Who thinks I should put in another one of my favorite songs in this chapter? ...No one? Aww...
Anyway, here's the twelfth chapter. Thanks for the reviews everyone, and thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions (and cookies!)! Thanks especially to Oro-sama for the suggestions (which I used).
It's a Nanny's Job
Chapter twelve: Giving up Dreams
When Sasuke's wife divorces him, and leaves him their kids, it's up to him to find a nanny. But nobody's right for the job. Except for this blonde, who refuses to leave his property until he gets the job. What's Sasuke to do?
Iruka was quickly finding himself tiring out. He might be a teacher, but his students weren't children who needed constant attention and a playmate at all times. His students might be hell raisers, but at least they could go into a separate room alone.
Which is the current problem he is addressing.
Sarel had gone into her room a few minutes ago to get a board game to play, and as soon as going in, she had come back out, screaming bloody murder. Iruka (who had been lounging tiredly on the couch) had immediately jumped up and ran to her. She had jumped into his arms and curled her little arms around his neck, mumbling half-formed words, sobbing and shaking.
Iruka, bewildered as he tried to make out the indistinguishable words, just sat down on the floor with Sarel in his lap and rubbed her back as he whispered soothing words to her, trying to calm her down enough so that she could explain what was wrong.
William stood off to the side, unsure as to what to do, but worried just the same.
After ten minutes of whispered words and complete stillness of the atmosphere, Iruka asked Sarel again what was wrong.
Sarel hiccupped, "I-I went into m-my r-room, a-and I was getting the g-game, and something j-j-jumped at meee!" Her voice had gotten stronger as she spoke, but by the end of it the memory had washed over her again and she had fallen into sobbing again.
Iruka couldn't keep the entirely bewildered look from his face as he wondered what exactly could've jumped out at her. He decided he would find out for himself, after he calmed Sarel down.
Five minutes later he handed a much more sedate Sarel to William and got up, brushing off his pants. "You two stay here, and I'll see what's up there."
William nodded mutely, gravely, and Iruka would've laughed at how serious he looked for such a young child, if he himself wasn't a little scared as he walked upstairs.
As he placed his hand on the knob, only one thought went through his mind, I just hope it isn't a spider... A little shudder wracked his frame before he opened the door.
He closed the door behind himself and flicked on the light, and the room was immediately illuminated in an off-white glow. Looking around, he couldn't see anything that sprung out at him as unusual. So he got on his hands and knees and put his face near the floor to get a better look at everything.
Crawling around, he looked under the bed, in the closet, under the dresser, still nothing.
He finally looked under the desk. Lo and behold, a dark shadows hid in the corner, two bright golden eyes watching him. Iruka jerked back, heart beating rapidly, unable to break eye contact with the golden ones. They watched each other for a few moments, and suddenly the eyes blinked and moved, and soft padding alerted Iruka of the approaching creature.
Iruka backed up a little, still unsure as to what the creature was. Out of the shadows and into the light came a kitten.
Iruka blinked. The kitten was dark as the night, the only white on him on the tip of his tail and as socks on his little paws. The kitten blinked back at him, owlish gold eyes shining in the light.
Iruka held a hand foreword and allowed the kitten to sniff the back of it. When he didn't move away or bite him, Iruka cautiously slid his hand over the kitten's small head and petted him, trying to get the kitten relaxed and trusting of him enough so that he could bring him downstairs.
When the kitten had nearly turned into a pile of goo under his hand, he shifted his hand under his soft belly and picked him up off the floor. The kitten's once half-closed eyes opened wide and he clawed at the air for a moment in alarm, before Iruka cuddled him against his chest, and he relaxed again.
Iruka opened the door and walked back downstairs, nearly laughing when he saw the kids watching anxiously from the bottom of the stairs.
Sarel's face immediately brightened upon seeing the little bundle of fur he held against his chest. "Is that a kitten?" She asked excitedly.
"Sure is." Iruka assured, kneeling before her and holding the kitten out, palm curled around his tummy. When Sarel reached out to take him, the kitten shied away. "Hold out the back of your hand so he can sniff it." Iruka told her gently, as Sarel seemed a little hurt by the kitten's mild rejection.
Sarel gave him a confused look, and he hurried to explain, "It's animals' way of..." He searched for the right words, "...Seeing if they want to be your friend."
