Posted: Thursday, September 14, 2006

Disclaimer: Do not own.

Warnings: Shounen ai, spoilers for anyone not keeping up with the manga, & AUish. Anything involving Akatsuki and bijuus after the timeskip is completely irrelevant to this story, and as such, never happened. Actually, this applies to everything after the timeskip except the part where Naruto, Sakura, and Sai meet up with Sasuke.

General: Takes place after chapter 308 for those of you thatare keeping up with the manga.

Thank yous: Wanda and Nox (betas) as well as everyone who has reviewed SF. Much love!

Summary: The invisibility started with one silly wish upon a star. Good thing Sasuke's doormat personality, Sai's attempts at matchmaking, and a mission gone wrong were all quite normal in the life of Naruto Uzumaki... Wait. What? SasuNaru


Previously:

"Shikamaru shifted, his head tilting slightly, and broke the suffocating silence by saying, "So Sasuke, I suppose this is why you came back?""


Surface Flaws

Chapter VI

"And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall"

- Wonderwall (Oasis)

"So, Sasuke, I suppose this is why you came back?"

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to stare at Sasuke, not knowing how to feel. If he thought about it, Shikamaru's assumption made perfect sense. But that meant that this new dynamic to their relationship was not a new idea to Sasuke. This meant that the brunette had liked Naruto for some time now.

As badly as he wanted to, Naruto couldn't hide the shock from his face, even as Sasuke coloured and glared a thousand daggers at Shikamaru. His jaw was locked in a tense, unyielding frown, and his chin jutted out rebelliously.

"Don't make deductions with minimal evidence, Nara." Sasuke's piercing gaze darted to Naruto and somehow his expression became colder. The blonde raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, potentially upsetting Sasuke - in front of Sai no less - especially after the day they had had. What with the photo of Itachi appearing and the fight that had led to the kiss.

And holy shit they'd kissed. A strange heat worked its way to his cheeks and he suddenly found the ground very interesting. For some strange reason, Naruto just couldn't fathom that he had just kissed Sasuke, or, more accurately, that Sasuke had kissed him. His lips wanted to twitch into a dumb smile, but didn't. If Shikamaru saw him smiling like a schoolgirl, he would realize that Naruto had liked the kiss.

…He had liked the kiss.

Naruto suddenly felt light-headed. He just wanted to sit down and absorb what had just happened. One minute he had been fighting with Sasuke, prepared to rip his head off for being such an indecisive, insensitive jerk, and the next he was pinned up against a wall and being ravaged.

Ravaged, he liked that word. Naruto didn't smirk, though he wanted to, as he thought of how appropriate the word was. The kiss certainly hadn't been gentle, he doubted any aspect of their friendship ever could be, but it hadn't been painful and savage either. It had been everything they were. Conflicted, rough, passionate, and grudgingly affectionate.

His lips twitched upward and Naruto pinched his leg, trying to pull himself out of his giddy thoughts. Sasuke had just kissed him and it had been wonderful. He had been wonderful. His back had been surprisingly muscular, more so than his deceivingly lean figure led on. And his lips had been so smooth; not chapped and dry, as Naruto knew his were.

The boy's breath hitched - a million embarrassed curses ran through his mind - and he brought his hand up to his lips with the pretence of scratching his chin, feeling the skin to see just how rough it was. If they were ever going to kiss again - Naruto didn't think about how badly he wanted to - he would need to make sure his lips were more like silk and less like a gravel road.

Suddenly, a hard shove to the shoulder sent Naruto flying into the wall beside him. He crashed into it with a surprised groan and looked around, dazed and unsure of what had just happened. Shikamaru was frowning, Chouji was still as lost as he had been the first time Naruto had looked at him, and Sai was staring at Naruto with pity.

