Once again guys thanks for your reviews/love/support. I decided that later on tonight I'll be uploading Resurfaced and focus my attention on these two stories. I owe you guys Resurfaced for a while now and I managed to dig up all 12 chapters of the fic. So I'll be editing them, adding more details, working on my plot, and yeah (:

Warning: Well nothing but stilly humor and a progress in the plot...which is a first ;o

Disclaimer: I don't even know what this word means...

ENJOY :D!


Chapter Four: Surprising Events

Sasuke looked down on the tiny slip of paper scarred with neat cursive. The Hidden World was a large bookstore located in the middle of the city. From the outside it looked like a huge apartment complex but when you entered the glass double-doors you become immersed in a world of new books, old books, worn books, read books; a million stories ready to be read and purchased. However, our lovely raven wasn't in the mood to read today. Oh no. He was here to settle some things.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Sasuke muttered softly as he entered into the bookstore. His eyes went from room to room, scanning for that familiar mount of golden blond hair he—sadly—had become used to pointing out.

"Might I add that this series by her is becoming steadily popular. The plot seems typical but once you read the first couple of chapters you can tell she put a lot of twists to make her story unique. I urge you to buy this book—and I'll even throw in a free kiss on the cheek from yours truly!"

Sasuke knew that voice very well—it was annoying, high-pitched, but somehow overloading with enough charm to woo just about anyone to his whims. 'Flamboyant as always.' Then Orochimaru's words to him from before hit his thoughts and rattled his head.

'Get to know him inside and out. And remember to smile—or in your case, twitch your lips. Make him feel comfortable around you and don't insult him too much.'

The raven snorted at the memory. Go a day without insulting Naruto the kleptomaniac? Yeah sure. When Hell freezes over.

"Uzumaki!" He wasn't going to just stand there and wait for the blond to notice him. No. He had no patience for that. Though he had to admit seeing Naruto in such a relaxed and normal environment definitely threw him off.

Naruto turned around, the girl he was talking to pouting slightly at being interrupted. When he saw Sasuke standing near the door like the socially awkward man he was, a big smile ripped across his face. "Hold on a minute, dear. My man candy just stopped by and I must flirt with him!" he practically skipped over to Sasuke (why yes, mostly to embarrass him in public) and nearly tackled him to the ground. "Oh, love! You've come to me for lunch, right? I want a bagel! No. Scratch that. Two bagels! No I don't even want bagels anymore! Buy me some crepes!"

Sasuke had his arms wrapped around Naruto's waist purely on instinct but when he came aware of just how questioning their position was with Naruto's arms around his neck, Sasuke pulled back until there was at least six inches of space between them and cleared his throat. "I didn't come here to feed the insane; and where do you get off calling me love!"

"Oh I get off calling you love every night," Naruto purred. He cackled at the adorable blush that proudly conquered Sasuke's face. 'He makes this so easy!'

"Is the only thing you're good at making sexual jokes? And before you answer anything don't give me your normal 'I'm fantastic in bed' shit because I don't really care."

"Ouch," Naruto pouted, "and to think I've been waiting for you all day and this is how you treat me?" he sniffed and turned up his nose, "No wonder you're freaking single."

For a minute Sasuke almost forgot why he had risked whatever sanity he had left to visit Naruto's workplace so he could retort something witty but pulled himself together. Now was not the time to banter back and forth with Naruto. Now was the time to get some answers.

"I didn't come here to stand around and chat like idiots all day," Sasuke stated simply.

Naruto smiled knowingly and ran a hand through his spiky locks. "Oh I know. You came here for answers, right? Specifically answers regarding Lady M and Ms. Yamanaka." Sasuke nodded and Naruto smiled a little wider. "Well I can't answer them now silly goose. My break doesn't start till twelve and it's only 11:45."

Sasuke could feel a vein pop in his head. "Go on break earlier. This is a matter of deep importance."

Naruto shrugged in a 'what am I supposed to do?' sort of way. "Can't. Boss flipped the last time I took my break early. I told him a certain cop had me tied down and wouldn't let go of me but he didn't believe me. So what is a guy to do? You could wait for me though. Our bookstore has a nice little cafe and there are a ton of books you can read while you wait."

The prospect of sitting around in a large bookstore filled with strangers waiting for Naruto made Sasuke's stomach flop. If you hadn't noticed the man wasn't your average social butterfly, he was more of an anti-social moth who clung to the shadows. He liked the shadows. They were cold and welcoming.

"How long am I going to have to wait?" Sasuke growled.

Naruto tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well it's 11:50 now. So I'd say about ten minutes give or take."

"No give. Ten minutes, Uzumaki. Keep me waiting any longer and I'll snap."

"Ooo, I love it when you snap! You are so damn sexy that I just want to—"

Naruto didn't have the chance to finish that sentence because Sasuke had promptly thrown an encyclopedia at his face.

+Stolen: Ten Minutes Later+

"Miss me?"

"Nope."

Naruto plopped down in the seat across from Sasuke and pouted. "Damn. Are you always so cold to the ones you love?"

Sasuke snorted and picked apart a random scone he bought on impulse. "Don't think you're special. I treat everyone this way." there was an awkward silence hanging in the air. 'Crap. Was that too much?' Sasuke was supposed to woo the blond, not scare him away.

A few seconds later when Sasuke actually had the courage to look Naruto in the eye, the blond was giggling and brushing a few strands of hair out of his face. "Right. I forgot I'm pretty much the nobody kleptomaniac who gets on your nerves."

Sasuke's eyebrows shot upwards. "T-That's... I never—Uzumaki don't turn this into a drama fest. I never said that about you."

The blond shrugged listlessly. "I'm very keen. I can tell stuff..." he leaned forward, "looking into people's eyes like a psychic! Fear me!"

Sasuke blinked rapidly at how fast Naruto's personality could curve like that. One minute he was hyperactive and into everybody's face and the next he was a moping bag of potatoes spewing line after line of emotional stuff. It made Sasuke wonder just which side of Naruto was the real one and which was just a fake he used to confuse the hell out of people.

"You're insane." Sasuke said.

"Most criminals are. But not every criminal is as handsome as I am." Naruto winked but suddenly his face turned very serious. "So you came to talk to me about Lady M, huh? Let's talk."

This time Sasuke was ready for the mood swing and leaned back in his upholstered seat. "A week ago you told me Lady M stole most of the jewels in her store."

Naruto nodded. "That I did. And let me guess... I was right, right?"

Sasuke would stab himself later for admitting this... "Yes... you were... right."

"Told you! Fucking told you, Sasuke!" Naruto slapped his hand against the table, "This calls for a celebratory toast! Coffee? Tea? Root beer?"

"None. I'm not done yet." he shot the blond a pointed glare that managed to shut him up for another ten , precious seconds. "We did a background check later that day and found out she was tied to some very sketchy dealings in the underground."

"She dealt with a lot more than pretty rocks and shiny chains," Naruto nodded in affirmation. He caught the gaze Sasuke was sending him and smirked, "We worked together once on a little borrowing project our higher ups gave us."

"So that's how you knew!" Sasuke had pegged the blond on just knowing dirty secrets he picked up when he was fully immersed with larcenies of the highest order. He never thought it would turn out this way.

"Well duh. I never really liked her though, so that's why I didn't mind breaking into her store and taking back the earrings she stole from my dear friend, Ino."

Sasuke rubbed his throbbing temples and bit back a groan. All right, so trying to figure out the blond's way of thinking last week was only ending up with headaches. "You lot are confusing."

"But that's what makes us fun!" Naruto chuckled and ran a naughty finger down Sasuke's arm, "You should come play on our side sometime. I promise you I'll make it worth your while." he whispered the last part huskily into Sasuke's ear, enjoying how much of a shiver shot through the raven's body.

It took a long while for Sasuke to grab back his composure. "I'll pass." he pushed the blond back and watched as he moped, muttered something inaudible, and then stand up. "Where are you going?" he asked merely on reflex—though he was a little unnerved with Naruto leaving so abruptly.

"I've just got this massive craving for a White Chocolate Mocha and a Rice Krispee Dream Bar." he answered. "Do you want anything? It's my treat even though I pretty much solved the case for you. But I'm a reasonable man who has some sort of morals hidden beneath my zipper."

"You mean stashed under your belt... right?" Sasuke prayed Naruto meant it that way.

The blond simply smirked. It made Sasuke's blood run cold. "No. I meant beneath my zipper." and with that he twirled around and headed for the counter to make his order. Sasuke slammed his head against the table and cursed Orochimaru to the deepest pits of Hell.

"I do not get paid enough to do this!"

When Naruto came back he had two cups of coffee in his hand, his rice krispee stuffed in a bag in his mouth, and a bag holding Sasuke's marble cake in the hand with the raven's coffee. "You never got to tell me what you wanted so I thought: 'I'll surprise him!'." Naruto sat down and slid the hot coffee and marble cake Sasuke's way. "I hope you like vanilla in your coffee, I made sure they put in two extra shots of the stuff!"

"Oh you're too kind," Sasuke said sarcastically as he took out his marble cake and poked it with a plastic fork he had from his scone. He really did like marble cake you know... and he was a sucker for vanilla. 'Does he know these are my favorites?' He raised his eyes to watch the blond mutter happily to himself and dig into his small meal. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised. The blond knew how to get information whenever he needed it. 'But why he would want to learn more about me eludes me...'

Naruto looked up, a rice krispee in his mouth, and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you hungry? That's a day of my salary going down the drain for you!"

Sasuke shook his head and took a bite of his cake. "I don't see why you'd be complaining about that. You probably make enough money to fuel a country for months... yet you work here. In a normal bookstore." this time it was Sasuke's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Tell me how that works out. What do you do with all that money?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto took a sip of his mocha. "I'm saving up."

"For what?"

Naruto grinned in a way that held a lot of secrets in a simple gesture. "Secret~"

"Hn." Sasuke was never one to pry. He figured if he didn't like people digging up his crap, he wouldn't dig up theirs. But there was something nagging at his mind though to keep asking Naruto although he knew the blond was about as open as a private safe. Despite how cheery and friendly the blond was Sasuke knew he hid a lot of secrets. What they were, he couldn't fathom, but a small part of me—or maybe a bigger part than he'd like to realize—wanted to learn every single thing the blond was hiding.

Call it curiosity, or you could call it compassion.

The blond sighed, as if disappointed Sasuke didn't ask for more. "And I here I thought this could turn into some sappy, sentimental moment where we both spill our guts out to each other and finally take that finally step into a relationship. Woe is me and my failure at seducing! Woe!"

For the first time today Sasuke actually laughed—though it was small and in the form of a chuckle; but hey! A laugh was a laugh! "You're way of overreacting to everything will never not astound me."

Naruto's eyes had bugged out of his head as he leaned over the table—nearly toppling over their drinks. "Did... did you just... Did Sasuke Uchiha just laugh? At something I said? Oh my God... The world is going to end! Quickly, Sasuke, come get in my pants and fuck me!"

Sasuke's face was as red as a tomato. He punched Naruto square in the shoulder and growled. "Shut up! It's not that rare for me to laugh! And why would you even jump to something as dirty as fucking?"

"Um, because I'm always dirty-minded and I find you incredibly attractive?" Naruto made a shot in the dark, only to have it miss its mark completely.

The raven shook his head, onyx locks seemingly falling into place. "You're ridiculous."

"Pssh," Naruto leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "tell me something I don't know, Uchiha. But seriously you should laugh more. At least fifteen times a day makes me all giddy and alive!"

"I... Laughing's just... It never comes up anymore." Sasuke finished off lamely. In his line of work you'd think he'd be looking for all the right chances to crack jokes and laugh off everything and anything. But he didn't. He hadn't had an honest to goodness laugh in years. Sasuke was pretty convinced he forgot how to actually laugh.

He refused to look in Naruto's eyes because he knew there would be a lot of pity shining in those orbs, but when he finally did meet his gaze... there was nothing but understanding; an understanding that was cold and came from an experience one would rather forget.

"Yeah. I've been there and done that more times than I can count." when Naruto laughed it was hollow and lacked any real joy. "You can't keep moping around forever, Uchiha. A good laugh every once in a while ain't gonna kill you."

Sasuke contemplated those words, tossed them and turned them over in his mind. Were they... dare he think it... having a moment? 'Seems like it.' he mused. It was a start, a tiny leap, but maybe Sasuke was finally chipping away at the complexity of Naruto Uzumaki—master thief and raging kleptomaniac. The thought scared him as well as exhilarated him. Today just wasn't the day to try and dig any deeper. He certainly wasn't ready for what he could find and Naruto would only dance around the topic until Sasuke was spinning in circles.

So instead he slapped on his famous smirk and leaned forward on the table, "Well if the people around me were funnier then maybe I'd be laughing a lot more."

Naruto gasped, a light flashed in his eyes. "Dude! Uchiha! I'm fucking hilarious! All I gotta do is breathe and I've got people on the floor in stitches!" he smirked and winked, "I can totally get you laughing."

"Oh really?" Sasuke decided that even though it went against everything his body and mind were screaming at him, he'd muse Naruto and play along with his banter today. "What do you get in return? And don't say sex because you'll never get any from me."

'Tch. Pessimistic little prick.' Naruto smiled a little wider, "Oh I don't want anything so scandalous from you! I think your laugh is really nice, as all. Deep and... rich." he sighed and seemed to get lost in a distant memory before snapping back to the present. "So yeah! I promise to have you peeing your pants by the end of the day!"

Honestly, Sasuke was a little shocked that Naruto was trying so hard to make him laugh—of all people. They were always at odds and ends with each other and the only time they talked was when Naruto was in handcuffs strapped to a chair in the interrogation room.

Sasuke smirked. "I highly doubt that."

"Wanna make a bet on it?"

There was slight hesitation and then... "Sure. Why not?"

Naruto grinned wildly. "Great! If I win you have to hang out with me for a whole week and you can't complain about it, okay?"

Well that was unexpected. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow in silent questioning but Naruto either ignored him or didn't see it. 'I guess he's so certain he'll lose that he'd bet on anything.' Deep down he didn't believe himself for a bit. "All right that seems... possible—sort of." Naruto laughed but Sasuke kept going, "And if I win you have to... tell me something."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly but then they dulled down to a slight glare. It wasn't intimidating or imposing it was simple... curious and waiting. "Tell you something?" Sasuke nodded. "Like what?"

"Anything at all. But nothing stupid like 'I like music'. I want to know something about you that not many people know."

Their eyes clashed. Blue eyes dug and gauged up onyx orbs, searching for any hint that this was simply out of curiosity for the raven and nothing more or that Sasuke was merely bored and wanted to learn something about the ever-mysterious kleptomaniac. Sasuke saw the tension slowly rise and fall on every inch of the blond's body. 'Is his past really that big of a deal?'

And then Naruto cracked open a wide, idiotic smile and extended his hand. "You've got yourself a deal, Uchiha!"

Sasuke blinked, looked down at Naruto's hands, then back into Naruto's eyes. The darkness had left, but there were tiny shadows peaking out still. Slowly he reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand. "May the best man win."

"Oh I intend to! Now let me tell you about this one time I had a nasty run in with this guy in a panda suit running around in a machete. It was wild!"


So how many of you want to guess Naruto wins this little bet, hmmmm? c;

LOOK OUT FOR RESURFACED! ITS COMING YOUR WAY. DERPDERPDERP.

Kay bye guys :D! I love you all and please leave a review for the pandas and for me because I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions so far c:!