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

Summary: Sasuke has spent three years trying to figure out how to live on his own. Maybe it's time to try something different. WIP. Future SNS, updates once a month. Canonverse. Rating may change!

A/N: it's been a busy one today, but I still managed to put a little something together. hope you like it!

Day 8 prompt - going on a date!

sunflowers for the skeptical

Chapter 8: the valley

It takes Naruto a day and a half to get an idea. He's full of life again—full of mischievous energy and secret smiles. It's taken more than one nap, and a full night of sleep, but Sasuke resigns himself to whatever the idiot's gotten into his head. They're off to town, first—in the bright, early morning. Naruto says he needs "supplies", and Sasuke doesn't know what the hell that means, but he follows along and carries the things he's not allowed to look at. There aren't that many things in this market. Sasuke doesn't know what Naruto's trying to surprise him with.

…

He's sure he'll manage, though.

It's mid-morning when they head out. The sun is yet to reach its peak, although it's starting to warm the world a little more than it had when they'd stepped out into the fog. It's enough to make Sasuke debate whether or not he really needs the cloak.

Little worries. The smallest of problems. There's a part of Sasuke that still doesn't understand how he has the time to consider them.

"Do you wanna walk or run?" Naruto asks, tying his own cloak around his neck. It swirls around him as he turns, and the motion reminds Sasuke that it should be white. It should be red. It should have been something Naruto had worn in the past two days, but he hadn't. He hadn't even left Sasuke's side.

"How far are we going?" Sasuke asks, and Naruto's eyes narrow.

"Nice try," he says, and Sasuke snorts. "Far enough that we might have to sleep there if we walk."

Sasuke lets his head roll back, and stretches out his shoulders.

"Then we run," he says, and they're off. It's the first time Sasuke's felt the wind rushing by him in…a while. He struggles to even find the last time in his head. He hadn't really been under any sense of urgency since the war. Not since…

He dodges a branch, and Naruto darts ahead of him.

…

Sasuke speeds up his pace again.

It turns into a race. Obviously, it turns into a race. Naruto wants to stay a step ahead and Sasuke sure as hell isn't going to let him, despite having no idea where they're going. He figures it out about halfway in, though. Suspects it, at least. They've come here much quicker than they used to be able—

Sasuke's run this way before.

He slows, and Naruto is ever so slightly out of breath.

"Bastard," he says, laughing. He's smiling, though. Smiling and stumbling and the wind's brushing through his hair—

Familiar wind. Familiar air. It's strangely nostalgic for something that's so full of pain.

"This is where we're stopping, is it?" Sasuke asks, and they've stopped before the statues. Stopped before the water. They've come back to the Valley of the End, and it's amazing that it's all so intact, considering the sheer amount of their destruction.

"Yeah," Naruto says. "Give you something else to memorize."

Ah.

Sasuke turns to him with an eyebrow raised, and Naruto runs a hand through his hair.

"I can't paper over the memories, Naruto."

"Yeah," Naruto says, "but you can add to them."

He can't argue with that. Naruto's smile knows it, and Sasuke rolls his eyes as if he doesn't, too. He lays out a blanket and has a basket and it's a goddamn picnic where they tried to fight to the death, and Sasuke doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry.

Naruto looks up at him, and he's pretending not to be watching every inch of Sasuke to check whether this is okay.

Sasuke pins him with a gaze to tell him he isn't fooling anyone, and Naruto ducks his head with a smile. He's still standing, though. They both are. Up at the top of the rock—looking out over the edge. Beside each other, not across. It's a subtle change, but it's everything.

Sasuke breathes in, and the wind grows fiercer.

"We can—um," Naruto says, and his cloak whips behind him. "Are you hungry at all?"

Sasuke tilts his head, and the sharingan comes to his eye.

"I could eat."

Naruto's face brightens. It nearly beams. He tries to hide it as soon as he can't control the smile on his face, but Sasuke's already seen him, and Sasuke would know if he hadn't.

He doesn't know if this will work. It's strange to think it could. But this…

There were worse things to remember.

Sasuke sits, and Naruto's brought too much fruit. Too much meat, too much cheese—there's decadence at Sasuke's fingertips, and Naruto flinches away as Sasuke touches him.

An odd motion. Naruto realizes it, too.

"Sorry," Naruto says quickly. "I'm—I guess I'm still not used to…"

He doesn't finish the thought, but something in Sasuke quiets. Something in him grows louder, too. He stretches out a leg, and his ankle bumps against the bottom of Naruto's foot. They've kicked off their shoes already. The legs of Sasuke's pants have rolled up, and Naruto's feet are bare.

Naruto swallows, but says nothing.

Sasuke doesn't indulge him either.

He props up his other knee, and debates where to start. Naruto's already digging in, as if Sasuke's permission was all he needed to stuff his face. Maybe he hadn't brought too much, in retrospect. Sasuke consistently underestimates Naruto's appetite.

There's three peaches left from the other night, and Sasuke grabs one to cut to slices. Naruto's barely even finished swallowing when he sits up.

"Give me some?" Naruto asks, already reaching. Sasuke dodges his hand to cut the peach in two—

He pulls out the pit, and tosses it to Naruto.

Naruto throws it back at his head.

"Fucker," Naruto laughs as Sasuke dodges. The pit falls far below them, somewhere into the water. Somewhere that they'd once gone, too.

Naruto snatches the other half of the peach from Sasuke's hand.

"Ha," he says, as if he's not covered in juice. "Mine."

Sasuke snorts.

"Congratulations, loser. There's two more in there."

"I didn't want a whole peach," Naruto insists. "I wanted half."

"You wanted mine."

"Yeah, so? Learn to share."

Sasuke snorts out a laugh, and his ankle bumps to Naruto's foot. It had flexed that time, though. As if the touch was on purpose.

Sasuke puts his arm down, and lets himself lean back. Naruto's foot flexes and extends again. Sasuke pretends he doesn't notice.

"Have you come here since you became Hokage?" Sasuke asks, and Naruto breathes in.

"No," he says. "No, I haven't—not since we—y'know, I don't think I've ever come here without you."

Sasuke spares him a glance. Naruto's eyes catch to his, and his shoulder gives a small shrug.

"It's kind of like our spot, isn't it?" he asks, and he laughs at the look on Sasuke's face.

"How romantic," Sasuke deadpans, and Naruto leans over and steals a piece of his cheese.

"What," he asks, flicking it into his mouth, "not a good enough date for you?"

Sasuke coughs out a laugh.

"Is that what you had in mind?"

He looks over at Naruto, and Naruto looks back at him.

For a moment, that's all there is.

Naruto's smile stretches a little wider.

"Yeah," he says, turning away. "You got me."

He stares out at the sky. At the falls. At the statues ahead of them, at the valley below. He stares at all of it, and Sasuke stares at him.

Naruto's foot presses to his ankle.

A/N: see you hopefully tomorrow! if I miss a day, I'd like to try to catch up, but I can't promise anything - just seeing how the days go! thanks for being here - I'm really thrilled you're all liking this so much ;;;;

- Kinomi