Sorry for such a late update, But I think I'm making it up to you guys, since this is kinda a long chapter.

And also, I decided I'd be updating the list of pairings of the fic every chapter, since they seem to be adding up with every single chapter I write.

So right now, this is the list:

Pairings: SasuIno, NaruSaku. SaiIno. Implied one-sided ShikaIno, Implied One-sided ShikaTema.

I hope no one will mind those pairings all that much. Also, this chapter here has quite a lot of interaction between Sasuke and a certain lazy ninja, but Shikamaru is an interesting character, and I used to like him a lot when I first wrote this chapter. Besides, I also think there's a good possibility that he may like Ino, soo.

And thank you to those how reviewed last chapter! You guys are awesome.

Chapter 3

Wise Words, and a New Home.

- -

"You can go now"

He looked behind him for a second, and then turned around, his hand instantly reaching up to shield his eyes from the blindingly bright sunlight. The cool breeze fleeting by him making the hairs in his arms rise up, and the sudden noise that he could hear coming from everywhere made his stomach squirm with uneasiness, but some weird kind of eagerness at the same time.

He could hear the door closing behind him, the ANBU guard who had escorted him outside leaving quietly. Slowly, he moved the hand away from his eyes and closed them instead, breathing in deeply.

It had been a long time since he had been outside, since he had been able to take a breath of fresh air; and there had been an even longer time since he had last stepped on Konoha's ground.

But he was finally free now. He was finally out of that hell, finally after two months of boredom and anxiety. He was finally free.

And he would have smiled, no matter how small and invisible that smile would have been, if he hadn't opened his obsidian eyes only to find a grinning blonde-haired boy standing a couple of meters away.

Swallowing his previous surprise and any traces of any kind of smile, Sasuke arched one slim eyebrow, before frowning slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean 'what I'm doing here'? I came to pick you up, of course!" Said boy explained, just as brightly as his grin, seemingly paying little to no attention to the other's boy's tone of voice and nonchalant expression. "Besides, I have to guide you to your home!"

Another eyebrow joined the one arched, "'Guide' me? I'm not going to get lost, Naruto. I know pretty darn well where my house is."

"Don't be so sure of that!" Naruto grinned, and Sasuke wondered what the hell he meant by those words, and was just about to ask, but decided against it.

"Hn, whatever." Placing his hands inside his pockets, Sasuke started walking, passing by Naruto without even a glance in his direction.

The blonde frowned slightly, but hurried to catch up with the Uchiha, "Hey! You're not even going to give me a 'thank you'? What happened to your manners!"

"I never had them with anything involving you to start with, dobe." Was his cool answer, which was accompanied by a slight smirk when Naruto frowned.

"And about what did you ever have them, you bastard?" Sasuke's smirk dissipated from his lips, and instead appeared over Naruto's, who stopped looking at him and turned ahead.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, after minutes of silence.

"What?"

"Aren't you excited to finally be out? I bet you're dying of relief inside that ice-block body of yours!" In response, Naruto merely got a grunt, and an annoyed furrow of brows. "See? I knew I was right."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke heaved a sigh. He was already way too used to Naruto's loudness, but it still surprised him just how much Naruto became the same loud and cheerful boy he used to be all those years ago since he was able to bring him back. If Sasuke were someone else, someone more cheesy and sentimental, he would probably tell Naruto that he missed him, too; but Sasuke wasn't any of those things, and he hadn't even admitted that truth to himself yet. So he didn't even allow that thought to cross his mind.

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!"

Grunting with annoyance, this time Sasuke opened his obsidian eyes to send a ligh glare at his blonde-companion, "What?"

"Let's go inside! We haven't been here together since a long while, and I'm sure you want something that's actually tasty to eat." Naruto was smiling happily at him, but Sasuke didn't get his smile nor his words. Inside? Inside of where?

That's when the boy finally raised his eyes, looking past the boy's form, only to find that they were standing in front of what was none other than Ichiraku's Ramen Bar; the smell of the food that Naruto loved the most coming from inside the stand and blurring his senses for a moment. How long has it been since he last ate ramen? He had lost track of time. While he was with Orochimaru, they didn't really eat those kinds of things. In fact, Kabuto had developed pills that expanded in your stomach, and it was just as if you had eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner all at once. It was kind of dull, now that he thought about it, but back then it had seemed like a helpful solution.

