"We're going down, and you can see it too. We're going down, and you know that we're doomed. My dear, we're slow-dancing in a burning room." -John Mayer

"So...cold..." Naruto whispered through chattering teeth as both hands cupped around his mouth.

It was now 5:00 in the morning, and Naruto found himself huddling into his jacket through the midnight blue of morning as he made his way to Sasuke's complex. Between the crunch of the frozen grass under his feet, his growling stomach and the thoughts of last night's conversation with Sasuke buzzing around in his mind, Naruto admit to himself that mornings should never contain this much noise.

"Probably still mad." Naruto acknowledged, referencing he and Sasuke's drama the night before. "Really not all my fault though, you ass. You don't let me help anymore."

After last night's heated confrontation, Naruto lay sleepless in his bed, trying to come up with some explanation as to why Sasuke didn't rely on him in the way that he used to. No, he wasn't naive. He never expected for their teamwork to bounce back immediately after a four year hiatus, but he didn't expect it to be as complicated as it was. Their teamwork was the most clinical and emotionless thing about their relationship. Sasuke should have embraced that with open arms, being clinical and emotionless himself. But they couldn't shake the damage off of this area. In all honesty, he probably shouldn't have expected anything at all, because Sasuke was still Sasuke after all this time. Sasuke was still Sasuke, which meant the unknown of his motives was still there. He should have learned not to expect anything at all.

"It's your fault, too." Came a sudden voice, jolting Naruto out of his thoughts. Wincing through the darkness, he recognized Sai's familiar shady stance leaning casually against a tree. "But you probably already know that."

"It's too early for this, Sai. You know I can't handle your weirdness until after 9:00." Naruto commented dryly, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"But still." Sai replied blankly, pushing himself off of the tree. "You know I'm right."

"...Sakura told you?" He asked carefully, eyes averting childishly to the side.

"Yes." Came the reply, and Sai's smile fizzled into a grim line. "Though I wish I would have heard it from you."

"It...wasn't a big deal." Naruto commented weakly. He continued walking by, only to have the darker boy fall in stride beside him. "I was going to tell you, but we just got back the other day, and I know you've been busy with Shikamaru, so..."

"That's the weakest explanation you've had to date, Naruto, and you've had some impressively pitiful explanations over the years."

"Tch." Naruto spat, shoving a tree branch out of the way with his forearm. "I don't know what she told you, but it really wasn't that big of a de-"

"He doesn't appreciate it." Came the interruption, and Naruto could only stop in his tracks and stare in bewilderment at his partner.

"Uh..."

"That's what Sakura said, anyway. She said Sasuke doesn't appreciate that kind of protection. She said you're going to stifle him."

"I...know." Naruto replied in a slight tone of surrender, because he really didn't have a defense for himself. He was wrong, and Sai was right. They all were, really. He was being irrational in every way possible, but it wasn't unjustified. It was...different. "I'll get over this, Sai. I just need some time, I guess. Time to allow things to settle down again."

"You don't have that kind of luxury, Naruto. If you keep this up, there's a high chance that you'll get hurt or killed before the 'time' you speak of has a chance to be enough. If that kunai had pierced your flesh, you would have been killed in half the time it normally takes. You don't have the Kyuubi to play God with your healing anymore, Naruto. You've lost that kind of immortality."

An awkward silence fell between the two, the only sound being the crackle of frosty grass beneath their feet as the midnight blue was replaced with the orange and pinks of sunrise, beckoning Naruto to fall into annoyed and unwilling contemplation.

If he were to be honest about all of this, he might admit to himself that he was light-years more concerned with Sasuke's life than his own, and that was the problem here. Point blank. But no one seemed to take into consideration the level of sacrifice that he -that all- of them had invested into Sasuke's return. So many people had channeled their life, spirit, tears, anger, love and souls into providing a second chance for Sasuke Uchiha. And by extension, a second chance for Team Seven. Yes, he knew he was the wrong one here. He knew he was being the unreasonable one. But surely every one could see how incomprehensibly rare and impossible this second chance was. Surely they could understand why he was unwilling to let Sasuke leave in any way at all.

