Ah, hello. I haven't updated this fic in two years. What happened? I really don't know. But, last night I got a message from RedGoddessEclipse asking when my next update will be... somehow, I felt inspired enough to read the whole story again, and spend the entire day writing for it! Though admittedly a lot of it is taken from Results of a shitty day, since the stories are parallell after all. I've tried to keep it interesting by switching point of view between characters, and adding new scenes as well as additional parts of scenes. This chapter is parallell to chapter 10-13 of Results.

I've been wondering if anyone is still reading this story... but it's actually a story I really like. I just forgot about it, I suppose. Easily distracted, and then there was the ending of Naruto, too. Surprisingly it's the only story I have an actual plotline and chapter plan for! Maybe I can start writing for it again. I just have so little free time, haha... But I did write chapter 15 as well so I'll post that in a few days!

Please let me know if you're still interested in this story!

Chapter 14: Apologies

xxx

-October 27th 2012-

Itachi waited at their usual spot, playing with the ring on his left ring finger and watching the people bustling by. It was a cloudy day with a slight threat of rain, the air was dank, and he sighed. What a perfect fit for his mood as of late. But today he was meeting his brother again, and even if they often argued these Saturdays were like a truce, no talk about work, private lives or anything else even remotely depressing. Although they were going to break the private life rule today, seeing as Naruto was coming with. Straightening up he put his hands in the pockets of his warm dark grey coat, it wouldn't do for an Uchiha to fret. And ah, there was Sasuke at last! He was walking briskly, his black coat fanning out a little behind him in the slight wind. Nothing dramatic though. And there, just behind him struggling to keep up while talking animatedly and clad in too much orange was, supposedly, his little brother's boyfriend. When Sasuke caught sight of him he raised his eyebrows slightly in recognition and weaved his way through the busy people on the sidewalk. Naruto had gone quiet when he caught sight of him but gave a large grin once they'd reached him.

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke's big brother," he said and stretched out his hand for Itachi to shake.

"Hasn't Sasuke told you my name?" he answered and shook his hand, giving a polite nod.

"Yeah yeah but it's more fun to greet you like this. You know," he added and turned to Sasuke, "he doesn't look at all like I expected him to."

"Is that so?" Sasuke replied, and Itachi noted he looked a little nervous, but that might just be his imagination.

"Yeah, I mean he actually looks manly."

"Why you little..!" Sasuke growled and proceeded to try and wrestle Naruto down on the street, the blond laughing and yelling that it was just a joke. Itachi shook his head.

"Well, it's nice to see you two so lively, but we're attracting some attention. Let's start walking instead," he suggested.

Both Sasuke and Naruto stopped, Sasuke looking peeved but Naruto just grinning. That's when Itachi noticed the marks covering Sasuke's neck underneath the scarf that had opened up a little during their mini-fight. He gave an amused smirk that Naruto noticed.

"Before you ask, yes the sex is great," Naruto said in a smug voice.

"Five minutes, Naruto," Sasuke groaned with his face in his hands. "You said you were going to behave for five minutes."

"I'm behaving!" Naruto defended himself. "But you've been so high-strung the whole time since we left the apartment so I figured I'd just get rid of the awkward stuff first!"

Sasuke scowled at him through his fingers, but glanced over to Itachi when he heard him chuckle.

"I suppose we should just skip the boring pleasantries then," he said. "Welcome to the family, Naruto, let me introduce you to our best friends." He swept his arm in the general direction of the street to his left. Naruto looked confused.

"He means the stores," Sasuke muttered and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Come on then, I haven't gone shopping for two weeks."

"Always so impatient, little brother, it's a wonder I didn't realize you were gay before."

"Eeh, he didn't know?!" Naruto exclaimed, but Sasuke just shrugged and started walking down the street.

