Hi again! I'm back with chapter 12!

I just wanted to say, I've started some internships now which include a lot of writing. So, I may not have as much time to spend writing this story, meaning it probably won't get updated every 3-5 days as usual. I say probably because I know I'm gonna procrastinate on work and write this story, like who am I kidding?

I also want to apologize for horrible errors in my chapters. I go over them and read them out loud (as much as I hate doing that) but I don't have a beta so reading 8,000 words over and over again makes me tired so I'm bound to miss things. Again, sorry about that and thanks for still sticking with me!

Alright, enough of me chatting.

Please enjoy!

November: I Want to Make Up with You

"A play?" Karin asked before munching on some much needed food. She and Hinata were having lunch in her classroom today. Even though she and Sasuke hadn't really spoken much since last month, he followed her into class 3-3 and sat at someone else's desk to eat lunch by himself while he kept an eye on her.

Sasuke sure was a strange person, but at least she knew that he still valued their friendship. That or he just really didn't trust the thought of her alone with Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo. "Yes. We went a very stereotypical route and chose to do Romeo and Juliet."

The redhead grinned. "Are you playing Juliet then? You'd make a cute one. You're already princess-like."

A light blush crept onto her face. "N-no, I could never do something like that." She said, waving the notion off with her hand.

"Why? Are you shy or something? Don't tell me it's because Naruto's Romeo." She giggled.

She wished Naruto was playing as Romeo. He would have looked so handsome up on stage. "Actually, Sasuke-kun is playing Romeo." Karin almost spit out the juice she was drinking and began to cough uncontrollably.

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was playing Romeo Montague for their last high school culture festival. None of the boys had volunteered to play the lead role, so Neji asked for any nominations. One girl had voiced that Sasuke should have the lead role and the classroom went crazy. Despite his objections, Neji said that there was no one else willing to do it and everyone seemed to want Sasuke to take the role so it just became his.

The same girl had also nominated Hinata as Juliet, and Hinata could have sworn she was going to faint. Standing up on stage in front of hundreds of people while reciting outdated lines of a play by a man obsessed with penis jokes? No thanks!

Ino had come to her rescue, saying that she always wanted to play a princess and be in the spotlight. A few girls argued with her, wanting only to share the spotlight with Sasuke, but the boisterous blonde turned out to be the victor in the end.

What had surprised Hinata was that Sakura's hand wasn't among the few to shoot up in the air at the mentioning of Juliet. Instead, she just sat there, calmly listening to the discussion. Something was a little different about Sakura, but Hinata wasn't able to place her finger on it.

Soon, Karin's squeals of delight had brought her back to Earth. "Ugh! I have to see Sasuke in action!" She cried, and Hinata could see Sasuke cringe through her peripheral view. "So, what part did you get?"

Actually, Hinata didn't get any part. Kiba nominated her as head costume designer, and everyone just seemed to agree after he showed off the hat she made him for Christmas, despite her protests. Hinata wanted to work with Sai on backgrounds and props, but that didn't seem likely. Sure, Hinata was good at knitting and knew a few basic stitches, but that didn't mean that she knew about the art of dressmaking.

To remedy that, Hinata took a bunch of books on how to make garments out of the library and watched a ton of DIY videos online. She even practiced draping and stitching pieces of cloth together as well. She wasn't working alone, so that was a relief, and so far her group had finished a few garments. It was actually pretty fun; sketching and draping and having her friends try on the clothing that she made with her own hands.

"I'm only making the costumes." Hinata answered and Karin gasped. She moved closer to her and murmured,

"You are!? Make sure to make Sasuke look extra sexy in his costume." Although there was a glare on her glasses from the lights above them, Hinata didn't miss the wink she gave her. Sasuke's costume, or the sketch of Sasuke's costume she should say, wasn't "sexy" but she was fairly certain that he'd look very dapper in it.

In her sketch, she had planned for Sasuke to wear a long sleeveless jacket, which she decided would be black with gold trim. The tunic underneath would be red and would reach his thighs. She also decided to put him in white tights, but she didn't tell him that part yet.

"I'll do my best?" Hinata smiled nervously as Karin went on about how dreamy the Uchiha would look on stage.

(^o^)

"Follow me close, for I shall speak to them. Gentlemen, good den; a word with one of you!"

Hinata was supposed to be sewing Lady Capulet's dress, but her eyes were so fixated on Naruto at the front of the classroom, acting out one of the scenes of the play. He was so animated and focused; it was so enticing to watch. A small blush grew on her face as she watched him pull out a fake sword, ready to prepare for battle with Kiba, or should she say Mercutio.

Naruto looked like he was having so much fun and that made her happy.

"Are you gonna finish that outfit or just watch Naruto all day?" Shikamaru asked quietly, causing her face to redden with embarrassment as she scrambled to pick up her needle and resume making the garment once more.

