Disclaimer: The only time I truly own Naruto and its characters is when I'm dreaming. ;-;
Warning: It's yaoi. Get over it.
Plushie StickyNote: Hey there everyone! Was that a quick update or what? Whew. You gotta thank Sargie for that. She beta'ed in just one day. Plus everyone wanted more SasuNaru and well- here ya go! Anways I hope you all enjoy! It was a lot of fun to write. 3
Recap!
"Hello?" Kakashi's voice sounded- off. Jiraya didn't like it.
Cautiously, he asked, "Hey there, Kakashi. How's the kid?"
"Not so good, Jiraiya." That was not what he'd been hoping to hear! Dammit, Kakashi. Don't you ever have any good news for me?
"Why? What happened?" Jiraiya was reluctant to ask, scared of the answer. He watched Sai from the corner of his eye, not sure if he'd imagined that smile. He wasn't old enough to be hallucinating yet... Right?
Listening to Kakashi re-tell him about Naruto's knife, Jiraiya wasn't aware of the blood now running down his arm from how hard had been clenching his fist. If one was to pry the hand open, one would be able to see the indents from where his nails had bitten harshly into his skin. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. It wasn't right.
And what was worse- Sai had gotten exactly what he wanted.
XXXXXX
A Lunch Date?
XXXXXX
The conversation with Jiraiya had only lasted a few more minutes, ending with the plan to continue it down at the DA's office. They needed to consider all possible ways of settling this without a trial, though, taking into account all the evidence and Sai's determination, it seemed unlikely.
The mood inside the conference room was no longer playful, all earlier fun forgotten. Kiba returned to his office, claiming to need a break, but you could tell he was feeling guilty. No one could blame him. He had found some of the most damning evidence so far.
Iruka, Itachi and Kakashi, on the other hand, agreed to go down to the District Attorney's Office together so that they could talk to Jiraiya and establish what kind of charges they were looking at. Murders weren't left unsolved just because the main suspect was as good a kid as Naruto.
This, of course, left one very confused Uchiha Sasuke to wonder what the hell he was supposed to do.
"Itachi. Shouldn't I be going as well?" Sasuke asked. If this was his case, shouldn't he be present for all the big decisions?
"No. Naruto hasn't been charged yet, so you have no work to do. Let me deal with Jiraiya for now."Sasuke smothered a pout by sheer will power alone and watched as his brother gathered his things. Sasuke could start to feel his annoyance rising again when Itachi turned and, with a wink, added, "Plus, this gives you a chance to really get to know you new boyfri- I mean client."
Sasuke stayed calm though, knowing something that would shut the elder Uchiha up once and for all. "Of course. By the way, aniki, I was wondering—how are things with Jason going?"(1)
As quick as it had been for Itachi to wink, his body went rigid and his eyes narrowed into a filthy glare. "I'll pretend you didn't just say that, taking into consideration that breathing is still a hobby you enjoy, Sasuke. Right?" Itachi asked threateningly, not waiting for an answer before going to stand by Kakashi.
Sasuke shrugged, letting his brother catch his smirk before his face became impassive once again. No one had bothered to ask what they were talking about, considering the seriousness of the situation still at hand. Kakashi and Itachi waited by the door as a concerned Iruka knelt down next to Naruto, bringing him into a tight hug. It had to have been one of the saddest things Sasuke had ever seen, and if felt as if someone had his heart in a vice-like grip. Naruto had his face hidden away against his Godfather's chest, and if one looked carefully, they would be able to see the tremors that wracked his body. No sob was heard, not even a sniffle. He wasn't crying, but the fear had sent the poor blonde into shock.
Iruka patted the man's head and whispered soothing comforts, promising that everything would be okay. It seemed to work because Naruto's body stopped shaking, and with an almost painful slowness, he lifted his head to nod at his Godfather in understanding. Smiling a sad smile, Iruka gave the Naruto a quick, fatherly kiss on the forehead and stood up straight, walking out of the room behind Kakashi and Itachi. He didn't even brave the final glance back, knowing that if he had, he would have collapsed and would not have been able to leave.
Once the door had been shut both men fell into a deafening silence. Naruto was too absorbed in his own thoughts and Sasuke just couldn't find something to say. What was he supposed to say? Are you okay? It would have been rhetorical even if it had been out of concern. Of course the blue-eyed man wasn't okay.
It would be less awkward if the blonde would stop fidgeting the way he was. His hands couldn't stay still, one propping his head up and the other drumming his fingers against the tabletop while his leg twitched sporadically under the table. The most awkward part, or so Sasuke thought, was how the blonde just kept nibbling on his lip like he was. It was distracting! Once or twice Sasuke had caught himself staring and looked away quickly, missing the fleeting glance he was getting in return.
The silence stretched and, at one point, got so thin that Sasuke was sure it was about to snap at any second. He wasn't going to be the one to snap it, though. He would wait until the blonde was ready to speak to him.
Naruto, who was lost in his "important" thoughts, was worried about the trial of course, but like Iruka had said, everything would be okay. He wasn't charged yet, and since there were logical explanations for everything going on so far, Naruto could expect that the words would be true. The only trick was finding out who had done this, but that would be less of a problem once Naruto was able to get in touch with his friends downtown. He wouldn't deny that he was scared, though. Anyone who knew Naruto knew that he had a phobia of prison. The trauma wasn't medical in any way, but the thought of prison just shook him to the core.
That wasn't the point, though. Even with all the shit going on around him, Naruto found the time to admire his new lawyer. Sneaking glances at the raven sitting a few chairs away, Naruto continued his nervous fidgeting. He wanted to talk to the other man, he just didn't know how to start. Hi! I'm about to go to trail for a murder I was framed for. Wanna go hang out afterwards? Somehow, Naruto doubted that would get him anywhere. The other man acted so- aloof. Excluding his earlier reactions to Kakashi and Itachi's teasing, the raven had been completely calm and in control of his every emotion. Naruto knew this because he had been watching him.
When they had decided to review his old files, Naruto had stayed quite, ashamed that the younger Uchiha was learning about his past mistakes. He had been in awe, in any case, watching how his new lawyer had handled everything. Not once had Itachi stopped his brother to correct him or even give his opinion. He, in turn, was the one following the younger man's leads. It had honestly impressed Naruto because he had never met a lawyer who worked for Itachi and received that type of respect. It was amazing just how much Sasuke seemed to know about the law.
Naruto really wanted to get to know Sasuke better. He's even got a sexy name. I wonder if Itachi was serious about what he said before.(2) Naruto couldn't stop himself from giggling mentally.
It was at least twenty minutes before either man said anything, too absorbed in thoughts of each other to notice the time flying by.
Unsurprisingly, it was Naruto who broke the silence first. Bless his soul. He couldn't stay quiet for any extended length of time if he could help it. "I'm sorry again about running you over." Naruto blurted out without really giving it any thought, wincing as he said it. Smooth, Naruto- smoooooth.
Not expecting the talking to start until sometime next year, Sasuke restrained himself from jumping, turning to gaze at the blonde man with amused eyes. "You're still apologizing for that?" he teased, watching for the slightest hint of a blush. The blonde was so cute when he blushed.
Granting the raven's silent wish, Naruto did indeed blush, biting on his lip before answering. "Well, I feel kinda bad. I thought for sure I had hurt ya. I'm not exactly pleasant to have fall on you."
Oh- I wouldn't say that. Sasuke dismissed the concern with a shake of his head. "Don't worry. Nothing was broken."
Naruto smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
"Which makes me think that you weren't listening the first two times. " Sasuke joked, earning himself a laugh in response.(3) He couldn't help thinking about how adorable it sounded.
"No, no. I was totally listening, but it's bad luck not to apologize at least three times for tripping over someone."
"Aa. I'll remember that for the next time I'm fortunate enough to get in such an accident with you."
"You'll have to remind me then, because that was a totally made up superstition." Naruto admitted.
"That's slightly obvious at this point." Sasuke laughed along with the blonde, getting comfortable being in the other man's company.
Oddly, the conversation between both men wasn't awkward at all. They were both so into getting to know each other it was simple to push aside all other uneasy feelings and start forming a new thread of friendship that was colored a blooming shade of pink.
"Yeah. Everyone tells me I think like a little kid most of the time." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking up into dark eyes. He could swear he saw specks of shattered rubies with every flicker, but dismissed it almost immediately when they became pitch black again.
