Hello my lovelies I'm back and I didn't take 2 years to update this time! I may just deserve a cookie x) Anyway, hello to all my old and ever faithful readers, I adore you so much. And welcome to any new readers! Hope you enjoy Life Swap :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

~Life Swap~

Despite what an insufferable, manipulative, and conniving asshole Itachi has proven to be, he was also an amazing, life saving brother when he felt like it. If it weren't for Itachi, Sasuke would have faced an extreme predicament that would've caused a number of problems. In his drunken haze from the night before, Sasuke had forgotten that the production crew had their camera men start their day at 6am. Truthfully, they didn't actually start shooting right away, they first had to set up their equipment among other things before they officially started. That could even take up to a little more than an hour.

Even so...Sasuke owed Itachi big time. Today Itachi was going to take Konohamaru out to breakfast, and showed up around six-thirty to get him. Sure it was early, but he believed Itachi was taking him somewhere really nice but it was a bit of a drive to get there.

No one ever entered his room aside from Sakura cause it was her room as well.

And Itachi.

Not even Konohamaru was allowed in his room unless given permission. So this morning when Itachi came to pick up Konohamaru and didn't see his precious baby brother up yet, he decided to give him a wake-up call himself and barged right in; only to have the shock of his life instead.

And it was nearly impossible to ever shock Itachi Uchiha.

So now, there was one shocked Uchiha who was quickly becoming more and more intrigued and amused by the situation if the wicked smirk on his face was anything to go by; and one hung over, embarrassed looking Uchiha, who looked about ready to rip off Itachi's head.

"Well, well *otouto. I never thought I'd see such a peculiar sight first thing in the morning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but would that actually happen to be our lovely house guest in your bed?"

Sasuke twitched at the old pet name Itachi used to call him when they were very young. It's been awhile since he's last heard that one. And for whatever reason, instead of being angry like he usually was when Itachi barged into his room unannounced, he instead felt his face burning and his heart nearly beating out of his chest. And when Itachi tilted his head just a bit to get a better look at the blond, Sasuke actually maneuvered his body to block Itachi's view.

This only made the older Uchiha's smirk grow even more. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he saw such a shit eating grin upon his older brother's face, and that honestly unsettled him quite a bit.

"Itachi, get out."

A deep chuckle was heard and it only served to frazzle Sasuke's nerves even more. "I think you should be just a tad more grateful towards me foolish little brother. If I hadn't come in and awoken you now, Kakashi would have a field day upon discovering this."

A panicked look flashed through the younger Uchiha's eyes, but returned to a calmer state when Itachi turned to leave. "Don't worry; I'm going to go have a talk with him now to make sure nothing of this gets out. I know it's just a misunderstanding, but you know people like Kakashi might twist it up into something scandalous that could be harmful to our line of business."

Sasuke sighed in annoyance, but still felt more relieved than anything else. "Thanks *aniki..." Sometimes, it was worth having a brother like Itachi for situations like this. The man knew how to avoid unwanted trouble. He was a big part of the reason they continued to be so successful.

"Of course my dear little brother. Anyway, take your time getting ready. I'll have Kakashi and his crew focus on only me and Konohamaru for now until we go out. Wait another hour before actually leaving this room. It'd be dangerous if Naruto were to walk out of here right now." Itachi looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "Have a good day Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at his closed door after Itachi left, feeling antsy. He took in a deep breath and released it a few moments later, feeling somewhat better. Then he turned to look down at the idiot still asleep.

In all honesty, he wasn't even disgusted or appalled seeing Naruto in his bed. Well...maybe just a little once Sasuke noticed the tiny spot of drool on the pillow. Since Sasuke was now confined to his room for the next hour he suddenly felt bored. He was wide awake so going back to sleep was out of the question.

Sasuke also had to thank his lucky stars he thought ahead to take today off from work as well; having enough foresight to tact on an extra day to relax after going through hell.

Again he looked down at the sleeping blond, somewhat amazed that he was still in a deep slumber even though Itachi had barged in here. Sasuke settled back down and got comfortable and found he couldn't take his eyes off of Naruto. As always, the whisker like marks on his face continued to intrigue him. It was something he had wanted to ask the blond about, but failed to do so the night before. An odd sensation of warmth bloomed in his chest as he recalled bits of last night. He had indeed gotten a little bit drunk but, still remembered last night clearly.

It was difficult to admit, but Naruto was the first person Sasuke had ever gotten this close to in such a short amount of time. Sasuke never really had actual friends, they were more or less just acquaintances of his through his line of work or at the most, business buddies. None of them could be labeled legitimate friends.

He definitely couldn't deny the strong bond he now felt with Naruto. The only thing that troubled him was if the blond felt the same. Naruto probably had many friends, maybe even a best friend back at home. His personality was practically the opposite of what Sasuke was. People were probably easily drawn to Naruto like moths to a flame, whereas people were too intimidated by him to go past simple pleasantries. Before now Sasuke was perfectly happy by this. He didn't need friends. The most important people in his life are Konohamaru, Itachi, and Sakura. Why would he need anything more?

But now...

Now there was an extreme need for a different kind of companionship, and oh boy did Sasuke suddenly crave it. And what made it worse was that he only craved this from the idiot still asleep in his bed next to him. There was no way Sasuke would ever feel like this with anyone else, or ever could for that matter. And the thought that all this would be coming to an end very soon actually made his throat and chest feel tight. By the end of the month Naruto would be back on the other side of the country with his husband.

And that's when the jealousy set in.

It was rare for Sasuke to actually be jealous of anything since he pretty much had everything a normal person could ever want, but the ugly feeling started to pulse under his skin regardless. It was completely uncalled for and even wrong of him to even feel this way, but he couldn't help it. Sasuke didn't want Naruto to be leaving anytime soon.

