I got questions pertaining to the feelings the characters are developing. In Naruto's case, his emotions towards Sasuke are growing out of being wanted by someone (i thought i made that clear last chapter when he said 'want me' in his dream), he likes the feeling of someone yearning for him, even if it's physical and the only reason he doesn't give into it is because of his care for Sakura.

on sasuke's side, he just knows that naruto affects him differently than other people do and pulls out emotions from him that other people can't. and though he wants to find out why, he's hesitant to because he does not want to change who he is.

i would like to dedicate this chapter to Sadow Uchiwa-ry, she absolutely blew up my inspiration (and ego XD) by telling me that i was the author who inspired her to write and publish a book called "Blood & Silver" which releases in Canada on October 19.


"And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet


Chapter 11: Budding Love (Part One)

Sasuke's obsidian eyes narrowed at Sakura, who sat across from him at the breakfast table. He hadn't thought there was anything more annoying than the yapping rants Sakura launched herself into, but oh was he wrong. So very wrong.

The girl was staring out the ceiling to floor window with a bemused look adorning her features. She had her chin resting on the heel of her palm while her other arm lay still across the surface of the table.

Sasuke grit his teeth and glared at her. If there was one thing more annoying than her constant chatter, it was her utter silence and ignorance to Sasuke's presence.

He was used to drowning out her rambling, but this behavior was something very different than what she'd expressed to him over the past five years. Never had they been in the same room without her death gripping him or squealing about some trivial thing he had no interest in. She wasn't even dressed properly, still in her bathrobe with thick, wet strands of pink hair held sloppily back in a clip. No make-up, bags under her eyes similar to his own. Sasuke even had a faint suspicion that she hadn't shaved since she started this behavior about a week ago.

His glare hardened when she still did not pay him any mind. If he was putting in the effort to glare at her, the least she could do was cast him a look so she could burn under it. He had better things to do than sit here and be ignored. He fucking hated being ignored, even by people he did not particularly like.

"Sakura," he breathed heavily.

The girl flinched, yanked out of her very deep musing session and looked at her fiance.

Sasuke folded his arms across his chest. "I know you like spending time with me, but I wasn't aware that you could be satisfied with just listening to me breathe," he said a bit sardonically.

Sakura frowned, blinked and sat back in her chair with a sigh. "I'm sorry for my silence, Sasuke-kun. I've just been...preoccupied lately." She inhaled and let out a shaky breath, the sound that comes out when you're holding back tears.

Sasuke's lip curled and he rolled his eyes. He really did not want to have her start a crying fiasco in front of him. "I don't like to pry but if you..." He closed his eyes, forcing the words out. "If want to talk about it, I'm...listening," he finished.

Sakura's jade gaze flicked to him in surprise. "Wh...really, Sasuke-kun?" she asked hopefully. She wasn't keen on discussing things that involved Naruto with other people, but Sasuke was an unquestionable exception.

Sasuke looked to his side, momentarily wondering if he should just say 'no' and stand up and leave. But then again, Sakura's new attitude was really starting to piss him off, so..."Yeah."

A notable light brightened Sakura's face before her lips fell again and she tangled one hand through her now damp hair. "Well...it's about Naruto."

And just like that, Sasuke's interest in the subject rocketed skyward. His lips fell apart, he leaned forward and his eyes flashed with a curious gleam. "Naruto? What? What about him?"

The girl gave Sasuke's sudden...enthusiasm a questioning look before she continued, "I've been very confused about him lately, because of something he told me. That night we went to the Nara mansion, I came back a little" - she blushed - "drunk, and it put a hammer to my self-control."

Sasuke's brow furrowed, and he bit his tongue to ask what Naruto told her about as he tried to make sense of her words.

Sakura whined softly and hugged her shoulders. "He's making it very difficult for me to continue hating him. And after that conversation, I was just wondering if I should let it all go and just...treat him right and love him like I used to." She held Sasuke's gaze. "Like...like maybe I still do."

Sasuke's stomach pinched. How close were they when they were little? His mind raced. Naruto was in love with her, supposedly, so they had to have had an intimately close relationship when they were younger for him to feel that way. Maybe even stronger now that Sakura was considering letting whatever Naruto did go after hating him for so long.

Sasuke felt a wave of jealousy crash down on him. Naruto would take Sakura back and get rid of Sasuke in the blink of an eye. No...Sasuke couldn't let...Sakura couldn't do that. If she went back to loving Naruto, he would throw himself to her in a heartbeat and not only expose Sasuke's actions to her but make sure he never came within a thousand feet of either of them. Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance of...of...well he hadn't figured it out yet but he wouldn't even get a glimpse of Naruto anymore if Sakura went apologizing or forgiving or whatever she was 'maybe' planning to do.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Sakura continued to speak, "I don't think...I don't think he knows that I remember what I said to him that night. And I just..." she bit her lip as tears started to spill down her cheeks. "I don't want him..." she looked up at Sasuke desperately. "I don't want him to leave Sasuke-kun!"

