Summary: Sasuke was back. Everything was supposed to be great right? Well then why was the team falling apart?

Warnings: SasuNaruSasu Yaoi, also Naruto will end up somewhat OOC. This will sometimes be a bit dark. In my little made up Narutoverse, Naruto will show quite a bit of anger and resentment toward some people.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto; Lyrics by Mudvayne, who I don't own either.

Edited 12/21/08; Normally I don't add lyrics of the songs I listen to when I write. But I think it needs it for this story.

Beneath the Anger

Chapter 2

In this hole
That is me
Left with a heart exhausted
What's my release?
What sets me free?
Do you pull me up just to push me down again?

Peel me from the skin
Tear me from the rind
Does it make you happy now?

Tear meat from the bone
Tear me from myself
Are you feeling happy now?

xxx

Thoughts: 'blah blah'

xxx

Day 1

Sasuke woke up at the crack of dawn. There was only a hint of light outside, but his internal clock always woke him up this early, no matter what. He sat up and stretched, glancing at the shadow on the other side of the room. He was obviously still deep in sleep, if the rhythmic rise and fall of said shadow was any indication. He rolled his eyes. Naruto never was an early riser.

He got up and walked to the bathroom. It took him right past the space Naruto was occupying. The wild sleeper was sprawled out on his back, arms and legs spread. He swallowed the urge to kick him awake. On missions, they would always have to force him out of bed. Sometimes he wondered how in the world the dobe made it as a shinobi. He was way too oblivious to be any good. All Sasuke had to feel, hear or see was a slight movement or sound and it would immediately rouse him. But there the idiot was, out cold without a care. A person could come over with a kunai and slit his throat before he would even have a chance to scream. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Next, he went to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. He searched through the cabinets hoping to find some coffee. He was NOT a morning person, never has been. He had just trained his body to rise early. Either that or the frequent nightmares would wake him. However, he was eventually introduced to the wonders of coffee by Karin. At first he didn't want to try it, just because he knew she'd take it the wrong way and end up clinging to him thinking it was the beginning of something more. But after days of hearing her annoying begging, he grudgingly drank the dark liquid she offered him. All it took was one cup. After that, he became addicted and had a cup every morning. The bitter taste had him wide awake like nothing else could. He found what he was looking for when he pulled open the last cupboard. 'Yes!' He grabbed the coffee grounds and the filter and set the coffee maker going. Then he walked back to his sleeping bag and sat on top of it, deciding to entertain himself with seeing how long it would take for the blonde to wake up while he waited for his coffee.

Naruto shifted in his sleep. He felt like he was being watched. And it was disrupting his rest. He growled and turned over. But it didn't help. Finally unable to go back to sleep, he blearily opened his eyes. Rubbing the sleep from them, the first thing he saw was his stoic new roommate. His fuzzy gaze suddenly turned into a glare of irritation. Why did the first thing he see have to be him?

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the glare.

Naruto wanted, so badly, to smack that look off of that teme's perfect face. Dammit, even when he woke up, he looked good. Why couldn't the teme look like crap with bad bed hair and rumpled clothes when he woke up? And a case of morning breath wouldn't hurt either. Stupid bastard probably figured he was too good to have bed hair and bad breath. He jumped up, already having talked himself into an annoyed state of mind, and went to the bathroom. When he came out, he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed an apple of his own. He sat directly across from Sasuke and made a loud show of biting into the apple just to see if it would irritate him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the lame attempt to goad him. He got up, not even acknowledging the blonde on his way to the kitchen and grabbed his strong black coffee. He could easily deal with the dobe's idiocy after he'd had his coffee.

Naruto watched the brunette walk back in sipping from a mug. "What is that?"

"Coffee."

"EWW...you drink that crap?" He stuck his tongue out at the thought of how horrible it tasted.

"It's not crap. But obviously, you're too immature to understand."

"What? Who the hell are you calling immature?"

"You're the only other person I see here. Seriously, your idea of good food is ramen, so how could you possibly understand something as refined as coffee?"

"Cocky bastard! There's nothing wrong with my ramen. Ramen is the best! Way better than that crap you call coffee. And don't you dare talk to me like I'm inferior to you!"

"I'll talk to you however I want. And you are inferior to me. Once a dead last always a dead last." Naruto growled.

"Well if I'm such a dead last, how come I was able to bring you back?"

"...I was weak."

"Yeah right. You're just using that as an excuse because you couldn't stop me. You refuse to admit that I'm better than you."

"Yeah, like that would ever happen. There's nothing to admit because I am better than you. You wish you could be half as good as me. Maybe then you'd have a chance at your naive idealistic dream of becoming Hokage."

Naruto blinked. Sasuke saw a flash of hurt before it was gone. Without a word, Naruto got up and walked away from the dark haired shinobi. He didn't care which direction he went, as long as it was out of his sight. His feet ended up taking him to the kitchen.

