Chapter four.
Homecoming.

A/N It's been a while but here it is: chapter four!
- Chantelle

"You have lost
too much love
to fear, doubt and distrust.
You just threw away the key
to your heart."

It seemed easier to stay away. There had been a festival in Konohagakure that evening in celebration of Sasuke's return as well as peace between the neighbouring countries and villages.

From the tip of his father's nose, Naruto decided that he could see enough.

He saw all the girls in their pretty gowns, beautiful lanterns that lit up the village and the all-round happiness. The streets were bursting with games, food stalls and street performances.

He could see it all, everything but the one thing he didn't want to see.

He couldn't see Sasuke.

A gentle breeze kissed his skin and traces of rain drops landed on his cheek. He looked up and saw the dark evening sky, empty and black.

Naruto shivered.

He wondered if maybe it was safe to retreat from his peaceful solitude and try to catch some sleep.
It was late and he never had intentions to join in with the festivities. He had gladly excluded himself and sunk into the comfort of solitude, despite this he felt a sting of anger that no-one had noticed his absence.

Perhaps what really hurt was how easily his people had forgotten him. After Sasuke's betrayal he had become the golden boy of Konohagakure, he was their saviour, and now that Sasuke had returned they had retracted their love and left him cold in the shadow of Sasuke.

And yet he couldn't help but wonder if all the attention is what Sasuke wanted.

After all, the dark haired boy was no-where to be found.

He had made a brief appearance on the eve of the night and escaped back to the safety of the Uchiha Compound almost immediately after his speech.

Sakura had come looking for him but he feigned sleep, and even if she had known he was awake she was polite enough to leave him be.

He stared at his ceiling and tried to decide whether or not he was wrong for staying in the village.

He felt like he was.

Kakashi and Sakura were kind enough to him and the other villagers tolerated him and at least pretended to be civil, but the one person who couldn't stomach him was the one person he needed most.

His only friend hated him.

The loss of his family had left him bitter and empty. The hollowness he felt was something he had adapted to, he thought it would never leave him.

He had accepted it. But now it was back. It had gone. He had filled that void without even realizing it but his petty vengeance had clouded his judgement.

If he had ever hated himself before it was nothing compared to how far he had sunken now. He aggressively flipped himself onto his side in exasperation.

"God, I'm so fucking stupid!"

No matter how many times he closed his eyes, Naruto was always there.

He wanted to escape from it all but there was a small warmth drawing him to the village and holding him in place.

It was a radiant yellow that shone in the darkness. Soft, gentle blue eyes smiled at him from his memories and he knew he could never leave again.

He thought about never seeing that smile again, that lop-sided grin, and began to cry. He hugged his pillow to his chest and sobbed until he fell asleep.

Naruto had put away all his photos. He had re-arranged his shabby flat three times and drank enough camomile tea to put a horse to sleep and still at three in the morning he was restless and angry.

Sasuke was still there, surging through his veins.

He had intoxicated his blood like a slow killing disease that ate away at his personality.

He had to see him. Despite his fear and pain he had his hand on his front door handle and was fully dressed. He was doing this. He would confront his demons.

Confident in his decision, Naruto left the safety of his home and entered the empty night street.

The cool air hit him instantly and he shivered. With his head down he ran until he arrived outside the door.

It was only after a pale figure emerged, obsidian eyes wide with surprise, that he realized his intentional mistake.

"Naruto? It's so late?"

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned.

"Sai... I'm so lost."

Before Sai could comprehend the distraught look on Naruto's face and the desperate tone in his voice, Naruto had grabbed a hold of his hand.

"Naruto…"
"Sai, help me."

He pleaded. Tears streamed freely down his whiskered cheeks. He pulled Sai forward and into him, their lips locked passionately.
Sai closed his eyes and held the trembling blond tightly.

He pulled away shortly after and simply held his teammate in his arms. He was no expert on emotions but something told him it would be wrong to continue.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay."

He led the boy inside and the two lay down together in the comfort of Sai's bed. With soft caresses and light kisses Naruto eventually calmed down and sleep soon followed.

