A/N: Hello my pretties! 8D I have come back with even more ideas!
I don't know why but recently I've been bombarded with ideas that I needed to release badly. 'HPA', HIS PERSONAL ATTENDANT, WILL BE UPDATED TOMORROW! REJOICE EVERYONE! THAT STORY IS NOT DEAD!! IT'S GETTING CLOSER TO THE END!!
Unfortunately, I have no idea where Cami went, where she disappeared to, so I present this one-shot to you, UN-BETA-ED. You have been warned!!
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Sasuke Learns
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In life, people learn all the time, even when you grow old, even if you're the bad, even if you're stupid. People just keep learning, because their minds are open to new stuff.
An example is like a certain Uchiha Sasuke. He usually keeps teaching that stupid dobe that he should be doing things this way, that way, how he should be handling situations.
Little did he expect, said dobe taught him something in return too, even though that blond was a complete dead last.
And people say he was the smart one, because the self proclaimed 'smart' Uchiha only just realized it recently, in fact, today, after spending 3 years without the blond, and another 2 years with the blond.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as that usuratonkachi took a wrong step and tripped on his own foot.
Inner Sasuke slapped his own forehead and sighed...I even wonder why the heck I could have actually learnt from this dobe.
"Oei, dobe, let's go. Forget about training today, we've done enough already," Sasuke called out to the blond who was in the middle of the clearing.
"Eh! Stop calling me that teme!" Said blond pouted from afar while walking slowly to the raven.
"But you really are one, because I'm jounin and you're just only a chuunin," He smirked at the wonderful reaction he got from Naruto.
The blond was sputtering endlessly and a huge blush spread over his cute cheeks. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk wider at this.
"You're really starting to act more like a girl you know..." Sasuke never removed the smirk, and he still loved the reaction he got from the blond. No, he didn't learn how to further spite the blond in these 5 years. It was something more, that it seemed so impossible to spot since he was so consumed by hatred in the past.
They continued to walk towards Naruto's home while on the way, Sasuke stopped to buy some groceries because he knew very well of the condition of the vessel's home, because it was usually barren of food, except for the endless supply of ramen, which Sasuke always rolled his eyes at. Sometimes that blond had to eat much healthier food, other than just ramen, which was such a bore to Sasuke. He would prefer a mix of meat and vegetables.
"Dobe, I'm cooking tonight. What would you want?" The Uchiha asked as he looked for his desired vegetables in the whole range displayed out.
"Mmm! Sasukeeee...Why can't we have ramen?" Naruto's lips just curved downward a little bit and gave Sasuke the look, just hoping that the Sharingan user would fall for it.
"Don't give me that look Naruto, it's useless for me. And, no more ramen, you had it this afternoon you baka," Sasuke frowned slightly, telling his inner self to stop thinking that the blond in front of him was so ravis-
"Alright you stupid teme! Erm...I'll choose tempura! I haven't had that in a long time! Now is that okay? And...And in addition I'll let you cook the vegetable one! I'm sure you're gonna complain that I haven't had any vegetable in a long time..." Naruto was pouting as he continued to look at the disgusting array of vegetables (especially tomatoes, which so happened to be Sasuke's favourite) as if those green stuff was the bane of his life.
"Now that's a good boy Naruto...Perhaps I'll allow teriyaki as well," Sasuke smirked in triumph.
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up at the mention of meat. Well at least it's not just an all-vegetable meal! I can't believe if I were to be a vegetarian.
"Yay! Thanks Sasuke!" Naruto turned and glomped poor Sasuke, who didn't expect it and turned completely red, not that he was allowing that dobe to see this. If Naruto did see, he would definitely make fun of Sasuke for his whole life.
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"Get the oil Naruto," Sasuke commanded as he started to chop the vegetables. Most of the stuff was already done; he had gotten the corn flour for the tempura mixed properly. All he had left was to dip the vegetables in and then put it into the whole wok of oil, which Naruto was pouring out now.
"Okay, that's enough oil Naruto. Chopsticks please," Sasuke said as he put his hand out and the blond handed him a pair of chopsticks.
