Bet You Can't

“Man, college is really just a high school reunion ain’t it?”

Naruto nodded at his roommate’s question before realizing he couldn’t see the gesture. They were busy pushing their way through the crowded hallway in an attempt to reach the living room which would, hopefully, give them some space to breathe.

Not like Naruto thought he could anyway. He didn’t know what it was, but some kind of smoke lingered through the air and gave off a foggy film as it mixed with the random strobe lights dancing across the room. It had been a while since he’d been able to go to a party; now that the school year had picked up speed, it was time to do what Naruto loved doing most.

Getting drunk with his friends.

That’s what college was all about. At least, that’s what his godfather told him when he left home. Drinking and spending time with women; Naruto wasn’t too sure about his godfather’s ideals, but his reputation certainly preceded him. His parents would murder him if they thought he would follow in that man’s footsteps.

“I think Sakura’s in the kitchen.” Naruto’s roommate Kiba turned to face him as soon as they managed to reach the living room. It was immediate relief from the hot and sweaty bodies that packed the walls and stairwell; would it really kill someone to turn on a fan in this place?

The two boys exchanged a look of confusion as they looked around trying to locate the kitchen. Naruto was fifty percent sure they were in a frat house, and the frat houses on campus had a wonky layout unlike any normal house. He’d been to one that had the kitchen on the second floor. Things had happened there. He had no intention of ever going back.

Naruto spotted a few people coming down a hallway with what Naruto wanted to assume were new drinks. That direction might be their best bet.

“Let’s try that way Kiba.” Naruto urged him down the hallway and they made another squeeze through the drunk kids blocking their way. Naruto purposefully kept his eyes down, hoping he wouldn’t run into anyone he knew until he had at least a few drinks in his system. 

When his eyes wandered back up to survey the kitchen, his attention lingered a second longer on someone across the room. They had their back turned, attention elsewhere, and Naruto looked away as quickly as he could, hoping he could skirt by pretending that he didn’t notice them.

Unfortunately, his friend Kiba was too sharp on things like that.

“Wow, how are we so lucky to be blessed with Sasuke’s presence.” Kiba’s upper lip curled as he glared across the room. “I thought he was too prissy to show himself at a party like this.”

Naruto only hummed in agreement, refusing to add fuel to the fire. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have on his Friday night.

His relationship with Sasuke was...complicated.

They’d been friends since the first grade, and Naruto had considered him his best friend. They used to do everything together and they knew everything about each other.

Or so Naruto had thought.

As they got older, Sasuke changed and things got messy. A particular fight ultimately drove them apart and Naruto didn’t have anything to say to him anymore. They hadn’t spoken in almost three years; Naruto felt no need to break that streak.

Naruto continued to scan the kitchen, his eyes bouncing off groups of people until he noticed a familiar girl with her pale blonde hair tied up high in a sleek ponytail.

“I found Ino.” Naruto made his way over to her with Kiba in tow, and as they moved closer Naruto noticed their friend Sakura leaning on the counter, her face contorted in disgust.

“What’s bothering you girl?” Kiba bumped her playfully with his shoulder. “Not drunk enough for the reunion party?”

“That’s literally what we were just talking about.” Ino picked up a bottle of vodka and poured herself a drink. “I’m getting way too many flashbacks of those horrid green hallways. Who painted our high school? I’m almost positive they were colorblind.”

“That would make a lot of sense.” Kiba snatched two cups off the counter and filled them with something. He moved too quickly for Naruto to see the bottle, but he made sure to sniff it once Kiba put one in his hand.

“Whiskey?” Naruto sighed in disappointment. Not really his go-to in a party setting.

“We’re trying to get fucked up Nar, that’s it.” Kiba downed his cup, a good three shots’ worth of whiskey, and immediately reached for a beer. “I want to be so drunk I don’t recognize anyone anymore.”

“Damn straight.” Sakura nodded and gave Naruto a small smile. “Konoha is just too small of a town.”

Interestingly enough, Konoha wasn’t actually that small. They had a population somewhere over twenty-thousand, and a good number of schools scattered around town. It just so happened that many of them lived close enough to commute to the same school, and yet it still felt like they knew everybody. There would always be a face Naruto recognized on the street or a name he had heard before; Konoha felt more like a cage, considering many of the kids who grew up in town tended to stay. His parents had been that way, and Naruto currently didn’t have any plans to up and leave anytime soon. He was currently in his junior year of college; he felt like he only had a little time left to figure out if he really wanted to stay.

