Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co. and therefore, I do not make money from playing with them like they are my own personal and rather naughty action figures.

Summary: Naruto refused to look at his watch as he limped down the snow covered sidewalk, the cut on his cheek stinging, and his body shivering from the cold. All he could think of was the look on Sasuke's face when he said, "I won't wait."

Author's Note: To the darling and talented 'The Cereal Killer'. I got the honor of being her Super Special Secret Santa! I adore you!

Reservations at Chouji's

To: CerealKiller aka Cereal

From: Me!

Naruto Uzumaki, youngest Head Editor in the history of Konoha Daily News, looked at the clock on his desk with huge and disbelieving blue eyes.

"Holy shit," he whispered and stood so quickly that his chair tipped over, tripping him up as he yanked out his desk drawer, pulling out his wallet. He slammed his hands over his chest pockets and then his pants pockets until he located his Blackberry and stumbled over his damn chair, again, before finally reaching the coat stand next to the door.

He shoved his arms into his long, brown trench coat and ran his hands anxiously through his blond hair while scanning his office. He glanced out the window on his door to see the brightly lit news room buzzing with activity. Writers, editors, runners, and assistants scurried around the desks and cabinets, checking facts and preparing for tomorrow's run. Naruto took a deep, steadying breath, steeled his fortitude, and opened the door.

"Uzumaki!"

"Boss! You need to look at this."

"Naruto, I have a question!"

"There's a call on line…"

For one second, Naruto stood like a deer caught in the headlights and then, like a three year old who thought if he didn't hear it, it wouldn't affect him, he slammed his hands over his ears and began walking to the elevator.

A stern hand fell on his shoulder and he shrugged it off. "I can't hear you. I'm not here," he said and picked up his pace. He looked up and dodged an angry, pink-haired woman, her hands on her hips, and started to run. "I have to go!" he explained and sprinted the last twenty feet to the elevators. He jumped over two trash cans, sent a basket full of papers to the floor, and knocked an intern into a cache of metal cabinets. "Shit, I'm sorry!"

Once he reached the elevator, he turned and pressed frantically at the button, and looked up to see the room in a standstill, hundreds of angry and/or amused eyes staring back at him. "I'm not here!" he yelled once more and the doors slid shut.

The elevator doors opened into the lobby and Naruto was sprinting across the marble floors before they could ding, signaling their arrival. He pushed out of the newspaper's double doors and caught his breath when the cool air hit his face. "Damn," he whispered and pulled his coat closed before taking the series of steps two at a time until he reached the sidewalk.

He had arrived at the office this morning at nine and, apparently, the snow that had been falling hadn't stopped. A good six inches of new snow blanketed the sidewalk and covered the trees and buildings. It was beautiful but Naruto barely gave it a thought as he walked quickly towards the underground subway entrance.

Dusk fell over the city and Christmas lights glowed in the night air. People dressed in scarves and mittens, over their holiday best, hailed cabs and huddled close together against the cold weather. Christmas carols drifted all around and mixed with the laughter and chatter of the city celebrating Christmas Eve.

Naruto glanced at his watch and once more picked up his pace, skipping down the subway steps, and sliding through the closing subways doors just before they shut.

He sat tiredly on the hard, orange seats and looked around. The car was surprisingly empty, holding just him and a young couple toward the back. They were completely wrapped into and around each other and Naruto seriously doubted they even recognized that the train had stopped, much less that they were no longer alone.

With a deep sigh, Naruto closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the glass. He felt the vibrations of the train rock him gently and he relaxed for the first time since this morning…

"Fuck," he whispered out loud and, without opening his eyes, rubbed his hands over his face and then up into his hair.

This morning he'd somehow managed to piss his prissy-assed bastard off. His hands fell and fisted at his sides. And, although he wanted to be angry, pissed off at Sasuke for making him feel this… whatever, the bastard had been different. Their fights were epic in their anger and name calling and, yes, the occasional physical confrontation, but, today… Sasuke had been quiet. Disappointed.

