Bet You Can't

Sasuke was actually Naruto’s first kiss.

No, it didn’t take place that Friday night in the middle of the bar, but that moment brought back vivid memories from Naruto’s past. A past that confused him more than it made sense, and sadly it was something Naruto didn’t dwell on that much anymore.

And yet his mind went back to when they were thirteen. Their class had gotten off the bus at Konoha’s science museum for their spring field trip; the air had been crisp, and Naruto had been psyched to get out of class for most of the day. He bounced around exhibits with his assigned group, who at the time had been Sakura, Sasuke, and their homeroom teacher Kakashi. Despite Naruto not caring about science, he found himself entertained by the different gadgets and spent his time mostly at Sasuke’s side. He had looked upset that day, and Naruto never learned why; he had spent most of the field trip trying to get Sasuke to laugh.

They waited outside of the bathrooms for Sakura and Kakashi at the end of their tour; Sasuke got comfortable on the bench and watched Naruto spin in circles in front of him, narrowly missing a standing sign nearby.

“Did you take your meds this morning?” Sasuke rolled his eyes when Naruto stumbled again. “You have way too much energy...you know the field trip is just about over, right?”

Naruto had intended to reply, but his foot finally caught his untied shoelace, and Naruto accidentally launched himself on top of Sasuke. Sasuke’s back hit the wall with a solid thud, and Naruto froze when he realized he was less than an inch from Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke stared at him, out of breath from the shock, while Naruto stared back at him. It was a small, irking feeling that made Naruto move without thinking about it. He suddenly thought that sitting on Sasuke’s lap wasn’t too bad.

It only took a second, but Naruto kissed him. He jumped off of Sasuke immediately after, spun around, and plopped into the seat next to Sasuke without a word.

Naruto stared straight ahead, his eyes locked on the bathroom entrances like his life depended on it. He could feel the sweat beading on the back of his neck. He was terrified of what Sasuke’s reaction would be. He was going to be mad, that was for sure, and Naruto couldn’t believe what he’d done. Why did he do that?

Sasuke didn’t say anything. From the time Sakura and Kakashi rejoined them to the time they went home at the end of the day, Sasuke didn’t mention the kiss at all.

Naruto thought about it all the time.

It was the start of something that he hadn’t yet understood, and it scared him.

When he looked into Sasuke’s eyes, he admitted that he sometimes got distracted by his lips first. They were perfect, soft, and pink. Sasuke had tasted like mint that day, and Naruto wondered if that was what he always tasted like.

When they walked home together from school, he wondered what it would feel like to hold Sasuke’s hand the whole way. They had of course held hands before, but not in the way Naruto wanted. Nothing was ever what Naruto really wanted.

If time had made any difference, it only made Naruto bolder.

This became a harsh reality for Sasuke when he agreed to go grocery shopping with Naruto on Sunday afternoon.

“I said no.” Sasuke said dismissively and slapped Naruto’s hand away again. “I’m busy.”

“Sasuke, come on. You don’t need both hands.”

“Who’s going to push the cart, dumbass?”

“We can push it together.” Naruto replied in his sweet voice and took Sasuke’s hand in his for the third time. He held it tight, and this time he didn’t let Sasuke slide out of his grip.

“I don’t want to hold hands!” Sasuke hissed. He came to a stop in the middle of the dairy aisle and directed his scowl at Naruto instead of the aisle ahead of them. “Why are you so clingy?”

“Because I’m so in love with you.” Naruto squeezed Sasuke’s hand, and an older woman walked by them giggling. She gave them both a loving smile as she passed.

“Naruto.” Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if to calm himself. “...you know what? Fine. I’ll hold your fucking hand, happy?”

“Yes.” Naruto smiled in satisfaction and walked around the store with Sasuke until they checked off everything on their list. Naruto could feel the embarrassment Sasuke was desperately trying to hide with that cool exterior of his, and it only made Naruto happier.

They left the supermarket with their hands full of bags, and Sasuke seemed relieved to have an excuse to not hold Naruto’s hand anymore. It was a short-lived victory, but Naruto had no plans to give up on holding hands anytime soon.

“Thanks for inviting me over today!” Naruto watched the crosswalk light blink across the street as they waited. He hadn’t yet seen Sasuke’s apartment since he moved out of his parent’s house for school. Somehow, he had always imagined that he and Sasuke would’ve had their first place together. Times sure changed.

“You invited yourself.” Sasuke muttered, leading the way across the street as soon as the light switched to green. 

“I offered to help carry groceries.” Naruto shrugged. “And don’t lie, you needed my help. Would you have carried this all home yourself?”

“I wouldn’t have bought all of this shit if you weren’t coming.”

“Sure.” Naruto followed Sasuke down a couple of blocks and they approached an apartment building on the corner. Naruto’s head tilted back as he attempted to look up and determine how many floors this place had. It was one of the fancy apartment buildings, separate from campus housing, and Naruto had seen ads for them often online. Sometimes he’d look at the empty units on his phone just to imagine what it would be like to live in a building with an indoor gym, pool, and spa only an elevator ride away.

Of course Sasuke lived in a place like this. 

Naruto kept his mouth shut until Sasuke let them into his apartment on the twentieth floor. By then, Naruto was bubbling with comments he had held down for most of their ride in the elevator.

“Your parents really came through with this place, huh?” Naruto dropped his bags on the counter and immediately moved his way through the apartment, looking at Sasuke’s place without a hint of shame. The place was massive with a brand-new kitchen, and the windows in the living room had a view to die for; Naruto wished at least one of their windows had a decent view, but there wasn’t much he could ask for living on the third floor.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke when he didn’t reply right away. Sasuke stood at the counter, taking the groceries out of their bags with a scowl in place.

“They just wanted me out of their house.” Sasuke said coldly. “Itachi lives on the floor below, so they figured they might as well put me here so he can keep an eye on me.”

Naruto snorted at that. “You say it like your parents kicked you out or something.”

Sasuke collected a handful of bags and scrunched them up a bit aggressively.

“They did.”

Naruto walked back into the kitchen and leaned over the counter, desperately trying to meet Sasuke’s eyes. He couldn’t tell if the guy was being serious or not.

“Your parents?” Naruto echoed, as if he were mistaken. 

Sasuke sighed, abandoning the bags in his hand, and finally met Naruto’s gaze with an exhausted one of his own.

“I didn’t get into the school that they wanted me to. So now I’m on my own to figure the rest out.”

Sasuke said it so simply, and sometimes when he did that Naruto realized he would miss out on some crucial things. For one, Sasuke never put his emotions into his words. If something truly upset him, it would be rare for Naruto to pick it up speaking to him. When he said things so matter-of-factly, Naruto never felt a need to push it, and he wondered how long he had failed to notice it.

“You didn’t get into the school they wanted you to, or you didn’t get into the school you wanted to?” Naruto asked slowly, and he took a seat at the counter to watch Sasuke closely.

“Doesn’t matter. I bombed the entry exam and here I am.” Sasuke picked up the bags again and turned away to shove them in a nearby cabinet. He started putting his things away and Naruto watched him as he thought about that.

“Sasuke Uchiha bombed an exam?” Naruto tapped his chin, and the words sounded unnatural when he said it aloud.

“Yeah, I did.”

It felt unusual for Sasuke to openly admit it without an attitude. It was an honest confession to one of Sasuke’s greatest fears growing up. He had always been the kid who had to be perfect. If he brought home anything less than an A, he’d be in trouble. The Uchihas were certainly not a family that accepted failure, so now it made sense as to why Sasuke was attending the same school as the rest of them. He had imagined Sasuke leaving town and going somewhere prestigious; if that had happened, would he have ever spoken to Sasuke again?

“Well...I guess you really are human.” Naruto smiled and he felt a bit of relief.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sasuke turned, defensive at the comment.

“Oh.” Naruto blinked, wondering how he could explain without pissing him off, “I mean, growing up you were always so perfect...sometimes I didn’t even think you were real. So, I guess it’s kind of refreshing knowing that you can still fail sometimes.”

Sasuke stared back at him, the irritated glint in his eyes gone.

“Oh.” Sasuke looked away. “I was never perfect, Naruto.”

“You were to me.” Naruto shrugged. “I always looked up to you.”

Sasuke lowered his head before opening another cabinet. He started rummaging around inside for something.

“So, you and your parents aren’t on good terms?”

“Were we ever?” 

Naruto scratched his head. “Fair enough.”

Sasuke’s relationship with his parents had always been strained. As the youngest in the family, Sasuke had to uphold his family’s values and meet his parent’s expectations while his elder brother continued to set the bar higher and higher. Sasuke’s mother was a sweet woman, but quiet when Sasuke needed her voice the most. His brother was truly his own person, unbound by what was expected of him and who naturally excelled at everything that he did. Now, Sasuke’s father…

Naruto frowned. He had a very distinct memory of Sasuke’s father. 

The day he truly began to fear that man was almost eleven years ago. He had always been a man with tight eyes, often scrutinizing the things that dared to be in his presence, and when he spoke his words were short and resolute.

When they were ten, Naruto had happened to be over at Sasuke’s house hanging out when his father had come home from a business trip early. Word had gotten out to him that Sasuke had blown off a small family dinner to hang out with Naruto and their friends Shikamaru and Choji. As soon as Sasuke’s father had come home, his eyes glazed over Naruto as if he weren’t even there, and he commanded Sasuke to come to his office.

Naturally, Naruto was curious and tiptoed down the hall towards the massive double doors that led to the office, and he strained to hear the conversation inside.

