A/N: Normally I write one-shots but I think I'm going to make this a multi-chap for once and see how it works out. Also I have no idea how boats work so if I fucked something up, I'm sorry. I'm going to do my best to please you all so I hope you enjoy!
Sasuke is pissed at me, as usual. But his office job is seriously stressing him out and it's about that time of year where it's getting warm enough to head out on the boat again. I usually go with the entire friend group (minus Sasuke because he's "busy"—I think he's scared of boats), but I feel bad for always leaving Sasuke out. He's my best friend and never ends up wanting to go, so this can just be a me-and-him thing this time. It'll be fun either way because I'm entertaining enough for the both of us. He's pissed because he doesn't want to come, as usual. He doesn't think I'm "experienced enough" to drive the boat around. It isn't hard, my dad taught me and I do it all the time with our friend group. He probably is a big pussy who's scared of the Pacific Ocean. Well he's going to have to endure it for a couple days while we're out.
It's a perfect day to be on the water. The sun is so bright and there's not a cloud in the sky. The large white sailboat sits near the dock as I walk ahead of Sasuke. He groans and sighs and the sun is already giving him a small sunburn on his cheeks. Good thing I brought sunscreen. His pale ass is gonna need it. He has a small bag with him which probably contains boring shit, like books, and his change of clothes. I have a little basket of stuff—a cord to hook my music up to the speakers on the deck, sun screen (mainly for Sasuke), a couple hats, food for a couple days (junk food and crackers), and a gallon of water. Everything else we need should be on the boat already because my dad had already readied it for us earlier in the morning. So sweet.
I look behind me and see Sasuke squinting his eyes so hard they almost disappear entirely. I tilt my head up to see from under my sun hat. "Did you not bring sunglasses?" I ask.
Sasuke's unbuttoned pale-blue flannel gently flows with the soft breeze. It goes well with his tan shorts. His white undershirt wrinkles as he folds his arms. "You didn't tell me to." Bitch, why do I have to tell you to bring fucking sunglasses.
I control my anger. "There's probably an extra pair in the cabin, don't worry."
"I wasn't worried," Sasuke snaps. Damn, maybe I should have left him at home. I set my stuff down on the sole of the boat and motion for Sasuke to head over, as well. I see him frown and try as steadily as he can to step onto the boat without falling. He falls onto the boat anyway and drops his bag. I laugh hysterically, naturally.
"Ahahahahaha! Oh shit, get up, you bastard," I laugh as I extend my hand to him but he sneers with a 'fuck you' and pushes himself up and grabs the strings of his bag.
"I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this," Sasuke mumbles as his hand wipes his face.
"Awh, you don't mean that, teme, you needed some fresh air. This trip will be good for you!"
"Whatever."
I set things up: I turn the music on, check the lines and set them, inspect absolutely everything to make sure the trip to nowhere and back won't scare Sasuke so much, but I'm sure my dad's already checked everything or he wouldn't have given me the go-ahead. This boat is like his second child. I tidy things up that my dad missed, set a sunhat on Sasuke's head, and hand him a pair of sunglasses and the gallon of water to refill his bottle. He drank his entire bottle of water on the walk here. Way to be hydrated I guess. Or nervous.
The boat gently rocks as tiny waves hit the sides before I unwrap the rope keeping us here from the post and throw it onto the bow. I check up on Sasuke. He's just staring out at the water. Maybe he's alright with this now. I walk past my basket to pick up the bottle of sunscreen and throw it at Sasuke. He easily catches it and undoes the cap. Good, he listens.
I head to the wheel and steer us into the pacific.
About a half hour into our two-day trip, Sasuke is heaving. He smells like sunscreen and vomit. I should have brought some Dramamine or something, but I didn't think he'd get this sick. I notice a bright red duffel bag on the floor of the cockpit with a note on it.
"Just in case.
Love you,
Dad."
I unzip it to find a shit ton of emergency stuff. Thanks for believing in me, dad, damn. He even put a pack of protein bars in here. Ew. I zip the emergency bag up before I head to my basket of shit and grab a pack of saltines for Sasuke and sit next to him on the flat floor of the deck. My hand touches his when I hand him the pack of crackers and he mumbles a 'thanks' as he pulls it open. I didn't think this mini vacation would be babysitting Sasuke. I know he can take care of himself but I feel bad, like it's my fault he feels so shitty. He'll lighten up. Hopefully.