Naruto swallowed and squeezed his eyes so tightly stars formed behind his lids. Naruto couldn't handle disappointment… not from Sasuke, and it all started with a ringing of his damn phone.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a large loft apartment on the lower Westside. Rent was cheap, not that either of them cared about the cost, but Sasuke needed the space and Naruto needed Sasuke, so it all worked out.

The loft's decorating scheme consisted of white sheets and canvases of every size imaginable. Smears of paint tainted the pristine white and scuffed the wooden floor. Huge, glass windows let in natural light during the day and when night fell, all the lamps in the loft were turned on until Naruto was sure that from the street, their loft resembled a lighthouse in a sea of brick and cement.

Sasuke Uchiha was an up and coming artist. His art shows were the talk of the town and his paintings were coveted among anyone with any taste in art whatsoever. Early in his career, speculation about Sasuke being nothing more than the bored, second son of the almighty Uchihas had played on the mind of many in the art world. It wasn't long, though, before even the harshest critic was left slack-jawed at the pure, natural talent of the moody dark-haired young man.

Buttoning his light blue shirt, Naruto stepped from behind the partition separating their 'bedroom' for the rest of the loft. He looked up and smiled when he saw Sasuke sitting in front of a large canvas. Colors blended over the surface of the white canvas like magic, swirling together, and coming to life right before his eyes.

Naruto stood with his hands in his pockets and watched Sasuke run his thumb over the painting, smearing something just enough, and then rub his finger on his t-shirt. Two paintbrushes were held in his long fingers and he stuck his thumb in his mouth, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Naruto couldn't stop the smile that came to his face and he walked over to Sasuke, gently resting his hands on his shoulders. Sasuke turned his head around and up and Naruto swooped down, tasting the traces of paint on Sasuke's lips. "Hey," he whispered and Sasuke pulled away just enough to see how Naruto was dressed.

"Naruto," he growled.

"Sasuke," Naruto said with a sigh. "It was Sakura on the phone…"

"Of course it was," Sasuke bit out and turned back toward his painting. Naruto stepped away and dropped into a chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Don't be like that," Naruto began and Sasuke's shoulders tensed before he turned and squeeze a liberal amount of ink black paint onto his paint palette. Naruto looked at the once happy painting and felt a pang of remorse as Sasuke angrily mixed the black into the once bright colors.

"Did you tell her that you are on vacation?" Sasuke asked without turning around. His hand swiped down the canvas like a man wielding a knife.

Naruto's jaw clinched.

"No," Sasuke continued. "You don't even have to answer. Obviously, you didn't."

Forcing himself to relax, Naruto stretched his jaw and tried to smile. "No, I didn't. I'm the Head Editor. It's my job to…"

"You promised." Another angry slash and Naruto swore he felt it in his chest.

"I know," he said, "but it's just for a couple of hours, until we get things back on schedule, and then I'm all yours. We have dinner tonight at Chouji's, remember?"

Sasuke finally turned and looked at him. There was a smear of blue paint at the corner of his mouth and Naruto longed to lean forward and clean it away with the pad of his thumb. Fuck, he wanted to be here. He loved watching Sasuke paint but, he earned this job… it was his and he was proud of it, like Sasuke was of his paintings.

"Yes, idiot, I remember. I also remember the last two times we had reservations…"

Naruto stood angrily. "You never let anything go. So this is about punishing me for a couple of accidents? Time got away from me!"

Sasuke calmly sat his brushes and palette on the crate beside his easel and ran his fingers through his hair. "For a moron who mumbles about deadlines in his fucking sleep, 'time getting away from you' seems ridiculous, don't you think?"

Naruto growled low in his throat but Sasuke didn't react at all, just stared at him with deep, black eyes. "I apologized and explained myself," he said angrily and then took a deep breath. "They need me, Sasuke. I'll be home in plenty of time for dinner. You know I want to be with you, dammit!" he bit out.

"They take advantage of you," Sasuke said and Naruto cut his arm across the air as if he were physically cutting off Sasuke's words.

