Wrapped in More than Kindness

by Moiraine Lendreth

Sasuke wants to find out why Naruto hasn’t been himself all day. What he discovers will teach them both a lesson about finding warmth in the most unexpected of places. A one-shot, yaoi fic.

Wrapped in More than Kindness

Wrapped in More than Kindness

A Naruto Fanfiction

Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. This story contains a yaoi pairing (Naruto and Sasuke), and is rated T for light sexual scenes. It also contains bits of fluff; if you do not like either or both, please hit the back button and forget you ever saw this story.

Author's Notes: After delving into the HPDM world, now it's time to dab a little into Naruto and Sasuke's world. evil laugh

Please read and review afterwards.

Summary: Sasuke wants to find out why Naruto hasn't been himself all day. What he discovers will teach them both a lesson about finding warmth in the most unexpected of places.

NxS NxS NxS

Uchiha Sasuke frowned, trying to think. Everyone else from Team Seven had gone home; Sakura had invited him out to dinner (again), but he declined as coolly as he could without seeming too impolite (again). He wondered vaguely why Sakura never got the hint that he was absolutely not interested in her, before mulling over what had made him wander about Konoha in the first place, instead of going home to train.

A flicker of annoyance made Sasuke's eyebrow twitch. That stupid dobe just had to give him trouble, didn't he? Why couldn't he remain a noisy, annoying usuratonkatchi and leave him be? The annoyance grew to dull anger, directed more at himself than Naruto. He was supposed to be training, not thinking about said idiot!

"Oh, what's this? I thought you would be home by now, glaring at everything and training."

Sasuke stopped and looked up. Kakashi was sitting outside a small tea house, his eyes crinkled into a smile, half of his face still hidden by his mask. He remembered they had attempted to discover what Kakashi looked like behind his mask; it was a stupid plan, but then again a stupid dobe was the one who proposed it.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched again; his thoughts had inevitably steered themselves in Naruto's direction again. He decided it might be time to do something about it. Making a mental note to himself to fix the problem as soon as he could, Sasuke noticed that Kakashi was reading that weird book he always carried around.

"From the way your face looks," Kakashi continued when Sasuke failed to reply, "I'd say you are about to do murder." He gestured with his free hand. "But before that, would you care to join me for tea?"

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest before settling down on the bench. He kept the scowl on his face, extremely suspicious of Kakashi's sudden invitation, and with good reason; Kakashi always managed to get him and the other members of Team Seven into a lot of trouble by doing things that were seemingly innocent. Like keeping facts about a mission secret from them, for instance.

Kakashi ordered another cup of tea and more sweet cakes for Sasuke before turning back to his student, his eyes still happy. "It's a nice weather to be having tea outside, isn't it?"

The day was nice; the sun was still above the horizon, but the air was already cooling, and a nice breeze made the chimes hanging above the door post of the tea house tinkle. But Sasuke only scowled at Kakashi. "Just tell me what you want so I can be on my way."

Kakashi tilted his face. "A bit uptight, aren't you?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Kakashi smiled again and patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "You think too much, you know that, Sasuke-kun? I only wanted to know what's been bothering you."

Sasuke snorted. "Since when did you care?"

"Well, I am in charge of Team Seven." Kakashi shrugged and scratched at his chin lightly with a finger. "And if the Hokage knew I wasn't taking care of you guys, she'd kick my ass."

"Typical of you to save your own skin," Sasuke remarked dryly.

Kakashi grinned in spite of himself. It was the sort of reply Sasuke would make; orphaned at a very young age, Sasuke had been hardened by the horrors of his past, which alienated him from people. Kakashi knew that the only thing that kept Sasuke going was revenge against Itachi. But if he played his cards right, he just might be able to remedy this.

They sat in silence until a woman arrived with their order, serving tea in traditional glazed pottery. Kakashi watched Sasuke while reading his book. Sasuke was glaring at the sweet cakes. "You don't like them?"

"I hate sweets."

Kakashi held back a chuckle; Sasuke was the only kid he knew who hated sweets. He also noted that Sasuke was still wearing a deep scowl: a look that told Kakashi he was thinking about something that both annoyed and troubled him. He smiled; only one person could put that scowl on Sasuke's face. Blowing lightly on his cup to cool the tea, Kakashi said, "Our training today went surprisingly well, didn't it?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied absently, staring at his steaming tea.

Kakashi went on conversationally. "Especially since Naruto wasn't as loud as usual."

