Hellooooooooo. I'm surprised I'm writing this right now, since I've got had like, no time to spare this entire week. And yet I still manage to get chapters out…-doesn't understand life-. Well this is the fourth installment of the story! And no, it's not the last. And my plot bunnies have been writing away, so now I'm ready to use what they've given me and put it to work! They're starting to grow on me a little…oh! Thank you time! BloodRedAngel808, thanks for the nice first review! I thought it was pretty cute. Now this long lists…-sighs- I can't even complain because I love it so much. –blushes-. Searafina (yea, you may hate me after this chapter…=D…-hides from you-),norway22 (You know Sasuke, he's gotta be the emo queen), MasochistandSadist (aw don't cry! Oh, and theres a point to the song, you'll see why…and yea, make sure you have tissues with you for this one), Akiru chan (Glad I could do a service to Texas for ya, and I made it nice and hot…temp wise, of course ;) haha), Artic0Kitten (Glad that you like it so far, and heres the chap you wanted!), Cierra (I don't think Im one of the best, but thank you for the compliment. And love? –blushes- you're too sweet), a rather slytherin griffindor (…-squirms- I can't promise you won't wanna kill me after this chapter…but you can't because I have a fan club! –hides behind fanclub), Claimed by Insanity (first off, love your name, secondly, Thank you for the venom is my fav song from MCR), Sakurananachan (I love how you make guesses and analyze the things I write, it makes me feel special! ), Naruto-is-life (-blushes deeply- thank you very very much, I don't think I'm as good as most but I try!), Kazanrai (Sorry bout the long wait…-looks to see its only been three days-…haha, that's long for me isn't it? So sad), Tarff (Uhm…-pokes self and blushes- I'm plushy, so I'm human…or a really big teddy bear…I'm no goddess, but thanks for the compliment!), kat10788 (Mexican wave? I wanna learn that! Haha and thank you for the compliment), Exorcist-Miranda (I wish someone would draw that pic too…-sighs-, and Sakura is a very smart cookie), Radar (very nice song, and yea it does work! Haha good work Radar, you sure can pick up on things well…wow I'm so bad at puns –cries and sticks to writing-), zerofangirl (yea, the bite part was my fav to write…=D, and I'm glad you liked the chap because this one you may kill me over…), Moonmoore (don't worry about reviewing! You take care of yourself first, I'd never hold that against you! I'm grateful you even gave me ONE!), Lydia-chan (I don't know if I'll be able to sneak in a Sasuke-saurus in this chap…=(it's going to be a sad one without him), A-Twilight-Storm (I'm glad I could convert you =) It makes me feel happy!), Nana-Riiko (Don't risk your life for me! Silly goose, it'll be there the next day! But thanks), Skele (Thank you very much for that sweet review, I'm glad I could take a usual story line and make it something worth reading!). Thank you SO much for all your reviws! Now I need to go faint, so let's get onto the story!

Warning: Limey goodness with two smoking hot boys? You bet your sweet little bottoms there is! –Blushes and giggles- What can I say, I'm a sucker for sexy men!

Disclaimer: -walks in with a shield and armor- You'll see why I need this later…I don't own Naruto

Heart Rip

You ever wonder why some things happen the way they do? Why something that seems like it should never be changed or altered suddenly gets ripped apart in the blink of an eye? A moment in time that you never want to end, and yet before you realize it, the moment's completely gone? You're haunted forever by that one damn moment, when everything should have frozen, and never moved again. You think and flip and turn every part of the moment around, thinking of what you could have done to keep it with you. To keep that moment going. But it's only a moment.

Heh. I'm getting pretty dark on you, huh? And there's no song today either. I guess that's because I broke the radio and now it won't play me a damn thing. Sakura's quiet next to me, though I know she's watching me. Waiting to see if something happens again. Can't trust someone when they're this upset I bet. It's probably a crime or something to feel this empty. But hey, what do you guys know? You're two days too early. Lets go back to that fantastic moment, shall we?

Let's start with the song.

"I know everything changes

I don't care where it takes us

Cause I know

How I feel

About you!" Hey, I actually make it through a whole ten seconds before Sasuke glared at me in that 'shut the hell up' look! Yay me, it must be rubbing off of his emo ass. I grinned back at Sakura who rolled her eyes at my childish attempts to make cloud turn into a rainbow. Frankly, I see Sasuke committing suicide before he ever decided to be happy. "So Sakura, how far away are we from the casino?"

"Not too far, but we'll have to walk. Sasuke, park the car in this parking garage and we'll just go on foot for the rest." Sasuke nodded and followed her orders while I rubbed my hands together and grinned.

"Alright! Time for the Uzumaki luck to win me some money!"

"Don't you mean, lose your money?" I think he beats up puppies in his spare time. And made babies cry. He seemed to be good at the whole 'I'm an evil jerk' thing.

"I don't care what you say, teme! My family has been playing in casinos since they were first made! They've got the art of dice shaking down to an art I tell you." We moved out of the car once Sasuke parked. I turned to the backseat and helped Sakura get out, spinning her once in her very pretty outfit and heels before dipping her slightly. She laughed and hit my arm while I gave her a charming smile. "It's a beautiful thing having an Uzumaki around."

"For a laugh maybe." I almost dropped Sakura in my need to glare at the dobe. But quickly I pulled her to stand again before turning my burning gaze his way.

"We'll just see whose laughing! I'm going to kick your ass so hard, you're going to be seeing stars!"

"You know, there is a noise violation after a certain time at night. You may wanna turn that megaphone you call a mouth down." Oh he thought he was so cool with his fancy little comebacks. I swung at him, but he quickly blocked my attack and countered it by twisting my arm behind my back, pressing it between our bodies to keep it paralyzed. "Don't try that again, dobe, or else I'll have to embarrass you in front of all of these people."

