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Everything feels better when Sasuke is back in Konoha.
It’s as if there’s colors in Naruto’s world again.
He wipes sweat from his forehead and grins. “That all you’ve got?”
Sasuke glares at him, but removes his cloak and tosses it aside. “Remember, no chakra,” he says and moves into position.
Adrenaline pumps through Naruto’s veins as he attacks again and Sasuke is there, always there, to take his punches and kicks. They’ve been sparring for hours by now, and Naruto isn’t even a little tired yet, and Sasuke doesn’t seem too exhausted yet either.
They’re drenched with sweat, dirty from getting thrown to the hard-packed ground, but Naruto is brimming with life. He doesn’t care he’s sweaty and dirty.
He and Sasuke are locked in a dance only they can do, and he’s thriving.
They don’t need to exchange words. They’re just punching, kicking, evading, parrying. Sasuke has gotten good at fighting with only arm and you can barely even notice he’s missing the other.
Sasuke lunges forward, and Naruto prepares to block him, but Sasuke changes direction in split second, then manages sweep Naruto’s feet from under him.
Naruto crashes on the ground, but before he can move, Sasuke is there, with his fingers close to Naruto’s throat.
“You lose,” Sasuke says with a smirk. He’s panting, black hair plastered against his temples, but he looks just as exhilarated as Naruto feels.
“Well, it’s my ten wins to your ten wins,” Naruto says breathlessly. His heart is hammering in his chest and having Sasuke so close makes him feel all kinds of things he doesn’t want to acknowledge.
Sasuke chuckles and moves his hand to offer it. Naruto takes it and lets himself be pulled on his feet.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Sasuke says, lets go of Naruto’s hand (is it just him or was the movement quicker than usual?) and rolls his shoulders. “My stump is having a bad day.”
“I can give you massage once we get back?” Naruto suggests. There’s nothing weird about it—they did it a lot to each other in the early days after the war, before Naruto got his prosthetic arm.
Now, though, the blush on Sasuke’s cheeks seems to deepen, but he still mutters, “Fine,” as he goes to pick up his cloak.
What’s up with him now? Naruto wonders, waiting for Sasuke to catch up. He’s been acting so weird recently.
I wonder, Kurama mutters, and Naruto almost startles because he hadn’t realized he had been thinking that loudly.
“Are you hungry?” Naruto asks as they leave the training grounds and head back into the village. “We could stop by at Ichiraku or get something else—”
“Something we can pick up and eat back at home,” Sasuke says. “I’m not in the mood to sit in a restaurant.”
“That’s fine,” Naruto assures him. “Hey, you okay? Did I go too far—?”
“It’s not you, I’m just tired,” Sasuke says and avoids his eyes. “I haven’t—been able to sleep well, in a while. Nightmares, you know.”
“Oh,” Naruto says and he deflates. “Right.”
Naruto has nightmares too. Has had ever since the war’s ending. They’re rarer now, but still, they happen. When Sasuke is staying at Naruto’s place, it’s not that uncommon for them both to wake up covered with sweat and screams stuck in their throats.
It got better once they both started sleeping in Naruto’s bed. Feeling Sasuke’s warmth, being enveloped in his scent…
It’s not wonder Naruto sleeps the best only when Sasuke is at the village.
They stop by at the grocery store on the way back, and since neither of them feeling like cooking at the moment, they end up buying two frozen pizzas along with soda. Sasuke usually makes them eat more healthily while he’s visiting (and Naruto lets him do the cooking), but he isn’t too strict about it.
Back at the house, Naruto slides the pizzas in the oven while Sasuke takes the first turn to take a bath. It’s all familiar—a rhythm they fell into after the war when they were recuperating.
Naruto glances at the bathroom door and smiles to himself. It still feels so surreal to him, to live in an era of peace, and Sasuke of all people is having a bath in his bathroom.
That Sasuke is back here. That he’s alive.
They’re better friends than ever, now.
After eating, Sasuke flops to sit on the floor in front of the couch and Naruto sits behind him on the couch and massages his shoulders and neck. Eventually, Sasuke falls asleep like that, head leaning against Naruto’s leg.
He doesn’t dare move, and plays with Sasuke’s black hair as he watches TV.
Naruto doesn’t sleep.
It’s not that he can’t—he just doesn’t want to.
If he sleeps, the morning will come faster, and with that, Sasuke’s departure.
Of course, he knew that from the beginning. That Sasuke wouldn’t stay.
It still doesn’t make this any easier. Naruto swallows and turns on his side, so he can look at Sasuke’s sleeping form—but then Sasuke opens his eyes.
They stare at each other in the darkness for a while, without saying anything.
Naruto blinks and he’s pissed there are tears in his eyes. “Don’t leave me yet,” he whispers and his voice breaks. “Please.”
Sasuke’s expression softens and he moves his hand to brush his fingers over Naruto’s cheek.
They don’t often do stuff like this. They haven’t talked about it. But it feels so right, and while Naruto had been scared before, he isn’t anymore.
Because there’s no one else he cares about the same way.
“I guess I could…” Sasuke starts and his fingers trail the edges of Naruto’s lips, “stay for a while longer. But only for a while. I do have stuff to do outside of Konoha.”
“I know,” Naruto croaks. “It’s just… I hate it when you’re gone. I have friends here, but I’m still lonely, y’know?” His lips tingle where Sasuke touched them, and his heart starts pounding faster. When has Sasuke gotten this much closer?
“I know,” Sasuke murmurs. “It’s the same with me. Karin and the others are good friends, but… they’re not you.”
Naruto laughs wetly. “Well, that’s an honor.”
The next moment, Sasuke has moved closer and kissed him, just a light brush on the lips.
Significantly better than their first kiss back at the Academy, but it feels like a promise.
A promise for something more.