When he woke up that day, he knew it was going to be lovely day, even though the weather seemed to say otherwise.
The young man slowly opened his eyes in the darkness of the room. He did not move an inch, slowly getting used to the absence of light, listening to the sound of the rain tickling down the roof of his house.
In the darkness of the room, a grin appeared on his face.
Today was the day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Let's do this guys! Tenten, you'll take Chôji and Ino in your car. Hinata, you take Kiba and Sai with you. Neji, you take Konohamaru and Lee. I'll take Kakashi and Shikamaru. Any questions? No. Then move it!" Naruto exclaimed, bending down to take his flower box.
Today was the 1st of May, and that meant they were going to sell Lily of the Valley all over the city. They were all Red Cross volunteers, and Naruto had been surprised by the amount of people that had showed up so early morning to help him out.
He was the head representant of Red Cross in the south suburbs of Paris and they were raising money to buy new equipment (namely some heated sleeping bags to hand over to the homeless people) and also send it to the main office in Paris.
They would all share their cars to the assigned locations and would spend the entire morning and afternoon selling the flowers.
Naruto took his job very seriously. The mayor had put his faith in him and he wouldn't let him down. His group was assigned near a French Bakery, and he knew it was one of the best places, since people would start showing up as soon as the sun would come up. It was the weekend and already some people were up, jogging or running errands instead of sleeping in.
Naruto usually was one of these people, jogging every morning before going in to work. It relaxed his mind, strengthened his body, and enabled him to put up with the issues at work. But he also knew someone else who usually jogged in the morning, and he wouldn't be surprised to see him run down the street before sunrise.
They got off the car and chatted while setting up the trails that would help the piece of wood they had to call table stand up.
"Hey, Shikamaru, can you start making small bouquet of two, three and five pieces? You take the flower and yo-"
"Naruto. I got this. We've been doing that for years. It's going to work very well. Stop stressing out", Shikamaru cut in slowly, patting Naruto's head soothingly. The blond shrugged and took a seat next to his friend.
"You know how I am."
"It's not why you're acting that way", Shikamaru said again. He offered a knowing glance at Naruto, who squinted his eyes but said nothing. Kakashi silently took a seat on the other side, and they began working together, rolling bunches of flowers in their plastic covers.
"You know everything, don't you?" Naruto asked, picking out three nice Lily of the Valley and putting them together with a leaf.
"I try."
Clearly Shikamaru was amused. Everything amused him today. He had had this stupid smirk on his face since he'd arrived at the RC two hours ago, and Naruto was starting to think it was not normal. And being a very curious man who barely ever kept his thought to himself, he decided to ask. In his own, twisted way.
"So, Kakashi, don't you think Shikamaru is acting all weird-y today?" he asked matter-of-factly, not fooling anyone. He shared a look with the gray-haired man who shook his head slightly, smiling. He knew perfectly well what Naruto was about to do. Toy with Shikamaru's brain. He also knew what that would lead to. But he kept it to himself and decided to play along.
"Why yes, I did notice the change, Naruto. What could it be?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pursed his lips.
"I know what you're doing, Naruto. And it's not going to work." He said slowly.
"Oh I think it is. Don't you think, Kakashi?"
"I'm sure Naruto's will is stronger than yours, Shikamaru. That's all I have to say." He answered, putting aside another bouquet and taking another piece of flower. They would do that for a while, preparing before the rush.
"Temari's pregnant", Shikamaru finally admitted, knowing keeping silent would be troublesome anyway. People would notice eventually, so he might as well give the information now, before one of his oblivious friends started asking questions. Like why Temari was getting fat (which would result in their long and painful deaths).
"WHAT!?" Naruto jumped up from his chair and fell backwards. Only he didn't exactly fell to the ground. He bumped into a long pair of legs and made the other person fall. "Ah, shit", he mumbled, getting up slowly. He rubbed his ass painfully, noticing the ground was still wet and had quickly soaked through his pants.
Awesome.
Rain was so lovely.
