Chapter 3: What a Mess
Sasuke searched the kitchen for a bowl and a large wooden spoon. "This place is a dump Naruto." After another couple of minutes he found both.
"Yea I know, I just don't really know how to clean...I never really had anyone to teach me." He paused and slumped onto the wall. Hiding his embarrassment from the Uchiha. "Everyone calls me a monster...everyone assumes I don't have feelings...they make fun of me because I don't have any parents...Maybe I killed them too. Maybe, just maybe they're still alive and too ashamed to be my parents...I'm just a stupid Fox. I'm not even a real person." Naruto couldn't figure out why he was confiding in Sasuke of all people. The guy was his teammate, but it's not like they were friends....more like mortal enemies. "But he's being so kind to me...no one's done that before. Maybe Sasuke can be my friend..." Naruto felt something fall down his cheek. "Damnit am I crying?" he asked himself. No answer. Everything went fuzzy...he knew he was crying. "How embarrassing...and right in front of Sasuke."
"That's enough." Naruto raised his head and saw Sasuke walking towards him. "You are who you are. You don't need parents to tell you that. And you don't need to listen to those punk ass kids."
"But it's true! I-I AM THE FOX!!! NOTHING ELSE!!!"
"You're pissing me off!" He punched the wall furiously. A crack appeared on the wall and then another. Naruto quivered and looked at Sasuke who was only inches from his face.
"I told you, don't listen to them...they don't know what they're talking about. You ARE Naruto Uzumaki, and you are a normal person. A little stupid and hyper sometimes and quite annoying." Naruto snorted, Sasuke's attempts at giving compliments were less then helpful but then he spoke again. "But you are Naruto, you are not the fox...it maybe inside you, but he is not you. They don't understand that you were chosen to be the vessel for the fox. You protected us all. You made the biggest sacrifice and it wasn't even your choice. They, they just can't stand the fact that it still remains. And that's not your fault!" Naruto gazed at Sasuke as the tears poured down his face.
"W-why are you being so kind to me? Why do you care?" Naruto slowly reached forward and wrapped his arms around Sasuke waist. Sasuke jumped but welcomed Naruto's embrace. He folded his arms around Naruto's shivering body and let him cry. They fell to the ground tangled together. Naruto took in all of Sasuke. He felt the material of his shirt and the smell of his skin. Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's hair and breathed in. It smelled like Ramen. Everything in his house smelled like Ramen...this boys eating habits would be the death of him one day. Naruto shifted his head up to Sasuke's neck and buried his face into it and breathed out softly.
"Aaah..." Sasuke let his hands wander under Naruto's shirt. He caressed the smaller boys back and sighed. Naruto arched and sighed with Sasuke. The Uchiha suddenly became aware of what he was doing and grabbed Naruto's shoulders and pushed him away softly. "Uh, I,-"
"I-I feel better, thanks for listening to me Sasuke...." He smiled and stood.
".........." Sasuke couldn't seem to make eye contact with Naruto anymore. "What were thinking are you mad?!?!" He fought within himself and stared at the floor.
"So Sasuke, are we gonna make that cake? I'm hungry...haha." Sasuke snapped himself out of his own world and smiled.
"Of course Baka, that's what I'm here for." He stood and put his hand on Naruto's head and messed up his hair. "Now go find some flour ok?"
"OK." Naruto started digging through the cupboard. Sasuke stood and circled his thumb around his other fingers. Remembering the softness of Naruto's skin. "This is dangerous." He forced the thought away from him and began looking in another cupboard.
"Damnit, I can't find any of the things we need! All I have is Ramen and fish sticks."
"Well that's helpful. You'll have to go to the market and buy some things."
"Aaaaah man, do I have to?" Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "Aye! Alright, alright I'll go. You plan on giving me a list or something?"
"Duh." Sasuke scribbled a few things on a paper towel and tossed it at Naruto. "Hurry up, I'll stay here."
"Heeey! How come you aren't going? Psh, so unfair."
