AN: I absolutely should not have written this. Not only do I have too much school work at the moment to spend time on fanfiction, but I realize now that I just sunk a good portion of my week into writing about a zit. Ah, well. I guess it couldn't be helped. I've had this idea since around October, and it was about time I got it out of my system. I'll admit, it's far from perfect, but I'm pretty fond of how it turned out.

Pairing: None, though probably hints of Sasuke/Naruto (you can of course choose to interpret it anyway you wish). Ultimately a Team 7 humor / hurt and comfort / friendship fic.

Setting: Genin days / pre time skip.

Rated: T for language, but that's probably to be expected.

Additional notes: I feel so bad. I'm uploading this on Sakura's birthday, and Sakura sadly doesn't play as big a part in this as I would have liked, though I tried to write her scenes with as much love as possible. I know I said this in the last fic I uploaded, but I seriously need to write the girl her own fic. If I could, I'd do it today - I've got lots of ideas, but never enough time. Ahhh. In any case, I hope you enjoy this ridiculous little thing. I had fun with it. Annnd now back to the end of semester art-school grind. Pray for me.

Blemish

There were not many things on which Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke openly agreed. The merit of a steaming hot bowl of Ichiraku ramen - the socially acceptable volume of one's speaking voice; there were plenty of topics likely to start a fight if breached. One thing on which the two could see eye-to-eye, however, was that, as Leaf Shinobi, it was not only a responsibility, but a matter of pride to display Konoha's insignia while on duty. So as Naruto set about his morning routine of ambling up the path that led to Team 7's favourite little red bridge, the first thing he noticed was that Sasuke, predictably already waiting - leaning cooly against the guard-rail - was not wearing his forehead protector.

The second thing he noticed:

"I can't take this. You gotta let me pop it."

"What the hell is wrong with you, idiot? Back off."

"Don't be such a bastard! Please, please, please let me?"

"You are absolutely disgusting."

"Say what you want- I'm not the one with a zit the size of a tumour stuck to my head."

Sasuke snarled and shoved his blond teammate's offending hand away before grabbing at a stray strand of his own black hair, trying and failing to hide the humongous pimple that had taken root in the center of his forehead.

"Just one little squeeze and I swear your face will be good as new! I'm an expert at this, ya' know!"

"You're probably the only person alive who's dumb enough to think that popping zits is a field that warrants expertise."

Naruto's indignant huff was altogether too loud as the shorter boy pushed his way back into his teammate's face, mucking up Sasuke's precious personal bubble with reaching, sticky fingers and bad morning breath.

"Dead-last, did you even shower today? Seriously, don't touch me- you're going to make it worse with your greasy - I said don't touch it!"

Impatient, Naruto had made a grab for Sasuke's brow, only to have his hand slapped mercilessly away.

"Ow! Shit! Way to take my friggin' arm off, Ice Queen." Naruto's trademark pout was out in full force as the blond massaged the stinging appendage.

"I told you not to touch it. I don't need it getting any bigger."

"Uh, it can't possibly get any bigger. You can't even fit your forehead protector over the freaking thing!" Naruto paused in his effort to shake some feeling back into his throbbing hand just long enough to level an accusatory finger at his friend.

Growling and fighting desperately to keep the embarrassed flush creeping up his pale neck in check, Sasuke tried, for the umpteenth time that morning, to fasten his hitai-ate, only to end up wincing as the unyielding metal plate squashed the pimple painfully into his skull. Biting back a groan of discomfort and frustration, Sasuke ripped the protector from his head and shoved it rather harshly into his shorts' pocket.

"Buddy, I'm tryin'ta be a friend here," The imploring look on Naruto's face would have been more suited to convincing Sasuke not to jump off of the Hokage monument. "just let me pop the sucker. It's getting pretty gross to look at."

Sasuke couldn't stop the flush this time.

"I don't want aesthetic advice from you of all people, you filthy orange eyesore."

"Crater-faced, duck-assed bastard!"

A few hurried steps, a rustle of clothing, and the two were within punching distance; Naruto's still red hand clutching the front of Sasuke's shirt as the Uchiha's dark eyes bore holes into his friend's skull.

They stayed like that a moment, fists locked and jaws clenched; the familiar anticipation of one of their all too common brawls crackling like electricity in the air, before Sasuke noticed Naruto's eyes begin to gravitate, yet again, towards the growth on his forehead.

