Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Romeo and Juliet.

Author's Note: Hey! I'm back! I'm so sorry this chapter took a while to get posted, but I finally got it done! Heh, and like half of it I wrote all last night between 12 am and 3 am. The rest was all written periodically between the last two weeks. So, I'm sorry for the wait, but you can't complain since this entire chapter is all SASUNARU FLUFF! Kawaii! That's all it is, I swear! There's a little teeny tine NejiNaru, but like 95 is SASUNARU! I know you all have been dying for it, and so have I! Well, I won't keep you. Please read and review! And thank you all so so so so much for all of your reviews! I can't believe I have so many for this story! I love you all so very much! Thanks and thanks again! Yours truly, SilverRose88.

Chapter Seventeen

Saying things were back to normal might have been a stretch. Sure, life was going on and everything was okay. But, normal was probably not the right word, as Naruto soon found out Monday. He had fixed things with Sasuke, and Naruto was feeling really good about that. It had hurt him tremendously to have fought with him like that, and now that they were on the same page, their friendship was back on track. But, Naruto hadn't anticipated another problem. This one hadn't even come to mind, and he felt stupid about not foreseeing it. He'd fixed one problem, but another was still only half way done. And it all had to do with a certain person by the name of Hyuuga Neji.

Now, Naruto had thought everything was just dandy between the two of them. He'd talked to him, got him to apologize, expressed his feelings, and that had all gone perfectly. But, Naruto hadn't realized what would happen after getting all of that done. He was still upset with Neji; the guy had kissed him and had almost jumped him the day he'd gone to talk to him, and Naruto wasn't going to forget that easily. But, he felt bad about not warming up to him, about not being nice and being back to the way things had been. Neji didn't look that happy either and Naruto felt like the bad guy. He had apologized and Naruto had told him he'd think about it. Did that make him the bad guy?

Naruto wasn't so sure. He felt bad enough, but he hadn't done anything, right? So, what was he supposed to do about this? Neji was his friend and even though he'd done some stupid things in the last week, Naruto didn't want to ruin a good friendship that he could easily fix. But, he couldn't just forgive and forget that easily either, and that was turning out to be a problem. A problem he wasn't sure how to handle.

"You look horrible, what's up?"

"Gee, thanks, Sasuke-bastard, insult the way I look," Naruto replied dryly. "I'm just not in a good mood, that's all,"

Sasuke watched him as he took his seat next to Naruto in their drama class.

"Stop staring at me!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's creepy,"

"Why? You're good to look at," Sasuke replied with a smirk, taking a chance because of the perfect timing.

Naruto blinked and drew back a bit. "Heheh, don't tease me, Sasuke-teme. Are you feeling okay? Th-that doesn't sound like something you'd ever say," he said, blushing slightly.

"But it's true--"

"Sasuke-kun!" interrupted a loud female voice.

Sasuke visibly cringed as Sakura made her way over to the back row. He turned to her reluctantly, knowing fully well that there'd be no getting rid of her without talking to her about whatever it is she wanted.

"Sasuke-kun, where were you yesterday?" Sakura demanded. "Don't you remember that Iruka-sensei partnered us together? We were supposed to meet yesterday, but you never showed up!"

"Was that really yesterday?" Sasuke asked dully.

"Yes, it was! Why weren't you there? Why didn't you call at least and tell me you weren't going to show?" Sakura asked. "It was supposed to be a fun afternoon for the two of us together! Just a perfect meant-to-be day! Where were you?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I forgot,"

"You forgot?"

"Yes. You see, I went to a movie with a friend, and I forgot about our meeting," Sasuke explained.

"A movie? With who?" Sakura demanded.

"With Naruto," Sasuke said instantly, and leaned closer to the blonde, casually resting his arm over the back of the chair. Naruto turned and stared at him, sapphire eyes full of surprise.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura stammered, peering beadily at the blonde who shifted nervously in his seat at the girl's intense glare.

"Yeah, with Naruto. We went to a movie and then had lunch. I completely and honestly forgot about the rehearsal," Sasuke said, sounding unusually sincere for an Uchiha.

Sakura said nothing for a moment, but then turned to Naruto and exclaimed angrily, "Naruto, this is your fault! You made Sasuke forget all about our rehearsal!" And then she turned on her heel and stomped off, leaving a rather confused blonde and a pissed dark-haired boy.

"I'm going to make her apologize. That was uncalled for!" Sasuke said angrily, getting to his feet, but Naruto pulled him down. "What, Naruto? That was rude,"

"Big deal. Sakura-chan's just sort of emotional," Naruto said, feeling rather surprised at how her mean outburst didn't seem to hurt him so much. Usually when she yelled at him, he'd feel very low and depressed, but at that moment her words hadn't affected him deeply at all.

Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment, searching his face, and then nodded.

"And anyway, why'd you lie to her like that? We didn't go see any movie yesterday, or have lunch," Naruto asked, staring at Sasuke curiously.

