Naruto stepped back and used the sleeve of his cardigan sweater to wipe his unshed tears. He saw how tightly Sasuke hugged Itachi, silently crying into his older brother’s neck. Watching them embrace each other after years of being separated was… indescribable. He was there for all the sorrow, the longing, everything.

He’d helped Itachi with his nightmares and when things got dark. He’d heard Sasuke’s broken voice and seen the look of agony when they had to leave after their first-ever visit to the prison. Naruto knew they were the only family they had left, and the emotions were flying high right now. Naruto was not going to cry. He was not going to cry

The chanting was really for nothing because Naruto absolutely was crying. The blonde suddenly felt overwhelmingly shy and decided that he needed to check out his shoes.

Sasuke eventually let Itachi go and stepped towards Naruto, who messily wiped his tears. It was the first time he’d seen Naruto like this. In the daylight, in person without a shitty glass between them.

After a breath to hype himself up he glanced up from his orange loafers and shyly grinned at the Uchiha, “Nice to officially meet you.” 

Sasuke felt his heart pounding in his chest and a smile spread, “Nice to meet you, Naruto.” 

The blonde couldn’t help himself, “Sorry! I just have to – “. He threw his arms around Sasuke without any other warning. He was an affectionate guy and Sasuke looked so huggable right now. He felt an overwhelming need to comfort. To care.

Sasuke stood stunned, reveling in the feeling of having Naruto in his arms. Like he’d always dreamed of. He smelled like nothing he could’ve imagined, like citrus and almond and vanilla and – 

Oh fuck he probably smelled like shit. Like prison. Sasuke felt embarrassment rush through him and he leaned back, “I probably smell…” 

Naruto chuckled, “Shut up.” The stupid idiot would worry about something like that right now. Naruto didn’t give a fuck. This was someone he cherished and after all these years he was actually hugging him. 

After a few more (embarrassing) moments, the trio got into the SUV and headed home. 

During the drive, Sasuke took in the view of the town and the landscape. The radio was on and Naruto was chatting with Itachi. Sasuke felt too overwhelmed to talk at the moment, and thankfully it was something that the others understood, and he took the opportunity to settle in. To see the snow-covered mountains in the distance, to hear the crunch of the road under the tires, and the smell of Itachi’s cologne lingering in the car. 

They got out of the SUV and Sasuke silently stood in front of the house. The dark wood, grey brick chimney, and large windows. He could hear the ducks at the lake and see the lazy puffy sheep in their pen.

Naruto’s photographs were amazing but seeing it all in person was magical.

Sasuke wasn’t able to revel in the peace for long when Naruto shoved him along with Itachi past the entrance and directly to his room in excitement. They didn’t even wait for him to see the rest of the house; his room was the priority here. 

The blonde presented the bedroom with open arms, “I hope it looks okay!” 

Okay? It was cozy. He set the box he’d brought from the prison down and touched the black supple sheets. He had an actual bed and an actual mattress. It was…strange. Overwhelming. That seemed to be the only fitting word.

Itachi read his tense body language, “Naruto and I are going to let you settle down, you probably want to shower.” 

“I’ll get the food ready!” Naruto singsonged as he trailed behind Itachi. The blonde was buzzing with energy.

Sasuke closed the bedroom door and took in the accents of the room. The dark sheets, the soothing amber scent, and the silver picture frames. He opened his closet and drawers, looking at his old clothes (that probably didn’t fit him) and new ones. He had a feeling all the ridiculous printed ones were picked by Naruto and it brought a smile to his face. He picked up some new joggers and a shirt and then headed to the bathroom after he removed the clothes he was wearing. 

He flicked on the bathroom light and looked at his fully nude body. The shitty plastic mirrors in the prison weren’t clear like this. He could see every curve and blemish on his body. The tattoos he got before and during prison. The scars he got defending himself when he’d first arrived. The muscles he’d acquired with all the free time he had. He was in better shape than ever before. 

His dark locks were long, reaching to his shoulders and messily cut. He never felt comfortable letting another inmate close to his neck with sharp objects. Yamato had given him some pointers but well – he didn’t have the best supplies. 

His eyes trailed down to his groin and he frowned. Gross. His pubic hair was too long for his liking. Not overgrown but he’d always preferred to be trimmed down. He looked around the shower and saw a brand-new razor next to his shampoo, conditioner, and soap. He was going to be able to shower in privacy. This was his area. And it was spotless. 

Sasuke took his time feeling the hot water cascading down his body. His skin felt sensitive, not used to temperature past lukewarm. He scratched his scalp with the shampoo and conditioner, wondering how long it’d been since his hair felt clean like this. He shaved down, to exactly how he liked it and reveled in the body wash scent. Amber and vanilla, plus some other shit. 

Once he felt thoroughly clean, he put on his clean clothes and left. He walked into the kitchen, stomach rumbling at the smell of actual food. He almost felt nauseous. Not used to decent food. Yamato had warned him it might happen, but he didn’t give a fuck. It was a meal. 

“Hey.” Itachi greeted him as he fixed a salad. “We’re going to eat outside, it’s really nice. Naruto’s grilling the steaks right now.” 

Sasuke nodded and took a seat near Itachi. 

“How are you feeling?” 

He ran his hand through his damp hair, “It's…a lot.” 

“I can only imagine. Anything we can do?” Itachi placed a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and he melted into the squeeze. It was strange being able to be touched and not be on guard. 

Naruto excitedly waved them out through the large kitchen window and they sat at the dark wood patio furniture, plates ready.

Blue eyes didn’t waver as they took in Sasuke’s appearance. He looked different after his shower. Almost like he was glowing. His damp dark hair was pulled back and the shirt he’d picked outfit Sasuke just right. Not too snug but enough to see his muscles flexing as he fixed his plate. The snakes wrapped around his forearms looked like it was moving as he scooped the salad on his plate. He tried to not stare but he couldn’t stop. He was mesmerized. 

