2

"Hokage-sama?" a woman knocked, calling clearly through the large wooden double doors. "I have the reports from the hospital here for you."

"Come in, Sakura," Naruto did not look up from his scribbling. One of the doors slid open and Haruno Sakura slipped into the warm orange and maple wood office, smiling at her friend. She closed the door after her and crossed to the long desk that stretched before the portrait window which looked down onto the city, placing her file on a clear surface and crossing her arms, leaning a hip against the desk and waiting. Naruto's pen halted on the period of his most recent sentence and he stopped writing to give her his undivided attention, flashing her one of his bright, winning smiles. "Hello!"

"Hey, Naruto," she chuckled. "I heard you had dinner at Sasuke's last night."

He made a face. "It was more like, I inhaled what Hinata gave me and ran."

"At least you saw Hana and Haku, right?" she asked. "How are they?"

"They're good. Hana's excited that Neji's home."

"And are you planning on sending him out again?" she motioned with her chin to the papers under his hand.

"Huh?" he looked down. "Oh, no. I got a letter from Gaara," he picked up a scroll from underneath the clutter of papers and waved it around a bit. "I asked him to let me know what was going on with Cloud, and he had Temari write me up a report."

"What's it say?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Well," he held it back down and frowned at it a bit, "he says the Water Country is really hesitant to let them continue negotiations within their borders, so he's thinking of travelling all the way to Cloud Country."

"I hope not," she shook her head. "That would be really dangerous."

"Baa-chan said that when my…" he cleared his throat, "my father was hokage, he made trips into Rock, Sand, and Water all the time." He smiled. "I'm sure if his brother and sister go with him, he'll be fine."

"Maybe you can send him some help?" she gestured at the unwritten letter.

"That's what I was thinking of offering," he nodded, "but I'm afraid he might turn it away, you know, because he doesn't think that he'll need help."

"Sounds like you," Sakura laughed.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her: "Well excuse me!"

They began to laugh when another knock interrupted their banter. Sakura straightened and picked up her file, sliding it across the messy desk at him. "Those are all the physical exam results you requested for the Anbu currently on active duty," she reminded him. "Next week we'll start testing the ones who are on the backlists. I'll give you those results when we get them in." She turned and headed for the door, waving over her shoulder at him. "I'll let your next guest in. See you later, Hokage."

She opened the door and froze for a full three seconds. Naruto looked around her at the person standing there. Uchiha Sasuke was raising an eyebrow at the pink-haired woman. "Can I come in?" he asked both her and the blond further in.

"Sure, of course!" Sakura recovered and forced a big smile and opening the door wider so he could step inside past her. He did so, giving her another strange look. His black amber eyes slid over to the other man and he nodded.

"Rokudaime."

"Uchiha," Naruto nodded back.

"So formal, the two of you," Sakura rolled her eyes and waved to them both. "I'll get those reports to you soon, Naruto. See you later, Sasuke." She left, closing the door behind her. A slightly tense silence followed her departure. Naruto cleared his throat abruptly and shuffled around papers on his desk.

Without turning around, Sasuke addressed him: "It won't get any cleaner no matter how much you move it around."

"Well, excuse me," he said for the second time in ten minutes, but his voice dripped with sarcasm instead of mirth. "I don't have a wife who cleans up after me all the time."

Sasuke turned to face the other man in profile, flinching slightly at the low blow. "What's with the attitude?"

"I don't have an attitude," the blond replied a little stiffly.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Sasuke shrugged, turning all the way around to face him. Naruto clenched his teeth but kept the annoyed growl locked in his throat. More and more often as of late, his patience with his friend was becoming harder and harder to maintain. Naruto tried to tell himself he was stressed and worried over Gaara's current situation, but deeper inside, he understood that it was because of his inability to fully be himself around the other man like he had before. He had a wife, and he had children now—a beautiful girl and a genius boy—and the times they had together alone to just be themselves were few and far between. It bothered Naruto, more than he would ever admit out loud.

"What's up, Sasuke?" he sighed.

"…I have," he said with what was apparently much difficulty, "something I want to ask you about."

This perked Naruto's interest. "About?"

"Haku."

His son? "What about him?" the blond blinked in surprise.

"You… I…" Sasuke turned his head and looked away, a hint of red flashing across his cheeks. "He…"

"Is something wrong with him?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shook his head. "Is he in trouble or anything?" Another negative shake of the head from the other man. "Did he say something?" There was hesitation. "Did he say something about you?"

"Actually, he said something about you," Sasuke grumbled, sounding none too happy with this admission.

"Me?" Naruto was even more confused. "Is he upset at me? Did I do something wrong?"

Sasuke's lips tightened as he shook his head one more time. "That's just it—he says he wants to be just like you when he grows up."

"Like me!" Naruto jumped in his chair. "He must have been pulling your leg or something—"

"Haku never jokes, that's the problem," the black-haired man wrinkled his nose. "He's too much like his mother: shy, quiet, reserved. The only thing he takes after me in is his brains."

"That was a little cruel," Naruto winced for Hinata in her absence.

"But Hana's exactly like me: direct, strong, and quick. She even has my eyes," he tapped the area beneath his own dark eyes with one finger. "But she looks up to her uncle, Neji." He let out a dejected sigh. "I don't know what to do, and I can't ask Neji—he'd just laugh at me—so you're the only one I can ask. Why do the kids like you more than then like me?"

Naruto was just stunned. He leaned back in his chair and gave a good long look-over of the other man, to see if he was truly being serious about this. He was. The blond threw back his head and cackled madly. Sasuke shot him a glare, but it wasn't all that threatening because his eyes were reflecting his confusion at the odd reaction to his question. Naruto held his stomach and howled, tears of laughter springing into his eyes. Sasuke stood up straight and crossed his arms, waiting. The blond giggled and chuckled himself into a semi-composed state, opened his eyes to look at the other man, and began to laugh hard again. Someone opened the office door; it was Konohamaru.

"What's going on in here?" he asked, his bewildered voice making Naruto laugh harder. Sasuke shot him a glare, this one full and sharp with anger. The younger man 'eep'ed and quickly closed the door. Sasuke continued to wait. Naruto's peals of laughter eventually began to taper off and he straightened in his chair, wiping tears from his eyes and gasping for breath.

"Oh, Sasuke, you kill me!" he snickered, leaning his elbows against the table and grinning up at the other man.

"I'm about to, if you don't explain what's so damn funny," he snapped.

"You!" Naruto cackled again, fighting to restrain himself from another giggle fit. "Just now, when you asked me that question, you sounded like a pouty little five year old!"

"Yeah, well, nevermind I asked," Sasuke turned on his heel and went for the door.

"No, wait, Sasuke, come back!" Naruto let out one last giggle, waving the other man back. The black-haired Anbu hesitated at the door, his hand on the latch.

He could sense people crowded around on the other side, and had to smother the urge to fling it open and send them flying backwards. He let go of the handle and returned to the desk, glowering. Naruto smiled at him disarmingly, propping his chin in his hands.

"What?" he sulked.

"I'm almost done here," Naruto gestured at his cluttered desk. "I'm going to finish up on this letter and take a lunch break." His blue eyes sparkled. "Would you like to join me?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Sure. I can wait."

"Good," Naruto beamed. "Just let me finish this up and I'll get—" his voice abruptly raised and he leaned over to shout at the door "—KONOHAMARU TO SEND IT OUT FOR ME!"

"How'd he know?" Konohamaru's muffled voice could be heard addressing someone else hiding with him behind the door. Giggles came from the hall. Naruto smirked and bent down to the task of wrapping up his letter.