What Happens Now...

Oh I'm so sorry that I didn't update yesterday. My inspiration decided it didn't want to cooperate with me! I also want to say sorry for all the typos! I don't have a beta and i try to edit it myself but there are always a few that get by. Anyway, I'm happy since this is a longer chapter than the other ones! Hope you enjoy!!

(Naruto’s POV)
My heart finally felt free. Sasuke actually has the same feelings for me that I have for him. We never made it back to my apartment. Instead, the two of us ended up sitting down and leaning upon one of the logs. For a long time we just sat there, looking up at the stars. I never wanted that moment to end. I was content with just sitting there with him, having him close. I allowed myself that moment of happiness, trying not to question if this was all real. It wasn’t till I had sunlight hitting my eyelids that I realized that we had fallen asleep. Sasuke was leaning against me, his head on my shoulder. I didn’t want to stir him, he looked so peaceful while his mind was at rest. I went to move my arm to get into a more comfortable position but felt something odd. I look down to my hand and gasp in shock. There on the ground, my fingers were interlocked with his. I shot a quick glance to his face, wondering who initiated this contact. It didn’t matter though, nothing was going to ruin this brief reprise from my everyday life. I leaned down over that beautiful head of raven hair and laid a chaste kiss on top of his head, reassuring myself that he was actually there. To my dismay though, he started to move. Sasuke sat up and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. It was then he realized what was occupying his other hand. If I hadn’t known him for so long I would have missed it, the brief smile that graced his face. He then did the one thing that made the entire morning perfect. Sasuke leaned towards me and placed a light kiss on my lips, finally returning the one I had given him only hours earlier.

“Mornin’ Dobe.” I sighed, he just had to ruin this entire moment with that one word.

“How romantic Sasuke. Your way with words just makes me all tingly. Take me I’m all yours!” I say sarcastically, I even bat my eyes for added effect. All he does is roll his eyes and starts to stand, releasing my hand in the process. I almost whimper at the lost contact but I hold back. My body starts to ache, needing to be stretched. I stand next to Sasuke, letting my arms go up over my head. I go on tiptoe and arch my back, feeling all my joints pop and crack in release. Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Sasuke just staring. Suddenly I feel very conscience of my body and blush. He turns away, looking off into the distance.

“Naruto, what happens now?” My eyes flash to him. Did he regret what he said last night? Sasuke then looks me straight in the face. “I know were more than best friends but....does that mean were dating?” He had a point. Yeah I loved Sasuke, but I never really thought about dating him. The whole concept of him taking me out on a date seemed a little, no totally ridiculous. Yet there was no other way to put it. Sasuke and I are dating, he’s my...boyfriend. Ok that one word sounded weirder than the whole dating situation.

“Well, it looks like we’re dating, lover boy.” I smirk when I see him wince at the new nickname. He starts to walk away, motioning for me to follow.

“Come on, let’s go get some breakfast but don’t even ask. You’re paying for your own food.” I almost agree with him but a promise hits me.

“Sorry Sasuke, I have to go report to Tsunade obaa-chan.” I turn to leave but he grabs my wrist.

“I’ll go with you.” His eyes tell me that he’s already made up his mind. I couldn’t let him go. We just started this relationship, I didn’t want to end it with the news of Kyuubi.

“No way, that’s not possible. You know how it works. Only ninja on the mission are allowed to be present when the details of a mission are reported.” He lets go of my wrist and grunts. “I’ll meet up with you for lunch later.” I hoped that I could make up for skipping out on breakfast.

“Fine, but you’re paying.” Then he was gone from sight. I whined, my poor frog wallet was going to look anorexic by the time lunch was over.
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“NARUTO!!!!!!!!!!!” Baa-chan screamed. She really hated it when I came unannounced through the window. Of course that’s the reason I did it. She stomps over to where I am and smacks me hard on the head. Luckily, she hadn’t used all her strength or I would be out cold for weeks. My hand flew to my abused head and I pouted. “Well, you wouldn’t get hurt if you would only use a door!” I just shook my head and took a seat in front of Baa-chan’s desk, waiting for her to calm down. Her eyes narrowed for a brief second and then she sat opposite me. “So you’re finally going to report, eh? Fine, tell me everything. Don’t leave out a single detail.” I laid out everything that happened, even telling her about Kabuto’s escape. She let out an exasperated breath and leaned back in her chair.

