Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!

Summary: COMPLETE (new chapter up everyday - total of 7 chapters!). Sasuke has spent every day since the war's end trying to rebuild. It's a good thing Naruto has been doing the same, isn't it? Canonverse, but still AU (no marriages), Sasunaru/Narusasu. Written for SNS Month 2017! (Day 2 Prompt: Uchiha Sasuke).

A/N: thank you guys so much for all the love! I've been so excited to post this. I take some liberties with how shadow clones work in this chapter - it's always been a bit vague to me, so this is just my own headcanon as to how they work. I hope that's okay! Enjoy!

Rebuilding

Chapter 2: Temporary

He ended up taking Naruto back to his old apartment. Sasuke's house was being worked on and—he…didn't exactly enjoy staying there.

He dumped Naruto onto the bed—which still had sheets, what a fucking miracle, and scowled around the place.

First thing was first—he was going to confiscate these infernal pills. Where had Sakura found them earlier?

"—suke?"

"You need an assistant," Sasuke scowled, reading through the damn thing for the thousandth time. These proposed changes made no sense—it was as if they hadn't read the documents at all—

"Wha…?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, sniffing as he examined the blonde.

"You're awake," he commented unnecessarily.

"I'm—" Naruto's eyes grew wide, "oh shit, I—"

"Collapsed, yes."

Naruto sat up quickly, immediately swaying. Sasuke made no move to help him—he was in no danger. He was just an idiot.

"You collapse—randomly—once every few weeks."

He scanned Naruto's expression. The blonde didn't look nearly contrite enough.

"Sa—"

"Seems a tad inconvenient."

Naruto let out a breath.

"I—just—I know it's not great, but—"

"You're just busy, right?"

Naruto seemed to falter. Sasuke's anger flared in him so strongly that he suddenly felt he couldn't look at the blonde a moment longer. Naruto was looking like—like he barely even cared—

He grabbed the scroll he had been reading and flung it onto the bed, turning on his heel. He'd had—he'd had enough of this—

"Sasuke—!" He heard Naruto's voice cut off, and then a crash—the moron had tried to stand too quickly—he turned—

In a flash, Sasuke was thrown to the ground—all of Naruto's weight on top of him—that fucking hurt—

"Naruto—get off—"

"Don't leave," Naruto's hands dug into his skin, "don't leave."

Oh.

Sasuke sagged against the floor, letting out a breath.

Naruto's grip didn't waver.

"…I'm going to leave eventually, Naruto," he said softly. Naruto had to know that this was temporary. Surely, he knew.

Naruto didn't move—but the breath that Sasuke had been able to feel on his neck cut off completely.

He scowled, shifting underneath the idiot.

"I said eventually," he said, "not right now."

The breath started again.

Sasuke stifled a sigh, closing his eyes.

"Usuratonkachi."

"Hey—what happened to my—"

"I confiscated them," Sasuke didn't look up from the report. Building had finally started, and now, of course, they were coming up with more problems—if they had just listened—

"You—what?"

Naruto looked angry, Sasuke noticed. He sighed, resigning himself to the conversation.

"I took them," he said again, "you can't be trusted with them, so until you can, they're mine."

"I'm not a child—"

Sasuke gave him a look.

"Sasuke—you—what the fuck—"

Sasuke predicted the punch before Naruto even made a fist.

He dodged it with ease; Naruto wasn't trying to hit him, not really—he was just lashing out. He grabbed the fist and held it tight, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto's nostrils flared in anger. Sasuke held his gaze until Naruto was forced to rip his hand from Sasuke's grip, looking away.

"You don't understand. I literally don't have the time to do everything that needs to be done. And—"

"You can make nearly limitless numbers of clones," Sasuke pointed out.

"They drain my energy, Sasuke—it's—it's not just chakra; they need to eat and sleep, too, and without—"

"So make more clones that just sleep—or eat. Make clones just for that."

"It's not that—"

"And get an assistant."

Naruto sagged, sighing.

"It's not—it's not that easy," he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're making it harder than it needs to be."

Naruto glared at him. Sasuke met his eyes with ease.

"Fuck," he breathed, rubbing at his face as he turned back to his desk, "fuck—fine—just…more stuff. Fine."

Sasuke watched him with a speculative gaze.

Naruto had fallen asleep at his desk again. He should have known. It seemed as if it was the only way he found Naruto, nowadays.

He really had been relying on the pills.

Sasuke straightened, slapping the packet next to Naruto's head. Naruto sprung up, blinking blearily.

"Sign this."

"Sas—oh," he looked down, grabbing at a pen, "'kay…"

Naruto signed the thing without even looking at it. Sasuke wanted to slap him over the head, but he settled for taking the packet back from the idiot.

"What is it?" Naruto asked finally.

"Paperwork," Sasuke answered simply, leaving. This would make things a lot easier.

