A/N: Okay, so last night I got the unsuppressable urge to write a Thanksgiving Naruto fanfic. Don't ask why, 'cause I don't know the answer. Also, it is my first Naruto fic ever.

Anyway, the fic in question doesn't really take place at any particular time... just... sometime while Sasuke's around and um... Naruto doesn't know about Sasuke's family, or rather, lack thereof yet. I'm also not sure whether or not Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu can be used without the Sharingan (it comes into play later), but if it can't, just pretend that it can for now.

Also, Sasuke's house is loosely based off my best friend's house. Loosely. And this is only because it's the only really high-classhouse I've ever been in.

Pairings::. None, really. Could be considered slight SasuNaru shounen-ai, I guess, but when I wrote it I was only thinking about frienship.

Summary::. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke has any family to spend Thanksgiving with, so they spend it with each other, reflecting on what they're thankful for.

Disclaimer::. Naruto is the express property of Kishimoto Misashi. I think. In any case, it most certainly doesn't belong to me. We won't even discuss what would happen if it did.

Thanksgiving Ramen

by AlterEthereal

It was raining.

Well, actually, it was only drizzling now, but "raining" just sounded better. Or so thought the blonde boy lying peacefully and relatively shielded beneath his favorite tree.

It was only a short distance from team 7's training grounds, a young tree, but undeniably huge compared to the other saplings its age. It was already big enough for him to stand under at full height, though he knew that wasn't saying much. It was rather shrouded from the sunlight by the other taller and older trees around it, but it seemed intent on growing higher than any tree around no matter what got in its way. What an odd tree.

Perhaps that's why he'd dubbed it "his" almost immediately. Just like he'd dubbed the Hokage title "his."

That's right. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will become Hokage no matter what gets in my way. No stupid fox demon will stop me, no stupid villagers, and certainly no stupid Uchiha Sasuke. Here he paused in his inner ramblings, trying to imagine what it would be like if the young prodigy ever obtained the sacred position. "Pfft. He probably wouldn't even care about the village... He doesn't care about anything. He'd make a horrible Hokage."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath of air, relishing in the smell of rain and wet leaves and grass and cold. Yes, it was freezing outside, and almost everything around was soaked. Leaves were already falling and catching the color of fire, dancing between autumn and oncoming winter. Winter... Soon, it would be too cold for him to ignore. He'd been lying in the same position for a couple of hours now, probably turning pale and blue, too, he imagined. If anyone decided to take an off-kilter stroll around here, they'd probably think he was dead. And everybody would be extra thankful today.

Thanksgiving... what a day. He was out of ramen at his house, and Ichiraku was closed for the holiday, so he couldn't really celebrate with food. He'd tried training, but after it started pouring hard, he'd given up and flopped down under his tree in the position he was in presently: flat on his back, legs flung before him carelessly, head resting on hands that had gone numb a while ago but he somehow knew were connected to the arms he'd folded beneath his neck.

His first notion after training was to pester Sasuke and show him how much better than him he was, but he had abruptly realized that that would require finding the bastard. He hadn't exactly known how to go about such a task, as the young Uchiha would probably be at home eating a fancy dinner, just like everyone else was, and he didn't know where Sasuke lived. He'd then considered pestering Iruka, but quickly dismissed the thought when it occured to him that the man deserved a Naruto-free day once in a while, especially on a holiday.

So he'd tried to take a nap. Thanks to the biting cold, however, this was quite difficult, and he was reduced to either lying around like a vegetable or getting up and doing something. He'd rapidly deduced that there would be nothing for him to do if he got up, so he'd settled on the former.

Naruto smirked to himself. Someone's coming...

But who? A villager...?

Well, this ought to be fun. Okay, just stay as still as possible, and when they notice you...

...yeah, they're bound to notice you...

...laugh when they scream.

But the scream never came. A scowl crept it's way to the young boy's mouth and his brow furrowed over his closed eyes. There was a definite presence, but no scream? Maybe they just hadn't noticed him yet...

Naruto was about to shift, get up, yell, do something to attract attention to himself when he suddenly found it unnecessary.

"I saved your life Kami knows how many times just so you could die from a case of pneumonia...? You're more pathetic than usual, dobe."

The recognition was instantaneous--that arrogance-laden voice could only belong to one person. Naruto's eyes bolted open and he sprung viciously to his feet--

"Bastard!"

--or not.

His blood had been cooled and sluggish for quite some time, and the sudden necessity of it for movement was too much for even his body to handle. His surroundings spun, and within moments, he was back on the ground, feeling slightly dizzy.

He vaguely heard the quiet crash of sandals landing on grass from above, and, upon forcing open his eyes, was greeted with three Uchiha Sasukes, all staring down at him with unfeeling eyes and a grimace on each of their flawless faces.

"Bunshin...?" He questioned muddily.

A sigh was uttered from the figures hovering above him. "You're seeing double. You stood up too fast, idiot."

Ignoring the insult for the moment, Naruto willed his eyes to focus and found that, indeed, there was only one Sasuke above him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was hoping for a spar, but in this condition, you'd be no challenge." The dark-haired boy moved to stand and extended a pale hand to his rival.

Naruto, however, refused to accept his words or his help, so he lazily swatted Sasuke's hand away and stood up--slower this time, though his eyes betrayed no such lethargy. "I could so kick your ass anytime, jerk!"

Seemingly not at all offended, maybe even more irritatingly calm, the young Uchiha replied, "Very well. Shall we test that theory, then?" Taking a few steps backward and away from the tempermental blonde, he let his body fall into the relaxingly familiar stance of fighting.

"My pleasure!" Naruto growled, readying himself for battle as well.

Sasuke made the first move, and the second and third as well. Naruto was aching and cold, and his taijutsu was suffering for it. He could hold his ground, but that was about all. His speed was lacking, though he hated to admit it, and he found it difficult to get an opening through which he could attack. The raven-haired boy wasn't using his Sharingan, which Naruto should have been thankful for, but instead resented. He took it as a personal insult that Sasuke deemed it unnecessary. He dug into his chakra reserves, which were virtually endless thanks to the Kyuubi--

Well that's one thing I have to be thankful for today...

--and performed his Kage Bunshin, hoping to buy himself enough time to recover his agility. As his clones multiplied to a total of five, counting himself, he circled his rival predatorily, examining the Uchiha as he altered his strategy to account for the extra threat.

Unlike himself, Sasuke showed no weakness due to the lousy weather or the temperature. Hell, he looked indestructable, standing there in perfect stance, lips pressed into a firm line, eyes visibly calculating every possible result of his plans--whatever those were.

Naruto knew his own strategy: Only the Hyuugas have 360-degree vision, so if I attack from behind, he'll be defenseless. The clones will hide, and when he's not expecting it, I'll attack. But not from behind, no, not at first... 'cause that's what he'll be predicting. So I'll attack from the front first, and while he's preoccupied with that surprise, I'll attack from the back and win! Sasuke's so predictable...

...Sasuke wasn't predictable. And Naruto wasn't hidden yet.

The pale, calculating boy suddenly dropped his fighting stance, almost making the real Naruto wince at the abruptness of the gesture. What was he doing?

"So, we're going to play that way, huh?"

And with no other warning, the seals for the Katon Ryuuka were performed quickly and flawlessly, resulting in a great deal of on-fire Narutos. The four clones disappeared immediately, but the real thing ran around in circles with his rear in the air, trying vainly to get the drizzle to douse the flames. Directly, he sat down on the cold, wet earth and glared up at the obvious winner of the match.

"That wasn't fair, you bastard!" Naruto cried indignantly. "You could've fried me!"

"But I didn't, did I?" There was that hand again, stretching out to him through the gloomy, useless rain, a silent, condescending offer whose acceptance had now officially been earned.

Naruto sighed and continued glaring at his rival, who was smirking instead of glaring back, and reluctantly reached up to grasp the waiting hand. "I was thinking today, Sasuke, and I decided you'd make a terrible Hokage."

Sasuke's smirk faded as he hoisted Naruto to his feet, it now being the blonde's turn to grin. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Because all you care about is yourself. I can't see you giving a damn if anyone in the village lived or died." He was still grinning.

"That's not true," Sasuke stated curtly, turning his back to Naruto to face the way back into the village. After a few moments of comfortable silence, "Come on, you can dry off and warm up at my place."

Now Naruto's grin dissapated. It seemed they had been taking turns smiling, like they couldn't both do it at the same time. Why would Sasuke invite him over? Didn't he have a big fancy dinner to eat or something? He came all the way out here to fight Naruto, not offer him warmth and comfort. Hell, no one did that! Something was highly peculiar about his sudden predicament. "Why would I want to go with you? Give me just one good reason!"

The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched slightly, but showed no other signs of anger or frustration. And since his back was turned to his rival, the other boy couldn't even see that. In any case, it didn't take long for Sasuke to come up with a sufficient answer. "I have ramen."

At the sound of his favorite dish, Naruto perked up considerably. Though still slightly suspicious, he hadn't eaten all day and he'd be damned if he was going to miss out on free food. He bid a silent farewell to the tree that had witnessed the whole ordeal and, walking to stand at the dark-haired genin's side, muttered just loud enough to be heard, "You'd better not try to poison me."

And then they both smirked.

The two boys arrived wet and cold before a very big house, much bigger than Naruto's measly apartment. It also looked much gloomier.

"This is your house?" The blonde shinobi inquired, more to himself than to the other, as they climbed a small flight of steps to reach the main door.

Sasuke didn't seem to think much of the question, replying off-handedly as he fished his keys out of his pocket, "Isn't that where I said I'd take you?" Naruto scowled at his response, beginning to doubt the soundness of his judgment in following the bastard. After all, he hated being made to feel stupid, and unfortunately, that was what Sasuke seemed to be best at. Said bastard caught his rival's scowl out of the corner of his eye. "What, is this not good enough for you or something?"

Naruto immediately rid himself of his frown, plastering on a grin instead. "No, that's not it! I'm just not used to such a big place!"

Sasuke said nothing in return, but turned back to his door, which he promptly unlocked and opened to reveal a cozy little hall with a wooden floor leading up to another door. He made his way to the end of the hall with Naruto in toll, stopping at the end to remove his wet sandals casually. "Shoes stay in here," he stated to clarify.

Naruto complied, slipping off his own sandals and settling his feet onto the hardwood. It felt strikingly good, like it had just been sanded and coated to perfection. None of the boards creaked, there were no splinters, no scuffs on the smooth, brown surface...

Crap, I can't believe I'm this amazed at his stupid floor. Stupid Sasuke, taking me to his stupid house...

Sasuke's sudden movement jarred the blue-eyed boy from his contemplations, and he watched as the Uchiha crossed the threshold of the second door, motioning for him to follow.

It was another hall, though this one was much larger and, once a switch was suddenly flicked, much better lit. A chandelier... well that would explain it... There was also a bit of a balcony just out of arms length of the chandelier, another hallway on the upstairs level that looked out over the entrance of the house, giving sight to two more doors.

Damn, how many doors does this house have?!

The hall branched off into 5 rooms. The two closest to the entrance didn't have doors, the entrance merely being an arched opening in the stark, white wall. His host didn't bother to turn on the lights inside or explain what the rooms were, so Naruto just peered into each one on his way down the hall.

The first on the left, though dark, was quite obviously the living room. The place was spacious, and a couch of some dark color adorned the farthest wall, with a coffee table of sorts in front of it. A few items were arranged on the surface, but the darkness obscured what they were. The next thing he noticed was a love seat against the adjacent wall, and on the opposite, a television. Above the television seemed to be a circular hole in the wall, beyond which was an inscrutable blackness.

To his right was a room that looked similar to the first, but in place of resting furniture there were desks, with what looked like books stacked on top of them. Where the television would've been, he could make out two large bookcases, full of--well what else?--books, most likely. It was too dark. Naruto wondered vaguely whether or not there was a big hole behind those bookcases as well.

Sasuke was at the end of the hall, tapping his foot impatiently.

The house was big, and clean. Roomy and warm... but something was wrong, something was missing.

"Where is everyone?"

"I'm the only one who lives here, dobe. Now if you're finished inspecting my house, you can come get your dinner." The raven-haired boy turned and continued his journey through the house, flicking another light as he went. The end of the hall was actually another room in itself, the dining room it looked like, from the low table in it. Naruto watched idly as the other boy turned left, presumably to that end of the room.

The only one who lives here? No family?

Naruto followed Sasuke's steps hesitantly, rounding the corner just the way the other had done, only to see him opening a large refrigerator and gazing into it uncertainly. "Sasuke, you're an orphan?"

"You can have whatever drink you want, other than sake. The ramen should be up in the cabinet to your right." The object of Naruto's question seemed to be blatantly ignoring said question, giving the blonde the impression that either it was a touchy subject or something he didn't trust him enough to tell. Really, Naruto figured, it was probably both. Given the fact that he was a guest, however, he wisely decided not to press it and just fall into the comfortably obnoxious behavior Sasuke was accustomed to.

"Alright, ramen!" He exclaimed, grinning wider than should be humanly possible, or so Sasuke thought as he extracted a bottle of carbonated water from his fridge. He watched as his hyperactive rival charged for the cabinet he'd indicated with both hands outstretched. A secretive smile crept up on his countenance as he realized that there was no way the blonde would be tall enough to reach it. Naruto realized this directly as well, and the grin he'd worn mere moments before dropped into an exaggerated scowl. "Arrrgh! The stupid cabinet is too high!" He whined. "Sasuke, could you--"

He was abruptly cut off by a arm that wasn't his extending over his head into the cabinet and a scent that wasn't his invading his nose. The fox within him made him keenly aware of scent, and that was what struck him the most upon finding Sasuke so suddenly close to him. It was a weird scent, he found himself thinking. Clean, but not really fresh or anything. Just... clean. Like he's sanitized.

A cup of ramen was suddenly placed on the counter beneath the cabinet, and the scent was gone.

"The microwave is by the fridge, and the chopsticks are in here," Sasuke motioned to a drawer near where Naruto was standing. "Then you can come and sit down."

Naruto nodded and began almost automatically going through the steps to make the ramen. During the atrocious three-minute wait he so detested, he opened the refrigerator, much like Sasuke had done a few minutes ago, and examined his beverage choices. Milk, water, orange juice, that sake... carbonated water...

He settled for a bottle of the same stuff the other boy had grabbed, never really having tried it before. The label had "Strawberry" on it in big, pink letters, so he figured it couldn't be that bad.

The microwave started its annoying yet anticipated beeping, signifying that Naruto's ramen was done, so he grabbed it excitedly from the confines of the cooking device and headed toward the low table, pausing on the way to grab his drink and a pair of chopsticks from the drawer Sasuke had mentioned.

It wasn't until he'd sat himself on the pillow at the opposite end of his rival that he noticed what the bastard was eating: nothing at all. He just sat there placidly with his carbonated water, his eyes not even open. He could've been sleeping if his arm didn't move to bring the bottle to his lips now and again.

"You're not going to eat anything?"

"I'm not hungry."

Stupid jerk, you're going to get weak if you don't eat anything... Naruto sighed inwardly, then decided it wasn't his place to care. You can become anorexic if you want to, I'm not your stupid mother or anything... "So, what are you thankful for? Afterall, it is Thanksgiving."

Sasuke didn't respond immediately. It was a question he'd thought about that morning, but he'd only come up with one answer that had dictated the rest of his day. "I'm thankful for... you."

At that moment, Naruto was thankful he hadn't started eating his ramen yet because he'd have spit it out right there. "Me?! Why?"

The answer was simple, but hesitant and quiet, as if the pale boy were revealing an ugly secret. "Because you're always pushing me further, to be better." There followed a silence, but not the comfortable kind that usually passed between them, a more awkward, deteriorating kind. So he broke it, eyes still closed. "And what are you thankful for?"

Sasuke's response made sense. Yeah, why shouldn't he have thought about it that way? Maybe they weren't so completely adverse as he'd thought before today. Not that that meant he didn't still hate his guts. "I'm thankful for..." Naruto started to respond, but realized he had to really think about it. "I'm thankful for... you, too. And Iruka and Kakashi and Sakura and..." He thought about how he was thankful for the Kyuubi earlier, but realized almost with disappointment that he couldn't mention that here. "...Ramen!"

Here he went about attacking his ramen as usual, Sasuke still looking exactly the same, eyes closed bottled water now nearly half gone.

After they'd finished, the two of them still sat at the table, Naruto's stomach sated for the first time all day, and Sasuke wordlessly enjoying his company--or at least tolerating it. Now the blonde sighed audibly, causing Sasuke's eyes to open for the first time since he sat down. He was greeted with a smile; not a grin, not a smirk, just a smile, something he couldn't remember ever seeing on the person before him.

"Naruto, you're smiling." He wasn't exactly sure why he brought it to the boy's attention, but directly afterwards, he regretted it, as it was replaced with a light scowl.

"What, is that a bad thing?"

The raven-haired boy smirked softly and shook his head. "Do you want to stay the night?"

Okay, now Naruto was officially creeped out. Sasuke had gone looking for him in the woods, invited him for dinner, not insulted him for the past hour or so, and was now offering to let him stay the night? He quietly got up from his seat and moved over to the other genin, who instinctively moved away slightly. Naruto reached a hand hesitantly to Sasuke's pale forehead. "Hm... No fever..." he concluded perplexedly.

Sasuke smacked the hand away with a scowl. "Do you want to stay or not?"

"You've been abnormally nice to me all evening, with the exception of nearly roasting me a couple hours ago. It's weird." Sasuke shifted uncomfortably and eyed the blonde as if to say, 'So what?' Naruto thought about this look for a few moments, realizing that there wasn't anything necessarily bad or harmful about anything he'd experienced, other than said roasting, which he admitted was merely an attack during battle. A very effective one, at that. He withdrew himself from Sasuke's personal space.

"I'll stay."

Sasuke scratched the back of his head worriedly. "You're the first person I've invited over in... I don't even know how many years."

Naruto had wanted to know how the hell the dark-eyed shinobi couldn't find a spare futon in his own house.

"Wow, I certainly feel special now," the blonde genin laughed, following Sasuke back out of the guest room in whose closet the spare should have been in.

"Stay here, I'll look in the other rooms," the host ordered, leaving Naruto in the upstairs hallway as he disappeared into the next door he'd opened.

Upstairs hallway... that means... Naruto quickly made his way to the other end of the hall where, as expected, the wall opened up into a railed balcony overlooking the now darkened entrance of the house. Directly in front of him was the chandelier, hanging ominously before him with a mixture of elegance and beautiful deformity, like it could crash to the ground at any moment and shatter the peaceful silence that had taken hold of the house since Sasuke had left moments ago in search of the spare futon. He felt a pang of uneasiness at the nearness of such a monstrous thing, and hastily departed that end of the hallway.

He came to a rest where he'd stood with Sasuke, looking around himself matter-of-factly. There were more doors in this hallway than were visible from the entrance, four in all. This house was full of so many doors... Since he'd been here, however, even Sasuke had only gone in three or four, discounting only the one they'd come in from the outside. What was going on behind the other doors? They were all closed, mysterious and foreboding...

He knew it wasn't his house, but curiosity got the better of him. He took a few steps toward the nearest door and reached for the knob hesitantly.

There was that sanitized scent again.

A pale hand grasped his wrist before his fingers even grazed the doorknob. And Sasuke grasped hard.

"Some doors are closed for a reason," his voice seemed lower and harsher than normal, as if biting back the urge to take more violent action.

"What room is it?" Naruto asked softly, wanting to know but not wanting to set the other boy off.

Sasuke squeezed a bit rougher for a moment before freeing his rival's wrist completely. "You ask too many questions."

"I'm just curious is all..."

"Like a kitten," Sasuke chuckled, a bit darkly, but harmlessly. He then remembered how obnoxious Naruto usually was... Perhaps 'kitten' wasn't the right analogy. "...Or a fox cub, maybe."

The body beside his stiffened slightly. The blue-eyed boy knew Sasuke had no idea that the fox demon was sealed inside him, but he still couldn't help the slight tension of his shoulders that unconsciously came with the comparison.

The other did seem to sense the sudden change in atmosphere, however, as he raised a hand to Naruto's shoulder, and clasped down softly. It was the first time really that anyone his age had touched him in a purely friendly way since he could remember, and the tension disappeared as a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. And then...

"It was my brother, Itachi's, room."

Is Sasuke... smiling?

"Sasuke, you're smiling."

The dark-haired teen's smile only strengthened at recognition of the familiar words. "What, is that a bad thing?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to chuckle and shake his head. "So did you find it?"

"Again with the questions?" The gentle pressure on his shoulder disappated as Sasuke's hand dropped back to his side. "No, I'm afraid you'll have to choose between the couch, the floor, and my bed."

"Your bed? Oh no, I couldn't sleep there..." Naruto grinned broadly.

"And why not?" Sasuke smirked knowingly.

"Because it'll have Sasuke cooties all over it!"

The walls were white, the floor was hardwood. The bed was bigger than the one Naruto had at home, and it was covered in a dark blue comforter. There was a window at the far end overlooking the front yard, but nothing could be seen while the drapes (they matched the bedspread) hung over it. A bookcase much like the ones he'd glimpsed in that room downstairs stood against the wall opposite the window. Boooring...

The only thing interesting about Sasuke's room was the ceiling. It had been painted either a very dark blue or black--Naruto couldn't tell which--and white stars littered the surface like flecks of dandelions in a meadow.

"I guess you'll have to borrow some pajamas," the Uchiha stated plainly.

Naruto heard him, but paid little attention. "Did you do that to the ceiling by yourself?" He marveled.

"Will you stop it with the questions already?" Sasuke groaned irritatedly as he rummaged through his closet and pulled out some dark, clean-smelling shorts and a tee-shirt. "And yes, I did."

Naruto caught the clothes less than gracefully as they came flying at his head. "Okay, okay," he sighed, defeated. "Can I just ask one more question?"

"Sure, as long as you shut up the rest of the night."

It had been bugging him very nearly since he'd gotten there. "This is gonna sound weird, but why do you smell so..." He paused, trying to find a better word and failing miserably. "...Clean? Even after we sparred?"

"Because I don't even have to break a sweat to beat you," Sasuke responded all too preparedly, making Naruto pop a vein.

"You," Naruto growled, "are just asking for a pillow fight, you know that?"

END