"Not to mention, you're only imagining how you would feel if something happened to Sasuke. Have you considered the reverse?"

"I told Sasuke once that he never needed me to keep on living, and we both know that that hasn't changed."

"And you would rather him merely walk through life just existing, so long as he has a heart beat?"

"I'd rather us both be alive and well. The same goes for you, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and all the others. If I have to take a chance on my own life to make sure it stays that way, then I will."

"...so you're just being selfish. That's all you're really trying to say here."

"Did you come here just to blast me out about this?" Naruto spat, rounding on Sai. "Damn, all I need is for the ghost of the first Hokage to appear before me and bitch me out, and then I'll have heard it from everyone."

"I'm glad you're okay." Sai commented then, disrupting Naruto's monologue and earning him a confused expression. "Really. Please don't keep this up, Naruto. You'll regret this is you..." He trailed off then, but the slight desperation in which Sai said it brought a real guilt to Naruto, and he couldn't help but smile. Sai somewhat jolted as Naruto placed his arm around his pale shoulders.

"Walk with me, Sai."

"We've been walking Naruto."

"Ah shit." Naruto then cursed quietly, and Sai turned to find Naruto stopped and reaching into his pockets in search of something. He saw a flash of silver through Naruto's fingers as he pulled one of Tsunade's pre-prepared syringes out of a purple cloth. "I totally forgot to do this. No wonder my head is killing me."

Leaning against the tree, Sai watched in morbid curiosity as Naruto flicked the end of the syringe, sending a small droplet of liquid into the air. Sai braced himself on the tree and felt a few beads of sweat form on his hairline as the glint of the needle flashed in the sun. He swallowed loudly, figuring that Naruto must have heard it due to the confused expression that Naruto was sending his way.

"You don't look good, Sai. Is...something wrong?" He asked casually as he pulled his shirt over his head, threw it on the ground, and shivered from the cold.

"I...n-nothing at all." Sai commented, distracted as Naruto scouted a spot on his stomach with his fingers.

"Geez, Sai. You look scared shitless right now. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were afraid of need-"

He stopped then, and Sai's eyes narrowed in caution at the large smile that curved up Naruto's face and into the blue of his eyes.

"You're scared of needles." Naruto stated, not bothering to hide his bubbling laughter. "A Jounin that was trained under ROOT, and you're scared of needles."

"That's...ridiculous." Sai tried to say, though it sounded somewhat weak due to the wave of nausea that washed over him at the sight of such a large needle. If he hadn't felt so ill, he would have been able to formulate some sort of defense for himself.

"You know what? I think you should inject this." Naruto giggled, and Sai felt his heart skip a beat.

"...what?"

"Come on. You should know how to do stuff like this."

"No."

"What if I'm ever unconscious and you're the only person around who can give this to me? Are you saying you wouldn't do it?"

"Well...no..." Sai trailed off.

"Then take it. Show me you can do this." Naruto smiled mischievously, holding the syringe out to the darker boy. Shaking, Sai reached for the syringe, but only because he knew that Naruto had a real point. Normally, he wouldn't entertain Naruto in such a childish way, but the medicine inside of the syringe really was the only thing keeping Naruto's body from suffering the withdrawal symptoms. It would be bad if he weren't able to administer the shot if Naruto were ever compromised.

Slowly dropping to his knees in front of Naruto, Sai shakily held the syringe to his tanned stomach.

"Where?" He asked, his jaw locked tight from nervousness.

"Right here." Naruto said as he pointed to a spot just above his right hip. There were other small track marks, so Sai angled the syringe in between two of them and looked up at Naruto's obnoxiously amused face.

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He smirked.

Steadying his hand and sharpening his vision, Sai breathed deeply before plunging the needle into Naruto's skin and draining the liquid. He heard a slight hiss from Naruto, to which he responded by jerking the accursed object out of his skin and tossing it on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Sai asked, worry etched in his features.

"Yeah. It's a big needle." Naruto explained. "But you did it! You see? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No." Sai replied as a smile spread lightly across his face. "I guess it wasn't. I could definitely do that again."

