I missed NaruSasu day and well, I've missed everything happening lately it feels like. All I do is work, go to school, sometimes do my homework, and do a shit ton of stuff with the horses. It's giving me an insight into what life is like for people who aren't obsessed with a pairing.

Well, it would have if I didn't spend 24/7 thinking about them anyway. Gotta pass the time you know.

This chapter was supposed to include another scene but it got so long and I have such limited time to write that I didn't want to keep from updating any longer. Some of you may have read the first scene on tumblr already. I really like that this story is so sweet and simple and I have no plans to deviate from that, so if anyone's looking for any future drama then look elsewhere because this will stay sugary sweet from start to finish, just like the dinosaur cookies I'm eating to stay awake. I don't remember if I already stated that or not, lol.

Chapter 4: We were supposed to be over the awkward by now

xxx

Sasuke wakes up from Itachi sitting down on the side of his bed, bouncing a little from the force of it and angrily burying his face into the pillow.

"I know you're awake," Itachi sings, far too happy this early in the morning.

Wait, is it early? Sasuke hurries to check the alarm clock, relieved to see it's not even ten. He wouldn't want to oversleep and be late to meeting Naruto.

…which, when he thinks about it in a slightly more awake state, isn't something he should be worried about because they're friends, and friends can totally sleep as long as they want on Sundays before meeting up to innocently play video games.

"I was talking to you," Itachi complains, and Sasuke grunts in acknowledgment to his presence.

"I have better things to do," he adds after the grunt, settling back underneath the covers.

Naruto probably wouldn't be up for another two hours, which means he can sleep at least an hour longer.

"Dad's coming home today."

Instantly paying attention, Sasuke turns slightly to look up at his brother.

"He is? Since when?"

"He called last night, he managed to get a couple days off all of a sudden so he'll come over in the afternoon."

"Oh," Sasuke says, and it must have sounded more hesitant than it should because Itachi frowns at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, no, but I had plans…"

Itachi raises an eyebrow but Sasuke refuses to meet his eyes, clearing his throat and trying to appear inconspicuous. On the inside, he's torn between excitement to see his dad again, and disappointment that his time with Naruto will have to be cut short.

"Well, he'll be here around three," Itachi tells him as he gets up, but instead of leaving he moves to sit on Sasuke's desk.

Three, Sasuke thinks. Three is early.

"Ah," Itachi says with a smug grin, looking like he figured out where Sasuke is going and exactly why he wouldn't want Itachi to know. "So, I'm guessing the party was fun yesterday?"

Sasuke grabs a decorative pillow and chucks it at his brother's grin, knowing he's already lost the battle.

"That fun, huh?"

"Stop making up weird things in your head," Sasuke complains, groaning in frustration when Itachi only waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Boys?"

It's his mother, peeking in through the open door and Itachi instantly moves from the desk to the chair. Ha, serves him right to get a disapproving look after everything he's made Sasuke suffer for.

"Itachi, you didn't wake Sasuke up, did you? He deserves some rest after last night's party!" she scolds the older of them, and Sasuke sends a nasty little smile his way before showing his mother an appropriately tired face.

Itachi discreetly flips him off but holds back on the retorts until they're alone again, which Sasuke is having none of.

"It's okay mom, I'll come down for breakfast," he tells her with an angelic tone of voice, sitting up in bed and stretching a little in that way he knows she can't help but find adorable.

"That's nice," she smiles, coming over to caress his cheek before turning to leave again.

Sasuke hurries to follow, only pausing to grab a pair of warm socks and send a victorious grin towards his sullen-faced brother.

"Tch, I'll find out the details sooner or later," Itachi mutters, but Sasuke only shrugs and trails after his mother like a little duckling, knowing Itachi will follow too in a couple of seconds.

He'll text Naruto after breakfast and see if he's awake or not. He just needs to make sure he doesn't text too early, because that would indicate Sasuke is very eager to meet –which he might be but that's beside the point– and it's better to keep things casual. Especially after last night…

That goodbye was just way too tense, not to mention he can't believe Naruto actually asked him about Sakura! He hadn't had the time to properly think about it, because on the way home he was too busy feeling cold and then he'd refused to remember it and somehow lucked out and fell asleep fast. Now, however, with nothing more pressing to do than pour himself some yogurt and cereal, his brain seems to decide that it is Time capital T to think about it.

