Summary: AU Pickpocketing and stealing are the only things Naruto knows to survive in the busy streets of Konoha. But what happens when she stole a wallet from the wrong guy, namely Uchiha Sasuke? What does fate have in stored for these two? SasuFemNaru

Pairings: SasuFemNaru, LeeSaku, NejiTen, KibaHina, JirTsu, ShikaTema, ChouIno

Warnings: Language, Sexual terms, Violence

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Thieving Gets You Nowhere
by Aesura

Animal Instincts

Sunday mornings had been Sasuke's favorite part of the week for as long as he could remember. Even as a boy, he would wait anxiously for that morning to get there. He even liked it better than Saturday mornings, the day most kids would awaken at sunrise just to sit mindlessly in front of the television set and watch cartoons for hours on end. But, for Sasuke, Sunday mornings always meant pancakes, waffles, French toast, or whatever other big, special breakfast his mother would make since that was his father was off from work at the police station and the whole family actually had time to sit down together for a big breakfast.

Of course, now that he was older, Sunday simply meant that Sasuke had the whole day off and to himself, a day when he could just forget about his cases at hand right now. Well, almost to himself. Now that Naruto was living with him, he wouldn't have that luxury anymore.

Sighing, Sasuke hauled himself out of his bed and spared a glance at his bedside clock to notice that it was just after ten, as late as he would allow himself to sleep. And even then, it was only on one day of the week. He sleepily shuffled into the bathroom for his morning routine of brushing his teeth and washing up.

That done, he returned to his bedroom, staring at the dark blue sheets rumpled at the foot of the bed and briefly wondered if he should make the bed. Shaking his head as he left the room, Sasuke decided that the addition of Naruto in his home should have no effect on the state of his bed.

Speaking of Naruto, he had just begun to walk past her room and a movement through the partially open door caught his eye. He turned his head to get a better look and then realized that the movement he saw was her, in only her bra and panties as she rummaged through the closet to find something to wear.

Sasuke found himself rooted to the spot and unable to take his eyes off her as he took in the slightly tan skin of her slender legs, starting at her feet. His onyx vision climbed to her slim waist, no longer having that starved look and then traced up her back to the curve of her breasts as her body turned slightly while she pushed the clothes around in the closet, finally settling on a white dress shirt. While standing there, he very nearly gave into the urge to approach her while she was still in this half-naked state and let his hands roam over her body, taking her curves in their firm grasp, possessing her.

Seeing that she was about to turn, Sasuke somehow found the ability to rein in his desires and hurry past her room, shaking his head as he did so to clear the thoughts of her body melded into his from his mind. He reached the living room and walked through it to the kitchen, where he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the counter, his head buried in his hands as he tried to rationalize what had just happened to him.

"Hormones, Sasuke," he muttered quietly under his breath, not wanting anyone, especially Naruto, to hear him talking to himself. "It was just hormones. Male sees half-naked female and has the urge to claim her. Dates back to when the first man saw the first woman." He took that first bitter drink of his black coffee, letting the liquid scorch his throat as he continued to think about the actions he almost took. "Just animal instincts."

Rising from the stool he sat upon, he shuffled to the apartment door, opening it to grab the folded newspaper that had been left there hours before. He took another drink of his coffee, nearly choking on it when the vision of Naruto half-naked danced through his head once more. "It's too early for this," he croaked, carrying both coffee mug and newspaper to the blue recliner in his living room.

"Too early for what?" Naruto asked cheerily as she popped into the living room and threw herself down upon the couch, lying on her stomach with her chin resting on folded arms. He noticed that she was only wearing that dress shirt she had pulled out of the closet, which reached about to her mid-thigh. She lifted her legs into the air and swung them up and down, making him notice the white socks upon them.

For the first time in a very long time, Sasuke struggled for his words as he looked up from the newspaper and stared her. Finally, his ears picked up a low argument coming from outside, which quickly turned into a noisy and horrendous fight. "That," he told her, pointing out his balcony to the source of the racket.

Laughing, Naruto jumped up from the couch and went over to the glass door, sliding it open and stepping on to the balcony. She looked down and saw two men arguing outside. Having an idea to stop their bickering, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "HELLO!"

Just as she had expected, the two had indeed ceased their quarrel, now gazing upward at her direction. Naruto leaned out farther on the balcony, waving her hand to get their attention. Suddenly, a strong grip on the back of her shirt hauled her from her position. Naruto looked at the culprit responsible, only finding heated eyes fired up in anger. "Dobe, do you want to fall?"

