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(teamwork) chapter 5, first half of third scene
I don't know where this scene came from; it was supposed to be like two pages long, if that much. It's seven pages, almost eight, and I haven't even gone throguh to make sure that all the action is properly described, so maybe it will end up eightpages long after all. I hadn't planned to write more than a few lines, seeing as I was supposed to be in bed hours ago, but the bunny has pitbull blood and refused to let go. No italics cause i'm lazy. :D
This comes after this and before the Dinner. (not written yet.)
The week went on with the three of them pretending -- badly -- that nothing had happened. During training, Sakura was depressed and Naruto sulking. After training, Ino usually picked up Sakura and left, pointedly avoiding looking at the boys, and Naruto murmured some excuse or other and went to find one of his friends. At least he still slept in Sasuke's apartment, but it wasn't as if they did much more than share the area.
Sasuke was bored, and trying to pretend he wasn't starting to feel guilty. But he didn't have a clue how to fix the mess.
Tonight, as had become his habit this week, Naruto had disappeared again. Sasuke scowled angrily as he searched his closet for appropriate clothes. They were meeting Sakura's parents for dinner in a half-hour.
Maybe she had dragged Naruto away again to inflict another lesson of manners on him... But wouldn't they have warned him? In any case, if the idiot made them late, he would -- no, he probably wouldn't do anything too permanent. He didn't want to go there anymore than Naruto did. It wasn't an option, though.
Eventually he chose a relatively nice white button-up shirt that he had worn maybe twice before. He would have worn a yukata and hakama if it had been a meeting with his family -- but he didn't own any kind of kimono, ceremonial or not ; besides Sakura's parents were from a common family, not a Noble clan. They probably weren't that traditional. He debated about the lack of clan symbol on that shirt, but all the tops he owned that bore the Uchiha fan were high-collared t-shirts or tanktops; way too casual. Besides, he was going as himself -- or should he remind them about his heritage? Would that be a good thing, give him more weight? Argh. There wasn't much of a choice. It wasn't as if he could wear a tanktop, fan or not, and even if he could somehow stitch or dye a fan on his white shirt, it would probably look weird and out of place. God, he hated having to choose clothes. There was a reason he usually bought everything in bulk; much easier to stay with the kind in which he already knew he looked okay and moved well.
"Wow, you're worse than a girl," Naruto commented from the door as he eyed the clothes littered all over the room, and barely dodged a kunai.
"Where the fuck were you?" Sasuke snarled at him, pretending that he hadn't actually been startled.
"Out. Listen..." Naruto seemed to search for words; then he grimaced and pushed something in his hands. "Here."
Sasuke stared at the little black box, confused. "What the hell is that?"
"It's for Sakura. From you."
Sasuke looked up, even more confused. Naruto's jaw was set in a stubborn line, as if he expected a fight.
"From me? The hell?"
"I took most of the money from your stash, so technically it's yours. And it's for you to give her. 'Cause... Her parents -- well."
Sasuke was going to be angry at Naruto for looping through his apartment, but the mention of the Harunos confused him enough to pause. And then it snapped in place. He opened the box quickly --
"...A ring."
"Yeah. Think it will do for an engagement ring? Didn't have the money to get her a fancy one..."
It was a simple thing, three flat, interlaced metal bands. Pink, yellow and silver. "It's gold?"
"Uh, dunno, might be alloys. Told you I didn't have much money. But I figure you can get more money from the bank and get her a proper one later. This one's mostly so her parents don't think... Well. You see. But it's also to make her happy. I figure you can do with some pointers," Naruto added with a strange grin.
Sasuke wondered why it was hitting him so hard suddenly that it was real, that in a few months at the very most he was going to marry Sakura, that she was going to be his wife and he'd live his life with her -- and that Naruto loved her. Loved her so much -- loved him, too -- that he would --
"Give it to her yourself."
Naruto gaped, and then glared at him in frustration. "What? No way! I'm not her fiancé, YOU are! YOU give her the stupid ring."
"You bought it, you give it!"
"It was your money!"
"So take money out of your next pay and pay me back!"
"No fucking way in hell. You're her fiancé, you have to have a ring. I'm your -- I get it for you. You give it to her."
"My boyfriend."
"...What?"
"My boyfriend. Say it. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."
Naruto stared at him for a second; Sasuke refused to stop glaring at him. The blond hesitated, tongue flicking out to lick his lips nervously, then smiled.
"Alright. I'm your ... boyfriend -- man, that sounds gay," he laughed, and dodged a punch from Sasuke. "So I get it for you. For the two of you. Because you've been all hissy at each other recently and I really don't like it. So please, just take it and smooth things out, alright?"
Sasuke considered it. "No."
"Don't make me make you sleep on the couch!"
"You're already sleeping on the couch."
"I'll take the sex away!"
"We're not even having sex!"
"Yeah well we should -- why aren't we again?"
"Sakura's never around."
The mention of her name sobered them up.
"Oh, right. You know, if you give her the ring, she'll be so happy, her dad and mom will shove her in our arms with their blessings and then we can move in together and have tons and tons of sex."
Yeah, right. They'd give their blessings to Sasuke, maybe, but not to Naruto. Especially if Sakura was persuaded that the ring only came from him.
