The Companion

Flibber T. Gibbet

Rating: M

Disclaimer: too poor to own anything

Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the long delay. I've had so much homework; it took me practically forever to write this chapter. And it's quite likely the same thing will happen for the next chapter. Sorry! Don't hurt me even though I so totally deserve it. So… what I think of this chapter… :hears echoes of "it sucks": Good job :beams: Such perceptive little readers! XD Anyway. This is a pretty long chapter for me and a chapter like this probably won't happen again, so don't get used to it! Well, read and hopefully enjoy!

ooooo

"Oh shit," muttered Naruto. The old hag had told him to make a good impression on the royal family. And here he was, face flat, at the main entrance of the horrifyingly large palace. It wasn't entirely his fault.

Flashback to earlier that day:

Naruto watched, stunned, as his ride slowly drove away.

"Nooo! Iruka! C'mon, how am I gonna get to the palace now? I wasn't that late!" Naruto moaned continuously as he collected his few belongings and set off for the nearest bus stop.

An hour and a half later, he gratefully climbed out of the bus.

I wonder if people take baths.

With that profound thought, he began the two mile walk to the palace. He wasn't worried about the distance. He would enjoy the fresh air and if need be, he could run quite fast. What he hadn't counted on were the burly guards who served as sentries at each gate.

It's almost as if they haven't seen a poor person near the castle… Oh wait, they probably haven't.

So in addition to missing his ride and having to travel on a crowded bus, now he had giants with machine guns leering at him.

What have I done to deserve this!

Nimbly, he dodged the guards and sprinted the last half mile of the journey, his threadbare messenger bag beating against his side with every step he took. He climbed up the high steps and stood, panting, with his hands on his knees. He rested his head on the cool wooden door hoping to catch his breath… and the door opened, causing Naruto to fall face flat at the entrance of the palace… Oh shit.

End Flashback

When the Uchihas opened the door, they weren't sure exactly what to expect, but it most definitely wasn't the blond boy on the ground. Itachi, the first to recover his composure, helped the boy up and ushered him into the closest room. Once they were all seated, Mikoto called for drinks. They sat in an awkward silence, waiting for someone to speak.

"Sooo…," began Naruto. "I live here now?" That seemed to break the spell and Sasuke visibly winced at Naruto's blunt words. But he was the only one; the rest of them smiled as much as their stiff upbringing would allow them – Naruto was the perfect candidate to remove the spiky stick from Sasuke's arse. Figuratively speaking, of course. None of them predicted exactly how close the two teens would become.

"Yes, Uzumaki– san," Mikoto said with a sweet smile.

"My name is Naruto," he interrupted.

"Well then, Naruto, yes, you live here now. Welcome to your new home. I hope that won't be a problem."

"Fu- of course not," he replied, catching himself before he swore. She smiled again.

"Sasuke will show you to your rooms. We'll get someone to send up the rest of your bags when they arrive."

"Erm… actually this is my only bag," he whispered shyly. They glanced back and forth between the blushing blond boy and the ratty, worn orange messenger bag at his feet.

"Oh." Naruto blushed at the queen's response. He wished desperately he had let Iruka buy him a new bag. He looked up suddenly at her next words.

"I suppose we'll just have to go shopping then."

He blushed furiously again; he hated pity and charity. But he knew his manners. Most of the time. Okay, well, rarely. But in the presence of actually sovereigns, he remembered them. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Mikoto and Fugaku blinked before remembering they were indeed royalty. Fugaku hastened to correct Naruto.

"No, no, no." The blond looked frightened and perplexed at the repeated negatives.

WTF! I'm not supposed to say 'thank you'?

Fugaku noticed the blond's fear and tried a different tactic.

He smiled.

"There's no need for such formalities now that we are to be living together. Call me Fugaku and my wife, Mikoto." Naruto looked scandalized.

Mikoto continued where her husband had left off, "Or if you would rather, you can call us mom and dad." She hoped it would help the boy open up. What she didn't expect was for faint tears to shine in Naruto's stunningly blue eyes as he shakily nodded.

"Itachi? Sasuke? Give Naruto a tour of his new home, if you don't mind," said their mother, in a tone that brooked no arguments. Naruto mouthed the word "home" in silent awe, Sasuke looked annoyed, and Itachi seemed amused. The unlikely trio strolled out of the arched doorway. Itachi was pointing out everything and anything to an eager yet wary Naruto while Sasuke dragged lazily behind. Once they were safely out of earshot, Mikoto turned to her lounging husbands.