“I heard that you weren’t at the family dinner Friday night. Where were you?”

A few beats of silence passed before Sasuke’s quiet reply. “I was just with a couple of my friends.”

The silence dragged on again, and Naruto inched closer to the door.

“Is this family a joke to you?!”

Naruto flinched back immediately, his blood running cold. He never liked it when adults raised their voices, and Fugaku was one person Naruto feared the most. His mother couldn’t even compare with this man and that was saying something. Naruto could’ve sworn his mother had made his life flash before his eyes more times than he could count.

Naruto approached the door again, this time peering through the crack to see inside. Fugaku said something else to Sasuke, too low for Naruto to hear, and he watched Sasuke's eyes widen in horror.

“No! No I didn’t, I swear it was just–"

Before Sasuke could even finish, his father backhanded him across the face. The slap resonated through the office and the sound hung in the air, heavy. Sasuke fell to his knees, his hand pressed to his cheek.

Naruto stood at the door, his entire frame shaking. He had felt the slap from where he stood, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Sasuke. The way he hung his head low, tears dripping onto the hardwood floor. Naruto then looked at Fugaku, who just walked back to his desk massaging his hand as if he were the one in pain.

For the first time in his life, Naruto wanted to kill someone. He wanted to pick up that stupid globe on Fugaku’s desk and bash his head in with it.

Naruto slowly stepped back. He felt sick. Sasuke had only gone out that evening because Naruto had begged him to. This was his fault. Sasuke had gotten hit because of him. He could feel the tears running down his face, so he retreated back down the hallway and to the living room before Fugaku could notice he was there.

He paced the massive room, socks sinking into the expensive carpet.

He hated Sasuke’s dad.

The guy was just no good, and he terrified him beyond anything else in the world. He wanted his parents to adopt Sasuke instead, his family would be so much better for him. They wouldn’t hit him. They’d treat him like he was loved, as he should be.

It felt like hours before Sasuke came back. If Naruto hadn’t eavesdropped, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed that anything was wrong aside from a slight redness to his right cheek. 

The second Sasuke entered the room, Naruto raced to him and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. He didn’t give him time to say anything.

“I’m sorry.” Naruto sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry...”

Sasuke remained perfectly still, his shoulders stiff against Naruto, silently absorbing his tears. Naruto wondered what expression he was making.

After a few moments of silence, he heard Sasuke sniff and noticed that the boy was trembling in his arms.

“I’m okay.” His words contradicted everything Naruto could see, and it broke his heart.

“Let’s run away.” Naruto whispered. “Or my parents will adopt you, either way let’s go.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Sasuke pushed Naruto back. There weren’t any tears in Sasuke’s eyes at all. Just emptiness. Black pools of...nothing.

“Sasuke...” Naruto reached out, but Sasuke moved faster. He put a steady hand on Naruto’s shoulder. Like he was the one who needed consoling.

“Really, Naruto I’m okay.” He gave him a small smile, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “But I can’t hang out anymore today...I’m sorry.”

Naruto nodded, his head low. He felt another tear run down his nose. He sniffed. Shifted his weight from side to side. He didn’t want to leave Sasuke by himself in this unforgiving house.

“Next time you come over, okay?” Naruto tried to meet Sasuke’s eyes again but found himself looking just beyond them. Sometimes, the emptiness in Sasuke’s eyes scared him.

“Okay.” was all he said, and Naruto left. As he walked home, he wondered the entire way if he had made a terrible mistake.

Ever since that day, Sasuke started having more vacant looks. He cared about less things. He talked less and got crabbier. He couldn’t hang out with everyone anymore. His world became school first, life second.

There wasn’t anything Naruto could do about it. His parents tried their best, having Sasuke come over as much as Sasuke’s parents would allow, but even they were powerless in the situation.

“People have different parenting styles.” His father Minato had said. “Unfortunately, their style is just one we can’t agree with.” 

They also saw the way Sasuke changed as he got older. Kushina no longer had to tell the boys to settle down before dinner; Sasuke was always calm. Too calm. Naruto didn’t know what to do with his energy, and sometimes he would just run laps around Sasuke as he played around on his phone. That was until Sasuke stopped coming around in general. And then Naruto couldn’t see him anymore.

He went to his senior prom. He graduated from high school. Not a single photo did he have with Sasuke to commemorate the occasion. Sasuke didn’t go to prom, Naruto doubted his parents even let him.

Time passed. And three years later Naruto could see that nothing had changed. Sure, Sasuke got to live on his own and did his own thing, but Naruto could still see the invisible leash they kept clipped around his neck.

There was nothing Naruto wanted to do more than pick up the scissors and cut it loose.

They spent most of their Sunday doing homework at Sasuke’s dining table. Books were scattered across the surface along with their computers and notebooks; it was a rare occasion for Naruto to actually sit down and commit hours at a time towards his assignments. Sasuke seemed to be making a positive impression in that sense, but Naruto still didn’t feel any closer to him. Talking about his parents only seemed to make Sasuke lock up, and any hope of a relaxed conversation had gone out the window.

They worked mostly in silence aside from Naruto’s occasional question or plea for help, and the sun was soon setting outside, casting the apartment in a warm orange glow. Naruto’s attention went with it, and he stared out the window for a few minutes as he bathed in his favorite color. He always loved when the sun would set, and nothing was as beautiful as seeing the Konoha skyline against that soft burnt orange sunset.

It was around this time when Sasuke’s brother Itachi made a surprise visit. Sasuke let him in with a grumble, and the two had a brief conversation in the kitchen before Itachi came up to Naruto with a warm smile.

“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you in person, Naruto.” Itachi gave him a friendly pat on the back, and despite the fact that he and Sasuke had the same eyes, they didn’t feel the same at all. Itachi’s eyes felt like melted pools of liquid mercury, dark but inviting. They weren’t sharp and cold to the touch like Sasuke’s, and that was what truly made them stand apart. Itachi was languid and carefree while Sasuke was stiff and burdened with the weight of the world; it was almost strange to see them stand near each other as their similarities were otherwise uncanny. 

“Texting is one thing, but I truly missed talking in person. I’m glad you and Sasuke are…” Itachi trailed off, and he used his finger to draw something on the table. Naruto could have sworn he was mistaken, but it looked like he had drawn an invisible heart.

“Naruto and I are what, Itachi?” Sasuke returned from the kitchen and glared his brother down.

“Together.” Itachi smiled. “Dating, this month only I suppose, but who knows?”

“How do you know about that?” Naruto paled at Itachi’s expression. He should have known that the all-knowing Itachi would have the upper hand on them. He was sure he hadn’t texted Itachi anything about it, so where was he getting his information?

“Word spreads, boys.” Itachi shrugged nonchalantly. “The real question is, who doesn’t know?”

Naruto sighed. Itachi had a fair point considering the videos they probably had circulating the internet now.

“I’m just glad you’re dating Naruto, Sasuke. No offense though, he might be a bit out of your league?” Itachi made a sour face at his brother, his tone obviously teasing. “I wouldn’t let him get away if I were you.”

Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes. “You’ve always been such a big fan of Naruto.”

“So were you. We went to every birthday party he invited us to, even though you acted like you didn’t want to go.”

“No. You made us go to every party he invited me to! And you would stay for the entire party!” Sasuke gave his brother a judgmental look. “You’re five years older than us, do you know how embarrassing that was?”

“Naruto told me I was always welcome to come, even if you didn’t.” Itachi smirked. “And Naruto’s birthday parties were fun. Dad never threw us any and the family friends’ parties consisted of us standing in the courtyard for an hour or so pretending to like each other, remember that?”

Sasuke frowned at the memory, unable to disagree.

“Naruto, on the other hand, had a pinata one year. There’s no competition, Sasuke.”

Naruto could only watch the two brothers bicker back and forth in front of him. He had abandoned his work for the rest of the night, but part of him was considering sticking his head in another book to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

If he remembered anything about Sasuke and Itachi’s relationship, it was that it was pretty dramatic and often explosive. They never seemed to get along, and Naruto was trying to not be involved in it.

“If you like him so much, why don’t you date him for the month then? You can see how annoying he is for yourself.”

Itachi turned to give Naruto a curious stare. It was a sizing-up look that made Naruto feel like he was being marked.

“Maybe I will, I think he’d make a good companion.”

Sasuke blinked back at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’m dead serious. Naruto and I are friends, I’m sure we would get along a lot better than he does with you.”

Naruto could swear he saw the irritation radiate off of Sasuke in waves. It came so quickly, it almost felt palpable from across the room.

Sasuke stormed up to the table and slammed his hands down, rattling the cups near Naruto’s arm. He watched the liquid slosh against the sides, his anxiety starting to make its appearance. Sasuke, when angry, was a force to be reckoned with and Naruto wasn’t sure if he was prepared to face that right now.

“Naruto.” Sasuke huffed in frustration, “Who would you rather be with?”

Naruto kept his earlier blank stare, fully confused now.

“Huh?”

“Me or Itachi, who would you rather be with?” Sasuke demanded. He leaned back and crossed his arms, bearing down on him with a threatening look.

“What’s up with this all of a sudden? Do I get any explanation or something?” Naruto asked once he finally found his voice.

“Just pick one.”

“Geez, well for one, Itachi is so much nicer to me.” Naruto groaned and pushed away his cup of water in case Sasuke decided to jump him. He gave Itachi a lighthearted smile. “Sometimes I forget you two are related.”

