After gushing out an acceptance to Sasuke's offer of a date, and leaving the Uchiha with the knowledge that Naruto would indeed return to meet him at the gates to his estate, the blonde ran for most of the way back to his small apartment in the centre of the Hidden Village of Konoha. He fumbled with the keys in front of his door, finally retrieving the correct one and opening the door with such excitement that the hinges creaked as he nearly ripped them from the frame. Naruto was practically an orange blur as he darted from one room to the next, piling an assortment of clothes into his arms and finally dropping the whole pile onto his bed.

The blonde boy quickly rid the pile of anything that smelled too bad, and was left with a small selection of a few tops and one pair of smart-ish black trousers. He changed into the trousers and laid out the remaining shirts. After glaring at them for several minutes, he decided to spare himself the trouble of choosing and shut his eyes, picking up the first one he touched. He pulled on the selected shirt, a deep red, long sleeved one, and smoothed out the barely visible creases. Giving himself a quick sniff to make sure that he didn't smell too bad, Naruto grabbed his keys and left the apartment. He strode purposefully, as fast as he could without running and making himself look too eager, towards the gates of the Uchiha estate where his friend was already waiting for him.

Naruto stopped just short of his friend, acknowledging his presence with a small 'hey'. The Uchiha responded in kind with a nod of his head.

"Shall we?" Sasuke moved his arm in a sweeping gesture, similar to that one might use to invite someone into their home. Naruto smiled shyly before nodding in acceptance, his unusual quiet manner was not left unnoticed by the dark haired boy, but he chose to let it slide unmentioned, and proceeded to begin the short walk to the restaurant.

The building stood tall and proud, its architectural design complemented the surrounding buildings, yet it shone, giving off a sense of newness and finesse that the others had already lost with time. The pair walked up to the doors and, when they reached them, a smartly dressed man ushered the boys inside with a polite greeting.

Once inside, a woman dressed in a similar attire greeted them and asked if they had a reservation.

"Yes, I have a table booked under the name Uchiha." Sasuke stated. His tone was that of one who had been brought up in high society and taught the required etiquette to keep the family name in high esteem.

The woman looked up from the registry books, her expression one of both surprise and recognition of the name.

"Why of course, Master Uchiha, forgive me for not realising sooner. May I welcome you into our humble restaurant, on behalf of the manager. We have prepared a specia- " But the woman didn't finish her sentence. She had finally registered the presence of the other boy.

The expression on the woman's face twisted into a hideous snarl upon seeing Naruto. She opened her mouth, all intent on lashing out with poisonous words and snide comments. Sasuke took this opportunity to issue a polite cough, redirecting the woman's attention back to himself. When she did, she noticed the clearly annoyed glare upon the dark haired boy's features.

With her feathers ruffled under the disapproving glare of a potentially priceless customer, the woman stammered out the rest of her welcome and ducked her head apologetically. She cleared her throat and smoothed out the invisible creases in her uniform before leading them to the far end of the restaurant.

The two boys were led to a luxury private booth, free from the prying eyes of the other patrons. Sasuke allowed Naruto to sit first, before striding to the other side of the table to sit opposite his friend. The Uchiha turned to the woman with barely contained scorn in his eyes at her causing such discomfort to his date.

"Would you send for the manager? Make it as swift as possible." He then turned back to the blonde, effectively dismissing her.

A short while later, a man with a high class suit appeared at their table, with leather-bound menus under one arm and a notepad in his hands.

"Good evening, sirs. I am the manager of this establishment. I was told that you wished to speak with me?" The man's eyes flicked to Naruto, but neither his tone, nor his expression conveyed any negative feelings, as the woman's had.

Sasuke took this in, and his mood lightened considerably. "Yes, I am afraid that one of your members of staff took it upon herself to make my friend here," he gestured toward Naruto, "feel most unwelcome." He leaned back in his seat to study the man's reaction.

"Ah yes, I did have a feeling that this was the problem." The manager sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It would do well for my employees to remember that they are just that - employees - that are replaceable. I apologise profusely, and can assure you that the woman in question will be reprimanded accordingly. I also offer that you enjoy your meal for no cost, as a further apology." The man looked to Sasuke, seeking his acceptance of the offer.

The young Uchiha nodded in approval. "That would be most satisfactory, thank you."

At these words, the manager breathed a visible sigh of relief. It would not do to be seen in a bad light by one of the richest families in Konoha. The man placed a menu in front of each boy and then stood back, pen poised over the noted book.

"Would you like to order any drinks, sirs?" The pair briefly consulted the drinks list before ordering. The man nodded to show that he understood, and then left to go to the bar.

Finally, the two boys were left to talk and Sasuke carefully studied the blonde's face before speaking. Naruto began to fidget under the scrutiny of the dark haired boy, toying with a loose thread at the bottom of his shirt. Sasuke, sensing that the other would not be forthcoming with conversation, took matters into his own hands.