"Can I do it this time Sasuke? Please? I haven't had the chance to do this last time!" Naruto gave him the look yet again. The only problem was that now, Sasuke couldn't resist it. Apparently, his self-control was not very strong.
"Alright, whatever you say...dobe." Sasuke added for an effect.
"Don't call me that teme!" Naruto stuck his tongue out.
"Yeah, very mature usuratonkachi..." The raven rolled his eyes as he carefully put the thoroughly coated vegetables one by one into the wok of oil and started to deep fry the tempura. Naruto followed suit and put them one by one, very carefully into the wok of oil.
Meanwhile, Naruto, for once, was not messing up the kitchen, which was a great relief to Sasuke. Because said blond was standing right beside Sasuke and watching the raven fry the tempura expertly, and following whatever Sasuke did.
"Learn, dobe."
"Why y-! Of course I'm learning! I've always been learning whenever you had something to teach me!" Naruto said indignantly.
Sasuke gave no response and rolled his eyes again.
All at once dinner was ready, and surprisingly there were no mishaps in the kitchen, not like the last few times. This time, Sasuke realized, that Naruto wasn't the klutz which he used to be, for example, spilling unnecessary liquids around the kitchen.
And not just that, when he stepped into the dobe's house, it was exceptionally clean. The last time he was here, which was one week ago, there had been lots of stuff strewn everywhere and there was something in every nook and cranny of the apartment's corners. It seemed to him, almost impossible to clean up, and that he couldn't be bothered to anyway, since the apartment wasn't his, it was the blond's responsibility.
So, he decided to comment on how clean the apartment looked.
"I see that you've finally bothered to clean up the apartment Naruto," Sasuke said.
"Erm, yeah, I wanted to because I knew you were-" The blond said distractedly (he was placing scooping the rice up from the rice cooker), and then he realized that he wasn't supposed to say what he wanted to and hurriedly slapped his hand over his mouth.
Sasuke was shocked. Did the dobe just say...Or rather, intended to say that because he was coming over so he cleaned up the whole place?
Perhaps he stood a chance after all.
"Dobe, could you say that again? I didn't quite catch what you were saying..." Sasuke was sure he was made of pure evil goodness.
"N-Nothing that you should know! I didn't know what I was supposed to say so I was spouting rubbish like seriously so just ignore my pre-"
"Stop rambling," Now that shut the blond up, and Sasuke continued, "I supposed you were going to say that you cleaned the whole place up because you knew I was coming?" Inner Sasuke was smirking. Yes, Inner Sasuke was very sadistic.
Now Sasuke was a very sharp and observant person, so he didn't miss the small teeny weeny insy bitsy nod that came from Naruto. He smirked like he never smirked before, along with Inner Sasuke, who did a 'victory' sign.
And that just reminded him of what the dobe did in the past that became the 'now', the current situation. He didn't think he would get much closer to the blond like this.
Flashback
"An-Aniki! No...Don't! Mom...DAD!" Sasuke screamed as he sprang upright from his sleeping position.
That was when he was 12 years old, every single day he was invaded with nightmares of his clan's massacre, only that each night it just got worse and more grotesque.
Oh god..."Another dream...Every single fucking night!" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and fisted his hair in frustration.
"Perhaps...I should just go take a walk..." He sighed and wore his slippers and went out for a walk.
The night was rather cold, and he immediately regretted setting foot outside of his warm and comfortable bed, but he really couldn't sleep. It was particularly hard to sleep these few nights and if this kept happening, he might result in insomnia, which was not desired.
He continued to walk until he saw a familiar building up front.
Oh yeah, that dobe's apartment...I wonder if he's asleep yet. Oh, I see his window open.
Sasuke, with a slight burst of chakra, jumped up to Naruto's window and went into his bedroom. Apparently, the blond was sleeping peacefully and was curled into a little ball under the covers.
Somehow, Sasuke found this sight to be extremely...endearing.
He shook his head violently in attempts to get rid of such thoughts. Nono! I shouldn't even be thinking of that. I should just ask if I could bunk...Hold on a second, when did I even consider bunking in with him? I just...happened to pass by right? But...if I bunked in with him, he might kick me out, and I really don't want to go all the way back there since I made it in here. But what if tomorrow he finds out and- Argh fuck it, Uchiha pride be damned!