Sasuke shrugged indifferently. "I know,"

"Then what the hell was that? You shouldn't have lied to Sakura-chan, Sasuke! That's mean?" Naruto said angrily.

"Hey, I wasn't being mean! I just can't stand that girl. I knew about the rehearsal and I purposely didn't show. I wasn't about to spend an entire afternoon hearing 'Oh Sasuke-kun!'" Sasuke replied, crossing his arms. "You know as well as I, that that was going to happen!"

Naruto nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah, I suppose. But, still you blew her off and you lied to her, that's mean, even for you,"

"I wasn't being mean, if anyone was being mean, it was her! With that way she yelled at you!" Sasuke said indignantly, not believing that the blonde was turning this on him.

"Whatever, Sasuke-bastard," Naruto said with a shrug. "But you're lucky to have Sakura-chan as a partner! She's so nice and pretty!"

Sasuke froze and then his blood begin to boil. He glanced around the room and found the pink-haired girl and glared at her back. It bugged him incredibly for Naruto to say something nice about that annoying female, and he wished that for once that maybe Naruto could say something really nice about him. He was jealous and he knew it, but then who wouldn't be? He was certain Naruto was straight, and this just proved it. He'd taken a chance with that 'you're good to look at' comment, but Naruto had just shoved him off, thinking he'd been teasing. It was getting harder for Sasuke to rein his feelings in, especially after how the Hyuuga had taken his chances and was on the prowl.

"And, even though Sakura-chan's sometimes feisty, she's really kind inside and--hey, are you even listening to me?" Naruto said.

"What? Yeah, sure…" Sasuke said, tearing his glowering gaze away from the girl and faced Naruto. "Is Sakura really that great?" he asked carefully.

"Sure. It'd be nice to have her as a partner," Naruto said.

"But Hyuuga's your partner. Isn't that good for you?" Sasuke asked, keeping the bitterness out of his voice.

Naruto looked away and shrugged again. "I thought so too, but look where that lead me. Into a big stinking mess," he said glumly. "I still haven't forgiven Neji yet, and I don't know if I should,"

Nope. Don't forgive him. Let him think you hate him and never ever talk to him again. "Heh, stupid bastard doesn't deserve your forgiveness," Sasuke mumbled.

"What?" Naruto asked, turning to stare at Sasuke with surprise.

Sasuke shook his head quickly, having not meant to be heard. "Nothing," he said. "So, who would you want as your partner?" he asked curiously. "If we had to choose, who'd you want as your partner? Sakura?"

Naruto gave a slight smile and said, "The truth?"

"If it's not too much,"

"…I'd want you as my partner, Sasuke," Naruto replied genuinely, meeting the dark-haired boy's gaze as it shot up to stare at him with shock.

"With me?" Sasuke repeated as though he hadn't heard correctly. He felt a blush coming on and was trying desperately to force it down.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you," he said. Then, with a bright grin added, "What? Don't look so surprised! You're like my closest friend, and even after what had happened, I'd rather rehearse with you any day. At least I know I won't be jumped, like Neji tried,"

You haven't yet, Naruto…Damn, it's getting really really hard. "Right," Sasuke replied, not knowing what else to say. He glanced over at Naruto who suddenly looked rather glum and knew it was because he'd unwillingly mentioned Hyuuga. Sasuke hadn't seen the two of them speak at all that day, and he wondered (though he didn't really care) if they'd fixed things between them. He knew it made Naruto upset to be in fights with his friends, since he'd experienced it twice now, and that was what he was worried about. He didn't like seeing Naruto upset, it was a look that didn't suit him.

"Will you quit being so upset?" Sasuke said, and Naruto looked up at him, surprised.

"I wasn't upset!" the blonde denied hotly.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Just stop sulking. It doesn't suit you," he said, and looked away.

Naruto watched Sasuke for a moment before he grinned slowly. "Heheh, guess you're right about that," he said. "So, is this better?" He grinned even more.

Sasuke turned to face him and his serious expression softened. "Yeah. Much better," he replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He just had to know. Just needed to know. Then, after that, he could live his life accordingly. But, to do that, he had to know. Neji needed to know if Naruto hated him. Neji needed to know if Naruto would ever forgive him. It had drove him insane the entire weekend not knowing if Naruto would absolve what he'd done. He'd wanted to talk to the blonde during the weekend, but had never knew how to. He'd seen how angry Naruto had looked, and he hadn't wanted to cause any more trouble. But, by Monday, it had become so dire. He just had to know.

That was why the Hyuuga was going to try and talk to the blonde during work. He wanted to know where he stood, and he was certain that Naruto was not going to make the first attempt. He'd just have to take the initiative. If he was shot down, then he'd just live with it, and deal with it later. He hoped that wouldn't happen though. He wanted to talk to Naruto, wanted to make sure everything was okay. He knew that what he'd tried the previous week had stained their friendship, and he wasn't sure if the blonde could ever trust him anymore. He'd told him it was just because he'd been acting, because he'd acted out the scene was the only reason he'd kissed him. And, Naruto had bought that lie, which was good, because Neji definitely wasn't going to reveal his feelings to the blonde now, not after what had happened. But, even though Naruto had accepted his apology and his reason, he hadn't forgiven him and this was driving the Hyuuga nuts. He hated waiting. He hated uncertainty. And he hated Naruto being mad at him even more. So, he'd have to try to fix their friendship. Even if Naruto doesn't trust him right away, just knowing that they are okay, that they are on the same page would mean the world to him.

