Naruto spent his days trying not to stare at Sasuke.

He glared at his computer screen until he got headaches, wrote down notes to distract himself, and tried to fully engage himself with his authors. Sai was already on a fast-moving track with one of his novels, which wasn't much of a surprise to Naruto, but the guy seemed to work independently. He'd rarely call Naruto for anything aside from increasingly personal questions that appeared out of the blue like: 'When you look down in the shower, are you proud of what you see?' Naruto didn't know what to make of it so he played along, but he appeared to have more free time than he'd ever had in a long time.

Friday was another one of those dull empty days. Naruto shifted through his finished work pile, counting down the minutes until he got to leave early, when the phone on Sasuke's desk rang.

Naruto froze, his eyes stopping on the empty desk in curiosity. Sasuke had run out less than a few minutes ago, simply stating that he had errands to take care of. It was normal for Sasuke to keep busy and occasionally do errands, so Naruto tried his best not to delve on it too much, but then again, when was his attention not on Sasuke?

Naruto picked up the phone and lightly cradled the receiver between his cheek and shoulder.

"Konoha Publishing, what can I do for you today?"

A soft, deep voice came from the other end.

"Is Sasuke Uchiha around by any chance?"

"You just missed him. I can relay a message to him if you'd like."

"Ah, no that's fine. I was just hoping to catch him before he left."

"May I ask who this is?"

The person on the other end chuckled. "Yes, excuse me. I'm his brother Itachi."

Naruto felt his jaw drop. Itachi Uchiha? As in the President of Uchiha Enterprises?!

"No way!"

"Yes way."

"I can't believe I'm talking to the president of Uchiha Enterprises that's crazy!" Naruto couldn't stop himself from raising his voice; Kiba turned towards him with a shocked expression that quickly turned devious.

"Are you one of Sasuke's coworkers?"

"Yeah! You're speaking to the one and only Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto…" Itachi mused. "Oh! I know who you are! Sasuke's mentioned you before!"

"He has…?" Naruto asked carefully. From what he could imagine, it wouldn't be anything positive.

"Yes, I found it amusing because he never speaks about his coworkers, yet he had so much to say about you."

Naruto tried to squash down the inkling of hope that tried to wriggle its way into his stomach and frowned at Sasuke's desk. As long as he'd been working around Sasuke, Naruto didn't know anything about him. Sasuke was nearly impossible to read, and Naruto knew how to read other people better than anyone. Sasuke was a blank page‒more like a blank book considering the amount of history Naruto was lacking. He just wanted something; a foothold, a steady base, just a hint of who Sasuke really was.

"Hey, is it possible…for you to tell me a little about your brother? I mean, I work with him, but he never talks about himself, and I could use some help…"

"Like blackmail?" Itachi broke into laughter on the other line. "Sure, how about you head over here and I'll buzz you up to my office."

"Right now?"

"If you can."

Naruto glanced at the clock and his empty to-do pile.

"I'm on my way."

"Don't tell me you're meeting the President of Uchiha Enterprises." Kiba hissed as Naruto gathered his things. Naruto shrugged and swung his bag over his shoulder.

"I'm going to get dirt on Sasuke from the best possible person."

"Ah siblings." Kiba mused. "They'll always betray you in the end."

Naruto gave him a parting wave before he darted out of the office. He slipped into the elevator before the doors could close and settled himself in the corner for the ride down.

"Why do you look so happy?" Sakura glared at him over her pile of boxes. Naruto would offer to help her carry them, but he knew Sakura could handle carrying a car if she wanted to.

"Just got off early." He replied. He didn't know how much Sakura was still mad at him, but it was definitely getting better if she was speaking to him again. "Gonna head over to Ichiraku's to celebrate."

"By yourself?"

"I'm used to it." Naruto grinned back, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions.

Sakura turned her head with a huff and stepped out of the elevator once it reached her floor. Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief once she was gone.

