LACHRYMOSE

(adj.) Tearful or given to weeping.

All thoughts and planning ceased when strong fingers carefully grasped his cold hand, holding with uncertainty. Tentatively, Sasuke turned to Naruto with confusion. The only answer Naruto offered was his body language. Lips were nervously thinned, eyes fanned to avoid confrontation, and a faint trace of pink was visible on the tips of his ears.

With a soft swallow of air, the cold feeling in Sasuke's chest had left after years of getting used to, allowing Naruto's warm heart to comfort his. Sasuke curled his fingers around the hesitant fingers and squeezed, before he knew it, he was falling into something unknown and he was terrified.

"I love you."

There was silence, it rang heavier than any storm, the silence screamed louder than any horror film. Sasuke felt his heart fall and shatter to nothing. The words that escaped him was a taboo that had been too hard to turn away from. Somewhere in Sasuke, he was tired of being used by others, so when Naruto came with selfless heart, he was weak to fight against him since it was strange and foreign for that sort of kindness to pursue him; he simply had no idea how to fend off that sort of approach besides avoiding it.

In conclusion, this was never supposed to happen, the thought of Naruto appearing in his life again had never struck as a possibility, and Sasuke subconsciously allowed the golden man to do as he liked because he'd gone so long without warnings of how dangerous a good person was to his ambitions.

The worst of it all, was the heavy feeling that had wrapped itself tightly with its thorny veins around Sasuke, was gone in an instant. Everything was so confusing, his brain screamed at him to let this pass, because his heart softened when he was near Naruto, his body refused to listen to logic and followed with what felt right.

Sasuke reluctantly looked at Naruto, fear pounded through his heart hotly, he'd never done this before. Confessing anything was out of character for Sasuke, spouting words of love was even rare, taboo almost.

Naruto must have been scared by his words; Sasuke felt fear and relief crawl under his skin. Maybe this was a good thing, this way Naruto might leave without Sasuke having to lift a finger after this.

But then what?

Fear began to rise against relief.

Naruto would leave after the competition, but that would mean Sasuke would lose a useful asset, and the empty feeling threatened to return once Naruto becomes absent in his life again. As strange as it was, Naruto still meant so much to Sasuke even if they never grew up together.

He had already tried to fend Naruto off by forcing a fierce kiss, but it seemed the kiss backfired since it was the push that led to Sasuke's downfall.
When Sasuke brush lips with Naruto, he felt the hot, electric tingles lick down his back; every time he touched Naruto, he would feel it lingering for days; his own skin mourning for the blonde's touch again. Both his body and mind were drawn to the warmth of Naruto's soul from the day he'd met him, when his matured body tasted Naruto's spirit intimately, he wanted to stay moulded with Naruto's soul.

"Sasuke…" Naruto began, unsure what to say to his normally unruffled friend that had just discharged a confession out of the blue. Naruto was simply caught off guard from the raw, desperate declaration, leaving him conflicted and rather unsure.

How did he feel about this?

Happy that Sasuke wasn't just toying with him?

Angry that Sasuke didn't tell him sooner?

Or was this still another trick to toy with Naruto?

Maybe Naruto had taken the wrong approach and had come off as romantic rather than friendly.

Naruto was never good at observation, his skills were otherwise dominant in quick thinking, determination, and optimism which lead Naruto from believing Sasuke had platonic feelings for him since his goal was to rebuild their friendship, there was no plan to extend it to romance. This was not planned or expected, and even Naruto's quick thinking failed to conjure a rational reason for all this.

The feeling in Naruto wasn't negative, on the contrary, it surprised to Naruto to find warm bursts in his chest settle into balls of tingles in his loins. Euphoria filled him, and he couldn't help but share some of Sasuke's feelings. Perhaps, this unnamed feeling Naruto nurtured for Sasuke was romantic, but he wasn't sure it was quite love; he did however, realize his attraction to Sasuke was strong.

