“What the hell is this?!” The blonde hollers in a heat of passion, disrupting everyone else at the library. Everyone who is there takes part in hushing the obnoxious ninja, eventually returning to their business. He gives a soft apology before returning his attention back to the screen in front of him, reliving the terror once again.
“What’re you doing, Naruto?” Shikamaru asks, a tinge of annoyance in his tone.
Naruto jumps and scrambles to make whatever is on the screen disappear, “Oh-uh-Shikamaru, hi. Oh this? It’s nothing. Nothing at all. What’s up with you?” Naruto tries to cover the screen with his body, giving his friend a smile that says ‘please go away, what I’m doing is shameful’. To which of course, Shikamaru can’t resist because he is curious as to what is making him so flustered.
“Naruto, it’s obvious that you’re hiding something. I’m not leaving until you tell me.” Shikamaru states with the enthusiasm of a rock, but deep in his chest his curiosity rages. He crosses his arms, showing Naruto that he is committed to sticking around.
Naruto eyes shift back and forth, making sure he’s covering up enough of the screen. His ears and cheeks become a soft shade of red, “L-Look Shikamaru, really it’s nothing. I just stumbled across something that shocked me. That’s all.”
“You’ve never been good at lying.” Shikamaru furrows his brows at his friend. Shikamaru is entertained by the uneasiness that Naruto is experiencing since Naruto being uncomfortable has become a rare sight as they have gotten older. He becomes less embarrassed about things so Shikamaru tells himself that he will fulfill his curiosity, no matter what it takes.
Naruto gestures a wave at Shikamaru to come closer so Shikamaru does. Naruto cups his hand around his mouth to whisper in his ear, “Have you ever heard of ‘Ships’?”
Shikamaru is immediately confused and whispers back, “Like...pirate ships?”
Naruto shakes his head impatiently and Shikamaru notices the shade of red is taking up more space on his pale skin, “N-no. It’s-uh-agh! It’s really hard to explain...” Naruto huffs in frustration and defeat. The blonde starts to bite as his nails, trying to find the words for what his eyes have witnessed.
Shikamaru shifts his weight to the side and pouts his lip, “Why not just show me?”
Naruto lets out a breath and begins to sweat, “No!” He shouts a little too loud, earning a few more hushes, “I, uh, if I just show you, you’re definitely going to judge me and I don’t know how we as friends are going to recover from this. I mean, I would judge you a little if the roles were reversed, dattebayo.”
“Well I’m not you.” Shikamaru argues.
“No, seriously, Shikamaru you don’t understand-”
“Naruto.” Shikamaru interrupts, shutting up the blonde in front of him, “We have been friends for over 10 years now. You can tell me anything.”
“That’s exactly why!” Naruto yells, earning another wave of hushes and now the Librarians are starting to glare at him, he lowers his voice again, “I’m telling you Shikamaru, it’s-it’s really hard to wrap my head around and I don’t think-” Naruto is forced to stop talking and his body is no longer in control. He looks at his friend who has a triumphant smile as his hands are placed in a familiar sign.
“Shadow Possession Jutsu is a success.” Shikamaru announces with confidence, earning a wide eyed reaction from his friend, “Now let’s just get this over with.”
Naruto tries to protest but he has no control over himself anymore and it’s not like they can break out in an all out fight in the library, “Shikamaru don’t!” He tries to protest in a hushed voice through gritted teeth but it’s too late. Shikamaru has control over the computer and is reviving the window that Naruto hid.
There is silence and Naruto is sweating as he watches Shikamaru’s face contort in shock and disgust. Neither of them are moving but Shikamaru’s eyes are searching for the ‘Why’ in all of this. He releases Shadow Possession but Naruto stays in his position, afraid to do anything.
Shikamaru can’t make eye contact with Naruto, but he also can’t look away from the screen. There are so many questions and no answers.
“Oi, Naruto. Shikamaru, what’re you guys up to?”
Both men scramble to cover up the screen as Chouji pops up behind them with a bag of chips. Shikamaru and Naruto are both breathing heavily as if they have just run a mile and Chouji tilts his head at their bizarre behavior.
