CHAPTER 3: Father and Son

It had been five days since Naruto had shown up at his apartment late at night, drenched in rain and begging Sasuke to be his friend again. Sasuke was still having a hard time believing it really happened.

Why had Naruto come to him? It was so sudden and unexpected—Sasuke could never have been prepared for it. He thought for sure it was going to change everything, but it had been five days since then and Sasuke had yet to see Naruto once.

He was trying to be okay with it. In fact, he kept telling himself that it was for the best. Naruto probably just panicked after his wife's funeral and was looking for someone to turn to. Old habits die hard, and he came to Sasuke. It didn't mean anything.

"You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?"

He wasn't going to involve himself in Naruto's life. He'd made up his mind; he was going to stay away. For Naruto's sake and for his own.

…Which was why he was hiding behind a candy display at the grocery store as two blond's shopped their way down the instant meal isle.

"Hmmmm," the taller blond hummed thoughtfully, staring at the shelf. He spotted something and gasped, bending to pick it up and put it in his cart. "I don't think we've tried this one, Nori! What do you think? How about we get, uhhh, seven? One for every day of the week."

Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. He'd gone out for groceries at the usual time: late in the evening, far later than a young child should be out buying groceries with his father. She would never have brought him to the grocery store so late—but Naruto probably didn't know any better.

He didn't want to see them together, didn't want to see them at all. He'd made up his mind that he was going to leave Naruto alone. Surely he had enough to deal with, suddenly having to raise a child on his own. He didn't need Sasuke in his life bringing complication and unnecessary grief. Didn't need Sasuke in his life, with his selfish desires and thoughts he just couldn't squash.

And yet there he was, shopping in Sasuke's grocery store with his son like he was laughing in the face of Sasuke's firm determination to stay away. But Sasuke wasn't going to give up that easily, which was why he was hiding behind a display instead of revealing himself and becoming even more involved in Naruto's life. Sure, if he'd really wanted to he could have left the moment he saw a flash of blond hair. But… he did need groceries, and maybe he had been thinking a bit (a lot) about how both father and son were doing.

"Dad, I don't want noodles every night!" A quiet voice rose from the isle. Sasuke blinked in surprise, realizing that it was the very first time he'd ever really heard Naruto's son speak. His voice was small, but not stuttering or shy like he always acted around Sasuke. There was quiet determination in that little voice, like he was already used to shouting up at his father in order to be heard. Nori's voice sounded like paper crumpling or the creak of a floorboard at night: only loud if everything else around was quiet.

"Whaaat? These aren't just noodles. See, there's broth and some vegetables and—"

"What bout real veggies? I want stir fry!"

"S—stir fry?" Naruto murmured, and Sasuke peeked around to find him rubbing anxiously at the back of his head, staring down at his small son. Nori had his hands on his hips, pouting with an expression of utmost seriousness at his father. Naruto looked lost, like his son was asking him to accomplish an impossible task. Was stir-fry really that frightening?

Something horribly sad crossed over Naruto's features but was gone quickly enough that the young boy wouldn't have noticed it. Sasuke did notice it.

"I don't think it would be good if I tried to make stir-fry. Remember last time dad tried to cook?" he pointed to himself, grinning. The boy's eyes went wide and he nodded.

"No cooking for Daddy," he agreed, voice even smaller than before. Naruto nodded with mock seriousness and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He could imagine the kind of destruction Naruto might wreak if someone allowed him into the kitchen. Hinata had probably been cleaning for days.

He turned away, clenching his fists.

Naruto and his son, they had real memories together. Emotions and habits that came from spending quality time, all three: father and mother and son. Sasuke had no right to "involve himself" in those preset rhythms and patterns. He would only be a disturbance, would serve as a reminder to both of them that they were missing something. He couldn't do that to them.

"How about we get these for later," Naruto said, tossing the instant noodle meals into their basket that Sasuke reluctantly noted was filled with similar unhealthy, instant items. He started to turn away. He would just buy the items he already had and go home. Naruto would never know he was there and things could go back to normal.

"And we can have Ichiraku for dinner tonight!" Naruto added brightly. The checkout was just in front of him and Naruto would never see him. If he could just get his legs to move, to take him away before—

"Ichiraku again, Dad? We ate there every day this week!"

Sasuke took a deep breath and turned the corner into the isle where father and son were standing.

"I thought I heard your loud voice over here, Naruto."

