A/N: Hello, readers :) Many of you will screech that I should be working on TTB or other existing works instead of submitting something new, but I wanted to get these ideas out now while I have the chance. Come September, when school and work start, my time to write will be severely limited. I promise, though, not to submit any new stories until I've completed at least 3 of the ones now in progress.

I'm going to put a list of characters here that I will add to as the chaps are posted. For now we only have Sasuke.

Sasuke: Cop, intelligent, likes to eat.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

Love is Blind

Sasuke

The neighborhood was poor, populated by every derivative of Hispanic culture imaginable. There were many such neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Sasuke happened to be in this one because of a Dominican restaurant further down the block he was currently on.

He was off duty now, but the young bloods, children, men and women watching him didn't need his uniform to make him as a cop. It was in the way he walked and how his eyes took in everything, even worried and distracted as he was. They weren't concerned. He was one of them, and a common sight in that neighborhood. Sasuke was good people.

A fellow Boricua was coming out of the small diner-style restaurant as Sasuke was going in. He held the door for her and her two kids, nodding to her as she passed him. He entered and sat at the first available stool at the counter. Pito was manning the counter, as usual, along with two younger women. All three were Dominican. Pito smiled broadly at seeing Sasuke, flipped the dish towel in his hand to rest on his shoulder and came to lean his palms in front of where Sasuke sat.

"Ah, Sasuke, my man! Haven't seen you in awhile. Shoot anybody today?"

"Not today."

"You looking down, bro, whassup?"

"Nada. La vida. Gimme the roasted half chicken, white rice, beans, fried plantain and a salad. Oh, and the coconut juice, large."

"You got it," Pito turned to fill the order himself, aware that Sasuke wasn't in the mood to talk this time.

Sasuke had a Malta while he waited. It was ice cold, hitting the spot after the heat of the day. He swigged, completely occupied with his own personal problems while peripherally aware of the other patrons in the establishment. It was one of those cheap places that served food that was superior to what pricy restaurants had to offer by dint of its authenticity. Mom and Pop spots like this were all over New York. This one just happened to be Sasuke's favorite.

He heard a couple of young women seated somewhere behind him discussing him in whispers he was sure were deliberately too loud. He didn't bother turning around, nor was he amused. Didn't stop him from hearing, though.

"Mmh, I need me a man like that."

"Who, that cop?"

"Mmmmmmhm."

"Think he's single?"

"No wedding ring. Bet he's hung."

"The tall ones are always hung."

"He's thick too, just the way I like 'em."

"Go ask him out, ho."

Sasuke grimaced around another swallow of Malta. He was thick. He'd been muscular during high school and the early years of his career, but he was starting to go soft. He was still well-developed, he supposed, but his gut as starting to grow a layer of fat and his arms and legs just weren't as cut as they had been a few years ago. And, he admitted wryly, he wasn't quite as fast as he used to be when it came to chasing down the perps. Which was sad, really. He was only thirty last month. Well, at least he still had his hair. He still cut an imposing figure at 6'4. Small blessings.

His food came and he dug right in, scraping the beans out of their small bowl and onto his rice. He stabbed a plantain with his fork, gouged a piece of chicken with the same utensil, and managed to get rice and beans on the fork as well. He shoved this all into his mouth, reaching for his coconut juice as he chewed.

For a few wonderful minutes he was okay. Food, the kind of food he'd been eating all his life, comforted him momentarily from thoughts of his problems. He forgot about his day, his unsatisfactory career, everything. For the short time that he had this food in front of him, life was great. He sighed roundly, leaning one forearm near his cluster of dishes as he attacked his chicken again.

-oOo-

It had been late, nearly closing time when Sasuke had walked in. By the time he was using his last piece of plantain to wipe bean gravy from his plate, the empty tables were being cleaned and the counter disinfected. He straightened on his stool, belched, and reached into his back pocket. Pito, seeing this, drifted over and waited to accept payment for the bill that had been placed at Sasuke's elbow a few minutes prior. Sasuke paid, received his change, and thanked Pito for the excellent food. He was the last customer to leave.

He walked the four blocks to where he had his vehicle parked. He drove off toward home, which wasn't more than half an hour away. His partner, a rookie named Konohamaru, had been dropped off before the restaurant.

Lights held him up as usual. His mind wandered and he lost himself to thoughts of Neji.

Sasuke loved Neji, loved him recklessly, completely, and violently. So violent were his emotions regarding Neji that they had virtually no depth or truth. Sasuke was aware that the tempestuousness of his infatuation was one-sided. He was. Truly, he was, but that did not make it any easier to check his devotion or the belief that showing Neji the profundity of them would eventually bring the man around. Consequently, he opened himself to Neji and bared everything the way he'd never done with another soul, ever.

And there had been that week, a period of a few days, when Neji had treated him just as importantly, had said the same declarations, had touched him just as feverishly.

But that had been in the beginning of their relationship, soon after they'd met. Their passion had burned bright and hot for that week and then Neji, so he told Sasuke, had felt as if they were moving too fast. He wanted to dial back, take things slower. Sasuke had complied, ready to do anything Neji wanted. If the man needed space, then Sasuke would show that he could be understanding and give him space.

