Author: Moondalian
Summary: Naruto tries to make dinner for himself after finding out that he has no more ramen. Sadly, the blonde can't cook to save his life. To top it off, Sasuke had to come over and witness it all. This was definitely not his day.
Pairing: Sasuke x Naruto

--: Itadakimasu :--

Naruto stared hard, determined to win but doubtful that he could. This was probably the only opponent he would ever face and lose to. He knew he could take anything, but this was just something that was beyond him. This mission was as good as failed.

His opponent stayed unmoving as if trying to mock him. Naruto twitched. He had to win this. He just had to.

Then again, a cookbook probably didn't move normally anyway and it didn't really have a conscious mind either. That probably meant his entire 'mission' and his thinking he was failing was stupid. Then again, that had never stopped him.

Naruto sighed as he switched his gaze from the book to all the pans and other stuff he'd taken out. Why? Why did he have to run out of ramen? And why did he have to find out after the shops had already closed? And to top it all off, Ichiraku was closed as well for some reason or another – he hadn't actually paid attention what reason this was as he'd been in a panic attack at the time. Cooking was definitely something he was not good at.

He started, glancing at the cookbook every two seconds if he'd done something wrong yet. Multiple times he found out he actually had done something wrong in those two seconds. He pouted; he couldn't even do something this simple? This was ridiculous.

He continued, messing up everywhere but not willing to give up yet. He was Uzumaki Naruto! He could do anything!

Another ten mintes and he was rephrasing his earlier statement. He could do nearly anything. This cooking things was definitely beating him.

"Damnit, it always looks so easy when I see others do it!" he pouted once more, trying to will the food into preparing itself by just looking at it. Nothing happened. Naruto sulked even more.

With another sigh he tried once more. Seriously, rice shouldn't be so hard to cook should it? Just put it on the fire with some water, check the cookbook for the umpteenth time just to reassure yourself that you're not doing it wrong, and don't let it burn.

"Dobe, you in here?" Naruto jumped at the voice, before cursing loudly as his hand came in contact with the pan of rice, resulting in it crashing to the ground and his hand going though the fire. This was not his day. It just plainly wasn't.

A few seconds later an all-too familiar raven-haired teenager stepped into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow at the still cursing blonde now letting cold water run over his hand. Naruto could already see the amusement playing in the other's eyes and was sure that hadn't it been Uchiha Sasuke, the other would've burst out in laughter. Sadly, to make up for the fact that his best friend and rival wouldn't laugh, he would surely keep mentioning this for the rest of both their lives just to spite him.

If possible, the day had just gotten worse. He wondered if it was possible for it to get even worse, but then reminded himself that this was not a good time to challenge fate. He might not believe in it, but he refused to be hit by more bad luck just because he was careless.

"Cooking?" Naruto glared at the raven still standing at the entrance to his kitchen, the amusement in the other's eyes spreading to his voice and soon forming a taunting smirk.

"Don't even think it." Of course this was too late, but once more that had never stopped him from doing something. Sadly enough for him. it usually didn't work whenever he did this, and certainly not on Sasuke.

"What? That you're not only a loser as a ninja but apparently can't even cook?" Naruto really wondered why he had chosen Sasuke of all people to be his best friend.

And crush.

Though that last point was never to be revealed to anyone. Hence the reason why he kept pursuing Sakura with such vigour when he'd lost his interest in her long ago.

With his glare still on his face and muttered curses spoken under his breath, the blonde turned back to his hand to see burn marks over his entire hand. He grimaced. Great, now if only Kyuubi would be generous enough to heal it before tomorrow. The demon fox had taken to not healing his wounds from time to time for his own amusement. Why? Naruto supposed the other was bored, but didn't quite agree with the solution the fox had found to solve that problem.

"What are you doing here anyway?" The sound of Sasuke picking up the pan that had fallen to the ground drew the blonde's gaze back to the raven, raising a suspicious eyebrow as the other put the pan on the counter, glanced at the cookbook, and rolled his eyes.

"Kakashi asked me to bring you some info on the mission for tomorrow. We have to escort some guy back to his country but apparently he's important enough to be attacked most likely. Since you usually jump into action before knowing anything, he though you should read it over so you know what you'll be jumping into like an idiot." Naruto huffed, shutting off the tap and thoughtlessly crossing his arms, instantly wincing as his burned hand came in contact with his arm. Oh yes, his day was definitely getting worse.

"I don't jump into action without knowing anything! I just…" a slight pause as he tried to think of what he did do then. He wouldn't give the Uchiha the pleasure of agreeing, even if he had to admit that he did actually do that a lot, "don't need the information because I can beat anyone and do anything!"

