AN: A short one centered on Minoru's and Sasuke's friendship.

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Minoru let out a sigh as glanced around the festival grounds as he leaned against a railing. He had reluctantly agreed to join Lee, mainly because he lost a sparring match. He figured he could use the distraction from Naruto being away on an assignment. But now, standing there, being a wallflower at the small bi-monthly festival that mostly consistent of games, food and drinks, he longed for being the homebody he normally was. And as usual, the later it got, the less families there were, and more adults came to get drunk and cause a ruckus. To top it off, he had lost Lee in the crowd when Shikamaru dragged him away somewhere. He vaguely wondered if he was okay.

So, as he stood there, in a nice quiet corner he had found; he people watched. His eyes landed on a couple of men standing close, drinks in their hands, snickering intimately at each other. He sighed and mentally frowned at himself when a pang of longing hit him square in the chest. He looked away from the couple when he heard his name, and much to his annoyance, it was Hatchi.

"Minoru-san! Didn' think I would find you here."

Minoru eyed the other man wearily, he wasn't his usual serious self, "I'm here!" he shifted when Hatchi moved closer.

"You know," Hatchi drawled, "I don't see you often at this kind of place."

Minoru nodded and smiled awkwardly, he could tell that Hatchi may have had a bit too much to drink by the way he slurred his words, "I mean, it's nice every once in a while."

Hatchi nodded, "You know," he moved in closer, "Sometimes I wonder…if Naruto wasn't in the picture…if this could have happened…"

Minoru instinctively put up a hand to keep Hatchi at a distance when he swayed into him, his fingertips barely touching him, "Hatchi-san, I think it's safe to say that you're drunk," he offered the other man a smile, "So, maybe you should –"

"Oh, come on," Hatchi pressed, "Do you even wonder what it would be like? With someone else?"

Minoru furrowed his brows at the leer Hatchi gave him, "No, no I don't –" He firmed his hand when the other man moved closer, "Hatchi," he said in a warning tone. Not appreciating the trapped feeling with the railing behind him.

"I bet," Hatchi drawled, chuckling, "You're at least a little curious."

Minoru's anger flared inside of him when the other man leaned into him and before he was able to do something about it – he wasn't sure what exactly happened - but Hatchi was aggressively tugged away by the back of his shirt.

"He said no," Sasuke said with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Uchiha," Hatchi said annoyed, drunkenly slurring the name, "This doesn't involve you –"

"Turn around," Sasuke said calmly, engaging his Sharingan as he made direct eye contact, "And leave."

Minoru looked from Sasuke to Hatchi and watched as he did just that: He turned around, and left. He let out a sigh when Sasuke turned to look at him, the look of annoyance was replaced with what he identified as concern.

"Are you okay?"

Minoru offered the older man a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine," he gestured in Hatchi's general direction, "He was drunk –"

"That's not an excuse," Sasuke interrupted.

Minoru frowned, "I wasn't implying that it was!"

"Who was that anyway?"

Minoru sighed again, shaking his head, "He…admitted his feelings towards me years ago. I didn't think he still had a thing."

Sasuke shrugged, "Like you said, he's drunk."

Minoru chuckled and gave Sasuke an amused look, "Thank you, I appreciate it, but just so you know I was good and ready to drain him – "

Sasuke gaped, "What?!"

"Just enough to make him pass out for a few hours, so that when he woke up, he would question his life decisions," Minoru finished and chuckled at the look on Sasuke's face, "I can handle myself."

Sasuke visibly frowned, "I'm well aware of. I've been witness to that."

Minoru crossed his arms and eyed the older man for a moment. A dark brow furrowed at him in question. "Then…why did you step in?" He raised his brows when Sasuke starred at him for a moment before moving his gaze to the festival as if in thought. He slowly pushed away from the railing and slowly moved closer to the older man, trying to get a better look at the Uchiha's face. A smile tugged on his lips when Sasuke looked at him again, "Why did you step in?" he asked again, more curious.