"No, they don't, and even if they did, who the fuck cares? So someone finally needs me. Is that so wrong?"

Sasuke recoiled like Naruto had hit him, standing and knocking his chair back. "Fuck you, Uzumaki."

"No," Naruto said, the blood draining from his face. Speaking quickly, like the hounds of hell were nipping at his words, he said, "That's not what I meant. I love you. You know that. You KNOW that. I need you and you need me and I love…"

Sasuke shook his head. "Why?"

Naruto blinked, his mouth snapping open and shut. "What? Why? I've been with you for five years, asshole. I fucking sleep with you…"

Sasuke stared at him for such a long time Naruto felt his nails bite into the skin on his palms in his effort not to fidget. Finally, Sasuke bowed his head and his black bangs fell into his eyes. "Just go."

"Sasuke, don't… please…" Naruto said and then shut his mouth so hard his teeth clicked painfully. Stupid bastard… this was not his fault. Why the hell was HE the one begging?

Sasuke looked up again and his black eyes were harsh and cold in a way Naruto hadn't seen directed at him… ever. "I'll be at Chouji's at seven."

"Didn't you hear me? I'll be home before…"

Sasuke's glare cut him off. "I'll be there at seven. If you aren't there…" For just a fraction of a second, Naruto thought Sasuke might crack, but then his eyes flashed and once more there was nothing on his handsome face. "I won't wait, Naruto."

The finality of the statement felt like a blow to his chest, implying so much more than leaving a restaurant, and Naruto shook his head.

"Bastard," Naruto said, but his voice was soft, scared… even to his own ears. "I…"

The shrill ringing of his Blackberry echoed through the loft and Sasuke pushed by Naruto, knocking him harshly in the shoulder. "You'll make sure to wish Sakura a Merry Fucking Christmas from me."

The bathroom door shut with a quiet click and Naruto answered his phone. "Yeah, Sakura, I'm on the way…"

A loud buzzing rang in his ears and Naruto opened his eyes, surprised to find that he had fallen asleep on the train. He looked down at his watch and saw it was six-thirty. Still plenty of time.

Sasuke had been right, of course, and time had gotten away from him. Even when Naruto noticed that if he wanted to make it home before dinner, he would need to leave, he'd chosen to stay. Part of him stayed because he knew Sasuke was right. Everyone knew Naruto was the newspaper's golden boy, that he'd do anything to see it succeed, and they used that to keep Naruto there all hours of the day and night. And now, he didn't want to deal with the smug bastard.

The other part of him stayed because of that look on Sasuke's face. Sasuke wanted to leave him. Would leave him. He'd asked Naruto why he loved him and Naruto, a fucking journalist, gave him 'I sleep with you' as an answer. He deserved to get left. He couldn't imagine going home early because what if… what if Sasuke wasn't there?

"Next stop… 53rd Street and Main."

Naruto sat up in his seat, preparing to exit the train, and then the words registered in his head. "Wait! WHAT?"

He'd missed his stop! He'd slept through his goddamn stop! He stood and ran his hands through his hair. The train jerked to a stop and the doors slid open. Hordes of people pushed and shoved onto the car and Naruto struggled to get around them. "Hey, I have to get off! Excuse me. Excuse me, please!"

"The doors will shut in five, four, three…"

Naruto elbowed and shoved. "Sorry." "My bad." "DAMMIT! MOVE!" Until he broke free just as the door closed.

"Okay, Uzumaki," he mumbled to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. Half an hour… he still had time if… "Think, think… waaaaaaa."

The loud beeping, signally the train was moving, echoed in the tiled underground tunnel and Naruto found himself being yanked alongside. He twisted around and saw that the tail of his coat was stuck between the doors. "Hey, whoa, wait!" He yanked and tugged and the train gathered speed. He ran sideways, trying to free himself and then turned when someone yelled 'WALL!"

A glance to his left showed that he was about to be slammed against the wall as the train disappeared into the tunnel. He pulled at his coat, yanking his arms, trying to unbutton the coat before finally grabbing the front and ripping the coat apart.

