When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 4 -

Sasuke Uchiha sat in his room later that evening, waiting for a certain blond to show up so that he could eat his ramen and put all of this nasty business behind him. Of course, Sasuke wasn't even sure if Naruto was going to come, as they had never specified where they were meeting, when, or how they would get there. The Uchiha certainly didn't know where Ichiraku Ramen was; in fact, he had never even heard of the place, and he had been living in Konoha his entire life. Thus, Sasuke had little choice but to wait and hope that Mr. Uzumaki would show up, lest the tensions grow worse between the two.

Come on, Naruto... don't make this a bigger pain in the ass than it already is...

Suddenly, the distinct, two-tone chime of the doorbell signaled that the blond had, indeed, arrived, and the Uchiha forced himself off the bed and began to trudge down the stairs. Much to Sasuke's delight, Itachi was working late that night and was not there to harass his little brother as he usually did. Thus, when the raven-haired boy threw open the door, it was with a surprisingly good mood, and he even managed to smirk upon seeing his companion's broad grin.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed with a quick wave of his hand. "You hungry?"

"Starving," the Uchiha replied as he locked the door shut behind him. "This ramen place better be good."

"You mean you've never been?" the astonished boy exclaimed, as if it were blasphemy to consider such a thing. "Well then, you're in for a treat. It probably has the best ramen in the world. I'd eat there every day if I could, but Iruka says that he isn't paying to send me here just so I can drown myself in ramen."

"Iruka?" Sasuke asked as the two started down the road.

"Yeah, my dad," Naruto elaborated, gazing up at the trees as he thought. "He adopted me when I was six or seven... you know... after Kyuubi."

"Oh," Sasuke said dumbly, averting his eyes from the blond.

That took a bad turn...

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Naruto asked, casting a sideways glance at his companion. "Something I said?"

"No, no," the Uchiha began, only to feel himself break under the blond's gaze. "Well... it's just... I know how much it must hurt to think about that."

"Think about what? Kyuubi?" the vulpine boy said with a slight chuckle, "That was a long time ago, Sasuke. I mean, sure it hurts, but that doesn't mean I can't talk about it."

Sasuke was taken aback by Naruto's sentiment, especially considering the way the blond had reacted the last time Kyuubi was brought up in his presence. For a second he simply stared at Naruto in disbelief, trying to understand how he could change so suddenly, but soon he realized that Mr. Uzumaki's smile was, in fact, even broader than usual. It was a slight difference, admittedly, but it was nothing that Sasuke could not pick out with his sharp, Uchiha vision.

He's covering it up? Is that why he's always grinning like an idiot?

It was a possibility that Sasuke had never thought of before. Naruto had been nothing more than a dobe in the past, but just that subtle change in the blond's exaggerated smile brought whole new layer to the surface.

"Yoohoo! Sasuke! You there?"

Becoming suddenly aware of the hand waving in his face, Sasuke snapped out of his reverie and focused his attention back on the blond. "Huh? What is it, now?"

"You spaced out for a minute there. I thought you were sleepwalking or something," Naruto replied with a playful smirk.

Damn, was I that obvious?

"I'm sorry," the raven-haired boy said, hoping that Naruto would not press the issue any further.

"Don't worry about it. But you never did answer my question."