"You have really pretty eyes, did you know that?" It was said before he could close his mouth, so Naruto smacked himself mentally, just about ready to strangle himself, too, for speaking without thinking. He's gonna think you're a total freak now.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was fighting down a vicious blush while staring at the blue-eyed man with a surprised look. It was hard to form words at the moment, but after some effort, he was able to grin a little, realizing that maybe the other man was trying to be friendly in his own- weird way. "Uzumaki-kun, I'm afraid to ask if you think I'm a woman or something to that affect."
Naruto's eyes widened unnaturally as he waved his hands frantically in front of himself. "No, no, no! Of course not. I know you're a dude." A really good-looking dude. His mind added. "It's just...Uh- You have pretty eyes?"
"I don't think my manhood will recover the damage done by that statement." Sasuke replied with a smirk.
"Sorry." Naruto smiled back at him, not looking that sorry at all. It was obvious that Sasuke wasn't too offended, anyway.
Uncrossing his arms, Sasuke stood up, neatly going about putting away the rest of his forgotten work from the table. Moments later, with a click of his briefcase, he was done, smiling towards the blonde who was watching him curiously. "C'mon. Let's get out of this place. I can't stand being here another second."
"Why?" Naruto asked, but stood up anyway, following the raven out of the conference room and out of the station.
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders slightly and lead them down to his car. "Let's just say this place has some bad memories... I did something I wasn't very proud of when I was younger." he clarified, though he later wondered why. It wasn't something he would openly share with anyone, but Sasuke felt somewhat close to the blonde so it had just- slipped.
Naruto almost tripped at the confession, but caught himself quickly, and got back into step with the other man. He had never expected to find out that Sasuke had a rap sheet. It was interesting, to say the least. The raven acted so- clean-cut it was hard to believe he'd ever done anything wrong. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, I know exactly how you feel." Silently, Naruto felt his empathy for the other man grow, his heart easing at the fact that Sasuke was a lot like him.
Unlocking the car and motioning for Naruto to get in as well, Sasuke answered. "It makes me feel worse, actually. I'm really sorry you're being put through this."
"Nah. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." Fastening his seatbelt, Naruto sank comfortably into his seat, watching as New York city became a blur outside his window. "Well, this is the first time murder has ever been involved, but I've been dealing with the legal system since I was five so- yeah." The blonde kept his eyes towards the sky, unable to face the other man right now. It hurt a lot to talk about his past, but he at least felt that he could trust Sasuke.
"I'm sorry." Turning left at the green light, Sasuke's gaze flickered over to his new client, catching the sad smile that was being flashed his way.
"It's okay. It's just how the world works."
Sasuke frowned a little at that. What did the blonde mean? Did he think he deserved to go to jail for something he didn't do? "But you're innocent." The way he said made it sound like an indisputable fact.
Naruto laughed and turned slightly in his seat, gracing the raven with bright smile. "What makes you so sure Uchiha-kun?"
Without missing a beat, the raven replied. "Sasuke." He really hated being called anything but his first name unless it was by someone he didn't like. Then they had better be addressing him by the proper title of 'Uchiha-sama'.
A confused Naruto tilted his head and asked eloquently, "Huh?"
"My name is Sasuke. It makes me feel old when someone calls me by my last name."
"Well, how old are you?"
"I'll be twenty-five this year." Sasuke replied.
Laughing, Naruto said, "And here you had me thinking your were some forty year old who looked twenty. That's not old at all, dude. You're just a year older than me."
"Which is exactly why you should call me by my first name." Another battle won, Sasuke sent his new friend a smug smirk.
"Alright then Sasuke. That still doesn't answer my question. What makes you so sure that I'm innocent?" Naruto couldn't contain the giddiness bubbling up inside of him at being able to call the young lawyer by his first name. He'd learned from Iruka a lot of rules and polite gestures that accompanied the Japanese culture. And seeing as Sasuke was Japanese, Naruto saw if fit to follow the customs so he did not offend the raven. In Japan, when meeting a new person, you always addressed them with their last name and a suffix that defined their status. In an event, you were only allowed to use someone's first name if you were family or a very close friend. Such knowledge made Naruto's mood brighten even more.
"Instinct." Sasuke replied
"Ha. Let me guess. Yours are never wrong?" Naruto jabbed jokingly at the man.
