Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto.

Warnings: SasuNaru, OOC and unbeta-read

Chapter 05: Avec

Naruto stared, blue eyes bulging, unable to believe what Sasuke had done or the madness that was gripping him tight, crushing logic and reason.

"You can see it, right Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his voice had a tremor of danger that made it velvety.

He could see it. Vividly so. The threads of chakra that disappeared into his chest where his heart lay.

"If I step into Konoha for a reason other than crushing it, these threads will crush my heart."

"Bonds shouldn't lead anyone to self-destruction!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke, his words echoing all over the dark room of another Uchiha hideout which had become their rendezvous point rather than the place beyond the Tengu shrine.

'You should listen to yourself', a small voice quietly told him.

No, Naruto denied, he wasn't self-destructive unlike his friend in front of him. He wanted to save him because he wanted to be hokage.

Half-truth.

Fine! He wanted to save him because he wanted to be happy. However, whatever his reasons were for chasing the Uchiha avenger, he definitely wasn't walking the path of self-destruction. He could stop anytime he wanted. That was what he believed, stubbornly denying the fact that he lost that ability.

Unlike the blond, Sasuke remained calm and collected. He crossed his arms over his chest, the threads of his chakra imprisoning his heart once more invisible.

"If I abandon my plan," he started, and to him it seemed the blond suddenly held his breath. "Then I have nothing left." Nothing to protect. Nothing to live for. Nothing to die for. He who had lost everything even before he had understood the world around him... even before he had the strength to defend. He who destroyed the last thing he had treasured out of hatred, was brought by an illusion. He who was now clinging to the shadows of past, condemning himself to walk along the dunes of time and all because in the deepest part of his mind, he was scared to be meaningless...to disappear without leaving anything behind to mark his existence... his clan's existence. He had decided to revive the Uchiha in his own way. That was his main purpose.

"You have me," Naruto answered immediately. For a moment, when Sasuke looked like he was considering his response, he thought he had reached him after all the times he had opened his arms for this person.

"You could never be mine because Konoha owns you."

"You're wrong. I don't-"

"Then come with me."

Looking away, Naruto replied softly, "I can't."

Sasuke clenched his fists. They were back to their routine of pushing and pulling. He was so close to stomping his foot in frustration at this point. Why couldn't Naruto see? Why couldn't he just control Kyuubi whether Naruto would join him or not? What was holding him back from doing this crime? After all, this wasn't any different from thrusting a hand into that chest. "You do have a choice, Naruto."

"So do you," the blond snapped.

"I have no choice as long as I walk this path."

"Bullshit," he muttered, and he didn't care whether the bastard heard him or not. If he did, perhaps it would tell Sasuke how ridiculous he was sounding at the moment. Truth be told, he was desperate. This was now the fourth time he met with Sasuke since he returned to Konoha. Fourth time... yet his resolve was slowly crumbling. "Yes, I'll come with you" was slowly forming inside his chest. He couldn't tell when this started happening, but he knew why. Whether it was a conscious or unconscious act, Sasuke was giving him a sneak peak of what it would be like if he'd choose him. Although they spent most of their time fighting over who should come with who and having sex. However, there were also moments when they could sit side by side in complete bliss. Not to mention that Sasuke had prepared this division of the hideout for their use. There was a cot good for two; there was a change of clothes and a towel for both of them and there were food provisions too. It was like they were living together as lovers... as a couple. And he believed that they could truly be together, an item, if Sasuke would just come home.

He followed Sasuke with his gaze and when he was close to the doorway, he asked loud enough to be heard, "Why are you making this so hard for us?"

Sasuke paused. The slight widening of his eyes was the only telltale sign that he was surprised. With his face slightly distorted in pain, he replied in a caustic tone, "There is no 'us', dumbass."

"I wish there was." Blue eyes slightly glazed over with pain as their focus suddenly took an interest in the floor beneath them.

The dark-haired man looked over his shoulder, face once again cold, "Keep wishing." Then he left, his bath towel almost brushing the ground and never looking back.

Naruto let out a shuddering sigh. He didn't know who to hate: his ego who talked big, or Sasuke, who managed to always hurt him, or himself who still wanted the man even though right now, he felt disgusted with his body upon seeing the evidence of Sasuke's possession of him. He leaned forward and buried his face into his hands, lost and confused.

Why am I still chasing after him?

-SasuNaru is love-

Sasuke bit his left thumb hard enough to draw blood and did the necessary hand signs for summoning. It wasn't long until ominous yellow eyes were peering down at him.

"Here's the third batch of the sacrifice." Sasuke coolly stated. He never understood why Manda demanded a sacrifice before and after doing what he asked him to do.

Manda spared a brief glance to his food before looking back at the last Uchiha. "So you're serious about crushing that village?" he asked in mockery. "Orochimaru failed, remember?" It pleased him to see the human getting tense over such information.

