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

Summary: COMPLETE (new chapter up everyday - total of 29 chapters!). Some people are assholes. Some people are kind. It's when those are the same person that things get real confusing. Minor character death. A fic about grief, healing, and hope. Modern AU (office AU), Sasunaru/Narusasu.

A/N: Annnnnd chapter #2 for today! Love you guys!


Something Good

Chapter 8: Normal

Sasuke was...way too tired for this. He had fully expected everything to go back to usual today. Back to normal—at least for the most part, once Naruto had access to his actual friends, but—

It hadn't.

He'd sought Naruto out—more than once—and then Naruto had sought him out, and now he was here. Going out to lunch. With Naruto—and Naruto's friends. Why had he agreed to this? Why had he even been invited? No one in the office had any fond feelings for him and Naruto was well aware. People were indifferent at best, and Sasuke was fine with that. Used to that. He didn't need people to like him.

"Oh my god, you're so slow." Naruto slapped an arm behind him. "Hurry up, dickhead. I'm hungry."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but obediently caught up to Naruto. Weird—wrong—strange—different. All of this was just—

"Hey!" Naruto called, and Sasuke saw the distinct flash of pink hair over the roof of the car. "We're gonna meet you guys there, 'kay?"

"Okay!" One—several—voices answered, with none of them reacting to we the way Sasuke had.

"I'll drive." Naruto threw him a grin. "I think I owe you that much."

Oh.

Oh.

Sasuke relaxed.

Gratitude. Repaying a favour. That's what this was. That's what Naruto's friends would know it was, no doubt. Fine—okay. One lunch, and everything would go back to normal.

And that would be better.

It would be.


"Our friend owns this place," Naruto said, pulling into a parking spot. "Chouji. You been?"

Sasuke only shook his head. He was still quiet—and he'd stayed quiet for pretty much the entire car ride. Not that Sasuke was normally a talkative person, but this was...different. Sasuke seemed—uncomfortable, somehow? Naruto almost wanted to say he looked nervous, but he just couldn't imagine that being an emotion that the guy had ever felt—

Then again, he supposed he could just add that to the list.

"It's kind of a mix of everything," Naruto threw him a grin as he pulled his keys from the ignition, "so even a picky bitch like you is bound to like something."

Sasuke was immediately glaring at him. But it was weak, and his eyebrow was raised, and Naruto swore that the corners of his lips were fighting to rise—

"A picky bitch like me," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto's grin widened. "I've watched you eat chips off the floor."

"Five second rule!"

"I know you knowthat isn't real."

"You don't know that at all." Naruto laughed, swinging the door open. "C'mon."

He waited for Sasuke to get out of the car before he locked it. It might've been his imagination, but he seemed just a bit less stiff—something about the way his shoulders fell…

"Is that Haruno?" Sasuke nodded somewhere past him, and Naruto spun around just in time to catch a glimpse of pink hair—

"Oh, probably," he said, already moving. "We always get the same table so we just kinda meet there."

And everybody had beat them there, apparently, which was fine with Naruto (but maybe a bit less fine with Sasuke, from the way he had tensed again when all their eyes turned)—

"We ordered yet?" Naruto slid in beside Sakura and kicked out the chair beside him for Sasuke.

"Yeah. Oh, ah—Chouji's in the back but we can call someone over for Mr. Uchiha, though—I'll—"

"Number three is fine," Sasuke muttered, apparently already having flipped through the menu.

Sakura scurried off, and Naruto peered over Sasuke's shoulder.

"You're so boring," he said, unfazed as Sasuke shoved him out of his personal space. "Fried rice? That's as adventurous as you get?"

"At somewhere you frequent? Yes."

"Wow." Naruto laughed, leaning back in his chair. He vaguely glanced back at the group, but everyone seemed to be in their own conversation, so—

"You'll like it, relax. Chouji's done a ton of classes and competitions and shit—he only moved back out here to take over the family business. But he's always trying new stuff with the menu."