"Do what again?" Came a dark voice from the left, and Naruto and Sai turned to find an obviously displeased Sasuke glaring daggers in their direction. "What the hell is going on here?"

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked offended. "Sai was just giving me a-" He stopped, however, when he saw that Sai was on his knees, sweating, and holding his face just a few inches in front of his crotch. Also taking into consideration that he himself was shirtless and the last part of their conversation could have been interpreted horribly wrong, it hit Naruto why Sasuke was so ill.

"Uh...It's not what you think." Naruto explained. "He was just helping me."

"With what?" Sasuke asked sharply. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as Sai stood up and dusted himself off.

"With his daily injection. He forgot to take it this morning, and he suggested I should learn how in case he were ever injured. Nothing more." Sai replied factually. Sasuke sent Naruto an unamused expression, beckoning a casual shrug from the blond. Even though Sasuke and Sai's relationship was significantly better, there was still room for...improvement.

"It's true." Naruto replied as he grabbed the syringe off the floor and tossed it to Sasuke. "See for yourself."

"Fine." Sasuke replied boredly as he tossed it back to Naruto. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. See you later, Sai!" Naruto beamed as he snatched his shirt off the ground and appeared next to Sasuke. "Keep your hands off of Sakura!"

Sai would have fired an insult back if his stomach wasn't still doing cartwheels.

(SCENE CHANGE - SASUKE , KAKASHI AND NARUTO)

"That's good, Sasuke, but remember not to get too close to your opponent." Kakashi commented as the clash of kunai rang through the air. "If there were ever a reason you couldn't use the Sharingan, you would have to fall back to a greater distance. Keep that in mind."

It was now 4:00 in the afternoon, and both boys had been training under Kakashi for most of the day. Because they had both been recognized as an official two-man team, it was customary for them to train together at least three times a week. As luck would have it, Tsunade designated Kakashi to oversee this training, due to the fact that he was taking on a new team of genin and would not be going on external missions for the next year.

This training, however, was different from most of their weekly training sessions. Ever since Tsunade had received word of Yuujirou Ono and his rumored Kekkei Genkai, she had ordered that all shinobi with a bloodline limit be put through a type of training that taught them to rely less on their Kekkei Genkai. The only down-side to possessing a Kekkei Genkai was the fact that the shinobi who had it tended to rely on theirs so much, that they would allow all other areas of their fighting styles to corrode and fade away.

"The Sharingan is not an indestructible tool, Sasuke. Don't rely on it as if it is." Kakashi commented as he observed his two former students fighting. "I had to learn that long ago."

"Yeah, Sasuke." Naruto chided as he dodged a kick. "How does it feel to not be able to cheat your way through a battle?"

"Says the one who borrowed chakra from the most powerful demon in existence." Sasuke replied through labored breaths.

"...of course, if Naruto can't learn to go more than ten minutes without sacrificing himself, it's really not going to matter what you guys do." Kakashi commented, and Naruto cursed quietly under his breath.

Kakashi must have rekindled the anger within Sasuke, because his Sharingan flickered briefly for a second until Sasuke disabled it, replacing it with the familiar onyx orbs. Naruto would have called Kakashi out for his complete lack of tact with this subject, but he also knew that Kakashi was provoking Sasuke for a reason. He was testing the boundaries of Sasuke's control. (And probably punishing Naruto for what he had done in their failed mission.)

"Your Sharingan is far too intertwined with your emotions, Sasuke. That can be a doubled-edged sword if you're not careful. Weapons should never be conditional." Kakashi explained, not bothering to take his eyes away from the Icha Icha book he held as the clash of metal and dirt rained around him.

With bruises and cuts all over, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves both too fatigued to put up anymore of a quality battle. Their movements were increasing in sloppiness, and their decisions were becoming less and less informed. Kakashi must have noticed this, because he slowly stood up from his crouch and grabbed Naruto's leg mid-air as it aimed for Sasuke's head.

"That's enough for today, boys. What have we learned?"

