𝒜𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶♡

People pleaser.

If there was ever a word that summed you up perfectly, it’d be people pleaser.

Because you could’ve spent your very pleasant morning sleeping in, training, out with your friends, or even wasting it doing nothing, because even that would’ve been your choice of how to spend your time! But nooo, when Kakashi-sensei had asked who’d volunteer to take the mission reports over to Sasuke’s apartment when he was on sick leave, you just had to volunteer!

Even that wasn’t too bad! It seemed sensible. Sakura would obsess over him and he’d just get worse, Naruto would never step in Sasuke’s apartment, and he’d be annoyingly loud if he did. You were the neutral option. The safe choice. The one who could drop off the papers and not make it weird.

But fate had different plans for you. Oh wait, no no no, you can’t even blame fate because fate actually gave you the perfect out, you’re the one who didn’t take it!

When his fangirl club surrounded you, all worried and frantic over their oh so precious ‘Sasuke-kun’, asking you to deliver their get well soon cards, chocolates, gifts and the like to him, you couldn’t help but say yes. 

Literally anything else would’ve done! “Oh he’s sick, I don't think he’d even have the energy to look through them!” or “Maybe you should stop your obsessive crush on someone who isn’t interested!” or even just “No!” would’ve worked! Fate had it set for you! But instead you gave them kind eyes and a ‘I’ll make sure he gets them.’ Nice going, Y/N. 

Maybe he’d appreciate that others are thinking of him, yeah.

So with that positive thinking, you went out on a perfectly pleasant Saturday morning to run an errand for a teammate who spoke maybe 4 sentences to you in the time you’d known him. All of which being insults. What a great way to spend your day off, carrying a heavy basket of letters and chocolates not even meant for you. The overbearing scent of cheap perfumes might make you sick.

When you reached his apartment on the second floor, a part of you couldn’t help but be curious of what it would be like. Neither you nor any of your other teammates had ever visited. He’s not exactly the hosting type. The other part of you couldn't help but think about how horrible it must feel to be sick alone, it probably wasn’t his first fever without his family or anyone to take care of him but still. The loneliness must sting more than the illness, but you could only guess. 

You knocked once. No reply. 

You knocked again. Same thing.

Had you gotten the address wrong? You rechecked the address Kakashi-sensei had given you against the apartment number on the wall. Nope, right place. 

A cold knot tightened in your stomach. What if he was really bad off? What if he'd collapsed or something? Kakashi said it was just a fever, but what if-

You turned the knob on the front door. Unlocked. You didn’t know Sasuke that well, though did anyone really, but you knew he’d never do that.

“Sasuke? It’s me, Y/N. I brought over mission reports…” You said, stepping in, your voice trailing off as you didn’t see any sign of him inside. 

You put the basket of gifts by the door, took off your shoes at the genkan and stepped inside, taking in the apartment. It was a simple apartment, but it seemed almost… exceptionally clean. The living room and kitchen both looked spotless, there was no dust to be found, no clothes piling over a chair, no dishes left out.

Even you didn’t keep your room as clean as this. Though something told you that it was less from his discipline and more from… emptiness. You were reminded once more of how alone he was. He had no one. No one to fill and dirty these spaces. This must be what his life is like, no family dinners, no lazy sundays, just him, existing in a space that doesn't show any signs of life.

You shook your head, focusing on making your way to the bedroom, from where you could hear labored breaths. 

Now this space looked lived in. You could tell simply from the smell of the sick stale air. It was as if you’d stepped into another apartment. There were tissues balled up and strewn about, on the floor, the side table, the bed. Dirty cups and dishes littered the table adjacent to his bed. There were even scrolls falling on the ground, trailing from his bed. Was he trying to study in this state? Somehow you weren’t surprised. 

You put the mission reports on his side table as your eyes landed over him.

You had seen Sasuke Uchiha quiet, you had seen him angry, and you had seen him cold. You had seen him defeat men twice his size to protect you on missions and then look at you as if you were something to be tolerated. But you had never seen him like this. 

His skin was paler than usual, except for the two spots of color on his cheeks, his knuckles white from how tightly his hands were gripping the blanket, holding it up to his chin. There was a blue cloth placed over his forehead, failing to alleviate his fever. He was shivering, his skin clammy and breath coming in short gasps. His eyes were closed, yet his brows were furrowed.

You had never seen Sasuke Uchiha look fragile. And dare you say, small. 

