a/n: WELCOME BACK. I've been sitting on a lot of this over the past month and a half, and I think I'm ready to post it.

ISOC timeline: This is part of the DREAM universe within It Started Over Coffee. It follows the end of what occurred in DREAM SIDEFICS. So, if you haven't at least read Sasuke's Dream and then Dream Sidefics, you won't know what's going on.


Dedicated to netamashii on Tumblr.


Ten days until Christmas break, and Naruto was sitting at his desk, watching a steady flurry of snow descend over one of the tennis courts. He obviously hadn't been paying attention to Kakashi's lecture for the past 15 minutes, so he should've been prepared when a large rubber eraser bounced off his desk and hit him square in the chest. Some of his fellow classmates laughed, but they were used to this after spending a semester together in the same class.

"Naruto, is there something happening outside that you find more interesting than my lecture?" Kakashi asked. "Normally I'd enjoy the fact you aren't causing a disruption, but it's the third time this week I've had to stop because of your inattention."

"Am I still supposed to answer your question about what's more interesting out there, or have you switched to lecturing me about payin' attention?" He asked, staring at the silver-haired teacher and flipping the eraser in his hand.

There were gasps from a few of the girls.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at him. "Aren't you a little too old to still be going through a rebellious phase?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Aren't you just a little too old?"

"Out, now." Kakashi sighed. "Detention after school. Go to the principal's office. Wait, no. Let me write him a note first."

After Naruto grabbed his books and stuffed them into his backpack, he walked to Kakashi's desk and waited for his teacher to finish scribbling whatever complaint he had for him to give Principal Jiraiya. He glanced at the rest of the class. Some wouldn't make eye contact with him, but he didn't particularly care. For a second, his gaze landed on Sasuke. The dark-haired teen was reading a book, not paying the disturbance the slightest bit of attention.

"Asshole," Naruto muttered, averting his gaze.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi asked. "What was that?"

"I wasn't talking to you."

The teacher shoved the note into his hand. "You and I are going to have a talk after school. Make sure you give it to the principal. Don't throw it away this time."

"Sure," he said, saluting him. "You're the boss."

Without looking at anyone, Naruto adjusted his pack, slipped the note into his pocket, and left the classroom.


Sasuke was in the student council lounge, doing paperwork after a meeting with the other members. The council secretary, who also happened to be one of the girls Naruto dated over the summer, offered to stay and help, but he told her not to bother. It was difficult to hold a grudge against the red-headed cheerleader considering she was sweet, smart, organized, and considerate. Hard to say what she saw in Naruto then, but at least she wasn't the one who'd been spreading rumors about her ex-boyfriend's skills in bed. Although, if they were based on truth, were they really rumors? Not to mention such gossip only caused Naruto's popularity to soar. He usually had a harem of girls following him from class to class.

Once everyone was gone from the lounge, he grabbed his iPod and listened to some tracks by a local band. The other day, the band's singer asked him to sub in for one of the guitar players at a show this weekend. He had the ability to listen to a song a few times and pick up the chords. Not that he'd agreed to helping yet, but if he did, he'd have to join their rehearsal tomorrow at the club where they'd be performing. All the more reason he should finish this council work. It was months away, but since they were the junior class, they were in charge of prom this year. Last year, he'd only assisted; this year, it was all on him and already proving to be a pain in the ass. There were fundraisers to think about, they had to organize the king and queen vote, and he needed to find an excuse for why he couldn't attend if possible.

Over the next 30 minutes, Sasuke worked diligently, the tracklist on repeat until it was practically ingrained in his memory. His father should be working late - despite his mother having complained that he take it easy - so it wouldn't be a hassle to get in some practice tonight.

When he was satisfied with how far he'd progressed with the budget, Sasuke began gathering his things. He checked his watch to see when the next bus would be. Not for another 15 minutes, so that gave him plenty of time to get his coat and walk to the stop outside the school grounds. He turned off all of the lights, gave one last look around the room to make sure it was tidy, and walked out into the hall. It was quarter after four, so there was hardly anyone in the halls when he headed for his locker. Sasuke put on his winter coat and hoisted his pack onto his shoulder. As he was leaving to catch the bus, he had the unfortunate timing of running into the principal outside of his office, Naruto right behind him. The older, white-haired man was yelling at Naruto, who stood there looking completely disinterested. In fact, for the past few weeks, Naruto had been acting like a delinquent - causing fights, not paying attention, or talking back to teachers. It was pathetic, really, that he couldn't keep his emotions in check.

