Title: Flowers
Summary: SasuNaru. Sasuke knows that there has to be some way to tell Naruto how he feels.
S.A.: Gaara vs. the Squeaky toy fried my brain. I needed some serious writing before I could face more crack. This is the so-called "serious" writing. I have no idea when this takes place. They are some where around eighteen or nineteen, and other than that, I don't care, because I am tired. I got no sleep because of this story. Thank you and good night!
Yamanaka Ino looked up, startled, as the door to her flower shop opened. It was a Sunday afternoon, so the shop was slow as usual. She stood up, dropping her magazine, as she saw the last person that she ever expected to see in her shop. EVER.
"S-Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"
Sasuke looked up from where he was looking at a bouquet of striped carnations. "I'm looking for flowers for someone, which I'm under the impression that most people come to a flower shop to do."
"Anything in particular? Like, a message that you want to send?"
"Thank you, or I'm sorry. Preferably both."
"Well, then striped carnations aren't the way to go." She picked up half a dozen camellia flowers. "These represent gratitude," She then found half a dozen purple hyacinths. "And these ask for forgiveness."
"Thanks." Sasuke took the flowers, picked up a vase and grabbed his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"
"This batch is on me. Just tell me how it goes, okay?"
"Fine."
The next day, as Naruto was rushing out the door due to the fact that he was late to training, he almost tripped over a vase and a dozen flowers that had mysteriously appeared on his door step over night.
His short attention span abandoning all thought of training, Naruto picked up the vase and eyed it curiously, bringing it inside to set it on the table. He made a small, triumphant noise as he found a card in the stems.
"Who would send me flowers?" Naruto wondered aloud as he flipped the card open with one hand and opened the cupboard to get a glass to give the flowers more water. "To: Naruto, From:... SASUKE?" Naruto dropped the glass, the shattering sound bringing him back to reality. He muttered a curse before grabbing a paper towel and cleaning up the glass as best he could. "Why would Sasuke send me flowers? Shouldn't these be to Sakura-chan or Ino or some other fangirl that could help revive his clan? Why me? Wait didn't Sakura-chan say something about the "Language of Flowers" or something?" Naruto grabbed two flowers, one of each kind, before the little alarm called sanity went off in his head and he was reminded of where he was supposed to be. "OMG! CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! STUPID SASUKE! I'M SOOOOOO LATE!" Naruto, like clockwork, screamed at exactly ten AM, acting as the alarm clock for the rest of his apartment building.
Three minutes later, after Naruto had ran at a sound-barrier-breaking speed across town, missed the bridge and backpedaled frantically before ramming the back of his head into Sasuke's chest; he was painting and whipping the sweat off his face.
"H-Hey, Sakura-chan? Could I talk to you? Alone?"
"Uhh…" Sakura blinked, startled. "Sure." She helped Naruto up, confused as to why he slapped her hand away from his chest, walked him into the nearby forest and helped him lean up against a tree, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you injured and trying to hide it from Sasuke because it makes you seem "weak" or something? I swear, Naruto, if you are, I'll-"
"I-it's not that…" He pulled the two flowers from the pocket on the inside of his jacket. "What do these mean? I remember you talking about the "Language of Flowers" or something? Do you know what these mean?"
Sakura blinked yet again. "He remembers that? I just mumbled something about it nearly five years ago!" "Yeah, I know what they mean… I'm sorry and Thank you. Kind of a mixed message if you ask me unless you've been diving in between of some helpless villagers that taunted stronger ninja until they snapped and a huge wave of kunai that I haven't heard about? Who sent them to you anyway?"
"No, I haven't been playing Superman again. And…… they came from someone special. I just about panicked when you tried to help me up and almost crushed them."
The remaining confusion left her eyes. "So that's why you slapped my hand away. That's what made me think you were injured. Plus, you were so worn out from the Three-Minute-Dash today…"
"I had to skip breakfast because I was slowed down by the flowers. Oh, Sakura-chan… C-Could you help me answer?"
For the third time in less than fifteen minutes, Sakura blinked. "Is… he… BLUSHING! Yes, yes he is! OMG, could this be Naruto's first girlfriend! WAH, I feel like a mother helping her son get ready for a first date! Who is it, who is it, who is it!" "Of course I'll help you, Naruto!"
