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If only I could, I would absorb your pain and return it to you as love.
—
Konoha never faced harsh winters, so it was surprising that it was snowing now. Many kids born after the Third Shinobi World War had never seen snow fall until today.
The air resonated with laughter as children engaged in the timeless rituals of winter, making snow angels and throwing snow at their friends. Some parents yelled at their kids to bundle up; others bought hot chocolate and kept each other close.
Young Uchiha Sasuke observed from a measured distance, dressed in dark layers. How badly he craved to be like them, to experience laughter unburdened by the weight of expectation. Yet the Uchiha name demanded something different. An Uchiha prodigy did not frolic in the snow; an Uchiha trained in it.
“Itachi! Did you see? It’s snowing!” Sasuke asks his brother over breakfast.
“Yes, I know, Sasuke,” Itachi replied firmly. “I have to get going.”
And with a pat on the head, he was off before it was even noon. Before Sasuke could ask his big brother to play in the snow with him, at least for a little while.
Now he watches other kids, with their brothers and sisters, having fun in the snow. His eyes drift down so he doesn’t have to watch anymore. He’s been sitting for hours watching, dressed warmly, appropriate for the season; his mother would have tolerated nothing less.
Though his face still wasn’t free from the cold. He pressed his gloved hands against his face, seeking whatever warmth they could provide, before looking back up. Just when he was thinking about finally going back inside.
In front of him, still in the distance, was the one boy who hadn’t left the young Uchiha’s mind since the day they met.
Uzumaki Naruto was among the other kids and families in the snow, but that’s it; he didn’t belong to any of them; an outsider.
Yet Sasuke found himself incapable of looking away. Even though the boy was only in a t-shirt, even though he was laughing that loud, obnoxious laugh Sasuke said he hated, Naruto was all he wanted.
No one wanted to be his friend, and his parents were no longer. He was alone in this world and in the snow, his skin almost as white, with too much of it showing. He obviously didn’t know how to dress himself, and no one cared if he got frostbite, apparently not even himself.
Usuratonkachi…
When Naruto spotted him, he waved his arms wildly, shouting Sasuke’s name loud enough for everyone around them to hear. While heads turned towards the noise, Naruto ran toward him with that reckless enthusiasm that made Sasuke’s chest tighten.
“Sasukee!”
He didn’t make it far.
Naruto’s feet betrayed him, as he slipped in the snow, going down hard, landing face-first. It would’ve hurt if the snow hadn’t cushioned the fall.
Naruto made a sound of discomfort before lifting his snowy face. Up close, Sasuke saw that the goggles he usually wore on his head were now serving their intended function, shielding his eyes from the snow. The blonde brushed the snow away and looked at Sasuke with that bright, unguarded smile.
“Wanna play in the snow together?”
This wasn’t the first time Naruto had asked Sasuke to play, nor would it be the last.
Sasuke never said yes, but he never outright said no either. His free time always ended up being filled with sunshine and giggles, whether he liked it or not. And if Sasuke were honest with himself, he wouldn’t have it any other way. The blonde made him feel something he couldn’t name; something that terrified and thrilled him in equal measure.
Sasuke leaned closer and looked down at the blue-eyed boy with something that might’ve been judgment spread across his face, but his heart was racing. Naruto pushed his body up so he was sitting in the snow.
Up close like this, Naruto’s presence was overwhelming. The scars on his cheeks and the way they stretched when he smiled big and genuine made Sasuke want to protect him; to keep him safe from the world that didn’t appreciate him.
“Aren’t you freezing?”
Naruto fully stood up from the snow and dusted off the remaining flakes. He wiped his goggles with his forearm, presumably so he could see better.
“What?..No.” The tone of his voice gave the lie away, as well as his pink cheeks and nose.
Sasuke got up from his spot in front of the Uchiha estate, slipped off his glove, and brought his fingertips to Naruto’s bare arm. The sensation was startling– he felt like ice, and the short-lived warm contact on his skin made him grow goosebumps.
Naruto was so cold, it made Sasuke’s heart tighten. He started thinking about what he could do to warm the freckled boy.
“Uh huh.”
“Shut up, Teme!” His pink nose was slowly turning red.
“Come onn, let's goo,” Naruto said, his excitement undimmed. “I was thinking maybe we could go see if the rivers froze over.”
Sasuke turned and walked back inside without a word. It wasn’t a yes… but maybe it wasn’t a no either.
Naruto–though he’d never show it–felt really hurt by this.
Sasuke’s rejection stung more than usual; it made the blonde's heart hurt. He’d gotten his hopes up like he so often did.
He waited outside the estate though, shivering as the cold seeped deeper into his bones. His teeth chattered against his will, and he was starting to lose feeling in his toes.
Maybe if he just stayed out here long enough, Sasuke would come back out. Maybe he’d change his mind.
But the cold was becoming unbearable.
Shivering and defeated, Naruto slowly started walking away from the Uchiha estate, each step feeling heavier than the last. Naruto looked back twice, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sasuke, but there was nothing. Just the empty doorway and the falling snow. The blonde’s shoulders hunched against the cold, and he wrapped his arms around himself.
Maybe Sasuke really didn’t want anything to do with him. Maybe he was just fooling himself thinking they could ever be friends.
But right when Naruto tried to forget about Sasuke, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, spinning around to find said boy holding a blue and grey striped jacket.
“Wear this,” Sasuke said, his voice quiet but firm.
“How can you sneak up on me so quietly? It’s not fair!”
Sasuke didn’t reply, just held out the jacket for Naruto. When Sasuke remained silent, Naruto snatched the jacket from his hands with a huff. He slipped the jacket on and zipped it up halfway before giving Sasuke a look that read, ‘happy now?’
And just as Naruto was getting ready to say something snarky, the raven-haired boy spoke up.
“What river did you want to go to?”
Filled with excitement again, Naruto speaks too loudly, “C’mon! I’ll show you!” and grabs Sasuke’s hand, running through the snow with him.
—
What’s the winter for? To remember love.