Chapter 6:Pet Shops and a little Comedy

Rated: M for past suicide attempts and future… situations. nods yeah situation is a good word right now.

Warning! Just a little stuff in here to be warned about.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these awesomely cool people in this fic. It's so sad thatIdon't. starts to cry

Naruto and Sasuke sat at the dining room table drinking tea while Sakura trained outside. Naruto leaned on Sasuke's shoulder and Sasuke sat, slouching a bit, bit still upright.

"Naruto?" Sasuke started. Naruto looked up to Sasuke giving him a silent signal to continue. "Do you… want to go out?" Sasuke saw Naruto's cheeks turn a soft shade of pink and he realized the other's misinterpretation. "I-I mean that…" He stuttered trying to explain. "You haven't been outside for a while and I just wanted to know if you wanted to… go for a walk?" Sasuke sounded confused and unsure of himself.

Naruto smiled to the brunette. "I'd go out with you anytime Sasuke." The blonde lifted himself onto his knees, leaned in, and gave his teammate a kiss on his cheek.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and blushed. Naruto had just kissed him and said he'd go out with him. He wasn't assuming wrong was he? Sasuke thought about what was just said. 'If I asked him to… would he go out with me? He did just say that he'd go out with me anytime, but was that just for what I had really meant to ask or was he saying he'd actually…' Sasuke's thoughts were cut short when he heard Naruto's voice.

"Sasuke, if we're going to we should go now. It's starting to get dark already." The blonde said then looked at the clock. "It's only four-thirty." Naruto was disappointed. He didn't much care for winter, the days were short and the nights were long. He wanted those long, hot, sunny days.

"Okay, let's go then." Sasuke said as he stood and held his hand out to Naruto to help him up.

Naruto stood with Sasuke's help and the two walked to the door together, slipped on their shoes, and closed the door behind themselves when they walked out, still hand in hand.

Sasuke looked over to Naruto. "Where do you want to go?"

Naruto looked to Sasuke like he could make up his mind. "Just walk around in town I guess."

Sasuke's eye caught something speeding around the yard. Suddenly, it was gone and he disregarded it, but kept his guard up just in case. "Okay, lead the way."

Naruto nodded and walked down the dirt road towards Konoha's shopping district. Before he could get ten steps Sasuke pulled him back hard and fast, making him fall against the other. "Sasuke!" He yelled, upset with the sudden change of direction. "What th-" Was all he could say before someone was standing in a fighting stance, where he was just a moment before. Naruto's grip on Sasuke's hand tightened.

"You've lost your edge Naruto." A voice dripping with sarcasm sneered. "You sure it's all right to come out?" The voice cackled.

Naruto straightened. "I'm fine. I just had some things on my mind."

"Like what?" The voice was still sarcastic.

"It's none of your business Sakura." Naruto snarled.

"Hmph." The girl disregarded Naruto and looked towards Sasuke. "Where're you going?"

"Naruto needed some fresh air so we were going to go for a walk." Sasuke replied. Not happy, but not quite mad at the intruder.
"Ah, I guess that's okay." Sakura said as if there wasn't anything she could do. "I'll stay and train a little longer." She said grinning. "You've got some hard targets set up around here. She jumped into a nearby tree. "See ya later!"

Naruto started walking. Pulling Sasuke along. "I hate it when she gets like that."

Catching up, Sasuke commented. "It's not her fault, it's in her blood.

"It creeps me out." Snapping his head towards Sasuke he continued. "She's nice and cheerful, but when she fights…" He looked forward as he kept walking. "…She's all…" He lifted his free hand and shaped it as a claw. "'Grr'."

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at the impersonation. He tried to hold it in, but Naruto caught him.

"Hey!" Naruto whined. "Don't laugh, she really is creepy."

Sasuke giggled for a couple more seconds and looked at Naruto. "Sorry Naruto." He whipped his eyes. "You shouldn't blame her for it though. She's gotten a lot stronger since we first met up as team seven. Ever since her power awakened you could probably compare her with… Tsunade-sama." He shrugged. "I just thank the gods that we don't have to fight against her as enemies." He smiled to Naruto. "We'd be goners."

"I guess you right… But I bet we could beat her if we both fought her at the same time." Naruto grinned and make a victorious fist. Sasuke just kept walking and smiled to himself.

They were about to exit the Uchiha residence when Naruto stated to get a little nervous. They were under the arch that marked the entrance and the blonde stopped, not startling Sasuke at all. "Sasuke, can we wait for this?"