"Are you ok, Naruto?" The blonde nodded his head, but refused to meet Sasuke's gaze. "Don't give me that." Sasuke's voice turned to a more commanding tone. However, this only caused Naruto to shrink back further.

"I'm fine, Sasuke." Though he didn't sound convinced himself.

"If she bothered you that much, we can leave. It's up to you." Secretly, Sasuke hoped that this would not be the case, but he hated seeing the usually bubbly boy so withdrawn. At his comment, Naruto's head snapped up, wide eyed.

"No! I don't want to leave, I want to stay with Sasuke, it's just..." The blonde raised his eyes to fix on Sasuke's shoulder, still not meeting his gaze. "I guess I should be used to it by now, sorry." He looked back at his lap, now tugging the thread.

Anything that Sasuke was about to say was cut off by the return of the manager, drinks in hand and ready to take their order. The Uchiha ordered for them both, to make sure that nobody would know who was having which dish, thus preventing any tampering, although he didn’t mention this.

The manager nodded as he noted down the orders, and left with a smile as he took the menus back.

Eager to get his friend into a more cheerful mood, Sasuke attempted to restart their conversation on a lighter note.

"At least the manager seems more competent, don't you agree?"

Naruto looked up and tried to give the dark haired boy a smile, though it looked grim and forced, rather than happy.

"That's because you're an Uchiha. He doesn't want to lose a valuable customer."

"I'm sure that's not true, he's just better mannered." But Sasuke knew that he was lying to himself.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sasuke sighed.

"I hate it when all people see is a name, and not the face." That got Naruto's attention. It struck a chord deep within him.

'Of course, I forgot that Sasuke is in the same boat as me. Although he is placed up high by the people, and I am scorned, nobody takes the time to know the people behind the names.'

Naruto's pondering was cut short as the starters were placed on the table. He had been so deep in thought that he failed to notice the reappearance of the manager. As swiftly as he had appeared, the man scurried away to ensure that the main course would be done in good time.

The two boys ate their starters in silence. Unfortunately, the lack of conversation only made the blonde more tense and he became jittery with nerves. Eventually, he gave up trying to eat the starter, and just pushed it around with his chopsticks.

Sasuke put down his own chopsticks and took a few deep breaths, deliberating over how to break the proverbial ice that had frozen over the table.

The dark haired boy was saved from a decision when the manager collected their plates and another waiter delivered their main dishes.

Naruto must have been distracted when the orders had been given, as his eyes lit up at the sight of the noodles that were placed in front of him. He looked from his meal to Sasuke, to find the other boy looking hesitant, and flashed him a genuine smile. The dark haired boy smiled back, relief clearly showing on his face.

They finished the main course in silence apart from the clicking of chopsticks and occasional slurping from Naruto. Thankfully, this silence was far more comfortable than the last.

Shortly after they had both finished and the plates had been cleared, Sasuke sent the manager to fetch the dessert menu. When the man had gone, the dark haired boy reached across the table and took one of Naruto's hands in his own, smoothing the back of it with his thumb. He waited patiently for the blonde to look up, and took a deep breath, preparing himself.

"Naruto. I.. I think I'm falling in love with you..."

At Sasuke's confession, Naruto flinched as though he had been hit, and his hand twitched as if he wanted to snatch it away. He restrained himself, even as his expression morphed into discomfort. He was uncomfortable with these foreign words, as only a small handful of people liked him, and none enough to profess such strong feelings. He remained silent but expressed no more desire to shrink away.

Nothing more was said between the two boys until Sasuke placed their dessert orders. The dark haired boy continued to smooth the back of his hand to calm not only Naruto, but himself as well. He didn't think that he could handle the rejection from the first person he could truly admit such feelings for.

The deserts arrived, and still nothing was said. Naruto appeared to have lost his appetite, as he just watched the ice melt into a pool in the bottom of his bowl. Sasuke was not feeling much better himself. A slow painful twisting sensation had coiled in the pit of his stomach, making him feel sick.

A small cough from Naruto snapped the Uchiha's attention back to the other boy, who had resumed his earlier fidgeting.

"Sasuke.. I..." The said boy braced himself for the inevitable rejection. "I... I like you too..." The blonde muttered, almost incoherently.

The dark haired boy stared, his friend's words still sinking in. Naruto became even more nervous as he watched the other boy make a brilliant imitation of a fish.

When the words had finally registered, Sasuke allowed a dazzling smile to grace his features, leaving Naruto to bask within the happiness he was radiating. They finished up quickly and Sasuke left a generous tip on the table before leaving.

As the pair exited the building, stomachs full and feeling satisfied, Sasuke glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and reached out a hand, willing the blonde to take it. After a brief moment of hesitation, Naruto took the offered hand. The boys then made their way back to the Uchiha estate, fingers entwined for the whole of the disappointingly short walk.

-x-

Meanwhile, Sakura was just removing a stone from her sandal, when she noticed her two team mates leaving the expensive restaurant across the street from her, holding hands! She stared for a few moments, unsure what to think. When she regained her thought functions, she stood and ran to her friend's house to share her discovery.