A/N: I am truly sorry for the wait. I have no acceptable excuses, but I hope you forgive me anyways. Next chapter will be longer, and I promise a lemon! (This chapter has yet to get beta'd by my lovely Mi.)

Moving On

Pretty Young Thing

Sasuke walked inside of the house. He was met in the hall by the greyish cat that he bought for Naruto's twenty-first birthday two years ago. Tonbo mewled, and Sasuke frowned. He had no time for such a trivial thing as a cat right now.

He was feeling a bit worried; he knew a lot about Naruto, and one of those things was that Naruto didn't easily get upset, or at least didn't show it. So the fact that Naruto had left their couple therapist like that was something not to be taken lightly.

He kicked off his shoes and got out of his jacket, hanging it in the hall, before walking through the tidy living room. He reached the white door that led to Naruto's studio. To be honest, Sasuke had only been in there once – and that was before the walls were even painted!

He opened the door, expecting to find orange walls and an upset Naruto sitting on the floor with a pencil in his hand and painting furiously. The walls weren't orange, though, and there was no Naruto sitting on the floor.

The walls were a light yellow – not orange – and there were canvases hung up there. He wondered if Naruto had actually managed to put them up by himself, or asked Lee to do it. The last couple of months, when something broke or something needed to be hung up, Naruto had called Lee, who would help the blonde as soon as possible.

Sasuke looked up at the beautiful paintings, finding faces he recognized on the canvases.

The first one was on Gaara and Lee, sitting next to each other on the edge of a pool. They both looked satisfied, if the grin on Lee's face was any indication. On the second one, Kiba was hugging Hinata from behind on a train station. Shikamaru was giving the room a bored look from the third canvas, and yet he seemed to be content with his life. On the fourth one, Sai was smiling ridiculously, wearing one of his usual belly shirts and fingerless gloves, even though the background was filled with sunshine and flowers.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as they came to the fifth picture. He had to blink a couple of times before realising that yes, it was Itachi.

It was the one and only Uchiha Itachi, sitting on the stairs to the Uchiha mansion. He was neither smiling nor scowling. He seemed to be at peace, staring straight towards the one who had painted to picture.

Sasuke frowned. Why wasn't he, the boyfriend, there, on a painting, like their – no, Naruto's closest friends?

But that was not the important. Where was Naruto?

UAUAUA

Once, when Shikamaru was in his early teens, he had believed that he could change the world. He had believed that he could help people, that he could make things different. He started to read his mother's books. Her books about helping people get through rough times, about helping people who had lost others: her old course literature that she bought when she was still a student studying to becoming a therapist.

Now, many years later, he found himself going through his mind to find the information his young brain had sucked in. He wished that he knew what to say, what to do. When you find your very upset, alcohol-craving friend and don't know what to do, things can be a little tricky.

He cleared his throat and ushered Naruto inside his new apartment. "I'm not giving you anything to drink, Naruto, because I don't think alcohol will solve your problems." He said, trying to sound understanding. He didn't know if he was succeeding, or if he was just sounding like his bored, usual self.

"I hate you sometimes, Shikamaru." Naruto muttered and slumped down in Shikamaru's kitchen. The troubled look on Naruto's face made Shikamaru feel a bit guilty, for reasons unknown to himself.

"Yeah, I hate you too sometimes." Shikamaru sat down on the other side of the table. Naruto's blue eyes flickered over the white cupboards, over the lavender walls – everywhere expect on Shikamaru. "What brings you here?"

"Neji didn't pick up his phone, and Kiba is at the kennel." Naruto mumbled, followed by a short string of low curses. "I can't very well barge into Gaara's place, because he would have my head if I interrupted anything between him and Lee. And I don't want to get drunk with anyone else."

It was an honest answer, and Shikamaru felt his lips form a thin line. "Why," he snapped, "are you in such a need for liquor then?"

Naruto scrunched his nose childishly. "Because that stupid bug-lover asked me about my family and I didn't want to answer. But, since I'm stupid, I answered anyways." With a sigh, Naruto slammed his forehead against the thick wood of Shikamaru's kitchen table.

"Don't make any marks," Shikamaru said. He seriously didn't need any marks in his new, nice kitchen table. It was expensive, mind you. "The bug-lover is your therapist, right? Are you going anywhere? You and Sasuke, I mean – are you guys getting better?"

"We don't need to get better!" Naruto yelled into the table. "I'm not going there anymore, okay? Sasuke can go all he wants, but I'm not going!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "What are you talking about, stupid?"

"I'm talking about me and Sasuke!" Naruto looked up from the table, sitting straighter and taking a deep breath. "…I know I'm not bipolar, Shikamaru. I'm not angry because Shino-san started to talk about my bipolar brother. Not anymore. I know I'm healthy."

"How can you know that, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "Maybe you should let him do some tests-"

"I know! I know because I did 'some tests' when Kyuubi was thrown in prison!" Naruto growled angrily. "I'm not angry about that anymore, Shika, because I know Shino-san is wrong."

Shikamaru nodded. He hadn't known that they had tested Naruto for being bipolar. But then again, it was a lot he didn't knew about Naruto. Sometimes, he even felt like he knew Sasuke better than Naruto. Sasuke was predictable, you could easily figure out what he was going to say or what he was going to do. Naruto was…not. He was unpredictable, and you never knew what he was going to do next.