The walk to the Uchiha building was a lot farther than Naruto expected. He made his way through the twists and turns of the streets leading up to it, thankful they weren't crowded yet with rush hour traffic. It was hard enough stumbling around young children and teenagers fresh out of school; traffic would have made it much worse.

He finally reached the building after a twenty minute walk and a slight detour for coffee. Naruto craned his neck to look up the massive establishment; it gleamed in the sunlight, the creamy beige bricks giving the building a modern look that made it stand out more than necessary. All of the buildings in Konoha were fairly old-fashioned and no more than five floors, and here this thing was—towering menacingly over the town as if it were the main attraction.

Naruto grumbled to himself as he walked through the glass sliding doors. He was hit with a blast of cold air conditioning and the scent of cologne in the main lobby. A woman sat at the front desk with her eyes trained on the computer with two men in suits stood on either side of her. When Naruto approached the desk, the woman didn't bother to look up. Her dark eyes roamed across her computer screen and her fingers danced across her keyboard with lightning speed.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Y-yeah."

"Mr. Uchiha will see you on the thirty-fifth floor. Inabi and Yashiro Uchiha will show you the way."

The two bodyguards stepped forward in unison, their eyes falling on Naruto. They led the way to the elevator, walking in silence with Naruto less than two steps behind them. The ride up felt miserable; standing in silence between two hulking men that could easily snap Naruto in half was a little nerve wracking. They didn't seem to like him that much either, but Naruto figured the look of disdain was something every Uchiha carried with them from the moment they were born. He wondered what Itachi would be like. Would he be mean and sassy like his younger brother? Or would he be a decent human being?

The elevator doors dinged open to a white hallway. Naruto followed the bodyguards through it; his eyes wandering across every portrait that hung along the walls. The walls were quickly replaced by floor to ceiling length glass windows, displaying the whole town of Konoha, something Naruto had never seen from up high before. The hallway ended with a large brown door with a large plaque that simply read 'President' on it.

The two men stopped and gestured for Naruto to head inside.

With a gulp, Naruto opened the heavy door and stepped inside to an even brighter office. He took in the color red before anything else; it decorated the room in surprising accents. A red vase on the bookshelf, a red rug, a red lantern, a red chair; they were scattered across the room to ultimately draw attention to the man seated behind the massive red desk in the center of the room. His long dark hair was gathered into a ponytail behind him, and his eyes were on Naruto the moment he opened the door.

"Welcome Naruto." Itachi smiled at him. It was a pleasant smile, not full of sarcasm and indifference like Naruto was used to from Sasuke. "Glad you could make it."

"Sorry it took me so long to get here." Naruto scratched at the back of his head and lingered by the door, unsure if it was safe for him to move around.

"No worries. Come over here so I can get a good look at you." Naruto quickly obeyed, hurrying over to Itachi's desk as quickly as possible without tripping. "I hear you're one of the best editors in Konoha?"

"Yessir!" Naruto smiled back, pride swelling in his chest. "I plan on carrying that title for a long time!"

"You appear to be very dedicated. Of course my kid brother would try to take that title away from you." Itachi frowned. "It's just like him too."

"Taking things away from people?"

"Well you came here to get dirt on him correct? What is it that you wish to know about Sasuke?" Itachi leaned back in his seat and smiled. It almost appeared wicked; that evil glint in his eyes that Naruto had seen in Sasuke's was all too familiar. There was no doubt they were related.

"Why is he so mean?" Naruto blurted out. He couldn't help but ask the most obvious question, it was all that really mattered. "I mean, he doesn't try to get close to anyone and he just sasses me to no end!"

"He's always been sharp-tongued." Itachi sighed, dropping his chin in his hand. "He doesn't connect with other people well either, he's always been an independent kid. I don't think he liked to socialize in school either. It drove our parents insane."

Naruto chewed on his lip as he listened, committing every fact that came out of Itachi's mouth to memory.