Buttons scattered, Naruto pulled his arms free before falling to the ground, and his coat made a zipping sound as it slapped against the wall and disappeared with the train.

"Holy, fucking, shit…" he gasped, dropping his forehead to the dirty floor as the adrenaline rushing through his system made him shake.

"Um, mister, are you alright?"

Naruto lifted his head just enough to look at his watch. "Oh god," he said and then scrambled to his feet. His face must have shown his sheer panic because the young man bending over him jumped back in his fright. "I'm fine. Sorry. I just, I have to…"

Without another word, Naruto sprinted toward the stairs, taking them two and three at a time, until he burst out for the tunnel. The wind had picked up and cut through his pathetic work shirt, immediately sending a shiver down his spine. He looked around frantically, noting that the sky was now an ink black, dotted with pinpricks of starry light, and host to a large full moon.

People walked along the sidewalk and Naruto blended in between them until he worked his way to the edge. He thrust out his arm, waving it wildly, hoping to catch the attention of one of the many yellow cabs that slowly drove over the slush and snow quickly accumulating in the streets.

Finally, a cab with Christmas lights blinking merrily in the rear window pulled up beside him. He yanked open the door and settled into the worn, black seat. "Um," he said, looking at his watch, again. Six-forty, it read. "Chouji's, please."

When the cabbie didn't respond and the cab didn't move, he looked up. At first he was distracted by the man's pale skin and midnight black hair. A flash of familiar happiness was smashed down when he noticed the huge and horribly fake smile pulling at the man's mouth. Sasuke would never smile like that. "I said…"

"I heard you," the man said flatly, totally contradicting the painful smile on his face. "I'm just shocked at hearing the dickless man speak." Naruto gapped and his attention was drawn to the rear view mirror where a three inch replica of a dick swung innocently alongside a fresh sprig of mistletoe.

"You're shitting me," Naruto mumbled and the cabbie turned around, shoving the car into gear, and pulled into traffic.

Naruto scooted closer to the door, never taking his eyes from the back of the cab driver's head. Out of the corner of his eye, he read the cab driver's certificate on the dash… the driver's name was Sai. Naruto had seen this movie and it ended with him raped and dead on the side of the road by a psychotic cab driver named Sai…

"Certainly you aren't thinking about jumping out the car, are you, dickless? At this speed, the chance of serious injury is high and then there's the annoyance of being run over by the twenty cars behind us."

Naruto's hand fell back into his lap and Sai smirked at him in the mirror before looking over his shoulder and changing lanes. "So, do you take it or give it? And if you give it… does the other asshole even feel it?"

"What the fuck?!" Naruto yelled. "Who the fuck are you??"

The cabbie shrugged and made a left turn. Naruto eyed the street names and leaned forward. "Look, asshole, it's none of your business and where the hell are you going. Chouji's is off 35th Street."

Sai didn't respond and made yet another turn. The snow fell even thicker and Naruto forced himself to watch it instead of the steadily swinging penis in the window. A glance at his watch showed the time to be six-fifty. "Listen, Sai," Naruto said slowly, forcing his voice to be pleasant… he refused to acknowledge the hint of panic. "I have to get to Chouji's…"

"Hot date," the cabbie snorted. "Who would want a dickless wonder such as your…"

Naruto glared at Sai and then turned to look out the window, to prevent himself from throttling the idiot, when brake lights glowed in the distance. "Sai!" he yelled and with the screech of brakes, he was thrown over the seat. His hands slammed into the dash and the swinging penis slapped him repeatedly in the forehead.

"Ahh…" the driver drawled with an amused chuckle. "It's like coming home, isn't it, dickless?"

Naruto shifted into the back seat and rubbed his forehead. "Fuck you."

Sai leaned back in his seat, smile covering his face, and motioned toward the outside with the jerk of his head. "Not right now. I hope you have time before your little one-off because we aren't going anywhere."

Naruto saw emergency lights and said a silent prayer before flinging money at Sai. "God dammit, where are we?"