Kakashi could almost hear Sasuke's thoughts come crashing into an abrupt halt at the mention of Naruto. The young genin's body went stiff. Sasuke turned his head slightly towards Kakashi. His scowl was—if possible—even more menacing than before.

Kakashi ignored the look and waited. He had thrown Sasuke the bait; now it's only a matter of time before Sasuke takes it…

"What's wrong with the dobe anyway?"

Kakashi tried his best to look innocent, although inside he would have skipped. Scratching the back of his head, he said, "Hmm…maybe because today's his birthday and nobody knew about it? Iruka-sensei only just told me a while ago; he was asking me where Naruto was, said he'd almost forgotten it was Naruto's birthday today." Kakashi sipped at his tea. "Ah, but maybe something else is bothering him, too?"

He turned his head. The bench was empty except for himself. Sasuke's tea was left untouched.

Feeling quite satisfied with his good deed for the day, Kakashi took a deep breath of cool, afternoon air. He sat back and began to read where he had left off, a wistful smile on his face.

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto woke up to the sharp, loud knocking on his front door. Blinking several times to remove the sleep from his eyes, he yawned widely before getting off his bed with a groan. He opened a bleary eye to the window. He was surprised to find that it was already dark.

Naruto remembered that he was too tired to change from his sweat-soaked and filthy clothes the moment he had arrived at his apartment that afternoon, and realized that he simply did not care. Anyway, he told himself with bitterness that he suppressed with a tightening of his lips; no one was here to care in the first place.

This day, of all days, it was very hard for him to ignore the fact that he lived alone and unwanted, except by Iruka-sensei, and perhaps by Kakashi-sensei, too, although maybe he was just driven by his duty as his team leader and teacher. And the Ero-sennin and Tsunade baa-chan, but Naruto still wasn't sure about that. He had pestered the old man to accept him as his student in the first place, and the Hokage was, well, the Hokage. Naruto believed it was her duty to like everyone in the village. Even him.

Still, that was three more people than last year, he told himself heartily, the empty feeling growing sharper.

The knocking on his door had not stopped.

"Coming!" Naruto yelled, raking a hand through his spiky hair. Grumbling and wondering who it might be, Naruto shuffled over to the door and swung it open. There was no one there.

"Huh?" Naruto looked left and right. He even looked up. The entire hallway was empty. "What the hell?"

A familiar, heady aroma caught his attention, and he immediately looked down. A huge bowl of pork miso ramen was sitting on his doorstep, hot and steaming, and—to Naruto—just begging to be eaten. His mouth began watering as soon as he saw the god-sent bowl, and Naruto quickly took it inside his flat, slamming the door closed with his foot.

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto wore a huge grin as he sat down on his favorite spot in the ramen house he frequented. "Oi old man!" he beamed, placing the huge, empty ramen bowl on the wooden table. "Thanks for delivering ramen to my apartment!"

The old man smiled the moment he heard rambunctious Naruto's loud voice, but the smile slackened at the mention of ramen delivery. "Delivery, boy? I haven't delivered anything at your place."

Naruto's own grin vanished. "What? But I thought you remembered what day it was today." He pointed at the empty bowl. "You didn't give me the ramen old man?"

Frowning, the old man shook his head. "No, I didn't. But I remember that bowl."

Naruto's face lit up. "You do?"

"'Course, boy, I'm not that old yet. That serious looking kid you go with—what's his name? He bought a large ramen for take-out half an hour ago."

Serious kid? Naruto thought hard. There were a lot of serious-looking people he knew. "What did he look like old man?"

"Look like? Now lemme see…Dark hair and dark eyes. Scowled a lot, with his hair sticking out the back."

Naruto felt as if his whole stomach just dropped to the floor. His eyes widened slightly. Sasuke teme? A bowl of ramen? For him?

"Hey kid! Where're ya goin'?!" The old man hollered as Naruto rushed out of his shop quickly. He had already begun preparing a big bowl of ramen, too! Shaking his head with a sigh, the old man continued to drain the noodles, knowing Naruto would come back soon. Naruto was never satisfied with just one bowl of ramen.

NxS NxS NxS

A drop of sweat traced a line down Sasuke's cheek unnoticed as he focused chakra to his index finger, all the while balancing himself on it. He had been doing it for more than half an hour now; his current record was three hours and seventeen minutes. Sasuke wanted to triple that record by tonight. He closed his eyes, concentrating.

"Sasuke! OI SASUKE! Ya home?!"

