The mission was a disaster.
He’d barely walked through the gates of Konoha and already wanted to set something on fire. Preferably a scroll. Or Kiba’s jacket. Or his own cursed cape that was currently caked in mud and smelled like a moldy rice ball.
It hadn’t even been that dangerous of a mission. Just a routine scouting recon near the Land of Rivers. But no. Kiba had to run his loud mouth like they were hosting a concert for enemy shinobi. Sai, as always, was being Sai helpful in that eerily passive-aggressive way that made Sasuke question every word out of his mouth.
They got ambushed because Kiba scared off the local wildlife and alerted everything else within a mile radius. And Sai? Sai was too busy making commentary about the artistic irony of predictable strategy while they were dodging kunai.
It should've taken twenty minutes. Instead, it turned into two hours of dodging traps, chasing shadows, and babysitting an overconfident dog-nin who kept barking back at enemy summons. They had to burn through way more chakra than needed. Sasuke had a busted sleeve, a shallow cut on his lip, chakra fatigue, and more frustration than his soul could hold.
Tsunade had laughed. Laughed during the debrief.
"Next time, leave Inuzuka home and bring someone who understands stealth," she said, biting back a grin. "Like Sakura."
Sasuke resisted the urge to throw a chair.
He was going home.
And Naruto better be there. Preferably shirtless. Preferably willing to cuddle.
Sasuke didn’t ask for things. Not really. He wasn’t the type to beg, and he certainly wasn’t the type to crave comfort, but the aching in his spine and the pulsing behind his eyes made it hard to pretend otherwise.
He needed warmth. Familiarity. Naruto’s obnoxiously muscled arms around him. That big furnace of a body that radiated heat like a bonfire. He needed Naruto lying on him like a weighted blanket made of sunshine and chaos.
He needed-
"I want to cuddle," Sasuke muttered, stepping into their shared apartment and dropping his pack with a grunt.
Naruto blinked from his spot on the futon, where he’d been halfway through a bowl of rice and casually flexing without trying to.
"Huh?" he said, a grain stuck to his cheek. "You want to what?"
Sasuke glared. "Don’t make me repeat it."
The silence stretched. Naruto stared at him like he’d grown antlers.
"Did something happen on the mission?" he asked slowly.
"Yes."
"Are you dying?"
"No."
"Are you secretly being controlled by a genjutsu?"
"I swear to god, Naruto."
The blonde grinned and stood up, already stretching out his arms. "Alright, alright, no need to get stabby. Come here, ya big baby."
Sasuke should have been annoyed by the nickname. Instead, his feet moved on their own.
Naruto didn’t think Sasuke was capable of being cuddly. Not by nature.
Sure, he allowed cuddling. Tolerated it. Occasionally grumbled and shoved his face into Naruto’s neck like it was the only place he could breathe, but it was always Naruto who initiated. Naruto who launched himself like a missile and Sasuke who caught him with a sigh and a barely-hidden smirk.
But tonight?
Tonight, Sasuke shuffled over like an injured cat who’d seen too much war and collapsed on the futon beside him, his forehead lightly bumping Naruto’s collarbone.
"You’re not even clean," Naruto said softly, brushing some dried leaves off his shoulder.
"I don’t care," came the muffled reply.
Naruto blinked, then shifted to make room. "Alright, come on. Full cuddle mode. You want to be the little spoon?"
Sasuke rolled onto his back.
"You want me to lie on you?" Naruto asked, surprised.
A grunt. Affirmative.
Naruto hesitated for a second. He wasn’t small. The last time he flopped onto Sasuke without warning, Sasuke accused him of trying to flatten his lungs. But Sasuke didn’t look like he was in the mood for arguments. His expression was tired, eyes ringed with exhaustion, jaw tight like he was holding something together with string and stubbornness.
So Naruto climbed onto him carefully, settling his weight across Sasuke’s chest. Chest to chest, legs tangled, arms braced just enough not to smother him.
"You’re heavy," Sasuke said flatly.
"You asked for this," Naruto grinned.
"I was desperate."
"Yeah, but this desperate?" Naruto teased. "You sure you’re okay?"
"Just stay like this."
Naruto blinked, then softened. "Yeah. Okay."
His weight settled fully, warmth blanketing them both. Sasuke’s arms instinctively wrapped around his back. Naruto rested his head in the crook of Sasuke’s neck, his cheek pressed gently against his skin, and sighed.
For a long moment, neither of them said anything.
Then-
"Exploding tags in trees?"
"Don’t."
Naruto snorted. "Did Kiba set one off with a sneeze again?"
"Worse. He howled."
"You poor thing."
"Shut up."
Naruto grinned, cheek still smushed into Sasuke’s neck. "Nah."
Despite Naruto’s weight, the way he sank down and covered Sasuke like a living comforter, it didn’t feel suffocating. It felt grounding. Like gravity finally worked properly.
Naruto’s body was warm and solid and stupidly broad. How had he gotten this muscular? Sasuke’s brain could barely process it. He could feel every ripple of Naruto’s chest against his own, every flex of a bicep as Naruto shifted minutely to tuck a blanket around them.
"Comfortable?" Naruto murmured, lips brushing Sasuke’s jaw.
Sasuke let out a small hum. He wouldn’t call it a purr, because that would be embarrassing, but Naruto smiled and snorted.
He was falling asleep.
Naruto’s weight was steady, his breaths even. His chakra flickered like a low-burning flame constant, warm, familiar. Sasuke could feel his fingers tracing soft, absentminded shapes into the back of his shirt. Maybe it was a seal. Maybe a doodle. Maybe a really bad attempt at the Uchiha crest.
Didn’t matter.
He liked it.
"Thank you," Sasuke mumbled.
Naruto didn’t reply right away. His cheek shifted slightly, lips brushing against Sasuke’s neck again.
"For cuddling with you?" he whispered.
"For being here."
A pause.
Then Naruto said, "Always, bastard."
Sasuke let himself drift.