Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction...I'd be writing owner fiction or something... But I don't own so don't sue me.
Hello and welcome to the first chapter of Pineapple Cove. Title came from a holiday home during our last visit to the Caribbean and I was looking through some pictures and then it was like I was struck by some lightning bolt of inspiration or something. I'll apologise for the poor and unoriginal chapter title now, but have 'chapter 1', 'chapter 2' is just so boring. Never thought that I would write a romance fic, but I suppose I want to see if I can develop a relationship from two people who dislike each other into two lovers.
Warnings: SasuNaru and ItaNaru so if you hate yaoi don't bother reading and don't bother flaming me (if you want to, go ahead and don't worry about my severely lacking self-esteem...I'll just sob in this corner here). In fact, if you don't like it then why are you even here? Some other side pairings.
Chapter 1 - Arrival
Uchiha Sasuke flicked listlessly through the in-flight magazine that rested in his lap, staring at each brightly coloured image and its associated article for a moment before skipping to the next in search of some sort of entertainment in the glossy pages.
It was a ten hour flight and, according to his watch, he had another six hours to go. So far, they had shown one children's movie about some monkey causing havoc in a fictional hotel; he had only watched it out of pure boredom and constantly cursed himself for forgetting to bring a book along for the flight.
"Hey, can I borrow this?" a voice asked and Sasuke tore his eyes away from this month's horoscope (not that he believed in that spiritual nonsense) to glance at the wild-haired brunette to his left. Inuzuka Kiba, his childhood friend, was holding his black IPod and a bundle of wires that he presumed were his earphones.
"Don't you have your own?" Sasuke frowned, dark eyes flickering around as they sought out Kiba's own blue media player.
"The battery ran out," Kiba pouted, showing the Uchiha the screen that displayed an image of a battery. The raven sighed and nodded before turning back the magazine while his friend grinned, hooking the piece around one ear.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kiba sift through his music collection, an array of expressions flitting across his face as he encountered a song he liked or disliked.
"Just don't go getting it dirty," Sasuke muttered, turning back to his magazine.
"Jeeze, Sasuke," the brunette snorted, choosing a playlist and slipping the device into his pocket as he reached for the plastic packet of peanuts that rested on the tray attached to the seat in front. "You're so fucking anal."
"Whatever," came the nonchalant reply. Kiba had always grated on his nerves and he usually questioned himself as to why he even remained friends with the loud-mouthed brunette. The pair usually attracted attention wherever they went; Kiba was open and loud while Sasuke was more reserved and knew when to keep his silence. However, despite their differences, the two were more similar that one would think at first glance: both of them were stubborn as bulls and always wanted their own way which resulted in countless arguments between them. "…Dog breath…"
"Don't call me that!" Kiba growled around a mouthful of the salty airline brand nuts.
"Kiba!" a feminine voice scolded, and a pink head popped up from the pair of seats directly in front of them. "Stop being so loud!"
"Like you're being oh-so-quiet, Sakura," the brunette snorted, kicking that back of Sakura's chair with his sock-covered foot. Much to Sasuke's disdain, the shoes had been kicked off hours ago for comfort and he was left to ward off any invading smells with a piece of paper that he fluttered occasionally.
"You're so annoying," the girl huffed, sticking her tongue out at Kiba before turning to Sasuke as she leaned over the back of her chair. "Sasuke-kun, if Kiba's bothering you then I'll happily swap with him!"
A pained look flashed over Sasuke's face as his mask of stoic indifference cracked for a moment. "N-No thank you, Sakura. I think that Hinata would appreciate your company more than she would Kiba's."
"But he's her boyfriend," Sakura huffed, slumping dejectedly. "And you're supposed to be my boyfriend. Why don't you want to sit next to me instead of the flea-infested mutt?"
"S-Sakura, please don't insult Kiba-kun," came a quiet voice from the seat next to Sakura. A second head popped into view, but this one had long raven hair framing a pale face and light grey eyes instead of a sparkling emerald. "A-And it was head lice that Kiba-kun had, not fleas… A-And he's been treated for it already."
