Untrustworthy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sasuke wasn't used to people inconveniencing him. It wasn't all that long ago that he'd be able to simply ignore the problem until it went away, or he'd kill it if ignoring it failed. Having to make an effort to get the people of Konoha feel at ease was…a nuisance. Still, for the last six months, he'd powered through it. He'd let Naruto drag him out to all the parties and impromptu "missions" that more often than not involved running around the woods like lunatics. He'd taken Sakura on double dates with Sai and Ino (he was pretty sure these had been worse than all the parties). He'd participated in missions, and when Kakashi insisted someone else be captain for a change, he hadn't argued. And he was seeing progress. Chōji clapped him on the back with a friendly "Sasuke-san" when they passed in the halls. Rock Lee had started demanding to spar with him again (this was one request he consistently denied; he'd spar with Team Seven, who could handle him – more or less, but he doubted either Lee's body or mind was up to the task). Kiba had even dragged him out for drinks from time to time. He was learning to like the rough around the edges dog handler ninja. There was something direct and refreshing about him.

He'd noticed, too, that the village had started feeling friendly. He no longer had to crash at Naruto's for people to relax. In the beginning, he'd been shadowed everywhere but there, forcing him to choose between his exhausting, energetic best friend's constant companionship, and unsubtle eyes in the shadows. He doubted Kakashi had put any of the watchful ninja up to this, but he let it go. He was not to be trusted, and although Kakashi didn't think that way, he was prepared for the fact that many would.

Now, he was safe in his own apartment, too, although he was rarely there. He had discovered that Uchiha Compound often held more pain than healing. More often, he preferred to sleep on Sakura's couch, taking his time to ease back into her life, finding an intimacy there that was startlingly natural and wonderfully welcome. Unlike with Naruto, it was easy to eat a quiet breakfast with her; it was pleasant to simply sit side by side, shoulders brushing, as she read complicated scrolls on medical procedure and he worked on whatever paperwork Kakashi had thrown to him that particular evening. Sakura's apartment had somehow become his most comfortable refuge.

But when he left, he felt the shadows watch him. It was the same in Hokage tower. At first, it had been constant. Many anxious eyes, full of stress and fear, followed him, waited for him, as he reported to Kakashi or sat in the Hokage's sunlit tower to work away from Naruto's exuberance and Sakura's attention. He had been pleased to find that his old sensei had welcomed him back with truly open arms, and that he wasn't afraid of throwing Sasuke a challenge then and again, either. Now, a single pair of eyes watched as he left, watched as he arrived, both Hokage Tower and Sakura's apartment.

Six months. Six months, and everyone else seemed calm, seemed to have adjusted to him being a part of the new normal. Everyone but this singular, attentive, wary shadow.

Sasuke had had enough. He was prepared to continue to pay for his crimes in whatever way his watcher deemed necessary; however, he was not prepared to have Sakura's secrets compromised in the same way. Whoever had decided to babysit him would need to provide her with some little space, at least.

This thought in mind, he stopped a block away from Sakura's apartment and addressed the unseen person behind him: "You should know, you can't hide from me. Would you like to discuss this face to face?"

"Not sure what there is to discuss." Shikamaru Nara stepped out from the shadows. His posture was relaxed, shoulders slumped, hands in pockets. "Unless you disagree?"

Sasuke ran his eyes over him, refusing to unleash the Sharingan, refusing to confirm the threat that Shikamaru clearly believed was present. "I understand your lack of trust. But leave Sakura alone. The village is safe from me."

Shikamaru sighed. "Actually, Uchiha, as far as I'm concerned, you're probably the single greatest threat our village will ever face."

Sasuke's control slipped, and his visible eye bled red. Frustration, anger – after all this time, after all he'd sacrificed – his brother, his arm, his home – with everything he had to lose – Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, his whole damn reason for living – the greatest threat? After fucking Madara?

Shikamaru didn't respond to his temper except to lean slightly forward and bend his knees, a faint approximation of a defensive position. Sasuke could see he was at the ready, but Nara didn't up the ante. Instead, he sighed. "Look, I get it, okay? It's a bother. I trust Naruto like a brother. I know in my heart he would never betray us, and I've seen what he can do. It would take a rare shinobi to defeat him, if one ever could. But he's defenseless against you now because he trusts you the way I trust him. He'll die to protect you. And Sakura – the closer you get to her, the more likely she'll freeze, or worse, turn to your side, regardless of the consequences. And we both know Kakashi can't stand against you without them."

Sasuke swallowed uncomfortably, feeling the truth of it settle like a rock in his stomach. He let the Sharingan fade. "So what? You think stalking me will help? That somehow you'll be able to take me out, if Naruto can't?"