"Teme…" I growled and tried to flex my arm away from him, but stopped when I heard Sakura giggling. We both looked over to her, watching the laughter tumble from her lips like water. I blinked once before tilting my head. "What's so funny Sakura?"

"You two are cute." My eyes widened while a blush crept on my cheeks. Trying to disperse it, I shook my head quickly.

"N-no way! We're not cute! He's an annoying bastard and I'm a charming stud! Nope, nothing cute about us." Damn I stuttered. It was the teme's fault anyways. He kept touching me all day, and sure most of the time it was because I did something stupid, but…but still! It was making my skin burn. Even though we had been able to uh…'explore' a bit more of the whole kissing thing while Sakura was gone grabbing some womanly stuff from the store (I certainly did not wanna touch that subject with a ten food poll), neither of us went too much farther than that. And then when she did come back, my body was on fire. I couldn't even do a damn thing about it since we had all stayed up late to watch a horror movie marathon. It was the most frustrated and relaxed I had ever been in my entire life. It was driving me up a wall! Not to mention Sasuke acted like he was perfectly fine. My body was practically arching into any touch he was giving me, because he just happened to have the most seductive fingers any bastard has ever had.

Feeling frustrated all over again, I wiggled my arm out from him and pushed him away.

"That's it! We're gonna fight!"

"Don't waste your breath." I was going to go after him again, but something dark caught the corner of my eye. I glanced back to Sakura, who was too engrossed in watching us to notice the man behind her. "Sakura!"

"Huh?" She looked back and screamed at the man behind her. "Get away you creep!"

"Give me your purse lady or I'll shoot you!" But despite the guy's threat, Sakura continued to scream in a pitch that even had me wincing. He jerked back for a second at her scream before lunging again. I moved forward to take care of the guy when a sudden blur of green knocked the jerk into the wall next to us. I blinked on in shock at the kindness of strangers in Nevada, but stopped when I noticed two very familiar fuzzy brows furrowed at the guy.

"Do not try to touch Sakura so familiarly! Or you will have to deal with me!" Ah, flashy as always. I looked at the guy I hadn't seen in several years. Wearing a classic green button up and jeans, Rock Lee had grown up a lot! Well, maybe we all did, but Sasuke and Sakura never left long enough for me to notice any changes. Lee was taller than before, and he had somehow grown into those crazy eyebrows. I think it took Sakura longer than me to figure out who it was, because he cheeks instantly turned pink at the discovery of her savior.

"L-Lee?! What…" Sakura didn't get far before Lee was in front of her, eyes still as adoring as ever when seeing his pink haired crush. Lee had been head over heels in love with Sakura for as long as they had known each other. To him, it was love at first sight. To her, a nuisance that she didn't want to admit she enjoyed. And when he had left Konoha the summer after our graduation, I was pretty sure Sakura missed him more than she realized. Because even if he was a little dramatic, the kid was the most loyal person I had ever met. As soon as he declared his love for Sakura, his eyes never strayed. And even when she hit him or completely denied him, Lee never gave up.

And it seemed, even after all of these years, Lee still hadn't changed.

"Sakura, you are more beautiful than the last time I saw you!" He grabbed her hand in his, looking to the man that scampered away before turning his full attention back to the shocked girl in front of him. "I hope you're okay. The men in this town are truly much more animalistic than any other cities I've been to."

"W-What are you doing here?" Yea, I was a little curious about that too! Lee was certainly not the type to spend his life in a city like Las Vegas. To be honest, I never thought he'd leave Konoha, since it was such a good place to raise a family.

"I'm here with my track team on vacation. Guy-sensei has taken us to Las Vegas in congratulations for our nomination in the 2012 triathlon for the Olympics." Even Sasuke's mouth must have dropped a little at the fact that we were standing with a soon to be Olympian. But really, none of us should have been surprised. Lee was the fastest kid to ever grace the Konoha high school, or even the New England area. And if his training for bicycling and swimming was just as hard as his track training was, there was no doubt in my mine he would win. But the guy said it with such modesty and simplicity that it caught me off guard.

"Lee that's amazing! Good for you bushy brows!" I ran forward and grabbed his hand, shaking it with both of mine and laughing. Lee just smiled and nodded to me. "But where's the rest of your team?"

"Oh! They went to explore their inner youths over there! Where nightly love blossoms into pure contentment! " He pointed to a shady looking building with neon signs of pole dancing women on the windows. How was it that Lee made the idea of strippers seem so innocent?

"Well why didn't you go with them?" I instantly regretted asking when Sakura hit me in the back of the head. I whined and glanced back at her while covering the spot with my hands. Damnit she hit way too hard. "What was that for?"

"Why are you asking such weird questions? Of course Lee wouldn't go in there, he's got some class!" She hissed out while glaring at me. What Lee saw in her I wasn't sure. But even when she glared at me with those evil eyes, Lee's heart was soaring at just seeing her again. He seriously was too romantic for his own good.

"I would never want to waste my time in a place like that, especially when my heart only belongs to one girl." And just like that, the glare from before was replaced with the funniest look of embarrassment that Sakura had ever had. I made sure to keep myself from laughing at how red her cheeks had gotten. Sure Sakura was pretty, and she had gone out with a few guys during the couple years after high school, but she never stayed with them long. And by the way she was acting with Lee, I could tell that the couple years the two had spent apart made Sakura realize what a great guy she had let go.

"I bet you wish you gave him a chance back then, huh?" I nudged her arm and winked, which produced two things. One, was a huge difference in her blush. Two…

"I'm going to kill you Naruto!!" I screamed (you'd scream too if you saw the muder in her eyes) and ran like hell around Sasuke and Lee. She easily caught up to be, and I ended up with two more bumps on my head before Lee finally helped me out in pulling the vicious girl away from me.

