Phew! Finally, a new chapter. Yes, that means the hiatus is officially over. I know it's kinda short, but this is my first time writing anything in over two months, so… it was tough. I had wanted to finish this fic before I graduated, but I quickly realized that was going to be impossible. Now my goal is to finish it before I start college. Not a lot happens in this chapter, but I kinda meant it to be another look into Sasuke's head, as of now. :sighs: I know they're OOC, and it's only gonna get worse from now. I will apologize for that. Plus, there's a bit of Sakura-bashing. Well, I guess you should see for yourself…

Disclaimer: :sighs: Even after a hiatus I don't own Naruto. Damn. I'll have to try and change that…

A few days after Naruto and Sasuke had returned from Suna, they were waiting around in the training grounds, for whom else but Kakashi-sensei. Neither of them felt the need to spar, as they had barely talked since their return. A kind of tension had risen between them even before either had realized it.

Sasuke had never been one to pry, but even he had decided it was time to question Naruto about what had happened on his mission. The difference between the Naruto before the mission and the one after was just too great. He could see Naruto trying to hide it—trying to act as normal as possible to cover up what he was really feeling inside. But Naruto could not lie to Sasuke. He never had been able to, and never would. The dobe was just too easy to read. Even if no one else could see it, Sasuke could. There was something behind Naruto's eyes that so desperately wanted to be seen, but it was blocked off. Whether Naruto was doing is subconsciously or actively trying to keep it buried, Sasuke didn't know.

But he would find out.

Sasuke's first attempts at trying to figure out what was bothering Naruto didn't go so well. The first time, on their way back from Suna, he had pulled Naruto to the side, away from Kakashi as they were running, and slowed down so their sensei wouldn't hear them. Kakashi had only glanced at them before shrugging it off. Sasuke had expected more questioning than that, but God knows what goes through that man's head. Sasuke, not being the most sensitive guy around, had decided to go with the most direct method of inquiring what had changed Naruto so drastically: bluntly asking.

After saying "What the hell's wrong with you, you idiot? Why are you acting different? You're even stupider than before," Sasuke was acknowledged with a swift punch to the cheek. The SAME cheek that had only just a couple days before finished healing completely from Sakura's devastating right hook that had left Sasuke's cheek a beautiful shade of purpley blue. He'd used a henge to hide it until it healed. Looked like he'd have to keep using it.

After that, Sasuke decided to try something else next time.

The next time turned out to be the day after, at dinner. Having decided that morning that he'd try again, Sasuke had prepared and treated Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto's favorite thing in the world, Sasuke was sure. Surely this time would go better than the last, with ramen in the mix. How could Naruto refuse?

Like this: After Naruto's third bowl of ramen, Sasuke slowly started to gear the (mostly one-sided, with Naruto talking with his mouth full again) conversation towards the recent mission in Suna. He cleverly injected words like enemy, fox, blood, kill, and most importantly, why. Naruto didn't suspect anything at first, but when Sasuke was forced to get more direct after the fifth bowl and Naruto still didn't get it, he wasn't happy. Sasuke could tell Naruto thought this method was insulting, so he went ahead and just asked what had happened at the clearing.

Naruto had simply smiled and told him to "Go to hell, fucking teme." Before disappearing with a poof.

At least he hadn't punched him. The ramen must've worked its magic, at least a little.

That had been the most recent attempt. So far, Sasuke hadn't learned anything. He was beginning to have doubts that he ever would. They say that the 'third time's the charm', but he wondered if it was worth it. Something just kept coming back and bugging him. A single thought, a single word kept floating around in his head and wouldn't leave.

Why?

Why did he care so much all of a sudden? Why did this matter to him? Why did he give a fuck about what happened to Naruto, let alone if something was bothering him? If he was suffering in some way? He should hate Naruto. Hadn't he before? Wasn't one of his sole purposes in life to defeat him? To destroy him utterly, until there was nothing left? And he had. He had hated Naruto with a passion. Just the mere thought of him had made his blood boil. The sight of blonde hair or blue eyes had made Sasuke tense up and immediately grab for his sword.

