05. Naruto's Weird Behavior and the Entertainment Magazine

Sasuke glanced at Naruto as they quietly rode the car, frowning slightly at the unusual silence.

He hadn't seen Naruto for a few days – since he had needed to go out of town for some urgent business – and was currently taking him home after finally coming back that night.

Emi had been absolutely ecstatic to be staying at Naruto's place during the time he would be away and had been talking non-stop about all the fun they would have while he drove her to kindergarten the morning he had taken off of work just before leaving –where Naruto would later pick her up and take her home. Usually, Sasuke wouldn't allow Emi to stay anywhere else except at home, but he believed Naruto was capable enough and it would be an easier arrangement than the both of them having to travel back and forth across the city. It had gone quite well, too, although Emi had been eating far too many fruit caramels for Sasuke's liking.

But, for some reason, Naruto was full out being weird.

Ever since he had come back, Naruto wouldn't meet his eyes and was all of a sudden extremely humble, like he was embarrassed. He would stumble over his words whenever they were talking, and he always found one reason or the other to leave the room and go hide in another for the entirety of the late afternoon and evening.

And Sasuke, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like he had done something to earn this sort of treatment, right?

He had to admit, he missed the usual cheeriness and grins he would usually be subjected to in Naruto's presence, even if it had only been around three days since he last saw it. He realized now how warm they usually made him feel. Well, truthfully, he had already realized it while he was away on the trip.

He cleared his throat awkwardly; trying not to feel embarrassed at the fact that he had been thinking just as much about Naruto as he had been thinking of Emi while he was away. Several times, he had caught himself as his thoughts drifted off to him whenever he had to listen to some boring old man represent his new-but-not-really idea on how to improve something or another within the company or some product.

During all his daydreaming (Sasuke seriously loathed to think he had been doing something as childish as daydreaming, but there was really no other way to put it) he had found that he missed Naruto. The feeling hit him suddenly and took him completely by surprise because the only other person he ever missed was Emi. But he couldn't deny that he was looking forward to seeing him again, to hear him sing and laugh and prattle about everything and nothing, to watch him dance or study or color with Emi or simply just to come home and be greeted by him.

He shook his head slightly. His thoughts were completely running away with him. Again. He sounded like a pining, pubescent teen. Which was not something he felt proud of.

"Naruto-" he sighed when he stopped for a red light but cut off as Naruto jumped. Sasuke gave him a puzzled frown, which was completely overlooked as the other fixed his gaze somewhere above Sasuke's head. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto made the smallest grimace and bit his lip briefly, looking out the window again and at the stoplight. His hair was hiding most of his face and Sasuke just wanted to reach out and brush it away so he could look at him properly. Instead he gripped the steering wheel tighter, not sure he would be allowed to act out his urges, which were weird if he thought about it. Who brushed the hair out of someone-they-weren't-even-that-close-with's face?

"I… well…" Naruto interrupted his thoughts while he seemed to struggle to find the right words. "You're Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke's frown deepened and he turned his eyes back to the road as the light turned green.

"Yes, I am," he said slowly, not quite understanding what the shocking revelation was. It wasn't like his name was unknown. His family name appeared at least once a day in some paper or TV show.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled and didn't seem to want to elaborate.

"Is there something you find wrong with me?" Sasuke asked after another beat of silence, the question making him feel more worried than it should.

Naruto's head shot up and he finally looked directly at him with wide eyes, although now Sasuke had to focus on the road.

"No!" he hurried to say, quite loudly and Sasuke cringed slightly. "I-I mean," he stammered, "I didn't know…"

"Naruto, if you're going to tell me please do so without all this hedging," Sasuke grumbled, starting to get annoyed by whatever made him incapable of speaking properly.

Naruto cleared his throat, glancing around hesitantly as they slowed to a stop in front of his apartment building and Sasuke turned towards him. Then he dug around in his pocket and Sasuke sincerely hoped he wouldn't bring out his seemingly endless supply of fruit candies – like he always did when Emi had done something good. Where did he even get all of them?

To his surprise he pulled out his – quite ancient – cell phone and Sasuke shot him a confused look. Naruto held it out, showing the back of it to him. He looked down at it, seeing his family's mark on it. It wasn't all that surprising; their line of phones was quite well known and popular, although they certainly had upgraded their latest phones with more modern features. Sasuke didn't even know they still sold phones that looked like small boulders.