During his musing, Sasuke had been staring intently at the blonde's face, taking in every little detail and decided that Naruto was actually very handsome. It's not that he hadn't noticed it before; he just didn't take the time to appreciate it till now.

So when that tanned nose wrinkled slightly and blue eyes tiredly fluttered open slightly, Sasuke suddenly felt short of breath. He swallowed hard, but somehow managed a smirk.

"Good morning idiot."

Despite still feeling groggy with sleep, Naruto's eyes shot wide open, and were shocked to see another pair of eyes staring back into his own. Has anyone ever said how unnerving it is to wake up to find someone staring at you? Naruto shot up in the bed and scrambled back a little, clutching at his heart in shock. "Holy shit! Don't scare me like that!"

The smirk on the Uchiha just widened as he sat up as well. "Why so skittish? All I did was say good morning."

'Oh I don't know, maybe saying that so close to my face with that husky tone!' Naruto thought, feeling more flustered by the moment. It didn't help any that he had a boner right now.

"I'm not skittish." Naruto seethed. "How would you feel waking up to someone staring at you?"

Sasuke only shrugged, further annoying the blond and making him squirm more at how close the two were. Despite how big this bed was, it felt way too small all of a sudden. "Kay, well I'll just go back to my room now." Naruto made a move to get out of the bed, but was pulled back by his arm.

"About that, you can't leave the room just yet."

Naruto's stomach was doing some impressive acrobatic maneuvers just by being touched by the bastard. "W-What the heck do you mean?" Geez, now he was stuttering!

"It's way past six right now. So the camera crew has probably already started filming."

"WHAT?! Holy shit Sasuke why didn't you kick me out of the room sooner?!"

"Calm down idiot. It was already past six anyway when I woke up. We're fine for now though. Itachi came by and is going to talk to Kakashi to overlook this since the man could blow this misunderstanding out of proportion. In about another thirty minutes or so you can go back to your room. Itachi will be out with Konohamaru by then, so the camera men will be following them around for most of the day."

"What do you mean by...misunderstanding?" Naruto didn't like how that sounded at all and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Sasuke picked up on what Naruto was thinking immediately and gripped the blonde's arm tighter. "I mean that it would look suspicious if you were to walk out of my bedroom so early in the morning, suggesting that you stayed the night. It wouldn't look good for either of our images."

Naruto slowly relaxed and calmed down, feeling a little dumb for jumping to a wrong conclusion. Of course it would look suspicious if he was to leave the room and get caught, but Naruto hadn't thought of it like that. What he had first thought was that Sasuke didn't want anyone to know they spent time together and had gotten closer. Or at least, Naruto felt like they had both gotten closer.

"Okay, then what? I gotta stay here till they all leave?"

"Pretty much. Might as well get comfortable." Sasuke pulled him closer to the middle of the bed and sat back against the headboard.

Naruto felt his mouth go dry and his heart rate spike. "Seriously? You just...want me to stay here with you in your bed for the next half hour?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Do you have an issue with it?"

"YES!" Naruto practically exploded. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with the real Sasuke!?"

"Dumbass, what the hell are you talking about?"

"This," Naruto waved a hand dramatically between them and almost smacked Sasuke's arm. "Just, what the hell Sasuke! Doesn't any of this make you uncomfortable in any way? It doesn't bother you in the slightest that a gay man slept in the same bed as you?!" Cause it sure was starting to bother the hell out of him! Straight men just didn't do this with queers! Not unless they were curious or whatever, but Naruto didn't think that was the case with Sasuke.

Well...

To be fair Sasuke had asked him last night what "role" he took in his relationship. A huge lump got caught in his throat at the mere thought that Sasuke might be curious. A tidal wave of mixed emotions rushed over him. The most prominent ones were apprehension and excitement that coiled tightly in his gut.

"No...actually it really doesn't." Sasuke sat up straighter and kept a steady gaze with the blond, realizing the kind of predicament they were in and how one wrong move could ruin everything. "Listen Naruto. I don't want to send you mix signals here, or give you the wrong idea. I know how faithful you are to Sai," for some reason saying that irked him greatly, "but I'm not trying to pull anything with you. That would just make me a cheating asshole to my own wife."

Naruto stared hard at the man sitting next to him, not sure how to take all of this. This just wasn't...normal. And the situation wasn't ever going to be perceived to anything close to normal, just for the fact that this was Sasuke. However, he began to feel himself relax. At the very least, he could see Sasuke was being absolutely truthful and genuine.

"You're really weird you know that?" Unable to help himself, Naruto actually cracked a smile. Finally his nerves were calming down, and he started to become more relaxed. Sasuke felt his lips twitch into a ghost of a smile. He relaxed against the headboard and felt content with the lull, but Naruto soon broke that tranquility.

"So, if we're gonna be stuck in here for a little bit longer, we should pick up where we left off last night." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, feeling a bit cautious. "You do remember most of last night right?"

Sasuke smirked in his direction, "I remember everything. I may have been a bit drunk, but I wasn't wasted or anything.

"Oh? Even the part where you told me you loved the original My Little Pony TV series as a kid and dressed up as AppleJack for Halloween one year?" For a moment, it looked as if the bastard was a bit stumped and was trying to remember that. Keeping a straight face almost hurt until he received a death glare.

"Damn, your face Sasuke!" Naruto rolled over and buried his face into his pillow, laughing hysterically into it. "It was so priceless! You looked horrified for a minute there!"

Despite the ridicule, Sasuke's glare softened, and then turned into an evil glint. "I don't think you should be laughing at my expense when you've told me some pretty interesting things last night."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah? Like what?"

