Alright! Well my cold is starting to go away, and so I'm pumped to write! Except Fanfiction is now down, so I don't know when this will be up. –sweatdrops-. You are have been so sweet to me, and I really appreciate the reviews. Sorry if the chapters are coming too late for you guys, but I'm writing another story right now called 'Italy here we come' so go check it out if your bored! Haha, I know I know, shameless self promotion. I also know that I said this wasn't sure how long this story was going to be, and well…I still don't know –scratches head- Honestly, this was supposed to be a three-shot. But now…I'm thinking it may be a bigger story. Well anyways, thank you time! Chipfest , thank ou for the first review. And I know, wasn't he so friggen cute?! –cuddles- Okay, now for the rest of you! Crimson69 (thanks for the compliment, and I'm glad you like the story!), Searafina (I got a beta now, so hopefully I won't have those mistakes! Haha!), Frozenfears (haha you're a meanie, Naru would be killed and Sasu would deny any knowledge of his blonde headed dobe!), Akiru chan (haha don't worry about it, I like your reviews either way!), cluenessninja65 (I'm excited that you're wondering about my story, makes me feel like it's a good one!), jenniebennie (haha sorry about the toast, but thinking about Sasuke isn't a bad thing –winks-), Fangirl66 (haha, sorry about the dely in this chapter!), Astharoche (first off, nice icon xD. And I'm glad you like my Naruto, that makes me uber happy!), Black-sky-love-me (well I hope that I reach your expectations with this part too!), norway22 (all questions will be answered in due time, don't you worry…and I wish Kakashi was my therapist!), Nana-Riiko (I'm so happy you like my idea! Yay!), Pebbles of the Sand (Thanks for the get well soon, and I love reading your reviews because they make me so happy!! Thanks so much), Nikotehfox (I'm glad you liked the cuddling, apparently everyone thinks hes a cuddler too haha), Kazanrai (Thanks for the pic! It was so adorable!), kat10788 (you're becoming a regular…and I love it! You caught that sentence, eh? Well, its going to get a little bumpy soon, and Sasuke's gonna have some karma bit him in the ass), lili (I'm glad you like the psychology thing, because it's always nice to play around with a new idea!), SilvermoonRyu (I'm glad I could convert you to POV!), miskie27 (haha I'm so happy you liked the chapter. Yeah, I wanted to hit Ino for going with Sai, but I…kinda told her to, so I can't really), Yenny (Yeah the 'S' part came to me randomly, cause I was like 'jesus, there are a lot of people with S for their first intial…the 'S' club!), Friglit (I'm glad you like inner Naruto. I try to make him confused, serious, and funny at the same time, which can be hard..), ..wings (well since you asked SO nicely, okay! –grins-), zerofangirl (you are such a sweet reviewer. Have I ever told you that? You make my day every time! Haha I'd so like a Naruto to go, so when you get your Sasuke to go, we'll order together =P), Chiaki Megumi (Thanks for the review, sorry for making it hard with the phone and such. And heres that chapter you wanted), Itooshii Koneko (I'm actually getting more and more interested in this story as it goes, so I'm happy that others feel the same way! Glad you liked the chapter!), mockup- (haha, creepy thoughts mean I'm writing something wroth drooling over, so that makes me happy!...In a weird way), Pinap1735 (I'm goint o actually have a Sasuke POV story coming out soon, I've got the idea for it so hold your breath! Haha), a rather slytherin griffindor (Yup yup, back Itachi story is going to be playing a part eventually…mwhaha), sakurananachan (you know that emotional building up would have to be released sooner or later, and since Sasuke would never cuddle without being asleep…I figured it worked), blue-nuriel (I'm so happy! That means I'm getting better as I go! –grins-), XSasuXNaruXForeverX (haha you wish! This is going to be a longer story, which means longer time to get to smexy stuff. Actually going to try and devlop plot and characters –gasp-), Black JUJU (SO SO SO SO sorry for messing the name up! I'm such a dweeb. Thank you for your amazing reviews, they always inspire me to write more! And yeah, chef Naruto would be so cute), -Nightly Halo- (sweet, well I hope this is a good chapter for you. Yeah Badluck was a memory for my graduation, so I know how you feel), xD (haha, funny name. Anyways, I'm glad you agree with Sasuke's sleeping position. Thanks for the nice reviews) Lydia-chan (ha, your name has been added to my spell check since I've used it so much! Glad you liked my ideas, and I'm sorry for the dely on the chapter.), Disgruntled Minion (haha I love when I'm the only one laughing in a place. Probably the most embarrassing thing, especially when you don't know them! Yeah, brotherly 'love'…uh…I can't say much more, except it's not incest, I promise), Lia (Yeah I've written two books, and I'm in the middle of a third but these stories have been distracting me…haha opps!), Wopsidaisy ( haha I'm glad that I was able to make you appreciate SasuNaru! Haha but I will be writing a NaruSasu sooner or later, so maybe I'll end up flipping you back), robin maxwell (Blah, I hate when tons of stuff comes up. Thank you for the review, and if you don't have time don't push yourself! Just knowing you're happy with my work makes me happy, I do write it for you guys you know.), Koneko-chan01 (Yup yup, Kakashi is a crazy one! But imagine seeing him when you walked into a therapist room…-drools- okay okay, no more bad thoughts!)
