The next chapter has arrived! Sasuke is going to be odd in this chapter as well, and probably for the next few.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, fortunately.
"Momma, Momma! Guess what, guess what?" A blond-haired, blue-eyed angel said excitedly as he bounced up and down. His hands behind his back, he looked as if he was hiding the world's greatest secret and he could barely wait to reveal what it was. His big blue eyes shone with childish excitement and innocence as he looked up into the warm grey-blue eyes of his mother.
"You found the biggest frog? Caught a snake?" She asked, leaning closer to her son. Some of her flowing red hair fluttered off her shoulder as she smiled adoringly. Her love for the small boy shone in her eyes.
"Nope. I found a baby frog! See?" He moved his hands from behind him and proudly held up the bucket that held his prize. The tiny frog within was trying desperately to get out of the container, but the child paid no attention to its efforts.
The woman laughed, the delicate noise filling the room with a gentle atmosphere. "It is beautiful. Good job!" She paused, ruffling the blond hair affectionately. "Now, what shall be done with this little miracle, fish-cake?"
"It is gonna go back to the garden. I don't want the momma frog to get worried about it! 'Cause the momma shouldn't have to worry about the baby, 'cause the baby is gonna take care of the momma!" The child's grin grew impossibly large and he skipped away after receiving a sweet kiss to the forehead and murmured words of, "I love you, fish-cake."
Time seemed to stop for a moment as the world darkened. The angel looked back at his mother, paused, and then screamed. Red was starting to bleed through the fabric of the dress his mother wore. As the stains grew in number and size, the beautiful face started to pale. The child screamed again and ran towards his mother, dropping the bucket. He ran as fast as he could, but his mother kept on getting further away. Rough hands came from behind and grabbed the boy, causing him to go into hysterics. "Don't take me away from Momma! She needs me!" Sobs racked the small frame as he reached towards the fading figure of his mother. Deep laughter resonated in his ear. Quiet words were spoken, but they were muffled by his screams. He turned to look at the face of his captor as his mother disappeared and he screamed even louder.
"Don't cry, fishy-fishy..."
Naruto jerked upright on the bed, eyes wide as he panted. That had been close. His dreams had started to take a turn for the worst, but he had forced himself awake before he started screaming. He had only been half asleep, so it had been easy to get out of the dream state. Tsunade had once told him that humans rarely remembered their dreams. Unfortunately, in Naruto's case, the 'dreams' were memories that never left him, and surfaced when he shut his eyes.
As his breathing returned to normal and his heart rate slowed, Naruto raised his head to stare at the ceiling. He wondered why his dreams had shifted to memories about his mother. He rarely dreamt of her, but it was a slight pleasant change from the dreams of others. Groaning, Naruto wished he was a normal young man who had dreams about naked women and fast cars. Sasuke entered his mind and he snorted. Trying to imagine Sasuke actually dreaming of such things was humorous to him.
"Something funny?"
"Yes, actually..." He stopped abruptly and quickly in the direction of the doorway. At first, he had thought the voice had been Kyuubi's, but then it struck him that the voice had originated from outside his body. Sasuke. "It was nothing, never mind." Naruto swung his legs off the bed and got to his feet faster than he should have. Swaying, Naruto steadied himself with a hand on the bed. His blue eyes flickered back to Sasuke and he licked his lips nervously under the raven's unwavering stare. "Would you stop staring at me?" Silence. "You are being creepy, teme." Not even a blink or a facial twitch. Naruto growled, realizing Sasuke wasn't going to stop until he got an honest reply. "Fine! I was trying to imagine you having dreams about women and fast cars, and it was funny. Now get out of my way, I have to pee."
Naruto lowered his gaze as he hobbled across the room and brushed past Sasuke. He could feel Sasuke watching him go into the bathroom down the hall and he tried to ignore it, to no avail.
Shutting the door and leaning against the wood, Naruto could still feel the other man's gaze. Breathing deeply, he went about his business. When he was done, he cracked the door open to see if the coast was clear. Finding the area void of an Uchiha, Naruto exited the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen.
He was met by the sight of a certain raven leaning on the counter with a vacant expression. It was different than the man's blank look; this was as if Sasuke was daydreaming. "Uh, Sasuke, what are you doing?" The raven's expression quickly changed as he turned to Naruto. "Standing in my kitchen."
Naruto raised his brow and looked away. He felt the same unwavering stare as before and started to feel nervous. He glanced up and paused in shock. Sasuke had his chin resting in his palm while he leaned on his elbow. He stared at Naruto with the same vacant look. "What do you want, teme?"
At first, he received silence as a reply, but then Sasuke made a noise, "Hn," the famous Uchiha reply. Years ago, it would have caused Naruto to bristle, but now, he smiled and gave a soft chuckle. "Still with the 'hn' replies? I thought I was imagining them the last few times you have made them. Apparently I am not the only one who hasn't change." Naruto knew, however, that Sasuke's mannerisms were all that had not changed, for the raven looked more mature now than three years ago. Even the way the Uchiha carried himself had changed.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at Naruto. "You still have not answered my question, Sasuke. A noise is not a reply."
Sasuke seemed to contemplate his answer before he opened his mouth. "I want you..." Naruto's face grew warm and he knew he was blushing, "...to shut up." Naruto gave a nervous laugh and nodded slightly. He started to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.