And, not only that, but there was something else that was making him incredibly angry. The fact that even after the last week, even after Naruto and the Uchiha had gotten into a fight, this new week, they were like the best of friends again. Just knowing that pissed him off. He'd seen the two of them acting as though not a thing had happened; as though they'd never been upset and angry with the other. And not only that, they seemed closer. It was as if being in a fight was making their friendship the more stronger. Why did that always happen with those two? Whatever happened between them only seemed to make them like the other more and Neji hated it. Why couldn't that have happened with him and Naruto this time? He and Sasuke had seemed to patch things up, so why couldn't they?

Neji wasn't going to be outdone by the Uchiha. If he and Naruto could regain their friendship, then the two of them could as well. Neji wasn't going to sit back and let the Uchiha rise on Naruto's charts while he wasted away at the bottom. No. To get higher, he'd have to make sure he and Naruto were friends again. Sure, it might take awhile, and it might be hard, but he wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to give Naruto up for the likes of an Uchiha.

"Hey Neji," Naruto greeted as he walked into the restaurant after school.

The Hyuuga looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected to be greeted at all by the blonde, especially since they hadn't said a word to the other during school. And now, even though he'd just decided to take the initiative, Naruto was already doing that for him. …Or maybe he was just being polite? Whatever the case, Neji replied, "Good afternoon, Naruto,"

"Geez, why are you so formal all the time?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I'm your friend, not your boss or something,"

Friend. He said friend. Does that mean he's forgiven me? …Should I even dare to ask? Neji nodded in reply and said, "Sorry. Just habit, I suppose,"

"Well, don't do it again! It just makes me feel old and that's creepy," Naruto said with a shudder. "I'd like to feel young for as long as possible, thank you very much. I mean, no point rushing into being some old geezer, right? Same as like not rushing into things I don't want to happen either,"

It was insanely subtle. So subtle, in fact, that Neji himself had difficulty realizing it. But he did, and he winced. He knew Naruto hadn't meant for that comment to hurt, but it did. He'd implied easily and subtly that he still resented what Neji had done the previous week. And here, the Hyuuga had thought everything was going perfect. He must have been delirious to think that Naruto would forgive and forget so quickly. Naruto could hold a grudge when he really wanted to, and this was apparently one of those times. He wasn't going to let Neji off the hook so easily.

"Well, lets get this shift over, huh? I'm beat, aren't you? I just want to go home and sleep," Naruto said, stretching his arms over his head.

Neji let out a small chuckle which made Naruto snap his head to look at him. "Heh, you're always sleeping Naruto. Is that all you do?"

The blonde, still a bit surprised in hearing Neji laugh, slowly grinned. "Yeah, well, you know me! The Three R's are my constitution!" Naruto laughed, then said, as he pulled his apron over his head, "Let's get to work, all right? Leave the bantering for another time,"

Neji smiled slightly at the blonde, glad that at least he wasn't being ignored. It was all he could hope for right now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay then, that was, uh, good…" Iruka said uncertainly a few days later. Then, he realized what he had said and shook his head. "No, no, that was horrible! Naruto, haven't you been practicing at all?" the drama teacher demanded of his blonde student.

Naruto decided not to respond, knowing fully well that ever since that incident, he hadn't even touched his script unless it was to take it out of his locker to bring to class. For the past week and a few days, it had been sitting in his locker gathering quite a collection of dust. Rehearsing hadn't been on his mind since that day and because of it, he'd lost his acting skills (not that he had much to begin with). Even though he and Neji were somewhat on the same page; they had been acting like friends again, though things were still a bit unstable between them, Naruto still hadn't felt up to rehearsing with the pale-eyed boy. He was certain Neji wouldn't try to jump him again, but he still wasn't sure about it. For some reason, he felt as though it'd be best to keep away from that for awhile.

"Naruto! Are you even listening to me?" Iruka exclaimed, feeling a migraine coming on. Not only was Naruto the worst actor in the class, he was sinking below the worst actor ever. The play was now five months away, and that really wasn't a lot of time. If Naruto kept up with whatever he was going to rehearse, Iruka was certain there would be big fat problems to confront. "Naruto, why haven't you been rehearsing?"

"But I have, sensei," Naruto lied innocently.

Iruka wasn't fooled. "The truth please,"

Naruto sighed and lied with the first thing that came to his mind, "Frankly, I-I haven't been feeling v-very well, sensei. I th-think I'm getting a c-cold," And to prove his point, he gave a small cough, and looked up at his teacher, acting convincing.

