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Accompanied by the moonlight peeking through his curtains, Naruto recalls the countless times Sasuke asked him what the word ‘friend’ meant to him. Years later, he’s still unsure.
Clutching his covers close to his chest, Naruto tosses and turns, unable to sleep. It has been months since Sasuke’s last departure from the village, as he never lingers in the village for long in favor of taking far-off missions. While Naruto, despite the years of turbulence, has firmly planted his roots within the Hidden Leaf, Sasuke protects their home from afar. Naruto somewhat struggles to understand Sasuke’s insistence upon maintaining a level of distance from the village, and effectively him as well, but it’s not as though his friend is ever around for him to gain clarity. Sometimes, Naruto is unsure if calling Sasuke ‘friend’ is adequate. He recalls the lingering touches during sparring sessions and the Alpha’s heated gaze matching his own both in and out of battle. As a Beta, Naruto is unable to pick up on most pheromones, but there have been countless moments between the two of them in which the air was indisputably thick.
He can’t recall ever feeling this way with Sakura despite his (former) longstanding crush on her. He may have felt a flicker of it with Hinata, before they mutually agreed to remain friends that is, but it never quite compared to the way Sasuke made him feel.
Ultimately, there’s no use in staying up thinking about his insignificant and confusing feelings. As long as Sasuke remains outside the Hidden Leaf’s perimeter, these questions will remain unanswered. Naruto huffs frustratedly and turns his back to the window, obstructing the moon from view. Shutting his eyes, Naruto waits for sleep to claim him.
___
“Sakura, I seriously don’t know why you brought me of all people here,” Naruto says, his posture slightly drooping as he trails behind his friend and teammate Sakura. Her mood was considerably cheerier than his.
“Well, Hinata is busy attending to some family matters, and I want to look for a gift for Ino,” Sakura says while her head swivels from side to side as she scans the storefronts for any items that stand out, “you’re not really the most attentive guy when it comes to gift giving, but I figured your honest opinion would help me narrow down the options.” Naruto squints at her in mild offense, but opts for silence. She’s right, anyhow.
It was no secret that Sakura and Ino had… Something going on between the two of them. Naruto doesn’t pick up on subtle, romantic cues easily, especially with his inability to pick up on pheromones, but the tension between the two was palpable. He asked Sakura about it a while back, but all she did was giggle and avert her gaze. “Oh, you know…” was Sakura’s response, which didn’t alleviate any of Naruto’s confusion about the state of her relationship with their mutual friend. It was just another reminder of the fact that Naruto really doesn’t get women sometimes.
“Do you at least have an idea of what we’re looking for? I don’t really want to be here all day, you know,” Naruto huffs. He places his hands in his pockets, not knowing what else to do with them.
“Well, last time I bought her some cute shoes. I figured this time I’d look for jewelry– or maybe I should find something practical?” Sakura absentmindedly taps her lips with her pointer finger as she thinks. Naruto catches sight of a storefront with various home goods and trinkets.
“Hey, let’s look in there for something,” he says, pointing to the establishment. Sakura’s eyes light up and she immediately walks toward the store with Naruto in tow. As she holds the door open for him, Sakura turns to face him with a cheeky smile. “Maybe you do have an eye for this! I should bring you out shopping more often.” Naruto rolls his eyes affectionately and follows her into the store.
While the store has a lot of decor for sale, there is a section in the back with an assortment of jewelry that Sakura immediately makes a beeline for. Naruto opts for walking around the store instead. On one of the shelves, he catches sight of various types of fragrances. A pink reed diffuser catches his eye– cherry blossom scented– and he gently pulls it off the shelf. With the item in hand, he approaches the corner Sakura was occupying as she seemingly debates between two necklaces. She turns to face Naruto with one necklace in each hand. “Which one?” She asks.
“The one on the left,” Naruto replies after some thought.
“The right it is,” Sakura says with a sage nod, and places the necklace Naruto picked back where it originally sat on the table. Naruto blinked, and then furrowed his brows.
“Why would you ask me which one I liked if you weren’t going to pick it?”