The mess of his room made sense to you now. He’d probably tried to get through the fever, in pure Sasuke fashion, but lost to his own biology. 

You extended a hand, touching the cloth on his forehead. It was warm to the touch. Carefully, you took it off his forehead, heading to the kitchen and wetting it under cold water from the sink. 

He shivered when you placed the cold cloth over his forehead again, but settled into it quickly. 

Well, your job is done, isn’t it? You brought the mission reports, you brought the gifts, but why did it feel wrong to leave? He’s not a kid, he can handle himself…

Yet you’re still rolling the scroll, carrying the dirty dishes to the kitchen, throwing the balled up tissues in the dustbin and opening the window to let some fresh air in. 

The room was lightning up already. A clean room would help his recovery, or the fangirls would ask you how he reacted so you had to stay till he woke up. You’ve always been too empathetic anyway. You can’t see him in that state and not help him.

So you grabbed a chair and sat by his bed, waiting for him to wake up. You’d stay till he wakes up, ask him how he’s doing and go. Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. Though you can’t expect Sasuke to say anything but ‘I’m fine.’ Or maybe he’d kick you out for invading his space. Well, whatever it is, you’re staying to find out.

Suddenly, you heard his breath hitch, stuttering, your head immediately turned towards his face. He was shifting restlessly, mumbling, shooting out his hands weakly in the air. You were a bit too familiar with this state. He was in the throes of a nightmare. 

First, the words were incoherent noise. Protests. Likely at whatever he’d found himself trapped in. Then, a small, “No… Stop it… Nii-san,” came out. His thrashing became worse, hands shooting out to cover his eyes. Your heart ached at his words, as you got off the chair and grabbed his hands, aiming to ground him. 

“Sasuke, wake up. You’re home. You’re safe.” You called out. His fingers quickly wrapped around yours, taking the anchor he so desperately needed. His breathing became ragged, faster, and your worry grew. 

“Breathe, Sasuke. You’re not there anymore.” You started shaking his shoulder with one hand, trying to wake him up.

After an agonizingly slow moment, his eyes opened and he gasped out, his grip tightened as he shot up, bumping your head, dropping the blue cloth on the ground. You yelped and stepped back, letting go of his hands to rub your head.

“Good morning to you too…” You winced, your head still ringing. Do Uchiha have hardened skulls or something? But you ignored the pain, focusing on him because he looked worse. 

He was still uncharacteristically disheveled. His eyes were wide, frantically glancing around the room in a daze, as if he didn’t recognize where he was. His hands were shaking, twitching as if he wanted to pull out a kunai. He seemed like a scared animal more than an intimidating prodigy. 

“Sasuke.” You called out to him, voice firm. “You’re home. Kakashi-sensei sent me to bring you the mission reports. I’ve been here for an hour. I didn’t want to leave before making sure you’re okay. Which you’re obviously not, so don’t give me any of the ‘I’m fine’ bullshit.” 

He seemed to calm down, his chest stilled and his eyes stopped darting around. It was then that he realized the situation you had caught him in. He turned his gaze towards his hands in his lap, his ears turning a slight pink as he closed his eyes out of embarrassment at his vulnerability. 

“Did I- Did I say anything? While I was asleep?” His voice had a nasal tone to it, likely from the fever. It was also quiet, hesitant, as if he knew the truth but still asked. Just in case. 

“Hm? Nope. Nothing at all.” You smiled down at him. Both of you knew you were lying.

He then glanced at the papers by his bedside, coughing a bit, then his eyes went over the room. “Did you clean?”

Now it was your turn to be embarrassed. Sure, walk in your teammate’s apartment, who acts like he hates you by the way, without permission, and start cleaning even after finishing up your task? You must seem like a neurotic clean freak. Though judging by the condition of his apartment, minus his bedroom of course, he might not exactly judge you for that. At least that’d be a better reply than “Oh uh I was worried about you and I decided to invade your space and clean up because I didn’t want you to wake up to a dirty room.” Okay then you’d just sound like a nagging mother! Better than a nagging mother than a neurotic clean freak though, you decided.

You chuckled awkwardly, rubbing your head, not to soothe the pain but to ease the tension. “I didn’t want you to wake up to a dirty room, and you’re obviously someone who values cleanliness…” 

“Hn.” 

For a while, the only sound was of him coughing slightly. But then he broke the silence.

“You didn’t have to.”

He sounded almost grateful.