“Thank you, Naruto.” Itachi made a slight bow with his head and gave Sasuke a triumphant grin.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as he tried to organize his thoughts.

“It’s not who I’d rather be with, per se...I guess it’s who would rather be with me, I guess.” Naruto finally met Sasuke’s intense gaze again. “You never seem like you want to be around me, so maybe it just means we aren’t as compatible?” Naruto ended his thought with an uncomfortable laugh; he never imagined he’d be asked such a ridiculous question.

Sasuke stared back at Naruto in genuine shock. 

“You’re picking Itachi, then.” Sasuke said, and it sounded like he was thinking aloud to himself.

“Don’t take it too personally Sasuke.” Itachi mused, smiling at Naruto again.

“I mean...if you’re really hating the bet so much maybe Itachi will switch with you?” Naruto offered. He was doing his damn best to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t help his troublemaking nature. He wanted to get under Sasuke’s skin, and Itachi was always the quickest way to do it.

Sasuke stood motionless for a few moments in front of him, his expression confused as though Naruto’s words hadn’t processed. When they finally did, Sasuke turned around and stormed out of his apartment without a word. He slammed the door shut behind him, and Naruto heard his footsteps take off down the hallway.

“Sasuke?!” Naruto jumped out of his chair, his eyes set on the door in rising panic. “Did we really upset him that badly? We were just joking!”

“Ah...he never seems to take teasing well.” Itachi sighed. “He runs away when he cries.”

Naruto’s eyes widened at Itachi’s comment. It had been years since he’d seen Sasuke cry; he’d be hard-pressed to admit whether the guy had any tear ducts at all.

“Shit.” Naruto hissed before taking off out of the apartment. He took the stairs, nearly leaping down each flight until he could hear Sasuke’s footsteps below him. 

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted, and then he heard the footsteps start moving faster. Naruto raced with him, cursing when he’d crash into the wall or miss a stair on the way down. He was seriously going to break his legs chasing after this guy. “Sasuke, wait! We were just joking!”

He heard a door open and then Sasuke’s footsteps were gone. It sounded like he got off on the tenth floor, only one flight below him.

“Ugh!” Naruto ran the rest of the way down and burst out of the lobby doors into the cold night air. Outdoor lights spanned the walkway and lined the alcoves around the space, nearly overwhelming his eyes as he tried to adjust to the contrast. He darted further out, scanning the stone patio for any signs of life. Any signs of Sasuke; Naruto prayed his intuition about Sasuke was still somewhat correct. 

Although he had changed a bit in the past three years, Naruto had known him for most of his life. For a while, he had come to believe that he knew Sasuke better than anyone, but it clearly seemed like that wasn’t the case at all. If he had really known everything, he would have seen the cry for help in Sasuke’s eyes as they got older. The way all of the stress and pressure from his family’s expectations crippled him and the way Sasuke could never see himself outside of his brother’s shadow.

If Naruto had known, he wouldn’t be chasing Sasuke in the first place. He wouldn’t be confused or tripping down staircases and trying to fix the seemingly endless number of mistakes he kept making.

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted as he turned the corner, and his heart dropped when all he saw were empty patio chairs and open sky. He whipped around and retraced his steps until he entered the opposite section. A lone shadow stood a few feet away, eclipsed by a nearby pillar that made him almost impossible to see on the main path. Naruto had flown right by him without noticing, and he stood as motionless as the skyline before them.

As Naruto moved closer, he started to make out Sasuke’s features in the light and nearly froze in his tracks. The wind briefly picked up, carrying his hair, which appeared almost silver from where Naruto stood, and Sasuke looked as if someone had painted him there. His dark eyes were locked on the ground below as if he were stuck in a trance, his lips parted just so slightly. His cheeks glistened, and Naruto realized that Itachi had been right; Sasuke had isolated himself to hide his tears, which continued to roll down his face and drop several stories below them.

Naruto wished he could breathe a sigh of relief, but it felt like it would be a bit too early for that. He wiped his palms on his cargo pants and joined Sasuke’s side, leaning over the railing to try and catch a glimpse of Sasuke’s expression.

“Sasuke, I didn’t mean to upset you, we were honestly just joking.” Naruto shook his head, backtracking a little. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

An excruciating amount of silence fell between them. For a moment, Naruto wondered if Sasuke was going to ignore him.

“I’m such an idiot.” Sasuke finally said, mostly under his breath. Naruto could hear the roughness in his voice, and he watched another tear roll down to Sasuke’s chin. “It’s been like this my entire life…I don’t even know why I care anymore.” Sasuke let out a bitter laugh, his head dropping lower. “It’s always Itachi, Itachi, Itachi.”

Naruto frowned.

He had always known that Sasuke felt pressured by his family to be the best he could be, and unfortunately, Sasuke equated that to surpassing his elder brother. Itachi had never seen it this way, or so he had said, but Sasuke seemed to have internalized it to a great deal.

Naruto knew an inferiority complex when he saw one. What blew his mind was the fact that Sasuke was ridiculously smart, talented, and unique in his own ways, yet none of that seemed to matter since he wasn’t like his brother.

“That’s not true Sasuke,” Naruto started, “you–” 

“You said it yourself. You’re more compatible with him than you are with me.”

“I am not picking your brother over you, Sasuke. How many years have you known me?”

Sasuke remained silent.

Naruto tried again. “Listen, I’ve known you and Itachi for a long time, but I’ll admit that I don’t know your family that well. I don’t know what you’re going through if you don’t tell me.” Naruto leaned back, bracing his weight on the bars until they creaked, and directed his stare at the night sky. “I can tell you that there is no competition between you and your brother in my head. I’ve always thought you were so much better than everyone and it still pisses me off.”

Naruto looked back at Sasuke as the silence dragged on. He wasn’t that good at comforting people when they were sad, and Sasuke being upset was something else entirely. There were so few times he had seen Sasuke express any type of intense emotion that he didn’t know what else to do or what to say.

Sasuke kept his eyes trained ahead, tight in intensity, but Naruto doubted he was actually looking at anything. Naruto knew it was a long shot, but he really didn’t have any ideas left.

Naruto slid a little closer and lightly tugged at Sasuke’s sleeve to turn him around, but Sasuke pulled away.

“Leave me alone, Naruto.”

“I can’t.” Especially when you’re crying in front of me.

“Leave me alone.”

“Sasuke, can you look at me?” He tried again, and Sasuke finally turned around only to give Naruto a heavy shove away from him.

“I’m telling you to leave me alone!” Sasuke shouted at him, furious tears gathering in his eyes. Naruto refused to move, and for a while he just took his shoves, none of them actually moving his body as much as the first one. Sasuke raised his fist to hit him, and this time Naruto grabbed his wrist to crush him to his chest.

“I’m sorry.” Naruto murmured over Sasuke’s shoulder as he held him close, and he noted the way Sasuke stopped fighting against him. “I really am. But I can’t.”

He could feel Sasuke’s silent crying against him, and his heart grew a little tighter in his chest when he felt Sasuke drop his head onto his shoulder. Naruto slowly lifted his hand and rubbed his back, wondering if that was something soothing you were supposed to do in this kind of situation. What the hell was he supposed to do?

A few minutes passed before Sasuke’s crying subsided. It was a sudden moment of stillness, like the storm had passed.

“I don’t hate being around you.” Sasuke said, his voice slightly muffled by Naruto’s shirt. “How long have you felt like that?”

Naruto hesitated, unsure if he should be honest for the sake of Sasuke’s feelings. He decided to tell the truth.

“...since middle school, I guess.”

Sasuke let out a long sigh, and his head grew heavier on Naruto’s shoulder.

“How long are you going to hug me?”

Naruto tightened his grip subconsciously, almost as if he didn’t want to let go.

“As long as you need me to.”

They stood like that for a few more minutes before Sasuke finally moved away. Naruto took a small step back and held Sasuke at arm’s length, taking in the boy’s expression with a sad smile. He wiped at the wet marks on Sasuke’s now red cheeks, almost in awe at how he could still manage to look good after crying like that. A month ago, Naruto felt like he would have paid to see Sasuke cry; now seeing it in person broke his heart. He never wanted to see it again.

Sasuke kept his gaze lowered, unable to meet Naruto’s eyes as he thought of what to say. Naruto tousled Sasuke’s hair playfully instead, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hey.” 

Sasuke still refused to look up, and Naruto sighed. He ducked down a bit and attempted to catch Sasuke’s gaze, hidden behind his dark bangs. “I don’t know what you’re so embarrassed for. You’ve seen me cry a bunch of times, haven’t you?”

With a huff that sounded somewhat annoyed, Sasuke pushed his hair out of his eyes before wiping away his tears with his sleeve. Naruto watched him move, and it was almost comical seeing how clumsy someone could be with their emotions. Cool, level-headed and stoic Sasuke could break down like anyone else. Like he was actually human. Who would've thought?

Sasuke finally stood a little straighter and looked Naruto in the eyes. Although Naruto could see how hard Sasuke was trying to hide it, his eyes were open pages, revealing his fears and insecurities to the only person he felt he could actually trust. 

At that moment, Sasuke looked into Naruto’s eyes as if he were looking for affirmation, like he needed Naruto to say something, or do something to stop him from falling apart in front of him again.

