Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Hey guys. Sorry about the wait. I recently started a new job and I never seem to be home. Updates may be switched to weekends. Sorry.

Chapter Ten.

Night had fallen and Itachi and Bee had left them for the comfort of their own beds. Sasuke was walking next to the blond as they made their way to their shared room. Naruto opened the door and walked in, but when Sasuke tried to follow the boy turned around and glared at him. The raven had never seen him so angry and for a moment he felt a tingle of fear. Then he realized that it was Naruto and no matter how mad he might be he would never hurt Sasuke. Still he was surprised by this sudden change in the blond. "What's got your panties in a knot?"

"Firstly, I'm not wearing any undergarments at the moment, so not only were you wrong about what type, but now you just look like a baka. Secondly, you're not sleeping in here tonight. Go get your own room." He'd growled all of this through clenched teeth.

Sasuke was momentarily distracted by Naruto's claim that he wasn't wearing any underwear, but the rest of his words started to sink in and he found himself getting angry as well. "Why the hell not?" he roared.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't feel you poking around in my head? What you did was sneaky and hurtful. That was my personal stuff and you violated it. I don't know if I trust you anymore Sasuke. I feel as though you've stabbed me in the back and I don't know how to deal with that. I still love you dammit and I can't just cut you out of my life, but things are going to change from now on. You went too far this time." The blond was staring at the floor by the time he finished.

Sasuke couldn't believe this. Naruto was overreacting. So he should have asked, and yeah it was okay for him to be angry that he hadn't, but this was going overboard. It's not like he'd been eavesdropping on a private moment or something. "You're blowing this out of proprtion," he began.

"No. I'm not. You have a bad tendancy to eavesdrop and it's getting old, fast. I don't know how to feel about a friend who won't wrap his mind around the prospect of boundaries and I refuse to be in any kind of relationship with someone who doesn't respect my privacy. All you had to do was ask Sasuke. If I'd known it meant so much to you to know then I would have told you. What you did today though just makes what my other self said while you were listening seem a little more valid. I'm not exactly in the best frame of mind right now, but I do know what's important to me and being able to trust you is part of it. After today I don't know that I can. I'm sorry. Goodnight." And he shut the door in his face.

Sasuke stood there, stunned. Had that really just happened, or had he fallen asleep outside? Because that really didn't seem real. Had Naruto really just admitted to his face that he loved him and then locked him out and refused to have a relationship with him? After everything they'd been through? He couldn't seem to think properly at the moment. His chest hurt. Not wanting to wander around a place he didn't know well at night he slowly made his way back to his brother's room. He didn't knock, though he thought about it in retrospect and realized that he should have, but Itachi was still awake and almost seemed to be expecting him. Had he heard somehow? "Trouble in paradise?" he asked lazily.

"Shut up," Sasuke growled. He made his way to the bed and laid opposite his brother. Sure he might be smelling his feet a lot during the night if he wasn't careful, but he needed to think about things and he wouldn't be able to if the stupid jerk was snoring in his ear all night. He tended to do that.

"He's right you know. You should learn how to respect other people's privacy." His voice was quiet, but Sasuke heard.

So he had overheard them somehow. "Hn," he grunted before turning towards the wall. Just go to sleep, stupid.

"Goodnight otouto," Itachi murmured.

"Hn." Why did people say goodnight when it obviously wasn't going to be one? He let himself sputter about random stuff in his mind for a few moments before he focused on the real problem. What was he going to do to win Naruto back? That was a hard one. The dobe wasn't even convinced he'd be alive much longer and he already didn't want to get close. That made things even more difficult. He had a few ideas, but they seemed kind of lame. He sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere tonight so he might as well go to sleep. Yeah, right. Like that was going to happen.

. .

This sucked. He'd left a warm bowl of ramen and some fresh picked flowers along with a simple "I'm Sorry" note out in front of Naruto's door that morning before leaving. He figured he'd start with a nice gesture that might make the blond second guess being mad at him and then he wouldn't show up to watch him practice. Within the first few hours Naruto would start wondering where he was even though he didn't want to care about that. Then he'd move to being a little worried which he'd try to ignore, but then he'd start wondering if he'd been a little too harsh on him. By about lunch time he'd be extremely worried and wouldn't care about caring anymore. After another hour or so he'd pretty much be ready to start looking for Sasuke, but he'd be feeling kind of guilty which would stop him from doing so. By the time night fell he'd be feeling horrible and wishing to see the raven. By that point Sasuke would be waiting outside his door with more flowers and ramen - he'd surely be hungry after training - and Naruto would readily invite him in after they both apologized to each other and hugged. It was cheesey, and there was a big possibility it wouldn't work, and yes, even if it did it would still be a sneaky thing, but he needed Naruto to let him get close again. He'd missed him tremendously last night. He felt a little bad about his plan, but he was convinced that it was the only way to get back on Naruto's good side. After the first hour though he was going crazy. Was the plan working? What if Naruto didn't even notice he wasn't there? What if this just made him angrier? This was stupid... Maybe he shouldn't have done this. He was just about to go running to Naruto when he felt a new chakra flare up on the island. What the hell..?

