I may have gone overboard with this one.

WARNING: Food poisoning, and lots of misunderstandings

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine

10 Ways to Make Him Your Lover

Chapter 7

6. Give him a Treat

Give him a treat to show your appreciation. Surprise him and whip up his favorite meal for dinner. Slip a cute message into his bag. The smallest kind gesture can prove to him that he matters to you.

When Naruto woke up late the next morning his fever was gone and his energy levels felt just slightly less than his norm. There was a note from Tsunade on his bedside table telling him to take his medicine and to be at school the next day. Grinning, the blonde took his pills and then hopped off to the shower. He was soaked with sweat and felt gross and sticky.

After a long, relaxing shower, the blonde flopped down on his bed. Breathing in deeply through his nose for the first time that morning. Thankful for the steam. As he stared at the ceiling, trying to relax, his thoughts couldn't help but be pulled to Sasuke. He wanted to check his phone. More than anything else, thats what he wanted but he was too scared.

Getting up he went to finally put some clothes on. It was a quicker task than he expected and he was back, sitting on his bed, looking at his turned off cell. "You can do this. So what if he didn't call. You'll just finish with him and find yourself a super hot boyfriend."

As the phone turned on the blonde averted his eyes. It buzzed with missed activity and when he decided to take a peek his jaw dropped from shock. Thirty-two missed calls from Sasuke and seventeen messages. Naruto put his phone down breathing deeply, not believing what he saw. He picked it up again and read through the messages.

Naruto, pick up!

Kiba said you're sick. Pick up!

Are you okay? Do you have a fever? If it's really bad go to the hospital.

Pick up when I call!

Naruto, I'm getting worried!

Are you still mad at me? Because that is so stupid right now! You are sick! Pick up the phone!

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, but you've been avoiding me too. I was being a jerk. I'm really sorry Naruto.

Please pick up! I need to know that you're okay!

Naruto, I already apologized. From now on I'm not going to assume your avoiding me but that you are so sick you can't even pick up the phone.

That's it! I'm calling an ambulance!

If you do not answer my call I am coming over! And I don't care what you say, I will break the ducking door down!

I'm coming over.

I'm sorry I had to leave. Some stuff with my father. I left a note for what medicine to take. I'll stop by tomorrow after school and stay with you.

Morning. How do you feel? Is your fever gone?

Is your phone still off?

Did you take your medicine?!

I'm going to stop by during lunch.

Naruto couldn't believe the warmth that bloomed in his chest. Sasuke called. He called thirty-two times. And he wrote messages! And he was worried! And he stopped by! And left a note! And-

The blonde stopped his thoughts to look at the note. It was definitely from Tsunade. He looked around his bed side table and then at his desk where he found a note with Sasuke's hand writing. "He was here yesterday. He came to check on me." He was so happy he felt he could squeal like a schoolgirl.

Sitting at his desk he opened his laptop and pulled up the list. Number 5: Let him call you. He did. Sasuke actually called him. He could move on with the list. There was still hope for them.

Number six: Give him a treat.

He'd never really cooked before, but how hard could it be? It should be something sweet…and something with tomatoes. They could go together. And he had all day to make it.

Naruto was startled when his front door was unlocked. It was probably just Tsunade. She had a spar kay. Relaxing a bit the blonde nearly jumped out of his skin when the person said, "Naruto, I'm here," and it was definitely not a woman's voice. In fact, it sounded a lot like Sasuke

The blonde heard the footsteps getting closer and just then realized he had the list open. As Sasuke opened the door Naruto slammed his laptop shut. "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, standing in the doorway.

Naruto laughed nervously, getting out of his seat and standing in front of his laptop. "Sasuke, it's just you. I thought…you don't have a key to my place…do you?"

Sasuke walked in front of him, only a few inches separating them. "I took your spare last night when I had to leave." The raven placed the back of his hand to the blonde's forehead. "You're fevers gone. And you seem to be back to your usual self. That's good. Did you have any trouble after I left?"

"Ummm…no?" Naruto backed up a bit. "Look, Sasuke, if I'm being honest I had no idea you were even here last night before I read the messages. I don't really remember anything."

The raven stood looking the blonde in the eyes. "You don't…you can't just…were you really that sick?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess?…Why? Did I say something? Did I do something?"

"Not…not really?"

"Okay," Naruto grabbed the raven by the hand and dragged him to his living room. "Walk me through what happened step by step…leave nothing out!"

Sasuke chuckled at the other's dramatization of the situation. "There's not much to tell. I found you passed out on the floor, you had a really high fever. I gave you some medicine, clothed you, and gave you soup-"

"W-Wait! Hold up! You clothed me?"

"Oh…yeah." The raven looked away blushing. "You took off your clothes cause you were hot and sweaty, I guess…not in a sexy way…just…you already know…I just…you would have made yourself sicker if I didn't…It's not a big deal…Naruto! Say something!"

