Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto
A/N: thanks for all the lovely reviews, favs, and alerts!

bachiari

Chapter 6: His Comforting Side

The air in the car was tense, and it made Naruto wrinkle his brows together in confusion. He thought things were supposed to be better now considering they just had a heart-to-heart that morning, but Sasuke was still the same moody, dark bastard he had been every other day Naruto had known him. In fact, he was acting even broodier than he usually did and it made no absolute sense to the blonde. Though, if he actually thought about it, Sasuke confessing his "feelings" to Naruto was probably what was tripping him up. Sasuke wasn't one to be so sensitive so it did make sense that Sasuke was now silent.

"Are you okay?" he spoke up hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer, but the oppressive silence in the car ride back home was getting to him and he didn't want to let things fester if Sasuke really was feeling so unsure of himself.

There was a soft sigh, though Sasuke didn't look over at him. Considering the fact that he was driving though, Naruto couldn't blame him. "It's nothing you did, Naruto, so you can stop worrying."

"Hard day at work then?"

This time, Sasuke cut his eyes over at him in a quick glance and Naruto was startled to find amusement swimming in the depths of the man's eyes. "You don't have to make small talk with me, dobe. It's not like we're strangers to each other."

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms and mock pouting, "Figures I try to show my worry over your well-being and you just make fun of me. See if I'm ever nice to you again."

This time, he actually elicited a soft chuckle from the dark-haired man. He couldn't hide the accomplished smile that crept its way on his face. It was embarrassing to admit, but he loved Sasuke's smile and his laugh. The fact that he was able to get them out of his boss when Sasuke was obviously so distracted only made him feel proud of himself, and he had trouble going back to acting offended. Luckily, Sasuke couldn't actually look at him, so within seconds, he was able to wrestle down the smile and go back to pouting at the man.

"Right," murmured Sasuke in response, and there was a twitch of a smile on his lips, "oh whatever will I do now that my Naruto is mad at me?"

"I'm not yours," he pointed out petulantly, but when Sasuke stopped at a traffic light and turned a raised eyebrow at him, he conceded, "Fine, fine, you possessive bastard, I'm yours, alright?"

"That's what I like to hear," teased Sasuke, though there was a light dusting on his cheeks. Naruto guessed he was thinking about what he had admitted to earlier in the day…

I want you to be mine. Forever.

Immediately, when the words rang through his mind, Naruto blushed furiously, and turned to hide his face from the man sitting next to him, covering his mouth with a hand and staring out of the car window. He couldn't believe how straightforward Sasuke had been that morning…his boss certainly had guts to have said that out loud. Naruto knew that he would have barely been able to get that sentence out without turning as red as a tomato and even then, he would have had to stammer the words out.

There was a cough, and when Naruto turned back to look at his boss, Sasuke was looking straight ahead at the road, refusing to meet eyes with the blonde. But the tense shoulders and the still light dusting of pink told Naruto just how embarrassed the man was, and he took pity on Sasuke and decided not to bring up what had happened earlier in the day, even though Sasuke had basically handed him an opportunity to do so. Although it would be probably smart to have the conversation and figure out just how much Sasuke cared for him, he knew he wouldn't have the guts to actually finish the conversation in one go. And besides, they were still in the car and he didn't want Sasuke so worked up that it would affect his driving. He valued his life after all.

Before he could say anything though, Sasuke spoke up with a casual tone, "Oh, I had a conversation with Neji this morning."

"Oh?" replied Naruto cautiously. He realized with a start that this may be why Sasuke was so broody; Neji probably said something that made him mad. "Did he…did he say something stupid?"

"Neji is the heir of the Hyuuga clan, Naruto, I assure you he does not say anything stupid. Something rude, and absolutely galling," here Naruto noticed just how angrily Sasuke was clutching the wheel, "but never something stupid. Oh no, that would be completely beneath him." Sasuke growled the last of the words, and Naruto knew then and there, that Neji had probably complained to Sasuke in that same exact vein. Sasuke was obviously filled with ire, and Naruto knew that if he didn't do something soon, Sasuke was going to be seething mad.

"Did he – "

"That bastard actually insinuated that I was in the wrong!" spat out Sasuke, and Naruto jumped at the intensity of his words. Inwardly, he couldn't help chuckling, but he knew if he laughed out loud here and now, Sasuke would turn that anger onto him. "And that I, owner of Hokage enterprises, had no right to argue with him or even tell him what he did was wrong. That bastard."

