Sasuke waited with baited breath until Naruto woke up. He couldn't believe that there was a chance Naruto felt the same way. For a few seconds, Sasuke contemplated giving Naruto a small poke to quicken the process, but he soon realised how unfair he was being; Naruto wouldn't take much longer to wake up and he needed the rest. Sasuke waited a little more patiently but as soon as Naruto's eyes fluttered open his patience dissipated and Sasuke bombarded him with questions.
Naruto frowned. He remembered what he said, but Sasuke had got completely the wrong idea. How would he get out of that one? It had been the fever talking, nothing more.
"Do you remember what you said to me last night?" Sasuke repeated, the need for answers getting the better of him.
Naruto frowned and feigned innocence.
"Last night? What did I say to you last night?" he asked. His own voice sounded a little higher than it should be, but Naruto hoped Sasuke wouldn't notice.
"Just before you fell asleep. You told me something." Sasuke elaborated, trying to jog Naruto's memory. Naruto stayed quiet for a while. The tension was thick in the air during the silence and the waiting was almost unbearable for Sasuke. Eventually, however, Naruto spoke.
"The last thing I remember was begging you not to put me in that cold bath." He lied. Naruto's voice was still a few octaves higher than he would have liked, but if Sasuke had noticed, he hadn't spoken out about it.
If he just pretended he didn't remember anything, Sasuke couldn't blame him. Sasuke would just forget everything he had said and things would eventually go back to normal. That was all he wanted.
Sasuke blanched; had Naruto really forgotten everything he had said? If memory loss was a symptom Sasuke had overlooked, any future he thought he might have had with Naruto was finished. He let out a weary sigh. He should have known better than to hope.
He felt angry with himself. He was utterly pathetic! Why couldn't he get it in his head that there would be no happy ending for him and Naruto? Why did he insist on clutching onto every little thing Naruto said, thinking everything was a clue, a hidden message, and that Naruto was desperately trying to confess his love? He needed to get his head out of the clouds.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably; Sasuke looked devastated. He had done it yet again. Naruto took the chance to survey Sasuke properly. He looked terrible. Sasuke had black circles round his eyes; he had obviously been up all night watching over him. How did he decide repay such devotion? More heartbreak.
Naruto wondered how much more Sasuke could actually take. He had been put through so much it was unbelievable. His family had been murdered. He had killed his only chance of revenge for the cold murder of the Uchiha's. Now he had had his heart broken. Twice.
How much more could Sasuke take before he just snapped? He was only human, after all. Sasuke could do anything if he lost it; he could even leave the village again completely. Naruto knew he couldn't take losing Sasuke again. Once had been more than enough. Before Naruto could work out what more he could say to Sasuke, the raven stood up abruptly and left the room.
Naruto watched him go sadly. He picked at the covers nervously, finding a loose thread and pulling at it, wondering how he would make it up to Sasuke this time. He reached for a glass of water Sasuke had left for him, taking a long drink.
He felt much better knowing his fever had gone. The cool water felt nice against his parched throat. Perhaps that was why Sasuke had finally left his side; he was better now. He jumped as he heard something smash loudly. Naruto carefully caught the glass of water he nearly split and replaced it back on the table, frowning in the direction of the noise. What on earth was Sasuke doing to cause such a racket?
He climbed out of bed, taking the first few steps carefully. He knew he felt well, but he couldn't be sure. When he found he could walk fine, Naruto made his way to the sound of the noise. It sounded like glass breaking; the blonde hoped Sasuke hadn't hurt himself.
He reached the bathroom and the door was slightly open. His mouth froze partly open and Sasuke's name died on his lips as he took in the scene before him. Sasuke was hurt. His hand was bleeding and the mirror on the bathroom cabinet was partially shattered, some of the pieces lying in the sink and others on the floor. Blood was dripping from Sasuke's cut hand and staining the floor below.
As Naruto was about to move forward and offer help with Sasuke's hand, Sasuke moved. He leaned forward with a sigh, his harsh breathing slowing down, letting his head rest against the remaining glass pieces in the frame of the mirror. A lump formed in Naruto's throat as he realised Sasuke was crying. His heart thudded painfully as he watched the silent tears make their way down Sasuke's face. Sasuke had never cried before. Ever.