“Oh, Chouji! Hi! What’s up? Didn’t see ya there.” Naruto awkwardly tries to play it off, “Uh we were just um-doing research on...Ninjutsu?”
Shikamaru glares at Naruto, his eye twitches at how heinous Naruto’s lies are, “Research? On Ninjutsu? Are you serious?”
Chouji lets out a soft laugh, “Naruto you really shouldn’t try to lie. You’ve never been good at it.” Chouji turns his attention to Shikamaru, “So what are you doing then?”
Shikamaru’s muscles tighten as he turns his attention to his best friend, he tries to stop the blush forming across his cheeks with his own willpower, “It’s not all that important to share.”
Chouji lifts an eyebrow in suspicion while jabbing a chip at him, “Are you keeping secrets from me, Shikamaru?”
Shikamaru curses to himself, he knows that Chouji isn’t going to give up so why bother pushing him away, but how? How does one go about this? It’s so embarrassing Shikamaru wishes he could die and become a cloud right now.
“What a drag.” Shikamaru huffs, “Look, Chouji, I’m not even sure what I’m looking at. Neither does Naruto, we’re both confused, but let me ask you this before I show you.”
Chouji nods and listens intently, shoving a few chips in his mouth.
“Do you know what ‘Ships’ are?” Shikamaru wants to yeet himself off of a cliff for even saying that and is tempted to launch his fist into Naruto’s gut as he hears the blonde stifle a laugh.
“Ships?” Chouji asks in a soft voice, earning a nod from both men, “Uh, that’s a weird question Shikamaru. Doesn’t everyone know what a ship is?”
“Oh my god.” Shikamaru grows more embarrassed by the second and now he completely understands why Naruto was acting the way he was. He tells himself next time he wants to be curious to kill the feeling immediately.
Naruto is now covering his mouth with his hand as tears form at the corners of his eyes.
“Hey, what’s so funny, Naruto?” Chouji asks, his tone growing irritable, “Are you laughing at me?”
Naruto shakes his head no but refuses to remove his hand from his mouth. Tears begin to stream down his cheeks as he aggressively tries to hold in his laughter that has been birthed by discomfort.
Chouji’s eye twitches and Shikamaru takes that as a sign to step in, “Okay. Chouji, listen to me.” Chouji turns his attention to Shikamaru, “I’ll show you, but just know that neither Naruto nor I went out looking for this okay? It’s definitely something that we shouldn’t have stumbled upon, got it?” Chouji nods in agreement, “One more thing, we tell no one.” Both Naruto and Chouji nod their heads as if they have just received an order from the Hokage.
Shikamaru hesitantly steps to the side and Chouji leans in, his eyes scan the screen. There’s a moment of a silence once again but Shikamaru and Naruto can see the steam coming out of Chouji’s ears.
“What is this?” Chouji lets out as a whisper, he sounds terrified like he has just seen a ghost.
Naruto is about to explode with laughter but manages to keep it together thanks to his hand on his mouth. Shikamaru places his hands on his hips and shrugs.
“I have no idea, but someone out there is creating this...stuff. Ships are what they call it.” Shikamaru can feel the warmth on his cheeks.
“I-uh-” Chouji takes a step back as his skin matches Shikamaru’s. He makes eye contact with his friend, “What does it mean?”
“I think it means we’re cursed now.”
Naruto snorts and releases some of the tension that has been building inside of him with a stifled laugh, “I-aha-I’m-!” Naruto tightens the seal on his mouth but the laughter that threatens his throat escapes.
A few more hushes earned and after a few moments Naruto gathers himself, wiping the tears away with his shirt. He returns to his seat in front of the computer screen while Shikamaru and Chouji awkwardly stand behind him.
“I don’t know where any of this came from or who is doing this, but it involves almost everyone in Konoha. Especially me, which I think is weird. I mean, I like being popular but...” Naruto states then squints at the material before him, “Also, why would I be in this position? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
Shikamaru drags his hand down his face with a big sigh while Chouji nearly chokes on his snack.
“Naruto I don’t think that’s what's important right now.” Shikamaru refuses eye contact with either of them.