"When it comes to being mean…I'd have to say it stemmed from me. He wasn't always an angry kid, I think it only started recently…"

"Did you do something to him?"

Itachi's lip quirked up.

"Sasuke wanted to take over the company. He argued about it with our father for hours, but my father wouldn't comply. When he died and I took over, Sasuke became as bitter as can be and refused to work here anymore." Itachi met Naruto's gaze, "then he joined your company and here we are."

"Just like that he had a career change?" Naruto scowled at the ground as he tried to put together the puzzle that made up Sasuke. He quit his family business to become an editor? Not only was that a major downsize in income, but it was a completely different job environment. What would make him want to do something like that?

"Did he ever express an interest in reading?"

"No more than the average child." Itachi straightened up and narrowed his eyes. "I was just as surprised as you seem to be."

Naruto nodded, not knowing what else to say. What other questions could he ask about Sasuke? What else did he wish to know?

"You seem to have a special interest in my brother. Are you a friend of his?"

Itachi's question caught Naruto off guard. 'A special interest' made Naruto feel like a stalker, but there was no other way to put it. He was interested in Sasuke, much more than he was with the average person that was for sure, but they weren't even close.

"I don't think he considers me as a friend…yet." Naruto chose his words carefully. Itachi studied him with the same dark eyes Sasuke possessed, raking over every feature of Naruto's face before responding with an airy laugh.

"'Yet'…I like that. That means you haven't given up on him." Itachi spun his chair closer to his desk and beckoned Naruto to come over. "Let me show you some baby pictures."

"Are you serious? Show me all of them!" Naruto rushed to Itachi's side and watched the slideshow of baby pictures on the computer. Itachi explained the album and the reasons for Sasuke's expressions (he cried a lot), and their laughter filled his office every time they stumbled across one of Sasuke's Halloween photos. Naruto learned that Itachi and Sasuke had a very pretty mother who had died young of an illness when Sasuke was only five, leaving their strict father in charge of them until his recent death. Sasuke was the perfect student, but with his father running the company he was left to do whatever he pleased and dropped off of Itachi's radar.

"He used to be so cute." Itachi pouted, his finger resting on a photo of Sasuke in a high-chair. "Next thing I knew he was snapping at me. It was always 'play with me Itachi, play with me' but I never had time and kept putting him off. Now it's come back to haunt me."

"That's how it always is." Naruto sighed, capturing yet another photo onto his phone for future blackmail. "I'll never have time for kids."

Itachi hummed in agreement, his expression held a sort of fondness Naruto had never seen before. He supposed it was something siblings shared, almost like a parent's bond with their child, but then again Naruto didn't exactly know what that was like either. If Itachi was so fond of his brother, why was he so eager to tell Naruto his secrets?

"Is there…something you want me to give you in return for all of this?" Naruto straightened up a little as a small sense of dread began to trickle through his bloodstream. He couldn't let his guard down, he was around an Uchiha; the most powerful Uchiha in fact, there's no way he would get free information.

"Something I want?" Itachi glanced over his shoulder with a thoughtful expression. "No, no I just like to talk about Sasuke. He doesn't ever talk about or bring around his friends so I found you extremely interesting."

Naruto sighed in relief and dropped his shoulders.

"Actually, there is something I'd like for you to do for me."

Naruto swallowed and braced himself for the worst. "Y-yeah?"

"Don't give up on Sasuke, he'll try to push you away, but he needs you." Itachi turned back to his computer and sighed. "I already destroyed what we had, but you have a chance."

He wanted Naruto to be Sasuke's friend? That's it?

Naruto tried his best not to let his scoff slip out, but it nonetheless made its appearance.

"Me? Give up?" Naruto laughed. "I never give up Itachi, don't worry I'm going to be Sasuke's best friend whether he likes it or not!"

"Thank you…I really appreciate that." Naruto caught the reflection of Itachi's smile in the computer screen. He quickly brought up the bathtub photos to Naruto's delight and the two fell into another squealing session over Sasuke's butt.

