Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It figured that on the day that Sasuke finally caved and took his professor's advice to write in a public place ("for inspiration, Sasuke"), the café was absolutely brimming with people. The crowd overflowed onto the sidewalk—the last person in line hovered awkwardly in the doorway, trapped into holding the door for herself and anyone else who happened to come by. The girl, likely another student, gave Sasuke a helpless look and shuffled aside to let him in.

Sasuke eyed the crowd and debated leaving as quickly as he had come—but he had already walked all the way out here…and was that a free table? That man was just leaving. Thank god.

Sasuke skipped past the line and briskly took the table. He heaved a sigh of relief the moment he put in his headphones—just because he had to watch people for inspiration didn't mean he had to listen to them.

Really, people watching was not something that was likely to work for him in the first place…at least, not in the way his professor wanted it to. But he had fought the man long enough on this—it was his last year, and both of them were growing impatient with Sasuke's lack of progress.

At least he could tell the man he had tried.

He let out another puff of air, turning to the window in an attempt to ease his scowl. He looked past the road, past the people scuffling by, and let his mind drift into the music…

But just as he was starting to relax, something knocked him forwards. He turned with a fierce glare—

"Oh, sorry!"

—only to meet the brightest pair of eyes he had ever seen. Were those contacts? They had to be. There was no way someone had natural eyes like that—

He jerked his gaze away, scanning over the rest of the man—blonde, looked about his age, and he had some very strange markings on his cheeks…they almost looked like—whiskers?

The blonde scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Actually, uh," he started, eyes darting around the café, "d'you mind if I sit at your table for a bit? I'm waiting for someone—I'll be gone soon enough."

Sasuke's scowl deepened—but he considered the offer. It wasn't as if ignoring someone right in front of him would be any different than ignoring the entire café around him. And it would prevent other people from interrupting him to ask the same thing…

He nodded and turned back to his work without waiting for a response.

He had typed about two words, and nothing else seemed to be coming to him. His professor had complained that his characters lacked depth—that they were all the same: the bitter, cold, sarcastic man, tired of the world around him.

Well, obviously. Sasuke drew from his own experience, after all.

But "other people exist in the world, Sasuke," Kakashi had said, and he needed to learn how to write them. How he was supposed to do that, he had no idea.

He sighed, quietly deleting what he had written.

There was movement from the corner of his eye, and he looked up to see the blonde trying to get his attention, with a little smile and a wave. Sasuke gave another soft sigh, and pulled out one earbud.

"Do you want a coffee? I'm gonna go get one, 'n you let me sit here…"

Sasuke frowned, but free coffee was free coffee.

He nodded. "Just black. Cinnamon, if they have it. The smallest size is fine."

The smile he got was so bright, he felt his eyes start to sting. He turned back to his computer—somehow, the screen felt dimmer.

A moment later, against his will, Sasuke found himself watching the blonde strike up a conversation with the woman in front of him. He was saying something that had her smiling, nodding, laughing—as if the two of them were old friends. Maybe they were.

And the older man beside the lady had joined in, now. He had a booming guffaw of a laugh that pierced straight through Sasuke's music—he was relieved when their little party was broken up to take their orders. The blonde gave them a wide smile and a jaunty little wave, and then turned his charm to the barista.

So loud, so animated…Sasuke surreptitiously watched the blonde until he walked around to wait for his order, and then turned back to his computer, shaking himself. He needed to focus.

But his concentration was broken, not a minute later, when a coffee was plopped right in front of him. He jumped a little.

"I hope I didn't add too much cinnamon." The blonde nudged the cup closer to him with a smile.

Sasuke gave a simple nod in response, testing the coffee's warmth as he turned it in his hands. Bubbly letters spelled out 'Naruto' on the side of the cup, with a smiling face taking the place of the 'o'. Sasuke snorted.

"What?" said the blonde, who was presumably named Naruto. He tossed the name around in his head.

"Did you know the people in line?" Sasuke felt himself ask.

Naruto looked surprised. "What, the old lady? Nope," he laughed, "I was just trying to pronounce one of the coffee names. I'm so bad at it. I got Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi right on the first try, but this stuff…I'm the worst."

Sasuke blinked—the name didn't ring any bells to him, but he didn't really care enough to—

"He's a psychologist—he comes up a bunch in my classes." Naruto smiled, obviously anticipating the question.

"You're a student?" He supposed the blonde did look the part, between his scruffy jeans and bright orange hoodie—

"Mm," he nodded, mid-sip of his coffee. "Yeah. Naruto Uzumaki, fourth year."

He held out a hand to shake.

Sasuke looked at it.

Naruto's smile widened.

"C'mooon," he reached closer, clapping his fingers against his palm, "don't leave me hanging!"

Naruto stretched his arm out over the table—inching it closer and closer until Sasuke finally slapped the hand out of his face.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said with a sigh, "third year."

Naruto grinned and pulled back.

"Huh. Your name kinda sounds familiar."

Of course it did. No matter where Sasuke went, he couldn't escape the Uchiha name. He shoved his earbuds back in with a fierce scowl.

Naruto didn't even seem to notice—even through the headphones, he could hear how to blonde kept blabbering on—

He took the earbud out, clearly annoyed.

"—are in? I'm in psych, myself. I guess that's obvious, heh."

"Creative writing," he muttered, immediately putting his earbud back in. The idiot didn't get the hint, and he yanked it back out with a glare.

"—if you know—oh, am I annoying you?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered honestly.

Naruto laughed, and Sasuke felt his irritation waver.

"Sorry," He said, not sounding sorry at all. He eyed Sasuke with a lopsided grin. "You're kind of a jerk, huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"Like the stoic, silent type." Naruto rested his chin on his palm. "All like 'I hate people' and 'everyone is dumb, except for me'. Am I right?"

Sasuke frowned at him.

"I don't mean it badly! You're like—independent. Intense." He waggled his eyebrows—and then the rest of his body—and he just looked so stupid that Sasuke couldn't help but fight the smile—

Naruto's grin widened.

"Who forced you in the middle of this place?" He gestured around to the café, which was getting steadily more crowded.

"None of your business," he answered automatically. Naruto only laughed in response.

"I guess that's fair," he conceded. "Hey—is your coffee any good? You haven't been drinking it."

"It was too hot, idiot. I'm sure it's fine."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, you're definitely a jerk."

He leaned back in his chair, resting an ankle on the opposite leg, and gave Sasuke an expectant look.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Sasuke rolled his eyes, muttering "fine."

Naruto grinned in victory, leaning closer as Sasuke raised the cup to his lips. It made him feel irrationally self-conscious.

The coffee was…wow, that was a lot of cinnamon. Sasuke pulled away, trying to hide his coughing.

Naruto cringed. "It was the cinnamon, wasn't it? I put too much."

"How—" Sasuke coughed again, "—much did you put in there? The whole jar?!"

"Uhhh…"

"Don't tell me you actually—"

"Well—like, the lid fell off, but it wasn't the whole jar!"

"Oh my god." Sasuke bit down on another cough.

"Ah—I'm sorry," Naruto rubbed at his neck nervously, "I'll get you a new one."

"No—no, it's fine." Sasuke stopped Naruto as he started to stand. "It's not that bad. It's just…strong."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye—yes—just—sit down, moron."

Naruto eyed Sasuke doubtfully, but dutifully sat back down. Sasuke took another sip of the coffee to prove his point—

But more dust lodged in his throat, and he fought not to cough under Naruto's suspicious eye. He cleared his throat—once, and then again—

"At least try mixing it." Naruto brandished the little wooden stick he had used to stir his own coffee at him, his movements getting more and more exaggerated until Sasuke finally grabbed it from him.

There was a sizable, half-sunken clump of cinnamon on his coffee. Sasuke eyed it with a grimace, but mixed it in nonetheless. Naruto must not have stirred it at all—at least, now, it was drinkable.

"Sorry," Naruto said again.

"It's fine now. Relax."

There was a pause.

Sasuke still hadn't gotten any writing done, but he suddenly didn't feel the loss. He paused his music.

"You're graduating this year?"

"Yeah, I—"

"Naruto!"

"Oh, Sakura! Hey!" Naruto stood up just in time to receive an armful of a vividly pink-haired woman.

She kissed his cheek and sighed, pulling back. "Did I interrupt you?"

She turned around, getting a look at who he had been sitting with.

"Oh—Na—" She turned back to Naruto, "did I interrupt you? I can leave you two to it if you—"

She made an obvious attempt to lower her voice, but Sasuke heard it all the same. He felt his eyebrows rise. Was she implying…

Naruto laughed. "No, Sakura. This is Sasuke. He let me share his table while I was waiting."

He gave Sasuke a bright grin, and Sasuke nodded in response.

"Ah," she said, "okay, then. Hi, Sasuke."

She turned back to Naruto, lowering her voice again. Sasuke shamelessly eavesdropped.

"Are you sure? He's definitely your type..."

…Ah.

Naruto rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "I'm meeting you, remember?"

"Alright, alright," she conceded, her voice rising up again, "in that case, let's go. This place is crazy."

"I think everyone is way too excited about the fall menu," Naruto told her. He tapped two fingers to Sasuke's shoulder on his way by. "See you later, Sasuke!"

Sasuke gave a small wave, and then turned back to his laptop, feeling strangely hollow.

Sasuke only lasted in the café for about an hour longer before giving it up as a lost cause. He made his way back to his apartment: a small, bland place that he only managed to afford because his brother paid for it. He hadn't been happy about it, but Itachi…

Itachi had ended up paying for his school, his home, his food—Sasuke sighed softly, eyeing the state of his fridge. Itachi had insisted on him focusing on his schooling and worrying about paying him back later, but when that would be…Sasuke just didn't know.

It hadn't been the easiest decision—going against his parents' wishes and pursuing writing. He wasn't even sure it had been his smartest decision at this point. But that entire night had spiraled out of control the moment they had realized he was serious. They had been livid. Well, his father had been livid. His mother had cried a lot.

He grimaced.

But they had Itachi to run the family business, and that meant Itachi got whatever he wanted—including, it seemed, a few thousand dollars to fund his little brother's education. He wondered if his parents suspected where the money had gone to.

Likely not, considering he still had the place.

He placed his keys on his desk, slowly opening his laptop.

He hadn't spoken to them since…not since he had gotten his acceptance.

He sighed. This train of thought was getting him nowhere; it was what got him into this mess.

He took a sip of his coffee, momentarily forgetting the disaster that had been made of it. He spluttered, and then a soft smile spread across his face.

He tapped his keyboard in thought.

Maybe he'd write about blue-eyed idiots.

Chapter Text

Naruto stumbled up the stairs, playing a dangerous balancing game with the bags on his shoulders and the box in his hands. He didn't need to return all the papers to Kakashi today, but he had been nearby—well, on campus, really, like every day—but it was just—convenient, today. He had the time.

It definitely wasn't because he knew Kakashi had a class a few minutes ago—definitely wasn't because he was hoping to run into—

"Sasuke!" He grinned over the box, nudging the door open further with his hip.

"Moron," Sasuke greeted, an easy smirk spreading across his face as he scanned Naruto over—probably laughing at the way Naruto was so obviously struggling—

"Ah, you do know each other." Kakashi's smile was wide and knowing. "I had wondered…"

He glanced down to Sasuke's paper, and then back up to him. Naruto thought he saw Sasuke twitch.

"Yeah." Naruto heaved a sigh as he plopped the box onto Kakashi's desk, doing his best to dial back his grin. "We met at the café—y'know the one across from the Life Sci building?"

"Isn't that nice," Kakashi responded. Naruto glanced up to see Kakashi looking awfully innocent, and Sasuke's scowl rapidly deepening—

"Uh, anyway," Naruto's eyes flickered in between them—whatever that was, he wasn't sure he wanted to know, "this is the last of them. I can't do anymore, I will die."

Kakashi chuckled.

"I'm not kidding," Naruto said. "The week after next. I can help you then. But the old man's got me running four sessions in five days next week, plus the groups, plus all my classes—I have three papers and a stupid baseline exam all on Friday," he finished with a groan, leaning forward onto Kakashi's desk.

Kakashi patted his back. "Such a hard life."

"You're full of crap." Naruto snorted, and sat up.

"So cruel," Kakashi said, putting a hand over his heart. Naruto laughed.

"Are you still planning on coming home for the weekend?"

"Yep. Better start cooking now." Naruto grinned.

"I'll let Iruka know. Such a needy child…" Kakashi sighed, making a show of turning back to his papers.

"Oi!"

Kakashi chuckled, and then turned to address Sasuke.

"Let me read through this again, and I'll return it to you with your comments next class. I'm very proud of your progress, Sasuke."

Naruto grinned as Sasuke turned away—he didn't need to see the guy to know his face was flushed. It sounded like Sasuke had some sort of breakthrough or something…maybe he shouldn't have been so insistent on not being able to read anything for the next couple weeks…

"I'll see you both later."

"Make ramen!" Naruto called back through the doorway. They heard a snort come from the office, and then the door shut.

"Kakashi and Iruka are my parents," Naruto explained. "I figured you'd be here—I'm surprised we haven't met sooner, honestly."

Naruto flung the stairwell door open for them, holding it for Sasuke with his back.

"But I knew I recognized your name from somewhere!" He laughed a little as Sasuke moved past him. "Kakashi makes me grade his stuff when he has too much, the lazy bastard. He goes through it all later on, but I do the leg work. You've taken his classes for what—like two years? Around there?"

He leaned over, eyeing Sasuke. He almost looked…surprised? Well, as surprised as you could look while maintaining a totally neutral face—

"Yes," Sasuke said finally, turning away. "…Did you read my work?"

Naruto nodded, grinning. Duh. "Yeah, of course—where are you headed, by the way? All the tomato guy stuff—I remember."

"I'm headed towards Main Street…and yes. That was it."

"Oh, awesome—me too. Your stuff was depressing as fuck." Naruto laughed. "I mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing—your thing is your thing, y'know?"

"But it wasn't your thing." Sasuke's voice was quiet.

"No—no, I wouldn't say that. I really liked it, actually." Liked was an understatement, honestly. He had reread Sasuke's writing almost obsessively the first time he had seen it. "But it's more—it kinda made me want to like…give you a hug. Like you had this big burden on you, and you were trying to take it all on yourself—I wanted to…I dunno, lessen it a little."

Sasuke stared at him.

"You didn't even know me," he said quietly.

"I knew enough." Naruto shrugged, feeling a bit awkward. "People put themselves into their writing, you know."

There was a pause. Naruto resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair—was that a bit much? Maybe that had been a bit much.

"Guess that explains the whole 'jerk' vibe you give off." Naruto gestured at Sasuke's whole body with a grin, trying to lighten the mood a little—

It worked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

"An idiot who can influence your grades," he teased, turning to walk backwards as he waggled his eyebrows at Sasuke, "so you better be nice to me."

"Isn't that against the rules?"

Naruto laughed.

"Probably. Oh, hang on," he said, spinning back around, "I gotta take a right here. You're going that way, right?" He pointed in the opposite direction.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke staring at him, standing firmly in place. What…?

"…Did you want to grab a coffee?"

Naruto blinked—once—and then twice—and then—

"Yeah! Yeah, I'd love that!" Naruto felt like his cheeks were going to explode with how wide he was smiling—

He saw Sasuke give a tight nod, and he bit down on his lip, trying to get ahold of his heart.

Sasuke swallowed, wrenching his gaze away from that smile for the millionth time—

Writing. It was good for his writing to be near Naruto—that's why he was doing it.

Definitely the writing.

"Are you okay with Joe's?" Naruto threw him a grin, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm kinda hungry, and they have pretty good food. And coffee!"

"Ah," Sasuke had never been there in his life, "sure."

"Cool." Naruto grinned.

It was maybe two more minutes before they got there—not even that. Naruto clearly knew the area well; most people likely did, but Sasuke hated eating out on almost all occasions. Besides, it was expensive.

"After you!" Naruto threw him a lopsided grin. Sasuke obediently walked through the opened door, but ignored the host until Naruto came in.

"Table for two," Naruto told the waiter, "and can we be by the window?"

"Of course," the man said. "Right this way."

Naruto slid into the booth like he owned it, lounging back against the window to grin at Sasuke.

"So," the blonde slung an arm over his raised knee, tilting his head to eye Sasuke, "the creative writing program, hm?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Do you like it?" After a moment, he added, "I won't tell Kakashi, don't worry."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to respond just as the waiter came by—

"Ready to order?"

"Oh, um, not yet," Naruto sat up, flashing Sasuke a sheepish look, "could you give us a sec?"

"No problem."

Naruto threw him another apologetic look as the man left.

"Sorry," he said. "I think I'm gonna get one of the sandwiches, but I can never decide which one. You know what you want?"

Sasuke nodded. He had decided on whatever was cheapest the moment they had come through the door—the fact that it was a salad was just a bonus.

"Number two."

Naruto flipped to the page, his grin slowly growing wider as his eyes flickered up to Sasuke—

"What?" Sasuke asked, he felt—almost—defensive under that gaze—

"Tomatoes," Naruto laughed, waggling his eyebrows at Sasuke, "I knew it. Do you hate sweet stuff too?"

Sasuke felt the heat rush up to his face—he rolled his eyes as an excuse to turn away. He kept forgetting that Naruto had read his writing—and apparently remembered it.

"I don't hate it," he muttered softly. "I just don't understand why everyone goes so crazy over it."

"So like...cotton candy?"

"Disgusting." Sasuke didn't miss a beat.

Naruto looked personally offended.

"What?!"

"It's like—hair. Strands of plastic. It—"

"It is not! You—wh—It's like what a cloud would taste like! If it was made out of sugar! It's so cool! How can you not like that?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The texture is awful and the taste is even worse. It's just dehydrated syrup—"

"You say that like it's a bad thing! You are so weird." Naruto laughed, sitting up a little. "What about...like—chocolate? You have to like chocolate."

"If it's dark, it's alright."

"Ugh," Naruto made a face, "like the super bitter, 98% crap?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you're more of a white chocolate, drowned in caramel, stuffed with marshmallow type of person?"

"Oh fuck me, that sounds amazing."

Sasuke ducked his head, feeling the laugh bubble up in his throat.

"You're such a moron."

"It's not my fault your taste sucks—"

"Ready to order?"

Naruto jumped, as if he had forgotten there was anyone else there with them—

"Oh—yeah! I'll get number fifteen. And can I get extra sauce?" He grinned as the waiter nodded his agreement. "Awesome. And, uh," he met Sasuke's eye, "can I get a black coffee with a little bit of cinnamon?"

Sasuke hid his smile behind the menu.

"Of course. And anything for you, sir?"

"Number two. And," he paused for a moment, scanning the menu, "the...s'mores milkshake."

"Any whipped cream on that?" The waiter paused, pen poised in his hand.

Sasuke met Naruto's eye.

"Definitely."

He took intense pleasure in the way Naruto seemed to bounce somewhere between offended and thrilled—

"Sasuke!" Naruto dissolved into laughter as the waiter left their table. "I was trying to pay you back for the shitty coffee from last time!"

Sasuke only shrugged, the warmth in his chest only expanding each time he met Naruto's eye—

"It was fine."

"It was not fine! You nearly choked!"

Fighting the smile was rapidly becoming the hardest thing Sasuke had ever done—

"You can owe me, then."

Naruto's smile—already insanely bright—only seemed to grow happier.

"Yeah? I'll pay you back next time?"

Sasuke tried—very, very hard—not to look as eager as he felt.

"Sure."

Naruto, apparently, had no such qualms.

"Awesome!" He grinned, sitting up only cross his legs up on the seat. "Fine. Damn. You so called me out—I've been eyeing that since they put it on the menu."

Sasuke gave a soft laugh, his heart still not entirely back to normal—

"Oh!" Naruto sat up straight. "Crap, I totally cut you off. Your program—you were gonna say if you liked it."

"You didn't cut me off," Sasuke offered—technically, the waiter had. "The program's alright."

"Only alright?"

"It's…" Sasuke tapped his fingers on the table. "Slow. It seems slow."

"Like—the program is boring? Or you don't feel like you're growing fast enough?"

"The latter."

Naruto frowned, eyes flickering to the window for a moment. "Well, it's kinda hard to see—you change a little bit every time you write, y'know? Have you tried going back and reading something from like, high school?"

"Not really."

Naruto shrugged. "Try it. It's kinda like how people grow, too. It's a little bit at a time, so you always feel the same, but...you're not, really—like I don't really feel like a different person than I was in high school, but I then I remember some of the dumb shit I said and I'm like…"

Sasuke couldn't resist.

"I doubt that's changed."

Naruto barked out a laugh, and then leaned forwards to rest his grinning face on his fist.

"So, in your opinion, d'you think you're more or less of an asshole now than you were in high school?"

"Oh, less. Definitely." He thought back to one Valentine's day he had been feeling particularly antisocial…

"Really? Fuck." Naruto's eyebrows were raised. "That bad? I bet our teenage selves would have hated each other."

Sasuke snorted.

"I probably would've punched you right in the face." Naruto grinned.

"You would have lost the fight." Sasuke made a show of examining his fingernails.

"As if! I would have beat the crap outta you!"

"Tch, I bet I wouldn't even have had a bruise."

Naruto slapped his hands to his face and groaned.

"Aw man, you would have gotten to me so easily. That's fuckin' infuriating—I would've tried to fight you like every day."

"I'm a bit surprised you're not trying to fight me now."

Naruto barked out a laugh and leaned back.

"Nah, I used to be like—super hotheaded. Like goaded into things really easily. I'm way better now—after—like, I met my thesis supervisor and it all kind of built from there."

"Your—supervisor?"

"Yeah; I'm in fourth year, so I gotta do a thesis project. Like a big research thing." At Sasuke's nod, he continued, "I'm looking into mindfulness meditation stuff—I wanna see if doing sessions can impact how you view yourself and the world, basically. Really just involves me teaching people and then getting surveys and interviews and stuff."

"That's…"

"Lame?" Naruto grinned.

"No," Sasuke sat up a bit straighter, thinking, "interesting. It's not what I expected."

"Heh," Naruto ducked his head a little, "I guess that's fair."

"How does it connect back to you?"

"I like meditating!" Naruto laughed. "Kakashi knew Fukasaku—that's my supervisor—already, and he started teaching me to meditate…uh…I think the summer after I graduated high school? Maybe a bit before that. Well, like it was more like a mix of yoga and meditation, which is actually what we do in the program—but, yeah, anyways, it was good. I thought it really helped me. I've done bits and pieces of work for him since then—he's done a ton of studies in the field, but I wanna focus more on like…internal changes and how they work in everyone. Like we know it helps with life satisfaction and coping strategies and all that—but why? And in what kind of people? I dunno if what I find will be that generalizable, but it's a good start, I think. I haven't really been able to find any studies that have looked into it—not as their primary measure, anyways, and everything's so quantitative that I think they're missing the point—"

Naruto cut himself off, sitting up straight.

"And I'm rambling!" He laughed. "Sorry! I get going really easily and then I just kinda keep going until somebody stops me, heh."

"I don't mind."

Naruto laughed, giving him a disbelieving look. "Sure."

The food arrived, and Naruto's eyes immediately lit up. Sasuke eyed his with a frown.

"Mmph," Naruto said, already mid-bite, "I didn't realize how hungry I was 'till now."

Sasuke snorted.

"Do you know what you're going to do after you graduate?"

Naruto gave him a cheeky grin.

"The classic question, huh?" He laughed. "Nah, not really. I like my program and I like the work that I'm doing. I might turn it into a Master's and go into research. I'm pretty sure Fukasaku would give me at least a part time thing if I pushed for it. What about you? Your program's just three years, right?"

"Yeah."

"So we're both graduating."

Sasuke nodded.

"I bet you got your whole plan all laid out past grad." Naruto leaned forwards and grinned. "Bet you got a whole schedule 'n everything!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "No, I don't."

"Suuuure."

"I mean it, Naruto. Knock it off."

Naruto leaned back as if the words had pushed him, the smile falling off his face.

"Shit, sorry," he ran a hand through his hair, "I didn't mean to be an ass."

Sasuke sighed, and looked out the window.

"It's not—you're not. It's just…a sore spot. For me."

"Ah," Naruto said carefully, "well, I can't really blame you. It's…weird. I've been in school for so long that I dunno if I even know how to do anything else. Maybe that's why I wanna do a Master's." He laughed to himself. "But okay—what about—if you could do anything you wanted after this, what would it be?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"You don't know? Or you don't want to tell me?"

Sasuke looked away from Naruto.

It was obviously the latter. He knew he wanted to be a writer—Naruto likely knew it too. There wasn't much else you could do with a creative writing degree. But he hadn't been able to vocalize that desire in years…not since he had spoken to his parents, and they had laughed in his face. They had practically spit in it.

Sasuke let out a small breath. He felt a soft touch on his hand, and he jerked back into reality—

"Sasuke? You don't actually have to tell me anything. I'm sorry if I hit another sore spot."

Sasuke could feel Naruto's touch as if it was being tattooed into his skin.

"I—" He swallowed. "It's alright. I have a lot of sore spots."

Naruto pulled back with a soft smile, and Sasuke felt a little bit warmer.

"Where do you live?" Sasuke asked, once they had split the bill and gone on their way.

"I have a place near—d'you know the school? Like the elementary one?"

"With the mural?"

"That's the one! You keep going there, and walk all the way to the gas station, and then I'm the first house on that road. Like on the left."

"That's close by."

"Yeah, I love it. I don't have a car, so I need to walk everywhere." He laughed. "What about you?"

"I'm the opposite way. There's a building that looks like a house—the small red brick one, near the board game café. It's actually an apartment building."

"Oh! I love that place! Wh—not the apartment building, I mean the board games place." He laughed, waving an arm at Sasuke. "What's it called again?"

"Snakes and Lattes."

"Yeah!" Naruto flashed him a smile. "That place rocks! I've only been a couple times though."

Sasuke had never actually been there, and yet, it was on the tip of his tongue to ask Naruto to go now. He didn't know what had gotten into him today—he didn't even like board games (let alone public places)—

"Aw," Naruto groaned, rocking back on his heels, "I really wanna go over there now, but I have so much crap to do…"

Sasuke glanced away and shrugged.

Naruto licked his lips a little, his eyes flickering up to Sasuke's. "Next time? Can I grab your number so we can meet up when I'm nearby?"

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. "Y-yeah." He fumbled for his phone, trying to hide the way his face was flushing—it was just a number, there was no reason to—

Naruto put his contact information into Sasuke's phone and gave him a brilliant grin.

"Text me so I have your number, 'kay?"

Sasuke nodded.

"See ya, Sasuke!"

"…Bye."

Sasuke was getting absolutely nothing done. He should have texted Naruto the moment he had been given his number, but, instead, like some sort of idiot, he had waited until he got home, and had been agonizing over the stupid thing ever since.

And now, it was Sunday, and it felt like far too much time had passed to test him purely for the sake of the number, but too little time had passed to want to talk to him just for the sake of talking.

Not that Sasuke didn't want to talk to him. He really, really did; it was absurd. They had just seen each other. They had talked for hours. Sasuke hated being with people for hours. And yet…

He sighed, and turned the phone over in his hands again.

And yet, if Naruto had asked, Sasuke would have happily gone with him back to his house. Or to the board game café. Or…well, anywhere. He just…

He felt…interested. Intrigued. Comfortable—as if he had known Naruto for years, and yet he still didn't know enough about him. He had never felt so—

He slapped the phone onto his desk, face down, with an angry puff of air. This was stupid. He was being insane. He was—

He glared at the back of his phone, immediately picking it up again.

Well—maybe if he had some sort of reason to text the idiot, that would make more sense. That would be better.

He looked back at what he was writing. Hm.

'Writer's block. What would you do if someone close to you betrayed you?'

He pressed send, and let out a long breath, trying to calm himself. There was no reason to be nervous about this, of all things—

Not even a minute later, his phone buzzed.

'Sasuke? Betrayed like how? Probably chase them everywhere until they explained themselves, haha.'

'Yes, it's me. Thanks.'

He could work with that.

Chapter Text

One night and another five thousand words later, Sasuke awoke feeling rested, accomplished, and excited. He checked his phone as soon as his alarm went off.

'Who decided 8:30 was a good time for class. Who. I'm gonna die.'

Sasuke snorted. He replied quickly. 'You could have checked the schedule before you signed up for it, idiot.'

He had just grabbed his toothbrush when he heard his phone buzz.

'IT'S REQUIRED'

And then, a moment later, 'YOU BIG JERK'

Sasuke found himself smiling, and quickly went back to the bathroom before he drooled toothpaste all over himself. He splashed some water on his face and grabbed a bunch of layers for the day—class was in fifteen minutes. He could probably make it fine.

He shuffled out of the door, typing a quick reply of 'sucks to suck' as he put in his headphones.

He fought a laugh at the 'OMG' he received not a moment later, but was crossing a street, and he was cutting it awfully close. He focused on getting to class.

'Let's get lunch.'

Sasuke hated how his entire being felt like it was on fire after reading the message. He felt like he had drunk eight cups of coffee straight—jittery, nervous, and as if he had an uncontrollable urge to get up and pace to burn off this energy—

'Where should I meet you?'

'You're in the old building?'

'Yes'

'I'm almost there. Front door?'

Sasuke barely—just barely—managed not to run. He was greeted with a bright grin and a clap on the shoulder, and then they were on their way.

As the week went on, Naruto's responses became few and far in between. Rationally, Sasuke knew the blonde was busy (if his earlier rant to Kakashi was anything to go by) and would probably get back to normal as soon as the week was up, but that didn't help this stupid feeling of…loss.

He frowned at his phone. It had taken him barely a day to get used to checking it and always having a message waiting for him. Barely two days to have him expect it. And now—now, without anything coming in—

He frowned down at his desk.

He felt so—needy. This was so stupid—he had work to do, and Naruto would talk to him soon. Once this all was over. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe he ought to message the blonde again? Maybe—

Sasuke let out a frustrated breath, sliding his phone away from himself.

He had work to do.

Naruto tapped his pen against his cheek, trying to do something with it other than chew on it. Really, you would think he would have learned after the first time he had a pen explode in his mouth—

He caught himself, just as he started to flick a bit of the plastic on his teeth, throwing the pen away from himself. He didn't even know why he was holding it; he was working on his laptop…

He swallowed, eyeing the pillow he had hidden his phone underneath. Now that nothing was in his hand, he felt almost…twitchy with the need to check it—

He let out a breath, forcing himself to turn back to his computer. He had to focus—he knew that. He had known that for a really long time now. The moment he picked up his phone, it would be three hours later and Naruto would be here with even less time than he already had—

But then, on the other hand, he hadn't talked to Sasuke yet today…

"Fuck," he whispered, shaking his head a little. Yes, he hadn't talked to Sasuke. Sasuke, who he had texted pretty much every other minute since he had gotten his number. Sasuke, who was funny and witty and sarcastic and rapidly growing to be one of Naruto's favourite people—

Sasuke, his friend, whose chance of being gay was slim to none—and chance of being into Naruto was definitely none…if not in the negatives entirely.

Still—

That didn't stop Naruto from wanting to talk to him.

He didn't know how someone could be such a dick and yet so fucking fun to be around. Naruto felt like he was on the verge of talking to him every other second—

He let out a long breath, turning back to his computer. Sasuke would still be around after this week, he told himself—right now, he had about eighty names to memorize, and he was rapidly running out of time to do it.

Later that class, Kakashi pulled Sasuke aside.

"As you know," he explained, "I generally have Naruto go through some of this work—partly because he has a great eye, but also because I know firsthand how subjective writing can be—especially when it comes to stylistic preferences. It isn't fair to my students if I force you to write how I want you to write, even if it is by accident."

He paused for a moment.

"I wanted to ask you if you were comfortable with me continuing to do this with your work." He indicated Sasuke's updated folder of writing, of which the majority was now beginning to describe a loudmouth, energetic blonde with piercing blue eyes—

"…I would prefer if it was only you reading it," Sasuke said quietly.

"Not a problem." Kakashi looked unbelievably cheerful. Sasuke scowled and turned on his heel; his bag was already packed—

"He doesn't eat enough when he's stressed," Kakashi said, just as Sasuke reached the door.

"Excuse me?"

"Normally, Iruka and I drive down to give him some food—he loves miso ramen, you know—but we haven't been able to this week. Shame."

Sasuke spared him a brief glance before he left the room, the words turning over in his mind.

It was embarrassing how easily Kakashi had played him, Sasuke thought to himself, as he picked up his take-out. How had the man even known he knew where Naruto lived? Or had his number? Or would go grab him food because he wasn't eating enough?

Sasuke sighed. He was hopeless.

With each step he took towards Naruto's house, Sasuke felt his regret grow tenfold. This was—stupid. Incredibly so. This was the dumbest idea he had ever had—and yet his feet kept moving—moving him closer—until he stood, here, on the doorstep—and his arm must have had a mind of its own with the way it was raising itself to knock—

The door opened.

"'Sup?"

This was…not Naruto.

Sasuke blinked, suddenly worried he had come to the wrong place—

"Is—Naruto here?"

"Oh—oh yeah, 'course! I'll grab him for ya." The brown haired man walked away, and Sasuke heard him hollering for Naruto. Sasuke viciously shoved his nerves as far down as they would go—

"Wh—Sasuke! Hey!" Naruto gave him a sparkling grin, but Sasuke could see the bags under his eyes.

"I brought food." Sasuke held up the bag.

"I fucking love you."

Sasuke's heart jumped into his throat.

"Come in, come in!" Naruto beckoned him in. "I'm upstairs."

Sasuke followed Naruto into his room, which the blonde immediately began blabbering apologies for. The place was an absolute mess. Sasuke didn't really care either way, but Naruto certainly seemed to think he did.

"Idiot," he sat on the couch, "I don't care. Eat your food before it gets cold."

"What did you get?"

"Ramen."

It was like Naruto had been brought back to life. His eyes widened and his mouth opened into a slow gape, and he launched himself at the bag so quickly that Sasuke jerked back—

"Which one's mine?"

"They're the same."

"I owe you," Naruto spoke for the first time in minutes, having eaten his meal at a ridiculous speed. "I owe you so much."

Sasuke looked down at his own half-finished meal.

"Do you want the rest of mine?"

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Do you not like it?"

"It's fine," Sasuke said, "but it's a bit much for me."

He absolutely would not tell Naruto that he had already eaten before he had gone and bought this.

"Really? I mean—if you—if you don't mind..." Naruto ducked his head a little, his grin a mix of obviously excited and just a little sheepish. Sasuke only rolled his eyes, passing along the container.

"What do you have coming up?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh," he paused to slurp the noodles—Sasuke fought back a snort as one slapped against his chin, "it's Wednesday, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Okay. I've got three papers and my exam for Friday. I've finished up everything else, I think. Oh, and tomorrow's class was cancelled, which rocks because I can just hole up like I did today."

He laughed, giving up on using the chopsticks in order to tip the rest of the food into his mouth.

"Have you even left your house today?"

"Nope." Naruto grinned at him.

Sasuke snorted.

"Do you have anything this week?" Naruto set the container down—now empty—and shuffled back through the clothes on the floor to get to his desk.

"Nothing important. Just readings and the usual."

"Ugh, lucky."

There was a pause. Sasuke shifted, glancing around the room. He tried to convince himself that he was just comfortable, here—that the walk had been longer than anticipated—and not that he was trying to find an excuse to stay in Naruto's company—

"...Do you need help?" Sasuke heard himself offer.

"Help?"

"With your work."

"You—is that okay? You don't mind?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Would I offer if I did?"

Naruto laughed. "Okay—yeah, uh…well I'm not totally at the point I wanna be for the exam so I'll freak out if you quiz me, but…"

"Isn't it a bit early for a midterm?"

"Oh—yeah, no, it's not that." Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "It's like—a continuation course from last year, so it's basically that exam all over again. They say it's to test our baseline but then it should be formative, and it totally isn't. It's fifteen percent." Naruto ended the sentence with a groan.

"Um, actually, though—I do have some really rough drafts of my essays—would you mind…?"

"Send them over."

"Ugh, you're the best." Naruto sagged a little in his chair, smiling back at him. "Facebook okay?"

"I don't have it."

"Of course you don't." Naruto laughed. "Email?"

"Uchiha 'S' 'A'. The university one."

"'Kay…sent!" He spun his chair around. "Thank you so much, Sasuke."

"Hn."

They sat in silence, Sasuke attempting to focus in between glances at Naruto. The blonde always seemed to be…chewing on something. Either his pen—or his lip, or his nails…

Sasuke shook himself, turning back to his laptop. Naruto's writing was...not bad. He clearly knew the subjects well, although Sasuke didn't, but his grammar did leave something to be desired. Then again, Sasuke was notorious even when it came to his own writing.

Sasuke stretched as he finished commenting on the last essay, stifling a yawn.

"How're you holding up?"

Sasuke looked up from his computer; Naruto was the one watching him, this time.

"Fine." He took out the headphone he had put in—although he hadn't ended up listening to anything. "I just finished."

"What—all three?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa! You rock!" Naruto stumbled over to lean on the back of the couch, looking over Sasuke's shoulder.

"I just cleaned them up for the most part." Sasuke opened them up on his computer so Naruto could see.

"Whoa," Naruto grimaced, "so much red…"

"It keeps track of what I changed. It looks worse than it is."

"If you say so..." Naruto moved along the back of the couch, seemingly stretching his legs from side to side. "Were they—okay?"

"They were fine. You and I need to talk about semicolons."

Naruto blinked at him.

"Semi—huh?"

"A semicolon links two independent clauses." Sasuke tapped the screen. "You can't use it in the place of a comma—or a colon. They are all different. And this is a hyphen, not a dash—if you're going to—"

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, planting his face in the couch, "m'sorry. You're gonna have to tell me this all again later."

Sasuke paused, eyeing him for a moment.

"You sound like you're about to fall asleep."

"I feel like that, too," came Naruto's muffled voice from where he had planted his face into the couch.

"Do you want a coffee?"

"No! No," Naruto's head sprung up, "you already brought me food. I should just—walk around or something. I've barely moved today."

"Do you want to take a break, then? We could go on a walk."

"Yeah." Naruto took in a few deep breaths, clearly trying to wake himself up. "Yeah, if that's okay. Lemmie grab my jacket and stuff."

"Sorry that I haven't been replying much." Naruto held his hands behind his head, and he took in a deep breath. The air was crisp and cool—the perfect opposite of the blonde's stuffy, warm room.

Sasuke shrugged. "You're busy."

Naruto threw him a lopsided grin. "Still. I do it to everybody, for what it's worth—I learned in first year that I had to put my phone away—like really away—when I gotta get shit done."

"Hn," Sasuke glanced away, "…how was going back home?"

"Oh! That was good. Awesome, really. They pamper the hell outta me." Naruto laughed. "Iruka always does my laundry for me—and he cooks like crazy. Kakashi just spies on me at school and reports back if I'm not eating enough or stuff. He totally exaggerates to get me more food."

He laughed again.

"What about you? You see your family often?"

Sasuke's good mood faltered. Naruto seemed to notice.

"Ah—shit," he faced Sasuke, ducking down a little as if trying to catch his eye, "I didn't hit another sore spot, did I?"

"…We're not on speaking terms," Sasuke answered quietly.

Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke made a point of moving past him to continue walking.

"Shit, sorry," Naruto said after a moment, trotting to catch up with him. "I—can I ask why not?"

Sasuke frowned, but Naruto was looking at him with such an earnest expression—eyebrows furrowed, eyes wide, teeth running over his lip—Sasuke's annoyance kept slipping from his grip—

"They didn't want me to study writing," he answered shortly. "I did."

Naruto didn't let it go.

"So they never spoke to you again? What the fuck?"

"…It…yeah."

"What the fuck. What the fuck! Who does that?!"

Sasuke sighed. "It's complicated."

"Yeah, it better be!" Naruto let out a breath and Sasuke couldn't help but shake his head at the way he was so...puffed up with righteous anger. He was such a—moron. Naruto was so—

Naruto turned back to stare at him expectantly. Sasuke's smile faded a little as he debated where to start.

"…Have you heard of the Uchiha hotels?"

"The really fancy ones? What about 'em?"

Sasuke snorted a little. "Usuratonkachi," he muttered to himself.

"Th—hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Naruto spun around with an expression that could have been offended if he wasn't smiling so wide—

Sasuke smirked.

"Is it a different language? What did you call me?!"

Naruto nudged Sasuke and his smug demeanor faltered just long enough to break into a smile.

"Idiot," he said finally.

"I'm an idiot or it means idiot?"

Sasuke smirked. "Both."

Naruto swatted at his face—Sasuke pulled away just quick enough for his fingers to graze his nose.

"You ass! What language?"

"Japanese."

"Are you Japanese?"

"I wasn't born there," Sasuke shrugged. "I never really made an effort to learn the language. But my family spoke it and I learned a few words here and there."

"Including insults, of course." Naruto grinned at him, eyeing Sasuke playfully. "What's jerk in Japanese?"

Sasuke thought for a moment.

"I don't remember that much." He scratched his chin. "Teme comes close, I suppose—"

"Teme?" Naruto tested the word, tilting his head side to side. "You're a giant teme! I hate you, teme! Yep. It fits perfectly."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, biting down on a smile.

"It's more of a rude way to say 'you'," he glanced at Naruto, "so what you're saying doesn't really make sense—"

"How am I supposed to use it then?" Naruto swung around, walking backwards to grin at him.

"Like you're referring to me."

"Like...hey, teme! C'mere, teme! That work?"

Sasuke shook his head, feeling the laugh bubble up in his throat—

"You're such an idiot."

"Nuh-uh! I'm an usu—usutokatchki—!"

"Usuratonkachi."

"Usuratonkachi!"

Chapter Text

They had just crossed the street back to campus when Naruto spoke up again—that asshole! He had—

"You distracted me!" He rounded on Sasuke.

"Did I?" Sasuke didn't seem concerned.

"Yeah! We were talking about—hotels, right? The…"

"Uchiha ones?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke let out a puff of air. "What's my name, idiot?"

"Teme." Naruto gave him his most charming grin.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke gave him a look. Naruto blinked.

"Well—yeah, but..." his mouth made a small 'o', "wait, actually?"

"Yes. So you can see how a family that built a business from the ground up wouldn't be thrilled that their son had no interest in it."

"You don't have any…?"

"What—siblings? I do. Itachi is five years older than me."

"Then—!"

"I know. Believe me, I know." He gave Naruto a serious look, and then turned away. "I try to understand it, but I don't. Not really. We just…have different priorities. We always have."

Naruto stared at him—Sasuke didn't meet his eye.

"How long's it been? Since you talked to them last?"

Sasuke sighed. "It was two years this September."

Years.

"…Shit."

Sasuke shrugged. Naruto—for one mad moment—violently fought back the urge to do something stupid—like hug him—or grab his hand—or—

"Where are we going, anyways?" Sasuke didn't meet his eye—he looked obviously uncomfortable.

Naruto looked around, exhaling. "Wherever you want. We're—uh, almost at campus. Wanna walk around it?"

"Alright."

It was getting colder, now, and the sun was starting to lower itself for the night—although it wasn't quite setting yet. Their walk had been largely in silence since Sasuke had last spoken.

"I'm adopted," Naruto said finally.

"What?" Sasuke jerked out of his own thoughts.

"I know, I know." He laughed. "Big shocker from the guy with two male parents."

"You don't have to tell me because you feel like you have to," Sasuke interrupted, eyes narrowed, "just because I told you about my family."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, before his face widened into a small smile.

"You're such an ass." Naruto shook his head. "I'm telling you because I want to."

"…Oh." Sasuke's chest grew just a little bit tighter.

Naruto looked back at the ground, still smiling.

"They got me when I was twelve, so I was really behind on my education 'n stuff. I didn't really see the point in it, so I did really bad in school and…basically hated the place. Iruka did some volunteering or something with the foster system I was in—that's how we met. He said he used to be just like me—always in trouble for doing shit I wasn't supposed to." Naruto laughed. "I grew out of it—kinda. But—anyways, I wanted…I wanted to tell you 'cause I get it—obviously not exactly, but I know what it's like—"

"To be alone," Sasuke finished quietly, staring down at the ground. He could feel the moment Naruto's eyes turned back to him.

"Yeah."

After that, they continued walking only to the sound of the rustling leaves.

"Your house is around here, right?"

Naruto's voice made Sasuke jump; lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings.

"Yeah," he said. He hadn't even realized they had been headed that way, but Naruto must have. "…Are you walking me home?"

"That was the plan." Naruto smiled. "It's getting late. You didn't notice?"

Sasuke looked around, only now realizing the sky was no longer only blue, but tinted with the soft pastels that signaled the sun was setting.

Naruto laughed at his lack of response.

"Come on—which way do I go? I've only been to that board game café twice."

"Keep going straight."

"Thanks for distracting me for a bit," Naruto said as they reached Sasuke's apartment, "and for helping me with my essays. I really appreciate it."

Sasuke shrugged and went around the back of the building, leaving Naruto to follow.

"Can I come inside?" Naruto peered around his shoulder, bouncing on the balls of his feet as if hit with a sudden burst of excitement—he shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned up at Sasuke—

Sasuke looked away.

"Sure."

It wasn't much to look at, really. You entered through the same room that was Sasuke's bedroom and kitchen—although there was a small partition in front of the entrance which had come with the place. There was a separate room for the bathroom, but that was it. Sasuke thought his toilet might still be broken from yesterday—the chain attaching the handle to the tank had snapped. He had tried to fix it, but…

Naruto moved around the place, and Sasuke shuffled in place, feeling self-conscious.

"Your place," he said after a moment, "is so much cleaner than mine! Oh man, I am so sorry."

He cracked himself up, and Sasuke felt his discomfort fall from his grasp.

"I'm such a mess. I'll clean it up for the next time you come over, I promise."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved a hand, moving closer to Sasuke's desk. "How's the writing going?"

Naruto glanced back at him and Sasuke felt a jolt of panic—he strode quickly to his laptop, which may or may not have had a very detailed description of a blonde man with eyes like the sky, and rested his hand on top of it.

"Fine," he said, standing in between his desk and Naruto. Naruto eyed him for a moment, and then retracted his posture from where he had begun to reach for the laptop.

"Oh," he said, taking a step back, "is it weird having someone you know read your stuff?"

"What?"

"Well—'cause if you're uncomfortable with it, I'm sure Kakashi would understand. You could talk to him about it."

"I…already have," Sasuke answered quietly.

Something flashed across Naruto's face so quickly, Sasuke thought he might have imagined it. It was replaced with a bright grin in no time at all.

"Always one step ahead of me, eh?" Naruto laughed, making his way back to the entrance. "Anyways, I gotta get back to studying. I'll see you soon, 'kay? Thanks again!"

And with that, he was gone, and Sasuke couldn't quite shake the feeling that he had said something wrong.

He texted Naruto good luck on Friday when he woke. He wasn't sure what time the exam was, but he eventually gave up on checking his phone when noon rolled around and he still hadn't received a reply.

He sighed.

Naruto hadn't spoken to him since the day they had walked together. He knew, rationally, that Naruto was busy. He knew he wasn't intentionally ignoring him—of course he knew that. Naruto had to put his phone away when he had to focus—he had said so himself—and yet—

The flicker of that something he had seen in Naruto's face flashed in his mind—accompanied by a pang of guilt that was growing more familiar by the second. But what had he been supposed to say? He couldn't have told Naruto that he—about the way Sasuke's writing had become littered with mentions of him because, somehow, the words just flowed from his fingers when they were describing Naruto—about how it felt so easy to write about him—so natural to think about him—and he definitely couldn't tell him about how going without his presence (only for a few days) had felt as if something had gone missing—

He shook his head, alarmed at his own thoughts. This was insane. He barely knew Naruto. It had barely been two weeks—but then, Naruto barely knew him too, and yet he still seemed to understand Sasuke on a level that…

He let out a harsh, frustrated breath, shoving his face further into the book. He needed to analyze this by Monday, and he wasn't even done reading it yet. At the very least, it would distract him from—

His phone went off.

'Thanks Sasuke! Party tonight, my place?'

Sasuke stared at the screen.

In any other world, Sasuke's answer would have been an automatic, unyielding 'no'. Sasuke had never liked parties and he never would like parties—they were crowded, and loud, and even if there was someone whose company you genuinely enjoyed there, why on earth would you choose to spend it where you could barely talk to them?

If you felt it was your only option, that's why.

'Sure.'

The house was going to explode any minute now. That was the only explanation Sasuke could come up with for the horrible booming noise coming from within—not to mention the way it was so filled with people that they were starting to spill out onto the front lawn—

Sasuke wondered if he would even be able to find Naruto in this mess. He didn't really care to try.

'I'm here.'

It took Naruto maybe two minutes to come bursting out of the front door.

"Teme!" he hollered, obviously not sober. "Did I say it right—teme?"

He gave Sasuke a dazzling grin.

"You did, usuratonkachi," Sasuke answered, much more quietly. He let the blonde come to him.

"You should come inside!"

"Really?" Sasuke eyed the house. "I think there are enough people in there already."

Naruto squinted back at the house, and then giggled.

"Yeah, you probably don't like crowds, do you?" He gave Sasuke a sloppy grin. Sasuke didn't answer, preferring to give the blonde a solid once-over. Naruto seemed distracted enough, and he was looking—well…like someone else had dressed him. He was in dark jeans, a loose-fitted shirt, and what seemed to be a black leather jacket. It was a muted, darker look that had Sasuke's chest feeling...uncomfortable.

Sasuke was either not as subtle as he thought he was, or Naruto wasn't as drunk as he looked, because Naruto gave him a sheepish grin as their eyes met.

"Ino made me wear this," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "Have you met Ino?"

"I don't think so." Was that the girl with the pink hair?

"You haven't?!" Naruto looked appalled. "You have to! C'mere." He grabbed ahold of Sasuke's wrist and pulled him towards the party. Sasuke didn't want to get any closer to that crowd, but he didn't want to pull away from Naruto, either—

Sasuke's moment of hesitation was exactly the opening Naruto needed to yank him into the house, leaving Sasuke no choice but to huddle closer to him as he broke the crowd for the two of them.

"Ino!" Naruto called, looking around. "Hey—have you seen, oh! Wait! Sakura!"

Oh—that was the girl with the pink hair.

"You remember Sasuke?"

Sasuke distinctly saw her eyes pause on the hand Naruto still had gripped on Sasuke's wrist.

"Yes, yes I do." She smiled as Naruto immediately dropped Sasuke's arm. "Nice to see you again, Sasuke."

He wondered, as he gave her a silent nod, if she knew he had overheard her at the café. There certainly seemed to be some knowledge Sasuke wasn't privy to in that smile—in Naruto's flushed cheeks—

"We were looking for Ino," Naruto explained, running the hand that had held Sasuke's wrist through his hair.

"Ah," Sakura winked at Sasuke, "one of the many admirers of Naruto's outfit, are you? I think she's in the kitchen."

One of the many admirers?

"Thanks Sakura! Hey—Ino!" Naruto disappeared into the crowd, and Sasuke felt a flash of panic in the brief moment he couldn't see the blonde—if Naruto left him alone in this chaos, he swore—

"Sas—Sasuke!" Naruto pulled him forward once he spotted him. "This is Ino. I've known her since high school, too."

Sasuke took that to mean he had known the pink-haired—ah, Sakura?—since then, as well.

"Nice to meet you," he said quietly. Ino's eyes raked up and down him appreciatively.

"You too," she answered.

Sasuke made no move to hide his scowl.

"Sasuke thinks my clothes are weird." Naruto grinned.

"I—" Sasuke began.

Ino laughed. "Then they fit you perfectly."

"Hey!"

"Oh, do you know where Shika ran off to? I've been looking for him for ages."

"Uh, I think he's still up in my room." Naruto stuck his hands in his pockets, his elbow briefly brushing Sasuke's. "A couple people went up there 'cause it's quieter."

"A couple people?" Ino gave him a look.

"Like, four, and I don't think Lee likes Shikamaru that way." Naruto waggled his eyebrows and Ino laughed.

"So where are you from?" She looked over at Sasuke, as if attempting to draw him into the conversation. "How'd you meet Naruto?"

"We met at the café," Sasuke answered.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, giving Sasuke a playful nudge, "I annoyed the shit outta him for half an hour and he hasn't been able to get rid of me since."

Naruto threw him a teasing smile, and Sasuke immediately felt that warm, amused feeling bubble up in him again—distantly, he registered Ino's laugh—

"Welcome to the fold," she told Sasuke seriously. "We've all been trying to get out for years."

"Oi!"

"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura called from the doorway, and the blonde went over to talk to her. Sasuke went to follow, but—

"Did you bring anything to drink, new boy?" Ino brought his attention back to her.

"No," he answered honestly. He hadn't intended on staying that long. He glanced over at Naruto, just as the blonde's eyes turned to his—

Sasuke turned away, cheeks burning.

"Alrighty." Ino smiled. "You feeling anything in particular? Sweet? Savoury?"

"I don't like sweets." Don't look at Naruto—don't look at Naruto—

"Hm. What are your thoughts on tomato juice?"

"It's not bad."

"A caesar it is."

Moments later, Sasuke was feeling pleasantly warm—whether it be due to the drink in his hand or the arm Naruto had around his shoulder, Sasuke couldn't say.

"Is everyone upstairs?" Sakura asked. "I feel like I haven't seen any of our crowd in ages."

"Let's check." Naruto grinned and grabbed his drink.

The answer was, as it turned out, undoubtedly yes. Much to the chagrin of those who had come up to Naruto's room in search of peace and quiet, the room was booming with yells and cheers—apparently, they had broken out some sort of video game collection.

All at once, the room seemed to notice Naruto's arrival. Sasuke flinched back as the crowd swarmed towards them, but Naruto's arm rested casually on his shoulder and he couldn't quite convince himself it was worth it to move away—

"Hey guys!" Naruto laughed, meeting them with ease—enthusiasm—whatever personality trait that Sasuke had never managed to develop—

"You know Sasuke, right?" Naruto asked, as if they should—and Sasuke's heart gave a small tumble as some of them nodded, when Sasuke had never seen them in his life—

"Yeah, 'course!" the brunette man—the one who had answered the door, the only one Sasuke recognized—said. "You any good at games, Sasuke?"

He gestured back at the couch behind them—

Sasuke shrugged. "I've never played."

Naruto's eyes bulged. "Anything?!"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Dude," the brunette breathed, a look of horror on his face, "go sit on the couch."

Sasuke didn't get a chance to protest before he was pushed onto the couch, a controller plopped in his hands. Naruto passed off the chance to play in favour of sitting on the armrest beside Sasuke, leaning over him and instructing him on the basic rules.

"You wanna hold it like—no, like this, so you can put your trigger finger like that. Yeah," he grinned, "so that button is your 'go' button—it usually means 'yes', or 'I accept' and stuff, but it's also like your main attack, and…"

It took Sasuke five games to learn the controls. Another three, and he started feeling fairly comfortable with them. One more, and—

"Holy shit, Sasuke!"

"…What just happened…?"

"He kicked your ass, Kiba!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke couldn't fight the smirk on his face.

"He got lucky," Kiba protested. "Rematch!"

Kiba set up the next match without waiting for Sasuke's response, which was fine with him. He was getting the hang of this.

"Want another drink?" Naruto leaned in so close that Sasuke could feel his breath on his ear—Sasuke stifled the shudder even as his eyes fluttered closed—

"S-sure."

He wasn't sure he could have said no to Naruto if he had all the strength in the world.

A few drinks and a few games later, Naruto finally decided he wanted to face off against Sasuke himself.

"One-on-one though." He eyed Sasuke, and then looked back at Kiba. "That okay with you?"

"Yeah," Kiba said with a laugh, "I think my pride is bruised enough as it is. I'm gonna go find Hinata."

A faint shout of "use a condom!" followed him as he left, and Naruto snorted into his drink. Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Hinata's his girlfriend," Naruto explained. Sasuke had figured about as much.

"Ah."

"Sooo..." Naruto flipped between settings, flicking things on and off. He confirmed his selections and then gave Sasuke a playful, superior look.

"Bring it on, teme."

"Usuratonkachi."

And they were off.

Naruto was good. Really good. He had years of experience on Sasuke.

But he was also very predictable.

After a few quick wins, he could tell Naruto was starting to struggle—about an hour in, it became clear that they were evenly matched.

"You sure you've never played?" Naruto eyed him doubtfully.

Sasuke smirked. "You sure you're as good as you think you are?"

"You cocky fuck!" Naruto punched his shoulder, laughing. "Let's take a break. D'you need anything? Drink? Water? Food?"

"Water would be great," Sasuke said honestly. He wasn't feeling bad, but he had a very strong feeling he might stumble as soon as he stood—

"I can get it, though," he offered.

"Wanna come with?" Naruto had stood and stretched just enough so Sasuke could see his midriff peeking out from under his shirt. His…very toned midriff…oh...

"Sure."

It was a good thing Sasuke was normally a quiet person, because it was taking nearly all of his effort to maintain a façade of sobriety. He found himself stumbling over thin air, swaying to music he didn't like, and spending far too long eyeing whatever skin Naruto's clothes chose to expose at that moment—

Naruto, on the other hand, only seemed to become a more exaggerated version of himself when drunk. He was loud, funny and excited—he met everyone with enthusiasm and they met him with the same. Even though Naruto assured him the majority of the party had been invited by Kiba, who was part of some fraternity or another, it seemed like they all knew Naruto—or they acted like they did.

Maybe that was just the effect he had on everyone.

The thought seemed to sober him up—at the very least, it stifled that warmth that had been humming through him since the moment he got here—and he quickly pulled Naruto aside.

"I should head home."

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. "Already?!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "It's nearly four in the morning."

"Oh," Naruto checked his cellphone, "shit, you're right. Fuck—you're not driving, are you?"

"I'm not an idiot. I walked."

"The whole way?" Naruto glanced behind him for a moment, before he turned back to Sasuke, biting his lip. "Let me walk you home."

"I'm not that drunk."

"I know, I know," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, "but you walked all the way here on your own. And I could use the fresh air anyways!"

Naruto peeked up at him—cheeks flushed and eyes bright—and just like that, the warmth was back.

Sasuke sighed. "Come on, usuratonkachi."

Naruto's only answer was a brilliant smile.

Chapter Text

"It's this way." Sasuke rolled his eyes, grabbing the back of Naruto's jacket as he turned the wrong way again—

Naruto laughed. "Sorry, sorry—!"

"How much have you had to drink, exactly?"

"Not that much!" Naruto gave him a charming smile. "I'm not really paying attention though."

"I can tell. Are you going to be okay walking back to your place alone?"

"I'll be fine!"

Sasuke eyed him doubtfully, but didn't comment. Naruto tripped on the sidewalk again—Sasuke caught him by the arm, and held him until he was stable.

"Fine, huh?"

"…Shut up."

Fifteen minutes and a few blocks later, Sasuke was fishing for his keys and Naruto was leaning on his railing.

"Come in before you fall asleep on my stairs." Sasuke held the door open.

Naruto slid past him with a lazy grin, stumbling forwards until he could fall onto the couch as if he lived there.

Sasuke eyed him.

"You're going to pass out on my couch, aren't you?"

Naruto was sitting up in a heartbeat.

"No," he rubbed his eyes, "not if you don't want me to."

Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm—I'm not that tired, anyways." Naruto shook himself, and Sasuke could distinctly see the way he was flexing his fingers, as if to keep himself awake—

"Naruto," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I don't mind."

Naruto looked obviously relieved—and a little sheepish. But the grin was back in full force (if a little lopsided), and Sasuke felt that warm feeling twist in his chest again—

"'Kay." Naruto slouched back down. "Thanks, Sasuke. Do you wanna watch a movie or somethin'?"

"Are you going to fall asleep during it?"

"Probably."

"Hn." Sasuke dug through his closet for the extra blanket he had stashed away for the winter, throwing it at the couch.

He stifled a smirk as Naruto caught it with his face.

"Oof—"

"Do you want water?" Sasuke called.

"Uh—oh—yeah, thanks!"

Naruto was firmly burrowed into the blanket when Sasuke returned, glass of water in one hand and laptop in the other. Naruto made a small noise as he came, shuffling himself free of the cocoon he'd made for himself—

"Pick whatever you want," he muttered, already turning back. Naruto wasn't the only one who was tired—and stumbling. Sasuke just hid it a lot better.

He poured himself his own glass of water (and splashed some water on his face, while he was at it), and turned back to Naruto—

Naruto, who was staring, eyes reflecting the light of Sasuke's laptop, with a rapidly growing smile. Sasuke immediately felt the panic flood him—

"Naruto?"

"Uh!" Naruto looked up with wide eyes. "I—uh—"

Sasuke nearly sprinted to the damn thing—his stomach twisting and turning over and turning over again—what had Naruto seen? Had he been writing when he closed his laptop? Shit!

The guilt on Naruto's face did very little to stifle the smile.

"Sorry," he pushed the laptop away from himself—towards Sasuke, "I wasn't supposed to read that—I didn't mean to, it was just—there—and, I, uh—"

Sasuke gave him his fiercest glare, snapping his laptop shut. That was private—that was—

Naruto reached up and grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't be mad."

Sasuke looked at him and felt the anger drain out of his body. Damn those eyes.

"Is it," Naruto swallowed, sitting up onto his knees, "I mean, that was me, right? Was that me?"

Sasuke turned away as his face burned—he was already considering which lie to use—

"Actually, don't—you don't have to answer that," the blanket fell further off of Naruto as he sat up straighter, "just—um, could you tell me—is that why you didn't want me to read your writing anymore?"

Sasuke stared at him.

"Was that why?"

The lie died in Sasuke's throat.

"...Yes."

The look on Naruto's face grew so immediately bright, Sasuke felt like he was trying to stare at the sun—

"Really? That's the only reason?"

Sasuke nodded, eyebrows furrowed as he remembered the look that had flashed across Naruto's face—

"Wh—yes, that's the only reason. What did you think?"

"Oh," Naruto gave a laugh that sounded something like a sigh of relief, "I—I thought you didn't want me to read your stuff anymore after you had, um, actually met...me."

Sasuke blinked. Naruto ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh," Sasuke whispered, watching Naruto as the next words were already forming in his throat, "...did you want to read it that badly?"

"Yeah," Naruto's voice was breathy—tired—he was already relaxing back into his bundle of blankets, "'course. I always look forward to your writing."

It was so nonchalant—so offhand, as if Naruto was already falling half-asleep as he said the words—

"Sorry, though." Naruto's tired eyes peeked up at him. "I shouldn't've read stuff you didn't want me to. I didn't mean to—it was just there—"

"It's alright." The words left Sasuke almost automatically. "It's my fault for leaving it open."

"Mm," Naruto shook his head, "I'm dumb and curious and your stuff is too good. You gotta start writing worse so I won't wanna read it."

He grinned at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes in response. But the tension had lessened, and Sasuke felt a bit better—just enough to join Naruto on the couch.

"Drink your water," he muttered, opening up his laptop and quickly skimming what Naruto had read. Nothing incriminating—but very obviously a description of him. He let out a breath as the relief flooded through him.

"What do you want to watch?"

Ten minutes in, Naruto was already very clearly struggling. He had insisted that they share the blanket—in spite of Sasuke's protests that he was fine—and therefore was slowly sinking into the couch, closer and closer towards Sasuke…

"Can I ask you something?" Naruto's voice was soft—slow—dancing on the edge of sleep as he had been for the past half hour—

"Hm?" Sasuke turned towards him.

"What kind of person am I in your writing?"

Sasuke swallowed, feeling his face flush.

"…You're an idiot," he answered finally.

Naruto let out a laugh. "Okay, okay. Can I ask why I'm in it?"