Sasuke's arm flew up to tear the other boy's hand from his shirt collar.

"Stop. Staring. At. It."

Naruto stumbled backwards from the force of Sasuke's shove, and was about to retaliate when he noticed that his friend had begun clutching his head and teetering slightly on the spot, his one unoccupied hand groping blindly for the guard-rail of the bridge.

"H-hey... does it really hurt that bad?" Concerned, but weary of being lashed out at, Naruto eyed the dark-haired boy apprehensively.

Still swaying slightly, but now supported by the railing, Sasuke gave his head a small shake.

"I'm fine..." The irritation in his snarl lost all potency as he stumbled again.

"Woah...! Sasuke?"

Naruto took a few cautious steps forward as he watched his friend slowly lower himself to sit on the wooden planks of the bridge.

"... A zit can do all that?" Naruto sounded comically frightened at the prospect as he came to rest next to the other boy, dropping to his knees so that they were on level.

"Ugh... it's not the zit, it's..." Sasuke, muffled by the hand still hiding his face, trailed off.

"It's...?" Naruto prompted.

"It's... it's nothing."

"Look, buddy, if it really hurts that much, we should probably do something about it, right?" Naruto, ever awkward when it came to dealing with serious situations, laughed a little, keeping his tone light, though his concern was obvious.

"No, I'm fine." From the way his shoulders had slumped and his voice had softened, Naruto guessed Sasuke was feeling considerably calmer, though the dark-haired boy's hand was still glued to his face.

"Really, just let me take care of it! it'll get in the way of today's mission if it's bugging you... here-"

A small pounce, a heavy thud, and Sasuke had suddenly found himself with a lap full of hyperactive blond. Hand flying from his face in panic, Sasuke flailed, rather undignifiedly, as he tried to shove his shorter friend away.

"Naruto! Get off-"

"Hey, woah! Relax!" Unfazed by Sasuke's violent thrashing, Naruto placed his hands firmly on the Uchiha's shoulders. "Honestly, you look like you're having a fit."

"You're too close." It was little more than a croak.

"Re-laaaaaax." Naruto repeated, completely disregarding the Uchiha's blatant distress; outside of sparring sessions, where his mind could be otherwise occupied with reading his opponent's moves, Sasuke had never done well with large doses of physical contact.

Far from relaxed, Sasuke's first instinct was to simply freeze up and go rigid. Unfortunately, Naruto took the lack of writhing to mean that he'd settled.

"See? It's fine. Now let me just..." Reaching again for the angry lump sprouting from Sasuke's forehead, Naruto leaned even closer, Sasuke starting to shake beneath him.

"Sorry I'm late! I overslept a bit and- what the hell are you two doing?!"

Sakura, slightly out of breath and significantly puzzled, jogged up to her teammates, her eyes darting from Naruto, nearly sitting in Sasuke's lap in order to better reach the other boy's forehead, and Sasuke, body so stiff and eyes so wide, passersby might have mistaken him to be catatonic.

"Good morning, Sakura-chaaaan!" Naruto crowed in his typical sing-song manner, still squatting over his teammate, completely oblivious to the boy's immense discomfort and Sakura's quickly mounting rage.

"Naruto... Why are you -" Sakura's murderous question was cut short as Naruto began motioning wildly to the boy underneath him, a fox-like grin splitting his face from ear to ear.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Sakura-chan, guess what?! Sasuke has a huge-"

Mortified beyond belief, Sasuke finally found it in himself to shove the other boy off from over top of him.

"Naruto, shut up!"

Naruto's smile only broadened.

"Zit."

There was a brief moment in which Naruto's words seemed to echo off of every solid surface in the vicinity; the weight behind them ringing through the genins' collective consciousnesses as though it were the only truth in the world.

Then that moment passed, and Sakura was upon him.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun does not have a- oh my gosh. That really is huge."

"See! See! I told you so!"

"Naruto, don't be so rude! Yeah, it's big but it's... really not... so bad..." Sakura trailed off as her eyes wandered again to her crush's forehead.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, his expression daring her to say even one more word.