"Drop it," he commanded coldly, shoving the box back at Naruto. "Give it to her yourself."
The pleading puppy eyes flashed purple and dangerous for a second; Sasuke braced himself, but the only thing that came was a long frustrated wail.
"No, alright? No! We're trying to make her happy with you, and it's not gonna help if I thought of that stuff first and she thinks you didn't even remember. Alright? It's really not gonna help. So if you'll just pretend you bought it for her, she'll be happy and you won't have to be grouchy all the time and that will make me tons happier. Everyone wins."
Sasuke glared at him in disbelief. "It's going to make her happy because she'll think I magically turned into some sensitive, romantic guy, and then she'll expect it to continue! Yeah, she'll be happy, but about what? A lie! And what's that shit about happy 'with me'? Like you won't be there!"
Naruto flinched, then growled in irritation, and clenched his fists briefly before raking both hands through his hair. "Yeah, right, we're in this together. I remember. But -- listen. We're partners, right? We're helping each other out. You give her the ring, smooth things out for now, and later whenever either of us sees the other acting like an ass, we tell each other! We spot for each other. Eventually we'll get better and then it won't be -- she won't be expecting things that aren't here, because they'll be here. We'll be... kinda trained for it."
Sasuke stared at the box, which was somehow in his hands again, then scoffed, muttering, "trained. In being sensitive. Hah."
Naruto grimaced. "Well, it sure ain't coming naturally," he grumbled, then shrugged it off. "Besides, I'm not expecting miracles, and I'm sure she isn't either. You wouldn't be Sasuke if you weren't an asshole. I'm pretty sure they put your face beside the word 'utter bastard' in the dictionary."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sasuke shrugged, making a face. "... That's two words. Moron."
Naruto started snickering. "You prick."
"I thought you liked it."
No, he decided as he watched Naruto crack up, Sasuke was definitely not smirking. Even less smiling. Not even a little bit.
"Come on, dead last, we're going to be late."
The blond gaped at his clock, and surged forward without warning. "Oh crap! We're already late!" Naruto yelped as he grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the door.
"Wait -- let me lock the door!" Sasuke pulled free with annoyance, securing his apartment quickly, then started running after Naruto, who was all but dancing in impatience on the railing. "What the hell do you mean, late?" he demanded as they jumped over to the nearest tree and skidded down the trunk to the footbridge. "We have fifteen minutes!"
"Yeah and we have to --" Naruto leaped over a toddler, vaulting over the edge of the bridge -- "pick up Sakura-- " they raced each other up a wall, landing on a tiled roof --"and you have to give her the ring --" they broke their straight run to dodge around another ninja who had just emerged from a window-- "and it's not gonna be done in three seconds!" Another quick dodge, grabbing a pole to fling themselves farther away-- "And we can't arrive at her parents' like we just ran through the village!"
"Since when are you Mister Ideal Boyfriend anyway?" Sasuke snapped back as he leaped over a street.
"I just asked IrukACK!"
A red and pink blur had just burst out of a nearby greenhouse and clotheslined Naruto. Sasuke instinctively fell into a fighting stance --
"You're LATE!!"
"... Sakura?"
She was holding Naruto against her hip, the boy hanging from her arm around his neck. "You're late!! How could you be that late? I told you two to be here early so I could fix your clothes -- Sasuke, your hair!"
Blinking, he touched his hair automatically. It felt like it always did. "What?"
"It looks like a bird's nest, didn't you even comb it?" she replied, half angry and half panicked, as she grabbed his wrist, Naruto's collar, and hauled them toward the opened window in the roof of the greenhouse. "INOO! Get me a brush!"
The blonde girl put her basket of flowers and her pruning shears down on a bench and hurried off, but not quickly enough to hide her mocking snickers. "Yes, sir, Sakura-sir!" she snapped before disappearing behind a large hanging plant.
Sasuke landed awkwardly; she still hadn't let go of his wrist. At least she hadn't dragged Naruto through the window with them; he was still teetering precariously at the edge, but it was better than diving amongst the potted plants head first.
"Naruto, get down here, and don't get dirty!" Sakura ordered before starting to tug on Sasuke's shirt and smooth the wrinkles out.
Naruto grabbed the edge and rolled forward, swinging for a second before he landed between two racks bearing small potted flowers. He almost collided with Ino, who was emerging from her house at the same time.
"Huh, you need some help with your hair too. Don't move."
Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a long-suffering look through the rack as Ino attacked Naruto's hair with gel, mirroring Sakura's fussing with Sasuke's clothes.
"Hurry up, Ino-pig, I need it too!" Sakura demanded as she finished a last observational circle around Sasuke. Ino reached through the rack at his side, dropping the pot in Sakura's hand, then dropped her hand -- Sasuke started, and turned to stare at her. Had she just groped him?
"Ino!" "Oi!"
The girl burst out laughing. "Oh, come on, that's like the only time in my life I'll ever have the occasion. Once you take him home and tag him 'fiance', I'll be forbidden."
"You're forbidden now!" Sakura growled. Sasuke blinked, dazed, and stared at her back. The fuck. When had she grabbed him to pull him behind her protectively?