"Hn. Telling you might rile you up too much. I think I should keep it to myself for now and use it to my advantage later."

"Ehehe…" Naruto started to feel a little bit worried at that smug smirk on the bastard's face. He tried to think back on last night's events, but really couldn't come up with anything incriminating to his character. He narrowed his eyes at the raven. "You're bluffing. I remember everything too. Every single conversation we had. I didn't divulge anything too bad that I'd regret now."

The smirk only widened and it unnerved the shit out of Naruto. "It wasn't during any of our conversations. It was while you were sleeping."

Naruto felt like he just took the ice bucket challenge. His mouth dropped in shock, but it snapped shut as his mind raced with thoughts of what the hell he could have said while asleep. Fuck! He should have dragged his sorry ass to his own bed last night, because now he had no idea what the hell his traitorous, drunken fat mouth could have spilled. "What did I say?"

Sasuke only shrugged nonchalantly, and got up from the bed. "It wasn't anything too bad, I promise."

"Come on Sasuke! What the hell did I say?!" Naruto sat up and scooted over to Sasuke's side of the bed. He was met with a calculating gaze that made his stomach flop around in a weird, not entirely unpleasant way.

"I guess I could tell you. If…"

Getting annoyed with the bastard for letting his statement hang for a moment, Naruto pressed, "If what you asshole?" God he was going to punch that smirk off his face one of these days.

"If you go out to breakfast with me."

Naruto stared at him while letting that sink in, then felt his face heat up a bit. "T-That's it? You just want to go out to breakfast?"

Sasuke nodded and Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. "What like right now?"

"When it's safe to leave the room, then yes. If that's alright with you, unless you have other plans."

"No I don't, that'd be great-" The excitement that was building in Naruto about having breakfast with Sasuke suddenly collapsed upon remembering something. "Wait…actually I can't. Kakashi arranged for me to call Sai this morning. It was actually supposed to be last night, but because we were going out to an amusement park I wasn't sure when we'd be back and pushed it to later this morning."

Just the fact that Naruto had nearly forgotten about this was bothering him quite a bit. Just the other day he was happy, albeit a bit nervous, to get a chance to speak with Sai. With all the excitement from yesterday and bonding with Sasuke actually made him forget about it.

He felt disappointed now. Naruto felt the urge to push off his call with Sai again just to spend more time with Sasuke. Suddenly the thought of calling Sai filled him with dread rather than relief.

"That's fine. We can have lunch then if you're free."

Naruto stared at the Uchiha, wondering if he had imagined his eyes narrow in annoyance or the slight hard tone to his voice. "You alright Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned his back to the blond and breathed in deeply. "I'm fine. This probably works out better to be honest. I took today off too, but I should call the office to make sure the idiots I left in charge have everything running smoothly."

"Oh alright. It's a date then!" Naruto smiled; then gagged when he realized what he just said. "Shit, that's not what I-I didn't mean to say it like that!"

Sasuke smirked. "Don't friends usually use that term with each other when they plan to hang out?"

Naruto covered his face with his hands. "Ugh, well yeah but that's like with girls, not men Sasuke and, wait!" Naruto looked up at him in shock, "Did you…were you implying that we're um…friends?"

For a moment Sasuke was speechless. Internally he had already accepted that he wanted a friendship with Naruto, but hadn't thought that hearing it aloud would stun him. It made his heart skip a beat, yet at the same time he felt a sinking feeling churn in his stomach. He locked eyes with the blond and felt an invisible pull from staring into those azure orbs.

"Yes. I suppose I did. I apologize for insinuating that if you didn't…want that." Just saying that made Sasuke's throat go questionably dry.

Naruto's eyes went impossibly wide as he stared at the man before him. Was he for real? "What the hell are you apologizing for? You don't have to apologize Sasuke. After last night I pretty much assumed we had become close enough to be friends too! I guess I just wasn't entirely sure if you thought the same." Naruto chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. "Who'd a thought you were having the same insecurities as me."

"Hn." Sasuke grabbed his bathrobe and walked towards his private bathroom. He suddenly felt a strong need to be alone to think. "It should be alright for you to go back to your room now. I'll see you later?"

Naruto got up and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, but smiled genuinely and got up to leave. "Yeah, catch ya later." Just as Naruto stepped outside the room, he poked his head back in. "Uh, just to be sure but, what should I wear…?" Naruto didn't want to take any chances.

Sasuke felt the corner of his lips trying to twitch into a smile, but managed not to. "Don't worry, you don't have to dress up or anything. Unless you want to dress up for me then go for it." He had no idea where the hell that came from. There wasn't even a thought about it, yet it still came out of his mouth and it nearly floored him. But the look on the blonde's face was worth it. A red flush shot up from his neck, painting his face a lovely shade of pink.

Something got stuck in his throat as he watched the look of outrage and bewilderment on the blonde's face. It caused a sudden rush of adrenaline? No that couldn't be it, but Sasuke felt his body tense, waiting for an altercation with Naruto that he was oddly excited for.

Naruto on the other hand was utterly speechless. His mouth had gone slack for a moment and then snapped shut in anger because he was suddenly flustered beyond imaginable. What made it worse was that he couldn't even seem to use his damn voice properly and nothing was coming out right! Nothing but broken words and half stutters poured from his useless mouth! Finally he just gave up.

"Ugh! Screw you Sasuke!" Naruto slammed the door shut and stomped his way back to his room. He could feel the heat radiating off his flushed face. When he made it to his room, Naruto flung himself onto his bed and buried his face into the pillow to muffle a loud, suffering groan. This was so bad. Naruto felt his throat tighten.

