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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... Never have and sadly never will.... Don't own a cat either... Although I am working hard on that one li'l detail.
Many thanks to Sweetdeily for the beta.
Forgive me for writing this....
Fallen
He blinked and slit-pupilled eyes blinked with him. The corners of his mouth tugged downwards and in response the fuzzy ginger head cocked to the side in askance. His frown deepened.
“Naruto....”
“What? I'm bus- ”
The crash that followed made Sasuke wince, and he hurried into the kitchen in an attempt to salvage anything Naruto hadn't already destroyed in his never ending pursuit for his beloved ramen.
“No, you little beast! Stay the fuck away from my ramen!” Naruto swatted at an energetic calico kitten and cradled his precious cup of noodles. The blonde glared at the ball of fluff and cast an equally dark look at his flatmate.
“You agreed to this,” Sasuke said blandly, scooping up the cat before Naruto did something. Walking over to the counter top, he placed the one he had retrieved from Naruto and the one he had been holding back with the other three meowing animals on the counter top. “You should know by now that when Sakura is all sweet and not violent something bad is bound to happen.” Five felines mewed in agreement.
There was a huff and the sound of slurping. “But kittens!”
Yes, kittens.... That was how their day had started. The blonde had foolishly agreed to babysit for Sakura, who accidentally forgot to inform them that their charges were in fact not human, and dumped a basket full of mewling felines at their doorstep. Sasuke wasn't sure which was worse, a squalling child or a small army of spastic cats.
The blonde had gone out to check what the noise was about and returned yelling and screeching with an over zealous tabby half way up his thigh, heading dangerously close to detaching his balls from the rest of his body. It took some careful prying, but in the end the kitten came off with only a chunk of Naruto's skin.
Casting his eyes on the small gathering of furballs, Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the black kitten sitting all by its lonesome near the corner of the bench top. A flash of green looked his way before it disappeared behind a wide jaw cracking yawn. He had always assumed kittens were rambunctious, mischievous and the enemy of all furniture, but this one wasn't interested in playing with the others or even shredding the couch. It sat with quiet disdain as the others romped about and hissed when they got too close.
Yes, Sasuke thought, this was his kind of cat. There was a quiet dignity about the little critter that made him favour it more than the others.
He watched in mild curiosity as Balls, the one that had tried to castrate Naruto, bound over and attempted to coax the antisocial kitten into play. The little tabby feinted a few swipes at Hokori - yes, Sasuke had a right to name them in his head - who hissed and glared. Balls ignored it and pounced.
The flurry of movements drew everyone's attention and it stopped abruptly. Hokori had Balls pinned to the bench, looking smug making Sasuke smirk in quiet pride. But that quickly wilted as the equally smug tabby tapped a sheathed paw on the other's nose. It was a clear 'Haha, I won. I made you play.'.
Naruto snorted and grinned, and Sasuke frowned.
Hokori snarled in displeasure and another round of tumbling began. It would have continued if not for the fact that Balls was already rolling off of the edge of the bench.
“Shit!” Dumping his ramen aside, Naruto caught the two and placed them on the tiled floor. “You wicked little things!”
The blonde scolded and fretted, looking over each kitten to make sure everything was all right. Sasuke himself ran his hand over Hokori, just to make sure the cat was unharmed and they weren't going to have Sakura breathing fire down their necks and not because he was worried! There was a disgruntled noise but otherwise the black feline made no move to dissuade the Uchiha from petting and stroking its fur.
“Fuck! You little bastards took - ”
Everyone jumped at the loud crash. Thinking the world was ending, but far too curious for their own good, the remaining two kittens peered over the edge and the two from the ground meandered to the growing puddle of broth.
Naruto rushed over to his now destroyed ramen, only to find a spitting and hacking calico kitten (the same one who had been trying to get at the instant noodles before) swimming in the spilt soup. The blonde yowled in loss and glared at the offending creature.
“You!” A frustrated tug of blonde spikes as Naruto turned back to his beloved food. “GAH!”
Heaving a sigh, Sasuke shoved the blonde aside and began to clean up. It was obvious Naruto would not be able to do anything until he had mourned for his loss and made himself another cup. “Move so I can clean this up.”