Slowly, Sasuke's orbs once again lay upon Naruto's grinning form, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"…Alright."

"Cool! Then let's go! I'm STARVING!" Sighing tiredly behind the happy blonde, Sasuke walked after him, lowering his head and once again putting on his usual façade. At least, of course, until Naruto's voice broke the silence again.

"Guys! Sakura-chan! What are you guys doing in here?!" Raising his face in slight curiosity, Sasuke opened his eyes only to find Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and Sai sitting together, each with their own bowl of steaming ramen.

The four teens glanced up from their bowls, two pairs of eyes widening while the other two remained almost impassive.

Sakura was the first to speak.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun! I didn't know you would be out so early!" The pink-haired girl exclaimed with surprise, her emerald orbs still opened a little more than they usually were.

Sasuke merely shrugged in response, but Naruto spoke for him, "Yeah! It was a good thing I saw Tsunade-baachan yesterday, 'cuz if I didn't I wouldn't have known, either!" He said, while he walked casually and took the empty seat besides Sakura.

Sasuke, though, was currently weighting his options; he could go and sit besides Naruto, who would probably not stop talking the whole while, or he could instead go and seat besides Shikamaru, who he hadn't seen in almost three years but whose expression gave away the fact that he hadn't changed at all.

It wasn't too hard for him to reach a conclusion.

And he was calmly walking to seat by Shikamaru, when a voice stopped him mid-step.

"I'm happy you're already out, Sasuke. You're finally part of Konoha again!" Were Ino's words, accompanied by a big, bright grin that only she and her blonde friend knew how to give.

Sasuke's eyes stayed glued at her smiling form for a while, and then he nodded in a silent appreciation of her words, before once again resuming his walk. But again, he was interrupted, this time by a voice that was in no way welcomed by him.

"I'm glad of your freedom too, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure you'll find your place here again."

Slowly, so much that it was almost painful, Sasuke turned towards Sai, who was giving him a polite smile that he probably hoped seemed friendly. The Uchiha's deep black orbs stayed focused on the boy's face for just moments, but the glare he sent in his direction was enough to make his point.

Sai was not of his liking, for reasons that said boy did not know or understand, but that Sasuke knew all too well. Reasons that had just increased a mere day ago.

So without more distractions this time, Sasuke was finally able to take his seat, his eyes closing almost immediately.

"Yo, Sasuke. Welcome back." Shikamaru murmured lazily when he saw that the boy was finally close enough as to not need to make the supreme effort of raising his voice. The Uchiha gave him a slight gaze, and then nodded.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Was Shikamaru's simple answer, after which the boy yawned loudly, earning himself a painful smack on the shoulder by his blonde teammate, who was sitting at his other side.

"Put a hand over your mouth when you do that! Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you the same thing until it settles in that big brain of yours?!" Ino complained loudly, looking at him through narrowed blue eyes.

"Damn, woman. Why do you have to be so troublesome?" The lazy genius complained, massaging the affected spot with one calloused hand.

"Because you don't have any manners whatsoever! That's why!"

"Maa... mendokuse."

"Calm down, Ino-san. It's normal for boys to not have manners, and Shikamaru-kun is just a boy after all."

"...Yeah, I know, but... oh well, guess you're right!" Ino gave in, giggling softly against her palm.

Neither she nor Sai noticed the frowns appearing over the faces of the two black-haired boys in the group.

"…Troublesome guy… Who asked for his opinion anyway?" Shikamaru murmured under his breath, just barely loud enough for Sasuke to catch it. Thankfully, Ino and the 'troublesome' guy were too busy chatting with one another to notice.

Sasuke snorted, smirking with pleasure, slightly content at having someone who supported his opinion about the guy, "You don't like Sai too much, I assume?"

Shikamaru merely shook his head slightly, boringly playing with the remaining noodles in his plate, "I have my reasons. You?"

"I have them as well."

Both boys shared amused looks and matching smirks, before each focused their attention once again in their own tasks, apparently thinking they had enough human interaction already.

The chatter of the people in the restaurant, and the slight pieces of Ino and Sai's conversation, together with Naruto and Sakura's, reached their ears, but neither of them paid any attention to it. In their own way, both of them found it too troublesome to acknowledge.

"Did you already find a date for the party?" Shikamaru asked suddenly, finally placing his almost empty plate away, apparently getting tired of playing with his food.