"It's nice to see you've still stayed the same cute girl as you were in high school Sakura!" I watched the anger seem to blow out of her ears while Lee complimented her. Oh, we were so keeping him around for the rest of the night!

"Hey Lee! Since your group is out getting laid or whatever, you want to hang out with us? I'm sure Sasuke and Sakura wanna catch up with you too. We're heading over to the Hard Rock casino to play some slots and stuff."

"Sure, I'd love to join my friends." Lee's smile still practically sparkled when he shined it, but it seemed to make Sakura a lot more embarrassed than annoyed. It was nice to see how much Sakura had grown up. Instead of clinging onto the fact that Lee wasn't the most handsome man on the planet, Sakura was seeing the inside Lee that was extremely caring and nice. It was about time Sakura saw the truth behind the brows!

I let the two walk ahead of me and Sasuke, watching how eager Lee was to talk to Sakura. She tried to play off his compliments with waves of her hands and rolls of her eyes. Still, her blush was very evident. I felt better knowing that Sakura was going to have just as much fun tonight as I planned to have. After all, it was Vegas right? And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

I was so preoccupied with my ideas of the mischievous things I could get into, that I didn't even notice the two naughty things that were now trying to catch my attention.

"Hey there blondie." I blinked once and stopped, looking around me in confusion. Finally I noticed two girls leaning against a pole in front of me and Sasuke. The other two moved away from us, too busy flirting to noticed we stopped. Neither girl had much clothing on, and they seemed to know it from the way the slid their fingers along their exposed thighs. I blushed a bit at the sexual message they were sending me. It's the damn thighs I tell you! God made those things to be the demise of men! "You wanna come hang out with us?"

"Uh…no thanks, I'm kind of broke," I said, laughing while scratching the back of my head. I really was, since Sasuke was practically paying for the night on the town. Me and Sakura weren't rich like him, and had an entire trip back to Mass to think about.

"Oh that's okay." The other girl licked her lips in a way that would have made most men cave. Since I was kind of batting for both sides at the moment, it didn't affect me as much. "We'd do you for free."

"And if you want, we'll even do it together, sweetie pie." I felt myself grinning stupidly at the idea that I had caught two girls without even doing a damn thing! And especially since Sasuke was standing right next to me, glaring at the girls, made the whole thing so mu—

Wait. I knew that glare. He was using the Uchiha glare on a couple of girls he didn't even know? I wanted to laugh at him, but when I felt an arm snake around my waist and pull me away from the girls, I couldn't speak. I could blush though, which I did immensely as Sasuke dragged me from the corner and toward the casino, glaring back at the girls once before looking forwards again.

"What the hell teme?! I was talking to them!"

"Hn."

"Don't you get pissed off because they liked me better, you jealous bastard." He sent me a look before stopping in front of the hotel to face me. I felt his hand slide from my back to the side of my hip, but he didn't let go. Instead, his hand gripped my side in a way that sent a heavy heat through the lower half of my body. I had to keep my leg from twitching at the feeling.

"You don't want girls like that to like you, idiot."

"W-What?! Why not?"

"Do I need to explain everything to you?" I stared at him with a 'duh' look on my face. Sure I could understand the Uchiha logic at times, when I was lucky and there was a blue moon out. Otherwise, Sasuke was about as easy to read as Chinese instructions.

"They're just girls."

"Number one, you don't know what types of diseases they're carrying. Two, if you do get one pregnant, you're stuck with them for 18 years. And three—" I yelped when he jerked me forward, but I had to bite my lip quickly to keep myself from moaning. His body was pressed against mine in a way I knew the bastard had intended. I squirmed a bit to try and get away, but the sensation of my body rubbing against his was definitely not helping anything. I couldn't take my gaze away from his narrowed eyes, so I quickly glared back to keep from seeming affected by his body. Because the shivering wasn't giving it away or anything. "I said so, dobe."

"T-That's not a reason you idiot!" Still, it seemed that my body agreed with him. I certainly didn't need those girls at the moment. Because if I had a choice between the both of them or the bastard in front of me, it wasn't really much of a contest. I hated the fact that I knew that almost as much as knowing he knew that too. The smirk on his face showed just how confident he was in his attractiveness. Asshole.

"Hey guys, are you planning on coming inside soon?" I jumped and shoved away from Sasuke, stumbling back to catch myself from falling on my ass in the middle of the sidewalk. I nodded my head quickly so I could hide the blush from Sakura and Lee, who had come back from inside of the casino. The pink haired girl glanced between us before smiling. "If you're done I mean."

"Course we're done! Why wouldn't we be?!" I laughed a little too much to be normal and moved toward them, not looking back at Sasuke as I went. Her smile didn't falter as she walked next to Lee, her arms wrapped gently around one of his own arms when we entered the casino.

And boy was the place huge! There were lights and sounds coming from every direction. I felt like I was in a disco ball filled with people, all of who were either extremely attractive or extremely wealthy. And since I was broke, I guess that made me the sexy one. It was pretty hot in the place, especially with everyone crammed together at the tables while playing Poker or Craps.

We spent a lot of our times hanging around the slot machines because they were less crowded. Sasuke (of course) and Lee were extremely lucky for beginners. They didn't win millions, but they sure as hell didn't lose any. Sakura had stopped playing a while ago and was content on watching us all try to win some money. In fact, she even hugged Lee when he won 200 bucks. I think he enjoyed the hug more than the money, because he didn't even pick up the coins until after Sakura had let go of him. Then she blushed when she realized what she had done, and the winnings for the two guys continued. Me on the other hand…

"What?! No! I don't want a bar, I wanted an orange! An or-an-ge!" Okay, so orange didn't have three syllables, but I wanted to make my point clear to the god damn machine that was blinking at me like an idiot. I growled and then pouted, crossing my arms to keep from breaking the machine. That was the last thing that I needed to do when I was losing as much as I was.