He picked off a few strands of noodles tangled in the kittens fur and shushed its hissing. He grimaced when the rest of them gathered around the mess and began to lap at the spillage. “And give them some milk in the lounge or something. I don't think that broth is good for them.”
Naruto huffed and scooped up his charges. “Ramen is good for everyone!”
When he was sure the blonde was out of ear shot, he scooped the still furious fuzz ball up and quickly wiped up the mess. He tossed the wad of paper towels into the bin and gently placed the struggling feline into the sink. He shoved the plug in and turned on the taps, making sure the water wasn't too hot for the now screeching thing. Holding it still, he tried to silence it with low murmurs of nonsense, and it seemed to work as the cat stopped most of its fidgeting.
He worked some soap into its soup-soaked fur and inwardly winced. He knew soap wasn't the most ideal cleaning product to use on fur, but they had nothing else that could be used and Sasuke was sure the kitten would survive.
“Guess you got what you wanted,” he muttered under his breath, not wanting Naruto to hear the note of amused triumph in his voice. “Ramen Destroyer.”
At the sound of those two words, gleaming yellow eyes peered at him from its suds-covered face.
Sasuke chuckled and washed the kitten clean. “You like that, huh?”
It gave a grudging mewl then went back to wailing about the injustice of it all as water sluiced down its back. When Sasuke was sure everything was out, he carried the drenched and miserable-looking creature to the bathroom, where it was rubbed dry with a large towel. In the end, he found himself carrying a very pissed off and pathetic looking calico fluff back into the lounge to join the rest of the breakfasting crew.
Two large dishes of milk had been put out and four, soon to be five as Sasuke set the calico kitten down and it scampered off, hungry felines were furiously lapping up the food. His head cocked in puzzlement when he found most of the kittens drinking from one dish, while Hokori from the other.
“You know that cat is as moody as you,” Naruto stated while slurping his newly made ramen. “Bloody scratched me too,” the blonde huffed.
As if knowing that they were talking about it, Hokori looked up and bared its fangs. Naruto in turn showed off his pearly whites and the two glared at each other until the kitten lost interest and went back to its milk.
“Chicken.”
Sasuke shook his head and watched RD join the huddle of fur and squeezed between Balls and one of the other felines Sasuke hadn't thought of a name for. It seemed the kittens were smart enough to take the hint and leave Hokori alone, and it also seemed Balls was going to fix this. Not at all liking the packed environment, the tabby wiggled out of the confined space and made its way towards the other dish. Hokori in turn looked up and gave a warning hiss. And just like before, Balls paid it no heed, and started running full speed towards the black feline. It ended with Hokori being bowled over and away from the milk dish, while the tabby sauntered proudly back and started drinking from the newly unoccupied milk.
Puffing in rage, Hokori charged back and pounced on the unsuspecting Balls' back. The two felines rolled and knocked the dish over. Naruto howled, but that only managed to draw the attention of the other kittens to the scuffle. Ever the curious one, RD watched and decidedly to join in, and the rest soon followed.
“You little demons!” Naruto screeched, and grabbed at the nearest cat, which so happened to be Hokori. The spitting feline twisted and sank its little teeth into the fleshy part of the blonde's hand. “Fuck! That's the second time!”
The kitten was promptly dropped and Sasuke watched it race off to hide under the couch. He sighed and pulled Balls and RD apart by the scruff of their necks - he wasn't about to get himself scratched, there was nothing he could do about Hokori until it decided to come out on its own, before they destroyed anything else. He scowled at the spilt milk and wondered if Sakura would be angry if he accidentally drowned one of them.
He broke the other two apart with a gentle shove of a foot and handed the ones he had in his arms to Naruto.
“Why are you - ”
“Someone has to clean this mess up,” he grumbled and picked up the dishes.
“Why can't I clean?”
“Because you can't.”
Sasuke walked off before the blonde could respond and came back with a wet dish rag. What he found made him quirk a brow. His flatmate, the one who had proclaimed kittens were the spawn of all evil, was on his hands and knees peering under the couch with an entourage of mewing felines. A few 'Here kitty, kitty's accompanied by coaxing fingers were followed by angry hissing and spitting, and a swiping paw brandishing a wicked set of claws.
“He'll come out when he wants to, moron,” Sasuke muttered as he mopped up the spill.
