The phone rang for all of two seconds before it connected. "Hey, Naruto."

"Hey," Naruto replied awkwardly, collapsing onto the couch. "How's it going?"

"Better now that you've checked in. Idiot." Sakura sighed, sounding tired. "Sorry, it's been a long night: I was halfway through a shift when Hinata called me. I'm just home now."

"I'm really sorry Sakura. I didn't know how much I'd worry you guys. It was an… interesting night."

"Afternoon, from what I hear." Sakura corrected.

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off, wincing at his own stupidity. The irony that he had said the same to Sasuke yesterday not lost on him, he braced himself for the worst. "You said you needed to talk?"

Sakura didn't waste any time beating round the bush. "Hinata's worried about you, Naruto. She says you've been really stressed out, and she doesn't know if you're coping."

Naruto almost laughed. So Hinata hadn't told her about Sasuke after all. It would have been a relief if he didn't now have two people on his back. "Hinata's sweet, but she doesn't need to be so anxious. I'm okay."

"She says you've been drinking a lot."

"I'm just enjoying myself, Sakura." Naruto immediately answered, but it gave him pause for thought. "I managed myself for twenty one years, I don't need people to mother me now."

"I know, but… look, Naruto, Hinata's got your best interests at heart. You know she does." Sakura sighed. "I guess it was a false alarm. But at the very least you owe her an apology."

The whole exchange left Naruto with a bad taste in his mouth. It felt like he was manipulating her. "You're right, I get why you were worried. And I appreciate it." He tried to change the subject quickly. "How was nightshift?"

"Meh," Sakura replied, sounding a bit more relaxed. "Same shit, different day. Literally, shit: I was helping the nurses this time."

Naruto kept forgetting just how gritty Sakura's job could be. "That's lovely Sakura."

"Actually there was one thing." Her tone quickly became mischievous, and Naruto could practically hear her grin. "You wanna hear something really gross?"

"Oh God, what was it this time?" He knew that if an aspiring doctor thought something was off-putting, it was bound to be quite something.

"Had a patient come into A and E with extreme penile pain. Turns out he'd shoved exactly twenty three ball bearings up his urethra."

Naruto was caught between a laugh and a groan, cringing as he tried not to imagine that particular sensation. "Up his- fuuuuck. Fuck no."

"I know," Sakura left, clearly relishing it.

"But why?" Naruto almost cried, still not sure if he was laughing or not.

"Apparently that's what some people are into."

"I could have done without knowing that," Naruto wheezed as he physically doubled over.

Sakura laughed at his discomfort. "Hey, if I have to commit that to memory then so do you."

It devolved into a catch-up after that, Naruto having to edit the parts involving Sasuke, or just missing them out completely. He still couldn't shake the sense he was lying to her, even though she would be none the wiser. It might have been that there wasn't much the two of them didn't share; it was that type of friendship. Still, keeping Sasuke's secrets was more important than how he felt about keeping them.

Half an hour later, and Sakura was cracking up as Naruto recounted the plot of Snowpiercer for her, complete with their commentary. "…and that's the point where Kiba jumps up and yells 'oh shit, Captain America was a polar bear all along!'"

Sakura actually snorted, sighing as she eventually calmed down. "Oh my God, Kiba's so stupid." It was more endearing than mean.

"We all lost our shit," Naruto giggled.

"That means you're all just as stupid."

"Very likely."

There was a second's pause, Naruto hearing the phone shifting in Sakura's hand. "Hey Naruto, I should probably get some more sleep: I'd just got in when you called, and I need a nap before my next shift."

"Sure thing," Naruto nodded, taking a second to realise how utterly useless the motion was. "It was great catching up with you, we need to keep this up."

"I know, it's getting harder and harder to find the time for stuff like this." Sakura sighed, suddenly sounding weary beyond her years. "Is this what growing up is, Naruto?"

The thought made him pause for a moment, as he'd never felt particularly grown up. But that, he supposed, was part of the problem: compared to his friends, he felt like he wasn't achieving anything.

Especially compared to Sasuke.

"If that's the case, get me the fuck off this ride." He answered eventually. "I'm not about that."

Sakura chuckled gently, and it seemed like her spirits were lifted. "Thanks Naruto. I think I needed that. We'll speak soon, okay?"

"Definitely," Naruto smiled, hanging up as he heard the dial tone.

Still lying on his back, Naruto flipped through his phone, still warm from both his face and extended use. He brought up his messages, Hinata near the top. Sakura was right: he owed her a proper apology.

Much like the other day, he stared at their last few texts, unsure of what to type. He quickly decided that the best method would be to call her, like he had Sakura; he was much better at speaking than typing.

The phone rang out for half a minute before connecting. After several seconds of jarring thumps, Hinata quietly answered. "Hello?"

Her voice was slow and slurred, sounding like she'd just woken up. Naruto could have slapped himself: he'd forgotten how early it was. "Hey Hinata, it's me. Did I wake you up?"

She groaned, Naruto realising after a second that she was stretching. "Mmm. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Naruto winced, feeling even worse. "Was that my fault?"

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't?"

"I'm really, really sorry," Naruto sighed. "I had no idea you'd be so worried."

"If I didn't worry there wouldn't be much else for me to do." Hinata sounded a bit more awake now. "I just thought…"

"I know. And I don't blame you, I would have thought the same. Here, I wanna make it up to you." Naruto tried to sound cheery. "Wanna grab some coffee? My treat."

"It's okay Naruto, there's no need." Hinata gently insisted.

"I'm not letting you say no," Naruto smiled. "Besides, we haven't spent much time together recently, just the two of us."

"It has been a while," Hinata agreed. "How about we make it coffee-lunch? I need some more sleep."

"Deal. Starbucks, half twelve?"

"Sure. See you then."

A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over Naruto as he put the phone down: he figured he could use a nap too. Separating himself from the couch with great difficulty, he stumbled through to his bed. The last thought that drifted through his head was how nice the sheets always smelt when Sasuke stayed over.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

Hinata smiled as Naruto sighed and collapsed into the seat opposite with their coffee.

"Sure you don't want a muffin too?" He asked, removing two large mugs, two steaming toasties and a solitary muffin from the tray.

Her smile became a good deal cheekier. "I'll just have some of yours if I change my mind."

Naruto shook his head, chucking deeply. "That used to annoy me so much."

"That's what made it so fun," she replied, picking off a piece from the top and popping it in her mouth before she started on her toastie. "Thanks for all this. You didn't have to."

"I should be thanking you, Hinata. You've always got my back, and…" Naruto trailed off, not sure where he was going with this. "Well, thanks for still being there."

"Through thick and thin Naruto, same as you are for me." She took a long appreciative sip of her coffee. "Hmm, I needed this. So… are you allowed to tell me what happened last night?"

Naruto felt himself cringe slightly at the wording, but it wasn't inaccurate. "I needed to talk to him about something, something… difficult. I had a few drinks before we met. Liquid courage, you know? A few turned into a lot."

Hinata frowned, furrows creasing her smooth brow. "Look, I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

Naruto held up his hand through a mouthful of hot cheese and ham. "Sakura's already mentioned it." He said after swallowing.

She immediately blushed, looking down at her coffee. "I didn't think she'd say anything…"

"Well you know what Sakura's like," Naruto laughed. "It's okay: for a second I thought you'd told her about Sasuke."

Hinata looked both offended and embarrassed. The combination was strangely endearing. "I wouldn't do that to you, you know I wouldn't."

"That's exactly why I trusted you with it."

"And you were piss drunk."

"And I was piss drunk." Naruto nodded, smiling. But telling Hinata hadn't been a mistake: it had felt instantly better when he'd first confided in her, but he shouldn't go any further. For Sasuke's privacy…

Fuck it.

Naruto sighed and leaned forward, dropping his voice. "I know why Sasuke left." Hinata seemed dumbstruck for a second as Naruto licked his lips nervously. "It was for us, all this time. Sasuke ran so we'd be safe."

Trying not to get ahead of himself, Naruto paused and gathered his thoughts; finally telling someone was such a weight off his mind. "Hinata, what they said about Itachi was true. He killed their parents. Sasuke left so Itachi couldn't hurt us too."

Naruto revealed everything Sasuke had told him about his older brother, much to Hinata's horror. "Sasuke was convinced Itachi would kill him right there and then," Naruto continued, not far from the end. "But Itachi said he wasn't worth it. Sasuke decided he had to distance himself from us in case Itachi tried to hurt us. He would disappear, as if he didn't care anymore. But then I showed up."

The strained silenced lasted a few seconds before Naruto felt he could go on. "He was gonna leave, and I just wanted to stop him, talk to him."

"You don't have to, Naruto." Hinata interrupted softly, placing her hand on his good arm. "You've told me before. I know how difficult it is."

Naruto took a big mouthful of coffee, trying once more to collect his thoughts. "No, I… I need to go through it again. Now that I have his side of the story too."

He shook his head slowly. "So I arrive at Sasuke's. I'd never seen him look like that. He was shaking. Sasuke doesn't shake. He told me he needed to go, that he was leaving. I was in the doorway, and I wouldn't let him past. I don't remember who threw the first punch, but soon it was an all-out fight."

Hinata had never heard this level of detail from him before, and she listened with rapt fascination. She didn't let go of his arm.

"Sasuke managed to throw me over the couch, and he made a break for it. I followed, and we ended up fighting in the street. Sasuke needed me to stop, but I just kept getting up. He figures he needs to hurt me: something simple, easy to heal. Like a broken arm." Naruto sighed, looking away. "It didn't end up quite that simple.

"I'd always thought he was an absolute bastard for it." He continued quietly, still not looking Hinata in the eye. "But he said leaving me there was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. He almost gave up, but compared to Itachi killing me…" Naruto shrugged. "It's a no brainer when you think about it that way."

"Oh my God," Hinata eventually breathed, eyes watering. She quickly regained her composure. "You were right, Naruto. This does change things."

Naruto sighed, draining the dregs of his still-warm coffee; he, like Hinata, had certainly needed it. "I'm really glad you see it that way."

Hinata hummed in agreement, but didn't seem entirely convinced. "I still don't see why he had to hurt you," she grumbled. "But I've no idea what I would have done in that situation. Jesus, poor Sasuke."

"I know," Naruto sighed again. "I've played it in my head a thousand times since it happened. But last night, it- it's different now. I was so sure I'd done everything I could. Does this mean I'm in the wrong?"

"What makes you think that?" She frowned, putting down the mug.

"I shouldn't have tried stopping him. I thought I understood what he was going through, but it turns out he was putting us all first." Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "If I'd let him go he wouldn't have had to do it."

"You listen, Naruto," Hinata almost growled, her demeanour suddenly fierce. "You did the best you could with what you had. And if Sasuke Uchiha had taken even a second to act like a rational human being neither of you would have this problem."

Hinata seemed to snap out of it as suddenly as it had overcome her. "I'm sorry Naruto, that wasn't fair on either of you."

"No, I think that's pretty accurate." Naruto sat back in his chair, arms behind his head. "I'm not saying I agree with what Sasuke did. But you can do bad things for the right reasons: he wanted me to have no more interest in him. And if I was any smarter it might have worked."

"I keep telling you Naruto, you're not dumb. Just brave. Braver than anyone has any right being."

"I think it's two sides of the same coin to be honest," Naruto smiled slightly.

"They can be hard to tell apart sometimes…" Hinata's own grin didn't last. "This is big, Naruto. When are you gonna tell the others?"

Naruto hesitated, trying to word his thoughts in a way that didn't sound mean. "Look Hinata, I don't know if the others are ready for this. I mean you should hear how angry Sakura still is about it."

"And if you think I'm not then you're kidding yourself." She replied coolly.

"I know, I know, but..." Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Would they really understand?"

He could see Hinata getting more and more frustrated with his protestations. "Naruto, you really need to start giving our friends some credit. I mean, if it weren't for you being so drunk the other night I'd be none the wiser, would I?"

"Probably not, no."

"And I can see how much keeping this to yourself is killing you." Her voice stuttered somewhat, but her eyes retained their edge. "This isn't good for either of you. I hate seeing you suffer, Naruto."

He bit his lip. "I'll talk to him. Okay?"

"Even just Sakura, or Shikamaru; they'd listen to you," Hinata persisted.

"It's not like I don't want to. I just don't wanna scare him away again." He was finding it hard not to snap at her again. There was a pause, Hinata not sure what to say.

"It's not all bad Hinata," Naruto said quietly, breaking the silence. "It's the best I've felt in a long time, actually. It's like a part of me's been missing, and it's filled in whenever he's around, you know?"

"Yeah," Hinata nearly whispered. "I think I know what you mean."

"There's just something about him, Hinata. I dunno." Naruto rubbed his jaw, feeling slightly embarrassed. "He makes me wanna try new things too."

"We all need people like that in our lives," Hinata agreed. "Look, just promise me you'll think about what I've said. And take care of yourself."

"I'll try."

"And for the love of God, try and chill out a bit."

Naruto laughed and finished his coffee. "Yes ma'am. You're getting as bad as Sakura."

"Trust me, I'm worse." She growled.

Naruto was more than a little scared by that.

They said their goodbyes outside Hinata's flat, Naruto continuing on until he reached his. As promised, he thought about what she'd said. He could only ask Sasuke what he thought about meeting their old friends. He had to admit, he liked the idea.

And she was right about the effect it was having: the stress wasn't good for him. His injury had been playing up too, plagued by cramps and chronic needling pain. It got this way whenever he was tense, or worried. As he made a token effort to rub the pain away, he remembered something Kiba had said. He'd dismissed it at the time, but…

I was talking about trying new things, wasn't I?

He shook his head, smiling as he scrolled down to Kiba's number on his phone.

I mean what the hell, right?

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

"Okay, so lock your lips round the end." Kiba started, standing above a seated Naruto. At the mumbled complaint, he grimaced and added. "I know, sorry: my one's a bit wide. Now when I say, suck. Relax, you'll be fine.

Naruto didn't have time to be nervous as Kiba started. "Okay, suck! Keep going… c'mon, harder! There we go! Now inhale."

Naruto, lungs near empty, broke away from the bong and inhaled, the smoke hitting him hard. Thankfully he managed not to choke, coughing slightly after exhaling a thin stream of smoke into the dusky room.

"That's my boy," Kiba grinned, flipping his zippo closed and placing the bong reverently on the kitchen counter. Window open and a towel under the door, they'd closed themselves in to avoid having the whole flat stink of weed. The landlords had apparently ripped them a new one last time it had happened.

Kiba had seemed very enthusiastic when Naruto had called him, asking if he could wait a few days so Shino and Shikamaru were free as well. Naruto, of course, had agreed.

Kiba's smile was more infectious than usual, and soon Naruto found himself beaming ear to ear. "This is cool," he decided, nodding. "Yeah, it's cool."

"Here we go, one fucking hit and he thinks he's Bob Marley." Shino muttered, leaning against the wall, lighting up a joint – his preferred method of imbibing.

Shikamaru took his lips off the mouth of the bong as he exhaled, turning to Shino. Straddling a chair the wrong way round, elbows thrown over the back and chin leaning on his arms was one of Shikamaru's default seating positions. For once his hair was down, bushy but pushed back from his brow and flowing down to his shoulder blades; he wore it up so often that Naruto had forgot it was that long.

"If I recall correctly Shino, you were about the same." He smiled, passing the bong to Kiba.

Shino mumbled something inaudible in response, relighting the thin tube as it had immediately gone out.

"Rolling too tight again, Shino?" Kiba joined in the teasing as he connected his phone to a Bluetooth speaker. "You always choke it."

"Better than your attempts, it's like smoking a fucking sleeping bag."

"So what changed your mind, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, interrupting the two.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed as he chose a song; heavy trap bass dominated the low end, and Naruto found himself nodding along to the chime-like melody and the singer's rapping. Kiba mouthed along as he used the butt of his lighter to compress the crumbly herb into the bong's intake, sprinkling some more on top. "Last time I remember you saying it wasn't your bag."

"Just decided I wanted to try it," Naruto shrugged, feeling quite normal as the initial kick wore off. "I've been really stressed out, and I wanted to see if it would help. Arm's been bothering me too."

Shino nodded sympathetically. "I get that: even if I didn't like smoking, it curbs the anxiety. Only reason I'd ever move to the states."

Naruto always forgot about Shino's health problems until he mentioned them, and that was rarely. When they were in high school it had been much worse: he'd frequently miss entire weeks, the bastard mix of depression and anxiety taking its toll.

From what Naruto had gathered he'd been on medication since leaving school, joining college to study animal biology with Kiba. He'd done well enough to get that degree; now he'd been accepted into university, doing Entomology.

Naruto found himself really enjoying the music: it wasn't the sort of thing he usually listened to, but between the powerful bass and the lyrics (equal parts funny, horrifying and cutting), it was proving very catchy.

'They found me in a lab doing stem cell research, I was tryin' to grow you some balls.

The police came, but I explained 'bout your bitching now they wanna pitch in and support the cause.'

They all burst out laughing, Kiba forgetting what he was going to say. "What were we talking about again…? Oh yeah, a friend of mine says she uses for back pain," Kiba contributed. "From, eh, y'know…" He then proceeded to crudely mime large breasts on his torso, raising his eyebrows.

Naruto giggled as Shikamaru lazily swatted him on the arm. Kiba grinned and grabbed the bong again, before passing it to Naruto. "Ah yes Shikamaru, I forgot how offended you can get. Except, you know, all the times you don't. Must be your girlfriend's influence."

"Shikamaru's got a girlfriend?" Naruto asked, trying to light the bong with Kiba's zippo. He kept burning his fingers trying to angle it right.

"You fuck off," Shikamaru started, pointing at Kiba. Passing his own lighter over to Naruto, he continued. "Use this one, it's a clipper. Like most things in Kiba's life, the zippo is form over function."

"Damn dude, that's cold. I'm hurt." Kiba flicked an imaginary tear from his eye as he took his zippo back from Naruto, jumping up to sit on the kitchen counter.

Shikamaru was right – the thin shape of the clipper made it easier to light with his forefinger, the flame away from him, as opposed to the chunky metal lighter Kiba used. He tried following the instructions they'd given him without supervision. First, light and suck to get the water bubbling. Shikamaru had explained the science of it, and how cooling the smoke with the water provided a smoother and easier inhalation, but most of it was lost on Naruto. Then, after enough smoke had accumulated, inhale. This time, however, it caught the back of his throat. He pulled his mouth off the lip of the bong just in time, hacking his lungs out.

Kiba laughed, but patted him on the back. "Steady on Willie Nelson."

Shikamaru smiled slightly, taking the bong and checking the intake. "Seriously though, you really don't wanna cough into this. You'll send all the weed flying."

"Yeah, and I'd have you pick up each individual nugget and make you smoke them." Kiba grinned. "And do you know the last time we mopped the floor?"

"Not in living memory." Shino nodded sagely.

"The only reason you can't remember is because you smoke so much."

"We're getting off topic," Naruto wheezed, trying to recover before Kiba and Shino started bickering again. His throat felt like sandpaper. "Shikamaru's got a girlfriend?"

Shikamaru sighed as Kiba cracked up again. Shino smirked a bit, but said nothing as he took another puff. "I don't have a girlfriend Naruto, Kiba's just being a prick."

"Then why have you been spending so much time with Temari, hmm?" Kiba teased.

"We're both doing Psychology, we're bound to end up working together. Can I not have female friends without you assuming we're banging?"

"Of course not," Kiba dissented, holding up his hands. "But everyone can see how the two of you are together."

"Wait, Temari's back?" Naruto asked, cutting off Shikamaru's reply. The name, and others associated with it, dredged up a lot of memories; not all of them were good.

"She's doing her PhD over here," Shikamaru quickly replied, before Kiba could. "Decided she hadn't quite had enough of the good weather."

As if to punctuate his sarcasm, tree branches clattered against the open window, driven by a hard wind; the weather had been getting steadily worse, signifying the imminent arrival of a bitter winter.

"And Gaara? Kankuro?" Naruto followed up.

"Too busy with work: Gaara's joined Kankuro in the police."

Naruto was stunned for a second, before erupting into a massive smile. "That's awesome! I told him he'd be good at that. He must be so pissed off, having to serve under his big brother."

"It's the other way round, actually." Shikamaru commented absent-mindedly as he emptied the burnt, blackened weed out the intake and replaced it. "They're fast-tracking him, according to Temari. She reckons he'll make detective by the end of the year." He paused for a second, like he was trying to remember something. "At least, whatever the Syrian equivalent of a detective is."

Naruto's jaw almost hit his knees. "Detective? Already? It's only been what, three years?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he blew smoke out of the window. "He must be pretty good at it."

"I wouldn't trust that psycho to run a bath, never mind a murder investigation." Kiba muttered.

"That's not fair Kiba," Naruto sighed, looking at his friend. "He had… problems."

"Problems is an understatement," Kiba snorted. "Dude was full-on crazy. It took both you and Sasuke to stop him killing Lee."

"That's- that's an exaggeration."

"Is it?"

"Right guys, enough." Shikamaru intervened before it got any worse. "Kiba, Naruto's supposed to be here to relax."

Kiba mumbled an apology, Naruto doing likewise. Unbeknownst to him, however, Kiba had touched a nerve.

When Gaara and his siblings had first arrived at their school as foreign exchange students, Naruto couldn't stand them. Temari and Kankuro had been arrogant, and Gaara… he'd been downright sadistic. Scary, even. And then there was the issue with Lee.

Lee was a strange guy. Harmless, and even lovable, but still strange. He had the habit of unintentionally rubbing people the wrong way; unfortunately he'd managed to piss off Gaara that lunchtime.

They hadn't seen what had started it, but when a chair flew across the room Sasuke and Naruto had immediately run over to see what was happening. Lee's nose was very obviously broken, blood streaming down his chin, but he'd managed to get a table between himself and Gaara. For a second it worked, until Gaara launched himself straight over it and on to Lee.

Without pause, Naruto and Sasuke had grabbed either side of the boy and hauled him off Lee. Gaara immediately threw Sasuke off, but Naruto held on for dear life, barely managing to pin an arm behind his back. It wasn't long before teachers showed up and separated them, dragging them out the cafeteria; it took four to restrain Gaara.

Naruto and Gaara were deposited outside the Headmaster's office, Sasuke and Lee taken to the nurse; Lee was a mess, and Sasuke had a nasty gash on his head. He insisted he was fine, of course, but Naruto was still worried.

The two had a long wait ahead of them: Naruto had been sent to the Headmaster's enough times to know he always took a full lunch break. For the first fifteen minutes, neither of them said anything. But when Naruto calmed down, he tried engaging the sullen boy in front of him. After all, it was very clear the kid had issues.

For a while Gaara said nothing. But soon enough, the more Naruto talked the more Gaara seemed to listen. When he mentioned his own anger problems, that was the straw that broke the metaphorical back: Gaara just poured his heart out. From his father's abuse to the loneliness, Naruto found himself empathising with Gaara more and more.

But, most importantly, he was the only other person Naruto had met with the same condition as him: Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

And in that moment of understanding, Naruto had felt incredibly lucky. It had taken him a while to get there, but he had people he could trust: Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sakura, Sasuke… they were all there for him. Gaara had no one.

By the time the Headmaster had arrived they'd put all their previous issues to bed, and were exchanging techniques to manage the outbursts. After that, things had gone a lot smoother: the last few weeks of their stay, Gaara and Naruto spent a lot of time together. Even Temari and Kankuro seemed to come out of their shells a bit.

When they left, Gaara seemed like a completely different person. Most people had gratefully accepted his apologies, save for the odd few like Sasuke and Kiba. Naruto figured that if Lee of all people could forgive Gaara (the incident earning him the nickname 'Rock Lee' for how well he took a punch) the others could too; some proved to be just too stubborn.

The fact that Gaara had done so well for himself made Naruto happy, but it was tinged with bitter jealousy. Once again, he felt so far behind.

"I wanted to join the police at one point," Naruto thought aloud as he reached for the bong again.

"Yeah?" Shikamaru asked. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied honestly. "I just didn't really go for it. Then my arm, and I started working…. It kinda fell to the wayside."

Kiba nodded. "I feel that: I wanted to be a dog when I was younger."

As if he'd heard his master, Akamaru starting pawing at the kitchen door, whining. Naruto tried to stop laughing so he could take another hit, but as soon as he managed to get over it one of the others set him off again.

"You're not getting high with us, Akamaru." Shino yelled.

Naruto had to put the bong down, he was giggling so hard.

Kiba sighed and hopped off the counter, kicking the towel away from the door. "He just wants attention, two seconds."

Naruto eventually got the bong lit, successfully filling his lungs this time. He tried not to grin as he steadily exhaled.

Shikamaru nodded as he took it. "You're getting the hang of it. Best to give it a few minutes now, don't want to take too much at once." He shot a glance at the kitchen door, then back at Naruto. "Look, don't mind Kiba, okay? He only holds a grudge 'cause he cares."

Naruto nodded silently, not wanting to get into it. However it was quickly forgotten as Kiba came back through, his black band t-shirt covered in white dog hair, brandishing snacks. Throwing a bag of tortilla chips at Shino – who had to quickly stick the joint in his mouth to catch it – he popped the lid off a jar of dip and jumped up to sit on the counter once again.

Naruto was starting to feel the effects; his mouth now defaulted to a smile without him trying, and he was eyeing the food hungrily. And, like Kiba had said, it was certainly calming. He found himself taking long, relaxed breaths, his blinking slow. As Shino ripped the bag open and passed it round, Naruto took a big handful before realising he was more thirsty than hungry.

"Hey guys, any chance of a…" Naruto briefly forgot about the word for drink and mimed a chugging motion, crisps spilling all over his lap.

"Got you covered dude," Kiba grinned, opening the fridge from his perch on the counter. He pulled a few beers out, passing them to Shikamaru and Shino. Turning to Naruto he asked. "Coke or Irn Bru?"

"How come I don't get any beer?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of tortilla chips.

Shino cracked open his own can. "Because you want to get used to being high first. Alcohol can make it… weird."

"Yeah, one of the first times I got Indica – tends to be a stronger strain – I had a bit too much vodka as well." Kiba scratched his jaw, an awkward half-smile on his face. "Next thing I know I'm freaking out because I think I'm a marshmallow. Whitied so hard I pissed myself a little."

They all lost their shit, except Shino. "Yeah, laugh it up: you didn't have to clean him up afterwards."

"You know most people wouldn't tell that story, Kiba." Naruto giggled, accepting a can from him. "They might even be embarrassed."

"What can I say? I'm shameless." Kiba grinned as he levered himself onto the counter again, opening the chocolate digestives once more. "Punchline before dignity."

"Dignity's a concept you've only heard about." Shikamaru smiled, reaching for the bong again. When Naruto held his hand out after him, Shikamaru shook his head. Holding up a finger, he kept the smoke in his lungs for a second or two before blowing it out towards the window. "A few more minutes yet. As per usual, Kiba's a cautionary tale: you don't wanna go overboard. Have a bad one and there's nothing to do but ride it out."

Naruto tried not to feel as if they were treating him like a child, grabbing a few more tortilla chips. There was a lull in the conversation, Kiba contentedly munching on biscuits until he sat up suddenly. Naruto and Shikamaru looked on as his eyes darted between the dip in Naruto's hands to the digestives and back.

Shikamaru was only able to say "Don't-" before Kiba dunked a chocolate biscuit into the cheese dip. Naruto laughed as Shino and Shikamaru looked on disdainfully, as if this was a common occurrence.

"Every time," Shino sighed. "Every single time he does something like this."

"Tastes like cheesecake," Kiba said proudly through a full mouth.

"You're disgusting, Kiba." Shikamaru replied flatly, not looking up from his phone.

"I dunno man, I think I'll indulge him." Naruto smiled, leaning forward as Kiba thrust the biscuits at him eagerly. He chewed on the strange mixture, deciding that although the texture was off-putting, he quite liked the taste. He nodded, jaw still working. "Mhmm. Cheesecake."

"Yeah boy!" Kiba whooped, giggling.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I can't believe you guys sometimes."

Shino was more blunt. "You're both monsters."

They each took another few hits each, Naruto really feeling the high. It was more subtle than he thought it would be; Shikamaru had warned him it wasn't always immediately obvious, which was why they'd made him pace himself. All of the stereotypes were present, like having the munchies and feeling spaced out. But that felt similar to being drunk, albeit with slightly more self-control.

What Naruto really noticed were the little things, like distortions in his vision. It only came into effect when he tried to concentrate on his phone, but it seemed like the world curved away at the edges, as if he were looking through a fisheye lens. But as soon as he looked up everything was fine again.

Eventually, when they judged they were high enough (Naruto taking Shikamaru's word on it), they moved through to the living room. Naruto found his legs were very unstable, the others assuring him that this was normal. Akamaru barked happily and jumped off the couch, glad to be included again. Dropping down on his haunches. Naruto prepared to give the dog a big cuddle; what he wasn't prepared for was Akamaru throwing himself bodily towards them, knocking Naruto over and licking him all over. Naruto was in hysterics as he stroked the mass of fluffiness assaulting him.

"Aww, did you miss us?" Kiba sat cross-legged on the floor beside Naruto, prompting Akamaru to jump towards him instead. Just as Naruto started to get up, the dog changed his mind and pounced on Naruto again. He was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.

When Akamaru had been petted to his satisfaction they all collapsed into the sofas; the setup had returned to normal since their game night, the TV in a type of bureau against the back wall. It was quite a large room for a student flat, making it a good base of operations for the boys. The bad part was the area: their flat was out in the sticks, at the very edge of the city. With Hinata worrying about her deposit and Ino renting a glorified cupboard, they almost always got together at Naruto's. It was nice to be invited out their way for a change.

Naruto sighed and settled back into the sofa, arms above his head. He was vaguely aware of Shikamaru next to him saying something, but it took him a second to register it.

"Naruto. Naruto! You're on my hair."

Kiba laughed and dropped the television remote as Naruto apologised, sitting up as Shikamaru brushed his long hair over to his side of the couch. "Perils of looking this good, I guess. It's a pain." Shikamaru sighed dramatically.

"You shouldn't complain," Shino grunted, running a hand through his bushy brown hair. "You could have a Jew-fro like me. Fucking hate it."

"Wait, you're Jewish?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Dad is. Figure of speech more than anything."

"Why don't you cut it then?" Kiba asked, trying to reach the remote without actually leaving the sofa. He decided to use his feet, tongue poking out his mouth slightly as he tried to grip it between his big toes.

"It looks worse short. Real rock and a hard place." Shino replied offhandedly. After maybe half a minute of watching Kiba struggle, he sighed and just picked up the remote for him.

Shikamaru eyed Shino's hair carefully, like he was thinking. "Hmm. Have you tried growing it out? Surely it's got to reach some sort of critical mass."

"Might give it a go."

Kiba, remote now firmly in hand, turned on the TV and started channel-surfing. Naruto forgot that most of his friends actually owned a television licence; he found it to be too much of an expense, preferring to watch all his shows online. When he said as much Kiba snorted, commenting that he, the only one not at University, was more of a student than the rest of them.

He laughed with them, knowing Kiba wasn't trying to be rude, but was still slightly insecure about his financial situation. He tried not to think about it too much, but he wasn't sure where he'd be if it wasn't for Jiraiya. But as Kiba's search proved fruitful and they found some old Simpsons reruns, he settled into the sofa. All the other worries seemed to melt away as he just… relaxed.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

Glass crunched under Naruto's feet as he merrily wandered to the bus stop from Kiba's. Usually he kept his guard up in the area: whilst not too bad in itself, it was a stone's throw away from one of the more notorious parts of the city. But tonight he felt at ease. His legs had somewhat stabilised, but he was still feeling the drug in his system. The fisheye effect was even more pronounced now that he was outside, long sight lines curving in his peripheral vision as he checked his phone.

He grinned as he pulled up a text from Sasuke, previously unnoticed, asking if he was home.

'Heading there now'

'I'll wait.'

Typing in his condition was strange – he was uncoordinated as if drunk, but felt more in control. He still made plenty of typos, but had the presence of mind to go back and fix them. His decision-making didn't feel impaired either, just slightly impulsive. He errantly wondered what Sasuke had meant by 'I'll wait,' but he decided not to worry about it as he stepped onto the bus, holding his pass up to the reader.

After what felt like a disproportionately short journey, Naruto thanked the driver and hopped off the bus. Pushing into the harsh wind he had to set his shoulders, but he still walked with a spring in his step.

He'd come down somewhat on the journey over: Shikamaru had explained how people with a faster metabolism would be high for a shorter time, and Naruto was fairly sure he burned quickly. He still felt very mellow however, and was taking more of an interest in the people and things around him.

But most importantly, the needling pain in his arm had settled down to a dull throb. In truth, he'd completely forgotten about it when he'd been at the boys' flat; the pain had never quite gone away, but it was easier to ignore. So easy, in fact, that he only now noticed it.

He quickly checked inside his jacket pocket, but the hand-rolled tube was still there, relatively unharmed. Shino had given him a parting gift, a joint. 'For the road,' he'd said. Naruto considered lighting up – Shino had given him tips about smoking in public – but realised it was a moot point since he had no lighter.

That was until he noticed a certain stony-faced man sitting on his doorstep.

Sasuke, for once, had dressed for the weather: instead of his usual suit jacket, he'd opted for a mid-length, grey wool coat. With buttons running up both sides, shoulder flaps, a stiff collar and fastenings mid-forearm, it looked like a fairly expensive affair. It hung open over a purple shirt, so dark it was almost black, customarily half-unbuttoned. He took a drag on his cigarette, staring off into the distance; judging by the butts littered around his feet, he'd been there for a while.

"Hey man!" Naruto strolled up, throwing his arms out to his sides.

Sasuke, lips around his cigarette, tilted his chin up in greeting, blowing smoke out of his nose. "Took your time. I'll be finished this in a second, then we can go inside."

"Actually, you got a light?" Naruto asked, somewhat nervously. In truth he wanted to show off his new street cred to Sasuke, but didn't want to be too obvious about it.

Sasuke frowned as he fished a lighter out of his inside breast pocket. "I didn't know you smoked."

"I, uh, I don't." Naruto quickly checked the alley that separated his tenement building from the next – all clear. "Come on."

By the time they were in the alley, Sasuke had worked out what he meant. "Really, Naruto?" He asked, looking unimpressed. "Weed?"

"Mhmm." Naruto nodded as he pulled out the joint, holding it out for Sasuke to light.

Sasuke didn't move. "When did this start?"

"Only today. I mean if it was a regular thing I'd probably have a lighter by now." Naruto realised he was rambling slightly, but the scrutiny of Sasuke's gaze was extremely off-putting. "Hey, are you okay?"

Sasuke didn't reply for a second. "You sure you know what you're doing, Naruto?" He asked, looking from the joint back to Naruto.

"…Getting high?"

Sasuke sighed sharply, more of a grunt; evidently he didn't find it funny. "Who's genius idea was this? Kiba's? Shikamaru's?"

"Woah, Sasuke, what the hell?" Naruto was totally taken aback by his friend's tone.

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against the alley wall, lighter still in one hand. "You shouldn't mess about with this sort of stuff."

"'This sort of stuff?'" Naruto parroted, not quite believing what he was hearing. "It's only a bit of weed. No one here cares."

"It's not that simple, Naruto." He gestured at the thin joint with his head. "Trust me on that."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." Sasuke was getting visibly frustrated, losing his usual cool. "You smoke a little bit. Have fun. Then it's a little more, and a little more. Then every day's an excuse to get high. I've seen people burn themselves out on this shit. And that's not even counting the ones that moved on to harder stuff."

Naruto felt like laughing, even though the situation wasn't remotely appropriate for it: Sasuke was getting himself really worked up.

Like you can talk, Sasuke Uchiha.

It took a quantifiable effort not to say this aloud.

"Look, Sasuke," he started slowly, not sure if he should even say this to his friend. "I think you're overreacting. Look, it's fun, but… the main reason I tried was for pain."

Sasuke said nothing, waiting for him to continue. He seemed to wear a more measured expression.

"I didn't wanna make you feel guilty, Sasuke, but my arm… it's still not right. Every so often the pain gets bad, and not much has seemed to work so far. You know what they say about weed and chronic pain." Naruto shrugged. "It seems to do the trick."

Sasuke didn't meet his eye, rolling the lighter around his hand for a moment. Without looking up, he reached out and flicked the simple black lighter on, spark wheel catching gas and igniting. Naruto hesitated for a fraction of a second before leaning forward and made his first attempt to light up. He tried to mimic what Shino had done, sucking in to make sure it caught properly. Inhaling, he found it was much sharper than the bong, but not unpleasant.

Sasuke lit another cigarette, and for a while they smoked in silence. "Have you ever seen someone die, Naruto?" He eventually asked quietly, eyes far away.

His voice made Naruto shiver. "No," he said cautiously, not sure where Sasuke was taking this.

"You saw Jūgo in Banshee's, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, slowly. "His father was ill. Very ill. Enough so that his immune system was non-existent. He needed constant care. Jūgo took it all on, just him. Sequestered himself away to play nurse to a dying man."

Sasuke took another drag. "I get a call in the middle of the night: he's caught a bad infection. Jūgo doesn't know what to do. I take some of Orochimaru's people, medical, and we arrive within the hour. It's not good news. Hospital, drugs, it wouldn't do anything for him. All we could do is make him comfortable.

"They leave. I stay. I couldn't let Jūgo go through that alone. And he finally tells me what horrible thing happened to make his father into this husk of a man." Sasuke finally looked at Naruto, eyes sharp. "Heroin."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say. Sasuke didn't wait for him to come up with anything. "We sat there for seven hours while this man died. He woke up for the end. He couldn't speak, couldn't do anything as his heart gave out. Jūgo said that he was finally at peace." Sasuke snorted, shaking his head. "I looked into his eyes as he died. The man was terrified. Couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"And that's what turned me off drugs. The first man I watched die." Without waiting for Naruto, he ground the half-finished cigarette under his heel and stalked out the alley.

He'd given Naruto a lot to think about. And a lot more to worry about.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

Naruto finished the rest of his joint in silence, surprised to find Sasuke still waiting at his doorstep.

"I thought you were long gone," Naruto tried to sound as neutral as possible as he unlocked the front door, but couldn't quite hide how relieved he was.

"I thought about it," Sasuke admitted as they climbed the stairs. "But… you're right. I'm overreacting."

Naruto was glad he'd calmed down. "I'm not gonna turn into a coke fiend or anything." He said gently. "Just a hit every so often. When my arm's really bad, or I want to relax."

Another silence. "How bad does it get?"

"Depends." Naruto said, chucking his keys onto the breakfast bar as they entered his flat. "Most of the time, just twinges. Sometimes it can be like… like I'm being pricked by thousands of needles."

He hung his jacket up on a coat hook and collapsed onto the sofa. Sasuke followed suit, more carefully perhaps, but still sinking into the cushioned surface.

"How bad is it now?" Sasuke asked, to Naruto's right.

"Uncomfortable enough," Naruto winced, arms behind his head. "The weed hasn't really kicked in yet."

"Right." Sasuke nodded. Wordlessly, he gently took Naruto's right arm, bringing it onto his lap. Naruto protested as his sleeve was rolled up, exposing the vivid scar, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Come on Sasuke, I-"

"Trust me." Sasuke interjected quietly, but with enough gravitas that it immediately silenced him.

He traced a thin, delicate finger over the discoloured patch of skin, the half-feeling Naruto had in that region always making him uncomfortable. His surprisingly soft hand ran up the thick, knotted needlework that spread from each end of the skin graft, like a tendril growing from a plant.

Gently, like he was handling a baby bird, Sasuke placed his hands around Naruto's forearm, thumbs gently massaging the scar tissue. He worked slowly, methodically, from end to end and back again. Flattening a palm over his skin, Sasuke used the heel of his large hands to massage deep into his arm, but not so hard that it hurt. He alternated between the two techniques, slow, deliberate movements.

Naruto was in heaven: after he got over to the profoundly wrong feeling of someone else touching his scars, it was the best it had felt in a few weeks. The combination of THC coursing through his bloodstream and Sasuke's hands made him melt into the couch, happy just to enjoy the feeling.

A few minutes later – or days, he could no longer tell – Sasuke put Naruto's arm down, resting on his lap. "Is that better?"

"Holy shit, yeah," Naruto grinned lazily, eyes still closed. "Magic hands, dude."

"That's what they tell me."

"I don't doubt it."

"So," Sasuke said, getting up and stretching. "You don't have any plans for tonight, do you?"

"Apart from becoming one with my couch? No."

"Great. You've got about two hours to sober up before we go out." Sasuke walked slowly over to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and helping himself to some water. "We'll have to swing past mine first, but we should have time to change."

"Woah, hang on." Naruto sat up, opening his eyes, slower than usual. "Before we go out where?"

Sasuke didn't answer, instead pulling a card out of his breast pocket and handing it to Naruto. Looking it over incredulously, he asked. "An art exhibit?"

"Yeah, I've got a plus one. Figured you'd like it." Sasuke said casually.

"But I don't know the first thing about art."

"Neither do most of the people who go to these things." He smiled. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, I'm in."

"Great," Sasuke rubbed his hands together. "I'll go see if you've got anything appropriate to wear."

Before Naruto could stop him, Sasuke had let himself into the bedroom, raking through his wardrobe. He thought he should probably get up and see what Sasuke was doing, but the couch was too damn comfy.

Sasuke shook his head grimly as he came back through. "None of those will do."

"What? I have shirts."

Sasuke ignored him. "You're gonna have to borrow some stuff from me. We're about the same height, should work." He looked over at Naruto, appearing to have a second thought. "Oh, and have a shower. This isn't the sort of thing you can show up at reeking of weed."

"Yes boss," Naruto threw out a dramatic salute, looking at the card again. "Man, this is gonna be different. Me, at an art exhibition? This Deidara guy isn't gonna know what hit him."