thanks for the food."

Moving faster than Sasuke would have believed possible, Naruto hurried down the street, not looking back and missing the annoyed scowl that crossed the waiter's face.

"Dumb ass," Sasuke muttered to himself, shaking his head, and went back into the restaurant.

--

The next month yielded an even smaller meal that before--just a bowl of ramen this time. Sasuke frowned as he watched the blond eat, his skin a paler shade than before.

He didn't believe it was possible, but the dumb ass looked even thinner than before. He's not going to make himself better by eating ramen.

With an aggravated sigh, Sasuke leaned into the kitchen window and hailed Sakura, who seemed to be performing something like fifteen tasks at the same time, one hand skillfully tossing a pan of vegetables as the other delicately seasoned a cut of beef, her right foot hooking a pot from the bottom ledge and onto the counter while the left supported the entire operation. Unimpressed - Sakura always did this; she was one of only two cooks who ran the entire restaurant - Sasuke waited until she paused to take a breath before speaking.

"Oi, Sakura," he called, "Would you mind making one of your Cherry Blossom Surprises?"

Wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, Sakura looked at her friend, surprised.

"Cherry Blossom Surprise? Sure. But why ask?" Before Sasuke could answer, vivid green eyes widened. "Oooh. It's him, isn't it? The mystery customer you never let me see?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the dumb ass that always forgets his food. He's eating the ramen tonight - and you know him. He always orders twice as much as any regular person can eat, then leaves the damn box on the table."

Sakura frowned, wiping her hands off on her apron and coming closer so she didn't have to shout over the kitchen noise.

"He always orders ramen, but he did order the smallest serving today. You think he's not hungry?" she said, sounding dubious even as she suggested Naruto's lack of appetite.

"He's never not hungry," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I mentioned the open waiter job last time, and he hightailed it out like nothing else. I don't think he can afford anything more."

"He sounds ... a little off, Sasuke." Her eyes showed brief concern. "How old is this kid? Your age - younger?" She shook her head. "I'll make him my special, but I'd be careful with him."

Sasuke shrugged. "Seems to be about my age, but he's so underfed that it's hard to tell." He moved back to check on the table, then swore loudly when he saw the remaining soup on the table, the money for the meal there, and no dumb ass blond.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, alarmed. Sasuke never swore unless he was extremely pissed off or worried; unless, of course, he was calling someone dumb ass, but somehow it wasn't the same. "He didn't pass out at the table, did he?"

"No," Sasuke scowled after swearing at himself for not having kept an eye on the emaciated blond, "He's gone."

She tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the counter. "I bet you could find him easily." She said. "If he's ever written a check - or even if you ask around." Her smile came easily then. "And it's not like this town is very big."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Careful, Sakura, your stalkerish tendencies are showing again," he chided teasingly. "Unlike you and the rest of my former fangirl legion, my first resort is not to find out everything I can about the object of my interest."

"So you admit to being interested in him?" Sakura's smile was mischievous. Sasuke swore again silently for his slip of tongue. "I thought so. You're not as hard to read as you'd like to think."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not made of ice, Sakura. He's just a dumb ass blond who can't take care of himself, and runs away at the thought of a job." He wasn't going to admit anything beyond that, but Sakura's knowing smile said that he didn't need to say anything.

Sasuke sighed. "Look - he comes in here every month, always orders ramen - says he has a temp job somewhere." He scowled. "That's all I know about him, other than the fact that he likes to leave his food around."

"His name's Naruto," Lee piped up suddenly from the background. The other chef of the restaurant, he came up behind Sakura and planted a quick kiss on her temple; she beamed as he grinned toothily at Sasuke. "That one time when you were sick, I was helping cover the tables. I think I met your mysterious customer - blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah - that'd be Naruto. He kind of keeps to himself. Not many people have been able to get close to him." Lee shrugged. "I think he was hurt before." For all that Lee could jump around and act like a total maniac, he was unusually observant when it came to people. That and that fact that his 'drinking buddies' gave him more information than they ever realized.

Sasuke gave him a piercing look.

"All this you gathered from serving him once?" he said skeptically. Lee grinned.

"Of course I talked to him, as well! He seemed sad and depressed - I thought I should talk to him and inspire him to enjoy the full springtime of his youth while he could! Eyes that old and sad do not belong in such a handsome, youthful face!"

Sakura giggled as Sasuke shook his head and sighed, putting a hand against his forehead. After a moment, he looked up, a faint almost smile touching his lips.

"Thanks, Lee. I'll see what I can find."

As he walked away, Sasuke rolled his eyes upon hearing Sakura call after him.

"Not a stalker, my butt!" she said cheerfully, "You, my sulky, sorrowful friend, are obsessed."

Sasuke shook his head again. Girls.

--

He waited until the end of his shift to do some searching of his own, ignoring the little voice in his head – which sounded suspiciously like Sakura - that said he was being a stalker. Something about the way Naruto looked tonight stuck in his head--the blond looked sick, worn out. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how a single person made such an impression on him.

