Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!
Sky-eyed Kitsune and Gomi-kun blab & Updates
Sky-eyed Kitsune: Ah, freedom from classes! Well I just returned from vacation with my parents and boyfriend and it was very lovely...except for when I crashed on the Alpine and ripped the top layer of skin off my hand...and got alcohol sprayed on it...and got posion ivy on my neck...and got some of it in the corner of my eye...otherwise it was very nice! ^^
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For those of you just joining the madness now, I have stopped replying to reviewers because I've got so many that it tends to take an hour to do so! X0 But please know that I treasure each review I get, and read them all. In fact when I read them they made me smile in the way that a writer does when they've realized that they have a reason to write! So sincerely, thank you all who take the time and read and review! I will though be answering questions if someone doesn't understand one part of the story or something along those lines. ^^
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Chapter Eighteen: Whatever it Takes
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Naruto didn't know how much more he could stand.
Since the crack of dawn he had been up and ready in his Hokage robes. Even Tsunade did a double take when she saw Naruto working furiously behind his desk.
But Naruto had a lot of work to do in the next week. He had to try and finish as much work as he could, sign important documents, and attend meetings with other countries.
Naruto had already felt tired when he had woken up that morning, his lack of chakra riding on his shoulders like a huge boulder. As the day had gone on though, his energy levels plummeted to point zero, and thus he turned to Tsunade's best friend in the whole wide world: saki.
He'd had about three shots so far, and the pleasant buzz he felt was the kick he needed to keeping going.
It had currently just hit 7:30, and Naruto sat hunched over in his chair, his head down flat on a pile of paperwork and hand loosely gripping a pen.
The door to the office knocked and Naruto mustered a grunt of recognition. It opened gently, and footsteps padded on the flat carpet of the room.
"Are you OK?"
Naruto grunted again.
There was a chuckle, and then, "Dobe."
Naruto's head shot up from his desk, a piece of paper sticking to his forehead and standing upright.
"Can I help you with something?" Naruto said tiredly, leaning his chin on his palm as his eyes blinked wearily.
"Sort of," Sasuke said, sitting down in the chair in front of the Rokudaime's desk.
"Hm?" Naruto said lethargically.
"Would you-" Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Would you like to get something to eat with me?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Dobe, I--!" Sasuke stopped mid-sentence. Getting flustered was his way of protecting himself when he was embarrassed, but he knew that Naruto didn't want a raving Uchiha in his office. "I…" Sasuke started over. "I want to spend some time with you."
Naruto blinked, surprised. He knew about Sasuke's emotional defense when it came to embarrassment, and he was surprised to see the raven letting it fall down a little.
Naruto sighed and stood slowly. "Alright."
Naruto lifted his head from the table as a bowl of miso ramen was placed in front of him, and Sasuke received his order of pork ramen.
"Why are you so tired?" he asked.
"None of yo--" Naruto stopped himself. If Sasuke was willing enough to let his emotional wall crumble a little, then Naruto should be obliged to do the same.
"I've been working since sunrise," he sighed, breaking apart his chopsticks and muttering a lazy "itadakimasu".
"Why would you work so early? You're going to exhaust yourself you know."
"I've got a lot to do as Rokudaime," Naruto shrugged, swirling his ramen around rather than eating it.
"You've got the rest of your life to do everything dobe," Sasuke said as he ate.
"Yea…" Naruto's eyes lowered a little more.
Sasuke didn't miss Naruto's response and reaction. He knew that it must've had something to do with what Kyuubi said about Sasuke not having much time to court Naruto. He wanted to ask so badly what the demon had meant, but with the high possibility of the question resulting in one angry dobe and an oh so lonely teme, Sasuke withheld the inquiry.
Sasuke looked from Naruto's full ramen bowl and back to the blond again.
"Naruto, are you sick?" he asked.
"Huh?" Naruto said, not really paying attention. He flinched slightly when he felt two hands cup his face, and was met with two dark onyx eyes piercing into his own.
"H-hey!" Naruto said, cursing himself for stuttering.
Sasuke didn't reply, his brow furrowing as he touched his forehead to Naruto's.
"You have a fever," he said, pulling away but leaving lingering touches behind.
"It's nothing," Naruto said.
"If it's nothing then eat your ramen," Sasuke challenged.
Naruto looked down at his favorite bowl of noodles, which might have just as well been a zombie brain crawling with worms the way his stomach turned when he thought of eating even a little of it.
Damn Sasuke.
Sasuke smirked triumphantly. "You're sick Naruto. You're not eating, you're tired and you have a fever."
