Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sasuke was having the same fantasy he'd had for years, one he always returned to. It was of someone nearly anonymous, as the only thing Sasuke could quite place was his piercing blue eyes and blonde hair. He'd had a rough day, a rough week, a rough month, and currently he wanted to be fucked just as roughly, as to if to one-up all his troubles

He laid in the dark of his room, the only light the glowing blue power button of his vibrator and the only clothing he had on being a horrible giant orange sweatshirt Naruto had left at his place a few weeks ago. The comfort it supplied was unparalleled, and that, combined with his bullet, had him melting into his bed, mind somewhere else entirely.

"Stop teasing me," he demanded, but it came out more as a whine.

He could feel the head of the man’s dick slip down the cleft of his ass and circle his hole slowly, finally. It pressed slightly, spreading precum on the rim. "You're dripping wet aren't you?" the voice laughed. A hand reached down to Sasuke's cock, slipping over the slit. Sasuke couldn't help his moan and the precum that spilled over the man's fingers. "I like those noises. You sound hot." Sasuke could barely hear him, so frustrated by his finger leisurely playing only with the tip of his cock.

"Please," he said nearly a whisper, trying to push against his hand, anything to stop being held on an edge like this.

Another laugh. It was light, not mean, and made him blush. The hand was removed and placed back on his hip. “You’re cute." The head of the man's cock pressed harder now, slipping past the first ring of muscle. Sasuke sighing in relief, only to groan again when it slipped out again.

"S-stop it." He was being fucked so shallowly, only enough to feel his rim stretch around the cock before it was  gone again. "Please, please, just fuck-" He pushed against the hard cock behind him in desperate need. "Just fuck me."

"Really?" The man said. All at once, he pulled Sasuke's wrists, pulling him off the bed and right onto his lap. Sasuke cried out as he slid down the full length of his cock, bottoming out with a slap. "If you're so eager, just do it yourself."

Sasuke's head lulled back onto the man's shoulder, grinding down in slow circles that made him see stars. "Feels good?" He nodded and then lifted himself up at the best of his ability, leaning forward, his hands now on the bed. "You're doing so well, babe."

He moaned as he fucked himself, spreading his legs as far as he could. "Yes, yes, fuck, I want to come on your cock, I feel so full-"

Sasuke's eyes suddenly snapped open.

He felt... too full.

The fingers between his legs grasped at… nothing.

Oh fuck no. Oh hell fucking no , he did not just lose a vibrator in his ass. Sasuke’s fingers pushed a little deeper, looking for purchase, but the same as he had so enthusiastically let the anonymous man push into him as deep as he could go, the toy had been launched into him with fervor. Only this time, there wasn’t a human attached to the end of it to keep it from going rogue.

“Are you fucking-” Sasuke poked around the best he could to no avail. He twisted and turned and nearly bent in half so his feet were almost behind his head, but nothing. That little fucker clearly had no intention of cooperating.

He tried to sit up in his blue sheets, which shifted the buzzing inside him, and a sharp jolt of pleasure ran through him. Sasuke nearly collapsed onto the bed again, shaking his hips slightly, trying to get the vibrations away from his sensitive prostate. When it did he could breathe again, so he did, and then took in the situation.

So. He wasn’t really getting up anytime soon, couldn’t imagine walking around with this thing in him. Sasuke eyed the door; no, he certainly wouldn’t make it that far. That was a kink, he knew, but personally it’d reduce him to a complete mess. Being very responsive was usually considered a good thing during sex but now that was biting him in the ass. Almost literally.

Being half-hard in this situation was like some sort of limbo; he was still being stimulated, couldn’t help it, but his mind? Fucking flaccid. He growled at the lower half of his body in frustration, and then immediately felt like an idiot. Or, more of an idiot than he already was.

He rolled to his side with a second groan, hands pushing his dick down between his legs. The slide of precum under his palm had felt good before, sexy and slick, but now it was just humiliating. And drying, on top of that.

The only sounds were the long exhale of the heater, breathing of Sasuke’s own and the everpresent, annoying, utterly relentless buzzing of his stupid vibrator.

Think, think, he had to think. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to get the toy out by himself, as much as it irked him, he might… Sasuke swallowed and blushed. He might need somebody to help him.

Sasuke covered his face with his hands and then immediately pulled them away when he remembered what they were covered with.

The first person he thought of was Naruto. His best friend, who had told him (almost too often) that he go to the ends of the Earth if he thought Sasuke needed it. The real question, though, was does that include fishing around in his asshole? That’s… up for interpretation.

Besides… Sasuke rolled over, pushing his face into his pillow. It didn’t really help he’d been nursing a small crush on Naruto for a little while. He might be playing that down slightly; a little while had to be roughly 8 years now. He’d spent a long time willing it to go away, to not feel his disobedient heart flutter when Naruto smiled just for him. There was no time he wanted it to go away more.

Sasuke huffed, trying to force the image of Naruto helping him out away. It was kind of turning him on, imagining Naruto looking down at him flushed and naked, working him open- Yeah, it was totally turning him on.

He shook his head. No, no, not Naruto, never Naruto.

Sakura would do it, he knew. They’d seen some shit together; Sakura had saved him from not one, but two, walk of shames and Sasuke wouldn’t soon forget Sakura hurling her dinner and a whole bottle of wine onto the nicest white shirt he’d ever owned. She was a medic; she’d get it out with precision and efficiency.

And guess what else she’d do? The buzzing seemed to get louder. She’d fucking tell Ino. No doubt about it, she would, and then Ino would tell everybody. He didn’t need that on his track record.

The hospital was another option, but again, if Tsunade was the one handling the x-rays displaying what was shaping up to be the worst decision he’d made because he was horny, he’d never live it down. She’d never let him.

Sai’d do it, or Kiba, but just because they would doesn't mean they should. Ino would, again, spread the news like a forest fire. Shikamaru would sigh and tell him to tell Naruto. He considered asking Gaara, just to hear him panic, searching for an appropriate response, but no. Karin would make it weird, Juugo shouldn't be subjected to this and Suigetsu would honestly just laugh at him. Loudly. For an extended amount of time.

He hated his friends.

Sasuke ticked through everyone, everyone he knew, and there was not a single person he’d pin as “ideal”. He looked down at his dick, still clearly confused about how it should be reacting. Pretending the vibrator wasn’t still buzzing away was all that was getting him through this.

What if he just left it in? What if he just lived like that forever, a toy lodged up his butt? Out of sight, out of mind, they say. No , he rolled back over onto his back, that’s dumb . Waiting until it turned off seemed smart, but he’d just fully charged it, which mean… 7 hours. 7 hours of unsolicited edging. 7 hours of his pelvis rattling.

If Sasuke’s life up to this point had taught him anything, it was that he was resilient, but that? That would kill him.

It was dawning on him now that his first inclination had been the most plausible; he was going to have to call Naruto. Sasuke turned again to snarl, muffled by his pillow, and then moaned as the vibrator shifted again. This was agony.  What was the point in spending years convincing Naruto he was cool just to ruin it all in one fatal blow?

But it had to be done. He looked mournfully at his phone, lying on the bedside table, trying to think of any other option, but none came. Sasuke picked it up like it was a bomb.

The screen thoroughly blinded him in the darkness as he looked for Naruto’s contact. It was right under Lee’s name, so he was very careful to pick the right one. His stomach turned as he looked at Naruto’s beaming contact photo, but pressed the number.

It rang a grand total of one time before there was a click and then “What’s up?” Naruto’s voice sounded low and rough, probably because he’d been jerked out of sleep, but it made Sasuke pause in appreciation for a moment. “Sasuke?”

“Naruto. Did I wake you up?”

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

Sasuke didn’t speak for a moment. This… wasn’t something he could say over the phone. He also didn’t want Naruto to back out; no matter how uncomfortable it was, somebody needed to get this out. “I… can’t really tell you right now. I’m fine, or I will be, but I need your help with something. Now.”

“You’re freaking me out,” Naruto said, sounding a little anxious, but Sasuke could hear the rustle of sheets and footsteps, followed by the jingle of keys. “I’ll be over in 15 minutes, okay?”

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief that was immediately replaced by a pang of dread. “Alright. I can’t really come to the door, but you know where the key is?”

“Of course. Sasuke, are you… Whatever. See you soon.”

Sasuke hummed his agreement, and the call ended. His life ended, as well. Was Naruto really, honest to God, going to do this? And Sasuke was going to let him.

This is not how he ever imagined Naruto fingering him was going to go.

Still, it was kind of making him hot to think of Naruto’s hands on him for any reason. He put it out of his mind and pushed the covers so he could roll underneath them, still wincing. The least he could do is not make Naruto confront this right off the bat. So, he waited. Tried not to think about his best friend, about the future, about how even though the vibrator wasn’t as torturous as when he’d tried to sit up, it still felt… kind of good.

He laid face up, nothing peeking out the covers besides his face and his hands gripping the sheets, mind completely blank until he heard the click of his door downstairs. Maybe it was a murderer who’d just kill him instead he hoped, but hearing the fast, clunking footsteps it could only be Naruto.

He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Naruto had made it here in 10 minutes. Sasuke sighed and then realized; he was still wearing Naruto’s sweatshirt. Having to explain why exactly he’d chosen to jack off in stolen clothing wasn’t something he was apt to do. He tore off and threw it to the floor in the nick of time.

“Sasuke!” Naruto nearly kicked down the door, making Sasuke jump. “Are you okay? I got here as quick as I could!”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just…” He couldn’t really find the words, looking up at disheveled Naruto. They stared at each other in complete silence, Naruto waiting for an answer and Sasuke trying to find one.

Finally, Naruto sort of cocked his head. “What’s that buzzing noise?” and that was it. He had to do it, to just buckle down, and-

“I got a vibrator stuck in my ass.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide, mouth falling open just slightly. “You what?”

“Look, I was, you know, masturbating , and it got a little out of hand and now it’s lost.” Sasuke felt his cheeks burn at having to say the word ‘masturbating’ in front of Naruto, and it was even worse to see Naruto eyes go even wider.

“I didn’t even know you liked that kind of thing?” Sasuke felt his face go redder still.

“Well, it didn’t really come up in conversation, bastard,” he hissed.

“Okay, yeah, but… What do you need from me?”

The dreaded question, the one he’d been waiting to answer from someone since this all started. “I need you,” he started steadily, “to get it out for me.”

Silence. Perfect silence. Well, besides the buzzing.

“You want me to get it out? Like, with my hands?”

“Unless you can think of another body part that’d work better, yes,” he snapped, and then instantly regretted it. He was asking a very awkward favor. “I can figure it out myself, so-”

“No,” Naruto suddenly blurted out and Sasuke was terrified because he could see it: that look at Naruto always got when he’d made his mind to do something, no matter what. He was an insistent and relentless person, and while that quality is very useful, it made Sasuke nervous to have that fighting spirit pinpointed on his ass. “No, I’ll do it. That’s what best friends are for, right?”

“God, don’t make this about the power of friendship, just help me.”

“Okay, fine,” he said, and put his keys on the bedside table with a clink. “I have to turn on the lights to see, though, and you have to stop hiding under the covers.” Sasuke’s mouth went dry. Thank God his dick had gotten the memo about the fix they were in so he wouldn’t have to present that to Naruto as well.

The lights flicked on and Sasuke couldn’t even look at Naruto. Just stared down at the covers. “I’m going to get out of bed. I’m going to get on hands and knees and you are going to get it out as fast as humanly possible.” Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto nodded.

Moving as efficiently as he could, Sasuke pulled back the covers and positioned himself just how he’d said. It was fucking mortifying, kneeling in front of Naruto. He did his best to sort of fold his legs to cover some of himself and his hands clenched in the sheets.

“ Holy shit ,” Naruto said, voice going up in pitch, “we’re doing this.”

“Isn’t that what best friends are for, asshole?”

“Yes,” Naruto said more firmly. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut as Naruto approached. He had no idea what he looked like to him, didn’t want to know. This was probably grossing him out, he’d never look at Sasuke the same, this was all going to-

“Sasuke?” Sasuke jerked his attention back to Naruto. “You’re going to have to, well, uh,” Naruto began, and then his voice kind of trailed off at the end so he couldn’t make it out

“Speak up if you want me to hear you.”

Naruto let out a huff of breath. “I need you to spread your legs.”

No, no, he couldn’t, he couldn’t . He hated making Naruto have to say something like that to him, but he also hated that the idea of Naruto seeing him like this was making his body take interest. He felt like he was shaking, hoped he wasn’t and spread.

Naruto said nothing at first, but Sasuke felt a hand set carefully on his hip. The other pressed hesitantly against his shoulder. “Can you sort of get lower to the bed? I don’t know if this angle will work.” Sasuke went from his hands to resting his chin on his arms, ass up in thin air. “Okay, that’s good. I mean, not good! Not like-”

“Shut. The fuck. Up,” Sasuke breathed, and tried to stay perfectly still.

“So I should like… Just go in?”

No, under no circumstances should he do that. “You’ll need lube, so get it out of the drawer.”

“Oh.” Naruto leaned past Sasuke to open it, bumping the back of his thighs. The drawer open with a sharp squeak. A familiar bottle appeared, fairly big yet almost empty, a detail he hoped Naruto would miss. He closed his eyes to the sound of the cap popping open and the awful squelching noise as the lube was squeezed out. “That… was probably too much.”

“Better than too little,” Sasuke grumbled and then jerked when the hand that’d been on his hip before was on his ass. Naruto used that hand to keep him open, while the other…

“Okay,” Naruto said, voice quiet but determined. “Tell me if it hurts, or something.”

The first touch he felt wasn’t painful at all; it was the opposite. Slightly cold and slick, Naruto’s thumb was rubbing a circle around his entrance, spreading what was certainly too much lube, but… It was so careful, like he was so afraid of hurting Sasuke. It was cute. The thumb was removed, the tip of his index finger lingering and then pressing into him. Naruto wiggled his finger slightly and Sasuke’s breath caught.

It was instantly yanked out. “Shit, did I hurt you?” Naruto asked loudly and Sasuke only shook his head, face pink.

“No. In fact, you’re going way too slow. I mean, the vibrator had to go in somehow. I can handle it.” Naruto still seemed very hesitant, and Sasuke groaned into his arms before: “Let me just fucking show you.” Sasuke reached back and easily slid in his finger to the second knuckle before adding another. “ See ?” he asked, trying to force confidence into his voice when really all he was feeling was embarrassment.

“Yeah, well, you make it look… really easy,” Naruto said quietly, suddenly it struck Sasuke that was just… fingering himself open. In front of his childhood friend turned painstaking crush turned savior. He jerked his hand away almost immediately, but it was too late; the thought of Naruto watching him get off was already in his head. Maybe smoothing his hands down the back of Sasuke’s thighs, whispering encouragement. Sasuke’s brows scrunched up. Enough torture.

Naruto tried again, with a little more force and a eventually a second finger, but it was still so gentle. Teasing, if Sasuke didn’t know better. His expression soured further as his dick wasn’t cooperating with him on his decision to make this as sexless as possible. “You’re still being slow. I’ll die before it gets out of me.”

“I know, shut up,” Naruto growled, which coincidentally shut Sasuke up.

He tried so hard not to focus on Naruto’s fingers making slick noises or the vibrations from within him, but it was no use; he was steadily getting hard. He couldn’t get his mind off Naruto just watching him get helplessly aroused, stretching him around his fingers until he was dripping. He let out a hum of pleasure, completely involuntarily, and then-

"Are you feeling up my ass?"

Naruto’s left hand, the one that had drifted down to his cheek, was vaguely rubbing it, Naruto’s skin hot against his. The slight bite of fingernails when his fingertips pressed down was nice, too. "Look, I don't know, you're tensing up! You're really, um.” Naruto seemed to search for a word. “Tight, I guess? You just have to relax, and it was totally working before you noticed, by the way.”

"It... It doesn't matter if it's working!” Sasuke yelped, “stop squeezing my butt!"

"My fingers! Are inside your butt!” Naruto scissored his fingers as it to make a point and Sasuke grit his teeth to keep from moaning. Fuck , Naruto felt good. “Does it really matter at this point?"

