Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 2: The Date

Naruto's P.O.V.

I walk home, thinking about how strangely nice Sasuke was being lately. I had expected Sasuke to turn me away at the door. Actually, I hadn't expected him to even answer the door, but he did and unbelievably, invited me in. I'm beginning to think he's not as heartless as he wants others to believe.

"Naruto."

Sometimes he's rude and calls me names, but I don't believe he's really that kind of person. It never seems genuine.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke is just misunderstood and I am going to be the one to figure him out.

"NARUTO!"

I snap out of my thoughts and look up to see who called my name. I look around and smile when I see Sakura running up to me. My cheeks redden as she gets closer. "Oh. Hey Sakura!"

Sakura catches up and stops dramatically to catch her breath. Then she looks up and flips her head to emphasize her short hair. "Hey, Naruto, where did you get that jacket?"

I stop to think about it. "Oh yeah! Sasuke let me borrow it! Looks nice, huh?"

Sakura smiles as she nods and looks up, dreamily. "Yeah. It looks hot on Sasuke. I remember he was wearing it earlier today."

My shoulders droop a little before I jut my chin out and stand straight. "I look better than that potato."

Sakura's face turns mean. Uh oh. Now I've done it. I close my eyes as Sakura punches me again. I fall to my knees and hold my left cheek, rocking my body a little, waiting for the pain to cease. I hear Sakura stomp away, muttering to herself.

I breathe in and out deeply a few times then slowly stand up. I walk the rest of the way home and slump on the small, torn up couch that I had bought to put in my messy, cheap apartment space. I grab the book about chakra concentration off the table and flip through it, not really feeling up to reading it. I need a lot of focus to understand it and my mind is on other things right now.

A few minutes go by and I start to notice a sweet smell. I search the living room and the kitchen and even my bedroom for it, curious about the pleasant fragrance, but I can't seem to find it. I slump on the couch again, defeated, when the top of the leather jacket pops up a little and the smell becomes stronger.

I take off the jacket quickly and bring it to my nose, taking a deep whiff. That smells good. Really good. What is that? Mmmm... pomegranate. I take a few more deep breaths when I realize what I'm doing and pull away. This is SASUKE'S jacket that I'm hugging close to my face. I blush intensely and toss the jacket to the other side of the couch. I try to convince myself to forget all about this whole situation.

Telling my brain to forget about it made me think about it harder and my head starts hurting until I grab my hair in frustration and decide to just go to bed.

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I open my eyes quickly and bolt upright in bed. My sweat drenched body shivering a little. I sigh and wipe my face. Damn. Another nightmare. I slowly take in deep breaths to calm down. I slip out of bed and get dressed quickly, needing to move. I lock my apartment door and walk to the training grounds. I pull out a kunai and start training.

Later, I'm panting and I put my hands on my knees, not caring that sweat is dripping off my face. I stand upright and walk to the nearest tree, sliding down the bark. I look up at the sky and watch the lazy clouds.

A few minutes go by and I realize that I left the house without a jacket. I start shivering, my sweat cooling off, making me even colder. I scowl at the ground, cursing the weather. Why did it have to be so cold?

Crunching snow alerts me that someone is coming and I look up to see who it is. Naruto's smile warms me up a little as he stops in front of me. "Well, well, well. Sasuke was being pretty dumb. How could Mr. Perfect have forgotten a jacket?"

I scowl and look away, standing up. My brain is fuzzy. I can just feel Naruto's smile widen. Naruto takes a step forward and I growl, making him take that one step back. Don't come closer. I can barely keep myself in check as it is. I walk past Naruto, secretly taking in his scent as I pass. Naruto realizes that I'm leaving and he quickly jogs to catch up. "Aw. Come on, Sasuke! I was just kidding!"

I ignore him as I crunch down the path on the way to my apartment, trying to keep my shivers to a minimum. Naruto follows me. The chills are starting to get harder to hide so I whip around, leaving Naruto hardly enough time to stop from bumping into me. "What do you want?"

Naruto looks a little sheepish as he rubs the back of his head and looks to the side. "I was wondering if you would come eat ramen with me."

My heartbeat speeds up. He's just so damn cute. "Sure. But you're treating."

Naruto gapes. "What? You have to at least pay for yours!"

I shake my head no as I struggle to keep the happiness inside me from bursting out. "You should treat me since I let you borrow that jacket," I say, nodding to him.

Naruto looks down as if just remembering about it, then sighs in defeat as we both head to Ichiraku's. "I guess that's fair, but next time, you're paying."

My face pinkens at the thought of another meal with just the blond. I sit down on a stool and Naruto sits to my left. I order a small bowl and wait as Naruto orders his ramen. Once we have our food, I start to feel on edge. Maybe I should start a conversation. "So, Dobe. What happened to your jacket?"

Naruto looks up from his bowl. "I was fighting, uh, training, um, I lost it," he says finally, looking embarrassed as he rubs the back of his head with a smile.

I shake my head and smirk. "Only you, Dobe."

He drops his hand. "Hey! What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said," I say, taking a bite.

"Well, then. Answer this question. Why aren't YOU wearing a jacket? And why were you out so early?"

I lower my chopsticks. "First of all, that's two questions. And secondly, it's none of your business."

Naruto huffs. "That's not fair! I answered your question!"

I shrug. "Eh."

Naruto stares at me in disbelief before he starts to laugh and continues eating. A breeze suddenly blows through the stand and I shiver from the sudden cold wind. Naruto notices and takes off the leather jacket. I then feel the warmth of it on my shoulders.

I look away from him in embarrassment at being caught weak. I'm supposed to be strong and weatherproof! I mumble a, "thanks," as I stand up and slip my arms through the sleeves. The warmth from Naruto's body that had remained in the jacket warms me up in no time.

Hugging the jacket closer, I walk away from the stand. I wish I could walk away from these weird feelings for Naruto as easily. Naruto quickly finishes his bowl and pays before trying to catch up with me.

We walk around the village in silence for a while until Naruto starts talking and we end up chatting for a couple hours. Evening comes and Naruto walks with me to my apartment on his way to his apartment. The minute I close the door, my face lightens up with a smile. We had a date! I shake my head. No. We were just hanging out. Lots of friends do that, and that's all Naruto wants to be. I look down at my jacket and hug it closer to me, a faint orange blossom fragrance lingering on it. I breathe it in for a few minutes before closing my eyes and tilting my head back. What is wrong with me? Then the smile reappears. Date. I can't stop smiling.