Moments

"Destination, Otogakure. Arrival in four hours. Time is 8:45 pm, please enjoy your ride."

Sasuke Uchiha sat down in the back of the downtown bullet train of Konoha. He put his head back against the glass and turned his head to the outside world. It was pitch black at the station, the faint outlines of people texting away on their cellphones the only light. He smoothed a hand down the side of his blue jeans, his other hand shoved against his forehead, fingers curled into the inky darkness of his hair.

His dark eyes squinted into the darkness, trying and failing to see what he wanted to see. He sighed, dropping both hands to his lap and bowing his head forward. He'd made this trip a hundred times for his older brother's company. What made this trip different was-

Fuck. He was late.

Sasuke checked his Rolex watch one more time as he pushed through the crowded bus station in downtown Konoha. He was dressed to the Tee in a black hugo boss suit, a briefcase full of important documents dangling from his left hand and his cellphone posed in his right.

He didn't apologize as he bumped into an angry looking old man complaining to a worker about the smell of the trains. He forged on, trying to fight the crowd of screaming kids, cussing adults and horny teenage couples. Someone tripped him as he reached the stairs and he stumbled up, sending the person a death glare. It had been his first mistake, because turning around meant he couldn't see what was in front of him. Which also meant he'd run chest first into a surprisingly hard body.

Sasuke felt his feet slip backwards and all thoughts of his brother finally giving him that fucking bonus flew out the window. However, a tanned hand shot out and grabbed onto his arm firmly, stopping his fall instantly.

"Whoa! Cool your jets, dude." The voice was almost loud, annoying even, except there was a soft timbre hidden beneath it all that canceled out the rest. Sasuke returned to his feet, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw both briefcase and phone were in their proper places.

"Sorry." He mumbled, shoving his cellphone into his pocket and glancing up at the very, very tall stranger. "Than-." Six foot three of tall, tanned, bronzed male stood just a few steps above him. Shaggy blonde hair fell over startling blue eyes and a guitar case strap was wrapped around a well-built chest covered in red cotton.

"What's your hurry?" The man laughed.

"Business meeting." Sasuke sighed, "I really need to go, I'm late."

The man put his hands up, "Nah. It's cool, you're welcome for saving your life. Downtown is full of sharks." The grin after that statement made something stir in Sasuke's stomach. "If you ever need a decent run down of the place, give me a call." A tiny card was pushed into Sasuke's now empty hand and the man above him winked. "See you later, pretty stranger."

Then he disappeared into the crowd.

Sasuke pressed a finger to each temple as he rested his elbows on his legs. He had nearly lost the business deal with Konoha's mayor, Tsunade, after that little mishap. He looked up again as a few other people boarded the train, settling down into their assigned seats.

He saw a shock of blond and his heart nearly leapt into his throat. Sasuke felt himself rise out of his seat, but stopped himself when the stranger turned to reveal green eyes. His heart sank back down into his stomach. He dropped his head onto the seat in front of him and laughed to himself.

God. He was so pathetic. He should have never made that phone call.

"I didn't expect you to call me." The man, now identified as 'Naruto', walked up to Sasuke. They had decided to meet on common ground, which was a tiny coffee shop run by a small man named Iruka.

"I have a few days before I have to pick up the signed documents and report back home." Sasuke shrugged, sipping at his latte and peering over at the tall man. Naruto seemed to favor bold colors. Today he was in a baby blue shirt and ripped jeans. So different from Sasuke's button down dark plaid shirt and business slacks.

Naruto grinned down at him again, eyes lighting up, "Wow. Sounds important. What do you want to do first?"

They had done just about everything one could do in the city of Konoha. It was twice the size of his own home, and even when he thought they couldn't squeeze Naruto's long list of things, the blonde surprised him by doing exactly that. He'd seen the city of Konoha from an entirely new point of view.

The carved mountain of the ancestors was their first stop. It towered hundreds of feet above the city and carried the face of each leader to rule it. Naruto had taken his hand and showed him how beautiful the city looked drenched in the rays of a setting sun.

A small ramen shop was the next stop. It was run by a family, who seemed to know Naruto quite well and even gave them a meal on the house in honor of him. Sasuke found out fast how much food the stunning blonde could put away.

It was amazing the idiot wasn't fat.

