Author's Note: Another double update! I wonder if you enjoy these? Does it get you excited? Well, I hope it does, because I get excited doing it, like baking cookies for someone. I just can't wait to give it to you. Anyway, this chapter we really start to get an idea of what's going on...I think? We get to learn a bit about Naruto at least. Anyway, I'm counting down now until the final chapter. Only a couple more updates! As always, Favorite, Follow, and Review. But most of all, Enjoy!


The next morning, Naruto woke up shivering. He slowly opened his eyes and was shocked by the sight of his breath billowing through the icy air. When had it gotten so cold? Quick as a flash, Naruto leapt form the couch and dashed into the hall. He had almost forgotten about Sasuke. If he was this cold, Sasuke must be freezing. He had to make sure he was okay.

When Naruto threw the door open, he was met with a chilling wind that made Naruto regret not bringing his blanket. The first thing Naruto did was look to Sasuke. Despite the frozen chill in the room, Sasuke looked as the he was sleeping quite peacefully. Naruto quickly walked over and rested his hand against his skin. Despite the coolness of it, his skin wasn't discolored, and looked as it always did. Sasuke wasn't shivering either, nor were there puffs of air billowing from his mouth. At first Naruto was afraid he might not be breathing, but when he held his hand in front of his face, he could feel his breath.

Deciding Sasuke wasn't in any immediate danger, for whatever inexplicable reason, Naruto turned to find the cause of the indoor winter. His immediate thought was the window, and sure enough it was open, a bit of snow sitting on the sill and just on the floor. Even with the heater on it was still cold enough to keep intact. Naruto quickly moved to the window and shut it. He definitely hadn't opened the window last night, and he didn't remember it being open. Had Sasuke opened it? It had been a near blizzard last night, so he couldn't imagine Sasuke being stupid enough to open it. Perhaps he had done so in his sleep? Another question was why Sasuke didn't seem to be affected by the cold air. Even Naruto had been freezing when he woke up, and it was much colder at the North Pole than it was in Konoha.

"Could it be the magic?" Naruto mumbled aloud, starring at Sasuke. Slowly walking over, Naruto reached out to Sasuke with his left hand while he nibbled on the thumb of his right. There was no way, right?

Naruto gasped when he reached his magic out towards Sasuke. Not only was the magic flowing openly now from the other man, but Naruto could feel it encasing the room. It was clear, whatever magic was inside Sasuke, it had an affinity for the cold, which wasn't normal. All magic Naruto had encountered, up until now, had a warm sensation associated with it. It was like an energy with its own life and gave off its own warmth. Naruto didn't know what to make of the icy magic.

"Uh, Naruto?" Naruto's heart leapt to his throat and he jumped at the sound of his name. He clutched his chest, heart pounding and focused back on Sasuke, who was now starring at him in confusion and concern.

"S-Sasuke! You're awake," Naruto said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Sasuke nodded slowly, looking around the room.

"Yeah…so, why are you standing over me?" Naruto blushed and took three quick steps back towards the door, holding his hands up in surrender.

"No, sorry. I wasn't trying to loom," Naruto tried to explain quickly. Now Sasuke definitely thought he was a creep. Why did Naruto keep putting himself in these situations? "I uh, was just making sure you were okay."

"Okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, uh, you fainted last night," Naruto started, not sure of Sasuke remembered. "And the window was open this morning," Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned to see the now melting snow on his sill and floor. "I wanted to make sure you weren't hypothermic," Naruto finished. Sasuke nodded, pulling the blanket aside and looking down at his feet and hands.

"I think I'm fine."

Naruto nodded with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, that's good. I guess you have really warm blankets."

Sasuke nodded slowly, still looking a bit perplexed before turning and standing up. He gave a long stretch; one Naruto couldn't look away from even while he was covered in his oversized shirt and pants.

"Food!" Naruto blurted out, trying to focus on something other than Sasuke's body. Sasuke jumped, startled, and looked to Naruto in confusion. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"I, uh, I mean, I can make some food, as thanks for letting me stay here."

