Enjoy. ;D

I was SO tempted to call this chapter "Calling You Baby", but I wanted to keep up the pattern of three-subject chapter titles.

I don't own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes, and no profit is being made from it.

Headbutts, Lilies and Milk

Sasuke gazed out the window of his room, frowning at the rain that was still pouring down outside. It had gone on all through the night, and even now, at exactly noon, it wasn't letting up in the least, and the day refused to change from its dark, wet state to anything remotely suitable to go training in.

Sasuke was restless. Doing nothing when he should be training did not suit him. It was dull and annoying and a waste of time.

He was pulled out of his agitated thoughts by a mewl and a furry mass head-butting his calf. Looking down, dark grey eyes met silvery blue, and the pair engaged in a staring contest until Sasuke finally gave in to the black kitten's wishes and picked it up, sat it on his lap, and began stroking it, much to the small animal's absolute delight.

The cat turned around and began kneading the boy's upper body, purring loudly as it was scratched behind the ears.

Sasuke, thinking its pushing meant that it wanted to get down, went to put the young cat back on the floor, but the animal clung to his T-shirt and mewled loudly in protest, and he guessed he had been wrong, allowing it to return to its previous position.

The raven winced at the feel of claws pricking his skin through his shirt and picked up the feline's paws, lifting them from his chest and putting them back down when velvet.

He was pleased when the kitten seemed to understand, and no longer pressed hard enough to pierce him.

"Good, Baby." he said, smiling slightly as he continued to stroke the fluffy black cat.

A knock at the door made the animal's head jerk round, and Sasuke frowned, knowing who it was. It wasn't that he disliked the person at the door, it was just that he knew what they were here for, and to be honest, he didn't really want it to happen.

Placing Baby on the floor, he made his way over to the door and pulled it open.

As expected, Ami stood before him, dressed in a light blue raincoat, bangs plastered to her face.

"Hey, Sasuke!" she said happily, waving, flicking water off her coat sleeve with the motion. "Can I come in?"

The raven stepped to the side.

Ami walked in and smiled at the cat, which scampered over to her, stared a moment until she took off the wet coat, then rubbed against her before striding over to the raven and wrapping herself around his legs.

"She's really gotten fond of you." the brunette said, smiling at the sight of the affectionate animal rubbing on the boy.

"Hn. She follows me everywhere."

"Well, you'll be rid of her by the end of today."

Sasuke was silent a moment, then began gathering up the cat supplies that Ami had bought into a small box.

Baby sat on a chair in the corner and curled up into a ball.

"Sorry to have asked such a troublesome thing of you, Sasuke. I bet you're glad that you won't have to mind her anymore, huh?" Ami asked, placing the last of the cat food cans into the cardboard box.

"…hn."

The brunette girl frowned at his response.

He noticed and looked at her, silently demanding for her to explain her expression.

The girl chewed her lip slightly, then spoke. "Sasuke..."

The boy remained mute, brow knitted.

"What do you want?" she asked.

There was the raising of an eyebrow, nothing more.

Ami sighed. "Okay, you're going to pretend that you don't understand. Fine. I'll explain."

Silence.

"You want Baby." she said. It was more of a statement than a question. "You don't want me to take her. Is that the case?"

Another moment of silence.

"You're the one who found her, Nami." he said, turning away.

"I'm perfectly aware that it was me who found her. That's not what I asked you."

Sasuke sighed.

"Be honest." the brunette girl said firmly, "And look me in the eye when you answer."

He wouldn't.

"If you don't answer me, I'll go with my hunch and leave Baby with you, because I believe that you really do want her. You just won't admit it because you've got this weird thing about showing emotion and feelings."

Sasuke's brow furrowed.

"One minute. Then I want your answer or I leave anyway." Ami said, folding her arms. "Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight-"

"Oh, shut up."

She raised an eyebrow and Sasuke scowled.

"If you spend a lot of time with someone or something, eventually you'll get attached." the raven said in an annoyed voice. He glared at Ami, and was surprised to see her smiling widely at him.

'It's only been a day, you big softy.' she thought smugly. "Alright, then!" the girl said with a grin, "I'll leave her with you."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he felt a happiness well up inside him, but for some reason, tried not to let it show on his face.

