Author's Notes

Hello everyone, it's been a long time since I last uploaded anything. Life was really busy. Anyhow, I don't own Naruto, unfortunately. T_T I came back to you with a new story, this time we are going back in time! :D So sit back and enjoy the first chapter! I missed you all! A special thanks to my amazing beta, UnapologeticLatinFangirl, for her wonderful edits and great job!

Everything was going wrong. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a pessimist, he really wasn't. Whenever one of his friends would point out a bad situation, he'd always find a way to see the bright side. He counted it a talent, to see the half full glass, but somehow, it seemed like that talent - alongside his life – was crumbling away. Naruto took a deep breath and encouraged himself from within, everything would turn around; the awful things that were happening to him would change any minute now. He refused to think that that day brought him nothing but misfortune. However, as his legs dragged his heavy weight away from the director's office, all his wishes died down. He was fired.

The job that he worked his ass off, for three whole years, was snatched from his grasp in a mere second. Least to say, he hadn't expected it. The man before him was saying a lot of fancy words, but his ears only registered few.

"Company… cut-down… passing through difficult times… we have to let you go."

The optimistic part in him was still fighting and calling this: "a bliss in disguise". Maybe his true calling wasn't this company or this occupation; maybe he was let go to find his reason for existence. Yet the reasonable part countered that he didn't suffer an existential crisis, and the company wasn't going through anything that big. True, recession did affect them, but it wasn't to the degree of letting him go. His salary didn't affect them that much. Besides, he offered more than he took. He was one of the people who always worked their best, getting employee of the month straight for a year, securing a lot of projects and treating the company as his second home.

Was he wrong?

As if to satisfy him with an answer, the clouds gathering above released early drops of rain. Naruto was numb to it, he didn't know when he'd left the company, gotten into his car or driven to his house. His suit was getting wet and the weather pinched a bit colder. He looked up as his feet guided him outside his house; shuffling through his pants, he unlocked the door and went in. The nice aroma of his home greeted his nostrils. But a second later, he cringed. The apartment was in the same sorry condition he left it as. The half burnt shirt was lying on the wet couch, the toaster that was thrown to the other side of the room, and the hole in his thin wall gave a perfect view to his bedroom. That was just a mere part of the whole mess, aside from all the dust that filled the place.

The blond heaved a sigh.

It told the story of a man waking up late and rushing through, putting stuff together. Breakfast was soon concluded to be toast and jam, yet the toaster appeared not to be working. Fumbling with the switch and the electricity was a bad decision, as suddenly the man's unbuttoned sleeve hooked on said toaster. Fire was soon to come and, panicking, the man used the flower's watering can to extinguish the fire on himself. Stumbling on his feet, he fell on his couch, splashing the water everywhere. The man decided to leave everything as it was and changed quickly to his beloved job. Forgetting the crucial detail of closing the windows, this allowed the dust from the sandstorm that hit that afternoon to decorate his apartment's lovely interior.

Naruto sighed upon remembering the events of his misfortune. Even after doing his best to reach work on time – traffic accidents aided in delaying that – he was fired.

Fired. Fired. Fired.

The word seemed foreign to his mind. He's worked very hard and somehow along the line he had forgotten that he could be replaced. Sighing, the blond went and closed his windows. Right now, he didn't need to think, he needed to act. His apartment was a disaster and he needed that fixed. Getting to the shower he brought out his tools and changed into comfortable wear then started work. Two hours later, the place looked presentable. The blond rushed to take a bath, feeling the sweat of the day rinse away with his misfortunes.

Finally he was sitting comfortably in his living room; his brain was about to overthink, yet the sound of thunder brought his attention to the opposite window. He walked towards it and saw a downpour hitting the streets. Some people were running here and there sheltering at convenience. Some chose to stand still under a shade and wait it out, and some like him, preferred to glance from a window.

Naruto leaned on the window frame and simply watched the outside. It was a privilege to have such a big window. The view wasn't all that terrible; sure his street had more shops than natural trees or a nice park, but it was calming to look at. He found that he liked observing people. People were so different it was laughable; they would handle situations in all different ways. He remembered a certain accident involving a dog. It was homeless, dirty and old. It was lying on the pastry shop opposite his apartment complex. A lot of people were kind to the old dog, but a lot also ignored its existence. A small fraction looked with disgust and guard against the animal. However, not a single one thought to bring it home.

Naruto understood the reason, people knew the dog was old and had a few days probably in him; he looked very frail to Naruto, so none wished to experience the heartache associated with sheltering a dying animal. It was simply human nature not wishing to see the bad. So the ones being momentarily kind secured self-assurance by telling themselves they've helped give him food, a nice pet or entertained him for a while. Even for a second, they thought it mattered enough.