"Is there a problem with your phone?" he asked, wondering if Naruto thought he could give him a new one since it was his family's business.

Naruto shook his head.

"My phone's great," he mumbled. "But it's your family's company."

"Yes?" Sasuke agreed questioningly, feeling completely lost.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Sasuke simply stared at him.

Naruto couldn't be serious. Not that Sasuke was vain or conceited, but it was quite unlikely the other hadn't ever heard of him as his family and their empire was known worldwide. It should be nearly impossible, especially since he lived in the very same country Sasuke originated from. Their country was quite proud of the Uchiha's advertisement of them as a technologically advanced nation and always had something or another to say about the family in either news or entertainment.

"Why didn't I tell you that I, a person who is quite well known and thus also trusts people even less, was partly owner of a large, world-known company?" Sasuke questioned incredulously. "I don't know, maybe because I got used to people always knowing me?"

Naruto grimaced and looked extremely embarrassed.

"Right. You're right," he mumbled once again avoiding looking directly at Sasuke, which was really starting to bother him. "Okay… good night."

He opened the door and all but flung himself outside. Sasuke stared after him for a second in incredulous silence before he hurried to take off his seat belt and get out of the car to follow him. He really didn't want to let it go like that.

"Naruto!" he called and the other stopped halfway to the entrance. "You really didn't know?"

He turned around, shaking his head.

"No," he answered, looking dejected for whatever reason. Sasuke approached him slowly. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke frowned, trying to ignore the very sudden urge to reach out and touch his cheek gently. He didn't understand what exactly Naruto should be sorry for but he sure as hell hoped it wasn't for acting the way he had been. Sasuke wasn't sure he would like it if Naruto started being unable to look at or talk to him properly. He had come to like the small smiles they would always share at Emi's antics and the conversations they had had in his car as he drove Naruto home on late nights. It gave him peace somehow; to know he had someone he could be friends with, without any ambiguity.

"Don't be sorry," Sasuke told him. Naruto stared down at the ground stubbornly. "I'm just a bit surprised, it's nothing bad."

"Well, I…" he hesitated. "Was a bit out of line."

"When?" Sasuke frowned.

Naruto finally, finally glanced up at him and met his gaze. He seemed to get stuck staring into his eyes, though. Not that Sasuke minded; the blue in Naruto's irises were stunning and he could almost feel a breeze from the sea flow past him. It certainly wasn't a bad feeling.

Then Naruto suddenly gave him a wide grin, although Sasuke couldn't help but think it was a bit forced, and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "Nothing. See you."

He gave a small wave and turned back towards the building, leaving Sasuke to stare after him in confusion.

He really was a moron, Naruto thought as he slumped over his desk while waiting for the lecture hall to fill with students, hitting his forehead against the cool wood softly.

It was empty and silent in the room since he had arrived way to early, but he hadn't been able to sleep at all that night and had tossed and turned as his conversation with Sasuke replayed in his mind. It was making him feel extremely embarrassed because he had almost told the other he had a – not so small – crush on him and now he had no idea of how to face him. Not only had he almost confessed, but he hadn't been able to put his feelings aside and try to be professional either.

And he had tried, so fricking hard, to not let it grow even more after he realized just who Sasuke Uchiha actually was.

But did his heart listen?

Of course not.

Thankfully, Sasuke had gone away on a conference trip for the weekend and Naruto hadn't had to deal with seeing him in person ever since he learned about him from his friends. He had thought he would have been able to handle everything with what little time away from Sasuke he had been granted, that he would have enough time to put it behind him and carry on without much of an incident since the gods appeared to be on his side for once. However, it all hit him again like a rubber band being pulled out and released once Sasuke had entered the door the night before and it hadn't been a pleasant feeling at all. Or well, it had been pleasant. It just wasn't pleasant to know it shouldn't be.

And worst of all?

Sasuke had noticed.

And if Sasuke had noticed what he was trying so very hard not to show (and yes he had been trying extremely hard, but he was an honest person and therefore bad at keeping his emotions and feelings under control) it was just a matter of time before he would realize exactly how Naruto truly felt about him.