Iruka eyed him curiously, then shook his head. "Whatever, Naruto. But, you'd better get well soon or I'll be after your head," he said. "Go sit down. We'll take a break right now,"

"Yes sir," Naruto said and heading up the aisle to his desk, thinking, And he says I'm not a good actor! Ha, that was way easy to get out of. Grinning deviously, he sat down, then gave his script an ugly look before shoving it into a folder and resting his head on the desk for a good nap. But not even a moment later, he was being prodded awake by an insistent Uchiha next to him. "Whaaat, Sasuke-bastard?" he droned while shoving his head further into the pillow that were his arms.

"Are you really sick?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto tilted his head to the left to look up at Sasuke on his right. Then he grinned and said, "Ha, tricked you to,"

Sasuke scowled. "You really aren't sick?"

"No. I usually don't get sick. I have a few times, but not recently," Naruto said. "I just made that up to get out of possible punishment. Iruka-sensei's like that,"

"Like what?"

"You know, like a concerned parent. If you tell him you're sick, he lets you get away with stuff. If I'd told him the real reason…well, then, he'd probably faint or something,"

Sasuke studied Naruto for a moment, wondering what his real reason was, though he had a vague idea already. "You could have rehearsed with me if you didn't want to rehearse with Hyuuga," (A/N: Remember, they're supposed to have rehearsing partners for awhile. That's why Naruto still has to rehearse with Neji, or he already would have rehearsed with Sasuke.)

"I thought of that, but you'd be rehearsing with Sakura-chan, and I'd be in the way," Naruto said.

Sasuke visibly cringed at the pink-haired girl's name. Rehearsal with Haruno Sakura had been insane. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to handle anymore. He'd tried to get out of them, but then Sakura had tattled to Iruka, and well, all went to hell after that. Every time they rehearsed, all he heard was Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun. It had come to the point that he was starting to hate his own name. "I wouldn't have minded,"

"Sakura-chan would have though," Naruto said. "She'd yell at me for getting into your precious rehearsal time,"

"That's probably true," Sasuke replied. "But, you still should have--"

"Are you well, Naruto?" cut in a voice that made Naruto jump slightly and Sasuke flinch angrily.

"What do you want, Hyuuga?" Sasuke demanded before Naruto had the chance to even open his mouth.

"I did not come to speak with you, Uchiha," Neji said coolly, and Sasuke glared at him. Neji turned to Naruto and repeated, "Are you well, Naruto? You're not sick, are you?"

Not expecting this from the Hyuuga (he hadn't expected it from Sasuke either), Naruto looked up at Neji curiously and said, "I'm fine, Neji. I was just kidding back there,"

"All right," Neji said, looking a bit relieved. "That's good to know,"

"God, what's with you two? Over-concerned much?" Naruto asked, staring oddly at the two dark-haired boys beside him.

Neither one decided to answer that particular question, but Neji asked, "Naruto, when do you want to rehearse? We haven't practiced for awhile,"

Naruto knew he should have expected that question to come his way sooner or later. Even though he knew it, he still had no idea how he was going to respond. But before he had the chance to say anything, Neji spoke again.

"We can rehearse tonight after work if you want," he said.

Again, Naruto just kept his mouth shut, trying to find something he could say. He couldn't really just come out and tell him the truth. I don't want to rehearse with you because you kissed me! didn't sit well in Naruto's mind. It was too forward, and just plain rude. So, Naruto had to come up with the next best thing. He didn't like lying to Neji, but he had no choice. He opened his mouth to tell Neji some stupid excuse, when he was cut off by his savior.

"Naruto cannot rehearse tonight because he and I have a cooking lesson,"

Apparently his savior didn't mind lying to Neji one bit.

A surprised blonde turned to look at his savior, namely a certain angry looking Uchiha sitting off to Naruto's right. Sasuke was glaring evenly at Neji, who was meeting his glare and returning it furiously. Naruto tried not to look too shocked at Sasuke's false statement so as to not give it away to the Hyuuga. But, then the blonde realized that Neji wasn't even looking his way; he was too busy sparring fierce looks at the Uchiha, who was throwing daggers right back. Naruto shook his head lightly. What was with those two?

"Naruto," Neji finally said, turning to look at the blonde, "our rehearsal is more important than silly unnecessary cooking lessons,"

Sasuke bristled, but then smirked superiorly. "I suppose you're just out of luck today, Hyuuga. This has been planned for awhile, and neither of us are willing to cancel,"

Neji scowled. "Fine. We can rehearse another night, all right, Naruto?" he asked the blonde, who nodded quickly, still a bit surprised at Sasuke's unwarranted help.

"But, don't be planning another cooking lesson to get out of it," Neji added, casting Sasuke a ferocious glare before returning to his seat.

Naruto immediately turned to Sasuke who was glowering after Neji's retreating back, as if desperately trying to burn holes through his shirt. "Why'd you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Sasuke said, tearing his gaze to Naruto.