So, throwing his Uchiha pride aside, Sasuke gently and discreetly climbed under the warm covers of his rival's and just fell asleep in there, immediately. He even remembered that his dreams were so...random. He had a good night's sleep indeed owing to the fact that there weren't any more horrible images of his clan's massacre.
Of course, the next day...
Naruto flipped to his left side and felt something poking him. Strange, he didn't buy any stuffed animals recently, he cleaned his room up a little bit more, only leaving the corners alone, so what could it...be?
"Ah...AH?! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED UCHIHA SASUKE?! YOU WAKE UP AT ONCE NOW YOU BASTARD!" Naruto was yelling, screeching and bellowing all at one go, with that high-pitched yet still very manly voice.
Sasuke was an extremely light sleeper, so once Naruto had raised his voice by a little, he was more than awake. But a morning Sasuke was always a pissed Sasuke, so they continued to bicker and fight until after 30 minutes...
The raven decided to explain the situation he was in, and that he couldn't take it anymore. Those haunting nightmares were taking his sanity away, day by day, bit by bit.
There was silence for awhile and Naruto finally answered.
"Yeah...I know. So, come over whenever you like..."
And it was the first time Uchiha Sasuke felt light-headed, and felt as if like there was butterflies in his stomach. Perhaps that was the first time, and the last time in the early stages of his life.
That wonderful and gentle smile that the blond directed at him was so beautiful, it was captivating. It made him feel as if like the smile his rival was giving was only for him, and no one else. He wanted to capture this image down so badly he wished he had a damned camera. He wanted...Oh damn that raven wanted a lot of other things.
And so this was almost a daily routine for Sasuke. Suddenly waking up in the night and going over to Naruto's to fall asleep beside the blond. Sometimes when the mission finished and they came back at night, Sasuke would go directly over to the blond's (he gave an excuse that the blond's home was closer, which would save time, and it was true too) and just crash in for the night.
This happened so often that it ended up as a practice for Sasuke. He eventually cooked for Naruto and persuaded (FORCED) the blond to eat much healthier food, rather than always going for ramen.
That was until he left. When he went to Orochimaru's, he felt so cold, and distanced. He needed the warmth, and that was Naruto. But he was determined to take Itachi down, no matter at what costs. It pained him to see Naruto so devastated, so he secretly went to visit Naruto back at Konoha whenever he finished a mission assigned from Orochimaru near that place.
END Flashback
Now that he was back, and it was like old times once again. Naruto had forgiven him (not that easily, they got into a fight again like old times, but only much more destructive) and so had the rest of the people. Surprisingly, Sakura, upon seeing that Sasuke was back, ran forwards to him happily and gave him her 'happy punch' right into his stomach sending him flying hundreds of meters back (she admitted she held back). Naruto just froze at his own spot.
"Mm! The food is so freakin' good Sasuke!" Naruto said as he began to eat his tempura.
"Yeah, of course it is. I'm an Uchiha after all," Sasuke smirked his trademark Uchiha smirk.
"You and your retarded Uchiha pride..." Naruto rolled his eyes.
Oh yeah, and there was the cooking that they always did together. No matter when and what the occasion was, as long as Sasuke was cooking, Naruto would join in and cook as well.
These were the times where Naruto learnt from Sasuke. And Sasuke? Over a spread of five years he learnt one thing, and that was love and trust.
Before that, he got hints of it, and he would be telling you what he learnt himself. Certainly, when he chose to crash in a lot more often was the time when he realized that he was already starting to love, to trust another person. He was afraid of getting close to someone, because he wouldn't want to tie bonds with the person, and to lose them all over again. He wasn't ready to lose another person that important.
In the spread of 3 years where Naruto wasn't around, he thought a lot about it. Everything that he thought about lead back to Naruto, which made him blush a few times when he thought about it. Even though he was separated from Naruto, he was still constantly thinking of the blond, just wanting to be near that warmth, near him and see that smile all over again. He wanted to just rely a little bit more on the blond, that tiny bit of trust that he began to feel.
