Warning: This has slash. Of the NaruSasu variety. So yeah, that means Naruto's all over that hot Uchiha ass. That's right, mansex afoot! Women and children evacuate first! (since if the boys leave, who will we have to videotape for later?)
"Look, Sasuke, it's not that bad of an idea." But it was. It was a bad idea. It was a Horrible Idea. The blonde cream-puff (damn him for being bigger and manlier than me) apparently understood the expression, but Kage knows knowledge had never helped. "Okay, maybe it's not the best idea. But I already bought snacks. And at least no one will know you, right?"
"Fireworks. You want me to go see fireworks in the Mist Country. And you just decided to tell me." See, even out loud, after moderating the phrasing I'd used from a few moments earlier, it sill sounded horrible. Why would I ever want to be surrounded by slobbering, giddy, idiotic people to watch something as mundane as fireworks? Even the dobe must know enough about me to realize how far from enjoyable such activities would be for me. His presence only compounds my distaste for the whole ridiculous event. Not to mention the short notice.
And now I will crush his spirit comple- gods below! That fluff-haired boy is smiling at me.
"Let's race!" He shouted, throwing a bag of provisions over his shoulder. "See, I'll have the handicap" He says as he starts running towards Mist Country.
"How dare you leave before I make fun of you!" I shouted at his back, already running to keep him in hearing range. And he has the nerve to turn that smile on me again.
"That mean you're coming?" He asks naively. Oh, he really sets my hair on edge. I certainly can't prove him right now, so I stop dead on the next tree branch. He doesn't stop though, choosing instead to turn his head backwards and cackle, "I guess that means I win!" right in time to smack his head on a protruding treebranch and fall to the ground like a stone.
I allow a small grin to unfold on my face. Sometimes he really knows how to keep me entertained. I suppose I can beat him to Mist Country. But no staying for the fireworks.
"Hurry up, dobe" I called. However, it took a few minutes before he finally caught up with me, and I grinned again at the large bruise forming on his temple. Very becoming, with the blood running down. He seemed to notice, and wiped his eye mid-jump. Then he sped up, his slightly rumpled bag of snacks under one arm.
Of course I had to speed up as well.
"AW! We're late, Sassy-ow" I hope that tug dislocated your shoulder, you great oaf. Surprisingly we'd made it a few minutes before the fireworks began, and Naruto had led us right into the middle of a festival. And of course the hairball had to announce us to everyone there. I had the good sense to be unobtrusive, but not my old teammate. No sense of decorum at all, he pulled me next to him and into the half-circle of villagers gathering. It was odd, but I swore I recognized one of them. I'd seen that ugly hat before, I think.
And then... then they started clapping. Really, honestly clapping. In the center of the hub-bub, I spotted that affront to fashion headgear. This time I strained to remember who it belonged to. Perhaps that snot-nosed brat from our Genin days? Back when we traveled through Mist Country for the first time, there had been such a boy. That had been the first time I'd used the Sharingan, an important time for me. No one here was affiliated with the Uchiha though, why would they care?
Then I noticed Naruto. While I'd been stunned into introspection by the applause, he'd been dragged into the crowd by a group of adoring fans. Despite the fading light, he looked to be glowing under the goodwill. His adorable fox-grin was in full force, slitting his eyes when he paused to laugh at someones comment. So, clearly it was the dobe's day. But what had he ever done in his undistinguished life to gain the love of these people?
I allowed the wave of townfolk to push me back past the vendor's booths and felt the snap of salty wind. That's right, we'd been racing across a massive bridge, but all the activity had pushed this thought to the back of my mind. After all, we still hadn't determined who won the race. We never decided on a finish line, so when we reached the crowds I allowed myself to drop back. I hope he didn't take that as a concession- wait. Bridge.
Oh Hokage, this was Naruto's Bridge. How could I have forgotten? And all these people with their adoring faces were likely the only Naruto could recall from his childhood, much less his adult life. Obviously that would make tonight the anniversary of that ill-fated day when the creepy-girl Nin and her boyfriend kicked it.
No one will ever accuse me of being sentimental, but I decided to give the boy his room tonight. Perhaps he had anticipated this sort of reaction from the villagers, but regardless, there was no way I could compete with fans, especially in the case of my attention-starved colleague. Not that I was uncomfortable with crowds or anything.
Before my foolishness could be noticed, the populace started dispersing, towards what I can only assume was supposed to serve as the viewing area for the fireworks. While I would have no problem returning to Konoha even in this darkness, something kept me. Now that I was here, I might as well stay and enjoy the plebian display.
It had nothing to do with the way that blue-haired chit was hanging all over Uzumaki. Obviously he was a Mist villager, also obviously not a ninja by any stretch of the imagination. Most of his interest appeared to be some sort of demented form of hero worship, misdirected towards the blonde ass. Wait, not his ass. The boys attention wasn't focused on Naruto's ass, Naruto was an ass. The boy wasn't checking out his ass, was he? Oh thank Hokage, that wasn't a serious stare, he was just checking for a wallet or money pouch. That relaxed me, and I was able to start looking about for a route with the least people through the crowd and towards my apartment in Konoha. A pickpocket, even a cute one with big green eyes wasn't going to phase Uzumaki. I could leave now with a clear conscience, so I planned to.
Just then the fireworks started, and against myself I paused to watch the show. I couldn't think of the last time I'd seen fireworks, but it must have been over six years ago. However it was hardly worth thinking about. My childhood, the childhood of team seven, had been nothing if not repetative. While looking up, I hoped my adulthood would be less redundant. Or it could be just as formulatic, but with some sex. I wouldn't mind a little of that thrown in.
