In the end, Sasuke did try the Oreo milkshake, right before he cringed and shoved the "heinous, repulsive excuse for a beverage" away from him. Sakura cried with laughter.

The diner was warm and quiet, and the group consumed an inappropriate amount of food together. They ordered shakes and fries, blueberry muffins and apple pies. The band managed to open up comfortably in front of Sasuke, who remained mostly quiet, but not uncomfortably so, given it was his nature. He occasionally commented on the things he heard from the audience, whether they were planned or simply ingenious mistakes. Hinata and Gaara ended up flattered, and Kiba and Sakura took turns badgering him about their volume and style.

As it turned out, Sasuke didn't misunderstand what happened on stage. He observed quietly, asked questions, and soaked up their knowledge easily. Naruto played some classic rock on the jute box, whistled at the waitress when she started dancing. She knew them well by now.

Kiba, Gaara, and Sakura parted with them outside the diner, proclaiming they were gonna persuade a bum into buying them liquor. Naruto laughed heartily, wishing them luck, as he, Sasuke, and Hinata meandered through the late night city streets.

"Your brother really left all that music behind?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked to his friend, then to... well, he supposed his other friend.

Sasuke paused. "Yes."

"That's a shame."

Naruto recalled the piano that sat in Sasuke's living room. It was clean, like Sasuke's guardian maintained it despite it having no purpose. The music lay in bins beside it, untouched for years. Sasuke's face had worn sad nostalgia when Naruto had picked out the sheets without permission.

"Oh, that music I saw when I was snooping in your house?" Naruto joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Hinata replied a soft, "That's what Sasuke said happened. It's sad."

"Yeah. I can't imagine someone getting so good at something and then abandoning it. I could never do that to my guitar."

"Did he ever tell you why he gave it up?"

Sasuke continued walking, as though he didn't plan on answering that question. They were approaching Hinata's house, which was almost as opulent as Sasuke's. However, Hinata's room was more like a small jail than part of the home.

They stopped before the door while Hinata fumbled for her keys.

"No," Sasuke eventually said, "but he did once tell me he was moving on from the past."

He and Hinata shared steady eye contact, and Naruto wondered if Hinata understood something he didn't. She eventually nodded, pat his shoulder, hugged Naruto, and bid them farewell.

Naruto searched Sasuke's face. "I don't think moving on means abandoning things you love."

Sasuke shut his eyes, turned to walk away. "To him, it does."

Watching Sasuke's dark form walk into the night, Naruto saw what Hinata saw: an abandoned once-loved navigating life from a time now past. Alone.

Naruto followed him.

"Where're we going?"

Sasuke shrugged, and they walked straight.

"My...dad is going to be upset if I come home this late."

Naruto nodded. Sometimes he wished Jiraiya cared so much about his whereabouts, but sometimes he saw how inconvenient it would be if he did. He just hoped he wasn't drunk.

"So... you wanna find some booze?"

Sasuke snorted. "I was thinking more of studying in a 24 hour library, then wandering around until morning."

"Ah."

...yeah, it was pretty awkward.

"You know, you don't have to come with me, Naruto."

"I showed you what I do, now I wanna know what you do. Only fair, ya know." Naruto played Sasuke's game.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"C'mon," Naruto shoved him. "Don't be that way."

Sasuke looked at him. "What I do is none of your business, nor is it particularly exciting."

"What, so I've just been a way for you to get away from it?" Naruto challenged.

No. Don't slip back into that.

"I don't expect you to understand, Naruto."

Whatever the Hell that meant. So he didn't want to bore Naruto. Alright, whatever.

"I can't understand if you don't show me, man."

Sasuke stopped walking. Considered, maybe.

"I can't. But you and your friends seem to have a knack for figuring things out."

There was hope in his voice. Naruto was confused, but at least they weren't fighting.

"If you have nothing to do, why don't we go to my place? There's not much to do there either, but at least you won't be wandering around at night."

They did go. Naruto was relieved to find that Jiraiya had left a note this time stating he would be back around noon the next day. But, there was still no apology.

Naruto dropped his guitar on the couch and locked the door. He led Sasuke upstairs, and allowed his mind to catch up to his body as he handed him his sweat pants and tee shirt.

He was... sleeping over?

"Here. I dunno if you like Edith Piaf, but... just wear it."

Sasuke nodded. They watched TV, and when their phones illuminated 3:00, they retired to bed.

Naruto's clothes, Naruto's bed, and right next to him. Naruto fought off the nagging leap in his chest and rapid flow of blood to his cheeks.

It's 4 am, and he's a victim of habit once again. Addiction claws at his eyes, runs through his veins, pumps his heart and makes him breathe. He can't sleep without it.

There's no escape from it. He can admit that he's entrapped in the unrelenting turmoil of possibility. Maybe. False hope stones him down, so every morning he's a child once again.

This is what it's like being nailed to a cross, he thinks. Except he's bleeding out, and his prayer collapsed on his tongue.

His phone screen illuminates and he swipes. His muscle memory kicks in and his trained thumbs work the numbers into the screen as he raises it to his ear.

He rolls over tentatively, facing away from the warm body on his left as it shifts from the covers' movement. An answering machine picks up, and he recalls it word by word.

Hello, this is Itachi Uchiha. I'm unavailable at the moment, but if you leave a voicemail, I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.

As usual.

The dial tone came, and he swiveled to check on the sleeping form. Deeming it safe, he sighed into his phone and tried to tear the stiff, muting lump from his throat.

