Ok, Chapter 2 is up... More chapters soonI hope. Depends on when I can get on the comp again. Please R&R...

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Sasuke laid Naruto down in his bed and tucked him in so he'd be comfortable. He lit some incense in the room because it's supposed to help with headaches, of which Naruto would have a huge one when he came to. Sasuke stroked the blonde hair on the kitsune's head. It was soft, just like it used to be. Sasuke quickly stopped, thinking if Naruto were to wake up, he would be in big trouble. Sasuke looked around the blonde's room. He came to the music box. He carefully opened it and listened to the song it played. It made him think of his passed out alcohol induced friend laying on his bed. t was quiet but played with feeling. It was slow but thoughtful. Sasuke recognized the song, as if he had heard someone humming it to him. The voice he heard in his head was Naruto's when he was 12... maybe when Sasuke was in the hospital, Naruto had been watching over him. He realized the he had not talked much to anybody since the Orochimaru accident, but the only friendship he wanted to repair was theirs. Nobody else cared. It had been Naruto risking his neck to save him. Sakura hadn't lifted a finger, and Kakashi couldn't get there in time. He had hospitalized Naruto the first fight and did so three more times before Orochimaru finally lost his power over him. He had never said he was sorry for trying to kill the blonde. It seemed as though Naruto didn't care and was just glad to have him back.

Sasuke got up and looked around Naruto's house. He came upon a small segment of wall with pictures on it. It had a picture of Naruto's parents, Kakashi with Iruka and they were smiling. He had that picture of the cell back in their Genin days. And he had a picture somebody took of him and Sasuke, smiling and messing with each other. They were Chuunin level. He remembered in their Chuunin days, they had become very good friends, and would always invite each other on their missions.

Sasuke searched Naruto's refrigerator. He found a jar of pickles. "...Good. The number one cure for a hangover." Sasuke put the pickles in a separate container and watered down the juice left behind. "As soon as he wakes up he's gotta drink this."

Sasuke made his way back to the bed and sat beside his friend. He watched the sleeping man and in about a hour Naruto stirred and woke up. "...NANI?! SASUKE?!"

"...Don't yell, you'll give me a headache too."

"Oh no, the sake... I drank too much... ugh..."

Sasuke tried to hold back a smile. "You don't know how to cure one, do you?"

"...Cure? You can cure a hangover?"

Sasuke nodded and got the pickle juice from the kitchen. "Here. Drink this."

Naruto drank it all, not wanting to have a hangover all day. "...Pickle juice?"

"...Yeah. It'll help. Trust me."

Within 15 minuets Naruto was already feeling much better. Sasuke looked at the clock.

"Where'd all the time go, I've been here for a hour already?"

Naruto sat up and looked at Sasuke. "...Why'd you stay?"

"Heh... I told Kakashi I would."

"Oh. Well thank you."

Sasuke felt Naruto's forehead. "You should be fine, you don't have a fever."

Naruto smiled and stood up. "Did you want to stay? I can lay out another bed in here..."

"...Oh... no I couldn't! I don't want to be a burden..."

"It'd be no trouble, Sasuke."

"...No... I shouldn't... but maybe we could go out to eat. Are you doing anything tomorrow...?"

Naruto sat back down. "Nope! I'm pretty much idle everyday."

"Maybe lunch then?"

Naruto smiled wider. "That sounds awesome! It can be my treat."

"...I can pay it's ok."

Naruto shrugged. "What ever you want to do."

"Ok! I'll see you then!" Sasuke opened the door and grabbed his shoes. "Bye!" He ran out without even putting them back on. Naruto shut the door. His eyes perked up. The music box was on.

"...Sasuke... was listening to this?" Naruto shut it and glanced at the wall with his old pictures on it. He felt suddenly tired and crawled back into bed. It was a good thing Sasuke didn't stay, he would've been bored watching Naruto sleep.

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Naruto woke up. It was 11:00am. "K'so!! I overslept!" He rushed out of bed a tripped over his sheets. He threw them on his bed and ran the dresser to get dressed. He never wore the ninja uniform anymore, he barely got any missions. He just wore dark green pants with a black shirt. Once he was dressed, he sat bock down on his bed and opened the music box.

The doorbell rang and he shut it and placed it back on the dresser. He looked out the window. It was Sasuke. He opened the door. "Hiya Sasuke!"

"Hi... So where to?"

"...I don't care, where do you want to go?"

Sasuke could remember when you didn't even have to ask; you just went to Ichiraku's. But Naruto was different now and older and he wasn't picky about food anymore, making it impossible to guess where he really wanted to go. "...There is that new place down the street... we could go there..."

"Sounds good!" Naruto smiled. He hadn't been anywhere with Sasuke since their days as Chuunins. They both became chuunins on the same day. Naruto began as a jounin one year before Sasuke did. Sasuke had gone on to be anbu but after 2 years he quit.

