Title: Red Herbs

Summary: Chouji had taught Naruto about herbs, but Naruto didn't expect to be able to remember them all of them. He just hoped that Sasuke would. Some could heal, some could kill. It would really depend on how your body would react to it. NaruSasu. YAOI. in progress...

Important:
This is a NaruSasu.
A first of my NaruSasu's. :D

o---o---o---o---o---o---o

Naruto learned from his friend Chouji that the herbs, fruits and vegetables that could be found in the forests were oftentimes toxic. Some were edible, some were medicinal herbs. Some could heal you and some could kill you.

Chouji had taught Naruto so many facts about the uses of forest herbs, but Naruto didn't expect to be able to recognize them all at an instant. He was looking for food right now in this mission, so he concentrated instead on recalling the basics: which were toxic and which were edible. Period.

He just hoped that Sasuke was experienced enough in picking up the vegetables and herbs to be used for dinner.

"Oi Sasuke, remember the pointy edges of the leaf, alright?"

"Yes. You only said that for the fifth time now, dobe!"

Naruto went back on his search. Why couldn't they just hunt for some meat tonight? Stupid Sasuke and his health freakiness. "Well, unlike you, I want to return home without getting food poisoned." Ever since Sasuke came back to Konoha a year ago, he developed this uncanny taste for vegetables and all those green stuff that Naruto despised with passion. It must be that evil snake bastard's fault.

For Naruto, stems and leaves weren't food. They tasted weird and crunched weird. He knew he should have brought instant ramen. The blonde sighed as he squatted near a few growing shrubs. Not a few feet away, he heard Sasuke reply, "I'm not as dumb as you are, Naruto. Even if I haven't done this before, it doesn't mean I couldn't recognize toxic plants." As Naruto listened, he was making faces, mimicking Sasuke. Then he shrugged and mouthed 'Whatever.'

Spotting a few clumps of familiar green over to the right, Naruto moved to squat in that area. He pulled out the roots of a leafy plant and held it out to examine it carefully. "Ahah." He whispered to himself. He tossed the roots onto a small basket just behind him. It already contained an assortment of fruits and plants.

Naruto looked around a few times more, then stood to pick up his basket. A few minutes later, he and Sasuke returned to their small camp with a handful of herbs, fruits and vegetables. Naruto inspected the loot Sasuke has and raised an eyebrow. Most of them were unrecognizable to him. Where did Sasuke get these from? "Sasuke, are these safe?"

"I think so. Won't make you dumber than you already are."

"Dammit, can't you answer any of my questions seriously?"

"They're edible, dobe." Sasuke sighed.

"Really?" Naruto picked a strange-looking looking, red herb from Sasuke's loot. "Haven't seen this before. What is it?"

"I used to see that red herb back in Kabuto's kitchen."

"What?!" Naruto dropped the herb as if it was scalding hot, "I won't eat something that has anything to do with those psychopaths! Especially something that you saw from Kabuto's laboratory!"

Sasuke started sorting the plants that he picked up, "His kitchen, Naruto, not the laboratory." Then he frowned a little, "His laboratory was usually filled with… stuff that were moving."

Naruto frowned too, "I don't wanna know." Naruto dumped his loot together with Sasuke's and he helped him prepare for their very exciting, vegetarian dinner. Naruto looked at the red herb again, curiously. "Do you know how to cook it?"

Sasuke looked thoughtful for a while. For the first time, Naruto hoped that Sasuke knew what he was doing.

o---o---o---o---o---o---o

The sun has set and Naruto and Sasuke almost finished their dinner. Naruto was exuberantly retelling his heroic version of their completed mission. He was in the middle of his 'right after the enemy fled' when he noticed Sasuke plucking out the small leaves of the red herb. He gathered the small leaves and mixed them with his drink. Naruto felt something wrong with what Sasuke just did, "Sasuke!" Naruto stood up.

"Yes, I'm listening. After you did your kage bunshin, the bastards all fl..."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's drink from his hands, "Don't drink that!"

"Dobe, you could have just asked if you wanted one!" Sasuke grabbed his drink back and glared.

Fortunately for Naruto, he had grown an immunity to Sasuke's glare. "Sasuke, I have a bad feeling about this herb. I don't think it's safe ..."

Sasuke took his glare away from Naruto and brought it to the maroon liquid that he was about to drink. There really was nothing wrong with it, right? Sasuke had seen Kabuto use it on himself and there hasn't been a sign of it being poisonous. Naruto was just getting weird. But something inside Sasuke was also warning him that Naruto's hunch might be right. "How about just a sip? Because I also want to taste it."

The blonde eyebrows frowned, "I guess a sip won't hurt." Then he pointed at Sasuke, "If you suddenly get sick or something, expect no sympathy from me, got that?"

"Sure." Sasuke brought the liquid to his lips. What if it really was toxic? Then this sip which he took would prove it.

Naruto was staring at Sasuke, expecting him to convulse or to just collapse dead. But nothing happened. Naruto blinked once. Twice.

Sasuke smirked. "See? Nothing bad about it." Naruto didn't have time to react as Sasuke finished the rest of the drink.

"You never listen to me." Naruto told him. He didn't want to appear pouting at Sasuke, he just didn't do 'pout' and Naruto didn't do 'glare' either. So, the blonde just folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I did listen to you." Yes, Sasuke did, actually more often than he should. "One sip, I did take just one sip at first!"

Fighting with Sasuke all day did not tire Naruto at all, but fighting with him until bed time was another matter. "Geez. I'm going to sleep."

Sasuke looked at Naruto's retreating back. He had wondered when was the time when he didn't listen to Naruto at all. He was always listening to Naruto, constantly talking with Naruto, fighting with Naruto... Sasuke counted the different things he did with Naruto... eat, do missions, train, explore, sometimes joined Naruto in his immature pranks (but that was ultra-rare)... so many things...

Sasuke stared at the ground, it was spinning. He looked up and so was the sky. Sasuke blinked his eyes and shook his head a little to regain focus. It was like getting hit hard on the head and try to regain concentration. Sasuke couldn't stop the spinning until he felt himself falling onto the ground, along with the spinning night sky.

"There. See what happens, Sasuke." The Uchiha didn't have to open his eyes to know that Naruto has caught him. "You don't listen to me that's why you get yourself like this." He felt himself heaved up and felt the strong hold of Naruto's arms on his back. Sasuke knew he was being deposited on his own sleeping bag and he vaguely heard Naruto talking in the background.

Sasuke forced himself to open his eyes and he stared back at Naruto's sky blue eyes. They were really... blue. That was the last thing he remembered and the last thing he thought before he passed out.

o---o---o---o---o---o---o

The next morning, Naruto woke up with a pair of black eyes staring back at him, about two inches away.

Naruto's eyes widened and his whole body snapped up awake. Sasuke was right here on his chest, half-naked and straddling his waist. "Naruto…"

Letting out an embarrassing scream, Naruto tried leaping out of his sleeping bag as fast as his feet could support him. But the weight on top of him didn't even budge. "Sasuke! Get the hell off me!"

But Sasuke didn't move. He just stared at Naruto with a very serious expression. Sasuke moved forward, slowly crawling back closer to Naruto.

Naruto didn't even have time to gasp when Sasuke possessively wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck and slowly pecked on his lips, then his cheeks, his nose… until Sasuke tightened his embrace and returned to Naruto's mouth. He took one shy glance at the indescribable shock of Naruto's eyes and then kissed the blonde boy with such intensity, Naruto knew he forgot how to breathe.

o---o---o---o---o---o---o

to be continued...

はい、　ナルサス　に　なる。

Yes, this will be a NaruSasu. ：D