“Oi, I don’t want people to be getting the wrong idea, dattebayo.” Naruto states with little to no shame in his words, “You should be concerned too, I mean look how you’re drawn here!” Naruto exclaims almost a little too loud while gesturing at the screen.
Chouji tries to not die at the hand of his snack and Shikamaru welcomes death with an open door like an old friend.
“Someone drew you, Shikamaru?” A new, but familiar voice asks, startling the three men at the computer. The actions are the same, this time Chouji joins which allows them to be more successful in covering up the screen. They scramble nearly harming each other in an attempt to cover up the Sin.
“O-oh, hey Sai.” Naruto greets his teammate through squished cheeks as Chouji and Shikamaru make a human sandwich.
“N-no, no one drew me. It was a joke.” Shikamaru tries to play it off but it’s not easy shaking off Sai.
His expressions are emotionless but all three of them know what he’s feeling before he even says anything. Sai has a hard time when he feels left out and tries everything in his power to prevent it. It's an admirable trait but in this moment they wish he wasn't so stubborn.
“I want to be included with my friends. Especially if art is involved. If someone is drawing my precious friends, I, as an expert, should be a judge of this. To make sure your personalities are captured properly. It would be a dishonor if someone was unable to fully capture your essence and call it Art.” Sai stated his deamnds while crossing his arms.
He is becoming impatient and the three men guarding the screen know it. There was no way out of this.
Shikamaru sighs in defeat, “Fine. We’ll show you, but there’s something you should know. None of us went searching for this material, I personally believe it came from the depths of hell.”
“I think there’s someone out there with a very creative imagination.” Chouji inputs innocently while opening another bag of chips.
“I think they don’t know me at all!” Naruto grumbles while crossing his arms, “I’m the dominant type, aren’t I Sai?”
Sai’s eyebrow raises at this question, but he ponders it seriously, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking Naruto, but I would consider you to have a dominant personality, yes.”
Shikamaru prays his hours are numbered so he doesn’t have to live through this cringe fest.
Naruto fist pumps the air and nudges Shikmaru's torso with his elbow, “Alright! See! Sai gets it.”
“He doesn’t get what you’re asking, idiot.” Shikamaru hisses at the blonde while dealing a well-deserved hit to the back of Naruto's head, deflating any sense of success.
“Will you let me in on this secret now? I understand the conditions. I wish to be included.” There’s a tone of urgency in Sai’s voice now.
“I am very uncomfortable with the energy that we have created here.” Shikamaru complains while half-heartedly stepping to the side to give Sai some space to approach the computer screen. Shikamaru just now notices that Naruto is actually investigating deeper into the content as Sai approaches him from behind.
There are only three noises: Chouji’s crunching, Naruto’s finger clicking the mouse and a bird outside cawing something that sounds like “Baka”.
Sai is still and silent as Naruto minds his own business, shamelessly.
“See? Like what is this? Am I really that docile? Tch.” Naruto points at various positions he is illustrated in, “And why would I be with you like this? No offense but you’re definitely not my type.”
Sai is still very silent and motionless, his eyes remain peeled on the screen.
Shikamaru groans, “I think we can all agree that all of this is unrealistic.”
Chouji continues to crunch, “Well, if you replace me with Temari then it’s not that far off actually.”
Shikamaru’s head nearly explodes and he snaps at his friend, “Chouji?!”
Chouji shrugs, “What? It’s true, isn’t it? Just take a moment to imagine it.”
Shikamaru stares at Chouji in pure bewilderment, “I don’t-I-” The realization hits him and he discovers that Chouji is right. This causes Shikamaru to bury his face in his hands as his skin turns a rosy color. Chouji lets out a soft chuckle as a part of his friend's soul dies.
Sai is still silent and unmoving.
“Oh look, there’s more-ah!” Naruto yelps and flinches at the screen, this time Sai flinches as well. Shikamaru takes notice of the color of Sai’s ears and thinks of ways in which to avoid eye contact with all of them until the end of time. “I never thought of using Shadow Clone Jutsu like that. Woof.”
Sai presses his palms together in a praying position which catches the attention of the other three men and closes his eyes. He remains still and silent, the other three look at each other giving a small shrug.