They walked over to the restaurant.

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The waitress avoided them for about 15 minuets. She finally came to them. "Man we're swamped!" The place only had 3 other people in it.

"Yeah... It looks like it. Are you the only waitress working today?" Naruto tried to make a conversation even though he knew she didn't want to deal with him.

"What? Do you have a preference in who your waitress is?!" She seemed harsh and way to easy to offend. Sasuke figured it had something to do with Naruto's village-wide 'bad luck' reputation. It was more of a Konoha superstition.

"N-No... I just thought it was a lot of work to be the only waitress! I didn't mean for it to sound so bad... sorry!" Naruto tried to redeem himself for being so insensitive to the young lady.

"You should be! That sounded really mean!" The lady folded her arms and glared at him. "You should watch what you say to ladies, even though you've never dated, you should at least know manners!"

Naruto's black cloud returned. "How does everybody know about that...? Look, i'm really sorry..."

"...I guess I forgive you, now what'll it be?"

"Do you like anything, because I have no idea what any of this is..."

"...What? Do you live in a cave?"

"I can't really read it. It's in Chinese I think..." Naruto looked at the menu again. Sasuke turned it right side up.

"...Dobe. You had it upside down..."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That doesn't really help, I still don't know what it is..."

The waitress grew impatient and started tapping her foot. "Just pick something..."

Sasuke took the menu from the blonde. "We'll have some chicken and rice balls... thanks."

The waitress took the menus and walked back into the kitchen.

"Where'd it say that?"

"Have you ever eaten anywhere other than Ichiraku's? It's under a different name than chicken, but every place in town uses that name for it."

"I don't eat out any more, actually I've grown quite fond of burnt rice."

"...You can't cook, but you cook anyway?"

"I only eat rice and occasionally some ramen. My sense of taste doesn't really work too good anymore."

Sasuke nodded and waited in silence for the food to come.

Two families came in, ate and left before the waitress returned with food. "Sorry, but they had whining kids and I felt bad for them. Here ya go." She set down the food and left.

"That's another reason I never eat out. It seems as though people would be a lot happier if they didn't have to talk to me. Oh well. Lets dig in!" Naruto broke apart his chopsticks and started eating his food.

Sasuke did too. How could this guy be so happy looking when he was treated so bad? There was no reason that he was looked down on but pure hatred. Blind hatred. Naruto had never done anything bad to anybody, and it was only once or twice he ever showed symptoms of depression. He was an Oscar winning actor, and the more he did this, the more blind the hate was. He acted like the nicest guy ever born.

"Why did Sakura call you a bed omen, Naruto?"

"I have no idea." Naruto's mouth was full of food, showing that he was starving. "Strange huh? But I have a guess."

"...What?"

Naruto swallowed and choked a little from not chewing it all. "Well, me and you became good friends during our Chuunin days, and she asked you to marry her durring that time too. Maybe she thinks that you said 'no' because of me."

Sasuke's face turned red. "W-Why would you influence my love life, that's just stupid."

"...Yeah, but maybe she thinks it was my fault you quit anbu."

Sasuke remembered when he was promoted. Naruto had come over that night and drank sake with him to celebrate. Nobody else knew until he disappeared and came back. He entered the village with his anbu mask on and Sakura recognized him somehow. She told everyone and he got a pat on the back from almost everyone he knew in Konoha. He had quit two years later, sick of the attention and fast-pace missions. He didn't tell anybody directly about him becoming anbu but Kakashi. Kakashi had spread the word, but nobody acknowledged it until it was expected for them to do so. Kakashi didn't because he and Iruka left to go somewhere. He had done that to show him who would've cared if they weren't obligated. Naruto was the only one. "... I don't think so."

"But see..." Naruto took another huge bite of food. "She knows that I went over to your house. She just wanted extra proof before she did anything. You know how Kakashi lies."

"Well, out of all the congratulations I got about it, I liked yours the best. I meant a lot to me you cared."

"... Hey. No problem-o. We have to stick together!" Naruto swallowed a huge chunk and choked again.

"Ay dobe! Take time to taste it! You're going to choked and pass out and I'm going to have to do the Heimlich maneuver on you."

"Ok, ok..." Naruto ate slower. "Better?"

"Yeah." Sasuke finished hid food. He watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. As soon as the blonde thought he wasn't looking, he gobbled down his food.

"Man, that was good... thanks Sasuke."

"...Oh! I forgot I was paying..."

"No way. I've got it." Naruto put a whole bunch of money on the table and got up. "Thank you ms. nice-waitress-person!!!" Naruto waved to her and left, Sasuke close behind.

The waitress looked at the money he left. "Dang, he must be loaded, he left me a $30 tip! Score!" The waitress grabbed it and walked off.

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