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I—just…" Naruto rubbed his eyes. "I'm curious. Why me?"

The blonde looked up at him, expression oddly serious. The dim light from his window were giving him a hazy glow that did things—strong things—to Sasuke's heart—

Sasuke wrenched his gaze away from Naruto and back to the laptop screen.

"You're…interesting. I don't know."

"Interesting?"

Sasuke looked back at Naruto and immediately regretted it. He was leaning at just the right angle for Sasuke to be able to see down his shirt—the loose one, which draped unevenly across his shoulders—he wrenched his eyes from Naruto's collarbone, up to his face, where the lights from the street were reflecting off of his cheeks…

"How did you get those markings?" His voice was barely above a whisper—just loud enough to be heard over the movie that they were both now fully ignoring—

Naruto looked startled, and he sat a little straighter. Sasuke mourned the loss of the view.

"You don't have to answer," Sasuke offered, seeing Naruto's discomfort.

Naruto scratched at his chin, spending a little longer than necessary holding his hands near his cheeks.

"Naruto?"

Blue eyes snapped back to his, and a small smile spread across Naruto's face.

"If I have to answer that, you have to give me a better one about your writing."

Sasuke snorted, turning away as his face flushed. Could he even give Naruto a good answer? It was something he hadn't given much thought—well, no, that wasn't exactly right. It was more that it was something he…avoided thinking about. He didn't want to question it—it was just…nice. Something about Naruto…

"I," Sasuke began, "I don't really…"

"You don't know?"

Sasuke looked at him. "I—no. I'm just…drawn to you. You're—" he let out a puff of air and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I don't know how to describe it."

He did have some ideas, although he wasn't quite ready to accept them. Or admit them to Naruto—especially admit them to Naruto. The leap from 'Naruto was interesting' to 'Sasuke was interested' was growing smaller by the day, and it was one thing to know someone was attractive (and Sasuke was well aware he found men attractive) but whatever this was—this feeling where Sasuke's voice stuck in his throat and his heart fluttered in his chest and his eyes had a mind of their own—

This was...something else entirely.

"You're doing a pretty good job." Naruto had an easy smile on his face—his eyes filled with something—something like affection—Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat at the thought. "I feel kinda drawn to you too."

Sasuke's throat swelled shut.

"Um," Naruto's smile faltered and he scratched his cheek again, "they're tattoos, actually. Well—they kinda are. They scarred and blew out 'cause it was way too deep and stuff, and now they've faded and stretched 'cause it happened so long ago. Like, um...I think when I was...ten? Maybe before that. I dunno. Anyways, it was—one of the older kids thought it would be funny, I guess. Back at one of the foster homes, I mean. I have no clue how he got the ink or anything, but he got in loads of trouble after that." Naruto gave a quiet snort. "I think that's why he left. Maybe they kicked him out; I don't really remember."

Sasuke stared at him. "An older—they—what?"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting to Sasuke's for barely a moment.

"Um, yeah. It's not like I was the only one, though; he got to Gaara—have I told you about Gaara?"

Sasuke didn't remember the name. He shook his head, mind still racing—

"Oh—he's my foster brother. Or one of them, anyways, but he's the one I talk to the most. He's cool. Kinda quiet—you'd like him, I think. He's a lot quieter than me—"

Naruto threw him a teasing grin. Sasuke flicked his shoulder in response.

"Anyways," Naruto looked away again, his smile faltering, "his is all…red. And on his forehead. And it looks a lot better than mine because he didn't struggle or anything—well, I mean, I think that's why his wasn't as fucked up. He didn't tell anyone, at least—he just had this great big thing on his forehead one day."

Naruto let his arm fall from where he had gestured at his forehead, giving a small sigh.

"I can't be too mad, though—I was way too much of a brat to not fight back, and that's what made the guy get caught—Iruka caught him, actually—so I'd like to think I saved some other kids from getting their faces all messed up, but…I dunno."

He looked away—Sasuke found himself leaning just to get a glimpse of his eyes—

"I've never liked them. They're huge and…obvious and—I keep trying to get rid of them but it sucks 'cause they're not really scars but they're not really tattoos, so nothing that's supposed to work actually does...I dunno. I've made them fade a lot but it's still like…it's the first thing people see about me, you know? It's not like it's a good—"

Sasuke cut him off.

"That's not true."

Naruto's head snapped back to him.

"Huh?"

"It's not—" Sasuke swallowed, the nerves bubbling up, under his skin, "I mean—I noticed them, but they weren't the first thing."

Naruto blinked.

"What was the first thing?" His voice was small—hesitant—and it was that thought that gave Sasuke the strength to answer—

"Your eyes." His eyes were bright—and his smile was brighter—and between the two of them, Sasuke found it a miracle he had even been able to see the markings at all—

The smile that broke Naruto's face was slow, shy, and just a little bit disbelieving. Sasuke's heart twisted so violently at the sight that he thought it might burst right out of his chest—

He looked away.

"And then it was how loud you were."

Sasuke's stifled a smile at Naruto's laugh—but it broke free as soon as the blonde punched his arm.

"Asshole!"

"Am I wrong? I could hear you through my headphones."

"Oh c'mon, I'm not that bad!"

"I didn't say it was bad," Sasuke shrugged, "I just said it was loud."

There was a pause. Sasuke realized that Naruto had come to very nearly rest against him, now—their arms were awfully close, and if Naruto leaned just slightly, his head would be resting on Sasuke's shoulder—

"So Iruka found you?" Sasuke attempted to focus on anything other than the way his heart was beating—

"Yeah," Naruto let out a breath, "he was with the school, but he spent a lot of extra time helping out everywhere—like with the system." Naruto smiled a little. "He adopted me pretty soon after that. Oh, maybe I was older than ten…'cause he was dating Kakashi, so that would be…hm." Naruto frowned in thought, furrowing his eyebrows. "They weren't married yet, though…"

"When did they get married?"

Naruto's thoughtful look changed into a grin in record time.

"After they adopted me. I'm pretty sure Kakashi was pushing for it 'cause he wanted to wait to propose until after." He laughed. Sasuke eyed him, amused.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He made me help him the whole time, once he finally actually did it." Naruto's face brightened completely, and he pulled his legs up under him to sit up straighter. "We had to trick Iruka—he had no idea. It was their anniversary, but Kakashi had been lying to him for weeks about it—he said he had a conference to go to for work. We made a fake ticket and everything—like a fake hotel confirmation, emails—everything about it. It was so funny. And he was so serious and sad and then the second Iruka walked out of the room he would not stop giggling—you've seen Kakashi giggle, right? It's ridiculous. And I loved it, 'cause it was like I was playing a prank—with Kakashi on Iruka, which was—" He let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Anyway, they had this place that they would always go—it was actually where they met, so I pretended I was really craving it that day. Kakashi was hiding—like, in the back, 'cause the staff were all in on it, too. They said they had new tables back there—we had a waiter run back to warn him when we came in, and he was already like—doing the kneeling thing when we walked in. We decorated the place like crazy, too," Naruto gave a delighted laugh, "but oh man, Iruka's face when he walked through the door! It was great. Super cheesy. Iruka bawled. Kakashi cried too—he held it in better, though."

"I bet you were right there with Iruka," Sasuke smirked. Naruto gave him a mock offended look.

"Jerk," Naruto leaned over to swat at him. Sasuke dodged it with ease, but was very conscious of the way Naruto didn't move back to where he had been sitting—

"You were, weren't you?"

"Well—okay, yeah, honestly. As soon as Kakashi broke, that was it for me."

Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's shoulder was pressed firmly against his, now. "How do you afford your place?"

Sasuke inhaled, immediately stiffening—

"If you don't mind me asking. You can tell me to fuck off if you want." Naruto's body shifted, as if he was nudging Sasuke. "Do you work?"

"I don't." He answered simply. "My brother pays for everything." Everything.

"Oh yeah," Naruto breathed in a little, "what was his name again?"

Sasuke sighed. "Itachi."

"What's he like?"

"He's…" Sasuke drummed his fingers along the cloth of the couch, "intense. We fight a lot. I never really know what he's thinking."

"Is he all about the jerk vibe, too?" Naruto threw him a sleepy grin.

"Moron." Sasuke went to shove the side of his head, but ended up more running his hand through Naruto's hair. He brought his arm back to himself, thinking.

"We've gotten along better recently, though. Since the whole...university situation."

"S'nice of him to support you," Naruto offered.

"Yeah. But he still has access to my parents. They don't know where their money is going."

"You don't think so?"

"I think they'd make him stop if they did."

"…That's awful." Naruto looked at him with large, sad eyes.

Sasuke shrugged.

There was a pause.

"Sasuke?" Naruto started—quietly, hesitantly. "I'm really glad I ran into you at the café."

Sasuke looked at him, startled.

Naruto smiled a little and ducked his head. "I'm just sayin'."

The fire from Sasuke's cheeks slowly spread to the rest of his body. Naruto was just so…blunt. His stomach turned over and his chest twisted and his heart started to pound its way out of his ribs again—

Naruto shifted and Sasuke knew he had taken too long to answer, trapped between the lump in his throat and the insane urge to squeeze Naruto's hand—he settled for gripping the hem of Naruto's shirt as the blonde shifted—as if to nervously move away—

The dim lights were the only thing that saved Sasuke's pride, because he was sure that his blush was anything but subtle when the blonde looked back at him.

His eyes flickered to Naruto's, but he still couldn't find his voice.

Naruto seemed to understand—at least, he relaxed back until he was nearly leaning against Sasuke again. Sasuke surreptitiously shifted so that their shoulders were touching—if Naruto noticed, he didn't seem to mind.

Chapter Text

It took Naruto no time at all to start to fall asleep again—his head sagged slowly, slowly, slowly, until it finally dropped onto Sasuke's shoulder, and Naruto was lost to the world.

Sasuke snorted a little, letting Naruto's body press him further into the armrest. He wasn't sure what to be less surprised by: the fact that Naruto was so obviously exhausted, or the fact that he snored as if someone had taken a drill to his apartment.

Still, Sasuke's own eyelids were getting heavier by the minute, and the warmth of Naruto's body, pressed up against his arm, definitely wasn't helping. It was squishing him, though, and if he moved his arm just a little—

He shifted, and Naruto fell onto his lap.

Sasuke watched, blinking in surprise, as it did absolutely nothing to bring the blonde out of sleep. Naruto only let out a sleepy mumble, happily burrowing his face into Sasuke's lap as his arms circled around his waist.

Well.

He supposed moving to the bed was completely out of the option now.

It wasn't as if he was uncomfortable—far from it, really. Naruto's warmth, coupled with the blanket, was settling Sasuke in a way that had him dancing right on the edge of sleep...and Naruto wouldn't mind, surely—he had been anything but uncomfortable with physical affection so far…and Sasuke was so tired, now…it wasn't that big of a deal if he didn't brush his teeth for one night…

The sun was unrelenting.

It was bright, it was hot, and it was everywhere. Well, it seemed like it was everywhere—the last couple times Naruto had woken up he had gotten away with burying his face into the couch—but somehow, that just wasn't working anymore.

And the couch felt...tougher. Rough, in a way that he couldn't nuzzle into like he had before…

Maybe he was just actually waking up after all.

He let out a soft groan, rubbing at his eyes as he sat up. It took him way too long of a moment to recognize that he wasn't at home, and then another one to remember that he had passed out at Sasuke's place last night. Was Sasuke awake? He had to be. Naruto could smell...food?

"…s'ke?"

Sasuke looked up, swearing he could hear something over the sizzling of the pan.

Naruto blinked at him—still looking half-asleep. Sasuke stifled a smile at the thought that it oddly suited him—

"Are you making food?"

Sasuke glanced down at the pan. "I'm trying to. This thing is so old," he indicated the stovetop, frowning, "it never cooks evenly."

He checked the bottom of the eggs again. The moment he looked away they were going to burn, he just knew it.

"Are eggs okay?" He looked up at Naruto.

"Yeah, of course!" Naruto grinned. "Sunny side up?"

"That's the plan."

"D'you have bread? We can throw some cheese on there and make it a sandwich," Naruto offered.

"Yeah—I..." Sasuke looked around the place, "just help yourself," he said finally.

"I'm craving something really greasy, I think." Naruto laughed, opening the fridge. "Thanks. How long did I sleep?"

"It's, ah—I think somewhere around 11:30," Sasuke answered.

"I'm up before noon?" Naruto looked surprised. "Look at me go!"

He laughed. Sasuke only rolled his eyes.

"Oh—d'you have an extra toothbrush I could use or anything? I think I could kill someone with my breath."

Sasuke snorted. "You can use mine," he offered.

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned as he padded away, and Sasuke stifled a sigh. The last time Itachi had used his toothbrush, he had practically screamed at him. Granted, that had been years ago, but still—he had offered it to Naruto without a second thought. Naruto really had some sort of grip on him…

"This is the fuckin' best." Naruto's voice came from behind the giant mess he had made for himself. He moaned as he took another bite.

Sasuke shook his head, pushing his own plate away from himself a little. He always nauseous when he was sleep-deprived, and today was no exception. He had managed about half an egg before he felt his stomach start to turn.

"You okay?" Naruto asked, wiping at his mouth.

"Yes," Sasuke answered automatically. But Naruto only paused, eyeing him with a look that was so obviously trying to hide his disbelief that Sasuke felt like he had to continue—

"I'm just—tired."

"You could nap," Naruto offered.

But just as Sasuke was about to reply, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting somebody?" Naruto asked.

What was the day today? Shit. Yes, yes he was, and he had completely forgotten.

"U-uh," he stuttered—

"Don't mind me! I can totally slip out." Naruto started to stand.

"No," Sasuke stopped him, "no, it's fine. I just…I just need some coffee."

He was...way too tired for this.

There was another knock at the door.

Sasuke sighed.

"D'you want me to answer it?" Naruto offered. "Here—you go make coffee; I'll grab the door." And without waiting for Sasuke's response, Naruto weaved around the divider that Sasuke had between the entrance and everything else.

Well.

He might as well make some coffee.

"Ah! You must be Itachi!" The resemblance was uncanny, honestly. Itachi just looked like an older—and slightly off-put—Sasuke.

Naruto grinned and held out a hand to shake.

Itachi met it with a firm, pale hand. He was wearing a full suit—quite the contrast to Naruto's outfit, which he still hadn't changed out of from the night before.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Naruto!" He grinned. "Sasuke's just making coffee." He shoved himself (and the door) over to let Itachi in.

Itachi stepped in without a word, eyeing Naruto for just a moment longer than Naruto personally thought he needed to. Naruto didn't let it bother him, though—he got the sense that Sasuke wasn't really one to have visitors often. He bit his lip at the thought, closing the door behind Itachi and quickly shuffling back to Sasuke. It was only a moment before Itachi followed him.

"Sasuke," he greeted, before Naruto had a chance to talk.

"Itachi." Sasuke's face was impassive. "Naruto, do you want coffee?"

"Oh for sure," he laughed a little, "thanks. I can finish it up if you guys wanna talk."

Sasuke pulled out two cups and poured boiling water into them.

"I don't have a coffee maker; I just steep the coffee like this. Give it a few minutes."

"'Kay," Naruto gave him a playful grin, "where d'you keep the cinnamon?"

Sasuke snorted. "Top drawer, on the right. Half a teaspoon, understand?"

Naruto only laughed in response.

"Itachi," he heard Sasuke start, once the two of them had moved to the other side of the room, "you had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes," Itachi answered, still standing, "it's about our parents."

He paused—deliberately, Naruto thought, as he saw Itachi's eyes flicker to him.

"Oh, I can—" Naruto gestured towards the door.

"Is the coffee done?" Sasuke gave him a look.

"Oh, uh—yeah, probably." Naruto twisted back towards the counter to hide his face, letting the smile on his face grow so wide his cheeks started to hurt. That was big—that felt huge. This was a crazy amount of trust that Sasuke was showing him right now—

"Our parents?" He heard Sasuke prompt—it made Naruto glance up, just for a second, taking in the way Sasuke's eyebrows were raised and how Itachi looked entirely unfazed—

"Our mother, more specifically. She asked if you would like to come home for the winter holiday."

There was a pause. Naruto shuffled over with a cup—Sasuke took it automatically.

"Oh, um," Naruto turned to Itachi, "did you want one too?"

"Itachi doesn't drink coffee," Sasuke answered, not looking at either of them. "Is she aware that we are in contact?"

"I don't believe so," Itachi answered slowly. "It's more likely that she thinks if you were to reach out to anyone in our family, it would be me."

Sasuke made a face. "Well, she's not wrong."

He sighed, taking a moment to stare out the window. Finally, he shook his head, sighing.

"I don't…just tell her—"

Naruto immediately moved away, starting to walk—well, he didn't know where, but this wasn't a conversation that should involve him and if he stayed close to it, he was definitely gonna start talking—

"Naruto." Sasuke voice made him freeze. "You want to say something."

Naruto bit his lip, eyes flickering back to Sasuke's—he really didn't want to speak up—it wasn't his business—he knew it wasn't—but—

"…I spent twelve years without parents, Sasuke," he said quietly, and then he turned away—gently placing his cup on the counter as he passed it. He felt Itachi and Sasuke's eyes on him, but he just couldn't stay there a moment longer—he didn't want to hear what kind of argument Sasuke would have for not speaking to his parents. It just—

It just hit too close to home.

"You don't have to decide immediately," Itachi offered after Sasuke had been silent for a good five minutes.

Sasuke sighed, finally tearing his eyes from the entrance. Naruto…

"Will our father be there?"

"I didn't ask."

Sasuke frowned.

"If it was just our mother, would you accept?"

"I—" Naruto's face flashed through his mind, and he sighed.

"…Yes. I would."

Naruto was barely a minute out of Sasuke's apartment when the guilt really hit him.

That had been…

He stopped, running a hand through his hair as he stared back at the way he had came.

Bad. Stupid. He barely knew anything about Sasuke or his family. He had no right to say anything about it. In fact, from what he did know, Sasuke had every reason to not to want to speak to his parents…

And he hadn't even—he hadn't even told Sasuke what he thought properly. He'd just been super dramatic and left, which was...well, Sasuke probably understood—Sasuke always seemed to understand—but still.

'Sorry,' he finally texted Sasuke, grimacing all the while.

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed.

'What for?'

He stared at the phone, debating how to reply. He shouldn't have left like that, for one thing—he could just turn around, now, maybe, but he had already walked all this way…he deleted what he had written, biting his nail and staring back down at the screen.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

He just—he had to send something—it didn't have to be perfect, he told himself, deleting the message for the thousandth time—for god's sake—

He groaned out loud, finally forcing himself to press send. He screwed his eyes shut—

'For walking out & stuff - wasn't really any of my business…'

It took everything he had to keep walking after he sent it.

'If I didn't want your opinion, I would have made you leave.'

He stared at his phone, breaking out into a soft smile. His phone buzzed again in his hands.

'You left your jacket here. Come get it.'

Naruto's smile broke into a full on grin. Sasuke was seriously…god—he was so fucking—Naruto was never going to be able to get rid of this fucking stupid crush if Sasuke kept this up—the guy was just so…argh!

He bit his lip, turning back again. He wanted to go back—he did, but...he glanced at the time on his phone. He really needed to get changed…probably take a shower—maybe a nap…and he could make it up to Sasuke, too—

'I'll come over later & bring you dinner. Fair?'

…

'Sure.'

Chapter Text

Sasuke was fucking impossible to get a straight answer out of. Four o'clock had rolled around, and Naruto had started fishing for dinner ideas, only to be met with absolutely nothing. Sasuke acted like he had no preference at all—about anything!

Which was obviously not true, given how violently the guy had reacted to the thought of cotton candy. He knew Sasuke hated (well, he said he didn't hate them but it really seemed like he did) sweet stuff, and that he liked tomatoes, but that was all he had. He couldn't just bring him salad—that'd be lame and boring and Sasuke had brought him ramen, which meant that he needed to bring him something equally as awesome in return!

Naruto groaned and clutched at his hair. He had no idea what to do. Maybe Kakashi might know something? He couldn't think of anyone else that Sasuke knew well—well, other than Itachi, and Naruto had no way of contacting the guy.

Naruto bit his lip, scrolling through the contacts on his phone, as if one of them would—

Chouji!

He immediately hit dial. Chouji's family ran a restaurant, but he'd started a food blog for fun that had actually kind of taken off—Naruto read it, sometimes, and would get really confused at some of the stuff Chouji would nitpick at—but if Chouji found something good, then Sasuke was bound to, right?

"Hey! Chouji—d'you have a sec? I need your help."

Sasuke would never admit to the spike of excitement that shot through his body when he heard the knock on his door. Honestly, he was a bit surprised Naruto had managed to find his place on his own.

The blonde stood at his door holding two plastic bags and a large grin. Sasuke didn't even feel his own smile in response, too busy trying to fight the inane urge to kiss Naruto's cheek in greeting.

"Hey!" Naruto held up the bags. Sasuke took one and moved to the side so Naruto could come in.

"What did you end up getting?"

"A bunch of stuff." Naruto grinned. "You good with sharing?"

"Sure."

Sasuke was honestly impressed. He didn't have much of an appetite most days, but this was…this was really good. And Naruto was obviously hoping for that to be the case, with the way he kept staring Sasuke down—

"I want the leftovers of this one." He tapped the container closest to him with his fork.

Naruto sat up straight.

"Wh—really?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Yes, really. It's good."

The resulting grin was dazzling. Sasuke didn't even make the attempt to look at it—it was glaring enough from the corner of his eye—

"And," he said quietly, eyes intently on his food, "I'm going to see them."

He didn't know why he felt the need to tell him. Sasuke was never one to spill secrets—especially in person, but—

"Huh?"

"My parents." Sasuke cleared his throat. "Well—my mother, I mean. I'm going to start with her and…see how things go."

The fact that Naruto ducked his head did absolutely nothing to hide his smile.

"That's—that's really great, Sasuke." He sounded almost—breathless. Sasuke wasn't sure with what—maybe happiness, or relief, although why Naruto would be feeling either of those was far beyond him—

"It might not amount to anything." Best not get Naruto's hopes up. "I don't know if it's a good idea." In fact, it was very likely a bad idea.

Naruto nodded, biting his lip.

"You have a lot you want to say, don't you?"

Naruto blinked up at him and Sasuke could distinctly see the moment the blush spread across his cheeks—

"Is it that obvious?"

"You look like you're holding your breath."

Naruto let out a laugh—sounding about as full of air as Sasuke had expected.

"I—" He laughed again, but it sounded more like a sigh. "Yeah—no, I…okay, I haven't even met your parents or anything," he rubbed at his face, "so for all I know they could be super awful and you have every right to never speak to them again, but…I would really hate for you to have to do that. And I hate that they did this to you. It was really shitty of them. But I'm really glad that you're giving them a chance to make it up to you. I dunno. Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

Naruto ducked his head again, cheeks just as flushed and smile just as bright—

Sasuke covered his smile with his fist. Naruto was just so...

"Stop laughing at me," Naruto mumbled, shoving his fist against Sasuke's arm—but he was still smiling, and Sasuke felt the feeling inside him grow and twist—

He let a breath, trying to gather his thoughts. He felt as if he could barely keep it together when Naruto was around. He had never grown so attached to someone so quickly. He had never trusted someone like this so quickly—let alone been this...comfortable with them. Talking about his parents was always the absolute last thing he wanted to do—and yet, with Naruto's eyes on him, the words flowed so naturally—

"I blame them for a lot of things." He stretched his feet out ahead of him and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm very bitter."

He heard Naruto shift, but he stayed silent. Sasuke examined the small, yellow stain on his ceiling that he still couldn't manage to get rid of—

"The writing program wasn't what started it. We were always fighting." He sighed. "Once I actually started standing up for myself, I…"

He swallowed the rest of his words, a lump settling in his throat.

There was a pause.

"I ran away from home when I was thirteen," Naruto offered.

Sasuke's head jerked to stare at him.

"What?"

Naruto snorted. "I know, I know. I was dumb. At the start—when Kakashi and Iruka first got me, I mean, it was like…all we did was fight. I dunno. I know a lot of it was my fault, but it was also like…we needed to…figure out how to deal with each other. And I was convinced they didn't actually want me there. I was just waiting for them to prove me right."

He let out a puff of air.

"But it wasn't like…at the end of the day, I still really wanted them to like me. Even though I pushed them. Even though I was angry. Even though we kept fighting…"

"You knew they loved you."

"No." Naruto shook his head. "I didn't know that. That was the problem."

He looked at Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't hold his gaze.

A week later, Naruto was walking home from class, and still talking to Sasuke. He had run out of excuses to hang out with him ages ago, but Sasuke had never asked for them, so—

"You can't? Can I come over then?" Naruto paused, pressing his phone closer to his ear as he dodged a couple on the sidewalk. "I won't distract you, I promise!"

He heard Sasuke snort.

"Yes, you will," Sasuke said, "but it's not that. I'm about to go grocery shopping."

"Oh!" Naruto froze in his step, nearly causing the couple he had just passed to run right into him. "Uh, sorry—I need groceries too! Are you going to the one that's right by your house?"

"Are you apologizing to me? To the one behind it, yes."

"No," Naruto laughed, "I nearly took some people out on the sidewalk. Can I meet you there?"

He heard the soft, distinct sound of Sasuke's laugh.

"Try not to take anyone else out on your way."

Naruto viciously suppressed the urge to jump up in victory.

"Jerk! I'll be there in ten."

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto waved his arm over his head, as if Sasuke wasn't staring directly at him—

"That was fast," he commented, just as Naruto trotted right up to him—too close, according to Sasuke's heart. "...Why did you bring your backpack?"

"I came straight from class!" Naruto moved away to punch at his arm. "Don't make fun of me!"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Asshole!" Naruto laughed, following him into the store. "I gotta carry these all the way home, too, y'know—the backpack's part of the strategy."

"Is it? With all of your books?" Sasuke reached out, just as Naruto slung the bag off his shoulder. He tossed it in the cart as Naruto took hold of it.

"All part of the plan," Naruto grinned at him, nudging the cart forwards, "you'll see."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Usuratonkachi."

Naruto's grin nearly blinded him.

"Teme! Where are we headed first?"

"Vegetables."

They were about two minutes in, and Sasuke was already yelling at him.

"No, Naruto—you don't need three dragon fruit!" He slapped his hands away from the pile, even as Naruto laughed. "Do you have any idea how quickly they spoil?"

"I could eat them fast!" He threw Sasuke a cheerful, laughing grin, but dutifully went back to their cart—no fruit in hand. Sasuke rolled his eyes, following him—

"You've only bought fruit! Buy a cucumber for god's sake." He tried to grab at the cart, just as Naruto was turning it away—

"Cucumbers don't taste like anything—" He called back.

"Then make a salad." Sasuke brandished the cucumber at him.

"With a cucumber? It's like adding water!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke shoved the cucumber closer.

"Then you're obviously doing it wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto leaned forwards, a glint in his eye. "You gonna show me how it's done?"

Sasuke eyed him for a moment, and then dropped three cucumbers into the cart.

"You're buying these," he informed him, turning away.

"I figured." Naruto grinned, slouching over the cart. "What else am I buying?"

Sasuke only threw a smirk over his shoulder, already walking over to the next aisle. Naruto pushed the cart after him, shaking his head.

Sasuke was so...

"Spices?"

Naruto's voice broke him out of his thoughts—Sasuke immediately schooled his face into a neutral expression.

"No—I was just...looking."

Naruto blinked at him.

"What? You can get spices if you want. I'm not gonna judge."

Sasuke rolled his eyes with a quiet, "moron."

They paused. Naruto didn't seem to intend on moving their cart any time soon.

"Spices are expensive," Sasuke said finally. Not just one, but together—it was something that he just...couldn't justify buying. Cinnamon and pepper, he had allowed himself, but other things—like pans that cooked evenly and stupid flavoured tea packets—were just...It wasn't like Itachi wouldn't pay for them—of course he would—but this was the part of his money that Sasuke could actually control. And he was already taking advantage of—

"So? I'm paying."

Sasuke pinned Naruto with a glare in record time.

"No, you're not." He had thought that was obvious. The few greens that Sasuke had managed to get Naruto to agree to were for him, not Sasuke—Sasuke would never—

Naruto crossed his arms over the cart, throwing him a lopsided grin.

"Well, not for everything—but I thought you were gonna show me how it's done. You didn't think I'd be impressed with just salad, did you?"

Sasuke's anger drained from his grasp.

"C'mon, Sasuke," Naruto moved around the cart, past him, running his hand along the shelf, "my idea of seasoning is salt. What am I dealing with here?"

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer, before he let out a soft, resigned laugh.

"Moron," he said quietly, "am I making you dinner?"

Naruto grinned.

"You bet your ass you are."

Naruto, predictably, bought too much. Even his backpack hadn't saved him—not that he had really expected it to. Between his laptop and his books, it had been pretty much full to begin with.

Still, Sasuke's place was way closer than his own, and he was infinitely grateful that he had pretty much annoyed Sasuke into cooking for him.

"Buh," he collapsed in front of Sasuke's fridge, "can I keep my stuff here until I get my breath back?"

"Well it's either that or have it melt all over my floor." Sasuke stepped over him. "What options."

Naruto snorted, rolling over onto his stomach.

"So what're you making me?"

"What we are making," Sasuke responded, nudging him with his foot, "is basically a stew. Get up; you're blocking the fridge."

Naruto laughed, picking himself back up. He ought to actually help Sasuke put the groceries away—

"Wait," he paused, "I'm helping you cook?"

Sasuke nearly laughed at him right then, he knew; it was the way he shook his head and turned away, as if to hide the smile—

"Obviously, idiot." He gestured towards the cabinet with his head. "There's a cutting board in there—start chopping."

Naruto gave him a two-fingered salute and a brilliant grin.

"Yes, sir!"

"Oh man," Naruto groaned, rolling around on his couch. Sasuke looked at him, eyebrow raised.

Naruto gave him a pained look.

"It smells so fucking good..."

Sasuke snorted, shaking his head.

"I'm so hungry..."

"Stop whining, moron."

"Hey—I haven't eaten since lunch! And I only had a shitty little sandwich then 'cause I barely had a break between classes—"

"Stop talking about food," Sasuke muttered, feeling his own stomach protest. "You're making it worse."

He wandered back over to the pot, watching it boil. He could probably turn the heat back down to a simmer, now—he knew he was supposed to add something more to it at this stage but he couldn't remember what his mother had—

He swallowed, killing the thought as it came.

"How's it going?" Naruto hovered over his shoulder.

"Almost," he answered quietly. "We could probably have the salad now, if you wanted—"

"Oh fuck yeah."

Naruto was gone in a heartbeat.

"This was your plan, wasn't it?" Naruto muttered through a mouthful of lettuce. "Get me so hungry that everything tastes fucking amazing—"

"Stop eating all of the salad," Sasuke called back, taking the pot off the stove. They had already spent far longer making this than Sasuke had the patience for—

"Mm, you're gonna have to c'mere and fight me for it." Naruto's voice was entirely muffled. "I take back everything I said about cucumber—"

"Come here, moron. It's ready."

"Wh—" Naruto was beside him in a flash. "Yeah? Actually?"

Sasuke glanced at him.

"You have dressing on your face."

"O-oh," Naruto flushed, rubbing at his lip, "sorry."

Sasuke passed Naruto a bowl as an excuse to look away. He hated how expressive Naruto could get—it just got to him so easily—

"Oh, thanks." Naruto held it out as Sasuke tried to get an even portion of everything without it splashing all over his kitchen. "So what is this, actually?"

"Tomato nabe." He hadn't had it in years. He probably wouldn't even have it now—not the way he remembered, at any rate. Maybe it was a bit too ambitious, but Naruto seemed thrilled nonetheless—

"Come on, hurry up!" Naruto looked as if he was bouncing on the spot. "Where can I eat? I don't wanna spill all over your couch."

"Then don't spill all over my couch." Sasuke filled his own bowl, surreptitiously holding it so it wouldn't burn his hands too badly—

"I'll just sit on the floor," Naruto muttered, making his way to the front of the couch.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he promptly did just that.

"What?" Naruto looked up at him. "I couldn't even manage the salad without making a mess. You really gonna trust me with this?"

He gestured down at the bowl. Sasuke snorted—internally debating whether he ought to do the same, because Naruto had a point, really—

"Sasuke, I'm gonna start chewing on you if you don't sit down soon—"

Sasuke put his bowl down beside Naruto's.

"It's too hot right now, moron."

"It's too hot—you asshole!" Naruto groaned, ducking his head between his knees. "You are evil! Evil!"

Sasuke only sat in front of him, resting his back against the couch.

"Evil," Naruto muttered again.

"It's only a few minutes," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "stop being so dramatic."

Naruto peeked up through his fingers.

"Distract me, then."

"Distract you?" Sasuke rested his arm over his propped up knee. "How?"

"I dunno—you come up with something."

Sasuke thought for a moment.

"...Tell me more about your research."

He heard Naruto let out a breath.

"Like—my thesis? What about it?"

"Yes. All I know is that it's about meditation."

"Mm," Naruto lifted his head up enough to run a hand through his hair, "well, like—it's kinda—positive psychology. Y'know about positive psych?"

"You mentioned it in one of your essays." He vaguely remembered the term, and he could probably piece together the meaning, but—in the interest of distracting Naruto...

"Oh—yeah." Naruto licked his lips, straightening up further. "Yeah—I guess I'm always kind of on about it. I've been in psych for a while, y'know, and everything is so...we're always so focused on the negatives. Like knowing what went wrong when something goes wrong. Which—don't get me wrong, it's important. It is. But I think there's a lot to be learned from studying when things go right, and I don't think enough people do that."

Sasuke tilted his head a little, smiling.

"Ever the optimist, hm?"

Naruto laughed.

"It's not optimism—it's logic! It just makes sense! Look at things from every point of view, not just one—I dunno why more people don't see it!"

Sasuke narrowly avoided the arm as Naruto flailed, as if waving his arms around was going to emphasize his point—

"Moron," he muttered, shaking his head. Naruto only laughed, rocking in place as if he just couldn't sit still—

"Oh—yeah, so—basically I do a mix of mindfulness meditation and yoga. I might've told you that—I dunno. But if you brand it as both you get more people," Naruto waggled his eyebrows, "and we have a twelve week program that people go through, and we do data collection before, during and after. So like—it's a bit much for an undergrad thesis, especially 'cause we do focus group interviews on top of the typical questionnaire stuff, but I dunno—I really like it, I think."

"It seems so." Naruto was anything but subtle when he was excited—and he was definitely excited.

"Yeah?" Naruto bit his lip a little, bouncing in place. "I've been debating, y'know, I think I've told you—like if I should stick with it after school, but I dunno if I'm just doing that 'cause it's...it's what I know—what I'm comfortable with, or—"

"Is your work going to be finished?" Sasuke cut him off.

Naruto gave him a blank stare.

"After you graduate," Sasuke elaborated, "will you feel like your work here is done?"

Naruto blinked for a second.

"Well—no, of course not. You're never really—"

"Well, there you go."

Naruto stared at him for a moment longer, smile slowly growing wider.

"You obviously care about it," Sasuke continued softly, "so if you don't feel that you're done with it—then—"

Sasuke gestured towards him—Naruto laughed.

"When you put it that way," he leaned back, biting his lip again, "s'a good point, Sasuke. Thanks."

Sasuke shrugged. He could feel Naruto's gaze on him—and he could definitely feel the way his face was flushing under it—

"How's your writing going?"

Sasuke glanced at him.

"...Better." Better than when Naruto had been reading it, it seemed. At the very least, he was writing a lot more now, and he hadn't managed to get nearly as stuck as he had felt before—

"...Am I still in it?"

Sasuke had a moment—a brief, panicked moment—where his entire body seemed to freeze, and no response came to his mind—

He nudged Naruto's bowl closer to him, rolling his eyes as an excuse not to meet Naruto's.

"Eat your food, moron."

"Oh my god, finally!"

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, Sasuke was tapping his fingers on the keyboard, trying to build up the motivation to read through his essay again. He had to have read it a million times by now—and he knew it needed more editing, but—well—if he had really wanted to work, then he wouldn't have taken Naruto up on his offer to go to his house. No matter how insistent the blonde had been that they would actually stay focused this time.

"Ugh," Naruto's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I'm so stiff."

He reached his arms up, stretching—

"Well maybe if you sat properly—in a chair—that wouldn't be an issue." Sasuke eyed him, eyebrow raised. Really—Naruto had a perfectly good desk, a perfectly good couch, and he chose to sit down, on the floor, beside Sasuke's feet. It couldn't possibly be comfortable.

Naruto grinned up at him.

"It's comfy down here."

"And yet you're stiff," Sasuke slipped the laptop off his lap so he could stare down at Naruto properly, "so which one is it?"

"Mm," Naruto leaned against the couch, using the cushion to help arch his back, "I've been slacking on my stretches and stuff though."

"Yoga?"

"Yeah," Naruto shoved himself up, "I don't meditate as much as I used to, but I do more yoga."

He threw Sasuke a grin as he reached past the TV—ah, that was a mat of some sort—

"I might do a bit now," he said. "You mind?"

He rested the rolled up mat on his shoulder.

"No." He didn't mind. He didn't mind at all—that was the problem. It was already bad enough to see Naruto stretch casually—

Sasuke forced his gaze away from Naruto's smile—staring at his laptop, instead. If he could just focus on his work—if he could just ignore Naruto, for the time being—if he could—just—

"…Doesn't that hurt?"

Naruto glanced back at him, putting his foot down.

"If I do it wrong, yeah." He grinned, picking up his other foot—he stretched an arm out as his leg curved back—Sasuke could see the way his thighs flexed—

"But that's the same with every position," Naruto's voice was breathy—he exhaled, reaching up at the ceiling before ducking down—oh good lord—that—that pose—

Sasuke turned away, face burning—out of the corner of his eye, he could see how Naruto was shifting—he tried not to look, but Naruto's back was arching—and—

"You're making me nervous." Naruto laughed softly, relaxing his body as he turned to smile back at Sasuke—

"Ah—sorry—"

"D'you wanna try?"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"You spend most of your day sitting, too—and it makes you feel a lot better, at the end—like you feel it in your posture and everything—"

Naruto glanced up at him, looking nervous—Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh.

As if he could say no to those eyes.

"Sure."

"Wh—really?" Naruto brightened, sitting up straight—

Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm wearing jeans, though—I don't think—"

"Borrow my pants!" Naruto sprung to his feet, moving to one of his drawers before Sasuke even had a chance to reply—

"I—"

"Here!"

Sasuke automatically caught the cloth as it came—were these…Naruto's pajamas?

"Iruka makes me pajamas." Naruto threw him a bright grin. "The fabric's really light and comfy—they'll be way better than jeans."

Sasuke eyed the pants again—now picking out the frogs, hopping along the hem—

"Do you…like frogs?"

"I do!" Naruto laughed. "They're so cool! There are so many different kinds—and colours—and they do such cool weird stuff and live in so many different kinds of places—I actually used to keep some tree frogs when I was in high school—like just in a tank—but then they started having so many babies that it all kind of went out of control."

Naruto laughed.

"But they were really awesome—they had blue legs, but their backs were orange and they had black spots everywhere." Naruto waved his arms, as if that would somehow project the image into Sasuke's head. "They were only like—the size of my thumb," Naruto pointed his thumb at Sasuke, "so they were really hard to pick out from the tank most of the time, but I put in these film canisters—for breeding, mainly—and they loved those. That's probably why I got so many tadpoles, heh."

He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing again—

"Anyway—yoga! Put those on!" Naruto shuffled back towards the door. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom—I'll be back!"

The door shut.

Naruto pressed his back against the bathroom door, his heart hammering in his chest. He hadn't—he hadn't even remotely—expected Sasuke to agree, and then he had and Naruto had gotten so nervous and flustered that he just started blabbering on about his fucking frogs—

He heaved out a breath.

He already had it bad enough when they weren't in close quarters—he already could barely control himself as it was, when Sasuke was charming and funny and gorgeous and sometimes he'd do that little half-smile thing where his hair flicked back and he looked at Naruto with eyes that were warm and laughing and goddamn it all if he did that when Naruto was close enough to kiss him—

Oh, god, Naruto was doomed.

He swallowed, running his hands under the tap in an attempt to get them to be less sweaty. He just—Sasuke just…it was so automatic. Everything with him just felt natural. Every moment just flowed—everything felt so good when Sasuke was around him, Naruto just couldn't help but seek him out—to want to talk to him—to want to be close to him—

He had never felt so…connected to someone.

…

Shit.

He exhaled, pushing himself up off the counter. He had to get back upstairs before Sasuke started to realize something was off.

And—well—if he did, Naruto could always pretend he was getting sick or something.

Sasuke glanced over at him as he opened the door—Naruto couldn't help but grin at the sight; he seemed a little embarrassed, honestly—

"They suit you," he couldn't help but say.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sure these suit anyone."

He flicked the waistband against his skin, as if making his point. Naruto laughed—as if his heart hadn't skipped a beat at the action—

"They are great and you know it!" He moved back over to his mat, gesturing Sasuke to follow. "C'mere."

"Okay," he breathed out as Sasuke moved to stand in front of him, "put your hands together."

Naruto grinned, pressing his own palms together.

Sasuke did the same.

"Namaste," Naruto said, waggling his eyebrows.

Sasuke snorted.

"Reach your arms up," he said softly, doing the same—it was easier if you could see someone doing it, in front of you, "to the ceiling. Keep them up there." He dropped his own, moving around Sasuke. "Reach higher—inhale," he watched Sasuke's chest rise, "reaching higher—higher—and exhale—"

He moved back around him. "Can you feel it in your back? In your shoulders?"

"I can," Sasuke answered.

"Mm, good." Naruto moved back in front of him. "Now exhale, and bring your hands back together—slowly—that's right—"

Sasuke breathed out softly, slowly, as he brought his arms down—somehow, Naruto could pick out some sort of intensity in those eyes—

"Keep your hands like that," Naruto lifted his own leg, "but press your foot to your leg like this—"

Sasuke glanced down, swaying a little as he tried to imitate what Naruto was doing—

"You don't have to go as high as mine—just do what's comfortable," Naruto told him, "and pick a spot to stare at. It's really hard to stay stable if you move your eyes around."

Sasuke—apparently—picked Naruto's eyes to stare at. At least, it was the only explanation Naruto could come up with for the way his gaze wasn't wavering—

Naruto swallowed, feeling his nerves spring up right under his skin for the thousand time. He desperately tried to focus on the yoga, and not on the way Sasuke's hair framed his face so perfectly—not on the way his skin didn't seem to hold a single fucking blemish, not a single discoloration beyond the faint blush on his cheeks—and definitely not on the way his eyes seemed to just go on forever, as if they held the universe itself within them—

Sasuke stumbled—Naruto saw the panic in his eyes as he swayed too far to the side—

Naruto reached out just as Sasuke did, grabbing each other by the hands.

"Sorry." Sasuke pulled back.

Naruto just laughed.

"No—you did awesome!" He took a step back. "You did way better than I first did. Do the other side, or you'll feel lopsided all day. Here—"

Naruto moved forwards, helping Sasuke pick his foot up.

"This is your non-dominant side, right?" He said, picking up on the way Sasuke was already starting to sway—

"Ah," Sasuke swallowed, "yes."

"So, like—stare at my lamp." Naruto let his hands hover around Sasuke—just in case he fell again—just in case—

"And sometimes it helps to press harder against your leg," Naruto said, "like really flatten your foot there. And then just focus on your breathing—"

"I feel like I'm focusing on enough already," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah—sorry." He moved back around so he could see Sasuke's face again. "I'm telling you everything at once. It's really about the breathing. Here—put your foot down."

Sasuke obeyed, quietly shifting some of his muscles as he did so.

"Mmkay, use the whole mat," Naruto started, "and stand with your feet out apart. Wider—yeah, like that."

Naruto moved around him, grinding his attraction to Sasuke down into a fine dust.

"Now have your feet facing the wall—and face it too, but don't move your hips." He watched Sasuke shift, biting his lip. "Yeah, like that. Raise your arms up and bend your front knee—almost like you're lunging—"

Naruto imitated the pose for him—and Sasuke copied with ease. He smiled, letting himself shake loose.

"Now just focus on breathing slowly. Let me worry about your form," he said, lifting one of Sasuke's arms as he did so. "Inhale…" He walked around, bending down to tap at Sasuke's ankle—Sasuke immediately understood. "Good—exhale…"

He walked around again—Sasuke's eyes were following him, now. Naruto grinned.

"Don't focus on me," he said. "Focus on breathing. Feel your body—inhale—feel each muscle that you're using—feel the ones that are tighter, the ones that are loose—exhale…" Naruto lifted Sasuke's arms again.

"This pose is one of my favourites," he said, eyeing the way Sasuke's muscles were starting to protest. "It's called warrior. It's very simple—keep breathing, Sasuke—"

He grinned as Sasuke's chest rose again—

"—but it gets pretty tough pretty fast, doesn't it?"

Sasuke's eyes darted to his—now that was definitely a glare—

Naruto's grin widened.

"Relax—go back to standing."

He could see the relief in Sasuke's face as he shook out his muscles.

"I thought I was in good shape," he muttered.

"You are," Naruto said immediately—Sasuke was in fantastic shape—and this was giving him the perfect excuse to properly appreciate it, "but there's a lot of muscles that we don't really use in exercise. Posture muscles, you know?"

Sasuke nodded, breathing out again.

"Other side, now, Sasuke."

Sasuke gave him a look.

"You gotta! I told you—otherwise you feel weird and lopsided—"

He cut himself off as Sasuke rolled his eyes, shifting his body.

"There, perfect," Naruto adjusted Sasuke's knee a little—trying, very intensely, not to think of the way he was touching Sasuke's thigh, "now breathe—again."

Sasuke's breath grew harsher pretty quickly. Naruto didn't blame him—the first time he had done this, his body had physically started to shake. It had been a long time ago—but still.

"Exhale—relax further into the pose," Naruto told him, gently lifting Sasuke's arms again. "You feel the way it's working, right?"

"Y—eah."

Naruto tried to hide the smile at the strain he could hear in Sasuke's voice. It wasn't much, but he could see the way Sasuke was…starting to pant…

Fuck.

As if he was ever going to be able to get that mental image out of his head—fuck—

"That's about equal," Naruto forced out—suddenly sure he couldn't take a second longer of this. "There's normally a lot more poses 'cause we do a warm up and a cool down, but this is just kinda what it's like."

Sasuke sagged back against the arm of the couch, exhaling. Naruto took a moment to eye him over—he did seem to be sitting a little straighter—

"You can have your mat back." Sasuke threw him a small smile—Naruto laughed, shifting to stand in front of him. He didn't quite want to start again yet, but…

"You teach the sessions in your program, don't you?"

Naruto blinked.

"Uh—yeah, I do most of them actually." He laughed. "How did you know? Was it that obvious?"

Sasuke tilted his head a little—he always tended to do that in the way his smile pulled his lips—

"It was," he pulled his legs up onto the armrest, draping an arm over his raised knee, "and it seemed that way from how you described it."

"Oh—yeah, that's fair." It took everything Naruto had to keep his voice light—to keep his eyes (and hands) to himself—because the way Sasuke was sitting—the way he was looking at Naruto—

"Mm," Sasuke made no effort to move, "do your yoga."

Naruto's face flushed—he suddenly felt very self-conscious—

"Are you gonna—watch me?"

"…Turnabout is fair play."

Naruto ducked his head, cheeks burning.

"Asshole," he muttered, smiling all the same. Sasuke only raised an eyebrow.

"Show me how it's done, moron."

Naruto laughed, but obediently started again.

He did his routine facing Sasuke, this time.

Chapter Text

In the past few weeks, Sasuke and Naruto saw each other almost every day. Sometimes they stayed in, sometimes they just sat and worked—more often than not, Naruto had convinced Sasuke to cook for him again (usually in exchange for helping him with his groceries). Now, October was nearly over, and—

"Whatcha up to for Halloween?"

"The thirty-first? I have a journal due on the second."

"So?"

"So," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm going to be working."

Naruto gave a dramatic sigh. "You're so boring."

"Yes," Sasuke said dryly, "I am."

Naruto laughed.

"Okay, okay. Kiba's having another party that night. Did you want to come?"

"He has a lot of parties."

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "it's his frat's thing. They're the host for all the big parties."

"I'll pass."

"I thought you might. Mind if I join you?"

Sasuke looked at him.

"After the party?"

"Yeah," he laughed, ducking his head a little, "I don't have the stamina that I used to. I'll probably wanna leave early. And since it's in my house…"

He gave Sasuke a meaningful look. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Course I can always stay with Sakura. I dunno for sure if she's coming, but I could cab there or something..."

"You can stay at my place," Sasuke told him—Naruto's eyes lit up, "if you can manage to find it."

"Oi! I've been coming here for weeks!"

"You were not drunk during those weeks."

"Okay, fair point. Ah, well," his grin came back in full force, "if I get lost, you'll just get a drunken phone call from me."

"I can't wait," Sasuke deadpanned.

"You should tell him."

The party was well underway, and Naruto had managed to convince Sakura to join him—if only for the first few hours.

"Sakura…"

"You should," she insisted. "You never know."

"I can't just go around assuming everyone is gay, Sakura." Naruto grimaced and refilled his drink.

"You can't just go around assuming everyone is straight, either." She gave him a meaningful look.

He sighed and conceded the point. "I don't know. I don't think it's a good idea."

"At least tell him you're bi. It's going to come up eventually, you know."

"Have you told Ino?"

"Touché," she gave a soft laugh, nudging him a little as she moved closer, "but my all of my friends don't know about my sexuality. All of yours do."

Naruto scowled.

"Fine, fine," she topped up her drink, "let's just get you nice and drunk for lover-boy tonight, hm?"

"Sakura!"

"Sasukeeeeeh!"

"Hello, Naruto." He held the phone at a cautious distance away from his ear. Drunk Naruto liked to yell.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said again. "I'm close by! I think I'm close? Hang on."

"Describe what's around you, usuratonkachi."

"Teme! You're around me! I think. I think? Oh—yup!"

A loud "whap!" against the door signaled the blonde's arrival. Sasuke hung up the phone and strolled over to him.

"I brought vodka!" Naruto held up the bag proudly as Sasuke opened the door.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "If you vomit in my house, you're cleaning it up."

"Not for me, dummy." He poked Sasuke in the chest as he passed by him.

"Shoes, Naruto."

"Oh yeah—sorry." Naruto stumbled to take off his shoes before he brandished the bag at Sasuke. "It's for you! And a bit for me."

He grinned. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"I thought I said I didn't like parties."

"You did, but it was 'cause you didn't like crowds! Two's not a crowd." He stopped for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not a crowd, right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke took the bag from him, sighing.

"…You're not a crowd."

Naruto's smile lit up the room.

"We could do shots!" Naruto offered as Sasuke searched the fridge.

"We are not doing shots."

"Why not?"

"Moron..." Sasuke muttered. Ah—there—Naruto's orange juice. "I still have the juice you bought."

"I'm a genius! I'll mix!"

"No, you won't. Go sit down. Pick a movie or whatever."

"'Kaaaay." Naruto grinned, and sauntered over to the couch.

Not a moment later, Naruto let out a loud yell.

"Naruto?" Sasuke moved so that he could see him. Naruto had the computer open on his lap, but had slapped a hand over his eyes.

"Sasuke!" He yelled, pushing the laptop away with his free hand. "You left your writing open again!"

Sasuke held in a laugh at the frantic blonde, and quickly made his way over before Naruto accidentally broke his computer.

"Relax, idiot." He grabbed it, skimming the page it had been open to. Naruto peeked out from his fingers.

"Is it safe?"

Sasuke fought a smile. "Exactly how much did you have to drink?"

"Uh," Naruto gave him a sheepish look, "well I told Kiba I was leaving early, so he said I was wussing out on him, so I said that I totally wasn't, so he said I had to prove it while I was still there, and then I took a bunch of shots and then said I had to go, and then he said—"

Naruto clapped a hand over his mouth.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"And then he said?"

Naruto shook his head, hand still over his mouth.

"I don't want to say what he said," he spoke quietly through his fingers.

Sasuke blinked.

"Well, alright," and in a moment of madness, Sasuke continued, "you can read this one, by the way."

Naruto's eyes widened like he had just offered him the world.

"I can?"

"If you can manage to read."

Naruto snatched the laptop out of Sasuke's hands. "You ass, I'm not that drunk. Shut up."

Sasuke just chuckled, walking away to mix himself something that wasn't totally foul.

Sasuke's writing was…elegant. It was always elegant. He just had a way to build an atmosphere that totally sucked Naruto in. He remembered always commenting that on Sasuke's work.

Naruto's smile grew wider. He had really missed reading Sasuke's writing.

He was still in this one, he noticed. Not by name, but he assumed it was him…the other character kept calling him an idiot, anyways. He got about a quarter-ways through before Sasuke sat down beside him.

"I'm still reading," he muttered, trying to focus. He really was dizzy…

"Mhm," was all Sasuke replied with, taking a sip of his drink.

About halfway through, Naruto started to tear up. He sniffed.

"Naruto?" Sasuke was watching him. He looked wary.

"Shut up." Naruto glared at the screen with red-rimmed eyes. "I'm reading."

Sasuke was on his second drink, now. He hadn't meant to make this one as strong as it had ended up, but, well, it was too late now.

And Naruto was still sniffling.

"It's not that depressing," he mumbled.

"Shh," Naruto's arm swatted out in his direction, "I'm almost done."

"It's not done."

"It's not done!" Naruto slapped his hand against the couch—just barely missing Sasuke's leg. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Did you finish it?"

"Well obviously not! But yes I did, but why didn't you warn me, you jackass?!" He shoved the laptop towards Sasuke and glared.

"What did you think?"

"I think you're a big, stupid jerk!"

"Naruto?"

Naruto sniffed. "I—gimmie a sec. I need to—collect my thoughts. Gimmie a sec." He rubbed at his eyes.

Sasuke took his laptop back, skimming through what he had written. It wasn't that sad—

"Was this—uh," Naruto cleared his throat, looking as if he was trying to get ahold of himself, "was this the, uh, intended effect you wanted to have on your audience?"

He gestured vaguely at himself.

Sasuke frowned.

"I didn't really…consider it."

"Oh," Naruto sniffled a little, looking away for a moment, "but, um—don't you want people to read your stuff? Like eventually?"

"I suppose so," he muttered. He wasn't sure he wanted anyone to read this in particular—he didn't know if was good enough, really, but—

"Who do you write for?" Naruto looked up at him, bringing his legs up all the way onto the couch. Sasuke eyed him for a moment.

"Myself."

Naruto scratched his chin. "Okay."

"But," Sasuke continued, "I'm stuck at the ending. I don't know where to go."

Naruto let out a puff of air, hugging his knees.

"Okay—well—I want a happy ending. Obviously. You're such an asshole," Naruto rubbed at his face, "but you gotta consider…like, the overall message you wanna send. If a total stranger picks this up, what are they gonna take from it? What d'you wanna tell them? And who do you want to be the person who keeps reading 'til the end, y'know? What're you gonna leave them with?"

That was…not a bad point.

"…I'll think about it."

"'Kay. We have to watch a super happy movie now, by the way. You owe me."

Sasuke snorted.

"Alright."

"And—hey! Do I not get a drink?"

"I'll get you water." Sasuke eyed him.

"Hey! No, no, no, no, you do not make me cry and then deny me a drink!"

"You admit to crying?"

"No!" Naruto glared at him. Sasuke only chuckled, and stood to make Naruto a very weak drink.

"Actually pick a movie this time, usuratonkachi!" He called from the kitchen.

"Teme!"

Naruto was going to fall asleep on his lap again, he just knew it. His blinks were already slowing, and his head was leaning just a little more second by second—

"Naruto," Sasuke called, and Naruto sprung to attention.

"Huh—yeah, what?"

"You're falling asleep."

"No, I—" he sagged and gave Sasuke a tired smile, "yeah, kinda."

"Idiot. Take the bed."

Naruto looked surprised. "No, no—that's yours! I'm fine on the couch."

"I'm not tired yet. You're going to fall asleep in the next twenty seconds."

Naruto snort turned into a laugh. "I can stay awake! I promise!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to bring the laptop to the bed? I'll move to the couch after you fall asleep."

"No—you don't have to move to the couch! I'll—"

"Fine then," Sasuke cut him off, rolling his eyes, "we'll both sleep in the bed. Happy?"

"Uh—"

"Get up, usuratonkachi." He picked up the laptop. "Did you want some pajamas or something? I'm going to change."

"S-sure."

Sasuke tossed some pants in his direction. Naruto caught them, barely, and then received a face full of shirt.

"Did you bring a toothbrush this time?" Sasuke asked as he exited the bathroom. Sasuke, apparently, had decided to forgo a shirt tonight.

"Uh," Naruto replied—not staring, not staring, damn it Naruto, stop staring—

"What?"

"I—" It was a bad idea—he knew it was a bad idea—but the words were forming in his throat and he didn't think that he could stop them—

"I'm bisexual."

Sasuke blinked at him.

"…Okay..."

There was a pause.

"What's your point?"

"I—well, some guys get weird about sleeping in the same bed as a guy who isn't straight! I just—"

"Are you planning on groping me?"

"What?! No!"

"Do you think I'm going to grope you?"

"Of course not! I—"

"Then get in the damn bed, moron."

"Oh—I…I, uh, need to brush my teeth," he gestured towards the bathroom.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Then go do that and then get in the damn bed."

Naruto gave him a bright, relieved smile.

"O-okay!"

Sakura had been right after all.

After Naruto huddled into the bed, blushing a bright, vibrant red, Sasuke snorted. He couldn't help it.

"Do you not remember Sakura implying that you could be attracted to me the day we met?"

"What?"

"In the café. Do you not remember that?"

Naruto stared at him.

"…Not even a little bit."

"You are," Sasuke laughed, rubbing his temples, "such a moron."

Ten minutes later, Naruto still had his head in his hands.

"Naruto," Sasuke bit back a laugh, "it's not that big of a deal."

"No," Naruto was mortified, "you don't understand. I was stressing out so bad about telling you. Like this whole time. This whole time! And you—you already knew! Fuck!"

Naruto groaned and clutched at his hair. "I am so dumb!"

Sasuke laughed.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm not laughing at you," Sasuke said, completely unable to keep a straight face.

"You are!"

Sasuke didn't reply, but he was so obviously trying to fight back the smile—

"Fuck," Naruto shook his head, smiling in spite of himself, "I don't even have the excuse of being drunk anymore."

"Are you not?" Sasuke's eyes scanned him for a moment.

"I mean—not nearly as much as I was earlier." He threw Sasuke a grin.

Sasuke snorted. "Well, I'll give you that."

Naruto grimaced a little. "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"It was fine. You were just obviously drunk."

Naruto blushed and ducked his head. "Sorry."

"I didn't say I minded," Sasuke mumbled, words slowing and stretching as they twisted into a yawn—

"Now I'm the one who's awake." Naruto laughed a little, doing anything to distract himself from the way Sasuke's back flexed as he rolled over—

Sasuke glanced back at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Are you not tired anymore?"

"Um," Naruto swallowed, looking back at the laptop screen, "it's just—y'know—the movie…"

"You've fallen asleep during movies before," Sasuke mumbled.

"Not ones I haven't seen before!"

"…We can finish it tomorrow." Sasuke's hand reached out to pause the movie.

"I don't mind staying up a little, though..." Naruto shifted the laptop away from Sasuke's hand. This was...ugh. It would have been totally fine if Naruto wasn't so incredibly, obviously, undeniably attracted to Sasuke. It was getting worse by the day—and now, with Sasuke half-naked, lying next to him, smiling at him as if—

This just wasn't fair.

"Usuratonkachi," came Sasuke's breathy voice, "it's late. C'mere."

Naruto's heart jumped out of his chest.

"...How many drinks have you had?"

One obsidian eye cracked open.

"Four or five."

"And how strong were they?" Naruto's eyebrows were raised.

"Pretty strong."

"Are you drunk?"

"I'm tired."

Naruto gave him a look.

"Maybe a little drunk."

"Uh huh. Do you have water near you?"

"No…"

"Okay." Naruto shifted, getting out of the bed. "Tap water fine?"

"Uh, yeah." Sasuke blearily blinked up at where Naruto was moving over to the kitchen.

"You don't really drink often, do you?"

"Hm?" Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

"Oh, shit, were you asleep?"

Sasuke mumbled something incoherent and closed his eyes. Naruto discreetly placed the water beside Sasuke and then moved the laptop onto the side of the bed that he was on. His eyes flickered to Sasuke, and then around the apartment as he settled in under the covers…maybe he could find some headphones or something?

But he didn't see any, and he really didn't want to get up to look for them…and the movie was already paused…and he was so comfortable…

He gently laid the laptop on the floor. He fell asleep facing away from Sasuke.

But that was not how he awoke. Naruto, a known overactive sleeper, had managed to throw himself almost entirely on top of Sasuke—head on his chest, one leg casually strewn over top of Sasuke's thighs. His thoughts went from warm and hazy to wide awake and panicked in an instant. He held his breath and began slowly inching away, but—

Sasuke's grip tightened. Sasuke's arm had slipped underneath him sometime in the night, wrapping around his waist to cuddle him close to his bare chest.

Naruto was cuddling with Sasuke's bare chest.

Oh, god.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, frozen in place. Why had he agreed to this? He knew he moved in his sleep! Especially towards warmth—he should have known this would happen. Of course this would fucking happen!

He let out a low hiss of air through his teeth.

But then again—Sasuke was asleep. And he had been—well, he had seemed pretty okay with everything so far. And if Naruto kept moving, he was definitely gonna wake him up—but if he didn't...if he just let Sasuke wake up first, then it—it wouldn't really be his fault, right? He could just pretend he had no idea. He could just…enjoy this…

He bit his lip, sighing quietly. Against his will, his body started to relax.

It was just so…nice…

It was awfully warm for October. This was generally when Sasuke was forced to get the extra blankets out, but he didn't even feel the slightest shiver. Sasuke shifted a little.

Ah, he guessed it was November now, though. Yesterday had been Halloween…and Naruto had that party, and then they—

Sasuke eyes snapped open.

And then Sasuke had basically invited him into bed with him. And now they were cuddling. Naruto's head rested on his chest—hell, Sasuke could feel him drooling—

And one of Sasuke's arms was wedged—firmly—underneath Naruto's warm body. He tried to flex it a little, but it was almost entirely asleep...he sighed, letting his head fall back on the pillows to stare of at the ceiling.

This was…far too pleasant. As everything with Naruto tended to be—but any hope that Naruto was remotely attracted to him had died last night. The blonde had shown zero interest beyond that of strictly friends. He felt like he had practically laid his heart on the line, between letting Naruto read his writing and sleeping in the same bed—especially after Naruto had admitted his sexuality—he felt embarrassed, and stupid, and…humiliated. And now this. The closest he had ever gotten to Naruto was when the blonde was unconscious. He scowled, and yanked his arm, full of pins and needles, out from under Naruto.

"Get off me," he muttered, shoving himself over. Naruto obeyed, blinking around blearily.

"Wh—uh—you okay?" He slurred.

"Fine." Sasuke made a conscious effort to avoid slamming the bathroom door behind him. He splashed his face with water, and then leaned over the sink, not bothering to dry himself off. He watched the drops of water fall onto the porcelain and slide down to slowly circle the drain.

He sighed. Maybe a shower would make him feel better.

It didn't. He exited the bathroom to find Naruto sitting cross-legged on his couch, already having changed back into his own clothes. He wasn't smiling.