And I'm done! Thanks for staying with me. I really apologize for the late chapter, I just…the site screwed me all up! Haha. And thank my beta girl Rachael-Chan, because she's sweet and made all my mistakes disappear!!
Warning: This story will contain sexual themes, and boyxboy action…not yet, but soon….-glances to fangirls- uh…no need to glare like that…patience is a virtue you know…ah! –runs away from mob-
Disclaimer: -taps heels together three times- I wanna own Naruto…I wanna own Naruto…I wanna own Naruto!! –opens eyes-….god damnit it worked in the wizard of oz! Stupid Dorothy…
Chicken Soup for the Naive Soul
Six forty seven. I stared out at the snow that was caking to the side of my house, snuggling closer to the blanket I had around me. Honestly, it got pretty friggen cold in January. I glanced to the muted TV that provided the only light in the entire house. Some stupid show about kids and robots was on. Really, the stuff they put on TV these days was strange. At least in Japan they had cool shows on. America censored their crap way too much for its own good. I mean, they wouldn't even show two guys kissing! Not that I wanted to see it, but people who do like that stuff should get their fill.
Aw crap, it's only been three minutes? I fell back on the couch and stared up above me, watching the shadows dance along the ceiling. It wasn't like I wanted to see Sasuke, but I was bored out of my mind, and now completely snowed in. All thanks to the shitty plow guy who decided I didn't want to go out anyways and left my car stuck in a bank of snow. These stupid town workers only cared about their money and not the quality of their job. And so, even if Shikamaru or Kiba were free to hang out, (which they weren't thanks to the fact that the same stupid plow guy must have plowed their streets as well) I couldn't leave. Not much else I could do since I had already taken my shower and changed into my sleep wear. I could make dinner, but I didn't know if Sasuke had eaten yet or not. My only hope of not dying slowly from boredom was if a certain teme came to my rescue.
...Well that wasn't creepy or anything. Sasuke saving anything seemed way too happy for him. Alright, that clock must be playing tricks on me because it so had been more than two minutes. I think it secretly enjoyed watching me suffer from loneliness.
I turned on my stomach and closed my eyes halfway at the thought. It wasn't like I had never been alone before. Actually, it was more common than not. My parents abandoned me when I was ten or so, leaving nothing for me to trace them by. They had a will already made for each of them, but that only made me more upset than at ease. If they were planning on leaving me like that, why didn't they leave some type of note explaining why? I was their only son damnit! Didn't I deserve some type of apology or reasoning?
Gramps wasn't much help either. Whenever I tried to talk to him about my parents, he would change the subject and distract me with ramen. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. It slowly became a comfort food that I couldn't live without. I ate it a lot when Jiraiya went out with his friends or had to work. My house was pretty big for a ten-year old to be living in alone, but at the time I saw it as an adventure. Now I could jump on the couch or sit on the counter whenever I felt like it. I didn't have to brush my teeth every night or even take a shower! Being alone was great. Well, until you realize just how alone you really are. By the age of twelve, I had learned that they really weren't going to come back to punish me. I could completely destroy the house and nobody would come in to care. I started to buy cleaning stuff when I turned thirteen.
Middle school was the worst. Because now kids had heard from their parents about how I was 'abandoned' and 'tossed away'. As if I had a disease or something, people would stay away from me. And in return, I'd glare right back at them and try to hate them too. I mean why shouldn't I? I was a kid who had done nothing wrong, and here these people looked at me like I was strange. I just wanted to fit in, to have friends that would laugh with me and celebrate my birthday, instead of me sitting in the kitchen and singing to myself. Jiraiya would remember sometime the next week and buy me something nice to make up for it. I couldn't really blame him, since he was old and had a lot on his plate as it was. It wasn't supposed to be his job to take care of me.
But then, Jiraiya did something that changed my life. He decided to let me go to Konoha high, instead of the high school where most of my classmates went. At first I was angry, because I thought I'd have to deal with a new set of people who would distance themselves from me. I went into freshman year without a friend. And yet, by the end of the first week, I was surrounded with people. First there was Shikamaru, who amused me with his constant attempts to sleep during class. So when I sat next to him and offered the sloppy notes I had taken, he shrugged and commented that 'he already knew the information'. But somehow my obnoxious smile made him stay awake long enough for us to exchange names and information. And then Shika introduced me to Ino, who immediately thought I was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. I look back now and think that the gods sent Shika and Ino to me to make sure I stayed around for them to play with, because soon after I met Kiba, Chouji, Hinata, Neji, and the girl of my dreams by the name of Sakura. Sasuke was a slight setback, but even he was better than the kids in my other school. At least he would talk to me, even if it was to insult or complain.
