A/N: Is this late? I think it is..I lost track of time. I kinda got..stuck and stuff. But thank you all for supporting and your reviews and such. You guys are my motivators so it makes me happy.

Also many of you guys are wondering bout Itachi. He's...somewhere. My lips are sealed.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Sasuke spent most of his days waiting for Naruto to return home. He didn't really have much to do. He would rather spend his days home alone with Kyuubi than with Naruto at his work. He felt intimidated being in that type of workspace.

Sasuke became extremely bored. He would practice writing and read the children's books Naruto had bought for him, but after memorizing the books word for word, he didn't really know what to do.

He then went downstairs to the basement to seek the attention of Kyuubi.

Kyuubi could already hear the footsteps of Sasuke making their way down the steps. He was going to hide to avoid dealing with him, but he already saw Sasuke peeking through the door.

Sasuke stared at Kyuubi, but he didn't know what to do. He kept staring until he spun around and ran back up the stairs. He still felt a little scared of Kyuubi, but he still liked him.

Kyuubi sighed and followed after Sasuke. He found Sasuke in Naruto's room already scribbling on paper. When he entered and Sasuke saw him, he saw the kit jump.

Sasuke waved at Kyuubi shyly, but soon looked away when Kyuubi continued to stare at him.

Kyuubi went into Naruto's bathroom and stole a brush from one of the drawers. He carried it in his mouth and brought it to Sasuke. If Sasuke was that bored, he might as well make use of it.

He dropped the brush in Sasuke lap and stared at it, and then up at Sasuke.

Sasuke felt a little happy that Kyuubi had approached him. He grabbed and brush and then Kyuubi sat patiently in front of him. He then brought it to Kyuubi's head and started to brush him.

Kyuubi sighed in contentment when he felt the brush go through his fur. He hasn't been pampered in a long time. More like, he had too much pride to ask someone to brush him. But since it was Sasuke doing it and he was a fox, it wasn't too bad asking for it.

Kyuubi started to lay down and close his eyes when he felt Sasuke brushing his many tails.

Sasuke went at it for an hour, brushing Kyuubi. He was actually happy to do it, it was better than doing nothing. He was a little sad when Kyuubi got up to leave.

Kyuubi had heard Naruto enter, which was why we started to leave. He looked at Sasuke and gave a single nod in gratitude.

Sasuke's face brightened when he saw that and smiled at Kyuubi.

Kyuubi went down the stairs to go back to the basement.

"Kyuubi? Rare to see you up here." Naruto was taking off his shoes in the front.

Kyuubi ignored Naruto, going back downstairs.

"Yeah, whatever. Nice to see you too." Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke ran down the stairs and hugged Naruto.

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto smiled. He came home early these days so that he could take care of Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed Sasuke's ear, making the kit lean into the touch.

Sasuke then remembered the brush. He wanted his master to brush him as well. He wanted to see how it felt like. Sasuke grabbed his master's hand and hurried up the stairs.

"What's the hurry?" Naruto asked, letting Sasuke lead him.

Sasuke grabbed the brush he left on the kotatsu and sat on the bed. He then placed it in Naruto's hands and patiently waited, following Kyuubi's exact example.

"Hm? This is my brush. How'd you find it?" Naruto simply wondered since he rarely ever used it.

Sasuke sat there and pouted. He tried grabbing the brush back, but Naruto held it out of Sasuke's reach.

"You want me to brush you?" Naruto grinned.

Sasuke stubbornly looked away, not giving any response.

"Ah, I guess not. Then I'll put this away." Naruto got up to leave.

Sasuke's ears dropped.

"Ah!" Sasuke grabbed hold of his master's arm, not wanting him to put it back.

"You want me to brush you?" Naruto repeated.

Sasuke kept his hold on Naruto's arm and sheepishly nodded.

Naruto kissed Sasuke on the side.

"I'll brush you then." He smiled.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke from behind and picked him up, startling Sasuke. He carried Sasuke on the bed and onto his lap. He rested himself against the headboard of the bed.

Naruto took the brush and started to brush Sasuke's hair. He heard a soft purr come immediately afterwards.

"Does it really feel that good?"

Sasuke nodded as he closed his eyes.

While Naruto was brushing Sasuke's soft hair, he began to wonder how in the hell Sasuke's hair stayed spiked up in the back. The only time he saw Sasuke's hair not defy gravity was when he took a shower. But even still, it would come right back up as it dried.

"Has your hair always been like this?"

Sasuke opened his eyes to give a questioning look to him.

"I mean, has it always been this spiky."

Sasuke touched the back of his hair then looked at his master's hair. He then touched Naruto's spiky hair.

"Damn, I guess my hair's like that too." He muttered.

