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Sasuke is on his way home, finished with his grocery shopping for the week, when he spots Naruto sitting at the Ichiraku Ramen stand.
It isn’t the first time Sasuke has found his teammate here and it most definitely won’t be the last. Usually, Iruka is sitting beside him as they eat. Today, however, their old sensei is nowhere to be found.
There are no stacks of empty bowls around him either, something that makes Sasuke pause. Naruto’s black hole of a stomach is legendary. Even in their pre-genin days, one would have to have been blind not to notice his prowess for eating. One bowl of ramen isn’t going to satisfy his appetite one bit.
He wonders for a moment why Naruto hasn’t ordered more before resisting the urge to slap his head in exasperation. They are both orphans, no matter how much Sakura tries to forget, but Sasuke has access to his clan funds while Naruto has had nothing but the orphan stipend and now their D-rank mission pay to support him.
He thinks of turning around and heading back to the Uchiha Compound where no one but the ghosts of his clan will be waiting for him. Thinking of his cold and dark house when faced with the bright and comfortable aura of the ramen stand leaves him with an aching feeling in his chest that he doesn’t think he can ignore any longer. Even with the blonde idiot sitting forlornly at the counter, Sasuke knows where he would rather be.
Sasuke sighs under his breath and slouches as he begins walking again. He keeps his gaze averted, forcing himself to act nonchalant as he sits down beside Naruto. He holds up two fingers as Teuchi-san approaches to greet him and nudges his head in Naruto’s direction then slouches, even more, when Teuchi-san smiles at him warmly.
“Hey, idiot,” Sasuke says to break the silence, feeling smug when Naruto jumps in alarm. “Only one bowl?”
Naruto squints at him with suspicion, his mouth pursed. Sasuke takes a moment to himself to look at Naruto’s mouth - the same one that stole his first kiss not too long ago - before he meets Naruto’s gaze.
Sasuke is preparing himself for an argument but finds himself relaxing anyway when Naruto grumbles, “Iruka-sensei usually treats me. And I’m out of cup ramen at home.”
“You could’ve asked one of us to treat you to dinner,” Sasuke replies even as he winces as soon as the words leave his mouth. “Kakashi would feed you at least.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. The last time I asked Sakura to go to dinner with me, she punched me in the face and straight through a tree,” Naruto huffs.
Sasuke tenses as he thinks of the number of times Sakura has greeted Naruto with violence when all he has done is look at her with a hopeful expression. He feels a little sick when he remembers that she always turns to him with hearts in her eyes as soon as she has deemed Naruto worthless of any more of her time as well.
“You could ask me instead. That would make her curious enough to want to accept you next time, at least to see why I would want to accept anyway,” Sasuke offers, still not looking away from the bright blue of Naruto’s eyes.
Naruto squints even harder at him. “I don’t need your pity, bastard.”
Sasuke feels himself bristle, but calms as Teuchi-san sets their bowls down in front of them. “I hope you boys enjoy!”
“I didn’t order another bowl!” Naruto exclaims, trying to push the bowl back to Teuchi-san.
The older man only smiles. “Don’t worry about it, Naruto-kun. Your friend here is paying for it.”
Sasuke nods to confirm this, knowing that Naruto will see it even when he’s not facing him any more. Teuchi-san pushes the bowl back in front of Naruto and steps away, tending to another customer that has just arrived. Naruto looks from the bowl to Sasuke before he picks up his chopsticks and starts eating after muttering “Itadakimasu”. Even though ramen isn’t something he generally enjoys, Sasuke follows suit and forces himself to eat at least half the bowl.
He pushes the rest of it towards Naruto when he sees him eyeing it, making sure to sound bored when he says, “Here. I already ate beforehand.”
Naruto makes a happy little sound that does something to Sasuke’s chest and devours the rest of the bowl quickly. They both murmur a soft “gochisosama” once Naruto has finished and Sasuke counts out the appropriate amount to pay and extra for a to-go order. Teuchi-san comes by again so Sasuke pays him before asking for another bowl to go. Naruto lingers by his side as Sasuke waits, making sure to not block the counter for other customers.
One customer keeps looking at Naruto from the corner of his eye and frowning, opening and closing his mouth like he wants to say something. Sasuke glares at him, pulling out a kunai to pretend to pick at his fingernails with. He knows others don’t see him the same way he views himself, but sometimes the dark look in his eyes unnerves adults enough for them to pretend he isn’t there. Naruto watches him pull out his kunai, spares a glance at the man, and then hunches into himself immediately.
Teuchi-san returns with his to-go order and frowns at the same customer Sasuke has been intimidating when he notices their posture. “You boys okay?”
“We’re wonderful, Teuchi-san,” Sasuke replies evenly as he puts his kunai away. “The food was delicious, as always. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Teuchi-san,” Naruto mutters, still pulled into himself.
Teuchi-san smiles at him, his expression soft. “I’m just happy you’re making friends, Naruto-kun. Get home safely and come again soon!”
Naruto grins in return, waving as Sasuke takes him by the arm and leads him out of the stand. The customer doesn’t say anything to them as they pass, but Sasuke glares at him viciously anyway. Naruto doesn’t complain about Sasuke holding onto him and doesn’t pull away from him either, so Sasuke counts it as a win and releases him before he can push his luck. They begin walking towards Naruto’s apartment without having to discuss it.
Halfway there, Sasuke pushes the bag of food at the blonde. “Here. Heat it up when you get home. Do you like fish?”
“It’s okay with me,” Naruto takes the bag carefully, looping the handles around his wrist. “Why?”
“I’m gonna bring you lunch tomorrow.”
“Bastard, I don’t need your pity,” Naruto says again.
Sasuke glares at him. “This is not pity, you idiot.”
“Then why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? Is this some kind of prank? Because it’s not funny!”
“You’re my teammate. Our team cannot grow strong if one of us is always starving. I need our team to be strong,” Sasuke grits out through clenched teeth.
Sasuke may sometimes think about kissing this idiot again, but most of the time, he’s thinking of punching him in the face too. Not that he will, not when it isn’t a part of their training, but the thought is there regardless. Naruto makes it too difficult to be rational around him all the time, especially when he opens his big stupid mouth, but Sasuke is willing to try.
At least Kakashi will appreciate his efforts.
“You said you didn’t need a team,” Naruto finally says.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. “That was before Kakashi implied that I was less than scum for not supporting my team.”
“That was weeks ago. What changed your mind now?” Naruto demands.
“Sakura’s yelling, mostly,” Sasuke decides to be honest. “She’s exceedingly cruel when it comes to you and it makes me sick.”
Naruto stares at him wide-eyed, mouth slack. Sasuke stares back, wondering if the idiot will say anything at all.
“Can I hug you?” Naruto finally manages to ask, his voice softer than Sasuke has ever heard it before.
“Why would you want to do that?” Sasuke questions him, surprised more than anything.
“Because I tend to hug those who are nice to me, but I know you’re not all that great with touching so I thought I should ask first.”
And Sakura thinks Naruto is the dumb one?
Sasuke nods and before he knows it, Naruto is in his space again. His arms wrap around Sasuke’s middle, the bag of noodles brushing against his hip. Naruto is a wall of solid warmth, smelling like dirt, sweat, and the ramen they just ate. The combination of smells shouldn’t be as pleasing as they are but Sasuke can examine that another time. Right now, he has to figure out what to do with his own hands. He decides placing them on Naruto’s back should be safe enough and wheezes only the tiniest bit when Naruto squeezes him in response.
Though the hug has been going on a tad too long, Sasuke still finds himself missing it when Naruto pulls back. The blonde smiles at him, softer than usual and Sasuke thinks about kissing him again.
He doesn’t, but the temptation is strong anyway.
“Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”
Sasuke nods, his face feeling warm as Naruto steps back. “Remember, fish tomorrow.”
Naruto keeps smiling at him. “I’ll remember. Good night.”
“Good night,” Sasuke breathes, watching Naruto turn around and make his way up towards his apartment.
Sasuke stays long enough to see him climb the stairs to the first landing before he turns on his heel and heads to the empty Uchiha Compound. He has two bento boxes to make.