Itachi cleared his throat and raised a glass of water, “A toast. To new beginnings.” 

2 weeks later

Once Sasuke felt ready to be out in public, around people, they decided to head to the restaurant Kakashi managed. 

Kakashi greeted Sasuke with a wide grin as the brothers and Naruto entered the restaurant. He shook Sasuke’s hand, as Sasuke still felt uncomfortable being touched by anyone other than Itachi or (now) Naruto. 

“Baby Uchiha!” Kakashi chuckled at Sasuke’s scowl. 

“Annoying old man.” He grumbled. 

The manager leaned against the wall, “How’s the adjustment?” 

“Better than I imagined. Naruto – “ the blonde looked at Sasuke sharply as he heard his name “ – has helped a lot.” And he had. He really really had. 

“Ah, Naruto’s got a heart of gold.” 

Sasuke saw a blush start to bloom on Naruto’s face and he smirked, “He does.” 

“Let’s go to the back.” They started to turn but Sasuke paused when he saw Naruto head to the front, away from them. A pretty long-haired blonde hugged Naruto and dragged him to a table. A throat clearing drew his attention back and he saw Itachi smirking at him with a raised eyebrow. He headed back to join them and tried to focus on catching up with everything he’d missed. 

“Who’s that handsome piece of ass?” Ino tucked a blonde lock and subtly pointed behind them with her chin. 

“Sasuke, Itachi’s brother.” 

Ino’s mouth dropped, “That’s his brother? He’s fucking hot.” 

Naruto’s eyes shifted from Ino’s to Sasuke’s profile, “Yeah – he’s handsome.” 

“Handsome? I’d gobble his dick as if I’ve never eaten in my life.” 

Naruto squeaked and clasped a hand over his mouth, “Ino!” 

Ino giggled at the scandalized look on Naruto’s face, “I’m messing with you.” 

“I know, Shika keeps you happy.” 

She waggled her eyebrows, “Very. I’m so sore.” She checked her tables and tapped his hand, “Duty calls.” He waved her off and decided to go explore the shops. 

Naruto looked at the darkened sky and smiled to himself. It was going to rain. Hard. 

He loved storms. He was born during a hurricane and storms were always his lullabies.  

The blonde pulled the hood on his royal blue windbreaker and kept strolling. He didn’t have a particular location in mind, mainly just wanting to enjoy the weather. The streets weren’t as crowded, and he stopped in front of a coffee shop. Hot chocolate sounded so good right now. Just as he was about to enter, he heard the sound of quick footsteps pause behind him and he turned to see Sasuke. 

“Everything okay?” Blue eyes darted around his face and behind him, wondering if they had to leave. 

“Yeah, I was just curious where you went.” 

Naruto shrugged, “Just wanted to enjoy the weather.” He grinned, “Want to get a coffee? I’d say hot chocolate, but I learned you don’t like sweets.” 

Sasuke smirked, “True. I’ll get a coffee.”

“Kay!” Naruto opened the door to the shop and the pair walked up to the counter. It seemed that Sasuke drew attention everywhere he went. He wasn’t sure if it was the tattoos or the allure or maybe just a mixture of both.

The barista sweetly smiled at Sasuke, “What I can get you?” 

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, “Hot chocolate?” The blonde nodded and Sasuke turned a blank face to the barista fluttering her eyelashes, “Large hot chocolate with extra whip cream and a large black coffee.” He pulled out some cash and paid. When they moved to the side waiting for their orders, he saw Naruto’s bright smile. 

“What?” 

“You ordered me extra whip cream.” 

Sasuke shrugged, “You like sweets.” 

Naruto looked down at his sneakers, “Yeah, I do.” He’d been surprised lately at how often Sasuke noticed details about him.

It was… so damn flattering.

1 month later

“Hand me the metal.” Sasuke held out his hands, ready to receive the next lot of wood for the fencing from a sweaty Naruto. 

“This is so heavy.” The blonde groaned, skin flushed red and drenched in sweat from working for the past few hours. They’d decided it was time to fix the fence surrounding the ranch when one of the sheep escaped its enclosure. Sasuke didn’t want to hire someone, insisting on just doing it themselves, and Naruto was quickly regretting agreeing. 

“You’ll get some muscles.” 

“I’m not scrawny!” 

“Never said you were.” Sasuke loved teasing Naruto and seeing the blonde’s sapphire eyes narrow in annoyance. 

The blonde huffed and decided to bring the metal latches next. He grumbled under his breath about muscular bastards and how he was in great shape too. They’d redone the sheep pen and the sheep house.

Naruto had been trying to convince them to get a llama or even a cow. He thought it would be an adorable addition to the ranch but now he was reconsidering if just taking care of the sheep was so much work. 

At least the ducks were easy to take care of.

“Still want to get a dairy cow?” Sasuke joked.

“Uh – “

The brunette nonchalantly added, “We’d have to stick our arm inside if it gives birth.”

The blonde wrinkled his nose, “Or we can call a vet.”

Sasuke laughed, “Only if something goes wrong.”

“What about chickens?”

Sasuke hammered the next part of the fence, “Those aren’t too hard. We’d have to build them a house.” He smirked, “You up for it?

Naruto rose to the challenge, “Yes!” Oh god, what had he agreed to? He was already sore, and they weren’t even finished with this.

“Alright, we’ll have to buy some materials.”

He perked up, “And we have to name them!”

Sasuke paused, “What? Why?”

“Why wouldn’t we?” He cocked his head, “All the sheep have names.”

He frowned, “And the ducks?”

“Duh. They’re not animals.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean!”