Never in his life has Naruto gone astray. His heart was loyal, and nothing ever made his loyalty waver. Until now that is. Before, Naruto remembered a time when he used to wonder if he ever had it in him to betray someone he loved, like Sai. It wasn't something that plagued his mind or anything. Just intrusive thoughts Naruto sometimes had that would make him dig a little deeper into himself.

He was sure everyone thinks about stuff like that sometimes. And when Naruto thought about it himself, he came to a rather sad conclusion. He didn't have it in him to betray Sai. Instead he saw himself clinging to the relationship he had, no matter how bad it got in the hopes that eventually it'll get better.

'It may be bad now, but it's just a phase. It'll pass.'

'Couples fight all the time. This is normal.'

'We're going through a rough time, but our bond will only come out stronger after this.'

'I just have to stay faithful. I'm the backbone. I have to make it work…'

One dreary night, a few months ago, Naruto remembered lying in bed by himself. It was past midnight and Sai hadn't come home yet. He was so lonely. It hadn't been the first time he had laid awake in bed all alone, waiting for Sai to come home. All the other times he had gotten upset and angry.

But that time, he had just laid there feeling only hurt. It was a deep hurt that resonated to his very core. And it wasn't entirely over Sai either. He had come to a realization that he couldn't break it off, no matter how much he wanted to. He didn't have the strength to make that choice, or the will to enforce it, even though he had tried a couple times.

It would have to be Sai to make that choice. And it made him feel like scum.

So he was stuck. And he allowed himself to be stuck.

Naruto drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why am I thinking about this now?" The thought of Sasuke entered his mind and something powerful struck him. He could move on. Even if it led to nothing, he probably could at least escape what he let himself become ensnared in.

Even if it ended in him being ten times more hurt than necessary. It was still the drive he needed.

Naruto rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. He hated it when his problems and emotions catch him off guard. They always come the fuck out of nowhere, and it always left him feeling melancholia.

"Geez, fuck off for once emotions. I don't want to deal with your shit," Naruto grumbled. He sat up then, deciding to get ready to meet up with Kakashi for his phone call. He wasn't even excited for it anymore like he was the other day. Really he just wanted to get it done and over with.

'I shouldn't let this get me down. Maybe Sai actually misses me. Remember why you even decided to do this stupid show in the first place!' Naruto thought.

That's right. The whole reason for doing this was to hopefully get their relationship back on track after forcing Sai go through hell for a month with someone else, and hoping that the end result would be Sai finally opening his eyes and changing for the better.

And if not…then hopefully Naruto would have the resolve to finally walk away.

Perhaps after talking with him will determine what will happen.

"Alright Sai, so the same set of rules applies just like they did for Sakura. You'll have fifteen minutes to talk, and you can't talk about anything about the show itself or about the people you swapped with. Any questions?"

"No Yamato. Thank you." Sai smiled at the man. Yamato mentally sighed hoping this went well. Like Kakashi, he too did his own snooping and what he found was…unsettling. He only met Naruto once, but he just knew that Naruto didn't know what was going on and that he at least deserved to know. After watching Sai these past couple of weeks, he had to admit it was extremely hard to read him. However, as the days dragged on, he started to see some cracks in the mask Sai put out. He wasn't sure why but it could just be because he had to deal with Sakura this whole time.

Sakura had been on her best behavior and tried to get along with Sai and spend time with him, but the man was insanely introverted. He kept to himself and didn't talk much about himself either. Yamato wondered how such a reserved person got together with an overly expressive, sociable butterfly like Naruto.

That didn't matter at the moment now. What did matter was how this phone call would go. Yamato left the room to Sai and stood outside the door and gave a quick knock, signaling to Sai he could call Naruto now. Then Yamato started his timer and waited.

On the other side of the door Sai sat quietly, lost in thought. His smile from before was replaced with a frown. He could only stare at the phone in front of him. Even when Yamato knocked on the door letting him know he could make his call, he hesitated. Despite the blank look on his face, there were a million things running through his head. The sound of the clock ticking echoed loudly in the small room that he was in. With a sigh he reached for the phone and nearly jumped out of his chair when it rang.

Completely startled, it took a few moments before Sai quickly picked up after the fourth ring. "Hello?"

There was a pause then a cautious, "Hey Sai."

"Hey Naruto."

Another pause until Sai heard a frustrated sigh. "I thought you were supposed to call."

"Oh. Yeah I was. Sorry about that."

There was inaudible grumbling that Sai tried to decipher. He was certain he heard 'asshole' and 'dick' being said. So far this wasn't going too well.

"So how have you been Sai?"

How has he been? Truthfully, he'd been terrible. These past couple weeks have been hell. Worst couple weeks he has ever had in his life actually, and there was still a couple more weeks of this torture to go. But Sai couldn't exactly say that without wanting to get into why, because all that led into territory the rules forbid him to cross into.

"Alright I suppose. Work at the car garage has been slow, but I've gotten more art commissions. Three actually. I usually only get one every other month." It was most likely because of Life Swap. He now had some exposure.

"Seriously? That's awesome Sai! Have you started on any of them yet?"

"Sort of. I've never had three commissions at once so I don't even know where to start to be honest. But I have awhile before the patrons want them since I told them it'd be better for me to start on them when this whole thing is over."

There was a long pause after he said that. Even though Naruto was on the other side of the country, the tension between them was thick and it was only a phone call. It got to a point where Sai glanced at the clock and noticed they only had about eight minutes left.

"Naruto?"

He heard Naruto clear his throat and sigh heavily. "Listen Sai. When this is over and I'm back home, there's a lot that I think we have to talk about."

