Author's note: To clear up a bit of confusion, the first half of chapter 17 was the real chapter, not the second half.
Enjoy.
Soft blonde hair tickled his face as warm breath ghosted over his lips. A warm, calloused hand tightened in his as their breaths mingled. A ghost of a smile slid over the brunette's face, and he lifted his lips to meet the other's...
Feeling fuzzy-minded, Sasuke grunted softly and peeled his eyes open in the morning light. A hand lifted to absentmindedly rub his lips. A dream? Slowly, a smile settled on his face.
If only that great blonde idiot had kissed me last night. Sasuke heaved a light sigh, feeling oddly content with the little dream he'd had. That would've put a capstone on the entire evening.
Shifting his sleepy smile into a smirk, Sasuke turned to look at the bedding next to him.
"Good morning, Nar..." Sasuke blinked, abruptly aware that the blonde was missing. Frowning, he reached out to touch the still rumpled sheets, expecting to at least feel the leftover body heat of the boy who'd shared his bed.
Nothing.
Figures. He must've left a while ago. Absurdly disappointed that he hadn't gotten to wake up next to Naruto, Sasuke sat up and rubbed his eyes. I wonder how he got out of here without waking me...
The Uchiha slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed, trying to get his brain to catch up to the morning. He blinked blearily at the digital clock beside his bed.
10:30? I shouldn't feel this out of it. Yawning, he stood and ran a hand through his hair. What time did we fall asleep last night?
The shrill ringing of his room phone shook him out of his thoughts. Shaking his head, he picked up the phone and hit the "talk" button.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Sasuke-kun." The low, serpentine voice sent inexplicable shivers down the Uchiha's spine. Sasuke flattened his lips.
"I asked you not to call me that...sir."
A low chuckle crossed the phone line, though Sasuke received the distinct impression that his boss was not amused.
"You have been skipping an awful amount of work lately, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha heard the faint sound of shuffling papers in the background. "I trust you will be making up the time?"
"Yes, Mr. Orochimaru," Sasuke replied, barely keeping his tone civil. So I've missed a few days of work. I've been a little busy. He frowned. It's not like I like work that much, anyway...
A part of him was railing at the irresponsible tack he'd taken regarding his finances, but he ignored it.
"Good. I'll expect you on Saturday and Sunday. Eight hour shifts, each day." Sasuke winced, but grunted out an affirmative. "And Sasuke-kun...I do miss our time together."
The Uchiha's lip curled unpleasantly at the low peal of laughter than accompanied that comment before the line went dead.
"Fucking lecher..." Being reminded of the rather disturbingly perverted ways of his employer was not Sasuke's choice beginning of a day. At least the snake-like man had realized that putting a hand on the Uchiha would bring all of his lawyers upon his head, so he didn't really have anything to worry about.
It sure as hell would make for an uncomfortable weekend, though.
Still in his pajamas, Sasuke padded to his door. As he pulled it open, an annoyingly familiar voice filtered in from the hallway.
"...Going tomorrow, aren't you?"
"You're going to be there?" Naruto's surprised voice followed Gaara's into Sasuke's room. His mood plummeting further, Sasuke pulled his door the rest of the way open and stepped into the hall.
The blonde stood with his arms folded, dressed in another pair of faded bib-overalls with a lumpy duffel bag slung over his shoulder. A notebook tucked under his free arm, he blinked at Gaara. The redhead smirked lightly.
"Well, I should be. It's one of mine."
Making a noise of remembrance, Naruto rubbed the top of his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You're taking a break from the club, then?"
Gaara's lips twitched. "A short one." His eyes flickered over to Sasuke, who stood behind the blonde with his expression growing more disgruntled by the second. Gaara smirked softly.
At the redhead's shift of focus, Naruto glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh! Morning, Sleepyhead." Naruto grinned at him. "I was wondering if you'd ever get up."
Well now, he's in a good mood this morning. Lifting an eyebrow, Sasuke leaned back against the wall beside his door.
"I'm still not sure how you managed to get out of bed without waking me up," he questioned in a low voice. He smirked inwardly as Gaara's smirk dissolved into a dangerously dark expression at the implied meaning of his comment.
To his surprise, Naruto turned a little red. "Well, um, I made am effort not to wake you up." He chuckled lightly, folding an arm behind his head. "You looked like you needed the sleep."
