Read the Sign.

A/N: Good day to you! Welcome to chapter twenty one of But Home Is Nowhere... (Wow! 21 chapters already. I totally didn't even notice I'd broken twenty. That's pretty cool. This is turning into the longest thing I've ever written.) Ah, well. I'm not sure if I have anything to say, so I guess I'll just thank my lovely reviewers. Today's treat is cotton candy.

Lady Lemonade: Yay! The only person who's actually gotten mad for them not making out is my friend Kathryn who is just waitin' for the mad boffing. I'm glad you liked the moment, and I'm so honoured that you would call my writing beautiful. Yay "Miseria Cantare", although it's not my favorite on the CD, I LOVE "This Time Imperfect", and can you guess, "But Home Is Nowhere..." also "The Great Disappointment" and "Death Of Seasons". Okay, so I love them all. I love you for loving AFI, and for writing great reviews. Here is cotton candy for you!

Kaiou-hime: You understand me perfectly! You have perfectly captured my reasoning behind the forehead kiss! I love you! About the title. I was just really excited, because I've loved that song for forever, and my friends sent it to me, o I listened to it like forty billion times. Sowwy for the confusion! I'm glad to know that you're still reading, even though you don't review. I can understand the not reviewing when you have nothing to say. I don't mind! As long as you have something to say occasionally. –nods sagely- Here is some cotton candy for you! Enjoy.

Puppy Kicker: Yeah, I know it's way different having Itachi NOT kill the family. I understood your point. I was just informing you that Sasuke's parents were dead. Wouldn't want you to die of shock or anything. I'm glad you like the way I'm developing their relationship. People telling me these things is the only thing keeping me from going to the darkside, where they make out for no reason. I don't know how I feel about kisses on the forehead, but I thought it fit there, so, yeah! Thanks for the lovely review! Here is cotton candy for you!

Juu: I forgive you for not reviewing for a while. I know school can rule one's life! I don't even remember what the exact project was, and currently, I'm too lazy to go look, but I remember thinking it would be cool. I think this is gonna SasuNaru, but it might be SasuNaruSasu, you know? I'm just not sure. Glad to know you're still reading. Thankies for the review! Here is some cotton candy for you!

Kyuubi-kun: Question. I asked someone else this too, but I figure why not just ask two people? What is the meaning of changing Sasuke to Sasurin? (I feel ingert) This asked, I'm glad you liked this chapter, and I'm glad you can relate. I sometimes wish I could just close off everything so that no one could ever hurt me. But Alas, I would be missing so much if I did that. Thanks for the review. Here is your cotton candy.

KShindou25: Yay! I'm so happy to still be writing your fav! As for the chapter title... that was me being hyped on listening to that song like a thousand times. I don't think any of my chapter titles have really been relevant, though, so you can just assume that they will never have anything to do with content, okies? Okies. Glad you enjoyed the fluffienss. Glad you reviewed. Here is cotton candy for you!

JadeTiger: Yay! I'm forgiven. I forget what I was apologizing for. Oh dear. Ah, well, the point is I'm forgiven! I'm glad you're enjoying. Thanks for the review. Here is cotton candy.

Queen of the Paperclips: You love me too? I'm so HAPPY! YAY! I know I'm making Sasuke kind of depressing with his feelings, but that's the point. Naruto will change it all! YAYAYAYAYAAYAYAYAYAYAYAAYAY! Glad you enjoyed the cake, and the leather, and the chapter. Hope you like this one too! Here is cotton candy.

AlterEthereal: I'm sorry for the tear jerkers! I promise it'll get happier...later. Glad you liked the non lip-kissy. I'm glad you're getting better. (sheesh I'm totally not coherent. It's like three in the morning) Thanks for reviewing. Here is cotton candy.

Giggleplex: Ooooo! Someone else who likes that song! Or knows that song! Yay! As for The Noose being better than Weak and Powerless... yeah, but I didn't really think of that while I was writing that. Weak and Powerless seemed to fit, so I used it. It wasn't really about the band...Oh well! Thanks for reviewing. Here is cotton candy.

SasuNaru-kun: Yay! Pocky. I have done as you requested, and I was very please with your stories! Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying my story, and thankyou for the review. Here is cotton candy.