“I guess not,” Sasuke admitted finally, when he felt like he could string the words together. Naruto seemed much braver after their small spat and hearing him talk back as usual made Sasuke calm a little, so it was going smoother. Naruto had made it to three fingers now, and if it wasn’t for fear and stone cold resolve, Sasuke would be melting under his hand, lazily grinding down onto it. Naruto’s left hand gripped his ass a little tighter. “I think I feel it? Maybe I can turn it off.”

Sasuke praised the heavens. “Good, can you-!” He let out what was nothing less than a squeak as the vibration between his legs got infinitely stronger and then moaned loudly at the feeling nudging closer to his prostate. He squeezed his legs together.

“Sorry! Did I-”

“Turn it up instead of off?” Sasuke said, voice strained. “Yeah, Naruto, I think so.” The vibrator was insistent now, impossible to ignore, and Sasuke was completely hard. Like, stupid hard. Achingly hard. How the fuck had Naruto not noticed? Or had he and said nothing? His thighs squeezed tighter and he was distracted again.

“Sasuke…” Naruto sounded tired, both hands rubbing the sides of his thighs as if to comfort him. “Come on, let’s just go to the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Sasuke nearly spluttered. “Yeah, Naruto, let’s just go see your surrogate mother. We can explain how I reamed myself with a vibrator and she can pull it out! Hey, while we’re at it, invite Jiraiya and Iruka, too, so next time I’m at your house for Christmas we can all sit around the fire and reminisce about the time Sasuke liquified his prostate!"

“Jesus fucking Christ, okay, no hospital! I’ll… I’ll try.”

“Were you not trying before?” Sasuke’s voice nearly cracked for the amount of stress he was under, and Naruto huffed.

“Just hold on,” he said roughly and suddenly gripped Sasuke’s hips, pulling Sasuke down the bed and into his lap so his legs spread over where Naruto was kneeling. He nearly slapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from moaning; from this position, his cock was pressing firmly against Naruto’s legs.

Naruto went back to work, hands making obscene noises as the vibrator seemed to shift closer still. Sasuke bit his pillow. His hip shifted slightly, a tiny test of movement, and then little harder. “ Fuck ,” he hissed under his breath, dick sliding between Naruto’s knees, the tip rubbing against the bedspread. Naruto must have thought he was slipping as he pulled Sasuke back up his legs. “Ah...” Sasuke couldn’t stop his whimper as his cock dragged slowly over fabric. Naruto’s fingers pushed back in and found the vibrator, only to turn it up once again. “Fuck, ah!” Sasuke’s whine was loud now, obviously, and he could feel his precum wetting Naruto’s pants, which probably meant Naruto could, too.

“Um…” Everything was at a complete standstill. Naruto knew he was getting off on this now, which only made his cock leak more. He couldn’t stop thinking about sliding back and forth, getting finger fucked until he came, and honestly? That line of thinking was the opposite of helpful. He just needed the vibrator out. That’s his first mission.

“I think I’ll be able to get it, I promise,” Naruto told him and readjusted again, so this time Sasuke was pressed against- Sasuke’s eyes widened, heat flaring through him.

Was Naruto… hard? He tilted his hips, and yes; there was definitely something pressing back against him. Naruto cleared his throat loudly, but otherwise said nothing. Sasuke was just trying to process it; Naruto, hard, dick sliding against his ass- He grinded against it, he couldn’t not, and Naruto seemed to meet each of his efforts. The movement was barely there, enough to be called an accident, but any more of this and Sasuke would come, vibrator be damned.

There didn’t even seem to be much point in stopping the noises he made, as he’d already kind of dug his grave with all this. They were more of whimpers, every time he could feel Naruto’s erection, every time he made more and more of a mess between Naruto’s legs.

“Fuck, o-okay,” Naruto breathed, fingers twisting, “I think I’ve got it.” He finally caught the vibrator between his fingers. It pressed directly onto Sasuke’s prostate and rubbed it as Naruto worked. It felt so good it hurt, and Sasuke was so close, gasping, toes curling.

“Got it!” Naruto yelled, and pulled; right after turning it up to it’s last, highest setting.

Naruto pulled out the toy but Sasuke slammed back on to where he knew his hard cock would be, rubbing it through clothes and feeling Naruto’s thighs tighten around him. “Fuck, fuck me , I’m coming,” he moaned, hands clawing the sheets, “Ah, Naru-!” Cum spurted over Naruto’s legs and the sheets, but Sasuke didn’t care much. He stayed focused on the thick cock behind him, pretending he was stretched around it, getting his orgasm pounded out of him into the mattress. He was reverted to just soft mewls now; he felt wet and dirty but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d come so hard. Sasuke was still feeling it, rocking against Naruto, riding it out.

Well, until he fully realized he consequences of his actions. The vibrator had been switched off and now it was truly, painfully silent.

Good news: the vibrator was out.

Bad news: Sasuke had just come all over his best friend, and, as though that wasn’t nearly bad enough, said his name as he was doing it, too. There was nothing he had experienced before that prepared him for this moment, and Naruto seemed to be feeling the same, one hand still on the small of Sasuke’s back.

In one panicked movement, Sasuke leaped away, almost using Naruto as a kickboard. He dived under the covers, hiding most of his face from Naruto. When he peaked out from behind his bangs, Naruto wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at nothing, empty air, eyes wide and breathing uneven, and then down. Down at the complete fucking disaster that had been made of his pants. The area between his thighs was covered with lube and Sasuke’s cum, the light grey sweatpants stained dark. The sight was unbearable.

“Goodbye,” was literally all Sasuke could think to say, so he did, huddling against himself closer. This had gone so much worse than he anticipated and the last thing he wanted was to talk about it with Naruto. He wasn’t sure if he could manage eye contact. He wanted to sleep and stay in bed until his ass didn’t feel like it’d been plowed by a jackhammer.

An exaggeration, maybe, but if there was any time to use one, it was now.

Naruto didn’t move for a moment, and then stood up. “Uh… Okay…” More silence and no movement. “Sasuke?”

“ What? ” It came out much harsher than he intended, but he desperately wanted to ignore the fact that he’d revealed his feelings in the most obvious way possible.

“Can I have a pair of pants?”

Sasuke sat up and turned to face Naruto. “ That’s what you have to say? You want pants?”

“Well,” said Naruto, and his voice had a crackle to it, a flicker showing the fire it could possess. “I’m not the person who came all over them.”

Sasuke gaped at him. Where did Naruto get off being borderline smug? “Excuse me? I was being directly stimulated! You were the one who got hard for no reason.” His eyes flicked downwards.

“For no reason? Your naked ass was like,” Naruto held out his hands with fervor, “this close to my face. This close! And then all the moaning, and then- You practically rode my dick! How’s that for direct stimulation?”

“I did-! I did not ride your dick.”

“Well, yeah, the fabric between us made it difficult, but you definitely gave it your best shot.”

They stared at each other, both defiant, until Sasuke sighed. “Shut up, bastard.” That usually meant he lost an argument, but he was too tired. “Grab pants, I don’t care.”

“Great. I’m staying over too, by the way.” Naruto voice was returning to it’s slightly weakened state now, socks scuff in the carpet, but he sounded so sure of his place that Sasuke stared. “I’m going to get you a washcloth, that’s not going to be comfortable when it dries.”

“Who… Who said you could stay in my house?”

“Kiba will notice if I come home in these dirty sweatpants,” Naruto called from the bathroom, “and he’ll also notice if I’m wearing sweatpants from your high school. Besides, I told him I’d be out for the night.” The whole night? What had Naruto thought he’d be dealing with here that it’d take the whole night? A washcloth was unceremoniously dumped on Sasuke’s face with a wet slap, which he tore off with a scowl, much to Naruto amusement.

He rolled out of bed, the heat and embarrassment long since fading, as Naruto pulled on the dirty top blanket off and dumped it in the laundry basket by Sasuke’s door, the washcloth following soon after. Sasuke grabbed what he’d been wearing before of the floor and pulled it back on.

“Is that my sweatshirt?”

“No,” Sasuke responded immediately.

“It says Uzumaki on the back.”

Sasuke shrugged, walking to the light switch and flicking it downwards. “Purely a coincidence.” There was no way he was giving up this; it was now the most comfortable piece of clothing that he owned (or rather that he had stolen.) “You’re not getting it back. Shut up and go to sleep.”

Naruto seemed to be trying to do that anyway, but once Sasuke’s eyes adjusted, he saw one of Naruto’s arms was thrown over the other side of the bed. Sasuke carefully decided to think nothing of it, offering no comment, just settling on the crook of his arm.

The silence was long, even though Sasuke couldn’t sleep. His body was spent in every way possible, but still, his mind whirred.

“I thought you were having nightmares again,” came Naruto’s voice heavy and making Sasuke start. He’d assumed Naruto had been asleep. “You sounded so nervous to tell me what it was, so I thought… Anyway, that’s why I kicked down the door, but you were really just lying there, having a liiiittle too much fun with-“  Naruto reached down, under Sasuke’s thigh, to the forgotten vibrator and clicking it on, the top end of glowing blue and lighting up Sasuke’s face. HIs smirk was absolutely devilish. “ This. ”

“Put that away ,” Sasuke growled, snatching it away and turning it off, throwing it across the room with a clack.

He laid there a moment longer. He didn’t like to think much about past days when he spent most nights sick to his stomach, waking up from dream after dream about the horror movie his childhood had been. Naruto had always been there to comfort him , he recalled, and then put it out of his mind. “Sorry for confusing you,” he said, barely there.

“I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”

“My pride’s gone through a wood chipper, but sure.” He could sense Naruto rolling his eyes at that. “Thank you,” he said, just as quietly. Apologies and gratitude came difficult to him, but he figured Naruto had earned it. “You’re the only person I could even approach with this.”

“My pleasure.” Sasuke winced at the phrasing and Naruto gasped. “Oh God, no, I didn’t mean like that, just-“

“Go to sleep, asshole.”

Silence fell over them again.

“If you’re worried anything’s changed between us, it hasn’t,” Naruto said, slightly slurred, almost drifting off. Sasuke felt the pang in his stomach he always did at the mention of them being best friends, as, especially now, it felt like a consolation prize. It was replaced by that flutter, though, when Naruto rolled on his side, tugging Sasuke closer and nuzzling into his neck. He bit his lip to keep from smiling, because there were no promises in Naruto’s touch, but…

Sasuke’s train of thought was broken as he shifted, wincing at the sharp pain in his ass. Finally, finally , something had indeed changed between him and Naruto.

But God, at what cost?

Chapter Text

Naruto had spent the night at Sasuke’s place plenty of times before, usually when he was too drunk or tired to drag himself back home. Sasuke would hurl a pillow and blanket in his direction and turn heel, leaving Naruto on the couch. This always seemed dumb, because Sasuke’s bed was huge. It had things like a “duvet” and a “top sheet”, whatever the fuck those were. They sounded comfortable though, at least more comfortable than waking up feeling like the armrest hit you in the neck with a baseball bat. How selfish Sasuke was. Did he really need that space?

Naruto was learning that he did. He could remember Sasuke kicking him in his sleep when they were younger, but this was a little different. Very different. For several reasons

Sasuke was blissfully asleep, comfortably tangled up with Naruto. His breathing was steady and Naruto could feel it, warm against his skin where Sasuke’s cheek was pressed to his chest. His arms were wrapped around Naruto, the long sleeves of his sweatshirt covering his hands. Sasuke was cute like this, which he rarely was. He was plenty of other things, all good and bad, but he was only ever adorable when unconscious. If Naruto ever told him this, he might never sleep again.

Still… Naruto hesitantly reached out to touch Sasuke’s hair, the long pieces on either side of his face. Soft. He flushed as Sasuke made a little noise in his sleep and nuzzled closer.

Naruto was so fucked. He was calling it now, he was thoroughly fucked, and not in the fun way. In the I-have-a-crush-on-my-best-friend way. And it was hell, especially when your best friend looked like Sasuke. Deep dark eyes, flawless skin and a physique that was nothing less than anxiety inducing. For example, Naruto hated working out with Sasuke, considering how flexible he was; he knew exactly how far Sasuke could spread his legs and that information wasn’t particularly helping him.

And now he knew a lot more things about Sasuke. What it was like to wake up with him in Naruto’s arms, for example, all sweet and soft. Or what he looked like on his knees, hips grinding. Again, not helpful. Naruto shifted under the covers and stared up at the ceiling, trying not to think about the previous night.

It was going badly so far. Not thinking about last night seemed easy in theory, but his mind was spending it’s few remaining brain cells being noisy. You saw him naked, they said, and they weren’t letting it go. Sasuke was hot, that much was obvious with his clothes still on, but with them off it was even worse.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. If Sasuke was his, this wouldn’t be a problem. He’d wake up, blinking away sleep and then Naruto could roll them over and press Sasuke into the mattress and kiss him slow and deep. If Sasuke was his, he probably wouldn’t have gotten the vibrator stuck inside him in the first place.

Naruto had thrown the little hell bullet who knows where the night before. He’d felt the vibrations at their highest point, and it was like trying to hold lightning. Sasuke wasn’t kidding about liquifying his prostate. Naruto wouldn’t put that near any part of his body he wanted to keep, and Sasuke had that inside him? And lived? What the fuck?

His thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke stirring next to him, sighing and sliding one hand across Naruto’s stomach. He opened his eyes, and for one dreamy moment, Sasuke had a gentle smile on his lips.

For less than a moment, actually. More like a millisecond, and then Sasuke was sitting bolt upright, staring at Naruto with such an incredulous look it was as if he’d woken up next to a wild animal. The beady eyed ones that eat trash.

“...Why..?” was all Sasuke said, inching away. He was still waking up, even after clearly being startled into action. “Why… are you wearing my pants?”

Naruto looked down. Sasuke’s old sweatpants had been a little too small for Naruto, but the choice between pants with a bad fit and pants borderline drenched with cum seemed like an easy one.

“Um. Mine got… dirty.” Sasuke just stared at him.

“Oh my god.” He put his face in his hands, put them down, thought for a moment and winced. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and winced again. “Oh my god .” At this point, he scooted across the bed from Naruto he was nearly falling off the edge, pulling the blanket with him.

“What? Stop making it weird, it’s not weird,” Naruto said defensively. Embarrassment didn’t come easily to him, but Sasuke was clearly mortified and it was rubbing off on him. “We’re friends, friends help each other with… stuff like that.”

“Maybe so, but they don’t have to wake up with said friend the next morning,” Sasuke muttered, reaching for his phone on the bedside table. It clicked on, screen glowing and Sasuke groaned. “We slept in.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“Some people do things every single day, Naruto.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. Just because Sasuke didn’t consider sleeping and playing video games as “doing things” doesn’t mean they weren’t. Sasuke himself could probably benefit from doing less things; he always looked tired and overworked, probably from trying to control everything all the time. Were Friday nights at 3 am his scheduled time to jack off? Because that’s sad. And something Sasuke might do.

Sasuke sighed, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. He stood up and stretched. Naruto’s eyes widened. He really hadn’t be able to fully appreciate it before, but now Sasuke was standing with his back to Naruto in only that huge sweatshirt. It was the biggest size Naruto could have possibly gotten, mostly because he thought it made him look funny, but on Sasuke it looked really hot. It reached only down to the tops of his thighs, leaving his long legs exposed, and Sasuke’s dark hair was messed up from sleep.

More than that, though, was Naruto’s name on his back. Uzumaki, spelled in tall black letters across his back. Like Sasuke belonged to him, at least in some part. He had no idea when he’d left his sweatshirt here and Sasuke had decided to keep it, but it looked lived in. Sasuke pulled the hem further down his legs like it was an afterthought, glancing at Naruto over his shoulder.

And then he took a careful step, and another, towards his bedroom door, and there was a slight limp in his step. Barely noticeable, unless you were watching his legs (and Naruto was). Sasuke turned around to glare at Naruto, like it was his fault Sasuke decided to fuck himself with a lightning rod.

As he kept walking, it occurred to Naruto that this is probably what Sasuke would look like after really good sex. Still half-naked, messy hair and that slight wobble to his walk that meant he liked it rough. This wasn’t something Naruto should be seeing, considering what they’d gone through wasn’t anything close to actually hooking up. At the end of the day, it was still just a favor between friends.

