The Agreement

The Agreement

Chapter 17: Changing Relationships

A year. A year had passed. When had that happened? Sasuke wondered to himself incredulously.

One year had passed since the birth of the quads. Wasn't it just a few days ago that he was trying to figure out names for them? Wasn’t it just yesterday that he had thought about sneaking into Naruto and Sakura's place in order to find the letter that Naruto had written for him?

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his black hair before letting his arm flop dejectedly to the side of his pillow. He was lying on his and Hinata's bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking of everything that had transpired. Today had been the quads' first birthday, well, better make that yesterday, Sasuke mentally noted to himself as he saw his clock that read 2:14 in bright, red numbers.

He hadn't been able to sleep. Too many things were on his mind.

First, there was the fact that he still hadn't told Naruto the quads were his. Hinata and Sasuke had discussed revealing that information today, but Naruto hadn't made it to the quads' birthday party. That had unsettled Sasuke greatly. Actually, it had unsettled most all of the guests. Even Hyuuga Hiashi had noticed the lack of Naruto's presence, and Neji had even offered to go and see if he was at home. The quads noticed it too. Tenpi kept crying out for "Naato."

By the end of the birthday party, there had been no sign of Naruto, and Neji had accused Sasuke of scaring Naruto from coming, which was a ridiculous accusation. Sasuke had shut the door in Neji's face after the comment and had angrily gone cleaning up from the party, wondering where Naruto could possibly be, trying not to think about what he may or may not have done to scare Naruto off.

He had almost gone to the Hokage Tower to see if he had been sent out on a last minute mission after worrying so much.

Thankfully, Naruto had turned up about an hour after the end of the party with presents for the quads. However, he had abruptly said he had to leave, and he hadn't given an explanation about why he hadn't come to the party or why he couldn't stay. Sasuke had not let Naruto leave. He angrily handed Naruto a crying Tenpi who had kept saying "Naato! Naato!" over and over again the entire day.

Naruto had stayed for two hours after that, nervously watching the clock the entire time, but apparently feeling guilty since Tenpi would start to cry every time that "Naato" tried to leave.

"Why do you keep looking at the clock?" Sasuke finally asked Naruto.

"It's getting late, but you'll vouch for me that I never left your sight the entire night, right?" Naruto asked a bit nervously.

"Naruto, what the hell-"

"Sasuke! Don't curse!" Naruto reprimanded him, clamping down on Tenpi's ears.

"-heck is the matter with you?" Sasuke said, changing his words. Naruto hadn't taken Hinata seriously when she had first timidly asked him about eight months ago not to curse in front of the children. The result had been that Seiryuu's first word had been "shit(1)" after Naruto had cursed upon stubbing his foot to avoid the quads' toys in the middle of the floor.

She'd said it repeatedly, apparently enjoying the attention when Naruto encouraged her repeat the word (out of Hinata’s earshot of course). They noticed she was good at picking up single words that people said. Like "Yes," "No," "Wait," "Hot," and "Stop." Naruto had even managed to teacher her how to call him Hokage. Sasuke had taught her how to say dobe; Naruto didn’t like that as much and had retaliated against Sasuke by teaching her how to call Sasuke teme. Hinata had ended up threatening to smack the both of them for teaching her curses, and that had been when Naruto had taken it very seriously not to curse in front of the children. He had taken it upon himself to become the censor police. Sasuke was glad that at least Hinata threatened before she actually did something, and that Naruto – and himself – would have deserved the slap upside the head.

Tenpi's first word had been "Naato" which was probably the reason why Naruto hadn't been able to leave when Tenpi had been crying Naruto's name. When Naruto had finally left, he had made Sasuke promise that he would vouch that he had been with him the entire night.

"I'll vouch for you too," Hinata said. Naruto looked at her strangely.

"Th-thanks," Naruto said. His voice was clipped, and he didn’t meet her gaze. He also didn’t sound very appreciative of her help, though he flashed her a tight smile all the same.

The second thing that had been bothering Sasuke was the way that Naruto had looked at Hinata, almost apologetically, and almost sorrowfully when she had said she would vouch for him. Something about his behavior the entire night had seemed off, and Sasuke wanted to know why, and if his strange reaction to Hinata's words were linked to it.

