Argh! I'm so sorry for, yet again, a late update. But school started for me this week and things have been kinda hectic. And I was thrown off because we started on Tuesday instead of a normal school week, so I must have thought it was Wednesday today or something. Please forgive me.

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Sasuke stared some more, unsure if what he was staring at was actually Naruto. Though in the back of his mind he was sure that there weren't any other six foot plants around, and he recognized his own orange pot he used...but something else was wrong.

The tall Naruto he was so used to, with the long snake-like body and grinning head, was gone at the moment. Instead, a large bulb sat on the pot, pointing straight into the air. The leaves were dark green, and it cacooned what he hoped was his old plant inside, shielding him off from sight. A few small vines draped out over the pot, but they were motionless as well. Sasuke figured that he had opened the window in the middle of the night and pulled himself up before doing...well, whatever the hell he was doing now. How he accomplished the feat of lifting his own weight up, the botanist wasn't sure.

Hoisting himself up completely, the cold sting of the rain was ignored. Carefully he walked across the roof, not wanting to be spotted in anyone elses sun light. That's the last thing he needed, was for people to come up here and see what was going on. Frowning as he approached the plant, he touched it lightly, murmuring again, "Naruto..?"

The plant twitched a bit, but there were no other moments besides the swells of apparent breathing occurring. It almost looked like Naruto could have been...hibernating. Or even more precise, metamorphisising?

With a sigh, he ran his hands through his hair, mulling more important things over. Naruto very well couldn't stay up there on the roof in that state, especially with those people still looking for him. Hell, he was lucky that they hadn't even thought about checking the roof beforehand. There was no way he could stay in the Uchiha's office anymore either, so...

Pulling out his cellphone from his pants pocket, he decided to call his brother and see what he could do about this situation.

"Hello..?"

"Itachi." He sighed, hoping that his brother would comply with what he was planning to do. "I have a favor to ask..."

A snort on the other line, and the voice held amusement. "What can I help you with, dear little brother?"

"Well, I need..." He glanced over at the plant, taking a deep breath, "I need a helicopter."

"...A helicopter." The disbelief was practically dripping through the phone, but that was to be expected. "And pray tell this helicopter isn't preforming anything illegal.."

"I found Naruto.."

Silence for a brief second. "You found some...fishcakes?"

...The intelligence of his brother was marveling. "No, you idiot," he said through clenched teeth, trying not to twitch his eye, "I found my plant, and I need to transport it to my house."

"Wait, transport it to your house? Sasuke, is that a smart thing to do? The goverment obviously wants it, and who knows what will happen if they find it there."

"...That's a risk I'm willing to take."

Itachi stayed silent on the other line, obviously mulling things over silently in his head. Meanwhile the botanist had his fingers crossed, hoping the other would choose family over...well, the law.

The drawn out sigh of defeat was music to Sasuke's ears. "Alright...but let's do this later tonight, so the sun doesn't give away our plan."

With a final thanks, the rave smiled to himself, snapping his phone shut. If this went according to plan, Naruto would be safe and wouldn't have to leave him. That thought was reason enough to skip out on working and sit by his plant, even if he couldn't talk to the plant.

He waited there until the sun was gone. Now that the light would not expose them, the two brothers were now facing eachother on the roof, the wind blowing at them and chilling slightly. One looked clearly amused, the other irritated.

"I didn't know you cared so much about a plant, Sasuke."

The younger man didn't respond, sad to agree that the non-speaking plant was much better company than his so called brother. Petting the caccoon gently, he frowned at Naruto, wondering how long this state would last. Would he even get out of it? Who knew.

The sounds of the chopper interrupted his thoughts, and he sighed, glancing over at the other male.

"Hey, Itachi...well, thank you..."

The man's smirk was welcome enough.

It was a good thing Sasuke had his own home lab to put Naruto in. Having a large plant inside his living room didn't seem to quite fit the decor well enough. And it was lucky enough that the green house's windows could be unhinged and removed. There was no way they would be blasting a hole anywhere his house just to fit the damn plant in, no matter how many times Itachi insisted a simple tarp attached over it would make it good as new.

Thanking his brother again, one too many times in his entire lifetime, he closed the door behind him, sighing and running his face, feeling much more relieved than he ha that past week. Now that Naruto was safe and back with him, there was not a whole lot he had to worry about, minus the small detail that the goverment wanted him as well.

That he could overlook for now.

Though he knew he could sleep tonight, he felt like he couldn't. Not yet at least. Instead of running off to bed, he found himself in his lab, sitting in front of his plant and eating fishcakes, silently watching the large bulb and feeling a bit nervous. He was so used to staring at the plant and having conversations with it.

"...I'd feel better if you could talk in that state."

He got no reply, and he didn't really expect one. Eating his snack silently, he stared quietly at the leaves draped over the pot. He remembered those vines were usually never still; always exploring and feeling everything. It was so strange to look at them now. But, he supposed, that was how it was going to be for a while. No yelling or hugs, or tickles or comments. Nothing but silence.

He could deal with that, he supposed. He liked silence, there was nothing wrong with that. It was just not knowing if the plant was even ok, that's what bothered him. For all Sasuke knew, the plant could have been dying or ill.

The Uchiha sighed, carefully standing up with his plate. He needed rest now, and he supposed that it was a good time to head off to bed. But before that, he moved over to his plant, and placed a hand against the petals once more. "Goodnight, Naru-"

There was a faint sound rumbling from the large creature.

Sasuke looked quite shocked at the realization, listening to the sound for a few minutes. Then, relief filled his senses as he recognized the noise, and he laughed to himself, shaking his head. Well, that answered his question he supposed, heading up the stairs to retire for the night.

After all, Naruto had to be fine if he was snoring.

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R/R