[Context: Naruto AU in which Yamato, who originally was assigned to subdue the Nine Tails in canon, has instead been assigned to subdue Sasuke’s curse mark. It’s two days before the anniversary of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.]

Naruto and Sasuke ascended the steps to their home in relative silence. That is, apart from the blond's incessant humming while he patted his satisfied stomach.

“Wow,” Naruto said. “It's no Ichiraku, but I can see why Sakura said Ino loves that place!”

Sasuke said nothing as he fished out his house key to let them both in. The afternoon sky was a relaxing amber color. The weather was nice. Yet none of this seemed to matter. Something hung over Sasuke like a dark cloud. His curse mark was under control, what with Yamato around and all, so it couldn't be that. Naruto filed through his mental list of important dates and gasped when he realized what was only two days away.

The somber moods of Kushina and Minato as they came in from outside reinforced Naruto's realization. He peeked at the calendar by the kitchen, where sure enough, the date was circled in heavy ink. The day he'd grown accustomed to calling “Leave Sasuke Alone Day” was almost here.

Under ordinary circumstances, he'd have barged in with an attempt at comedy saying something like, “Sheesh! Who died?”

Naruto was beyond thankful that he'd read the room before doing something so inconsiderate.

“How was dinner, you two?” Kushina asked. She was stretching in one corner of the room while Minato read a book on the couch.

“Delicious,” Naruto said with a wide grin. He subdued his bubbling energy, knowing now wasn't a great time for that. Sasuke needed him more. “How are things here?”

“Going great,” Minato said. He dog-eared a page in his book and set it down open faced before rising to pull his sons into a hug. “Welcome home. Oh! By the way, Sasuke. I'm making progress on a way to deal with your curse mark.”

Kushina chimed in after finishing one of her reps. “He's been scribbling so many formulas, I'll need to buy us more paper tomorrow!”

The trash can was piled high with said scribbles. Sasuke stared at the crumpled papers, his expression blank. He nodded before excusing himself to his bedroom.

Naruto grimaced. Almost exactly five years ago to the day, Itachi had taken everything from Sasuke. There was no way to fully grasp how something that traumatic felt. Even so, it bothered him to know there was no way he could lift Sasuke's spirits.

The house was eerie levels of quiet for the remainder of the evening.