The two remained entwined in each other and Naruto slept better than he ever had before.

"Good afternoon Naruto."

Sai seemed cautious. Naruto was still asleep when he had awoken so he had no clue how to behave and even less of one as to what was to happen between the two of them now.

"Hey."

Sai had expected Naruto to be mad, not coy.

"I can make you food if you want?"

Naruto hesitated to answer. Was it wrong to stay? Was it wrong to have turned up in the first place? They were both guys; surely it could never feel right.

He had expected to feel guilty or even dirty but instead he finally felt something other than hurt. Whatever this was he believed he needed it.

"Yeah, I'd love that."

He gave Sai a soft, warm smile and Sai beamed brightly back.

"Me too."

Conversation wasn't exactly easy, at least not straight away. Naruto was feeling, for the first time ever, embarrassed and Sai didn't quite understand his feelings or the tingling in his stomach that intensified whenever Naruto was near.

"Are you okay?

He finally asked. Naruto was thrown off guard and it took him a few seconds to say that he was.

"I'm better now. Thank you."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Naruto broke the tension.

"I never knew you were gay."
"I've never had the chance to find out before, how could I have known?"

Sexuality was such a deep topic, one that Sai knew nothing about. He still struggled with the concept of friendship, how could he possibly begin to understand love?

"I would never have known that you were gay Naruto."

Naruto had never thought about it either. He'd always been too fixated on Sasuke to find love. He had always thought Sakura was very pretty but that was about as far as his feelings went for her. As she began to like him back he slowly lost interest in her.

"I just never stopped to think about it. I guess that makes sense now."

But it didn't really. He had no idea how to move forward. What did Sai expect from him now? Or really, what did he expect from Sai?

Sai probably didn't know the first thing about a relationship. Neither did he but he understood that it was a huge commitment he wasn't sure he was ready for. He'd have to come clean first about his sexuality and he wasn't ready to do that. Not when he couldn't even comprehend it himself.

"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about. What happened last night is between you and I."

Whatever he felt last night, he didn't want it to go away. He didn't want to ruin things before they had even begun.

"Sai… Thank you."

Naruto needed some time to work things out. He wasn't sure what he was worried about, he just knew there was a piece missing, something he couldn't quite put his finger on that made it all feel so wrong.

"Thank you, for everything Sakura. I'm truly appreciative."
"If you need anything Sasuke I will be here for you. I know that Naruto has been more than hostile towards you. I don't want you to think he speaks for all of us."

More than anything Sakura just wanted peace between her two hot-headed teammates but she was beginning to feel a little too hopeful.

The look in his charcoal eyes told her everything she needed to know; he was genuine.

He was so skinny, so pale and she could tell from the dark bags under his eyes that he wasn't sleeping. He wasn't doing anything at all and she was scared for him. Sasuke was finally here and yet she was so close to losing him again.

She pulled him into a tight hug which he leant into.

"I just want him to know how I feel."
"How do you feel Sasuke-kun?"

She locked her emerald eyes onto his.

"Sakura, I love him."

Sakura felt a sharp pain in her chest that she hid with accepting eyes. She didn't know what hurt more; knowing that Sasuke never loved her and never would have, or the possibility of losing Naruto's affections to him, to another man none the less.

No, that was silly. She knew Naruto wasn't gay. How could he be? She had known him since he was a child and he'd always been infatuated with her.

She could picture perfectly Ino's face when she found out. She couldn't tell her though, that was for Sasuke to decide. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more over-whelming their secret became.

The soul-surviving Uchiha in love with the villages pride and joy; Naruto Uzumaki? Now there was a headline. She saw something in his eyes though that made her heart flutter. Was it excitement? After years of living with his secret he was finally admitting it and it gave him encouragement.

Even if Naruto never loved him or returned his feelings he was no longer alone in the dark. Maybe he could finally move on.

"I want you two to be happy and if that means together then I want to help you."

She decided then and there that getting involved was going to be necessary if she wanted them to finally be a functioning team again. It had taken them years to get close only for the two of them to explode and push each other away again and she was done sitting on the side-line watching it happen.