Sasuke is not happy with that.

Mainly because last night seems to have been a theme night, consisting of him constantly ending up in embarrassing and awkward situations. He hopes Naruto was feeling embarrassed too, then at least he wouldn't be alone with the feeling.

On the other hand, his gut is telling him that he is playing a dangerous game right now, thinking one thing and acting the opposite. Like, what the hell did Naruto think about him first saying he wasn't the dating type but also gay and then giving him a necklace like that?! If only his mother hadn't brought him shopping… Still, no one forced him to buy it, but he feels better if he blames it on someone else. Maybe he can blame it on that really romantic yaoi manga he read yesterday morning…

He should probably cut down on the reading.

"So what did Naruto think of the gift?" his mother asks, jolting him out of his thoughts.

He glances at Itachi, who is spreading butter on a sandwich as if it needs his full concentration. Glaring at him for good measure, Sasuke stirs his yogurt and makes a non-committal noise in the back of his throat.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Of course she had to ask. Of course.

"He liked it, I guess."

"Necklace?" Itachi asks, fooling no one with his fake innocence.

Well, at least not fooling Sasuke.

"You should have seen it!" Mikoto gushes, waving the knife she's cutting fruit with towards Sasuke with slightly alarming casualness. "It was so pretty, I'm sure Naruto loved it!"

Itachi's lips twitch, and Sasuke swallows nervously. He wonders how he's going to justify the gift to his brother, when he can't even justify it to himself.

"Sounds nice," is all Itachi says verbally, but his eyes speak volumes, and Sasuke busies himself with chewing.

Sasuke does not have feelings and neither does Naruto and there wasn't any weird tension yesterday or the past week and they're not going to hang out alone today and Sasuke is definitely most certainly not so nervous he can't even think about it without panicking-

Oh god. What is he going to wear?!

Suddenly chewing is incredibly difficult, his thoughts racing as he tries to decide what would be casual enough for hanging out with a friend but still not so casual Naruto will think he's rude, and what if Naruto actually does like him and makes a move or something?

Sasuke would die on the spot, for sure. No one's ever liked him back before, and he can feel his palms start to sweat just from thinking about it. Not that he likes Naruto. Definitely not. He's just, just…

"Sasuke?"

He just barely manages to keep from jumping at the sound of his name, his mother watching him in concern.

"You were sitting with the spoon in front of your mouth for almost a minute, everything alright?"

No. Everything is not alright and Sasuke can feel his stomach churning at the thought of texting Naruto. It's kind of good that his dad's coming home today, then he'll have a good excuse to go home early in case things become too overwhelming.

Trying to focus on breathing and eating, Sasuke is too wrapped up in his thoughts to even notice the look his mom and brother share, one faintly concerned, the other having much too fun at his expense.

"I'll drive you to Naruto's place later," Itachi offers, but Sasuke doesn't really register the words.

If he'd had, he could have at least spared himself that torture.

xxx

Naruto wakes up to Sasuke's text. He's bleary-eyed but grinning brightly as he quickly types his reply that Sasuke is welcome whenever, blanching when the other gives him twenty minutes. He needs a shower and some nice clothes and to make sure his room is perfect and-

When the doorbell rings, Naruto freezes in the middle of brushing his teeth. There's no way that was twenty minutes! Still he spits and rinses his teeth and runs to the door with his breath caught in his throat and there stands Sasuke, in all his glory, looking rather annoyed.

"Sorry you had to wait I was just-"

"It's fine," Sasuke waves him off, looking slightly embarrassed now. "Itachi drove me here and kept trying to be funny."

"Oh," Naruto deflates, feeling the adrenaline slowly leave his body and now his limbs are made of some kind of jelly instead. "Well, come on in."

He waves at the car when Itachi honks the horn before driving off, Sasuke hunching his shoulders as if pretending it wasn't for him as he slinks inside. When Naruto closes the door behind them, the sound feels ominous somehow. So, here they are. Alone. Well at least for another hour or so.

