CHAPTER 4: Find What He Likes

Sasuke dreamt of the past.

He dreamt of the cold, stale air in Orochimaru's hideouts and the way eyes followed him wherever he went. He dreamt of fire and Itachi's Susanoo and ravens. He dreamt of Naruto's voice shouting "I don't give up on my friends!" and grinning with a bloody mouth and a bruised cheek.

He dreamt of Naruto's eyes, the scent of the sun, tanned skin. He dreamt of Naruto's lips soft against his.

He woke to the smell of eggs.

He sat up and got dressed quickly. He'd forgotten that Naruto and his son had slept at his house the night before. Though it had been hard to forget that fact last night, lying in bed and trying not to think about Naruto sleeping peacefully in the other room. He wondered if that was why he'd had such strange dreams.

"Finally you're up!" Naruto teased when he entered the kitchen.

"It's my house. I can sleep as late as I want," Sasuke replied grumpily. Though when he did look at the clock he had to admit it was later than he usually slept. He wished he knew how long the two blonds in his kitchen had been awake.

Nori was sitting at the kitchen table, his feet swinging above the floor. His eyes went wide when he noticed Sasuke staring at him. Sasuke felt his stomach sink a bit; he'd hoped the night before might have warmed the child to him a little more.

"Good morning," he said, careful not to sound scary or intimidating. He usually didn't care about those things but for some reason he wanted Naruto's son to like him—or at least not act so shy and stuttering around him. He'd been fine hugging Sasuke the night he rescued him but ever since then it was like Sasuke was still a stranger, no matter what he did.

Sure enough Nori avoided his gaze upon being addressed, twisting his jacket in his fists and staring at the ground while replying timidly,

"G—good morning."

"Nori! Why are you messing with your jacket like that?" Naruto asked, obliviously sprinkling pepper into a pan. "Do you have to pee?"

The child nodded, slight pink tinting his cheeks.

"Ohh, that makes sense! It's down the hall on the left. Make sure to tighten the hot water handle all the way or it leaks."

The little blond nodded and hopped down from the chair, padding towards the bathroom. Sasuke had forgotten how much Naruto knew about his house, down to which knobs in his bathroom leak if they aren't tightened. Before that night and everything that happened he'd spent a lot of time at Sasuke's apartment. He would jus show up randomly and when Sasuke complained he just said that if he didn't come over to visit then he'd never see Sasuke again. He was probably right.

"I got that fixed, you know," he said, putting on a pot of tea and staring at the eggs Naruto was preparing on the stove.

"What?"

"The leaking sink in the bathroom."

He'd gotten a lot of things done once Naruto wasn't a part of his life anymore. So much of his time had been taken up spending it with Naruto and he didn't notice it until it stopped. Once Naruto was gone he had to fill all the empty spaces he'd left, find ways to keep going without the company of Naruto Uzumaki to spur him on.

He spent a good amount of time doing housework. He fixed the leaky faucet in the bathroom and a leaky part of the roof above the bedroom closet. He repainted the walls and re-tiled the floors. When some kids broke one of his windows he decided to replace all of them and install the new ones himself. Every creaky door and floorboard was fixed, then he sanded his coffee and kitchen tables and stained them to look brand-new.

All of this was within the first three months of Naruto's marriage.

Sakura would come over sometimes and whenever she noticed a new repair or upgrade to his apartment she gave him a knowing look that he willfully ignored. He didn't want to admit to her that the home repair hobby was what he spent the least of his time doing—most of it was dedicated to thinking and overthinking about that night until every little detail was as familiar as the blood running through his veins.

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised. His expression softened and he smiled sadly at the floor. Sasuke frowned. "I guess it has been a few years…"

When Naruto had come asking to be friends again he'd almost sounded guilty, like he was the one who ruined their friendship when Sasuke knew for a fact nothing would have changed if he hadn't let it. He'd spent the days after that night debating whether he should tell Naruto how the kiss affected him. They were drunk, Sasuke couldn't deny that truth, but it wasn't like Naruto was so drunk he didn't know who Sasuke was. Did he get carried away by the mood? Was he so drunk he would have kissed anyone? Had he thought about kissing Sasuke before?

All this hope was burning inside Sasuke's chest, and even when Naruto announced he was going on a date with Hinata Sasuke hadn't been that worried. Naruto had waited for him for years—could Hinata say the same?

And yet more and more time passed and any sign that Naruto might have given him to hint that the kiss was more than just a drunken accident never appeared. Sasuke's hope slowly faded, turned to self-doubt and regret that he didn't do something sooner. When Naruto told him he was getting married Sasuke knew he missed his chance and that both he and Naruto would be better off if they didn't interact, at least not with Sasuke's unresolved feelings between them.

Maybe he was wrong, after all.

"You and Nori can come over for dinner another night, if you want."

"Really?" he asked, looking up suddenly with eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Sure," Sasuke shrugged. "I don't want you starving the kid. Hinata wouldn't be very happy with you if you did."

He knew it was cruel of him to speak her name so soon, but he couldn't stand that sad look on Naruto's face. For so long, Naruto always smiled when he was around Sasuke, and maybe he took it for granted and maybe he missed it after all these years, but he knew that he needed it now, like he needed light to see. He wouldn't be the one to stand aside and let Naruto wallow in his grief. Naruto wouldn't be the one standing staring at a grave every day and dreaming of what could have been. Sasuke owed him that much.

