Kanoi: OH MY GOD
Kanoi: OH MY GOD! I AM SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
Sasuke: No.
Kanoi: I wasn't talking to you, shut up!
Sasuke: You should be. You made me stand still in some fanfic forever.
Kanoi: Get over it! I wrote about you in other things anyway!
Naruto: Guys, guys, stop fighting!
Kanoi & Sasuke: Shut up, Dobe!
Naruto: …Well, as you can see, the tension is running high. Mostly because Kanoi feels absolutely terrible for letting four months elapse between updates. However, chapter three is finally here 'ttebayo! It is, however, unbeta'd at the moment, so please try to over-look any errors. Also, Kanoi does not own Naruto. If she did… the most recent chapters would have been a bit different.
Day two without Orochimaru had been particularly wonderful for Naruto. He had spent most of the day right from sun-up in his greenhouse. His only real break from tending his children was for ramen, something he rarely got to enjoy now-a-days since it was not a food Orochimaru was fond of. Naruto was so absorbed in his work that he failed to notice someone had entered his greenhouse until there was a hand on his tight shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Naruto shouted as he spun around, brandishing a spade. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the dark eyes of his new neighbor. "Teme."
Sasuke's pale lips twisted into a smirk.
"I didn't know you scared so easily," Sasuke mocked.
"I knew it!" Naturo exclaimed, to which Sasuke raised one of his elegant eyebrows quizzically.
"Knew what?" the dark-haired man asked, obvious interest in his voice.
"That you were an arrogant bastard!" the blonde proclaimed.
"What?" Sasuke sputtered. "How the hell did you get that impression?"
"I could just tell! And you made it completely obvious with that smirk just now."
Sasuke muttered under his breath, "Tch, Dobe."
"What?" Naruto shrieked.
Sasuke couldn't help wincing; he had been unaware grown men could reach that high of a pitch.
"You're so rude! First, you barge into my greenhouse, and now you're insulting me! No wonder Orochimaru has an interest in you!"
"Wait… what?" Sasuke asked in puzzlement.
Naruto paused in his tirade to direct at Sasuke a very eloquent, "Huh?"
"What do you mean 'no wonder Orochimaru likes me'?" Sasuke demanded.
Naruto rolled his eyes and explained, "You're just like he used to be when he was younger," as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in calculation at the blonde, eliciting the urge to run away in Naruto. Of course, that urge always caused him to become more stubborn and assertive.
"What?" the gardener demanded.
Sasuke opened his mouth and then paused as if he was unsure of what he was going to say. After a moment so short that no normal person would be able to detect, Sasuke barreled on with the question, "If you dislike him so much, then why are you with him?"
"I never said I dislike him," Naruto answered quickly, but the discomfort on his face was obvious.
Deciding it would be best to pursue a different course of action, Sasuke asked, "How did you end up with someone like Orochimaru anyway? You two seem so different. I know opposites are supposed to attract, but it seems like you two are crossing the line."
A sly grin spread across the blonde's face as he sing-songed, "I'm not telling."
Faster than Naruto's brain could process the table was digging uncomfortable into his back, and Sasuke was looming over him with hands on either side.
"God damn it, Dobe," Sasuke growled.
"Anger management problems?" Naruto questioned, glaring fiercely at his attacker.
Choosing to ignore the blonde's comment, Sasuke reminded Naruto, "I told you about my past."
"I never asked to know," Naruto countered.
The two men glared at each other until Sasuke pulled away as if he had been burned.
"Forget it," the dark-haired man muttered and then stormed out.
In Sasuke's wake, Naruto blinked in confusion.
Naruto stared at the bag of potting soil, not really seeing it. It had been five days since his rather violent encounter with Sasuke. Despite the argument, Sasuke had shown up at the greenhouse the next day and all the days following. Surprisingly, Naruto found that he quite enjoyed his neighbor's company and that they actually got along quite well. It was a comforting companionship Naruto hadn't felt in quite a few years. He smiled when he heard soft footsteps on the dirt.
"I almost thought you weren't going to show up," Naruto said, referencing to the steadily rising moon outside. "I had almost got my hopes up." Naruto found he quite enjoyed having someone he could tease.
Sasuke smirked. He didn't respond to Naruto's comment though, choosing instead to say, "I'm surprised you're still out here. Don't you ever go inside? Or were you perhaps waiting on someone?" His smirk grew.
The gardener snorted. "Don't flatter yourself; I simply enjoy it here at night. It's very serene."
