Shades Of Grey

Chapter9

Sasuke watched Naruto sleep. He was sprawled out on the floor, snoring lightly. His mouth was curled into a very cute half-smile. The blonde boy had passed out after hours of trying to get Sasuke to even hint at his Christmas wish. Sasuke had asked to borrow pajamas and finally shut the boy up. He did not last long after that, falling asleep while watching a movie and laying on the floor. Sasuke watched Naruto sleep, wishing he could be as relaxed as the other boy. Tearing his eyes away, he glanced to his watch. He chuckled to himself at how early it was. He stretched on the couch and stood up. He nudged Naruto with his toe. Naruto swatted at the thing attempting to invade his dreams and curled into a ball. Sasuke pushed his foot into Naruto’s side a little harder. Naruto groaned and closed his eyes tighter for a quick moment before opening them and rolling over to look up at the intruder of his dreams. He saw his own blue pajama pants in his face and suddenly remembered who would be waking him up. He sat up and yawned.

"Sasuke~ I was having a good dream," he whined.

"Its early. Let’s get something to eat."

Naruto grinned and scrambled to his feet. He muttered something about clothes, and headed for his room. Sasuke gave him a moment before following. Naruto had removed his shirt and was sifting through a pile of clothes. Sasuke snuck behind him and wrapped his arms around his chest. Naruto was spun around and found himself engaged in a passionate kiss. Pulling back slowly, Sasuke rested his forehead against Naruto’s.

"Let’s order in."

"’Kay."

Naruto stared at Sasuke’s retreating form with glazed eyes. Sasuke had picked up the phone and started dialing a number before Naruto had shaken himself out of his daze and ran into the living room. Sasuke placed an order quickly, asking for no input on Naruto’s part. The blonde fell onto his couch and studied the television with a frown. Picking up the remote, he found a movie as Sasuke sat beside him.

"What’d you get?" he asked absently.

"Chinese," came the reply.

Naruto pounced on Sasuke, nuzzling into his neck. Sasuke maneuvered under Naruto’s cuddling to get comfortable. They stayed that way watching the movie until the doorbell rang. Naruto leaped up and fished around in his wallet. He answered the door and paid for their meal. He sat down and dived into the bag moments later. He did not notice the frown on Sasuke’s face.

"Dobe. Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Pay. I ordered, I pay."

Naruto looked to Sasuke, an egg roll halfway to his open mouth. He closed his mouth and slowly lowered the egg roll.

"But you’re my guest," he offered.

"Don’t do it again."

It was Naruto’s turn to frown.

"Thanks, but I don’t need your help paying for things."

"Don’t get defensive. You pay for more than half of everything as it is. I get to treat you the rest of the weekend. And don’t argue," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the boy and popped the egg roll in his mouth. As they ate, the tension faded. Sasuke made Naruto get out his homework and study after eating. Naruto did his tutor proud, making very few mistakes on the assignments. As an after thought, he pulled his reports out and showed Sasuke his vastly improving grades with a shining smile. Sasuke rubbed Naruto’s head like petting a dog and complimented him.

"You are doing great. Just don’t slack off," he said.

"You’re a great tutor, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke watched the other boy for a moment. Slowly, Naruto’s smile faded. His eyes dimmed a little and he looked away.

"You know, no one has ever said anything so encouraging. Even Iruka-san. He just kind of told me to study hard. He never really asks about my grades. When… when I came here, I was alone. I barely remember it, it has been so long…," he trailed off, pain creeping into his blue eyes.

Sasuke waited. He was not quite sure how to comfort the boy sitting next to him. He watched as Naruto took a deep breath. The blonde slowly turned his gaze back to Sasuke, a very forced smile on his face.

"My mother left me. My dad was Hokage here when he fell for her. But, his position wouldn’t allow him a family just yet, so he told her to get a place in the town and he’d provide for her until he was in the position to marry her. Instead, she left me in the small apartment only a week after I was born. Dad found me hours later. He took me in and raised me. I can barely remember him now. They told me he died protecting the village from an attack. I was almost five. So, that night I went off to find my mom. She had moved to Sunagakure. She turned me away. She said she didn’t want me. The Kazekage had me sent home and the new Hokage got me this apartment and had Iruka watch over me. So, you can understand my excitement. Finally having someone to show my accomplishments to."

Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto and pulled the blonde into his chest. He held onto the boy tightly. Naruto sniffed but never allowed a tear to fall.

"You can show me everything Naruto. I’ll be the one to praise you. I’ll be the one you can impress."