Ami was right. He didn't like showing his emotions.

However, regardless of his efforts, she didn't miss the brightening of his eyes and the odd-looking attempt to avoid smiling.

"Black cats are also said to ward off evil, you know!" the brunette girl chirped, "Maybe she'll help with your stalkers!" She stroked Baby's head then walked to the door, slipping on her coat and shoes, then pulled up her hood. "Just make sure to take good care of her! I said nothing to Aiko about the cat, so don't worry, she won't be disappointed."

With that, Ami was gone, leaving a secretly delighted Sasuke with his new look-alike pet.

Yamanaka Ino looked up at the sound of the bell by the door ringing, and called out a hearty "Welcome!", wearing a wide smile until she saw who it was.

Ami looked about herself, glanced towards the counter and mentally groaned when she recognized the face of a blonde-haired fan girl.

"Well, well, if it isn't Konno Ami."

"Afternoon." she mumbled, bowing slightly.

Ino mimicked the action and as they both stood up, Ami took the chance to check what the girl's name was by means of the name tag.

"So, what are you looking for?" Ino questioned, eyes drifting to the roses over Ami's shoulder.

"Lilies." the brunette said, stepping over to the aforementioned flowers and eyeing them sombrely. "White ones. ...I need two bouquets."

Ino's eyebrow's lifted and the smirk left her face as she realised what the flowers were for.

Graves.

The first bunch was for Hamako's grave. Ami sat, prayed and spoke to her grandmother a while as she tidied up the grave. She wiped down the headstone with water from her pouch, pulled away any weeds from around the headstone, then said her goodbyes and left to visit her father.

Kneeling down in front of the green-black memorial stone near where she, Sasuke and Sakura had passed Kakashi's bell test, Ami laid down the flowers gazed at the dark rock a moment, picking out her father's name on the stone, Konno Kenshin, and sighing sadly as she ran her fingers over it.

She prayed and talked for a while, speaking about how she and Aiko were doing, what had happened recently, her most recent missions, what she was feeling, asking him to let Mom know that she would do her best to get a break to visit their mother's grave back in the south, and of course, how much she loved him.

The Genin stood up and told her father goodbye, then turned back to the dorm.

On the way home she met Sasuke with someone else that she hadn't been expecting.

"Baby?"

Sasuke stopped walking and looked up at the sound of her voice as several surrounding fangirls had what seemed like epileptic seizures at the sight of the Uchiha being called 'Baby' (or so they thought), by a girl other than themselves.

The small black kitten was effectively stalking the boy, residing mainly in his shadow as she looked up at him with adoring blue eyes.

"Morning, Sasuke, Baby."

Any fans that had recovered fell into another bout of horror-induced convulsions.

"Morning."

A mewl sounded as the black cat began winding herself around the boy's legs, then latched onto his shin bandages and clambered up his shorts and shirt until she got onto his shoulder, then laid there like a fluffy, ebony towel, claws digging slightly into the fabric to hold herself in place.

Ami smiled at the sight of the animal beginning to head-butt the boy's face and the raven reaching up to scratch the delighted feline behind the ears with a roll of the eyes.

"How does she work, then?" Ami asked, "Any luck?"

Sasuke thought a moment as the cat rubbed her face against his cheek, whiskers tickling his nose as he scratched her under the ear. "She hissed at a fangirl that tried to pet her earlier on, and I haven't encountered any bad luck, but when she sits on me like this, people stare at me as though I'm insane… A three year-old called me 'Catman'."

"Fun, fun, fun, then." Ami grinned. "I'll see you later." she said, continuing on her way back to the dorm, waving as she went. "Good luck to you both!"

The boy waved as he received another thud in the skull from the dark feline on his shoulder.

The young Konno girl ascended the steps and looked up at the Keijousai proudly. The surrounding trees that had lost their leaves were beginning to come into bud, the small green nubs showing clearly on the brown branches.

She was noticed by one of the tenants as she shook out towels on top of the roof, hanging them up on the clothesline.

"Welcome back, Ami-san!" Yoshida Miku called. Ami looked up at the eighteen year-old freelance writer, pulling a strand of short blonde hair out of her green eyes.

