Naruto tried not to stare, but his eyes kept wandering as they walked through the Uchiha estate.
'Once, this place was loud, full of people and life. Now it's quiet, cold and empty...'
It gave him chills.
He couldn't even imagine what seeing this every day did to Sasuke.
'A permanent reminder...'
They slowed as they stepped up to Sasuke's house, the Uchiha turning the doorknob and stepping inside.
Naruto followed him in.
Sasuke walked ahead into the kitchen.
"Shut the door behind you, and bring the other bag in here."
It was nice inside, spotless clean and spacious, all the furniture clearly taken good care of.
Naruto sat the sack of groceries next to the others on the counter top.
Sasuke side-eyed him from his spot at the sink, washing his hands.
"Go make yourself at home. I'll let you know when the food is ready."
"Uh, sure thing."
Naruto wandered out of the kitchen, stepping back into the living room.
He stood there awkwardly for a moment, finally deciding to take a seat on the couch, lowering carefully onto it.
The light clanking of pots and pans sounded out from the kitchen.
'This is so weird...'
If someone had told him a week ago that Sasuke would be inviting him back to his place to cook dinner for him, Naruto would have laughed in their face.
'But then again, I know why I'm really here.'
Sasuke had seen him standing motionless in front of that explosive tag.
'On the one hand, it's funny, because it took me almost blowing myself to bits to get his attention. But on the other hand...this means he still cares, right?'
He thought of the Uchiha in the other room, pictured the expression on his face as he moved around the kitchen, brows furrowed and lips drawn together in a pout, the look he sported whenever he was attending to some task.
The image pulled his lips into a small smile.
The smile vanished a moment later, as his mind dredged up other memories, of all the hurtful words Sasuke had thrown at him, all the times he'd been ignored by him.
He puts his hands over his face and let out a frustrated noise.
'I hate how much effect he has on me. That ability to make me smile in one moment, and then take it away in the next. It pisses me off.'
Naruto dragged his hands down his face, letting them drop into his lap.
'Is this really my life?'
The fading sunlight coming in through the windows lit up his fingers.
The Uzumaki twisted his head around lazily, looking for the window that the sun was shining through, but a small picture caught his attention.
He hadn't noticed any photos when he'd first walked in, but this one was sat on a table off to the side, nestled away in the corner of the room.
Naruto got up off the couch, walking over to it.
There were three people in the photo.
The woman's expression was open and kind, and the man's was stern and serious, but the small boy's face showed pure joy.
Naruto's chest warmed at the sight.
'Sasuke looked so happy there...'
He was tiny, no older than five or six in the picture.
'This was only taken eleven or twelve years ago, but it might as well be from another dimension now.'
His finger twitched with the urge to reach out and bring the picture closer.
'I hope Sasuke smiles like that again one day...'
He hadn't even noticed Sasuke walk up behind him.
Sasuke's voice came out quiet, measured.
"The food is in the oven now, so it should be ready soon."
Naruto had to consciously still his body so he didn't jump out of his skin.
He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but it felt like he was intruding on something deeply private.
Sasuke stepped up beside him to look at the picture.
The Uzumaki couldn't decipher the emotions in his friend's eyes as he stared at the picture.
Naruto wanted to say something, but the tension in the air was thick, and he was afraid of breaking it.
He finally gathered the courage to speak after a moment.
"They...look like good people. Good parents."
Sasuke's eyes showed an emotion then that Naruto knew all too well.
Longing.
"Yes. They...were."
Naruto felt tempted to reach out and offer a comforting touch, but was pretty sure Sasuke would consider that overstepping.
He kept his hands to himself.
Most of the tension in the moment seemed to dissipate, Sasuke's eyes and expression closing off again.
The Uchiha turned away from the picture and walked back towards the kitchen.
"Come on, let's wait for the food in here."
Naruto took one last long look at the picture, then followed.
Naruto picked up the first bite of food, named something he'd never heard of and looking like nothing he'd ever eaten before.
He slipped it into his mouth hesitantly.
Naruto gave an appreciative moan at the taste.
"Oh wow, that's really good, Sasuke! I didn't know you knew how to cook."
"Well, I...pretty much had to learn, so."
"Oh, um, yeah. Right..."
Naruto worked his brain rapidly to think of a different topic, before the awkward silence descended again.
"How's, how's your training going recently? I know you must be making some good progress on your own, yeah?"
"Yes, it's been going well. The training I've done on my own has been...enlightening."