Taking a breath, Naruto cleared his confusion and merely gave a coy smile. "Dinner first." Tentatively he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to rid of the sweat beginning to build. He chuckled nervously, his blue eyes averting Sasuke's in bashfulness. No one had ever given Naruto such a passionate confession, it was so different and strange, not that it was a bad thing. "I do feel the same, but not as strong, so…Is it alright if we take this slow?"

The silent sparked enough curiosity in Naruto to risk a glance up to Naruto. Dark eyes were calm, it seemed Sasuke understood where Naruto was coming from and nodded with compliance, but the way Sasuke's eyes had a warm glow in them, something shifted in Sasuke; it was likely for the better too, he could almost spot a genuine smile on Sasuke.

Taking the initiative, Naruto pressed the elevator button. As both waited for an elevator to come, Sasuke finally spoke after prolonged silence. "Thank you."

"For what?" Naruto asked as he took the first steps into the elevator once the doors opened.

"Finding me, for the medicine of course." The ball of warmth pulsed gently in his body when I heard Naruto chuckle under his breath.

Giving a breathy laugh, Naruto shook his head "Don't mention it."

Something about the way Naruto smiled and laughed, gave Sasuke a sense of stability and contentment; although he wouldn't admit it, he enjoyed the sensations Naruto brought to his life. Maybe this time, he'd get to keep this small bit of happiness to himself. And nothing would ruin it this time.

On the way home, Naruto couldn't help but feel a continuous feeling of satisfaction, it must have been Sasuke to induce this. Today was indefinitely a good day, it was established that they were still very close, and the thought of being romantically involved with Sasuke made him giddy, which was a rare sensation nowadays since his childish humor had worn away. It was common for him to feel excited and happy, but giddy was never an appropriate description that described him until today. In the taxi, Naruto was even gifted with wonderful weather. Taking the elevator up, Naruto's cellphone began to vibrate before breaking out in tune to 8 bit music. Taking the call as the doors opened, Naruto attempted to multitask by getting his keys out.

"Naruto Uzumaki here." His hand struggled for the silver key out of the bronze ones, the fear of dropping the set of keys was a risk Naruto preferred avoiding

"That's good to know, it's Neji calling." The voice was silvery and calm, though it sounded mildly worn, like he was tired.

"What's with the call today? Aren't you usually busy during this time? I don't want you to call if you're gonna get in trouble, you sound like you could really use a break." The key slid into its place and Naruto twisted his wrist as he pinched the base of the key. After it clicked open, Naruto was welcomed by cool air as he stepped in, turning on the lights of the room.

"You almost sound like my mother Naruto," Neji's voice became a breathy chuckle, almost husky.

"Currently I'm on my break, and since we haven't discussed moving procedures or time, I thought it'd be a good idea to converse about it since it occurred to me."

Oh Shit. Naruto dropped his keys.

"About that…" Quietly, he dove for the dropped keys and returned them in his pocket. Anxiety crawled its way into Naruto's hands, his back, and his neck.

"Has something come up?" The voice sounded somewhat sterner now with its solid tone, though it could have easily been recognized as concern, but the undertones of the once silky voice, told Naruto otherwise.

"Sort of." The jacket Naruto wore was unzipped and thrown on a chair "Recently, I've gotten together with someone," Naruto use his shoulder to know hold his phone as he tried to get himself a glass of water. "And to be honest, I think it'll go well." Naruto also didn't want Sasuke to get the wrong idea if he found out he was living with Neji who had feelings for him. In fact, Naruto only just realized that was probably why Neji insisted so strongly for him to move in with Neji.

For a moment, Neji didn't reply, didn't mke a noise, not even a sound of breathing, like he was holding his breath in contemplation "…Do you get along with this person?" He asked.

Caught off guard by the question, Naruto struggled to get the right words out "Yeah, I do, he's my best friend, and it's a first for me to feel so light and giddy, it's a good weird feeling, ya know?" Naruto lilted, unable to stop the grin on his face deepening.