"Moron. You just had to push me down, huh?" Sasuke's voice rang in the cold morning air and Naruto gaped at him.
Obviously. He had to bump into Sasuke of all people. Just at that moment.
The universe and its mischievous schemes…
"Sorry. I kind of went into… huh, shock?" he explained, helping the other man get up. He hugged him longer than necessary and when he let go, he stayed close enough so their arms would brush against one another.
"Shock?" Sasuke wondered worriedly, looking down to see Naruto's face on his left. "Did I miss something?"
"I'm going to be an uncle. That's what you missed", Naruto said, looking straight at Shikamaru, ignoring Sasuke.
The blond looked over his bored friend and went to drag him out of his little wooden chair, hugging him tight and sweeping him around in the air like a princess.
Sasuke watched, half amused, half confused, as Naruto crushed his friend, laughing like a madman. He was pretty positive Shikamaru regretted his confession, right now, as he was turning blue from lack of air.
Finally Naruto let go and Shikamaru sat back down on his chair, hands on his knees, breathing as deeply as he could, sucking in air like he needed it to live.
Which he did.
Kakashi reached for Shikamaru's shoulder, grabbed it and squeezed it twice.
"You did it, bro. You did it", he praised his friend.
"Well he had to know at some point, right? "
"Hey Sasuke, imagine what you'll have to deal with in seven months!" he exclaimed, loud enough for Sasuke to hear, pointing at Naruto's excited free style street dance.
"I think I'll go away for some quiet holiday."
"You know you won't", chanted Kakashi happily. There were so many things to look forward to, suddenly, the gray-haired man thought.
It was going to be a glorious year.
"Shut up", Sasuke snapped.
"Someone's gotta keep him grounded, or he'll spontaneously combust with excitation, you know".
"I'm not his nanny", muttered Sasuke darkly. What were they taking him for?
"You're his boyfriend."
Pause.
"Am not".
"Now you're being childish."
Naruto, who had finished his victory dance, squished himself between the two of them, separating the pair and throwing both his arms around the men's shoulders.
"How's it goin'?" He grinned wildly and his friends rolled their eyes.
"Fine", Sasuke grumbled, attempting to get out of Naruto's hold.
"Well," Kakashi started, gently taking the blond's arm off of his shoulder, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
Naruto blushed and squeezed Sasuke tighter before letting go quickly.
"I'll kill you!" he yelled, moving to jump on Kakashi's back. He never made it there, though. He felt something grab his sweater in its middle, and he was pulled backwards a second after. Sasuke released his hold on Naruto's clothes and sighed.
"Stop moroning around".
"'Moroning?' Is that a word? Where has your vocabulary gone, smartass?"
"It disappeared at the same time as your brain."
Naruto shrugged, unoffended, and retorted.
"Maybe I should check your ass, see if it's not stuck up there?"
The blond had a shit-eating grin on his face and Sasuke narrowed his eyes challengingly.
"Wouldn't you like to know", he growled under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief. The perverted capacity of the blond's brain always impressed him. It was what, 7 am? and Naruto had already connected his two neurons to make perverted jokes.
"Well, You can't judge a man for being too curious now, can you?"
"I certainly can't. Anyway, now that I've wasted my time with you guys, I'm going to finish my jog and I'll pass by later on. I have errands to run."
"You have errands to run?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrows, clearly not believing a single word.
"Something to say about it?"
"You have errands to run… at 7am." Kakashi repeated incredulously.
"I am a busy man. I have a busy schedule." The other man replied carelessly.
"Well, we wouldn't want to interrupt your schedule, right Naruto?" Kakashi pursed his lips and winked at Naruto, who pouted unhappily.
"Right." He said noncommittally.
"Don't even be mad, I said I'll come back."
"Well go then. The faster you go, the faster you'll come back."
They shared one last look and Sasuke turned around.
Naruto watched as Sasuke picked up his speed and started to run down the road again. He stared at the end of the street where Sasuke had disappeared seconds ago. He moaned disapprovingly, making a face, and heard a chuckle.