The third thing that was on his mind something not quite related to the day’s events but was related to Naruto all the same. It was something that was often on Sasuke's mind: the letter he had found that Naruto had written to him when he'd been away. Sasuke had found the letter about two weeks after he had had his confrontation with Sakura about the letter pertaining to Hinata. Actually, he hadn’t really found it as he had requested to see it.

Sasuke had actually gone over to visit Sakura at her home while Naruto was baby-sitting the quads with Hinata. He'd given her back the original letter Naruto had written to Hinata (after making a duplicate for Hinata to read at her leisure) and had asked to read the other letters, just to make sure that nothing had seemed out of place. Sasuke had said he would be able to tell whether or not the letter to Hinata meant anything special or not as a pretense to see the letter Naruto had written to him.

He'd read each of the other letters first; first he read the one to Sakura which described a lot about how much Naruto was in awe of her scarily awesome strength, then he read the ones to Iruka, Kakashi, and Tsunade which were all about details of Naruto’s training, and then finally he read the one that had been addressed to him.

His had been the shortest letter, and it had plagued his mind since he'd read it. He still remembered the letter, word for word.

Dear Sasuke,

You're a selfish, stuck-up, asshole. I HATE YOU. I hope Orochimaru licks your cheek and creeps you out and you come running back to me telling me I was right and you shouldn’t have left. Anyway, come home because I guess I kinda miss you.

Love Your Best Friend.

Hate. Love. Naruto had claimed to hate and love him both in the same letter. It was a letter clearly written when Naruto had been frustrated with him, but the words "I hate you" still stuck out in Sasuke's mind. It gave him pause, wondering if Naruto were really capable of hating him. It also hurt him to think that he had caused Naruto that much pain.

On the other hand, he'd written, "love your best friend." Love. Why would he say that? It was probably just a brotherly type of love. After all, Naruto had always, always, referred to their relationship as though they were brothers. Yet why hadn't any of the other letters that Naruto had written said that he loved them? Naruto rarely said the word love unless in conjunction with Sakura or ramen. What did that mean for Sasuke?

Sasuke balled up his fists in frustration, trying to suppress the confusion that he often felt when thinking of the letter. He almost wished he didn't know about it. His confusion was just amplified by Naruto’s earlier behavior.

"You can't sleep either?" Hinata's quiet voice asked.

"No," Sasuke murmured.

"Naruto?" Hinata guessed. It was ironic how she understood Sasuke's worries so easily, summing up his lack of sleep in one word. Then again, she probably was having a lot of the same worries pertaining to Naruto as well.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Sasuke said as he slid out from underneath the covers. His bare feet sank into the carpet of his bedroom, and he walked around silently in the dark as he changed out of his pajamas and into civilian clothes. The covers shifted, and Sasuke could tell by the sound that Hinata had sat up in bed, looking at him through the darkness of the room.

"You're going now?" Hinata asked incredulously.

"I'm worried. His behavior tonight was strange," Sasuke said.

"Ye-yeah," Hinata agreed quietly. Frowning, Sasuke could tell that Hinata had been hurt by what Naruto had said to her.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude to you Hinata. Naruto's not like that, and out of everyone, he's nicer to you since you're so nice to him. I'll find out what's got him rattled, and I'm sure he'll have an explanation," Sasuke said reassuringly.

Even through the dark Sasuke could tell that Hinata was smiling at him.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she said, truly grateful. The fact that Hinata hadn’t tried to talk Sasuke out of waking Naruto up in the middle of the night was testament to how worried she truly was. Sasuke nodded to her, even though she probably couldn't see it very clearly in the dark. He grabbed his spare key to Naruto and Sakura's home from off of his dresser top, slipping it into his pocket.

"No problem," Sasuke replied before he pulled on his sandals, wasting no time as he left and headed over to Naruto's place. Easing Hinata's worries in addition to his own was the least he could do for her. Sasuke often wondered if he would go insane without her there since he could at least tell his secrets to her.

As Sasuke reached Naruto and Sakura’s door, he realized that it was probably close to 2:45 in the morning. Sasuke wasn't exactly sure how welcoming Naruto or Sakura would be with his presence. Normally Sasuke wouldn't care too much, but he had a feeling that Sakura would end up hitting Naruto for making Sasuke worry. He despised it when Sakura hit his beloved Naruto. She still did it, even though she had read the letter Naruto wrote to Hinata that said he didn't like being hit. Thankfully she didn't seem to hit him as often. Even so, every time she did made Sasuke want to hit her. It was only a matter of time before he snapped and backhanded her across the face.