They hadn't spoken since the day his father went to the hospital. Basically, they only spoke at school if forced to, and if he wanted to know what was going on, he had to stalk Naruto's social media. By the looks of it, he was still going out and having fun with Sai every weekend, or those moronic varsity baseball jocks who'd come to worship Naruto like a god. If only they knew what he got up to behind closed doors. He kept his expression neutral when passing them both. He didn't want to know what they'd been discussing because he also didn't want to think about how Naruto's behavioral issues had anything to do with him or their fight.

Sasuke was pretty sure he was in the clear until the principal called out to him. He stared hard at the exit, which was only a few feet away, before turning around to face him.

"Yes, sir?" He asked the principal while avoiding looking at Naruto.

"Don't you have anything to say to your friend here?" Jiraiya asked gruffly. "You're the Junior class president, aren't you? Shouldn't you be trying to influence him not to be a moron in class?"

Sasuke's gaze strayed to Naruto, who muttered something he didn't catch, but whatever he'd said, it earned him a smack upside the head from the principal.

He took a step forward, tired of Naruto's childish antics. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Yeah, plenty," Naruto replied, glaring at him. "But I'm gonna get beaten up by this guy if I tell you everything that's on my mind."

Jiraiya glanced between them. "I thought you two brats were friends. Am I wrong?"

Sasuke had a response ready, but rather than stoop to that level, he spun around and started walking toward the doors again. This had been a total waste of his time.

"Yeah, that's it," Naruto called after him. "Run away, that's what you're best at, Uchiha!"

He snorted at the provocation, satisfied when the principal blasted the other boy again. Whatever. Sasuke had nothing to be sorry for. He'd been honest. Maybe he'd been harsh, but how else would Naruto realize that he meant what he'd said? There was no future for them, and Naruto would get over throwing public tantrums about it in another month or so. Sasuke would be okay. He was alone before Naruto moved here, and would manage just fine without him now. It only sucked that his own brother, Yahiko, and most of Itachi's clique had taken Naruto's side. As if it mattered to him.

Once outside, he noticed it was snowing harder than earlier, so he pulled up the hood on his jacket. He took his iPod out of his pocket and unwound the wires. At least all of this free time had given him time to not just focus on his schoolwork, which pleased his father, but he'd also had more time to focus on his music - practicing, organizing shows for other bands, and managing their social media accounts. Most of those skills were ones he'd learned from being involved in student council, and now that he could get paid to do it, he also had extra cash on hand all the time. Although, he'd recently been reading about how to invest it. Even if he'd eyed that one drumset for over a year. There was no room for it at home anyway, and his father wasn't likely to approve of it either either. He'd just have to stick with practicing at Jiroubou's, one of the few who would still speak to him now that he'd, to use their words, "broken up" with Naruto.


"Are you making a habit of getting detentions now?" Sai asked while the two of them were driving toward Fremont to have dinner at Revel, one of Naruto's favorite restaurants. Sai had been nice enough to pick him up after his detention and public scolding.

Naruto, staring out the window, frowned at his friend's question. "Kakashi's been riding my dick lately. It's not my fault."

"Such language." Sai smirked. "I wouldn't mind if he rode my dick, that's for sure."

Naruto spared him a glare. "Gross, dude. He's old."

"Old? I bet he's in his early 30s at most."

"Yeah, like I said. He's old."

"If you were a girl, I'd ask if you were on your period, but since I know you have a penis, are you ready to tell me what crawled up your ass and died? You've been acting strange for the last few weeks, and considering you and Sasuke aren't talking, it's not like I don't know what it's about."

"You don't know anything," Naruto muttered. "I already told you I don't wanna talk about it."

"Yes, I get that," Sai said calmly, switching on the wipers to clear the snow from the windshield. "But you're going to get suspended at this rate."

"They won't suspend me right before Christmas break," he replied. "Can you turn the radio off?"

It was blaring some annoying pop song that made him want to punch through the stereo.

Sai, being an asshole, decided to turn it up. "Not interested in the break up-make up songs these days? Is that because you and Sasuke have yet to make up?"

"I said drop it already," Naruto told him.