And just like that, everything changed. I stopped seeing myself as the victim of some crime, and changed to the hero that survived it. Sure there were times I still felt lonesome, like father and mother's day. But not once since I stepped into Konoha high had I sung alone on my birthday. Ino would just never allow that to happen. It was truly why I never allowed myself to become that hateful again. I never wanted to see Ino or Shikamaru or even Sasuke stare at me like I was a virus. Now that I knew how it felt to be cared for, I wanted to make sure I never lost that feeling.
Hey, speaking of feeling, something was touching my back. I opened my eyes, which had lazily closed, to be face with a shadow lurking over my body. I jerked up in shock, quickly relaxing as I saw a familiar pale face scowling at me.
"You shouldn't leave your door unlocked." Already he was scolding me about something 'dobe-ish' I had done. I yawned a bit, stretching myself like a cat in order to get rid of the haziness in my head. Had I fallen asleep?
"What time is it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eye slowly. I looked up above him to read the clock, which announced that Sasuke was supposed to be here a half hour ago. I turned my attention back to him and scowled. "Hey, you were late!"
"I wasn't late. I just didn't wake you up, idiot."
"Well why not?" He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking toward the kitchen.
"I'm hungry. Come make me food." One of these days, he was going to answer me when I asked him a question. Either that or stop ordering me around like a servant. But still, I pushed up onto my feet and made my way into the kitchen. I found him leaned over my fridge, in search of something to snack on I was assuming.
"Just for that, I should make you eat ramen." He scoffed and pulled away from the fridge, moving to wash the apple in his hand.
"You're lucky I even came. The roads are completely snowed over." I was lucky? It wasn't like I wanted him to come over and eat my food! If I was looking for someone to do that, I'd just call Chouji.
"Whatever. You're eating soup." I shoved past him to start to pull out the various ingredients that I needed, ignoring his arched eyebrow. I answered him before he could ask. "I told you, I don't like making things the way other people do. Why the hell would I serve canned soup?"
"And yet you eat ramen?" I paused a bit in my cutting before shaking my head.
"It's different," I mumbled. Something must have hinted the topic was sensitive because Sasuke snorted but didn't speak up again. Instead, he watched while I started to skin the carrot in my hand with a knife. I could have used the peeler, but it was dirty from the cucumbers from last night. And I doubted that the prince would want to have dirty utensils used for his dinner. I was getting irritated with his quiet gaze, so I stopped in my peeling to point to my fridge. "Grab me the chicken from the fridge."
"What exactly are you making?" He asked, though complied with my request. I felt a sense of pride in knowing that even if I was 'submissive' (which I still denied), Sasuke listened when it came to cooking. It was strange, but still rewarding.
"Chicken soup. You're not allergic to celery are you?" He shook his head once and I nodded before starting to cut the carrot into smaller pieces. I already knew he wasn't allergic to carrots or basil, since both were used in my meal last night. But the last thing I wanted was to have a body convulsing on my floor because of something I made.
Sasuke left after I started to cook the chicken in the oven. It was strange that only after the second day, Sasuke felt comfortable enough to wander around my house without my guidance. If it was the other way around, I probably would stay in one room the entire time. I paused in my mixing of the broth to think of what Kakashi had told us. Sasuke really was more adaptable than me. He was able to enter a new surrounding and make it his own in a matter of days. It was unsettling to know that now Sasuke was able to make my house his so easily, because if it was mine, but his also, it made it…ours. And anything being ours besides our fighting was weird; weird in the sense that my cheeks were now burning with embarrassment.
Luckily my face cooled before Sasuke came back down in his sleep wear. His hair was wet, signaling that he had taken a shower without me even realizing it. Well, I guess it explained why he was taking so long. This time he wore a white shirt and blue pants, and I still couldn't help but stare. Maybe he had been comfortable in my house before he even stepped into it, because I was sure Sasuke would not be so informal unless he was content. I looked away in favor of checking on the almost cooked chicken. The brother and vegetables were resting in a pot on the stove, the steam rising in demand of being served.
"Have you read the second questionnaire, yet?" I asked, poking the white meat with a fork. I heard him move to my cabinets and I glanced up to see him pulling out the bowls and utensils. He had a pretty good memory, I'd give him that.
"No."
"Me neither."
"Hn." He balanced the dishes while he walked to the table, setting it up without being asked. Probably because he felt weird just sitting there while I cooked. Either way I didn't care. I pulled the chicken from the oven and moved it to the stove, letting it cool while I turned back to face him. Shock filled my stomach when I found his eyes on me again. When had I gotten used to that? Wasn't it just yesterday that it crept me out?
"Wh-what now?"
"What do you want to drink?" I glanced down to see his hands were cupping the two empty glasses.
"Coke." The bridge of his nose wrinkled a bit at my choice, to which I rolled my eyes. "I can drink whatever I want with it."
"I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, but your nose scrunched. It's a sign of disgust." He smirked at my explanation, moving to the fridge and turning so I couldn't see his face anymore.
"You've been reading about it, haven't you?"
"Huh?"