Shikamaru smirked and pulled his hands out of his pockets, holding them up and empty. "Nah. Best shot I have is to immobilize you until he gets here. And honestly, your chakra against mine, he'd better move fast. But I will watch you. If you can't defeat an enemy on strength – well, you'd better have a strategy."

Sasuke looked at him appraisingly. He'd heard much of Shikamaru's skills and tactics since returning, although he'd never run a mission with him. The man rarely left the village lately; Kakashi relied on him heavily, and when he wasn't working in the Hokage Tower, he was either with Chōji and Ino or Naruto – or, as much as Sasuke was sure Nara didn't want him to know this – the kunoichi from the Sand. "Naruto is lucky to have you by his side."

"No," Shikamaru said, a grim, fierce light in his eyes. "He's earned me, and better than me. If you do decide to turn against him, you won't have only me oppose you."

"Hero of the village. I'm aware. He's earned it." Sasuke paused, seeing how Shikamaru would react to the echo of his own words. His hands returned to his pockets, and he smirked. Some relaxation, then. Good. Time to try again. "I doubt I can ask you to trust me very successfully. But I can ask you to trust Sakura. Follow me in the Tower to protect Kakashi, if you must. But leave Sakura alone."

He seemed to weigh that, eyes closed and head tilted. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Uchiha. It doesn't matter if I'm ninety percent sure that you're a changed man. I have to plan for that ten percent, especially when Naruto can't. I'll try to give you and Sakura your privacy. I won't interfere with your daily life unless absolutely necessary. Sakura would be pretty troublesome to deal with if I did, anyway. But I can't promise not to pay attention. That's my job. To watch Naruto's back, I have to protect it from you."

Sasuke inclined his head in acceptance and smiled slightly. "It's good to know someone will look out for the loser when I'm on mission."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Yeah, well, no one could ever quite fill your shoes, but he's definitely not alone."

Sasuke heard the sliver of a threat Shikamaru had hidden in his casual response and acknowledged it by turning so that the wind blew his hair up and out, revealing his Rinnegan. Well-intentioned and inclined as the tactician might be, never good to let him forget where they stood in strength to each other. "Enjoy your evening, Nara-san. Shall I give your regards to Sakura-chan?" It was a subtle slap, a reminder of where Sasuke intended this conversation to go, and a firm claim on the med-nin with an honorific he never even used with her (although he hoped Nara didn't know that – but, truthfully, he probably did).

Shikamaru sighed. "Nah, wouldn't want you to go to any trouble on my account. Have a good night."

He slipped back into the shadows, but his chakra lingered. Sasuke's jaw tightened. He could challenge him again. Displace him with the Rinnegan – now that was tempting. He could go to Kakashi or Naruto in the morning. Hell, he could go to Naruto now, just to get the shadow asshole off his back.

But he'd told Sakura he'd stop by. He'd broken enough promises to her. He wouldn't let Nara make him break another.

Decision made, he sprung swiftly to the rooftops. Shikamaru might choose to follow, but that didn't mean he needed to make it easy. In seconds, he was at her window; in another second, he was inside (an empty vase he'd never really liked clattered on the windowsill outside, the victim of his space displacement). He found himself mildly disappointed when Sakura failed to jump at his sudden appearance.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun. I was wondering if you were going to make it back tonight," she said cheerily, and he wondered if there was any real fear behind those words. There should have been, given his many disappearances, but if she'd thought of those at all, she'd hidden it well.

Still. "I thought it would be wise to be where I say I'll be while in Konoha."

There it was – she flinched. She looked up from where she sat on the couch, legs tucked up underneath her, a scroll with complex chakra equations on her lap. He steeled himself for her inevitable fear, for her to ask him if he was planning on leaving again. "What? Why? Are people bothering you again?"

Well, damn. Leave it to Sakura to have such utter faith in him. He couldn't repress a fond smile at the completeness of her trust, and he sank down on the couch beside her, knees touching. He resisted the urge to kiss her forehead – too much, too fast, and after all this time, it was worth doing right if they chose to do it at all – and leaned his head back against the couch instead, closing his eyes. "It's nothing."

Thwack. He wasn't surprised when the scroll's end suddenly hit his thigh. As he and Sakura became more and more comfortable with each other, her inclination towards smacking things that irritated her had started to come out on him. In their genin days, he'd assumed that had been reserved for Naruto, but she'd proven that quite wrong. "What was that for?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed and quickly snatching the scroll before she could use it again. Their fingers brushed, and he felt her slight jump.

"It's never nothing, Sasuke-kun," she said, exasperated. "Out with it. What happened?"

Feeling stubborn, he ignored her. Maybe he would go back to his apartment. Avoid awkward questions and conversations that would only serve to piss her off.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, more firmly. "Aren't we past this now?"

He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look at her. She'd shifted so that she was fully facing him, and her eyes were determined. Her mouth betrayed her, though. That small downturn of her lips showed him how worried she was. Yes. They were past it. They should have been, anyways. He sighed and clenched his hand slightly on the scroll, wrinkling it. "Nara doesn't seem to like it when I hang around you or Kakashi."