"Hm." Sasuke glanced over Naruto's shoulder again—at what, Naruto didn't know. Nobody was really looking their way by the time Naruto turned around…

"So—why'd you stop? The fire stuff, I mean?"

Sasuke's eyes focused back on him.

"It ate a lot of my schedule," he said, hand unmoving along the glass of water. "I don't exactly have time for hobbies anymore."

"That's 'cause you're a workaholic."

Sasuke gave him a look, and Naruto met it with a grin. It was only another moment before Sasuke rolled his eyes again.

"If I don't do the work, it doesn't get done. My brother is busy enough as it is without me slacking off."

"I guess that's fair." Naruto shuffled in place for a moment. "You do...like you like it though, don't you?"

"What?"

"The work. The business, y'know." Naruto waved a hand vaguely in front himself. "You like what you're doing, right?"

Sasuke watched him for another moment before he pulled the glass closer to himself.

"I suppose so."

"Wow, I'm so convinced," Naruto muttered, grabbing the water jug to top his cup up—after a moment, he nudged Sasuke over enough to fill his, too—

"It's..." Sasuke started, "it's—frustrating, at times. And tiring, most of the time, but it's my responsibility. It's what I want to do. It's worth doing."

"'Cause—it—it was your, uh, dad's, right? The business?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered back to him for a moment.

"Yes."

"Mm, sorry." Naruto wiggled his own glass around, and a bit of water splashed onto his hand. "I was, um—kinda half-asleep at that point so I didn't know if I dreamed that part up."

Naruto met Sasuke's raised eyebrow with a sheepish smile, and it was only another moment before his face softened. It was weird—Naruto had never really noticed him doing that, before. It was so easy to see, now...like he was just on the verge of smiling...

"S'nice though. That you have something to connect to him like that."

For a moment, Naruto thought that might've been a step too far. It was true, though, and although Sasuke was still staring at him, he didn't look mad—and Naruto knew he should shut up, Sasuke probably wanted him to shut up, but he just—he just wanted—

"It...is."

"What about your mom? What did she do?" He paused for a moment, before continuing (more quietly, now)— "You can tell me to shut the fuck up whenever."

Sasuke let out a soft snort.

"Thank you for your permission." His lips twitched up as Naruto laughed—something about Sasuke making jokes made them like a million times funnier— "She was an oncologist."

"She—whoa, really?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Holy shit," Naruto breathed, letting go of the glass to run a hand through his hair. "Jesus, no wonder you guys are so fucking smart, oh my god—"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed, even as his smile widened—

"You know I'm going to use that against you," Sasuke said, eyeing Naruto as he rested his head on his fist, "the moment you next disagree with me."

"No—no, no, no," Naruto laughed, pointing right at Sasuke, "that's not how it works. Just 'cause you're a genius or whatever doesn't mean you can't make dumb choices—"

"Mm, as evidenced by my presence here."

"Why—hey!" Naruto shoved at Sasuke's shoulder. "You can't say that 'till you've eaten. Try the food first—you can roast me as much as you want, but Chouji is genuinely talented and—"

"Relax," Sasuke turned back to his water, "I'm not going to insult your friends outside of work."

Naruto snorted.

"But inside is fair game?"

And just like that, Sasuke's smirk was back.

"My business, my rules."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh.


"He seems...alright."

Sakura spared Chouji a brief glance.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," Ino replied, leaning just enough to peek through the small kitchen window. In retrospect, Chouji had probably set up their usual table right where he could see them on purpose. "He's like the king not letting people know something is up."

"He's helping, though," Sakura interjected quietly.

Ino looked back at her.

"Who is?"

Sakura inclined her head.

"Him."

She had been the last one to expect it. She had been the first person to be suspicious. She had snarled at him over the phone and he had hissed back and they had somehow come to an agreement and hung up, and then—

And then she had realized what had just happened.