Her lazy friend eyed her for a moment before giving a small laugh. "But he is pretty good at it. It's his calling." Shikamaru resumed work also, fixing the hem of a skirt. Hinata nodded, but kept her eyes on her work, as she was still embarrassed about being caught. Their conversation ended there, and they could hear Kiba over exaggerating his death.

"Cut!" Shino cried, pointing his rolled up script at the shaggy haired teen. "Kiba, you're over acting. Just die naturally."

"Being stabbed isn't a natural way to die!" He argued, lifting his face up from the floor. As Shino explained what he meant, Shikamaru turned to face Hinata.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

Hinata stopped working for a moment to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Having Naruto play Tybalt. He and Romeo have a fighting scene. You remember the last time Naruto and Sasuke fought, don't you?"

How could she forget it? Everyone at school talked about it, and she was reminded of it when she saw Naruto's face over the week he was suspended. Shikamaru was right. Those two hadn't even reconciled their problem with each other. Having them around each other was waiting for another world war to start.

But Hinata tried to remain positive. "It'll be okay. Lee-san is in charge of choreographing the fight scenes, and I'm sure that they'll be able to act mature enough to –"

"Ugh! Sasuke, you did that on purpose, you asshole!"

Well, there went Hinata's line of defense.

"Of course I did. Romeo kills Tybalt, does he not?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question.

Naruto began waving around his fake sword in annoyance. "Not in the first two seconds of the fight!"

"Well, I guess I forgot."

"Bullshit!"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked in an attempt to get them to stop. "I-I still have to take your measurements for your costume…"

Shino gave a nod. "Go ahead Naruto. We'll just practice a different scene in the meantime."

The blond reluctantly followed instructions, joining Hinata in the back of the classroom. He was a bit annoyed with Sasuke, but those feelings died down as Hinata was so close to him, pressing the tape measure on his chest and down his back.

Now he was annoyed at himself for being so tense around her. When she finished jotting down his measurements, she handed the elegant dress she was working on to Shikamaru. "I'm finished with the dress. Can you iron it for me please while I get started on something else?" She asked. Shikamaru nodded, and went out to complete the task as Hinata began working on stitching some trousers.

Naruto stayed by Hinata's side, not in the mood to act anymore. He watched her eyes focus on every single detail and fond it cute when she bit her lip in concentration. To distract himself from that thought, he leafed through her sketchbook. Some of the pager were filled with little doodles while others had semi-realistic drawings of people or objects. What caught his eye were the designs she created for their costumes.

Hinata had put so much detail into them, not only by the drawings, but by the little notes she wrote on the sides. "These are really amazing." Naruto said, astonished as he flipped through each page.

The Hyuga looked up from sewing and gave a sheepish smile. "You think so? I had a lot of fun designing them with Miyamoto-san and Tachibana-san. And Shikamaru-kun is a really fast tailor. I don't think we would have finished the amount that we have done without him."

The blond chuckled. "I didn't even know he could sew. But you know, you look really happy doing this kind of stuff. You always get this really huge smile on your face when you complete an outfit." Hinata could feel her cheeks redden. Was he always watching her so closely?

"Thank you." She was finally able to say with a smile Naruto never got tired of looking at.

-x-

Hiashi would always watch from his study as his daughter bought bags of clothes in and out of the house. He spent the first day wracking his brain for all the possible reasons she could have been carrying those items. The second day, he overheard his nephew saying something to his daughter about making sure the outfits were completed on time and remembered that the culture festival was happening soon.

On the third night, Neji had approached him in his study to tell him that their class would be putting on the play Romeo and Juliet and asked if he would be able to attend. "I don't know…" Hiashi sighed. "I have a lot of work to do this weekend."

Neji's serious expression did not change. "Hinata will be terribly disappointed if she knew you wouldn't be attending." At his statement, Hiashi bit his bottom lip. He was certain that Hinata wanted nothing to do with him after their argument before the big party. "Even though it doesn't seem like it, she just wants to be praised by you. She's been working hard every day; designing and sewing while keeping up with her studies."

"And you're sure she wants me there?" Hiashi asked.

His nephew nodded. "Hinata loves you with all of her heart and wants to make you proud." He paused for a moment. "However, Hinata wants to make herself proud too." With that, Neji bowed and wished his uncle a good night.

Hiashi spent another hour or so in his study before turning in for bed. Before doing so, he wanted to speak to his eldest daughter for at least a minute; to tell her how much he loved her. The crack underneath her door emitted light, so he was sure that she was awake. However, when he knocked on her door, she didn't answer.