Sasuke didn't reply to that, his eyes glued to the faint dusting of rose on the blonde's whiskered cheeks. Why is he embarrassed? A possible reason leapt into his mind, making his heart quicken. There's no way that...that my dream was real...is there?
Coughing into his palm, Naruto readjusted the strap of his duffel bag. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later. Don't kill each other."
The two boys watched the blonde leave in silence. After a moment, their eyes locked, daggers were traded, and as one turned away from each other. Closing his door, Sasuke lifted a hand and rubbed his lips again.
Could he really have kissed me...?
Ignoring the weight of his duffel bag cutting into his shoulder, Naruto cut his way across one of the main roads through the dorms. He glanced down at the notebooks in his hand.
"Man, I hope Neji's at that café of his. I really don't feel like lugging these notebooks around all day," he mumbled to himself. A small part of him felt guilty...his neighbor had spotted him when sneaking from Sasuke's room to his own earlier that morning and complained about receiving death glares for Naruto forgetting his promises. Nervously, he sifted the spiral bound notebook.
I hope he's not mad at me... He has to know by now that the reason I forgot was that I went on a double date with Sasuke. Naruto winced. That's pretty harsh. Way to go, genius.
As the café swung into view, Naruto squared his shoulders resolutely. Well, it was a bad way to do it, but if this gets Neji to rethink his feelings for me, it might not work out so badly...
Trying to fight down his guilt, Naruto pushed open the door to the café, looked around...and froze.
Neji was sitting at his favorite table and chatting rather...animatedly with a gorgeous, bun-wearing girl.
Slowly, a satisfied smile worked its way onto Naruto's face. Well, well, well. Isn't that interesting. He shifted his weight onto one foot, assessing the situation. Neji looked like he was torn between getting along with and arguing with his new little girlfriend. Best not to muddy the waters, then.
Smothering a smile, Naruto walked briskly over to the couple.
Here goes nothing.
"That's ridiculous. How can doctors be expected to perform if they're constantly being hounded by lawyers? More mistakes will be made under that sort of pressure." Frowning, Neji folded his arms on the small red table.
"Mm, perhaps, but patients still need more protection from sloppy methods. If they die unnecessarily, shouldn't their families receive compensation?" Before the Hyuuga could respond, TenTen turned around and glanced at the person approaching them. She whistled. "I wonder what he's going to order. He looks like a big eater."
Blinking, Neji tore his eyes off the girl in front of him and looked up.
"Naruto?" His voice reflected his surprise as the blonde grinned and stopped beside them. How did I not notice his entrance? Was I that involved in our discussion? Clearing his throat, he turned towards the taller boy. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to return your Genetics notebook. Sorry I wasn't there last night." The blonde gave a quick smile and nod to the girl sitting across from Neji. Smiling, TenTen nodded back and watched the two boys, curiosity shining clearly in her eyes.
Slightly uncomfortable, Neji took his notebook from Naruto. "It's...all right, though a note would have been appreciated."
Naruto winced. "I'm really sorry, Neji. I completely forgot." Sparing a quick second glance at TenTen, he smiled softly. "Thanks for helping me out, though. I really appreciate it."
"Any time." Neji's eyebrows furrowed, despite his comment. "Naruto..."
"I didn't mean to interrupt your discussion," the other boy cut in, fingering the strap of his duffel bag. "I'll catch you later, ok?"
Neji managed a nod and small wave before the blonde turned, gave TenTen a short bow, and left the café. A small frown bloomed and grew as he watched Naruto leave.
"...So that's what's going on."
The proud Hyuuga nearly jumped at the girl's quietly amused voice. Schooling his expression into a cool, collected mask, he faced her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked dryly. Her small smile grew.
"That boy is important to you, isn't he?" Lips twitching, she waved a hand at his icy expression. "Don't give me that look. I can tell."
"And how, exactly, did you deduce that?"
"You let your guard down." At his surprised blink, she smirked and leaned forward. "I've been talking to you for almost an hour, sweetheart, and you haven't even come close to relaxing around me. He walks up, and you melt...by comparison, of course."
"Of course." To say that Neji was uncomfortable now would be a grievous understatement. Correcting his posture, he gazed out the window.
After a long moment of silence, the dark-haired girl continued. "And, considering your attitude, I'm assuming he doesn't feel the same way about you?"
The icy look he sent her was enough to make her rise to her feet. "All right, conversation over, I take it." Rescuing her forgotten pad from one of her red apron's pockets, she looked down at him. "I'm not one for romantic advice, so I'm not going to give it to you."
