Okay, here is the third chapter. I'm only planning on making this story 10-15 chapters, but if the need arises, I will type more. So yes, be prepared for long chapters (this is my very good reason for taking so damn long)
Sasuke's POVSasuke watched in slight amusment as the spazzy little blond rushed between the bathroom, the bedroom, and the kitchen for nearly thirty minutes straight. I mean, the boy would start panicing if Iruka so much as twitched. It was really quite hilarious. Resting his elbows on the desk behind him, Sasuke leaned casually back into the wood, kicking his feet back and forth as he sat comfortably, watching Naruto freak out.
Naruto dropped to his knees beside the bed, placing newly dampened cloth over Iruka's forhead, removing the old one and throwing it unceremoniously to the side. He stood back up, dusting off his pants before surveying the room. There was a platter of food (soup and crackers and milk) sitting on the bedside table, a new pair of clothes folded neatly at the foot of the bed, and everything else was already put away.
"Don't you think your being a bit dramatic? It was just a small bump to the head. He'll wake up soon." Sasuke said evenly, watching Naruto chew his lip in concentration. "I know…" Naruto finally replied. "But around here, a 'little bump' can mean serious troubles. There's no hospital around for miles and the doctor takes at least an hour or two to even get here, let alone diagnos the patient. It's just not as convenient as the stuff you might be used to." With a sigh, Naruto slumped onto the bedside along Iruka, looking down guiltily at the sleeping man's face. "I fell so horrid… I wish there was something else I could do to make it up to him…"
Sasuke thought for a moment before voicing his suggestion. "You could… finish his work for him…" Naruto turned to look quizically at the raven-haired boy. It was odd to see him converse this much.
"Yeah… I could… but some of it's a two person job… I guess it could work… if you're willing to help." Naruto looked hopefully at the silent boy.
"… I was hired here to help you guys work. Why would I not?" He pushed off the wooden desk, strolling over to the doorway. "Just tell me what to do.
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"Oomph!" Naruto grunted, pushing hard against the unbudging door that lead to the lighthouse's staircase. With a sigh, Naruto leaned away from the door before slamming back into it, causing it to give out a groan in protest. "Damn… door." Naruto panted, his shoulder digging painfully into the wood. "Never opens… easily for me…" Sasuke rolled his eyes, placing his body on the left side of Naruto's to help give an extra shove. With a sudden crack, the door swung open, leaving the two boys stumbling to regain their balance. While Sasuke had caught himself in time by planting his foot firmly before him, Naruto wasn't so prepared. With a cry of anguish, the smaller boy crashed to the ground, groaning as he rolled to his side. "Nng, I've always hated that damn door!" Naruto sat up on the cold, dusty floor, examining his hands and arms to check for damage. There were a few scratches here and there, but nothing too serious, and there wasn't any sign of blood. Just as he was about to stand back up, a pale aristocratic hand appeared in front of his face. He stared quizically at it for a moment.
"Are you going to take my hand or suffocate on all the dust clouds your creating down there?" Sasuke sighed, regreting his impulsive decision to help out the little blond. Naruto smiled, grasping the raven's hand as he pulled himself up to a standing position. "Thank you!" he said brightly, smiling at the slightly bewildered Sasuke.
"You're… welcome…" he said before following the unnaturally cheerful blond up the windng steps.
As soon as he reached the top, he was greeted with the sight of… bark? What the hell?
"Come on Sasuke, we don't have all day! I have to get done with work early today so that I have time to show Iruka one of my hideouts like I promised. This is no time to be stalling!"
"Says the boy who woke up an hour and 15 minutes late and almost killed our boss." Sasuke said sarcastically, relieving the blond of the heavy wood stacked in his arms.
"Shut up, bastard! You could have woken me up, you know. So don't put all the blame on me!"
Sasuke shrugged. "You've been here for, what? 12 years? I'd think you'd have learned how to wake yourself up by this point in time, lazy ass."
Naruto steamed silently, his mind fogging with anger. In a sudden burst of rage, Naruto shoved his armful of wood into the arms of Sasuke, causing the older boy to slam back against the wall none too gently. Sasuke gritted his teeth together, closing his eyes in an attempt to wash away the anger that was just barely beginning to boil in the pit of his stomach.
"If you don't want to start something, don't say things like that." Naruto said firmly, completely abandoning his previous cheerfulness.
"If you don't want to continue something, don't do things like that!" Sasuke shot back, chucking the logs back at Naruto's chest. With a loud crash, Naruto, along with the logs, fell to the floor. Sasuke visibly winced, obviously he had not been expecting this to happen. He knelt down next to the heavily breathing boy, touching his shoulder lightly as if asking if he was alright.
Suddenly with no warning, Naruto sprang up and latched on to Sasuke, his legs wrapped around Sasuke's waist and arms thrown around his neck. The pair went tumbling down the first couple of stairs, their hands trying to keep the others at bay. Sasuke was, unfortunately for him, pinned underneath Naruto, whose arms were flailing dangerously around as he attempted to smack the cornered raven. The wooden steps dug painfully into Sasuke's back as he struggled to switch the positions. Tipping sideways, he brought them both down another set of stairs until he landed with Naruto finally underneath him.