He stands quietly, waiting for Sasuke to take off his shoes and coat, a whiff of his shampoo reaching him as he turns to hang the coat up. It smells like coconuts, maybe, and he wants to ask but that's just way too embarrassing. So he's got limbs made of jelly and a distracted nose as he leads the way towards the living room, neither of them saying anything and it's causing Naruto to sweat. He's overreacting, definitely, and he takes a deep breath before turning to give Sasuke a wide grin like usual, sweeping his hand towards the TV.

"Remember this? It's where I beat your ass last night," he proudly proclaims, and Sasuke scoffs at him before sitting down and Naruto wants to touch him.

The thought startles him, and his grin falters as his stomach makes a panicky flop and he almost bolts for the safety of the bathroom. What the hell happened to control?! Was there some jerk sitting inside his head just stomping wildly on the control panel, making him think whatever dangerous thought that pops up? Because he's pretty sure that Sasuke would freak out if he just reached out and touched him.

Rewind and restart he thinks, turning it into a mantra as he gathers up the controllers and hands one over to Sasuke. Just because he spent last night dreaming up different scenarios of him (or better yet, Sasuke) confessing his feelings and them living happily ever after doesn't mean it would work in reality. In fact, he'd probably jump out of his skin if Sasuke suddenly pushed him down and straddled him like he did in some of his nicer dreams…

He probably shouldn't think about that. More importantly, something as simple as hugging or holding hands would most likely feel overwhelming if he ever dared to do it so when the hell did his brain go and decide that having wet dreams was a good idea anyway?!

"So which one are we starting with?" Sasuke asks and Naruto almost jumps at the sound of his voice, having spent the short time panicking by starting up the console and plugging in the controllers.

"Um, just hand me whichever," he mumbles, not daring to look at Sasuke or the game he's handed, simply putting it in and hoping for the best.

Wow, that didn't sound good even inside his own head.

He settles on the couch and pretends to read the back of the game's case while it loads, glancing at Sasuke who glances back at him and oh shit oh shit. He was perfectly fine yesterday so why can't he act normal today?! Sasuke probably thinks he's super weird. He stares hard at the text on the case, unseeingly at first but then he frowns, looking at the rating.

"Hey uh, Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Isn't this game 18+? Did your parents help you buy it or something?"

Naruto hadn't quite managed to convince his mom to buy the game that one time he actually found it, but now Sasuke is squirming uncomfortably in his seat, thumbing the controller nervously.

"No, I bought it," he replies in a quiet voice, and it takes Naruto a couple of seconds to piece that information together, but once he does he lets out a gasp and points at Sasuke in shock.

"You're eighteen?!" he exclaims, mouth gaping as Sasuke gives him a disapproving look but nods. "But why?"

"Because I was born a year earlier than you, dumbass," Sasuke retorts, crossing his arms defensively.

"Well yeah I get that but, I mean, why are you…"

Sasuke sighs, tilting his head to give him a tired look, a look that makes Naruto want to crawl over there and run his fingers through his hair until he's happy again.

"I'm a year behind," he shrugs, but his shoulders are tense and too late Naruto realizes that this is probably a touchy subject and maybe he shouldn't have asked.

"Oh," he says, not sure what else to comment, the conversation coming to a stiff pause. He's incredibly curious now but if Sasuke doesn't feel like talking about it then he's not gonna push him. "But hey! That means you could totally get your driver's license!"

Raising an eyebrow at Naruto's sudden excitement, probably to determine whether it is faked or not, Sasuke slowly relaxes a little and Naruto breathes a mental sigh of relief. The last thing he wants is for Sasuke to get upset with him.

"I already have my license," Sasuke says and Naruto stares at him because he can't believe Sasuke kept something like this from him!

"What?!" he screeches, flailing his arms and getting up on his knees on the sofa. "Sasuke you have a driver's license and you can buy 18+ video games and you could even go out drinking if you wanted to and you didn't tell me?!"