"What happened to your luck?"

"Shut it teme." He smirked and turned back to his machine, after getting a winning spin. Oh, and do you know what he won with? A friggen orange! Someone up there really didn't like me.

"Hey guys, why don't we go grab a table and have some dinner, okay? These games are mostly rigged anyways!" Sakura patted my back when another losing spin came up, my spirit sinking down the tubes with it. I nodded and moved from the evil slot machine, letting Sakura lead me to the dining part of the casino. The food was actually pretty cheap considering it was Las Vegas, and it was set up more like a diner than a fancy restaurant. We were even able to get burgers and fries, and sit in a booth! I was seriously starting to enjoy Las Vegas.

"So tell us Lee, where do you live now?" I asked, munching on one of my French fries while I spoke.

"Naruto, don't talk with food in your mouth," Sakura scolded me like a mother does their three year old son. So keeping character, I stuck my tongue out at her once I was sure there was no food left on it.

"Well I had to live in Italy for a little while in order to increase my running skills. They have beautiful mountains there, and it was truly amazing. Then Guy-sensei had me go to Russia to train with the best swimmers than he knows! Once I spent about a year there, I came back to America to meet my team and start to practice with them. It was all very exciting, but I'm glad that I'll be able to come home soon." Instantly Sakura perked up at the information.

"You mean Konoha? You're coming home soon?" He glanced to her and gave another million dollar smile. Really, the kid should have been a toothpaste commercial guy instead of an Olympian.

"Guy-sensei has decided to finish our training at home. I'm going to be coming home in about two weeks once our vacation is over," Lee replied, nodding.

"That's great! Me and Naruto will be home by then. I'll have to get everyone together to throw you a welcome home party." She giggled and Lee's face immediately brightened by her suggestion.

"Thank you very much Sakura! Anything given by you is a very great present." Lee hadn't changed one bit from the boy who left his heart in Konoha with an unknowing pink haired girl. But now that he was back, he was sure making it clear to her. Suddenly, the conversation shifted when Lee glanced to an extremely quiet Sasuke. "But, if I may ask, why is Sasuke not coming home with you?"

"Oh, we didn't tell you huh?" I laughed and leaned closer to the table when Lee shook his head. "He's the whole reason we're on this trip."

"Yea, Sasuke applied for a job and he got it. He had to move to Cali to keep it, and we wanted to make our last couple days together something for him to remember. So Naruto came up with this plan, and here we are! We're planning on bringing him over to his apartment tomorrow." Suddenly, everything stopped for me. Luckily I didn't have anything in my hands, or else I would have dropped it. The word 'tomorrow' resonated so loudly in my head that I closed my eyes to try and shake it off. What was the matter with me? But opening my eyes to stare down at the table, I already knew.

Sasuke was really leaving. This wasn't some messed up dream that I had created just to see what I would do. There was no joke behind it, nothing to just fall back on and make everything return to normal. We were really going to be separated. I grabbed my knee to keep my hand from fisting over my heart. It really hurt now. I could hear Sakura and Lee talking; Lee's excited congratulation being faintly answered by Sasuke. Still, they all sounded like a blur to me. Like I couldn't focus, even if I wanted to. My stomach was churning in a sickening feeling, as if rocking on a boat at sea. I felt disoriented and out of control until something cold pressed against my forehead. Suddenly the reality of the world came rushing back to me and I looked up to see three pairs of eyes on me. The coldness I felt was Sasuke's knuckles pressed to my head, though not enough to actually hurt me.

"Dobe." He was concerned. Even if he didn't show it, I could just feel it now. He wanted to know what I was thinking about and why I was acting the way I was. And since I didn't have an answer for him, I pushed his hand away and grinned.

"Sorry, I was thinking of the victory dance I was going to do once I unloaded you onto someone else's shoulders. I've been carrying you sorry ass for too long now. I'm beat." I pretended to yawn to emphasis my point and hopefully convince at least two of the people at the table I was telling the truth. I already knew Sasuke wouldn't believe me. "Speaking of being tired, we better get going to the hotel. We've got lots to do tomorrow."

"I guess you're right," Sakura said slowly, taking the last swig of her soda before standing up. Immediately she stumbled, Lee being quickly to steady her. She gave him a thankful look before glaring down at her shoes. "I should have known not to wear heels."

"I'll assist you Sakura!" And like a knight in shining armor, Lee lifted Sakura bridal style and carried her toward the door. Many of the restaurant workers giggled at the 'cute couple', Sakura blushing and yelling for Lee to put her down. The happy boy ignored her as he whisked her out of the café, like prince charming riding off into the sunset. Well, minus the sunset and white horse.

"They're pretty cute together, huh? Someone should just get them to date before it eats the two alive," I said, looking back at the quiet boy next to me. He nodded, not seeming to be talkative. Then again, when is he? So we walked out of the café in silence once we (as in Sasuke) took care of the bill. It was strange how easily we fell into this odd silence, especially after all the years we had spent fighting. "Sasuke…"

"What?" He glanced over to me, stopping outside of the restaurant. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, what was going on in that big head of his, but refrained when I heard Sakura call out to us.

"Guys! Guess what?!" We both glanced over to her, and the now barefoot girl stopped in the middle of her walk towards us. She stared for a few seconds, an unreadable look in her eyes while she continued to watch us. Did she expect us to move? Wasn't she the one who was telling us something? Well whatever she was thinking about passed before she smiled again, much bigger than before. It almost looked fake. "…Lee said he's going to show me his hotel suite he got, and he's going to introduce me to some of his friends when they get home. And don't worry about me getting home; Lee said he'll bring me back later. But you two better go home and rest, especially you Sasuke! You're driving tomorrow." She waved once to us before moving back toward her waiting love sick puppy, who seemed confused. The two talked for a bit, Sakura shaking her head a few times from what I could see. But the conversation ended quickly, and pretty soon Lee was giving the swollen girl's feet a rest by giving her a piggy back ride back to his hotel.