"The unconscious body language." He shut the fridge and turned to me, his smirk growing when I flushed in awkwardness. I quickly shook my head to try and diffuse the blush.
"So what?! If that weird therapist is going to ramble about my 'unconscious movements', then I'm going to learn what they are, so I don't do them anymore. That way he can't say that I'm one thing or another." I grinned and started to chop the chicken up, dumping the small pieces into the simmering broth and vegetables. "Maybe I'll even fake some so that he makes the wrong predictions. I can't wait to see his face when I pull one over on him!"
"Do you really think a trained professional would fall for something like that?" Despite his obvious disbelief in my plan, I nodded. "Idiot."
"I am not!" Unfortunately, the jerking of my head to look up at him made me lose my concentration. I hissed when I sliced my finger open, looking at the open wound that was quickly collecting blood. Normally people would freak at seeing how deep the wound was, but I had cut myself several times in the years I had worked with food. I shrugged before I popped it into my mouth, trying to press my tongue against the cut while checking to make sure none of the chicken got bloody. I barely had time to look before something grabbed my wrist, pulling the injured finger from my mouth and dragging it toward a warm sensation. I looked behind me to see Sasuke holding my wrist firmly in place, running the wound under the water.
"You idiot." Ignoring the sudden change in his mood, I tried to jerk my wrist back.
"Let me go! I get cut all the time doing shit like that, it comes with being clumsy." I thought he'd agree with my self-inflicted insult, but it only seemed to add to his sudden anger.
"Keep this under water. Do not move it." I tensed a bit at the snappish tone Sasuke used, staring at him in shock while he moved from the kitchen. Sure Sasuke made fun of me and insulted me a lot, but normally he was irritated or annoyed. He was never…mad. As far as I knew, Sasuke never got angry. If something bothered him, he'd either walk away or glare, but never vocalized anything. But the tone he had just used with me was not his normal voice. It was enough to keep my finger under the water until he returned. He didn't speak, but pulled the finger from the water and started to bandage it with the medical supplies I always kept in my bathroom. Me and Sasuke could really get bad when we fought, so I was never sure what I would come home looking like. Better to be safe than sorry.
"Not too tight," I muttered, squirming a bit in my spot. Sasuke's fingers were soft against my skin, and it was a complete contrast to the normal painful touch his fists gave me during our fights. He didn't respond to my voice, his concentration on the bandage once he had finished his work. I stared up at him when he didn't let go of my wrist, completely thrown off by the pure anger in his eyes. Sasuke was never this emotional. I trembled a bit, which he must of felt through my wrist because he looked back at me quickly. I covered the widening of my eyes with a quick question. "W-what's up with you and cuts?"
"Nothing." He dropped my wrist like acid and walked back to the table as if nothing had just happened. I followed him with my eyes, my other hand slowly sliding along the skin he had gripped before. His movements were still jerky, not fluid like they normally were. Something weird had just happened, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. Still, my heart was pounding rapidly from the intense stare he had given me. Sasuke had seen me bleed several times before. Hell, most of it came from him. What was the difference between him punching me senseless and me having a cooking accident?
"Bring the bowls over here; I'm not lugging this pot to you." My mouth was working even though my head was in a fog. I turned away from him and stirred the remaining bits of chicken into the soup, unwillingly tensing when I felt him brush my arm. Trying to control my nerves I laughed. "You better be thankful I made this for you, because I wasn't planning on making you anything today." Oh great, a lie in order cover another lie. That's always a nice way to start a meal.
"Hn." For once, I was glad to hear his grunt. I filled his bowl with soup before taking my own from him and feeding myself. Once we moved back to the table, I felt the nerves from before become replaced with the thought of him tasting my soup. Sure the spaghetti sauce was mine, but it was a recipe that I had been tweaking for years before I had gotten it right. This was something different. I had only tried to make it a few times, and each time had tasted a little different. So, I wasn't quite as confident as I fronted.
"Stop staring at it like that. You're going to freeze it with your glare." He rolled his eyes at this before taking the first bite, and I looked to the window over the sink when he did. The snow was coming down harder than before, but it wasn't enough to distract me from the butterflies in my stomach. It must be the stoic face he always had. Seriously, he was made to be one of those parliament guards that don't smile or do anything when you greet them. Really that job was made fo—
"You going to eat?" Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I looked back at my soup, which had cooled significantly from the lack of movement. One stir of my spoon sent a cloud of basil-scented steam into my face. Taking a moment to blow on the soup before eating it, I smiled. Good, it wasn't a train wreck. I glanced over my bowl to Sasuke, who seemed content to eat his soup in silence.
"Well…?" But I wasn't going to let that happen.
"What?"
"How is it?"
"Tolerable." I sighed loudly and leaned back in my seat while he took another bite.
"One of these days, you're going to admit that my food is good.
And when you do, I'm going to record it and put it on YouTube to
show everyone that Uchiha Sasuke complimented my food."
"Don't
you think people will find it strange that you were cooking for me,
and then videotaped me eating it?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. I
paused in thought, then furrowed my brows at the truth behind his
statement. The blackmail could go horribly wrong, and I certainly did
not want to get beaten down again by the fangirls.