Their boss had brought Naruto to his own home, stayed with him through the night and the next day (she could not remember a single time Mr. Sasuke Uchiha had ever taken a personal day) and just…

Acted like a friend. A good friend. Someone who honestly, genuinely cared, and with every time Naruto laughed across the room (every time Sasuke leaned in and muttered something, and Naruto laughed harder), Sakura was realizing more and more—

"They've always had a weird kinda vibe, haven't they?"

—that maybe she had missed something.

"I didn't think that vibe was friendship," she responded quietly.

"No," Ino conceded. "It's a bit more...intense that that."

Sakura snorted. Intense was a good word for it. Somehow, Naruto had always managed to be on the same wavelength as Sasuke. She never knew how he did it, but he just...always knew what he wanted. Always knew what he was going to say. Always knew what he meant, even when he was communicating through barely two words, and she just…

She just hadn't realized that feeling was mutual.

She let out a long breath. She'd been debating, because she wasn't sure and this was confusing and awkward and...but...if he kept making Naruto laugh like that…

Yeah, she really needed to ask Sasuke to join them. Make him join them. Whatever. She'd figure it out.

"So you're coming tonight, right?" Sakura turned from the window back to Chouji, who was bustling back in the kitchen, now—

"Oh, as if he has a choice," Ino replied before Chouji even had the chance. Sakura laughed as Ino made a show of cracking her knuckles.

"Biting the hand that feeds you," came the shout from behind the shelves, before Chouji's head peeked out from behind them, "you're playing a dangerous game, Ino."

"Jokes on you," Ino grinned, "Sakura and I are splitting."

"Not if he spits in your food, we're not," Sakura said. "You'd tell me, right, Chouji?"

Chouji laughed, and firmly ignored Ino's offended "hey!"

"'Course I would. You guys wanna help me carry this all out?"

"It's done? Finally!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and followed them—sneaking one last glance through the window as she did.

This was going to get a hell of a lot more confusing before it got any better.


Naruto's friends were anything but subtle. Sasuke was sure they thought themselves the epitome of espionage, but even a trained seal would have been able to notice all the glances they were sneaking during the wait for food.

Not Naruto, though, apparently.

No, in spite of all of the times Sasuke had made a point to catch someone's eyes, to remind them that he noticed and would very much like them to stop, Naruto had remained utterly oblivious to it all.

He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything different.

But the food was coming, now—aided by the help of Haruno and Yamanaka—and Naruto's face had gone from thrilled to—

Oh.

Oh, no.

Sasuke watched, with growing dread, as the bowl of ramen was slid in front of Naruto. He vaguely registered his own food being placed in front of him, but Naruto's breath had quickened and his eyes widened and then closed entirely—his chest rose, as if deeply inhaling the smell of—

Sasuke reached over and switched their bowls.

Naruto's eyes snapped open.

And they stayed on him for just a moment longer, before they turned to stare at the bowl in front of him, instead, and as Naruto's breathing changed from quick and short to slower, deeper, calmer, Sasuke caught the curious gaze of Haruno—who visibly flinched, but didn't look away. Sasuke made no move to stifle his glare. If her knowledge of Naruto was anywhere as good as she had claimed, then she should have fucking known better

"...Thanks."

Sasuke broke the gaze and picked up his chopsticks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

And that was that.


They left kinda early.

They finished lunch and everything (well, Naruto definitely had more leftovers than he normally ended up with, but he'd eaten as much as he could). Usually, they'd all stick around until they had the exact ten minutes they needed to get back (or, okay, yeah, maybe sometimes less), but today...

He just felt too...tired.

And Sasuke was watching him again, like he had been ever since they'd started eating. Maybe he thought Naruto wouldn't notice—they were subtle gestures, where Sasuke's head just barely moved, but Naruto felt his eyes on him all the same.

But he'd be fine. He was fine. Just a little sleep-deprived. Maybe a little too full or something. He could still smell the ramen and something about it was making his stomach...

He turned the heat down in the car a little and took in a deep breath. Sasuke did that little twitch thing where he was obviously looking over at him—

"I'm okay," Naruto said quietly, not taking his eyes off the road, "just don't...feel great."

