A/N: Hello! This is eleventh chapter of Friends of Foes *gasp* Pretty long story, isn't it? I hope you enjoyed it up until now; I really tried to make it good. In this chapter NaruXSasu so those who thought that this is not shonnen-ai (yaoi) and hoped for something else, can leave. Rest- enjoy.
And not to forget- thanks, hugs and lots of kisses to Angelicxdemon or Angelis-Chan for doing beta for my story. Just you wait Angelic-Chan, as soon as I finish this, your gift is up.
Without further ado, enjoy.

Song- the night and silent water- is changed, lyrics are not right.

Chapter 11: The dusty old poem and a locked heart

The door creaked open and two people stepped slowly into the third room on the second floor. A wide assortment of stuff filled the room, useful or not. A single window directly across the door was the only light source in the poorly lit room. To the right stood wooden shelves, all filled with old and overused books, boxes, and candlesticks. Notebooks covered with a thin layer of dust were litter across the floorboards. Also to the right, there was an old dresser with two bricks acting as its legs, ripped clothes hung from opened drawers.

Blue and black eyes scanned the mess and their owners sighed in same time. Naruto stepped slowly through the doorway into the room, trying not to disturb things too much and rise up the dust.

Sasuke looked around again- the room had good deal of a space. It just needed major clean up. He looked at Naruto who bent down to pick up an old textbook, flipping through it. Slowly, he approached the blonde and peered over his shoulder.

Written in the textbook with tiny but neat kanji was a poem. It didn't seem that it was written too long ago since every stroke was clearly visible.

Naruto stiffened at the sight of the poem; he had completely forgotten about this side of him, now all the feelings he had came back up, choking him. He gave up on trying to express how he felt because he couldn't find the right words to describe his feelings once he realized how he felt towards his raven "enemy". This was the first and only song he wrote for him- the song that showed an attempt of Naruto to illustrate the situations in his head, in his heart, and in reality.

Sasuke blinked in confusion at first set of words: 'I watched you walk away, Hopeless, with nothing to say. I screen my eyes, hoping to see you again…' They were so simple but so full of emotion that Sasuke could only wordlessly feel how the writer felt when he wrote this. He was never good at talking about feelings and emotions. They weren't strange to him nor did he fear it, but he did not know how he should express those pent up feelings to the outside world. Was that a curse or a blessing, he didn't know.

'This is my curse, the longing; this is my curse, the yearning; this is my curse…' Yes, it was his curse that ached so deeply inside of him; that made his eyes sting of tears, he had to squeeze them shut so tightly to prevent himself of crying. He did not allow himself to cry at any time, even if he was alone. Love was supposed to be a blessing, but for him, it was a curse. A curse that ate away at his spirit and dissolved his hope. Now, upon finding this song, he was reminded of his inability to go after what he always wanted- it was a sore reminder.

Sasuke didn't know why he had stopped breathing after he read next few lines. For whom had Naruto written this? Who was the lucky, but stupid person that he loved? Lucky for having his love, stupid to be blind to it. These words, they were so simple, so crude in a way that sent chills up a person's spine- 'There is love burning to find you…Will you wait for me? Will you be there?' -that made Sasuke's heart clench painfully. He couldn't judge Naruto for loving, he could only judge person that was crazy enough not to love him back.

'Your silence haunts me- but I still hunger for you. This is my curse, the wanting; this is my curse, the needing…' Naruto smiled sadly at the bitter memory that invaded and then possessed his mind- the day when he started his new school, when he first met Sasuke, when the other just brushed him off with a glare and shove into his shoulder. Those molten black eyes that wrote these lyrics. Yes, this was Sasuke writing here- not Naruto and not his feelings. Pure Sasuke and his actions moved the blonde's hand and wrote this simple song of truth.

Sasuke could tell that there were tears forming in corner of his eyes. He never cried- he had no reason to ever shed a tear. Not even when he found out the true extent of how much his cousin was mentally twisted. Not even when he realized that he could never be with Naruto. It hurt like a bitch but he had strengthened himself and didn't allow the tears to come up.

'Still I want and I still ache, but still I wait to see you again. Dying… inside… these walls…' Violent shudders rocked through his body as he pressed hand against his mouth to muffle any sound that may have otherwise escape his trembling lips. 'Can I see your face in these tears? ... These tears… And I see your face… there is love...'After this last part he turned away from the blonde and tried to find something else to focus his attention.

Naruto was frozen still as he stared at the all too familiar lyrics. They seemed to ooze with hope, hope that Naruto buried long time ago.

