Naruto: at least I'm not dead anymore
Ino: yea, whadaya know 'bout that? -dagger eyes at Naruto-
Naruto: -gulp-
Sasuke: Ino! Leave my dobe alone!!
Naruto: YOUR dobe?
Sasuke: -blushes- uh… erm…
Ino: getting ahead of your self aren't you Sasuke?
Sasuke:…
Ino: ya… well… chapter 2 is coming at ya!!
Chapter 2: Yellow Rose
October was just beginning; leaves had begun to turn brown and were falling from all the trees. Sasuke walked casually down the street toward the Yamanaka Flower Shop. He was wearing a blue hoodie with the Uchiha symbol printed on the back and had a white scarf wrapped around his neck to keep out the cold. His ninja sandals had been replaced with similar shoes that covered his toes. He was wearing a pair of loose fitting white pants.
He had barely remembered Naruto's birthday in time, it was the 9th and Naruto was turning 17 tomorrow. The two squad members hadn't said a word to each other since he had visited Naruto's bedroom two weeks before. When he came near the flower shop, Ino called out to him, waving a hand in his direction. "Sasuke-kun!" she called, she was just as scantily clad as usual, despite the cold weather.
She actually seemed surprised when the Uchiha ventured into the flower shop and started browsing the various bouquets. "Can I help you find anything in particular?" she asked, standing directly behind Sasuke, looking over his shoulder at the flowers he was looking at.
"I want a flower that lets someone know you care…" Sasuke started, but Ino cut him off. "Roses! Come on Sasuke! You should know that!" She grasped his wrist and led him to a large shelf filled with roses in all different colors. There were bright reds, deep scarlets, pale pinks and whites, but noting seemed to catch Sasuke's eye.
Up on one of the highest shelves was a single yellow rose. It stood out with a radiant color only a few tints lighter than Naruto's own blond hair. He reached up, barely able to grasp it between his index and middle fingers, then handing it to Ino he said "I'll take this one." Ino put a small decretive wrapper around its long thorny stem and used a rubber band to hold a wet sponge on the end and handed the yellow rose to Sasuke. As Sasuke left casually Ino sighed to herself, "that boy is totally clueless," she mused.
When Sasuke got back to his house, he picked out a small glass vase that had belonged to his parents, filled it with water and put the rose in it. He quickly wrote a short letter and tied it to the rose near the first leaf. He waited until night fell, watching Naruto's apartment window from his own bedroom. He waited an hour after the lights in his friend's apartment had gone off before slipping out of his own home.
He used the same route to Naruto's apartment as he had the two weeks ago. He sighed, releasing his stress and attempting to calm his nerves. With the rose and vase grasped in one hand, he walked up the walls to Naruto's window. It had luckily been left open again and he
snuck in. Naruto was mumbling in his sleep, he lay spread-eagle under his covers, drool was running out of the side of his mouth.
Sasuke quickly set the vase and rose (with the letter attached) on Naruto's nightstand. He jumped, startled when Naruto called out "Sasuke," but the boy was still asleep. Sasuke sat on the window sill, observing his friend for a moment. Naruto fidgeted in his sleep, and mumbled things like "no… stop… Sasukeee!"
Sasuke figured the blond was having nightmares and decided to leave him be. He slipped out the window, shutting it behind himself again. He got back to the Uchiha complex at about 2:00am. He was dead-beat-tired and simply crawled into bead, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He fell asleep face down on top of his sheets.
The next morning Kakashi had called them to the training grounds to be debriefed on a new assignment. Sasuke still felt exhausted and was barely able to drag himself out of bed and down to the training grounds.
Naruto rubbed his eyes and wiped the saliva off his face with one sleepy forearm. He sat up in bed, stretched his arms and yawned. Something caught the corner of his eye. When he turned, someone had left a yellow rose on his nightstand, not only that, but his bedroom window was closed. Naruto knew the raven haired boy had left the rose before he even noticed the note. When he did take the note, it read…
Naruto, we've been friends for more years than I can remember, and though this may sound awkward, I want us to be so much more than that. If you feel the same way, come to the Uchiha complex tonight at 7:30 for ramen. Happy 17th birthday! Sasuke
Naruto's heart beat quickened and he swallowed hard. Had Sasuke really written this? It wasn't some sort of joke? Naruto sighed, the only way to find out was to go the Uchiha's house that night and see for himself.