"Whatever, I'll still get you to say it."
"Sure you will."
"Just shut up and eat your soup you pain in the ass."
"Make me." I don't think either of us expected me to do it. Sasuke was always just annoying me with pointless taunts. So when I opened my mouth to make an insult about him, I did not expect to take on his bet.
"Fine!" We both sat in shock, though I'm sure his was far less noticeable than mine. Even so, his eyes widened a bit from their naturally relaxed posture, and his shoulders straightened then tensed. I could already tell I was going to blush, and the knot in my throat suddenly became too big to swallow. Not wanting to back down now that I had called his bluff, I fisted my hands on the table. "Fine."
"Fine," He repeated, not taking his eyes from mine. For someone who was trying to stay on the good side of the fangirls, I was sure doing a shitty job at it. Still, there was no way I could re-trace my steps, especially since he had pulled his hands back away from the spoon in almost a sign of invitation. I was positive he was as uncomfortable about this as I was, but his pride exceeded mine. He was not going to take back his agreement even if it meant letting me spoon feed him.
This was completely weird. I felt like there was a line between us, which I knew I shouldn't cross. In fact, every molecule of my brain was screaming at me for even thinking about doing it. Still, his gaze wouldn't let go of mine, and I felt entranced when my hand slid straight over the invisible line to grasp onto the spoon. I let my sheer determination to outdo the teme push back any thoughts of my erratic heartbeat or shallow breathing. I took a slow breath before smirking in what I hoped would be a cocky look. It must have worked because Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his lips twitched into a scowl.
"Open your mouth, teme," I mumbled, impressed with the face that I could control my voice during such an embarrassing moment. If he could do that same I couldn't tell, because he snorted and complied with my request. I looked down at his mouth, the dark cavern holding my attention for a second before my head suddenly remembered why I was doing this. So I nodded once, maybe more to myself than him, before gently sliding the silver spoon into his mouth. The moment I felt his lips collapse around the food I pulled my fingers back, leaving the spoon in his mouth. He blinked once, and the strange sight sent me into a round of laughter. Sasuke looked like such an idiot with the spoon hanging from his mouth, I couldn't help but laugh. He pulled out the utensil with dignity, but the damage was done. I could feel tears pricking my eyes from my inability to stop laughing.
"You are such a moron." His voice was low while he continued to feed himself, and I had to chock down the rest of my chuckles so I could finish my dinner. We did still have to get to the questionnaires, and it was getting late. So quickly tossing my now empty bowl into the sink, I waited for Sasuke to do the same before we moved up to my room again. I jumped into the middle of my bed while he slowly sat in the same spot he had slept the night before.
"Alright, questionnaire number two!" I flipped open the folder I had left on my bed from the night before, skipping the first few pages to get to the next part of our 'getting to know each other' folder. Seriously, Kakashi needed to think of some shorter, more professional names for things. "Hey look, only six questions…"
"There's a catch." I knew he was going to rain on my parade. "We have to write down the answer and then explain our answers verbally to the other person."
"Well isn't that just a bunch of fun?" I asked sarcastically. Honestly, the idea of opening up more to Sasuke was a little bit uncomfortable. I mean we had only gone through the basic stuff last night, and there was already a huge different in our relationship…still sounded weird saying that. Anyways, I wasn't sure what these next questions were going to do. Hopefully, Kakashi's plans would fail and nothing would change. Yeah, okay.
"Let's just do it the same way we did it last night." Everything was just coming out wrong tonight! I controlled any need to squirm or feel embarrassed in order to focus on the task at hand. "Alright Sasuke, first question: Would you rather live without TV or music?"
"TV, it rots people's brains." Well that was a pretty simple question. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.
"I'd rather have music. There're no good shows on anymore." He stared at me before rolling his eyes.
"You are an idiot."
"Aw come on, you know you watched Power Rangers when you were a kid! I bet you wanted to be the green ranger huh? Since he turned all evil and was emo half the time anyways."
"Because nothing says fun like 'running around in spandex and shooting laser beams at ugly monsters."
"Ha! I knew you watched it!" His face blanked at his own confession, but he quickly shook his head and looked back to the paper.
"Question two—"
"Hey!"
"Would you rather never be able to tell a lie, or never be able to speak again?" I scoffed and fell back on my bed, stretching my arms.
"That's so easy! I'd just never tell a lie. And when people asked me if their butts looked big in jeans, I could actually tell them the truth and not get in trouble because I had a psychological problem."
"That is the dumbest reasoning you've ever come up with."
"Why? What would you do?" I asked, leaning up on my elbows. He wasn't facing me, but staring out my window toward the snow that continued to fall. We were going to get a good couple inches if it continued to snow like that.
"Never speak again." I guess I kind of expected that from Sasuke, since he wasn't a big talker anyways. In fact, we had talked more in the past two days than our entire four years of our friendship. "It would give me a reason to stop dealing with people."
