A/N: Naruto doesn't appear in the story until the last chapter (ch:6), which I know is weird for a romance, but this is more about Sasuke dealing with stuff before the relationship truly starts. However, this is only the first work in a series planned to explore the different stages of their relationship. Still, I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I forgot last chapter, but I do not own Naruto or its characters.

Chapter 2:

A Chance for Happiness

Sasuke's talk with Shikamaru had made him self-assured. He had confirmed Naruto's mission was real, which reduced the probability of the idiot being avoiding him. Besides, the fact that Shikamaru had gone out of his way to talk to him spoke volumes. And Sasuke would die before admitting it, but the idea made him feel ready to jump out of his skin.

He had thought, given how his life had gone since he was seven, nothing would manage to thrill him once more. Then again, Naruto was an expert on proving him wrong. Sasuke only had to wait.

Waiting, however, was starting to drive Sasuke insane, even if only two days had passed since Naruto went on his mission. There was nothing he wanted to do nor a place he wanted to visit. If he went out while at Konoha or managed to stay more than a couple of hours, it was just because the idiot had been by his side.

How could he not understand something that obvious before?

After walking around his empty apartment for the tenth time, Sasuke decided he needed to find something to do and walked straight to Naruto's home. There he could at least do some cleaning; the idiot's place was more often than not a dunghill, at least from Sasuke's perspective.

When Sasuke made it to his destination, he noticed the door wasn't locked and made a mental note to scold the idiot for his carelessness. It was not until he had taken his sandals off that he noticed the other presence in the apartment, another shinobi.

Sasuke didn't know what to expect but finding Hinata Hyuuga in Naruto's balcony was, definitely, last on his list. They stared at each other for a long time in an attempt to process the awkward situation. Sasuke wondered whether he was supposed to explain his presence in the idiot's apartment; the girl was still Naruto's girlfriend, for all he knew.

"I take care of his plants when Naruto-kun goes on missions," she explained, holding the watering can but not moving.

Sasuke glanced at the ridiculous amount of plants on the balcony and nodded. "I'll come back later."

"You don't have to leave, you know?" She was still holding his stare, calm but firm and nothing at all like the girl Sasuke remembered from their days at the Academy. "I'm almost done," she added, resuming her task.

Sasuke didn't know how much time passed, but he realized he had stayed standing in the genkan when the Hyuuga girl walked past him. She placed the watering can on the kitchen's sink, washed her hands and went to stand in front of Sasuke. If he had been less stunned, he might have given a step back.

"Could you return this to Naruto-kun?" She extended her hand to give him a key. "I think he forgot to ask it back when he... before he left."

Sasuke blinked, surprised at the implications of what she was doing. Of course, she would not be taking care of Naruto's stuff anymore. He spared another glance at the potted plants before hesitantly taking the key from her fingers.

"It's not hard to take care of them," she pointed at a sheet of paper hanging beside a ramen poster. "Naruto-kun wrote down the instructions there."

"Hn," he muttered, staring at the messy handwriting.

It was not the difficulty of the task which troubled him. Sasuke was more than capable of taking care of Naruto's little garden until the blonde returned, but it was not like he would be able to do it every single time. Sasuke had his own mission, which kept him away from the village most of the time.

When Sasuke returned his attention to her, he caught her giving a look around the apartment. The longing in her eyes lasted just an instant before she squared her shoulders and walked to the entrance. Sasuke was about to sigh, grateful that the awkward situation was reaching its end when the Hyuuga girl looked over her shoulder.

"Naruto-kun has suffered enough because of you," she stated, not with real hostility, but Sasuke perceived the hint of a warning in her tone. "You have to make him happy."

Hinata Hyuuga left, and Sasuke felt as though she had used her gentle fist on him instead of words. He knew what he had done to Naruto, and it was not the first time someone recriminated him his actions, but coming from someone who he knew genuinely cared for Naruto, made it worse.

Sasuke sat on Naruto's bed, alternating his stare between the balcony, the main entrance and the spare key. Had he just ruined Naruto's chance for happiness?

It was easy to picture Naruto being happy with Hinata Hyuuga, being Hokage, building the family he never had before. Sasuke could imagine him naming his daughters after the flowers from his garden and his sons after some stupid ramen topping. Naruto would take care of every single soul in the village and strengthen the ties between the nations using his will as only tool.

There didn't seem to be a place for Sasuke in such a life.

Sasuke clenched his hand around the spare key. For one despairing moment, he considered going after the Hyuuga girl, telling her he was the one who should be leaving. Then, his mind provided him with the memory of the few times he had returned to Konoha, every time Naruto had been there to receive him with a smile. He thought of all the things Naruto had done for him, how hard he had fought to drag him away from the darkness in his heart. Sasuke knew Naruto gave away his kindness easily, and he knew his thoughts were being arrogant at best, but he was sure Naruto had never done so much for anyone but Sasuke.

Maybe he could find a way to keep Naruto happy.