Third Degree Run: Yay new reviewer! You understand me perfectly, with my reasoning and the scene shattering! YAY! I'm glad it's refreshing. Yes, I've started reading I Bleed Black, although I haven't gotten to far cause I got caught up in writing. Her poetry is definitely amazing. Thanks for reviewing. Here is cotton candy.

Alrighty! I think that's everyone. If I left anyone out, I'm sorry. The review page is once again, REFUSING to load properly. Grr... Oh well. Sorry, If I can't string words together right now... It's late, and I'm not exactly in a real world state of consciousness.

But Home Is Nowhere...: I'll Wait For You There Alone

For a moment, both of them were silent, Sasuke staring, and Naruto staring straight back, his eyes dark. He wasn't entirely positive he'd done the right thing, but he was trying to make a point, hoping Sasuke would let himself be proven wrong. He very nearly jumped when Sasuke allowed a small smile to leak into his expression. "Thanks, Naruto."

Naruto felt a pressure rise off his chest, as if he'd suddenly figured out the mystery of the world. He'd done the right thing. He had actually done the right thing. He couldn't believe it. Sasuke wasn't angry with him for invading his personal space, or for saying something so personal. Sasuke was thanking him. 'God.' He breathed a sigh of relief. 'I did the right thing.' For a moment, he considered telling Sasuke of his relief, but then decided they would laugh about it in ten years when they were sitting at the breakfast table drinking coffee and eating pancakes, with nothing else to talk about. "Yeah," was all he said, smiling at the thought of eating breakfast with Sasuke ten years in the future.

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Sasuke reached across the couch and ruffled Naruto's hair, smiling at the obvious relief in the blonde's voice. Had he really put that much pressure on Naruto, that he was scared to do the wrong thing? Sasuke thought for a moment as the silky strands of Naruto's hair fell between his fingers. 'I guess I did, didn't I? Either that, or he cares way too much.'

He pulled his hand back, and couldn't help sniggering (1) at the sight of what he'd done to Naruto's head. The blonde glared at him. "What?" Sasuke burst out laughing. There was a jungle of blonde now protruding from Naruto's head, half of it flat, and the other half fanning straight up like some sort of strange headdress. Naruto frowned. "What the hell is so funny?" He looked very disgruntled, and Sasuke decided it had to be one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

"Your hair. It's..." He made a gesture with his hand, letting his arm flourish in the air and finish his sentence for him. Naruto frowned even harder, and began to fervently run his fingers across his head in an attempt to fix it. Sasuke, however, was sad to see it go.

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Naruto glared at Sasuke when he felt long fingers slip around his wrists. A still giggling Sasuke looked at him sternly. "Stop that."

"Why? You said it looked bad..." Naruto could hear the grudge in his voice, and he found himself wondering why his hair mattered all of the sudden.

"I never said that." Naruto tried to yank his hand back to his head so that he could resume grooming, but Sasuke held tight. He wished that the boy would just let him go. He didn't like it when Sasuke laughed at him. "It looks..." There was a long pause before a soft smile spread across Sasuke's face, replacing his smirk. "Cute."

Naruto arm went limp. He suddenly had no desire whatsoever to fix his hair, even if he did look stupid. He would leave his hair like this for the rest of his life if Sasuke thought it was cute. 'Wait...what? The rest of my life...if Sasuke thinks it's cute? Holy shit. What the fuck is wrong with me. I definitely need to quit thinking these things. They are going to destroy the first friendship I've had...ever.' Naruto nodded resolutely, pulling his arm away from Sasuke, who looked momentarily disappointed, but smiled again when there was no new attempt to fix the mess they'd made on his head. Naruto was rather surprised to hear a small, "Yay!" escape Sasuke, and was even more surprised to find himself smiling brilliantly at the fact that Sasuke was happy with his hair.

'Would you stop that? If you don't stop that, he's never gonna talk to you again. And what was with that whole breakfast in ten years thing? Huh? You know you're not gonna be friends in ten years. Much less living in the same house and eating at the same breakfast table.' Naruto shook his head to himself, looking up at Sasuke, who was still smiling happily at Naruto. 'But I just promised him that I wouldn't hurt him. We'll be friends if he wants it. We'll be anything he wants.' Naruto flashed a brilliant smile back at his friend, and, in an effort to distract himself, said, "Since we've already practically broken down three or four times tonight, what do you say we give the killer questions a rest?"