"Yeah, tag or not, that ass is already owned," Naruto chorused, scowling. Or pouting. It was hard to say. Either way, Sasuke was surprised; Sakura had always been possessive of him, even when she hadn't had the right, but Naruto...
"Aw, don't be jealous," Ino replied in a devious tone as she turned to face Naruto again, and reached around him to give his butt a good squeeze.
"GACK!" "INO!" "HEY."
"What's going on here?" demanded a male voice from the other side of the wall. Sasuke flushed a little and looked away, pretending that he hadn't been bristling at Ino.
"Nothing, dad!" "Nothing, Yamanaka-san!" the two girls chorused in an utterly unbelievable innocent tone.
Ino abandoned Naruto to rush to the connecting door and shoo her father off before he could step in. Naruto took the occasion to hurry around the rack and join them, spooked.
"Sakura-chan, I'm not pure for you anymore..." he whimpered, hands over his ass protectively.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the theatrics.
Sakura managed a strangled chuckle before her stressed out expression slammed back on. "Let me see -- that's a nice shirt, Naruto," she commented quickly as she turned him here and there to give him the same treatment Sasuke had received. Naruto looked like he didn't know whether to protest or enjoy the way her hands flitted all over him.
"Here. Done. Your hair... Well at least Ino-pig can do that much," she muttered ungratefully.
"You didn't check my pants," Naruto commented mournfully, eyes gleaming with impish delight.
"Wh -- your pants are fine..." Sakura trailed off and eyed him worriedly as he turned around, checking for a tear or a smear of dirt.
"No, see, they're tainted by her touch!"
Sasuke watched her stare at Naruto's ass for a few seconds before she registered it. "You -- NARUTO!"
"Aw, come on!"
"Pinch him," Sasuke advised grumpily, and turned away from them to go to the connecting door. Ino had managed to chase her father off and was coming back; he put a hand on her shoulder and nudged her back out.
"But -- hey," she protested, confused.
He scowled briefly at her, then reminded himself that they were in her house and he had to be polite. At least a little. "...Ino, we need five minutes in private. Alright?"
She pouted, then glanced over at Naruto and Sakura who were still squabbling, and shrugged. "Alright, alright. But--"
"And don't listen at the door either," he ordered before closing the door under her nose.
After a second of thought, he herded Naruto and Sakura to the other end of the greenhouse, just in case. Sakura was staring at him, confused. "Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, but the idiot was no help, blinking at him innocently as if he didn't have a clue what it was about.
"Uh. Here." He pressed the little box in her hands, then crossed his arms, turning his face away so that he didn't have to look directly.
Naruto was watching her surprise, and her delight, with an open expression of -- Sasuke didn't know. It was a smile, but a little... Sad? Melancholy? But ... glad, too. He clenched his jaws, cursing the soft-hearted idiot. Sakura was still staring rapturously at the contents of the box; she didn't notice.
She looked up, staring at him with adoring eyes; Naruto was watching the both of them and smiling, and Sasuke wasn't sure why he wanted to describe it as "from afar" despite the blond standing even closer to Sakura than he was; but it fitted too well.
"From both of us."
"Oh!"
He tensed, watching her closely for disappointment, but all he could see was surprise as she turned to look at Naruto. The blond looked mildly panicked, and glared at Sasuke quickly.
"Is that -- really?"
"Well, uh, yeah. Is it -- d'you like it?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"Oh -- yes!" she beamed at Naruto, then at him, her eyes suspiciously shiny. "It's so symbolic -- like the three of us. I love it."
"... It's not very fancy," Naruto muttered, though he was looking pleased against himself.
Sasuke allowed himself a little smirk. "Diamonds would have cost a bit more than what we can afford at the moment," he commented casually. Naruto was right -- it was better if she assumed that it was from the two of them. And it was -- or it would have been if Naruto had asked him first. But he was going to pay the moron back if that was the last thing he'd do.
"Oh, it's alright!" she babbled, beaming. "Diamonds are too shiny and bulky anyway; I would have to leave it behind on missions for fear of snagging it on things or blinding our targets, or something."
"This one is still shiny," Sasuke retorted.
"Yes, but only because it's so new. Besides I can put it on a chain -- it's perfect, really!"
She was holding it tight against her chest, as if afraid that Sasuke was going to take it back.
"... So you don't wanna put it on?" Naruto asked, pretending -- badly -- that he wasn't nervous.
"Oh! Of course, I was just -- um. It's really pretty," she whispered as she pulled it out of the box.
Personally Sasuke thought that it was a little too plain for her -- but perhaps he could get her a fancy chain to compensate, or something.
She looked at him, then at Naruto, and then grinned shyly, bowing her head, and slipped it on; the way she was doing it -- slow and deliberate -- it was like a ceremony. Heavy with meaning. "I would have asked one of you -- but we don't have the time to discuss who gets to do it," she commented with a high-pitched giggle. "And the logistics for the two of you to do it together... Okay, we should get going."
Sasuke wondered briefly if she knew what Naruto and him had argued about earlier; or if she had just guessed that Naruto was probably a lot more responsible for it than he was, and just didn't want a confirmation that might only hurt most parties involved.
Just a little gesture. It would make her happy. It would make Naruto happy. Having them happy would make him -- less annoyed.
