Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I'm only borrowing characters for my own entertainment.
Blue-Eyed Blonde
Cerulean: The Color of Naruto's Eyes
"Sasuke!" a voice called loudly. Sasuke turned away from the water to look at the blonde running towards him. The boy sat down beside Sasuke, nearly falling on the brunette as he did so. Pulling out a letter from his jacket, Naruto thrust it in Sasuke's face.
"Ne, someone asked me to pass this to you."
Sasuke took the envelope from the boy and opened it. Frowning slightly, he pulled the folded piece of paper out of the envelope, hoping that it wasn't a love letter. Slowly, he unfolded the piece of paper.
To my black-eyed brunette,
Eyes as black as a piece of coal
To woo you, that is my goal
Silky hair as dark as night
When I see you my heart takes flight
Flawless skin as white as snow
You'd go really well with gold
Beauty no one can describe
No matter how much I have tried
If you feel the way I do
Meet me after training behind the school
A blue-eyed blonde
Sasuke stared at the childishly written poem, smiling slightly to himself, knowing that this poem was definitely written by Naruto. It's gotta be Naruto. Which other blue-eyed blonde would write as badly as this? I doubt Ino's literature is that bad, and I'm certain she has nicer handwriting than this. All right, I'll just play along with him.
Ino stared at the envelope questioningly as she ate her breakfast, wondering who would send her a letter. It was clearly delivered by hand, since there wasn't any stamp on it. Slowly, she opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding and reading it.
To my blue-eyed blonde,
Eyes the color of the clear blue sky
When the wind blows, your blonde hair flies
Your hair, so beautiful, like melted gold
I'll love you until we grow old
Black and yellow, like a bee
Oh yes baby, I love thee
If you want to know who I am
Meet me behind the school, seven pm
A black-eyed brunette
Ino looked at the paper with a frown. Who could have written such a childish piece of poetry? It's either someone really stupid or laz- That's it! Lazy black-eyed brunette. Shikamaru! He likes me as well? Oh yeah!
Smiling to herself, Ino finished up her breakfast and went down to help her mother with the shop.
"Ne ne Sasuke, it's another love letter right?" Naruto asked as he faked curiosity, peering closely at the other boy.
"Hn."
"Ne ne ne Sasuke, can I see?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"There's nothing to see," Sasuke replied tonelessly, folding the letter and putting it safely in his pocket. Naruto pouted and folded his arms, not looking at his friend. Sasuke smiled at Naruto's childishness. He reached over and poked the boy's cheek. "You're so petty, Naruto."
"I'm not petty! You baka Sasuke! I just wanna see the letter!" the blonde said, lunging at the taller boy and pinning him down. His small hands wandered around Sasuke's body, looking for the letter. Sasuke let out a small, uncharacteristic giggle. Naruto stopped and looked down at the boy curiously, than started grinning. "Oh, is Sasuke-sama ticklish?"
"No," Sasuke said, putting on a straight face. Naruto's grin widened. "Only one way to find out!"
Sasuke tried not to laugh as the blonde started tickling him. "Naruto! Stop!"
"Only if you let me see the letter!"
Both boys struggled, Sasuke to get the blonde off him, and Naruto, to stay on Sasuke's stomach where he was sitting. Naruto finally stopped when tears started to gather at the other boy's eyes. He leaned forward and peered closely at the brunette. "Ne Sasuke, daijoubu ka? Don't cry, Sasuke! I'll stop bothering you about the letter!"
That comment only made Sasuke laugh even harder, causing the tears to roll down his cheeks. Not thinking, Naruto leaned down and sticking out his tongue, lapped up the salty drop of water. The taller boy stopped laughing immediately, an obvious red tinge on his cheeks as he looked up at the blonde. Naruto gasped as he realized what he just did.
"Gomen Sasuke! I-I... Gomen!" the blonde cried franticly as he got off Sasuke's stomach and ran from the boy. Sasuke sat at the bridge, still dazed by what the other boy had done. When he finally realized what had just happened, Naruto was already gone.