Sasuke did a tiny giggle and then leaned onto Naruto. He felt arms wrap around him and hug him tightly.

"What am I going to do with you. You're just too cute." Naruto rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Just when will I ever be able to hear that sweet voice of yours." Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke's ears fell dramatically. Didn't he say it was okay..? Sasuke's heart starting pounding in pain. He couldn't..he just couldn't. He became upset at himself. Was something wrong with him?

Naruto was hoping that one day he would hear Sasuke's voice. He never really minded it, but since they've become more intimate, he wanted more from Sasuke. But Naruto saw the distress on Sasuke's face.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Naruto sighed. "All I want is to hear those three words from you that's all." He mumbled again.

I love you.

Sasuke felt his chest hurt, but Naruto kissed him lightly.

"It's okay Sasuke."

Naruto continued to brush Sasuke's hair, which calmed Sasuke. He still felt a little sorrow, but when Sasuke felt the brush go through his hair, he relaxed. He started to purr again.

Naruto gently brushed Sasuke's hair and soon saw dark ebony eyes looking up at him. He saw Sasuke holding his tail.

"You want me to brush your tail?"

Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes again.

Naruto took Sasuke's tail in his hands, trying not to touch too close to the base. He never really touched Sasuke's tail much and he felt how soft it really was.

Sasuke continued to purr and become drowsy and ended up falling asleep on Naruto's lap.

Naruto kept on brushing Sasuke, despite him falling asleep. When he was sure that Sasuke was asleep, he gently laid him on the bed and put the blanket over him. He kissed Sasuke's forehead and left the room.

He went back to the front and decided to walk to town. He needed fresh air. He walked the same path when he first bought Sasuke.

He sighed to himself when memories came back. He continued to walk for quite some time, taking a shortcut and finally reached town. He decided to buy food for everyone.

He had two bags of fish takeout. He didn't feel like going elsewhere to buy different food.

He soon passed the "pet" shops. He was reminded about Sasuke's brother. What were the chances he would be sold here?

He went inside the same one he bought Sasuke in.

"Nice to see you back so soon Naruto." Orochimaru greeted.

"Yeah." Naruto mumbled.

"Looking for another hybrid?"

"Something like that."

"Does this have to do with Sasuke's brother?" Orochimaru smiled a little creepily.

"That's none of your business." Naruto said irritated, not liking how nosy he was. "Can I just look at the older hybrids."

"Sure." Orochimaru lead him down the same hall that lead to older hybrids.

Naruto looked around, feeling slightly sad for the hybrids that were chained up. He noticed them staring at the bags he was carrying. They could probably smell the food inside. Naruto felt even worse. It was like torture for them most likely.

Naruto just quickly looked at everyone inside. He didn't even know how Itachi looked like, but he knew that he would atleast look similar to Sasuke; black hair, multi colored eyes, and the pale skinned. If he were to find someone like that, he would at least be able to communicate with them to see if they recognized Sasuke's name.

But there was none that even looked close to Sasuke. He told Orochimaru thanks, but that no one caught his attention.

He hurried out so the other hybrids wouldn't be tortured by the smell of food he had.

He went to other stores, but none of them had anyone similar to Sasuke, not even any of the Uchiha breeds. Were Uchihas that rare? Naruto almost wanted to consider himself lucky that he had Sasuke.

He left the area and continued down the walk. He was going to go back straight home, but a small shop with cute supplies and such caught his attention. Usually he wouldn't walk into shops like these, but he thought of Sasuke when he saw cat items.

He decided to walk in and look around to see if he could buy some things for Sasuke. He was greeted by the shopkeeper and went to the pencils.

He saw whole sets of cat items. He found many black cat mechanical pencils accompanied by lead cases, pens, erasers, notebooks, and folders. Naruto picked out one of each for Sasuke. He noticed a mini dry erase board and markers and decided to get those as well. Then he went to the cashier.

"Is this for your girlfriend?" She politely asked.

"You could say that." Naruto smiled as he scratched his head.

He gave the lady money for the items.

"I hope she likes it." She smiled back.

"He will." Not even noticing he said 'he'.

She gave a surprised look, but Naruto already left.

Naruto looked at the time and muttered how late it was. He hurried home so he could feed both Kyuubi and Sasuke.

When Naruto returned home, he was greeted with a very upset Sasuke.

Sasuke started to bite, scratch, and weakly hit Naruto as small tears trickled down his face.

"What's wrong Sasuke?!" Naruto winced as he was being assaulted by the kit.

Sasuke angrily glared at Naruto and ran upstairs. Naruto started to take off his shoes and was going to follow Sasuke, but he was already coming back downstairs with a paper in his hand.

