A/N: As usual, wonderful reviews. So thank you very much for the Reviews/Favorites/Follows.

Ian Elliott: Nice to hear from you again. Welcome back :)

Thank you Myrto Crosszeria for such an involved review. It made me happy :)

And another thank you to one of my favorite reviewers bluebird11 : Yes, Naruto was in part transferring his rage over Sai to Sasuke. That's almost exactly what had happened, so it's awesome that you noticed that. Also, I haven't forgotten about the business trip, though thanks for reminding me :) There's still time for that, The story has only progressed for four days (Wow, Only four!). This chapter would be the fifth day.

I have to confess that I pretty much make up the story as I go along, and I do that with all my stories... so I might make a few mistakes every now and then and forget something sometimes (Like when I put in Ino's name instead of Temari's). So, thanks for pointing things out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: Implied SaiNaru

The morning was pleasant. Iruka had made his famous pancakes with a secret ingredient that he absolutely refused to divulge and that Naruto knew to be a pinch of salt. Breakfast was an enjoyable affair with delicious maple syrup and equally sweet reminiscing.

Iruka cut into a piece of pancake, "So, anything interesting at work?" Naruto shrugged, taking a big gulp of orange juice, before remembering. He hurriedly swallowed the juice and grinned excitedly at Iruka's amused face.

"I met Kakashi Hatake."

"Hmm?" Naruto chalked up Iruka's stricken expression to confusion and went on to elaborate. "You know, Kakashi Hatake. Uchiha bodyguard. Saved the life of Sasuke Uchiha –" Naruto stopped when he saw Iruka nod.

"He so different to what I'd expected."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded his head vigorously, feeling like a kid again. "He was really friendly too."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing much. He just introduced himself." He grinned, "He said we would meet again." Iruka chuckled lightly. They continued eating while Naruto gushed about Kakashi, until Iruka interrupted him out of the blue, "Naruto. Do you think Hebi is really the best place for you?"

Iruka must have read the confusion on Naruto's face and elaborated, "The work load is too much, right? That can interfere in your personal life." Naruto's excitement evaporated when he remembered Sai. He stayed silent and let Iruka talk. "And your boss is like a slave driver –"

"Sasuke's not like that. He's changed." Naruto hoped that he wasn't blushing when he saw one of Iruka's eyebrows raise. He wondered if maybe he had been too quick in defending Sasuke, and if Iruka would catch on to that.

He did.

"Why? How has he changed?"

Naruto struggled to come up with something, "He's – more –"and remembered Kakashi's words from before, "Friendly." When he saw Iruka open his mouth to say something, he jumped up from the chair, "Sorry. Running late." He gave Iruka a hug, "Gotta go. Talk later."

He rushed out, barely remembering his keys.

Naruto made his way to the office, smiling nearly all the way. He wasn't sure what it was exactly that had put him in such a good mood. A voice in the back of his mind whispered that talking about Sasuke had been the reason, but he brushed it off before he could examine it any further. That was a dangerous path.

The streets were busy with children making their way to school, with other office goers and many more assorted people. Being a regular walker, Naruto was even able to recognize a few faces and smiled. When he neared his office, Naruto saw a man standing under the shade of a coffee shop covered in bandages. He couldn't help but notice him, wondering how the man had gotten hurt so extensively and if maybe Kakashi had gone through the same thing.

He couldn't imagine how someone could throw themselves directly into harm's way to protect another. It amazed him. Belated, he realized that he had been staring for too long and smiled in apology, face heating in embarrassment.

Naruto entered the office in a relatively good mood, throwing a smile at Sakura when she caught his eye. He made a beeline to his desk, slipping the strap of his bag off his shoulder and prepared to slide into his chair. As much as he loved his morning walk to the office, Naruto loved sitting on his cushy chair after a long walk, with almost an equal intensity.

He sighed when the phone rang, alerting him immediately of the identity of the person calling him. His suspicion was confirmed when he answered it. This was really early, even for Sasuke. It was as if the man had been just waiting for Naruto to arrive. What he found most curious was how Sasuke even knew that he had arrived.

Naruto didn't even bother to switch on his computer and instead, simply picked up his notepad and pen and went into Sasuke's cabin. When he got inside, Sasuke held out a sheet of paper.

"Your tasks for today"

Naruto took it warily. When he got a task list, more often than not, it would be overwhelmingly difficult for him to complete it by the end of business. He scanned through it. When he briefly glanced at Sasuke, he noticed the other man scanning him in return.