"Emooooooooo," I sung out, and laughed when he tried to hit me. I caught his fist in my hand, but fell over when the second one came to fast to block. The pull from my fall made Sasuke rise on his knees to keep himself from tipping over onto me.
"Let go." I stuck my tongue out at his command but released his fist, the two of us settling into our spots again while I glanced to the third question.
"Alright, third one: Would you rather have a big group of okay friends, or one very close one?"
"One." I nodded for him to continue, but it still took him a few seconds to part his lips, "because it's…quality and not quantity that matters."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." I smiled and pulled my feet together before grabbing onto my ankles. I never knew why, but the position always seemed to relax me. "I'd rather know that one person would be there for me than have a group of people who may be there."
"Yes." I stared at him while his gaze slowly drifted to the space between us, his eyes becoming half lidded in thought. My hands tightened around my ankles, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of worry by the silence that fell between us. What was Sasuke thinking about anyways?
"I've never had a best friend." The admitting sentence brought him out of his trance, and he looked up at me while I shrugged and rocked in my spot. "I've got lots of friends now, and I know that they all care about me equally. My closest friends are Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba, but I wouldn't really say any of them are my best friend. I like them all equally, you know?"
"What's your point, dobe?" What was my point? I know I had started with the intent to make Sasuke stop looking so alone, but I wasn't exactly sure how talking about my friends solved that. He was looking at me now, yeah, but it was pretty obvious that he was still a little off.
"Can you tell when I'm lying?" He stared at me as if I had lost my head, and truly I was wondering the same thing. But I ignored my sense of reason to focus on him. "Well? Can you?"
"Most of the time it's pretty obvious to me," He stated slowly. I almost laughed at how cautious I was making him.
"I think I can tell when you lie too. Well, maybe not lie, but when something's bugging you."
"How?"
"I don't know. I just…" I stopped myself, unsure of what to say next. For the millionth time that night, I felt weird. How was I able to tell anyways? It's not like he ever really said or did anything. In fact, I bet most people (except for Kakashi and his weird ass eye) couldn't tell if he was even truly annoyed. His face and body language didn't change much. There was just…something that did change. Something I couldn't place. My voice came out as a whisper "I just can."
"You're letting Kakashi get into your head, dobe." Maybe, but I wasn't counting on it. "We're moving on to question four."
"Fine fine, calm yourself." I shuffled the paper and glanced down to the question. "Would you rather find true love or get a million dollars?"
"What would I do with a million dollars?" Well la-di-da to him. Some of us didn't have a bazillion dollars to spare.
"So you'd pick love?"
"If they were the only two choices." I rolled my eyes at how repulsed he sounded at the idea of love. No wonder the fangirls had no luck with him.
"I guess I'd choose love too. Money's something you can work hard for. Love is kind of just there. You can't make someone fall in love with you." And I would know by the several attempts with Sakura. But even though she scolded me for swooning over her so much, she practically did the same thing with Sasuke every chance she could get. Which, luckily, wasn't a lot in the past couple days.
"Alright, fifth question. In a fire, would you rather save-" And that was where he stopped. I blinked once at how abrupt his cut off was. What was his problem today?
"Save a stranger or a sibling? Huh, that's a tough one. It really depends. I mean, if my sibling was older than the stranger, then I'd expect them to get out on their own. Oh, but if the stranger was an elderly person, I probably wouldn't bother dealing with them since they'll croak soon anyways." Especially if it was that crazy lady that always came to the restaurant on Wednesday nights and had a fit about how loud it was. You'd think she'd just go to another place, but no. And she always was seated in the area I was serving. Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing her in a fire.
"I'd save the stranger."
"Any particular reason?"
"Because I wouldn't save my sibling." Well wasn't that obvious? I scratched my ear and sighed, knowing that by the way Sasuke was glaring; I wasn't going to get any more information than that. But I stopped my scratching when last night's questionnaire came back to me.
"how have your siblings affected who you are today?"
"He's taught me nothing I asked for."
"Sasuke…what's your brother's name?" He tensed at my innocent prodding, but I wasn't going to stop. We had both been uncomfortable all throughout the night anyways. What was three more minutes? "And why don't I know him?"
"That's none of your business." I scowled but didn't back down. I didn't care how much he glared at me.
"Kakashi said we needed to get to know each other, right? Well I want to know this. Who is your brother? And don't you try to avoid it, because I'll stay up all night and bug your stupid ass whether you like it or not. So you might as well spill it now!"
"Dobe." But even at the insult, I didn't move my gaze. I could almost hear the grinding of his teeth behind his lips, which were pulled back in a grimace. Still, Sasuke must have figured out how stubborn an Uzumaki could be, because he opened his mouth to speak. "Itachi."
"Itachi?" I blinked once, my brows pulling together at the memory of the name. Where had I heard it before?
"Yeah." He pulled one of his legs up to his chest, and circled his arms around it. He wouldn't meet my gaze as he continued to glare at the window next to us. "Uchiha Itachi."
