Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Naruto was standing against the cold. The rain had already soaked his clothes and his hair, through his jacket and through his hood. Raindrops were sliding down his skin, beneath his clothes. He clung to himself, hugging himself. After all, whenever he needed somebody to hold him, there was only himself. I have me, myself, and I, he thought. What a collection.
He sighed, shivering. Why did it always have to be this way?
Why was Naruto standing alone in the pouring rain, you might ask? Well, you could say that he was wallowing elbow deep in self-pity, but Naruto didn't like to think of it that way.
The little blond boy closed his eyes and rested his head against the cold brick wall that he was leaning on. He couldn't help but feel that something in his life was missing. But what was it?
He sighed again. What was he doing? Why was he out here standing in the rain like this? He'd just get sick. And yet, though he knew this, at the moment there was nowhere else he'd rather be. He didn't want to go back to his empty apartment, he didn't want to wander the town lost in thought again, and he most certainly didn't want company. Right now, he decided, he just wanted to be alone.
It was coincidence that led a very wet Sasuke Uchiha right past Naruto. Naruto, though, wasn't paying attention and didn't notice. The blond boy was leaning against a red brick wall, his head tilted back and his eyes closed. Sasuke wondered if he was asleep or just thinking. Then Naruto sighed and Sasuke knew that he wasn't asleep.
Sasuke was going to bug him, like he would normally do, but there was something about the way Naruto was acting that made him stop and decide against it. Instead, he simply stood and watched, curiously. Finally Naruto opened one eye and glanced at him as if he knew he had been there the whole time. "What do you want?" he demanded bluntly with a light catch in his voice. The blond boy quickly cleared his throat.
Sasuke could have sworn that he saw a tear fall down Naruto's cheek, but he shrugged it off, thinking that it was probably just the rain. Sasuke scoffed. "What are you doing, dobe?" Another tear slid as Naruto closed his eye again. "And are you crying or am imagining things?"
"Go away," Naruto said shortly.
"Why should I?"
"Just go."
There was a long pause, an awkward silence, and finally Sasuke said stubbornly, "No."
"What?" Naruto demanded, opening both his eyes and bringing his head down to stare intently at the raven-haired boy.
"I said no, dobe, didn't you hear? I'm not leaving until you answer the question."
"Why should I?" Naruto asked, quoting Sasuke's own words.
Sasuke smirked. "You want me to leave don't you?"
It was Naruto's turn to scoff. "Yes. I'm crying. Are you happy?" He sighed and closed his eyes again. "Jeez, why do you feel the need to always bug me to death, Sasuke?"
Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and stood next to the blond boy, also leaning against the wall. "It's my job, dobe."
"Stop calling me that."
"No."
"Fine."
"Whatever."
There was another long pause. Both boys stood quietly, eyes closed, trying to relax. "Why are you still here?" Naruto finally asked.
Sasuke shrugged. "Got a problem with it?"
"…No."
"Good."
Naruto opened his eyes. Why was Sasuke doing this?? What was his problem? Didn't he see that Naruto just wanted to be left alone? What was wrong with that? Why couldn't that bastard just leave him alone for once?
He opened his eyes and looked up at the crying sky. Grey clouds edged slowly away. He sighed. "Sasuke…" he said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you have to be such an ass?" And with that, Naruto also stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away, leaving Sasuke staring after him.
Naruto was alone again. He was in his apartment, which was surprisingly clean today. Without anything else to do, he had cleaned the place up, to keep his mind off his depression for a while. Now, Naruto was lying in the dark on his bed, on top of all his covers and sheets. The curtains over his window were tightly shut, so that what little light there was could not come in. He had come straight home, crossed the apartment without turning on any lights or drying off, and had flung himself down on the bed.
He lay on his stomach now with his eyes closed. He didn't care if he fell asleep or not. Soon, he was dreaming.
When Naruto awoke, he had tears in his eyes. In his dream, he was surrounded by people. Many of them had been his friends, and the others who weren't simply respected him. And everybody saw him. People noticed him for what he was, and not as a monster.