Unfortunately for Naruto, he couldn't read minds, so the sudden burst of loud enthusiasm surprised him, causing him to slide sideway and, super-fast ninja reflexes be damned, fall to the ground.
Ino was, once again, on flower shop duty when the other two-thirds of Team Seven waltzed into the said shop, looking for flowers, as their teammate had been.
"Those mean "No" Naruto." Sakura sighed as the blond looked at striped carnations. "What do you want to say?"
Ino raised an eyebrow, realizing how much this scenario was like the one shared between her and Sasuke the day before.
"Umm… I don't know… describe them, maybe?"
"Well, what are they like? Are they cute?" Sakura asked. A corresponding flower instantly jumped into Ino's head. "White camellia." "Childish?" "Buttercup." "Pure? Innocent?" "Baby's breath." "Beautiful?" "Call-"
"Well…" Naruto said, interrupting both Sakura's list and Ino's thought. "They are beautiful…"
Sakura picked out a dozen calla lilies, a vase and walked to the counter to pay. "Hi, Ino."
She was so innocently happy, Ino hated to spoil it. However, if they wanted to get to the bottom of this, she had to spill the beans. "You know, Sasuke was in here yesterday. He bought a dozen flowers, too. Six were camellias and the others were-"
"Purple hyacinths?" Sakura muttered.
Ino pretended to be surprised. "What did you say? Oh my god, Sakura, were they for you!"
"No." Sakura said, looking very stunned. "No, they weren't."
Ino watched as her friend and Naruto walked from the store, feeling sorry for the other girl as she could see realization slowly seep in and kill childhood dreams in very cold blood.
Naruto seamed to be unaware of the dismal cloud of disappointment that clung to the form of his friend, teammate and former crush, Haruno Sakura. Of course, Sakura rationalized, he was unaware of most things when he was happy, and pretended to be unaware when he pretended to be happy.
It was only when Naruto turned around that she noticed that she had stopped walking and was looking at the bouquet in her hands like she was about to cry. "Sakura-chan? Are you okay?"
"Yes, Naruto, I'm fine! It's just that all thoughts I had about you having your first girlfriend, then marrying her, getting a huge house and having a family have just been shot out of the sky by three huge cannons with the letters G-A-Y painted on the sides!" Sakura had always thought of herself as Naruto's adoptive mother/older sister (ever since they were twelve, in fact) and had planned a huge, very extravagant wedding, because she knew she couldn't count on Naruto to plan anything. She was not enjoying seeing it crash and burn.
"Sakura-chan? Hello, earth to Sakura…"
Sakura sighed. "Naruto… these are for Sasuke, aren't they?"
Naruto's face flushed a brilliant shade of red and he scratched his nose nervously as a goofy smile slowly spread over his face. "Yeah…" He looked like he couldn't decide if he should hug her or run for his life.
Sakura's eyes widened as a thought hit her. "He doesn't even know! Even after the battle with Haku, the First Kiss thing, the Chunin Exams, AND him chasing after Sasuke on instinct alone, HE STILL HASN'T REALIZED- Calm down Sakura, this is Naruto we're talking about. Naruto, Sasuke, and love. With that mixture, there's enough DENIAL there to make ANTS seem extinct! (AN: You'd have to be in a lot of denial to think ants are extinct) But still! TALK about not being able to take a hint!"
"Naruto, here, you relax and treat yourself to some ramen, okay? I'll deliver the flowers and take care of the card."
"O-Okay…" Naruto said, figuring that Sakura was emotionally unstable at the moment and that denying her anything would earn him more than a few broken bones.
Naruto ran towards the ramen stand and Sakura smiled almost evilly.
If she couldn't have her wedding, then by god, no one was going to deny her the fun of playing matchmaker with Konoha's two most eligible bachelors!
She had yet to realize that she could merely make Naruto's wedding plans her own, but emotional instability will do that to a person.
The next day, Sasuke was calmly walking out of his small apartment when he noticed the vase and dozen flowers at his doorstep, much like Naruto had the day before. He picked up the flowers, added more water to them and easily found the card.
"To Sasuke, Love Naruto."
Sasuke's face flared up in a bright red that would never be seen on such pale cheeks in the outside world, his brain only registering the words and not the fact that the slightly curvy letters were nothing like Naruto's usually messy scrawl.
