Naruto sat, legs folded, on Sasuke’s couch with his eyes fixed intently on the television.  His heart leapt in his chest when the ravenette’s name was announced over the intercom.  He already knew what the outcome would be since the footage was prerecorded a few days prior, but the blonde still lingered at the edge of his seat with anticipation.

The crowd onscreen roared, filling the large penthouse apartment with its enthusiasm as the camera zeroed in on Sasuke.  Black helmet gleaming in the sunlight, he waved to the audience with a hidden smile.  He was lining up for the final event: a one-on-one race.  Naruto was giddy with excitement, mere luck that Sasuke’s competitor made it to the final event by the man’s previous performances.

His ear twitched as the door opened distantly, but he ignored it since maintenance had been coming and going all day.  The race started and the loud background music made Naruto smile.  The song was titled In the End by Linkin Park, one of his favorite songs, and Sasuke had paid the program to use the song.

As Sasuke was about to cross the finish line, Naruto heard a chuckle behind him and fell off the couch onto his face.  “Graceful as ever, I see, Dobe,” the skater teased, arms folded on the back of the couch where he leaned.

Jumping up from his tangled heap on the floor, Naruto sprung to the couch and wrapped his arms around the ravenette’s neck.  “I thought you weren’t going to be home until tomorrow!”

“I wasn’t,” he replied as his arms slid around the younger boy’s back, “But I told them that I had important business to take care of at home.”

“Like what?” Naruto asked blankly as the crook of his neck was kissed tenderly.

“A lonely knucklehead waiting on my couch that I’ve been missing,” he answered into the soft skin under his jaw.  Sasuke moved his lips to the blonde’s, feeling Naruto grinning through the contact.

“Are you hungry?” he muttered through the kisses.

Breaking their contact to breathe, he asked, “Why, are you?”

“Yes,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Do you want to go out for lunch?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Sleep can wait.  If you don’t eat anything, everyone will think I’m starving you.”

Since moving in with Sasuke, Naruto was given skilled personal trainers that made him lose what little fat he had and build muscle.  It made him often wonder if his friends would recognize him if they saw him, but he diverted his attention quickly to avoid the familiar sting of homesickness.

The skater chuckled to himself.  “I’m going to change clothes and then we’ll go.  You can decide on a place and call the limo while I get ready.”

“Fine,” he said, though he couldn’t find an objective tone to use, especially not when a soft kiss left him breathless.

‘Damn Sasuke…’  Naruto turned off the television as he fished for the couch-buried telephone.  ‘He knows I can’t tell him ‘no’ for anything after he’s been away!’

To make matters worse, Sasuke had been away excessively lately while Naruto was forced to stay home the last three trips.  Christmas was less than two months away and it bothered him to think that they might not be able to spend it together.

Calling the limo and picking up a phonebook to choose a restaurant, identical thoughts continued to swim around his head until the faint smell of cologne scattered them.  “Have you picked a place to go yet?” Sasuke asked.

“How about we just go to The Lonestar or something?” he suggested.

Shrugging, the older boy said, “Sure, if you want.”

Naruto stood from the couch.  “Our ride should be here by now.  Are you ready?”

A pale pair of hands cupped his face for a sweet kiss.  “Now I am.”  Sasuke’s hands lowered to lock two fingers with his boyfriend’s.

The two made their way down the elevator where the black limo waited at the building’s entrance.  Climbing into the backseat, Sasuke instructed the driver where to go.  The noon traffic made travel slow, but they didn’t seem to mind.  Naruto snuggled into Sasuke’s side, a pale arm resting around him protectively but relaxed.

“How was your trip?” Naruto asked, “You did really well.”

“It was boring by myself.  The guys they made me room with were loud, obnoxious idiots.  You wouldn’t have had fun.”

“Yes, I would have,” he protested, “because you were there.”

Sasuke smiled to himself at the thought.  “And what about you?  Did you do anything exciting while I was gone?”

“No, just the usual, everyday stuff other than the maintenance lately.”

“What about that stack of books?”

“I didn’t read any of them,” Naruto said.  Why would he read a book when he could be talking to Sasuke on the phone?  Waiting by the phone should be an Olympic sport, in his opinion.

“You must’ve done more than that.”

“I tried to call Konohamaru but no one answered, but I got to talk to Gaara for a few minutes before he had to go.”

Sasuke nodded.  “How’s he doing?”

“Good.  He told me everyone else is fine, too.”

He heard a twinge of pain in the younger boy’s voice.  “What’s wrong?”

He stared at his knees.  “He told me that a lot of people are mad that I left,” Naruto muttered.