“Ah well, I was here anyway… Delivering the mission reports. Your fangirls sent enough chocolates to kill a horse, by the way. I suggest you donate them quickly. You don’t even like sweets.” You snarked, sitting back down on the chair, putting a hand on your chin as he turned to you, brow raised.

“How do you know that?”

“When we’re all together at Ichiraku’s, Naruto and Sakura insist on getting dessert, you never do. I’ve never seen you eating something sweet and even your bento is all onigiri and tomatoes.” You answered without thinking. Why did you know that?

He turned his head away, a hint of a smirk on his face, but only if you’re looking for it carefully. “What, observing my eating habits now, L/N?” 

You turned a little red in the face, staring at the mission reports, which suddenly seemed very interesting. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just… observant. Sakura loves sweets, and Naruto enjoys red bean soup a lot! I just know these things about everyone!”

He didn’t respond to that, but the silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, just… filled with possibilities. It was you who picked one. 

“How’s the fever?”

His face flashed with realization, as if he’d forgotten how sick he was, before turning normally cold. At least he has his poker face still, so maybe it’s not that bad?

He put a hand to his forehead, taking in his temperature. “I’m fine-” He said, before remembering your words and choosing a more honest answer. Okay, so maybe the fever is that bad? 

“I feel better than before, but it’s still there.” Well, he’s trying, you gotta give props for that.

You nodded, “When’s the last time you ate?”

His jaw clenched, and his brows furrowed angrily as he snapped at you. “I don’t need a nurse. You’ve dropped off the mission report, now leave.” 

You didn’t exactly back off either, narrowing your eyes and glaring at him, “Uh, yeah, I didn’t think you needed a nurse either, but after I found you passed out from a fever, and coughing like you’ve got a leaf blower down your throat, I had to question that. Don’t think I missed the scroll, you were trying to study, weren’t you?”

“It’s my apartment. I can handle myself. Leave.” His eyes met yours, but given how his face was flushed with a fever, he looked more like a pissed cat rather than a terrifying shinobi. You had to keep yourself from chuckling. 

“You have to deal with someone, Sasuke. You think I want to spend my weekend here? If you make me leave, I’ll just tell Naruto and you’ll have to deal with him. Or maybe I’ll tell your fangirls you’re open to visits.” You said, smirking.

A vein throbbed on his forehead, you might be lucky he’s sick and not at his full strength because he genuinely looked like he was considering using force. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“I would.” You doubled down. He was right, you wouldn’t do that. The fangirls part at least, though you'd tell Naruto if Sasuke was going to be this pissy. But he didn’t need to know that.

He glared at you for a long second, and you didn’t flinch. When he finally tore his eyes away and stuck out his lips, you blinked. Sasuke Uchiha was… pouting-? He was pouting up at you like a cranky child. This can’t be real. You’re seeing things, probably. Caught in a genjutsu, yeah. 

“Fine.” He grumbled. “Last night.”

You sighed, standing up, putting a hand over his forehead. Still hot to the touch. He seemed to lean in almost. Just slightly. “Alright. Where’s the rice cooker?”

“Pantry.” 

Alright, that’s your cue. You dusted your clothes, stood up and walked to the kitchen. 

It was a normal kitchen, it had everything you’d expect, except actual life. It was lonelier than clean, no dirty dishes on the rack, no pots on the stove, it seemed like no one had used half of these appliances.

Still, you got to work. You pulled out the uncooked rice and rice cooker from the pantry, measuring 2 cups and setting it to boil in the rice cooker. After that you made your way to the genkan, picking up all the chocolates and placing them carefully in the freezer. So what if half of them are the cheap store made crap? Food is food and waste is waste. 

You took a moment to look over the contents of his fridge, simple stuff, eggs, bread. It seemed like he was eating only to survive. Or to ‘get stronger’, he’d say. What explanation would he give you for the tomatoes though? No one needs that many. He’s always eating raw tomatoes, what’s up with that? 

Well, you’re here to find ingredients, not judge his abnormal obsession with tomatoes. You took out the miso paste, tofu, green onions and other things you’d need and started getting to work. 

It took about a half hour, but you were soon walking into his room again, carrying a tray with a plate of rice, miso soup, and a glass of water. He was reading the mission reports as you walked in, probably criticizing what Jutsu Naruto did during a mission in his head. 

