The rest of the day Naruto ended up wandering around the school like a zombie. Apparently he had heard all the rumours far too late, he had only gotten wind of Sasuke's return after he'd been seen back in the village. He wasn't sure how to take any of this. Sasuke was back; his heart skipped a beat every time he thought of it. His head spun, his hands trembled and he felt like he was going to be sick as he thought about it more and more. Then he remembered his situation.

Nothing had changed, he still couldn't tell Sasuke anything, not to mention he probably wouldn't be happy with Naruto's current lifestyle choice so that was something he should definitely avoid. But having him back, having him near, hearing his deep voice whispering those declarations of love in his ear every time they were alone. He couldn't wait to see that tussled rich hair, to be pressed against him. He had been with so many other people he had almost forgotten the feeling of being with Sasuke, as if it were no more than a dream.

Even if he still couldn't have what he wanted, he was happy to get at least that much back.

He had been snooping around all day, begging teachers and students, anyone who might have an ear to the ground to tell them everything they knew about the returning Uchiha. Apparently he had to return to finish some of the specific village exams before he could be sent out on field missions which meant he was jumping two years above him and probably wouldn't have to hang around the school much at all, but there was still a chance he would see him.

A giant grin spread across the Blonde's face as he walked into his next class coming face to face with the Hyuuga girl in the doorway, noses almost touching before she fell back into Kiba's awaiting arms. Kiba growled as he swung her up into his arms bridal style. He gave Naruto a curt nod as he elbowed past him headed down the hallway, the unconscious girl the centre of his attention. Naruto smiled and suppressed a chuckle, he and Kiba were often best friends, but never once that poor girl got involved.

He walked into the room falling into a seat beside the slumbering Shikamaru, everything seemed so normal. How could they keep acting that way when Sasuke was finally back? He guessed none of them really cared, none of their worlds circulated around that Boy but he had no right to act any differently either. He had always claimed the attention was unwanted so for anyone outside his mind, of course he had no right to give a shit about any of it.

His bag slammed against the thick wood desk, stirring Shikamaru slightly but nowhere near enough to wake him. He reached into the denim satchel, his fingers closed around the thinnest book in his bag which he knew was for that class. His body kept moving as it ought to but his mind was somewhere completely different until it was dragged back to reality by a note which fell to his desk accompanying his book.

Nothing's changed. Don't even think about it.

He sighed, scrunching it up, yea yea that was a given. As much as everyone else liked to think it he wasn't a complete moron. He shoved it carelessly back into his bag and gave up on the lesson, mimicking Shikamaru's position sprawled across the desk. It had been a while since he got a note; just because Sasuke hadn't been around did he think he would have forgotten everything already?

He still couldn't say yes to Sasuke, still couldn't tell him he loved him, but maybe this time he'd be brave enough to raise his arms next time he was clutched against that perfect chest, to risk a brief kiss, to steal a little more attention from the boy who always had his. It wasn't really fair to either of them, but just the thought of one of these precious moments coming to pass was more than enough to paint a giant smile across the sleeping ninja's face.

The horrid sound of rusted metal clanging against even more rusted metal rose him from his dreams to face the unpleasant reality of waking up in an already emptied classroom. He dragged his books back to his bag, barely having the energy or strength to keep going. He soon decided that the bell which had sounded for lunchtime for everyone else was clearly his home time bell. He chuckled to himself as he dragged his body out of the room. Sometimes, and only very rarely, it was easier not having a family to scold you for these kind of things.

He knew that it took away any chance of him seeing Sasuke today but he didn't think he was ready anyway. He honestly wasn't sure how he would deal yet, he hadn't had long enough to process. Not to mention he still smelt like the guy he had been with the night before and that was too much embarrassment for him to handle on their reunion. But there was the other half of him that just didn't give a shit about any of it. He just needed to see him again, to be with him again, to have him near again, even though it was nothing short of torture. But not yet, he couldn't handle it just yet.

He strode outside the door, swinging his bag in a wide arch as he turned the corner to find himself face to face with the man he had just concluded to stay away from. His jaw dropped as he found his eyes slowly wandering up Sasuke's body. His long legs, his thick torso, his shoulders were about at his eye line, the bastard had grown, his thin jaw, his perfect face, finally resting on the deep shadowed eyes.

"S-sasuke…"

Sasuke looked down at him, eyebrows raised as Naruto surveyed his body mild amusement flickered through his eyes as he waited for him to finish. He was fairly certain that nothing else was given away on his face even under Naruto's gaze. But beneath the surface he could hardly breathe. He looked back to the friends at his side as Naruto gasped his name, carelessly letting his hand ruffle through Naruto's hair as he led them past him into the now abandoned classroom.

"Naruto, you haven't changed a bit."

Sasuke closed the door behind him leaving Naruto staring at the empty space. A slight whimper escaped his lips, he turned and ran.