Heights

fucking geezer." Naruto grumbled to himself as he kicked a rock down the sidewalk. His stomach growled for the thousandth time as if it hadn't gotten the message that he wasn't eating dinner tonight. His guardian had once again been too busy chasing women to go to the grocery store; Naruto had spent the past hour staring at a pack of salami that looked a little too old to be safe. He had school in the morning and he wasn't trying to gamble on it. He'd learned his lesson last time.

Naruto had long eaten all of his cup noodles and now it was too late to go to the store. He really regretted taking that after-school nap.

Now not only was he hungry, but he was wide-awake. Naruto wandered the neighborhood, his eyes scanning the empty residential streets until he got to the park. He slowed to a stop before deciding to take a stroll through.

The moon looked insanely huge tonight, nearly full and glowing, nothing Naruto had ever seen before. The stars blanketed the sky around it, many of them visible thanks to the broken street lamps around the path. Instead of watching where he was going, he walked with his eyes locked on the night sky, his mouth slightly agape as he took in the view.

Naruto followed the stone path through the park until he reached a small building beside the playground. The brick structure was just the public bathrooms and normally wouldn't catch Naruto's attention, but something unusual made him do a double-take.

Atop the brick building was the figure of a person. They sat with their arms back behind them, head tilted up towards the sky like Naruto had. As Naruto got closer, he recognized the figure immediately and blinked in confusion.

"Sasuke?"

The boy turned and looked down. The wind whipped his dark hair around his face and Sasuke stared back at him with pitch-black eyes. The moonlight made him look like a figment of Naruto's imagination.

"Naruto." he replied, his voice quiet in the night.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. Honestly, he was surprised Sasuke knew his name. Sasuke was a senior, a year above Naruto, and the only classes they had together had been gym and lunch. If you could call lunch a class. Sasuke was popular and surrounded by people constantly, so he probably didn't pay too much attention to underclassmen.

Naruto hadn't actually had a conversation with him before. Maybe a 'sorry' when he bumped into him in floor hockey, but that was about it. Now he felt awkward for even calling out.

"Uh...how'd you get up there?" Naruto asked. Although the building wasn't that tall, it was quite a climb for a teenage boy. Definitely high enough to break the shit out of your ankle. Naruto supposed the flat roof could make a good hangout spot though.

"I don't know, I just did." Sasuke turned his attention back to the sky. Naruto saw him smirk. "Come on up if you can."

Naruto frowned at the challenge. The guy wasn't even going to give him a hint?

Naruto scanned his surroundings, his eyes landing on a lattice fence against the brick. Ivy and some kind of vine sprouted through the panels, but it looked like a good start. Naruto tested it with his body weight and it only creaked beneath him, appearing to hold.

He climbed up until he got high enough to hop on top of the dumpster against the wall. Carefully, he shuffled across the dumpster and hoisted himself onto the roof, swearing under his breath. What a pain in the ass.

"Impressive." Sasuke sat up and raised his eyebrows. Naruto was sure he'd been watching him struggle with that cocky smirk on his face.

Naruto took a seat next to him and let out a heavy sigh.