Naruto sighed, tilted his head back, and downed the quarter-cup shot Kiba poured for him. He grimaced at the taste and grabbed himself a beer to wash it down.

“Let’s get drunk then.” Naruto and his friends did a round of cheers before breaking off to see what the party was all about. Kiba and Naruto got themselves roped into an aggressive beer pong match against two guys from his statistics class and then they attempted a keg stand in the backyard for a good half hour.

Naruto broke away once one of the frat guys started lighting shit on fire; he didn’t want to be part of it and he really needed to use the bathroom. He braced himself before squeezing through crowds and winding through hallways until he finally reached a bathroom that wasn’t occupied.

He finished his business and left, shaking his still-wet hands at his side as he made his way back into the too-crowded kitchen; his eyes were set on the fridge. He had overheard someone saying there were cold beers in there, and it sounded a lot more appealing than the lukewarm ones on the counter Naruto and Kiba had been putting down. He was already pretty buzzed from messing with the keg earlier, so all he had to do was skate by the next couple of hours with another beer or two. Easy pacing.

Naruto approached the fridge and realized a little group had settled nearby. Someone stood in front of the fridge, successfully blocking it, and Naruto wasn’t about to let anything come in between him and an ice-cold beer.

“Hey, excuse me but can you scoot over? Unless you’re like the fridge police.” Naruto tried to keep it somewhat respectful, but come on. Don’t be an ass and block shit for everybody else. A few eyes landed on him before the person in question turned to see who was talking to them.

Naruto realized what he had done a beat too late.

A pair of jet-black irises met Naruto’s sea blue, and for a second Naruto thought time had stopped. Between Naruto and his ice-cold heavenly escape stood none other than his ex-best friend. A loose end, if anything.

Sasuke Uchiha.

“Naruto.” Sasuke said, and he sounded surprised like he didn’t think Naruto would actually speak to him. If Naruto had been paying more attention, he absolutely would not have spoken to him. He would have picked up a lukewarm beer and enjoyed it like it was all he had left in this cold, miserable world. Yet here he was, and he had to deal with the consequences.

The only thing he could do now was to play it cool and stand his ground.

“Sasuke.” Naruto replied simply. His name left a sour taste in his mouth and meeting his gaze brought back a flood of memories Naruto would rather bury than remember. It was better than the white-hot rage and betrayal he felt towards him three years ago, but it certainly wasn’t anything positive. Sasuke had made it clear, painfully cold and clear, that he had no intention of remaining friends with him because he quote, didn’t want to end up as stupid as Naruto was.

Yeah, it was a little more complicated than that, but he got the gist of it. Sasuke didn’t have time to waste with him anymore. Naruto was simply no good. A slacker. A troublemaker. Sasuke said his parents didn’t want him to have anything to do with him anymore. That’s not something you should easily break to your best friend just a couple of days after their birthday.

Sasuke clearly never cared about their friendship. Naruto had, so it hit him pretty hard to watch Sasuke turn himself off and pretend like he never knew him. It was a cruelty Naruto had known Sasuke possessed, but he never thought it would be used against him. Maybe that’s why he struggled with trust issues now.

“Can you move so I can get in the fridge?” Naruto tried asking again, now much more tired than he had been before.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but slid out of the way for Naruto without complaint. He watched Naruto retrieve a cold can, his own cup poised at his lips.

“Playing it safe tonight, huh?”

Naruto paused, midway through opening his beer, and gave Sasuke a dirty glare.

“I’ll have you know, I’ve already drunk more than what you can put down in a night.” He popped open his beer a little aggressively. Sasuke had some nerve to be making comments about his drinking. “What are you drinking, huh? Apple juice and vodka?”

Sasuke laughed. It was cold, rough, and sarcastic. It wasn’t a friendly laugh or anything like a real one, and Naruto recognized it. It was a very Sasuke-like behavior.

“It’s certainly not a beer.” Sasuke replied, his expression smug. Some of the girls surrounding him giggled and Naruto rolled his eyes. That was another thing about Sasuke that drove him crazy; the women loved him, and Sasuke didn’t even have to do anything to attract their attention. They’d latch to him like leeches and form fan clubs on campus like he was some sort of worshipped deity. A shame when Sasuke barely seemed to bother remembering their names yet alone the concept that they actually existed.