"I-I mean, it's nothing a little bit of coverup couldn't fix! N-not that it really needs fixing! It's barely noticeable! Ahahaha..." Sakura continued to dig her own grave, blushing furiously all the while, "Would you like me to lend you some concealer, Sasuke-ku-"

"No."

"Ah. T-that's fine! I just... thought I'd offer." The pink-haired kunoichi deflated into a morose huddle as she sat herself down next to her two teammates.

Throwing a glare Sasuke's way for making Sakura so clearly flustered, Naruto shrugged and rolled up his baggy sleeves.

"Pft, whatever. I was just about to get rid of it for him anyway, so you won't have to pretend you're not grossed out by it much longer, Sakura-chan."

Sakura flushed an angry purple.

"Naruto! I said cram it- hey, wait! Don't do that!"

Sakura's arm flew to intercept Naruto's outstretched hand, his nails just inches from the pimple.

"Wh-what? Why?" the blonde stammered, jerking his hand back as if he had been burned, "What's wrong?"

She turned and gave him a look so serious, Naruto couldn't help recoiling slightly.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Whatever you do, do not pop that pimple."

At this, even Sasuke, whom had been trying his utmost to avoid looking at either of his obnoxious teammates, turned to regard Sakura curiously. Remembering that his pink-haired comrade was, in fact, female, Sasuke wondered whether she knew something about skin-care that he and Naruto did not. He had thought it might have been a bad idea to let Naruto touch the blemish with his grimy hands, but was there a consequence to actually popping the pimple in itself? Would it cause more to sprout up in its place? Would the area become infected?

Soon Sasuke was aware of the fact that he was leaning in childishly, as if a closer proximity would coax a quicker response out of Sakura.

An uncharacteristically cautious Naruto finally broke the silence.

"What's wrong...? Why shouldn't I pop it?"

"Because..." Sakura began hesitantly, and Sasuke and Naruto shared a suspenseful glance as they held their breath, awaiting her answer.

"I want to pop it."

Sasuke blinked.

Naruto whined.

"But Sakura-chaaaaan! I already called dibs!"

"Naruto, your fingers are filthy! Look! I can see the dirt underneath your nails from here! Obviously I should be the one to do it."

"No! Fair's fair, and I called this one! You can get the next one!"

"There isn't going to be a next one!" Sasuke yelled incredulously, having finally broken out of his stupor.

"See? There isn't going to be a next one," Sakura motioned to Sasuke's irate face for emphasis, "so I should do it! To make sure of that! I can guarantee my fingers are cleaner than yours."

"Aw, c'mon! I'll wash my hands off in the stream right now! I'll even clean under my nails!"

"No one is touching me!" Sasuke interjected, a look of utter disbelief on his face, "What is wrong with the two of you? I shouldn't even have to say something like that!"

"But you said I could!" Naruto countered huffily, "You said so just a few minutes ago!"

"I said no such thing! When, exactly, did the meaning of the words 'don't touch it, Naruto' change?."

"Well you hinted at it!"

Trying desperately to regain some composure, but only succeeding in looking petulant, Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and turned away with a small snort.

"Please Sasuke-kun? I promise it won't hurt one bit, and I'll make sure it's as clean a job as possib-"

The icy stare Sakura received was cold enough to shut her down instantaneously. Flushing cherry red, she lowered her eyes and resorted to intently inspecting the wooden planks of the bridge.

"Oi, bastard!" Don't glare at Sakura-chan like that!"

The blond received no response from his brooding teammate, whom had apparently had quite enough of being poked and prodded; refusing to show anything but his hunched back.

"Hey! I'm talkin' to you!"

When it did come, Sasuke's response was quiet; blunt.

"Yeah, well stop talking. You're giving me a headache."

"Tch. Fine, Ms. Priss."

A sharp exhalation of indifference from Sasuke was all it took for Naruto to begin ranting again.

"No, you know what? You're being stupid! Fine, I get it - you don't want us to touch your nasty-ass zit, but we were only trying to help, ya' know?"

Silence.

"Hey! You can't ignore me forever!" Naruto began poking Sasuke's back rather obnoxiously, "What, are you hiding from me now?"

"Shut up."

"Are you... wait..." Naruto's pokes slowed slightly as comprehension dawned, "Are you seriously that bummed out about the stupid zit?"