Sasuke, who was just starting to eat his own bowl which was sent to him by Naruto from the other side of the table, turned towards the lazy boy, arching one questioning eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Shikamaru merely shrugged, resting his head a top of his propped up hands, "Curiosity. I heard that you needed to get someone, that's all."

Arching his eyebrow further, Sasuke returned his attention towards his bowl, suddenly not finding it so appealing anymore. How many people knew about Tsunade's command? If he didn't find someone, then he would for sure be the source of laughing of Konoha for a long while. That was, of course, if they cared enough about him to make fun of him. He didn't know which option he liked the best.

Shikamaru observed Sasuke's nonchalant shrug, and spoke again, turning to the side, "The dates are such a pain…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, nodding, "...You tell me."

"So, who do you have in mind?"

"No one."

Shikamaru arched one eyebrow in slight amusement, "Really? I don't think that'll help you too much, ya know?"

Once again, Sasuke shrugged. His eyebrows knitting together thoughtfully and somewhat irately, his bowl now lying forgotten before him, in order for his mind to focus on other, more important matters than eating. "I don't have too much of a choice. My two options are off of the list."

"Two options? Ino and Sakura, I assume?" Sasuke gave him a slightly surprised look for a moment, but then he finally seemed to notice the fact that the boy he was talking with was a genius, and besides, two plus two weren't too hard to place together anyway. Rightly interpreting the boy's faces, Shikamaru yawned slightly, "Too bad they are already taken, huh?"

"…Yeah, I guess..." He didn't really want to dwell too much into that subject. Yeah, it was rotten luck that his both options were asked before he could have the chance, but he didn't really care, did he? After all, he only wanted to go with them to get rid of the problem Tsunade had placed upon his shoulders. It would be the same for him if he found someone else to go with.

From somewhere, a happy giggle that he identified as Ino's reached his ears, and he couldn't avoid the frown that graced his handsome features.

"You can't always have what you want." Shikamaru's thoughtful and somewhat bitter voice took him out of his little reverie, and he turned towards the pineapple hair-styled boy, only to find him with his eyes lost somewhere in the wall, his dark orbs glazed with an emotion that made his companion arch one eyebrow in surprise, "…Believe me, I know what I'm saying."

"You also wanted to go with someone who was already taken?" Sasuke asked, curiosity only mildly showing in his voice.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed slightly, before he closed his eyes, sighing loudly. "…Yeah, something like that"

His words surprised Sasuke; he never thought Shikamaru would be the kind of guy to actually have interest in that sort of thing, nor did he thought that he would admit it so openly. But what surprised the only Uchiha alive the most was the way the Nara's eyes directed towards Ino for just a second, before the boy closed them airily. Maybe Shikamaru thought he wouldn't notice, or maybe he didn't do it on his own accord, but the fact was that he sure as hell had noticed it; and right now, he couldn't help but feel somewhat understanding of the boy's obvious feelings, if not a little amused by them.

So Sai had screwed not only one, but two person's wishes by asking Ino? Heh, he know understood pretty well Shikamaru's reasons for disliking the boy.

What an irony, they weren't too different from his own. Partly, at least.

"So, you don't have a date, either?" He said finally, choosing to ignore what he had just seen, rightly guessing that if he commented about it he would only make the other boy uncomfortable.

"Nah, I do." Shikamaru answered lazily, taking Sasuke by surprise.

"Who?"

"Temari."

"But you said that--"

"--And it's true. Temari merely asked me the favor of going with her, and since well… you know," He gave a careless and unenthusiastic shrug of his shoulders, "I agreed."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows with obvious amusement, "It surprises me just how popular with girls you seem to be lately, Nara."

The other boy ignored his comment, merely waving one hand in front of his face as a vague answer. Sasuke snorted slightly, and both boys fell onto a calm silence, which was far more fitting for both of their personalities.

But then, Shikamaru opened his eyes and broke the silence again, something that seemed awfully out of character from his part, speaking with a serious tone that he had had to use during his life more times than he would have liked to. "But what I meant, Uchiha, it's that things don't always go your way; you can't expect everything to fall into your open palm without you even moving one finger, because if you don't grasp it and close your fingers around it, then whatever it was that fell inside will slip from them and you'll never regain it again. Because that's the way life works. It's as troublesome as that."

They fell silent once again, Shikamaru's wise words hanging onto them like an ethereal ghost, sinking slowly in their brains and bringing out different meanings for each one of them.