Naruto slowly lifted his right hand and brushed his thumb along Sasuke’s cheekbone where he could swear he saw another tear land. Sasuke kept his eyes open, trained still on Naruto’s gaze, and didn’t break it until Naruto leaned forward to press a kiss right between Sasuke’s eyebrows. Naruto didn’t pull back right away; he moved back just enough to catch Sasuke’s expression before it felt like gravity pulled him closer again. This time his kiss found Sasuke’s lips, which parted almost immediately when Naruto pressed his mouth against his. Warmth, acceptance, reassurance...Naruto tried to convey these things with Sasuke by working his tongue in Sasuke’s mouth. They’d never been good at talking about their feelings anyway.

Naruto nearly had to peel himself away from Sasuke when he broke the kiss, the two breathed as though they had just sprinted up a flight of stairs. This time, for an entirely different reason, Sasuke ducked his head again as a new wave of embarrassment rolled in.

“See? I wouldn’t do that with Itachi!” Naruto knew immediately that the joke would fall flat, and yet he was so desperate to fill the silence it managed to slip out anyway. The words hung in empty air before they plummeted, and Sasuke slowly lifted his head to smirk at Naruto.

“You always know how to ruin a moment.” Was all Sasuke said as he made his way back towards the lobby doors. “That mouth of yours, I swear.”

“Well, you quite literally have gotten a taste of it yourself.” Naruto sidled up to Sasuke’s side before bumping him playfully. “And let’s be honest, I make the moment.”

“Pfft. Okay.” Sasuke shook his head. “Let’s just make something clear. This…” Sasuke gestured to them, the outdoor patio, and then his face, which still looked fairly obvious to Naruto that he’d been crying.

“Will not be shared with Itachi.” Naruto finished his sentence, knowing exactly what Sasuke meant. “Can’t be making him jealous now, can we?”

Sasuke gave a stiff nod before he opened the door and went back inside, Naruto hot on his heels. As Sasuke walked towards the elevators, Naruto stared at his back, his gaze set on the space between his shoulder blades.

His heart was pounding.

He had been desperately trying to hide it from Sasuke, and luckily cracking the joke had dispelled some of the unease, and yet Naruto still felt like he was having a heart attack. Never in his 21 years did he think he would kiss Sasuke like that. And what made matters worse, he had done it so naturally he didn’t even give it any thought.

And Sasuke returned it.

Naruto shook his head. Circumstances were fucked up now that they were in this bet––this fake relationship that barely had any grounds for them to stand on. Sasuke had kissed him on Friday, in front of everyone, and Naruto still couldn’t stop thinking about it. It felt like his lips were still tingling from that kiss, and now he had to process this one? 

The two boys stepped into the elevator and stood side-by-side, both staring anywhere but at each other. Naruto hoped Sasuke couldn’t hear the thundering of his heart like he could. They dinged to Sasuke’s floor in dead silence, and Naruto wasn’t sure if he was grateful or not.

When they re-entered Sasuke’s apartment, they found Itachi still there, sitting comfortably on the couch as if he hadn’t just sparked a dramatic episode.

“Finally back?” Itachi asked, his face vacant of any emotion whatsoever. Uchihas, man. Sometimes Naruto wondered if their faces were carved out of stone.

“Why are you still here?” Sasuke passed by Itachi without looking in his direction, his tone sounded more tired than annoyed.

“To make sure you’re okay.” Came his honest reply.

“Well I’m not, so go home.” Sasuke snapped back.

“Naruto, you’re spending the night, right?” Itachi immediately rebounded to Naruto, and he could see that familiar look in his eyes.

“Huh? No, I was actually going to head home–”

“You should stay and keep Sasuke company.” 

Sasuke and Naruto both opened their mouths to protest, but Itachi’s small conniving smile was back.

“I’m sure your boyfriend would love that. Wouldn’t you Sasuke?” Itachi finally turned to look at Sasuke again, and Naruto could swear he felt the temperature drop.

Sasuke, clearly infuriated, kept his mouth tight as he looked between Itachi and Naruto for a few seconds.

“Of course.” He finally said in a sarcastic tone. “Why wouldn’t he stay the night?”

Naruto wondered if he should be panicking. 

And I know you don’t intend to make him sleep in the guest bedroom, right Sasuke?” It felt like Itachi was rubbing salt in the wound at this point, and Naruto hung his head as he started mentally writing out the eulogies. One for Itachi, and then one for himself.

Sasuke would suffocate him with one of his pillows, he was sure of it. 

“Of course not.” Sasuke said, a bit too pleasantly, and looked back at Naruto. “Come here, we’re going to bed.”

“Right now?” Naruto asked in disbelief. It was only 9 o’clock.

Sasuke's death glare made him shut his mouth immediately after.

“Right now. You can go home, Itachi.” With that, Sasuke turned his back and went into his room. Naruto slowly followed after him and made sure to give Itachi an obvious look of thanks for fucking me over today that he knew the guy would understand.

He understood perfectly. He stood up, brushed himself off, and made his way to the door.

“You’re welcome, Naruto.” Itachi purred before he left the apartment, silently shutting the door behind him.

Naruto slowly turned to stare at Sasuke’s bedroom door. It was half-open and foreboding; he had no idea what it looked like in there or what he was about to deal with. He approached slowly, and Naruto looked around the room in curiosity.

It was exactly how he pictured Sasuke’s room to look. Dark sheets, dark comforter, nothing out of place, no laundry on the floor, a desk against the far wall, and a walk-in closet to boot. It was a nice room. Pretty spacious, and Sasuke’s bed looked fifty times comfier than Naruto’s did. He could use some color though, that was for sure.

Sasuke seemed to be rummaging around in his closet, and he poked his head out when he heard Naruto enter.

“Look, I know you were just saying it was okay because of Itachi, so I just wanted to say thanks for having me.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Come here and pick out what you want to sleep in.” When he saw Naruto’s eyes widen in surprise, he looked away. “It’s late, and I really don’t mind.”

Naruto crossed the room and approached him warily, mostly out of fear because Sasuke had seemed so pissed off about the situation earlier. Now there wasn’t a flicker of a flame in him.

Sasuke led him inside the closet and Naruto looked around, wondering how the fuck he could stay so organized with so many clothes. Everything was perfectly folded or hung up like a functioning adult, it was insane. Naruto picked a pair of sweats and a shirt and booked it out of there as fast as he could.

The entire closet smelled like Sasuke. It was a scent he could never put his finger on, but it was a faint sweet smell that had always made Naruto a bit...reckless. Maybe it was his shampoo or his body wash, but he’d always have a particular scent that made Naruto want to bury his face in it. Stepping into Sasuke’s closet was like soaking in it, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Is this...really okay?” Naruto asked. He stood in the center of Sasuke’s room, holding clothes in his arms, and stared at Sasuke’s bed like it was a trap.

“Yes it is.” Sasuke sighed. Naruto heard the rustling of clothes; he didn’t need to turn around to know Sasuke was changing behind him. His body suddenly felt hot and he swallowed his fear before he sucked it up, dropped the clothes on the bed, and took off his hoodie.

He made the mistake of turning to look at Sasuke, who had paused mid-change to stare at him.

He suddenly felt really self-conscious. 

“What are you looking at?” Naruto put his hands on his hips and scowled back at him. “I didn’t even take my pants off and you’re eyeing me up already?”

Sasuke blinked back at him, and Naruto wondered if he had caught him off guard.

“When did you get a tattoo?” Sasuke finally asked, his eyes still trained on Naruto’s stomach.

“Oh.” Naruto looked down. That made sense, Sasuke hadn’t exactly seen him since he got it and it did dominate most of his stomach. Kinda hard to ignore, he supposed. “I got it last year for my birthday, pretty cool huh?”

“...did it hurt?”

“Like a bitch.” Naruto nodded. “It was worth it, though.”

“Huh.” Was all Sasuke said, and then he went back to changing his pants. Naruto quickly followed suit, eager to get out of the weird clothes-changing interaction.

Sasuke closed his closet door and climbed into his bed. He rearranged some pillows and looked at Naruto again. 

“If you need it, the bathroom is down the hall to the left.”

“Thanks.” Naruto climbed in beside him and realized that Sasuke’s bed was like his closet on crack. If he thought the closet smelled like Sasuke…

Now he had to sleep next to him. In his bed. Wearing his clothes.

Fuck.

Sasuke switched off the lights and left them in the dark. 

“Do you normally go to bed this early?” Naruto glanced at the clock on Sasuke’s nightstand. The things Naruto could be doing at nine-fifteen were endless, and here Sasuke was, going to bed like an old woman.

“I have class early tomorrow. You don’t have to sleep if you don’t want to, but don’t wake me up.” With that, Sasuke pulled his comforter up, rolled over, and laid down. Naruto stared up at the ceiling, wondering if he could even fall asleep this early without being drunk. He closed his eyes anyway, willing sleep to bless him just this once so he didn’t have to lay awake and acknowledge that he was really, severely, screwed right now.

Naruto started to wake up when he felt something move next to him. Or more, the movement was against him, rousing him from what felt like a really good dream. He felt warm and comfortable, his arms were wrapped around something soft and it smelled so good he had his face buried in it. Once it started to move again Naruto realized something.

He was, in fact, not hugging his body pillow right now. That, and this body pillow was moving.

The body pillow was a body. Sasuke’s body.

Horrified, Naruto remained still out of fear that Sasuke would know he was awake. The boy wiggled a little in his grip, and he felt his hand touch Naruto’s arm. He let out a small sigh, burying deeper into Naruto’s shirt.

A few seconds later, Sasuke’s alarm started to go off and he let out a groan that made Naruto bite his lip. Sasuke rolled over and slapped around on his nightstand. He managed to turn it off but launched his phone somewhere across the room in the process.