"Then I suppose that speaks for itself." Neji lamented with restraint.

Realizing Neji was going through another wave of rejection, Naruto tried to console him. Starting off with an apology, Naruto never wanted to hurt Neji like this, or anyone, "Neji, I'm real so-"

"No need to apologize." He interrupted with firmness. Through the phone, a deep breath was taken. "In a way I was thinking with selfish goals when I offered. I thought if you and I spent more time together, I would've been able to convince you to be mine. It might have happened, but I should have known I never stood a chance when it came to Sasuke Uchiha." Neji admitted "The moment I saw how open and trusting he was to you, I knew deep down this would happen." The guilt in Neji's voice was shaky and regretful, Naruto couldn't bring himself to be angry over this; he understood the feeling of wanting to be with someone, to be willing to make shameful decisions.

"Neji, you're a great person, and you're still my friend. Everyone makes bad choices, it's big of you to admit this to me. So… I forgive you."

The relief from Neji came in heavy waves. "Thank you Naruto. I erm… have to go, my break is ending."

"Just one question."

"Yes?"

"How'd you know it was Sasuke?"

"Being an observant man, I learned you both had strange affections to each other. Of course I knew, I see everything with a truth in it despite the fickleness in reality. Have a good evening Naruto, I'll be seeing you soon, Uzumaki." Neji mused, sounding a bit bitter, but it was overtaken by the sense of humility from him.

"Yeah, goodnight Neji, don't work too hard."

"No promises, though I'll most likely be unable to do so." His voice was light, but sounded cold and hard before the line was cut off.

At first, Naruto had thought Neji was truly at peace with his rejection, but he only realized how sudden and crushing his news was for Neji, only then, did the realization how dreadful his words must have been to his friend. Wishing to take back his words for new ones, Naruto had wanted to call Neji and explain himself, but it wasn't right; Neji needed to be away from Naruto. The blond had caused enough pain, because Naruto truly cared, he forced himself to put away the phone and go to sleep. Apologizing is never enough when it comes to something as complicated as love.

Neji quietly placed his cell on the table in silence. The heartbreak taking place, the quiet offering a lonely solace to him as he accepted the crushing rejection that contracted with every breath. The ruthless pain was cruel, but Neji would not cry, nor would he show such weak feeling because he knew this would fade with time.

The following weeks were progressive and well used despite the absence of Neji whom was working on issue about colour dyes in Italy. Naruto had a fair idea for this sudden decision, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. Sasuke however did not bring the topic up nor took the time to explain Neji's sudden flight; At first, Naruto thought it was because Sasuke simply didn't believe it was Naruto's place to know, but soon realized that Sasuke most likely knew Neji had found Naruto attractive, and had chosen to avoid the topic to protect Neji's pride with how Sasuke steered attention away from his calm friend. Naturally Naruto empathized with the urge to protect friends, so once again, he chose to go against his urge to know and found common ground with silence.

It was just Naruto and Sasuke now.

Not that either objected to that. Despite their clashing personalities and contrasting beliefs, they got along fairly well as they discussed Naruto's rough ideas to scratch a few parts out and think of new ones as they branched out the rough work. Of course, another artist who was coincidently Naruto's friend, was called in by Sasuke for an unbiased opinion of their ideas, and what specific material would be required to achieve their goal. However, this did not turn out as planned since Naruto's friend, Sai, had spent the hour commenting and questioning Naruto's life and occasionally his genitals, which notably made Naruto fluster from his ears.

Sasuke however was rather annoyed with the time that had been lost but couldn't bring himself to interrupt the reconcilement of the two friends, so for a first time in a while, he took a calming breath and found satisfaction in simply listening to their exchange of words; observing the ocean blue eyes light up in excitement and occasionally anger, but always passionate and alive.

When the hour reached its end, Sai's dark eyes dimmed in disappointment as he bid goodbye to leave for his home.