"Uh, sure, thanks." Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded, scurrying from the room. He missed the small smirk that appeared on Sasuke, trying to escape as quickly as possible.

"So what's for breakfast?" Sasuke asked once he made his way into the kitchen. He had pulled on come clothes for the day, consisting of a pair of loose jeans and a large hoodie. Naruto had also pulled on his clothes from yesterday before searching the kitchen.

"Well, I found some eggs and bacon, is that alright?" Naruto asked, scratching at the back of his neck. "I'm not much of a cook, so I can't do anything fancy."

"That's okay. Bacon and eggs sound great," Sasuke said, walking towards the fridge. "I just have one thing to add," he said, pulling out a tomato.

"Tomato?" Naruto asked as Sasuke walked to the counter and pulled out a cutting board.

"Yep," Sasuke said, nodding. "It's my favorite food, and is great for breakfast." Naruto gave him a skeptical look but just shrugged and turned back to his own pan. It didn't take long for everything to be cooked and they were soon sitting at Sasuke's small breakfast table munching away. Despite Sasuke's insistence, Naruto didn't partake in any of the tomatoes. Sasuke didn't really seem to mind though, and easily ate them himself.

"Do you work today?" Naruto asked. He wasn't sure what to do while Sasuke worked. He needed to keep an eye on him and try to figure out how to stop the interference, but he still didn't know why the magic in Sasuke was causing it, and he wouldn't be able to talk to him while he worked.

"Yeah—" Sasuke started, but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Sasuke quickly pulled it form his pocket and answered. Naruto finished his food quietly while Sasuke listened to the person on the other line. When he was done, he looked up to Naruto with a small smile.

"Scratch that. Looks like the café is closed due to the snow."

"Really?" Naruto asked, unable to hide his excitement.

"Yeah, the owner heard about the storm and doesn't want to risk someone getting hurt on their way to work."

"That's great!" Naruto grinned.

"Why, did you want to hang out?" Sasuke asked, a mischievous smirk in place. Naruto blushed as he shrugged.

"I mean, I have nothing else to do."

"You don't have a job?" Sasuke asked. Naruto laughed nervously.

"Well, sorta, but it's not really your typical job."

"What do you do?" Sasuke asked, looking interested. Naruto fidgeted. He couldn't very well tell him he was the future Santa Clause or that he was here to investigate Sasuke.

"I help my dad with his work when he's too busy." Sasuke nodded with a small smile.

"Man, you sure have the life, don't you? I bet all your friends are jealous back home."

Naruto shrugged. "All my friends back home work for my dad, so they get it." Sasuke's eyes widened, and he looked shocked.

"All your friends are your dad's employees? That must be weird."

"Not really," Naruto grinned, thinking of his friends back home. "My dad is really easy going, and we are more like a big family. Though I do get on some of their nerves," Naruto said, laughing and scratching his neck. He thought back to the day he left, and he felt a twinge of homesickness.

"I can imagine," Sasuke said with a playful smirk. Naruto frowned and stuck out his tongue. Sasuke chuckled. Naruto was about to retort when he thought about something. If anyone would know what was going on with Sasuke's magic, his dad would. Maybe he should give him a call, especially if he was going to be spending the day with Sasuke.

"Speaking of back home, I should give my dad a call. I'll be back in a minute," Naruto said, standing and pulling the phone from his pocket. His dad had given it to him yesterday, saying it was to keep him updated. His dad was getting more and more worried with each day that passed. Naruto stared at the phone a moment, trying to remember how to use it. After pressing a few buttons, he found his dad's name and clicked the call button. It only took a few rings before he picked up.

"Naruto?" Minato asked. Naruto nodded, before remembering his dad couldn't see him.

"Yeah."

"Is something wrong? Did you find out what's causing the interference?" Naruto could hear how frantic his dad was. It was understandable considering how close it was to Christmas.