You put the tray in front of him, as he turned his head. His eyes glanced from your face to the food, as he put away the mission reports on the bed side table. He seemed almost… awestruck for a second before he covered it with another cough. It was simple miso soup and rice, you’d even burned some of it by accident and probably added too much salt.  

“What, playing nurse wasn’t enough so you had to be the chef too?” He remarked, before his voice turned softer. “You don’t have to do all this.”

“It’s really not much, Sasuke.” You said casually, before catching yourself- To someone who probably hadn’t had someone cook for him for years, this might have been a lot. 

You cleared your throat, sitting down on the chair. “You should eat. You need the energy.”

He stared at the food again, before tilting his head up at you and raising his head. “You won’t eat?” He said, concerned. 

You had to admit. He looked adorable. Or his actual age for once, to be precise. The stuffy voice made him sound younger too. The fever must be getting to his head.

“I’m not hungry, I had a big breakfast before coming over.” You answered with a smile. He seemed to accept the answer as he nodded his head. 

His trembling arm fought the weight of the spoon. He managed to scoop up a bit of rice and soup, but as he lifted it toward his lips, his muscles gave out. The spoon clattered loudly against the tray, curry staining the bedsheets. His jaw clenched immediately, his hands moving to try and pick it up again before you stopped him, grabbing his wrist and letting out a sigh. Not at his weakness, of course, can’t blame the guy for being sick, but because you knew how he’d react, pushing you away, stubbornly refusing help despite his hand practically radiating heat. Depending on who you asked, you could blame him for that. 

He glared at you again, sensing what was coming. 

“Don’t. I’m not a child.” He said, trying to yank his wrist back, but being too weak to do so.

“Yeah. A child's hands don’t drop spoons because of how bad they’re shaking.” You answered, your voice stern, leaving no room to argue. 

You’d gotten quite a handle at dealing with his hard headedness, if only you could put that on a resume. ‘Excellent at dealing with emotionally constipated Uchiha who constantly refuse help,’ doesn’t sound too bad, right?

You picked up the spoon, lifting the food to his mouth as he pouted up at you. “Open up. Come on, you haven’t eaten anything since last night, I know you’re hungry.” Nevermind, this is still irritating. You’d rather not do this for work, even if you were paid to do it, it’s like dealing with a toddler.

He rolled his eyes, before opening his mouth and letting you feed him, glaring at you the whole time. 

He finished the rest of his meal in silence, likely trying to minimize the feeling of weakness. You didn’t want to make it worse for him either, so you let the quiet settle. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, it felt content. 

You smiled softly after he finished, picking up the tray again. 

“Now that wasn’t too bad, hm? Good job.” You found yourself saying, almost trying to soothe his bruised ego. “Where do you keep your meds?”

“The cabinet above the dish rack.” He coughed out.

That was where you’d found them. Though there were more bandages and ninja salves rather than pills and syrups. 

Your mind went back to yesterday, when your teammate Sakura had told you to check if he had certain medicines at home, claiming that they were best suited for a normal cold. 

"Just make sure he has them stocked, alright? I'm worried..." She'd said, playing with her hair and avoiding your eyes, pink dusting her cheeks.

She may not have the best judgement in the romance department, but you trusted her when it came to medicine. So you found the medicine she had mentioned and returned to his bed side with a glass of water. 

“Take one every 8 hours, alright?” You said as you watched him take the pills. At least some strength had returned to his body. 

He put the glass back down to the side table, before staring at you.

“Why are you doing this? You don’t have to be here…” He didn’t sound like he was trying to push you away this time, just genuinely astonished at the fact that someone would take care of him.

“There’s no real reason, Sasuke, or rather, there’s no reason you’ll accept. This isn’t out of pity, it’s genuine care. I care for you, you’re my teammate. And yeah you hate me most of the time but you’re still my teammate. And I don’t like seeing you suffer all alone if I can do something about it, even if it’s just sitting next to you so you don’t suffer alone.” 

He turned his gaze away after that, going still for a moment before he replied in the smallest tone you’d ever heard from him. “I don’t hate you, you know. I respect you, sometimes. You know what you’re doing better than Naruto or Sakura.” 

His words genuinely touched you, you couldn’t help but smile. Your heart started hammering in your chest for reasons you definitely didn’t want to examine currently, and you felt your face heating up. Perhaps you’d caught his illness too. Yeah. 

The rest of the day passed as normally as it could. You stuck around his place for a while, keeping him company. Mostly to make sure he didn’t go back to studying, or worse, training. 

