Hi guys. Hope you are all well. I am sorry it's been very long, almost two months. I have no better excuse than me not being able to focus. A lot of other things kept me away too. I broke my laptop a week before my exams and then got distracted by other fanfics. I had to reenergise myself with reading more and it brought me back to the writing thing. Hehe. Ahm. Sorry. Well, here is chapter 10 and I will post the next chapter by next week. Please leave a review as it will motivate me to post more often. ;) Hope you like it.

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Flashback

Chapter 10

"This is a nice place. "Ayame exclaimed, feeling the light breeze on her face.

It was a little after four in the evening, so it was pleasantly warm. They have been taking a nice nap after their late lunch at two. Konoha Botanical Garden and Children's Park was a big place with a lot of greenery. Apart from the variety of trees and plants surrounding the garden, there were a couple of cemented sheds, walkways and play area for children to enjoy the visits.

"You say that every time we come here." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I do, because it's true." Ayame looked at his companion with affection in her eyes.

This was the third time they had come here and she enjoyed every moment of it. The first time they were here, Naruto had told her about the big news. He had started off 'shyly' with "I'm not a virgin anymore." which almost caused her a heart attack. But, he immediately confirmed that his partner was Sasuke.

THE Sasuke, he has been crushing on since he was 11.

Ayame had always been fond of the little boy she considered her baby brother and was very protective of him. Even though, she was sincerely happy for him, she couldn't help but feel a little worried about the lack of ownership from Sasuke.

Naruto had told her the details of before and after of their sleeping together for the first time. Also, about his fears of rejection and misunderstanding following the incident. But, instead of avoiding him, Sasuke had continued to have these intimate moments (Ayame refused to acknowledge that her baby brother is doing the ding-dong and the bing-bong with that good for nothing jerk). They have been dancing around each other for over two months now, but, were yet to come out publicly.

"So..." She poked Naruto to get into the chatting mode "What's new with you and the grumpy pants?"

Naruto kept his eyes closed and continued to lie with both his hands under his head.

"Why are you asking? You don't like him anyway." Finally, peaking at her without moving his head.

"Che!" She shifted on her side to face him and lifted her head resting it on her palm while her elbow supported her head onto the side. "Its true that I don't like him. But that makes it all the more important for me to know. I need to keep my gun loaded for when he makes you sad." She said confidently.

Naruto snorted and turned on his side adjusting in the same manner as her.

"He is not going to make me sad, Aya chan. Stop worrying."

"Well, I am not the one blinded with fake affections."

Naruto sighed. "I have known him since we were little babies. Sasuke doesn't do things which he doesn't want. He would let me know, if he didn't want me." He said, trying to stop the conversation to become sour.

"And how did he 'let you know' that he wants you?"

"Aya chan. Please…."

"Fine. You know he likes you. He knowsyou like him. Does anyone else knowsthis?"

"... Ummm... They... um"

"So, he has not told anyone that he likes you or that you guys are together. Fine. No problem. Has he told YOU that he likes you?"

"I told you, Neesan... I kno..."

Ayame sat up and said "Only you know, Naru. And that too because you think you do." She stopped him when he tried to defend himself. "You have told me everything. The circumstances, the incidents, how you felt and how different you both have become. While, I do believe that he likes you a bit, I can't help but want that he bucks up his saddle and voice it out. At least to you." She said these words slowly with emotions in her eyes and voice.

Touched by her concern, he sat up too, putting put both his hands on her shoulders "I know you are worried because you care about me. But Aya chan, guys are not like that. It is difficult for us to say these things. Besides, someone told me long ago that Sasuke really likes me but doesn't say it. Someone who knows him the best. So, I am not worried. Now, let's not get our mood spoiled on unnecessary things." Letting go of her shoulders, he gave her an appreciative look." By the way, you look damn good in this dress. For a second I thought you were going to ditch me to go on a date with someone"

Ayame was an average looking girl who mostly wore Tshirts and jeans. But today she wore a full sleeve dark grey woollen top and a denim skirt with black skin-tight leggings underneath. Her feet were covered in a nice pair of black and purple sneakers. Her shoulder length hair was tied in a pony tail but a few bangs were left lose that fell on one side of her face. She also applied a little bit of makeup which was only visible if you look too closely. In all, she looked very good.

"*Sigh* Well, I can't change my face but I do know how to look attractive." Ayame accepted this attempt to change the subject.

"Hey! there is nothing wrong with your face."

"Yeah, nothing's wrong with it doesn't automatically makes it right."

"Physical appearance is not the only thing that is counted as beauty, Aya chan."

"You can say that, you are not a girl." She turned her face to one side with a bitter face.

"I would have said that even if I was a girl. You are the best partner anyone can ever wish for." Naruto said with such sincerity that Ayame could not help but smile.