"This is stupid." He muttered to himself. "First I chase after a dumb ass blond to hand him leftovers when it's freezing outside, now I'm searching for him when all I have is his name and what he looks like."

"Oi, oi! Fuck off, assholes. I'm not giving you my coat, too. It's the only one I have!"

Sasuke's head snapped up as he heard the familiar voice coming from an alley across the street, furious and loud in the silent winter-chilled air.

"But you still owe us, Naruto." The leader of the group smirked. "Protection is the main thing in this area - and you haven't paid your dues."

"Protection? Protection, my ass!" Naruto yelled, outraged. Sasuke crossed the street quickly and peered into the alley to find the blond facing a gang of about eight men, fists clenched tightly at his sides as he yelled, red-faced, at the men surrounding him. "What fucking protection are you talking about? Protection from your bad breath? Well, I've gotta tell you, pal, that protection of yours isn't working too hot."

They all stepped forward as a group, the leader glaring at Naruto before the blond ducked and punched him solidly in the stomach.

"Stupid assholes." Naruto muttered, kicking another one, but it seemed two was his limit as his breathing came a little harsher and the others closed in. Sasuke closed his eyes briefly, wondering just what type of idiot got himself attacked by eight morons.

Shaking his head, Sasuke stepped into the alley, slouching, his hands deep in his pockets as he leveled an even glare at the nearest thug.

"You're still a dumb ass, Naruto," Sasuke drawled, ignoring the shock in the blond boy's face as Sasuke said his name. "Wandering into the middle of a gang seems to be just the kind of thing you'd do, though."

"Fuck you, too, bastard," Naruto snarled, throwing his fist into an attacking thug's face and letting out a grunt as he was kicked solidly in the side. Sasuke caught a punch aimed at his face and used the man's own momentum as he sidestepped to knee him in the groin. Pivoting smoothly on his heel, he snapped his leg out in a perfect roundhouse kick, knocking yet another thug into one of his companions. Sasuke fought with an almost bored expression on his face, moving so gracefully it was almost beautiful to watch.

Naruto, having been thrown against the wall hard enough to make his vision swim, could only watch in dazed surprise as Sasuke made short work of the remaining thugs and came to stand in front of him, frowning darkly at his sprawled form.

Naruto glared up at him, reaching up to wipe away some blood on his cheek. "I see you don't have food this time." He muttered, forcing himself to his feet. "So why the hell are you here?" Even when Sasuke saved his ass, he wasn't about to be grateful. "You're just..." He swayed slightly, his vision doubling for a moment.

Sasuke caught him with a sigh, easily looping one of Naruto's arms around his shoulders. He helped the unsteady boy hobble out of the alley without replying. He didn't really know what to say, anyway.

"I happened to be passing by on the way home when I heard you being beat upon," he finally said, half-lying. He hadn't really been intending to go home, but it had been pure chance that he'd happened upon Naruto. "I figured you'd appreciate my helping you."

"You figured wrong," Naruto growled, wishing the world wasn't swimming around him so he could tell Sasuke to go away. "I could've handled those guys on my own. Now they're just going to be pissed off at you." He turned his head and spat into the snow, the spittle bright red with blood. He probed his teeth carefully with his tongue and swore silently when he found three loose to the touch.

"Of course you could've handled them." Sasuke sighed again, "And of course you can walk on your own now. I guess you don't need me at all."

And he let Naruto slide into a graceless lump on the pavement, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and beginning to walk away.

Naruto was tempted to just lie there - it wouldn't have been the first time that he was in this situation, and having a stuck up prick of a waiter wasn't something he needed or wanted. He started coughing though, at first suppressing the coughs out of habit so nobody would hear them, but they shook his already thin frame violently.

Sasuke turned around, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You really are an idiot." He muttered, lifting Naruto easily again, a little alarmed at how light the boy was. "Not eating, getting your ass kicked, and now you have a cold." He shook his head.

"Don't have a cold," Naruto mumbled, closing his eyes tightly as the world threatened to tip him off. "It's just a chronic cough. 've always had it."

"Even better." Sasuke said sarcastically, "Maybe you have tuberculosis. That's loads better than a cold. I'm bringing you back to my apartment. No protests."

Naruto managed a half hearted glare, but another bout of coughs shook his body. "Had it since I was a kid." He muttered, leaning his weight on Sasuke now. "Don' need any help."

He was determined to not have to owe this guy anything - he was sick before, he always got over it. It was part of the reason why he always ate something fairly healthy and filling once a month.

Sasuke sighed again; he seemed to be doing that a lot around Naruto.

"You won't owe me, idiot. Just humor me."

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, and tried to pull away, even when he almost fell over his own feet from the effort. "No." He managed that one word before passing out.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and lifted Naruto into his arms.

"A compelling argument," he murmured to the unconscious boy, "But unfortunately, not quite convincing enough."

---

To be continued…

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Wolf and Lazuli