"At least I know I'm on the money." Sai pat him consolingly on the thigh, and Naruto nearly jerked his leg into the glovebox compartment. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm jumpy, okay?" He lied. "Your driving makes me nervous." Naruto leaned his elbow on the door's armrest and returned to staring out the window.

"You know, Naruto," said Sai, "I love you and all, but just because you're having some falling out with Sasuke doesn't mean you should take it out on me."

"I'm not," he argued, dragging his thumb across the glass. "Am I?" Naruto glanced over at the dark-haired teen, half-annoyed he looked like Sasuke for a second.

"You are, yeah. You're being a dick. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but I'm going to be real with you when you're acting like an asshole."

Naruto sighed, sitting back against the seat. "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I'm… frustrated."

"You think?"

"What are we doin' this weekend?" He asked, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible. "Don't forget I'm takin' off next Wednesday for Chicago."

"Yeah, that sucks. When will you be back again?"

"We should be back the day after Christmas," he answered. "Dad has a thing he has to be home for on the 28th. I doubt he'll be around for New Year's either."

"I thought you said he was going to start staying home more."

"Well, he said after New Year's to be exact. It's fine, though. I like havin' the apartment to myself, or the guys have been comin' over."

"Girls, too?" Sai turned the radio back down. "Although, I'm sure I would've heard it from the rumor mill at school if that were true."

"No," he said, his brow furrowing while he flipped the visor up and down rather violently. "I don't wanna date. I don't wanna fuck around either."

"Wow, you really are going through something, aren't you?" Sai stopped at a red light, where a large group of middle-aged women in red hats were crossing.

"Who knows, though? When we go to Illinois, maybe I'll be able to hang out with some old friends."

"Maybe getting a little action would be good for you," Sai suggested. "You seem very… tense."

"I haven't even been jerkin' off all that much," Naruto replied, tapping at the window.

Sai gave him a look, a thin eyebrow raised. "I'm not in love with Sasuke or anything, but if we can be serious for a moment, I am worried about you."

He very nearly growled. "Again with the Sasuke? What makes you think my bad mood has anything to do with him?"

"You're kidding, right? Not to mention he's gone back to being a robot. Just like he was before you moved here. It's easy to put two and two together, especially when you guys being in the same room makes the temperature drop 30 degrees."

"Tch. Who cares? I saw him as he was leavin' school today. He walked right by while Jiraiya was goin' off on me about - whatever." Naruto huffed. "He's the one who acts like I don't exist."

"Did you do something to piss him off?"

"Not intentionally," Naruto replied, then decided that gave Sasuke too much credit. "No, I didn't do anything wrong. He's just a stubborn jackass. It was his decision anyway."

"To what? Not be friends anymore?" Sai asked, sounding concerned when usually he didn't give a fuckall about Sasuke unless it was for the sake of teasing him.

He shrugged. "I guess. Yeah. Whatever."

"I can see him doing something like that. I've always thought the guy had a temper underneath all that… conformity."

"You think Sasuke's a conformist?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"He's not?"

"Dude plays punk and rock music at clubs most of us can't even get into," Naruto replied, almost defensively. But, it was a fact. He'd never thought of Sasuke as being someone to conform.

"If you say so. You know him better than me. Seems to me he's all about rules, and - following them."

"Well. That part's true." He pulled his phone out of his pocket after it vibrated.

"I don't suppose that's him?"

"Not funny." Still, every once in awhile his heart jumped when his phone went off. "It's Kayla."

"What? Does she want to get back together? Even though you're damaged goods now?"

"Heh." Naruto put his phone away again. "I was damaged goods before she and I dated."

"You'd have to be to have a reputation for showing a girl a good time," Sai remarked out of the side of his mouth.

"I'm not gonna apologize for bein' halfway decent in bed." Naruto, smiling finally, leaned over to nudge his friend in the side. "You're curious, eh? How good I really am?"

Sai glared. "I was already curious over the summer if you remember. But, I'm sure you've forgotten since then."

"Oh." Naruto pulled back, scratching at his neck. "Sorry. I was just teasin'."

"It's fine. It'd be more weird if you treated me differently because of it."

"...Yeah. Don't kill me, but I ended up tellin' Sasuke about that." He'd been feeling guilty about it and wanted to come clean. "Only recently, though."

"Jesus Christ," said Sai. "That's not the reason the two of you fought, is it?"

"What?" Naruto's cheeks turned red. "No, no, of course not! I was drunk, and it was last month. I never mentioned it until then. I know it was private, but I just wanted to tell you I let it slip."

