Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Of Silver Linings and Blue Yonder	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 18517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or make any profit of it. Kishimoto owns it

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Author's note: In celebration of Sasuke's birthday tomorrow, here's the next chapter :)
Thanks to the following reviewer: smint45
Warnings: nothing special; present takes place around a month after Naruto discovers he's pregnant for the first time; flashback takes place when Naruto is 19, Deidara 22 and Itachi 24; some fluff I suppose; author can't come up with decent presents
Dedicated to: Hikory
I hope you'll like it!
Chapter 15
"Is there a reason why you couldn't ask Deidara to join you?" A dark eyebrow rose up as they passed a flower shop located on the ground floor of the mall.
"Because you're his brother," the blond man huffed and threw him an exasperated look. "You know him the best, so you can help me shop for his present." The implicit "Duh" tagged at the end was quite audible in his tone.
"Or you could just ask him what he wants," Itachi suggested, checking a sigh. When Naruto had called him this morning with the message he needed his help, he hadn't expected to be trudging through the mall in search for a birthday present for his younger brother. He had taken the day off for this?
"But then it wouldn't be a surprise." Naruto frowned; his gaze momentarily strayed towards a bookstore squished between a clothing store for pregnant people and an ice cream shop. He shook his head, clearly dismissing the bookstore and gestured the Alpha to follow him to the escalator.
"Do you have something in mind?" Itachi inquired, already resigning himself to hours of shopping.
"No," Naruto pouted and huffed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've been searching for a present for more than a week now, but I haven't had much luck. Which store would you recommend for a gift?"
"Honestly? Sasuke will be happy with whatever you'll end up giving." Itachi shrugged, stepping out of the way of an old lady using a cane. "He's not that picky." Especially not when the gift will be coming from you, he silently added. He doubted that his brother would dislike anything that Naruto would give him. He was so smitten with the young blond that he would probably not even care one wit if the Omega forgot his birthday.
"That's not an answer, Itachi." Naruto scowled at him. "I don't want to just buy anything for him. The gift needs to be perfect!"
Yes, it looked like he would be shopping for the entire day. He barely resisted the urge to cringe; he had never been fond of shopping and it was a stroke of good luck that his mate didn't like excessive shopping either. In fact when Itachi thought he could get away with it, he preferred to buy things online and have them delivered at home. That way he could browse at ease and he didn't have to deal with irritating salespeople pushing him for other sales.
"You could try online shops," he suggested, tugging Naruto closer to him when a teenager ran past them, threatening to bowl him over.
The blond threw him a quick, grateful look as his hand almost absentmindedly swept over his small belly. "Online shops aren't the same," Naruto complained with a slight grimace. "It needs to be the - "
"Perfect gift, right," Itachi finished the sentence and sighed, putting a bit of distance between them. "Can you tell me perhaps why you are so intent on finding the 'perfect' gift? I can assure you that my brother will think any present that you give him is perfect."
Naruto pursed his lips, casting a quick glance at a high tech store on their left. "Because he deserves the perfect gift," he replied and a faint blush dusted his cheekbones. "He's been there for me even when we weren't together yet and I just – I just want to make him happy." His face softened and a soft smile graced his lips; his bright blue eyes glittering when he thought about his mate.
Itachi glanced at him, humming thoughtfully. He supposed that Naruto's search for the perfect gift was better than Sakura's nonchalance had been when it came to gifts. It wasn't like the girl had given Sasuke shitty gifts during the time they had been together, but she certainly hadn't ever thought to ask any of Sasuke's friends or family for advice.
Comparing Naruto to Sakura wasn't fair, though, considering how very different they were. It would be like comparing apples and oranges.
A hand covered a tanned one, stilling the fingers which had been fiddling with the napkin and sky blue eyes shot up, looking at him wide-eyed.
One corner of his mouth curled up. "Relax," he drawled, leaning back in his chair. "You're acting like I'm meeting your mother all over again."
Deidara scowled at him, huffing as he threw his wrinkled napkin down. "I just want you and him to get along, Itachi. He's my best friend; I really want you to like him. And him to like you, un," he added, throwing a furtive glance at his watch.
"I'm sure we will get along," the Alpha reassured him, taking a sip of his cold water. "I can't imagine a reason why I wouldn't get along with your best friend."
The blond pouted slightly, looking petulantly. "I hope so, un, because I really don't want to choose between you," he muttered, raking a hand through his ponytail.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You really think I would make you choose?" he questioned incredulously.