After three years, Sasuke was still trying to test him. Naruto wasn’t going to let it happen.

“Okay fine.” Naruto snatched a bottle of rum off the counter and took a stack of plastic shot glasses. He lined four in front of himself and four more beside those. “Let’s do some shots, Sasuke. Since you’re feeling so bold.”

“I am not taking shots with you, Naruto.” Sasuke shook his head and took another swig from his cup. “We aren’t in high school anymore.”

Naruto ignored that jab and started to fill each cup in line.

“Sounds like you’re trying to cover up the fact that you’re a lightweight.” Naruto shrugged. He finished filling each cup and set the bottle down. He looked back to Sasuke. “Scared you’ll embarrass yourself?”

For a moment, Sasuke only glared back at Naruto, and he caught the irritated twitch in his dark eyebrow. If Naruto really wanted to manipulate him, all he needed to mention was his pride. Especially in front of someone else. After all this time, Sasuke was still so predictable.

Sasuke sighed before he approached the counter and looked down at his four shots. The girls behind him started to cheer.

Naruto lifted up his first shot and held it up, poised for a toast. Sasuke slowly picked up his and lightly tapped Naruto’s cup.

“Here’s to a crazy night.” Naruto said sarcastically, his intentions focused solely on drinking to forget that this moment even happened. A night where he could forget Sasuke existed to avoid the feelings that followed him.

“Yeah, a night you probably won’t even remember.” Sasuke replied, and they both tilted their heads back to down their shots.

As angry as it made Naruto to admit it, Sasuke would turn out to be right.

It felt like only seconds since he took his second shot, and suddenly he was outside. He couldn’t feel the crisp March air around him, but he realized the air was charged between him and someone else as they argued in the backyard. Naruto didn’t even have time to figure out who the hell he was talking to.

When he opened his eyes again, he realized he was in his own bed. He had no idea how the hell he had managed to end up back at home, but he was grateful to at least not be waking up in a bush or a pool of his own vomit (both had happened last semester and he was not trying to keep that same energy). That being said, he still woke up to a splitting headache that made his skull feel like it was seconds away from shattering inside of his head. Light drove needle-like pain through his eyes and it traveled all the way down to the pit of his stomach.

He immediately shut his eyes with a groan and pressed a hand to his temple. Man, he really dreaded waking up after a night out. He grimaced when he licked his lips and a sour taste ambushed his senses; a familiar sign that told Naruto at least one thing about the night before.

Movement beside him made Naruto freeze. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to see what had shifted his comforter, and he nearly screamed at who he saw.

“Sasuke?!” Naruto squawked, his eyes taking in the familiar boy beside him. In his bed. Wearing his clothes.

He had to still be dreaming. There was no other way, and soon he’d wake up in a cold sweat alone in his room with a hangover probably twice as worse as the one he felt now. 

If this wasn’t a dream...well, that meant he had one hell of a night.

“Good morning, darling.” Sasuke cooed back, his expression sarcastically endearing.

Naruto stared back at him speechless, a cold sweat began to build on the back of his neck. His headache was starting to feel very real and he doubted Sasuke could be a figure of his imagination. He had his fair share of weird dreams, but Sasuke disheveled, pantsless, and clearly hungover was never one of them.

Okay, two out of three were a lie.

“W-what are you...? Why are you?” Naruto tripped over his words as he felt the panic start to set in, “Did you sleep next to me?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to sleep on the floor.” Sasuke replied incredulously. “It was a long night.”

We have a perfectly fine couch in the living room. Naruto rolled his eyes but didn’t make the comment; he could only stare at Sasuke as he tried to put the pieces together.

He barely had any memory of last night. He vaguely remembered taking shots with Sasuke in the kitchen and playing a game of some sort with somebody somewhere, but he didn’t know how he had gotten home nor why Sasuke was with him. In his bed. Sleeping next to him like they were best friends.

Or.

Naruto swallowed. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this, and if his assumption were true…

He and Sasuke had hooked up.

That had to be it. They were both in their underwear and Sasuke called him darling for fuck’s sake. Something had happened last night, and Naruto was starting to dread what exactly he had gotten himself into this time.

“Did we...you know…?” Naruto gestured between the two of them and gave Sasuke a defeated look. If he had done what he thought he did, that meant he had sunken to a new low and didn’t exactly feel ready to cope with it. It also meant he had a lot more work to do on himself.

Sasuke returned it with a look of innocent confusion.

“Did we what?” he asked.

“Did we...do it last night?” 

“Did we do what?” Sasuke smirked, clearly knowing what Naruto was insinuating. He seemed to be getting a kick out of playing dumb and Naruto could already feel the pinpricks of annoyance he usually felt in Sasuke’s presence. The guy always had to be a jerk; especially about something serious.

“Did we have sex or not?” Naruto snapped back, but he quickly softened his tone. “If we did, I hope I didn’t hurt you or anything…”

Sasuke remained silent for a few seconds before he spoke, his tone suspicious.

“Why would you assume that you hurt me?”

Naruto groaned. “Well, my ass isn’t sore so it could only go one other way.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “How are you going to assume that you were on top?”

“Obviously I would be on top.”

“What do you mean ‘obviously’? In what world do you think I’d let you top me?”

“Jesus Sasuke, good to know your superiority complex hasn’t vanished these past three years.” Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Arguing with this asshole only made his headache worse.

“You really don’t remember what happened last night?” Sasuke sat up and stretched. Naruto watched his muscles flex underneath his T-shirt. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto over his shoulder and shook his head in disdain. “Well, you were really fucked up, so I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Naruto frowned at Sasuke’s words. His friends usually had to define ‘fucked up’ because Naruto’s behavior had a wide, wide range from flirting with strangers to streaking across the football field or napping in the bushes by his apartment. That, and he had a bout of alcohol poisoning last semester that landed him in the hospital, and he never wanted to end up like that again. It seemed like he found himself in just as much trouble, if not worse, by drinking anyway.

“This is so stupid.” Sasuke hissed under his breath as he got up and crossed the room. He retrieved his cellphone off the dresser and returned to drop back at Naruto’s side. He held his phone between them and pressed play on a video displayed on his screen.

Naruto leaned closer, his brow furrowing as he made out the people in the video. The quality was terrible and off-balance; clearly, it was taken by someone drunk at the party.

“Everyone gather around!” Naruto, clearly wasted, spoke to a large group that had gathered in the kitchen to hear him speak. He grabbed Sasuke by the arm and pulled him closer, the other boy stumbled with him and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “These days all I hear are girls saying how great this guy is and how perfect his hair looks. You all think he’s soooo great, but guess what? He’s not! He’s stuck up and moody and he’d never date any of you ‘cuz I’m pretty sure he couldn’t keep someone if he tried.”

Naruto winced, and when he glanced over, he caught Sasuke’s eyes on him, his expression looked annoyed. That’s fair, Naruto thought. This felt a bit uncalled for...but he wasn’t wrong.

“Kiba!I hope you’re getting all of this on camera! Sasuke agreed he’d make a bet, so I’m calling an official bet!” Drunk, Naruto seemed to carry the confidence of the world on his shoulder. It was almost a relief to see that most of his words were coherent, but it felt like nothing good was coming out of this video. He almost feared what he’d see next.

“I’m betting that Sasuke couldn’t last a month through a serious relationship without breaking up. Hell, I’ll put a thousand bucks on it!”

The crowd ‘oooh’ed at Naruto’s challenge and Kiba himself whimpered into the camera, “A thousand bucks?! Naruto you’re fucking crazy!”

“Easy.” Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly and met Naruto’s challenge with a confident smirk. “Now who exactly am I supposed to date for a month?”

Naruto cackled at Sasuke’s question and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“Me.” Naruto smiled at Sasuke’s expression before raising a beer. “Until a month from today, you’re my boyfriend. Is that alright, darling?”

“...And you heard it folks! The bet is on!” Kiba flipped the camera to show himself and flashed the peace sign. “Stay tuned to see if he gets his money!”

Sasuke closed out the video with an annoyed click of his tongue.

“Trigger any memories?”

Naruto stared at the black screen in complete disbelief. If this was a dream, now would be a good time for him to wake up; he couldn’t believe what he had just watched and if it weren’t for the painfully concrete evidence against him, he would’ve said Sasuke was full of shit. Yet there he was, announcing it to the entire room and on video for that matter...he’d dug himself deep. He felt beyond embarrassed. He wanted to burrow under his sheets and go back to bed for the rest of his life.

How the fuck could he have challenged Sasuke to a bet like that? How did that conversation even come up? 

And where did Naruto get the idea that he had a thousand dollars to his name let alone enough to give out on a bet like that?

