AN: Because you can't just not do a holiday special. My writer's block dam seems to have finally burst; I wrote this, and half a chapter of Vanity in just under two hours, not counting typing. For those who follow that, expect the next chapter Sunday at the absolute latest, sorry about the wait.
Sasuke growled. Wasn't it some sort of unwritten rule that holidays were supposed to be pleasant! So far, he had been buried by valentines, fought over, half strangled in Ino's idea of a hug, and nearly poisoned with home made chocolate, and it wasn't even eight in the morning yet. Kakashi had given them the day off, saying that they had better things to do than train. Ha, more likely he was off flirting with some girl. As for Sasuke himself, he had been woken at five in the morning by Sakura and Ino fighting outside his door over who got to cook him breakfast. The ninja had hurried into the kitchen to lock the door, only to run smack into a pile of valentine's gifts that had somehow been forced through the mail slot. That had been too much for poor Sasuke, and he had beat a hasty retreat out the window. Unfortunately, that had not saved him, and he had still been caught and fought over, and forced to sample chocolate. He was now hiding the one place no one would look for him—Naruto's favorite ramen restaurant. Even the blond himself wouldn't be here until noon at the earliest. Sasuke leaned back, nursing his third cup of tea. It might be interesting to watch Naruto try to give Sakura a valentine. He should be up and trying soon. The trick would be staying out of sight. Sasuke slipped out of the booth and left the restaurant, getting his first good look of the morning at Mt. Hokage. What he saw would have made any lesser man's jaw drop leave him gibbering for fifteen minutes. It would have confounded geniuses and puzzled even Itachi. Being Uchiha Sasuke, he remained perfectly calm. Well, picked his jaw up pretty quickly. And didn't yell "NANI!" too loudly. And being the great Uchiha Sasuke, of course he didn't pass out and fall flat in the dust. What could shock the quiet ninja this badly, you ask? It had nothing to do with the large words painted across Hokage mountain in vibrant orange. Words that read, "I love you, Sasuke." Sasuke came to only a few short moments later, and picked himself up out of the dust. He carefully brushed himself off, not looking at the cliff. Of course he hadn't seen what he thought he saw. So he walked back to his house. Ino and Sakura had finally left, probably still looking for him, so he opened the door to head in. Unfortunately, he had forgotten the pile of valentines, which spilled out, and for the second time that day, buried poor Sasuke in paper and gifts. Sasuke growled and pushed his way out, viciously drop-kicking a teddy bear, then headed inside and lay down on the bed. Carefully pulling the covers over his head, Sasuke privately wished whatever idiot that came up with Valentine 's Day to the deepest circle of hell.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
He was woken a few hours later by a tapping on is window. Thinking it was probably Sakura, he pulled the sheets tighter over his head and prepared to ignore it. Wait… Since when did Sakura call him 'Sasuke-teme'? Eventually the sleepy ninja figured it out.
"Naruto!" The figure in question had gone through enthusiastic, angry, and disappointed and was starting on sarcastic.
"No, what do you mean, of course I am Sakura." Sasuke blinked, still half asleep. The blond shouldn't be sarcastic. That was Sasuke's job… he opened the window. The fox boy slipped in, unusually calm. Sasuke blinked again, and decided that he needed a cup of tea to figure out this new puzzle. He headed into the kitchen, not really caring if Naruto was following. He was, looking rather nervous. Sasuke finished making the tea and handed a cup to Naruto, who was looking puzzled and just a bit depressed. That was a much more normal expression for him, even if it was still a bit odd. Sasuke finished his tea and looked at Naruto, feeling much more awake. The blond was staring at his untouched cup, wearing the most depressed expression Sasuke had ever seen. It wouldn't do to be actually nice, that was way out of character, but he couldn't bring himself to be that mean, either.
"So. Why are you here?" Naruto looked a tad guilty, and even more depressed. Sasuke wanted to comfort him… but he knew Naruto's pride would never accept that. Naruto didn't answer, just looked at Sasuke. Sasuke wondered what was upsetting the normally bouncy ninja. Sasuke had seen him in every stat, from dead tired and bleeding to on too if the world. In a lot of ways, Naruto was his closest friend… more than a friend. Naruto was the only one who understood what it was like, being completely alone. That had struck a chord between the two boys that had outlasted even their rivalry. Yet Sasuke had never seen that look on the blond's face—a certain wary hope, and a depressed sense of certainty, like a man waiting for the guillotine blade to fall. At that moment, Sasuke wanted nothing more than to grab the fox ninja and kiss that look right off his face. Sasuke blinked slowly. Kiss? What did I put in that tea? But the thought was more habit than anything. It wasn't the first time he'd had a sudden urge to touch the blond. Odd, but harmless so long as he kept it to sparring, and never shared the strange thoughts. He remembered with a twist of wry humor testing his tea for drugs, and setting traps around the kitchen to catch whoever was dosing him. The humor died when he realized Naruto still hadn't spoken. "You still haven't told me why you're here." Naruto blushed and looked at his shoes.
"Did you… get my valentine?" Sasuke let the surprise and puzzlement flash across his face.
"Wha? I haven't looked at the heap jammed through the mail slot yet." Naruto blushed harder.
"It… wasn't in the mail slot. It was really obvious…" The blond could have a weird idea of obvious sometimes…
"I haven't seen it." Naruto collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"I'll—just see you later." His voice was a tad choked, like he was trying not to cry. What could have upset him so much? Sasuke tried to think—then several facts clicked together like lightning striking the same place. The words being painted on Hokage mountain; the letters being in orange, Naruto's favorite color; an 'obvious' valentine; and finally, the blond himself, waiting for the blade to drop. Here is where Sasuke should have kissed Naruto, and everything would have been a happily-ever-after ending; in short, a fairytale. Being Sasuke, he didn't.
"Oh. THAT valentine. Love is just a four-letter word, dobe." Sasuke took a moment to try to admire the other ninja's expression, shock turning slowly into hurt. Somehow, it didn't feel as good as it should have. Instead of triumph, he only felt an overwhelming urge to kick his own butt all the way to the moon. So he did the next best thing. Before Naruto could react, Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a searing kiss. Naruto looked even more confused; what the heck was Sasuke doing? Sasuke answered his look. "Then again, kiss is only four letters, and look at how much of an understatement that is." Sasuke kissed the blond again, much more gently, and his eyes had a rare soft look. "I love you, too, dobe." Sasuke was rewarded by watching Naruto's eyes light up, brighter than the sky at noon. This was better than that happily ever after ending. Better than the fairytale. This, was real.