He slowly sat up, and Naruto kept his grip loose so Sasuke could free himself, but he still refused to let go of Sasuke’s shirt.

“Don’t go…” Naruto mumbled. “It’s so early…”

Sasuke sat there, blinking as he tried to wake himself up, and slowly turned his head to look down at Naruto.

“I have to go to class, unlike some people…” he yawned, his jab lacked the bite a mid-afternoon Sasuke would give him.

Despite going to bed so early, something about getting up at 7:30 felt evil and torturous. He had no idea how the hell he was supposed to function with a full-time job after graduation.

Even though Sasuke was Mr. Productive, I-get-up-early-for-classes honor roll student, he still seemed to not be a morning person. Even when they were kids, Sasuke would tend to sleep through anything including Naruto’s rare but god-awful snoring. Waking him up early earned wrath like no other, and once Sasuke was tired he’d be asleep no matter where he was after an hour or so. At least Sasuke was still the same old Sasuke in that regard.

Naruto watched him zombie-walk out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom. He heard the shower turn on and wondered if he had time to take a power snooze before Sasuke came back, but he decided against it. He sat up, yawning as he stretched, and winced when he felt his joints pop back into place.

Sasuke’s bed was a dangerous place. It felt like sleeping on clouds, and something about the light-blocking curtains made Naruto feel like it was eternal nighttime in here. Damn, he wanted to sleep forever; Naruto’s room had a window that wouldn’t let him sleep in so easily, but he had countermeasures to ignore the bright ass sun from blinding him when he wanted to sleep until noon.

By the time Sasuke returned from his shower, Naruto had gotten dressed and was ready to head out the door with him in time. They said goodbye on the street where Sasuke turned to go to campus and Naruto turned to head home, and something about it felt comfortable and not so strange anymore.

Naruto barely saw Sasuke the rest of Monday and started to notice something was off by Tuesday afternoon. Their eyes never seemed to meet and Sasuke’s texts were often single words if Naruto got a response at all. Naruto knew exactly what this was and he hated it.

Sasuke was avoiding him.

As used to being ignored by Sasuke as Naruto was, he just couldn’t understand why it was happening now. He had thought they had a decent day on Sunday; yeah there were some hiccups and some parts were awkward, but hell they had woken up together and Naruto had to admit that it had felt kind of...nice.

Clearly, Sasuke hadn’t seemed to think so.

Naruto made sure he was sneaky in his approach. He followed Sasuke from a distance and then ambushed him at the vending machine, successfully giving the guy a start. It was barely noticeable, but Naruto saw him jump when Naruto popped up behind him.

“Fuck, what is wrong with you?” Sasuke frowned, keeping his attention locked on the snacks behind the glass.

“What’s wrong with you?” Naruto leaned against the vending machine and stared Sasuke down. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“I haven’t seen you since Monday morning, and you don’t answer my texts.”

Sasuke entered a code and watched as the machine retrieved his snack with a bored expression.

“So? We have different classes in different buildings. I answer your texts, too.”

Naruto rolled his eyes with a groan. “Yeah, with single responses! It’s always ‘yeah’ or ‘cool’ with you!”

“Yeah.” Sasuke shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”

“Literally anything else.” Naruto crossed his arms. “You know, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”

“Oh give me a break, Naruto. I’m not like you, I can’t be all over you all of the time.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sasuke gestured to Naruto in exasperation before he bent down and retrieved his chips.

“Like you, all the time. In my space. Don’t you get sick of someone after seeing them all the time?”

“Not with someone you’re supposed to be dating.” Naruto hissed back. He pushed off the vending machine, officially pissed off. “Whatever Sasuke, clearly you need your ‘space’ or whatever.” With that, he walked away and left the student center. 

Was that how he felt about him after all these years? Naruto had just been too much to handle and Sasuke got sick of him? Naruto had his fair share of people calling him “difficult” or “hyperactive” or even “too much”, but to hear it from Sasuke stung a lot more than he thought it would. He decided he would keep his distance for now, if that was what Sasuke really wanted, but he wouldn’t be able to give him leeway for too long. They were in the second week now, and the stakes were only getting higher.

On Wednesday morning, Naruto sat at the kitchen counter, scrolling through his phone with what must have been a tortured expression; Kiba opened the fridge, glanced at him, and immediately closed it again to approach him.

“Sasuke giving you grief again?”

“Yeah. He wants space or something.” Naruto grumbled back. He slouched down and rested his chin on his arm, out of the corner of his eye he could see the crumbs scattered all over the surface. They really needed to clean.

“Didn’t he get like 3 years of space?” Kiba dropped into the stool beside him. “Naruto, this is a bet for a thousand dollars...you can’t let him ‘have space’ for most of it. There’s no challenge! He doesn’t even have to try.”

Naruto set his phone down and turned to look at Kiba. He was absolutely right, but he still didn’t know what to do.

“To me, it just looks like you guys are friends again, which I’m assuming isn’t the case?” Kiba cocked his head to the side and frowned. “I think it’s just too easy for him.”

“What should I do? I don’t know what I’m doing, Kiba. I was fucked up when I made this bet!”

Kiba scraped at a stain by his elbow, his eyebrows knitted in thought. 

“I mean, either he wants to spend time with you and be your boyfriend or he wants to be a little bitch and be on his own.” Kiba shrugged. “You were always the one who had patience with Sasuke. He doesn’t like me because I kept putting him in his place.”

“He’s...sensitive.” Naruto sighed, burying his head in his arms. “I’ll give him a little more time and then...yeah, he has to put up with me no matter how annoying I am.” It was much easier said than done, and Naruto knew Sasuke better than anyone. He didn’t want to force Sasuke to do anything, but if he was really uncomfortable he had to forfeit the bet to get out of it.

So Naruto stuck to his plan and gave Sasuke space for the time being. He let Sasuke do his own thing, but he would occasionally catch Sasuke watching him from a distance. He never came over or said anything, so Naruto assumed it was his imagination.

Friday finally came and Naruto could almost jump for joy. Their friend Choji lived in a frat house not too far from them, and apparently the party of a lifetime would be taking place tonight. Naruto planned on getting stupid drunk, as he was never one who learned from his mistakes, and he figured things couldn’t get much worse than they were right now.

“If there’s a keg, don’t stop me.” Naruto told Kiba as they walked up the steps leading to the frat house. Beer cans and red cups littered the lawn already, and the blasting music filtered in the night air like a party anthem.

“Naruto, that’s like saying ‘if there’s alcohol, don’t stop me’, you know damn well there’s going to be a keg. Multiple kegs. There’s always a keg.” Kiba shook his head. He stopped Naruto at the front door, his arm outstretched to block his path. “Listen. I know you’re gonna get fucked up, but keep the damage to a minimum okay? I don’t want my next video of you either getting arrested or some freaky porn with Sasuke.”

“I’m going to drink to forget you said that to me.” Naruto sighed and he pushed past Kiba’s arm, and then he was thrust into the raging havoc of yet another college party. Some guy in the corner had a lampshade on his head, dancing to the music with three other girls while another set up a line on the coffee table. In plain sight.

“Oh, they do coke here.” Naruto stared in mild interest, but his attention was immediately caught by something else. Sasuke stood at the archway leading to the kitchen, a cup in his hand, and Naruto couldn’t help but stare. He wore a navy blue bomber jacket that fit him perfectly, and his hair looked especially shiny today, not like Naruto cared. Sasuke said he wanted space and to be left alone, but comes to a fucking frat house? Naruto had to call bullshit. 

Sasuke and his friends went over into the next room, clearing the way for Naruto and Kiba. Naruto beelined for the drinks and he wasted no time in making cocktails for the two of them.

“Remember what I said, don’t make me put a leash on you.” Kiba warned Naruto, his tone serious.

“Why do I feel like that’s a kink of yours or something?” Naruto laughed as he downed half his drink, not even wincing at the tequila.

“You’re like a big dumb golden retriever, sometimes I feel like you need a leash.” Kiba grumbled. “Let’s go see who’s here.”

With that, the two left the kitchen and wandered the party. Naruto made sure to avoid Sasuke at all costs, to the point where he wanted Sasuke to think he didn’t know he was there. It worked for the first few hours or so, and Naruto started to get a good buzz going.

Okay, it was a bit more than a buzz.

He was drunk.

He wasn’t shit-faced, yet, but his judgment was certainly off; he learned this when a pretty girl passed him a bottle and he took a swig without even knowing what it was. He wondered if he was going to die, but it wasn’t his main concern right now.

Naruto was busy watching Sasuke, who seemed to be in a heated debate with his friends, and then they left the crowd and went into the kitchen. Naruto snuck after them to the best of his ability and took post by one of the pillars so he could peer inside. He spotted Sasuke at the island counters beside a guy that looked nearly twice his size. Naruto stared at him in shock; aside from the impressive height to his hair, the guy looked almost seven feet tall, and he seemed to be challenging Sasuke to a shot lineup. Six shot glasses in front of each, and Naruto felt his jaw drop as he watched Sasuke down them all with him. 

He’s gonna be so fucked up. Naruto thought, and he felt compelled to chug the rest of the drink in his hand. He wasn’t going to let Sasuke show him up like that.

He waited until Sasuke’s group vacated again, this time all of them slapping Sasuke on the back and cheering his impressive feat. Naruto rolled his eyes. At least his friends didn’t encourage alcohol poisoning.

After a half-hour or so, Naruto stumbled back into the kitchen to pour himself another drink. As he struggled with the cap of a bottle of vodka, he caught the gaze of someone familiar down the hall. 