William looked up at him from where he had been kneeling and cooing at the kitten, "Animals can tell that by sniffing your hand?" He asked in amazement.
Iruka tilted his head, smiling, "Sure." I don't actually know that, but that's what the grown-ups always told me.
Sarel held the back of her pale hand up to the kitten's little pink nose, and the kitten leaned forward to sniff it. A moment later, he rubbed his head against her down-turned palm. Sarel immediately began petting him with vigor.
William watched this with interest, hovering nearby Sarel, protective older brother side kicking in. You never know when a cute kitten could turn into a hissing evil cat.
Iruka sighed, "What are we going to do with him?" He pondered aloud.
William abruptly stood up, "Let's call Daddy and ask him!" He exclaimed, as if it were the most genius idea ever.
Iruka leapt up after him and grabbed the collar of his shirt, instantly halting William in his steps. "No, let's just wait until your father gets home. He's out with Naruto, and I don't think it would be nice to bother them."
William looked hesitant, but nodded anyway. Sarel just shook her head, "Daddy's not going to let us keep him, Will."
William looked indignant, "Why not!" He exclaimed, cheeks puffed out in anger.
Sarel flinched and rubbed her arm in an unconscious act of shyness, "I-I just... Daddy doesn't like cats, Will..." She murmured, wilting under William's angry stare.
Iruka was glancing between the two of them, unsure as to what to do. He just hoped they didn't get into a fight.
William's face softened and he wrapped an arm around his sister in a half hug, grinning. "We'll see about that, sis'!"
Sarel nodded, a smile slipping onto her lips.
Iruka couldn't help but think, 'awww'.
"Naruto, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Sasuke asked quietly, standing just outside the entrance doors, eyes nearly half-closed because the onslaught of wind.
Naruto tilted his head forward, thinking. "I wanted to be... A zookeeper." He shrugged, "Or a police man. Whichever came first."
Sasuke couldn't help a small smirk. "A policeman?"
Naruto shrugged, "They got to play with guns and mace. Plus nobody cares if you speed."
Sasuke got the strangest image into his head and nearly laughed. Instead he choked down his laughter, which caused Naruto to look at him strangely. "What was that?"
Sasuke shook his head, looking away and trying not to smile. "Nothing."
Naruto simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyway," He prompted.
Sasuke gave an exaggerated nod, "Anyway..." He turned around and marched through the automatic doors, Naruto following closely behind. Naruto looked around, gaping. This was the last place he had ever expected to be. Well, nearly, the dance studio was still pretty surprising.
Sasuke paused, glancing around. He then looked back at Naruto over his shoulder, "This... Is what I wanted to be."
This time Naruto's mouth did fall open. "You wanted to be a janitor?"
Sasuke looked ahead of himself, and nearly face-palmed. Right in front of him was an old hunched over man, dressed in a muddy brown uniform, sweeping the ground. "No, Naruto. No. Just... No." The blonde was intelligent, no matter how much Sasuke wanted to deny it, but he did have his 'blonde moments'.
Sasuke reached back and snagged Naruto's arm, and dragged him over to a ticket-woman. "Two adults, Miss." He spoke into the metal plate with holes in it, and the woman behind the glass nodded and told him the price.
Naruto hurriedly took out his wallet, "I'm paying for myself, Sasuke." He didn't want to feel like he had back at the cafe.
Sasuke hesitated, obviously used to paying for everyone, before he nodded, albeit reluctantly. He paid for his half, and Naruto handed his half to the women, bypassing Sasuke's outstretched hand. The woman thanked them and gave them each tickets, and they walked in. They gave the man at another door their tickets, and they were admitted.
Naruto stopped once he had gone through the doors. Sasuke continued ahead of him, and stopped a few feet away, turning around to give him an impatient look. Patience was not his fort.
"You wanted to be a... Fishy keeper?" Naruto asked, pointing at a tank a few feet away, a bewildered look on his face.
Sasuke twitched at the name. "Ultimately, yes." He paused, watching Naruto's expression, which hadn't changed much. Naruto looked like he was trying to form words, but they kept escaping him, making him look like the fish that surrounded him.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, and caught the blonde's wrist, ignoring the warmth now heating his palm. "Come on." He urged, giving his arm a tug, and Naruto followed him deeper into the building.