He sighed, hitting his head against the table again.

What was he supposed to do if Sasuke would hate him for his feelings? Were rich, well-known people more accepting than normal people? Or were they worse? He had no idea.

Naruto remembered when he had told his friends he was bisexual and had previously had both girlfriends and boyfriends. Some of them were shocked of course, but didn't think much of it. However, a large number of people stopped talking to him because, as they'd said, 'you either like girls or otherwise it's disgusting' or 'I can't be friends with someone who's sleeping with whomever. You can get STD's, you know?'. It was easy to say he found out who his true friends were in the end and it made him kind of glad that he had been open and honest about his preferences.

But for the first time, Naruto was actually worried what troubles his preference could cause. He didn't want to leave his work; he liked being with Emi and Sasuke too much. It was fun and filled him with warmth and happiness. He knew he was getting way to attached to them, but he couldn't help it.

Still, he was relieved this was his day off. Sasuke had decided to pick Emi up from kindergarten and spend time with her since he had been away so much lately.

"Hey, dude," Kiba's voice suddenly said from somewhere beside him and Naruto turned his head to look at him, resting his cheek against the desk instead. "What's gotten you in such a slump?"

"I'm a moron," Naruto muttered sullenly as an answer and Kiba laughed while dumping his bag on the floor.

"Yes, I know."

Naruto glared at him and turned his head away to watch the now half full lecture hall, ignoring his friend and leaving them in comfortable silence for a moment. Then he frowned as he saw Choji enter at top speed, clutching something in his hand.

"What the-?" Kiba said but cut off as their friend came to an abrupt stop in front of them, his face red and his breath coming out in gasps. "Buddy, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Choji just shook his head and slammed what had been holding tightly in his hand down on the desk beside Naruto's head, making him jump.

"Have you seen this?" he asked, staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

He frowned at him before looking down at what appeared to be a crumpled magazine.

"What is it?" he asked as both he and Kiba bent over it curiously.

Choji smoothed out the front page for them so they could read what it said.

"It's an entertainment magazine," Kiba answered slowly, sounding disbelieving. "And apparently you're in it."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he quickly picked it up, staring at the front page where he could now clearly see Sasuke facing a blond person with their back to the camera. His stomach dropped and he suddenly felt cold.

"Y-you don't know that for sure," he spluttered nervously. "I-I mean, I can't be the only blond person he knows."

Kiba snatched the magazine from his hands and flipped a few pages, landing on a page filled with photos and speculations. Naruto stared at them in horror, seeing his face in most of them from the times he had gone with Emi and Sasuke to the park or mall. The most recent was of him exiting his apartment building with Emi, and judging by their clothes the picture had been taken just yesterday. He'd had no idea there had been a camera nearby and it sent a shiver down his spine. He quickly glanced around before ducking his head down.

"What the fuck are my pictures in there for?!" he hissed, shielding the side of his face that wasn't turned towards Kiba with his hand. He really wished he had a hoodie right now. Too bad it was too warm to wear one.

"Chill, dude," Kiba said as he scanned the page. "They're just wondering who you are as the journalists believe they have pegged everything about Uchiha down." He laughed triumphantly. "Guess you showed them, huh?"

"I'll show you, if you don't put that thing away," Naruto growled under his breath but was ignored as both Choji and Kiba continued reading.

"They're wondering if you're some sort of family friend or a very distant relative," Choji informed him and Kiba snorted.

Naruto groaned and dragged his hands over his face.

"What do I do?!" he whispered harshly. "I can't ever show my face in public again!"

He looked through his fingers at his friends who actually had enough empathy to send him sympathetic looks.

"I'll have to move to the mountains," he realized dazedly. "Become a monk… or a hermit… I'll have to live in celibacy…"

"Like you don't already," Kiba snorted and then groaned as Naruto elbowed him sharply in the ribs with a glare. He returned the favor with a punch to his shoulder and soon they were half wrestling, half fighting with each other.

"One thing I'm wondering, though," Choji suddenly said, making them stop and look at him, "is why they know about you, but not about the previous nanny."