Sasuke thins his lips, huffing through his nose and staring down at his lap. It takes the edge off Naruto's excitement and he sits down again, nervously trapping his hands between his thighs and waiting for Sasuke to say something. It takes a while, and Naruto has plenty of time to daydream about how pretty Sasuke's lips are and how silky his hair looks.

"I don't really feel like talking about the reason," Sasuke mumbles, and Naruto blinks at him before nodding vigorously. "So I prefer it if no one knows."

"I won't tell anyone," Naruto hurries to promise, still waiting intently for anything else Sasuke would like to share. He knows he shouldn't, but he can't help but feel a bit special to know this about Sasuke, and that Sasuke risked being found out just to get him his present. "But umm, what about Sakura? She was with you when you bought it, right?"

"Oh, yeah. She didn't notice."

Nodding slowly, Naruto waits a little more but Sasuke seems to be done talking, instead fiddling with the zipper to his dark hoodie, pulling it up and down in jerky movements. The game has loaded by now but Naruto pays it no mind, gnawing on the inside of his cheek as he contemplates his next course of action. That Sasuke has a driver's license is great news, though. This means Sasuke can drive them places. In fact, why doesn't he make Sasuke drive him right now?

An excited grin forms on his face, not deterred in the least by Sasuke's suspicious look.

"Let's go for a drive!" he suggests, jumping up and down a little and hoping Sasuke will agree. "We can take my mom's car!"

"That… really doesn't sound like a good idea," Sasuke deadpans, but Naruto jumps up and grabs Sasuke's sleeve to pull him up as well.

"It's a great idea! Come on, we'll just go around the block!"

"Why do you even wanna do that?" Sasuke asks with a sigh, reluctant and all but digging his heels into the floor as Naruto drags him towards the hallway.

"Because! I want to see you drive!"

"Your mom will kill us," is the muttered response but Naruto has a goal in mind and he will not be stopped.

"Only if you break the car," he sings as he digs through a drawer for the key, motioning with his other hand for Sasuke to get dressed. When nothing happens, he grabs Sasuke's coat and shoves it at him, all the while grinning brightly. "Come on, it'll be fun! Like a road trip!"

It's obvious that Sasuke isn't too happy about the idea, but there's no more disagreement as they leave the house and head for the small red car in the driveway. Somehow, the thought of Sasuke driving him –even if it's just around the neighborhood– is extremely appealing to Naruto. Oh yes, he is going to enjoy this a lot.

Whistling a nonsensical tune he unlocks the car and makes a show out of handing the key over to Sasuke, who accepts it with a wary expression. Naruto almost has to push him into the car but soon enough they're settled into the seats and the car purrs to life as Sasuke turns the ignition.

"This is an idiotic idea," Sasuke tells him, but Naruto waves him off.

"You need to live a little, Sasuke! I mean it's just around the block, no one else will even be out driving on a Sunday!"

Dark eyes glance at him, but apparently Sasuke decides that the consequences can't be that bad, and after adjusting the rear window he slowly backs out onto the street. Naruto is practically bouncing in his seat now, gaze transfixed on Sasuke's concentrated face as he easily maneuvers the car.

"Can we go faster?" Naruto asks eagerly and Sasuke actually stops the car to give him a stare so disapproving that Naruto has the decency to look ashamed.

"Have you ever driven a car?" Sasuke asks condescendingly and Naruto huffs because of course he has! Sure it was only once and his mom yelled at him but still! "Passengers should shut up unless giving directions," Sasuke adds and Naruto gapes at him, but at least the car is moving again.

Very slowly –in Naruto's opinion– they make their way along the street lined with identical houses, a few people out in their gardens raking leaves. Even with Sasuke's snarky attitude Naruto soon finds his excitement again, alternating between observing Sasuke and playing with the radio.

"Do you ever sit still?" Sasuke asks and Naruto freezes with his finger still pressing the button to switch channels, causing it to search through the lot of them before he pulls it back.

It settles on the news but now he doesn't want to change it again in case Sasuke gets annoyed with him.

"Sorry," Sasuke mutters after a minute. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Oh, it's okay."

