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Naruto knew Sasuke was always alone. He knew that something terrible had happened to his family, and that they were all dead.
But Naruto was only eight years old, and he didn’t really understand those things. He only listened what adults and his classmates whispered among themselves.
Naruto had been always alone, always taken care of himself. He’d never had anyone to welcome him home.
Sasuke, on the other hand… Sasuke had had a family waiting for him, and now there wasn’t.
It had been weeks, and Sasuke was still alone.
Naruto was too young to really understand it, but he became really angry when he thought about it. Sasuke had clearly experienced something horrible, and there was no one to check up on him? Making sure he was doing fine?
It was different with him, because Naruto knew everyone hated him and the only contact he really had with someone else was the old geezer, Third Hokage, when he came by to bring his allowance.
But the Third never asked how Naruto was doing. He just brought the money, told him not to use it all immediately, and always left without a word.
Despite being so young, Naruto understood that it was wrong. It made him so angry, so angry if felt like his veins were burning with liquid fire.
And now there was another boy like him, just as alone, and probably feeling so much agony over the loss of his family.
Naruto wanted to go to him. He wanted to do something, anything, to ease Sasuke’s pain. It was weird, but somehow Naruto could almost feel his pain. It wasn’t physical, just a terrible twist in his heart.
But they weren’t friends. They had fought at the academy even before Sasuke had lost his family. Naruto had decided early on that Sasuke was his rival. Sasuke was so cool in ever area – he was cute (a fact that Naruto never, ever was going to admit to anyone), he was super smart and his ninja skills were amazing.
Naruto really wanted to become a ninja like Sasuke. But at the same time, he was so jealous because of the skill Sasuke had.
Things being like that, he couldn’t just go to Sasuke and show sympathy. He walked by the pier almost every evening when he went home, and Sasuke was almost always there, sitting at the end of it, staring at the water.
He never did anything else. Just sat there and stared ahead.
Naruto was so lonely. He felt a connection to Sasuke. He was drawn to him. They were both ostracized by everyone, no one cared if they had no one to look after them if they got sick (not that Naruto was ever sick, he’d always wondered about that).
But now there wasn’t anyone to take care of Sasuke if he got a fever. Was Sasuke even doing anything for himself? Naruto, of course, didn’t know.
He thought about these things every single day when he went to school, argued with Sasuke, lost to him in every single practice bout and got called with a variety of names – loser and moron in particular.
Sasuke’s black, fathomless eyes were always filled with hatred, but Naruto had learned quickly it wasn’t directed at him.
He also saw so clearly how much agony those eyes held.
It was one of those evenings again. Naruto had been out all day, not wanting to go home and be alone. He went to the grocery store and used the last money he had for the week to buy a big box of onigiri. He really didn’t like onigiri that much, but he wanted something quick to eat, and he was running a bit low on ramen.
The man who sold the onigiri to him recognized who Naruto was and let out a disgusted sound. He couldn’t do anything else, though – Naruto had to buy food, or otherwise he’d starve.
He didn’t want to starve. He had dreams to chase.
Naruto carried the onigiri box in a plastic bag when he finally headed home. Maybe there would be a late night movie on TV that he could watch before falling asleep. Then it wouldn’t be so overwhelmingly quiet.
He turned on the road that went past the pier, and he saw immediately that Sasuke sat there again, his black hair being the duck butt like it always was. He was wearing a black shirt with his clan crest on the back.
Sasuke didn’t turn, didn’t move, he just sat there. Naruto walked past the stairs that went down to the pier, but then he stopped and looked at the onigiri he had. Then he glanced at Sasuke. Lately, during the practice bouts, Naruto had noticed that Sasuke had gotten skinnier. He was pretty sure the boy wasn’t eating properly.
Naruto didn’t know much about this stuff, but he remembered suddenly one of Iruka’s lectures, about the nature of grief and how it affected people. Loss of appetite was one of them.
They weren’t friends. But Sasuke was in pain, he clearly wasn’t eating, and Naruto didn’t want Sasuke to die.
He back-tracked a few steps and started descending the stairs.
Naruto didn’t know how Sasuke would react on him being there. But he wouldn’t know if he didn’t try.
He was ridiculously nervous as he got the pier and started walking towards Sasuke. The other boy showed no sign that he’d heard his approach.
Naruto stopped beside Sasuke, hesitated and sat down. Their short feet dangled over the water – they were both too small to touch the water.
Sasuke didn’t react to his presence. Naruto looked at him.
Sasuke wasn’t crying, but the the look on his face was familiar, and Naruto’s heart twisted again. Even without saying anything he could tell the grief Iruka had talked about was really eating away at him.
Was there anything he could do? Naruto didn’t know, but right then and there, he decided to try. No one deserved to have look that anguished, especially when you were only eight years old.
”You are too skinny,” Naruto said with the certainty of a child, and took out the onigiri box. ”You need to eat, or I’ll never catch up to you.”
Finally Sasuke turned his head and really looked at him. Naruto could tell he wanted to lash out, the rage was coming off of him in waves. Again, it wasn’t directed at him, but it was too much for a kid that small.
Naruto didn’t move his eyes away. His blue gaze was fixed upon the black of Sasuke’s, defiant.
”You are going to eat with me,” he said, determined.
”Why?” Sasuke snapped at him.
”Because I said so,” Naruto said angrily.
”I don’t need to do anything with you. Just get lost.” Sasuke turned to look at the water again, but Naruto saw it – just a tiny crack in the mask Sasuke always had on his face in public.
Naruto opened the onigiri box. They were all individually wrapped. He took one, grabbed Sasuke’s hand and placed the onirigi on it. ”I’m not leaving before you eat at least two,” he said, glaring. ”If you don’t eat, it’ll make it harder to study.”
Sasuke stared at the onigiri in his hand, as if he didn’t quite believe his eyes. Then he looked at Naruto.
”Eat it,” Naruto ordered.
”What if I’ll just stuff your face with it,” Sasuke hissed.
”You can’t, because I’m gonna do it with this one,” Naruto said and took another. He quickly unwrapped it and started eating.
Sasuke held the onigiri in his hand. From his posture Naruto guessed that he wanted to throw it to the lake, just to spite him, but… he was hungry. Naruto had heard Sasuke’s tummy made quite a few low rumbling noises.
”Tch,” said Sasuke. He started unwrapping the onigiri, as if it was the hardest thing for him to do on the whole world. Then he finally started eating.
Sasuke practically devoured the onigiri after realizing how hungry he was. Naruto didn’t say anything, he just produced another from the box and passed it on, Sasuke taking it without even starting to complain.
They ate the entire box of onigiri together. Naruto had made sure Sasuke ate more than him. He would be fine – he still had ramen, after all. Geezer Third would be stopping by on Sunday to bring him more money for the next two weeks.
”This still doesn’t make us friends,” Sasuke snarled at him after they were done eating. ”You should just mind our own business, loser.”
”No can do,” Naruto said brightly. He was ecstatic that Sasuke had accepted the food and was communicating with him, even if it was rude. ”And too bad for you, because as of this moment, you are my business too.” He grinned.
”You really are a moron,” Sasuke said, almost an admiring tone in his voice – it made him sound a bit funny considering they were both eight.
”Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Naruto said, waving his hand. He put the onigiri box back to the plastic bag and tied it – he would toss it to the garbage can on his way home. Then he got to his feet and did something he hadn’t planned – the gesture just came to him on his own.
Naruto ruffled Sasuke’s hair, said, ”I’ll see you later,” and left.
After that, Naruto made sure Sasuke ate properly. He sneaked food into his school bag when no one was looking. He went on the pier on a regular basis, always bringing food with him.
They had argued at first. Sasuke didn’t want the company, he was fine being alone and Naruto should just get the hell away.
”I’m not leaving!” Naruto yelled during one of these arguments. It had been two weeks since he’d first come to pier. Tonight he’d brought some drinks and two servings of takoyaki. After some spying, Naruto had figured out that Sasuke didn’t like sweets, so he’d brought Sasuke only mineral water instead of soda (like he’d taken for himself).
”I didn’t ask for you to bother me!” Sasuke screamed back at him.
”I don’t care,” Naruto seethed. ”You are hurt, you are alone, you are carrying all that terrible grief in you and I can’t leave it be!”
”What do you know about grief?” Sasuke exploded, red patches on his cheeks as he grabbed the front of Naruto’s shirt. ”What do you know about anything?! Tell me that!”
”I have always been alone!” Naruto shouted back, tears in his eyes. ”I know how much it hurts when there’s no one to look after you!”
They were both panting heavily, glaring at each other.
”It’s true I don’t know a lot about grief, exactly,” Naruto said tightly. ”But I know how painful it is when no one says ’welcome home’ when you open the door! When there’s no one to scold you! WHEN NO ONE IS THERE FOR YOU!”
Sasuke was taken aback from Naruto’s outburst, and he let go.
Naruto dried his tears to his shirt sleeve, angry that he always cried in situations like these. He raised his eyes to Sasuke, and froze.
Sasuke was crying. Not silently and calmly. It was the worst kind of crying, the kind that is caused by the worst pain imaginable. Sasuke’s eyes were shut, tears just kept coming, he was gasping, snot falling from his nose, his mouth ajar but no sound came out.
Naruto knew that kind of crying. He’d cried so much from the depths of his very soul that he knew.
No one had been there when Naruto had cried his eyes swollen and gotten himself a terrible headache. Now Sasuke’s was crying, but this time, Naruto was here.
Naruto didn’t think. He wrapped his small arms around Sasuke, not caring if his shirt would be stained by tears. He was able to be there for someone. Even if Sasuke didn’t want him near.
But Naruto realized, to his amazement, that he needed Sasuke. He knew they had a connection, a bond, something he’d never had with anyone else. And he wasn’t going to give it up. Never.
So he sat there and held Sasuke, until he finally stopped crying. When he’d been quiet for a moment, Naruto looked at him carefully.
Yeah, as he had suspected.
Crying was exhausting. Especially if you cried the way Sasuke had just done.
So it wasn’t a surprise that Sasuke had fallen asleep on his arms, his eyes swollen, his face still red and blotchy. But for the first time ever, Sasuke looked like he’d gotten at least a tiny release from the horrible pain inside him.
Naruto gently moved Sasuke so that his head rested on Naruto’s thighs. Sasuke’s sleep was deep enough that he didn’t stir.
Naruto let him sleep.
***
They were nine years old, and Naruto still hadn’t left him alone.
Sasuke couldn’t understand it. He’d made it very clear he didn’t want a friend. Especially from a boy like Naruto, who was stupid, loud, annoying, and always getting into trouble.
It was annoying, because these days Sasuke always got dragged along everytime Naruto wanted to cause some trouble.
Of course, Sasuke could’ve just smack Naruto to the head and be on his way and that would be the end of it, but… At first they’d seen each other on the pier, but then Naruto had started to come by Sasuke’s house.
They were never friendly at school, but outside of it, they were always together. Sasuke went home, did homework and usually about two to three hours later Naruto was there, ringing the doorbell, telling him they were going out to play.
They were ninja, ninjas didn’t play, and Sasuke told him that. Numerous times.
But his words always fell on deaf ears. Naruto had decided they were friends and accomplices, and try as he might, Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to tear himself free.
It had been little over a year now. A year had passed since Sasuke’s parents and his entire clan had been killed by Itachi.
Just thinking about his older brother’s name made him shake with fury, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He wouldn’t stand a chance against his brother now.
So he needed to get stronger, more powerful, so that when that faithful day came, he would be ready for it.
However, during these months after Naruto had first offered onigiri to him, something had changed. While Sasuke still felt like creating bonds only led to more pain, this… bond he’d formed with Naruto was something different. Naruto was so bright, so warm – every moment Sasuke was with him, that overwhelming chasm of pain, grief and hatred seemed a bit less… bad. All of those emotions were still there, but Sasuke had noticed that suddenly his world had colours again.
Just being in Naruto’s world felt like a blessing.
So now it wasn’t just Naruto terrorizing the village. Sasuke found himself taking part in it too, not so much, but adding his own twist to things.
It was easy for them, because, well, the village hated them both. Him because he was an Uchiha. Sasuke didn’t know why Naruto was so hated, though. Had always been.
Sasuke only knew that Naruto’s parents had died just after his birth, but that alone didn’t explain why the entire village seemed to want to just erase Naruto’s existence altogether.
At first Sasuke hadn’t cared. But now… now that he knew what kind of person Naruto was, how he did his all to make people notice him, how he did all that stupid stuff to make people interact with him…
Sasuke thought it was really cool. He admired Naruto’s determination to make the village respect him. Everyone else laughed at his dream to become the Hokage, but Sasuke knew that if there was someone who could do that, it would be Naruto.
There were times when Sasuke witnessed the adults being particularly nasty at Naruto. Even though Naruto put on a defiant face and screamed at them, Sasuke could tell that their words hurt Naruto like hell.
They were both only children. Yet nobody cared about them. Nobody had cared about Sasuke following the events of that night. There had only been an interrogation, but there wasn’t much Sasuke had been able to tell. Itachi had attacked the entire clan, killed everyone – even their parents – and left him alive.
He hadn’t told anyone about Itachi’s parting words, because they were his and his alone.
And despite he and Naruto were almost always together, Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to tell Naruto about it all. It was still too raw, even if he knew that Naruto would just insist on helping him to get that revenge.
It was something Sasuke needed to do on his own, so he kept quiet.
But now they had each other. Two lonely boys, starved of touch and love. Naruto had come to him, determined to ease his pain.
Sasuke was as determined to do that for Naruto. And when he got his chance, he was ready.
It was late summer, and they were on vacation from school. They spent every single day together, not always doing anything, but usually just adventuring around Konoha, pranking people, or practicing together (Naruto still couldn’t win against him, but that didn’t seem to bother Naruto that much).
They were eating ice cream in the park, when a group of teenagers walked past them. One of them glanced at Naruto, saw who he was and made him stumble, so that he dropped his ice cream and fell. The dirt road was still wet after a storm had breezed through earlier that day, so Naruto fell face first into a muddy puddle.
That caused the teenagers laugh in a nasty manner, and one of them nudged Naruto with tip of his sandal.
”Just look at this pathetic waste of space,” one of them sneered. ”He should’ve died along with his parents.”
Naruto was whimpering in the puddle, shaking from rage, but against a group of older boys he was outmatched.
But Sasuke wasn’t.
He hadn’t been able to stop Naruto from stumbling, because it had happened too fast. He carefully placed his half-eaten ice cream on the nearby park bench and scowled at the boys.
”Leave him alone,” he said, his voice shaking.
”Isn’t that the Uchiha brat?” said one of the boys. ”I guess it’s only natural two little shits find each other.”
They boys laughed, and Sasuke latched on to his hatred, used it to his advantage. It made him feel powerful.
”I don’t even have Sharingan yet,” he said, still shaking, ”but I can still win against all of you.”
The teenagers looked at him and cackled wildly. ”I fucking hate the Uchiha and their superiority complex,” one teenager said. ”Shall we teach him a lesson?”
They did try, but Sasuke was a genius, the best student in his class, so all of these older boys didn’t have a chance. Sasuke made them sorry for bullying Naruto, and when the boys scrambled away, he yelled after them, ”Just remember you got beaten up by a kid!”
Then he went to Naruto, who had gotten to his feet, but his clothes were dirty and there was mud on his face too.
”Are you okay?” Sasuke asked him.
Naruto trembled, but he managed to nod.
Sasuke took his ice cream and gave it to Naruto. ”You can finish this while we walk.”
Tears started streaming from Naruto’s eyes as he took the ice cream and started eating it. They walked to together to Naruto’s home, and Sasuke made sure Naruto put his dirty clothes to a hamper before taking a bath.
While Naruto was bathing, Sasuke looked around the small apartment. There were dirty clothes all over the place, empty noodle cups and other trash. Naruto hadn’t even made his bed in the morning.
Sasuke sighed, searched for a trash bag (to his amazement, there actually was a roll of them) and started gathering up everything he could see. He carried all dirty clothes to the hamper and decided to drag Naruto to do some laundry on the following day.
It didn’t take him long to clean everything, because the place was small. He tried to look for something to eat, but could only find instant noodles with varying flavors.
Sasuke sighed again, put the kettle on and brought two cups to the table. He didn’t care about noodles that much, but somehow he didn’t want Naruto to be alone right now.
”Oh, you’re staying for dinner?” Naruto asked him when he came to the living room, dressed in a clean t-shirt and shorts.
”I’m staying for the night,” Sasuke declared, surprising himself as well as Naruto. ”And tomorrow we’re gonna wash your clothes.”
Naruto gaped at him, open-mouthed, but then he managed a grin. It wasn’t as wide as usually, but Sasuke knew he’d managed to cheer him up.
”Thanks, Sasuke,” he said.
They ate noodles together, then Naruto searched for a spare blanket and a pillow for Sasuke, who settled on the sofa.
The evening went by slowly. They didn’t talk much, but watched some bad ninja movies before going to bed.
Sasuke was about to drift to sleep, when he heard Naruto mumbling, almost asleep too, ”Sasuke…?”
”Yeah?” Sasuke said.
”Thanks for being my friend,” Naruto whispered.
Sasuke eyes watered and he covered his face with the blanket. ”You’re welcome,” he said.
***
A fresh spring breeze tugged at Naruto’s blond hair and his headband. As he walked, people around him greeted him, smiling and waving their hands.
They all love you, Kurama said conversationally. Does it feel weird?
A bit, Naruto admitted. But I’m getting used to it.
Being the hero of Konoha – the one who stopped Pain and ended the war – had been such an uncomfortable thing at first, because while Naruto was happy he was acknowledged, these same people had spit on him when he’d been a kid. It was hard to forget things like that.
But he’d learned to let go of those feelings. And he was happy to chat with the villagers.
He stretched his bandaged right hand – it had been implanted just a few days ago, and using it was still awkward – and then wondered where Sasuke would be at this time of day. They both had jobs now – Naruto was a caretaker in the orphanage, and Sasuke was an officer in Konoha’s Police Force.
They were both home, alive. It had almost not been so.
Even after spending all the their time together from the moment they’d been eight years old, things had still went badly wrong. Naruto had learned the truth about Sasuke’s family, what Itachi had done. Then Sasuke had left to gain power from Orochimaru.
They’d fought, Naruto had lost, but he’d refused to give up. He’d held those few years of their childhood deep in his heart, knowing that it was a bond you couldn’t break, even if Sasuke had tried.
They had fought again, but it hadn’t been about winning or losing. In the end they’d just blown each other’s arms off. And finally they had managed to regain that connection they’d formed as children.
And now they were seventeen, and Naruto finally understood.
He finally understood why he couldn’t leave Sasuke alone. Why it always felt like his heart was about to burst when he was with him.
He’d understood it all after their final battle, after they’d lain on the cold stone, too hurt to move, barely hanging on.
Sasuke was Naruto’s whole world, the most precious person in his life. His one and only.
He snorted a laugh at that, because those were the exact same words Sasuke had used about him. My one and only friend.
They’d never been just friends.
Naruto checked the pier, but this time Sasuke wasn’t there. After returning to the village, they’d been there a few times, but lately they’d been too busy.
Then Naruto went by the Police Force HQ, but they told him that Sasuke’s shift had already ended and that he’d left.
”Dammit, where is he,” he mumbled to himself. He had things he needed to talk about with him, and the more he had to wait, the more nervous he got. He’d gathered courage for this moment ever since they’d returned, and he was determined to do it.
Naruto continued to walk around, asked from a couple of his friends if they’d seen Sasuke, but they hadn’t.
Just activate the Sage Mode, Kurama huffed finally after a while. Otherwise you’ll be running in the village for the entire day.
Naruto’s eyes widened. Oh. Right.
How you managed to save the world with that brain of yours is beyond me, Kurama said and Naruto could imagine the fox rolling his eyes.
Oh, shut up, Naruto told him. He gathered nature energy for a couple of minutes and then activated the Sage Mode.
Ah, found him.
Sasuke wasn’t far away, still in the village, so Naruto pinpointed his location, let go of the Sage Mode and started walking again.
”I wandered around like an idiot when I tried to find you and spectacularly forgot to use Sage Mode right away,” Naruto said easily when he finally reached the graveyard and saw Sasuke standing there, in front of a newer grave.
”Loser,” said Sasuke, not turning to look at him.
Naruto stopped beside him and they looked at the gravestone together. The stone shone, it had a freshly carved name on it and the Konoha symbol underneath it.
Uchiha Itachi.
”Kabuto knew where Itachi had been buried,” Sasuke said softly. ”So he sent the remains here. To the place they belong, he said in his letter.”
Naruto didn’t know the specifics about what had happened to Kabuto, but apparently he was a orphanage director somewhere now, and completely respectable. It was actually a bit weird.
”He’s finally home, Sasuke,” Naruto said warmly. ”After so long.”
”I miss him so much it hurts,” Sasuke whispered hoarsely. ”I got my last moment with him, and he passed on smiling. I know it was what he wanted. But…”
”I understand,” Naruto said and placed his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. ”I only had a passing moment with him, but I could tell he was an amazing person. And he loved you so damn much.”
Sasuke tried hard not to cry, but some rogue tears still fell from his missmatched eyes.
”You don’t need to hold back,” Naruto told him. ”We’re past that.”
His words seemed to break a dam in Sasuke’s mind, because suddenly his legs gave out and he fell on his knees in front of Itachi’s grave, shoulders shaking violently from crying.
And then he screamed. It was a good thing there weren’t anyone on the graveyard at that moment, because it was a scream of pure, indescribable agony of losing someone dear to you.
Naruto had felt it too, many times. His parents. Pervy Sage. Neji.
He also knew that for Sasuke, it was different. The way the Uchiha loved… Naruto had never seen an emotion so raw. And it showed itself in Sasuke more clearly than in anyone else. It had been the reason Sasuke had always felt so much agony over losing someone he cared about.
Why he’d tried so hard not to have those kind of bonds again.
Naruto crouched beside Sasuke and rubbed his back, in the same way he’d done when he had just been eight years old and Sasuke had broken down in front of him.
After a moment Sasuke calmed down. Their eyes met, and they stood up, at the same time.
With a start, Naruto realized that Sasuke was touching his bandaged hand. Touching his fingers.
Naruto’s eyes flicked on their hands and then to Sasuke. There were still tears in his eyes, but he looked a lot calmer. His bangs had already grown to the point they almost covered the Rinnegan from view.
They were so close now, closer than Naruto had expected. He had planned on telling Sasuke about his feelings, but this didn’t go exactly the way he had envisioned it.
”Sasuke – what - ” Naruto said, but he didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Sasuke had closed that small distance between them and kissed him, his lips meeting Naruto’s, greedy and demanding.
Of course. Of course they didn’t need words for things like this.
Sasuke’s lips tasted like salt, like tears and buried feelings.
Naruto had only thought about the way he would confess, he hadn’t considered how Sasuke would accept his feelings. He hadn’t known, but he’d had a feeling and he’d hoped so desperately it almost hurt.
And now Sasuke was kissing him. He hadn’t even needed to open his mouth.
”There’s no one else,” Sasuke whispered against his lips, ”I love more than you, Naruto.”
Naruto’s face was bright red, his heart was pounding so hard, his belly was full of fluttering butterflies.
He was so happy he had fallen in love with Sasuke. He cupped Sasuke’s face between his hands and kissed him back, hard, almost driving his tongue to Sasuke’s mouth.
”You’re my one and only too, Sasuke,” Naruto breathed, shivering as Sasuke touched his neck with his fingers.
There, in front of Itachi’s grave, after years of clashing and chasing, Naruto and Sasuke had finally found each other, in every sense of the word.