Sakura, sensing the situation was only about to get uglier, moved to put some distance between her two male teammates, and had just opened her mouth to try to defuse some of the tension, when Naruto held up a hand to shush her.

"Wow, Sasuke. I gotta be honest here - I might'a joked about it before, but I never actually thought you were this vain. It's a zit. Get over it."

"N-Naruto!" Sakura, wide-eyed, brows knitting together in apprehension, tried once more to quell her friend's temper, but the situation, as it was prone to do whenever Naruto and Sasuke were involved, was quickly spiraling out of control.

Sasuke's head turned ever so slightly, so that just one narrowed eye was visible through a curtain of dark bangs.

"What did you just call me, dropout?"

At the audible sound of Naruto's teeth scraping together, Sakura knew it was too late. The line had been crossed.

"Vain. I called you vain. Vain, vain, vain, vain, vain." the blond ground out as he continued to gnash his molars.

"Take it back."

A moment of confused and stunned silence settled over the trio. Out of the, no doubt, thousands of insults Naruto had thrown at Sasuke during their time together on Team 7, not once before had one pushed Sasuke so far as to demand an apology. The boys' usual routine for dealing with arguments was to let things escalate until the name-calling, and sometimes even physical violence, got bad enough that they were either too tired to continue, or were reluctantly forced to stop by their lazy jounin instructor. Even Sasuke himself felt slightly unsettled by the atmosphere his words had conjured.

"...No." Naruto's usual defiance was present in his retort, but there was also a hint of uncertainty, almost as if he had meant it as a question, and was now awaiting Sasuke's response much like a scientist awaiting test results. This was uncharted territory, and Naruto wasn't quite sure how to proceed.

When no one moved, or even dared to breathe, Naruto's chronic impatience won out over the disquiet.

"No." He stated more firmly, "I'm not taking it back. You're being dumb. You tell me at least twice a day how much my hygiene sucks, but when I call you out once on a stupid pimple, you go all depressive on me!"

Sasuke's one visible eye narrowed further.

"Shut it. I'm not doing this with you right now. My head hurts. Just take it back."

"Ow! My head hurts!" Naruto parroted dramatically, sounding nothing at all like Sasuke as he raised his voice several octaves to a near hysterical pitch, "Now you're just making lame excuses."

"Take it back."

"You are actually unbelievable right now. There are more important things than looks, ya' know. Like, god forbid there's one day in Uchiha Sasuke's life that's not perfect. Normal people have other things to worry abou-"

Naruto found himself knocked backwards, a searing pain shooting up his jaw, as Sasuke's clenched fist connected, hard, with the side of his head. Through the palm that had instinctively shot up to clutch at the abused area of his face, Naruto foggily registered that Sasuke had gotten to his feet and had begun stalking away, hands in pockets, head bowed low.

A retreating utterance of "Stay the hell away from me." drifted back to the bewildered pair still squat by the edge of the bridge; Sasuke's voice sounded anything but natural, his tone thick - as though speaking through a mouthful of cotton.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura began to climb to her feet to follow, until noticing the Uchiha stride unhesitatingly into a small, wooded patch lining the river, and out of sight.

Caught in an awkward crouching position in between sitting and standing upright, Sakura slowly rose to her full height, but didn't dare take one step forward. She stood, tense with worry, staring at the exact spot where Sasuke had disappeared into the trees.

Groaning, Naruto pulled himself into a sitting position with the hand unoccupied with grabbing at his now swollen left cheek. At the very least, there was going to be a bruise.

Starting slightly at Naruto's agonized grunt, Sakura turned back to him.

"... Are you alright?"

Naruto could tell that she was genuinely concerned about him, but that she was struggling against the urge to tear off after their dark-haired teammate.

Rubbing gingerly at the space just below his cheekbone, Naruto nodded.

"Yeah... just stings a bit." Even Naruto wasn't sure if he'd meant the physical pain, or the entire situation.

Sakura took it to mean both.

"I... don't know what came over him." She touched a nervous finger to her lips, "It's not like him to snap over something like this - I think I should go see if he's alright..."

Giving his cheek one final massage, Naruto shook his head.

"Nah. I'll go after him. I don't want him to bite your head off."

It took a moment, but eventually Sakura nodded dejectedly, and held out a hand to her friend, still sprawled on the ground. Smiling around his injured cheek, Naruto gratefully accepted, and clambered to his feet.