Well, at least the two down below stopped fighting. She looked down at the men again, noticing how their eyes were bulging out of their eye sockets and their mouths hanging agape, and… was one of them drooling? As Sasuke gave her one more tug to come inside, she turned to him. "So... uh... with those faces, does that mean they like me or do they just think I'm sexy?" Naruto joked as she finally followed him inside, sliding the door shut behind her.

Sasuke grunted in reply, not wanting to answer that as the image of her in only her underwear was still imbedded in his mind. Averting his eyes from her, he continued to read the newspaper. "I'll fix pancakes after I finish the paper," he told her after a moment or two of silence once they sat down.

While Sasuke was busy reading the newspaper, Naruto would carefully glance up from her hands on her lap to stare at him. She could only hope he would not notice, but she couldn't help it. There he was, sitting in the recliner in only his black boxers, his chiseled chest just begging her to gaze upon it.

Overall, Naruto had to use every ounce of her willpower to keep herself from wandering over to him and running her hands across his chest, just to make sure he was flesh and bone and not some marble statue of a Grecian god. She leaned back against the arm of the sofa, drawing her hands up onto her stomach. In this position, she could stare at him without fear of him noticing because, from his perspective, it would look as though she were staring at her twirling fingers.

Her azure gaze continued to trace every muscle in his abdomen and chest, starting at the waistband of his boxers and traveling up the six-pack he sported and to the pectoral muscles. Lying there, she began to daydream about what it would be like to be held against a body as firm and muscular as that... not necessarily Sasuke's, but some body like that. She had to admit, though, Sasuke did serve as spectacular eye candy. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than a vibrant red blush crept up her neck and covered her face, causing her to avert her gaze and look elsewhere, no matter how much she enjoyed looking at him.

His sudden movement caught her eye and she saw him rise from his chair, heading for the kitchen with his mug of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other. He threw the newspaper down upon the counter and pulled a clear glass mixing bowl from the cabinet, along with a wire whisk. Naruto crept into the kitchen behind him, unintentionally silent. "Need some help?" she asked as Sasuke began to pour some milk into a measuring cup.

Jumping at her voice, he spilt the milk across the counter top and floor, then turned around to glare at her. "Don't be so quiet!" he reprimanded loudly, sternly, and just a bit coldly, and already grabbing a paper towel to wipe up the mess.

"I... I'm sorry..." Naruto whispered quietly, wincing at his tone and looking down at the floor. "I really am." She had already done this to him countless times and she tried not to, but old habits die hard.

Sasuke took a deep breath, trying not to hear the hurt tone in her voice. But it was there, and it was there because of the cold tone in his own voice. "It's okay. You just scared me," he reassured as he cleaned up the spilt milk. "Besides, no use crying over spilt milk," he joked, remembering the old saying.

"Yeah," she said half-heartedly, grabbing another paper towel to finish cleaning up the mess. "So... uh... you need any help or would I just get in the way?"

He nearly told her that she would be in the way, but, realizing that saying that would only hurt her more than the coldness in his voice, he changed his mind. "Can you beat an egg?" he inquired as he cracked an egg into the bowl.

Giving him a genuine smile, she grabbed the bowl and whisk from him. "I just kinda do this, right?" she questioned as she slowly began to drag the whisk through the egg.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and stared at her, biting back a chuckle as he did so. "Yes, but at that speed, it'll take you a year to beat them. It's like this." He took the bowl back from her and demonstrated how to do it, beating furiously for a second, then stopping and handing the bowl back to her. "See?"

"Like this?" She tried copying his movements only to find that she was having a harder time than she originally thought she would. So intent upon the task at hand, she didn't realize that he had moved behind her and was reaching around to grasp her hand. "Uh... what are you doing?" she asked nervously, fighting the urge to lean back against him.

"Showing you how to beat an egg," he explained, his mouth dangerously close to her ear and his breath lightly blowing her short hair away from her neck. He turned his attention back to bowl in her hands and guided her arm as he helped her to beat the egg. When the egg turned a pale yellow, Sasuke quickly stepped away from her before the soft scent of her skin caused him to do something he would later regret. "That's how you beat an egg."

Naruto bit her lip and tried not to blush, but she could still feel warmth of his body behind her even though he was no longer there. "O-Okay," she stuttered, setting the bowl down on the counter. "What's next?"