"Nothing's wrong," Naruto started. "And sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Minato asked. Naruto looked behind him as he walked down the hall to make sure Sasuke hadn't followed. Naruto spoke in a quiet voice as he explained what had happened last night and this morning, leaving out the kiss, of course.

"Cold magic?" Minato asked, and once again Naruto nodded before answering vocally.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"No, although…" Minato said, trailing off.

"What?" Naruto asked, feeling anxious.

"It's nothing really, and either way it doesn't affect your mission. Do you know why the magic in Sasuke is interfering with the List?"

"Not yet. I was hoping you might have some ideas," Naruto said hopefully.

"Well if Sasuke is unaware of the magic, it must be reacting to his subconscious. Magic is strongly influenced by emotions," Minato explained, and Naruto nodded. He knew that. It's why teaching magic control at a young age was important, especially if someone had strong magic. There was nothing more dangerous than a toddler's magic during a temper tantrum.

"Okay, I'll look into it," Naruto said before hanging up. Naruto made his way back to the kitchen with a smile. He felt kind of bad about lying to Sasuke, and investigating him behind his back, but Naruto had a job to do, and it wasn't like he was lying about liking Sasuke. He would have wanted to hang out with him whether he was the cause of the interference or not.

"Sorry about that," Naruto said, smiling as he walked back into the kitchen. Sasuke was just finishing he dishes.

"It's okay, so what did you want to do today?" Sasuke asked, turning around to face Naruto. Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but was startled by a loud ringing. Naruto jumped and pulled out his phone in confusion. Why was it ringing?

"Uh, sorry, just a sec," Naruto said, answering the phone.

"Hello?" he asked slowly, unsure.

"Naruto! We have a problem."

"Kiba?" Naruto asked in shock. "When did you—"

"Your dad gave me your number before he left." Kiba said quickly.

"Oh," Naruto said, a bit thrown. "Uh, what's the problem?"

"Vixen is missing."

"Again?" Naruto yelled, eyes wide. How many times did he have to tell that damn reindeer not to cause trouble? Was he trying to give Naruto a heart attack? Had one of the elves bribed him to make this job as difficult as possible? As much as Naruto loved Vixen, they had practically grown up together, he just couldn't handle the reindeer's shenanigan's sometimes. It was more fun when they were doing them together.

"Yeah. The snow caused part of the barn roof to cave in. He must have flown out through it."

"Damn it. Okay, I'll be there in a bit," Naruto said, hanging up the phone with a frown and sighing when he looked back at Sasuke.

"What's wrong?"

"My, uh, horse got out last night. I have to go find him."

"Are you serious? Well I'll come help. It's not safe for a horse to be out in the snow for so long," Sasuke said, walking to the living room to grab his coat. Naruto quickly followed shaking his head with a nervous smile.

"No, uh, it's fine. He's used to the cold, and I'm sure he's just wondering around looking for food. No need for you to worry." Sasuke stopped and looked at him with the most unconvinced stare Naruto had ever seen, and he felt his throat close.

"Naruto, there is no way I'm staying. It's not like I have work anyway. Now hurry up and grab your coat, I'll drive us." Naruto saw the determination in Sasuke's eyes and didn't bother arguing. He really didn't have time anyway. He needed to find Vixen before someone else did.

"Fine," Naruto said, grabbing his coat and following Sasuke out the door. They both stopped up short when they saw the amount of snow on the driveway and car. The streets must have been cleaned off earlier, but they still had enough snow on them to be dangerous.

"Or we can walk," Sasuke said. Naruto frowned and sighed. He didn't really mind walking, but it was going to take twice as long. "How far is it?" Sasuke asked, turning to Naruto.

"Uh, I think it's about five miles," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded and then motioned for Naruto to begin walking.

"Well, lead the way." Naruto nodded and they began walking. Maybe if he was lucky Vixen would show up on his own.

"What took so long?" Kiba called as he spotted Naruto. "Sasuke?" Kiba asked, stopping to look at the other man in confusion. "What's he doing here?"