Sasuke cursed to himself and slammed a fist against the floor the moment the blonde left the room. Why was it that every time he opened his mouth to say something to Naruto, the words that came out were like poison?

And the minutes and hours slowly rolled ahead...

It was now late in the afternoon and Sasuke was surprised that the dobe had stayed quiet for so long. Not a peep, hardly a fidget came from that side of the room. It was almost unnerving. The dobe wouldn't even look at him. Ok, sure, what he said was a bit on the mean side, but it was nothing the dobe wasn't used to hearing from him. He refused to believe the blonde was still hurt by what he said. He and Sakura have said all kinds of things to him over the years. Why would this be any different? Well, alright, maybe the bit about the hokage was going a little too far. But dammit, Naruto shouldn't have baited him into arguing before he drank his cup of coffee! But still, Naruto always bounced back...right?

A little voice in the back of his head kept giving him the answer he didn't want to hear.

Naruto sat in his little corner of the world wishing for a weapon. Somehow, whoever holed them up in here - he had a feeling the old hag had something to do with it - made sure not to provide any sharp objects that could be turned into weapons. He couldn't wait to get out of this place. Why would she even lock the two of them together? She already knew he and the teme would be at each other's throats.

He refused to even look at the teme. How dare he! Damn bastard. Even after all this time, he refuses to acknowledge him. It hurt. And yet, it pissed him off because he always figured he'd finally gotten over his childish need to have Sasuke's respect. But deep down it was still there. He didn't care anymore what the rest of Konoha thought of him. But, he did care what Sasuke thought. He should've known, though, that the bastard would never give him any recognition.

The part that saddened him though, yet angered him at the same time, was that deep down Sasuke was right. No matter how hard he worked to prove himself, people still saw him the same way. To the village, he wasn't a shinobi. He was the Kyuubi, a monster, murderer of their families. It was starting to take more and more energy on his part not to hate them for their constant blind bigotry. He didn't want to hate anyone. And he didn't want to hate his home. But becoming hokage was seeming more and more like a pipe dream, if the way the council reacted to Tsunade was any indication. She only hinted at the possibility that she might choose him as her apprentice and they went into an uproar. He could hear it from his place outside the chambers as he waited. A good two thirds of the council considered him to be too volatile, too much of a liability with the possibility of the seal ever breaking. He was sure they'd be willing to accept any other one of the rookie nine, as long as it wasn't him. Even Sasuke.

He sighed and tried to swallow down his growing resentment and glanced over at the original cause of his ire. Sasuke had the nerve to be brooding. Brooding! If anyone should be brooding, it should be him. Damn Uchiha! He was still the most eligible bachelor in Konoha - his status hadn't changed, even though he had been a traitor to the village. He had absolutely nothing to worry about. It must be nice to be able to leave the village but still be able to come back with the council's blessing.

Naruto had often wondered if his teammate ever regretted leaving. Knowing him, probably not.

"Ne…Teme?"

Sasuke looked up, shocked to hear his roommate's voice. "Hn."

"…uh…"

"Spit it out dobe or leave me alone." 'Gah!' Sasuke was starting to feel like he should just keep his mouth shut from now on. Nothing would ever be resolved between them as long as his quick trigger mouth kept making things worse.

Naruto glared indignantly before asking his question. "Was it worth it?"

Sasuke raised a brow, not believing he would ask him that. "What?"

Naruto looked away from the intense stare. His voice began again, this time in a whisper. "I said was it all worth it? Leaving Konoha? Leaving your team? Going to the snake? Everything? Was it worth it?"

Sasuke stared at the strands of blonde hair that covered the tanned face so the vulnerable blue eyes couldn't be seen. He had never been one to sugar coat. And he wasn't about to start now. But still, he hesitated.

"Well?"

"...Yes."

There was silence for quite a while. Naruto finally sighed in resignation. "I…I just don't understand you."

Sasuke shrugged. "You never have. That's your problem. I am an avenger. It's all I am. It's all I have," he replied in a cold voice.

"But it's not-"

"Yes it is Naruto."

"But Sas-"

"Why do you care?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed as his temper flared once again.

"Because friends care. I thought I was yours."

He snorted. "I don't need any friends." He looked away and out the window.

"Everyone needs friends, even you bastard."

"Why does it bother you so much Naruto?"

"It's just…I don't see why you couldn't have stayed here and trained. We could've helped you."

Sasuke turned his head back to Naruto, his eyes cold. "I didn't want or need any help dobe!"

Naruto chuckled humorlessly while his voice took on a sarcastic and accusatory tone. "Of course you didn't. You're the big bad Uchiha that can do everything all by yourself. Well, if you didn't need or want any help, why did you pick up a whole new team?"