Then, suddenly, Sasuke placed his shop sticks atop his almost untouched ramen, and stood up, catching the attention of the others.

"Hey! Bastard! Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving."

"But, you almost didn't eat, Sasuke-kun." Sakura observed, looking at his bowl.

"I'm not hungry," The black-haired boy answered simply, ready to turn around and leave, pointedly ignoring Shikamaru's observant stare.

"You sure? The Department's food tastes like hell, it wouldn't do you any bad to eat something tastier." Now it was Ino who spoke, and Sasuke stopped slightly, while Ino opened her lips again ready to throw in another comment.

But Sai beat her to it.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun, Ino-san is right. And you're too thin, also."

Resisting the urge to kill him with a glare, Sasuke forgot any intention he had of stopping, and started walking again, his brow furrowed.

"Wait, Sasuke! Let me go with you!" Naruto quickly stood up from his seat at the counter, giving Sakura a small apologetic smile before jolting to chase after his friend.

Sasuke gave him a short look from above his shoulder, but didn't say anything, instead allowing the blonde catch up with him and fall in pace at his side.

"Maa, Sasuke-teme! Why couldn't you stay longer?! I couldn't even finish my second bowl!" Complained the younger of the two loudly, after some minutes.

"Why did you come then? I didn't ask you to leave with me," Sasuke didn't even open his eyes to glance in his direction, his hands stuck deep into his pockets.

At his side, Naruto pouted. "Yeah… but I had to. Don't you remember that I have to take you to your home?"

Oh, that.

He almost forgot about Naruto's earlier confusing words. What the hell did he meant by it? This time he just couldn't stop himself from asking. "I don't need anyone to escort me there, Naruto. I'm not going to get lost, I already told you."

"And I already told you that you shouldn't be so sure of that!" the blonde exclaimed brightly, obviously excited about something that Sasuke knew nothing about.

Said boy sighed, "I know where it is. I have lived in the Uchiha Compound all my life; I'm not going to just suddenly forget where it is."

"And who told you that that's where we're going?"

Opening his eyes to glance questioningly at the blonde boy, Sasuke frowned, "What do you mean?"

Naruto merely grinned in response, happily folding his arms behind his head, "Just trust me, Sasuke! And follow me!"

Oh, how badly Sasuke didn't like the sound of those words. "How can you ask me to follow you without knowing where the hell we're going?"

"Just trust me," Naruto said happily, without even turning back to look at his friend, and after some moments of glaring at the blonde's orange back without any effect, Sasuke gave up and sighed, making Naruto's grin enlarge further at the boy's unspoken agreement.

They walked in an amiable silence for quite a long time, getting further and further away from the main streets of Konoha. Sasuke hadn't really passed through that path that many times when he used to live in the leaf, but he knew just enough to at least be able to tell where he was.

A couple of steps ahead of him, Naruto walked quietly, his arms still folded behind his blonde head, his steps long and confident, with a happy jump that Sasuke was only able to notice because he has always been of the observant type. It was a wonder, really, how they could manage to be in silence, what with the loud and talkative nature of the blonde; but it was also a wonder how they could manage to talk with the quiet and silent nature of the Uchiha.

But, just like Tsunade said, friendship can really do the weirdest of things to people.

And maybe it was true that their friendship was somewhat stained, not quite like how it used to be all those years ago. Maybe they couldn't have the same incredible level of chemistry that they used to have even while bickering, and maybe the silences that prolonged between them weren't pleasant and full of unspoken words and feelings like before. But at least they were trying—each in their own way—to rebuild what they once had. The results of their tries show up slowly, but they are there, and that's what mattered.

Suddenly, the blonde stops, and turns towards his companion, his smile instantly widening into his trademark fox-grin.

"We're here!"

Sasuke merely blinked with surprise, not really getting the meaning of his words. They were 'here'? What the hell? Cocking his black-haired head slightly to the side, the boy adverted his eyes from Naruto's face, towards the building standing behind the boy's back, and his obsidian eyes enlarged with surprise and confusion.

He hadn't been there but a couple of times, maybe two or three at max; when the Hokage sent their team a new mission, and Kakashi, lazy as always, sent him to tell the blonde boy the details. But the number of times that he had been there, or the years that he had spent away, didn't change the fact that he knew exactly what that building was, and whose apartment was located inside.

What he didn't get, though, is just why Naruto had taken him to his house.