"Then," he slowly spoke up after a while. "Why are you mad?"

Naruto made a hiccup sound, and Shikamaru looked up into Naruto's tear-filled eyes.

"I'm angry… I'm angry because I know we're not perfect anymore." A lone tear rolled down Naruto's cheek. "I'm angry because I know that Sasuke and I were the perfect couple for a few years, only to become… this! I don't want to feel like the nagging wife whenever I'm near him, Shika! I want to feel like I did before! Before he started to order me around, before he started to like other people, before he became a workaholic!"

Shikamaru's mouth once again formed a thin line, but this time it wasn't because he felt offended, but because he didn't know how to react.

Naruto sniffed, feeling embarrassed over crying, and then spoke again. "Call me selfish, but…but I liked it more when he only loved me."

Before Shikamaru knew it, forbidden words slipped through his pale lips. "That is selfish."

Naruto didn't react, and that was probably what made Shikamaru to continue.

"You can't expect him to love only you. What about his family, you don't want him to love them? What about us, his friends? You don't want him to love us?"

Naruto nodded, tears dripping down his chin to his lap and on the table. Shikamaru was unsure of what Naruto meant by nodding.

The blonde spoke again, his voice breaking here and there. "I don't think he loves me anymore."

Shikamaru bit his lower lip, not sure what to say. He hadn't met Sasuke in what felt like months, so he couldn't honestly say to Naruto that Sasuke still loved him. Shikamaru hated lies; therefore he would not lie to one of his best friends.

Naruto stood up and stopped by Shikamaru's side. The brunette stared straight forward, refusing to avert his eyes to the crying blonde. "Thank you, Shika-kun." Naruto leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his temple. "You're the best."

Shikamaru listened as Naruto walked out of the room, to the hall and put on his jacket and shoes in hasty movements. Shikamaru knew that the blonde was still crying when he left the building.

Sighing, Shikamaru stood up to get the phone. He had to call Sasuke and tell him that Naruto was alright.

UAUAUA

Minato loved his sons, both of them. He didn't favour one of them, and he would rather die than choose between them. Minato loved both his criminal son, Kyuubi, and his angel, Naruto.

But sometimes he wished he had had two girls. Right now, was one of those moments. At least they would have had the decency to call before dropping by, he was sure.

Minato closed his clear blue eyes, taking a deep breath before he opened the door to his little angel. He put on a big smile, but it disappeared as soon as he saw the tears on his angel's face.

"Naru, what's wrong?" Minato pulled his son into a tight hug, which made the younger blonde drop the bags he was holding. "Why are you here, in Kyoto?"

Naruto mewled and nuzzled into his father's embrace. He felt safer with strong arms wrapped around him, but it didn't stop his crying. He had been crying ever since he left Shikamaru's apartment yesterday. Even when he slept, the tears formed in his eyes.

"Daddy," he whined pathetically. "Daddy, please, love me."

"I love you, honey. Of course I love you, no matter what. What has happened, Naru-chan?" Minato led his son inside, leaving the door open and the bags where they had been dropped.

As soon as they reached Minato's office, both blondes slumped down on the dark green couch that was placed close to the door. Minato wanted eye contact, but Naruto stared everywhere expect where Minato was. Tears were still running down his cheeks, and his eyes were red and blood-shot.

"Tell daddy what's wrong, my angel? Tell daddy everything." Minato wiped away some of the tears, but his son's cheeks didn't get any drier because of that. "Tell me."

"C-can I stay here for a while?" Naruto's voice was thick and hoarse. His hair was dirty and ruffled, and his clothes were also dirty. "Please, daddy?"

"The door is always open for you, Naru-chan. You can stay for as long as you want." Minato assured him gently. "Now, tell me."

Naruto hid his face in his hands and gave a soft, heart-breaking sound as he started crying again. "I broke up with Sasuke!"

UAUAUA

Sasuke was tired when he got home. He had gotten an appointment with Aburame – alone –the next day, and he had to show up. He had worked since he got to know from Shikamaru, yesterday, that Naruto was alright. So he hadn't bothered to go home, and instead stayed after work and helped his uncle, and then slept in his office again.

He unlocked the door, only to be met by Tonbo, who mewled as if he hadn't gotten fed for weeks. The slightly overweight cat stroked himself against Sasuke's legs, purring and mewling for attention. Sasuke ignored the cat and got out of his jacket and shoes.

He walked into the kitchen. He was hungry, since he hadn't had anything since breakfast. He hoped that there were some leftovers, or at least something simple. Maybe he could force himself to eat ramen?

He opened the fridge, finding it almost empty. Hadn't Naruto gone to the grocery store yesterday? He snorted in annoyance, and closed it again. He watched the white, cold surface of the fridge over once for any notes. He found a note immediately. He grabbed it, recognising Naruto's messy handwriting.

He read it once; his stomach growled. He read it again; his heart skipped a beat. He read it a third time; his knees almost gave out, and he grabbed the counter for support. He read it once more; and tears rolled down his cheeks.

To Be Continued

Wanted: constructive critism.