Naruto did have to admit the line between platonic and erotic was much thinner than he first thought. He’d never been very good at controlling his feelings, especially not when it came to Sasuke. Even just a long look from Sasuke would set his stomach fluttering, so when he had Sasuke naked in front of him, hands and knees? A near death experience.

And then came the actually touching Sasuke. If Sasuke had been trying to hide it, he did a pretty shit job; Naruto knew the second Sasuke started getting turned on. His stiffness melted away and his breath would hitch whenever Naruto’s fingers pressed the right spot. It seemed unconscious, but Sasuke had pressed back against them, wanting them deeper despite the situation.

And then even worse, when Sasuke could feel that Naruto was harder than he’d ever been in his life, he didn’t even mention it. No, he just rocked back on Naruto’s cock. And it must have felt pretty good from the noises he was making. Sasuke was so beautiful; Naruto would have given anything to see his expression. It’s a miracle Naruto had been able to get the vibrator out with Sasuke only getting wetter in his lap, whining for release, and considering he himself had been this close to-

“Coming?”

Naruto jumped at Sasuke’s voice, immediately flushing red. “W-what?”

“I’m making coffee, are you coming to get some?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Sasuke disappeared through the doorway again and Naruto heaved a deep sigh. He had to stop thinking about the specifics of the night before, it was only confusing him. He’d promised Sasuke nothing had changed, though it felt like everything had. He didn’t want to do anything that led to him losing Sasuke, even if that meant Naruto had to settle with being just a friend forever.

There was no point in driving himself insane over this. There’d been sexual tension between him and Sasuke since grade school. It was kind of a given for them, and Naruto had gotten used to it. It’d only taken 10 years and a lot of work, but he’d successfully broken down the barriers Sasuke put up to protect himself. As Sasuke said once: “You know too much about me. I hate it.” Friendship. However, it was an unspoken agreement that they don’t mention all the times they’d hovered inches apart, and Naruto hadn’t been completely sure Sasuke wouldn’t kiss him. He hadn’t so far, and Naruto was trying to stop wishing he would.

Naruto stood up and wandered into the living room. Sasuke’s house wasn’t very big but it was easily much nicer than the place Naruto shared with Kiba. At Naruto’s, there was dog hair on everything and a empty closet called The Bad Boy that smelled like something died a long, painful death on the carpet. Sasuke’s house was completely clean, like company was coming, though he rarely had people over. Naruto had caught him shoving shit under his bed one time, however, so maybe Sasuke didn’t know what he was doing either, but was just better at faking it.

Sasuke was standing in the kitchen making coffee. The fancy way with a press, not the coffee pot way. Naruto had begged Sasuke to teach him, but found what he liked about the coffee wasn’t the process itself but watching Sasuke do it. He was so concentrated, movements precise. He was picky about what he put time into because he did things thoroughly.

Naruto’s attention span wasn’t nearly as extensive, and Sasuke was being really distracting. He still had that damn hoodie on, the sleeves covering his hands, and when he stood on his toes to open a cabinet, it covered him only barely. Naruto’s name on his back had implications; he wanted to act on them. Then Sasuke flashed a look over his shoulder, like he knew exactly what Naruto was thinking.

Well, a correction. Sexual tension was a given, but his feelings for Sasuke had only gotten stronger over the years. It was something that he thought he was going to grow out of at age 16; now he was age 23. A grown up, technically, and Sasuke could still fuck him up with a glance. Naruto tapped his fingers on the counter, looking at the ground.

“Could you-” His voice cracked slightly. “Are you gonna put pants on or something?”

“Why?” Sasuke asked flatly, measuring out coffee grounds. “Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

Naruto flushed, coughed. “Yeah, I guess so… Speaking of which-”

“Must we?” He sounded so bored, turning on the faucet, like they were talking about the weather. They’d made an agreement to not do that too often, because Sasuke would do whatever he damn well pleased despite the weather and Naruto didn’t understand science.

“Um. Yeah, we should.” No response like Sasuke had even heard him. “That was kind of a big step? In, um, our friendship. I guess I’m just confused.”

Sasuke sighed. “About what?”

“Why did you say my name when you-” Sasuke whipped around, eyes burning black fire from the pits of Hell. He walked over until he was leaning across the counter, right in Naruto’s face. His expression was dangerous.

“ Not about that,” he hissed, and stalked back to his work, this time not with nearly the same level of focus. Naruto fingers tapped faster now. He wasn’t sure what to make of that reaction, not that he knew what he would say to that question himself. If that had happened to him, and he’d accidentally moaned out his best friend’s name during an orgasm, he might just dig a hole and die in it.

Regardless, he’d hit a nerve. “It’s fine, I was just… I mean, I don’t blame you.”

Sasuke gave him the most derisive look he’d ever gotten in his life. “You don’t blame me ? You’re that confident in your abilities?” ...Naruto had walked in a trap. “Should I be thanking you?”

“No, jeez. That’s not, like, the first time I’ve done that anyway, so I’m just-” This time Naruto cut himself off, because that was so obviously not the right thing to say. Sasuke just shook his head in disbelief.

“I didn’t ask, Naruto.”

Naruto waved his hand. It wasn’t like he had a ton of experience, but sex with guys was no stranger to him. “No, I mean, not for a while, but, um, I’m not a newborn deer.” Naruto said, and that put a really weird mental image in his head. “Or… some other metaphor.”

“You were acting like it,” Sasuke grumbled, going to back to the task he’d been distracted from once again. “Like one wrong move and you’d hit my self destruct button.” This seemed to be mostly to himself, but if Naruto hears something, it’s fair to assume he has a response.

“Holy shit. That’s the best place to put a self destruct button. Nobody would find it, or if they were going to they’d have to fuck your brains out.” Sasuke was highly unimpressed. “That’s what they should have done with the Death Star,” he added, “instead of that ventilation shaft. They could have won, and like, destroyed the whole universe.” Sasuke’s face looked like he, too, was watching a universe be destroyed.

“I don’t know how to express to you how little I care about Star Wars.”

It stung a little, but Naruto could accept it. “Anyway, that’s not the point. I just don’t want to hurt you, in any way, physically or emotionally.” While he nodded at this, Sasuke still looked highly annoyed. Finally, the coffee was in the press, and Sasuke watching it. With his jet black hair clashing with the neon orange he wore, he looked like a Halloween decoration. Like, a sexy one. “You’re my best friend, Sas, I’d totally die for you.” Sasuke nearly choked.

“Naruto, you can’t just say that to me. Boundaries.”

“We literally do not have those? And you would, too! If a train was coming towards us and one of us had to die,” said Naruto, offering an example, “we would be fighting over who was going to do it. I can’t live without you, uh, in a friend way. You know that.”

Sasuke just stared at him, wide eyed, and then turned back to the press in front of him. “Christ. Some people have trouble opening up. You, on the other hand, could benefit from some repression.”

Naruto pouted, folding his arms. The most Sasuke had ever said to him about their relationship was during some stupid argument. “As your best friend, I morally can’t let you act like that,” Sasuke told him, and Naruto had gotten so excited about having a best friend he forgot what they were talking about completely.

“Yeah, well, you could benefit from some... unrepression.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “This isn’t a big deal, plenty of people… lose things inside them. All the time. I’m pretty sure Sai has, though I can never tell if he’s joking. I bet no one would even make fun of you if they found out.”

Another wrong move. Naruto was just full of them today.

“I have a friendly suggestion for you,” Sasuke said, and his tone was dark again.

“Okay.”

“If you breathe a word of this to anyone, you know what I’ll do?” Naruto shook his head. “I’ll make you get your dick pierced at Claire’s, Naruto. That 2.99 cheap metal shit. You want that?”

Naruto wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, no, gross. That’s such a weird threat. Also, that wasn’t friendly at all. Or a suggestion, really.”

“It was a promise.”

“Please relax,” Naruto started rounding the counter and Sasuke turned to face him. “I don’t even know why you’re doubting me so much.”

Sasuke paused, putting a hand to his forehead, and then crossed his arms. He fixed Naruto in his sight like the scope of a rifle. “Do you remember in seventh grade when we went on a field trip to the aquarium? Suigetsu kept trying to accidentally fall into the touch tank. He succeeded twice.”

Naruto remembered. After spending half the day tripping in the direction of the tank, Suigetsu finally took matters into his own hands. He claimed he left his backpack and was going to find it, and had returned completely drenched and a piece of seaweed in his hair, beaming.

“Yeah, that was so funny.”

“That was also the day Gaara pushed Lee down the stairs and he broke his legs. An ambulance came.”

Saying Gaara had changed since middle school would be a complete understatement. He was completely different from the terrifying fight-picking 5 foot 1 kid he was. Well, he was still super short, but otherwise, now a completely pleasant person. Lee had been fine in the end, and immediately forgave him, but it was a super awkward day.

“Oof, yeah.”

“Kiba stole so much shit from the gift shop and he got suspended for a week.”

Naruto smiled. “No surprises there.”

“Do you want to know what everyone remembers about that day?”

“No?”

“One time, you and your grandpa made me go fishing, even though fishing is rarely anything but boring.” Naruto remembered that day, too; Sasuke had looked so positively annoyed to be there, and everytime Jiraiya said “it builds character” Naruto expected him to snap the pole. “Well, if you recall, I attempted to swing the fishing pole forward, but the hook caught on the back of my shirt, pulling it over my head. Then my foot caught on the the dock and I fell into the lake.”

Naruto snorted; he couldn’t help it. That had honestly been so damn funny, especially at the age of 13. By the time, Sasuke resurfaced, shirt still awkwardly caught, Naruto had dropped to the dock, kicking his feet against it, laughing.

“You,” Sasuke said sharply, bringing Naruto back, “walked into the aquarium, saw one fish, a single fucking fish, and then loudly told everybody the whole story.”

Naruto blinked. That, he didn’t remember. “What’s your point?”

“My point is, that was humiliating. People still bring it up to me. The mistakes I make are few and far between, so when they happen, it’s exciting. Sometimes I envy you,” Sasuke said, opening a cabinet to get mugs. “Everyone is so used to you doing dumb shit they don’t even care anymore.”

“Uncalled for. Also, I’m not going to tell anyone!” Sasuke poured Naruto’s coffee, only halfway, and then added creamer and a “ridiculous” amount of sugar. Still, it was nice Sasuke remembered stuff like that. Their hands touched as Sasuke handed them the cup. “What kind of best friend would I be?”

All Sasuke did take a sip of his coffee while raising his eyebrows. He was pretty sure Sasuke was drinking scalding black coffee, which was one of Naruto’s least favorite things about him. Sasuke had never been fond of sugar, which didn’t matter, because black coffee tasted like shit regardless. There was also no way that it wasn’t burning Sasuke’s tongue, but he never seemed to care. “Just stick your fucking head under the Keurig machine if you’re going to be like this,” Naruto told him, after watching Sasuke chug a full mug of boiling bean water at Ino’s house.

Well, clearly the only way to convince Sasuke he could keep a secret was to prove it, so he’d keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t like the story wasn’t embarrassing for Naruto, too; if Kiba found out it’d be nonstop ridicule. So, Naruto wasn’t going to tell a single soul. Also, he never wanted to set foot in a Claire’s.

Sasuke finished his horrible coffee and put the cup in the sink. It was otherwise empty, like he does dishes. At Naruto’s house, they only did dishes when Hinata came over and guilt-tripped them into doing it. “I’m going to go take a shower, and when I get out, you’ll be gone,” Sasuke told him, standoffish. “I would hope you have something better to do.”

Sasuke walked past him, chin up, until he took a uneven step and almost tripped. Naruto grabbed his arm to steady him, which Sasuke immediately slapped away. Naruto rolled his eyes; Sasuke hated being helped, but it could get a little excessive. There was one time Naruto opened a car door for him and Sasuke was ready to deck him.

Sasuke huffed, straightening his clothes. “Still feeling a little sore there?” Naruto said, smiling ever so sweetly. Sasuke’s eyes widened, face tinged pink, and then he glared coldly, stomping away to his bathroom.

“Get out of my house, bastard,” was all he said before he disappeared. That was to be expected. Naruto finished his coffee, wandering into the living room. He’d forced Sasuke to put photos or something in there because it looked like no one lived there sometimes. It was erie.

There was one, a big group photo that had everyone but Ino because she was the one that took it. Almost all of them were wearing tie-dye shirts they’d made for their last day of high school, except Shikamaru, who couldn’t have possibly been bothered to make one, and Sasuke, who hated doing anything as a group. Still, they’d had fun that day.

The photo next to that was of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura with Kakashi. They were all much younger, and while Sakura looked perfectly pleasant, Naruto and Sasuke were glaring with a passion. Well, they didn’t always get along. Kakashi smiled at the camera, even without ever showing his mouth behind his face mask. He wasn’t Sasuke’s dad by blood, nor was he in any official capacity, but he always seemed to do his best to be there for Sasuke. Not a parent, but certainly a guardian. Naruto knew Sasuke looked up to him a lot.

There was one more, tucked behind the others, but Naruto knew what it was without seeing it. The last was one of his favorites. Naruto could hear the water turn on in the bathroom, signaling the time he had left before he was booted out was limited. He reached down and picked up the frame.

It was taken during Kankuro’s birthday party a year ago, probably by Sai or Sakura. Neither of them were looking at the camera, but instead at each other, sitting at a small table in whatever restaurant they had all gone to. Naruto was talking animatedly about something or other, one hand waving and the other on Sasuke’s arm. Sasuke was just watching him, smiling slightly.

Naruto looked at it for one moment longer and then put it back. It was a good picture.

He’d left all his things in the bedroom. It hadn’t been much, as he’d thrown himself out of sleep and into his car in about 5 seconds. Naruto rubbed his eyes. Sasuke had sounded so worried over the phone, so Naruto went as fast as he could. When they were roommates for a year in college, he’d have these horrible night terrors. That was another thing they didn’t talk about much, because Sasuke had a lot of shit he was trying to put behind him, and he didn’t need reminding of the past.

Still, Naruto remembered. Sasuke would start breathing really fast, body freezing up, and then started whimpering. Naruto hated it, hearing him like that. He’d always been empathetic, but with Sasuke it was different; sometimes he could genuinely feel the pain Sasuke experienced. He’d always wake Sasuke up with a hand on his shoulder, and then they’d sit on Sasuke’s bed and watch something stupid on t.v. until Sasuke felt drowsy. Those were the only times in their adult lives they’d shared a bed, when they’d both fall asleep before they could realize it.

Naruto was glad, at least, it wasn’t nightmares, even if it was a rogue sex toy. He found his wallet, phone and keys, stuffing it in the pockets of his borrowed pants, though they barely fit. Kiba should be out of the house now, so he wouldn’t have to explain where he went the night before.

While Kiba never directly said anything, the look he’d give Naruto whenever he got home late from hanging was obvious; Kiba 100% thought he was smashing Sasuke. Saying nothing was going on only made it seem like something was going on, so Naruto just said nothing at all.

He looked down at his shoes; orange, like almost everything else he owned. He’d been in such a hurry he hadn’t even put on socks. The water was still running on the other side of the bathroom door. Honestly, Naruto had hauled ass to give Sasuke a hand, and got hardly any thanks in the process. Sasuke could afford him a pair of socks.

All of Sasuke’s socks were balled into matching pairs, which was horrifying. Jesus, does he ever relax? Successfully? Naruto’s sock drawer had maybe two pairs of fancy socks. The rest was random shit and his actual socks could be found strewn across the house.

It looked like his color choices were either black or white, no orange to be seen, which wasn’t surprising. Still, Naruto dug a little. Maybe there was something not completely boring in here.

As it turned out, he was right. Naruto felt something that was decidedly not sock material. It was a strange texture, soft to the touch but firm. He pushed the socks to the side, to find… something he probably should have expected but somehow still felt completely blindsided by.

Sasuke had more than just the vibrator. The small bullet-shaped one, a blow-your-head-off pink, was right on the top. Sasuke had probably found it on the floor at some point and returned it to its rightful place, but it wasn’t alone. There were others, all something Naruto had never seen outside of porn or a sex shop. He never seen someone actually own them.