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

"Because, if I remember it right, the previous nanny was a woman, right?" Choji said and Naruto nodded. "There would have been all sorts of scandals about that and there never was, so…"

"So maybe this Sasuke Uchiha hasn't been as careful with you as he was with Ino's friend!" Kiba filled in. He hit Naruto's back encouragingly. "Could do you good, buddy! Get famous and whatnot!"

Naruto scowled but refrained from saying anything as their lecturer entered and he turned his attention forward. He just had to keep calm. He was sure no one was going to recognize him or even read that magazine. There was nothing to worry about, he told himself reassuringly.

"Have you seen this?"

Sasuke sent an irritated look at his brother who had barged into his office and slammed something onto his desk hard enough to make his laptop jolt.

"What?" he snapped, tired from all the numbers he had been staring at and not seeing because he was stuck mulling over Naruto's odd behavior.

Itachi held up whatever was so important so Sasuke could see it. His stomach dropped and his heart skipped a beat as he saw himself on the front page to some know-it-all entertainment – or rather, gossip – magazine. The thing was, he wasn't alone. Naruto was right there in front of him, albeit with his back turned towards the camera.

"You've gotten careless, brother," Itachi said gravely as he opened the magazine to reveal a whole page with photos, some in which you actually could see Naruto's face. "It's fine if you go together during the days to the park or wherever, but nighttime activities? It could start all sorts of rumors if it becomes a reoccurring thing and you know how these 'journalists' are." His brother sighed and put the magazine down. "Luckily, they were not aware of you driving Naruto home until now since they weren't sure how your car actually looked. But why did you get out of the car? We can't pass you off as an anonymous driver because of it. You know better than that."

Sasuke had nothing to say.

He did know better. He was always so very thorough with where he let himself be seen or not and with whom. But he hadn't really been thinking about it lately, he realized now. He had just been… doing what he wanted without even remembering to look for paparazzi and whatnot. The consequences to his actions had kind of been forgotten, which confused him a little. He never forgot to think about consequences. He'd been doing it his entire life.

He frowned as he picked the magazine up and looked at the pictures and Naruto's bright smiles for a moment. Then he closed it, staring at the front page.

Last night, however, he had been more concerned by Naruto's sudden change in behavior to remember to even keep things like that in the back of his mind.

Dammit.

Sighing, Sasuke threw the magazine onto the desk and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"I'll go pick him up," Itachi said and Sasuke's head shot up. "You gave him and the driver a day off today, right? However, I don't think he should return home at the moment."

"What? No, it's my fault. I should go," Sasuke argued.

He didn't really know why he was saying it – seeing as he very much wanted to be with Emi after so many late nights and busy weekends – but there was something tugging in his chest that made him feel like he needed to go to Naruto.

Right now.

He must have been influenced by his daughter's earlier worries, because he couldn't help imagining all sorts of bad things happening to Naruto at the moment. And it wasn't even his fault. It was all because of Sasuke, which made him feel even worse.

Itachi looked at him for a moment, as if he was trying to read his mind – which he most probably could. His brother had this weird intuition that never failed him. Then he shook his head.

"You should pick Emi up since you already told her you would. It would make her very sad otherwise," he reasoned. "I'll get Naruto and take him back to your house, okay? You can apologize to him there."

Sasuke met his grave gaze and nodded reluctantly. This day was not starting out well at all.

Naruto usually liked his appearance. It made him stand out in the crowd, his blond hair always shone in the sea of dark brown, his skin always had a golden hue to it even in the winter and his blue eyes usually sparkled with a light brown eyes couldn't really imitate. He was different and he was proud of it.

Now, however, he was cursing his foreign genes to the deepest pits of hell.

Not only did it make him a beacon for attention, it made him much easier to spot when all he wanted to do was disappear in the crowd. He seriously should consider dyeing his hair, he thought sullenly later that afternoon as he dove into the men's bathroom and locked himself in the most unused stall he could find.

This was all that dumb magazines fault.

Naruto hadn't thought it would spread as fast as it had because he was sure that, unless it was someone who knew him, people wouldn't be able to tell it was him in the picture or be interested even. Of course he had forgotten about the other stupid pictures in the magazine that clearly showed his face and apparently he had clearly underestimated how famous the Uchihas were. It was really starting to dawn on him just how popular and well-known Sasuke actually was.

