"Fuck!"
"Ow!"
Naruto picks himself up, cursing profusely and dusting off his ass before his eyes fall on the person he'd bumped into so violently.
The first thing he notices is pale, pale skin.
The second thing he notices is broad shoulders.
The third -
"Quit gawking."
The third is a deep, low voice, and then Naruto's gaze shoots up and he catches black orbs in blue, and he does not stop gawking. That's probably why he doesn't miss the way Sasuke flushes red - his cheeks, the tips of his ears, that gorgeous neck..
Naruto's cock almost twitches before he raises his gaze back to Sasuke's dark eyes, a grin plastered on his face as he stares the taller man down. "Or what?" He challenges.
Sasuke tries to roll his eyes, but there's something about the mess of blond and blue and orange in front of him that makes him forget how. Instead, he just pushes away and storms off, muttering something under his breath about'stupid dobes don't know how to watch where they're going.'
For a while, Naruto's still transfixed, and so he stays in place and stares right up until the moment Sasuke turns a corner and Naruto realizes he's about to lose him.
Then he bolts into a run, and -
"OOOF."
This time, when Naruto stands, Sasuke's still on the ground in the middle of the music store, and having landed on his ass, was leaning up against his arms almost awkwardly. From this position, Naruto can see a little more chest; with the way his school uniform had tilted just enough that he could grasp a peek of collarbones, well defined and down-right sexy.
For a second, Naruto just stood and stared down at Sasuke, who stared right back up to him, a shade of a blush still on his cheeks, and they got caught up in something awkward.
But then Naruto realized how absolutely ravishing the other boy looked in that pose, and he distracted himself by extending an arm and saying, "sorry," with no hint of meaning it.
Sasuke took Naruto's hand almost tentatively, as if it would bite, and it made Naruto laugh and pull him up almost a little too excitedly, and too fast, and too close, until they'd invaded each other's personal space and were in such a proximity that their hands were still linked and squeezed in between them.
Still, Naruto didn't let go, not until Sasuke was pulling his hand away and staring daggers at the floor and blushing as if he could never stop.
"I'm Naruto," the blond spoke, before the brunet could run away again. "Sorry, for, uh, twice." He added, grinning as if he was proud and not sorry at all.
"Dobe," the other said, but then he'd looked up at Naruto and their eyes met, and any plans of running straight out of this shop and never returning were either instantly crushed or had evaporated and disappeared into thin air. Instead, he licked his lips nervously and said, "Sasuke."
"I'll buy us coffee, Sasuke."
Naruto's eyes seemed to shine double as he spoke, and so Sasuke - as Naruto said it - could not, for the life of him, refuse. He did, of course, think of all the ways he might escape, but before he came up with anything Naruto had grabbed his hand all over again and was pulling him along.
Naruto's skin was warm as Sasuke's was cool, and it flustered Sasuke enough to make him forget all plans of hiding in the Classical section.
•
"So, private-school boy, eh?" Naruto sneers, once they're out of HMV and are making their way to the nearest coffee shop.
He has no idea why he chose that, of all things, for a conversation starter - other than, maybe, Sasuke looked absolutely stunning in that uniform. It made Naruto wonder what it would feel like if he was to pull that tie loose, push those buttons open with his teeth, lick around that pale, silky skin near Sasuke's pert nipples..
Sasuke's voice interrupts his daydream, in just the same way that it pushes it on, with that lovely dangerous tone that Naruto's already addicted to. "What of it?" He asks.
"Well, I didn't expect any pretty rich boys to be interested in heavy metal." Naruto lets the compliment slip idly, conceals it with insult, but a part of him wants to know how Sasuke would react if he had just plain out and said you're handsome.
"It's for nii-chan." Sasuke lets the nickname slip before he can stop himself. He wishes Naruto wouldn't notice, but no such grace. In less than a second Naruto's before him, exclaiming, "nii-chan!"
"Aniki," Sasuke corrects, an edge of irritation to his tone.
Naruto's laughing, saying, "it's okay, nii-chan's cute, too," when he realizes they've somehow made their way to the line at Starbucks.
He smiles at Sasuke easily. "You go grab us a table. I'll get the drinks."
Sasuke's eyes are glued to the floor when he mumbles, "Chocolate frappuccino, with cream, no coffee, extra caramel."