"Your face is red. Are the pains returning?" Sasuke asked, turning the blushing blond to face him. "N-No, it is just warm in here. Let me go, will ya'?" He tried to shake Sasuke off, but his protests and struggles only caused the raven to hold on tighter. Naruto stopped fighting and stared wide-eyed at Sasuke as the raven spoke, "Are you blushing?"
"No! I was warm, nothing else." He steeled his expression and glared at the Uchiha. The smirk that he received forced a growl from his gut. The grip on his arm lessened and Naruto stalked away. He had not gone far before his legs gave way beneath him and he stumbled. He closed his eyes and winced, waiting to meet the ground.
The floor felt oddly soft when he landed, and it groaned. Confused, Naruto slowly opened his eyes. It was dark and warm, whatever it was. When the deep scent of a man, more specifically Sasuke, wafted into his nose, Naruto's eyes shot open. He stared at the Uchiha beneath him in shock. "W-Wha...?" He was even more confused now, wondering how the other man had ended up beneath him. He managed to figure out that Sasuke must have tried to catch him when he fell, but how the raven had ended up in the current position was beyond him.
Sasuke smirked and then spoke, "Are you done or are you planning on doing something besides sitting on my chest, dobe?" Naruto was jerked from his thoughts by the low, scratchy words. He looked down in horror at the specifics of their position. His lower body was pressed against Sasuke's with one leg in between Sasuke's legs. His blush returned, and in full force. Pushing himself up, Naruto staggered to the nearby kitchen counter and leaned against it.
Turning his back to Sasuke, Naruto hid his face from the man. He took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Licking his lips nervously, he glanced behind him. Sasuke was getting up from the floor and walking towards him. Naruto tensed as the man walked past him into the kitchen and fingertips brushed his shoulder. His jaw hung open a few inches in shock. What was Sasuke doing?
Shivers went down his spine and he swallowed hard. This was getting weirder by the minute. Deciding to ignore the oddness of the last few minutes, Naruto moved unsteadily into the living room and settled on the couch. His breathing was heavy and he felt light-headed. He groaned as he lay down, resting his head on the arm of the couch. Closing his eyes, Naruto took in the scent of Sasuke and allowed himself to smile.
The scent had faint spiciness to it and warmed him to his bones. Curling into himself, Naruto relaxed, forgetting about the events from moments ago. He felt safe and his mind was at ease. He quickly slipped in sleep and for once, he did not dream. However, the sweet sleep was short-lived as another scent entered Naruto's sensitive nose. His eyes shot open as he realized what the delightful smell was, pancakes. He adored pancakes, they were the perfect breakfast food. His stomach growled loudly as he sat up and looked longingly into the kitchen. He had not known the teme could cook, and by the smell of it, well. He slowly got to his feet and made his way back into the other room, following the scent.
He sat on a stool and watched Sasuke pile warm pancakes on two plates. Naruto licked his lips, trying to stop himself from drooling. When Sasuke met his gaze, Naruto looked pleadingly at him, but did not say anything. Naruto could imagine one of the piles in front of him, dripping in syrup and melted butter. Sasuke rolled his eyes and placed a plate in front of Naruto. The blond held back a happy squeal and happily accepted the offered butter and syrup. Once his cakes were dressed, Naruto picked up his fork and knife and closed his eyes, taking in the delicious smell. The stool beside him scrapped against the floor and Naruto glanced over to see Sasuke sitting beside him with his own plate of pancakes.
Naruto grinned and dug into his food, making happy humming noises with each bite. He did not notice the stares he was receiving from Sasuke; his mind was entirely focused on the scrumptious plate of warm, fluffy, and gooey cakes before him. If he always cooks like this, I am definitely staying for as long as I can. These pancakes are...heavenly!
You staying might be what he is counting on.
Naruto paused in his happy devouring state, his fork, laden with dripping pancakes, dangling above his plate. What do you mean? I am sure he cannot wait to get rid of me, that teme.
I am not so sure about that, kit. He is staring at you...again. You might want to keep on eating before he thinks something wrong.
Naruto glanced to his right and say that the fox spoke the truth, Sasuke was staring at him again. Looking down at his suspended fork, Naruto quickly moved the bite into his mouth and continued eating, but this time his thoughts were focused on what Kyuubi had said. He had never been one for puzzles, and this was an intricate one, indeed. Sasuke was like a puzzle with a maze of puzzles. Every time the answer seemed clear, another question appeared, proving the answer wrong. Naruto's brow furrowed as he took the last bite of the heavenly goodness that was the pancakes. What if he is trying to apologize? Could that be possible? Naruto shook his head, throwing that theory out the window. There was no way that the Ice Prince was trying to apologize, to him no less. Naruto turned and stared at Sasuke. Biting his lip, he wondered if Sasuke was trying to reconnect with him. Naruto smiled and then looked back to his empty plate. That had to be it. Sasuke had missed the friendship they had so tentatively shared. Naruto felt relieved that he had found the cause of Sasuke's odd behavior. He made to get up and put his dishes away when a hand grasped his wrist. "You have something on your face..."
Chapter 6...Yay...I did not like this chapter much, but hopefully the next will be better. Please Read and Review to tell me whether there are ways I should improve this story or not. :)