"He wanted to help find Vixen."

"He knows?" Kiba asked, eyes wide, and Naruto quickly hushed him, pulling him into the barn where Shikamaru and Choji were waiting. They walked over and Naruto quickly explained.

"I was at Sasuke's when you called and—"

"Oh, what were you doing there so early in the morning?" Kiba interrupted, a perverted grin in place.

"I got stuck there when I went to check on him. Anyway, I told him my horse had gotten out and he insisted on helping."

"That's unfortunate," Shikamaru said, and Naruto nodded.

"We will have to try and find Vixen before Sasuke can." They all nodded and walked back out. Sasuke eyed them suspiciously.

"Well? Are we going to go searching?" Naruto nodded. They quickly headed towards the surrounding woods. As they walked, Shikamaru pulled Naruto a bit back and whispered to him.

"Can't you sense him?" Shikamaru asked, and Naruto shook his head somberly.

"I can't explain it all now, but the magic coming off Sasuke is making it impossible." Naruto watched Shikamaru's eyes widen.

"Sasuke has magic?" he whispered, and Naruto quickly nodded before hurrying to rejoin the group. They needed to split up, and as much as Naruto wanted to find Vixen, he needed to make sure Sasuke didn't.

"Hey, we should split up to cover more ground. Sasuke and I can make a group, and you three can make the other," Naruto said, stopping the group. Kiba and Choji gave him curious looks but one glance at Shikamaru assured him that he would explain it to them.

Everyone nodded and decided which directions to check before splitting off. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji would check the woods heading towards town and Sasuke and Naruto would check the other direction.

"So your horse's name is Vixen?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence. Naruto nodded. "Is there another named Dasher?" Sasuke asked with a chuckle. Naruto blushed and looked away. Sasuke's eyes widened and he laughed outwardly. "Man, I guess you weren't kidding about Christmas being the world to your family.

"Yeah," Naruto gave a nervous laugh. He knew it was dangerous to have Sasuke out here, but he hoped once he was close enough to Vixen, he would be able to sense and avoid him. Besides, the last time Vixen got out he had gone towards the city, so hopefully he would do the same again this time.

"Don't be embarrassed. My family used to have a horse named Comet."

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised.

Sasuke nodded. "We used to take him to the children's hospital around Christmas. My older brother would dress up as Santa to go along with it. The kids really liked it." Naruto grinned. Sasuke's family sounded amazing. He wished he'd had the chance to meet them.

"Is your brother the one in the photos with the tired looking eyes?" Naruto asked, remembering the image of the handsome man who looked remarkably close to Sasuke, though not quite as delicate. Naruto was sure Sasuke would hate him fi he said that aloud.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, laughing. "He was always busy, and didn't sleep much. He always found time for the holidays though. He loved when it snowed, and forced me to build a snowman with him every Christmas." Naruto listened with a large smile in place.

"He sounds great. I'm an only child, so I don't really know what that's like," Naruto said with a laugh. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Well don't worry, he was a huge pain in the ass too. Be glad you aren't a younger brother," Sasuke mumbled, frowning.

"I don't know," Naruto said, lifting his arms up to rest the back of his head in his hands. "I bet it was nice having someone to look out for you. I had the el—uh, my dad's employees, but I don't think it's the same."

Sasuke looked like he was lost in thought before snapping out of it. Naruto's step stuttered when he felt a small fluctuation in Sasuke's magic.

"Yeah, he was always doing that, even when I didn't want him to." Naruto watched Sasuke get lost in thought once more, paying attention to the fluctuations. Maybe his family was the trigger? The only times Naruto had felt a flare up was when Sasuke talked about his family. Well, that and when it was reacting to his or his dad's magic.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone and he quickly pulled it out, pausing from walking. "Hello?"

"We found him!" Kiba cheered

"That's great! Take him back to the barn. We will head back as well."