Naruto's laughing full out then, clutching at his stomach, and it makes him almost miss the way Sasuke huffs and says, "fine then," and try to sulk away.
But Naruto sees it - grabs his wrist just in time, pulls him back and says, "I like mine with double cream and extra chocolate," with an easy smile, and it's something he's never told anyone, but the smile Sasuke gives him for it, along with the glint in his eyes, is so worth it.
The table Sasuke picks is conveniently placed: not too far from the counter, so he can watch Naruto easily, while Naruto would have to tilt to see Sasuke.
Naruto does tilt, however, when Sasuke's gaze gets too persistent on his shoulder, and he catches Sasuke checking him out with almost deliberate ease, his eyes slowly, slowly, slowly mapping their way up Naruto's firm legs, up his ass-hugging jeans, up his waist, up his muscular arms, before meeting his eyes.
Sasuke turns away instantly, with opposing speed, and Naruto chuckles to himself when he catches the way the pale skin of Sasuke's neck turn red.
Curiosity kills the cat eventually, and all too soon Sasuke finds himself staring again, dragging his eyes up and down the length of Naruto's body, studying every inch of him.
The process repeats two or three times, Naruto catching and Sasuke blushing every time, until finally, Naruto winks at Sasuke with almost playful invitation, and Sasuke feels his whole body heat up.
Naruto returns to the table with two chocolate fraps, and sits himself down while asking, "so, what was that about nii-chan?"
Sasuke grabs his drink and grumbles "dobe" before taking an eager sip, humming against the straw and licking his lips in satisfaction.
This time, it's him who catches Naruto watching, but it's still him who blushes (for what seems like the infinite time.)
He clears his throat and says, "it's his birthday tomorrow -" sighs, continues - "I'm crap at this metal thing, but he loves it. Ever since.. The incident, he's had posters all over his room, locks himself there when he's not taking care of me and blasts it."
Naruto's still watching when Sasuke looks away in memory, something unpleasant taking upon his features - and the way his smile falls and his eyes dim, lonely, is what makes Naruto reach across the table for his hand.
Their fingers intertwine in something free, light, but close enough to pull Sasuke back to reality and smile again, though a hint of pain still lingers in his expression.
"Tell me," Naruto whispers, and for the first time, Sasuke does.
"I was seven. My parents left. They never came back. A year later, it was on the news. Murdered."
Naruto doesn't know how to answer to that, doesn't want to say I'm sorrybecause he knows it never fixes anything. He takes Sasuke's hand in both of his, envelopes it completely, like a pearl in a shell.
He says, "I was orphaned. Both my parents died in an earthquake. I never got to meet them."
Sasuke squeezes his hands in turn.
•
"So, you like rock metal." Sasuke puzzles over in his head, while Naruto pulls him into the third row of weirdly dark and odd CDs in a tiny indie-music shop that apparently "has the most hardcore beats."
Naruto sighs, looks up at the ceiling as if beckoning to God, whispers, "finally. He gets it."
Sasuke laughs despite himself, and then asks, "so.. Aniki likes.. Punk metal?"
At this, Naruto's head drops, and he quiet-yells "I give up! I lose all faith in humanity! My five seconds of Christianity have failed me!"
Sasuke only giggles, nudges Naruto lightly with his shoulder, says "when I convert you, it'll be for longer than that. Public-school, atheist dobe."
Naruto only nudges him back and resumes his yelling. "Music is my religion!"
It takes them thirty minutes to find the perfect alternative metal CD, and another thirty fighting over "Green Day are totally shite" "but they're the cleanest looking band around here" "TOTALLY SHITE."
They're glaring daggers at each other when some form of transformation happens to the shop and Sasuke's ears are assaulted by - somewhat, good-sounding music, in contrast to the fucking headache-inducing 'screamo' the shop's been playing all day. As soon as the song starts, Naruto is jumping up and down and squeezing Sasuke's wrists a bit too hard and yelling "my favourite song my favourite song my favouritesong .." a little too fast and too loud for Sasuke's sensitive taste, but he finds himself grinning despite himself.