"Wah!"

Naruto sprung to life, eyes wide. Sasuke stared at him.

"Fuck—what time is it? How long did I—I had to—"

"Review the policy changes, sign off on the new team schedule, and look over the curriculum for next year."

Sasuke gestured to the neat pile he had made.

Naruto grabbed at the pages, staring with wide, red eyes. He still looked exhausted.

"These…have your signature on them."

"Yes, they do," Sasuke frowned back at the scroll.

"Why do they…?"

Sasuke sniffed, not looking up.

"Because I'm your assistant."

There was a pause.

Sasuke's eyes flickered to Naruto.

"Temporary assistant," he said at Naruto widening smile...that smile, that was—

In a flash, Naruto's arms were wrapped around him.

Sasuke's mind went blank.

"Sasuke," Naruto's breath brushed against his ear, "you—stupid—"

Naruto squeezed tighter.

"Thank you."

Sasuke sighed, feeling the familiar sensation of eyes on him. Kakashi was making no attempt to hide his presence—unlike all of the other times Kakashi had watched him.

He stopped in place, waiting.

"I'm surprised you haven't come sooner," he said quietly, when it became clear Kakashi was waiting for him to speak first.

The grey-haired ninja watched him impassively.

"I didn't really expect you to stay."

Sasuke's lips thinned, conceding the point.

"Neither did I," he said honestly.

Kakashi's eyes drifted to Hokage Tower for a moment and Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. They both knew the effect Naruto tended to have on people.

"Sasuke," Kakashi spoke after a moment, "I—"

"Don't apologize," he said immediately. He could feel—deep, twisting, in his gut—that those were the words his former teacher would have continued with. He didn't want to hear them.

He wasn't sure he deserved to hear them.

Kakashi watched him, face unreadable, before he shifted with a sigh.

The leaves rustled in the wind.

"So," Kakashi's tone lightened considerably, "assistant, hm?"

Sasuke inclined his head.

"Uchiha Sasuke, assistant to Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"Well, someone had to help the moron."

Kakashi chuckled, leaning back.

"It's good to have you back, Sasuke."

His gaze looked—warmer. More open. If he had seen that look before, it would have had to have been before he had left—

He crushed the thought as it came, looking away.

"…yeah."

A few days later, Sasuke conceded the point that he had—maybe—underestimated just what he was getting into. A little bit.

He hissed a breath out through his teeth. He hadn't even gotten a chance to go to the compound today because he had just been—trapped—

"Let's get dinner."

Sasuke jerked up—Naruto's eyes were on him.

"I—now?"

Naruto smiled a little.

"We missed lunch."

"…oh." Sasuke hadn't noticed, "but—"

"It can wait," Naruto stood, reaching towards him.

Sasuke silently handed over the pages—he was so stiff—

"C'mon, teme."

"…where are you staying right now?"

Sasuke blinked.

"I can't believe I never asked."

"I've just been…at the old place."

"At your old place?"

Sasuke shrugged. In reality, he had really usually ended up wherever Naruto did. Sasuke wasn't exactly used to a bed, so it wasn't as if he minded.

"D'you want to stay at my place tonight?"

Sasuke stared at him.

"We're already here."

"Yeah—I just—" Naruto shifted awkwardly, "thought I'd—"

"I've slept here before," he pointed out.

Naruto blinked.

"Oh," he breathed in, eyebrows furrowed, "…I guess…"

Sasuke frowned.

"I suppose you were already asleep."

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I was," he threw Sasuke a lopsided grin, "sorry."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, turning back to the page he had been scanning. He didn't feel Naruto's eyes leave him for some time.

"Temporary," he corrected again.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So you say."

He scowled at her.

"It's been a month, Sasuke," she pointed out.

His scowl deepened. Had it?

"Once construction finishes on the compound—"

"You'll what? Drop Naruto and never come back again? You know he'll never find anyone he trusts as much as you."

He did know.

"I don't need to leave forever," he pointed out quietly.

"True," she conceded, "but there's no real guarantee you're coming back, is there?"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.

"…Naruto trusts me."

She sighed.

"It's not really about trust, Sasuke."

"I'm thinking about heading out soon," Sasuke watched Naruto carefully.

"Out?"

He swallowed.

"Of the village."

Naruto's pen fell out of his hand.

"Oh," he made a move to pick it up again, only knocking it further away, "oh—you—so soon?"

He looked up at Sasuke, hope written clear as day across his face.

"It's not that soon, Naruto," he said quietly. He had already stayed far longer than he had planned.

Naruto diverted his eyes.

"…right."

Sasuke scowled, the familiar anger sparking to life within him.

"That's it?"

Naruto's head jerked up.

"That's all you have to say?"

"I don't—"

Naruto cut himself off, biting his lip. Sasuke dug his nails into his palm.

