Happy NaruSasu day guys! As mentioned in the summary, this IS going to be a twoshot, but part 2 is still a work in progress, and I really wanted to dedicate something to our favourite two boys. For anyone reading my multichap 'Probably', this is also the reason why it hasn't been updated…But I hope that you'll at least enjoy this gift. The book cover was drawn by the lovely, awesome, beautiful, Cloudninekitty, and if you don't already, I suggest you go and love her fics! I won't keep you from reading any longer!

By the way, this is rated M for part two.

"I swear, I don't like, have a gun in my pocket to shoot you with or anything."

"…."

"I'm friendly…"

"…."

"You must be really shy…"
"…."

"Or, just a bastard. You're probably a bastard." Naruto pursed his lips, considering whether he should continue to press the boy he sat next to for conversation, or actually listen to the lethargic lecture of one Kakashi Hatake; the teacher renown for showing less of his skin then any shame at fuelling his perverted habits around school. It wasn't as though he wanted a speech, or a declaration of love from the quiet blunette. He could accept that some people were just introverted, and he'd come across plenty of them in his time. But this guy hadn't said one word to him, and for reasons unbeknownst to even him, it pissed him off to no end. Naruto Uzumaki had yet to have a person he couldn't befriend, and this guy was not about to break his clean slate.

"Are you deaf?" He commented, waving a hand in the teen in question's general direction. Still, no words were received in return, but the boy in question frowned slightly in annoyance, a tiny cleft appearing in-between his brows to indicate that yes- he was aware of Naruto's actions, and they weren't appreciated.

Good progress.

"You should talk to me. I make good conversation. You might even fall for me." A blonde eyebrow hitched suggestively.

This time, he earned a middle finger, not merely tossed in his direction, but placed both carefully, nonchalantly, and most definitely for him. 'Fuck you.' It spelt out to him as plain as day. He wouldn't go that far for the time being, at least, but he took the hint, and with a faint sigh, he swivelled from the awkward position he had inclined himself to in order to talk to his neighbour, and turned his attention back to the droning of Mr Hatake's voice.

'First thing's first.' He mused. 'I have to find out his name…'

"Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara supplied at the lunch table, picking at a salad with distaste. Temari's new health-food phase was affecting his whole household it seemed, and his carnivorous side was not happy.

"Yeah, but what else do you know?" The blonde whined, stealing a baby tomato from Gaara's lunch box to pinch between his fingers sourly. "I couldn't get a word out of him. In fact, I didn't see him speak to anyone. Even those three kids he hangs around with. He has to be a stuck up bastard." His head thumped dejectedly onto the table, his signature 'pity Naruto' pose that no one ever responded to rearing his head.

"If that's the case, then why are you spending so much energy on him?" the redhead finally gave up, punching his salad towards a still famished Chouji further down the table with a decidedly pointed look.

At the inquiry, Naruto paused, cerulean irises trailing over to a small table at the corner of the cafeteria, which situated the three people that almost acted as body guards; one girl with both feathery, and straight hair a scarlet deep enough to rival his mother's. His cousin; Karin Uzumaki. The other two he knew less about, but he could at least label them as Suigetsu and Juugo. The tall, ginger one was a gentle giant from what he'd seen, and in stark contrast, the albino boy was sharp, in both personality and tongue.

Then, there was Sasuke, whom he unconsciously stared at a little longer, despite the fact that he was aware of how many more details his mind was processing about him. The boy was about the same height as him, if not slightly taller, but he was built much less stocky, his torso much more lean and held with elegant posture that coordinated well with his previous silence. It gave him a majestic, enigmatic quality, and although he'd never made eye-contact with him, Naruto also knew that there were pretty, black-liquid eyes to match the naturally aero-dynamic points of his uncommon hair. He had a rather oriental look to him, his pale skin making him almost like a male Japanese porcelain doll, and a curious part of him wondered if his name suggested a family migration to England, just as his had.