Feeling a bit out of place and uncomfortable with how close Sasuke was, Naruto spoke up in hopes of excusing himself from the building "So I guess we're good for the next week or so. I'm goi-"

"How did you know?" The silky voice echoed, Sasuke's face obscured by his bangs and the shadow it cast itself over his face made it difficult to get a sense of where he was going with his question.

"What? What do you mean by asking that?" Naruto quirked his eyebrow in confusion, completely taken aback by the sudden inquiry.

"How can you tell that I was miserable when we met?" Sasuke asked, his voice rather taut. He'd never told anyone, but Naruto seemed to always see right through him, distinguishing every detail of the loneliness Sasuke held in his heart, which bothered Sasuke immensely.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a softer gaze, but not enough to seem like he was giving him pity or sympathy.

"Your eyes. When we met for the first time, I saw empty grief. This sounds like bullshit, but I swear, somehow I knew we'd be friends. Although we didn't speak at first, I wanted to be your equal. You were popular with everyone, suppose I was hella jealous."

Taking a moment, Naruto paused to look for Sasuke's reaction. His chin was tilted, and his eyes were mildly confused and seemed unsure what to say. Feeling his courage maintain its strength, he continued.

"When I was finally accepted by you, it was the first time I had a friend, a rival, a brother. From that point, every time you hurt I couldn't stand it, because I felt it a little too. So when I turned my back on you, my one and only best friend, I regretted for not confronting you about the misery you had inside you when I knew it was there all this time, I betrayed you for my own selfish reasons because I didn't know your pain. Couple of the girls at the orphanage knew what happened to your family, they gossiped and I overheard about it, I didn't do shit though. At least, not until I lost my godfather."

Sasuke observed the tightened lips of Naruto, the strained eyes and the twist of pain in his expression. Without a word, Sasuke understood that Naruto had indeed suffered through the piercing agony of loss, but that didn't make him feel better; the mere sight of bright eyes losing its glow to grief was disturbing and uncomfortable for Sasuke to witness in Naruto.

"I never knew he was my Godfather until last year. He'd been looking for me desperately, and when he found me, I was already happy with a new family which he couldn't bring himself to rip me away from. Of course, Iruka, my stubborn Dad, wouldn't allow him to disappear out of my life. Instead my Godfather spent time with me every other week. Then, when he had been murdered last year, I was told who he was, and that the closest person to my biological parents were gone. Meaning I lost another part of my family."

"Why did waste your years to find me?" Sasuke found himself asking without proper assessment, he tried his best to hide the quiver and tremble in his tone, hating the idea of sounding vulnerable and weak, but Naruto didn't look at Sasuke in such a way; he gave a warm smile and an honest look with clear eyes.

"I was afraid, the most important person I had met, would still be alone, thinking no one understood or cared enough to stay by his side." With a careful breath, Naruto calmed himself as Sasuke's ebony eyes locked on to his.

"Sasuke, you were the only person who saw me as me. You helped me believe I was worth something, because you didn't reject me. Out of all the others you could have chosen to befriend, it was me. Of course, it's a bit different since we're together." A pleasant smile found its way to Naruto's lips.

"And if we weren't?" Sasuke asked with a low voice, hand slightly shaky as he began to gather the papers they'd been working on, Sasuke avoided eye contact and ignored the knocking of his heart.

Without hesitation or wavering in emotion, Naruto kept his strong, confident tone. "I'd still be here."

Heart picking up, Sasuke's dark eyes seemed empty for a moment when Naruto found them piercing through his own eyes.

"Even if I've hurt hundreds of people? Thrown colleagues away when they were useless to me?" Sasuke wasn't sure at this point where this sudden purge of words were coming from, but he felt emotion fill him suddenly, that he didn't know to stop it.

The unchanging expression of Naruto's seemed to have shifted to something bittersweet, the smile dying down, but not for the reasons Sasuke had thought of.

With a small voice, Naruto answered again "Yes."

"Why?" Sasuke asked with breathy confusion.