That was where they stood now, except Neji seemed to require more and more space as time wore on. He called less often with each week that passed and had only consented to make love with Sasuke twice since their first brilliant week together, both times at Sasuke's apartment. Sasuke had never been invited to Neji's place in Jersey. Sasuke was deathly afraid that Neji was pulling away from him entirely, that he was losing him.

Sasuke wasn't stupid. He knew he was giving more in this relationship, but sometimes people needed you to give more. Sometimes they just needed to know you'd be there for them, without making demands or judging. Neji wasn't some frivolous kid, out for kicks. He was manager of a major bank, making serious scratch. He was above Sasuke socially. Sasuke, having grown up in the barrio and being a product of the poorer side of life, could not reconcile upper middle class with the trifling behavior he saw daily in his own working class. No, Neji just needed some time.

-oOo-

He found himself parking a block from his building with no memory of navigating the route to get there. This happened often; a person got to thinking and their mind would just run on autopilot for awhile. As Sasuke was reaching beneath the dashboard to retrieve his bag, his phone rang. It was Neji.

He debated letting it ring for all of five seconds. It would give the man a taste of his own medicine, but Sasuke's pride was too undermined by his love for the man to not answer when Neji deigned to call. "Hello?"

"It's Neji. Meet me in twenty minutes."

"Where? Is something wrong?"

"At the park."

Sasuke thought a moment. "The one around the corner from my place? Why don't we just meet at my apartment? I just pulled up and we can-"

"No. The park. Twenty minutes." The line went dead.

Sasuke sat staring at his phone, one leg out of the car. Frowning, he pocketed it and got out of the car.

His apartment building wasn't fancy or particularly well-maintained. The elevator smelled like piss. He got out on his floor, tensed in case his neighbor was hanging around. He wasn't. Sasuke entered his apartment quickly, set his bag down and left again, locking the door with a jangle of keys he couldn't hide.

His neighbor heard and cracked his door. "Oh, Sasuke. I thought I heard you. How-"

Sasuke hunched his shoulders and took the stairs, ignoring the man. He had a distant idea that his neighbor was attracted to him. The guy went out of his way to speak to Sasuke, smile at him, invite him in for dinner, but it meant nothing. Sasuke wasn't interested in his neighbor. Neji filled his mind and was all he thought about.

He thought about just what it was that made him love Neji as he walked briskly to the small concrete park a few blocks from where he lived.

Sasuke supposed the thing that had flattered him the most was how refined Neji was. The idea that he'd been able to catch the eye of someone like that had his heart hammering each and every time he thought about it. Neji was from money, ran in the money circles, drove a hot little corvette… Sasuke had nothing material to recommend him. He made forty-five grand a year. If Neji was into him then it had to be because of Sasuke's personality, right?

Uchiha Sasuke hadn't looked in a mirror for awhile. Why bother? All he'd see was an aging Puerto Rican cop running to fat who could still boast a healthy head of hair. He never saw anything else. He hadn't dated in years because he never had the time and relationships went nowhere these days. The men he did interact with at the stray bar or on the job did not appeal to him at all. He might, on occasion, go to the trouble of picking up a fuck outside a bar for an hour, but his budget generally saw to it that his own hand sufficed. Therefore, he couldn't fathom that he might be attractive to some one as gorgeous as Neji. The man wore the best rags, probably had weekly spa appointments and shit like that. It stood to reason he normally went out with equally well-groomed people. Sasuke was none of that, would never be any of that.

What he thought, secretly, was that Neji had become jaded with his usual crowds. He wanted something more real and down to earth. Neji saw that in Sasuke, and the elation of being wanted for one's self was a large part of why Sasuke was so obsessively in love with the man. Neji had come into his life, had connected with him, and had shown himself to be on the same wavelength as Sasuke. At least as far as relationships. They never really got a chance to hang out together because they both worked long hours, but soft plans had been made for claiming some vacation time together.

The park had a few black teens sitting around by the hoops, nothing more. They eyed Sasuke's uniform, halting their conversation to see if they'd be hustled. Sasuke recognized them as faces from the neighborhood. He even knew where one or two of them lived. His practiced eye picked out the one face that wasn't from this neighborhood. He spotted the heat the youth was packing and kept his eye trained on him as he put his hands in his pockets. The young man said something to his homies and rolled right on, leaving his group behind. The rest of the group decided to tough it out a few minutes more, making the point that they weren't going to let Sasuke run them out of the park. They got up and left together some ten minutes later. Only then did Sasuke turn and lean one shoulder against the chain link fence. He checked his watch.

Eleven. Neji could only want to meet so late to discuss something important. Maybe he'd talk about why he'd been so distant lately. Sasuke could be a good listener. Hell, he'd never been one for idle chatter, only making long speeches or talking at length with his younger partner. He'd done his best to give Neji the space he needed, but not communicating with the man for all these weeks had ripped him raw inside. He hoped that would end tonight. Sasuke did a quick mental inventory of the state his apartment was in. He recalled things lying around, laundry that needed to be done. Not the most conducive environment for sex, but Neji had withstood it before. Sasuke then cupped a palm to his nose and mouth, exhaling and inhaling in rapid succession. His breath smelled of the food he'd just eaten.

