author: Sasha
Rating: PG13 for innuendo and shounen-ai
Pairings: SasuNaru, NaruSaku, SasuSaku
Warnings: there's a great deal of oddity to this part of the arc. Shounen-ai., het, you name it. All I ask is that you can keep an open mind. This fic is rated PG13 so obviously there will be hints to sexuality, but absolutely nothing will be explicit. If I do decide to change my mind, be sure that you readers will be given fair warning.
A.N.: I know it seems kind of stupid to put the prequel before the main arc is completed, but I freakin' wrote this a while ago and I just want to get it posted and over with...
Prologue
It all started on a hill. Seventeen years ago, it was the death of hundreds and the sacrifice of Sandaime. Seventeen years later, the third hokage's lookalike sits there, on that sacred hill which no towns person of Konoha has had the courage to step in. Seventeen years later, it is when the unfortunate blonde boy with a passion for miso ramen, finally gets a chance to be happy. With not one, but two people.
Act I - Secrets
Naruto sat alone on top of the hill. A gentle summer breeze blew by, slightly bending the grass to one side. He sighed. Sakura was supposed to meet him soon and he really wanted to talk to her.
"I'm here, start talking," Sakura said, propping herself against the tree Naruto was sitting under.
"Jeez, could you be a little nicer?" Naruto asked. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Sorry. This hill just creeps me out. How can you sit here all the time? You do know the history behind it, don't you?" she asked, staring down at the field below the hill.
Naruto's eyes followed hers. "Of course I do. I come here because nobody else does. Besides, this hill isn't the point. It's about Sasuke," he said. Sakura's eyes widened a fraction and she pushed herself off the tree and walked over to take a seat beside him.
"What about him? Is something wrong?" she asked, a little frightened. Naruto shook his head.
"I have to tell you something and you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone," the blonde said. Sakura nodded, leaning in as though he was going to whisper the secret to her.
"Don't get mad or anything. Don't freak out. I'm just trying to figure this out for myself and I needed a friend to confide in," he began, hoping that what he said in the beginning would help him out later on. "You know I like you," he said. Sakura nodded. "I know you like Sasuke. Thing is... I think I might like him too," Naruto said, wincing a little.
Sakura didn't get mad. She didn't get upset. She just let out a strange little cry and then an "oh...kay..." Naruto exhaled loudly and lay down.
"I knew you wouldn't understand," he said, covering his eyes with an arm.
That wasn't true. Sakura was more appalled than anything. She never saw any trace of it and she wondered if maybe, it was a sort of sudden thing.
"I get what you're saying. What I'm trying to figure out is how and why," she said. Naruto groaned.
"I don't know how, but I do know why. Same reason you do," he simply said. Sakura rolled her eyes again. There were many reasons why she liked Uchiha Sasuke. She doubted they were the same as Naruto's.
"Then what are you going to do about it?" she asked. The blonde shrugged.
"What do you think I should do?" he asked.
Sakura played with a few long blades of grass and thought about it.
"Tell him. I think he deserves to know," she said, still looking down at the grass in her hands.
Amazingly, Sakura was taking the news well. Part of it might have been due to the fact that she was almost certain that Sasuke would pound Naruto for saying such a thing, but a dark little voice told her that there was still a possibility that she could be wrong.
"What happens if he goes along with it?" Naruto asked. Sakura wanted to laugh a little. He was certainly getting his hopes up for something that was a long time from coming.
"Then you better be prepared to share him with me," she said jokingly.
"EH?!" Naruto asked. He didn't think Sakura was like that. She grinned at him.
"I'm tired of chasing him. If you can get him, so can I. Therefore, we share. Agreed?" she asked. He nodded. He'd get what he wanted after all these years. Sakura and Sasuke.
"Better kiss on that," he said. She whacked him.
"You wish," she scoffed. "Get started on planning how you'll break it to him. If he agrees, I'll kiss you, as long as you want," she said saucily, then stood up to leave.
Naruto grinned.
"Don't you worry about me. Two days max," he promised. Sakura laughed softly before starting down the road back to town.
Act II - Present Time!
"...Happy Birthday dear Sasuke, Happy Birthday to you!" they all sang. Uchiha Sasuke glared at his well-meaning friends and their efforts. Secretly, he was overjoyed they all remembered his birthday.
"Blow out the candles, ninny," Naruto said, whacking the dark-haired boy's head. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
I wish... I wish he'd notice me... he prayed, taking a deep breath and blowing all seventeen candles out. Everyone clapped and cheered.
"What'dya wish for?" the blonde asked.
You, Sasuke wanted to say.
"That you'd get out of my face," he said instead. Naruto looked a little crestfallen.
Sakura grabbed her gift from underneath the table.
"Present time!" she yelled, placing hers in Sasuke's lap. "I hope you like it," she whispered, shyly leaning in to kiss his cheek. He blushed.
"Arigato," he said, starting to open it.
"WAIT!" Naruto called. They all looked at the troublemaker.
"Sasuke should spin this bottle," he said, holding up an empty bottle of ramune, "and open whomever's present the bottle lands on," Sakura glared. She wanted Sasuke to open hers first. She'd be damned if Ino-pig's present was opened before hers. The blonde girl stuck a tongue out at Sakura and mouthed 'he'll open mine before yours'.
"Let the birthday boy decide," Chouji interjected. They all turned to look at the chubby boy, exchanging 'yeah, sure why nots'.
"Let's just open them and get it over with," Sasuke said. He figured to save chaos from a game, which Naruto was bound to get tired of, he'd just open what was given to him. And that happened to be Sakura's.
Naruto pouted a little and stomped off to get his present.
Sasuke opened Sakura's present slowly. Inside, he found small things, mementos of their past missions, photos, everything.
"That box contains five years worth of missions and other stuff. So you'll never forget that you were part of Team 7," she said a little wistfully.
Sasuke didn't know what to say. He was never one for sentimentality, but for Sakura to save all this, for so long was more than anyone had ever done for him.
"Arigato," he said softly. Sakura smiled brightly. Inner Sakura was pumping a fist yelling "hell yeah."
Ino pushed everyone out of the way. "My turn!" she yelled, placing another box in front of him. He opened it, finding scrolls and books.
"Iruka-sensei told me that you would probably find those interesting since you like to read a lot. I always say that knowledge is something that will help you in any situation," she said brightly.
"Thanks, Ino," Sasuke said.
One by one, they gave him presents to open. TenTen, Lee, Shikamaru, Chouji, Hinata, Shino, and even Neji. By the end, he had a pile of wrapping paper to one side of his chair and a pile of presents on the opposite side.
"Thank you all," Sasuke said. He looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye, watching the boy fidget with a small box. Sakura pushed the blonde boy.
"Don't make him ask for it!" she yelled. Naruto reluctantly moved forwards and offered it to Sasuke.
"Happy Birthday," he said softly. Sasuke unwrapped it and found a folded piece of paper inside the box. Before he could read any of it, Naruto snatched it up.
"Read it later!" the blonde exclaimed, flushing a little. Everyone looked a little confused and then Naruto started laughing... the laughter of a nervous person.
The cake was cut and distributed and everyone laughed, genuinely having a good time. Ino and Sakura smirked at each other and took a large dollop of icing from the cake and smeared it all over Naruto's face, just for the heck of it. He in turn, chased them around threatening to put it in their hair and down the front of their shirts.
It was a great night.
Sasuke got home and placed all his gifts carefully in his room. He took the small paper from Naruto's present out and read it.
You're another year older. I know this isn't much, or anything, but I should tell you something. I'll understand, no matter what you decide, but just meet me tonight. There's that hill behind my apartment complex. The one that nobody dares set foot in.
Naruto
Sasuke looked at the paper and then at the clock on his wall. It wasn't too late, but he wondered what on earth Naruto would want to tell him.
Could it be... is my wish going to come true? he wondered. Smiling sadly, he shook his head. He knew that Naruto's infatuation with Sakura was too strong to ever be broken.
Act III - Less Than Two Days
"You came," Naruto said softly.
"Of course I did. I'm not scared of this place," Sasuke said. "So, what were you going to say?" the dark haired boy asked.
Naruto took a breath in.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you'll let me finish before you say anything," Naruto said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I won't say anything until you're done. Get on with it."
"I like Sakura. She likes you," Naruto said. Sasuke was about to open his mouth when a hand clamped over his lips. "You said you'd wait," the blonde said. Sasuke said something into Naruto's hand.
"Thing is... I think I might kind of, maybe, like you too," the last part came out rather fast. Sasuke's eyes widened and Naruto let go of his mouth.
"Okay, now you can talk," Naruto said, steeling himself for the beating of a lifetime.
He just, did he just, he did, Sasuke thought. His vision swam before him. His wish came true, only, he had no idea what to say now that Naruto's part of the truth was out.
Instead of saying anything, Sasuke pulled Naruto to him.
"Ditto," was all he managed before his lips came crashing down upon the blonde's. Naruto's eyelids fluttered closed and he gasped, half happy that the truth earned him this, and half wondering if there was ever a possibility that he missed all the signals from the dark haired boy, if there were any signals at all.
Sasuke took the opportunity to slip his tongue past Naruto's lips into the moist cavern that surprisingly didn't taste like miso ramen. Tongues dueled and hands wound frantically through hair, around necks and around waists. Naruto thought time was passing so quickly, everything was like an incredible rush and finally he had to pull away for air.
Both of their chests heaved, the two boys gasping for breath and desperately trying not to faint in front of one another. Naruto suddenly smiled.
"Looks like it turned out alright," he said, rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but he smiled a little.
"Baka," the dark haired boy said.
"Yeah, but you like me. Oh Sasuke, do you looooooooooove me?" Naruto asked childishly. The Uchiha boy laughed, playfully punching the blonde in the shoulder.
"You know, there's something else I should tell you," Naruto said, becoming serious once more. Sasuke's head tilted a little, his eyes searching blue ones.
"I told Sakura that I liked you and she said that I had to share you," he said, now really steeling himself for a good, hard, punch to something vital.
Sasuke gawked a little.
"Am I some kind of prize for both of you?" he asked. Naruto shook his head.
"She's liked you for a long time, Sasuke. She's loyal, cute, and she's in love with you. Don't tell me that there wasn't a time where you maybe felt part of that way towards her," Naruto said.
Sasuke knew the blonde was right. Sakura had stayed with them for so long, she'd been there in hospital rooms when either him, Naruto, or both of them were injured. And there was that one time a few years back...
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Flashback to two years ago...
Sakura brushed sweaty bangs out of her face with her free hand. The other hand was holding a stick with fish on it, cooking in the huge campfire that Naruto helped her build. She kept looking back at Sasuke who was lying down, riddled with a fever from a poison dart. Naruto was keeping watch on all of them while she cooked and Kakashi-sensei went to find a medic-nin in the nearest village.
She sighed, switching back to the fish which had finished cooking. She set it aside on a large leaf and went to check on Sasuke.
He looked up at her through glassy eyes. "Sakura..." he started to say. She silenced him by placing a finger to his lips.
"Shh... save your strength. Kakashi-sensei is going to get help. Naruto's watching over us. I'm here, I'll always be here," she said, taking one of his hands into hers. She squeezed it softly, hoping that he could hear what she was saying.
Throughout the fever, he could vividly remember Sakura by his side, changing the wet towel on his forehead, holding his hand and softly singing to him. But there was one time which stood out the most.
It had been the third day of his fever. The poison dart wasn't lethal, it just produced an uncomfortably high fever. He'd been slipping in and out of consciousness and Sakura was always there at his side.
This time, she was crying. Kakashi-sensei hadn't come back and she was beginning to think that they would all die in the forest.
"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun. I tried so hard to save you. I didn't push you hard enough. If I had only pushed you a little harder, the dart would have missed you. I'm so sorry," she said through sobs.
Somehow, he found the strength to open his eyes. His fingers found her face.
"I'll be okay, as long as you're with me," he remembered saying before he passed out again.
End flashback...
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"You're right.I can try," Sasuke said softly, smiling at the memory.
Naruto grinned. "Good. If you didn't, she'd kill me," the blonde said, standing. He offered a hand to Sasuke who was still sitting on the ground.
"Shall we tell her the good news?" Naruto asked. Sasuke just nodded.
"Lead the way, dobe," the dark haired boy said. Naruto scowled.
Act IV - Awkward Firsts
They both stopped outside of Sakura's house.
"Should you tell her, or should I?" Naruto asked. Sasuke pointed to the blonde. "You tell her. It was your genius plan," the dark haired boy said. Naruto exhaled loudly.
"Fine. But you come with me," he said before dragging the taller boy with him. Naruto knocked on the door. Sakura opened it. Before either boy said anything, she knew what they were going to tell her.
"You're kidding me. He agreed?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded slowly. She didn't know whether to jump for joy, kiss Sasuke, or kiss Naruto.
"Let me start by saying that you still owe me something," Naruto said cheekily. Sakura blushed.
"Not in the street, you idiot. Come in, you're lucky my parents went into to town," she said, shutting the door behind them.
Naruto stood there, shaking a little. This was it. His first kiss with a girl, not just any girl, Sakura...
She smiled a little and moved forwards, closing her eyes. "Go ahead," she said. Naruto looked at Sasuke who shrugged a little but pushed the blonde forwards. Naruto gulped and inhaled deeply before leaning in. His nose hit hers.
"Ouch!" she yelled, eyes opening, a pink blush spreading across the apples of her cheeks. Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke was trying very hard not to laugh.
"You can't even kiss me properly!" she exclaimed, rubbing her nose. Naruto looked like he was about to cry. Sasuke sighed and pushed Naruto out of the way.
"I'll save you the trouble, Naruto," the Uchiha boy said before gently capturing her jaw in his hand and meeting her lips with his.
Naruto gaped. Sasuke just stole his kiss with Sakura!
"Bastard!" Naruto yelled. Sakura opened one eye in time to see the blonde come barreling at Sasuke who merely stuck an arm out. Naruto came crashing into the arm and fell on his bottom. Sasuke broke the kiss.
"She's all yours, you clumsy idiot," the dark haired boy said, laughing a little. Sakura giggled. She finally had her first kiss and it was with someone she loved. She felt a little euphoric and then smiled at Naruto sprawled on the floor of her living room. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his.
"You may be annoying, but you're cute and you get the job done," was all she said before sealing her mouth to his.
If the blonde had an Inner Naruto, he'd be jumping for joy and singing cheesy love songs.