"...In what way?"

Naruto let out another breath and sagged a little. In every way, but he knew what Sasuke meant.

"I—just—kinda nauseous. I dunno." He shifted uncomfortably. He had been doing so well, but that lump in his throat was back and it made his stomach twist all the tighter—

"Pull over."

Naruto glanced at him. "Huh?"

"Pull over," Sasuke gestured at the side of the road, "if you need to be sick. I'll drive."

"...Oh," Naruto said. That was a good point, really. If it caught him by surprise…

He pulled into the first lot he could. Sasuke was already at his door by the time Naruto opened it, frowning at him just like he had when—

"I drank water this time," Naruto said. The smile felt weird and half-forced, but only half—

Sasuke's scowl only deepened.

"I know. Can you stand?"

Naruto snorted.

"I'm not that sick."

He gently pushed Sasuke out of the way to prove his point. Still, the movement brought the dizziness back, and from the way Sasuke grabbed his waist, he definitely noticed—

"I'm okay," Naruto said quickly, leaning back against the car. His stomach was twisting again and his body was light, and growing lighter—he ducked down and sucked in a breath, just to ground himself, just to pull himself down—

"Naruto—"

Fuck, he'd been okay—he'd been doing so well, he'd been doing so—

Naruto clapped a hand over his mouth as he dry-heaved. He didn't want to vomit in the middle of the pavement—he didn't wanna puke at all, if he just—

"Uzumaki," Sasuke wrenched him up just enough to shove a bag into his hands, "hold this. Breathe."

Naruto clutched it with shaking hands. Just a plastic bag—just one of the ones Naruto had in his car, the ones he kept meaning to take out, to get rid of, to throw away—

"Breathe."

Naruto heaved again.

The force of it had him stumbling forwards—he would have fallen if not for the way Sasuke shoved him back (pulled him back, maybe, from the way Naruto could feel his warmth at his side)—

"Breathe."

Naruto's eyes were burning again—whether because of this or everything else, he didn't know. He could still—when it had come out—when the food—it had just—

Smelled like home. Family. Jir—

"Fuck," Naruto spat the word out as a breath. Fuck this. Fuck everything about it. He—

"Did you vomit?"

"No," Naruto half-groaned, panting back against the car. As if he'd be that lucky. He couldn't even get it over with—

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know." He hated this—he—

"Take the bag and get back in the car."

"You—huh?" Naruto blinked up at him—at Sasuke, who was still pretty much holding him up—

"Get back in the car. Passenger's side."

"Oh," Naruto said, trying to straighten up. He guessed—yeah, now that he had a bag—it wasn't as if it was Sasuke's car, either, if he messed it up…

There weren't any cars passing them by, but Sasuke still followed him to the door. Hovering, worrying—just like yesterday. And today, even. Naruto nearly smiled at the thought.

Sasuke loved to hover.

"You're so weird," Naruto slurred, pushing his chair down as far as it would go.

Sasuke snorted, adjusting the rear view mirror.

"From you, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Asshole," Naruto muttered. If he just bunched up the plastic bag near his face then he should be okay—his stomach was still tight, still twisting with warning—

"Moron," was the soft, muttered response, and Naruto let the wane smile stretch his lips as his eyes closed.


He couldn't tell if Naruto had actually fallen asleep, or if he was still trying to. Either way, it was probably the best idea the man had had all day.

Sasuke stifled another sigh and shifted in place. What a disaster of a lunch. What a disaster of a day. He was starting to wish he'd slapped the bowl right out of Yamanaka's hands.

Naruto let out a breath, beside him—long and slow. Out of place, though, and it meant that he was likely still awake. Likely still nauseous.

Sasuke scowled and changed lanes.

Just a quick stop, then.


Naruto wanted to groan. The car was slowing and it meant they were back at the office already, and he still felt like such actual shit...he let out a breath and forced his eyes open—

"Stay there. Go back to sleep."

