Sasuke sat with his roommates outside a small restaurant that was in the town close to their home. Shikamaru and Neji chatted idly as they played a miniature game of chess that the restaurant had on each table. He glanced down at his watch, briefly noting that is was 12:15 in the afternoon. As he looked up, a server stepped over to their table. The boys playing chess did not even notice the man coming over, leaving Sasuke to order for them.

"He'll have the miso mackerel," Sasuke said, pointing at Shikamaru.

"Soba with herring," the boy pointed to Neji as he ordered.

"And I'll have onigiri with fish," he finished, earning a smile and nod from the server before he left. With minor annoyance, he looked at his friends.

"You are children." He muttered, earning a smirk from Neji.

"It's so much effort to talk to people," Shikamaru groaned, yawning for emphasis as he moved his next piece on the board. Sasuke rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair as a cool breeze fluttered down the street. He watched people walking by, enjoying the calm of the afternoon. Across the street, he noticed a familiar mop of blonde hair, catching his attention for a second. He watched his neighbor head down the street, dressed in jeans and a black sweater. He smiled kindly at almost everyone that would spare him a glance as they walked by. Sasuke watched, however, as a few of the people walking towards him chose to cross the street as opposed to walking by him.

'I wonder what's up with that.' Sasuke wondered, taking a sip from his glass of water. He continued watching Naruto walk, feeling his cheeks warm slightly. Frowning to himself, Sasuke averted his eyes and instead began to watch his friends play chess.

"Uzumaki! That you?" a voice caught the attention of all three boys. They turned, seeing their neighbor and friend standing in front of three other people; two men and a girl. Naruto was not smiling anymore, instead, his eyes were locked with the ground as he bit his lip.

"What do you want, Suigetsu?" Naruto asked, not looking up. The man who spoke laughed, heavily placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"What, I can't be happy to see an old friend?" the white-haired man asked, his violet eyes shining. The other man stood quietly, a frown on his face as well as on the girl's face.

"I'm not your friend, now leave me alone." Naruto shot back, shrugging the man's hand off his shoulder before moving to walk around them. Concern flooded Sasuke's thoughts as he watched the other man, who's orange hair stuck up at weird angles, grabbed Naruto's arm tightly. They were similar in size, though the blonde was shorter. They stared at each other, both scowling until the redheaded girl laughed loudly.

"Boys, stop being stupid. I'm sure we'll see Blondie later." She giggled, adjusting her glasses on her nose. Naruto seemed mildly disturbed by this comment, though he nonetheless pulled his arm away and continued walking.

"Why are so many people staring at him now?" Neji asked, observing the looks the blonde was receiving after the encounter.

"What did that guy call him? Uzumaki?" Shikamaru asked, looking back at Sasuke.

"Yeah, why?" Sasuke asked, not understanding. Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Uzumaki was the last name of an elite businessman, similar to your dad." Shikamaru replied, causing Sasuke's eyebrows to raise. Neji turned back to his friends, all growing quiet when their food arrived. When the waitress left, the brunette spoke.

"Minato Uzumaki, he apparently committed suicide about 19 years ago." He said solemnly. Eyes wide, Sasuke looked back to where he could just barely see Naruto continuing down the sidewalk, hands shoved in his pockets. The ache that plagued his chest the night he saw Naruto's scars was back, pain attached to every beat of his heart.

'What has he been through?'

xXxXxXxXxXx

Shikamaru, Neji, and Sasuke followed a familiar sidewalk home, having enjoyed most of the day in town. The sun was still up, but only for a couple more hours, casting long shadows on the pavement. As they neared their home, the noticed a blonde head rushing around his driveway, carrying various cleaning supplies.

"Hey, Naruto, you alright-, wha-?" Shikamaru started before he realized the problem. The boy's home had spray paint all over the walls, windows, and door, as well as rocks all up his driveway; and apparently one that had made it through a window.

"Oh, uh, hey guys!" Naruto greeted nervously, filling a bucket with water from his garden hose.

"What happened?" Sasuke demanded, blushing lightly at the protectiveness in his tone. Naruto hurried over to a part of his home that had awful words written across it; demon, murderer, faggot, freak. The blonde raised a sponge to the paint, beginning to clean it off.

"Uh, probably just some stupid kids." He laughed, but Sasuke could see through it. Naruto was hurt, it was very clear, but how he still managed to laugh was beyond his three neighbors.

"Do you need any help?" Neji offered, causing the other to stop cleaning.

"You'd really help me?" he asked, turning to face the three.

"Well, yeah, you're our friends." Shikamaru spoke up, earning a true smile from the blonde. He handed each of the three a sponge, thanking them several times as they each went to a different spot to help clean. Sasuke stayed beside Naruto, scrubbing "faggot" off his front door.

"You know who did this." Sasuke said quietly; not a question but a statement. Naruto sighed beside him, staring at the word "murderer" that he was about to clean. He nodded, raising the sponge and slowly wiping off the red paint.

"I told you people don't really like me." He replied, Sasuke could feel the lull in his mood.

"You never told me why." The raven pointed out, halfway through cleaning off his word. The blonde scrubbed the wall hard, his voice quiet when he answered.

"People blame me for my mother and father's passing." he said softly, blue eyes glued to the wall as he continued.

"My mother died when I was born, and my father," he paused, his voice cracking and betraying him, "My father committed suicide when I was three." He nearly whispered, turning watery eyes on Sasuke. Wide, black eyes took in the sight of Naruto; tears rolling down whiskered cheeks as he smiled. Sasuke was at a loss for words as he stared back at Naruto. How could someone have gone through that, and still be smiling?

"I'm sorry." Was all he could say, watching Naruto wipe his eyes.

"It's fine, really." He answered, but the darkness still hung in his eyes and voice. They all continued to clean in silence, up until the sun began to set. Most of the paint had been washed away, the rocks cleared, and the window temporarily patched with tape and a trash bag.

"Naruto, do you want to have dinner with us?" Neji invited, his pale eyes sincere.

"No, that's okay Neji but thanks. You guys helped me out a lot." The blonde replied, a tired smile on his face. The boys then all said their good nights, Shikamaru and Neji leaving before Sasuke. The raven stared at his friend, earning a blue gaze meeting his.

"You sure you're okay?" Sasuke asked, debating whether leaving Naruto alone was a good idea. Naruto seemed to consider this for a long time, watching Sasuke's face. The other noticed a light pink dusting Naruto's cheeks, a shyness in his eyes.

"I mean, yeah. Unless, you'd like to stay over?" he offered, the pink becoming red. Pretending not to notice, Sasuke nodded, earning a grin from Naruto as they entered his home.

Sasuke's heart pounded in his chest, anxiousness falling over him. Why did this happen when he was alone with Naruto? He never felt this way around Shikamaru and Neji, not even Sakura! He watched his friend walk across the room to his couch, sitting down and patting the seat beside him to invite Sasuke. The raven obliged politely, sitting beside Naruto as the television was turn on.

They did not speak initially, simply watched the program that was on and quietly sat in each other's presence. It was oddly comfortable, not like when Sakura cuddled up to Sasuke constantly, wanting to lay on him and talk through shows. They simply existed beside each other, with no necessity of speaking or touching. It was pleasant, and the longer Sasuke sat, the longer he hoped it would last.

[To be continued…]