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke didn't know what he was doing, but he figured he might as well pretend like he did until he eventually figured it out. As if on cue, as soon as he spotted Sasuke, Nori scampered behind his father's leg, holding onto the fabric of his pants and looking up at Sasuke with big white eyes from underneath his yellow bangs. Sasuke's stomach sank a bit; he didn't know why he thought Nori wouldn't be so scared of him after he'd saved him from the monsters in his head. The child had been so confused and terrified he should have known nothing that happened that night would make any difference. He didn't know why it bothered him so much.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, like the grocery store was the last place he would have expected to meet Sasuke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, lifting his basket of items.

"Buying food? I would say you're doing the same, but looking into your cart I can't say that any of that could actually be considered food."

Naruto looked to his cart and then back at Sasuke, glaring. Nori continued to stare at Sasuke, his eyes unnervingly unblinking.

"This is perfectly good food! Right, Nori—eh? What's wrong?" The boy had started tugging on his father's pants, trying to get his attention. Naruto frowned and bent down so the boy could whisper in his ear. Sasuke turned towards the shelf—the image of Naruto and his son was doing something to him that he couldn't explain or control. Seeing the boy standing on his toes to speak in his father's ear as Naruto listened with rapt attention was too much to look at.

"A hero?" Naruto replied to his son's whispering. "No, he's just a jerk! What do you mean? Scary eyes? Well yeah I guess, but—"

Sasuke's mouth twitched. He didn't know why the boy was acting too shy to talk when he'd been fine a minute ago. He must have been more afraid of Sasuke than he originally thought. Maybe the incident with the beasts made it even worse—it was hard to explain how he'd been able to see inside the child's mind. He could still remember how the boy's arms had wrapped around him, squeezing tight.

He thought about her again and closed his eyes. Why was he doing this? He'd said he was going to stay away, and yet here he was, interfering in Naruto's life again. As if he hadn't done enough already…

"How old is he?" Sasuke found himself asking, distracting Naruto and Nori from the conversation they'd been quietly having. Naruto stood, resting a hand on top of Nori's head.

"Tell Sasuke how old you are," he said gently. Nori curled his hands tighter into the fabric of his father's pants.

"T—three," he peeped, voice like a bird.

"And a half!" Naruto added loudly and proudly, holding up three fingers and grinning. Nori buried his face into the back of Naruto's leg.

Sasuke had figured it was like that. It had been about four years since that night, and Nori had been born not long after Hinata and Naruto started dating.

"Hey, sorry I haven't been around this week," Naruto murmured, rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke's face hid the surprise he felt. "I said we should hang out some more and then I wasn't around! Gaara was in town until this morning and he was helping me move. Nori and I didn't want to stay where…" he trailed off and Sasuke had to distract him before both father and son got those lost, pitiful looks on their faces.

"Don't worry about it. I was busy too. We can hang out now if you want. I was just about to go home and make dinner."

"What are you making?"

Sasuke pursed his lips, hesitating before finally answering,

"Stir-fry."

Blue and white eyes flew open. Nori tugged on his father's pant leg again, insistently.

"Dad!" he whispered, looking from Sasuke to his father expectantly. Sasuke stood in the isle uncomfortable. What was he doing?

"You were probably planning on getting ramen tonight," he said. Naruto flinched. "You never could cook anything but instant."

"I can make eggs now!" Naruto bit back, and Sasuke smirked. He'd missed this—the easy back and forth with Naruto. He really was Sasuke's best friend. No one else would bother putting up with him for so long. It was only because Naruto was so willfully determined that he stayed around.

Had it really been three and half years since he'd spoken with Naruto like this? Three and half years since he started answering all of Naruto's questions with one word and "Hokage-sama"? Three years since he made himself stop looking at Naruto because seeing him so happy and without him hurt too much?

It was like everything crashed over him at once—he missed Naruto. He missed bickering and joking and fighting and the alive feeling of being with Naruto, like when they were together everything was the way it was meant to be. He missed seeing Naruto's smile directed at him and it hurt because now he wanted so much more.

For once he pushed the guilt aside, didn't think about her or what was best or what was the right thing to do: he just thought about what he wanted.

"Do you want stir-fry for dinner instead of ramen? I'm already making it for myself anyway."

Naruto's eyes went wide with surprise, and the child still insistently pulling on him repeated a little louder,

"Dad!"

It seemed like it took Naruto extra effort to pull his gaze away from Sasuke and down to his son. Nori motioned for him to come down and he did, so the child could whisper in his ear again. This time he wasn't quiet enough for Sasuke not to hear.

"He's got vegebles in his basket, Dad!"