Sai relayed the directions. Naruto used all the restraint he'd ever had, or considered having, by not punching the smiling ass in the face, and then jumped out of the cab. He shoved money through the window and turned into the wind, ignoring Sai's call of, 'no tip???'

The snow fell heavily from the sky and the wind whipped flakes over and around him, tussling his hair, and stealing away any warmth his body tried in vain to create. He hurried up onto the curb and began walking swiftly down the slush covered sidewalk.

He past the accident holding up all the traffic to see that no one was seriously injured. In fact, the drivers yelled at each other over the hoods of their bent and broken cars. Three police cars were on the scene but only one officer stood outside in the weather monitoring the tow truck, holiday traffic, and the two potentially volatile drivers.

"Merry Christmas to all," Naruto mumbled to himself over the horns of the many, many waiting cars.

With his hands shoved deep into his pockets, Naruto studiously refused to look at his watch. Panic clawed viciously inside his chest, squeezing his lungs and heart in a vise-like grip. He bit his lower lip harshly to keep the scream of fear and frustration inside. He didn't need to see his watch to know he was late. He couldn't –wouldn't- think about what that might mean. Sasuke had been more than clear…

His thoughts were derailed when he was gripped forcefully by his shirt collar and yanked violently into a dark alleyway off the sidewalk. The thick smell of decaying food and garbage filled his senses and nearly made him gag.

"What the…"

He was slammed against the side of a building, his face and chest pressed against the cold, biting brick. He felt the skin of his cheek rip over the dirty, jagged texture and flinched when something jabbed harshly into his lower back.

"Hands up, asshole," a voice hissed.

Naruto slowly lifted his hands and planted them flat next to his head. An arm pressed into the back of his neck and Naruto gasped, cursing, as his face burned from the abuse. Warm trickles of blood trailed down his cheek and dripped off his chin.

"Wallet in your pocket, then?"

He nodded and his eyes immediately closed against the pain of the movement. Biting his lip once more, he opened his eyes and saw that when he had lifted his arms, his sleeve had slid down, revealing his watch.

Seven-ten.

'I won't wait,' Sasuke had said and his cool black eyes never left Naruto's, insuring that the seriousness of the statement wasn't lost. For a man who had issues with effective communication, Naruto knew he'd never forget Sasuke's simple words, he'd never forget their silent meaning, and he'd never forget this sinking feeling… especially since they might be the last words Sasuke ever said to him.

Suddenly, the cold chill that ran through Naruto's body had nothing to do with the snow or being pressed against the cool brick of a disgusting alleyway. The all encompassing dread that pulled at his heart had nothing to do with the weapon held against his spine or the fact that he just might die.

Who the fuck cared when his life, the only part that really mattered, might already be over? Sasuke wasn't going to wait and he'd leave thinking Naruto chose his stupid job over him.

"Sasuke," he whispered, his fingers curling into tight fists, and his mugger froze. Naruto didn't understand, nor did he care why, and used the moment of indecision to push off from the wall. He twisted in the mugger's grip and grasped his wrist, yanking it up and over his head while his free hand found the mugger's throat and turned, shoving him into the wall.

"You stupid mother fucker," he bit out, pressing his arm into the mugger's neck, happy to return the favor, while he looked up to see what weapon the man was holding. "What the hell… a spatula? You're holding people up with a spa…"

His eyes moved down to confront the stupidest criminal on the face of the planet and his jaw dropped to the ground. The mugger shifted nervously, working to swallow past Naruto's arm against his throat, and he smiled. "Um, hey, boss."

"Konohamaru?!" Naruto bellowed. "What the FUCK!"

The brown-eyed young man flinched back from his anger and the spatula slipped from his fingers, making hardly any sound at all as it sunk into the snow.

"I didn't know it was you! I swear, I didn't know!"

Naruto gapped once more, releasing Konohamaru, and immediately ran his fingers through his hair. "It doesn't matter! Why are you mugging people? My god, what would your grandfather think? Your uncle? They are both goddamn cops!"

"Don't tell, man, please, don't tell!" Konohamaru was gripping his shirt. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I was just playing around. Some kids dared me and I needed the money…"

Naruto shook his head and ignored the sting radiating from his cheek and causing a headache to build dangerously behind his eyes. "Get out of here," he said softly but, if anything, Konohamaru's eyes got wider with fear. Konohamaru backed pulled out of Naruto's grasp and moved to leave. "I'm sorry…"

"Dammit," Naruto bit out and grabbed his arm. Pulling him closer with one hand, his other yanked his wallet out of his pocket and he handed him all the cash he had. "After the New Year," he said over Konohamaru's undistinguishable mutters of awe, "I'm letting your grandfather know that you volunteered for a paper run."

"I… okay, yeah. Thank you, Naruto. Thanks."

Konohamaru turned tail and ran, leaving Naruto alone in the poorly lit alley. Fisting his fingers so that he wouldn't see them shake, Naruto looked at his watch.

And then, he ran.

At seven thirty-two, Naruto was one block from the restaurant, breathing heavily, and still freezing his ass off. The pedestrian crossing light blinked and Naruto stepped off the curve to cross the slushy intersection, only to yelp when his ankle twisted painfully in a pothole hidden by an ice-covered puddle.

With a noticeable limp and his lower lip clamped harshly between his teeth, Naruto made it to the other side. He could see the swinging sign hanging from the stoop of Chouji's restaurant, illuminated by the soft light shining through the large windows. He took one step and was doused in ice-cold water from head to foot. He gasped for air, the water stealing his breath and running in torrents from his head to his feet.

"G-God da-dam-m-mit," he stuttered and looked back at the road long enough to see a taxi cab disappear around the next corner, a cheery penis waving from the rearview mirror.

There just wasn't time to dwell on the irony of the whole fucking night and Naruto limped down the block.

"Be there, be there, bastard, please, please, please, be there," he whispered.

At seven-forty, he was within ten feet of the restaurant when the door pushed open from the inside with a cheery ringing of a bell. A man in a black, wool coat with a thick black and blue scarf stepped into the night air. Without looking in Naruto's direction, he descended the three cobblestone steps and turned the opposite way. His black hair moved in the gentle breeze but couldn't hide a hairstyle Naruto would recognize anywhere.

"Oh god," Naruto whispered and then raising his voice said, "Sasuke! Wait!"

Sasuke stopped, but didn't turn around. "Naruto," his voice was dangerously flat and carried back to Naruto on the wind. "I am staying at Itachi's. I'll be by to remove my…"

Naruto took a step forward and watched Sasuke's body tense like a threatened animal, poised in limbo between fight or flight. Naruto stopped and lifted his head. "I can answer the question now."

Sasuke's head fell forward, like he was steeling himself for something unpleasant. "I don't care."

"I love you for so many reasons and it wouldn't matter if I never slept with you again, or somehow forgot ever knowing you and just met you today, I'd still love you. Please, Sasuke…"

Sasuke ran the fingers of one hand through his hair. He didn't turn around and he didn't speak, but he didn't walk away either, and so, Naruto continued.

"I love that I can tell what kind of mood you are in from the color of your fingertips," he said slowly, a smile pulling at his lips. His teeth threatened to chatter, but he forced his jaw to settle. Some things… this… was more important than being cold. "Even if I haven't seen what you are working on, I know that if your fingertips are black that you are angry, upset… hurt." He watched Sasuke shove his hands into his pockets, as if hiding them would keep Naruto from seeing, knowing how dark they were, no matter how Sasuke washed them. "When they are red or orange I know you are confident, driven… I know you are driven by your passion. It's a damn fine color on you, S'uke."

Sasuke didn't speak or move at all, but his shoulders weren't held nearly as tight.

"My favorite, though," Naruto said softly, "My favorite is when they are blue. Not a normal blue. You mix this color… it's like the desert sky, or spring water, or flowers… or, fuck, I don't know. But, it means you're happy. I don't know why you love it so much, but when your fingers are that color I know that you've created something wonderful, breathtaking. I know that you're content, free… happy."