And by Neji insulting Sasuke, Naruto knew that the situation had become personal to the powerful man, and now Sasuke was intent on getting back at Neji not for just Naruto, but also for himself. After all, Sasuke's ego was inflated enough for more than just one person. God forbid, Neji probably had even put himself on the same level as Sasuke, and that was just not okay for the Uchiha. He might have even thought himself higher because while he was an heir, Sasuke was not. Itachi was the heir to the Uchiha enterprises and it made sense that Sasuke had looked elsewhere to find a company that he could run. And with his connections and hard work, he had somehow become the owner of a company that founded by someone he didn't know. If that wasn't a testament to how crafty and intelligent his boss was, nothing else was.

Neji was stupider than Naruto initially thought he was if he was picking a fight with Sasuke Uchiha. The man had definitely bitten off more than he could chew. And although Neji had spent all of yesterday insulting Naruto, Naruto took pity on the man and sent up a prayer that the poor man would get out of this situation alive and intact.

"He's not worth it, Sasuke. He's just some dumb, rich kid who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut," he pointed out hesitantly. He didn't want to defend Neji, but if he didn't do anything now…

Sasuke rolled his eyes, obviously catching on to what he's doing. "Stop being so nice, Naruto. If I let him off so easily, I wouldn't deserve to call myself an Uchiha. My father and ancestors would be rolling in their graves if they knew I let a Hyuuga get away with insulting the noble name of my clan."

Naruto sighed, giving it up as a lost cause. Pissing contests between rich, powerful men were no place for him. "Oh, that reminds me! Itachi stopped by today, right? He said hi to me on his way up to your office."

Immediately, the demeanor of the car changed back to its depressive and moody atmosphere. Naruto realized then that Sasuke's pissy attitude was because of something that happened with his brother and he was immediately on guard. "Shit," he murmured under his breath before raising his tone in annoyance, "did he do something? Do you want to me to talk to him? I could knock some sense into him and," he couldn't stop himself from chuckling here, "it'll probably be easier to make him see sense rather than you because you're a right bastard, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't even rise to the bait, instead staying silent and staring straight ahead at the road with his grip on the car wheel still clenched tight into a fist. When the silence dragged on, Naruto immediately started to regret his last words; maybe it hadn't been smart to tease Sasuke about Itachi when there was obviously something going on that he didn't understand. Just when he opened his mouth to apologize, Sasuke spoke up.

"So, just for curiosity's sake, do you know who your parents were?" The tone was conversational, but Naruto could read underneath. Sasuke wasn't good at masking his burning curiosity and Naruto wasn't surprised to find that out. After all, Sasuke was a powerful man and whatever he wanted to know, he usually could find it out with a snap of his fingers. Having to skulk and dig out information by himself was probably something he had never done before. But he couldn't figure out why Sasuke was acting so evasive, so he settled on answering the conversation as truthfully as he could.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade raised me. And before you ask, I am a hundred percent sure that Tsunade is not my mother. That baa-chan may look like she's younger than you and me, but she's ancient. You just wait until you see her when she's not covered in make-up. And I faintly remember my mom. At least I remember her red hair," he fell silent here, before gulping down the block that seemed to suddenly appear in his throat, "before she passed away in a couple of days."

"Naruto…"

"I hated myself. I felt like a demon child to be honest. The adults around me would always scoff and chide me, and I never knew why they did. In all honesty, I still don't know why they did what they did. But Sasuke, it wasn't a way an adult would scold a child…their smiles never reached their eyes and they were looking at me with anger and resentment. And my own father left me, Sasuke. My own father couldn't even muster up love for me. I felt like it would have been better if I wasn't born. At least then, my mother would still be alive.

"But those were my dark days. I definitely don't feel like that anymore…Jiraiya and Tsunade saved me when they started to care for me. They know who my parents are; hell, Jiraiya even told me that my father paid for my college education. But that bastard has never spoken a single word to me, and he never even sent me a card. I know there's something more to it, but no one wants to tell me. And anyway, I simply just don't care, anymore. He lost his chance to have me as a son when he threw me away."

He fell silent when he noticed Sasuke pulling into their – his – driveway, a bit embarrassed that he had divulged his life story so freely. He had never told anyone this story before, not even Sakura understood just how messed up he had been because of his father. He had felt unwanted, unloved, but he had been saved by his two foster guardians and honestly, he had put that life far behind him. But with Sasuke's question, old memories had resurfaced, and with one look at those gorgeous black eyes, he had confessed everything. Blushing furiously, he tried to calm himself by watching the changing surroundings outside of the car window as they cruised up the long driveway to get to Sasuke's mansion.