Sasuke knocked on the door quietly. No one responded. He knocked a little louder. Finally, he rang the buzzer.

When a minute passed and no one responded after three buzzes, Sasuke finally took out his key and opened the door. As soon as he stepped inside, Sasuke was stopped as he saw a shadowy figure move from near the couch.

"Who's there?" Naruto's voice came.

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered, surprised that Naruto had been sitting on his couch at such a late hour, but hadn't answered the door.

"I'm Naruto – oh, Sasuke! You woke me up! I thought the buzzing was in my dream. So what the hell are you doing breaking into my house in the middle of the night?" Naruto asked as he flicked on the light. Sasuke winced as the lamp on the table next to the sofa flooded the room with a soft light. It wasn't very bright as it only illuminated close to the couch, but it still had shocked his eyes. Sasuke looked down the hallway toward where Naruto's bedroom was, hoping that he didn't wake Sakura up. He wanted to speak to Naruto alone.

"I needed to talk to you," Sasuke whispered. "What were you doing on the couch?"

"I got kicked out to the couch 'cuz of Sakura," Naruto said, his voice quieter now. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to whisper so as not to wake Sakura up, or if it was because he felt embarrassed for being in trouble and having to sleep out on the couch.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. Naruto blushed, turning his head.

"Sakura's been mad at me," Naruto said quietly.

"Why?" Sasuke said. He had figured that much out on his own. Naruto stood straighter, looking at Sasuke, his eyes bright. His face was set it such a determined and fierce expression that it made Sasuke feel off guard to see Naruto looking at him that way.

"Sasuke, first, you need to know, there's never, ever been anything between me and Hinata. Hinata is just my friend. But Sakura-"

"Sakura thinks you two are having an affair still?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"St-still?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed angrily.

"About a year or so ago, Sakura told me she thought the quadruplets were yours biologically," Sasuke confessed. Naruto looked as shocked as though Sasuke had just slapped him.

"What? You don't believe-" Sasuke cut Naruto off with his sudden movements. He was in front of Naruto in a flash as he placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes locked onto Naruto's, "I know that you and Hinata never had an affair. I trust you Naruto. I trust you more than anyone else," Sasuke said. Naruto's eyes widened before softening.

"Thanks Sasuke," Naruto said.

"You don't need to thank me. You earned my trust all on your own," Sasuke said as he squeezed Naruto's shoulders gently in a reassuring manner before he sat down on the couch. Naruto let out a long sigh and followed suit.

"I'm sorry about missing the quads' birthday party. Sakura and I had a fight before I was about to go. She got mad because she had a day off, and I was going over to see the quads. Then she said that I was probably going over there to see Hinata. Then I told her that it was the quads' birthday, and she seemed to get even more upset because she hadn't been invited over. I felt bad because she had been, but I hadn't bothered to tell her because I thought she'd be working. Well, she wasn't working, and even if she had been, she said that I should have told her because she would have taken off from work."

"She shouldn't have gotten mad at you for that," Sasuke said angrily. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and propped his elbows on his knees.

"It is kinda my fault. I forgot the last two times that she had the day off, and I didn't have a mission. Both times I was over at your place, and both times you were out on a mission, and I was with just Hinata and the quads. Sakura got really jealous that I was over alone with Hinata," Naruto said. Sasuke snorted.

"If Sakura ever bothered to come over to see how much you play with the quadruplets she would understand that they take up too much time for any real romance to possibly blossom between you and Hinata."

"Apparently that's not what Neji said," Naruto muttered angrily. Sasuke blanched.

"What?"

"Neji told Sakura that I act more like a husband to Hinata than you do. He also told her that he wished Hinata would get up the nerve to divorce you and marry me instead. Neji said that it was clear that I thought that Hinata was a better wife than Sakura. But I never said any of those things! Sakura thinks I did because she doesn't understand why Neji would lie to her!"

"Why that lying piece of shit," Sasuke snarled angrily. He knew that Neji had been up to something, but he had no idea that Neji had been trying to goad Sakura into fighting with Naruto. He owed Neji a few punches for surely Sakura had hit Naruto over Neji's words.