She would be whoever Sasuke needed her to be, even if it broke her heart.

Sakura stayed there for another hour before taking her leave before she over-stayed her welcome. She had taken over a basket of vegetables and meat to cook a nice healthy dinner and some flowers to brighten up his dark and miserable home.

She had wanted to cook for him to be sure he was getting at least some food in him.
When he was rogue she imagined he wasn't eating frequently and so his health had visibly deteriorated massively.
Sasuke didn't mind being babied and let her assume the role of a worried mother.

It was nice actually, her eyes were kind and her touch was so gentle that she reminded him of his mother. Her bubble-gum pink hair and bright red dress brought colour into his life and made him feel less alone.

He didn't have to live that way though and nor would he continue.

Naruto had always been one to pull up his pants and change a difficult situation, rather than sit and mope. That was what he needed to do if he was ever going to win back their friendship.

He would start with a change in location.

"Kakashi, you don't understand. I need this."

Kakashi shook his head.

"These aren't my orders Sasuke; you are to remain a civilian until further notice. You've only just been released from hospital, what were you expecting?"
"But I feel fine!"

The older male pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He'd had this conversation too many times with Naruto he didn't need this kind of behaviour from Sasuke too.

"This isn't about that and you know it. This is about the council not trusting you and you needing to earn their trust before I can put you back on my squad. You aren't ready to be responsible for the lives of other people."

It was harsh but needed to be said. Sasuke needed to understand the consequences of his actions.

"If you are that desperate for money Sasuke there are many other jobs available for you around the village."

That wasn't enough, the money he would earn as a shop keeper would never get him into a new apartment and he snorted in exasperation.
Kakashi was getting too old for this. Luckily his hair was already grey so he could easily hide the toll that had been taken on him after years of dealing with his students.

"Sasuke I can't help you. You will have to figure it out for yourself."

And with that he left a glaring Sasuke to bare holes into the back of his head. That meant there was only one thing left for the young Uchiha to do; start applying for mundane village jobs.

The first three jobs rejected him coldly; even one man who was just looking for a hand cleaning in his shop told Sasuke he was too inexperienced to work for him.
And so Sasuke had to resort to the one place where he was guaranteed a job.

"Sasuke-kun! I can't believe a handsome man like you wandered in on a day like this to see little old me!"

She hadn't changed one bit. He still hated her as passionately as ever.

"Ino, I'm actually here to see your father, Inoichi-sama."

'This is what every day for the rest of your life is going to be like.' If only he had chosen death.

"Wait right here! Don't you go anywhere Sasuke-Kuuuuun."

She purred. Maybe if she annoyed him too much Sakura could step in for him. After all, if he ever wanted to escape this new hell he'd have to be on his best behaviour. Oh, nothing would stop him from winning the council's approval now.

When Inoichi came out from the back of the shop his hopes of getting a job diminished extremely. The man was cold and intimidating. He wasn't sure what annoyed Inoichi more about him, the fact that he was cold blooded traitor or that his daughter seemed to be in love with the cold blooded traitor.

"Hello sir, I noticed you were looking for an extra hand around the store and was hoping you would be kind enough to consider hiring me for the position?"

He'd never been more polite in his entire life and something about the scene forced a very wide grin on the stern man's thin lips.

"Sasuke, running a flower shop can be very stressful business. Given you are a qualified ninja are you sure this job would be suitable for you?"

He was making fun of him, Sasuke could tell. Still, he forced an awkward smile and nodded semi-confidently.

"It's just what I need to get back on my feet sir."

Just when Sasuke was positive he was down on his luck, good old Ino chipped in for him.

"Please Daddy! I will train him and make sure everything runs smoothly, you can leave it to me!"

Should he have been thankful or terrified? He was both. Either way he had a job now and was one step closer to a new home and once he'd reached that goal he knew things would look up.
This was just one stepping stone on his path to a normal life.

"Alright. You start tomorrow."
"Thank you Daddy! You won't regret this!"
"If I know you Ino I know I will."