It took him a moment to remember that he was most likely being watched as he ogled Sasuke bringing what appeared to be a Japanese rice ball to his pink lips to nibble on quietly, but eventually he did, tearing his eyes away as he considered the notion that maybe, Sasuke actually was foreign. Maybe he couldn't understand him. Growing up into a predominantly Japanese family, Naruto spoke the language. Perhaps that would be his next tactic. His spine tingled as his body finally registered Gaara's exasperated stare piercing into his back, question still unanswered. His lips quirked into a boastful beam. "Because Gaara, Naruto Uzumaki never loses."

"Idiot." He retorted, and then for the second time that day, he was given the silent treatment.

A day or so later, he approached Sasuke at the library, ignoring the withered glare thrown in his direction that indicated that he was not welcome. Tugging at a chair that screeched obnoxiously against the floor and echoed around the room loudly, a dozen other icy stares joined the first as he took a bashful seat. Sasuke rolled his eyes, returning to the chemistry book in front of him with no other visual commentary.

"Hey, how is this?" Naruto started in his Japanese tongue. "More comfortable for you? Sorry about before, man."

The noiseless boy paused, raising an incredulous eyebrow at the blonde in front of him that most would probably read as 'Are you stupid?'

Naruto sighed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air with partially defeated irritation. "Hey, I'm trying really hard to make friends here, at least extend the hand out of common courtesy, you bastard!"

Having heard enough, Sasuke slammed his text book shut, pilling up his other anthologies and folders to his chest as he sent Naruto a livid glare, before exiting the library in a way that was both swift, yet undisruptive to others around him. Naruto was not oblivious to the tension in his shoulders, nor the force his legs exerted to reach the length of those strides, however. Guilt hovered above his head for a moment as he set back, knowing he'd blown yet another chance to tear down the invisible wall that stood between the two of them. He wondered bitterly what it stood for, and why his every attempt only made it worse, before he himself exited the vicinity, not much more for him in that place than the one who had left only moments before.

"Bitch." He sighed. To the left, a younger student shuffled past him, startled, and he hurried away in frustration, hands burrowing themselves in his pockets as they balled up into fists.

And so the game of cat and mouse had begun. Students had dubbed it 'the chase', and soon their endeavours were an integral part of their post 16 school lives over the span of the next two weeks. Naruto would hunt down Sasuke from wherever he hid, some people wondering how he was found, others assisting with amusement, and Sasuke would give his usual rude gesture or hateful stare, exiting the vicinity as quietly as he could to avoid the curious gazes of their peers. Things continued like this until finally, Karin brought it upon herself to interrupt one of his pursuits with a fist to Naruto's face.

He reeled back, able to stop himself from falling flat on his butt, but powerless to avoid the stares that came with the unusual act as Sasuke used the diversion to make a quick escape. He groaned. "What was that for, Karin!?"

"Oi. Blonde shit face." She addressed him by his pet name, hitching her glasses up in superiority as she loomed over his crouched over form, intimidating him despite how much taller he was at full height., lip twitching sadistically as she caught his un-masked shiver.

"K-karin, jeeze, what?" He pouted; rubbing his cheek so furiously no one could tell whether the resulting red mark was from his chafing, or a developing bruise.

"Stop your stalking, you useless piece of crap. He's not interested."

He grimaced. "Why, has he told you that? All I want is one little word from him." He confessed. Even if all he got from his cousin when in contact with her was a string of insults, they'd been a lot closer when they were younger, and he lowered his guard down around her out of nostalgic habit.

Karin paused, expression softening from its previous vicious appearance. There was nobody more protective than Karin when she made a bond, and that applied to both Sasuke and Naruto. She gave a pitying 'tut', raising a delicate eyebrow at him. "You're serious, aren't you?" After receiving a confirmative nod, she carried on. "Dumbass."

"W-what's so funny?" He faltered; uneasy at the familiar gaze se was giving him.

She uncrossed her arms, settling for placing a manicured hand on her hip instead. "He's a mute, dipshit. He can't speak."

"…Oh."