You picked up the mission reports, recounting what had exactly happened. Not the formal ninja version, but the imperfect version that told a story of teenagers playing at being shinobi. You described how Sakura had been scared by a rabbit rustling in a bush and practically punched half the forest away, how Naruto had gotten himself chased by a dog, and how Kakashi-sensei had been 2 hours late, as usual. 

“And then! He has the audacity to tell us to wait again! Because he forgot the auditory equipment!” You exclaimed, angrily slamming the mission reports on the bed. 

He couldn’t help but smirk at your outburst, some color returning to his face. “Typical. And let me guess, Naruto got himself into another dumb situation?”

“Yeah. He annoyed a dog that was peacefully minding his business and then the dog chased him for like 10 yards.” You said, giggling. 

After that you’d brought in the basket of cards his fangirls had sent for him. That drained the color from his face pretty quick.

“Burn them all.” He had told you, not bothering to care.

You had laughed, picking out a card at random. “C’mon, stop being so grumpy.”

“I’m sick. I get to be grumpy.”

“And I’m your ‘nurse’, I get to choose what we’re doing, and I choose this card.”

You held up a bright pink card in front of him, at which his face recoiled.

“As if the hot pink wasn’t bright enough, there’s glitter too…” He cringed.

“Hey! I think it gives it character. It’s what’s inside that’s hilarious.” You said, opening the card.

You cleared your throat, getting ready for a dramatic reading. 

“‘My dear Sasuke-kun, when I heard you were sick, it felt like my heart shattered into a million pieces! They say that lovers can share each other's pain, that’s exactly what happened! I was worried sick! I didn’t eat properly for three days, I stayed up all night staring at the moon, wondering if you were looking at it too. No amount of distance or sickness can stop our love’” You broke character then, looking at the end, stifling a laugh. 

“Oh my god there’s a poem.” 

“No.” He said, trying to hide a smile.

“Yes. ‘Roses are red, Violets are blue, I’d fight against all odds, just to be with you. Love, your future wife, Ayumi. Get well, my prince of-.’ Prince of darkness-!?” You couldn’t stop it anymore after that, you fell to your knees by the foot of his bed, clutching your stomach and cackling. 

He stayed quiet for a moment, but then started laughing lightly as well. 

“What kind of nonsense is that? How do they expect me to react to that?” He said, wiping his eyes.

“Probably something like ‘Oh you didn’t eat for three days? I’m so touched, I must marry you now.’” You tried your best to copy his tone of voice, but it ended up coming out extra exaggerated and rough, making him chuckle again.

“I don’t sound like that. And this is stupid.” Though the smile gracing his lips told another story.

“Uh, you so sound like that. But I agree with the rest. It is stupid. They don’t even know you. You’d probably like someone who cleans and sharpens your kunai without you asking, and then sits with you while you brood in complete and utter silence.” The conversation took a more serious tone after that, his eyes narrowing at your face, before turning to stare at the wall.

“You see too much,” was all that he had said.

“At least that’s better than that!” You pointed to the card. “Or would you really prefer someone liking you based off of their ideal type that they’d projected onto you and calling you their ‘Prince of darkness!’” You joked, mostly to ease the tension after what you’d said. 

God, why did you say that? This whole day was changing your opinion of your teammate a lot.

He let out a raspy chuckle at your comment, staring softly at your face. You stared back, smiling. The moment continued in comfortable silence for a while. That might become a thing with you too. 

But then it was interrupted as he let out a series of dry, ragged coughs, his chest heaving as he gasped desperately for air between the spasms. You stood up quickly, pouring him water and handing him the glass. Once he calmed down, you searched his medicine cabinet for cough syrup and brought it to him. You should’ve done that before. Why didn’t you do that before?

“You okay?” 

He nodded in reply. His coughing fit was gone now. So was your moment. If you could even call it that.

You put your hand to his forehead once more, checking his temperature. It had lowered drastically from when you’d first arrived, but it was still there.

“I think you should sleep, Sasuke. I’ll leave you be.” You felt a pang of disappointment, for some weird reason, as if you had wanted to stick around longer. 

The only sound in the room was the sheets rustling as he tucked himself in. Maybe you were lying to yourself, but it seemed like he was disappointed too.

You decided to wait till he fell asleep, wetting the same blue cloth and placing it on his forehead, making sure he was peaceful.

