"Oy, bastard!" Naruto hollered, though he was perched on the ship's railing only a few feet away.
"What?" Sasuke snapped.
"Are we there yet?"
"No, usuratonkachi," the prince sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in a dramatic show of exasperation, "For the thousandth time, no."
"But, but we've been travelling for hours and it's like we barely even moved, ya know. If I had Kurama-"
"It's enough to have one unstable idiot as prisoner-"
Prisoner. Right. As if! Naruto stifled a snort.
Ignorantly, Sasuke continued "-and I'd have to be an unstable idiot to allow that thing-"
"Kurama's not a thing, you jerk!"
"Fine, flying dog-"
"Fox!"
"-whatever. Leave me alone. I'm trying to concentrate."
For the thirty-seventh time that day, Sasuke drew slow circles in the air with his hands. Blue sparks crackled at his fingertips. The air shimmered, snapped, and-
Erupted in a pathetic puff of black smoke.
Argh, so close!
Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek and tried not to feel disappointed. It really looked like the jerk had it –the Midori? Something like that- this time. In any case, he was getting better.
"Actually, I think it's time for you to give it a rest," drawled the old guy with white hair, a mask, and eye-patch. Takashi, maybe? Hell if Naruto gave a shit. He was here for one reason.
Said reason was glaring, flushed pink from exertion, and glistening under a fine sheen of sweat. Naruto watched a single bead of water roll down Prince Sasuke's neck, over the sharp line of his collarbone, and lower still to his smooth, well-defined-
"What?"
Naruto almost fell off the railing. "Huh?"
"What. Are. You. Looking. At."
Wasn't it obvious?
"You," he grinned.
This seemed to puzzle and irritate the banished prince greatly.
"Why?"
"What else am I going to look at, asshole?" Naruto gestured to the wide, flat, endless, boring expanse of open ocean that surrounded them on all sides.
Prince Sasuke narrowed his eyes, ground his teeth, and opened his mouth to-
"Now boys, let's eat dinner first. You have months to keep flirting, but only minutes until this eel gets cold."
"Flirting? Who's flirting, you old pervert?" Sasuke snapped at the same moment Naruto exclaimed "Months?! We're going to be out here for months?"
"Itadakimasu," Takashi-or-something said, ignoring the indignant boys as he turned away to eat.
Naruto picked the old man's scroll off the table. Takashi had been reading it non-stop, ever since Naruto was "captured" to be brought to Fire Lord Madara three days ago.
Must be about advanced bending forms or something, Naruto thought.
He unraveled the first few inches, took all of three seconds to process the, ahem, forms on the parchment, then quickly rolled it up and dropped it with a startled squeak.
Heat rushed to his face in waves. Naruto felt himself flush from the roots of his bright yellow hair to the tips of his curled, clenching toes. He felt- he felt- he felt so damn…
Prince Sasuke glanced at him from the corner of his eye and smirked.
Naruto's embarrassment quadrupled. That was the last straw.
"P-" Naruto began softly.
"What was that, Naruto-sama?" Takashi-or-something asked, turning around with an empty bowl and mask back in place.
"P-p-"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Pervert! You're a filthy, disgusting, sinful, unclean p-p-pervert!"
Sasuke made a small, sharp noise. Like a cough or chuckle or- no. The bastard didn't chuckle. He never even smiled, and no, that sexy smirking thing doesn't count. Prince Sasuke's food probably just went down the wrong pipe.
"Yes well, I guess this must be difficult for you to understand," Takashi-or-something reached for his scroll and ignored Naruto's violent flinch, "seeing as you were raised by monks in a time long past. But the modern world-"
"Stop," Prince Sasuke cut in abruptly, "You'll give him the wrong idea."
"Well, then he wouldn't be the only one on this ship with the wrong idea," Takashi-or-something replied lazily, then gave Naruto a pointed one-eyed look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke hissed.
"I'm going to bed."
"Kakashi-"
"Goodnight, boys. Whatever you do tonight, do it quietly. You don't want to wake the rest of the crew."
Naruto choked.
He knows! The old pervert- Kakashi-not-Takashi- he totally knows!
(Well, not like he was being subtle about it, but still.)
Sasuke glared at his sensei's receding back for a few moments before turning abruptly to Naruto.