Thank heaven for small favors.
"But since I don't want you to angst all day, I'll just give you a little quote that's helped me: 'If you let something go and it returns to you, it will be yours forever. If it doesn't return, it was never yours to begin with.'"
At the long look Neji sent her way, she lifted her pad.
"So...are you going to order anything else?"
Neji shook his head, and the girl nodded briskly and strode off. Frowning, he resumed staring out the window.
Never yours...
Sasuke was frustrated.
Five times today, he'd run into Naruto, and five times, he'd been unable to get the boy to hold still long enough to breach their report. He ground his teeth.
How was he supposed to "progress their relationship" if he couldn't even hold the boy's attention for more than five minutes?
Disappointed with his failure to pin the blonde down for any significant length of time, the Uchiha grudgingly decided to give himself a break. Making his way to the street, he climbed onto a bus to take him out to the Super Wal-mart, choosing a window seat so that he could glower at everything they passed. With all of the stress of the past few weeks, Sasuke decided that he deserved a new stash of his favorite snack.
Idly, he wondered what would happen if anyone found out that Uchiha Sasuke had a profound and crippling weakness for unsalted mini pretzels.
Not that it should be a tremendous surprise...ever since the Uchiha had discovered the frighteningly un-sweet confections, he'd made sure to NEVER have any on stock. After all, if he let himself indulge, with his obsessive personality, even his small-boned genes wouldn't be able to stop the weight gain.
He was fairly sure Naruto would have made his life a living hell the moment he spotted a healthy pouch on Sasuke's stomach.
Placing one hand self-consciously about his middle, Sasuke waited for the bus to come to a stop in front of the store, stood, and made his way off the abruptly crowded bus. He entered the store purposefully, immediately snagging a hand basket, marching to the snack aisle, and stuffing it full of all the unsalted pretzels he could find.
Vaguely satisfied with his load, he started towards the check-out aisles.
"Assistance is needed in the gardening department. Gardening department."
Sasuke automatically ignored the voice, but he glanced up as a second voice was caught on microphone by accident.
"Oi, tell them to hurry up, I don't have all—"
"Naruto?" Intrigued, Sasuke pivoted on his heel and made a beeline for the department at the back of the store. Reaching the aisles, he poked his head in each until he found the tall blonde scowling at a tremendous package of grass seed that had been placed far above his head.
"Bunch of idiots," he heard the blonde mutter. "Whose idea was it to place the heaviest bag on the top shelf?"
"More 'horticulture' work, Naruto?"
The boy in question nearly leapt out of his skin before turning to face him. "S-Sasuke? What are you doing here?"
Sasuke smothered a smirk. "I heard your voice over the intercom, dobe."
"...Oh." Scratching the back of his head, the boy glanced away. The Uchiha took the opportunity to take in the boy's now-messy overalls. What on earth is he doing?
"Naruto..." For some reason, Sasuke hesitated before asking the question burning on his tongue. Shaking his head, he switched mental gears. "Why have you been avoiding me all day?"
"Avoiding you?" At that, the blonde turned back to blink confusedly at his friend. "What makes you think I've been avoiding you?"
"Every time I tried to stop you, today, you slipped away." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not going to write that report by myself."
Naruto winced. "I swear, I'm not going to make you write it yourself, Sasuke. It's just that...this project is really breathing down my neck right now, and I—"
"Ah, yes, the project that no one seems to think exists." Growing irritated, Sasuke placed his free hand on his hip. "When are you going to tell me the truth of where you keep disappearing to, Uzumaki?"
The blonde looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm not lying to you, Sas—"
"I know you're not taking any classes on this!" the Uchiha snapped. "I'm not going to buy any of your excuses anymore." When Naruto didn't reply, he scowled. "Why are you even lying to me about something so trivial?"
Abruptly, Naruto's expression grew serious. "It's not trivial, Sasuke," he replied softly. "It's...something really important to me."
Sasuke regarded him for a long moment, setting his pretzel-laden basket down. Straightening, he walked over to the blonde's side and pinned him with his gaze.
"If it's important to you, why won't you tell me?" He hesitated. "Don't you trust me?"
Naruto's eyebrows shot up, and he reached out to grip the shorter boy's shoulders. "No! It's not that I don't trust you, Sasuke, it's just..." He sighed. "I can't afford for anyone to know at the moment."
