It was the last day of that school year.
This time of the year frequently reminded him of when it wasn't like that, only him and Sakura. Yes, Sai was a good friend and everything - but even though he was okay, he wasn't full of emotion as Sasuke had been, he wasn't always arguing with him over nothing, he wasn't getting motivated from his improvements...
He just wasn't teme and that was all to it.
It was the first day of his senior year, and Naruto had a feeling that, unlike the last years, it was going to be better. Much, much better. He wasn't really sure why, though. The blonde's thoughts were cut short by a bunch of girls blocking the front door, gasping and drooling at something that he couldn't see. Even though he was nearly 5"10 now, the squashy and screaming and overexcited and jumping girl were too much; getting tired of trying to be gentle with the girls which really seemed to be deaf, he made his way through them, pushing them to the side, in order to see what happened.
"Teme?"
For the first time in so many years, Naruto's voice sounded insecure and suspicious. The last time something like that occurred when he was told that cup ramen lasts for less than one week, but now... It wasn't like that. It wasn't some idiocy he'd think. It was something stupid he thought he knew that it won't happen, but here he was, standing there, like he'd never left. Standing there with his fan girls. Standing there, receiving the attention he never had. Even Sai, socially awkward and saying things as if he'd read them from a book, had more attention from everyone else. But Sasuke was there - it was no doubt. And that made him think, it was only now that he was able to realize the huge difference between Sai and Sasuke. One had straight and neat hair - the other's was messy, untamed, and had a slight blueish tent. One was skinny and had nearly white skin, the other was slim and lean but muscular, and had pale - but not white - complexion. One always smiled but it was fake; one always scowled or sighed, but it was true. One was agile, the other was strong. One could draw and one could sing. One seemed emotionless, the other - if you'd see only his eyes, and there were so many feelings you couldn't bear figuring them out. One of them, he'd never had problems with but their relationship was somewhere at almost friends, the other, he'd hated but then they were like brothers.
"Dobe."
Naruto grinned widely and pulled the brunet boy into a combination of the awkward man-hug, aka the hug where your hands stay between you after you shook them, and the strong bear hug, aka the hug which breaks your bones to the point where you could make instant tea with them.
But then he pulled back and stared for a second at his friend, which didn't seem to respond to his enthusiasm.
"You're an idiot."
Sasuke smacked the back of the blond's head, laughing shortly, even smiling... a little.
The following day, Naruto saw Sasuke with Sakura, an arm draped over her shoulders, pushing her into his chest, quite intimately. It wasn't right, it wasn't okay. How could he come back like that, and then... just walk to her, say hi, and have her at his feet? Why didn't she ever love him, him who was always there for her, him who was always there for her, him who always walked her home, him who always bought her ice-cream, he who was always there for her when she cried, him who always took her to movies, him who tried to convince Sasuke to stay, him... him who loved her.
But if he loved her, why did he start to flinch away from her touches? Why was he turning his back on her now, when she seemed to get more open with him? He didn't know, but he knew what he had to do.
As he walked past the couple, he pulled his fist back, and then punched Sasuke square in the stomach, and even though he wasn't full force, he'd gotten a lot stronger since the brunet left. Much, much stronger.
"Dobe, what was that?"
"That? Well what was with you showing up in here, sitting in the middle of the chicks like you're some rock star, and have everyone at your feet? What was about it?"
The brunet's hand clasped on the front of Naruto's shirt, shoving him backwards. "You don't know anything about me," he hissed. The blonde was thrown to the left and hit a sink with his head, a short wound opening and starting to bleed. He pushed himself up leaning on the sink, turning up the water, and shoved his head under, in order to wipe out the blood. The water poured down and made the wound ache making him hiss.
"Naruto, may you explain why your hair, notebook, desk, and clothes, are wet?"
"I had a small accident earlier."
The blonde's voice had dropped to a mumble, but even this way it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"And I had to clean the blood off my head."
Some idiot started laughing. And another. And another.
The blond grabbed his schoolbag and jolted out of the classroom, not bothering to look back at the teacher, or say anything.
Naruto was sitting on the bench where they used to gather, where they used to talk, where they used to sit together and just stare at the sky for hours, because none of them had anything to want to go home to. That bench held so many memories, it was too much. It reminded him of PE when they made a bet about the one to climb a tree with a hand at their back and feet tied together, and Sakura had to take them to the hospital with grave concussions. It reminded him about when they were told that friendship is the most important thing in life, and if they have it, they should take care of it. It reminded him about when some idiots from Suna Highschool attacked them. It reminded him of-
"Dobe."
Sasuke sat down on the bench next to him, and it was only when he saw the brunet's clothes that he realized it started raining.
"I'm sorry."
Naruto was still looking away from him, looking at the tree that still had marks of their blood on it.
"Do-"
"Don't call me that again!" he snapped. "Don't. Don't speak to me again."
One rival.
One best friend.
One brother.
Only one person, so many things.
"Where did I go wrong... I lost a friend." he sighed quietly, still not looking at Sasuke.
A warm hand touched his shoulder.
"I told you to-"
He stopped abruptly, as he took in the face expression the boy had. It looked like... It looked like he was going to cry. Or was he already crying? The rain was making it impossible to decide whether yes or not.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left without telling anyone anything, I'm sorry that I came back a little too late, I'm sorry..."
Naruto was standing still. Since when did an Uchiha apologize? He'd been sure that they didn't. At least, that's what people used to say, before the brunet's family died in a car crash.
"...that I hur-"
Sasuke's words were interrupted by Naruto's chapped and dry lips on his smooth and embalmed ones. It took his brain a second to register and process and understand the situation, but when it finally did, the brunet glided down the bench closer to the other boy and his hand clasped in his hair. A cold hand touched his back, pulling him even nearer.
And it felt good, and it felt right.
It felt like one's lips were carved to mold into the other's perfectly. Like Sasuke's hand was made to fall into place in the other's hair's spikes. Like Naruto's hand was sculpted to hold the other's back.
The blond was the one who pulled back, staring into the other's eyes.
"When you saw me with Sakura, I was getting away from fan girls."
"... it doesn't even matter anymore."
He pulled the brunet into a kiss one more time.
On Naruto's shoulder's was sitting a small blonde haired boy, clutching as his hair. With his right hand, he was holding the pink haired twin girl of the boy, who was holding the hand of another pink haired girl that seemed to be one or two years older; her twin boy was pulling Sasuke's hair locks, giggling silently at something none other could figure out.
"Dobe, we're lucky Sakura loves us so much."
"Yeah, but now she request she sees her babies every weekend. Aren't you getting tired of walking across the whole country every weekend?"
The brunette shrugged, as a ear-hurting screech came from behind him.
"Pa...paaaaa! I'm huuuuungry!"
"Where's the food? Dobeeee, I can't find the food in the backpack!"