"You, Avatar-"
"My name is Naruto, bastard!"
"Like I care, idiot," Sasuke sighed, pushed his empty bowl away and rose to his feet, "Spar with me."
Two weeks later...
Sasuke Uchiha was no fool.
He knew, he knew the Avatar didn't just 'agree' to be taken prisoner to save that pathetic little Water Tribe settlement at the South Pole.
The boy –yes, he was over a century old but everything, from his appearance to how he talked to the silly pranks and idiotic acts positively reeked of adolescent immaturity- was up to something.
For starters, the Avatar always watched him.
Which meant he constantly followed Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't complain. This way, the prince could keep an eye on his prisoner. Prevent escape. Understand his enemy's (rival's) character. In theory, it should be a convenient arrangement and a simple problem to solve.
Really, Sasuke Uchiha was anything but a fool. One might even call him a genius.
But Nar- The Avatar remained an enigma.
He watched Sasuke train for hours on end with this… this absolutely dobey expression. The idiot would sit on the ship's railing or lean against it, resting his head on his knees, blue eyes glazed and distant, as if he was day-dreaming. His mouth sometimes hung open. Sasuke swears there was a spot of drool on the monk's orange tunic at times.
Which was- really? This idiot? He was The Avatar? Preposterous.
And when they sparred, the idiot held back.
Worse, he made illogical moves that were not in his own best interest. How could The Avatar, prophesied savior of all mankind (according to certain groups) have such little regard for self-preservation?
Like right now, Nar- The Avatar has an advantage at long distances. Sasuke was excellent at close-combat.
And yet, the dobe refused to get further than an arms-length away.
When the idiot managed to land a blow, Sasuke felt his touch linger a little longer than necessary. It happened too frequently to be an accident. But why?
When Sasuke pinned him down, giving plenty of opportunity to escape, Nar- the moron just lay there. Grinning that ridiculous grin, not bothering to fight back.
Sasuke straddled his waist, leaned forward, and pressed his forearm into the loser's windpipe. Their faces were inches away. Still, he kept the pressure light and rested most of his weight on his knees. Narut- The Avatar could easily push him off. Roll away. Something.
"What are you playing at, Nar- dobe?" Sasuke hissed, glaring sharply.
Naruto swallowed, but continued to grin.
"Playing?" he asked in a rough, breathless voice "This isn't a game to me, Sasuke."
What was that supposed to mean?
Sasuke pressed down harder and leaned closer. Maybe he could stare the idiot down.
He was tired of Kakashi's pointed looks and cryptic remarks, tired of being followed, tired of being in the dark. This was his ship, damnit, his mission. He had to know the truth.
Narut- The Avatar's pupils were dilated. Only a thin sliver of blue remained.
Tell me, Sasuke willed silently, what is it? What do you want from me?
"Um, S-sasuke? You… You're k-kind of- um- I'm like-" Narut- The Avatar squirmed beneath him, suddenly even more flushed and acutely uncomfortable.
"Well, do something about it," Sasuke growled, "We've been sparring for weeks and all you ever do is let me win as you just lay there. It's infuriating."
He pressed even closer. It's a standard intimidation tactic: close the distance, get your subject to talk.
Sasuke was now close enough to see little flecks of green around the outer edge of Naruto's –damn it, fine, that was the idiot's name and he could at least think it in the privacy of his own head- blue irises. He felt Naruto's stuttering breath on his face. The Avatar's pulse beat rapidly, and his skin was hot- strangely, unnaturally hot, even by Firebender standards.
Interesting.
Just then, Naruto started wiggling even more and making strange noises. What… Sasuke frowned, sat back and felt something- something poking- oh. Oh, no.
He sprung to his feet and stumbled backwards.
"What. The. Hell."
"I'm sorry!" Naruto held up his hands "It just, it just happened, ya know! Like, you were so close- doing that thing you always- and I was-"
"Stop," he pinched the bridge of his nose. This moron- This was The Avatar? Maybe the Air Nomads were better off without him "Naru- Idiot, stop talking."
Surprisingly enough (and probably for the first time in his life) Naruto listened.
"We will never speak of this," Sasuke decided. He briskly turned on his heels and headed to his cabin.
A bath. He would take a nice, long dip in a freezing tub of water, then sleep, and forget.