Disclaimer: I didn't own Naruto when I first wrote this story and I certainly don't now either.

Dedication: To everyone who read, reviewed and suffered through the horrible spellcheck-less story this once was.

Category: PG-13, Sasunaru

All I could do for what seemed like hours was blink. Naruto loved me? How? Why? All I really knew was that...I didn't understand.

"Ano, Hinata-san but... how did you know this? And if Naruto moved on he it looks like he did, why does he still blame me?" I saw Hinata give a small sad smile as she continued.

"In all truth, Naruto-chan shouldn't be blaming you for anything. If our relationship fell apart, it is because I had it done that way for his and mine own good."

"What?"

"I broke off my relationship with Naruto-chan, not the other way around. I knew that Naruto-chan loved you because of how angry he was with you. If it were even possible to explain, I would say that Naruto was jealous of Itachi for taking your attention from him. This being Naruto, he reacted the only way he knows how. To slip on that mask of his and pretend it never happened. Gomen Sasuke-san, Naruto-chan should not blame you, it's my fault. The child I am pregnant with now is not Naruto's, but Kiba's.

"No, Hinata-san. This is...nobodies fault. If it truly is anyone's fault then Naruto is right, it is mine. Mine for not having realized truly what was going on around me. For not realizing how Naruto felt when he was truly right there in front of me."

"There is still time Sasuke. Naruto-kun still loves you, which I know. And I can tell that you love Naruto as well from far more then your words, which is what and only what brought me here to speak with you today. I loved Naruto-chan once, and I still do - just as a friend. But I want only that for Naruto that would make him the happiest. Naruto is hurt though Sasuke, and very angry. I would tread on careful feet around him for a while. The longer you wait however, the angrier he is likely to become. Time is something you both do and do not have."

"Arigotou Hinata-san, it seems you've changed much from the girl I knew in training school."

"As have you Sasuke-san. It seems that your own mask has cracked as much as my own. I think we both have Naruto to thank for that. I am sorry I can not stay any longer, but Kiba will be much distressed if he returns home to find me absent."

"Thank you again Hinata-san."

SASUNARUSASUNARUSASUNARU-

I spent days just going around the village; speaking to the people I had once known about Naruto. I needed to know what the smaller things that had happened while I had gone were. It was to my own shock to find out the villagers now respected Naruto as he had always dreamed. It was through the people that I had once ignored and barely tolerated that I learned who Naruto was again. I learned that many were waiting the day Naruto was made the fifth Hokage.

I would see Naruto once in awhile. On my luckier days, Naruto ignored my existence. On my less then happier days, I was made to feel so unwelcome that I considered leaving the village again. I still had no idea what to say to Naruto, what I could do that would show him just how sorry I was for my actions. I didn't dare to even hope to be together with Naruto. All I could truly with for was to be his friend - something I had never really had before. In the end, again it was who sought out myself that provided the realization.

"Uncle Sasuke-chan? Can I talk to you?"

The words surprised me, it had been quite awhile since anyone called me "chan" and the Uncle was nearly foreign to my ears.

"Tsuki-chan?" I said looking down at the girl I had become instantly attached to. "Where is your mother or father?"

"Kakashi-sensei is supposed to be watching me again, but I snuck off while he was reading those dirty books he liked." She spoke, wrinkling her nose as if to snub even the thought of them.

"Alright then. Just for a few moments, but after that I'm taking you back."

"Hai. Uncle Sasuke Chan... Daddy misses you a lot. He's been holding a picture of you a lot lately. Sometimes he even rips it up, but I see him later putting it back together. Did you do something wrong? If so, you should say you're sorry because when I do, it always makes things better!"

Such perception this little girl had. She would one day be a great ninja. Already she was talented enough to sneak away from even Kakashi-sensei. I shudder to think of the power and brains she will have within her reach as she ages.

"Yes, Tsuki-chan. I did do something wrong. A lot of things really. But sometimes when I get angry I say a lot of things that I do not mean, and the last time I did, I said something that I swore to never do."

"He is sad Uncle Sasuke. You should visit him and make things better again. Then maybe Daddy would be happy. I know that he was sad even when I was just little, I want you to make him happy again!"

"You're right Tsuki-chan. How about I tell you this, I'll bring you back home, and after that I'll go speak to your Dad okay? I might not be able to make him happy, but I can try alright?"

Tsuki-chan wrinkled up her nose again in thought before finally grinning and smiling.

"Haiiii! But I know Uncle Sasuke will do it!" She said, and before I had a chance to reply, she was already taking off towards her home.

SASUNARUSASUNARUSASUNARU-

Naruto's apartment had changed a lot since I had seen it last. His home that had once been messy was - if possible - a bigger mess. It looked like Tsuki's toys were all over the house. A wall looked like it had been taken out, presumably for Tsuki-chan's room. The whole place however felt...like home. Somehow - I don't really know how, maybe it was Tsuki-chan's words of - "He was sad even when I was little." that gave me the courage to knock on his door.

"I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again." Naruto spoke upon opening the door to find me on the other side.

"Naruto I... I am so sorry. I can't even imagine what made me speak those words to you - you if anyone never deserved them. I do. I know that apologizing can never take back everything I put us through, but I need to talk with you. Just once, and then if you want I will stay out of your life forever."

I saw the wariness of his eyes. He didn't want to trust me, but for some reason, he took a step back and allowed me to enter his house. It is a miracle I will be thankful for the rest of my life. For a long while, neither of us spoke. We sat there, taking note of every scar and change upon each other. I saw the weariness and pain in his eyes. The eyes of a man who had lived through far more then any other. It was something that I had helped put there and I will regret it until the day I can no longer breath. How it was I could have harmed Naruto, an innocent boy who had had the innocence taken away from him before he could walk.

Finally, it was Naruto who spoke. It was only one word, but it was the only one I needed.

"Why?"

"Back then, I would have told you it was because I felt that only Orochimaru could help me achieve the power I needed. Later, it was because I needed vengeance upon my family... the night was because I was feeling to many conflicting emotions at once. I could spend days trying to tell you why, but it all truly comes down to only one answer."

"And what is that?"

"I was jealous."

"Jealous? Of me. You, the great Uchiha Sasuke who everyone loved and adored was jealous of me. I'm failing to see the reasons why here Sasuke."

"I was jealous of your power, jealous of the freedom you had to choose to live life so openly. And... Jealous because someone took you away from me before I ever had you."

I watched his eyes, always so much a window into his emotions. I had once thought that his eyes were his greatest downfall, that one day they would be his disaster. It is those eyes that I love most about Naruto now, giving me the only chance to know Naruto again.

"What a pair we were. I jealous of you, and you jealous of me. We are night and day Sasuke, in looks, and in personalities. I was once thankful for that link between us. And then I began to resent and hate it. It is that night and day that we are that brought us against each other day after day. And no matter how much I tried to escape it, that bond was always there. And it always will be. For a long time I blamed you for destroying my family and I shouldn't have. It was my own fault for having loved you."

My heart, which has been taking dives and leaps, fell to a thud as Naruto finished. He said, "Having loved you." which meant that he no longer did.

"I did love you once Sasuke. But now, my soul is to weary and tired to risk losing my heart to you again."