Naruto turned back to Sasuke, staring with an odd expression at Sasuke's basket that was, indeed, filled with "vegebles." He looked up at Sasuke with those same wide eyes and strange expression, then back at his son, who nodded at him soundlessly. He stood and turned to Sasuke, unsure as he asked,

"A—are you sure, Sasuke? You don't have to. I know it's—" he glanced at his son, like he wasn't sure what Sasuke thought of him. It was true that Nori had never been a part of their relationship before, but for now Sasuke didn't mind. He knew that if he was going to have Naruto, his son with blank eyes and blond hair and soft voice and mysterious monsters inside his head was going to be there too.

"Hn," he replied with a sneer, walking towards the checkout. "You're paying."

The process of buying groceries took a bit longer than expected and was an experience Sasuke would not soon forget.

They had to get a few more items because of the added two people and before they even reached the produce section they'd been stopped by villagers three times, giving their condolences and commenting on how big Naruto's son was getting.

"He's going to be big and strong just like his father," one woman said with tears in her eyes, thinking about Hinata as she stared between father and son.

Naruto was always gracious to them, smiling and thanking them with a small bow. If they spoke to Nori he shyly replied—though Sasuke noticed that he wasn't nearly as shy around most strangers as he was around Sasuke. He was polite and looked them in the eyes, though his words sounded like they were practiced. Sasuke had never thought about what it must be like to be the village hero's son. All he'd ever known was pity from the adults around him. Nori had such a different experience as a child than either he or Naruto—and yet he'd still been forced to witness his mother's death before his very eyes.

The world was still cruel, no matter the generation. Sasuke only hoped it wouldn't scar Naruto's son the way it had scarred him.

By the time they made it through the checkout and on the way to Sasuke's apartment it was almost 9:30. He asked Naruto as they turned the corner to his house,

"Why were you shopping so late? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Nori was the one he thought should really be asleep, but he wasn't going to comment on Naruto's parenting. What did he know about it?

Naruto glanced down at his son, who had insisted on carrying one small bag himself, and frowned.

"We… couldn't sleep," he said, and Sasuke dropped the subject.

When they arrived at the apartment Naruto told his son to sit in the living room while he "helped" Sasuke start the meal. By helping, he really just stood in the doorway and watched as Sasuke turned on the stove and poured some oil in the pan.

"Will he be okay in there?" Sasuke asked. He didn't want the kid to be bored. He really had no idea what kids liked; it was bothering him. This was one thing he really didn't know how to do.

"He's fine," Naruto answered, brushing him off. "He's used to being by himself. I don't know why but he doesn't have a lot of friends."

"Maybe because he's so quiet," Sasuke answered. It sounded like it bothered Naruto to think that his son was a loner. Sasuke didn't think it should bother him so much, considering they were both the same at his age. Then again, Naruto had always been the one wanting friends. Sasuke was the real loner of their age group.

The blond gave him a strange look.

"Quiet?" he asked, tilting his head. He shrugged and brushed it off before Sasuke could point out that Nori hadn't said a single word since they'd left the grocery store. "I hope Shikamaru and Temari really stay for a while this time. Did you know they were back?"

"Yeah. They have a daughter Nori's age, don't they?"

"Yeah, Shishika! And Asume is only a few years older, and Temari is pregnant again! Shika's terrified it's gonna be another girl!"

Sasuke smirked. He'd seen his old classmate with his daughters before. They seemed to have him, as the phrase goes, "by the balls." He could imagine Shikamaru dreading a third one.

"Nori and Shishika met when they were really little but they don't remember each other. I hope they'll be friends now that Shika and Temari are moving back."

Sasuke threw the chopped vegetables into the pan and it sizzled. He stirred effortlessly and cast a quick glance at Naruto. It was strange to have him in his kitchen again. He tried not to think about that night, but he couldn't help but see Naruto leaning against his counter with hooded eyes and a drunken blush tinting his cheeks.

The Naruto in his kitchen now wasn't drunk or blushing—he just looked exhausted.

"We… couldn't sleep."

Sasuke had the feeling Naruto wasn't just referring to tonight. He wondered when the last time father and son got a full night's sleep.

He couldn't help but picture the small, terrified child, curled up in a ball amidst a circle of monsters and he gestured towards the living room and lightly asked,

"How is he doing?"

Naruto's face fell and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"He has okay moments. It's not good when we're just sitting around. It's better when we're doing something else."

Sasuke understood that perfectly. When he'd been young and the memories of the massacre threatened to overwhelm him he would throw himself into training, punching trees until his knuckles bled and using up his chakra until there was just nothing left. Sometimes it helped.

He looked away from the sizzling pan again, catching Naruto's eye for half a second before turning back and adding gently,

"How are you doing?"