Sasuke sighed as if in defeat, "Because…I care about you," he admitted reluctantly, "And Naruto," he added, almost annoyed, "And your relationship and marriage," he finished with a sigh. He shot Minoru a half-hearted glare when the younger man smiled at him almost teasingly, "And…I guess it annoyed me to see someone being disrespectful towards it."

Minoru's smile softened, "Thank you, Sasuke. That means a lot to me."

Sasuke sighed and looked back at the festival grounds, "I'm surprised to find you here," he commented, "Alone I mean."

"In my defense, I came here with Lee, but he was dragged away somewhere," Minoru gestured to the festival, "And…I didn't complain because honestly, I would rather be home…" he finished lamely, and rubbed at the back of his neck. He smiled sheepishly at Sasuke who was giving him a curious look, "I…wanted a distraction. But that," he gestured as the general direction that Hatchi wandered off too, "Was not what I had in mind."

Sasuke chuckled amused, "I bet."

"I'm surprised you're here, too," Minoru said after a moment. Sasuke shifted his weight.

"I may have wanted a distraction too."

Minoru made a "ah!" expression in understanding.

"How long until Naruto returns?"

Minoru looked out to the festival, "Maybe a few days?" he ventured, "But you know."

Sasuke nodded in understanding.

Minoru hesitated and ventured, "How about Sakura?"

There was a pause, "Maybe another week." Another pause, "But I'm actually leaving tomorrow."

"Oh," Minoru said lamely.

Sasuke chuckled, "You're silly."

Minoru glared, "How – why?"

Sasuke shook his head while a small smile on his lips, "You just are." He looked at Minoru who was glaring at him, "Are you going to tell Naruto about what happened?" The younger man's glare shifted to a look of annoyed realization.

"Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to keep this from him," Minoru said, shaking his head fondly, "He's not going to like this, I'll tell you that."

"So…" Sasuke drawled, "Just let me know if you need help getting rid of a body…" he couldn't help but laugh at the horrified look Minoru gave him.

"Sometimes, I can't tell when you're joking," Minoru laughed and shook his head.

Sasuke shifted his weight and kicked a rock that was nearby, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised knowing Naruto…" He looked at Minoru who was looking off in the distance almost as if lost in thought. He noticed how the younger man's expression slowly changed, "What is it?" Dark eyes flickered as they looked at him and smiled. He smiled knowingly and gestured with a nod if his head, "Go home to your husband."

Minoru grinned at Sasuke and quickly stopped himself from forming the quick seals for a teleportation jutsu, earning him a confused look, "Thank you again, for earlier. Don't be surprised if I invite you to the next festival."

Sasuke shook his head as Minoru disappeared in a puff of smoke, a smile playing on his lips. He stood there for a moment longer, watching the festival goers, the lights, the music, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The surprised yelp that escaped Naruto when Minoru appeared and practically pounced on him, using the momentum to effectively pin him down to the bed – all in a flurry of smoke - made laughter erupt from the both of them. Naruto wrapped his arms around the younger man that vibrated with laughter against him, "I missed you, too." Minoru pulled away enough to look down at him with a smile before slipped their lips together in a tender kiss.

"Welcome home."

Naruto chuckled and looked up at Minoru when he pushed himself and hovered over him, "Were you down at the festival?"

Minoru nodded and gave little shrug, "It was okay. I mainly went because I lost to Lee and figured it would be a nice distraction." He gave Naruto a sideways leer, "But then I felt you switch on the link…"

Naruto flushed, "I – I didn't mean to take you away from the festival!"

Minoru chuckled and leaned down to plant a kiss on the older man's forehead, "You didn't," he said softly, planting a kiss on a whiskered cheek, "I would much rather be here," he brushed his lips against the older man, "With you." He slipped his lips back together and shivered at the ways hands smoothed over his waist and into his shirt.

He figured he didn't have to tell Naruto what happened anytime soon.