Full Summary: Naruto and Sasuke have always been the best of friends, regardless of all the rivalries and arguments, the two have always had each other's back. But, during their last year of high school, Sasuke begins to realize that he has feelings stronger than friendship for Naruto. Thing is, Sasuke is in pursuit of fame and wants to become an actor in order to fulfill his mother's previous dreams. When Sasuke takes on an audition and gains success and fame he has to leave Konoha City in order to reach his goals, leaving Naruto and everything else behind. Broken hearted, Naruto attempts to forget Sasuke by diving into his music. At the sign of success, Naruto is surprised by Sasuke and everything that follows once the two reunite but everything isn't as easy as just picking up where they left off.

Lullabies for Fools

Naruto stared longingly at the poster ad that he stood in front of at the bus stop. He could feel the anxiety creeping up into his heart, warming up to the ever expanding home built within it. He lightly outlined the face on the poster; a pale, raven haired boy with eyes as dark as his hair looked up longingly at a pink haired, fair skinned girl. Naruto gripped at his chest, and leaned his forehead against the glass of the poster. Fog built up against the glass where his breath touched, and he sighed, pulling away from the poster.

"I've moved on," he sighed, grabbing his guitar case. "I should be used to these posters by now."

He looked down at his watch. He was running late, he probably should have taken the offer from Gaara to ride in the van. Besides, this show was big. It was important. But, today was that same day that occurred three years ago. The day he confessed, and the day that he had left. Right here, at this spot, it was just as cold, and, somehow, he could still feel that pang. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, he just couldn't. He was, after all, Naruto's best friend and...his...

Naruto shook his head, attempting to knock all of those memories out of his head. That cocky grin, the silkiness of his dark hair, the softness of his fair skin. He didn't want to think about those things anymore. Today would be the last day that he ever visited this spot. It would be the very last day that he would think of him. It was time...to move on.

"Naruto!"

Naruto quickly turned around at the voice, that familiar voice that he thought he would only hear coming from a screen or radio. Never right in front of him, not ever again.

His eyes widened, and he could feel his heart rampaging. It couldn't be...

"Sasu...ke..."

Part One: Before Fame, the Last Year of High School

Chapter One: Unknown To You

"Again!" Sasuke growled at Naruto, shaking his head in frustration. "You're playing too fast during the solo."

"No, I'm not!" Naruto protested, the aggravation welling up within him.

"You are."

"Ugh, I'm not," Naruto put down his guitar and walked over to the brown leather couch situated at the side of the rehearsal space. "I'm tired of playing the same fucking song over and over again. Let's move on, please!"

"If we just keep moving on from song to song, never perfecting the most menial of details we'll never have songs that we can be proud of. That's why we're playing the same song...again!" Sasuke walked up to Naruto, and sat on the arm of the couch. "Look, you're getting the melody wrong, and then you're playing the solo too fast. Just follow the rhythm that we're all playing to and you'll get it. Don't get overexcited, and don't over analyze, just play with us."

"Lover's spat," Gaara sighed, putting his drumsticks away. "However, I do agree with Naruto that we need a break. I have a lot of homework assignments that I need to complete."

"Right, of course," Sasuke sighed.

He looked over at Naruto to find him drifting off into sleep, a slight snore escaping his lips. Sasuke could feel his features soften as he watched Naruto sleep. There was always that bit of weakness he held for his best friend, even when he frustrated him so much. He was just too gung ho and excitable, which was why playing in a band with Naruto was so great in the first place.

Gaara walked up to Sasuke and placed a hand on his shoulder, making a face that this gesture should not be remembered, and spoke, "We'll be fine for the show this weekend."

"Yeah," Sasuke then got up, and began cleaning the rehearsal space since he knew that Naruto wouldn't do it himself.

"See you at school tomorrow," Gaara nodded, and left the basement.

Sasuke began collecting papers and disconnecting the equipment. He looked over at Naruto again who was shifting around on the couch.

"Goof," he sighed, as he went around turning off the amps.

"Sasu...ke..."

His ears perked at the sound of Naruto drowsily whispering his name. He could feel shudders throughout his body, and shook his head. Lately, strange feelings had been resonating within him when it came to Naruto. At first, he was fearful of these feelings but, over time, he had become accustomed to the warmth that he felt towards Naruto. It was the first time he had been able to care about someone else so much. And the feelings were most definitely not misplaced. At all. However, Sasuke had never had the will to voice these feelings. He wasn't sure that Naruto would reciprocate these emotions, and he wasn't quite ready to lose the only important person in his life.

Sasuke crept over to Naruto, watching him in his sleep. His blonde hair was unruly but made him look as innocent as an angel. His tight body rose and fell with each breath, and he imagined what the softness of his skin would feel against his. Sasuke shook his head, feeling heat rise to his cheeks with the thoughts that infected him, and quickly looked away.

