Question; this chapter healed, or damaged their relationship? Enjoy.
Why? Why was he trembling?
Uchiha was trembling, cigarette poised in hand, between lips, but he wasn't taking a breath. Why had Uzumaki's presence affected him so deceitfully, and most of all, why had Uchiha accepted this with a shut mouth? Shutting his eyes, he took a shuddering breath finally, and the nicotine proved a purpose. Nulled his senses for a moment, but made him positively sicker.
But those eyes, those doe eyes, they were still intense. And Uchiha was glad. Because if Uzumaki kept his stare onto his eyes, he would still believe that it didn't make such a difference. He would still believe himself more mature, calmer, confident.
Uzumaki was afraid, he could tell. Those lips were pressed together tightly. The plush cheeks were bathed cerise, and there it was, the embarrassment. With Uzumaki, it was always more obvious. But he seemed focused on Uchiha's lips, wondering if perhaps he was going to start speaking, or should he.
Why were men too proud, too afraid, to communicate?
"How has it been since I've been gone?"
Quite the unexpected question, but Uzumaki would've wanted a personal question rather than a casual one. His guard was down for the moment, uneeded. How has it been since Uchiha was gone? He hadn't exactly realized it. He shook his head for a moment, but realized it wasn't a good answer.
He tried again.
"Uchiha-san, get to the point."
"I will, then." Uchiha sighed slightly. "Naruto-"
"Uzumaki."
Uchiha nodded, understanding. It didn't faze him, nor did hearing his last name before, for if Naruto had made the same mistake, he would've corrected him with the same curt air as Uzumaki had done. They weren't friends like they had been. They didn't know one another. Therefore, they had no right to call one another by familiar names.
"Uzumaki-san, are you bothered by the fact that I'm around?"
Yes, had been the initial answer. Instead, Uzumaki pressed his lips together, shaking his head as if Uchiha had said the silliest thing.
"Of course not, Sasuke! I-"
"Uchiha."
That was him, being a fool. Uzumaki felt positively humiliated at Uchiha's correction, but he was right. He ran his tongue across his lips and continued at a slower pace. He needed to make sure that he wasn't going to make a fool of himself.
"Of course not, Uchiha-san. I just think it's a little..."
Awkward? Unnerving? Odd?...
"Funny."
Uzumaki didn't like to lie. It was against his code of honour, secret code of honour. There wasn't a point to lying, and he felt as though his lips were tainted as he said it. Of course it bothered him. Uchiha was there once more, and this time, he knew that he wasn't bothered in the same way that he had been long ago. The fact that he had been so sure of how he felt before, and now... it bothered even more.
How could Uchiha make him so unsure of himself, so quickly?
"Do you think we're still friends?"
The question caught Uzumaki, a piercing kunai to his throat. "Well... we were friends, good friends, Uchiha-san. But... we don't know anything about one another anymore. I suppose it's the way life's supposed to be, 'tte bayo.¹" He mumbled, embarrassed. That's when he realized that his childhood quirk, his little habit, Uchiha had brought it back. Damn him.
Uchiha had taken a long drag out of his cigarette, and thought about Uzumaki's answer. It was a good answer, a better one than he had expected. But not the one he really wanted. He simply stood, blew out a ring of smoke, and stepped down on his cigarette. "I see."
And Uchiha walked away, leaving Uzumaki with the feeling that he had perhaps answered wrongly. Now he knew. Uchiha cared. Remembered.
He lowered his head, and the nicotine-filled smoke wafted carefully into the air. He was anxious. Anticipating.
¹/ He actually said 'datte bayo', but it came out broken for his mumbling.