"That's great! I uh, should probably get back to work training, too, but I've just been...a little unmotivated lately."
Naruto finished off his sentence with a nervous chuckle.
Sasuke made a considering noise.
"Well, we could...start training together. I'd like a sparring partner. And I'm sure it would be beneficial to both of our progress to have someone else there to help."
Naruto's jaw dropped a bit at the offer.
He was too shocked to reply, and after a moment, Sasuke seemed to hesitate.
"Unless...you don't want to."
That snapped Naruto out of his stupor.
"I'd love to! I mean, yeah, definitely. Sparring partners sounds great to me."
"Excellent."
Naruto stepped out of Sasuke's house, summer sun keeping it light outside despite the late time.
"Hey."
He looked over as the Uchiha spoke.
Sasuke had a wrapped dish in his hand, extended to Naruto.
"It's the leftovers, take it."
"Um, no, you keep 'em. You paid and cooked, I couldn't."
"And I cooked it for you, so take them."
Naruto desperately fought the blush rising to his cheeks as he took the dish, being incredibly careful to ensure his and Sasuke's fingers didn't touch.
Naruto held the dish firmly, making sure he didn't drop it.
"I'll bring this back when I'm done with it, by the way. Wouldn't, hehe, try and steal your plate."
Sasuke smirked.
"I know you wouldn't."
"Yeah, heh. Well, I uh, guess I'll see you soon. Good night, Sasuke."
"Good night, Naruto."
Sasuke stepped back inside his house, the door shutting gently behind him.
Naruto exhaled deeply, then turned around and started walking, leftovers clutched closely to his chest.
Naruto stripped off his light jacket as the heat began to rise in his apartment.
He looked at the clock.
A pleasantly cool blast of air moved over his face as he opened the refrigerator door.
He reached for a bottle of water, pausing as his eyes caught sight of the leftovers from Sasuke's.
Naruto stared at it for a moment, lost in thought.
'i'd been keeping last night off my mind for a reason.'
The fridge door shut with a thud.
'It was fun, but there's no way this'll keep up. He'll go back to being his usual arrogant self, and everything will go, depressingly, back to normal...'
A knock at the door shook him from his thoughts.
Naruto stepped up to the door slowly, fingers curling around the doorknob.
A moment of hesitation, and then he pulled it open.
He stared incredulously at the sight in his hallway.
"Sasuke? Is that...are you carrying an air conditioner?"
The Uchiha adjusted the box in his arms, tone as dry as the deserts of Suna.
"No, it's a puppy. Of course it's an air conditioner, Naruto."
"Did you...buy me an air conditioner?"
"No. I just...had a spare lying around."
"A spare? Okay..."
"...will you move? This thing is heavier than it looks."
"Oh, uh, yeah, come on in."
Naruto stepped out of the way, opening the door wide for the air conditioner and the boy carrying it.
Sasuke walked in, moving through the clutter to get to the window.
The new air conditioner was sat on the floor while Sasuke maneuvered the old one out of the window, until it took the other's place.
The A/C whirred to life to as Sasuke plugged it in.
At the sound of the compressor coming on, Naruto walked over, bending down to let the air blow over his face.
He smiled at the feel of cold air coming through the vents.
"That. Is. So. Awesome."
Sasuke let out a little smirk at his friend's delighted tone.
"I'm glad you like it."
Naruto opened his eyes and stood up from the A/C, looking at the Uchiha again.
"Are you kidding me? I love it. Thank you, so so much Sasuke."
"You're welcome, but it's no big deal, really."
"It's a big deal to me. Seriously, thank you."
Sasuke's smile was warm and genuine, the first one Naruto had seen from him in a long time.
"It's my pleasure."
After a moment, Sasuke stepped towards the door.
"So, while you're waiting for it to cool down in here...wanna go train?"
A grin split Naruto's cheeks.
And that pattern continued on for several weeks, Sasuke showing up at Naruto's door, them going off to find a secluded spot to train together, and even going back to Sasuke's place to eat dinner when one of their sparring sessions went late.
Naruto had even passed out on Sasuke's couch one night, waking in the morning to find a blanket had been draped over him sometime in the night.
He had run out the door without checking to see if Sasuke was awake yet.
But the point of it was...Sasuke was acting like his friend again.
The last few weeks had been the most fun days Naruto could remember in years.
And for the first time in a long time... Naruto's heart... didn't feel quite so heavy.