Ami waved up at her, chirping her thanks, then walked in the door, being greeted by another of the girls, Akiyama Haruka, an ANBU woman with long black hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Aiko ran down the stairs with Kotone, Haruka's younger sister, in tow. They were both around the same age, and Ami had later learned that the pair were apparently the best of friends, as well as being in the same class together at the academy.

Her younger sibling skidded to a halt in front of her, then spoke a quick message to her elder sister.

"You have a mission tomorrow!" she relayed, "Kakashi-sensei says to meet at the bridge at nine o'clock! You're helping out at an old woman's farm in the country. He says to wear old clothes because you're going to 'get covered in god knows what'."

'Oh, joy.' "Thanks, Aiko…"

The following day, the sky had cleared and the Country of Fire was back to its usual dryness, although there was a chilly wind blowing today, nipping at the skin on the brunette girl's arms, legs and face.

For once, she had decided to come at the designated time for the mission, even though she knew Kakashi wouldn't be there until at least three hours later.

A raven-haired boy walking onto the bridge, Team Seven's meeting place, brought her out of her thoughts. "Morning, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"You still stand by your decision?" she asked.

The raven rose a fine eyebrow. "Actually, it was more like your decision."

Ami chuckled. "True, but was I right?"

A slight nod. "I thought you would want her, though."

Ami placed a hand on her hair, smoothing it down. "Hmm, well, how should I put this?" she wondered aloud. "Okay, I like you, and I like Baby, therefore, it should be assumed that I would want both of you to be happy, correct?"

A grunt of agreement.

"So why would I pull her away from you for my own selfish wishes? I'm not that kind of person."

"…I suppose that's true."

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Oh, shit." Ami grumbled in annoyance. She liked Sakura, she really did, but when she called the Uchiha's name like that, it made her skin crawl.

The pink-haired girl's smile slid off her face when she caught sight of Ami. Sure, the brunette had been closer, but let's face it, when it came to Sasuke, she had tunnel vision.

"Ami?" she questioned, sounding slightly annoyed. "Why are you here?"

Inner Sakura wanted to deck the girl. 'DAMMIT! This was meant to be my alone time with Sasuke-kun! Why is she here!'

Ami sighed slightly. "I was bored, had nothing else to do, and one of my tenants was making so much noise I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Why didn't you complain?" Sakura questioned icily.

"It was eight o'clock, Sakura, not three in the morning."

The pink-haired girl looked pissed.

Ami was in a no-win situation. There were only degrees of losing.

'If I stay, Sakura's pissed with me for being in the way of her 'alone time' with Sasuke. If I leave, Sasuke's pissed with me for leaving him with a fangirl who won't stop flirting and talking when he's interested in neither.'

She closed her eyes and mentally weighed who's wrath she would rather face and what would be best in the long run.

'Sasuke will be an ass for longer than Sakura, and Sakura can't really give out to me, and definitely won't even try while Sasuke's here. I'm a part of this team, and female, and straight. I don't plan on changing any of those anytime soon. Sakura has to accept that and stop viewing me as an obstacle rather than a friend. If I leave every time she comes over to fangirl, Sasuke will come to resent me, and Sakura will come to expect that behaviour from me.' She opened her eyes, having made her decision. 'I refuse to bend to that. Sakura will just have to do without annoying Sasuke today.'

To display her finality, she slid down the side of the bridge and sat, closing her eyes, clearly preparing for the long wait ahead as she ignored Sakura's scowl.

After a while, Naruto joined the trio and relieved some of the awkward tension. Unfortunately for him, this was by basically acting as a punch-bag for Sakura.

Three hours later, Kakashi appeared in a burst of smoke, and waved cheerily as he began some pathetic excuse that Ami didn't even bother to listen to as Sakura and Naruto yelled at him for his tardiness.

Naruto and Sakura were taking care of the chickens, and Kakashi was back at the woman's house, no doubt somehow eating pie despite his mask and reading his porn-filled book.

"So, why did you decide to choose me to help you?" Ami asked, trotting beside the Uchiha, her knees and hands covered in dirt as Sasuke somehow remained spotless after planting seeds in another field, as they made their way across the wet, grassy land. 'He usually picks Naruto, after all...'