"Uh," Naruto stood as he saw Sasuke, "Sasuke, listen—I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He rubbed the back of his neck."I move a lot in my sleep, and I, uh—"

"It's fine." Sasuke cut him off. He apparently hadn't dried off his hair well enough, because he felt a few water droplets slide down his neck, beneath his shirt. He scowled.

Naruto hovered awkwardly, looking lost.

"Where's my computer?" Sasuke asked after a moment.

"Oh! I—uh, it's on the floor beside the bed, sorry, I can get it—" Naruto quickly shuffled over, and reached for the laptop to pass it to Sasuke.

Sasuke took it without looking at him. He strode over to his desk and opened it, making a show of checking his emails without really reading any of them.

"…Did you want me to…?" Naruto gestured to the door.

"Do what you want."

There was a pause.

"Um—Sasuke, if I—"

"I have a big project due tomorrow, Naruto. I'm busy."

Sasuke waited until he heard the front door close, snapped his laptop shut and put his head in his hands.

Chapter Text

Naruto swallowed, looking down at his phone again. For the thousandth time, he debated sending a message—sending something—anything…but nothing seemed good enough.

And he knew better than to expect Sasuke to talk to him.

He had been so…stupid. So stupid—so selfish, even, in his hungover, sleep-deprived state—of course it would make Sasuke uncomfortable. Of course it would—especially so close to Naruto revealing his sexuality—although, he guessed, Sasuke had already known…

But this had to stop.

He couldn't keep…chasing after Sasuke like this—Sasuke, who was obviously not interested—and expect it not to harm their friendship.

He leaned back against the wall, looking around his room.

He just needed to…to take some time away from Sasuke. To get over him properly—to move past these stupid fucking feelings—

His eyes flickered to the yoga mat—still behind the couch, from the last time they used it—to the pillow on the floor, where he had sat as an excuse to be closer to Sasuke—to the piece of cloth scrunched up on the table; he kept forgetting to give Sasuke his scarf back—

He swallowed, closing his eyes as the pain flooded his chest.

If he was going to get over Sasuke, he needed to get the hell out of here.

He didn't hear from Naruto for the rest of the week. He thought about texting him—almost every other minute, he thought about it—but he didn't know how to start. He knew he should apologize. He had never been good with apologies—not real ones, at any rate—and he had no idea how to explain himself without revealing far more than he was comfortable with. He flipped the phone over in his hands.

And Naruto hadn't spoken to him first: that was scarier. Exams aside, Naruto was the type of person who always texted back right away—usually multiple times—and if he hadn't heard from you in a few hours, you could safely expect a call. At least, that's what Sasuke had grown used to.

And now, with this silence, Sasuke couldn't help but feel…

Lonely. He felt lonely.

It wasn't a new feeling, but it wasn't one he had felt since he had befriended Naruto. He hadn't even been fully aware of it—not until Naruto was gone, and the feeling was back again.

He sighed.

It was no one's fault but his own.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called, just as they were packing up. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure." He firmly ignored the panic that flushed through him, only slowly packing his things instead as he waited for the rest of the class to leave.

"So," Kakashi began, after it was just the two of them, "I've been speaking to Naruto quite a bit recently."

"Oh?" Sasuke forced his voice to remain neutral.

"Yes," Kakashi rubbed his chin, "and I've been told that something very good is coming my way. I want to be honest with you, Sasuke."

"…Alright…?" Sasuke officially had no idea what was going on.

"If what Naruto says is true, and you deliver a polished enough work—together, with the rest of your portfolio, I will put you in touch with a few editors I know, and we can go from there," he paused, as if assessing Sasuke's reaction, "but, this offer is contingent on you having a manuscript that both you and I fully believe is ready to be assessed for publishing. Understand?"

"I—yes—" Sasuke's eyes were wide—he couldn't believe what he was being offered—

"Good. Ideally, aim for having your work finished by the end of the course—that means you have to have something to give me before the winter break, understood?" He shuffled some papers on his desk, waited for Sasuke's nod, and then cleared his throat. "Now, on a separate note, would you happen to have any idea as to why Naruto decided to bus home on Saturday and take the car with me each morning this week?"

Sasuke's stomach sank to the floor.

"Hmm," Kakashi said to Sasuke's silence. "Well, I don't know what happened, at any rate, but I do know that Naruto considers you to be one of his best friends. Which is a fairly difficult position to attain, given the amount of people vying for it."

Sasuke didn't meet Kakashi's eye. He felt like a complete asshole. He'd pushed Naruto out of his apartment and ignored him for all of this week, and all the blonde had done was convince Kakashi that he was worth taking seriously.

"Where is he now?"

"Waiting in the library for me to finish for the evening." Kakashi shuffled some papers on his desk. "I'll still be here for a few hours, I think."

Sasuke left without another word. He thought he heard Kakashi chuckle as the door closed.

After walking up and down the rows in every study section he could find, he finally found Naruto up on the third floor, face squashed against his laptop keyboard, sound asleep. He snorted.

Well, there was a coffee shop on this floor.

Naruto awoke just as Sasuke placed the coffee beside his face. Had he not been so nervous, he would have enjoyed the way Naruto blinked the sleep from his eyes much more. As it was…

The blonde stared at the coffee for several moments before it finally seemed to register. He rubbed the back of his neck as his face flushed, sitting up fully to face—

"Sasuke?" The makings of the sheepish grin on Naruto's face faded as quickly as they had come. Sasuke swallowed.

"I got extra sprinkles. And whipped cream." In spite of putting the coffee on his desk, Sasuke stood a few paces away, ready to run at a moment's notice. His eyes flickered to the floor and then back up again, and he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting. "Sorry."

Naruto blinked at him, expression unchanging. It felt like hours to Sasuke—who was completely unused to seeing Naruto without at least a hint of a smile...the only thing other than seriousness in those eyes was the surprise—and that only served to make Sasuke feel worse.

Naruto obviously hadn't expected to see him—and likely hadn't wanted to see him. Sasuke couldn't blame him.

Sasuke closed his eyes and turned away.

"Wait—h-hang on, Sasuke," Naruto's voice rang out—panicked, now, and Sasuke turned around just in time to see the blonde frantically shoving his things into his messenger bag. Sasuke sucked in a breath as Naruto ran to him, papers spilling out of his bag just as steadily as the coffee spilled over onto his hand—

"Wait," he said again, grabbing at his bag as another folder threatened to fall out, "um—I'm—I'm about to go home, I think, but did you want to—?"

"Dinner?" Sasuke interrupted him, feeling his heart swell up in—hope? Delight? He didn't know what it was, but he did know that Naruto's smile had him feeling lighter than he had all week.

"Yeah."

"I—oh, I should let Kakashi know where I am," Naruto muttered to himself, and then paused. He blinked up at Sasuke. "Where are we going?"

Shit. He had no idea.

"…Ramen?" It came out as a question, and Sasuke flinched. He hated sounding unsure.

Naruto flipped his coffee cup to his other hand and looked over at Sasuke—Sasuke only caught sight of that smile widening for a moment before he had to look away—

"We don't have to go for ramen." Naruto sounded amused.

Sasuke shrugged, keeping his eyes firmly on the concrete. "It's whatever you want."

"Huh," Naruto eyed him, "so you did say ramen because you know it's my favourite."

…Damn it.

"How do you know that, exactly?"

"…Kakashi," Sasuke admitted, begrudgingly.

"Hm," Naruto stopped in place, and something in the tone of his voice made Sasuke pause, too, "and has he told you anything else interesting?"

Oh. Well there was no point in lying if he could just ask his father about it.

"He said that you thought my work was...good enough to be published." Sasuke felt himself flush just saying the words—

But Naruto wasn't smiling. He only nodded.

"Yeah," he turned to face Sasuke fully, "I do think that. Is that the reason you're here, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Because I didn't just say that to get you to stop ignoring me. And if the only reason you're talking to me is because I can talk to Kakashi—"

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Sasuke stared at him, stepping a few paces away.

Naruto frowned.

"Not really."

Sasuke crossed his arms.

"But you kicked me out of your apartment and haven't said a word since—and I know you just came from class." Naruto's eyes were serious, again, and it brought that awful, wrenching feeling in his gut back in full force—it made it so hard to focus on digging the words out of his throat—

Naruto sighed.

"I'm just—" the blonde started, "I'm still sorry about that, by the way—the bed thing, I mean. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. That's why I didn't text you or anything…"

Sasuke stared at him.

"You ignored me because you didn't want to make me feel uncomfortable?"

"I wasn't ignoring you! I was just…avoiding…you." Naruto's voice faltered. "You—you didn't seem to want to talk to me," he frowned down at the sidewalk, pausing to clear his throat, "not then, anyways, and I didn't know when you would—"

"I did want to," Sasuke cut him off, and Naruto's eyes snapped up to his— "I—"

Sasuke gestured awkwardly at the coffee Naruto still held, looking away. He was just so bad at things like this. He never knew what to say—

"Oh," Naruto smiled down at the cup, now empty, as he tapped it against his thigh, "yeah. Sorry. I should give you more credit."

Sasuke let out a breath, "I…" he cleared his throat, "haven't given you much reason to. Give me more credit, I mean—so…sorry. I'm not…" Used to this? Good with this sort of thing? He didn't know how to continue.

Naruto seemed to understand. "You're not mad at me?"

"No."

"But I made you uncomfortable?"

Well, technically, yes—but not for the reasons that Naruto thought. Sasuke didn't answer.

"I cuddle in my sleep, Sasuke. You should see my pillows when I wake up."

"I'm not…uncomfortable about that. It was fine. I didn't care. I was just…"

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Moody?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped to up to Naruto's playful, hesitant grin. He took the olive branch as what it was, and rolled his eyes.

"Usuratonkachi."

"Teme!"

"Ah," Naruto leaned back, rubbing his stomach, "this is the life."

"I have no idea how you managed to eat all that." Sasuke stared at the empty bowls. Naruto gave him a tired grin.

"Today wasn't even a good day. I can do more than that."

"You are terrifying."

"I use my powers for good."

Sasuke snorted.

Naruto's phone buzzed.

"Oh! Kakashi's on his way. Let's call the waiter."

Sasuke shrugged. "You can go meet him. I can get this."

Naruto blinked at him. "Don't be stupid, Sasuke, I'm not gonna just leave you with the bill." His eyes flickered down to the phone and then back to Sasuke a couple times.

Sasuke waited as Naruto shifted his body to sit up straighter.

"Did you…do you want to see my house?"

His house? As in…

"Well, my parents' house," Naruto laughed, "s'not really my house anymore, I guess. I'm heading back there with Kakashi today. You could come if—y'know—if you wanted."

Sasuke's heart jumped into his throat—it was all he could do to nod.

Chapter Text

"And this is my room!" Naruto spun around, arms spread out. "It's way cleaner than it used to be. There's a lot less stuff 'cause I moved it all over to my new place."

It was every bit as warm as Sasuke had expected. Every bit as...full of life. Messy and cluttered, full of trinkets and photographs and toys and figures...even the walls—blue, like the sky, and Naruto's eyes—weren't simple—

"These glow in the dark. See?" Naruto turned off the lights, and the white figures (frogs, now, he could tell—a few foxes, too) came to life along the walls. The ceiling glowed too, but not with animals.

"Iruka helped me with the stars." Naruto stretched his arm up to point at them. "We did it together, when I was younger. It's a bunch of constellations. Here," he turned the lights back on, "see? You can still see how we planned them all out."

Sasuke smiled. With the lights on, the pencil on the ceiling was clearly visible.

"Do you actually remember any of them?"

Naruto laughed.

"Uh, not all of them. Some of them maybe—like Orion's Belt is easy, and I remember the Little Dipper, too…"

"I'm home!" The voice rang out from downstairs—

Naruto jumped to his feet, face lighting up.

"That's Iruka!" Naruto bounded over to the door. "Do you wanna meet him?"

Sasuke fought a smile as he nodded, but he couldn't help but pause. They hadn't even gotten to the corkboard, making up nearly half of Naruto's wall, with pictures and notes and cards and colours just bursting from every inch of it—he had wanted to spend more time exploring Naruto's room, but…

"I'll show you that all later. Come on." Naruto jerked his head towards the entrance, holding the door open with his back.

"Okay."

Iruka was—well—nearly as cheerful as Naruto, it seemed. He gave Naruto a tight hug before turning to Sasuke—who suddenly felt very nervous—

"You must be Sasuke!" He held out a hand to shake, and Sasuke took it, relieved that Iruka hadn't hugged him, too; he had seemed to be considering it for a moment. Not that there was anything wrong with Iruka, but Sasuke hated when people touched him out of the blue—

"He's as grumpy as he looks." Naruto grinned, nudging Sasuke with his elbow.

Ah, well—he hated it when anyone other than Naruto touched him out of the blue.

Iruka laughed, giving Sasuke a warm, "it's nice to meet you."

Sasuke replied in kind.

"Did you two eat yet?"

"Yup! Sasuke took me for ramen." Naruto grinned.

Iruka's eyebrows raised. "Did he?"

"He ate three bowls," Sasuke muttered, still unsure as to how the blonde had managed it.

"Only three? It must have been an off day for you," Iruka teased. Naruto laughed.

"You should have seen him the first time we took him for ramen. I think he was trying to clear out the restaurant." Iruka laughed. "He kept saying he was fine, and that it was delicious and amazing and he simply had to keep eating, and then, midway through another one, he just—fell right over. Collapsed right into the bowl."

Sasuke really enjoyed how red Naruto's face could get.

"I think his stomach finally communicated with his brain," Kakashi said, wandering in just as Iruka said, "nearly gave me a heart attack, I tell you."

"Do you want a full tour of the house, Sasuke? I assume Naruto didn't give you one," Iruka asked as he finished hanging up his jacket.

"Sure."

As much as Naruto had said it was technically his parents' house and he didn't live there anymore, the house practically oozed with his presence. Photos littered the walls—all of them with at least one blonde head of hair—little toys and trinkets, like ramen keychains and frog statues, were laid out across tables, hanging from doorknobs, draped over chairs—the entire house was just so…Naruto.

Sasuke found himself wandering, tuning out the conversation, as he scanned through the rooms. Growing up, his own house had always been very…clean. A few pictures here and there were the only indication that anyone actually lived there. But this—it wasn't dirty, not by any means, but it felt like…a home.

Like a family really lived here.

He brushed a picture frame with his hand—it was made out of popsicle sticks and pompoms. Messy letters spelled out "Happy Birthday, Iruka"—all uneven and different sizes. Different colours, too, he thought with a snort.

"He made me that when he was six." A voice came from beside him, and Sasuke jerked in surprise. He hadn't realized Iruka was so close to him. "It was my first year volunteering in the network."

Iruka seemed to falter and pull himself back a little. "Ah—that was—that was something you already knew about, right?"

"The foster homes?"

"Yes."

"Yes. Naruto told me you adopted him when he was twelve."

Iruka nodded, letting out a small breath in relief. "Yes, we did. Mind you, I put the paperwork much earlier. It took ages to get through the system."

Sasuke glanced at him, noticing the slight grimace on Iruka's face—

"It's all backlogged," he continued in answer to Sasuke's silent question. "It takes months—if not years—for applications to even be looked at."

"That's…"

"It's bad. I know. It's part of the reason I try to help out with everything so much."

They stood in silence for a moment, hearing Naruto laugh at something Kakashi said in the other room.

"What was Naruto like when you met him?"

"As a kid?" Iruka smiled. "Loud. Very, very loud."

Sasuke snorted. "So not much has changed?"

Iruka chuckled. "I suppose not. It was a different sort of loud, though. As if he…" He shook his head, twisting a little to the side as if unwilling to finish the thought.

Sasuke looked at him, and then back at the picture frame. "He seems like the sort of person that doesn't want to let anyone know when something bothers him."

Iruka leaned back, smiling softly. "Yes. Yes, he is that. He hates making other people sad."

Sasuke smiled, shaking his head.

"What else did Naruto tell you?" Iruka was watching him, he noticed.

"About the foster system? Or just in general?"

"Either or."

Well, the first thing that came to mind was…

"How he got his—the marks on his cheeks." Sasuke stopped himself from saying 'tattoos'. It didn't seem like the right word.

Iruka blinked several times, turning to face Sasuke with eyes that were just a little wider. "He told you about that?"

"I asked about them." Sasuke shifted a little. "He also told me how he helped Kakashi propose," he added, feeling the need to lighten the mood a little.

It worked. A brilliant smile bloomed across Iruka's face—accompanied by a blush that was just as bright.

"How did that come up?"

Sasuke shrugged. "He said something along the lines of Kakashi wanting to adopt him so he could help with the proposal."

Iruka laughed.

"Yes…well," Iruka sighed, his smile falling a little, "that was…an interesting few months."

"Was that around the same time Naruto ran away from home?"

Iruka's head snapped around so quickly, it startled Sasuke.

"Ah, sorry to bring that up—"

"No—no, it's alright." Iruka shook his head. "You just surprised me. It was just after that, actually."

"So soon?"

"Yes. We had…lots of fights before then. I assume Naruto told you?" He eyed Sasuke.

"Bits and pieces."

"Ah, well…yes. It all kind of," Iruka made a motion with his hands, "came to a head that night. It was an awful way to do so, but it forced us to work through the things we needed to."

Sasuke sighed quietly. He wondered if he would ever…

"What's your family like, Sasuke?"

Sasuke grimaced.

"…My family—"

"Sasuke! Teme, c'mere, I gotta show you this." Naruto waved him over from the other room. Kakashi watched in amusement, wandering back to where Iruka stood.

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered to himself, obediently following after him.

Kakashi moved to follow them, but felt something grab his shirt. He paused, raising an eyebrow at his husband.

"Are you sure they're not dating?" Iruka whispered, staring at the room the boys had just moved to.

Kakashi chuckled.

"Give it another week."

"A week? I'd say a night..."

Kakashi stuck out his hand to shake. "Loser has to make dinner?"

"Your cooking is terrible." Iruka gave him a look.

Kakashi held a hand over his heart. "Here—in my own house—unbelievable, this kind of treatment—"

Iruka laughed. "Loser has to do the all the bins for six weeks."

"Two."

"Four?"

"Deal."

"I didn't know you liked plants so much." Sasuke took a moment just to take it all in—it was a veritable greenhouse in here.

"I love them!" Naruto grinned and spun around. "I had to learn—y'know, 'cause a big part of taking care of my frogs was getting the right plants, and then I really got into it," he let out a soft sigh, running his hand along the wood, "but I can't take care of them like I used to. All my stuff is still here," Naruto shuffled over, squinting at a plant that didn't seem to be doing so well, "and I don't really have the space in my place for any of it. It's all connected—see?"

He tapped the wooden structure holding the plants, and the lights over top of them swayed with the motion.

"It's a shame nothing's in bloom for you," he continued, weaving through the rows, examining each plant with a soft smile. Sasuke burned the image into his memory, feeling that familiar tightness in his chest—that familiar breathlessness, where Sasuke just couldn't seem to get enough air no matter how he breathed—

"I'm not going anywhere," Sasuke offered. Naruto's eyes snapped up to his, and there was a moment where Sasuke was suddenly unsure anything outside of this room existed—

"You wanna come here again?"

He did. He really did.

"If you'll have me."

Sasuke had to tear his eyes from Naruto's resulting smile. A moment longer and he was afraid he might have kissed him.

"You're welcome to stay the night, Sasuke," Iruka said, "in case Naruto hasn't already told you."

He hadn't, and Sasuke nodded his thanks.

"Oh, I forgot." Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Whoops."

Iruka only laughed.

"Alright, well, we're heading to bed."

"Already?" Naruto sat up and looked outside. It was dark.

"It's almost 10:30, Naruto." Kakashi chuckled.

Naruto groaned.

"Where does the time go? I didn't do any work today!"

Sasuke grimaced. Neither had he.

"Well, I'm sure you can both make up for it." Kakashi met Naruto's glare with a bright smile. "I have more papers for you, if you'd like."

Naruto collapsed back onto the couch in response. Sasuke snorted as Naruto's leg stretched over him.

He thought he saw Kakashi's gaze turn speculating, but before he could really tell, they were heading up the stairs.

"Don't stay up too late!" Iruka called.

"6:30 tomorrow, Naruto," Kakashi said.

"Ah, yeah, okay!" Naruto called in response, before he relaxed back, throwing an arm over his eyes. "That okay with you?"

"Sure. Did you have a lot to do today?" Sasuke asked, making a point not to move Naruto's leg from off of his lap. Frustrating as it may be, he wasn't about to throw this away over some unrequited feelings.

"I always have a lot to do," Naruto still had his forearm over his eyes, "but I did a bit in the library, I guess. And then I fell asleep."

Sasuke hid his smile behind his hand.

Naruto stretched out a bit more, sinking into the couch with a sigh.

"It's nice to be home though." He moved his hand from his eyes. "I've been—"

He suddenly noticed the way he was stretched over Sasuke and jerked his legs back as if he'd been burned.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Sorry." Naruto shifted nervously, sitting up and looking away from him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed an ankle before Naruto could pull away further, yanking Naruto's leg back to where it had been—Naruto yelped as his entire body was unceremoniously dragged down the couch.

He blinked up at Sasuke, who was smirking and still holding his ankle.

"Ow," Naruto said, completely unhurt.

"You were being dumb."

"I was not!"

Sasuke gave him a look.

"I didn't—"

"Want to make me uncomfortable. Yes. I get that. You're not."

Naruto didn't look convinced.

Sasuke had the unbelievably strong urge to run his thumb along Naruto's ankle, and quickly let go. Naruto pulled his legs back the moment he did.

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh.

"We'll sleep in the same bed tonight," Sasuke crossed his arms, tight, over his chest, "and I'll prove it to you."

Naruto gave a surprised laugh and shook his head. "You don't have to do that—"

"Well, too bad. It's what we're doing until you stop being an idiot."

"Ha! Now it's you borrowing my toothbrush." Naruto grinned in victory, brandishing the toothbrush at him.

"You don't have any spares in your entire bathroom?"

"My parents probably do, but I'm not about to go wake them up for this. You mind?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took the toothbrush.

If Naruto thought Sasuke usually looked good, he was entirely unprepared for the way he looked dressed fully in Naruto's pajamas. The shirt—especially—was just loose enough to fall off his shoulder a little…Naruto's mouth had never been more dry.

Sasuke stretched, lifting his arms up into the air and tilting to one side. Naruto wrenched his eyes away from Sasuke's midriff and internally begged for mercy. This was not helping.

This is exactly what got him into this mess. He had really, really tried to get over Sasuke in the week they hadn't spoken. All it had done was make him think about him more. And then he had gone out to find him and apologized and combatted Naruto's insecurities with ease and—ugh.

Naruto wanted to scream into a pillow, but instead, here he was, about to share a bed with Sasuke.

Again.

And here was the thing: he really didn't want to make Sasuke uncomfortable. He really didn't, and it made these feelings even more stupid and awful—he desperately wanted to be close to Sasuke. As friends. He had never gotten along so well with someone, and he couldn't stand the thought of ruining that—and yet, he had woken up and consciously chosen to stay in a position that could ruin it because he was selfish and pathetic and—

"Naruto?"

Naruto opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh—yeah, sorry," Naruto smiled sheepishly, "just a headache. I'm gonna go grab some water." He took a few steps towards the door. "D'you want anything?"

"Water, too."

"Okay," Naruto called behind him. He moved down the stairs, into the kitchen, and then leaned against the counter. The cool tile felt nice against his skin, and he pressed his forehead to it, sighing softly.

He just needed to...clear his head.

Chapter Text

Sasuke was standing in front of the corkboard when Naruto came back—he had just been debating if Naruto would mind if he started to look through it.

"Oh yeah," the blonde put the glasses down on the bedside table, "I forgot to show you this."

"Show me it now." Sasuke turned back to the board, eyeing the way that young Naruto smiled at the girl with familiar pink hair. "Is this Sakura?"

"Yeah!" Naruto shuffled right up to him. "This was…I think it was the first week of high school."

"She looks…"

"Really pissed off." Naruto laughed. "She was. You have no idea—I asked her out about a thousand times."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that!" Naruto grinned at him. "I like guys and girls. I just only knew half of that then."

"Did you ever actually date?"

"We did," Sasuke looked at him in surprise, "for all of three hours."

Sasuke snorted.

"It was a very efficient date, though. We both figured out we had zero interest in each other."

"Had she been turning you down that whole time? It sounds like she already knew."

Naruto laughed. "No, it was like—after we became friends. And I stopped asking her out every five minutes."

Sasuke eyed him incredulously.

"Okay, it wasn't that bad. At least, I don't think it was. She probably remembers better than me, though."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why was I so obsessed with her?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Honestly?" Naruto ducked his head a little. "I think—on some level—I was starting to realize that I was into guys. Like I didn't totally know that at the time—and it's not like Sakura wasn't pretty and cool and stuff, but…it was more like," Naruto let out a breath, running a hand through his hair, "if I could just focus on her…I could—I dunno, like—ignore everything else, I guess? Like—convince myself that I was only into her. It didn't really work, in the end, but…yeah."

Sasuke let out a small breath.

"…And then?"

"Oh, uh, that part's a bit more complicated." Naruto scratched his chin, eyes flickering to Sasuke and then back to the photo again. "Promise you won't tell?"

"Depends on what it is."

"It's about Sakura. It's not really mine to tell, but I can't really explain what happened without telling you…"

"I won't tell anyone. Who would I even tell?"

Naruto laughed. "True. Okay. Sakura's a lesbian. She hasn't really come out yet—I mean, some of us know, but most people don't. Like Ino and her parents and stuff—she hasn't told anyone like that yet...but yeah. That's why she was so persistent in turning me down." He gave Sasuke an exaggerated wink, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"She kind of knew before she said yes to me. It was like a…last chance kind of thing. For both of us, really."

"Last chance to be straight?"

Naruto nodded.

"Hm." Sasuke eyed the picture thoughtfully.

"Anyways," Naruto threw the photo a fond, soft smile, "I love that picture. We're such dorks."

Sasuke snorted.

"What about this?" He motioned to the plastic bag that hung from a few pins stuck through it.

"Oh!" Naruto smiled, grabbing the bag and spreading its contents out on the floor. "These are all the birthday cards Iruka gave me over the years. And a few from Kakashi, too, after I met him."

They were all homemade, Sasuke noticed as he knelt down. They were very nice.

"Iruka's really awesome with crafts," Naruto smiled, pressing his thumb to a piece of the card where the glue seemed to be coming unstuck, "comes from being a teacher for kids, I guess."

Sasuke opened one of the cards and Naruto made a noise, shifting from his cross-legged pose to up on his knees.

"Oh—um, you can read them, if you want, but you might find them kinda depressing. After the first few, I mean."

"Why would I find them depressing?"

"Well—um, 'cause my birth parents died on my birthday. So it's always kind of been a...uh, weird day for me."

"Oh." Sasuke looked down at the card in his hands. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"…When is your birthday?"

"It was in October. The tenth."

"The tenth?" Sasuke's eyes flickered up to his. "We missed it." He felt...oddly disappointed.

"That's okay! I don't actually really celebrate it. Well—I mean, Kakashi and Iruka do kinda pamper me more than usual," Naruto laughed, "but I don't have a party or anything."

Sasuke frowned and looked back at the cards in his hands. He opened one (sparing Naruto a quick glance to make sure he didn't mind); the outside had grown dull and faded, but the inside still kept the colour as if it was newly made. It was—

'Naruto,

Today marks four years that you've been in my life…'

—for Naruto's tenth birthday.

'…I wanted to write a card to thank you…'

It was carefully written, but heartwarming all the same. Sasuke hadn't quite expected it to be so…emotional—although maybe he should have. Iruka certainly had a way with words.

'…I can only hope to bring the same happiness that you bring to everyone around you back to you…'

Sasuke's throat grew thicker.

'…I know today isn't a happy day—but it isn't a sad day, either…'

It was as if Naruto's presence in his life was something to celebrate—something to be thankful for—as if it was something Iruka would be devastated if he lost.

'…after all, today is the day you were born—and that means today is the reason I was able to meet you…'

He was sure he'd find similar love within the rest of the cards.

'…from one prankster to the next…'

He closed it and put it back. Naruto was right—he did find it depressing, but not for the reasons that Naruto thought he would.

"You're lucky."

Naruto glanced up at the sound of Sasuke's voice—it was barely over a whisper.

Sasuke swallowed several times before he continued, still not looking up, "to have someone who cares for you so much."

Naruto breathed in—a sharp, barely audible breath—feeling something sharp and painful twist in his chest—

"Sasuke, people care about you."

Sasuke looked Naruto in the eye for barely a moment before he looked away. His mouth was set in a firm line.

"Sasuke—no, come on," Naruto moved forward—moved closer, "your brother obviously cares about you—"

"I'm an obligation."

"No, you're not," Naruto shoved the cards out of his way to get to Sasuke, "Sasuke, no—come on, there's no way he thinks of you like that," his knees bumped against Sasuke's, "you know he loves you—you're his brother—"

But Sasuke only shook his head, only turned away, eyes still not meeting Naruto's—

"Okay—what about your mom, then? She reached out to you—that has to mean something. She cares about you." Naruto ducked down, trying to catch Sasuke's eye. "It's proof that she's thinking of you—that she's missing you, at the very least—and I bet your dad misses you too—"

Sasuke's eyes finally met his, but they only made Naruto's chest twist tighter—they were so full of anger—so full of hurt—

"Sasuke," Naruto called—just as Sasuke turned away again, just as he swallowed, with the corners of his lips quivering, and Naruto felt every ounce of his restraint shudder under the weight of Sasuke's pain—

"Sasuke, just—just look at me." He grabbed Sasuke's wrists—and when that didn't work, he moved up, moved closer, grabbing him by the shoulders instead—

"Look at me," he said, much more firmly, this time—and Sasuke finally seemed to relent, looking up at Naruto with his eyes a little less hard, and with lips a little less tight—

"You don't want to believe it about anyone else? Fine," Naruto nodded, "you're wrong, but fine. But you have to believe me."

He squeezed Sasuke's shoulders, willing him to listen—

"I care about you."

He heard the small intake of breath—felt Sasuke tense, underneath his grip, and he knew this was dangerously close to a confession, but he needed Sasuke to know. Naruto was very familiar with the feeling of no one needing you—no one caring for you—and the thought of Sasuke feeling that way—

"I mean it," he swallowed, "I really care about you, Sasuke."

It was quieter, this time—and yet, it felt so much louder in the piercing silence of the room. Something changed in Sasuke's eyes and Naruto was suddenly intensely aware of how close they were—how quiet Sasuke was, still—how he might have just said far too much—he sucked in a breath and pulled away—

Sasuke pushed forwards.

Naruto froze.

It was only the feeling of Sasuke's lips leaving his (only the feeling of him tearing himself out from under Naruto's hands—only the sound of the whispered, frantic apology), that brought Naruto's mind back to reality—

"Uh," was all Naruto got out before he was alone.

Sasuke was barely out the door when he felt Naruto grab his arm. He didn't pull away—even though the hand felt like fire, as if its imprint was burning into his skin—but he refused to look back; his gaze was glued to the stairs, debating if he could make it to the front door fast enough—and, if so, where he could go—

This was so stupid. He was so stupid—he knew Naruto didn't feel the same, but he had been right there and so close to him and looking at him with those eyes—

Sasuke's stomach lurched as Naruto wrenched him back—it was already twisting enough, between his nerves and his heart—through the doorway, and Sasuke barely had a moment to register what was happening before his escape plan died before his eyes—

Sasuke felt his back hit the door—now shut, with him inside Naruto's room—and his heart nearly dropped out the bottom of his stomach—

"Okay," Naruto's finger poked the middle of Sasuke's chest, "okay—you need to tell me what the hell just happened, because I—"

He cut himself off in a breath—one that nearly sounded like a laugh—Naruto ducked his head and Sasuke found himself moving with it because Naruto was—it seemed like he was—

"You kissed me—right? I'm not crazy here?"

—happy.

"Right?"

Naruto looked up at him, eyes wide and glittering and hopeful—and—

"Yes," the word escaped him like a breath—

"Oh," Naruto's voice shuddered—it cracked, just a little, as he rocked back on his feet, "oh—"

The laugh breathed out of him again, and this time, Naruto followed it. Sasuke felt his hand grip his shirt—the other slide along his neck—as Naruto pressed close—pulled him closer—and then—

—and then Sasuke was in heaven.

It was gentle, it was soft, and he could feel the smile stretching against his lips—he could feel his own, matching it, because Naruto was kissing him and Sasuke's heart was swelling in his chest—

Naruto pulled back only to kiss him again—and again—and again—and with each kiss his smile grew, until he was laughing against Sasuke's lips—and Sasuke couldn't help but laugh, too, because this was just so unbelievable—the fact that Naruto—that Naruto—

"You're such an asshole," Naruto laughed the words against his lips. "I can't believe—"

Sasuke kissed the rest of his words away, too desperate to let him continue—too desperate to let this end—he let out a breath, against Naruto's mouth, but it came out as something that sounded awfully like a whimper—

And Naruto must have heard, from the way the kiss instantly deepened—from the way his hands moved up to grab fistfuls of Sasuke's hair, tugging at him as if he couldn't pull him close enough—

He hadn't even realized they had moved until he felt the back of his knees hit something soft—the bed—and Naruto was still pressed against him, still pushing closer, still grabbing every part of him as if he couldn't pick a place to rest his hands—

He fell back onto the bed and took Naruto with him.

Naruto was very obedient. He fell forwards, straddling Sasuke—barely managing to keep the distance between their hips as their lips pressed together again. Naruto was intensely aware of how easy it would be to press down, press forward—to let his hands slip underneath Sasuke's (Naruto's) shirt...the need to touch more of Sasuke—see more of Sasuke—it was nearly overwhelming. But Naruto was even more aware that this was way too fucking good to be true; the fact that Sasuke actually wanted this—that Sasuke had even initiated it—it was impossible. It was impossible—Naruto was—

"I'm dreaming," he whispered into Sasuke's mouth. "Pinch me—"

The kiss didn't pause, but he did feel it shift—felt the soft smile in Sasuke's lips, as it shifted again—as Sasuke shifted again, and the hand that had been on Naruto's back slipped, just barely, under his shirt, just above the hem of his pants—

It was the gentlest pinch Naruto had ever felt, but did it ever do the job.

In a flash, he rolled onto his side, grabbing Sasuke's hips so he would roll, too—Naruto's restraint struggled somewhere between Sasuke's smile against his lips and his hand under his shirt, and if he had stayed on top of Sasuke like that, it was likely to die completely—

This, on the other hand...

The moonlight hit Sasuke—lips parted and wet—in just the right way. Naruto felt his heart tumble and twist, as it so often did when he saw Sasuke—but this was worse—this was so much better—he didn't know how Sasuke expected him to catch his breath with him looking down at him like this—

Sasuke leaned down and kissed it away again.

There was nothing in the world Naruto could have cared about less. The way Sasuke was kissing him—god, there was no hesitation—only heat, and passion, and need—

And one of Sasuke's legs was in between Naruto's, with the other on his side—he could feel Sasuke pressing up against him just as clearly as he was sure Sasuke could feel him—he let out a trembling breath into the kiss, trying to expel some of the pleasure—this friction was driving him so wild—

But Sasuke made a small, soft sound, as if in response—as if he knew how close to the edge Naruto was, and Naruto suddenly realized that his flimsy, one-piece-of-fabric pajama pants must be doing absolutely nothing to hide the erection—

Sasuke's body shifted.

Whatever Naruto had been about to say—whatever apology, or excuse, or what—was destroyed by the moan in his throat. It took next to nothing to have the ecstasy surging through his body—next to nothing to have him rubbing himself all over Sasuke's thigh—he just couldn't help it—and, if the way he was moving was anything to go by, neither could Sasuke—

Sasuke broke the kiss, shuddering forwards. He leaned into Naruto's neck, pressing his lips to the open skin in between breaths—he kept his forearms on either side of Naruto's head as they moved—but they were shaking; it was almost as if he could barely hold himself up—his breathing was becoming faster and faster—Naruto could hear it—

All at once, Sasuke's body stiffened, letting out a strangled noise and gripping Naruto's hair so hard it hurt—had he just—oh god—Sasuke had just—

Naruto went from pleasure to ecstasy in seconds—he had just made Sasuke cum and that was definitely enough—

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's hips as tight as they would go and slammed them together, throwing his head back. Whatever noise he made was entirely out of his control—all he could feel was Sasuke's body pressing up against him, his breath against his neck, the shockwaves of pleasure echoing through every one of his nerves—

He opened his eyes, gasping. He was still clutching at Sasuke, but he couldn't seem to let go. He felt embarrassed and a little afraid, but he felt so good…

He bit his lip, but it wasn't enough to stop his smile.

"Stop laughing at me," Sasuke muttered against his neck.

"I'm not laughing at you!"

"I can hear you smiling, idiot."

"I'm smiling because I'm happy! I'm not laughing at you." Naruto grabbed at Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him up so he could see his face. Sasuke almost looked like he was pouting.

Oh, but there was that angle again…and the light…

Naruto reached up and brushed back some hair that had been sticking to Sasuke's cheek.

"You are…something else. You know that?"

Sasuke frowned. "Is that a compliment?"

Naruto gave a soft laugh, and pulled Sasuke in for a kiss.

"Yeah," he said, pressing their foreheads together. "Yeah, it is."

They cleaned themselves up in the haze of the morning light. A blushing Sasuke borrowed Naruto's (clean) underwear, but his embarrassment felt dull and faint in the face of Naruto's smile (and his fatigue). The adrenaline that had surged through him—the nerves and the fear—had left him, now, only to be replaced by the exhaustion he probably should have been feeling this whole time.

And Naruto didn't seem much better off, from the half-lidded eyes and sleepy smile he gave as he lifted the covers for Sasuke. He wasn't quite asleep, but he looked as if he was right on the edge—each blink was slower, longer, heavier...Sasuke could feel the weight in his own eyes, too, but he just wanted to be awake a little longer...just to see Naruto a little longer, because some part of him was convinced he would close his eyes and wake up to a reality that wasn't this one—

"—s'ke," Naruto's voice broke through his thoughts, "c'mere."

He made a noise—some grumbled, sighing sound—and pulled Sasuke into his arms before he could say a word.

They fell asleep, tangled together, not a minute later.

Chapter Text

Naruto awoke feeling warm, comfortable, and...amazing. He had no idea why he had even woken up—he was still so tired, and—

"Did you forget to set your alarm again?" Kakashi's amused voice filtered through the door—accompanied by several knocks.

"Oh, crap—" Naruto jerked awake—he knew he had to get up early when Kakashi drove him, why did he always forget to set his—

Oh.

All at once—at the sight of Sasuke, still in his arms—the memories from last night came flooding back to him. Sasuke blinked the sleep from his eyes and Naruto felt himself smile so wide his cheeks hurt—

"Morning," he whispered, unmoving from the spot. There was something about the way Sasuke looked right now—the way his bedhead looked so much like the way it had when Naruto's hands had been the reason for its tangles—

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke's voice was quiet, but his eyes held that intensity—that weight that drew Naruto in from the moment he'd seen it, as if there was an entire world behind those eyes and Naruto was barely seeing a glimpse—

Naruto broke first and kissed him. Soft—light—a greeting kiss, a 'good morning, I really, really like you' kiss—but Sasuke had far different ideas, because he opened his mouth and wrapped his arms around Naruto and Naruto was lost. That was it—this was it—he was entirely at Sasuke's mercy, and if Sasuke never let him go then—to hell with everything else—Naruto would just kiss him forever—

"Alright, I'm coming in." Kakashi opened the door, and Naruto sprang away from Sasuke, but he wasn't quite fast enough.

Kakashi groaned.

"Damn it, Naruto, you couldn't have held out another week?"

"…Huh?"

"I'll go tell Iruka," he grumbled. "Congrats, boys, and please hurry up."

"Ah—yeah, sorry." Naruto ducked his head as he shuffled off the bed, but there was nothing in the world that could have stopped his smile.

"He made a bet?" Sasuke asked after Kakashi had padded away from the door.

"Is that what it was?"

"Sounded like it."

Naruto laughed.

"Fuck, I'm so transparent." He shook his head, rubbing at his face as he kicked open one of his drawers—

"You weren't."

"Hm?" Naruto turned around.

"Transparent." Sasuke shook his head. "You weren't…you didn't seem attracted to me at all." Naruto had been just as friendly—just as open, just as kind—with everyone else Sasuke had ever seen him with. And—maybe—there had been a few points where his gaze had lingered, but that could have been for so many reasons other than attraction—

"Are you—are you serious? I didn't seem—oh my god." Naruto slapped a hand over his eyes, spinning around in disbelief.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards.

"Sasuke," Naruto's hand moved to run through his hair, "literally everyone I know knows—and I didn't tell any of them. Kiba's been giving me shit for weeks—Sakura knew from the second we met—even Ino started saying that if I didn't make a move on you then she would—"

"How's it going up there, boys?" Called Kakashi's voice from downstairs.

Naruto froze, looking guilty. He gave Sasuke an apologetic look. "We'll finish this later, okay?"

"…Hn."

Naruto gave him a brilliant smile, and, after a moment of hovering in place, pecked his lips before slipping off to the bathroom.

Sasuke stayed still for quite some time after he left, basking in the warmth that Naruto made him feel.

"I'm gonna sit in the back with Sasuke, 'kay?"

"Sure," Kakashi sounded amused, "just don't spend an extra half an hour getting out of the car."

Naruto blushed, muttering a guilty, "sorry."

"Yeah, yeah."

Naruto slipped into the middle seat, sidling up to Sasuke with a grin. Sasuke didn't manage to stop the smile when Naruto's fingers intertwined with his.

He didn't try very hard.

It took about two minutes for Naruto's head to fall onto Sasuke's shoulder. They certainly hadn't gotten very much sleep the night before, and Sasuke felt like he was starting to doze off himself…

Naruto shifted, making a noise that sounded somewhere along the lines of a sleepy grumble. Sasuke rolled his eyes and moved his arm—so Naruto could fall onto his lap. What was it about the blonde and falling asleep on Sasuke's lap?

He leaned against the window—snorting as Naruto nuzzled further into his thighs—and closed his eyes.

"We're here."

Naruto jerked awake, bumping into Sasuke's hand as he sat up.

"Lock up the car when you head out, okay?" Kakashi paused to make sure Naruto heard him.

"'Kay." Naruto blearily rubbed at his eyes.

Kakashi shut the door and left, probably in a hurry after how late they had made him.

"—aaah," Naruto let out a wide yawn. "What time is it?"

Sasuke reached for his phone, realizing he hadn't actually looked for it since he had met Naruto yesterday. It was on its last thirteen percent, he noticed.

"A few minutes after eight."

"Aw, crap." Naruto groaned, finally sitting all the way up and unbuckling his seatbelt. "I have an 8:30 class. You're free for the morning, right?"

"I have class from nine to twelve."

"Gross." Naruto grimaced. Sasuke snorted.

"Let's go get some coffee."

"Wanna sit with me 'till your class starts?"

"What, in your classroom?" Sasuke took another swig of his coffee.

"Yeah. I'll grab a seat at the back." Naruto wiped a bit of whipped cream off his lip, staring at Sasuke with bright, hopeful eyes—

As if Sasuke could have said no.

"Alright."

It was Sasuke's turn to fall asleep on Naruto's shoulder. He didn't even make it to the start of the lecture—and then, for twenty glorious minutes, he was lost to the world.

But his paradise was doomed to end—Naruto nudged him awake, squeezing his arm for a moment before going back to rapidly typing. Naruto had the professor's lecture notes open on his laptop, Sasuke noticed, but was frantically typing them all separately on another page, eyes glued to the screen at the front of the room.

"You have class at nine, right?" Naruto whispered, eyes flickering to him for just a moment.

"Yeah." He sighed. He should really get moving.

"I'll see you after?" Naruto's fingers paused as he faced him fully. Sasuke nodded as he began to stand, swallowing the urge to lean closer instead.

"I'll meet you at your place," he whispered, and slipped out of the row of seats. He barely remembered to take his coffee on the way out.

Kiba, predictably, met him at the door again.

"Hey, man!" He clapped him on the shoulder and pulled him inside. Sasuke shrugged the grip away the moment he could, hovering awkwardly in the hallway.

"Is that Sasuke?" Naruto's voice called, just as the blonde came bounding down the stairs—he lit up like a firework as soon as their eyes met.

"Hey." It came out breathy, almost like a sigh. Naruto just smiled—a wide, ebullient smile, standing on the spot as if he was just barely holding himself back from tackling Sasuke to the ground.

Kiba looked back and forth between the two of them several times, mouth sagging open a little, before slowly growing into a grin.

"No way," he said, "you guys banged, didn't you?"

"What? No!" Naruto turned bright red and slapped a hand to his face. "Oh my god, Kiba—"

"What? You guys were giving each other like—this look—so I thought—"

"We're going upstairs," Naruto said, grabbing Sasuke's hand and pulling them down the hall—

"Wait, so are you finally dating or—"

"Bye, Kiba!" Naruto called back, already halfway to the stairs.

Naruto slammed the door shut behind them and exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He gave Sasuke a sheepish look.

"Sorry."

But Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to mind much of anything with Naruto flustered like this. He was biting his lip—looking nervous and frazzled and excited all at once—and Sasuke felt that familiar, familiar feeling build inside of him—that warmth, that tightness in his chest—he had cursed this feeling, before—he had hated it, even—

But he didn't have to fight it anymore.

The tension—the fears, the doubts, the fatigue…everything just melted from Sasuke's body as their lips met. Naruto's arms wrapped around him—his hands running through Sasuke's hair, tugging him closer—closer—Sasuke sighed into Naruto's mouth—it sounded like a moan—

That, apparently, was the cue Naruto had been looking for.

He used his body to push Sasuke back, his hands still twisting through Sasuke's hair, as if he couldn't bear for their lips to be apart—and Sasuke didn't resist, he only let Naruto push him back, onto the mattress that still laid on the floor after the bedframe hadn't fit up the stairwell—

If Sasuke had thought Naruto was excited yesterday, it was nothing compared to today. It was as if Naruto could barely keep his hands off of him—like he could hardly commit to a single place to put them—Sasuke's shirt was off before he could register what was happening, and then Naruto's lips were back on him—oh—

Sasuke sucked in a breath as Naruto's mouth moved—as if exploring his body, as if memorizing it—his lips moved to Sasuke's neck, his hips pressing against Sasuke's, his hands pulling them together—Sasuke threw his head back and shuddered, his body arched into Naruto's touch—

Naruto pulled away. Sasuke made a noise of protest and wrenched his eyes open—

"Sasuke—" Naruto's voice sounded breathless—his eyes were hooded, his lips so swollen—Sasuke didn't think he had ever seen his eyes look quite like that—

"Can I…?" Naruto's fingers ran under the hem of Sasuke's pants.

Oh.

Sasuke nodded—he nodded nearly frantically—whatever Naruto wanted to do to him—as long as he kept this hum of pleasure buzzing through him, he was fine with it—he was more than fine with it—he was—ah—

Naruto tugged at his jeans and Sasuke scrambled to help him, cursing himself for wearing such tight-fitting ones—and his briefs—oh, he had forgotten these were Naruto's—he barely got the chance to feel the nerves about Naruto seeing him naked, because before the thought even hit his mind, Naruto had his hand around Sasuke's cock—

"Na—ruto—" he breathed—

Naruto moved up, pressing kisses along Sasuke's skin—his hand moving slowly—so slowly—along his cock, as if memorizing the feeling—Sasuke automatically lifted his arms to pull Naruto closer the moment he could—sighing as Naruto's lips moved up his neck, nipping at his ear—Naruto squeezed his cock, running a thumb along the head and Sasuke was forced to bite back a whine—he couldn't figure out what feeling was winning: the ecstasy from the way Naruto was touching him or the frustration that he was going so slow—

"Fuck, Sasuke," Naruto's voice was breathy and low, "you have no idea—how much I—"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open just in time to catch Naruto moving over top of him to capture his lips in a bruising kiss—Sasuke matched it easily—he grabbed the back of Naruto's head to pull him closer—he had been so convinced—so convinced—that Naruto didn't want him, that Naruto would never want him—and now, and now—

Naruto let out a noise and Sasuke felt his voice in the kiss—felt him move forward, pressing further against Sasuke as if he just couldn't be close enough—felt his grip, his hand, speed up his pace and—ah—Sasuke could feel the pressure, building, building, building—his breath came in gasps and then it ceased coming at all, his body tensed and he threw his head back and Naruto whispered his name and—

"Naru—to—!"

He felt the warmth spurt up onto his stomach—felt the warmth all around him as Naruto didn't move away, as he kept his grip but slowed his pace, just as the echoes of pleasure pulsing through Sasuke began to slow, too—Sasuke relaxed, back, into the bed—he felt like he was floating—

Naruto kissed his neck, and pulled back.

"I think I ha…per…towels…"

He heard Naruto's voice—soft and calming—but he couldn't bring himself to see his face. Not when his eyelids felt so heavy—he felt so relaxed, so warm, so calm…surely Naruto would clean him up…

"—s'ke?"

Sasuke didn't remember anything after that.

"Sasuke," someone was whispering in his ear, "Sasuke—you've slept for almost three hours…"

"Nngh..." Sasuke resisted the urge to roll away from the voice—it sounded so familiar…

He felt a hand on his arm and someone kiss his shoulder, and it was that that made him realize that he didn't have any clothes on—his eyes sprung open—

Oh—it was Naruto. It was just Naruto…Naruto, who had…

He blinked a few times and sucked in a deep breath.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke turned his head back to look at Naruto—who looked hesitant…worried? He looked rather like he had the morning Sasuke had pushed him out of his apartment after thinking Naruto had no interest in him…

The thought banished any fatigue he had left, and he sat up so quickly that he felt the room spin.

"Sorry," he said, sucking in another breath. "I didn't think I was that tired."

He met Naruto's eyes, the guilt flooding through him—

"I don't mind—as long as—you're okay?" Naruto smiled, but it was soft, and the worry in his face hadn't wavered. His eyes seemed to be scanning Sasuke's for something.

"Ah," Sasuke had a moment of clarity, "the uncomfortable thing again."

Naruto ducked his head. Sasuke filed the information away for future examination.

"I'm okay, Naruto."

Naruto's head darted up to meet his gaze—whatever he was looking for, he must have found, because he relaxed with a smile.

"Okay. Good." He laughed a little. "How was your nap?"

"Ask me when I'm more awake." Sasuke forced himself to sit up further. "Can you turn on the lights? And—ah—my clothes…?"

"Of course." Naruto moved to flick them on. "That okay?"

Sasuke squinted, trying to orient himself as he adjusted to the light.

"Ah, sorry," he felt Naruto kneel onto the mattress beside him, passing him his clothes, "maybe I should've warned you…"

Sasuke pulled his shirt over his head—trying not to blush as the covers fell down. Naruto's gaze certainly didn't waver—

"…How long was I asleep for?"

"Um—well, it's almost 3:30 now." Naruto glanced at his cellphone to make sure. "I tried waking you up before but you were really out of it, so I didn't…"

Sasuke cut him off in a kiss. It seemed to be the easiest way to ease the blonde's nerves—and the faster he could, the better. His bladder was protesting.

Naruto was lounging on the couch when Sasuke returned, sparing him a bright smile as he came closer. Against his will, he found himself returning the smile—he just felt so…warm.

Sasuke settled in beside Naruto, the contentment seeping through his body. Not a moment later, Naruto leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?" Sasuke shifted his position to face him better.

Naruto shrugged, looking pleased with himself. Sasuke nudged him with his foot. Naruto's shirt was loose, and Sasuke took full advantage of it.

"Oi!" Naruto squirmed away from where Sasuke was wiggling his toes. "Your feet are cold!"

"And you're warm."

"You're such a dick," he said, but he relaxed and let Sasuke's stick his feet underneath him. "Did you want to get food or something?"

Sasuke grimaced.

"I should go home. I've done nothing this week, and I'm still in yesterday's clothes…"

"You came straight here? I figured you stopped by your place first."

Sasuke reddened. It hadn't even occurred to him as an option.

Naruto laughed. "Okay," he shoved himself forwards until he was straddling Sasuke, "your place, then."

"Hm," Sasuke let his hands run up Naruto's thighs to rest on his hips, "are coming with me?"

Naruto wiggled his hips. "Do you want me to?"

Sasuke bit down on a smile.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Hmm," Naruto seemed to consider his options, "nah. 'Fraid you're stuck with me for today."

"For today?" Sasuke absentmindedly ran his thumb along Naruto's thigh.

"For starters."

"Mm," Sasuke tilted his chin up to meet Naruto for a kiss, "then lead the way, usuratonkachi."

"D'you wanna pick up food on the way to your place?" Naruto said, one arm already in the sleeve of his jacket—and obviously hungry.

"No, I'll cook."

"Ooh, really?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I've cooked for you before, Naruto."

"Yeah, and it was awesome." Naruto grinned at him.

"You think any warm food is awesome," Sasuke said, but his lips quirked upwards at the compliment nonetheless.

"Only if it actually is!" He paused. "It usually actually is…"

"…Moron."

Naruto whacked his shoulder. It didn't even remotely hurt.

There was a pause. Sasuke felt his apprehension grow as Naruto eyed him, grin slowly growing wider.

"Soooo," Naruto tilted his head towards him, "you really thought I didn't like you, huh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as an excuse to look away. He could already feel his face flushing—and the cool air was doing little to help it.

"Hmmm?" Naruto nudged him.

"Well, if you were trying to show your interest, you did a terrible job," Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms as he waited for Naruto to lock the door.

"I wasn't!" Naruto laughed a little, running a hand through his hair. "I thought you were straight, you dick."

He slapped at Sasuke's arm, laughing again. Sasuke wrestled with the urge to grab it as it fell—

"You couldn't've dropped me some hints or something? You knew I was bi."

"You weren't interested."

Naruto stopped and gave him a look that so clearly said 'are you kidding me' that Sasuke—

"Well—I thought you weren't." Sasuke looked away. He heard Naruto's soft laugh beside him—felt his hip nudge him, just a little—

"Sasuke, you dumbass." Sasuke looked back to see Naruto smiling, shaking his head. "Like I wasn't inviting you over every chance I got? Like I haven't been texting you every other second—" he exhaled, running a hand through his hair, "like—do you have any idea how many people I've blown off to hang out with you? Honestly—wasn't interested—I'm gonna—"

Naruto shook his head again, cutting himself off.

"It's not like I could have known that," Sasuke muttered, feeling defensive, "and you're the one who said you were trying not to show it—"

"Yeah, trying," Naruto rolled his eyes a little, "trying and failing. Really—ask anyone. I've really been—"

He cut himself off, exhaling again. His eyes flickered to Sasuke's, and he bit his lip.

"I—uh, sorry." Naruto swallowed—and it took Sasuke a moment to realize that his face was rather flushed, now. "I'm rambling again."

Sasuke blinked.

"No," he let his fingers brush against Naruto's, "by all means, keep talking about how obsessed you are with me."

"Wh—hey! I'm not obsessed—!" Naruto spun around—his smile was surprised and just a little bit offended—

"Mhm." Sasuke met his gaze with a smirk.

"I'm—that's not—" Naruto stuttered.

Sasuke laughed.

"Shut up!" Naruto whacked his arm. "You—asshole!"

Sasuke caught Naruto's hand as it fell, this time. Naruto visibly deflated—softening into a bright, blushing smile.

"Moron," he said quietly, looking away.

Naruto's hand squeezed his.

"Seriously though," he laughed—his voice much softer, now, "you couldn't've at least, like, dropped the fact that you're into guys?"

Sasuke snorted, shaking his head.

"Like—just, y'know, "oh, that's what my ex-boyfriend said" or something—"

Sasuke shifted—and from the way Naruto looked back at him, he noticed.

"That would be difficult," Sasuke said softly, "considering I don't have an ex-boyfriend."

Naruto blinked.

And then blinked again.

"You—oh, are you bi, too?"

"No," Sasuke scanned the concrete, "I'm gay. I've just never...really dated anyone."

"Wh—hang on, what?"

"I know my orientation well enough, though," Sasuke continued, "and I—"

"No, no, no, no, hang on," Naruto paused mid-step, "you've never dated anyone?"

"Not exactly," Sasuke said.

"But you're—so—" Naruto's arm waved, as if gesturing to all of Sasuke—

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the blonde turned a bright red.

"I'm so…?" He prompted.

"Shut up," Naruto muttered, not meeting Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke surreptitiously pulled their hands closer to himself.

"Yes, well," Sasuke cleared his throat, "I've never really…been interested. Before."

Naruto tripped over the sidewalk.

It was a good thing Sasuke was holding his hand, because he wasn't sure he would have reacted in time, otherwise. As it was, he barely stopped the both of them from falling flat on the concrete—

He pulled Naruto back to him, shaking his head.

"Careful," he muttered, more panicked than angry, really—

Naruto's eyes flickered to his, but they didn't hold. He laughed, ducking his head as if he was nervous—

"Sorry," his voice came out like a puff of air—face still red as he kept his smile firmly at the ground, "um, yeah—sorry."

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer, letting his unasked question fill the silence.

"Um," Naruto's eyes flickered back to him, "you just—um," he swallowed, "really reminded me how much I like you."

He let out a breathy laugh, running a hand through his hair. Sasuke was mesmerized.

"Usuratonkachi."

Naruto looked back at him. The sky had nothing on those eyes.

"Teme."

"Wait," they were nearly outside of Sasuke's apartment now, "what did you mean you've never really dated anyone?"

Sasuke glanced at him, and then looked down at his feet. He could feel Naruto's eyes on him.

"I was…in my second year of high school, I think. My father found a perfectly acceptable young lady that he thought I ought to date."

It likely didn't count—it hadn't been a real relationship in any sense of the word, but it was the closest he had come.

Naruto blinked.

"He—what?"

"It was the daughter of an associate—someone important; I don't remember." Sasuke scratched the bottom of his chin. "We dated for a few months, technically. I barely ever saw her during them, but we called it dating nonetheless."

"Wait—so, your dad just like…decided you were dating her?"

"Well, no. It was…strongly suggested. Hinted at. As disenchanted with my family as I was, I didn't really want to go against him."

Naruto made a noise.

"What?"

"Uh—nothing," Naruto said—far too quickly. Sasuke gave him a look.

Naruto shifted and looked down at the sidewalk, smiling a little sheepishly.

"Your dad's…a real hard-ass, huh?"

Sasuke snorted. "Yes, I'd say that's…accurate."

Naruto let out a puff of air.

"Man. I am…" he ran a hand through his hair, "awful at dealing with people like that. I'd probably end up punching him or something."

Sasuke gave Naruto an amused glance. "I'd pay to see that."

"Really?"

Sasuke shifted, looking away.

"…I don't think anyone's stood up to my father in a long, long time."

Naruto glanced at him.

"You stood up to him," he pointed out.

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't really thought of it that way, but...

"…I suppose so."

There was a pause. A breeze rustled through the trees, shaking free a few autumn leaves that had not yet fallen.

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Long list of previous partners?"

Naruto laughed.

"No—just two. That I actually dated, I mean. And Sakura, if that counts." He shot Sasuke a grin. "They were both kinda disasters. I guess they all were, heh."

Sasuke threw him a soft smile, debating whether he wanted to know more or not.

There was a pause.

"Well?" Sasuke said finally.

Naruto looked up.

"Hm?"

"Tell me about them."

"Ehhh," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "the first guy was still in high school. It was less that we liked each other, and more a…convenient thing, you know? We were the only out kids in school, so we kind of had similar experiences like that, I guess. It was rough when we got out of that environment and realized that we didn't really have much else to go on."

Sasuke nodded. Vague—but understandable. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted any more descriptive details as it was.

"And the other?"

Naruto sighed.

"That—um," he twisted his mouth, "that was kinda doomed from the start. We didn't have the same, uh, outlook, I guess? On relationships?"

He glanced at Sasuke, as if making sure he was understanding.

"We didn't talk about it before, so maybe that was my fault. I dunno. But—basically—it boiled down to him thinking we were, uh, open—like in an open relationship—and me not...thinking that. And finding out in the classic worst way possible, 'course."

Naruto snorted. Sasuke blinked as the implications hit him.

"Are you kidding?"

"Nope. Shit sucked."

They turned the corner, and Sasuke's apartment was in sight.

"Um, so—maybe I should be clear now. I don't—I mean, I'm not—wired that way. I can't do—the sharing thing. Like I'm sure it's a perfectly viable thing for some people and it doesn't mean anyone loves anyone else any more or any less, but I just mean—for me, I mean—"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, "I don't want to share you."

Naruto let out a breath.

"Oh—okay. Good. Good—that's," he let out another breath, biting his lip, "fuck, I'm sorry—I'm just really nervous—"

Sasuke eyed him, smiling softly.

"You seem it. Do I make you that nervous?"

"Not usually," Naruto gave a breathy laugh, running a hand through his hair, "not like this. I feel like my stomach is trying to eat itself."

Sasuke snorted. They weaved around the back of his building, but Sasuke could barely bring himself to tear his eyes away from Naruto to look where he was going. He was just so…

"I just…" They paused before the stairs, Naruto turning back to him as he ran his hand through his hair again. He bit his lip—eyes darting away from Sasuke as he bounced on the balls of his feet—

"Yeah, I'm really nervous. I really don't want to screw this up. I, um—"

Sasuke couldn't hold himself back a moment longer.

He pressed Naruto against the railing, gently. It barely took the blonde a second to relax into the kiss, arms coming up to wrap around Sasuke's shoulders—Sasuke felt the smile spread against his lips—

It was a while before they made it up the steps to Sasuke's apartment.

Chapter Text

"How hungry are you?" Sasuke skimmed his shelves, trying to see what he had to work with.

"I'm considering just eating this block of cheese."

"Ah. Pasta's fairly quick, then?"

"Nice, yeah—I'd love that. Can I help?"

"Grate the cheese that you're holding. And chop up whatever vegetables you want, we can add them to the sauce." Sasuke dug through his cupboards for a decent pot.

"'Kay!"

A few moments later, Sasuke had stopped everything he was doing to frown at his phone. Naruto trotted over to him.

"What's up?"

"My brother wants to call," he answered.

"Is everything okay?"

Sasuke sighed. "Yeah. He does this."

"He…?"

"Hello?" Sasuke held his phone up to his ear, sounding annoyed. He gestured towards the pasta to Naruto, who nodded, and walked to the other side of the room.

"Yes, Itachi," a sigh, "no. No."

There wasn't much for Naruto to do but stir the pasta and eavesdrop. He couldn't have stopped himself from listening if he tried. He bit his lip.

"No, I don't need—stop."

Naruto switched to stir the sauce a little, and lowered the heat. He just wanted to keep it warm for when the food was done…

"Itachi. What's this really about?"

A pause.

"No, don't—I don't mind if you—" Naruto could see him pacing back and forth. "Don't hang up. You—"

Naruto couldn't help but look over. Sasuke had paused, one hand pulling at his hair as if midway through running through it—

"So leave. No—don't laugh. I don't—" Sasuke's scowl was deepening by the second. "I don't need it. Don't stay there because of me, Itachi—don't put that shit on me. You stay there because you—"

Sasuke stopped pacing, only clutching at the windowsill so hard his knuckles went white instead—

"No, Itachi—you—fine, I'll send it all back then. I won't spend it. N—fuck off. Fuck off. I'm hanging up. Bye."

Sasuke pressed a button on his phone and threw it onto his desk with a frustrated noise.

Naruto quietly switched the stove to low and moved towards him. He sat on the armrest of the couch—it gave Sasuke a little space—and waited.