"You know what I mean, un," the Omega grunted, tapping his fingers on the table. "I don't want to have to break up fights between you two."
"Should it happen that we somehow don't see eye to eye, I can still remain civil," Itachi remarked, feeling a tad insulted that his mate thought he couldn't be polite to someone he disliked. It was what he had to do with the majority of the people he worked with after all. He had perfected his mask years ago. "After all, I have never had an argument with Sasuke's girlfriend and she's not exactly at the top of my favourite people list." He sneered lightly.
This time Deidara raised an eyebrow, gazing at him speculatively. "About that, is there a specific reason why you - "
"I'm sorry I'm late!" a bright voice suddenly interrupted Deidara and the next moment, a blond haired, young man sank down in the chair next to Deidara. He ran a hand through his messy hair and offered them an apologetic grin. "Kiba was being a fucking idiot again. One of these days he's going to get his arse kicked," he said cheerfully.
"Still the same girl as last time, un?" Deidara hummed, handing over the menu to the man, who Itachi presumed was Uzumaki Naruto. That or Deidara had decided to spring one more friend on Itachi without warning him about it; it wouldn't surprise the dark haired man if the Omega had done that.
"Yeah, though I predict it won't last too long anymore," the blond commented lightly; his blue eyes perusing the menu thoughtfully. "She's still giving him the cold shoulder and you know how he is."
Deidara rolled his eyes, but didn't remark on it. He did straighten up and smile brightly, gesturing between Itachi and the blond man. "Itachi, this is Naruto-kun, un. Naruto-kun, Itachi, my mate," he introduced them; excitement dancing in his eyes.
"Nice to meet you," Naruto grinned, lowering the menu. "Deidara-kun has told me a lot about you."
"Only good things I hope," Itachi said, faintly amused, and inclined his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
"Well, he certainly can't shut up about you," Naruto said blithely. "Which is a sharp contrast to how he was with his exes, so take that however you will."
"Oh, shut up," Deidara groused, elbowing his friend.
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering whether he was being made fun of. The young man – who smelt like an Omega – simply grinned widely and informed the waitress of his order when she stopped by their table.
"So, Naruto-san," Itachi began and took a bite of his steak. "Deidara tells me that you both paint and teach class. Why painting?"
Naruto shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because I like to create things." He cocked his head and thoughtfully continued, "And I guess I like making people happy with my paintings. I know I succeeded with my work if I see their face light up. It just gives me an outlet, I suppose." He chuckled, sounding a bit embarrassed. Mischievousness suddenly lit up his eyes as he leant forwards. "Now would you perhaps be so kind as to tell me how exactly you met Deidara-kun? He's been strangely mute about it."
"It's a stupid story, un," Deidara complained, looking a bit put out.
"It's not like it makes you look bad," Itachi pointed out calmly and ignoring Deidara's squawk of outrage, he told the younger blond how exactly he had stumbled upon Deidara.
From there the conversation kept flowing smoothly as if two out of the three people present hadn't met each other just today. Deidara and Naruto ribbed each other good-naturedly at times and the younger blond even had the balls to taunt Itachi at intervals – not something a lot of people dared to do. Hell, even Sasuke's girlfriend barely could utter a few sentences to him before she clamped up out of sheer nervousness – and she had known him for more than a year already.
From Deidara's description of Naruto being incredibly overprotective of him, the Alpha had prepared himself to face distrust or wariness or even blunt rudeness. It wasn't as if he couldn't handle all that. But Naruto was friendly, chattering about anything that came up in his head or responding to any questions that popped up. He didn't appear distrustful of Itachi, didn't seize him up or show any signs that he was evaluating the mate of his best friend. For all intents and purposes, Itachi appeared to have been accepted by Naruto.
He didn't know why Deidara had been so worried about this meeting. As far as he was concerned, this whole meeting the best friend thing had gone off without a hitch.
Well, that was what he thought – until Deidara left them alone to go to the bathroom.
One moment Naruto was snickering about a prank he had pulled on Deidara a couple of months ago and the next moment he was abruptly leaning forwards; the glitter in his eyes disappearing in a flash, making place for ice cold hardness.
"Just a word of advice: don't fuck with my best friend," Naruto said flatly, baring his teeth slightly. "If you ever hurt him or make him cry in a decidedly unhappy manner, I. Will. Fuck. You. Up. Make no mistake about that."
"Do you really think you can threaten me?" Itachi asked softly, his interest piqued despite the situation. It wasn't often that he was threatened, that was for sure.