Passing by the smaller animals and children screaming and tapping the glass (completely ignoring the 'Don't Tap the Glass' signs, like all good children do), Sasuke walked and walked without a glance around. When they had been walking for two hours, Naruto finally thought he couldn't take it anymore.
"Sasukeee! Where are we going? We've been walking for hours!" He whined, reverting back into little-child mode.
Sasuke paused and looked back at him, a little frown tugging at his lips, "Naruto... We've only been walking for two minutes." When Naruto continued to pout, he sighed and began walking again, knowing the blonde would follow.
He finally stopped in front of a large door which had a sign that read, 'Enter at your own risk; Liable to get wet'.
Naruto couldn't keep the wide grin off of his face. I love the chance to get wet! Wonder what's in there...
Sasuke smirked at Naruto's expression, knowing that this was something the blonde would want to see. "This is what I wanted to be, Naruto." And he opened the door and went in, Naruto following behind him, nearly bouncing on his feet.
"Woah..." Naruto found himself leaning back with wide eyes to see what was there.
There, in an extremely large circular tank with strange glass encircling it was the biggest animal Naruto had ever seen. Well, two of the biggest animals.
They were like bigger versions of the fish he had seen in the other tanks. They were sleek-looking grey fish, at least four feet long, with a flipper-like tail and angular fins. Their small black eyes nearly glowed with vigor, but Naruto thought there was something missing in them.
"Sasuke..." He tugged on Sasuke's sleeve, bringing the dark-haired man's attention away from the happily leaping fish, "What are those?"
Sasuke couldn't help but look incredulous, "You've never seen these before?" He asked.
Naruto shook his head, "I've seen fish before, but none that big."
Sasuke shook his head, pursing his lips a little. Naruto had to look away lest his attention stay riveted on those lips. "Those aren't fish, Naruto."
Naruto gave him a funny look, "Umm... yes, they are, Sasuke."
"No, they're not." He cut off Naruto's retort by grabbing his arm and taking him over to the tank. He pointed at the two animals that were now swimming side-by-side around the tank. "You see that one, the smaller one?" He asked.
Naruto simply nodded. "That's a baby. She's just been put out on exhibit, being old enough. Now, fish lay eggs. The mother gave birth to that baby. That mother feeds her baby with milk. They're warm-blooded."
"..." Naruto simply looked at him blankly.
Sasuke nearly face-palmed. Again. He pointed to them both again, just as they were surfacing to take a breath of air. "See those little holes?" Naruto nodded, "They breathe through those. Unlike fish, they breathe air from above the surface."
Naruto's eyes widened in comprehension and he nodded, "Ooohh..."
Sasuke nodded, "Ooh." He said.
"What are they?" Naruto repeated his previous question, giving Sasuke an expectant look.
"Dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins, specifically." Sasuke answered, watching as both sped up in their swimming around the tank. As soon as they were swimming fast enough, they both rose fraction by fraction to the surface and with one strong down-beat of their flippers, they had jumped out of the water, and fallen back in with barely any splash, sliding in without disturbing the surface.
"They look like torpedoes." Naruto murmured, watching them swimming around the tank again, preparing for another jump.
Sasuke just nodded, knowing all too well.
They spent a while longer there, watching the dolphins, and when Sasuke finally noticed the silence of his newly-found almost-friend, he moved to tell him about the dolphins. Random facts, their names, how long they had been here, everything he knew.
He found a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that Naruto listened to every word avidly. When Sasuke finally found he couldn't think of a thing more to say (and surprised at how talkative he seemed to be getting lately), Naruto stared at him thoughtfully.
"You come here often, don't you?" Naruto asked softly. Sasuke nodded in reply. Naruto seemed to hesitate before asking the next question, "Why... Why didn't you... become one of these kinds of people then?"
Sasuke shrugged, his eyes becoming darker as he leaned against the thick glass of the exhibit. "My parents never approved. They always told me to 'get my head out of the clouds and find a real profession'." Sasuke took a deep breath, and let it out again, preparing himself to tell Naruto just a little bit more about himself, "I had been with Catherine since I was almost eighteen, and when I got into college, I wanted to learn more about marine biology, marine animals, that general thing, because it was something I wanted to do. But Catherine..."
Naruto's brow furrowed as Sasuke suddenly trailed off, and took the initiative, "Didn't want you to." He finished.