Sasuke has turned the corner though the speed limit is the same, Naruto gnawing on his lower lip as they pass an empty kindergarten. There is barely any traffic but Sasuke still looks kind of tense as he drives, eyes carefully scanning the road in front of him. It warms Naruto's heart a little that he's being so careful.

"So have long have you had your license?" he asks once Sasuke turns again, having completed half the way with no incidents.

"A couple months. Since July."

"Is that when your birthday is?"

"Yeah."

"You could totally drive to school."

Sasuke snorts at this, stopping at a red light as they wait for an old man to cross the road.

"Assuming I have a car, and also you forget I don't want people to know I'm older."

"Oh, right."

"I still wouldn't pick you up, we live in opposite directions."

Naruto sticks his tongue out, glad that Sasuke seems more relaxed about the subject now. Encouraged by the other's eye roll he decides to take a chance with the radio again, clicking on one of the preset stations and letting out a happy noise when it's one of his favorite songs playing.

"Let's sing!" he urges Sasuke, poking his arm when the response is a negative frown. "Pleeeease, this is my favorite! It's not a real road trip if you're not singing along!"

Sasuke sends him a dark look but eventually mimes halfheartedly to the song, apparently refusing to do any actual singing. Naruto doesn't mind though, singing loud enough for the both of them and drumming his fingers against the headboard.

"We're back," Sasuke suddenly announces and Naruto instantly turns to beg for another lap but the look in Sasuke's eyes makes him swallow the words.

"You're a good driver!" he says instead, blushing as well when pale cheeks redden.

Hiding his embarrassment by getting out of the car he wonders how Sasuke managed to park without him even noticing. The drive was just way too short, and he makes a promise to himself to get Sasuke to drive him somewhere else soon. Like the shopping mall, maybe. As for now he simply grins and skips a little towards the door, Sasuke trudging after him with an expression that clearly states he has no idea why they even went for that drive. Still, the atmosphere feels much less awkward this time around when they sit down on the couch and pick up the controllers, they even argue playfully while choosing their characters.

Maybe he's biased because he's got a major crush on Sasuke, but it's just way more fun playing against him than any of his other friends. He doesn't even mind losing, because whenever he loses he can push at Sasuke's shoulder or kick his foot, and every touch sends tingles through his body.

He even manages to sneakily move so he sits closer to the other boy, torn between his need to be as close as possible and the fear that he's making Sasuke uncomfortable. Though, Sasuke has plenty of room to move away from him but doesn't, and he takes it as a good sign.

He's almost managed to forget about his parents because at this point they're an hour late, but the telltale noise of the front door opening brings him out of the happy little bubble he's entered while alone with Sasuke.

"We're hoooome!" his mother yells, and he inwardly groans and prays that she won't embarrass him. "Ooh, is this Sasuke?" she asks in excitement as she enters the living room, mouth splitting into a grin.

"Yes," Naruto sighs, bracing himself for the worst.

"I've heard so much about you," his mom continues, and it's as if she's rehearsed the lines of some Stereotypical Mom character in a bad movie. "It's lovely to meet you, Sasuke."

"Nice to meet you too," Sasuke answers politely, getting up from his seat and shaking her hand.

"So polite! Naruto, you've got something to learn for sure!"

"Mom," he whines, silently begging her to stop but she's immune of course, motioning urgently towards his dad as if he needs to hurry up.

"I'm Kushina, and this is Minato."

"Hello," his dad says, thankfully less embarrassing as he simply shakes Sasuke's hand with a friendly smile.

"Okay great you can leave now!" he shoos them off with, pushing at his mom when she gives him a reprimanding look.

"Naruto, I'm allowed to say hi aren't I?" she protests but at least she starts moving.

"Yes and now you've said hi so you can leave."

"Really, is this the way I raised you?" she mutters and Naruto groans again, wishing there was a door between the living room and kitchen that he could close to keep them out. "Minato honey, are you getting the bags?"

"Of course, love," his dad replies and Naruto rolls his eyes so hard he thinks they'll fall out at the unnecessarily lovey-dovey exchange between his parents, his mom giving his dad a loud kiss on the mouth for bringing the grocery bags to the kitchen.

