013 - Smile
You could almost feel it when Naruto smiled. It spread from his lips to his cheeks, up to his eyes and then beyond him.
People always told Sasuke that he ought to smile more. Someone as attractive as you could only look better if you would just turn that frown upside down, they'd say. Or some variation of that. Sasuke had also heard his fair share of comments that his smirk was the closest thing to a smile that they'd ever seen. But Sasuke's smirk didn't make people feel lit up from the inside. It usually made them shrink back, or retaliate with anger, feeling a challenge in his expression.
But Naruto… it came off him like a heat. Like stepping in the brightness and warmth of a midday sun after a lifetime spent in a dark and cold tunnel. Most of these warming, calming, endearing smiles were exclusive to Sasuke.
The sleepy smile first thing in the morning as he kisses Sasuke's forehead.
His sad smile as they visit the graves of their friends, lost in the war, and remember their dearly-missed faces.
The tearful smile when Naruto awakes from his dreams of a past spent chasing Sasuke to find him, eyes closed, mouth parted gracefully, breathing gently in a sound sleep beside him.
The joyful grin as Naruto, with unnatural speed, devours the ramen Sasuke learned to make just to watch his face light up.
The gentle upturn of Naruto's lips to contrast his furrowed brow as he gently places his hand against the small of Sasuke's back in support. The warmth blooming in Sasuke's chest as he looks into bright blue. Sasuke has seen this expression more frequently as they rifle through the destroyed remnants of the Uchiha compound, discovering another family relic of loved ones lost.
And perhaps Sasuke's favourite smile. This is the smile Sasuke sees when Naruto collapses on top of him. His body hot, heavy with a thin sheen of sweat. When Naruto pushes Sasuke's dark and slightly damp hair off his head and then kisses Sasuke's forehead he can feel the upturn of Naruto's lips against his skin.
Warmth, love, and deep understanding; this is what Sasuke sees when Naruto smiles.
Sasuke does smile, despite what people say. But it's not his fault that the only one who can bring them out is Naruto.