Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I'm only borrowing characters for my own entertainment.
Blue-Eyed Blonde
Azure: The Color of the Clear Sky
Sasuke, can't we just take a rest? It's a waste of good weather to train today. Look at the sky! It's so clear, yet blue at the same time," Naruto whined as he blocked Sasuke's attacks. The dark-haired boy sighed and kept his kunai before folding his arms. "So what do you want to do?"
"Wai! You're the best, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered, hugging his best friend, kunai still in hand. Sasuke pushed the blonde away gently, a light blush on his face. "Keep your kunai first. You'd probably injure yourself with that, being the clumsy oaf you are."
As Naruto kept his kunai, Sasuke thanked the gods that his best friend was probably the least observant shinobi he knew, and thus had not noticed the light tinge of pink on his pale cheeks. Sasuke turned to watch Naruto, who was now listing off some things to do.
"So what would you like to do, Sasuke? Swimming or cloud-watching?" Naruto asked, turning to the other boy, his head cocked to one side questioningly.
"Cloud-watching. It's nearer," Sasuke decided.
"All right! Let's go!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he pulled the taller boy to Shikamaru's usual spot. Naruto pounced on the grass and rolled around, taking in the feel of the soft grass on his skin. Noticing that Sasuke had plopped down next to him, Naruto crawled over and lay down next to the boy.
Sasuke sighed peacefully as he heard Naruto breathing loudly beside him. This was exactly why he chose cloud-watching instead. Sure, he could ogle Naruto's half-naked body if they went swimming, but this way, Naruto would lie down right beside him, so close that their arms were touching. Besides, he saw the boy half-naked often enough as they often stayed over at each other's apartments, especially when either of them felt lonely.
Reaching for the other boy's hand, Sasuke entwined their fingers together. Naruto smiled as he felt the comfort of being with his best friend fill him. The two boys lay beside each other, watching the clouds and enjoying the silence, and each other's company. Finally, Naruto got restless and decided that it was too quiet.
"Ne Sasuke?" Naruto called.
"Hmmm?"
"Do you think Sakura-chan will ever like me?" Naruto asked. Sasuke gritted his teeth at the mention of the annoying pink-haired girl. Not only did she annoy him with her whining, she's always picking on Naruto. Sasuke looked at the blonde. At least Naruto looks cute when he whines, unlike that stupid girl.
"I'm sure she'll see how good you are one day. She's got to be blind not to," Sasuke answered, just to pacify the blonde.
"Really?" Naruto asked, sitting up and looking down at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded. Satisfied, Naruto lay back down, and the two boys were silent until Naruto grew restless again.
"Ne Sasuke?" the small boy called once again.
"Hmmm?" Sasuke hummed back questioningly.
"Is there anyone you like?" Naruto asked curiously. Sasuke kept silent for some time, wondering if he should tell the blonde that he likes someone.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called for the third time.
"Yes, there's someone I like," Sasuke said, not tearing his eyes away from the sky.
"Who? Who? Sasuke, tell me!" Naruto begged, sitting up and looking down at his best friend pleadingly.
"Not telling," Sasuke said, still looking up at the sky.
"Sasuke... Who is it? Just tell me! I won't tell anyone!" Naruto promised. Sasuke looked at the blonde and smirked as he shook his head.
"Sasuke!" Naruto whined, his eyes growing teary as he looked at Sasuke pleadingly.
"Fine, I'll tell you just one thing. The person I like is a blue-eyed blonde," Sasuke said, unable to resist Naruto's pleading eyes.
"Who? Is she from the academy?" Naruto asked, climbing over Sasuke so that he could stare down at the boy on all fours.
"Not telling. I've already told you enough," Sasuke said.
"Sasuke!" Naruto whined again.
"It's nearly time for lunch. Let's go for ramen, my treat," Sasuke said, flipping Naruto off him gently and standing up, brushing the grass off his clothes as he did so.
"Ramen! I want miso ramen!" Naruto yelled excitedly, forgetting all about whoever it was that Sasuke liked. Sasuke sighed softly in relief. "Fine. Let's go then."
