Disclaimer: Is it a coincidence that I put something here every single story/chapter that says 'I don't own this'? No, I didn't think so. Take it down on paper people; I am a humble borrower and gayifier of people's characters. No profit, no gain but my own pleasure at the imagery I create and the enjoyment of seeing people like and read this.
Full Summary: Sometimes the biggest mistake you can make is to think that someone you really care about is less important than they truly are. The only one worse is to not do something about it when you finally have a chance.
Pairing List: Sasuke/Naruto
Beta: The freakin' awesome Takibi-sama who swooped in on his white horse, shield and sword a-blazing in the nick of time and out of the clear blue sky to bestow upon me his betaing sword and cut all the little demons whom lurk around in bad corners and dark alleys clutching their incorrect 'then's' and sentence structures.
A/N: Omg, attempt at sliding back into Naruto fandom: take one. (Forgive me everyone. =/ =/) Bonus cheerleading (and general 'every kind of thanks and hug created') points go to xoxheart for being there for me, talking with me, laughing and not actually being mean about my lack of fic. She's just far too loveable and (although unlikely to realise how much so) persistent at putting my fingers to a keyboard. So the thanks go to her, and hopefully, I'm a bit more permanently back nowdays.
(RL issues, omg you kinda suck.) [p.s. T rating because M sounded way too heavy for what I have going on here.]
That Makes Me a Liar
Sasuke hated parties.
Actually, he fucking despised anything that involved social interaction where alcohol was in the general vicinity; and it was detested with such a passion that it usually worked in allowing him to avoid such activities.
Yet, despite his reputation of making even the bravest person soil themselves at the mere presence of his belittling glare, of cowering in fear as he asked them why he would have any interest in spending time with them without having been pulled over broken glass and drugged first… he somehow sat here.
Here being an uncomfortable chair in a loud, brightly-lit room where people leant on each other, sang horrendously off-key to the agitating and, in his opinion, IQ depleting music, while drinking until they - when Sasuke was lucky - passed out on the floor in front of him.
While he would usually want the stale smelling and irritating obstacle of their snoring bodies as far away from him as possible, he'd learnt rather quickly that they formed a good road-block for the drunken, giggling girls who kept trying to stumble their way over to him.
So while his chair was uncomfortable and he was too close to the speakers and had to deal with a large portion of drunken humanity, he wasn't about to move and end up in the lecherous paws of inebriated girls or asked to fight by one of the many - also inebriated - and jealous men who seemed to hate him for simply existing.
This was why he usually stayed at home.
He would have been at home if it wasn't for his piece of shit roommate who was the cause of all his problems in the first place, Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto was the science major that he'd ended up stuck with three months ago when they ran out of dorm rooms. The blond who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a lab if the destruction of their microwave was anything to go by. The loud, obnoxious idiot who covered his half of the room in posters, ramen cups and so much orange that it should really be illegal.
He was the asshole that spent most of his time bitching about the lack of colours on Sasuke's side of the room. The dickhead who made a point of laughing his ass off the first time he saw Sasuke in glasses, but then told him he was too pretty - but definitely boring enough - for business studies, confusing Sasuke sufficiently that he couldn't figure out a good enough comeback before Naruto had left the room.
Naruto was the guy who Sasuke had spent too many days arguing with, too many classes grating his teeth over without him even being there and too many nights with the blond invading his dreams in provocative ways that an idiot like him shouldn't be able to inspire.
And it wasn't until three months into their forced co-habitation that Naruto told him with shrug and a casual voice that he was moving out and Sasuke realised with alarm that Naruto had become a rather large part of his life.
It was normal to throw out the ramen cups that had made their way to his side of the room. The fact that he'd then go onto Naruto's side and clean up there as well was because he had already begun, and it wasn't like Naruto would ever stop being a slob so it was in his best interest to do so. It would reflect badly on Sasuke, after all, if visitors were to come over and see the state of his room - not that visitors ever did, because Sasuke hated people in his space, but it was possible.
Then, it was natural to eat the food Naruto had got for him from the takeout place down the road that he hadn't even known existed until the blond showed up and started using those grease filled cartons as ways of apology, always picking Sasuke's favourite food - and, if he was being honest, even managing to make him find new ones.