Patting his tender face once more before shaking his head clear, Naruto gave Sakura a quirky little salute before turning to set off down the path and after their wayward teammate.

"Naruto..."

He stopped mid-step and glanced over his shoulder.

"Mm?"

Sakura fidgeted nervously with the hem of her dress before speaking.

"Just... go easy on him, okay?" Seeing the uncomprehending look on Naruto's face, she finished hurriedly, "He hasn't been well lately. You've noticed, right?"

If Naruto hadn't been confused before, he was now.

"Whadda 'ya mean, Sakura-chan?

She bit her lip slightly, and her grip on her clothing became tighter.

"I don't know how to explain it exactly, but... he's just been off lately."

"Pfft, the bastard's 'off' all the time - wouldn't know social skills if they chidoried him up the ass."

"Naruto! This is serious! He hasn't been looking well for days, either..."

At this, Naruto froze. It was one thing for Sakura to be concerned for Sasuke, but as far as the blond could remember, his pink-haired teammate had never described the boy as anything other than immaculate in appearance.

"... Have you really not noticed?"

Naruto hesitated only slightly before spinning around to face her fully, a large (and painful due to his injury) grin cracking his face.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll talk it out. We've had worse fights than this - I'll get the jerk to tell me what's going on inside that inflated head of his, so you won't have to bother yourself with it anymore."

She gazed back at him, torn between gratitude, worry and something else Naruto couldn't quite place. It made him anxious.

"He just..." her eyes became downcast, her voice trembling a little, "He won't ever talk to me. He never lets me help him."

It dawned on him then that this had been on her mind for days. Holding it in. Worrying. Not breathing a word of her concern for fear of being shut down. His large grin morphed into a small, sad smile that he didn't let her see. This was one of the reasons he loved Sakura so much; her devotion was unyielding. This was one of the reasons he wanted to protect Sakura so desperately; her best efforts were constantly going to waste.

When he glanced up again, he didn't need to force the exuberant smile that lit his face - he was going to make sure she felt better.

"Hey, hey! I promise I'll find out what's bothering him, Sakura-chan! So don't look so sad, okay?" Naruto's grin was infectious; as Sakura glanced back up, though her uncertainty was still obvious in the way she stood, she couldn't resist returning a soft smile of her own.

"... Yeah." She rubbed a little at her eyes, which were a tinge red but, to Naruto's relief, dry, and her smile grew. "Thank you."

He stuck his tongue out mischievously before swivelling on the spot, continuing down the path towards the trees.

"Don't mention it."

OoO

When Naruto entered a small clearing in the trees to find Sasuke sitting, hunched, on a mossy log, his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands, he was surprised to find the atmosphere free of the anger his friend had lashed out with mere minutes ago. Instead, there was just a boy. Dejected, and looking far too small for Naruto's liking, Sasuke didn't so much as glance up as the blond, almost timidly, drew nearer, though Naruto wasn't so naive as to think that Sasuke hadn't noticed him approach.

"Sasuke-"

"What do you want?" It wasn't bitter, or even snide. If anything, Naruto would have said he sounded tired. But that was an understatement; he sounded exhausted.

"I..." Naruto remembered the vow he'd made to Sakura, and decided that if he had to swallow his pride and apologize, he was going to get it out of the way as soon as possible, "I'msorryIcalledyouvainokay?"

"Try saying that a little slower."

"I... Ugh!" Grinding his teeth and inwardly cursing his teammate's stupid inability to recognize what was so obviously an apology, Naruto briefly considered just leaving the bastard to brood.

But just like one of those maddening optical illusions, when looked at in a certain way, what was seen could not be unseen, and as Naruto scrutinized the other boy, Sakura's concerned comments rang true. There was no denying Sasuke looked sick. Things that had previously eluded Naruto were now obvious - the dark under-eye bags that contrasted the Uchiha's paler-than-usual skin, the brittle, matted look of his hair, the gauntness of his face; had he lost weight?

Remembering his friend's earlier uncharacteristic swaying, Naruto despite still being sore at Sasuke for the blow to his face, felt like a jerk, and knew he needed to try to make things right.

Damn if the bastard wasn't making this difficult for him on purpose, though.

