Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. None of it. No profit was made from this.

AN: Finally posting it. It's not as good as the first one, but it's decent. There isn't much else to say. So I say no more.

Today, I'm Here

Dead punk Girl

Their first encounter had been by luck alone. They had, distantly, been aware of this. Neither commented on it, and weeks passed by, blurring into months.

Their second encounter had come in Rain. Naruto was sitting, slurping up his dinner of ramen noodles, when a familiar figure dropped down a few seats over. At first, the blond hadn't put much thought into the stranger. But it was upon hearing that chilled voice, that voice that had hung on the corners of his subconscious, blossomed nightmares in which blood-red sharing an eyes stared down at him, he spared a glance at the person.

Sasuke had always hated Ramen. Always; he wasn't sure why, but it had something to do with Naruto, he knew. Perhaps it was the fact that the blond youth always carried the scent on him like a second skin, or how he always seemed to think only of the noodle dish when a young, growing shinobi needed better sustenance? Kakashi had always said he'd wind up in a hospital because of his diet. So, he wasn't entirely sure what had compelled him to take a seat at the small stand and order himself a bowl of chicken flavoured ramen. That was unlike him.

"I thought you hated the stuff," Naruto commented mutely, slurping a bit more of his food as he eyed the figure, clad in the red and black coat of Akatsuki.

"I do, Dobe. I'm just hungry."

"So you pick the stand that I'm at? There's one down the road; go there," He had to keep the bite from his tone. Sasuke had been the last person he wanted to see. Not that he was a sore loser or anything like that, no, he was just…well, he was still mildly irritated.

"I've already ordered," Sasuke replied in that placid tone of his, "Just eat, Naruto. I'm not interested in arguing about this with you."

Silence settled over the small shop, the owner seemingly unaware of their toned-down discussion. Naruto had already sunk into his second bowl of the evening when Sasuke finally finished his meal and spoke again.

"So why are you in Rain?"

The blond swallowed the mouthful of noodles, "The pervert said it'd be good training to come here. I think he just wants to see the women. And he uses my cash to do it."

For the first time, Sasuke was almost thankful that Orochimaru had been who he was. At least he wasn't slowly being robbed for the purpose of buying hookers.

"And you don't go with him?" The Uchiha prodigy tilted his head, "Hn. That's unusual."

"Why?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "I don't want some dirty, disease ridden-prostitute, thanks. I've got my standards."

"And you've got that desire of Sakura, too," He noted with an arched eyebrow, "That has nothing to do with it, am I correct?"

"You are," He agreed, finishing off his meal, "Sakura and I are friends. Simple as that. I mean, it was complicated for a while there…but it's all figured out now."

Sasuke nodded his understanding quietly before he shifted in his chair, looking about, "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

A pause, "What for?"

"Does that matter?" He asked dryly, frowning a little, "Do you honestly think that Jiraiya will be pleased to see you sitting with me? Come on. What's it going to hurt?"

The memory of their last encounter flared in his the front of his mind, making fear wind in his belly. Alone, it would be so very easy for Sasuke to kill him; to catch him off-guard and run that sword that hung on his hip through the center of his ribcage. But then again, his defeat couldn't come that easily. He'd fight back with all he had, that was for sure. After a long moment, he stood, dropping his money onto the counter. He had long since learned where to hide his spare change. The Toad-Sannin may have been a pervert, but he wasn't interested in digging around in the other nin's pockets for whatever cash was not handed over with the wallet.

They stepped out from under the ramen stall's overhang just as the downpour began, soaking the two boys almost immediately. Sasuke just tugged his thick cloak tighter about his body, eyeing the blond before he set off down the streets.

Naruto made a face but pursued him, futilely trying to cover his head with his arms, "This is why I hate it here."

Sasuke just murmured his agreement and kept walking, now slick mud squishing between his shoes. He hated the rain. It had rained on his first trip back to the manor since the massacre. Though, in Sound he had taken up the hobby of sitting by the window and watching the steady, winter drizzle.

"So," Naruto had long since given up trying to protect his hair from the rain, blond strands clinging to tanned skin, brown from the moisture they had absorbed, "Considered coming back to Konoha?"

"No," He replied flatly, leading the way towards the hotel he was in. Absently, he noted that he hadn't the slightest idea of what to say to him once they were alone. But that could always come later; "Stop asking."

Naruto's eyes narrowed very briefly at him before he sighed a little, allowing silence to drift over them. This was how it was going to be; Sasuke was always going to be just that little bit out of his reach, close but not close enough to grasp, and touch and keep. He had known that, of course. Their last meeting had proved that. But Sasuke had said those three little words. He had heard them, through the cold steel doors of the complex. He had heard them and once back in Konoha, it had taken all his willpower not to go back and demand an explanation.

He had kept their reunion a secret. The fact that he had gone to the Akatsuki complex alone was practically suicidal. And Jiraiya and Tsunade wouldn't fail to make note of that. And then there was Kakashi, and Sakura and Sai and everyone else who would be furious about his stupidity.

He was aware of this, and yet, he was going off with the Uchiha to only God knew where to be alone with him.

"Do you remember," Sasuke stated suddenly, "When you said you loved me?"

Pause.

"Do you, Naruto?"

"…Yeah," The blond began slowly, cautiously, unwilling to reveal the slight tremor in his voice. God, he hated how Sasuke could make him tremble like that; "What about it?"

"Did you mean it?"