It was just some bags, jeez!

He drags his feet behind him on the way back to the couch, giving Sasuke an apologetic look. They quickly resume the game, a little quieter this time around since his parents are home. It's only a couple of minutes though before his dad shows up in the open doorway, wearing his super dorky apron that Naruto has often dreamt of destroying without a trace.

"Hey sunshine, do you guys want lunch?"

"Dad," he hisses, tomato red in the face and unable to miss the slight twitch to Sasuke's mouth.

"What? Do you or not?" Minato asks, completely missing the point Naruto is trying to make.

"God, just leave us alone," he moans, flicking his hands at his dad until he disappears again with a displeased huff. "Come on, let's go to my room instead," he adds towards Sasuke, not bothering to wait for a reply before shutting off the game.

Sasuke obediently follows him up the stairs, and too late Naruto realizes that the price for escaping his parents' presence is the fact that there is absolutely nothing to do in his room, not to mention it's a little suspicious to leave but dammit, he just can't relax knowing his parents could pop their heads in at any second!

As soon as they enter he's reminded of last night, and with a gasp he remembers he left the necklace on the desk instead of putting it on like he'd planned.

"Damn I forgot to put this on after my shower!" he says and grabs it, fumbling a little with the clasp.

When he looks up Sasuke is staring at him but averting his eyes when caught, and Naruto feels a little embarrassed. But to him, the necklace is super important. He really hopes Sasuke didn't notice he wasn't wearing it and thought he didn't like it or something.

"So, uh, what do you want to do?" he forces out, nervously wetting his lips and trying not to think of the weird tension they had going on last night.

"Does your dad really call you sunshine?" Sasuke asks, a look of hesitant curiosity on his face as Naruto's cheeks are set aflame again.

"Well, I mean, I guess. Ugh he's so embarrassing!"

Sasuke actually laughs a little at that, and it's such a beautiful sound that Naruto feels a little stunned. It really doesn't help the color of his face though.

"I get what you mean," Sasuke assures him, shrugging lightly as he looks around the room.

It's such a strange feeling, to have Sasuke in his room. It's only the second time but to Naruto it feels like he belongs in here, like he sort of fits somehow. Sure it's a bit awkward and he still has no clue as to what they're going to do, but he's feeling more excited than anything else. He feels like he could start showing Sasuke exactly everything he's got in here, from his books to his clothes to the odd little trinkets he's saved from his childhood. It would probably be boring though. Yeah, and weird.

"So," he starts, unsure of how to continue.

"So," Sasuke repeats, pushing his hands down the pockets of his loose jeans and leaning against his desk.

Wow, Naruto can totally picture how he'd walk up to him and sneak his hands between Sasuke's arms and sides, settling into his warmth and rubbing their noses together…

Is it just him or is it getting hot in here? Swallowing, he moves to sit on his bed, just like last night, wishing he had some ice cream to occupy himself with. He glances at Sasuke who's looking around his room again, and then they're both eyeing the box placed by the foot of Naruto's bed.

"You didn't open it yet?" Sasuke asks him, a teasing tone to his voice, and it takes Naruto a second to get what he means but once he does he wants to die a hundred times over.

"Obviously not," he chokes out, feeling like he's burning up and not all of the heat is caused by embarrassment.

Firmly pushing any dangerous thoughts far into the back of his mind, he squares his shoulders and move to pick the box up, pretending he isn't blushing all the way to his ears.

"Stupid Karin," he mutters as he opens it, "She even texted me after everyone left telling me she already put batteries in it."

Sasuke snickers, and Naruto thinks it's highly unfair that he seems to be the only one bothered by the dildo lying innocently inside its package. Maybe it has something to do with being eighteen, he thinks sullenly to himself, since Karin is a year older as well. She and Sasuke could go out partying together. That really wasn't fair.

"It doesn't look like a vibrator," Sasuke comments, and finally he's blushing too once he realizes what he just said.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto hands him the toy, unable to hold back a laugh at the reluctant way Sasuke takes it from him. "And what does a vibrator look like, huh?"