“I figured whichever one you chose would be the slightly less cute option.”
Naruto narrows his eyes, “Whatever,” he replies. He holds up the reed diffuser he picked up earlier, catching Sakura’s attention.
“... Sakura scented?” She asks.
“Yeah, I thought Ino would like it.”
Sakura scrunches her nose slightly. “Would she enjoy a gift so, I don’t know, egotistical? Giving her a gift that smells like me?” She seems to be genuinely conflicted, but hasn’t outright said she dislikes the idea.
Naruto recalls one of the nights their friends all went out for drinks where he caught Ino offhandedly telling Sakura she liked how she smells. When the statement was processed, albeit slowly thanks to the liquor in her system, Sakura flushed and sputtered.
“I think she would,” Naruto says with a slight smile.
Reassured, Sakura smiles and gratefully takes the diffuser and approaches the shopkeeper to purchase both the necklace and the item Naruto brought over. With the items safely tucked away in a bag, the two leave the store. It’s then that Naruto feels a familiar twinge in his stomach, indicating it was time to make a pitstop– hopefully at Ichiraku Ramen. When he turns to ask Sakura about lunch, he sees her wide eyed and slightly slack jawed as she stares upward.
“Sasuke…” She mutters in disbelief. At that, Naruto immediately whips his head in the direction she was looking. Sure enough, donning a familiar black cape with a sheathed sword on his side, stands Sasuke watching over the village.
Without a single thought, Naruto scaled the buildings in front of them and hopped from rooftop to rooftop to confirm what, or rather whom, he saw. He senses Sakura following closely behind with the same sense of urgency. Sasuke was rather elusive, after all.
“Sasuke!” Naruto exclaims from the rooftop he stands upon, which is still lower than the height Sasuke is standing at. The black-clad man slowly turns to face him, still remaining silent. With Sasuke’s gaze set on him, Naruto feels his heart race. Despite his sudden loss of appetite, all Naruto can ask the Alpha is: “Are you hungry?”
___
The three sit at Ichiraku Ramen, each with their bowls of ramen steaming in front of them. Sakura sits in-between her teammates, with Naruto opting to sit as far away from Sasuke as possible. He shovels ramen into his mouth to quell his rising discomfort, which did nothing but confuse him further. Why was he so tense?
“Sasuke, we barely see you these days,” Sakura pipes up.
“Yeah…” Naruto grumbles from her left.
“Mmm…” Is Sasuke’s lackluster response. Good to see some things haven’t changed. “You guys are as vibrant as ever.”
“Well, you actually caught us while we were out shopping,” Sakura replies, “had I known you were here, I would’ve dragged you with us.”
“What, like how you dragged me out here?” Naruto asks with an eyebrow raised.
Sasuke wears a soft smile on his lips as he looks at his teammates with muted fondness. Sakura blatantly ignores Naruto’s commentary. “I was picking out gifts for Ino and brought Naruto with me today.”
At that, Sasuke raises a thin eyebrow. “Naruto doesn’t strike me as someone who’s good at giving gifts,” he says with a smirk.
Naruto places his hands on the table to support him as he leans over his bowl, turning to face Sasuke with a growl. “Hey! I’m great at giving gifts, you know–”
He’s interrupted by Sakura smacking the back of his head, forcing him to sit down and place a delicate hand on his poor head.
“Sit down, Naruto. We’re in public!” Sakura exclaims. She crosses her arms with a huff, then turns to face Sasuke. “Actually, Naruto was a big help today.”
“Really,” Sasuke replies monotonously. The smirk hasn’t left his lips– asshole.
“Yeah, really Sasuke. You should go out with Sakura next time to help her pick out gifts for her girlfriend and see how well you do,” Naruto replies. Sakura’s protests of ‘she’s not my girlfriend!’ are ignored as Naruto is taken by the sound of Sasuke’s soft laughter. It’s a sound he hasn’t heard in quite a while. Naruto urges his body to crush the fluttering feeling in his chest.