When had that changed? When had that pure, raw, burning hate turned into… something else? Something he didn't have a name for, and didn't wish to identify, for fear of the truth. Perhaps… perhaps when that hand had been offered to him; shown him a way out of that horrid darkness.

But that still didn't explain why he was trying so hard to find out what was wrong with Naruto. A problem of Naruto's wasn't a problem of his. It shouldn't be. And yet here he was, trying his best to get the tiniest bit of information out of him. And not just that, but he wanted to fix it as well. He wanted to find the source of Naruto's change and crush it to a pulp. Which was absurd, because Naruto could surely take care of himself. He was one of the strongest ninjas Sasuke had ever known; not that he would ever admit it even if his life depended on it.

So WHY, goddammit?

When Sasuke thought about it, REALLY thought about it, he came up with something satisfactory. It might not be the exact revelation or answer he was hoping for, but it was close enough to what he felt that it appeased him. For now. It felt right, but at the same time, not quite on the mark. Like there was something more to it that he didn't know about. It was as if there was something blocking him from realizing his own feelings towards Naruto. And not just Naruto, but the whole village as well. Sasuke was still having mixed emotions on living within Konoha's borders again.

Either way, the conclusion that Sasuke had come to was this:

Naruto had always been a constant in his life. Ever since they met, Naruto's presence has always been there. Even when he'd left the village, Naruto's influence followed him in some way. The hate he felt towards the blonde at the time had helped guide him towards his goals. The way the sight of blue eyes and blonde hair had sent him into a fit of rage, because they reminded him of Naruto.

Even in those times, Naruto had never given up on him. He'd chased him across the Five Nations. He'd kept spouting nonsense about bringing Sasuke back to Konoha, to "home". No matter how much Sasuke had demonstrated his hate of everything in the world, especially Naruto and Konoha, Naruto hadn't given up. Not until he had "achieved" his goal of dragging Sasuke back. He'd never changed or backed down. Those blue eyes never stopped shining with determination. They had always, always, been fixated on Sasuke. Whether as a rival, an enemy, a comrade, a partner, or a friend. Naruto had never left Sasuke, and he had a feeling he wouldn't. That that was just the type of person Naruto was.

Sasuke hadn't had many constants in his life. Everything he'd ever loved or cared for had been taken away from him. He'd moved from place to place like a vagabond. He'd switched allegiances. He got new "teammates". About the only thing that hadn't changed in his life was the way girls fell all over him, especially Sakura. Yeah, a lot of good that did him.

So if Sasuke was truly, completely, honest with himself, which was something he absolutely hated to do when it came to things like this, he would have to say that he was scared of losing the one constant in his life. The one thing that had always been there for him. Naruto had always been walking steadily behind him, following him, but now… maybe he would walk beside him. He simply just didn't want the one presence in his life that hadn't even once stopped believing in him to go away. To change. Change hadn't exactly been his friend.

He didn't want things to change. That was the simplest explanation for why Sasuke seemed to… care. He would do whatever it took to keep things the way they were, including, and especially, Naruto. He couldn't have something else taken away from him.

He just couldn't.

If he did, the last shreds of decency and sanity inside him would surely break, along with his heart—his heart, which had only just finished melting most of the ice surrounding it. During Naruto's absence, he'd felt the ice start to surround his heart again. But with Naruto's return, it had begun to melt once more, like a magic spell. And he found himself not wanting to go back to that emotionless (save for hatred) and cold person he once was. With the ice practically gone, it felt like he could feel again. To be a human being, again. Before, he had been so, so cold. Inside and out. But now, everything was so warm. He didn't feel the bitter cold inside himself anymore.

And Naruto was the warmest thing of all.

Sasuke would do anything to protect these newfound feelings and warmth.

Anything.

For that one constant in his life.