He gave her a minute before opening her bedroom door. She was sitting at her desk, pieces of fabric littered the floor and the desk. Some dresses and tunics were on hangers and spread across her bed. Another garment was on the desk, but was trapped underneath her arms as she was using it as a pillow.

Hinata had fallen asleep while working on the costumes for her classmates, and Hiashi gave a small sigh. She was definitely going to wake up with a pain in her neck in the morning. He didn't want to disturb her, and took down a blanket to drape over her shoulders.

Her father shut the lights off and gave a small smile. "Do your best, Hinata," was the last thing he said before closing the door quietly.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Where for art thou Romeo?" Ino cried as she entered the classroom in her extravagant blue and white ball gown. There were only a couple of hours before the play would start, and everyone was scrambling to put the finishing touches on backgrounds and props, finish any incomplete garments and study lines again.

As Ino completed her monologue, Sasuke spoke up. "I take thee at thy word: Call me love, and I'll be new baptized. Henceforth, I will never be Romeo."

The blonde sighed. "Sasuke, stop making it sound sarcastic! It's supposed to be romantic, not a comedy!"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "There's nothing romantic about changing your name to be with a girl you just met."

"Has anyone seen my sword?" Tenten asked as she searched for the item in question.

Lee shrugged. "No, I have not! But I will search for it as best as I can!"

"Lee! It's in your hand!" Neji pointed his index finger at the weapon with Tenten's name on it.

Lee laughed, handing the sword back to her. "Sorry Tenten!"

"Hinata! I can't find my trousers for my costume!" Kiba panicked.

"Me neither! Where'd you put 'em!?" Naruto cried. The two of them were wearing everything else that was a part of their costume but had their boxers on instead of just wearing their regular school pants. Hinata swore she was going to die from a heart attack after seeing the blond in his frog themed undies.

"Are you two stupid!?" Neji cried. "Ugh, someone get them their pants, please!"

"I'm on it." Shikamaru muttered, looking through the piles of clothing on one of the desks. "Man this is so troublesome."

Just then, Neji could hear Sakura shriek. "Sai! Watch where you're painting! You almost got it on my dress!"

"Sai!" Ino called. "Do I you think I look pretty in my dress?"

"…Beautiful." He answered with a rosy hue on his cheeks.

She squealed, latching on to Sasuke's arm and crushing it, causing him to wince in pain. "Did you hear that!? He thinks I'm beautiful!"

"You're about to be black and blue if you don't get off of me, Ino!" Sasuke cried out, slightly in pain, mostly in annoyance.

Saying that class 3-2's room was hectic was quite the understatement of the year.

(^o^)

"Here it is, the day that we've all been preparing for." Neji formed the entire class in a circle after he and a few other students helped to set up the stage behind the red curtain. Students, family members and other guests were still piling in. There was sure to be a full house today, especially since there had been talk going around that Sasuke was playing Romeo and Ino was playing Juliet. Who wouldn't want to see two of the most popular seniors in school as the lead roles in a play?

"Remember, if there are wardrobe malfunctions, Hinata and Shikamaru are standing by. Sai, you and everyone else who worked on props need to be quick and change props each scene. Someone needs to hold the ladder for the balcony scene, just for extra security for Sasuke." Neji said before looking from Sasuke to Naruto. "And you two better not kill each other on stage."

It was silent for a moment, before the two received nudges from those next to them. "Okay, okay." They muttered in unison.

"Yoshi! We can do this!" Lee cried, pumping his fist in the air.

"Yeah!" The class cheered, aside from Neji, Sasuke and a few others. Everyone took their places before the curtains rolled up. Hinata could barely contain her excitement as she watched from the side of the stage. Everyone was doing wonderfully, especially Naruto who had just entered from stage right. The way that the spotlight hit him; the way his gruff voice spoke; how he moved around while engaging in one of the fight scenes… She sighed. He was just so perfect.

There was even a point in time where he caught her watching him and he gave a quick wink right before it was his turn to recite his line. Hinata blushed and buried her face in her hands. She did perk up however when she could hear the cries of Sasuke's name from the audience. He hadn't even said a word yet and they were going insane.

"Annoying, huh?" Naruto mumbled, standing right behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she felt paralyzed.

"I… I wouldn't say that."

The blond gave a soft chuckle. "You're too nice." For a few scenes, Naruto stood by the white eyed beauty as they watched their classmates act. They chatted here and there, and Hinata would laugh quietly at any of the jokes he made until someone called out to him.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru hissed. "Stop flirting with Hinata and get ready to go on stage!"

At this, Naruto's cheeks reddened and he pulled away from her, raising his fist at his lazy friend in anger. "Who's flirting with who!?" He hissed back.

"I don't care! Your cue is coming on! Get it together!" Naruto and a few other students calmly walked on stage as if nothing had happened just 20 seconds ago. "I swear, that guy is something else! And troublesome too. Don't let him distract you, we need to fix Choji's jacket. It ripped."