The blond took so long answering that Sasuke took the pan off the burner and turned it off to look back at Naruto. He was staring at Sasuke like he couldn't believe he was real.

"You know, you're the first person who's asked me that."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto lowered his gaze again. What was that look in Naruto's eyes before? It had been more powerful than he expected.

He saw Naruto's fists clench at his sides.

"I'm just… mad!" he finally answered, exhaling frustration. "I'm mad at the—the world! It's unfair! She didn't deserve to die!"

The last part he whispered so his son in the other room wouldn't hear. Sasuke sighed, wishing there was something he could do. He didn't know how to act in this situation—and he felt like he was the worst person in the world for Naruto to be complaining to, considering his own twisted thought-process tied to her death. Yet he still felt like he had to give Naruto something, something to show Naruto that all his anger at the unfairness of the world was justified and natural.

"None of them deserved to die," he replied flatly. He didn't need to specify who "they" were. Naruto understood—"they" were everyone. Every last Uchiha and both of their parents and Itachi and Jiraiya and every single person who wasn't supposed to die, who didn't deserve it.

A pained look crossed Naruto's face. He was trying to keep from crying, so Sasuke looked away, busied himself finishing the stir-fry and portioning it out onto plates.

"Gaara," Naruto began, voice shaky but without sobbing, "said I can't blame myself, but—"

"Naruto, don't—"

"I should have been with them, Sasuke! I have all this power—we got all this stupid fucking power and for what? I couldn't even protect my own family!"

"Nori is still here," Sasuke told him, taking a step towards Naruto. The blond looked up and there was so much trust in those dazzling blue eyes for a moment Sasuke couldn't believe it had been so long since they had spoken like this. It felt like no time had passed at all since he'd promised Naruto to stay by his side as he rose to the title of Hokage, since he and Naruto fought their last battle and Naruto had finally gotten through to him. They could still be the little 12 year old genin they were when they met, protecting each other at the cost of nearly their lives.

Sasuke tried, for once, believing that he was deserving of all the trust Naruto put in him.

"Nori is still here, Naruto. Don't forget that," he said, and Naruto listened. "This is coming from someone who knows: don't obsess over the past. You can be sad and angry, but don't let it consume you. Concentrate on the future and someday it'll… get easier."

Naruto blinked, staring at Sasuke like it was the first time he was seeing him. He seemed startled when he realized he'd started crying. He quickly wiped away the tears, glancing out towards the living room and then back to Sasuke. He was giving Sasuke that strange look again, the one Sasuke just couldn't place.

"You're a good motivational speaker," he finally said, joking lightly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glad for the break in tension.

"Don't get used to it," he replied, handing Naruto plates of stir-fry. "We can eat in the living room. Go ahead and start. I'm going to make tea."

Naruto took the plates somehow without dropping them and Sasuke didn't miss the quick glance back Naruto gave before walking through the doorway. He told himself the flutter in his chest was just from the conversation they'd just had, but he was a liar.

He'd just set the pot on the stove when he heard from the other room,

"Oi, Sasuke, do you have a cat?"

"He's not my cat. I don't have a cat."

Two pairs of eyes looked over at him uncertainly as the cat wound it's way between his legs, tail wrapping around his thigh as it rubbed it's head against his foot.

"Are you… sure, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, staring up at Sasuke like he was worried Sasuke just couldn't see the cat. Sasuke glared at him.

"I don't have a cat," he repeated, though the effect of the statement was somewhat diminished when he placed a bowl of cat food on the floor at his feet and the animal meowed happily up at him and began eating.

It was a mangy thing, huge and all black with a tail twice the length of his body. He had scars and patches of missing hair all over—there seemed to be more every week. He was a fighter; Sasuke thought he fought dogs because other cats were no match for him. He always won anyway. At least, he always came back.

It was about two years ago that he first snuck into Sasuke's apartment through an open window. Sasuke had woken up to find him bleeding on his kitchen floor with a mouse dangling from his mouth dripping even more blood onto the tile.

He'd picked him up and tossed him out, but he'd been back a week later. This time he brought Sasuke a baby rabbit, left it at his bedroom door and was cleaning himself on the couch when Sasuke found him. He'd tossed him out again and thought for sure that would be the end of it. The next day he woke up to find a snake the length of his katana dead and lying on his windowsill and the cat curled up against his leg.

Sasuke didn't bother tossing him out after that. Over time they formed something of a relationship: the cat could come and go as he pleased and Sasuke would scratch his ears until he purred as he read in the evenings. He bought the first bag of cat food on accident and only put it out when the cat showed up, which was about every week or so.

He was not Sasuke's cat. Sasuke did not have a cat.