"You know, lie about that cooking lesson?" Naruto inquired.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just felt like pissing someone off. And Hyuuga just happened to be an easy target," he said half-truthfully. He got a lot of pleasure out of making Neji angry, and he'd just beat him in winning brownie points with Naruto. But that was just half the reason. He'd also obviously done it to help the blonde out. He knew Naruto wasn't in any mood to rehearse with Hyuuga, and he had the feeling the blonde was going to come up with some stupid kind of excuse. The cooking lesson was an easy excuse to make sure that Naruto wasn't alone with the bastard that night. If Sasuke could help it, he'd make sure that Naruto was never alone with Neji again.

He couldn't explain it, but for some reason Sasuke's response made him feel unusually depressed. It hadn't been the answer he'd expected, and therefore he could only just stare at the Uchiha, wondering if he was telling the entire truth. He'd helped just because he wanted to make Neji mad? W-Wasn't there any more reasons? Naruto looked away, staring at his desk, still trying to make sense of what he'd just heard. He didn't know why, but it felt as though he'd wanted Sasuke to give a different reason…some other reason…definitely not that reason. But, what reason he did want Sasuke to give, Naruto didn't know. All he knew was that the one the Uchiha had told him was making him feel very low. He felt hurt.

But now, that made no sense. Why would that make him feel hurt? It wasn't something that was purposely hurtful, so why was he feeling this way? Naruto shook his head slightly, still thinking. Was it because he'd expected an answer that was more…nice? Something that a friend would say when he was defending or helping someone out…was that what he was expecting? For Sasuke to say something like…I said that because I wanted to help you…I know you don't want to rehearse with him, so I helped you out. Naruto almost laughed aloud. But then again, that wasn't something Sasuke would say. But for once…couldn't he have been an actual normal human being who genuinely wanted to help, and not such a cold-hearted bastard who just felt like pissing off some random classmate?

Naruto sighed. Who was he kidding? It was Sasuke. Mister Ice Prince. Even when it came to helping a friend, there was still no defrosting him.

"Naruto?" Sasuke said, watching the blonde closely. He wondered why the blonde had suddenly decided to not pay attention to him, and why he was looking so gloomy.

Said blonde jumped slightly and turned to the Uchiha. "What?"

"Were you even listening to me?" Sasuke said.

Naruto blinked, then shrugged. "Not really, heheh, sorry,"

"Well, I was asking if you'd want to have a cooking lesson today or not," Sasuke said, still eyeing the blonde curiously. He still seemed upset…was it something he'd said?

Naruto stared at him, then slowly said, "But…I thought you were rehearsing tonight…with Sakura-chan,"

It was Sasuke's time to shrug. "I don't care about that. Honestly. I'd rather have a cooking lesson than spend even a minute with that girl," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. Now, would you mind telling me why you look so sad? I thought you liked the cooking lessons,"

"I do; it's not that,"

"Then what?"

"Nothing, it's nothing, okay?" Naruto insisted, but Sasuke still didn't buy it. However, he dropped the matter, turning his attention to Iruka who was starting class again. Naruto sighed, turning to face the front as well. He still felt upset about Sasuke's response, but he knew he was asking too much of an Uchiha anyway. Like Sasuke would really say he was willingly helping anyone. Naruto decided to just shove the thought and the odd feelings that came with it, into the back of his mind, and possibly later come back and deal with them. If he had the guts, he could just ask Sasuke about it later, during their cooking lesson. For some reason, Naruto was excited for that evening he was to spend with Sasuke.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What're we making? What're we making? Oooh, what's all that?"

Sasuke shot Naruto a glare, and the blonde obediently stopped bouncing up and down and went to shut the door. Sasuke set a grocery bag of ingredients on Naruto's table, then began to take them out.

"So, what are we making?" Naruto asked again.

"Macaroni and cheese," Sasuke replied.

"Okay! I love mac and cheese," Naruto exclaimed.

"That's good," Sasuke replied. "Now, go and boil some water. You do know how, right?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm not that stupid! Of course I know how to boil water!"

"Then go get started," Sasuke said.

"All right, Coach!" Naruto said, saluting, before he bounced off to the kitchen.

Sasuke blushed slightly from being addressed as 'coach', but then shook his head and took out the necessary supplies for the lesson.

xxxxx

"Hey, Naruto,"

"Yes?"

"What's that?"

"Macaroni and cheese?"

"No, it's not,"

"Then what is it?"

"How the hell should I know? You made it!"

"Yeah, but you're teaching me! Some coach you are!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke just shook his head and reached over a simmering pot of…something, he wasn't really sure, and turned down the heat on the stove. Then, he and the blonde continued to stare at the contents of the pot, which was supposed to have turned into mac and cheese…but at the moment look like a pile of crap. "What did you do to it? Were you listening to my directions? If you were, this shouldn't have happened,"

"Don't blame me!" Naruto said, tilting his head at the pot, still trying to make out what it was…and what had happened to the real mac and cheese. "I have no idea what this is. It looks really gross,"

"No, really," Sasuke said sarcastically. The mush inside the pot was, instead of a macaroni and cheese yellow, a dark mustard color. Instead of soft noodles, the 'food' looked more like watery shit than anything else, and the smell wasn't all that appealing as well. Unless that is, you actually enjoyed the smell of rotten socks. "Damn, I wondered what happened to it," the Uchiha said, sticking a wooden spoon in it and swirling around.