"H-Hinata-chan," Kiba groaned, flushing in embarrassment as Sakura's trilling laughter rang around the passenger cabin, drawing strange looks from other people sat in the rows of seats. "Don't say those things in public."
"Oh…" Hinata blushed darkly as she played with her fingers nervously. "I-I'm sorry, Kiba-kun." The male turned away with an annoyed grumble, still feeling slightly humiliated as Sakura attempted to stifle her laughter behind her hands.
Sasuke slipped the magazine into the pocket on the back of Hinata's seat as he watched, with some amusement, his friend continue to fume silently, slipping the second earpiece into his free ear and cranking the volume up.
Sakura gave him a last pleading look and pointed to the seat next tfo her, but she remained ignored as Sasuke turned away from her to stare out of the small window next to him. They were above the clouds now, the sky an expanse of clear azure, unmarked and unmarred, and their ground an endless rolling expanse of cloud stained gold by the Sun.
The pink-haired female had practically proclaimed herself as his girlfriend, Sasuke only agreeing because it would keep the other fan girls at bay. However, over the years, Sasuke had watched Sakura change from a kind, shy girl to a jealous, shallow and all-around obsessive individual person who just wouldn't leave him alone. He had tried to break up with her, but it seemed that she suffered from sort of convenient memory loss as she would return the next day as if nothing had ever happened.
Overall, she wasn't so bad and so Sasuke gave up trying to get rid of her and learned how to tolerate her.
Sasuke sighed as he leaned back in his chair while fishing the headphones he had received from an attendant that had walked around earlier and plugging into the port on the arm of his chair, dark eyes settling on the second movie thfat had just started on the small screen embedded onto the back of Hinata's chair.
Kiba yawned widely as he awoke at the sound of a loud chime that echoed from the speakers dotted around the passenger cabin. Rubbing the sleep from, he blearily blinked around and eventually spotting Sasuke walked down the aisle.
"Where'd you go?" the brunette mumbled, leaning backwards so that Sasuke could reach his window seat with more ease.
"I needed to stretch my legs," he explained and Kiba nodded, running a hand through his hair in an effort to tame it slightly.
"So…" Kiba said slowly, feeling slightly more awake. "What's happening when we get off?"
"Itachi said he'd meet us in the airport," Sasuke muttered as he slipped a hand into the pocket of the jeans and withdrawing a piece of paper. He unfolded it, handing it to Kiba.
'Dear Little Brother,
It's been a while since I have last contacted you, and I hope you forgive me for my absence. I hope that you are good and fine and that your studies at university are progressing well.
I would like you to come visit me sometime soon as it is approaching my twenty-fifth birthday which will also mark the third anniversary of our last meeting. My lover and I have organised a trip to stay in a holiday resort on the bay of Suna and we would like you and a few of your friends to join us.'
The brunette flipped the letter over, scanning the details of the flight times scribbled on the back. Apparently, Itachi was going to pick them up straight from the airport to take them to whatever resort along with his…lover?
"Eh? Itachi has a girlfriend?" Kiba exclaimed, checking the letter again.
"Apparently," Sasuke responded dryly, slipping the letter back into his pocket. "But I don't know who would be stupid enough to date someone like him."
"Like you can talk," he snorted.
Sakura, who was listening to their conversation, stuck her arm through the gap between her and Hinata's chairs, and punched the brunette on his shoulder with her ringed fist. A hiss of pain escaped his mouth as he rubbed the aching area.
"I swear that if a bruise is there, I'll-"
"Stop being such a baby, Kiba," Sakura huffed, glaring at him through the space her arm had just retracted through. As if proving his maturity, Kiba stuck his tongue out at the girl before shifting into a more comfortable position in his seat.
"Hinata-chan," he called and the girl's head appeared next to Sakura's. "Are you feeling airsick still?"
"N-No," she replied, a pretty smile spreading across her features. "I'm feeling a lot better, thank you."
"Well, if you want I can always swap places-" At that moment, Kiba caught a glimpse of the glare thrown his way from the Uchiha and he gulped nervously. "I can always go and ask one of the attendants for some water for you."
