Uwah~ This story was sooo supposed to finish like 5 chapters ago u.u But! Here we are! This chapter. Mmmm. Goodluck luck.

As always thanks to everyone who reviews and special thanks to everyone who reviews regularly. I love that. You're winners ;P

Ja!


Idiot! Why did it have to happen this way? Why did all that have to happen?

Sasuke stood in his kitchen with his fist and forearm against the wall, his eyes pressed against the extended limb; his body soaking wet, dripping and raging hot with either anger or something he absolutely refused to identify. He hissed a breath through clenched teeth.

"..That I'll do something you definitely used to..."

Now it sounded like he went around forcing himself on Naruto every chance he got. It sounded like he had been physical with Naruto before; like he was holding himself back from shoving his tongue down the other boy's throat.

Disgusting.

No doubt he wanted to kiss Naruto, that's why the blonde's begging had got him but he didn't want Naruto to know about any of the before stuff. He didn't want him to know that they had got pretty hot and for a first kiss, pretty rough on Sasuke's bed that last time. He didn't want him to know that.

Hypocrite...

Yes, it was all hypocritical when he thought about It because Sasuke had been thinking all this time in the back of his mind that what he wanted was his Naruto back, for him to know everything again but if that wasn't possible he didn't want this same thing. He didn't want this ninja-like relationship with someone who wasn't the same. Someone who was still small and in Sasuke's mind... sort of... cute..., someone who was still and idiot, but a different idiot. This person, this Naruto was different so it could never be the same again. It was an insult to the memory and taste of the Uzumaki Naruto who had pushed his way arrogantly into Sasuke's life and made him feel... And to be honest, somewhere in Sasuke's mind, he still hadn't let go of the idea of having his Naruto back. He wanted to preserve what had happened between them that day for him when he got back...

But.

If Naruto liked him now it had to be different. But Sasuke wasn't sure if he could do "different" so he had said, "...that I'll do something you definitely aren't used to..." And had surely come off as some kind of pervert. He didn't want Naruto to think something of him that wasn't true. He saw that look in Naruto's eyes. He was scared... Sasuke wasn't like that with him in this kind of situation. After all, it had been Naruto who kissed first last time... Although Sasuke took the lead pretty quickly...

But at the beginning of things Sasuke had shown something from his past that he hadn't for a long time.

Shyness. Because originally, Uchiha Sasuke was shy and still was shy when it came to people. And now Naruto was scared of him because he thought he was some kind of dominant molester pervert... Dominant... he probably was... when he thought about it... but the other two... He didn't want Naruto to see him like that... Ever.

Did he take back what he had said; "Can I kiss you" which probably translated to "I like you."?

Or.

Was Naruto... curious? Of course the boy had never kissed someone or been kissed and Sasuke was his best friend... Had he just wanted to know what a "kiss" really was?

Sasuke remembered it well. When he had learned what a kiss was. He'd come home from playing outside one day, a sunny day in February if he recalled correctly, and seen his mother on her tip-toes with her mouth pressed gently to the mouth of his father. A small kiss. His father had smiled once they'd parted and touched the length of his mother's blue-black hair once. It was the first time Sasuke had seen the two so affectionate and the first time he had seen his father so happy.

So he decided to try it.

He and Itachi had been sitting outside on the veranda watching the moon together as they did. Their parents were inside somewhere. It was a warm evening three days after Sasuke had seen his mother kiss his father. Itachi had just come out of the bath and was wearing nothing but his three quarter pajama pants and a towel over his shoulders. His brother had smelt good so Sasuke sat close to him and leant his cheek against his cool arm.

Sasuke was curious and Itachi wasn't paying attention, humming softly into the evening air. Slowly, he turned his head and pressed his lips to Itachi's skin and then very quietly turned back like nothing had happened. His lips tingled with the smell of Clean Itachi. When his discreetly touched them with his thumb they felt smoother than before. The humming stopped.

"Sasuke."

"Y-yes?" No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the jump in his voice as he answered his brother faithfully.

"Did you just kiss me, Little Brother?" Sasuke flushed bright red and clenched his eyes shut.

"I just... I wanted to..."

"It's alright, Sasuke," said Itachi quietly making Sasuke turn to look at him.

"Niisan?" The older Uchiha moved to face his brother.

"It's alright..." He said again with a familiar kind smile as he reached out his hand and Sasuke knew he was going to flick his forehead so he closed his eyes, waiting for the sharp shoot of pain...

It's not alright if you're going to flick me!