"Yeah, me too," Naruto said. "I mean, with you as the teacher, this shouldn't have happened, right? But, then again, with me as the pupil, this could happen,"

"I agree to that statement wholeheartedly," Sasuke conceded with a nod, and Naruto glared at him. "But, that still doesn't answer the question,"

"Quit swirling it around!" Naruto exclaimed, backing away from the stove. "It's just getting mushier and waterier and smellier! Ew, ew, ew!"

"Shut up, dobe, and get rid of this crap," Sasuke said, as he went to wash the spoon off in the sink.

"Why do I have to do it? Why can't you?" Naruto demanded.

"Because I'm washing the spoon," Sasuke said, holding up said spoon to prove his point.

"Hey, you purposely did that!" Naruto exclaimed, and Sasuke smirked.

"Just do what your 'coach' tells you to do," Sasuke said, smirk growing as Naruto scowled at him.

Naruto turned around to glare at the pot and mumbled under his breath, "Some coach you are…the food is crap and now I have to clean it!" Still grumbling, Naruto grabbed a pot holder from the counter and picked up the pot. Then, an idea struck him as he stared at the 'mac and cheese'. His mouth twitched into an evil smirk as he looked up at Sasuke, who was still pretending to clean the wooden spoon.

"Ohh, Coach," Naruto sang.

"What?"

"I have a present for you!"

"What?" Sasuke repeated turning around.

"Heads up!" Naruto exclaimed, then threw a handful of the 'food' in the pot at Sasuke's surprised face.

One second later found Sasuke, who'd realized a bit too late what was headed his way, covered in the crap from the pot all over his face. The mush slowly dripped down his chin and onto his shirt. For a moment, the Uchiha just stood there, as if processing why he had mushy, disgusting, smelly 'mac and cheese' all over his face. Then, when his brain began properly functioning again, his eyes snapped onto a certain blonde opposite him who was laughing his ass off. "Naruto," Sasuke ground out as he wiped the crap out of his eyes. "What the hell was that for!"

Naruto just laughed, and this only pissed Sasuke off even more. "What? Can't coach take a little joke?" Naruto cooed.

Sasuke bristled. "I'll show you joke," he said, then grabbed a bowl of melted cheese off the counter. He briskly strode over to the blonde, who was looking at him curiously, and put the bowl upside down over Naruto's head. Sasuke smirked at him as Naruto's jaw dropped and the melted cheese began dripping down the sides of his face and down the bridge of his nose.

Then blonde then grinned and said, "Oh, you're going to pay,"

"Let's see you try," Sasuke retorted, smirking.

Naruto pulled the bowl off his head and set it down next to the stove. Then, he grabbed the pot of 'mac and cheese' and with his other hand pulled the color of Sasuke's shirt towards him. Grinning evilly, the blonde dumped the contents of the pot down Sasuke's shirt before the Uchiha could move away.

Sasuke flinched at the mushy feeling of the crap as it slid down his chest. Not only was it so mushy it felt like taking a bath in baby food, it was insanely hot. Sasuke jumped backwards, and began trying to shake it off of him, only to no avail. "Damn it, Naruto, that was scalding!" he yelled at the blonde who was grinning at him. Sasuke looked around for something to retaliate with and his eyes settled on the sink hose. He grinned. Getting the blonde wet would be satisfying enough. He pulled it out and turned to face Naruto, who's smirk fell right off his face at Sasuke's new weapon.

"No. No, no, no. Don't get me wet!" Naruto said, backing away, but he was already pressed against the counter.

"Oh, are you afraid of the water, dobe?" Sasuke said. "You're going to have to face the water at some point. Especially if you're going to get that cheese out of your hair,"

"That's true, but, it still doesn't mean you have to get me wet right now!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't want to get my clothes all wet,"

"Then, take them off," Sasuke said, grinning. "I don't mind,"

Naruto blushed profusely and shook his head. "No, thank you," he said firmly.

"Well, then, better shut your eyes, dobe," Sasuke said, holding up the hose at him.

"No! Sasuke, don't--!" All other words were caught in his throat as water sprayed all over his face and down his front. "Gah! Gasugke, sgop it!" Naruto gurgled, putting his hands up in front of him to prevent more water from splashing him.

Sasuke eventually let down on the water, and put the hose back by the sink. He turned to Naruto with a superior smirk, only to have his jaw drop to the floor as the blonde was pulling his shirt off over his head. Gah! What's he doing? Sasuke thought, staring at the blonde, and trying desperately not to stare at his toned muscled chest. Damn it, he's really…No, no, no…

"Wha-What are you doing, d-d-dobe?" Sasuke stammered, still staring. I'm not going to jump him…Not going to, not going to, not going to…

"Huh?" Naruto said, obliviously to his friend's obvious shock.