"Well that was kind of rude. They didn't even as if we wanted to come!" I said, crossing my arms.

"Hn." He didn't wait for me as he turned and walked back toward the parking lot. I blinked and ran after him quickly, the silence retuning with a vengeance. You wouldn't believe how far it followed us! It chased us into the parking lot, followed us down the streets of Las Vegas to the hotel, hounded us in the elevator, and practically mauled us when we walked into the room. But luckily, it gave up and slowly retreated once I fell back onto one of the beds.

"Man, this place is friggen awesome. Could you imagine actually living in a city like this?" He shrugged and moved over to his suitcase, starting to pull out the necessary things he needed for bed. A toothbrush, toothpaste, and a new set of pants to sleep in. I watched him move to the bathroom, slightly blushing when I heard the water running before turning my head up toward the ceiling. I didn't know why I got like that whenever I heard him turn on a shower, but it was not comfortable to say the least. So trying to block out the noise, I rummaged through Sakura's stuff and grabbed her IPod, flipping through her songs and listening to some extremely loud music. And know what I realized? Paramore was not a good band to listen to when you didn't want to think about the guy you liked. Especially their song, 'adore'. I recommend not doing that.

My eyes were closed, and I would have fallen asleep to the music if not for a sudden drop of water on my face. Peeking one of my eyes open, I nearly jumped from the bed when a half naked Sasuke appeared in my view. He must have taken it the wrong way, because he rolled his eyes and stepped back from me while I pulled the earpieces out.

"Stop the dramatics dobe, I'm not ugly. Go take a shower, you stink." I glared while he moved to his bed, bending a bit to do something. The dark blue sleep pants slid tighter against his ass while he fiddled with the sheets. Not that I was looking!

…alright, so I glanced.

….a lot.

Whatever, you would too!

"Hey! I don't smell." I was a little late with my comeback. He turned to me and sighed.

"You may not think that odor coming from you is gross, but I do." I scoffed at his insult, but grabbed some clothes for the shower anyways. Might as well, since my little 'friend' was going to need some cool water to help make it settle down. I glanced over to him as I moved into the shower, but moved my gaze away when I found him watching me leave. It was only then I realized how truly alone we were. It was enough to keep my body aroused even when I kept the water freezing. I ignored the need to get rid of my issue and scrubbed my body clean, disregarding the fact that the last time I had showered, Sasuke had been with me. I wondered if he thought of it too when he took his shower.

I came back out with a pair of boxer shorts and a white beater that I knew was going to get too hot to wear by the end of the night. I didn't care as I jumped back onto the bed I was on before, scrubbing my hair with my towel. Or I was, until a pair of hands moved over mine and caused my actions to stop. I didn't raise my head, closing my eyes halfway as I stared at the flat stomach in front of me. Really, this kid was too sure of himself. Sure he knew martial arts and could kick the crap out of people, but he was still skinny. If a fat guy came along and was hungry, he'd be toast.

But when I felt his hands hit mine away from the towel, I moved away from the disturbing fight to enjoy the slow motions of his fingers. Even while he dried my hair, he scoffed.

"You idiot. You keep doing it that way, and you'll be bald by the time your 25." The towel kept my blush hidden from him while I growled.

"Shut up idiot, at least I dry my hair. People get sick and shit from sleeping with wet hair."

"That's in the winter."

"Oh…" I could almost feel his smirk, and I jerked my head up to glare at him. The towel slipped from his fingers and fell to the bed next to me, but I didn't care. I stared up at his impassive face, and the conversation from dinner hit me hard. Tomorrow…

Tomorrow was the last time I'd see this face. Well, maybe not the last time, but it'd be like Lee. We'd happen to pass each other when he was home and I wasn't working. He'd change completely without me knowing, while everyone in California got to see him. It would be like we weren't even best friends anymore. I didn't want that. I wanted to keep Sasuke. Screw his apartment, and screw his dad (I'd make it up to his dad by keeping his son happy), and screw this job he didn't even want. All he really needed was me and Sakura and his family. And we were all back at home. Not in Cali. I wanted to say it. I could feel my mouth open and the words bouncing in my stomach.

"Sakura wants to help you unpack." But that was what I came up with. His fingers were still in my hair, and I could tell by the way he remained unresponsive that he already knew that.

"Hn." But he still humored me with a response. I felt extremely annoyed with the idea suddenly.

"I don't."

"Fine."

"I don't want to drive with you there."

"I don't need you to."

"I don't want to see your face in the morning when you leave."

"You don't have to wake up."

"I don't want to say goodbye." He stopped at this one. I felt something flare up inside of me, and I realized it was hope. But what did I expect? Sasuke to randomly quit his job and come home to me? We weren't even sure if we liked each other. Hell half the time we fought and argued.

But wasn't that what made us so right together? Because we didn't give a damn about hurting each other? I knew that Sasuke could be an ass, and I told him. He knew I was an idiot, and he said it every chance he could. I thought about every girl that had ever liked him. If he so much as ignored them, they would break down. Sasuke wouldn't waste his time with someone like that. That wasn't what he needed. He needed someone who was going to hear what he demanded, grin like an idiot, and do exactly what he didn't want. That was what he needed.

"Then don't open your mouth." I grabbed his wrists and pulled him down to me, not caring I had submitted before him in this stupid game we were playing. My mouth sought his, and quickly explored the soft canvas with my tongue. He didn't remain responsive for long, not that he could. I knew my tongue was starting to learn the special ways to get Sasuke to participate. So when I forced my way into his mouth, he immediately went on the defensive. After all, an Uchiha could never be dominated by an Uzumaki, now could he?

He pushed me back on the bed, and I sunk my nails into his wrists to show the action was not appreciated. He actually scoffed into our kiss before deepening it. Bastard. I pulled his lower lip between my teeth, not biting but holding while my tongue traced along it. Our eyes stayed half open and locked during this, his hand shaking my hold to slide it against my shirt. We both stopped, his fingers freezing when they met the tanned skin underneath the shirt. This wasn't like the bathroom or the kitchen, or anything else we had. We were fully aware of where this was going, and how far depended on us and not when Sakura popped out of the shower. If I wanted this to last all night, I could. Well no, I doubt I could, because our bodies were like an oven with the heat of pent up anticipation. Slowly I released his lip from my mouth in favor of kissing him again. I closed my eyes completely as I felt his hand wander up my shirt, shivering in excitement of feeling his hands touch my skin. Still the kiss was soft, as if any pressure would break the moment between us. And neither one of us could handle that.

I didn't wait for his hand before mine were roaming his skin, easily flicking one of my thumbs against his nipple. I moaned uncaringly when his hips finally connected with mine, the friction seeming to resume from our kitchen escapade. I arched my back when his slim digits found my hardened nub, circling around the coarse skin once before flicking it. I hissed a bit into the kiss at the painful pleasure, bending my knee to get a better rhythm between our hips. Both hands trailed up my sides to pull my shirt up, and I laughed despite how totally arousing it was to have someone else undressing me. He sent me a glare and I shrugged.

"I'm ticklish, asshole." He rolled his eyes and pulled the shirt over my head, tossing it next to my towel before leaning down to pull the exposed skin of my neck into his mouth. I wanted to moan at the sensual touch, but I was already making an incoherent noise from the feeling of his fingers pulling at my boxers. My breath hitched slightly before I grabbed his hand. Again, I got a glare.

"What?" He got kind of crabby when he was horny.

"This doesn't mean I'm coming tomorrow." He didn't bother to answer before his mouth dipped onto my nipple, sucking once and flattening his tongue against it. That time I did moan, because a slender hand had snuck into my boxers and wrapped my cock tighter than a Christmas present. My lips parted in silent need while I tossed my head back on the bed, closing one eye at the pleasure that ran through my body. What the hell was he doing that was making this so hot? Was it because I hadn't done shit in a while? His teeth nipped at my nipple softly and I could already feel the cum surging inside of me.

No way in hell was I going to cum before him.

"Fuck this." I shoved hard on his chest and switched positions, almost whimpering when his hand was jerked away from my body from the movement. Damn, the sacrifices I make for pride. But seeing the slightly startled look (and I use slightly as in, you need a microscope to see it) in Sasuke's features made the pain worth it. I grinned in my typical fashion, but wasted no time in listening to his complaints while I jerked his pants down from his body. Screw the playing around, that was his forte. So I pressed my hand against his throbbing cock and watched the prideful Uchiha glare at me through foggy eyes. I rolled my thumb along his tip and leaned down, licking my name along his stomach with the tip of my tongue. His face flushed in pleasure before leaning back away from my sight. Feeling more confident than even, I dipped my tongue into his bellybutton while pumping his shaft in short, solid trusts. His hips trembled for a second but stayed still, and it dampened my mood a bit. I wanted to make the Uchiha squirm.

I leaned down to bite his thigh, just enough pressure to make his hips jerk from reflexes. But once Sasuke felt how good it was to thrust into my pumping hand, I could tell it was much harder for him to sit still. As it was his breathing had increased, and his thighs quivered. So even the Uchiha had a breaking point. And I tested it by dipping my mouth down to suckle the tip of his cock while I stroked him. The reaction was another jerk of his hips and a muffled moan that escaped. The sound was arousing enough to make my hips grind into the bed to give myself some pleasure while I sucked him. I parted his legs wider while I stroked with my mouth, not completely sure if I was doing it right. Wasn't every day you did stuff like this. So I felt some relief in knowing he liked it when his hips strained to get closer to my mouth.

He was panting now, and I could see through slit eyelids that he was pushing himself to rest on his elbows. I forced myself to open my eyes completely when he looked down at me, smirking a bit at the flushed look on his pale cheeks. I panted a bit around his cock when my jaw cramped, licking the slit of his tip to keep him from losing interest. His fingers were tight in the bed sheets, but he didn't speak as he watched me perform. It was strangely erotic, knowing that something as submissive as giving head was actually the dominant part of the two. Because I had control over when he came, not him. I could make him cum now, or keep going at this for hours. And as tempting as that sounded, we truly had no clue when Sakura was going to be back. Damn, she put a timer on us again without even knowing it.

So I returned to my task, quickly picking up the pace I had left off at. He winced from the sudden start, but I knew it was pleasure and not pain. I drew my eyes from him to focus on the sudden increase of his throbbing. I dipped down lower and sucked hard, and suddenly Sasuke tensed under me. I smirked at how poorly he did with controlling his hips, which continued to jerk and squirm closer to me. But to my disappointment, the idiot didn't say my name! He cocked his head back and gritted his teeth, but he didn't make a god damn nose. That stupid prick. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and pulled back from him, finally attempting to catch my breath.

The idea lasted for about five seconds until I found myself on my back, arching into the questing mouth that found my completely aroused member. I bit my knuckles to keep from moaning, trying to starve off the noise the same way he did. But the bastard was good at this, from sucking on lollipops or whatever, because his tongue flicked my slit in a way that sent my back flying into an arc. I panted and struggled to get closer to him, desperate to find the release I had been dying for. My body was white hot in need, and almost shaking from the force of feeling his fingers curl around my thighs and keep them parted while he sucked. He didn't even the friggen hand like I did, his mouth was only going halfway and it was still better than any masturbation I had done.

And before I could stop myself, I fell over the edge. My orgasm was harsh and sudden, completely submerging me in white while I struggled to breath. Something moved the blockage from my mouth and air filled my lungs completely, hips jerking mindlessly in need. I wasn't sure if I called his name or not. I knew I said something, but the pleasure blocked my senses. So when I came back down from my high, I weakly opened my eyes to stare up at the ceiling above me. My knuckles hurt, and I realized I had left them in my mouth during my orgasm. That had been what was blocking my mouth. Sasuke must have realized it because there was no way in hell I was connecting those dots during that climax.

"Hah…" I wheezed out, my body too tired to move. So much for those showers we took. We'd have to take another set before Sakura came home. But when I felt Sasuke slide next to me, my body worked on its own. My arms slid around his body, jerking him closer and mumbling some excuse about 'warmth' in the middle of the summer in Nevada. Sasuke didn't protest though, just ran his fingers through my mop of hair before yanking the sheets over us. Sakura passed my mind for a second, but leaving Sasuke was not an option at this point. I closed my eyes softly, feeling a gentle pressure on my forehead before I smiled and succumbed to the sleep my body needed.

Of course when I woke up, Sasuke wasn't in bed. The clock read 7am, which seemed impossible since there was still no sign of Sakura to be found. Sasuke looked showered and completely refreshed, eating some type of cereal in the kitchen. I mumbled something even I wasn't sure of before dragging myself to the shower. By the time I had showered and redressed, any trace of last night was gone. The sheets were taken by the laundry lady, and both beds were made up nicely. It should have felt strange sitting with Sasuke at the table, but it didn't. Actually, it felt kind of nice compared to how many awkward silences we had the night before. Even though breakfast was quiet, it didn't stop me from realizing what today was.

"What time are we leaving today?" He arched an eyebrow and looked up at me. "What?"

"Thought you weren't coming." I had said that, hadn't I? I sighed and stirred my spoon in my cereal.

"I guess you're worth the time. But don't expect me to come inside. I don't wanna see it." Meaning I didn't want to see Sasuke's new home. Away from me. I stabbed a bit into my cereal before shoving it into my mouth. He watched me before shaking his head.

"Your manners are truly disgusting."

"Says you." I swallowed what was in my mouth, taking a swig of my orange juice and looking up to him. I didn't get much father because he had leaned over the table to kiss me. It wasn't like the night before at all. It was small, soft, and completely pointless…unless you were so infatuated with this guy that your toes curled under your kitchen table because of it. I didn't have time to even respond before he pulled away, licking his mouth once. Then he stood up and walked to the sink to clean his bowl before cleaning the dishes. It was the first time we had used dishes, since Sakura never had time to get plastic ones. Well, Nevada was just a bunch of firsts for everyone, huh?

"Apple juice is better for you, dobe." I stared at him while he continued to clean his stuff. I felt completely lost with his actions. Did he want me to say something about apple juice or the kiss? Luckily, I didn't have to chose because Sakura and Lee came stumbling into the suite at that time. Sakura was in a new pair of clothes and looked completely refreshed. Damn, and I thought I was the morning person in the group. These two looked like poster children! Well, at least until you got to…

"Is that the hickey on your neck?" Sakura's eyes widened as I pointed out the blemish just on the side of her neck. I laughed at how quickly her face flushed. Truth be told, Sakura had never been one to step out of line. So seeing her with a hickey was quite a sight.

"Lee!" Sakura snapped, looking to her adoring lover.

"It's a symbol of youth Sakura! We should be happy." Lee was still spewing that youth shit even now. It was funny how some things never changed about a person. Like Sakura's violent temper, or her need to always take it out on me even when I wasn't the one who gave her the god damn hickey to begin with!

So now the four of us drove toward California, Lee wanting to say a proper goodbye to Sasuke. We talked and laughed during the ride, but for me it was fake talk. If anyone asked me what the conversations were, I had no clue. The only things I clicked in on were the time measurements. Three hours. Two. Hour and twenty minutes. Forty five. Thirty two. Seventeen. Eight. Just up the street.

Here.

"Oh wow Sasuke! This place is amazing! There's a pool in the back too? You are so lucky!" Sakura's giggles were annoying to me. I just wanted her to stop and realize what this all meant. I stayed silent in the passenger seat until Sakura kicked the chair a bit. "Naruto let me out."

"Oh, sorry." I really wasn't. But I helped her out and waiting till Lee was out before shutting the door behind me. I stared at the passenger seat for a bit before looking over the car to see Sasuke grabbing the bag he'd been using for the trip. I knew everything else was already in the apartment. He shut his door loudly, and Sakura's mindless chatter seemed like a foreign language at the moment. I stared at the apartment, which looked like a mini house, and narrowed my eyes. It had nothing on home.

"Are you sure you don't need help unpacking? I'm sure we wouldn't mind helping you out." I looked back to the three who stood near the steps of the house. Sasuke shook his head once, and Sakura sighed. The tears were visible in her eyes even as she smiled, hugging him tightly and mumbling her goodbyes. Lee and Sasuke shook, Lee saying some speech about being prosperous and fortunate. By now Sakura was crying, and I winced when I realized that she was just as upset as everyone. And here I was, thinking I was the only one who was hurt. I'm sure nobody wanted him to leave, but they didn't want to hold him back either.

It hurt to know what I had to do. But Sasuke was my best friend, and I would rather see him do what he wanted then do what I needed him to. So taking a deep breath, I jogged over to stand in front of him and smiled. He stared at him in the same stoic face that he used every day. It hurt a bit to know that even now he couldn't smile, but I shrugged it off. Holding my hand out, I forced the hardest words from my mouth.

"Well teme, guess this is goodbye." Again a blank stare and no response. My grin was slowly lost as I stared at him, feeling completely confused. What the hell was his problem now?

"Hn." My eyes widened as he tossed the keys at me, narrowing his eyes. "Don't scratch that car."

"I-" But he was already inside of the house, slamming the door in my face. I waited for him to come back out for at least five minutes. I knew it was at least that long, maybe longer since Sakura and Lee started to make up excuses as to why he was like that. Because I was his best friend, and it was hard. Because he was stressed and didn't know how to respond. Because he was sad that he was leaving. No matter what they said, I didn't care. I just wanted him to say goodbye.

After I spent all those weeks in a smelly car with him. After I got beat up for him. After I made out with him in some hotel shower. After giving up a three some. After giving him a god damn blowjob! He didn't even have the decency to say goodbye? To say he was upset too, and he was going to miss me? I said the one thing I told him I didn't wanna say to make him feel better and he slammed a door in my face! What the hell was wrong with him?!

And…it was then I realized how much Sasuke meant to me. I loved him. I wanted to deny it at first; because it's not every day you fall in love with your best guy friend. But remembering the kiss he gave me in the kitchen, on the forehead before I fell asleep, and knowing how much more they had affected me than the careless ones I'd swapped between people before, made me cave. I loved Uchiha Sasuke. And he didn't love me. I wanted to throw up right there. I didn't want to move because I was scared if I did, I'd break down. Everything came at me so fast, I felt lost in a whirlpool.

How I ended up in the car and driving, I wasn't sure. Sakura was next to me, shifting a bit in silence while I stared at the road in front of me. We were still in California, I could tell by the fancy street signs. We were out of Los Angeles though, more toward a rural area with not as many cars and people. There was no city life to make background noise for us. There was no city at all. Which meant there was no Sasuke.

"Hey, I know. We can listen to your CD now!" Sakura nodded and threw on the radio, pressing the play button for the CD. Since we hadn't touched the CD since Sasuke shut it off in Nevada, the song picked up where it had left off. I didn't sing.

Can we bring yesterday back around?
'Cos I know how I feel about you now
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down
But I know how I feel about you now

Not a day pass me by
Not a day pass me by
When I don't think about you

And there's no moving on
'Cos I know you're the one

And I—

I slammed my hand hard into the radio, the song coming to an abrupt stop. I broke the radio. I didn't give a damn. I just wanted the song to end.

"Na-Naruto!" I jerked the car to the side of the road, slamming hard on the brakes and stopping in a pile of dust. I let go of the wheel to smash my hands against the steering wheel, ignoring the loud blaring of the horn to press my forehead against the top of it. The same forehead Sasuke had kissed last night. The same one he'd never kiss again.

"Damnit! Damnit!" I continued to hit my hands against the wheel, not caring how pathetic I looked in front of them. Let them know I was in love with Sasuke, I didn't care anymore. What difference did it make now that he had walked out of my life for a god damn job? A job he didn't even want to begin with!

"Naruto stop! Please!" Sakura's arms were around me now, hugging me as tightly as she could. My body was shaking so bad, it affected the strength of my voice. Not like it mattered, since it cracked through the tears behind my eyelids.

"Why me Sakura? Why do I even give a damn about him? He just stood there…he just let me walk away! Didn't even say goodbye! Didn't…didn't even try to make me stay…why do I still wanna go back to that…that asshole! I should kick his ass! Stupid teme! Stupid stupid teme!" She stayed quiet, her gentle hand soothing my back while she pressed her forehead against my temple. I opened my blurry gaze to stare at how tightly my fists were clenched. I only had to blink once to feel the tears slipping down my cheeks.

"Because…you love him, Naruto." She spoke it as if she was my heart. How stupid does that sound? But it was true. I swallowed the sob into my mouth as I let her hold me, my body no longer in control of my tears. I knew Lee sat quietly behind us, and it was nice to know at times he wasn't so happy. Because that meant I didn't have to always smile either, ya know?

I'm not sure how long I stayed in Sakura's embrace. It felt like forever. For once that entire day, I was glad that Sasuke wasn't there. How pathetic would I have looked to him, sitting in the car he got me and bawling my eyes out in front of Sakura and Lee? No wonder he didn't want to stay with me! I finally got a hold of myself after picturing how Sasuke would mock me, as if trying to prove to my own illusion that I wasn't weak. We dropped Lee off at his hotel, the two sharing an intimate moment that I couldn't even bare to look at. I had to turn my head when they leaned in to kiss. She came back with a piece of paper, which I assumed had Lee's new address and phone number, because her cheeks were that love-sick pink I had experienced only hours before. But as soon as she entered the car, she slipped the paper into her pocket and grabbed my hand with her own before starting to direct me away from the memories.

We were somewhere in Colorado, I think. Sakura had told me to go this way, since it would take less time than going back through Texas. Honestly I think she was doing it for my own sanity. I'd have to thank her later for it. I stared down at the gas tank, which said we'd need to fill up soon or else we'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that'd be better than going home, but I had Sakura to think about. She was still holding my hand, and the touch shook me down to the bone. She had watched me fall apart and hadn't left me. She really was an amazing best friend.

I continued to drive along with Sakura, heading home. And yet, even with her warm hand in mine, and my entire life waiting for me at home, I felt alone.

Because my heart had been ripped to pieces on a California driveway.

Okay…so you all understand my disclaimer now….-hides- I'm sorry! It had to be done! I feel horrible too! BLAME THE PLOT BUNNIES!! My poor baby Naruto. But I hope that you all didn't get too upset…well I mean the writer side of me does because that was the point. But the Niki side of me doesn't! It wants to cry with you! So no, Naruto is not moving to Cali. In fact, Sasuke didn't even say goodbye! Just slammed a door in his face! What will Naruto do now? How will he recover? And what will he do when he see the developed pictures and camera? It's all in the next and final chapter! So reviews would be lovely! =D just to make sure you don't all hate me and want me to stop. Sorry if I sux.