The boy was quiet a moment, then said; "You're the least annoying."

"You flatter me."

"Hn."

There was a moment of silence, then Ami stopped. The raven turned to look at her. She had a worried and confused expression. "…Sasuke?"

"What is it?"

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

The raven rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm sure."

Ami wasn't convinced. "Sasuke. Please. Actually consider what I'm saying. I know you're a very proud person, and you don't like being corrected, but I seriously don't think this is the right way."

"And just what makes you think that?" Sasuke demanded, aggravated with the girl's questions.

"We came over a hill. The land here is flat."

She was right.

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted as he looked around. Maybe he really was mistaken.

"Also, I don't recognize that tree and rock over there, do you?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed. "I guess you're right." he admitted sheepishly, embarrassed at having made such a simple mistake. "We'd best turn back."

"Oh, fuck."

Sasuke turned to the girl, frowning. "It's not that bad, extra walking won't kill you."

Ami wasn't facing him. She was looking to the right, eyes wide with fear.

Sasuke looked in the same direction and echoed Ami's earlier curse-laden statement.

A white horse was staring them down.

The same white horse they had been warned about earlier by the old woman who had requested this mission.

The same insane, extremely violent, human-hating, white horse.

The raging stallion was gazing at them, stamping its feet and pinning back its ears.

It charged.

Sasuke grabbed Ami before she could run, and she turned to look at him in terrified confusion. "Do you want us to die!" she demanded, trying to pull her hand from the boy's firm grasp.

"Don't run until I tell you. Run to the right as fast as you can, use Chakra, and don't look back until you're out of this field. I'll go left. But don't run until I tell you."

Ami's eyes fell on the approaching horse and she squeezed Sasuke's hand, trying to calm down.

"Trust me." the raven said, squeezing back.

She bit her lip then nodded, sighing slightly when she was released.

"Get ready..." the boy warned.

The pair stood still, ready to run but unmoving, until the horse was mere feet from them.

Then, Sasuke exploded with a; "RUN!" and they both shot in opposite directions, Chakra driving them forwards. The horse stopped a moment, confused as to who he should go after, then decided on Sasuke.

Ami leaped over the hedge around the pasture and almost tripped when she landed, leaping up again to check if Sasuke was alright.

He was still running, but the chalky beast was hot on his heels, and catching up fast.

Sasuke was fast, but he couldn't beat the horse.

The animal reared up and slammed its hooves down onto the boy's back.

"Sasuke!" Ami screamed, then noticed the clearing smoke and log that had replaced his body. She sighed in relief when she saw that Sasuke sat, unharmed, but panting, in the neighbouring field.

The horse meanwhile, was shocked, but after a while of nudging and staring at the lump of wood, returned to grazing.

Ami jumped a few hedges as she ran around the horse's field over to the boy and dropped down beside him. "Thank you." she panted.

Sasuke nodded, too out of breath to speak.

The pair sat beside each other, breathing heavily for a moment, then the raven spoke.

"I… suppose we should turn around, then?" Sasuke suggested quietly.

"I-I guess." she smiled.

The raven and brunette walked in the door, now both muddy from planting, being chased by the insane horse, and then getting caught in a downpour a mile from the house, running across the acres of grassland splattering them both with filth. They made their way to the small utility bathroom in the corner of the room to wash their hands, then exited.

"Castrate that insane horse, please." Ami grumbled, taking a seat at the table beside Sakura, who glared at her for taking the place she had been saving for Sasuke. Her complaints quelled however, as Sasuke slid in beside Naruto and opposite her.

There would be no difficulty in staring.

The old woman gave them all sandwiches and milk, which the Genin ate thankfully.

Ami was deep in thought as Naruto jabbered on to the others about something she wasn't listening to, Sakura yelled at him for something he either said or did, and Kakashi whipped out his dirty novel as Sasuke ignored them all.

Her gaze drifted about the room, then finally fell on the raven, who was eating slowly in small bits, seemingly in deep thought. AT this moment, he may well have been one of the slowest eaters she had ever seen, and strangely, Ami was reminded of a tortoise chewing a tomato.