Sakura regains her composure, then her face lights up as she seemingly comes up with an idea. “You should come out with us tonight for drinks. All of our friends will be there,” she suggests. Naruto understood that Sakura’s suggestions were more like direct orders, however.
At this, Sasuke leans back in his seat as his gaze averts downward. “Sakura…”
“It would be nice to see everyone,” Naruto says, now facing Sasuke, “I’ll even pay for your drinks.” He’s sure that both him and Sakura have wide, pleading eyes that mirror each other as they wait for their friend’s response. Sasuke still hesitates.
“If you don’t come, I’ll drag you out of the house myself,” Sakura says. Sasuke purses his lips, as he knows as well as Naruto that she would absolutely follow through on that promise.
“Fine,” Sasuke says with a sigh.
Naruto and Sakura cheered and high-fived each other. “Lunch was great, but I’ll see you guys tonight!” Sakura says as she rises from her seat. With that, the three go their separate ways to regroup for the night.
___
A slight chill passes through Naruto’s body as he walks along the path to the bar their friends frequent. The weather was cooling down as autumn steadily approached them. The last time Naruto went out for drinks with his friends, he had to be carried home– not that he remembers that happening. Needless to say, tonight he was going to be strict about how many drinks he has. Placing his hands in his pockets, he catches sight of none other than Sasuke borderline lurking around the corner of the bar.
“What are you doing standing there like a creeper?” Naruto asked. At the sound of his voice, Sasuke startles. Naruto snorts, and his friend narrows his eyes.
“I’m not a creeper,” Sasuke protests, “I just didn’t feel like walking in before you or Sakura.”
Naruto studies Sasuke’s face, which wears a forlorn expression– an expression Naruto absolutely hates to see on his teammate. “Everyone missed you, you know. They’re your friends– they’ll be just as excited to see you as Sakura and I were.”
Naruto is then graced with a small smile on Sasuke’s face, which then shifts into a smirk. “You missed me?”
“Wha– of course I… Whatever!” Naruto sputtered, feeling his face get hot in frustration. He stomps off in the direction of the establishment with Sasuke, who was making a poor attempt at stifling his chuckles, following closely behind.
The pair walk through the doors and are immediately met with the sound of their friends talking excitedly at an elevated volume. No doubt were they already a few drinks in.
“Hey guys,” Naruto greets. At this everyone turns to face him, and freezes. It’s Ino, slightly flushed as a result of the liquor, who slammed the table as she stood up to exclaim: “Sasuke?!”
“Don’t wear it out,” was Sasuke’s simple response. Naruto snorts. Ino exhales incredulously, and climbs over Shikamaru and Chouji in the booth, effectively smacking Shikamaru in the face and crushing Chouji's thighs with her heeled boots. Ino immediately takes hold of both Sasuke and Naruto, one in each arm, as she guides them towards the booth. Shikamaru and Chouji are still wincing in pain. “Come on guys, sit! Sit!” Ino excitedly rambles. Naruto finds himself somehow squeezed between a wall and Sasuke. The two are so close their shoulders were touching, and Naruto could slightly catch Sasuke’s sandalwood scent. His teammate seems as calm as ever about the whole ordeal. Sakura enters soon after, and opts to sit next to Hinata– and opposite Ino.
While the group sits together, Ino gushes about the ‘beautiful necklace’ Sakura gave her earlier that day. Sakura’s cheeks are tinged with pink as Ino shows it off. Hinata and Sai listen intently, taking in the craftsmanship of the delicate piece of jewelry. Shikamaru and Chouji don’t seem to care much, however. Eventually, everyone is having their own separate conversations in pairs or small groups in the booth after around Naruto’s third drink. His head is pleasantly fuzzy, and he rests his head on his hand. He sneaks a glance at Sasuke, who was still nursing about half of his second drink. His gaze was fixed on the table.
“Didn’t take you for a lightweight,” Naruto whispers. Sasuke slightly turns his head towards him to meet his gaze.
“I’m not a lightweight, I just have self-control,” Sasuke replies smoothly.
