Can I Call You Mine

Chapter 12

Naruto was in the kitchen humming happily, stirring a pot of hot noodles. The aroma filling his nostrils making him feel like heaven had fallen and lifted him up into a wonderful dreamland, a land filled with ramen. He knew that his bastard of a fake husband forbid it, but he had been craving it for to long and had successfully found ways around the restrictions. Gleaming to himself at being able to fool the top notch detective, he filled the biggest bowl he could find to it's rim, setting it carefully on the table.

Neji sighed heavily as he drove the car home in silence having turned off the stereo. He was lost in his own thoughts, deciding to take the afternoon off since he and Gaara were leaving in the morning for America. He had called Kakashi earlier asking if the two of them could come over later, needing to discuss some matters with them.

As he pulled into the driveway, he took a glance around to see if he could notice any suspicion or new activity since leaving this morning. Spotting his colleague parked not so far from his home, keeping watch while he is away during the day. After putting the vehicle in park, he ran his hand over his face and through his hair before leaning his head against the headrest.

For the first time in a while, he was nervous and on edge. In spite of having dealt with countless difficult cases before, none of them involved someone close to him and the fear was slowly gripping at him. An anxious worry that he and his team might not be able to catch Sai before his blonde friend becomes his next victim was weighing heavy on him and his team. Recently, he and Garra reached the haunting conclusion that time was no longer on their side, hence their sudden trip to New York. He found himself laying awake at night, desperately praying that Gaara's colleagues would find the answers during their trip to America. They needed to pin a charge against the mafia lord and arrest him before he gained wind of Naruto's location or flee the country.

The long haired brunette sighed heavily as he locked his car and opened the door to the house when a familiar aroma hit him in the face. Scrunching up his nose and furrowing his eyebrows, he recognized the putrid odor right away. He instantly covered his nose with the sleeve of his shirt before kicking his shoes off and placing them to the side along with his satchel before making a bee line to the kitchen. 'Naruto you are in so much trouble' he thought to himself.

The pregnant blonde giggled with glee, rubbing his round stomach. He took a long drawn out whiff, allowing it to penetrate his nostrils, he breathed it in as if it was a sacred sacrifice to the gods and they would be pleased and grant him anything he desired.

He mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done with bribing the neighbor's son into getting him his delicious treasures, knowing that he wouldn't have been able to convince Sasuke to buy it for him. The brooding bastard was on his treacherous of a husband's side, making him brew inside with agitation that he had, not one, but two protective temes to deal with now in his life. He hummed, twisting and blowing the hot noodles on the long slender silver fork, trying to cool it a little. He had all the time in the world to conceal the evidence before the long haired brunette's shift ended and he would be home, so he might as well take his time and savor it as long as possible to the very last drop.

The Uzumaki was so involved in his delightful deliciousness that he hadn't heard the front door open or aware of a figure lingering in the archway of the kitchen. Just as he was about to eat his first bite a deep voice of someone clearing their throat resonated in his ears. "Ahem."

Naruto about jumped out of his skin from being startled by the presence of the other. "Crap Neji!" He nearly screamed, his eyes wide and scared stiff. The twins tumbled and kicked harshly from the sudden reaction causing him to cringe from the pain.

Once he mentally gained his composure, he turned, making sure his body blocked his friend's view of the bowl filled noodles, to see the detective standing at the kitchen's doorway. "Neji?" He stuttered nervously, "Uh...You're home early," his eyes focusing on anything but the latter approaching the island.