The tasks were more or less regular ones, and were of a reasonably doable number. Though he fleetingly wondered why Sasuke didn't simply type the list and mail it to him instead of writing it down. He would have spent more time going through the list and getting any questions he had over with then and there, but the piercing stare he felt made him antsy.

Sasuke's attire for that day could only be described as grim. He was in all black – Black shirt, black slacks, a black jacket. Even his expression was grim. Naruto couldn't help but notice a folder that he'd never seen before, lying on top of the table. Even that was black.

"Is that all?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yes. I will be going out for some time, a meeting, and cannot be reached."

Naruto was confused, "A meeting? There wasn't anything scheduled. "

Sasuke paused before replying, "It's confidential".

That just increased Naruto's confusion, which dissipated just enough to notice Sasuke smirk suddenly and drawl, "Don't worry. It's purely business" He had gotten up sometime and was now leaning forward, "So you've nothing to worry about"

Naruto rolled his eyes in reply.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something else when a ping sounded through the room. Sasuke checked his phone and straightened up, hurriedly putting on his coat. Naruto watched, unbearably curious as Sasuke picked up the folder and turned around.

"How about a kiss for good luck?"

Naruto leveled a flat look at him, "I'll get started on the list"

Sasuke followed him out.

Naruto rolled his neck from side to side after completing the current item on the list. The next task required a particular file, the only copy of which was with Sasuke. So, Naruto got up and made his way to Sasuke's office. The empty table greeted him when he got inside. It was strange seeing the room, now missing their owner. Naruto rarely got inside the office without Sasuke in it. He seemed like an important part of the whole décor. Without him something – just felt off.

Naruto searched the table and found the file.

"Hello Naruto".

He nearly jumped in fright before smiling, "Oh. Good Afternoon, Mr. Hatake"

Kakashi chuckled, "Just call me Kakashi" Naruto felt a strange sense of déjà vu. "Sorry for barging in, I was just looking for Sasuke. Has he gone for lunch?"

"No. He's gone for a meeting."

"Oh." Kakashi's eyebrows rose. "What meeting?" It was Naruto's turn to raise his eyebrows when Kakashi went straight to Sasuke's desk and started rummaging through it. He looked through the pen holder, the files, the papers, and finally picked up something from under the keyboard. It was too small to see what it was and Kakashi placed the speck on his palm.

"Um. I actually don't know. He just said it was business." He then gestured to Kakashi's hand, "What is that?"

Kakashi smiled, "A tracking device."

Naruto blinked then laughed nervously at the joke. Kakashi held out his palm for Naruto to look at and continued, "To make sure your boss stays out of trouble." Naruto took a closer look at the thing and saw the tiny device resting on the calloused palm. Kakashi didn't seem to notice Naruto's shock and continued to speak. He took the speck between two fingers and held it out in the light, "Looks like it's not working."

Naruto did not know how to respond. But the other man saved him from the trouble when he said he had to leave. Naruto nodded and was about to leave too when Kakashi stopped him, his expression more somber. "Naruto, I need you to do me a favor. Could you not tell anyone about me?" Naruto nodded, still in shock that a tracking device was even involved in his day. "I like to keep a low profile."

Naruto blushed wondering if the man somehow knew about him 'fanboy-ing' about meeting him to Sakura and Iruka, though that would be really improbable.

"I – er – kind of already told Sakura Haruno and my dad" He blushed harder, "I'm sorry". Though Naruto hadn't told Hinata yet, he felt it would only be a matter of time before he did. Naruto figured that he might as well apologize for it before hand and had wanted to add Hinata to that list too, but didn't want to push it.

Naruto was anxious that his transgression might ruin the semi-cordial relationship that he had with the other man. But his worries disappeared when Kakashi smiled, "They wouldn't be a problem."

A little later Naruto was having lunch with Sakura and brought up Kakashi's request. He left out the part about the tracking device since he still was not sure if the whole thing was real or a joke.

"So, don't tell anyone about Kakashi being here ok?"

"Sure."

"Did you tell anyone else?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. She seemed to do that a lot. "No. Who would I tell?"

Naruto shrugged, wanting to tease his gossipy friend, "I don't know. Everyone?"