So it was just a normal progression that he started to get Naruto coffee from the café he always went to on the way back from classes, because he knew Naruto's order and it was better to get it instead of having him bitch about the lack of quality caffeine in the cupboards. Even when it was Naruto who kept the cheap stuff in the kitchen and it was Sasuke who spent five dollars on freshly brewed coffee because everything else tasted like dishwater.
And it was all a part of their day, all a part of the system they'd created.
It was only when Naruto said he was moving out, when he started packing up his too bright bedspread, pulling down his fraying posters of awful bands and keeping his mess under control because this wasn't going to be his room in a few days - it was then that Sasuke had to stop lying to himself and face the truth of the situation.
Naruto was leaving, and not only did Sasuke want him to stay, he might also want him in a few other ways that probably were, unlike Naruto's penchant for orange, illegal in some places.
Which just made matters difficult; because he was more of an asshole than usual and Naruto called him on it - because Naruto was never, not even once, afraid of his death glare, which Sasuke was not privately amused or pleased by - while thrusting him an invite to the party his new roommate was throwing to celebrate Naruto's arrival.
Sasuke told himself he would go, but only so he could prove living with him was better than what Naruto would put up with at some crappy dwelling with some mediocre roommate who didn't clean up his mess or buy a new microwave. And he told himself he wouldn't go just so he could learn the address and which room was Naruto's so he could tuck that information safely into the back of his mind in case he ever needed it.
When he showed up to an actual house with a nice front yard, a decent backyard and a second floor filled with people he could already see getting drunk through the windows; his mood had shot to shit. Of course, he blamed it on the forced social interaction, as Naruto was outside with a pink-haired girl whose name he couldn't be bothered to recall and called him over - making retreat impossible - but then again, he'd always hated that girl with her giggles and her annoyingly feminine voice.
The way Naruto had his arm around her was just a coincidence, it didn't mean anything.
So when they disappeared together - after Sasuke had been dragged around by Naruto, had his ear shouted in and spent an hour with Naruto pressed along the line of his body- it didn't matter. A cup full of beer might have been spilled on his shoes and the leg of his jeans by Naruto, but the blond's right hand had curled loosely around Sasuke wrist as he showed him to the bathroom. So it didn't matter.
He found his chair and was detached from the party as Naruto showed the girl the inside of his new room that wasn't in Sasuke's dorm and that Sasuke still hadn't seen, but it didn't matter because Sasuke fucking hated these parties anyway, and why should spending some of it with one guy that he didn't really know or care about make a fucking difference?
Sasuke didn't care anymore about who he was lying to.
So maybe it took another hour before he got out of his chair and tried to leave. But that was just because it took that long for the people in the room to thin out and spend their ridiculously pointless lives in some other place that was not in front of Sasuke. It had nothing to do with his patience snapping - because he was an Uchiha and his patience regarding a certain blond idiot was fucking legendary - or the lack of some pink airhead ever returning.
If anything, it was the music. Crappy songs about broken hearts and weird love triangles would make anyone pissed off. Obviously Naruto hadn't chosen his new roommate based off his music collection; it was worse then Naruto's selection of shit musicians that Sasuke was sure couldn't throw a guitar, let alone play one.
Honestly, Sasuke didn't know what Naruto saw in them or, for that matter, the constantly dog-surrounded maniac he'd decided to live with. He was clearly a bigger dumbass than Naruto. Because really, who got drunk enough to have red triangles tattooed on their fucking cheeks?
When Naruto got wasted and ended up with some drunken scrawl permanently etched on his forehead because of his new roommate, it would be his own damn fault. Sasuke wouldn't care at all, he'd laugh, because Naruto's embarrassment would be worth it, and his face was nothing to look at anyway, so it wouldn't be a disappointment or anything like that.
After all, Naruto had been much better off with Sasuke and he'd figure that out when some mess happened and his life turned to shit - not that Sasuke would ever take him back. He didn't want Naruto there in the first place; it was just that Naruto should have known better.
Just like he should have known better than to invite Sasuke to a party and a place with people he hated and then leave him in the midst of them. He never wanted to be here in the first place and now he was going to leave and he wouldn't care about what Naruto thought. If he ever thought about it, what with that pink-haired slut asleep in his bed. Fucked in it.
