My Everything
Author's Note: Thanks for the review. So far the votes on their child(ren) are split right down the middle. So feel free to keep weighing in. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Seven
Sasuke watches with amusement as Naruko buys a lot of sweets. He didn't recognize half of them. It amused him that one of the strongest ninjas to have ever lived, had such a sweet tooth.
"You want anything?" Naruko asks cheerfully, not realizing that Sasuke was having a grand ole time watching her act like a kid in a candy store.
"Do they have any strawberry muffins? I like those." He asks.
Sasuke did like them. But mostly he figured he should get something. Naruko might feel a little self conscious, if he didn't.
She nods and gets him some muffins. The two of them sit down at a booth. He nibbles at his meal and once again wonders where she put it all. It had to be Kyubbi's influence. He was sure of it.
"But yeah, I really hope you and Gaara can patch things up." She says.
"He's just being smart. I can't really blame him. Gaara wants to protect you. If I was in his position, I'd probably do the same thing. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. He'll get over it, eventually. After all, if he went from being a homicidal manic to a devoted Kazekage, I can go from what I was to being…not what I was." He finishes.
Naruko sighs. She didn't know if he'd ever really forgive himself. But she wasn't going to let him go back to brooding. Sasuke was a really good brooder. He was like a Kage level brooder. So she knew when she had to nip that in the bud. She leans over and kisses him.
Sasuke kisses back. He could taste lots of frosting in her kiss. It made him feel like a kid again.
Well that was until he felt her try to seduce him with her tongue. That's when his inner child went out the window and his adult self very much wanted to play a different kind of game.
"That's better." She says after breaking the kiss.
"What's better?" Sasuke asks in confusion and was wondering why she had STOPPED.
"You were starting to go on a major guilt trip of yourself there. So I stopped it. You really need to stop torturing yourself over what happened. It's over. You're back. That's all that matters." The blonde explains.
He shakes his head in disbelief. Sasuke had every reason to torture himself. He deserved far worse. But it was Naruko.
She really did believe in fairytales endings. The fact that he was back was all that mattered? He'd never understand her. But God help him, he loved her more than anything.
"You're way too forgiving. Just be careful. Gaara's right. There is a target on your back. Unlike me, you aren't immune to most poisons. That would be my first guess for how they'd try to take you out. They know they can't beat you in a fair fight. So they'll try something sneaky." Her lover says.
"Wait to kill the mood, bastard. We were making out and enjoying some cupcakes and you had to bring up assassination attempts!" She scolds him.
Sasuke rolls his eyes good naturedly. She wasn't taking this seriously. It was as damn good thing she had him around. He'd keep her safe.
Naruko was an amazing ninja on the battlefield. But when it came to things like stealth or strategy, well not so much. She was a fearsome warrior and a fantastic lover, but Naruko just didn't operate on that level. She wasn't capable of thinking like a cold blooded killer or deception.
"Naruko, you need to take this seriously." Sasuke warns her.
"I am taking it seriously. I'm just not going to jump every time I see a shadow. Besides, we won the war. We can handle a couple of sneaky wannabe assassinations." She informs him.
He nods. Sasuke hoped she was right. He couldn't afford to lose her. Not every everything they had been through.
"It's nice to know you are worried about me though." Naruko says.
She smiles as she remembered the first time, she knew he cared. Well at least a little anyway. It was Sasuke after all.
She remembered being tied to that damn pole. Kakashi had tricked them and told them not to eat. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting next to her.
"Here. Eat." He said and lifted the food up to her.
"Sasuke! What are you doing? If Kakashi Sensei finds out…" Sakura exclaimed in a panic, not wanting to get caught violating the rules.
Sasuke shook his head. Naruko could see that he was trying to come up with some excuse. Sasuke never did anything "nice." He needed an excuse for it. He came up with a good one though.
"If she's weak from hunger, it will impact our team as a whole. We won't get those damn bells." He muttered.
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Sakura said and held up the food for Naruko as well.
Naruko smiled. There was just one problem. She couldn't use her hands. The blonde would have to be handfed. Suffice to say, her pink haired teammate had been less than thrilled.
"Just do it. We don't have time to waste. Kakashi will be here any minute." Sasuke reminded Sakura.
Sakura grumbled. But she did as Sasuke said. That was until Kakashi showed up.
Sasuke and Kakashi got into it. The Uchiha had said something about the three of them being one. Naruko was actually afraid for her teammate's safety at that point. Then suddenly Kakashi's entire demeanor changed.
"You pass." He said with a smile.