"JUST GO ALREADY!" Naruto yelped and leaped through the kitchen window. "Alright, time to get this place cleaned up...that list outa take Naruto a while...I doubt he's ever really gone shopping before and I made my writing look like crap." Sasuke began cleaning the kitchen feverously and then moved to the bathroom. He gagged and headed for the bedroom instead. "Bathroom's last...."
"Okay, the list says...Damnit Sasuke what the hell, I can't read you're writing." Naruto knew Sasuke wrote better then that. "He must be up to something. Maybe he's just gonna ditch me or trash my house even more. He's probably just doing this out of pity. Naruto remembered the way Sasuke held him, the way he touched him...
"Mmm....n-no that was real..." He pushed all uncertainty out of his mind and grabbed a basket and began looking for some...milk was it? That's what it looked like anyway. "Man Sasuke, you could've tried a little harder to make this legible.
"OK...I think that's it..." He looked down at the list and made sure he had it all.
-Milk
-Eggs
-Flour
-Cooking oil
-sugar
-frosting
"Jeez, this writing is horrible." Naruto laughed and walked to the register. Today was a good day, he had practically forgotten about the brick in the window. He was sure that he would be able to fix it. He just needed to buy some glass or whatever, but it was fixable. No big deal. And as long as Sasuke was there, he could care less.
The cashier gave him strange looks as she rang up the total price. Naruto ignored her completely. He was in too a good mood to be bothered. No one could bring him down today. He left the market and grinned.
Guess I should head straight home then...Sasuke's waiting. Naruto burst out laughing, drawing much attention to himself. That one sentence: "Sasuke's waiting..." Sounded like Sasuke was his wife or something. Naruto imagined Sasuke in a pink apron and oven mitts waiting for muffins to cook.
"HAHAHAHA!!! Man that's good..." He looked around and cursed at the people who were still staring waving his arms in the air and scaring them off. "Psh, stupid villagers, get off me already."
"Heeeeey Uzumaki." Naruto turned around wondering what idiot would call him by his last name, who had the freekin' right? "Oh, it's you guys...."
Sasuke was fully suited up. He needed as much protection as possible to clean this bathroom. "Gloves? Check. Mask? Check, anti bacterial soap? Check. Paper Towels? Check. Scrubbing brushes? Total check, I'm gonna be throwing these out when I'm done."
Four rolls of paper towels, 3 bottles of anti bacterial soap and 6 brush's later...
"For the love of Hokage that was horrible...never again, NEVER, never again!" Sasuke collapsed on the couch. And this time dust didn't fly off of it. The entire house sparkled and smelled fresh. "Took me forever to get rid of the ramen smell." He was exasperated he cleaned as fast and as hard as he possibly could, but it paid off. He only wondered how long it would stay clean. He never really knew how to do much else. He had always been alone so he would always occupy himself with cleaning until he learned how to fight. But he had other people to teach him, like his mother. He was always too weak to play with Itachi so he would clean and cook. But Naruto, he never had anybody. Just, just himself. He was always alone. He pulled his shirt up to his face and could smell Naruto. Past the ramen was a sweet smell. Soft and beautiful. Where was Naruto anyway? It was almost three o'clock.
"I better go find him...I have a bad feeling about this. Hold on Naruto."
"What the fuck do you sons of bitches want?" He gritted his teeth and sneered at the stupid pricks that were constantly harassing on him.
"Heeeey, now, now those are fighting words. Come on boys, let's get him."
"You think you can beat me you little shits?! Bring it on!"
"We've had enough of you, you stupid Kyuubi, why don't you just die already!" The boys backed Naruto into an alley and circled around him like a group of sharks circling prey. But Naruto was unafraid. They were just cowards, trying to make themselves look tougher. They always picked on Konohamaru and his friends. They preyed on the weaker ones to make them feel stronger; well they picked the wrong guy to mess with today.
"Can we make this quick I have somewhere to be."