Sasuke scowled. No, he didn't care. Naruto could do whatever he wanted; it wasn't like he had to change the blond's sheets. Maybe he'd be lucky enough and they'd get fucking ruined and thrown out. One thing he would not miss was the constant colour of orange.
And he'd have to get around to throwing out that welcome gift Naruto had given him when he'd moved in; who in the hell gives someone a black and orange stuffed animal anyway? He didn't even know what it was; some kind of tiger with a spring-like tail and a chin that looked too long.
What did Naruto do, get it out of the reject bin? He'd tried to get rid of the thing more times then he liked to count, but the blond had always saved it from the trash heap; putting it back on his bed during the months of their forced accommodation. Well, now it had no reason to be there.
He'd do it tomorrow, if he had a chance before he started studying for that test in two weeks. He might actually be able to have a bit of quiet this time without the distraction of Naruto trying to steal his notes, look over his shoulder or whine at him from across the room, wanting his attention. It would be peaceful for the first time in months, and all he had to do was get out of this house to begin a simple life without Naruto.
Impatiently, Sasuke tried to head for the front door, manoeuvring around the half-slouched and sometimes collapsed forms that, along with the various stains and empty bottles, littered the floor. A small sneer curled his lips as he walked around them, occasionally pushing people with his shoe. The beer had already ruined the leather, and kicking a few human lumps aside would hardly do more. He doubted they'd even care nor feel it in their comatose state anyway.
He got as far as the front hall in his attempts before Sasuke realised, with thinly veiled disgust, that the party hadn't thinned out so much as congregated in the front fucking hall and cheering, coaxing noises were being made. He could see a large dog tail wagging, and an annoyed grunt escaped him as he paused near the stairs, crossing his arms.
Naruto's roommate, he could only assume, was apparently the centre of the mass and Sasuke did not doubt whatever was occurring was idiotic and mind-numbingly long in nature. Sasuke glanced behind him and down the hall that led to the kitchen.
It was far from empty, but from what he remembered of his tour from Naruto the backdoor was off the kitchen and lead onto a small porch. If you went to either side of the house from there, you found fences that, while rather dilapidated, still led you out into the front yard.
He wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of finding out first hand what Naruto referred to as 'totally old, kinda gross and really, really busted' but he didn't seem to have much of a choice. That was, if he wanted to avoid a lot of drunken attention that could call down Naruto - not that he cared if the blond knew he was leaving or anything; he probably wouldn't give a shit anyway. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be if it were him - but it could still potentially have him in the middle of an inebriated fistfight after trying to push through the raucous crowd at the front door.
He briefly considered climbing out a window, but his dignity was not lowered far enough that he was willing to attempt it. If the gates failed he'd just come back inside and try the door again and hopefully the crowd would be done, or at least, less energised by that point.
Heading towards the kitchen, Sasuke made sure to keep his patent glare on his face, ready to deliver a cutting remark to anyone stupid enough to try talking to him. No one was moronic enough to try a second time.
No one, that was, but Naruto.
Naruto hadn't had a problem biting back - at getting into his face and refusing to move until he was heard - and when he finally got the reaction he wanted, Naruto wouldn't settle for anything less next time.
Naruto would stand in front of him all day, arms crossed and highly unthreatening scowl present if that's what it took. He'd trail Sasuke up and down the campus bitching into his ears and even steal his textbooks to make him look up at the blond and do more then just narrow his eyes at him.
The more Naruto began to succeed in his attempts, the easier it became for the blond to get an acknowledgment out of Sasuke over anything he said or did. And as Sasuke found himself responding to the other each time, he began noticing that he didn't actually ignore Naruto quite as much as he pretended to.
And Sasuke hated him a little bit more for that.
Not that he noticed.
Pushing his way through the kitchen door more angrily then he intended, Sasuke instantly spotted a young couple using the kitchen sink as a perch for their rendezvous. Her arm was around his neck, fingers still loosely clutching a half empty beer bottle. His hands supported her hips and they rocked into one another more then they kissed.
Sasuke sneered at them, but it was ultimately wasted when they failed to notice his presence. They weren't worth the effort of his attention but he still couldn't stop training a glare on them as he moved through the kitchen and out the backdoor. It wasn't because the boy was blond. It was because it was unhygienic.