For some reason, the knowledge that Sasuke couldn't talk to him, despite his itch for social activity, didn't deter him. Instead it made his mind stir. Had Sasuke always been mute? Did it bother him? What kinds of things did Sasuke think about? It began to keep him awake at night, to the extent that even Shino mentioned the temporary crow's feet underneath his eyes. He was long past the point of return; his thirst for Sasuke's friendship could only be quenched by him. He wasn't sure when he'd pushed himself so far, but turning back now would leave him unsatisfied for the rest of his life, and regret was not something he did. He had no more tricks up his sleeve, only honesty. He was well aware that once the initial amusement had settled down, people had grown annoyed with his actions, as they too learned of Sasuke's condition. But he couldn't care less how they judged him for wanting this. It had to be done.

Regardless of coming to this conclusion, it was a long time before he made anymore approaches towards the other boy. Winter passed quickly, and he was thrown into the stress of January exams too abruptly to have time to think of Sasuke in more than just a passing thought. They were over as soon as they came, however, and when they were, he found himself in the library again, Sasuke sitting in the same central seat as before, a small river of paper and books littered around him in a curious organized chaos. He approached deliberately, not wishing to alarm him like before, but with enough speed and purpose so that he would not be ignored as he came to talk.

He sat, this time raising the chair off of the ground slightly before he sat, so as not to have anybody but Sasuke raise their head. He did so, lips curling down immediately as he registered who had decided to breach his bubble of solitude. The stare was so disapproving Naruto almost wanted to put more distance between them.

"Hey." He murmured, licking his lips as he became aware of how much louder his voice seemed when no one else was speaking. His eyes wandered around, wondering if anyone else had raised their heads from studying, or found his voice intrusive. He settled as he noticed that nobody had.

Attention returning to Sasuke, he met his eyes, which captured him firmly, yet patiently. He was tensed as though ready to leave, should their conversation become a nuisance to him, but it was clear that he forced himself to stay, a lenient side rearing its head as an almost appreciative response to Naruto's consideration as he entered. He tilted his head, an offer for him to continue whatever it was he wanted to say.

Again, he faltered, almost prepared to not even get far enough to give his proposal. He shuffled around in his bag noisily, so excited that he once again forgot his surroundings, mumbling to himself while he looked for the object he wanted.

After a moment, he placed it onto the table with a clatter, another smaller piece tumbling out almost instantaneously. A tiny whiteboard accompanied by a black marker pen sat distastefully on the table, drawing the curious expression on Sasuke's face to one that flitted with recognition, and then displeasure as his lips parted slightly.

Naruto watched, almost fascinated with the display, before he collected himself. "Well, uh, yeah! I heard you can't speak and stuff….And I don't understand sign or anything, so this is my way of giving you a way to talk to me! Try it!" He finished with a grin.

There was a moment of silence that reeked with incredulity, before Sasuke threw his arm forward, snatching the board away from Naruto and popping the lid off with his teeth as he began writing with harsh strokes. Ever the fool, Naruto nodded encouragingly, seeing this as a good sign. At least until he read the message shoved in his face.

'Go away.' It read. He was too shell –shocked to move, and so Sasuke took his own advice, packed up, and left, much as in the same fashion as before. Although this time, Naruto noted, he was too agitated to be careful, and his bag got caught in the door on the way out, causing him to shuffle urgently as he prized it out of the door, sending it back with a loud 'smack'. He frowned at the board, pocketing it in his bag for later purposes. That thing was expensive.

The space he left from one confrontation to another had improved, but he hadn't stopped altogether. Every now and then he would shuffle the board in Sasuke's direction, a new found humility filling him that he hoped at least rubbed off more in his actions than it originally had. Sasuke would eye the board nastily each time, before turning back to the lecture, or whatever activity he engaged in at the moment.

One evening, as was the habit, he passed the library doors on his way home, contemplating whether to continue on, or search for the student he was sure would occupy the quiet habitat. Usually he would resist, telling himself that pushing himself onto Sasuke was getting nowhere, and he would try another time, when it was more appropriate. This time, he sat outside on the steps, head in his hands at relief that at least he had avoided his impulse to go in completely. Moments later, a figure exited, the noise enough for Naruto's ears to imagine them hesitating fleetingly about whether to avoid him, or pass him by. The figure sat by him, not close enough to touch, but so that the body warmth that radiated off of him from being indoors reached him, and made him turn to see his would-be companion.