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he watched a girl run her hand down Sasuke’s chest, her face dangerously close to his as they flirted in the hallway. Sasuke held Naruto’s stare all the while, drink propped in his hand oh so perfectly. Naruto realized he had poured himself nearly half a cup of straight alcohol and was too drunk to care; he abandoned the cup and left it at the table before making his way over to his cheating ass boyfriend.

“Hey,” Naruto said as he walked up, successfully squeezing his way into the conversation. “You know, I hate to interrupt, but Sasuke, your boyfriend is looking for you and he is pissed.” Naruto gave the girl a dismissive smile and she seemed to get the message immediately. She whispered a quick bye before taking off back down the hall.

“Did you somehow forget again that we’re in a closed relationship?” Naruto leveled his glare at Sasuke and approached him as he leaned against the wall. Blue and red lights danced off his figure as he stared back, a somewhat smug expression resting on his face. As they stared into each other’s eyes, Naruto realized that Sasuke was teasing him, fully invested in eliciting a response out of him rather than anything else. He had fallen right into the trap by getting angry about it.

“You’re just too easy to piss off.” Sasuke laughed, and it was true, Naruto was easy to piss off. In fact, the fucking contempt look on Sasuke’s face was enough to make his blood boil, and he wasn’t sober enough to control himself.

Naruto grabbed a fistful of Sasuke’s shirt and pinned him against the wall, his body bumping into it with a solid thud.

As angry as he felt in that moment, most of it dissolved as he stared into Sasuke’s eyes. Eyes so dark Naruto couldn’t tell where his pupil ended and his irises began. Naruto imagined them to be as dark as the void itself, and sometimes it felt like Sasuke could trap him in them.

Naruto realized he was barely a breath away from Sasuke’s face, the two trapped in what was thought to be mid-fight, and yet Naruto felt like a different type of tension floated between the two of them. Naruto became hyper-aware of the flush in Sasuke’s face, the way he drew in the air around him, the closeness of their faces. It felt like they were both frozen, suspended in time and space, with no way of leaving each other’s orbit. 

It also felt a bit like déjà vu, and as Naruto stared at Sasuke, he noticed how Sasuke now stared at his lips instead of meeting his eyes. With one smooth move, Naruto took the cup from Sasuke’s hand and threw it to the floor, the rest of the liquid spilling out and joining the countless other cups around them.

For a moment, they were perfectly still, and then Naruto leaned forward just enough to kiss him. Sasuke found a nice grip on the collar of Naruto’s shirt and pulled him closer, his tongue sliding into Naruto’s mouth in hungry desire.

Their movements were fast and clumsy; it was as if they couldn’t get enough of each other as quickly as they wanted, and as Naruto kissed Sasuke as hard as he physically could, it didn’t feel like enough to satisfy him. Sasuke’s hands pulling at his shirt, running over muscle and tugging at his hair...it just wasn’t enough. Without breaking their kiss, they slid down the wall until they reached an open door and pushed themselves inside, not even caring where they went. They nearly toppled over each other as they stumbled into the bathroom together, and Naruto pinned Sasuke against the door with his full body weight.

Naruto braced his thigh between Sasuke’s legs and tilted his head to suck on the side of Sasuke’s neck. Sasuke arched in his arms, grinding his groin against Naruto’s leg and moaned when Naruto found a particular spot under his ear. He tightened his grip on Naruto’s shirt, pulling him close until there wasn’t any space left between them. Naruto shifted ever so slightly and his eyes widened.

Sasuke was hard.

Ridiculously hard, and it only took a few seconds of grinding against each other for Naruto to be in the same boat. The friction coupled with Sasuke’s tongue in his mouth was certainly having an effect on him.

He couldn’t believe what was happening. As surreal as it all felt, the pounding in his chest and the pressure of Sasuke’s erection against him said otherwise.

Naruto hissed when Sasuke’s hand trailed to Naruto’s groin, fingers outstretched until he was cupping him fully in his palm. He teased at it, palm grinding against Naruto’s pants and Naruto returned the favor, his hand rubbing against the fabric of Sasuke’s jeans mercilessly. He swallowed a moan from Sasuke before he started to unzip Sasuke’s pants, his mind long past the point of restraint and he wanted nothing more than Sasuke out of his clothes. 

Sasuke slid across the door and leaned against the counter instead, watching Naruto unbuckle his pants in heated arousal, his dark eyes locked on Naruto’s hands. Sasuke shuddered when Naruto reached in and wrapped his fingers around his dick; Naruto tried his best not to stare as he slid his hand experimentally from tip to base, taking in the unfamiliar weight with a hungry lick of his lips. Sasuke’s bodily reactions alone told him how to move, and it didn’t take long before Sasuke was panting against the sink, his grip tight on Naruto’s arm.

“You know, I always thought you acted all high and mighty to compensate for having a small dick, but I guess that’s not it…” Naruto shook his head and a particular spot on Sasuke’s neck attracted his attention. He decided to press his mouth against it and sucked along the sides, smiling at the way it seemed to distract Sasuke.

“Naruto, stop talking.” Sasuke groaned as Naruto worked on another impressive hickey. When he pulled back to meet Sasuke’s eyes, he seemed to be out of breath. Something about seeing Sasuke disheveled, pants unbuckled and cheeks rosy pink started putting ideas in his head. Some very dangerous ideas.

“Okay fine.” Naruto huffed before casually dropping to his knees. Sasuke’s eyes widened in what looked like horror and genuine shock.

“What are you doing?”

“You told me to stop talking.” Naruto leaned forward to lick up Sasuke’s length, his tongue slowing to tease at the tip. He smirked as he felt the shudder rip through Sasuke’s body in response. He sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t utter a word of refusal to Naruto’s bold move.

Sasuke reached out a shaky hand and braced himself on the edge of the sink as he watched Naruto go to work, his tongue sliding effortlessly up Sasuke’s dick like he knew exactly what he wanted.

It was such a weird feeling; Naruto felt like he couldn’t register that he was actually doing something like this with Sasuke of all people. And yet, every time he looked up, it was Sasuke’s eyes staring back down at him, eyes lidded and lips parted as he panted against the counter. Sasuke’s fingers trailed through Naruto’s hair before they found their grip, and Naruto felt a sharp tug at his roots once he started to bob his head.

He’s really letting me do this. Naruto almost wanted to laugh, but instead he hummed as he took Sasuke deeper, and it seemed to have a stronger effect than he thought it would.

Without warning, Sasuke jerked hard in Naruto’s grip with a moan and he felt his mouth fill with liquid. He tilted his head back, swallowing fast in an attempt to stop the rest that tried to run down his chin. He coughed, swiped his hand across his mouth, and looked up to give Sasuke a cheeky grin.

“That was pretty fast Sasuke.”

“Not a word, Naruto.” Sasuke said back, out of breath. Naruto decided to humor him.

He slowly stood up, running his hands up Sasuke’s legs until he reached his upper thighs and could level his face with Sasuke’s again. He wasn’t one to tease about this kind of thing, and it honestly just made him a bit giddy. It was proof that he was having some effect on the guy, despite how adamantly Sasuke tried to prove otherwise.

Naruto’s hand slid a bit farther up, his thumb fiddling with Sasuke’s still open zipper, and Naruto heard Sasuke’s breath catch again. His hands slowly went to Naruto’s arms, and Naruto watched Sasuke push his hand back into his pants.

Guess it wasn’t enough.

Naruto kissed him again, swallowing another quiet moan from Sasuke, and started to shift so that he could get closer. He slid his thigh between Sasuke’s and planted a hand on the counter before claiming Sasuke’s mouth again, their lips moved feverishly against each other and Naruto felt Sasuke grow in his hand again. Sasuke scooted forward a bit, his hand sliding into Naruto’s pants, and Naruto nearly yelped when Sasuke tightened his grip.

“Whoa whoa easy Sasuke!” Naruto squirmed in Sasuke’s iron-tight grip, and the boy only smiled back at him. Naruto could swear he saw wicked intentions in his eyes, but then he started moving his hand and Naruto felt like his soul was about to leave his body.

“Oh fuck, Sasuke…” Naruto moaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he gave in to the feeling and his body fell forward to rest against Sasuke’s shoulder.

A loud knock on the door beside them made them both jump in panic. Their hands stilled as they stared at each other in dead silence, waiting to see if they’d imagined the sound.

“HEY!” Came a muffled voice from outside. “Some of us have to pee out here!”

Naruto and Sasuke both exchanged a look before they hopped back into action, zipping up their pants and straightening out their clothes. Naruto had to catch Sasuke by his shirt when he stumbled from the counter, nearly smacking his head on the wall across from them.

“Jesus Sasuke.” Naruto hissed and took a hold of his elbow to guide him out the door. They purposely avoided eye contact with the guy waiting outside and Naruto looked around, desperately seeking a way outside.

“This party sucks.” Sasuke continued to put too much bodyweight against him and not enough effort to move his own feet. “Tell me we’re leaving.”

“We are leaving.” Naruto wished his brain would stop moving in slow motion, but it seemed like he’d outdone himself for the night and was just going to have to deal with the consequences. One of those seemed to be getting Sasuke home safe and sound, and he was getting the feeling that it wouldn’t be easy. 

“Let’s get a drink to go.” Sasuke started pulling Naruto back towards the kitchen, but Naruto adamantly tugged in the opposite direction, towards the front door.