He raised an eyebrow at the boy and turned to Sasuke with a questioning gaze. Only Sasuke wasn't where he had been five seconds ago. Naruto felt his stomach clench and pushed away from the wall. That fucking bastard had not just left…

He ignored that Chouji's expression had morphed into one of concern and turned around, hoping - no praying. But it was happening. He tried not to show the unbelievable disappointment and rejection he was feeling because he had actually thought for five seconds that Sasuke might care - actually fucking thought that that bastardmight cared about Naruto just half as much as Naruto cared about him…

But there it was, just like every other time, Sasuke's back, emblazoned with the Uchiha fan, disappearing into the shadows.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Naruto demanded, not really giving a fuck that Shikamaru's gaze had hardened into a sympathetic frown of disapproval. He had never been able to see how Sasuke was worth it; then again, he'd never seen Sasuke. Not like Naruto had.

The blonde looked away from Shikamaru, his face hardening, and stared at his rival's back, channeling his betrayal into anger. It couldn't hurt him if he didn't let it - Sasuke couldn't hurt him. "I said where the fuck are you going!"

And Sasuke kept walking. He didn't stop - didn't tense, didn't even fucking twitch a muscle. He just kept walking. Naruto growled under his breath and ran down the alley after the dark-haired boy. He had promised himself that he would never let the Uchiha go again.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" He reached out, his hand grabbing Sasuke's shoulder to stop him. The other boy shook him off, and when he turned around to cast Naruto a quick glance, the blonde felt his breathing stop and a sudden paralyzing shock grip his body.

Sasuke's face was blank. Just like it had been when he'd returned, before Naruto had managed to somehow gain the other boy's trust again. That fucking bastard… Naruto took a step forward, his fist drawing back, and punched Sasuke so hard that he swore he could feel his knuckles crack. It didn't make him feel any better.

He felt nothing. Just this sudden consuming emptiness that he knew was loss and he just wanted to keep punching - kissing - the Uchiha senseless.

Sasuke, who had been thrown to the ground by the impact, stood, spit out a mouthful of blood, and gave Naruto that same dull look before turning away without a word.

-----

Naruto wasn't that surprised when he woke up at noon the next morning to the sound of persistent knocking on his door. He was just extremely irritated because the last thing he wanted to do was face the world.

Fuck the mission; he just wanted to hide his head under his pillow and sleep. Sleeping didn't require thinking. But when the knocking didn't stop, Naruto grudgingly pulled himself from beneath his pillows, unraveled himself from his cocoon of blankets, and shuffled to the door like an old man, slumped and defeated.

What did surprise Naruto that morning was seeing the smiling face of Sai on the other side of the door. He pushed past the blonde boy, grinning wildly, and invited himself into the kitchen, where he began searching through the cupboards.

"You have any coffee?" he asked as he rummaged without any mind of the order everything had been in prior to his presence. The alphabetically stacked cups of ramen were being mixed up as Sai removed and replaced them distractedly. He was lucky that the owner of said cups was too tired to cause a scene over the growing disorder.

Naruto scratched his head and made his way to the kitchen as well, a confused but slightly more cheerful look on his face. "Uh, yeah. In there," he said, vaguely motioning Sai in the direction of the coffee and far away from his precious ramen cupboards.

"Good," Sai said in his usual chipper tone, "because you look like shit."

Naruto scowled and fell into a chair at the kitchen table. A part of him wanted to demand that Sai leave because there could only be one reason he had come, and Naruto did not want to have to talk about that one reason. He remembered the look of pity all too clearly.

"Thanks a lot, asshole," he muttered, glowering at the table. He heard a satisfied 'ah' and looked up to see his coffee container in Sai's pale hands. Naruto let his head fall into his hands tiredly, grumbling, "That's just what I needed to hear this morning."

"Oh cheer up. Sasuke's just being difficult." Sai tutted as he placed the now located coffee tin on the counter and fell to the seat beside Naruto. He smiled sincerely and reached over to ruffle his companion's hair with a fond twinkle in his eyes.

The blonde gave Sai a dry look and batted his hand away. "Right. Difficult," he said, his tone thick with sarcasm.

He saw a flash of pity and closed his eyes as he bit his lip, just waiting for Sai to keep talking, because he was bound to. Sometimes Sai's attempts at being a friend just didn't help.

"Remember at that party when you asked me what I said to Sasuke and I made up some story about a bush?" Sai asked. Naruto blinked, and, after a moment, nodded apprehensively, wondering what the hell this had to do with anything.

"Well, I told him that he had better quit treating you like shit and appreciate how much you've given up for him…" Sai trailed away and stood, turning his attention to the task of making coffee.

Naruto straightened. "Did you say anything else? What did Sasuke say?" He was on the edge of his seat, watching intently as Sai measured out the coffee mix with a secretive smirk.

"I said a bit more; nothing important though." Sai shrugged and leaned against the counter, his arms crossed casually over his chest. When he turned to Naruto, there was a self-satisfied glint in his eye.

"But what did Sasuke say?" Naruto insisted. He tapped his hand on the table impatiently and gave Sai a persistent look.

There was silence from the two boys as they listened to the coffee pot begin to boil, in which Naruto swore he was going to go crazy with expectation, before Sai finally said, "That's not really my place to say."

"What?" Naruto growled. He didn't care that Sai looked truly apologetic or that the other boy was pouring him a cup of heavenly-smelling coffee. All he saw was that stupid glint of pity and…

He took a deep breath, unwilling to do something stupid, like punch Sai too, and crossed his arms over the table, laying his head on them with an exasperated groan.

"You'll find out eventually…" Sai tried, placing the cup in front of Naruto's hunched form and taking a seat - quite primly, in the blonde's opinion.

"You mean you won't tell me," Naruto amended, his lips tilting up minutely in a sardonic smile as he lifted his head. It would have been too much to ask to know how Sasuke really felt.

"Well, that too," Sai admitted and the blonde felt his spirits sink even further. "So how was the kiss?"

Naruto blinked at the question, not really sure where it had come from, and stared at his coffee, unsure of what to say. On one hand, it had been the best experience of his life and it had brought many questions to the forefront of his mind. Had he always liked Sasuke and just never known? Or was this just a sudden thought that he had never before entertained on a conscious or subconscious level.

But the look Sasuke had given him afterward… Naruto pulled his cup of coffee toward himself and sipped at it thoughtfully. He wanted to regret the kiss whenever he thought of Sasuke's face, cold and distant. He sighed.

"It was eye-opening," Naruto finally replied, his tone careful. He took another sip of his coffee, feeling the hot liquid sting down his throat. If Sasuke had never kissed him, he would never have had to look at Naruto with that dull, unrecognizing gaze.

Sai chuckled and leaned his chin in his hand, a lazy smile on his face. "You looked like you were in heaven afterward," he commented with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

A flush worked its way to Naruto's cheeks, unwarranted, and he swallowed. "I don't think it really matters how I felt." He tried to keep his voice steady and matter of fact, feeling more like a liar with every word. "Right now I just need to work on making things better with Sasuke."

He sighed. Part of him wanted to punch Sasuke five more times and a million times harder, but even more so, he wanted to see Sasuke's eyes full of life. For some strange reason, seeing that expression on the brunette's face had suddenly reawakened Naruto's strongest fear. It had been like he watching Sasuke leave all over again.

"I think you should let him come to you for a change. Stop letting him know just how obsessed you are." Sai brought his coffee to his lips, and gave Naruto a pointed look over the lip of the cup before drinking.

"I'm not obsessed with him," Naruto argued, his lip curling into a defensive sneer. He was just unable to think about anything other than how much harder it would be to bring Sasuke back a second time…

Sai reached over and patted Naruto's hand sympathetically, which gained him nothing more than a sour glare. Catching the point, Sai withdrew his hand with a sheepish grin, saying, "He cares about you Naruto; give him time to show you on his own terms."

A scowl quickly formed on the blonde's face as he thought of what Sai had just said. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

Naruto swallowed and let out a frustrated puff of air. If Sasuke cared about him, he wouldn't be so damn fickle. If Sasuke cared about him, he wouldn't be constantly throwing Naruto's greatest fears at him.

If he cared, he wouldn't have walked away from something that he shouldn't have started without being absolutely positive. He wouldn't have suddenly planted this seed into Naruto's mind that perhaps he liked Sasuke, only to run in the other direction with a last minute 'just kidding'.

He would have kissed Naruto and smiled at him in that conflicted, rough, passionate, and grudgingly affectionate way. He would have maybe even kissed him again, and again until they were both sated and exhausted.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut, trying not to imagine how nice it would be to kiss Sasuke for that long. It was useless and he knew it. Sasuke had made a mistake and, because he didn't care, Naruto was the one paying the price.

"He doesn't care," Naruto suddenly said; his was voice far too withdrawn and sad to be his own. "He probably never has."

And fuck, was he stupid for ever believing otherwise. Naruto hung his head and closed his eyes, cursing every stupid delusional thought he had had about Sasuke in those few moments between the kiss and that look.

Sai shifted and shook his head with an amused smirk, drawing Naruto's furious glare. "What's so funny?" he demanded, stung by the way Sai didn't seem to take him seriously.

"You're right," Sai conceded, "He came back because he wanted to get to know me, and he missed all the attention those silly girls gave him. It couldn't have been because his best friend had been there, willing to die before he let him go again and because he feels the same way." Sai snorted at the affronted expression on Naruto's face and shrugged. "Quit being stupid."

Naruto scowled and slammed his hand on the table. "I'm not being stupid! I'm being very real with you here and you're just throwing it back in my face and trying to make me look like an idiot."

Invalidating how I feel.

Naruto flinched at the unspoken reference to Sasuke and slammed his forehead onto the table with a frustrated groan. He had to talk to Sasuke and he had to get this resolved or he was going to scream so loud that--

Fuck, his entire life revolved around the stupid Uchiha, and without him, Naruto was like a moon with no planet to orbit around.

And wasn't that tear-jerkingly poetic.

"Well, sit here and mope a while longer. While you're doing that, I'm going to make my exit." The sound of a chair scraping upon linoleum alerted Naruto that Sai was standing, and he lifted his head slightly, so he could see the other boy's feet. "Can you point in the direction of the back door?" Sai asked, his voice almost unnoticeably rushed. Almost.

Naruto pointed and let his head drop again. He was in no mood to care about why Sai seemed to be in such a hurry.

-----

As it turned out, Naruto perhaps should have paid some attention to Sai's urgency.

About two minutes after the former Roots member had left, there was more knocking on the blonde shinobi's door and, too lazy to move, Naruto irritably shouted, "The door's open. Show yourself in."

He wanted to tack an asshole on the end, but figured that he should refrain from doing so. If it were Iruka-sensei or Sakura, he'd receive a lecture about manners, which he was not in the mood for. Not that he was ever in the mood for a lecture.

Whoever it was entered silently, and closed the door with a click, then stood awkwardly in the entryway, judging by the quiet and shifting of clothing. Naruto sighed and raised his head from the table, groaning, "Do I have to give you step by step directions? I'm obviously in the kitchen. Couldn't you possibly trouble your lazy ass and come over…"

He trailed away when he finally laid eyes upon his visitor.

"Sasuke," he croaked; his voice weak, and scared, and everything he normally wasn't.

Sasuke's hands…tangled…urgent … pressed … gently… satisfied.

He smiled feebly and stood up, moving forward and suddenly speaking without saying anything at all. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't know it was you. You here about the mission? … This is gonna be weird huh? A mission without Kakashi-sensei. Well, it won't be that weird, I mean we've done guard duty together alone…" Naruto saw Sasuke shift awkwardly, face blank, and suddenly realized his slip. "Not that anything would happen when we're alone. I mean…"

He smiled and looked around anxiously. "You want some coffee?" he asked.

Sasuke stared, still completely blank, and stood firmly where he was in the doorway.

"Great. I just put a pot on, well I didn't, S- I mean… Sakura did because… uh… she was just over….yeah... Talking about the-- uh… mission! You know how she is. She said I looked like shit and needed coffee… I was too tired to argue so… Oh man, I just keep talking. I'll go get the coffee."

Naruto moved back into the kitchen and moved out of sight of the doorway.

Two shaking hands fell flat upon his counter and Naruto had to try so hard not to start crying. He didn't know why the fuck he felt like crying. This was not frustrating at all. Why would he be frustrated? It wasn't like he felt as if he were being pulled in deeper and deeper with every second, all the while losing more control over a situation that was already out of his control. This was Sasuke and everything was normal.

It was like Sai had said, Sasuke was just being difficult.

Naruto swallowed and clenched his eyes shut, refusing to watch the drop of water that landed on his hand. Tears were definitely not forming in his eyes and he definitely did not want to run into the living room and be held by Sasuke while he cried. He didn't wonder what that would feel like. It had never crossed his mind. Ever.

Still hadn't, for that matter.

"Fuck," he whispered and pushed away from the counter. There was something in his eye so he dabbed at it, then wiped it. Then there was something in his other eye so he repeated the process before he went back into the living room after much sniffling and wiping.

He walked in with a grin on his face. There was a moment where both boys stared at each other awkwardly and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto blinked, confused and looked around, trying to think of something to break the awkward silence…

"Oh damnit, I forgot the coffee!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing why Sasuke was looking at him with such a strange expression. He forced a laugh and smacked his head in good humor. "I'll just go get that and be-"

"Don't bother."

Naruto stopped. He didn't move or talk. He just stopped and stared at Sasuke, feeling the smile slip from his face without any command from his brain. He wanted to say, 'Oh, okay.' and invite Sasuke in to sit on the couch, but he couldn't.

Hear… frenzied… breathing… place… think… kissing, in an alley.

Sasuke stared back. What was going through his mind was a complete mystery to Naruto, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the boy was looking right through him - seeing just how much Naruto wanted to kiss him again, to feel the incomparable warmth of his body.

"Listen, I came here to get one thing straight," Sasuke finally said, his voice monotone and nothing like the Sasuke Naruto was craving. "The kiss never happened."

Spin… thought… run… lips… memorizing every bump… curve…doubt… the same way… Ever.

Naruto's face hardened instinctively, pushing away the way he was definitely not almost crying earlier, and replacing that feeling of inescapable sadness with anger so hot he felt his breath catch. He glared at Sasuke - hard - because the bastard didn't care.

He didn't fucking care.

What the hell did Sai know anyway? He'd let Sasuke come to him, just as Sai had said. Naruto clenched his fists and swallowed, not screaming only because he didn't want to let anything out. If he did, he would probably kill Sasuke. He would probably do himself a favor for once in his life, a favor that he would never forgive.

After what seemed like an eternity of collecting himself and trying not to fall victim to his volcanic anger, Naruto finally ground out in as composed a voice as possible, "What kiss?"

And Sasuke stormed out, somehow just as angry as Naruto and Naruto fucking wanted to take a kunai and shove it into the back of his thick skull. Obviously, the Uchiha had every right to be angry. It was Naruto's fault.

As if.

Thatfucking prick. Naruto stood still for about five seconds before he walked forward and punched his door so hard his fist went through it.

Sasuke, who was standing on the street before Naruto's house, saw nothing more than a cascade of splinters and a hole in the door. The fist sticking through it, dripping drops of clear blood, was invisible to him.

Breath… lunged… pushing… desperately pulling him closer…

Waking into a nightmare.

-----

When Naruto arrived at the bridge that evening at dusk, he wasn't surprised to see Sasuke and Sakura standing, trapped in an uncomfortable conversation. Their silhouettes were harsh against the blinding orange light of the sunset - Naruto vaguely remembered seeing Sasuke white against a black sky and swallowed, unsettled. On the bridge, Sakura was leaning forward, her arm gesturing minutely.

She was speaking to a rather unresponsive Sasuke by the looks of things.

Naruto tensed and steeled himself, prepared for any number of outcomes, all of which were none too favorable. He was approximately thirty steps away from the duo, and with each stride, the bubble in his stomach grew, making him more and more uncomfortable. It was like wading into the ocean when you know you can't swim.

If only he could really forget the kiss - if only Sasuke could forget it.

Sakura paused in her motions, and only then did Naruto notice Sasuke's gaze trained on him in a glare that was thick with loathing. Somehow, the fact that he was standing before a pink and purple-washed sky made Sasuke's expression even more intimidating. Naruto tried not to wince away from the look and instead scowled in response.

"Oi, sorry I'm late," he said when Sakura turned to look at him, her expression questioning and accusing all at the same time. She glanced back at Sasuke, who was still glowering, and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you two fight again?" Her tone was laced with exasperation that was none-too-subtle and she crossed her arms with a huff. It took three more steps before Naruto was beside her, trying to think of some way to talk both he and Sasuke out of this one.

There was complete silence - heavy, and suffocating, and fucking exhausting - before Naruto finally heaved a weary, "Yes."

He wanted to keep talking, tell Sakura that this time he didn't think either of them would get over it - that Chouji would have to go on a diet before he could even consider forgiving Sasuke - but he stopped. Just clamped his mouth shot with a strained smile, and drew a deep breath through his nose - pretended Sasuke's body heat wasn't brushing against him and pulling him deeper into the warm blue waters he knew would drown him.

"You two need to learn to get along. I heard you fought at the restaurant, but Sai had told me afterward that you guys had patched it up." Sakura stopped to give them both a scolding gaze - neither boy responded - before pulling a manila folder from her bag, which was slung over her shoulder casually, with a sigh. "Not that you'd ever listen to me," she muttered as her fingers deftly retrieved three sheets from the envelope.

"That the mission outline the hag gave you?" Naruto asked as he jokingly pushed into Sakura's personal space and examined the top document. He pretended not to notice the way Sasuke suddenly tensed and shoved his hands in his pocket.

Sakura pushed him away with a light heave and rolled her eyes, groaning, "Yes, Naruto. Read it over and then give it back to me. We'll be good to leave after that." As she spoke, she thrust the top document at her blonde-haired companion and the second at Sasuke.

Naruto scowled as his eyes skimmed the paper. "What's this about you being the captain of the mission?" he demanded, pointing at the paper to emphasize his point. It didn't bother him that Sasuke remained completely silent and handed the paper back to Sakura with no derogatory comment.

There was an awkward pause before Sakura said, "If you were in charge of the mission we'd probably all end up dead. Easy or not."

And everyone knew that that was supposed to be Sasuke's line. But no one knew just how to say that.

Naruto harrumphed and shoved the paper back at Sakura, avoiding looking at his brunette teammate at all costs.

"So all we have to do is go to this village, Kito- whatever it is, and find out why all these strange murders have been happening?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's head tipped into a small nod and she began walking off the bridge, toward the forest. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who was standing motionless, before turning to follow suit.

Naruto tensed and shook his head with a shudder then took off after the duo with a shouted, "Sakura!"

There was no way he could have just seen a streak of black and red in the trees in the distance, he told himself as he ran. It was merely his imagination.

-----

"Sakura…" Naruto said uncertainly as they all jumped from branch to branch, traveling as quickly as possible. He glanced over his shoulder warily. The woodland was completely silent; no birds, no squirrels - not even a breeze.

The girl shook her head and put a hand to her lips, falling beside Naruto and whispering, "Shh, I know. Both Sasuke and I feel it as well…"

"We're being followed." It was a statement. Naruto glanced over at Sasuke - he wasn't going to glare at the bastard - who's Sharingan was glowing a deep red and nodded in understanding.

The lump in his throat didn't dissipate when he swallowed; neither did the nervous tension he always got when he was anticipating a fight. There was no one in the forest except for them…and their trackers. He glanced at Sasuke from the corner of his eye, letting Sakura out of his sight, and tried to remember how natural fighting with him was.

The soft hum of something whirring through the air was the only the warning Naruto had before he heard Sakura's sudden - choked - scream. He turned quickly to where she was, only to see her body disappearing to the ground below. A sickening thump echoed in the silence and Naruto barely had a second to process the streaks and spatters of blood where she had just been--

Then he was dodging to the left, inches from being struck by a kunai, and meeting Sasuke's furious gaze with a look of shock.

'Please… not Sakura…'


AN: A short chapter? WHA! I must be outta my mind! Anyhoo, yes I know it's short - comparatively - but I think there's more than enough emotional content to make up for the length. Don't hate me people, there are still 9 more chapters for Sasuke and Naruto to possibly quit being little shits.

-TJ