“After that, we got in an argument, you fell down the stairs, and when we were out in the front yard you threw up on me and yourself. We came back here to clean up and change clothes.” Sasuke sighed. “We didn’t do anything.”

Naruto wished he could let out a breath of relief, but it didn’t seem like his situation was getting any better. At least he could add ‘didn’t fuck Sasuke’ to his list of accomplishments.

“The rules you made last night were too vague. You have to explicitly say what the guidelines are for this to be a fair bet.” Sasuke took in Naruto’s uncomfortable expression and sneered. “Are you ready to own up? Or were you just running your mouth again like always?”

Naruto glared back at him. Sasuke radiated that same cocky-bastard energy Naruto remembered well. He acted like he had already won the bet, like things would be too easy for him.  He knew Sasuke didn’t give a rat’s ass about the money either; his family was rich and Sasuke had more money in the bank than what Naruto had seen in his lifetime.

But Naruto had made such a big deal at that party. From what he could see in the recording, at least twenty people had stopped what they were doing to watch, including his friends Ino and Sakura. Knowing Kiba, this video was probably circulating campus as they spoke; he’d look like such an idiot if he called it off. Sasuke would never let him live it down; neither would his friends.

Naruto bit his lower lip. He didn’t know why he cared what Sasuke thought anyway. It had been three long years since they’d talked like this, and Naruto shuddered at the thought of being chained to the guy for a month. He wanted to punch Sasuke in the face, not date him, and now he had to make up the rules for a bet he couldn’t even fulfill?

Yet for some reason, that cocky look on Sasuke’s face lit a fire in Naruto he had almost forgotten about. The overwhelming rush he got when he bested Sasuke or proved him wrong; that was something that could counteract the bad. If Naruto could get Sasuke to lose this bet in front of everyone, maybe he’d get some real satisfaction out of it. He could spend this month tormenting Sasuke and make his life a living hell.

Not like it was payback or anything.

Naruto just felt sick of seeing Sasuke acting like he was better than everyone else. He had to put him in his place.

It was like his pride wouldn’t allow him to let it go, no matter how ridiculous the bet was.

“I don’t go back on my word; a bet is a bet. Are you ready to own up?” Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. “I’ll let you know now, I’m a pretty needy partner. I like romantic moments, cuddling, public affection, sweet talk, hot sex, and sometimes BDSM.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 

“You said a serious relationship, not some freaky hookup.”

“The key to a serious relationship is making each other feel good and love doing it.” Naruto shrugged. “Not sure if that’s something you know how to do.”

He knew the jab was a bit uncalled for, and Naruto regretted saying it as soon as it left his lips. Sasuke knew exactly what he meant, and he scowled at the comment.

“So what are your rules, Naruto. What exactly is dating to you?”

“If you don’t want me to break up with you, I have some requirements.” Naruto held up his hand as he counted off on his fingers, “I’d like to see you every day on campus, you have to hang out with me on the weekends, return affectionate actions…”

Naruto trailed off when he caught himself sneering.

“Don’t force yourself to do anything you don’t want to do though! You can quit the bet at any time.”

“Fat chance idiot. And let you keep a thousand dollars?”

Naruto shrugged and looked away to avoid eye contact.

“Let’s cut the shit Naruto. You and I know that you don’t have the money.”

Naruto shook his head. “You don’t know anything about me. I have a lot of money.”

“Right.” Sasuke replied, unconvinced. It didn’t matter in the end, because Naruto planned on making this bet so ridiculous Sasuke will want to quit as soon as possible. Sasuke didn’t do relationships and he certainly didn’t do romance; it was going to be a blast pushing the guy to his breaking point. 

“You act so confident Sasuke, but you know, I can’t be dating somebody and not kiss them...you know what I mean?”

Sasuke smiled back at him. “Nice try. I guess you’ll just have to see where things go, won’t you?”

Naruto and Sasuke stared each other down, and at that moment, Naruto made a pledge to himself. He was not going to let Sasuke win that thousand dollars and he wasn’t going to let him ignore the past three years he put him through. Naruto was prepared to make the best out of a shitty situation, and he had no intentions of losing this bet.

Whatever it took, Naruto was going to win.

Monday morning came and went, and Naruto spent his afternoon dozing through his classes and daydreaming. As he zoned out in his ethics course, he realized that things were going to be different this month. It felt like he had been cast for a role he now had to play, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to pull it off.

He could still see Kiba’s expression as clear as day. When he and Sasuke had walked out of his room Saturday afternoon, his eyes had widened to full moons and he had barely managed to get out a greeting to Sasuke. He seemed to have forgotten that Sasuke had spent the night, and as soon as Sasuke left, he gave Naruto a shit-eating grin.

“Who would’ve thought you’d fuck on the first night!” Kiba howled, a bit too loud for their questionably thin walls. “Damn you’ve got balls!”

“We didn’t Kiba, chill out.” Naruto groaned and dropped beside Kiba on the couch. “Did you happen to see anything that happened last night?”

“Only the good stuff, apparently.” Kiba leaned back and kicked his legs up onto their battered coffee table as he got comfortable. “You got fucked up and I thought you were going to beat the shit out of Sasuke at least three different times, but then the next thing I know you’re announcing how thirsty you are for him–”

“–That’s not what happened, please tell it right.” Naruto jammed his palms to his eyes and tried to grind away his discomfort. 

“Okay well, basically it is though? Then I dragged you outside, but you were still arguing with Sasuke...I guess you weren’t watching where we were going because you fell down the porch stairs, which was hilarious by the way.” Kiba snickered, and his laughter only got wheezier when Naruto glared at him. “We were waiting for our ride, and then you just...projectile vomit over everything.” 

Naruto’s eyes widened in horror.

“It’s a shame you don’t remember because even you’d be impressed! It was crazy, and it went all over Sasuke and you managed to get it all over yourself, so we had to walk the fuckin’ five blocks home...thanks for that.”

Naruto hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Kiba.”

“Nah man it’s cool. That party was getting lame, you always know how to keep it interesting!”

It wasn’t a complete understanding of the night’s events, but at least Naruto had something to connect the dots. Friday night just seemed like it was going to be a mystery, and he didn’t get any further recollections over the weekend. Now Monday was here, and Naruto was just as confused as he was Saturday morning.

It felt even stranger as he crossed through the library courtyard to see someone he had been actively avoiding for years. This time when Sasuke’s eyes met his, they held each other’s gazes instead of breaking away immediately. Sasuke trailed off from his conversation with the guy standing next to him. He was a bit shorter and had chin-length white hair; Naruto recognized him since he seemed to be one of Sasuke’s closest friends. If Naruto saw Sasuke on campus, this guy was usually with him. 

They both watched Naruto approach, expressions equally blank and emotionless. Sasuke’s friend said something to him and offered a shoulder pat before ducking inside of the library.

“Hey.” Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, very uncomfortable all of a sudden. It almost felt like walking up to someone he mistook for someone else. “Are you free right now?”

“Yeah, I’m done with classes for today.” Sasuke adjusted the backpack strap across his shoulder, a sign of anxiety in Naruto’s eyes. He knew them well, as Naruto often caught himself fidgeting with something or pacing the room. He wondered if Sasuke even knew he was doing it.

Wanna grab some food?”

Sasuke blinked back at him. He realized Naruto was being serious and nodded before stepping away from the pillar to follow Naruto towards the food court.

“How was your day?” Naruto slowed down to match Sasuke’s pace and gave him a smile. “Anything interesting happen today? What classes did you have?”

God, this felt so weird.

Naruto was forcing it, but hoped that he would gradually grow into the habit. If he wanted to get out of paying Sasuke a thousand dollars, he needed to make things believable. That meant that things were going to have to get uncomfortable. Personally, he wanted to enjoy it, so the sooner he could get over the embarrassment the better, and hopefully easier to push Sasuke into a corner.

“It was fine...I had three classes, finished at two.” Sasuke kept his eyes on the sidewalk, Naruto watched his eyes narrow and his brow furrowed slightly. “Nothing in particular happened, I had some electives and a global economics class...why do you care?”

“Is it wrong for me to ask you how your day went?” Naruto asked innocently. They reached the student center and passed through the lounge, thrust into the bustling afternoon traffic. Groups of friends lingered by the TV while others did their homework near the windows or darted out of the campus convenience store; it seemed like this place was always busy, but he knew it was an off time for the food court. He made it a habit of eating his lunch no earlier than two, otherwise he and his friends could hardly hear each other even if they shouted into each other’s ears.

Naruto and Sasuke entered the food court together and joined the first line inside. Naruto’s eyes were set on the chicken tenders, his stomach already growling in anticipation. Sasuke stood beside him, his eyes scanning the menu ahead of them.