In fact, the message put Sasuke so out of it that he missed his daily dose of hearing the unlucky fangirls of the moment scream in absolute terror as the many traps that he set the night before set off on the unsuspecting victims (read: any female who got within a mile of his apartment.)
After training, Sasuke all but ran to the flower shop, and was relived, for the first time in his life, to see Ino.
She jumped and dropped her magazine, which she realized that she was going to have to stop reading around three PM as long as her village was the setting this attempt at romantic comedy/drama, when Sasuke slammed his hand on the counter.
"What flower says I love you, I love you too, or anything that conveys that meaning?" Sasuke was a bit impatient, for he had been required to spend five hours training with Naruto without screaming it out loud.
"Uhh… well, a rose would be the most traditional…" Sasuke shot across the store to the section where the roses were. "THORNLESS, RED, IN FULL BLOOM AND YOU ONLY NEED ONE!" She shouted after him. She watched, amused, as he faltered in his step slightly before continuing on his hunt.
Her hand crept towards the phone, her fingers itching to call her two best friends as soon as possible, but she knew she would have to wait until Sasuke left.
Ino had to admit that she was surprised at how fast they were moving, but then she figured: About six to seven years of suppressed feelings, multiply the pressure by three because they're guys (equals)
YIKES.
No wonder they were moving so fast.
It was only when Naruto was half-dressed already in his orange and black attire that he realized that Kakashi had a mission on that day, so training had been canceled that day. The next thing he did was rush and rip open his door, wondering if he would find flowers there this morning or not.
He found the red rose in a thin vase.
Oh crap.
What did THAT mean?
He dove into his apartment, leaving the vase and holding the rose. His arms flailed for about a minute, grabbing the phone and hitting the third speed dial button.
"Sakura? Sakura-chan, what does one red rose mean?"
Sakura, sounding very sleepy, took a minute to yawn and reply. "Is it thornless?"
"Huh?"
"Does it have thorns, Naruto?"
"Uh, no."
"Then it's thornless. That means love at first sight."
Naruto blushed dark red.
"You said it was red. That means love, passion, respect, courage, I love you, uhh… beauty… pure, lovely and… prosperity."
The redness of Naruto's cheeks had surpassed the color of the rose itself.
"Is it in full bloom?"
"I think so."
"One, in full bloom, means I love you, I still love you, new love. Now, can I go back to sleep, Naruto? PLEASE!"
Naruto winced. "Sure, Sakura-chan."
"Thank you. Goodbye."
Naruto almost heard Sakura's head hit the pillow before the dial tone sounded.
Sighing, Naruto looked at the clock. Nine forty-five. The flower shop wouldn't be open yet. But that didn't mean that he couldn't walk through the park.
He jumped up and ran out the door. He had some energy to burn before he could think about anything.
Sasuke, who had been up since four thirty AM do to a combination of nightmares and insomnia, was in his typical place after such an attack: the park. It wasn't his favorite type of day: it was cloudy, almost just about to storm, so he merely allowed his mind to wander. At about the same time his mind lead him to a certain red rose, the blond that immediately leapt to his mind rounded the corner.
"Sasuke?"
"Dobe."
There was a moment of tense silence before Naruto walked over to the bench that Sasuke was sitting on and gently reached out and brushed hair out of his face.
"What do you want, dope?"
"Why are you so cold when you talk to me?"
"I'm cold to everyone." "Most of the time."
"But why? You sent me flowers. No one's ever done that before."
Sasuke grabbed the hand Naruto had used to brush hair out of his face, which was still by his cheek. He stood up until he was eye level with the other boy. "Because I'm scared." Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Naruto allowed his eyes to slide closed and pressed himself against Sasuke and deepening the kiss as he gripped Sasuke's shoulders and Sasuke wrapped his arms around his waist. Sasuke gently, tentatively moved his tongue along Naruto's bottom lip. Naruto reacted immediately, and soon they were battling for dominance. It ended without a victor when air became a very annoying necessity.
After they separated, Sasuke turned away. When Naruto didn't react, Sasuke unwrapped himself from the blond and began to walk away.
"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, startled. Sasuke stopped. "Sasuke, why are you…?"
Sasuke turned around to see Naruto with tears in his eyes. "I thought that you would be mad at me."