"He hates it there," Sasuke pressed his lips together, eyes flashing, "and he's too much of a fucking coward to leave. I keep telling him—" He broke off, letting out a hiss of air through his teeth.

"He hates it where?" Naruto prompted.

"At work. At home. With my parents."

"Does he still live with them?"

"No. But he may as well. It's the same difference." Sasuke grimaced. "It's not—okay," he sighed, "I get that I'm—that I have no money. And he wants to help me. But I—he's using it as an excuse not to do anything and I hate it! I already hate the fact that I'm completely fucking dependent on him like this and now he—"

Sasuke broke off, spinning towards the window with his fists clenched.

"You feel guilty."

Sasuke gave a quick nod.

"So what about after school? I mean, you're almost done."

"So?"

"So, you won't need the money anymore—at least, not nearly as much. Maybe you and Itachi could plan it out that way."

Sasuke sighed.

"He—it's a good job. I don't even think it's about the job, I think he likes it. But dad is just so fucking…" He let out a frustrated noise, shaking his head.

"What about in December?

"What about it?"

"Well—you're meeting up with your mom around Christmas, right?"

Sasuke turned to look at him.

"And Itachi's gonna be there too, yeah?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Then all of this stuff is probably gonna come out on the table. Don't you think?"

Sasuke furrowed his brows—but not in anger, this time.

"Maybe. It's possible."

"Do you think your mom will talk to your dad? Because all this might happen a lot sooner than you or Itachi are ready for—"

"I don't know," Sasuke cut him off. "I don't want to think about it. Every time I think about meeting her, I just get angry. I don't even know how I'm going to manage it."

Naruto adjusted his position on the seat. The armrest was hurting his butt.

"So get angry."

Sasuke looked at him. Naruto shrugged.

"Maybe you need to. Maybe you need to say everything that you've been holding in. Even if they won't listen."

Sasuke exhaled.

"And—Sasuke, I know you feel like you're mooching off your brother or whatever, but he's just mooching off your parents. So—in a roundabout, fucked up kinda way—they're still supporting you like they're supposed to, and that's nothing to feel bad about."

"But it's the reason he's still there. I think he would have left the family if I hadn't beat him to it."

"Maybe he would have. Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters. It—"

"I mean—it's over, though," Naruto interrupted gently. "It's done—you left, and he made the decision to support you. It was his choice, y'know. It's a frustrating, stupid situation, but I don't think he regrets it. I think he'd choose you any day."

"But I don't want that! I never asked for that—he should have just left me alone, instead of making me into this—this leech—"

His voice cut off as Naruto tilted his head, mouth stretching into a small smile.

"That's the thing about people caring about you, Sasuke," Naruto said quietly. "You don't get to choose who does it. Or how they do."

Sasuke's eyes flickered down and back up.

"And yeah," Naruto said, "I'm talking from experience. You go from living with like ten kids in every home to having two parents at your beck and call—I still feel bad about it. Sometimes. Not as much anymore, though—and then I start feeling bad about not feeling bad." Naruto grimaced. "Emotions are weird."

Sasuke snorted—Naruto felt a small bit of victory at the barest hint of a smile on that face.

There was a pause.

"Call him back, Sasuke. Meet up and talk it out—in person—before you meet your mom. Okay?"

Sasuke sighed, and walked over to the desk, flipping his phone over in his hands.

"Go make sure the food isn't burning." He gestured towards the kitchen with his head, and then looked away. It gave Naruto an opening to sneak a kiss before he strode back to the kitchen, giving Sasuke a cheeky smile on the way.

It was funny—watching Naruto glance at him, bite his lip, and then look away. It hadn't even occurred to Sasuke to invite Naruto to stay the night, after they had finished dinner—he had just assumed he would—until the blonde had started nervously looking at his phone, and then at Sasuke, and then back at his phone...

The blonde was obviously waiting for an invitation.

Naruto shuffled in place, yet again, ducking his head.

Sasuke rested his cheek against his fist, watching him. Subtlety, thy name was...not Naruto.

"Would you like to stay the night?"

Naruto immediately straightened.

"Wh—um, yeah—that would—that'd be great!" He laughed and nodded, and nodded again, and then one more time just to really make sure Sasuke understood—

Sasuke snorted, shifting to cover his smile with his fist.

"You can borrow whatever you'd like." He owed Naruto that much, anyway.

"Oh," Naruto ducked his head, "I—um, kinda brought some overnight stuff with me. Just—in case, y'know—"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Bit presumptuous of you, don't you think?"

"What? No, I—just thought—" Naruto finally looked back at him—face flushed and hair a mess—and Sasuke saw his shoulders visibly sag. "...You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, finally moving his fist away as his smile grew wider—

"You make it so easy."

"You dick!" Naruto laughed out the words, slapping at Sasuke's arm. "Fuck, you are—you're the worst."

But Naruto's smile said something different, and so did his eyes as they turned to Sasuke—

"Come on," Sasuke stood, letting his hand trace down Naruto's arm, "let's get ready for bed."

"You can't sleep, can you?"

Naruto opened his eyes, rolling over to stare at Sasuke. The way the light reflected in his eyes—the way his hair almost looked curled, draped against the pillow—

Naruto swallowed.

"Is it that obvious?"

Sasuke's mouth widened into a small smirk.

"Well, you aren't snoring yet."

Naruto reached over and pressed his fist against Sasuke's cheek, laughing softly. It was barely a moment before his hand relaxed, resting against Sasuke's chin. Sasuke really was…

"I feel like," Naruto's voice was barely over a whisper, "if I close my eyes, I'm gonna wake up. And this—this'll all have been a dream. It doesn't feel real yet."

Sasuke's hand reached up to hold his—something in his face had grown softer, now—

"…Is that why you've still been so nervous?"

"Um," he swallowed, scanning Sasuke's face, "a little."

Sasuke didn't reply, only continuing to watch him. He was so good at knowing when there were things Naruto didn't say…

"I just...find it really hard to believe," he laughed a little, as he spoke, because 'really hard' didn't even begin to describe it—fucking impossible, more like—that Sasuke actually—that Sasuke really— "that you...want me. I really didn't think—"

His voice cut off as he felt the mattress shift, but he kept still as Sasuke leaned over him. Naruto stared up into his eyes—searching them for something—

"Naruto," he could feel Sasuke's breath on his lips, "I want you."

Oh.

Yeah, okay.

He pulled Sasuke down, the words ringing in his ears. He would be lucky if he was ever able to sleep tonight, after hearing Sasuke say something like that. What a fucking thrill—what an amazing fucking feeling—to kiss Sasuke like this—to have Sasuke want him like this—Naruto was already—

"Mmph—"

He was already gone—already lost, in Sasuke—already moaning against his mouth, half a second away from the hardest he'd ever been—god, he had never thought—he had never dreamed—

He broke the kiss—seeing stars—as Sasuke rolled their hips together. Fuck, this was—he could feel Sasuke getting hard, too—this was so—

"Sasuke—"

Sasuke's hand slipped up, under his shirt.

"You saw me, earlier," he heard Sasuke's voice in his ear—low, husky—Naruto trembled as he spoke, "but I didn't get to see you."

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"That wasn't fair, Naruto."

"Hah—ah—" Fair—Sasuke's fucking bedroom voice wasn't fair—

Sasuke pushed his shirt up—switching to Naruto's pants as Naruto sat up to tear it off—

"Sasuke," he forced himself to find his voice, "you—you don't have to—just because I—"

He heard Sasuke's chuckle—felt it, as he moved closer—

"Good to know."

"Oh—god—" Naruto felt himself crumble, yet again—he felt Sasuke tug on his waistband as his lips pressed to Naruto's neck—and then they were gone and his underwear was too and Sasuke's hand was sliding down and Naruto opened his eyes wide because—

"Nngh, fuck—"

"Tell me what to do." He felt Sasuke's breath against his ear. "Tell me how to move—"

"Sas—ah," Naruto gasped as Sasuke's hand twisted, "go—all the way—nngh, yeah—like that, just like—ye—ah—"

It was perfect—it was perfect and—fucking hell—why this felt so much better than anything else, he didn't know—he just didn't want Sasuke to stop—he couldn't even feel the embarrassment, because he knew Sasuke was was sitting up, now—watching him—but he was just too far gone in this pleasure—in the way Sasuke was touching him—ah—Sasuke—

He forced himself to sit up as he reached towards Sasuke—he didn't bother pulling Sasuke's pants all the way down, only just enough to touch him, just enough to move his hand properly—fuck—somehow, feeling how hard Sasuke was—Naruto felt his pleasure expand tenfold—

"Na—" Sasuke buckled forwards—his pace on Naruto's cock becoming uneven, messy—Naruto knew it was from how good he was making Sasuke feel—a thrill lashed through him at the thought—

"Yeah," he heard himself breathe—he could feel the pleasure building—he could feel the way Sasuke was started to tremble, overtop of him—

Sasuke's eyes opened, staring down at him with hazy, unfocused eyes—it was such a good angle—to have Sasuke over him like this—feeling Sasuke like this—Naruto let go of Sasuke's cock at the same time Sasuke let go of his—their hips pressed together—he wrapped his arms around him as Sasuke began to move—

"Naru—"

"Sasuke—ah, fuck—yeah—!"

The pleasure exploded through him—pulsing through his body at the same pace that Sasuke's cock pulsed against his—he felt the cum splash on his stomach but he kept going—kept moving, with Sasuke—he could hear Sasuke's gasps for air—he'd never heard a better sound—

"S-sorry—"

"Huh—what?" Naruto's mind had barely started to come back to him—

"I—" Sasuke sucked in a breath, pulling back—Naruto vaguely realized he ought to let him go, "you, ah—"

He gestured at the mess on Naruto's stomach. Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't la—"

"Sasuke," Naruto interrupted him, reaching up to run a hand along his body, "that was amazing. You are amazing."

"You—" Sasuke's voice cut off—Naruto could see the way his cheeks flushed—

"Don't ever apologize," Naruto said softly, "for this. Especially when it's me that made you feel like this."

He let his arm fall back against the pillows, smiling. Sasuke was still leaning over him—still at that angle, looking down at him—

"I still feel like I'm dreaming." He felt like he was walking on air—like he was gonna start floating just from looking at Sasuke. "This whole day has just…"

Sasuke let out a breath, ducking down to press his face against Naruto's neck. Naruto automatically put his arms around him—still reveling in the fact that this was real—this was Sasuke—

Sasuke pressed closer against him—Naruto could feel his breath—

"You come any closer and you'll get all dirty too," he warned, laughing a little. He just—he just couldn't stop smiling—

"I don't care." Sasuke's voice was barely audible—almost like a sigh against Naruto's skin—he felt Sasuke's body slip closer to his—something about how close he was—how much closer he could be—it was almost tantalizing—

"You come any closer," Naruto whispered, chills shooting down his spine as Sasuke's lips brushed his neck, "and I'm going to want you again."

Naruto felt Sasuke pull back—just enough to stare into his eyes. Naruto searched them, feeling his desire build just from the sight—what was it about Sasuke that drove him so wild—

Sasuke's body pressed against his.

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"How convenient," Sasuke's whispered, hips moving ever so slightly—

Naruto pulled him down.

Chapter Text

About a week later, they were still at Sasuke's place.

They had spent every night together, so far, since they had started dating. Every time they had had the option, Sasuke hadn't wanted to leave—and he definitely hadn't wanted Naruto to leave…it's not like he really minded that Naruto's clothes had started showing up in his place, and Naruto certainly hadn't seemed to mind when he had shown up today and Sasuke had happened to be wearing his favourite orange hoodie—

"Let's go out for dinner."

Sasuke's hands paused, fingers poised over his keyboard.

"Now?"

"Yeah. I know you're busy—but we've been working in like total silence for like," Naruto checked the time, "six hours now."

Sasuke exhaled and leaned back, conceding the point. Now that he was paying attention, he was incredibly stiff…and hungry.

"Besides—I haven't taken you on an actual date yet."

Sasuke turned back to see Naruto's smile soften into something so gentle and affectionate that Sasuke's heart skipped a beat—

"No?" Surely they had, by now—they certainly had been spending enough time together…

"Not an official one."

Sasuke snorted, stretching a little as he stood up.

"Official? I don't remember signing anything." Sasuke walked over to Naruto.

"Stop being a dick." Naruto gave him a playful glare.

"Never."

Naruto laughed. Sasuke squeezed his arm and moved past him.

"Just let me use the bathroom and I'll grab my coat."

They ended up going for sushi. It had been a while since Sasuke had eaten any, and Naruto was singing the praises of the place, but…

So far, the blonde had managed to drop four pieces in his soy sauce.

"Oh—my god!" Naruto clapped his hands to his face as he lost another piece to the soy sauce dish. Sasuke, who had been stifling a laugh for the entire meal so far, couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" And there was the waitress—yet again. Sasuke eyed her—personally, he thought her chirpy smile was a little too directed at Naruto, but he kept quiet.

"Hm?" Naruto glanced up at Sasuke, and then to the waitress. "Oh, we're good, thanks."

Naruto gave her a brilliant smile. Sasuke fought down the jealousy he knew was irrational—Naruto was dating him, for god's sake, it wasn't like the woman had a chance—

She placed a hand on Naruto's bicep, and gave him a sweet smile.

"Well, let me know if you need anything at all," and then she pulled back and strutted away. Sasuke glared daggers at her back.

Naruto quickly went back to trying to fish—no pun intended—the sushi out of his soy sauce. It broke apart just as he was bringing it to his mouth, and the sauce splashed right in his face.

"I am the worst." Naruto stared despondently at the table. Sasuke snorted, but didn't disagree.

"I swear I'm not usually this bad!"

Sasuke heard a giggle—high pitched and sultry-sweet—and he glanced over Naruto's shoulder to see the waitress, whispering to her friends and looking over at them. She was talking about Naruto. She must have been.

He glanced back at his blonde. He had soy sauce all over his face.

"Naruto," he said, "come here."

He gestured towards himself. Naruto looked up, surprised and confused, but dutifully leaned over the table.

"Like this?" He said.

"A little more," Sasuke beckoned. Naruto obeyed, easily and innocently. Sasuke eyes flickered to the waitress—just making sure she was paying attention—before he leaned forwards. He grasped Naruto's chin with one of his hands, and aimed for the spec of soy sauce just off the corner of Naruto's lip, licking it—and when that didn't work, sucking at it.

Naruto's eyes were wide.

"Sas—"

Sasuke pecked his lips, and then pulled back to glance over the rest of his face, still holding his chin.

He let go, and leaned back in the booth.

"I got it," he said with a smirk. Naruto's face was a furious red, but he didn't look displeased.

"Teme..." He rubbed at where Sasuke had kissed him, obviously fighting a smile.

Sasuke kept quiet, but his smirk remained firmly in place when he saw the waitress had gone. She didn't bother them much after that.

They went back to Naruto's place, afterwards, leftovers in hand. Sasuke was going on about their waitress—and Naruto had no idea what the guy was talking about. Granted, he had been way too busy trying to prove that he wasn't a complete fucking disaster when it came to chopsticks, but—

"You didn't notice? She wasn't exactly subtle."

Naruto scoffed. "There is no way! As if—"

"She was." Sasuke scowled.

Naruto paused for a moment, glancing over Sasuke.

"Why the hell would she flirt with me when you were right there?"

"You didn't do anything to dissuade her," Sasuke muttered. He looked—well, he looked like he was sulking.

Naruto laughed, pressing his forehead against Sasuke's. "I didn't notice. I had no idea. I mean it. I was too busy being embarrassed about the soy sauce."

He saw Sasuke's scowl lessen—just a little.

"I know. I'm not mad at you," he leaned back, "obviously. I'm just…"

"Jealous?"

Sasuke blushed, pulling his head away. "Shut up."

Naruto grabbed his hands before he could pull too far away.

"Sasuke," he laughed, shaking his head, "you're so clueless."

"I—"

"Remember when you said you felt drawn to me? And I said I felt kinda drawn to you too?"

Sasuke nodded, his scowl softening.

"I wasn't being totally honest," he searched Sasuke's eyes, "'cause kinda drawn doesn't even begin to describe it."

There was no hint left of the scowl, now—Naruto took it as a personal victory—

"And it's only gotten worse. It's like…I can't remember a single face from that restaurant. I have no idea what our waitress even looked like. She could have secretly been Kakashi, and I wouldn't've noticed." He paused as Sasuke snorted—Sasuke really had one of the best smiles in the world—

He swallowed.

"Everything else just kinda…fades away when I'm with you." He squeezed Sasuke's hands. "You're really underestimating how much I like you."

Something flickered across Sasuke's face—something that Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on. He didn't get the chance to explore it any further before Sasuke buried his face into Naruto's neck, arms wrapping around him—he didn't say a word, but Naruto could feel the way his breaths trembled against Naruto's skin—the way his arms only seemed to be squeezing tighter, around him, as if he couldn't hold him close enough—

Naruto closed his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke really had no idea.

Sasuke let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair to stretch his spine out. They had spent the last few days at Naruto's place, so they figured it was about time to switch—but Naruto still had class or a meeting or something for a little while…Sasuke kept stealing glances at the door, expecting him to show up, but—

Whap!

Sasuke's heart nearly flew out of his chest at the sound—followed by several, lighter knocks—but growing in intensity—

What the hell? That didn't sound like Naruto…

Sasuke stood, wandering over to his door. There stood Naruto, looking sheepish, surrounded by…everyone else.

"Sasuke!" The gang cheered—Naruto—at the front of the group, rubbed the back of his neck.

He opened the door, warily.

"What's…"

"We're going to the movies," Kiba interrupted, a hand slung around a dark-haired girl— his girlfriend—what was her name again…?

"Come on," Ino—he remembered her—jerked her head back, "let's go."

Sasuke blinked.

Naruto's cheeks flushed a little.

"Um—"

"I told you," Ino said, crossing her arms with a grin. "You're part of this now. You can't escape us."

"Sorry." Naruto gave a breathy smile—not looking sorry at all.

"I—" he glanced behind him, "just—let me grab my jacket."

"Hurry it up! We're already late!"

"It wasn't planned," Naruto muttered to him, lagging behind the group, "otherwise I would've warned you. But everyone's all excited that Gaara came to visit—and he brought Temari and Kankuro!"

Naruto threw him a bright grin. Sasuke blinked several times—the name rapidly coming back to him—

"Gaara—your foster brother? Which one is he?" Sasuke scanned the crowd.

"Red hair. You can pick him out from anywhere."

Sasuke made a mental note to at least attempt to make an effort to know the man—

"You two have that in common, then."

Naruto laughed, swatting at his arm.

"What were the other names you said?"

"Temari and Kankuro—they're on either side of him, now." Naruto reached over him to point. "They're his adopted siblings. I never actually knew them before him, but they're pretty fun."

"You two getting it on back there?" Kiba's voice rang out. "Hurry up!"

Naruto gave another laugh, grabbing Sasuke's hand.

"I know you don't like crowds," he spun around, walking backwards for a moment—eyes sparking with mischief, "but I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

Naruto winked. Sasuke fought a smile—only rolling his eyes as he let Naruto pull him up to the rest of the group. The blonde punched Kiba in the arm, but his other hand didn't leave Sasuke's.

Naruto was right—Sasuke didn't like crowds. Kiba's laugh boomed in his ears—Ino was yelling something, stuck in some sort of argument with three people Sasuke couldn't remember the names of and two more he swore he had never seen in his life—and he could feel bodies on all sides of him with far too little breathing room—

Naruto squeezed his hand.

Sasuke didn't like crowds—

But, somehow, he didn't mind this at all.

"Well? What's the consensus?"

Ino walked backwards, eyeing the two of them.

Sasuke shrugged.

"The fight scenes were cool." Naruto threw him a grin. "It wasn't bad, I dunno."

Sasuke let out a breath.

"It was alright." He hadn't cared much for the movie. Naruto's hand on his thigh and whispers in his ear, on the other hand—

"Yeah," Kiba fell into step beside them, "I expected more from it. The trailers made it look so cool!"

"That's the point of a trailer," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto grinned.

"So, no movie scripts in your future? Novels only?"

Sasuke snorted.

"I wouldn't say that."

"Sasuke's a writer?" Kiba blinked at him. "No—wait, that totally makes sense. Of course he's a writer—he's got that look."

Sasuke frowned down at himself.

"I—what?"

"Hey—Gaara!" Naruto suddenly caught the man's eye, waving him over. "Come meet Sasuke!"

"We've already met," Gaara said quietly, eyes scanning him once again as he moved closer.

Sasuke got the sense he was being evaluated—and not for the first time. He had caught Gaara quietly watching him more than once throughout the night, and he wasn't sure whether to feel offense at the thought that he was being judged or hope that he would be found somehow worthy—

"Yeah, for like a second." Naruto rolled his eyes, turning to Sasuke. "Gaara's studying botany. He's even more obsessed with plants than I am, you know."

"Mm, I find that hard to believe." Sasuke threw him a smirk.

"Cacti, Naruto—not just plants."

"And succulents! I know you have a whole fucking thing of them—"

"Ooh!" Ino popped her head in between them. "Have they bloomed yet? You sent me that photo—"

"Aaaaand these nerds are talking plants again," Kiba groaned. "I'm outta here. Need saving, Sasuke?"

Sasuke blinked.

"That's alright."

"'Kay. Hey, Shino!" Kiba jogged up to the man—Sasuke took a moment before he turned his attention back to the conversation, which had been continuing quite happily without his input. Sasuke couldn't really bring himself to mind, though—with the way Naruto's eyes were lighting up, his smile widening, arms waving in the air as if he was filled with so much enthusiasm that he just couldn't sit still—

This was so much better than the movie…

"Naruto! Did you make a reservation?" Sakura called back at them, stopping Naruto dead in his tracks.

"I—uh, no, not yet! Hang on." He jogged over to her, Ino going with him. Sasuke made a move to follow, but—

"Sasuke." Gaara's voice was quiet, but strong. Sasuke suddenly felt very apprehensive.

"Yes?"

Gaara's eyes watched him—pale, serious, cold—

"I am not the only one who is incredibly protective of Naruto."

Sasuke glanced over at the group—Naruto, laughing in the middle—he didn't entirely manage to stifle the smile as those eyes turned to meet his—

"I know," he said softly. Maybe he ought to feel jealous—bitter, at the way Naruto seemed to be surrounded by friends—by family—but…

Somehow, with those eyes—that smile—on him...all Sasuke could feel was incredibly humble.

Sasuke swallowed, wrenching his gaze from Naruto—just as Gaara seemed to do the same—

"You make him happy."

Sasuke blinked—his mouth started to open without knowing what would come out of it, but Gaara beat him to it—

"I'm glad."

And then he was gone, Sasuke blinking after his back.

Somehow…that had almost felt like approval.

"That was really fun." Naruto grinned, shutting the door behind them. "Gaara likes you."

Sasuke blinked.

"Does he?" Sasuke wasn't sure he was willing to jump to 'likes' just yet—it had seemed more like 'tolerates', at best—

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, pulling Sasuke forward by the scarf he had been trying to take off, "everyone likes you—especially me."

He felt Naruto's soft laugh against his lips—

"I haven't even taken my shoes off yet, Naruto," Sasuke muttered into the kiss.

"Mm," Naruto only pulled him closer, "well, take them off, then—"

Their lips moved, together again—

"And while you're at it," Naruto's eyes were hooded, now, "take everything else off, too."

Sasuke snorted, but didn't protest as Naruto dealt with his coat—helped him with his shoes—and the hoodie that he had stolen from Naruto, yet again—

"I told you," Naruto took him by the hands, pulling them around the partition, "that I'd pay you back."

Sasuke let Naruto pull him—powerless to do anything else—mesmerized by the way he was looking at him—

Their lips met just as they reached the bed—Sasuke felt Naruto's hands turn his hips—pushing him back—he gave no resistance as he fell onto the mattress, Naruto falling with him—

"I could kiss you forever." Naruto's voice was soft—breathless—but Sasuke's voice wasn't much stronger—

"Then why did you stop?"

He only caught a flash of Naruto's smile—a second of Naruto's eyes, brimming with happiness—before he was at the mercy of those lips yet again. Naruto's hands moved underneath his shirt, reaching up, pulling at the fabric—Sasuke couldn't help but reciprocate—

"Sasuke—"

He felt Naruto's lips move against his—moan against his—his eyes fluttered open just in time for his shirt to cover his eyes, being pulled over his head—he shuddered at just the feeling of Naruto fiddling with his zipper, but he had to pull himself together—just long enough to make sure Naruto dealt with his own clothes, too—

And then he was naked, with Naruto's hips sinking between his legs. Sasuke stifled a gasp Naruto began to grind against him—he captured Naruto's lips with his own—

He felt Naruto's hands move down his waist, gripping his hips to pull them closer—ah—closer—Sasuke broke the kiss, arching back onto the pillows, but it didn't stop Naruto—didn't faze him at all—Sasuke made a strangled sound as Naruto focused in on his neck—fuck, every time—Naruto knew how sensitive his neck was—and Sasuke was already so far gone—already so close to the edge—Naruto's lips moved up to nip at Sasuke's ear—and god this felt so good…

"Is this where you want me?" Naruto breathed into his ear, giving his hips a playful squeeze—Sasuke desperately tried to gather his thoughts enough to talk—

Naruto pulled away enough to meet Sasuke's gaze—Sasuke knew his eyes were wide, he could feel it all building inside him, he could feel—ah—so fast—

"I—ye—"

Yes—

He grabbed Naruto's head and pulled him down, crashing their lips together. He wanted to feel Naruto kissing him as he came, he wanted to feel Naruto moving against him, feel his arms around him—

"Mmph!" He groaned into Naruto's mouth, eyes springing open, his entire being pulsing with pleasure—he broke the kiss to gasp for air and to beg for Naruto to—

"Keep going—keep moving, Na—ungh," he moaned, eyes rolling into the back of his head as Naruto easily obeyed—as he kept moving until Sasuke finally placed a hand on his hip, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Naruto's grin as he pulled back let him know that the blonde was feeling pretty pleased with himself. If Sasuke wasn't so focused on getting his breath back, he would have kissed him…but as it was, all he could do was wrap his arms around Naruto—who didn't seem to mind the mess they had made, considering he was practically laying in it—and lay his head back with an easy smile, closing his eyes.

Chapter Text

"Let's head back to my place tomorrow," Sasuke said, a few days later, as Naruto pulled his shirt over his head.

"Sure," Naruto looked a little surprised, "any reason why?"

"Itachi is coming. In the evening, I think." Sasuke frowned at his phone.

"Oh," understanding dawned across Naruto's face, "are you sure you want me—"

"Yes. And stay, this time."

Naruto's cheeks flushed, but it only made his smile all the brighter.

"Itachi," Sasuke greeted. It sounded like a sigh—his brother looked just as uneasy as he felt. Today was going to be unpleasant, he knew. It was a good idea, in theory, but there was a reason he hadn't wanted to deal with all of this…

"Hey Itachi! Can I get your coat?"

And then there was Naruto, who seemed more excited than anything else. What an idiot.

Sasuke snorted.

"Sure." To his credit, if Itachi was confused, he didn't show it. He handed Naruto his black trench coat—very stylish, very pretentious—and removed his shoes.

"Have you eaten?" Naruto called behind him as they all moved into the apartment.

"Ah—yes. Thank you."

"Okay!" Naruto smiled, and then promptly started digging through the fridge.

"You've already eaten, too, usuratonkachi." Sasuke eyed him.

"Teme," Naruto answered without missing a beat, "I never stop eating."

Itachi's eyes flickered between them and his lips seemed to move a little, but he quickly shook himself.

"Sasuke. You wanted to talk?"

"...Yes."

There was a pause. Naruto shuffled over to the other side of the counter, shoving some food into a bowl.

Itachi looked at Sasuke expectantly. Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at the wall.

"Do you want to stay in the family business?"

Naruto's finger paused right before the 'enter' button on the microwave, and he straightened up. He obviously hadn't expected Sasuke to be that blunt.

Neither, apparently, had Itachi.

"Pardon?" Itachi's eyebrows were raised.

Sasuke shifted a little.

"I mean—my…situation aside, would you still be working there?"

"…You are asking if the only reason I keep in touch with our parents is to financially support you?"

"I am asking if that's what you want to be doing or not."

Itachi made a face.

"It's a moot point, Sasuke. This is the way things are."

"No—that's," Sasuke exhaled, not quite managing to hide his frustration, "I just want a clear answer."

"I can't give you one. It's complicated."

Sasuke glared at him. Itachi didn't budge.

Naruto quietly shuffled past the couch—his food could wait, for the moment—and sat on Sasuke's desk.

"Okay," Naruto said, unfazed when both heads swiveled to face him, "you guys are meeting with your mom in a bit. It'll be pretty soon. What if your dad is there?"

"He won't be," Itachi said immediately. "I was assured that would be the case."

"Okay," Naruto said again, "but I don't think it's that crazy to say that your mom might talk to your dad, no?" He paused for a moment. "What if he says that you aren't supposed to support Sasuke anymore, Itachi? He can still kind of track your money, right?"

Itachi grimaced.

"I mean, that could happen, right?"

"Yes," Itachi said quietly, "yes, it could."

Naruto didn't reply. Sasuke just sagged against the heater.

"I'm not sure what I would do, in that case. Threaten to leave the company, I suppose." Itachi rubbed at his chin. "It would be highly inconvenient for me to leave. It might not cripple the company—although, I suppose I could start making movements to put me in a position that would cripple the company if I left…"

"Yeah, do that," Naruto said. "That sounds good."

"Is that all?" Itachi asked. Naruto looked over at Sasuke.

There was a pause, where Sasuke avoided eye-contact with either of them—and then gave a quick, firm nod.

"I just wanted to make sure we were prepared," Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded and stood. Naruto's eyes flickered between the two of them. Sasuke still didn't look up.

"I'll be in touch."

Sasuke nodded, and Itachi moved out of the room. Naruto frowned at Sasuke.

The front door opened to signal Itachi leaving.

…What a bunch of stubborn assholes.

Naruto ran to the door.

He caught Itachi just as he was getting into his car. Itachi looked up in surprise—

"He feels guilty," Naruto said, jogging up to him. "You know that, right? You have to know that."

"...Sasuke?"

"Yes, Sasuke, of course, Sasuke." Naruto gave Itachi a look. "You're paying for his apartment and his food and his school, and you get mad at him every time he tries to start paying you back—"

"I—"

"—so he can't get a job, he can't pay you back, and he feels guilty, and useless, and like he's using you."

Itachi stared at him.

"That's not—none of that is true."

"I know that—you know that, and I think he knows it on some level, too, but it doesn't stop him from feeling it," Naruto said, "and you being nice about it and pretending it's not problem isn't making it better. It's making it worse—you get that?"

"But it's not—it shouldn't be—" Itachi looked—well, this was definitely the most emotion he had seen out of the guy so far, "any other child, in our situation—with our wealth—would be being supported by their parents right now. They funded my entire education, and they should be doing the same for him. It's what should be happening," Itachi took a step forward, and Naruto could see the anger in his eyes, now, "so I'm making it happen. It's what's right—"

"I'm not arguing with that," Naruto put his hands up in acquiescence, "I agree with you. And I don't think he should feel bad—I'm telling you he does. And you know that. And you know he's convinced you'd be outta there in a heartbeat if it wasn't for him. He thinks he's forcing you to stay there—and considering what he thought—what he thinks—of everything, he feels pretty shitty about it. So just—just go back in there, and talk to him, okay? You guys need to actually talk."

"The decision was mine to make—he didn't force anything." Itachi paused, looking pained. "I don't want to leave the family. I—" his eyes focused back on Naruto, as if remembering who he was speaking to, "I don't believe making him feel guiltier will help the situation."

"You're not telling him anything he doesn't already know." Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke's not dumb—he can tell that you're lying to him and he hates it. You go up there and tell the truth, and you'll see. It's all he wants."

Itachi stared at him.

"Just—go back, Itachi. Please."

"I…alright."

Naruto, like he had promised Sasuke, went back into the apartment when Itachi did, although he thought it might be better to leave the two of them alone.

Then again, maybe they needed someone to make sure they were actually communicating—the stoic bastards.

But apparently Itachi had gotten the hint. Naruto had gone back to his food in the kitchen, and hadn't interrupted them once as Itachi quietly confronted Sasuke. He hadn't needed to. Turns out things weren't as bad as Sasuke thought—or, at least, Itachi didn't think they were. But Sasuke was right about one thing—Itachi was steadfastly avoiding confronting their parents for fear of losing Sasuke's financial support.

Itachi left after that—but not before he gave Sasuke a quiet, awkward hug that Sasuke looked too surprised by to completely reciprocate. Sasuke stared at the door for a long moment after it closed, before he turned his gaze onto Naruto.

"You talked to him." It wasn't a question.

"Well, you weren't going to." He gave Sasuke a look. Sasuke frowned at him, stuffing his hands into the pocket of Naruto's hoodie. Well, it was really Sasuke's hoodie, at this point, with the way the guy kept stealing it—

"What did you tell him?"

Naruto's mouth twitched to the side. "Nothing he shouldn't have already known…I dunno. Maybe he needed to hear it from someone else."

"…Hm."

Naruto turned to face him fully. "Do you feel better about everything now, though?"

Sasuke sighed, smiling a little. He seemed to see Naruto's silent 'I told you so' for what it was.

"…Yes. I do."

Naruto gave him a brilliant smile, and a kiss.

"Good," he wrapped his arms around Sasuke and pulled him close, "I'm really glad."

"…You sap."

"Hey!"

Eysenck…Eysenck…Naruto tapped the back of his pen against his mouth. He knew he knew the name. He definitely did something to do with personality psych, but it wasn't the Big 5 factors…was it? Naruto didn't think so…

He grimaced and circled 'c'. He really needed to review the names of some of these psychologists. This week had flown by and he'd tried to find the time for it all, but there was just so much to memorize—

Slam!

Naruto jerked in such surprise that his pen flew out of his hand. He looked up just in time to see Sasuke, laptop now shut, with his head in his hands.

Well, shit.

Naruto shoved the practice exam to the side and shut the timer off his phone, quietly padding over to his boyfriend's hunched over form. Sasuke shifted his body away from him—Naruto managed to see a flash of a fierce scowl.

"What's up?" He kept his voice quiet, and himself away from Sasuke, just a bit—he leaned back against the radiator.

Sasuke blew air out of his nose, and Naruto saw his fingers flex again, scratching at his scalp as if debating pulling his own hair out—

"Hey, Sas—"

"I hate it." His voice came out as a mutter, and Naruto strained to hear it.

"What?"

"I," Sasuke threw himself back in the chair and slapped his hand on the desk, "hate it!"

"You—"

"I have been sitting here for five fucking hours," Sasuke wasn't looking at Naruto, "five hours, and I haven't written a single fucking page."

"What do you mean? I hear you typing—"

"It's all shit, Naruto. I've deleted everything I've fucking written today—"

Naruto grabbed his hands before he dug them into his head again.

"Sasuke—I've read your writing, remember? I love it."

"No," Sasuke still wouldn't look at him, "you've read what's done. You've read what I've edited a million times and what I'm actually happy with—this—this is—"

He tore his hands from Naruto's to gesture helplessly at his computer.

"And I—fuck—I don't have time for this—"

With a frustrated sigh, he threw his laptop back open and glared at the screen.

Naruto frowned, considering his options. Sasuke was obviously stressing out—and he had been working for way too long at this point…maybe this was a bad idea, but—

He reached over Sasuke's head to snatch the laptop, snapping it shut and sliding it under his arm.

Sasuke spun around, looking furious.

Naruto met his gaze head on.

"Give me my fucking laptop, Naruto."

"No."

Naruto barely managed to dodge as Sasuke's hand lashed out to grab it.

"Naruto—"

"You're not—"

"Give me my laptop—"

"I won't—"

"I swear to god if you—"

"Sasuke—"

Sasuke launched himself out of the chair, his fingers grazing the laptop as Naruto stumbled backwards. The blonde regained his balance just in time to toss the laptop onto the bed, turning back and blocking the bed with his body.

"Bring it on, teme."

He was, however, wholly unprepared for Sasuke to immediately do so—it took Naruto a moment of panicked flailing before he realized that Sasuke had tackled them both onto the bed, but he didn't have time to feel the relief as Sasuke crawled over him, reaching out a hand to grab his laptop—Naruto slapped it away, using the momentum to attempt to switch their positions—

It was easier said than done.

Sasuke was slim, but incredibly nimble—he squirmed from Naruto's grasp each time Naruto managed to catch him—Naruto only managed to push him onto his side by catching him by surprise and then he found himself locked him place, Sasuke pushing him back with equal force—

He would have to get crafty.

All at once, Naruto stopped resisting, and let Sasuke unwillingly fling himself on top of him. Naruto followed the movement just enough to grab Sasuke's laptop—which he would have been laying on top of, had Naruto managed to fully pin him down—and shove it underneath the pillows, against the wall.

(It was a bit safer for what he was about to attempt.)

Sasuke lashed out to grab his laptop, and Naruto took his chance—

He tickled him.

Sasuke's body flung itself away from the hand with such intensity, he might've bruised Naruto's thigh.

"I'll kill you—" Sasuke gasped out.

"You're ticklish," Naruto laughed, wiggling his fingers again—Sasuke struggled somewhere between glaring daggers at Naruto and being completely unable to to stop the laughter—

"Naruto—" Sasuke struggled underneath him—

"You gonna listen to me now?" Naruto responded, pausing to give Sasuke a chance to get his breath back.

Sasuke only glared up at him.

Naruto let out a breath and shook his head, leaning down to brush some of Sasuke's hair out of his eyes.

"You're stressing out. It's not gonna do you any good to work through that—it won't be up to your standards, and then you'll stress out more, and it's just gonna be a vicious cycle."

He pulled back to search Sasuke's eyes; he looked a bit less angry now, at least.

"You didn't have to steal my laptop."

"Mm," Naruto grinned a little, "it worked though. And I got to hear you laugh. I love it when you laugh."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You're an idiot."

"Yep," he leaned closer, "you're dating an idiot."

Naruto met Sasuke's smirk with his own smile, softly laughing against his lips. Sasuke's anger was entirely gone by the time he pulled away—

"I'm only in it for the sex."

Naruto gave a short, loud laugh—Sasuke had said it so casually—

"You're doing a terrible job of it then." Naruto grinned, wiggling his hips a little.

"Am I?"

"Yup." Naruto leaned down again.

The kiss lasted much longer, this time.

"Did you want to have sex?" Naruto asked a few minutes later, seemingly out of the blue. Sasuke's head snapped to stare at him, positive he had misheard.

"I—what?"

"You said you were only in this for the sex."

"Naruto," Sasuke said seriously, "I was kidding."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I know that," Naruto said, "but the point still stands."

"What point?"

"Well, we're gonna have sex at some point, no?"

"We—ah..." Sasuke's face grew so hot, it felt like it was going to melt right off. Not that he hadn't thought about it before, but…

Naruto's grin softened, and he seemed to take pity on Sasuke.

"Hey, you mentioned it, and now I'm curious." He rested his chin on his knee, tilting his head to the side a little. "I just wanna know how you feel about it—in general."

"I—it's not that I'm not interested," Sasuke quickly clarified. "It's just…new. For me."

"Makes sense." Naruto threw him a smile. "I'm glad you're interested."

Sasuke snorted and looked away.

There was another pause. Sasuke tapped his pen against his armrest.

"Is it new for you?" He asked. Naruto certainly seemed more…comfortable, sexually, than Sasuke. Experienced, maybe? It was more a confidence to…initiate something. Sasuke hadn't quite found that same confidence yet—but maybe it was more a product of Naruto's personality than that of actual experience…

"Ah," Naruto's smile faded a little, "I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're asking."

Sasuke let out a breath, quietly. It wasn't a surprise. In all honestly, Naruto's confidence in the bedroom was—nice. Comforting. He imagined it would be even better during sex. Still, Sasuke felt himself get rather…possessive. The thought of someone else touching Naruto…

"Fair enough," he said simply.

They continued to work in silence after that.

Chapter Text

Naruto let out a quiet sigh, staring at the page in front of him without really seeing the words. It had only been a couple days since talking to Sasuke—about sex—and the words wouldn't stop replaying in his fucking mind—

He bit down on another sigh—grinding his teeth together instead. He had seen the way Sasuke's body had stiffened—and how he had grown obviously quiet—after they had talked about it. He hadn't really…considered any difference between them, before this point. They had just seemed to—fit together.

But now, looking back, Naruto wasn't so sure.

He could hardly think of a time that Sasuke had initiated anything between them. Anything more than a gentle touch, or platonic kiss…it was always Naruto starting something—Naruto, asking for more—Naruto, pushing Sasuke—

It was exactly what he had wanted to avoid.

He wrenched the pen away from his mouth, realizing he was biting the end again.

Maybe they just needed to…cool things down for a while. Naruto could control himself around Sasuke—if he really, really tried—and just…let him make the first move. And if he didn't—if he didn't—

—then he obviously hadn't wanted anything in the first place.

Naruto stared down at his work and tried to ignore how sick that thought made him feel.

November was flying by. Buried under essays and presentations and tests and whatever other obscure creative project Sasuke's professors had him doing—the majority of Naruto and Sasuke's time together consisted of working side by side, breaking only for eating, sleeping, and, well, more intimate pursuits.

Only—they hadn't exactly progressed in that area. Naruto seemed to be content with what they had done so far—and only what they had done so far. It felt…off, considering the intense start their relationship had had.

Not to mention the way that Naruto had almost…stopped initiating anything entirely. His touches had become—lighter. Shorter. Almost…chaste. And whenever Sasuke was sure the blonde was going to make a move—when he swore he could see the desire in his eyes—Naruto would only stiffen or pull away or change the topic or—

Sasuke scowled.

It had taken him longer than he had liked to admit to pinpoint that the change in Naruto had followed their conversation from a few weeks ago. They hadn't spoken about sex since, and the only explanation Sasuke had was that Naruto was somehow bothered by the fact that Sasuke was a virgin.

He let his head roll back, glaring up at the ceiling.

It didn't really make sense, considering what Naruto had already known about him, but maybe the conversation had made the blonde view him differently. Maybe Naruto was—somehow turned off—or maybe he just didn't want to push him?

Either way, Sasuke didn't like it.

He stifled a sigh, glancing down at Naruto. The blonde had pretty much collapsed the moment he had gotten back from his exam, and had naturally fallen onto Sasuke lap, casually nuzzling Sasuke's crotch as he fell further and further asleep. Sasuke had abandoned all pretense of working about half an hour ago—he had been fighting a losing battle against the erection ever since Naruto's face had gone anywhere near it…no thanks to this train of thought.

But Sasuke hadn't wanted to push things, with how exhausted Naruto had been, cramming for exams and essays and all sorts of reports; he had been in a pretty constant cycle of either sleeping or working. Sasuke hadn't been much better off, but at least he could dictate his own schedule—and right now, the both of them had a bit of a breather…

"Mm, 's'ke..." Naruto's voice came in the form of a sleepy mumble, muffled by Sasuke's pants. What his pants didn't manage to muffle, however, was the way Naruto's lips moved against him—pressed up against Sasuke's crotch, his pants did so very little to protect him from the feeling—and—fuck—Naruto had been using an arm for a pillow and Sasuke only now realized the blonde's thumb was tracing a path up the inside of his thigh—clothes or no clothes, this was just too much—

"Naruto," he whispered, every ounce of his restraint being used to keep his hips firmly in place—to not lift them up, so Naruto's mouth could get a better angle—he swore that Naruto knew what he was doing—he must—

"Mm..." Naruto made another noise—and this time, Sasuke felt the smile spread across his face—felt his hand tighten against his thigh—hell, he swore he could feel Naruto's breath as he nuzzled in closer—

All at once, Naruto stiffened, eyes flying open. Sasuke stared as he nearly flung himself away from Sasuke, all semblance of his smile now gone—

"Um—shit," Naruto ducked his head, "I didn't—"

He paused, swallowing nervously as Sasuke glared at him.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean to—um…"

He didn't mean to. Sasuke's scowl deepened.

"That."

"I—huh?"

"That," he nodded at Naruto, who wasn't even close enough to touch him anymore, "what you're doing right now. What am I doing to make you pull away like that?"

"Oh," Naruto seemed to rock back a little, "oh—no, it's nothing you're doing! I'm not—I mean," he swallowed, pulling his feet closer to himself, "it's, uh…sorry—I feel like—since we started dating—like I've been, kind of…pushing you. Like it's really rare that you start something—especially recently—"

"Because you haven't been interested!" Sasuke sat up straighter, crossing his arms. "Listen, if this is because I'm—inexperienced—then—"

"Wh—no! No—not—that's not it at all." Naruto shook his head, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck. "It's…about me. I just…" he swallowed, "in my first relationship—y'know—I wasn't…really ready for stuff. I wanted to be—and I thought I should be—so I did it, but I…"

Naruto shifted, looking away.

"I just really…didn't want you to be feeling like that."

Sasuke stared at him—something coiling low, in his stomach—

"Did something—happen?"

Naruto's head snapped up.

"No—no, nothing," he shook his head quickly, "nothing—bad, I promise. I just…pressured myself into doing more than I…wanted to, I guess."

He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm explaining this bad—sorry," he let out another puff of air, "I just—y'know—now that I'm with you, I just," his eyes flickered to Sasuke, "I'm just…realizing what it feels like to really be…comfortable with someone. And to really want it. And I—know what it's like to not feel like that, and I really didn't want—"

Something clicked in Sasuke's head.

"Me to feel uncomfortable," he cut Naruto off, tilting his head to eye him, "so that's where that comes from."

Naruto's face flushed.

"I," he gave a nervous laugh, "uh—yeah. Maybe."

"Naruto," Sasuke said seriously, "you need to seriously reevaluate that sense of yours. I'm not sure it's ever been right."

Naruto gave a soft laugh, his body visibly relaxing until Sasuke could finally feel the weight of his shoulder against his. Sasuke surreptitiously shifted to get more of the touch…

He should have done this weeks ago. He felt so much…lighter. Relieved, even. He hadn't realized how much this had been weighing on him.

"Talk to me, next time," Sasuke said, watching the way Naruto's fingers traced the back of his hand, "and trust me, while you're at it. I'll let you know if I'm uncomfortable. I'm not one to hide things like that as it is."

"…Yeah, you're right," Naruto finally conceded. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Sasuke said, shifting his arm to snake around Naruto's waist as the blonde cuddled closer, "if I made you feel I didn't want this."

"I mean," Naruto's voice was quiet, "I didn't think that about—us, like in general. But, like—I wanted to kind of…let you take the lead, I guess? But—"

"By looking utterly uninterested in me again." Sasuke snorted. "Genius."

Naruto laughed a little, grinning up at him.

"Ass."

Sasuke wasn't sure which one of them leaned in first—maybe it was both of them. It felt so natural—so easy to lean into Naruto like this—to kiss him like this…

Then again…

"You were starting something," he said softly as they pulled apart, "when you were asleep."

Sasuke wasn't about to let him forget it.

"Yeah, well," Naruto's face flushed, but his smile didn't waver, "you weren't really complaining..."

"I wasn't," Sasuke let his lips graze Naruto's, "and I'm not about to start now."

Naruto made a small, surprised sound as they kissed—and then it was as if the blonde came to life. This was what Sasuke had missed—this is what he had been terrified he was losing—the way Naruto just couldn't seem to keep himself away from Sasuke, as if he was nearly shaking with need—with desire—he didn't even notice the way Naruto pushed him back until he crawled over top of him—

Naruto pulled back, panting against his lips—

"I need you to tell me you want this," he whispered, searching Sasuke's eyes just as steadily as Sasuke searched his; there was nothing hidden about the lust in them, or the hesitation, but much more than that—Naruto's gaze was filled with such affection that Sasuke felt his heart squeeze at the sight—

Sasuke put his hands on Naruto's hips.

"You're an idiot."

It was the only warning he gave Naruto before he pushed him back, flipping their positions. Naruto's shirt rode up just enough to give Sasuke access to his skin—the skin just above the hem of his pants—sweatpants, which would make this rather easy—

"Sasuke—"

"You want to know what I want." Sasuke let his thumb slip underneath Naruto's waistband. "Let me demonstrate."

He hadn't exactly decided to do this—not until just this moment, really, but it wasn't as if it wasn't something he had thought about—not as if it wasn't something he'd pictured, when Naruto ran his hands along Sasuke's thighs—when he ran his along Naruto's—

He pressed his lips to Naruto's skin, just as he heard Naruto suck in a breath—he looked up, meeting Naruto's eyes as he gripped the fabric firmly—he didn't pull, not yet—

Naruto's hips rose.

The satisfaction that shot through Sasuke's body—if he hadn't already been sitting, it might have dropped him to his knees. As it was, he settled for tearing back, grabbing at Naruto's pants as Naruto's legs kicked along with him—

"Take your shirt off," he muttered, running his hands along Naruto's legs—pressing kisses to his calf, his knee, his thigh—spreading his thighs apart—

"Fucking hell, Sasuke," Naruto breathed, his shirt abandoned somewhere on the floor—he clutched at the back of the couch with one hand, the other trembling along the armrest, as if desperately trying to keep himself upright—

Sasuke's lips reached Naruto's hips—he could feel Naruto's pubic hair brush against his cheek—and he swallowed, trying to steady his nerves. He knew what to do—in theory—and he knew Naruto would appreciate the attempt no matter how sloppy of a job Sasuke did—

But he wanted it to be perfect.

Naruto's eyes were on him—glued to him—and his torso hadn't budged since Sasuke had moved up—it was as if he was frozen—in fact, Sasuke couldn't even see his chest rising—

"Breathe, moron."

Naruto let out a shuddering laugh—Sasuke saw his body fall with the weight of it—

"Jerk," the word came out like a sigh—

Sasuke moved to press his lips against Naruto's cock, letting his smirk stretch along the skin, like he had felt Naruto doing, like the way he had—

"Ah—f-fuck, Sasuke—"

He could feel Naruto tense underneath him, as if he was just barely able to stop himself from thrusting up—Sasuke let his breath dance over Naruto's cock—it always felt smooth—soft, almost like silk—but somehow, against his lips, it felt even better—

He sat up further, using it as an excuse to run his tongue up Naruto's length—

"Nngh—hah," Naruto panted, and Sasuke could hear the way his fingernails clawed at the fabric of the couch—he smirked, wondering if he could get Naruto to rip something—

He ran his tongue along the edge of Naruto's head—and then up, along the slit, where he could distinctly taste something salty and a little bit bitter—Naruto made a small, muffled sound as his arms contracted back towards himself, his fingers in loose, half-made fists—

He didn't really know what he was doing, but he knew what Naruto looked like when he was enjoying himself—and whatever Sasuke was doing now was definitely doing the job.

He gave the tip of Naruto's cock an experimental suck—softly, just to see how Naruto would—

"Ah, god, Sasuke—you—" Naruto flung his arms apart, bringing one leg up to dig his heel into the cushion—

Hm.

But he couldn't get a good angle—not from on top of Naruto, like this. He pulled himself up a little more, gripping Naruto's cock and positioning it at his mouth—before he took Naruto into his mouth—for real, this time—

"Oh my god, Sas—'ke," Naruto gasped, eyes squeezed shut—Sasuke pulled himself back up, already feeling the strain on his jaw, but he refused to leave completely—not with the way Naruto was squirming underneath him, not with the way his breath was coming in soft moans—Sasuke felt as if he had Naruto completely at his mercy—

He moved down again, consciously relaxing his throat, letting out a puff of air through his nose—he got much further, this time—

"Fu—ah—hah—"

Sasuke stifled a smile at the way Naruto was reacting—the way he was twisting under Sasuke's touch—and Sasuke was getting used to this, now; it was almost like he'd found a rhythm and Naruto had definitely seemed to notice—he wondered what Naruto's reaction would be if he moved his grip with his mouth, too—

"Nngh—god," Naruto moaned, "if you keep—Sas—I'm not gonna—last—"

Naruto made that sound like it was a bad thing.

Sasuke only redoubled his efforts in response. Naruto's hands—still flailing around for something to hold onto—finally settled in Sasuke's hair, alternating between loosening his grip and pulling so hard it began to hurt—

Sasuke jerked away, coughing. His gag reflex had flared up with such speed and intensity that he hadn't even felt any warning—

"Are you okay?" Naruto immediately let go of him, staring with wide and worried eyes. "I pulled you—fuck, I'm sorry—"

Sasuke got back up on his knees and shoved the blonde back by his shoulders. He hit the couch with a small thud.

"Put your hands back." He grabbed Naruto's cock, positioned himself, and met Naruto's eyes, waiting.

Naruto panted out a few breaths, hesitating. Sasuke gave his cock a rough pump.

"Aah!" The back of Naruto's head slammed against the armrest.

Sasuke leaned forwards, moving his lips against Naruto's cock as he spoke.

"Put them back."

It was barely another second before Naruto obeyed. Sasuke wrapped his lips around Naruto, and began to move.

He found his rhythm again, somewhere in time with the throbbing between his own legs, which seemed to pulse with every sound Naruto made—he felt as if he was being driven half-crazy with desire—whether it was his own or Naruto's he didn't know, but what he did know was that he wanted Naruto—he didn't care how—he just wanted him—

He gripped Naruto's hips with his free hand, unable to hold back a moan when he felt Naruto shudder against him—

"F-fuck, I can't—I'm there, Sasuke—"

He didn't stop. He hadn't really decided whether or not he wanted to try to swallow, but it was past the point of no return now, and he may as well try—

"I'm gonna—Sasuke—Sa—aa—aah!"

He heard—felt—a rush in his mouth and Naruto's cock pulsed, once, twice—

"Keep going, please, keep—"

Sasuke obeyed, even as the taste overwhelmed him—even as he felt some spill out of his mouth, onto Naruto's cock, onto his own hand—he tried to swallow a few times to clear it, but it was so much thicker than he had anticipated—

Naruto's grip on his hair went slack, and he collapsed back against the couch. Sasuke pulled back, breathing heavily, to wipe at the cum that had dripped down his chin—well, spread all over it, really—

"Sorry," Naruto panted, but he pushed himself back up, looking worried—looking as if crawling towards Sasuke took all the effort he had left in his body—

He moved between Sasuke's legs, cupping Sasuke's face to give him a soft, slow kiss, just as Sasuke whispered, "don't be."

If Naruto tasted himself in Sasuke's mouth, he didn't seem to mind. He pulled away and trailed kisses over Sasuke's face—the corner of his mouth, his cheekbones, his chin, his forehead—they were soft and light, and Naruto held him with shaking hands, tracing a slow path over his skin, as if in some sort of reverence.

Sasuke shuddered under the attention—his body had never felt so sensitive—

Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's crotch—where his pants had lost all pretense of not having an erection—and Sasuke melted. Against his will, his hips arched up into Naruto's touch, and he groaned.

A surprised smile spread across Naruto's face.

"That bad, huh?"

Naruto hadn't even done anything and Sasuke was seeing stars—

"Shut u—fuck, ah—" Naruto ran a thumb over his pants, and even through the layers of clothing it was enough to send pleasure searing through Sasuke—he was so hard he was going to go insane—

Naruto—apparently a sadist, who knew—took his time to pull Sasuke's shirt off. It took about the same amount of time for Sasuke's patience to run out and violently squash his pride.

It was, however, incredibly difficult to focus on getting his pants off with the attention that Naruto was lavishing all over his chest.

"Nn—"

He threw his head back and gasped for air as Naruto nipped and sucked at his skin—he was just so fucking sensitive—

Naruto started to move down, and then Sasuke couldn't breathe.

It was a bit of a shame that Sasuke was in no mood to go slow, because Naruto most definitely was. He wanted to taste every inch of Sasuke's body—he wanted to savour every moment of him, worship every part of him—

Sasuke's eyes opened in a soft glare as Naruto's kisses paused on his hips.

He would have to memorize Sasuke's body later. Several times, maybe, to make up for this—over several few days. But for now—

Naruto grinned.

For now, he was going to blow Sasuke's fucking mind.

He swirled his tongue along Sasuke's cock, twisting around his head, his length—Sasuke's breathing had grown rapidly more intense, now—as if each breath was a struggle—

"Did you know," he let his lips move along Sasuke's cock, on the way back up to his tip, "that I don't have a gag reflex?"

He didn't wait for Sasuke's reply before proving it.

"Ah—nngh—!" Sasuke's head twisted—he covered his mouth with the back of his hand, as if trying to stifle himself—but Naruto could feel the way he was already shaking—already trembling—this was such a fucking thrill—

He let go of Sasuke's cock—confident that he could keep up his pace without his hand, if only for the moment—to grab at Sasuke's hand. He was still biting down on his other one, but this one was free to pull at Naruto's hair, like Sasuke did when they kissed—

Sasuke got the message.

His fingers threaded through Naruto's hair, gently—

"Sasuke," Naruto let his hand pump Sasuke's cock at he caught his breath—as if he could ever catch his breath when Sasuke was around, "don't hold back."

Sasuke's eyes met his—his eyebrows furrowed, eyes hazy—

"Don't you dare hold back," Naruto whispered, licking along Sasuke's slit—

Sasuke's other hand threaded through Naruto's hair.

Fuck yes.

He muffled his moan with Sasuke's cock as he deepthroated him again—Sasuke's hands kept him steady, kept his pace—he used his own to grip Sasuke's hips, to bring them up to meet his mouth—

"Ah—god, Naruto, I can't—"

Sasuke's pace quickened—his body some mixture of tense and trembling—but all Naruto could feel was how badly he wanted Sasuke to cum—it was as if it was his own orgasm—he could feel how close he was—so close, Sasuke—

"—I'm—"

—yes—

"Nar—a—aah!" Sasuke's head slammed back and his hips thrust up—his hands went slack but Naruto continue to move as he swallowed—once, twice—he could hear Sasuke's voice in every breath he let out—he could hear Sasuke's moan, no matter how he was trying to quiet it—

And then Sasuke collapsed, as if he was boneless. Naruto let his cock fall out his mouth, wiping it with the back of his hand, just in case. He could still taste Sasuke in his mouth…fuck—he could still taste Sasuke—

He swallowed, eyeing the Uchiha, who would have looked as if he was sleeping, if not for the way he was gasping for air…he ran his fingers down Sasuke's thigh, and pressed kisses to the knee he had raised sometime during the last few minutes.

Sasuke's eyes flickered open.

Naruto—very violently—fought back the urge to tell Sasuke he loved him. Even in his passion-crazed state, he knew that would be too far…but that didn't mean he couldn't think it…

"What?" Sasuke breathed, eyes barely open.

"Hm?" Naruto looked down at himself. "What?"

"Why were you making that face?"

"What face?"

"You were…smiling." Sasuke's eyes scanned him.

Naruto crawled over top of him and kissed his cheek, his nose, his temple, his forehead—

"Yeah," he pulled back just enough to say, "you make me smile."

Chapter Text

"Naruto—what is this?"

Naruto blinked up at him—Sasuke was holding up a…piece of paper? Oh—a card—oh—

"…It's Lee's birthday in a couple days," the invitation literally had that written on it, "and we're invited. He always does these big fancy invitations—the party isn't actually anything big, though, I promise. It's just us."

Sasuke blinked down at the page.

"Lee is…the one with the eyebrows?"

Naruto barked out a laugh.

"Oh my god," he shook his head, "you are such an asshole!"

"Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong—but—"

"I could have also said bowl cut," he muttered, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. "Is that better?"

"No!" Even as he said it—he couldn't stop the laugh. "You ass!"

Sasuke only shrugged, looking amused. His smile faded a little as he looked back down at the invitation.

"Why did Lee…send me an invitation?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"If he—I mean," Sasuke shifted, "didn't he send you one?"

Naruto had a moment of clarity.

"Sasuke," he said seriously, "my friends aren't just hanging out with you 'cause you're with me. They're your friends too, now."

Sasuke looked at him as if he was insane.

"I'm serious!"

Sasuke looked away, shaking his head.

"I know Ino likes you, for one thing." He moved closer. "She said she can be her bitchiest self around you—her words, not mine."

Sasuke stared at him. Naruto grinned.

"And Kiba thinks you're a genius—why do you think he keeps making you recommend him stuff? I'm pretty sure he's convinced you're secretly a movie critic."

Sasuke looked away again—he was turning the invitation over in his hands, Naruto noticed—

"Shikamaru said he likes how quiet you are. Well, no—he said something like you aren't troublesome, and that it makes me less troublesome—I think he meant that you're a good influence on me or something?"

Naruto laughed, nudging Sasuke.

"And—"

Sasuke gave him a soft kiss.

"Okay," he said quietly, barely pulling away.

"Okay? You believe me?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered down.

"A little."

Naruto grinned in victory.

"I'll take it." He pressed his lips against Sasuke's again, relishing in how good it felt to kiss him…

"So are you coming with me to Lee's birthday?"

Sasuke rested his forehead against Naruto's.

"…Yeah. I'll come."

It was about as loud as Sasuke had expected.

Naruto threw him a grin—half amused, half apologetic—as Ino pulled him towards yet another conversation. What the girl thought he could add to it, Sasuke wasn't sure, but Ino certainly seemed convinced there was something—

He felt a soft pressure at his side as Naruto moved to stand next to him. He was a few drinks in—just numb enough to slip an arm around Naruto's waist, uncaring of the people around them. Naruto certainly seemed to be in a similar state, from the way he moved forward to capture Sasuke's lips—

"Oh my god, keep it in your pants, guys!" Ino laughed as they immediately broke apart. "It's like every time I look over there—"

Sasuke's face flushed, but Naruto only grinned.

"It's not my fault!" He leaned against Sasuke's side. "If you were dating him, you'd be like this too—"

Sasuke's face flushed further as Ino laughed again.

"Usuratonkachi," he muttered—more to himself than anyone else—

"You are so fucking smitten." Ino tilted her head to eye Naruto.

It was the blonde's turn for his face to flush.

"'m gonna go get another drink," he muttered—fighting a smile in spite of his blush. Sasuke felt the warmth flood his body at the sight, even as Naruto left his side.

"Honestly," Ino's voice broke him out of his thoughts—he turned just as she shook her head, smiling, "I've never seen him like this. It's like he can't even contain himself."

Sasuke stared after the way Naruto had went.

"Excuse me..."

Naruto nearly dropped his cup as he felt Sasuke press up behind him.

"Teme!" He laughed, topping off his drink. "You scared me."

"Mm." He felt Sasuke's lips press on his neck, softly moving against his skin…Naruto let his head roll to the side, smiling.

"You're drunk," he teased, resisting the urge to close his eyes—Sasuke arms had wrapped around him—his shirt was starting to ride up—

"Mm," Sasuke hummed again, "so are you."

Sasuke shifted back—just enough to let Naruto turn around to capture his lips. He would never be over this, honestly—the fact that he could just—he could just kiss Sasuke—whenever he wanted—and that Sasuke wanted him too—

He didn't realize how heated the kiss had gotten until his lungs began to protest—Sasuke had pressed up against him in a way that nearly had Naruto sitting on the counter, Sasuke between his legs—fuck, that was a hot thought—

Sasuke pulled away.

"What are you thinking?"

Naruto opened his eyes to find Sasuke's scanning him—crap, he didn't know what had tipped Sasuke off but obviously something had—

He flushed, ducking his head.

"I—um," he bit his lip, eyes darting back to Sasuke for barely a moment, "I—"

Sasuke pressed closer to him.

"Hm?" He prompted, nuzzling in behind Naruto's ear. Naruto felt the chills from Sasuke's breath—his tongue darted out against his lips as Sasuke gave his hips a tight squeeze—

"...Um. So," he let out a nervous breath as Sasuke pulled back, "what I told you about—before. When I wasn't really comfortable, in—in my first relationship?"

Sasuke slowly scanned him, and Naruto waited for his nod before he continued.

"It was when I, uh, bottomed," he ducked his head, "and I don't think either of us were ready for it, 'cause it just—hurt. We didn't—y'know, prepare properly or anything, and it wasn't—um, anyway. Basically—it didn't feel good. And I've never—I never really understood the, uh, appeal, after that. I never really wanted to try again," he bit his lip as he looked back down at the way Sasuke still stood between his legs, "'til now."

There was a moment's pause. Had that been too far? Naruto couldn't really tell—he felt like he maybe should be embarrassed, but he was also drunk enough not to care as much as he probably should...

"That's what you were thinking?" Sasuke's voice was low, and Naruto felt it echo through him—he knew exactly how Sasuke's voice could change when they moved to the bedroom—

"Yeah," he breathed, tongue darting out against his lips—

Sasuke gripped his thighs—hands running up them until Naruto really was sitting on the counter—

"Like this?" His voice was barely a whisper—Naruto looked up just as Sasuke's hands pulled his hips forward until Sasuke was pressing up against him—god, he could feel Sasuke pressing up against him—

"F-fuck," he swallowed, desperately fighting the erection, "Sasuke—"

"Hm?" Sasuke smirk completely spoiled his nonchalant act.

Naruto let out a laugh—full of breath, just to relieve some of the tension—

"You fucking tease," he breathed, Sasuke an inch from his lips. "You're trying to get me to want to leave, aren't you?"

Sasuke snorted—Naruto saw him try to fight the smile, but he could still see it—fuck, he loved that smile—

"'Cause if you are," Naruto sat up a little, resting his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, "it's really working. If we weren't in the kitchen right now…hey," he looked past Sasuke, eyeing the entrance, "think that door locks?"

He laughed as Sasuke did the same, pulling back to give his face a small shove.

"Usuratonkachi."

"Teme." His smile softened. Every time they had a moment—every time Naruto had a second to catch his own thoughts—tonight, he felt like he was nearly suffocating in his own affection. It was like the alcohol was picking up on everything he felt for Sasuke and magnifying it tenfold. God, Sasuke was just so—

"We should get back," Sasuke said quietly, "before people start looking for us."

Naruto grinned.

"I'm sure they're smart enough to figure it out," he said—dutifully slipping off the counter nonetheless.

He grabbed his drink—passing Sasuke's to him, too—

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice was soft—serious—Naruto turned to face him fully, "I'd…like to try, too."

Naruto blinked.

Sasuke's face was flushed—his eyes darted away from Naruto's—

"Just so you know."

Naruto firmly—sternly—informed himself that it was still not the time (nor the place) to tell Sasuke he loved him. It was too early—probably—and they were both drunk—and in Lee's house—

He buried his face in Sasuke's neck.

"Are you—"

"Sasuke," he breathed quietly, squeezing him closer, "I really, really like you."

He could nearly hear Sasuke's smile as it came.

"...Moron."

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what it was that awoke him.

He had certainly been tired enough—and he knew Naruto was, too—he had that exam tomorrow and they had yet to get enough sleep to recover from Lee's party—

The blankets shifted.

Sasuke cracked open an eye—even in the darkness, he could see Naruto's form, sitting up, hunched over—

"—ruto?" He sucked in a breath, pushing himself up. "You okay?"

He still felt heavy with sleep, but Naruto seemed—

"Oh, shit, I didn't wake you, did I?"

Naruto's voice was barely there—just a soft whisper—but there was no trace of sleep in it.

Sasuke frowned. "How long have you been awake?"

Naruto pulled back a little, shrugging and looking away.

Sasuke's scowl deepened—he grabbed at the side table until he found his phone—

"…It's past three," he muttered, turning back to Naruto. "Have you slept at all?"

The blonde ran a hand through his hair, rubbing his eyes on the way.

"Not really."

Sasuke tilted his head, scanning him for a moment longer. It wasn't as if the blonde was trying to lie to him and say nothing was wrong—and something very definitely was—but if Naruto didn't want to talk about it yet…

He gently slid out of the bed, padding over to the kitchen. After the first time Naruto had gone grocery shopping with him (and had just happened to leave the spices behind), the blonde had started just leaving all of his groceries with Sasuke. He claimed he was too lazy to carry everything back to his house, and that Sasuke would know how to use everything way better than he would, but—well, he had practically moved in here with Sasuke at this point, so it really couldn't come as much of a surprise that he had filled his cupboards, too—especially with things that Sasuke would have never bought, himself.

Like hot chocolate.

Sasuke poured a cup of milk, stuck it in the microwave, and waited.

It was a couple of minutes before he stuck the cup underneath Naruto's nose, who looked entirely lost in his own thoughts—

Naruto blinked at him.

"What…?"

"It's what you said." Sasuke pushed it at him. "You said you needed something warm on a cold night. And then you bought this. Here."

"It—the—hot chocolate?"

"No, poison. Just—it's hot—okay?"

Sasuke's cheeks flushed a little—and, really, the cup was starting to burn his hand—so he was very thankful when the idiot finally took it from him.

Naruto gave a soft laugh.

"Thanks, Sasuke." He smiled at him—he looked much brighter than he had before Sasuke had left, but it was still a far cry from usual.

Sasuke sat beside him, pulling his legs up onto the bed.

There was a pause.

"…It's nothing serious," Naruto said quietly, shaking his head. "I'm just—tired, I think, and it's making everything spiral in my head. Or something."

Naruto shrugged. Sasuke frowned at him.

"It's not, y'know," he shrugged again, "important."

Sasuke stayed silent—but his eyes didn't leave Naruto.

It took a moment before Naruto seemed to finally relent, giving him a doubtful look.

"You really wanna hear this? Me being all gloomy and dramatic?"

Sasuke gave a soft snort, rolling his eyes a little.

"I would appreciate not being the gloomy and dramatic one in this relationship for once, yes."

Naruto's surprised laugh rang out in the night, and Sasuke felt the victory flood through his body. He moved closer, letting Naruto's body lean against his.

"Do your worst, usuratonkachi."

Naruto laughed again, nudging Sasuke's shoulder with his head a little.

"Alright," he hugged the mug closer to himself, "well—I think—I think the real reason I'm like this is 'cause of exams."

"Groundbreaking."

Naruto snorted.

"I know. But like—I got some of my marks today—and—"

Naruto shook his head. Sasuke frowned.

"I thought you were okay with your marks."

"I—am." Naruto's head tilted, just for a moment, matching the way his lips twisted to the side. "They are okay. But that's—that's it—you know? They're okay. They're always just—okay. I worked my ass off, Sasuke. I always do. And it's never—I feel like—even at my best, I'm never…and even—it's not even like I'm not interested in this," he let out a harsh breath, "this shit is what I'm passionate about—you know? It's what I want to go into—it's what I want to do—and even that, I can't be good at—it's always just—I'm always just—"

He cut himself off, as if swallowing his words, looking away from Sasuke.

Sasuke took it as his cue to start talking.

"First of all," Sasuke lifted a knee to rest his cheek on it, staring at Naruto, "you're not at your best. You're stressed and tired and I told you to complain to the office about having those exams on the same day—"

"If it didn't happen to me, they'd do it to someone else—at least I—"

Sasuke leaned forwards and kissed him to shut him up. There was no winning that argument with Naruto, he knew.

"Ugh," he said pulling back as his tongue darted over his lips, "I don't know how you can drink that."

"Wh—'cause it's good!"

"You're drinking sand."

"I am not!"

Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes. How Naruto didn't taste the powder, he didn't know, but Sasuke definitely could—

"…You're distracting me," Naruto accused, squinting at him. "I—"

"You're not at your best," Sasuke cut him off, glancing over at his wall, "and—to be honest—I don't think anything you've done is what you're passionate about, either."

"No—that's not true, Sasuke, it—"

Sasuke looked back at him.

"People. Naruto—you're good at—dealing with people." Sasuke looked away again. "Teaching your—your yoga and meditation and doing your interviews...that's what you're passionate about. Putting everything into practice—that's what you're passionate about. And there's no exam you've written—no grade you've been assigned—that has captured that."

He paused, taking in the way Naruto didn't reply.

"You're okay on paper. But," he swallowed, "you're—in person, you're—" Sasuke felt his face burn, yet again, and he looked as far away from Naruto as he could as he forced the words out, "…perfect. And that's a far better skill to have, in my opinion."

He could feel Naruto's eyes burning into him—he could see how wide they were even from the corner of his eye—

"Fucking hell, Sasuke," Naruto breathed, hand squeezing Sasuke's so tight it nearly hurt, "I—fuck—"

Sasuke turned, just as Naruto let go of him and ducked his head—was he—

"Are you—crying?"

"Shut up," Naruto rubbed his shirt on his face, his hot chocolate splashing threateningly close to Sasuke's sheets, "you—I'm—I'm already weird enough right now, without you being all—fucking—"

Sasuke snorted again, reaching over to pull Naruto close to him.

"You need sleep," he muttered. "Drink your hot chocolate before it spills everywhere."

Naruto gave a small, wet laugh—but obeyed.

"What else, then?" Sasuke tightened his grip around Naruto. "Or is that as hard as you can hit?"

Naruto snorted into the mug.

"Oh, I can hit harder, asshole," he sat up a little more, "but I told you I'm being dumb right now. S'not really justified."

"Let me be the judge of that."

Naruto let out a soft breath, leaning into him.

"Ugh, just—I'm just spiraling. Whenever I'm like this I start thinking about...stupid stuff—that'll just make me feel worse, y'know? Like—right now—it's my birth parents and how I don't even know their names or what they look like or anything—and—and that just makes me feel worse because why should I care? I have the best parents in the world—I really do—and I just—that should be enough for me—"

"Wanting to know about your birth parents doesn't mean you take Kakashi and Iruka for granted," he pointed out.

"It—kinda does, though—"

"No, it doesn't."

"I didn't even take Iruka's name," Naruto said, staring down at his hands, "when he adopted me. Did you know that? It was Umino, before he married Kakashi—and I kept Uzumaki. I chose to do that."

Sasuke squeezed him softly, his head tilting a little. He...genuinely hadn't thought about that until this point.

"I think—I thought—it—it's stupid." Naruto shook his head. "I had this idea that keeping my last name would help me find my birth parents—as if someone could, like, track me down through that or something. As if somebody would be looking in the first place." He gave a small, unhappy laugh. "It was stupid—it is stupid—I shouldn't want—"

"It's not stupid." Sasuke cut him off. "Why shouldn't you want to know about your birth parents? They're still part of who you are. I would be surprised if you didn't."

"But they're—I have no memory of them. Not even a little bit—I was in the foster system all my life, until Iruka. So they're not—"

"So what? Didn't they create you?"

"Create—" Naruto tilted his head, as if acknowledging the thought, "I mean, I guess—"

"So they're a part of you." Sasuke shrugged, unfazed. "I want to know about them, too."

"...Yeah?" Naruto's head fell to rest against his shoulder—his hot chocolate was finished, now, Sasuke noticed. "Even though—y'know…what if they suck? What if they were—bad people, or something?"

"It's possible," Sasuke said quietly. "…If you'd like, we could compare childhoods and see who would have had it worse."

"Oh my god, Sasuke," Naruto sat up, slapping at Sasuke's thigh as he shook his head, "that's—you—"

Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

"I'm being the depressing one, okay? Jeez—stealing my thunder," Naruto muttered, but his touch became far softer—and much more affectionate—as he leaned back against Sasuke again—

"…And what if they weren't? What if they were—good people?"

Sasuke let his head fall, resting his cheek on the top of Naruto's head.

"Then that would make sense."

Naruto let out a breath—and Sasuke could hear the way it shuddered so clearly that he knew the blonde was on the verge of tears yet again. He barely needed to shift until Naruto turned, pressing his face against Sasuke's neck—Sasuke, slowly, let his arms wrap around him, unsure of what else he could do—

"Sorry." Naruto sniffed, pulling back.

"Mm," Sasuke eyed him—Naruto looked teary-eyed, but not sad, necessarily, "come on."

He took the mug from Naruto, shuffling back to put it on his bedside table. Naruto didn't seem quite ready to sleep yet, but Sasuke definitely was, so…

He leaned down, opening the small cabinet in the stand of the table.

"What's that?"

Naruto peered over him, having apparently followed him to the edge of the bed—

"Something to bludgeon you with," Sasuke muttered. "Move over."

Naruto laughed, but dutifully moved back to let Sasuke roll back onto the bed properly—

Sasuke flicked the switch at the bottom.

"It's—"

"A battery-operated candle, yes," Sasuke said softly. "It was on the side of the road—when students were moving out, the summer after…before my first year."

Naruto shuffled under the covers, leaning in against Sasuke to watch the candle flicker between them.

"Kiba calls that the season of betrayal."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. Naruto only gave a lazy, tired grin.

"'Cause he always grabs stuff that ends up breaking like right away. Or—once, he dragged a couch halfway to our house before he realized it smelled like piss." He snorted, shifting in place. "Sakura calls it Christmas in May. We still go hunting for stuff sometimes," he muttered. Maybe he was falling asleep, after all. "You did too?"

"I only picked this up." Sasuke shrugged a little. "I don't know. I look at it sometimes—when I can't sleep."

"Mm," Naruto nuzzled in closer, "s'peaceful, isn't it?"

Sasuke felt a soft smile spread across his face. Peaceful…was definitely a good way to put how he felt right now.

He let his eyes close, but not before reaching up, running his hand through Naruto's hair—

"Wake me up if you spiral again," he muttered, eyes getting heavier by the second.

He felt Naruto pull in closer, throwing an arm over Sasuke's chest, like he always tended to—

"I will." His words were soft—barely more than a sigh. "—ve you…"

"One more time, usuratonkachi," he mumbled, not opening his eyes, "to me, instead of my neck."

Naruto gave a small laugh.

"Um, I...said thanks. Thank you."

"Mm."

It was the last thing Sasuke remembered.

Chapter Text

The winter break was fast approaching, and Sasuke was starting to freak out.

Naruto glanced over at him. Sasuke was staring at his screen, eyes wider than they should be, fingers poised over his keyboard—unmoving. He hadn't blinked since Naruto had started watching him.

Well, okay, maybe Sasuke was doing a little more than 'starting' to freak out.

Naruto looked back at his own work. He really ought to focus; his last exam was tomorrow morning and he had really put it on the backburner for his other courses, but…

He sighed and tossed his notes to the side, looking back at Sasuke again. From what he understood, Sasuke had finished everything he needed done for school a while ago—now, all that was left was finishing his manuscript for Kakashi. Arguably the most important thing.

Sasuke's fingers twitched, but didn't hit a key.

That, and meeting the parents, of course. He wondered how Sasuke was feeling about it.

Considering he hadn't brought it up at all, probably not too great. It was…

Naruto checked his phone—about a week until Christmas. Naruto didn't really know the date or time that Sasuke would be going 'home', just that it would be during the winter break, close to the 24th.

The 24th.

Oh fuck.

Naruto dropped his pen.

It was a nearly week until Christmas and Naruto hadn't bought Sasuke a fucking present yet. He hadn't even bought anything for his parents! He had completely forgotten—fuck!

Heart pounding, Naruto threw open his laptop. He usually kept some messy lists of presents he could give to people at some point—he had a vague memory of saving something for Sasuke, so if he could just find it—

The one for his parents would be easy to find—that one he had been building up for years. Maybe one day he'd buy that dog and convince his parents it was a present for them…

Damn it, Naruto, focus!

He checked the few links he had saved, biting his lip. The chance that something was gonna make it here on time…not to mention be personal enough—

"I think," Naruto jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice, "that I'm done."

Sasuke was still staring at his laptop—but this time, in some sort of awe. It took Naruto a moment to figure out Sasuke was talking about his writing.

Naruto blinked.

Sasuke was talking about his writing—!

"Holy shit!" Naruto jumped up. "Sasuke, that's amazing! Are you serious?"

Sasuke looked up at him—looking like he was having a hard time believing it himself.

"I think so," he breathed. "I've gone through it a hundred times—and—I…I'm at the point where I keep—every time I make a change, I end up changing it back. I think—I think I've done everything I can do."

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, grabbing ahold of Sasuke by the shoulders. "You're the best!"

Sasuke scoffed, but he couldn't quite hide the happy look on his face. Well, it was more of a relieved look—or maybe disbelieving—

"We have to celebrate!" They could—get some champagne, or something—maybe go out for dinner—this was huge—

"After your exam," Sasuke stopped him in his tracks, "then we're both free."

"…Ah—shit, okay," he relented; Sasuke had a point, "okay, yeah—but then—then we definitely have to celebrate!"

He glanced back at his laptop, still open to a page of a particularly nice notebook for sale.

Hm.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna send me your writing?"

"To edit?" He seemed to consider it.

"I just wanna read it," Naruto lied straight through his teeth. "I won't give you feedback unless you want it."

"…Alright," Sasuke agreed after a moment.

Naruto smiled. This present was gonna be awesome.

This present was gonna be awful.

Naruto glared at the papers in front of him. He had already been forced to reprint them—three times. He was on his last pack of printer paper, and if he had to print one more time, he was gonna have to go out to buy more ink. He hadn't even been able to readthe damn story yet, and he was dying to. But, apparently, in order to bind a book properly, the pages needed to be printed in a very specific way—at least, that's what this stupid online guide told him.

What the stupid online guide didn't tell him was how to get the fucking pages to print that way.

"I swear to god, if this doesn't work…" he muttered to himself, glaring at the printer as it whirred and buzzed.

Sasuke was going to be back in an hour—he had a couple of meetings and things to finish up, apparently. They had been spending almost every hour of every day together, so the time that Naruto had to make this work was incredibly limited.

Luckily, he had two amazing parents on his side—one of them being very craft-inclined. After his exam, he had run the idea by Iruka, and ended up receiving a mountain of knowledge, glues, paper, and fabrics. While Iruka gathered everything he thought might be useful, Naruto had gone back to the coffee shop where he had met Sasuke, and promptly groveled until they agreed to sell him one of their spare tablecloths. It was a lot more material than he would probably need, but if making the cover turned out to be as difficult as making the damn pages, maybe that was a good thing.

The printer spat the first page out, and Naruto caught it, scanning it quickly. It…actually could work. Maybe he could do this.

His phone buzzed.

Sasuke was gonna be about an hour late. Thank god.

Naruto didn't sound too disappointed, at least.

Sasuke frowned. He'd thought that Naruto's exam would have given him plenty of time, but it was proving incredibly difficult to find a gift that Naruto would like.

Well, no, that wasn't entirely true—Naruto would like pretty much anything that Sasuke would give him. But he wanted his present to be...better than that. He wanted Naruto to love it.

But this store had proved as useless as the others, and Sasuke was rapidly running out of places he could get to in time.

He walked back out to the street, looking back the way he had come before continuing on. He could always take the bus back…

He paused, staring across the street. That…looked like some sort of garden store? Maybe…

He met Naruto at his house, later on. His roommates had already gone home for the holidays, which meant they had the house to themselves…

"I'm free!" Naruto yelled as he opened the door, spinning around with his arms wide open.

Sasuke snorted, dodging his arms to step inside. Naruto closed the door with his back and grinned at him.

"I shut my computer down for the first time in months," he said proudly, "closed all my tabs and everything."

"I'm sure it appreciates it," Sasuke deadpanned, nudging his shoes over to the wall.

"Okay, so," Naruto grinned at him, crossing his arms, "we're celebrating—but we also have a job to do."

"Oh?"

"Yep. C'mere."

He shuffled over to the kitchen, pulling Sasuke along by his hands.

"Okay," Naruto opened the fridge, "you see all this?"

"Yes."

"We need to eat it all."

…

"Excuse me?"

"We have to eat everything that will expire over the break. Or throw it out—whatever."

"I'll take it." Sasuke frowned.

Naruto blinked up at him.

"I'll eat it over the break."

Naruto paused—mouth opening and closing for a moment. Had Naruto forgotten he didn't have anywhere to go over the holiday? Sasuke couldn't have imagined he had—and he felt something—something like hope—bubble up in his chest, because the alternative was that Naruto had just—assumed they would be together—

"Okay," Naruto said after a moment, turning towards the fridge, "but for now, let's start with this."

He pulled out a bottle of liquor.

Sasuke smirked.

"Okay, okay—!" Naruto could feel himself shouting, and he stopped to take a breath.

"You're so loud." Sasuke rubbed his ear.

"Sorry." Naruto leaned over, pulling Sasuke's hand away to kiss his ear, giggling.

"…Idiot," he muttered, but he didn't pull away, even as Naruto changed the kiss to a small bite.

He giggled again.

"M'always loud," Naruto grinned, "you like it when I'm loud."

Sasuke's face went red and Naruto just kept on giggling, grabbing at the fridge so he didn't stumble—

"Okay—you distracted me. I was saying—"

He stopped.

"What was I saying?" He turned to Sasuke.

"You were saying 'okay' a lot."

"Teme!" He shoved Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke barely budged—and his smirk only grew wider. God that look suited him…

"No—I was," Naruto thought for a second, "I can't remember. Okay—"

"Stop saying 'okay'—"

"What's your favourite colour?" He didn't know that yet. There was so much he didn't know about Sasuke yet—

Sasuke snorted.

"Is it black? I bet it's black." Naruto paused, looking back into the fridge. "Hey! Somebody left tomatoes in here!"

"It's navy blue, idiot." He peered over the fridge door. "Give me those."

"Trade ya for another drink," Naruto grinned, handing over the bag.

"Fine." Sasuke wandered away. "Your favourite colour is orange, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?"

Sasuke looked at him, incredulous.

"Naruto," he said seriously, "I've been to your house."

Naruto laughed.

"Good point. Oh—ugh, somebody left a cucumber in here." He grimaced at the melted mess. "I bet it was Kiba…"

"Add it to the bag." Sasuke shoved the bin closer to Naruto with his foot. They had designated a bin for 'gross stuff I never want to touch again' early on in the fridge cleaning mission.

Naruto made a face and tossed it in.

"One of the veggie drawers is clear," he said, pulling it out of the fridge completely, "but it's pretty nasty."

"I've got it," Sasuke offered, passing Naruto his drink.

"Thanks," Naruto said, plopping himself down on the ground so he could grin at Sasuke properly. He was just so great—

"Have you ever had a dog?"

"Hm?" Naruto blinked out of his daydream, only half-hearing Sasuke.

"You seem like the kind of family who should have a dog," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto laughed.

"I've been trying to convince Iruka and Kakashi forever! I think I'd have one already if I hadn't moved out."

"I figured."

"Let me guess," Naruto propped himself up on his knees, "you're a cat person?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, continuing to scrub the tray.

"I prefer quiet pets."

"We could have a quiet dog!" Naruto protested.

Sasuke hand paused and he slowly turned back to raise an eyebrow at Naruto.

"We?"

Naruto felt his face grow hot.

"I mean—like—you know," he stammered.

Sasuke's smirk only grew—the bastard—

"Shut up," Naruto muttered, going back to the fridge. "Take this moldy cheese."

He shoved it at Sasuke.

"Why do I want this?" Sasuke said, taking it nonetheless.

"Cut off the gross pieces and it's fine."

Sasuke frowned at it, but dutifully grabbed a knife.

There was a pause. Naruto wasn't about to ask another question anytime soon—Sasuke picked up on everything and Naruto was way too drunk to be able to not admit how frequently he pictured his future with Sasuke—not that he necessarily minded Sasuke knowing, but he was just such a dick about it—

"What do you want your house to be like? In the future?" Sasuke broke the silence.

Naruto blinked.

"Like, my dream home?" Naruto thought for a moment. "Uh…"

What kind of home would he like to live in once he moved out?

He laughed.

"Well, y'know, once I make my first billion—"

Sasuke dropped the knife to whack him over the head. Naruto dissolved into giggles.

"What—you don't want a badass mansion? With like a pool—and a secret door?"

"A secret door?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "like in the movies, when you like—pull a book off a bookshelf and it swings open? That shit is awesome."

Sasuke snorted.

"It's probably also a fire hazard," he pointed out.

"Shut up, asshole," Naruto pointed a package of sliced meats at him, "don't you ruin my dream home!"

"Those are expired," Sasuke muttered, taking the package from Naruto and tossing it away. "Give me an honest answer."

Naruto shrugged a little, standing up. Crouching like this was hurting his knees.

"I dunno," he said honestly. "Home is...it's kinda more about the people, for me, you know? I like it when it feels—like—like a piece of you is there. Like it's really obvious who lives there. Even if that doesn't make it pretty…like—I had thing nightcap thing as a kid, and I wore it every night. It looks like crap, now—the pompom's falling apart and there's holes all over it and it's totally faded—but I love it, y'know? And it's obvious. It's obvious that I loved it."

Sasuke eyed him for a moment.

"You bend the spines of books, don't you?"

Naruto laughed.

"You bet I do," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "I write in them too. Highlight sometimes—fold page corners—all of it."

He pressed against Sasuke, letting his cup rest on the counter, behind him—

Sasuke smirked.

"You're a nightmare."

"I am a fucking delight," he grinned, twisting his fingers through the belt loops of Sasuke's pants—

"In that area, sure."

"Wh—" Naruto's voice cut off into a laugh as he registered Sasuke's words—fuck—the affection rose in his chest and he felt the words on the tip of his tongue again—

"You have that smile again," Sasuke said.

"I—huh?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Was it still too early to tell Sasuke he loved him? Naruto wasn't sure. He probably shouldn't do it when they were both drunk, though.

"What about your dream home? How do you picture it?"

Naruto pulled away a little, but kept his hands on Sasuke's hips—he just—every time, the fact that he could reach out and touch Sasuke like this, pull him closer, press up against him—

Sasuke looked back towards the fridge, his good mood seeming to falter.

"What you said," his eyes flickered towards Naruto for a moment, "about a house being—more of a home instead of…something out of a magazine. I'd like that."

Naruto got the sense that Sasuke knew much more about the latter.

"Good," he bounced his body against Sasuke's just for a moment, "because I'm a mess."

And just like that, Sasuke's good mood was back.

"And my dream home is going to include you, now, is it?"

Naruto's grin widened.

"Mmhmmm," Naruto felt like he was floating, "you liiike me."

"Liar."

"You like my body," Naruto sing-songed, "you like my face."

"I like your mouth shut."

"You like my mouth on your mouth."

"You can't prove that."

"Oh I can't, can't I?" Naruto breathed.

"No." Sasuke leaned closer.

Naruto smiled as Sasuke's lips met his. It was impossible to get tired of this. He just felt so—so happy—

They didn't end up cleaning the rest of the fridge that night.

Chapter Text

The next day, Sasuke kissed Naruto goodbye with the promise of seeing him sometime during the holidays, and made his way back to his apartment.

He sighed.

A part of him wished Naruto had just invited him home with him—a part of him wished he had the confidence to just invite himself along, too. The breaks—where there were no projects or people to distract him—were always the worst part of being alone.

He flipped his phone over in his hands.

Of course, he wasn't really alone, now. He could talk to Naruto anytime he wanted, he knew…but the first half hour of him being gone was probably a bit much.

His phone buzzed.

'Do you want to come over for Christmas?'

He fought a smile. It was good to know he wasn't the only one being pathetic.

'Eve or day?'

'Both?'

He paused, frowning. He was supposed to have the 'family dinner' on Christmas Eve, but he would much rather spend that time with Naruto. He supposed Itachi could pick him up from Naruto's house…

'Sure.'

Naruto smiled at his phone, and settled back into working on Sasuke's gift.

In retrospect, he really hadn't needed to rush as much as he had—he had tons of time now that he was at home. Of course, he had completely forgotten that they would be spending any time apart…he ought to have just asked Sasuke to come with him today. He had chickened out when he had the chance last night...

Luckily, Iruka had given him the perfect excuse. Naruto hadn't even needed to bring it up—the moment they were home, Iruka had asked if Sasuke was joining them for Christmas. He hadn't told them everything about Sasuke's parents, but they knew that Sasuke was alone at his apartment for the holidays—and at most other times. And, well, Kakashi had known Sasuke even longer than Naruto had, and had been reading his writing all the while—so he was probably well aware.

Naruto grimaced. He felt pretty bad for just leaving him…

He shook his head. For fuck's sake, it was only a couple of days! Naruto really needed to stop being so…clingy.

He paused, a finger tracing down one of Sasuke's pages. He really ought to read the book before he finished the present, too…but it was probably better if Sasuke was around—in person—when Naruto read it. He could wait a couple days to be able to gush to Sasuke right away, surely…but it was right here and he was so curious…

Sasuke heaved a sigh.

This…looked pretty okay. He wasn't sure if it would be up to Naruto's standards, and it seemed awfully small for the amount of work that had gone into it, but Sasuke had managed to put together a…makeshift terrarium. And a very orange one at that.

He hoped that meant Naruto would like it more.

He knew very little about plants as it was, in spite of all the research he had tried to do—and the number of times he had called Gaara (after getting his number from a very confused Ino, who had got it from Shikamaru, who had got it from Temari)—he hoped that it was not too obvious in Naruto's gift. It was certainly obvious around his apartment; the place had no business being so covered in soil for such a small pot. Not to mention his hands…

He grimaced.

Now it was time to clean, and then…

He sighed.

And then he was out of distractions. Naruto's present would be finished, and all that would be left would be his own thoughts. Likely about his family.

He still wasn't sure what he wanted to say to his mother. Through the years—especially recently—Sasuke's anger had...waned. It was still there, of course—but it was more of a dull, aching pain as opposed to the fresh wound it used to be. But he really wasn't sure how he would react to seeing them again. Especially his father—that was something he was definitely not ready for. If the dinner with his mother went well…maybe. Somewhere in the distant, distant future.

He nearly dropped the bag of soil he was holding when there was a loud knock on the door.

Itachi—it must be. Maybe he wanted to talk about the meeting before it actually happened…

He sighed, putting the bag down and rubbing his hands together to try to get them to be a bit less dirty as he wandered over to his back door.

He padded over to the door, opening it to reveal…

"Naruto?"

"Ah—hey."

The blonde smiled at him—that different smile that he'd been seeing so much of recently. Sasuke had to stop himself from kissing the blonde at the sight of it.

"What—did you forget something?"

"I—um," he shuffled, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "I finished reading your book."

Oh. Sasuke had honestly thought he'd read it already.

"Oh?"

"Ye—I—uh," he paused to swallow, "Sasuke—listen—don't—"

"You're stuttering, usuratonkachi," he interrupted. Seeing Naruto so nervous was making him nervous. Did he hate the book or something? Was it not good enough for Kakashi?

"Yeah," Naruto's eyes seemed to scan his, "um…"

Naruto took a step forwards and placed a hand over Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke resisted the urge to slap it away.

"I love you."

Sasuke froze.

"Don't say anything. I just—I really needed you to know. I couldn't wait any longer."

Naruto paused, eyes flickering back and forth between Sasuke's.

"Don't say anything, okay?" He said again.

Sasuke felt himself nod, and Naruto smiled—that smile. The smile that meant…

Naruto finally moved his hand from Sasuke's mouth, and, all at once, Sasuke came back to reality. He heard the blood rushing in his ears, felt his heart pumping (bursting) against his ribcage—felt every inch of his skin heat up like it was lit on fire, felt his eyes sting and his throat lock up because—because Naruto—

He pushed Naruto out onto the stairs, crashing their lips together until they both hit the railing. He poured everything he had into the kiss—his insecurities, his happiness, his desperate, desperate need to be close to Naruto—clutching and scratching at him, willing the tears to fall back, he felt so overwhelmed that he just needed to feel—

"Boys," a voice came from the parking lot, and Naruto pulled away to reveal Kakashi, casually leaning against a car, "I hate to interrupt, but dinner is almost ready. Will Sasuke be joining us?"

Naruto turned to him, eyes glowing with happiness.

"I—" he couldn't imagine being away from Naruto now, "yes. I'd love that."

The car ride was quiet, aside from the low music Kakashi had playing. Naruto didn't think he could focus on a conversation if he tried.

He squeezed Sasuke's hand—it made the Uchiha look up at him. He knew that he must look like an idiot—he'd been grinning nonstop since they had left the apartment, but he just couldn't help it. He was so happy.

It felt so good to have told Sasuke. He had no idea how he had managed to keep it in this whole time. He felt like he wanted to scream it out to the world—or just kiss Sasuke until he didn't have the breath to say anything at all.

Either or.

The car slowed to a stop, and Naruto suddenly realized they had gotten home. He didn't even remember pulling away from the apartment.

Kakashi patted the car.

"Don't be too long, boys."

And then he was gone.

The silence stretched on, and Sasuke felt himself start to panic. Naruto seemed content to just sit and smile at him, but Sasuke felt the overwhelming urge to say something—do something—but he had no idea what to—

"I love you," Naruto spoke first. Sasuke jumped.

"I just wanted to say it again," Naruto laughed, "sorry. It feels really good to finally say it, heh."

He scratched the back of his neck. Somehow, the action seemed to ease the lump in Sasuke's throat.

"How long have you…wanted to?"

"Uh," Naruto looked up at him, eyes brimming with life, "a while. These past few weeks, especially. I didn't know if it was too early. I'm sorry if it is."

"It's not," Sasuke responded immediately. The words were out of his mouth before he even thought of them.

Naruto smiled—this one was full of relief.

"Good."

There was another pause. Sasuke knew what he wanted to ask, this time—he just had to figure out how to phrase it right—

"How do you…know?"

Naruto's smile faltered a little, and he bit his lip. He didn't look unhappy, though—that was something.

"It's hard to explain," the blonde started, laughing a little nervously, "obviously. It's…not any one thing—it's everything—like together, y'know? It's," he glanced away from Sasuke, "the way I feel when I'm with you—and it's the way I feel when I'm not, too. And it goes further than just—feeling nervous around you and wanting to kiss you and always wanting to be around you and everything—'cause that's all true, but it's more than that, you know?" He leaned against the window, covering his smile with his hand. "'Cause you're—I love getting to know you. I love knowing more about you. It's…it's like every single time I learn something new I like you even more, and then I—I always think I've peaked, and then you do something and I'm like fuck, I like him even more now," Naruto laughed, and his hand moved to rub across his face. "And it's just…when I'm with you—ever since I've met you, I've been…better. Happier. More—just—content with the way things are. Like even when things aren't okay—I know that they are. Or that they will be. Like that night with the candle," he shook his head a little, "I told you then, you know. You didn't hear me—but I told you. I felt it—I really felt it, then."

He gave another laugh, running a hand through his hair as he finally looked back at Sasuke. His face looked awfully red.

"I dunno if that makes any sense."

It did.

"It does."

It came dangerously close to describing how Sasuke felt about Naruto.

He sucked in a breath. It was very likely that he did love Naruto—he wasn't sure, obviously, because he had no idea what he was doing, but—

"I," he started, swallowing, "I—ah—"

"You don't need to say it back," Naruto said, seeing right through him. "You don't. I really mean it—not until you're sure. I want you to be really sure. Okay?"

Sasuke let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"…Okay."

Naruto smiled, his hand moving up to rest on the back of Sasuke's neck—he didn't pull, but Sasuke got the hint nonetheless—

"C'mon," Naruto said as they pulled apart, "let's go inside."

"A little help in the kitchen, Kakashi?" Iruka hugged Sasuke in greeting—the boy was awfully stiff—and then pulled his husband aside. He was looking smug, but, well, that wasn't all that unusual.

"What was that about?" He whispered. They had run out the door with no explanation, and Kakashi had been incredibly vague over the phone.

Kakashi gave him a smile, leaning back just enough to sneak a glance back through the doorway.

"Relationship stuff," he winked, "you know how it is."

Iruka swatted at his arm on his way by.

"Good or bad?"

"Oh, good. Very good, from the looks of things."

"Oh?"

"Mm. Our boy is growing up."

Iruka laughed.

"He's been growing up for quite some time, now."

Kakashi made a noise of agreement.

"So, what actually happened?" Iruka fiddled with the salad—it could really use something to give it more flavor…

"Naruto read Sasuke's manuscript."

"…Is it that good?" He scanned the fridge for something useful.

Kakashi scratched his chin.

"Well, I think so. It's…emotional."

There was a pause. Iruka glanced back, wondering if Sasuke would ever let him take a look—perhaps, if he was published…

"It's a very…genuine piece. Very raw, from the heart," Kakashi spoke quietly, thoughtfully, "but everything relates back to Naruto. It's as if he's the center of Sasuke's world."

No wonder he'd approved of Sasuke so quickly.

"It sounds like he's in love with him."

"Oh, he is. No question about it."

Iruka glanced back into the room.

"It's a little…soon, isn't it?"

"To love each other? It's been a few months." Kakashi wrapped an arm around his waist. "I knew I loved you after the first week."

Iruka snorted.

"You did not!" Kakashi was full of it, he knew, but that didn't stop his smile.

"I did," he insisted, "I knew."

He gave Kakashi a playful look—full of skepticism. His husband only smiled back.

"The kids'll be fine. I'm more worried about helping Naruto propose."

That broke a laugh out of Iruka, who had turned back to the stove.

"You'll be helping him?"

"It was part of the deal when he helped me."

"I can't imagine why he would want that." He threw Kakashi a teasing smile as he stirred the pot—it was pretty much done, he was just keeping it warm.

"You are so cruel to me." Kakashi grabbed Iruka's hand and licked the spoon he was holding, ignoring his protests.

"Mm, what is that? Mushroom something?"

"Mushroom something," he laughed, tossing the spoon in the sink, "exactly. Come on—everything's ready."

"Finally!"

"Will you be staying the night, Sasuke?"

Sasuke paused, mid-bite. He had no idea.

He glanced over at Naruto, who just looked at him expectantly. Well, that was no help.

"You're more than welcome to." Iruka smiled kindly, obviously understanding the uncertain silence for what it was.

"I'd like that," he responded politely. He always felt incredibly awkward in the face of Kakashi and Iruka's hospitality, but he couldn't leave Naruto so soon. Not tonight.

Sasuke swallowed.

"And you're coming for Christmas, right?"

"Ah, yes," he forced himself to speak up, "if you'll have me."

Iruka smiled, but Kakashi was the one to respond.

"Of course we'll have you," he gestured at Naruto with his fork, "this one would sulk for weeks if we didn't."

"Hey," Naruto protested, "I'm not that bad!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, turning back to Sasuke.

"He is absolutely that bad."

"Oi—"

"When he was fifteen," Iruka leaned back in his chair, smiling at Sasuke, "he was absolutely dying to get this big neon sign—"

"I loved that thing!"

"Where would you have put it?" Kakashi laughed.

"I would have found space somewhere!"

Iruka turned back to Sasuke, chuckling. "He sulked for two weeks over that sign. It was this big ugly thing—"

"It was amazing and you know it!" Naruto interrupted, laughing. "It was in the shape of a frog with all of these swirls around it—"

"For hundreds of dollars, mind you," Kakashi made sure to point out.

"Okay—yeah, the price was kinda crazy but that sign was so cool!"

"Of course it was." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"It was!" Naruto insisted, eyes darting to Sasuke. "…Okay, you might not've thought so, but—"

Sasuke snorted.

"And when he was…were you sixteen? Seventeen? When you tried to re-paint your room?"

"Ooh," Naruto smiled, resting his chin on his palm, "I think sixteen? I'm glad I never went through with that."

"We made him do his closet first," Iruka explained, "so that he would see the colour and decide if he really liked it or not. He re-did the paint seven times."

Naruto snickered.

"The house smelled terrible," Kakashi shook his head, "and the clothes were everywhere…"

"What colours did I start with? I only remember that I gave up and left it orange."

"You started with that orange," Iruka said, "but you decided it wasn't bright enough, so you bought this highlighter paint…I don't know what it was, but it was awful. It gave me a headache every time I looked at it, I swear."

Naruto laughed, legs kicking out under the table. Sasuke bit down on a laugh—it was exactly the type of idiot thing he could imagine Naruto pulling off—

"And then when that didn't work, you went the complete opposite way, and decided you were going to paint the whole thing black."

"Oh yeah! But I was going to—"

"Paint overtop with bright colours and things, I know. But you changed your mind halfway through."

"And it took about a thousand coats of paint to hide the black again," Kakashi added.

Naruto leaned back, still laughing a little.

"Now I just stick up a bunch of posters instead."

"It's what you should have done from the start," Kakashi laughed.

"Probably."

There was a pause.

"Oh! There's ice cream for dessert, if anyone wants it. We have sprinkles and chocolate chips—the works, really. Help yourself."

"Nice," Naruto was already halfway to the other room, "thanks dad!"

Iruka's expression lit up like the sun.

"Oh, I never get tired of that," he said quietly, flashing Sasuke a smile. "We'll leave you boys to it. Let us know what the plan is tomorrow, okay?"

"Ah—sure."

Ten minutes later, Naruto had fixed himself some sort of sugary mess and was huddling close to Sasuke on the couch.

"Why are you eating ice cream if you're cold?"

"Because it's good." Naruto rolled his eyes, as if that was obvious. "Are you sure you don't want any? You could have some of the banana…"

"I'm sure."

"You want a tomato with some sprinkles on it?" Naruto gave him a cheeky grin.

Sasuke snorted.

"If by sprinkles you mean salt, then sure."

"'Kay, one sec." Naruto put the bowl down and shuffled over to the kitchen.

"Oh," Naruto poked his head into the doorway, "I can make some tea if you want? Or coffee?"

"What kind of tea?"

"Uh," Naruto disappeared for a second, and then called out something incomprehensible. Sasuke didn't bother responding—he was already following him into the kitchen.

"Oh—hey," Naruto grinned back over his shoulder, "I think we only have like—the regular black kind."

"That works."

"Cool," Naruto paused, and then spun to face him, "and before I forget, you're not allowed in my room until I say so, okay?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Your Christmas present is in there. It's all over the floor—I have to clean it up before you can go in. Okay?"

"Alright," Sasuke agreed, amused that his own gift for Naruto was in a similar state. Had they both attempted to make something for the other?

"You wanna pick a movie? We have tons."

"Sure."

Midway into the movie, Naruto was falling asleep. He was trying not to—he really was! But Sasuke was so warm and he was just so comfortable…

"You have a habit of falling asleep during movies, don't you?"

"No," Naruto protested, "only when I watch them with you."

"I make you fall asleep?"

Naruto forced himself to roll over to face Sasuke.

"You're too comfy," he said sleepily.

"We can move to the bed, if you'd like." Sasuke voice was gentle.

Naruto grinned, and he wiggled his head on Sasuke's lap.

"The bed, hmm?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Mm, no," Naruto sighed, forcing himself to sit up, "I'm just being lazy; I don't wanna clean up."

"I don't mind if it's not a surprise," Sasuke offered.

"Oh, no," Naruto shot him a sleepy glare, sitting up straighter, "you're not getting it out of me that easy. I'll be back."

"Can I come in yet?" Sasuke's voice filtered in through the door.

"Not yet—shh!" Naruto hissed, frantically looking for the box he was hiding everything in—where the fuck did he put—oh wait, he was holding it.

He grabbed the rest of the cloth, stuffing it into the box.

Okay—that was everything. Was that everything? That had to be everything.

He spun around the room, eyes darting around the floor for any hints of what the gift might be.

Nope, he was good.

He shoved the box deep in his closet, and then opened the door for Sasuke.

"Hey, sorr—"

Naruto didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before his lips were otherwise occupied. He barely managed to kick the door shut as Sasuke pushed him forwards—

As soon as Naruto's back hit the mattress, Sasuke was grabbing at his pants—shoving at Naruto's shirt—Naruto, with Sasuke's tongue in his mouth, was in absolutely no place to protest, despite the fact that he would really rather be dealing with Sasuke's clothes, instead—

They broke apart for a moment, just long enough to toss their clothes away. Naruto stared—his mind frozen in some sort of awe—this kind of frantic impatience wasn't something he'd seen in Sasuke yet—not to this extent, anyways—it was—

"You're smiling again." Sasuke crawled overtop of him, pressing their naked bodies together. Naruto felt a surge of lust flood through him—

"Yeah," he grinned up at Sasuke, "you're so impatient."

He lifted his hips to meet Sasuke in kind—but Sasuke smirked down at him and Naruto felt himself be trapped between desperately wanting to kiss him and absolutely not wanting to lose that view—

"On the contrary," he leaned down until his voice was just beside Naruto's ear, sending shivers down his spine, "I've been very patient."

"Yeah?" It sounded like more of a sigh than a question—

"I've waited all day," Sasuke pressed his lips behind Naruto's ear, "for you."

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"Naruto…"

"Yeah?" Naruto could barely think straight—

"Tell me again."

Naruto dragged his consciousness up a few levels.

"Say it again," Sasuke whispered.

Naruto smiled.

"I love you."

A burst of sensation had Naruto seeing stars—Sasuke started to pump his cock, kissing and nipping at his neck—

"Again."

Naruto shuddered with pleasure—

"Ah—I—love you—"

One of Sasuke's hands moved up the bottom of his thigh.

"Again."

"I," Naruto gasped for breath, "love you—"

Naruto felt the cold flood him as Sasuke pulled away, but the heat in his eyes made up for it—

"Naruto," there was a question in his name, and Naruto realized that Sasuke's other hand—the one not on his cock—was directly below it, "can I…?"

Naruto smiled.

"Hang on," his voice came out as if wrapped in air, "it's better with lube—I think I—I might—" He kicked at his bedside drawer, leaning around Sasuke—Sasuke moved with him, but made no effort to move away—

There.

"Aw, hell yeah." He let out a breathy laugh, grabbing the bottle. "Let me check the expiry—it's, um, I'm pretty sure it's really old—"

He scanned the bottle for a date, frowning at it for a moment—

Sasuke pushed him down.

"Wh—"

"It expires next month." He could feel Sasuke's smirk, soft against his lips—Naruto felt himself shudder in anticipation—

"Yeah?" He breathed, one knee already lifting to make way for Sasuke's arm—the cap flipped open—

"Yeah."

It wasn't a new sensation—he feeling of a finger entering him, slick with lube (he had tried it himself, more than once after his disaster of a first time, and had always been left more than a little unsatisfied) but Sasuke's lips trailed kisses on his skin, his hand wrapped around his cock, and his body curved so perfectly against Naruto's—

"O-oh—"

This felt different. This felt intense—overwhelming—Naruto firmly reminded himself to breathe—breathe—as Sasuke pushed forwards—closer—as his breath trembled (with desire) over Naruto's lips—as he reached deeper, changing how he moved—as he explored, watching for each reaction Naruto would give—fuck, the way Sasuke was looking at him—

All at once, Naruto was nearly overwhelmed with the need to touch Sasuke, too—he gripped him with shaking fingers, but Sasuke caught his hand, letting go of Naruto's cock to press theirs together—Naruto's hand wrapped around them—

"God, Sasuke—!"

Sasuke twisted his finger, and all rational thought fled Naruto's mind.

"Sa—ah—there, right there, yeah—ah!"

Sasuke's finger moved again, as if he was testing Naruto—the smallest movement was enough to send sparks shooting through his body—this felt—ah, god, everything made so much sense now—fuck, this was so good—

"Nngh," he gasped, "Sasuke, I'm gonna—I'm too loud—you have to—"

Sasuke kissed him, hard, and Naruto couldn't control himself anymore. He was so close the edge—he could feel so much—so much of Sasuke—

"Mmph—!" Naruto was infinitely grateful for Sasuke's kiss as he came—he had no doubt he would be screaming if nothing was stifling it. The pleasure pulsed through him with such intensity that he could do nothing but ride it out, lost to the world—

He only remembered his grip on Sasuke's cock when he felt it contract—Sasuke falling forward into him, lips still locked together. Sasuke moaned into his mouth, and Naruto gathered his thoughts just enough to move his hand in time with their bodies. The echoes of his orgasm still pulsed through him—he rocked in time with the pleasure, even as it started to slow—

Sasuke lips left his, and he collapsed forward.

"Wow," Naruto desperately tried to catch his breath, "okay. Yeah. That was..." That had been—well, everything made a lot more sense, now. Damn.

He felt Sasuke smile against his neck.

"Usuratonkachi," he heard Sasuke whisper—felt his breath against his skin...

"Teme," he managed to reply, in between breaths.

Sasuke breathed in, and then sat up, swaying a little. He smiled up at him—Sasuke's face seemed to look a little less tired.

"Say it again," he said.

Naruto beamed.

"I love you."

Chapter Text

The next day, Sasuke was back in his apartment. He hadn't wanted to leave—he really hadn't. But he was afraid that if he hadn't left today, he might have stayed forever.

Besides, his present for Naruto was still here.

He grabbed his broom and dustpan. Somehow, the mess he'd made didn't look quite as bad as he'd remembered. The apartment looked a little brighter, too—less like the dull, dreary place it always seemed to be. And a few days away from Naruto, well, that really wasn't so bad, was it?

Naruto stared at his phone in horror.

10 missed calls. 10 missed calls from Sasuke.

He shoved the door to his room shut. This really didn't look good.

"Naruto."

"Sasuke? What the hell—is everything okay?"

"Naruto—what did you get for your parents?"

"What—huh?"

"For Christmas. I'm going to be there." There was a shuffle. "Do they need kitchen supplies?"

Naruto let out a surprised laugh.

"Sasuke—you don't need to get my parents anything. Did you get your parents anything?"

There was a pause.

"That's not the same."

Naruto shuffled on the spot. He was always so nervous about bringing Sasuke's parents up.

"Okay. When are you going to see them, anyways?"

"I'm only seeing my mother. It's the 24th."

Naruto paused, eyebrows furrowing.

"But I thought—aren't you coming here?"

"Yes." There was another shuffle on the other end. "How about a movie?"

"No—Iruka has no impulse control with movies. We have everything. Um," he tried to think, "do you want me to just put your name on what I got for them? Like it's from both of us?"

There was another pause. He heard Sasuke let out a breath.

"Would that be okay?"

"Of course it would be. Is that why you called?"

"…Yeah."

Naruto grinned.

"Where are you right now?"

"…The mall."

"The mall?! You went all the way to the mall?!"

"I took the bus," Sasuke defended.

Naruto laughed.

"What did you get for your parents?" Sasuke asked after a moment.

Naruto surreptitiously peered out into the hall before answering.

"Iruka's been going on about this new sewing machine for ages, but he kept saying he doesn't sew enough to get one. I know he really wants it though—Kakashi and I bundled for it, but I also got a ton of fabrics as stuff. I could put your name on those? And then I got Kakashi his favourite book series right now—it finally finished, so they were selling it all fancy in a box set. He has all the books anyways, but this one has a special author's note at the start."

"It'll be pretty obvious that the presents are from you." He could practically hear Sasuke's frown.

"Sasuke," Naruto said seriously, "I guarantee you they will not care."

"Mm." Sasuke didn't sound convinced.

"Okay—well—what about an ornament or something?"

"An ornament?"

"Yeah, for our tree. It's something small and you can make it as personal or impersonal as you want."

Sasuke seemed to mull over the idea.

"Okay?"

"…Alright."

It was ironic. Usually, time moved the slowest when Sasuke was on break from school—when he had nothing else to distract him, the days seem to drag on for ages. But the one time he actually wanted his break to last longer, it seemed to fly by.

And now, it was Christmas Eve. He was going to see his mother today. For the first time in two years. For the first time since she...since his father…

He shook his head.

Revisiting that fight—the resentment and bitterness that went along with it—was not a good idea right now.

He felt Naruto's touch on his arm. He knew he must look like a nervous wreck.

"Want to go for a walk?" Naruto asked gently.

Well, it was better than sitting here, waiting.

He nodded.

"C'mere, teme," Naruto grabbed his arm, pulling him until they were holding hands, "how much time do we have?"

"A couple of hours." He studiously ignored the knots in his stomach.

"A couple of hours," Naruto repeated. "Okay. This way."

He pulled Sasuke forwards, leading him down the street. Sasuke breathed out slowly, the steam evaporating into the cold winter air. Something about it seemed to clear his head, if only a little.

He hadn't really gotten a chance to appreciate how much quieter this area was than anywhere near the university. The houses were few and far inbetween, and each front garden seemed to be competing to be the most colourful...there was no one else on the street, and barely any cars to avoid...

"So when I was little," Naruto started, "like—after Iruka and Kakashi adopted me, and we got the house, I had three favourite places."

He grinned, tilting his head back to look at Sasuke.

"One of them was the ramen shop."

Sasuke snorted.

"It's called Ichiraku's. I know the owner and everything." He squeezed Sasuke's hand. "We have to go sometime. It's been too long since I've been there."

"What, a day?"

Naruto laughed.

"Nearly a week. It's too long!"

Sasuke fought a smile.

"You're such a moron."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but his grin only grew wider.

"The other place..." he paused for a moment before looking back at Sasuke, "so that road?" He pointed down the path. "It leads to the school I went to."

"Is that where we're going?"

"Nah, not today. I'll show you it later—but it had this swing set in the yard that I liked. I went there sometimes. Just to think, y'know?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Come this way." Naruto turned off the path, letting go of Sasuke's hand as he proceeded to go...into the woods.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Relax," he grinned, "it's like an unofficial trail. C'mon."

He gestured forwards, before heading up the hill. Sasuke grimaced, but followed suit.

The 'trail' was awfully steep—and awfully thin. There wasn't enough room to walk beside Naruto, but he stuck close behind. The blonde was actually being decently careful about not letting the branches swing back at him.

"Almost there," Naruto called back.

Sasuke grunted in response, wishing he had worn any shoes other than the ones he was currently wearing. The grip was terrible, and they hardly provided protection against the snow. He tried to not make his heavy breathing too obvious, but it was getting harder and harder to hide—

"Here," Naruto breathed. He grinned back at Sasuke and held out his hand.

Sasuke took it, and let himself be pulled forwards into—what looked like a field.

A field that ended rather abruptly.

"I hope you don't mind heights," Naruto laughed, panting a little. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one that was winded from the climb.

Sasuke preferred to keep a healthy distance from edges where you could fall to your death.

Naruto, apparently, had no such qualms.

"Come on," Naruto pulled him forwards, "just a little."

Sasuke followed him, reluctantly. He felt much better when Naruto brushed the snow off a couple of the boulders with his sleeve before pulling him to sit down.

"Isn't it great?" Naruto beamed, looking out over the view.

Sasuke blinked, and looked out past the cliff's edge. He hadn't appreciated it the first time he'd looked out, but it was…beautiful. Sasuke sucked in a breath, looking over the rooftops—the snow they had gotten this morning had dusted the town just enough to really make it glisten.

"You can see everything from here," Naruto said. "There's the school—the one I went to."

Sasuke scanned the buildings, searching for one that looked like a school—

"…The one with the flat roof?"

"Yup," Naruto squinted, "I think you can even see the swings from here. Look—see that tree?"

Sasuke nodded.

"They're right there, underneath it. And—look, you can see my house, too."

Sasuke smiled a little. If he squinted, he could actually pick out Kakashi's car in the driveway.

"I'm gonna drag you back here in the summer," Naruto said, sighing happily. "It looks totally different."

There was a pause. The certainty in Naruto's voice—it hit Sasuke harder than it should have. He stared at the blonde—his serene smile, windswept hair, cheeks rosy from the cold—

He breathed in.

This feeling—this calm, this strength—this was what he needed today.

"Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Come with me."

Naruto blinked.

"Like—to meet your mom?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Sure," Naruto beamed, "of course I'll come."

Something in Sasuke's shoulders uncoiled, and he looked back out at the view.

Maybe today would be just fine.

"Itachi," he greeted, opening the door.

"Sasuke," his brother responded, glancing behind him briefly, "Naruto."

"Hey Itachi. How's it going?"

"Just fine, thank you," he muttered—obviously automatically—before turning back to Sasuke. "Shall we?"

Sasuke sighed, resisting the urge to say no.

"Oh, are you leaving already?"

Iruka shuffled into the hallway, spotting Itachi.

"Ah, you must be Sasuke's brother!" He gave him a warm smile and reached out a hand—Itachi shook it stiffly. "It's nice to meet you; I'm Naruto's dad."

"One of them!" A voice called down the hall.

Naruto snickered and Iruka smiled sheepishly.

"One of them," he corrected. "Did you need a ride back here? When will you be home?"

"Uh," Naruto answered, turning to Sasuke in question. Sasuke had no idea.

"I have no idea," he answered honestly.

There was a pause.

"…Is Naruto coming with us?" Itachi asked.

"Yes," he answered immediately, before Naruto had the chance to say something stupid—like something that would end up with Sasuke going alone—

Itachi looked surprised—well, his blink lasted just a moment longer than it needed to, and then he eyed Naruto with a speculating gaze. It made Sasuke uneasy.

"Come on, usuratonkachi," he muttered, grabbing Naruto's hand and pushing past the doorway.

"Ah—okay," Naruto pulled on a hat, turning to Iruka with a quick, "I'll text you, okay?"

"Okay." Iruka squeezed Naruto's shoulder, and Sasuke had to glance away. He waited until Naruto closed the door before he looked up again.

"Alright," Naruto gave them a tight nod, hand squeezing Sasuke's, "let's do this thing."

It wasn't all that surprising.

Itachi tilted the wheel just so, turning smoothly as the GPS instructed him to. His eyes flickered up to his rearview mirror.

His brother caught Naruto's eye—looking up from his phone—and rolled his eyes, turning to look out the window. Something about that was obviously a signal to the blonde.

Naruto shifted a little closer, resting his fingers on the back of Sasuke's hand, and the creases in Sasuke's face seemed to soften just a little.

No, it wasn't all that surprising.

The light turned green, and Itachi continued to drive.

Maybe it was a bit faster than expected—and while Itachi wasn't necessarily surprised by Sasuke's orientation, he had expected more of a…build up to it.

Then again, Sasuke had always been good at keeping things quiet.

He bit down on the sadness at the thought—Sasuke's need for privacy was a consequence of their childhood, he knew. He was the same; it was nothing personal. And, really, Sasuke had proven to trust Itachi far more than he had ever expected over the past few years…but, still…

He looked up into the rearview mirror again—this time, his brother seemed to sense his stare. Their eyes met—and there was a moment where Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then back to Itachi, before he turned back towards the window.

His fingers intertwined with Naruto's.

Itachi let out the breath he hadn't know he was holding, feeling some sort of warmth settle in his chest. It seemed today had been a bit of a test for himself, as well. He wondered if Naruto and Sasuke had planned it—or if Naruto had just known that his brother would need something to settle his nerves.

He flicked his turn signal, smoothly changing lanes in preparation for the coming turn.

He had to admit that Sasuke had certainly changed, recently. His once bitter, volatile brother had been growing…calmer. Happier. More open—both to listening, and to speaking up for himself. Unless, of course, it was Naruto speaking up for him.

He smiled a little, as he remembered Naruto chasing after him outside of Sasuke's apartment.

It was good that Sasuke had someone to look out for him. A bit of a relief, really; Itachi had always hoped Sasuke would find a good friend—but in spite of the way he seemed to attract the attention of others, no one had yet managed to hold his. It was part of the reason he had been so surprised to see someone else at his apartment—which had been a first, for all his time visiting Sasuke. He couldn't even remember Sasuke inviting anyone home during high school. And then the easy camaraderie they had seemed to have…well, Itachi had definitely felt as if he was missing something.

He supposed it all made sense, now.

And the fact that he had brought Naruto along today spoke volumes—not to mention the fact that he had picked him up at Naruto's family house. On Christmas Eve, just as well—and, presumably, they would be returning there tonight.

He stifled a sigh as his mood dampened.

He wondered where he would end up spending this night.

"We're here." Itachi's voice came far too soon. Naruto felt his nerves instantly spike—with how twisted his own stomach was getting, he could only imagine how Sasuke felt.

He squeezed his hand again. Sasuke threw him a tight, bland smile—if it could be called that—and then moved out of the car.

Naruto looked up at the house…well, mansion. There was no point in making it sound anything less than it was. It was pretty damn huge. It hit Naruto, harder than it ever had before, just how unreasonably loaded Sasuke's parents had to be, and he felt his insides start to heat up.

He took in a deep breath, trying to control his anger. It wasn't his place to be angry at Sasuke's parents.

Well, not yet, anyways. He'd see how the night went.

Sasuke was infinitely grateful that Itachi took the lead. He wasn't sure he would have the will to open the door, if left to his own devices.

Naruto squeezed his forearm for a moment. Sasuke glanced at him.

Then again, he supposed he wouldn't really have been on his own.

Itachi pressed the doorbell. Sasuke let out a breath, looking around. The house seemed…smaller than he remembered. A bit less well-kept.

Maybe he was just more critical now.

The door clicked open, and Sasuke closed his eyes.

"Itachi!"

"Hello, mother."

Sasuke's mom had kind eyes, Naruto noticed. He also noticed how they dimmed as they turned from Itachi to Sasuke, and how she seemed to pause mid-step—as if holding herself back from moving closer to her younger son.

"Sasuke." Her voice was quiet. Naruto thought he might have heard it shake, but it was impossible to tell.

Sasuke nodded. To his credit, he did an incredible job of remaining impassive—but Naruto saw him swallow, saw his hands twitch as if they wanted to curl into a fist…Naruto had to hold himself back from holding Sasuke's hand. Itachi was one thing, but there were a lot of things Sasuke needed to work out with his mom before they got to their relationship.

Sasuke's mom—who was looking directly at him.

"Uh," he said, very wisely.

"This is Naruto," Itachi said. "May we come in?"

Naruto gave her a little wave. Honestly, he wasn't sure what else to do.

"Ah, of course." She quickly moved aside.

They stepped through the entrance, and Naruto's stomach dropped to the floor.

Chapter Text

Sasuke took one look inside and promptly turned back around.

His mother blocked his path.

"Sasuke, please," she said, "just a dinner. Please."

He sucked in a breath through his gritted teeth. He could hear the blood rushing—pounding, surging—in his ears—she had tricked him. She promised that that man wouldn't be here—she had—Itachi had—

He rounded on his brother.

"You knew about this?"

"I assure you," Itachi's eyes didn't leave their father, "that I did not."

Sasuke clenched his fist, gauging his brother's reaction before looking away. This wasn't fair.

Someone cleared their throat. Sasuke's head snapped up to stare at Naruto, who clapped his hands together.

"So, is dinner ready?"

They stared at him.

He stared back.

"What? This is a dinner, isn't it?"

"Ah," his mother seemed to shake herself, "yes, of course. It'll only be a few minutes."

Naruto turned his eyes on Sasuke—the eyes that were far too serious for his pleasant smile.

"Want to give me a tour, in the meantime?"

It was all Sasuke could do to nod.

The minute they were upstairs, Sasuke beelined for his old bedroom. Naruto followed him, looking worried, and Itachi surreptitiously closed the door behind them.

He leaned back against the door, watching Sasuke pace.

"What the fuck was that?" Sasuke hissed—more to himself than anyone else, from the looks of it—

"I don't know," Itachi responded nonetheless. He was…unbelievably upset with both his father and his mother. They had no concept of how difficult it had been to get Sasuke to agree to this. And his mother had distinctly promised him that Fugaku would not even hear of this.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable.

"If you guys want to just duck out the window," Naruto spoke up, "I'm up for that."

Sasuke snorted.

"We could leave," Itachi offered. Naruto had a point—there was not much stopping them from doing so.

There was a pause. It seemed that Sasuke shared Itachi's reluctance to do so, in spite of everything. There was a part of him that knew if they did not go through with today's meeting, the likelihood of it happening again was slim to none—and from the looks of it, Sasuke knew it, too.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

"We have to stay," he said quietly.

Naruto furrowed his brow, but stayed silent.

Sasuke leaned further on his old dresser, looking as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. "I don't know if I'm ready for this."

His voice was quiet and tired. It sounded like Itachi felt.

"I've never found that to actually be a thing," Naruto said.

Sasuke glanced at him.

"Being totally prepared for something, I mean," he clarified. "Not for things like this."

Not for the first time, Itachi took a moment to regard the blonde. There was certainly more to him than that relentlessly cheerful attitude…

Sasuke seemed to concede the point.

"Would it help if I separated them? Like I distracted your dad so you could talk to your mom—or the other way around?"

"After dinner?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded. "Or before. Whatever works."

Itachi considered it. It wasn't a bad idea—they could likely use the numbers advantage for their father.

"We'll see how dinner turns out," Itachi offered. "How about that?"

Sasuke let out a breath.

"Alright."

After sitting in silence for a good ten minutes, Naruto decided Sasuke had had enough time to think.

"Okay," he stood up, "d'you guys actually want to give me a tour?"

Sasuke frowned.

"There's not much to it, Naruto," he said. "It's not like your house."

He saw Itachi raise an eyebrow.

"Let me decide that," he challenged. "I'll find some of you somewhere."

They stared at each other for a moment. He was determined to prove Sasuke wrong. Sure—he remembered what Sasuke had said, about not wanting to live in a house like this—like something out of a magazine, he had said, and Naruto had a whole new appreciation of what that meant, now—but—

This had still been Sasuke's home.

Finally, Sasuke relented, rolling his eyes.

"You're going to be disappointed," he said as he stood.

"Mm, we'll see." He nudged Sasuke a little, and then turned to face Itachi—who looked almost…amused?

"Off we go, then." Itachi opened the door for them.

"Shouldn't we start with here?" Naruto asked.

"There's nothing here," Sasuke answered, walking past him. "I took everything I cared about."

"…Oh."

Sasuke was, Naruto hated to say, kind of right. Everything was beautiful—absolutely stunning, really—but looked completely untouched. Naruto could barely bring himself to go near anything, terrified of breaking something that cost more than his entire existence.

Sasuke looked some mix between bored and tired as he led him around the house. He hadn't, however, strayed far from Naruto—their shoulders were brushing awfully frequently, and there were a few moments where Sasuke would touch him for seemingly no reason.

At least Sasuke seemed to be drawing some physical comfort from Naruto being around. Maybe that's all he could ask for right now.

"Let's go to the library next," Itachi spoke up for the first time in a while.

Sasuke seemed okay with the idea, so Naruto followed Itachi, down the hall and through the archway. He couldn't help but gape at the sheer size of the place—each wall was absolutely stacked with books on books on books.

"You guys haven't actually read all these, did you?"

"No," Sasuke immediately responded.

"I think," Itachi scanned the shelves, as if looking for something, "that all of them were bought with the intention of being read. But yes, most have never been touched."

He paused for a moment.

"Ah, here."

He pulled out a book that was shorter than the rest. It had a glossy floral cover, and he held it out for Naruto to take.

"Isn't that—" Sasuke started.

Naruto opened it, and promptly burst out laughing.

"Our old photo album," Itachi said. "Yes, it is."

Naruto caught his breath, wondering if it would be too much to take a photo of this photo with his phone. It was a picture of Sasuke and Itachi, both looking incredibly awkward but incredibly serious, staring into the camera.

"You guys look like the opening of a horror movie." Naruto snickered. Sasuke peered over his shoulder.

"I hated that shirt," he commented.

"It shows." Naruto grinned back at him before flipping the page. "You really weren't one for smiling, were you?"

Sasuke snorted.

"I'm still not one for smiling."

"True," Naruto conceded, "but you look less like you want to murder me."

"Do I? I'll need to work on that."

"Asshole!" Naruto laughed, nudging Sasuke a little. Sasuke threw him a smirk.

Naruto turned the page, stifling another laugh.

"You—uh—were really into the turtlenecks, huh?"

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, cheeks glowing a faint red as he reached out to turn the page—

"No—wait, I gotta memorize this," Naruto pulled the book away from his hand, snickering, "'cause the next time you make fun of my taste—"

Sasuke snatched the book from him, glaring.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Naruto sidled up to him, "more pictures! C'mon, please?"

He heard Sasuke let out a breath—it nearly sounded like a snort, but he flipped the page nonetheless.

"Ooh!" Naruto peered over his shoulder. "What was this—soccer? Were you captain?"

"Hn." Sasuke gave a short nod.

"Do you still play?"

"No," Sasuke's thumb ran over the edge of the paper, "I didn't enjoy it. I was good at it, but I didn't enjoy it."

"That's 'cause you didn't play with me." Naruto nudged Sasuke with his hip. "I'd give you a run for your money."

Sasuke gave him a vaguely amused look.

"We should play," Naruto insisted.

Sasuke's eyes rolled, looking back to the book.

"Maybe."

"Oh," Naruto leaned closer as the page flipped, "you—is that a piano?"

"It was a recital, yes."

"I didn't know you played piano!" Naruto rounded on him—he was pretty positive Iruka had an old keyboard, somewhere—if he could—

"It's been several years." Sasuke's voice was soft. "I'm not sure I'm still able to."

"Iruka has a piano," Naruto responded immediately, "and I'll show you what my playing sounds like, if you want proof that you don't suck—"

Sasuke gave him a look.

"I can play chopsticks," Naruto waggled his eyebrows, "or—uh, hot cross buns!" He felt a small sense of victory settle into his stomach as Sasuke let out a soft laugh—

Sasuke reached over him to turn the page.

"What's this?" Naruto frowned at it. "Like a club or something?"

"Class representatives. I was president."

"Oh my god." Naruto's mouth slowly widened into a grin. "Of course you were class fucking president—oh my god—"

He laughed as Sasuke reached over, as if to slap at him—he nearly hit the book out of Naruto's hands and a picture flittered to the floor—Sasuke bent to pick it up, Naruto immediately moving closer, too—

His smile faltered.

There was Sasuke's mother—looking exhausted, but incredibly happy—in a hospital bed, smiling down at a tiny bundle she was holding. Judging from the black-haired kid who was halfway onto the bed, that bundle was Sasuke.

Sasuke slipped the photo back into the album at random, turning away. Naruto stifled a sigh. That photo…

"Dinner's ready," Itachi said as he came back into the room. Naruto hadn't even noticed him leave.

He looked at Sasuke, who was staring at the floor.

"We'll be down in a bit," he said after Sasuke made no motion to respond.

Itachi eyed them both for a moment, before nodding and swiftly leaving the room.

"Sasuke," he walked closer, so their bodies pressed together—Sasuke still didn't look up, "it's worth it to be here. I really think it is." He squeezed Sasuke's shoulders. "And I can't believe how well you are handling this. You are amazing. I would've lost my mind by now. Punched your dad in the nose or somethin'." He ducked down to throw Sasuke a small grin—it was just as excuse to see his face, really. "This sucks. I know it does. I don't think for a second that any of this is easy, but you're trying, and I think that's incredible. I really do, Sasuke."

He did. Sasuke was the bravest person in the world. Naruto was falling more and more in love with him with each passing second—

"But—I want you to know—if you want to leave, you say the word, okay? I wouldn't blame you. No one would blame you. Even if Itachi doesn't want to—my parents can come at any point. Okay? It's whatever you need."

Sasuke stared at him for a moment—the look in his eyes awfully like that night Sasuke had kissed him for the first time—

But he'd be the one kissing Sasuke, this time.

He pressed their lips together, trying to channel all the emotion—all the compassion and worry that he felt for Sasuke—into the kiss. All the love—he wanted—he needed Sasuke to know, to feel it, to truly understand just how far Naruto would be willing to go for him—

Only the knowledge that someone would be up to check on them if they didn't come down pulled Naruto away from Sasuke. He would much rather be up here, worshipping Sasuke's body in the name of de-stressing, but…

"Let's go, teme."

He pressed one more kiss to Sasuke's lips—this one far more chaste.

"Usuratonkachi."

Dinner was…strained, to say the least. Itachi knew better than to expect an apology from his parents, although they certainly owed him one—and he knew Sasuke knew better, too.

He gently laid down his glass.

It was a miracle that Sasuke was still here. And that miracle's name, apparently, was Naruto.

"So, Naruto, I'm not sure I ever asked," he began, "what program are you in?"

Naruto looked surprised, but covered it with a large smile. It was different, Itachi noticed, from the smiles he had shared with Sasuke earlier.

"I'm in psychology."

"Not in writing?" The words seemed to burst from his mother before she had the chance to stifle them. She looked nervous after she spoke.

Well, good. He only wished his father exhibited half of that emotion.

"No," Naruto seemed to pause, "I—no, I'm not in Sasuke's program."

There was a pause.

"What year are you in?" Itachi asked. Apparently, he was going to have to carry this conversation.

"My fourth."

"Is that your last one?"

"Mhm," Naruto nodded, swallowing his food, "yeah—sorry. The food is great, by the way."

"Ah, thank you," his mother gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"And what, may I ask, brings you here?"

It was the first time his father had spoken, and all eyes turned to him. Itachi was quick to glance back at Naruto, but didn't interrupt. He wanted to see how the blonde would handle this.

Naruto shifted, ever so slightly, in his chair.

"Moral support."

Itachi quirked an eyebrow, and turned back to his father—who frowned, but couldn't seem to hold Naruto's gaze. Interesting.

"The business has been doing well." Their mother spoke up, apparently feeling the need to change the topic. She could have chosen a better one, in Itachi's opinion, but perhaps she was attempting to throw Fugaku a bone.

"Yes," he interrupted, unwilling to give his father the floor just yet, "it hasn't changed very much."

There was another silence—and, this time, Itachi was content to simply finish his meal. He was getting tired of all this very quickly.

Naruto was totally fine with finishing the dinner in awkward silence—it was better than awkward conversation, in his opinion—but as soon as Sasuke's father started staring him down again, he knew the peace would be short-lived.

"What are those things on your face?"

Naruto bristled. Sasuke's hand immediately grabbed his thigh, squeezing it tight—he didn't need to look at him to know his anger was shared—

"Fugaku!" Surprisingly, it was Sasuke's mom that came to his rescue. "My apologies, Naruto. That was a bit rude, wasn't it?"

Her gaze turned onto her husband, clearly asking him to agree with her.

He only frowned.

"I was informed this would be a family dinner."

Naruto bit his tongue until it came up with something that wasn't cussing the guy out—

"And yet, here I am. Almost like the way Sasuke was told you wouldn't be here."

Naruto let the silence ring for a moment, leaning back in his chair.

"So maybe," he glanced at Sasuke, at Itachi, and then back at their father, "you and I ought to have our own conversation, and this dinner can be what it was meant to be."

He saw Sasuke's parents both open their mouths at the same time, but Itachi beat them to it.

"A fine idea," he said. "Perhaps you can finish the tour that we started."

Naruto's jaw relaxed just a little. He was glad Itachi, at least, approved of the idea. Not that he really knew what he was doing, but—

He felt Sasuke's hand tense, again, on his thigh, and turned to look at him. Something in Sasuke's eyes calmed him. He put his hand on Sasuke's and squeezed. Sasuke squeezed back, and they both let go.

Naruto stood.

"Well then. Shall we?"

"I don't want to fight with you," Naruto said, after a moment of following the man. Naruto had to hand it to him—he had that impassive look (the look that Sasuke and Itachi must have inherited) down pat. The intimidation didn't really work on Naruto, though; he'd grown immune to the look long ago. "That's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" He asked again.

"Moral support." Naruto gave the same answer. "Believe it or not, it's pretty terrifying to go back to parents that wanted nothing to do with you."

Fugaku rounded on Naruto.

"You know nothing of what happened—and yet—you dare—you dare—"

He broke off, letting a breath his through his teeth.

Naruto shifted. There was a chance—a slim one—but Naruto thought he might have seen a hint of hurt in that anger.

"You're right," he said. "So tell me about it."

Fugaku looked at him, eyes still flashing, but said nothing.

"Make me understand."

"It's none of your business."

Naruto exhaled.

"Alright then, I'll answer one question in exchange for asking one. You can even go first. How about that?"

Fugaku looked him over, as if assessing his worth. Naruto didn't let his gaze waver.

"Why did you bring him here?" The question burst forth from Sasuke before he could help it.

His mother looked away. She still held the edge of the tablecloth, softly rubbing the material between her fingers—a nervous habit of hers that he had completely forgotten about.

"You gave your word that you would not." Itachi seemed willing to add his thoughts after their mother took too long to respond.

She nodded.

"I don't—I know. I know. But—I had to."

Itachi, apparently, decided just then that he preferred to stand and face the window.

"I—" She heaved a violent sigh, letting go of the tablecloth. "He is so bitter! He is hurting—and you are hurting—and none of you talk!"

She looked up, eyes flickering back and forth between them before they came to rest on Sasuke.

"I haven't seen you in two years! I can't—" she looked away, blinking furiously, "we didn't know what happened—you were just gone and you never reached out to us—Fugaku was so sure that you would but you never did—you never—"

"I never came crawling back?" Sasuke felt his blood grow hotter with each word she spoke—how dare she try to blame this on him—

"Don't sugarcoat it. You didn't expect me to reach out—you expected me to fail."

"That's not—"

"Well, I didn't," he interrupted, malice lacing his voice. "In spite of you and father's best efforts—and I'm happier than I ever was here."

Sasuke's nostrils flared as he attempted to hide how heavy his breathing was—

"That," his mother spoke in almost a whisper, "was all we ever wanted…your happine—"

"Bullshit!" Sasuke stood with such intensity that his chair slammed to the ground.

"You wanted my happiness? That's why you kicked me out—with no home, no family—because you wanted me to be happy? That's why you spat on everything I ever wanted—called my dreams pathetic and told me I would never—"

"We were trying to look out for you!" She heaved out a frustrated breath. "A career as a writer is just not feasible—you would end up on the streets with nothing!"

Sasuke's blood was ice.

"So you just sped up the process, then."

His mother's mouth opened, and shut again. She looked back down at her hands—Sasuke turned away as her shoulders started to shake.

"Why are you actually here?"

This question again? Sasuke's dad must really have been convinced that something shady was going on.

"I'm here because Sasuke asked me to be here. That's it."

"Why would he—"

"Ah-ah," Naruto stopped him, "my turn for a question."

Fugaku pinned him down with a glare.

"Why are you here?" He fired the question back.

"…Mikoto asked me to be here."

That—uh...he just realized he didn't actually know what Sasuke's mom's name was. Probably Mikoto, which sucked, because that meant Sasuke's dad might not actually want to be here…

"What are those things on your face?"

Naruto grimaced, focusing on his breath as the question wormed its way under his skin. Four years ago, he would have broken this man's nose—but this wasn't about him. This wasn't about him. This was for Sasuke, who had noticed his eyes before everything else—

"I'd rather not talk about it." Calm (a breath in) but honest (a breath out). "I'm not sure if I should trust you."

"I'm not sure I should trust you," Fugaku fired back. Naruto let himself concede the point. (A breath in.)

"You shouldn't. I'm on Sasuke's side."

"The side of a boy who abandoned his family—"

"The side of a boy who was abandoned by his family," Naruto corrected. (A breath out.)

"I came here with nothing," Fugaku hissed, moving closer—Naruto was suddenly very aware of how much bigger the man was than him. "Nothing! You see all of this?"

He threw his arms out, gesturing around himself.

"This is what I did. What I sacrificed for my family—I gave him everything! And he—"

"Sasuke didn't want this," Naruto felt his forehead crease, "he doesn't want—a big house and—money—he wanted a family. He wanted to be happy."

(A breath—in—)

"And he would be happy with no money?"

"Well he definitely wouldn't have been poor if—" (A breath—)

"There is no money in writing! There are no jobs! There—"

"You don't know that! Sasuke's writ—" (—in? Out?)

"Those are the facts! Telling him otherwise is deluding him—setting him up for failure. You would rather me waste thousands on a sham of an education—"

(Naruto lost track of his breath.)

"I would rather you had some fucking faith in your own fucking son!" These people—this man—Naruto stood in front of the centerfold of Sasuke's pain and if someone didn't start showing some fucking remorse—

"I do not expect you to understand," Fugaku's voice went low—dangerously calm, "but I did what was best for my family. I have always done what is best for my family. And in return, my own son abandoned everything I did for him."

He took a step back, staring Naruto down with flashing eyes.

"Those are the facts."

"We're not getting anywhere," Itachi suddenly spoke up. Sasuke had nearly forgotten he was still here.

"No," Mikoto sounded defeated, "we are not."

"Let's try this again, then." He cleared his throat. "Mother, do you regret kicking Sasuke out?"

She looked completely taken aback.

"Of course I do," she said, her voice a half-broken whisper. "There is nothing I regret more."

Sasuke's throat seized up.

"Why did you do it?" He was barely able to form the words.

His mother shook her head, looking helpless.

"I…didn't believe you would leave. I didn't believe it, and then…and then it was too late."

"And father?" Itachi's voice was much stronger than theirs. Sasuke was glad he asked the question.

"I keep telling him..." she shook her head, again. "You need to speak with him. He thinks…he believe that you don't wish to be part of this family. And I know—I know you left, but—"

"Me leaving had nothing to do with our family." Sasuke thought that was obvious. "I never wanted it to be about that—you were the ones who—" he let out a breath, shaking his head, "it was about me wanting to be a writer. You wouldn't have taken me seriously if I hadn't—gone through with this."

"We—" The words stopped in the same breath as they came, and Sasuke watched his mother only sink further into her chair. "I—I'd like to think that you—or we—would have come around, but…that's beside the point. I don't care what career you chose at this point."

She raise her eyes—and her chin—to meet Sasuke's gaze.

"I just want my son back."

Naruto's anger screeched to a halt.

What?

"Those are not the facts." Naruto shook his head. What? What? Sasuke had—

"They are."

"Just because Sasuke wanted to be a writer—him studying it has nothing to do with you or your business. Or the family, or anything like that!"

"It has everything to do with it—he made his choice."

"No—you have Itachi to run the business. It's not as if him being a writer has somehow doomed you—"

"That's not—"

"You're not fucking listening! Sasuke wants to be part of this family! Why the fuck would he come back here if he didn't?!"

Naruto was going to rip his hair out—this man was so fucking frustrating—

"He's here because he loves you! He's here because he misses you and he's making a goddamn effort to make up for whatever happened before he left—no matter whose fault it was! It doesn't fucking matter! Move forward! Do you want him in your life or not?!"

Sasuke's father didn't reply—but Naruto had had enough. Either he was going to listen, or he wasn't—and if Naruto kept talking to this brick wall then he might start trying to punch it, instead, and it would probably go about as well as if Naruto did try to fight an actual brick wall—

"I'm going back downstairs. You decide what you want to do."

And he was gone.

The house rang with silence. Sasuke opened his mouth, unsure of how to break it but sure that he wanted to—

The front door opened and closed. There was a brief, panicked moment where they exchanged looks of alarm, before the sound of a car starting spurred them into action. The three of them ran into the hall, only to find—

Naruto, sitting at the bottom of the stairs, head in his hands.

"For the record," he said, still not looking up, "I didn't think it went that bad."

Sasuke let out a breath. His father had left.

His father had left.

That…he didn't know how he felt about that.

He distantly noticed his mother running out the door. He didn't bother following her. If his father wanted to leave…

He sat down beside Naruto, leaning against him.

"I'm sorry," he heard the blonde mutter. "I didn't tell him to leave or anything, I promise. I…"

Sasuke swallowed. His body suddenly felt very heavy.

"He is a grown man," Itachi said, staring at the still-open doorway, "who can make his own decisions. The fact that he did so without even speaking with Sasuke…"

Naruto, resting his head on his fist, looked up at Itachi with tired eyes.

"What're your plans tonight?"

Itachi looked surprised at the sudden change in topic.

"My plans?"

They heard another car start up.

"Ah," Itachi said. "Well, they would have been to stay here."

There was a pause.

"Stay at my house."

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, who only briefly glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry?"

"Sasuke's coming too. We have a guest room."

Itachi glanced away.

"That's very kind, Naruto, but—"

"Please?"

Sasuke watched as his brother's shoulders visibly sagged.

"I don't want to intrude."

"You're not. Either we all stay here or you come with us."

Sasuke felt a wave of appreciation for Naruto rush through him.

"…Alright."

After a few more minutes, they realized waiting around for Mikoto to come back was futile. Itachi quietly locked the doors behind them, and they headed back to the car.

Naruto sagged against Sasuke in the backseat. It took a long moment for his brother to wake up enough to rest an arm around him. Itachi used the sound of the car starting up to stifle his sigh.

He wasn't sure what he had expected. Something better than this, at least. This felt like…

Failure. It felt as if nothing had changed.

The GPS spoke to him, shaking him out of his thoughts.

Although, if he was truthful, the meeting with their mother hadn't gone that badly. Had their father not stormed out when he did, maybe…

He turned the wheel, just a touch.

Honestly, what had possessed her to allow their father to be there? She knew how badly he handled displays of emotion—and, he thought, at least, he had made it perfectly clear that Sasuke would not have been there if he knew Fugaku would be.

What a disaster.

What an absolute fucking disaster.

Chapter Text

"Hi dad," Naruto greeted as Iruka opened the door. "Itachi's gonna stay with us tonight."

Iruka blinked for a moment, and then moved aside to let them in.

"Of course—come in."

Sasuke shuffled in after the blonde, still feeling…well, in a bit of a haze, really. He was just so...tired.

"I'm Kakashi." Kakashi reached over, and Sasuke realized he was talking to Itachi. "I don't believe we've actually met yet."

"No, I don't believe so." They shook hands.

There was a beat.

"So," Kakashi said, looking them all over, "that bad, huh?"

"Ah…" Naruto scratched his neck, unsmiling. Sasuke only shrugged.

"Alright," Iruka clapped his hands together, "I'm going to need all of your help, then. Naruto?"

"Uh—yeah?"

"Go into the closet, bring out some spare aprons."

"Ye—okay."

"Sasuke, Itachi—how familiar are you with baking?"

"Not very," Itachi responded. Sasuke just shook his head.

"Alright. You're going to be in charge of the mulled wine."

Sasuke had no idea what that was.

"Kakashi, the reds are—"

"I'm on it!" The grey-haired man was already gone.

"Here, I brought them." Naruto was back, already—aprons in hand.

"Okay," Iruka turned back to Sasuke and his brother, "put these on. We're going to get a little messy."

The kitchen was utter chaos—at least, that's what it felt like to Sasuke, who had been tasked to stand in the middle of it all, stirring a pan full of red wine.

"Cloves now, Itachi," he heard behind him, before his brother reached over his shoulder and splashed the spices in, "and then some oranges or lemons next. Sasuke, you're in charge of taste."

"Uh—"

"That's good—I always make it too sweet." Naruto shot him a grin from his place at the mixer. "D'you think the dough's good yet?"

Iruka moved over to look, but before he could, Kakashi swiped a finger in the bowl.

"Mm," Kakashi smirked, "it has my vote."

"Kakashi!" Iruka laughed.

"How's it look, Sasuke?" Naruto smiled, leaning closer to him.

"Ah," he turned around, "good…?"

It came out as more of a question than a statement, because he really didn't know what he was doing—

"After we get everything in, then we add honey," Iruka said, "and then you need to watch for the foam. Okay?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto, let's get this rolled up. Itachi, are you done chopping?"

"Almost."

"What do you want me to do?" Kakashi asked.

"Get a rolling pin and a pan."

"Coming right up!"

"Incoming," he heard from Itachi—he moved aside to avoid the splash.

"How much honey do we add?" Sasuke asked.

"To taste," Iruka said, throwing him a smile. "You get to decide."

"Oh—alright."

Half an hour later, the cookies were in the oven and everyone was in the living room, mug of wine in hand.

"Alright!" Naruto grinned, cuddling up against Sasuke. "Time for crappy old Christmas movies."

"Excuse me," Kakashi said, looking through the shelves, "they are fantastic old Christmas movies and you know it."

Naruto laughed and took a sip of his wine.

"Ah, wait!" Iruka tried to stop him. "We need to toast!"

"Oh, yeah! Okay," Naruto sat up a little, "to—uh—"

"A year of good health," Iruka provided.

"And good books!" Kakashi called back.

Naruto laughed.

"Good people, too." He gave Sasuke a meaningful look.

"Cheers," Iruka reached forwards, and there was a moment where they all awkwardly reached over each other.

"Mm," Iruka said, "not bad. You boys did a wonderful job."

He gestured to Sasuke and Itachi. The wine was pleasantly warm—both from the stove and from the alcohol. Sasuke cupped the glass closer to himself.

"They did," Kakashi agreed.

"I'm getting more honey." Naruto shuffled off the couch.

Sasuke snorted, noticing Iruka rub the bridge of his nose.

"His sweet tooth is off the charts, I swear," he told Sasuke.

"Sasuke knows!" Naruto called from the kitchen, apparently able to hear them. "When we first met, he ordered me that—what was it?"

"The s'mores milkshake," Sasuke muttered into his cup. He heard his brother chuckle.

"Yeah, that." Naruto squeezed back onto the couch. "That was so good…"

"I found it!" Kakashi said, holding up a DVD in victory.

"Finally!" Naruto grinned. Sasuke felt the makings of a smile on his face, content just to let Naruto to lean back against his chest.

"Shove over, you two," Kakashi gestured at them, before settling somewhere between the couch and the armrest. It looked very uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind.

About halfway into the movie, Iruka left to check on the cookies—and, after Naruto's pleading look, make more wine. Sasuke looked as if he was going to offer to help, but he was beat out by his brother—and while, normally, Iruka would let his guests relax while he took care of everything else, this was a bit of a different situation.

"Ah, still needs a bit more, I think," he said, closing the oven and setting the timer again. "Let me grab the wine—you remember everything else, right?"

"Yes," Itachi answered politely.

He came back to the kitchen, wine in hand, as Itachi was chopping.

"I'm glad," he said, as he pulled out the cork, "that you were able to come tonight. I think Sasuke needed it."

Itachi glanced at him, holding the gaze for a moment longer than usual.

"And Naruto needed Sasuke tonight, I think. I hope it's been pleasant—in spite of everything."

There was a pause. Itachi went back to chopping, apparently unwilling to reply. He didn't look upset, however.

"People put so much stock in emotion," Iruka continued gently. "They tend to forget how long life can be. And how quickly emotions can fade, in the grand scheme of things."

He poured the wine into the pot, turning the heat onto low.

"Things change. People change. Things that seemed vital no longer seem so important."

Itachi was looking at him now—with more emotion than he had seen in him yet.

"You—and Sasuke—can give up on your parents for the night. Not," he was quick to add, "that I know exactly what happened—but I can guess that you fought, and you aren't there now. So tonight is not your night."

Iruka stirred the wine as Itachi added some of the fruit.

"But next year's Christmas Eve may be. Or the next, or the one after that. Life is long. There is plenty of time to go."

Itachi's grip, on the counter, tightened and then loosened again—Iruka wondered if he might be trying not to cry. He hoped not; he always tended to cry when others did. But with the way he had turned—just so his hair hid his face from Iruka's view—and the way his back was stiff, his shoulders tight—his breath in shuddering along the edges—

"Go on, now," he said, gently shifting the cutting board away from Itachi. "Go back to the movie. I'll finish up here."

"Are you—" He could barely hear Itachi's voice in the words.

"Yes," Iruka interrupted, "go on. I'll be back in just a second."

"…Alright."

Two movies and several rounds of wine later, the cookies were cooling and everyone was falling asleep.

Well, everyone except for Sasuke. Naruto shook himself, letting his eyes squeeze shut and then snapping them open again. He needed to rally—if Sasuke wasn't sleeping, he couldn't either. He wasn't about to leave Sasuke to his own thoughts right now.

"Oi, teme," he whispered. "Let's go upstairs."

Sasuke glanced over at him, still holding the wine to his chest.

"I'm not tired."

His eyes said otherwise, but Naruto didn't press him.

"I know. Just upstairs."

Sasuke glanced around the room, taking in the passed out Kakashi, Iruka and Itachi, before sighing a little.

"Alright."

Sasuke wandered over to the bedroom door, but Naruto grabbed him before he got there.

"Nope," he said. "We're taking a bath."

"A bath?"

"Mhm," Naruto said. "Go to the bathroom. I'm gonna get my laptop."

Sasuke didn't question it. In spite of being wide awake, he felt completely exhausted. He could barely keep up a conversation; every word felt as if he was tearing the energy out of himself, and he had yet to recover any of it.

He sat down on the bathroom floor, waiting for Naruto.

"Sasuke." He heard a whisper—he opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them.

Naruto was back, taking the mug of wine from his hand and putting it on the counter. He could see the blonde was tired, but the worry in his eyes hadn't wavered all night.

He knew Naruto was scared that he was upset, or angry, or that he blamed Naruto for his father leaving, but…right now, he didn't feel much of anything. He was just...hollow. Weak. Numb.

Naruto bent over the tub, feeling the water with one hand, before straightening and pulling his shirt over his head. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde as he slipped off his pants.

"I mean—you can wear clothes if you want..." Naruto gave him a sheepish grin. Sasuke let out a puff of air through his nose before dutifully undressing.

"Mkay, here." Naruto laid down in the bath, and held his arms out.

The water was hot—very, very close to being unbearable. Sasuke slowly lowered himself into the tub, not quite able to relax into it. He shifted, not really knowing where to sit.

"Sasuke," Naruto said softly, wrapping an arm around him and easing him back until he was resting against Naruto's chest. He shifted his legs, squeezing Sasuke when he tried to give Naruto a bit more room—

"Don't worry about it," he said, pulling Sasuke closer. "You just relax, okay? I'll tell you if you need to move."

It was easier said than done, but the water was warm and Naruto's skin felt even softer than usual…Sasuke sank until his mouth was below water, stopping only to keep his nose above it. He heard a noise and opened his eyes to see Naruto pulling on a little table, bringing it closer so he could use the laptop.

The wine sloshed threateningly beside the computer. Sasuke tilted his head so his mouth was out of the water.

"Usuratonkachi, be careful," he muttered.

"Mm," Naruto said, pulling away with a laugh, "you mind sitting up for a sec? You're holding my nuts hostage."

He laughed harder as Sasuke sprung up, face red.

"It didn't hurt, don't worry." He reached behind himself and pulled a towel off the rack, leaving it on the floor in front of the table, before he reached forward and pulled Sasuke against himself again.

"C'mon," he said, "what do you want to watch?"

Sasuke let out a puff of air through his nose, letting his mouth sink underwater again without replying. Naruto only smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Okay, let's see…"

The water really had reached a nice temperature, now. It was almost like a warm blanket all around him—and the feeling of Naruto was only helping. He closed his eyes—just for a little while, to ease the sting…

Naruto fought the urge to shift again. With the way Sasuke was sitting, all of his pressure was on one side, and Naruto could definitely feel one of his butt cheeks going numb. His hands were wrinkled, now, and the movie was over, but to reach the laptop, he'd have to move his arm out from under Sasuke…

Naruto sighed—as quietly as he could. It was really good that Sasuke had dozed off—at least a little. Maybe by the time that Naruto had to move him, he would be in so deep a sleep that he would just go straight to bed and that would be that.

Sasuke had been…weird, today, after they'd gotten back. He wasn't angry; he wasn't even upset. He was just…nothing. Naruto wasn't sure if it was better or worse than if Sasuke had just yelled at him.

His conversation with Sasuke's father replayed in his mind for the thousandth time. There were so many things that he could have told him—so many things that he could have said differently—if he had just—

Sasuke turned a little, as if to put his face straight in the water, and Naruto grabbed him. The Uchiha made a sleepy noise of protest, and he glared up at Naruto.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. Sleepy, wet Sasuke…

"I'm not gonna let you drown yourself."

"Mph," Sasuke answered, blearily looking around. "Ph—uth?"

Sasuke's words were slurred and Naruto could barely make them out.

"Do you wanna get out?"

Sasuke blinked up at him.

"Of the bath?" Naruto prompted.

"Oh," Sasuke mumbled, "yeah…"

He sat up just enough to slump forwards, eyes closing again. Naruto smiled and reached around him to unplug the tub.

"Straight to bed, asshole," he muttered, pulling Sasuke up. "Come on."

Sasuke gave him a sleepy glare.

"It's cold."

"Yeah," Naruto grabbed a towel for him, "my room is close—don't worry about your clothes. Just go get under the covers."

Sasuke clutched the towel to himself and left, dripping water all over the place. Naruto watched him with a small smile. He'd have to clean this all up in a second, but first—he had to pee so fucking bad.

Sasuke was cold and wet, and now the bed was cold and wet.

He scowled.

He was never going to be able to sleep like this…but it was his own fault for not actually drying off properly. He was so much more awake, now…

The door creaked open, and Sasuke watched as Naruto—with a towel tied around his waist—came in, carrying many more things than he ought to have been.

"Do you need help?" He muttered, face still pressed against the pillow.

Naruto looked surprised.

"Oh—no, I'm okay." He set several things down, wobbling all the while. "Bed warm enough?"

"It's wet," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto snorted out a laugh.

"You got it all wet?"

"I didn't mean to…"

Naruto only laughed again, turning to his closet.

"I have some spare stuff in here, hang on…"

"It's okay—"

"Sasuke—" He pulled at something from a top shelf, and several things came tumbling down at him. "Whoa—crap. I'm not letting you sleep in a wet bed, c'mon."

Sasuke conceded the point.

"...Okay."

"Do you want some pajamas?"

Sasuke nodded. Now that he was a bit more awake, he very much wanted some clothes.

"Mkay..." Naruto pulled some more things out, tossing some clothes at Sasuke as he pulled some on himself.

"You put those on, and I'll change the sheets."

Sasuke let out a breath, building up the motivation to get out of the bed. As wet as it was, he really didn't want to move…

With a small groan, he sat up and forced himself to stand. His eyes were really stinging, now—it hurt to keep them open.

"Wait, one more, hang on, hang on, hang on," Naruto said quickly, as Sasuke moved to collapse back on the bed. He launched himself across, fixing the other corner before he grabbed the soaked sheets off the floor.

"Okay," he stood up, panting a little, "I'm gonna put these in the dryer—d'you need anything from downstairs? Water? Tea?"

Sasuke shuffled further into the covers, considering the question. He could maybe do with something warm, but…

Feeling something close to him, his eyes sprang open just as Naruto pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Tell you what—I'm just gonna bring up a bunch of stuff," Naruto said quietly, "and you decide whatever you want whenever."

Sasuke gave a small nod.

"Okay. Be right back."

Naruto ran around the kitchen like a man on a mission. He had no idea what time it was, but no one was in the living room anymore, so they must have all gone to bed. The sheets were in the dryer already—along with some sheets that were already dry, because then they would get all nice and warm—and now he was making tea.

He opened the fridge. Did he have time for soup? Maybe…

Ah! Leftovers. Jackpot!

Naruto shoved the bowl in the microwave and turned back to the kitchen, trying to see what else he could do. Well—he may as well bring water up while he was waiting for everything else…

He filled up a bottle, and then pulled the soup out of the microwave. Good enough for now.

A moment later, he tiptoed into his room. Part of him hoped Sasuke had fallen asleep, but—

Dark eyes flickered open as he walked in.

Damn.

"I brought soup," he offered. Sasuke seemed to perk up a little, and Naruto hurried over to his side.

"You're treating me like I'm sick," Sasuke muttered, taking the soup from him.

Naruto paused, glancing at him.

"I'm treating you like you had a bad day," he said, honestly.

Sasuke gave him a look.

"You're going to do this whenever I have a bad day?"

Naruto nodded.

"You're going to be doing this a lot."

Naruto laughed.

"Then I'll do it a lot." He threw Sasuke a lopsided grin before shuffling over to the door. "I'll be back in a sec."

Sasuke watched the door as it closed. He felt almost completely awake now—although he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

He stirred the soup with the spoon.

His father…had left. Without even speaking to him.

He frowned, staring into the bowl.

The worst part about all of this—honestly—was the fact that the man was never supposed to be there at all. And Sasuke could have (would have) been happy about not speaking to him, because it was never supposed to have been an option. But now that it had been an option…

He placed the bowl on the table beside him, scratching at his scalp.

He was so—so frustrated. Maybe it was his own fault for not figuring out what the hell he felt towards his father before he was confronted with the man. He still didn't know what to feel. It's not as if he had said anything derogatory towards Sasuke—if anything, he had been much more hostile towards Naruto.

He wondered if he still would have brought Naruto if he had known his father would be there.

…Probably. He would have needed someone to push him through the door.

He let out a breath through his teeth—it sounded like a hiss. He felt like such a fucking coward.

"Hey." Naruto's voice broke him out of his reverie. The blonde was hugging a heap of blankets—and holding two mugs. Sasuke sat up a little to take them from him.

"Thanks," Naruto said, "and here—"

Sasuke jumped a little as Naruto pulled the Uchiha's blankets up—he was letting the cold air in—and then stuffed the sheets he was holding there.

They were—

"Straight out of the dryer." Naruto grinned. "They're nice and warm, right?"

Sasuke nodded, subtly nudging them towards his feet. They were always so much colder than the rest of him...

Naruto crawled backwards off the bed, pausing once his hand touched the doorknob.

"D'you need anything else?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Okay." He slowly closed the door, obviously trying to be as quiet as possible.

Sasuke eyed the tea, and the soup, and the water…he didn't seem to want much of anything right now. Naruto had brought it all…

The felt the bed sag a little, and he turned towards Naruto.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Naruto's small smile faltered a little.

"Um—" he let out a breath, a couple drops of water falling from his hair, "I wanted to say—I'm sorry. I feel like this is my faul—"

Sasuke reached up and smacked the back of his head.

"Ow—Sasuke—"

"It's not your fault," he said, frowning. "I should have just talked to him. I was…so sure I couldn't do it that I didn't even try."

"...He was being an ass, anyways." A sad expression flickered across Naruto's face.

Sasuke swallowed. Part of him didn't want to ask—didn't want to know at all. But another part of him, a much larger part—

"…What did he say?" Sasuke forced the words out before he lost the will to say them.

Naruto eyed him for a moment, and then leaned back, sighing.

"Stupid stuff. About you like…abandoning the family and how you were the one who made the choice—and about how there aren't any jobs in writing so there's no point in school for it, which is also bullshit—I dunno. Maybe I should have—" he sighed again, "sugarcoated myself more. I really tried. I swore eventually though. A lot. I really wanted to deck the guy. I'm sorry."

Sasuke scowled at him.

"Stop saying sorry. He—" Sasuke swallowed, speaking more quietly, "he's a grown man. If he actually cared about me…"

He trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

"For what it's worth, though," Naruto said, watching him, "I think it was more about pride than him not caring about you. I think he does care. I think he thinks you don't."

Sasuke stared at him.

"That's just—how he came across to me, anyways." Naruto shrugged a little. "How did talking to your mom go?"

Sasuke sighed, finally picking up his tea.

"Alright. It was fine. It…" he considered his thoughts about the whole thing, "I'm still not happy. Obviously. I'm less…upset with her, though."

"Did she apologize?"

"Ah," Sasuke tried to remember, "she said she regretted it…I'm not sure if she apologized."

Naruto frowned. Sasuke shrugged.

"My parents aren't ones for apologies."

Naruto opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again, instead reaching for his tea. He felt the blonde lean into him, and reached his arm around to pull him closer.

"It wasn't so bad," he said, scanning his memories of the night.

Naruto blinked up at him.

"Your parents are very kind." He took a sip of his tea.

"Keep going with the way you are," Naruto said, giving him a soft smile, "they're gonna be your parents too."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Naruto looked up at him, and Sasuke could see the faint blush, even in the darkness. "I'm just sayin'. You've already done all the Christmas traditions—and Kakashi likes you. Iruka's great, he loves people—but Kakashi's the one you need to impress, y'know?"

Sasuke snorted, squeezing Naruto a little closer.

"...Usuratonkachi."

Naruto only smiled.

Chapter Text

On any other Christmas morning, Naruto would have been up at the crack of dawn, banging on his parents' bedroom door.

On this particular Christmas morning…he was still up at the crack of dawn.

But he wasn't about to go waking everyone up—Sasuke hadn't fallen asleep for ages and he wasn't sure how well Itachi would have managed to sleep, either.

On the other hand, he was definitely going to wake up Sasuke if he kept rolling around and sighing like this.

He snuck out of the bed, considering his options. Maybe he could make himself a hot chocolate or something—just something warm and calming enough to let him doze off again…

He wandered around the kitchen, yawning a little, only to stumble into—

"Kakashi?"

"Morning, Naruto," Kakashi yawned, still clad in his pajamas.

"Why are you awake? You hate getting up when you don't have to."

Kakashi waved a hand.

"You wake us up at this time every Christmas. My body's used to it by now." He paused as Naruto laughed. "That—and the car woke me up."

"The car?"

"Mhm." Naruto followed Kakashi as he wandered over to the coffee pot. "Itachi's gone somewhere."

"Itachi left? Already?"

Kakashi pressed a few buttons on the coffee maker, nodding.

"Why?"

Kakashi gave him a helpless look, arms in a shrug.

"The kids don't tell me things, Naruto." He turned around, leaning against the counter. "That's why I read their diaries and call it my job."

"…You're a weirdo."

"Mhm." He ruffled Naruto's hair.

Naruto took a moment, glancing at the window.

"D'you know if he's coming back at least?"

"He wasn't sure, but said he'd be in touch. Through Sasuke, I imagine."

Naruto nodded. That made sense. He hoped Sasuke would be okay with it.

There was a pause.

"Alright. Want to help me finish the cookies?"

"Without dad?" Naruto grinned at him.

"Yep. It'll be a disaster."

Naruto laughed.

"Let's do it."

Sasuke awoke to the sound of laughter. He yawned, rolling over—

Ah, right. He was at Naruto's house.

He turned, stretching a little. Yesterday's events came back to him softly, and he let out a sigh. They were painful, but…it really wasn't any different than what had been weighing on him for the past two years. His father was still his father—and, now, at least, he knew his mother held some regrets. He swallowed, listening to the muffled voices from downstairs. He could pick out each of them clearly—Naruto's easily above the rest.

He sat up.

The least he could do—after yesterday—was enjoy today.

He had, however, left all of his things downstairs. He sighed, opening the door. There was the slightest chance he could sneak by without anyone noticing—

"Sasuke!" Naruto spotted him immediately, running towards him—he was still in his pajamas too.

Naruto kissed him, smiling wide.

"Merry Christmas!" He rested his arms around Sasuke's shoulders. "We fucked up the chocolate."

"You—what?"

Naruto made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort—and pulled him into the kitchen.

"Sasuke's awake!" Kakashi said, holding up a wooden spoon that was covered in a charred, black substance. "We can do presents!"

"We can do presents after you stop trying to set the kitchen on fire." Iruka grabbed the spoon out of his hand. "Good morning, Sasuke!"

Everyone still seemed to be in their pajamas, at least, so Sasuke was hardly out of place—but—

"Where's Itachi?"

The kitchen paused.

"He had to leave," Naruto answered, turning to Kakashi.

"Early this morning," Kakashi elaborated. "I'm not sure why. He said he'd be in touch."

"Oh." Sasuke frowned. Not that his brother was the most social of types, but to leave without saying goodbye—after yesterday, especially…

Kakashi squeezed Sasuke's shoulder.

"We've been demoted to icing," Kakashi told him. "Want to help? It's better the longer everything sets in the fridge."

"Ah—alright."

One very sugary hour later, it was time for presents.

Naruto pulled Sasuke into the other room, where all of the presents sat under a heavily decorated tree. The decorations weren't fancy—most of them were handmade from the looks of them—but they made for quite the spectacle, as a whole.

A colourful mess of a Christmas tree. Sasuke hadn't expected anything less.

"Okay," Naruto crawled over to the tree, "this one's for…Sasuke."

Sasuke blinked, taking the box from Naruto.

"That's from us," Iruka told him, pausing as Naruto grabbed another small, thin package, "and so is that!"

Naruto laughed, and then reached out to grab something else.

"Here," he tossed the package at Kakashi, who caught it with minimal panic, and then reached out for another one, "and one for dad. There—we all have one!"

"Who is this from?" Kakashi said.

"Me," Naruto said, "and the other one is for both of you from Sasuke."

Sasuke's fingers paused where they had been fiddling with the tape. He wasn't completely satisfied with what he'd done for Naruto's parents, but Naruto had seemed to like it, so—

"Aw, you guys!" Naruto had a big grin on his face and was pulling a big, fuzzy blanket out of its wrapping. "It's so fluffy!"

"For the winter, you know." Iruka smiled, finishing unwrapping Sasuke's ornament. "Oh! Sasuke—this is my favourite photo! Thank you so much."

Sasuke nodded, cheeks burning as Iruka immediately stood, moving aside ornaments so Sasuke's could settle in—right in the middle of the tree. He swallowed, busying himself with his own present. It was difficult to unwrap it without hurting any of the paper—Sasuke was very conscious that this present had not been wrapped by a store, like his had tended to be—but he slowly managed.

"It's nothing big, but—Naruto said you didn't have one," Iruka said as Sasuke pulled the coffee maker out of the box.

"I don't." His voice came out much thicker than he intended it to. "Thank you."

"There's something in the card, too," Kakashi interjected, reaching over Iruka to grab another box, "and then this is for both of you."

"Ah—thank you." He felt the edge of the envelope, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He wasn't sure why he was reacting like this—it had been a little while since he had had a Christmas, but…

He glanced down at the card, swallowing. A small piece of plastic fell out, into his hand—a bookmark, from the look of it. Apparently Kakashi or Iruka had had a similar idea to his, because this bookmark was a photograph; Sasuke recognized it. It had been right after the first time they had gone to the movies—he could see Ino's hand reaching out to hold the camera, Sakura smiling as she leaned over her shoulder, Kiba putting up two fingers over Naruto's head, and Naruto, right in the middle of the photo, Gaara on one side and Sasuke on the other—

He swallowed, gently cupping the bookmark in his hand. This—this and the card—he could recognize Iruka's handwriting and he knew—he knew from Naruto's cards—that he would have to read it later—when he was alone, and maybe a bit more emotionally stable—

"Aww, Sasuke! We can match!" Naruto laughed, throwing something at him.

"It's been awhile since I made any," Iruka said, smiling.

"Now I can stop making you borrow mine!" Naruto laughed.

Iruka gave him a bright smile. Sasuke clutched onto the pajama pants—navy blue, with little orange swirls, to match Naruto's orange with blue swirls—made, for him, by Naruto's father—feeling something…something…

He swallowed.

Why did his throat feel so swollen?

"I'm going to check on the food," Iruka said after they'd nearly finished. "We'll clean this all up later."

"Okay!" Naruto grinned, making no motion to move as his parents left. He eyed Sasuke.

"Wanna open your present now?"

Sasuke glanced up, as if Naruto had broken him out of his thoughts, but nodded.

"Your present—I have to get it," Sasuke said quickly, "and it's not wrapped."

"I don't mind." Naruto grinned, happily sitting with Sasuke's gift in his lap. It might have been Naruto's imagination, but he thought Sasuke looked a little nervous as he shuffled back and—oh, he had hid his present behind the couch.

Naruto closed his eyes as Sasuke turned back around.

"I'm not looking," he said, hearing Sasuke shuffle closer. He smiled at Sasuke's muttered "usuratonkachi…"

He heard something be placed in front of him—had Sasuke sat down? He wasn't sure…

"Can I open my eyes?"

"It's nothing—great," Sasuke said. "I—it's—"

Naruto opened his eyes—and he felt his breath lodge in his throat. It was a very beautiful—and very detailed—and very orange—terrarium. Complete with orange-tinted glass, orange plants (even some with orange leaves!), and, plucked in the moss, a small wooden sign painted in what Naruto could only assume was Japanese—

"It says usuratonkachi. I—"

He kissed Sasuke to cut him off—and then again, and again, and three more times—

"Sasuke—this is—" Naruto felt like his heart was going to burst, "I love it. I love it. How did you find this? I've never seen anything like this—like at all—I—"

He hadn't. Not with these plants and not with these colours—

"I made it," Sasuke said quietly, and Naruto's head jerked up. "You didn't have any plants in your place, so—"

"You made it?" Sasuke was amazing. Sasuke was the most talented, wonderful man in the universe—

"Well—I—I bought the plants and planted them, but—Gaara helped—"

"Sasuke! You talked to Gaara?!" Naruto kissed him again before he leaned back to stare at the gift in wonder. "You did so much!"

"I didn't—"

"It's amazing," Naruto cut him off, staring him dead in the eyes. "Thank you. I love it. I really, really do."

Sasuke's mouth shut and Naruto felt his cheeks start to hurt with how wide he was smiling. His gift suddenly seemed to pale in comparison to Sasuke's—he traced the edge of the sign with his finger. How ridiculous that an insult made him feel so unbelievably giddy…

"Here." He passed the package to Sasuke. "Um—my wrapping sucks, I know. I tried—I really did."

Sasuke snorted, turning the package over in his hands. Naruto grimaced a little; it really did look worn for something that had only been wrapped a few days ago. The book had turned out...well, the fact that it functioned at all was a miracle in itself. It obviously wasn't perfect—some pages were unevenly spaced and the book tended to flop open in a specific way and Naruto just didn't know why—but he was still pretty proud of the work he'd put into it. Of course, now that he knew how much work Sasuke had put into his present…

Sasuke started to open the wrapping and Naruto felt his stomach do a flip.

"This is…"

He turned the book over in his hands.

"Ah, it's the—"

"Tablecloth from the coffee shop," Sasuke finished, brow furrowed.

"Yeah," Naruto breathed, sitting back on his heels. He resisted the urge to grab the book from Sasuke's hands—he wasn't even sure why he had that urge in the first place—

He heard Sasuke suck in a breath.

Naruto opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to ask Sasuke if he liked it—but Sasuke would obviously say yes and that wasn't the point…but from the way he was holding it—delicately, almost reverently—

"This is..." he said again, "how did you do this?"

"I—uh," Naruto shuffled closer to Sasuke, "you can kinda see it in the spine, how I did it. I had to like—well, I used glue and then I ended up trying to sew it. It turned out okay, I think…?"

The last part ended up as more of a question than a statement as Naruto looked up at Sasuke, trying to gauge his reaction.

"You made this?" Sasuke's voice was almost a whisper.

"Yeah."

"You—" Sasuke paused, "how did you get the cloth? How did you—"

He flipped through the pages, and Naruto gave a soft laugh.

"I begged for it. I wanted to use something—like, y'know—I thought, since that was where we met…"

Sasuke reached the end of the book, and ran his finger down the page, eyes a bit wide.

"Oh yeah." Naruto had written a message on the back cover. He hadn't been able to decide on anything for the longest time, so he had ended up only writing 'for the book that made me fall even harder – Naruto'. It wasn't great—obviously he had loved Sasuke before the book, it had just really, really made him feel it and god was he ever going to stop second guessing himself—

"It was just 'cause—when I finished reading, y'know, I thought—"

Sasuke kissed him with such force that he went toppling backwards—only narrowly dodging the Christmas tree. He felt the book between them—and Sasuke's hand, as Sasuke clutched it to his chest—Sasuke crawled overtop of him, still not letting go—

They broke apart for air, but Sasuke barely pulled away. His eyes were dark and deep and swirling with something that had Naruto's breath long gone—his parents wouldn't expect them for a little while, right? They could disappear upstairs…

Naruto rolled over, smiling. Something about the way Sasuke made him feel…he had never felt so content.

"I love you." His voice was still full of air—he could never quite catch his breath after Sasuke kissed it away.

Sasuke gave him a tired smirk.

"So you said."

"Mhm," Naruto smiled, "I wanted to say it again."

Sasuke poked his cheek.

"You're a sap."

Naruto only smiled.

Sasuke turned, lying on his back with a sigh.

"I don't want to move."

"Then don't.

Sasuke snorted.

"We'll have to get up eventually."

"Mm," Naruto snuggled closer, "that can be future Sasuke's problem."

He turned his head to face the blonde.

"I haven't checked my phone in days, Naruto."

"Ugh," Naruto forced himself to sit up, giving Sasuke a grumpy look, "buzzkill. Go get it, then."

"Right this second?"

"Yeah," Naruto squished his cheek against his fist, "Itachi might've texted you."

That was…a good point. He sighed, rolling over. Where had he put his phone? The last time he had used it…

Well, it was probably still in a pile of clothes somewhere.

With a groan, he sat up. As luck would have it, his text tone chose just that moment to go off.

Naruto gave him a bright look.

"Well, there you go."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, reaching for where he had heard the sound. It was on its last few percent, he noticed.

'Stopping by for a minute.'

Sasuke frowned.

"What's up? Is it Itachi?"

Sasuke glanced back, nodding.

"He's on his way back, I think."

"Oh—perfect timing."

He texted back a quick, 'Alright.' before turning back to Naruto.

"We should tell your parents."

"Mm, true. I'll let them know. D'you think he'll stay for dinner?"

Sasuke frowned back at his phone.

"I'm not sure."

Chapter Text

"I can only stay for a minute, I'm afraid." He heard Itachi talking to Naruto's parents as he came down the stairs. "I'm only dropping something off."

"What are you dropping off?" Sasuke asked as he came into the room.

"This."

Itachi held out a simple, plastic card. A credit card.

"Merry Christmas."

Sasuke frowned, not taking it.

"Why do I want this? I thought we weren't giving gifts this year."

"We aren't," Itachi said, "it's not from me."

Sasuke stared at him.

"Your tuition has also been paid in full," Itachi told him. "That took a little longer. The limit—"

"Whose name is it under?" Sasuke interrupted.

Itachi seemed to breath in a little.

"Our father's."

"Our father's."

It was the blood draining out of Sasuke's face that shook Naruto out of his own surprise—that and the vivid anger that flashed across it—

"Our father's?" His voice was steel.

Itachi sighed.

"What the fuck, Itachi?"

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know, Sasuke. But he wishes to financially support you—"

"Oh! Now he does, does he? After—after—" Sasuke spat out a breath, looking away.

Itachi didn't reply. Sasuke looked back at him, glaring.

"What did he say?"

Itachi's eyes closed for just a moment longer than a blink would call for. "Not much. You know how he is."

Sasuke barked out a laugh. There was no humour in it.

"Yeah—yeah, I do! So what the fuck is this?!"

"I don't know," Itachi said again. "Perhaps Naruto got through to him."

Naruto flinched as those angry eyes turned to him.

"I don't thi—" he started.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Sasuke was nearly yelling, now. "If he did—if Naruto—" he threw his arm out to gesture at him, "got through to him, why did he leave? Without saying—he didn't say a single word—"

"For what it's worth," Naruto couldn't help but admire the calmness that Itachi faced Sasuke's anger with, "he told me to tell you 'Merry Christmas'."

Sasuke stared at him, eyes wide, nostrils flaring.

"I don't want it."

"Sasuke," Itachi took a step forward, holding the card out, "you—"

With a swift motion, Sasuke slapped the card out of Itachi's hand.

"I don't want," he said, "his fucking money."

Naruto blinked, and Sasuke was gone.

He sighed.

"Do you want me to—?" Iruka, ever willing to resolve conflict, started.

"No," Naruto said, "I'll go. Hang on."

He thought he heard Itachi sigh as he left.

Naruto found Sasuke sitting on his bed, leg jittering up and down. He didn't look up as Naruto entered.

Naruto closed the door gently, and leaned against it, keeping quiet.

"…Why is he like this?" Sasuke's voice sounded surprisingly calm considering the state of the rest of him.

"Who—your dad?" The question was rhetorical, really—of course Sasuke meant his father. "I don't know. I thought…"

Naruto shook his head. He had tried to tell Sasuke's dad that money wasn't the way to go, but—

"It's always money. It always has been. It's like—it's like how he communicates," Sasuke hissed the words through his teeth. "He can't open his fucking mouth, so he just opens his wallet."

Naruto grimaced.

"…Have you tried talking to him about it?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a look.

"Okay—no, I mean," Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "I know he's an ass, but maybe if he heard this stuff from you—"

"He wouldn't listen."

"He might. He might listen now."

Sasuke frowned, and Naruto let the silence fill the room for a moment.

"D'you think this is his way of apologizing?"

Sasuke snorted.

"It's his way of avoiding apologizing. I don't want it."

"I know you don't," Naruto scratched his chin, "but maybe you should consider it."

Sasuke scowled at him.

"I just mean—like, you don't have to use it, but don't spit in his face about it," Naruto quickly continued when Sasuke looked like he might interrupt, "even if it's justified—I know it's justified. I know. I just mean—he seems like he has a lot of…pride, y'know? And if you reject this…"

Naruto trailed off, unsure what to say. Sasuke looked away from him again, but remained silent.

"Listen," Naruto said, "your dad—he's just a person. He's living life the only way he knows how, and changing that—changing the way you are and the way you live and viewing things a different way—that's gonna take time. And a lot of effort. But I think…I don't think it's hopeless. I really think you can get through to him; it just might take some time."

Sasuke's scowl had eased some—it was getting more thoughtful than angry. Naruto took it as the smallest victory he could.

"If he hadn't walked out yesterday—even if we had fought," he said, "I would have considered it. But this…this delivery on his behalf, as if he can't even bother with me—"

Sasuke cut himself off, and Naruto grimaced. It was a good point. If only Sasuke's dad had had the guts to come here himself…

A knock on the door made Naruto jump.

"Sorry, boys," Kakashi said, opening the door a little. He held his phone in his hand, "but I thought Sasuke would like to hear this as soon as possible."

"Hear what?" Sasuke's shoulders straightened and his chin tilted up—Naruto thought he might be bracing himself.

"You have a meeting with an editor—from Konoha Publishers. She would like to meet as soon as possible to discuss options with you. Would you be open to that?"

Sasuke blinked—once, and then again. Naruto's head spun back to him with such speed that he felt his neck protest—

"I—" Sasuke seemed to swallow his words, nodding almost frantically, "ye—yes. Yes."

Kakashi smiled.

"I'll let her know. Congratulations, Sasuke."

And then he left, leaving Sasuke staring at the doorway and Naruto absolutely beaming at him.

"Sasuke," he breathed.

The corners of Sasuke's lips started to rise.

"Sasuke!" Naruto jumped to his feet, grabbing Sasuke's hands and waving them around. His heart felt like it was going to burst—this was so amazing and incredible and Sasuke deserved every single bit of it—

Sasuke's face finally broke out into a smile.

"Sasuke! You did it!" Naruto said, still holding Sasuke's hands in the air.

Sasuke gave a small—breathy, disbelieving—laugh.

"It's only a meeting, Naruto—there's no guarantee…"

"Nope!" Naruto used Sasuke's own hands to whack at him. "You can't sell yourself short to me. This is fucking amazing and you know it!"

Sasuke attempted to bite down on his smile, but it stayed strong.

"We have to celebrate!"

Sasuke snorted, looking away for a second.

"Okay," he conceded finally, "but first, I have an idea."

True to Kakashi's word, both Naruto and Sasuke were downstairs in only a few minutes. Itachi frowned, eyeing the grey-haired man. What had he told them that had been so effective?

"Itachi," Sasuke addressed him immediately, "can I borrow your phone?"

Itachi blinked in surprise for a moment, before automatically handing it to him. Why did he want…?

Oh.

"Hello, father."

In his defense, Naruto seemed just as surprised as he was. Sasuke paced away from them, his free hand in his pocket.

"Yes, it is."

There was a pause.

"Thank you for the gift," he bent down to pick the card off the floor—Itachi supposed they ought to have picked it up before, "but I cannot accept it."

Naruto's head spun towards Sasuke. Itachi felt himself grimace. That…

"I'd like to meet with you to discuss it. In person." Sasuke switched hands, flexing the hand that had been holding the phone—he must have been gripping it too tightly.

"Let me know. Yes. That is fine."

He turned back towards them, still avoiding eye contact.

"Alright. Goodbye."

The moment he hung up the phone, Sasuke received an armful of blonde. He passed Itachi his phone.

"So…?" Itachi prompted.

"So I'm only going to accept the card if he hands it to me," Sasuke said simply. "He isn't going to earn my forgiveness without even saying a word."

Sasuke flicked the card towards Itachi, who took it, feeling a bit taken aback. This was…

"You are so badass!" Naruto gave a disbelieving laugh. "Did he sound surprised? I bet he had no idea."

Sasuke smirked a little.

"He was surprised." He turned to Itachi. "I think he'll contact you to get in touch with me again. You can give him my number if you'd like."

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock. Itachi felt like stumbling backwards.

"I'm sick of running from him," Sasuke said. "If he wants to put some effort forth, he can go ahead. It's up to him, now."

There was a pause.

"Is this my fault?" Kakashi suddenly spoke up. "Did I give him too much confidence?"

Naruto laughed. Even Sasuke's smile couldn't seem to falter.

"I think so," Naruto said, dodging as Sasuke made to whack him.

"Sasuke's meeting with—oh, can I tell him?" Iruka turned to Sasuke, who nodded. "Sasuke's meeting with an editor in a few weeks, about his book. He just found out."

Sasuke took great satisfaction in seeing his brother's mouth hang open—even if it was only the slightest bit. He hadn't exactly been updating his brother on his writing, so this—

Sasuke stumbled back as he was suddenly enveloped in a hug. Of all the reactions he had expected from his brother, this was…

"I am," Itachi whispered, "so proud of you."

Sasuke sucked in a shuddering breath, feeling completely frozen. He barely managed to put his hands on Itachi's back before his eyes started to burn.

Naruto shuffled around the kitchen, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to eavesdrop. They had moved away to give Itachi and Sasuke some privacy, but Naruto was dying of curiosity—

"So, what should we do to celebrate? What does Sasuke like?" Iruka spoke first.

"Uh," Naruto said, "we could go for ramen?"

"This is a celebration for him, not you," Kakashi laughed, "and what about everything we've already made?"

"Well—!"

"What about champagne? Do we have some lying around?" Iruka asked.

"We do," Kakashi replied. "What else? We could go somewhere—even if it's not for ramen."

Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"What about the skating rink? Does Sasuke know how to skate?" Iruka asked.

"I—uh," Naruto wracked his brain, "I have no idea."

"We can always let Sasuke choose what he would like to do," Kakashi pointed out. "The rink might be too busy today."

"True..." Sasuke wasn't really one for social events in the first place…what would Sasuke like to do? Other than the obvious, far less celebratory, staying in with a good book?

The sound of the front door opening was Naruto's signal to nearly sprint back to the entrance.

"You can't stay?" Iruka asked, just as Itachi was halfway out the door.

"Unfortunately, no." Itachi turned back to look at them. "Thank you very much for having me."

"Of course," Iruka replied. "You're welcome anytime."

With a nod and a small smile, Itachi left—giving a small wave in answer to Naruto's "bye, Itachi! Merry Christmas!"

One delicious dinner later, Sasuke's stomach was turning, and it certainly wasn't because of the food. He absolutely hadn't been thinking straight when he agreed to go skating—something he had never done in his life—with Naruto and his family.

He swallowed, gripping the railing. These skates were uncomfortable, there were about a million people here and it was fucking freezing. Why hadn't he worn an extra sweater? Naruto's hoodie had been literally sitting right there when they had—

"Hey," Naruto's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and they faded away in the face of his smile.

"You ready?" Aided by the crowd, Naruto's body pressed close against his. The world suddenly felt much warmer.

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto took his hands.

It was almost as if they were dancing.

After Naruto's first few shaky attempts to let Sasuke go, he had given up—happy to hold the Uchiha stable as they moved. Not that Naruto was any genius at ice-skating himself, but he could hold himself upright…most times.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was like a newborn deer finding its legs—if that deer had a very fierce scowl, that was. Naruto grinned as the scowl turned on him—Sasuke had caught him trying to move away again. Not far, mind you, but just an arm's length.

He wiggled Sasuke's arms a little, laughing at the split-second of alarm that flashed across his face. It was so, so hard not to kiss Sasuke right now. Naruto had to consistently consciously remind himself that they were not alone—and that kissing would not exactly help Sasuke's instability.

And on one hand, he really ought to push Sasuke to try skating on his own, but on the other hand, there was something so wonderful about how the Uchiha refused to let go of him…

He raised one of Sasuke's hands above his head, and spun. Sasuke grabbed ahold of him immediately after he finished turning, and he laughed again.

The tips of Sasuke's fingers were cold—his cheeks were flushed from the sting of the wind—Naruto knew they would have to leave, soon, but he wanted to stay here with Sasuke for just a little longer…

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered, his breath coming in puffs of steam. The sun had set, but the lights glittered all around them, reflecting off the ice as if they were stars. The crowd around them faded to a blur, and it was as if all that existed was just…Sasuke.

Just him and Sasuke…

"Teme."

"Brrr!" Iruka made a show of rubbing his hands together and shuffling over to the kitchen. "I'm going to make tea."

"That sounds good." Naruto shook himself. Sasuke was debating just keeping his coat on.

"I'm going to grab the champagne." Kakashi winked back at them as Iruka laughed. "Alcohol can keep you warm, too!"

"And we have to celebrate." Naruto grinned back at Sasuke.

"Are we not done celebrating?" They had done so much already…

"Nope." Naruto turned to him with a sly grin and lowered his voice a little. "We aren't nearly done yet…"

Sasuke sucked in a breath as Naruto moved forward—Naruto's lips felt warm and perfect against Sasuke's chilled ones. The kiss was soft and slow, almost tantalizing, and Sasuke could feel the need start to build inside him—

"Champagne!" Kakashi announced.

Naruto pulled away.

"More of that later," the blonde whispered, winking as he moved past him.

"Loud noise incoming!"

A loud pop! followed Kakashi's voice, and Sasuke followed Naruto into the kitchen for a glass of champagne.

"You're all nuts," Iruka said, dutifully taking the glass Kakashi handed to him. "Champagne is cold."

"You can pour it into your tea if you want." Naruto passed Sasuke a glass, grinning at Iruka's disgusted expression.

"Alright!" Kakashi raised his glass, waiting until everyone else followed suit. "To Sasuke—and his future. May it be very bright."

Sasuke shifted, feeling his face grow hot under Kakashi's meaningful gaze—his professor was more than familiar with the way he described Naruto in his writing (that being, in most cases, bright)—but he felt Naruto's hand subtly take his and he couldn't help but give it a small squeeze.

"Cheers!"

It wasn't long before Naruto's parents left them to their own devices. Sasuke seemed to eye him the moment he had the chance.

"What?" Naruto feigned innocence, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from Sasuke. The Uchiha tilted his head up to finish his champagne, and Naruto's eyes drifted down to Sasuke's neck as his Adam's apple bobbed—

He put the glass down, and his body seemed to shiver.

"Still cold?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded, eyes scanning Naruto's face. Naruto felt a wave of arousal rush through him at that look—that look of lust, of desire, that Sasuke was giving him—

"Let me fix that."

Sasuke didn't resist as Naruto used his body to push them up the stairs.

"This isn't making me warmer," Sasuke muttered as Naruto practically ripped his clothes off.

Naruto laughed and shoved him into the bed, wrapping the blankets over the both of them. He wiggled his body against Sasuke's as he leaned in for a soft, slow kiss.

"Better?" He whispered as he pulled away.

Sasuke only replied by pulling him back down again. Naruto stifled a shudder at the feeling of Sasuke's hands running up and down his body—squeezing, pulling him close—he suddenly regretted his position on top of Sasuke because these kisses were making him feel so weak—

Naruto moaned into Sasuke's mouth as he pulled their hips together—he really wasn't going to be able to last much longer if they kept this up. There was no better feeling than knowing that Sasuke wanted him—no better feeling than Sasuke's hands on him, Sasuke's skin against him—Sasuke—Sasuke—

Naruto broke the kiss, gasping for air as he ruthlessly suppressed his orgasm. He was going to make this last—this was—

Naruto's eyes opened.

This night was about Sasuke.

He leaned forwards, pressing a kiss—far more chaste than the others had been—

to Sasuke's lips.

"What?" Sasuke's voice was breathy—Naruto felt his desire spike at the sound. He smiled.

"I love you," he said simply. Sasuke blinked—his eyes becoming just a little more awake. Naruto kissed him again.

"You said you wanted to try," he had slipped between Sasuke's legs, now—almost unconsciously—god, Sasuke's skin was so smooth, "at Lee's birthday—you said you wanted to try."

Naruto swallowed, leaning in against Sasuke's neck—taking a moment to just feel their bodies together—

"I do," Sasuke's voice was low—barely there—but Naruto heard it and the thrill lashed through him like a whip—he couldn't stop the smile if he had all the strength in the world—

"Can I show you what it'll be like? Like you did?"

He pulled back to meet Sasuke's eyes—holding his own hand to his chest, in case Sasuke said—

"Yeah."

Naruto let out a breath—a relieved, delighted breath—

"Yeah?"

Sasuke's mouth widened into that soft, affectionate smile—the one Naruto was almost positive Sasuke didn't know about, but it was his favourite—

"Yes, usuratonkachi."

The laugh bubbled up in Naruto's chest—he let it out against Sasuke's lips, as they moved together—against each other—kissing Sasuke was so effortless, so satisfying—it was always a battle to move himself away from those lips—even with how desperately he wanted to kiss every inch of Sasuke—

But he had an idea—and there was no way he wasn't going to see it through.

"Turn around," he whispered, pulling back from Sasuke just enough to grab the lube. As it was, like this, Naruto would have to pull away to touch Sasuke properly—but if he turned around—

"Like—this?" Sasuke looked back at him, and Naruto's heart damn nearly stopped—

"Yeah," he swallowed, "yeah, like that."

He grabbed the blankets, pulling them over the two of them as he pressed up against Sasuke—with the way he was kneeling, Naruto could straddle one of his legs, not quite in the position to take him from behind, but dangerously close—

He wrapped an arm around his waist so he could grip Sasuke's cock properly—his own pushed right up against Sasuke's thigh—his hips—Naruto let out a breath just to try to get rid of some of the pleasure—

"Sasuke," he breathed, pushing forwards as he pumped Sasuke's cock—his hips moved with Sasuke's, as if thrusting into him—Sasuke thrusting into his hand—

"Mm," Sasuke gave a soft—stifled—moan, head bending down to press into the pillows, but he kept his hips raised—he kept them moving—

"You want more?" He prompted, even as he uncapped the lube—because Sasuke seemed content to remain a soft, trembling mess in Naruto's hand—

"...Yeah."

The word was so soft—so muffled—that Naruto thought he might have dreamed it up. He definitely was going to dream of this later—nearly every fucking night, because—

He pushed a finger in.

"Nngh—"

Sasuke let out a noise and Naruto immediately slowed his pace—as lost in lust as he was, this was still about Sasuke—his own desire was nothing in comparison to how wild he wanted to drive Sasuke, how incredible he wanted to make him feel—

"Is it good?" He tasted the sweat along Sasuke's back. "Is it okay?"

"It's good," Sasuke panted, "it's good—keep moving—"

Naruto pushed in further, keeping the pace with his other hand, but searching—searching for Sasuke's prostate—Sasuke would have never felt this before—

"Tell me when I'm there," he twisted his finger, debating pressing in another—he had only just put in the first, but that didn't stop him from wanting to, "tell me when you feel it."

"When I—hah—"

"You'll know when you feel it," he whispered, still searching—searching—

"I—ah!" Sasuke's eyes flew open wide—his body seizing underneath him—Naruto felt the precum leak out of his cock. "Th—ah—"

There.

"Yeah," Naruto breathed—it was more like a moan—pressing up against Sasuke's prostate again—Sasuke body contracted against him—

"That—ah—th—nngh—"

Sasuke's body twisted underneath him, as if desperately trying to keep himself up but unable to—Naruto knew the feeling—that overwhelming pleasure that left you so weak—

Naruto pressed in a second finger, pushing Sasuke's hips along with it—Sasuke pushed back—

"Fuck, Sasuke—" At this rate—

"Keep—hah—keep doing that—Naruto," Sasuke's words came in pants—it came in time with how they moved—with the way they moved together, the way Sasuke pushed back every time Naruto thrust forward—it was really feeling like—really starting to feel like—

"Nngh—Sasuke—"

"Naruto—ah—"

—like they were having sex—

"Shit—Sasuke—I'm—"

"Mm," Sasuke's head twisted, his body tensed, "yeah—"

There was just no way—there was just no chance—Sasuke was trembling underneath him and he could feel how close he was—how on the edge—Naruto just—he just couldn't help it—

"Sa—Sa—" It was building up—it was twisting and coiling and expanding and building and building and building and Naruto was going to explode—he bit down on Sasuke's shoulder and felt Sasuke's cock contract in his fingers—

"Nngh—god, Naruto—ah!"

He had never heard Sasuke's voice sound quite like that—never heard it crack like that—Naruto's orgasm rocketed through him and it was as if his entire world shifted—

"Fuck, Sasuke," he gasped—pleasure echoing through him, "—ve you—I love you—I—"

Sasuke only gasped in response, breathing in as if he had never breathed before—Naruto felt his body slip through his fingers. He didn't bother trying to catch him—preferring to collapse right with him; he was shaking, too—

"I—came all over your bed," Sasuke mumbled. "I'm getting it everywhere—"

"I don't care," Naruto clutched him tighter, "I came all over your back. I love you." He felt so—so overwhelmed. Sasuke was incredible on a bad day and today had been anything but—

"You keep saying that." Sasuke shifted underneath him—Naruto moved back so he could roll over properly.

"And I'm gonna keep saying it." He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's collarbone—up to his shoulders. "It spends all day building up and I have to get it out somehow or I'll go crazy—"

Sasuke snorted, gently pressing a fist on the top of Naruto's head.

"You're already crazy."

"Crazy for you." Naruto grinned, pressing a kiss to Sasuke's neck.

"That tickles." Sasuke shifted underneath him, but Naruto only smiled, pressing another kiss to his skin before laying his head back down.

There was a pause. A part of him was content just to close his eyes, succumbing to Sasuke warmth—but the other part knew there was no way Sasuke was gonna be comfortable sleeping like this…

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" Naruto dragged his consciousness up a few levels.

"You…" Sasuke paused; Naruto felt him swallow, and he forced himself to sit up.

"Hey," he said, looking Sasuke in his eye, "what's up?"

Sasuke's eyes scanned his—he looked so serious, so solemn.

"Why are you okay with me not…replying?"

Naruto blinked.

"Wh—oh—like not saying I love you, you mean?"

Sasuke nodded. Naruto leaned a bit closer to Sasuke's body, thinking. Well—for one thing—he was pretty positive Sasuke did love him. At least a little bit. He had been pretty sure Sasuke was starting to to love him before he read the manuscript—and then he had sat down and read the whole thing back to front and he had—he had really just felt—

Loved.

Sasuke made him feel loved.

He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's skin.

But he wasn't going to tell Sasuke that. Not yet—not until Sasuke told him so. He wanted Sasuke to realize it—on his own—so Naruto could honestly be sure it wasn't just really, really wishful thinking—

"It's hard to explain." He rubbed his thumb along Sasuke's chest. "I guess I just—I'm just happy being with you. I don't need…like, I know you care about me. Right?"

He gave Sasuke a teasing smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but his hand moved to rest on top of Naruto's.

"Yeah. I dunno. Love is…" Naruto let out a breath, running a thumb along Sasuke's hand in thought, "hard to like—put in a box. It's hard to explain. So I…I can't ask you to know exactly what you feel when it comes to something like that."

There was a pause.

"But you know how you feel."

Naruto shrugged.

"Yeah, but like…I was forced into all this a long time ago," he said, sitting up further. "I had a lot of times where I was…confronted with it, y'know?"

"With…your parents?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah—and my ex-boyfriends, too. I cared about them—y'know—but I didn't love them. I had that time to figure that out—to kind of…explore those emotions, I guess."

Sasuke didn't reply, eyeing Naruto with a speculative gaze.

"Y'know what I think is gonna happen?" Naruto asked, fighting a grin. "I'm gonna do something so dumb, you're gonna be like well I have to be in love with him because why the fuck would I be dating—"

Sasuke reached up and shoved him backwards, and Naruto's words dissolved into laughter.

"Usuratonkachi," he muttered, obviously fighting a smile. Naruto took it as a personal victory.

"C'mon," Naruto said, pulling him up, "let's clean this mess up."

Chapter Text

"So," Iruka started, sitting down at the table. Naruto paused, breakfast halfway into his mouth. Sasuke just huddled his coffee closer to himself.

"So?"

"So," Iruka said again, "we have a surprise for you."

"Oh—are you telling him?" Kakashi's voice came from the kitchen. "Wait for me!"

The grey-haired man shuffled into the room, yawning.

"What's up?" Naruto put down his fork, glancing between his parents.

"We have another Christmas present." Iruka was smiling—he looked as if he could barely contain himself. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, taking another sip of his coffee.

"We didn't want to tell you until it was for sure," Kakashi said, "but we got the email last night."

"The email for what? What's going on?"

They seemed to glance at each other, before Iruka spoke.

"We're getting a dog."

There was a pause—Sasuke watched as Naruto's jaw slowly sagged further open—

"We—what?"

"He's an older dog—well, three years old, so—"

"We're getting a dog?!" Naruto leapt to his feet.

Iruka nodded and Kakashi laughed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto spun to him, eyes absolutely glowing. "I'm getting a dog!"

Without waiting for Sasuke's reaction, he spun back to face his parents.

"He's three? He's a boy? Does he have a name? When can we get him? What's he like? Have you met him? What does he look like? Does he—"

Sasuke reached over and covered Naruto's mouth with his hand.

"Yes, yes, yes, today, I have no idea, not yet, and I think he looks like a pug," Kakashi answered, looking at Iruka for confirmation.

Iruka nodded, and Sasuke released Naruto's mouth.

"A pug!" Naruto was fully yelling, now. "Wait—we're getting him today?!"

"Mhm," Kakashi said, sipping his coffee. "We were hoping you two would come with us to pick him up."

Sasuke blinked, taken aback at his inclusion.

"YES!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air.

Naruto rocked back and forth on his heels, nearly dancing on the spot. Really, how much paperwork did you need to do to get a dog? It was like his own adoption all over again.

He snorted a little at his own joke, turning back to where Sasuke stood—a little ways away, frowning at his phone.

"What's wrong?" Naruto trotted back to him.

"I…got another email." Sasuke's voice was quiet.

"You get a ton of emails. What—"

"From a publisher." He looked up, eyes a little wide—

"Oh," Naruto stared at him, "oh—oh, shit, Sasuke—that's—" he laughed, running a hand through his hair, "damn—I told you you were amazing!"

He ducked around Sasuke to peer over his shoulder.

"They want to meet the same day as the first publisher—a little later."

"Yeah," Naruto rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder, smiling so wide he thought his cheeks might burst, "Oto Publishing, huh? We should tell Kakashi."

Sasuke shook his head.

"They emailed me, not Kakashi. I…"

"Sasuke," Naruto rolled his eyes, "Kakashi isn't gonna be offended if you meet a publisher other than the ones he contacted."

Sasuke's scowl only deepened.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he muttered, "but we tell him after both of the meetings—'cause by then you'll probably have your decision. Right?"

Sasuke turned back to his phone—Naruto took his silence to mean agreement. Good enough.

"How did they even get your email, anyway? If not through Kakashi?"

"I'm not…sure. They do have a website. With published books." Sasuke frowned at his phone. "I've heard of some of these. And they—they used my pen name. In the email, I mean."

"Huh," Naruto peered over his shoulder, "…I'm coming with you, right?"

Sasuke smirked back at him. "Of course you are."

"Okay." He nudged Sasuke with his hip a little. "Meet them after you meet with the first one and if it seems super sketchy or something we'll get the hell out of there."

"Alright." Sasuke poised his fingers over the phone. "I'll let them know."

"Pakkun," Naruto tested the name out for the thousandth time, rolling around on the floor with the dog. "He's so cuuuute!"

Sasuke fought a smile. The dog seemed content to just sit on the floor and sleep, but Naruto had no such ideas.

"It's hard to tell which one is the puppy," Kakashi commented. Sasuke snorted, amused. Naruto really was like a puppy, desperately trying to egg an older dog into playing with him.

"He wanted to meet you, you know," Kakashi said. Sasuke turned to look at him.

"Last year—and the year before." He scratched his chin.

"…Naruto?"

Kakashi nodded.

"He always asked me if he could—after he finished reading your writing. Every time." He let out a soft chuckle. Sasuke stared at him.

"Why…?"

Kakashi gave a wane smile.

"I'm not sure. Something about you must have spoken to him." He turned back to watch Naruto, who was rubbing Pakkun's belly. Sasuke followed his gaze.

"I suppose he's always believed in you."

Sasuke swallowed against the lump in his throat.

Stupid usuratonkachi.

Stupid, stupid, amazing usuratonkachi.

"Why didn't you…?"

"Let him meet you?" Kakashi turned to him with an amused look. "I tried. It's not my fault you took so long to take my advice."

Sasuke's eyes grew wide at the implication—the advice—Kakashi had always suggested oddly specific places—at oddly specific times—for him to try writing in a public place. Sasuke had always just figured the man knew the area well enough by his own experience, but—had he—had Naruto always been—

He opened his mouth—

His phone rang.

Sasuke's stomach dropped as he looked at the screen. Naruto was at his side in an instant.

Their eyes met and Naruto gave him a firm nod. Almost automatically, he pulled Naruto with him—Kakashi's words still spiraling through his head—as he moved to the other room. He couldn't even feel as nervous as he ought to—Naruto quietly shut the door behind them, moving close enough to brush against Sasuke, and Sasuke couldn't resist letting his fingers graze Naruto's palm.

The touch settled what little nerves he had left.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke." His father's voice was clear and stiff, as it always was. No greetings, no fluff—just business.

"Father." He vaguely wondered if he just ought to call the man by his name.

"I would like to set up a meeting," he continued, as if Sasuke was just another one of his colleagues. "Does Friday at seven work for you?"

"AM or PM?" Sasuke asked, as if it mattered to him.

"PM."

"…Fine. That works."

There was a pause. Sasuke's frown softened.

"Is that all?"

"No."

Sasuke waited for his father to elaborate, sharing a confused look with Naruto. Why did his father keep pausing?

He heard the sound of a throat being cleared—once, and then again—

"Did you—" he started, just as he heard his father's voice say "I thought—"

They both paused.

"…Sorry, go ahead." He squeezed Naruto's hand.

"Ah," his father cleared his throat again, "yes, well."

Another pause. Naruto pulled their hands up, pressing a kiss to the back of Sasuke's hand.

"Would you like to meet at your…location?"

Sasuke blinked.

"…My location?" Naruto's house? Surely—

"The location where you have been living."

Oh. Oh. His apartment.

…Why did his father want to see his apartment?

He frowned, considering it. Was he okay with his father knowing where he lived? He would likely find out at one point or another, but…

"I would…like to see it."

Sasuke rocked back on his heels. That was—not what he expected. A thrill ran through his body.

Well, fuck. What did it matter if his father knew where he lived? It wouldn't make any difference. And—if worst came to worst—he could move. He could live with Naruto—even—if the blonde would let him. He could—just—

"Alright," he heard his voice say.

"Oh," Sasuke liked to imagine he heard a hint of surprise in his father's voice, "I—I will get the address from Itachi, then."

Sasuke frowned.

"I can just text it to you," he pointed out.

There was another pause.

"Yes—that would—that works. Thank you."

He had never heard his father sound so awkward. He fought a smile.

"You're welcome." He raised an eyebrow at Naruto, whose face had just broken out into a brilliant smile. "See you then."

"Ye—see you then."

There was a click, and Sasuke turned to Naruto, who stared at him with expectant eyes.

"How do you feel about heading back to my place on Friday?"

"It's gonna be a crazy next few days," Naruto sighed, getting under the blankets. It was more to himself than anyone else, but—

Sasuke fixed him with a fierce glare.

Naruto blinked at him.

"What?"

"Yes, thank you, Naruto." He scowled, turning away from him—and taking the blankets with him.

Naruto frowned at his back for a moment.

Yeah, no.

"Okay, asshole," Naruto pressed himself right up against Sasuke, snaking an arm around his waist, "no need to bite my head off."

Sasuke didn't reply, but Naruto could feel how tense he was. His body was like stone—or, well…Naruto eyed the way his hair contrasted against his neck…his body was like—porcelain, then. Kinda like stone.

Naruto traced his fingers back along Sasuke's hips, sitting up a little. It pulled the blankets down to Sasuke's waist, but he still said nothing. He didn't move at all, either. Naruto hoped he wasn't going to shut down again, like he had after they visited his family…

He lifted Sasuke's hand, pressing a soft kiss to his fingers—and then another, and another, all the way up the back of his hand, around his wrist, back down his palm…Naruto smiled softly, pulling away. He could already feel Sasuke coming back, just a little.

He pressed his thumbs to Sasuke's palm, kneading his skin softly—using grip to massage down each finger, massaging the back of his hand, and then moving up, pressing his fingers to Sasuke's wrist, rubbing them up his forearm, past his elbow—Sasuke was still wearing a shirt, unfortunately—

Sasuke's body turned, just as Naruto reached past his bicep, rolling to look at him. That neutral, detached expression was gone, now, but Naruto really wasn't sure this one was any better—

"Sorry," Sasuke whispered softly. Naruto leaned down to press their foreheads together.

"You're nervous." He ran his thumb over Sasuke's cheek. "You get a free pass today."

"A free pass to treat you badly?"

"A free pass to let me know that you're stressed," Naruto threaded his fingers through Sasuke's hair, "even if you can't do it in the best way. I'd rather know."

Sasuke let out a breath, and Naruto could feel the way his body relaxed—just a little. He pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose.

"I mean, you don't need to tell me anything." He pulled back, giving Sasuke a soft smile. "Sometimes it helps to talk and sometimes it really doesn't, I know. But I don't want you trying to hide yourself from me."

Naruto paused, content just to search Sasuke's eyes for a moment.

"Okay?"

He felt Sasuke's chest fall with the weight of another breath.

"…Okay."

Naruto smiled—trying not the let the relief show on his face as he ducked down again.

"Turn over," he mumbled into Sasuke's neck. "I'm gonna give you a real massage."

"You don't have to do that."

Naruto snorted, pulling back to give Sasuke a look.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause it's such an inconvenience for me. I just hate touching you. It's not like I'm in love with you or anything." He nudged at Sasuke's body until it turned—he might've imagined it, but he swore he caught a hint of a smile on that face.

"Yeah," he let out a breath, bunching Sasuke's shirt up to his shoulders—hands moving up at soft, pale skin, "nothing in this for me at all..."

He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's shoulder blade just as he started to knead his thumb along the muscle. Honestly, tearing himself away from Sasuke was pretty much the hardest thing he had to do every day. He just—he just couldn't get enough of him.

Naruto pressed his thumbs on either side of Sasuke's spine, low down on his back—moving them up as he pushed—

It was like he was addicted. It wasn't even about the lust—Sasuke was always gorgeous, obviously, to the extent that it could get really fucking aggravating because Naruto was just always so fucking attracted to him—but—

He moved his hand up to Sasuke's shoulders.

He was just so…drawn to Sasuke, even now. He had felt it from the moment they met—maybe even before—and he had expected it to calm, over time, but…he felt like he was always fighting the urge to touch him—talk to him—hell, just look at him. If Sasuke wasn't in the same room, he automatically sought him out.

He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts, massaging Sasuke's neck a little.

He was…in it pretty bad. Maybe a little more obsessed than he ought to be. He pressed a kiss behind Sasuke's ear, down his neck…

But he had never felt like this before—so he was just learning as he went along. And, really, so was Sasuke—so they could just learn together, right?

"…Are you trying to turn me on?" Sasuke's muffled voice came from underneath him—Naruto realized he might have been paying a bit too much attention to Sasuke's skin with his mouth—

"No," he said honestly, pulling back, "if I was trying to turn you on, I'd be massaging much lower."

He squeezed Sasuke's butt for emphasis—laughing as it made the Uchiha roll back to face him.

But Sasuke's eyes didn't hold a glare—like Naruto had expected—and—

Naruto's eyebrows raised.

Sasuke's pajamas did absolutely nothing to hide that erection.

"You know," Sasuke said, his casual voice belied by the heat in his half-lidded eyes, "I'm not going to be able to sleep unless you tire me out."

Naruto's grin widened.

"Your wish is my command."

Chapter Text

When Sasuke awoke, it was to the feeling of his stomach turning over. He had slept fine—he thought—and he couldn't remember having any dreams, but his body had obviously still found a reason to panic—

He closed his eyes against another wave of nausea, one hand automatically seeking out the warmth beside him. He found something—Naruto's shirt, probably, and clutched at it.

"Mm—'s'ke? You okay?"

He twisted the cloth tighter.

"Sas—'ke?" He felt the bed shift underneath him—felt Naruto move closer, until he was almost leaning over him—

"I feel sick," he whispered, eyes clenched shut.

"Like—vomit-y, sick? Do you need me to get a bucket or something?"

"Ye—no—I don't know." Sasuke finally let his eyes open, looking up at the disheveled, tired blonde above him.

"Mm," Naruto made a noise, shifting away from him for a moment. "It's…almost seven. Mmkay."

He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's forehead, before he sat up with a small groan.

"Let's get you in the shower—and then we'll get coffee, and Kakashi will sit you down and give you a pep talk. Sound good?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"…Alright."

Sasuke was getting seriously sick of getting this intimidated by the sight of doors.

His hand paused, over the knob—he could see the way his fingers shook and he couldn't even use too much caffeine as an excuse because he had barely even managed the coffee this morning—

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice nearly made him jump. "Teme. Look at me."

Sasuke swallowed, turning to him without moving his hand.

"You've got this."

Sasuke didn't respond.

"You've got this. Look at me and tell me you've got this."

Sasuke let out a breath.

"Out loud, asshole."

"I've got this."

"Good."

Sasuke opened the door.

"I mean it, Jiraiya! Not this time or I'll—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" A white-haired man nearly barreled into them as the door opened—Naruto squished right up against Sasuke so they wouldn't collide with him. "Oh, sorry, kid, I—"

The man stared at Naruto, eyes wide.

"Uh—no worries." Naruto took another step back.

"Is that Mr. Taka? Please come in." A woman's voice called out—and Sasuke turned to Naruto, eyes just a little wider than they should be, as he obediently walked towards the voice. Naruto grinned, shooting him a thumbs up.

He turned back to the man, who still looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Are—you okay? Uh, sir?" He should probably try to be polite to…pretty much everyone here, now that he thought about it. No sense in fucking up Sasuke's chances just because Naruto rubbed the right person the wrong way—

The man seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"Yes—oh, sorry." He held out a hand. "What's your name, kid?"

Naruto gripped it.

"Naruto Uzumaki. You?"

"Hey—hey!" Naruto grinned as Sasuke left—mind still absolutely whirling. He couldn't believe this—he could not—he could not believe he had just happened to run into someone who had known his parents, like this—someone who recognized his name—someone who recognized him, because he looked just like his father—he looked just like his father—

"We have to run," Sasuke muttered, staring down at his phone as he walked past him. "It went too long—we're nearly late—we're going to be late for—"

"Hey, slow down!" Naruto nearly ran to keep up with him. "We're not gonna be late. We still have almost fifteen minutes. When does the bus get here?"

And he had known that they had died—he had known that for as long as he could remember, that his parents had died on his birthday, but to have it confirmed, like this—to know that they had wanted him—the fact that they hadn't given him up—the fact that he really, truly knew, now, he would never even get the chance to meet them—

"In two minutes."

"That—okay, that'll get us there right on time, right?" He tried to give Sasuke a bright smile. He was still very obviously stressed—and as much as Naruto felt like he wanted to burst with everything Jiraiya had told him, he needed to focus on Sasuke, right now. Naruto could wait until after the next meeting, at the very least—

The bus pulled up just as they got to the stop. Naruto let out a breath of relief—he didn't need to see Sasuke to know he was doing the same.

He stared out the window for a moment, not really seeing the street as they pulled away. His father had been an artist, in his spare time—his mother, too—he'd have to email Jiraiya as soon as he got the chance, because he already felt like he was forgetting everything he had been told—his head just felt so scattered, right now, like he could barely hold onto a thought—Naruto stared at his phone, refreshing his emails again—Jiraiya hadn't sent the photos, yet, but he would—he said he would—and he had said he didn't know his mother as well, but maybe he knew someone who did—and—

"—ruto?"

Naruto blinked back at Sasuke, pasting a bright grin on his face.

"Ah—sorry." He violently pushed back the thoughts—just for now, just for now—as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. "Tell me how the meeting went!"

It wasn't in a shady neighbourhood—it looked just as nice as Konoha Publishers had, and everyone seemed awfully nice.

Still, Naruto felt almost kind of…freaked out. Unnerved. Something just felt…off about the place. Something had definitely felt off about the guy who was meeting with Sasuke right now…

Naruto scowled at the door.

Something about the way his hands had lingered, in the handshake—the man had used two hands, fingers tracing along Sasuke's hand as it pulled away—something about the way he had smiled—about the way he had looked Sasuke up and down, eyes glinting even as they narrowed—

Like he was a piece of meat.

Naruto's scowl deepened.

He would never wish for Sasuke's meeting to go badly—of course he didn't want that, but—

He really didn't like this guy.

Sasuke sucked in a breath as he left, fighting the urge to just fall back against the building. Fuck. He was exhausted.

Naruto was anything but.

"Well?! How'd it go?"

Sasuke nodded, smiling a little.

"It went well," he eyed Naruto, "except when you texted me. My phone went off in the middle of the meeting—why did you do that? It was—"

"I was worried! It was a sketchy place!"

Sasuke frowned at him, eyeing the beautiful building behind them. He wasn't sure that anyone would describe Oto Publishing as 'sketchy'.

"Are you serious?"

"Well—it like—it felt sketchy," Naruto shook his head, "and you were alone in the office with that guy—"

"I was alone in an office at Konoha Publishers, too—"

"Yeah, but I liked that place more." Naruto picked up his pace to keep up with Sasuke—they were nearly at the bus stop, now. "Did you see the way the guy looked at you? It was like—"

"Orochimaru is a very accomplished man, Naruto." Sasuke's scowl deepened. What the hell was this? Sasuke had been more than willing to sing this place's praises and he had assumed Naruto would be right there with him—

"Accomplished at being creepy," Naruto muttered—Sasuke wasn't sure if he meant him to hear or not, but he did—

"The advance is far better than the one Konoha offered me," Sasuke tilted his chin up, glaring at Naruto—he hadn't fully intended on making the decision yet, but, "and I was impressed by what I saw. I'm going to go with them."

They paused at the bus stop—Sasuke eyed the schedule. Still a while until the one that would bring them closest to Naruto's parents' house…

"With—with Oto?"

"Yes."

"But—but we haven't even asked Kakashi!" Naruto's eyes were wide. "Did you even find out how the guy got your email? Or your name? I thought that—"

"What is your problem, Naruto?" Sasuke rounded on him. "It's barely been two minutes since I've left the meeting and you're already trying to convince me not to do it? You barely paid attention to anything I said on the way here—"

"No, that's not—"

"I thought you would—that you would at least pretend you were happy—"

"I am happy for you! I know how hard you worked, but—"

"'But'! Of course there's a 'but'! Why am I not allowed to have this?"

He could hear the sound of a bus approaching—see it halfway down the street—

"You are allo—"

"It's a good contract with a good company and just because I got it out of my own merit as opposed to through Kakashi, you—"

The bus slowed to a halt—Sasuke's glance at the schedule told him it wasn't the one to Naruto's house, but it was—

"That's not it at all!"

—the one to his apartment.

"I'm going with Oto, and that's final." Sasuke took a step back, turning towards the bus.

"Wait, you—that's not our bus, Sasuke—"

"It's mine. I'm going back to my apartment." He didn't turn back towards Naruto, only slipping through the crowd to flash his student ID at the driver. It wasn't until he stood—all the seats were full—at the back of the bus that he looked out the window, and back at Naruto's frozen body, and wide, wounded eyes.

The bus pulled away.

What the fuck.

What the fuck.

Naruto jerked himself back into reality, staring down the street where the bus had already driven—

What the fuck had that been?! Sasuke had been—such an asshole! Why did he just leave like that? Why—

Why had Naruto just let him?

Fuck!

Naruto clenched his fist, resisting the urge to slam it into something—both the concrete on the ground and the glass of the bus stop were terrible fuckingoptions—

That had—damn it! Naruto was furious with Sasuke and furious with himself—he had barely even given Sasuke a chance to talk about Oto and of course the first thing he had done was bring up the bad stuff—there was so many more important things he could have said—but—

Sasuke had just left.

He hadn't even given Naruto a chance really—although Naruto hadn't really given him a chance, either—

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, ignoring the pain from the way he pulled it.

As if he was going to let the asshole just run away like that.

He turned back to the bus schedule, scanning through the times. The next one—to Sasuke's apartment, or to the university, really—was in half an hour.

Naruto let out a harsh, frustrated breath and threw himself down onto the sidewalk.

Half an hour, then.

It took about two stops for Sasuke's mind to come back to him. Two stops for Sasuke's anger to simmer down into all but nothing—two stops for him to realize what he had done—

Sasuke gripped the pole so tight his fist began to hurt.

He had just…left. He had fought with Naruto—barely let the blonde say a word—and just left him, in the middle of the street, in the middle of the winter, in the middle of a place that neither of them had ever even been before—

Naruto's frozen expression flashed in his mind and Sasuke nearly stumbled—and then he did stumble, because the bus was slowing to a stop and—fuck—he had to get off this bus right now—he had to—

He tore down the steps, beelining for the bus schedule.

He had to get back there.

Naruto stepped on to the bus, sighing quietly as he showed his driver his ID. Perks of being a student—he guessed—a free pass to hop on and off all the buses his heart desired.

Well, it wasn't really free. It was in the tuition, after all.

Naruto plopped himself in a seat, leaning up against the window.

He felt…really shitty, now. His anger had seeped out pretty fast in the face of the cold, biting air.

Maybe he should have just told Sasuke about Jiraiya right away. He hadn't thought he would be so distracted on the way to Oto…maybe he should have expected it. Maybe he should have realized that Sasuke would definitely know something was up with how easily he could read Naruto—

He grimaced.

And yeah, he hadn't exactly liked the place, but Sasuke didn't have to work with people Naruto liked. Sasuke could do whatever the hell he wanted. And just because Naruto wanted to spend more time at Konoha Publishers—especially after Jiraiya had implied that the woman Sasuke met with had known his parents too—it didn't mean Sasuke had to accept their contract.

And it had been really shitty of him to try to push Sasuke to do exactly that.

He sighed, eyeing the way he had bit one of his nail beds to blood. He really needed to stop doing that.

It took a little while to walk from the bus stop back to Naruto's house; it was a miracle he made it at all, really, because he didn't exactly have the address memorized and Naruto had led the way there…

He swallowed, knocking on the door before trying the knob.

"Oh! Back already?" Kakashi met him there, smiling. "Where's Naruto?"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto hadn't been at the bus stop—Sasuke had just assumed that—

"He's not…here?"

Kakashi's gaze sharpened.

"No," he said, and Sasuke's stomach fell even further. "What happened, Sasuke?"

Chapter Text

Naruto shuffled his feet at Sasuke's back door. He couldn't believe he had actually beat Sasuke here—maybe the route Sasuke had taken had been one of those that looped around? It wasn't like Naruto had had a chance to see what bus it was—beyond it not being the one he usually took—

He knocked at the door again, just in case.

Mad or not—he knew Sasuke wouldn't lock him out. Especially because it was the winter. And Naruto really wasn't dressed for this weather.

But—there was always the off chance he was listening to music, or in the shower, maybe…beyond texting him, Naruto didn't really know how to tell.

Naruto let out a breath, the fog steaming up the glass of Sasuke's door.

He should probably text him.

He tapped Sasuke's name, biting his lip as he thought of how to start—

His phone vibrated in his hands.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. It was—Iruka. Why was Iruka calling him? Already?

"Ah—hey dad. What's up?"

"Sasuke," Kakashi sighed quietly, "this is why…" he shook his head, "perhaps I should have been clearer. I…well, at any rate—I'm glad you came to me with this now. Oto Publishing is a very well-known company. Extremely well-known—to those in the business—for their predatory practices with upcoming authors."

Sasuke sucked in a breath. Kakashi didn't look up.

"But they have—the advance—"

"Mm," he nodded, "they offered you a better one than Konoha did, did they? Do you have a copy of that contract, as well?"

"Ah—yes." Sasuke shifted, passing it to him.

"You are correct," Kakashi said, shifting through the pages, "in that many predatory publishers do not offer an advance—it is one of the warning signs," he sighed again, "but this is Oto, and there is a reason why they are still in business."

He flipped the page, tapping a paragraph with his finger.

"They likely would not have included something so obvious if they knew you weren't alone," Kakashi muttered, skimming the page, "but you'll notice that, by signing this contract, Oto essentially takes the exclusive rights to print, publish and sell your work—in every format, and in every language. Did you discuss the possibility of translation in your meeting?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"No," Kakashi didn't seem surprised, "and the contract won't do so either. This is simply to—take your rights. All of them."

Sasuke was starting to feel even sicker than he had that morning.

"But, of course, they still need to make money from you, and that…" He flipped a few pages, as if searching for something. "Yes—there it is. The catalog fee."

He pushed the contract towards Sasuke.

"An annual fee for your book to be included as part of Oto's catalog. If you refuse to pay, it will be deducted from your royalties, you'll notice."

"…Yes," Sasuke said quietly, "but—"

"Tell me, Sasuke," Kakashi leaned back in his chair, "how much is the fee?"

Sasuke blinked. Surely it said—surely he had just missed it—

"It doesn't say, does it?"

Sasuke slowly shook his head. His stomach was sinking lower with every passing second. How could he have been so stupid?

"I could go on. They also retain the rights to your next work—and although you will share in proceeds, you will also share in billings," Kakashi grimaced, "which they go on to define in a complicated, self-referential way that they will be able to twist in court, no doubt. A publisher is meant to pay for these kinds of expenses—little things, like the cover pages, promotion, conversion to an audio book, etcetera. When your publisher is paying for these things, it makes sense for them to try and save money. When you are paying for them, however," Kakashi glanced at him, "it does not. And—of course—you have already signed away your rights to your work, so none of these decisions will be in your hands."

Fucking hell.

"But—I can back out, right? There's a—"

"Yes, the infamous termination clause." Kakashi flipped through the pages, sliding it towards Sasuke. "You'll notice that you cannot actually back out in the case that the publisher does not deliver what was promised to you. You can only terminate the contract once your book is out-of-print," he pulled the booklet back from Sasuke, "when your book is no longer available for sale in an edition by the publisher or its licensees," Kakashi tilted his head, letting his finger rest on the word 'ebook'—

"Tell me, Sasuke," his finger tapped on the word, "how does an electronic copy go out-of-print?"

Sasuke dug his nails into his leg to stop his hands from trembling. Fuck. Fuck. He had been completely prepared to fall for this. He had been—

"Orochimaru is the best," Kakashi said, leaning in to meet Sasuke's eye, "at what he does. There is a reason they are so successful."

Sasuke swallowed. It did little to fix the nausea in his gut.

"More experienced authors have been taken in than you."

Sasuke stared down at his hands, digging his nails in harder.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head.

"You have to realize," Kakashi flipped the pages together, back to the front, "that when I asked you to give me your manuscript—what I was really asking—what I was really doing—was signing on to become your agent."

Sasuke's head sprung up.

"And as your agent, it would be my job to protect you from publishers such as these." He gestured to the pages. "I should have made that clearer to you. I'm sorry, Sasuke."

There was a pause.

"If you will allow me," he continued softly, "I will look through Konoha's contract with you—and we can negotiate any terms you are uncomfortable with. Or you don't have to go with them at all, if you don't want to."

Kakashi pulled back to look at him.

"It is your decision. Is that alright, Sasuke?"

The lump in his throat was nearly painful.

"I—" he swallowed, once—and then again, "yes. Yes—I—"

He looked away, eyes burning. Fuck—what was with him and being so emotional lately—

"Good," but Kakashi didn't notice—or perhaps, he just knew not to comment on it, "now—I need a favour from you."

Sasuke looked up, the sting in his eyes easing back just a little.

"Could you please convince Naruto to be a little more communicative? This is driving me crazy."

One frantic call from Iruka later, Naruto was in his car, his nerves doing their best to build themselves back up. He could already see their driveway from here, and he had barely picked out what to say to Sasuke—fuck, he needed more time—

"Call me next time, Naruto, for god's sake," Iruka muttered, taking the keys out of the ignition.

Naruto's face flushed.

"I didn't know he was gonna come back here," he mumbled—not making much of an attempt for Iruka to hear. It was a feeble excuse at best—

"You need to get a driver's license, kid," was the greeting Kakashi gave him, eyeing him up and down. He didn't look—pleased, exactly—but he didn't look angry either—

"I know," Naruto shrugged a bit, giving Kakashi an apologetic look—he really hadn't meant to worry them like this, "you gonna get me a car if I do?"

"When you do," Kakashi ruffled his hair, "we'll talk about it. Now go on—Sasuke's in your room."

He was—in Naruto's room. Waiting for him. He had probably heard Naruto come in the door—or maybe he wouldn't have, Naruto couldn't be sure—

He let out a breath as he reached the top of the stairs. The door opened as he reached for the knob—

Naruto smiled. Sasuke looked like a wreck.

"We both went looking for each other, huh?" He leaned against the doorway, eyeing the way Sasuke's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed—

"Yeah," Sasuke's voice was barely a whisper. "Naruto, I'm—"

"Let me in, asshole," Naruto cut him off, gently shoving past him as he did. He wasn't about to let Sasuke take all the blame. He knew he would try.

"Listen," he shoved the door shut behind them, standing in close against Sasuke, "I'm sorry."

"You—"

"Listen," he insisted, "I have to tell you something."

Sasuke's mouth audibly snapped shut.

"When you went in to meet with Konoha—you know the old guy who was in there before you?" He paused until Sasuke nodded. "His name's Jiraiya. He recognized me."

"What do you mean, he—"

"Apparently—apparently," he swallowed, feeling his throat thicken with emotion, "I look a lot like my—father. My birth father."

He met Sasuke's eyes—fuck, there he was, close to fucking tears again—

"He—he was named Minato. And my mom's name was Kushina," Naruto laughed a little, "and Minato took Kushina's name when they got married—Uzumaki."

He laughed again, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes—

"Naruto," Sasuke's eyes were wide, "that's—"

"Wait, that's not—I'm not done," Naruto shook his head, "that's not why—listen. Just—I wanted you to go with Konoha because they knew my parents. Because that might make me meet more people that knew my parents—or something—and that was stupid. That was stupid and selfish and really shitty of me, and I'm really sorry, Sasuke. You should go with Oto—if that's what you want to do then of course you should do it—don't let me—"

Sasuke's lips pressed to his—Sasuke's favourite form of shutting him up, he knew—

Naruto wrapped his arms around him, relaxing into the kiss. It was his favourite, too.

"Naruto," Sasuke said as he pulled away, "you were right."

Naruto blinked.

"I—about what?"

"About—how I should have talked to Kakashi before we left today," Sasuke looked down, his voice quiet, "about the bad feeling you got in that building. About how I should sign on with Konoha, instead."

"What do you—"

"Kakashi looked through the contract," Sasuke shook his head, "and it's—it's made to take advantage of me. And I was going to fall for it."

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"Shit."

Sasuke nodded, lips tight.

"I should have listened to you." He leaned in, resting his face against Naruto's neck. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Naruto mumbled. "I should've been more positive anyways. And I shouldn't've let you run away. If you leave after a fight like that again I'm gonna chase you down and kick your ass."

Sasuke gave a small laugh.

"…Please do." He tightened his arms around Naruto. "You should have told me about your birth parents. Don't hide that."

"I didn't wanna distract you."

"Don't hide it." Sasuke pulled back, nearly glaring at Naruto. "I don't care how inconvenient you think it is. Don't hide things like that."

"I wasn't trying to hide it." Naruto laughed a little, brushing some of Sasuke's hair out of his eyes. "I was gonna tell you right after."

"Tell me right away. I could tell something was off."

"I know." Naruto pulled them back together, pressing a kiss against Sasuke's neck. "You know me too well, asshole."

"You're just a terrible liar." Sasuke's voice was soft, and Naruto could feel him starting to thread his fingers through Naruto's hair. "So tell me now. Did you get any pictures of them?"

"No—he said he'd email me them later." Naruto felt Sasuke take a few steps back—but his arms didn't loosen. He didn't resist as Sasuke pulled him down onto the bed. "He knew my dad better than my mom, I think."

"Mm," Sasuke pulled Naruto to lie between his legs, head resting against his chest.

"I know how they died."

A small intake of breath was the only reaction Naruto got—that, and the way Sasuke's arms tightened around him—

"It was—on the way to the hospital, y'know—I…well, it was a car crash. My mom was already…when I was born, I don't think she…"

Sasuke's hands tightened around him to the point where it was nearly painful.

"…Pass me your phone," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"Pass me your phone," Sasuke repeated, more insistent this time—

"Uh," he sat up, fishing it out of his pocket, "here—why—"

Sasuke frowned at it for a moment—Naruto heard the tapping of the keyboard and the little chime when a message sent—

"What—"

"Just wait a second." Sasuke pulled him back down to lay against his chest, fingers continuing their ministrations through his hair.

Naruto frowned a little, but waited. It was only a moment before—oh—

"What's going on?" Iruka's worried face peered through the door.

"Are you two decent?" Kakashi's voice filtered in too—Naruto felt his face burn and he moved to pull away—

"Come sit down," Sasuke called back, unfazed. He let Naruto sit up but, apparently, wasn't going to let him move any further away; he only sat up with him, arms still wrapped around his waist just as tight.

"They should be here, too," he whispered in his ear.

Naruto let out a breath. Sasuke was right, he knew, but—he still felt oddly…nervous.

"What's going on?" Iruka asked again—and this time, even Kakashi looked worried.

Naruto sucked in a long breath, and began to talk.

It was strange.

Sasuke kept his arms around Naruto, content to simply listen to the sound of his voice. Iruka and Kakashi had taken over asking questions, as few as there were, and comforting Naruto, as much as he had needed. Sasuke thought—aside from a few shaky moments—that the blonde had held himself together remarkably well, all things considered.

Sasuke pressed in closer, resisting the urge to close his eyes.

It felt strange to be a part of this. Even though it had been his idea—really, he had barely questioned the idea once it had hit him—it just made sense that Iruka and Kakashi had to be here—but—he hadn't expected to feel so—

Calm.

Accepted.

Like he was really part of this. Really part of a—family.

He let out a breath, fighting against the lump in his throat.

He desperately wanted this closeness with his parents.

He could admit that to himself, now. He was just too...tired. Too tired of fighting the memories back...too tired to be angry anymore—even if it had been holding the sadness at bay.

But his parents were no Kakashi and Iruka, he knew—and he was no Naruto. Maybe it would never be like this—just because of who they all were, but he was still…grateful. To have a glimpse of this, at the very least.

A glimpse of what it could be like.

But Iruka and Kakashi were getting up, now, and Sasuke realized that he might have been lost in his own thoughts for a bit too long. He didn't have a chance to protest before he was smothered in a hug—meant for Naruto, he was sure, but Sasuke got pulled along with him nonetheless.

They closed the door on the way out, and Naruto leaned back against him, eyes closed.

"…Thanks, Sasuke."

Sasuke only wrapped his arms around Naruto tighter.

The next time Sasuke awoke, the sun was long gone. He hadn't realized he had been so tired—but maybe it made sense, with how restless he had been last night and how much they had both been through today…

He rolled over—Naruto was still fast asleep, beside him, mouth wide open as usual. Sasuke gave a soft snort.

He traced a path down Naruto's chest—down to where his shirt had ridden up, down to where he could feel his skin, properly…

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to his stomach.

He still felt guilty about today—about this morning. About leaving Naruto out in the cold, like that—about not trusting Kakashi, who had been there for him to an extent that few other adults had—about not confronting Naruto, when he had had the chance, about why his mind had been drifting…

He nuzzled the skin just under Naruto's belly button, pressing kisses to it when he could. Naruto always felt so…warm. He was so full of life—so full of light. He brought a brightness to Sasuke's life that he had never had before—that he had never thought he could have. He hadn't thought someone like this could exist.

"Mm—n, tickles…" Naruto's sleepy voice came from underneath him—Sasuke only pressed closer in response.

But Naruto did exist—he existed and he loved Sasuke. Really, truly loved him—treating him as if he was somehow special, something to be revered, as if Naruto was the one who was lucky—

Sasuke smiled softly.

What an idiot.

An idiot that was far from awake—unfortunately. Naruto was always a heavy sleeper. Even before they were dating, he had known that.

He would just have to try harder.

"Naruto," he muttered, letting his teeth graze over the tanned skin—he felt Naruto shift, letting out a long breath, underneath him—

"Nn—s…"

Sasuke bit down.

"S—ah—wh—" Naruto's eyes sprung open, wide and unfocused—

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke greeted him, lips moving along the warmth of his skin.

"Teme...why—wake m'up…?" Naruto slurred, eyes relaxing back to half-lidded awfully quickly—

"Don't fall back asleep," he warned.

"M'not," Naruto mumbled, eyes closing.

Sasuke bit down again—harder.

"Ow—ow, S—asshole, 'kay—fine, m'up." Naruto shoved himself up, Sasuke easily moving with him. It was barely a second before the smile was back on Naruto's face.

"Hey," he said softly, rubbing the base of his palm over his face. "What time is it…?"

"I have no idea," Sasuke answered honestly.

Naruto snorted.

"Then why'd you wake me up?" His grin turned teasing, and Sasuke could see the way his eyes sparkled with laughter, even in the dark. Sasuke pressed another kiss to Naruto's stomach.

"Let's go for ramen tomorrow," he said, blatantly ignoring the question, "to your usual place."

Naruto's smile widened.

"I knew it," Naruto tilted his head until it rested against his own shoulder, "you missed me."

Sasuke bit down again.

"Ow—hey!" Naruto laughed, kicking at him. "Asshole!"

Sasuke only smirked, easily avoiding the squirming blonde. He rolled off of Naruto, gazing up at the makeshift constellations that littered the ceiling—they weren't quite as bright as the blonde, in the darkness of Naruto's room, but they were a close second.

"Is that gonna be...okay?"

Sasuke blinked, letting his head roll to face Naruto, who looked far more serious, now.

"Like—tomorrow, I mean."

Ah.

"I'm not going to take my stress out on you again, Naruto," he answered quietly. He wasn't exactly the master of handling situations well, but he wasn't about to let himself do that again any time soon—no matter how nervous he was about seeing his father again.

"Hey—that—I didn't think you would!" Naruto shook his head, sitting up. "That's not what I meant. It's just—y'know," he sat up even further, leaning close to Sasuke, "if we go to Ichiraku's, I'm gonna want you to meet everybody. Ayame and Teuchi for sure, at least."

Sasuke blinked as Naruto brushed some hair from his eyes.

"Sure."

He hadn't expected anything less.

"I just—thought it might be too much for one day." Naruto smiled softly. "I only make you do social stuff in small doses. Haven't you noticed?"

Sasuke snorted.

"I'm not sure we have the same definition of a small dose."

Naruto's face broke out into a grin, and he rolled away with a soft laugh.

"Naruto," Sasuke called his attention back to him, "I'd love to meet them."

Chapter Text

One loud, boisterous lunch later, an absolutely bouncing Naruto ended up on the bench outside of his apartment. Sasuke had debated (he still didn't know if it was the right decision) whether or not he wanted Naruto there with him for the meeting. The answer was unabashedly, absolutely yes—but his father wouldn't be receptive to it. And he could handle his father on his own.

He swallowed, raising his chin. He could handle his father on his own.

Maybe if he just kept repeating that to himself, the nerves wou—

There was a knock.

Sasuke let his eyes close for just a moment, exhaling.

Well—no time like the present…

"Father," he greeted awkwardly, moving aside to let him in. He suddenly fiercely regretted telling the man to park in the back—what he would give to see a blonde head of hair through the window right now—

"Sasuke," his father responded in kind. He must have come straight from work—either that, or he had felt the need to dress up to meet his youngest son. Sasuke wasn't sure which explanation was more plausible.

Fugaku stepped around the partition, and Sasuke felt his heart hammer against his ribcage. The nerves were only getting worse—he didn't think he could feel any more anxious about this and yet his body continued to surprise him—

"It's—smaller than I expected."

Sasuke frowned. His apartment was perfectly reasonable, he thought—if a bit barren—and anyways, if there was anything wrong with it, it wasn't his fault—

"Did you—take some things elsewhere?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"No, this is it." He eyed his kitchen. It was polite to offer tea or coffee, he knew, but he was so tired of putting on faces—

"It's rather…empty."

Sasuke frowned. His father was most certainly judging his apartment, and he wasn't sure he appreciated it.

"I didn't exactly have money to spend," he fired back, relishing in the barest hint of a flinch his father made. Sasuke moved closer to his desk—if he got close enough, he would be able to catch a glimpse of Naruto—just—he just wanted to see him—

He turning away, leaning enough to glance through the window—Naruto had his legs pulled up onto the bench, hugging his backpack to his chest. He was staring at something intently on his phone—one thumb out of his mitten so he could use the touch screen. Sasuke watched for a moment longer before he turned back to his father.

"I have made arrangements for your tuition," his father said suddenly, "and I will pay your apartment fees. Please accept the credit card on my behalf."

For the second time, Sasuke eyed the card with trepidation—and dissatisfaction.

"So—what? You suddenly support my decision?"

His father's nostrils flared.

"I do not."

Sasuke's anger—an easily lit match—flared to life.

"Of course not. You—"

"You left your home—your family—for a career that—"

"You told me to leave!" Sasuke's voice rose to a level barely below yelling—he forced himself to calm, spinning around back to the window. "You were the ones who made that decision. Not me."

"We made no such decision."

Sasuke scoffed. He gripped the windowsill to keep himself from rounding at his father—he knew—he knew full well what had happened—

"But that—that is not—"

Sasuke turned. His father looked almost…unsure.

"That is not why I came here today."

Sasuke's mouth twitched. He could still feel his heart hammering in his chest, but—

"Why did you, then?"

His father shifted, eyes darting away and then back to him.

"To move forward."

Sasuke blinked.

"…Your—friend seemed to think it was the right…course to take."

His—

"My friend?"

"The blonde…man."

Sasuke's blood sparked in his veins.

"Naruto," he corrected. It was on the tip of his tongue to correct his father—the way he said friend—

"Who you brought to the dinner, yes."

"Yes," Sasuke repeated—it very nearly came out as a hiss.

Fugaku's nostrils flared again.

"The family dinner."

In that moment, there were several responses that flittered through Sasuke's head—each more vicious than the last. Fugaku was never supposed to be at that dinner in the first place—

"Why did you bring him?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed—the words burst forth before they even registered in his head—

"Because I love him."

There was a pause.

Sasuke turned back to the window, rocking back on his heels. Of all the things to say—he hadn't—well, maybe on some level, he had known, but—

"You—what?"

Sasuke straightened his spine.

"I love him," he repeated, stronger than before, "and he loves me. I brought—"

"You—he is a man—"

Sasuke's head whipped back around.

"Yes," Sasuke looked his father dead in the eye, "I love a man. I am dating a man. I may someday marry a man, because I am gay."

He gave his father a challenging look, but he only let the pause last for a moment—he didn't want to hear his father's reply—not yet—

"I am also studying writing—a program from which I will graduate—and likely the only program from which I will graduate, because I intend on pursuing it as a career." Sasuke shifted, sucking in a breath—the air mixed with the adrenaline, pushing him to continue. "Let's keep going: how else may I disappoint you?"

Something flashed across his father's face—it was gone too quickly for Sasuke to make out. He stuck his hands in his pockets, afraid his father would pick out the way they shook—

But his father wasn't replying, and Sasuke could feel his adrenaline waning. He looked down at the floor.

"I know you don't like it," he said softly. "I didn't want to lie to you—or mother—about who I was. Who I am," he corrected, pausing to swallow. "I hope that—at least—isn't a disappointment."

He shrugged a little, sighing.

"Maybe it is," he said, still unable to look at his father, "but it—won't change. You might think it was a choice—a decision that I made, but it wasn't. Not for me."

The silence seemed to ring in his ears—getting louder with each moment he didn't speak—

"I didn't want to leave. Why would I have?" He shook his head, eyes unfocusing as the memories started to flood his mind—

"Do you have any idea how it felt when I turned around and realized I no longer had a home?" The sting was starting in his eyes again and he fought it—brutally, fiercely, he fought it back. "How it felt to realize that my parents were okay with never speaking to me again? That I meant so little to them—that they didn't even check—if Itachi hadn't—"

He wouldn't cry—he would not cry—damn it—damn it—he would not fucking cry—

His father moved forwards.

Sasuke froze—in body and mind—as his father's arms wrapped around him.

And then he crumbled.

It was as if the floodgates had opened, as he clutched at his father's back—he just couldn't hold in the sobs any longer. He knew he should try to stop—try to control himself, but his father's arms tightened—he could feel them shaking, too—and—fuck—he had missed his family so much—

He pulled back, wiping at his face, trying to compose himself—but he could see his father's eyes, and they were red, too—and he couldn't remember—he couldn't remember ever seeing them look like that—

"Sorry," he said, wiping at his face again. "I—"

"Sasuke," his father interrupted him, voice sounding thick—he cleared it for a moment, "I—let me be clear."

His father's chin rose—in a moment of clarity, Sasuke realized he did the same thing when he was trying to still his nerves—

"You are our son," he said. "Above all else—you are that. Your mother and I—and Itachi—will love you—even when we fight. Even when we don't…understand."

His father's eyes flickered to the side—distantly, Sasuke wondered if that was directed towards Naruto or his writing—

"And I am very familiar with Itachi's spending habits," he said gruffly. "I knew when they changed—and I knew why."

He paused—the realization of what he was implying slowly scattering through him, settling deep into his mind—

"If I hadn't known you were safe, I would have come looking for you long ago."

A wave of emotion rushed through Sasuke—if the wall hadn't been directly behind him, he might have stumbled—he clutched at the ledge behind him—

"Oh," he breathed.

His father—his father had known. The entire time—he had—

He inhaled, looking up at his father just as the man swallowed. His eyes hadn't recovered, Sasuke noticed—feeling some relief at the fact that he wasn't the only one so choked up—

"Will you come home—for New Year's Eve?"

Home.

Sasuke sucked in a breath, opening his mouth to speak—

"You may bring your…Naruto."

Sasuke stared at him.

How could he refuse?

As soon as he got the text from Sasuke, Naruto sprinted to the door. He had been absolutely exploding with nerves this entire time—he had no idea what to expect—he hoped it went okay—fuck, he really hoped it went okay—

The door opened.

"Sasuke—"

Whatever he was going to say was stolen from him as Sasuke pretty much collapsed into his arms. Naruto automatically pulled him close, eyes wide—he could feel Sasuke shaking—Sasuke buried his face into his neck and Naruto felt the unmistakable feeling of tears sliding down his neck—

"Sasuke." He grabbed him tighter as he shut the door shut behind them. If Sasuke's father had—if he had—oh, Naruto would fucking kill him—

"Just—let me," Sasuke's voice—thick and uneven—was muffled by Naruto's body, but he heard him all the same, "just—"

Sasuke's voice broke and Naruto felt his heart do the same.

He sank back against the door, clutching Sasuke as close as he could. His heart was drilling a hole through his damn chest—fuck—he hoped Sasuke was okay—

Sasuke gave a shuddering sigh—Naruto felt his lips press to his neck for barely a moment—and then he pulled away, eyes red and puffy.

"Are you okay?" Naruto frantically searched his eyes for any hint of what he might be feeling—

Sasuke nodded, his hand running down Naruto's arm until it held his. He gave Naruto a soft smile, and Naruto felt his breath leave him.

"Yeah."

Naruto laughed—a soft, disbelieving laugh as he continued to scan Sasuke's face. He looked almost…happy? It seemed impossible—completely unbelievable—and yet—

"It went well," Sasuke answered Naruto's unasked question, his free hand wiping at his eyes. "Better than well, really. I had no idea—"

He breathed out, laughing a little.

"I learned a lot," Sasuke continued, still smiling in spite of the way his eyes shone. "My father—he knew Itachi was supporting me."

Some sort of disbelieving relief flooded Naruto's veins—he stared at Sasuke with a rapidly widening smile—

"I learned that my father—loves me," Sasuke swallowed, his eyes slowly moving up to meet Naruto's.

"I learned that I love you."

Naruto's heart stopped.

"I love you, Naruto."

For a moment, all Naruto could do was stare—and then Sasuke's lips were on his and it was Naruto's turn to start to tremble, grabbing desperately at Sasuke's body as they kissed—because he—because Sasuke—

He buried his face into Sasuke's neck.

"I love you too." He squeezed him closer, heaving in a shuddering breath. "Fuck, Sasuke, I love you so much—"

He cut himself off before his sentence became a sob—he was just so—overwhelmed—

"…Yeah," Sasuke's voice was soft, "it almost hurts, doesn't it?"

Naruto nodded frantically, unmoving from Sasuke's skin.

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke said. "Come here…"

Naruto looked up, quickly wiping at his eyes as Sasuke leaned forward—capturing his lips with his own—oh—

Sasuke's lips moved against his—his tongue in his mouth, his body pressed up against Naruto's—because he—he was in love with him—

"God—" Naruto broke the kiss to clutch Sasuke close to him again—he just—he felt like such a fucking wreck—

"Are you okay?" Sasuke sounded vaguely amused—Naruto let out a soft laugh.

"Yeah, sorry." He pulled back, realizing he was probably squeezing Sasuke a bit too hard. "M'just—" he sniffed, wiping at his face, "really happy."

Sasuke gave him a soft smile.

"Um—how'd you—I mean—what did I—"

"—Have to do with my father?" Sasuke finished, his head leaning to the side a little. Naruto nodded, swallowing thickly.

"He asked why I brought you to the dinner," Sasuke shrugged a little, "and I was honest."

Naruto laughed.

"He was really stuck on that, huh? I must've really offended him." Naruto threw him a weak grin. He really hoped his relationship with Sasuke wouldn't be another problem for him…

"Maybe he suspected something." Sasuke shifted, brushing some hair out of Naruto's eyes. "I'm not sure. But he knows, now."

Naruto let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"Oh," he breathed, "how did he…?"

"Not well, but not badly. I think he will deal with it." Sasuke looked away for a moment, frowning. "He'll have to deal with it, at any rate."

Naruto was immediately on the verge of tears again.

"Ah—fuck," he ducked down, sniffing, "you—ah—stop it—"

"Stop what?"

"Stop—" Naruto desperately tried to clear his throat, "stop making me think about how much I love you. I'm trying to—"

He cut himself off—he could feel how his voice was about to break—

Sasuke chuckled—Naruto felt his hand on his chin, lifting his face up—

"Crybaby," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Sasuke's lips pressed against his and it was so hard to keep track of his thoughts…Sasuke felt so—Naruto sighed against his lips—he could keep kissing Sasuke forever…

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as Sasuke pulled away.

"Stay with me here tonight?" Sasuke's eyes searched his.

"Of course," Naruto immediately responded. He'd honestly figured that was the plan already—it's why he bothered to bring his backpack at all. Besides, he could hardly imagine leaving Sasuke's side now—now that he knew that he—

He pressed their lips together again, driven half mad by the sudden need to kiss Sasuke—to touch him, to feel him—his tongue explored Sasuke's mouth as if he had never kissed him before—

Sasuke pulled away again.

"Naruto," he whispered, eyes hooded, "I want you."

Naruto's mouth widened into a smile.

"I love it when you say that..." He leaned down to kiss Sasuke's neck—Sasuke automatically tilted his head to give him better access—

"No," he breathed—it was almost like a sigh, "Naruto—I want—"

Naruto pulled away, searching his eyes.

"I want—you," he swallowed, feeling the familiar hum of nerves under his skin. "I want to feel you. I want to show you. I want—"

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"You want—to have sex…?"

Sasuke nodded, desperately hoping Naruto wouldn't react badly—he knew Naruto wouldn't react badly, but that didn't stop the nerves—

"Only if you—if you—I'm sorry if—"

Naruto kissed him with such ferocity that he stumbled back—and then Naruto was pushing him backwards—backwards—the kiss only broke as Sasuke fell back onto the bed, Naruto straddling him—

"You have no idea," Naruto breathed—his voice sounding different, somehow, "how—god—Sasuke—you—"

He leaned forwards, his arms slipping underneath Sasuke to clutch him close.

"I don't want you to have any regrets." He felt Naruto's breath against his skin.

"I won't," he said immediately. Naruto pulled back to look at him, eyes scanning his for something—

"Naruto," he couldn't help the smile—the stupid idiot was so worried over nothing, "I want this."

Naruto swallowed, eyes still wide—

"I—like, the way we are now…?"

"Yes," Sasuke reached up, brushing some of Naruto's hair back, "I said I wanted to feel you. I mean it."

Naruto let out a shuddering breath, diving back down to clutch Sasuke to him.

"I love you," he breathed against Sasuke's skin—Sasuke felt the chills spark through him at the sensation—

He smiled a little.

"Prove it, usuratonkachi."

Naruto laughed—his eyes were glittering with delight as he pulled back.

"Teme," he whispered. "Um—I have stuff back at my place—like condoms, and—"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, "there's a bag under the bed."

Naruto's eyes went so wide that Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. Really, was it really so shocking that he had picked up a few things while he had been 'Christmas shopping'? It wasn't as if they hadn't talked about it.

Naruto pressed a soft, slow kiss to his lips before he shifted off him, dropping to the floor to look under the bed. Sasuke sat up a little as Naruto dragged the plastic bag out, raising his head to eye Sasuke.

"There's a lot of stuff in this bag."

Sasuke's cheeks flushed.

"I," he swallowed, looking away, "wasn't sure what was best."

Naruto laughed—Sasuke felt the bed sag as the blonde moved back onto it, but he refused to look back at Naruto until he could get his blush under control—

"I'm not laughing at you." Naruto's arms wrapped around him again. "I'm really happy. I'm really, really happy, Sasuke."

Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling the warmth flood through his body.

"I did the same thing." Naruto laughed again, still gripping his shoulders as he pulled back. "I think I bought more than you did—I didn't know what you'd like—"

Sasuke let out a breath, smiling as Naruto rested his forehead against Sasuke's.

"Then let's find out."

That—apparently—was the only permission Naruto needed to kiss Sasuke again, sighing softly against his lips. Naruto's hands slipped under his shirt, pushing the fabric up until Sasuke took the hint—breaking the kiss—he only had a moment to toss his shirt away before Naruto's lips were on him again, on his neck, this time—moving down to his collarbone—Naruto's thumb slipped under Sasuke's pants as he ran his tongue over his nipple—Sasuke couldn't quite manage to stifle the groan—

In a heartbeat, Naruto had Sasuke's pants unzipped and yanked down just enough to wrap his lips around Sasuke's cock. Sasuke felt his sanity strain under the pleasure—his thoughts melted from his mind—at this rate he was going to cum before Naruto even took his clothes off—

"Naruto—" He scratched at the blonde's shoulders until those blue eyes looked up at him. "Na—hah—"

Naruto's mouth slowly—slowly—left his cock, his tongue swirling along the head before he moved his kisses to Sasuke's hips, his chest—he gripped Sasuke's cock with his hand—

"Yes?" He ran his tongue along Sasuke's side.

Sasuke sucked in a breath, fighting desperately against the pleasure—

"I—hah," his eyes fluttered shut as Naruto gave his cock a rough pump, "nngh—Naruto—I don't want to cum yet—hah—"

He felt Naruto smile against his skin—and then the blonde pulled back. Sasuke opened his eyes just in time to see Naruto kick his own clothes to the floor—where Sasuke's had fallen to, too—Sasuke took a moment to appreciate the fact that Naruto was just as hard as he was—

One of Naruto's hands rested on the plastic bag—the other lifted Sasuke's ankle up to press a kiss to it—and another—and another, his lips moving up Sasuke's leg—

"You got water-based lube," Naruto muttered against his skin—distantly, Sasuke realized he was ruffling through the bag with the hand that wasn't on Sasuke's leg, "and silicone—water is what we've been using, but it dries out—but silicone is—"

"Messy," Sasuke sighed as Naruto pressed another kiss to his thigh, "but it lasts longer." He tilted his head to meet Naruto's gaze, looking up at him. "I did my research, usuratonkachi."

He felt Naruto's lips widen into a smile—those lips had nearly made it to his hips, now—

"Mm," Naruto paused to suck on his skin, "so tell me—"

Naruto paused, lips hovering over Sasuke's cock—fuck—he could feel Naruto's breath—

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

For one wild moment, the only answer in Sasuke's mind was 'you'—before he realized that Naruto was talking about lube, not how badly Sasuke wanted him—

"Silicone," he breathed—the less breaks they had to take, the better. Sasuke's patience was wearing thin and they hadn't even started yet—

"It might stain your sheets," Naruto pointed out.

"I don't care." There wasn't a single part of him that remotely cared about that right now, of all things—he was far too preoccupied with the way Naruto's tongue darted out against his lips—tantalizingly close to his cock—

Naruto grinned and Sasuke nearly growled—the blonde fucking knew what was he was doing to him—

"Nngh—ah—!"

Naruto must have seen the impatience on Sasuke's face—either that, or he caught on to the way Sasuke's hips had been inching up, ever so slightly—because he immediately set about burying his face in Sasuke's crotch again. Sasuke collapsed against the pillows—distantly hearing, over the sound of his groans, the sound of a cap flipping open—

Naruto pulled up, licking up and down his shaft as he shifted—Sasuke felt his fingers press against him—was it two?—Sasuke couldn't be sure—

At the same time that Naruto took him back into his mouth, his fingers entered him—they slipped in so easily, as if Naruto was getting more comfortable—more confident—with stretching Sasuke like this—

"They're all the way in. Is it okay?" Naruto pulled up, using his free hand to stroke Sasuke's cock as he flexed his fingers. "Does it hurt?"

"Hah—ah—" Sasuke swallowed, trying to catch his breath. "It's—good. It doesn't hurt."

He just felt…full—a little overwhelmed—there were so many different sensations that he could barely find one to focus on—

"Sasuke," Naruto voice centered him, bringing him back to reality—he opened his eyes, suddenly needing to see Naruto—

Those eyes were watching him—he had seen that intensity in them before, but never to this degree—Sasuke sucked in a breath—

"I'm going to put in another finger, okay?"

Sasuke nodded—as if he could do anything else—exhaling as he felt the finger slowly enter him—

"That's three," Naruto answered his unasked question, leaning back down. "Is it okay?"

Naruto's fingers flexed, moving out—stretching him—Sasuke desperately tried to catch his breath enough to respond—

"Hah—ye—oh, fu—nngh—!"

Sasuke's nails scratched against the bedsheets as the sensations overwhelmed him—Naruto had found his prostate and the blonde knew it—ah—god—

"Na—fuck, Naruto, I can't—I'm—hah—you—"

He threw his head back, eyes squeezed shut—he was so close—he had to—

Naruto's movements slowed—Sasuke wrenched his eyes open to glare at him—

"Do you want to cum like this?" Naruto's lips moved along his cock, his eyes unwavering from Sasuke's—

"No," he breathed—he saw Naruto's lips quirk up in a hint of a grin—

"Tell me what you want, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared, eyes wide, as Naruto ran his tongue along Sasuke's shaft—his fingers pressed down on Sasuke's prostate—

"Nngh—" How Naruto expected him to reply in this state Sasuke had no idea—

Naruto's lips left his cock—Sasuke opened his eyes just in time to see him move up, fingers still flexing inside him—Sasuke sat up to meet his lips midway—

"Because I want you," Naruto whispered, pulling away to press kisses along Sasuke's chin. "Sasuke," he breathed, "I want you so fucking bad—"

Naruto's voice cut off in nearly a whine—he shuddered forwards, pressing against Sasuke—his cock pressed against Sasuke's—

"I'm sorry," he muttered, lifting his eyes to Sasuke's. "I don't think I'm gonna last very long."

Sasuke kissed him—as hard as he could in between his gasps for breath—

"Neither am I," he said—Naruto had relented, a little, from pressing on his prostate, but his fingers continued to stretch him—and they—they felt so good—

Naruto gave a weak laugh, hugging him close.

"I love you so much, Sasuke—" Naruto sounded nearly as breathless as Sasuke felt.

"I love you too," Sasuke closed his eyes, letting the last of his tension fall out of his body as he sagged against Naruto, "and I'm ready."

Naruto pulled back, scanning his face—

"Tell me what you want," he said again. Sasuke smiled a little.

"Usuraton—kachi," his voice broke as Naruto brushed against his prostate, "you know I want you."

Naruto captured his lips—softly, tenderly moving against his—as he slowly withdrew his fingers—Sasuke heard the plastic bag rustle again—

"Teme," Naruto said as the condom wrapper flittered down to the floor. "If at any point you want anything—to stop, or change positions, or anything—it's yours. I'm yours."

Sasuke shuddered as Naruto leaned down to lick and suck at his thigh—there was something incredibly erotic about watching Naruto stretch the condom over his cock—

"Okay?" The cap of the lube clicked open.

Sasuke gave a shaky nod, letting Naruto's hand guide him up, onto his lap—he wrapped his arms around Naruto, kneeling up over his lap—over his cock—

Naruto's hand cupped Sasuke's face, his thumb running along his cheek.

"You look nervous." Sasuke scanned the blonde's face.

"I am." Naruto gave a breathless laugh. "I want this to be perfect for you."

Sasuke shifted, pulling Naruto closer so he could hide his face in his neck.

"It will be," he said softly. "It's with you."

He heard Naruto suck in a breath—he reached underneath himself, hand slipping along Naruto's cock as he positioned it—

"I love you, Sas—"

—he sank down—

"—nngh—ah, Sasuke—!"

"Hah—ah—" Sasuke paused, trembling against Naruto—it was official—fingers were not a cock—fuck—

"Are you okay?" Naruto tried to pull back—presumably to see his face—but Sasuke's arms felt as if they were locked around him—

"I j-just—" he tightened his grip, sucking in a breath, "need a second—hah—"

"You feel really tight," Naruto's hands ran up and down his back, "I can pull out and stretch you more—"

Sasuke inhaled another deep breath, relaxing himself as he pulled back to press a kiss to Naruto's lips.

"How does it feel?" He rested his forehead against Naruto's, sneaking kisses in between words—he relaxed a little more—

"Fucking amazing," Naruto breathed, eyes a little wide, "but—"

Sasuke gave a long, slow exhale as he lowered himself further—he kept his eyes open, this time—because Naruto—

"Oh—god—Sasuke—fuck—"

—looked as if he could barely keep himself from cumming. Sasuke couldn't stop the smile at the thought, even as the sensations threatened to overwhelm him—it was so much but—yes—that was it—

He let out another breath.

"You're in me completely," he said softly—Naruto gave a shuddering nod, eyes looking awfully bright—

"I am." Naruto swallowed, hands clutching at Sasuke's body. "I—Sasuke—"

Sasuke let his lips move against Naruto's, taking a moment just to—just to feel…

He opened his eyes as the kiss broke—a string of saliva linking Naruto's tongue to his. This was…exactly what he had wanted. Feeling Naruto like this…

This was perfect.

And Naruto tensed, just then, Sasuke's name stuttering out of his mouth in a soft, breathless whisper. The happiness in his eyes mixed with the disbelief, and it was then that Sasuke realized that he may have said those words out loud—but with the way Naruto was looking at him, as if he couldn't believe Sasuke was real—as if Sasuke was going to fade away in front of his eyes—

Sasuke shifted, wrapping his legs around Naruto. He couldn't quite stifle the smirk at Naruto's wide eyes—he stared straight into them, intently, as he slowly rocked his hips—oh—that—

"Ungh—oh, god, Sasuke—hah—nngh," Naruto's eyes squeezed shut, "fuck—"

"Don't—cum yet," he teased, not entirely managing to hide how breathless this was making him—he was only moving slowly, softly, but it felt like so much—

Naruto laughed, his eyes opening—Sasuke loved the way they glittered with delight—

"If you—hah—you—you have to—stop being so hot—" Naruto laughed again, pulling Sasuke closer to him—his hands gripped Sasuke's hips, putting the barest of pressures on to pull them down—to help Sasuke rock, back and forth, with him—oh—

"Mm..." Sasuke couldn't stifle the moan—he threw his head back as they really began to move—this was starting to feel—it felt really—

"Ah—hah—"

—good—

Sasuke tumbled backwards, pulling Naruto with him—he lifted his legs onto Naruto's shoulders to give him better access—

"Sas—"

"You can—nngh—go a little faster," Sasuke bit his lip, "go—faster, Naruto—ye—ah—!"

Naruto obeyed—oh god—he obeyed so well—Sasuke couldn't control the noises coming out of his mouth anymore because this was—this was just—so—ah—fuck—

"Ha—ah!" Sasuke's vision damn near blacked out— "Oh god, Naruto—there, there—there, ple—"

His voice cut off in a gasp—his vision came back to him littered with stars—fuck—this was—ah—

He reached up to pull Naruto closer—Naruto was holding his legs up now, because Sasuke had lost his ability to do anything at this point—anything except look up at Naruto—call for Naruto—ah—Naruto—

"Naruto," he gasped—he could feel the pleasure building in him and he realized Naruto was pumping his cock, together, as they moved, "open your eyes—"

He wanted to see them—he could see everything he needed in those eyes—

"Ah—nngh," Naruto fell closer as his eyes fluttered open, "Sasuke—Sasuke—hah—Sasuke—I'm—"

Naruto started to tense—his eyes started to widen—Naruto was about to cum and it made the pleasure in Sasuke's veins expand tenfold—yes—

"Sasuke—I—I—oh god, Sasuke—!"

He could feel Naruto's cock contract inside him—

"F-fuck, Na—nngh—ha—ah!"

He was lost—he was floating—his mind was nothing at all—nothing except—ah—nothing except—

"Sasuke," Naruto's arms were trembling—or were they his own?—as they pulled him close, "Sasuke—I love you—"

He let out a shuddering breath, feeling his eyes start to burn—his throat thickened with emotion, even as the pleasure still echoed all around him—

"I love you too." He clutched Naruto close to him, swallowing. He could still feel Naruto inside him—feel his arms around him—he closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling—

"I'm," it might have been Sasuke's imagination, but Naruto sounded a little choked up too, "gonna pull out now, okay?"

"Yeah." Sasuke let his arms loosen—Naruto's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy as he pulled away—

"Are you okay?" Naruto was immediately back, cupping his face and staring into his eyes—his own were wide with worry—

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh.

"Usuratonkachi," he placed a hand over Naruto's, "you're crying too."

"Well—yeah, but," Naruto ducked his head a little, "that's just—I'm just—" he laughed a little, "feeling a lot right now."

"Yeah," he squeezed Naruto's hand, "me too."

Naruto gave a soft, breathy laugh.

"Okay," he swallowed, "I'm actually going to pull out now."

"You do that."

He closed his eyes, exhaling as Naruto slowly, slowly left him.

He heard a soft snap—the condom, probably—he could feel Naruto shuffling around the bed for a moment—and then he was back.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open.

"Sasuke," Naruto squeezed him close, "that was…" he paused to let out a soft laugh. "I don't think I'm ever going to recover from that."

Sasuke snorted, gently running his fingers through Naruto's hair.

"Was it—still—"

"It was perfect," Sasuke cut him off, smiling. "It was…"

His smile widened as Naruto let out another laugh—a sigh some mix of relief and delight. His mind still felt so…hazy, like could do barely more than smile—and stare at Naruto—Naruto, who was looking at him with such tenderness…

Sasuke moved his hand to the back of Naruto's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Naruto's kisses were second only to his eyes in how easily they told Sasuke what he was thinking—what he was feeling…

One of their smiles—or both of them—broke the kiss, but Naruto stayed close, leaning his forehead against Sasuke's.

But Sasuke could feel his mind slowly returning to him…along with the rest of his senses…he let out a long, slow breath.

"I need to use the bathroom," Sasuke attempted to muster the will to move, "and…take a long bath, I think."

Naruto gave a soft laugh.

"Yeah, okay. Can I join you when you're in the bath?"

"I'll be personally offended if you don't."

Chapter Text

Naruto softly shut the door behind him. The top of Sasuke's face peeked out over the tub's ledge—Sasuke's eyes gave a lazy, slow blink as Naruto knelt down beside the tub.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto reached out to brush some of Sasuke's hair back, smiling a little. Sasuke's hair got kinda wavy when it was wet—Naruto loved that look on him…

Sasuke raised a hand out of the water, stretching his fingers out.

"Weird. Weak. Emotional." He sighed, dropping his hand back down into the water. "I love you. I'm really—feeling that right now."

Naruto nearly dove straight into the tub with how quickly he pulled Sasuke into his arms.

"I'm really feeling that too." He exhaled—a shuddering breath—as he clutched Sasuke close to him—

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered, "you're crushing me."

"S-sorry—!" Naruto immediately flung himself away, cheeks burning red—

Sasuke only smiled at him.

"You should get in before I fall asleep. This was…too many emotions for one day." He shook his head a little, moving to sit up—

"No—don't move," Naruto pushed him back down, "you stay like that, and I'll go on top—"

Sasuke snorted.

"Again already? So eager…"

Naruto laughed, nearly slipping on his way into the tub.

"Shut up," his face was a bright red, even as he smiled, "you know that's not what I meant."

"Is it not?" Sasuke's eyes were half-lidded—his smirk was looking sleepier by the second. "Shame…"

Naruto snorted, laying down to press his face against Sasuke's chest. He could hear his heartbeat, this way…

"You say that," he muttered, letting his body slowly melt against Sasuke's, "but you're gonna be asleep in like a minute."

"Mm," Sasuke didn't protest, "so?"

Naruto tilted his head to look up at him. Sasuke seemed to sense the gaze—at least, from the way his eyes opened to look at him—

"It wouldn't be a bad way to wake up." Sasuke's smirk was soft and casual and knowing and—

Naruto fucking loved this man.

"Careful, Sasuke," he warned. "You're gonna make me into a monster."

Sasuke chuckled, and Naruto automatically gravitated towards that smile. He just couldn't keep himself away from those lips—they were so soft—so smooth, and it was only amplified by the water…Sasuke's body felt so good against his and—oh—that tongue—

Naruto made a noise of protest as Sasuke's head fell back, breaking the kiss. He tossed Naruto a lazy smirk as his eyes closed.

"You'll get more later…moron…"

Naruto smiled, settling back down to lay against Sasuke's chest. His fingers found Sasuke's—the Uchiha's grip was loose, barely there, but Naruto felt his hand tighten around his all the same.

Naruto closed his eyes.

He couldn't imagine anything in the world better than this.

"I'm back!" Naruto announced, brandishing the sheets like some sort of flag as he weaved around the partition, "and your sheets are…slightly discoloured."

He gave Sasuke a sheepish grin. Sasuke only rolled his eyes, unmoving from the couch.

"We can bleach them. I don't really care."

Naruto tossed the sheets on the bed and strode forward, crawling onto the couch—overtop of Sasuke.

"'Kay." He threw Sasuke a cheeky grin.

"You're too cheerful." He poked Naruto in the cheek. It only made the blonde's smile widen.

"I am exactly the right amount of cheerful—" he kissed the tip of Sasuke's nose, "today has been the best day."

"Mm," Sasuke felt himself smile, "today isn't over yet."

Naruto laughed, staring at him in disbelief.

"Sasuke," his voice was serious, in spite of his smile, "I really don't think you can make this day any better."

Sasuke's smile widened.

"Is that so?"

Naruto pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Mhmm."

"Hm," Sasuke eyed him, "even if I said that my father invited us back for New Year's Eve?"

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Us…?"

"Us. As in you, too."

Naruto's mouth sagged open.

There was a pause. Sasuke fought a losing battle against a chuckle—Naruto just looked so—shell shocked—

It took Naruto a long moment to come back to reality—the smile slowly spread across his face—

"Damn it, Sasuke!" He grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little. "I'm gonna fucking explode if you keep this up—"

Sasuke reached over and snapped Naruto's waistband against his skin.

"That can be arranged."

Naruto laughed again, something in his eyes softening.

"Oh, man," he sighed, leaning closer to Sasuke, "I like you."

Sasuke didn't get a chance to reply before Naruto kissed him—but his smile did keep breaking the kiss. Naruto's happiness was just so contagious…

Naruto let out a happy sigh as they pulled apart, shifting down Sasuke's body so he could lay against him properly. Sasuke automatically brought a hand up to run through his hair.

Naruto giggled.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Naruto shifted so that he could look at Sasuke better.

"I was thinking," he grinned, "this reminds me of before we were dating."

Sasuke blinked a few times. When he had—

"When you cuddled me in your sleep?"

Naruto's grin grew wider.

"Mhm," he hummed, "can I tell you a secret?"

Sasuke moved his hand back to Naruto's hair. It always felt so soft…

"Well, if you can't," he muttered, "it's too late now."

Naruto gave another giggle—quiet and slurred, as if he was falling asleep. They had already slept so much today, but Sasuke could feel himself doing the same…

"I woke up," Naruto's smile softened a little, "before you did—that day."

Sasuke blinked.

"I really didn't want to move away," Naruto's head shifted against his chest—almost as if he was nuzzling it, "so I just kind of…went back to sleep."

Sasuke let out a breath. He knew—now, obviously—that Naruto had returned his feelings, but...looking back, they had been so…

"You should have just kissed me."

Naruto laughed a little.

"Well, you did ask me if I was planning on groping you."

"Ugh." Sasuke threw a hand over his eyes at the reminder. He had really thought—when Naruto had told him—he had thought—

"What?"

"I thought you were going to make a move," he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "when you—when you said you were bisexual. I thought you were going to say you were attracted to me, too."

The next morning had felt like a punch in the gut—after he really, truly, royally misinterpreted things—

He felt the gentle touch of Naruto pulling his hand from his face.

"Are you serious?"

Sasuke kept his eyes closed.

"You know I sleep with a shirt on."

"Oh my god—you knew. You fucking knew," he opened his eyes just as Naruto collapsed onto his chest, grabbing fistfuls of his own hair, "you knew you were torturing me—damn it, Sasuke, you couldn't've said something a little better than grope? Damn it—"

He banged his forehead against Sasuke's chest again.

"You have no idea how bad I—between your writing and the—when I woke up and we were—" Naruto's voice broke off into a whisper, and his grip changed from clutching at himself to clutching at Sasuke, "damn it, why didn't you—"

Sasuke ran a hand through Naruto's hair.

"We got there in the end."

He felt Naruto's soft laugh against his chest.

"Yeah, but I could've done without that shitty week where I thought you hated me."

He frowned at him.

"You thought I hated you?"

Naruto threw him a soft smile, cheek squashed against Sasuke's chest.

"I figured I creeped you out or something."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It was the opposite," he flicked the tip of Naruto's nose, "moron."

Naruto laughed, grabbing Sasuke's hand out of the air—

"You're the moron." He shook his head. "I can't believe you couldn't tell. That entire night—the party, I mean—was just people trying to get me to tell you how I felt. Half of them hadn't even met you yet."

Sasuke blinked for a moment.

"You—is that why you didn't want to say what Kiba said?"

Naruto barked out a laugh.

"You remember that, huh?" He ducked his head, biting his lip a little. "Yeah—his goodbye to me was like 'have fun getting your ass pounded' or something."

Sasuke snorted.

"What an image." He smirked as Naruto's grin grew wider—

"Shush you," he leaned down, "you're supposed to be asleep."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Are we trying this again?"

"We are trying this again. Take your shirt off."

He snorted—and shook his head, a little, but didn't resist as Naruto helped him sit up, hands slipping under his shirt—

Sasuke closed his eyes and laid back down—doing what little he could to keep his face neutral.

"I'm asleep," he said innocently.

He heard Naruto snort—but it was only a moment before he felt the soft pressure of his head against his chest.

There was a pause. It really would be incredibly easy to just doze off…

Naruto shifted against him.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

Sasuke cracked an eye open.

"Good morning. I see you're cuddling me."

Naruto laughed.

"Yes. Yes I am."

"Hm," Sasuke fought a losing battle against his smirk, "any particular reason for it?"

"Mm," he felt Naruto shrug, "you're warm. I'm sleepy. I'm in love with you. You know, the usual."

Sasuke laughed.

"What was that last one?" He nudged Naruto up.

"What, the usual?" Naruto grinned at him.

Sasuke poked his cheek.

Naruto only grinned, leaning in until that smile spread across Sasuke's lips, too.

It was one of those gentle, messy kisses that neither of them could keep hold of properly. Naruto's nose bumped against his and their cheeks rubbed together and the kiss broke each time Naruto laughed, as if he just couldn't keep the happiness inside of himself—

Sasuke reached up, brushing his fingers against Naruto's chin.

"You weren't in love with me then, were you?"

Naruto's smile faltered and he shifted a little.

"Sasuke, I..." He gave him a sheepish look. "I think I've been falling for you since the first time Kakashi made me read your writing."

Sasuke's throat closed up.

"…Is that weird?" Naruto grimaced a little, pulling back. "I'm sorry. I—"

Naruto's voice cut off as Sasuke sat up, wrapping his arms around him.

"I love you," he whispered—feeling as if he was about to burst with the strength of it. "Naruto—you're—"

He pulled back, scanning Naruto's face. God, those eyes—

"You're really something else."

Naruto's face broke out into a brilliant smile—a smile that told him Naruto remembered saying those words to him, too—

"Is that a compliment?"

Sasuke smiled.

"It is."

Fugaku hung his coat, moving to the kitchen. No matter how tired, he knew the way to the liquor cabinet.

"A bit early for that, don't you think?"

But his wife knew him well, and she knew where he had been today. He didn't look up at her, not even as he felt the gentle hand on his arm. He only watched the ice cubes as they melted, watched the water as it twisted and mixed with the liquor—

"I have failed," he told his drink.

"Fugaku…"

"As a father," he heard the note of warning in her voice—heard the note of sadness, too; the weariness that was so familiar to him, now, "I have failed."

"You—"

"I have one son who hates me, and to the other I am barely tolerable." He raised his glass, swirling the cubes so the liquid could match the twisting in his gut. "I may as well be my own father, for the good I have done."

He heard his wife suck in a breath. It had been a great deal of time since he had willingly spoken of the man—a great deal of time before he had let himself think of him. He wondered, now, if he should have made the connection sooner—if, perhaps, his father had been so quick to blame him for fleeing his home, like he had been so quick to blame Sasuke—

"Your sadness proves you are not," Mikoto's voice cut through his thoughts, and he let her take the drink from his hand, "and your sons are not gone."

"They may as well be."

"No," her eyes flashed—her hand grabbed his face, twisting it to face her, "are you giving up so easily when they have not? Sasuke met with you—he spoke with you. That is proof he hasn't given up on you."

She paused, searching his eyes. "...Did it go so badly?"

Sasuke's expression flashed in the back of his mind and he recoiled, clutching at the countertop as his wife's grip left him.

"He believed...we abandoned him. Completely. That we didn't know that Itachi—he thought that we—" The lump in his throat swelled, holding his voice in as if it was a plug—

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mikoto's body sag.

"I was worried as much."

He met her eyes for a brief moment, another wave of fatigue making him sway on his feet.

"We've made mistakes." Her touch leant closer (an easy comfort that Fugaku could not convince himself he deserved). "Fugaku. I am as much to blame as you are."

He shook his head.

"No. You—"

"I have been passive." Her voice was quiet—sad, but firm. "A passive wife; a passive mother. I let my son slip through my fingers. I should have fought—I should have fought it so much harder."

The corner of her mouth twitched—dangerously close to a quiver—as she turned away from him. It was a familiar look, his wife on the verge of tears—he barely flinched at it anymore. He wished he still did.

He sighed.

"He was such an intelligent child. He had so many talents—so many areas he excelled in. This...why…"

"You've said this before," she turned back to him, "and so have I. A waste of his talents or use of a new one. What use is debating it anymore?"

He paused. His wife didn't know, yet, about the other detail Sasuke had told him. Had told him—had trusted him with—which was something, but Fugaku had jerked back from the thought and still felt the need to flinch back from it, even with Sasuke's voice echoing in his head—

How else may I disappoint you?

"The man who was with him," he told the counter, hearing his wife's sigh—

"Fugaku—"

"Sasuke loves him."

Her hand froze, just as it had begun to touch him.

"And I…" he looked down, away from the woman who could read him far too well, "do not understand...it."

His wife sighed again.

"Is it so surprising?"

He paused.

No—it wasn't the surprise. There had been little shock when Sasuke had said the words—there had been a nagging thought, in the back of his mind, that this man (Naruto, his mind supplied) was suspiciously close to his son that night—

"No."

"Tell me what you are feeling, Fugaku." She moved closer to him. "Put your thoughts into words."

"It's—" the feeling swirled in his gut, building as if it was bile, "it's not right, Mikoto. It's wrong—unnatural—

"Wrong!" Mikoto let out a soft, unhappy laugh—

"What is wrong, my dear, is not speaking to your child for two years. Not knowing where he was—what he was doing—having him think that his parents didn't even care for him at all—" she spun to him, eyes hard and hurting, "that is wrong. That is unnatural."

There was little he could do to refute her words.

He looked away.

"Fugaku," her voice softened, as it always did, "I don't understand it either. But I don't have to." She paused for a moment, waiting for him to meet her eyes—

He did so.

"If it makes him happy—if, right now, Sasuke believes that you and I care nothing for his happiness," she looked away, as if she, too, felt the pain in her chest at those words, "I intend on proving him wrong."

She looked back at him.

"Do you?"

He took his wife's hand. What he had done to deserve a woman so steadfast, he would never know.

"Of course." His voice was thick, no matter how he tried to quiet it. "He agreed—they will come for New Year's Eve. Both of them."

There was a beat.

"Come—come here?"

"Yes."

She blinked.

And then she blinked again.

"Fugaku!" She slapped at his arm, rushing past him. "That is how you should have started this conversation—you had me thinking—" she let out a breath, almost like a laugh—her face swelling with something like hope—something like happiness—something that he had dearly missed the look of—

"I—"

"Fugaku!" she yelled again, shoving past him—the other way, now. "New year's—barely a day away—"

The closet doors opened, and he heard the distinct sound of the hangers clacking together as a coat was ripped from them— "I need to—I need to—we don't have any—oh, that, I'll—I'll be back—!"

"It's the evening—!" He called after her—

"I'll be back!"

The front door slammed shut.

Chapter Text

The next morning came slowly—in soft, scattered pieces. There was nowhere urgent to be—nothing urgent to be done—no need to leave the bed until the sun was high in the sky.

Not that they were asleep. Sasuke found round two, built up from soft kisses and sleep-laden touches, to be both more comfortable and more alarming—some part of him had expected the sensations to lessen, now that he knew what to expect.

They hadn't.

It was with weak knees that Sasuke left the shower—and it was barely a moment before Naruto greeted him with a smile, a coffee, and breakfast. Or—well, lunch, probably. Sasuke had very little clue of what the time actually was.

Sasuke pressed a kiss to his neck in greeting, letting his face rest there as if he was more tired than he actually was. He felt Naruto's fingers run across his forearms—felt the blonde lean back, into his touch—heard the click of Naruto turning the stove off—

"Kiba's pissed at us." Naruto let out a soft laugh.

Sasuke pulled back, frowning.

"Why?"

Naruto took the plates as Sasuke passed them, their bodies still dangerously close—

"'Cause we're not going to the New Year's party." He flipped the food onto one plate—Sasuke's—and then another. "One of us has one every year—last year was Ino, this year's Kiba."

Sasuke looked down at his plate, not making a motion to move.

"You can—" he took a step back, letting out a breath, "you can go to it—you don't have to—"

"Sasuke," Naruto smile was indulgent, "I'm obviously coming with you. This is way more important. I'm just giving you fair warning that Kiba's being a bitch about it 'cause I won't tell him why."

Sasuke snorted softly, and Naruto took his hand, gently leading him across the room.

"...Your family won't be expecting you?"

"My parents?" Naruto glanced back at him, unwilling to let go of Sasuke even as they reached the couch. "Nah—they get Christmas. New Year's is always pretty open for me."

There was a pause. Sasuke eyed his food—feeling the hunger, but not yet willing to eat. He felt the plate be taken from him as Naruto moved to sit up on the armrest.

"Hey," his hands rested on Sasuke's hips, legs swinging on either side of him, "tell me what's going on in your head right now."

Sasuke swallowed.

"I'm…" he let out a breath, "I'm still...angry."

"Yeah. 'Course you are."

Sasuke glanced at him—Naruto lifted his head back up to meet his eye.

"It's gonna take some time." Naruto's thumbs slipped under his shirt, running along his skin in that soft, calming way the way that soothed him so quickly. "Forgiveness doesn't happen overnight, y'know."

"I know," he said quietly, "but…"

Naruto tilted his head a little, scanning his face. Sasuke pressed closer to him.

"I should have—when my father—"

He just—he should have known. He hadn't even considered his father knowing about him, but he should have—of course his father would have kept track where his money was going—especially in such great amounts—

"You should have…?" Naruto prompted, his arms moving to wrap around Sasuke's waist.

Sasuke shook his head.

"I—just," he swallowed, "I…"

He should have known—but he hadn't. He hadn't wanted to even entertain the idea. Because it would have meant that his father wasn't all bad—his parents weren't all bad—and his childhood might not have been as—

"I feel like," he let out a breath, "I haven't been...fair. I've only told you the—bad things, about my parents—and it—it wasn't all bad—"

Naruto pushed him back a little, eyeing Sasuke with a look that would nearly be amused if it wasn't so serious.

"You're seriously feeling guilty for trash-talking the parents that kicked you out of the house, huh?"

Sasuke faltered.

"Naruto—I'm serious. I have good memories, too—and I haven't—"

"I know, I know." Naruto shoved himself up—closer, wrapping himself around Sasuke in a way that had his arms around his neck and his legs around his thighs. "You get that it's dumb to feel guilty, though, right?"

Naruto flashed him a teasing grin. Sasuke met it with a soft glare.

"I mean it. Your anger was justified, Sasuke."

"I...know." Some part of him did, really, but he still felt so…

"Good." Naruto shifted against him. "I know it's complicated. And it's not like you can pick what you feel—so you can feel guilty. That's fine. As long as you know you don't need to."

Naruto's hands loosened a little, moving to tenderly trace his fingers along Sasuke's collarbone.

"It's not easy to think good things about people who hurt you."

Sasuke looked down. No...it hadn't been. It still wasn't. He felt as if everything was..blurry, now. Buried too deeply to find—Sasuke was suddenly afraid that he wouldn't be able to find the memories at all, anymore—

"So let's start slow."

Sasuke blinked, coming back to reality—Naruto was smiling at him, he noticed—

"New Year's. What should I expect? D'you guys have traditions and stuff?"

"I…" Traditions? Well, maybe… "We...used to, I think. Itachi would know better than me, but—I think we used to celebrate on the first few days. Of January, I mean."

"But not anymore?" Naruto let go of him fully, shifting so that Sasuke could sit on the couch, too.

"No." Sasuke shook his head, taking the food as Naruto passed it back to him. He felt much hungrier, now. "We do—we do the countdown thing, now. Well, we watch it, at least. I'm not sure if we always did. There's always a lot of food. That hasn't changed." He paused. "At least, I think it hasn't."

"Mmkay." Naruto grinned at him. "I like the sound of that."

"We wake up early the next morning—"

"I don't like the sound of that—"

"To watch the sunrise, moron." Sasuke flicked his arm before turning back to his food. "It's the first sunrise of the new year."

"Aw," Naruto shuffled closer to him, "that's pretty cute, actually."

"It's not cute, it's—it's just—tradition. I don't know."

Naruto giggled, leaning over to press a kiss to his lips—as if only because he could—

"Ugh," Sasuke pulled back, "we're eating, Naruto—"

Naruto only laughed again.

"I don't care," he looked at Sasuke, eyes glittering, "and neither do you."

He smiled—that knowing, teasing smile that had driven Sasuke crazy even before they were dating—

Sasuke turned away from it.

"...Yeah." Naruto moved even closer to him, shoving Sasuke further into the armrest. He always did it—every single time they had been on this couch.

Sasuke was yet to mind it.

"I have another question, for tomorrow."

Naruto's voice had grown quieter, and it made Sasuke turn back to him.

"Go ahead."

"How—boyfriend-y am I allowed to be?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto gave him a sheepish grin.

"I'm pretty in love with you, y'know. And I'm really bad at hiding it. I don't want to—"

"If you say make me uncomfortable, I am going to shove you off this couch."

Naruto laughed.

"C'mon, Sasuke—"

"I want you to be yourself," Sasuke answered honestly, "and I want to be myself. That's the point. That's always been the point."

There was a pause—Sasuke put his plate on the floor, not quite as finished as Naruto's, but finished nonetheless.

"If they can't accept me—as I am, then…"

"They're trying to." Naruto pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "Honestly, I can't believe your dad invited me. He seemed like he hated me on sight."

"If he asks about your scars again, we're leaving."

"Well, no, that—I don't care about that. And they're not really scars..." Naruto's hand moved up, scratching at them in the way he tended to whenever he was reminded—

"They're not really tattoos, either," Sasuke shifted until he could hold Naruto in his arms, "and I care."

Naruto's hand immediately left his cheek—his bright smile back in full force. He nuzzled into Sasuke's chest, as if attempting to hide it.

"I really love you." He laughed, rubbing his face all over Sasuke's chest. "Can we stay here again tonight?"

"Mm," Sasuke shifted, forcing Naruto to sit up a little, "are you sure you can take another night without Pakkun?"

"Oh shit," Naruto groaned, "we're gonna go back to school soon, too, aw fuck—"

Sasuke laughed, sitting up as Naruto did. Naruto whined.

"But I wanna spend time with you—"

"You'll get plenty of time with me. Spend some time with your family."

Naruto made a pained noise, ducking his face into Sasuke's neck. Sasuke only snorted.

"...Fine. But we're stopping by my house first."

"The house—here? Why?"

He felt Naruto's smile widen against his neck.

"'Cause I have a bag of good stuff too," Naruto's breath brushed his skin, sending shivers down his spine, "and I think you'll like some of it."

Naruto pressed a kiss to his neck, and then another—and another—

"You're insatiable." The smile pulled at Sasuke's lips—

"Mm," he felt Naruto's laugh breathe out against his skin, "we don't have to leave yet, do we?"

Sasuke pulled him up until his lips were an inch from his—

"No," he told Naruto's mouth, "not yet..."

There was a strange peacefulness to the chaos in Naruto's house. Iruka bustled around the kitchen—pausing only to step over Naruto, who was rolling around the floor in an attempt to goad Pakkun into playing again—and Kakashi had both the tea and coffee maker running, with some milk in the microwave for Naruto's hot chocolate, too—

"So I spoke with Konoha," Kakashi said quietly, passing Sasuke a mug of tea. Naruto rolled over to look at them.

"Already?" He had barely even begun to think about it again, with everything else that had happened. He had at least wanted a chance to look over the contract again—and really look at it this time, because the experience with Oto had left him shaken and more than a little paranoid—

"Not about your contract," Kakashi continued. "Not even about you."

He turned to face Sasuke, leaning his hip against the counter as he hugged his own mug to himself.

"As it turns out, they had a bit of a breach of security," he swirled the spoon around his cup, "whether an employee or a virus, I don't know. But I figured I ought to let you know how Oto got your information."

Sasuke's brow furrowed.

"Wait," it was Naruto that spoke first, sitting up straight, "are you saying that Oto—like—hacked Konoha's stuff? And stole Sasuke's info?"

Kakashi swallowed a sip of his tea.

"Not only Sasuke," he said, "but as far as I know, yes."

Sasuke's scowl deepened. Iruka glanced back at them for a moment, saying nothing, although Sasuke saw something hard in his eyes—

"They steal information and poach authors from better companies," Sasuke muttered, the anger coiling in his gut. "It almost makes me want to accept their contract so I could take them to court."

"Orochimaru has too much money and too good lawyers," Kakashi responded casually, "and your book deserves far more than that."

Sasuke felt his face heat at the compliment.

"...Thank you."

"It's true!" Naruto stood, moving to grin right in Sasuke's face. Sasuke gave him a small shove in response, which Naruto immediately countered, grabbing Sasuke's tea out of his hands in the process—

"You two are awfully touchy-feely today," Kakashi muttered into his mug.

Sasuke immediately put on his best blank expression.

Naruto, on the other hand, sprung away from him, eyes wide and cheeks bright red—

"We—I—uh—"

Kakashi's eyes rose.

His eyebrows followed.

"Ah." He nudged himself up from the counter. "I don't want to know."

"It's not—!" Naruto called after Kakashi's rapidly retreating body—Iruka made a small, panicked noise—

"Don't want to know!"

He wasn't as nervous as he ought to be.

Sasuke had slept well (after Naruto had thoroughly tired him out), hadn't felt sick when he woke up, and accepted Kakashi and Iruka's offer to drop them off without hesitation—

He really wasn't anywhere near as nervous as he ought to be.

Even Kakashi, pulling him aside with a series of calm, intent questions, hadn't shaken him. He was still nervous—a little, but that horrible, wrenching feeling in his gut hadn't even started yet. It hadn't been there at all.

He felt Naruto's head fall on his shoulder—their fingers had intertwined long ago, and with every passing minute, it seemed that Naruto was making it his mission to twist further around him in some way. Sasuke pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

This...felt different.

It was almost as if he was...prepared. As if he was nearly ready, for something that he never thought he would be ready for—but no, that wasn't quite it either. It was more…

It was that he wanted this.

He wanted to do this. It had taken him a while to be able to acknowledge the thought and even longer to accept it, but he—if given the chance—if, in some amazing, miraculous way, things could just work out—

Naruto squeezed his hand, shuffling closer into his side.

He wanted this.

So, so very badly—

He wanted to be able to go home.

It was uncomfortable.

Perhaps he should have expected it. Perhaps he should have grown used to this, by now—these uncomfortable, nervous silences where Mikoto wrung her hands and Itachi watched him with calm, piercing eyes—

Yesterday had passed by in a blur. Mikoto had nearly tripled the amount of food they had originally had planned—cursing the fact that Fugaku hadn't gotten Naruto's dietary preferences when he had had the chance. The mochi was remade ("It was too sweet, Fugaku, Sasuke has always hated sweets, you should know that—"), tomato nabe was added ("I don't care if it's not traditional, it's his favourite, Fugaku—"), and Mikoto had seemed to make it her mission to remake everything she had originally bought to save time, instead—

They hadn't put this much effort into a holiday in years.

"Are you sure—is he—on his way…?" Her eyes darted to the kitchen, to the door, back to him—

"We said seven—it's five to seven. If we—"

"He is on his way," Itachi interrupted softly. "Any minute now."

A new wave of nerves clamped Fugaku's mouth shut. With all he had done—everything he had left behind and everything he had built—he was hard-pressed to pick a moment where he felt as apprehensive as this one.

Still, Sasuke had allowed them to have it. That meant something.

He let out a breath—near silent, but his wife moved just a touch closer to him.

This felt different—much different—than when he had waited here before. He had thought that Sasuke...knew, at that time. That Sasuke had chosen to abandon his family, in spite of the fact that they still supported him.

He had gone into that night ready to be angry.

But now...now it had changed. Now there was purpose—there was importance—there was a suffocating pressure on Fugaku to not miss this chance, because the way his son had shaken—the way his voice had broken—

Let's keep going.

—the way his eyes had shone, not with anger, not with blame, but with pain—

How else may I disappoint you?

He had never wanted to see such an expression on his own son's face.

He let out another breath, and felt his wife's hand brush against his. He must really look unwell, to have her so obviously worried.

He spared her a bland smile.

"Ah—that will be them."

Itachi moved past them, opening the door—and something in Fugaku's body wanted to call for him to stop—to slow down—to wait; he wasn't ready, yet—

"Itachi!" A chorus of voices—more than the two that were expected—greeted him.

He felt his wife pull him forward, and he moved, numbly, to the entrance way, eyeing the way the strangers had pulled his eldest son into a hug—eyeing the way Sasuke's friend's hand (Naruto, his mind corrected, Naruto's hand) gently held Sasuke's—eyeing the way the strangers were what appeared to be two older men—

"Good to see you again, Itachi," one of the men—with brown hair, and a scar over his nose—who had pulled his eldest son into a hug; it was such a familiar gesture—the word again echoed through his head—

"Come in." Itachi pulled back—Fugaku moved to dodge him, his wife's hand leaving his—

"Ah, thanks Itachi—oh, um," Naruto gave a short, awkward motion that looked nearly like a bow, "thank you for having me!"

His wife covered her smile with her hand.

"You're welcome."

"Oh—um—these are my parents." Naruto gestured towards the men (his parents—), and Fugaku was infinitely grateful as his wife took the lead—

"Mikoto." She reached out her hand to shake—

"Iruka," he smiled, but Fugaku noticed the way he nudged his—the man beside him—forwards—just as his wife did the same, "and this is my husband, Kakashi."

"Fugaku," his voice came out gruff—it still felt wrong, this lack of formality with strangers, but Mikoto had begun it and she was far wiser than he had ever been when it came to people—

A firm hand gripped his.

"Kakashi," there was something cold and steely in those eyes—far more than there had been in the man before, "Kakashi Hatake. You may recognize my name from your son's acceptance letter to the creative writing program."

His blood froze.

And then all at once, it came rushing back—hot and angry and pounding in his ears—his mouth opened before his mind had told him which words to say—

"Kakashi."

It was Sasuke's voice that broke the silence—and Sasuke's voice that stopped Fugaku where he stood. The simple name—calm, but full of warning—suddenly fiercely reminded Fugaku just how much Sasuke took after his mother—

"Mm," the grey-haired man pulled back, but Fugaku still felt frozen, "I'm afraid we have to run—dinner reservations, you know."

"Ah, well—" his wife started, "thank you for—for bringing them here—"

"Thank you for having them," the scarred man—Iruka—spoke, and Fugaku could see him gently pulling on the other man's arm—pulling them back—away—

"We'll see you tomorrow. Have fun, boys!"

"Thanks—bye!"

"Ah, yes!" Mikoto stepped back, and it somehow caught him by surprise—he barely managed to move away before she collided with him—

The door shut.

This silence was much worse. It felt almost damning, as if with each passing second Fugaku was losing his chance—losing his hope—he wanted to speak and yet he had no idea what to say—

"Dinner will be ready in just a moment." His wife stepped in front of him—in between him and Sasuke, as if stopping whatever would have come next. "Would you two like to—get settled?"

He wasn't sure what bothered him more—the way Mikoto so obviously didn't trust him, or the way Sasuke's body sagged—as if in defeat—

"...Sure."

Chapter Text

Neither of them moved particularly quickly. After the last day and a half, coming back here felt like...coming back from a dream. Falling back down to reality.

It was awkward—stilted—and Sasuke wasn't sure how he had managed to expect anything else. Too much optimism, he supposed, after everything had been going so well…perhaps so much time with Naruto's family had spoiled him.

He sighed, pushing his door shut behind them.

Naruto was immediately in his arms.

"I'm sorry," the blonde muttered into his neck—Sasuke blinked in surprise as Naruto pulled back—

"I didn't think Kakashi would try to pick a fight. I really didn't—if I had—"

"It's alright," Sasuke said quietly, and it was, really. "He did...warn me."

He hadn't realized it, at the time, but—

"What d'you mean?"

"He said something about...not being as forgiving as me—when I mentioned coming here today." He gave a soft shrug. "He knew me at the...start, you know. I wasn't in a good place."

He felt Naruto's soft touch on either side of his arms.

"I mean—I get that," he said quietly. "I read your writing back then, too, y'know—" and Sasuke jolted, because he had forgotten, "but it's not my place to be mad at them—and it's not his either. It's yours."

Naruto leaned against him, pressing him further back against the door.

"So I'm sorry. And I'm gonna make him say it too." He pulled back, fishing his phone out of his pocket—

"You don't have to do that," Sasuke muttered, grabbing at it, even as Naruto dodged—

"No, I do." Naruto frowned at him, eyes flashing. "We're the ones who have to stay here now—and now he's, like, primed your dad to be mad at us. He could've at least waited until tomorrow if he was gonna try and start something—"

"He didn't say that much." Sasuke gently grabbed his wrist. "He could have said much more."

Naruto's hand loosened, his phone flittering back to a black screen.

"And if my father's going to get set off at something like that, then this would have never worked out." He sighed, letting go of Naruto.

"But he didn't though," Naruto pointed out.

"No, he didn't," Sasuke said softly. His father had been...quiet. Watchful—wary of something Sasuke didn't know. Maybe it had been justified, with the way Kakashi had come ready for a confrontation.

"Mm," Naruto moved past him, catching his hand on the way, "c'mon. I never got to explore your room properly last time."

"There's not much to explore," Sasuke muttered, dutifully letting Naruto lead him nonetheless. "I told you."

"Maybe not for you." Naruto grinned. "Where'd you spend the most of your time?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"It was your desk, wasn't it? I bet you studied more than you slept, class president—"

Sasuke let go of Naruto's hand to swat at his head—it only made him laugh harder.

"C'mon, asshole," he grabbed Sasuke's hips, nudging them backwards, "go sit there. I wanna get the full effect."

He gave Sasuke another soft shove, and he stumbled back, rolling his eyes as he made his way to the desk.

He sat in the chair, flipped an ankle to rest on his knee, and turned to give Naruto a look.

"Happy?"

Naruto stood still for a moment, grinning at Sasuke, before he flopped right onto Sasuke's bed.

"Perfect." He laughed, rolling to kick his feet up behind him. "I feel like this is how we would've hung out if I'd known you in high school."

Sasuke let his elbow rest on his desk so he could lean against his fist.

"I thought you said you would have hated me?"

Naruto giggled.

"Oh yeah," he sat up, "class president, soccer captain—I bet you were top of every class too, weren't you?"

Sasuke snorted, but didn't reply.

"Uh huh," Naruto's grin was wide and knowing, "and completely fucking gorgeous, to top it all off. You know how much more infuriating a cocky bastard is when they have the goods to back it up?"

"...You're an idiot," Sasuke muttered, turning away as his face flushed.

He heard the bed shift for a moment.

"I wouldn't've left you alone for a second."

Sasuke glanced back—Naruto was sitting up, now, legs swinging out over the edge—

"That doesn't sound like hate."

Naruto's head tilted, watching Sasuke with piercing eyes.

"Nah," his grin widened, "more like my sexual awakening."

Sasuke bit down on a laugh, shaking his head instead—

"You're so fucking pretty," Naruto spoke up again, leaning casually to one side as if all he wanted to do was just watch Sasuke—

Sasuke's face flushed.

"It drives me crazy." Naruto didn't seem fazed. "It's taking everything I have to stay this far from you right now."

Sasuke met his eyes, letting himself relax into the chair further.

"What's stopping you?"

Naruto made a pained noise, stretching his arms up so his shirt lifted just a little—

"I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't appreciate us skipping dinner."

"Dinner isn't ready yet."

As if on cue, there was a knock at Sasuke's door.

"Dinner's ready," Itachi's voice filtered in. "Please be decent."

Sasuke's face burned, but Naruto only laughed.

"Come in, Itachi!" Naruto rolled back, flopping onto Sasuke's bed again. "If we weren't decent, you'd know."

"Please spare me the details of my little brother's sex life," Itachi muttered, letting the door swing open.

Sasuke put his face in his hands.

"I was talking about me." Naruto laughed. "Dinner's ready?"

"Ah," Itachi gave a small, pained sigh, "...yes."

"'Kay!" Naruto gave them a sparkling grin, and rolled off Sasuke's bed.

"Ready, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sighed.

"As I'll ever be."

All things considered, Naruto thought he was doing a pretty good job at convincing Sasuke his insides weren't a jumbled mess of nerves right now. Not the best job—Sasuke kept glancing over every time Naruto took in a deep breath, and it was making Naruto realize just how often he was doing that—but a good enough job to make Sasuke look a little less tired.

Small victories. (He was still kinda mad at Kakashi, though.)

They followed Itachi down the stairs—Naruto trailing behind Sasuke because he wasn't totally convinced Sasuke wouldn't just slow down to a full halt if he didn't—to the dining room. Naruto had been so frazzled, last time (when his nerves had been made out of dread instead of hope) that he hadn't really appreciated the place properly.

They reached the entrance, and Naruto tapped Sasuke on the butt just because he could. He grinned as Sasuke gave him a look—almost a glare, but softer (softening the longer their eyes met)—and the door opened.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

When Sasuke had said a lot of food—he hadn't realized he had meant Mount fucking Everest—

"Holy shit," he breathed—as quietly as he could, but Sasuke made a small noise and he knew he heard—and then Itachi turned back with a look and Naruto knew he heard too—

"This is—uh, I mean—this looks awesome!" He threw Sasuke's mom a smile, but his eyes darted to Sasuke's dad for a second, too—they both looked so stoic, it was freaking him out—

"Thank you." Sasuke's mom's eyes were just as kind, though—and maybe Naruto could pick out the worry in them, now—

They weaved around the table, and Naruto was immediately distracted by every single thing on it. Thank god he had Sasuke to pull him to his chair—

"Hey," he whispered, nudging closer as he pulled his chair in, "that looks like the stew you made me! What—tomato...?"

"Tomato nabe," Sasuke answered softly. "It is."

Naruto paused, glancing at Sasuke as Sasuke threw him a tight smile.

"You'll see what it's supposed to taste like now."

Naruto laughed and squeezed his hand.

"As far as I'm concerned," he said, "yours is what it's supposed to taste like."

Sasuke snorted and shook his head, but Naruto saw his smile loosen, just a little. He straightened back up to see Sasuke's dad staring at them, but as soon as Naruto caught his eye, he looked away—

"Ah," Sasuke's mom barely lasted a second in her chair before she went to stand again, "do you need a fork?"

"Oh, no—I can use chopsticks." Naruto nodded quickly.

Sasuke nudged him softly, obviously fighting a smile. "...Can you?"

That asshole—

"That was one time!" He hissed, nudging his elbow into Sasuke's side—the only thing it seemed to do was make Sasuke laugh at him more—

"Yes, I can use chopsticks. Don't listen to Sasuke." Naruto waved a hand over Sasuke's face—which he immediately caught (and pulled under the table without letting go). "I'm good—ah, thank you. This really looks amazing."

Had he said that already? He had probably said that already. Crap—he was just so nervous—

But Mikoto only smiled and nodded, settling back down into her chair. Naruto shifted in place—

But then Sasuke's parents mumbled something, and Itachi mumbled with them—and it took Naruto an extra second to realize Sasuke had mumbled too and god damn it Sasuke this was exactly the kind of thing he should have warned him about—

"What was that?" He whispered, pulling on Sasuke's arm—

"What was what?"

"That—what you said. What did everybody say?"

"Itadakimasu," Sasuke muttered, and it sounded every bit as gibberish as the first time Naruto heard it—

"Ita—what?"

"Itadakimasu," and now Itachi was talking, "you are grateful to receive the food."

"Itadakimasu," Naruto repeated—

Sasuke snorted—Itachi shook his head.

"No—itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," Naruto said again—but everyone only shook their heads again and what the hell, he swore he was saying the exact same thing—

"I think that's as close as you're going to get," Sasuke muttered, hiding his smile behind his hand.

"Buh," Naruto groaned, putting his face in his hands. His cheeks were on fire—

"It's typically said before all meals, in Japan," Itachi spoke up again, and Naruto peered up through his fingers, "but we only tend to say it around special occasions."

Sasuke nodded, eyes still laughing at Naruto—

"Well, then," Mikoto's voice was just a little stronger than before, "shall we?"

It wasn't the fact that Sasuke was with a man. No; Mikoto didn't fully understand that, but her discomfort was growing with each time they interacted and that...wasn't the reason why.

She topped up her husband's drink.

No, it was more...a feeling of exclusion. Yes—that was it. Exclusion, because the two boys—men, now—in front of her seemed to have a language of their own. A language she wasn't privy to. It was another part of her son's life that she was missing—that she had missed, over the past few years.

Because she hadn't known. Not even before he left. They had hardly known he...wrote anything more than essays for school before he had announced it was what he wanted to do—so something as sensitive as this…

She bit down on a sigh, taking a sip of water instead.

She wondered how long Sasuke had known. How long Itachi had, even, because it was him who had introduced Naruto to her...how long had Sasuke actively chosen to keep himself hidden from them?

How long had he felt like he had to?

And Sasuke laughed, then, at something Naruto said that no one else could catch, and it was almost as if he was a child again. He had been such a bright child—so full of light and happiness and optimism, and then…

And then he had grown calm. Stoic. A quiet man with no great affection for anyone in particular. Itachi had been much the same, but that hadn't been a change—he had always been a quiet child. Mikoto had thought that Sasuke's indifference had grown out of the admiration for his brother's, but now—

Now, she wondered if it had been forced upon him.

Sasuke's eyes met hers, and his smile tightened back to the one she knew well. Closed and restrained—a look that was little more than neutral.

Mikoto looked away. Back at the food, as if she had gained her appetite back, instead of losing it entirely—as if the lump in her throat wouldn't stop her from swallowing anything of any weight—as if her eyes hadn't begun to burn, along the edges—

She swallowed—once, and then again.

Here she was, again—passive. Looking down at the table, away from her son—passive. Keeping quiet to keep the peace—passive.

She looked back up.

"When did the two of you meet?"

Her voice didn't waver.

Naruto tried to share a glance with Sasuke, but Sasuke seemed too busy blinking in surprise to respond. Naruto ran his teeth along the side of his lip.

"Um," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, "like, the last week of August? School had just started—"

"September 8th. You had your baseline exam the week after."

"Oh, yeah…" Fuck that exam. But then, they had had that party afterwards...Naruto felt his smile widen. Sasuke's thoughts must have been somewhere similar, from the way his eyes scanned over Naruto—

"And then I met Itachi!" The morning after the party—

"The day after your exam, yes." Sasuke rubbed at his mouth—Naruto could pick out the barest hint of a smile—

"You had—when you met me, you had only known each other for two weeks?"

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "only one week of actually talking, though." He paused—Sasuke's mom was still staring at him, as if waiting for more—

"We met at the café across from the university. It was really full and I needed a table and Sasuke is niiice—" He threw Sasuke a grin—

"You literally bumped into me in greeting." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I was stationary."

"I bumped into your chair 'cause somebody shoved me! I take it back, you're not nice at all," Naruto muttered, shoving at Sasuke's arm. Sasuke only snorted, a soft smile breaking his face as he shook his head—

"Usuratonkachi."

Naruto's smile widened.

"Teme."

Distantly, he heard Sasuke's mom make a small noise—Sasuke's dad, too, then, and it made him immediately turn—

"Those are their pet names," Itachi said casually.

Naruto blinked. Sasuke jerked back.

"They are not!"

Naruto sealed his lips together as the laugh bubbled up in his chest—

"Naruto—" Sasuke's glare was immediately on him, but Naruto just couldn't help it—

"I mean," he laughed, waving a hand over his face, "they kinda are…"

"We don't have pet names! I called you that before we were dating!"

"Yeah and you liked me, didn't you?" Naruto's grin widened as Sasuke's face flushed a bright, brilliant red—

"Were you dating the second time I saw you?" Itachi seemed entirely unfazed.

"Oh—that—yeah." Naruto scratched the back of his head, ducking down a little. "Yeah, we were."

That had been...after Naruto had pretty much chased Itachi down—and from the rapidly widening smirk Itachi was giving him, he remembered it pretty well. Naruto met it with a grin, even as his cheeks flushed—

"Stop that," he said, pointing at Itachi's stupid smug expression—

"What? It was rather admirable—as if you were defending my little brother's honour, really—"

"I wasn't defending his honour, oh my god—" Naruto shook his head, slapping at Sasuke's arm as he heard him snort. "I was just trying to get you two to communicate like normal people instead of just scowling at each other for like twenty minutes—"

Naruto's sentence cut short—in absolute shock—as Sasuke's mom laughed. It lessened, after barely a second, but something about the room still seemed lighter—

"They get that from their father," she told him, eyes hesitant but glittering (almost like the way Sasuke's did, sometimes, when he was feeling particularly playful)—

Naruto leaned over the table, closer to her.

"Okay," he whispered conspiratorially, "how do you deal with it?"

Sasuke whacked the back of his head.

It didn't hurt—not even a little—but Naruto still made a show of rubbing at it as he leaned back in his chair. Sasuke was smiling, though—and so was Mikoto, and even Sasuke's dad looked kinda amused—

This was...actually going pretty okay.

That had...actually gone pretty well, all things considered. Naruto had done what he did best—brightening the world around him and everyone in it—and Sasuke had finally figured out that he had been adding the extra tomatoes way too early and letting them cook. His mother added them at the end. He should have remembered that…

He found himself following his mother back to the kitchen, dirty plates in hand, almost without a thought. He didn't even question the motion until she jumped, just as he moved to stand beside her—

"Ah, sorry." He moved away, immediately feeling awkward. He had thought Itachi would follow them too—or maybe Naruto—but as he turned back towards the entrance he realized that it was only him and his mother here and he really didn't—

"That's alright." She gave him a soft smile. "You just startled me."

There was a pause. Sasuke glanced back at the door again, even as he leaned to load the dishwasher—still, no one else came in—

"That Naruto," she said quietly, moving over to the sink, "you two seem like you're great friends."

Sasuke blinked, straightening up. It wasn't how he had expected her to start—he had hardly expected her to talk to begin with—but he found himself bristling, just as he had when his father—

"I am dating him," he said firmly. "We aren't just friends."

"Oh," she turned around, hand paused on the pot she'd been scrubbing, "yes, I—I didn't mean to misconstrue your relationship."

And Sasuke blinked, then, because it was only then that it occurred to him that his mother had obviously already known, and whether it was due to Itachi or his father was something he desperately wanted to know—

"But I—just meant," she turned back to the pot, scrubbing so softly that Sasuke thought she might be just making herself look busy, "that it's important. To enjoy your partner's company—to truly like them, as well as love them. Am I making sense?"

Sasuke swallowed, reaching for another plate.

"Yes," he said quietly. "He is…my best friend."

He straightened just as she turned back to him, hands now dry—

"It certainly seems so." She placed the towel on the countertop, watching him with soft, hesitant eyes. "You two make a good match."

Sasuke immediately blinked down at the floor. He wasn't sure what it was—maybe the simple acceptance that she was showing him, not a comment on Sasuke being gay or Naruto being male—maybe it was the tension, in her body, as if ready for him to lash out at her simply for speaking—maybe it was being here, in the kitchen, innocently doing dishes as if nothing had ever happened at all—