A huff. “Who said I was - Don't give me that look, you bastard! I'm not worried about the fucking cat!”
That declared, Naruto straightened and plopped down on the other couch to sulk. That was, of course, after having pulled all four kittens onto the plush furniture with him. Sasuke smirked and shook his head. And just to aggravate matters further, because he could, he announced that he was going to the store to get some more milk and was out the front door before the blonde so much as blinked.
He chuckled in self satisfaction when an earth shattering howl of rage followed close behind him.
---
What had seemed like a brilliant idea managed to tilt itself sideways and flopped over backwards - in other words, it was a total disaster. He was meant to get milk - a very simple task - and maybe dawdle a little so he wouldn't have so much `kitten time', although he did hope that Hokori had finally emerged from the couch. But what he ended up doing, or more correctly forced to do, before he could purchase said milk was a multitude of never ending tasks.
He was forever going to avoid bumping into both Kakashi and Iruka at the same time. With the bottle of milk finally purchased, he headed home and hoped Naruto and the band of cats hadn't demolished his apartment.
The door opened and Sasuke found himself stepping into a quiet - too quiet - apartment. He placed the milk in the fridge before checking the lounge and the various spare rooms. Finding no sign of life and becoming increasingly disturbed by the lack of noise - living with Naruto over the years had taught him that silence and the blonde did not go together, ever - he wandered to Naruto's room.
What he found behind the partially closed door made both his brows lift. There sprawled out on the bed underneath a patch of afternoon sun was Naruto, not surprising, but what was astonishing were the little mounds of fur surrounding the blonde. Balls laid on the pillow, barely visible under the gold spikes, while RD, the ginger-coloured kitten and the grey kitten snuggled on either side of the youth's neck. And to top it off a black fluff ball curled up right in the middle of Naruto's belly.
He edged closer on noiseless feet and stared quizzically when Hokori's head lifted and an eye cracked open. It seemed to contemplate Sasuke for all but a handful of seconds before settling back down and turned its back to him.
“Traitor,” he whispered.
He sidled closer and settled gingerly on the edge of the mattress. He didn't want to wake any of the other spastic cats up, and he certainly didn't want to wake Naruto. God knew he was going to get an earful about where the hell he had run off to, and how unfair it was, and how he was going to treat his flatmate to a month of Ichiraku ramen.
Brushing an absent hand over black fur, he smiled at the soft rumble that started and wondered if there was enough room for him too. After all, he had a long day as well and sleeping in the sun sounded very appealing right now. And sleeping here next to Naruto had nothing to do with his hormones, but because his own room didn't get the afternoon sun....
---
A rough tongue scraped across his cheek, making him moan and turn - or at least try to turn in his sleep. The heavy weight on the right half of his body made him groan in protest and an insistent mew sounded far too close to his ear. Sasuke cracked an eye open.
“Mew?” he murmured in confusion and started when something jumped onto his chest. Hokori stared intently at him.
Rubbing tiredly at his eyes, he looked out and was shocked to find it to be morning. How could he have slept so long?
A particularly loud snore that ended in a gurgle drew his attention to the warm lump on top of him. Naruto's head was nestled on his chest while Balls batted at soft spikes. Deciding to be nice this once - later he would blame it on the kittens doing things to his head - Sasuke reached out and gently moved the kitten aside. He brushed the lock of hair away from the upturned face and nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a sleepy 'mmm'.
“Naruto?”
“Hm.... ” A slit of blue peered at him in befuddlement. “'Suke?”
“Hn.” Sasuke knew he should really be prodding the blonde off him and get out of the bed before those hazy blue eyes became alert, but he couldn't quite pull himself out of the warm blanket draped over him. So instead, he absently scratched behind Hokori's flicking ears and resisted the urge to pet the spikes tickling his chin.
“Why 'ou in m'bed?”
The sleep slurred mumble was pressed into Sasuke's chest as Naruto nuzzled his makeshift pillow, the little fact of just who Naruto was snuggling against hadn't completely made its way into the blonde's brain, and the Uchiha willed his blood supply to go anywhere but towards his face. Thinking that it would be a good time to start the poking and prodding, he made the blonde get off him and he would've made it out of the room too if the cats hadn't started to mew in unison in an attempt to get the lazy blonde up.