Sasuke's purses his lips but doesn't reply, instead turning the dildo over in his hands until he's located the on/off button on its underside. It isn't precisely a realistic dildo but it does have balls, and Naruto can't decide if he's turned on or dying on the inside when Sasuke flips the button and almost drops it in surprise when it buzzes loudly.

"Well, at least we know it works," Sasuke comments, refusing to meet Naruto's eyes.

Not that he'd be able to look at him either, considering the brief thoughts of pure pervertedness flying through his mind.

"Yeah that's, uh, great," he mumbles, Sasuke handing it back to him but just as he moves to turn it off, there's a knock on the door barely a second before it pushes open and Naruto does the only thing he can think of.

The dildo makes a low arch as it flies through the air before landing somewhere behind him, still buzzing happily as his dad appears in the doorway.

"Are you guys sure you're not hungry?" Minato asks, frowning when they both nod stiffly as if the action itself is incredibly painful. "Huh, what's that noise?"

Oh Naruto is going to DIE and he's bringing poor Sasuke with him. He hopes the afterlife isn't too horrible.

"That's, it's just, it's my phone," Sasuke stammers out, and Naruto's eyes feel like they're going to pop out of his head because he can't believe Sasuke just said that. "It gets stuck like that sometimes."

Minato looks concerned, still dressed in the bright yellow apron matching his hair, but thankfully he shrugs it off and smiles again.

"Really though, we're making omelets so just come down whenever you feel like it," he chirps happily before leaving, and Naruto is going to have a real serious talk with his parents about knocking because what the hell!

For a few moments he and Sasuke simply stand there in shock, not exactly sure that what happened actually did happen. There's no denying the constant buzzing, however, and Naruto shakes his head before diving after the toy to turn it off and hide it in the box again.

Once he's done, he shares a look with Sasuke and it's just so stupid that he can't help but start laughing, soon holding his stomach as tears form in his eyes because wow, he is never going to open that box again while his parents are home!

"I can't believe your dad bought it," Sasuke marvels, still so shocked that Naruto has to laugh at that too. "What kind of phone would sound like that?"

"Your phone, apparently."

Sasuke doesn't look too happy about that but refrains from commenting, crossing his arms as he waits for Naruto to calm down again. It takes a while but eventually his breathing returns to normal, though he's not entirely sure of why he's sitting on the floor.

"Whew, that was close."

"Tch, let's blame Karin," Sasuke suggests, and Naruto has to laugh a little more.

His stomach is starting to hurt from it and he grabs his side, complaining a little through the laughter.

"Why the hell didn't you just hide it behind your back so you could turn it off?" Sasuke continues, and Naruto pouts a little as he struggles to get up.

"Like I had time to think about that!"

"Moron," Sasuke mutters, but there's no malice behind the word, and Naruto happily accepts the outstretched hand helping him to his feet.

To distract himself from the fact that his and Sasuke's hands touched for like, several seconds, he tries to think of a good hiding place for the dildo. He doesn't really have a lot of indiscreet stuff stashed away in his room – hey, he's a teenager, of course there's some stuff – but luckily his parents aren't the snooping kind. Not that he knows of, anyway. Hell, if his mom really wanted to know she could probably easily get him to tell her, he just chalks it up to her preferring not to know.

"What are you looking for?" Sasuke asks as he searches his room in contemplation, seeming all calm and collected again which Naruto kinda envies him for.

"Somewhere to put that thing," he explains, nudging the box with his foot before taking a deep sigh and crouching in front of his bed. "No need to put it on display."

"Hm, I guess."

There are drawers underneath his bed, and Naruto pulls the closest one out to reveal an assorted mess of paper and notebooks and other little trinkets he's collected throughout his school years.

"I don't think it'll fit in here," he muses, ignoring the pointed look Sasuke gives him, instead opting to open the next one.

Honestly he knows these drawers are all pretty filled up, he just needs to continue with his distraction. After shutting the second one (where old teddy bears fought for the space with stacks of magazines and a portable fan) he hesitates with his hand on the knob to the final, third one. Is he really going to open this drawer? Maybe if he puts it in a plastic bag it could fit among the teddy bears… though that would feel horribly wrong.