Suddenly his throat felt tight, making it hard to swallow, but Sai was already used to this feeling. He'd come to accept it actually. "Yeah. I know. There's a lot I need to discuss with you as well."

"Yeah I'm sure you do."

Sai frowned at that bitter tone. He wasn't used to Naruto being like this. Sure he got angry and pissed at him a lot. Yelled and screamed at him for things he did or didn't do. Once or twice Naruto had given him the silent treatment, but never this. His tone sounded more than just bitter. It also sounded resigned.

Quickly glancing at the clock, Sai saw that he had about four minutes left. "Naruto, I know I've done a lot of things that have upset you and I really haven't been the best husband that I could be, but please know I still love you."

"Do you really? Honestly Sai I don't even know anymore."

For once, that actually stabbed him in the heart. For all the misery he knew he put Naruto through, Sai unconsciously took comfort in the fact that Naruto still stayed with him. Never has Naruto walked out on him, and he came to believe that Naruto never would. But now he felt the threat of that actually happening.

"I do. One of the things I wanted to discuss with you when you came back was about how you wanted kids-"

"Whaaat? We both already know how hard it is to adopt a kid and you said you didn't even want to do that! Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I know how much you love kids and want to raise one. I've found a way for us to have one too!" Sai snapped his mouth shut after that slip. He hadn't meant to give that away since he wanted it to be as a surprise.

"You what?! How did you find a way?"

Sai opened his mouth to answer but couldn't think of anything, but felt relieved when he heard Yamato knock on the door. On the phone he heard Naruto cussing out Kakashi for shit timing and needing just a couple more minutes.

"Sorry Naruto. This was something I wanted to tell you when you get home so we'll have to hold this off until then."

"UGH! Freaking hell, fine whatever. Sai just don't do anything stupid okay? I'm not even sure about this anymore."

His heart dropped at that. "But you've always wanted kids…"

"Yes but-HANG ON KAKASHI! Okay I have to go. Hopefully I'll talk to you soon. Bye Sai."

"Bye Naruto."

Sai hung up just as Yamato walked in. He barely acknowledged the man and just stared at the phone. It dawned on him that Naruto didn't say he loved him back. Naruto always said that to him no matter what. Sometimes it would get annoying because Naruto would say it in such a way as if he didn't want Sai to forget that. The raven didn't know what to make of this.

Yamato grunted to get the other man's attention. "So, how'd it go?" He didn't need to ask, the look on the man's face said it all, but Yamato felt the need to ask.

Sai finally looked at him and got up from his seat. "It didn't go as well as I had hoped but it wasn't necessarily bad either." Sai didn't want to get into it right now and walked past Yamato without another word. He was suddenly in the mood to start painting. It was the only thing he could completely drown himself in.

Naruto slammed the phone into its receiver and stormed past Kakashi.

"Hmm. I take it that it didn't go well?" Kakashi said aloud while following the pissed off blonde.

"**** off Kakashi! UGH! I can't believe they're back!" Naruto whirled around looking for the guy that bleeped him, but Kakashi waved his hand to catch his attention. "Not all of them left. Some stayed behind for this phone call-" Was it just him or did Kakashi feel murderous intent in the air? But like practically everything, (including death threats) Kakashi shrugged it off and continued on as usual. "I suppose now wouldn't be a good time for an interview?" He asked cheerfully.

Naruto stopped right outside his door and gripped the door frame. "No. Please not now."

Kakashi couldn't see the shorter man's face, but just his posture and the flat tone of voice had him concerned. "All jokes aside, are you alright Naruto?" Even if he was the one running this show, Kakashi actually did care a bit about Naruto. Enough to offer him any kind of comfort (off screen) if he needed it.

Slowly Naruto took a deep breath and straightened up. "No, I'm not. But I'll get over it, I just need time alone."

Kakashi eyed the blonde wanting to push the issue, but wisely let it be. "Alright. I'll see you later then Naruto."

Once Kakashi left him be, Naruto closed the door to his room and flung himself onto his bed. His throat felt constricted and his eyes burned, but he refused to cry. He was a grown ass man and he was being filmed right now so he didn't even have the luxury to break down. Naruto kept his face buried into his pillow until he could get a hold of himself.

That went so much worse than he originally braced himself for. Sai was supposed to call him. Naruto had been sitting anxiously next to the phone, waiting for it to ring. He had felt dread come over him when a minute had passed and still the phone remained silent. After another minute had passed he quickly grabbed the phone without thinking and called Sai himself. Naruto was prepared to yell at him, to demand what the hell was taking him so long.

But the moment he heard Sai's voice Naruto felt all his anger just drain out into an empty void. At first he wondered if it was because he was glad to hear Sai's voice after so long, but literally a second later he tossed that thought away. He just didn't care anymore. He was tired of getting mad at Sai for the stupidest of things.

One of the worst things was just how freaking hard it was to actually have a conversation with him. It had been so awkward that Naruto had to force himself to sound happy about Sai getting more art commissions. Honestly that was great because they'd have more money coming in.

And the sinking feeling he felt when Sai said he had stuff he wanted to discuss? A disgusting feeling churned inside him after hearing that. Naruto didn't care what he had to say, he was just so done.

'Please know I still love you.'

It sure as hell did not feel like it. If anything that pissed him off more. That wasn't what he wanted to hear! He wanted to hear Sai actually say he missed him dammit! The phrase 'I love you' is so overused that it almost held no meaning anymore. Especially coming from a person like Sai. Hearing Sai tell him he missed him would have been so much better because he was actually accomplishing what he had set out to do!

And the whole thing about adopting a kid?