Naruto sighed. "And I love," Naruto stopped, chewing on his bottom lip and shivering in the night air. "There's this smile." Sasuke's shoulders once more tensed, but Naruto pressed on. "It's so fucking gorgeous that sometimes I want to set you in front of a mirror and demand that you capture it… because only you could. Only you can capture something so fleeting and so precious. You don't smile it very often, only when you see something beautiful. Sometimes you smile it at something that you've painted. You run your fingers over the dried brush strokes and smile… that smile, because you know it's breathtaking, spectacular, wonderful… and you're proud. But the thing I love…" Naruto swallowed, emotion constricting his throat and chest, the chill biting through his body, and his fingers curling into tight fists. "Sometimes," he whispered and closed his eyes. "Sometimes, you smile that smile at me. Like I'm beautiful. Like I'm worthy of you and that, somehow, despite everything, I make you proud."

His head fell forward and his teeth chattered violently. The headache that had been threatening to split his skull all night erupted with full force. "Sasuke, I love you, please…"

Suddenly, his chin was yanked up and his eyes snapped open to see midnight black glaring back at him. "Jesus, Naruto. What the hell happen to you?" Sasuke snapped and ran the fingers of his free hand like a feather over Naruto's stinging cheek. "You look like you have been through hell."

Naruto turned his face into Sasuke's fingers, leeching even the barest bits of warmth his fingers provided. A strained chuckle, colored with Naruto's anxiousness, exhaustion, and waning adrenaline, filled the air. "I was just trying to get to you. You said you wouldn't wait."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he pulled back his hand. Naruto reached out to stop him from leaving but Sasuke slapped his hand away and unwound the scarf from his neck before looping it tightly around Naruto's. "By killing yourself?" Sasuke asked sarcastically. "I was leaving, Naruto. I should leave."

"Don't," Naruto said but didn't attempt to step forward or touch Sasuke. "Just don't," he repeated, his blue eyes bright and sincere. "You are my most important thing. I realized that when I thought the mugger might actually kill me…"

"What? A mugger? You were mugged? Did he do this?" Sasuke asked while tilting Naruto's face to the side to see his injured cheek in the light of the street lamp. Naruto nodded awkwardly.

"I left early, I swear I did, but then I missed my stop on the subway and there was this taxi driver," the last words were growled.

"Why didn't you call?"

Naruto's eyes widened comically and his mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water. "I… I didn't even…" His fingers pushed into his pocket and removed his Blackberry. Condensation had collected on the square screen but a swipe of his thumb over the buttons showed that the phone was working just fine.

Sasuke's smirk was dark and wicked. "Idiot," he said and Naruto nearly smiled at the soft spoken insult.

Before he could respond, thought, for the first time that night, the orange device rang. The noise was unnaturally harsh and shrill to Naruto's ears. They both looked down to see 'Sakura' blinking on the caller id.

Naruto held the phone in his trembling fingers and looked up, eyes wide like he'd been caught red-handed in the cookie jar. His heart beat painfully as he watched Sasuke's face, which had been so open, close down and his eyes darken like the eye of a storm, dangerous and silent.

Sasuke's lips thinned and then, he shook his head and turned away.

Naruto pressed the talk button and slowly brought the phone to his ear without taking his eyes off of Sasuke.

"Sakura," he said and his fingers curled tightly over the phone as Sasuke started to walk away. "Stop!" he snapped, his voice harsh and desperate. He cut off whatever whirlwind explanation Sakura was spouting, none of which he heard over his own heart beating frantically, nearly breaking, as Sasuke got further and further away. "I'm on vacation for another week and a half. It's your problem, your headache. It's your job now." Sasuke stopped walking. "I just wanted to tell you that Sasuke sends his warm wishes and says 'Merry Fucking Christmas'."