The questioning look that he shot the boy seemed enough, because Naruto enlarged his grin even further, and then exclaimed happily.

"Welcome home!"

Really, Sasuke didn't understand a thing.

"What do you mean 'welcome home?' Why are we here, Naruto?" He asked, brow furrowed thoughtfully, and hands slowly coming out of his pockets.

The blonde merely grinned at him, "Just that. Welcome home, Sasuke. This is your new home!"

Now, Sasuke understood even less than before. "What do you mean?"

"Tsunade-baachan wanted to keep you under observation, you know how paranoid old women are, and she wanted to have a couple of ANBU guarding you at the Uchiha compound," Naruto explained, making vague gestures with his hand, "So I suggested myself to keep an eye on you. And after some skillful convincement on my part, Tsunade agreed!"

Sasuke arched his eyebrows even further; he had a feeling of where this was heading to, "…And that means?"

"You're living with me from now on, teme!" The blonde blurted out happily, as if he was telling Sasuke something that the boy was dying to hear about.

Sasuke merely stayed silent for a couple of moments, apparently loosing his ability to speak, but when he finally found it again, his voice came out oddly choked, "What the hell?"

"Yeah! Aren't you excited, bastard?"

Apparently, Naruto wasn't paying any attention to Sasuke's expression.

"Who told you that I would like that? I don't give a damn about ANBUs guarding me, I want to go to my house. And this is not it, Naruto."

For an instant, the blonde seemed hurt by his words, but then any hurt evanished from his eyes and instead he merely frowned, "No, this is it, Sasuke. This is my house, my home, and now it is yours, too,"

"You don't understand, Naruto. The Uchiha compound is my home. There are all my memories, all my stuff," Sasuke's frown deepened, as he tried to explain in vain the absurdity of Naruto's idea.

But the blonde was as stubborn as he had always been, something that seemed like it wouldn't ever change. "What memories? The ones that made you that damn ice-block asshole during the academy? The ones that you tortured yourself with? You must be kidding." Sasuke sent him a heated glare, but Naruto ignored it completely. His words were true, and deep inside, they both knew that. "You were a bloody masochist, Sasuke, and you may still be one now, but forgive me if I'm not going to just step aside this time and watch you keep damaging yourself and those around you any further."

"You have a new chance, Sasuke. A new opportunity. And I'm not going to let you blow it up just 'cuz your stupid masochism and egotistical ass."

Both boys looked at each other for a long while; Sasuke glaring daggers at Naruto, while the blonde remained impassive, looking at him through stern blue eyes. The stare contest prolonged for some more moments, and when Naruto saw that Sasuke wasn't, or didn't have anything to say, he spoke again.

"And about your things, they are already inside. At least the stuff I considered most important, but not any clothes. They wouldn't fit you anyway." And with that, the blonde turned around, starting to approach the building, leaving Sasuke to silently glare at his back.

It was an odd thing, those times when Naruto got serious. But each time he did, he always made something inside Sasuke squirm uncomfortably. He didn't want to give that much thought to the boy's words, but the truth was that, deep inside, some part of him knew a good part of them were mostly true, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Would it really hurt giving himself a chance? Giving life a new chance?

When he came back, he agreed to start anew, or at least try to. But until now, what has he done? He has only been locked inside a cell, not having any human interaction besides the occasional visits and the ANBUs and interrogators. And who were those visits? Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Ino.

Through all his life, those four people had proven to be the only ones who stuck with him through thick and thin. They had been there for him, even when he shunned them out and pushed them aside at every given opportunity he had. But now, even after all those years, after all his mistakes, what did they do? They stayed there, giving him their forgiveness without not even a second thought.

Would it kill him to answer them in the same way?

He raised his narrowed eyes from the ground, and directed them towards Naruto's form, which was just entering the big, brown doors of the building.

Would it be that bad?

Heaving in a sigh, Sasuke slowly started to walk, following the blonde's steps.

Living with Naruto would be hell, he knew. But he was willing to try.

Besides, it would be a lot more entertaining that living alone in the cemetery of his murdered family.

"…How annoying

Were his last words, before he, too, opened the brown wooden doors and got lost inside them.

- -

Alright, that's it for now. Hope the little pieces of Sasuke and Naruto interaction were enjoyable, since I love those two. I'm also kind of unsure about the Shikamaru+Sasuke part, but it seemed right when I wrote it so I left it like that.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!