We sail along, sitting next to each other on the floor, and I try to chat with him about the girls we know but he doesn't open up, like normal. Maybe he just isn't interested in any of them. He isn't really contributing to the conversation at all though. He would usually at least insult them but he just isn't talking. Sasuke abruptly jumps up and leans over the side of the boat to puke up the crackers. It lasts a good minute or so before he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and returns to his spot next to me. "Teme, do you want me to take you back? I feel kinda bad about your shittiness."
"I'm not shitty."
"You are throwing up over the side of the boat."
"So what."
"You are fucking difficult, you know that?"
"I've heard it once or twice."
"Alright well be prepared for two days of upset stomach, then."
Throughout the day, I snack on various junk food and Sasuke continues nibbling at his crackers and downing his water. The entire gallon is gone before it gets dark. Not a problem, though, because my dad left a few in here for us along with that emergency bag. God bless that man. I try to calm Sasuke down by talking about things and getting his mind off the rocking, but he just gets angry.
"Shut the hell up, idiot, I'm not a baby. I don't—" he's interrupted by his gurgling stomach. "I don't fucking need a mommy, I'm a grown man!" He gets up again to throw up over the boat, and more crackers spill from his stomach.
"You sure are. Look at you, throwing up like a champ." I smirk at my own remark and Sasuke's scowl doesn't phase me.
I grin bigger when he says, "Fuck you. I should have taken your opportunity to go home when I had the chance."
"Well you're stuck with me until tomorrow now. Hahahaha get over it, asshole."
Although the day was perfectly clear and hot, when it hits night there are a few clouds in the sky and it turns almost chilly. Nothing too bad though, I can still see the stars. I lie down on the deck and Sasuke follows suit. What a follower. Maybe he just wants to stay safe so he goes where I go?
We don't talk for at least an hour. We lie there in the dark, illuminated by natural light, admiring their purpose as clouds slowly accumulate.
"Dammit, the weather guy said it was going to be clear both days. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow," I say. If it rains on teme's poor belly I'm going to shit on someone.
"I'm sorry," I hear Sasuke mumble.
It really catches me off-guard. I turn to look at him and ask, "What?"
"I don't know, I didn't want you to have a shit time but I really can't enjoy myself. I feel like shit. I really wish I stayed home," Sasuke explains. He appears almost guilty and won't look me in the eye.
"It's okay. I shouldn't have forced you to come," I start. "I just wanted you to enjoy yourself instead of always working."
"I enjoy working," Sasuke tries to convince me. He sounds almost insulted.
"Yeah fucking right," my tone is a lot harsher than I intended it to be. "You always have bags under your eyes and can't ever focus because your job stresses you out. Doesn't it feel good to get away from it for at least a couple of days?"
He turns to look at me. "Honestly, I would rather be working than sitting in a puddle of my own vomit on a boat with someone who gets on my last fucking nerve," Sasuke spits. Wow. Well, alright.
"Well if that's how it is, fine. Sorry I bothered. I won't invite you anymore if that's what you want." What started as an apology turned into attacking me, like… what the fuck, Sasuke the Drama Queen should be his nickname. I know he's just mad about his upset stomach, so I should give him space.
I push myself up and head into the boat's cabin while Sasuke continues to lie in the clouded starlight, clutching his torso. His hat's fallen off and is sitting by his head with his sunglasses tucked inside it.
The cabin is kind of nice. It's clean, at least. Two white couches face each other with a small pathway in-between them. Behind them is a short hallway leading to a bathroom and a small bedroom. I head to the bathroom, take a quick piss, wash my hands, and then head into the bedroom. Dad must have put fresh sheets in here. He was seriously on it this morning. I crawl onto the bed and don't even get under the sheets. I stay on top of them and close my eyes and hope the morning comes soon to put Sasuke out of his misery.
My eyes snap open when someone, obviously Sasuke, shakes me awake. His eyes are wide and afraid and he's completely soaked.