But before he Naruto could even react, Sasuke tripped on his own feet and fell halfway down the stairs.

"Sasuke!" Naruto dropped everything and ran up to Sasuke.

Sasuke was crying in pain and frustration. He let Naruto carry him up the stairs and lay him on the bed.

"Are you okay..?" Naruto worriedly asked.

Sasuke nodded, but he was still upset. He wiped his tears, crossed his arms, and looked away.

"Then I'll be right back, okay?" Naruto sighed.

Naruto knew he wouldn't get a response. He couldn't think of any reason why Sasuke would be so mad. Well, that was until he saw the paper Sasuke has dropped when he fell.

'You left me' was what it had written down.

Then it all made sense. Naruto didn't tell Sasuke he was leaving and worried him. He hoped that the things he bought for him would make up for it.

He took the food and opened the takeout container with the fish in it. He laid it open on Sasuke's table just in case Kyuubi was hungry. He left the rest of their food on the kitchen table.

Then he carried the bag that had Sasuke's things in it and went back upstairs. He saw Sasuke still upset.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." Naruto started. "I should have told you or left a note. I didn't think I would be gone for that long. But I got you some things, maybe that will make us even?"

Sasuke's ears slightly perked up and curiousity got the best of him. He turned to face Naruto wondering what it was.

Naruto was glad Sasuke seemed a little better, and he gave the plastic bag to Sasuke for him to open.

Sasuke, half excited, took the bag and peered inside. He stared in awe when he saw all of the supplies with cats on it. Like a child, he excitedly took them out and and looked at them.

It was hard for Sasuke to stay mad at Naruto. He sheepishly looked up at him and smiled a tiny bit.

"I'm glad you like it." Naruto smiled and messed Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke jumped off the bed and laid out all of the things he got. He was just so happy to receive anything.

"Hey Sasuke." He continued when he saw Sasuke's ears perk. "Are you sure you're okay? That was a really rough fall earlier. You scared the hell out of me."

Sasuke nodded, pain forgotten from the items he received. He opened his notebook and picked up the pencil. He tried writing something down, but nothing came out.

"Ah, you're supposed to press here." Naruto pushed the top of the mechanical pencil. "Then the lead comes out. If you run out of lead, you can replace it with this." He opened the lead case to show Sasuke.

Sasuke wrote down 'Thank you' on the notebook and showed Naruto.

"You're welcome Sasuke." Naruto smiled, he was very proud how much Sasuke had learned.

"That reminds me, I bought you something you can easily carry around and communicate with."

Naruto reached over and placed the dry erase board in front of Sasuke. He opened the pack of markers that conveniently came with a small eraser.

"You can write things on here and then erase it right after. It's just like using a pencil and eraser, but it'll probably be easier." He handed Sasuke a marker.

Sasuke uncapped the marker and when he pressed the marker on the board, he did a small gasp. It was just unexpected to him, the way the marker wrote. He thought writing on the board was fun. He started to write something, and then he showed it to Naruto.

'Im hungry' it read.

Naruto corrected Sasuke's grammar, telling him that there should be an apostrophe.

Sasuke quickly corrected it and showed it again.

"Yes yes, I bought you food." Naruto laughed.

Sasuke's ears perked up as he quickly erased what he wrote and started to scribble another word down.

'Fish?' Sasuke shyly showed the board.

"Yes, I bought you fish." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke's face lit up as Naruto messed his hair.

"Come down, we'll eat together." Naruto started to leave the room.

Sasuke trailed behind with his things in hand.

When they reached downstairs, they saw Kyuubi waiting for them at Sasuke's table.

"Were you waiting for us?"

Kyuubi nodded.

"Wow, that's new. Thanks."

Kyuubi felt the gratitude hit him hard, but not in a bad way. He was just so used to being the victim of anger. He was actually glad he waited. He never knew how much more enjoyable it was to eat with others rather than by himself.

All three of them sat at Sasuke's table on the ground. Sasuke was very happy eating the fish, as he kept eating mouthful after mouthful.

"Slow down Sasuke, it's not going anywhere."

Sasuke obeyed and ate slower.

When they finished, they threw out their garbage. Kyuubi didn't leave like he usually would. He needed to bathe and he couldn't do it by himself. He followed Naruto and Sasuke up the stairs.

"What is it Kyuubi?" Naruto thought Kyuubi was acting real strange.

Kyuubi used his head to gently open the door of the bathroom and hopped in the tub.

"Right, a bath. Sasuke do you want to help?"

Sasuke looked at his master and shook his head. He was already sitting at the kotatsu, scribbling things on the board.

Naruto let him do what he wanted and went to help Kyuubi.

