10. Elation and Fear

Biting his lip, Naruto shifted a little in his seat and glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting beside him. For a moment he got caught watching his brow furrow in concentration and his eyes move rapidly from left to right as he scanned a text on his laptop screen. Then Naruto turned his gaze back to the mute TV screen; blinking at the man aiming his gun at a trembling boy in some criminal drama he didn't know the name of.

He had put Emi to bed around two hours ago, after stealing a few more kisses from Sasuke and finishing the dishes. Both of them had come to a silent agreement not to tell her anything just yet when she bounded back into the kitchen to proudly announce she had finished reading her book seconds after they had separated from their last kiss, only to demand Naruto help her read her bedtime story once Sasuke told her it was time for bed to quickly cover up anything she might have seen. Naruto was aware they both needed to sort out exactly what they wanted from each other before involving Emi, but as he left the kitchen with her, throwing one last glance at Sasuke over his shoulder, he knew his decision was already made. He wanted to stay, and not just as Emi's caretaker.

When Emi finally had fallen asleep, after the third fairytale, nervousness had begun crawling around in his stomach and he had stalled for a few minutes at the top of the stairs, listening to the murmur of Sasuke's voice as he talked to someone on the phone. He had decided that if he was going to further their relationship – that is, if Sasuke wished to as well – he wanted Sasuke to know he didn't really have any other family than himself and his friends. It wasn't that he thought Sasuke would have a problem with it; he just thought he should know. He wanted Sasuke to know him, who he was and what had made him the person he was and how much this actually meant for him.

It was weird, though, he had thought as he had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. If Sasuke demanded background checks on everyone entering his property, he should have done one on Naruto too, right? Maybe he'd thought it was a too sensitive subject to bring up.

Naruto had sighed and silently made his way to the living room, watching Sasuke from the doorway. He had been glaring at his laptop, fingers drumming against the keyboard. Apparently Sasuke had more and urgent work to do, which meant putting their conversation off. He had barely noticed Naruto as he sat down on the couch beside him, the only indication he was aware of his presence the small, nearly non-existent glance he threw him.

And that was how an hour passed, Naruto staring blankly at the TV, fading in and out of the fog of his thoughts, and Sasuke grumbling unintelligibly and smattering away on the keyboard.

Sighing softly, Naruto turned towards him, pulled his legs up to cross them at the ankles and leaned his elbow on his knee, head in hand, and proceeded to watch Sasuke work. He smiled a little when Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his lips formed silent words in clear disbelief. He wished he had the courage to reach out and brush his fingers against the lines in Sasuke's forehead to smooth them out, but he was afraid of disturbing him as well as overstepping a line he wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to cross yet.

As if he felt him looking, Sasuke blinked at the laptop screen, like he had just woken up, and turned his head to meet Naruto's gaze. They stared at each other for a silent second. Then Sasuke sighed and gave his computer a scathing look.

"I'm sorry," he grumbled.

Naruto smiled and gave half a shrug.

"It's okay," he murmured. "Your work's more important."

It didn't seem to placate Sasuke at all and he threw a brief glance at his laptop before promptly shutting it and putting it on the coffee table.

Naruto blinked, bewildered, as Sasuke took a deep breath and turned to him, one of his legs bent with his foot tucked under his other knee. Naruto raised his eyebrows at him in question and the corners of Sasuke's lips tugged faintly. He reached out and cupped Naruto's cheek, his thumb ghosting over his lips, which parted ever so little of their own accord. Naruto turned his head to brush his lips against Sasuke's palm to then reach up, grab his hand, lace their fingers together and bring them to his lap.

"So…" Sasuke murmured.

"So…" Naruto echoed in a whisper.

When silence fell again, he moved a little closer, his knees touching Sasuke's legs, and Sasuke's free hand came up to rest on his thigh, warm and steady. They watched each other, both gauging the other's actions and reactions to the smallest of movements, hesitant and unwilling to overstep boundaries.

Naruto rolled his lips together, hesitating before figuring 'to hell with it!', and reached out to cup Sasuke's jaw, pulling him into a kiss. The hand on his thigh gripped harder and Sasuke's other hand came up to rest on his neck, thumb pressing against his jaw.

The movements of their lips were languid and slow, as if they were getting to know each other all over again. And maybe they were. This was a whole new level to the relationship they had had up until a few hours ago and Naruto really hoped it was leading somewhere – that it wasn't just a spur of the moment thing, and that everything wouldn't go back to normal when morning came.

Sasuke's lips moved to mouth against his jaw and Naruto's head fell back to give him easier access, his own hands caressing their way down Sasuke's chest.

"Is this…" Naruto breathed and swallowed harshly, his hands coming to a stop at Sasuke's stomach. "Is this a one time thing?"

Sasuke stilled and pulled back, sending a nervous stutter through Naruto's nerves.

"Do you want it to be?" he murmured, his dark gaze burning into Naruto's.

Sasuke's eyes were closed off and unreadable, a maneuver to protect himself Naruto realized. He couldn't figure out what Sasuke was thinking or what his intentions were at all and he had to avert his gaze. He couldn't look at him with what he was about to confess in fear of rejection.

"No," he whispered. "I don't."

Sasuke let out a breath and Naruto dared a peek at him.

"I don't either," he said softly, the steel in his eyes melting.

Naruto couldn't keep a giddy grin from spreading his lips.

"Yeah?"

Sasuke nodded and pulled him in for another kiss. Naruto moved even closer, half sitting in Sasuke's lap by now, his fingers curling into his shirt. The kiss was short, however, and soon they pulled back to stare at each other again.

"What're we gonna tell Emi?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, his eyes downcast in thought.

"She already treats you like family," he answered slowly. "I don't think she would mind us having a relationship all that much, though she might not completely understand what it means yet."

Heat prickled Naruto's cheeks as he thought about Emi calling him papa and he bit his lip, wondering if he should mention it at all. It was too soon, wasn't it? There really was no reason for Emi to call him anything other than Na-chan.

Of course, Sasuke chose to look back up at him before he could decide, and the decision was made for him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Uh, well…" Naruto hedged. "This morning Emi kinda… insisted on calling me papa, and, uh, I told her not to, because I didn't know how you would take it."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Naruto could practically hear the gears turning in his head before realization took over his features.

"Oh," he murmured.

Naruto nodded.

"But, you know," Naruto quickly added, "she has no reason to call me that. I think she doesn't realize what it implies, either."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth but, after a moment of consideration, seemed to decide not to answer and closed it again.

"So… yeah…" Naruto said slowly, worrying his bottom lip. This would be as a good a moment as any to bring up what he really wanted to tell Sasuke. He took a breath and opened his mouth, but somehow he couldn't quite bring himself to start and what came out instead was: "Maybe you should get back to work?"

Sasuke tilted his head a little but nodded and, after leaning in and giving Naruto a quick kiss, turned to pull his laptop into his lap. He opened it and waited for it to load and, out of nowhere, Naruto had a sudden burst of courage to try again.

"Hey, Sasuke?" he said.

He looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Well… you told me something really important about your past, right?" Naruto continued, his stomach rolling and his hands turning clammy. It really shouldn't be this hard.

Sasuke's face hardened.

"I did," he agreed.

"So, I think it would be fair if I told you something about my past," Naruto swallowed, "don't you?"

This made Sasuke turn back to him and give him his full attention.

"I mean, it's weird you don't know it already, since I assume you made a background check on me and everything," he began babbling. "But you haven't said anything or asked anything, so it makes me wonder. But then again you might think it's a sensitive subject, which it's not – okay, yes it is, but not that sensitive–"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted him with a sigh. "What in the world are you going on about?"

"Uhm," Naruto cleared his throat. "My past? Which you should already know about?"

Sasuke frowned.

"Sakura handled everything with your interview and employment, since I was busier than normal with work at the time," he confessed, his expression a little befuddled. "I never actually did check you myself. Apparently I forgot."

"Oh…" Naruto mumbled. "Huh…"

A warm hand landed on his knee and Naruto looked down at it before meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto," he said. "It doesn't matter anyway. You proved to be so much more than I expected and I'm already falling in love with yo–"

Sasuke stopped abruptly, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. Naruto mirrored his expression, too shocked to make a sound. Sasuke was in love with him? He wouldn't have thought it had gone that far yet. Attraction? Yes. Crush? Very likely, if the events of the past few hours were any indication. But in love? That was something he hadn't expected until later.

Suddenly the hand on Naruto's knee disappeared and Sasuke looked like a deer caught in headlights, his face pink, which caught Naruto completely by surprise. He'd never seen Sasuke blush. He was always calculated and composed. Well, in appearance, anyway. Apparently there was a lot more going on inside his head and this was the first time it showed.

Sasuke cleared his throat, not meeting his eyes.

"It's late, isn't it?" he asked. "We should go to bed. You have class tomorrow and I have work. And…"

His voice died out when Naruto's fingers found his and laced them together. He looked up at him and Naruto smiled, his entire body abuzz with butterflies and tingles.

"Are you embarrassed?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scoffed indignantly, but there definitely was a steady rise of faint color to his cheeks.

"I'm never embarrassed," he muttered.

Naruto burst out laughing.

"Oh, you so are!" he chortled. "You're always so level headed, even awkward at times, but never embarrassed!"

Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible and Naruto couldn't help but laugh harder.

"This is great!" he gasped.

"Absolutely wonderful," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto's fingertips grazed against the color on his cheekbone and Sasuke looked at him, his eyes narrowing at his grin.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked and Naruto shook his head.

"No." He kissed him softly. "You're cute."

Sasuke scoffed again and crossed his arms.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" he changed the subject quite successfully and Naruto's smile fell.

Sasuke sat up a little straighter, all embarrassment washed away form his face, replaced by concern.

"Oh, well…" Naruto hesitated. "I'm an orphan."

Sasuke blinked at him, opening his and closing his mouth, looking a little startled. Naruto took that as a sign to continue.

"Uh, you see, my parents apparently died in a robbery gone bad when I was five months old," he told him quietly. "I grew up in an orphanage. The patrons weren't very nice, though I wasn't exactly a poster kid. But the other kids and I; we were close, though they saw me more as their protector than a friend. It was always really hard for me when a kid got adopted, because I knew they would soon forget about me, they were so young. But, still, I was happy for the ones who got out of the system."

"Were you… ever adopted?" Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto shook his head, a forlorn smile on his lips.

"No, I caused the patrons so much trouble they never put in a good word for me when couples came to find a child and then I grew too old. Couples want small, cute kids not rowdy, pubescent children," he confessed. "I stayed in the orphanage until I was sixteen and got a job. I found a small studio apartment and moved out once my first paycheck came. And when I entered college I even left the small town I used to live in to come here, to the big city." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke frowned.

"Oh…" he said softly.

Naruto bit his lip, nervousness coiling in his stomach again, and he fiddled with his fingers.

"It's just... I-I… this is one of the very few times I feel accepted as part of something, like I won't be forgotten or overlooked. The only other times have been with my friends. Though this situation is completely different than with my friends, and, to be honest, I'm a little scared I'll mess up," Naruto said in one breath, forcing himself to stop to get some oxygen back in his system.

Sasuke's frown deepened.

"Why would you mess it up?" he asked.

Naruto gave a faint, crooked smile.

"Because, I feel like a part of a family when I'm with Emi and you and even Itachi. A real, live family. And I have no experience with that."

Head tilted, Sasuke watched him thoughtfully for a silent moment. Naruto had a hard time meeting his gaze and stared down at his fiddling thumbs instead. Then a finger gently raised his chin and he had no choice but to look into Sasuke's dark eyes, so close he could almost see his own reflected back at him.

"Then we'll teach you," came the answer, as if it were the simplest of things. "Emi and I and maybe even my brother."

The grin that spread on Naruto's lips made his cheeks hurt, but in a good way. In a way that meant happiness.

Sasuke sighed as he stared up at his moonlit ceiling.

He had been unsuccessfully trying to sleep for three hours now, but he couldn't get the tingles in his stomach to go away and the memory of the feeling of Naruto's lips against his wouldn't subside either, though they had stopped kissing hours ago.