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Sasuke thought for a moment before deciding it was probably a good idea. He didn't want to bring the blonde down any more than he already had. It was much too painful to watch. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. We each have four left, right?" Naruto nodded. "Alright. It's my turn to ask now, so, I want to know when your birthday is." Sasuke thought this would be a fairly easy question, and it would give him an important piece of information about his friend. Wouldn't want to forget to get him a present.

"October tenth." Naruto's voice was light. "And yours, Sasuke?"

"July twenty third. Question three. What's your favorite food?"

Naruto thought for a minute. Stroking his chin in mock contemplation. "I'd have to say Ramen. Favorite Color?"

Sasuke had to think on this for a minute, torn between dark blue and black. In the end, he couldn't decide. "I like dark blue, almost black, and black. I can't pick one. Let's see... I already know your favorite color-"

Naruto looked surprised. "You know my favorite color?"

Sasuke nodded. "You told me this morning. (2)" Naruto looked confused for a moment, and then a light came over his features.

"Oh yeah." He looked down at his shirt. "Because I was wearing this." He smacked himself on the forehead. "Duh!"

Sasuke shook his head. "Alright, now that we have that cleared up, what's your favorite song?"

Naruto looked a little surprised by this and there was a long, seemingly eternal pause before he answered, "It has to be "Porphyria Cutanea Tarda" by AFI. When I listen to that one, I feel like it was written about me. It's like a dream or something." (3) Sasuke nodded softly, knowing the feeling. He would have to be sure to get his hands on a copy of that CD if it was so important to Naruto. "What about you, Mr. Uchiha? What song stirs you the most?"

Sasuke didn't even have to think as he answered, "Brand New. "Guernica". I don't know why, but every time I listen to it, I feel something. It's not even the same thing every time. But I always feel something." (4) Naruto nodded sagely. "So, how many questions do I have left? One, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. My last question would have to be what is the one thing you want to do more than anything else before you die?" Sasuke hoped this wasn't breaking the "light questions" rule too much, but judging by the look on Naruto's face, he'd hit a nerve.

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Naruto had to think hard before answering this. The one thing he wanted more than anything else? 'Love.' He frowned. Those voices in his head were quite annoying, but he would be lying if he said something else. He'd already established that he hated lying to Sasuke when he said he didn't clean. God, he felt guilty about that. More guilty than he really should, considering what a small llittle lie it had been. He lied to people all the time. Just not to Sasuke. "Before I answer that, I have a confession to make." He didn't know why he felt so guilty all of the sudden, but he had to spill. He really hated lying to Sasuke.

Said Uchiha was now looking a bit confused. "Okay."

Naruto took a deep breath. "I cleaned." Naruto looked slowly up at Sasuke, hoping not to find any hints of anger on the other boy's face. He had, after all, lied. He was relieved to see a knowing smile spreading through Sasuke's features.

"I sort of guessed." Naruto smiled back. He could answer the question now. "Why the sudden need to confess?"

Naruto was sure he looked quite sheepish as his face grew hot with a blush. "I dunno. I was thinking about lying with that question and then I remembered I lied about cleaning and I felt bad. I don't like lying. At least not to you." Naruto smiled as Sasuke ruffled his hair yet again, a habit both of them seemed to have grown quite fond of, and answered,

"It's okay to tell little white lies Naruto, but if it makes you feel better, I kinda hate the thought of lying to you too."

Naruto nodded. It did. "Alright. I guess I have to answer your question now. Don't let Mr. Iruka see this one either, though." Sasuke nodded. "Okay." Naruto took a deep breath. "This is gonna sound stupid, but every one has always hated me all my life, and so I guess the one thing I want to do before I die is fall in love with someone and have them love me back."

