A/N: Well, here's the second part. You might notice the tone is a little different than the first one, which makes sense; Sasuke's attitude has changed a lot, and so has the feeling of the story. Also, Naruto's speech has gotten a little better, since he's gotten a little older.

That's Love

Adults were always finding excuses to gush over him and congratulate him and tell him how great a ninja he'd be. His classmates fought over who would sit next to him; they'd talk forever about whatever they thought might interest him. They lied, made up stories, promised him things, brought him gifts...

It was sickening. He ignored them and all their attempts. They were all the same.

He wished they hated him; it would make things so much easier. But everyone loved him, despite his distance and disinterest. And he had to deal with the same thing every day. They even went so far as to make house calls, something they'd never done when they were kids.

They would show up on his doorstep and ask him if he was busy, ask if he wanted to go out with the guys, give him a brand new manga to borrow if he promised to return it the next day...Anything to be seen with him, anything to make it look like they were more popular, a step above their friends.

Dealing with it was exhausting, and the only relief he could find was Naruto.

It happened on a day as normal as any other; as his peers were arguing over the seat next to him and he was cradling his face in his hand wishing they were all a million miles away, the blond slammed his palms down onto his desk and snarled, "Shut up, y'fucking leechers!" startling everyone into silence. And as they stared at him, he stood and left his perfectly secluded little corner to claim the empty chair. "Seat's taken," he snapped, "so find sum'ere else."

The crowd dispersed slowly as the class muttered darkly and sent cold glares in Naruto's direction. He didn't seem to mind; he threw the Uchiha a surprisingly angry look. "Don' think I'm doin' you any favors," he said at once. "Was jus' painful to watch, s'all."

That was fine with him.

Every day after that, Naruto sat next to him, warning the the rest of the class away with angry blue eyes. He wouldn't speak a word to Sasuke; he'd normally just bury his face in his arms and sleep. All the students picked on him, and the teachers seemed to, too.

Why was he so familiar?

Things seemed to change when they were placed on the same team. Sasuke wasn't surprised Naruto had managed to pass; the boy was all but failing in classes, but his skills came out when he and Sasuke sparred.

Naruto hadn't talked much at first, staring at his new teacher and teammates with a wary distrust, a grudging acceptance. But when Kakashi told them their test was do or die, Naruto pulled them through. It was surprising how manipulative he'd been; tricking Sakura easily into working with him, telling Sasuke to keep up if he could. He'd read them both so easily and Sasuke hadn't realized it until much later.

Sometime after that, their rivalry faded somehow into something much friendlier. It was a very, very gradual process; but Sasuke was intrigued by the boy, who made him feel so nostalgic. It was as if they'd met before; but in all honesty, Sasuke couldn't remember much from his younger days. It all kind of blurred together; there was only one night he could remember clearly.

He didn't like to think back on it anyway.

"But you promised!"

"There's nothing I can do about the weather!"

When hurt filled the other boy's blue eyes, Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in agitation. Outside, rain was pouring down over the village, all but flooding the streets. They'd been making their way to the Uchiha compound after a stupid D-rank mission (essentially fixing someone's fence), and the storm had come without warning, which sucked; all of a sudden the blue sky was dark and what seemed like an entire river was falling down on top of them. They ran the rest of the way to the estate, soaked and freezing by the time Sasuke managed to open the door.

They were still soaked and freezing. Because Naruto seemed to be having problems accepting the fact that they couldn't go camping in a torrential downpour. He was being childish; how did he expect Sasuke to fix things this time?

Still, as the blond shivered and rubbed at his arms, glaring mullishly at the floor, the Uchiha couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Naruto had been pretty excited about it; as ninja, they spent an obscene amount of time camping (or some rendition of it) as it was, but the thought of doing it right, with a tent and a fire to toast marshmallows over, simply thrilled Naruto. Somehow, Sasuke had gotten dragged along for the ride; he'd argued valiantly--it was cold enough in his house in October, and why would he want to sleep on the ground when he didn't have to?

But Naruto won out. He usually did. Not that his side of the debate was any better, he was just so damn persistent that Sasuke always gave up in the end. That has to stop.

"We'll have to do it another time," Sasuke said finally, expression blank; as per usual. "How about next week? It should probably be dry by then."