Their short bonding experience ended when Itachi's office door was thrown open.

Naruto snapped upright in surprise, but Itachi didn't react at all when Sasuke stormed into the room in rage.

"Itachi? What the hell is he doing here?" Sasuke demanded, thrusting a finger at Naruto. He sounded winded, almost as if he had ran there, but not a hair on him seemed out of place.

"We were just having a nice chat." Itachi replied, casually exiting out of his photo album with a smile. "I like your friend a lot."

"He's not my friend!" Sasuke snapped back before he turned his fury to Naruto. "How do you know my brother and why are you here?"

"He called the office?" Naruto offered, his hands already up in surrender. "Like he said, we were just talking!"

"About what?"

"You." Itachi's smile widened into a cat-like grin. "I told him everything."

Sasuke blanched at his brother and balled his fists at his sides. Naruto watched the anger rise in him like a boiling tea kettle and he automatically took a step back, fearing the impact.

"Naruto I need to talk to you." Sasuke growled through his teeth and crooked his finger at Naruto before pointing out into the hallway. "Come here."

"I don't wanna." Naruto whined.

"Come here."

"You're gonna hit me."

"Get your ass over here!" Sasuke left the office and Naruto slowly followed after him, waving goodbye to Itachi as he left. Now Itachi had gotten him into deep shit with Sasuke and Naruto was almost sure this would be the end to his short life. Sasuke would launch him out of the window and he'd fall thirty plus floors to his death.

He walked down the hallway, following Sasuke's footsteps in silence until they stepped into the elevator together. Naruto watched the doors close in front of them in fear. He could be killed here and no one would see…

"What did my brother tell you?" Sasuke asked quietly. It wasn't calm‒Naruto could tell Sasuke was far from that‒he was just containing his anger for later.

"Nothing really." Naruto remarked. He found Sasuke to be pretty cute when he was angry; that light shade of pink he got in his cheeks was adorable. If he was going to die anyway, he should drag it out as long as he could.

"Don't play dumb with me Naruto."

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What do you tell your brother about me?" Naruto turned to face Sasuke full on‒he didn't have a height advantage considering they were nearly the same height, but he could at least try to intimidate him with his gaze. Sasuke didn't seem to like prolonged eye-contact.

"I don't say anything." Sasuke hissed back.

"And Itachi didn't tell me anything." Naruto smirked.

Sasuke glared at him silently until they reached the bottom floor.

"You need to stay away from here!" Sasuke growled once they were outside. "You have no business in that building!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Itachi told me I was welcome any time!"

"You are not welcome! Ever!"

"You don't even work there anymore, you don't have a say if I go in there or not!"

"I do have a say! I'm an Uchiha and I forbid you to step foot in that building again!" Sasuke's voice rose to nearly a shout, the loudest he'd ever been, but Naruto was too angry to notice.

"I will do whatever the hell I want! And like hell I'm telling you what he told me!"

"I will break your legs and throw you in the river Uzumaki!"

"Bring it you lousy Uchiha!"

"Just tell me what he said!"

Naruto shook his head defiantly and crossed his arms. "No."

"Naruto!"

"You were a really fat baby." Naruto hinted with a wicked grin of his own.

Sasuke stared at him in shock, recognition slowly registering on his face.

"Oh shut the hell up! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Really? Leave you alone? After what happened the other day?" Naruto took a step towards Sasuke, pushing him back. "I can't leave you alone, period."

"I don't need you." Sasuke growled. "I can take care of myself. I have been, long before you, so butt out of my life and go live your own!"

"You're the one that walked right into it!"

"I did not."

"You did! You're a lousy bastard and you piss me off more than anyone else on this planet but you still did!"

"If I'm a lousy bastard and piss you off so much, why do you fucking care?!" Sasuke hardened his gaze and stepped forward again, but Naruto wasn't about to let himself be pushed back.