"Except cooking apparently." Damnit, if that smirk didn't make the other look so good, Naruto would've tried punching it off his face already, or something along those lines anyway.

"Hey cooking is hard okay!" he winced again as he moved his burned hand in a wrong way.

"Yes, and taking care of yourself apparently is too." He was getting tempted to actually follow his instincts and punch the other by now, but sadly it had been his left hand to get burned, and he was left handed. After having thoroughly abused it, hitting someone with his hand was something he really shouldn't try.

"I'm fine, it'll heal." Naruto glanced at the mess of rice on the ground and sulked at the idea of having to clean it up. And even then he still didn't have dinner. Maybe he should just go over to Iruka and beg for food? Then again, the last time he'd done this – though in a less pressing situation since he'd merely wanted the other to take him to Ichiraku to get a free bowl of ramen – he's accidentally stumbled in on the brunette in a make-out session with none other than Kakashi. Since then, he had taken to avoiding Iruka's house as much as possible.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto started cleaning up the mess on the ground, the blonde winding quite visibly every time his hand made a wrong move or accidentally came in contact with something. At this rate, Naruto would probably make the burns worse.

With a surprised yelp followed by protests, Naruto was pushed back into the living room and forced to sit on his couch. He gave the Uchiha an indignant look that held confusion and curiosity in the background.

"If you keep going like this, that hand won't heal and you'll be of no use tomorrow. Where do you keep bandages and all that?" Naruto blinked and pointed to a closet. It seemed Sasuke would even take care of him as long as it helped finish a mission. Great, he actually had to get hurt before Sasuke would try to help him in any way. He wondered what it would take to get the raven to actually kiss him again, since he doubted any situation like the last time would arise again in this lifetime or the next. Maybe if he was near to dying? Probably not even then.

His attention was drawn back to reality when he felt Sasuke sit next to him on the couch, bandages and ointment lying on the table. "Give me your hand."

Naruto tried to protest, saying he could do it himself and going as far as to try and simply walk away from the Uchiha, but for once his stubbornness was met with one that was even greater. He didn't know for the life of him why Sasuke had been so persistent, but Naruto had to grudgingly admit – though only mentally, out loud the words would never be spoken – that Sasuke had a knack for taking care of wounds. The blonde had barely felt any pain while if he'd done it himself, he knew he'd have been wincing at every touch.

More surprisingly so, Sasuke had insisted on him staying put and was now in the kitchen, cooking dinner for him. Naruto vaguely wondered if this was somehow going to turn into a prank of some sort, but then again Sasuke wasn't exactly the pranking type. Though something that could be used against him by the Uchiha, like the raven having to cook for him since he was unable to do it himself, would make great material to taunt him with later.

Great, and the food was actually smelling good at that. Apparently yet another difference between their lives of solitude was that Sasuke had actually taught himself how to cook, whilst he lived on cups of ramen. Yay, another thing the raven beat him at.

And something he was sure to always be beaten in at that.

With a sigh Naruto resigned to sulking while being ordered around in his own home. Not too long after Sasuke came back in with perfectly boiled rice with chicken. Where the other had gotten the chicken, Naruto had no idea. He couldn't remember buying any, - after all, he never cooked so why bother buying chicken? – but then again he didn't exactly care at the moment. Forced upon him or not, if the food tasted half as good as it smelled, Naruto would happily live through the taunts reminding him of this occasion if Sasuke ever brought it up again.

"Wow, it smells great." The blonde took the plate offered to him and saw a flicker of satisfaction shoot through the other's dark orbs. The flicker was quickly hidden behind the mask of disinterest that the raven usually wore, but Naruto was sure he'd seen it.

"Hn, I'll see you tomorrow." The Uchiha turned and started to walk towards the door. Naruto paused halfway through bringing a bite to his mouth and giving a hesitant look at the retreating form. If he ever wanted to spend any time with the Uchiha, this was the perfect time. It wouldn't lead to anything, but it would be nice to have the other staying. He bit his lip nervously.

"Why don't you stay for dinner? I mean, you cooked and there's probably some left so…" He trailed off as Sasuke turned back to him with a raised eyebrow, a suspicious searching look staring directly into his eyes. There was silence for a short time as Naruto mentally beat himself for even considering to ask, sure that the other would say no, before the raven shrugged.

"Sure, why not." He disappeared into the kitchen as Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the answer. The blonde had expected a lot, but accepting his offer hadn't been one one of them. Laughing, mocking and taunting were at the top of his list, accepting hadn't even been on there.