Of course there were always those little exceptions to the rule, in this case, it was a child of perhaps eight or ten years old. The child was holding his mother's hand and guiding her to the old dog, the woman's facial expression changed when her boy asked to take him home. Naruto believed she was puzzled as to how refuse him with a reason that won't hurt her son's feelings. She didn't want to see him sad, but she didn't want him to experience that pain so early on. Of course, he wasn't able to hear what she had told him, but the boy seemed to move away with a smile.

The blond pondered it to be something along the lines that his owner would come to pick him up. Children were like that, easy to fool, easy to lie to and very easy to give what no one wanted to give.

A smile came to his lips when he remembered that incident. Feeling like the air was getting colder, Naruto brought himself a blanket and a chair as he huddled by the window. He had no one in the apartment to talk to. His friends were probably busy with their lives and actually, currently, he didn't feel much like talking. Gazing to the outside, something caught his attention. He might have been wrong, but it tugged at the corner of his heart. He tried to get a closer look, but with the rain and the mist forming, it was hard to do so.

So he was faced with three choices: go down and investigate, wait in place and ignore or shout from the window for someone to check for him.

Yet, like he was given choices, the person he could shout to also had them, and this was summed up in whether to help him or not. If he were to do something, Naruto would be faced with more choices if what he saw secured to be what he believed it to be. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, put the blanket on the chair and fetched his umbrella. He had nothing to do anyway and better than thinking things and depressing himself, he'd decided early on to act.

Getting down the one story that separated him from the outside, Naruto waited until the street was empty of vehicles, then crossed. In the small alley, situated between the barber's shop and the pastry shop, there was a mountain of trash (probably the assigned trashcan place for the neighborhood). He took firm steps and had to remove some boxes by his feet, but the confirmation came clear to his eyes. His heart raced when he saw it and his breath hitched in his throat. A human leg. It was dirty and looked swollen, clearing his throat to steady his voice, the blond called.

"Hello?"

Through the rain, his voice came out muffled; there was no motion from the leg, so he walked further into the alley. The problem was it was too narrow and piled up to the max with trash, so doing so was very hard. But something told him he shouldn't give up yet. So putting his umbrella away, Naruto squeezed through the trash and was able to finally see the leg connecting to a body. Removing the trash around, he got to the whole of the person lying there. His eyes met with a teen. Probably of fifteen or more. His clothes were ripped. His body was filled with bruises and marks. He was a human mess.

Yet, the blond cared about only one thing, was he alive or not?

Getting closer, he didn't really know how to check for pulse. He'd seen it on TV, but never really knew the right way to do so, that's why he opted for checking for the breathing. He put his hand in front of the teen's nostrils and was internally happy when faint warm breaths hit his cold tips. Thinking that it was better to call the teen to wake up, the blond tried again, this time, adding up volume.

"Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?" He paused for a reply. "Hey… WAKE UP!"

Nothing came, so he tried to shake him up a little, making sure not to press on any place that had a change of color. But it was also to no avail. The problem was that it was raining harder and harder, and upon touching that skin, it was very cold. Naruto's head thought quickly, he should call an ambulance, even if this kid turned out to be homeless, he'd die like this without proper treatment. As he reached for his cell, he remembered leaving it on the nightstand. So he'd have to go back to his apartment to get it, but leaving this child alone like this didn't feel right, he also didn't know if by the time the ambulance comes by he'd be alive or not. So, deciding quickly, he chose to drive him to the hospital.

The blond male took a deep breath and carried the teen bridal style to the entrance of his building – passersby gave him strange looks but no one offered a hand or questioned his actions -, emphasizing how no one wished to interfere with this recipe of trouble. Naruto put him down close to the stairs, ran up to his flat to get the car keys, his cell and some money.

Five minutes later, he was putting the wet male inside his car. The dark hair the teen had was filled with dirt and stuck to the puffed out face, Naruto tried to move it to get a clear look, but still he wasn't able to identify distinctive features. Thinking that it wasn't important right that moment, he got inside, started the engine and with hope in his voice, cheered on.

"Don't worry; I'm bringing you to a hospital, just hang on, okay? Be strong!"

Different from the previous moments, this time he got a groan and a faint whisper. "…No… no hospital… please… no…"

Naruto felt perplexed by those words, for whatever reason the teen didn't wish to be taken there. Did he want to die? Was this a request not to help him? Or he just had problems with the law and feared getting caught? A lot of questions were not answered and he felt like if he asked, it would befall deaf ears. So again, he was faced with choices. Does he do as requested, or as must?