The first and most obvious one was a dildo. It wasn’t realistic, was a smooth deep purple, but the size of it made Naruto flush. Sasuke clearly wasn’t fucking around here. He picked it up to look at it closer.  At one point, Naruto might have been a little nervous about touching an object that’d been inside someone, but it was a moot point now. It was big when pointed right at his face, but on second thought, Naruto was probably bigger than this. That gave him a strange satisfaction.

There was a suction cup attached to the end, probably to attach it to a shower wall or something. This only made Naruto get hotter. Is that was Sasuke did sometimes? In the shower? The running water was louder now. He’d probably mount it and then press onto it slowly, water streaming down his body. This was probably big enough to make him feel full, grind back onto it just like he had on Naruto until he was mewling.

Naruto put it back quickly, face completely red. He shouldn’t be thinking about that, especially not with Sasuke right in the other room. Still, he couldn’t resist poking around a little more.

The next was clearly a butt plug, it couldn’t be anything else. It was black, and felt the same as the bullet. Next to it was another one, this one bright blue, but looked different. It had an on/off button and right by its side was a remote of the same color. Naruto impulsively pressed the on button, but it only blinked red. Probably no battery in it. Had Sasuke needed to get off so badly he couldn't wait for this one to charge? Underneath that was a small bundle of red straps. 

So another vibrator, but this time one someone else could control, he guessed. And the straps, for bondage. Naruto felt a flare of jealousy fill his chest, the kind he tried to suppress. Who the fuck was strapping Sasuke down and hitting the plus on that remote? Was Sasuke seeing someone? All those mornings he looked exceptionally tired, was there a reason he was up so late?

That was stupid. Sasuke could do whatever he wanted. If he was, Sasuke could sleep with whoever he wanted. On the other hand, if Sasuke was, it didn’t make sense to ask Naruto to help him get the vibrator out. Nor did it make much sense why Sasuke had said his name when he came.

Naruto was so lost in thought he didn’t even hear the shower stop, nor Sasuke walk back into his bedroom. “Why are you still here?” he asked, making Naruto jump. Sasuke was wearing only a towel, wrapped low around his waist, and his hair was a dripping onto the carpet as he glared at Naruto.

“Um,” Naruto said, and let out a nervous laugh. “Needed, um, socks.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he went a red shade that matched Naruto’s. “Get out ,” he hissed.

Naruto didn’t need to be told twice.

By the time he’d gotten back to his house, finding it already unlocked because Kiba never remembered to, Naruto decided to put it out of his mind. If Sasuke was sleeping with someone, he’d tell Naruto… Right? Even then, it wasn’t Naruto’s business. Maybe Sasuke stole his sweatshirt, had a picture of them framed, knew how he liked his coffee, but none of that made them even close to boyfriends.

He flopped down on the couch, and then rolled over. The thought of Sasuke with someone else was making him miserable, so he had to let it go. Besides, he’d see Sasuke tonight, at the bar all their friends usually went to on Saturday nights if they were free. It’d be crowded there, and hard to talk, but maybe if they saw each other there that would help everything go back to normal.

Naruto closed his eyes, pulling a blanket over himself. Hopefully he could get some sleep before the party, because while he hoped for the best, he couldn’t be completely sure it wouldn’t be a shitshow.

He was even less sure when he got to The Hidden Leaf. It was cheap but comfortable, a familiar backdrop of his adult life. Naruto was grateful; it kept him connected with his friends. Naruto was sitting with all his friends around the tables they’d pushed together, huddled around it in the crowded bar. They would sometimes get a side eyed by other patrons; At most, they could have 19 people, all with ‘big personalities’. The bartender, Jiraiya, found their antics hilarious; he always kept those tables open for them.

Sasuke was by his side, squished onto the bench seats, but was doing everything he could to not touch Naruto. He’d barely even spoken a word to Naruto, just grunting in his direction before turning away.

“ Fight? ” Sakura had mouthed at him from her seat across from him, and Naruto could only shrug. Not really a fight, but Sasuke could be touchy, so they might as well had. He tried to distract himself the best he could, instead talking to Tenten about… something. He wasn’t paying attention well enough, and might have dumped his drink down his throat a little too quickly.

Naruto could deal with Sasuke being mad at him, but he was bad at Sasuke ignoring him. He was sure Sasuke knew it, too, probably because Naruto couldn’t not doubletext if he didn’t hear back in a few hours and would always cave when they were both too stubborn to apologize first. So why was he just sitting there, talking to Karin like nothing had happened. Of course Naruto had been lying when he said nothing had changed between them. Everything had!

“Hey. Sas.” Naruto poked his arm and Sasuke turned to face him with a bored look. “Can we talk, or something? You’ve been-” Naruto huffed, and looked at his empty beer glass. “You’ve been ignoring me for like 20 minutes.”

“Are you pouting about it?” Sasuke asked, amusement in his voice, and turned to face Naruto more fully.

"I'm not pouting!"

"You're bottom lip is sticking out."

“I'm not pouting, I just feel like there were some things left unfinished between us.” Naruto glanced around, making sure they’re weren’t being watched, but nobody seemed to be looking at them. The Hidden Leaf was usually packed from one green painted wall to the other and full of voices or music from the jukebox. “I found some stuff, in your room, that I probably shouldn’t of.” Sasuke’s face fell; he usually acted above it all, but sometimes he sunk lower. “I’m just… confused.”

“About what?” Sasuke asked, doing his own look around and lowering his voice. “I think it’s pretty obvious what they’re used for.”

“Of course I know that,” Naruto said, rolling his eyes. “I’m not that clueless, I just noticed there were straps and a remote control thing?” Sasuke turned to face forward, putting his glass to his mouth quickly. Naruto had never seen him blush so much in one day. “I’m not judging you, but that’s stuff you use with someone else… Are you using them with someone?” There must have been something in his voice, because Sasuke met his eyes with an unreadable expression.

“I’m not.” Naruto tilted his head and Sasuke glared. “I’m really not, alright? I… I strap myself to the bed, you know, and keep the remote in my hand, so I can… You know.” There was a light fixture hanging right above Sasuke, and he glanced up at it like he was begging it to fall and put him out of his misery.

“Sorry for asking. I just care about you, Sasuke. I’d be sad if you felt like there were things you couldn’t tell me. I don’t want you to sleep with someone else,” Naruto said, and then blushed, adding on: “I mean, someone. Without telling me. You know?”

Sasuke was staring at Naruto, surprise in his eyes. Naruto didn’t know why he would be; usually Naruto’s feelings were common knowledge. But there was something else there, too. It looked uneasy, fearful, and Naruto could feel it, a twinge; pain. “Sasuke? Are you okay?” And just like that, he snapped out of it.

“I’m fine,” he said, and then chugged his drink very similarly to how Naruto had earlier. Then he kind of laughed. What he was drinking must have not been his first for how he was acting. “What? You would’ve been jealous?”

“Yes,” Naruto said, before he could stop himself. “Um… Yeah, I guess.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything to this because he got up to get another drink.

So the night progressed in a similar fashion. Sasuke didn’t seem to be mad at him, but his two main focuses seemed to be getting drunk and talking to anyone but Naruto.

Sasuke’s drunkenness tended to come in four distinct stages. The first was usually where it stayed; he acted completely the same, but his eyes were just slightly out of focus. The second was mean. He was extra pissy; he’d tear you a new one if you looked at him wrong and then another if you dared open your mouth. Mean Sasuke was fucking lawless and shouldn’t be anywhere but jail.

The third was the Sasuke that laughed at almost anything, especially if it was painfully not funny at all. This was also the Sasuke that was more open about his personal life, though even that wasn’t much at all. Usually getting Sasuke to reveal information was about as easy as getting Sai not to just draw dicks when they played Pictionary: impossible. When he was Level 3 Drunk, however, he got a little loose lipped.

Level 4 was extremely rare, something only Naruto had ever seen in person: clingy Sasuke. This was only when he reached the point where he wouldn’t remember the morning after.

It was a lot of Sasuke hanging off his shoulders, moaning about being too drunk and telling Naruto he had to hold him or he was going to fall down. Or crawling into Naruto’s lap on the couch, insisting he stay still until Sasuke and Naruto’s legs fell asleep. That Sasuke was a pain in the ass to deal with, but kind of sweet, too.

Sasuke was still at Level 1, and probably wouldn’t get past that tonight. He rarely did anymore.

Naruto had only two levels: Kind Of Tipsy and So So Fucking Drunk. There was usually no way to tell which it was going to be.

There wasn’t no conversation between him and Sasuke at all, but when they drank they tended to do less talking and more looking. Naruto would tap his shoulder to say something and Sasuke would turn to face him, and then Naruto would completely forget what he had to say. It was embarrassing, how easily Sasuke distracted him. The second time he did it, he knew he had to think of something, anything, to say.

“Can you hold my wallet?” Sasuke tilted his head in question. “Because, like, I can see this orange frog stuffed animal in the claw machine, right? It’s so cute.” Sasuke followed his gaze; it was big, sitting on top of everything else proudly. “It’s a frog, Sasuke. And orange!

“Yes, I know, Naruto. I, too, have eyes.”

“Then you know I have to have it.”

“Sure. What’s the problem?”

“I’m absolute shit at that game and I can’t be trusted with my money. I will throw it all at that frog.” Sasuke sighed and held out his hand. Naruto loved frogs and was bad at budgeting; you wouldn’t think that’d be a big problem, but it was starting to be. The wallet dropped from his grasp to Sasuke’s, and he put it in his back pocket.

“You’re lucky you have me,” he told Naruto.

“I know,” said Naruto happily. Sasuke just shook his head.

He tried to take his mind off Sasuke and put it on the rest of his friends at the table. Sasuke often said he felt they had too many friends, but Naruto couldn’t get enough of it. He loved knowing people. Sakura was telling him how her new nursing job was going and all the weird shit she’d seen. Ino leaned on her shoulder, occasionally cutting in to call the patients idiots, something Sakura wouldn’t say even if she was thinking it.

Kiba was telling Kankuro and Neji something that made them both wince; Naruto didn’t want to know. Hinata seemed to be in a quiet but heated debate about cognitive dissonance with Shino. Tenten, Karin and Juugo were throwing french fries into Suigetsu’s mouth. Lee was talking non-stop to Sai who didn’t appear to be listening at all.

Temari was talking to Gaara and Shikamaru was talking to Choji, but their hands were clasped together on the table. Huh. Naruto wondered if they were dating now; Temari and Shikamaru had always liked each other, but were usually so oblivious.

“So, Naruto.” Ino’s voice snapped him back to attention, and she was wearing a smirk with pride.

“What?”

“Are you still making yourself miserable or have you found someone else to do that for you?” Naruto didn’t immediately answer, instead opting to glare at Ino. She could have just asked if he was seeing someone but she really had to put it like that, didn’t she?

“Why are you even asking me? Aren’t you the one always saying I shouldn’t reproduce?” Ino shrugged at this.

“Sakura said you seemed a little lovestruck this evening, so I’m just curious.” Sakura elbowed her hard; when would Sakura learn, that unless explicitly stated, Ino will not keep anything to herself. And sometimes even then.

Naruto didn’t know how to answer this, especially since he suddenly had the attention of Sasuke. One finger was trailing around the edge of his glass, and his eyes had that hazy look; Sasuke was on the edge of Level 1, nearing Level 2. For now, though, he was blatantly staring at Naruto, waiting for an answer.

“Well…” Naruto felt hot. This was too much pressure. Of course he was lovestruck; he always was around Sasuke.

He almost jumped when he felt it; something pressing against his under the table. He glanced down, and sure enough, Sasuke had moved his leg so it was right against Naruto’s. Sasuke was acting like nothing had happened, though, so maybe it was an accident.

“I’m not lookin’ for anything right now,” he said with a sniff, which made Ino roll her eyes

“Well, okay, whatever, but you’ve been single forever. You’re being boooooring.” Sakura elbowed her again, but Ino just pouted. “It’s depressing. Isn’t there anyone you like?”

Sasuke turned to look away from Naruto, but his hand slid off the table to Naruto’s knee. It was a passive touch, light, but still meant something. Naruto’s heart beat a little faster. Maybe, if Naruto was with someone, Sasuke would be jealous, too.

“Goddd, Ino, leave me alone. It’s bad enough that I gotta look at you, but I gotta hear you talk, too?” She gasped, mock offended, and Sasuke’s hand remained on his knee, pointer finger tapping. Naruto laughed, a release of nervous energy. He was anxious, wanted to move, but didn’t want Sasuke to take his hand away.

At this point, Naruto was veering forward from tipsy. Not quite So So Fucking Drunk, but he could get there if he wanted to. He felt bubbly and warm, talking and laughing and being near Sasuke.

Which obviously didn’t last.

Sakura had gone back to talking about the bizarre shit she saw at the hospital. “I swear,” she said, “they always have me do all the weird ones. Think it builds character or something, but I honestly think she thinks it’s funny. Oh, one of the worst ones!” Sakura groaned loudly. “Fucking some girl lost her vibrator inside her. Just shoved it in, I guess! Like, no judgement here, but how can you be that stupid?”

And Naruto, dumbass that he was, opened his mouth.

“Well, you’d know something about that, huh Sasuke?” Naruto said, with a laugh.

Nobody else laughed. Not a single damn person. It was as if every conversation stopped on queue, and every pair of eyes turned to Naruto. They were suddenly hungry, a pack of wolves. Suddenly, Naruto realized what Sasuke meant by people being excited to see him mess up. He was seeing it first hand, and the lamps over head were getting far too bright.

Sasuke ripped his hand from Naruto’s leg, and Naruto had known Sasuke long enough to know he was stressed. His face was lax, maybe one eyebrow raised, but the hand on his glass was shaking slightly. Naruto was pretty sure if he didn’t get himself out of the shit he just got himself into, Sasuke would shove Sakura’s curling iron so far up his ass she’d still be able to use it.

Naruto didn’t know what to say, but he knew he couldn’t let Sasuke down. He looked horrified, dark eyes slightly wider than usual. He probably thought Naruto had just fucked it up like he always did. Even though his mind felt fuzzy, he had to make a move, before people came to their own conclusions. He lifted his drink to his lips and slammed it back.

“I got a vibrator stuck in my ass a few nights ago and made Sasuke talk me through getting it out.”

At first, nobody knew what to say. The silence was just as dead as Naruto felt inside. But then the first person started laughing, Ino, with a snort, and that gave way to utter chaos. There was not a single person around the table not having a reaction of some kind. Kiba was howling, Neji looked completely mortified, Suigetsu was slapping the table with his hand over and over, Hinata looked like she was going red from trying not to laugh. The other patrons in the bar were throwing looks over their shoulders, but it was hard to make out what the fuss was about until Kiba gasped “you fucking did what ?”

Naruto sat, chin up in the face of his public execution. “I said, I got a vibrator stuck in my ass. It’s not even that big of a deal.”

“How can you say that?” Ino squealed. “ How can you even say that? ”

“What other things have you gotten stuck in your ass, like, is this a regular thing for you? Just a normal Tuesday night?”

“Yeah, Naruto, what else do you have up there?”

Naruto took it all, the jeering, the sarcastic questions, in defiant silence. This was his pain to bear; he’d brought it on himself. And it was worth it, to have Sasuke looking at him like he’d saved the day. Naruto wouldn’t dare tip off anyone to their trick, but he smirked slightly, making Sasuke blink.

“What can I say?” said Naruto with a shrug. “I’m enthusiastic. Go hard or go home.”

“That’s too hard! Just go home!”

“Wait, Sasuke, you talked him through it?” Ino asked. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, and then nodded. “What was that like?”

Sasuke thought for a moment. “Tedious. It was 3am when he called. I got plenty more information about Naruto than I ever desired to know.”

“That could have been really awkward, Sasuke,” said Sai offhand, “if you hadn’t gotten over that crush you used to have on him.”

Naruto’s jaw went slack. ...What? He turned to look at Sasuke; he looked genuinely shocked, hiding nothing, and then went completely red, putting his head down. “What?” asked Sai. “He was totally insane about you for years, but I’m assuming not anymore. Did Sasuke never tell you?” Naruto’s eyes hadn’t left Sasuke; his best friend was doing nothing to deny this, just shrinking even smaller. Naruto hardly ever saw him like this.