“Oh hell no, you’re already plastered.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Fuck you.” Sasuke tried to fight against Naruto’s brute force dragging him through the living room but quickly gave up once they got to the door. “Why are you so strong? That’s kind of hot.”

“You’re just drunk.” Naruto sighed, leading them outside. Once he thought Sasuke wouldn’t pull him anymore, he took out his cell phone and requested an Uber. “Can you behave in the Uber until we get back to my place?”

“Dunno.” Sasuke stared off in the distance, but when Naruto turned to look he didn’t see anything other than a flickering street lamp and a parked car. They stood mostly in silence until the silver sedan pulled up on the street, and Naruto couldn’t wait to get back to the safety and comfort of his own apartment.

For most of the ride, Sasuke looked out the window or fidgeted with a hole in his pants, but as they neared Naruto’s block, his hand made itself at home on Naruto’s thigh.

Naruto looked down, watching as his fingers crept across his leg, and the next thing he knew Sasuke’s pinky poked at the slight bulge of his crotch. He was still half-hard from their interrupted bathroom session and really sensitive; He had to bite the inside of his cheek every time Sasuke moved his hand to stop from moaning out loud.

“What are you doing?” Naruto mouthed to him, angrily. The Uber driver didn’t seem to notice; she kept her eyes on the traffic ahead and occasionally fiddled with her map.

“Nothing.” He mouthed back, this time his hand cupping the inside of Naruto’s thigh, and Naruto felt like he wanted to cry. Life just wasn’t fair.

As soon as the driver dropped them off, Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and dragged him up to his apartment, muttering under his breath about how bad alcohol was for his self-control. 

“You need to sleep.” Naruto stripped Sasuke’s jacket off and started to undo his pants.

“Hey.” Sasuke pushed him away with a hand and gave him a serious expression. “You have to buy me dinner first.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” With a bit more force, Naruto pushed Sasuke onto his bed and yanked off his shoes before he could get back up again. “You can sleep in your pants then, I don’t care.”

He tugged his comforter over Sasuke and let out a heavy sigh as he turned to leave, but a strong hand took hold of his shirt and pulled him back. 

“Where are you going?” Sasuke demanded. “Are you leaving?”

“No, I’m just going to the bathroom.” Naruto gave his hand a light pat. “I’ll be right back.”

“Why are you going to the bathroom?”

“Gee, I don’t know Sasuke. Maybe I have to take a giant shit?” Naruto replied exasperated. The guy got so fucking needy when he was drunk.

Sasuke made a disgruntled noise, but didn’t loosen his grip.

“No, you have to stay.”

“I,” Naruto started to tuck in his comforter, hoping it would just trap Sasuke inside, “will be right back, so you,” Naruto planted a kiss on Sasuke’s forehead as if he were five years old, “stay here and behave.” 

He managed to escape Sasuke’s grasp and dashed off towards the bathroom, ignoring Sasuke’s calls to come back. He ducked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut before resting against it in exhaustion. For a few minutes, Naruto just stared at the ceiling. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest, and closing his eyes just made him dizzy. He doubted he was as drunk as Sasuke, but he was by no means sober.

Naruto sighed as he finally lowered his head. The night’s events were still playing on repeat in his head and he didn’t know how to process it. He could swear he still felt Sasuke’s hands on him, pulling his hair, coaxing him on.

“Shit.” Naruto hissed. He shrugged out of his sweater and stared down at the erection tenting in his pants. Sasuke was going to drive him crazy; it was amazing how different someone could act when they were drunk. He still couldn’t believe he had touched Sasuke like that, and never had he imagined hearing him moan like that in person...

Figuring the quickest method would be a cold shower, Naruto fiddled with the water a bit before he froze. The sound of footsteps approached the bathroom door and Naruto realized he forgot to lock it behind him. In strode Sasuke, who threw open the door as if Naruto had personally offended him, and he closed the door behind him with the same amount of energy. 

As he approached, he shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it aside. Naruto watched him unzip his pants in confusion. Sasuke glanced up as he kicked his clothes away. He gave Naruto a quizzical look.

“Why aren’t you taking off your clothes?”

Naruto only blinked back at him. 

“Why are you taking off your clothes?”

Sasuke sighed. It was a long and somewhat dramatic one in Naruto’s opinion, and the guy just shook his head.  

“We have unfinished business.” Sasuke crossed his arms and pointed towards Naruto’s crotch. “Now take off your pants.”

Naruto figured it was too late to hide his erection, but he felt like a deer in headlights under Sasuke’s gaze. Under most circumstances, Naruto wouldn’t hesitate to take his clothes off, but with Sasuke it sounded dangerous.

He couldn’t even get his brain to process anything aside from Sasuke’s naked body in front of him. His eyes went from head to toe and as he expected, everything was perfect. Sasuke had grown into a well-built, lean body and Naruto knew he was strong from years of doing martial arts. He had smooth hips and elegant shoulders and skin so perfect Naruto wondered if he had a personal dermatologist. Had Sasuke ever had any pimples in his life? Naruto couldn’t remember a time he’d seen one on him.

“You’ve seen me naked before, I don’t know why you’re staring so hard.” Sasuke clicked his tongue and walked up to Naruto, his hands immediately going for Naruto’s crotch.

“Yeah when we were like, nine!” Naruto squeaked as Sasuke unzipped his pants. “You’ve changed a lot since then!”

“Pants off.” Sasuke huffed, yanking Naruto’s pants down to his ankles. He took Naruto’s underwear with them and Naruto wondered when Sasuke became such a pro-nudity advocate.

Naruto kicked away his pants absentmindedly, his eyes still glued on Sasuke. It felt like things weren’t really happening, like it was some sort of fever dream he was about to wake up from, but Sasuke breached the distance and pulled him into a kiss that felt very, very real.

They backed into the shower together, and Naruto kept a firm hand on Sasuke’s waist as they kissed. Naruto tried to put all of his focus into his hands; he needed to hold Sasuke back and put an end to things before he did something he’d regret. He knew he had to, but Sasuke’s tongue in his mouth made him wonder if it would really be so bad.

As Naruto prepared to push Sasuke away, his hand moved to Naruto’s dick.

Any coherent thought or reason that had been in Naruto’s head blew out like a fuse. Quite literally, because the next time he opened his eyes, time seemed to have skipped a chunk that Naruto couldn’t remember.

When he came to again, the shower water was hot on his back, and Sasuke’s body was pressed flush against his. Sasuke had a strong hold around Naruto’s neck as he moaned into his ear, his breath hot against his skin and Naruto realized exactly what was happening.

His fingers worked inside of Sasuke, and he could feel Sasuke sucking him in, tight and warm. He became aware of his own erection, trapped against Sasuke’s and pressed to their stomachs, and the soapy friction between them made his head spin. Or maybe it was the alcohol that did that, Naruto couldn’t be too sure. 

He had no idea how long they’d been going at it, but Sasuke’s moans started getting higher in pitch, and Naruto felt his grip tighten until he thought Sasuke was going to choke him.

“Ah, Naruto!” Sasuke’s body spasmed against his and Naruto felt his breathing start to slow as he calmed down. 

Naruto pulled Sasuke into a sloppy kiss and ground against Sasuke, giving into the feeling until he couldn’t take it anymore. He came with a groan, his body jolting against Sasuke’s. Sasuke returned the kiss, and for a few minutes the two made out under the hot spray of water like their lives depended on it. The way Sasuke moaned his name rattled around in his brain like an echo, and damn was it the hottest thing he’d ever heard. He wanted to hear it again.

Suddenly, Sasuke gave Naruto a strong push away from him. Naruto stumbled a step back, nearly losing his balance, and his lips couldn’t even form a word of protest before Sasuke opened his mouth.

And then he puked a night’s worth of drinks across his chest. 

Naruto stared down, mostly in shock, as his brain desperately tried to keep up with what was happening. He could only watch as Sasuke’s chest heaved again, and this time he directed his vomit down the shower drain.

The smell of tequila hit him before anything else, and Naruto held his breath as he desperately tried not to reject the drinks that were starting to dangerously stir in his own stomach. If Sasuke had been drinking tequila all night, as it appeared by the smell of it, it made sense why he was acting the way that he was. Tequila really did things to you. Naruto knew it too well.

It took a few seconds before Naruto snapped out of his trance, and he reached for Sasuke’s back, giving him a few gentle pats as the guy emptied his stomach.

“I’m so sorry.” Sasuke said in between breaths, still hunched under the water.

“It’s okay.” Naruto squirted a handful of soap into his palm and did a quick wash under the water. “You sure did it in the perfect place.”

Sasuke gave a dry laugh before Naruto repeated the process for him, trying to make sure there wasn’t any puke on either of them. He held Sasuke by the arm and guided them out the shower, double-checking he turned off the water once they got out. 

Naruto wrapped Sasuke in his favorite fluffy orange towel, and as he leaned back to look at him, there was only one thing going on in his head.

How is he so fucking adorable in orange?

Sasuke’s head stuck out from the towel, his hair spiky from Naruto running the towel over it, and as he dozed off in Naruto’s arms, a weird warm feeling washed over him. It was almost immediately replaced by dread when reality dawned on him.

“I have to carry you, don’t I?” Naruto asked aloud, despite knowing that Sasuke wouldn’t, or couldn’t for that matter, answer him. Was he even coordinated enough to do any of that?

It didn’t seem to matter; when Naruto blinked, he and Sasuke were already in bed, and it looked like the sun was starting to rise through his window.