"Should I know that name?" I asked slowly. His lips pressed tightly together, as if holding something from breaking free. But I had to hand it to Sasuke that he was good at keeping secrets. "Because I feel like I've heard it before."
"I'd be shocked if you did. I didn't know idiots like you bothered to watch the news." His comment was practically laced in acid from the way he spit it out, but I didn't care. Let Sasuke pull his dramatic shit. Either way, he was unknowingly giving me information.
"So he was in the news?" Another pause from the brooding boy. I edged a bit closer to him, but kept my guard up. It was times like these when Sasuke would be much easier to start a fight with. For once, that wasn't what I was looking for. "For what?"
"Why are you asking me that? It's not part of the questionnaire." I paused at his question. He had jerked his head to look at me, but I didn't seem to care about the fierce look he was burning into my head. Why did I care, anyways? All I knew about this Itachi guy was that he was Sasuke's brother, and something bad had occurred between the two brothers to cause Sasuke to avoid any conversation about him. I wondered if any of the girls who 'loved' Sasuke knew about Itachi. About how truly angry their ice prince could get. Would it make them run away? Or become curious, like me?
"No it's not. And I don't know why I'm asking you. You're an asshole and you pissed me off a lot. Still…" I shook my head and finally met his gaze with my own questioning look. "Seeing you act like this kind of proves you don't hate me, ya know? It's kind of...uh…rewarding in a way."
"Glad my anger makes you happy," He said, and I smacked my forehead in frustration.
"That's not what I meant! God, stop being so protective, it's just me. We're supposed to…me and you are supposed to be alike, right? So if you stop…bottling your problems up, maybe you wouldn't be such a friggen jerk to everyone. I'm just trying to be a good friend to you or something, I don't know. Maybe I'm just being affected like you said. Stupid Kakashi, getting into my brain and shit…"
I tightened my hold on my ankles and puffed my cheeks out in a pout. This whole thing was stupid, really. I felt like a teenage girl the way I kept rambling, but I couldn't put what I felt into words. Sasuke was so closed off from everyone else in this town, and yet somehow I had managed to weasel out information. I doubted he had willingly told anyone else about his brother. And knowing that made me want to learn more about what Uchiha Sasuke was hiding.
"Itachi's five years older than me." I jerked my head up when he spoke. His arms were tight around his bent leg; I thought he was going to crush the bones. If he noticed the tight grip, he said nothing about it.
"That's a big age difference."
"Yeah. It makes him about…twenty two now."
"So you're the baby Uchiha." His glare had returned to the normal Sasuke look, and I grinned at how good it felt to have it back. The one before honestly scared the hell out of me.
"I'm older than you."
"Yeah, but there's only one Uzumaki, so I'm not the baby, I'm just the only. You, on the other hand, are the little Uchiha." As if to prove his status, I tapped his nose with my finger and smirked. Maybe I took it too far, because Sasuke launched at my laughing body and tackled me into the bed. We started to wrestle, occasionally tossing in a few punches or bites. Luckily my bed was big, or else we would have fallen off before we had even started. And despite the fact that Sasuke had finally pinned me to the bed, I laughed at how out of breath we both were. "If I were Kakashi right now, I'd say you have anger issues and suggest you come visit once a week to work on it!"
"If you were Kakashi, you'd also have a brain." Stupid teme and his lame jokes. I tried to wiggle my way out of his hold, which seemed to be much stronger than I remembered. Damn, was he like a snake with his vice grip! I think he knew it too, because his smirk was just a little too controlled when I tried to find a way to get out. Damn, I was being submissive again! Trying to prove myself, I growled at him and kneed at his side. He grunted, but didn't get go. "Knock it off dobe."
"No way! Not until I prove that you're just fat and that's why you have the upper hand."
"I barely weigh more than you." Grr, stupid know-it-all. I jerked my wrist hard, making our connection slid against the sheets before it hit into something. I glanced over to my wrist, looking at the folder that was lying open next to us.
"Hey, we never answered the last question."
"Do you even know the last question?"
"Do you?"
"I wasn't the one asking about it." I sighed, moving to rub my temple until I realized I still had no control over my arms. Now I couldn't even sooth the headache the teme gave me!
"Then read it to me, bastard." He scoffed as if I had asked him to kiss my ass. But he leaned over me to look at the folder, and I was struck again by the dusky scent of cinnamon. His shirt pressed against my nose, and unwillingly my eyes closed halfway in contentment. It really was a relaxing smell. A smell I was disturbingly getting used to.
"You hear me?" How does he do that? I opened my eyes slowly, but they refused to move past half-mast. How does Sasuke make me feel so relaxed, when all I want to do is hit him? Instead, I leaned moved my head back to relax on the bed, trying to forget his smell.
"Bastard…" the word was weak coming from my mouth, and I felt his body rumble from his chuckle.
"You already said that, dobe." Had I? Looking up to see his arrogant face, I immediately scowled.
"That doesn't mean you've changed! You're a bastard no matter how many times I say it."