Naruto grinned savagely. "That wasn't a threat – that was a warning," he said darkly. "Deidara-kun told me that you're different from the other people he dated – prove it. He tells me everything, Itachi, so don't think you can get away with hurting him. One wrong word, one wrong move and I'll make you regret the moment you decided to screw with my best friend. Are we clear?"
He wasn't bluffing. Itachi had become somewhat of an expert in finding out whether or not someone was bluffing – at times a necessity for his job – and Naruto was deadly serious. Well, he should have expected this, really. Deidara had warned him that his friend could be quite protective; given Deidara's past with romantic partners, that didn't really come as a surprise.
"Crystal," he replied and adjusted his initial assessment of the Omega. There were clearly a lot of depths hidden in the cheerful man and Itachi found himself irrationally grateful to the Omega for keeping an eye out on Deidara. "But as you should know, Deidara can take care of himself," he couldn't resist adding.
Naruto leant back in his chair; his icy exterior melting away until he was grinning warmly. "Oh, I know. But we both look out for each other, so I really advise you not to fuck this up." His grin gained something fox-like; all mischief and slyness. "Because we both know how to make people regret messing with us." He winked and saluted the older man with his glass of soda.
Deidara showed up before Itachi could even think of a retort. He looked at them with a bemused smile as he took his seat again. "What were you two talking about, un?"
"Itachi just told me about how nervous he was for your first date," Naruto smirked.
Itachi twitched slightly. That white lie was a tad too close to the truth.
As Deidara started to tease him for being so nervous, Itachi threw a quick, inconspicuous look at Naruto, who was sitting there with a bright, innocent smile gracing his lips as if he had never threatened his best friend's mate at all.
Well, he definitely couldn't say that this meeting had been boring. His lover knew how to pick out interesting people as his friends.
Good thing that he hadn't been planning on hurting Deidara at all.
In spite of being threatened during their first meeting – or maybe because of – Itachi had never disliked Naruto. Sure, the younger man could work on his nerves at times, could test his patience – like that time when he had convinced Deidara to set off his newest project in their garden – but he was a good man with his heart in the right place.
He proved that again by wanting to buy the perfect gift for Itachi's brother, despite not being together for long. None of Sasuke's previous partners had ever been this invested, shown their commitment like Naruto now; if Itachi had had doubts before whether Naruto was good enough for his brother, they definitely had melted away now.
None of Sasuke's exes had been willing – or brave enough – to drag Itachi with them on their quest for the perfect birthday gift. That alone spoke volumes.
Family was there to help after all; too bad none of Sasuke's previous partners had really understood that.
"You know," Itachi interrupted Naruto's rant about rich people being difficult to shop for, "I'm certain that as long as the gift comes from your heart, my brother won't care at all what you decide to buy for him."
"There you are again with your vague bullshit," Naruto groaned, running his hands agitatedly through his hair. "Can't you just give me a straight answer …" he trailed off; a contemplative look slipping over his face.
"Naruto-kun?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. He blinked when he was greeted by the Omega's blinding smile.
"Thanks, Itachi!" Naruto chirped, clapping his shoulder, before he turned around, flouncing over towards the escalator. "You just gave me an idea!"
"Glad I could help," Itachi remarked dryly and followed the excited blond towards the escalator.
His head shake was fond; whatever idea Naruto had, the dark haired man was certain that his brother would appreciate it.
As for him – well, he might as well return home and enjoy the rest of his day off with his husband and children. He figured he deserved that after being pulled through the entire mall.
It was the sensation of feather light touches dancing over the small swell of his belly that woke him up from his deep sleep.
"Hm? What 're you doing?" Naruto mumbled sleepily, blinking sluggishly.
"Didn't mean to wake you up," Sasuke murmured, sounding sheepishly. The touch halted right underneath Naruto's bellybutton. "Just wanted to say good morning to the baby."
A soft smile unfurled on Naruto's face and he turned around to face his mate, shuffling closer to him in the progress. The dark haired man was way too adorable at times.
"Good morning," Naruto hummed and their mouths met in a sweet kiss, morning breath be damned.
Some of the early sunlight was sneaking its way through the small gap in the curtains, illuminating the dimly lit room.
Soft lips shifted from his mouth over his chin to his neck and Naruto bared his neck, turning his head slightly, to give the Alpha more room as a hum of pleasure escaped him. Teeth slid teasingly over a tendon in his neck and he curled his own hand around Sasuke's neck, pressing him closer.