Sighing, his brain came up with a middle ground. Popping out his cell, he dialed the number of the friend he trusted the most. Three rings later, the cheerfulness of one Haruno Sakura came to greet him.

"Sakura-chan, hello, yeah, how are you doing?" He started a brief greeting. "Umm… listen, can I ask you for a favor? Where are you now? Home? You're off tonight? Great, I'm coming over in five… yeah… I'll tell you when I see you… bye."

Putting his cell down, the blond started off driving towards her house. Thanking God for her choosing medicine as a profession.

Naruto sat on the most comfortable armchair at Sakura's. His wet outfit was in the dryer getting dried, Sakura has insisted he gotten out of those clothes and gave him a towel to hide under. At first, when he brought her the teen, she was struck with her doctor driven nature and gave instructions on what to do with him, then when she calmed down, she started asking questions. She couldn't put her hands on someone she didn't know anything about. But sadly, Naruto didn't have the answers to her questions. He simply narrated what had happened, ending with the child's request that he chose to honor.

At that moment, Haruno Sakura warned and lectured about all the possible bad outcomes for this. He simply smiled through her rant. Knowing that she cared about him but still willingly helped the teen. Simply nodding to her and saying he'd take full responsibility for whatever outcome may come, the rose-colored haired doctor chose to believe him. As she was tending to the patient, Naruto waited for her outside in the living room. A peep singled the drying of his clothes. He went to the bathroom and got inside them.

Looking at the ripped clothes nearby, he decided that new clothes were in order, and Sakura probably didn't have any teenage boy's clothes lying around. He wrote a note that he'd be right back and off he went. By the time he was back, Sakura was sitting comfortably sipping her coffee. He smiled and greeted.

"Hey, how is he doing?"

"Stable, for now. But you need to bring him to a hospital, Naruto," She explained. "I want to check if he has a broken rib or not. There're no signs that he's bleeding internally so I'm hopeful that his ribs are alright. I did only minor stuff with what I have here."

"That's good then."

"Yes, but we need to confirm so a hospital." She stressed.

Naruto nodded and put the bag he brought down. "I also agree with you, so let's wait until he wakes up then talk him into going there. I don't want to do something the person responsible on his own life doesn't wish to be done. Besides, to get beaten up so badly, the police had to be involved for sure."

"Regardless, he needs proper treatment; whatever happens next doesn't matter as long as he's alive."

"Apparently, it matters to him." The blond countered. "Anyways, I brought him some clothes and shoes. We can't have him walk barefoot like this."

Sakura smiled at the chuckle that left Naruto's lips. "Well I estimate that he'd wake up three to four hours from now. I gave him something light for the pain, I couldn't risk with anything strong because I have no medical history to rely on so his pain will only dull out a little."

The sounds of groans coming from the room to their right, affirmed Sakura's statement. The blond stood up and walked away. "I'll go check on him for a little."

Jade eyes simply watched him step away, hiding inside of them the wonder to her friend's sudden odd behavior.

Naruto closed the door behind him; his eyes immediately fell on the teen moaning in pain. The black haired male was covered with a thick blanket and the only thing visible was his head. Sakura bandaged one eye and the opposite cheek, he was sure she did a lot – probably everything she could – to help him. Smiling as he approached the sleeping male, Naruto started up a conversation.

"Hey again… how do you feel?" He didn't expect an answer and none came, so he continued. "You look better than before. Cleaner too."

The blond chuckled to himself again; he removed a stray lock from that swollen face and suddenly felt the tiredness of the day drain on him. The room was warm and the sound of the rain in the background secured the perfect lullaby, he put his head on the bed with his sight on the hurt male and smiled. Naruto didn't know what it was, but he felt happy inside. Maybe helping someone in need every once and a while wasn't a bad thing. He wondered: if he'd made the choice and stayed in his apartment, would this child be alive right now? Or would another person dare to choose to help him. And what if no one saw him, or they ignored him like they did when he was carrying him over?

His smile stretched a little. Sometimes giving a little bit extra kindness was best for the soul. A moan broke out of a broken lip, and Naruto patted his head. "Hush, I'm here… you'd be alright, I promise you… whatever demons you have or hunting you, for tonight, I'll protect you from them, so sleep tightly."

The blond reached a tan hand and grasped hold of the pale one hiding under the blanket. It was warm and his heart felt nostalgic when touching it. Lying back on his other hand, Naruto caressed the hand in his and grinned when it held tighter to his own. Yes, the best idea was choosing to help indeed.

