The first thing

By: Chibi

The first thing Naruto wanted to do was punch him. He wanted to feel his fist crash into one of those perfectly pitch black eyes. No tearful hugs, no longing kisses, nothing along the lines of a beautiful reunion. A simple punch in the face as a greeting, and a, "Sasuke you bastard," as a conversation.

Sasuke simply stood at the door and waited, because what else could he do? He stood and waited for the first move to be made because he himself had no right to make it. What was he doing there? What in the world had possessed him to go and see this person after two, almost three years? He had been trying to figure it out ever since his body decided to get up and walk back to the village he had abandoned, to the people, no, person he had abandoned.

Why did Sasuke go back to Naruto?

Naruto looked the same, just as Sasuke had left him. Only taller, but still adorably short for his age. To Sasuke, Naruto was out of the cute stage, more on the borderlines of beautiful, maybe even desirable. Sasuke knew that by now, people were finally paying attention to Naruto. Perhaps even asking him out on dates, ignoring any reasons why they might've disliked him at first. Now, perhaps Naruto had become as popular as Sasuke had been.

Had been...

Did Sasuke come back to restore those days, to remove the had been in any sentence associated with Konoha village, with his team... with Naruto? That was impossible. Sasuke had sacrificed those days when he turned his back on the village, his friends...

... Naruto.

Apologizing for that would be a lie. Sasuke had known what he was doing and what he was giving up. He wanted power, delicious amounts of power, and as he stood before Naruto now Naruto could feel the power Sasuke had gained these past few years. Maybe the village really had been holding him back.

Maybe he had been holding Sasuke back.

Sasuke who still looked the same, only taller, handsomely taller for his age. The kind of height that was perfect for lifting a lover into strong arms. Arms that held amounts of power Naruto couldn't even begin to describe. Arms, body, eyes, everything that made up this person created from years of training, fighting... killing. This person made up of training, fighting, and killing, molded into something dangerous and strangely exotic and rare.

What was more unnerving, Naruto wondered? The fact that Sasuke had done all of this with no problem, had left his home and the people closest to him to go off and lead a life down what others but himself called the wrong path? Or the fact that it felt, to Naruto, now that he thought about it, as if Sasuke had finally found his place. No matter how much Sasuke had during that time as a member of Team 7, as Naruto's rival and so much more, as Sakura's crush and person to look up to... the boy never seemed to really fit in. Naruto could feel it, the need for Sasuke to leave and go off on his own.

But Naruto still ended up chasing after him. Foolish? Maybe, but Naruto knew that he'd always chase after Sasuke. For nothing else, to see him, to fight with him, to be close to him. Maybe he'd bring him back, maybe not. At this point it didn't really matter. Naruto had grown selfish over the years because if he could at least catch a glimpse, even by chance, of Sasuke that would make his day. Had almost become as bad, if not worse, than the girls in their class who were obsessed with Sasuke. He'd wake up thinking about him for the simple purpose of punching him in the face when they met again, would eat and imagine the boy eating with him, would train and imagine his sparring partner as Sasuke. Naruto couldn't help himself. Sasuke was his opposite, his rival, his best friend... the opposite so similar that he couldn't help but fall in love with him.

Maybe Sasuke felt the same way. Maybe that's why he had come back. Was he going to stay? Was it possible for him to love a person more than he loved his brother? More than he loved his brother for making him this powerful, forcing him to focus on gaining strength? More than love his brother enough to kill him, show him what he himself had created the night he had taken everything away from Sasuke, show him what he himself had created the day his words forced Sasuke to again, lose everything he had ever had?

Naruto.

Above them the sky exploded into a spray of colors. They could both hear the cheers of the village and see it come alive in a shower of greens, blues, yellows. Clocks began to go off, ringing to announce the midnight hour. The normal star covered sky of black became decorated in screams of purple, sparkles of pink, rained with orange and red.

At that moment black and blue met, truly met for the first time in three years as of today. "Happy New Year, Naruto." It wasn't what was said, but the way it had been said that brought a smile to Naruto's lips. Brought a smile that seemed as if Sasuke had been there for those three years, had never left, had never turned his back on everything, on him. And maybe... he was, in a way, there this entire time. Maybe, somehow, Sasuke had been with Naruto these past few years. Was that why Sasuke left his headband, now scarred across the leaf? The headband Naruto wore proudly, always, as if it were more important than his own headband.

Maybe, no not maybe... it was.

But none of that mattered at the moment. Three years without each other until now. Questions could go unanswered and battles didn't have to be fought. Three years, both knew that this would lead to something that both were meant to face. Good or bad, together or separately, more questions that could go unanswered.

But one thing was certain. It would start out good. The first thing of this New Year, this new journey, would be remembered and would be cherished as something good.

Because the first thing Sasuke wanted to do was kiss him. He wanted to feel his lips brush against lips that always plagued his thoughts, teased against his heart and actually made him have second thoughts at times about what he had done. Never regret, Sasuke never regretted gaining the power, but at times those lips would whisper in his ear and make him question so much that he knew he did feel guilt for causing pain, but not regret for getting what he wanted. Even so, he wanted no harsh words, no raised fists, nothing along the lines of that battle that changed everything for the bittersweetness of it all. A simple kiss as a greeting, a kiss so simple that their hearts would race and tears might spill down their faces, and conversation made up of whispered words underneath sheets that had been begging to feel two bodies caressing them instead of just one.

And Naruto simply stood at the door. "Happy New Year, Sasuke." And waited. Waited for the first move to be made because he himself had no right to make it.

Not by himself, at least.

So Naruto pushed his door open. And Sasuke took the required steps to get to him, to get inside.

Because it was the first thing they both wanted in this New Year.

Owari