"Sasuke," Naruto mumbled, raising one hand to grab onto Sasuke's light blue dress shirt. "Why are you watching me so intently?"

Sasuke pulled Naruto's hand from his shirt and threw it away, "Because you fell asleep during the middle of practice."

"I just took a quick snooze," he smirked, "Am I cute when I sleep?"

"Shut up," Sasuke groaned, throwing the papers in his hand at Naruto. "You're so full of shit sometimes."

Naruto sat up on the couch and fixed his hair and white shirt. He lifted one of the papers thrown at him and stared down at the lyrics. He smiled as he read the first line.

His lips opened, forming the first few lines into a soft, slow melody, "What's this feeling? Surrounded by orbits. The floating feeling, of stars and space."

Sasuke groaned, a deep red blush forming onto his face, as he grabbed the paper from Naruto's hand.

"No one said that you could read that!"

"You threw it at me," Naruto giggled. "Cute, and what girl are you writing about here? Could it possibly be...Sakura?"

Naruto winked. He pulled himself up from the couch and inched closer to Sasuke's face. Sasuke quickly looked away, crumpling up the paper and throwing it to the side. Sometimes, he really couldn't deal with this idiotic blonde oaf.

"You really are dense," Sasuke groaned. "I was just..."

Naruto walked over to the crumpled paper, and unfurled it. His eyes scanned the lines and he made approving grunts.

"But, really, Sasuke, this is a lot cuter than I'd expect someone like you to write," Naruto's grin widened, "I really like this."

Sasuke shook his head, his hands were balled up into tight fists and his arms were shaking. He really didn't want Naruto to read those lyrics since they were...about him. And the last thing he wanted was for anyone to think that he was, well, cute.

"Forget you saw those!" Sasuke groaned, he grabbed the paper from Naruto's grasp and quickly ripped up the lyrics. "The last thing I want is for people to think that I'm soft and cute."

"Only moody and brooding, right?" Naruto snickered, he patted Sasuke's chest gently before playfully blowing him a kiss. "That's okay. I like that I'm the only one who gets to see this side of you."

Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's chest, his hand inching up closer to the back of his neck. Sasuke shuddered from the touch, feeling electric shocks against his skin. He couldn't believe that this was happening, or that his body was reacting so intensely to the simplest of touches.

"Now," Naruto whispered, pulling Sasuke closer to him, and placing his forehead against his. "I know that you're just mine."

Sasuke pushed Naruto away from him, his face turning beat red from Naruto's inappropriate behaviour. His breathing became heavy and ragged, as he tries his best not to stare directly at him. Even though Naruto could sometimes act like a flirt, he's never been this intrusive before.

"I'm really getting to you today!" Naruto laughed, holding his stomach from the pain of laughing so hard.

"Sometimes, I don't understand why you are my friend, Uzumaki," Sasuke growled.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto smirked cockily as he raises an eyebrow and points towards him. "It's because you're the only one who actually deals with me."

"True enough," Sasuke sighs, placing a finger against the temple of his forehead. "One day, I'm going to leave you behind."

"No you're not. You're stuck."

You're right about that, Sasuke sighs, as the words echo in his mind. He knew well that he was hooked. There was always something about Naruto that he couldn't quite escape from. At first, he used to hate it. He was almost envious of Naruto's ability to glide through life with such ease and optimism despite his loneliness and pain. Sasuke, on the other hand, relished in it and despite being popular because of his looks and talent, his inability to connect with others always caused a huge wall between him and people. Naruto, on the other hand, was able to empathize with others easily and make light of his self so he quickly became popular because of the affect that he could have on people's lives. No matter what, Uzumaki could always make someone's day.

That was what he loved about him. Well, he loved everything that made him Naruto. But Sasuke wasn't about to admit that out loud, let alone to himself.

"Come on," Sasuke sighed. "I have to go to bed. I have an audition for that new TV series that's coming out tomorrow."

"Jeeze," Naruto sighed. "I can't believe you're actually going to do that show."

"Hey," Sasuke waved a finger at him. "I know it's silly but...my mother was an actor and I want to."

"I know, I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah," Sasuke looked away. "I know it seems trivial but...I want to."

"Oh well," Naruto grinned, patting Sasuke on the shoulder gently. "At least the character you're auditioning for isn't too far off from you; a sad, lonely emo kid."

"Hey!" Sasuke growled at him, grabbing him from behind and pressing him closely to his chest. Sasuke held him close, just for a second, before throwing him off of him in embarrassment.

"Aggressive today, aren't we?" Naruto's laughter filled the room, "I'll make us dinner."

"Let me guess," Sasuke groaned, as he followed Naruto up the stairs towards the kitchen. "Instant ramen."

"My specialty!"