Sasuke continued, pretending not to notice the expression of shock in Naruto's face, or hear the way his breath sucked in at the sound of her name,

"Don't expect me to do anything else for you, though. You can wash your own clothes and iron your own underwear."

"I—I know how to wash my clothes, asshole! You never forget stuff like that!"

Sasuke smirked, glad his ploy worked.

"Bold words from someone who can't even make eggs without burning them," he said, nodding to the smoking pan.

Naruto's face fell and he scrambled to salvage the un-burnt bits of egg, diving them into three parts and putting them on plates. Sasuke poured the boiling water into a mug and sat at the kitchen table. Naruto grumpily slammed a plate in front of him and sat in the chair opposite him. He took a bite of eggs and grimaced.

"You let me burn those on purpose," he accused.

"Don't blame others for your mistakes," Sasuke replied sagely. Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know you're going to have to learn how to cook at some point, right?"

"These eggs taste fine, and I don't know what you're talking about. If we come over for dinner here once a week, and go to Iruka-sensei's place another night, and maybe Sakura will make us dinner one night, and we visit Neji another night, and then Hiashi and Hanabi, that makes," he counted them off on his hand, holding up his fingers to show Sasuke his well thought-out plan, "Five meals! And we can eat Ichiraku for two days and I won't have to cook!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the confident grin Naruto had spread across his face.

"First of all, who said you could eat here once a week? I said you could come over again, not every week. I won't even be here every week—I still have missions. Secondly, you can't just rely on other people for food. Nori will start to get tired of going to other people's houses."

"Mehhh, Sasuke, he'll be fine! This is a great plan. Besides, Nori likes going over to people's houses. He liked playing with your cat last night."

"I don't have a cat."

As if summoned, the cat strolled into the kitchen with its head and impossibly long tail held high. He rubbed his head first against Sasuke's leg and then Naruto's, all the while Sasuke glared at Naruto's knowing smile from across the table. Eventually Sasuke sighed and looked away.

"You should at least know how to make rice. Anyone can make rice."

Naruto looked like he was about to reply but that was when Nori appeared again, brightening when he saw the cat in the middle of the kitchen. Naruto intercepted him on his way to pet the animal, picking him up easily and swinging him in the air, earning a reluctant-sounding giggle before finally holding the boy carefully against his hip. He rested his forehead against his son's and smiled.

Sasuke had to look away; the image of the two of them together made his heart ache for something he didn't know he wanted. They looked like home.

He swallowed. They were her home, not his.

"What do you say, Aonori?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke wondered whether it was a nickname or a full name. "We promised we would visit Uncle Neji today, didn't we?"

The boy nodded silently. Sasuke looked over just in time to catch the mischievous glint in Naruto's eyes as he added carefully, "Maaaybe, if you ask him really nicely, Uncle Neji will get you some…" he whispered the last part Nori's ear so Sasuke couldn't hear, but the next thing he knew the boy was scrambling down from his father's arms and racing towards the front door.

"Dad! Come on! Dad, let's go! We have to meet Uncle Neji!" Naruto chuckled to himself, turning to Sasuke and looking exhausted all over again.

Suddenly Sasuke didn't want to let him leave.

He wanted to spend more time with him—they'd only had a little while to talk the night before and it seemed the morning would be cut short too. Sasuke had finally decided he was going to be in Naruto's life again and he wanted to really be in it this time. He wasn't going to let Naruto slip away again. He was going to be there for Naruto—and his son—no matter what that meant.

"Sorry about the eggs, Sasuke," Naruto grinned, trying not to let his exhaustion and stress show. Sasuke stood, carefully placing a hand on Naruto's arm. The blond's eyes shot open in surprise.

"Tell me if you need anything," he said lowly, suddenly aware of how close he and Naruto were standing, and in his kitchen of all places. Naruto stared at him for what seemed like a long time, then blinked and moved back, towards the front door.

"I will," he answered, averting his gaze. "Thanks for… thanks for last night."

Sasuke nodded and walked Naruto to the front door where Nori was standing practically vibrating with energy.

"Dad!" he said, tugging on Naruto's hand.

"Say thank you to Sasuke for letting us sleep here," Naruto told him in what Sasuke was quickly learning was Naruto's "Dad Voice."

And just like that, all of Nori's excited, outgoing energy vanished. When he turned to Sasuke he was shy again, unable to look in Sasuke's eyes.

"T—thank you," he said, voice tiny and timid. He gave a small bow and tugged at the bottom of his jacket anxiously.

Sasuke had gotten his hopes up again only to have them dashed—Nori still wasn't comfortable around him. He was still a stranger.

"You're welcome," he replied, and watched as the boy reached out for his father's pants and held onto them until they were outside of the apartment and on their way.

"Ah, Sasuke. I wouldn't have thought to run into you today."

Iruka was older and in Sasuke's opinion he looked it. There were laugh lines in the corners of his eyes and frown lines near his eyebrows and he always heard others say their old teacher looked about ten years older than he was. Most blamed it on Naruto—stress from dealing with Konoha's number on unpredictable ninja.

Still, he smiled pleasantly when he spotted Sasuke on a quiet street near the Hokage Tower. He had Nori with him and, as expected, the child hid himself behind the teacher's leg as soon as he spotted Sasuke.

The elder seemed rather surprised, raising his eyebrows and looking down at the child clinging shyly to him and avoiding Sasuke's gaze. Sasuke was disappointed again, though he didn't know why. Naruto's son was scared of him; that was all. It wasn't all that surprising if he was being honest with himself. He didn't give off a friendly vibe, even when he was trying.

"I was just going to meet with Kakashi," he said.