Her eyes flashed. "Well, I'd think Shikamaru is smart enough to know that that's my business! And Kakashi-sensei's!" She frowned suddenly. "Not Naruto though?"

He shrugged. He didn't really want to answer this. He was sure he knew why Shikamaru didn't bother when he was with Naruto. He was equally sure it wasn't something Sakura needed to hear. "I guess he must think I'm less of a threat with him around," he lied. There. That had the potential to piss her off enough at Nara to be a distraction.

"Why that little – wait." She paused mid fist-curl. "Sasuke-kun, do you really not know?"

Well, it had been worth a shot. But he was tired of this. Everyday, it felt like they found a new topic that needed discussing, a new broken promise to tiptoe over, a new wound that needed healing. It was like he had covered his team in barrage of broken glass when he left, and only Naruto had managed to heal alone.

He reached out with his one hand to take hers, still half-fisted. "Sakura." Always this way. Fast, like a bandaid, that was best. "With Naruto, Nara knows it's too late. If I'm going to be a threat, my friendship with Naruto is already set. There's nothing to watch. There aren't any cracks to expose and exploit. And I think he knows I'm not fool enough to attack Naruto in the heart of Konoha, anyway. Even if I tried, I'm sure Kurama would then try to kick my ass. On the other hand, my relationships with you, with Kakashi, still have…vulnerabilities. He's watching to exploit those, if he ever has to."

Sakura blinked and looked away. "I'm sorry," she said, quiet but firm.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't used to this reversal. Generally, he was the one apologizing to her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You gave me more trust than I deserved for far longer than you should have. I caused this. Any rational person would've given up on me a long time ago."

"Naruto didn't."

"Yeah, the loser has attachment issues, if you haven't noticed. His stubbornness doesn't make your kindness any less." He wanted to catch her eye, wanted to see her receive one of the compliments he so rarely bestowed, but this one seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. "Sakura. I literally tried to kill you." He took a deep breath, pushed that guilt deep down, because it wasn't about him tonight. It was about her. He plowed through. "I tossed you aside again and again. Your decision to step back, to distance yourself, was the right one. You just made it way too late."

"I never gave up on you," she argued, tightening her fingers around his. "I gave up hope of getting you back, for awhile. But I never stopped loving you."

And because that was too much – too much for him to say, because of course he loved her, but they were still stretching this trust, still rebuilding too much of the foundation to place the final piece – all he could say was, "Thank you, Sakura," and drop her hand to poke her gently on the forehead.

He found he was proud of her when instead of drooping and being sad, perceiving more gratitude as more rejection, she smiled brightly at him. "Well, don't you worry, I'll set Shikamaru straight tomorrow. I'll just explain to him that I'm as hopeless as Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei's probably a lost cause too. Want some tea? I was just about to make some before bed. We can talk more if you want, too."

He let his hand brush her knee and whispered again, "Thank you, Sakura." Then, louder: "Yes, tea would be good. No-"

"No honey. I know." She bounced up and headed for the kitchen. He smiled at her back. Of all the conversations they'd had about the time he was a rogue ninja, that one had gone better than most. He was relieved. He hated seeing her pain. Hated more that he had been the cause of so much of it.

He knew he didn't deserve her. He'd always known.

And he didn't need her to alienate more of the people who loved her for his sake. "Don't talk to Nara, Sakura," he told her, taking the tea carefully. "I have a plan."

She tilted her head. "Not that I don't appreciate that, Sasuke, but I don't particularly like being told who my company should be."

He smiled slightly. "Annoying. Let it go, okay?"

"No." She stubbornly crossed her legs, smoothly sitting back down beside him. He frowned at her. "Oh, fine!" she sighed. "I'll leave it alone, but if he comes to me, I can't promise I'll hold back."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," he said honestly. He set the tea on the side table on top of a coaster messily painted as the Uchiha crest – a thoughtful, if clumsy, gift from Naruto to him earlier in the year.

"Good." She smiled at him, a brilliant smile, and settled back into the couch, leaning ever so slightly into his arm. He closed his eyes. Nara was a problem for another day. Tonight, he just wanted to enjoy her presence. It was a simple pleasure he never stopped appreciating, and when she fell asleep on his arm – well, tonight, he decided not to move her. Tonight, he leaned his cheek against her hair and fell asleep.

A/N: Hey, y'all! I'm just playing around in this universe. We will see if it sticks or for how long. I'm most interested in moments that I feel are missing from canon. I'd like to believe there's more to many of these relationships than we see, so all drabbles/one-shots in this collection will be canonverse, although time period will vary. I'm open to requests if anyone is interested, and I always appreciate reviews. I hope you enjoy it!

-MN