•
They end up walking in the streets, aimless and slow and leisurely. It's pretty late in the day, and they find a good spot to lie down and watch the sunset together. Once they're comfortable, Naruto's fingers reach for Sasuke's, until their fingertips are barely brushing. It's almost ticklish, but in the most assuring sense of the word.
They're silent, for a while. They watch the sky with thoughts floating around it, until Sasuke picks one up and voices it: "you're weird."
It makes Naruto laugh - that soft, sweet sound Sasuke's only heard one or two times - it sounds like something secret and personal, and Sasuke loves the way it captures him, so swift and yet so simple that he doesn't know he's fallen, not until he's so far past recovery.
Sasuke turns to look at him. Naruto's eyes are closed, he looks at peace. He's smiling.
The moment lingers, but Sasuke doesn't know how to approach it. The longer he waits, the more his chest aches. Finally, it's Naruto who moves - his eyes are still closed, but he finds Sasuke by touch. He pulls him closer, guides him until Sasuke's hovering above Naruto's body, a little frantic beside himself but too trusting to question anything at all.
Naruto keeps Sasuke close with a hand on his lower back and another on the back of his neck, fingers buried in soft, soft locks.
In the moment before they kiss, Sasuke takes Naruto in. He realizes, in that moment, that Naruto is so much more than his appearance.
Naruto is the smell of hard work and ramen and - Sasuke leans down, tilts his head just a little more, inhales.
He smells soap faintly, and strawberry toothpaste.
When he listens, Naruto's breaths are short but not rushed, and when he lets himself touch, Naruto's skin is smooth beneath his fingertips, and his muscles are healthy and strong.
Naruto gets goose bumps and he shivers, and it's the final straw, the final piece of abstinence lost, and he lifts his head enough to capture thin, rosy lips in his.
It's clumsy, at first, and Sasuke realizes Naruto isn't a practiced kisser: doesn't do it as if he has all his life, and he vaguely wonders whether he's Naruto's first just as Naruto is his.
The thoughts dissolve when the dry feel of lip-skin is replaced by tongue - until all too soon the warmth is back, and Naruto is playing games with his tongue, and it's more of a snog than a kiss, and damn.
Perfect.
They miss the sunset because Naruto has flipped Sasuke over and was grinding into him when it passed. Sasuke was gasping, soft and luscious sounds that Naruto wanted to hear more of, wanted to wake up to and go to sleep to and fill every moment in between with.
Naruto tries to bite back moans, but when Sasuke's tongue hits flesh he loses his resolve, and he's too loud and Sasuke's too hot for them to be doing this in public.
So, they do it in Naruto's room instead.
•
"Sasuke?"
"Trying to sleep, Naruto."
"It's really early to say this, so I understand if you don't want me to, but I feel like I must - I don't know if you want to hear it, but can I say-"
"What is it, Naruto?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. Shut up, okay? I'm tired."
•
"OW!"
"FUCK."
"Auuuuuuuurgh."
"Dobe, turn that fucking thing off, will you?"
Sasuke was not a morning person. At all. At all. And so, he really didn't like being woken to Naruto's alarm clock on a fucking Saturday, and falling on the ground with the idiot on top of him because of the fright it had given him. They just had to fall together, too, with the way their limbs had been tangled together, and that dobe wasn't anything near light, either (Sasuke would know).
"What time is it?" Sasuke absolutely did not whine.
"One PM. Nii-chan's birthday, too." (Naruto will never let that one go.)
"Too early, dobe."
"Teme."
"Hn."
".."
"ONE PM?"
"OW!"
They arrived together at Sasuke's house at three PM, Sasuke fretting over Naruto's "that's not a fucking suit, idiot." "I don't own a fucking suit, bastard." "what kind of fucking tie is that, moron?" "it's the only one I have, asshole." -
When Itachi swung the door open, glared daggers at the two, then let them in.
Of course, the dagger-staring didn't last very long - though Itachi was damn good at it. As soon as they'd handed him the CD Naruto had picked out and Sasuke had paid for, the house was blooming with metal music and Itachi was almost smiling ("S'ke, what.. What is that? ..I'm scared.." "I.. I think that's a smile, Naru..").
It did have one benefit though.
As soon as late-lunch was over, Naruto and Sasuke could fuck like bunnies and not a moan would be heard (nor the bed as its springs were violently tested).