He was supposed to be here. Supposed to be anyway. How could he miss a friends face he hadn't seen in ages? But something wasn't letting him look up. Perhaps it was because he was unable to fix his tie that was faintly crooked.

"Uwaaah! Why in hell's name can't I fix this stupid tie?" the blond asked, running a hand through his hair and scratching the back of his neck. Those golden locks were as spiky as ever, not really kept but it seemed like he had tried. Or at least someone had. But the way here had messed up a few things about his attire. His nails were a bit dirty again, his shoes not-so-polished around the edges and heel and his clothing was a tad wrinkled. ...He couldn't help it if he was almost late to a mission. He puffed out his cheeks and unconscious stretched his arms behind his head.

The mission was here, in a very expensive ballroom that both the Mizukage and Tsunade-baachan had set up together, them having their girlish ways and companions naturally agreeing. Shizune was a given bonus but what the hell was wrong with the guys by the Mizukage's side?

On top of that, there were more than enough people here, wearing fancy clothing that had costed probably way more yen than he currently had in his pockets. But maybe it was because he spent it all on ramen before coming here. Nah.

Stretching, he moved along the area, hands in his pockets and blue eyes scanning the place curiously. He avoided butlers and dancing couples as much as he could, wondering what exactly was his rival's plan for here. To kill one of the ambassadors, a spy for another nation, or just here because he can be? Naruto shook his head. No way! He wouldn't even pay a penny for any clothes like these. But Kakashi never lied.

The knuckle-head continued about, the whiff of alcohol and some sweat touching his nose, causing it to wrinkle every so often as he wandered about. But after thirty minutes of watching the crowd sparkle like the night sky itself and fireworks. Colors danced in unison to the music they had from the small orchestra to the side. And after some time, even Naruto was getting hot under the formal clothes, forcing him to pull back his overcoat a bit and reach for a glass of punch.

He tipped his head back, taking a few good mouthfuls before moving to put it back down. As soon as he set it down, the rest of the punch in his mouth was nearly choked on, forcing Naruto to swallow and nearly fall over. Hell, it would be bad if he had spewed that all of the floor. But right across the room, there was a man on the other side, looking right at him, with eyes as black as night and deep as an abyss. Unconsciously using his sleeve to wipe his mouth*, he followed immediately, setting the cup down and taking off.

That was a bad idea.

"Sorry, sorry! gomen!"

"Hey, kid, watch where you're going!" "Aye!" "Careful!" "OW MY TOE!" "Damn brat, be careful!" "What are you doing!?"

Racing through the crowd with lots of bruises he will wake up to tomorrow on his feet and face, he soon made it to where he saw the familiar figure. An arm snapped out in front of his face, causing him to skid to a stop so abruptly that there was a silent squealing of his shoes.

"Ease up there, kid. This is a restricted zone, only for VIP's." Go figure he would be around this area.

"But there's a friend here I need to see!" The guard rolled his eyes, settling his hands on his hips. Another sign he wasn't getting through.

"Listen, everyone's cousin could be in here, but I can't let anyone in unless they have a VIP card."

Naruto groaned, moving to walk back with a drag of his feet but was grabbed at the arm. The blond looked over and raised an eyebrow before the male pointed down towards the hilariously black skid marks on the floor. Looked like a child just smeared black chalk everywhere. The hell did his feet do?

"Maybe I'll let you in if you scrub this up." The man handed him some supplies of the janitor. Naruto got right to work, attempting to scrub up the skid marks he had left behind. It took thirty minutes just to clean that up and even when Naruto stood, practically waxed that one spot on the floor, the man wasn't satisfied.

"But I scrubbed it all up!"

"Yeah, and now you smell like a pig. Go on, get." The guard shoo'ed him away, causing the boy to groan again and drag himself away and outside. As soon as he stepped onto the porch, a gust of nightly wind caught onto his coat, the perspiration now doubt coating the underarms of the white shirt. With a sigh, he sat on the steps, sulking momentarily.

"How am I going to get in without a VIP card? I know he's here... I saw him." The male settled his elbows on his knees to run his hands wildly through his hair. That mussed it up entirely.* He didn't care by this point though, blue eyes staring tiredly at the forest before him. Konohagakure was close but only he knew of who was here. Who he needed to find.