He just about sat down on the closed lid of the toilet when his phone suddenly rang and he jumped nearly ten feet in the air, his heart beating painfully fast against his ribcage. The media wouldn't be interested enough in him to actually find his number, would they? He wondered as he pulled his phone out of his bag while trying to listen for anyone approaching. He really hoped no one had heard him; he couldn't deal with people asking him a thousand and one questions he really had no answer to. Why would he know what type of cologne Sasuke preferred? And no, he didn't know which gym he went to or even if he went to one at all. And he sure as hell wouldn't give Sasuke's phone number to anyone, even if he would be paid ridiculous amounts of money for it.

"Hello?" he whispered into the receiver when he was sure the ringtone hadn't attracted any attention to his hiding spot.

"Naruto," Sasuke sounded relieved and it made his heart skip a beat for an entire different reason than fear. "Are you okay?"

"I-I… yeah," Naruto answered sheepishly. "You know?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Itachi is going to get you so we can sort this out."

"Right… I'm hiding in the bathroom right now," he mumbled embarrassedly. "I don't think I can go outside unless I dye my hair or something."

"Hn," Sasuke snorted and Naruto frowned.

"Don't laugh!" he complained, although he was smiling slightly. It was crazy how just the sound of Sasuke's voice already made him feel calmer and more like himself. "It's your fault!"

The line went silent and Naruto immediately regretted his words. He could practically hear the troubled frown on the other side.

"I-I mean…" he stuttered. "N-not your fault per se-"

"You're right," Sasuke interrupted him, sounding way too serious and his heart sank. "Itachi should be there now, I'll give him your number."

"Sasu-" Naruto started but stopped as Sasuke suddenly hung up. "Great," he muttered.

It wasn't long until his phone rang again and Itachi told him to leave through the back of the school. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh as he exited the stall and looked at himself in the mirror, pulling at a few strands of his hair dejectedly. Then he took a breath, bracing himself before throwing the door open and making a run for it, forcing students and professors to jump out of the way in fright of being mowed down by his speed. He heard Shikamaru call his name from somewhere behind him, but didn't slow down until he spotted the same silvery mustang that had followed him on his first official day working for Sasuke. He almost barreled into the car but managed to come to a halt just in time to open the door and crash onto the passenger seat instead.

Itachi chuckled at him, clearly amused.

"Rough day?" he asked as he started the car, chortling softly.

Naruto sent him a dissatisfied scowl while he put his seat belt on and tried to catch his breath.

"It was fine at first, since people were just kind of staring at me, but after lunch they started following me around!" Naruto huffed in irritation. "That ridiculous magazine seriously doesn't know what it's talking about either! How famous are you guys anyway?!"

Itachi let out another chuckle.

"Very," he answered simply. "But you're special."

"What?" Naruto frowned, trying not to feel flustered since his thought process went a completely different direction than it should at that comment.

Like imagining himself intertwining his fingers with Sasuke's, snuggling up to him while watching a movie (even if he knew, for a fact, that Sasuke didn't watch movies) and leaving a trail of soft kisses all over his skin.

"Our family has always been very careful with our private lives," Itachi explained and Naruto forced himself to clear his mind of the ridiculous daydreams swimming around in his head. He couldn't help the slight blush spreading across his face, though. "There is nearly nothing except ourselves and those we do business with in every picture, which doesn't give the entertainment journalists much to gossip about. You, however, are the first person ever seen that has no clear connection to our business or family, which makes you very interesting to the media and the general public."

"How do they know I'm not someone in your business!" Naruto asked exasperatedly. "And anyway! I work for Sasuke! I'm not his friend!"

"Deductions made through previous footage and observed interaction." Itachi shrugged. "And you are more involved in Sasuke's personal life than anyone the media has seen earlier, excluding his immediate family of course. Also, I would beg to differ about the friend part."

Naruto stared at him.

It wasn't like he didn't know he hadn't grown closer to the small family made up of Sasuke and Emi. It just never occurred to him that he and Sasuke could be viewed as something other than employee and boss… as friends.