Luckily for Sasuke, he had frighteningly good reflexes, which saved his face from a nasty bruising as he toppled to the floor with a thud.

"TEME! It's me!"

A nerve twitched in Sasuke's temple as he fought to control the sudden urge to kill Naruto with one good Chiidori swipe. He got up and forced his face to calmness as he walked slowly out the dojo and to the front gate, where Naruto was waiting, peering through the slits in the gate. When he saw Sasuke he scowled. "Teme, why couldn't you answer the first time?! You getting slow or something?"

Sasuke opened the gate and eyed Naruto coolly. "I was training, dobe." Sasuke wanted to grit his teeth, but he kept his voice cold and flat, borne from years of practice. All of him, from his stance to the way he looked darkly at Naruto screamed that he wanted to be left alone, but as always the usuratonkatchi didn't catch on.

Instead Naruto snorted. "Don't you do anything in your life besides train and scowl, teme?" he asked.

Sasuke bit back a sigh; he wasn't really in the mood to have a verbal spar with Naruto. Crossing his arms across his chest he continued scowling at Naruto. "Why did you come here?"

"Ah. That." Curiously enough, Naruto shifted his eyes, looking at everywhere but Sasuke, and shifted his footing. His face became nervous, his stance uneasy.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Cat got your tongue?"

For a moment the annoyed expression returned to Naruto's face, before he shook his head and looked away again. "Listen, Sasuke…it's about the ramen. I—hey!" Sasuke had already turned around and begun walking back to the dojo. "I wasn't finished yet!"

"There's no need."

"What do you mean, there's no need?!" Naruto asked indignantly. When Sasuke only kept walking Naruto huffed, angry now, and caught up with the Uchiha. He grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and turned him around. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"You're the one with the problem," Sasuke snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy? We can talk about this another time." He pulled away from Naruto's grip and began walking again.

Naruto growled angrily against his throat. Can't the stupid bastard see he was only trying to thank him? Naruto stomped after Sasuke quickly, until he was right in front of Sasuke's path, and stopped, glaring at him. "What's wrong with talking about it now?"

Sasuke wanted to wring Naruto's neck. Persistent ass…He glowered back at Naruto. "Fine. So what about ramen?"

"You gave me a bowl of ramen, didn't you?" The angry edge faded from Naruto's voice, but it was still hard.

"Yeah, so?"

Naruto's frown began fading by this time. "You knew, didn't you? That it was my—"

"Yes," Sasuke answered curtly. He crossed his arms, and this time he looked away.

Naruto's face slackened, at a loss for words. "R-Really?"

Sasuke turned back to Naruto, and for a moment he stopped. The dobe was looking strangely at him, his mouth partly open. It was only a moment, but Sasuke felt as if time had slowed down considerably as his eyes regarded Naruto's, two pieces of a perfectly clear sky. "What?" he snapped, now growing irritated at himself.

The sharpness of the question seemed to shake Naruto from his daze. "I—nothing. I just wanted to…say thanks," he ended lamely, eyes lowering to the ground, his sun-tanned cheeks flushing. "I really mean it, Sasuke. Thanks."

Sasuke was quite taken aback by Naruto's sincerity, and felt a blush rising on his own face. He shrugged, wanting to get this over with quickly. He was starting to become uncomfortable. "It was just ramen, dobe."

"But still!" Naruto looked up, frowning. "You gave me a present. I—I've never…well…I've never received a gift from anyone before, except Iruka-sensei," Naruto confessed, his cheeks flushing again as he looked away.

Sasuke could feel his own face staring to grow warm at the sight, and he quickly covered it with a smirk. "That's pathetic. You mean no one's ever given you presents before?"

The Uchiha knew it had been the wrong thing to say the moment the words left his lips, as Naruto's cerulean eyes dimmed, and he lowered his gaze to the ground, a half-smile on his face. "Yeah, I know. Dumb, isn't it? That's why I just wanted…" he took a shuddering breath and turned around. "Never mind. Forget about it, Sasuke." He walked away, his steps just as heavy and dragging as the ones he took when he left after practice earlier that day. "See ya tomorrow."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he mentally called himself ten kinds of idiot, watching Naruto trudge through the gate and out onto the street. Oddly enough, each step the dobe took made his chest tighten, until it was almost too difficult to breathe.

"Wait, dobe."

Naruto stopped; more a reaction to the sound that broke the silence of the empty street than anything. He turned his head and saw Sasuke standing outside the gate of his house. "What?"