He glanced down at the brick used to prop open the door and had the inane urge to kick it away, to make the door slam shut and startle them apart. He forced it down and straightened his back. He should have more command over himself than this. Letting his eyes carry over the yard, Sasuke moved observing to the front of his mind and forced his emotions back and under his control.
There were more people then he'd expected to find lying under the stars. They were laughing around a makeshift campfire - that seemed to be comprised of a metal bucket and kindling that looked like a pile of newspapers. Beers were being exchanged between them as they talked. A sheet had been laid underneath them like a blanket and they seemed unconcerned or simply hadn't noticed the way little flicks of ash were finding their way down and marking the material. He couldn't distinguish the colour in the poor light, but a malicious part of him hoped it was orange.
He watched them for a few moments more, a silent silhouette in the light spilling from the kitchen. When he heard the telltale words of 'truth' and 'dare' used in conjunction though, he promptly shifted what was left of his lingering interest and slipped into the shadows.
Looking around the rest of the yard as he did, he quickly noted that the right side of the house was his best bet, as the left looked like it had never seen a pair of pruning shears or lawn mower in its life. It had the appearance of a small forest and he didn't doubt it would take a considerable level of effort to navigate it.
Surprisingly, he also noticed there were a handful of people scattered around the yard and away from the main group. He could only assume they were either talking quietly or using a hint more discretion than the couple in the kitchen had been. It was definitely more secluded here. Only the faint thrum of music and shouts from indoors permeated it and the starlight, fire and house only gave the place a faint glow that still kept part of the yard isolated. He couldn't really even make out people's faces.
He had no inclination to stay, but he would have preferred knowing about the option of semi-darkness before being subjected to a lounge room of idiots. Naruto, that bastard, had probably known that too.
Sasuke scowled, and once again hoped that Naruto's sheets were the ones being burnt to a crisp. He also hoped the girl had passed out, or thrown up all over him. Possibly even given him some kind of genital herpes. He would have deserved it. She looked like a slut.
Sasuke allowed some of his anger to roll out of him in the force of his footfalls and the clench of his fists at his sides as he moved along the wall. He turned abruptly with the house and stalked down the side of it and into the walkway. It was about a metre in width and surprisingly clear of items - even the grass was trimmed. The gate stood a few metres away from him and while he couldn't see it well, Sasuke could already tell that the wood was breaking down from weathering and fungi infestation. Sasuke paused in the middle of the sideway, his lips curling in disgust. He did not want to get anything like it anywhere near his hands.
He stood there for a long moment, looking at the gate with concentration, his mind running through his options - including going back inside and finding Naruto - but he dismissed the idea quickly. The notion spiked his irritation enough that he began moving forward, preparing to analyse the gate at a closer angle. He might yet be able to scale it. Just because he stopped actively taking martial arts lessons didn't mean he'd let himself forget it.
Stopping a few inches from it, he found the gate was more worn then he'd anticipated. He could potentially just kick the damn thing down and be done with it. He was halfway considering it when a voice made his shoulders stiffen and his fists loosely form once more.
"You're sneaking out the back gate? Really? What are you, five?"
Sasuke responded without thought. "And here I thought you might have drowned in a toilet bowl," he turned to face the blond. "Apparently I wasn't so lucky."
Sasuke crossed his arms to hide from Naruto the way his hands were twitching, displaying emotions he shouldn't show - shouldn't have. Naruto smiled and he subtly buried them further. "Oh, Sasuke, admit it, you're happy to see me!"
Sasuke blinked. "Are you drunk?"
A large shrug lifted Naruto's shoulders before he leant against the side of the house. He frowned, nose scrunching as he looked up, more at his forehead then the sky. "Don't think so. Maybe a little. Are you drunk, Sasuke?"
"I'm never drunk."
"No wonder you're no fun." Naruto's lower lip began to jut out and Sasuke's eyes followed its slow movement. "I tried lookin' for ya, you know?"
It took Sasuke an agitating amount of time to comprehend Naruto had spoken and he tore his eyes upwards, looking into blue, hazy orbs. Naruto had taken a few dragged steps forward, using the house for support.