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Sasuke couldn't help the frown that was pulling at his mouth. The only thing Naruto wanted was to be loved? That was something so easily achieved. 'Sasuke?' 'Yes?' 'Do you know who I am?' Sasuke thought for a moment, wondering what exactly the little voice in the back of his head meant. 'My conscience?' he guessed. 'Yes. Now tell me. Is it really easy for someone like Naruto, who has been hated his entire life to be loved?' Sasuke thought again. 'I guess not.' This was a very depressing thought. 'But I could love him.' Sasuke thought it before he could stop himself. 'God I need to say something.' He nodded slowly. "Naruto, you promised me that not every one will hurt me. Now listen to me. Everyone won't hate you. I can promise there will be someone to love you."

Sasuke sat forward a bit and brought his hand to the side of the blonde's face. "You have to believe me."

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Naruto was silent, his eyes wide, and his heart beating fast. He could feel the warmth of Sasuke's hand spreading through his entire body, as a soft pair of lips was pressed to his own forehead. He smiled.

TBC...

A/N: Okay, I know this is a little corny, but I was going for the whole trade off thing. A truth for a truth, a promise for a promise, and a kiss for a kiss. Sorry if you hate it. I'm STILL suffering in the jaws of writer's block. I thought I was in the clear after the forehead kiss, because I got this idea, but I can't use it yet, so now I have to think of what to write to get me from here to the idea. Alas. I REALLY hope I'm out of this soon. Writer's Block is gonna push me off the edge soon! Oh well, anough of me whining. Sorry this update took so long. Next one'll be faster. I hope. Peace out.

ISAN

1. Sasuke... sniggering. Wow. This is not to be confused with snickering, which in my opinion is far less maniacal. This said. Think about that again. Sasuke... sniggering. This is one of those times I don't care if I look stupid for thinking it's funny. I'm laughing.

2. Was it this morning or yesterday morning. I've been dragging these days out for so long that I can't figure it out. Oh well. I'm hoping that after they stay at Sasuke's house, I'll be able to write a filler chapter where lots of time passes. Maybe I'll skip straight to October. Who knows? Not me.

3. This took me like an hour to decide on, so if you're not happy with it, you can just fuck off. –Pouts- No, don't, but really, please don't insult the choice...I put a great deal of thought into it, and I think the song fits the character of Naruto in this story. If you've never heard it, these are the lyrics

I know... It's here we retreat, for where else could we go?
To great disbelief there is somewhere we belong.
In negative space supposed flaws go unseen, but our strength is shown.
In darkness together we're bringing the light. In darkness together we are forming.
The fire tomorrow is born of the night, in darkness together we ignite.
From all we've been shunned but we found a new home.
To great discontent it is greatness that we own.
In luminous eyes, reflections of fear absolute...
All hate what we've become. In darkness together we're bringing the light.
In darkness together we are forming. The fire tomorrow is born of the night, in darkness together we ignite.
Through our will we bring fear. Left to burn beneath the sun.
We are one. When daylight forms blinding walls where do we go?
Days arid are scorching all. When daylight forms blinding, binding walls where do we go?
The darkness calls.

No insulting!

4. Same note as above. Lyrics are below.

Ever since I was young your
word is the word that always won.
Worry and wake the ones you love.
A phone call I'd rather not receive.
Please use my body while I sleep.
My lungs are fresh and yours to keep,
Kept clean and they will let you breathe.
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but
you forget to wind. Nobody plans to be
half a world away at times like these,
so I sat alone and waited out the night.
The best part of what has happened was
the part I must have missed.
So I'm asking you to shout it out and stick
around. I'm not writing my goodbyes.
I submit no excuse. If this is what I have to
do I owe you every day I wake.
If I could I would shrink myself, sink through
your skin to your blood cells, remove
whatever makes you hurt but
I am too weak to be your cure.
Is this the way a toy feels when its
batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear
but you forget to wind.
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times
like these, so I sat alone
and waited out the night.
The best part of what has happened was the
part I must have missed.
So I'm asking you to shout it out and stick around.
I'm not writing my goodbyes.
I'm not letting you check out.
You will beat this starting now and you will always be around.
I'm there to monitor your breathing
I will watch you while you're sleeping.
I will keep you safe and sound.
Does anybody remember back when you were very young.
Did you ever think that you would be this blessed?
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times
like these, so I sat alone
and waited out the night.
The best part of what has happened was the
part I must have missed.
So I'm asking you to shout it out and stick around.
I'm not writing my goodbyes.