It is an accident. Another boy bumps Naruto and the blond dobe topples forward into Sasuke. The logical part of Sasuke's brain tells him this.
That it is a kiss, regardless of its nature, reduces the Uchiha to blushing, growling usuratonkachi. The girls think he's angry at Naruto. Let them think so.
~*~*~*~
The fact that there had been a second kiss is highly irregular and Sasuke refuses to believe it happened at all, despite the fact that his traitorous fingertips are running over his lips at the thought. He glances over at his sleeping teammate and tries not to recall that night, just after Haku had nearly killed him, that Naruto crawled into his bedroll, pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth, and grinned. He distinctly does not remember slipping a hand behind Naruto's head and kissing him again--Is that three kisses?--his tongue sliding into his teammates mouth the way Kakashi's book said it should.
Shaking fingers reach out to Naruto's hand that's lying still, thrust toward him across their side-by-side blankets, but he pulls back at the last second when the blond whispers, "Sasuke..." He can't be sure if Naruto's awake and...it isn't worth the embarrassment if he is.
It was only a nightmare, after all. He thinks he should be used to it by now, and certainly doesn't need to hold the stupid dobe's hand through the night.
~*~*~*~
"Stop fighting like a girl! Can't even kill your...your best friend right; thought you were s'posed to be so perfect, teme."
Sasuke ignores the comment. He can't deny what Naruto says, only continues to hold back, pull his punches, defend more than attack.
And then, because the stupid, stupid blond starts speaking of bonds and love and friendship and, of course, he's right again, they meet head on. Rasengan vs. Chidori. The sight would make Kakashi-sensei cry, but neither boy knows that or why.
When Sasuke's hand bursts through Naruto's chest, he's too drunk on power and fear...and a second, heavier fear that he's killed his friend, just like he planned. He's too blind already--blind as any Uchiha whose eyes have seen too much--to realize Naruto was pulling his own punches, the last, most of all.
He leaves him there, and Sasuke doesn't know if Naruto is going to live or die and can't be bothered to care. Care takes more effort than hate. Hurts more, too. He admits it begrudgingly, disappearing into the forest without a backward glance. He's too afraid to look.
~*~*~*~
"Hey, teme, wake up. Hey..."
Twelve-year-old Sasuke sits up on Naruto's bed in his dingy little apartment, scowling at the annoying boy and the annoying fact that he's had to sleep at Naruto's for the third night in a row. Never mind that he secretly enjoys it, that he's glad the water pipes burst in his own apartment and that Sandaime declared the Uchiha district too far afield for one bearing his student-traitor's curse seal.
"What's your problem?"
"I-I need to know...why did you kill me?"
Two black eyes go wide, the barest amount of light from a sliver of cold moon shining off them in the near-darkness. "You're not dead. I didn't...Naruto didn't die."
Bright laughter he once enjoyed fills the room; it's only harsh to him now, accusatory and thin. "Of course, I did. You left me, Sasuke. How am I supposed to go on without you?" The blond that isn't Naruto, but some sadistic half-mad version of the boy stands and wanders around the room, breaking things: trinkets that Sasuke somehow remembers were invaluable to his friend. It turns on him, and its next words are whispered, as if Naruto truly were standing there in front of him. "Aren't you lonely, too, Sasuke?"
"Yes, gods, yes, Naruto...so lonely...I--" Sasuke doesn't jerk up out of bed in a cold sweat as he had when the dreams started two years ago. He rises noiselessly and retreats into the bathroom to wash his face, catching a glimpse of the pale man he's become, wondering if Naruto would even recognize him.
A tired sigh escapes as he drops back onto the bed and he forces it into an angry sneer, in case he's being watched. He only hopes he hasn't said anything out loud in his sleep. Again. Orochimaru--or worse, Kabuto, he thinks, unable to suppress a shiver--doesn't need any more power over him.
In his head, he begins to plan his departure. The snake will never see it coming.
~*~*~*~
He is twenty-four years old when he tires of running and fighting without a cause. The huge gates are a welcome sight, and his first steps within Konoha release the last tension from his chest. He greets the two unknown chuunin manning the guard station and asks them to take him into custody. Asks them to take him to the Hokage.
They demand his name in return and pale when he answers, but do their duty as true Konoha nin. "We'll take you to Rokudaime." Along the way they are flanked by an ANBU with wild silver hair, and some distant part of Sasuke wonders if the chuunin even detect him, or if he is there for Sasuke's benefit alone. Silently, he inquires if he's there to kill him, and his former sensei's posture clearly states, "Maybe."
He tries desperately not to look as they pass Ichiraku, but his eyes wander to the empty stools and he lets out a disappointed breath.
It is only upon entering the administrative building that he realizes what the chuunin have said. He doesn't ask what has happened to Godaime or who was chosen as her replacement. It doesn't really matter.
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Story notes: These were written separately, but then ended up being about the same pair and...tada? Written for Sasuke's birthday. I don't write happy endings, but he deserved one, I think, since I'm usually killing him or someone he cares about. Though it's Sasuke, so don't expect a runaway romance. I really hope you enjoy it.
Chapter notes: Moments leading up to the second part. Naruto and Sasuke have shared many things, but the most important thing they share is a bond that couldn't be severed, no matter how hard Sasuke tried.