Right as he was on the edge of sleep, he mumbled out, barely, as if he didn’t want you to hear him but still had to say the following words. 

“Today was the first time someone cooked for me or took care of me since that night. Thank you, Y/N.” 

You didn’t need to ask what that night meant. The massacre. The night his whole life changed. Had the village just abandoned him? While he had been through something at 7 that would’ve broken most adults? 

You were frozen for a while, breath stuck in your throat as you tried to process his words. He didn’t wait for a reply, deep into his slumber.

You swallowed, feeling as if a rock had lodged itself into your throat and walked out of his apartment. What a day.

The next time you saw him was around a week later, he had recovered and was back to acting like you and your teammates had personally offended him just by existing. Everything was normal. 

Except it wasn’t.

Maybe on the outside, it seemed normal. But his behavior towards you had changed. He still insulted you, but his voice didn’t carry the same venom. It seemed softer, by Sasuke levels, at least. After your team would disperse for the day, he and you would often end up on the same path, whether you were walking home or heading elsewhere. He conveniently had some grocery to restock, or some equipment to buy. He asked you to spar with him more often, he actually listened when you talked to him, and answered in something other than short curt replies. 

It was weird, to say the least. What was weirder was how you looked forward to him doing all these things, how you wanted to spend more time with him, how warmth suddenly started pooling in your chest when he glanced at you today during a mission against some enemy nin. As if he wanted to check if you were okay. To be fair, that last one was new. Still weird.

You were sitting with your team by a river, leaning against a tree with your eyes closed. The only sounds heard were the wrapping of bandages, heavy breaths, and the water current . It wasn’t a difficult mission at all, but it was the first mission out of Konoha since the incident in waves. You’d gotten jumped by some foreign ninja, and though Kakashi-sensei had easily fought them off, some injuries were sustained. 

Naruto had gotten lucky, getting only minor cuts, which seemed to heal at the speed of light. The rest of your team hadn’t gotten off so easily. Sakura had bruised her arm and Sasuke was limping, leaning more on his left leg. You couldn’t even remember what had happened to him. 

You yourself had gotten a deep cut on your right arm, a kunai had come a bit too close for comfort. Your sleeve turned crimson as a streak of blood leaked out, causing a stinging sensation as the open cut met the fresh air. 

You heard uneven footsteps approaching and opened your eyes to find the last Uchiha staring down at you, carrying bandages in his hands. He sat down on your right, eyes narrowing towards your arm.

“You should’ve been more careful. Roll up your sleeves.” He said, or ordered more so. 

Okay. The weird meter might’ve just broken right now. 

“What’re you doing?” You questioned, confused. But you still rolled up your sleeve.

His fingers hesitated for a second, before he started disinfecting your wound. You couldn’t help but wince at the contact. 

“You’re limping, in case you forgot… Take care of yourself first, idiot.” You breathed out. 

At least he finished cleaning it, the more painful part was over. Next, he started to bandage your arm as you looked at his face. His eyes looked focused, pretty, almost. Wait. What’re you thinking?

“Stop squirming,” was all you got back. So he’s back to curt replies? That’s normal, so does that neutralize the weirdness of this moment?

“OI SASUKE! WHAT’RE YOU DOING?” Naruto screamed out, running over.

Yeah no amount of normalness could neutralize this now. 

Naruto took one look at your injured arm and his focused face and started giggling. 

“What, playing nurse now, Sasuke?” The blonde teased. 

He was met with a whack on his head as the perpetrator stepped forward, Sakura.

“Leave them be, Naruto… Sasuke-kun is just doing her a favor. She’s the one who got the most serious injury, idiot!” She lectured him. 

Naruto stumbled back, rubbing the sore spot, his whiskers scrunching as he pouted. "I was just asking!"

“Shut up, both of you.” Sasuke snapped, scowling. You flinched as he finished tying the bandage over your arm. 

He stepped back, observing his own leg for a second, before continuing in a soft voice, something only you were meant to hear.

“I was just returning a favor.”

Your fingers traced your arm, a smile gracing your lips as Naruto continued to joke about Sasuke acting like a worried housewife. You chose not to acknowledge Sasuke’s words, and to take his actions as a silent repayment. 

Perhaps being a people pleaser has some perks after all, you thought.

You could pretend all you want that everything was the same, nothing had changed, but it wouldn’t change the fact that something had. Especially if someone as dense as Naruto had noticed it.