"Any plans for - " he cut himself off abruptly as realisation sank in what kind of day it was today. His eyes widened and he pulled back, ignoring Sasuke's noise of protest when he was wrenched away from Naruto's neck. "Holy shit! I can't believe I didn't immediately realise this! Happy birthday, Sasuke!"
Sasuke chuckled, accepting Naruto's enthusiastic kiss. "Thanks," he said, a bit delighted as if he hadn't expected the blond to remember his birthday.
"I've got a present for you." Naruto scrambled out of the bed, ignoring Sasuke's grabby hands.
"You didn't have to," Sasuke protested, sitting up. His eyes, though, lightened up when Naruto plucked the package out of the closet, being careful not to bash the edges against the closet door.
Carefully the Omega placed the flat, square package – which wasn't too small, a 24 by 30 centimetres – on Sasuke's lap before he crawled back into the bed, folding his legs under him. With a nervous smile, he gestured at the gift. "Go on, open it. I hope you'll like it."
Obviously bemused at the odd shape of the present the dark haired man carefully peeled the paper off of it; his dark eyes widening when his gaze fell upon the content.
It was a painting that Naruto had made a week ago. He wasn't a stranger to gifting his paintings to friends, but for this one he had worked extra hard, just to make sure that it was perfect. He really had Itachi to thank for giving him this idea; without the man's cryptic comments, he would never have thought of painting what was in his heart.
The painting was divided into three panels. The first panel showed a bleak man, completely dressed in grey and black being surrounded by nothing but pale colours as he walked on a long, winding path; while his features weren't defined, they showed enough to make it clear that the man was just ambling, uninterested in his surroundings. Not sad, but not really happy either. He was just there. Living his life.
The second panel had the man standing in front of a mirror. In the mirror there was the vague outline of another person holding out his hand; gold and silver pouring out of the mirror, forming a puddle around the first man.
Finally, in the third and last panel, the first man was standing next to the second one, their hands still locked together. Gone were the grey and black clothes; gone were the bleak surroundings and pale colours. Instead the first man was wearing white and blue; his hair painted the brightest blond that paint could form. The other man was dark haired, but was dressed in white and black and while these colours were simple, they managed to make him look refined and yet not stiff at the same time. Their faces weren't completely defined, but their profiles showed them smiling at each other; happiness radiating from them. This panel was bursting with bright colours: red, green, yellow, blue, purple, orange … All those colours shouldn't be able to fit together into one frame, not without making it too bright, too messy, but somehow, the colours blended in well in this panel, surrounding the two men.
When Sasuke kept staring at it in shock, not saying anything, Naruto broke the silence on his own. Fiddling with his fingers, he stared down at his knees as he cleared his throat and spoke, "It's – your brother gave me the idea when I asked him for help with finding you a birthday present. He said that as long as it came from my heart, you'd be happy." A helpless chuckle escaped him and he waved his hand at the painting, ignoring how his hand trembled slightly. "I – I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. In case that wasn't really clear yet. I didn't realise how routine – I suppose that's the best word to describe it – my life had become until I met you. It's like – when I'm with you, life seems so much fuller, so much brighter, more colourful. It's like I wasn't really living until I fell in love with you. You've brought the real colours into my life – I only saw imitations of it before."
Astonished, dark eyes – with a hint of red at the edge – gazed at him as pale, slender fingers traced the blond man's outline in the third panel.
Naruto flushed and looked away; embarrassment burning inside of him. "I'm sorry; I know it's stupid. I don't even know what it was thinking. I should have bought something, I know, but - "
He was cut off by a mouth pressing against his own, initiating a fierce kiss. Before he could reciprocate, Sasuke pulled back abruptly, leaving him panting. A thumb caressed his cheek and blue eyes opened – when had they fallen shut? – looking at the Alpha in surprise.
"Wha-what was that for?" the blond asked breathlessly.
"Thank you, Naruto," Sasuke murmured, kissing him softly this time. "I really love the gift."
"You're not only saying that because I made it, right?" Naruto asked; a hint of insecurity tainting his voice. "I can deal with the truth, I promise. If you don't like it, I can find you another present."
"Naruto, trust me. I wouldn't say it just to spare your feelings. I really love the painting; nobody has ever given me something as amazing as this. Thank you," Sasuke said; his eyes softening.
Naruto smiled pleased, pecking him quickly on the cheek.
It seemed like asking Itachi for help had been the right call after all.
AN2: I hope you liked it :) Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
See you all in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
- 14
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- 16
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Of Silver Linings and Blue Yonder