Softly (Naruto Fanfic)

Softly

Sasuke never laughed.

At least, nobody remembered hearing him laugh, particularly after the entire Uchiha clan ended up slaughtered. The only emotion he showed was a perpetual scowl, always cutting with his words anything that didn't go his way, which in turn made Sakura wonder as each day on the team went by whether he'd ever notice her, let alone approve of her.

A quiet mewling sound startled her from her thoughts.

Looking around, she saw a box just as the mewling sound came again and approached. Kneeling beside the box, she looked at the tiny kittens with their big eyes looking up at her. "Oh! How adorable!" She smiled. "I can't take you home, though. My parents wouldn't allow it." One of the kittens attempted crawling out of the box, but she remembered the praise Sasuke sent her way during the Chunin exams. "I'm glad he's still here, even though he doesn't notice me."
She sat there watching the kittens continue to mewl, unsure of what to do with the creatures when she heard a voice from nearby. "Are those kittens?"

Sakura glanced up, startling. "Ah. Yes." Her eyes blinked. "Sasuke?"
She walked him come over and kneel beside her. "Are you just going to leave them here to starve?"

Her cheeks puffed out, feeling irritated. "To be honest, I didn't know what to do with them, given that I can't take them home with me."

He didn't respond and reached out, picking up one of the kittens and lifting it towards his chest. A soft rumbling purr escaped from the kitten as Sasuke murmured. "There are four of them." The kitten started climbing up, so its whiskers tickled Sasuke's face. A laugh, a rather nice one at that, escaped from his lips, but a smile spread across his face. "That tickles!"

"You know what to do?"

"I'm going to keep them."

"Sasuke..." Sakura sighed. "What are you going to do with them on missions?"

He looked at her, realization hitting. "That..."

He glanced away, a look of irritation on his face. Sakura sighed. "I didn't mean to upset you, particularly since you live alone, but you also don't want to come home to dead kittens."

"I know, but..."

"You like them?"

"Yes," Sasuke muttered.

"Let's go talk to my mom then."

"What? You said you can't keep them."

"I can't, but she might be willing to see that they're taken care of while we're away." Much to her surprise, a blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," Sakura sighed.

"This one..." Sasuke put the white kitten back into the box. "... is Kakashi."

"Really?"

"And this one... " He pointed to the amber-colored kitten. "Is Naruto."
"Please tell me you're not going to name the red one Sakura."

"I can't. It's a boy." Sasuke let out a laugh. "Though I did call the female one Naruto because he's such an idiot, and it's kind of backward."

His laughter was certainly nice, but his ability to name kittens was not. "Is the black one Sasuke?"

"Nope. That would be silly." He laughed. "And no, I'm not going to call it Itachi either. It's Gaara and Lee."

"So, you're naming the kittens after your friends?"

"Sensei isn't a friend. He's someone I look up to. I also don't think those three think of me as friends." He continued laughing. "It's because they're supposed to be a four-man team because there are four of them, and that will be good luck for them."

"Oh. Okay."

"Also, it would have been just as embarrassing to name one of the kittens after you as it would have been to name one of them after me."

"What?"

"Because I like you." He suddenly stiffed, glancing at her. "Sorry."

"You know that I like you too."

"Why? You should have gotten over your crush once you saw how much of an idiot I am." Sasuke picked up the box. "When I say I like you..."

"I knew what you meant, and I meant what I said. Let's go talk to my mom."