Itachi followed them, smirking to himself. Naruto had gotten his approval the second Sasuke smiled like that in his office, but he also couldn't help feeling just a tad bit jealous. Sasuke really needed someone like Naruto in his life though. And maybe now he wouldn't have to constantly worry about his brother having enough and leaving for some obscure country to 'find himself' or something equally insane. Watching these two interact was going to be interesting indeed.

xxx

More than interesting, Itachi found the two of them to be like any other freshly in love couple. Naruto didn't seem to enjoy shopping much, however, and Itachi felt kind enough to avoid the topic while they made small talk. He was used to Sasuke taking forever while in a changing room, but Naruto seemed to grow more and more impatient for each store they entered. Still, sometimes whenever Sasuke fell into one of his usual monologues about whatever items he considered buying, Naruto got this sappy look on his face that made Itachi hide a smile.

"Has he always been like this?" Naruto asked at one point while they waited, playing with the strings on his hoodie.

"Pretty much, yeah," Itachi agreed, blinking innocently at Sasuke when he stood in front of them in yet another outfit. "I remember him being ten years old and complaining that he couldn't wear his warmest pair of gloves because they didn't match his new coat."

"I blame it on mother's fashion magazines," Sasuke muttered, turning to glance at himself in the floor to ceiling mirror by the end of the small corridor. "Does this shirt look weird in the back to you?"

Naruto rolled his eyes behind Sasuke's back, which unfortunately he caught in the mirror.

"Well?"

"Ah, maybe a little?" Naruto was quick to reply, tapping his fingers together and biting his lip to prevent a grin. "Maybe you should try another one."

Wrinkling his nose at the reply, Sasuke gracefully turned on his heels and shut himself inside the dressing room again.

"You should have hid those magazines from him," Naruto sighed towards Itachi, stretching his legs out with a grimace.

"Didn't know he was reading them," Itachi confessed, "he must have done it in secret."

Both of them snickered at the thought of a ten year old Sasuke hiding away in his room with fashion magazines, quickly clearing their throats when Sasuke peeked out at them through the doorway, clearly not amused.

"I think it's time for lunch," Itachi pointed out later when Sasuke had finally decided to pick the dark blue cardigan as opposed to the slightly lighter blue one.

"Yes please!" Naruto groaned. "I thought I was going to starve to death, I mean can you imagine the headlines in tomorrow's paper?"

"Don't be such a drama queen," Sasuke said, not caring at all and starting to walk towards the cash register.

"Sasukeee, do you really hate me so muuuch?" Naruto whined and clung to his coat, pouting and looking very much like a poor starving poor person to Itachi's amusement.

"Idiot," Sasuke said and rolled his eyes, but leaned down to give him a small kiss. "We've only been at it for two hours, hardly anything to complain about."

Naruto muttered darkly at this and glared when Itachi smirked at him. They really were cute together, and Itachi especially appreciated how Naruto was able to draw so many different reactions and emotions from his little brother.

Itachi brought them to one of his favorite cafés, classy but not too stuffy. To his surprise, though he supposed he should have expected it, Naruto was less than happy about the choices on the menu.

"You could take the soup," Sasuke suggested, and Naruto looked at him like he'd just said a very boring joke.

"It has vegetables in it, not to mention fish."

"But you don't hate fish."

"It's a soup, Sasuke, if I want fish I'll eat fish."

"What crawled up your ass and died? And what would you put in a soup then?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied. "Not fish."

"Then pick something else. And no you're not getting ramen."

During the argument, Itachi had already called the waiter over and ordered pie for the three of them. It seemed easier, and did manage to put an end to the little lover's spat.

"Say, Naruto, what have you two been up to the past week? Sasuke is so secretive, as you know."

Instantly Naruto's eyes lit up, and he launched into a long explanation of all the sweet and couple-y things they'd done. He would feel jealous, if it weren't for the happiness Sasuke emanated despite his pouty face and insistence that Naruto kept exaggerating.

Once Naruto seemed to have finished his tale, Sasuke heaved a big sigh of relief, earning a kick under the table from his boyfriend. Then Naruto turned towards Itachi again and opened his mouth to say something, but apparently changed his mind and frowned for a second.

"Sasuke didn't tell me you're married?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

Itachi looked up from his pie, giving him a small smile. "Ah well, I'm sure you two have had more interesting things to talk about, don't worry about it."

"Nah, Sasuke just talks about his hair all the time, it gets old."

It was now Sasuke's turn to kick Naruto, and judging by the wince it caused he'd kicked a little harder.