"Wait what?" They all asked.
"It's true that in the ninja world those that break the rules are scum. But those who would abandon their friends, are worse than scum." Their Sensai explained.
"You're smiling because I'm worried that you might be assassinated? Naruko, you make no sense sometimes." He mutters as he bites into a muffin.
"In some ways, you haven't changed that much since we were Genin. Remember, when you tried to feed me, even though Kakashi Sensei told you not to?" She asks.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Yeah, he remembered. He didn't particularly see what that had to do with their current situation. But he had long ago given up trying to understand her thought process.
"Yeah. So?" Her lover inquires.
"You tried to brush that off to. You like to pretend that you don't care, but you do. Deep down, wayyyy deep down you are a teddy bear. You care. You just don't like to show it." She beams.
Sasuke gives Naruko a look. The kind of look that said quite clearly she might as well have grown a second head. He'd never understand.
"I love you. But you are really weird sometimes." He muses.
"I love you too, bastard!" The blonde tells him.
Meanwhile back in the Leaf, the Council was hosting a secret meeting. The Hokage was gone, so they could speak privately. That was exactly what they needed to do, given the current situation.
"She'd never let us arrange a match. We'll have to be subtle about this. The only way we'll know that he can be trusted is if he has a permanent tie to the Leaf. If Sasuke ever wants to betray the Leaf again, he might not mind being hunted and having to face an entire village…but he wouldn't endanger his child. It's our best insurance." A Councilmember says.
The female councilmember frowns. That was true. Naruko would never allow them to formerly arrange a marriage. But they could still help nature take its course more in more subtle ways.
"It might be easier just to find a suitable woman and drug him with something to increase his desire. If she gets pregnant, he'll probably marry her out of obligation and even if he doesn't, he'd still have a child to consider." She offers.
A third councilmember considers this. He wasn't entirely sure that would work. He knew that Sasuke was immune to most poisons. Would Orochimaru have built up his immunity to drugs that would increase one's sex drive? He didn't know.
"Too risky. We don't know if such a drug would work or if the woman would even get pregnant the first time. If she didn't, Sasuke wouldn't fall for the same trick twice." He mutters.
He might loathe Sasuke Uchiha, but the man wasn't an idiot. No one could doubt that he was a perceptive individual. No, they would need another plan.
"That's a good point. Well we can't do the direct approaching. Drugging him probably wouldn't work. So what are we left with?" The female councilmember inquires.
The first councilmember ponders the question. He didn't really like it. They were the council, not a matchmaking service. But he supposed it couldn't be help.
"We simply have to find a woman who would appeal to him." He states.
They all sigh. That was like finding a needle in a haystack. None of them had even seen the Uchiha look at a woman. Still they did have to try. It was for the safety of the village, after all.
Meanwhile Sakura head just finished up at the hospital. She decides to go and visit Naruko. She frowns when she realizes her teammate wasn't there.
"Oh you won't find her. She left with Sasuke a few days ago to go to the Sand. Not sure what for. But it seemed urgent. Kakashi has been on standby in case anything happens." Sai says as he slinks over to her.
The pink haired woman blinks. Naruko just LEFT, without telling anyone? Well apparently she must have told Kakashi and Sai, but not her?
"How'd you find out about that?" The medic demands to know.
"Eh I saw them leaving when it happened. They were carrying gear that was clearly meant to travel to the desert. It didn't take long to figure out where they were going. What did you need to see her for?" He asks cheerfully.
Sakura shivers. She still wasn't used to it. Sai's smile hadn't lost its creepy edge. She hoped one day that he'd be able to smile, without making her think he was secretly plotting to kill her. ROOT had really done a number on him.
"I just wanted to visit my friend." She replies.
"Oh I don't doubt that. But mostly, I think you wanted to visit her to see what is going on with Sasuke. The dynamics of your team were horribly out of whack. You wanted Sasuke. She wanted to be acknowledge. Sasuke just wanted revenge. He's back now, but you don't know how to reconnect with him." He observes.
The medic rubs the back of her head sheepishly. She hated to admit it, but Sai was essentially right. Though Sasuke had certainly acknowledged the blonde now. Sakura had no idea how he really felt about HER.
"As your friend, I would likely advise that it's better to stop pursuing him. Their relationship is strange, but don't think there's any doubt that their own very eccentric way, they love each other." Sai offers.
The Leaf woman blinks. He couldn't be serious? Sai thought that Naruko and Sasuke were in love? The two ninjas were many things to each other, but they were definitely not in love.