The tension was still there, full blast, when Sakura decided to intrude for no reason other than she felt like it. She claimed it was for old-time's sake, but Sasuke knew better. She had to have some motive. Sakura positioned herself right between Naruto and Sasuke, where they sat waiting on the ground. For once, Sakura ignored Sasuke and talked only to Naruto. He would have found it one of the best moments of his life, if the sight of Sakura and Naruto together didn't make him want to kill something.

"So, Naruto, what's up?" Sakura batted her eyelashes at Naruto.

"Oh, nothing, just waiting for Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said in a bored voice.

"Well, I'll keep you company then!" Sakura laughed and scooted a couple inches closer to Naruto. When Naruto didn't even flinch at the close contact, Sakura moved a couple more inches closer. Their shoulders were touching. Sasuke found that fact very infuriating. And so was the fact that Naruto didn't seem to mind their close proximity one bit. As if it were natural.

"Why? Don't you have important things to do, or something? Before, you were always complaining about how busy you were." Naruto said in the same bored tone that led Sasuke to believe he didn't really care what Sakura was doing at the moment. Sasuke smirked.

"Hey! My schedule just cleared up a bit, that's all! You should be happy I'm gracing you with my presence!" Sakura said defensively.

"Oh, I am." Naruto said monotonely. He wasn't even looking at Sakura anymore. He just stared straight ahead at nothing. Sasuke couldn't blame him. He wouldn't want to look at Sakura's face that close up either.

Sakura's smile faltered a little bit when she heard Naruto's tone, but she quickly put it back up. After that, she kept babbling on about unimportant things like the latest village gossip and whatever she does day to day. Sasuke got a killer headache just from hearing her high-pitched voice; he didn't listen to what she was saying at all, but he couldn't completely block out the sound of her highly annoying voice. He didn't miss how when Sakura shivered and looked at Naruto, after looking confused for a second he hesitantly put his arm over her shoulder. Sakura smiled gratefully and moved even closer. She was practically in Naruto's lap!

Sasuke grinded his teeth. It's not even that cold, dammit! What's she after? The Sakura I knew would never do something like this with Naruto. Why the sudden change? Sasuke may not have known Sakura's mind very well, but he did know one thing.

He did NOT like Sakura being that close to Naruto.

Not being able to take it anymore, Sasuke shouted "Hey, dobe! Get over here!"

At the sound of Sasuke's voice, Naruto's head immediately shot up and looked over at Sasuke. He scowled at Sasuke's demanding tone and the use of the nickname, but he quickly got up and walked over to Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at how Naruto didn't hesitant when it came to him, and at Sakura's more than slightly peeved expression.

"What do you want, teme? Anything I can do for you?" Naruto said with no small hint of sarcasm gracing his voice and expression.

"… Sakura isn't supposed to be with us when we meet Kakashi-sensei anymore. He only called for the two of us, so it must be an Anbu mission," Sasuke finally said, deciding on what to say after calling Naruto over to him on impulse.

"I know that! But she can stay until he gets here," Naruto said irritably.

"Fine. But you better stay over here so we can talk to Kakashi together without any interruptions." Sasuke scowled now.

"Fine!" Naruto glared.

"Fine!" Sasuke glared.

Are they having a staring contest or something? Sakura wondered. She couldn't overhear what they were saying, but Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at each other like there was no tomorrow. Like how they used to, she realized with a chuckle.

They stayed that way for who knows how long, until another uninvited guest arrived: Konohamaru.

"Hey, Naruto nii-chan! I haven't seen you in forever!" Konohamaru came bursting into the training grounds at top speed, heading straight for Naruto.

"Oh, hey, Konohama-UGH!" Naruto was nearly knocked flat on his ass when Konohamaru jumped into his unprepared arms. He really hadn't expected that. Konohamaru usually wasn't this affectionate, though he did call Naruto his big brother. Naruto appreciated that, and hugged him tightly. He'd missed the little guy as well.