"Like where? Like someone cares, you got a birthday date or something? HA! Well that dates been canceled." The boy walked in front of Naruto and got dangerously close. "This one's feeling gutsy today" Naruto snickered to himself. Then the boy did something completely unexpected, he took one look at the bag Naruto was carrying and snatched it away. Picked up the carton of eggs and shoved it into the ground, smothering them into the dirt. He cackled evilly and the other boys soon joined in. Naruto shook with anger and clutched his fist.
"Oh no boys! I think we made little Naruto cry, BOOHOO! HA HA HA!" They circled around Naruto and danced around him spitting at his feet and mocking him. "What have you got to say for yourself Uzumaki? HUH?!"
"I needed those eggs...Sasuke was waiting..." heat began to emanate from Naruto, and red rings of chakra floated across the ground snapping at the boys' feet. "You'll pay for that you bastards. Now you're gonna get it. DOPPLEGANGERS!" Suddenly hundreds of doppelgangers surrounded the group of foolish boys. "Sick em boys."
"Hold up!" Naruto snapped his head to look up into the tree from where the voice appeared.
"Sasuke...wait what are you doing here? I can handle this myself! These boys need to learn a lesson. They've needed it for a while. It's payback time. So, BACK OFF SASUKE!"
"Naruto, calm down, if you beat the shit out of these guys now its gonna look bad."
"Exactly, I don't want their parents to even recognize them." The boys screamed and tried to wiggle away but Naruto's doppelgangers clung to them. All attempts at escape were futile.
"No Naruto, you and I both know everyone will think you started the fight. They'll blame you. You'll be severely punished. Please don't do this, lets just go home."
"Y-yea! Let us go!!!"
"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE SHITS!" Naruto was surprised to hear Sasuke raise his voice towards the boys, it was usually him doing the cursing. They cowered and raised they're hands to cover they're terrified faces. Sasuke's face once again became soft as he turned towards Naruto and stared. "Come on Naruto...let's just go home, you don't need this." Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion.
"The boys are right there! Take them out! Don't listen to Sasuke!" But for some odd reason he couldn't defy Sasuke. "Take the boys to the lake and then throw them in, make sure they get soaked. After that you're done..." Naruto whistled as he saw his doppelgangers carrying his victims to the lake, staying out of sight as best they could.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, they crushed the eggs. I couldn't stop them..." Sasuke grinned and rolled his eyes bending down to pick up the carton of eggs.
"No, it's alright. They only smashed a couple. We only need three eggs to make a cake. We'll survive."
"When I said we only needed three eggs I didn't mean you could drop half of them, and burn every cake we make." Sasuke tossed the pitiful burned lump into the trashcan. He was beginning to wonder if he could pull this off. Naruto really couldn't cook anything else besides ramen. He examined Naruto and snorted. He was covered in batter and sugar and everything else. Even things they hadn't used as ingredients. The kitchen he had just cleaned was a complete mess. Although when Naruto walked in he was completely surprised. And he thanked Sasuke an annoyingly large amount of times. And that made Sasuke happy.
"This is hopeless." Naruto puffed and flopped onto the floor. "I really thought I was going to be able to pull it off this time." Sasuke joined him on the floor and closed his eyes. He was tired and needed a brake before he began to cook again. He was about to tell Naruto to get started on another batch until he felt a warm wet tongue on his cheek. Sasuke's eyes burst open and he leaped up away from Naruto. But Naruto clung to Sasuke's shirt.
"Nani...? Is something wrong?" Naruto cradled Sasuke's neck as he sucked on a patch of batter. To his own surprise Sasuke heard a moan sneak out of his throat. But he too could play that game. He seized the smaller boys' waist and bit at his collar bone. Sucking the sugar from it.
"Aaah....Sasuke..." he rolled his tongue over his neck and all the way up to his ears. Tasting Naruto's sweetness. Then he paused and scooted away.
"I...maybe we should finish that cake..." He darted his eyes nervously around the room and laughed.
"Ha ha....Y-yea maybe we should..." The two of them tried to forget what had just happened but neither of them could. As soon as the cake was finished, they crawled onto the couch exhausted. They looked at each other and blushed. They saw each others tousled hair and smeared faces. Smeared with batter and saliva from the opposite, and at the same time said...