Naruto couldn't say that didn't catch him off-guard. He blinked dumbly at the Uchiha, opening his mouth a little to reply before he sighed; "Did you?"

It was Sasuke's turn to stare. Naruto had the feeling that the response would shut him up; he wasn't supposed to know that he had confessed his emotions, his words swept away by the dull buzz of a dying fluorescent light.

The silence was, for now, a good enough indication of that. He'd make a point of asking later, when the tension had eased. Even after all the years, they were still friends, he assumed. Despite the forced civility, and the chilled tones. They were still friends; Sasuke would always be that one step ahead and Naruto would always be chasing.

But if that kept them together, than that was the way it had to be.

The hotel room that Sasuke slipped into was dark, and dirty and smelt of mould. The Kusanagi was propped against the wall near what Naruto presumed to be the bathroom, and he watched as Sasuke tugged off his Akatsuki cloak, throwing it over one chair.

"Make yourself comfortable."

Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to. Everything about this room gave him the chills, sending little shivers of fear down his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Uh…sure. Thanks," He moved over to one of the chairs at the small table, dropping down into it. It creaked, as if about to give out on him, before silence once again settled. Sasuke had dropped onto the bed and was picking at the dirt under his nail with a kunai, his off-color eyes focusing on that.

"You never answered my question," Sasuke began, glancing up at him, "Did you mean it?"

"You never answered mine."

"I asked first," Sasuke countered with a frown, "Now answer."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, messing it even more, "I-I don't know if I meant it or not, Sasuke. Why does that matter now?" That awkward silence blanketed the room and he sighed softly, "I guess…I guess I did. It's not going to change anything. It's not going to bring you back. So why does it matter? I was being stupid, okay? Just…blindly throwing things around."

"It could."

"What could?"

"It could change things," Sasuke commented as he rose to his feet. His footsteps seemed loud on the wooden floor and Naruto noted he was wearing boots, not his usual sandals. He seemed restless, as if his thoughts weren't in proper order; "I mean, it probably won't but…it could."

"You're trying to tell me that if I meant it, then you'd come back?" Naruto asked slowly, trying to follow the jumbled thought pattern, "Is that what you're trying to get out?"

"No!" Sasuke replied sharply, shaking his head, "I mean…maybe. I don't know. I can't go back now. I mean, look at me. Look at what I've become."

"You can change."

"It's too late for that."

"Says who?" Naruto insisted with a frown, "I told you; I can convince the Tsunade to pardon you, if you want me to."

"Fuck, Naruto. Would you listen to the bullshit your spewing? I can, I can, I can…You can't. You keep running after me, you're going to run into a wall, you fucking idiot."

"I hit that months ago," The blond snarled back, "I hit that when you left! But I kept running. You give up too easily. That's your problem. Things don't go your way and you quit! I meant what I said! I haven't gotten you out of my head, Sasuke. Not since you left. Nothing will change that. But you just shrug us all off like we mean nothing."

"You don't mean anything!" Sasuke's hands balled into fists, frustration making his voice tight, "You never have and you never fucking will. I fucking hate you. You and that shit-eating grin of yours. Fuck, you make me fucking sick."

Naruto was completely silent for a few moments before he stood, moving over to the Uchiha. For the second time, he wrapped his arms around him. But unlike the first time, Sasuke didn't protest or try to push him away. He just leaned into the blond, allowing himself to be held.

"I do mean something. Otherwise, you would have killed me. Or taken me to Sir Leader. Or something. But you wouldn't have let me go like that. You don't leave this sort of thing unfinished, Sasuke."

"I thought I quit if things didn't go my way," Sasuke shot back, dryly, "Just…shut up, Naruto."

He sighed softly and did as told, just holding the other, trying to comfort him. What else could he do now? There wasn't any changing his mind, that much was obvious.

That silence stretched out for far longer than either would have liked, and it was Naruto who broke it finally, his voice low,

"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Doing what?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head down to look at the blond.

Naruto sighed, "This," He repeated, "All this shit. You can't be happy."

"I'm not," The Uchiha stated simply, "Whatever made you think I was?"

"…Then why?"

"Why not?" He answered, shrugging his shoulders as best he could.

"That's not an answer!" The Kyuubi-vessel protested, "If this isn't making you happy, then what would make you happy?"

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head as he pulled back from Naruto's hold, "Don't ask stupid questions, Dobe," Moving over to the bed, he flopped down, kicking his boots off, "Just shut up."

Naruto scowled, not liking this conversation, not liking the hurt swelling in his chest. He was so close, and yet, so far away still. The unbreakable wall of ice that had been around the Uchiha before had only grown thicker as time passed and he was now on the other end, unable to do anything.

"Know what will make me happy?" Sasuke began suddenly, "If you walk out that door and find someone who will treat you right," A pause, "I can die happy if I know you're happy."

Naruto could only smile a little, "You make me happy, you bastard."

"How?" The Avenger propped himself up on his elbows, blinking, "You're crazy."

This made the blond laugh and he shook his head, turning towards the hotel door. So maybe he wasn't that far away after all. Sasuke was still Sasuke. And that was all he could have hoped for.

Ice melted, after all.

"I'll see you around, asshole."

Sasuke made a face and dropped back down, "Yeah, yeah. See you, Dobe."

And that was that.

Naruto would never claim that their meeting on that rainy day was something spectacular. But it was something; he would admit that. And it would only be a matter of time before Sasuke was home where he belonged.

He wasn't really that far away, after all.