Sasuke looked back at him decisively, a self-pitying squint that made Naruto imagine his thoughts for a moment barely hidden.

Shyly, Naruto reached into his bag, fingers brushing over the board as he ushered for him to take them, desperate for them to reach some neutral ground. Biting down on his lip, he took them with a gloved hand, uncapping it with his fingers, and hands running more smoothly and softly along the board to write what turned out to be a placid calligraphy, swirls and personal touches added as though he had all the time in the world. 'You're persistent, aren't you?' It said simply. Then he sighed, and Naruto's lips curled into an unconscious smile has he heard his first sound from Sasuke. So it was just the passing of breath from his lips; it was enough to knock the air out of his own lungs, as he began a discreet laugh. "Yeah, I am." He scratched the back of his head. "Treat me well, won't you?"

He rubbed out the former words on the board, this time writing quickly and shortly, before he stood, placing the items back in Naruto's hands and walking away with a sudden urgency. Fearing the worst, he stared down at the writings. 'No.' It read. His breath left him again, but this time, the absent feeling was somewhat hollow.

He wasn't stupid enough to miss the hidden meanings behind it.

He was hard-pressed to find intervals of time in which Sasuke was alone. Karin and the others had begun to swarm him as all times, as though they were purposefully blocking any chance of him even getting a snippet of interaction from the Mute boy. Much to Gaara's annoyance, he was persuaded into being the catalyst, stalling Karin one Friday, the other two sports club. He caught Gaara's eye as he passed the classroom, throwing a thankful grin his way as he sped along the corridor, weaving in and out of whooping students, celebrating the end of another lagging week.

He found him by himself, no longer piled underneath the stagnated, dusty pile of literature he usually found him amongst, but by the huge, bay window that scaled most of the jade back wall of the second floor of their library. He was nestled amongst a pile of rich-coloured cushions; an orange one wedged in-between his chest and his thighs as he people-watched the cattle of loud students of whom could be heard from where they stood. Adventurously, he joined him, curling one leg under himself as he pressed his cheek against the cool glass and followed Sasuke's line of sight. It was cold, although the sun carried on valiantly and shined through the clouds for them, dappling through the trees and casting a pattern across his face. Naruto gave a quiet whisper, enough so that Sasuke's attention was drawn to him. His face wasn't defeated at all, but there was considerably less fight in it than before.

"I really am stubborn." He drummed his fingers against his knee, pushing not the little whiteboard across the spectrum of cushions, but a simple piece of note paper, crumpled, frayed, and hastily ripped out of one of his books. A moment later, he rolled a blunt pencil over to him too, chewing on his lip as he waited for a response. Sasuke took it between his fingers after a small pause, tapping the rubber-less the end of it against his knee to keep the blonde in suspense for a moment, before he scratched out a little 'Idiotically' Onto it, a snort of air coming out of his nostrils before he turned his gaze back to the window.

He read it over, lips quirking into a smile, as he found himself thinking that less wasn't exactly as bad as it sounded. "Did it work, though?" He asked.

Shrugging, he wrote again. 'You wouldn't have stopped, anyway…'

He laughed. "Most people wouldn't mind having someone giving them a little attention, you know." He cocked his head to the side to read the response.

'I'm not most people.'

"I gathered that when I met you." He blinked, licking his lips as he realised the extent of what he meant by those words. It was more than him lacking a voice that drew him to him. At first, it had been the challenge, that he has risen to. It wasn't that there was a flirtatious wink, or a condescending smirk for him to pursue, like he normally would. It was the lack of it that made him turn his head. Like he had been robbed of it, just like his voice. But Sasuke wasn't unhappy; he didn't think that at all. It hadn't been directed towards him, but he'd seen genuine smiles come from his lips before. And the more he thought about it, the more he recognized that Sasuke kept him away because he'd grown up in a world in which he had fought to be understood, and so he'd automatically been labelled as his polar opposite because his voice spoke volumes, in contrast to Sasuke's muteness. But he could see him. He wanted to hear him, too. "I also gathered that you think I'm an idiot, too. No need to say it so much."