Just a little gesture. He could do that. He reached out casually and slipped his fingers in her hand, resting them against her palm in a loose hold. The ring was still cold. "Yeah, let's go."
She looked so stunned it hurt; he looked away, only looked back up when Naruto snickered and gave him a 'aww, soo cute' grin. He sneered at him, tugged Sakura toward the exit. She tightened her hold, finally, following him. For about two steps; then she held him back, and he finally looked back at her, confused.
She was still grinning, embarrassed but not enough to hide the glowing. "Sasuke, wait..."
"... yeah?"
She hesitated, then her smile turned amused. "You didn't think you were going to escape with your hair like that, did you? Come here, let me smooth it back..."
...He'd look like he had a ponytail. "No way."
"Sasuke..."
"No. Way. Give me that." He snatched the hair gel from Naruto's hand -- open already; he didn't have to let go -- and quickly combed a few dollops through his locks, smoothing down rebellious spikes. There, that should be enough. Then he put the pot down on a rack, snagged Naruto's arm and pulled them both toward the exit. Stupid idiots had nothing better to do than watch him comb his stupid hair with these stupid eyes -- he would have felt less naked if he had actually been naked.
"Come on, let's go. How long do we have left?"
"We -- oh no! Two minutes!! We'll never get here on time!" Naruto yelped, panicked.
Sakura winced, and then smiled and stuck out her tongue cutely. "Ah -- I lied about the time to make sure we'd have a margin. There's about fifteen minutes left."
NOW I SLEEP. If the connection doesn't work tomorrow, i'll hunt down a support tech guy and sacrifive him to the gods of the internet or something.
This comes after this and before the Dinner. (not written yet.)
The week went on with the three of them pretending -- badly -- that nothing had happened. During training, Sakura was depressed and Naruto sulking. After training, Ino usually picked up Sakura and left, pointedly avoiding looking at the boys, and Naruto murmured some excuse or other and went to find one of his friends. At least he still slept in Sasuke's apartment, but it wasn't as if they did much more than share the area.
Sasuke was bored, and trying to pretend he wasn't starting to feel guilty. But he didn't have a clue how to fix the mess.
Tonight, as had become his habit this week, Naruto had disappeared again. Sasuke scowled angrily as he searched his closet for appropriate clothes. They were meeting Sakura's parents for dinner in a half-hour.
Maybe she had dragged Naruto away again to inflict another lesson of manners on him... But wouldn't they have warned him? In any case, if the idiot made them late, he would -- no, he probably wouldn't do anything too permanent. He didn't want to go there anymore than Naruto did. It wasn't an option, though.
Eventually he chose a relatively nice white button-up shirt that he had worn maybe twice before. He would have worn a yukata and hakama if it had been a meeting with his family -- but he didn't own any kind of kimono, ceremonial or not ; besides Sakura's parents were from a common family, not a Noble clan. They probably weren't that traditional. He debated about the lack of clan symbol on that shirt, but all the tops he owned that bore the Uchiha fan were high-collared t-shirts or tanktops; way too casual. Besides, he was going as himself -- or should he remind them about his heritage? Would that be a good thing, give him more weight? Argh. There wasn't much of a choice. It wasn't as if he could wear a tanktop, fan or not, and even if he could somehow stitch or dye a fan on his white shirt, it would probably look weird and out of place. God, he hated having to choose clothes. There was a reason he usually bought everything in bulk; much easier to stay with the kind in which he already knew he looked okay and moved well.
"Wow, you're worse than a girl," Naruto commented from the door as he eyed the clothes littered all over the room, and barely dodged a kunai.
"Where the fuck were you?" Sasuke snarled at him, pretending that he hadn't actually been startled.
"Out. Listen..." Naruto seemed to search for words; then he grimaced and pushed something in his hands. "Here."
Sasuke stared at the little black box, confused. "What the hell is that?"
"It's for Sakura. From you."
Sasuke looked up, even more confused. Naruto's jaw was set in a stubborn line, as if he expected a fight.
"From me? The hell?"
"I took most of the money from your stash, so technically it's yours. And it's for you to give her. 'Cause... Her parents -- well."
Sasuke was going to be angry at Naruto for looping through his apartment, but the mention of the Harunos confused him enough to pause. And then it snapped in place. He opened the box quickly --
"...A ring."
"Yeah. Think it will do for an engagement ring? Didn't have the money to get her a fancy one..."
It was a simple thing, three flat, interlaced metal bands. Pink, yellow and silver. "It's gold?"
"Uh, dunno, might be alloys. Told you I didn't have much money. But I figure you can get more money from the bank and get her a proper one later. This one's mostly so her parents don't think... Well. You see. But it's also to make her happy. I figure you can do with some pointers," Naruto added with a strange grin.
Sasuke wondered why it was hitting him so hard suddenly that it was real, that in a few months at the very most he was going to marry Sakura, that she was going to be his wife and he'd live his life with her -- and that Naruto loved her. Loved her so much -- loved him, too -- that he would --
"Give it to her yourself."
Naruto gaped, and then glared at him in frustration. "What? No way! I'm not her fiancé, YOU are! YOU give her the stupid ring."
"You bought it, you give it!"
"It was your money!"