Shaking his head to get rid of the shock, Naruto grinned as he took his first bite. Sasuke really was a good cook, making Naruto grudgingly admit that he should probably learn how to cook as well. Sasuke walked back into the room moments later with a plate of rice and chicken for himself. He sat down on the couch, starting to eat as well.

A silence fell over the two as they ate. Naruto shifted a bit uncomfortably every so often, not used to the silence but not daring to break it either. The fact that Sasuke was still in his house was a miracle for him, he really shouldn't push his luck too much.

On the other hand, he simply couldn't stay silent. It just wasn't in him, "So… what did you think of today's training? I think Sakura's gotten a lot better, don't you think?" It could just be him, but he could've sworn he saw a light twitch at the mention of their female teammate. Why though, Naruto didn't know. Sasuke might think Sakura was annoying for asking him out so much, but he'd never shown annoyance when someone merely mentioned her in a conversation.

The raven shrugged, finishing his plate and putting it down on the table, "She did about the same as usual if you ask me." He leant back on the couch, "Though I didn't actually pay a lot of attention to her, so I could be wrong."

Naruto finished his dinner as well and turned to face his friend, "How come you never say yes when she asks you out? Or when anyone asks you out actually." He gave the Uchiha a curious look as the other merely rolled his eyes.

"They're not my type." He seemed to give Naruto a searching look, as if trying to figure something out.

Naruto frowned lightly at the look and the answer, "You've been asked out by near to every girl in town, maybe except Hinata. Do you even have a type?" Sasuke's gained a disbelieving glint in this eyes, though nothing else showed it and even the glint was hard to detect.

"You still haven't figured out what my type is? I thought you were just acting stupid." Naruto glared at the comment.

"Well you never show any interest in anyone! How am I supposed to know?! I'm not a mind-reader you know." Sasuke rolled his eyes, Naruto's glare became harsher though a slight pout could also be seen now.

"I don't give any girl any attention, you said that yourself." A pointed look, "Now think what that would mean if I tell you that I do actually have interest in someone in this village."

Naruto's look faded as he blinked, his eyes widening after a few seconds as his heart beat became faster. "You're gay?" If that was true, maybe all wasn't lost for him. Of course someone like Sasuke probably still wouldn't even consider going out with him, but he could dream.

Sasuke rolled his eyes with an 'isn't-it-obvious?' look on his face. "So you can think, miracles do exist after all."

Naruto's glare came back instantly, "Teme!" His expression changed as he remembered the other part of what Sasuke had said. He'd said he actually had interest in someone of the village. So who would that person be? "So… who's the guy you want then?"

There was silence for a short while as Sasuke looked at him, all emotions carefully hidden so even he couldn't read a single one. Naruto shifted a bit uncomfortably under the intense gaze before Sasuke spoke again.

"Who's the only person in the village I've ever bothered to acknowledge?" Naruto frowned, sure the answer was supposed to be obvious but unable to think of anyone. Mentally he went over all the boys in the village, trying to figure out if Sasuke had ever shown any interest in any of them. Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Lee… The only guy Sasuke had maybe shown interest in was Gaara, but he'd said from the village so that wasn't possible.

"Uhm…" A blank look crossed his face and Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. Naruto thought harder, now including maybe older guys in case Sasuke went for those, but still not coming up with anyone. Sasuke had plainly never shown interest in anyone.

"You're such an idiot." In one swift movement Naruto found himself pinned to the couch with Sasuke on top of him, his eyes growing wide as he felt Sasuke's lips pressing to his. He froze up in shock, his brain only fully processing what had happened after Sasuke pulled away and sat up again, leaning back as if nothing had happened.

Naruto stared at the relaxed and patiently waiting form sitting in front of him, realizing only now that he was indeed the only one in the village that Sasuke had ever bothered with. He might've shown that in forms of taunting and mocking, but he'd never given anyone else any form of attention, good or bad.

"Well, since you'll obviously need some time to process that, I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto blinked as Sasuke stood up, not a sign of disappointment that he hadn't gotten a reaction seen. Naruto sat up quickly, grabbing Sasuke's hand and pulling him back on the couch. A surprised look crossed the Uchiha's face until Naruto leaned forward and kissed him, ignoring the uncomfortable position they were in and the painful throb of his left hand as it once more made a wrong movement. It took Sasuke less than two seconds to respond, pulling the blond closer and deepening the kiss.

The scroll on the table that contained the mission information was completely forgotten to the two for the rest of the night, though neither really caring when they saw it lying the next day after coming back into the living room. Naruto would probably manage in his usual fashion like he always did.