Naruto didn't like being awake. He wished that he could just roll over and go back to sleep, fall back into his perfect dream. The knot his stomach pained him again. He was so tired…
Why did he have to be so alone?
With a sigh he sat up and wiped his tears. What should he do now? He looked around at the apartment. This was the cleanest it had ever been before, and he doubted that he could do anything more to improve it. He had read all his manga already, and wasn't in the mood to read them anymore anyway. With another sigh, he lay back down.
"What's wrong with you?" The loud voice disturbed his thoughts.
Naruto turned and threw a kunai at Sasuke. The raven-haired boy stepped out of the way and the kunai harmlessly stuck to the doorframe. "Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Naruto screamed.
Expressionless, Sasuke crossed the room…. and poked Naruto on the shoulder. "You alright dobe? Not hurt anywhere right?"
"Go away Sasuke," the blond boy growled.
"Testy today aren't we? Come on, dobe, what's the matter with you. You're all…. depressed."
"Why do you care?" he spat.
Sasuke shrugged. "I guess it just doesn't suit you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well… you're always smiling and happy… it's not like you to be all upset like this."
"Why do you care?" he asked again, quieter this time.
Sasuke sighed. "Naruto… why do you have to be so complicated?" The blond boy looked up at him in surprise, a faint smile curling his lips. "What?" he asked.
"You said my name," Naruto said, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"So?"
"So… you didn't call me dobe… or any other name." He laughed a bit. "That's funny."
Sasuke scoffed. "I don't think it's funny."
There was another awkward pause between them. "Why are you here?" Naruto finally asked. "What are you doing in my apartment?"
Sasuke shrugged uncomfortably. "Curiosity," he stated.
Naruto scoffed. "Curiosity. Sure."
Sasuke winced. "Why? What did you think I was doing here?"
Naruto suddenly grinned his famous Naruto Uzumaki grin. "You know you love me, Sasuke," he said jokingly. Sasuke scoffed again and looked away. "If you didn't care a little you wouldn't still be here," he pointed out.
Sasuke seemed unsure of how to respond to that, which amused Naruto even more. Sasuke Uchiha actually cared about Naruto Uzumaki. Amusing, yes.
Sasuke scoffed again, still thinking. He was quiet for a long moment, and finally he said, "Well…" He didn't continue.
"Well what?" Naruto asked with a smile.
Sasuke glared at him as if to say, "don't make me say it." "Whatever."
"Nope. I think I'm gonna make you say it."
"What are you talking about, dobe?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Naruto replied. He didn't even care that Sasuke had called him dobe again. "Admit it; you care about me." Sasuke scoffed and glared at him again. "Do it, Sasuke. I wanna hear it."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is that what it takes to make you happy?" he demanded.
"It amuses me yes. I think I like watching you squirm. …It's not like you Sasuke." He laughed.
"Dobe."
"Jerk."
'I won't say it."
"Fine. Then why haven't you left yet?"
Sasuke was speechless again. "You can't actually… expect me to…"
"Oh yes I do. Say it Sasuke. Say it."
Sasuke sighed, and looked away as if annoyed. "I…." He sighed again. Naruto was having the time of his life. He could actually see one of the veins throbbing on Sasuke's forehead. "I…" He muttered something inaudible.
"What was that?" Naruto asked. Sasuke was actually blushing! Oh my GOD this is hilarious!
"I said… I actually care about you. Happy now?" Naruto had bursted out into a fit of laughter. "Shut up," Sasuke said curtly.
Naruto laughed still. "Well… I care about you too, Sasuke," Naruto said with another laugh.
"Shut up, Naruto."
Naruto's laughter slowly died. "You did it again," he said seriously.
Sasuke glanced at him. "So?"
The blond boy grinned in response.
Suddenly Naruto knew that this was what he had been missing. This. He had been missing the fact that, despite everything else, he had Sasuke. The raven-haired boy was ill-tempered, rude, and called Naruto names all the time, but all that didn't matter now. As Naruto grinned he thought, I love you Sasuke.