"You like her."

Suigetsu looked up from his bowl of ramen, noodles hanging from his mouth. Slurping and swallowing, he asked, "Who?"

"Who the hell do you think?"

"Karin?" he guessed, wrinkling his nose. "Why would I like her?"

"I dunno," Naruto said, shrugging, "but you obviously do."

"No, I don't. You're just crazy."

"If you don't like her," he started, pointing at him accusingly with his chopsticks, "then why do you spend so much time with her?"

Holding up one hand, he ticked off the reasons on his fingers. "We're teammates, roommates, and she's pregnant with my child. Plus, it's fun to make her angry."

"That's the other thing; why bother dealing with the baby together? If you want it and she doesn't, can't you just keep it for yourself?"

Opening his mouth, he paused, closed it, and was silent for a moment. The idea of taking sole custody of the child had never occurred to him before, but when he actually thought about it, it seemed like a plausible idea. After all, one criminal parent couldn't be any worse than two, right?

Though, the prospect of fathering a child was daunting – it was even more frightening to think of doing so alone. At least with Karin he would only have to take half the blame when the kid turned out completely screwed up. Plus, taking care of it himself meant it would be an unending job – if he wanted to do something, the kid had to come along to or he would have to find someone else willing to take care of what was most likely going to be a pintsized demon. That was not an idea he liked.

To answer the blonde's question, he said, "I'd never thought of that, actually. Though, I don't think it's a plan I'll ever go through with – too much responsibility."

"Well..." Naruto started, searching his mind for more evidence. "Well, what about when Sasuke found you two cuddling on the couch!"

He grinned triumphantly at Suigetsu's shocked expression.

"I was just-! Wait... He told you about that?"

"Well, yeah, but only after I dragged it out of him." Then, playfully stern, he added, "Don't change the subject!"

"You wasted you breath," Suigetsu said, recovering from his surprise and leaning back, arms crossed. "Nothing happened. She was freaked out by a thunderstorm, I comforted her so she would shut up, we fell asleep."

"I'm talking about what happened after you woke up."

"Wha-? Nothing happened!"

"Not how Sasuke tells it!" Naruto teased in a sing-song voice, still grinning. "And I doubt he made it up."

"Well, whatever he told you, it doesn't mean anything," he insisted, turning back to his now-cold ramen.

"Sure," he said, drawing out the word, "you keep telling yourself that."

They ate in silence for a while, Suigetsu picking at his unappetizingly cold food, Naruto shovelling in his own. Slurping and the noise of chopsticks against bowls were the only sounds the pair made.

Finally, Naruto leaned back in his chair, finished. Looking over at his friend, who continued to poke at his noodles, he asked, "So... You really wanna keep it?"

"What?" he asked, glancing from the blonde to his food. "My ramen?"

"No," his friend snorted, rolling his eyes, "the baby."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well," Suigetsu started, seeming to choose his words carefully, "I think I like the idea of having a kid – you know; someone you can teach to be however you want, someone you can goof around with..."

"But..." Naruto pressed, sensing there was more to the issue.

He sighed, leaning against the countertop. "But I'm also responsible for it. If I mess up, I mess up. I can't go back and fix it..." Then, gripping his head in his hands and shaking it, he growled, ""Uggh. What the hell am I saying? I'm supposed to be a merciless assassin."

Chuckling, he said, "Trust me – if that Uchiha bastard be can be a mess of self-contradictions, you can have a soft-spot for kids."

The Mist ninja remained silent. His only response was to slide his bowl of ramen closer to the blonde, who promptly inhaled it.

Chewing a mouthful of noodles, Naruto offered him a slap on the back, saying, "Don't worry so much! Tons of people messed up with me, and look how I turned out!"

Suigetsu only managed a weak smile.


Author's Notes: Too tired to make a comment on this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of its characters.