"Get… off! You bastard! You're cutting… off my breathing… supply!!!" Naruto gasped from underneath the fuming older boy. Sasuke didn't give in though. He raised his fist, poised in the air for a good punch. Naruto saw this and began rocking his body back and forth in a desperate attempt to once again tip them sideways. Finally, Sasuke's body rolled off of his and they both went rolling down the steps until they were sprawled, beaten and bruised at the base of the stairs. Still, none of this deterred them from the original fight. In an instant, they were once again on each other, clawing angrily at the other's skin. It was like a battle of dominance. Who ever won was the alpha, the other… well, his fate would be sealed in the hands of the alpha.
Naruto suddenly found his mouth attached to Sasuke's shoulder as he bit down hard, not even stopping when he heard the writhing boy's moan of complaint. Reacting on pure instinct, Sasuke clawed desperately at Naruto's back, trying to get the blond's jaws removed from his shoulder. Still not able to unhinge the jaws of steel, Sasuke fumbled around the ground with his hands, feeling for something to throw at the boy. Coming up with nothing, he grabbed a fistful of mud and smeared it into the other boy's hair and face. Naruto recoiled, finally coming back to his senses as the cold, wet mud started to drip down his face and over his mouth, suddenly felt a flash of white-hot need for revenge run through his veins…
Which is why Sasuke ended up with a faceful of mud… Oh, he was not happy.
"Ah, shit… You dumbass! Look what you did!" Sasuke cried, standing up to survey the damage that idiot had done.
"You're the one who started it, bastard." Naruto retaliated, standing up to try and match Sasuke's height. "If you didn't want mud in your face, you shouldn't have put any in mine!"
"Well, if you hadn't freakin' been on top of me, then I wouldn't have had the NEED to, now would I?!" Sasuke screamed. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself. This stupid little blond certainly knew how to grate on his nerves. No one had ever been able to affect the raven-haired boy like that before. At least, not to this extent. But, god, did he hate that kid…
Suddenly, an odd, snorting noise came from said blond, breaking Sasuke's calming act. He looked up sharply, glaring daggers at the boy for interupting his peaceful moment. Then, there it was again. Like a… piggish-snort, followed by… laughter? The blond idiot was LAUGHING at him?! Oh, now he was going to pay.
"What's so funny? Hm? Finally lost your mind?!" Sasuke advanced slowly towards the smiling blond. Naruto tried to withhold his smile, but failed miserably. He let out a final snort before doubling over in a fit of laughter. It was too much. Way too much.
Sasuke, however, was boiling inside. Who the FUCK did this guy think he was? Laughing at Sasuke like that. NOBODY, and I mean nobody, had ever laughed at him like that. No one ever dared. Either this guy had balls of steel or he was just plain retarded… Sasuke decided on the latter, watching the brown and green spattered boy fall to his knees as he wrapped his arms tightly around his sides which were shaking with laughter.
"What the HELL is so DAMN FUNNY?!?!" Sasuke snapped, throwing his arms out to his side desperately. He was getting impatient now.
Naruto looked up to lock eyes with the furious Sasuke. "Yo… Your face… Your hair! Oh god, the m… mud… haha, oh, just… look at us!" he said in between peels of laughter.
"The mud? What?" Sasuke looked down at his hands and body, suddenly realizeing what the idiot was laughing at…
He thought he looked funny.
Naruto thought Sasuke looked funny. Sasuke glared at the smaller boy. Naruto was still looking at him, howling with laughter.
Naruto's nose had a strip of brown mud down the center, a drop of the brown muck slowly slithering down to the corner of his mouth which was tilted up in a smile. Brown splotches covered his already worn-out clothes. Mud was plastered against his forhead and mixed in with his golden-blond hair. It would take a hell of a lot of work to get this stuff off.
. You know… now that Sasuke looked at it… it was… kind of funny. Of course, Sasuke wouldn't agree. Humor had never really been one of his favorite things… but this… Well, something moved in the raven-haired boy, giving him a strange new feeling. And before he knew it, Sasuke's lips started to lift slightly into a sort of messy smile. It wasn't beautiful, his smile. Oh, no. It was clumsy as he'd never really smiled much throughout his life… smiling seemed like such a rarity to the taller boy. But it felt good, nonetheless.
Naruto brightened as he saw this miraculous event occur, his bright azure eyes glittering with happiness. Naruto had just made the un-pleasable Sasuke… well, pleased! Naruto felt damn smug at that moment, and Sasuke could tell. Emmediately, Sasuke shut offall emotions except anger, covering up the smile he had just let loose. He glared down at the younger boy, his current expression trying to block out his embarassment.
"Listen…" Sasuke said, his voice dangerously low. "You are to tell nobody of this… event. You hear? Nobody."
"Who am I going to tell? Iruka?" Naruto asked, smile still in tact. Sasuke scowled, ignoring the little blond's obviously true statement, before swiveling around and trudging back up the lighthouse stairs. Naruto smiled to himself, getting up to slowly trot behind the other boy.
Even though Sasuke wouldn't show it now…
He had made the stoic boy smile…
And it felt good…
Ah, well, there you go. I finally put something akin to friendship in there. Personally, I like Naruto and Sasuke to be aquainted on a personal level before anything romantic happens, so be prepared for a little build up before the romance. Anyway, this is going to be my last chapter for about 2 weeks as I will be going to Washington D.C. on Monday. By the time I get back, I should have plenty of ideas on what to write though, so my next chapter will be really good! So yes, hope you're enjoying 'A Lighthouse's Tale'. - Kimi