Notes: Disclaimer, etc. in first chapter.
Warning: Slight X-over with Sakura Wars. Blink and you'll miss it. I love using Ohgami-kun and Kohran as food servers… don't ask why. There's no reason!
Translations:
Baka: idiot
- han: Kohran's way of saying –san ^-^
Chapter Two: Snip
Naruto stared at the closed door with a very grumpy expression on his face. Here Iruka got to go off on a wonderful ninja mission and he had to stay home. And get his toenails clipped. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Sasuke sneaking up on him, and jumped out of the way just in time. "Stop it!" he yelled angrily.
"Who was the one complaining about snagging his nails on tree roots?" the dark eyed boy demanded, one hand on his hip- the other holding the scissors out threateningly. "It doesn't hurt half as much as you pretend it does. Baka."
"I hate you."
"Hn. Now sit down so I can finish." Sasuke scowled deeply and pushed his teammate into a chair. Lifting the blond's foot, he blanched visibly. "Don't you ever bathe? You smell awful."
Naruto refrained from kicking Sasuke in the face and instead stared out the side window. Sasuke's warm fingers wrapped around his ankle and he felt the dark haired boy's knee under his foot. Why had he even let the other boy into his house?! Oh yeah… Sasuke had brought him a pack of ramen. For what reason, he still was not sure, but Sasuke had mentioned something about ninja ways and who was Naruto to question the gift of ramen? He had then snagged his overgrown toenail on the carpet and yelled at Sasuke that he hated how long toenails grew. Of course he had managed to slip in several reasons why it was Sasuke's fault that toenails were like that-
"See, it wasn't that bad." The dark haired boy was smirking up at his teammate from his position on the floor.
"Eeeh?" Naruto looked down- and lo and behold- his toenails were all clipped short and neat! "Cooool…" he said softly, and wiggled them experimentally. Then, suddenly, he went red. Turning his face away from the other boy, he coughed a little. "I guess… I guess I should thank you for that."
And both of them understood that meant Naruto was thanking Sasuke.
"Should we eat, then?" Sasuke broke the short, awkward silence.
"Uh… yeah, okay." Naruto stood up and gestured to his cupboards. "I've got lots of ramen."
Sasuke would have made a face if he hadn't been Sasuke. Instead, his nose twitched up slightly. "No thank you. Don't you have any rice or anything?"
"No." Naruto scratched his nose. "Why would I have rice? I like ramen."
This time Sasuke did grimace slightly. "No rice? No wonder you're a failure. You eat nothing but salty, soupy noodles…" He grabbed Naruto's jacket off the floor and threw it at him. "Come on. We're going to eat some proper food." Crossing over to the side of the room, he began putting his winter boots on. "And don't complain. You need something other than ramen."
"I drink milk," Naruto protested, but put his jacket on regardless.
"Milk doesn't count. It's not a food."
"It does, too! Iruka-sensei says that it has calcium in it that makes my bones stronger!"
"That doesn't have anything to do with it being a food or not! It's not a food because you drink it, stupid."
"I'm not stupid!"
Sasuke stood up and opened the door. "Hurry up, or I'll leave you behind," he called over his shoulder as he exited Naruto's house.
"Hey, you're buying, right?!"
~ * ~
The two boys settled down at a table in the restaurant. It was new- so of course Sasuke wanted to try it. Naruto, on the other hand, whined for at least an hour before deciding it was a good idea just in case there was something yummy there. Besides, Sasuke had promised (after a lot of arguing) that he would pay. Free meals, regardless of what they contained, were appealing to the blonde.
A waiter with spiky dark hair came up to their table and bowed, smiling brilliantly. Then he turned to Sasuke. "What can I get you this evening?" He had the kind of face that one would instantly gravitate to as a "good person" and Naruto clambered to get his attention.
"Oi, oi! Mister! I want some spicy chicken and curry rice and some of the soup and some noodles on the side and-"
Sasuke cut him off "That will be it for him."
"Heeeey! I didn't order my drink!"
"You can have water."
Naruto pouted a little. "But I wanted some milk."
"Don't be a baby," Sasuke retorted, and then turned to the waiter with his ever stoic expression. "I would like some of the sizzling beef with onions and a side of steamed rice." He handed his menu to the waiter. "And some water."
"All right!" the waiter responded cheerfully. "I'll have your food ready in a few minutes." And with that, he turned and walked back towards the kitchen. Naruto was caught for a minute in staring at this bright, carefree young man, then he returned his attention to Sasuke.
The dark haired boy was staring down at his napkin and chopsticks, with his hands in his lap. He looked a little out of place and as if he felt almost lost.
"Sasuke?" Naruto said curiously. "You look weird." It was his way of asking if the other boy was all right. And though Sasuke knew this and acknowledged that Naruto was concerned (if only slightly) for him, that didn't deter him from snapping at his companion.
"Shut up! You look weird." He couldn't help but add the childish retort.
Naruto was susceptible to all insults- childish or otherwise, and his eyes narrowed angrily. "Asshole!" he yelled, and jumped up as if ready for a fight. Unfortunately, nearly everyone in the restaurant turned to look at them.
"Shut up and sit down if you want to eat anything!" Sasuke hissed, an unusual flush brightening his pale cheeks. "Just… shut up, okay?" He looked uncomfortably at Naruto, who had sat back down and was silently fuming. Then, with a slight twitch in his cheek, he said softly, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry."
At this, Naruto suddenly blushed. "I wasn't worried," he said, turning his face away from his teammate.
The table was very quiet after that. Naruto started playing table football with the salt and pepper shakers, while Sasuke took the sugar packets and played a mini game of go against himself. Fortunately, they only had to resort to self perpetuating games for five minutes more or so. The waiter came with their food, smiling just as brightly as before and accompanied by a short, freckled and bespectacled girl who carried two cups and a jug of ice water.
The waiter set their food down and offered extra sauce and spice which Naruto accepted and Sasuke refused. Then the little waitress set about pouring their water. "Here you go!" she chirruped, large green eyes smiling behind her round glasses. "If there is anything else you need, please ask Ichirou-han or myself, and we will get it for you!" And with that, she bounced back to the kitchen with the waiter in tow.
Naruto began to eat and said around his food, "Sheh waf cu."
"What?" Sasuke glared at him with a piece of beef halfway to his mouth. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as he thought it was, and Naruto laughed a little.
"I said she was cute," Naruto repeated, then took a swig of water. "She had a funny accent, though." And he resumed shoveling food into his mouth.
Sasuke grunted noncommittally and dug in as well. Despite his more refined appearance and his attitude of superiority, he was still a teenage boy who was very hungry. In fact, when he was alone, there were a lot of ways that he was more like Naruto than people would think. He still took baths with small plastic toys to play with. He had a fondness for children's cartoons. And he still slept with a stuffed animal his mother had given him when he was three. Though he would deny everything if anyone asked.
Suddenly, Naruto looked up at him with sharp blue eyes. "Sasuke," he said, sounding slightly panicked "did you bring the keys to my house?"
"No, stupid. It's your house."
"Crap," the blond said in a very small voice.
"What? Are you locked out now?" Sasuke almost laughed. Instead, the side of his mouth twitched a little. "You really are stupid." Naruto sighed and didn't reply, but instead began to pick at his food. Obviously he was worried about where he would sleep that night.
He sighed again, louder.
This time, Sasuke got the hint. "You want to stay over with me, don't you."
"Of course I don't WANT to," Naruto snapped, his face red. "But if I don't have my key…"
"All right." Sasuke turned away to prevent Naruto from seeing the blush that suddenly stained his cheeks. "But just for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll find our way into your house."
"Okay," Naruto said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
To be continued in Chapter 3: Road and Stop
Review Responses:
Ayako: I hope you still love me after this… ^_^;; Sasuke's getting a little too OOC for my tastes.
Nekosupergirl: Me loves you, toooooo! Actually, I thought that I mentioned that within Konoha, no jutsu can excite the kunai. But I was probably pretty unclear with that.
Ardent Sinner: Hopefully it will be KakaIru… . if they aren't too shy.
Pixie: Thank you! ^-^ I always appreciate it when people tell me that they like my style. Anatra deSylvianno: Hahaha… yeah, the nails thing was really just pulled out of my ass. And training together will hopefully mean something more if I can get Sasuke to admit his feelings to Naruto.
Nicky: I KNOW! Most fics out there are about Sasuke…. Or Neji…. Or Naruto… not Iruka! So he's got a big place in here. I just want to run two story lines at the same time. Isn't that awful? I should just stick to one…
Mich: I'm not sure how much KakaIru will be in this. It depends on how the story goes when I get there. I hope it will turn out that way, too.
WuffieLover: Yeah, I want to make it KakaIru, too. I'm just not sure how much.
Riachu64: Sorry for the wait. ^_^ *waves her own KakaIru flag* I seriously need to get a Kakashi plushie so that my Iruka can do naughty things with it.
Ju: O_O Yeah… they would. So maybe Sasuke has an ulterior motive? When he finally beds Naruto, he wants them to be nice?
Zephyr Wind: Oh Sakura will be in here. ^_^ If I'm feeling particularly nice, I'll make her date someone, too.
Gelfling: *grins* And this one actually has PLOT!!!!! O_O Plot from me? Never! *laughs*
Midd: I know what you mean! My mind is getting dirty just looking at my Iruka plush! No, that's a lie. I'm not even facing the plush. 'cause I'm writing this. Ha ha.
Zaeria: You're a girl of my own heart! *grins* Well, I'm assuming you're a girl. Anyway, yes, Kakashi is rather… reckless at points. ^_^;; At least in this story. Now if only he'd be reckless with his feelings for Iruka-sensei…
Thanks to all for your reviews! You make me happy!