"Ah, Naruto is talking with him now. He asked me to watch Nori while they argu—discussed when he would be returning to his title."

Sasuke smirked and Iruka gave a faint smile. Watching Naruto and Kakashi argue was always amusing. Kakashi generally had the upper hand, but at some point Naruto thought to start using Icha Icha as leverage—Kakashi's one true weakness.

"Nori," he said, leaning down and placing a hand on the child's shoulder. "Did you say hello to Sasuke?"

"He—hello—o," he stuttered, averting his eyes and toying with the bottom of his jacket. Iruka smiled apologetically.

"He's not usually this shy."

Sasuke begged to differ. The only time he thought he'd seen Nori relax around him was when he'd been petting the cat, and once he noticed Sasuke watching him he went back to anxiously pulling on his jacket.

"Do you watch him often?" Sasuke found himself asking. Iruka' smile faltered.

"More lately," he replied, and Sasuke nodded. He could figure out easily what that meant. "To be honest he's always sort of felt like a grandson. Gosh… that makes me feel old."

"You practically adopted Naruto years ago," Sasuke reminded him. "He should be like a grandson."

"I suppose you're right. We were just going into town to get something special, weren't we?" he asked Nori, smiling again. Nori's pale eyes widened, just like they had when Naruto had whispered something in his ear the other day. Sasuke was curious what it was that could make Nori react that way. He almost seemed like Naruto when someone offered to buy him ramen.

The boy nodded his head and Iruka waved goodbye as they started walking off. Sasuke frowned—something about Nori's appearance bothered him. It clicked as he was halfway up to the Hokage office.

The bags under Nori's eyes were still there, maybe even darker than they had been before.

He still wasn't sleeping.

Naruto was just leaving the office when Sasuke reached it. He nearly tackled Sasuke to the ground if Sasuke hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way.

"Sasuke!" he shouted as soon as he realized who he'd almost run over. "I'm going back to Hokage duties tomorrow!"

"Congratulations," Sasuke replied, still not quite used to speaking with Naruto like this again. He'd spent so long avoiding any friendly conversation that now it didn't come easy. He had to work at it.

"Kakashi wanted me to take more time off, but I've been working on a plan with some other Kages to repopulate Uzushiogakure and I don't want to keep them waiting. What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi summoned me," he replied. "Or, the Hokage did—so maybe it was you?"

"Ah!" Naruto nodded and switched to his 'Hokage Naruto' mode. "You have a mission."

Sasuke tensed instantly.

"Dorogakure again?" Surely Kakashi wouldn't let Naruto be involved if it were the Mud nin who were responsible for her death were involved. But Naruto shook his head, frowning and staring at Sasuke like he was worried Sasuke knew more than he did. Sasuke never should have said anything; from the look on Naruto's face it was almost as if he'd already forgotten that she'd been murdered. To him she was just dead, that was tragedy enough.

"You still have a summoning contract with the snakes, don't you?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke would admit he hadn't expected that question.

"I don't think it expires," though he wasn't completely sure. It wasn't as though he signed the summoning contract because he particularly wanted to—Orochimaru had offered it and he knew it would make him stronger, so he did it. After he signed the contract with the Hawks he rarely used the snakes anymore.

"Why?"

"There's a nest in the mountains near Takigakure that's been causing trouble. We're sending you to talk with them and keep them out of trouble."

A mission so far away from the village, and one Sasuke could surely accomplish in his sleep?

"Why don't they just send someone from Takigakure?"

"Because some of those snakes are huge! And creepy… I wouldn't wanna have to go talk to them."

Says the shinobi with a contract with frogs. He considered it for a moment, then shrugged and turned to walk back down the stairs. He clearly didn't need to speak with Kakashi after all.

"No, I don't think I'll take the mission."

He wished he could have seen the expression on Naruto's face. Instead he just heard the sputtering as Naruto processed what he'd said and hurried to catch up with him.

"It's not a request, teme!"

Sasuke's heartbeat stuttered and he paused, just short enough so Naruto wouldn't notice. The nickname caught him off guard. How long had it been since Naruto called him that?

"It's a damn mission!" Naruto continued, oblivious to Sasuke's distracted thinking. "You can't just refuse to go!"

"There's nothing that says you have to take a mission if you don't want to." He didn't want to take the mission—he couldn't leave now when things were so uncertain and new with Naruto. If he left and something happened, Naruto needed someone to talk to or someone else found him in that grocery store instead and took him home…

It wasn't as if there weren't others interested in the Hokage. Certainly, when he was a married man no one made their intentions clear but as a widowed husband Sasuke wasn't sure.

The guilt touched upon him again—how could he try and pretend like Naruto belonged to him? If anything, Naruto still belonged to her, and probably always would. Was it right to try and keep Naruto to himself when he didn't have a chance anyway?

"I was sooo drunk last night, Sasuke! It was an accident, I swear!"

"Why don't you send Hyuuga? I'm sure he could use something to distract him."

"Neji doesn't know a damned thing about snakes! That's the whole point of sending you!"

Sasuke spun around and cornered Naruto with a gaze. Blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Find me a mission in the village and I'll take it. Send Karin to deal with the snakes—she knows them better than I do anyway."

Naruto huffed, grumbling about insubordination and good-for-nothing assholes. Sasuke slipped his hands into his pockets, smirking to himself so Naruto couldn't see. After all this time and he could still piss Naruto off better than anyone—at least he could say that.