"Okay, see you there." Naruto hung up the phone and grinned at Sasuke who had turned to wait for him.

"They got him?" he asked, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. Let's head back."

Luckily when they got back Kiba and the others were waiting outside, Vixen presumably already in the barn. Naruto waved and grinned.

"So where was he?" Naruto asked.

"Wandering around the park near the elementary school. Luckily no one was there," Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded. Thank god. Although kids seeing him wouldn't be the worst thing, he didn't want scared parents calling animal control.

"Thanks guys. I can take care of him now."

"You sure?" Kiba asked, glancing at Sasuke. Naruto nodded and they went to Kiba's truck. Naruto turned to Sasuke, smiling.

"Thanks, Sasuke. Even if we weren't the one's to find him, I appreciate the company."

"No problem. So," Sasuke said, looking towards the barn doors. "Do I get to meet this troublesome horse?" Naruto frowned and scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh, he's actually not very good with strangers. It's probably better to let him rest after all this." Sasuke eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, well I guess I'll head back home then," Sasuke said, turning to leave. Naruto hated to see Sasuke leave, but he needed to take care of Vixen. This couldn't keep happening.

"Oh, here!" Naruto said, jogging up to Sasuke. "Give me your number," Naruto said, handing his phone to Sasuke. "That way I can call you if I need your help again." Sasuke nodded and grabbed Naruto's phone, typing in his number.

"Or," Sasuke said, a smirk creeping onto his lips as he handed it back. "if you need my company again." Naruto's cheeks turned a burning red and he was unable to say anything, just nodding with a dumbfounded look. Sasuke chuckled before turning and walking back towards his house.

It wasn't until Sasuke was out of sight that Naruto was able to snap himself out of shock. Sasuke was flirting with him! Naruto might be a bit ignorant but he definitely knew when someone was flirting with him! Did that mean Sasuke remembered last night? Naruto had assumed he hadn't since he hadn't brought it up. Did that mean Sasuke liked him to? Or maybe he was just teasing him? Damn, now Naruto was confused.

"Vixen, it's all your fault!" Naruto yelled, walking into the barn where Vixen was munching away on some hay. Vixen lifted his head a moment to stare blankly at him before going back to eating. Damn reindeer. He was playing dumb, but he knew he was causing trouble for Naruto.

"Fine, don't say anything." Naruto sighed and looked up, searching for the hole in the roof Kiba had mentioned. It wasn't hard to find. There was a pile of snow on the floor below it, and it was quite large, letting in a bright stream of sunlight. It was midafternoon now, so the sun was shining directly into the barn, melting the snow that had piled up.

"Whatever, I guess I'll just fix this," Naruto mumbled, leaving the barn to walk to town. Hopefully there would be a store open where he could buy some sheets of wood. He would love to use his magic, but fixing a roof was different from conjuring a snowball, and his dad wouldn't be happy about it. Besides, Naruto was a bit worried adding anymore magic into the air might cause problems. It might have been because Sasuke had just left, but he could feel traces of his magic floating in the air, and that made him nervous. The fact that Sasuke didn't seem to know about the magic in him made Naruto think he couldn't have been born with it, which means he has no control over it, and magic could be quite explosive. Sometimes magic could react with other magic in a negative way, especially if the owner of said magic didn't know how to control it. Such was the case of Sasuke's sudden illness. His magic was reacting to Naruto's and his dad's. It seemed like it was trying to force its way out in response, causing Sasuke immense pain. Now, for whatever reason, the magic in Sasuke was flowing much more freely, and while that meant Sasuke shouldn't have another episode, it also meant untamed magic was freely entering the air.

It took the rest of the day for Naruto to fix the roof. Luckily there had been a store open where he could buy wood, but he'd had to carry it back to the barn himself and by the time he'd done that, he was tired, and fed up. Consequences be damned, Naruto used a bit of magic to adhere the wood to the roof. As the sun set, Naruto flopped down onto his makeshift bed and sighed quickly falling asleep under a pile of blankets.