His lips curved as he received breathy non-laugh, accompanied with the light shaking of Sasuke's shoulders that finished as quickly as it came. True.

Sasuke changed position from where he smuggled into the cushion, lowering one leg to scrape across the floor quietly as he crossed his other underneath him, blinking as he noticed the sudden close-proximity between he and Naruto. Once again, their skin wasn't close enough to touch, but less than an inch segregated them. The blonde had settled for pressing his spine flush against the window, hitching his knees up to his chest and using ebony, silver -thread embroided cushion as a makeshift pillow. Suddenly, he found himself itching to close the distance and bump the toe of his obnoxiously orange converse against the tip of his knee.

"Is orange your favourite colour?" He asked, spotting Sasuke's dye of choice. There was a ferocious headshake and a show of tongue to show his distaste at the thought, and he inspected him curiously as he second-guessed his cushion, before deciding to keep it beside him anyway. "Then why…?"

"…." He tilted his head, before pressing his fingers to his forehead quickly and making a dispelling motion out of habit, then frowned as he noticed Naruto's oblivious countenance, electing to shrugging his shoulders with a sigh.

Throwing caution to the wind, he knocked Sasuke's knee gently with his foot, offering an apologetic smile. "You can call me an idiot every time I upset you…If you say you'll be my friend."

'Fine fine.' He relented finally, returning the paper to him as he stretched his other leg down and also rest his back against the glass. Naruto could have sworn he saw a small pout as he shuffled closer, but if it he had, it had vanished within his next blink.

"You won't regret it, I promise." He chuckled, bumping their knees together playfully. To his surprise and pleasure, the kick was returned, albeit with his head facing in the other direction. The slight redness in the tip of his ears was a bit of a giveaway to his embarrassment, but he didn't comment.

Slowly, but surely two fell into some sort of loose friendship, not easy by any means. Some days Sasuke would be less tolerant of his company, and would refuse to write on the board, leaving him with only the weapons of studying his gestures and expressions as a means to understand him. He wouldn't recognize why they had regressed, but Naruto would smile, crack joke and laugh anyway, until Sasuke pinched his lips closed sharply to get him to shut up, and he knew that, perhaps he wasn't as mad as he seemed.

Their melded groups grew used to the interaction, divided between embarrassing Sasuke into admitting that he didn't hate Naruto as much as he pretended, and the others happy to humour him, despite catching the tiny smile hidden behind his palm every now and then. Naruto grew envious of watching Sasuke communicate with his friends, recognizing the gentle, lazy, yet sometimes aggressive gestures of his sign. It fascinated him to watch how much more open his face was as he made the little motions, eyes more alert and focused in his endeavour to make people understand. He watched the lips that had never sung, nor hummed, nor laughed, move to make the shapes of words they could never form, and often grew bitter and fearful that maybe, the two of them would never understand one another in the same way. He begged Karin to teach him sign, but she laughed him away, adamant that he wouldn't focus on her long enough to pick it up.

"You can barely understand things in Japanese or English, dipshit. What makes you think I'm patient enough to teach you sign?"

Still, their friendship carried on stumbling through their second year of school, and matured, and he was able to toss his inhibitions behind him and hold his head high with the place of Sasuke's unofficial best friend. Although it had taken a lot of persuading, Sasuke had taken him home to meet his family during one study date, and he had been pleasantly surprised to meet the colourful personalities that he had grown up with, in stark contrast to the way he'd imagined them all to be. The three other members of his family had an essence of stoicism to them which he had come to associate with their grace, but they were friendly and welcoming to him all in their own little way.

"Is this your boyfriend?" Itachi had asked bluntly upon coming home and finding the two in the kitchen one evening. Sasuke, who had been taking a sip of iced tea, had ended the conversation with a classically projectile spit across the room.