Naruto clutched his shirt tightly. He buried his face into Sasuke’s chest, taking in his scent, concentrating on only the boy who held him. Nothing else matter to him.

"Sasuke-kun."

"Hn?"

"Tsukite."*

Sasuke blushed. He stroked Naruto’s hair. Naruto relaxed his grip a little and turned his head so he could see the movie still playing. Sasuke leaned back against the arm of the couch so they were both laying lengthwise on the couch. Naruto remained on Sasuke and they both drifted off to sleep.


~Next morning~

The boys awoke almost at the same time. They had not moved during the night, and had used each other for warmth. Naruto sat up first, stretching before running off to brush his teeth. Sasuke stayed on the couch, testing to see if the sleeping arrangements had caused his muscles any pain. When he found himself capable of standing, he walked to Naruto’s fridge to find some breakfast. He was pulling eggs from their containers when Naruto walked out of the bathroom. He walked behind Sasuke and kissed his cheek. Sasuke elbowed him lightly.

"Cooking," he muttered.

"Meh. I’d rather have you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to the eggs. He fixed a small breakfast for them both. Sasuke teased Naruto for his lack of a dining table as they ate on the couch again.

"I have to work today," Naruto whined. "You going with me or staying here?"

"I’ll walk you there and meet you for lunch," Sasuke replied.

Sasuke kept his word later, as he walked Naruto to work. He promised to stay away from the manor as Naruto entered the shop. They passed the weekend with cuddling and kissing when Naruto was not working. Sasuke spent his days looking around town for something to do while Naruto was stuck in the shop. Sasuke went home Sunday night to prepare for Monday morning. Itachi was nowhere in sight. Three weeks passed smoothly as they entered December. Sasuke had spent Thanksgiving with Sakura, much to Naruto’s disappointment. Naruto started picking up more work as they got closer to Christmas. Sai had started planning his party for Christmas Eve. He had enlisted his friends’ help in deciding on the details of the party. Each person seemed to have their own task. Naruto had offered to help Sai pick out food, and had spent every other weekend out with the boy looking for a caterer. They were leaving a bakery one Saturday afternoon and found themselves face-to-face with Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sai! I’m so excited about your party! Only two more weeks, huh?" Sakura asked, nearly bouncing on her feet.

"Yep! If you’re giving presents it’s a perfect time to do so," Sai winked.

Sakura giggled and leaned against Sasuke. He looked away from the girl so as to not show his disgust. Naruto glared at the couple.

"Naru-chan, let’s go pick out your present! See you two later," Sai said quickly.

He grabbed Naruto’s arm and pulled him away. They entered a small shop and Sai let go, walking around and looking for gifts for his friends. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around as well. As he made his way to the back, he had calmed and was analyzing everything in the store. Sai passed by him with a smile. He was holding several items which Naruto assumed to be future presents. Sai brushed his shoulder against Naruto’s.

"He’ll understand if you can’t get him anything," he whispered.

"Him who?" Naruto hissed.

Sai slipped off to avoid the cold glare he was sure to have earned. Naruto scowled and continued looking. Stopping at the very back, his eyes fell on the perfect gift. His pulled his hands from his pockets and reached out to touch it. His face erupted into a grin and he placed the item back on its shelf. He fumbled for his cell phone and headed for the exit. He waved to Sai as he dialed a number. Sai nodded and kept looking.

"Hello?"

"Hinata-chan! I found it! Its perfect, but I can’t get it around anyone else," Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto-kun. Um, does that mean you need some help?"

"Yeah, I have the money with me. Could you stop by the shop and get the money for it?"

"Sure. I’ll have to meet you later though. Kiba’s taking me out in an hour."

"Thanks so much, Hinata-chan!"

Naruto closed his phone and ran off to work. When Hinata entered a few hours later, Naruto took his break to tell her all about what it was he had found. She agreed to have it in his locker on Monday morning.

A/N: First off, the * Tsukite is used as "I love you" in this context. Its my favorite way of saying the phrase in Japanese and I've found it to be used more by guys in anime than the other ways I know to say I love you. Second, thanks so much to Becca for being the Beta for this story. Much love and thanks to Becca =^^= My life saver. And I know this was a very short chapter, but I'm working on the next one now and with any luck will have something tomorrow to post. The next one will be quite long and very enjoyable for so very many reasons. Thanks for being patient with me, love to all my readers. For any personal messages email @ iheartsess@live.com or AIM is makura no neko.