The sun flickered through the curtains illuminating the beginning of a new bright day, and even birds chose to chirp delightfully. Azure eyes opened slightly, Naruto tried to clear his vision and when he did he was met with a black, intense eye staring and poring holes inside his skull. He blinked a couple of times to get the hang of what was happening and where he was, then the events of the previous night came washing over him like an old scenario.

Grinning, he fixed his position and a yawn was out of his mouth. "Good morning, if you were up, you should have woken me earlier."

The teen simply kept on staring at him. The blond was a bit uneasy so he chatted a little, "How are you feeling? Do you still hurt like last night? You said not to bring you to a hospital so I didn't, umm… I hope it was the right decision. Anyway, are you okay now?"

No answer, simply a cold stare.

Naruto looked at their joint hands; the raven haired male apparently didn't remove his hand from Naruto's grasp. He was a little bit cute, so the blond allowed an easy smile to show on his face. He'd contemplated the thought that there might be something wrong with the teen. Perhaps he was hit in the head, damaging a sense or his ability to speak or comprehend. Or … he was simply putting his guard up, for after all, Naruto was a complete stranger.

The blond took a deep breath, brushed his thumb over that pale dorsum and introduced himself.

"Hello, my name's Uzumaki Naruto. I found you yesterday, you were lying on an alley near my apartment building, and I helped you. At first I wanted to take you to a hospital, but you groaned that you didn't want to go there so I brought you here," He gestured to the vicinity they were at. "This is my best friend's house. Her name's Haruno Sakura, she's a doctor. She was the one who patched you up last night so make sure to thank her, as well."

He gave the teen a smile, yet the stoic features and the cold stare didn't change.

"I realize you're umm… confused probably and don't trust me, I also don't know what happened to you but I assure you, I'm not a bad person… well you won't know but I wish that you trust my words." He squeezed the teen's hand to emphasis his point.

This time, the black haired male looked at their locked hands. He stared for a while then returned his sight to the stranger in front of him. Naruto seemed to take some kind of comfort that the hand in his wasn't drawn away, so he tried to familiarize the teen with where he was and started explaining their location, hoping that when he knows where he's at, he'd relax more with him.

Half an hour later the door to the room opened and a tired looking Sakura walked inside. She looked her patient up and down and yawned Naruto to move. "Get out; I need to give him a check up."

Upon her words, Naruto noticed that the male opposite of him was still covered in nothing but bandages and a blanket. Meaning he was naked inside, he's forgotten to put clothes on him the previous night. The blond nodded to Sakura but addressed the black haired male.

"I need to go now, but don't worry, I'll be right outside, if you need anything just ask. This is the doctor I told you about," he reintroduced, "She's very good, top of her class so you're in good hands. Relax."

He finished with a ruffle to that black hair, finding it very soft and silky to the touch. Again, the boy didn't react, however when their hands were about to break from contact, Naruto noticed a slight resistance from the other party. He smiled and reassured where he'd be. Sakura locked the door after him and sighing, Naruto decided it was best to make breakfast, but before that, he brought the bag of clothes and put in near the door, shouting for Sakura to bring it to him inside.

After washing up, Naruto walked to the kitchen, and quickly he scanned the fridge to get out anything that could become a decent breakfast. It didn't take long for him to do that and patiently waited for the doctor and patient to emerge from the room. He flicked through the morning paper that Sakura had brought in, and spent the time until she was out.

Ruffling her hair, the doctor walked into the kitchen. "Morning."

"Morning. How's he?"

"Better." A look of uncertainty flashed her face, but finally she decided to ask, after all Naruto said he'd take responsibility, it's better to know what he was taking responsibility for. "Naruto… you… that kid, have you seen his back?"

Blinking at her odd words, he shook his head. "No, why?"

"He's… I think we shouldn't interfere with him anymore. I mean even taking him to a hospital. It's better to stop here." She advised in all sincerity.

Her words were strange to his ears, Sakura was more keen than him to help people, she sometimes would go out of her way to help anyone in need, so for her to give up so early on a child just didn't sit right with him. Folding the paper, he gave her his utmost attention, yet before he was able to ask anything, the door to the room opened and a much better looking male stood looking at them.

Naruto felt happy that the clothes fit him perfectly; he was making a lot of guesses when he bought them, especially those jeans. In front of them stood a 169 cm tall teen. His hair was drawn in two long pangs falling gracefully to show his face. His features showed. The swelling decreased drastically, but one eye was still bandaged, it didn't give Naruto a full picture, but from the small plump lips and the high arched nose, Naruto could see the handsomeness radiate off. His pale complexion did nothing but highlight his attractiveness.