Sakura glared, "Well, I didn't. I figured the man would like his privacy if he was keeping his whole existence a mystery" Naruto felt a little sheepish after hearing that. He wondered why that thought never stuck him. He had been so excited after meeting the Kakashi Hatake.

"He seems like one of those eccentric celebrities." Naruto smiled at that, "Yeah. He is a bit odd, with the mask and all. Wouldn't that make him look more conspicuous? I mean, he basically has only one eye visible"

"Maybe he has scars from the blast. You know, I don't think anyone else in our office even noticed him."

Naruto's eyebrows joined his hairline, "That's impossible. He'd have had to walk right past them." Sakura nodded looking equally impressed, "He was an elite bodyguard. Maybe, he blends into the shadows or something."

They both grinned at each other, "That's so cool."

Back at his desk, Naruto worked his way down the list. He noticed one task that had escaped his attention before, near the bottom of the list. It was scrunched in between the last one and the one before. He squinted, trying to make out the words.

'Dinner with Sasuke… with room for more'

Naruto sighed and continued with his job.

Sasuke came back near the end of the day by which Naruto was already done with the list. He was feeling pretty proud of himself at his speed. He entered the cabin just as Sasuke was taking off his coat. A flash of something shiny caught Naruto's attention and he felt his stomach flip when he saw what looked like a gun.

Tsunade's words floated into his mind. Naruto dismissed it, not wanting to get caught in the paranoia and rumors. Sasuke opened one of the draws and put the thing into it. Naruto couldn't see what it was.

He handed over the list to Sasuke, "I've completed it."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow, "Everything?"

"Yes."Naruto glared, knowing exactly what he was hinting at, "Everything that's necessary."

Sasuke smirked, "And you decide what's necessary?"

"In certain cases, yes. I do."

The way Sasuke's eyes seemed to look amused just annoyed him even more and Naruto interrupted when he opened his mouth to speak, "What were you doing today?" If there was going to be an intrusion of privacy, then he wanted to repay Sasuke back in kind. Naruto honestly did not think that Sasuke would answer him, and was surprised when he did, "I told you. I was in a meeting."

"With whom?" Naruto vaguely felt like a carping housewife, but ignored it. He was the man's personal assistant, he deserved to know.

"People" Naruto glared.

"Well. Almost"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke smirked," Why the sudden interest?" He stepped closer to Naruto, almost touching him, but not. Naruto suddenly found it hard to breathe. There was open space on either side and behind, but Sasuke's presence so close in front of him made him feel like he was trapped. He also did not want to take a step back and look weak.

Sasuke drawled in a low voice, "Jealous?"

Naruto glared, "No. Kakashi wanted to know."

Sasuke demeanor changed instantly, "He was here?" He moved even before he could see Naruto nod in reply. He went to his table and lifted the keyboard just as Naruto answered his unvoiced question, "He took the tracking device with him"

Sasuke cursed. Naruto however, was surprised that it really had been a tracking device. He had told it, planning to play it off as a joke if Sasuke seemed confused.

"Why did he have a tracking device?"

Sasuke leaned against his desk and ran a hand through his hair, "Because he's nosy"

Naruto stayed silent, not completely understanding the situation. Sasuke rubbed his forehead, "There's just one more file you need to type up." He picked up one of the files on top of the desk and gave it to him. Naruto took it and started skimming the contents. He noticed Sasuke put the black folder from before, inside a draw. Naruto could tell it was the same draw as the other thing with how low Sasuke had lent down.

The return of Sasuke's grim expression made Naruto feel – he pondered, trying to come up with the right words and having to settle instead– not ecstatic. He chewed his lip, wondering if he was perhaps crossing a line by asking.

Why would he put a tracking device on Sasuke? It didn't make any sense to Naruto and he was worried over Sasuke's safety. Did he think that Sasuke hadn't known about it? And would Sasuke be in trouble now that Kakashi had found out that Sasuke had found and removed it? But then ,why had he shown it to Naruto?

Naruto's head hurt.

"Do you trust Kakashi?"

Sasuke looked at him, surprised. "I do" He paused, looking like he was considering whether or not to continue. Naruto, for some reason, felt glad that he did. "It's just that there are some things he doesn't approve of but I need to do." Naruto had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn't answer anymore questions. As it were, he was surprised that he had answered him so far. Naruto felt reluctant to leave with such a heavy aura hanging around the man however.

"Why does he wear a mask?"