"So, Naruto, what did you think of the pie?"

If Naruto had been more alert he would have noticed Sasuke's poison-disguised-as-honey tone of voice. Itachi of course noticed, and decided to play along with Sasuke's revenge. His hair was a sensitive issue, after all.

"Oh, umm, it was… edible I guess," he responded. The words had barely escaped his lips before Itachi mustered up his most effective killer glare, acting offended.

"I mean it was awesome! It totally melted my tongue, the taste was an exotic experience and the sensations were overflowing with passion!" He was definitely just spewing nonsense right now. "I'd never doubt your taste in pie, Itachi."

The last part of the sentence came out as more of a squeak after daring a glance at Itachi. As he tried his best to keep up the façade, Sasuke on the other hand had succumbed to laughter.

"It's fine, Naruto, making my brother laugh is worth your ignorance when it comes to pie. Shall we proceed then?"

It took a second or so for Naruto to realize that Itachi wasn't actually mad at him, and that they were leaving.

"That means let's go for some more shopping, moron," Sasuke teased and ruffled Naruto's hair.

Naruto pouted, but Itachi was much too busy cataloging Sasuke's relaxed expression, hoping that Naruto really was as great as his brother seemed to believe.

"I like you and all, Sasuke, but I'm kind of worried about this tendency you have of torturing me."

"Are you telling me you're weak?" Sasuke shot back with a snort.

"Like hell I am, bring it on!"

Both Uchihas laughed at Naruto striking a hero pose, before Itachi gently pushed both of them towards the exit. He was looking forward to more Saturdays spent like this.

Of course, he could do without the suspicious noises coming from the dressing room the both of them had disappeared into while Itachi was browsing the store they'd entered.

"While I'm happy you're bringing my brother out of his shell, it might be wise to try to be slightly less loud next time," he told Naruto when Sasuke left for the cash registers. "Just a thought."

"I…" Naruto struggled with words, face aflame as he waved his arms around. "I'm very sorry!"

"You should apologize to the poor lady in the stall next to yours, not me," Itachi couldn't resist adding, watching with satisfaction how Naruto turned even redder as impossible as it seemed.

"It won't happen again!" Naruto squeaked, burying his face in his hands, but Itachi patted his shoulder a few times.

"It's alright, as long as he's happy I'll overlook it. Speaking of which, you seem to be taking good care of him."

"Oh, um, well, he means a lot to me. I want him to be happy, too."

The honesty and care expressed on Naruto's face and in his voice made Itachi's heart melt. He was always worried about Sasuke, always wishing he could do more for him, be a better brother. It was hard, but he couldn't be everything Sasuke needed. He could only protect him, could only support him in his life choices. He couldn't make him glow with happiness the way Naruto did, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Sasuke deserved to live his life with someone like Naruto, and Itachi hoped he was making the right choice to trust Naruto with this.

"I believe that. You make him happy."

The shy blush on Naruto's face convinced Itachi that he at least wasn't making a terrible choice.

"Naruto, I'll leave Sasuke in your hands, then."

Surprise settled over Naruto's features, but before he could ask what Itachi meant, Sasuke returned with yet another fancy bag to add to the ones they already carried.

For that, Itachi was thankful.

xxx

-November 2nd 2012-

"Where is he?!"

"Chill down Ino, when's the last time Naruto was on time?"

"That's beside the point! He said he'd be on time today and he's not answering my texts!" Ino flicked back her long blond hair and gave Shikamaru an irritated look, growing even more irritated at the sight of him leaned back in his chair and looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Maybe you scared him off with your whiny voice."

"Shut up forehead-girl! I'm not talking to you right now!"

"What's up with her?" Neji whispered to Sakura.

"Tch. She's just mad I won't tell her anything about Sasuke and Naruto. Like I know more than her!" Sakura rolled her eyes and threw a glance at the entrance, something both she and Ino had been doing the past twenty-five minutes. "Seriously though Ino, Naruto's not known for punctuality but trust me when I say that Sasuke is even worse."

Ino was now stabbing the ice in her drink viciously with the straw, causing Shikamaru to eye her with something that could be taken as worry if you looked really closely and had a good imagination. Hinata was trying not to look though, tried mainly to stay as silent and invisible as possible. She didn't want to be at the bar surrounded by all her friends, not when Kiba sat beside her, not when Naruto was about to appear together with Sasuke. She wondered how Sakura was able to take all this so easily, but she supposed they had made up at some point. If only she had the strength of mind to try and do the same…

Chouji patted Sakura on her back and pointed wordlessly at the door, causing all of them to turn their heads towards Naruto as he entered. Next to him was Sasuke, dressed impeccably of course, looking like everything that Hinata wasn't.

"Oh god he's even sexier in reality" Ino groaned, and Sakura smacked her arm.

"That's my ex fiancé you're talking about" she said, but Ino wasn't listening. She was already halfway across the distance between them and the door.

Hinata waited nervously as she watched Ino talk to them, curling in on herself when Naruto glared towards the table at Kiba. He seemed angry, and not placated by Ino's words. Eventually they did come over though, Naruto grabbing a chair between Chouji and Sakura, Sasuke between Ino and Neji. It didn't make the situation better that Sasuke stared at Kiba who glowered back, seemingly not intimidated by the other man. Hinata, for her part, certainly was.

Chewing frantically on her lips she didn't dare even move, twitching when Naruto got up and headed to the bar for drinks. Despite her fears, no confrontation took place and slowly the atmosphere calmed down. It was enough to let her sip at her drink at least, and listen to Sasuke answering Ino's questions. When Naruto returned he paused by Sasuke first, and Hinata tried to ignore how her stomach churned at how close they were.

"Naruto! Where have you been?" Ino exclaimed, "Sasuke just told me you met at that bar close to your job!"

Naruto shrugged and glanced at Kiba and Hinata. She hid behind her hair, but Kiba didn't seem to notice. As awful as she felt about her own life, it was good to know that Naruto had moved on and they could all be in the same room without fighting. One day she would apologize properly, find the words she lacked right now. Still, what was there to explain? She was weak and easy to sway, but when all she'd ever wanted was to be the one to make Naruto happy, instead she hurt him unforgivably. She didn't deserve to be here, but as long as no one pushed her away she would never be able to leave on her own. There was nowhere else for her to go, after all.

After a while, Kiba left to get more drinks, disappearing in the direction of the bar. To her surprise Naruto left soon after, though headed for the restrooms. Somehow this made her worried, and sure enough she could see Kiba in the distance making his way through the crowd away from the bar and after Naruto instead.

Glancing around the table it seemed as if no one else noticed. What was she supposed to do? Tell Sasuke? She didn't even dare open her mouth in his presence. Heart hammering in her chest she quietly left her chair and hurried after them, not sure what she could even accomplish, but knowing that sitting there waiting would be worse.

As she approached the area where the restrooms were she slowed down, hesitating by the corner. Her fingers were all but shaking now, throat thick with anxiety. What if they were fighting? What if nothing was happening at all and she was just being silly?

When voices floated over to her spot she froze, hands clasped over her mouth.

"Missed me, hot stuff?"

It was Kiba's voice, overflowing with his usual arrogant self-confidence.

"Can't say I did."

Naruto sounded uncomfortable, and Hinata felt overcome with worry. This was her fault, she could have put a stop to it, she could have talked to Naruto before everything got messed up.

"Well, I missed you" Kiba said, the shuffle of clothes easily heard during a pause in the music filling the bar.

"Just fuck off, Kiba, I'm not interested in playing your games."

"Oh yeah? Because you have Sasuke now?"

"No, because you're a jerk and I don't want to talk to you, let alone be in the same room as you."

"Why so testy? Come on, Naruto, you know we really had something good going on."

"Yeah, and then you ruined it. Newsflash Kiba, it's over. Now let me go."

Hinata listened with baited breath, head swimming lightly.

"What," Naruto asked in a flat voice, sounding angry now.

"Just trying to figure out what Sasuke sees in you."

She felt as if she could cry, hearing the mockery in Kiba's tone. Naruto didn't deserve this. He'd been through so much, yet always faced the world with a reassuring smile. For all the times she helped patch him up as kids, she never thought that one day she would let someone hurt him like this.

"I doubt you two will last," Kiba then said and a scuffle could be heard, loud enough that Hinata peeked around the corner before she could help herself.

Naruto had grabbed Kiba's shirt and was holding him tightly by it, teeth bared in anger.

"You" he growled. "You, are really getting on my nerves."

Naruto pushed Kiba against the wall and brought their faces close, Hinata sucking in a fearful breath.

"Either you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you and why the fuck you're doing all this crap, or you just get the fuck out and don't talk to me ever again!"

Kiba just gave him an arrogant look. It made Hinata swallow against the lump in her throat, a swirl of anger mimicking Naruto's filling her chest. She might have screwed up big time and hurt Naruto, but she hadn't wanted to, and now the guilt was eating her alive. Kiba, on the other hand, seemed only too eager to continue hurting him.

"What, you really think you and Sasuke are the perfect couple? Sure, you might have a few happy months, but I know Sasuke will realize how bad a match you are."

"Shut up, Kiba."

"Why? Hit a nerve? I think we both know there's a huge gap between the two of you."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, look at Sasuke. Only twenty-three years old and long since out of university with top grades, now owner and board member of one of the more successful companies in the country. Not to mention he comes from a prestigious family. And then there's you."

"What about me." Naruto's voice was low and strained, but Kiba just smirked and continued.

"A simple worker at a tiny, unimportant fast-food restaurant. Is that how you're going to introduce yourself to his business partners, to his family?"

"Sasuke doesn't care about that." Naruto tried to sound convincing, but it seemed Kiba could hear the insecurity in his voice, just like Hinata did.

"Sure he doesn't. But hey, what happened to the Naruto with all those grand plans? Weren't you going to be someone?"

"Says you," Naruto bit out.

Hinata thought of late nights spent dreaming of the future, of travel plans and big declarations. Of laughing until she cried at Naruto's enthusiastic revenge plans for old teachers and bullies, of her heart beating painfully whenever she wished for it to actually happen.

"Well that's a low blow," Kiba said, his smile sharp around the edges. "But you know what? I'm gonna study to become an animal caretaker starting next semester, gonna work with hurt and abandoned animals. That's pretty impressive right? Anyway you said it yourself just a while ago."

Clenching her fists, Hinata blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes. It didn't matter how awful she felt or how terrible a person she was, Naruto shouldn't have to listen to all this.

"That you're a nobody, with no future whatsoever. That you'll never be able to go study like you've been dreaming of and then come back and impress everyone. You think Sasuke would like that?"

"I think you should mind your own business," Naruto said quietly, head down and teeth gritting in anger.

It broke Hinata's heart, seeing him like that.

"I know I didn't like it." Kiba's voice was overflowing with smug superiority, and Naruto looked one second from losing it and breaking a few bones in the asshole, when a voice interrupted him.

"Kiba, that's enough!"

To Hinata's surprise, it was her own voice.

Both Naruto and Kiba turned their heads in surprise at it. Shocked at first, Hinata took a deep breath and felt a huge wave of relief as she finally forced it all out.

"Leave Naruto alone, you're just jealous he got the guy you like and he'd never be interested in you. And with good reason too!" Hinata walked closer, stopping just an arm's length from them. "To think I ever liked you, believed you, it makes me feel disgusted with myself. You should be ashamed, manipulating people like that. I didn't say anything because I felt as bad as you are, but enough is enough!"

She took a hold of Naruto's arm, pulling it away from Kiba's shirt and making him step back. Both of them had shock written over their faces, and it almost made Hinata waver. Nails digging into her palms she took another breath, telling herself that if there was one thing in life she had to do, it was this. Once she had, she could go back to her pathetic self, but this was about Naruto, the man she'd loved for so many years that it had ended up making her lose her head completely.

"Now get the hell out of here you, you, you asshole!" Hinata could barely believe she'd just used words like those, but she held her ground and stared Kiba straight in the eye.

She'd been running away for too long.

Kiba wasn't reacting, probably frozen in spot, so Hinata closed the distance between them and slapped him. As hard as she could, enough to make his head turn aside.

"Now, Kiba," she said and pointed towards the mass of people that could be seen at the end of the corridor.

At first, Kiba didn't seem to understand what she had said. Then he gave her a glance that spoke of resentment and bitterness, but he did leave.

Everything was silent for a while, or well, as silent as it ever gets in a bar full of people and blasting music, but the sound level was more subdued there. Hinata used the time to calm her breathing down, slowly unclenching her hands and finding them shivering.

"Umm, thanks, I guess," Naruto finally said, breaking the awkward of the moment.

Hinata glanced at him through her fringe.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. When Naruto didn't say anything she continued. "I know it's a little late to apologize, but I really am sorry for everything."

Naruto looked at her for a few seconds, and she held her breath. What did he think of her now? Surely he wouldn't forgive her, but if he at least didn't hate her…

"What happened?" he asked, and she took a deep breath before turning towards him.

"To make it short, he tricked me and I was foolish enough to believe him. I…" she swallowed and avoided his eyes, nervously fiddling with the hem of her lavender shirt. "Honestly" she started, a little stronger this time as she looked up at him, "I've been in love with you since we were kids. And first I was too shy to say anything, besides you liked Sakura and she's much prettier than me, but then you confided in me that you were gay, and…"

She paused, trying to hold back the emotions threatening to spill over.

"Hinata," he started, but she shook her head to silence him.

"I'm really happy to just be your friend, Naruto," she said, but then caught herself. "I mean, I get it if you don't want to be friends anymore, but it was fine, really. It's just, with Kiba…" she paused again.

"I've just longed for someone to have for myself, someone who would love me back, and Kiba reminded me a lot of you, you're both outgoing and funny, you make me smile…" She frowned. "Kiba turned out to be a real douche though."

Naruto snorted, causing Hinata to smile a little.

"He said you two had broken up and were just friends…" she looked like she wanted to cry now. "But then when you walked in on us, that really was the first time we did anything, I just didn't know what to do. So I stayed with him. I'm so stupid," she groaned and hid her face in her hands.

Naruto walked over to her and gave her a hug. "It's okay Hinata, I forgive you. You did a mistake, but you could have just explained it to me you know."

She shook her head violently against his shoulder. Naruto was just about to say more when they heard a voice they thought he'd gotten rid of complaining loudly.

"Let me go, dammit I said let go!"

Kiba was struggling against Sasuke's death grip, trying to escape but failing miserably. Sasuke had a grim look on his face, but it eased up once he saw Naruto and turned into a worried one instead.

"You okay?" he asked Naruto, raising an eyebrow at the girl in his arms.

Hinata could feel Naruto nod, keeping her gaze downturned. She was still loosely held by Naruto, but Sasuke turned his attention back to the struggling brunet in his hands and threw him to the floor unceremoniously.

"You," Sasuke said and glared at the moron now trying to stand up but flinching back at the tone of voice directed at him, "Explain yourself."

Kiba glared at him.

"I said explain yourself," Sasuke hissed and took a threatening step forwards.

"Alright alright, just take it easy!" He muttered something under his breath and threw a glance in Naruto's and Hinata's direction before focusing on Sasuke again. "I was just messing with you," he then said.

Sasuke looked like he was going to kill Kiba, so Naruto quickly let go of Hinata and took a hold of his arm.

"Calm down, it's not worth it," he told him, and Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"I was getting worried because none of you had come back, and then Hinata left too, and I bumped into the fuck-face here on my way to you, and he had the nerve to hit on me! He fucking trash-talked you Naruto, now let me go so I can beat him up!"

"Sasuke! I said it's not worth it, okay! Just leave it."

Sasuke didn't seem to share Naruto's opinion though, because he shrugged Naruto off and took two large strides towards Kiba and lifted him up by the grey sweater he wore.

"I'm really, really pissed right now," he told Kiba, as if that wasn't extremely obvious.

Kiba seemed to have a death wish though, because he decided to talk back to Sasuke.

"I still don't think Naruto's good enough for you," he said.

"And I still think you're the worst scum of the earth, so where does that leave us?" Sasuke's eyes were practically screaming murder, and Hinata shrank back towards the wall at the sight.

"He's not normal," Kiba then said, and Naruto flinched.