"W-Why're you t-taking your s-shirt off?" Sasuke asked, trying to tear his gaze away from Naruto's front.

"Can't wear wet clothes, now, can I?" Naruto said, still not understanding why Sasuke had a sudden tomato red blush on his cheeks. "And what's up with you? Just a second ago you said you had no problem with me taking my clothes off," Naruto looked at Sasuke curiously.

The Uchiha didn't answer, and decided that it was best to pick a spot on the floor and stare. So he did. Keep staring, keep staring, no, not at him, idiot! At the floor! Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him…Just stare at the floor until he puts on a goddamn shirt! Damn it, why's he so hot--

"I'm going to take a shower. You can take one after if you want to. Probably better to take it now since I got you all crapped up with whatever that shit was," Naruto said.

Sasuke just nodded, still staring at a spot on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, staring at Sasuke.

"Fine!" Sasuke said quickly. "G-Go take your shower…I-I can start cleaning up some of this mess…"

"Okay then," Naruto said, walking out the kitchen. He cast one worried look at Sasuke over his shoulder before heading for the bathroom.

Once Sasuke heard the sound of the shower running in the bathroom, the Uchiha tore his gaze away from the floor and sighed, looking around the kitchen. But, his eyes traveled to the bathroom door across the hall and he stared at the wood, trying to calm the nerves in his body and his insanely beating heart. Damn it…that was close…any longer and I swear I would have…No, I must resist all temptations…resist, resist, resist…Damn. Damn. Damn. Sasuke shook his head, then decided to tune out the singing Naruto was doing in the bathroom and get to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.

Most of it was cleaned off by the time Naruto emerged from the bathroom, dressed in what seemed to Sasuke, his pajamas; flannel pants and a t-shirt. Of course, Sasuke only seemed to notice how, when wet, Naruto's blonde hair fell into his face, covering half his face in a way that made him look incredibly sexy--Stop right there, I command you!

"Sasuke-bastard, bathroom's all yours," Naruto said as he stretched. "Hm, if you're taking a shower, I think I have some clothes you can borrow. I probably got your shirt all ruined with that crap, right?" The blonde went to the closet and began rummaging around for clothes that would fit Sasuke.

"Just a shirt's fine, Naruto," Sasuke said. "My pants are still clean,"

"Okay then," Naruto said, and then held out a white shirt with pale blue stripes. "This'll do, right?" He gave to Sasuke who looked at it and nodded.

"It's fine," Sasuke said.

"And, here's a towel," Naruto tossed him a towel from the closet. "Now, go clean yourself up,"

Sasuke didn't reply. He tore his fixed gaze on Naruto's hair and face and strode quickly to the bathroom. He was needing a really cold shower, and he was needing it now.

xxxxx

"You were in there for quite awhile," Naruto commented when the Uchiha finally appeared from the bathroom.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, having no other reply to that. Yeah, well, you're not the one freaking out here. "What're you watching?" Sasuke asked, realizing that the blonde was sitting on his bed, staring at the T.V. screen.

"Lord of the Rings," Naruto replied.

"Which one?"

"Return of the King,"

"…Did you clean the kitchen?"

"Yeah, it's spick and span,"

"Want to try to make real macaroni and cheese now?"

"Are you kidding? After that crap we made? I don't think I'm ever eating mac and cheese again,"

"Good point," Sasuke then sat down next to Naruto and watched the screen where Elrond was presenting Aragorn with his sword.

For a few moments they were both silent, sitting and watching the movie, until Naruto said quietly, voicing what he'd been wondering all day, "Uh, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember this morning…at school…during drama class…" Naruto said awkwardly.

"Yeaah…" Sasuke said, turning to look at the blonde, but Naruto's gaze was fixed firmly on the screen.

"…How you said you'd only helped me…out from not rehearsing with Neji because you wanted to make him mad…?" Naruto said, still not turning to look at Sasuke.

"What are you getting at Naruto?" Sasuke asked, utterly confused. Why was he bringing that up? What was he thinking about?

"…Well, I-I was wondering…" Naruto said, then abruptly he shook his head and said, "Nevermind,"

Sasuke blinked at his sudden change in direction. "No, you can't just stop like that. What are you thinking about, dobe?"

"Quit calling me dobe!" Naruto exclaimed. Then, he sighed and asked quietly, "Well, I just wanted to know…if making Neji mad…was the real reason…you helped me…"

Sasuke was surprised to find a slight blush on Naruto's cheeks, and the Uchiha suddenly wondered if this was why Naruto'd been so upset after what had happened during class. Had he been thinking about this that time, wanting to ask, but not knowing how? Sasuke stared at Naruto, then because he was annoyed the blonde wasn't looking at him, he reached out and cupped Naruto's chin, turning his head to face him. The blonde blushed even more at the contact and tried avoiding Sasuke's eyes, obviously embarrassed from his question. But, Sasuke caught his stare and firmly held it, his intense ebony eyes gazing deeply into Naruto's sapphire pools.