He stepped back, his stomach churning uncomfortably, and promptly shot back into his bedroom, upset he had seen Sasuke so vulnerable. Naruto just wished he hadn't been so nosy, and kept out of Sasuke's business. So what if Sasuke had hurt himself? There was no need for him to get involved. Sasuke was perfectly capable of helping himself.
Naruto wished he could take off the band. Sasuke was becoming a shell of his former self, moulded into something different by anguish and pain. If only Sasuke wouldn't notice the band was missing. Then he could just lie about everything else. Naruto froze as he realised he had the beginnings of a brilliant plan brewing in his mind. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was under the Kyuubi's influence or not; as long as Sasuke saw he was wearing the band, he would assume everything was alright.
If Naruto could find something that looked just like the band and wore that instead, he could love Sasuke and the Uchiha would never find out. He would never be the wiser. He could make Sasuke happy, the way he deserved.
Naruto rummaged in one of his drawers, pulling out one of his old lead kunai. Now, the kunai were either made from titanium or steel. He wouldn't be needing it anymore. Using the sheer force of his chakra, he pulled the handle off the kunai and then used the chakra he was releasing to bend the lead and flatten it.
Naruto stopped for a moment. He had never used his chakra in such a way before and it was tiring. He had seen Sakura do it once. She had made a needle from a piece of bamboo. Her chakra had compressed the bamboo so much it became stronger than any metal Naruto had seen before. She had then made it thinner and thinner until it resembled a needle.
Naruto wouldn't be able to make the lead any stronger or even make it smaller or thinner; he didn't have such control like Sakura did. There was no way he would be able to refine his chakra in that way without an unbelievable amount of time and training.
Sakura, working in the field of medical ninjutsu, had refined that art a long time ago. She needed that kind of precision for things like healing and working with delicate tools during operations.
Once the lead had been flattened out, Naruto used his chakra to bend it into a ring shape. He pulled off the real band and slipped it into a drawer, replacing the real one with the new fake one.
It wasn't as neat as the previous band and there was a visible mark where it had been fused to form a circle. Naruto knew Sasuke had never looked intently at the previous band; he wouldn't notice the difference.
He felt a sudden warmth as he realised how happy he could make Sasuke now. He smiled and hopped off the bed, finding Sasuke. He could already feel the familiar feelings for Sasuke coming back. The raven had calmed down somewhat.
"Sasuke!" Naruto moved forward, taking Sasuke's hand in his own, acting as though he hadn't seen Sasuke in that exposed position before.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked, concerned.
Sasuke snatched his hand back, uncaring that the wound had started to bleed again.
"Nothing." He said curtly.
Naruto marched Sasuke back into his room and forced him to sit down. Naruto sat beside Sasuke on the bed.
"I remember what I said to you last night." Naruto said, jumping right in.
Sasuke didn't even bother to be hopeful. He wouldn't let himself be hurt again. If he just closed off all the feelings he had towards Naruto things would be better. He wouldn't be caught vulnerable again.
"Right," he muttered.
"I was with Orochimaru when the Kyuubi's control slipped. It was then I realised how much I loved you. Before I could even think about it, the control was back." Naruto said.
Sasuke turned to look at him. He knew it was ridiculous, but he was starting to have hope for him and Naruto again, despite what he had told himself just moments before.
"I love you Sasuke."
Sasuke didn't know what to say at Naruto's sudden confession. There could be only one rational explanation; Naruto had taken the band off. He took Naruto's wrist, pulling his hand forward; making sure Naruto was still wearing the band to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra. There it was, the black standing out on Naruto's wrist, shining like a beacon of hope to Sasuke.
"This can't be right…"
He was. That could only mean one thing. Naruto's feelings were real! Naruto was smiling up at him as he waited for Sasuke to come to the only conclusion left. Sasuke could see the sincerity in Naruto's eyes and he knew this was real.
"Will you let me help you with your hand now?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded, a little dazed, and held his hand out. Naruto took it gently and began tending to Sasuke's wound as delicately as he could.
At first, Sakura hadn't believed Naruto at all. However, when she saw the band was still firmly attached to his wrist, she had no choice but to. She had been secretly relieved; she had been hoping Naruto would develop feelings for Sasuke, or perhaps realise that how much he cared for Sasuke wasn't the normal amount when people were just friends. She had also been relieved for Sasuke's welfare. He had taken Naruto's rejections badly, but he had still been insistent on helping the blonde. She couldn't imagine the situation he had been put in.
Sasuke had been in bliss, just like he had before when Naruto had loved him. But this time, he felt even better. This time he knew it was all real, and that it would last, hopefully, forever. No one would be coming to take Naruto away. There was no ticking time bomb. Naruto was his.
Sasuke knew he would never find any reason to break up with Naruto. He had loved the blonde for the best part of his life, and he didn't see why he would ever fall out of love with Naruto.
He would never even dream of cheating on Naruto. He could never imagine loving anyone as much as he loved the blonde dobe. As long as Naruto didn't ever get tried of their relationship, Sasuke didn't see why they would ever break up.
Naruto had managed to fool Sasuke completely. Sasuke didn't suspect anything. Naruto supposed it was because Sasuke wouldn't want to be looking to pick holes in their new relationship; why should he? Sasuke wanted it more than anything. Why would Sasuke question his motives?
Naruto reached across the sofa and snagged the large bowl of popcorn from the other side. Sasuke's face wrinkled up as he watched Naruto eat it. It was disgusting, but he wouldn't begrudge Naruto the things he enjoyed. He watched as Naruto ate. Naruto felt the gaze and tore his eyes from the film they had been watching.
"What?" he asked. He offered Sasuke the popcorn. The raven politely declined.
"I'm not kissing you after you've eaten that," Sasuke warned.
He couldn't stand the taste of popcorn. Naruto wouldn't have his popcorn salted. Salty flavours, Sasuke could deal with, but Naruto liked it sweet. As though the added sugar weren't enough, each individual piece of popcorn was coated in either toffee or caramel.
Sasuke hated sweets. Naruto smirked and plopped himself on Sasuke's lap. He raised an eyebrow.
"Do you really think you can resist?" he purred. Even Naruto's breath smelt sweet. Sasuke took the challenge and pushed Naruto aside to watch the film, handing him the bowl again.
"Eat your popcorn and shut up; you're ruining the film." Sasuke said.
Naruto huffed, but stayed quiet anyway. The only sound was the film and the crunching as Naruto ate his treat. He was silent for a while. Naruto stopped eating the popcorn and placed it to one side.
He cocked his head, wondering how he could get Sasuke to cave in. He smiled coyly in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke ignored him. Naruto frowned as he realised Sasuke had become invulnerable to his charm. He turned to Sasuke, looking up at him through his eyelashes.
"I really do love you, you know." He said honestly.
That did it for Sasuke. Without any thought for the challenge he had taken up on, he leaned in and kissed Naruto gently. Naruto sighed happily as Sasuke licked his bottom lip, coaxing his mouth open. Sasuke found he wasn't as adverse to sweet tasting things, not when it was infused with Naruto's own unique taste. Perhaps caramel or whatever the popcorn had been coated with didn't taste too bad, after all.
Naruto pulled away suddenly, snatching up the popcorn again.
"See? Told you." he said smugly.
Sasuke made a low growling noise in the back of his throat and he turned to watch the film again, although he knew he would no longer be interested. Eventually the room went silent and nothing but the credits were on the screen.
"Hey, dobe, do you think they'll let me be back as part of team seven?" he asked.
Naruto shrugged, his eyes glued to the screen.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I've haven't had a chance to talk to Kakashi about it with what's been going on."
Sasuke supposed they had had more pressing matters to deal with. But Sasuke needed to be back on that team. If they offered to put him in any other team, he would refuse. He wanted to be with Naruto. There was no way he could let Naruto go alone on any missions. He had to be there all the time to make sure he stayed safe.
Naruto was more than capable as a ninja. His power was great, but his common sense was laughable. Naruto was just too curious and headstrong for his own good. He didn't seem to comprehend that there were ninja out there who were stronger and faster, with bad intentions.
Sasuke knew the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat' and he knew how much that applied to Naruto. If he weren't there to watch the dobe's back, he would get himself in real trouble. Sasuke was surprised Sakura and Kakashi had managed to keep him alive for so long. His mind wandered to the new addition to the team. His replacement. At once, Sasuke felt his blood boil.
"I don't like that Sai guy." Sasuke said.
They had met briefly and he hadn't liked him at all. He had accused him of being a bad friend to Naruto! Like hell was Sai closer to Naruto! Sai hadn't been childhood friends with the dobe. He had weird, shifty eyes too. Much like Kabuto. There was just something inside Sasuke telling him not to trust Sai. He knew it was probably jealousy, that Sai had been looking after Naruto while he had been away, but he didn't care.
"Shut up, teme. He's fine when you get to know him. He's saved my ass as few times, too." he added. Naruto remembered how difficult it had been at first with Sai. None of the team had been sure how to interact with the guy, but eventually, they became friends.
"I bet he has." Sasuke muttered.
Naruto blinked.
"What does that mean?" he asked slowly. He didn't know what he would do if Sasuke stared badmouthing Sai. He knew they weren't the best of friends, but there was no need to Sasuke to be condescending towards him. Sai was as much a member of the team as Sasuke had been and in spite of shaky beginnings and daily insults, Naruto and Sai had become good friends.
"It means, you incompetent idiot, that I'm not surprised you've needed saving. I don't know what's kept you going all this time." He said with a small chuckle.
Naruto had had a few comical accidents while Sasuke had been on the team. It seemed Naruto's clumsiness and penchant for danger only grew with his age. Sasuke didn't want to think about how accident-prone the blonde would be now.
Naruto looked strangely sombre as he answered Sasuke's question.
"Just the thought of seeing you kept me going." He answered truthfully.
Sasuke was silent.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It was worth it, after all. Despite everything we've been through, I got the one thing I wanted. I brought you home to Konoha and now you're staying here of your own free will. That's more than I could ever dreamed of." Naruto admitted.
He knew one day he would succeed in bringing Sasuke home, but he hadn't thought Sasuke would ever stay in Konoha voluntarily.
"I'm still sorry." Sasuke said.
Naruto smiled. That was the first time Naruto could remember Sasuke apologising so sincerely.
"Just pick another film, teme." Naruto said lightly.
Sasuke nodded, glad Naruto had lightened the atmosphere again, and got up to select a more exciting film.
Naruto and Sasuke had become unbelievably close over the next few weeks. The Kyuubi watched in disgust. How stupid could the Uchiha be? Wasn't it obvious Naruto was under the influence of his chakra again?
The fox growled, flexing its claws and pacing up and down the small cage. They were kissing. Again. Didn't worthless humans have anything better to do with their time? The demon sighed at the thought of killing. How it had missed the feeling of having prey die beneath its claws.
At first, seducing Sasuke had seemed like the best plan of action. After all, Orochimaru could no longer be responsible for their protection. But the Uchiha's feelings for Naruto were more love than lust. There was no way he could properly protect Naruto now.
They were better off on their own! The Kyuubi stretched out its nine tails, wishing again that there were more space in the cage. At least Naruto wasn't using hardly any chakra; the blonde seemed to be needing less and less influence.
The Kyuubi wondered what Sasuke would do when he realised the whole relationship was a farce. Would he yell at Naruto? Would he physically harm Naruto? The fox quivered in anticipation of a fight. Fighting Sasuke would be their first proper fight in years, and the fox wouldn't have to worry about Naruto getting hurt; the pathetic Uchiha was in love. There was no way he could really cause the blonde harm. With a large, toothy smirk, the fox coiled its tails back, curling up again. He would wait.
A/n: Thank you again to all of you who reviewed! I just love hearing your comments, thoughts and predictions for the next chapters! Check back soon for the next installment.
Whippasnappa.