"Because I like you!" Naruto shouted. When he realized what he said he quickly rambled on, "I-I told you last time, we're friends! Of course I'm gonna care about you!"

Sasuke's anger died at Naruto's words. It simmered into nothing and left him glaring at the ground with a somewhat defeated look.

"We aren't friends." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Yeah yeah keep saying that." Naruto hummed, thankful for his quick rebound. The two stood in silence for a few seconds, thrown back into reality; the bustling traffic of Konoha's rush hour had begun and people were crowding the streets. Naruto didn't want to go home yet though. The sun was still out and Sasuke was still standing in front of him, staring at the ground like he wanted it to suck him up and out of existence. Naruto had an idea. "Sasuke, come out for a drink with me."

Sasuke's head snapped up. "What?"

"Let's go get a drink! We're both done with work and it's Friday—"

"No."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I don't drink."

"You liar!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke just one drink, you owe me."

Naruto automatically felt bad for pulling the card, but he didn't know how else to get him to come along. He hoped Sasuke would comply rather than get angry.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest and promptly shut it. He seemed to run something through his head while he searched Naruto's expression. "Fine."

Naruto had to bite back his urge to jump for joy as he dragged the dark haired boy with him through the flow of people on the sidewalks. He made sure Sasuke didn't try to slip away into the crowd to make his escape or turn around while Naruto wasn't looking; he wouldn't put it past Sasuke to try.

Sasuke kept his eyes down while they walked, allowing himself to be guided to an unknown destination without a care in the world. He responded to Naruto's chatter with nods and 'tch's that made Naruto's heart swell more than it should.

Naruto ended up dragging Sasuke to one of the bars he normally frequented with Kiba on their days off. It was situated a little far from Naruto's apartment, but it was nearby their current location, and Naruto realized it had been a while since he had last been there.

Sasuke picked the table; he led Naruto to the back area of the bar, away from the crowd of people sitting in the front and hidden from view.

"Don't want to be bothered." Sasuke told him when he asked, his as voice cold as usual. Naruto shrugged it off and bought them their first round of beers.

"Loosen up a little!" Naruto teased and shook his beer bottle at him. "It's just me, geez."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer. His eyes glanced over every corner of the room before they landed on Naruto. "Okay, you dragged me out here, so entertain me."

Entertain me.

Naruto snorted and proceeded to chug the rest of his beer. Sasuke watched him in mild disgust; his own beer bottle poised in front of his mouth waiting for Naruto to finish.

"'Kay ask me anything and I'll tell you."

"What did my brother tell‒"

"Anything but that." Naruto raised a finger before he proceeded to open his next beer. "Like my family, my past, my sex life…"

Sasuke pursed his lips and finished off the rest of his beer with a pensive look.

"Okay, what about…"

And just like that Sasuke launched a multitude of questions at him. What did he like to do in school, who was his first girlfriend, when did his parents die?

Naruto responded eagerly, happy that Sasuke was finally curious about him and relieved that Sasuke was starting to open up and relax. After a while, Naruto began to realize that he was getting a little…too relaxed. Sasuke plowed his way through six beers without Naruto noticing until it was too late, and by then they were both giggling at each other.

"I'm telling you he let me fall down the stairs!" Sasuke popped open his seventh beer with a smile. "I got my first bloody nose and all he could do was laugh at me!"

Naruto had to set his beer down to stop it from spilling while he laughed. He had gotten the impression that Itachi was a good guy‒but then again, like Kiba said, siblings would always betray you in the end. Naruto didn't have siblings so he didn't know what it was like. He imagined it would be nice; someone by your side who you could teach and tease, someone to keep you company and watch out for you when your parents were gone…that seemed nice. Sasuke liked to talk about his brother. The times he'd been humiliated by him and the good times they shared before they grew apart, all of the memories he shared with Naruto were told with a smile and Naruto loved it. Sasuke had an amazing smile, it seemed out of place on a face that just scowled all the time; this was more natural. It was dazzling and it drew Naruto in; he could see why people thought Sasuke was so charming.