Hinata gave a small nod, following Shikamaru's lead.

(^o^)

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm proud of you, Naruto." Neji smirked. The scene where Romeo kills Tybalt had just ended and a few students were setting up the stage for the next scene. Naruto and Sasuke had successfully acted out the combat scene without killing each other in front of the audience.

Naruto frowned. "It took all of my strength not to kill him. I'm beat." Then he collapsed onto the floor and gave a long sigh.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, raising her brow at her friend's typically weird behavior. "Get up Naruto. Other people need to pass by you."

Still, the blond laid there, unwilling to move.

"Ah, you'll get the clothes all dirty…" Hinata spoke up, causing Naruto to quickly stand on his feet.

"Oh yeah, Hinata made these! I wanna keep them as clean as possible!" He grinned, dusting them off.

Neji gave them a jaded look while Tenten gave a small giggle. "She's got him wrapped around her finger and she doesn't even know it."

The play went on, and before they knew it, they were at the climax of the play; where Romeo and Juliet both die. Hinata had to say, Sasuke was doing a good job of not being sarcastic throughout the entire play, and Ino did a wonderful job of being… well, as dramatic as usual.

As director, Shino decided to cut out the kiss from the play completely, seeing as though Sasuke didn't want to kiss Ino and the only person Ino wanted to kiss was Sai. The two were quite pleased with the changes and were able to press on. Hinata watched as Sasuke drank the imaginary poison from a small bottle before falling to the ground as his admirers cried his name out.

Honestly, didn't they know the story of Romeo and Juliet? He was going to die in the end. Because of their screaming, Ino had to wait for it to die down before she could sit up and recite her lines. Naruto was right, those girls were kind of annoying.

After Ino stabbed herself, the narrator went on stage to speak once more before the lights on stage cut off and the curtains closed. Cheering could be heard from outside of the curtains and class 3-2 was finally able to relax.

They retreated back to their classroom where everyone could get a drink of water take off their costumes and take a breather. As soon as Hinata sat in one of the chairs, she laid her head on the desk and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Ino, who was finally out of her dress smiled down at the sleeping Hyuga. "Aww, look at her. She's all worn out for today."

Sakura gave a small laugh. "Well, she did work really hard this week – through studying and school work and making costumes for us… She must be exhausted."

"Should we wake her up? Neji'll be coming for her soon to take her home." Ino asked, but Sakura shook her head.

"Let her sleep. She deserves it."

-x-

Hinata breathed out, attempting to calm her nerves. She knew that this was inevitable and that's why she needed to get this over with now. The Hyuga paced outside of her father's study, trying to plan what exactly she was going to say to him as she clutched her sketchbook in her arms.

She didn't know how exactly she was going to word it, but she wanted to tell him about what she found out about herself at the culture festival. Neji said that he loved her, and that he wanted to talk to her about their fight, but she was so nervous. What if he didn't accept it? Or accept her?

No. She had to block out all those negative thoughts. A father who truly cared for his child always accept them, no matter what. Suddenly, the door to the study creaked open to reveal Hiashi. She and her father stared at each other. Both were at a loss for words before they both blurted out:

"I'm sorry!"

They then looked at each other in confusion. "Wait, why?" They asked in unison. "Well… ah! You first. No, you can go first!"

This was working out swimmingly. The two were silent before Hinata handed him her sketch book. "U-um… I wanted you to take a look at it…" She mumbled and Hiashi did so, absolutely astonished by his daughter's work. "I… I actually made costumes for the play –"

"I saw." Hiashi interjected. "They were beautiful on stage."

Hinata's mouth hung open in shock. "You went to the culture festival? But I thought… you had work…"

He nodded. "I did. And I was so sure that you didn't want me to attend. Neji told me the opposite of that. I wasn't sure if I could believe it, but he does spend more time with you than I do." Hinata bit her lip as she waited for her father to continue. "Hinata. I wanted you to know that night that I do care about you, so much that I wanted you to have the brightest future possible. I think I went about it the wrong way.

"You're able to juggle several things at once, with designing for the festival and doing school work; and you're always kind to those around you. Why, this boisterous woman with red hair even tackled me after the play was over to talk about how much you helped her and her son…" He let out a low chuckle.

Kushina spoke to her father huh? And of course she'd gush about her as if Hinata was her own child. "You really are a beautiful person inside and out, and you're becoming like your mother every day. I am so proud to call you my daughter."

Hinata wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "Do you... do you really mean that Father?" Hiashi nodded and she couldn't help but throw her arms around him, throwing him off guard. He felt a bit awkward at first – he and Hinata didn't really hug. He reluctantly wrapped his arms around her, feeling a little more comfortable as time progressed.

When they pulled apart, Hinata told her father of her wishes to become a designer, since she had so much fun with designing for the play. Hiashi respected her wishes, and the two of them sat to have a serious conversation about what exactly she wanted to do in life.

Hinata felt that for once in her life, things were really starting to look up for her.

"S-so… You two still aren't talking…?" Hinata sighed. She and Sasuke were chatting with each other before homeroom started. When she brought up Naruto's name, all emotion seemed to fall from his face as he said, "don't." She was sure that they'd get over it by now, because they usually did, but now that she thought about it, the fight really affected Sasuke, who was angry about his home life and Naruto never came to talk to him about it.

Of course Naruto was hurt too, having a friend constantly catch an attitude with him and he had no idea why it was even happening, and on top of that, was the first to be hit in a physical fight. The both of them weren't able to put their pride down for two seconds to talk to each other and rekindle their friendship.

This was even more of a tragedy than Romeo and Juliet.

The Uchiha sighed. "Yes. We're not talking. Now can you drop it please?"

"But… You both are best friends, right?" Hinata gave her warmest smile. "Maybe if you two just sit down and talk, then –"

"I really don't want to hear this from someone who won't even make up with her own father."

Hinata gasped and Sasuke's eyes widened as he turned to face her, quickly regretting what came out of his mouth. "I –"

"For your information, I did make up with my father… Why would you say something like that?" She frowned and Sasuke groaned. He hadn't meant for that to come out of his mouth – the last thing he wanted to do was hurt the feelings of someone he confided in.

As lame of an excuse as it was, he just snapped. And he felt terrible for bringing up a subject like that. Although Hinata was bringing up Naruto, she never brought up his family around him unless he did so first, nor did she use his terrible family life against him.

He felt all kinds of horrible about it. "Listen, I didn't mean to –"

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, entering the classroom.

"This guy is really starting to piss me off…" Sasuke muttered under his breath as the exuberant blond made his way over to Hinata, wishing her a good morning. Why was it that every time he and Hinata would be talking about something important, Naruto decided to show up?

When Naruto reached her, he could tell that she wasn't her usual happy self. "Hinata, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, putting on the best smile she possibly could. "Nothing's wrong. Naruto-kun, you worry too much." Hinata could tell that he still wasn't buying it, with the skeptical look on his face and she grew even more worried when he looked at Sasuke and then back to her.

"Is he giving you shit?" Naruto asked, jabbing a thumb in the Uchiha's direction, much to his annoyance.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here! You can say that to my face." Sasuke scowled and Naruto narrowed his eyes, as he stared him down.

"Fine." He huffed, folding his arms. "Are you giving Hinata shit?"

"And if I am?"

Hinata frantically waved her arms about, trying to get the boys to stop. "No one's giving me any trouble! Please don't fight with each other!"

Naruto and Sasuke both reluctantly agreed and Naruto promised Hinata that he'd walk home with her today after school before returning to his seat. Now that that blond idiot was out of the way, he could finally talk to Hinata. "Like I was saying," he began, catching Hinata's attention, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up that situation."

Hinata sighed. "I forgive you." She whispered. Hinata was not the type to hold grudges, and she wasn't going to stay upset with him. Sure, he had hurt her feelings, but they were friends and friends forgive each other. If only she could get Naruto and Sasuke to see it that way.

-x-

"Seriously, did he say something to you? It's been bugging me since this morning." Naruto grumbled. He and Hinata were walking home together, just as he promised and he wouldn't let what happened between her and Sasuke go.

She didn't want to tell him exactly what Sasuke had said to her. If she did, Naruto would have surely gotten in Sasuke's face, and the two of them would have been in yet another fight. Besides, the situation was handled. He apologized and she forgave him.

Still, if she kept saying nothing was wrong, Naruto wouldn't give up and tell her to quit lying to him. "He was just annoyed with me and I felt a little sad over it; that's all." She mumbled and Naruto encouraged her to continue. "I asked him about you, and I wanted you to make up but Sasuke-kun didn't want to. He apologized for hurting my feelings though, so you don't have to worry about me."

The blond sighed. "No offence Hinata, but Sasuke's right. I don't really want to talk to him."

"But he's your friend isn't he?" Hinata asked, clenching her fists in front of her chest. "You never give up on your friends, Naruto-kun. Especially not one as special as Sasuke-kun."

As much as he hated to admit it sometimes, Sasuke was like a brother to him. Of course Naruto wanted to keep their friendship intact, but every time he thought of the fight they had, he'd get annoyed with him. Then Naruto would become even more irritated when he saw Sasuke around Hinata, but he couldn't tell her that.

"How do I fix it if I just get annoyed with him all the time?" Naruto frowned.