"Sasuke," Naruto laughed a humourless laugh, "it's already a fucking miracle that you're here. I'm not—I can't—"

"You're not going to ask me to stay?"

"Of course I want you to stay!"

Sasuke frowned.

"But—I," Naruto let out a long breath, "it's more than that. It's more than you just being here."

He swallowed.

"I want you to want to be here. And you…"

He ran a hand through his hair, looking pained.

Sasuke frowned.

"Why should I stay?"

Naruto stared at him. Sasuke shifted.

"Convince me."

Naruto blinked several times, his mouth opening and closing.

"Well—I—I've been doing everything I can to, y'know, reform Konoha, and improve the shinobi system—and your compound—"

"I know all that. Why should I stay?"

Naruto looked taken aback.

"I—you—"

"What's here for me?"

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"I am."

He flinched as soon as the words left his mouth—

"I mean—I—sorry—I know that—"

Sasuke felt something inside him soften.

"The day I came here," Sasuke interrupted, "you said you had clones out of the village."

"Oh, ye—yeah," Naruto leaned back, thinking, "um—there are a couple diplomacy things, you know—there's one in Waves, right now, and—another one next week, actually—"

"Next week?"

"Yeah," Naruto flipped through some pages, frowning, "to—um—crap, where was it—"

"Next week," Sasuke said again, turning to leave, "pack your bags, usuratonkachi."

"Fuck," Naruto groaned as he stretched out, "that was exhausting."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You need to get out more," he commented, throwing his bag beside the bed.

The…only bed.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Well, alright, then.

"Yeah, I do," Naruto had a cheesy grin on his face, "you're good for me, teme."

Sasuke nearly fell over.

"Naruto," he eyed him suspiciously, "…are you drunk?"

"A little," Naruto laughed, "we barely ate before we got to the dinner. And then it was so boring before the food got there—"

Sasuke snorted.

"Why did you ever sign up for this?"

Naruto flopped onto the bed.

"Because it's worth it," he threw Sasuke a bright smile, "don't you think it's worth it?"

Sasuke's heart flipped in his chest. He forced himself to look away from those eyes.

"Dobe."

Naruto burst into laughter.

"Aw—teme—you haven't called me that in ages!"

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't?

"I think it all the time," he threw a smirk at Naruto before digging through his things.

"Hey," Naruto splayed himself out on the bed like a starfish, "they only gave us one bed!"

"Observant as usual," Sasuke muttered, digging further into the bag. There was so much useless shit in here—

"It'll be like old times," Naruto giggled, "right? Right, teme?"

Naruto wiggled until he leaned over the edge of the bed, peering down at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, his heart making motions that he found entirely questionable—

"Drink some water," he muttered, diverting his gaze.

Naruto snorted, rolling over to stare at the ceiling.

"Where did we put our water?"

Sasuke threw it onto the blonde's chest.

"Ow," Naruto grumbled, "thanks."

There was a pause. Sasuke moved over the bathroom, leaving the door open.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"You travelled a ton, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"What was your favourite place?"

He paused, pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth.

"I wasn't exactly sightseeing, Naruto."

"Yeah—but you must have seen some stuff."

Sasuke continued brushing his teeth for a moment, thinking.

"Wherever it was," Naruto rolled over again, "we should go."

Sasuke glanced back at him.

"You barely leave the village and you're already planning your next trip?"

"Mhm," Naruto gave a lazy grin, "it's different when it's with you."

Sasuke grabbed the counter to stop himself from stumbling. The stupid—idiot—what was he saying—

He put the toothbrush down, splashing water against his face—which felt like it was trying to set itself ablaze. At least rubbing it with the towel made it all equally blotchy and red.

He frowned down at Naruto's still form as he came back towards the bed.

"If you're going to fall asleep, at least get under the blankets."

"'m not asleep," Naruto slurred, blearily opening his eyes. Sasuke rolled his, shoving the blonde aside with his hip. Naruto only responded by grabbing the blanket out of Sasuke's hand to pull it over the two of them.

Sasuke breathed out a quiet sigh. It had been a long day…

The travel had been fine. Pleasant, even—but Sasuke could have really done without the dinner. Social events were just…

Of course, Naruto had thrived.

He eyed the blonde—who was fully asleep at this point, mouth wide open as usual. The snores hadn't started yet, but he could hear the hitched breath that indicated they were on their way.

Naruto didn't look quite as exhausted as he once had. Sasuke hadn't realized how much paler he had looked—how clear the circles under his eyes had been—until he was back to normal. Well, relatively back to normal.

He was still quieter—more hesitant. Especially around Sasuke. But every now and then, he relaxed enough to be his former idiot self—like today.

Sasuke smirked a little. He ought to wake the blonde up—if only to get more of that silly, drunken Naruto. He hadn't gotten enough of it when they were alone…

Sasuke's eyes flung open wide. What was that train of thought? That had been—

He turned his body to face fully away from Naruto, edging as far away as he could.

He was just tired. He wasn't making sense.

He just needed to—go to sleep.

"That's too bad," Naruto frowned, eyeing the rubble that had once been one of his clan's houses.

Sasuke shrugged.

"It was too old. We salvaged everything we could."

Naruto conceded the point.

"Besides, it's—in the center," Sasuke frowned, "I've been thinking of moving here. Once it's rebuilt."

Naruto's mouth sagged open.

"Temporarily," he said quickly.

Naruto's mouth snapped shut.

"I think," Naruto swallowed, "that's a great idea."

Sasuke studiously ignored the warm feeling in his chest.

"Will you show me? Once it's done?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Once it's done, we're never staying at your pathetic apartment again."

He turned away, walking along the path.

"You may as well just sell it."

"Ah—fuck—why are your feet so cold?" Naruto hissed, jerking up.

"Why are you touching my feet?" Sasuke mumbled back. He had just been falling asleep…

"Because I'm cold!"

"Maybe that's why my feet are cold…"

"Sa—that doesn't even make any sense—"

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke rolled over, reaching his arm out to slap a hand over Naruto's mouth. He missed spectacularly, but it did the job nonetheless. "Just—shut up."

Naruto obeyed, rolling to face him. Sasuke's arm automatically tightened to bring the warmth closer. He was so tired—and so comfortable…he could feel Naruto's breath on his skin…

His world went dark.

"Why am I being paid less than I used to be?"

Naruto was frowning at a sheet of paper. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Because you're paying your assistant, usuratonkachi," Sasuke shook his head, "…which you've been doing for weeks."

Naruto's cheeks grew red.

"Well I don't really pay attention—"

"I'll say."

"Oi!"

Sasuke only smirked, turning back to his work.

"But—um, Sasuke," Naruto sounded hesitant, "I was gonna use that money for the school, you know—"

"No."

"Wh—"

"No," Sasuke repeated.

"Sasuke—the village needs it—"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, finally looking up.

"When was the last time you held a fundraiser?"

"We—I—"

"Have you been taking donations for the school?"

"They can't afford it!" Naruto stood up, eyes flashing, "damn it, Sasuke, the people who live here deserve to not have to—"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sasuke mocked, tilting his chin up, "do you not live here?"

Naruto's mouth audibly snapped shut.

Sasuke turned back to his papers.

"Spend your money," he said, turning the page, "and I will make sure we don't starve. And that we own furniture, for fuck's sake."

He mumbled the last bit under his breath. He was sick of Naruto's office and he was sick of Naruto's apartment—he couldn't wait until his house was finished, and he could actually start to be organized—

"What?" He muttered, annoyed at Naruto's persistent stare.

Naruto seemed to jump—as if breaking out of thought—before blinking and quickly diverting his eyes.

"Oh—uh, nothing. Sorry."

Sasuke pressed his back against the door, waiting. He wasn't—necessarily—eavesdropping; he was just waiting until the conversation was finished to enter. It was polite, after all, wasn't it?

And if he happened to be hiding his chakra signature—that was just a natural consequence of being a missing-nin for so long. It was just automatic, at this point.

He wasn't eavesdropping.

"No—I know, Sakura-chan," he could hear Naruto sigh, even through the wood, "but—"

"He seems happy?" She interrupted him.

Naruto sighed again.

"He seems…content, at least."

Sakura made a noise. Sasuke couldn't quite pinpoint what kind of emotion she was trying to convey by it.

"Do you think he will ever, really, be happy? In Konoha, I mean…?"

There was a pause. Something about the way Sakura had said Konoha…

"I—" Naruto started, "I—you know what, though—that's the thing. It's not the same. Before I was Hokage? Sure. He'd hate the fucking place. I nearly hated the fucking place. But I'm not doing all of this for nothing, you know—"

Naruto's voice was growing stronger, now—

"You know why I'm doing this. Beyond it being the right fucking thing to do. I'm not just changing things for the hell of it. I'm changing Konoha because that—those assholes—they aren't Konoha. You know what my Konoha is? It's us. It's Sasuke. My Konoha is Kakashi—it's Ino, and Lee and Sai and Chouji—that is what this village is, to me. That's the village I'm leading."

Sasuke sagged back against the door, closing his eyes.

"So—yes. I think Sasuke will someday—hopefully—if I ever fucking do everything I need to do to actually make this feel like home to him—be happy here."

Home?

"And I don't care how long it's gonna take."

Sasuke let out a small breath, letting the smile spread across his face.

"I'm going to make this feel like home again."

What an absolutely Naruto thing to say.

A/N: And there's chapter 2! I really hope you enjoyed it - let me know what you think!

Until tomorrow!

- Kinomi