Naruto stood up and hurried after the taller boy, blue-eyed blonde totally forgotten.
Sasuke watched as Naruto slurped up his ramen happily. Shaking his head with a small smile, the onyx-eyed boy turned to his own bowl and started eating quickly, knowing that if he didn't finish quickly enough, his food would be taken away by the blonde beside him.
Naruto put down his empty bowl loudly. He noticed that Sasuke was still eating and stared pitifully at the half-full bowl. Sasuke looked away and continued eating.
"Ne Sasuke, I'm still hungry," Naruto whined. Sighing, Sasuke stopped eating and pushed his bowl towards the blonde, who beamed at him. Sasuke watched as the blonde dug into his half-full bowl of ramen and shook his head again. It's a good thing that I wasn't really hungry.
"Arigatou Sasuke!" Naruto said happily as he put down Sasuke's empty bowl. Sasuke paid the waitress Ayome and got off his stool. Naruto did the same and the two boys left Ichiraku together.
The villagers gave Naruto a look of disdain as they noticed the host of the kyuubi walking with the young Uchiha. Sasuke glared as he noticed a bunch of housewives talking and pointing at his companion. Noticing the cold onyx eyes, the women hurriedly looked away. Sasuke humphed to himself softly. Stupid housewives... Nothing to do but to gossip all day and pick on Naruto. It's not as if he wishes to have the demon sealed in him.
Naruto walked on, ignoring the glares of the villagers. He pulled at Sasuke's arm to get the attention of the taller boy, who was still scowling at the housewives and not moving. "It's all right Sasuke. I'm used to it by now."
"That doesn't give them any excuse to treat you like the thing inside you. You never did anything to them, other than a few harmless pranks," Sasuke said, glaring at the villagers.
"It's all right. I mean, at least they're not insulting me to my face right? Besides, you'll protect me, won't you? They won't lay a finger on me if you're around," the younger boy said with a small smile as he pulled Sasuke gently. Giving the housewives a warning look, Sasuke turned and allowed the blonde to lead him away.
"It's just not fair to you, Naruto! It's not as if you wanted to have the kyuubi sealed in you! And I can't believe that you idolize the Fourth so much. He ruined your life," Sasuke ranted. Naruto listened in slight amusement as he sat beside the boy under their favorite tree at their training spot.
"It's fine as long as I've got you. You''re my friend, right? Besides, it's not like no one else cares for me. Before I met Iruka-sensei, I probably would have reacted like you did, but I've got Iruka-sensei and you to care for me now, and there's still a long list I can name. Iruka-sensei always tells me that the people who see me as a demon are stupid, because the Fourth wanted me to be viewed as a hero. One day, I'll make everyone notice me... Not as the demon-boy, but as a shinobi. One of the strongest in the village!" Naruto declared determinedly, grinning at Sasuke.
Sasuke managed a small smile at the blonde's optimism. "At that time, I'll be right at the top with you. And no one would dare give you those looks anymore."
"And Sakura-chan will fall in love with me! Heh!" Naruto said, wiping the smile off Sasuke's face as the boy frowned, wondering what the hell the blonde saw in the annoying kunoichi anyway.
"Ne Sasuke, you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning," Naruto said, smoothing off Sasuke's frown with his hand.
"Who said that? That's stupid!" Sasuke scoffed.
"That's what Kakashi-sensei told Iruka-sensei when Iruka-sensei was marking some papers and frowning while he marked. Don't they make such a cute couple?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Che. We'd make a better couple," Sasuke muttered softly.
"Did you say something?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to one side.
"I said that they make a good couple," Sasuke said.
"Of course they do! After all, we matchmade them! Well, not that shoving them into a room and locking them in is exactly matchmaking, but they did get together because of that incident. It's probably thanks to Iruka-sensei's fear of those spiders we put in the room," Naruto said proudly. Then he remembered something. "Ne Sasuke, so who is it that you like?"
"Not telling," Sasuke said tonelessly.
"Why not? Who would you tell if not your best friend?" the blonde whined.
"No one. If you want to know, go find out yourself," the taller boy said.