Fugaku had paused to stare at them in the hallway for a moment, eyes roaming indolently over Naruto in a way that made him want to stand up straighter as he caught the glint in his onyx iris, before nodding with a little grunt as he continued on to his study, lowering his chain glasses from their little nest in his bangs as though nothing has happened. A little whoosh of air could be heard from beside him, and he had considered himself home free.

But the greatest reception of the three came from his mother, of whom Naruto decided was a spitting image of the mute teenager; an embodiment of his gentle side. She ushered Sasuke out onto the porch with them to say goodbye, lending him a hug, and the gentle whisper of "Thank you." In his ear before she told him a little louder that he was welcome to come again, despite her son's protest.

Eventually, their final exam season came and went, and their finishing day of school came to pass. Students hugged and discussed future plans for the last time, exchanging last contact details and blubbering their 'farewell's and 'I love you's, and Naruto spotted Kiba towing a squirming Gaara into their click of friends as he howled 'We'll meet again' at the top of his lungs. Spotting a head of unruly black hair ducking for the exit, he followed, confident that he had plenty of means to contact the others whenever he pleased.

"Hey!" He called, trailing the blunette all the way to the gates, before he managed to tug him to a halt by the back of his shirt. He earned a tepid glare in response, but he was more than accustomed to it at this point. "Let me walk you home?" He asked out of habit, since Sasuke lived closer to the school grounds. He shook his head, breaking free from Naruto's grasp as he continued on. With a small frown, he took up the space beside him, although he didn't press him.

The first few steps together were laced with awkwardness, before Naruto began to consider the fact that yet another chapter of their life was over for good. He had been accepted into a few universities, and his parents were so ecstatic with his grades they offered to help him pay, even though he guiltily reclined the request. Excitedly, he began to tell Sasuke of his plans, knowing that he was being heard by the slight inclination of his head in his direction.

He paused as he noticed the heavy frown on Sasuke's lips, trembling under the weight of his discomfort. "Hey, what's up?"

After a shake of the head, signalling a reluctance to share with him, Naruto forced him to stop, tugging at his wrist. Sasuke eyed their interlocked hands wistfully for a moment, before snatching his away and facing Naruto with a resolute scowl. What?

"I asked you what's wrong." He repeated.

Another shrug of the shoulders, and Naruto grimaced. "Don't be like that. Today is a good day, right?"

The lack of movement from Sasuke begged to differ, however.

Agitated at the absolute barren canvas of Sasuke's mind and body deep in thought, he shuffled forward, forcing a mechanically-operating Sasuke back and imposing himself into his personal space as he backed him into a redwood fence belonging to one of the houses behind them. He told himself it was only to ensure that he couldn't escape, but he knew that wasn't the case, pressing his body up against Sasuke's and feeling the warmth, and hard flesh of his chest, rising and falling slightly faster in alarm at this unspoken breach of their laws of contact. He bit down the excited sensation in his groin, trying to focus hard enough so that he could stare at Sasuke's pupils, lost amongst the sea of his similar coloured irises.

"What the hell is wrong, Sasu…?" His breath started as he caught the light blush sprinkling itself across those pale cheeks, accompanied by an awkward attempt to look anywhere but him. His lips trembled with nerves, and he could tell that Sasuke was dizzied enough by the close proximity to not have any strength to push him off, when he knew from experience just who was the stronger one in their relationship. He focused more on Sasuke's quivering lip. It bothered him, he decided. He wanted to kiss it off…

He leaned forward, head tilting slightly as he angled his lips to press against Sasuke's softly. The other stiffened, fingers coming up to press against his chest and push him off, before they wavered, desperately tangling themselves in the fabric of his shirt as he pressed his mouth forward. There was no open mouthed kissing, nor tongue. The ice had tumbled from beneath them suddenly and left them both frozen by their actions as they stared at each other. Naruto's eyelashes were a dark, golden blonde, framing expressive, cerulean eyes, and Sasuke's lips felt like rose petals, which surprised him, having seen them chapped and dry almost as many times as their ordinary appearance.

