Growing together, growing apart

The trip to Earth Country would take them about 5-7 days as they were traveling on foot at the rate of the slowest of the group the team of Konoha shinobi were escorting. There was a wagon carying the baggage along with their client and 4 members of his entourage. Among the people being protected was a young girl, Kiri. She was about 7 years old with dirty blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Not surprisingly, she had taken a liking to Naruto almost immediately. She was bouncing around Naruto as they traveled, giggling and asking questions and telling stories. Naruto handled this in the typical, mature fashion he is known for...he bounced right back with her and endeavored not to be outdone by the child's ability to reach high levels of squeals and shrieks in his efforts to keep her amused.

A calm, quiet journey this was not.

Kakashi apologized to their client, Takamura, for the volume and antics of the blond shinobi.

"No, no problem at all" Takamura waved Kakashi's apology aside. "Kiri has been bored for most of the traveling we have been doing throughout the countries. She would complain a lot and mostly be in the way. That nice young man is keeping her occupied and we're moving faster now than at any previous time on this journey...even though we have only added baggage." he finished under his breath, but still ending his statement with a smile to the copy-nin.

Takamura was a soft spoken, middle-aged man, of medium height and build. His coloring was in shades of brown from the dark brown of his hair and eyes to the tan of his skin. His was the epitome of the "average" appearance.

This very 'averageness' is what caught Sasuke's attention. He narrowed his onyx eyes as he observed the man and his group. Kiri was obviously related to Takamura. The other 3 men were introduced as family friends, but their almost deferential treatment of Takamura, as well as the way they kept a keen eye on their surroundings, made Sasuke determine they were likely guards.

'I wonder what they picked up that made Takamura feel the additional protection of shinobi was necessary.' the raven thought to himself as he too observed both his surroundings and his companions. He was keeping to himself as was his habit. His aura was so anti-social, nobody tried to start any conversations with him beyond the basic instructions for the journey. This was how he had always preferred it. He wasn't out to make friends, just get the job done.

Sasuke, much to the relief of his fellow Konoha nin, had given up his former Oto clothing, but had kept a similar style. His current garb was black shinobi pants with his kunai holster and weapons pouch. His top was similar to his white gi from Oto, but this was a navy blue that closed more firmly around his torso exposing less of his chest. The Uchiha emblem on the back was also larger to the size of that which was worn on the shirts of his childhood. His sword was now carried on his back in the style of the ANBU. His forehead protector, newly given to him upon his acceptance back to Konoha, was across his brow. He had planned on wearing his old one that Naruto had returned to him, but the Hokage requested that he not wear one that was 'defaced'. So his original protector with its slash across the leaf symbol was sitting on a shelf at his home.

Kakashi was as he always had been, typical jounin garb, with his forhead protector still covering his Sharingan. Sakura was in her red and pink outfit with gloves and shin protectors. It is unknown why Naruto insists on his orange pants and jacket to this day. Originally, it might have been his way of getting attention, but at this point, maybe it's just habit. It also serves the purpose of having people, upon first meeting him, immediately dismissing him as a joke. Not that that was his intention and much to his frustration. Not that Sasuke ever felt it necessary to critique his friend's fashion sense. There were so many other fun things to tease the blond about.

The first night they made camp in a small clearing near a river. The day had been clear and fine, if a bit warm, and the night was promising to be beautiful.

Dinner was mostly silent, with the exception of Naruto gracing Kiri with all the joys of Ramen and how she had been a poor, deprived child as she had never eaten it before. He even went so far as to provide her a taste from his bowl. The little girl's chocolate eyes lit up with delight at first taste and Naruto found himself in the position of having to share from his limited supply. Finding that the girl had an appetite to rival his, his face look devastated for a moment before he laughed it off and kept the child happy; though he did manage to keep her from over-eating and making herself sick.

A muffled snort and "serves him right" could barely be heard from Sakura's direction. She was sitting on the opposite side of the camp from Naruto. She had been quiet throughout most of the start of their mission and mainly only spoke to Kakashi. She ignored her teammates.

Sasuke was not too concerned about the pink-haired medic-nin's opinion. It appeared that Naruto was giving her space after his initial attempts to make conversation when they left the village.

-----
Their client, Takamura, noted the discomfort between the shinobi, but chose not to comment on it. He had been informed that he had been provided with a jounin who was identified as Kakashi, a medic chunin, and the two young men were genin. He felt this would be adequate, though he woud have preferred higher ranks than the two genin. He was surprised that the pale, dark-haired man who carried his sword with such comfort was a mere genin. He shrugged to himself, who knows, maybe the sword was just for show. The loud blond didn't appear impressive in any way.

Not that it was too important. It was unlikely that anyone would know what he was carrying and he doubted that the shinobi would even be necessary. He mourned the expense but did feel it was better safe than sorry.
------

Bedrolls were laid out beneath the stars after dinner. Takamura and Kiri were given the use of the only tent in the camp.

It was decided that Team Kakashi would take shifts during the night guarding the clearing. The shifts were divided and would be taken in the following order: Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, then Sakura. As everyone settled in to sleep, Sasuke did a lap around the camp and then found himself a perch on a tree branch overlooking the area.

He looked down and saw Naruto below in his sleeping roll, laying with his eyes open, staring at the stars above. Sasuke was surprised to feel the level of his concern for the blond. Those lively blue eyes had been distracted all day, especially after leaving the Hokage that morning. Despite his best friend's attempts to appear that all was fine, Sasuke knew how fake it was. He was angry on Naruto's behalf at Sakura's reaction to their relationship. It was even more unfortunate as Naruto had told him the night before that he was going to tell her about it.

It really hadn't occurred to either of them to tell anybody until Naruto realized Sakura still had strong feelings for Sasuke and he wanted to help her get over it. They weren't hiding their relationship from anybody, it was just that it was something separate from their public life and neither of them had been in the habit of sharing their private lives openly. When they were all together, even in the early days of the academy nobody had ever tried to get to know Sasuke or Naruto.

Since his clan's massacre, people were too busy fawning over Sasuke for his talents or his looks and nobody ever inquired as to how he felt or who he was. Naruto was ostracized by most of the adults and the younger generation took their cue from their elders and so he had never tried to let people know what he did at home, what books he read, scrolls he studied, plants he kept; it just never seemed that anyone would care. Naruto focused on being noticed, but he chose to make his goal to be Hokage and that is what he chose to be noticed for.

'It also wasn't like we eloped or anything', Sasuke thought to himself. They were best friends who had sex, they had discovered how enjoyable the activity could be together. 'It's not like we're in love or anything.' He thought back to how it all started between the two of them.

---Flashback---

It had been over a month since he was released from Ibiki, the interrogations and observations had lasted several weeks, and allowed to join the ranks of Konoha shinobi, though under probation. He had been invited by several people out to join various social activities, but he declined all offers. He noticed that the former genin who had been sent after him when he left to join Orochimaru were keeping their distance from him. Though Rock Lee didn't seem to hold much of a grudge, he even invitied Sasuke to spar with him which he did. They ended their taijutsu spar with a draw as they had both won 2 rounds.

Naruto asked Sasuke to join him for training several times, but Sasuke kept his distance. He didn't understand why, he just didn't want to fight Naruto again after the two times he had nearly killed the blond. After the third rejection, Naruto confronted him near a deserted training area.

"Teme! What's your problem? Why won't you train with me? Do you think you're the only one who's gotten better over the years and I'm not worth your time?" he growled.

Sasuke was about to scoff and walk away, but he saw just how much this meant to Naruto and found himself asking, "Why do you care?"

Naruto seemed taken aback. "I told you before how much you meant to me...how much this bond meant to me."

"Oh yeah, you feel like we're brothers." This time Sasuke did walk away, but was caught by the elbow and turned to face flashing blue eyes.

"Damnit, what's your problem?!?"

"Naruto, I had a brother and in case you don't remember, I KILLED him! Considering the number of times I nearly killed you, why would you want that title?!" he was close to screaming at this point.

"Then give me a different title if you don't want to be brothers."

"What do you want to be to me?" They were starting to yell at each other.

"I don't care as long as I'm yours!" Sasuke stepped back as though punched. Naruto didn't appear to notice the significance of the words he just said. He was panting with his emotions. He just wanted Sasuke to value this bond they had.

Sasuke continued to step backwards away from the blond. "Sasuke?" Naruto was unsure of the confused and shocked expression on the Uchiha's face.

He turned and continued walking away but stopped when he heard a second "Sasuke?" Naruto's voice sounded almost...fragile. He sighed, "I just need to think" and then went home to do just that.

Several days later, Naruto answered a knocking on his door. He was surprised to see it was Sasuke but quickly let him in. Sasuke looked around his small apartment and leaned against one of the walls staring at his friend. Naruto was barefoot and without his orange jacket or forehead protector. His blond hair was laying softly around his face and his blue eyes were looking back curiously at the raven.

Finally, Sasuke broke the silence. "I don't know what else to call you but my best friend. You are the closest thing I have to family and you are special to me. Can you be satisfied with that?"

Naruto felt his heart warm from hearing these words and nodded slowly to show that he would be happy with being Sasuke's best friend. However, something about those onyx eyes seemed unsure. "But?"

Sasuke found that he couldn't meet those blue eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath "After what you said yesterday, there was something I wanted to do and I don't know what it means." Naruto cocked his head to the side and came to within reaching distance of his friend. "What was it?"

The Uchiha slowly raised his hand and cupped Naruto's cheek. Blue eyes widened but he didn't move. Being softly touched was not something he was used to at all. Sasuke then slowly closed the distance between their lips and stayed like that for a moment, neither moving or breathing, before he pulled back. Both of them looked confused, but strangely, they wanted to do it again. This time, they both leaned into the kiss and moved gently against each other, with just their lips and Sasuke's hand to Naruto's cheek connecting them.

When they pulled back a second time, they both had a light blush on their faces. Sasuke dropped his hand back to his side. "How...how did that feel?"

Naruto shook his head slightly to get his thoughts together and then met those dark eyes staring at him. "It felt good." He wasn't sure what, if anything, this meant. They had just established that they were best friends. His crush on Sakura aside, which he had grown out of anyways, he had never really considered the idea of being affectionate with someone. It wasn't anything that he had ever experienced so he didn't think anymore about it. They were best friends and if Sasuke wanted to touch, he was ok with that. Both boys had been starved for affection all their lives. Even when Sasuke's family was alive, he father was so cold to him that he was a lonely child who wasn't used to soft physical contact.

He gave a small smile, so different from his usual foxy grins, and came in to kiss Sasuke a third time.

Over the next few months, the boys learned about each other's bodies and how to share pleasure and comfort and passion with each other. They also learned about themselves and how they were growing to depend on the other.

---End Flashback---

At the end of the shift, Sasuke hopped down to wake Kakashi who went to do his lap around the camp and inspect their surroundings. Sasuke then went to his bedroll that was laid out near Naruto's, not that they would be sharing sleeping space, but they were close enough to hear the other's whispers. "Do you want to talk?" he whispered to his lover, who at this point was feigning sleep.

With a soft smile, Naruto met those dark eyes that he was learning to read, then extended his arm to touch Sasuke's hand. The fingers interlaced for a moment until, with a shake of his head, he withdrew his hand back to his side. The raven watched him for a minute before closing his eyes. "Get some sleep, usuratonkachi."

And they both did until Kakashi woke Naruto for his shift.

As the blond found his perch in the tree overlooking the camp, he decided he would have to stop being so introspective, or he'd really start to worry Sasuke. He couldn't help it...what Tsunade had told him had shaken him to the core.

When she had asked everyone to leave her and Naruto alone she had then asked him how long he and Sasuke had been lovers. He was still feeling defensive considering all that had happened that morning and wasn't keen to answer any personal questions at the moment. Tsunade soon recognized this and backed off.

She then told Naruto about Ibiki's findings after interrogating Sasuke upon his return to Konoha. Ibiki felt that the last Uchiha would be no threat to the village, but did point out that Sasuke seemed to have strong emotional ties to Naruto. It was his opinion that at that time, Naruto was Sasuke's reason for living, it was only when he was mentioned that Sasuke even seemed to show any feelings. Otherwise, it was like the raven wasn't even there.

To be Sasuke's reason for living and to be in a sexual relationship with him was a lot to take on. "Do you think you can handle it Naruto?" Tsunade had asked him. Before he could reply, Kakashi had informed them that Sakura had arrived and the mission briefing had commenced.

Now, sitting above the camp and looking down at his lover, Naruto didn't feel any regrets for what they had together. Nobody had shown such a caring for him and he had never felt the need to be so close to anyone else. It felt right that they should depend on their best friend. They talked now in the privacy of each other's homes. Not just about training and missions but about their experiences when they were younger and about their respective treatment from the village. They still fought and would spar now, but it never hit the anger or danger levels of what had occurred before Sasuke had left the village.

What worried Naruto was that he would fail Sasuke. That he would fail to be what Sasuke needed. He knew that his friend would have to revive his clan at some point. At seventeen, that was still too soon to be thinking too hard about, but it was still there and Naruto was starting to wonder if he could handle sharing Sasuke's bed. Or giving it up completely. He felt a pressure to be more than he is, because he had to be what his lover needs, and he wasn't sure what that is.

He went over to Sakura when it was time to wake her and lightly touched her shoulder. She awoke instantly and stared at him blankly. "It's your shift" he told her. Her vision cleared, she nodded and got up. Naruto turned to go back to his bedroll when her voice stopped him. "Naruto?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" he looked over his shoulder at her, an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"Would you walk with me for a few minutes?" He nodded and together they walked along the outside of the camp inspecting the surroundings again.

He stayed quiet, waiting for her to have her say. After a few minutes as they were nearly done with their walk, she faced him with determination in her emerald eyes. "You betrayed me."

All he could do was stare at her for a few moments before he collected himself. "How?"

"You knew how I felt for him and you stole him."

Naruto hung his head and Sakura felt a jolt of triumph, but when he met her eyes, she saw nothing there to make her feel victorious. "He was never yours for me to steal." As Sakura started to open her mouth, anger flashing in her eyes, he beat her to it, "What goes on between him and me is none of your business. I hadn't realized you still had a crush on Sasuke, but I'll be honest, I didn't really think about it." He took a step closer to her and his voice softened. "You are my friend and I care about you alot. I would never want you to be hurt, but I can't help it if you choose to be angry that your feelings weren't returned."

"But you knew how I felt! If you weren't with him then he would have turned to me eventually!" She almost seemed desperate with her outburst, though she kept it quiet enough not to disturb the sleepers.

The blond just looked at her with sympathy. "Do you really believe that?"

As she looked about to punch him he had one more point to make, "Sakura, when we were younger I had a crush on you, everyone knew it. And yes, I knew how you, and just about every girl, felt about Sasuke, though I couldn't understand it at the time." Naruto smiled at that, and Sakura did not seem amused, clearly wanting to know why he was saying this. He stared hard into her eyes, "If Sasuke had returned your feelings, knowning of my crush on you, would I have had the right to treat him the way you are treating me?"

She unwillingly flinched at that and thought about it for a moment before she dropped her fist. They stood there for a few more moments before she turned on her heel and continued her guard duty.

Naruto sighed and thought that he might really be growing apart from his pink haired friend. Saddened by this thought he went to lie down and go back to sleep for what little of the night was left.


TBC