"I wish there was an off button on your mouth." Finally I mustered the strength to switch the tables, using my knee to kick at the side of his kneecap. Feeling it collapse, I pushed him onto the bed and grinned at the superior position I had over him. Success! A success that a certain 'dominate' didn't seem to appreciate. "Get off."
"Not in a million years! I'm running this show now." As if I prove it, I glanced to the file that he had been looking at and smiled evilly. Well, as evilly as Uzumaki Naruto could. "And now I'll ask you the question since the dominant person takes control of situations, while the submissive sits like a good little Uchiha and excitedly waits to answer."
"Just because you got a cheap shot in doesn't change the fact you're still underneath me." Well I'd show him who was in control of this damn conversation! I perched over him and glared down at the question.
"Question six, you stupid bastard."
"Hn." He didn't struggle like I did, seeming completely willing to let me lead. Finally the teme gets it! I could feel myself smirking down at his bored gaze, only half paying attention to what I was reading.
"Would you rather kiss me or Kakashi?" I grinned at the shock on his face, something that Sasuke never showed when we were with oth—
WHAT?!
"What did you just-"
"S-Shut up!" My face growing hot, I quickly shoved my hands over his mouth. Slowly he glanced down at the hands over his lips. I could feel them brush my palms when he opened them, to try and breathe or speak I wasn't sure. I avoided his stare to look down at the questionnaire. That fucking pervert therapist! He even put a damn smiley face at the bottom! I growled and added a third person to my hit list. And he just surpassed Sasuke and landed just under gramps. "Why the hell would either of us want to kiss that guy?! Wait till I see him Wednesday, I'm going to punch him so hard his other eye will turn red!"
"Mmf." Oops. I jerked my hand back quickly while the teme took a deep breath in, glaring at me once before shoving me off of him. I yelped when I fell back against the bed, watching as Sasuke snatched his file and stared down at the question. What, did he think I make this shit up? Apparently so, because he snapped his folder shut and put it onto my nightstand. I hesitated to talk, wondering what was going through his head. Was he mad? Because I was pretty sure steam was coming out of my ears. The idea that Kakashi would even ask something stupid like that was completely unbelievable!
Well, then again, it was Kakashi.
"I'm not answering that." I blinked at his sharp tone and immediately got defensive.
"It's not like I was going to either!" He nodded and the moved to pull the covers of the med down, thought most of them were yanked around from our previous fighting. I swallowed as a memory of the morning fluttered through my head, causing a sharp jerk in my stomach. "You're sleeping in my bed again?"
"Yes."
"But…" Yeah, Naruto, why don't you just tell him why you're protesting? Tell him how he was snuggling into your back and you didn't do a damn thing about it. I'm sure that was the best way to go. And while I was at it, why didn't I just stab myself in the stomach with a rusty knife?
"But what? You didn't even pull the other mattress out tonight." Crap! That's what I could have been doing while he wasn't here. I tried to think of why I hadn't yanked the mattress out when I had been upstairs earlier today, but for some reason it hadn't even crossed my mind. And for someone who was trying to protest Sasuke sleeping in my bed, I wasn't really giving him a lot of other options.
"Fine, whatever." Were guys supposed to sleep like this? I mean sure, Ino and Sakura had done it all the time. In fact, that was the reasoning I used last night to get the teme to keep from kicking me out of my own damn bed. But now that I was sliding underneath the covers with Sasuke, I saw a major hole in that argument. They were girls. And girls could get away with murder if they wanted to. So no, me and Sasuke were not the same as Sakura and Ino. In fact, we were very, very different!
"Shut the light off." I wasn't sure if he was tired or aggravated with how long I was taking to settle in, because his words came out as more of a command than anything else. I wanted to take the lamp and hit him in the head with it, but I decided against it. It'd be a pain to clean up later.
"Hey, Sasuke…?" He must have heard me, because he moved in a way that caused our backs to brush. Reluctantly I wondered if this position would last.
"What?" At the gruff tone, I smiled. Our wrestling from earlier must have worn him out too. My eyes already felt too heavy to keep open.
"Uh...night." It felt strange coming from my lips, but I forced it out anyways. When was the last time I had someone to say that to? How many people had the chance to say it to Sasuke?
"…Goodnight dobe." Apparently, not a lot, because the insult came out weaker than he expected. In fact, if it wasn't us, I'd almost say it was less of an insult, and more of a nickname. One that made my stomach warm and my eyes tighten in embarrassment. As I started to accept the darkness that crept into my mind, I wondered how I would wake up. Alone or being held?
I found myself wishing for something that, if I was awake, would make me blush.
I finished! Yeah, I'm thinking that this will be a full out story. Not like, 30 chapters or anything, but I'm guessing about 10ish. Gah, just thinking about it makes me nervous! So you all found out a little more about our two boys, and even got some fluff…well, the most fluff a idiot and jerk could make with each other. Kakashi is such a pervert…but he is a very smart, revengeful pervert, that will get his answers whether the boys want to tell him or not! He'll make his re-appearance in the next chapter, and it'll be one you don't want to miss. =P Review and I'll write more!