Smirking, the younger Uchiha came to a stop at a red light. "I'm not talking about my instincts, I'm talking about Itachi's, but after meeting you, I'd more than happily agree with him. You don't look or act like a murderer."
Eyes narrowing in a playful glare, Naruto's cheeks puffed in mock indignation "I hope you're not saying that I look like a push-over."
"What I'm saying is that those muscles aren't all that impressive." the raven teased good-naturedly.
"Gasp! Lies on top of lies on top of lies on top of the truth!" Naruto accused in an offended breath as he rubbed his arm muscles. "Shhh. Don't listen to him, my babies. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
Had Sasuke not been the great driver that he was, he was sure that he would have run into the nearest sidewalk, doubled over and laughing. The blonde was something else entirely. He was soothing his muscle's hurt feelings? That was new.
"Don't laugh! I've worked really hard to boost my babies' confidence and you go and tell them they don't look tough? You bad, bad man." Naruto hid his laughing smile behind a well-placed pout. "You say you're sorry." he demanded.
Playing along, Sasuke leaned close to one of Naruto's arms, and with a fake apologetic smile, said, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. I hope you can forgive me for my callousness." He leaned back quickly, watching the road so as not to crash.
Sniffling a little for effect and nodding his consent, Naruto rubbed his arms one more time before telling the raven, "They forgive you, but they want to let you know that next time they'll be ready to show you how strong they are."
"I'll remember that." the raven said with a grin, and changing the subject, asked, "Now, would you like to grab some lunch?" It had been a few hours since either of them had eaten anything, and about now, Sasuke was all too painfully aware of his needy stomach.
Naruto's eyes seemed to light up at the prospect of food and, with a happy nod of his head, declared to the raven that, quote, "Yes sir! I haven't had a single thing to eat since last night. I'm fucking starving!"
Chuckling, Sasuke let his hands relax around the steering wheel from where they had been clutching at it nervously. He wasn't sure that Naruto would take him up on his offer, but was pleased when he did. "Alright. Well, do you have any preferences?"
"Do you know any good ramen restaurants?" Naruto asked, looking hopeful.
"I know about one down on 16th street. Itachi took me there once. They have good sushi, too." Sasuke told the blonde, then asking. "Would you like to eat there?"
"Sure! That sounds perfect."
"Great." And Sasuke made a right on the next turn.
The rest of the car ride consisted of an energetic blonde taking his first good look around the interior of the car and instantly becoming enthralled with every button and its function. Sasuke was more than happy to appease the blond's childishness and, with a calm demeanor, explained what every one of them did until the blond had settled for just fiddling with the radio, changing the station to one that was having a tribute to NickelBack.
"Yes! I love this band." Naruto wiggled happily in his seat and started to sing along to the ending of Savin' Me.
Sasuke, who really didn't care for this band, thought he just might start to love it if the blond was willing to sing along every time he heard one of their songs.
A minute later it was over, and the radio host came back on, announcing that the next song would be Animal. Now Sasuke wouldn't have normally questioned the other man for turning off the radio at this point, they were close to the restaurant anyway, but seeing the blonde blush such an adorable shade of pink sparked Sasuke's otherwise non-existent interest.
Without asking his passenger for an explanation, Sasuke flicked the radio back on and listened carefully to the lyrics. He was sure that there was something about the song that Naruto didn't want him to hear. Why else would he stop listening to a marathon of songs that were by a band that he claimed to love?
So come on baby, get in
Get in, just get in
Check on the trouble we're in
I wonder what part of the song it was that Naruto is all embarrassed about. Right now, the blond was just humming along to the tune, just letting Sasuke figure it out for himself. It would be funnier that way.
You're beside me on the seat
Got your hand between my knees
And you control how fast we go by just how hard you wanna squeeze
It's hard to steer when you're breathing in my ear
But I've got both hands on the wheel while you got both hands on my gears
By now, no doubt that we are heading south
I guess nobody ever taught her not to speak with a full mouth
'Cause this was it, like flicking on a switch
It felt so good I almost drove into a ditch
I'm screaming
No-
And that was all Sasuke needed to hear before he switched the radio back off, Naruto doubled over laughing next to him to cover up how red he had become during that part of the song. He had to admit, though, it was one of his favorites.