"I'M-" Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Naruto stifled his impulse to yell - a bad habit cultivated over years of having to shout just to be heard at all. Deflating somewhat, but seeming all the more sincere for it, he mumbled, "I'm... sorry, alright?"

There was a pause; made more awkward than perhaps it should have been by a small number of chirping birds nested in the surrounding trees. Both boys waited for the other to speak. Neither of the two of them had ever been good with apologies - giving or receiving, and the very nature of their twisted, rivalry-fueled friendship never made any amount of tenderness an easy feat.

Typically, it was Naruto who broke the silence.

"Look, I know you don't care about things like that. It was a stupid thing to say, alright?"

No response.

"Hey, Sakura-chan was right - it's really not that bad. And it's not like it's gonna be there forev-"

"It's not about the fucking zit, you moron!"

Startled, Naruto took an involuntary step backwards. "Wha-?"

"The constant, pointless D rank missions, our neglectful instructor, the fact that I'm going absolutely nowhere while he's still out there somewhere, breathing - living." The words tumbled from his mouth in a rush as a clenched fist was poised to slam into the log beneath him. A few moments passed, and Sasuke's arm went limp, dropping defeatedly into his lap. "I... I can't just keep sitting around anymore. I can't."

Tentatively regaining his ground, Naruto felt an anxious lump begin to form in his throat.

"Sasuke... what happened?" The way in which it was asked made it clear that Naruto was not referring to their fight.

Silence; an almost inaudible sigh, and then, in a voice so small it didn't sound at all his own, Sasuke muttered, "Tomorrow's his birthday."

The realization was instantaneous, and a steady trickle of unease began winding its way into Naruto's gut; the familiar, conflicting feelings of both understanding and incomprehension swirling together in a way that made him nauseous. Wanting desperately to be able to say that he could sympathize - that he knew, Naruto bit into the flesh of his tongue, the angry welts left by his teeth betraying his frustration. Because he couldn't, and he didn't. Not really. A fact of which he, as well as Sasuke, certainly, was painfully aware.

Not yet thirteen and with entirely too much at stake to risk the wrong words, there was not a single thing Uzumaki Naruto could think to say.

Though, for once, he didn't seem to have to.

"Mother would make donburi. Even though that kind of food is too hot for summer..." It was little more than a mutter, and Naruto felt like it was more for Sasuke's benefit than his own that it was being said at all, but still he listened, transfixed. "Father would always complain that it heated the house up too much, but she would insist on making it... because it was his favourite."

A humorless, but not altogether unkind, chuckle broke from Sasuke's lips as he fisted his hands in his lap.

"He was always late. Late for his own dinner... mother never minded, though..."

With the glazed-over eyes of someone who had done so much crying in their lifetime that they weren't physically able to anymore, Sasuke finally glanced up at his teammate. "I didn't either... not really. He'd always come home eventually..."

The smallest hint of a smile pulled at the edge of the dark-haired boy's mouth, but vanished so fast Naruto was left wondering if it had really been there at all.

"He liked donburi because he said that when stews were cooking, the house felt more like a home - made us feel more like a family." It was spat suddenly, with a venom so noxious that the mere utterance seemed to take more energy than the boy had. His shoulder's slumped, eyes unfocused, Sasuke gazed unblinkingly at his teammate as though trying to decide whether or not he was really there. Naruto wondered how long it had been since Sasuke had slept.

"He needs to die."

It was almost imploring. Small and unsure, for once Sasuke sounded like the twelve year old boy that he was, and Naruto desperately wished he didn't.

Though he would sooner die than admit it, Naruto often had trouble remembering that Sasuke was not indestructible. It was easier to think of him as an unstoppable force, driven forward by an incredible determination, than to see the person underneath. Because whenever Naruto caught even a glimpse of that person, he was terrified by the cracks he could see running along the boy; a heavy weight of hopelessness spreading and splitting the already fraying edges of his friend.

And it was unfair, Naruto knew. Sasuke could be an icy, closed-off asshole, sure, but he had accepted, acknowledged, defended and understood him when no one else was willing to give him so much as a passing glance. And, when it came down to it, for all his talk of wanting to be accepted, and for all of Sasuke's anti-social behaviour, it had always been the other boy that had extended his hand - Naruto taking while Sasuke gave far more than he had in him to share.