Sasuke was still a moment before he nodded. "She thought the same as my parents. She didn't think I'd get enough money to support the big family she wanted, and I..." Sasuke trailed off again, swallowing a little before continuing, "I loved her so much, that I let go of..." Sasuke stopped himself before he said 'my dream', knowing it sounded stupid, "What I wanted to make her happy."
Naruto caught the underlying meaning. "You gave up your dream to be with her, didn't you?"
Sasuke looked up, eyes a little wider at having been found out, before he dropped his head and nodded.
Naruto watched him for a moment silently before a slow smile spread across his face, "It's never too late to pursue your dreams Sasuke."
Sasuke lifted his head again to say something, but was cut off when the dolphins decided to swim straight for Sasuke, and jumping into the air and splashing back down again, opting to make a big splash.
The water opted to go over the edge of the glass, and straight onto Sasuke. Sasuke, now drenched from head-to-toe, stood there in stunned silence, sputtering, eyes wide.
Serious atmosphere now gone, Naruto was hunched over with his hands wrapped around his stomach, laughing his ass off. When Sasuke had spit all of the water from his mouth, and shook as much water as he could from his hair, he glared as hard as he could at Naruto, who only laughed harder. His laughter echoed around the empty room, and Sasuke was secretly glad only Naruto had seen.
Sasuke huffed uncharacteristically, crossing his arms tightly across his chest as he began to shiver. As Naruto's laughter seemed to have no end, Sasuke finally growled, "Shut up," Before turning and stalking away from the blonde to the opposite end of the enclosure.
Naruto noticed him walking away, and had tried vainly to go after him, but he couldn't stop laughing (and in result couldn't walk straight and ended up leaning against the wet tank glass). When he had finally calmed down, e stowed away Sasuke's expression for whenever he needed a good laugh and jogged around to the other side of the tank, where Sasuke turned his head away from him stubbornly.
Naruto immediately found himself feeling put-down. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little self-conscious (as most would if they were talking to a possibly unresponsive wall), and said, "Come on Sasuke, don't give me the cold shoulder..." He paused before continuing, "That's kind of a step back from what we had planned on today, isn't it?"
Sasuke knew he was acting like a child, but he severely hated being laughed at. He listened to Naruto, waiting for one thing.
It was over a minute of futile coaxing before Naruto finally said it, almost grimacing as he did, unused to it. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Sorry I laughed at you." He said it grudgingly.
Sasuke slowly looked at him, a smirk on his lips. "Alright then." He tugged on Naruto's sleeve as he walked away, "Come on. We're going to go see something a little more impressive in size."
Naruto stood there gaping at Sasuke's back, disbelieving that all he had needed to say was a simple 'sorry'. He closed his mouth and ran after Sasuke, who had gone through another door with the same sign on it as the other.
Before he went through the door, he glanced at the clock opposite it. It read three thirty. He frowned a little, knowing they would have to leave soon, and opened the door and followed Sasuke.
Sasuke was crouched, looking through the glass of an even larger tank, watching something Naruto couldn't see. Naruto came up behind him and crouched beside him, looking through the glass as well.
It seemed the tank went further underground, at least fifty feet. The bottom was covered in sand, with various rocks of all sizes littering it, as well as a few plants. Naruto looked around, unsure as to what he should be seeing, when something giant and stark black invaded his vision, making him jump back with a shout.
Sasuke smirked amusedly at him, not at all fazed by the giant... thing that had invaded his vision. Naruto, who was now sitting backwards in an almost crab-like position stuck his tongue out at him and kneeled upright next to him again, peering at the giant black animal floating in the stark blue water before them.
Sasuke turned his head, smirk still present, to look at it, waving a hand in its general direction, "That, Naruto, is an orca."
"Orca?"
"A type of whale. Most call it a Killer whale."
Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth formed a small 'o', before he shook his head in disbelief, "That sure makes me want to come near it!"
"Her." Sasuke corrected.
"What?"
"The orca is a she." Sasuke repeated, watching the whale swim away gracefully, and another swim by them.
"They're a lot bigger than the dolphins." Naruto muttered, readjusting his shirt so that it covered the glimpse of dark blue underneath. I still have to give it back to him...
They stayed, and Naruto listened again as Sasuke told him about the Orcas, which, it seemed, he found just as interesting as the dolphins. Naruto, though transfixed with the giant fish-like creatures, still loved his land animals the best.