But instead he felt calloused finger tips part his fringe that had fallen to a curtain across his vision after his bath and his brother's earthy scent as he leaned down and kissed him softly on the forehead, letting his closed lips linger for a moment before pulling away.

"...But you should save a kiss for someone you love," he finished. Sasuke laid his own fingertips around the space where Itachi had kissed him, holding his hair open and looking up, his mouth a small "o".

"But I do love you Niisan!" the child blurted out and blushed again. Itachi had just laughed and ruffled his hair back into place muttering, "one day you'll understand..."

Was Naruto curious too? Was it the same as it had been with Sasuke and that man...?

Sasuke didn't know. But there was no helping it now, no matter how much it made his insides churn.

Damnit. Maybe he really was a pervert for thinking that Naruto possibly wanted to kiss him for real... Maybe he was imagining the confession behind that request.

Damnit

There was the noise of a creaking floor board at the door way and Sasuke pulled his eyes of his arm and looked up. Naruto was standing in the doorway, still in his wet, slightly crumpled boxers that looked like they had been wrung out and then wrapped in the towel Sasuke had left him. Sasuke sighed, realizing he too was still in only his boxers. He wasn't cold or he hadn't been concentrating on being cold but Naruto's nose, cheeks and where his collarbone pushed against his skin, were shiny and pink in the air that was chilly against their still warm skin. Sasuke sighed again and made eye contact with Naruto. Thankfully the blonde kept watching him back and didn't seem unnerved by him.

"Sasuke san... Sorry."

"Forget it." He didn't want to hear an apology for something that wasn't Naruto's fault, but something needed to be said and he couldn't say "sorry". But he didn't want an apology.

"Sorry," repeated Naruto and Sasuke grimaced and snapped, "Forget it doesn't mean go for it, Dobe."

"Sorry."

Sigh...

"Let's get some clothes on, ne?"

"Yeah, alright."

They worked in silence as they pulled clothes on, facing away from each other. Sasuke was thinking of what he could do to make the blonde happy again. Not that he had really been happy from the start. He hadn't laughed or cracked that silly grin while he had been with Sasuke. They were both having a pretty bad day. But most days were bad for Sasuke, or they just weren't amazing. Decent would be a fitting word.

"Ne, Naruto."

"Hmm?" Naruto's voice was too high and the interest sounded fake. What did Sasuke want to say? He hadn't really thought, just spoken. Maybe he just wanted to say Naruto's name.

"Do you want... I mean... I can't kiss you, I'm sorry but... I can... I could..." Sasuke squirmed and by this point he knew that Naruto was turned and watching his back. Ah, his back. With all those scars... That couldn't be nice. Sasuke turned too and found Naruto's blue eyes liquid in the dim light. They'd forgotten to turn the lights on when they came in. Didn't matter...

"...hold you." Finished Sasuke in a murmur. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched and he took one step forward.

This would prove it. If Naruto liked him he'd say yes. If he was simply curious about the feel of a kiss he would reject Sasuke. But this would prove it and then Sasuke would know something. What he would gain he wasn't sure. He didn't know what this would help him figure out, if anything, a new relationship with Naruto was probably a bad thing for someone who was still longing for the ghost of the present person but... It wasn't like he didn't love this Naruto too. He was still Naruto. Just less troublesome.

"Ok..."

Ok.

It was a completely silent process and really, when you had said you were going to do it, it was more awkward than just going for it. Naruto and Sasuke walked forward to each other and stood for a moment. The only times he had held Naruto while he was like this were when he was falling. It was completely different to be here and deciding how to go about this.

Slowly, Naruto made the first move and Sasuke wrinkled his nose at how he went for Sasuke's neck. Somehow it may have been better if he had held Sasuke around the waist, it made Sasuke feel like Naruto was smaller and that he was doing the holding that way but he'd decided on reaching up for Sasuke. Sasuke brought his arms around the other boy. They were now pressed naked chest to naked chest and Sasuke could feel another heartbeat pounding away against his own. Their combined body heat was comfortably warm. Naruto was soft. It was nice. The young Uchiha lowered his eyelids so that he was looking over Naruto's shoulder through his eyelashes and dipped his chin so that his mouth was nestled in the blonde's shoulder.

"Say something," muttered Naruto nervously.

"What do you want me to say?" asked Sasuke, his voice muffled by Naruto's skin. He felt the blonde shivered as lips moved against his bare skin.

"A-anything..." Naruto was warm and Sasuke was tired from running and feeling. Anything...?

"Have you gotten taller?" Naruto tensed and then relaxed, letting out a small laugh.

"Maybe a little. I wouldn't really know," He replied after a moment.

"I see... Are you hungry?"

"Not at the moment."

"I'll make something later. Are you tired?"

"Mmm... Why are you being so nice to me, Sasuke san?"

Sasuke rubbed his thumb along the line of Naruto's shoulder blade.

"Because I was mean earlier."

"Heh. Yeah, you're a big bully..."

"That's right... Want to sleep?"

"I don't want you to leave."

"I won't leave."

"In bed?"

"I won't leave. Want to sleep?"

"It's still the afternoon."

"And."

"Nothing." Sasuke felt Naruto smile into his neck.

The two boys headed to the single bed and climbed in, pulling Sasuke's duvet over up around their ears and lay face to face. It had started to rain again, a gently drumming on the roof above them. Sasuke could feel Naruto's eyes searching his face while he had his eyes closed, pretending to be falling asleep. But he was thinking.

Once again, just like the time before, their feelings had surfaced quickly. He'd gone from being torn up about what had happened in the shower to sleeping next to the person he was scared he'd pushed away. He hadn't wanted to get close to Naruto today but he had. He ended up being overly "nice" to the blonde and let his warmth persuade the dark haired boy to crawl into bed with him. Again. When Naruto got close to him like that he was way past pride. Apparently they were still a strange pair. Something just a little bit out of step. Just as they always had been.

In the back of his mind a small part of him nagged that this was wrong, that this Naruto was much too soft and quiet and giving to be with as he had been with the Naruto before him, that he should wait for that person who was slowly becoming a ghost to return. But was Naruto really coming back? Could he accept that and say "goodbye"? He didn't know. It was painful to think about. Letting go and accepting or holding on and rejecting. It was too much too think about.

Maa, now's not the time to think. Now is the time to sleep.

Sasuke fell to sleep, his mind still troubled behind the haze of Naruto's warmth and the lingering feeling of his sunny skinned body against Sasuke's.

Sleep...

.

Sasuke awoke to find Naruto curled in behind him, his legs wrapped around Sasuke's thighs and his arms around Sasuke's waist, his body slung around Sasuke's, like he was hugging a too-big teddy bear. He was still sleeping deeply, with his mouth open judging by the way his wet breath dragged loud and long. Sasuke blinked himself awake slowly. It was times like these that he realized how small he and Naruto were. The fact that they could both fit quite comfortably into a single bed made him feel young. As a ninja, his sense of age was pretty messed up. Ninja were almost ageless; fitting only into young or old which you only got if you were young and brilliant or old and useless. No certain numbers. Sasuke blinked again. He was thirteen years old, born on the 23rd of July. And yet at only thirteen he had seen his fair share of anything and everything, as most ninja had. How screwed up was that...

Naruto's stomach rumbled against his lower back, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"ta...b..etai...nyuu..." muttered Naruto in his sleep before Sasuke felt him start to wake. The Uchiha carefully extracted himself from Naruto's arms and turned to face the smaller boy as he opened his eyes.

"Morning Sasuke san..." he slurred, his mouth sliding to an easy grin. Sasuke glanced at the weak blue light on the floor that had crept under the curtains. Moonlight.

"It's still night time Dobe," he answered. Naruto rubbed his eyes and Sasuke heard his stomach rumble again and smiled a little.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then."

.

In a way that seemed to be becoming a ritual, Sasuke and Naruto got out of Sasuke's bed and Sasuke cooked for them both. Although this time it was about 4 in the morning and still dark outside. The rain had stopped but the air was a bit cold. At least there was little chance of any more thunder. It looked like it would be a nice day once the sun was up.

"Let's go for a walk later," suggested Naruto as Sasuke brought the plates to the table. The older boy set his meal down and then reached to ruffle Naruto's hair but stopped halfway. Was that too affectionate? Everyone ruffled Naruto's hair but Sasuke couldn't recall a time that he had. Summer sky eyes were watching him as he fisted his fingers into his palm and began to draw his hand away. Naruto's hand came up and caught his, bringing it too the warm morning skin at his cheek. The blonde closed his eyes while Sasuke widened his and watched nervously as Naruto blew out a breath.

"I like you, Sasuke san," said Naruto very quietly. "Do you like me?" He opened his eyes. Sasuke bit his lip.

Let go and accept him or hold on and reject him. There was no in between option because there was no room for both Naruto's inside him. This answer would change everything. If he said yes, he would have to let the Naruto who he had all those memories with, go... But if he said no, he would hurt this Naruto who might be here forever and may never forgive him for being so cruel as to push him aside for someone who wasn't real anymore. If he said no, it would betray his own feelings. Because he did. He did like this Naruto. But he loved Naruto. Naruto who wasn't coming back...