Suddenly, Sasuke's thoughts came to a screeching halt. He stared blankly at the girl and felt whatever moisture held on his tongue dry up in an instant.

Sakura had begun crying into her hands, her soft hitches of breath the only sound filling the room as Sasuke gradually came over his shock and narrowed his eyes in both anger and confusion. "What did you say?"

Sakura took in a stuttered breath and calmed herself a bit before speaking. "He- he has plans to leave," she murmured weakly.

Sasuke blinked and recalled the snippets of Sakura's yelling he'd caught the night she'd stood screaming in the hallway and pieced the words together. He stood up slowly from his seat and stared down at her. "Leave to where? Where the fuck does that dobe think he's going?"

Sakura's features twisted to a baffled stare, unsure what to make of Sasuke's words. She wiped the sleeve of her bathrobe across her eyes and sniffed quietly, embarrassed at her outburst. "He's saving up...to buy plane tickets to America...and to start a life there."

Sasuke scoffed and looked to his side with a disbelieving smile, his dark eyes flickering over the floor.

Sakura pressed her elbows to the table and cradled her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do. I should be glad he's leaving..."

Sasuke glared at the floor where his gaze was fixated.

"But I'm not, not in the least. And I think about what happened and I get upset but..."

Sasuke's fingers curled inward, nails piercing his palms.

"He's never been cruel to me, it just makes me so angry that he won't tell me what he did and I..."

Sasuke grit his teeth. There was this annoying buzz that wouldn't shut up by his ear.

"Just want him to stay here. He'll stay if I'm kind to him, won't he?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and shook his head rapidly.

"I mean he loves me after all-"

"Sakura stop it!"

Sakura jerked and switched her eyes from their place on her hands to Sasuke in confusion. Stop it? Stop what? He said he would listen. "Stop what, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke did not look at her, and his hand came up and threaded through his hair. "That thing..." his hand came down over his face. "That thing where your lips- they move -and..." he sighed with frustration. "And sound comes out, just stop it." You could imagine how scrambled his thoughts were if he couldn't even come up with the word "talking."

But before Sakura could respond to the remark, Sasuke set his jaw and pulled his keys out of his pocket, quickly walking out of the room.

XxXxXxXxXXxXxXxXxX

Haruno Estate - 5 years ago...

Naruto brightened as he stepped into the kitchen and found Sakura standing there, peeling carrots. He made his place next to her but she did not look up at him.

The blond frowned before smiling slightly. "Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you," he said.

Sakura made a noncommittal sound and continued what she was doing.

The boy blinked and tried again, "You helping Okasan cook?"

Again she made a neutral sound and kept chipping at the skin of the carrot.

Naruto felt his lips pull down once more and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

They hadn't spoken or seen much of each other since their stupid argument over the stupid Uchiha and all his...stupidity. Naruto had been holding out for the sake of his pride, waiting for Sakura to draw a line and come apologize to him. But after a few days, Naruto came to realize that there was no "line" with girls, and that he would have to sacrifice his dignity if he ever had a chance of Sakura looking, let alone talking to him again.

"Look, Sakura-chan," he began softly. "I'm sorry I...yelled at you." He pouted and looked down. "About the Uchiha...he just...he's been eating up a lot of our time together, you know? And I've got no one else to hang out with outside of school, so..." He looked up again with a faint blush. "I'm sorry."

He watched as Sakura put down the vegetable and peeler and turned to him with a bright smile. "Okay!" she chirped.

Naruto bunched his brows and stared at her. "That's it?" he asked. That couldn't be it...

She nodded. "Yup, I forgive you, and I'm sorry I yelled too." Hugging him quickly and letting him go, she turned back to her task.

Naruto blinked twice, still not believing it was over. "So all this time, all I had to do was say two words and you would've stopped ignoring me?"

Sakura giggled. "How do you not know that girls are like, the masters of grudges? Seriously, if it's bad enough, we could go on for years."

The blond grinned and shook his head. "Girls are so confusing, maybe I'll switch to guys permanently."

Abruptly, Sakura stopped peeling and turned her head to stare wide-eyed at the other.

Naruto stared back at her. "What?"

She didn't speak.

The boy flushed and leaned back a bit. "What! You know I like guys, too!"

Sakura's lips formed a small 'o' before she spoke, "Stick to guys...permanently?"

Naruto raised a brow. "It was...it was just a joke, Sakura..."

Green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Can I watch?" she asked teasingly through a smirk.

Naruto's face flamed and he shoved her shoulder while she broke into laughter. "Hentai!" he yelled with a smile.

The girl paused in her laughter and bored her eyes into his, though they still shined with merriment. "I bet you'd be pretty hot with Sasuke-kun."

Naruto blanched and crossed his arms. "Yeah right, like I'd ever want to do anything with him."