The brunette sat up and stared at the water, deep in thought. Why did Naruto run from me? Doesn't he like me as well? After all, he wrote me that poem. But if he wrote that poem, why did he act so curious about it? He also said that someone told him to pass it to me... But who else would write so childishly? The only other blue-eyed blonde around is Ino... and I know that it's not her. She stopped simpering over me a few months ago. Argh... Guess I'll have to wait til tonight to find out if it's Naruto who gave me that poem.
Sasuke started frowning unconsciously. But that doesn't explain why he ran from me. I mean, it's not like I minded what he did. I was just... surprised that he would do something so intimate to me. Unless... he thinks that I'm angry with him? I better go explain to him.
Naruto ran past Ichiraku, ignoring Teuchi as the old chef greeted him. He only stopped when he had reached home. Panting, he sat down on his bed, thinking about what had just happened. That... that wasn't something best friends do to each other... Even if I said it's all right to sound like a couple... But I never said it was all right to act like one. But... Why did I do that? Sasuke... He's going to hate me now! I don't want Sasuke to hate me!
A tear slid down the blonde's cheek as he imagined Sasuke treating him the way the villagers did.
"Ne ne Sasuke, let's go spar!" an excited Naruto said to the brunette, who turned and stared blankly at him.
"Why would I spar with an demonic gay dobe when I can spend time with my Sakura-chan? Now go away before she arrives."
"But Sasuke... You're my best frien-"
"I was your best friend. That was until you turned gay," the taller boy sneered.
"But I'm not gay! I-"
"Nooo! I don't want Sasuke to hate me!" Naruto wailed loudly, now sobbing loudly as tears poured from his cerulean eyes. Hugging his pillow, he curled up into a ball, repeating his earlier words softly. "I don't want Sasuke to hate me..."
Sasuke walked around town, looking for his blue-eyed blonde. He growled frustratedly as he checked Ichiraku, where the blonde was no where to be found. He went up to the old chef.
"Sasuke-kun! What brings you here alone?" Teuchi asked as he noticed the genin, knowing that the only reason the Uchiha ate at the small stall was because of the blonde.
"I'm looking for Naruto. Have you seen him?"
"Naruto-kun? I saw him running towards his apartment. He was rather flustered about something too. He didn't even acknowledge me when I greeted him," the man said.
"Arigatou," Sasuke muttered before running towards the blonde's apartment. Teuchi smiled after the brunette knowingly. "Good luck, Sasuke-kun."
"Naruto! Open up!"
The blonde froze as he heard the familiar voice of his best friend, sounding slightly irritated. He turned to stare at the door, his eyes wide with slight horror. What if Sasuke's here to say that he hates me? No! I don't want to hear him say that he hates me!
Panicking, the boy turned to the window and climbed out, running from his apartment once he reached the ground. He turned round to see if Sasuke had noticed him, sighing in relief when he didn't see the boy.
"Oof!"
"What are you doing Naruto, running around and looking towards the back?" an irritated voice came from the person whom Naruto had crashed into. The blonde looked up. "Shikamaru! I was just... erm... running! You know, morning runs are good for you!"
Shikamaru eyed the shorter boy suspiciously. "Naruto, I wasn't born yesterday. You look like you're running from someone. Who have you angered this time, you troublesome baka?"
"Don't call me baka!" Naruto said in reflex, then turned to check if Sasuke was behind him. He pulled his friend to one side of the street and standing on his tip-toes, whispered hesitantly into Shikamaru's ear. "I'm running from Sasuke."
"Why would you be running from him? He's your closest friend, isn't he?"
"I-I... Just now at the bridge... I licked him."
"You licked him? Somehow that doesn't sound right. Care to elaborate?"
"Ela-what? Shikamaru you baka! I know you're smart and all, but don't use that kind of words on me! You know that I'm not as smart as you are!" the blonde scolded the taller boy.
"You're such a troublesome brat. Elaborate. That means to explain," the brunette replied in his usual bored tone.
