Chapter 6 Steam

That morning Naruto stepped out of the bathroom, with only a towel wrapped around his slim hip as always. It was a morning like the others. Usually by this time Sasuke would be done dressing up, would have his shoes on and be doing finishing touches on his homework. He was very meticulous like that.

Sasuke was sitting on his wonderful looking bed, writing on a piece of paper. He was also tinkering with his laptop. He looked up from what he was doing when he heard the bathroom open. Sasuke used to be so squeamish whenever he saw Naruto naked, and Naruto thought it was because he really was not used to being in a room with someone who would just walk around unclothed, even if they were both guys.

But Sasuke merely nodded his head and went back to reading. Naruto cautiously went to his drawer. This was the first time he officially felt something was wrong with him, because he couldn't make himself remove his towel anymore like he used to and get naked freely. He kept on glancing at Sasuke, who was still bent over his laptop, not minding Naruto for the least bit.

Naruto shook his head and smiled ruefully. What he did, he put on his boxers while the tower was still wrapped around him. And that was not all, he even did not take it off until his jeans were firmly in place, all zipped up. That was when he removed his towel and rubbed it on his hair. He looked at Sasuke. Still turned away from him. Good. Naruto wouldn't want his roommate to wonder why he was suddenly acting all prudish around him.

It was true that Sasuke wasn't minding him but he saw in his peripheral vision what Naruto had done, as if… As if he was too shy to be naked in the room with Sasuke. That was a first huh? Well, maybe at last Naruto was learning his manners. Finally.

When Naruto was finished with dressing up, he nodded to Sasuke. Wordlessly the two boys got ready and left.

Compared to the conversation filled mornings (which was usually initiated by Naruto, of course) today it was eerily quiet. By this time Naruto would have had ranted on and on about how home works were the bane of his very existence, and that the professors always gave him a hard time in school. By this time Sasuke would have quipped what a dobe he really was for not even studying in the first place, devoting all his time in his basketball practice.

But this morning, nothing. Naruto walked quietly beside him, hands in his pocket. Sasuke kept on looking at his big roommate. Maybe there was a problem with work. Were his grades so seriously down the drain that he wouldn't be able to catch up? There were a lot of possibilities why his roommate was acting strange. Sasuke was tempted to ask but he held his tongue. He had no rights whatsoever to ask these personal questions. Naruto might think he cared too much.

Sasuke bit his lip. He was not used to seeing Naruto all shushed like this. Even at nights when he went home tired from his activities, he was raving what a bad day it was. He was talking. But now it was different.

Sighing, Sasuke tried to focus on the road. He wished everything was alright.

That afternoon, as Sasuke was sitting before the piano, he kept glancing at the door, wondering if Naruto would watch him practice again. Naruto dropped by for a few minutes in the past before going to his basketball practice after that first time that he discovered how good Sasuke was at playing.

Sasuke chuckled to himself, sliding his hand on the smooth expanse of the piano. That was really stupid, waiting for another boy to watch him play. His head was bowed down so he didn't see Naruto step inside. "Hey, what's so funny?"

Sasuke gasped, looking up. One of his hand fell on the keys creating a loud broken sound. Sasuke winced. How clumsy of him. "H-hey. N-nothing."

"Where are your fan girls?" Naruto asked smiling.

Sasuke smiled back. "They're not my fan girls, dobe. I don't know why they didn't come today. Preparing for midterms I guess."

"Oh well." Naruto dropped his gym bag on the floor, leaned his back on the piano, looking at the other side of the room, hands in his pocket. "Hey, can you play something for me?"

"Got anything in mind?"

"I dunno. Something – happy, I guess. Most of your pieces are so sad they make me wanna cry sometimes."

Sasuke barked a laughter. "I can't help it if the pieces we study are sad, you dobe."

"But do you have something, like a bit cheerful?"

Sasuke frowned, thinking for a while. "Okay. How about this?" He launched into a seemingly more upbeat piece than the others he was used to playing. Naruto got up from his position and this time leaned down on his elbows, directly watching Sasuke below. Sasuke didn't seem to mind the close proximity. He was really used to it by now. He even grinned confidently at Naruto as he played, knowing he was the king of his own empire while he was perched up on a piano like this.

Naruto smiled softly, not minding the music, completely mesmerized by Sasuke's talented fingers as they flew around the tiles, creating these fantastic sounds. His shoulders moved daintily in time with the beat of his hands. What a beautiful sight.

Sasuke came to a closing and stopped, looking up at Naruto. "Happy enough for you?"