A loud sneeze brought him back in reality, out of his wallowing. He turned to see Sasuke rubbing his nose uncharacteristically and he had to chuckle. The raven sent him half-hearted glare and sighed: "It's the dust. It makes me sneeze." Naruto chuckled again and glanced once more at the notebook. Then he looked at the raven and smiled, handing it out to him, with smile: "Wanna read? I wrote it. There was a time where I was an amateur writer. My stepfather encouraged me to write since it seemed that I had talent for it."

Sasuke glanced at the notebook and then took it to read the lyrics again. As his eyes danced over the words again, he asked: "For whom is this song written? It's… really good," he added as he looked up at him, trying to find an answer in the blue eyes.

Naruto looked away at the dirty window. He watched as two birds flew around it and then flew off. "It was dedicated to this one person. But it didn't turn out as I wanted and it gave me bad moral for writing so I quit."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the declaration. He looked down at the poem again and then back at Naruto. His brows furrowed, forming a perfect frown and an even more perfect glare. He closed the notebook and then proceeded to swat the blonde over the head with it.

Naruto yelped in surprise at the sudden attack. "What the hell is wrong with you? What did I say!?"

But Sasuke only proceeded to whack him with closed notebook until the blonde fell on to the dusty floor, covered with other books and notepads. He stopped his sudden rage of hits to take a breath and Naruto used that chance to look up at the raven. What he saw froze his train of thought.

Sasuke's eyes were clouded over with so much anger and bitterness. He never saw that amount of feelings in the other in the few months that he knew the other male.

Sasuke gritted out: "You gave up writing just because some bitch didn't return your feelings!? How much dumber you can get!?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something but the words stuck stubbornly in his throat, refusing to be spoken. "It wasn't for a woman…" he managed to rasp out. Sasuke blinked and then looked at the book.

"Oh… I get it… I…" now Sasuke didn't have words to answer back. He coughed and looked away: "Sorry for intruding, but I really think that it was stupid from you to stop writing just because one person didn't return your feelings." 'For which I am very grateful, I might have chance now… a fucking small one, but a small chance is better than no chance at all...right?'he thought and smirked mentally, seeing that there was chance to be with Naruto since the other was at least bisexual if not gay.

Naruto fidgeted, still sitting on the ground, not knowing what to say. He then snatched the notepad that happened to be right beside him and red colored pencil that was behind him.

Sasuke eyed him and then smirked: "You're gonna write now? In this ocean of dust?" Naruto looked up and smirked back: "You cannot tell a writer when or where he can or cannot write. He writes when he feels like doing so, wherever that place may be," and then he proceeded to scribble fiercely on the pad of paper.

Sasuke sat beside Naruto and watched him; how he wrote words of the song with such ease that reminded him of himself when he was drawing manga. He spotted blank sheets of paper and a blue pencil on the other side of the room and went over to pick them up.

When he gathered them, he returned and sat beside Naruto, proceeding to draw him. Smooth lines appeared over the once blank page; a pale, talented hand connecting them and giving them shape and form. From time to time coal black eyes would glance at the blonde, solemn head and then back at the paper to fix mistakes and lines that looked out of place.

Naruto placed down the pencil and then sighed. He decided to take the risk. He knew that he was not worthy of Sasuke and his perfection now, but at least, he could try to achieve something great in the future. He would take the risk now and tell the other how he felt towards him. It was the only thing he could do since he couldn't bear with the returning hope, the returning pain of Sasuke being so near and he- not being able to touch him. He looked at the other and smiled, handing him the notebook, his stomach doing somersaults worthy of an Olympic gold-metal champion.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and then gave him a small, reassuring smile as he took the notebook from him. He flipped to the first page and then began to read.

Jaded and gaunt, some September,

Wilted with the seasons,

But hidden inside the delusion
I saw you eyes, somewhere.

Sasuke felt his breath hitch in his throat.

A parlor glade, moonlit sorrow.
Lonely resting pools
Relics of the moon-dogged lake
Whisper: "All your words are miss-given"

Am I like them?
Those who mourn and turn away;
Those who would give anything
To see you again
If only for another second

He could feel a shiver rocking his body, his heart rate picking up speed by each line. If he wasn't wrong, the next words proved him that he wasn't, the song was for him.

Your face, like the photograph
Painted white
we did not speak very often about it.
What does it matter now?

Cloak of autumn shroud
I gaze, dim ricochet of stars
I reckon it is time for me to leave

you sleep in the light;
yet the night and the silent water

Still so dark.

Sasuke had to gulp and then he looked at Naruto, who shifted uneasily, not making any eye contact. Sasuke could tell that his own heart wanted to leap out from his ribcage with joy and surprise. He looked back at the poem when a particular set of words caught his eyes.

"Naruto, why would you have to leave?" Sasuke asked, puzzled a bit, not knowing what to expect for an answer.

