Fandom: Naruto/Naruto Shippuden
Pairing: NaruSasu
Warnings: AU, Blind!Sasuke.
Summery: On a chance encounter with a stranger named Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha looses something very important to him. When he gets it back, Sasuke can't get the other out of his head and willingly enters a little game of his choosing with him with interesting results. NaruSasu. AU. One-shot. Blind!Sasuke.
AN: Hey guys! This is my first time writing a NaruSasu story, so I'm a little nervous. I hope you guys like it.
Also, for anyone reading this who read my other stories, this is kinda part of why a new chapter hasn't been put up. That and I'm going through some writers block. I know what I want just not how to write it. A new chapter should be put up eventually though, so stay tuned!
Anyway, please enjoy!
Work For It
Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth in repressed anger.
Who did his brother think he was?
He and Itachi had never really gotten along. Sasuke wasn't sure why. He liked to think that Itachi was just an asshole, but Sasuke knew better. He and Itachi had never gotten along because of one simple reason.
Sasuke was blind.
He hadn't always been blind. When he was a small child, he sometimes remembered flash's of different colours and shapes, but those had all but faded from Sasuke's memory. If Sasuke thought about it hard enough, he could remember getting along well with Itachi when he was really young, but those memories had faded along with the colours and shapes.
Sasuke didn't really understand why being blind suddenly changed their relationship so much, but by now, Sasuke had given up on figuring that out. It wasn't worth his time.
What bothered Sasuke the most about Itachi was the fact he seemed to hate Sasuke, but still thought he could boss Sasuke around. That was why Sasuke was angry at Itachi now. Itachi had been working on a college paper and had ordered Sasuke to play outside like some little, good for nothing child.
Sasuke had been furious.
So, he had grabbed his seeing eye dog, Kyuubi, and had left the house with anger shaking his body.
Sasuke felt a wet nose bump his hand and he suddenly relaxed, letting out a loud sigh through his nose and rubbing a hand over his face.
He tightened his hand on Kyuubi's leash and stepped away from where he had been standing, glaring at nothing and continued on his way. He and Kyuubi hadn't gone out on a walk like this for a long time. Sasuke could give Itachi credit for that, he supposed. At least he could spend time with his dog, alone. He was tired of dealing with his family.
Beside's Itachi, there was his mother and father, who acted more often than not like Sasuke was a fragile being needing to be taken care of and dealt with carefully.
Sasuke, of course, hated it.
It wasn't like he hated his parents, he loved them, but he wished deeply that they would realize he wasn't hopeless. Maybe things at dinner would be a whole lot less awkward and they would stop acting like they were walking on eggshells all the time.
Sasuke could only hope.
Sasuke broke out of his thoughts when he was suddenly tugged forward, tripping over a crack in the sidewalk and almost falling flat on his face.
Shaking away his shock and gaining his feet, Sasuke secured his hold on the leash, glaring unseeingly in the direction of the pull and digging his heels in place.
"Kyuubi! What the hell? Heel!" He called, probably looking completely stupid to the people around him as he kept glaring in different directions as his dog moved from one spot to another.
Kyuubi didn't settle and Sasuke wasn't sure what to do. Kyuubi had never acted this way before. He decided to continue to pull on the leash, he and Kyuubi suddenly part of a strange tug of war, and let out a shocked gasp when with one final pull on both sides, the leash slipped from Sasuke's hands, Kyuubi running off in a unseen direction and Sasuke falling on his ass, wincing.
Sasuke froze.
Suddenly, Sasuke was in a sea of confusion, sounds of cars zooming by and honking, people walking by him in their six inch heels and ignoring his obvious presence, dogs barking, people chatting loudly, children laughing, a garbage truck making a loud squeaking sound as it stopped...
Sasuke was overwhelmed.
This was why he never went outside on his own. Things like this happened.
Sasuke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in and letting it out to calm himself. Without any other hesitation, he stood, forcing his ears to zero in on the sound of his dog.
Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut tight, ignoring the sounds that didn't matter and took a small step forward. And then another. Before long, he was stepping around people and trying desperately to follow the right sound.
Turning a corner, Sasuke heard familiar barking and felt immense relief fill him. So Kyuubi hadn't actually gone off that far. He was about to step forward to scold the disobedient dog, when he heard a deep unfamiliar voice speak.
"Woah, hey there, who are you? You lose your owner, little guy?"
Sasuke paused and tilted his head, sightless eyes staring curiously at what he was sure was his dog jumping on a complete stranger.
Was Kyuubi looking for this person? Why? Kyuubi didn't even know this person. He had never acted this way before, it didn't make sense that he would now.
Sasuke wasn't sure what to make of this.
Kyuubi barked happily, probably wagging his tail and getting slobber all over the strangers face.
Sasuke glowered, abruptly disgusted with the situation. He never liked meeting new people, especially as blind as he was now. He hated being pitied and sympathized with. He got enough of that at home.
Gaining confidence and breaking away from the surprise of someone else with his dog, Sasuke stomped forward, grabbing Kyuubi's collar and using the strength he had left to pull the dog away from the stranger, fumbling with the leash as he did so and glaring daggers at him.
"Heel, you fucking mutt." Sasuke muttered, annoyed at the dogs insolence.
The stranger laughed and Sasuke looked up, staring in his general direction with growing hostility.
"Hahaha, sorry about that! Animals seem to gravitate to me for some reason. I can't help it! Is he yours? Well, of course he must be, you wouldn't be here otherwise!" The stranger said, good naturally. Sasuke had a feeling that the stranger was rubbing the back of his neck, grinning huge at Sasuke.
Unlike the stranger, Sasuke was the opposite of amused. He wasn't sure why, but this stranger rubbed him the wrong way.
At Sasuke's silent glare, the stranger cleared his throat and (Sasuke guessed) offered his hand.
"Hey, my names Naruto Uzumaki! What's yours?" He tried, now smiling sheepishly.
Sasuke batted the hand away and turned his head away, frowning.
"Hn." Was his only answer.
Naruto The Stranger faltered. Sasuke could tell by the way Kyuubi whined, sadly.
Sasuke was going to have to punish that dog later for feeling any sort of sympathy for Naruto The Stranger, let alone lead him into this situation to begin with.
Sasuke turned to leave without a thank you (he did stop Kyuubi from leaving further and saved Sasuke the trouble of walking around blindly and looking for him further, but Sasuke had a feeling Kyuubi had meant to stop at Naruto when he ran off) or goodbye.
Naruto The Stranger's voice interrupted Sasuke's escape.
"Hey, you're going to leave without telling me your name?" He asked.
Sasuke's brows came together in confusion. Why did this stranger want to know his name so badly? It wasn't like Sasuke would ever see him again.
Sasuke didn't bother to turn and snorted.
"Yes."
He then left, ignoring Naruto The Stranger's sound of protest and Kyuubi's attempts to get back to him.
Sasuke scoffed.
What a mess.
Naruto watched the mysterious boy go and sighed.
"Dammit." He muttered.
Such a pretty boy and he didn't even get his name. He hadn't even been able to look the boy in the eyes, the boy had always been looking over Naruto's shoulder or at his stomach. Naruto wondered if the boy was shy. Maybe that's why he didn't share his name? Naruto wasn't sure.
Sighing one more time, Naruto went to leave, only to step on something. Glancing down, Naruto spotted...
"A book?"
Naruto bent down and picked it up, scanning the cover and frowned.
"That's strange. This is braille. Who's book is this?" Naruto questioned, glancing around, but seeing no one who seemed to have lost something.
He flipped the book open, looking at the pages for any clues. Everything was in braille and Naruto grew frustrated. Just when he was about to give up and just put the book back where he found it, Naruto remembered the mysterious boy.
He closed the book and stared at the cover.
"Maybe this is his book? Maybe he knows braille?" Naruto frowned, tapping a finger to his chin and crossing his other arm around his stomach, his elbow resting on that arm, thinking.
He decided to pocket the book (it was pretty small) and figure out what to do with it later.
Suddenly remembering he had somewhere to be, Naruto jumped, eyes widening in alarm (he couldn't be late!) and hurried down the sidewalk, swearing under his breath, the book now in the back of his mind.
It wasn't until he was a few blocks away from Naruto The Stranger did Sasuke finally calm, slowing his pace to a less outrageous one.
He pouted.
"Kyuubi, why'd you do that?" He asked, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer. Kyuubi, as much of an attitude he had, could not talk.
Sasuke just sighed, feeling strange. Sasuke didn't meet strangers often. When he did, he tended to make conversation's short or ignore them completely, letting others nearby deal with them instead. Meeting Naruto and being forced to converse with him had taken a lot out of Sasuke and he was suddenly exhausted.
Sighing again, Sasuke tugged on Kyuubi's leash.
"Let's go home."
But Kyuubi whined.
Sasuke grew angry.
"What now?" He snapped, loosing patience and crossing his arms.
Kyuubi's wet nose tapped his pocket.
Sasuke batted his nose away with a frustrated hand, but instantly froze, frowning. Then his eyes widened.
Sasuke stuffed his hand in his pocket, searchingly and came up empty handed.
"It's gone." He whispered, shocked.
Sasuke closed his eyes, slumping forward and resisting the urge to cry.
He turned away, wordlessly.
Today had been the worst day of his life. He could only hope it didn't get worst.
Things were strangely silent when Sasuke finally got back home, hours later, feeling defeated. He couldn't hear Itachi or his parents and that worried him, if just slightly. It was probably dinner time now and his parents were usually done with their activities and home by now. Where could they be?
Walking further into the house, Sasuke listened carefully for any sounds of human life.
Kyuubi barked, breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts, trying to escape his confinement.
Sasuke bent down and distractingly unhooked the leash from Kyuubi's collar. The dog went zooming past Sasuke and into the next room.
Sasuke frowned, confused. That dog was acting weird.
"Dammit, you stupid mutt! When will your son get rid of this awful dog, Mikoto? It never listens and it's as big as a bear! An orange bear! It isn't even a proper seeing eye dog! The damn thing listens to no one!" Came a familiar pissed off voice.
Sasuke smiled.
Mikota, Sasuke's mother, laughed.
"Oh, he listens well enough, Tsunade. He's usually much more obedient, I think?" She suddenly changed the conversation, "Sasuke, dear, has something happened? You have dirt on your shirt." His mother pointed out, worried.
Sasuke had followed the sound of their voices and was now standing in the doorway, listening.
He shrugged, not really in the mood to tell anyone about how his walk had been.
Kyuubi was wagging his tail and jumping around, acting just like he had with Naruto.
Sasuke frowned.
"Ahh, Sasuke, just the person I wanted to see." Tsunade said, rummaging with something.
Before Sasuke could ask, Tsunade had gotten up and walked over to him, handing him something hard and rectangular. It felt familiar.
Sasuke ran a hand over the cover and paused, trying not to react too violently to what he discovered.
Sasuke knew Tsunade was smirking.
"W-where did you get this?" He asked, biting his lip.
Tsunade's smirk widened.
"A little bird I knew had it." At Sasuke's confused look, Tsunade elaborated.
"I know that boy you met today. He's my grandson. Naruto found it after you left and gave it to me when he visited me earlier today. I came here straight after. I know how important that book is to you. How much it means to you." Her voice grew softer towards the end and Sasuke just knew she was giving him a sympathetic look.
Sasuke ignored that in favour of something much more important. This Naruto guy had found his book when Sasuke had thought for sure he had lost it for good. Naruto was Tsunade's grandson. Kyuubi had reacted the same to Tsunade as he did Naruto. Tsunade had just been with Naruto just hours ago. Therefore, Kyuubi had smelled Naruto's scent off of Tsunade.
Naruto had found his book and had given Tsunade it to give to Sasuke.
Sasuke felt a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach and glanced down, hiding a small smile.
Tsunade continued.
"He says 'you're welcome', by the way. That is to say if you want to thank him to begin with." The amusement from the situation was clearly in Tsunade's voice.
Sasuke's smile turned into a glare. He snapped his eyes up to look in the general direction of Tsunade and his mother.
"Tell him to fuck off." He growled.
His mother gasped at his language but didn't move to scold him. If he was Itachi, she would have. That made Sasuke more upset. Why couldn't his mother treat him more like Itachi?
Tsunade just laughed, amused.
"Yeah, okay, I will. But that wasn't the only reason I was here. You need another yearly medical examination, Sasuke." The evil grin was visible, even to Sasuke's sightless eyes.
Sasuke frowned, unsatisfied
He was wrong. The day could get worse.
He tightened his hold on his precious book and thought about Naruto, the mysterious stranger who had found his book and made an effort to give it back to him. A plan formed in his head and he bit his lip.
Tsunade stood up.
"Well, let's start then." She said, cheerfully.
Sasuke glared at her.
The next day Sasuke found himself outside once again with Kyuubi at his side.
He took a deep breath.
He couldn't believe he was doing this. His pride was certainly wounded.
He kicked Kyuubi, who yelped.
Sasuke ignored him, still not altogether forgiving over yesterday.
"Okay, mutt, find Naruto and I'll give you all the treat's you want to your heart's content. Got that?"
Kyuubi didn't need to be told twice. As soon as Naruto's name was spoken, the dog was off, Sasuke struggling to keep up without tripping.
"Damn dog." He muttered, despite feeling glad Kyuubi had listened.
It didn't take long before they had reached the town and even shorter time when they reached Naruto. Sasuke let go when Kyuubi got ready to jump, guessing they had arrived, and listened intently to Naruto's surprised gasp.
"What the-" He said before being covered in dog kisses.
He pushed the dog away and frowned when he took a good look at the dog. The bright orange dog.
"Hey, you're that one dog..." He trailed off, glancing up and spotting the mysterious boy from yesterday staring silently at him, emotionless.
Naruto's heart stopped for a beat. He hadn't expected to ever see this boy again. When he remembered the book, he had been shocked to find Tsunade knew the boy who owned it, but he was even more frustrated when she refused to tell him who that boy was. Saying some annoying thing like, 'if he didn't wanna tell, I'm not saying anything.' It was the most frustrating thing Naruto had ever been through. It hadn't been fair at all. He had said as such to Tsunade. She had laughed.
But here was the boy again. Naruto was getting a second chance to find out who this boy was. He, of course, was going to take it.
He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Heh, is this going to become a habit or tradition of some sort?" He asked to break the awkward mood.
The boy stayed silent, tilting his head to the side and blinking once. Naruto noticed he was staring to the right of Naruto and not really anywhere near Naruto's person.
That was another thing. Tsunade had refused to tell him how she knew this boy. Saying it was 'not a loud' because he was a patient. Naruto called bullshit on that.
Suddenly, the boy moved, now inches away from Naruto. He was fast. Naruto blinked.
The boy opened his mouth and took in a breath.
"Sasuke Uchiha. My name is Sasuke Uchiha." His voice was solid and didn't waver, but the boy seemed nervous. He kept glancing over Naruto's face. Naruto noticed a strange tinge to those eyes, though he wasn't sure what that meant.
Then Sasuke, as Naruto now knew him as, closed those strange eyes and took a deep, calming breath and shoved a crumpled paper into Naruto's right hand.
Naruto blinked in further surprise, glancing at his hand and straightening out the paper to look at it.
He frowned, confused.
He quickly looked up, but the mysterious boy, Sasuke, was gone.
He looked more closely at the paper. In written words it said, 'My address'. Underneath those words was braille.
Naruto blinked one last time and smiled, half amused. He got it now. He was just issued a challenge. For giving Sasuke back his book he was rewarded his name. Now he had to figure out what this braille said. An address. Sasuke's address. This was the challenge.
Naruto's smile grew into a grin and he thrust his hand's into the air, paper crushed in one of his fists. He was given strange looks as he was still standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk, in the middle of town.
"Well, challenge accepted, Sasuke Uchiha! You just wait, I'll woo you out of you're socks!"
Naruto hoped he was wearing socks or his declaration didn't really hold up.
Naruto shrugged and hurried off to figure out the code ('cause that was what it was to Naruto; a code) and he wasn't going to cheat. He had to prove he could find it out on his own without looking it up on the internet. He was stronger than that!
Naruto frowned, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he tilted the paper in different angles, as though this would somehow change the characters and make it understandable to Naruto's brain.
He scratched his head, squinting.
Sakura laughed, sitting herself down beside Naruto and sipping at a strawberry smoothie. She handed Naruto his own chocolate one and raised an eyebrow at Naruto's frustrated sigh as he placed the paper carefully on the table and took the chocolate smoothie from Sakura's grip.
"What are you even doing anyway, Naruto? You've been sitting here at this booth for hours, staring at a tiny piece of paper," She leaned forward, squinting at it and instantly raising both her eyebrows, leaning back and giving Naruto a significant look. "In braille."
Naruto didn't answer immediately, instead he took his time and sipped slowly on his chocolate smoothie, looking thoughtfully annoyed.
Sakura stayed silent, patiently waiting and sipping at her own smoothie.
Finally, Naruto put down his drink and took a deep breath.
"I met this boy..." He started.
Sakura openly rolled her eyes.
"Oh no, not again." She drawled, shaking her head.
Naruto shot her an irritated glare.
She ignored it.
"So, who's the lucky boy this time? Is he hot? How did you meet?"
Naruto thought back to the mysterious boy named Sasuke and blushed red.
Sakura raised an interested eyebrow, putting down her own smoothie.
"Wow, you've got it bad. You know, just by that, I think this one could be the one!"
Naruto pouted, crossing his arms.
Sakura suddenly frowned.
"Wait a minute, that doesn't really explain your reasoning for staying here all day. I had to beg my boss to not kick you out once she realized you weren't going to buy anything! She was really pissed. You know how she get's when costumers waste her time and space. She was ready to start throwing smoothie cups at your head!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement. Apparently she had liked the prospect of her boss throwing things at costumers.
Naruto winced. It wasn't the first time Naruto had been threatened by violence by the owner of the smoothie shop. She had thrown things at him before. She had a surprisingly good aim.
He turned to Sakura, rubbing the back of his head and looking sheepish.
"Well, you see, me and Sasuke are playing a game. This paper has his address, but it's in braille. I have to figure it out to meet him again." Naruto frowned, staring back down at the paper and once again trying to magically find out what the braille said.
Sakura smirked.
"Wow, this boy knows braille. Are you sure he's not way out of your league?" She asked.
Naruto ignored her, to engrossed in the characters. He had to figure this out or he'd never see Sasuke again! He just had too!
Sakura sighed, deeply and snatched the paper from Naruto's eye line.
"Hey!" He cried, trying to snatch it back, suddenly afraid she'd rip it in two and he'd never see that beautiful boy again.
Sakura continued to pull it away from his reach, shaking her head.
"Naruto, listen! You're never going to get anything done just staring at it! Either go to the library and learn braille or take some classes because what you're doing now is just plain moronic, even for you!" Sakura snapped.
Naruto was about to continue what he was doing when what Sakura said finally sunk in. He deflated. She was right, of course. He'd never see Sasuke this way. He'd have to learn.
"But that is going to take forever!" He moaned, throwing his hands in the air and banging his head on the table.
Sakura looked amused at his reaction, setting the paper back on the table.
"Don't you have anybody who can help you with this? I'm no expert in any language, so I'm not really any help. I can only give you suggestions." She shrugged, looking apologetic and returning to her smoothie.
Naruto suddenly sat up and snapped his fingers, remembering someone who could help and he wouldn't be cheating at all!
"I've got it!"
It was perfect. He'd see Sasuke in no time.
Jiraya raised an unsure eyebrow when he saw Naruto, his student and grandson standing on the other side of Jiraya's door, bouncing excitingly and looking desperate.
He didn't seem to be able to sit still, Jiraya noted. Though, Naruto was always like that so what did he know. That could be normal.
He crossed his arms, unimpressed.
"Kid, what do you want? What are you here for?" He questioned, observing Naruto's jumpy movements.
"Jiraya, do you know any braille?" He blurted out, voice coming out quick and high pitched. He looked even more desperate and was trying to gauge Jiraya's answer by squinting harshly up at him.
Jiraya sighed, defeated and more than a little curious. Sure, he had some writing of his novel and more research needing to be done than he could shake a stick at, but something told him this was going to be much more entertaining. All of that could wait.
He stepped out of the way to let his student in.
"Come on in, Naruto."
"Let me get this straight, you met a boy who's only real words to you were insults and his own name and you want me to help you learn braille so you can, what? Bang like rabbits?" Jiraya asked, arms crossed and leaning back against his chair, a sceptical eyebrow raised.
Naruto deflated where he was sat opposite of Jiraya on the couch, bending in on himself as he pouted.
"No. Well, OK, maybe there will be something like that, but that will be much further in our relationship! I just want to get to know him! There's something special about him, I just know it!" Naruto's voice grew in volume as he imagined such things. This boy had to be defiantly something if Naruto was going to great lengths to even speak with him.
Despite what others believed, Naruto didn't fall in love or any sort of trance so easily. Sure, he slept around with many different people and swore they were the one, but Jiraya had always known Naruto wasn't into any of them. He had known Naruto practically for all of the kids life. He knew what Naruto looked like when he actually believed something to be true. Naruto would not go to such a length just to get a quick shag and a week or two of blissful ignorance.
This was real.
Jiraya smiled, slyly.
"Wow, this boy must be really something, Naruto." He voiced his thoughts, smiling more genuinely when Naruto shot him a wide grin and nodded quickly.
"Yep! That's why I need to know everything I can about him, but I can't find anything out until I can read braille! So, please, Jiraya, help me! I'll do anything in return." Naruto begged, hands pressed together in his plea.
Jiraya shook his head, laughing to himself.
"How can I say no to that face?"
Naruto lit up, but Jiraya continued, stroking his chin.
"Well, I must admit, a may be a writer, but I don't know any braille."
Naruto instantly deflated, slapping a palm to his forehead.
Jiraya chuckled.
"But... but... what do I do now, then?! There's no way I can learn braille quickly! It'll take me years to understand it! I'll never see Sasuke again!" Naruto moaned, resigning himself to his new fate.
Jiraya continued to laugh.
"Oh, cheer up, kid! You only need to learn the address, right?"
Naruto nodded, sadly, mind still caught up on piles of heavy books and Sasuke moving on and forgetting him.
Jiraya got up and walked toward his giant book case. He skimmed the titles before pulling one off the shelf.
He turned to Naruto, who was giving Jiraya a confused look.
"Here, kid. I may not know braille, but I just so happen to have a how to book on the basics of braille that I was planning to read in my spare time. Study that and you're sure to find out that code of yours in about a week. Maybe shorter if you try really hard." Jiraya said the last part jokingly, eyes twinkling in unconcealed humour.
Naruto let out a happy shout and stood quickly, grabbing the book from Jiraya's hands and rapping his arms around Jiraya.
"Oh, thank God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're the best grandfather ever! I love you!" Naruto practically squealed, happy he wouldn't be spending a year cooped up in his room staring at dusty books.
Jiraya smiled.
"Yeah, whatever, kid. Just remember to stay save."
Naruto choked on his words, backing away and giving Jiraya an annoyed glare.
Jiraya brought his hands up in front of himself, waving them in a sign of piece.
He chuckled.
"OK. OK. Just go already and get started on that book! Come back with the details when all this over. Maybe I can put it in my new book! I have been having writer's block lately. Maybe it'll help!"
He earned a whack over the head from the 'How To Read Braille' book for his efforts.
It had been a whole week since Sasuke had seen Naruto and by now he was feeling like the stupidest person who ever lived. He had no clue why he had been compelled to even meet Naruto for the second time, let alone hint to more meetings in the future. What kind of force had pulled him in Naruto's direction after just one meeting? What had made him tell Naruto his name? To give him his address and hope, for what? That Naruto would even take the time to decode it?
Sasuke scrunched up his nose and scoffed.
He was a complete idiot. How could he even expect so much from a boy who was only a stranger? He wasn't just an idiot, he was insane. He should be sent to an insane asylum. He'd fit well there, he was sure.
A knock on his room's door caused Sasuke to flinch and snap his eyes in the direction of the sound.
He frowned.
"Yeah. Who is it?" He asked, slightly moody. This whole thing with Naruto, whatever it could be called, was getting to his nerves and making him more unhappy than he wanted to admit.
"Itachi." Was the only response and the door was inched open. Sasuke could hear the small squeak from the old and wearing hinges.
He glared, sitting up and crossing his arms.
"Humph," He huffed, "What do you want?"
There was silence. Itachi was always silent. It tended to get on Sasuke's nerves considering he couldn't read Itachi's body language or facial fixtures. It wasn't particularly fair, but things that had to do with Itachi never were.
"If you don't have anything to say, you should just go. I don-"
"There's a strange boy standing outside our door." Itachi voiced, blandly. Sasuke could imagine the blank look on his face.
Sasuke blinked, shocked. His mouth hung open slightly as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. Once he did, he was off his bed and past Itachi and out his door and down the stairs. Despite being blind, Sasuke knew the way around his house easily; he had lived here his whole life after all. He didn't trip once.
Kyuubi was already at the bottom of the stairs, by the door, barking happily.
Sasuke ignored this in favour of opening that damn door already. He practically swung it open and on contact with the outside sun, Sasuke went emotionless, blinking.
He waited.
There was a sharp gasp from both Sasuke and the one on the other side of the door when Kyuubi, not waiting for anyone else, skidded past Sasuke and jumped on the other.
Sasuke couldn't stop the brief happy smile that crossed his face. He didn't need anything else to tell him this was Naruto in front of him, Kyuubi's reaction was enough. He felt a strange excitement coarse through him. Naruto had actually come back! He was at his house!
Sasuke froze.
Naruto was at his house.
Eyes widening at this realization, Sasuke did the only thing he could think to do in his sudden panic.
He slammed the door on both Naruto and Kyuubi, swearing like a drunken sailor.
He stared incredulously at the door. This had been a terrible idea. What was he suppose to do now? He hadn't thought this far. He had a whole week and he had failed to even think about what to do next! Maybe he had always feared that Naruto wouldn't come back, wouldn't care about him at all and would forget about him and move on to someone else. It wasn't like they were even in a relationship to begin with. Naruto had no reason to seek him out further. It wasn't like he even knew if he wanted a relationship with Naruto to begin with! This was all happening to fast for Sasuke, who barely met or pursued people. What was he going to do?
Before he could panic further, he heard someone descend the stairs and stop in front of him.
"Sasuke, please look up." Itachi spoke, softly. Sasuke hadn't heard him speak that way in a long time.
Sasuke reacted to the way he had said the simple words, so unheard of from his usually stoic brothers mouth.
Swallowing, his own mouth suddenly try, Sasuke lifted his head up, not expecting anything comforting from his older brother...
...only to be poked in the forehead.
Sasuke blinked, hand immediately rubbing his forehead. He glared at Itachi.
"Ow, idiot brother, what was that for?" He questioned, still rubbing at his forehead.
He was only rewarded by silence and seconds later Itachi turned around and headed back up the stairs without saying another word. Without even an explanation.
Sasuke was obviously confused after such an encounter with his hard to read brother, but he was broken from this when a hesitant knock was heard from behind him and he was brought back to what was much more pressing right now.
He turned back around and stared into the darkness, realizing he didn't have to open that door if he didn't want to. Nobody was forcing him.
But was that what he really wanted?
Sasuke wasn't sure.
He would have to find out now.
Naruto swore, annoyed with himself. He had finally figured out what the paper had said, but couldn't even bring himself to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. He hadn't expected such an obviously rich house. There was a frigging gardener pulling out weeds in their front lawn, for Gods sake. Naruto didn't belong here. Why did Tsunade even know these people so well?
Naruto took a deep breath and raised his fist (and not for the first time) he hesitated in moving it closer.
He was losing his nerve. He hadn't even had much to begin with since he started walking into the richer part of town and saw all the fancy hedges and yards and even fancier houses.
He knew he couldn't just give up after all he'd been through. He wanted to see Sasuke again, but he was starting to think that was an impossible task.
Out of nowhere, to Naruto's surprise, the door flung open and on the other side stood Sasuke, emotionless as ever and just staring, something Naruto was starting to realize was common with him.
Naruto opened his mouth, trying not to panic. He should be happy, after all. His decision had been made for him.
Feeling suddenly more confident, Naruto tried to speak, only for him to be suddenly attacked by an orange fluff ball licking his face.
He gasped, trying to fend the dog off.
A sound like his heart breaking hit when the door slammed and Naruto tried not to cry in his frustration. He had imagined this moment ever since he first been issued the challenge by Sasuke and this was nothing like he had imagined. He had been hoping to sweep Sasuke off his feet, not scare him away!
He pushed the dog away, rubbing the dog slobber angrily off his face. What should he do now?
He eyed the door and then the paper still crumpled in his hand and grew determined. He couldn't do this to himself and Sasuke. If Sasuke was shy he'd just have to make him open up more. That meant he needed to try harder to get Sasuke out of his comfort zone.
His courage growing, Naruto leaned forward and with some hesitance that only a first real meeting could bring, Naruto knocked on the door and backed away, holding his breath. He felt like his future was being decided in this one moment. It was the most nerve wracking few seconds Naruto had ever experienced.
The door opened.
Naruto let out the breath he was holding, forcing a nervous grin on his face and rubbing the back of his head, laughing nervously.
Sasuke stared back, eyes staring over Naruto's shoulder. Something else Sasuke did a lot. He never looked Naruto in the eye. Not once.
Realizing Sasuke was waiting for him to explain why he was here, Naruto cleared his throat.
"Um, well I found out what the paper said, so, here I am?" Naruto said, lamely, ending it in more of a question than a statement. He winced.
Sasuke only continued staring, outwardly unperturbed by the awkwardness of the situation. Naruto had no clue what he was actually feeling. That boy was pretty hard to read.
Naruto wasn't sure what to say. He had been so excited that he finally understood the paper that he had rushed here instantly. He hadn't thought up a very convincing plan.
"Uh, can I come in?" Naruto asked, batting away the persistent wet dog nose that was sniffing his hand.
Sasuke tilted his head, but nodded, stepping back.
Kyuubi rushed in after Naruto as the nervous boy walked into the too good for him house. It was even more gorgeous and expensive inside the house than it was outside. It made Naruto more uncomfortable and nervous beyond believe.
"You have a really good looking house." He awkwardly complemented.
Sasuke surprisingly snorted at that, closing the door.
"I guess." He shrugged, not even looking at the house and instead over Naruto's head. His eyes, now that Naruto could focus on them, were strangely misty. It made Naruto frown, something nagging inside of him, trying to tell him something important, but he wasn't sure what that important thing was.
"Why did it take you so long to find the answer to the paper, Naruto?" Sasuke questioned. His voice sounded strange. Almost accusing.
Naruto frowned further.
"Well, you didn't expect me to learn enough braille to read it in a day, did you?" He asked, perplexed. If he did, well, Naruto was just gonna have to do better next time if Sasuke had such high expectations.
Something weird crossed Sasuke's face and he blinked.
"You didn't just look it up?"
"Nope." Naruto popped the 'p', shaking his head.
Sasuke glanced at his feet, hair hiding his face and suddenly eerily silent. Naruto was afraid he had done something wrong. Was he not suppose to do that? He had never been given further rules! How was he suppose to know?
Sasuke was suddenly in front of him, using that quick moving skills again. He was still staring at his feet.
"Idiot." Sasuke muttered.
Without warning, he hit Naruto over the head.
Naruto cried out.
"What the-? Sasuke, what was that for?" Naruto cried, holding the back of his head with both hands.
Sasuke didn't speak any further and they were left standing in front of each other silently, Naruto staring at Sasuke and Sasuke still staring at his feet. It wasn't awkward, though. Naruto supposed it should be, but it just wasn't.
After a few seconds of thought, he decided on something.
"Hey, you want to go hang out in the park? We could even bring your dog!"
Kyuubi barked, as though understanding the meaning behind Naruto's words.
Sasuke nodded quietly in response and Naruto grinned.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Sasuke couldn't believe what he was doing. Here he was, walking down a trail in the park with someone he had only met last week! Sasuke stayed silent, trying to mull over how such a thing was even happening; why he was even letting it happen.
Naruto, on the other hand, was speaking a mile a minute. Sasuke was fascinated over how many topics the other could go through so quickly. It was almost like the other wasn't even taking time to breathe.
Unaware to Sasuke, Naruto was actually desperately trying to keep Sasuke's attention, too nervous to even think of stopping. He was also kind of hoping Sasuke would stop him and say something instead, but Sasuke hadn't said anything since their interaction in his house and Naruto tried not to take that as a bad sign. Sasuke was just a silent guy.
Sasuke suddenly paused in his walking, tilting his head as a familiar sound hit his ears.
An ice cream truck.
Sasuke didn't like sweets, but he was sure Naruto probably did. Also, wasn't that something you did on dates, had ice cream?
Not that this was a date.
Making up his mind, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's left sleeve before the other could walk too far away. Naruto stopped mid sentence over whatever he was saying at that point (Naruto wasn't even sure anymore) and blinked, curiously at Sasuke.
"Huh, what is it?" He asked, ignoring the surprising feeling of anticipation over the thought of Sasuke finally speaking again. He was still a little scared he had said something wrong back at Sasuke's house and was glad he hadn't ruined everything like he feared.
Sasuke frowned, thoughtfully and pointed toward the sound of the music and laughing, gleeful children.
"I'd like an ice cream cone. Can you get me one?" Sasuke said simply, head tilting toward Naruto.
Naruto blinked once before smiling widely, bouncing slightly.
He nodded, quickly.
"Yeah, of course, Sasuke! I'll get me one too! Go sit over there while I'll get them!" Naruto called, already running toward the ice cream truck, Kyuubi (who Sasuke had completely forgotten about) racing after him and barking.
Sasuke sighed.
He had no idea where Naruto had pointed and was now stuck standing where Naruto had left him, arms crossed over his chest and frown growing, now much more unsure.
Even worst, Sasuke had never been to this particular park. He didn't really know where to go. He could feel people passing him by, some even knocking into him.
Just when he was getting frustrated at the situation, Naruto was suddenly back at his side, panting.
"Hey, why are you standing here? Never mind, come here! I got the sweet treats!" He cheered, holding a paper tray that had the little cones placed in it in one hand and glancing around. He grabbed Sasuke's elbow with the other hand and led him to the unoccupied bench.
They both sat down, Kyuubi laying down at their feet, and began eating their ice cream. Sasuke took small licks of his, not particularly into the sweet and more into the person beside him. How did this one person walk into his life without Sasuke's permission? Who could Sasuke blame for this strange situation? Kyuubi, Itachi, Naruto? His own incompetent, blind self?
Naruto hummed, thoughtfully and broke Sasuke gently out of his thoughts once more.
"Hey, that book. Grandma Tsunade told me it was really important to you and you'd be beyond ecstatic to get it back. The only damn thing she did tell me..." Naruto said between licking his ice cream, brows furring at remembering Tsunade's tight lips on the situation. She wouldn't tell him anything else about Sasuke.
Sasuke suddenly froze, growing even more quiet if it was even possible.
Naruto didn't notice, shrugging and continuing his point.
"How come? It looked like a pretty worn out book; some of the pages were ripped out and taped back in. Can't you just get another one?" He innocently asked, glancing curiously at Sasuke.
Sasuke tightened his grip on his ice cream cone, hands shaking and shot Naruto a quiet glare.
Naruto flinched and quickly glanced away.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Naruto tried to fix, almost dropping his ice cream treat in his heist to fix what he said.
Sasuke shut down, anger suddenly leaking from him and he shook his head. He had never told anyone about the real reason why he cherished that book. Nobody, not even Tsunade, knew how deeply he cared about that stupid book. Maybe telling Naruto wouldn't be so bad...
Maybe.
"Oh, Goddammit, now you're not speaking to me! Why did I even bring such a topic up? I'm so stupid! Of course it's important to you, I have no right to ask-" Naruto was suddenly interrupted by a splat.
Sasuke's ice cream had hit the floor.
Naruto shut his mouth and gave Sasuke a worried look at his silence.
"S-Sasuke?" He asked.
Sasuke shook his head and puffed out his cheeks.
"That book is the last time my brother ever showed he cared about me." Sasuke whispered.
Naruto grew quiet, watching Sasuke's shoulders shake, with sadness or anger, he wasn't sure.
Sasuke's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth.
"Ever since I was five, Itachi, my brother, has never given a damn about me. He acts like I don't even exist. Even when he does show he knows my existence, it's only to tell me to go away and get out of his hair! He's never given a damn about me! Not even once! Not anytime I can remember!"
Sasuke glanced down and frowned.
"Well, except for that one time I can remember. When he gave me that book." Sasuke turned abruptly to frown at Naruto, seriously, "But, but to tell you this, I need to tell you something else I think you haven't realized yet. You have to promise me you aren't going to act differently towards me." Sasuke pointed a finger at Naruto, shaking slightly in his nerves. He never, in all his life, had outright told people about being blind. They tended to find out on their own. Sasuke usually knew when they found out by the way their voices changed and the way they always hesitated in what they should say to him; their eyes burning into the back of his head with their pity.
Sasuke really didn't want Naruto to react in that way. He felt like their, whatever this was, would be broken if Naruto started acting like Sasuke would break at the simplest of touches.
Naruto stared down at the finger pointing at him and laughed, shaking his head.
"Sasuke, you can trust me. I'm not going to react differently to whatever you're going to say. Say it already!"
"I'm blind."
It was said bluntly. Sasuke didn't beat around the bush for anything, not even this.
Naruto froze, eyes widening, mouth open slightly.
There was silence, the only sound being the other people in the park making noise, but all that was background noise to Sasuke. Not even Kyuubi sitting at their feet was heard. Sasuke felt like he and Naruto were the only two people on Earth as he waited for Naruto to react, fearing the worst.
After a long time that made Sasuke tense and fearful, Naruto finally spoke.
"Oh."
Suddenly, everything made a hell of a lot of sense to Naruto. It was like everything fell into place. Then his mind caught up to what Sasuke had said and he frowned. Why would Sasuke be afraid he would act differently to finding this out? Naruto was just glad Sasuke wasn't purposely not looking him in the eyes or staring over his head or shoulder. It was kind of a comfort.
Seeing Sasuke's slowly decaying mask that was revealing how nervous and afraid he was over this, Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, despite now knowing Sasuke couldn't actually see it.
"Sasuke, that's OK. It's perfectly fine that you can't see. Lot's of people can't! You've proved you can do loads without seeing anything. Kyuubi's your seeing eye dog, right? I should have known! Well, you were able to find him without even seeing where you were going. That's pretty impressive! You were even able to find me again. And even without sight, you have a really evil glare. And you can even read braille! How many people can say that? I think you're doing just fine without your eyes, all things considered. There's no need to feel embarrassed over it. It's part of who you are, Sasuke." Naruto smiled softly, squeezing Sasuke's shoulder, comfortingly.
Sasuke just stared.
"Plus," And at here, Naruto looked away nervous, cheeks going pink, "I like you no matter what disabilities you have."
Sasuke's usually pale cheek's grew red and he leaned back, blinking in awe. He couldn't believe what Naruto had just said.
Naruto chuckled, sheepishly, feeling a little uneasy.
"Guess I'm getting ahead of myself. We're not even dating and I'm already declaring my undying love for you!"
Sasuke sputtered and Naruto grinned.
There was a brief time of comfortable silence. Than Sasuke leaned in, hesitantly, wrapping his arms around Naruto and hiding his face in Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto almost dropped his now melting ice cream for a second time, shocked.
Before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke whispered, "Thank you. Thank you for being the first to understand."
Naruto's shocked look grew soft and he wrapped his own arms around Sasuke, smiling.
"You're welcome, Sasuke."
They stayed like that for longer than either of them knew, with Naruto's ice cream melting to the floor and Kyuubi sleeping at their feet in a patch of sun.
When Sasuke got home later that day he was feeling light on his feet, a strange happy feeling coursing through his veins. He had never felt this way before and couldn't really describe or even understand what he was feeling. It was just there and he was sure it wasn't going to go away any time soon.
It scared him and enthralled him at the same time. Naruto scared him and enthralled him at the same time, but he didn't think he wanted any of it to stop. Naruto was just something. Something wonderful, something strange, something he couldn't explain. It was like he had walked right out of someones dreams and walked right into Sasuke's life and somehow decided to stay. Stay because he liked Sasuke.
Sasuke still couldn't believe that. That there was someone out there that liked him, might even come to love him, was just hard to believe. Sasuke had never been as admired or sought after as his brother and the few who did like him were quickly disappointed with what he was and moved on to someone else more appealing to their eyes. Sasuke had never been very close to anyone either for them to like him or him to like them. It was just never heard of.
Yet, Naruto liked him. Naruto, for some reason unknown to him, liked him. Out of the billions of other people in the world, Naruto liked him. He didn't think he'd ever wrap his mind around that strange and unusual notion.
Another thing to look at was if he liked Naruto back. He couldn't honestly say he didn't harbour any of those feelings for the other boy. Naruto had been the first to not look down at him for his disability when no one else would. He hadn't even looked at Sasuke's blindness as a disability at all, but something more tangibly. Being blind was a part of him and he was glad someone out there besides himself realized that and excepted him for it. Just thinking about Naruto's gentle and honest voice when he had said those things made Sasuke's heart pick up speeds that had to be bad for his health. But Sasuke couldn't, even if he tried, stop thinking about it. It made him happy. It made him whole. It made him feel excepted fully for the first time in his life. He liked that.
Sighing over the jumbled thoughts in his head, Sasuke decided it was best to just go to bed and rest on it. There was no point trying to figure all this out right now and giving himself a headache. Kyuubi had left him behind, already resting near the fireplace, asleep. Naruto had offered to walk him home, but Sasuke had declined, needing to think and figure everything out. Now home and leaning once again against the front door, Sasuke was nowhere near understanding what he was trying to figure out, his mind a tangled mess. Yes, sleep was probably best for him.
Before heading up the stairs, though, Sasuke was unfortunately interrupted.
"You're back." His brother spoke, softly.
Sasuke froze, turning in the direction of his brothers voice. Itachi must have been sitting somewhere in the living room. Sasuke, of course, hadn't noticed, too caught up in a certain new person in his life. Sasuke wasn't sure what to say to Itachi's statement. He only stared, waiting for more. He wondered if he should just leave. It wasn't like Itachi actually had more to say. His brother never did.
Except for this time.
"That boy, Naruto, was it? What is your association to that boy?" He asked.
Sasuke's brows came together, feeling more confused than angry over his brothers sudden intrusion into his personal life. He was even more unsure how to react. Itachi had never shown any interest into anything else Sasuke did. How was any of those times different from now? Was Itachi playing with him? Itachi never did that before either.
When Sasuke didn't answer, Itachi spoke again, voice strangely melancholy, but serious and firm.
"Sasuke, I am going to say something you more than likely wont believe, but I am happy that you have someone. Someone who can care for you where I have failed. I am sorry. I should have been there. I was just unsure how to deal, though that's no excuse, but don't think for once I didn't care. I always have, no matter what my outward appearance may assume and no matter how you yourself feel. You can hate me and I'll still care for you. You're my only and dearest little brother. I don't expect you to forgive me. I do not forgive myself, so neither should you. I just want you know that I love you."
Sasuke continued to stare, his euphoria from earlier suddenly gone and a strange strangling lump in his throat replacing it. He was now struggling to breathe and stand up right properly, a chilling cold flowing through him. He felt sick and more than anything he just wanted to go to bed. He wasn't able to take in anything of what his older brother said. It was all gibberish in his mind, turning rapidly and making him dizzy. He wanted to puke.
He also kinda wanted to cry.
He did neither. Instead he stayed silent, frozen in place. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to be able to move again.
It wasn't until Itachi had left, quietly and without another word was Sasuke able to think properly and when he could he ended up on his knees on the floor, trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened. Why had he reacted so unpleasantly to such news? It wasn't like it could be true. His brother never noticed him. He may have been dust floating by him, Itachi had cared so little, but now, now he was saying, saying these things, things that Sasuke had secretly always wanted to hear and Sasuke didn't even beileve them, didn't want to believe them because then he'd have to realize that all that hate for his brother, all that resentment had been misplaced and he'd have to reevaluate his whole life and Sasuke wasn't sure he could even do that.
Sasuke tightened his fists in his jeans and bit his lip, tears (despite his best effort) streaming down his face. He felt angry, he felt sad, he felt cheated and he wasn't sure why.
Kyuubi, feeling his masters despair, made a sound of worry and sadness, coming closer and licking Sasuke's tears away from his face and whining some more.
Sasuke ignored him and when Kyuubi didn't manage to dull Sasuke's feelings in the slightest, the giant orange dog lay it's head on Sasuke's lap in a last ditch effort for comfort, wishing he could do more for his master and wishing the blond boy with the nice smile and even nicer smell would come to comfort his master as well.
Naruto stood outside the house of one Sasuke Uchiha with quickly decreasing hope. He had just knocked and rung the doorbell. This had been going on for some time. Naruto had a feeling he'd been standing in front of this door for almost an hour and hadn't had any luck in getting the object of his affections to come out and greet him with his usual emotionless stare.
This was not the first time he had done this; standing here and wishing that Sasuke would show. It had actually been happening for almost a week. Naruto was growing desperate. He was worried. Sasuke hadn't really showed he liked Naruto's company, but he defiantly hadn't hated his company either. Why was he acting this way now? He was closing Naruto off and Naruto had no clue why.
Finally deciding against standing and waiting like an idiot, Naruto turned away from the door and headed home for the filth day in a row, missing the streak of dark blue and black looking out the upstairs window and watching his leave past the equally dark curtain.
The curtain moved back to it's original position, the one watching now gone.
Sakura tried to be supportive.
"Naruto, please stop coming here and whining about your nonexistent love life. You're scaring away the actual customers!"
Tried. It's not like she didn't understand what Naruto was going through. It was just that she could only take so much of the same shit before she got tired of listening. And he really was scaring away all the costumers. Her boss kept throwing smoothie cups at Naruto's head and screaming. Her boss really didn't like Naruto. Sakura wasn't too sure why.
Before Naruto could say anything in his defence (it was her crazy boss that was scaring away the costumers, not him!), Ino piped up, cheerfully, on her way by their table, "Oh, don't be so mean, Forehead Girl! Naruto's in love. Give him a break!"
Sakura shot Ino (who was passing by, dirty smoothie cups in hand) a dirty look. She then turned her attention back to the sulking Naruto, face softening when she spotted just how bad this whole week was being on Naruto.
Taking pity on him, she sat down in front of Naruto and spoke, much more understanding.
"Have you really tried to talk to him? You said he's not speaking to you, yeah, I get that, but maybe this has nothing to do with you. Maybe something came up and he just doesn't know how to deal with it yet. I'm sure he's fine. Give him time." Sakura suggested, giving Naruto a small, comforting smile and squeezing his hand.
She then left at the sound of someone calling her over for their cheque and Naruto watched her go, sighing and leaning on his elbow, chin in hand.
If what Sakura suggested was correct, then that just made things worse! What if Sasuke was hurting? He already understood enough to know Sasuke and his older brother didn't get along all that well. What if something had happened? Naruto's worry grew and he sat up, suddenly looking determined.
He'd just have to try harder and be there for Sasuke. He didn't like the thought of Sasuke feeling any sort of hurt. He had to do something!
He then frowned.
He just didn't know what.
Okay, Naruto was well aware that this was a terrible unbelievably awful no good idea.
He was still going to do it, though.
He was beyond desperate. He needed to see Sasuke. It was like a constant pain in his chest. It would never leave him until he was absolutely certain that Sasuke was okay.
So, that was why he was attempting to climb the side of the Uchiha residents to gain entry through Sasuke's window and finally greet Sasuke in person once more. He was never certain if Sasuke had ever gotten his greetings through the front door. It would be nice to know if he was ever listening.
Sighing to himself, Naruto started the long trek up the side of the house. He found early on that he was especially lucky. There was some sort of vine entwined in a fence thing going up the side of Sasuke's house, leading right past a window. Though he wasn't sure if it was Sasuke's. He would just have to find out the hard way.
Climbing was easier than he expected with these new results and Naruto got to the top easily. It was getting through the window that was going to be the hard part.
Though the vine fence thing went by the window, it was a few feet away from the window and Naruto knew if he was going to get inside he'd have to jump to get to the window and undoubtedly, Sasuke.