He started to fill the tub with warm water, and Kyuubi went right under it to get himself wet.

"Hey Kyuubi, I'm sorry." Naruto started. "I've been a real jerk to you." Naruto was glad he was able to apologize. He hoped they would become closer. For way too long, there was tension between them.

Kyuubi looked at Naruto and nodded once.

"But you know, it's more fun to do things with you, you know. You're practically my family, we should spend more time together. Even Sasuke forgives you, although he might still be scared of you, but we know that this isn't the real you."

That hit Kyuubi dead on. He solemnly looked downwards, not able to look up at Naruto's eyes.

Naruto started to lather the shampoo on Kyuubi, making him into a huge bubbled mess. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Kyuubi.

Kyuubi gave an angry snarl to Naruto.

"Alright, alright. I'm washing you off." Naruto snickered.

He took the bucket he used for washing and filled it with water. He gently poured it over Kyuubi making sure he didn't get it in his eyes.

As Naruto calmed down from his laughing, he took the conditioner and started to put that on.

"I know I already said this, but I'm sorry, I really am."

Kyuubi felt his heart squeeze from that apology. He tried holding back something that he hasn't released in years; tears.

All of a sudden, Naruto felt a cooling sensation on his stomach. He was taken aback by that sudden feeling.

Kyuubi let out a tiny squeak as his body started to change.

"Ow..fuck shit.." Kyuubi cursed.

His limbs had grown back into a human, but he still retained his ears and tails. Naruto was surprised at the sudden change, but kept his composure.

"Why is it when I turn back, you have to see me in this pitiful form..!" Kyuubi was covering his face with his knees up to his chest.

"What? You're not pitifu—" Naruto saw what he meant. He saw tears make their way down his arms. It was hard to actually see them, but he could tell he was crying from how much his body was shaking.

"I'm sorry too..!" Kyuubi blurted out. "I never wanted to hurt anyone..I just got so mad..I..I don't know."

Naruto had never seen Kyuubi like this before. He has never, never let out any emotions after Naruto's mother had died.

"It's okay Kyuubi, really. We're not perfect." Naruto rubbed Kyuubi's back, not caring if it had water and conditioner all over it. "Besides, we've gotten a tad closer right? I mean, this is the first time I've seen you naked."

"Shut up you bastard.." Kyuubi mumbled, making Naruto laugh.

Both of them heard a door creaking and they both turned to see Sasuke peeking in through the door. But when both pairs of eyes landed on Sasuke, he ran off back into Naruto's room.

"I guess that makes Sasuke's first time too." Naruto continued to laugh.

Kyuubi groaned and told Naruto to leave.

Naruto complied and left Kyuubi to wash himself. He went back to Sasuke who was drawing shapes on the board.

"Do you forgive Kyuubi?" He asked Sasuke.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto. He thought for a little bit, but he nodded. Yes he was truly scared of Kyuubi, but he also saw the gentle side of him, making him a little less scary.

"You're a good person Sasuke." Naruto patted Sasuke's head.

Naruto went back to the bathroom when Kyuubi called him.

"I need clothes." Kyuubi muttered.

"Are my clothes fine?"

"Yeah." He muttered again.

Naruto got Kyuubi a t-shirt and sweatpants and gave it to him.

He muttered a thanks as he took the clothes and wore it, not really caring that he wasn't wearing underwear. He cursed as his tails awkwardly stuck out from the top of the pants, lifting his shirt a tad. His tails were still wet, but he thought it would be okay.

When he came out he saw Naruto and Sasuke at the kotatsu. He decided to sit down with them.

Sasuke was startled when Kyuubi sat in front of him.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." Kyuubi upset at himself when he saw the small flinch Sasuke did.

Sasuke looked down, biting his lip.

"Do you forgive me?" Kyuubi asked.

Sasuke looked up at Kyuubi and nodded.

"Thank you.." Kyuubi said, relieved. He lightly touched Sasuke's hand to show he doesn't mean harm.

Sasuke too was relieved. He started to show Kyuubi the items Naruto bought him. He even wrote down 'Kyuubi' on his board and smiled.

Kyuubi could have sworn that smile was infectious. He found himself surprisingly smiling back. He gently took the marker Sasuke was holding and proceeded to write 'Sasuke' back. Sasuke was really happy when he saw his name being written down.

"I'm going to practice the piano. I feel like I haven't played in forever." Kyuubi got up to leave.

"Hey Kyuubi." Naruto continued when he looked back. "Are you going to join us for dinner?"

Kyuubi nodded a single time.

"Yeah, I will." And with that he left, with his tails gracefully following behind.

Naruto grinned as he saw Kyuubi leave. He never thought he could change so much.