Give me an animal with four legs any day... Naruto thought, giving one last glance at the orca as they made their way to the exit (quite a while later). Though they are beautiful creatures... Naruto stole a glance at Sasuke, who had a faint smile on his face. Naruto heart lifted at the sight of it. And they make Sasuke happy. Who'd have thought.
He followed Sasuke to the car, knowing it was time to go back. Before Sasuke got in the car, he whistled to get his attention. Sasuke looked up, and Naruto began taking his shirt off. Sasuke immediately swanked (he would never admit to this later) and looked down, demanding what Naruto was doing.
Naruto smirked in amusement, throwing his own shirt on the roof of the car, and taking off the baggy dark blue one off and threw it at Sasuke. It landed on his head and Sasuke pulled it off to look at it while Naruto pulled his shirt back on.
"Where did you get this?" Sasuke asked, holding the shirt in his hands.
"In your drawer..." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Bronco kind of peed on me," Seeing Sasuke's confused look, he clarified, "The rabbit peed on me, and I needed a shirt. I didn't really feel like wearing a dress shirt, so I used that and forgot to give it back. Sorry."
Sasuke was still for a second, looking at the shirt, before he looked up at Naruto and nodded, "That's fine." He folded the shirt up neatly and got into the car, Naruto following suit.
They were both quiet as Sasuke drove back, thinking back on the day's events. It was four fifty when they pulled into the driveway. They were ten minutes early.
When Sasuke moved to open the car door, Naruto stopped him with a warm hand on his arm. Sasuke looked at him, questioning. Naruto hesitated a moment, before leaning over to give him a tight hug (as best he could in a car), his left arm under Sasuke's right arm, his right arm over Sasuke's left shoulder.
Sasuke remained motionless, stunned and unsure. When Naruto didn't move, he knew he wouldn't let go unless he did something (he wondered when he had begun to read Naruto's actions easier), so he tentatively put his arms around Naruto, enjoying the warmth of the simple embrace.
Naruto found himself enjoying the warmth too, and set his chin on Sasuke's shoulder, hoping he wouldn't be pushed away.
Sasuke remained still, refraining from moving his head anywhere, though he was surprised (and even a little scared) that he wanted to.
It was several moments before Naruto leaned away, whispering in his ear, "Thanks for today," before turning to his door and opening it, making his way to the front door.
Sasuke stayed still, watching Naruto leave the car, missing the extra warmth as it receded from his body. He could feel a hot blush on his cheeks and put his hands on them, hoping by some miracle that it would make the redness disappear.
Snatching his hands away from the warm blush on his face, knowing it wouldn't fade for a while; he twisted the key out of the ignition and followed Naruto into the house.
Sarel and William ran to him and jumped on him, each veeing for his fatherly attention. He gave them both a hug and a kiss on their foreheads, listening to what each had to say about their eventful day as best he could (as half of his mind was still on the hug).
His whole mind immediately came back to the here and now when the word 'cat' was mentioned. He stood up straight from where he had been kneeling, half-listening to Sarel, and said, "Cat?"
Iruka coughed, bringing Sasuke and Naruto's attention to him. He brought his hand out from behind his back, and Sasuke's (as well as Naruto's) eyes immediately flew to the squirming kitten in it.
Iruka scratched the back of his neck nervously (a habit Naruto picked up from him), and held the kitten to his chest, absentmindedly stroking the thick fur until he purred. "Meet Sytone."
All thoughts were dashed from Sasuke's mind as he stared at the cat (who was now in the arms of a cooing Naruto).
TBC...
I was almost finished with the chapter when I remembered the shirt, and quickly edited it in. I also quickly came up with the kitten's name (because I knew Midnight would seem too obvious a name for him). It's pronounced Si (I as in it) - tone. Though I don't really think that matters all that much.
I was hoping to get this out on last Saturday, but time ran out and I didn't have it all typed out (it was my... birthday, so I was hoping to give you all a present of sorts). Also, the times are a little messed up, but whatever. Sasuke also seems a little out of character in this one (I know Naruto has been a little out of character in the last few), and I'm sorry about that. I was getting him to open up a little.
Did I forget anything...? ...Oh well. Hope you liked this chapter, and if you have any suggestions (which would be very greatly appreciated) or questions, feel free to say it. 'Till next chapter.