"I have a super duper high metabolism!" Naruto hit his chest with a laugh as they walked down the main street of Konoha. There was a night festival being celebrated and many food and game stands lined the long road. Lanterns were all hung from transparent lines above them, looking as if the sky was holding them with the stars.

"It won't last forever, idiot." Sasuke snorted, biting into the caramel apple Naruto had bought him earlier.

"No need to be a bastard." Naruto wagged a finger at him, "You've been here three days and your bastardliness is just starting to go away."

Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes and walking ahead of the babbling man. Naruto jogged back to his side and began pointing to different stands and telling the life story behind each person. He watched from the corner of his eye as the man waved his arms extravagantly to each place.

He closed his eyes as he bite into the apple again and thought, this isn't too bad at all.

So much had to be squeezed into his five days in the city. Naruto had been determined to bring him everywhere and to meet everyone. Sasuke was not surprised by the sheer amount of people that Naruto knew. The man radiated happiness and put out some kind of aura that naturally attracted people to his side.

Perhaps that was the reason Sasuke had called him.

He opened his eyes slowly and stared down at the floor. Faintly hearing the conductor giving them a fifteen-minute mark before the train would leave the station. The silver wrapper of a stick of gum made his lips twitch slightly.

"You've…you've never chewed gum?"The blonde's incredulous face made Sasuke's eyes narrow and his hand reach out to slap the silver rectangle from the man's hand.

"Of course not, idiot. That's frivolous and for children." He wrinkled his nose.

Naruto jaw worked open and close for a good few seconds before he reached into his pocket and pulled out another piece. "Come on Sasuke, unwrap it and stick it in your mouth." The blonde leered.

Sasuke sneered at the obvious innuendo, but took the stick of gum anyways. He eyed it wearily before shedding it of its coat and sliding it into his mouth. A cool burst of raspberry exploded over his tongue and he childishly wondered how such a thing was made.

Naruto peered down at him, eyes wide and expectant. Sasuke shrugged, chewing soundlessly and turning away from the now cheering blonde.

"It'll do."

The fourth day was the hardest, in Sasuke's opinion. He remembered racing through the bus station again, fighting crowds and knowing Naruto was at work and could not rescue him. Tsunade nearly skinned him again as he rushed into her office, out of breath and panting against her door.

She was, of course, half-drunk as she handed him the signed papers. They were surprisingly neat and set into their own categorized folders. She had then told him to have a safe trip home the next night.

The words had hit him light a freight train and he stopped in the middle of the doorway before turning back and muttering a soft thank you.

The garden of Sakura was alight with lit candles and birdcages filled with songbirds. Darkness surrounded them, but the garden provided enough light to lead the way. Naruto was at his side, unusually quiet and staring up at the blooming Sakura trees.

Sasuke cleared his throat, "Naruto?"

The man turned to him, eyes curious, "Hmm?"

"You're suspiciously quiet." Sasuke muttered, coming to a stop just as Naruto turned to face one of the trees. The blonde remained quiet, staring up at the tree, shoulders tense. Sasuke bit his lip, "Naruto?"

Naruto turned to him, eyes sad and fathomless. Sasuke felt his stomach twist painfully, knowing that the man before him was about to say goodbye. He swallowed thickly, "Naruto I-."

"Did you have fun? With me?" Naruto whispered.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, "That's…not what I expected you to say." He chuckled, "But yes. I did."

Something passed across Naruto's face and Sasuke didn't have time to react as the man walked forward and cupped the sides of his face. His breath caught as those azure eyes bore down into his before soft lips pressed against his. Something wrapped around his insides and squeezed. Sasuke's hands slide up that strong chest and tilted his head to the side as the taller man deepened the kiss.

Naruto pulled away slowly, smoothing his thumb over Sasuke's cheek. He pressed his forehead against Sasuke's and swallowed.

"Come home with me?"

He shouldn't have.

He shouldn't have let Naruto take his hand.

He shouldn't have ever made that phone call.

"God you're beautiful." Naruto whispered, pressing a soft kiss against a pale chest as he slowly unbuttoned Sasuke's plaid shirt. Sasuke shivered as warm, tan hands slide the shirt from his shoulders and tossed it to some unknown corner of the moonlit room.

The world spinning on its axis and Sasuke could feel every fiber of his being beginning to change. His heart beat fast against the sweating body rising above him, strong hands touching him gently, and a hot mouth claiming his own.