While Naruto wouldn’t ever admit this, he’s more touchy when he’s drinking. He absentmindedly traces lines on Sasuke’s thigh under the table. Sasuke lets him. “So, what brings you back this time?” Naruto asks, keeping the volume low enough for the conversation to just be between the two of them.
“I’m here to check on my family’s properties before I head out again.”
Naruto hummed in understanding. “You could stay longer, you know,” Naruto began but immediately flushed at his words, “I’m sure all of us would appreciate it.”
Sasuke looked at Naruto knowingly, but chose his words carefully. “There’s business I need to attend to away from here.”
Naruto feels frustration bubble in his chest, and he’s reminded of the first time Sasuke left the village in pursuit of strength and vengeance. He understands this isn’t like when they were pre-teens, but the images flash in his head nonetheless. At a loss for words, Naruto’s hand on Sasuke’s thigh stills.
The spell is broken when Naruto catches sight of Hinata and Sai carrying a very unconscious Kiba. “We’re going to take him home,” Hinata announces to the table, albeit quietly, “good night everyone!” Her gaze lands on Naruto for a split second, softening when they make eye contact. With that, the three are gone.
“Well, that’s my cue to go,” Shikamaru says as he stands up from the booth.
“Somebody’s going home with his girlfriend,” Ino says with a smirk.
“Ha ha.”
From there, everyone eventually rises to go in separate directions. Naruto doesn’t miss Sakura and Ino laughing together as they walk home side by side. Unknowingly, he finds himself walking beside Sasuke in the complete opposite direction of his apartment.
“You don’t have to walk me home, you know,” Sasuke says amusedly, “I still know my way around.”
“Yeah well, it’s good exercise. I didn’t get to train today,” Naruto replies, “plus, if anything happens I’ll be here.”
“If anything happens I can handle myself. I should be walking you home, Beta.”
Naruto pushes the image of Sasuke escorting him home to the back of his mind. “Yeah, well, I insist.”
The rest of the walk is comfortably silent, and eventually the pair arrive at Sasuke’s door. Emboldened by the alcohol, Naruto asks the question that has been plaguing him as of late. “What’s a friend to you?”
Sasuke turns to face him, confusion written on his face. “What?”
“I was thinking about when you asked me that question, years ago… And I still don’t have an answer.”
Sasuke thinks about his answer, and shifts his weight to the opposite foot. “A friend is someone you can depend on.”
“We’re friends, right?”
Sasuke meets Naruto’s eyes with a startling level of sincerity. While the silence only lasted a mere moment, Naruto held his breath. It felt like minutes. “I’m not sure,” was the other man’s response.
Naruto felt his stomach twist and drop. It felt as though a pit had opened up inside of his abdomen, swallowing everything whole. The night sky, the grass, the trees– all of it faded around them as Naruto’s tunnel vision narrowed in on Sasuke. He wasn’t sure what he felt– disappointment? Betrayal? Hurt?
Naruto heard the blood rushing in his ears as he took a step towards the other. Sasuke made no attempt to step back. Naruto balls his fists in the front of Sasuke’s shirt, and feels his mouth curl into a snarl. “Sasuke, I chased after you for years. I took beatings for you. There wasn’t a day that passed where I didn’t worry about you. What is that, if not friendship?”
“I never asked you to do that for me,” Sasuke protested heatedly, “I just think this is a little more complicated than friendship.”
“It’s not about asking, it was instinctual,” Naruto gritted out, feeling his throat close with emotion. It was then that he processed the second half of Sasuke’s statement. “Complicated?”
“Do you have those same instincts with Sakura? With Hinata?”
Naruto is unable to answer him. Not because he didn’t have an answer, but rather because the truth wired his mouth shut. In the dead of the night, the two held eye contact inches apart. Naruto’s hands still rested on Sasuke’s chest, his grip having loosened. Sasuke made no attempt to push him away. It’s then that his teammate closes the distance between the two of them and presses his lips, almost shyly, against Naruto’s. The kiss deepens and crescendoes, and Naruto dimly notices his back pressed against Sasuke’s front door. He allows himself to wrap his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders as Sasuke grips his hips firmly. Naruto feels his body arching into the touch, and presses his tongue inside of Sasuke’s mouth as the two try to get impossibly closer to the other as if making up for the months of separation. It’s Naruto who breaks the kiss, allowing himself to be temporarily mesmerized by the trail of spit between the two of them before it split, and takes in a needed breath. “Let’s go inside,” Naruto says hoarsely.