"That Sasuke's fighting style is utter bullshit without those loaded dice he calls eyes." Naruto said through a smirk, prompting Sasuke to aim a punch for his face that was quickly intercepted by Kakashi.

"I wouldn't talk too big, Naruto. Sasuke wasn't able to use his most powerful asset, and it still ended in a tie between both of you. Realistically, you should have come out on top."

Naruto's face fell into a somewhat pouty expression as Sasuke threw a confident smirk back at him.

"...likewise, Sasuke, I can tell you've relied far too much on the Sharingan. It shows in your lack of endurance when compared with Naruto's. It doesn't matter how powerful your bloodline trait is if you can't even outlast the fight. You both need improvement." Kakashi commented boredly as he slapped his book. "Anyway, I've got a new team of Genin to fail, so I'll see you guys later tonight."

"I know we're your favorites, but don't be too hard on them!" Naruto yelled at his Sensei's retreating figure.

"Hai, hai." Kakashi replied with a wave of his arm. Silence fell over the two as the retreat of their teacher left nothing but the sounds of their heavy breathing and the billowing dust.

"So..what do we do now?" Naruto asked out loud. Both boys stared at each other until their mouths curled into smirks at nearly the same time.

"I don't know about you, teme, but a tie isn't good enough for me." Naruto chided as he cracked his knuckles and broke down into a defense position.

"Me either." Sasuke replied through a smirk, and Naruto jumped backwards as Sasuke flew at him with a punch.

A few minutes and a painful under-swept kick to the ankles later, Naruto landed brutally on the ground with a sharp exhale of breath. Sasuke's obnoxiously proud face loomed over him, silhouetted against the light of day.

"Does this mean I win?" Sasuke asked cockily, knee digging into Naruto's chest as he pushed his wrists into the ground.

Considering his position, Naruto bitterly acknowledged that he was too tired and devoid of any real adrenaline to tackle Sasuke. So, in the typical Naruto way, he decided to throw the Uchiha off by simply sitting up and kissing Sasuke on the mouth. It must have surprised him, because Sasuke dropped his guard, allowing Naruto to jump up and pin him to the ground in the same way - reversing their positions.

"Not even close." Naruto smirked as he stared down at Sasuke. His long ebony locks were beautifully plastered to his pale skin, and his shirt was slightly torn at the collar. Sasuke's face scrunched in disapproval as Naruto licked his lips and smiled. "Not gonna' lie, Sasuke. This view is sexy as hell."

Before he could reply, however, he felt himself being flipped back into his original position on the dirt as Sasuke lumbered ominously over him.

"Don't get used to it." He replied, and Naruto admit blissful defeat by allowing his head to lay back against the dirt. He squinted against the glare of the sun. "Stop squinting. It makes your eyes look stupid."

"Sai once told me that he could spend his entire life trying to create the color of my eyes, and he would never be able to. Maybe I'll look at him like this since he thinks they're beautiful."

Although he said it to get a cheap rise out of the Uchiha, Naruto was somewhat surprised when Sasuke bent down, and kissed him gently on the mouth. Once. Twice. Three times. And then after the fourth, he looked back into Naruto's hazy eyes.

"Did he ever tell you that while he was kissing you?" Sasuke asked breathily as his lips hovered lightly over Naruto's.

"Just once." Naruto replied, bristling as Sasuke's body ran rigid on top of him. The Uchiha sat back up and peered at him through furious and calculating eyes. "Calm down. I was just joking." Naruto laughed. "So...I take it you've forgiven me?"

"Hn." Came the monotonous reply, but it was good enough for Naruto.

He felt Sasuke relax back down onto him as he reached up and combed through the black hair with his fingers. This always seemed to help Sasuke relax, but when Naruto asked Sakura why, she said it was probably because it was something Sasuke's mother used to do.

With Sasuke pressing him into the ground, Naruto felt himself get hard as Sasuke began unconsciously rocking against him. He ignored it, partly because Sasuke was hard as well, but mostly because he didn't want to give it any more thought. Thought always led to conclusions, and he wasn't comfortable drawing one yet. Not about this. You see, these moments always ended up like this.

Contrary to popular belief by most of the Rookie Nine, he and Sasuke hadn't actually had sex yet. It wasn't that they were scared to, and it most certainly wasn't because they didn't want to. It was actually something they never talked about, though Naruto resolved that it was probably because it was a ridiculously profound state of trust that he didn't know if they had reached, especially when he considered how shaky their teamwork had been lately. There were moments of heated passion when things would always start slipping out of control, but they both would always go to bed or move on, leaving the issue of sex as an unspoken phantom.

And just like always, Sasuke sprung off of him like he was made of static - shaking away his labored breathing and lust-clouded eyes. Naruto stood up too, leaving this moment in the past with all of the other ones. After all, one of these days, they would both lose control. It was inevitable: and he didn't know how to handle it.

"Are you coming tonight? Sakura and Kakashi really want you to be there." Naruto replied breathlessly, running a hand through his dusty hair.

"Yeah. I'll be there. Just meet up at my house." Sasuke replied, inwardly re-establishing his composure and boundaries.

"All right. See you later." Naruto commented, though before he could turn to leave, he felt his chest swell with something that needed to be said. "And Sasuke?"

"What."

"Sai and I, we never..." He tried to explain. "...he's a really good friend, but it's never been more than that. Just...so you know. You can trust me."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but Naruto took his slight smirk as all of the affirmation he needed. Both parting ways, Naruto decided that the first thing he would do upon returning to his house is take an ice-cold shower.

(SCENE CHANGE - THREE HOURS LATER)

With all of the dirt and sweat washed off of him, Naruto made his way to downtown Konoha with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He was meeting Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura for their weekly get-together. The sun was now set and the streets were emptying themselves of noise, color and people.

Despite the animosity in he and Sasuke's conversation the night before, Naruto felt that he and Sasuke had garnered a new level of trust at some point today. He didn't know when and he didn't know how, but something had been transcended. Or atoned for, or forgiven. Or a wrong had been made right, or...or something. But whatever it was, it made him happy beyond containment, because this was the progress that needed to happen.

As he made his way further into town, he was met with the murky shadow of someone approaching him in the distance. Squinting his eyes around the figure, he saw the diluted shade of orange hair that belonged to Moegi.

"Hey Moegi! Here to 'train' with Konohamaru?" He chided as she approached, though when her eyes betrayed no indication of humor, he suddenly felt uneasy. With a strong burst of wind scraping the leaves across the pavement, he observed her steely eyes and grim facial expression as she appeared in front of him.

"What's wrong?" He whispered lowly, suddenly feeling like this situation demanded a level of seriousness greater than what he had feared. She remained stoic and speechless, though her eyes begged for him to draw the conclusion. It was then, however, that an acidic chakra wafted on the wind, and he cringed when he realized that it was the same chakra that had been there the last time he met her. When the manic picture of Yuujirou Ono flash across his mind, he felt his stomach drop, because this circumstance fit the bill for what Tsunade said he had been reported doing. He scouted for hostages, and Moegi was probably his victim this time. He had been observing her since last night.

"You're being followed." He whispered lowly, and a slight nod of the head indicated that he was right. "Show me with your eyes where he is." He said tightly, conscious to avoid making it look like they were in any way suspicious.

With a quick flick of her eyes to a building on the other end of the street, Naruto placed his arm around her and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Act like we're a couple." Naruto commented through a fake smile, wrapping his arm around her waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder and ran her fingers up and down his back. He didn't have any real intention of leaving this guy alone, but his top priority was getting Moegi to a safer place, because this was out of her league. This guy had once been considered by Akatsuki. This was too big for her. This was too big for the village, really, and he didn't know how to balance the process of keeping her safe, and alerting the others to come and help.

They made it a total of thirty feet, however, when both of them were rendered completely immobile as a black shadow dropped in front of them, revealing a small section of shaggy white hair sticking out through an opening of a black cloak.

"Yuujirou Ono." Naruto asked lowly, only to be answered with a sick string of laughter as the cloaked person lifted his head, revealing half of an insanely deviant smile.

"In the flesh."