"So take money out of your next pay and pay me back!"
"No fucking way in hell. You're her fiancé, you have to have a ring. I'm your -- I get it for you. You give it to her."
"My boyfriend."
"...What?"
"My boyfriend. Say it. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."
Naruto stared at him for a second; Sasuke refused to stop glaring at him. The blond hesitated, tongue flicking out to lick his lips nervously, then smiled.
"Alright. I'm your ... boyfriend -- man, that sounds gay," he laughed, and dodged a punch from Sasuke. "So I get it for you. For the two of you. Because you've been all hissy at each other recently and I really don't like it. So please, just take it and smooth things out, alright?"
Sasuke considered it. "No."
"Don't make me make you sleep on the couch!"
"You're already sleeping on the couch."
"I'll take the sex away!"
"We're not even having sex!"
"Yeah well we should -- why aren't we again?"
"Sakura's never around."
The mention of her name sobered them up.
"Oh, right. You know, if you give her the ring, she'll be so happy, her dad and mom will shove her in our arms with their blessings and then we can move in together and have tons and tons of sex."
Yeah, right. They'd give their blessings to Sasuke, maybe, but not to Naruto. Especially if Sakura was persuaded that the ring only came from him.
"Drop it," he commanded coldly, shoving the box back at Naruto. "Give it to her yourself."
The pleading puppy eyes flashed purple and dangerous for a second; Sasuke braced himself, but the only thing that came was a long frustrated wail.
"No, alright? No! We're trying to make her happy with you, and it's not gonna help if I thought of that stuff first and she thinks you didn't even remember. Alright? It's really not gonna help. So if you'll just pretend you bought it for her, she'll be happy and you won't have to be grouchy all the time and that will make me tons happier. Everyone wins."
Sasuke glared at him in disbelief. "It's going to make her happy because she'll think I magically turned into some sensitive, romantic guy, and then she'll expect it to continue! Yeah, she'll be happy, but about what? A lie! And what's that shit about happy 'with me'? Like you won't be there!"
Naruto flinched, then growled in irritation, and clenched his fists briefly before raking both hands through his hair. "Yeah, right, we're in this together. I remember. But -- listen. We're partners, right? We're helping each other out. You give her the ring, smooth things out for now, and later whenever either of us sees the other acting like an ass, we tell each other! We spot for each other. Eventually we'll get better and then it won't be -- she won't be expecting things that aren't here, because they'll be here. We'll be... kinda trained for it."
Sasuke stared at the box, which was somehow in his hands again, then scoffed, muttering, "trained. In being sensitive. Hah."
Naruto grimaced. "Well, it sure ain't coming naturally," he grumbled, then shrugged it off. "Besides, I'm not expecting miracles, and I'm sure she isn't either. You wouldn't be Sasuke if you weren't an asshole. I'm pretty sure they put your face beside the word 'utter bastard' in the dictionary."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sasuke shrugged, making a face. "... That's two words. Moron."
Naruto started snickering. "You prick."
"I thought you liked it."
No, he decided as he watched Naruto crack up, Sasuke was definitely not smirking. Even less smiling. Not even a little bit.
"Come on, dead last, we're going to be late."
The blond gaped at his clock, and surged forward without warning. "Oh crap! We're already late!" Naruto yelped as he grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the door.
"Wait -- let me lock the door!" Sasuke pulled free with annoyance, securing his apartment quickly, then started running after Naruto, who was all but dancing in impatience on the railing. "What the hell do you mean, late?" he demanded as they jumped over to the nearest tree and skidded down the trunk to the footbridge. "We have fifteen minutes!"
"Yeah and we have to --" Naruto leaped over a toddler, vaulting over the edge of the bridge -- "pick up Sakura-- " they raced each other up a wall, landing on a tiled roof --"and you have to give her the ring --" they broke their straight run to dodge around another ninja who had just emerged from a window-- "and it's not gonna be done in three seconds!" Another quick dodge, grabbing a pole to fling themselves farther away-- "And we can't arrive at her parents' like we just ran through the village!"
"Since when are you Mister Ideal Boyfriend anyway?" Sasuke snapped back as he leaped over a street.
"I just asked IrukACK!"
A red and pink blur had just burst out of a nearby greenhouse and clotheslined Naruto. Sasuke instinctively fell into a fighting stance --
"You're LATE!!"
"... Sakura?"
She was holding Naruto against her hip, the boy hanging from her arm around his neck. "You're late!! How could you be that late? I told you two to be here early so I could fix your clothes -- Sasuke, your hair!"
Blinking, he touched his hair automatically. It felt like it always did. "What?"
"It looks like a bird's nest, didn't you even comb it?" she replied, half angry and half panicked, as she grabbed his wrist, Naruto's collar, and hauled them toward the opened window in the roof of the greenhouse. "INOO! Get me a brush!"
The blonde girl put her basket of flowers and her pruning shears down on a bench and hurried off, but not quickly enough to hide her mocking snickers. "Yes, sir, Sakura-sir!" she snapped before disappearing behind a large hanging plant.
Sasuke landed awkwardly; she still hadn't let go of his wrist. At least she hadn't dragged Naruto through the window with them; he was still teetering precariously at the edge, but it was better than diving amongst the potted plants head first.