Again, Sasuke's expression morphed instantly to that of a petulant child, "He thinks it makes him look cool"

"He does look cool."

Now much happier on having Sasuke glare at him, Naruto sauntered out to his desk.

Naruto finished all his work for the day and went inside Sasuke's cabin to give the file back. Sasuke was busy, with the desktop screen turned completely away from Naruto. He didn't even look up at him. Naruto felt uneasy and wondered if he had made Sasuke angry. Then he wondered why he was feeling so unsettled. It couldn't be that he actually missed Sasuke's attention could it? Well, technically he had enjoyed Sasuke's polite company and friendly conversations… until that had somehow turned into sexual harassment and inappropriate comments.

He placed the file on the side of the table closest to him. " Mr. Uchiha, I'm leaving for the day." For once, Sasuke didn't seem even remotely interested in him and merely nodded, still staring intently at the screen.

The black folder was on the table.

He had a feeling that he was passing off his uncomfortable-ness to Sakura when she dropped him off that day. She asked him several times if something was wrong. And even though he always smiled and told her that he was perfectly fine, she didn't seem very convinced. He stared at the side view mirror which showed a car that seemed to have been behind them for long time.

Sakura exclaimed suddenly, "Hey. Is that invitation to come over still open?'

Naruto kind of wanted to be alone but, out of guilt and also in part wanting to have a nice ending to his day, agreed.

"Food is part of the deal right?"

Naruto mock sighed and agreed.

The elevator was as usual, out of order. With twin sighs, they started soldiering up the stairs. Naruto felt embarrassed. First he makes her his driver, then, he subconsciously pushes his problems on her, and now, forces her to climb a hill.

"I'm really sorry about this. I forgot about the ongoing elevator crisis."

Sakura smiled, "It's ok. I don't mind the exercise."

"I really don't think you need it though" Naruto was impressed at her stamina. She did not seem like she was even sweating. He could not imagine walking in five inch heels, let alone climbing stairs. Naruto glanced at her. And she was texting. He was sure that was a safety violation of some sort. Bored and wanting to get his mind off the unwanted workout, he started talking, "I can finally introduce you to Iruka."

Sakura said, "Oh" and looks surprised.

Naruto was glad to have gotten her to look up from her phone, "I haven't told you about him, have I? He's my adoptive dad." His triumph was short lived however, when she went back to typing.

"Who are you texting anyway?"

She shrugged, "Just some guy."

He snapped his head toward her, "A boyfriend?" He didn't really know why he was surprised at that. Before, he had simply assumed that she had been waiting for Sasuke to ask her out. But now, he wasn't sure. In retrospect, he should have been surprised if she didn't have a boyfriend. She was quite attractive after all.

Sakura laughed, "No. I really don't have time for a boyfriend."

That confused him. He was just about to say something when she stopped abruptly and looked up from her phone, "Naruto, I have to go. Something just came up." He gaped, floundering for something to make her change her mind, "We're almost there." He shrugged his shoulders, "Just have a cup of coffee and leave. I'll just introduce you to Iruka. That's all."

But she had started making her way down even before he had finished talking.

"Sorry Naruto. Another day. I promise."

He became worried. "Is everything ok?"

She was already two floors down and shouted, "Yeah Yeah. Nothing to worry about. Good night."

Naruto sighed, watching her make her way down, slightly impressed at her speed and ability to walk in high heels without tripping. He continued walking up and soon heard the sound of her car pulling out.

He walked into his apartment, "I'm starting to think that I give off a repelling scent or something."

Naruto had always had trouble forging new relationships. Even in school, kids simply avoided him for some reason. He had never understood why others took offense with him. On some rare occasion, some child would try and make friends with him, only to later on prank him and break his heart. Naruto eventually stopped telling Iruka about every new budding friendship since he wanted to stop breaking the bad news to him a couple of weeks later. He hated seeing Iruka's eyes look sad and disappointed.

His only success stories were Iruka, Hinata and Tsunade, two of whom had been under legal obligation to like him. He had thought that he had struck gold with Sai, having had a crush on Sai for a really long time before the other man had finally asked him out. His first time had been with Sai. It had been a big step for him.

Then, Ino happened.

And then Sasuke…

Maybe he should just give up on new relationships. He would never tell Iruka that, he would probably give him a six hour lecture on hope and persistence and rainbows and lollipops.

Iruka peeked out from the kitchen, "whom are you talking to?'