Everything he'd built himself to be was being torn apart by soft whispers, searing pain and overwhelming pleasure. But Naruto was sowing it back together, weaving pieces of himself in and out of Sasuke's view of the world.

He'd been doing it all week. Slowly seeping his way under Sasuke's skin and now he had it beneath his hands. Sasuke cried out against the blonde neck and could feel the hot tears sliding down his cheeks.

Naruto said nothing.

It was as if he knew that he had taken Sasuke's heart right out of his chest and hid it within his own body.

Sasuke swallowed at the memory, leaning back in his seat and beating his head against the glass. He stared up at the ceiling and felt something blocking his throat. Something wet was sliding down his cheek and he pressed a hand to it fast.

Saltwater was sliding down his finger and Sasuke bit his bottom lip. He swiped at his eyes furiously, refusing to do something as weak as crying.

Hadn't his family beat that weakness out of him?

Sasuke lifted his trembling coffee cup to his lips, swallowing the hot liquid quickly and hoping it would give him the courage to face Naruto. He heard the blonde man muttering from the other room and set the cup down fast.

Naruto came around the corner, buttoning a pair of blue jeans up and giving him an odd look, "You're up early."

"I need to get to my hotel and finishing packing. I still need to check out." Sasuke tapped a finger against the coffee mug.

Naruto's face fell and Sasuke's heart ached.

"You're still leaving?"

Sasuke sighed, "Naruto, I have a job to do. That was why I was here in the first place. I have people back home that require my presence."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "You're just going to fucking leave? After-."

"Naruto. Stop." Sasuke held up a hand, "I have to go home."

The blonde's chest expanded, those blue eyes so angry and hurt. "Are you ever going to come back?"

Sasuke closed his eyes slowly and that was all Naruto needed to know. He held himself in check.

"Get the fuck out of my apartment, Sasuke." Naruto snarled, pointing at the front door.

He nodded slowly, walking out the front door and leaving the cup of coffee still steaming on the tiny oak table of Naruto's apartment.

Sasuke cleared his throat and reached into his carry-on bag to pull out his ipod. Maybe some music would get his mind off of what he was leaving behind. He rummaged around for a few seconds before feeling his hand brush up against something small.

His eyebrows drew together in confusion at the slice of paper that was so not in its proper place. He wrapped his fingers around it and pulled it out, determined to scold it within his head.

It was Naruto's business card.

His eyes closed and he crushed it within his palm.

When he opened them, he threw the paper over to the next set of seats and turned to face the window. He was going home. Where he had a family and a good job. Itachi should be giving him his promotion and that goddamn bonus he'd been promising for months now.

He pressed his forehead against the glass and sighed. God, why wouldn't his chest stop hurting? Couldn't it just forget everything? How hard could it be to erase a few measly days with a man he barely knew?

But he did know Naruto, didn't he? Just like Naruto had known everything about him. Something like gravity. Something like lo-.

Sasuke's heart jumped as he spotted a tall head of blonde hair moving around the dark train station lobby. He drew in a deep breath as he watched the tanned man ask the ticket counter something. The lady shook her head.

Sasuke wanted to beat against the glass. He wanted to demand what the idiot was doing here. Hadn't he been the one to kick him out of his apartment this morning? How could he show up here now?

"Destination: Otogakure. Arrival in four hours. Time is 9:25 pm. Please be seated and enjoy your ride on the Konoha Bullet Express."

Sasuke stood up fast, grabbing his bag and rushing towards the front of the train. "Stop the train!" He shouted, yanking on the emergency cord and causing a few people to yell at him. The train came to a halt, barely feet from the stations platform. The doors opened automatically and Sasuke dashed out, staring around wildly as he searched for the blonde.

He wasn't at the ticket counter.

Had he gone-

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke spun around; dropping his bag as the blonde came forward fast, pulling him into his arms. Naruto buried his face in Sasuke's neck and Sasuke couldn't imagine a better place to be than in Naruto's arms.

"Please. Please don't leave me."

Sauske closed his eyes, pressing his face against Naruto's shoulder.

"Never."

End

Wow. A one-shot. Was it too corny? I'm in a rather tragically romantic mood.

I am editing Guardian Bay. If anyone's noticed. I'm spellchecking it, wording it better. Just giving its long overdue makeover.

Hope you enjoyed.

Until we meet again,

Angel