“I think I may have to leave the village for some time.” Sai finally speaks, his palms still glued together. “This art has taken me off guard and I think I need to do some soul searching before I try to understand what I am seeing.” Sai takes a deep breath and makes eye contact with his teammate, “Naruto. If there is something you desire within these pieces I-” Sai takes another deep breath as the color of his ears change like a warm colored mood ring, “I will assist you as much as I can as your friend, but…” Sai leans down so Naruto’s face is inches from his, his eyes look a lot like Captain Tenzo’s when he’s saying something really intense, “you’re going to leave me alone for the time being until I am ready.”
Naruto’s skin crawls and the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He gives a hesitant nod to his teammate who has become very serious and Naruto doesn’t fully understand what’s going on but he tells himself to wait until later, until Sai is ready for questions.
“I shall be on my way then.” Sai begins to leave then stops in his tracks.
“Oh, hi Sai! And...Chouji. Shikamaru? Oh! Naruto, you’re here too! Wow I didn’t know the library was a new hangout spot.” Rock Lee greets his friends with a youthful smile, he places his hands on his hips and tilts his head in curiosity, “What’re you guys up to?”
All four of them are sharing the same color of red on their cheeks, avoiding eye contact at all costs and sharing the response of silence. The more people there are involved the harder it gets to keep this a secret.
“I was just leaving.” Sai barely whispers and tries to maneuver past Lee, but it’s not going to be that easy.
Lee wraps his arm around Sai’s shoulders, halting him in his tracks, “But I just got here.” Lee says with a frown, Sai immediately feels guilty and slumps his shoulders in defeat. As Lee turns them around to face the other three he finds Chouji and Shikamaru blocking the view of the monitor.
“Sorry, Lee, but I really would like to be able to make eye contact with at least one person in this village so I can’t allow you to know what’s going on here.” Shikamaru says while pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Trust us, Lee.” Chouji backs him up, shoving chips in his mouth so he doesn’t say anything else. Also, they’re honey barbeque flavor and that shit is delicious.
Naruto is no longer paying attention to what is happening around him, he’s actually invested in what's on the computer screen. Shikamaru tells himself that’s for a different day, if he lives past today.
Lee frowns, “I don’t like secrets though…”
Sai looks up at the crestfallen man, “Ignorance is bliss.”
Lee looks at him with a raised eyebrow and he takes a moment to see that Sai looks like he’s just been through war. Lee can’t help but be curious as to what has shaken the former Foundation member.
“Haah?! Even with Bushy Brow?!” Naruto belts out behind Shikamaru and Chouji. A few more hushes erupt from various points of the library. The Librarians are becoming more irritated with every disturbance.
This gets Lee’s attention and Shikamaru throws his hands in the air in defeat, “You know what, I don’t care anymore.”
“Shikamaru…” Chouji attempts to comfort his friend with a pat on the back but Shikamaru flinches.
“Too soon.”
Chouji agrees and returns his hand back to the inside of his chip bag. Lee has now left Sai’s side and is now behind Naruto.
The same silence falls on them once again. The clicking of the mouse, crunching of the chips and the death of souls.
“Ah, I know what this is.” Lee says matter-of-factly.
All four men nearly break their necks looking at him. They’re annoyed, confused, curious and lost all at the same time.
“What do you mean you know?” Sai asks from behind Lee with tight fists, almost as if he is regretting asking the question.
Lee places a hand on his hip, holding his index finger in the air, “It’s called Fanficiton.” Everyone has their attention on Lee and it feels weird that he seems so educated but they listen intently anyway, “It’s a made up story about other people. They create relationships between two people that are either unlikely to happen or have a chance of happening. I don’t know the details actually, but a lot of people write stories and create things called Ships.”
Everyone’s eyes might as well have been filled with flames of desire. Even Shikamaru was invested.
Lee places his chin between his thumb and index finger, “I’m not sure who creates these things though, but it’s kind of like Kakashi Sensei’s book that he always reads.”
“What’re ships though?” Naruto asks.
Lee ponders for a moment, “They are relationships that are unlikely to happen. I think. Like...let's use you and I for example, Naruto.”
Naruto becomes flustered, “Hah? Why me?”