It was easier to pretend things were fine. It was easier to believe things would stay the way they were forever. But Uzumaki Naruto had vowed long ago to stop taking the easy way. Sasuke was breaking. The evidence was right in front of his face, and he couldn't afford to ignore it any longer.

Thoroughly fed up with waiting for the right thing to say, Naruto ungracefully flopped himself down on the moss-covered log and gave the other boy an awkward, embarrassing and entirely inadequate pat on the back. Sasuke stiffened at the initial touch, but didn't pull away. It was uncomfortable for the both of them, and to Naruto's dismay, the soft, repeated drumming of his fingers on the Uchiha's back seemed to scream, 'there, there'. But perhaps because the sentiment was acted rather than spoken, or maybe because Sasuke was too dazed to make a fuss, it slipped by without comment.

They sat like that for a while, the chirping of birds and the gentle rustle of leaves the only sound, Naruto's pats morphing into a flat-handed rub. They sat, and for a precious moment in time, they forgot themselves.

"Hey." Naruto mumbled after a while, his palm still tracing slow circles over the Uchiha fan on Sasuke's shirt.

"... Hey." Noting with relief that Sasuke sounded much more like himself, Naruto couldn't help but grin.

"You look like shit."

"Hn."

"Just thought I'd be a friend and tell you straight."

"Okay."

"Like, even Sakura-chan said so. It's that bad, dude."

"Uhuh." Sasuke didn't smile, though he didn't necessarily frown, either. Naruto supposed that was a good sign. Giving his friend one final, good intentioned smack on the back, Naruto dropped his hands to his lap.

Knowing if he didn't say it soon, he'd lose his nerve, Naruto sucked in a deep breath and took the plunge.

"You know..." He started hesitantly, twiddling his thumbs and praying that the action passed for nonchalance, "we never really hang out. Why is that?"

It had the desired effect.

"W-what?" Relishing any falter he could cause in Sasuke's usual collectedness, Naruto schooled his face to hide his glee as his friend whipped around, mouth slightly agape with incredulity, an ill-concealed blush bringing some colour to his too-pale cheeks.

"Hang out. You know, like normal friends do." His words were met with a continued blank stare.

"Hang. Out." Naruto drew the words out loudly and deliberately, as if speaking to someone both very slow and very deaf. "You do know what that means, right?"

"Of course I know what it means, dumbass!" While Sasuke seemed to have regained his ability to speak, the flush on his face had intensified tenfold, "I just - what's your point? I'm already forced to spend nearly every day of my life with you - besides, if you have that much spare time, you should be training."

Heaving a small 'tch', the Uchiha went to rub at the pimple still jutting out of his forehead before he seemed to think better of it, and jammed his fists in his shorts pockets.

Having anticipated this answer, Naruto was quick to the punch; it was now or never: "Yeah, yeah, but, you know, I've been thinking - we have a day off tomorrow, and you've been lookin' preeeeeeetty worse for wear lately. Maybe you need some time to just... get better. Like... I dunno, getting some fresh air? Going out for lunch...?"

Trailing off, he threw an appraising glance Sasuke's way, and wasn't surprised to find realization etched across his teammate's face. Sasuke wasn't stupid - of course Naruto had expected him to guess his motive.

"C'mon, bastard. I'll even buy for you. I'm being generous here." It was said carefully, and with no small amount of subtext.

'You don't have a subtle bone in your body, do you?' It didn't need to be asked aloud for Naruto to practically hear it as Sasuke fixed him with a calculating stare.

An eternity seemed to pass as he awaited Sasuke's reply, and Naruto let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when his friend gave a small, amused snort.

"Let me make one thing clear: we're not going for ramen."

Naruto couldn't have stifled the enormous grin cracking his bruised face if he'd tried.

"Jerk! I'm the one paying - I'll decide where we go!" His indignation was not at all convincing.

"You're too loud."

"Yeah, yeah, so you've said."

Swiftly linking an arm with his friend, Naruto stood and pulled the Uchiha with him.