“No. He never said anything about that,” Naruto said quietly, and then it was painfully awkward. Sasuke looked like he wanted to spontaneously combust, anything to leave this situation and never come back. Several people coughed or chuckled nervously, until Sakura loudly changed the subject. Whatever she was talking about, Naruto couldn’t hear it, his heart was pounding so loudly. Sasuke had liked him, at some point. Wanted him that way. Naruto was blushing, too, now. He desperately wanted Sasuke to look up but he wouldn’t.

Why didn’t Sasuke ever say something to him? There were times, when they’d fall asleep in Sasuke’s bed in college, they’d wake up at the same time, and just kind of… look at each other. Not saying anything, just existing together in that state, drifting in and out of drowsiness. Had Sasuke liked him then? ...Did Sasuke like him right now?

This question was going to take some work to answer as Sasuke stood up abruptly, leaving the group and heading for the bar. Sakura turned, sending a worried look at his retreat, but left him alone. Naruto’s mind was racing, and he couldn’t leave Sasuke be. He wouldn’t. Naruto was many things, and patient wasn’t one of them. Nor was he subtle.

For a extensively long couple minutes he watched blankly as Sasuke sat down at the bar, flipping his hair with a tilt of his head. Naruto grit his teeth. Damn it. That was one of Sasuke’s moves. Sure enough, the guy sitting next to him started paying attention. Probably paying for his drink, too, by the looks of it.

This wasn’t the first time Naruto had witnessed someone trying to pick Sasuke up, but he really hated seeing it happen. Even though Sasuke usually only flirted to get free drinks or to prove he could, Naruto didn’t like seeing the expression of whoever Sasuke was doing it to. Like they even had a chance in hell with him, like they really thought they could take him home. Made his skin crawl.

Not to mention this was easily one of the most confusing things he’d experienced during a very confusing weekend; why would Sasuke even be talking to this random guy? It was at best unaware and at worst very very petty. Naruto wasn’t jealous, obviously not about something as small as this. Or at least, he didn’t like to call it that. He wasn’t jealous, he was protective. And again, annoyed he was being ignored.

Naruto stood up. The man beside Sasuke was talking much more than Sasuke was, but Naruto just didn’t like it, so he was going to do something about it. He was at least smart enough to know he shouldn’t start out on the offensive with Sasuke. He could tell Sasuke was almost at Level 2: Mean Drunk. Getting verbally reamed wasn’t on his menu tonight, at least not more than he already had been.

As Naruto walked away, Sakura caught his arm. “You better not be about to do something dumb, Uzumaki,” she warned, murder in her green eyes. “Both of you are always being shitheads. Stop being shitheads.”

“Easier said than done,” remarked Ino.

“I’m not, oh my goddd! I’m going to fix it, Haruno . Because we’re apparently on last name status now.” Sakura looked completely unconvinced by this, but Naruto walked away.

Sasuke was good at a lot of things, and taking no notice to his problems was one of them. He could probably take ten swords to the stomach and just wonder if the internal bleeding was going affect his efficiency. It was weird, though, because Sasuke was also prone to losing his fucking shit when things went wrong. A kill in cold blood versus an axe murder; either way, if Sasuke was upset enough, Naruto would die young.

“Hi.” Nice, a solid start. Sasuke’s eyes slid to his, with an expression like he was just patiently waiting for Naruto to tell his tale so Sasuke could tear it to shreds. Yes, Mean Sasuke was kicking down the door and holding a drink that looked really expensive. Naruto wanted to laugh at that; Whenever a guy bought Sasuke a drink, he always chose something that would make the biggest dent in their finances. As if to say, you can’t afford me, and you’re being punished for thinking you could.

“Look, I’m sorry that Sai said all that. That sucks, he should like, shut up sometimes, you know?” Sasuke just kept with that look, now leaning on one arm. “Anyway, like, I literally do not even know why you’re mad at me. Please stop. Thanks.”

“Eloquent.” Naruto glared; Sasuke knew he didn’t know what that meant. “Let me ask you a question, Naruto: do you think I’m mad? If so, why? You’re my best friend, aren’t you?”

Was this a test? This felt like a test. Sasuke, even drunk, was still calculated. His mind worked one step ahead; his thoughts went 90 mph in a 25 zone. In comparison to that, Naruto’s mind was a scooter.

“Um, I don’t think you’re mad, at me? You’re probably just really annoyed that our friends know something about you now. You hate that, even if it’s not true stuff, or whatever.” Sasuke nodded at this, doing the hair flip thing again. At least he was completely ignoring the poor guy next to him now; that gave Naruto some relief. “...Is it true? Did you have a crush on me?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true, Uzumaki.”

Naruto blinked. “What? Why does everybody call me by my last name when they drink?"

"Personally, I can't call you Fishcake with a straight face right now."

"Sh-shut up! Also, yeah, duh, it does matter if it's true.”

“No.” He could only see Sasuke’s face in profile now. He looked a little bitter, to be honest, finger playing with the straw in his drink. “If it was true or not doesn’t matter right now. We’re friends, you and me. That’s not going to change.”

“I- I know that! You don’t have to say it like that, I’m just saying I kind of knew, already, that you used to like me, so it’s fine.” Sasuke looked at him sharply. “I mean, it wasn’t that hard to notice or something. Sort of obvious.”

Those words were not intended to start a battle, but Sasuke was now looking at him like Naruto had called him a bitch and drop-kicked his cat. “ Excuse me? It wasn’t hard to notice?”

“Nevermind?”

“No, no-” Sasuke threw back his drink and when it slammed back down, he was practically radiating with heat. Naruto winced; it was an axe murder type of night. He laughed, and waved his hand. “No, this is funny, please, tell me all about how painfully obvious it was that I wanted your dick, because clearly I was just throwing myself at you, right? Naruto Uzumaki, what a fucking catch . Who wouldn’t be falling at your feet, right?”

“...I feel like this escalated really quickly.”

Mean Sasuke was always bitchy, but usually it wasn’t perfectly laser focused on him.

“Enlighten me, Naruto,” Sasuke insisted, voice sweet. The man who’d bought him the drink was slowly slipping away; Kiba once told him Sasuke was pretty cool but also seemed like a future vengeful ghost. Naruto was offended by that, but also kind of yeah. That’s what this guy was probably sensing now.

Naruto could feel himself wanting to open his mouth yet again, even though his mind was begging him to stop before it was too late. “Do you remember Halloween Sophomore year of college?”

“No.” Sasuke said it so quickly he nearly cut Naruto off, which meant that he definitely did remember it. It'd been a weird night. Fun, because he got up to hijinks with Kiba and some asshole who grabbed Ino’s boobs got backhanded by Sakura so hard you could see the imprint on his face, which has gone down in history as iconic.

But weird, because Naruto had been dating some girl for a while, who broke up with him that night at a party. He couldn’t remember her name now, and when she’d told him she didn’t want to go out anymore, he wasn’t devastated. Not glad about it, sure, but Naruto felt like he should have cared more than he did.

Sasuke chose that same night to get completely shitfaced. It didn’t help he was hanging out with Karin and Suigetsu, who always got him to do things he wouldn’t normally (things being drugs). Naruto wasn’t rooming with him at that point, because Sasuke had moved off campus, but he was not in any state to drive. He was also reaching Level 4 Sasuke, the clingy one, and Naruto didn’t want to leave him in anyone else’s care.

Which led to him carrying Sasuke on his back, with Sasuke doing almost nothing to help him. He was just giggling dead weight, occasionally kicking his feet, almost making Naruto drop him.

“I’ll drop you, Sasuke, hold still,” he told him, “or else.” This only made Sasuke laugh more.

“No, you won’t!”

Fair enough.

“Hey. Hey, Naruto.

“Yeah?”

“Karin kept on trying to get me to hook up with people. She said I’m not slutty enough.” Naruto rolled his eyes. That sounds like something she’d say. Naruto’s warm breath billowed in front of him in the cold air, and the street lamps made long shadows; he could feel the approach of winter. “But none of them were right. They were all stupid. Not in a hot way. Didn’t like them.”

“What kind of guys would you like?” Naruto asked, even though he knew that he shouldn’t. Whatever Sasuke said, he’d probably find himself unintentionally trying to mirror.

“Mm,” Sasuke humming, and Naruto could feel Sasuke’s hair brush his cheek. And then he huffed a laugh, his breath joining Naruto’s. “You. Guys like you. That’s my type.”

Naruto’s heart nearly stopped. “What?”

Sasuke pressed even closer, turning his head to press his face to Naruto’s neck. “You know. Cute athletic boys. Kind of dumb. In the hot way.” Naruto blushed deeply, legs moving on autopilot. “Not you. You, but someone else. You know? So, so cute like you.”

His mouth was dry, but he spoke anyway. “It’s not everybody’s type, I guess. Whatever Her Name Was broke up with me, because I’m… ‘not what she was looking for.’”

“Yeah. Karin told me.” There was a period of silence after that. Naruto was glad he could see him dorm in the distance, because Sasuke wasn’t getting any lighter. On top of that, he was squeezing tight around Naruto’s neck like a snake. A loving snake, but a very deadly one.

Right before they reached the doors, and Naruto was about to set Sasuke down, he said one more thing: “She’s an idiot, for ending things. If you were mine, I’d never do that to you.”

Naruto had in no way, shape or form forgotten about this conversation; it’d just been conveniently tucked in the back of his memory. The morning after Halloween, he had just gone back to how he always was. The cuddly Sasuke was long gone, whatever romantic switch that had flipped on flipped back off, and so it was easy to imagine it hadn’t happened at all.

“You kind of said some stuff to me, that made me think that maybe you maybe liked me?”

“I’m sure I didn’t.”

"I am 100% sure that you did."

Sasuke tapped his chin. "That's odd, because I have no memory of that happening. I don't think it did, to be honest with you."

"Wh..." Naruto squinted at him. "You're doing that thing. The thing that Hinata was talking about the other day."

"Gaslighting you?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure I'm gaslighting you?" Sasuke said sarcastically. "Maybe you just think I'm gaslighting you."

"That's so confusing. Why are you like this?"

"Are the long words hard for you to understand? Let me put it this way; I don't give a shit what I said or what you heard. Because that was 4 years ago, and it means nothing now." That stung a bit. Naruto treasured all of his memories with Sasuke; all of them mattered. 

"I don't think that's true. That Sasuke then is still you now. And just-" Naruto let out an exasperated breath. "Just answer the question! Did you like me? Was Sai lying?"

"Read my fucking lips, okay? No one cares. Especially not me. I mean it."

"You do care!" Naruto insisted, running over the end of Sasuke's sentence. "You care, and I can tell. Why are you pretending like you don't? What's the point?"

Sasuke turned, glaring sharply. "Well, Naruto. Think about this, if your brain cell can handle it. Hypothetically you had feelings for your friend. Emphasis on friend. A good friend, a person that actually matters. Would you tell them?" Naruto didn't have answer for this; his mouth was dry. "No, you wouldn't. You would shut the fuck up, sit down and let it die. Kill it, and let it stay dead."

"...What about telling the truth?" Naruto finally asked.

"What about it? I didn't make it to 23 by being honest and shit." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you do what's right, not what's best."

"Whoa, I got chills. That was like a super villain monologue. You get all weird and evil when you drink too much." Sasuke just put a hand over his eyes and groaned. "You're going to get the hangover you deserve but not the one you need right now."

"If that's some nerd shit I don't understand I'll punch you." Naruto conveniently didn't say anything. He slid off his stool, wobbling slightly but eventually landing solidly on the ground. “If you're done spewing bullshit, I should go. Later, Uzumaki.”

He only made it a few steps before Naruto was following closely. “No, wait, you can’t ‘later’ me!”

“I will ‘later’ you as hard as I want to,” Sasuke hissed, leaning between Ino and Sakura to grab his jacket. Their friends were all watching them while in conversation with each other, but they knew better than to interrupt an argument between the two. To put it nicely, their fights were passionate; if anyone else stepped in, there would surely be collateral damage.

“You’ve been acting so damn weird since last night!” Naruto said, and then flushed at all the eyes on him. Sasuke groaned and turned heel, heading for the door.

The parking lot outside was thankfully empty because Sasuke’s bad temper was taking up the whole area. He was clearly pissed off, more so than Naruto had seen him in a long time. It had to be more than just annoyance at being exposed, though. That couldn’t possibly be it. The alcohol was definitely making it worse, but his mood reminded Naruto about how he used to be when they were kids. Slamming doors and silent treatment and snapping at nothing.

“What the fuck is wrong, Sasuke? Why are you this worked up over something like that? Sai talks out of his ass all the time.” Sasuke was nearing his car, pulling the keys out of his pocket. “And you know I wouldn’t care about it. We’ll always be best friends-”

Sasuke whipped around, hand held up to keep Naruto at a distance. “That’s just it. You want to know what’s wrong? You’re right; we’re always going to be friends. Always. So why don’t you just fucking act like it, Naruto.”

Naruto threw his hands up. “I don’t understand what you want me to do! Act like it? You… You act like it!” Sasuke gave him a fierce look, but Naruto pressed forward anyway, backing Sasuke against the side of his car. “ You were the one who put your hand on my knee. You think I didn’t notice that?”

Sasuke stood up straight, defiant. “Hypocrite. You were the one who said you’d be jealous if I was with someone else.”

“Well, you called me to get that damn thing out of you! What about that?” Naruto asked, steadying himself with one hand on the car. Sasuke eyed it, and then his eyes flicked back to Naruto’s.

“And you’re the one who agreed to it. Didn’t you?”

Sasuke wasn’t looking at him anymore, rather at his mouth. They were much closer than Naruto had intended, closer than they should be, but Naruto could feel himself leaning forward anyway. If he kissed Sasuke now, would he still be mad? Would they just forget it tomorrow? They were good at that, he thought. Pretending nothing happened the morning after. Maybe he’d already kissed Sasuke before, and they just forgot.

Sasuke’s eyes were back on his, and Naruto knew they were reflecting each other; uncertain. Usually Naruto wouldn’t dare risk fucking up his relationship with Sasuke for one drunken hook-up, but while he was under the influence, that seemed like an excellent idea. He raised his other hand to brush Sasuke’s hair out of his face. He made up his mind.

And that was precisely when Sasuke’s car alarm went off.

“No! Fuck!” Sasuke looked down at his keys clenched in his hand; he much have squeezed them and accidentally hit the button.

Naruto backed up. The blaring noise blasted through the parking lot painfully, over and over, like sticking your head in a ceiling fan.“That’s so fucking loud!” Naruto yelled over it, slapping his hands over his ears.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be bitch!” Sasuke yelled back, staring at his keys like they’d personally hurt his feelings. “What if someone was stealing my car?”

“That’s awesome, are you currently stealing your own car?”

Sasuke just put his forehead against the roof of his car, heaving a breath, and then unlocked it. He sat inside the car, hit various buttons on his key. “ How do you turn off a car alarm ,” he said, mostly to himself.

“You are the smartest person I know, how do you not know how to turn it off?” Sasuke glared at him and asked if he had any suggestions. “I’m pretty sure it’s some combination of locking, unlocking, closing your door, opening your door and turning on your car?”

“Thank you, thank you so much, that’s incredibly helpful.” It took a full, painstaking minute, but eventually Sasuke found the right combination, and the honking stopped. When it did, Sasuke put his head on the steering wheel, black hair falling around his face. He looked absolutely defeated, arms resting weakly on his lap.

“I’m just… going to go home… and sleep,” he said finally, as if it were his final words.

“You shouldn’t drive if you’re drunk.” Sasuke only shrugged, not lifting his head.

Naruto walked back in the building, something his friends clearly hadn’t been anticipating as he vaguely heard them talking about him as he walked in. When he left, Sakura was with him, offering to drive Sasuke home. “Don’t worry about it, okay?” she told him. “I’ll make sure he’s home okay, and Ino can pick me up from there.” She was patting Sasuke’s head rhythmically, which would usually be unacceptable, but Sasuke didn’t seem to care. Naruto bit his lip, nodded. He was going to worry anyway, but that was a given.