“Because it’s unlikely, idiot.” Shikamaru barks, earning an eyebrow raise from Chouji because Shikamaru is acting like he is greedy for this information.
“So lets say there’s someone out there who likes the idea of us...being...together…” Lee chokes out while his cheeks turn a crimson red, “I, uh, this is all hypothetical okay?” He gulps but continues, “You could say they Ship us together. Usually they combine the names of the two people to create a Ship name. It can also be called an OTP, which is a one true pairing.” Lee is now sweating and everyone else’s skin is conquered by the same crimson red, “Uh-basically there are people out there who want to imagine two other people being together in a....romantic and/or s-sexual way…”
There is no clicking of the mouse or chips being crunched, just a heavy weight of bashfulness being exchanged between these five friends. Lee is now shifting uncomfortably as the other four process the lesson.
“Um, Lee…how do you know all of this?” Sai asks without making eye contact, his hands are still balled into fists.
Lee takes a deep breath while fidgeting with the bandages on his hands, “To make it short and simple, I was mistaken as Guy Sensei while on a mission. It was a very educational moment for me but it is a burden I have had to bear since. I haven’t even told Guy Sensei this or Neji, or Tenten...” Lee bites his lip as his ears become enveloped with the crimson color, “There were some very...confusing questions being asked about Kakashi Sensei and let's just say things are okay now. Yes they’re fine now. It’s fine...” Lee is mumbling to himself now.
“Good fucking grief.” Shikamaru groans in disbelief.
Sai sighs loudly, “So...I wonder how many pairings are out there.”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.” Lee states while hanging his head low in dread as he relives memories he has been suppressing.
The sound of a clicking mouse has returned, grabbing everyone's attention.
“Naruto...is there something you’re trying to tell us?” Chouji asks while Naruto dives back into the content on the screen.
“Hmmm. I’m curious about something…”
Shikamaru rolls his eyes, “What could you possibly-”
“This is rather...odd.” A new voice emerges, “Lee, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji and Naruto?”
The color immediately drains from Lee and he looks like he's about to faint as he is face to face with his teammate, Neji.
Lee’s eyes widened in terror, “N-Neji? What’re you-”
“I was looking for you, we’ve been assigned a mission.” Neji takes a moment to scan the scene and raises an eyebrow, “What is going on here?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.” Lee states again with more intensity this time.
“But I do want-”
“Believe me, you don’t.” Shikamaru interrupts Neji, “If I were you, I would take Lee and walk out of here like none of this ever happened.”
This annoys Neji for the same reasons it annoyed Sai and Lee, he doesn’t want to be left out. It all happens in a split second and Neji knows no one here can stop his Byakugan quick enough. He activates it and focuses his attention to the screen that everyone is heavily guarding. Everyone except Naruto freezes at this sudden action.
Neji releases his Byakugan shortly after activating it and closes his eyes for a moment. He grabs Lee’s sleeve, dragging him behind and makes his way for the exit, “We’ll be leaving now.”
Shikamaru sighs in relief but then notices the tips of Neji’s ears are a soft hue of red. Shikamaru thinks he’s going to start wearing glasses like Shino so he doesn’t have to look in the eyes of any of these fools he calls his friends. Shikamaru’s muscles tense up when he remembers Shino and scans the area around him for insurance. He’s met with relief as Shino is nowhere to be found and he hopes it stays this way.
“I, too, will be on my way out now. I will see you all...eventually.” Sai departs without allowing anyone to respond and now it’s back to Shikamaru, Chouji and Naruto.
Naruto is mumbling under his breath as he continues to investigate God knows what and Shikamaru takes this opportunity to relieve himself of this hell.
“Well, Naruto, this has been fun, but I need to go put my head in some boiling water.” Shikamaru drags both of his hands down his face, “Chouji?”
“Right behind you Shikamaru.” Chouji places his hand on Naruto’s shoulder, “I’m not sure if I should wish you well or be concerned for you, Naruto.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Naruto brushes him off, “This, uh, I’m gonna use this as research for my new Sexy Jutsu.”
Shikamaru rolls his eyes at the lie but refuses to invest himself any deeper, Chouji gives a worried smile and a soft pat. With that they’re gone and it’s just Naruto.