"Naruto?"

Startling at the sound of his name, Naruto swallows and pulls open the drawer, giving Sasuke a great view of his manga collection. He would put these in his bookcase if there was any room for them… besides, some of these aren't ones he wants his friends to find.

"It might fit if you take it out of the box," Sasuke suggests in a slightly skeptic tone that turns a bit teasing by the end.

Oh god, why can't Sasuke just act like nothing?! Just because he shows him his yaoi collection doesn't mean Naruto appreciates jokes about hiding the dildo Karin gave him among them!

"Gah, forget it!" he exclaims, pushing the drawer closed again but Sasuke gets down next to him and pulls it open again.

"Did you finish reading it?" he asks, and Naruto flushes as Junjou Romantica volume one dangles from Sasuke's pale hand.

"Yeah," he forces out, cursing himself for feeling like he's gonna shrivel up and die from the fact that he couldn't help but put himself and Sasuke into the story. "I read the rest of it on the internet."

"Have you seen the anime?"

Naruto shakes his head, but it's a lie and he's so terribly into the idea of Sasuke and him living through different yaoi scenarios and someone should just put him out of his misery already.

"We could-" Sasuke stops himself, averting his face and when Naruto sneakily peeks at him he can see he's finally looking as embarrassed as Naruto feels he should be.

Not that Naruto was very embarrassed when he first found out Sasuke has similar interests, but back then he was more focused on not blowing up the opportunity of being able to talk about the stories with Sasuke and maybe somehow from there ease into a story of their own… No wait, that last part belongs to his more recent addiction of self inserting. Dammit.

"Watch it?" he guesses, biting his lip when Sasuke shrugs in agreement.

Whew, it's a good thing the anime is pretty tame compared to the books because Naruto has a terrible poker face. He gets up to collect his computer, noticing Sasuke closing the drawer after taking an unnecessarily long look at the contents (he'll ask Sasuke if he wants to borrow any of them before he leaves).

His computer is old and noisy as it whirs to life, but they settle on the bed and Naruto's breath catches in his throat when Sasuke's arm comes into contact –stays in contact– with his. It's warm and makes him feel fuzzy inside, hoping that Sasuke enjoys the contact as much as he does. It should be ridiculous that he reacts so exaggeratedly to something so small, but he's past the point of caring by now. He's at a much worse point – the one where he's fighting a losing battle against his rational mind. At the moment his mind is telling him that cuddling Sasuke is a Bad Idea, but the rest of him is itching to do just that, resulting in a very annoying twitching that his limbs do whenever Sasuke shifts.

It doesn't help that Sasuke keeps glancing at him, making him think there's something wrong with his face. But surely Sasuke would make fun of him if there was… So he tries to relax and get into the episodes, but it's awfully hard when his heart keeps fluttering and his hands won't stop sweating.

And then there's kissing on the screen and his too nervous brain decides to blurt out the first thing it can think of, and there really should be laws against that.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?"

Sasuke was silent before but now he's even more silent, tensing up beside him and Naruto forces his eyes to stick to the screen because wow, this might be a good time to panic. What even.

"I haven't," Sasuke confesses, Naruto's heartbeat speeding up tenfold because if he wasn't such a wuss he'd be kissing Sasuke right now.

Instead he glances to the side, observing Sasuke pushing some of his bangs behind one ear, except they're too short and fall forwards to cover his face again.

If he wasn't such a complete and utter coward he'd reach out and move them safely away with his hand so that nothing would obstruct his view of Sasuke's lovely face.

But he is and he only makes some kind of noise in the back of his throat in acknowledgment of Sasuke's reply, not daring to open his mouth again for the remainder of the episode.

He sort of wants to bang his head into a wall, repeatedly.

My exam is in two weeks and I haven't studied for it yet... Maybe after that I'll get more writing time? Or maybe not considering my inability to say no to obligations. Someone needs to stop me.

Poor Naruto though, but he'll get his happy ending soon enough haha. And what could Sasuke possibly have thought of all this? Who knows... :3

Creds to Que for the dildo scene, I was stuck on what to write and she provided me with such a glorious solution... :D