He was still worried, even after Hinata had dumped him and Kiba out onto the sidewalk outside their house. Once he’d gone back to the bar, Kiba had gotten him significantly more wasted. Now, for sure, he was So So Fucking Drunk. Naruto’s head felt blurry. There was one time he sucked all the helium out of a balloon in one go and almost passed out; it felt kind of like that.

Kiba immediately collapsed on the couch and fell asleep, but Naruto couldn’t. He laid in his bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling. What if Sasuke didn’t get home okay? What if he died, or worse, hated Naruto forever? He’d made Sasuke upset with him, after all. Also, if that damn car alarm wouldn’t have gone off, he and Sasuke might have made some progress, for better or worse. But they were still in limbo, more than friends but less than lovers. It fucking sucked ass.

Naruto should text Sasuke. He should text Sasuke just once or maybe five times, to make sure he was okay and also didn’t hate Naruto. He fumbled with his phone and the screen blinded him, but he braved the light.

u ok

Yes, perfect. Those two words summed up his deep, intense feelings for Sasuke. Send. Naruto’s answer came within minutes.

I’m fine.
Go to sleep Naruto.
Also I still have your wallet. Pick it up tomorrow or something.

do u hate me
pls dont hate me

I don’t hate you.

ur using periods and capitals why do u hate meee

Shut up I’m trying to sleep
Your notifications are annoying me
I’m going to turn the ringer off

i knew it
u
hate

Oh my god

me
so much!

Can we talk about this tomorrow when we’re not drunk

will there b a tmmr

Go the fuck to sleep
Don’t worry about me
Gn

Naruto glared at his screen and groaned loudly. Sasuke said he didn’t hate him, so that was good, but how was he supposed to sleep? Especially when Sasuke maybe used to like him? When they’d stood so close, breathing heavy, Sasuke pressed against his car and watching Naruto’s mouth with wide eyes. This was torture.

It was torture, and he couldn’t bear it alone. His phone was in his hands again. Who he really wanted to call was Sasuke, but that wasn’t a good idea, so he’d call Sakura instead. She’d understand how he felt.

He clumsily pressed her name in his contacts and listened as the phone rang and rang. She didn’t pick up. Probably sleeping or something. Leaving a message would do. There were a lot of mixed up feelings inside of him and it was making him feel sick. They had to spill somewhere. Sakura would understand.

So off he went. Naruto wasn’t really sure what he was saying most of the time, just that it was about Sasuke and very, very whiny. He talked until he felt tired, though in the back of his mind he was pretty sure the machine cut him off. Everything felt fuzzy and tired all of a sudden. If he felt this bad now, Naruto thought to himself, he’s going to feel like he got run over in the morning. He drifted off, holding on tightly to the slim chance that the next day wouldn’t fuck him over hard and fast, even thought, in his heart of hearts, he knew it would.

Chapter Text

He was right about that, unfortunately. Getting fucked over. Naruto felt exactly like a human speed bump. And, equally unfortunately, he could remember everything that had happened in perfect detail. Maybe, with a few more hours of sleep, he would forget, so he rolled over and tried.

Didn’t work. The headache, it helped a lot, but not the remembering. Naruto sat up and pressed a hand to his forehead. Very vaguely, he recalled Sasuke telling him to get his wallet. Which he kind of needed, if he was planning on eating tonight. And he was; he was going to eat an entire carton of strawberry ice cream and wallow on his couch all evening. An exciting prospect.

So, he needed his wallet, and to face Sasuke. He stood up and his spine cracked like a damn glowstick. He was only 23 but he was getting too old for this. The bathroom mirror didn’t convince him otherwise; a sad raccoon was looking back at him, dark circles and soulless eyes.

Naruto took a shower. Just because he looked like a dumpster-diving little rat man didn’t mean he had to smell like it, too. That woke him up, made him feel like a person, but didn’t calm his nerves. How was he going to talk to Sasuke after last night? Whenever he thought about it, that car alarm went off in the back of his head.

Still, that carton of ice cream was calling his name sweetly, so he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. It was already nearing evening; the day had passed by quickly while Naruto slept. The sky was already starting to get dark, which was a little ominous. Naruto patted Akamaru’s head, and then he was out the door.

It was the only time Naruto could remember going exactly the speed limit. He was in no hurry to reach Sasuke’s house, even though it was unavoidable. Eventually, he’d have to face Sasuke, regardless of how it played out. He put his forehead to the steering wheel, much like Sasuke had the night before. Just do it coward, he thought, which is what Sasuke would say to him.

He flopped out of his car, dragging his feet, all the way up to Sasuke’s front door. Once, twice, he knocked on the door, even though his fist felt like jelly.

Sasuke must have been expecting him, because the door opened fairly quickly, and the experience was comparable to a slap in the face. Sasuke looked a little tired, the shadows under his eyes deeper, but other than that he looked beautiful. Just… fucking lovely. His hair was just slightly damp and he was wearing a black v-neck and grey sweatpants, which should be illegal. Sasuke in sweatpants was a choking hazard. “Naruto,” he said as greeting, and leaned on the doorway

“Oh my god, Sasuke, what the fuck .” Naruto couldn’t help it, it was pissing him off. “I drag myself out of bed looking… What’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Like shit?”

“Yeah! And then you answer the door in, what is this, designer shit? I’m hungover, and you have the goddamn nerve to show me up. You knew I’d be wearing some bargain bin shit. You know I’m poor and don’t know anything about colors!” Sasuke opened his mouth, but Naruto put up a finger. “Don’t even speak, unless it’s an apology for playing me like this.”

Sasuke was smiling, and then covered his mouth to hide a laugh. He stepped away from the door, walking inside. “You didn’t have to tell me you were hungover, I can tell.” Naruto huffed but followed him. It was a relief to see Sasuke smile. He’d gone with his gut and just let himself talk. That’s what he normally did with Sasuke, and that’s what he was craving at that moment: normal.

“I should have kept my wallet, gotten that frog. He was an orange frog.”

“I glad you didn’t. You’re poor, remember?” Naruto nodded as if he just remembered. “And these sweatpants aren’t designer, Naruto. They’re old and threadbare.”

“Vintage? That’s pretentious.” Sasuke smiled again, wider.

“Wait here,” Sasuke said when they got to the kitchen. “I’ll get your wallet.” Naruto watched him walk through the living room and disappear behind his bedroom door. His fingers tapped an offbeat rhythm on the counter and shifted his weight. For now, things were okay. Sasuke must have just woken up recently because he was being nice. Naruto’s coffee cup from the morning before was still on the counter.

Sasuke was back in a moment, foot pushing open his bedroom door. He approached Naruto, tossing his wallet over, but was squinting at his phone. Naruto put his wallet away. Sasuke tilted his head, a little rectangle of light reflected in his eyes.

“Why did you leave me a message last night?”

“What? No, I didn’t.” Naruto walked over to look over his shoulder. It said 1:43 am, and sure enough, next to it: Naruto Uzumaki.

“Yeah. It’s like 5 minutes long. Why did you leave me a message?”

Oh.

Oh no .

Adrenaline pumped through Naruto, triggering his fight or flight instinct. He reached out and yanked Sasuke’s phone out of his hands. He clenched it tightly, like he could squeeze the life out of the message. “You can’t listen to it. Okay? Sasuke, you can’t.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened at this, and he took a step forward. “Why? What did you say?”

Naruto swallowed. “Nothing. Doesn’t matter.”

“You’re lying to me, you think I don’t know you’re lying?” Sasuke took another step forward while Naruto took another back. His dark gaze was dangerous. Naruto couldn’t even remember what he’d said to who he thought was Sakura (he’d probably accidentally hit Sasuke’s name, just below hers), but he was sure it was nothing good. It was probably sad, or horny, or both, which is the worst combination.

“No, I’m serious, you can’t, so I’m just going to delete it for you.”

Sasuke lunged for him, only narrowly missing his phone. “Oh fuck you, now I’m definitely listening to it. Give me my phone.”

“Over my dead body,” Naruto hissed, holding it behind his back and backing up against the counter. Sasuke got right up in his face without hesitation, hands reaching around Naruto. Their chests bumped.

“Why are you being so persistent?” Sasuke growled, body pressing to Naruto’s. His thigh was beginning to pry apart Naruto’s as he tries to pull Naruto’s fingers off where they were clamped on the phone. Naruto flushed, and wiggled out of Sasuke’s arms. He hopped up on the counter, scooting back until he could stand.

“What the hell? Get off my counter.” Naruto was looking at the phone screen, tapping around. Sasuke had one of those new ones; aesthetically pleasing but impossible to use. How did he delete messages? He iched away from Sasuke.

Sasuke, to his surprise, followed him, standing in front of him, bare feet on the counter he always kept so clean. It was unexpected he would do something that juvenile, but clearly his curiosity at what Naruto was hiding was more powerful. Naruto carefully backed away, making his way along the L-shaped counter until he reached the sink.

Sasuke put a hand out like a stop sign. “Don’t you dare step in my sink, Uzumaki, you’re going to break my favorite mug.” Naruto looked down; it was one Sai made him for Christmas, with the Uchiha fan painted on it, waiting to be washed.

“Your mug? What happened to the ‘caring about material items is pointless because everything dies in the end anyway’ Sasuke you used to be? That’s what you told me after you broke my Xbox in high school!”

“He died when I joined the workforce. Also, I told you that specifically because I broke your Xbox. So don’t touch my mug.” Naruto stepped gingerly over the sink, and then stuck out his tongue at Sasuke. “Where are you even going? Just hand over the phone.”

“No way,” Naruto shot back, still creeping across the counter as Sasuke prowled, steps graceful even in such a ridiculous position. He remember he used to climb on the counter when he was a kid, because if he couldn’t think of a good comeback to Sasuke, at least he could have the physical high ground. He’d stopped once he’d gotten taller than Sasuke, but this was very reminiscent of that time.

“That’s a dead end,” Sasuke said when Naruto reached the fridge, but Naruto just climbed on top. “Or not. Jesus.”

“What? I feel like a king. I’ve always wanted to sit on your fancy ice-maker fridge,” Naruto said in his defense, but kept the phone tucked tightly against his body. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, breathed a long sigh and then caved. He hopped back off the counter.

“Fine. You win. I won’t listen to it. Just please stop using my kitchen as a jungle gym.”

Naruto squinted suspiciously. “That’s an absolute fucking lie. I know when you’re lying, too.”

“ Get off my fridge .”

“You can’t use your scary voice on me either! I live on this fridge now!” Naruto cried definitely from where he crouched.

“I don’t see you paying rent.”

“Don’t be selfish, you weren’t even using this space.” Naruto sneezed. “Oof, it’s dusty.”

“Well,” Sasuke said, cracking his knuckles. “If we don’t care about personally property, then you don’t mind if I go through your phone a little bit, huh.” Naruto’s eyes widened as Sasuke sauntered over to the counter to where Naruto’s phone laid face down. “Let’s see what you have lurking in here.”

Naruto was getting nervous; he also had no clue what his phone held but it probably wasn’t great. “You’ll never guess the passcode.”

“Is it your birthday?”

Shit.

Sasuke leaned on the counter, tapping and scrolling for several seconds before grinning wickedly. “Naruto Uzumaki has a Tinder and a Grindr? You’re really putting yourself out there, aren’t you?”

Naruto’s face burned. “I don’t even use those, I was just joking around with Ino one night so we made them.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

“I agree, it doesn’t look like you used it a lot, but does your icon have to be a picture of you shirtless? Do you have more?” Sasuke was back at work as Naruto tried to talk him out of it. “No way. You have a folder for them? There’s 63 pictures in here. And it’s just you shirtless.”

“I just thought I looked good! Don’t make fun of me!”

Sasuke’s expression was sinister but he was blushing slightly. “I always forget you have a tattoo there.” This was in reference to the markings on his stomach. It was a fairly big tattoo but in the winter he had no reason to show it. Sasuke had told him he thought it was a weird place to get a tattoo, but Naruto had always suspected he liked it anyway.

“Just a towel in this one. How risque.”

Naruto waved Sasuke’s phone from his hiding place. “Hey, I could go through your phone, too!”

Sasuke’s eyes flashed. “So? I don’t care. If you want my nudes you can just ask.” This only made Naruto more embarrassed. “Oh, no, this one is truly a masterpiece. You’re complaining about my grey sweatpants? You’re hiding nothing with those.” Naruto knew exactly the one he was talking about that. He couldn’t remember why he’d taken it, but it was beyond suggestive. “This is bordering on softcore porn. Why are you licking your lips? To what end?”

“Stop,” Naruto begged, “you’re killing me.”

“Give me my phone.”

“No!”

Sasuke tsked. “Well. You’re forcing my hand. Who would want to get sent these pictures, huh? I’m not sure. Maybe…” Sasuke looked up, tilted his head innocently. “Iruka?”

“NO,” Naruto yelled, nearly falling off the fridge in an effort to get down. “You’re the fucking devil, don’t send that to my dad! He’d kill me! He’d drive to my house, kick down the door and kill me!” Sasuke shrugged, and Naruto was stuck. His head was pounding.

He fell from the fridge, landing with a loud noise on his feet. “Fine.” He held out Sasuke’s phone, and Sasuke held out his, as if to trade. In a last desperate attempt, just as Sasuke dropped the phone from his hand, Naruto held onto both, drawing them behind his back. “Ha!”

Sasuke leapt forward and slammed him against the fridge with no hesitation. He dragged Naruto to the ground, flipping him onto his stomach and straddling his back, weighing Naruto down. It all happened so quickly Naruto barely had time to do anything but yelp.

“You should have known better,” Sasuke said, and Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice as he bent Naruto’s arm behind his back until he dropped the phone. Panic was setting in, and Naruto tired to push himself up, but Sasuke had him completely locked down. It was pointless to struggle. “Let’s see what this is.”

Naruto was pretty sure his life flashing before his eyes. Whatever that was, he wasn’t going to make it through it.

“ Sakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa .”

Unmistakably, his own drunk voice. He tried to free his arms again, but couldn’t.

Fuck.

“ Sakura, oh my god, I’m fuckin’ dyinggg, I wanna call Sasuke so so bad but it’d 100% piss him off… Do you think he hates me now? Bet he does, because I said something he didn’t like. Not like he usually likes the stuff I say. He can be such a bitch.

“Sasuke is such a fuckin’ pissbaby when he doesn’t wanna care about somethin’ but totally does. He was like, blah blah blah, I’m doing what’s right. Like bitch I’ve been your friend for however many years and half of the shit you did was wrong!

"And I don’t even remember what it was I said that made him mad! I said we were friends, and then there was a fight and the car alarm and ugh! I just-! I hate it when he’s like this, pisses me off. All cryptic. Tryna act like he doesn’t feel. Or care.

“ And listen, Sakura, okay, I didn’t even know that he really liked me or whatever, until Sai said that. Like sometimes there’s tons of sexual tension, but whatever. Like… Like he’ll give me those ‘fuck me’ eyes, you know? All the time. Literally straight-up ‘fuck me right now’ is written all over his face. What do I do about that? We’re in public?

“But Sai said he was insane about me, right? What does that mean? Like back in the day Sasuke seemed like one of those people who has a crush on someone and like… steals their clothes and smells them. He gave me that vibe.

“Anyway Sai says this and Sasuke’s sitting there like… Looking like that, all hot and stuff. Still classy, obviously, but sexy. Ha, lady in the streets but a freak in the bed, right? He was wearing those black jeans, too, you know? God, his ass looked fucking tight. And he put his hand on my knee. My goddamn knee, like, what? What does that even mean?

“AND THEN he was talking to someone else at the bar? This guy was like, not in his league. Was it to make me jealous? It worked! Congrats! Nobody- Hear me out Sakura- Nobody should be having sex with Sasuke! Nobody! Except, maybe me. But even then, I’m on thin fucking ice, you know what I mean? He’s so oblivious. Newflash, asshole! I’ve liked you the entire goddamn time!

“He makes me crazy, Sakura, I don’t know how long I can keep-”

A beep, and the message stopped.

