"You... you... fucking bastard! You had me so worried!" He couldn't help it, he dragged Naruto up into a tight embrace, one hand holding the dobe's back, the other fisted in his hair at the back of his head. He was still chuckling lightly, as he crushed Naruto in a hug. He was elated that it was returned.
*
Sasuke pulled away from his friend and looked at the grinning face before him. He'd never seen such a beautiful sight. Naruto's smile. He flicked the idiot's forehead and stood up, dumping him on the ground.
"Aw, come on, Teme. It was a little funny…" Naruto chuckled getting up, wincing at the slight pain in his back. "Damnit, Fox, you couldn't have healed knots, too?" He growled and punched his stomach, hoping the demon would feel it. Sasuke watched as his friend pummelled himself, trying to beat the demon into fixing his aching back.
"Dobe. You're only making it worse for yourself." Sasuke rolled his eyes when Naruto gave a sheepish grin and rubbed his poor stomach. "Hurry up. We have to hand in a report. And I'm hungry."
Naruto poked his tongue out, ever the child, before jogging to catch up to Sasuke. "You know, you should treat me to ramen. I almost died today." He gave his best innocent look. Sasuke looked at him, his face blank.
Smack! Sasuke's fist made contact with Naruto's left cheek, sending him flying backwards.
"Hn. Not unless you beat me home. Dobe," He smirked down at his friend before bolting, knowing he'd let the idiot win, anyway.
"Teme! You bastard! That's cheating!" Naruto leaped to his feet and ran after the Uchiha, forgetting his aching back and cheek.
*
"I won! I won, I won, I won! Ha!" Naruto punched the air as he did a victory dance at the Konoha gates. He'd beat Sasuke home. Now he would have free ramen for lunch.
"Dobe." Sasuke casually walked up to his friend and flicked his forehead again. "Go order while I take the report up." Naruto grinned, nodded and ran off again.
"Why do you let him win all the time?" one of the guards asked, shaking his head. Sasuke ignored him completely and made his way to the Missions Office.
*
"Ahh, Sasuke-san. How are you?" Iruka-sensei took the report from Sasuke, glancing at it before nodding in acceptance. "Perfect as usual. Tell me, how is Naruto? I haven't seen him since the funeral." Iruka looked sad, grieving for his former student and his other former student's absence from his life for the past few weeks.
"Hn. The dobe is fine. He's ordering ramen as we speak. My treat, of course." He smirked at Iruka's small smile.
"Ah, at least his appetite is back." He stamped the report and nodded to Sasuke. "Well, I won't keep you from your lunch. But, will you tell Naruto that I'd like to see him sometime before I die? It'd be nice to see him again."
"Hn." Sasuke nodded his affirmation and left. He'd get Naruto to see Iruka again soon. But right now, the idiot was all his.
*
"Teme!" Naruto greeted him with a mouthful of ramen and a wave with his chopsticks. Sasuke wrinkled his nose, feigning disgust, before sitting next to his friend. Really, he thought Naruto's absolute lack of finesse and decorum was endearing… but he'd never tell the blonde that. It was his little secret.
"Hn. Try not to waste my money, Dobe. Don't talk with your mouth full." He smirked at Naruto's impotent glare and turned to his own food. He noticed it had tomato slices layered around the bowl, just the way he liked it. He looked at Naruto curiously. Only he knew that Sasuke added tomatoes to it when they were eating at one or the other's place.
"Ee… I knew you liked it with tomato." He shrugged, blushing a little, and turned back to his food. Sasuke smirked, covering a smile of gratitude, and punched Naruto on the arm. That was his way of saying thank you. Naruto reached over without looking and stole a slice. That was his way of saying you're welcome.
Three bowls of ramen later, Naruto was ready to go home and have a shower and crawl into bed. He thanked Sasuke with a shoulder punch and a grin, when he paid for the meal.
"Come on, Dobe. Let's get you home."