They were teammates. Naruko and Sasuke were friends. They were rivals. But love? They weren't in love. Naruko had even said the reason why she never gave up on him was because they were friends.
"I really don't think they like each other that way." She mumbles.
"How else do you explain him not killing her? He's had ample opportunity. She was the main obstacle to his goals. He has never hesitated to kill before. He always comes back. He comes back for her. I doubt Sasuke is even consciously aware of this. I know Naruko is rather dense and probably isn't aware of it." He muses.
Sakura shakes her head. Sai was out of his mind. He just didn't understand. That was all. Besides, neither of them were the shy type. If they were in love, one of them would have said something by now. Naruko was no Hinata.
"If you don't believe me, you should ask Sasuke himself why he came back. He's always been a rather blunt sort. Don't you agree?" Sai offers.
He didn't want to see her get hurt. Sai knew what was coming. It was really better to give her some warning now. That way it wouldn't come as such a nasty shock.
"Alright. When he gets back, I'll ask him!" Sakura says, determined to prove Sai wrong.
Back in the Sand Village, Sasuke and Naruko finish up at the bakery. They head back to Gaara's place. The blonde could tell that her lover was a bit uneasy about returning.
"Don't worry about it. Gaara will get used to the idea after awhile." She assures him.
"I'm not worried. I just don't want to deal with him glaring at me." Sasuke mutters.
"Liar." She says with a giggle and darts inside with Sauske darting after her.
Sasuke had always been fast. Naruko found out how fast though when he manages to tackle her playfully to the floor. He smirks victoriously, once he had the blonde underneath him.
"It's not nice to call people liars. You should apologize." Sasuke commands and Naruko squirms.
Sasuke had her in a pretty firm pin. There was no way she was going to wiggle out of it. She would have to flip him. The blue eyed ninja tries to do exactly that, but growls in frustration when she realizes the Uchiha wasn't budging.
"Come on, bastard. Let me up." She whines.
"I don't know. I kinda like you, right where you are." Sasuke whispers hotly into her ear.
Naruko shivers. There was something very suggestive about the way he said that and he was using his bedroom voice. She wondered if he used that on purpose or if it just happened naturally.
"Mmm not sure how happy Gaara would be if we did it on his kitchen floor." She says.
"That's just a bonus. But I guess you are right. That and it's probably more comfortable on a bed than the tiled floor." Sasuke says, getting up, and helping her up.
"Bad Sasuke." She chides him and heads towards their room.
"You started it. He mutters and follows the other ninja to their bedroom.
She couldn't really argue that one. Once they were inside, she shuts the door and kisses him. She'd never get tired of this.
Sasuke kisses back and pushes her onto the bed. Idly, the Leaf villager noted that Sasuke was apparently very good at pouncing when he wanted to be. The lion metaphor was really apt. She wondered if he would grow a mane like Madara had one day. She giggles into the kiss as she imagines that.
"What are you laughing about?" Sasuke asks and raises an eyebrow, not at all seeing what was so amusing about kissing.
"Just I was wondering if you would ever grow your hair out like Madara." She replies, honestly.
"And look like a porcupine?" He asks in disbelief.
"Well the back of your head currently looks like a duck's backside." She observes.
Sasuke twitches. Had she really just said that? Did she just compare his hair to a fucking duck? No way.
"A very sexy duck though?" She eeps when she saw Sasuke twitching.
Sasuke twitching usually didn't end well. He had a pretty explosive temper. She gulps, knowing that he was probably going to want revenge for that crack.
Sasuke being well Sasuke immediately sets about getting even. He finds her foot and slides off her sandal. The dark haired ninja proceeds with tickling her without mercy.
"S-SASUKE! STOP THAT!" She laughs hysterically.
"I will after you take it back. My hair does not in any way resemble a duck." He says and continues with his tickling, knowing that Naruko had to be the most ticklish person on the planet.
"Th-at's not fair!" She laughs and tries to squirm away, but it was futile.
Sasuke gives her a look. It very clearly said what he was thinking. She was foolish if she expected him to play fair, ever.
"Do you think I care?" He asks and continues tormenting his lover's foot.
"Alright! Alright! You win. It doesn't look like a duck, even though it totally does!" She replies.
"You really aren't helping your case." He muses.
"Oh come on! What if I wear the high heels? Will you stop then?" She asks.
Sasuke thinks about it. After a minute he nods and lets go of Naruko. The blonde bounds off to retrieve the shoes.
"Besides, you're one to talk. You'd still be wearing pigtails if it wasn't for me." He says smugly.
