Rivals Or More? A SasuNaru Story

Chapter 11: Tumble Town Ride

I feel hot all over, sweat forming on my face despite the darkness. Suddenly my eyes open, and are faced with the inky sky. I look at the clock and squint my eyes to see the time in the dim moonlight. It's still quarter to five. Aunt Mikoto was going to wake us up at 5. Wow, I woke up really early today. I am in no sense an early riser, I swear. Instead, I wake up after my alarm rings for at least fifteen minutes. Now I am awake even without an alarm, adding the fact we slept late last night. This all because of the Uchiha bound to me.

Somehow over the night, Sasuke and my legs got tangled even while being tied up. And we are still holding hands. Feeling my face burn, and my heart having an odd rhythm, I slowly manage to detangle our legs, breathing a sigh of relief.

Then I gently try to remove my hand from his, but he grabs it tighter. After a few more tries, I give up since it's only making the chakra infused ropes to tighten on us.

Instead, I turn my head as much as I can in our given position and blast his ears with a cheerful greeting. "GOOD MORNING, SASUKE! WAKE UP, DUCKY! EVEN THE DUCKS ARE AWAKE BY NOW. DON'T BE SO SNOOZY." I wait for a reaction, still keeping my head turned so that I don't miss the fun.

"Aaaa." He shouts as he rubs his abused ear and I bellow a laugh, my voice a bit rough from sleep.

"Naruto! What in the hell?!" Are his first sweet words as he wakes up. I smile despite myself, finding his sleepy self adorable.

"Oh nothing. Just waking you up in a non- gloomy way. Starting the morning with some energy so that our daily chores are done quickly instead of sloppily." I chirp brightly.

"Yeah right. And so you just felt the need to shout like a cursed witch and wake me up before dawn in a supposed non- gloomy way which didn't work. And by the way, it's not even dawn yet so the ducks aren't awake. What a dobe." He finishes his tirade with a huff.

"Cranky much? That was very un- Sasuke-like. Well, except the irritated tone." I reply.

A few moments pass. "Hn." And then a few more. "I can't help myself when it's you, Naru." The use of the pet name makes me feel oddly happy, remembering how jealous he got when Itachi called me by that name.

"You just know how to push my buttons the right way." He confesses.

Whoa. I need to talk with him more often just after he wakes up. I have never seen this side of him.

"Whom do you like?" I ask excitedly. Maybe this time he will answer properly instead of saying 'no one' like last time.

"You." My heart stops, but then he stiffens and adds, "And Itachi, mom and dad.

"Oh." I say, somewhat relieved that he doesn't really like anyone- I don't know why I feel the relief - and also a little disappointed for some unknown reason.

But then I grin. "So you actually don't dislike me, how much ever you may act like you don't care." I tease him with held in laughter, then sing out the next sentence just to pull his leg. "You like me!"

"Yeah whatever. Just don't get too full of yourself." He mutters. My heart feels warm when he doesn't deny it.

"By the way, you're still holding my hand," I point out helpfully, feeling too overwhelmed by the closeness and thus wanting some relief.

"What?" He exclaims, as he pulls away his hand as though my hand was a freaking hot stove. I whistle.

"You got some quick moves there."

"Shut up. Are you seriously whistling so early in the morning?" He grumbles.

"Yeah! Hearing your cheerful voice just makes my day," I say in enthusiastic sarcasm.