Taking a deep, calming breath and trying to remember what little Tsunade had taught him in things such as this, Naruto jumped.
He let out a surprised cry when he hit the wall as he grabbed onto the ledge of the window and scrapped his knees. He winced, but waved it off, his goal still heavily in mind. Also, he really didn't feel like hanging from a ledge for any longer than he had too. There was a time and a place for second guessing himself and right now was defiantly not it.
Pulling himself further up onto the ledge, Naruto blinked once in confusion when he spotted the window mysteriously open. Then he grinned hugely in relief at his further luck. At least he didn't have to figure out how to hang off a ledge and open a sealed window at the same time!
Deciding to thank the Gods later for such a miracle, Naruto pulled himself through the average sized window, just fitting. Any smaller and he wouldn't have fit.
Naruto fell to an unruly heap on the floor, hitting his head roughly against it.
Sprawled upside down, he hissed in pain and rubbed his head, squinting up and around the room. He relaxed slightly.
It was defiantly a bedroom. But...
Was it Sasuke's?
He quickly got his answer.
Just then, the door opened at the other end of the room and in came Sasuke with only a towel around his waist, wet hair falling into his sightless eyes.
Naruto's mind froze mid thought and he was stuck staring at Sasuke, eyes roaming the skin available to him with a slightly open mouth.
Sasuke roamed further into the room, shutting the door behind him. He moved to slide the towel off his body and Naruto's breath hitched, unable to function properly to realize that this situation was just getting worse and worse the longer he lay there like the biggest idiot and didn't move or reveal himself or at least cover his eyes.
It was about to get worse for Naruto.
Sasuke paused in his actions and frowned, head turning in Naruto's direction, a breeze from the window sending some of Sasuke's wet hair out of his eyes.
Naruto swore under his breath, thinking he was caught (which by now he wasn't really sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing, all things considered), only for Sasuke's next words to register.
"Why is my window open? It was closed when I was last in here." He mused, heading in Naruto's direction, unaware of the other boy in his path.
Well, it was now or never, Naruto supposed. The jig was up, as they would say. Naruto could never figure out who 'they' were, now that he thought about it...
Shaking his head at his stupid thoughts, Naruto quickly struggled to his feet, hands outstretched and shouted the first thing that came to mind.
"I swear I wasn't the one to open that window. It was open when I got here!"
Sasuke froze, face going blank and staring at Naruto's chest. He didn't say anything.
If Sasuke wasn't going to say anything, Naruto knew that meant he was going to end up rambling. Naruto tended to do that when he was nervous.
"Well, okay, this defiantly looks suspicious. If the window wasn't open before then I would have had to have opened it, right? But, I swear, I didn't! Why would I? Sure, I wanted to get in... But only to make sure you were okay! I swear! I'm sorry if I scared you or something. I-I could leave." Naruto made a gesture to the window, hesitantly (though he wasn't sure he could even make it back down without hurting himself) and gave Sasuke a forced smile, forgetting the fact the Sasuke wouldn't be able to tell if Naruto was smiling or not, no matter how fake, let alone see the gesture to the window.
Sasuke continued to stare, even more unresponsive than what Naruto was used to. He wasn't sure how to react or what he could say to relieve the tense mood from the room. He actually felt a little helpless.
"S-Sasuke?" He stuttered, questioningly.
At the sound of Naruto calling his name, Sasuke blinked, then quickly turned away from Naruto, shoulders tense.
Naruto stared at his back for a few seconds before opening his mouth to say something more (anything!) when Sasuke suddenly spoke.
"You came back." He whispered, voice hoarse, like he hadn't used it in a while.
Naruto frowned, confused.
"Well, yeah. I was worr-"
"No. You came back. Again." Sasuke insisted, shoulders, if even possible, growing more tense.
Naruto pursed his lips, thoughtfully, but then smiled, softly, catching the meaning. So Sasuke had been aware of his persistence. Naruto's smile quickly faded. If that was the case, why was he ignoring him? That made Naruto nervous once more.
Naruto took a tentative step forward, hand outstretched, as though to touch Sasuke, to comfort, not only Sasuke, but himself as well.
"Sasuke, I don't understand. I know I can be an idiot sometimes, but I thought we were hitting it off. Was I wrong? Why are you acting this way?" He asked, taking another step forward, more firm, wanting to know, needing to know the truth.
Sasuke stayed still for a few seconds then took in a sharp breath, a bitter laugh leaving his lips and hitting Naruto's eardrums. It wasn't a sound Naruto really wanted to hear from the other and he grew the courage to take one more step forward, until he was standing right behind Sasuke, Sasuke's pale, wet skin brushing up against Naruto's rough sweater.
Sasuke shivered.
Naruto rested his hand on Sasuke's back and sighed, head tilted foreword and breath brushing Sasuke's shoulder and making Sasuke shiver again, unsure if he should move away or lean into the surprising warmth.
He did neither.
"Why," Sasuke swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, "Why do you care, Naruto?"
The question held more weight than Naruto was aware off.
Naruto's brows came together.
Sasuke turned around, facing Naruto, seriously. He needed this answer. It would decide what he would do next. He had thought a lot about everything in his life (Naruto, included) and he knew he was ready to decide what he was going to do with this situation he had willingly walked into all because of one idiot.
A lovable idiot.
Naruto saw how serious the question was and gave a serious answer.
"People say I'm in love with you. I like to think that's not true."
Sasuke deflated, disappointed with the short answer and moved to pull away from the addicting warmth that was Naruto, but Naruto grabbed his wrist, using his other hand to tilt Sasuke's face toward his so he could (hopefully) see Sasuke's expressions.
"I'm not done. Sasuke, I think we're meant to be. There's a reason why we met and hit it off so well. We understand each other and have only known each other for two weeks! We're soul mates, Sasuke. I don't yet love you... But, I know, I'll fall just as quickly as I've come to feel attached to your presence. I want to make you happy. You don't deserve anymore pain. You're amazing. I hope you feel the same way as me because then this is going to be completely awkward. Please don't make it awkward, Sasuke!" Naruto joked, ignoring the nervous feeling coursing through his veins.
Sasuke's face was expressionless through Naruto's speech, staring blankly at Naruto's face. It made him even more nervous. He was pretty sure he was ready to explode.
"Please say something!" Naruto blurted, nervousness making him impatient.
Sasuke's brows came together and he frowned in concentration. He pulled his hand away from Naruto's grip and raised his arms, trailing his hands over Naruto's sides until he reached his neck, wrapping his arms around it.
He then spoke, very deliberately, in almost an order, "Kiss me."
Naruto, who's brain was still trying to catch up, didn't refuse. He leaned forward and connected his lips with Sasuke's. It was a very chaste kiss, but held an unspoken promise between them that would carry them further into the future.
Maybe they weren't in love, but they certainly felt something between them and they were going to both chase that something together to find out if it would lead to further love and happiness.
Spoiler alert; it did.
.
.
.
.
.
Itachi Uchiha smiled as he watched his little brother finally get the happiness he deserved.
He knew opening that window earlier was a good idea.
The end.
AN: Please review! :)