Sasukec: Surprised at how fast these are coming? Haha, I know I am! We're finally at a milestone! Chapter 10! And it's only their first day in Italy! You know what that means? This is gonna be going for a LONG while :)

Enjoy my works of staying up into the early morning hours to please my readers! :D

(This chap is mainly dedicated to my baby girl, Lindsey, whom, without her, I wouldn't have gotten these past 3 chapters done so quickly! Love you girl ;))

"Gaahhh… Ouch…"

The groaning and moaning of a said blonde woke Sasuke from his peaceful sleep. The Uchiha pushed himself up on his elbows and blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the sunlight that pervaded the room through the giant window.

"Shut up Naruto… It's too early…"

The Uchiha finished his sentence with a long yawn. After the yawn had finished, Sasuke turned around, putting his back to face Naruto who was on the couch. Sasuke's eyes had just begun to shut and he was about to drift back to sleep, when he was scared shitless.

"OH FUDGE! SASUKE, WAKE UP!"

The brunette could've sworn he jumped twenty feet in the air out of the bed. Next, he saw the blonde running into the bathroom with a handful of clothes. This worried Sasuke a bit…

What time is it anyway?

Sasuke reached over to the glass nightstand and grabbed his phone to see that it was 11:34 AM.

"Holy shit! NARUTO!"

It was a few moments before the blonde replied from the bathroom.

"Whaa-t?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?" Sasuke was already out of bed and making his way to his bag for his clothes.

"It's your fault too, DUMBASS!"

He'd have to just forget the shower and most essentials, they were running late as it was. After the Uchiha had dressed himself in navy blue jeans with a black belt and a long-sleeved, black polo, he searched for his hair gel. Then, he realized that he put the gel up in the overly expensive-looking bathroom. The same exact bathroom Naruto was currently in.

Ef my life…

Sasuke walked over to the bathroom door and could hear the shower spraying water.

Maybe he won't notice if I just step in there to grab my gel, then out.

The Uchiha turned the golden doorknob and slowly pushed the red door open. He stepped inside slowly and saw before him a naked, wet blonde, reaching for a towel. Both teens froze neither wanting to make the first move. Both Naruto and Sasuke's face became red and Naruto quickly grabbed the towel he was reaching for and threw it at Sasuke's face, protesting loudly as he did so.

"WHAT THE HELL, SASUKE? GET OUT!"

The towel landed right on the brunette's face, then to the floor as Sasuke closed the door behind him. Once outside the bathroom, the brunette kept his hand on the doorknob as he tried to will his blush away. He'd just have to skip the hair gel part.

He blushed also… You know what that means don't you Sasuke boy?

No hair gel. That's fine.

Did you see how much he's grown? I KNOW you were oogling it with your eyes!

SHUT UP!

Stop avoiding!

STOP TALKING!

Sasuke's alter ego luckily gave up with one shoo from the Uchiha. He was already dealing with insanity without his alter ego butting in. The pale boy walked back over to his bag and brought out a comb. He decided to settle for combing his hair through, even though that wasn't what he'd usually settle for.

Sasuke combed through his hair, styling it in its usual bangs first, hair out in the back as best he could without a mirror. Seeing as the mirror he needed was in the obviously occupied bathroom. Shudder.

Never again…

Or maybe?

I can't hear you!

Sasuke was jumping off this crazy train. He deemed his hair to look good enough then headed toward the suite's main door. He grabbed the card key that Naruto had set down on the elongated glass cabinet then knocked on the bathroom door.

"I'll meet you in the reception area, dobe."

A few moments later, "Yeah, whatever."

After the blonde heard the door close behind his roommate, he straightened up from leaning down to dry his hair out with the towel that was previously thrown. He wrapped the towel around his waist then looked at himself in the mirror, steadying himself with both hands on the porcelain sink. He noticed that he had dark rings under each of his eyes; a clear indication that jetlag was taking its toll. Maybe they should give jetlag a new name: Sasuke Uchiha.

Damn, am I tired…

He sighed then scratched his head before running his hand through his slightly damp hair. His spiky, blonde hair retained its volume even after a shower.

But damn, am I sexy.

Naruto grinned at himself in the mirror, trying to put himself in a better mood than what he felt. He stood up straight and took a deep breath, then exhaled.

Better not waste anymore time. Don't want to be late.

"We're seriously not going? Why?"

"Well, we're supposedly in for some bad weather. Are you seriously complaining?" The Uchiha's enthusiastic voice asked Naruto, complete with a raised eyebrow.

The blonde shrugged and gave Sasuke a solemn look. The Uchiha had his hands in his pockets, looking bored as ever against the wall. The air between the two boys was now awkward and it wasn't letting up any. Both of them knew what was going through each of their minds. Sasuke walking in on all of Naruto's naked glory. Despite the atmosphere around the teens, the blonde continued.