There was complete silence, complete stillness. Naruto could feel Sasuke’s full weight on his back, like he had gone slack. Naruto was mortified. He was so lightheaded he thought he was going to pass out, and his body was begging to cringe and squirm and explode. Why, why in the name of fuck had he said all those things? And why did they have to be played out in front of him like that, with Sasuke straddling him on his kitchen floor?

Naruto’s voice was hoarse and his mouth dry, but he had to speak. “I don’t know what to say to you. About that.” He sounded small, his cheek pressed to the cold floor, but he had to admit that to Sasuke. Sasuke was still completely silent, and while it’d kill Naruto to look at his face, it was even worse when he couldn’t. Whatever was going through Sasuke’s mind, he had no clue what it was. He was probably monumentally angry about everything Naruto had said; not that Naruto was happy with himself either.

“You…” Sasuke paused, and the weight was off Naruto’s back. He rolled over and Sasuke was looming over him like judgement day, a raging fire in his eyes. “You feel that way about me and you never told me?”

Naruto blinked. “...What?”

“You like me, and it never occured to you for one single moment to tell me about it?” Sasuke looked legitimately angry about Naruto keeping this from him, which was something he hadn’t expected. At all. But there Sasuke was, fists clenched, all tensed up.

“Why don’t you care about all the insults in there? Also no? It’s embarrassing, why would I tell you?”

Sasuke put a hand to his forehead, as if he must have heard that wrong. “You were embarrassed ? Do you know- Why are you still on the floor, stand up .” Naruto was on his feet in a moment; sometimes Sasuke’s voice was the crack of a whip. “Do you know,” Sasuke began again, “how much trouble you could have saved me?”

Naruto’s face was still burning hot, but now his heart was pounding, too. “Trouble?” he asked. That didn’t make any sense, unless Sasuke was saying… “Wait, do you like me?”

“Yes, genius!” Sasuke nearly shouted in exasperation. “Of course I do! Anyone could tell you that!”

“You like me. Right now.”

“Right now I think you’re insufferable and the dumbest bitch I’ve ever met, but generally, yes.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Only for the past eight years , Naruto.” Naruto’s hands starting trembling slightly and he bit his lip. He could hardly believe what he was hearing, but Sasuke was standing right in front of him, saying it.

“I like you, too,” he said, because he couldn’t think of anything better. Sasuke rolled his eyes yet again.

“Well, I know that now . After listening to that message sent straight from hell. You’re right, for wanting to delete that, by the way. I’ve been changed as a person and not for the better.”

“Yeah, I feel the same about it. Can we pretend it didn’t happen?”

Sasuke rubbed his forehead. “No, I’m just choosing to have selective memory about it.”

“Understandable.”

And then there was silence again. Naruto was going to take that as iffy forgiveness for being a complete drunk shithead. His head was starting to hurt again. Why was telling Sasuke ‘I’d die for you’ so easy, but saying ‘I like you’ was so hard? Everything was backwards about them.

“So… What do people usually do after this happens?”

“I don’t know, Naruto. This is my first time, too,” he snapped. Naruto must have looked very lost, because Sasuke continued. “Well, in movies, usually they kiss, and then people clap, and-“

Naruto started nodding vigorously. “Yeah, yeah, okay. I wanna do that.”

“What? Kiss?”

“Yeah, that. I mean, I’ve already like, been inside you?” Sasuke winced. “I’m just saying! This shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Right.”

“What is wrong with you? Have you ever kissed a human in your life?”

“I’m nervous! What if I fuck it up? Or what if we do it, and we realize...” Naruto didn’t want to say it, but what if it felt all wrong? And then his relationship with the person he loved most could go down the drain

“Relax, Naruto, it’s fine,” Sasuke told him, but he seemed a little anxious himself. Naruto stepped forward hesitantly, meeting Sasuke halfway in the space between them. They hovered there, like they always did, waiting for the other to make their move. Naruto set his shoulders. Not this time.

Sasuke must have had the exact same idea as Naruto because they both rushed forward at the same time, smashing their foreheads together. Naruto hissed, stumbling backwards, and he could hear Sasuke cursing under his breath. One hand went to his head and he winced as he pressed down.

“My god, who hurt us?” Sasuke asked no one. “What traumatic event made us like this?”

“You said it’d be fine,” Naruto mumbled, still covering his face.

“I didn’t know you were going to headbutt me.”

“Did it ruin the mood?”

“The mood before was very awkward, so actually, no.” Naruto groaned. They were doomed. Neither of them were competent enough at human interaction to do this, and there was years of pressure stacked on top of them anyway.

“Okay. Stand still,” he said finally, putting up a hand like Sasuke was a wild animal. Sasuke eyed his hand, unimpressed, but stayed put.

Naruto tried to stop thinking about his nerves. Instead, he thought about all the times he’d wanted to kiss Sasuke, but didn’t have the guts to. He desperately wanted to make up for that, to put hundreds of kisses he didn’t give Sasuke into this one that he would. When he thought about it like that, it was simple.

He was trying again. Closer, and then raising a hand, brushing Sasuke’s hair away from where it was covering his eyes. Naruto kept eye contact as he brushed two fingers along Sasuke’s bottom lip. For someone who was usually so reserved, emotions were playing easily on Sasuke’s face. He wanted Naruto, even after everything.

Naruto leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft, just the gentle press of his lips against Sasuke’s. He felt warth blooming from his chest, overcoming him completely. He shouldn’t have been so nervous about it feeling wrong; kissing Sasuke felt like getting back a part of himself he lost.

He broke it off, breathing unsteady. He felt weightless. “...Whoa.”

Sasuke, on the other hand, was glaring. “You call that a kiss?”

His hand went to the back of Naruto’s neck, pulling him back in. This kiss was much fiercer, and with a tilt of his head, Sasuke’s mouth opened against his. It was a little desperate, the way they might of kissed when they were teenagers, but it felt so good . Naruto’s hands went to Sasuke’s hips, pressing them together, and slipped his tongue into Sasuke’s mouth. Sasuke made a soft noise in response.

This was more of a testament to who they were, Naruto thought, as he slowly guided Sasuke to the counter, pinning his hips against it. Sweet kisses were nice, made his heart flutter, but viciously making out while very hungover in the middle of the kitchen? Naruto’s mouth dropped to Sasuke’s neck, sucking hard, and Sasuke’s hands clenched in his hair. Yeah, that was more their speed.

Naruto was getting used to feel of Sasuke’s body with ease. He’d always been a quick learner. There was a spot on Sasuke, between his neck and shoulder, that made Sasuke go weak at the knees; Naruto nipped it gently and Sasuke held him tighter. “ Bastard ,” he hissed, “how did you find that so quickly?” Naruto only smirked, hands pushing under Sasuke’s shirt, fingers trailing up.

“Are you complaining?” he asked. Sasuke was biting his lip to keep silent. Naruto would take that as a no. The counter must be digging into Sasuke’s back but he didn’t seem to be complaining about that either, canting his hips forward against Naruto’s. Somewhere in Naruto’s head, he knew breathing was important, but once his mouth was moving against Sasuke’s, he could pass out for all he cared.

“You’re not off the hook,” Sasuke said, though his voice was weaker than usually, “for saying all that shit on the phone.”

“I don’t know why I’d be off the hook in the first place,” Naruto murmured. “I’m very much on the hook.”

“You said I was a bitch. And a freak. And that my ass was tight.”

“You are, you are” Naruto said, and let one hand slide down, over the curve of his waist. “And it is.”

Sasuke sighed. He leaned back, resting his elbows on the counter, looking like he was deep in thought. “Would it be wrong to have sex right now?”

“ Here ?” Naruto squeaked. He looked around; even for him, that was unsanitary

“No, dumbass, not in my kitchen.” Sasuke’s hand slipped from Naruto’s neck, a finger trailing down his chest to hook in his waistband. He tugged a little, and then smirked. “My room?”

“You’re not even going to buy me dinner first?”

Sasuke pushed Naruto off him, hips swaying as he stalked away. “I think we know each other plenty well at this point, Naruto.” That was fair. He and Sasuke were as close as people could possibly be without fucking, so they might as well check that off their list. He followed Sasuke.

“I already know what you look like naked. Do you think that takes the fun out of it?”

“No,” Sasuke said without hesitation, pulling his shirt over his head, “because you know it’s going to look good.” Naruto swallowed, taking in Sasuke’s figure, his sweatpants low on his hips. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, and Naruto gave him a solid two thumbs-up. “It’s not like I don’t know what you look like, either. Both you and Kiba have no decency and can’t lock doors.”

“You’re welcome for that,” Naruto said, reaching for the hem of his own shirt. Nudity had stopped being an issue for him once he reached college, but not everybody was so easygoing. “I know I’m your type, don’t deny it.” He couldn’t help but sound smug, letting his shirt drop to the floor and winking at Sasuke.

“Ah, yes,” he agreed. Sasuke rounded the bed and captured Naruto’s mouth as his hands went to undo the button on Naruto’s pants. He looked down, slowly pulling the zipper, and then gave Naruto a smirk. “I always did have a thing for dumb blondes.”

“You-!” Naruto pushed Sasuke away, onto the bed, and pushed his jeans the rest of the way down his legs with a huff.

“Your boxers are orange, too. Invigorating.”

“You’re so mean to me.”

Sasuke watched an irritated Naruto kick his pants off his feet. There was desire in his gaze, but a fondness as well, Naruto thought. “It’s tough love.”

“Yeah? I’ll show you tough love,” Naruto growled. He crawled onto the bed, settling between Sasuke’s legs and pressing his chest against Sasuke’s as they kissed. Being skin on skin, nothing between them, felt amazing. Sasuke was pulling him closer, moaning into this mouth, and Naruto could feel how turned on he was. Those grey sweatpants were threadbare, after all; Sasuke’s arousal was obvious against him.

“Sas, you know I love these pants, but you have got to get them off if I’m going to be able to do anything for you.”

Naruto smoothed his hands down Sasuke’s sides and then lingered at Sasuke’s waistband, waiting for permission. Once he knew he had it, he eased them down Sasuke’s hips. Sasuke pretended not to care, but lifted his hips off the bed sheets so Naruto could slide them completely off. Naruto did the same with his orange boxers Sasuke hated so much, and they joined the rest of their clothes on the floor.

Naruto was beginning to realize that while Sasuke was better than him at most things, being naked wasn’t one of them. It was still hot, Sasuke arching himself up against Naruto and licking into his mouth, but whenever Naruto’s eyes wandered lower, Sasuke would draw his attention back up. He could see the war right in front of him; Sasuke’s fear of being vulnerable and his need for more

Sasuke’s existed in this same limbo as they moved together. He was letting out soft noises whenever Naruto thrust against him or bit that spot on his neck, but was holding back. Sasuke was so needy for Naruto’s attention, gasping for it, and he couldn’t handle it when he had it. “I don’t have any expectations,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to Sasuke’s cheek. “It’s okay. Relax.”

“Easier said than done.”

Sasuke sounded genuine. Naruto pulled away. Sasuke’s pupils were blown wide, mouth bitten dark pink, but his face was burning. “What’s wrong?” Naruto asked as he sat back. Immediately, Sasuke legs were pressed together, somewhat curled against him. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, you said that.”

“I know that,” Sasuke said, “but now we’re face to face. It’s not the same.” Naruto tilted his head. Sasuke was beautiful, but poised to a fault; seeing him unwind would be the best part of this.

“I want to see your face, though,” Naruto admitted. “I didn’t get to see any of the expressions you made last time, but I think this will make up for it. The vibrator thing was a totally different situation.” Sasuke rolled his eyes as if to say “obviously,” but Naruto brought him back as his voice lowered. He didn’t want to waste time anymore. “I want everything you’ll give me, Sasuke. I’d do anything you want me to, but do you want to know what I want? Would that make you feel better?” Sasuke nodded quickly and swallowed, like he’d acted without thinking.

“I want you to feel good,” Naruto said, running a hand up Sasuke’s leg. “I want to tease you, just a little. Be soft with you. I’d let you grind onto my fingers how I know you like, until you get all messy and wet. I’m going to keep you on that edge until your legs shake.” Sasuke’s eyes were wide.

“I want you to wait until I’m inside you to come, moving slow and deep. But you like it a little rough, right?” Sasuke nodded again, mouth parted, breathing unsteady. “I’m going to fuck you into this mattress until you can’t walk straight tomorrow. Make you come so hard you black out. How does that sound?”

Sasuke just stared at him, out of breath. “Where is Naruto and what the fuck did you do with him,” was all he could manage to get out.

“What do you mean?”

“That was fucking- Jesus, come here.” Sasuke reached up and yanked Naruto forward, and kissed him like it was the last thing he’d ever do. It was a little sloppy, but Sasuke’s legs had parting, wrapping around Naruto’s waist. Sasuke gasped as he rubbed against Naruto. “I didn’t know you had that in you,” he breathed, lips inches from Naruto’s.

“There are some things I manage to do successfully. Not to mention, I’ve had plenty of time to think about what I’d do with you if I ever got the chance.”

Sasuke met his eyes, black and blue, and bit his lip. “Yeah. Me too.”

“So no worries. Let me make you feel good, okay?” Sasuke assented. Naruto reached for the drawer where he knew lube would be and then sat back up, until he could see Sasuke spread out in front of him.

He was impossible to look away from; Sasuke was gorgeous. Laid bare, all pale skin and dark hair, lips swollen from kisses. Naruto’s eyes dropped, down his chest and stomach to Sasuke’s cock, hardly touched but fully hard, the tip shining with precum. Sasuke’s thighs shifted slightly. He was still red.

“Is it embarrassing? Me seeing you like this?” Sasuke glared at him, but it quickly dissolved when Naruto let one finger trail down Sasuke thigh to his entrance, pressing in slightly. After having experience with Sasuke, it was much easier now.

“So you know how to use lube. Glad I don’t have to remind you.”

“Shut up, you were the one ass-up in front of me and expecting me to be coherent.” He let his finger slide in and out, but only to the second knuckle. “ You called me that night, remember? Don’t know why you’re suddenly getting picky, princess.”

Sasuke’s breath hitched, but he growled right after. “Naruto, if you don’t add another finger, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Naruto said, but let another finger join the first, scissoring, and then once he was satisfied added a third. Sasuke moaned at this and starting moving his hips against Naruto’s hand. Naruto stopped his movement, letting Sasuke fuck himself and watching. His eyes were closed, mouth open, and one had slid across his stomach.

Naruto caught it, making Sasuke’s eyes open. “Don’t touch yourself, okay?” he said. “I want to do that for you.”

Sasuke squinted, but his hands stilled. “You’re really hot right now. It’s giving me whiplash.”

“Why are you so surprised by this?”

“I’m shocked, you’re normally so clumsy.”

“Shut up! Not always! We’re having sex, I don’t need running commentary.” Naruto let his other hand go to Sasuke’s dick. “Besides,” he added, stroking leisurely, “I’m not the only one who’s getting off on it, am I?”

Sasuke’s hands covered his face. “Don’t tease me. You’re a horrible best friend,” he grumbled.

”Take it back, I’m the best best friend ever,” Naruto said, highly offended. His hand kept moving on Sasuke, the rise and fall of Sasuke’s chest matching it, and he kept his fingers where they were, letting Sasuke rut against them. He seemed to be done talking, distracted. To be fair, Naruto was, too.

He took advantage of Sasuke’s eyes being covered; Naruto was acting as confident as he could, and while it wasn’t just a performance, disappointing Sasuke was a real fear of his. He didn’t want Sasuke to feel they’d ruined the relationship they had. “This is going to be a change for us, from how we were before,” he said softly, “but I’ve wanted you so badly for so long.” Naruto bowed his head and kissed the soft skin above Sasuke’s hipbone. “I’m sick of it, actually.” He let his tongue flick experimentally over Sasuke’s cock and heard his breath stutter. “Being just friends.”

Sasuke was suddenly sitting up, facing Naruto. He backed up and went to his knees. “I feel exactly the same as you do.” He pushed Naruto down onto the bed, and smiled. “But you’re being unfair, giving me all the attention.” Sasuke’s eyes fell, and licked his lips.

“Full disclosure, I think I had a wet dream about this when I was 16,” Naruto said, almost a squeak, and Sasuke just smirked.