"That was so cheesy." Kakashi's face came into view and Naruto slapped his shoulder childishly.
"Your face is cheesy", he replied immediately, and received a head slap for it.
"Don't be an idiot, Naruto. 'Love makes you stupid', and stuff."
"I can't believe you just used that reference."
"What? It was totally called for". Kakashi made a face and Naruto pulled his tongue out.
"Was not!"
"'I'm losing focus because of you, I've got no friends left because of you-'"
"Shut up! I've got all my focus!"
"That's why your Lily of the Valley is at the bottom of the bouquet?"
Naruto followed Kakashi's gaze and cursed when he realized the grey-haired man was right.
"'I'm losing IQ because of you'", chanted Kakashi, as Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. However, he decided to ignore the older man, not wanting to give Kakashi another reason to make fun of him.
Besides, they had work to do.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The bakery was packed.
And so was their stand.
It was 10 am and dozen of people kept screaming for attention, asking for three pieces, two pieces, a bouquet. Naruto had long since asked for Kiba's team help, who were just down the street. They were now eight, and could only recognize themselves in the crowd by their white blazers covered by a bright red cross. Naruto and Shikamaru were the only ones who wore the actual Red Cross suit, the light brown pants and the hot light brown coat covered with various Red Cross in different size. They had on their thigh a strap in which they could find a first aid kit, had a lots of pockets to put their stuff inside. The others wore the plain blazer. The two men had been volunteering for Red Cross for years now, and the company had given them the suits to thank them two years ago (that shit was expensive).
Sasuke also had one (since Naruto dragged him in his adventures every time he could), but he had decided not to join in today. He had had a tiring business dinner the night before and had felt completely drained out. Sleeping half an hour more apparently seemed to be enough to satisfy Sasuke, which had always been quite a mystery to Naruto. But he had stopped trying to understand the pale man. He was completely clueless as to how the Sasuke-magic worked. And frankly… did he really want to know?
Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto were now handing flowers in the crowd, trying to lift some weight off of their friend's shoulders.
The blond was absolutely enchanted. Talking to people, joking around, being surrounded by them made him feel at ease. He did like being alone with Sasuke. But he also liked contact. He needed it.
Naruto felt his pocket jingle and he retrieved his walkie-talkie with his free hand.
"Yeah?" he yelled in the machine, hoping the one on the other line would hear him.
"On your left!" He turned around and saw Kiba waving frantically at him, at least twenty people standing between them. The noise made it impossible for them to communicate. Old ladies talked as loud as possible, kids were running around yelling and screaming, and adults just kept coming towards him to ask him about the price, the quantity, the quality. Excusing himself from the crowd, he tried to make his way towards his friend but was yanked on the side. The pressure on his arm did not falter until they were far enough to communicate normally.
Sasuke raised his hands to Naruto's face and pulled him forward by the ears, kissing his cold red nose.
"Hey. I'm back."
"Obviously."
"I got you something." Naruto's face light up with a grin and his own hands reached up to grab Sasuke's ones on the side of his face. The warmth felt good, after the rain and humidity.
"You did?"
"Hn. Thought you might need it." He explained. He dropped his hand to the bulge in his right pocket and asked Naruto to close his eyes.
Naruto obliged and immediately heard Sasuke's breathing, the quiet noise of the commotion taking place a hundred meters away, near the bakery. His nose was filled with sent of fresh bread mixing with the other man's perfume. He inhaled deeply and felt his head being covered with soft material.
Startled, he opened his eyes immediately and accidentally caught Sasuke's smile.
"You look good", Sasuke said, his genuine smile still on.
"It's warm. You got me a hat?" he asked happily. His hand travelled up to feel the hat and he stopped, surprised. That was… weird. Snatching the hat off, he took it in his hand and put it in front of him.
His hilarity took him by surprise, but he couldn't help himself. He laughed loudly and threw his arms around Sasuke, hugging him tightly, practically squeezing the life off Sasuke. The other man hugged him back just as dearly, and Naruto burrowed his head in the pale neck, sniffing the perfume and Sasuke's smell.