"Because our positions could have been easily switched right now. You love me, and I…" Naruto's eyes glanced down before returning with realization "…Love you."

The glow of Naruto's eyes aroused discomfort with how eerily intense clear they were. Somehow by hearing the words, the reality of it had hit Sasuke even harder than he'd expected; being in love was one thing, but to hear the reciprocation of such emotions had an odd way of spreading an unnamed tingle around his chest and stomach. But he wouldn't allow Naruto the last word in this conversation.

"That's presumptuous of you to assume that." Sasuke retorted with clipped words, he wasn't impressed with the stupidity of Naruto's faith in him being in possession of a goodwill. Out of everyone in the world, Sasuke was far from being defined as a saint, or even a decent person. The mere idea of being thought of as a good person made Sasuke feel sick with such a blatant lie. Sasuke had already hurt so many, and lied to many good people; to label himself with another lie would be too much for him. Although his growth in business and personality were based on lies, Sasuke would fully accept himself as an ugly monster that tore at anyone in front of him. When he achieved his revenge, Sasuke would throw himself to the vicious wolves and accept whatever punishment was necessary.

But that wasn't possible with how things looked at the moment.

Not with how Naruto stood in his way. Being with Naruto elevated all dark thoughts that burdened him, the steps weren't as heavy, and subconsciously, he wanted that. Somewhere along his lonely journey, Sasuke desired for a reason to stop his exhausting hunt for revenge, but there was never anyone or anything that ever got close to moving his mountainous, cold, heart.

Now, Naruto had snuck behind him, holding him close, making Sasuke unable to reject him.

Soft chuckling escaped Naruto's soft lips as his warm hand outlined his jaw to his chin "It's not presumptuous if it's the truth." The gentle deep blue of his eyes made Sasuke's resolve quiver. Making his limbs freeze from the idea of rejecting Naruto.

"In fact, I have no doubt you are capable of being a good person, that's why I won't leave your side."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in doubt, lips tightening "Even if I hurt you?"

The soft laughter returned, something sparkled in Naruto's eyes "You can try, but I'm more stubborn than that."

Despite the vague reply, Sasuke found himself sharing the smile. "You're such an idiot."

"An idiot in love with an asshole." Naruto sang teasingly, jokingly leaning in for a kiss, not expecting a kiss at all until Sasuke finished the press of warm lips with his own with a loving nip along the bottom of his lip.

Dark eyes met with shocked blue ones. Sasuke smirked as he found amusement in the red blush that took over Naruto's cheeks, neck and ears.

"I suppose that means you won't leave me to give."

Returning the kiss, Naruto grinned "Not a chance."

Before Sasuke could reply, the sound of What Does The Fox Say began playing from the pocket of Naruto's pocket. As the awkward moment passed, Naruto hastily attended to text back with poorly hidden disappointment. The mood of their moment had died out to which Sasuke found relief.

"Unique taste in music." Sasuke commented, eyebrow quirked slightly.

"It's called artistic taste." Naruto lightheartedly scoffed before flashing a silly grin.

"You call that artistic taste, hmm?"

"You call that a face?" Naruto's eyes glanced at Sasuke's features, admiring the nicely sculpted lips that were tinted with pink.

With confidence "You don't seem to be complaining." Sasuke said. He replied with gentle teasing.

"Shhhh, I can't help it if you're attractive." Blue eyes glittered jokingly with surprising suggestiveness in them.

"Maybe you're right." Sasuke half-heartedly agreed, his tone suddenly neutral.

Unfazed, Naruto rolled his eyes "Maybe I'm always right." Before he began to leave, "Too bad I can't stay, Shikamaru texted me to help get Kiba's dog out of his backyard tree, want to come?"

Opening his mouth to instinctively reject the offer, the benevolent nature of Naruto made him ponder for a moment, he didn't have anything to do, plus he did need to discuss a quick matter of a few yes or no questions with shikamaru.

"Sure."