Konohamaru laughed and hugged him tightly for a few more seconds before letting go. He had a big grin on his face, much like Naruto's own. "Hey, hey! So now that you're back, will you teach me the Rasengan like you promised? Please?"

"Have you been training? Do you think you're ready for it? It takes A LOT of time and effort to master it… I was barely able to do it, with the Pervy Sage as my teacher…"

"Yes I have! I'm LOADS stronger than before! I'll master it in no time! Just watch me!" Konohamaru mimed some fast-paced punches and kicks.

"I dunno… I'm not sure if I have the time to teach you right now… and I really want to see if you're ready for it. The Rasengan isn't something you mess around with," Naruto said, sounding very unsure. Konohamaru was like a little brother to him, but he didn't know if he could teach him a jutsu of that high a level. He wasn't exactly the best teacher in the world.

Konohamaru stood still after hearing Naruto's uncertainty, and appeared deep in thought. "Hmm… Oh, I know! How about this? Will this be enough to prove how worthy I am?" Konohamaru weaved some signs and then shouted dramatically "ART OF ONNANOKO TACHI!"

There was an audible poof and a cloud of smoke, from which Konohamaru emerged after a couple seconds. But instead of Konohamaru, a small pre-teen boy, there were two buxom women in a very intimate position. One had brown hair, like Konohamaru, and the other had blonde hair (which looked exactly like Naruto in his Sexy Jutsu form).

"So Naruto, what do you think of this?" the woman with brown hair asked Naruto in a very high-pitched voice that tried to sound alluring.

"I see… You have improved Konohamaru. This is starting to look really good! Of course, I can top it, but you're definitely well on your way to my level…" Naruto said while watching the two women very intently. The two women giggled simultaneously.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was such a waste of time. And energy. And time. Where the fuck was Kakashi?

"NARUTO! How can you teach him this! He's just a little kid! Not to mention that that image is disgusting and degrading to all women. You should be ashamed of yourself!" Sakura screeched. Naruto rolled his eyes. He'd gotten used to Sakura's yelling over trivial things over the years.

Sakura turned to Konohamaru now and pointed a finger. "And YOU Konohamaru! How could you do things like this? You're old enough to know right from wrong; you've had parents to teach you that! You should be ashamed of yourself too! I DON'T want to catch you doing this jutsu again."

"Will you LAY OFF you old hag! There's nothing wrong with it; it's just for fun! Plus, it can be used to distract enemies in battle! Naruto's my big brother, and he's supposed to teach me things. If you don't like the things he teaches me, then why don't you just go away?" Konohamaru yelled and then huffed as he changed back to normal. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Konohamaru's big brother comment, but when he saw Sakura's face he gulped. Sakura was mad. This was not gonna be good.

Sakura's face grew red with rage. "How DARE you, you little BRAT! I just have your best interests at heart! Come here so I can KILL YOU!" Sakura started chasing Konohamaru when he took off running after seeing her face.

"Whoa! You look even uglier when you're mad! I didn't think that was possible!" Konohamaru taunted. He ran faster when Sakura lunged at him; thankfully he dodged or he'd be dead right now.

"Hey, hey! Can't you just let it go, Sakura-chan? No need to kill him. Konohamaru's just joking, right Konohamaru?" Naruto tried to play peace-maker for once and got in their path, but they just ran in a circle around him.

"Nope! How can I joke about something THAT ugly?" Konohamaru laughed and sped up.

"NOT HELPING, Konohamaru! Do you want her to kill you?"

Sakura let out a high-pitched screech at Konohamaru's words. She was going to KILL that little brat if it was the last thing she did! "Get over here and face me like a man! I bet you can't, can ya? That's why you have to rely on stupid little tricks like that. But it won't work on me, because I'm a girl!" Sakura taunted back. "You could never do high-level jutsu like the Rasengan! Naruto would be wasting his time trying to teach you!"

"You take that back!" Konohamaru growled and spun around to face Sakura, but kept running.