As Ami ate her own food and drink she found herself staring at the boy from across the table, not particularly sure why. He was just interesting to look at, she supposed. Cold liquid poured down her front. Ami's eyes were ripped from the boy's face onto her chest, and with a jolt of shock, realised that in her lethargic stupor, she had somehow managed to miss her mouth, as a result tipping at least half of her drink onto her torso.

Naruto burst out laughing as the brunette swore quietly, cursing her own stupidity, as she shyly asked the old woman for a paper towel.

The old woman, rather than simply handing her the napkin, began to mop up the mess on the poor girl's breast herself, unintentionally humiliating her further as her teammates and sensei snickered at her.

"Here, you'd best take that off. I'll wash it for you." the old woman said, pulling Ami's T-shirt up over her head like you might with a child, tugging forth more sniggers and smirks.

Ami half-sincere and half-sarcastic 'thanks' to the woman as the pensioner walked away with the soiled item of clothing, then folded her arms over the bandages on her torso, pouting in annoyance.

"If you're trying to make your boobs look bigger, Ami, that won't help a whole lot." Sakura giggled.

Ami really wasn't in the mood for being teased.

She had been stuck on a crappy mission, gotten chased by a psychotic horse, had milk dumped down her front, and was now sitting half-naked at a table that was covered in sandwiches, ninety per cent of which happened to be egg.

In case you've forgotten, she hated egg.

And so, she wasn't particularly in one of her better moods when she replied with; "Fuck off, Sakura. Sensei's tits are bigger than yours."

Sakura's jaw dropped and Kakashi choked on his own spit.

That's right.

Not sandwich.

He wasn't eating.

Meaning he never took off his mask.

Meaning after all that crap, she hadn't even gotten to see her sensei's face.

God.

Today had sucked.

They waved goodbye to the old woman and began making their way home, tired, sweaty, and dirty.

'All that for two-thousand five-hundred yen each?' Ami thought, annoyed. 'I'm glad that I have tenants and support.'

"Nami."

The brunette turned to look at the raven and was shocked to see something she had never really noticed before.

In the light of the evening sun, Ami realised just how good-looking the young Uchiha was; dark hair and eyes that contrasted beautifully with smooth, snowy skin, a slim yet strong physique and a relaxed expression on his handsome face as he gave off a serene, composed aura.

He turned to look at her and as she gazed into those onyx eyes, she felt something she had never felt before, but the best way to describe it was literally a nervous, excited little, well actually, rather huge flip in her stomach.

"You should start tying your hair back, or it'll get in the way." he commented plainly.

'Was his voice always this nice?' Ami thought, still trying to comprehend the sensation she had just experienced, when she was hit with it again. "Uh… yeah…" she answered lamely, brain fogging as she barely registered what the boy was saying.

The raven surveyed her a moment, then calmly turned his head away.

Ami suddenly felt very nervous and giddy. It took her several minutes, but when she figured it out, she practically had a mental fit.

She placed her head in her hands, then tried to cover it up by rubbing her eyes, cursing mentally as she tried to come to terms with what had happened to her.

It hadn't happened in the kind of situation she had imagined; on a mission at a farm, covered in mud and smelling of milk (it had gotten down her top and soaked her chest binding as well).

They weren't alone, in fact, they had their teammates and sensei walking right beside them.

The scenery wasn't beautiful, and actually, it smelled of horse crap.

It hadn't been a magical feeling of flying or enlightenment, it actually felt like she had just received a hard punch in the face that yanked her harshly into reality.

And it definitely hadn't been with someone she had expected.

It was perfect by no means, but nonetheless, it had happened.

She had fallen for someone.

And that someone was Uchiha Sasuke.

HURRHURR :B

It's been thirteen chapters, I thought it was about time something happened, didn't you? :D

I kind of based Ami's feelings about her first crush off my own in regards to the realisation, (although mine was in a classroom during a boring history documentary with a bitchy teacher, and what did he do? He made me laugh and then he smiled at me. I'd known the guy for a little over a year and a half before this happened) and to me, it just came out of nowhere like a truck and slammed into me, sending me completely arse over head.

So, there you have it. The real fun begins, and Ami's a big fat hypocrite. ^^