"No," Sasuke said finally, and Naruto just stared at him. "That wasn't the only reason,"

"O-Oh…Okay…" Naruto said, trying to pull his gaze away from the Uchiha's, but Sasuke didn't seem to want to let go.

"The other, real, reason was that I wanted to help you…I knew you didn't want to work with Hyuuga, so I helped you out," Sasuke said leaning closer to the blonde.

Naruto swallowed as he stared, still caught in the depth and vigor in Sasuke's eyes. He suddenly felt his heart begin to race a mile per second and wondered why he was feeling so effected.

"I helped because I wanted to. I felt like I needed to," Sasuke said. " …Also because I didn't want that Hyuuga bastard rehearsing with you," he mumbled under his breath.

Naruto got confused with that last statement, and just shook it out of his head. He concentrated on what Sasuke was saying in an attempt to forget that the Uchiha was shifting his face closer and that his voice was now almost a whisper.

"Was it wrong of me to lie to you?" Sasuke breathed against Naruto's ear and said boy drew back slightly, his pulse beating in his ears. He pulled his face back and locked gazes with the blonde again. "I'm sorry, Naruto, if I made you hurt," he said softly and his gaze quickly flicked down to Naruto's lips.

The blonde was getting nervous. Why was Sasuke acting like this? What-What was going on? He'd just asked for a simple answer, and-and…why the hell was his heart beating so fast? Why was Sasuke staring at him like that? Why did everything he say seem to sound so damn sexy? Why was he feeling as though he wanted nothing better than to wrap his arms around the boy in front of him and pull him down onto the bed?

Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer. He just couldn't control his emotions. He'd tried, but ever since Naruto had practically stripped in front of him, well, all his morals had flown out the window. He knew he shouldn't. He knew that Naruto was still upset about the whole Neji thing, and kissing him now, so soon, would only put a big fat hole in their relationship, but Sasuke couldn't help it. He just had to taste those lips again. H e just needed to feel the blonde's body against his. Any longer and he'd die of deprivation, he just knew it.

Then, it happened, at once Sasuke's mind screamed, KISS HIM! and the Uchiha obediently cupped the blonde's chin again, holding it in place as he moved closer--

Naruto dutifully responded to the MOVE AWAY! shout his inner voice sent him and the blonde promptly turned his face and pushed back away from Sasuke. His heart was beating insanely fast, and Naruto could feel the sudden heat in the room. Or maybe that was the warmth radiating off his face. Naruto placed a hand over his mouth slowly, trying to process not what Sasuke had just tried to do, but the thoughts Naruto had just had about the other boy present in the room. What had he been thinking? What force had compelled him to even think about kissing Sasuke? Where had he gotten that idea from? He-He didn't like Sasuke!

The youngest Uchiha was staring dumbfounded at the spot where the blonde's face had just been and after about an entire minute, he blinked, and his hand (which had been holding Naruto's face), fell limply down onto the bed. W-What had just happened? Blinking again, Sasuke realized that Naruto had moved away. Moved away at the exact moment he would have kissed him. Gah! If only the blonde had waited just one more second. Why had that happened? Why had the gods above decided to give Sasuke a bad present? Why couldn't they have been nice and have let Sasuke kiss the living daylights out of the blonde in front of him?

"Uh…S-Sasuke-bastard…I-I'm sorry, but-but I think you should go now…" Naruto said quietly, not meeting his gaze. The blonde couldn't bear to look at him right now. He was too embarrassed, too surprised and upset about all that he'd just been thinking about the Uchiha.

Sasuke looked a bit surprised at Naruto's rather blunt decision, but nodded and stood up rather shakily. "R-Right," he said, heading for the table where his supplies were. Naruto followed him, eyes fixed at the floor. "Um, I-I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto," Sasuke said awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure. Later," Naruto said, and then shut the door behind the Uchiha, thinking, Sorry, Sasuke…but I-I need time to think right now. A lot of time to think right now. I have no idea what's going on with me right now…

On the opposite side of the door, Sasuke leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. He closed his eyes and sighed again. Damn it, I was so close! he thought, angrily punching the wall with his free hand. I was so damn close!

"Urgh," Sasuke grunted as he began walking down the hall to the elevators. "I need another cold shower…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: So, how was it? At first, I really truly hated where the chapter was going, but now I love it. Well, the cooking lesson part at least. Was it okay for sasunaru fluff? …You're all probably mad that I didn't make them kiss…aren't you? …Gah! Please don't be mad! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry::bows and pleads to readers: It's just the way the story's supposed to go! And…at least Naruto's getting some indecent thoughts about Sasuke, right? That's always a good sign for things to come! Naruto's actually thinking about Sasuke! WAHOO! Hopefully soon he'll actually realize that he loves him too and THEN they can kiss and be happy! But, I'm sorry they didn't kiss, sorry! Please don't come after me with a hatchet!

Okay then, I'll see you all next time! Hugs and kisses and stuff, SilverRose88.