A/N: w00t. this chapter has one of my favorite scenes in it – it's the one with Naruto and Sasuke! Hope you enjoy it. By the way, I made a parody of The Way You Do The Things You Do by The Temptations (they're a Motown singing group from the 60s and I absolutely love them) and Lee sings that parody in this chapter. I love embarrassing Lee, it's so easy! And so fun! muwahaha
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto (. . . seriously, how many times do I have to say this . . .) because if I owned Naruto, NaruSasu would be so cannon that it would scare even me, and half of all the screen-time would be taken by various shirtless shinobi . . . XD
The poem belongs to Ono no Komachi and the fic is mine.
xxx
The autumn night
is long only in name—
We've done no more
than gaze at each other
and it's already dawn.
- Ono no Komachi
Chapter 4 – Valentine's Day Morning
Sakura yawned and stretched her arms over her head. It's Valentine's Day today! she remembered with a smile. Climbing out of bed, she went to get dressed. Then she skipped out of her room, waved goodbye to her parents, and closed the front door behind her.
She immediately bumped into Lee, who was standing directly in front of her door.
"If I do not . . . get to Sakura's house . . . before she wakes up . . . I will compose . . . a love song . . . and sing it to her . . ." Lee panted.
Sakura rolled her eyes at the ninja before her. "Lee, why would you want to get to my house before I woke up?"
"To give you breakfast in bed, Sakura-chan!" Lee said as he saluted the pink-haired ninja.
Sakura giggled and hugged him tightly. Lee's eyelids dropped woefully, remembering the promise he'd made to himself. If I do not get to Sakura's house before she wakes up I will compose a love song and sing it to her . . .
"Sakura-chan, I have something to tell you."
"Hn?"
Lee closed his eyes in embarrassment. "I just composed a song for you."
xxx
Sasuke's vision was blurred by sleep, but the stuff in front of his half-closed eyes looked a lot like spiky yellow hair . . . he tried to stretch his arms, but they wouldn't move. Panicking, the Uchiha's eyes shot open. Looking down, he realized a sleeping Naruto was hugging him, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Sasuke's arms were completely pinned to his sides. He blushed furiously and struggled to free himself, but Naruto only snuggled closer.
"Hn . . . Sasuke . . . you awake?"
Sasuke shivered. His rival's lips where pressed against his collar bone, and the brainless idiot didn't have the sensitivity to move them as he talked. Naruto's body was so deliciously warm and Sasuke suddenly felt so cold . . .
The Uchiha shuddered as Naruto hugged him closer. The blonde ninja's hand ran across Sasuke's back, making him twitch.
Where the hell is my shirt?! I still don't have it? Where did it go?!
Naruto snickered sleepily. "You're ticklish, Sasuke. I never knew that before."
"NO I'M NOT!" the Uchiha fumed, his efforts to escape completely discouraged by his rival's firm hold around his waist. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" the dark-haired ninja asked in outrage.
"Snuggling," Naruto stated innocently.
"SNUGGLING??" Sasuke shrieked in horror.
Naruto yawned sleepily in response, running a finger through the Uchiha's hair. Sasuke growled in irritation.
"Let go of me, Naruto! NOW! And stop messing with my hair!" I can't stand this any longer . . . this is torture . . .
"But why? You're hair is so soft . . ."
"Ugh! Let go!" the Uchiha snarled.
Naruto reluctantly withdrew his arms from around Sasuke's body. The dark-haired ninja sprang away, delighted at having his arms free at last.
I can't let this happen again . . . when I'm that close to him I lose my mind . . . what if I had told him everything? I was so close . . . so close to giving in . . . because I'm weak . . . I can't let it happen . . . Sasuke panted, thoughts swarming in confusion through his mind.
Naruto slipped out of bed and opened the door, turning to Sasuke. "I'm going to get some breakfast. You stay here. I'll get some for both of us. I love having breakfast in bed!" The blonde ninja skipped away.
The Uchiha's mouth fell open as Naruto closed the door behind him.
WHAAAAAAAT? I'm going to have breakfast in bed with NARUTO?
The overwhelmed ninja fell back on the pillows, holding his head in his hands, eyes glazed over with a strange emotion. It was a mixture of bliss, terror, humiliation and glee.
xxx
Lee gulped. "Just so you know, I'm kind of making this up on the spot . . ." The ninja's eyes darted nervously across Sakura's face. He took a deep breath and burst into song.
"You've got a mind so sharp, you know you could have been a kunai . . ." Lee began. Sakura hugged him excitedly. "You're holding me so tight, you know you could have been a hair-tie . . . Well, you could have been anything that you wanted to. And I can tell, the way you do the things you do. The way you do the things you do!" He finished dramatically with a flourish.
A second later the two ninja sprang apart as they heard a loud clapping noise behind them.
"Lee! What a fabulous performance! Ah, the spring of youth . . ." a voice said. The ninja that it belonged to gave a thumbs up and grinned widely, teeth sparkling in the morning sunlight.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Ga—"
Sakura thumped Lee over the head before he could finish and hugged him again. "Lee! That was amazing and so sweet!" she said, beaming up at him. Sakura had always been a sucker for that style of singing. Lee's bad rhymes didn't bother her at all. Hasn't it been said that love is blind? Then love is most certainly also deaf.
But suddenly, she whirled around.
"NARUTO?!"
Sure enough, the blonde ninja was leaning against the wall of a nearby building. He had been watching the whole scene. "Hn, I should compose some poetry for Sasuke . . ." Naruto mused, completely disregarding the fact that the Uchiha would be mortified. He flinched and hid behind Gai-sensei when he noticed Sakura's glare. "Hey Sakura . . ." He smiled nervously. "Please don't get mad at me! Just because I liked you when we were back at the Academy doesn't mean you have to give me that scary look every single time we see each other . . ." That is such a scary look . . . eeek . . . seriously, why won't she stop? This is creeping me out . . .
Sakura continued to glare and Lee's mouth fell open in shock. "YOU LIKED SAKURA-CHAN?!" the dark-haired ninja gasped. He muttered angrily to himself and clenched his fists. Sakura was secretly laughing at his reaction. Hadn't it been obvious that Naruto liked her? Poor Lee had been so oblivious.
Meanwhile, Naruto was backing away from the pair. "Please! Please! You both can calm down! I only liked Sakura because I wanted attention! And besides, I like someone else now!" the ninja pleaded.
"Who?!" Sakura and Lee asked immediately, eyes wide with interest.
Naruto fidgeted. "Ehhh . . . I like . . . uh, I like . . . INO!" They'll never suspect that I'm lying . . . hehe . . .
Sakura raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Riiiiiiight."
Naruto laughed nervously. Damn it, I was wrong. "Well, I'm off to get breakfast! See ya!" He disappeared down the street in a cloud of dust.
xxx
Sasuke lay in bed, looking out the window as the sunlight streamed into the room. He ran his fingers over the skin of his back where Naruto had rested his hand earlier. Why was Naruto acting so . . . strange . . . earlier this morning? Why was he being so friendly? The Uchiha's eyebrows lowered. I know why . . . the dark-haired ninja muttered to himself. He knows I'm weak and he doesn't . . . accept me as a rival anymore . . . The despondent Uchiha let out a moan of despair and buried his face in the pillow.
Sasuke heard the door open and his head shot up immediately. He realized his cheeks were wet with tears. But it was too late—Naruto had seen his face.
The blond ninja set down the tray of food and rushed over to the bed. "Sasuke! What happened? Why are you crying?"
The Uchiha blinked. "I'm not crying. And nothing happened, you idiot. Leave me alone."
Naruto snorted. "I know you were crying. Don't try to deny it." He pointed a finger at the Uchiha's face.
Sasuke glared and turned over, trying to ignore the blonde ninja. Naruto was silent. And then . . .
"Was it about your dream?" he asked quietly.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY DREAM?!" Sasuke screamed, whirling around.
Naruto backed up against the door as the Uchiha advanced on him, face livid with anger.
"I . . . uh . . . errr . . . kind of heard you talking in your sleep last night . . ."
"WHAT?"
"You were saying something about Itachi and stuff and you sounded really sad so I just figured I'd comfort you . . ."
Sasuke bristled. "I DON'T NEED YOUR COMFORT! I don't need anyone! Now GET OUT!"
Naruto gulped. "I have to keep watch over you, Sasuke. I can't leave!"
"DID YOU HEAR ME? GET OUT! I don't want to talk to you! You're just some brainless, hyperactive LOSER!"
Naruto stared at Sasuke. He really hates me, doesn't he . . . I didn't know how much he hated me before. He thinks I'm completely worthless . . .
Naruto gritted his teeth and looked up at the Uchiha. "Oh yeah?" he growled. "WELL YOU'RE JUST SOME STUCK-UP, CONCEITED BASTARD!"
To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke simply turned around and climbed back into bed, turning to look out the window.
"Sasuke?!" Naruto asked in disbelief.
"Leave me alone, Naruto. Go find Sakura or something. I don't want to talk to you."
"Don't you know that Sakura is Lee's girlfriend? And besides, I don't like her anymore."
Sasuke shifted himself so that he was lying on his stomach. His head was still turned away from Naruto. "Well, go find some loser who actually wants to talk to you then."
Naruto folded his arms. Sasuke was acting weird. The blonde ninja went over to sit on the Uchiha's bed. I don't know how, but I need to tell him about . . . uh . . . what I realized last night . . . Naruto thought to himself. He would not be discouraged by the Uchiha's outburst moments before. He placed a gentle hand on the back of Sasuke's shoulder.
"Sasu—"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The Uchiha spun around.
"Uh . . ." the blonde ninja faltered. Sasuke was on his back now and Naruto's hand was lying on the soft skin of the Uchiha's chest. Naruto blushed.
"IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY! I DON'T WANT THE PERSON I HATE THE MOST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD IN MY ROOM!" Sasuke shouted. Strangely enough, he didn't try to move Naruto's hand. Without thinking, the blonde ninja put his hands on both of the Uchiha's shoulders.
Sasuke shivered.
"Even if I composed a poem for you?"
"You composed . . . a poem . . . for me?" the Uchiha asked in astonishment, forgetting to be angry for a moment.
Naruto winced, standing up and putting his arms behind his head. He grinned uncomfortably. "Yeah, I composed a poem for you . . ."
Sasuke clapped a hand over his mouth, sitting up and choking with laughter. Naruto glared at the Uchiha as the dark-haired ninja got out of bed. "I'm not going to recite it for you, you bastard." He looked away. Damn it, why doesn't he put a shirt on or something . . .
Sasuke stopped laughing and put his hands on his hips. There was an unmistakable glint in his eye. "What— are you scared, Naruto?" the Uchiha turned his back on the blonde ninja and looked out the window, smirking. "You're such a loser . . ."
Naruto gritted his teeth and hopped angrily back and forth on his feet. "Oh yeah? Well, fine! I'll recite the poem." The blonde ninja paced, face squinched with discomfort. "All right, here goes . . .
Sasuke turned immediately, arms crossed, eyes challenging. Naruto gulped. Not only does he look intimidating, he looks distractingly . . . beautiful . . .
Naruto slapped his forehead, shutting his eyes in horror. "No, no, no, NO!" he groaned. This isn't good, I can't let this happen . . . I can't get distracted by that bastard . . .
Sasuke raised one dark eyebrow in puzzlement at the sight before him. "Well?" he prompted his rival.
Naruto took a deep breath and gulped again, but this time he grinned winningly afterwards, making Sasuke flinch nervously.
"Sharingan is red . . ." Naruto held Sasuke's eyes with his gaze, and he didn't look like he had any intention of looking away. "Your hair is blue . . ." The blonde ninja was still staring mesmerizingly at the Uchiha, who frowned and touched his hair with unease. "Ramen is hot . . . and so are you . . ."
Naruto didn't blush. He looked completely serious.
Sasuke's mouth fell open in shock. It stayed like that for a minute. Then the Uchiha's fists clenched in anger. "You LOSER, what kind of joke IS this?!"
Naruto stepped closer to the astounded Uchiha and pouted unnervingly. "It's no joke, Sasuke-kun!" the blonde said in an imitation of Sakura's voice.
Sasuke took a step backward, but realized too late that he was trapped against the wall. He glared at the boy before him. Wait . . . is Naruto . . . SMIRKING?
Naruto was definitely smirking. He put a gentle hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. Sasuke grabbed the blonde ninja's wrist and held it tightly in his grip. Naruto did not seem discouraged, however. He simply stood in front of Sasuke, looking into the dark-haired ninja's eyes.
Sasuke held his gaze, determined not to look away, trying to see into the other ninja's mind . . . Why is he acting so STRANGE?! It's as if he cares about me . . . The Uchiha felt his heart skip a beat. Those beautiful eyes . . . no, no, I can't let myself be distracted by him!
What is he thinking . . .
Suddenly, Sasuke realized that Naruto's gaze had grown sad, almost longing . . . before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled the blonde ninja close. He wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and shoulders and kissed him on the lips.
xxx
A/N: Ah, Sasuke's blue hair makes me laugh. Seriously, what was Kishimoto thinking making him with DARK BLUE HAIR? Not that I object! I love my Sasuke-kun! hugs
I hope you all liked Lee's love song and Naruto's poem. Please review!
Next time: Shika and Hinata are back! And so is Kakashi. Don't kill me for the next chapter . . . please?! It's just that you shouldn't expect that everything will be fine and dandy now that Idiot and Bastard have kissed. Far from it, let me tell you.
Far from it.