The blond stared.

"She's right." A low-key tone radiated off, catching Naruto off guard. It was the first time he's heard a voice so smooth yet so catching; it made something in him jitter. "It's best to stop here. Don't involve yourself with me anymore."

Upon those words, the teen took himself and headed to what he thought to be the front door. At this, Naruto woke up from his trance, and hurried behind him. Sakura already sensing what was coming; she sighed and pretended she saw nothing.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The blond halted. "You can't just decide this by yourself. You need to go to the hospital. And Sakura-chan, I didn't expect this from you!" He scolded. "You're a doctor, how can you allow your patient to go without fully treating him!?"

"Because he's fully treated to survive. And you can't treat someone who doesn't want to be treated." She defended herself.

Naruto frowned at her and returned to the teen. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you two but I won't allow you to go. You're sick; you need to be treated –"

"Move."

The word was curt and ice cold. Naruto knew he was older, but it sent shivers down his spine. It was the first time in his life that something like this happens. Even his toes got cold. It wasn't necessarily the word that made him stand still, it was that apparent eye. That black eye holding him under some invisible spell, making his bones shutter. Naruto watched as the male slipped right out of his hands and out the door. Even after the sound of the door closing reached his ears, it took him a while to be able to move again.

"What… what just happened?" Startled at his own actions, the blond asked.

Sakura came and pat him from behind, sipping her cup of coffee, she whispered. "I think you were just introduced to the power of the underground world."

It had been close to a month now since Naruto has encountered that incident. His days were passing by quite ordinarily, sometimes he even felt like it didn't happen – aside from Sakura's confirmation that it did. His heart was somehow consoled about losing his job; he'd decided to take some time off work and simply idle around. Last he knew he graduated and immediately started working. To him, his life had nothing but work in it. So getting out and doing things that he'd missed were a good change of atmosphere. Though it wasn't easy. He was so used to waking up on time and the whole 9 to 5 timeline that getting a whole day off felt weird. He seriously didn't know what to do with himself some times.

Hanging out with friends could not be done daily – since his friends were busy themselves – and he wasn't that keen on going out of his way to invite them out. He did decide to pursue some sports. In college he used to play basketball, so he went back to that, and enrolled in a gym to strengthen his sleepy muscles. He enjoyed swimming so he did some of that as well. Strolling through the nearby park was a daily chore. He befriended the old lady that always fed the pigeons there. Actually, they were getting so friendly that she was giving him marriage proposals in which he'd laugh off to not seem rude.

Naruto told Sakura about getting fired, she knew how big of a deal it was to him – because she knew he had nothing in his life but work, just like her – but encouraged that it was a chance to explore the world. The blond shuffled through the pages of the cookbook at hand, he was also getting to learn of new recipes. The blond chose a tart that seemed easy to make, he shuffled the ingredients in his fridge, finding that he needed to get the berries and some salted cream.

Putting the glasses on the table, he fetched his coat and went out. The supermarket was about three minutes walk from his apartment. He passed by one of his neighbors and exchanged a small chat then both were on their separate ways. Naruto quickly got the things missing and some snacks to entertain with before leaving the place. As he was about to enter his apartment building, he felt like there were eyes watching him, yet turning around, there was nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged before overthinking as he came up to his apartment.

The blond adult looked at the picture of what his tart was supposed to look like and the actual tart in front of him. He cringed, it wasn't one hundred percent alike, but it wasn't horrible. For a first try, it was okay. Naruto made himself some tea and brought his tart over to the couch and turned the TV on some random show. He's gotten to the habit of making a TV-time. It was something normal individuals did, but he was never really 'normal' to begin with.

He found himself enjoying this lifestyle a bit too much. He liked true stories, documentaries, and action. He enjoyed sports, especially football. Maybe because he sucked at it, but for a strange reason, he liked the sport. As his body relaxed, he tasted his tart; it was a bit too sweet for him –probably that sour-sweet berries – but was quite delicious. Checking his time, it read nine at night. Naruto thought to read a book before heading to bed.

Just as he was about to pick a favorite amongst the many he'd brought, his doorbell rang. It wasn't unusual for this to happen, but it was as of late. His friends did tend to drop by at night, but they'd always call beforehand because he would sometimes be out on extended business hours. Thinking that it could be his landlord or a neighbor in distress, the blond shouted that he was coming. Sadly, he didn't have a peeping hole in the door, so he couldn't know who was there.