It made his heart flutter in his chest and a small smile tug at his lips. Even if he still had a – now major – crush on Sasuke, he couldn't help feeling happy being recognized as simply a friend. He didn't really need any grand love story or anything; he just wanted to get to know Sasuke better. And he could do that if they could be friends.

"I'm a… friend?" he mumbled to himself, his smile widening a little.

Itachi glanced at him.

"Well, I do wonder…" he muttered as he looked back to the road.

Naruto waited for him to elaborate, but he remained silent.

"You wonder what?" he asked, not able to deny his curiosity.

Itachi smiled.

"My little brother is acting more at ease with you than his childhood friend." He got a thoughtful expression. "And maybe even us, his own family."

"That can't be true," Naruto said softly.

He didn't know much about family, but from what he had seen at his friends' houses, a family was your home, where you could tell them everything and not be afraid of being judged, where you could cry and laugh and yell to your heart's content and still be loved without any conditions. And even though Sasuke must have grown up in a very different environment than what was considered normal, like middle-class, Naruto was sure he had been loved too. The genuine love and care he showed Emi was proof of that.

"I wish," Itachi sighed heavily. "But the more I see him interact with you, or rather just think of you, the more I start to think he has been strangely disconnected from all of us – mother, father and me – for some unknown reason. He actually expresses more genuine feelings than usual, if you exclude when he's with Emi."

"I… haven't noticed…" Naruto mumbled, blushing slightly again.

Itachi snorted.

"Of course you wouldn't," he chuckled. "You only see that side of him, so you can't compare, can you now?"

Naruto mumbled something incomprehensible, which made Itachi smile in amusement and the rest of the trip was spent in silence.

"Daddy, you can't dance."

Sasuke's head shot up and he stared at his daughter questioningly, but she just continued what she had been doing earlier, which was chasing her fruit loops around her bowl with her spoon.

They had arrived home not long ago and Sasuke had put her at the dinner table with a bowl of fruit loops so she would stay occupied while he was thinking, pacing back and forth.

"What was that, princess?" he asked.

Emi glanced up at him.

"When Na-chan dances, there is music and he does funny moves," she elaborated. "Daddy is just moving from there-" she pointed to where he was standing, "-to there." She moved her hand in a straight line to the left to point a few feet away from him. "And there's no music."

Sasuke frowned but didn't say anything.

He was nervous. The only time he could remember ever feeling nervous before was when he had held Emi in his arms for the first time. He had been so afraid he would drop her or squish her. He didn't know why he was feeling like that now, but ever since he had come up with the thought he was now musing over there had been this weird jittery sensation in his limbs.

All because he had come to the conclusion that letting Naruto move into their house was a good idea.

And really, why wouldn't it be? Emi wouldn't mind in the least and Sasuke… well Sasuke wouldn't mind it that much either. Maybe he would be happy, even. Because his daughter would be.

Yeah.

But he was still uncharacteristically nervous because he had no idea how Naruto would react to the proposition. And judging by the way he had acted last night, there was a good chance he would refuse. So, yes, Sasuke was nervously pacing, wondering what to do and how to persuade Naruto.

The front door opened and Emi's face brightened. She jumped down from her seat to rush out to greet their guests with a happy 'Na-chan!'.

"I have brought the royal highness," Sasuke heard Itachi inform her politely and Emi giggled.

Sasuke couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips as he rounded the corner and saw Naruto send his brother a glare while his cheeks turned pink. Itachi merely shrugged and picked Emi up, bouncing her a little in his arms.

"Why do you only greet the queen, and not the noble knight that brought him, my princess?" he asked with a slight pout, making Emi giggle again as they passed Sasuke on their way to the living room, leaving him and Naruto alone.

"Because Na-chan is more important!" They heard Emi explain and Itachi let out an offended huff.

Sasuke shook his head and turned to Naruto, who was still looking at the entrance to the living room, a small, fond smile on his lips. Sasuke's heart did a weird, fluttery thing and the words that he had prepared to say died in his throat.