"What a mess."
Sasuke searched the kitchen for a bowl and a large wooden spoon. "This place is a dump Naruto." After another couple of minutes he found both.
"Yea I know, I just don't really know how to clean...I never really had anyone to teach me." He paused and slumped onto the wall. Hiding his embarrassment from the Uchiha. "Everyone calls me a monster...everyone assumes I don't have feelings...they make fun of me because I don't have any parents...Maybe I killed them too. Maybe, just maybe they're still alive and too ashamed to be my parents...I'm just a stupid Fox. I'm not even a real person." Naruto couldn't figure out why he was confiding in Sasuke of all people. The guy was his teammate, but it's not like they were friends....more like mortal enemies. "But he's being so kind to me...no one's done that before. Maybe Sasuke can be my friend..." Naruto felt something fall down his cheek. "Damnit am I crying?" he asked himself. No answer. Everything went fuzzy...he knew he was crying. "How embarrassing...and right in front of Sasuke."
"That's enough." Naruto raised his head and saw Sasuke walking towards him. "You are who you are. You don't need parents to tell you that. And you don't need to listen to those punk ass kids."
"But it's true! I-I AM THE FOX!!! NOTHING ELSE!!!"
"You're pissing me off!" He punched the wall furiously. A crack appeared on the wall and then another. Naruto quivered and looked at Sasuke who was only inches from his face.
"I told you, don't listen to them...they don't know what they're talking about. You ARE Naruto Uzumaki, and you are a normal person. A little stupid and hyper sometimes and quite annoying." Naruto snorted, Sasuke's attempts at giving compliments were less then helpful but then he spoke again. "But you are Naruto, you are not the fox...it maybe inside you, but he is not you. They don't understand that you were chosen to be the vessel for the fox. You protected us all. You made the biggest sacrifice and it wasn't even your choice. They, they just can't stand the fact that it still remains. And that's not your fault!" Naruto gazed at Sasuke as the tears poured down his face.
"W-why are you being so kind to me? Why do you care?" Naruto slowly reached forward and wrapped his arms around Sasuke waist. Sasuke jumped but welcomed Naruto's embrace. He folded his arms around Naruto's shivering body and let him cry. They fell to the ground tangled together. Naruto took in all of Sasuke. He felt the material of his shirt and the smell of his skin. Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's hair and breathed in. It smelled like Ramen. Everything in his house smelled like Ramen...this boys eating habits would be the death of him one day. Naruto shifted his head up to Sasuke's neck and buried his face into it and breathed out softly.
"Aaah..." Sasuke let his hands wander under Naruto's shirt. He caressed the smaller boys back and sighed. Naruto arched and sighed with Sasuke. The Uchiha suddenly became aware of what he was doing and grabbed Naruto's shoulders and pushed him away softly. "Uh, I,-"
"I-I feel better, thanks for listening to me Sasuke...." He smiled and stood.
".........." Sasuke couldn't seem to make eye contact with Naruto anymore. "What were thinking are you mad?!?!" He fought within himself and stared at the floor.
"So Sasuke, are we gonna make that cake? I'm hungry...haha." Sasuke snapped himself out of his own world and smiled.
"Of course Baka, that's what I'm here for." He stood and put his hand on Naruto's head and messed up his hair. "Now go find some flour ok?"
"OK." Naruto started digging through the cupboard. Sasuke stood and circled his thumb around his other fingers. Remembering the softness of Naruto's skin. "This is dangerous." He forced the thought away from him and began looking in another cupboard.
"Damnit, I can't find any of the things we need! All I have is Ramen and fish sticks."
"Well that's helpful. You'll have to go to the market and buy some things."
"Aaaaah man, do I have to?" Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "Aye! Alright, alright I'll go. You plan on giving me a list or something?"
"Duh." Sasuke scribbled a few things on a paper towel and tossed it at Naruto. "Hurry up, I'll stay here."
"Heeey! How come you aren't going? Psh, so unfair."