"Too fucking honest for your own good, Naruto. I'm only surprised you didn't tell him sooner."

"No, it was between you and me. Had nothin' to do with him."

"Did you think he'd think less of you if you told him you got confessed to by a guy?" Sai asked.

He almost laughed, but knew better than to give anything away. "No… really. It was because it was a thing between you and me, and Sasuke doesn't need to know all my business. I didn't want you to feel like when we talk, I run straight to him and tell him everything."

"That's not exactly how I imagined it," Sai replied. "I always look at it as if he and I share custody of you. I get you every other weekend and some weeknights, and he gets the same. Although, I have to say I'm happy I've been getting you a lot more lately."

Naruto chuckled . "Yeah. I hope you know I really like hangin' out with you. We always have fun, and there's no fuckin' drama. Even hangin' out with a bunch of gay guys at a club, it's never…" He didn't want to finish, because he felt sad thinking about what moments with Sasuke were like. Yes, there'd been a lot of drama between them, but…

Naruto shook it off and forced a smile. "So, anyway. What is it you said we're doin' this weekend? Club? Movie?"

"I'll let you know tomorrow. I have some friends who want to check out this live music venue near Capitol Hill. Near the university."

"Wait, which place?" Naruto asked warily.

"Neumos. Why? Sasuke playing this weekend?" Sai prodded, apparently seeing right through his worries.

"I would have no idea about that, but you never know."

"Well, if we go, I'll check out the lineup, and then you'll know if he's going to be there or not. He only plays with a couple of bands regularly, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. He subs sometimes, but… yeah. As long as he's not gonna be there."

"I don't know. I think he looks pretty sexy when he's playing on stage," Sai remarked.

They were only a block away from the Korean restaurant Naruto liked so much, so it'd take at least another 10 minutes to find parking on the street.

"He's like a different person when he plays," Naruto quietly agreed. "I'll admit that much."

"Even I'd consider - "

"Don't finish that sentence," Naruto warned.

"Or, what? You're going to tell on me to him? When you two kids aren't even on speaking terms? Please. Let Mr. Class President do whatever he wants to if it means you and I can hang out more. His loss is my gain." Smiling, he turned to Naruto and pat him on the head.

"Sai…" Naruto stared at him with bright, watery eyes. "I love you a little bit right now."

"Oh, yeah?" Sai grinned. "Should we take this back to my place and skip dinner?"

"Ha, fuck you," Naruto punched him in the arm. "I want my goddam short rib rice bowl and moo shu pork dumplings! I've been thinkin' about them all week."

"Is food really that much better than sex?" Sai asked.

"Heh. Depends." Naruto smiled coyly at him. "Don't you know sex between friends complicates things?"

Sai stared at him so long that Naruto grew nervous he'd given something away.

"What?" He asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing."

Sai didn't pry further and, instead, became preoccupied with parallel parking behind a very crookedly-parked SUV.

"I bet it was a woman driver who parked there," Sai commented, and Naruto laughed.

"Sexist bastard," he said.

"So sexist I don't even want to lay a hand on them," Sai replied, expertly maneuvering them into the spot without a problem. "By the way, what was the name of that friend of yours? The one you think might be in town while you're in Chicago?"

"Oh." Naruto removed his seatbelt. "Gaara?"

"Yeah, that guy. The one who dropped out of school to join Americorps?"

"What? No, that's not - Where the hell did you hear that?"

"From you, I thought." Sai undid his seatbelt and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "That'd be good. If you got to see him."

"Yeah, that'd be… really good." Naruto zipped his coat. "I haven't seen him for more than a year now. It was around my mom's funeral."

"See, you have things to look forward to, so cut out the delinquent shit until your trip next week."

Naruto scrunched his nose. "Has it really been that bad?"

"Not for me, but for most of the teachers and some of your classmates. I'm not even in your year, but it didn't take long to hear word of you and Sasuke being in some kind of fight. Of course, everyone thinks it's over a girl. Either you fucked some girl he liked, or vice versa."

"Wow, people need to get a life," he mumbled. "Although, Sasuke definitely has his dark side."

"Haven't you heard?" Sai asked, smirking again. "According to Kelly Clarkson, everybody's got a dark side."

Naruto glared. "Really. Are you really gonna go all gay on me right now?"