After that, Sasuke was assigned shifts at the Hospital. He'd done it before, sometimes as requested and others in his spare time. He didn't assist with healing but spent time studying patients injured in unusual ways in battle. His experience with scientific study after all his time around Orochimaru and his knowledge of genjutsu were useful, as most of the patients that needed study were victims of genjutsu gone bad.

He worked with Sakura mostly, which was fine with him. She had changed a lot since they were young and when she concentrated on her healing he could even come to respect her.

He didn't believe her crush on him ever really went away. He would still catch her staring at him times when she thought he wasn't looking, fixing her clothes or hair if they went out to eat or spent time together away from missions and work. He ignored it, because she had, at least, stopped fawning over him completely. She was herself around him, tough and serious, but with a smart, funny side that he appreciated. She was still one of the few people in the village who seemed to enjoy his company, and when he had stopped spending time with Naruto he spent time with her instead. They mostly talked about work, and he'd made sure she knew a long time ago to never expect anything romantic of him.

"So," she said, quickly moving a strand of hair out of her face and bending over the seal that had placed one of her patients in a coma, "you finally stopped avoiding Naruto."

"I was never—"

"Don't lie to me, Sasuke. I'm not the same idiot I used to be."

He huffed, scowling at the marks she'd already made on a scroll in an attempt to unseal the shinobi lying comatose in a hospital bed a few rooms away.

"This won't work," he pointed out a small mistake and her eyes flit over to the paper he had in front of him. "It will free his body of the seal's effects but not his mind. You missed it on the original seal."

"That's why you're helping me, and don't change the subject," she scolded, standing up straight and turning to him with fiercely narrowed green eyes.

He thought about what Kakashi asked and worried that Sakura would feel the same.

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

"He's the one who's been hanging around me. He came over one night crying about how we weren't close anymore and he missed me, the idiot. He acts like I haven't been here."

She laughed darkly.

"Please, Sasuke, you already know how he'd be acting if you really weren't here. He'd come chasing after you until he brought you back, remember?"

He refused to answer her, staring down at the seal and hoping she would drop it. If only he were so lucky.

"And he's right, you know," she said, her tone somehow accusing and gentle at the same time. Sasuke just found it patronizing. "You were here but you weren't here for him. You weren't even at his wedding."

"I had a mission—"

"That you could have easily gotten out of! I know you won't tell me what happened between you two, but at least tell me it's finally getting better. At least tell me you're trying."

Sasuke's stomach clenched; she was angry at him for avoiding Naruto all these years, not angry that he was 'involving himself in Naruto's life again.' She probably just didn't want to be stuck between them anymore.

"Hinata died, Sakura. He came to me asking to be friends again. Do you really think I would have turned him away?"

"I don't know, Sasuke," she sighed, exasperated. "You weren't there when he needed you before—what makes this any different?"

Because she's gone, and because he came to me, and because I missed him, too, and I didn't even realize it.

"It's different. Trust me." He met her gaze and held it for a moment, but when she finally shrugged and looked towards the clock on the wall she still didn't seem convinced.

"I've got to go. We can finish this tomorrow—it's not like our patient is going anywhere."

"I could come over later tonight to work on it. We're almost finished."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, something appraising in her eyes. She was considering him.

"I'm babysitting Nori," she finally said, her expression shrewd and calculating, watching him carefully to see his reaction. She was used to him avoiding Naruto's son at all costs, knew that he never came over if Nori was there.

He blinked and turned towards the door.

"I'll see you at nine."

"Sakura," he called, closing the door behind him and following the voices coming from Sakura's living room. He didn't bother knocking; she knew he was coming over.

"—and then the lights went out and Dad said a bad word and he had to go somewhere and turn them back on again and it was dark, but it's okay because I'm not scared of the dark." Sasuke was surprised to hear Nori speaking so easily with Sakura; he was always surprised to hear Nori speaking easily simply because it never seemed to happen around him. He paused just outside of the living room to listen to Sakura's reply. She giggled and asked,

"You aren't scared of the dark anymore, Nori? I remember last time you were here you wanted me to leave the light on when you went to bed."

"That was because I was alone in the dark!" he replied intently, voice high and piping. "I don't like that."

"Weren't you alone in your house when Naruto went to turn the lights back on?"

"No, all my friends were there. Shu told me I'm too old to be scared of the dark anymore."

"Who is—" Sakura started to ask, but Sasuke had had enough of waiting, she obviously hadn't heard him come in, and he stepped around the corner so she and Nori would know he was there.

"Oh, hello Sasuke," Sakura said, smiling. She turned to the child, whose eyes had gotten wide at the sight of the Uchiha. "Nori, you know Sasuke now, don't you?"

The child looked away, nodding. Sakura's eyebrows rose in surprise but Sasuke could have told her that would happen. No matter how many times he saw the child he was still afraid. Sasuke was trying not to take it personally but judging from the reactions of other people he was the only one Nori acted this way around.

He didn't think the child was warming up to him.

"Sasuke and I are going to work on some boring papers for a while—why don't you go get ready for bed?"

He looked at first as though he were going to reply, then just nodded and made his way down the hall to Sakura's room. Sasuke took a seat at the table across from Sakura and as soon as Nori was out of earshot she turned to him with an amused look and asked,

"Does he always act that way around you?"

Sasuke glared. She didn't have to point it out.

"Yes. And apparently it's only me."

She giggled.

"It's not funny. I don't—" he hesitated, sighing and looking away before adding unhappily, "I don't think he likes me."