"Never, you stupid BRAT!"

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me, BRAT!"

"Will you stop calling me a brat! I'm NOT a brat!" Konohamaru stopped and stomped his foot, to prove his point. Or rather, Sakura's.

"I'll stop calling you a brat when you can actually manage to beat me in a real battle!" Sakura stopped as well and sneered at Konohamaru.

Naruto groaned. "Stop it guys! This is stupid! You're BOTH acting like kids!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Sakura and Konohamaru shouted in unison. Naruto groaned again. He knew that he wasn't one to talk…

Meanwhile, Sasuke was thinking up many ways to horribly and painfully kill the two causes of his migraine. If they didn't shut up soon, he was seriously going to do something he'd… okay no, he probably wouldn't regret it.

"Oh, so you think I can't beat you, huh? Well, how about this: ART OF OTOKONOKO TACHI!" Konohamaru weaved the same signs as before, and just like last time there was a small popping sound and a light cloud of smoke covering up Konohamaru's form.

What emerged would change both Naruto and Sasuke's lives irrevocably, forever.

Two men could be seen once the smoke dispersed, in an even more intimate position than the two women had been. They were entangled together, just like lovers would be. And it wasn't just any two random men.

It was Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sasuke" was on top of "Naruto" and his eyes were smoldering with a lustful passion. The intensity with which he looked at the man beneath him was almost hard to believe, but it looked so real it couldn't be denied. As for "Naruto", he was gazing at the man above him with just as much intensity, and his blushing expression was so unlike the real Naruto's that it even harder to believe.

The three of them were in too much shock to say anything. That is, until Sakura let a very high-pitched squeal of delight that almost broke the sound barrier and a gush of blood erupted from her nose that made her faint.

Sasuke and Naruto were both still speechless and frozen in shock to catch her. The only one making any noise now was the two men who suddenly began howling with laughter after watching Sakura faint. As Sasuke's brain slowly started overcoming the shock, the thought passed that he would kill Konohamaru for putting such a stupid expression on his face.

Naruto still didn't know quite what to think. His mind was just racing with so many thoughts he thought it would overload his brain or something. But as he slowly came to realize exactly what was in front of him, his face turned redder than flames. Omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod. WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THAT? And Sakura saw it! Why the hell did she faint anyway? She looked like she… liked it or something. Is she into things like that? THAT'S SO EMBARRASSING! Me and Sasuke aren't like that! Sasuke's not like that. So why would Konohamaru choose US to show her? I'm going to KILL him! Why is Sasuke on top anyway? I could totally be on top, couldn't I? Why is Sasuke always the dominant one? Gah! Sasuke! What does the think about this? What if he gets mad? WHAT IF THIS PUTS WEIRD IDEAS IN HIS HEAD? All of these thoughts occurred in about five seconds.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, KONOHAMARU? I DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT! CHANGE BACK, CHANGE BACK! BEFORE I KILL YOU!" Naruto shouted, but he was completely ignored by everyone. Especially Konohamaru, who kept laughing.

And Naruto was right to worry about that last thought. Because the image before them of "Naruto" and "Sasuke" in bed naked still entangled (and Konohamaru still laughing in that form) was in fact, putting very weird ideas in his head. Things that had never even crossed his mind before, things he never knew to be possible, were working their way into his mind.

Sasuke found that the image of him and Naruto together like that didn't bother him nearly as much as it should in fact, it didn't bother him at all. It actually gave him something to think about that never would have occurred to him otherwise. Like… what if the reason Naruto was different than everyone else, his one absolute, was because he thought of him in a different way than the rest?

Suddenly, that image was looking kind of appealing. Could it be true then? Out of curiosity, Sasuke stepped closer to "Naruto" and "Sasuke" to get a better look. In truth, the thought of them together like that kind of fascinated him. Them… together… Sasuke found himself staring at "Naruto's" still blushing face as it laughed. The sound was annoying, but his headache was already as bad it could get so it didn't make much of a difference.