"Oh. There's nothing to much to explain really... Sasuke was crying and I didn't like it, so I licked the tear of his face. I don't even know what made me do that! I mean, I know that I like Sakura and not Sasuke, so why did I just do something so... couple-ly to him?"
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure out. I have to go to the academy so I'll see you another day." Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at his innocent friend as he walked away, remembering what Ino had told him a day ago. Dense as ever, that troublesome brat. Looks like Ino's right. Now I can be sure that she doesn't like Uchiha. Good. Now if only I can figure out who that girl likes.
Sasuke cursed as he glared at Naruto's door. He put his ear against the door, trying to listen for any signs of life on the opposite side of the door. He frowned when there wasn't any sound and wished that he had the byakugan so that he could see through the door. Knowing that Naruto, he's probably not inside anymore. He'll definitely make some noise if he's inside.
Sighing, the boy walked off, deciding to talk to the blonde after training instead.
Sakura sat at the bridge, wondering where the two boys were. Sasuke was always the earliest, and Naruto had started arriving earlier after the two boys made peace. She stood up as she noticed a scowling Sasuke walking towards her. "Ohayou Sasuke-kun!"
"Hn." Sasuke didn't even glance at the kunoichi as he walked by. Sakura's eyes saddened slightly. Guess he'll only greet me when Naruto's around.
Sasuke sat at the opposite end of the bridge so that he was as far away from the girl as possible and stared at the water grumpily. Naruto that baka. Is he really that afraid of me being angry with him? He's going to be later than Kakashi-sensei if he doesn't arrive soon.
"Yo," Kakashi greeted in a bored time as he appeared in front of the two genin.
"You're late!" Sakura yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the jounin.
"I stepped on an ant on my way out, so I gave it a burial. Now, where's Naruto?"
"He was here earlier this morning, but he ran off somewhere," Sasuke said, defending the blonde.
"Ah! There he is!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing at an orange figure running towards the trio. The orange figure stopped in front of them. "Gomen. I wasn't feeling well earlier so I went home for a short while."
"Aa. Do you need to take the day off?" the jounin asked, knowing that his lover would kill him if he made an unwell Naruto train. Besides, he wasn't that cruel to force an unwell student to train. The blonde shook his head. Kakashi nodded. "All right then, you three, let's begin!"
Sasuke sighed as he approached Naruto for the fifth time since they've started training. The blonde had managed to escape from him each time he tried to talk to the smaller boy.
"Naruto," Sasuke called, gently grabbing the boy by the wrist.
"Ah Sasuke! Hang on a minute! I've got to ask Kakashi-sensei something!" the blonde said, pulling his hand back from the other boy's grip as he ran to the jounin. Kakashi looked down at the boy in amusement. "Seems like you're avoiding Sasuke. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, really. It's just... I... I licked him this morning, and I don't know how he's going to react. I don't want him to hate me... And if he does, I don't want to hear him say it..."
The jounin smiled, laying a gentle hand on the blonde's head. "I don't think he hates you, but if you're going to continue avoiding him, I'll let you work with Sakura instead."
"Arigatou Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried, hugging the jounin. Sasuke glared slightly at Kakashi, who replied the genin with a good-natured grin.
"All right, you guys go have a lunch break. Naruto, would you like to join me and Iruka? He's complaining that you haven't been visiting him as often as before," Kakashi said, shooing the other two genin away. The blonde nodded and followed the jounin. He frowned as he heard Sakura asking Sasuke for lunch, and turned to shoot the kunoichi a small glare before he turned and continued following his sensei.
Sasuke glared after the jounin, angry that the man was acting so close to Naruto. He didn't even notice that Sakura was trying to talk to him.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called loudly. Sasuke finally noticed her presence and turned to glare at the girl. She cowered slightly. "W-would you like t-t-"
"No," the boy answered curtly, walking away to the spot where he always had lunch with Naruto. He sat under the tree, staring at the extra lunchbox he had. Naruto's really avoiding me. Hmm... Maybe he wants to surprise me later? That must be it! All right then, I'll just bear with it for today.