Flushed heavily, Naruto didn't dare meet Sasuke's eyes when they rolled to a stop next to the fountain in front of Sasuke's house. So he was startled when a calloused hand rested itself upon his folded ones on his lap, and he hesitantly looked upward into the face of the man he loved. He couldn't help but to startle at the intense look he found swimming in the gaze, and before he knew it, Sasuke was pressing a chaste, sweet kiss upon his chapped lips. Mesmerized, Naruto closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. They weren't fighting here; there was no challenge and there was no shame in what they were doing. This was a sweet kiss, and Naruto knew that Sasuke was trying to comfort him.

When he broke away, Sasuke pressed his forehead against his, and his eyes were still as intense as before, and the pupils had dilated in lust. But combined with the lust was a deep concern and it warmed Naruto's heart to see Sasuke looking at him like that. When Sasuke gave him another chaste kiss and broke away almost as quickly as he started, he offered a hesitant smile toward the dark-haired man and was awarded with a soft chuckle and then a soft kiss peppered on the tip of his noise.

"Naruto, if I said I knew who your parents were, would you want me to tell you?"

Fear.

That was the emotion that had crept up into Naruto's eyes, and it was only through Sasuke's strength was he able to keep the dobe pinned to his seat. Of course, it helped that he already had his arms locked behind the blonde's head before he asked the question, and so he had a front-row-seat to the reaction his words had caused.

Naruto was afraid.

He was trembling in the embrace and Sasuke couldn't make the dobe meet his eyes. "Sasuke, let me go," pleaded Naruto, and when Sasuke made no motion to do so, added a weak, "Please, Sasuke."

"Not on your life, usuratonkachi."

Naruto scowled at the pet name, but it didn't reach his eyes and he was still trembling. "Don't call me that," he muttered. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his blonde, but didn't let that deter him.

"Why are you so afraid, Naruto?"

"I'm not afraid." Naruto tried to lean back, fixing Sasuke with an affronted look.

"Mhm," murmured Sasuke back with a raised eyebrow. "Sure you aren't."

"This isn't funny, you bastard."

"Is it because you finally have a chance to find out the truth? You say you don't want to know, but the truth is that neither one of them dared to tell you. And now that you have a chance to find out, you don't want to know. Why Naruto? What are you so afraid of?" He leaned closer and closer with each word, until their lips were almost touching and the distance between the two pairs of eyes was barely noticeable. Naruto had only watched him as he got closer, with only a widening of the eyes telling him how much his words were hitting home.

"Bastard," murmured Naruto, but his eyes were focused on Sasuke's lips and he seemed almost distracted about what they had been talking about before this. "Can you blame me? I've spent almost all my life wanting to know, and when I finally accepted the fact that I would never figure out, I was happy, alright? I can't – do you know how scary it is, teme? To finally be in reach of this…and to finally put a name to my hatred?" He barely breathed the words; they were so quiet. If Sasuke had been breathing any louder or was any further from the blonde, he wouldn't have been able to hear him.

When Naruto finished, he had looked so broken and afraid, that Sasuke couldn't resist but to close the gap between them. He kissed Naruto once, then twice, and then peppered the blonde's nose, cheek, chin, and neck with more. He couldn't bear to see his dobe look so hurt, and the fact that he was indirectly the one that was causing it made him feel extremely unhappy with himself. He had offered the information because it had been the right thing to do, but now, looking down at the blonde, he couldn't help but regretting his hasty decision. He should have kept it to himself but his mind had been in so fogged up after he had read the folder that he wasn't entirely in the right state of mind. When Naruto let out a breathy moan, Sasuke leaned back and then placed a hand on the blonde's left cheek.

"Naruto, you don't have to be afraid."

"That's easy for you to say. You know exactly who your parents are. You have an identity, Sasuke. You have a clan. You're so proud of the Uchiha clan, and so sure in your knowledge of who you are, that…"

Naruto stopped in his words, and Sasuke guessed it was because he could no longer hold back the rage from showing on his face. "S-s-sasuke?" the blonde stammered out, his eyes wide as he glanced back between the hand on his cheek and Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto, you know you have an identity. Don't act as if you aren't special enough on your own right. You have Jiraiya and Tsunade and a whole plethora of friends that I don't even know about. I know the two of them care the world about you and Sakura," here he couldn't help but to let a lustful smirk cross his face as he remembered just what had occurred the day prior, "would do anything for you. Sure, you don't know who your parents are, but does it matter? You made an enough of an impression on the world without a clan backing you up, and you have me, don't you?" He let a teasing tone coat his voice in order to ensure the blonde didn't misunderstand, "if someone like me, clan and all, would be interested in you, then what does it matter if you don't know who your parents or clan are? If it comes down to it, you're you, Naruto, and nothing else matters."