Sakura, heartless as she was, only laughed harder and Sasuke couldn't help but feel it was directed at him more than the situation. When Sasuke finally turned back to look at her he was surprised to find how soft her expression was, somber and sad around the edges. She seemed like she was looking past him instead of at him. He understood when she finally murmured,

"I think Nori might take after his mother sometimes."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. She smiled.

"Don't you remember how Hinata was? Oh well, you were gone for a long time."

He clenched his teeth; after all these years and it still stung when someone brought up his past like his life and his choices were some dirty mistake no one ever talked about.

"Hinata was always shy around Naruto. She was shy around everyone, but with Naruto she could barely talk to him. It's not a surprise you never noticed—you didn't really notice girls when we were young."

Sasuke stiffened at the insinuation, afraid to look up and see something knowing in Sakura's eyes. He'd heard of "women's intuition" and he couldn't risk Sakura guessing the truth; who knew what she would do if she knew?

"What does that have to do with Nori disliking me?" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, as if he was the stupid one.

"She was shy around Naruto because she liked him."

"I think Nori might take after his mother sometimes." Sasuke frowned.

"You think he likes me… so he's shy around me?"

She shrugged, pulling out the seal papers and spreading them on the table.

"He's always been quieter than other kids. Never shy like he is around you, but more… mature?"

Sasuke remembered that Sakura had known Nori much longer than he had. She'd babysat for him and spent time with him often when he was young. He was curious enough to ask her gently,

"Is he any different since the attack? Kakashi told me he saw the whole thing."

She continued looking down at the papers in front of her but her eyes hardened.

"Sometimes it seems like he's okay. We were talking normally when you got here. Other times he's…" She bit her lip, exhaling slowly. "He seems distracted. He stares at nothing and looks around the room like he's trying to—I don't know!"

"What?" he pressed, though Sakura seemed upset by the conversation. She glanced down the hall where Nori was still off getting ready for bed.

"He acts like he's looking for her, okay! And anyone can look at him and tell he's not sleeping."

Sasuke nodded. "I noticed that too." He wondered if she knew about the beasts. In fact, it hadn't occurred to him to ask if Naruto knew about the beasts inside his child's head. At first he thought of course Naruto knew—he was their guardian after all—but suddenly he wasn't sure.

"And I'm worried about Naruto, of course!" She blurted; Sasuke could tell she'd been holding it in. "He's still so young, to have to raise a child on his own… I know it isn't their fault but they were too young when they had Nori!"

"No one ever wanted something like this to happen to Naruto," Sasuke told her, and it was true. No matter how he felt about Naruto's wife's death he knew for sure he'd never wanted Naruto to be hurting so much.

He hadn't meant to upset Sakura with his questions, but he'd been worried about the child ever since the night he rescued him—and it wasn't only because Nori was Naruto's son. He was worried about Nori and wanted Nori to like him and was bothered because Nori wasn't sleeping and it wasn't about Naruto. He had spent so long avoiding Naruto's son because it hurt too much, but all it had taken were some tears and a frightened hug and Sasuke was caught. He couldn't help it.

Naruto's son had probably inherited his father's special power: he could make anyone fall for him.

"You know," he said, amazed that for once it was up to him to break the tension, "he doesn't even like ramen. Are we sure he's really Naruto's child?"

Even Sakura was surprised, looking up at him as he smiled faintly at her. After a moment she smiled back.

"He may not love ramen like his father, but he's exactly like Naruto when it comes to what he likes."

"And what is that?" He asked, genuinely curious. He remembered how excited Nori had been, first with Naruto and then with Iruka—could that be to what Sakura was referring?

Her grin spread and her expression turned giddy.

"You don't know about—?" she cut herself off, giggling. "No wonder he's shy around you!"

"What does he like?" Sasuke asked, annoyed by how secretive she was being. She shook her head.

"I think you'll need to find that out yourself, Uchiha."

"Sakura…"

"Noriii!" She called out in sing-song, standing and walking towards the bedroom. Sasuke huffed, annoyed that he was no closer to finding out what Nori liked than he had been before. Maybe if he knew he would be a step closer to getting Naruto's son to stop being so shy around him…

"Does Nori like barbeque?"

Naruto gave him a strange look.

"Uhhh, I think he likes barbeque okay? He's not as crazy about it as Choji or anything."

"Does he like animals?"

Sasuke didn't even have to look over to know Naruto was staring at him strangely again. He ignored it and continued making dinner.

"He likes your cat… he doesn't like frogs, though."

"Really?" Sasuke asked, amused. He ignored the incorrect statement about "his cat." He didn't have a cat.

"No," Naruto pouted, shoulders falling. "He makes faces whenever we visit the Myoboku. I even gave him a stuffed toad when he was little and he never played with it!"

"He probably just doesn't want to get all warty like you."

"Who's warty?" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke smirked. "Better warty than slimy, snake-man!"

"Have you ever even touched a snake? They aren't slimy, idiot."

"Whatever, still creepy. Karin talked to the snakes by the way. You were right, she probably did a better job than you would have anyway. If you had gone you wouldn't have bothered trying to talk to them, just would have started glaring at them and stabbing all the ones who wouldn't do what you asked."

"I would have gotten the job done," Sasuke replied. "What else does Nori like?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied, throwing his shoulders up in a shrug. "Why do you wanna know what Nori likes anyway?"

"I just do. Don't worry about it, Naruto."

He glanced away from the stove to find Naruto staring at him suspiciously through narrowed eyes. He turned his back and added lightly,

"Does he like games?"