"Wh—" Naruto blearily glanced around. "Hang on, where—?"

"Just wait here."

Sasuke slammed the door shut.


Naruto was still awake when he got back. Still unsmiling, still exhausted, but with eyes alert and focused—

Sasuke tossed the bag into the blond's lap and started the car. Just painkillers, nausea medication, tea, mints—whatever would get the man through the day. And since Naruto likely didn't have any—

"Water, huh?"

"Fuck off," he muttered back, but Naruto was laughing again and Sasuke felt some sort of relief settle into him—

"Aw," Naruto laughed softly, "you're such a softie."

Sasuke kept his eyes (and his glare) firmly on the road.

"You," he responded, channeling every bit of the flush in his cheeks into steel in his voice, "are an idiot, and I will not be responsible for another one of your collapses—" Honestly, what was with the moron and just disintegrating in Sasuke's presence, it gave him a damn near heart attack—

"Sasuke," Naruto's voice was still laughing, but gentler, this time, "thanks. I really appreciate it."

Sasuke's voice died in his throat. He kept his eyes straight ahead, though—he knew looking at Naruto would mean his eyes would stay on Naruto, and he was driving, and that was dangerous, and he would spend far longer than necessary eyeing the blond to make sure he was actually alright and not just pretending for the benefit of—

"You're really nicer than people think, huh?" Naruto's voice was half-mumbled, half-slurred. Sasuke hoped to god his eyes were closed.

"No," he said, nonetheless.

Naruto laughed, and it sounded muffled. Sasuke glanced back just for a moment—just long enough to see Naruto press his face into the seat as he shifted.

"You're such a dick."

"And you're contradicting yourself," Sasuke didn't miss a beat. "Go to sleep before I put you to work again."

"'Kay." A pause. "Thanks."

Sasuke didn't answer.


Naruto woke to the small noise of someone tapping the keys along their phone. The car was warm and the seat was comfortable—but it wasn't in motion, and that was what made Naruto open his eyes.

They were back at the office.

"Wh—"

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke said, eyes scanning over him. Naruto sucked in a breath and sat up a little more.

"Um," he said, shaking himself, "uh—yeah, better, I think."

"Good," Sasuke said, and Naruto heard the click of his phone going to sleep, "because we're twenty minutes late."

"You—what?!"

"Run for it, Uzumaki."


Sasuke was such a dick. He'd been with him the whole time and Itachi knew that 'cause they walked in together and he still got that stupid reprimanding 'tsk-tsk' raised eyebrow asshole look—fuck that, fuck both of them, Itachi and Sasuke did that in the exact same way and it made Naruto go damn near crazy

He huffed out a breath and slammed himself down into his chair.

A bag came flying over the wall of his cubicle.

"Ow—hey!" Naruto said as it landed on his face—

He didn't need to see Sasuke's face to recognize his laugh.

"Asshole!" he called back, but Sasuke was already gone. And Naruto was left sitting here, with the bag of—

Oh. Oh yeah—all the meds Sasuke had got him. And tea and stuff.

He ducked his head to hide his smile.

Sasuke was so fucking weird.


That had been far too satisfying. Sasuke bit down on his smile as he opened the door to his office—

"Mr. Uchiha!"

Sasuke turned.

"Haruno," he greeted her. His throat had started to say Sakura, though, with Naruto's voice flittering through his mind—

The girl straightened her shoulders, as if building herself up. Sasuke was immediately on edge.

"I have to give you the address for tonight."

"...Address?"

"For Jiraiya's," she said.

Sasuke stared at her.

"We need as many cars as we can get, you see."

"I hardly think—"

"And Tsunade is looking forward to meeting you."

Sasuke's voice died in his throat.

Sakura's eyes glittered with victory.

"Do you have a pen, or shall I email it to you?"

Damn it all to hell.


A/N: And there's today's! What did you think? Let me know!

See you tomorrow (hopefully!),
- Kinomi