Sakura stuck her tongue out and elbowed him softly in his stomach. "It was just a joke, Naruto," she played, throwing his words back at him, then she pointed her peeler at him. "But you better not get any funny ideas! He's mine!"

Naruto put his hands up in mock surrender and closed his eyes, though a sting evoked in his chest at her words. "Whatever, you can have him." He opened one eye and grinned at her. "But that's not to say he won't come after me," he joked.

Sakura gave a horrified gasp and threw a piece of carrot at him. "Naruto!"

The blond laughed and shrugged. "What can I say? With these looks, I'm practically irresistible."

The girl shook her head. "It doesn't matter, because you'd never do that to me anyway, right Naruto?"

Naruto's features softened as he smiled at her. "Of course not, Sakura-chan. You don't have to worry about a thing. He's not my type anyway."

Her lips quirked. "And what type is that?"

Naruto smirked. "Bastard."

Before Sakura could push words past another gasp, both heads turned to the opening doorway and saw Ruka step inside.

The woman looked to both her her children and smiled slightly. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

Sakura laughed under her breath and returned to her carrots. "No Okasan, I was just finishing the carrots you asked me to peel and Naruto was keeping me company."

Naruto tipped his head in agreement.

Ruka's smile faltered. "Oh...I actually came in here to steal Naruto for a few minutes, I need help moving some furniture into your father's study and he's on a business call." She looked to Naruto. "Is that all right?"

The blond nodded eagerly and walked beside his adopted mother, casting a glance to Sakura. "See you later, Sakura-chan."

"Later," she replied, still focused on her vegetables.

Ruka placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder as he turned and left with her through the door. He did not even notice the fingers slowly glide down clothed skin to rest at the small of his back.

XxXxXxXxXXxXxXxXxX

Naruto closed the lid to the trash after placing the bag inside, then he turned and began walking back to the entrance of the house.

Taking out the trash was Kira's job, the brunette servant that was guarding his door. But Naruto had found her sleeping against it this morning when he came out to take a shower and he'd felt bad about waking her last night. So out of the kindness of his heart (and utter NEED to get the hell out of his room for five minutes), Naruto had taken the liberty of doing her job for her and then quickly retreating to his room before she woke up.

Unfortunately, Naruto would not get to execute phase two of his plan so smoothly. As he walked up the driveway to get to the front door, he froze like a stone in his steps.

Sasuke had come out and was standing beside the passenger side of his car, a red convertible Viper.

Naruto found that he could not move, that the erratic pulse of his heart was drowning out any sound as it rushed in his ears like the flurry of wings. He wished and hoped and prayed, God he prayed, that the Uchiha would by some miracle just turn and go back as silent as the way he'd come.

But of course, Naruto had never been one for religion.

But fate seemed to hear his pleas, and curled its lips in a sneer as it decided to be cruel.

Sasuke looked up from his feet and locked gazes with him. Naruto got a small spark of satisfaction as the other flinched with surprise.

There was a heavy, pregnant silence that stretched between them. Yet something else passed as well.

For the briefest of moments, a flicker of understanding flashed between oceans and night skies. For that one instant, everything was lucidly clear. Something had shifted dramatically inside both of them this week of separation, this they knew, even if both were reluctant to accept it.

Sasuke was first to put his wall back up. His thumb pressed down and the lights of his car flashed twice with a loud beep. He reached for the passenger door and opened it, never taking his eyes off Naruto's. "Get in the car," he ordered.

The words jarred Naruto out of his stupor and he scowled. "Get bent." He continued walking, intending to pass right by Sasuke and get inside the house.

Sasuke grit his teeth and grabbed Naruto's arm when he was by him, jerking the blond back. "Get. In. The car," he repeated slowly.

Naruto glared at him. "I'm so sick of you! You're not supposed to come near me! If you want a hole to fuck, drill one in the wall and get away from me!"

Sasuke's grip tightened at that statement, making Naruto wince. He yanked the blond closer, until their breaths mingled and heated the air between them. He burned his way through a cobalt glare. "Get...in the fucking...car."

Naruto growled at him, his eyes challenging the other.

When neither moved for a few minutes, Naruto rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh and jerked his arm twice to get it out of Sasuke's grip. He gave the other a vehement snarl before lowering himself into the car and crossing his arms as he slumped in the seat.

Sasuke snorted and - before slamming the door - leaned down and flicked the lever to initiate child safety(1), then hastily went to the driver's side and got in while Naruto was screaming obscenities while trying to open his door.

Sasuke stabbed the key into the ignition and turned it, the vehicle roaring to life. He flicked his gaze to the cursing blond. "Just who do you think you're dealing with, dobe?" he asked in half-seriousness as he pulled out of the driveway and sent the car screeching down the street.

Neither were aware of the jade eyes narrowing at them from a window.


(1) it's a little switch on car doors so you can't open them from the inside