"You got me a penguin hat?" Naruto murmured incredulously in the crook of his neck. He didn't see the man's smile but knew it was there, and he heard him respond slowly.
"I couldn't let your ears fall off, could I?"
"But a penguin?" Sasuke snorted and caressed the shell of the blond's ear.
"You like it".
Naruto pushed back and put his hat back on, grinning mischievously. He checked himself out in the glass window a few feet away from them and his grin widened even more. He looked like a child, and he loved it. His mop of blond hair was covered by a wool penguin, that had a nice yellow beak. The animal was in 3D and made it look like it just stood on his head, his black wings covering his ears. He turned back to Sasuke and grabbed the edges of the hat, pulling it in front of his eyes.
"I look handsome?" he asked.
"Let's not push it, would you?" The taller man pushed Naruto's hands away and lifted the hat up again, watching as the blue eyes were slowly revealed again. He fell into the ocean maelstrom and quickly wondered how a person could have so much importance to him. Then again, they had always been together, and he had no idea how it could possibly be otherwise.
"Don't be mean. You love it."
"I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. I thought it suited you well."
"You're so good to me", Naruto beamed, slowly closing the distance between them.
"I try", was the soft answer before their lips connected. Naruto instantly closed his eyes and let his senses take control of his body. It felt good, this sense of abandon that always surrounded him whenever Sasuke invaded his space. He never had that before. That knowledge that whenever, wherever he would need it, he could rely on Sasuke, talk to him, hug him, kiss him, make love to him, joke with him…
The transition from friends to best friends had been invisible. The transition from best friends to… something else, had been difficult. They had both tried to fight their way out of it, unsuccessfully. Naruto because he didn't want to ruin their friendship, and Sasuke because he had been convinced his family would have evicted him. The funny thing was, they had not. In fact, they had not cared at all. Why? Because they just didn't care at all about Sasuke. It was sad in a way, because Naruto had always wanted to be part of a family, and seeing Sasuke's broken one always made him kind of sad, but they had both learned to live with it.
Sasuke had long since abandoned his quest of being visible to his family, and he had accepted the truth. No need to lie to himself. Naruto, on the other hand, was still planning ways to make someone, Sasuke's mother, father, or even brother, recognize him as part of the family. But all of them had been useless so far.
Sasuke didn't feel the need to have his family with him now, though. He had made his own out of his friends, and particularly out of Naruto.
Naruto was all the things he could have asked for, and he sometimes wondered if it wasn't better that his family didn't give two shits about him. Because if they had had, Sasuke would not have spent so much time in the playground, sharing the sandbox with a little blond boy. He would not have grown up with someone by his side in every step of his life. He would not have gone to a business University, because he would have chosen to follow Itachi's doctor path to please his parents. He would not be with his soul mate right now, in the middle of the street.
When he had finally realized that fact, he'd had decided that they had to give it a shot. The tension between them had been monstrous. They were constantly eyeing each other, while still trying to hide and deny the fact that something else was happening between them.
They had both caved in after 4 months, and had been together ever since. So a little bit over 2 years, now.
And he was still right where he was supposed to be.
Their friends, though, weren't exactly supposed to be aware of their relationship. But seeing as they were not really discreet, Naruto could safely say that practically all of their friends were up to page. He had discussed it a few times with Shikamaru, but they had never gotten in deep. The blond knew Sasuke wanted it to be as invisible as possible. At least before.
Now though, it seemed like he cared less and less about showing his affection towards Naruto, which made him a very, very happy man. Which was also one of the reasons he'd slap anyone who dared make a comment on it when Sasuke was around. He was too scared his boyfriend would stop doing it. And though Kiba often frowned at their weird relationship, he didn't say anything out loud, at least not directly. The hints weren't lost to Naruto though.
He knew his friend was only concerned about him, and about how it would end up. He knew Naruto was a very sensitive guy, and he was afraid of the importance Sasuke had in the life of his friend, and how it would affect him if Sasuke decided to end it.
Naruto already had the answer, though. Devastation.