Frowning, Sasuke debated whether or not to accept that statement. Honestly, if Naruto couldn't trust him with...whatever his little secret was...how much could he really trust Sasuke on the whole? Shouldn't being his best friend warrant something?
As if sensing his friend's thoughts, Naruto tightened his grip of Sasuke's shoulders.
"Sasuke, believe me, when I'm ready, you'll be the first person to know what I'm up to. Ok?"
The brunette frowned, not quite willing to accept that answer, but he gave a short nod anyway. He received a lop-sided grin in return.
"Ok, then." Dropping his hands, Naruto let his eyes drift aside. "Um...Sasuke?"
"What?" Even though he'd been released, Sasuke hadn't stepped back. Something about the scent of dirt all over Naruto was...oddly appealing.
"...What's with all the pretzels?"
Freezing, Sasuke felt a very faint blush try to grace his pale cheeks. He fought it back down, turning to pick up his basket.
"It's none of your business," he replied stiffly.
"Uh huh."
The Uchiha started to walk away, but his mind caught on something and gave him pause. He glanced back, only to find Naruto still watching him.
"Say, Naruto. Why did you blush this morning when I mentioned our sleeping together?" He smirked when another telltale flush crossed the buff blonde's cheeks. "You didn't molest me in my sleep, did you?"
"What?" Naruto sputtered adorably, turning another shade redder. Sasuke's eyebrows lifted.
"...Naruto...you didn't do anything while I was asleep...did you?" It sounded ludicrous, but Naruto's face was still red.
"Of course I didn't, Uchiha! Geez!"
"...Then why are you blushing?"
"Because..." he trailed off, folding his arms over his chest and staring at the floor. He muttered something incoherent.
"What?"
Scowling, he looked back up, then shifted his gaze to the garden hoes across the aisle. "I said...that it was hard...not to."
Sasuke stared at him. "It was hard not to molest me in my sleep?"
"You don't understand!" Naruto exploded, turning away. "You're really freaking cute when you sleep, god damn you."
The Uchiha's lips twitched at the blonde's obvious discomfort, despite feeling vaguely irritated over being called cute.
"So you're saying that I tempted you?" His lips twitched into a smirk. "You could've woken me up for that."
Naruto glared at him, then snorted. "No, because regardless of how cute you look when you sleep, you're still the same prickly bastard when you're awake." He grinned. "Ideally, I'd keep you asleep through all the perverted things my mind can muster."
Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke tried to find a good comeback for that. "At least I'm not a fan of being 'overly affectionate' in my sleep."
Enjoying the way Naruto's eyes sparked at that, Sasuke turned to walk away. "I'll see you tonight, Pervert."
"Pervert!"
The Uchiha let out an uncharacteristic snort at the affronted tone Naruto used. Behind him, the blonde clenched his hands into fists and ground his teeth.
"Oi! For that, Uchiha, you won't see me until tomorrow night. You can work on that part of the project on your own." When Sasuke turned around, Naruto's gaze abruptly turned thoughtful.
Placing a hand on his chin, Naruto looked Sasuke over. "Tomorrow..."
Sasuke was starting to feel a small wriggle of unease. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, nothing." Naruto's voice had become dangerously light. "Just...wear something nice for the show tomorrow night, would you?"
Now Sasuke was sure that he should be worried. "You still haven't told me what this show of yours is, Naruto."
The brunette received an angelic smile. "You'll just have to find out tomorrow night, won't you?"
Sasuke eyed him warily as the blonde approached him. Placing an arm about the Uchiha's shoulders, he leaned down and whispered into his ear.
"For one night, Uchiha, you belong to me." He chuckled lightly, sending shivers down Sasuke's spine. "And I plan to take advantage of that."
Despite his abruptly pounding heart, Sasuke managed to give him a challenging smile.
"Make sure that you do." Feeling smug at the responding quirk of the blonde's eyebrows, Sasuke strode away. A brief glance back showed Naruto watching him bemusedly...and those blue eyes were currently contemplating his butt.
Amused, Sasuke made his way towards the cashier.
Tomorrow night should be interesting, Naruto-kun. Very interesting.
Author's note: Not my favorite, but the transition was necessary. Make sure you guys keep reviewing, though. If the number drops, I don't know the reason why: disinterest, dislike, or laziness (my personal reason). Inspiration's low these days, so don't be surprised or alarmed if you see other forays cropping up to give me a mental break from CN.