Grumbling, but making no real effort to free himself, Sasuke stumbled along as Naruto dragged him through the clearing and back towards the path leading to the bridge. Stealing a sideways glance at the dark-haired boy, Naruto's grin stretched wider. He couldn't deny that if Sasuke had chosen to call him out on his childish, roundabout way of showing he cared - letting him know that he didn't want his friend to be alone on a day so upsetting, Naruto would have dropped the subject. He wasn't used to having friends. Not yet. And while he'd grown up assuming that loneliness was the most frightening thing imaginable, the blond was slowly learning that having someone to care about could be just as scary.

Their sandaled feet moved in tandem as they walked, and Naruto mused to himself that, while he may not have conquered that fear today, he'd made progress. And one day, he swore to himself, he'd be able to tell his best friend he cared without resorting to games. Naruto's arm tightened against Sasuke's, and his teammate threw him a questioning look.

"What?"

Sticking his tongue out, the blond gave him a playful nudge with his elbow.

Baby steps. Those were the key, and for now, they were enough.

"Man, would you please just let me pop the damn thing before we head back out there?"

"Touch it and I'll kill you."

OoO

"Ah. There you two are."

In the time they'd been gone, Kakashi had apparently chosen to show up. Quite clearly enjoying the fact that he had, for once, not been the last to arrive, their instructor gave them a crinkly-eyed smile that positively oozed with patronization. Both boys inwardly groaned as they trudged their way up to the edge of the bridge. Sakura gave them a small, relieved smile as they came to stand next to her, and Naruto, taking this as a consolation, graced her with a wink.

"Sakura said you'd had a bit of a tiff. Good to see you've worked it out..." Kakashi's lazy eye landed on Naruto, taking in the blond's still puffy cheek, "but did it really have to come to blows?"

Neither answered as they fixed him with matching unimpressed glares.

"Well, in any case, now that we're all finally here, we should get on with today's agenda."

"Finally?" Naruto mouthed to Sasuke incredulously. The other boy rolled his eyes.

"We've been asked to repaint some fences in the North-East business sector." Kakashi said, ignoring the two and reaching down to grab a stack of four buckets that had been leaning against his leg. "I'm told by the shop owners who've hired us that they'll supply the paint, but I had to run out and buy these this morning. To tell the truth, that's why I was just a teensy bit late-"

"Oh, save it for someone who hasn't heard it a hundred times." Sakura grumbled.

"Ah, do you really have that little faith in me?"

"Yes." Both Naruto and Sakura answered bluntly.

"Aw, well that's not very fair-" Kakashi trailed off as he finally took a good look at Sasuke.

"Uh... Hm... Sasuke, you've got a little..." The jounin gestured to his own brow, "a little... thing." Kakashi finished lamely as he continued to stare.

Thoroughly done with all the attention his forehead had received that day, Sasuke made to tell Kakashi to mind his own business.

He was beaten to the punch.

"It's just a little blemish, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto drawled matter-of-factly. "Geez, for all we know you could have like, a million tic-scars or something hiding under that mask of yours - you can't talk."

Kakashi's one visible eye blinked.

Not missing a beat, Sakura chimed in. "Yeah, it's pretty suspicious if you ask me - always covering yourself up like that." She shrugged, "But I guess if it helps your self-esteem, no one can really blame you for it."

Glancing between his two teammates, still a little stunned but feeling lighter than he had in days, Sasuke's urge to crack a smile nearly won out. He settled for allowing himself a satisfied smirk as both he and Naruto strode past their hapless sensei, each grabbing a bucket from his arms as they went.

"Well. That stung."

"Maybe if you weren't always so late we'd treat you a little better." Sakura called off-handedly as she followed after her boys.

"Well... hey, now - don't leave me behind." Scratching confusedly at his head, Kakashi ambled after his genin charges.

"It's true what they say- children can be so cruel."

The next day, Sasuke would allow himself to be toted around by his overly enthusiastic teammate, choking down more than one bowl of Ichiraku ramen as well as a side order of sunomono. Just to make Naruto's bill larger, he would tell himself. And maybe, if he was being honest, because he enjoyed the ecstatic look the blond would give him after seeing him eat more than he had in a long while. He would even deign to have Sakura join them later, Naruto dragging them both up the hill to sit on the Third's rocky likeness and watch the sunset. And as the stars came out, and the three of them finally lapsed into a companionable silence, Sasuke would smile. The pain would still be there - it always would be, but in that moment, it would be no more than a small blemish on an otherwise perfect day.