Ultimately, the kiss had to end, and Naruto pulled back to find Sasuke looking like a startled animal, eyes wide like a doe and bearing his reflection. He licked his lips, considering leaning in for a proper kiss, and forgetting what his previous motives had been, before he blinked, a heavy force knocking him to the ground as his ears registered the sound of frenzied footsteps. Running away, he realised. Sasuke's running away. He coughed, the energy to chase abruptly leaving him. He'd done enough, for one day.

"What do you mean he's gone abroad?"

"Exactly what I meant. I'm sorry Naruto…..Really. I know this isn't fair to you, but he made me promise not to say anything else."

"…"

"Naruto…?"

"…Oh."

He leaned against the damp alley wall, making sure that he was still sheltered from the annoying drizzle of the constant late Summer rain, and burrowing his hands further into his black hoodie, a breath exhaling from his lips and creating a small cyclone of cigarette smoke.

"That's a dirty habit you picked up there, Naruto." The redhead ruminated, stepping fully from the buzz of the bowling-alley door and claiming a place beside him. He lolled his head towards him in response, blowing a deliberate puff of smoke in his direction, before deciding that such an action was too mean and wafting the smell away with his hand, and putting out the cancer stick with the aid of the chilled wall before pocketing it. Littering had never been his forte.

There was a comfortable silence between them. One that forgave all and took him back to their early days of friendship in which they had begun as enemies. It was becoming a recurring pattern in his life, he realised bitterly, that those he loved all started off hating him. Maybe decided to hate him longer and leave him without a word.

"You need to let go of this." Gaara stated.

"Let go of what?"

"You're not a fool, contrary to popular belief."

"I still don't follow…"

Gaara's eyes became colder, jaw set as he became more serious. "We know that you're going to look for him."

Naruto's body countered the change, his own restless glower coming into play as he sized the shorter redhead up. "You don't know anything, Gaara." Before he could reply, Naruto rubbed his hands against his face angrily, remorseful and fatigued from lack of sleep, chafing at the bruising bags under his eyes roughly. "I'm just sick of doing nothing, okay? Maybe like this, I can finally be distracted. But staying here is doing nothing for me."

Nothing was said in retort for a long time, the soft drizzle of rain picking up to a less aimless pace while Gaara waited for Naruto to settle himself without the aid of a cigarette- something he hadn't seen in a few months. "You're an idiot for falling for him."

"I'm not in love."

"You wouldn't act this way if you weren't. And look where it has you. After all, he was just the guy that never said a word to you."

"That's because he couldn't! He couldn't!" Naruto yelled, pressing his hands on either side of Gaara's head and shuddering with poorly concealed rage. Gaara blinked calmly at Naruto as he watched the quaking run up his shoulders, through his spine muscles, and ripple across his entire body as he lowered his head, eyes hidden behind his blonde bangs as he varied between whether the shaking was entirely anger-based, or the idiot was just cold. He had been out there much longer than a smoking break required. And there was nobody else around to be doing it with for social reasons. The wreck Naruto was in now was entirely his own. He couldn't even blame Sasuke, because the Uchiha had made it clear he hadn't wanted anything to do with him from the beginning, and stuck to it. He felt bad for letting it happen, but he wasn't Naruto's mother. And Naruto was too besotted to be convinced otherwise, anyway.

"Answer me this." His eyes Narrowed. "Would he have, if he could have?" He waited patiently for a desperate answer in defence, a sign that Naruto was at least loud enough to recover from this with his usual brave heart. But there was nothing…and his eyes were as blank as paper, at that moment.

He released himself from his hold, ducking out from under his arm, and returned to the warm, competitive ambience from inside, allowing him to dwell in his own sorrow. Naruto stared unrelentingly at the cold, clammy wall for a long time. The rain hastened once again, and sounds of cars driving by and a police siren in the distance littered his ears. After a moment, it stopped, arousing his awareness of the quiet hum of music from a nearby club in its wake, the sound of life going on, even though his had stopped. He pressed his head against the wall, then his body…Closing his eyes and fists tight, before he sobbed.

And that brings part one two a close! Let me know your thoughts!