To his surprise, Sasuke stepped forward and paid for both of their meals. When Naruto gave him a surprised look, Sasuke smirked back at him.

“You should be saving up your money, don’t you think? A thousand dollars doesn’t just come out of thin air.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, but he didn’t protest the free food. It was the least the guy could do.

They sat down at an empty booth in the corner of the room, perfectly bathed in the afternoon sunlight, and Naruto wasted no time in opening his food. Sasuke watched him shove the pieces into his mouth with an unimpressed expression.

“You eat like you haven’t eaten in years.” Sasuke commented. Naruto snorted. 

“I was running late so I didn’t eat breakfast. I was fucking starving!”

Sasuke shook his head and opened his salad. Naruto savored the last chunk in his mouth as he stared at Sasuke’s salad. He had never been so grateful for his taste in food. He couldn’t imagine waiting all day just to shove his fork into a cucumber. Unbelievable.

While it did feel weird being around Sasuke at first, Naruto could feel himself starting to relax. He wondered if it had to do with the fact that he’d known Sasuke for most of his life, and maybe that made it possible for him to pretend like nothing had happened between them.

He wondered how Sasuke felt about it.

So far, they hadn’t addressed their past at all, and Naruto believed he wanted it to stay that way. Although time had passed, the wound still felt somewhat fresh and the last thing Naruto wanted to do was poke at it.

Now that they were in the first week, Naruto had to think of a way to pressure Sasuke out of the bet. He had to step up his game and make it unbearable for him to keep things up. He had a fair share of ideas, considering he knew what used to make Sasuke uncomfortable, but he wondered if they would be enough to secure his victory this month.

On Tuesday, Naruto made a bold grab for Sasuke’s hand during their lunch break and refused to let go until they parted ways for class. He caught the attention of Sasuke’s fan club and gave the girls a cheeky wave as they passed by, hardly able to contain how smug their reactions made him.

Wednesday was the day Naruto hugged Sasuke in the quad, and he took the guy by surprise to the point where he dropped his iced coffee on the sidewalk.

On Thursday, Naruto blew Sasuke kisses whenever he saw him, and something about the tortured endurance reflected in Sasuke’s eyes inspired him to do more. He was just having too much fun.

Friday finally came, and Naruto left his apartment with Kiba to go downtown. A few of their friends were waiting at their favorite bar, and the two roommates wanted nothing more than to get out and have a couple of drinks to celebrate the end of the week.

Naruto kept his hand on his phone as they rode there, and occasionally it would ding when Sasuke replied to his message. He said he was going to be there at the bar tonight, and Naruto made him promise that he wouldn’t leave early. Naruto tapped his feet in impatience; he doubted Sasuke would show up and he was ready to call him out for it.

Unfortunately, soon after arriving Naruto caught a glimpse of Sasuke seated at one of the tables in the far back, engaged in a conversation with the same white-haired guy as before alongside another man and a red-headed woman. It appeared Sasuke hadn’t been lying, but it still puzzled him to see Sasuke out drinking. He had never seen him do that before; he figured Sasuke stuck to the same straight-edge study kid trope as when they were in high school, but that didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

First, it was the frat house and now a downtown bar; maybe the guy was being more social and realized how boring his life had been. 

Naruto and Kiba went to find their friends Ino and Sakura who immediately roped them into a darts competition on the other side of the bar. The game wound up lasting longer than they’d desired, and as Naruto crossed the room towards the bar counters to finally get a drink, a particular sight caught his eye.

Sasuke stood at the bar, waiting for his drink, and a girl stood next to him, leaning close as they talked. Naruto watched her sweep her long brown hair over her shoulder as she laughed, and normally Naruto wouldn’t have cared. When Kiba got approached by a pretty girl, Naruto could spot his excitement from across the room, and whenever Naruto was approached it felt like a repeating process; make some conversation, flirt if he wanted to, and maybe share a drink for an hour. He hardly approached anyone these days, but he could sense flirting from a mile away and this...this was flirting.

What didn’t settle well with him was that Sasuke was supposed to be with him. The whole point of the bet was a believable relationship, so how was he supposed to feel about another girl swinging her hair all over him? Sasuke flirted back too, and Naruto narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

Before he knew it, Naruto stormed up to Sasuke at the bar and dropped his hand on the counter behind Sasuke’s back. He turned to give Naruto a quizzical look and the girl eyed him too, unaware of how big of a scene Naruto was about to make.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me again!” Naruto cried, ensuring he was loud enough to attract the attention of anyone in earshot. He noticed Kiba out of the corner of his eye, spinning around to locate Naruto in what was probably a conditioned response. The guy came to his rescue too often to count, and most of those times it was Kiba dragging him out of a place before they could get kicked out.