After hastily taking off their shoes at the door, Sasuke guides them to his bedroom, which was surprisingly not dusty after months of disuse, and shuts the door behind them. Seated on the bed, Naruto pulls Sasuke on top of him until his back is pressed against the mattress. The moonlight highlights Sasuke’s sharp features, and Naruto raises his bandaged hand to rest on Sasuke’s cheek as he admires the other. Sasuke scans Naruto’s flushed face beneath him, and Naruto thinks he briefly catches the familiar sight of Sasuke’s sharingan swirling in his eye before it fades as quickly as it came. Naruto allows his hand to trail from Sasuke's cheek to rest in his hair. His hand combs through the black locks of hair, and rests at the base of his skull. Naruto pulls the other in for another kiss, equally as heated as the last. He feels his eyes flutter closed, and Sasuke's lips move further down to suck on a sensitive spot on his neck.
“You smell good,” Sasuke says with his lips brushing against Naruto’s pulse. At this, Naruto shivers– then scoffs.
“I’m a beta.”
“So? I still like the way you smell,” Sasuke says, and then presses another kiss to his neck. “Light and airy,” he mumbles, moving to remove Naruto’s shirt. He raises his arms to make it easier. In turn, Naruto pulls off Sasuke’s pesky coat and unbuttons his shirt under it. Naruto uses his hand in Sasuke’s hair to guide his head to the side, and bites firmly at the junction between his neck and shoulder. He hears Sasuke hiss above him, and the blond man contentedly licks along the indentations his teeth left behind. The two rut against each other half-clothed, and upon hearing a pleased sigh from the Alpha above him, Naruto feels his dick twitch in his pants.
“Take these off,” Sasuke growled. With a baited breath, Naruto lifts his hips to allow Sasuke to remove his pants and underwear. The articles of clothing are tossed aside somewhere so they can be tomorrow’s problem. Sasuke sucks various more marks on Naruto’s chest and abdomen as he works his way down, with Naruto’s thighs eventually on either side of the dark-haired man’s head. It’s then that Naruto feels a wet intrusion pushing past his rim, and gasps. “Relax,” the Alpha almost purrs. With his hands bracing Naruto’s thighs, he focuses on opening Naruto up on his tongue.
The Beta lets out a shaky sigh as his head hits the pillow. Sasuke’s tongue flicks in and out of his hole as he sucks and licks. The sounds they were making were wet and utterly obscene, and it only made Naruto harder. He stifled a moan with the back of his hand as the Alpha’s tongue pressed against a sensitive spot inside of him, and his other hand drifted towards his neglected dick. He bit back another whine, and Sasuke then briefly sat up to remove the hand covering Naruto’s mouth.
“Don’t do that. Let me hear you,” Sasuke says, voice smooth as butter. He presses another kiss to Naruto’s hole, and grabs a container to his right. He lathers his fingers in the slippery substance, and presses one inside while he kisses Naruto’s inner thigh.
“Sa– Sasuke,” Naruto whined breathlessly, his head falling uselessly to the side, “just add another.”
Sasuke looks up at Naruto skeptically, though his movements do not halt.
“Add another finger or I’ll fucking do it myself,” Naruto pants, desperate for more. He hoped his sharp blue gaze communicated just how serious he was.
“Well, we can’t have that,” Sasuke replies as he obliges and adds a second finger. He scissors his digits inside of the Beta, stretching him out pleasantly. Naruto was unable to keep quiet at this point, moaning and gasping out various expletives. He felt his body rutting onto Sasuke’s fingers as his fingers clutched at the bedsheets. The Alpha crooks his fingers at a certain angle, and Naruto loudly gasps as he momentarily sees stars.
“Fuck!” Naruto exclaims, body taut and shaking. Sasuke smirks and continues to mercilessly finger fuck that same spot, leaving Naruto squirming under the Alpha’s firm hold of him. He feels the precum dripping from his dick onto his abdomen, and when the Beta opens his eyes to look at the Alpha between his thighs, he’s met with Sasuke’s bright red sharingan making note of every movement Naruto’s body makes in response to his ministrations. Naruto feels himself break.
“Fuck me,” Naruto demands breathlessly, “now, Alpha.”
At being referred to by ‘Alpha’, Sasuke’s gaze darkens as he removes his fingers. Naruto watches intently as the Alpha quickly removes his pants, also thrown into some corner, and rubs his dick with more lubricant. The Beta realizes his mouth is slightly agape, and shuts it with a gulp.
Sasuke aligns himself with Naruto’s hole, and slowly presses in. Naruto lets go of a baited breath, and hears the squelch of the Alpha’s dick entering him. He tightly grips Sasuke’s shoulder for support, and his other hand rests on the bedsheets. When Sasuke is fully inside, he scans Naruto’s face for any discomfort.
“I’m going to start moving,” Sasuke whispers into Naruto’s ear, nibbling at the lobe. Naruto feels himself shiver and let out a breathless, “Yesss,” in response. The alpha starts slowly, but eventually finds his pace as he ruthlessly fucks inside of the Beta below him. Naruto can hear Sasuke panting directly into his ear. Naruto feels so pleasantly full, his hand resting on Sasuke’s hand once more. He leaves more love bites on the Alpha’s neck as he thrusts inside of him, wanting to draw more beautiful noises from the other man. Sasuke gasps after Naruto tugs his hair, and his hips stutter in response. Naruto moves his hips and grinds onto Sasuke’s dick with each thrust, his mouth falling open as the Alpha hits his sweet spot repeatedly. He hooks his legs around Sasuke’s waist, moaning unabashedly.
“Good boy,” Sasuke murmurs, “you take me so well.” Naruto sobs at the praise.
Sasuke grips Naruto’s hips tightly, tight enough that he’s almost sure it’ll leave a bruise tomorrow, and quickens the pace of his thrusts. With each time the Alpha’s dick grazes his prostate, Naruto feels himself unravel a little more. He’s unable to think straight– his brain feels as though it’s full of cotton. All he can manage to get out are moans and gasps. He dimly notices himself babbling, but he has no control over what comes out of his mouth.
“Fuck, Alpha, please,” Naruto gasps, shaky hands clawing at Sasuke’s back.
“Please, what?” Sasuke replies quietly, sounding as though he’s out of breath.
“I need– Ah–” Naruto whines. He feels the pressure building in his abdomen, but can’t find the words to ask for what he wants. However, Sasuke never needed words to understand Naruto. He leans down, continuing his ministrations, and wraps his hand around Naruto’s leaking cock with slow pumps.
“Come for me, Beta,” Sasuke growls, sharingan swirling. Naruto feels the pressure continue to build, and his eyes roll to the back of his head. He rakes his nails down Sasuke’s back as he shakes with a choked gasp. Body tense, he spills all over his and his Alpha’s abdomens. Sasuke grunts and milliseconds later comes inside of him, the Beta able to feel his heat inside and dripping out of him.
The two remain in each other’s arms, Sasuke not having pulled out yet. When he does, Naruto whines quietly in response, head still reeling and body sensitive. Sasuke presses a kiss to his cheek. The two open their eyes to meet each other’s steady gaze. They feel their hearts beat in sync.
“We’re not friends,” Sasuke says with a smirk.
“I guess we’re not,” Naruto says with a laugh, “boyfriends, though?”
“If you’ll have me.”
“Of course I would, Sasuke,” Naruto says softly, cupping Sasuke’s cheek, “you should stay in the Hidden Leaf Village a little longer than usual, you know.”
Sasuke’s smile falters for a second in shock, and then widens.
“Yeah, maybe I should.”