His cheeks strained and he realized he was smiling. Well, actually, he was outright grinning. Sasuke cleared his throat and turned onto his stomach, shoving his face into his pillow.

It was such a new feeling, being giddy like this. There were instances he had thought he'd been in love before, when he was a teenager. He realized now it had only been passing, juvenile attractions. Being in love was not thinking someone was good looking or hot – though Naruto didn't look bad by any means. Being in love was feeling safe with the other person, wanting to protect them, wishing to be by their side, make them smile and laugh and happy.

And Sasuke wanted that with Naruto. More than he had realized. Especially now that he knew no one had been there for him all these years.

He sighed and turned his head to breathe properly.

His chest had tightened a little once he had heard about how Naruto had been treated. Not that he thought he was Naruto's savior in any way, shape or form, but he wanted to give him a family. A real one. And he hoped he and Emi could be the family Naruto wanted.

He really was in deep now, wasn't he?

His sleep was restless in the good way that night. Like a child waiting for Christmas day and falling asleep with excitement, only to wake up and hardly manage to stay still, jittery with anticipation.

He fiddled around in the kitchen once he had dressed. Neither Emi nor Naruto had woken up yet, so Sasuke occupied himself with setting the table for breakfast while trying not to give in to the urge to go wake either one of them up so he wouldn't go stir crazy.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before the sound of small feet padded overhead, followed by a careful descent of the stairs. He smiled a little to himself as he listened to his daughter make her way to the kitchen.

"Daddy!" she greeted him cheerfully once she rounded the corner to the kitchen.

Her hair was a giant bird's nest and Sasuke was secretly glad Naruto would be the one to brush it. He had always been bad at taking care of his daughter's hair, and often hurt her while he tried to detangle it.

He picked Emi up when she came to a stop beside him and looked up expectantly, setting her on the counter and kissing her forehead.

"Good morning," he said.

Grinning, she leaned forward to hug him around the neck and press a kiss to his cheek.

"Daddy," she said seriously. "Will you marry Na-chan today?"

Sasuke sighed. Although he couldn't deny their relationship was changing drastically, they were nowhere near the stage of marrying yet. Not that they could anyway.

"Why do you want me to marry him?" he asked.

Emi shrugged and avoided his eyes, but he put a finger under her chin and raised her face.

"Emi," he pressed.

"I wanna call Na-chan papa," she mumbled, still avoiding his eyes. "I want him to be my dad too. Then I have two parents, like everyone else."

Sasuke swallowed and pulled her into another hug. Though he wouldn't avoid entering a relationship with Naruto, he still was unsure how he should tell Emi about it. She didn't know what she was asking. She wasn't aware of all the bad things out in the world and simply wanted to keep those she loved close as well as have a second parent, even though it was a man.

And because of it, if Naruto and he weren't careful, the world would hurt her deeply. Of course Sasuke knew she would eventually be hurt some way or another when she was old enough, but he didn't want hate to be directed at her because of something that concerned him when she was this young and naïve.

"Good morning," came Naruto's voice, startling both Sasuke and Emi. They looked over to a concerned Naruto in the doorway.

"Good morning Na-chan!" Emi greeted happily.

Naruto smiled at her before his eyes shifted to Sasuke, gaze questioning.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, his voice a lot more hoarse than he'd anticipated. He cleared his throat and squeezed Emi tight once before he let her down. "Breakfast is on the table."

Naruto looked like he wanted to ask but Sasuke shook his head minutely. He saw Naruto swallow nervously and force another smile at Emi while he helped her into her chair. The hesitant way Naruto moved around him to get to the fridge, not quite looking at him, made Sasuke realize that maybe Naruto thought he had changed his mind about them. So when Naruto opened the fridge to take out the jug of orange juice, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Naruto stilled and threw a wide-eyed look at him, which quickly turned worried. Sasuke smiled a little and nodded at the open refrigerator door, blocking them from Emi's view. Naruto shook his head with a snort and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Sasuke smiled a little wider and stepped around him to sit down beside his daughter.