Naruto's eyes saddened as he hugged his legs to his chest, burying head in his arms that wrapped around his legs: "Because you won't want me as a friend anymore. Now that you know… that I like you…"

Sasuke looked back at poem- I saw your eyes, somewhere…to see you again, if only for another second- plainly displaying the hope of the blonde to be with him...even if Sasuke refused his love.

Taking up his own notepad, Sasuke proceeded to swat the blonde over his head with it...again. One startled yelp later, blue eyes glared at him: "Hey! I'm trying to be serious here! If you think that I'm joking arou-"he was cut off when a notebook was shoved in to his hands. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the picture.

There, on that page, sat Naruto, with his head slightly turned to the side, pad and paper in his hands. Beside him, with arms around the blonde's waist and head on the blonde's shoulder, sat the raven who stared at the blonde's notebook with half-lidded eyes.

Naruto's eyes softened at the picture and then he looked up at Sasuke, who was looking away from the blonde, a slight blush covering the bridge of his nose. Tears threatened to overfill the shining blue eyes.

"You may not believe, you may think that I'm teasing you like any other day, but the truth is that… I like you too," said raven, barely audibly, dark eyes still not looking at surprised blue ones, feeling too embarrassed to admit such feelings. He didn't know what came over him when he drew that picture. It was like he felt that there was possibility that something like this would happen.

Secretly, Sasuke really wanted to tell him that he had crush on him, but now that Naruto was the first that confessed, he would never admit that out-loud. Some things Naruto didn't have to know. The only thing he needed to know was that his feelings were returned with vigor. He could never let a chance like this slip up. He was too smart not to put this situation to his (actually theirs) advantage.

The thing that he didn't counted on was to be tackled onto dusty floor, pair of strong arms warping tightly around his waist and face buried in his neck. Only thing he could do is to hug the blonde boy back, which he did ever so happily. He waited for that way too long.

He was surprised when he felt droplets of warm liquid fall on his exposed neck and a faint sob escaping Naruto's shaking body. Tears. He tried to look at Naruto's face but it was impossible from this position. Dryly, he wondered why he always ended up in this position, on the bottom. Oh well, he would not complain about that now… now that he could finally have him. After all those fights, sneers and taunts, he finally had this blonde in his hands.

"Naruto, are you feeling alright?" he whispered. The blonde sniffed and nuzzled his nose in the soft skin of the raven's neck.

"Yeah, now I am. Not only am I alright I'm also insanely happy. I thought I would never be able to be with you. I thought was not worth enough to even be looked at, that I wasn't worth even one single glance from you. I thought all my hope was gone so I locked away my feelings, deciding never to tell you or anyone how I felt." Taking a shaking breath and then smiling, he continued, "When you said that I shouldn't quit writing I realized that it wasn't fair for you not to know how I felt about you. Now, I'm glad I told you."

Sasuke felt his own eyes stinging a bit. They had waited too long. Why? No one could answer that, but it seemed that they had put all of their differences aside just to be together, to have a shot at happiness. 'It's about time…' he thought, smirking.

"I don't have much to say Naruto. I was never good with words, only with pictures."

Naruto propped himself up on his elbows and sent a bright smile, a smile that was void of all the worries in the world, to the raven underneath him: "Then be quiet, I'll talk enough for both of us." Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes, but a small smile played on his lips. Naruto grinned and then leaned in and softly pressed his lips on the other's soft, tantalizing ones, releasing a soft sigh of pure content and happiness.

Sasuke locked his hands around Naruto's neck and pressed back into their kiss gently, softly, not wanting to lose the warmth upon his lips. It was soothing yet exciting, warming him up from head to toe and by the look on Naruto's face it seemed that he felt the same.

Sasuke was beyond just thrilled- he finally got his blonde dobe for himself and now that he has him he would never let go of him.

When Naruto pulled away, tears were glistening on his whiskered cheeks and small pants escaped his lips. He sighed and looked around the room: "We need to get started cleaning things up. Neji will have my head if we don't clean up this mess. By the way," he looked down at Sasuke again, "wanna go out with me after we rescue Dei and we set everything out as straight as we can?"

Sasuke couldn't help but snort at him and 'straighten out' things, but he leaned up and kissed him on the lips and then smirked: "Does this answer your question?" Naruto grinned: "Yup. Very clearly. Damn, Neji and Itachi are gonna freak out when they find out about us."

Sasuke got thoughtful for a moment and then smirked, a small chuckle escaping his slightly swollen lips. Naruto raised an eyebrow: "What?" At that, Sasuke snickered loudly: "I bet they will be together before we manage to tell them about us." Blue eyes blinked in confusion and surprise at first and then Naruto proceeded to laugh his ass off.

TBC…

A/N: This was it for now. Please leave some reviews; I really like to know other people's opinions. Thanks again Angelic, you really are an angel! (: