When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 39 -

When Sasuke awoke, the van wasn't moving. He thought that they had arrived in Suna overnight, but glancing out the window, he realized this wasn't the case. Instead, they were parked outside a rest area in what appeared to be the exact middle of nowhere. He looked around in momentary confusion before he felt his hair being ruffled.

"Good morning, sleepy-head. Pleasant dreams?"

Batting the hand away from his head, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to find a smiling Orochimaru staring down at him. "Oh... morning, O."

"A little grouchy, aren't we? Then again, I guess I would be too if I spent the past eight hours sleeping in a van like this. You had your face pressed against the glass all night – it did not look comfortable," O responded with a chuckle.

Sasuke rubbed his cheek. It did feel sore, but it paled in comparison to the sharp pain in his backside. Apparently Naruto really was as big as he looked. "Where the hell are we, anyway? I thought we'd be in Suna by now."

"We would, but Kidomaru was too cheap to stop for gas, so we had to get out and push for a mile or so. They're inside eating breakfast now – did you want some?"

The Uchiha waved his hand. "No thanks. Not really hungry."

Taking a seat beside Sasuke, O sighed. "I thought you might say that – that's why I decided to wait here."

"I appreciate it, but there's no need. Go ahead and have your breakfast. I'll be fine on my own."

"Oh, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke... I know you keep saying that to yourself, but I know as well as you do that it's not true," the snake-man said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "If it was, you wouldn't have come to us last night in the first place."

He's got me there...

"What do you want from me, then?"

"All I want is for you to tell me what's going on. As far as the others are concerned, you're only here to enjoy some indie music. I know better. What happened last night?" O pressed, staring at the Uchiha with an unusual degree of seriousness. "Did you and Naruto...?"

"Do it? Yes," Sasuke replied curtly, avoiding the man's gaze.

"And since you're here, I'm going to assume you weren't ready."

"Right."

"Then why did you do it?" O asked rhetorically.

"Because I'm an idiot, all right?" Sasuke exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. He took a breath and composed himself rather quickly, turning his attention out the window once more. "I guess I wanted to make him happy."

"So what changed? If you ran away in the night, I hardly think you had his happiness in mind. Did you have a change of heart?"

"No... I was glad I did it at the time. I don't think I've ever been more in love with him than I was right then," Sasuke admitted with a warm smile. "But that's just it. I know that feeling. It's how I felt about my parents, and Itachi – both of them were taken away from me, though. And when you really care about someone like that, when you feel like your life is complete, like they were the missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of your soul, having that taken away from you is enough to crush even the strongest of spirits."

"Jigsaw puzzle of your soul... interesting. Well, tell me, Sasuke – does that mean you resent me?"

"Resent you?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head to the side quizzically.

"Right. I mean, you met me after your parents died. After Itachi became distant. Yet, here you are, confiding in me. Obviously I've become an important part of your life, too. Am I one of those jigsaw pieces, then? Was your soul really complete with what you had? Or did you just feel like it was?"