Naruto knew he was falling hard. He didn't know if it would be better to suppress it or just go along with it. He had finally managed to get through to Sasuke, did he really want to ruin it to pursue his own selfish desire?

"Sasuke you should smile more." Naruto hummed and dropped his cheek into his hand. "I guarantee people would like you more."

Sasuke paused from his drink, a smile already threatening the corners of his lips. His cheeks were dusted in a fair shade of pink and his eyes appeared black in the lighting.

"I don't care what people think of me. They approach me because they find me attractive and they leave when they see what my personality is, that's just the way it works."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Not really. I have my flings and then I move on. I don't have time for a girlfriend." Sasuke huffed with another sip.

"I'm sure if you opened up a little the whole world would fall in love with you."

"Oh yeah? What about you top-shot? I heard from Sakura that you're quite the ladies' man." Sasuke teased with a raised brow.

Naruto felt the smile slip off his face. Sakura knew that was in the past. Maybe not that far in the past, but Naruto had stopped his one night stands and partner jumping. He told himself it was because of work and he didn't have the time, and Naruto tried to convince himself it was because he loved Sakura, but maybe he was looking for something a little more stable. He didn't know how far he could open up to Sasuke without making him uncomfortable, but he wanted to be honest.

"I've had my fair share of flings." Naruto admitted. "I don't know if the ladies loved me, they hung around me when I went to bars and sometimes I'd go home with them, but it wasn't always just women."

"Men too?" Sasuke asked in surprise, his beer briefly forgotten in his hand.

"Yeah, but that was a while back. I still consider myself bi though…" Naruto said warily, bringing his beer to his lips to drown away his discomfort.

"Wow I had no idea." Sasuke replied and leaned across the table onto his elbows. "I always thought you were straight! Are you in love with Kiba then?"

Naruto almost choked on his beer.

"No! Kiba and I are just friends from college!"

"Oh? Well that's okay." Sasuke's words slurred and he frowned down at the table in frustration. He brought his eyes up to Naruto's and offered him a small smile. "I'm sure you could get whoever you wanted, you're a nice guy."

Naruto stared at Sasuke in surprise. Was he just complimented? By Sasuke?!

He's so drunk, I should probably stop him.

"People tend to dig the blonde hair and blue eyes combo, even if you're stupid, they won't care." Sasuke chuckled and fished around their depleting basket of fries.

I'm not going to stop him. I'm going to see where this takes us.

Within the next hour, Sasuke had plowed straight through his limit and nearly drowned Naruto in compliments. The guy became nice when he was drunk and failed to believe in personal space, leaning onto Naruto while laughing and whispering random thoughts into Naruto's ear like they were the secrets of the universe. Naruto refused to drink anymore after his third beer, knowing that it was going to be his duty to get the Uchiha home before he could cause trouble and ruin his oh-so-perfect reputation.

The walk to Sasuke's apartment wasn't easy.

Sasuke put too much weight on Naruto's side, forcing them to shuffle down the less crowded streets of Konoha to avoid attention; Sasuke's giggling filled the night air as they walked.

"I would call you a lightweight but you plowed through almost nine beers tonight." Naruto grumbled when Sasuke's apartment came into view.

"Nine beers is nothing." Sasuke replied with a wave of his hand. "It's been a while so…"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto muttered as he unlocked the front door with the key he took from Sasuke's pocket.

The interior was just as fancy as Naruto remembered it being; the high ceiling with the fancy chandelier dangling from the center, the marble floors of the small lobby area, and the brand new elevators along the wall made Naruto fear what the monthly rent bill looked like.

He shuffled himself and Sasuke into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor with a huff. Sasuke hummed along to the elevator music as they rode up, his eyes on the little flat screen TV in the corner of the interior. Naruto rolled his eyes; Sasuke was a completely different person when he was wasted, and at this point Naruto didn't know which one he preferred.