Step by step, Sasuke slowly showed her how to make the pancakes, letting her do it herself with only minimal help from him. And, finally, the pancakes were cooking on the griddle he had pulled out of the closet, albeit, they weren't exactly round pancakes. They were shaped more like the images from the inkblot tests psychologists used. But, as Naruto reminded him, it wasn't what they looked like, but rather what they tasted like. And they tasted just the same as if he had cooked them himself.

While watching Naruto literally inhale everything edible on the table and barely saving anything for himself, Sasuke's mind drifted back to the night when she had first picked his pocket. And the self-proclaimed title she had used then came floating across his mind. "Why did you call yourself 'The Great Uzumaki Naruto'?" he finally asked when his curiosity got the better of him, a very rare occurrence.

Naruto opened her mouth to answer him, then remembered that she still had a bite in her mouth, so she quickly swallowed it. "I don't know. I just always thought that I was kind of wily and quick, two of my great qualities," she paused for a minute, a large grin coming across her face, "plus, I can kick higher than my head."

At that, Sasuke choked on the bite in his mouth and quickly grabbed his glass of milk to wash it down. He knew she didn't mean anything sexually by that last statement, but with the thoughts of her half-naked having not yet completely left his mind, he couldn't help find it that way. "Is that so?" he finally sputtered out.

"Yeah, you want to see?" she asked suddenly as she set her fork down and began to get up out of her chair. Before he could answer her, Naruto had already struck her pose and was bringing her leg around to kick. But, not only did she forget that she was still clad in only the dress shirt, but also in socks which slipped on the tiled floor and made her fall.

Sasuke watched as she landed with a thud upon the floor and tried not to gawk when he realized that not only did she have the three bottom buttons of her shirt undone, but that it also flipped up when she landed. And that would have been okay, except for the fact that is revealed her panties, stomach and the bottom of her bra. Before his eyes began to wander more than they already had, he walked over to her and rearranged her shirt so it covered her. "Are you okay?" he finally asked.

Giggling, Naruto reached up a hand as though she wanted him to help her up. "Yeah, I'm fine. My butt, on the other hand, is gonna be bruised and stuff though," she laughed, reaching down with her other hand to lightly rub her hip.

Taking her hand, Sasuke hoisted her to her feet, not realizing how close to him she would be when he did so. But, there she was, standing nearly up against him, her head just below his chin and her eyes looking up at him. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and willed himself to step away from her. Being that close messed with his senses. "I need to go take a shower," he mumbled, releasing the hand he didn't know he was still holding and leaving her in the dining room by herself.

Naruto sighed and looked down at the clothes she wore, deciding that perhaps her kick would have gone off better if she had worn pants and shoes. And then maybe Sasuke wouldn't have run off like he just did. She figured she was probably a sickening sight to look at with her skinny stick-like arms and legs, not to mention her almost non-existent chest. "Yeah, that's why he ran off," she muttered, beginning to clear the table.

Without even realizing it, so caught up in her own self-defacing thoughts, Naruto had begun to hand wash the dishes, completely disregarding the dishwasher next to the sink. And after the dishes were cleaned, she wandered to her room and put a camisole on beneath her shirt, pulled on a pair of blue jeans, and buttoned the bottom three buttons of her shirt before tucking it in. "At least I look more presentable," she murmured as she looked at herself in the mirror and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

A knock on the door sent her back into the living room and peeking through the peephole, she saw Sakura standing there. She pulled open the door. "Hey, Sakura-chan!" she greeted happily, glad to have someone else to talk to. Sure, it was nice talking with Sasuke, but just talking to the same person day in and day out became monotonous, especially if she does most of the talking.

But, the person standing in front of her was definitely not Sakura, but a platinum haired woman with pale blue eyes. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, styled so that her bangs covered her right eye. A purple miniskirt with a matching sleeveless midriff hugged her body, emphasizing her womanly curves.

"Oh! You must be Naruto! It's nice to finally meet you. How are you feeling? Sakura and Chouji have been talking all about you! A teenage girl being taken care of by the Ice Prince Uchiha Sasuke. So how did you do it? Did you blackmailed him, or—"

"Hey, Ino-pig." A familiar voice interrupted. "Quit your interrogation. You're scaring her." Sakura stepped out from behind the platinum haired woman, who so rudely got in front of her once the door opened. "Gomen, Naruto. Ino practically forced me to introduce you to her."