"Oooh, Nori! I think he likes you!" Naruto said as the cat wrapped its tail around the child's head. He smiled and pet a line down his back. Sasuke ignored them as he ate his dinner.

"What's his name?"

"Doesn't have one," Sasuke grunted. Not his cat.

"He's tough," Nori said, voice tiny and shy. He seemed very content to pet the cat with one hand and eat his stir-fry with the other. Apparently he'd been petting the cat for several minutes while Sasuke and Naruto were in the kitchen. Sasuke hoped the thing didn't have any diseases.

"Should we call him that?" Naruto asked his son, grinning. Nori shook his head.

"His name is Muchi," he said quietly, giggling a bit when the cat tickled his nose with the tip of his tail. Sasuke sighed in defeat, taking a sip of tea. Its tail did look like a whip.

"Have you gone back to your Hokage duties yet?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Kakashi says it'll be soon but he won't tell me when! I'm still Hokage technically, they just don't want me to go back to work until I'm 'ready,' whatever that means."

"They're just trying to protect you," Sasuke explained, thinking about his conversation with Kakashi at the funeral a week or so before.

"I can protect myself!" he replied stubbornly. He was still as much of a child as always, despite having had a child of his own. Sasuke used to find it annoying but somehow it had become endearing. It probably happened sometime around the time of that night… A lot of things he'd thought about Naruto changed after that.

He tried to glance surreptitiously across the table as he finished off his dinner. Despite the tired bags beneath his eyes and the lackluster sheen to his skin Sasuke had to admit Naruto looked good.

He had matured and filled out even more over the years and though Sasuke saw him often enough to notice it he had never looked this closely before. Naruto's hair was a bit shorter and his face more masculine. There was something attractive about his features beyond that, the way he held himself and the shine he got in his eyes when he looked at his son. Fatherhood was a good look for him.

Sasuke blinked, surprised at himself. He turned his gaze to his plate and frowned. Was he really checking Naruto out right across the table from him? In front of his son? He swallowed and ignored the thoughts that tried to bubble up.

"Sasuke?" he jerked his head up to find Naruto staring at him apologetically.

"What—" he started to ask, then noticed that Nori was fast asleep on the floor, the cat, now apparently named Muchi, curled in his lap.

"Sorry about that," Naruto smiled, rubbing the back of his head. He was talking softly, careful not to wake the sleeping child. "I can't believe he fell asleep like that. He hasn't been sleeping well lately. He keeps saying something's keeping him up in his head? I'm worried he's thinking about, you know…" he trailed off, suddenly sad. Sasuke nodded.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, voice light. His eyes were curious, puzzled.

"Hn?"

"Why did you offer to make us dinner?"

Sasuke stared at him, blinking before replying easily,

"I couldn't let you keep feeding a child toxic waste in good conscience. And he didn't seem to want Ichiraku either."

Naruto didn't seem completely satisfied with that answer, and Sasuke didn't want him pressing the issue so he stood and collected the plates off the table to go into the kitchen to wash them.

"Is that really the only reason?" Naruto still managed to ask before he stepped through the kitchen door. Sasuke looked back over his shoulder at Naruto who was sitting on the floor and staring at Sasuke calculatingly, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What other reason would I have, idiot?"

Naruto continued staring at him for a moment before finally shrugging and looking away. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

"Nevermind then."

Sasuke finally went into the kitchen and started washing the dishes. His mind kept turning over the evening as he scrubbed the pan and the plates. He'd said he wasn't going to involve himself in Naruto's life but that's exactly what he did—yet he couldn't find it in himself to regret it.

"Why did you offer to make us dinner?"

Why had he revealed himself in that grocery store in the first place? He kept thinking about Naruto's face when he'd been talking to Nori in that grocery isle, when he'd admitted to being angry at the unfairness in the world, and when he'd smiled across from Sasuke at dinner.

He finished washing everything and set it on the rack to dry, walking back into the living room to offer Naruto a place to sleep for himself if he didn't want to wake Nori.

He entered the room only to find that Naruto was already asleep, head lying sideways on the cushion of the couch with one hand resting on his son's arm.

Sasuke sucked in a breath of air and closed his eyes. He exhaled slowly and went into his closet to find an extra blanket. He laid it over both blonds, eyes lingering briefly on Naruto's lips before he pulled back and shook his head.

"Why did you offer to make us dinner?"

"Because you looked like you were going to cry over stir-fry, idiot."

Muchi - because the cat's tail looks like a whip.

Wow! I love how much feedback this story is getting! Next update might take a bit, but not too long, I promise! Thanks for all the reviews and everything guys!