"What'cha thinking about Sasuke?" There was a kunai at his throat before I knew what was happening. I wished for a moment I could actually slit the smarmy bastard's throat without thinking about it. Sadly there was far too much politics involved- what with Naruto being the secret Rokudaime-in-training and me being the dirty betraying Uchiha. I slipped the throwing knife back into one of my numerous and useful pouches.
"I hate you so much right now."
"Saucy. I like that in a lady."
"I was about to go back." I deadpanned this, just to try and get the point across.
"But we just got here" That was ridiculously cheerful. A few nearby villagers shushed him.
"What happened to your boyfriend?" I asked this time, discretely checking for any missing cash. Naruto smirked in the dark, which was lit by a bright flash of gold. He sat down next to me on one of the blankets I'd procured from a vendor, too close for comfort.
I could smell his spicy sent over my shoulder, practically feel his breath on my neck. "Too young and poor for me." He whispered in my ear. I shuddered against my free will. Why did he have to make fun of me like this? My god, he was very nearly flirting with me, the pretentious prick! My first instinct was to back away and cause bodily harm and in great amounts. My second was to simply cause many grevious injuries to his person. I went with my third instinct, which was to act unaffected by this outrageous banter.
"So what is your type, dobe?" And warning bells were screaming in my head. What was I doing, what was I thinking? Clearly I can't be thinking of anything at all, otherwise I would never, ever have answered with that soft flutter in my voice. The flutter suggested I was interested, when I most certainly was not. I was the furthest thing from interested in hearing this blond fruitbat's-
"Well..." He murmered. "I like 'em sassy." Oh Gods. Oh gods almightly. He was defiantly flirting with me, and he'd probably brought me here, to this place, as a date. A date with Naruto Uzumaki, the idiot of Konoha, and I hadn't even realized what he was doing until just this instant. I hope he hadn't meant to get swamped by those fans, it was in bad taste to leave your date like that and- so not the point here. This time I really did hurt him, a swift elbow to the stomach. In his defense, someone with his reflexes should have had no trouble dodging, but he took the hit manfully. I didn't even whine about it, which I had been half expecting.
"So." He muttered, when he'd gotten his wind back and returned to his spot on the blanket (an empty spot, a veritable wall of body language, had developed between us by this point). He even managed to appease the villagers behind him, who were quite upset about missing a brief part of the display. I hesitated to remind them that fireworks were in the sky, not along the horizon, certain this would only ignite their ire. I raised an eyebrow at my date (apparently). "How long." I asked. Although it didn't sound much like a question, I wasn't in the mood to split hairs at this point. This seemed to surprise Naruto. And now for the stall by deflecting with a joke.
"Does sharing lunch count? Because that one time with Kakashi and the bells, you totally shared your lunch with me. Which would put us at-"
"-six years. Not funny. Would you like me to rearrange my kunai in your stomach?" I stared him down, and after a moment he cracked.
"A week ago. You remember the Jounin dinner?"
"But Sakura-oh. You sneaky blond bastard." Now I understood what all the odd looks at that dinner had been about. I'd been to angry at Naruto at the time to realize just how... romantic it looked. I had fallen right into his homosexual plot. His extremely manipulative homoerotic plot. Even though I wanted to cut him into very small pieces and scatter them across the five great countries, but I had to just take a moment and reflect on how impressive the whole thing was. All of Konoha thought I was dating Naruto, in a rather serious relationship even. It was... it was good.
"It could help with the fangirls. Not the fanboys, for obvious reasons." Naruto supplied. And there goes my shred of respect. I turned to stare him in the eyes, letting out a ridiculous amount of murderous intent flare outward. The couple to the right of us shuddering without knowing why.
"I could kill you now and tell them the Kyuubi took over and I had no choice." I whispered harshly. Naruto looked shocked and a little insulted. He glared right back, but there was no intent to back up the physical gesture.
"Or you could take a chance on me." He growled.
And suddenly, I couldn't think of anything to say. This boy, this man who had become the center of my life since returning to Konoha. The man I perhaps a little lusted after. I certainly wasn't watching for the nindog boxers. A man who knew how to manipulate me more perfectly than even my Nii-san.
A burst of red sparks far above illumiated us with imperfect clarity.
A stubborn son-of-a-kunoichi-bitch that had tricked me into this mess. A cursed idiot who had never learned when to quit. With the prettiest blue eyes-
"Why." Again, we both knew it was a question. Naruto sighed, then rallied.
"I can make things interesting." He hazarded.
"I don't like interesting." No way I was sold on something so boring. Gennin used that as a pick-up line at school dances.
"I can make them fun." Now his ears were turning red, a sure sign he was becoming nervous. I refused to find it adorable.
"I hate fun, you know that." That was an even worse suggestion. Absently I wondered if he knew I was hoping he would convince me. Perhaps if he did he wouldn't be so desperate.
"I could make you happy." Suddenly I realized he was serious, or as close as the basket case could get to being so. Not that this put new perspective on the dating me behind my back, I would still beat him up for that later. It might even look like a lovers spat, which would keep the ANBU off me for a whole five minutes before the Rokudaime's orders kicked in. I was forced to accept that whatever this was, Naruto's motives weren't prank related.
"I-I'll have to think about it."
Lightbeauty - Hee! Mkay.