He had never seen that look on Naruto's face before. He didn't know how to describe it, but it made him feel all sorts of strangely warm and content. Homey even, which was strange, seeing as he was already home.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he cleared the smile off his face just in time before Naruto looked in his direction, his eyebrows raised in question. Sasuke nodded towards the kitchen and retraced his steps back to take a seat at the dinner table. Naruto followed and sat down across from him, glancing around apprehensively before meeting Sasuke's gaze. They looked at each other for a silent moment before Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

"I apologize," he said, a little surprised at the fierce sincerity in his voice. "I-"

"Ah," Naruto interrupted him, "you know I was just joking when I said it was your fault, right?"

"Still," he argued, leaning his forehead in his hand and rubbing it tiredly. He was starting to get a headache. "If I hadn't gotten out of that stupid car it wouldn't have blown up like this. I'm sorry I complicated things for you. Me and my brother will come up with a story for you and direct the media's attention elsewhere."

Warm fingers closed around his wrist and pulled his hand away from his forehead, placing it on the table softly. Sasuke looked up at Naruto's gratefully smiling face and felt his heart do that weird, fluttery thing again.

"It's okay," he said. Sasuke simply stared at him. "You can't be blamed for the greed of that kind of people. So don't apologize, okay?"

Sasuke continued staring at him. Then he noticed how his wrist felt unusually warm and glanced down at Naruto's hand still clasped around it. Naruto followed his gaze and let go immediately, as if Sasuke was contagious or something.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking embarrassed.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and they fell silent once again, only the sounds of some cartoon playing on the TV in the living room disrupting the peace between them. Naruto was staring down at the tabletop, his cheeks pink and his lower lip caught between his teeth. Sasuke tilted his head slightly as he watched him, wanting to know what was going through Naruto's head.

Then he remembered he had more important things to talk to Naruto about.

"Do you want to move in here?" he asked softly, the jittery feeling in his limbs starting up again.

Naruto's head snapped up so fast it was a wonder he didn't get any whiplash injuries, and he looked at Sasuke with wide, blue eyes.

"I-I… what?"

"Move in?" Sasuke repeated, commending himself for the calmness in his voice when he really was feeling the opposite. "Live here? Sleep here?"

"Oh…" Naruto returned his gaze to the tabletop to give it a thoughtful look.

"I know it's sudden," Sasuke said. "But I think since you're now on the media's radar it might be easier for you to just live here and not have to worry about hidden cameras or unwanted guests."

Naruto frowned and Sasuke thought he saw him shiver slightly.

"We have several guest rooms," he continued. "You can pick the one you like best. We can send someone to pick up your things tomorrow."

Naruto looked up at him again.

"Oh, no," he said hastily. "You don't need to do that! I can do it myself!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure that would be wise, seeing as the media will most likely wait for you to return in order to question you," he explained and Naruto grimaced. "But I take it you accept?"

Naruto bit his lip briefly and averted his gaze, looking thoughtful once again. Sasuke had to refrain from pressuring him for the answer and patiently waited for him to come to whatever conclusion he needed.

It really didn't make sense for him to feel this bothered for someone he'd known for just a few weeks, but Sasuke couldn't help feeling he needed to keep Naruto as far away from the eyes of the rest of the world as he possibly could without locking him up. And he most definitely shouldn't want to lock Naruto up either, he thought, feeling troubled. It was like his feelings of protectiveness over Emi, but still different. Only, he didn't know in which way it was different yet.

"Yeah," Naruto suddenly said quietly, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Thank you."

Sasuke had to take a moment to try and remember their conversation properly before he nodded as well and stood up, feeling unnecessarily relieved.

"Okay, good," he said as he made his way across the kitchen to go to the living room and tell Itachi they needed to come up with some sort of cover story. He stopped beside Naruto though and looked down at him. "I really am sorry for this."

Naruto smiled up at him.

"Still not your fault."

Sasuke smiled back.

Living with Naruto couldn't get that complicated, right? It was just for everyone's protection after all – as Itachi put it over dinner later that evening.

Although, Sasuke would quietly admit to himself when he was lying in bed that night, he really thought of it as the protection of Naruto instead of all of them.

And he had no problem with that whatsoever.

Hey! Look what I managed to put together! And it's only been what? Two weeks or something? xD

Anyhoo, majorly un-edited and not at all proofread but I hope you liked it anyway because it's going somewhere at least, isn't it? I hope so...

That's about all I have to say! I'm not really good with words, but see you in the next chapter!

Buh-bye!