Ｓｅｌｆｉｓｈ Ｐｒｉｎｃｅ

XXI

Waking up before Itachi was Sasuke's top priority. As he snuck out of his brother's room, he looked left and right before stepping out. Stopping by his door to check up on the progress, he walked in and noted that Anko was still awake, grumpy and seemingly as tired as the other workers. Along with this, he also noted the distinct smell of coffee and his onyx eyes darted to one of the windows where a small table was set up to hold a coffee maker, several plastic cups, and a small liter of sugar packets. Immediately, he felt bad at the thought of how tired they all must be.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you get in here!" She yelled, not once looking up from her clip board and not once missing a beat to detect his presence. Guilty, Sasuke walked in. "I thought I said you were going to stay up with me." She barked, "Where did you run off to?"

Sasuke gulped, "I- uh... Itachi had-"

"Oh, so it was Itachi's fault, huh? I'm sure he held a gun to your head and forced you to stay with him, no?" Sasuke shook his head, defeated and alreadyh looking like he'd got scolded. "No? Well then, why did you leave?"

"I... got distracted." He said, and while Anko was... well, Anko, she couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"You're annoying," She said, gently punching his shoulder. "Get out of my face."

"Is it almost finished?" Sasuke's face beamed and Anko, tired as she was, frowned at the sight of joy on his face. Sasuke knew that look, and because Anko felt like family, he pushed further and began asking about when the room would be available and when could he and his new friend start settling in.

"And you have the nerve to ask me that!" Anko yelled, making Sasuke wince, but then the two laughed. "It won't be finished until I say it is, now go do us a favor and tell the chef to make us something good." She ordered. "I want an entire table brought up here filled to the edges with everything he's got."

"Anko, you know the chef is grumpy in the mornings." Sasuke chuckled nervously.

"That's not my problem, had you stayed up you wouldn't be worrying about that now, would you?" Anko hissed, her eyes shut but slightly opening one to see the look on the young Uchiha's face. Not missing a beat, she turned to her team. "Alright guys, break time!" She turned to the young boy and smirked evily. Sasuke gulped. "And don't bother going out for food," She grinned. "Sasuke here is going to treat us." She shouted and as the words escaped her mouth, the men and women working let out a small sigh of relief and dropped their tools, each of them thanking the young royal before they sat down. "Now hurry it up." She shooed Sasuke out of the room, ruffling his already messy hair and laughing as Sasuke walked off wondering how he was going to make her words happen.

Intent on doing just as Anko ordered, Sasuke walked towards the kitchens, where he could hear the Chef was already bossing around his assistants. The chef was truly a nightmare to interfere with on any given day, but mornings? Sasuke didn't think there was even a word to describe the man's attitude for this time of day. Silently tip-toeing deeper into the kitchen, Sasuke's eyes scanned for the man himself and once landing on the tall-lanky figure holding a cup of coffee, the young Prince inhaled and tried his best to look confident as he made his way to the pompous man. Taking another deep breath, Sasuke blurted out an order for the construction teams' breakfast and ran off before the man had the chance to lift whatever cooking utensil was within reach.

Running all the way to Naruto's room, Sasuke knocked and waited. However, no response came and he entered the room, feasting his eyes on what he would think was a fascinating scene before him- a fascinating scene it was. Naruto, sun-kissed skin and strands of gold illuminated by the sun coming in through the windows, was engulfed in thin white covers, his head resting softly on the plush white pillows as his mouth let out soft, subtle snores.

The room was itself was plain, barely any material save for a bed and a few pieces of furniture. Even though his eyes were fixed on the person sleeping, Sasuke could still see and admire how bright and clear the sun's rays made the entire room look.

This scene deserved to be painted and hung for all to see.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke hesitated, hadn't realized the blond was in the early stage of waking up when he opened the door. "Uh- sorry, didn't mean to come in... I did knock. I mean, uh- sorry, did I wake you?"

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto smiled before yawning and stretching. "I heard you knock, was already awake to be honest. Didn't wanna get up." He sat up and patted the bed around him. "It's comfortable."

"Better than your old bed?" Sasuke asked, never thinking it would make Naruto feel bad.

"I slept on a couch."

"Oh." Sasuke's smile disappeared and suddenly he began to apologize.

"Oh, no, no, don't worry. I didn't mean-" Naruto trailed off. "Well... I guess I did mean it like that, but not to make you feel bad. Compared to my home, this... this is heaven."

The two shared a glace amongst each other. Sasuke, guilty still, offered a small smile before interrupting their silence.

"I was hoping we could go out today. Our room's not ready yet, so I thought we could go out and have fun. Would be nice to get to know you a bit more. We are friends now, after all, right?" Sasuke felt odd. It felt as though there was a knot in his stomach and suddenly he felt as if Naruto wanted nothing to do with him but was too scared to say anything about it just because Sasuke was royal. "You don't find it weird, right?"

"Weird?" Naruto asked. "A bit, yeah, but to be completely honest, I don't mind it."

Sasuke couldn't think of what to say. Then, as he stood there leaning on the door frame, he let out a sigh. "You know, I've never had friends before. Actual friends, I mean. Most of the people I meet either want to play along for their benefit or hate me in general." There was a shared silence before he continued. "Itachi's friends have probably gotten tired of me, but they can't do anything about it because he's my brother. I have to exist around him."

"Sasuke," Naruto softly intervened, and Sasuke hand't realized that he'd zoned out on a specific spot on the floor. "I'm your friend. Our friendship might be odd to some, and although I also think it's odd, one way or another, I think we would've become great friends either way."

"You mean... had I not started a riot for you or forced you here, we would've still been friends?"

"Forced me?" Naruto laughed. "It was... unusual, I'll say that, but yes. Regardless of how I got here, one way or another, I strongly feel we would end up in each other's paths somehow. And I don't say this to be cheesy or anything, but I don't hate you and even if my life feels like it's benefitted from you, I'm not here for that. I'm here because..." And maybe Naruto could feel himself blushing, but he couldn't tell. Glancing up, he felt relieved that Sasuke was still zoned out but completly listening as the faint red tint on his cheeks was enough to indicate it. "...Sasuke, I..."

And finally, the Uchiha unfocuses and looks directly the angelic soft golden glow that emanates from Naruto's figure. His eyes open wide in wonder, wondering if there'll ever be a chance he'd look at something as beautiful as this ever again in his lifetime. Even Naruto is at a loss for words, the two just locked in a competition of sorts, eyes expressing something the two wouldn't be able to put their finger on even if they tried. It's as though a connection, a bond, kept them from looking away until talk from the maids outside in the hallway brought them back to reality.

"I..." Uchiha cleared his throat. Naruto silently looked away and pulled the sheets closer to himself as they were still warm. "I'll be waiting for you outside so we can go eat breakfast together." He said, taking a step out of the blond's room. "If my breakfast looks burnt, please ignore it. I promise you the chef won't take his anger out on your food." He joked and before he could completely close the door behind him, Naruto called his name.

"Hey," He began. "One way or another, you know, right?" Naruto asked, feeling as though Sasuke needed that reminder.

Sasuke smiled faintly. "If it's not too much to ask, can I ask you... to please stay by my side?" He felt embarrassed, but this was a genuine question.

"I promise."