So when he got back again, trust and love, these two things built themselves up again, but he wasn't sure of how to complete the puzzle. He trusted Sakura, he didn't mind Kakashi anymore, he didn't detest Neji and he didn't hate Gaara. He felt like he could trust these people a lot more than he previously did. Perhaps it was all because of the blond's influence on him and the shinobis mentioned that made him feel this way.
However, it still didn't make him feel right, he still felt that the puzzle wasn't exactly completed the way he wanted it to be. So he tried to think, but never found his answer.
Only until today, where he was sitting right in front of the blond, the answer and missing piece was right in front of him. It was the blond.
The Kyuubi vessel was the last piece to the puzzle, he realized. He knew that the blond was constantly teaching him how to trust, how to love, tolerance of another...All these he had learnt, even when the blond was kept out of contact from him for 3 years. Even so, it was the blond that was constantly on his mind that kept him in track of what he wanted to believe in.
Well, for another fact, Sasuke learnt that the blond had strange influential powers of some sort. He affected a whole range of people, and especially that guy who replaced him, Sai. He had been taught to be emotionless, taught to rid himself of emotions to kill and to be a true ninja. That training had taken him perhaps 16 years of his life, perhaps once he was born too. But in just a short term of time, Naruto had replaced that viewpoint of Sai's with his own. And Sai believed in that blond.
Basically, all this summed up to the final and biggest point: Sasuke had fallen in love with the blond dobe, and there was nothing he could do to change it.
Well, he had discovered this and there was nothing else that he could do, except wait for a hint from the blond or something.
"Ne Sasuke, you wanna bunk in again today?" Naruto smiled.
Sasuke looked contemplative for a minute, before saying, "Yeah...Sure. I wouldn't mind. I think I left some clothes of mine over here did I?"
"Mm. I think you did...Should be in the drawers."
"Naruto..."
"Ah?" Naruto looked up from his rice. His blue eyes were looking at Sasuke, and the raven just found himself completely drowned in by this boy. Then again...it was now or never. He could stare all he wanted, if he succeeded.
"Close your eyes dobe."
"Why?"
"I've got a surprise for you."
Why did he want to try it? Because he felt like he could trust Naruto. He could trust Naruto to still treat him like a normal friend, even if he was rejected. Sure, he was ready for rejection, but he was sure Naruto wouldn't make him feel like an entire fool, because he felt like he could place trust in the blond.
He got up from his seat across the Kyuubi vessel and stood right beside Naruto. He took a deep breath in and bent down a little.
He even remembered Kakashi once telling him that 'it's now or never. If you don't try, you'll never see the results.'
He positioned his face directly in front of the blond and inched closer. His eyes were closing.
I'll just make this gentle.
And he did. He placed his lips gently on Naruto's.
The blond's eyes shot open immediately at the feeling of someone's lips on his own.
Why is Sasuke kissing me?! But...but it feels kinda nice...And I think...I think...
He shut his eyes too and kissed back, just as gentle as the Uchiha.
Finally, feeling that they needed oxygen badly, both of them pulled apart and looked at each other.
And just like the old times too, which Naruto let a gentle smile onto his face, Sasuke did the same and Naruto was surprised.
"Sasuke, you're smiling!" The blond was elated that the stoic Uchiha finally smiled.
"Because of you dobe. Perhaps I have taught you a lot of things...But I think you've taught me the most important thing, and that is how to love and trust. Without those, I doubt I can even live on earth with that."
Silence, yet again.
"That was kinda dramatic teme..." Naruto chuckled and stood up from his seat, clearing the plates.
"What." It was amazing how Sasuke can actually turn questions into statements.
Naruto laughed some more before pulling the Uchiha into a hug, which caught Sasuke by surprise.
"I'm glad you realized it teme! I've been waiting for so long..." Naruto hugged Sasuke even tighter.
The Uchiha had the softest of his smiles on his face, and whispered, so quietly but it didn't go unnoticed by the blond.
"I love you..."
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A/N: I hope that wasn't lame at all! " And I hope that it met everyone's expectations!
Naruto: You're such a sap for romance ETB.
Sasuke: But aren't you glad Naruto, that you've got me, me and me only?
Naruto: EEP! –runs away-
Me: They're like that...REVIEWS PLEASE!