For a moment Sasuke froze, his mind working on overdrive. What indeed? He kept his scowl on his face, though, hiding his small dilemma, until an idea struck him. Crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk, he said, "Want to spar?"

Naruto's face slackened, and he blinked. "Eh?"

"I thought you wanted to show me just how strong you've gotten already," Sasuke continued, gaining confidence with each word. "So, want to spar?"

Sasuke's words seemed to bring life back into Naruto as his brilliant blue eyes sparked with intense energy, his face splitting into an almost feral grin of anticipation. The air of placidity was gone from him now, replaced with the charged, barely contained eagerness Sasuke could only associate with the usuratonkatchi. It was the sort of energy Naruto gave off and affected everyone around him, even Sasuke. The Uchiha could actually feel his own anticipation of the mock fight growing, the adrenaline already spreading through his limbs.

Naruto stared right into Sasuke's eyes. "You're on, teme."

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto bit back a groan as he sat up against the large tree that grew in a corner of the backyard, his skin hot and sweaty from the fight. He gingerly prodded his bruised cheek and winced. "You didn't have to hit me so hard, teme."

"I didn't know you were this much of a wimp, dobe," Sasuke managed to smirk even with a broken lip. He sat down beside Naruto, too tired to tell him to shove off. To hell with personal space; his entire body ached all over!

Somehow, though, they had managed not to trash the entire place. When they sparred they did not speak a word, but for some unknown silent agreement between them, both Naruto and Sasuke stuck only to taijutsu and basic shinobi weapons. No chakra-consuming ninjutsus or genjutsus, just their own physical strength. Fair, clean, and straightforward.

Naruto's mumbled words broke through the silence of the afternoon. "So who won?"

Sasuke looked around the large, open area of hard-packed dirt where he had trained himself during childhood. "Does it matter?"

Bruised and battered as he was, Naruto managed to turn around and look rightfully indignant at Sasuke, his bright blue eyes ablaze. "Of course it matters! You challenged me to a fight!"

"A spar," Sasuke corrected, grunting as he tried to find a more comfortable sitting position against the hard trunk. "There's a difference."

Naruto pouted. "It's still a challenge," he insisted stubbornly.

Sasuke clenched his teeth to keep from moaning in frustration. "Whatever, Naruto."

Naruto growled against his throat, but amazingly did not pursue the argument. Instead he sat back against the tree and looked around, silent. For a few moments there was nothing except the wind whistling through the branches overhead and the sound of their own breathing. Sasuke closed his eyes. Even though his body would be black and blue in the morning, he felt very light and…free. Surprised at this revelation, Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Naruto watching him. "What?"

Naruto tilted his head. "I thought you'd gone to sleep." He grinned. "I trashed you that badly, huh?"

Sasuke smirked. "Heh. You wish." He closed his eyes again, relishing in the newfound feeling of freedom and contentment. It had been years since he had felt like this, like everything was perfect, and he wouldn't let Naruto's annoying attitude spoil it.

"Hey Sasuke, you know how much I hate your guts, right?"

Sasuke grunted to show he was listening. Of course he did. He hated Naruto, too, although right now that could be a debatable fact. He would not tell Naruto that, though.

"And you really hate me too, right?"

Sasuke grunted again, but this time his lips threatened to curve upwards. So Naruto wasn't as dense as he suspected. That was good; at least the usuratonkatchi had a fighting chance to match him sometime in the future. He wanted to be able to fight Naruto again, Sasuke realized. To fight him with all he's got, no holds barred. If a little spar with Naruto would end up making him feel like this in the end, what would it feel like after he had really fought with him all out?

"Then why the ramen, teme?"

Sasuke's eyes flew open, and the sight of Naruto's face a mere inch from his own had him rooted to the spot. Naruto's voice had sounded too close for comfort, and seeing Naruto on top of him like this, he knew the dobe was much too close for comfort.

Not that Naruto was actually on top of him. Sasuke pushed back against the tree, almost wishing the tree to give way, and so put as much space between him and Naruto as possible. The blond gennin was on his hands and knees, Sasuke underneath. They weren't even touching, but Sasuke had to exert all his willpower not to shiver, which was quite unusual. Why the hell would he shiver?

Annoyed, and surprised that he was annoyed, Sasuke scowled. "Get off me," he growled dangerously low.

But Naruto did not budge. Instead he glared right back. "I don't understand you, Sasuke. Do you have a personality complex or something?"