"I'm better than your previous master."

Manda never cared who was better than who. He never gave a damn about Orochimaru or any human who had a contract with his family. What mattered to him was how these summoners would treat his family and how they would act in front of him- the leader. And right now, the young human whom he barely acknowledged was implicitly calling himself his master in that infuriatingly insolent manner. When that cheeky human turned to leave, he slithered towards him to strike.

-SasuNaru is love-

Stepping into his apartment, Naruto rolled his shoulders. Every part of his body ached especially "that" part. However, he knew that whatever bruises he got today would disappear overnight, unlike Sasuke, who would wear his marks for quite sometime, and he took pride in that. He almost missed a step when he saw Sakura on his couch, his friend was stirring. When sleepy green eyes held his gaze, it was only then did he remember that he was suppose to meet her an hour ago.

"Where have you been, Naruto?" Sakura asked as she straightened up.

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and with an idiotic grin, he apologized. "I had trained for three hours and since I had time to spare, I went to the hokage mountain and I fell asleep," he explained.

"You were there all this time?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "From the start."

"From the start," she echoed.

"Right after training," he added as a reminder. "I should take a shower," he lied. After all, he already took one with Sasuke. His cheeks flushed when he remembered what he did to Sasuke during that brief moment together.

"You're not hiding anything, right?" Sakura asked while the blonde made a beeline to his room. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Naruto almost faltered in his step. He let out a chuckle which came out dry. "Why would I?"

"Yeah, why would you?" Sakura questioned with her eyes downcast, she continued, "I went to those places, Naruto."

The blond went pale. He closed his eyes while he stifled his panic. Sakura would never know. Nobody would know. For Sasuke's sake. He continued walking, pretending that he didn't hear his friend.

Sakura became a flurry of movements and by the time she realized what she did, she already had her arms wrapped around the blond's waist as she hugged him from behind.

"S-Sakura?"

"I miss you," she murmured loud enough to be heard. They missed him because recently, he seemed to be disappearing frequently and missing appointments or arriving late.

With guilt in his eyes, the blond briefly regarded the porcelain arms wrapped around his torso before he swallowed back all of the guilt he felt to flippantly ask, "Is this a start of a love confession?" Of course, he expected her to bark at him for thinking such a thing, but she remained quiet, and for a moment he thought that she really was going to confess her love, until he felt the sudden tightening of her arms around his torso, and breathing became an issue for him.

"You're going to break my bones!" he told her as her grip continued to tighten. He flailed his arms and legs when she lifted him up off the ground.

"How dare you joke around when I'm worried about you!" Sakura growled. Just as quickly as she held him in a tight grip, she let him go. "Fine," she said in resignation while moving away from him to leave. "If you don't want to tell me, then I understand."

Naruto, right then and there, decided to tell her.

"Sakura, wait."

And she did.

-SasuNaru is love-

Sasuke smirked, not the least bit surprised that he was being attacked because this had become a pattern for Manda. In a split second, blue and white charged electricity dangerously crackled around him. Manda knew that while it may not kill him, it would hurt him. However, would the boy do so when he needed him for his revenge? Putting more importance to the order of his instincts rather than of his ego, he stopped a hairsbreadth away from the human.

Sasuke regarded the animal over his shoulder. Sharingan versus golden eyes. "You can't kill me," he stated indifferently and it was his indifference that made the snake feel like he was being mocked.

"Perhaps not today, but someday," the snake replied.

"Maybe," Sasuke retorted dismissively before he left.

Manda stared at his back knowing that there would be a time when he would catch him off guard, and when that time comes, he would take his time eating him. However, for the meantime, he'd settle for the sacrifices.

-SasuNaru is love-

As Sakura and Naruto made their way to his room, the latter was completely oblivious to the victory dance the former was doing in her mind. She couldn't believe that her friend fell for that, but then again, this was Naruto. Although guilty, she believed this was for his sake.

"This is my reason," Naruto told her when they reached his table.

Sakura looked down and her emerald eyes widened to see the notes. She looked at the blond then back to the little slips of paper. "What is the meaning of this, Naruto?" she asked, obviously baffled.

-SasuNaru is love-

Sasuke walked along the damp hallway, leaving behind the stench of blood and death that came from the area where Manda would have another batch of his sacrifices. The snake was spiteful, questioning his orders and threatening him, but he was certain that as long as he would meet the number of sacrifices Manda demanded, that the snake would keep his end of the bargain. If only his relationship with Naruto was similar to theirs.

He snorted at the thought. He continued walking, the flickering candles throwing long, eerie shadows all over the place.

"I take it he was satisfied with today's batch," Suigetsu said the moment an emotionless Sasuke joined them.

Sasuke didn't bother replying to Suigetsu's comment while he walked to his seat. He made a move to grab his mug, but realized that it was close to Karin, so he picked the scroll closest to it instead.