"Soo…?" she said expectantly. He looked at her intensely for a long moment before he even opened his mouth to answer. Not taking his eyes of hers for a second, he replied, amusedly.

"I think Sasuke is in for a ride." Mikoto's eyes crinkled in amusement. Things would definitely get more interesting around here.

While the king and queen were discussing the changes that would occur in the palace, the cause of all those changes was exploring the castle, all traces of wariness vanished. They were approaching Sasuke's and Naruto's room, high in the wall. After some initial awkwardness, they climbed up the ladder and into the monochromatic room. Silence.

"Stop drooling, dobe."

"I wasn't drooling, Sasuke- teme!"

"Ah… actually, Naruto…"

An adorable pout crossed Naruto's child like face. "But 'Tachi- san… you were my only ally against Sasuke- bastard."

It was just so weird to hear the word "bastard" come from those sweet, pouting lips. The cold Itachi instantly melted. "And I always will be. That's why you're here. To make him less of a bastard."

"Impossible," muttered Naruto.

"Well, that's for later. For now, enjoy your new room," Itachi said.

"Our room," said Sasuke for the first time in a while. Naruto looked shocked.

"You speak? What a pleasant surprise," he said.

"You're terrible at sarcasm."

"Am I really that bad?" asked Naruto anxiously.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke retorted instinctively.

"Make me." And Naruto stuck out a pink tongue.

"Now, now, boys," Itachi intervened. As much as he would enjoy viewing a fist fight between the two teens, his parents would kill him if he allowed them to drip blood on the newly installed white carpet. It was easier to clean off of marble.

The room looked much the same as it did when Sasuke had seen it the day before, with just a few differences. Another armchair had been placed in the middle of the room and there was a large desk with two swivel chairs in a corner. Sasuke's eyes flickered with something akin to glee. Spinning around and around and around and around until he was dizzy enough to puke was a very secret favorite pastime of his. No one knew of it. Well, there was that one maid who had caught him in the act… but he had taken care of her.

"Hey Sasuke," Itachi called.

"Hn," replied, suddenly wary of his brother's words. Naruto stood mutely, fascinated at Sasuke's instant change of character from a icy bastard to a bastard caught in the headlights. Was this what having a brother was like? Cool! He wanted one!

"Remember when you were ten…,"Itachi began lazily. His little brother's dark eyes widened imperceptibly and he slowly shook his head imploringly, in a desperate plea for silence. He still had a reputation to keep up for the blond dobe and it wouldn't do for Itachi to ruin his carefully maintained façade with a single blow.

"What, Itachi- san?" asked Naruto quickly, not wanting Sasuke to persuade his older brother to keep silent.

"Well… If Sasuke doesn't mind," he said, not really giving a damn to what his younger brother thought Naruto put on his Irresistible Puppy Dog Eyes™. Even Sasuke warmed up at the beautiful wide blue eyes.

Dammit… Eyes like that should be illegal. Bloody sapphire eyes.

"If you're really curious… okay," Itachi smirked.

Nooooo. I don't want Uzumaki to find out…Hold on… Why do I feel the urge to be impeccable in his eyes? Damn repressed hormones. I do not like the loud, obnoxious… attractive… beautiful… BLOODY HELL!

Both Itachi and Naruto stared confusedly at Sasuke. His pale face was flushed a dark pink. His eyes were glazed over and his lips were slightly parted. Panting faintly, he glared at the two.

"What!" he demanded testily, jolting Naruto and Itachi out of their awed state.

"Where was I? Oh yes. When Sasuke was ten, he was spinning around in this chair. He thought no one knew about his secret hobby. Anyway, this new maid saw him and started laughing. Sasuke got pissed off as only a ten year old could get and tried to strangle the girl. The obvious height difference stopped him from actually hurting the girl. It was hilarious. This pale midget wildly, aimlessly punching this girl who just couldn't stop laughing. To appease Sasuke, we let him fire her and kick her in the shins once while wearing boots. We gave her a couple thousand dollars for her trouble though."

"Hey!"

"What's your problem? Mom and Dad didn't deem it necessary to tell you."

"But still…"

"But still what? You're the same obnoxious brat you were six years ago, if not more arrogant. At least you were cutely amusing then. Now you're just a moody, spoiled, good-for-nothing pretty boy!" A frightening intensity shone in Itachi's eyes as he poked Sasuke viciously in the chest. Itachi turned to Naruto, leaving behind a guarded Sasuke.