Just no. Not anymore. There was a time Naruto had begged Sai to adopt a child with him. It would have been an extremely long and hard process, but if they kept at it they would succeed eventually. Sai didn't want any children though. Naruto remembered that all too well and how it broke his heart knowing that someone he loved so much didn't want to raise a child with him.

One of the biggest downsides to being gay is not being able to have kids of your own. Sure he could have a woman carry his or Sai's child for them, but Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about that. He actually would rather adopt a child and give them a loving home instead.

He loved kids so damn much. That's why it worried him at what Sai told him. Technically he should be taking this as a good sign. One that Sai was changing the way he wanted him too, but his gut was telling him that this wasn't right. Sai didn't do things he didn't want to unless there was something he'd gain out of it. And for the life of him Naruto couldn't figure that out at the moment.

Naruto sighed and continued to just lay there with his face buried in the pillow. Maybe if he suffocated himself with the pillow, he wouldn't have to deal with this bull crap anymore. He didn't want to think.

A knock at his door made him seriously consider his pillow plan for a second. "Fuck off Kakashi. I told you I don't want to do your stupid interviews!" Naruto yelled but it was muffled by his pillow.

The door opened anyway and Naruto abruptly stiffened at the voice that was definitely not Kakashi's.

"Hn dobe. Did you already forget?"

Naruto bolted up right and stared wide eyed at Sasuke standing inside his room next to the door with his arms folded. Oh no, he did forget! He completely forgot about going out to lunch with Sasuke. Naruto had been so consumed by what had happened he freaking forgot about this and Naruto really wasn't ready for this right now! Why the fuck did he agree to have lunch with Sasuke? He should have anticipated what could go down with Sai and decline Sasuke's offer completely or at the very least push it off to a dinner instead or even a lunch date for tomorrow!

The stress he was suddenly under had Naruto's heart beating erratically in his chest, making it feel tighter and tighter. He was on the verge of an anxiety attack.

Sasuke sensed the distress coming off the blonde in waves and was instantly by his side, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

The effort to not fall apart was awful, but somehow Naruto managed to take a deep breath and calmed down a little. He also managed a strained wobbly smile; more for his own sake rather than Sasuke's. "Y-Yeah. I'm good! Tooootally good right now. Hahaha!" He brushed off Sasuke's hand from his shoulder and got up and made a show of stretching his back and arms.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, clearly not buying it. "Right. Hold on a minute dobe."

Sasuke whipped out his cell phone and quickly dialed someone. Naruto just stared at the raven completely lost over what was going on. What the heck was Sasuke suddenly doing?

"Hello Itachi? Hi I-…No that's not why I called. No shut up for a second-Aniki!"

Naruto watched in amazement as he noticed a slight tinge of pink on the bastard's cheeks. Was…was he blushing?

"Listen, I need you to watch over Konohamaru for the rest of the day. You can bring him back later tonight. Thanks." Sasuke hung up and then was suddenly dialing someone else's number.

Still Naruto was utterly confused as to what Sasuke was up to.

"Good afternoon Mr. Hatake-no I already told you I'm not addressing you by your first name." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and he scowled.

"Listen, I've just got off the phone with Itachi. He's going to spend the rest of the day with Konohamaru. I want all of your cameramen to focus on only them for today. I want none of them on me and Naruto."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Exactly, I want no cameras on us today. I don't care what your audience wants. You can have an episode solely on my brother and son and-" Suddenly Sasuke's lips curled into a dark and wicked smirk. It actually scared Naruto a little and sent a shiver up his spine.

"I know Itachi has been doing stuff behind the screens and you've been collaborating with him. I've let all of that slide, I've let a lot of things slide. But if I truly wanted to, I do have the power to put an early end to this shitty program. And believe me, you won't get another chance at this show with some other unfortunate couples. There's a reason Itachi and I both excel at what we do."

There was silence for a few moments, and then Sasuke's smirk turned smug. "Hn, I knew you were a smart man Mr. Hatake. For once I'm glad to do business with you. Have a nice day."

Sasuke hung up then turned to face Naruto who was still gapping at the Uchiha.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"Tch, idiot. I expected a thank you actually."

Naruto blinked, still not getting it. "I-what? I don't-"

Sasuke sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't have to hold it in now. Clearly whatever happened between you and your…husband," Sasuke couldn't keep the bitter tone out, "during your phone call wasn't good and you'd have to keep it bottled up till later tonight. Now you don't have to."

It hit Naruto hard as it finally became clear to him. A lump formed in his throat as his eyes burned with the threat of tears again. What Sasuke had just done touched him beyond words.

"We can also postpone our lunch date to tomorrow instead or for whenever you're feeling up to it. I'll leave you be as well. You don't have to worry about your privacy being breached." Sasuke turned to leave, but Naruto instantly grabbed his wrist without thinking and stared only at his hand holding onto raven. Sasuke turned to look at him in shock.

"I…I…" Unable to meet his eyes, Naruto started to get choked up, not knowing what to say right now. But one thing was clear to him. He actually didn't want to be alone. "Don't go…" His voice came out sounding small, like a lost child. He swallowed thickly, "Thank you. You really don't know how much this means to me but-" he took a deep breath, trying to stop shaking but it wouldn't stop, "please…I don't want to be alone."

To Naruto, he felt like he was asking for a lot. Sasuke already did a tremendously kind act for him, so to request this of him seemed like he was asking for too much. He didn't want to bother him, but Naruto needed this so badly.

A comforting arm wrapped around his shoulders, catching him completely off guard as his eyes snapped up to Sasuke's. His hold on Sasuke's wrist slipped away. Never had Sasuke ever looked at him with such understanding and tenderness in his eyes. It made his breath hitch and his body heat rise.