Damn him for learning logic while he was away. Sasuke wasn't about to let him know he had a point and just stared at Naruto, not saying a word. Naruto stared back, refusing to back down from the question. The staring match went on for almost a minute before Naruto saw Sasuke's lips twist into a slow smirk.

"Jealous dobe?"

God, he hated that smirk! Naruto wanted to punch the arrogant look off his face. "You wish teme," he bit out.

"Actually, it seems more like you wish."

Naruto scowled and clenched a fist. "The only thing I wish is that I could smash my fist in your stupid face."

"Go ahead and try dobe. You won't even get close to it." Sasuke glared and jumped up into a stance.

Naruto, never one to back down, ran toward him and threw a punch which met nothing but air as Sasuke dodged.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that dobe." The Uchiha taunted. Naruto growled in anger. He was not going to be taunted by the bastard.

"I'll kill you teme!" He threw another punch. Sasuke dodged. And another. Sasuke dodged again. Naruto growled again, completely aggravated.

"Quit dodging and fight me dammit!" Naruto yelled emphasizing it with another punch, which Sasuke ducked. Naruto roared angrily and threw punches left and right. Sasuke was able to dodge most of them even without the sharingan. Taijutsu never was Naruto's strong suit, anyway, but his anger was making him sloppy. Finally the Uchiha grew tired of playing dodge and grabbed the fist, yanked the blonde closer and stared him down.

Sasuke would never admit it. He'd never be able to live it down. He loved making the dobe angry because he wanted to see that fire in the expressive blue eyes. It did something strange to his insides, but he liked it.

"Why are you so angry dobe?" He asked in that dark smooth voice.

'That voice should be illegal.' That was Naruto's first thought as he glared back breathing hard. But he was too angry to wonder why he had that passing thought. He was angry at Sasuke for way too many things. But he wasn't about to enumerate. "Because your face pisses me off." He growled and then whipped his leg around and tripped Sasuke causing him to fall to the floor. But Sasuke still didn't let go of the hand and yanked Naruto with him to the floor. He took advantage of the surprised blonde, rolling on top of him and pinning him down. Naruto struggled but couldn't get away. "Get off of me."

"Quit struggling dobe."

"No...Get off teme."

"Why should I? I'm quite comfortable here." Sasuke smirked, knowing it would piss his teammate off even more. Naruto snarled and bucked his hips.

Unfortunately, that action caused a very unwanted reaction.

Pleasure shot through Naruto and his eyes widened. He stopped struggling and laid flat trying to stop himself from blushing and prayed that Sasuke didn't notice. His prayers were answered because Sasuke was so intently glaring down at the blonde, he hardly noticed what Naruto had done, nor did he catch the change in Naruto's now tense form.

"What is your problem with me dobe?" He glowered at the blonde in exasperation gripping his shoulders shaking the dobe before letting go. "First you follow me all over the shinobi nations and beyond trying to get me to come home when I continually told you to leave me alone. But now that you finally have me back you act like you hate me."

As soon as Naruto saw that Sasuke wasn't holding him down anymore, he pushed him off, then jumped up and walked away, trying to calm down in more ways than one. "Me hate you? You're the one that acts like you hate me! You've hardly talked to me since you've been back in Konoha. You're such a arrogant bastard, walking around like you're God's gift to the world just because you're an almighty Uchiha and the entire village loves you so much. Ever since you've been back in Konoha, when you do speak, it's only to insult me." he spat bitterly.

"I've insulted you for years. It's never bothered you before. Why should it now?"

"This is not the same and you know it! You never said things so cruel and hateful to me before. What happened to you? Why are you like this?" Naruto's voice slowly changed octaves until he was yelling.

"Why am I like this? Oh, I don't know...Maybe because I didn't want to come back!" Sasuke yelled back, punching his hand against the nearest wall for emphasis.

Naruto threw his hands up and out in frustration. "Why not? You did what you wanted. You got your revenge. Why wouldn't you want to come home?"

"Because I was just fine on my own!"

"You were close to dying out there Sasuke!"

There was a moment of silence, only interrupted by Sasuke's deep sigh while he ran a hand through his hair and turned away from the emotionally charged cobalt gaze.

"Maybe...maybe that's what I wanted." he mumbled.

Naruto stared in shock at the words that he thought just came from the paler man's lips. He only just barely heard the whispered mumble and wondered if he heard correctly. "What did you say?"

"Nothing..."

"That wasn't nothing teme."

"Just shut up about it dobe. I'm not repeating myself."

"No! What the...You...You planned on dying out there didn't you?" Sasuke rounded on him and looked at him once before looking away. And when he spoke, the voice was soft and he sounded almost defeated.

"Dobe, just leave it alone. I'm not discussing this with you." Sasuke walked away and disappeared into the bathroom, the only room he could lock himself into.