He doesn’t know why he's so invested and maybe that’s why he keeps diving further into the madness of it all. Maybe it’s because he never thought of any of these pairings. Or he never thought he would be doing that or that. It’s all new to him and for some reason it doesn’t scare him. It’s embarrassing for sure especially since all of his friends have seen what he’s seen. It’s awkward and cringey but still, he’s curious.
Being a ninja has its perks as everyone knows but this way of life doesn’t favor a sense of “normalcy”. When puberty hits for most ninjas, it’s more of a sign of strength and maturity. Most are solely focused on their abilities and making themselves stronger. Not things like what type of girls or guys they want to kiss or hug or whatever. They’re brought up to focus on things like war and defending their village.
Of course now is a time of peace but still, Naruto is 25 years old and just now discovering his interests other than becoming the Hokage, ramen and training.
So far he’s seen himself illustrated with Sai, Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru. To which he thought was ridiculous because none of those made sense to him. That’s the thing that has Naruto confused and invested, it’s not the fact that Naruto is being paired with men much less his own friends, it's that they don’t feel right.
“Ugh, what does this mean?” Naruto asks to himself out loud in a whisper as he scrolls through content that shouldn’t be available at a public library. “Ngh, I would never with Bushy Brow, that’s just...I mean I can’t see anything other than his brows!” Naruto huffs in disagreement to the illustration before him, “Sai and Neji are too hard for me to read.” He places his chin between his index finger and thumb as he thinks to himself, “And Shikamaru...is Shikamaru. That’s weird. Plus, I can’t see him with anyone else but Temari.” He continues mumbling to himself, trying to make sense of all of this.
“Should I even ask?” A familiar voice interrupts Naruto’s thoughts.
It’s no surprise that Sasuke is in town and Naruto doesn’t know unless Sasuke wants him to know. Naruto can’t help but feel a sense of relief when he hears the familiar voice. The blonde turns around in his chair slowly, lacing his hands behind his head with a sheepish grin, “It’s not what it looks like.”
The man before him tilts his head slightly, his sharp eyes travel from Naruto to the screen then back to Naruto, “Then what is it supposed to look like, Usuratonkachi.”
Naruto feels warmth envelop all over his body and he knows he’s definitely blushing now. Why is he so nervous now? He didn’t feel this way earlier.
“I, uh, well. You see. I just stumbled across this-uh-” Naruto trips over his words trying to form a sentence, earning a disapproving glare from his best friend.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” Sasuke smirks as he toys with a fumbling Naruto.
The blonde huffs and crosses his arms, “It’s hard to explain, dattebayo.”
Sasuke’s eyes soften slightly, but not enough for Naruto to notice, he sighs, “All I know is that you shouldn’t shamelessly leave that on the screen for everyone to see.”
Naruto clumsily makes the screen disappear but makes sure he’s able to return to it once Sasuke leaves, “Yeah, yeah, got it.”
Sasuke notices the tone of defeat that encompasses Naruto’s voice and finds all of this confusing, but Naruto is his best friend. If anyone can help him, it’s Sasuke.
“So, is that something you’re into?”
Naruto nearly chokes on his own spit, a jolt of shock ripples through his chakra network, “I, uh, what? What are you talking about?”
“Stop acting stupid. My eyes can see everything.” Sasuke glares down at the blonde who is severely blushing at this point.
“Well, what do you think of what you saw?” Naruto fidgets with the bottom of his orange shirt avoiding eye contact.
“Answer my question first.” Sasuke demands.
Naruto grunts in disapproval, “I don’t know. Now answer my question.”
The Uchiha sighs at the lackluster answer but chooses to ignore it for now. He ponders for a moment on Naruto’s question and takes advantage of the fact that Naruto refuses to look at him, “Unique.”
This catches Naruto’s attention and as soon as his eyes meet Sasuke's, a whole new feeling takes over him. He’s not sure how to identify it but his heart is beating fast.
He swallows, “Unique? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sasuke bites his bottom lip, looking at the ground to the side of Naruto, “It doesn’t matter-”
“Yes it does, tell me!” Naruto eagerly interrupts.