"Let's go to the kitchen to make coffee. We both haven't eaten anything either so, I'll make us whatever you want." Sasuke took the lead and guided Naruto to the kitchen, never once taking his arm off his shoulders. Once they entered the kitchen Sasuke let go and walked over to start making the coffee. Naruto felt cold from the loss of heat Sasuke's arm had been offering. Quietly he took a seat at the table and just watched Sasuke.

It was a comfortable silence between them, one that Naruto was very grateful for. He thanked Sasuke once he placed a cup of coffee in front of him with a little bowl of sugar and a carton of cream.

"So what would you like to eat?"

Naruto suddenly felt self conscious and guilt, and kept his gaze lowered to his coffee. "You really don't have to make me anything, I can make it myself."

Sasuke just shrugged him off and took a sip of his own coffee. "It's fine. I'd rather make you something instead of you making a mess in my kitchen like last time when you made Konohamaru pancakes."

The corner of his lips twitched into a tiny smile. He finally lifted his eyes again to weakly glare at the bastard. "Shut up, I didn't leave a mess. I cleaned up everything perfectly." He brought the coffee up to his lips and took a sip, and was surprised at how good it was. If Sasuke was good at making a cup of coffee then maybe he was good at cooking too?

"Since you insist on making me something, I'd love some scrambled eggs and bacon."

Sasuke smirked and got to work. The smell of bacon filled the kitchen, making his mouth water. It was also a comforting smell. One that brought him back to a time when he'd wake up for school and could smell Jiraiya cooking bacon down in the kitchen.

About ten minutes later a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and even buttered toast was placed in front of him. He even noticed that the scrambled eggs had some melted cheese and pepper added to it. It looked great!

"Thanks," he muttered shyly. Naruto was completely unused to this kind of treatment. Sure Sasuke shared drinks with him last night, but that was totally different to making someone breakfast in the afternoon!

Sasuke only grunted as he took a seat across from him with a plate of his own. Another silence fell between them, but this time it wasn't a comfortable one. Naruto had kept his eyes to his own plate, but could feel the Uchiha's gaze drifting over to him every now and then. Sasuke never uttered a word but Naruto knew he wanted to know what happened. If it weren't for the bonding he and Sasuke had last night, then Naruto may have felt like he owed the bastard an explanation on what was going on. Even though by right he didn't owe Sasuke jack squat, but it was still that feeling that people usually felt anyway.

A smile tugged at his lips and his chest felt a little bit lighter. He didn't owe Sasuke anything, and he knew Sasuke would never ask him about it either. The bastard actually respected his privacy enough to leave things be. But surprisingly he found that he wanted to talk to Sasuke about it. Naruto didn't think he had it in him anymore to keep it bottled up inside.

When Naruto finished his coffee, Sasuke politely asked if he'd like some more, to which Naruto accepted. By the time Naruto had a fresh cup, he had finished his breakfast and started to feel ready. Before Sasuke could do it, Naruto gathered the dishes and brought them to the sink to clean them. Sasuke had protested, but Naruto waved him off with a grin.

"It feels weird having you dote on me. I can still function ya know."

Sasuke eyed him curiously while drinking his coffee. "So are you a little bit better now?" He asked carefully.

Naruto set the dishes on a rack to dry and sat back down across from Sasuke and folded his hands around his mug. "Yeah," he smiled a little, "I actually am thanks to you." He looked up at Sasuke shyly, "You really don't know that what you did for me means a heck of a lot."

Sasuke hned and actually turned his gaze away from the blonde for a few moments. He suddenly felt a tiny bit embarrassed because what he did was very uncharacteristic of him. But when Sasuke had seen that look on the blonde's face when he walked into his room, something in him had snapped.

That look of pure panic and distress, Sasuke could literally see Naruto mentally falling apart. And when he still tried to cover it all up (even if it was the poorest attempt Sasuke had ever seen in his life), Naruto pushed himself to do it because he knew that he had to. It actually made his heart ache at seeing him try so hard when he saw so much hurt brimming underneath the surface. An unexpected wave of protectiveness came over him, so he did what he did.

"You're welcome. I won't pry into your business, but if you need someone…" Sasuke let his unspoken offer hang in the air and looked over at the other man.

Naruto fiddled with the handle of his mug while thinking it over. He breathed in deeply and decided that he felt ready. "You're something else you know?" He grinned wistfully. "I never thought I'd bond so fast with an asshole like you and want to pour my heart and guts out to."

Sasuke grinned back. "If we're going to get a little personal then I can't believe that I actually like your company quite a bit considering you're such a dobe."

"Shut up," Naruto's smile widened, but then he frowned in confusion. "What the heck is a dobe?"

"I'll tell you later." Sasuke smirked. Naruto glared weakly at him, but let it slide for now.

"Anyway…you already know that I got to have a phone call with my husband today."

Sasuke nodded and let Naruto continue.

"He…he was supposed to…" Already Naruto's throat started to feel a little tight, and it frustrated him. This was going to be harder than he thought. He sighed and tried a slightly different approach. "Sasuke, when you and Sakura were allowed to have a phone call with each other for your anniversary who called who?"

Sasuke blinked at the odd question, but answered anyway. "Sakura called me. Why?"

A pensive look came upon Naruto's face. "Sai was supposed to call me too," his blue eyes darkened, "but he never picked up the phone to call me."

Sasuke's eyes widened, then his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"We only get fifteen minutes to talk so after two minutes had gone by I got worried and pissed off and picked up the damn phone and called him myself. The prick didn't even pick up on the first ring! He picked up on the third or fourth and I was gonna rip him a new one but when I heard his voice I just felt so emotionally exhausted that I couldn't even bring myself to do that. But it wasn't even that though. I had the hardest time just talking to him in general. It felt like talking to a stranger trying to find common ground with each other."