Naruto figured his job would be over once he opened the door to Sasuke's apartment for him, but when Sasuke invited him inside, Naruto couldn't say no. He followed Sasuke inside; the first section of the apartment he'd seen when Sasuke treated his wounds, but the rest of the apartment was new to him.

Sasuke had a spacious living room, but it was sparsely decorated. A large black couch took up a lot of the space and so did the massive flat screen TV against the wall, yet there was still room to maneuver around the place. The living room ran into the dining room which connected to the kitchen; it was bigger than Naruto and Sakura's and filled with fancy new appliances that had probably never been used.

He couldn't help but be awestruck at Sasuke's living conditions. It must be nice, having so much money and not knowing what to do with it; especially having such a nice spacious place all to yourself.

Naruto dropped onto the couch beside Sasuke and let out a yawn. The day's events were starting to catch up to him and leave him feeling exhausted. Sasuke must've felt the same as he leaned his head to rest on Naruto's shoulder so easily Naruto would've believed Sasuke was a friendly person.

"You didn't have to drag me home."

"Yeah I did you can barely walk on your own."

"I would've found a way." Sasuke mumbled. He tilted his head to look Naruto in the eyes before he sat up. "You're just too nice for your own good."

"You're just not used to nice." Naruto replied with a small smile. "Be nice and others will be nice to you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's too much work."

Naruto didn't know how it happened, but the next thing he knew, his hand was roaming through Sasuke's dark hair. His fingers slipped through the soft, silky strands with ease, noticing that it was nothing like his thick and tangled hair.

"Sorry you had a strand sticking up." Naruto lied. He couldn't take his hand away though, it moved behind his ear, along the back of his neck where the hairs got finer, and back up to Sasuke's bangs, which he brushed to the side gently. To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke let him do it. He closed his eyes and let Naruto run his fingers through his hair, making a small hum in the back of his throat while he did so.

He's like a cat.

"I'm not like a cat." Sasuke muttered at Naruto's quiet remark. He opened one eye and attempted to glare at him, but failed and ended up breaking into a smile.

"You are like a cat! You're so cute I just want to pet you." Naruto ran his fingers through his hair a few more times before he realized what he said. Well shit…

"You think I'm cute?" Sasuke replied. Naruto didn't want to see Sasuke's reaction; he was expecting to get smacked or called loser, anything remotely Sasuke-like to snap him out of his dream, but when he met Sasuke's gaze he realized that the dark haired boy was serious.

"Well…yeah." Naruto admitted, letting his hand idle on the back of Sasuke's smooth neck. He could feel his face burning under Sasuke's stare and his palms were starting to sweat. Oooh boy did it get hot in here or‒

"Thanks." Sasuke said quietly, but he quickly added with a pout, "but I'm not cute."

Naruto couldn't stop himself from breaching the small gap between them and pressing his lips to Sasuke's. Sasuke's lips parted on command against Naruto's, letting out a small moan as Naruto ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. Naruto couldn't believe how soft Sasuke's lips were; and he was just as surprised when Sasuke started to kiss him back, his own delicate fingers weaving their way through Naruto's thick blonde hair and giving it a little tug. The small tingle of sensation brought Naruto back to reality and he pulled away with a lewd pop.

He had to stop before he went too far.

"I-I have to go Sasuke." Naruto stammered and stood up quickly. His breathing was already a lot faster than it needed to be, he had to go home before he did something he shouldn't‒if he didn't already.

"You have to go?" Sasuke echoed with a frown. When Naruto moved to walk past him, Sasuke's hand gripped Naruto's wrist. "No, can't you stay?"

"I…I don't know if I should…"

"I have plenty of room." Sasuke stood up. "I have another bedroom, or you could sleep on the couch."

Naruto chewed on his lower lip and dropped his gaze. His skin felt like it was burning underneath Sasuke's cold grip, and his heart felt like it was going to rupture, and still he couldn't say no to Sasuke. Thinking about it, living alone in such a large apartment sounded extremely lonely. It was too much space for one person, and Naruto wondered how long Sasuke had been living like this. Leaving him alone felt like a cruel act of punishment rather than a favor.