Sasuke pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes but remained silent under Naruto’s glare.

“What is it Sasuke? Am I not enough for you?!” Naruto pressed a hand to his chest and tried to bring tears into his eyes. He may have sucked in his acting class in middle school, but he sure as hell was going to try his best now. “Are you going back to girls now?!”

The girl at Sasuke’s side looked between them in shock. She quickly shook her head and took a step back.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get in between anything...I didn’t know…”

Sasuke sighed. “It’s fine, there’s nothing going on–”

“Nothing going on? There’s nothing going on?!” Naruto’s little performance had attracted a good portion of the bar, and Naruto caught Sakura in the corner recording them on her phone. Kiba walked up to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder in solidarity. It was also his cue for Naruto to tone it down before security started giving them issues.

“It’s okay, buddy. Sometimes that’s just how it is.”

“I put everything into this relationship, and this is how you treat me?” Naruto sobbed, and he finally stepped away from the counter to give Sasuke a sad look. “Is it the sex?”

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and snatched his drink off the counter.

“I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this, we were just talking–”

“I never see you guys kiss or anything, like hell you’re having good sex!” Kiba laughed, but quickly sombered his tone. “No offense, man.”

Naruto shook his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

“You hear that, Sasuke? Everyone knows. You don’t even kiss me.”

Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other while the rest of the bar watched them in charged anticipation. Naruto could hear whispers behind them before someone shouted out to them.

“Why won’t you kiss your boyfriend?!”

“Kiss him he’s so sad!” Another voice called out.

“I’ll kiss him if you don’t!”

Naruto tried not to blush at the comments and prepared to finish his performance with the perfect ending. He planned on storming out after threatening a dramatic break-up, but his plan fell apart when Sasuke set his drink down and took a few steps closer to him.
The crowd shuffled, some whispering and others watching in dead silence. A few in the back cheered them on, clearly drunk, but it was still appreciated.

Naruto braced himself for a punch to the gut, but Sasuke’s expression wouldn’t give him any sort of hint to how he felt. There weren’t any signs of embarrassment or anger, so when he took both his hands and cradled Naruto’s face with them, Naruto felt like he was seconds away from death. Like the Grim Reaper’s hands had grabbed him and was about to drag him through hell in front of the entire bar.

Sasuke looked into Naruto’s eyes, unperturbed by the audience surrounding them, and he smiled. It was the smile of someone who knew something the other didn’t. The smile of someone who knew they’d already won.

“I think you’re underestimating me, Naruto.” Sasuke said quietly, loud enough for only Naruto to hear, and then he pressed his lips to Naruto’s. Sasuke’s mouth moved slowly against his, and Naruto felt his mouth open as Sasuke’s tongue snuck inside. 

It was...a legitimate kiss.

Naruto kissed him back, working his tongue against Sasuke’s, and he almost got lost in the feeling of it. The applause and excessive cheering around them pulled him out of his trance, and he slightly pulled back from the kiss, his eyes wide in surprise.

Sasuke ran his tongue over his bottom lip and proceeded to finish his drink. He then gave Naruto a light pat on the chest and smirked.

“Maybe it was because of the sex, but we can work on that, can’t we?”

For once, Naruto was at a loss for words. He could only stare back at Sasuke as he came down from the sudden adrenaline rush, and in place of that was now a mixture of dread and shock.

He refused to believe that he was underestimating Sasuke, but he did not expect Sasuke to kiss him like that. In front of everyone. Like it was nothing for him.

Kiba howled with laughter behind Naruto, shaking him with everything he had, and Naruto realized he couldn’t take his eyes off of Sasuke. The room had exploded into cheers and laughter, people surging forward to congratulate them on reconciling. It was so loud, yet everything sounded muted to him. Sasuke ignored them all as well, his eyes still locked on Naruto’s with that all-knowing look that made his blood run cold. Almost like a look of foreboding.

The guy just exuded confidence, and he knew Naruto was out of words and fresh out of ideas. Sasuke had emerged tonight as the rightful winner. This was the end of their performance.

Naruto began to realize that maybe, just maybe, this bet would be a lot rougher than he thought it would be.