After quite some time, he began to finally stand up and stretch, deciding to take a long stroll around the area to calm himself and clear his thoughts. Arms folding behind his head, like usual, he continued on along a concrete pathway, looking at the numerous plants along the way. A couple roses, a few lilies, honeysuckles...

As soon as he looked forward, his eyes widened, looking at a huge hedgemaze. Judging by a few lights wandering around here, produced by paper lanterns, no doubt. Deciding to give it a shot, out of curiosity, (he had the whole night) he went off into the entrance.

The twisted pathways were practically having him go backwards, upside down and back to where he started. This was getting him more frustrated than before! After some time, he sat abruptly on a small bench, tapping his foot and just sitting there.

"Agghh! Why does this damn mission have to be so frustratinggg!?" He put his arms around his head and bent over into his knees, as if in an awkward fetal position of despair. Grumbling to himself, he soon just relaxed like that until a voice echoed in his ears. Needless to say, he fell off the seat.

"I can only wonder why a knucklehead tries to make themselves fit in." Naruto sat upright so fast, he thought he lost his head for a moment. Standing oh-so nonchalantly at the entrance way, of where he had come into this dead end, was a heart-wrench familiar face. That no expression, however, somewhat pissed him off.

Naruto swallowed. "Sasuke... What are you doing here?" The Uchiha didn't even blink at the other, much less make a gesture before hand. "I should be asking you the same thing. This is a place you don't even fit in. You belong in that rag-tag team of yours that you call friends."

The blond cursed and moved to stand, gradually moving to get in the male's face as he spoke. "We're a rag-tag team to get you back to Konoha, Sasuke. You were part of it too, and you still are! We need you back!"

Sasuke took a step forward, surprising the blond enough to make him take a step back. "I don't need them at all. So stop saying to come back to Konoha, stop saying that they'll accept me again, because you know what, the ANBU are making me a criminal and they know I am." The male continued to step forward until Naruto was nearly tripping over the bench.

Naruto felt his collar become grabbed and tugged on, keeping him up and surprisingly close to the male. "There's only one person that accepts me though," the Uchiha muttered, causing the blond to blink steadily in thought before it clicked. For once, he wasn't stupid in this but he wasn't able to give an answer.

He had no idea what to do when the Uchiha full-on kissed him, an arm around his waist and the other gradually settling on the back of his head, away from his collar. Sasuke wasn't the least bit surprised when the other attempted to return the kiss but he wasn't good at it. This caused him to pull away with the slightest smirk on his face. "You're a horrible kisser."

Naruto, red in the face, slapped the male's arm before turning his back to him, nibbling his nails nervously. The hell just happened? One person? was that him? "I already know what's going through your mind," the Uchiha murmured, heaving a soft sigh as he wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. "To answer that last one, yes. One and only."

The blond blinked, his heart racing hard in his chest as he gently settled his hands on the others. "But...then why leave? Why leave us all?" He squeaked suddenly, feeling the male's chin on his shoulders and lips on his neck. He wasn't doing anything and that was what was bugging Naruto.

"I thought about it back then, after our last fight. But it was only after Orochimaru's death was I able to understand a lot. ...You also feel the same way because you're blushing tenfold."

Naruto slapped his hands this time, pouting off to the side. Goddamn this man and his monotone facts. It made him all the more right!

"Aishiteru, Naruto," the male murmured, spinning him about to gently kiss his nose. The blond was flushing rapidly, soon chuckling and kissing his cheek in return. "Aishiteru, Sasuke." And then he precisely bowled the missing-nin over, laughing lightly as he straddled him. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

And here, we begin another tale of rivals, friends and lovers.

"By the way, Naruto, fix your tie."

~End

First * - Sakura's going to shoot him

Second* - She's REALLY going to kill him

Holy hell, it's been freakin' years since I've done a Naruto thing! And this is the only one I semi-like. D Anywaaaaay this was made for a friend. I get cookies now. WOO. 8D Hope you all enjoyed as well, despite it's shortness. ^