"Naruto, get down here, and don't get dirty!" Sakura ordered before starting to tug on Sasuke's shirt and smooth the wrinkles out.
Naruto grabbed the edge and rolled forward, swinging for a second before he landed between two racks bearing small potted flowers. He almost collided with Ino, who was emerging from her house at the same time.
"Huh, you need some help with your hair too. Don't move."
Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a long-suffering look through the rack as Ino attacked Naruto's hair with gel, mirroring Sakura's fussing with Sasuke's clothes.
"Hurry up, Ino-pig, I need it too!" Sakura demanded as she finished a last observational circle around Sasuke. Ino reached through the rack at his side, dropping the pot in Sakura's hand, then dropped her hand -- Sasuke started, and turned to stare at her. Had she just groped him?
"Ino!" "Oi!"
The girl burst out laughing. "Oh, come on, that's like the only time in my life I'll ever have the occasion. Once you take him home and tag him 'fiance', I'll be forbidden."
"You're forbidden now!" Sakura growled. Sasuke blinked, dazed, and stared at her back. The fuck. When had she grabbed him to pull him behind her protectively?
"Yeah, tag or not, that ass is already owned," Naruto chorused, scowling. Or pouting. It was hard to say. Either way, Sasuke was surprised; Sakura had always been possessive of him, even when she hadn't had the right, but Naruto...
"Aw, don't be jealous," Ino replied in a devious tone as she turned to face Naruto again, and reached around him to give his butt a good squeeze.
"GACK!" "INO!" "HEY."
"What's going on here?" demanded a male voice from the other side of the wall. Sasuke flushed a little and looked away, pretending that he hadn't been bristling at Ino.
"Nothing, dad!" "Nothing, Yamanaka-san!" the two girls chorused in an utterly unbelievable innocent tone.
Ino abandoned Naruto to rush to the connecting door and shoo her father off before he could step in. Naruto took the occasion to hurry around the rack and join them, spooked.
"Sakura-chan, I'm not pure for you anymore..." he whimpered, hands over his ass protectively.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the theatrics.
Sakura managed a strangled chuckle before her stressed out expression slammed back on. "Let me see -- that's a nice shirt, Naruto," she commented quickly as she turned him here and there to give him the same treatment Sasuke had received. Naruto looked like he didn't know whether to protest or enjoy the way her hands flitted all over him.
"Here. Done. Your hair... Well at least Ino-pig can do that much," she muttered ungratefully.
"You didn't check my pants," Naruto commented mournfully, eyes gleaming with impish delight.
"Wh -- your pants are fine..." Sakura trailed off and eyed him worriedly as he turned around, checking for a tear or a smear of dirt.
"No, see, they're tainted by her touch!"
Sasuke watched her stare at Naruto's ass for a few seconds before she registered it. "You -- NARUTO!"
"Aw, come on!"
"Pinch him," Sasuke advised grumpily, and turned away from them to go to the connecting door. Ino had managed to chase her father off and was coming back; he put a hand on her shoulder and nudged her back out.
"But -- hey," she protested, confused.
He scowled briefly at her, then reminded himself that they were in her house and he had to be polite. At least a little. "...Ino, we need five minutes in private. Alright?"
She pouted, then glanced over at Naruto and Sakura who were still squabbling, and shrugged. "Alright, alright. But--"
"And don't listen at the door either," he ordered before closing the door under her nose.
After a second of thought, he herded Naruto and Sakura to the other end of the greenhouse, just in case. Sakura was staring at him, confused. "Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, but the idiot was no help, blinking at him innocently as if he didn't have a clue what it was about.
"Uh. Here." He pressed the little box in her hands, then crossed his arms, turning his face away so that he didn't have to look directly.
Naruto was watching her surprise, and her delight, with an open expression of -- Sasuke didn't know. It was a smile, but a little... Sad? Melancholy? But ... glad, too. He clenched his jaws, cursing the soft-hearted idiot. Sakura was still staring rapturously at the contents of the box; she didn't notice.
She looked up, staring at him with adoring eyes; Naruto was watching the both of them and smiling, and Sasuke wasn't sure why he wanted to describe it as "from afar" despite the blond standing even closer to Sakura than he was; but it fitted too well.
"From both of us."
"Oh!"
He tensed, watching her closely for disappointment, but all he could see was surprise as she turned to look at Naruto. The blond looked mildly panicked, and glared at Sasuke quickly.
"Is that -- really?"
"Well, uh, yeah. Is it -- d'you like it?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"Oh -- yes!" she beamed at Naruto, then at him, her eyes suspiciously shiny. "It's so symbolic -- like the three of us. I love it."
"... It's not very fancy," Naruto muttered, though he was looking pleased against himself.
Sasuke allowed himself a little smirk. "Diamonds would have cost a bit more than what we can afford at the moment," he commented casually. Naruto was right -- it was better if she assumed that it was from the two of them. And it was -- or it would have been if Naruto had asked him first. But he was going to pay the moron back if that was the last thing he'd do.
"Oh, it's alright!" she babbled, beaming. "Diamonds are too shiny and bulky anyway; I would have to leave it behind on missions for fear of snagging it on things or blinding our targets, or something."