"I kissed you back, didn't I? I gave you flowers, too."
Sasuke walked back to him. "…I'm sorry. It's just… I'm scared, Naruto. Everyone I've loved was killed by Itachi. I'm scared that if I'm close to you… you'll get hurt, too. Or taken from me. I wouldn't be able to stand it if anything happened to you, Naruto. You're all I have left."
Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and cuddled into his chest. "I'm not going anywhere, Sasuke."
Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blond, Naruto buried his face in the other's neck and Sasuke rested his head atop the other's.
"Dobe?"
"Are you still going to call me that?"
"It's the closest thing I've come to a pet name yet. Take it or leave it."
"Okay. But, what were you saying?"
Sasuke leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"I love you."
Naruto's face lit up instantly in a brilliant smile.
"I love you, too."
They leaned in closer for a second kiss, and, predictably, it started raining. Naruto and Sasuke ran off quickly in an attempt to get out of the rain. Since Naruto's apartment was closer, they ran there.
"I'll get you a towel." Naruto said, striping off the now soaked shirt and heading for the bathroom.
Sasuke removed his shoes and shirt while walking into the kitchen. He was walking past the sink when he felt a sharp pain in his foot. Muttering curses, he hopped on to the counter in order to see what happened. Although he couldn't see what caused it, there was a small cut in his foot and a thin trail of blood dripping down his heel. Of course, that was when Naruto came back with new pants on, a towel and a change of pants for him.
"Sasuke? What happened?"
"Nothing, I just cut my foot on something."
"Crap! I thought I got all the glass up! I broke a glass in here a few days ago. I thought I cleaned it up, though." Naruto pouted slightly before binding down to look at his foot.
"It's nothing, Naruto."
"Yes, it is." Naruto protested.
"It is not."
Naruto got up to find a band aid. "Is!"
"Isn't!"
"Is!"
"Isn't!"
Naruto came back with a band aid and a bottle of peroxide.
"Is too. Your hurt and it's my fault."
"It's just a scratch!"
Naruto looked up at him innocently. "Don't you want me to take care of you?"
Sasuke sighed and walked to the bathroom, changed and came back shortly. "Just because you love me, I don't expect you to come running every time I stub my toe, Dobe."
"Well, right now, I want to and I have about eighteen years of stubbed toes to make up. So, I'm going to baby you if I want to."
"I don't think I've ever been babied, Dobe."
"Well, just lie down and let me take care of you."
"Don't wanna." Sasuke said, after being carried to Naruto's bedroom. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Sasuke yawned. "Want you to lie with me."
Naruto smiled and cuddled into Sasuke's side before falling asleep.
Unfortunately, the next day, they were awakened very early by a bunch of rude phone calls because Naruto had failed to scream at exactly ten AM for two days in a row, making everyone else in the apartment late.
Later that night, in the flower shop.
"I was right! Sasuke kissed him first!"
"No, I was right! Naruto was carrying him into his bedroom!"
"I'm right!"
"No, I'm right!"
Shikamaru sighed, laying his head on the table while Sakura and Ino argued. "You know what? I think I'm right. Neither one of them will always be uke or seme."
"What makes you such an expert on seme or uke?"
"Yeah, Shikamaru, unless you're having a secret affair with Neji or something…"
"Actually, I have kissed a guy."
Once again, there was an awkward silence that filled the air before each dropped twenty dollar bills in front of Shikamaru and walked out of the store.
"Forty bucks. Not bad."
End.
S.A.: The crack found me. I tried to hide… but it was hopeless. I COULD NOT HIDE!
(Note: She worked on this story from eleven PM to eight forty AM without sleep. These are the side effects)
S.A.: TEH CHEESE! AND CUTE-NESS! IT KILLED ME DEAD! /falls over/ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…
Sasuke: I think she's dead.
Naruto: Umm… /checks pulse/ Nope, she's just sleeping.
Sasuke: THAT'S WHAT THEY ALWAYS SAY/sobs/ MOMMY! DADDY! SO DEAD/more sobs/
Naruto: The cuteness. /huggles Sasuke/ Will someone please revive her? She still has crack to write. Also, if people request it, she has a SasuNaru birthday mini-fic that's ready to write.
Review, please!
This killed the authoress!
Review in her memory!
Please!