Sasuke didn't feel like he was getting crowded in.
"I'm flattered," Sasuke drawled, feeling far too unsure of a drunken Naruto. It was one of the few versions he'd never encountered during their time as roommates. He wasn't quite sure how it would affect their interactions.
Naruto didn't seem to notice his response however, his eyebrows knitting and his eyes gaining an even further glaze to them as he stared off into nowhere. "Figured you wouldn't show, ya know? Then you did and I had to tell Sakura and then it didn't matter because you left. And I didn't know that would matter more." He looked down. "Why did you even come, S'uke?"
Sasuke tried not to notice the butchering of his name because if he ignored it, he could ignore every reaction the quiet whisper brought with it. Besides, Naruto was drunk. It gave him an extremely large amount of liberty in being able to rationalise what ever happened here.
"You're not making any sense, Naruto."
"Am too," Naruto sounded petulant, scowling and looking so much like the child that he probably always would be. Sasuke felt a very small part of him want to soften, but he crushed it with swift precision. Naruto had got himself drunk and he didn't deserve compassion for it.
"You just don't get it," Naruto continued, frustration creeping into his voice, raising it towards the end.
Sasuke let out a small huff of a sigh, realising he could be here for a while if he continued his usual approach on the blond and avoided the subject. "What don't I get, Naruto?"
"Everything!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms a little too violently for his current state of intoxication. Sasuke had to dart over and grip his shoulder to stop the other from tumbling face first into the grass.
A small, spiteful part of him wanted to just drop him anyway, to pay him back for a night of torment, but when Naruto leant into Sasuke, his face buried somewhere near Sasuke's collarbone, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to do anything but keep a steady grip on the other.
"Why are you outside?" Sasuke asked, a little softer then he should have allowed.
He felt the shrug against his chest but didn't particularly see it, his eyes more focused on Naruto's own as they slipped closed. The angle was awkward and Naruto's neck was stretched more then enough to develop a kink but he looked perfectly happy with where he was.
Then he frowned, looking saddened.
"Always thought you did have a heart, you know, somewhere."
Sasuke was confused for a second before he understood and a huff of laughter escaped despite his best intentions. "You're on the wrong side, idiot."
Naruto peeked open his eyes and looked up at Sasuke uncomprehending before - to Sasuke's shock, drawing a line of tension through his body - Naruto pulled back enough so he could move and rest his cheek on the opposite side of Sasuke's chest.
His eyes slipped closed and a soft little smile curled across his lips. Sasuke tried desperately to keep his heart rate from climbing. "Knew you had one in there."
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's other shoulder and pushed him away before something happened.
Yet, doing it only made Naruto's bottom lip jut out in another perfect, plump show of disappointment and Sasuke wished that he'd never fucking come. He glanced in the direction of the party, wondering if he could pass Naruto off to someone else - wondering if he really could.
"You're gonna leave."
Sasuke looked back at Naruto and despite knowing his face showed nothing, the sight of Naruto's showing everything made him falter. He felt remarkably unwilling to let go and disappear. Like he would. Like he should. Like he always did.
Like Naruto had done first.
His eyes narrowed and he dropped his arms using the movement to straighten the wrinkles Naruto's cheek had made in his shirt. "I have to head back to my dorm room."
Sasuke hadn't even tried to move but Naruto's hand still - sloppily - came out to grab his wrist. Sasuke wasn't quite sure why he let him. "Don't want you to."
He knew he could easily break the hold but something; maybe the honesty tainting Naruto's words from the alcohol had him willing to wait it out. For the moment.
"Why?" A split-second pause followed before his tone sharpened, anger shaping his words, "You never cared when you moved out."
Naruto's eyes flashed with the hurt Sasuke knew the blond felt too keenly and expressed too easily.
"You never wanted me there anyway." Naruto's eyes suddenly burned. "You were always mad, always fucking hating me even when I started to like you because you were funny and you didn't know it but you were because you were a dick but you were doing it so fucking well and you looked like you started to, you know, enjoy my company but then I got it all fucking weird and we're both guys so it's not like we know if the other does - is and I knew… I knew…" Naruto trailed off, his eyes on Sasuke's shirt as the intensity faded. "I knew you wouldn't."