"This one is still shiny," Sasuke retorted.
"Yes, but only because it's so new. Besides I can put it on a chain -- it's perfect, really!"
She was holding it tight against her chest, as if afraid that Sasuke was going to take it back.
"... So you don't wanna put it on?" Naruto asked, pretending -- badly -- that he wasn't nervous.
"Oh! Of course, I was just -- um. It's really pretty," she whispered as she pulled it out of the box.
Personally Sasuke thought that it was a little too plain for her -- but perhaps he could get her a fancy chain to compensate, or something.
She looked at him, then at Naruto, and then grinned shyly, bowing her head, and slipped it on; the way she was doing it -- slow and deliberate -- it was like a ceremony. Heavy with meaning. "I would have asked one of you -- but we don't have the time to discuss who gets to do it," she commented with a high-pitched giggle. "And the logistics for the two of you to do it together... Okay, we should get going."
Sasuke wondered briefly if she knew what Naruto and him had argued about earlier; or if she had just guessed that Naruto was probably a lot more responsible for it than he was, and just didn't want a confirmation that might only hurt most parties involved.
Just a little gesture. It would make her happy. It would make Naruto happy. Having them happy would make him -- less annoyed.
Just a little gesture. He could do that. He reached out casually and slipped his fingers in her hand, resting them against her palm in a loose hold. The ring was still cold. "Yeah, let's go."
She looked so stunned it hurt; he looked away, only looked back up when Naruto snickered and gave him a 'aww, soo cute' grin. He sneered at him, tugged Sakura toward the exit. She tightened her hold, finally, following him. For about two steps; then she held him back, and he finally looked back at her, confused.
She was still grinning, embarrassed but not enough to hide the glowing. "Sasuke, wait..."
"... yeah?"
She hesitated, then her smile turned amused. "You didn't think you were going to escape with your hair like that, did you? Come here, let me smooth it back..."
...He'd look like he had a ponytail. "No way."
"Sasuke..."
"No. Way. Give me that." He snatched the hair gel from Naruto's hand -- open already; he didn't have to let go -- and quickly combed a few dollops through his locks, smoothing down rebellious spikes. There, that should be enough. Then he put the pot down on a rack, snagged Naruto's arm and pulled them both toward the exit. Stupid idiots had nothing better to do than watch him comb his stupid hair with these stupid eyes -- he would have felt less naked if he had actually been naked.
"Come on, let's go. How long do we have left?"
"We -- oh no! Two minutes!! We'll never get here on time!" Naruto yelped, panicked.
Sakura winced, and then smiled and stuck out her tongue cutely. "Ah -- I lied about the time to make sure we'd have a margin. There's about fifteen minutes left."
NOW I SLEEP. If the connection doesn't work tomorrow, i'll hunt down a support tech guy and sacrifive him to the gods of the internet or something.
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(Ino was my favorite part to write. XD)
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... only if he's gonna shove a kunai into someone's groin. :P
<3 Ino
I really like the ineraction between Naruto and Sasuke - both of them are bad at relationships, but in the oopsite way, so it balances out. Very nice.
Re: <3 Ino
^_____^ heh. I should make them both fail spectacularly one of these days. Naruto notices too much.
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One very small possible correction..
>>Stupid idiots had nothing better to do than watch him comb his stupid hair with these stupid eyes
I think it should be "those" in this case. "These" makes it sound Sasuke is talking about his own. Or maybe that's just the way I read it. Either way, very minor.
I'm definitely looking forward to what happens next. XD ♥
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"makes it sound Sasuke" should've been "makes it sound like Sasuke", which is obvious, but I obsess over correcting my own typing errors.
My apologies for the comment spam. ^_^;;
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... I... kind of am, too... because I still don't know. .__.;;;
(ino so was my favorite part to write. XD)
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It'll come to you eventually, and, when it does, it shall be the awesome. *sets fic-trap for when it appears*
( Ino + gropage = ♥ )
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Only quibble: I get it for you should maybe be "I got it for you?"
her dad and mom will shove her in our arms with their blessings and then we can move in together and have tons and tons of sex.
OH MAN PLZ THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. :D
Ahahaha, I love the groping! I especially love how protective it made Sakura of both of her boys and Sasuke of Naruto. That ass is claimed, bwahahaha.
AWWWWWW. Sakura getting the ring is SO CUTE. ACK, THREESOME FOREVER. I love their dynamic in these stories. They're so nervous and lusty and adorably in love and confused. Like I said, this series is great. I think the three of them being in a relationship is the best thing that could happen for any of them - and so cute - and sexy. Everyone wins!
They really do need to have more sex, sometime. Perhaps in Sakura's parent's bathroom, oh ho ho! That would go over swimmingly, I bet. Anyway, yay for more story. You just made my night like 48% better, at least. ^__^
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Oh yeah, it would be. Which means it has how many chances of actually happening? XD
Ass-groping = best idea i ever had. XDD
#^_______________^# yeah, they do need to have more sex. eventually. But I still don't know how that happens. ^_______^;;;;;;;;; *cuddleloves you*
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Thanks ^________^
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(Anonymous) 2006-01-25 05:14 am (UTC)(link)I adore your Naruto. He is so thoughtful and sweet and he doesn't even seem to care that Sakura is going to marry Sasuke. Awwww, poor Naruto!!