"Those were some... interesting lyrics. Do most of their songs talk about having sex in a car?" Sasuke asked, genuinely curious. He didn't dare blush, no matter how many mental images he was being plagued with; he wouldn't be able to live it down if he did.
Shaking his head, Naruto sat back up straight in his seat. "No, only that one was about sex- in a car, at least"
"Aa. I see." Thanking God that they had finally reached their chosen lunch spot, Sasuke parked two cars away from the entrance and got out, waiting until Naruto had gotten out too before locking the car and following the blond into the restaurant. They were seated without having to wait long, the lunch crowd mostly gone by this point. It was a cozy little booth in the back, the atmosphere friendly and inviting with a small fake cherry blossom resting artfully in a vase at the center of the table.
Thanking their waiter—who had introduced himself as Jim and promptly left them to think about their orders—they each took a seat opposite to each other, opening their respective menus.
Seconds later, a brightly grinning blond-haired man of twenty-four could be heard yelling childishly throughout the restaurant. "Yes! They have miso ramen." Slapping his menu shut, Naruto took a sip of the water that had already been placed out for him. "What are you getting, Sasuke?" he asked once the water was past his throat.
"I'm not sure yet, Uzumaki-kun. I'm deciding between a toro and eel sashimi, or an albacore sashimi with a California roll." Sasuke replied, not looking up from the menu.
Nodding, Naruto remembered something and smiled. "Why are you calling me Uzumaki-kun? You can just call me Naruto, you know." He really hoped Sasuke would. He wanted to hear how his name would sound in that growling voice of the other man.
"Hai. Naruto it is, then." Sasuke lowered his menu, shutting it silently, and countering with a smile of his own.
"Good. So, what did you decide on?" Naruto asked, pleased that Sasuke had no objections to being so informal with him, even if he was only a client, and loving the way his name just rolled off so beautifully from the raven's tongue.
"The albacore and California roll." Sasuke answered. At the face Naruto was making, he was inclined to ask, "What? It there something wrong?"
"Raw fish is nasty." Naruto stated righteously, wrinkling his nose.
"I don't think you've ever had albacore before, then." Pushing back the bangs from his face, Sasuke leaned back in his seat. "You should try some. The sauce that comes with it is really good."
"Nope! I've never had raw fish and I never will. It looks and smells gross." Naruto said and took another sip of water.
"You'll just have to try it and see what you think afterwards." Sasuke replied, rather amused by the whole conversation.
"Hell no. You're not getting that stuff anywhere near my mouth."
The air around them was so playful that Sasuke couldn't help but be sucked into a more youthful and juvenile state of mind. "C'mon, you aren't scared of a few dead fishies, are you?"
"No! Of course not. I just don't like the taste of raw fish." Naruto crossed his arms, pouting indignantly.
"How can you know what it tastes like if you've never had any? Sounds like you're scared, to me." Sasuke continued, goading the blond. He knew that if Naruto at least tried some sushi he would like it; he was just being stubborn. Looks like he doesn't like to be wrong- Then again... neither do I.
"Am not! And I'll prove it to you!" And almost as if it had been timed, planned, and staged, Jim reappeared and asked if they were ready to order. He had his pen and notepad out and everything.
Naruto spoke up first, something fierce flickering back and forth across his eyes. "Miso ramen and a small side of alba- albacore sashimi!" And added in quickly, so as not to sound rude, "Please?"
"Alright. And for you, sir?" Jim asked, scribbling down Naruto's lunch while turning and waiting for Sasuke to answer.
"I'll have the combo albacore sashimi with California rolls." Sasuke answered, smirking at the blonde across the table from him, who was sending him quite the challenging gaze.
"Mhm. And to drink?" More scribbling.
"Lemonade please. And for you, Naruto?" Sasuke asked pleasantly, saving their waiter the trouble.
"Do they have raspberry lemonade here?" Naruto's question was directed mostly at Sasuke while he also opened his menu up again, looking for his answer.
"Actually, we do sir." Jim cut in.
"Then, if it's not too much trouble, can I have that mixed with half a can of coke?"(4) Smiling, Naruto gave Jim a joyful look when it was said that it would be done. "Thank you!"
"Of course. Will that be all?" Jim politely asked again.
"Yes, that's it. Thank you." Sasuke held out his menu to the standing brunette, who already had Naruto's in hand, watching as he left with the promise of returning in a while with their food.