"What are we supposed to do instead?"

A said pink-haired girl came up to the roommates and answered Naruto's proposed question.

"Mr. Umino told us to just hang around here until they work something out."

Naruto let a smile onto his face, for Sakura's sake.

"Thanks, Sakura. Got any ideas as to what's fun around here?"

Sakura smiled slightly then lowered her voice to a volume that was only intended for Sasuke and Naruto to hear.

"You both know Lee, right?"

Naruto nodded, almost wide-eyed and completely interested. "Yeah?"

The Uchiha acted as though he weren't paying attention, but Sakura knew he was listening.

"Tonight, he knows a guy here who's hosting an awesome party. You two in for it?"

"A party! Wh-"

Sakura harshly cut him off with a shush.

"Not so loud! Mr. Umino and Ms. Anko can't know about it or else we're dead!"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes at Sakura and Naruto, snorted, then walked back over to the elevators to go back up to his room. Sakura and Naruto both watched after the Uchiha then returned to their conversation at hand.

"Don't worry about him, I'll get him to come*." Insert internal laugh here. The blonde grinned at the pink-haired girl. "Now give me the details!"

Knock knock.

"Sasuke? Come on, open up!" A said Uchiha's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

"What's the password?"

"Uh… Really? Don't be a kid, Sasuke."

"Wrong."

The blonde sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke's an ass?"

"No."

"Oh! I know! Asshole!"

"Nope."

"Dammit, I was so sure of it too."

"Man, you really suck at this, Uzumaki."

The blonde chuckled, getting a kick out of this. "No, seriously Sasuke open up."

"Whatever." The doorknob turned and the door swung inward to reveal Sasuke standing in front of the doorway.

"Sorry Naruto, no girls allowed."

"Oh, you're a clever one! What're you doing in there then?"

Both teens shared a small chuckle as Naruto made his way past the brunette and sat down on the king-sized bed. Oddly enough, the earlier "incident" seemed to be in the forgotten past and the atmosphere wasn't as awkward as it had been before. By barely.

Wow we actually joked around with each other. If things will stay like this, maybe we'll actually survive. The blonde thought to himself as he reached for the remote on the elongated cabinet and turned the flat screen on. As he searched through the channels, Sasuke walked past him and took a seat on the three-seat couch.

As the blonde began to realize that every broadcast was in Italian, he settled for a random news channel. Although every bit of it was practically inaudible for the blonde, he could care less. Naruto kicked his shoes off and lay down with his hands behind his head on the purple satin bed, contemplating what to do.

"So, you feel up for that party tonight, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha was leaning his head on his curled up fist. He shrugged. "Why? Should I?"

Naruto looked over to the Uchiha with a small smirk. "You could so you can at least say that you were happy about something in your life."

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed to slits. "In that case, I wouldn't want to break my streak."

Woah, death glare.

"That doesn't mean you have to be such a tight ass about it. You could've just said no…"

Italian speaking silence greeted the teens again as the blonde stared onto the ceiling. Naruto's eyebrows pulled together before he spoke again.

"Sasuke, why don't you ever let up?"

The Uchiha gave him another raised eyebrow. The blonde restated himself.

"What I mean is, why do you hate me so much?"

More silence came from Sasuke. Naruto knew it was impossible to get an answer out of him, but maybe he could get an A for effort. It's not like there was anything else to do.

"Fine, don't answer that then. Why did you come on this trip then?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto then down to the beige carpet before mumbling, "Like that's any of your business…"

"Will you answer any of my questions without being a jerk…?"

Sasuke shrugged then turned his attention to the news, which showed the storm system that was making its way toward Rome.

The blonde sighed then sat up.

"We're in Italy for Christ's sake. The least you could do is act happy… What happened to us being friends, Sasuke? Will you at least answer that?"

"I know that our time together has been… Well, weird for one and… I just wanted to let you know that throughout all of this, I feel that maybe I became your friend. Yeah, weird to put it that way, but I thought I'd tell you since we may get out of here today."

"Sure… Um, thanks… Same here."

Naruto waited for a response from the Uchiha, but none came. Sasuke was still studying the beige carpet below and his coal black eyes seemed empty, passive, and caught. The blonde stared at Sasuke's face, waiting for an answer still. The Uchiha's eyes continued to bore into the floor and they seemed frozen in time. Sasuke seemed to be debating with himself. Naruto sighed and stood, finally making Sasuke's eyes look up to him.

"Look, Sasuke. Whatever, alright? Just… Forget I ever said anything."

Naruto then began to walk toward the door.

"I'll be back, I'm getting something to eat." The blonde muttered then closed the door behind him, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

Naruto made his way to the elevator, his thoughts scrambling to find his own answer to everything he'd asked Sasuke. Sasuke made no sense to the blonde. It was always an emotional roller coaster with Sasuke. A roller coaster that you could never get off of. Naruto just wished that Sasuke would open up, at least attempt at telling Naruto what was wrong. Naruto would understand and try to change.