Sasuke knew exactly what he was talking about and let his hand fall limp. Naruto still held onto it while he said. "I'm just not ready to in front of other people. They'd think it was weird." After saying this he let Sasuke's hand go.

"Yeah, I guess they would." Sasuke said without any emotion. 'Why can't he ignore what other people think? Most of them don't have anything to do with him.' Sasuke thought. 'It'd be easier if he didn't pay attention to them, but if that's the way he is, I guess that's the way it will be. There's no use pushing him into anything.'

"Where do you want to go?" Sasuke asked before Naruto could ask what he was thinking.

"Umm…" Naruto thought for a minute and looked up to the sky as if the answer was there. "Oh!" He'd remembered something. "Over here!" Naruto started to run down the street and Sasuke followed close behind wondering what could be so important.

They dashed across the bustling streets for three minutes when Naruto stopped and looked into a window eagerly. "He's not here." Naruto turned and said to Sasuke.

Sasuke realized where they were and wondered what 'he' he was talking about. "Maybe he's inside." Sasuke said, still not aware of what he was talking about. Naruto dashed into the pet shop, not caring that the sign said "closed".

Sasuke entered the shop with an annoyed sigh. "Naruto, the store is closed." He said watching the blonde walk, looking in every wire cage in all the isles.

An employee walked out from the back room when she heard the bell on the door ring. "Sorry, we're closed at the moment. We're open tomorrow, 9am to 5pm." A young lady said as she held the curtain to the back room open.

Naruto dashed over to the girl. "Where is he?!"

"Who?" The girl asked a bit flustered from the outburst.

"A cat, orange and white fur…" When he received no response he continued. "He licks people all the time."

The worker's face saddened. "Oh… He's back here." She said as she intended Naruto to follow her. The blonde looked back to Sasuke who was still standing by the door. Taking the hint, Sasuke went to the back with Naruto.

The female worker, who's nametag read "Otsuri" lead the boys to the back where there was more cages. She stopped in front of one of the larger ones. "He has been sick the last two days and we can't seem to find out what's wrong with him. She put her hand up to her mouth and started to bite her nails. "The store owner says that if he's not better in the next two days we have to put him down. He's such an adorable little thing too." She sighed and looked back to Naruto. "You're the one the owner said would come visit him aren't you?" She asked, eyeing Naruto. "I heard you wore orange though." She said when she noticed Naruto wearing a light blue shirt and blue jeans.

Naruto was now looking closely at the animal. It lay on soft towels, breathing heavily. "Is there anything I can do? I don't want him to die. He's too young." The blonde looked up to Otsuri hopefully.

"I'm not aloud to sell him to anyone unless he gets healthy, and if he isn't better in two days he's not going to make it out of here alive. I don't know it he'll even last that ling." The girl wasn't happy to say it, but she knew it was the truth.

Naruto made a pitiful noise inside his throat, as if he were trying to decide something. "Have you told Tsunade about this?" He looked up to the woman.

"Tsunade-sama wouldn't bother herself with a little cat. She's much too busy for that."

Naruto stared into the cage, gripping the bars and biting his bottom lip. "There's got to be something."

"Naruto." Sasuke said loud and clear. The blonde lifted his head to look to Sasuke. Sasuke nodded towards the door and Naruto took one last look at the ill creature before walking towards the other. The brunette lifted his arm over Naruto's shoulders and whispered. "I'll find something to do about it, okay? But we've got to go. We're not supposed to be here in the first place." Sasuke gave the other a quick squeeze with the arm around his shoulders, let go, and walked to the cage the poor animal was being held in. He turned to the employee and said so only she could hear. "I'll be back tomorrow." He turned and left with a sulking Naruto.

The boys walked down the road silently for seven minutes in the light of the setting sun. Sasuke didn't want to see Naruto so depressed over something so small so he wanted to try to take his mind off the cat. "Naruto, are you hungry?"

"I'm fine." He said, not even looking up.

Sasuke sighed, giving up a bit too soon. "Why didn't you just buy the cat if you're so attached?" He stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets.

"I don't have enough money to take care of him. He'd have a better life if he lived with someone else."

Sasuke thought about that for a second. "Why do you like it so much?" He asked, wanting to know more about the thing Naruto loved.

He lost his mom after he was born, but he's still so nice. He's never bitten anyone, or hissed, or clawed. Only a few people like him and even they chose a different pet because of his odd habit." The blonde laughed to himself. "If you are near him he'll just come up and lick you. Not just once, but probably twenty times before he stops. Everyone thinks it's annoying,"

"I see." Sasuke said. 'So it lost it's mother. Don't cats only stay with their mother till their eight weeks old? And it's rejected by almost everyone? The two of them seem a lot alike. Both with no parents, both rejected by the public, and both have someone that loves them. That must be the reason he's taken such a liking to the thing.' "Want to head back to my place? It's going to be pitch black soon."