He bunched the off button with his thumb and brought the phone down to his side. Sasuke turned around slowly and an elegant eyebrow rose over cautious but darkly amused eyes.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his hand, smiling shyly. "I'm always…"

The phone rang again and without looking at the I.D. or, in fact, taking his smiling eyes from Sasuke at all, Naruto casually flicked his wrist to the side. The phone landed in a puddle of ice and snow and quietly sank out of sight.

Sasuke's eyes followed the phone and widened in surprise. "Idiot," he reprimanded turning to face Naruto.

Naruto didn't care though, all he saw was Sasuke walking back to him.

"You could have just turned it off."

Naruto shrugged and took the last step forward, standing face to face with Sasuke.

"I'm always going to choose you. And if you walk away," Naruto's face twisted with the pain the words brought him but then he pressed on, voice strong and confident. "I'll chase after you because I love you… everything about you… but I hate, hate watching you walk away."

Sasuke was close enough to touch and Naruto reached out and gasped Sasuke's fingers, pulling him forward. They were warm and Naruto looked down to see that the tips were dark, stained with paint. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Hn," Sasuke responded with a smirk and then closed the gap, pressing their lips together in a kiss. Warmth burst inside him and Naruto moaned against Sasuke's tongue as his eyes closed. Sasuke's hands cupped his cheeks and tilted his head, deepening the kiss into something dark and delicious. The shudder that ran unchecked through Naruto's body had nothing to do with the weather.

Sasuke, however, didn't seem to understand that.

"No," Naruto whimpered, "don't…"

"Dammit, Naruto, you look like a drowned rat."

Naruto shook his head and touched his forehead with Sasuke's, rubbing their noses and smiling. "I'm fine, now where were we?" he whispered against frowning lips.

In the next second, he'd stepped back and turned his head, catching a violent sneeze in his arm. Three sneezes later and Sasuke was at his side, arm wrapped around him.

"Come on, let's go inside. You're going to be sick for the rest of your vacation. Whining…"

Naruto sniffled and shook his head again. "I can't go in there. Look at me."

Cool, black eyes appraised him. "I'm sure Chouji has something you can change into." He cut off Naruto's objection with a glare. "You must be starving and we can sit in the kitchen. You like that better anyway." Sasuke forced him forward and Naruto limped beside him. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Naruto shrugged, hiding a wince. "I twisted my ankle in a pothole crossing the street."

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"And I was held up with a spatula."

Sasuke turned and looked at him, still walking. "What?"

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yeah, and Konohamaru, that little punk, shoved me into a wall and it hurt!"

"Konohamaru Sarutobi mugged you?"

"Little punk ass…" Naruto muttered in confirmation.

"I see," Sasuke said.

"And I was nearly killed on the subway. My coat got caught in the door and I got my arms free just as I was about to be smashed between the train and the wall."

Sasuke looked at him, disbelief in his slightly raised brow and smirking mouth.

"I was! And the fucking cab driver… I think maybe he was flirting, but he called me dickless!"

"Idiot," Sasuke interrupted and Naruto huffed, stomping his foot, only to hiss when it jarred his bad ankle.

"He did! And then he splashed me…"

"Naruto," Sasuke said as they stopped in front of the doors. Naruto could smell the delicious aroma of Chouji's food but all he could see was Sasuke's skin kissed by the soft yellow light streaming out from the restaurant. A smirk played at Sasuke's mouth and his black eyes melted into something sinful and loving… something contradictory and solely Sasuke. "I was talking about the cab driver. Dickless, my ass."

Naruto blinked owlishly, stuck between fascination at just being near Sasuke and Sasuke's obviously suggestive words. When he opened his mouth, he didn't know what he was going to say and was shocked to hear himself asked, "Why, Sasuke?"

Hand frozen on the door handle, Sasuke's head tilted slightly as an elegant brow lifted in silent question.

Naruto finished, "Why do you love me?"

Sasuke smiled… that smile, that gorgeous, breathtaking smile. With a shrug, he leaned against Naruto for just a moment before pressing a kiss against his mouth and opening the door.

In the soft chirping of the door's bell, Naruto heard Sasuke say as he squeezed his fingers in his own, "You make me smile."

Naruto couldn't have asked for more.