"The couch is fine."

Sasuke brought him a few pillows and blankets from the spare bedroom and dropped them onto the couch.

"Make yourself at home." He said quietly.

"Thanks." Naruto settled underneath one of the blankets and found himself extremely comfortable. "Goodnight Sasuke."

"Don't let the ghost that lives here haunt you and possess your body." He replied in a monotone and shut off the light. Naruto stared into the darkness with wide eyes and brought the blanket over his head to hide.

Damn you Sasuke!

Naruto woke up at a seemingly ungodly hour; the sunlight streamed through the windows and lit up the apartment; the clock on the wall read ten-thirty. Naruto frowned, he was used to sleeping in until at least twelve, yet here he was, on Sasuke's couch fully awake on only nine hours of sleep.

"I'm in too deep." Naruto whimpered quietly and stared at the high ceiling. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to Sasuke, but he also feared the wrath that might come with a hungover Sasuke. He didn't believe it would be pleasant, but could it be that much worse than Sasuke on the average day?

He didn't have to wonder for too long. Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke emerged from his bedroom and walked into the kitchen. He rummaged around the fridge for a few minutes before he came into the living room.

Naruto stretched out with a yawn to let him know that he was awake. He flipped onto his stomach to look at Sasuke.

"Did you forget that I was here?"

Sasuke blinked at him before taking a sip of his water.

"No, I'm used to waking up with people on my couch."

Naruto frowned, not sure what to make of that comment, and sat up.

"Did you sleep well?"

Sasuke dropped his eyes to examine his water bottle with a bored expression.

"More or less." He lifted his gaze to meet Naruto's. "How was the couch?"

"Comfier than my own bed." Naruto groaned back, dropping his face onto one of the pillows. "But I expected as much."

Sasuke let out an affirmative hum and proceeded to drink his water. He stood rooted in the middle of the room, held down by an invisible anchor. Naruto began to worry if Sasuke remembered what happened last night‒and if that was what made him keep his distance.

"Sorry I let you drink so much last night." Naruto tried to give him a good-natured laugh, but he felt as if it fell a little short.

Sasuke made a sour face and squeezed the air out of his plastic bottle with a loud crunch.

"It wasn't all bad."

"You don't look hungover at all." It was true, Sasuke looked as how he normally did; aside from the messy hair and sweatpants, along with a t-shirt slightly too large for him that he'd probably never wear outside even if his life depended on it. He didn't look tired or angry, angrier than he normally was; Naruto was starting to truly believe that Sasuke was not human.

"Yeah, well." Sasuke said bluntly. Naruto could finish the sentence on his own. I sure as hell feel like it.

"Yeah sorry. I dragged you out and let you blow past your limit…" Naruto sat up with a sheepish smile. Please don't hate me.

"It doesn't matter, I had a good time." Sasuke said under his breath, or at least, that's what Naruto heard.

"What did you say‒"

"Do you want breakfast?" Sasuke asked suddenly, glancing over his shoulder.

"Uh…sure?"

Naruto watched Sasuke pad back into the kitchen without another word. After a few heartbeats of sitting in awe, Naruto finally found the strength to get up and follow Sasuke into the kitchen.

Naruto knew there was no going back now. He had officially fallen for Sasuke. As mad as that made him, Naruto couldn't help the smile that came to his face when Sasuke scowled at him as he stepped into the kitchen to join him. Nor could he stop himself from laughing whenever the boy called him 'loser' or 'idiot'; to him they were simply words of endearment that he wanted to hold close to him in fear that they'd be given to someone else.

"Quit staring at me you idiot!" Sasuke snapped and pushed him aside so he could stand at the counter.

Naruto scooted to the side and gave Sasuke a cheeky smile. I wouldn't be able to stop staring, even if I tried.