Sasuke turned, eyebrows drawn.  “Why?”

Shrugging, he said, “I don’t know.  Probably because they thought I would stay.”

“For my next vacation, do you want to visit?”

“I doubt that would help,” Naruto muttered.

The limo slowed to a stop in front of the restaurant and a crowd of people barricaded their path.  The blonde groaned loudly and sunk in his seat, face buried in his hands.  He hated paparazzi and dreaded going out in fear of running into them.

“It’ll be fine,” Sasuke assured soothingly, “They love you.  Everyone does.”

“They love their paycheck,” he countered.

“Everyone has to make a living.  Come on; let’s go.”  He kissed the blonde softly on the cheek before opening the door.

Crowd control officers were clearing a jagged path for the two.  The limo driver was very skilled at calling ahead like this, and the skater valued him for it.  The camera flashes were blinding and Naruto wondered how Sasuke could find the entrance to the restaurant through it so easily.  People were pushing at them in all directions despite the crowd control, but it all stopped once they stepped through the front doors since the employees wouldn’t allow the crowd inside.

All of the people currently waiting for a table stared with scattered glaring faces.  Naruto sheepishly made his way to the front desk, trying to hide the fact that he wanted to hide under a rock from the attention.

“How many? The young lady at the counter asked uniformly as her face blazed red.

“Two; how long is the wait?” Sasuke replied.

The host was nearing hyperventilation.  “Your table is almost ready,” she gasped.

“We can wait,” Naruto said in hopes of dispersing a few of the glares he felt digging in his back.

A waitress practically ran up to greet them.  “Your table is ready, Uchiha Sasuke,” she chirped happily, “Follow me.”  She turned and led them to their table with an almost unnoticeable skip in her step.

They ordered their food immediately, already having in mind what they wanted to eat when they arrived.  As they picked at their salads, a woman trotted cautiously to their table.

“I know you’re eating, but my kids are big fans of yours.  Could they have your autographs, please?” she asked.

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply.

“If you say what I think you’re going to say, I’ll break your nose,” Naruto said in a voice everyone in the area other than Sasuke would believe to be a legitimate threat.

It was apparent that the skater changed his immediate answer as he said, “Sure.”

The woman smiled wide as she motioned to her children to join her.  There were two elementary school-aged children that appeared: a shy girl and an excited boy, both with raven-black hair and apparently twins.

Running beeline to Sasuke, the boy thrust a pen and notebook into his face.  “Can I have your autograph?”

He took the utensils and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Tansei, it’s spelled T-A-N-S-E-I,” he replied anxiously.

Sasuke scribbled down his signature and a message to the child before passing it back, pushing a smile on his face.  It was difficult, but he managed to motivate himself by thinking of how Naruto will owe him later.

Naruto grinned as Tansei unleashed a wave of gratuitous comments, excitedly showing it to his mother.  He was surprised when the little girl approached him with her pen and notepad.  “Uzumaki Naruto?” she asked sheepishly, “Can I have your autograph?”

He stared at the utensils for a moment, clearly dumbstruck, before numbly taking them.  “What’s your name?”

“Tsuki,” she replied.

“How do you spell it?”

“T-S-U-K-I,” she chimed.

As he wrote, he asked, “Did your mom name you that?”

Tsuki nodded, studying his face.

He glanced over and saw the nod.  “It’s pretty.  I like both of your names.”

She blushed feverishly, as did her mother.  “Thank you,” Tsuki replied.

“If I have kids, is it okay if I name them after you two?”

Nodding rapidly, she nearly made herself dizzy.  “Uh-huh!”

As Naruto passed the pen and notepad back, he outstretched his arms and she jumped into them for a hug, which surprised him greatly.  “It was nice to meet you, Tsuki,” he said as he set her down.

The mother mouthed the words, “Thank you,” as they walked away.

Naruto couldn’t help but to think of Konohamaru when he looked at Tansei’s enthusiastic face, forcing himself to look away.  He paused and raised an eyebrow towards Sasuke, who sat watching him contently with a smirk on his face.

“What?” he asked.

“I think you just let a little girl steal your heart.  I’m jealous,” he teased, “And for cheating on me and making me sign that autograph, you owe me.”

His jaw dropped.  “What?”

Sasuke enunciated each word.  “You owe me.”

“How?”

“Oh, I can think of a few ways,” he replied.  Taking his glass of iced tea, he wrapped his lips around the straw erotically with a sly smirk etched into his facial features.

Naruto’s face grew hot as blood flooded his cheeks as well as a sensitive lower region.  “I’m sure you can,” he answered after a hard swallow.