"All right. I guess so." Naruto said turning around to head back to his team mates house.

"Let's cut across. It'll be faster." He said, pointing to the roof-tops to his left. With a nod from Naruto he jumped onto the roof and they darted across town towards the Uchiha district.

They walked into the house together and Naruto walked over to, and sat on the couch. Sasuke went into the hallway and doors being opened and closed could be heard. Naruto still sat on the couch, slouching and staring blankly into space.

Suddenly, something white and fluffy plopped down next to the blonde, making him jump. "You should take a shower." Sasuke said in his usual tone.

"I don't need one." He denied the opinion even though he knew very well that he needed one.

"Are you kidding?" Sasuke practically snorted. "You haven't had one since…" His cheeks turned pink slowly as he remembered the last shower Naruto had taken. He had had to wash Naruto; his hands were all over the blonde, his arms, his hard chest, and those beautiful legs of his. Sasuke's heart began to beat faster as he recalled what had happened. Sasuke cleared his throat, knowing Naruto would grow suspicious of him if he didn't continue. "It'd be good for you anyway."

"Fine." The blonde said, being unusually cooperative. He sighed, grabbed the towel next to him, and walked past Sasuke and into the bathroom. You could hear the running water coming from the bathroom all the way to the doorway. Sasuke moved out the front door quietly so Naruto wouldn't notice. It was only two minutes before Naruto came from the bathroom dressed in only the white towel. Sasuke was already back inside the house.

The small white towel draped loosely around the blonde's tanned narrow waist when he walked out in search of his teammate. "Uh… Sasuke?" He walked around the corner to the living room where Sasuke was sitting on the couch. Sasuke looked up. "It just came to me," He paused, scratching his head. "I don't know where my clothes are."

At that moment, Sasuke stood from the couch and moved towards Naruto slowly. Step after step the slightly taller boy's heart pounded in his chest. The sight before him left him awe-struck. He had never looked at Naruto in a sexual way before, he just knew that he had strong feelings for Naruto.

He closed in on Naruto. The blonde didn't know exactly what was happening, but Sasuke was now pressing him against the wall, he leaned down slightly and buried his face where Naruto's shoulder met his neck. Naruto brought his arms to wrap around Sasuke's neck and Sasuke brought his hand up to run through Naruto's uncombed hair. Naruto was a bit confused with Sasuke, but that didn't mean he didn't like what was happening. Sasuke's hand rested at the base of Naruto's neck while he kissed the opposite side. The brunette's lips trailed up to the blonde's jaw then to his cheek; gently skimming the scares on that side of Naruto's face. Naruto's arms tightened around Sasuke's neck as Sasuke's free hand started to run down the blonde's side to rest on his hip.

Naruto couldn't take it when Sasuke's lips were just centimeters away from his own. He pressed forward and met Sasuke's lips with his own. The brunette's hand began to wander across Naruto's back, feeling every muscle, every curve, memorizing it all as if it was his only chance. His mouth pushed against Naruto's, wanting more than just his lips. Naruto let Sasuke have his way and the brunette quickly saw this. He slid his tongue into the sweet inside of Naruto. He moved slowly, not wanting to get tired and have to leave the comfort of the other. He kept the moment slow and leisurely until he felt the blonde start to move oddly and released the other's mouth under protest. He let his breath run over Naruto's lips before kissing him on the cheek again. Taking Naruto by the hand he lead the blonde to his room.

"Are you hungry?" The blonde asked, breaking the silence.

Sasuke hung his arm over Naruto's waist and in his usual deep tone he replied, "No, you?"

Naruto tried to turn to see Sasuke, but the space was too small to roll over. If he tried he'd just fall off so he just had to continue without eye contact. "Nah, not really. I am bored though."

A smirk played on Sasuke's face. "What do you want to do to pass the time by?"

"Something fun," The blonde started. "Something exciting," His eye's lit up. "Something that makes me tingle all over."

Sasuke moved on top of Naruto and kissed him on his scarred cheek. "I've got just the thing.

"-And at that point the beaver lurched up and bit his nipple off! Did not bite it, but bit it off. O.F.F. off. Bit it off. Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer He burst out laughing and nearly fell off the couch.