Yet as he opened the door, he wasn't ready for the surprise outside. He needed to blink two times to check his sight. There stood before him the person who had chosen to run away in a fiery of secrets than to be treated normally. Naruto's eyes took their full. There was no bandage anymore, so finally seeing how that eye looks was adding more charm than possible. The teen's hair seemed to lay in a natural two-bangs style in front, spikes in the back. Though the blond did question how those spikes were secured when the hairs were so soft. The face was looking healthier than before. No bruises in sight, those sinful lips looked rosier. The plump cheeks told Naruto to take a pinch at them, tempting him dearly. He chose to resist, not really knowing where he stood with the human in front of him.

No words were said between them. Naruto cleared his throat when he was done inspecting the teen and gestured for him to come inside. He had no idea what brought the kid back, but whatever it was, it was better dealt with in the warmth of his apartment. The minute he locked the door, a pale hand quickly entwined with his own. The blond was taken by surprise. However, seeing a relieved smile show on that stoic face made him halt his questions.

"…I knew it."

Ahh, he didn't know how much he liked that voice until now, that low-key tone was becoming his favorite type of music. Naruto gave off a small smile and asked gently.

"Knew what?"

"You're warm."

He wanted to point out that of course he was, he was alive, but somehow chose to change into another reply. "You are too."

Their eyes locked again and they did nothing but stare at each other. Naruto tugged at the hand in his and brought them to the couch; he sat down forcing the teen to do the same and offered.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?"

A shake was his only indication of an understanding. Aside from that, the teen put his head back on the couch and seemed to relax. The blond chuckled inwardly watching him. He had a lot of questions to ask and was sure their situation was so weird to anyone who would come, yet it still felt natural to him. This person connecting with him felt like home. It was so strange and even he was surprised at how he was behaving.

"Hey," The blond asked when those beautiful black peals closed off. "What's your name?"

The hand in his got a bit cold at that and he sensed the teen tense up so Naruto quickly added. "It's fine if you don't want to answer."

"Sasuke."

It was said as a whisper, and if the blond wasn't paying close attention, he might have missed it.

"Sasuke," he tried the name. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke."

The other apparently didn't find anything wrong with hearing his name over and over so he didn't complain. Naruto decided to ask a different question, just to be on the safe side of the law.

"How old are you?"

"…Why?"

"No reason, I just wanted to know where I stand."

He saw a smirk form on those lips. Then, a question came as his answer did. "How old are you?"

"Twenty six."

"Old."

Naruto laughed. "And you're young. That's why I need your age."

At this, Sasuke opened an eye. "Don't worry; you're not doing anything illegal."

"So I take that… you're eighteen?"

There was no answer and it was apparent that that was the end of this conversation. The blond allowed it to go. He didn't do anything that made him feel guilty so he should just focus on that. To his right his small library remained, he reached with his free hand and grabbed a random book – due to his limited access, he was able only to reach few of them. Luckily, it was one he was interested in reading.

It was a bit hard reading with one hand, but he managed. Few times he'd glance beside him to check he wasn't dreaming, and a cute face would meet his eyes. Naruto felt the hand in his tighten as the teen probably drifted off to sleep. About an hour later, he decided that the position Sasuke was in was uncomfortable and would probably put more strain on his muscles than anything.

Closing his book, he stood up slowly not wanting to disturb the raven haired male. He thought of a way to carry Sasuke to the bed with his entwined hands. It was hard to do, for a moment he had to separate them. A groan of protest echoed, he smiled and carried the teen the small distance inside. The minute Sasuke was on the bed, Naruto was faced with two black pearls. In a situation similar to that morning.

"Who said you could move your hand away?"

Naruto smiled at the question and explained. "I needed to bring you to bed. Sleeping like that wasn't good for you."

"…I slept?" A puzzled expression fell on the teen's face.

"Quite deeply too."

"Oh."

"Anyhow," Naruto started. "I still need to finish some things so I'll need my hand for a while."

There was no reply, but those eyes cursed at him to hurry the hell up. Naruto quickly did the chores he needed to finish, cleaned up his kitchen, took a shower, brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas. Coming to his bed, he saw the teen flickering something with his phone. His stoic face having gotten little bit colder. Naruto cleared his throat singling his entrance. Sasuke immediately put the cell away and reached out his hand.

"Hand."

"You really want nothing but my hand."

The teen nodded making Naruto roll his eyes. The blond switched the lights off first, and crawled into his bed before locking their hands back. His bed wasn't that big, but not that small, their figures could sleep in harmony but not too comfortably. As they both lied on their backs, their shoulders touched. The silence of the room surrounded them so the blond chose to speak a little about himself.