It was heading towards Naruto. He panicked and went racing after it. He froze in his tracks and his jaw dropped when he came upon the scene. A fiery blond woman was shouting at Itachi who to most people would seem indifferent, but to Sasuke looked more than a little frightened. Bee was snickering off to the side and Naruto was watching with interest. "How dare you just take off again without letting me know! It's been more than a week! Do you have any idea how worried I've been? What if you were hurt, or dying, or even dead already? What if someone kidnapped you and you were being tortured right this very minute? What if you'd been attacked and you had amnesia and you wandered into enemy territory? What if-" She was cut off by Itachi's lips. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in surprise and confusion. Hadn't Itachi said he had a boyfriend...? His eyes went wide when he realized that this blond was his boyfriend. He looked so feminine! He watched the smaller man struggle against his brother in anger, though his wiggling started to settle down and then he melted into the taller man.

"I'm sorry I worried you. My brother asked for my help. I didn't have time to come back and tell you; it was a matter of life and death," Itachi said softly. The blond scoffed and crossed his arms, turning his head away and pouting. "I'm not lying Deidara. Look." He physically directed the blond's gaze to the other blond. "That boy is dying as we speak and Sasuke needed my help to save him." Naruto nodded slightly. Deidara seemed to deflate and Sasuke was surprised to see tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Deidara whispered. Itachi pulled him into his arms and played with the bottom of his long hair.

"No, you don't need to be. You have every right to be upset. I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am. I didn't mean to worry you." Sasuke was stunned. He'd never heard his brother like this before. What was going on here? Had Itachi really just apologized? He felt like his head was spinning. And now they were kissing. He quickly looked away to give them privacy, but his eyes fell on Naruto and he lowered his eyes in shame.

"I forgive you," was the muffled reply the blond gave Itachi. Sasuke felt his entire body jolt at those words and he glanced up timidly at Naruto once more. Instead of seeing the same anger there that he was sure he'd see if he really looked he saw something else. Naruto's eyes looked soft, tender, and Sasuke felt his breath catch in his lungs. He couldn't speak so he tried to convey how sorry he was with his eyes.

He was surprised when Naruto slowly approached him. "I forgive you," he whispered. Sasuke thought he might pass out if he didn't breathe soon and damn did his chest hurt. His eyes were stinging. Oh no... He blinked them rapidly. He was not going to get all sappy like his brother. However, Naruto seemed to have noticed and he was smiling gently. Sasuke felt his knees threaten to give out as the blond pressed his lips to his in the sweetest kiss they'd ever shared. It was little more than pressing their lips together, but it made Sasuke feel like he could fly.

He pulled away, needing to say what he'd decided. "I promise I'll respect your privacy. From now on, I'll let you be the one to tell me." Naruto grinned and Sasuke wasn't sure whether it was because that made him happy or he was amused by the hoarseness of the raven's voice. He heard someone clear their throat and looked around, only to realize that they had an audience. Itachi looked amused and his eyebrow was twitching slightly. Deidara looked like a was watching a couple of puppies playing with each other. The look he gave them made Sasuke fear for their freedom... Creepy pervert. Bee was grinning widely wiggling his eyebrows. And Kakashi was staring shocked at the entire thing... Wait! Kakashi?! Sasuke gasped and everyone turned around to find the source of his surprise. When they saw who it was there were a lot of reactions. Bee stared curiously, Itachi hid Deidara behind him and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Come to join the party?" Naruto asked calmly as he walked over and pushed Kakashi's mouth closed. Figures this wouldn't bother him. Kakashi snapped his eyes to Naruto. "Kakashi, meet my rescue squad plus one. That's Itachi in case you don't know," he began and Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'duh'. "And that's his boyfriend Deidara who only showed up about fifteen minutes ago. That's Bee; he's a jinchuuriki. He has the eight tails. I'm training to control Kyuubi so that Tsunade has enough room to work. It was Sasuke's idea; he orchestrated this whole thing and he really thinks it will work. While I have my doubts, I trust him and I'm willing to try." Sasuke felt a lump grow in his throat when Naruto said he trusted him and he didn't miss the look the blond shot his way. "And unfortunately for you we're going to have to keep you here until we've figured things out because we can't have everyone from the village coming after me, now can we?"

Kakashi seemed to take this in stride. "Like I would leave when I might be able to help," he said easily and leaned against a tree. Naruto grinned. Deidara came out from behind Itachi to watch the man with barely restrained curiosity. Sasuke sat down hard as everything overwhelmed him. This was too much. Naruto came over and kissed him lightly before going back to his session with the waterfall as though nothing had happened. Surprisingly it was only half an hour later that he opened his eyes with a smile on his face.

"Alright. Now that we've accomplished that, what's next?" he asked Bee. Bee winced at his speech pattern, but he answered nonetheless.

Standing up in excitement, Sasuke made his way over to Naruto. "You really got rid of him?" he asked in surprise.

"No. I accepted him. Turns out all he need was a hug." He grinned happily and followed Bee leaving Sasuke to wonder if everything in life was really simpler than everyone thought it was. He caught Kakashi's interested eye and felt himself blush a little.

Suddenly the man was standing right in front of him. Sasuke blinked in surprise. "So, how long have you two been together?" he asked lecherously.

"Since the beginning of the bet pretty much," Sasuke muttered uncomfortably.

"That's why you did all of this. You didn't want to let him go," Kakashi said softly.

Sasuke gulped. "You're right. But it was more than not wanting to. I can't. I love him," he said simply. Simple seemed to be the theme of the day today, so he decided to go with it.

Kakashi's eyes softened. "I'm happy for you guys. I hope this works, for both of your sakes."