Naruto glared mildly, "Not you apparently.'

Iruka smiled good naturedly, "Well, maybe you should make sure I can hear you first."

Naruto said nothing and dropped himself into the couch. Iruka, probably sensing that something amiss, sat next to him, "What's wrong?"

He didn't want to worry Iruka over nothing. "Nothing. I'm just being dramatic." Iruka used his usual tactic to get him to talk. He raised both eyebrows and stared at him. It shouldn't work on him or for anyone for that matter, but it did.

"I think I might be being too clingy on Sakura and that I'm scaring her away."

Iruka's raised eyebrows came down together in confusion, "Who's Sakura?"

That was when Naruto realized that he hadn't told Iruka about her yet. He sat up excited, "Oh yeah. I haven't told you. She's my new friend."

"Sakura – ?"

"Haruno. Sakura Haruno."

Usually Iruka would get even more excited than him when it seemed like he was about to make a new friend, no matter how old Naruto got. But now, he just stayed quiet.

"Jeez don't get too excited."

That snapped Iruka out of what ever thought he seemed to have gotten caught up in, "No No. It's not that. It's just – well, it's hard to trust people these days."

"Iruka" Naruto chuffed, "You're being paranoid again." Iruka had a tendency to become suspicious of people at random times. It was overwhelming at times, but Naruto accepted the little quirk as part of the man's personality. After all, he had accepted Naruto for who he was.

Iruka, predictably ignored him. "Which reminds me about our conversation from this morning."

Naruto's eyes widened and he sprang up from the couch, "Wow. Look at the time. Feeling really sleepy."

Iruka grabbed his arm and pulled him down to sit on the couch again, "Tell me what you meant by friendly."

He smiled nervously, "It's nothing." Iruka's glare made him sigh and re-track. "Well, it's weird. He's got a little –" he glanced at Iruka listening intently to every word. "I think that maybe he might be interested in me – a bit – I think." Sasuke had given off every indication of definitely being very interested in him. But Naruto was very hesitant to tell his overprotective, paranoid adoptive dad every detail of those particular indications.

"What did he do?" Naruto inwardly winced at the way Iruka seemed to stress and enunciate every word of that sentence. He frantically looked around, searching for a way out or a distraction, biting down on his bottom lip when he found neither.

"He – kind of kissed me" The sentence ended in a rising lilt, as if in a question. Naruto squinted through narrowed eyes, waiting for the explosion of protectiveness that he was used to. But what he got was something else entirely. Iruka's voice was deathly calm when he spoke.

"I want you to quit that job."

He looked at Iruka, eyes wide in shock. "Wha –". His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, trying to grasp his mind around Iruka's reaction, "I think you're over reacting." Iruka's face was wiped of any and all expression. "I told him to stop and he did." After many attempts, but Naruto was sure that saying that would not help his case any.

"For now."

"Dad – "

"Naruto, This place is not safe." Iruka gestured around. "With everything that's happened –" Naruto continued staring at his dad in shock as the other man ranted.

"With what happened?" he asked timidly.

Iruka froze with eyes like a deer caught in head lights and stammered, "The job is too stressful. Takes too much of your time." He shook his head, "That's why you broke up with Sai. And now your boss is abusing you. And and – the break ins. Naruto, we need to move to another city."

Naruto strongly felt that the situation was spiraling out of control. "You're talking like a crazy person. Relax." He put his palms out in a placating manner, "Calm down. Start breathing." He kept his voice low, knowing full well that this had every potential to transform into a shouting match. "The job has a lot of responsibilities. I worked hard to get here and I am not going to simply give it up."

He was sure that he could reason with Iruka, "And I am not just going to give it up for my boss either. I'm tougher than that. You raised me better than that." He had to systematically rebut every problem that Iruka seemed to have, "As for Sai, that jerk cheated on me. He couldn't care enough about our relationship to keep it in his pants. End of story."

Iruka was worried about him. Naruto knew first-hand how rare, genuine affection was. It was his responsibility to assuage his dad's worries, "Break ins happen everywhere. The same kind of vandalism happened in the last place we lived in too, remember?"

Iruka placed both hands on either side of Naruto's face. "That's what I'm afraid of Naruto"

"You're not making any sense"

"We are moving away"

"No we are not" he got up. "I am not going to run away"

Naruto got up and went into his room.

Please Review/Favorite/Follow if you like the story.