It had been two years since Sasuke started living in Naruto's house. Everyone knew that Naruto lived in a large house, alone, while his uncle was off on book tours to promote his new novels. At first, everyone wasn't sure how to react around Naruto since he had lost his parents at such a young age. Naruto's mother died giving birth to him and then, his father, died shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia. The story was always quite sad, and as we were all children, no one really knew how to react around Naruto's situation. As we all grew older, however, everyone became attracted to Naruto's confidence and optimism. Regardless of what was happening in that boy's life Naruto was never lacking a smile or a kind word.

Throughout the years, he had always been one of the most supporting people Sasuke had ever met. His kindness and determination never faltered and Sasuke really admired that quality within Naruto. He remembered the first time he encountered Naruto when his older brother, Itachi, had told him to get lost in front of all of his peers and embarrassed him. No one in class wanted to talk to Sasuke. They all thought he would be some sort of nuisance since Itachi had been a popular figure within the school. Often, Sasuke would be teased about being annoying or gloomy in appearance. So, he had become a wallflower, and refused to trust others. Instead, he excelled in his classes and talents most. However, this time was lonely for Sasuke and he had never known the kindness of a friend, or family member, for that matter.

When Itachi had shoved Sasuke off to the side, telling him that he was a nuisance, Sasuke remembered watching his brother walk off into the distance. He felt tears welling up but he had promised himself that he would never allow Itachi's negligence to make him cry. So, he stuffed the feelings deep within himself as he stood and watched, telling himself that he needed no one to survive. As these lonely thoughts enveloped him he felt a warm hand grab his shoulder, and the noises of laughter filled his ears. He quickly turned to find Naruto grinning at him widely.

At that moment, the warmth of a supportive touch overcame Sasuke, and when Naruto grabbed his hand and pulled him, asking him to come and play with him, Sasuke would never forget that one moment in time. The one moment in time when Naruto was there...it gave him hope. Ever since then, Naruto and Sasuke had become the most inseparable of friends. Sure, over time, they had their rivalries and arguments. The two were both hot headed and competitive, as well as highly talented, and that was a platform for competition, but, no matter what transpired between them their friendship never died and, when Sasuke needed him most, Naruto was always there to support him.

"What are you so deep in thought about?" Naruto slurped the noodles into his mouth, eying Sasuke who hadn't touched his instant noodles yet.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto and cringed at the sight. Even though, deep down, Sasuke couldn't help but think that Naruto looked cute even with his mouth filled with noodles and soup splattered on his face.

"Just that I'm lucky."

"Really?" Naruto slammed his chopsticks on the table with more force than needed. "And why's that?"

"Oh, well," Sasuke began to blush, an occurrence that seemed to be a constant that evening. "Just because, well, I'm me."

"Please, Mr. Modesty."

"You're one to talk," Sasuke looked away from Naruto, not able to keep his gaze on him for too long. "But, really, I'm just grateful...for our friendship."

"Soft!" Naruto smirked. "You're getting soft on me! What's happening to you today, Uchiha?"

"Nothing!" Sasuke grabbed his chopsticks and threw them at Naruto's head. One of the chopsticks got stuck in his blonde mess of hair. A chuckle escaped Sasuke's lips before he reached over to grab the chopstick from Naruto's hair. As he did so, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist and the two stared at each other.

Sasuke could feel his heart beat quickening, and he wondered if Naruto was able to feel his pulse as his thumb was right at that sensitive spot. Neither of them moved for a while, and the grins on their faces began to dissipate into something more serious. No matter how hard Sasuke tried he couldn't pull his gaze away from Naruto's intense cobalt eyes.

Was the space between them closing in? He wasn't sure. But he wished that this table wasn't situated right in between them. At the same time, he was grateful that the table was there, or else he wasn't sure what he would be doing right now.

"You know," Naruto whispered, still keeping his stare focused on Sasuke. He felt as if Naruto was looking right into him, as if he knew what it was that he was feeling. "My life got better when you moved in."

"And I'm grateful that you allowed me to live here with you."

"It was really," Naruto paused; his eyes looked away for a moment before connecting with his again. "My pleasure."

Again, the silence overtook them and Sasuke felt his heart pounding in his ears. He really hoped that Naruto couldn't feel that pulse. But he couldn't find the strength to move away just yet.

"I would do it again," Naruto pulled himself closer, over the table, towards Sasuke. Too close. "I would be there for you, again, always."

Sasuke slowly gulped back whatever it was that he wanted to say. He just wasn't sure what this moment was. It was intense, but he was still unsure.

"Thank you, Naruto," he breathed out the words, as if they were struggling to escape him. Right now, he was having difficulty breathing.

Naruto quickly let go of Sasuke's wrist, that same cocky smirk lifting his lips upwards, "Good luck with your audition tomorrow, I need some sleep."

Sasuke watched Naruto walk up the stairs. He hoped that Naruto couldn't see him holding on to his chest tightly as he attempted to catch his breath. He wasn't quite sure what had just transpired between them but it was beginning to drive him insane.

"Fuck," Sasuke sighed, slamming his forehead against the table. "What the fuck was that?"