"Hey, brother."

I miss you.

I need you.

"You've been... unavailable for a while now."

And I don't know why you've decided to rip yourself out of my life.

"So I was just wondering what's going on."

Do you blame me?

"Call me back when you can."

Because they died yesterday and I'm the only one that seems to remember.

Please just call me back.

He's clung to that hope for three years. He'll cling to it for an hour, because maybe this time it's different. He holds the solid rectangle, his passage to another world, in his palms. He presses his palms together, shuts his eyes, and waits until child in him wanes completely. Then, he puts the phone down.

"Is everything okay?"

The rough voice came from the sleepy figure to his left. His head snaps to attention at the sudden intrusion into his thoughts, and ebony eyes meet azure ones. Sasuke hadn't realized Naruto could be such a light sleeper.

"Yes. Go back to sleep."

Naruto stared at him with that disgustingly kind, open face. It was trustworthy, caring.

It was completely dangerous.

He ignored Naruto, who seemed to always beg him to open up. The tanned skin screamed, tell me and I'll tell you. We have nothing left to lose.

It grew harder to resist as time wore on.

"Seriously, man." The hoarse voice whispered from behind him. "You seem upset."

He was upset. The present was a nightmare only escapable by being addicted to the past. And even that was eating him alive.

So why not talk? Why not spill his guts to the guy he met only last month? He has an open face, a talent, a knack for making him comfortable. Why not?

He wants to. It's that damn mute in his throat that makes him swallow his words. He drops hints, shows how he feels, because he can't trust himself not to get addicted to a new way out. If it goes, he knows what will happen. Loss will sit on his throat, and it will collapse completely.

"Is your stepdad worried about you? Do you need to go home or something?"

Is he worried... as if.

"No. I was just..."

Tell him! Please, just tell him!

Stop. You don't want to go there.

The desperate voice usually didn't control him like this. But sometimes, loss can overpower will.

"...leaving a message for my brother."

Naruto watched him. Sasuke sensed it on the side of his head, burning his ear. From his peripheral vision, Sasuke saw nothing cross Naruto's face. His eyes were the same wide, deep, beautiful blue they always were. Open. Hopeful. But not naive.

Not at all. Sasuke wondered if he could confide in them.

"Oh. He didn't pick up?"

Of course not.

"He never does."

Stop or he might catch on. He's not dumb, you know.

Naruto didn't answer right away, and searched Sasuke's face. Sasuke was sure to wipe it clean of any evidence. His poker face was a carved stone, resilient and brittle.

Naruto filled the silence. "That's shitty."

His words are simple, but not trite. They perfectly encompass everything in the least poetic way possible. He sounds like a moron. And he understands better than the wisest of people. It's shitty. That's it.

Sasuke looked at him, because he couldn't help it. Naruto's boyish face cracked a crescent moon. White teeth glistened in the dark. The tanned skin reflected the stars. Sasuke felt his core warm, and everything around it was soothed.

"...yeah. It's shitty."

Naruto actually chuckled at this. It was a note of ease.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that. Where's the valedictorian?"

"He's off the clock at this hour."

"Well, at least he swings by during the day. He's been late to my office for about...what, sixteen years?"

This boy never ceased to amaze him.

"He has a limited schedule, actually. He tends to only visit companies with the best potential."

Naruto punched his arm good-naturedly. "Jeeze, shots fired!"

It's dangerous.

Sasuke laughs.

"Dude," Naruto starts, "for real. When's the last time he picked up the phone?"

Sasuke knew Naruto could tell how much weight this had. He wasn't sure how he could, but Naruto seemed to have a knack for understanding people. He didn't question it, but still didn't think it wise to answer truthfully.

"It's been...a while."

He did anyway.

"Did you guys fight or something?"

"I don't think so."

"What?"

"We don't interact like that. We hide what we're really saying behind different words."

Naruto caught that too quickly. Sasuke dropped a larger clue than he should have, this time about his nature in general.

"So you act like business associates?" Naruto chimed, then gave that shiteating grin.

"I guess so. It was always like that with my family."

"But if you didn't fight, why do you think he's stopped picking up the phone?"

Because I haunt him. Because he blames me. Because he's decided he's moving on.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"I'm sorry, then. When you talk about him, you make him seem..."

Like my biggest inspiration. My mentor, my superior, someone I don't think I could live up to. The best brother in the world. The pinnacle of kindness. A genius at everything he'd ever worked at. My only living family. My God. My obsession. My brother.

"...really awesome."

There. He did it again. How does he do that?

"He is. But he doesn't seem to be interested in me right now."

Stone mask went back on before Naruto could reply.

"It's fine. Just force of habit to call him."

"Okay then. Wanna glass of juice?"

Sasuke drew his eyebrows together in his most judgmental expression.

"Who chooses to rot their teeth at this hour?"

Naruto shoved him. His playful stare conveyed to Sasuke that he'd learned his game by now. Sasuke didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.

"I'll get water for you then, you shithead."

He left the room, and softly padded down the steps to the kitchen, dining room fusion room. Sasuke flopped back into his disgustingly orange pillows. Things were growing harder. At the same time, a void felt like it was slowly filling that night. It burned. Things gnawed at him. Worry plagued him. But, it was finally fading after so many years.

Naruto came in with water and cranberry juice. Sasuke teased him. Naruto slapped him. It was the most peaceful things had been in a while.