"Fine!" Naruto huffed.
Sasuke hid a smile as he stood up. The blonde was still sitting down, cheeks puffed out like a hamster. And the whisker-marks on his cheek only made him look more like a hamster. Sasuke bent down and poked at the blonde's cheek. "Let's go train."
"But we already trained earlier in the morning! Besides, the weather's too nice to waste the day on training, especially since Kakashi-sensei gave us the day off!" Naruto whined again. Sasuke shook his head. "You can't be lazy if you're going to be Hokage."
Naruto pouted, knowing that Sasuke was right. He reached out a hand, wanting Sasuke to pull him up. Sasuke did as the blonde wanted. Naruto reluctantly pulled out a kunai and looked at Sasuke. Sasuke was already in a defensive position, waiting for the blonde to attack.
Casting one last longing look at the azure blue sky, Naruto let out a cry as he launched himself at Sasuke. Sasuke blocked with a soft grunt and aimed a kick at Naruto's stomach. The sounds of fighting filled the clearing as both boys tried to best each other.
"You lost again, Naruto," Sasuke said with a smirk, panting heavily.
"Not fair! Rematch!" the blonde yelled, pointing a finger at the Uchiha.
"You've lost three times in a row. It only means that you need to train more. Besides, you move too slowly," Sasuke said. Naruto glared at the boy sitting under the tree opposite him. "Hmph. You could at least just let me win once. My poor ego..."
"If I let you win, it would be a form of disrespect to you. Cheer up, I'll help you train all right?" Sasuke said. Naruto's glare immediately changed into a joyous expression. "Really?"
Sasuke nodded as he stared at the sky, which was losing it azure color and currently had an orange tint to it, reminding Sasuke of the blonde sitting opposite him. He turned to watch the blonde. "Let's go get some dinner. We had ramen earlier, so let's get something else now. I want sushi."
"What's wrong with ramen for dinner?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing wrong with it. It's just that you eat too much ramen. Have something else for a change," Sasuke said as he stood up and brushed himself off. Naruto did the same. "But ramen's good!"
"Not if you ask me. Besides, you've already had ramen for lunch. And you even took away half of my share. You could at least bear with sushi for one meal right?"
"But I still prefer Ichiraku."
"Aren't you bored of that place? Whenever we eat out you always insist on going to Ichiraku. Come on, we'll go to another place. Just once all right? If you don't like it then we'll go to Ichiraku."
"All right then... But you're paying!"
"Fine. Now let's go," Sasuke said, gently pulling the blonde away from the direction of Ichiraku, noticing how the blonde was inching towards the direction of the ramen stall.
"Ne Sasuke, is there anything that tastes even a little like ramen here?" Naruto asked as he looked through the menu.
"Just make up your mind and stop thinking about ramen," Sasuke said, tapping his fingers on the counter impatiently. He had been staring at the blonde trying to decide on what to get for five minutes. Usually, he wouldn't mind, but right now, he was extremely hungry, having had half his lunch taken away by the blonde.
"All right, I've decided!" Naruto chirped obliviously.
"Fantastic," Sasuke muttered sarcastically as he waved for the waitress to come over. The plump waitress hurried over from the other side of the counter, a blush on her face. "Sasuke-sama, may I take your order?"
"One katsu don," Sasuke said.
"One katsu don," the waitress repeated as she jotted it down. Then, she started to walk away, completely ignoring the blonde who was sitting beside him. Sasuke called the waitress back.
"Yes Sasuke-sama?" the waitress asked in a disgustingly sweet tone.
"You didn't take his order," Sasuke said.
"Sasuke-sama, you're too kind to stick up for a stranger, but we don't serve animals here," the waitress said scornfully. Sasuke heard a sniffle beside him as he glared at the waitress. "Cancel my order. And for your information, I think the only animal here is you. Naruto's much better than a pig like you."
With that, Sasuke went after Naruto, leaving the fat waitress in tears at being insulted by "her" Sasuke-sama. Well, it served her right anyway. Being a so-called Sasuke-fangirl and not knowing who Sasuke's best friend is.