"And you are the most adorable boy, I have ever met." She stopped and let out a long sigh. "If you weren't chasing that arrogant bastard, I would have asked you out." She blinked at him flirtingly.

"Ok. Well, that would be gross and you know it. Besides, I am not the blue-eyed blonde you want." He said rolling his eyes.

"Guh! I know that." Looking at the sky visible between the tree leaves, she sighed loudly. "We are hopeless, aren't we?" She whispered. " It's hard for us to date anyway and we make it worse by being gay."

"That's not true." He waited for her to look at him. "We aren't gay. We fell in love with someone and that someone turned out to be from the same gender." He smiled reassuringly. Putting his hand on his chest, he felt the pendent under his Tshirt. "Looking for love is bound to end in a compromise. Either you compromise or let Love finds you. And if it finds you, you can't run away."

Ayame gave out a small laugh and ruffled his hair. "Look at that. I am getting lectured by a kid. Well, whatever. I think we should get going now. Don't you have to go to the gym? Seriously, I don't even know why you go there. You are still as short and thin as ever." She laughed and stood up dusting her clothes off any grass and sand.

"Hey, I am as tall as you. And I am NOT thin. I am lean. And it's not a 'Gym', it's a dojo. " He said in mock anger, standing up too.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, are you guys going to the festival?" She asked while they were walking towards the exit.

"Hmm. We had a chat some time ago. I really wanted to see the fireworks. You know, I had always seen them from my window and never from the festival grounds." They walked out the park's gate and towards the adjacent street. "He hates these cheesy things and with the finals starting just a week later, he wasn't very thrilled. So, I told him that it was OK as I don't have anything to wear anyways." They stopped at the corner where they were going to part ways. He looked towards the street he was supposed to go and smiled shyly. "A couple of days later, he handed me a packet saying that he had an old Kimono and he wanted to see if it fits me. I promised him that I will wear it to the festival."

Ayame smiled at him teasingly. "Wow! So much for hating the 'cheesy things'."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Well, that was weeks ago. I am not sure if he still wants to go." Answering to the Ayame's raised eyebrow, he continued. "Sasuke has been a little cranky, lately. He gets irritated if I am near him, he gets irritated if I am with someone else. It's like he is on his periods. It's so frustrating. Maybe, it's the pressure of the finals or all the fangirls chasing him." He said quietly. Ayame just stood silently, even though she wanted to shout 'I told you so'.

"*Sigh*, I am sure he will be OK once the finals are over. So, you don't need to worry about me." He smiled widely. Ayame shook her head in defeat and hugged him affectionately.

"OK then, ja ne."

"Hmm." He hugged her back and they walked on their own ways.

He walked to the dojo with a hand on his chest holding the pendent tightly. "Everything will be ok." He tried to convince himself.

$%$^%$&^%&*&*()()*)()()IP_)

Sasuke was bored.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to go home and get bugged by Itachi or stay here and get bugged by these annoying idiots. Itachi had been emphasising on 'family time' more and more recently and that would always will be the last thing on his things to do list. And he knew that the topic is going to the same thing as it has been for 2 months now. "Sasuke, the hotel manager found blood on the bedroom carpet. Did you have a fight with Naruto that day?" It took him 5 minutes to guess where the hell the blood came from. He had never run away from his brother in such a speed before. Not wanting to suffer that humiliation again, he chose to come to the mall with his lunchmates instead of discussing that cursed topic.

He tried his best to tolerate his noisy companions for 3 hours but, he drew the line when the dog boy herded everyone towards the arcade section. Pretending to be on a call, he waited for them to go in and then made his way to the opposite direction. After 30 mins of a tiring walk and glaring at the googly eyed girls at the malls, he sat on a sofa in the waiting area and took out his phone.

Eight miss calls from Aniki.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to remember the moment they had broken apart.

Itachi and Sasuke used to be very close when they were young. They had moments of bickering and fights, but he knew, no matter what, Itachi would always have his back. Sasuke also accepted that his brother was the epitome of perfection, a prodigy, a golden son that his father was proud of. Even though, the younger Uchiha the affection of his mother and Itachi, he starved for his father's approval. His father favouring the elder son more than him, made him feel betrayed. He knew that it was not his brother's fault and that his brother loved him dearly. But he could not stop himself from becoming bitter. Instead of looking at him as his idol, he started looking at him as his rival. Instead of getting inspired, he became jealous. Instead of learning from him, he was competing with him. He could see that Itachi was saddened by this change and tried several times to reduce this gap between them. It only became worse after their parent's death.

"I can see that you are getting bored." Sasuke gave a mental groan and looked up at the person who had disturbed his sulking. "Here, I got you something to drink." Sakura smiled and thrusting a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hands. "black, no sugar. Right?"

Sasuke stared at the coffee in his hands but replied with a question of his own. "Where are the others?"

"Still at the arcade. It was very noisy, so I came out."

"Hmm."