Damn him to hell.
"It'll pass," Naruto sighed. "I'm alright!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and in a flash grabbed Naruto by the arm, slapped money on the table, and whisked him out of the ramen stand.
"What're you doing?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"Taking you home," he said. "You need to get rest. You're overworking yourself and I'm…"
Naruto blinked at Sasuke as his voice faded off. But he didn't need to finish his sentence since his face was an open book.
He was worried.
Naruto opened his mouth, but no reply came out. He felt something warm spread through his insides, something that he hadn't felt in what felt like centuries. He settled into it, his body relaxing in Sasuke's firm but gentle grip, and the makings of a small, almost invisible smile, morphed his lips.
Naruto sighed as Sasuke led him inside the Uchiha manor.
"Tsunade is buying you your apartment this evening," Sasuke said, closing the door behind Naruto. "You can move in tomorrow."
"Un," Naruto said. Sasuke led him into the den.
"Sit," the raven said, motioning to the cushy royal blue couch.
"Nah, I'm good standing."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Dobe, if you don't rest you won't get better," He walked over to Naruto and pushed him in the direction of the couch.
"I told you I'm--" Sasuke pushed Naruto's shoulders down with force, and the blond plopped onto the couch.
"…fine," Naruto finished lamely.
Sasuke surveyed him with concerned eyes. He shouldn't have been able to push Naruto down so easily; even if the blond hadn't been trying to resist, his core strength would have held him up on its own.
"…what's going on?" Sasuke demanded firmly, staring Naruto down.
"Noth--" Naruto leaned back as Sasuke pushed him down, straddling his sides as he pinned his wrists down.
"Let go teme!" Naruto growled, struggling to push or shake Sasuke off, which would have normally been like the flick of a finger. Naruto went still as he gave up, panting from the exertion of the littler energy he had.
"Don't even try to tell me it's fucking nothing when you get exhausted just trying to push me off," Sasuke hissed, clamping his hands more tightly around Naruto's wrists. "Now tell me what the hell is happening to you!"
Naruto shook his head slowly. "I'm very tired and weak from the sealing procedure," Naruto lied expertly. "Getting used to the new seal is making me tired. Happy?"
Sasuke eyed Naruto suspiciously, but then gradually released the his hold on the blond. Of course Naruto was going to be exhausted. Not only had he just gone through an extremely risky and painful procedure, but he also had to keep up his role of hokage. And doing so while fighting fatigue would knock out just about any ninja.
Sasuke moved backward, releasing his legs from Naruto's sides and sitting on the end of the couch. Naruto didn't budge, eyes closed as he breathed in deeply through his nose, blond bangs falling over his tan eyelids.
"…I'm sorry…" Sasuke said. "…for pinning you down and everything."
Naruto sat up slowly, and on his hands and knees crawled over to Sasuke's side.
Sasuke looked up and almost jumped a little when he saw Naruto's face three inches from his own.
"Wha--" Sasuke was cut off by a pair of lips gently pressing against his own, and his eyes widened a fraction as Naruto pulled away with a soft smack.
"Goodnight," the blond said, standing and walking down the hallway, and up the stairwell to his designated room in the Uchiha manor.
Sasuke merely blinked after him. He touched two fingers to his lips, and a gradual, small smile stretched across his lips.
He must have done something right.
Sasuke woke the next morning to find Naruto already gone, no doubt at his office being a workaholic. But Sasuke wasn't deterred; he was following Kakashi's advice and giving the blond his space. He would visit him in the next few days and talk, finally get to know the real him, and then perhaps schedule a much grander date with him.
Perhaps…
Four days later…
"What?"
Sasuke sighed impatiently as he stood at Sai's door.
"Where is Naruto's favorite restaurant?" he repeated sternly.
"Why Uchiha? Trying to win him over?" Sai said bitterly, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.
"No, I'm trying to make amends. He isn't something to be won," Sasuke hissed back. "Now are you gonna tell me or not?"
"And why on earth should I do that?"
"How about to make up for raping him?"
Sai paused and stared hard at Sasuke.
"He doesn't like restaurants." Without another word the brunet slammed the door.
"What?"
"I said that Sasuke is behind you," Chouji said, and Ino turned, almost vomiting up laughter as she saw Sasuke sprinting towards them, hair a flying porcupine.
"Hey," he panted as he stopped in front of them, and Ino couldn't suppress her giggles.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her and Chouji turned him to look at the shop window next to them, reflecting the raven's hair.
"Whatever," Sasuke scoffed. "Ino, I need to know what Naruto's favorite flowers are."