Naruto, who by now had forgotten all about his earlier half-bet thing, had waited a whole ten seconds before starting up another conversation. He wanted to get to know Sasuke a lot more and, in Naruto's mind, there was no better way then to just bombard him with questions.
"Wanna play a game?" Naruto asked, looking innocent.
"A game?" Sasuke repeated, looking suspicious. "What kind of game?"
"Just a question game. You know, I ask you a question, you ask me a question type-deal. It'll help us get to know each other better!" clarified the blonde, proud of coming up with such a wonderful way of finding out more about the older man.
"Alright. You can start, if you want." Sasuke shrugged, acting nonchalant as he placed an elbow on the table and cradled one side of his face in his hand.
"Sure!" Taking a second to think, Naruto tapped his chin, looking at the ceiling for his first question. "Okay. What's your favorite color?"
"Garnet." Sasuke replied instantly.
"Garnet?" Naruto questioned. "Isn't that the name of a stone?"
Nodding, Sasuke explained. "The stone is named after the color."
"Oh. That's cool. So it's like a... ruby red color, right?" Naruto asked, waiting curiously for the answer.
Sasuke nodded again, letting his hand drop from his face- the position had become uncomfortable for his elbow- and crossing his arms. "Close, but ruby-red is a tint lighter. A lot like a small drop of blood whereas garnet is the color you get when you look into a pool of blood. Ruby colored, but with a black base." Sasuke felt slightly uneasy about telling his new friend that his favorite color was the color of excessive amounts of blood, but lying was out of the question. Plus… he wasn't ashamed. It was just a color that happened to fascinate him a lot.
Naruto, on the other hand, took the information in stride and smiled brightly. "That's so cool. It's beautiful, but dark at the same time. I get it." And try as he might, he could not keep that little voice in his head at bay telling him that Sasuke's favorite color complimented him perfectly. Dark and captivating. Before letting his mind wander far, Naruto shook his head and said, "Okay Sasuke. Your turn. Ask me a question."
Sasuke smirked. "What sports to do you play?" He was rather curious to see what the hobbies were that kept the blonde in such good shape.
Laughing, Naruto said, "That's gonna get you a long answer." He paused a second, making a mental list. "I played basketball, volleyball, football and I did track while I was in high school. I still play them on occasion so my skills don't die on me, but now-a-days I like to kick box, snowboard and hangout at the gym." And as an afterthought, added, "Oh! And I bungee jump once in a while."
"That's impressive." Sasuke complimented.
"Something about jumping off a building gives me a thrill, ya know?" Looking spellbound by the thought, Naruto turned his eyes to the ceiling.
Appearing slightly mortified, but giving the blonde a grin, he teased, "Have you ever measured the length of the bungee cord wrong?"
His attention back to the raven, Naruto gave a small bubbling laugh and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion. "Actually, I have. Hurt like hell, too. I jumped off and about half away down I noticed that the rope should have been stretching at that point, but it wasn't, so I hit my head on some rocks."
"Ouch." Wincing, Sasuke asked, sounding concerned, "Were you badly hurt?"
"No, not really. The rope bungee'd me back up before the impact got worse. I had the presence of mind to lean up the next time I came down so I didn't get hit again. Five stitches was all that I had to show for it. Lucky for me I have a hard head."(5) And as if to demonstrate,Naruto knocked lightly on the top of his head.
"I see. So you still bungee jump, even after what happened?" Sasuke hoped not.
"Yep! It's a blast." was the excited shout.
"Five stitches does sound like a lot of fun." Sasuke agreed with playful sarcasm.
"Hell yeah. At least now I'll never forget to measure twice." And Naruto laughed, Sasuke laughing right along with him.
It had gotten so comfortable... so- relaxed. So much so that they hadn't even realized that their food had arrived up until Jim was placing the plates down in front of them. He was silent, though, letting the mood continue undisturbed and leaving just as quietly with a small "Enjoy" for courteousy purposes.
Wasting no time, Naruto grabbed his chopsticks, snapped them apart and, with a cry of "Itadakimasu!" dug straight into his ramen.
