Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Threadbare

By Cosmogyral

Thread 7:

"Uncle Sasuke!" tiny voices shouted as the little girl and boy attached themselves to his legs. Curving his lips upward, Sasuke ruffled the two children's hair in greeting. Each giggled, used to their father's own quiet nature.

"Well, don't you look nice?" Walking into the entryway, Itachi's wife approached wearing a fine black evening dress. "You even have a rose boutonniere." Hugging her brother-in-law, the woman pecked Sasuke's cheek. "Who are you trying to impress?" Sasuke squirmed in his formal suit. It was difficult to re-accustom himself to the stiff formalwear after the long period without needing them.

"No one," he replied. She rolled her eyes and tucked a lock of her black hair behind her bejeweled ear.

"Hoping to catch the leading lady?" Giving him a sly smile, she turned when her husband entered the room.

Overhearing the conversation, Itachi jokingly warned, "Stop teasing Sasuke. He'll get grouchy." The children giggled and Sasuke scowled at his brother's smirking face.

"Are we ready to go?" Sasuke asked in irritation.

Scanning his family, Itachi nodded. "So it seems." Then, turning to Sasuke, he added, "Kakashi said he would meet us there."

Sasuke snorted, "Good. He's always late."

As soon as Sasuke and his brother's family got into his sleek car Sasuke told the driver where to go. That done, the younger Uchiha brother stared out of the window for the duration of the ride. Thoughts were swirling in his head. What if Naruto saw him? He couldn't see him! What was Sasuke doing risking going to the play?

He had promised Naruto. That one thought grounded him.

Even though he broke Naruto's heart, he couldn't break the promise he made to the blonde. With this performance getting such coverage, hopefully Naruto would be able to move on and live out his dreams. Sasuke knew that Naruto had both the talent and the heart to become an ANBU. This would be the blonde's perfect chance.

"Sasuke," his brother's voice nudged him from his thoughts. "We're almost there."

Facing his brother, Sasuke straightened his posture and nodded as the car slowed to a stop.

Once the car door was open, flashes from cameras and millions of question-asking voices bombarded the family. Itachi skillfully smiled and shortly answered most of the questions—even the ones directed towards his brother. Following close to his older sibling, Sasuke and the others entered the small theatre to find their seats.

Once found, Sasuke sat himself near the end of their row. Enjoying the relative quiet of the theatre, Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to relax. He needed to prepare himself. This was probably the last time he would see Naruto, and he couldn't shed a tear.

"You look stressed for wanting to come so badly," his brother remarked from his left.

"A project at work," Sasuke supplied as explanation.

"The Tazuna Project?" Nodding, Sasuke looked towards the stage. "You can handle it," Itachi stated with all the confidence in the world.

Sasuke had to suppress a wince. Sometimes Sasuke wanted to tell his brother everything that had happened since he had left. Knowing that his brother had worried, and that he still did, filled Sasuke with guilt. But some things Sasuke needed to keep to himself, and Naruto was one of those.

Lights dimming, Sasuke took a calming breath and cleared his expression. As the curtain parted and the stage was revealed, Sasuke's heart hammered his chest. Ino was center stage, playing her part well. Then, something caught her attention from stage left. Striding out onto center stage was the golden-haired Naruto.

Grasping the armrests to his side, Sasuke tried not to let any emotion leak out onto his face—especially when the actor started talking. He could feel his brother's eyes looking at him, and then slowly turning away. Prying his fingers from the armrests, Sasuke crossed them over his chest and forced them to stay that way for most of the performance. Naruto had said that this would be their best performance yet, so Sasuke would give attention where attention was due.

Sasuke admitted that Naruto had been right. The performance was entrancing, and not just because of the lead actor. The younger Uchiha could hardly pull his gaze away. However, he reminded himself that he had something he needed to do.

About three quarters of the way through the play, Sasuke left his seat and made his way to the theatre's entrance. With no one there to stop him, Sasuke made his way towards the lesser known parts of the theatre. More specifically, the dressing rooms.

Seeing the door that he wanted in sight, Sasuke slowed his pace as he saw someone guarding the door. Drawing closer, Sasuke cursed as he recognized the guard.

"Konohamaru," Sasuke greeted.

"Sasuke!" the boy greeted loudly, almost angrily. Whisking his hand outwards, Sasuke covered the boy's mouth.

"Quiet, they'll hear you on stage," Sasuke reprimanded, then removed his hand.

"What are you doing here, Bastard?! And in fancy clothes, no less!" the shorter, small-eyed boy demanded. "If you think you're going near Naruto, you've got another think coming! I won't—!"

"Konohamaru," Sasuke interrupted the boy, "I need to get into the dressing room. It's important."

"What? So you can steal more from Naruto. Don't you think you've done enough?"

Every word bit into Sasuke with venom.

Sighing, Sasuke told Konohamaru sincerely, "I was planning on saying good-bye." Surprised, Konohamaru gave him a dubious look. "It won't take long. Just give me five minutes. And…don't tell Naruto." Eyeing the Uchiha, Konohamaru seemed to weigh his options.

"Fine, but if you're not out in five minutes I'll go in there and pound your sorry-ass." Opening the door beside him, Konohamaru let Sasuke in.

Sasuke had to compose himself as memories of Naruto and he came rushing to the forefront of his mind. Walking over to a familiar mirror and chair, Sasuke stopped as he noticed a heart retching orange jacked draped over the chair. Stepping forward, the Uchiha let his fingers trail across the jacket's material.