"Kill him" Hinata suddenly exclaimed, and three heads turned towards her in disbelief. She blushed darkly and looked away, but she'd meant what she said. Kiba should know how much Naruto had been hurt in the past, and saying something like that was crossing yet another line.

Sasuke turned to Kiba again.

"I'm not even going to try making sense of your gibberish," he said and released Kiba with a disgusted look on his face. "But Naruto's right, a cheating lying snake like you is obviously not worth it."

He started to turn away but stopped at Kiba's following words.

"I'm not the only cheater here!" When Kiba noticed he got Sasuke's attention he regained confidence. "Yeah, that's right, Naruto," he said and Naruto wondered what the hell was going on. "Sasuke's not as perfect as you think."

Naruto looked between them, the poisonous glare Sasuke was sporting versus the triumphant one Kiba wore.

"I don't get it," he said.

"I have, unfortunately, slept with this moron here," Sasuke gritted out and Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata gasped. "Before I met you of course," Sasuke hastily added and looked at him worriedly.

Hinata wasn't sure what was going on, but she really doubted that Sasuke would have cheated on Naruto, not with the way he looked at him.

"Well, I feel sorry for you," Naruto said and gave Kiba a grimace when the brunet protested.

"Hn," Sasuke said, and ignored Kiba once again.

"Hey! What's with the lame reaction! Didn't you guys listen, Sasuke cheated too!" Kiba yelled, and Sasuke pushed him roughly into the wall again.

"I'm not pretending to justify my actions, Kiba," he sneered, "but there's a big fucking difference between cheating on someone after telling them that you love them, and cheating on someone you've been unwillingly forced together with and after telling them you'd rather spill out your guts and put them back through swallowing than even touch the other person. I'd never cheat on someone I'm serious about."

Sasuke looked as if he wanted to say more, but apparently decided against it and let go of Kiba. He turned towards Naruto instead.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not really in a party mood anymore."

Naruto snorted and walked up to him, taking his hand and then motioning for Hinata to come with them.

"Let's go home then," he said, and added "We can drop you off on the way," towards her.

She hesitated at first, glancing at Sasuke, but then she nodded and they left, leaving an angry Kiba behind. They met Ino at the end of the corridor, she looked worried but reluctantly agreed to get an explanation later. Hinata didn't necessarily want to go with Naruto and Sasuke, but she wasn't going to do anything that might ruin the fact that Naruto had forgiven her for now.

"I really am so sorry," she told them as they waited for a taxi, shivering in her light coat. "If there's anything I can do-"

"Let's forget about it, alright?" Naruto said, giving her a tiny smile. "Kiba did a number on both of us."

"You deserve a lot better than him, Naruto." She managed to meet his eyes, wishing to convey that while they might never go back to the friendship they had before, she didn't agree with any of the things Kiba had said or done. "There's nothing wrong with you, you're a wonderful person and you deserve to be happy."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, Naruto's blue eyes dark in the night, his face unreadable.

"Thank you," he said eventually, shoulders relaxing just a bit when Sasuke hugged them with an arm. "And you deserve that too, you know? Let's hope this can be a fresh start."

He held his hand out, and she timidly mimicked the gesture to shake it. It felt good, to finally resolve things between them.

"Oh, and congratulations," she added quietly, smiling at them both. She would move on, too, whether she found someone of her own or not. "I'm happy for you."

xxx

-November 3rd, 2012-

Gaara was sitting on his desk, swinging his legs without a care as Itachi entered.

"Off," he grunted, Gaara merely smiling in response.

"So grumpy," he teased, but at least did as told and sauntered over to occupy Itachi's chair instead. "Don't you know it's unhealthy to work on off days?"

"I didn't have any other plans, so I thought I'd catch up on some stuff."

"Mhm. No graves to visit?"

Itachi gave him a look.

"If you're here to drag me to a graveyard…"

Gaara smiled again.

An hour later, in a steady afternoon drizzle, Itachi found himself walking through the gates of Konoha's largest graveyard. It was, coincidentally, the same one his family's grave resided in, and he wondered if Gaara was taking him there. It would have been slightly creepy, if he'd known the location.