"JUST GO ALREADY!" Naruto yelped and leaped through the kitchen window. "Alright, time to get this place cleaned up...that list outa take Naruto a while...I doubt he's ever really gone shopping before and I made my writing look like crap." Sasuke began cleaning the kitchen feverously and then moved to the bathroom. He gagged and headed for the bedroom instead. "Bathroom's last...."
"Okay, the list says...Damnit Sasuke what the hell, I can't read you're writing." Naruto knew Sasuke wrote better then that. "He must be up to something. Maybe he's just gonna ditch me or trash my house even more. He's probably just doing this out of pity. Naruto remembered the way Sasuke held him, the way he touched him...
"Mmm....n-no that was real..." He pushed all uncertainty out of his mind and grabbed a basket and began looking for some...milk was it? That's what it looked like anyway. "Man Sasuke, you could've tried a little harder to make this legible.
"OK...I think that's it..." He looked down at the list and made sure he had it all.
-Milk
-Eggs
-Flour
-Cooking oil
-sugar
-frosting
"Jeez, this writing is horrible." Naruto laughed and walked to the register. Today was a good day, he had practically forgotten about the brick in the window. He was sure that he would be able to fix it. He just needed to buy some glass or whatever, but it was fixable. No big deal. And as long as Sasuke was there, he could care less.
The cashier gave him strange looks as she rang up the total price. Naruto ignored her completely. He was in too a good mood to be bothered. No one could bring him down today. He left the market and grinned.
Guess I should head straight home then...Sasuke's waiting. Naruto burst out laughing, drawing much attention to himself. That one sentence: "Sasuke's waiting..." Sounded like Sasuke was his wife or something. Naruto imagined Sasuke in a pink apron and oven mitts waiting for muffins to cook.
"HAHAHAHA!!! Man that's good..." He looked around and cursed at the people who were still staring waving his arms in the air and scaring them off. "Psh, stupid villagers, get off me already."
"Heeeeey Uzumaki." Naruto turned around wondering what idiot would call him by his last name, who had the freekin' right? "Oh, it's you guys...."
Sasuke was fully suited up. He needed as much protection as possible to clean this bathroom. "Gloves? Check. Mask? Check, anti bacterial soap? Check. Paper Towels? Check. Scrubbing brushes? Total check, I'm gonna be throwing these out when I'm done."
Four rolls of paper towels, 3 bottles of anti bacterial soap and 6 brush's later...
"For the love of Hokage that was horrible...never again, NEVER, never again!" Sasuke collapsed on the couch. And this time dust didn't fly off of it. The entire house sparkled and smelled fresh. "Took me forever to get rid of the ramen smell." He was exasperated he cleaned as fast and as hard as he possibly could, but it paid off. He only wondered how long it would stay clean. He never really knew how to do much else. He had always been alone so he would always occupy himself with cleaning until he learned how to fight. But he had other people to teach him, like his mother. He was always too weak to play with Itachi so he would clean and cook. But Naruto, he never had anybody. Just, just himself. He was always alone. He pulled his shirt up to his face and could smell Naruto. Past the ramen was a sweet smell. Soft and beautiful. Where was Naruto anyway? It was almost three o'clock.
"I better go find him...I have a bad feeling about this. Hold on Naruto."
"What the fuck do you sons of bitches want?" He gritted his teeth and sneered at the stupid pricks that were constantly harassing on him.
"Heeeey, now, now those are fighting words. Come on boys, let's get him."
"You think you can beat me you little shits?! Bring it on!"
"We've had enough of you, you stupid Kyuubi, why don't you just die already!" The boys backed Naruto into an alley and circled around him like a group of sharks circling prey. But Naruto was unafraid. They were just cowards, trying to make themselves look tougher. They always picked on Konohamaru and his friends. They preyed on the weaker ones to make them feel stronger; well they picked the wrong guy to mess with today.
"Can we make this quick I have somewhere to be."
"Like where? Like someone cares, you got a birthday date or something? HA! Well that dates been canceled." The boy walked in front of Naruto and got dangerously close. "This one's feeling gutsy today" Naruto snickered to himself. Then the boy did something completely unexpected, he took one look at the bag Naruto was carrying and snatched it away. Picked up the carton of eggs and shoved it into the ground, smothering them into the dirt. He cackled evilly and the other boys soon joined in. Naruto shook with anger and clutched his fist.
"Oh no boys! I think we made little Naruto cry, BOOHOO! HA HA HA!" They circled around Naruto and danced around him spitting at his feet and mocking him. "What have you got to say for yourself Uzumaki? HUH?!"
"I needed those eggs...Sasuke was waiting..." heat began to emanate from Naruto, and red rings of chakra floated across the ground snapping at the boys' feet. "You'll pay for that you bastards. Now you're gonna get it. DOPPLEGANGERS!" Suddenly hundreds of doppelgangers surrounded the group of foolish boys. "Sick em boys."
"Hold up!" Naruto snapped his head to look up into the tree from where the voice appeared.
"Sasuke...wait what are you doing here? I can handle this myself! These boys need to learn a lesson. They've needed it for a while. It's payback time. So, BACK OFF SASUKE!"
"Naruto, calm down, if you beat the shit out of these guys now its gonna look bad."
"Exactly, I don't want their parents to even recognize them." The boys screamed and tried to wiggle away but Naruto's doppelgangers clung to them. All attempts at escape were futile.
"No Naruto, you and I both know everyone will think you started the fight. They'll blame you. You'll be severely punished. Please don't do this, lets just go home."
"Y-yea! Let us go!!!"
"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE SHITS!" Naruto was surprised to hear Sasuke raise his voice towards the boys, it was usually him doing the cursing. They cowered and raised they're hands to cover they're terrified faces. Sasuke's face once again became soft as he turned towards Naruto and stared. "Come on Naruto...let's just go home, you don't need this." Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion.
"The boys are right there! Take them out! Don't listen to Sasuke!" But for some odd reason he couldn't defy Sasuke. "Take the boys to the lake and then throw them in, make sure they get soaked. After that you're done..." Naruto whistled as he saw his doppelgangers carrying his victims to the lake, staying out of sight as best they could.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, they crushed the eggs. I couldn't stop them..." Sasuke grinned and rolled his eyes bending down to pick up the carton of eggs.
"No, it's alright. They only smashed a couple. We only need three eggs to make a cake. We'll survive."
"When I said we only needed three eggs I didn't mean you could drop half of them, and burn every cake we make." Sasuke tossed the pitiful burned lump into the trashcan. He was beginning to wonder if he could pull this off. Naruto really couldn't cook anything else besides ramen. He examined Naruto and snorted. He was covered in batter and sugar and everything else. Even things they hadn't used as ingredients. The kitchen he had just cleaned was a complete mess. Although when Naruto walked in he was completely surprised. And he thanked Sasuke an annoyingly large amount of times. And that made Sasuke happy.
"This is hopeless." Naruto puffed and flopped onto the floor. "I really thought I was going to be able to pull it off this time." Sasuke joined him on the floor and closed his eyes. He was tired and needed a brake before he began to cook again. He was about to tell Naruto to get started on another batch until he felt a warm wet tongue on his cheek. Sasuke's eyes burst open and he leaped up away from Naruto. But Naruto clung to Sasuke's shirt.
"Nani...? Is something wrong?" Naruto cradled Sasuke's neck as he sucked on a patch of batter. To his own surprise Sasuke heard a moan sneak out of his throat. But he too could play that game. He seized the smaller boys' waist and bit at his collar bone. Sucking the sugar from it.
"Aaah....Sasuke..." he rolled his tongue over his neck and all the way up to his ears. Tasting Naruto's sweetness. Then he paused and scooted away.
"I...maybe we should finish that cake..." He darted his eyes nervously around the room and laughed.
"Ha ha....Y-yea maybe we should..." The two of them tried to forget what had just happened but neither of them could. As soon as the cake was finished, they crawled onto the couch exhausted. They looked at each other and blushed. They saw each others tousled hair and smeared faces. Smeared with batter and saliva from the opposite, and at the same time said...
"What a mess."