Breakfast went smoothly as Emi apparently decided she wouldn't pester Sasuke about marriage in front of Naruto, which he was quite grateful for. He had no idea how he would explain that one at the moment, since they really just progressed yesterday. He'd rather not scare Naruto away so soon. Or ever really.

"Na-chan," Emi said when she finished her breakfast and they both looked at her. "I want row corner braids today," she announced.

Naruto looked bewildered for a moment and glanced at Sasuke, but Sasuke really had no idea what she meant so he simply shrugged. Then comprehension replaced Naruto's confusion and he laughed.

"You mean corn-row?" he asked and Emi nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, go try brush your hair and I'll be there as soon as I've eaten my breakfast," he told her and Emi slid from her chair to run upstairs.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto.

"You actually get her to brush her hair by herself?" he asked. "Willingly?"

Emi knew how to brush her hair, but she often refused and if Sasuke or Sakura hadn't done it for her she would just let it be until it became so tangled only copious amounts of hair conditioner would ever get it sorted. Which was another battle altogether, since Emi thought it was a hassle to wash her hair as well.

It was Naruto's turn to shrug, though he was smiling fondly.

"I told her that if she wanted nice hairdos every day, she would have to be a responsible little girl and keep her hair tidy," he chuckled. "Though I still help her with the big clusters of hair, she mostly does it by herself now. She doesn't even complain about washing it."

Sasuke's chest grew all warm and he couldn't help the smile spreading on his lips. Naruto bit his lip through his own grin and drank the last of his orange juice before he stood, took his and Emi's dishes and put them in the sink. On the way back he stopped by Sasuke's side, pulled a hand through his hair and tilted his head back to press a kiss to his lips. Sasuke's hand came up to rest on his hip and he hummed, feeling Naruto smile into the kiss, the taste of orange juice lingering on his lips. Normally Sasuke didn't like juice because it was too sweet and artificial, but he could get used to kisses like these.

Then Itachi honked from outside and they pulled apart, Sasuke groaning and Naruto laughing.

"He has the worst timing, I swear," Sasuke grumbled.

After pulling his hand through Sasuke's hair a last time, Naruto stepped back, eyes dancing with amusement.

"I don't think it's bad timing," he said. "Just us forgetting the time."

"Maybe." Sasuke shook his head with a sigh.

"Come on." Naruto grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat, out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

After grabbing his things from his home office, stopping by Emi's room to give her a kiss on her forehead and sharing a small smile with Naruto, Sasuke made his way downstairs again and out, his steps feeling light.

"Good morning?" Itachi asked as he drove down the driveway once Sasuke had made himself comfortable in the passenger seat and put his seatbelt on, throwing him a considering look.

Sasuke shrugged and turned his face towards the window to hide the giddiness he was sure was showing on his face.

"Not any different than normal," he answered.

Itachi was silent, which was unusual, and Sasuke chanced a glance at him. He was frowning at the road ahead of him. Then his face cleared and he looked over at Sasuke, breaking into a grin.

"You didn't," he laughed.

Sasuke blinked.

"What?"

Itachi laughed.

"Well, I'm happy if you are, little brother," he chuckled. "Although, you have been smiling since you exited the house, so I guess I don't really have to worry about it."

Sasuke could feel his face begin to warm up and he sighed.

"How do you know?" he asked.

Itachi grinned.

"You forget one very important thing, Sasuke," he said sagely. "I'm your brother. I know how to read you. It's also been increasingly easier to see your emotions ever since Naruto came into the picture, which is quite delightful."

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, but his lips couldn't keep from stretching into a smile. Yeah, Naruto was delightful.

"Oh my, you're in love," Itachi teased.

"Whatever," Sasuke dismissed him, but the smile stayed all the way to the office.

Hey, so... it's been some time, hasn't it? I'm sorry, but I've been crazy busy and just had to put off writing for a while. I still plan to finish this story, though, so don't worry! It might just take some time.

I hope you liked this update at least! Even though I feel like it's not really interesting. But I guess not all chapters can be, haha

Anyway, see you in the next chapter!

Bye!