"I don't know, I mean…" he trailed off, sitting silently until Sasuke had to turn back to him to make sure he was still there. He was staring at the ground blankly and Sasuke's chest ached. He didn't want Naruto to look like that; He didn't want Naruto to be sad ever again. It was impractical, a foolish thought to have, but he couldn't help it. He was so hopelessly in love with the idiot he wanted irrational things, like for him to never be sad again, for him to suddenly stand up and kiss Sasuke in his kitchen again, for them to start again and Sasuke not to fuck it up this time.

"We used to play cards," he muttered. Sasuke didn't need to ask whom "we" referred to. It was in the slump of Naruto's shoulders, the clench of his fists. It was in the sorrowful expression on his face and the hushed tone of his voice. Sasuke wanted to kiss him—to make all the pain go away, even if it was only for a moment.

He turned back to the food.

"I have cards."

They ended up playing go fish as they ate; it was Nori's favorite game. He avoided Sasuke's gaze and stuttered every time he asked Sasuke if he had a card, but when he won he smiled and something in Sasuke's chest felt warm. He tried thinking about what Sakura had said, that maybe Nori was only shy around him because he liked him. It made Sasuke feel a bit better but he still wished Nori would open up around him, even just a little.

Naruto lost almost every game and sulked. The cat was sitting between him and Nori and knocked Naruto's cards out of his hand with its tail two times.

"Oi, cat—" he threatened, glaring at the purring animal as its tail twitched in his face.

"His name is Muchi," Nori reminded him softly.

"Well his tail needs to calm down! I'm already getting destroyed by you two without dropping my cards all over the ground on top of it!"

"Maybe if you weren't so clumsy you wouldn't drop your cards," Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, Dad!" Nori agreed, giggling.

"Don't side with him, Nori! Hmmmm, do you have any tens?"

"Go fish!"

"Awwww man! My own son!" Naruto groaned dramatically, reaching for the pile of cards in the center of the table. "First you side with the jerk over here and then you tell me to go fish! I guess you don't want to go out for dessert tonight…"

Sasuke heard a tiny gasp beside him and looked over to see Nori's eyes go wide. He shook his head quickly and Naruto grinned.

"Pleeeeease, Dad!" Nori whispered, bouncing up and down and holding his cards tight in his hands.

"Maaaybe if I win this round," Naruto answered, lifting his head.

"Cheating!" Sasuke hissed from the side of his mouth. Naruto peeked at him with one eye and stuck his tongue out.

Naruto actually did wind up winning that round and Nori decided they needed to leave after that. Sasuke kept hoping Naruto would say what dessert they were going to get—did Nori just love dessert so much? He probably had a favorite, like Naruto's favorite food was Ichiraku ramen.

When they started towards the door the cat meowed at them and Nori paused to pet him once. Sasuke leaned against the wall and hated how badly he wanted them to stay.

"Thanks for dinner again, Sasuke!" Naruto smiled, halfway out the door, Nori's hand in his.

I love you.

"Hn. Next time I'm making you cook the rice."

He laughed.

"If you want to eat burnt rice then okay! Say bye, Nori."

"Bye-bye," Nori said without stuttering, though he still avoided Sasuke's gaze and pulled at the bottom of his jacket. Sasuke sighed and waved as they closed the door and he was left alone again.

"Mrrreowww!"

"Sasuke, I'm going on a mission," Naruto said in his "hokage voice."

The Uchiha still wasn't sure why he'd been called to the Hokage's office. He'd already been given a week off after the month he'd spent at the hospital with Sakura. It must have been an emergency mission for him to be called in, but Naruto seemed more nervous than he should be about sending Sasuke on a mission, even if it was a serious one.

"I didn't think the Hokage went on missions," Sasuke replied with a raised eyebrow. Naruto waved a hand at him.

"It's to Uzushiogakure. I'm meeting some builders who want to help construct a new village. Kakashi's coming with me, so the Old Hag will be in charge here."

"Am I coming with you as well, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, and the formality made him cringe and remember that this was how he'd interacted with Naruto all those years they weren't close. He tried to relax, but Naruto still seemed strangely nervous.

"Uhhhmm, no," Naruto shook his head. "It's, um, the first time I'm leaving the village since…"

Since she died, Sasuke finished for him inside his head.

"I see," he said aloud. Naruto nodded, swallowing thickly.

"And, uh, Iruka is looking after Nori for most of the time—it's only 4 days! And Sakura said she would help out, but she's busy at the hospital, and Guy said he would watch Nori, but there's one day where Iruka and Sakura can't watch Nori, and I was, um, I was wondering, I mean, if it's too much trouble, I don't, um…"

Sasuke was shocked; he hadn't expected this. Naruto was asking him to watch Nori while he left the village for a mission—and he was nervous about it.

It hadn't been very long since they became real friends again. Things were still weird and uncomfortable some times; neither of them had mentioned that night or why they'd spent over four years barely speaking. Naruto came over for dinner almost once a week and that was it. Sasuke still wasn't sure if Nori even liked him.

"Are you sure, Naruto?" was the first thing he managed to say. He regretted it almost instantly because Naruto winced like he'd been hit.

"If you don't want to it's okay, Guy-sensei will be able to—"

"I'll do it," Sasuke affirmed quickly, nodding his head. Naruto's eyes widened and he slowly started smiling. "I have this week off anyway. Nori can spend time with… Muchi. He's been at my house much more often since you both started coming over."

"Really? Are you sure, Sasuke? If it's too much just let me—"

"I said I'd do it, didn't I?" Sasuke didn't know why his heart was beating so fast.