"I'm not a baby, Sasuke. I can walk myself." He managed to glare and pout at the same time. It was killing Sasuke.
"You might not physically be an infant, but your mind has hardly developed past that stage." He smirked again as Naruto went into a tirade of name-calling and indignant protests.
"I'm not infant-minded and you know it!" He poked Sasuke in the chest, growling. They came to a stop, Naruto refusing to let Sasuke go any further, until he got some kind of apology from him.
"Of course not," he paused letting the sarcasm drive home. "Because this diatribe is proof." He bit his tongue to stop from laughing at Naruto's look of self-pity. He really was pathetic.
"I'm not stupid, Sasuke." Naruto said, quietly; his previous bluster gone. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, leaving Sasuke to stare. What's wrong with him? Sasuke felt the unwelcome feeling of concern creep up on him once more. Damn you, Dobe. He caught up easily with the blonde and walked him home in silence, not wanting to make anything worse, not knowing how to make it better.
"Dobe," Sasuke put his hand between the door and the jamb before it could close on him. "You're not an idiot. Mostly." He offered a small smile as Naruto blinked up at him, his eyes bright with tears. He let out a sigh and opened the door for Sasuke to come in.
Sasuke followed the blonde in, hoping whatever happened would make it ok between them.
"D'you want some tea?" Naruto was still oddly quiet. He moped off to the kitchen.
"Hn." Sasuke nodded and followed him. He took note of the dust lining the floors and cupboards. It looked like Naruto had avoided his own home for a long while. The only thing not covered in a layer of dust was a picture of Sakura. He felt his chest contract, knowing how Naruto was feeling. He knew it was hard to lose someone, but what the idiot was doing wasn't healthy. Sasuke had been down that path and knew Naruto was about to stray onto it as well. He didn't want to see that happen to his best friend. His only friend.
"I only have mint. That OK?" His dull tone was starting to get to Sasuke. And that was saying something. He was well-known for his own dull tones and moody behaviour. He put his hand over Naruto's as it went to grab the tea. He pulled it back, pulling Naruto to him in an awkward, but heart-felt embrace.
"Dobe, what're you doing?" He pulled back a bit to look at Naruto's face, waiting for an answer.
"What do you mean? You hugged me." He was still slow on the uptake.
"Idiot. I mean, with your life. You haven't been taking care of yourself. Your apartment is full of dust, you don't eat as much as you used to and you're still grieving over Haruno."
"Sakura. And she was the love of my life! I loved her! And I never even got a chance with her. But it's not like you know how that feels! You've never loved someone you couldn't have. Hell, you could have anyone you want. Stupid Uchiha. You're such an arse. How can you be so indifferent? She died! She's not coming back! And I love her!" He rambled on some more, curling into Sasuke's embrace, crying into his chest, finally letting all the grief out. Sasuke just held him. He held Naruto until the tears and sobbing ceased.
He lead Naruto to the lounge room and sat him on the couch, taking his place next to him.
"Naruto." He pulled back once more, intent on making his friend feel better before he left.
"Huh?"
"She's gone. But I'm still here." He hoped he was being clear on what he meant.
"It's not the same! I lo-" His declaration was cut off by Sasuke's lips.
He couldn't take it. Sasuke wouldn't let Naruto dwell on the past. Haruno Sakura was dead. She wasn't coming back. Naruto was all his now. He'd make sure of it. He pulled Naruto to him again, massaging his lips with his own. He still tasted of pork ramen, with that hint of tomato – the slice he'd stolen from Sasuke.
Sasuke forced his tongue into the dobe's mouth, not taking 'no' for an answer. He wanted this and nothing was going to take it from him.
Suddenly, Naruto shoved him off. A look of bewildered shock all over his adorable face.
"What are you doing?" He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, not breaking eye-contact with Sasuke.
"Uh…" He was at a loss for words. He could feel his cheeks burning, his chest clenching. This isn't how it was supposed to go at all.