Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Pieces Of Me ❯ What's In A Smile ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Drabble Twenty-four

Title: What's In A Smile

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

Summary: Sasuke's always been an observant person and Naruto gives his emotions away too easily. [SasuNaru]

A/N: Woot! Drabble twenty-four people, and it is another SasuNaru. Eh...Woot! Mmkay. So, review, tell me what you thought, and I'll sell you cookies. Ja ne, minna-san!

Sasuke was a master when it came to reading other people's emotions and facial expressions. He'd learned that during the Chuunin exams, when Izumo and Kotetsu had stopped them just before the written exam. He'd found out later that Sakura felt inferior to her teammates, having been dubbed 'worse than Naruto' by Sasuke himself. The Uchiha hadn't meant anything by it, really. At least, not to hurt her feelings. He just thought she needed to work harder on her ninjutsu and such. Of course, she didn't need any work now; she was at a higher level than he was, dammit. It was like their positions had reversed.

But that wasn't the case now. No, this had nothing to do with Sakura. At least, he didn't think so. Since Sasuke was as observant as he was, he had caught on to Naruto's sudden change in mood after they learned of another attack on a bijuu. The dark haired boy didn't have to guess much to know what was bothering his best friend: Kyuubi.

After a day of extensive training, the Uchiha dragged the blond boy to Ichiraku, offering to treat him to as many bowls of ramen as he wanted. Naruto tried to paste a grin over his fear, but Sasuke saw it clearly, lurking in the very depths of those bright blue eyes. He didn't say anything, of course, in case the blond wigged out on him and decided to leave. Naruto tended to do that sometimes, when their conversations made him too uncomfortable or wondered into uncharted territory.

"Thanks, Sasuke!" Naruto chirped, as he slurped up the noodles noisily, much to the chagrin of the boy next to him. The Uchiha wasn't fond of ramen, but he found himself enjoying it most of the time. He suspected it was just because of whom he was eating it with. "You're being extra nice today, bastard. Taking some non-bastard pills?" The blond grinned, not able to hold back his laughter at the look on his teammate's face.

Sasuke glared at him, telling himself that he really didn't want to reach over and rip the blond a new asshole. He had a temper, and the blond moron knew what buttons to push and when.

"No," Sasuke scowled, narrowing his eyes at the other boy, who was snickering into his hand. Honestly, he really didn't want to rip the boy a new asshole. "I'm only acting nice because you're in a bad mood."

"Bad mood?" Naruto blinked, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. The blond's eyes narrowed, a sure sign he was getting uncomfortable with the conversation. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm in a perfectly good mood today. I think you're just seeing things or something."

"Others may not notice it, but I do. You're worried about Kyuubi." Sasuke said this in a soft whisper, low enough so that only the blond could hear him. He knew Naruto was likely to just walk away, but this was one problem that Sasuke wasn't just going to let go. "The bijuu that was attacked...you think the Akatsuki's coming for you next."

The blond smiled, totally fake, "I don't know where you got that idea from. I'm not worried, so just forget about the bijuu and eat your damn ramen." Naruto avoided his gaze as he slurped up more ramen, and Sasuke was surprised. He was glad the blond hadn't gotten up and walked away.

"You know I'm right, moron. Just accept that." Naruto continued to eat his ramen like Sasuke hadn't said anything, and the Uchiha was finding it increasingly harder to keep his temper in check. Why couldn't the blond boy see that he was just worried? "You always do this. I try to talk to you about something serious and you just shut down. Is it so hard to just say 'I'm, scared' or 'I'm really worried about Kyuubi'?"

"It's because I'm not." The blond hissed, slamming his chopsticks down on the counter. He sat there for a minute, fuming, until he gave up and slid off the stool. He brushed angrily passed Sasuke, who had also jumped off his stool to follow him. "I don't know why everyone is so worried about me. I can take care of myself."

"Don't you think we know that? We worry because we care." Sasuke tried to tell him, grabbing his elbow and making him stop. The Uchiha stared at him for a minute, dark eyes searching the other boy's face for any sign that he understood. "You're important to everybody. We worry because of that."

"So I'm important to you?" Naruto snorted, yanking his arm out of the other boy's hold. He started walking again, not really knowing where he was going. He just wanted to get away from Sasuke and his stupid, annoying questions.

"Of course you are, moron." Sasuke grabbed his arm again, and spun the blond around on the spot. Blue eyes widened as Naruto suddenly found his mouth too occupied for scathing remarks.

Sasuke kissed him softly, feeling wetness brush his lips and cheeks. It took him a moment to realize that Naruto was crying. He had grabbed a hold of Sasuke's shirt with both hands, and was using it to staunch the flow of tears.

"I'm…worried, Sasuke." The blond choked out, feeling the other boy's arms wrap around his waist. The Uchiha rubbed his back gently, trying to calm his friend down.

"Don't worry." Sasuke told him. "I'll protect you."

When Naruto smiled, it was the first genuine smile he'd seen for a long time.

~Owari~