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(and he does care. he just figures it would only make things worse if he showed it. silly naruto. ;_;)
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Naruto. With his hair combed. Sasuke. With his hair combed. *SNORT* Definitely, Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead wearing a ponytail!
"Don't make me make you sleep on the couch!"
"You're already sleeping on the couch."
"I'll take the sex away!"
"We're not even having sex!"
"Yeah well we should -- why aren't we again?"
"Sakura's never around."
The mention of her name sobered them up.
"Oh, right. You know, if you give her the ring, she'll be so happy, her dad and mom will shove her in our arms with their blessings and then we can move in together and have tons and tons of sex."
XD
I would comment more, but it's late and my brain is shot. Lots of squishy cuddlehugs for you and your fic!
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*squishes back* ♥
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Sasuke est trop mignon :pp (et je comprends tout à fait les gestes d'Ino. Oui, oui X3)
"My boyfriend. Say it. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."
Yes. Yes yes yes yessssssss. *__*
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Also!
"My boyfriend. Say it. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."
MELTS INTO A PUDDLE OF HAPPY! *squeals* Oh dear me the happy of having SASUKE insist on that. *huggles*
I love you asuka! *hearts and cuddles for you*
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...MOST SASUKE LINE EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. ^_______^
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Hah. awesome.
The blonde girl put her basket of flowers and her pruning shears down on a bench and hurried off, but not quickly enough to hide her mocking snickers. "Yes, sir, Sakura-sir!" she snapped before disappearing behind a large hanging plant.
Sakura-sir? uhh. sounds a little weird. maybe "Madam Sakura" would work.
hah. Sasuke being totally blunt, just shoving the box at Sakura. "Uh. Here." You totally win.
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Naruto was, as always, very Naruto, I love how you balance his own desires with his rather selfless-nature. Even when he hurts, you keep him believably perky and considerate, which is quite a feat.
But... as for this line:
"My boyfriend. Say it. Our boyfriend. Our lover. Say it."
That line gets all of my love, I can only imagine how hard it was for Sasuke to say it, and how much it implies, deep down, for Naruto's sake. It made me all kinds of happy, I must say!
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*^_____________________^* ♥
Sasuke only said it because he was suddenly aware that if he let naruto go, then he'd be on his own with sakura. XD that's a terrifying prospect. XD
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I just really like how you can incorporate humor and seriousness into your stories. And you romance/Fluff parts are interesting..lol I like how you write them.
Can't wait for more!! ^.^
Hakkai_duo
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(Sasuke after the chuunin exam grows colder and more resentful; i'm assuming that mine eventually grew out of it. Also, there's the way Sakura's personality changes during the timeskip to become ballsy and badass, but then she didn't really have a choice, and she had a very good reason. It's hard to balance natural emotional growth and the influence of the timeskip events, seeing as they didn't happen in teamwork. -__-; )
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"You're forbidden now!" Sakura growled. Sasuke blinked, dazed, and stared at her back. The fuck. When had she grabbed him to pull him behind her protectively?
"Yeah, tag or not, that ass is already owned," Naruto chorused, scowling. Or pouting. It was hard to say. Either way, Sasuke was surprised; Sakura had always been possessive of him, even when she hadn't had the right, but Naruto...
"Aw, don't be jealous," Ino replied in a devious tone as she turned to face Naruto again, and reached around him to give his butt a good squeeze.
"GACK!" "INO!" "HEY."///
*ROFL* That nearly had be laughing out loud (and wouldn't THAT have gotten me funny looks here in the office ^.^;; ). This whole section was about as soft as we ever really see Sasuke. Too cute. The whole deal about the ring being from both of them (and Naruto did pick out a really good ring) made me want to melt. *happy happy purr*
Yays, Teamwork-fic-ness. My day is complete. ^___^
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Please don't hit me for that*hides*Then again, Naruto out of all of them would be the one to try and patch things up quickly. Other than that it's still very good solid writing. Can't wait to see what the dinner is like. Is Chapter 5 going to extend beyond the dinner scene?no subject
chapter five will also have a scene i posted earlier with FIRE, LOTS OF FIRE WHEE. and angst. and then a little scene to wrap it up. It's gonna be huge. =__=;;;
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I swear only Sasuke could propose to someone with "Uh. Here." He would really do it that way too.
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Sasuke's cluelessness
(Anonymous) 2006-02-17 11:00 am (UTC)(link)Just a thought on sasuke and his apparent cluelessness, you showed that Sasuke is extremely quick to pick up on things, as he was the first of the group to realize just how dangerous sakura's pregnancy was. One wince for sakura was all it took for him to put the pieces together, and then he started to emotionally (or a least more than usual) shut down.
so here's a thought:
Sasuke's already lost one family in an extremely brutal way, is it possibly that's he's instinctivly distancing himself from them now that the possiblity of sakura not surviving the pregnancy has made it's self known? Sort of a "can't let myself be hurt like that again" sort of way. He might not even be consiously aware that he's doing it. Which might explain his apparent social cluelessness, his brain is instinctivly not allowing those things to process totally.
Just a random thought