Drawing a deep breath he replied, "Yes. I like you...Isn't it obvious Dobe?" Just as easy as that, he said it.

His body was heavy as the dark haired boy pulled his hand away form Naruto's face and slipped into his seat, resisting the urge to drop his head into his hands. He never thought he'd have to make a decision like this. His whole life had revolved around killing Itachi but now all that was screwed up and he had bonds he absolutely could not abandoned. But he'd made the decision and he felt better. Better than he had in a long time. It was like a heavy something that had been twisted up inside him had come loose and turned into a warm, slightly shocking feeling that he needed just a moment to process.

"I don't know how to feel Sasuke san," said Naruto. Sasuke looked up from his plate.

"You said you liked me and I'm happy but you look sort of... stressed." Sasuke blinked at him and then stabbed a wiener with one of his chopsticks.

"Of course I'm stressed, I just confessed didn't I. You may not know Dobe, but generally Japanese people are pretty modest so saying "I like you" is kind of nerve wracking, even for someone like me," said Sasuke.

A beautiful coolness flooded over Sasuke as his arrogant tone that he hadn't used in a while coated his words. What a calmness to be stable. To know where he stood. Raising his chin and dark eyes to Naruto he smiled, a mix of confidence and quiet affection. No doubt, it felt good to understand something.

After breakfast Naruto went home to get some of his own clothes and take and clean up from last night. Sasuke was surprised he had the motivation to clean... They agreed to meet again later at the edge of the Uchiha compound to go for the walk Naruto wanted to do once the village had dried out a bit after the on-off rain over the past couple of days. Sasuke thought it was a stupid idea but Naruto wanted to go round the village again. So Sasuke said yes. Way past pride. Way past wanting to fight. Things felt right again. It was a daytime version of the calm peacefulness he had felt that night before falling asleep when Naruto had said "I love you".

At the door, Naruto turned and looked up from where he stood in the entry way, a step below Sasuke who was still up on the floorboards and asked, "Sasuke san. Are we giving up on my memories?" Sasuke stopped and then smiled sadly, reaching out and pushing Naruto's fringe to one side, running the pad of his thumb over his soft eyebrow. Naruto closed one eye against it and Sasuke quirked a dark delicate eyebrow himself.

Cute... He was allowed to think that right? They liked each other after all...

"Are we?" Asked Naruto again.

"Ah.. I think it's for the best ne."

Acceptance.

"Ok."

Naruto walked out into the blue dusty light of the sleeping morning and Sasuke went back to bed and had quiet, white dreams.

.

"Uwahh!~ The village is so pretty after the rain!" cried Naruto as he and Sasuke walked into the training grounds. The trees and grass were a brilliant shade of green even after the raindrops had been stolen by the sun. Everything looked fresh and the smell of nature was almost over bearing. Sasuke didn't like it a whole lot. By this time it was about 9am. The two boys had met up at 7am and had been walking around Konoha for close to 2 hours. The day seemed long because they had been up so early.

"Isn't this cool Sasuke san?" Said Uchiha "hn"ed in reply and leant against a moist tree trunk.

"Sasuke san! The grass makes this "kyu" sound when I walk in it! Look! It's packing down where I walk because it's still wet! I'm making footprints!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly as he paced around the clearing watching the grass compact in his wake over his shoulder. His smile was huge.

"Shinobi don't leave foot prints," Sasuke called, shaking his head a little at the childish antics. Naruto's mental age hadn't changed at all when it came to this kind of thing. All the way here through the village he had been pointing at the colourful things being sold in the early morning markets that he must have held himself back from verbally noticing the first two times Sasuke had taken him through Konoha. They didn't know each other that well at that point after all.

"I'm not a shinobi Sasuke san," Naruto called back. He came to a stop and looked at Sasuke from halfway across the grassy area. He was wearing his orange pants and a black t shirt. No jacket.

Look at you, thought Sasuke. In this green space you just stand there with no shame, like you were there from the start. Naruto's body fitted anywhere in Konoha because this was the village he had loved and wanted to watch over. Sasuke smiled. I've got to stop thinking like that.

"Naruto."

"Yah?" Sasuke felt a tug in his chest at how Naruto answered him casually with "yah" rather than "yes". Finally.

"Wanna do something fun?" Naruto blinked his big blue eyes and walked over to Sasuke, still smiling about the footprints and the noise the grass made beneath his feet. Sasuke felt cliché when the thought "cute" crossed his mind again. Sappy. Ugh... But he couldn't help it.