Naruto smiled ruefully. "You told me last night I didn't have to tell you why I was in this mess. Itachi already knows. In fact I think he knows much more than I'd like him too. But the reason why is because…" Naruto felt the muscles in his face twitch as his mouth trembled. It was so hard to give life to what he was about to say.

"Because I think my marriage is falling apart. And I honestly don't know why." Saying it and hearing himself say it just made it more real. The threat of tears slammed him so hard that Naruto had to rub his eyes to make it stop. He sniffed and was slightly annoyed at how pitiful it sounded. "So…stupid me thought," now his voice was starting to crack and get chocked up, "that if I left him for a little while, and forced him to live with someone else, then he'd start to miss me. Then hopefully he'd realize what a shitty person he's been to me and get his shit straightened out, and things could go back to how they used to be!"

There, he said it all. Did Naruto feel any better for getting that off his chest? At the moment no, so he'd have to get back to you on that. Through the whole thing Sasuke had remained silent and only listened attentively. Naruto chanced a glance at him and was taken aback by the fury he saw in those obsidian eyes. Thankfully it wasn't directed at him, but it did look like Sasuke was trying to burn holes into the table top.

"Why don't you just leave him?"

"E-Excuse me?" Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. He flinched when Sasuke turned his furious gaze towards him.

"Just leave him if he's causing you this much heartache. Why have you been putting up with it for so long?"

Naruto looked away bitterly and quickly rubbed his eyes again. "It's not that easy."

"Nothing is ever easy, but things are only as hard as they seem because you let it be hard."

It stung. Sasuke didn't even know the half of it, yet somehow he managed to hit the nail on the head. He was a lot more intuitive than he looked. Naruto breathed out slowly, "Yeah. I know."

The fury in the raven's gaze softened. "You know he doesn't deserve you right?"

Naruto's reddened eyes snapped over to Sasuke's in shock. "What?"

"Why do you sound surprised? I don't know this Sai guy, but if he's able to turn you into an emotional wreck then he doesn't deserve you."

"I feel like I'm having this kind of discussion a bit too soon…" Naruto mumbled.

"Tch," Sasuke scowled, "Or more like you haven't had this discussion soon enough."

Naruto smiled sadly, "You're not the only one to push this issue with me. It's just…after spending so many years with someone, all that time you shared with them and loved them, it's just difficult to let it all go you know?"

The thought of Sakura actually flashed through Sasuke's mind briefly. In this case, he understood what Naruto was saying.

"There was…one more purpose for me signing up for Life Swap though. One that I didn't think much of, but am now seriously considering now." The feeling that had struck him before when Naruto thought of Sasuke came back. When he felt the sudden strength he needed to move on. "If things didn't turn out for the better, then it'd give me the resolve I need to walk away."

Sasuke stared at the blonde before him and felt a sudden wave of fondness for him. After today, Sasuke officially decided he hated Sai even though he had never met him and had already disliked him for no reason. He only wished that Naruto didn't live on the other side of the country. "After this garbage show is over and done with and you go back home…if things don't turn out well, you can always come back."

Naruto barked out a small laugh, "That's really kind of you, but that's offering too much and you know it. I don't have the money to even travel over into my neighboring states, let alone come all the way back to California."

"So? Who said you'd be paying to come back? I'll take care of that I'm opening my house to you anyway."

Naruto's jaw dropped once again. It amazed him how only just a couple days ago he and Sasuke were down each other's throats. Just two weeks ago Sasuke hadn't wanted to let him even step a toe into his house. And now here he was offering for Naruto to come back free of charge? What the fuck happened to the real Sasuke?!

"Sasuke quit joking. I think I liked you better when you were an asshole cause I grew used to it. These outrageously kind acts of yours are putting me on edge here."

Sasuke only smirked at him, "Whatever dobe, but my offer still stands. You can come back here if you want. And hey! If you do decide to leave Sai and get a divorce, I'd be more than happy to find a good lawyer for you."

"Ugh! Quit calling me a dobe! I don't even know what that means and there's no way in hell I'd ever accept that from you!" Naruto felt his cheeks grow hot. The smirk on the bastard's face was doing weird things to his insides, but he was actually happy about that. It was a sign that his emotions weren't out of whack in distraught anymore. "And I demand to know now what a dobe is!"

Sasuke stood up from the table and took his and Naruto's empty coffee mugs to the sink. "I'll tell you if you continue to spend the day with me." He grinned and Naruto's stomach did a somersault.

"What's with you and all the bribing? I'd have glued myself to your side anyway! You'll have to get pliers to get me off!" Naruto got up as well and followed Sasuke.

"Hn. Usuratonkachi."

"BASTARD! IS THAT EVEN A WORD?!"

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TBC…

A/N: This chapter took a long time for me to write, and it didn't even go in the direction I thought it would. I have a general idea of what I want to do with this story and where I want it to go, but the individual chapters can be a challenge because I'm unsure of how it'll go. I can be stuck for the longest time because of this, and then one day it literally comes to life.

I've been so busy that it's hard to keep up with writing now. And I might be developing carpal tunnel in my right hand. It's been hard, but I'm taking it slow. I've also been trying to make up my mind on whether or not to just focus on this story, and then finish my other one Come on Closer when this one is completed. However a part of me really doesn't want to do that since my updates can be as long as two years. I'm truly sorry for how long it takes me to get chapters out, but I don't give up.

Thank you to all my faithful readers who are still here with me, and to all the new readers!

*otouto – younger brother

*aniki – older brother