Sasuke couldn't help, but smile as he held Naruto's shaking body in his arms. It was an odd feeling, for Sasuke to be feeling so good, but he was willing to get used to it. This would be a night that he wouldn't have to worry about anything. Of course, he would have to rise early to get Naruto's present ready. But that was no problem for him.

Early the next morning Sasuke awoke with a slight pain in his lower back. His eyes slowly opened and he looked to his side where something heavy and warm lay on his chest. Carefully, he turned and slowly lifted the blonde's head and layed it on a pillow next to him. He stood up and hissed in a breath when the pain in his back grew suddenly from the getting up too fast. He looked down to where Naruto was still sleeping and realized he had fallen off the couch during the night and had been sleeping on the floor. No wonder his back hurt so much. Grabbing the blanket meant to cover both of them during the night he let it fall over Naruto neatly. He walked to his room and started his day off as any other normal day would start.

After exiting his morning shower, he made sure Naruto was still sleeping and headed out the door. It was a bit early, even for him to be awake. There was hardly any light and it was hard to see due to the winter fog hanging low in the air. He had a lot of things to do in the small amount of time. First of all, he had to go to the houses of Neiji, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and to Gaara's temporary apartment. He had to pay all these people and more an unusual visit and tell them of something they all needed to do that day for their friend. Plus, he had to take a trip to the pet shop he had been to the day before.

Stepping outside the Uchiha house he dashed towards the closest house, Lee's. Once he arrived he didn't even have to go to the doorstep, Lee was already outside getting ready for one of his long runs. Lucky for Sasuke, Lee saw him before he started dashing off. Lee jogged up to the Uchiha with a cheerful bounce in his step.

"Out for a healthy early morning stroll Sasuke?" He beamed, about to start one of the speech about youth as his teacher always did. Sasuke decided to respond before he would have to put up with a babbling Lee.

"No. Lee, I need a favor." This caught Lee's attention. The prestigious Uchiha needed a favor? Now this was interesting.

"What is it?" Lee leaned in closer towards Sasuke as if what Sasuke was about to say was a big secret.

"Are you… available tonight? Eight o'clock?" Sasuke asked, taking a step away from the man in green so he didn't feel so awkward. "There's something I want all Naruto's friends to get together for."

"Oh! Today is his birthday. Is it a surprise party?!" Lee was very excited about this. He had actually grown quite popular with the ladies since he had grown up a bit. His eyebrows not as thick as they used to be when he was just a boy. His eyes weren't quite as round, they had matured more or less. The only thing the girls didn't like about him was his obsession with the color green, and his odd habits of exercising almost all day. "I'll be there. For sure" Lee gave Sasuke his trademark "nice-guy" stance to show him it was a promise.

"I need to tell as many others as you can. Only people Naruto considers friends though. Keep that in mind."

"Alright! I'm on it!" He winked at Sasuke.

Sasuke started to walk towards Kiba's place to give him the news. After telling all the people he needed to, he started towards the pet shop. As he approached, he could see Sakura sitting on a bench near the building wearing a warm pink and blue scarf, sweats, and tennis shoes. He walked to her and spoke, "You ready?" She smiled and stood in response. It was now seven forty in the morning and the shop just opened ten minutes ago. They walked in and approached the counter where the lady from yesterday stood with a worried countenance. Before they could reach the counter she had something to say.

"The store owner just called today and told me that…" She sniffed. "That I have to youth anise him." She knew exactly why Sasuke was here. "I was waiting for you to come, but where's Naruto?"

"You haven't done anything yet, have you?!" Sakura practically shouted.

"No," She shook her head. "I've been waiting for Naruto to come in to say goodbye."

"That won't be happening." Sasuke interjected. "The cat won't be dieing today. Let's go." He said as he let himself into the employees only room. The girls looked at each other, nodded, and walked behind Sasuke to the back. "You're going to open the cage and Sakura is going to heal it." He said as he stopped at the cage the sick animal was in. Otsuri nodded again and pulled out a ring of keys and took a small silver one out and unlocked the cage. Sakura opened the brass door and held her hands over the cat, her chakra visibly flowing into the small creature. With a few more seconds of healing the cat yawned and sat up lazily.

"Amazing!" Otsuri shouted and clapped her hands together. The cat began to lick Sakura's hand and purr. She giggled.

"He'll be fine now." She said as she picked the orange and white fluff-ball up, out of the cage. "What's your name?" She muttered to herself as she looked at a paper hanging on the door to the cage. "Ah, Toby." The cat started licking her cheek. "That's cute." She turned to Otsuri beside her with a smile and asked. "How much does he cost?"

Otsuri looked surprised. "Oh, you want to adopt him?" Sakura nodded. "Are you sure you want him? Nobody else seems to like him." Toby licked Sakura's cheek again and she couldn't help, but smile.

"He's not for me. He's for a friend." She looked to Sasuke then to Otsuri again. "He's been wanting him for so long now. Plus, it's his birthday today." The woman smiled warmly and started to walk back out to the front of the store.

"Alright then. Usually the cost of adopting an adult cat is sixty-one dollars, but I'm sure I can lower that. You did just save us a load of money and his life. Would twenty-five dollars be alright? That would cover the shots he needs and has already had." She reached the register and turned to Sakura and Sasuke.

"That's fine." Sasuke said when Sakura looked back to him, the cat still licking her.

"Alright then," She pulled out a clip-board and held it out towards the two. "Will you fill out these forms? It shows that you are the owner of the cat and that you are now responsible for taking care of it." Sasuke just nodded and took the forms.

After five minutes that cat was officially the property of Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura held the cat securely in her arms as she and Sasuke walked out of the store. Toby was fast asleep in her arms, but would awaken whenever he felt nervous of finally being outside a cage. Sasuke on the other hand held three bags in his hands. One with a cat-comb, flea medicine, a collar, carious toys, and a small bag of cat food. The one he carried in his opposite hand held cat litter, and the last bag had a covered litter box. They were all set for the little creature. Sasuke himself didn't care for animals, but apparently Naruto loved this little guy. And what better present than something Sasuke knew he liked?

They were almost back to Sasuke's house when Sasuke spoke. "How am I supposed to give this to him? A cat isn't something I can really wrap in paper and give to him."

"Just let Toby wake Naruto up and see what happens. You don't have to wait till tonight to give him his present. You might as well give Naruto a good start for his day." They entered the front yard to Sasuke's house. Nothing more was said as they approached the house.

Sasuke opened the door and looked into the living room to see if Naruto was awake. Lucky for him, he was laying on his back with his arms sprawled to either side of his body, snoring quietly. Sasuke quietly set the bags down onto the floor and nodded to Sakura.

Gently. She handed the cat to Sasuke and he took him to where Naruto was sleeping, setting the cat down next to Naruto. Toby was apparently very glad to see the blonde because he practically jumped onto Naruto's chest and started licking the boy's face.

Naruto rolled over, moaning in displeasure of being woken up. But then Toby and licked Naruto and the cheek again. Naruto's eyes flew open and he shot up. "Toby?!" The blonde grabbed the cat from the floor and held him tight while the cat happily licked away at the blonde. Naruto turned and saw Sasuke and Sakura standing in the doorway and graced them with the brightest, most true smile they'd seen from Naruto in a long time. Naruto walked over to Sasuke and gave him a ling kiss on his cheek and then went to Sakura and gave her a tight, one-armed hug. "Thanks guys." He said cheerfully. "He would have died if it weren't for you." Naruto's face turned slowly from happy and energetic to confused and thoughtful. "What's the occasion?" He asked. He seriously had forgotten and Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

"It's your birthday, silly." Sakura told him. Naruto's face only looked more confused.

"It is? What's today?"

"October tenth." Sasuke said. "Same day your birthday has been on for years." Naruto laughed with embarrassment.

"Since when did you guys start getting me presents?"

"Since today." Sasuke said bluntly. "We could always take him back if that's a problem." He continued with a smirk on his lips.

"No! That's alright. I like it." Naruto half laughed nervously. He set the cat down to let it explore Sasuke's house. "Thanks." He said again, rubbing the back of his head. It just occurred to him how immature he must seem for his age at that moment. Sasuke couldn't help but to give the slightest little smirk because Naruto was being so cute.

"Well," Sakura started in a Oh-what-do-you-know,-something's-come-up tone. "I've got to get some stuff ready." She winked at Sasuke. Naruto looked to Sakura.

"What for?" He asked.

"I'm just getting some things ready for our mission in a few days." She smirked to Sasuke. Boy was she going to bet a beating from Sasuke for making him think that she was going to spill the secret. "I'll be going now." She said as she practically danced out the front door. Oh how fun it was to make the most composed ninja in Konoha worry like that. "I hope he won't beat me too bad." She said with a small snicker.

Oh. Em. Gee. . . -- I can't believe I was sitting there ready to whipe out my computer while I had a FINISHED chapter on it. . . O.o Actually, I just can't believe I didn't know I had a finished chapter on my compy. . . Well, I'm ready for the flames and I know I probably deserve every last one of them. sigh