"I'm surprised you know what serene means." Despite his jibe, the business man found himself agreeing. At night, there was very little light, and what light it did have was being supplied by several (very few) dim lamps. The light bouncing and reflecting off the green walls created a very ambient atmosphere. Sasuke stared at the mood through the glass ceiling in thought.
He was brought out of his reverie by Naruto asked, "What took you so long?"
Sasuke turned his attention back to the blonde.
"A stupid meeting made me fall behind in my paperwork," Sasuke snorted.
"Ah…" Naruto nodded.
Sasuke crossed the room to examine the soil on the table. "Were you planting something?"
"Not really." Naruto shrugged. "I was just refilling some of the pots."
The Uchiha nodded and then asked, "How do you even manage to take care of all these?" He was referring, of course, to the seemingly endless amounts of flowers, ferns, and other assorted plants.
Naruto stared at a couple of the hanging plants before casually responding, "I just do."
Sasuke's face fell at the lackluster response.
Naruto grinned cheekily. "Were you expecting some epic adventure story? Cause, ya know, I can make one up if you want."
"Tch, idiot," Sasuke muttered, though his face held an amused smirk.
Naruto held his hand over his heart to express how deeply wounded he was by the comment. The act was pretty much ruined by his cackling laugh though.
Hours had passed, and the moon was high and shining beautifully in the greenhouse. The lamps had been turned off a while ago so as not to confuse the plants. Naruto and Sasuke were both lying on the dirt ground, staring up at the twinkling stars. The greenhouse was filled with relaxed, sleepy silence. Crickets and frogs could be heard outside; perhaps, there were even a few hiding inside. It was a picturesque setting, almost dreamlike.
"Oi, oi, Sasuke," Naruto whispered rather loudly, leaning up on his elbows.
"What, Ursakontachi?" Sasuke asked, voice laced with exasperation.
"Um… Thanks for hanging out with me," the blonde muttered. He was embarrassed to say such a thing. He greatly hoped the dark hid his blush.
"You act like you have no friends," the Uchiha teased, voice infuriatingly smug (at least in Naruto's opinion).
Naruto stared at his feet, trying to see if he had obtained X-ray vision to watch his toes wiggle inside his shoes.
The silence grew uncomfortable.
"Don't tell me I was right!" Sasuke said in surprise, sitting up. Sure, the blonde was annoying, but there was no reason to not have friends. Hell, Sasuke found the blonde's weird personality to be endearing and, dare he say it?, cute.
"I have friends," Naruto grumbled, sporting a pout like a little child.
"Right," Sasuke nodded skeptically.
"I do!" Naruto shouted. "I just… They don't live around here, and I don't get to talk to them very often." Naruto licked his lips nervously.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"It's my fault!" Naruto quickly added. "Sakura's always trying to get a hold of me, and I never respond."
"Why not?" the Uchiha ventured to ask. He didn't think Naruto seemed like the type to just ignore his friends.
"Well, Orochimaru's kinda possessive, ya know?" Naruto responded, trying to act casual. His eyes betrayed how he really felt.
For some reason, Sasuke felt angry. Not at Naruto, but at Orochimaru. He felt the need to ask so much more, but the sadness in Naruto's eyes stopped him.
"He doesn't even really like me having this greenhouse, but he can't find a reason to keep from it." Naruto laughed, but to Sasuke the noise sounded hollow and bitter.
Uchiha Sasuke was not a good or nice person, which was why he was so confused when he felt the urge to make Naruto feel better. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't one to ever act on a whim either, which was why he was so surprised when he pulled Naruto to his chest in a hug that was supposed to be comforting.
Naruto stiffened when Sasuke hugged him; he hadn't been expecting that. After the surprise subsided however, Naruto relaxed. Sasuke was surprisingly comfortable for how boney he looked.
Sasuke decided Naruto made him act strangely, though he didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Not long after Naruto's breathing evened out and he began to snore quietly, Sasuke laid back. His eyelids began to feel heavy and slide shut.
The two men slept under the moon, wrapped in each other's arms. Both slept better that night than they had in a long time.
Kanoi: I'm rather happy with the characterization in this chapter. I think I kept them very close to IC. Of course, it's not perfectly IC because that just wouldn't work so well right now…
Naruto: You've been role-playing far too much.
Sasuke: Yeah, you almost based our personalities off those imposters.
Kanoi: Shut up. They act just like you two
Naruto & Sasuke: THEY DON'T!
Kanoi: They do, but believe whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, once again, I'm SO sorry for the incredibly long wait between chapters. Hopefully that won't happen again. I hope this was worth the wait though… Probably wasn't, but I tried.