But he had made a gamble and, so far, it had payed.
His lips lingered a little longer on Sasuke's, then he pulled away, grinning with all his teeth. Sasuke kissed his nose noisily and pulled something from behind his back.
"You bought me some?" exclaimed Naruto, taking the flowers. "How romantic." The last part was said with such a cheesy/ironic voice that Sasuke did the only thing he could think of doing. He blushed.
"I'll show you romantic", he groaned, turning his head to the side to avoid Naruto's eyes.
"… I can't believe you're actually embarrassed". Naruto's smile turned even bigger if it could, eating half of his face now. He reached for Sasuke's ears and twisted them comically. Sasuke's face didn't budge, still pouting. The blond proceeded to grab the other man's cheek and he pushed and pulled the skin on the side, making Sasuke smile like the Joker or pout like fish alternatively. The pale man attempted to push away, but his conviction lacked, and he ended up staying exactly where he was, waiting for Naruto to finish playing with his face.
"I was kidding, Sas'ke. I love them", he said more seriously, cupping the taller man's face in his warm hands.
"You have hundreds of them back there", he whined, and Naruto almost started to laugh again at Sasuke's voice.
"But the ones I have in my hands are a gift. From you. I like them more."
"I'm sure they have some better ones."
"Everything isn't a battle for superiority, you know. Those are perfect. Now let me enjoy the gift you gave me, and shut up."
Sasuke stayed silent and Naruto grabbed his right hand, holding it loosely for a while. They just stood there, holding hands, and Sasuke couldn't see a place or a person that he'd rather be with at this moment.
"What are you thinking?" Naruto asked, moving forward to slowly let his head fall on Sasuke's shoulder.
"That I love you".
There was a disbelieving moment of silence, then a tan hand tightened its grip on his own hand, and he heard a loud exhale. He heard a soft murmur and lifted his free hand to gently strike Naruto's neck.
"What are you saying?" he asked gently.
"Whenever you say this… I feel like I might fall apart", Naruto murmured a little louder, nuzzling his face in the crook of his boyfriend's neck.
"Fall apart?"
"My heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest and I'm going to die", Naruto explained slowly, his tone oh so serious.
"I would be very sad it that were to happen."
Sasuke brushed his thumb over Naruto's hand soothingly and he heard the blond sigh.
"But you never say you love me."
"You need to hear it to know it?"
Sasuke frowned. Did he make Naruto unhappy by never voicing his feelings?
"It doesn't hurt to have it worded, from time to time", was the calm retort.
"I'll remember that, Naruto."
The blond lifted his head and touched his forehead to Sasuke's. Their noses touched and Naruto rubbed them teasingly.
"Esquimo's kiss!"
There goes the deep, intense moment.
Sasuke shook his head.
"You're such a child."
"You love me", Naruto sing-songed, turning away and heading back to the crowd.
"So help me God, I do."
"Hey! Don't say that!" Naruto turned to him and slapped his shoulder. "It brings bad luck."
"I already am doomed. I have you. What more could they curse me with?"
"A baby?" Naruto suggested matter-of-factly.
"Now you're being weird."
"You could get me pregnant." The bond seemed thoughtful for a moment, before beaming. "I'd have your babies", he decided.
"You can't have my babies." Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed Naruto's penguin hat wing, pulling him forward, and bending the blond's head at an awkward angle.
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"Fine, but if I could, I would!"
"I'll keep that in mind. Now come one, you have time to make up for."
"Then we'll give the baby project a try?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"We can give as many tries as you want, it won't happen", Sasuke explained.
"My point exactly", Naruto grinned.
Sasuke stopped.
Squinted his eyes.
Then turned around, and started dragging Naruto away from the crowd, toward his apartment. Naruto laughed and caught up with Sasuke's fast pace.
"I think you're right. We should try. Right now."
"Sex-addict", Naruto muttered, his smile never leaving his features.
He would never know what Kiba had wanted to tell him, but he was pretty sure Sasuke's confession was worth the wrath he'd receive for disappearing in the middle of a busy sell.