"I can't believe Neji would say those bad things about me!" Naruto said, angrily. Sasuke shook his head.

"He's not saying anything he thinks is bad. He's trying to break you and Sakura apart as well as Hinata and I apart. He wants to see you and Hinata together," Sasuke explained. He was grateful that Naruto and Sakura hadn't come to the birthday party after all. If Sakura had come with Naruto, that would have meant that Naruto would have come early. He would have seen that Neji had gotten the cake to celebrate the quads' first birthday, the cake that had read in beautifully scripted icing "Uzumaki Quadruplets" instead of "Uchiha Quadruplets."

Sasuke had had the pleasure of "accidentally" dropping the cake on the floor, and requesting that Hanabi get a replacement. Neji hadn’t been too pleased about it.

"Well, I stayed home with Sakura for most of the day, but we didn't really do anything because she was mad at me. Then I went to drop off the quadruplets' presents, and stayed for so long that she got really pissed off at me when I finally came home," Naruto explained.

"Which was why you wanted me to be able to vouch for you that I had been watching you the entire time instead of Hinata," Sasuke concluded. Naruto nodded.

"Was Hinata mad at me? She looked upset," Naruto said worriedly.

"She wasn't mad at you, but she was very concerned. So was I," Sasuke said. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"What did I do to deserve such great friends that come over in the middle of the night to make sure I'm okay?" Naruto asked sounding rather pleased that Sasuke and Hinata cared so much. "Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice unusually somber. "It feels like Sakura and I are drifting apart. I feel like I'm more of a family with you and Hinata, but I can't lose Sakura. What do I do?" Naruto asked, his eyes on Sasuke, looking desperate.

Sasuke was taken aback by the amount of fear that radiated from Naruto's eyes, eyes that were looking at him as though he held the answers to the world.

"Why don't you and Sakura come over for dinner on her next day off? That way you can spend the day with her and still get to see the quads. That way she can also start seeing the quadruplets more. The more you see them, the harder it is to stay away from them," Sasuke said, his voice filled with pride. Naruto just grinned.

"That's a great idea. What would I do without you Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "I'll tell Sakura when she gets back!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Get back?" Sasuke asked. "Get back from where? It's past 3:00 in the morning," Sasuke said.

"Oh, well...not too long after Sakura kicked me out to sleep on the couch, I saw her about to leave. I asked her where she was going and she said she had called Ino and they were going out drinking," Naruto said. "She does that a lot any more. I mean, she doesn't seem like she drinks a lot or anything, but she has been staying over at Ino's a lot more when she's mad," Naruto said.

Sasuke merely stared ahead, holding his tongue. There were a lot of things that Sasuke wanted to say, ranging from the fact that he thought Sakura was acting childish, to wanting to yell at Neji for making Sakura mad at Naruto which in turn hurt Naruto's feelings, to telling Naruto that if he were to stay with Sasuke that he would never leave him to sleep by himself. Yes, it was best to hold his tongue. For now.

"It will all work out," Sasuke promised Naruto. Naruto grinned at Sasuke before yawning widely. "I'll let you head to bed, and I should head home. Hinata was worried, and I don't want to keep her up later than she already has been," Sasuke said. Naruto looked guilty, but Sasuke waved it off. "You would do the same if she had been in your place and you in hers," Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, you're right," Naruto agreed.

"Are you going to go back to your bed since Sakura left?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head.

"I better not, just in case she comes back and gets mad if I’m there. If she hits me before I go to bed, I can’t get to sleep for a while."

"She shouldn’t hit you, Naruto," Sasuke said quietly. Naruto shrugged.

"I deserve it," Naruto said. Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, wanting to argue with Naruto about the matter, but decided now was not the time.

"Night Naruto."

"Night Sasuke."


Next Chapter: Breaking Point


(1) Just an amusing tidbit of information: I know someone whose first full question was "What the fuck is that?" at the tender age of one. He said it while at a family reunion. You can bet that went over reaaaaaaal well.

YES! Finally! The next two chapters are chapters I wrote before I even finished writing chapter 2. I really, really, really hope you enjoy the next two chapters. If not, well at least I do. I’ve re-read them a bunch. They’re not even anything really spectacular. I just like them for some strange reason. lol Ah well. What did you think of this chapter? ~ Jelp