“So he’s finally gone.” She closed her eyes and I could see some tension leave her muscles. After what seemed like an eternity, she sat up and locked me in her gaze. “Your seal isn’t broken, is it?” I shake my head in a no. “I can see why you wanted to wait to tell me all of this. It’s in Sasuke’s best interest for him not to know about Kyuubi.” She slowly stood and moved to stand by the window. “I want you to keep an eye on him Naruto. I’ll give you a week off. If he does anything suspicious, report to me A.S.A.P. If he does nothing by the end of the week, I’ll promote both of you to the rank of Jounin.” This bit of information took me a while to absorb. In one way I was thrilled, this would bring me one step closer to becoming Hokagae! On the other hand, I had worked so hard to gain the rank of Chuunin but all Sasuke had to do was be good for a week and he would be promoted, no questions asked. I mentally slapped myself. There was no reason to be jealous of Sasuke, I should be happy for him!

“Oh, and another thing.” I pause my thoughts and pay attention to the Fifth. “You two looked really cute sleeping on the training grounds last night.” My jaw dropped and my eyes widened in disbelief.

“How...how did you find out?” I squeaked, sounding more like a little kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She put on a cocky smirk and flashed a photo from her pocket. I wanted so badly to be angry at her but was too dumbfounded to work up the sense to do so.

“Naruto, you should know that I have shinobi patrol at all times. It just so happened a certain Jounin was on patrol last night and he just so happened to have a camera.” There was only one Jounin that could take pleasure in making his students suffer. Kakashi and I were going to have a little talk after I was done being humiliated by Tsunade obaa-chan. Baa-chan’s features swiftly shifted from that of amusement to concern.

“Take care of each other brat. You both deserve to be happy after all that you have been through.” A wicked smile returned to her lips. “But...If I find you two fooling around while on a mission, I’ll castrate you both myself.” Blush covered my entire face and I really didn’t need the mental picture of Baa-chan coming at me with a knife. I shuddered but quickly recovered with my own smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll save that for when we know someone isn’t watching.” With a bow and a wave goodbye, I teleport out of Baa-chan’s office, hoping I wasn’t too early too catch lunch with Sasuke.
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(Sasuke’s POV)
I finally feel at rest, for now. I had something I thought I would never have again, someone I love. I would never admit that to Naruto, I’m not sure I’m ready to say it or that he’s ready to hear it. I was a little disappointed to hear that he would leave me but at least he had a good reason. How did I grow attached to him so fast? It was unusual to say the least that I missed the blonde. For most of the time that I’ve known him, I was thrilled when Naruto was out of site. It meant that I didn’t have to listen to his constant rants or insults.

I ended up just wandering the streets of Konoha, not really sure what to do with myself. I couldn’t go back to Naruto’s apartment, I probably just drive myself insane. I couldn’t even visit my clan’s section of the village. I assumed that it was closed off from burglars or just from three years of disrepair. It was probably a good idea that I didn’t go back there anyway, I didn’t want to ruin my good mood with haunting memories. As I walked, I could feel people just staring at me, like when I first walked through the streets with Naruto. Every once in a while I would look up and find them either shy away or smile at me softly. Some were even bolder.

“It’s good to have you back Uchiha!” One man said as he walked past.

“I knew you could get away from that snake! No one can hold down the Uchiha clan for long!” These people were ignorant. They had no idea how weak I really was while I was in the sound. If they even knew the truth about Naruto, they still wouldn’t give him any credit. It really makes no sense to me. Sure Naruto can be annoying and even a loudmouth, but he never did anything so horrible to the village that would justify the way they treat him. Despite my best intentions, my mood had darkened because of these idiots. I made my way to Ichiraku’s, knowing that was where Naruto would want lunch.