Hinata perked up at this opportunity to help them fix their friendship. "Well, whenever we've had a problem in our friendship, you always come to talk to me. I think that talking to Sasuke might work. He's still kind of embarrassed about what he said that day, and he revealed it because of you so maybe it's best that you talk to him about it."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. Sasuke basically told the entire school about his family matters. He did feel bad for the Uchiha, finally knowing what burden he was carrying. "Hinata, did you know about all that stuff Sasuke said back then?"

She gave a small nod. "Well, I only knew about being the heir to the company and about the bankruptcy… and I knew about his parents fighting. But I didn't know about the divorce until he said it. It must have been fairly recent since he was acting so cold last month."

So Hinata did know a lot more than she let on. Still, Naruto couldn't fault her for it. Leaking Sasuke's problems wouldn't have been the right thing to do, no matter how badly he and Sakura wanted to know what was wrong with their friend. "Thanks for keeping his secret safe all this time."

Hinata smiled. It was clear that Naruto still did consider Sasuke a friend and cared a great deal about him, no matter how much he tried to deny it. "I think that you should give Sasuke-kun some kind of present when you talk to him. Something that says 'I'm sorry'."

At this, Naruto's eye twitched. "I'm not saying sorry to that asshole."

Oh, so close. "Okay, maybe not 'I'm sorry'. How about 'let's make up'?"

"You make it sound like we're in a relationship." Naruto said dryly. "But I get what you mean. What kind of present though? I'm not buying him anything."

The dark haired teen hummed in thought momentarily. "Oh! You can make him something! You can cook his favorite meal or something!" She chirped.

He gave her a skeptical look. "I dunno if I wanna cook for him…" Naruto didn't even cook for himself – his mother always did it for him.

"Well, I can help you! Let's make him something right now!"

Naruto blinked. "N-now?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. It'll be fun!"

(^o^)

She was wearing one of his mother's aprons and had just finished tying her hair into a ponytail. Just the sight of her in his kitchen made him grin uncontrollably. "What are you smiling at?" Hinata asked, feeling a bit self-conscious under Naruto's gaze.

He laughed before dismissing her question with a wave of his hand. "It's nothing. So, are you ready to get started?"

"Oh, yes. But you never told me what you wanted to make."

Naruto closed his eyes, thinking about what he could give Sasuke. He was sure that Sasuke didn't deserve one of Hinata's nice home cooked meals, so he sought to make something that the Uchiha didn't much care for. Then it hit him. "Let's make him a little cake."

"Cake?" She repeated. Hinata didn't think Sasuke would be one for cake, but Naruto did know Sasuke best. "Alright, what kind of cake? I think we should bake a chocolate cake."

The blond nodded. "Chocolate sounds good. My mom just went shopping so we should have everything."

Hinata smiled and the two of them rummaged in the kitchen to find everything that she called for; eggs, milk, sugar, butter… even cocoa powder. Once all of the ingredients were set on the table, Naruto was ready to get to work, but Hinata told him that he must always wash his hands before preparing a meal, to which he sheepishly scratched his head and apologized.

Now the two were hard at work; measuring flour in cups and whisking cake batter in a bowl. Hinata made sure to keep a close eye on Naruto, making sure that he purposely didn't put anything foul in the cake batter.

When Hinata felt his eyes on her as she whisked the batter, she slowly stopped. "Um… did you want to try?"

Naruto nodded his head with vigor and Hinata handed him the bowl, telling him to keep at it until the batter had a smooth consistency. She turned her back to make sure that the oven had been on the entire time and to check that Naruto had actually greased the circular pan they were going to be baking the cake in.

Once everything was in order, she turned to check on him again, only to see that he had been rapidly whisking the batter like a madman. Suddenly, the cake batter splashed up, and he turned his face away so that it would only hit his cheek. The damage wasn't too bad, but splotches of chocolate now decorated Naruto's face.

"Jeez Naruto-kun, you weren't supposed to do it like that…" she mumbled, trying to find a handkerchief to clean his face. The blonde pushed the side of his face closer to hers.

"Lick it off."

Hinata turned beet red. "Wh-what!?"

"You have to taste the cake batter to see if it's good enough, right? Lick it off~!" His voice was teasing, and she knew he meant no harm by it, but she was sure that she was going to pass out. Hinata placed her palm on the side of his head and gently pushed him away from her, just like she did back in June.

"No!" She protested.

"Hinataaaa~!" Naruto whined. "If you don't, it'll dry!"

"Th-that's why you use a handkerchief!"

When she was able to find the small piece of cloth in her pocket, Hinata wiped the side of Naruto's face with it, much to his dismay. After pouring the batter into the pan and setting it into the oven, Hinata told Naruto that they'd be moving on to making the frosting.

She made him promise that he wouldn't get anything else on his face again. Still, this didn't stop him from purposely getting the warm frosting on Hinata's cheek and demanding to lick it off. When he held her in his arms and his tongue was ever so close to her flushing face, Kushina walked in.

He was sent to his room after a few punches to the head by his mother.

"Ehehehe… What's up?" Naruto grinned sheepishly, holding the packaged chocolate cake in his hands. Sasuke's onyx eyes gave the dullest expression they could possibly give before he wordlessly began to close the door, but not before the blond shoved his foot in the doorway.

The Uchiha grimaced. "I'm not afraid to break your foot. Move it or you'll be forced to limp to the hospital."

Naruto attempted to push himself in, and he was halfway inside of the house, hardly able to breathe because of the door almost crushing him. "Just hear me out!" He cried in a strained voice. "I even bought food with me! Just let me in!"

Sighing, Sasuke opened the door, causing Naruto to tumble inside. He wasn't going to get rid of the blond idiot anytime soon. When Naruto had his heart set on something, he wouldn't quit until he got it done. Tenacious bastard. "Well, what is it? You've got twenty seconds."

The blond gasped. "Twenty seconds isn't enough!"

"Fifteen."

"Stop it, you asshole!" Naruto cried. "You know why I'm here and you know that it won't take twenty seconds to talk about it!"

Sasuke folded his arms before leaning against the door, closing it shut. "Fine. We can't talk about it here though. Let's go upstairs." Naruto nodded, hurriedly taking off his shoes and following Sasuke up the stairs to his bedroom.

Once they reached his room, the two sat down on cushions at a small wooden table, and Naruto slid the cake over to him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. "What's this?"

Naruto grinned. "It's chocolate cake!" Sasuke slid the cake back across the table and frowned.

"You know I hate sweets. Why would you spend your money on that?"

"I didn't spend money on it. I made it."

The Uchiha's face twisted in disgust. "All the more reason not to eat it."

The blond scowled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean!? It's actually really good. Hinata even helped me make it."

By help you make it you mean she did all the work while you stood there picking your nose… Sasuke thought. He then grabbed the box with the cake in it, much to Naruto's surprise. "What're you doing?"

"You think you're so slick. Making Hinata bake me a cake knowing fully well I don't like sweets so you can have it all to yourself. Well, now you can't have it either." He found a plastic fork in the box as well, and dug in, cringing at the first bite he took. It was way too sweet for his liking but he continued to eat it.

"Are you seriously that petty that'd you'd eat something you hate just so I wouldn't have any!?" Sasuke answered "yes" in between bites causing Naruto to cry out in frustration. After deciding that he could stomach no more of the cake, Sasuke covered it again, pushing it off to the side of the table.

"So, we're sitting here, and I'm pretty sure you didn't come all the way over here to give me some cake. What did you need to tell me?"

Naruto folded his arms and sighed. He promised Hinata that he'd talk to Sasuke… Hell, he promised himself that he'd talk to Sasuke, but it was so difficult to do so. Before Hinata left his house the other day, she said he'd have to put his pride aside if he ever wanted to salvage their friendship.

He didn't think he was being prideful, but when he had finally gotten some time alone, he realized that he was willing to throw their friendship away simply because he felt that he shouldn't have been the first one to start the conversation. If that wasn't being prideful, Naruto didn't know what was.

"…I'm sorry." He muttered, taking Sasuke completely off guard. "You've been having a shitty life, and I wasn't respectful of your space at all."

"I should… also be giving you an apology. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right; about me taking stuff out on you guys. I was so angry…"

Naruto noticed the hitch in his friend's voice. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

Sasuke sighed. "Where do I even begin?"

"From when you left after our first year." Naruto told him, and Sasuke nodded.

He was silent at first, getting his thoughts together before actually speaking. "My dad found a great opportunity for his business in a different city, so he made us move. My mom didn't want to, being that she was comfortable here but my dad insisted. While we were there, they constantly got into arguments about money; how much we were spending, how much we were investing… The arguments got so heated and they always on until about one in the morning or so.

"Dad didn't really pay much attention to me until he and Itachi had this huge fight about taking over the business, since he graduated. Apparently, he didn't want to, and sought out to do something else so Dad basically disowned him, and started banking on me to take over someday. In my entire second year of school, I had to learn about stocks, banking… all of that stuff that my dad started teaching Itachi about at such a young age, all because he wasn't useful anymore.

"Sometime in December of last year was when we almost lost everything. My dad, as well as many other businessmen and stockbrokers got swindled. We almost filed for bankruptcy, and then that's when the arguments between my mom and dad increased. They wouldn't even go out of their way to try and hide it anymore. A month later, Dad said he got another business opportunity, and Mom and I were skeptical of it of course, but he was desperate.