"I'm always gay, idiot," Sai said, punching him in the arm. "Now, get the fuck out of my car so we can go eat your ding dongs or whatever it is you order."

"I'll leave the dong to you," Naruto replied, snickering as he opened the car door. "I'll stick with the moo shoo pork."


Sasuke was studying in his room while his mother prepared dinner. It was only the two of them tonight. Itachi wasn't flying in until next week, and his father was working late and wouldn't be home until around 9. Sasuke only had two exams left until Christmas break and one report for his AP Chem class that he could try to work on this weekend. After dinner, he'd be able to fit in a couple hours of practice since he'd decided to play the show on Saturday.

While he was reading a chapter in his history book about the Gulf War, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said.

His mother stepped inside. "Dinner's ready, Sasuke."

"I'll be right there, mother," he replied, already closing his textbook.

Sasuke went into the bathroom to wash his hands before heading to the dining room where his mother had set out multiple Japanese side dishes as well as a main dish of katsudon.

"I got a little carried away," she said, setting out the chopsticks and seasonings. "It'll give your father something to eat when he gets home. You can take some for lunch tomorrow, too."

He waited for her to sit before taking a seat himself. Sasuke tasted the miso soup first, and then picked up his chopsticks to poke at the fried pork cutlet in the bowl.

"You're quiet tonight," said Mikoto as she spread a napkin over her lap.

"How was your day?" He asked, not wanting to be seen as ungrateful for the meal.

"It was fine. Very quiet in the house. I think I'm ready to take on more piano students. It makes the day go by faster. I hope you wouldn't mind if we use the music room?"

"Of course not," he said. "It was originally your piano."

"I know, but you're in there so frequently, I wouldn't want to mess anything up with your equipment," Mikoto remarked. "Do you have a show this weekend?"

"...I do." He took a rather big bite of the rice and fried egg. "Saturday. I haven't played with them before, so hopefully I don't embarrass them too much."

"Lots of bands are asking you to play, aren't they? They must think you're good."

"Do you think father will be mad?" He asked.

Mikoto picked up her cup of tea and sipped, looking thoughtful. She set it down again. "Don't worry about your father, dear. He's very busy at work and probably won't notice. Will you be staying at Naruto's? We haven't seen him around here for a long time. Is he busy?"

Sasuke, chewing slowly on his food, set down his chopsticks to pick up his glass of water. "He's been hanging out with the guys on his baseball team."

It wasn't entirely a lie, but he also didn't want his mother asking too many questions. He knew she liked Naruto, but it would upset her if she knew they weren't on speaking terms.

"Oh, is that so? How sad! I was hoping to see him before Christmas. I bought him a present. Nothing extravagant. Maybe you can give it to him at school next week?"

That idea didn't sound too appealing. "You could always mail it to him."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure everything's okay, Sasuke?"

"Everything's fine, mother."

"I know you're 17 now, but you can talk to me if something's troubling you, sweetie." She shifted her long hair so it fell over her shoulder. "You've been rather gloomy lately."

He looked up at her. His mother always did have an instinct for knowing when something was bothering him, and he didn't want to have to completely lie either.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said. "I have exams to worry about, and I need to learn this band's songs in the next few days."

Mikoto looked as though she would argue but nodded anyway. "Well if it's still bothering you after your exams, then why don't we make a date of it, dear? It's been a long time since you and I went into town for a dinner and a movie. We could do some Christmas shopping! I need to get a couple of things for your brother and Yahiko, as well."

Sasuke nodded. "Sure… next week. If it's not too much trouble."

"It's never any trouble. I like spending time with my youngest." She smiled at him. "I just don't like seeing you unhappy or stressed. High blood pressure runs in the family."

He smirked. "I think I'm in pretty good shape, mother."

"Yes, I am lucky enough to have two such very handsome and intelligent children. Maybe your brother will even give us some grandchildren not too far off in the future."

Better him than me, he thought.

"Although, I want you two to do whatever makes you happy in life," said Mikoto. "I think even your father would want you to choose whatever path makes you most happy, Sasuke."

He had been about to take another sip of his drink and paused. "I don't think that's what father wants," he replied. "He just wants us to be successful."

"Your father wants you to be able to take care of yourself. If there's something you want to do, you should pursue it, but I think he wants you to be able to support yourself. I don't have any doubts about what you're capable of, dear. We already know how very talented you are."