“Sasuke-kun....?” That voice had me stop dead in my tracks. Why couldn’t it be someone else? I turn and face the pink-haired girl, waiting to be hugged within an inch of my life. “It really is you!!!” Totally surprising me, she slaps me across the face. “Do you know how worried we were about you! They way you left had us all scared out of our minds! And what you did to Naruto when he tried to get you back....” She was shaking, not because she was scared, no I would have preferred that, Sakura was pissed. She grabbed the front of my shirt and sneered in my face, “Does Naruto know you’re back?” I push away from her, angry that she thinks she knows my entire situation.

“Naruto is the one who brought me back.” Sakura stepped away from me, shocked. Anger quickly returned to her face.

“Stay away from him, you’ve hurt him enough as it is.” Now it was my turn to be pissed. What right does she have to say what I should do or what’s best for Naruto?!?

“I can’t do that Sakura...” I state, trying to keep this conversation as civil as I can without ripping her limb from limb.

“Why not Sasuke? Do you enjoy seeing him in pain?” She snapped. That was the last straw. There was no way I was going to let this idiot of a girl tell me what to do.

“You want to know why? I love him Sakura!” Her face went pale, looking like she was going to be sick at any moment. I just kept talking, hoping to get her to flee before this resorted to physical blows. “He confessed to me last night. That was the happiest moment in my life and I’m not going to let your idiotic ideas to get in my way.” I warned in a low tone, almost growling out what I felt.

“Sasuke, Sakura? What’s wrong?” Naruto. I didn’t want to drag him into this. He really didn’t need anything else to worry about. Luckily for me, Sakura apparently felt the same way and plastered a big smile on her face.

“Naruto!! We were just catching up! I can’t believe he’s back after all this time.” With this she latches herself onto my arm and I have to put up a big effort not to throw her away immediately. She looks up at me with big eyes, giving me a silent warning not to tell Naruto about what had just happened. Naruto just looks at us, a smile gracing his handsome face as well. He’s totally oblivious! Yet, his expression turns from happy to uncomfortable in a matter of seconds. This has me baffled. What was wrong with my blonde?

“Um Sakura....would you mind getting off of my boyfriend?” Sakura already knew but she put up a great act. She sprung backwards from me and covered her open mouth. With wide eyes she continued to lie.

“No way!! Naruto how could you steal Sasuke from me?” She pretended to look hurt but recovered with a smile. “Well I should have guessed! I mean, you two were always together and you were the only one Sasuke considered his equal Naruto. Maybe I should talk to Lee-kun?” Ok, this was getting ridiculous. Only an idiot would believe her act and to be sure Naruto was an idiot.

“Sorry Sakura. You can blame Sasuke too! It’s not a one-sided deal you know!” Naruto pouted. I just shook my head and smirked.

“Maybe it is one-sided. I could just be pulling you along as a joke.” Naruto stared at me with wide eyes, even his face paled at the thought.

“Sasuke....” That look on his face broke my heart. I was only playing, I didn’t mean to hurt the dobe’s feelings.

“Come on Naruto. Do you think I could ever do something like that to you?” He looked up into my eyes and cheered up immediately. Suddenly I’m being dragged along by the arm by a very happy blonde.

“Since you decided to make fun of me, you’re buying me lunch!” I rolled my eyes. Naruto clearly forgot that he promised to buy me lunch after he skipped out on breakfast. I didn’t mind. As long as I had him, no one could take me away, not even Sakura.
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Ok I want to clear something up. I actually don't hate Sakura. I'm just tired of her always waiting patiently for Sasuke and badmouthing Naruto, I thought a change would be nice. That and I thought her reaction would be a little more realistic. Keep reveiwing!! They have inspired me thus far to continue. Well, until next time kiddies.