"Right!" Naruto snapped out of his shock. It made no sense to be shocked anyway. If Sasuke dressed him he probably wasn't even conscious. And it's not the first time Sasuke's seen him naked…And Sasuke didn't even like him so…But just thinking about it…Imagining it. "No big deal at all."

"Right." Sasuke nodded.

"So, is that it?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." The raven agreed before remembering the guy and wincing a bit.

"What?…There's more isn't there!" Naruto groaned, burying his face in the couch cushions. "What is wrong with me!"

"Nothing! It was mostly my fault for prying…" Sasuke looked down at his lap, feeling a bit ashamed of himself. "We talked about the guy you…"

Naruto could have sworn his heart dropped out of his chest. "What do you…I told you about the guy I like."

"Not just like, you said love." Sasuke said, through gritted teeth.

"Love." The blonde crocked out, his mouth suddenly very dry. "What-…you seem upset."

"Well, yeah." Sasuke flopped back on the couch, glaring at the ceiling. "More than upset. I'm pissed off! I swear I could just…"

"Oh…" The blonde couldn't keep his voice steady. His bottom lip started to tremble as tears welled up in his eyes. "Well…I-I can't blame you…I guess."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and practically tackled him with a hug when he saw those teary eyes. "Naruto, I'm not mad at you. This is not your fault. None of it is your fault."

The tears finally spilled as the blonde clung to Sasuke. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I just cant help who I like."

"I know. And whoever that guy is that rejected you…he doesn't deserve you. You're way too good for him."

The blonde's tears stopped and he looked down at Sasuke's shoulder in confusion. "I didn't tell you who it is?"

"No, and you don't have to." Sasuke pulled back, wiping the residual tears from the blonde's eyes. "Honestly if you did I wouldn't know what I would do to that asshole for making you cry like this."

At those words Naruto couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his throat. "Sorry…It's just funny to think about. You beating this guy up."

"What? You think I can't?"

The blonde laughed even harder. "No, sorry. I'm sure if anyone could, it'd be you."

Sasuke couldn't understand what was going on but Naruto was laughing so it didn't really matter. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yup!" Naruto grinned at him. He tried to keep the grin in place as he asked, "So…what about you? How was your date with Sakura? Are you the 'it' couple at school?"

The raven scoffed. "Hardly. I can't stand her. It was all my dad's fault, he set it all up, but he's not butting in anymore. Although Sakura isn't understanding that we're not dating. She keeps following me around and telling people we're dating, and that we kissed. But I'm not interested. She's not my type."

"Okay." He nodded. "And your type is…?"

"Right now, I think I'd prefer someone…of the other gender."

Naruto almost squealed with joy. "Sasuke, are you telling me you're gay?"

"Well, I don't know…but I would definitely prefer a guy right now."

"Oh. So, who's the lucky guy?"

"I never said there was a guy. All I said was-"

"I know what you said. Which is why I know there is definitely a guy. There's always a guy. So, who is it?"

He could confess. This was his chance. He could confess. Tell Naruto it's him. But the blonde was just rejected…he was heartbroken. The last thing he would want right now is to date someone. And if he did, what would that make Sasuke? The rebound? "I'm not telling."

"Ohh, come on!

"You won't tell me who your guy is so why should I?" The raven smirked.

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "Fine. Everyone's entitled to their privacy."

"Seriously?" Sasuke was shocked. Normally the blonde would try everything to get the answer out of him. "I'm impressed. That's not like you."

"Yeah well, I think I'd prefer to not know right now." Naruto muttered to himself. Sasuke was again very confused but before he could ask anything the blonde stood up . "Lunch is almost over, Sasuke."

"I don't care. I can skip-"

"No, you can't. School is important and…I…I have some things I have to work on…just for today. So, can I see you tomorrow?"

"What? Naruto-"

"Sasuke, please. I swear, I'll see you tomorrow. And you'll probably even see what I worked on."

The raven wasn't happy about this. Maybe he just pushed too much. Naruto walked him to the door. "Oh yeah, you're spare key-"

"You can keep it…If you want."

Sasuke couldn't stop the grin that overtook his face. "Yeah, of course. Can never know when I'll need to crash in and save you again."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow Sasuke…and thank you…for taking care of me."

"I'll always take care of you."

Four hours.

It just took four hours after Sasuke left for his kitchen, and part of his living room, to become a war zone. And one of those hours was spent on shopping so really it was just three. How could such havoc be caused in such a short amount of time?

It started so innocently. He found a few recipes, got the ingredients and then…It was a horror show.

Naruto couldn't decide which of the recipes he liked best so he just mushed them all together. That might have been his first mistake. The next was attempting to cook.

The chefs on tv made it look so easy. They would be chopping and dicing and mincing and it looked so simple. But by the end of his endeavors his hands were cut, bruised, burned and something might have snapped.

"Like Sasuke would ever want something from me." Naruto said, frowning at his end product. There were only two little pastries. Two that actually looked moderately presentable. The ones that failed the blonde would just get frustrated with and chuck them around the room.

"I should just throw them away." He didn't even know what he made, or if it was edible. If only he had the others to taste. He knew he shouldn't have thrown the failures, but cooking apparently made him aggressive. It was already a mess in the room so it just seemed logical. They were the lone survivors in the mine field that was his kitchen. He put then in the fridge to "set" and started cleaning.

It was night by the time he was done. Naruto flopped down on his couch. He felt so weak…he had forgotten he had been so sick. He wouldn't have even taken his medicine if Tsunade and Sasuke didn't call to remind him. Like twenty times…each.

"They might not be bad." Naruto's thoughts drifted to the pastries in his fridge. At first he thought about trying one of them, but that would only leave only be one…and if something happened during school to ruin it…Plus this way Naruto could eat with him.

"I'm sure they're good." The blonde tried to reassure himself. "At least Sasuke would probably like them." He did put dried tomatoes in. There was also sugar, but not too much cause Sasuke didn't like sweets. But he would always eat them whenever Naruto offered.

"And I made them with love, damn it!" Naruto nodded to himself, mind all made up. "I'll give them to him at lunch…away from everyone else."

The next day, when the bell signaling lunch rang Naruto ran out of his class. He was hoping to catch the raven before he went to the cafeteria. That way his friends wouldn't be asking questions.

He spotted Sasuke exiting his class with Sakura attached to his left arm. Naruto had forgotten about her. It hurt to see then together even if Sasuke had said there was nothing between them. If she wouldn't leave Sasuke alone, this could be a problem.

"Naruto." Sasuke smiled seeing him standing at the end of the hall. Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes at the blonde.

"Hey." Naruto grinned, making his way over to the raven. "I was hoping to catch you…I was wondering if you'd like to eat lunch together."

"We all sit at the same table, Naruto." Sakura interjected. "We're all going to eat lunch together."

Naruto frowned and was glad to see Sasuke didn't appear to like her butting in either. "What I meant was…alone. You and me alone…I-"

"Eww! Are you trying to make a move on him?!" The pink haired girl shrieked, drawing student's attention. "That's so gross Naruto! Sasuke-"

"Can speak for himself!" The raven got out of her grasp, glaring at her. He was about to say something before changing his mind, grabbing Naruto, they both started running down the hall. Sakura screamed after them and tried to follow but they lost her by hiding under the stairs. It was gross and probably full of spiders, but at least now they were alone.

Naruto laughed, "She really can't get the message."

Sasuke nodded sitting down next to Naruto. "I'm sorry she said that. You know that-"

"Sasuke, I've been out for a while now. It's not the first time someones made a comment like that and it probably isn't the last. It's fine."

"Still…It's not fair."

"It isn't." Naruto agreed, looking down at his lap. "And if you really go after this guy you like, you'll probably be hearing things like that too."

Sasuke smiled at him, leaning closer to the blonde. "I think I could deal with it…for the right person."

The blonde nodded blushing. "Anyway, lunch! We should eat! And I…I have something for you."

"Well I hope it's something to eat cause I usually buy my lunch." Sasuke chuckled.

Naruto gapped. How could he forget? "Oh man, I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry Sasuke. I-…Yes, the thing I have is food." The blonde fumbled in his bag, pulling out the plastic container with the two pastries. "It's something sweet, but I didn't put too much sugar in it. Also it has tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, I know you like those."

Sasuke eyed the pastries carefully before looking up at the blonde. "Naruto-"

"They're a thank you for taking care of me when I was really sick." The blonde grinned. It was the perfect excuse.

The raven sighed. "Did you at least follow the recipe?" Sasuke picked one up, knowing there was no way this would be good.

"I couldn't decide on a specific one so I kind of mashed some together. Only two made it, so I thought it'd be perfect. One for the both of us." Naruto grinned picking up the other pastry. "Unless you want both-"

"No!" Sasuke instantly answered. "No…I…Did you at least taste them?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, like I said only two made it. The others were…casualties."

Sasuke swallowed thickly. He did not want to eat this mass of…he didn't even know what. Naruto was just grinning as him, holding the other pastry. The raven didn't want to disappoint him. And he worked so hard on it judging by his hands. Sasuke had wanted to ask what happened the moment he saw them but with Sakura hanging off him at every possible moment he didn't get the chance. Now it was obvious it was because of this. And he looked so cute, too.

"Okay, cheers…I guess." Sasuke touched his pastry to Naruto's and went in for a bite before he could think too much about it. You love him so you'll eat it. Sasuke chewed at a rapid pace and then swallowed before pausing and looking at the blonde with wide, surprised eyes. "It's not bad."