Isn't that what friends do? Try to change when something's wrong?

The blonde sighed as he waited for the elevator to hit the bottom floor.

What does he want me to say?

The truth, Sasuke.

What truth? I've got nothing to say to that dobe.

That night he was drunk. That night you stole his-

Not. Now.

The Uchiha put strong barriers around his sane conscious to block his alter ego that seemed to invade his mind a little too much for comfort. Luckily, his alter ego also sealed itself away, knowing that he wasn't welcome right now. Sasuke stood up from the couch and walked over to the over-sized window. He pushed the curtains aside and revealed the view of the coliseum… And a notebook?

What the?

Sasuke picked the notebook up and opened it to the first page. It had writing and the Uchiha read it to himself.

'We got to Rome okay. Not that the plane ride was exciting. Rome is pretty cool actually. Sasuke doesn't help that he's always in a sour mood. Some roommate he is… I should probably get some sleep for the museum tomorrow.'

Sasuke's eyebrows pulled together in thought.

Does he complain about me every chance he gets?

Naruto's grin had inevitably returned, as he was lucky enough to get free food. He'd passed Lee who, after the blonde told him he was going to get some food, gave him a few cups of ramen. The blonde didn't ask where Lee had gotten it but he could care less. Naruto got his ramen and was heading back to his room happy as can be. Until he got to the 25th floor and he remembered that Sasuke was waiting for him to return. Oh, goody…

Knock, knock, knock.

"Yo! Sasuke! Open up, it's me."

Moments later, the door opened to, once again, reveal a solemn-faced Uchiha. Naruto made his way past Sasuke then he put his cups of ramen down on the elongated glass cabinet.

"I got some ramen for us, Sasuke. I know you don't rea-"

The blonde turned around and stopped mid-sentence when he saw the Uchiha with his arm stretched out toward Naruto. The blonde gave Sasuke a puzzled look and began, "What're you-"

"Let's start over, like you said." Sasuke interrupted. "I know I haven't been the greatest person to be around… And I'm…"

The Uchiha acted as though he lost his train of thought only to regain it a few moments later.

"I'm sorry. What happened in the past shouldn't matter… So, let's restart things."

The blonde was astonished at what he was hearing coming out of Sasuke's mouth. Had his prayers been answered? Naruto looked down to his still outstretched hand then back up to Sasuke's face. Naruto couldn't find any trace of a lie in the Uchiha's features, not even in his eyes.

Naruto put his hand in Sasuke's. The blonde grinned slightly just as Sasuke's small smile appeared.

"Sure, Sasuke. You bet."

Both teens had agreed on something and it was something that pleased each of them. That was an oddity to the blonde. He didn't know about Sasuke, but he was amazed, to say the least.

Naturally, the blonde went back to his cups of instant ramen. As he was looking them over, excited to eat each of them, he reminded himself about the party.

"Oh! Sasuke!"

The Uchiha had gone back to sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over the other and his head resting on his hand again.

"What?" His enthusiastic tone rang out.

"About that party…"

Loud, foreign music could clearly be heard as Naruto stepped out of the car. The night sky was clear and held not a single cloud, only vast amounts of stars and the moon. The air was, once again, chilly and it made the blonde shiver. However, he was not only shivering because of the cool air. He was shivering in excitement. So many people were already here.

The house, rather manor, was a three-story beauty. With the style of an old vineyard manor, the walls of the house were light brown with many vines growing along its sides. The manor had many windows along its light brown walls, almost every one of them were lit from inside. The walls of the manor were shaped into a perfect square and the salmon colored tiled roof slanted down on the left and right sides of the manor. From what the blonde could recall from school, this manor was made during the Renaissance period. Its roof and structure suggested as such.

In the front of the house, there was a single, large, double wooden door that was wide open for guests. The stone steps that led up to the manor's door had a stone railing on each side as it fanned out the further it went from the door. And lastly, on each side of the steps at the bottom, there lay a stone carved horse.

"This party is going to be awesome!"

*Sexual innuendo - In other words, cum.

-Fangirl giggle-

Sasukec: I wonder what Lee's friend pays on the taxes for that house… Or does the system work like that in Italy…?

Eh, I'm confusing myself xD

I hope you enjoyed chapter 10! Chap 11 will contain the following: love, betrayal, lemons, alcohol, and emotional baggage! :D Stay tuned ;)

Also! If you didn't catch my notice (I should still have it up…), seiikiru on deviantart(dot)com will be drawing a scene from each chapter of Solitary Bliss! Be sure to check out seiikiru on deviantart(dot)com to see how AMAZING their gallery is.