Work Text:
‘He’s back again.’ Sasuke thought as he approached his apartment and saw the lights on. No matter how many locks he put on his doors and windows, the pixie always found a way inside. It probably helped that he could shrink to the size of a hand and had some trickster magic or something to help him. Not that Sasuke paid attention, he was busy trying to kick the damn pixie out of his place and out of his life. Almost every night he it would break in and cause some mischief. And demand ramen. How can anyone, magical or not, eat that shit every day??
He sighed once more before finally going to unlock his apartment door. It had been a long day at work at his family’s police station, and he was hoping the pixie wouldn’t be too much trouble for once.
Of course he just had to jinx himself… The thing had brought some friends this time.
“Ah, Sasuke! Welcome home!” The pixie that bothered him every night, Naruto, said. He waved his arms about as if it made the greeting better somehow. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought friends, it was my turn to host our group for game night.” Around him sit what he assumes are other pixies. There’s one with short spiky brown hair with red triangles on his face and… Is that a dog!? In his apartment?? It better not have done it’s business here. There was also a guy with what looked like black pineapple hair who was smoking. Inside. In his smoke-free home. The last guy was a fatty with light brown hair. This one was eating a huge bag of chips and getting crumbs all over his floor.
What the fuck was with these people? Did they not realize they were in someone else's home?? He’s had just about enough of all this shit.
“Oh, would you mind making some ramen for us? We’re starving!”
Snap
“Get the hell out of my apartment.” Sasuke spoke in an ice cold tone that was usually reserved for the scum criminals he catches.
“I’m sorry about the mess, I can clean i--”
“It’s not the mess, it’s you. You’re here every night, uninvited, making a mess out of my home. Every. Single. Night. I’m tired of cleaning up after you all the time! You pixies are all the same, always making trouble for whoever you meet.” Sasuke finally paused to breathe, and saw the damage he caused. Naruto looked devastated, and his friends were all glaring at him. One wrong move and he could be in trouble. It was 4 against 1 after all. “Just, be out by the time I get back.”
And Sasuke left, not even bothering to grab his jacket even though it was cold at night. He went to the park to take a walk to clear his head. He couldn’t get the look on Naruto’s face out of his mind. He didn’t get very far when one of Naruto's friends chased him down. It was the one with the pineapple shaped ponytail.
“Hey, sorry about the mess. Naruto was just excited to finally have us over, you know how he gets. He’s been talking about you for a while now… I think he really likes being around you.”
“Well that makes one of us.” Sasuke scoffs. “All he does is cause trouble for me. He breaks into my apartment every day, getting into my personal space and demanding food. Then he leaves a mess and just causes chaos in general wherever he goes. I don’t know why he started bugging me, but I wish he’d just stop. All you pixies do is cause grief for others.” Sasuke glared at the other male, daring him to refute his statement.
The other guy sighed. “Naruto can definitely be troublesome, but that’s just because he doesn’t want to be alone. And you should really talk to him, but he said something about a promise he made 15 years ago. I shouldn’t say more than that, but I do hope you’ll think it over and change your mind. Have a good night.” With that, the guy just walked away, lighting another cigarette as he went.
‘15 years ago? That’s back when I was 7… When my parents died in an accident and my brother left me alone to go to university.’ Sasuke remembered that being a dark time in his childhood. None of his relatives seemed to want to take him in, and he had spent most of his time in this very park. He had tried to block out those memories, they would only hold him back from moving forward. He had decided then that he didn’t need anyone else, he would be able to do it all alone. And he had been, up until recently, when Naruto had started showing up. Now that he thought about it, was there another boy who kept him company some days back then? It was so long ago…
For now, he needed to forget about Naruto and all his frustrations. He’d work out what that memory of a golden boy was later.
~~~
Finally, some peace and quiet. It hadn’t been this silent in a few months, it was almost unsettling. Sasuke kept expecting Naruto to pop back up out of nowhere, or to be waiting for him when he got home. But there was nothing. He finally had the time to get his apartment back to looking spotless, and since there wouldn’t be a mess every single day, maybe it would stay that way.
But it felt like something was missing. Like the life had seeped out of his home and now it was just empty.
By now he had thought about his time in the park when he was younger. There was a boy with golden blonde hair who was always smiling, despite always being alone. Even though Sasuke was sad about his parents, the boy would try to help cheer him up, and they spent most days together. It was then that the boy suggested that if they were going to be alone, they might as well be alone together, that way they would at least have one person. Sasuke had agreed at the time, but shortly after, the boy had disappeared. It was then that Sasuke vowed to do everything on his own. He could never rely on others.
Could Naruto really be the boy from his past? Then why did he leave? And why is he back now? Sasuke needed answers, and they had to be from Naruto. Plus, Sasuke didn’t want to admit it, but his apartment was empty without the energetic blonde in here causing a fuss daily.
But where could he find him…
What about, maybe, their old tree? In the park? It was unlikely, but it was the only lead Sasuke had.
~~~
Sasuke had ran to the park, went down the path, and found the old oak tree they used to climb together.
“Naruto? Are you here? I need to talk to you!” Sasuke called out, peering up into the branches. He couldn’t be sure if he saw blonde hair or if it was just the sun peaking through the branches.
“Go away. You said you didn’t want to see me so I left, now I don’t want to see you. So go away.” Naruto sniffled at the end. Had he been crying?
“I thought about what your friend said, and I want to talk.” Sasuke started to climb up the tree. It had been years, but he had been doing police work for a while now, so he was in good shape. Climbing a tree should be a breeze compared to chasing down a criminal.
“What about it? You never bothered remembering before, so why bother now?”
“How was I supposed to remember that? It was so long ago, and after you left, I vowed that I’d only rely on myself. Other people would just hold me back. But ever since you left, the apartment’s been so empty. It’s not the same without you. So tell me, why did you leave when we were younger? I need to know.” Sasuke had gotten close enough to see Naruto’s face. It was definitely harder than he remembered; climbing a tree now compared to when he was a kid.
“It wasn’t up to me. Even among pixies I’m… special I guess you could say. I’m related to the king of pixies you see, and I had to sneak out every day to see you. I had no friends there, I was just locked in the palace all the time. My parents are kind rulers, and they’re good to me, but they wanted to keep me safe, not knowing they had made me a prisoner in my own home instead. When I disappeared, they had caught me. I had to beg and plead for nothing to happen to you, because even though my parents are kind, we’re still pixies. We cause trouble to those we feel have wronged us. And they thought you were trying to kidnap me. I explained that it was me who was running away, and they agreed that I could be free to roam the world like everyone else… after I grew up, in 15 years. The second I was free I came to find you, but you had forgotten me already. But I had nowhere to go, so I tried my best to hold on to you. You can see how well that turned out…” A few tears leaked from Naruto’s eyes, it was clear where he thought this was going to go.
Sasuke sighed, all this time and it was just a misunderstanding. Naruto wasn’t trying to make trouble for him, that’s just how he was naturally. And, he didn’t want to leave him back then. Sasuke made up his mind right then.
“You can’t have ramen for dinner every night. It's not healthy. And you have to clean up after yourself more and help out with chores for once. And you need to communicate better instead of just pretending everything’s okay with that smile.”
Naruto just looked at him in confusion. “Does this mean..?”
Sasuke smirked back at him. “Come on baka, let’s go home.”
Omake:
“Sasuke, be careful climbing down, you might slip!”
“Like that would ever happen to me.” Sasuke scoffed at Naruto, but just then, his foot slipped from the branch and he felt himself slipping.
“Sasuke!” Naruto swooped in and caught him bridal style. “Guess my wings can be useful every now and again, huh Sasuke?”
“Just shut up and put me down!”
“Aww, are you blushing Sasuke??? Ow!”
“That’s what you get for trying to tease me.”