Forcibly pulling himself away, the black-haired man pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from his suit's inner pocket. What could he say…? Remembering a night that felt like an eternity ago Sasuke smiled sadly.

You were right. It was the best. He wrote, setting the note down in front of the mirror. Looking at his own reflection, Sasuke stared into his black eyes. What had Naruto ever seen in them? Eyes still focused on his reflection, Sasuke watched as his own fingers unpinned the rose boutonniere he had worn. Laying it down next to his scribbled message, Sasuke took one last look around the room.

Hearing the door to the dressing room open, Sasuke turned around.

"Bastard! Your time's up!" Nodding, Sasuke left the dressing room and returned to watch the rest of the performance with his brother's family.

He didn't even notice when Kakashi slid into his seat right after him.


Naruto took deep breaths as he rocked on his heels. The thick curtains blocking out the light weren't enough to block out the loud murmurs and conversations of the sold-out theatre on the other side. Looking across the black stage, Naruto saw Ino in the middle of the stage with her eyes closed. He could tell she was nervous also.

This would probably be the determining point in both of their acting careers.

Although that made Naruto sweat a bit, that wasn't his main concern. Who was out there watching was what made him anxious.

Almost a month ago, Naruto had woken up in a hospital bed feeling like crap. It only got worse when he had realized that his black-haired and black-eyed savior wasn't there. Sakura, Iruka, Hinata, Kiba, Lee, Ino, and almost everyone else he knew had been there, except for Sasuke.

When he had asked where the black-eyed man had gone, he had been met with silence. Sakura had gotten up and left the room, looking upset, and Lee had gone after her. Iruka and Kiba had then said that they would wait outside, leaving Hinata alone with the blonde.

She explained to him how they had all been in a panic when they saw him, Sakura more than anyone. Nobody knew what to think. Sakura had said some things…and Sasuke had been injured by her words. Everything had gone by so fast, and by the time Hinata and Iruka had thought to check on Sasuke he had retreated to his silence and blank looks.

Afterwards, the long-haired girl had strung a necklace around his neck, saying Sasuke had gotten it for him. Looking at it, Naruto immediately recognized the piece of jewelry.

Tearing up, Naruto had asked where Sasuke was, fearing that the man had taken Sakura's words to heart. Shaking her head, Hinata had said that none of them knew. They had checked the house when they went back to get Naruto clothes, they had checked the soup kitchen, but Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

Fat tears had bubbled over his lids and fell into the white hospital bedding. Naruto had shakily told his account of the story to Hinata. He described how the men had cornered him and how Sasuke had saved him. By the end, Hinata had been silently crying with the blonde.

All that she had been able to say was that she was sorry and that they would keep looking.

Naruto recovered for two weeks in an empty house. Sasuke hadn't taken anything—only two photos from the refrigerator. But Naruto refused to throw anything away. He still wanted to believe that Sasuke would return.

After the initial two weeks, Naruto started going back to theatre rehearsals and working at the soup kitchen. Everyone tried to act normally, Shikamaru had even stopped by and badgered Naruto to read the newspaper if he wasn't going to get his TV fixed.

More than anything, though, he threw himself into his play. Sasuke had promised he would come. He would give the world a performance in hopes that Sasuke would see him.

His friends felt the melancholy shift in his usual demeanor and had tried to pamper him. All of his hospital bills had been paid, although they denied paying them. Shikamaru and Chouji had mysteriously disappeared for days on end—Naruto suspected that they were searching for the missing Sasuke.

Then his director had informed them that Itachi Uchiha and his family was coming to see the first showing of their play. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't blame his friends for that. With the word out that Itachi Uchiha, the president of Uchiha Engineering Corps and his vice president were attending the first showing, the seats were quickly filled and everyone who was anyone assembled at the small theatre.

Scouts and people who mattered in the acting business were showing up to this previously unknown theatre. This show would make or break Naruto's dreams.

So, as the velveteen curtains started their slow sweep across the stage, Naruto hardened his resolve. He would give this performance everything he got. The world would know Naruto Uzumaki.

Then, after he and Ino and the rest of the thespians took their bows, and Naruto went back to the dressing room, he was both ecstatic and heartbroken when he found a single rose in front of his usual mirror. Attached to the rose was a short note written in script Naruto couldn't forget.

You were right. It was the best.

Deflating, Naruto knew that Sasuke had already left and that he wouldn't be seeing him anymore. Naruto had nothing to hold Sasuke to any longer. Sasuke wouldn't be coming back.

A knock on the dressing room door made Naruto pull himself together a little longer. Someone in a dark suit introduced himself as a messenger from Mr. Uchiha. The Uchiha president wanted to meet the rising star in person. Nodding in acceptance, Naruto held his hand out to receive the card naming the time and place. Closing the door, Naruto stared blankly at the pristine card. Starting the first day Sasuke had stayed with him, Naruto's dreams and goals started to expand—incorporating something else. What good was fame when he had no one to go home and enjoy it with?


A/N:

Hello my lovely readers. Here is the latest installment of Threadbare. Yay! Once again, I hope that you like it. ^_^ Thank you for all of the marvelous reviews! They mean the world to me.

A note on the last chapter: I am sorry if some of you were offended by how I portrayed Sakura in the last chapter. I'm not a Sakura basher, really. I actually really like her! I just thought that out of all of Naruto's friends she would be the most likely to breakdown in that situation. So, yeah…I'm sorry if you thought I was bashing her.

Cosmogyral, over and out.