Sasuke felt something traitorously like hope edge across his skin from Naruto's words, beginning with the warmth of his wrist where Naruto's fingers still curled around his skin. His thumb was over Sasuke's pulse point and logically unable to feel the frantic tap of his heartbeat with how loose the hold was, but it was still close enough to make Sasuke's shoulders border on tension.
"Wouldn't what?" He found himself asking. Still as a statue but still standing there, hoping it was enough to convince Naruto to answer him.
It was the slowest moment he ever stood through as Naruto raised his head, eyes much too sharp in that one moment than the heavy cloud they'd had previously should have allowed.
"Try," he said.
There was nothing in that one word but conviction and it said everything Sasuke never fucking had and it hit him much harder then he ever thought a word, an emotion, a person could without a punch.
Naruto kept that intensity on him and took one barely wobbled step forward until barely a hairsbreadth kept their chests apart. Naruto's eyes were pinched with concentration and Sasuke couldn't escape the thought he might get kissed in the sideway of a house, in the dark, with far too many of his guards dropped.
But he didn't.
Naruto closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh and tilted enough to the side to rest his forehead on Sasuke's shoulder.
"'m tired," he slurred.
"Alcohol does that," Sasuke mumbled with a monotone.
Naruto let out a huff of laughter. "Emotions does too." He turned his head; breath dusting over Sasuke's neck and making him ward off a shiver. "S-probably why you got perfect skin," he theorised, "no emotions, no wrinkles."
"I have emotions," Sasuke automatically answered, feeling vaguely disconnected but all too aware of every line of his body that was pressed against Naruto's. "And I'm too young for wrinkles."
There was a long pause before Naruto told him softly, "Don't hate me."
Sasuke didn't get to ask before the lightest brush of lips was placed on his neck. He went stiff as a board but it didn't affect Naruto as the touches kept moving up his neck, a hint more pressure being applied to the first one that reached his jaw. A line was then made with soft little touches along his skin and up to his ear where he paused, "Sas-"
He grabbed Naruto's upper arms and thrust him backwards against the house, pressing him into the brick. Naruto's eyes were wide, but not surprised, just saddened and horribly expectant for what Sasuke knew, logically, Naruto thought was a fist.
Sasuke knew that Naruto was drunk and not in complete control of his decisions, but he also knew that he was a fucking human and not made of the ice everyone speculated. Emotions, heartbeat and the cutthroat jealousy he knew was easily sparked inside of him bled out as he crushed his lips to Naruto's, not only to prove it but to have it.
Naruto's arms clutched the back of Sasuke's shirt even as he arched closer, a small keening sound rushing from his lips when Sasuke just slotted them into place - easier, his thigh moving between Naruto's legs. His hands loosened their white-knuckle grip on Naruto's arms and simply rested there.
He wanted to do so much more; to curl his tongue into Naruto's mouth and slide his hands up Naruto's shirt. To bite a mark into his neck and ward everyone the fuck off but he forced himself not to and to ignore the nibbles that Naruto was giving his bottom lip just begging him to do all of it and more.
He pulled back and had to turn his head to the side to avoid Naruto trailing after him. He got a small, somewhat sloppy kiss to his jaw for his troubles as well as Naruto letting out a soft whine that still managed to trail heat through his body.
"Sasuke?" He's asked with confusion, eyes hooded and far too drunk to do anything about any of this.
He let out a breath and pulled away, one hand on Naruto's arm before he tugged him along and back towards the backyard. "Come on."
Naruto's easy compliance was all he needed to know about why what he was doing was the right thing. It still didn't make it any fucking easier though.
They managed to get to Naruto's room with surprising difficulty.
Throughout the attempt of navigating, Naruto wouldn't let go of his wrist for a moment and despite being tired and having the amount of alcohol he'd drunk - six shots of tequila, three beers and a vodka and orange - fully taking its toll on his system, Sasuke was still strictly not impressed Naruto was still functioning - he still talked to almost everyone.
The pink-haired girl - Sakura - Sasuke discovered, was Naruto's study-partner and while she did tend to strip when drunk she had no interest in Naruto even when she was smashed beyond all comprehension. It was because of this that he decided not to kill her for hugging Naruto in a bra and a mini-skirt.
When he finally pulled enough directions out of Naruto to get them into his room - second floor, last door - he was only faintly amused to find Naruto had plastered it with police tape to try and prevent people from entering it during the party. He didn't even bother asking how the blond got it.
The place was filled with unopened boxes - more than what could contain the small amount of items Naruto had seemed to possess while in the room with Sasuke. He was mildly curious regarding what was in them and where they had all come from, but Naruto didn't mention them and Sasuke refrained from asking.
The bed was as orange as the one he'd had across from Sasuke and when Naruto collapsed on top of it without preamble, Sasuke wasn't able to do anything but revert back to what he was used to.
"Get under the fucking sheets, Naruto."
"Don' wanna," was the muffled response he got.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. "Get under them now or I'll mummify you with them instead."
He received a faint wave of protest before it was dropped back to the covers. "Leave me 'lone."
Sasuke resisted the urge to toss him off the bed in order to fix the bedding. Just barely. "Get under them now, Naruto, or you'll freeze."
"Our room's always warm," he disputed and Sasuke was startled enough that it took him a moment to respond.
"You're not there, idiot. You're in your new house."
The response made Naruto crack open his eyes slightly and lift his head to look around a little, "Huh?"
Unwilling to miss the opportunity, Sasuke grabbed the sheets and started yanking them back, making Naruto mutter a few complaints before stretching himself around in a few - flexible, so fucking flexible - contortions that had Sasuke take a few extra moments to deliver each tug to the material.
When the blond was finally settled under the covers Sasuke stood back from the bed. Naruto's eyes were open, fighting the tug of sleep to keep watching him. "You goin'?"
It was far too reminiscent of their previous conversation to be a coincidence and for a second Sasuke hesitated. He was once again struck with the knowledge that he'd never witnessed a drunken Naruto before, and more importantly a hungover Naruto. He didn't even know if the other would remember anything at all.
"Sasuke?"
Fuck.
Did he really have much to lose? Naruto had left already, hadn't he?
"Message me tomorrow." Sasuke quickly tacked on, hoping it would decrease some of the uncertainty and tension that was warring with everything else that was going on inside his heart, "if you manage to remember."
Naruto smiled slowly, his eyes losing the final battle and slipping closed, making him look content and entirely too good in a bed full of orange. "Mmkay, 'kay. Night S'uke."
Sasuke's hand hesitated, twitching briefly towards the other before he forced into his pocket. "Good night, Naruto."
He turned and left like he'd always planned to do but with far less control then he'd ever started with.
When Sasuke woke up the next morning it was far too early after having gone to bed far too late. The sound of his phone going off on the bedside table beside him was as unwelcome as a bucket of cold water.
He was reaching for the item before he had even cracked open bleary eyes to assess the screen. His fingers went on reflex to open the message, the rest of his body and mind a second behind in the jolt that pushed him into a state of alertness.
If I were to ask you out on a date tonight, would you ignore this message and everything that happened last night?
Sasuke swallowed compulsively, his hand tightening on the phone to stop the fatigue - only fatigue - from causing his limbs to shake. But they may have, just a little.
He glanced beside him out of instinct only to see an empty and far too plain bed. His mind went back to last night, the room he'd been in, the way Naruto hadn't unpacked and the softness of those sheets that Sasuke still fucking hated and didn't miss at all.
There had been no girl, just him and now the whisper of an invite if Sasuke wanted to take it.
He fired off a message before he could overthink it, doubting he'd be able to sleep for the rest of the day but determined to at least live up to the pretence.
No. But I'm going to ignore the next one and get some sleep if I'm going to be stuck with you all evening.
The response that came had a small smile catch at his lips, but it didn't matter if only he and Naruto - always Naruto because he always, always knew the difference - were the only ones who knew it.
Liar.
A/N: And… that's it. Wow. It's been so long since I've uploaded anything anywhere. It's kinda strange but I'm oddly proud of myself for finally completing and submitting a story. I can't promise there will be anything else from me anywhere resembling soon, but I'll do my best.
Anyway, I hope you like this (I feel a little unsure of my portrayal of Sasuke here…) review if you will, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (and perhaps they'll bring possible inspiration? Who knows?)
I'm off to finish studying now. Ta.