"What?" All Sasuke could do was ask the question blankly, his mind all focused on the almost non-existent space between them, his skin feeling feverish and hot. Sasuke could feel his mind going blissfully blank, almost as if he was entering a dream-like state.

Naruto was oblivious to Sasuke's predicament. He ploughed on, staying right where he was. "You act like an ass all the time—don't even deny it!" he added when he saw Sasuke open his mouth. "You're an ass and a jerk. You don't treat Sakura-chan properly, and you treat everyone else as if they were dirt." His eyes flared. "You treat me like I'm dirt.

"And then yesterday you gave me a bowl of ramen for a birthday gift. A gift! First you're a dickhead, and now you're all nice?! And then when I come to say thank you, you go acting like a bastard again!" Naruto growled against his throat, and the sound made Sasuke flinch, although he kept his face in a scowl. "And then you challenge me to a fight—"

"Spar," Sasuke managed to get out.

"Whatever! A fight, a spar…shit, they all mean the same thing to me," Naruto grated, his blue eyes still locked onto Sasuke's dark eyes. "And then you act all nice again!" He finished with an accusing glare at Sasuke, waiting for a response.

Sasuke wished he knew what to say. He didn't know why he did it, either. "And the point of all this?" he asked as blithely as he could, trying to distract Naruto away from that particular thread of discussion.

He watched as Naruto's glare melted, to be replaced by subtle, almost tender helplessness. "You make me so confused, teme," Naruto whispered. He lowered his head, and the tips of his spiky blond hair tickled Sasuke's nose. "If you hate me, I can deal with that. Shit, I deal with the entire village hating my ass. If you don't hate me, I can deal with that too." He looked up and gave a foolish grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You'd be one of the bare handful of people who don't, and you might end in trouble for it, but I'd be really grateful and all. But…this hating then not hating? I don't understand."

Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he had turned into an alien. Naruto was never like this; he was annoying, stupid, brash, loud, and naïve to a fault, but he wasn't this…contemplative and sad. It felt wrong to see Naruto sad. Sasuke gave a mental start. Wrong to see Naruto sad?

He looked at Naruto's eyes and tried to answer. No words bubbled from his throat, which suddenly felt dry and raw. With a sigh Sasuke looked away. "I wish I understood myself too, teme."

There were a few moments of silence. Then the sudden sensation of warm, soft lips brushing against his cheek almost made Sasuke jump. But with sheer will he managed to look only slightly startled, his lips parted slightly, breath hitched against his throat. His pale skin flushed to a diffused pink. When Naruto pulled back and stood up, Sasuke looked at him blankly, one hand on the spot where Naruto had just kissed him.

Naruto was grinning like a fox, the scars on his cheeks more pronounced than ever. "Anyway, that was for the ramen. If you ever need a sparring partner again, just yell, ok? Later." He turned and left without another word.

"Wait, dobe."

Naruto turned around, this time with an eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "I have a name, teme! It's—"

Sasuke smirked as he cut him off. "You're welcome."

"Bas—huh?" Naruto blinked. He lowered the fist he had begun to raise, confusion in his face. "For what?"

"The ramen."

"Oh. That." Naruto didn't know what to say to this. What do you say when someone tells you you're welcome? "Yeah, sure." He turned to leave again.

"Dobe."

This time Naruto rounded quickly on Sasuke, a scowl on his tanned face. "How many times do I have to say it, Sasuke-teme?! I am NOT a dobe!"

Sasuke ignored the angry reply and stared right into Naruto's eyes, making him hesitate again. "If I bring you another bowl of the stuff, do I get another kiss?"

Naruto froze on the spot. Sasuke relished in watching his face turn from a golden tan to a fiery red, made even more violent by his shock of blond hair. He could practically see Naruto swell with anger and embarrassment. "That's not—I wasn't—it was just—DAMN IT SASUKE!" And Naruto stormed off, stomping all the way out of the Uchiha's backyard and out the street, sprouting loud obscenities as he went.

Sasuke allowed himself a chuckle as he sat back on the tree, a smug look on his pale face. The winner of this fight was most definitely Uchiha Sasuke. A small voice inside him asked if it was really so important to know who won.

Oh yes, Sasuke thought. Very important.

NxS NxS NxS

End of Story.

My first Naruto fanfiction, so I hope you guys all play nice and refrain from sending me flames. :) Don't forget to review after reading!

Update: Sequel is up! It's called "Blinding Light". :)