Possibly a chaptered story. Enjoy.
A sappy reunion between old friends was hardly what Uzumaki wanted-
Then why did his breath and biting words leave him so sharply when he saw the waxen memory before him?
The first thing he noticed about his late teammate, had been the piceous mane that many females yearned to touch during their school years. It had been cut close to his skull, his face not hidden behind intruding bangs. Instead, his bangs were trimming across his forehead. And he thought that Uchiha had never looked better.
His glossy, aphotic eyes were still bedroom eyes without fail, and perhaps that was the reason why he used to be so longed for by his classmates. But Uzumaki wasn't a fool. He knew he was wan, and forever he would be, even if he was successful in the pursuit of happiness.
Whatever it was for him.
Uzumaki tried to open his mouth, the pink aperture, but it seemed that his voice was going to fail him. The voice he used to prove he was a strong man couldn't risk to become very soft in front of Uchiha, even if it was broken in thought and process. Instead, his polished, languished gaze, ultramarine, darted back and forth in the surprise of an awkward meeting beneath a curtain of careless sandy blades.
It seemed against either of them to walk up, envelop one another in an embrace. And so the action was pushed aside in thought. Uzumaki cleared his throat. He wanted to begin speaking, but the words weren't exactly the ones he had wanted to say initially.
He meant to say 'I despise you for leaving in the first place,'. What came out was-
"Welcome back."
Uchiha nodded, looking away for a moment, and finally took in the fact that Uzumaki still cared. And how had he re-payed such feelings? By nodding. It seemed to be decided between them both that for now, that subject wouldn't be touched. But with every word, he remembered him. Them. He felt nauseous, and swallowed thickly.
"Good to be back." and for now, Uchiha stepped aside, deciding to re-gather his thoughts, and that acting foolish before Uzumaki Naruto was worse than death.