Naruto stared at the bathroom door, this newest revelation leaving him stunned. He wasn't sure what to think at the moment. He closed his eyes and ran his hand through his spikes. Most people would've been shocked at the revelation that Sasuke had planned to die. But not Naruto. He understood why Sasuke might've felt that he wouldn't live through his fight with Itachi. But he didn't understand why Sasuke still would want to die now that he was back. Even as an ex-traitor the Uchiha got more respect from people than he did. And he was the loyal one who did everything for Konoha. Besides, didn't Sasuke want to revive his clan? You can't do that when you're dead.

Another hour passed in complete silence - Naruto's boredom induced finger tapping not withstanding - before Sasuke reappeared. And he said absolutely nothing as he went to the kitchen and rifled through the cabinets for something to eat. The atmosphere surrounding the two was almost stifling. Sasuke didn't want to talk about it and Naruto didn't know what to say.

The problem is Naruto knew Sasuke didn't want to talk about it. And Sasuke knew Naruto wanted to say something but was too uncomfortable to bring it up.

But since neither male opened their mouths, it remained silent.

Sasuke came out of the kitchen after ten minutes carrying two cups of steaming instant ramen. Instead of going to his side of the room though, he held out one for Naruto.

Naruto just looked at him like he was insane. Well, Sasuke could understand since he figured hell would freeze over before he would ever eat instant ramen. But there wasn't anything else that wouldn't take too long and he was hungry. Dark brows furrowed and he glared at the blonde.

"Usuratonkachi, hurry up before I toss it out."

Blue eyes went wide at the blasphemous threat and Naruto jumped up to grab the cup and sat back down happily munching away. Sasuke walked away to sit on his sleeping bag again. Naruto had already finished his cup before Sasuke had gotten through half of his. Somewhere in his heart, Sasuke was relieved that at least one thing about Naruto hadn't changed.

He still loved his ramen.

The sun was setting and the two were still silent, but at least it was a more companionable one.

Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke and before them stood Kakashi with that one-eyed smile. Matching glares and twitching eyes came from both sides of the room. Kakashi ignored what would probably be an enormous amount of killer intent if the two had their chakra and waved his hand. "Hello boys."

Twin growls were heard.

"I'm glad you're both so happy to see me."

"You did this didn't you?" Naruto yelled and pointed at the scarecrow, who held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Me? I had nothing to do with this. This was all the hokage's idea."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"I think you already know that." Kakashi leaned against the wall lazily with his hands in his pockets. "She's had enough of the two of you and decided to give you both the chance to work things out for yourselves without making everyone else miserable in the process."

"By sticking us both in the same room? That's a real bright idea." Sasuke deadpanned.

"What the hell is that old hag thinking? I'll kill him if I stay in here with him any longer." Naruto declared.

"Che...you can't kill me. You couldn't even touch me a few hours ago. If anything, I'd kill you. Either that or I'll die from being stuck with your idiocy for too long."

"If I don't die from your being such a bastard."

"That doesn't even make any freaking sense dobe!"

Naruto was up and charging again. "Teme!"

Sasuke went into a defensive stance.

Naruto never touched him. Sasuke smirked.

Kakashi had the blonde by the collar of his shirt. "Maa maa...calm down you two. She never said you couldn't leave." Two pairs of eyes shifted back to the smiling copy ninja.

"You just have to show you can get along without arguing or fighting for longer than five minutes." Both sets of shoulders drooped and glares returned. Kakashi shrugged.

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm just the messenger. Anyways, I was just here to check on the both of you. And now that I've done my duty, I'm off."

Naruto and Sasuke caught each other's eyes and both conveyed the same thought. They ran quickly to latch onto Kakashi, who was in the midst of making hand signs, before he disappeared. Just before their fingers grasped onto his clothes, he jumped up to the ceiling and hung on by his feet with chakra. Both boys looked up with growls. Kakashi chuckled. "See, I knew if you put your minds to it you both could work together." He smiled behind his mask.

Two sets of arms crossed over chests.

"Does that mean we can leave now?" Naruto asked.

"Uh...let me think...No." Sasuke could swear he saw a smirk behind that mask. "Well, ja."

"No! Wait!" Naruto yelled. With a wave and a poof of smoke, Kakashi was gone. "DAMMIIIIIITTTT!"

Sasuke glared at the spot Kakashi had been standing in before turning away and going back to his bedroll.

Once again, there was silence.

But this time it was because both teammates were plotting ways to kill Kakashi and Tsunade.

a/n: Well I hope I don't throw you off with the constant switches of attitude. But it seems just like the two to get along one minute and then be at each other's throats the next. Especially because of all the anger/tension/frustration that's built up. And then there was the bit with Kakashi...I just couldn't help adding a bit of him. So yeah, anyway, hope you enjoyed it. And thanks for your reviews! Keep them comin. :)