There was a silence of four seconds when Sasuke stopped talking before Naruto surged forward and pressed a bruising kiss against Sasuke's lips. It continued for a long two minutes before Sasuke slowly pushed the blonde away from lack of breath. He didn't particularly want to have an intense making out session in his car. The blonde's eyes were bright though and his smile positively radiant. "Have you gone soft on me, Sasuke?"

Sasuke flushed hard at the implication before he realized just what he had spouted off in his intense need to wipe that broken, defeated expression off Naruto. "Fuck," he couldn't help but to utter, and was rewarded with rich, bright laughter. As soon as it ended though, Naruto trained heated eyes upon him, and Sasuke couldn't stop the anticipation from coiling in his belly.

"Exactly, Sasuke," murmured Naruto in his ear, "we're going to do exactly that."

And Sasuke knew he was supposed to tell Naruto what information he had found out that morning, but he couldn't bother to care when his blonde was looking at him like that.

If Naruto didn't want to know, then so be it.

Sasuke slathered mayonnaise on the slice of bread on his hand before placing a slice of turkey on it. After their romp in bed and a quick nap, Naruto had left to meet up with Kiba, leaving Sasuke on his own. Because of his embarrassing moments in both the morning and afternoon, Sasuke hadn't been inclined to stop him. And even though he was used to his food being prepared for him, it wasn't as if he couldn't put together a turkey sandwich on his own. Naruto got another thing coming to him if he continued to think Sasuke was some weak damsel that didn't know how to get dressed on his own.

He was about to take a bite of the sandwich when his phone's ringtone sounded through the air.

It was his private phone and the ringtone was slated to Shikamaru's number. Sighing and looking at the sandwich with a wistful glance, he placed it back down and after wiping his hands with a napkin, answered the call.

"Sooooooooooooo," his advisor started out and Sasuke immediately tensed at the playful and cheerful tone.

"What?" he bit out, with a small frown on his face. He was hungry, damnit. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and with their "activities" lasting so long, had been duped into thinking he wasn't hungry until he had woken up. And he was now starving, so he didn't want to deal with Shikamaru's antics.

"I heard you took my advice."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Alright, you win. Yes, you gave me some good advice and I took it." He could practically feel Shikamaru's smugness through the phone despite not being able to see the other man. "But that's your job, so you can stop gloating now."

"Do I get a pay raise now?" teased Shikamru and when Sasuke didn't even deign to give that a response, Shikamaru continued on, but this time his voice became serious. "Itachi told me some things today."

Sasuke sighed, "Was it about Naruto?"

Shikamaru mimicked his sigh, though his was heavier, "Yes. Sasuke, aren't you just a little suspicious? The son of the Fourth Hokage? That was the Hokage before you, right?"

"So?"

"Think, Sasuke! Why would Naruto, the son of the Hokage, suddenly become so close to you? It can't be just coincidence. Look, I like Naruto. He's a cool guy. But facts don't lie and it just doesn't add up."

"Shikamaru," he reprimanded. "Naruto has nothing to do with his father. He doesn't even know who his father is!"

"That's what Naruto says. But is it the truth? How well do you even know the kid? He may have Jiraiya and Tsunade vouching for him, but who says their word is worth anything? They were staunch supporters of the Fourth Hokage, so they could all be in it."

"In what?" he asked warily, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. To be honest, he had entertained these very thoughts that Shikarmaru was speaking out loud earlier in the office. Every idea had its own merit, and it had been the reason his focus had been so shot. The coincidences were there, and Shikamaru was right, things just didn't add up. What were the chances that the one person that he was involved with, and even starting to like more than anything else…was the Hokage's son?

"In a conspiracy to win back the company from you," pointed out Shikamaru. "Look, I don't know all the details, but I do know the company has been in a better place ever since you took over. I don't remember the time of the Hokages that well; hell, I wasn't even working then and my father doesn't mention it very often either… but even though you're the owner now, doesn't mean the Hokage doesn't resent you. It was his company in the first place, and he only lost it because he became so irresponsible. But to a guy like that, he may start to blame you."

"I know," he murmured softly in the phone and Shikamaru paused mid-rant.

"You know?! Then why are you – "

"You know why."

"Sasuke, you're going to throw it all way for Naruto? Wasn't owning a company and showing Itachi up your dream? And you're going to give it all up for a pretty face?"

"Dreams change, Shikamaru," he replied heavily. "And Naruto isn't just a pretty face. He's …special."

"He's also the Fourth Hokage's son, Sasuke."