"I guess the only reason I'm back here is because of Hinata's dad. He and my dad are partnered with each other, and in March, the money started flowing in again. We moved back here because of them and they let me start school here again in April. My parents stopped talking to each other for a while, but when Dad found a letter in the mail from Itachi to my mom, last month, all hell broke loose. When we fought that day, I was just bitter because I had just found out about the divorce from my mom. It's not complete yet, but it will be soon."

Naruto was at a loss for words. So much had happened to Sasuke in just a year and he went on pretending everything was okay as best as he could. "Oh! What happened with Itachi?" Naruto asked. "You guys were really close."

Sasuke let out a small "hmph" and rested his elbow in the table, using his hand to prop up his face. "Apparently, he was having so much fun at college that he wanted to peruse a career in music with his friends. They've been planning it for a while, but it never came to my dad's attention until after Itachi graduated."

"So… He started a band?" Sasuke nodded. "Are they at least good?"

The Uchiha got up and opened his desk drawer, pulling out a CD case and tossing it to his blond friend. "You tell me." He said, rejoining Naruto at the table. The blond studied the CD cover before letting out a sharp gasp.

"I know this band!" Sasuke's brow furrowed as he watched Naruto pull off his black hoodie, revealing a black t-shirt with a single red cloud on it.

Sasuke was bewildered. "Where did you get that t-shirt?"

"Kiba gave it to me last Christmas! He said they were an awesome band and that I should check them out! They're really amazing – can I have this CD? Ah! Itachi even signed it and everything! I didn't know he was in it! Why didn't you tell me?"

As Naruto practically gushed about the band, Sasuke snatched the CD case out of his hands. "No! He gave it to me as a birthday present. I had to make sure my dad didn't see it, otherwise he would have tossed it away."

He gave a small sigh. "I used to be angry with Itachi for just leaving to create his own future while mine was forced on me. I was actually going to throw it out myself, but then I got insight on how he felt through being friends with Hinata."

Naruto was perplexed. "How? Hinata and Itachi are nothing alike."

"They're more alike than you think. She's kind of in his position… being the oldest so therefore being able to inherit the business despite not wanting to. She and I talked a lot, and she told me about wanting to be able to do what made her happy in life without placing the burden of being a successor on her sister. Then she told me that Itachi probably did what he did because he knew I was strong enough to decide for myself what I wanted to do in life."

"So that's why you two were always off together a lot…" Naruto thought aloud.

"Yeah, and you always kept interrupting. No one else knew what it was like to have that kind of pressure pushed on you except for her. She was the only person I could actually talk to about it who would spare me the pity. I guess you and your jealousy issues couldn't handle that."

Naruto gasped as a small smirk graced Sasuke's lips – the first genuine smirk since September. "Jealousy issues!? As if!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. You really didn't think I didn't catch you glaring at me when I hung out with her?"

"It wasn't like that! I mean… It was, kind of, but it wasn't the way that you think it was!" Naruto cried.

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then enlighten me. What was it like then?"

Naruto scratched the side of his cheek, a light blush growing on his cheeks. "I… wouldn't call them issues, but I was always just a little envious of you, since we were kids. When you weren't hanging around me, you were with Itachi, and I didn't have a brother to really hang out with. I would have liked one since my parents were always on trips, leaving me behind with Ero-sennin."

"I thought you liked hanging out with him." Sasuke cut in.

"I do, but it's different. He's years older than me so it wasn't the same as hanging out with you and Itachi." Naruto explained. "I was also pretty envious of you when we played sports cuz you were always so much better than me. Then we got to middle school and you constantly had Sakura's attention… You still have her attention even now. And now with Hinata –"

"You like Hinata a lot, don't you?"

Naruto frowned. "You could at least let me finish speaking, you jerk."

"What more do I need to hear about how much you envy our time together?" Sasuke inquired. "I guess it's too bad though."

The blond's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about this time?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I mean, seeing as though you like her so much, I thought I should let you know about the plans our fathers have for us. We're getting married after we graduate." Sasuke's expression was as serious as ever and Naruto's mouth hung open.

"Ino was telling the truth!?" He cried, and then a rare occurrence happened; Sasuke laughed.

"Ino said the same thing to you? I really need to give her credit where credit's due."

Naruto huffed. "You guys are terrible human beings!"

Sasuke composed himself, and donned his serious expression once again. "I am being serious though when I say you need to get over those feelings." Naruto didn't like Sasuke's tone at all, but motioned for him to continue. His face fell at his friend's next words.

"Hinata's going to school in America."

Oh no! You're princess is going to school in another country, Naruto! You gotta make a decision pronto!

Well, this was fun to write. I thoroughly enjoyed it – I hope you enjoyed reading it. Look out for chapter 13: December!

See you in the next one!