Naruto crushed his hands to his eyes and whimpered as he realized how shitty he was about to feel. He had never blacked out like this before; usually, he could accept missing an entire night’s events. Missing chunks out of it was certainly new and he hoped it didn’t mean he was going to be sick the next time he woke up.

When Naruto opened his eyes again, he really wished he hadn’t. 

The world still felt like it was swimming, and it honestly felt like someone had punched him in the head. He spent a few moments squinting at the ceiling, noting that his room was particularly bright before he rolled over.

His eyes followed Sasuke’s bare spine, all the way down to where the sheets rested on his lower hip, leaving his entire torso out and open for Naruto’s gawking. He stared at his skin, fighting the temptation to touch it, and he blushed when a memory from last night hit him. Although the events in his head were jumbled up and foggy, he distinctly remembered Sasuke moaning in his ear, and the feeling of him coming on his stomach. 

Sasuke shifted, and Naruto heard him groan as he shielded his eyes from the sun, immediately hiding under the blankets to block the light. Naruto slid out of bed gracefully, but stumbled into his desk as he tried to regain his balance. He was definitely still drunk. 

He closed the blinds and pulled the curtains shut; although he didn’t have black-out curtains like Sasuke did, it certainly made a difference. His room was now a bearable brightness for hungover eyes, and Naruto sighed as his headache retreated slightly from his brain.

“Naruto?” Sasuke pulled his sheets back and nudged closer to the edge of the bed to look at him. “...do you have a garbage bin?”

Naruto blinked at him before another memory from the night floated into his head. He nearly dashed across his room to retrieve his trash bin and thrust it under Sasuke’s head just in time for him to heave into it. Naruto dropped onto the edge of the bed and rubbed his back as he threw up, and Naruto couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He could feel the way his muscles would tense as another upheaval took over, and he pushed the hair out of Sasuke’s face as he coughed into the bin. He really hoped he didn’t have anything in there he planned on saving.

“You were really drunk last night.” Naruto murmured, his thumb pressing between Sasuke’s shoulder blades.

Sasuke took a few breaths once the gagging subsided, he kept his head low.

“I know.” he replied, his voice rough.

“Do you remember anything from last night?”

“I remember enough.” Sasuke leaned back with a wince, his face flushed. Naruto pressed a hand to Sasuke’s cheek and kept it there; Sasuke closed his eyes and didn’t make any complaint about it.

“You always did have a weak stomach.” Naruto brushed his thumb under Sasuke’s eye, lightly touching his bottom eyelashes. They were long and black, perfect for framing those dark, entrancing eyes he had.

For as long as Naruto could remember, Sasuke always had to have a perfect diet. His family had a private chef who’d make their meals, and Sasuke always came to school with a fancy ass lunch that he usually gave most to Naruto anyway. He never ate junk food, his family cursed fast-food chains, and Sasuke never had much of a sweet tooth. Naruto wondered if Sasuke ran on fresh juice presses and kale salad.

“Sasuke, do you remember when we went to that amusement park when we were like, eleven, and I dragged you on the twirl a whirl? Right after you got sick and threw up all over the sidewalk and the garbage can in the carnival section, and then that one mascot tried to take a picture with you?”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?” Sasuke asked, his eyes still squeezed shut and a frown in place.

“It’s just funny because we had just eaten corn dogs, and it was your first time eating them, so everything was all chunky–”

Sasuke gagged again, whipping his body around to throw up in the garbage.

“Sorry, sorry.” Naruto gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’m gonna get you some water, okay?” With that, he hopped up again and threw on a pair of boxer-briefs before heading for the kitchen. Thankfully, he didn’t feel like he had to throw up yet, but he did tend to feel nauseous watching other people puke in front of him.

He walked into the kitchen to find Kiba, who was squinting into the microwave as he watched something heat up.

“‘Sup, Naruto.” Kiba grinned. “You hungover?”

“Yeah.” Naruto opened the fridge and retrieved a bottle of water. “Not as bad as Sasuke, though.”

“He’s here?” Kiba raised an eyebrow in authentic surprise.

“Yeah he’s puking in my room.” Naruto set the water on the counter and tapped his fingers on the surface. “Should I make him eat something?”

“You’ve never taken care of a sick person before?” Kiba retrieved his food and plopped down at the counter. “We have a can of chicken soup in the cabinet, you should heat it up and give it to him.”

Naruto followed Kiba’s instructions and retrieved the can. He opened it into a bowl and heated it up in the microwave, all the while tapping his foot anxiously.

“So, did you guys have a drunken hookup or something?” 

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Kiba giving him a crooked grin. There was an evil glint in his eyes that he didn’t like.

“Uh…” Naruto hesitated unsure how to respond.

“Well you came out in just your underwear and Sasuke’s in your bed, so…”

“This has happened before.” Naruto muttered.

“You say that like it’s common.”

“It’s a weird time right now, Kiba!” Naruto grabbed the soup from the microwave, dunked a spoon in, and snatched up the water bottle as he passed. “You’d probably know if we were hooking up.”

“Yeah, right.” Kiba barked back, and Naruto ignored him.

He slowly approached his bed and tapped Sasuke’s shoulder with the water bottle. He flinched at the cold but turned to take it from Naruto’s hand. While he took a few sips, Naruto settled at his side with the bowl and held it out to him.

“You have to eat something or you won’t feel better.”

Sasuke eyed it tiredly, but he shifted to sit up and took the bowl. Naruto swallowed when he watched the sheet dip between his legs, barely covering his lower body.

“Thanks.” Sasuke said quietly, and he brought the spoon to his mouth. He watched Sasuke eat for a bit and idly tapped at his phone until he heard Sasuke drop his spoon back into the bowl. When he glanced up, there was still half left in the bowl. Naruto frowned.

“You don’t like it?” He asked.

“It’s not that…” Sasuke replied, his eyes on the soup. “I just can’t eat it.”

“You have to put something in your stomach Sasuke.”

“There’s no point if I’m just going to throw it up anyway.” He muttered back, and he put the bowl back in Naruto’s hands. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“You don’t have to apologize about it.”

“Well, you’re making me feel like I have to.” Sasuke snapped back and immediately winced. He let out a small whine and sank under the covers again, retreating back into the darkness.

Naruto stared at him for a minute and then set the bowl on his nightstand. He went back under his blankets and scooted closer to Sasuke until he was spooning him, arms wrapped around him and legs pretzeled together. For a while he just lay there with him, listening to the way Sasuke breathed, his smooth skin pressed to Naruto’s cheek rose and fell with every breath. He smelled like Naruto, and that made him smile.

“Are you awake?” Naruto asked.

A few seconds of silence ticked by before Sasuke replied quietly.

“Thanks to a certain someone.”

“You were like a completely different person last night.”

Sasuke groaned at that. “Let me sleep, Naruto.”

“I learned a lot about you.”

Sasuke stiffened at that. 

“...like what, exactly?” It sounded like he feared the answer, and Naruto smiled even wider.

Naruto lifted himself up to whisper in Sasuke’s ear.

“Like, tequila makes you really horny!” he snickered.

“Naruto please shut up and leave me alone.” Sasuke curled into a ball and buried his face in the comforter, attempting to shut Naruto out. Naruto could hear the embarrassment in his voice and left it at that, slowly soaking in the satisfaction. He finally had something to hang over his head, and damn did it feel good.

Since Naruto was still terribly hungover, he didn’t mind napping the day away with Sasuke. He kept Sasuke close, rubbing his back whenever the nausea took over again, and he slowly started to worry when it didn’t seem like Sasuke was getting any better. It reached past two and Sasuke had broken into a sweat, but Naruto couldn’t even get him to move to go to the bathroom. He just let Sasuke sleep and sleep and he did everything he could to make sure he was comfortable, and he prayed to the heavens that Sasuke didn’t have alcohol poisoning.

It wasn’t until the sun started setting when Sasuke finally got up. He put on his pants and disappeared into the bathroom for half an hour, and then he came back to put on the rest of his clothes. Naruto watched him get dressed, his eyes locked on Sasuke’s neck.

“Sauce, I think I gave you a big ass hickey on your neck.” 

Sasuke paused, his fingers immediately reaching for his neck and probing at the bruise. Sasuke frowned.

“You haven’t called me that in a while.”

Naruto blinked. That was true; the nickname had just slipped out like it used to. When things were normal, and not complicated. When they were best friends.

“Do you still hate it?”

Sasuke smoothed out his shirt, keeping his gaze anywhere but Naruto.

“I never hated it.”

“Bullshit, you always told me to stop calling you that.”

“I was just embarrassed.”

Naruto scooted to the edge of the bed and frowned.

“Do you really have to go? You can stay another night with me, I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, I have to go.” Sasuke said softly. He turned to give Naruto a small smile.

“Are you feeling any better?” He got up and approached Sasuke, immediately touching his face. The color had finally started to come back, but he still looked really tired.

“Yeah.”

Naruto walked Sasuke to the door, and Sasuke leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Naruto touched his fingers to it in awe, his eyes locked on Sasuke as if he were hallucinating.

“Thanks for today.” He murmured, and then he left. Naruto stared after him, convinced that it wasn’t Sasuke who left, but some weird alien that stole his skin and was now parading around as him. That wasn’t the Sasuke he knew; never in his days had he encountered a gentle and kind Sasuke like that. Maybe the alcohol had finally fried his brain and this was the result.

Naruto hesitated. He almost wished he didn’t let Sasuke walk out that door.

With a defeated shake of his head, Naruto shut it behind him with a long and heavy sigh.