Sasuke braces himself by taking a deep breath and Naruto notices how his pale skin matches the color of a red rose, “It’s a unique way of using...the...Shadow Clones…”
Naruto’s jaw hits the floor as his eyes widen in disbelief. Did he hear that correctly? It’s unique? Sasuke said it was unique and he’s blushing. Naruto now understands that his own sexuality is fluid but he didn’t go a step further to think that anyone else would feel the same way. Could Sasuke…? No, no way, Naruto thinks it’s not possible but Sasuke’s body language is making it difficult to believe that argument.
Naruto’s mouth and throat are dry, as he watches Sasuke grow more uncomfortable.
“I’m going to go now.” Sasuke tries to make a run for it but Naruto is fast to latch onto his sleeve. Sasuke tries to avoid eye contact but Naruto forces him to look him in the eye as he blocks his path to the exit. Sasuke curses his genes for not making him taller than Naruto and he curses the fact he decided to visit Konoha this week. Of course it started off as delivering important information directly to the Hokage, but the lingering days were an afterthought. Or so that’s what he tells himself.
“Tell me, Sasuke. Did...what you see bother you, or…” Naruto trails off unsure of how to ask the question. Do you feel like I do? Is what he really wants to say but can’t spit it out. It’s embarrassing and Naruto is having a hard time communicating with Sasuke right now because his thoughts are starting to flood with the content he has been consuming for the past half hour. This time instead of it being Sai, Shikamaru, Neji or Lee...it’s Sasuke. Naruto pushes away the intrusive thoughts and focuses on the man in front of him.
Sasuke shifts his gaze to the side, his raven colored hair separates to reveal the Rinnegan underneath, “No. It doesn’t bother me. Why would it?”
Naruto is searching Sasuke’s features for a clue of some sort, but he doesn’t know what signal he’s looking for. He doesn’t want to invest into wishful thinking if there’s nothing there. It’s truly a curse to be dense. What is he wishing for?
“It doesn’t bother me either.” Naruto finally spits out while looking at the now abandoned computer then back at Sasuke, “I’m actually really...curious.” Naruto refuses to look at Sasuke now as the blush takes over. Truth is, he wants to try whatever it is that he saw. Every time Naruto thinks of the Shadow Clones he just wants to know what that’s really like, but who with, was the tricky part. He thought that he would want something like that to happen with a woman, Hinata maybe, but it's clear now that it’s not actually what he wants.
“Weshouldtryitsometime.”
The mumble broke Naruto’s train of thought and now he’s looking at Sasuke who is wearing a whole new expression on his face. He can’t read it, he thinks Sasuke is embarrassed but that doesn’t sit right on his tongue. He tells himself to remember this expression so he can come back to it later.
Naruto blinks a few times and tilts his head, “Sorry? What was that?”
Sasuke clenches his jaw as his skin turns lobster red, “I said…” Sasuke is barely whispering now, “We should try it sometime…”
POOF. Sasuke is gone before Naruto can even breathe a response and all that’s left is a cloud of smoke. It takes a few moments, a few clicks of the seconds hand on the clock for it to really register in Naruto’s head what Sasuke is implying. He takes this time to make sure he’s not dreaming by pinching his arm and releasing chakra to see if he’s under Genjutsu. He’s not, he’s still in the library standing where Sasuke once was.
It finally clicks and with a loud, “Oh shit!” Naruto makes a speedy exit like there’s a ticking time bomb. There are aggressive scattered hushes throughout the library for what seems like the billionth time but their threats are empty. Naruto is gone like a gust of wind.
-About 5 minutes after Naruto’s exit.-
“I’ll be right here if you guys need me, there’s a few things I have to look up before we go back to the hospital.” Sakura says to Hinata and Ino before sitting down at the computer in the library. “Hm? Someone left a tab open.” Sakura's curiousness pushes her to click the open window and her inner self splits in two. She can’t tell if she wants to smash the computer to pieces or if she wants to dive deeper and that thought makes her blush, either way she shouts, “Naruto!!!” But all she receives in return are disgruntled hushes of her fellow Konoha citizens and a pissed off Librarian.