For some reason, her words caused his hand to tremble, and he had to set his glass down. "Thank you, mother."

She laughed. "You and your father are both so sensitive! Whenever he's stressed out, all I have to do is say a few encouraging words and, if you'll believe it, he blushes so much! Just like you're doing now."

"You're embarrassing me," he said.

"I know, but that's what mothers are for, Sasuke. After all, I won't be around forever."

"That's a morbid thing to say, mom." He frowned.

"Well, it's true, which is all the more reason we want you and Itachi to have all the resources you need to live a life as free of stress as possible. Make lots of money, and you can take care of me in my old age."

"I think Itachi will be making enough money for the both of us," Sasuke muttered.

"Your brother works very hard. He would take care of you in an instant if anything happened."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Is there something I need to know about?"

"Not at all. I think it's good to be prepared. Life can be very unpredictable. When you have children one day, you'll understand."

"I don't even know that I have any interest in having children."

"I mean much later. When you find someone you love and want to have kids with."

Sasuke, mulling over his mother's words, took another sip of his water since his mouth had gone dry.

"But just to let you know, I would be perfectly delighted if you ended up marrying Naruto," she suddenly teased, and Sasuke, no matter how cool he tried to remain at all times, sprayed the water across half the table. Mikoto burst into a fit of girlish giggles as Sasuke raced to clean up the mess he'd made.

"Why would you say something like that while I'm drinking?" He asked.

"Oh, who cares? Your father isn't around, and Naruto is just so - Your father and I both really like him. I suppose if we had a daughter around that age, I'd try to play matchmaker."

Still cleaning up the water, Sasuke scowled at the mere idea. "You can always ask Itachi if he'd be interested in dating a blond idiot five years his junior. They always get along so well."

"Don't be jealous. It'll cause little wrinkles around your eyes, and you have such a nice face."

"Mother." He tossed the dampened napkins to the side. "Have you been drinking wine tonight?"

"Only a little," she confessed, her rosy cheeks giving it away. "I miss my talks with Naruto, I suppose. We always have the best conversations. Maybe he could join us next week?"

"I'm sure he's busy," Sasuke replied in a low voice. "I'm sorry that I can't keep you as entertained as he can."

"Oh, that's not what I meant, Sasuke," Mikoto scolded. "It's because it's not very often you bring friends over or that we see you laugh and talk as much as you do when Naruto's around."

"Yes, well, we're eventually going to take different paths since I plan on staying here for college, and he's going to Illinois." He knew he sounded bitter, but the last thing he wanted was to talk about Naruto and how much his mother preferred him over her own son.

"Is that so?" Mikoto asked. "Hmm. I suppose that's normal. I thought you'd want to go to Stanford like your brother?"

"I've never wanted that," he said. "I think the University of Washington would be good enough, and it's in-state tuition, so father won't have to work as hard. I can get scholarships, too."

"Sasuke…"

Having reached his limit, he began to pick up his dishes. He'd only eaten a small portion of the katsudon. "I should get back to my studies. I need to practice later, but I can do it in the garage if I'm going to bother you."

"No… it's no bother," she said softly, watching him. "And don't worry about the dishes, I'll take care of everything."

With his hand trembling slightly, he set down the bowl again. "Thank you for the meal."

While walking out of the room, Sasuke stopped when his mother grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me about anything?" She asked, sounding worried enough that he began to feel guilty.

He'd been annoyed with Naruto earlier in the day for being so obvious only to realize that he wasn't any better at hiding his emotions all of the time either. At least it was only his mother here. If his father or Itachi were home, he would've been able to control it better. Sasuke couldn't look at her, at least not until she took hold of his hand and interlaced their fingers. Mikoto squeezed it, and Sasuke felt a pain in his chest. If he stayed there much longer, he'd embarrass himself by crying or something equally as pathetic. He'd had weeks to get over this. Most of the time he kept himself so preoccupied that he didn't have to think about Naruto or the fact that he…

Missed him.

"Sasuke?" His mother pressed again. "You're worrying me. Is it about your father? He's doing fine now, so you don't need to worry about him."

"...I'm glad." Sasuke attempted a smile, but he felt an underlying resentment.

Mikoto swung their hands together playfully. "Do you remember when you were a little boy and your brother would tease you? You'd come running into the house, your eyes full of tears, and then you'd climb into my lap and ask me to stroke your hair."