They headed to the left however, opposite of his family. Walking slowly, he glanced at Gaara now and then. The other man seemed troubled, the usually so bright red of his hair subdued in the dreary weather. Not many other people were around, seeing as the best time to go was later when it was dark and you could see all the candles burning brightly. Some were already burning though, flickering slightly in the wind. He pulled his coat closer around himself, wishing he'd remembered to bring a scarf to work this morning.

Things were progressing as expected, mostly. There were still discussions in media, but Sasuke seemed to have made a truce with Sakura at least. Earlier today he'd gotten a text from his brother, telling him about an interview he and Naruto had given to a joint acquaintance. It was surprising, but maybe Naruto had convinced him. Hopefully it wasn't something Itachi would have to deal with later. Other than that Sasuke had simply stated that the meeting with Naruto's friends last night had gone as well as you could ask for, which had Itachi wondering just what exactly he meant by that.

Either way, there wasn't much Itachi had to worry about apart from the usual. Of course, that was enough to give him a hard time sleeping well, but at least he was used to it.

"This way," Gaara told him quietly, tugging at his arm.

It seemed as if every time they met, Gaara had a new side of himself to show. It was interesting how close they'd become, often talking over text of phone, meeting up randomly, sometimes for no apparent reason. Itachi was grateful for it, even though Gaara of course symbolized everything that had gone wrong in his life. A shared burden is an easier burden, and Itachi found himself complaining about the board members and the situation at work in a way he never could before. Gaara knew, not everything, but he knew.

Gaara stopped in front of one of the graves, nudging Itachi with an elbow.

"Minato and Kushina," he said, and Itachi's eyes snapped up to look at the inscription.

Sure enough, this was their grave. He'd never been here, not attending the funeral since he was only a child.

"Why?" he asked, curious.

Gaara rubbed his face, fingers clad in thin leather gloves. Everything he wore seemed more subdued today, his sigh tired.

"I told you already that I saw them die… Of course, I didn't know it was them back then, and I had no idea that I'd grow up and work on solving their case. It just seems so tragic, doesn't it? Murdered because they knew too much. I don't know if I'll ever understand the human mind."

"Did something happen?" Itachi frowned, pushing down the urge to reach out and comfort Gaara. "You seem somber today."

"I gave up a few times," Gaara continued as if he hadn't heard his question. "Not just the case, but with other things, too. But every time I came back here, and I would think of that day, and it's as if I wanted to work harder afterwards."

This time Itachi did reach out, placing his hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Sometimes, I think the past is best buried," he started. "But since I met you, I have a feeling we'll actually figure it out, sooner or later. Does that make sense?"

Gaara shook his head, a wry smile on his lips.

"Maybe. But I didn't bring you here to talk about myself. There's something you should know, whether you want to or not."

Squeezing the shoulder once, Itachi let go before lifting his head to observe the area. The rain was letting up, but there was mist obscuring the hills and trees surrounding them. He waited for the unpleasant churning to show up inside his stomach, trying not to think about what it would be.

"Alright," he said calmly, pushing his hands down the pockets of his coat. "If you think I should know it, then please go ahead."

"It's more that I figured you haven't realized it yet. And we agreed to be honest with each other about the case."

When Gaara fell silent again, Itachi looked at him. He was searching the tombstone, for what he didn't know, but his expression flickered between sorrow and reluctance. Stretching out a hand to run his fingertips lightly along the words inscribed, Itachi felt a shiver make its way up his spine at the pain flashing through pale green eyes.

"Their son survived, remember? He was only a small baby. By now, he'd be twenty-one years old."

"…do you know him?" Itachi asked slowly, holding his breath as Gaara glanced at him.

"You know him," Gaara said. "His name's Naruto. I'm sorry, Itachi."

Itachi decided he didn't want to know.

Since it's been so long, I hope I haven't made any mistakes to the timelines... Anyway, for those who don't know, All Saints' Day is a Saturday in November when people go visit graves and lights candles. It's very pretty. In chapter 13 of Results of a shitty day, you can read about Naruto and Sasuke visiting both their family graves.

Again, sorry for neglecting this story, and I hope this chapter was at least good for something!