Sasuke watched from his side of the table, nibbling delicately on a slice of sashimi, finding the slurping and all around childishness of the way the blonde ate, somewhat- charming. Weird, he knew that, but he couldn't help it. So far the attraction was nearly killing him and he'd done an admirable job of not jumping the man. Not to get his intention wrong, Sasuke was not looking to just date a pretty face, but looking for the happiness that Naruto seem to bring everywhere he went. Five minutes in the man's company had shown Sasuke that Naruto was so full of life, always talking, always laughing, looking for a good time and always finding ways of having fun with others. It was such a change from Sasuke's daily life that he found himself being sucked into it without his consent and enjoying every moment of it even if it had only started that morning.
It was with that in mind that Sasuke stopped eating, took a sip of his drink, and said, "Naruto. It's your turn again." He was looking forward to continuing the game so he could learn a lot more about the blond. Maybe find out his sexual preference. It wouldn't really do if the man was straight, though if he recalled correctly, Kakashi might have already answered that question for him. Better to be sure than to be sorry, in any event.
Naruto looked up and, with a giant slurp, finished off a rather large mouthful of ramen before asking. "Okay, what are some of your hobbies?" Did the raven work to keep that figure, or was it just a high metabolism? Naruto would guess it was both.
Sasuke didn't take long to think. "I like archery."
"That's too cool!" Naruto cut in excitedly. "That takes a hell of a lot of skill. You any good?"
"Well I would like to think that all the time I've spent practicing would not have been spent in vain." Sasuke said carefully, so as not to sound too conceited. He took great pride in his skills, but there was no point in flaunting them. He could tell that it wouldn't impress the blond much, anyway.
"That's awesome. It sounds like it would be so much fun!" Naruto smiled, guzzling down some more ramen.
Sasuke could only smile back. "It is. If you want, I can give you some lessons."
"Dude, I would love you forever! Could you really give me lessons? " Naruto blinked wide, bright blue eyes, giving him his most impressive set of Bambi eyes that anyone had ever seen.
But even if those eyes hadn't melted him into a grossly unmanly pile of mush, Sasuke still would have said yes to the man, if not just to spend more time with him. "Sure." he agreed readily, watching another brilliant smile creep over the blond's face as he gave a joyous cheer.
"But-" But Sasuke wasn't going to pass up any chances when they presented themselves so nicely. "Only if you beat me in a basketball game."
Naruto paused and gave the raven a confused smile, hoping that what he had heard was in fact indeed really what he was hoping Sasuke had said. "You play?" he asked, trying very hard to mask his eagerness.
"A little." Sasuke responded, dabbing a roll in his soy sauce and polishing it off quickly.
"That's awesome. Yeah, sure! Let's play sometime, but be forewarned," Naruto wagged a finger playfully, "I really want those lessons!"
"You'll have to earn them then, blondie." And Sasuke smirked, staring straight into the other man's eyes, an aura of something competitive sparking up between them.
"You bet your ass I will, pretty-boy." Naruto countered, and while making sure to keep eye contact, grabbed a slice of albacore from his plate and stuffed it in his mouth. The rival thing they had developing was fun, it was something that just seemed to fit so right with their growing friendship. No one knew why, but at that moment, it was as if they were sharing one mind. The thought that they shared was, ironically, one that would most likely bond them together quicker than even a near death experience ever could.
Maybe next time we can wrestle.
(1) If you're wondering about who Jason is... Don't worry about it now. You'll learn about him in the next few chapters.
(2) If anyone forgot, Itachi said that Sasuke had been eager to get back and meet Naruto again. Ooooooh.
(3) Remember everyone, Sasuke is not an asshole all the time, like in most stories. He's actually really pleasant with Naruto! I'm sure you know why. :Points to a 'good' Itachi: Good aniki means no emo Sasuke. :3 Sorry... I thought I just needed to explain that because many people probably think that he should have been calling Naruto bad names by now.
(4) Yes...I do do this! It's delicious.
(5) I'm sorry, but if you're as perverted as me, you'll get it... If not... Yeah. You have a lot to learn.
Plushie StickyNote: First off! Yes I realize that this is kinda a fluffy chapter and there's a purpose. Then next chapter is pretty much a down hill slope for Naruto. I know. Tis sad but necessary. I really hoped you enjoyed this. It's a gift for leaving them out of chapter four and because the next chapter is will be sad Please please review! It's helps a lot when ya want a quicker update because your comments give me ideas!
Quote: "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." by Mark Twain
©2006 Ruby Plushie