"Yeah… yeah! Thanks, Sasuke! I really didn't want to leave him with Guy-sensei. I'd come back and he'd have a bowl cut and a green jumpsuit and start shouting about youth every minute and I didn't want that to happen."

"Understandable."

"And you did say, the other day, you said," he looked at Sasuke from underneath his eyelashes, "you said if I needed anything to just ask."

Sasuke nodded. It wasn't really what Sasuke had been expecting, but he was glad Naruto trusted him so much with his son…

"You're one of the only people I trust to bring him home safe."

…though come to think of it, Naruto had always seemed to trust him with Nori.

When the date of Sasuke's first babysitting experience arrived he was already feeling queasy and wishing more than ever that Naruto had just asked him to go on the mission to Uzushiogakure with him instead of asking him to look after his one and only child—a child who still, it seemed, was too afraid of him to say more than two words around him.

He wished that Naruto had at least bestowed upon him the secret to winning Nori's affections, the mysterious thing he liked that everyone but him seemed clued in to.

"Sakura is watching him the day before you are so you can just pick him up from her house. She'll tell you what to do, but there isn't that much you need to know. Nori's easy—he never whines or cries or anything!"

So he was on his way to Sakura's house, trying not to panic about having to find some way to pass the next 24 hours with a child who barely speaks to him. It was going to be a long night.

He arrived at Sakura's house right at the time Naruto told him, once again not being bothered to knock. He shuffled the plastic bag he had in one hand behind his back; Sakura would only make fun of him if she knew he'd gone out and bought Nori a present. He already felt like he was trying too hard and he didn't need her laughter to confirm it.

He found the two of them when he went into the kitchen; Sakura was bent down and fastening a strap on a small backpack slung over Nori's shoulders. He was wearing his usual outfit, and orange jacket and pants with a green stripe in the middle and on the sides. The orange of his jacket wasn't as bright as Naruto's but Sasuke was sure he had been the one to pick it out. Underneath the jacket he wore a simple green t-shirt with a yin-yang symbol on the back.

"Ah, Sasuke, there you are," Sakura said, zipping Nori's jacket up all the way and pushing his bangs out of his face as he tried frantically to tug on the bottom of the jacket and look anywhere in the room except for Sasuke. She lifted his chin to look into his empty eyes—he wondered how long it had taken her to get used to them—and questioned gently,

"Ok Nori, you know you're going to be with Sasuke tonight, right?"

The child nodded almost imperceptibly. He looked like he would rather be with anyone else.

"Your dad told you to be good, didn't he?"

Nori nodded and Sasuke wished he could have heard what Naruto had said to his son about him. Naruto had seemed strangely nervous about asking Sasuke to watch the child.

Sasuke thought Sakura was finished and was about to turn to him and tell him anything he needed to know, like a bedtime or not to give Nori anything sweet before dinner or something, but she smiled at the boy and continued,

"Now, I know Sasuke is very scary and you don't know him very well because he's a stubborn jerk who wasn't around much before now, but I think you should give him a chance, okay?"

The child's eyes widened and he nodded slowly. Sasuke's mouth twisted into an annoyed scowl. He crossed his arms and waited impatiently, still trying to hide his present from Sakura.

"Promise?"

Another nod, more confident this time, and before Sasuke knew what was happening Sakura had lifted the child into the air, backpack and all, and was slinging him into Sasuke's arms. Both Nori and Sasuke were surprised but luckily Sasuke managed to catch the child before he dropped and Nori had enough sense to grab Sasuke's shoulders to steady himself before he toppled backwards from the weight of his pack.

"Sakura!" Sasuke hissed, unsure what to do with the stiff, blushing child in his arms. He wasn't very heavy, but Sasuke hadn't been prepared for being so close to the kid, to feel his warmth sinking through his clothes. He'd never noticed before, but the kid smelled like wind through the grass, and something sweet and warm that was so familiar Sasuke couldn't help but put a name to it.

He smells like Naruto.

"Well, have a good night, guys!" Sakura beamed, practically pushing them towards the door. "Try to get him to sleep by 8, if you can. Don't let him talk you into telling a bedtime story because you'll be up for hours. He likes action movies and making funny faces and he gets distracted easily."

"Sakura, hold on—" Sasuke tried to slow her down but they were at the door. Nori's hands were holding tight to his shirt to keep from slipping. The present was almost falling out of his hand as he hoisted the boy up on the side of his hip to try and get more balance. Sakura wasn't listening to him.

"Ask him if you want to know something. He usually answers pretty honestly. Oh, and on your way home you should probably go through the intersection just past the Academy."

"Why—"

"Have a good night!" she grinned, and closed the door in their faces.

They stood there for a moment until Sasuke managed to remember the child he was now responsible for in his arms and cleared his throat. He tried glancing down to make eye contact with the boy but Nori was determinedly looking towards the ground. Sasuke held back a sigh and muttered,

"I'm going to put you down for a minute, okay?"

The child hummed consent and nodded, and Sasuke carefully placed him on the ground. He straightened his shirt and stood on Sakura's doorstep feeling lost.

"Are you hungry?"

Nori, who had been pulling on the bottom of his jacket, paused and bit his lip before nodding his head once again. Sasuke sighed; at least it was something. Then, tiny and nervous, he heard,

"Not ramen?"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose and then he smiled, offering his hand for Nori to hold as they started walking. The child took it after a moment's hesitation and something warm spread through Sasuke's chest at the feeling of the small hand in his. He figured this was probably why people had children.

"Not ramen," he promised, and thought he saw a small smile form on Nori's face before he looked up to lead them on their way.

They ended up at a sushi bar around the corner from Sakura's house. It was small and quiet and they were seated at a booth in the corner.

When they ordered Nori pointed to what he wanted on the menu and the waiter fawned over him. Once he realized who Sasuke was he seemed surprised, like he would have heard about it if Uchiha Sasuke had a child, especially one with such distinct Hyuga features. The man didn't say anything, to which Sasuke was grateful, just took his order and went back to the bar leaving Sasuke in the awkward booth with a shy child sitting silently across from him.

He took a careful sip of the tea they'd brought and tried to think of something, anything that would break the silence. He remembered his gift as he was fiddling with it in the seat next to him.

"I," he started carefully, wincing when the sound of his voice made Nori jump. "I got you something."

He handed over the bag and Nori gingerly took it, though to Sasuke it seemed like he only did because he'd been trained with good manners. The child opened it up timidly, slowly reaching in and pulling out the stuffed cat that Sasuke had bought at a convenience store earlier that day. He'd been passing it and saw the stuffed animals in the window. He was reminded of what Naruto had said about the stuffed frog that Nori didn't like. He found a black cat and bought it and as soon as he left the store the anxiety kicked in about whether or not Nori would even like it.

That anxiety had come back as soon as he'd handed over the bag, and he held his breath as Nori stared blankly at the cat and continued to say nothing.

"I heard you didn't like frogs," he added, to fill the silence. Nori blinked up at him quickly, and then turned back to the cat.

Then, much to Sasuke's surprise, his face turned red and he hid it by hugging the cat close and murmuring through the black fur,

"T—tank you."

Sasuke felt warm and had to look away.

"Don't mention it," he replied, and took a sip of tea. At least Nori seemed to like the gift.

The food arrived quickly and Nori set the cat on his lap to eat. As they ate, Sasuke noticed for the first time something Sakura had mentioned.

"He gets distracted easily."

One moment he would be eating his food and the next he was looking around at something, shaking his head and making a face. When he caught Sasuke watching him he snapped his attention back to his food, but he would look away again in a moment, seemingly distracted by something Sasuke couldn't even see. He wondered if it was something all 3 and half years olds did or was specific to the one in front of him.

The silence of the meal was tempting to drive Sasuke insane, as Nori continued to be too shy or afraid to actually say anything to Sasuke aside from thanking him for the present. Usually a silent meal would be Sasuke preference, but somehow with Nori sitting just across from him it seemed too quiet, like they were both just holding their breath to get through it. He couldn't stand it.

"I'm glad you like sushi," he said, and though Nori seemed surprised to hear him suddenly speaking, he didn't jump like the last time. Sasuke took it as a good sign and continued, though it felt strange and stinted for him to be the one trying to start conversation instead of someone—anyone—else.

"Sakura and Naru—your Dad," he correctly easily. It was still strange to think about Naruto as a Dad, even with his child sitting across from him. "They didn't like sushi when we were young. Naruto always talked everyone into going to Ichiraku."

He glanced at Nori and for a moment he had an expression that made it seem like he wanted to ask a question, but he held it in and looked down at his food instead. Sasuke didn't give up.

"I think that cat—" and paused and corrected himself again. "Muchi. I think Muchi has been looking for you lately."

That peaked the child's curiosity, and he held onto the cat plush with one hand and his food in another.

"He used to only come by every few weeks but lately he's been at my house almost every day. I think he likes you."

Still no reply, but Nori smiled slightly as he chewed. Sasuke almost felt like he was getting somewhere.

And so the meal went by and Sasuke continued talking, about he cat and about food and about Naruto. It was probably the most he had talked in years. At some point he didn't even mind that Nori didn't say anything back—his small smiles and surprised expressions were enough. By the time they paid and were walking out Sasuke was tired and his mouth felt overworked, but he thought it had gone okay. If he was honest, it had been better than he expected. Maybe he could learnt o get along with Naruto's son despite the child never talking to him after all.

They started towards Sasuke's house and Nori's hand was in his again, the other one clasped tight around the stuffed cat. They reached an a fork in the road and something about it reminded Sasuke of something else Sakura had said as she was pushing them out of the door.

Oh, and on your way home you should probably go through the intersection just past the Academy."

He paused, trying to reason why she would have hinted something as specific as which way they should go home. He didn't overthink it—Sakura was acting strange earlier anyway—but they veered to the left at the fork, the way that took them past the Academy.

Just past the Academy was an intersection with a few shops and restaurants. It was probably what Sakura had been referring to. Sasuke wasn't paying much attention as they moved through the semi-crowded streets and made their way through the shops. He would have kept going through all of them without a second thought until the hand holding onto his squeezed suddenly very tight and Nori slowed down almost to a stop.

Sasuke frowned and stopped along with him, turning to see what had caught the young boys attention. He found Nori frozen and staring with rapt attention off at one of the shops on the other side of the road. Sasuke followed his gaze and read the sign the same moment a hushed whisper came up from the child beside him,

"Mochi!"

I dunno if you noticed but this chapter is long. That's why it took me a while to finish. Also, sorry for focussing a lot on Nori, I know he's an OC and everything, but I wanted to get him to bond with Sasuke before the real SasuNaru stuff started happening. Hint: Nori is going to start really talking next chapter and he has a lot to say!

I have the next chapter wayyy more planned out than this one so it should come sooner. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and followed the story!