Naruto's jaw dropped. He was expecting Sasuke to spit it out, not…this. "You're joking…You know I have my own so I can just…" The blonde took a bite out of his own and almost dropped his jaw. "It's not that good…but it's not bad!" Naruto grinned at Sasuke. Putting your heart into something really did make a difference.

"Good job dobe." Sasuke smiled at him. "I'm impressed."

Naruto shrugged, blushing. He wasn't used to getting praised. "It's no big deal. You do stuff for me all the time, this is the least I could do for you."

"I never knew you to be so-"

"Oh shut up." He kicked Sasuke's foot. "It's…whatever just stop talking about it."

"Okay." Sasuke chuckled and finished his pastry. "Thank you for the treat Naruto."

Naruto nodded, stuffing the rest of his pastry in his mouth. "So…you weren't kidding about Sakura."

"Yeah, I know." Sasuke groaned. "I keep telling her to leave me alone and correcting her when she tells people we're together but it's like nothing works with her…I kind of wish you were making a move on me. Maybe if I was with someone she'd get the hint."

Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, well-"

"I'm just kidding." Sasuke quickly corrected, seeing how the blonde felt awkward at the suggestion.

"I know that."

"I mean, I'd never want to use you like that." Sasuke scooted closer to Naruto until their knees were touching. "If I were ever to go out with you it's be because you are the cutest, kindest, bravest person I know. To use you for that would just be wasting an opportunity to truly love you. And I'm not that dumb, Naruto."

"Umm…thanks? I care about you too." The blonde smiled through his blush.

"Idiot." Sasuke scooted even closer. "I don't just care about you, Naruto. You're the most important person to me. You're my best friend. You-"

The bell ending lunch startled the two boys. Naruto quickly stood. "We need to get to Study Hall. It's Ebisu's turn today. Come on!" The blonde practically sprinted down the hall.

Sasuke cursed himself as he stood. He got carried away with the moment. He decided yesterday to wait till the dobe was over the guy. And it was obvious he made him uncomfortable and overwhelmed him. "You need to back off Sasuke." He muttered himself. He was getting really impatient lately.

It was during the end of Chemistry class that he really started noticing something was wrong. Sasuke shifted in his seat. During Study Hall he started sweating and felt a bit dizzy. He first thought he was catching Naruto's cold, but now it was clear. The pastry, even though it didn't taste bad, was not meant to be eaten.

His stomach clenched and he tried to stifle down another bought of nausea. Naruto was seated right next to him since it was a lab day. He wouldn't allow himself to throw up. There was just a bit more before class ended. He could do it.

He nearly fell out of his seat when Naruto shot up. "Miss! I need to use the bathroom please!"

This was the first time Sasuke really looked at the blonde since lunch. He was pale, clutching his stomach with on hand and every couple of seconds a shiver would rack over his body. Of course. Sasuke was so consumed with hiding this from him that he forgot that Naruto ate a pastry too. Sasuke shot up from his seat. "Me too! I need to go to the bathroom too!"

The teacher shook her head at them. "One first, then the other."

Naruto turned to Sasuke, "You can go first. This is all my fault anyway."

The raven shook his head before turning to the teacher. "Miss, We will need to go to the nurse."

"Yes! Please, I gave us food poisoning!" Naruto quickly blurted out.

Immediately students started to gossip. The teacher quieted them down before turning to the boys again. "You are both-"

"Very sick and will vomit in your classroom if you don't let us leave." Sasuke glared at her.

"Very well, you can go but your book bags stay here!" She yelled after the boys who were already sprinting down the hall.

As soon as they reached the bathroom they ran into their own stalls and emptied their stomachs. After what felt like hours of heaving it finally calmed down. They sat back to back with just the stall wall separating them.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke." Naruto said. "I just wanted to do something nice for you but I screwed it up…as usual. All that stuff you were saying at lunch about being a great friend wasn't true. I'm a horrible friend!"

"That's not what I was-…This isn't a big deal, okay. People get food poisoning all the time. And you even got yourself sick too." Sasuke comforted the blonde, reaching under the stall to hold his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"You shouldn't be concerning yourself with me-"

"But I am. The day before yesterday you were so sick you passed out. Are you okay?" The raven asked again, worry and concern lacing his words.

"I don't deserve you." Naruto muttered.

"Answer the question!"

"I'm fine. I feel a little better now." Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand. "What about you?"

"Same." The bell ending school finally rang. "Come on. I'll drive us home while we still feel okay."

"Thanks but I don't know if I want to be in a car right now."

"Would you prefer getting sick on the side of the road while crawling home?"

Naruto chuckled meeting him outside the stalls. "Fair point."

End of Chapter 7

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