Sasuke inwardly cringed when Naruto's eyes fully popped open and stared in confusion for a few minutes before everything settled back into place. Brilliant crimson stained scarred cheeks, and the blonde was instantly up and pointing from the cats to him and back to the cats again.
“You! What the fuck? And why the hell were you in my bed?”
Deeming this a very good time to ignore his flatmate - he still hadn't come up with a good explanation, and he doubted he ever will - Sasuke gave a non-committal grunt and wandered back to his room with most of the felines following at his heel.
“Bastard! Don't ignore me!”
---
Half a day later and standing by the door - and still no explanation - Naruto scowled at the basket of mewling critters in Sakura's arms.
“They aren't that bad, Naruto!”
The pink-haired girl cooed and scratched RB under the chin. A delighted rumble issued and RB tilted its head to the side for more scratches.
Naruto would've said something to disagree, but Balls had decided that the blonde's sleeve was a great place to be hanging from and was now having a ball batting at Naruto's grasping hands.
“Hold still you!”
“He likes you!” Sakura chuckled, but scowled when Naruto began to wave his arms. “You're going to drop him!”
“That's the - Ow! Why did you whack me, you bastard?”
“Because,” Sasuke huffed, gently tugging Balls off and handing it to Sakura, “You're going to hurt it.”
“What about me?”
Casting another glare at the kitten, Naruto moved aside and let the Uchiha place the last remaining cat into the basket.
“Well thanks for looking after these guys.” Turning Sakura paused and glanced back. “Are you sure you aren't interested in keeping one of them?”
“Positive!”
Sakura would have left it at that if not for the contemplative expression on Sasuke's face. “Sasuke?”
“Hn. Why not?” the Uchiha murmured, surprising both his team mates.
“You're kidding, right?” Naruto spluttered and glanced at Sakura for help, but it seemed the pink-haired girl was too stunned with the sudden turn of events.
“A-are you sure Sasuke? I mean....” Sakura glanced from the basket to Sasuke and back to the basket, unsure if the world had suddenly been flipped over or she was dreaming.
“Yes.”
At the no nonsense expression on the Uchiha's face, Sakura made a small oh and quickly presented the basket to Sasuke. “O-oh that's great, Sasuke! Which one would you like?”
“W-wait a minute!” Getting between the two, Naruto scowled at his flatmate. “You can't do this! I live here too and I say no!”
“And I say pick one, moron.” Sasuke muttered and carefully lifted Hikori into his arms. The kitten gave him a 'how could you have put me in with them, you bastard?' look. He shoved down the urge to coo in apology because Uchiha Sasuke did not coo - ever! - and just gave the kitten a small pat.
“What? I don't want one! Put that thing down! Damn it, I pay half the rent here, I should get a say on whether we have cats or not!”
“And the apartment is under my name.” Staring blankly at glaring blue eyes, Sasuke nudged the blonde towards Sakura. “You just want to pick one, so go and pick one.”
Spluttering, Naruto whipped his arm and pointed accusingly at the basket. “I don't want - ”
The sentence was cut off when sharp little teeth nipped the tip of his finger.
“See! They bite!”
“Oh he just likes you.” Sakura admonished, picked Balls up and placed the wiggling furball on Naruto's shoulder.
Balls took advantage of the situation and darted to Naruto's ear and started laving the earlobe with affectionate licks and nuzzles. Sasuke had to give the little tabby furball credit for being able to transform from obnoxiously annoying to oh-so-cute-and-cuddly-and-completely-harmless in the blink of an eye. He glanced briefly at the puddle of 'aw'-ing goo Sakura had become, and smirked as Naruto valiantly tried to resist the cuteness by plucking the feline off his shoulder and glaring death at it. It seemed to work at first, but the kitten was unfazed by the death glower and instead dipped its little head and lapped at the fingers that were holding it in mid air. And Naruto's resolve crumbled to dust.
“Fine!” Naruto bellowed and scowled, but didn't let go of the offending kitten. Instead he placed it in the crook of his arm and petted the little thing, all the while glaring unhappily at Sasuke and Sakura.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen....
Author's notes: Ach... This took far too long to write, and now it's far too long! -kicks- Damn all felines and their cuteness. Damn fluff in general....
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