"I know, Shikamaru. I know. But what can I do?"

"Fire him. I know he's a good fuck," and Sasuke spluttered in shock for he had never heard Shikamaru say such crude words, "but he just isn't worth it. Look, Sasuke, I like you as a boss. You may be a stick in the mud at times, but you're a good boss and I want you to stay in charge. So don't you dare throw it away for Naruto."

And without even saying good-bye, Shikamaru angrily hung up on him. He never knew Shikamaru to hang up so suddenly, and without even a word good-bye, so Sasuke half-suspected that his advisor had only hung up on him because he didn't want to get any angrier at Sasuke.

He knew that he was risking his company by staying with Naruto. It changed every single one of his plans when he heard that Naruto was the fourth Hokage's son and he knew he was playing a dangerous game. But one look at those blue eyes made his resolve crumble.

And what he told Shikamaru was true. Dreams change. He didn't particularly care about the company anymore for he already had Itachi's respect. His dream had changed to include a certain blonde dobe, and damned if he was going to throw it away on a mere speculation.

He looked down at the sandwich, and gave a gusty sigh. All this thinking had made him lose his appetite, and he didn't particularly want to go to his desk and start work. After all, how could he concentrate when all he could think about is Naruto?

He should go see Itachi. Itachi and Akatsuki had the answers. After all, it was Itachi who had told him the information in the first place.

Hopefully, Itachi was in a sharing mood.

"Kakashi-san? What are you doing here?"

The silver-haired man standing in the doorway was dressed in casual jeans and a dress shirt, and although it seemed a mismatch, only looked stunning on the man. With hard muscles and a handsome face, Kakashi made quite the stunning picture and if Naruto's heart didn't already belong to a certain brooding dark-haired man he probably would have made a move on Kakashi.

"Naruto," greeted Kakashi politely with a nod of his head. "I'm here on business orders."

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together and then narrowed his eyes at the man, "at a kickback at Kiba's house? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

"Is that what they're calling it these days? I find a mission debriefing only goes better if there's beer involved anyway."

Before Naruto could continue to argue, Kiba suddenly appeared in the doorway with a beer in hand and a huge smile on his face. The man slung a well-toned arm over Kakashi's shoulders, ignoring the grimace that Kakashi gave at the touch. "Naruto! Glad you can make it. I thought that the bastard wouldn't let you come."

"The…bastard? What are you talking about, Kiba?"

Kiba froze in his words, and his eyes grew wide as if he had done something wrong. "Bastard?" and there was a high-pitched laugh and Kiba seemed to be struggling for his next words, "Are you drunk already, Naruto? I have no clue what you're talking about. What bastard?"

Naruto turned his narrowed blue eyes now upon his male best friend. Something was up. Although Kiba had a beer in his hand, it remained unopened, leading Naruto to the conclusion that Kiba wasn't drunk and was hiding something from him. "Fess up, Kiba, I'm your best friend. I know you're hiding something from me."

Kiba's guilty face only confirmed Naruto's thoughts. "What?" came the nervous laughter. "Why would I hide something from you, Naruto?"

"Oh," murmured Naruto as realization hit him, "is this about Gaara?"

"Gaara?" came the almost immediate response, and then Kiba paused, "Yes, yes it's about Gaara! I didn't even know you were gay, Naruto! Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend!"

So it isn't about Gaara, then. There's no way he could know about Sasuke, right? …the only people who know are Jiraiya and Tsunade and they wouldn't tell anyone about this…right?

"What are you hiding?"

More nervous laughter and shifty glances, "hiding? Naruto, I don't even know what you're talking about."

Suddenly, a hand appeared on Kiba's shoulder, and a deep, husky voice sounded throughout the room. "Kiba, don't worry about it. It was time we told him the truth."

"But Minato!" Kiba whirled around to face the newcomer, leaving Naruto puzzled. Minato? Where had he heard that name before? It couldn't possibly be…

Kiba stepped out of the way, and the newcomer walked into the doorway with a smile on his handsome face. Blonde hair and blue eyes were the first things Naruto noticed about the man. The second was that this man was the spitting image of him; they looked eerily similar and some part of him was a little bit freaked out about that. But then the man started talking, and Naruto's world came crumbling down at his words.

"Hello, Naruto. It's about time we finally meet. My name is Minato Namikaze, and I am your father."

A/N: the next chapter gets a little serious _ so I'm sorry if it puts a few people off. Haha D:. I meant to write this fic as a happy carefree fic but then I got carried away..._

Again, thanks for reviewing, faving, and alerting this fic! ^_^ It makes my heart very happy whenever I get an e-mail :D