"Naruto? Are you there?" Sasuke called softly, looking around the alley. He heard a soft sob and walked further into the alley. "Naruto?"
"Go away," Naruto mumbled half-heartedly. Sasuke ignored the boy's words and knelt in front of the boy, pulling the blonde into his embrace. "That stupid girl isn't worth your tears. Why do you care about what she thinks anyway? What does that stupid waitress know? You're not an animal! You'll never be. That brother of mine is more of an animal than you'll ever be."
"I-It's not that. It's j-just... I didn't want Sasuke to see how mean they can be. I don't want Sasuke to see the weak side of me, how I let them insult me and beat me. That's why I wanted to go to Ichiraku. At least they treat me as a human there," Naruto said between sobs. Sasuke gently tilted the boy's chin upwards. "Listen to me, Naruto, there are many words I can think of to describe you, but weak is definitely not one of those words. If I hear you call yourself weak again, I'll beat you up! Do you understand?"
Sasuke gave a satisfied smile as the younger boy nodded meekly. He wiped the boy's tears off with his thumb and stood up. "Are you hungry? We'll go to Ichiraku."
Naruto shook his head. "I just want to go home."
Sasuke nodded and helped Naruto up. Ignoring his growling stomach, he turned to the blonde. "Dry your tears first. I'm sure you don't want the whole village to know that you were crying."
When all traces of Naruto's tears were gone, Sasuke held out a hand to the blonde. "Let's go."
Naruto nodded and took Sasuke's hand, letting the dark-haired boy lead him home. When the two boys were gone, another blonde stepped out into the dim light. Turns out that Ino was throwing away the spoiled flowers from the flower shop when Naruto had ran past her, not even noticing the girl through his tears. She was about to go after the boy when she heard a voice call out, so she hid and observed. She smiled. Sasuke-kun and Naruto would make a really cute couple. Who would have thought that Sasuke-kun could be so gentle? It's obvious that he likes that blonde baka, and I daresay that Naruto feels the same. He just doesn't know it yet. Well, guess I'll just make him find out then.
Sasuke stepped into the small apartment with the blonde, gently kicking aside some dirty laundry. The boy wrinkled his nose at the messy state of the apartment. He pushed the smaller boy towards the bathroom. "Go take a shower. I'll just entertain myself."
Once Naruto was in the shower, Sasuke hurriedly cleaned the apartment up a little. Stuffing the dirty laundry in a bag, Sasuke idly wondered if he should ask the blonde to move in with him, seeing how the boy couldn't clean up after himself. That way, he could be with the blonde every minute of every day.
Sasuke looked around the apartment as he heard the shower being turned off and nodded in slight satisfaction. He had just started sweeping the floor when Naruto emerged from the bathroom in a towel. Sasuke concentrated on sweeping the floor, waiting until Naruto had finished dressing before looking up. He put the broom away and went over to the blonde.
"Come on, I'll tuck you in," Sasuke said.
"I don't need to be tucked in!" the young boy protested.
"But I want to tuck you in," Sasuke replied. With a pout, Naruto allowed the dark-haired boy to tuck him in. Sasuke turned to leave when a small hand grabbed his arm.
"Sasuke, stay with me," Naruto said softly. Sasuke turned to look at the blonde, who had moved over to make space for Sasuke on the small bed. Sasuke nodded. "I'll just take a shower first all right?"
Naruto nodded and let Sasuke go. Sasuke hurriedly took a shower and borrowed some of Naruto's pajamas, which were slightly too small, and got onto the small bed with Naruto after turning off the lights. Making sure that the blonde was already asleep, Sasuke pressed a gentle kiss on the boy's lips. "Goodnight Naruto."
Minutes later, the small apartment was silent, except for the steady breathing of the two boys. The small blonde smiled as he snuggled closer to his source of warmth as the taller boy pulled the blonde close to him in a protective gesture.
To Be Continued...
Yay! Chapter one's done. Hehehe. -cheers-
This idea just popped into my mind somehow, and I thought it would make a cute story, what with all the wild goose chases that would be coming up later in the story. Hope you guys enjoy this.