"Like go outside the village, I was going to take you that time right?" The dark haired boy watched the smaller male's excitement drop from his face as an expression of uncertainty replaced it.

"But... didn't Kakashi san say that wasn't allowed?" asked Naruto.

"What, you were in such a good mood just now, you don't want to?" Sasuke smirked and Naruto blushed.

"That's not it. I'm still in a good mood. I just... Ok. I guess I do want to go." Sasuke moved to leave and Naruto ran to catch up.

The gate was open and Naruto and Sasuke stood in its shadow for a while before they approached.

"Going for a walk, Uchiha?" called one of the ninja on gate duty. Sasuke nodded and raised a hand in reply.

"And him," inquired the other guard, pointing to Naruto.

"He's coming too. That ok?" Sasuke kept his voice normal. Naruto said nothing but flashed a grin in the two men's direction. Did they know the order? Surely activity as frightening as that to do with Uzumaki Naruto's seal would be kept on the down low. Kakashi had obviously been watching them recently so there had been no need to inform too many people but Sasuke hadn't seen any sign of him and he couldn't feel him nearby...

"Yeah, its just we don't see the two of you walking together so quietly a whole lot Uchiha, ya know," replied one.

"You two are always noisy whenever you're going out for missions," added the other with a chuckle. Sasuke merely nodded once again and he and Naruto passed through the gate, walking calmly until they were out of earshot.

Naruto let out a loud breath.

"Mannn... I thought for sure that we were going to get caught," he said with one hand over his heart before he straightened up and looked around. His eyes drank in the dusty forest path stretching in one direction as far as the eye could see and the spread of thick forest to both his left and right.

"Wow... It feels so strange to be outside the village," he murmured to himself. Sasuke watched him fondly. He knew the feeling. To be free of the village. To be clean.

"How far do you want to go?" asked Sasuke. Naruto walked to his side and looked down the path.

"How far can we go?"

"As far as you want." Sasuke wasn't sure why he was being so giving. It was only Naruto. But then again, maybe it was because it was Naruto. Kakashi had said it once; "you actually don't mind spoiling him do you?"

No, no he didn't; because Naruto was still that idiot who didn't recognize it as spoiling. He would blink his big eyes at it a few times and maybe ask "why are you being nice?" but would be satisfied with a shrug of the shoulders. He didn't know that Sasuke was watching over him. He was still that idiot.

They walked a long way down the track until it came to a fork at which they took the left. They walked in silence and Sasuke was happy at the thought that they didn't need to hold hands or kiss at any chance they had like he had seen some of the other village's twosomes do; they were better than such immaturity and well... They were a bit different, being both guys and all... But perhaps Naruto had retained some of that ninja-ageless-ness. In any case, the company was enough. Sasuke was light like he hadn't been since before the massacre.

They came to a side track that Sasuke knew lead to a small clearing. On short missions Team 7 sometimes camped there on the way home. Sasuke took the lead and Naruto followed him. When they got there Naruto crouched down to gaze at the patterns the dappled light through the trees over head were making on the grass.

"Ne, Naruto." Sasuke was sitting on the ground watching the blonde explore the light.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you like me?" Sasuke lifted his face to the sky and closed his eyes.

"I don't know. Especially when you're such a jerk to me," Naruto answered quietly and Sasuke pouted silently.

"I came out into the rain to look for you yesterday," he reminded the smaller boy, remembering his terror-struck face from the day before.

"And then you threw me against a wall."

"And then I told you something nice this morning."

"Only after I told you first..."

Ah- He had him there. Sasuke snorted a soft laugh.

"Then why...?" Naruto was silent for so long afterward that Sasuke thought he wasn't going to answer and when he did it gave him a bit of a fright as his voice broke the peacefulness.

"All I know is that it feels good next to you and that my heart starts pounding whenever I look at your face."

Sasuke was about to reply when the clearing turned cold and the air in his lungs came to a shuddering stop inside his chest.

Danger! Danger! Where?

Sasuke leapt at Naruto and dragged his clumsy body behind him.

"Wha! Sasuke san!"

"Shh!" His dark eyes scampered over the tree trunks, the branches.

It was cold and he knew this feeling. It was the same as when they had first met Zabuza. The blood chilling silence was choking. Sasuke activated the sharingan and frantically scanned the area again until-

"It's been a while...Sasuke..."

Time stood still. Not one person breathed until a name passed through Sasuke's trembling lips.

"Itachi..."