"Whoa, what happened, Sasuke? Are you alright?" The boat rocks almost violently.
He is breathing so hard. He's totally panicked. "S-s-storm, there's a storm, Naruto, there's a fucking storm, what the fuck do we do? Oh my God what the FUCK DO WE DO!?" His voice is trembling and his words run together.
Just a storm? "Sasuke, it's okay, there's storms out here all the time, it'll be okay, don't worry."
"Are you sure? Are the waves supposed to be that big?" He's totally panicked.
"Calm down, it's alright," I actually feel really bad for him, he's like a child. Horrified. I scoot off of the bed and pull open the blankets I was just lying on top of. I push the soaking flannel off of his shoulders and down his arms. I reach for the bottom of Sasuke's undershirt. "Here, take this off, and climb into the bed, alright? I'll go check things out." A 'grown man' my ass. I bet no one has seen this side of Sasuke before. I didn't know Sasuke was seriously afraid of anything. Sasuke is stripped to his boxers and clutching the covers so tightly while he is engulfed in the comfort of soft sheets. I hear him, very innocently ask, "Hurry up," and then he tries to recover some of his pride with, "Dumbass."
I turn to head out onto the deck and whisper, "It'll be okay," to Sasuke. Maybe to myself, too.
The door slams back against the wall as soon as I open it. Sasuke wasn't exaggerating. The waves have to be at least 17 feet high. I've seen higher, but never while I've been the one in control of the boat. My dad could take care of this no problem… but I, I don't think I have enough experience. Lightning is bright across the sky, in an almost endless stream. The boat rocks from side to side. Each time waves crash harshly against the sides, water floods the deck. One comes up over my head and I'm immediately drenched, as if I wasn't already from the piercing rain.
I take down the main sail, which I curse myself for not doing before I fell asleep. I watch as Sasuke's hat and sunglasses are grabbed by a wave and pulled into the ocean. I grasp the things that remain on the deck (Sasuke's water bottle, one of his books, a half used gallon of water) and bring them into the cabin. I wrestle with the wind to shut the door and when it does shut, it's with a loud bang. I drop the soaked belongings onto the floor and pull my shirt off as I head back to the bedroom to check on baby Sasuke.
God, he is pathetic. He's tucked himself under the covers and all I can see sticking out are his dark spikes of hair near the headboard. A wave crashes into the side of our vessel and I stumble onto the floor. I get up and grab onto the bed before another wave repeats the action. "You alright, Sasuke?" He moves the blanket away from his face and he has a slight blush of embarrassment. His eyes are still large and afraid.
"Is it okay? Is this normal?" He immediately asks.
Should I lie? If I tell him the truth he's going to be even worse. I see his face lose color and I quickly run to the entrance to get a bucket exclusively for this purpose. I reach Sasuke before he pukes into it. He looks at me, embarrassed again, and repeats his question. "Are we going to be alright? Naruto?"
"Yes. Yes, we're going to be fine Sasuke, don't worry. This is normal. I've been in worse situations, believe me," I lie. "Do you want me to get your bag for you?" He might want to put his sweats on or something, if he brought some. He nods. I run and get it for him—tripping more than once from the boat's swaying—and then change into my own dry clothes. I come back to now-Sasuke's bed. The entire room moves up and down and side-to-side. "Scoot over," I demand. He complies and I lift the covers to scoot myself in. "I know it'll be hard for you, Sasuke, but try to get some sleep. It'll pass before you know it. Just as fast as it showed up, it'll be gone." He looked at me extremely skeptically. I lie on my back and tuck an arm under my head.
I almost find sleep, until a very cold hand grabs onto my arm.
It happens so fast. You never expect these things to happen to you. But here we are. Sasuke was asleep, clutching my arm as tight as he could with his nervous, slender hands. The rocking may have made Sasuke nervous, but began to lull me to sleep. I was so close. But I'm glad I never found it. A hard wave hit the boat and instead of rocking, the boat broke. Windows shattered and water began pouring in through the broken glass openings. Nothing too major yet, but there was another wave.
And another.
And another.