"Thank you, Kiba-kun, but I'm all right."
"I'm here if you need me, okay?" Hinata nodded, her face a light shade of red.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the pair's actions as they continued to talk softly through the gap. They were so lovey-dovey that it began to border on nauseating. He felt a little bad for splitting the two up, but he refused to sit next to Sakura for anything over an hour straight.
A loud chime suddenly rang around the cabin as the captain's voice crackled through the speakers, informing the passengers to fasten their seatbelts as the plane was going to land soon. The metallic clank of buckles fastening echoed around the room and the attendants rose from the compartment at the back of the plane to help people close their trays and bring their seats to the upright position to prepare for the landing.
Sasuke lurched forwards as the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac of the runway and the brakes were applied and he braced himself with a hand on the back of Hinata's chair. He watched the top of the plane swing ominously from side to side, hearing the luggage inside the overhead compartments thudding against the plastic walls.
He let out a small sigh as the plane came to a standstill; flying had never bothered Sasuke, but he always felt uncomfortable during the takeoff and the landing phases. Not that he would admit it if anyone asked him…
The raven-haired male stared out of the small window as they plane taxied off of the runway and towards the terminal where he guessed they would disembark. He could already see the differences between his home and this place; tall, tropical-looking palm trees replaced the evergreen conifers and a clear, non-raincloud-filled sky hung above them.
"Come on," Kiba said from next to him as the brunette rose from his seat, Sakura and Hinata doing likewise in the row in front. "Let's go."
"Well," Kiba muttered as he checked his watch. "That only took an hour."
"You're exaggerating," Sasuke growled as he continued to steer the heavy luggage trolley through the masses of people, though it was near impossible to not bump into a single person. It was ridiculous, why were there even so many people? Why couldn't they all just wander off somewhere else, or at least move out of the way of a trolley that was near-impossible to steer.
"You just have to have the generic black bag, don't you?" Kiba continued, ignoring the Uchiha's glare. "Can't you be like Sakura and have a bright pink suitcase so that it's easy to pick out from the hundreds of other black suitcases on the conveyor belt?"
Sasuke merely snorted as he pushed the trolley against a wall before leaning against it himself. Sakura and Hinata had been sent off in search of Itachi who was supposed to meet them near the entrance, but the elder Uchiha was nowhere to be found.
"Where are they?" the raven muttered to himself as he stepped away from the wall to take a quick look around. Sakura couldn't be too hard to spot…
However, just as he took a few steps forwards, he felt a heavy body slam into his and almost sending him to the hard floor. After enduring countless jostles in the last hour of wandering in search of his brother, Sasuke's temper suddenly snapped and he rounded on the person he had bumped into.
It was a male, only a few inches shorter than him, with bright blond hair in a style similar to Kiba's and a fringe that covered a pair of sapphire eyes. He opened his mouth to growl something, but he was cut to the chase.
"Watch were you're going, jackass!" the blond yelled, his voice loud enough to attract Kiba's attention over the din of the people wandering the airport shopping area.
"'Where I'm going'?" Sasuke snarled, pushing the other male away from him roughly. "You're the one who knocked into me, moron!"
"What's your problem?" he huffed, managing to keep his balance. "Jeeze, man, calm down or something."
"Calm down?" the Uchiha spat, his voice dropping dangerously low. "You're telling me to calm down."
By the wall, Kiba sighed as he pushed himself up from his squatting position. Damn Uchiha and their tempers, and speaking of tempers he spotted a dark figure walking towards them, flanked by Sakura and Hinata.
"Yeah?" the blond said slowly, his hands flying up in the universal 'I'm innocent' gesture. "Read my lips: calm down, take a chill pill, relax and all- Itachi?"
The blond male's eyes were locked with a figure over Sasuke's shoulder, and a small shiver passed over his spine as he felt a familiar presence behind him.
"It's been a long time, little brother," a low voice hissed in his ear.
That about sums up the first chapter. It's a little bit longer than I expected, but that's how the world goes, no?
Oh yeah, review if you want. Please do, actually. I want to know what you like, dislike and all around hate because it means a lot to me.