"I have no family. My parents are both dead. I don't have any siblings. The closest thing I have to a sister is Sakura. I don't have a girlfriend, I used to but somehow we drifted apart… I wonder how she's doing right now." He paused, thinking back on his past. "You know, my life is empty. I only worked. As far as I can remember, I was driven to work. The day I met you, I was fired. It was a shock because I was good at my job – I've always thought that those getting fired were the bad ones only. I'm not so good with human interactions. I don't think I've deeply connected with another my whole life."

He stopped there. Not because he didn't want to continue but because he felt he didn't have words. To him that was enough. In the dark room, lit only by the streetlight seeping through the curtains, Naruto felt at ease. It was strange. He wasn't an open person. In fact, usually it took him a while to trust people and put them close, close enough for them to learn the insides on his private life. But here he was, summarizing his life of twenty six in a few lines to a complete stranger. Yet strangely enough, he was at peace doing so. Not an ounce of regret was in him. He turned his head to the other side, finding Sasuke's face a few inches away from his own.

The teen used his right hand to plop his head on it and looked Naruto in the eyes as he spoke.

"This," Sasuke gestured to their hands. "Is a connection. Right now, this instance, you and I are connected. Nothing else matters. We are connected."

The odd feeling that the raven haired male was saying those words to himself not to Naruto washed over the blond, but he shrugged it off. He offered one of his trademark grins and held tightly to Sasuke's hand. "We are indeed."

"Now sleep and stop thinking about stuff. I'm very tired."

The blond watched as Sasuke made himself comfortable, snuggling closer to him like a content cat. Naruto drew the covers over them, it was a cold night, but strangely enough, he felt quite warm, both in and out.

Morning found Uzumaki Naruto in bed alone. The blond groaned as his sluggish muscles greeted the light of the day. He searched the room with his eyes and there was no trace of Sasuke. Walking out, he called the teen's supposed name but none answered. He checked his bathroom and there were no signs of Sasuke. Apparently just like he'd come, he left. Naruto regretted not having a phone number or any form of contact with the latter. He pondered if he'd be able to see him again, he looked at the hand that held Sasuke's and smiled. They were connected so most likely their paths would cross again.

And that cross came no sooner than three days later, Naruto was walking back from his football training match and found his stray cat sitting outside in the aisle. Black orbs followed him as he opened the apartment. As if pulled by magnet, Sasuke toed. Inside Naruto pointed to his living room.

"You can wait there, I need to take a quick shower."

The raven haired male did as told. Naruto put the dirty laundry in its assigned basket and hurried to finish his bath. A while later found him drinking some apple juice with a towel on his head, drying his wet golden locks. Sasuke was watching him keenly from the kitchen counter.

"I actually thought it'd take longer to see you this time." The blond came to sit next to his black cat. "Did something happen?"

"…Nothing."

"You don't want to talk about it?"

Instead of using words, Sasuke took Naruto's hand away from the towel and helped him dry off. Touching a stray lock, the teen questioned. "You're naturally blond?"

"Yes, those are my eyes too, not contact lenses." He added merrily.

"Da."

"Oh come on~! Some people think I have contacts on." The blond justified himself.

Sasuke cupped Naruto's face and pulled it close to his, with a flat tone, he reasoned. "Being this close, it's impossible not to know if they're natural or not."

The teen could feel Naruto's face as it stretched into a smile. He rolled his eyes when stars appeared on those dark blue seas and handed the towel to the blond.

"We're done?"

"We're done." Sasuke confirmed, moving away.

"So soon," The adult of the two winked. "I rather enjoyed the service."

It earned him another eye-roll. "Idiot."

Naruto combed him hair backwards and took the chance to pry into his strange visitor. "So do you have a phone number I can get?"

"I do and you can't."

"You don't want me to contact you?"

Sasuke nodded. "When I want to see you, I'd find you."

The blond countered with a small smirk. "That's hardly fair, what if I want to see you but you don't want to see me?"

"Then you won't see me."

"…Is it really that hard to give me your number?"

"Yes." The teen looked him in the eyes in all seriousness.

Yet being the person he was, giving up without a fight wasn't in him, so Naruto pushed his luck. "Would it get you in trouble?"

"No."

"Then… would it get me in trouble?"

Sasuke didn't answer, his face returned to being cold and stoic. In a second though, he stood up and walked to the front door. "I need to leave; this was a bad idea after all."

This time, Naruto refused to allow him to do as he pleased and pulled his hand. "No, little kitty, you're not leaving tonight. I can pretty much guess what you are trying to hide. But don't worry. I won't get mixed or pulled in. You said we are connected so no matter where you go, we would meet. Coming here wasn't a bad idea and neither me wanting to get closer to you, get that kitty cat?"