Sasuke was already jumping out of the sheet and putting a black, long-sleeved shirt on. His eyes were alarmed and his hands… I've never seen Sasuke's hands shake so horribly. I quickly threw on clothes, as well. I ran to the other side of the bed and grabbed Sasuke's arm to pull him along with me. Water buried our feet as I hurriedly tried to get Sasuke out of the cabin. Now, he's having another panic attack and I don't have the nerve to tell him I'm on the verge of one too. I've never had to deal with this either, God dammit! What am I supposed to do? The rain is wicked—stinging and cold. The wind is fierce and Sasuke clutches my hand as tight as he can. What am I looking for? What am I doing? …The life raft! Where the fuck is the life raft!? The rain makes it almost impossible to see anything. I look around frantically for the poor excuse for a safety device. I spot it within the next minute, pull the tab to inflate it, and push it over the edge of the boat.
"What are you doing!?" Sasuke screams. The water is making his hair stick to his face. He's terrified. I've never wanted to give Sasuke a hug as bad as I did right then, but there were more important things to do, like save our lives.
"We have to get off of this boat!" The waves make it so hard to hear even while we're yelling right next to each other. Sasuke falls down from the wetness and the rocking. He doesn't try to get up. He just sits there in a sad puddle of defeat, staring at the floor. "The cabin is almost entirely underwater! This bitch is sinking, Sasuke! And I'm not letting us go down with it! Get in the life raft, now!" He looks down at the orange, sorry-excuse for hope, and climbs down as slowly as possible. I immediately follow him and I push us away from the boat. I use the included paddle to get us far away so we don't sink along with it when the entire thing falls. I glance at Sasuke. On his knees in disbelief. Can't say I'm much different.
We are in awe. Sitting in the bright orange life raft, the tent-like hood gives us no relief from the rain as we stare at my dad's pride and joy sink into the Pacific Ocean. He's going to kill me. Then I realize… the supplies. The emergency bag my dad left us. There's no way in hell we would live out here without it. A week at best, and what if no one finds us by then?
I can't fucking believe this. "I… have to go back," I say barely above a whisper.
"What?!" Sasuke yells. "No, you're staying here, I'm not letting you go back there!"
"Sasuke! If I don't, we will die in days! Days! We won't last without those supplies! If anything, you'll get more room for yourself in this dinky raft." I smile at my sad attempt at a joke in this situation and dive into the water.
"Naruto!" I hear Sasuke scream. He screams it over and over, loud and bloodcurdling. Naruto! Naruto! I'm not going to be the reason we die. I'm going to die trying. The sailboat is almost entirely underwater. I swim to the top, what would be the bow, and take a deep breath before diving down. I manage to open the door to the cabin relatively easily.
But where is it?
Where is the bag? I don't remember where I saw it. Was it in the cabin? No… No it was in the cockpit. Fucking hell! I go deeper, it's after the cabin. It's so dark, I can't see a fucking thing. My head gets so light and I'm losing my air. This can't be where it ends… But I feel it. The strangely thick fabric of the duffel bag. It's caught on the ledge next to the wheel. Talk about luck. I grab it, sling it around my neck and try as hard as I can to make it back to the surface. I'm still running out of time.
This boat could totally sink at any minute and take me with it. I break the surface and swear I have never taken a fresher breath of air in my entire life. Sasuke is still screaming my name. Didn't know he loved me so much. Maybe he just doesn't want to be stuck out here by himself. Haha how am I still making jokes, he would love that.
I swim back to the orange raft and hear the relief in Sasuke's voice, "Oh shit, oh thank God, you're okay, and you got the bag." He reaches his hand out and helps me into the raft. We watch the ship sink together as our little raft drifts away at the mercy of these merciless waves.
My heart sinks to my stomach when I look at Sasuke's face. He's so understandably bewildered. This is almost the worst thing that could have happened. But least we're both alive.
Sasuke quiets down, but still manages to throw up into the ocean a few more times before calming down a lot. The waves calm, as well. We fall asleep that night closer friends than we were earlier, but if you ask me, this is definitely the beginning of our troubles.
A/N: I'll update as soon as possible with a new chapter! Hope you like it so far. (:
