Naruto reached into the box, his fingers twitching with anticipation. What would it be a photograph of? An old girlfriend? A classmate? An old best friend? Or could the black frame just possibly be empty? Finally, he gently grabbed the frame and pulled it out of the box. A smile plastered onto his lips, Naruto flipped over the frame, expecting to anything other than what he did. The picture that the broken frame held was obviously very fragile, very precious. It was a portrait of Sasuke and his family. It must have been before the Uchiha massacre. An older man stood behind Sasuke with his arms folded. A woman stood beside him, her hands on Sasuke's small shoulders, and Itachi stood a bit off to the side of the three, also quite a bit younger than he was now. Cracks rippled across the broken glass and Naruto could tell that the picture and the frame had gone through a lot.
Naruto was overcome with grief. Not for himself, but for Sasuke. This was a picture of what had been so unjustly taken from him. He didn't look as cold in the picture as he did now, although the woman (whom Naruto had figured was Sasuke's mother) was the only one really smiling. Everyone else was scowling or looking annoyed, but when Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes in the photo, those huge black orbs, he could see happiness lingering there. A tear ran down his cheek, surprising him. Without thinking about it, he sniffed loudly… and immediately regretted it.
Sasuke was now positive that Naruto was lingering under his bed. With a smile, he lightly jumped on top of it, then listened. He heard sniffing. Was Naruto allergic to something under Sasuke's bed? With a smirk, he bent his head over the side of the bed, looking underneath. He was about to shout, "BOO!" and startle Naruto when he saw what he was gazing at. The photograph that Sasuke had saved from his house, the only one he had of his parents and Itachi, the only photo they had ever taken as a family. It wretched open the holes in his heart again just looking at the back of the broken, black frame.
Sasuke was stunned for a minute. Why would Naruto get that photo out? To make Sasuke hurt again, to remind him of how powerless and weak he was? It didn't seem like something Naruto would do, especially since he was crying, but Sasuke's judgment was clouded with anger. Who had given Naruto permission to snoop around Sasuke's apartment after coming over unannounced?
Grabbing the photograph away from Naruto, surprising Naruto out of his stare, Sasuke threw it onto the bed beside him, jumped to his feet, and reached under the bed and grabbed Naruto's foot. Sasuke pulled him out roughly; making Naruto hit his head on the bed frame as he came skidding to a halt at Sasuke's feet.
"Get out," Sasuke said, his cold tone making the blonde feel even worse, but he couldn't move. The most he could manage was to move a trembling hand to his head to feel sticky blood under his fingers. He must have hit his head harder then he had thought. Sasuke gripped his towel, which had become loose, as he stared down at Naruto with hard, emotionless, black eyes.
What have I done? Naruto thought to himself. He could not move under the Uchiha's gaze. It was too overpowering. It froze him in its cold glare.
"I said," Sasuke started again, "to get out." Naruto was painfully aware of how cold the floor was beneath him. Sasuke was trembling with anger.
Is it anger, Naruto asked himself, or is it sorrow?
Sasuke knew Naruto was petrified, though he knew better than to expect the blue-eyed moron to admit it. He had already repeated himself twice, Naruto should have been gone by now, should have been halfway home or wherever he would be going.
The rain drummed outside and Sasuke's head- and heart- pounded heavily. The photo was still lying on his bed, and he looked up to meet his mother's eyes, to see her smiling face. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away.
"Go, Naruto," Sasuke said, his voice a whisper's breath, not looking at frightened mess sprawled on his floor. The coldness wasn't in his voice anymore. The anger had left him for the moment. His heart was bleeding and all that was left to feel was the devastating pain.
When Sasuke looked away from him and to the photograph, Naruto knew that that was his chance to leave, to get up and walk away from all the pain that he'd caused. Without anymore hesitation, his hand still gripping his head, Naruto crawled a couple feet before standing, not wanting to accidentally lock gazes with the raven-haired boy. He was out the door faster than he knew he could move, but Sasuke's words, his voice, lingered in his head. He was so focused on those words that Naruto didn't even remember it was raining out as he sat on a bench.
"Go, Naruto," he had said, and the way he'd said it had given Naruto a glimpse into Sasuke's heart. He had put the photo away for a reason, and when Naruto had gotten it out, he had brought out all the emotions that had been pushed inside the box along with it. All the love and hate and loss. All of it had been so real in Sasuke's life.
Just like mine… Naruto thought sadly, just starting to realize that it was raining, not that he necessarily cared that he was soaked. For all he knew, he deserved to be wet and freezing, and he would deserve the cold that would inevitably come from it as well.
As soon as Naruto had left, Sasuke had laid upon his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He hadn't had to be so mean with Naruto, but the other boy just didn't get it. The box had been put away for a reason. Sasuke had intentionally forgotten about it so he wouldn't have to relive everything that had happened to him. He was just starting to sort out his life and this was just another way to jumble it again.
Sasuke knew he'd have to put the picture back away sooner or later, and he decided it should be sooner. He sat up and swung his legs to the floor, grabbing the broken frame with the old photo. He looked at his father, whom he had so wanted to be acknowledged by; his mother, so sweet, putting so much love and care into whatever it was that she did. She had always known what to say and when to say it to make people feel good; his brother, who had taken so much form Sasuke without even giving it a second thought. Tears ran down his face in a steady stream as he examined the familiar yet vague features of his family's faces.
…. And Sasuke saw himself. He was so small, so weak. He had tried to push away all of the feelings he had held for so long, but it had never worked. It never would. He had wanted to forget, but it never did anything to help him. What could forgetting do for him? If he wanted to become strong, he would have to remember; remember the hate and the love, the deceit and the pain. He had to remember all of it if he wanted to forget it.
Instead of putting the photograph and frame back inside the box, Sasuke set it up on his windowsill, next to his photo of Team 7. Yes, he had to remember…
"You shouldn't sit in the rain, you'll get sick," said a familiar voice to Naruto, who was startled out of his daydream. He looked up to see coal black eyes and raven hair under a large umbrella. Not showing any emotion, Naruto let his head drop.
"You didn't have to come find me," Naruto responded to Sasuke, who was now fully clothed and didn't look nearly as angry as he had before.
"I didn't have to, but I wanted to." Sasuke sat next to Naruto, despite the fact that the bench was soaked. Naruto looked up at the Uchiha, who looked completely at peace… for once. There was no trace of the common scowl he normally wore and his eyes were quite so cold. Actually, he had something close to a smile on his face.
"Why?" Naruto asked. Sasuke didn't turn to him when he answered, but his smile grew.
"Because you helped me to remember."
"Wha-?" Naruto started to ask, but Sasuke cut him off.
"C'mon, you'll get sick out here."
Naruto stood as Sasuke did, sheltering himself under the large umbrella. Slowly, they began walking back to Sasuke's apartment. Nearly glowing with happiness, Naruto could have sworn Sasuke had been possessed by some crazy demon that liked to make people cheerful.
Thank you, Naruto… Sasuke thought as the walked down the street in the pouring rain.