"Flowers?" Ino waggled her eyebrows and cooed. "Is someone going on a date?"
"Flowers!"
"All right all right, keep your thong on," Ino said, and Chouji chuckled at his wife's antics. "Naruto doesn't have a favorite flower, but he loves trees."
"What!?" Tsunade yelled as Sasuke practically tackled her before she entered the women's restroom in Hokage tower.
"What's Naruto's favorite drink?" Sasuke said, firing off his question immediately.
"Eh? Is someone making a move?" she said, the blush of alcohol already adorning her cheeks. "Ne…" She tipped her head up a little in thought. "Naruto isn't a big drinker unless he's upset, and he really can't hold his alcohol, so don't give him sake. Other than that everything else is pretty safe. But I've seen him drinking Jinxing tea a lot in the late afternoon, so you might want to try…" Tsunade faded off as Sasuke disappeared from her presence in a poof of smoke without a word.
Shino stood erect, dropping a tray of drinks and snacks as he heard a screech from his back porch. He rushed out in time to see a certain Uchiha standing there in front of his very pregnant and gasping wife.
"S-Sasuke-san! You scared me!" she panted, one hand over her heart and the other over her swelling belly.
"Are you alright?" Shino asked, at Hinata's side in an instant and holding her hand.
"I'm fine," she said, blushing a little. She adjusted in her seat.
"You shouldn't be popping up on a near due woman Uchiha-san," Shino said, placing his hands in his pockets. "You could very well send her into labor."
"Sorry, I just wanted to ask something," Sasuke said quickly, a little out of breath due to all of his stops.
"Sit down Sasuke-kun," Hinata said, smiling and gesturing to the chair across from her. "You seemed a little winded."
Sasuke nodded gratefully and took to the chair, sighing as he sat down.
"Hinata-san…" he started off slowly, not knowing how to phrase his question. "You've been Naruto's friend for a long time, right?"
"Oh yes, since we were genins," Hinata said happily. "Naruto never hid his real self from me."
"Really?" Sasuke asked, surprised, and Hinata nodded. "Then would you mind telling me--that is--"
"Spit it out," Shino finally said.
"Do you know what…what kind of things Naruto finds…romantic?" Sasuke finally squeezed out of his throat.
"Oh my!" Hinata said happily. "How wonderful for you to be with Naruto, Sasuke-san!"
"Not yet," Sasuke corrected.
"Oh, well I'm happy you are still beside him. In all honesty Naruto never talked much about romance."
"What about his crush on Sakura?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He never really liked her," Hinata explained. "He liked her a little at first, but then only pretended to later because everyone would expect him to have a crush on her."
"I see," Sasuke said quietly.
"Although, recently Naruto said something to me. Two weeks ago we were taking a walk through the forest outside of Konoha, when Naruto suddenly stopped. He told me that he was remembering the mission to the land of waves all those years ago. He said that when he had first met Haku, the boy had asked him if he had a precious person. At the time Naruto couldn't say anything because he didn't know what it felt like to have someone precious."
Sasuke stared hard at Hinata as she talked, drinking in every word she said.
"I asked Naruto if he had a precious person now, and he said, 'Yes…yes I do. And he is the most precious thing in the word to me.' I'm almost certain that he was talking about you Sasuke-san. I think that all Naruto ever really wanted was to be by your side. That would be romance enough for him."
Sasuke didn't know what to say. He felt elated knowing that he was so precious to Naruto, but at the same time he was disheartened by the fact that the blond still pushed him away. In the past three days he had held conversations with Naruto that seemed to stretch longer and longer with every visit. The blond was letting down his walls inch by inch, finally letting Sasuke get to know the real him. It was better than Sasuke could have dreamed.
Naruto was extremely intelligent, far more than he could have ever perceived, but not the least bit conceited or boring. He liked to be goofy every now and then as Sasuke noticed, but not while he was working. They had comfortably resumed their old nicknames of "teme" and "dobe" without any awkwardness, and Sasuke felt his Uchiha pride practically melt when he made Naruto genuinely smile. And yet despite all of this Naruto wasn't letting him cross beyond the borders of friendship.
"Why…" Sasuke started, looking down at the floor. "…why does Naruto push me away?"
"He is afraid, Sasuke-san," Hinata said bluntly. "He doesn't want to be hurt so badly again. To give himself to you and then to have you leave…he wouldn't be able to bear it."
"I'm not leaving," Sasuke said firmly, a fresh fire rising in his veins. "I'm here for Naruto, and this time it's permanent."
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Sky-eyed Kitsune