He heard Suigetsu snicker and felt the tension between him and Karin go up a notch, very close to the point of exploding. Before a fight would break out, he addressed the kunoichi, "What do you have, Karin?"

The kunoichi suddenly lost all traces of her anger when she heard the question asked in a cool voice. She focused her attention on their leader and adjusted her spectacles, making her look too calculating. "I finally contacted Orochimaru's spy in Konoha. It would seem like Konoha is anticipating your attack by beefing up their defense without it being obvious to the villagers."

Sasuke nodded. He expected Konoha to do so, just as he anticipated Naruto to inform Tsunade about his fake death. Konoha was preparing itself, and although he wished to catch them off guard, he thought this was better.

While the excitement of having a fight hummed in his veins, he couldn't ignore the questions that hammered themselves against his skull, demanding answers. If Konoha was getting ready, why was Naruto not actively participating? Then it hit him. Naruto was. By meeting with him, he was keeping an eye on him at the same time, trying to get information from him. Cold fury settled inside him. Naruto wasn't a calculating person, but he was a shinobi, and as a shinobi, he should accomplish his mission by any means necessary, even if he had to use his body to get it done. He slammed a fist on the table, surprising the other three occupants.

The three looked at their leader who stormed off in the middle of their meeting. Juugo shrugged his shoulders. Suigetsu gave a grimacing smile. Karin readjusted her eyeglasses while she wondered if she said something wrong in her report.

-SasuNaru is love-

When Naruto reached their meeting place, Sasuke was sheathing his sword, ending his little self-training session.

"You're late," Sasuke greeted him. Despite his anger yesterday and the urge to pierce the blond with his weapon, he remained calm. He had no right to accuse Naruto of betraying and using him because he was also guilty of those things. Both of them were using the other.

"I had other things I needed to do aside from meeting you," Naruto retorted.

"If you're busy then why come here at all?"

Naruto wanted to know the answer to that question too. When he didn't reply, the dark-haired missing-nin turned and walked towards their place. "Go home, dobe."

When there was no other set of footsteps echoed after his, sadness gripped Sasuke's heart. The idiot really had gone home. He settled on a mat-covered rock that had become his make-shift seat and carded a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. He let out a long sigh then looked up when he felt another presence in the room. His heart skipped a beat to see him. He hadn't gone home and he was wet. He carried the scent of the heat that rose from the ground at the first impact of rain to the sun-kissed earth.

Naruto who had stood outside until the skies started crying stated with feigned irritation, "It's raining. I can't go home."

Sasuke clicked his tongue, feigning annoyance. "Whatever." He looked away when the blond treaded his fingers through his wet hair before shaking his head, beads of water flying through the air.

Quickly and quietly, Naruto changed his wet clothes to the yukata Sasuke provided for his use. After that he grabbed a cup of instant ramen, took the kettle from the fire it was sitting on and poured hot water into the cup.

When did he start moving around this place so comfortably like he was in his own home?

Dammit!, he cursed. How low could he get?

He looked at his cup of ramen and sighed. This wouldn't do. He always believed that thinking depressing thoughts while eating ramen would be a desecration. So he mentally shook his head to clear his mind before partaking the delicious noodles.

He stopped mid-slurp when he looked up and found his friend staring at him intensely. He swallowed thickly and extended his cup of ramen and chopsticks to him. Sasuke hesitated for a moment before he took what was offered to him. He had one slurp before he returned the cup back to Naruto. He took the noodles yet again when the blond offered it to him. He had another slurp and was about to return it to his friend when the said friend left his place and stood beside him. Without a word, he moved to the side so Naruto could sit beside him.

Side by side, without having any conversation, they shared one cup of ramen, then another until they ended up consuming three cups. Even then, the comfortable silence remained.

Sasuke took a sideway glance at his silent companion. There was no mistaking it. He wanted Naruto to come with him not because he had Kyuubi inside of him, but because...because... How would he explain it? He couldn't explain it in words, and because of this, he would never be able to reach out to Naruto like he wanted to. However, it didn't mean that he would never use Kyuubi if he was ever to be pushed into a corner. He was getting confused because of the person beside him and yet, he couldn't stop himself from seeking him out. There was just something about Naruto that attracted him. He stilled, unable to believe that he was attracted to the blond and yet, it made sense. This need... this desire... He felt these because he was attracted to the blond. He took another glance at Naruto before slowly leaning against him.

Naruto froze when he felt the weight against him then relaxed when Sasuke's warmth started seeping into his clothes. He slightly leaned against him as well, mentally sighing at the peace that surrounded them. If only they could stay like this, but that was a wish that could never be granted. However, they had tonight. Only tonight.

For the rest of the night, they leaned against one another. While this was not their body's most intimate embrace, it was intimate enough to bind the two souls together.

TBC