He found an angel mint in his pants pocket and let it dissolve in his mouth as he checked his watch again. Fifteen minutes since Neji had called. The man was punctual.

And here he came in his black corvette, double parking and throwing on his blinkers. Sasuke frowned; that implied this would be a short meeting, but then why hadn't Neji said what he needed to say over the phone? Why go to the trouble of coming down here? He pushed off from the fence, strolling toward Neji as the latter stepped out of his car.

Neji always moved with a purpose. Sasuke catalogued his clothes in one glance, the way he did with everyone. Gray three-piece suit, blue dress shirt, red tie. Dark shoes. Long hair gathered into some kind of intricately braided tail that lay sleekly between his shoulder blades. Neji was in the process of buttoning his suit jacket as he approached Sasuke. The man looked neither left nor right, but kept his gaze on Sasuke as he closed the distance.

Sasuke saw immediately that now would be an inappropriate time to try and greet Neji with anything warmer than hello. "'Sup," he said as Neji came to a stop. "You okay?"

"Fine," Neji nodded. He paused a moment, noting the gun on Sasuke's hip. He knew the man was off duty by now, so he hadn't really been expecting it. Sasuke would never hurt him, not ordinarily, but what he had to say… Neji met Sasuke's eyes and decided to just get on with it. "It's over."

Sasuke cocked his head, a furrow between his black brows. "What's over?"

"This," Neji said impatiently, gesturing with a hand back and forth between them. "Us. You and me. It's over."

It had been Sasuke's worse fear while Neji had needed space. He'd feared that this was what Neji had needed space for, but Neji was the one who'd sought him out, who'd approached him, who'd said he needed him.

Once, when Sasuke had been home when he was a kid, he'd seen some stupid Charlie Brown special. He could only assume it had been Halloween, because that black-haired, ball-stealing bitch (Luca? Lorie? Lara?) had been scooping the innards out of a big pumpkin. To this day, Sasuke remembered the sound that shit had made when she dropped it next to the pumpkin: splat. Why he remembered it he didn't know, but just then he felt like that pumpkin, like Neji had efficiently scooped everything inside of him out to leave it steaming on the pavement with a splat sound. He said nothing, though he was shaking where he stood. He made his face blank and bland, his eyes flat and abstract. His cop face. Neji was speaking.

"I'm getting married. I know I should have told you, but, well, I'm telling you now. I don't plan on being unfaithful to her and-"

Sasuke's head jutted forward, eyes squinted in disbelief. "Wait, what? Her?"

Neji met the black eyes without flinching. "Yes. Her. I'm getting married next week."

"I guess the fact that you're bi was something else you neglected to tell me?" Sasuke spat. He spun away from Neji, putting his hands on his hips. His stomach was burning and he dearly wanted to fire his gun.

"I'm not, actually. But I need to think about my future and my life."

Sasuke whirled around again, eyes glaring. "You swine. You're going to throw away what we have for some cunt you don't even want because of what other people think? That's why you're hurting me like this?"

"What do we have, Sasuke?" Neji asked. He was contemptuous. "We met two months ago, fucked for a week until I came to my senses, and I've been trying to break it off ever since." Then, deciding it was the only way to make sure the cop didn't pursue him, he said, "I used you, all right? My own boyfriend left and I needed someone. You were there, you were good-looking… I went with it," Neji said with an uncomfortable shrug. "But it wasn't more than that."

Sasuke, back turned again, closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He was visited by an urge to scream, the pain was that intense. His gun was a heavy, beckoning weight on his hip. His heart knocked against his ribs, but he did not give himself away. "You said you loved me," he bit out in rage.

Neji eyed the stiff, broad back, the pleats still visible in the uniform from when it had been ironed that morning. "I said a lot of things. Doesn't mean they were true." He waited a few seconds. "I'm trying to do the right thing by telling you in person, but I mean it. It's over. I won't answer if you call… and… if you… you know… try anything, I have lawyers."

Sasuke would have laughed at this display of fear, but he was hurting too much. Right now he could scarcely stand, much less laugh. He stood there, trying to maintain his pride, aware that everything between him and Neji had been largely in his head. Neji had never felt the same, hadn't even wanted him. Sasuke had been lied to. Used. The only reason he wasn't rearranging Neji's face right now was because he still loved him. However false their relationship had been, Sasuke's feelings were real. It was what was killing him now. Oh, but when his love abated…

After some minutes had passed in silence, Sasuke heard Neji's footsteps walking away. He heard the car door open, close shut. The car left with a mild rev of the engine.

And now he broke, now he sank to the balls of his feet and rested the fingertips of one hand on the ground as he dropped his face into the other hand. The pain, unleashed, worked him over righteously.

Translations:

Boricua - Puerto Rican

Nada. La vida - Nothing. Life.

Barrio - Spanish word for ghetto