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto asked cautiously. "What're you doing? Is, um, something wrong? You're not trying to blast Konohamaru through with a Chidori like I thought you would." He stepped closer to Sasuke so he could look at his face, though he was a little nervous. He'd been on the receiving end of Sasuke's irritation more times than he liked to think of.

"… No, nothing's wrong. It's fine. It's fine," Sasuke repeated after a pause. He looked like he was deep in thought about something, so Naruto didn't want to push his luck.

"Um, okay… are you sure? Cause, um, I'm kind of mad at Konohamaru too, for THAT. But there's no need to kill him, or anything. So what do you say we walk away before we do something we regret, right? Cause I kind of could kill him right now," Naruto said while obviously trying not to look at the two still laughing men. His face was still a bright shade of red, but not as intense.

"… Sure." Was all Sasuke said. He wasn't even looking at Naruto; he kept staring at the two of "them" with a level of concentration that most people wouldn't. Naruto noticed, but didn't say anything for fear of Sasuke changing his mind. But he did find it odd. Odd that now he wanted to stare at "them" too.

As Naruto and Sasuke turned around to leave Konohamaru finally caught his breath and stopped laughing. He changed back with another poof and caught up to Naruto and Sasuke. "Hey guys, where ya going? I thought you were going to teach me the Rasengan."

"Not now, Konohamaru." Naruto grit his teeth with irritation. Forget Sasuke, HE was going to strangle the kid if he didn't shut up soon.

"Aw, come on! Are you seriously mad about that? I was just showing her the truth, really. You should be thanking me; maybe she won't bother you and Sasuke as much"

Naruto stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean, the truth?" The anger in his voice was obvious, and it finally made Konohamaru a little nervous.

"Well, I mean, you guys are so obviously, well, you know…" Konohamaru stuttered as he spoke.

"We. Are. Not."

Sasuke thought he saw Naruto's eyes flash red. Uh-oh. Oh well, he wasn't going to do anything to stop him if he got angry. The kid deserved to be taught a lesson. But Naruto might regret it if he killed the brat, so he'd stop him before that happened.

"Oh come on, you guys are so obviously gay for each other-"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Naruto shouted after Konohamaru, who had smartly taken off running when he saw Naruto's red eyes. His face was a little red too, now.

Sasuke's eyes widened at Konohamaru's confession. Did everyone seriously think they were… together? There goes that word again, bouncing around his head. It was getting annoying. He would have to do something about that. But either way, it was something to think about.

For now, Sasuke just decided to enjoy the show of Naruto attempting to catch Konohamaru, who was worse than a monkey. He was definitely rooting for Naruto. About an hour later, after Naruto showed Konohamaru exactly how dangerous a Rasengan could be if it hit you in the stomach Kakashi finally decided to show up.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. You see, there was a dolphin in the middle of the road, and…" Kakashi stopped when he saw the scene before him. Konohamaru was lying on the ground passed out and Naruto was in front of him with a very large anger mark on his cheek; Sakura was lying on the ground as well in a pool of blood that seemed to originate from her nose; and Sasuke was leaning against a tree nonchalantly enjoying the show that must have transpired.

"You got something to say, too, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto growled when he finally noticed the silver-haired man.

"No, not at all! In fact, why don't you guys just take the rest of the day off and we can talk about it tomorrow?" There was no way he was dealing with an angry Naruto and an irritated Sasuke right now. It wasn't worth it.

So all three left the training grounds, completely forgetting about the pink banshee still lying on the ground.

So that was it. How was it? Was it TOO much into Sasuke's feelings? I know there wasn't a lot of action or anything in it; I'm hoping to make the next chapter a little more dramatic in some ways. We'll see. Anyways, please review! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I'll say it in another language if I have to- por favor! If you review I will love you a thousand times more than before and will even give you a cookie that me and my mom just made! So get them before they're goooooone! :D