The coldness in Sasuke's eyes dimmed a little but was still there. "…You don't get it; my world is different than yours. It's ruthless. You can't exist there. I won't allow it."

"But you exist in mine and I very much want you to stay." Naruto countered.

The raven haired male turned around and frowned at him. "You don't know me; you don't know who I am."

"Yes, it doesn't matter. What's the worst that you could be? A killer?" Naruto joked.

"…"

Sasuke didn't affirm or deny, the blond ran a hand through his already dried locks and reasoned. "Can't you just stay? I mean you've been waiting for me for how long today? I don't even know when I'll see you again, so stay for me tonight. I promise no more questions. It'd be just us chatting normally, hm?"

His gentle tone seemed to tug at Sasuke's nerves persuading him. The tense air decreased as the teen returned back to the chair. His eyes losing their edge. "Just for tonight."

"Yep~!" The blond chirped. "So what should we do? Did you eat yet? I can cook us dinner."

Sasuke seemed to take a minute thinking of this before he replied. "No... I didn't."

"Good! Neither did I. so what do you want to eat? I can cook anything!"

"You sure about that?"

Grinning like an idiot, the adult confirmed. "You just decide and I'll blow your mind."

"Then I want Kung Pao Chicken. Can you make that?"

The blond sweat-dropped a little and laughed nervously. He was never good with Chinese.

At the end, the Kung Pao Chicken turned out to be more of chicken with spices and vegetables more than a real Kung Pao Chicken. Naruto apologized in advance, but the dish was edible, so Sasuke didn't complain. In fact, he finished his plate and asked for more. The blond was happy that his efforts were appreciated. They finished eating and Naruto tided up everything. Sitting in front of the TV over a cup of juice, Sasuke asked:

"What do you plan to do?"

"Excuse me?" The blond asked over a sip.

"About work. You said you were fired, what will you do to live?"

"Well, I already have money to sustain me for a while so I don't need to search right now. I actually just want to take it day by day, enjoy living for once."

"Hn."

Since Naruto had promised not to pry, he couldn't honestly ask anything that he wanted to. So he tried to get a little bit around his promise. "So what do you like to watch? I mean anything specific you want me to flip onto?"

The teen shrugged. "Anything you like is fine."

"A movie then. Horror? Comedy? Romance?" He suggested, not giving up quite yet.

"Whatever."

"Sasuke, that won't do. You need to pick something you enjoy as well, I can't force you into something you don't want just because I like it."

"I already said I'm fine with it, so you're not 'forcing'."

"Well, I'm still not okay with it."

The teen remained silent, it would actually be easier just to state his own likes, but he honestly didn't think much of anything right now. Even figuring out what he liked to watch was a hassle. To him, he just wanted to stay in that position, cuddled against this man who strangely enough was soothing to his bones. Groaning out with stretched hands, the raven haired male snorted.

"Let's go with adventure then. Shall we?"

Grinning that he'd won the little argument, Naruto flipped onto some adventure movie. The movie had already begun so they sat trying to catch the plot. A mad scientist has unleashed the power of some strange crystal and the earth was doomed to hell unless three protagonists travel in time and retrieve some device. Naruto cringed at the plot. It was so cliché and old-fashioned that he wanted to flip into another movie, but one look beside him had him change that opinion. Sasuke was watching with entranced eyes. Apparently, the movie was to his liking. Naruto smiled and laid back. Maybe a cliché movie wasn't so bad every once in a while.

Two hours later found the blond staring at an empty room. His little kitten had already left a while ago, even though he had tried everything to convince him to stay the night, the young man insisted on leaving. The blond sighed. Maybe it was for the better, he did want to become closer but the aspect of committing a crime was still hanging on his head. Turning to his right his eyes met with a black box. Blinking, he straightened up and walked to get a hold of it. Naruto didn't remember owning such an item. Probably it was something left behind by Sasuke.

His curiosity got the better of him – as always – and he ended up inspecting the black box. It had no openings except for a round slit on the top. It felt as if it was made of metal, but it was surprisingly light. Naruto tossed it into the air and the box fell right into his hands elegantly. He frowned, what could possibly be hidden inside? As he wondered and pondered, he failed to see the dark shadow moving freely closer to him.

Deciding that it was best to put it away until its owner claims it, Naruto couldn't even reach halfway to the nightstand when suddenly everything around him turned pitch black, and the last thing that he'd seen was his bed twirl in unforeseen darkness.

Thank you for reading, review and let me know what you think.