"Though you're doing a bad job of it," Ino said a bit impatiently as she and Sakura walked into the apartment. "My name's Ino. Yamanaka Ino."

"Nice to meet you." Naruto said, a bit intimidated. She started thinking why that name sounded so familiar. Sakura did say that her friends wanted to meet her, so…"..Ano, so you're Sakura-chan's friend, right?"

Ino nodded her head. "Yup. We've known each other since our childhood."

"So… how do you know Chouji?"

"'Cause he's my boyfriend, silly! Didn't he tell you?"

Naruto shook her head.

She slouched her shoulders as if all her talkative energy was drained out of her. "That baka.. Wait till I get my hands on him. Honestly…" Ino muttered to herself.

"Um, do you mind telling me how you and Chouji met?" Naruto asked, oblivious to the platinum blonde's sudden change in mood.

Ino's face lit up again, facing Naruto with full force. "Of course not!" She clasped her hands over her heart, remembering the enchanting day as if it was yesterday. She let out a loving sigh. "It all started out two years ago. I was working as a florist in my flower shop when suddenly-"

"And cut!" Sakura put her hand over Ino's face, muffling out her excessive talking. With the lack of oxygen, Ino fumbled her arms around, finally smacking the pinkette's hand away, her face fuming. Naruto just sweatdropped at the exchange from the sidelines. "What the hell, Forehead Girl!"

"We didn't come here to hear about your love life, Ino-pig!" While the two were butting heads at one another, Naruto questioned, "Then what are you here for then?"

The two stopped their bickering, realization dawning on them. "Naruto, I know how bored you must get staying here all the time, so Ino and I thought you might want to come over to my place and hang out for a while," Sakura said excitedly, waving her hands around in the air as she spoke. "I mean, we could watch chick flicks, pig out, girl talk, whatever…"

Smiling, Naruto nodded and went down the hall to holler to Sasuke through the bathroom door that she'd be at Sakura's for most of the day. She barely heard his assent through the door before she went back into the living room and followed Sakura and Ino to her car.

Around ten o'clock that night, a knock on the door pulled Sasuke away from the murder case he was analyzing on his laptop and he answered it to find Sakura standing there and yawning. He looked behind her, expecting to find Naruto. "What is it, Sakura?" he finally asked when he didn't see Naruto.

"I need you to come collect your roommate," the pinkette yawned, already starting back down the apartment stairs to her car and beckoning Sasuke to follow her. "She fell asleep about an hour ago and I just haven't the heart to wake her up."

"So you want me to wake her up?" Sasuke questioned suspiciously as he looked down at the backseat of Sakura's Porsche, where Naruto was sprawled out once the two arrived to their destination.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura gave him a look that said that was the exactly the opposite of what she wanted him to do. "No, I want you to carry her to her bed. If she's falling asleep like this all the time, then she apparently needs to get more sleep. Which means I don't want to wake her up when she is asleep," the medical student explained slowly, as though she were speaking to a very young child. That, or a very stupid man.

Giving in to his friend, Sasuke scooped Naruto up into his arms. She immediately rolled into him and pressed her body against his. Sakura walked with them up the stairs and to his door, holding it open and then shutting it for him after muttering a tired 'goodnight.'

Sasuke carried her down the hall to her room, trying in vain to ignore the two mounds of flesh that pressed against him. He really didn't need to be thinking like this again. Sighing, he laid her on the end of the bed so he could turn her covers down and place her beneath them. But, seeing the flannel shirt still upon her, he worried that she might become overheated during the night. He gently sat her up and began to unbutton her shirt, both relieved and disappointed to find that she now wore a camisole beneath it. He briefly toyed with the idea of taking her pants off as well, but finally decided that would be too much of an invasion of her privacy and left them on her. After pulling the covers up to her chin, he watched as she snuggled into them, her face tugged into a small smile, making an audible mewling noise at the comforting softness.

Certain thoughts popped up into his head, but he quickly shook it to clear his thoughts and turned to leave her room, nearly shutting her door all the way before he remembered how panicked she became whenever he did that. He made a mental note to ask her about that sometime, curious as to why something as simple as closing a bedroom door would panic someone.

Outside her door, he leaned against the wall and began to wonder what he was going to do if what he called his 'animal instincts' this morning kept acting up. He decided he would simply have to keep a tighter rein of control over himself. That's all there was too it. Control. Controlling himself. Controlling his 'animal instincts.' But what if they were more than simple 'animal instincts'? He chose not to answer that question.