Naruto looked disheartened. "...A'right," he said after a minute, "I jus'...wan'ed to do it today, s'all."

Something about him reminded Sasuke of a kicked puppy, and he gave an inward roar of frustration, though outwardly he appeared only mildly annoyed. "There's nothing else we can do," he snapped, waving an arm at the large window in the living room. "We'd be underwater out there!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Yeah, you're right." His sudden grin was every bit as foxlike as it should've been, though it was lacking considerably in enthusiasm. "I'm gonna go bum some o' your clothes, I'm goin' a little numb."

"Do that," Sasuke muttered, watching him amble down the hallway, as comfortable in Sasuke's house as he was in his own. Sasuke shook his head, making his way to the bathroom to find a towel; on his way back, he cast a glance at all the things piled in the living room, stuff they'd scraped together for their camping trip. Though Sasuke would never admit it, he'd kind of been looking forward to it, too...

An idea occured to him, without warning. It was so...absurd, he kicked himself for thinking it. But, still...He moved next to the tent, examining it. After a brief inner dispute, he set to pulling everything out of the tarp. He heard footsteps and Naruto's voice from the doorway.

"What're you doin'?"

Sasuke glanced up, brushing wet hair out of his face. "Something stupid. Come help me."

Naruto accepted Sasuke's proposal of camping indoors with the enthusiastic excitement Sasuke had come to depend on. The blond set about moving the furniture and clearing the room as Sasuke changed into dry clothes; and then the two of them positioned a handful of chairs taken from various rooms in a crooked semi-circle, draped sheets over them, and crawled underneath it all with every blanket and pillow they could find.

Elements raged outside, but they were safe.

It was then, after they'd gathered fireside snacks and toasted them with a grilling fork over a dismantled oil lamp, that Naruto fell asleep in a pile of pillows, curled up under the sloping drapes of their tent. Sasuke felt a glow of irritation. He hasn't been in the stupid fort thing an hour and he passes out. The hell was the point of all this?

Rain lashed at the window, lightning illuminating the darkened room every few minutes with a blinding flash, and Sasuke lay next to his sleeping comrade, gazing out at nothing as his thoughts drifted together and apart.

The moment seemed thoughtful.

Blue eyes and rain.

Even as he was drifting off, the memory came back, clear.

Standing in a broken street, looking through the wet at a bright-eyed boy.

"I know you."

"S'suke?" Thick mumbles, a heavy yawn. Blankets and pillows rustled as he sat up, hair a messy halo around his face. "Sorry fer fallin' asleep..."

The Uchiha turned to stare at him, wired and tense. "It was you."

Hazy blue eyes turned to him, confused. Naruto was never coherent waking up. "It was me?"

"Yes..." Everything was falling into place now; and Sasuke felt like a fool.

Naruto from then, standing so little in the road, caring for a tiny bird with scarred fingers that trembled in the cold. He was so different now, but somehow just the same. That child was still him--or in him, somewhere. Always below the surface, ducking out of sight, out of mind. But there. Definitely there.

Sasuke eyed him furiously. "You remembered," he finally said, unable to explain his sudden anger. "You remembered all along, didn't you? That we met before, when we were younger."

Naruto's eyes were very careful now. "I did," he said, and those two simple words seemed to echo in the following silence. A silence that screamed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The dark-haired boy stood, shoving the blankets out of his way and stalking across the room to the window, leaving Naruto gazing after him.

"If it mattered that much t'you, you wouldn't've forgotten." In the dim room, Naruto's eyes shone like lamps. His words weren't accusatory, just matter-of-fact. "How was I s'posed t'know you wan'ed to remember? After that day in the woods, y'never spoke to me again." Here his words grew bitter. "It was pro'ly better that way, anyway. It woulda been hard growin' up with me 's a friend."

Sasuke faced him, his anger fading quickly at the hurt on Naruto's face. Naruto's gaze moved to meet his, and the boy smiled. All was forgiven, just like that.

Sometimes, Naruto made Sasuke feel small.

"I know somethin' else you don'," the blond said, encouraging Sasuke to lighten up. Naruto's smile grew a little. "S'my birthday today," he said happily. "Thanks for campin' in with me."

It was the last time.

End.

A/N: Coolness, one more to go.