"I hope I'm not scaring you," he smiled warmly. Naruto smiled weakly in reply.

"Of course not." Itachi smiling was scarier than any violence. Naruto shuddered. Who knew what such an ambiguous smile could hide? Itachi's smile grew even wider, as if he knew what was going on in the blond's head.

"Naruto, why you don't get settled in your new room while I talk to Sasuke outside?"

"O…okay," Naruto whispered, not wanting to refuse the scary man. He walked around the room, running his fingers against the grey walls, his mouth a small "o" as Itachi roughly pulled Sasuke out of the room and down the stone ladder.

"What?" Sasuke asked while straightening his clothes.

"You like him!" said Itachi accusingly. Who would've thought? Sasuke wasn't immune to teenage hormones. Inner Itachi snickered and rubbed his hands together evilly. Talk about blackmail. Muahaha.

"No, I don't," replied Sasuke forcefully.

Oh shit. How did Itachi find out? I mean, we've only known Naruto for about two hours now. On a similar thought, how the hell am I already attracted to him? ...Oh fuck, I'm fucked.

"Could you pause your fascinating train of thoughts long enough for us to have a decent conversation? I do have a life outside of playing matchmaker for my idiot little brother and the adorably sexy Companion."

"Matchmaker! What the hell, Itachi!" Sasuke looked pained at the mere idea.

But Itachi continued blithely. "You know how I said Naruto's job was to remove the pointy stick from your arse? Well, I think it might be replaced with something a tad more… pleasurable." At this, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively and punched Sasuke playfully on the arm.

Rubbing his arm and blushing madly, he moaned, "Itaaachiii…"

Stupid masochist. That hurt.

"No, no, no!" corrected Itachi. "You're supposed to moan Naruto's name, not mine!"

"That is the fucking last straw!" And Sasuke proceed to tackle his laughing pervert-of-a-older-brother onto the cold, hard stone floor. With a loud thump, they began rolling around furiously, Sasuke intent on the serious disfiguration of his brother's face and Itachi intent on protecting his valuable face from the rampaging teen. Naruto slowly opened the door and peered down. He saw the two princes brawling and shuddered.

Maybe I don't want a brother after all.

The brothers paused their fight at Naruto's slight cough. Itachi's head, bloodied and bruised, poked out from the tangle of limbs.

"Hello, Naruto!" he said brightly as if he weren't just beating the shit out of his younger brother and in return, getting the shit beat out of him.

"Erm… should I be going back in? I don't want to intrude on this… er, private moment."

"No, no, it's quite alright. We were just expressing our… ah, brotherly love. In fact, let me just give my dear brother a hug and we'll all go down to get something to eat."

"Right," Naruto said, wondering if Itachi would actually hug Sasuke. Itachi didn't seem like the person to hug anyone and Sasuke seemed like he would personally draw and quarter anyone who dared touch him, much less hug him. Naruto supposed that that rule didn't apply to family members, because lo and behold! Itachi hugged Sasuke and they both emerged alive. Wow. But the weird thing was, it looked like Itachi whispered something into Sasuke's ear. Even weirder was Sasuke's reaction to those whispered words. First, he turned an ashy white. Naruto stared.

I didn't know it was possible for Sasuke- bastard to get even paler!

And then Sasuke's chiseled face turned a fiery red. Naruto practically twitched with curiosity. What could have Itachi possibly said to garner such a severe response from the Ice Prince? Deep in thought, Naruto never noticed when his foot stepped off the floor and into thin air. Arms flailing wildly, he fell dramatically, a hoarse cry caught in his throat. He prepared himself for a harsh landing and incredible pain, but was pleasantly surprised when he felt something warm and relatively soft. A hot breath tickled his neck and Naruto shivered.

"If you wanted to get in my arms, you could have just asked. No need to fall ten feet. You might hurt yourself, and we wouldn't want that." Itachi was thoroughly enjoying himself. He was pissing Sasuke off and he had a hot guy in his arms. Life was good, very good. He sun Naruto around and gently set him down, holding him a moment longer than necessary.

Itachi nodded arrogantly at Sasauke, and said, "Your turn." Itachi put his hand on the blond's back and lightly ushered him in the general direction of food. Sasuke scowled. When Itachi had hugged him, he had indeed whispered something in Sasuke's ear. And that something was currently annoying the hell out of him. Itachi had proposed that they compete for Naruto's affections, and apparently, now it was Sasuke's turn. Two things bothered him. First of all, oddly enough, Sasuke didn't want Naruto to be treated as a prize to be won. Next, and a more pressing matter, how would he respond to Itachi catching Naruto? It would require great thought and planning…

"Hey, teme! Are you coming or not?" called Naruto, effectively destroying all of Sasuke's fragile ideas.

