Notes at the end

[DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or the characters, they belong to M. Kishimoto.]

Panting and slightly frantic, Sasuke arrived at the heaven called his doorstep. He knew Naruto was inside, probably waiting for him, and it made his heart swell. Thank God.

He rumaged around in the pocket of his coat for his keys and felt a piece of folded up paper. He growled, knowing it had to be Orochimaru's number or something to contact him again about his ''offer''. He found his keys and quickly opened the door, shutting it behind him in record time and leaning against the cold surface with his back, letting his anxiety slide off him. He knew he wasn't being followed, and luckily he couldn't feel any weird after effects of that drug.

Dashing around the corner came a relieved looking Naruto, complete with oven mittens on and the smell of spaghetti, and it almost made Sasuke want to jump in his arms.

Naruto had thought of all the ways he could casually greet Sasuke when he came back again from wherever he had been gone too the evening before, but when he heard the front door his wooden spoon and half cooked dish were promptly dropped and he was dashing to the hallway.

''Sasuke!'' He jogged up to his friend and smiled.

Sasuke couldn't help return a lopsided smile at the way Naruto's big eyes revealed all of his emotions.

Somehow, without talking, they both knew something had changed.

The blond teen breathed in and combed a hand through his unruly hair. He gave Sasuke a meaningful look. ''Listen, Sasuke, I'm sorry about the way i acted yesterday, alright? It was childish and stupid-''

''I'm sorry too, dobe,'' Sasuke interupted, making Naruto raise his brows slightly.

''For not saying anything.'' As an afterthought; ''And for acting so constipated all of the time.''

At this, Naruto promptly burst out laughing.

The dry tone this was said in was typical, but Sasuke calling himself constipated was not something he had expected from the slightly roughed up looking teen.

He covered his mouth as his snorts echoed through the hallway and Sasuke stood there, smirking and enjoying the sound. He let his head lean against the door with a thumping sounds and sighed contently.

It's not that he was powerless. He knew this. In todays society it wasn't that important if one could fight or if one had the mindset to kill.

What was important today was that you knew how people worked; you had to be sly and a skilled liar to be able to properly defend yourself.

Now sasuke wasnt one to call himself immensely socially skilled.

One of the things he was impressed by was the way Naruto befriended strangers in record time and how he managed to make it mean something at the same time. The ability to be aware of others wasn't something he had much of.

He was a self centred being for the most part, and the people he did care about misused his trust. Hesitant to makecthe same mistakes more than once, young sasuke had shut the window to his trusting soul and taped it closed a long time ago.

And so, as he was sat on his bed, he dialed the number wearing a resolved frown and waited for Orochimaru to pick up.

As soon as he heard a click, he started talking.

"I'll do it. If you dare lay a finger on Naruto I swear I will kill you."

He heard a sinister chuckle and waited for the man on the other side of the line to start talking.

"Very well. We will begin our first session in a couple of days. I expect you not to be hesitant and do as I say is that clear, Sasuke?"

He hated the way his name sounded as it slithered out of the snakes mouth.

"Hn."

He hung up the phone, just to feel like he still had some kind of control over this.

Sorry for taking five hundred years. I'm not dead.

College started though holy shit.

Hope you still enjoy this tiny chapter as an offering,,.,.,