"...I remember," he said, smiling a little. "Father would run out on the deck and yell at Itachi to come inside and apologize."

"Yes, your father did always baby you. I liked to dote on you, too. Itachi also spoiled you despite how the two of you fought growing up. He only tormented you because he loved you so much. Before you were born, he always asked about having a little brother."

"I don't know about that." He was able to smile in full, thinking about those memories that now seemed so very far removed from the present. "He still torments me."

"Out of love," she replied gleefully. "He'll be home soon. Has he texted you lately about whether Yahiko is coming this time? I'm sure he's welcome."

"He hasn't texted me." No need to mention they weren't speaking. "But I did hear that Yahiko is likely to spend the holidays with his girlfriend. They got back together again."

"Ah, is that so? The one with the blue hair?" Mikoto asked.

"Konan," he informed her. "As of a couple of weeks ago."

Mikoto sighed. "I'm glad those days are past. I sometimes forget how dramatic it can be to be young and in love."

"Tell me about it," he mumbled.

"What was that, dear?"

"I said I should get back to work." Sasuke smirked. "So that I can attempt to become as successful as your first-born."

"I love you equally," Mikoto replied, letting go of his hand. "You both have your strengths."

"And weaknesses?" He asked, thinking she looked quite pretty tonight.

"My spawn don't have any flaws." She giggled again, holding a hand delicately in front of her mouth. "If they do, it comes from your father's genes."

"I see. Women have a rather interesting way of looking at the world."

"Of course they do," she replied. "Just remember to always treat the women in your life with respect. Well, the men, too."

He raised an eyebrow at that comment, but she didn't appear to mean anything by it.

"Make sure you tell Naruto I miss him." Mikoto gave his school dress shirt a tug. "Tell him I feel neglected."

"If I have a chance to," he said. "I'll tell him."

He wouldn't get a chance, but his mother didn't need to know that.

"Are you sure you don't want help with the dishes, mother?"

"Not tonight. You have important things to do, and it won't take me long. Go study, Sasuke, and I'll try to find my earplugs for later on."

He snickered. "Alright, I'll give you fair warning before I begin practicing."

"Thank you, dear. It'll be appreciated. As amazing a musician as you are… I think I'd like to finish this book I've been reading."

"I understand." He didn't usually show many physical gestures of affection with her, but this time, he bent down and kissed his mother on the forehead. "Thank you for worrying."

When he stood up again, there were tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away.

"You little scamp," she said. "Making your mother cry. Go on now and let me get to the dishes."

He bowed his head before leaving her alone, and, while walking down the hallway, slipped his hands into his pockets, trying not to imagine a future where his parents weren't around. Obviously it wasn't an impossible scenario. Naruto had lost his mother at 16. Terrible things happened in this world that weren't within anyone's control. In fact, he'd say having known Naruto and his situation, it made him even more aware of his relationship with both parents and the importance of family. It was just unfortunate that, in order to protect his family, it was necessary to push Naruto away.

Sasuke, after walking into his room, glanced at his bed, perfectly made, and then at his computer. Looking at it, certain thoughts and images were coming to mind - of him and Naruto - and the last time they'd shared a bed. He bit his lip, eyeing his laptop, where he knew the video from that night was stored somewhere no one would find it, including Itachi. He'd meant to delete it. He had, actually, but when he went to clean out his recycle bin… it somehow got restored. Of course he hadn't watched it. He knew what was on it, and that was enough. It made him think about Naruto's last words before he'd stormed out of the room. Enjoy the video? How could he enjoy it?

Thinking of being with Naruto that way - even if he dreamt about it nearly every night - made it impossible to function, to stick to his plan, or to not get stupidly jealous. Every time he saw pictures of Naruto out with his teammates, with girls, or Sai, like he apparently was tonight...

He sat down at his desk and shut his laptop, not wanting to be tempted by anything.

Before Sasuke could think about practicing, he needed to get thoughts of Naruto out of his head. He picked up his history textbook again. After all, it had always been a lot easier to throw himself into his studies or music than to worry about the things in life he couldn't change.


TBC

a/n: Please remember to review the story (tell me what you thought, what you're thinking, questions you have, if something made you laugh/cry/or pissed you off.)

There is a playlist for this story. If you'd like to listen to it, I'll post a link to it on the breakfree-dramacd blog (see profile). There will be some musical moments, and the titles of songs in the playlist will appear as chapter titles. Because. I like music.