My stupid dobe… all mine.

Let the war for Naruto's heart begin. Insert loud battle cry.

The three of them walked through the palace to the kitchens in relative silence.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke and I are going to find our parents. You stay here and order anything you want, how ever much you want." At Naruto's drool, Itachi smiled and said, "Have fun."

In the half minute it took to walk out of the room, Naruto had already requested for his second bowl of miso ramen. The boy practically inhaled the steaming noodles.

It didn't take long for the brothers to find their parents. They were in the throne room, taking a break from the barrage of nobles who had come to complain about the most minuscule things. When Fugaku and Mikoto saw their bruised and bloodied sons, they reverted back into their natural parental mode.

"Someone will tell me what's going on and they will tell me now or I swear there will be hell to pay," said Mikoto. Fugaku closed his mouth, wishing, as he always did in situations similar to that one, that he had married a less forceful wife. Maybe someone a tad more docile and genteel.

"We were fighting," explained Itachi.

"And exactly why were you fighting?"

"Naruto," stated Sasuke simply.

"What do -" began Mikoto. Fugaku sent her a meaningful glance.

"Oh…," she whispered, just beginning to understand the implications. "OH!" She blushed prettily. "Oh… well then… just don't hurt yourselves," Mikoto warned, displeased with her lack of knowledge. Her husband placed a comforting hand on her shoulder while inwardly jumping with glee.

FINALLY!

"Okay then. We'll be going now." And the brothers walked out of the ornate room as fast as they could without being accused of running.

"So… what do you think?" It was Fugaku's turn to ask his spouse.

Mikoto took a deep breath and began. "First of all, Itachi doesn't rally like Naruto. He's just competing to make Sasuke mad enough to claim Naruto. Sasuke… it was love at first sight or some horrid cliché like that. He's almost in love with Naruto, though he would never admit it even if it kills him. If it kills Naruto… maybe. I think Sasuke and Naruto will be incredibly useful to each other. Naruto will teach our son to love unconditionally, to trust implicitly, and to enjoy himself. And, in turn, Sasuke will give Naruto the love and attention he has been craving for so long."

Damn, she's good.

Mikoto smiled innocently. "I know."

"Bloody hell!" swore Fugaku, wrapping his arms around his smug wife.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, the only notably point being dinner. It seemed that their first dinner together was to be the first major battle in the war for Naruto. Itachi had combed his hair until it shone with an unearthly brilliance. He wore a very fitting shirt whish emphasized each and every sculpted muscle. His parents shook their heads with barely contained snickering and Naruto turned a bright red and uncomfortably hot. And then Sasuke strolled into the dining room. Mikoto and Fugaku had to hold back laughter, Itachi scowled, and Naruto… well, Naruto almost died of a massive nosebleed.

Just out of a shower, Sasuke's hair was still damp and slick against his pale cheeks. His black shirt's first few buttons were undone, revealing a seductive expanse of well defined chest. Dark jeans hugged his long, slim legs, lovingly, enticingly. His father was confused.

When did he buy those clothes?

Once the initial shock had worn down and Naruto's nosebleed had slowed considerably, dinner seemed to pass by peacefully. Except Itachi kept finding reasons to touch Naruto and Sasuke "accidentally" dropped his spoon on Naruto's lap. Other than that…

Everyone had retired to their rooms and the palace was getting ready for another night when a loud shriek echoed throughout the castle. Fugaku smiled and looked at his wife in his arms.

"I guess they just realized there's only one bed. We are so evil." Mikoto nodded sleepily and snuggled into her husband's warm arms.

Indeed, it was Naruto who had screamed when he felt a pair of arms encircle his slim waist. It took him a minute that arms usually didn't hold him when he fell asleep. It just felt so normal and good. After twenty minutes of heated arguing, Naruto reluctantly climbed back into bed, careful not to touch Sasuke in any manner. In a matter of seconds, the blond had fallen fast asleep. Sasuke looked at his dobe and smiled contentedly. There was no way Itachi could beat him now!

ooooo

Gah. Sooo sleepy. It's 2:21 AM. The things I do for you all… XD. Ideas will be adored and so will reviews. So give me both… Please?

flib forever