"Thanks for helping me, Kakashi-sensei! I'll go have my lunch now. You'd probably want to be alone with Iruka-sensei," the blonde said before turning towards the direction of Ichiraku. A hand on his shoulder stopped him from moving. Naruto looked up at the jounin curiously.
"Join us for lunch. Iruka will be happy to see you. Besides, it's not like we can be completely alone at Ichiraku," Kakashi said, smiling down at the boy.
"All right!" Naruto said cheerfully.
"Let's go then. Iruka's waiting at Ichiraku," the jounin said, putting an arm round the genin as he led the boy to the ramen stand. Kakashi nodded as he listen to Naruto ramble on about some new anime. Finally, they arrived at Ichiraku.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called loudly. The chuunin smiled at the boy before turning to his lover. "Shouldn't he be with Sasuke-kun?"
"He's avoiding Sasuke," the jounin replied, pulling the chuunin into a quick kiss. Iruka flushed at the kiss, much to Naruto's amusement. "Maa, Iruka-sensei, you're so easily embarrassed."
"Naruto, stop teasing him or I'll pair you up with Sasuke for sparring later," Kakashi warned jokingly as he sat down beside his lover. Naruto climbed onto the stool on Iruka's other side, sticking out his tongue at Kakashi. Iruka turned to his favorite student. "Why're you avoiding Sasuke? I thought you guys are best friends?"
Naruto repeated the story for the third time that day. Iruka laughed at Naruto's fear, causing the boy to pout cutely. Iruka stopped laughing and turned to the boy. "Gomen Naruto, but Sasuke would never hate you. I think that everyone sees it except you."
"He used to hate me," the blonde pointed out.
"That was before he got to know you. Anyone who really knows you would probably find it impossible to hate you. So I don't think Sasuke will ever hate you. He likes you too much to hate you. Remember, you two are the best of friends. He wouldn't bother hanging around with you if he didn't like you, so I don't think a small thing like that would make him hate you. Go talk to him. You'll be surprised," Iruka said, smiling at the boy kindly.
"I'll talk to him... But I need to prepare myself mentally first," the boy replied softly. Iruka smiled. "All right. Now, what kind of ramen do you want? Miso, as usual?"
"Hai!"
"Teuchi-san, 2 miso and 1 beef ramen please!" Iruka said to the old chef behind the counter.
"All right. Coming right up!"
"Come on Naruto, we better be getting back," Kakashi said an hour later. Naruto nodded and followed the jounin, waving to Iruka as he did so. Iruka smiled and waved back, thinking about Kakashi's two male students. Naruto's so dense... Doesn't he even know that Sasuke's crazy over him? Practically the whole village knows it!
"You're late!" Sakura said when Kakashi arrived with Naruto. Sasuke merely glared at the jounin, then turned his eyes to the blonde, who avoided looking at him. He sighed.
"Let's do some sparring now. Naruto, you pair up with Sakura. Come Sasuke, I'll spar with you," Kakashi said. Sasuke glared at the jounin again for the fourth time that day and merely got back a good-natured grin, causing the boy to scowl. He's helping Naruto to avoid me. That Kakashi...
Sasuke walked to Kakashi and stood in a defensive position opposite the jounin. Once they were both in position, Sasuke moved, trying to injure the silver-haired man. Soon, the forest was filled with the sounds of fighting.
Sasuke walked towards the back of the school, smiling to himself as he pictured Naruto waiting nervously for him behind the academy. He noticed a blonde sitting behind a tree as he turned round the corner. He walked closer, planning to surprise his beloved. Suddenly, the blonde turned around, smiling brightly. "Shika-Eh! Sasuke-kun!"
"Ino?"
To Be Continued...
Hmm... I didn't really think this chapter was good, but I haven't updated for so long, so I wanted to at least get something done. Hehe... Well, I'll try to do better next chapter. Gomen, minna-san, if you didn't like this chapter. Hopefully you like it.
I've been really busy recently, so I might not be updating soon. I promise I'll update more during my hols, all right?