“I promise it’s much better in real life,” Sasuke purred. He wrapped one hand around Naruto, the other holding himself up, and waited a moment. He was just barely letting it rub against his lips, dark eyes looking up, locked on Naruto’s. Sasuke swirled his tongue over the head of Naruto’s cock, and then took it all into his mouth. Sasuke moaned around him, which could have made him come immediately if he wasn’t careful. Naruto’s hand went to Sasuke’s hair, pulling slightly, encouraging him.

Sasuke was really, really good at this. Naruto didn’t want to think about how he’d gotten good at it, but he was, and seemed to be enjoying it. Every once in a while he’d look up at Naruto again, letting his cock rest on his tongue or bottom lip, wet with spit and precum. It was unbearable; he looked so lewd, it felt illegal to look at him.

“Sasuke, if you keep that up, this is gonna end sooner than you want.” Sasuke was reluctant, but agreed.

“Naruto, can we… I know you want to see my face, but that’s not usually how it happens. With me.” Naruto looked at Sasuke, head still hazy, but understanding that Sasuke was talking about positions. Naruto wasn’t sure why Sasuke was so nervous to have Naruto looking at him. Still, if that’s how he wanted it for now, Naruto could do that.

“Turn around,” he said, and Sasuke nearly tripped over himself doing so. Naruto looked at Sasuke, couldn’t resist letting a hand slide up to his ass. “God, you’re hot.”

“Do you have a weird obsession with my butt?” Sasuke asked as Naruto reached into the drawer again, finding a condom. “You’ve mentioned it a few times.”

“Do you have an obsession with my dick? You were sucking on it like candy.”

“I knew it. You’re getting an ego.”

“I’m in bed with Sasuke Uchiha. Forgive me if I’m not a little smug.”

That shut him up.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, at the familiar position, but different circumstances. Their feelings for each other had always been intense, and more so now. Even though Naruto knew they were awkward and emotionally clumsy and embarrassed, having even just the chance to show Sasuke how deep his devotion ran was all he wanted.

Sasuke shifted in front of him, and Naruto smoothed his hands down Sasuke’s thighs. He thrust forward gently, cock slipping between Sasuke’s legs, and then held it, guiding it down the cleft of his ass.

He hissed as his cock slid over Sasuke’s hole, his hands squeezing Sasuke’s ass and holding him open. Sasuke whined softly, parting his legs farther, dripping onto the bed. “Please, Naruto, I’m-” He gasped as Naruto’s thumb dropped to either side of Sasuke’s entrance, spreading it slightly. “Fuck, I need you, right now.” His voice was getting higher in pitch, and he was pressing back against Naruto’s cock the best he could.

“You can’t take any more than this?” Naruto asked with amusement, and Sasuke’s tone returned to a somewhat normal state.

“Don’t get cocky, bastard, just fuck me .” Naruto couldn’t argue with that.

He lined himself up, pressed against Sasuke. Naruto rubbed the head against Sasuke’s entrance, teasing for one more moment, and then slipped inside him. Sasuke gasped, and before Naruto could do anything else, he slammed back against Naruto, bottoming out with a slap.

“ What the fuck ,” Naruto gasped, staring down to where he was fully buried in Sasuke. This wasn’t unlike Sasuke, but after being best friends for 10 years, he would have expected more of a testament to their journey. “What the fuck happened to slow?”

“I skipped that,” Sasuke said, rocking forward and back again, “and went right to deep.” He groaned, back arching. “A better question is why are you so-” He moved again, and put his head to the bed like his arms gave out. “Mm, fuck, why are you so big?”

Naruto flushed. “Am I?”

Sasuke nodded in front of him. “It’s so hot, you’re perfect .” He bottomed out again, just letting himself feel it, moving his hips only slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Literally when would I have told you that? At what point? ‘Hey, Sasuke, my platonic friend, my dick is huge, just let me know if you ever want a ride.’”

“Well if I had known you were this good of a lay, we would have been regularly fucking by fall quarter, freshman year of college,” Sasuke said sarcastically. Naruto glared at the back of his head; that annoyed him somehow.

“So you like it then?” Naruto asked, his hands sliding to Sasuke’s hips. He pushed him forwards and then back. “Being stretched around my cock?” Sasuke didn’t answer, just let himself be pulled back and forth, spreading his legs as far as he could. “Sasuke?”

“Yes,” he breathed, and then moaned loudly as Naruto hit his prostate. “I used to, ah, fuck myself in the shower and, mm, pretend it was you.”

“Sounds a little desperate, Sas.” Naruto reached down to Sasuke’s cock, rubbing his thumb over the head. “I think it’s so sweet of you to think of me.”

“Sh-shut up.” Sasuke was having trouble focusing now as Naruto started stroking him slowly, every once in a while swiping across the precum beading at the tip. “I’m not the idiot here. I literally- Fuck, right there - I literally came saying your name and you still weren’t sure if I was into you. I was jacking off in your sweatshirt. You, ah , can’t connect dots for shit, dumbass.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Naruto told him, squeezing the base of Sasuke’s cock. “I know you’ve caught me checking you out. What did you think that meant?”

Sasuke didn’t respond, only gasping now. They had a steady pace, Naruto thrusting into Sasuke, making obscene noises. Sasuke’s moans were consistent now, with Naruto rubbing against him how he liked every time. He was so hard it hurt; Sasuke was hot around him and so soft, like he was made for Naruto.

“if you keep going like that, I’m going to-” He was cut off by Naruto abruptly pulling out. Sasuke let out a distressed noise at the loss, and yelped when he was flipped over onto his back. “What are you-” Naruto thrust back in, pushing between his legs and cutting him off a second time. “Fuck, Naruto .”

Finally, Naruto could see his face. He wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. Sasuke looked like he was about to cry, he was so turned on. The usually perfectly in place hair was wild, all over the place, and the pale skin was blotchy in some places. He was still the most stunning person Naruto had ever seen. He was biting his lip, maybe to keep from making noises, but it wasn’t working; he was letting out little whimpers as Naruto pressed forward, trapping his cock between them.

“You look perfect,” Naruto told him, though his words were coming slower now. “Why wouldn’t you want me to see that?”

He brought himself close enough so he could kiss Sasuke, bending his legs up further. Sasuke kissed him back as Naruto fucked him at new angle. “Ah, harder,” he begged, “ harder .” And then he was mostly unintelligible.

Naruto was a man of his word; if he said he was going to fuck Sasuke until he couldn’t think straight, he would.

Sasuke was breathing heavier, moans pitching upwards, and Naruto knew it wouldn’t take him much longer. Finally, Sasuke brought a hand to the back of Naruto’s neck, crushing their mouths together, and came. It was the loudest Sasuke had been yet, crying out Naruto’s name and arching his back. Naruto watched his face, wide-eyed; this was Sasuke stripped bare. There was no pain, no heartache. His expression revealed nothing but bliss.

Naruto kept up his pace, making Sasuke’s legs shake from the sensitivity but he was murmuring words of encouragement anyway. Within seconds, he released too, spilling into Sasuke. There was a rush of emotion that came with it, and Naruto knew he was saying something but he had no idea what. His thrusts slowed down until they stopped. His entire body felt loose and wet; he’d kind of made a mess of himself as well.

Both of them were breathing heavy. Naruto was trying not to put his full weight on Sasuke, even though he felt like his arms were about to give out on him. He wasn’t even sure what to do with himself now. That was easily the best sex he’d ever had and with the only person he’d ever been this fucking crazy about. He waited until he’d come down enough to focus, and then pushed himself up to see Sasuke, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Sasuke? Are you okay?” Naruto immediately jumped to borderline panic. “Ohmygod did I hurt you? Sasuke, are-”

“You said you loved me.”

Naruto’s heart dropped, and then he was mirroring Sasuke’s expression. “No, I didn’t. When?”

Sasuke fixed him with a withering look, but it didn’t come off nearly as sharp as it usually would. “When you came inside me, idiot, when else?”

He had literally no memory of saying that specifically, though he did know he’d said something. “Oh. Um.” Why Sasuke was reacting this way, he had no idea, but Sasuke was right; Naruto was horrible at keeping secrets. If the cat was halfway out of the bag, might as well dump it out, he thought.  

“I probably said that because… I love you? That’s why, I think. I love you so much it hurts, I guess. Have been for a long time, so… Yeah.” He laughed nervously; usually he was okay at decoding Sasuke, but he had no idea what he was thinking. “And if you don’t feel that strongly about me, I get it, it’s really okay,” Naruto told him, even though that didn’t feel okay at all. “I just don’t want to waste time pretending I’m not in love with you anymore.”

Sasuke still appeared mostly blank, but then there was a slight glimmer in his eye, and he turned away. Naruto blinked. “Are you… crying?”

“ No ,” Sasuke hissed, but he wouldn’t look at Naruto. “Why would you think I don’t feel that way about you? You know I can’t live without you either.”

Naruto could feel himself tearing up a little, too. “So you love me.”

Sasuke put an arm over his eyes. “I’ve never loved anyone else,” he said, so quiet Naruto only barely caught it. Naruto pressed his cheek to Sasuke’s chest, skin hot and heartbeat pounding in his ear. There was a warmth spreading through him. He was still fucked, desperately in love, but now he wasn’t alone in it.

“I can’t believe we had this conversation and you haven’t even pulled out,” Sasuke said flatly, clearly itching to change the subject.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Naruto said, going pink. He moved away, back on the bed, and Sasuke sat up. He winced a little, shifting.

“ Holy shit .” Sasuke fell back down.

“Let me guess,” said Naruto, standing up and stretching. “Your heart was telling you yes but your ass was telling you no.” Sasuke only sighed. “I think God cursed you with a 50/50 mix of extreme ambition and poor decision-making skills.”

“Some people sit on top of the washer to get off,” Sasuke said as Naruto walked into the bathroom, “but I feel like I just got pistoned by the whole machine.”

“Was it worth it?” Naruto called, but Sasuke appeared at the doorway, a limp in his step. “Jeez, Sas, you look like a mess.” Sasuke’s hair was a complete disaster, more than Naruto had ever seen it. All Naruto got was a scowl

“You are a mess,” Sasuke told him, grabbing a washcloth off the top of a pile and throwing another at Naruto. It was folded. Folded . Such luxuries Naruto couldn’t understand.  “And since you took the fall for me, everyone thinks you got a vibrator stuck in your ass.”

“I saved you from danger!”

“You were the person who put me in danger. It doesn’t count.” Sasuke was at the mirror now, leaning over the sink as it ran. “You gave me a hickey, Naruto. It looks like your mouth punched my neck in the face.” Naruto glanced over; sure enough, there was a giant bruise on Sasuke’s neck, a mix of purple and red that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

Naruto hummed, and stuck his cloth out to run it under the water. “Oh no. That’s really too bad.”

“You’re pleased about it, don’t lie. It’s a marking your territory thing.” Naruto just put his hands up in an over exaggerated shrug. He couldn’t pretend to be mad about it. After all, if Sasuke had had that at the bar, that guy probably wouldn’t have tried to pick him up. He left Sasuke to clean up, getting into bed, and soon Sasuke flipped off the lights, joining him.

They both laid on their backs, side by side.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. “Today was weird.”

Sasuke nodded, eyes closed. “Yes it was.”

“I think when I thought about how our relationship was going to start, it was going to be cute. Like in movies, where friends fall in love and then admit it to each other and it’s this big moment. But ours was mostly arguing, public embarrassment and unfortunate sexual situations.”

“I think if your relationship starts with you pulling a bullet vibe out of your friend, you’re pretty much screwed your chances of any picture perfect moments, Naruto,” Sasuke said, settling into the blankets. “Everything is going to still be embarrassing and awkward all the time.”

“But now, we can be awkward and embarrassing together,” Naruto beamed. Sasuke groaned.

“God, that was so cheesy, I can’t believe I let you hit it.”

“Oh shush, you loved it. You love me.” Sasuke didn’t say anything; he didn’t have to. He just turned, bumping his forehead into Naruto’s arm until he lifted it up, and Sasuke slid underneath it. He nuzzled into Naruto’s side, cheek pressed to his chest.

“It’s not even 7pm,” he murmured.

“Seriously?” Naruto looked at the clock on the bedside table. “Whoa. I’ve had night sex and morning sex but never, like, early evening sex. Feels weird.”

“Yes, Naruto,” Sasuke said, pinching his side, “ please tell me about all the different types of sex you’ve had. I want to hear about it.”

“That is not what I meant.”

Sasuke sighed. “I know. It’s okay.”

Silence settled in. Naruto knew Sasuke was slowly getting too tired to argue with him; again, sleepy Sasuke was so sweet. On the other hand, Naruto didn’t feel tired whatsoever. He was replaying everything over and over in his head, especially Sasuke’s words.

You know I can’t live without you either.

I’ve never loved anyone else.

He pulled Sasuke to him tightly, even as Sasuke complained with an annoyed whine. “You’re squishing me…” he said, and his voice was lower, softer too. “Let me sleep, coward.”

“When did you know you liked me?” Naruto said, probably too loud, but he’d been thinking about it for a while. “Because I knew I liked you when you punched that kid who tried to steal my bike and then called me a pussy for not doing it myself.”

“Why, in god’s name, would that be the thing that made you like me?”

“I don’t know! I was 16, and you looked really badass when you did it. Like, you got him right in the nose, and there was blood dripping from your hand, it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”

“That was thinly veiled anger issues.”

“Well it was hot.”

Sasuke huffed out a laugh, and then sighed. “I can’t pinpoint it. Do you mean when I knew I liked you, or when I started... liking you?” It clearly wasn’t a completely comfortable topic for Sasuke still.

“Both.”

“I knew when I was 17, and you were running cross country in high school. And I didn’t really… care about anything, then. But you were so excited about it, because you got to the state level competition. You said… ‘I get it if you can’t go, but you’re the person I want to be cheering for me most.’” And I didn’t go, but I realized that I did care. I wanted to cheer for you. So, I’ve been trying my best to ever since. As cliche as that sounds.”

Naruto only squeezed him tighter. He knew it was a big deal for Sasuke to tell him this, and he wanted to show he was listening. “Okay. What about when you started?”

“Way before that. Like 6th grade. I don’t think about it often.”

“Does anyone think about 6th grade often? I sure as hell don’t. I was tiny and annoying.”

“Yeah. You were the definition of a little bitch. I can’t believe we hung out. Not that you’re much better now.”

Naruto frowned, putting his chin on top of Sasuke’s head. “I thought you’d get nicer if you were in love with me. Like, there’s a magic switch, and suddenly you’re not feisty as hell.”

“Doesn’t work like that. Now I’m just feisty as hell and in love with you.” Naruto wiggled a little from excitement. “What?”

“You said it. Out loud. That you love me.” Naruto kissed Sasuke’s head; he couldn’t not beam. “Sorry. It’s just really exciting.” Sasuke only sighed tiredly, but pressed a kiss to Naruto’s skin all the same.

Naruto was finally starting to feel tired himself, even if it was only evening. Sasuke’s breathing was evening out and his body was releasing its tension, a welcome weight on Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto was happy. He was so happy. Happier than he’d been in a long time, and relieved that Sasuke was still by his side. This whole weekend had been a emotional rollercoaster where the tracks stop halfway through and drop you off into oblivion, but the ending was good, in his opinion. Better than good. Near perfect, for sure.

He shifted, hopefully to a position that didn’t have his arm falling asleep in the next few minutes. Sasuke, who he’d thought had been asleep, grabbed onto him again. His grip was crushing. Naruto looked down, but Sasuke’s eyes were still closed; he was probably lingering on the very edges of unconsciousness.

“Don’t go.” His voice was impossibly soft, barely a whisper, but it was there. Naruto was so in love with him, it was making his chest hurt. Whatever Sasuke was afraid of, Naruto wanted to put it to rest. He moved lower to let Sasuke cling to him, arms wrapping around his sides.

“Idiot. It’s been 10 years, I’ve never left you before,” Naruto told him, even as he felt Sasuke drifting off. “I’m not going to now. Or ever. Okay?” Sasuke probably wasn’t listening at this point. Naruto sighed. “I’ll always stand beside you, Sasuke.”

That’s what best friends are for, after all.