Discalimer: If I owned Naruto it would be one epic failure...so obviously I don't.

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...Clarity...

Selfish Pain: Part One

It brings back childhood memories walking to the monument and although Naruto is freezing cold, mostly because he didn't put on a sweater, he is a bit nervous.

"Dobe."

Naruto turns his head to look at his brooding best friend who is leaning his head against the rocks of the monument. His eyes are closed and yet he seems tense. But Naruto is use to it, oddly. Sasuke can never be truly comfortable.

And Naruto is reluctant slightly because Sasuke has not called him that in a long while. Since Naruto officially declared them best friends, again, after a major fight a while ago. So Naruto is suspicious and a bit nervous.

"Sasuke," He grants the name with ease, not calling him out to be the usual bastard that he is. "What's up?"

"Ino told you about Sakura, didn't she?" The ravenette opens his eyes to reveal his dark orbs. Sasuke gazes at him for a long while until he closes his eyes again. Naruto can tell Sasuke is needing sleep. "Or she may have told you some bullshit. What was it?"

Fidgeting with his hands the blonde boy sits besides Sasuke, his reluctance to do so isn't really shown. "She said Sakura was tired of me and was...seeing someone." He can barely bite it out because the thought is so unbearable and so embarassing. He always told Sasuke he would marry her. He was hoping it was true.

"Hn. She didn't tell you why she was mad?" Sasuke asks and Naruto swears he hears a bit of fear in that question. But Naruto brushes it off as Sasuke being too tired.

"No."

"Well,"

And Sasuke doesn't say much after that and Naruto is hoping to God that he is not sleeping. The teenager, although only a few pounds lighter than Naruto himself, is extremely hard to move around when unconscious. That comes with the experience of having the carry the Uchiha into his own Jeep a few times Junior after a few house parties.

So Naurto turns his head to get a look at the Uchiha. His eyes are closed, shut tight and hard. However his breathing is sharp and Naruto knows that the Uchiha may have drifted off, or is just trying to word his next sentence better.

But when Naruto looks down at the Uchiha he feels a bit of guilt rising up in chest. "You got dressed?" He questions quietly and as if a bomb went off Sasuke's eyes fly open and catch Naruto's blue orbs.

It's only a second, just a mere moment in time, but Naruto is sure that his breath hitches when he sees an emotion he hasn't seen on Sasuke's face since his father's death...desperation.

The guilt only builds more when Sasuke scowls and checks Naruto up and down to find that Naruto is only in his batman sweats and a black v-neck t-shirt.

"Well unlike you I had the decency to actually get dressed." The Uchiha crosses his arms over his chest looking out at the horizon which is ablazed with the red and orange and yet seems to blend in so well with the light blue's and dark purple's.

"I didn't wake up so early as to not get something to eat." Sasuke says gruffly and Naruto has to blink back his surprise.

"Eat...you mean, you're buying me breakfast!?"

"No I mean I'm driving you to McDonald's to buy something off the dollar menu."

"If that's your way of being funny it's not, I could die eating that stuff."

"Who said I was being funny?" Sasuke asks, his stoic face now showing a world of amusement as Naruto stammers and starts ranting.

"Didn't you hear their theme song Sasuke. It's so clear." Naruto whines. "Badabababa, It's a fucking heart attack!"

Sasuke's amused face lights up as he let's a small smile graze his lips and Naruto smiles at it too.

"You really are an idiot."

"Yeah and you're a jackass, but you don't see me complaining."

-page break-

Even with all the odd stares that seem to be directed towards him Naruto is happy and has forgotten all about the whole Sakura thing. And it seems as if Sasuke has too. His eyes are gleaming with happiness and for some reason, even though Naruto remembers their conversation they have on the monument he doesn't bother with bringing it up again.

Their sitting in a bookstore now, or more like Naruto is sitting while Sasuke is fingering (heh, fingering...hey, a pervert raised him!) through some books. However the ravenette seems to be looking at stuff that Naruto would not deem Sasuke's type of book. Of course Naruto doesn't know what type of books Sasuke's reads, although there was one time he caught the ravenette 'scanning' as the Uchiha claims, through a paranormal romance novel. The popular one called Twatlight or something like that.

"Eh, Sasuke, I thought you were going to fill me up!" With food of course. Yet the ravenette stops abruptly then continues his onslaught on the books glancing at Naruto with a scowl.

"You're in a library, idiot. Don't yell."

And Naruto knows this. When he was dating Hinata the girl loved to spend all her precious time in there reading and what not. He was chided by the librarian plenty of times because he rose his voice too loud. It got to the point where they were both suspended from library. He always felt bad for that.

"I know, but shesh, I'm starving!" And Naruto wagers that it wasn't his best bet to get up and check out the books Sasuke was looking at.

Naruto completely misses the light pink blush that is spread on Sasuke cheeks.

"Camping? Sasuke when do you ever go camping?" Naruto comments as quietly as possible using his indoor voice. He was taking the clerk's glare as a serious threat right now. Why did that guy look familiar?

"I thought we could all get away, and get along." And Naruto has to frown at that because it implies two things.

Naruto going camping. And Naruto going camping with someone he rather despises as a human being.

"What do you mean go camping? And with who-!"

"Sush!"

Naruto glances that the clerk a bit startled but gives a sheepish apologetic grin. Then he turns back to Sasuke. "What do you-?"

However he is only left to see Sasuke's retreating back as the teen is heading to check out aisle. When did the ravenette even choose a book?

Sasuke places his books at the counter and turns to Naruto as if not wanting to have the conversation at all. His eyes are set in a glare as he turns to Naruto with a steely gaze. "After all of those parties you dragged me to Naruto you cannot not go camping. Besides you like the outdoors."

Sasuke has obviously prepared for this and Naruto is left with his defense of 'What, you didn't like those parties' and 'Since when did I even say I liked- wait scratch that. Since when did I ever show an interest in camping?!'

It almost causes a stroke to happen when the clerk suddenly speaks interrupting their talk.

"That will be twelve dollars and forty eight cents."

Naruto frowns as he recognizes the voice and the all too fake smile of his class mate and ex-girlfriends best friend.

"You work here Sai?"

"Don't talk to me, unless you want to get me in bed too?"

Naruto's eyes are furrowed in distinct confusion as he looks at Sai with question. "What-?" But before he has any time to actually question the boy Sasuke shoves his hand in front Sai's chest offering up the money and then takes his book dragging Naruto along with him.

"-The hell?"

Author's Notes: I find that my chapters are painfully short. Last minute typing is so troublesome. Especially after doing an assignment last minute. I think I'm Shikamaru's twin...he most likely wouldn't haven't attempted to do my History project. Is that an insult?

P.S

Can you tell the pattern to my updates? Or at least guess what Sasuke did? Because my story is in Naruto's POV and we...well actually you won't find out until a while later...