"What's wrong with pigtails?!" She demands.
"Nothing, if you're an Academy student." He says with a shrug and smirks as he watches Naruko bristle.
He couldn't help it. She was hot when she got mad. Teasing her was simply too much fun to resist.
"You keep this up and I'm getting the cuffs. I'm warning you right now, bastard." She says as she joins him on the bed.
"I'm not sure if that's a threat or a promise." Sasuke muses.
"I could cuff you, get you really worked up, and then just leave you there. Maybe that would teach you not to make fun of a girl's pig tails!" She warns him.
Sasuke gulps. He wasn't entirely sure if Naruko was bluffing or not. He decided he really wasn't that eager to find out. That sounded painful.
"Fine. Fine. I'll stop teasing you about the pigtails." He murmurs and caresses her cheek.
"Good. That's better!" She says triumphantly and snuggles into his chest, wrapping the blankets around them.
Sasuke chuckles. He wraps his arms around her. He really hoped that Naruko never let anyone know that he was a cuddler. His reputation would never recover. But it was nice to be able to hold her this way.
"So um Sasuke?" She asks a bit nervously.
That got Sasuke's attention immediately. Naruko didn't do nervous. Ever. She always charged right in fearlessly. Something had her spooked.
"Yeah?" He asks, not at all sure he liked where this was going.
"Speaking of Academy kids…" The blonde trails off, not sure how to say this.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. He gives her a look that clearly said to go on. He wanted to hear whatever had her so skittish all of a sudden. A few moments ago they had been play fighting and now she looked half ready to bolt.
"Well we didn't use the jutsu and yeah…" She continues.
"You're trying to say you might be pregnant?" Sasuke says.
Naruko nods. She watches for Sasuke's reaction. Yeah, he wanted to restore his Clan. But he had never specifically said with her. Their relationship was also really new. So she really wasn't sure.
"I'm not exactly a medic, but study some medical jutsus on my travels. So I know enough to realize it's a little too early to tell either way. But if you were?" Sasuke turns her question right back around at the nervous blonde.
"I mean it depends how you would feel about it." She replies.
Sasuke shakes his head in disbelief. He kisses her forehead. The last Uchiha takes her hand in his.
"Naruko, I love you. I want to restore my Clan. Do you really think I'd be upset if you were pregnant? It'd be sooner than I would have expected, but it's what I want. If that's what you want. I won't force you into it." He tells her.
"So you'd be okay with it then?" She asks.
"I'd be more than okay with it. Now get some rest. It's a long journey back to the Leaf." Sasuke says and wraps his arms around her, indulging in more cuddling.
"Yeah." Naruko replies and she couldn't disagree with that, so she decides to do exactly that.
For years, she had chased him everywhere. It was still a shock that he'd actually voluntarily snuggle up to her like a contented house cat. A house cat that could turn into a lion at a moment's notice, she noted with a smile as she shuts her eyes.
Sasuke soon joins her in the land of dreams. He woke up in the morning and stretches. It was rare that he could sleep without a nightmare. He knew it had to do with the fact that Naruko was by his side. She was his own personal dream catcher.
"Go back to sleep." She mumbles and pulls him back down on the bed, apparently not happy to have the source of her warmth leave her.
"Naruko, we have to get up. It's early morning. We can get a few hours in before it gets super hot." He tells her.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew he was right. Sasuke was being perfectly logical. But a much bigger part of her, would rather just lounge all day in bed, with her Uchiha.
"Mmm do we have to?" She mumbles and opens her eyes.
"It'd be better than starting off when the Sun is at its highest, yeah." Sasuke tells her in amusement.
"Damn it. I guess you're right." She says and hops off the bed, quickly changing in front of him.
He'd already seen everything anyway. The blonde decided there was no point in being bashful. Her back was towards him, so she didn't see the smirk on his face.
Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke was just as capable of being playful as anyone else. Besides, who could resist a target like that? He smacks her ass.
"EEP! SASUKE!" She squeaks and jumps about two feet in the air.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." He says with a smirk.
"That might leave a bruise! You bastard!" She grumbles.
Sasuke pushes her against the wall and kisses her. It was amazing how she could completely seduce him and make him feel like a Genin again, all at the same time. That was Naruko though.
"I could kiss it better if you like." He offers.
"Perverted bastard!" She accuses him.
"You like it though. I'll go pack our stuff and we can head out." He says as he leaves the room.
Naruko blushes. She couldn't really deny that she did like it. But like Hell if she was actually going to admit that. Sasuke's ego was big enough already without her adding to it!