Sakura sat next to Sasuke but made sure that there was decent space between them. She had worked really hard to change her image of his fangirl and she noticed that Sasuke did not cringe in her presence anymore. "Sasuke kun, why didn't Naruto come today?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Why are you asking me?" He took a sip from the bitter coffee.

"Sorry. He is always with you, so I thought you knew." She starting playing with the ribbon on her dress and casually continued. "Its good that he is not here. Its difficult enough to handle Kiba alone. Both of them would have been too much to control." With the corner of her eyes she saw Sasuke's facial expression to loosen a bit. 'Not so fast, love.' "But you must be feeling lonely without him."

At this, Sasuke stopped staring at his coffee and glared at her with a hardened face. "And why, pray, will I feel 'lonely' without that loser."

Raising her hands in defence, she said "I mean, he is your best friend. And he is damn possessive of you too. He is always around you. So, It's natural that you get attached." She smiled casually and looked around continuing in a bored manner. "It's not a big deal for him, since he is very clingy with everyone. He doesn't understand what personal space is, at all. Look, how clingy he gets with Gaara." She could now feel glare become icy. 'Careful, Sakura.' "It's a good thing he is not a girl, he would have been a real player." She let out a small laugh. "Anyways… you know, there is a girl in the senior year who went around with a guy in the same class. I heard there was huge mess as the girl became really clingy. Apparently, it was supposed to be a casual relationship but the girl became obsessed with him. Now, he is trying hard to get rid of her, but, she believes that she has more claim on him since, they have done a lot of intimate things."

He stood up abruptly stood up and threw the almost full coffee cup in the trashcan. "I am leaving first. Let everyone else know."

"Uhh.. Ok. Do you want me to drop you? You came with Tenten, right?"

"Its Ok. I will take a cab home." Saying that, he sped towards the lift.

Sakura sat waving at him with a humourless smile on her face.

Flashback (Friday)

Sakura had been looking for Sasuke from the past 15 minutes. He checked the classes, the cafeteria, sports ground and even asked some guys to check the boy's washrooms. But he wasn't there. And so was that blonde bastard.

"Where the hell are they." She muttered while walking around the school building and almost shrieked in surprise. There, a couple of feets away, around the corner Sasuke and Naruto sat with the back resting on the building's wall. Sakura did not like what she was seeing. Hair dishevelled, shirts untucked, Belts undone and tired faces. She hid behind the pillar and quietly listened to them.

After a couple of minutes, Sasuke sat up and started fixing his clothes. "We should leave."

Naruto hesitantly started to fix himself too. "Umm, Teme, Can I ask you something?"

"hn." He replied uninterestedly.

"Sasuke… Are you happy?" he asked softly.

Sasuke stopped fixing his hair and turned to him sharply. "What?"

Naruto repeated at him sincerely "Are you happy?"

The raven saw the emotions in his eyes and felt his heart beat pickup. He didn't know why, but it really scared him. These unknown feelings were really confusing him and he didn't know what to do. 'What's happening? Why is this happening?'

"Sasuke?"

"Shut up." He closed his eyes really tightly to get his emotions under control. "You are so annoying."

"Hey!. I ju…."

Sasuke turned towards the blonde and said "You want to know if I am happy?" He stood up and dusted his clothes." Well, I will be. Because I won't see your face for the next two days." He then walked towards where Sakura hid but luckily ran past her without noticing her.

Sakura took one glance at the stunned blonde and walked back to the school cafeteria. Her emotions were in haywire. She wasted to kill and die both. Her expressionless face was a mask of lies.

"Sakura? Where were you? We are almost done with the lunch. Here, you van share with me." Ino said while making place for her best friend to sit.

Sakura sat down and picked up the spare chopsticks and took a bite. She then looked up and smiled at everyone. "Hey guys. What's say we go to the mall this Sunday? We won't get much time before the exams anyways."

End Flashback

Content with her actions, she made her way to the rest of the group. "Do you think, he can ever be happy with you, Naruto?" the pinkette whispered.

'Either you stop on your own, or I will make you stop.'

Purpledragonoffire: And Cut. So that marks the end of the chapter. Please forgive my spelling or grammar mistakes. Here is an explanation of things that might have been confusing.

1)Aya chan is in love with another blue eyed blonde. Answer: Ino. No bummer there.

2)Blood on the hotel's bedroom's carpet? Answer: Remember both our heroes had their first time on the floor. The manager had called Itachi the next day reporting his concerns of a possible fight.

3)Naruto refused to come to the mall, why? Answer: Sasuke said he will be happy as he won't see Naruto during the weekend. So, he made sure that Sasuke doesn't see him during the weekend.

4)Two weeks before the exam and 1 week before the festival. The next chapter will involve a scene I imagined before I started the fic. I am hoping it comes out the way I thought.

Any questions? Please review. Should I continue the fic or not? I would love to know what you think.