"TEME?" His voice rose in pitch at the end and Sasuke saw bewilderment and joy battle over his expressions and in the end, joy won. Dobe lept at the stoic boy and tackled him to the ground in a rib-crushing hug.
"Hey Dobe," Sasuke gasped, "I… have to breathe in reality…"
Dobe smiled sheepishly and let go of the bigger boy, "I was just really surprised, and I wasn't sure if you were-" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and made a chopping motion across his neck. "-moving to Konoha." Dobe finished, catching on to Sasuke's gestures.
"You know Sasuke-kun, Naruto?" Sakura asked incredulously, unknowingly giving both boys the names they needed.
"Uh, yeah. Since we were five." Do- Naruto grinned uneasily, still sitting on Sasuke's stomach.
"Is this true Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's voice rose in pitch a little more than necessary at the end of her question.
"Hn." He pushed Naruto off him and brushed himself off. Naruto scowled at being pushed into the dirt but merely stood up without retaliation, causing Sakura to wonder exactly how close they were. Maybe, Sakura mused, I can use him to get close to Sasuke-kun…
"Narutooo-kuun," She cooed, honey dripping from her every word, "Would you and Sasuke like to go to lunch with me?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke pleadingly, and Sasuke realized this was the girl Naruto had talked about so much, describing her as "beautiful and kind beyond measure." She looked rather plain to him, but he still felt an odd jab in his chest to know that Naruto was that infatuated. It's just because I've discovered he's real, and I don't want to lose a true friend. Sasuke looked at Naruto's puppy dog face and found himself unable to say no.
To make matters worse, Kakashi chimed in, not taking his nose out of his book, "It'd be a good way to get to know your new teammates."
"I'll call Ino and it can be a double date, no strings attatched!" Sakura wheedled coyly, and Naruto looked as if all his dreams were coming true, but by the way Naruto had talked about her actions before, Sasuke was sure that she was not going to be the one with Naruto. Still, Naruto trained those begging eyes on Sasuke and he felt like melting under his gaze. Naruto… Is good at that…He thought, denying the fact that others much more experienced with puppy dog faces and begging eyes had not elicited such a response in him at all. Maybe the shock of seeing Naruto in reality was getting to him, he still felt a little odd, as if he'd open his eyes and the past years would be a dream and neither Dobe nor Naruto actually existed; but being an Uchiha, he pulled himself together and got his feelings back under control, ignoring the fact that this had not been the first time he let his feelings get out of control around Naruto. Stubbornly, he opened his mouth to say no when a memory returned and a devious thought crossed his mind, "Sure. I've got nothing better to do anyway. I might as well spend time with… You…" He fell back on the Uchiha arrogance for inspiration and ignored the quick glare Naruto sent him.
"Of course!" Sakura looked as if she would melt on the spot and Naruto gave him a look reminiscent of cornered animals. Sakura dashed off to find a phone while Kakashi drifted away through the crowd without so much as a "'Bye."
"Damn it," Naruto muttered, "I was hoping you'd say no…"
Sasuke smirked, "I know." He'd finally remembered. Naruto had told him that he was finally over the girl he liked and saw her as simply unreachable. The only reason he hadn't acted differently was because, in his words, "The damn bastards 'uhd ask what's wrong and get their noses firmly lodged in my business." Sasuke looked at his nails smugly, "What would you give me to get you out of this?"
"My firstborn son!" Naruto spat.
Sasuke pretended to consider it before dismissing the idea completely, "How about a very big favor?"
"Fine." Naruto scowled.
Sasuke's smirk grew, "Now trust me and go along with what I do when she comes back, got it?"
"Fine." Naruto seemed to be stuck on the word, looking very cute as he stuck out his lip. Not the time. Sasuke reminded himself. Naruto scanned the crowd, "Here she comes."
Sasuke pushed Naruto to the ground and cried sarcastically, "Oh no, Naruto fainted!" Naruto could have fainted from embarrassment right there, and Sakura chose this moment to make her entrace.
Noting Naruto's position on the ground, she poked him with her foot, "Oh, he'll be fine Sasuke-kun, Ino couldn't come anyway so it'll just be us two, okay?" She fiddled with her hair flirtatiously and Sasuke felt a little stab of indignition that Naruto was subjected to this girl nearly 24/7. Sasuke dodged her grab for his arm and swiftly lifted Naruto, his arms supporting Naruto's knees and back.
"I have to take Naruto home now." He spoke through gritted teeth, although it came out sounding polite and disinterested, "Sorry." He stalked away rather angrily, having expected her to actually care about her teammate.