Naruto nodded, still gazing directly at him.

Some of Sasuke's bangs fell over his eyes, because of his movements on the piano. Before Sasuke could do something about them, Naruto reached down and tucked – yes tucked his hair behind his ear. Gently as if Naruto was afraid Sasuke would bolt.

The touch of Naruto's fingers on Sasuke's temple froze the smaller man. Heat suddenly crept up to his face starting with his neck, all the way to his cheeks. Bloody hell, how embarrassing was it for him to get all hot and bothered like this? Naruto just tucked his hair behind his ear! Did guys normally do that with other guys?

"Beautiful," Naruto breathed.

"What?!" Sasuke snapped sharply.

Naruto grinned at the piano. "Your piece, I mean. It was beautiful."

Sasuke knew his face was red, could feel the steam covering his whole body but he couldn't take his eyes off Naruto this time, while the blonde smiled so softly like that. Naruto didn't seem too troubled now, whatever problem it was that had been nagging at him earlier.

They just continued staring at each other. For how long neither seemed to mind. Sasuke found how ridiculously adorable Naruto's blue eyes really were, fringed by long blond eyelashes. His skin was looked lusciously tanned to perfection. He was just so ruggedly handsome. Sasuke clutched at his chest.

Please. Don't let me swoon.

Naruto was leaning down, even lower. And lower, as if there was an invisible force between them that pulled him down towards Sasuke.

Sasuke's heart began thundering inside his chest. What the fuck was Naruto doing? Was he going to… Going to…?

Yeah, Naruto was definitely bending down to kiss him.

Sasuke's mouth hung open, afraid to breathe, afraid to move. Afraid to be. Naruto had such a hot look in his eyes as he leaned a little lower, resolutely zooming in on Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke trembled.

Their lips were almost upon each other. And he couldn't move away for the life of him.

A dry cough broke out the spell.

Sasuke startled and moved away, his face horrible red, his mouth dry. Dear Kami! He hoped no one saw what was just about to happen between Naruto and him! How seriously fucked up could that be?

"Dude." It was Shikamaru by the door, his gym bag on his shoulder. "I knew I would find you here. You comin' or what? You'll be late again and that sonofabitch Hidan will think of some crazy punishment for you."

Naruto straightened up, putting his hands on his pockets. He glanced briefly at Sasuke who looked thoroughly flushed, gripping the collar of his vest closed.

Naruto sighed.

What came over him anyway? Trying to kiss Sasuke in the middle of the day? And inside a room that was so wide open that anybody could just walk in and see?

"Dude, what's the hold up, eh?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. Shikamaru probably didn't see anything. It was a bad angle for him to see the kiss anyway, otherwise Shikamaru would have probably run off screaming.

Naruto glared at his buddy, obviously irritated. He didn't know what annoyed him the more: his kiss being disturbed or that fact that he was relieved it didn't even happen.

Shikamaru was gaping at him while pointing to his watch. Funny. Shikamaru also had long hair that was tied up high at the back of his head. He also had a long slender neck. But Naruto never felt anything about it. He had tried to look at other guys before, especially in the shower room after practice. And he was glad that none of them turned him on. Even when all of them were naked and wet while showering.

So why was Naruto affected by Sasuke this much?

"Hey," Naruto said to his roommate. "Uhm… See you later, okay?"

"Y-yeah," Sasuke croaked, not meeting the blonde's eye.

Naruto grabbed his bag and was about to turn away, when he suddenly stepped closer to Sasuke. He just couldn't leave without having one last touch.

He gripped one of Sasuke's shoulders and softly squeezed. "Don't study too hard, okay?"

"Okay," Sasuke gasped, zinged by the touch of Naruto on his shoulder.

Whistling, Naruto swung the gym bag to his back slapping Shikamaru's arm hard.

"Oww. What?" Shikamaru yelped in pain.

"Your timing's bad," Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"Eh? Timing?"

Sasuke didn't hear what they were talking about as he was too focused on the raging emotions inside him.

Was Naruto really thinking of kissing him a few minutes before? What would that mean?

Sasuke uttered a curse so foul a pirate would blush.

Xxx

Sasuke was almost afraid to step inside their dorm room when he got back home. Why now? Now that he was sure he was getting his crush on Naruto under control? Now that he was beginning to get used to them living together without being aroused by Naruto's slight move?

Why would Naruto just begin to ruin that with a stupid move like that? Naruto was not fucking gay! Did that mean… Did that mean he probably finally guessed that Sasuke was indeed gay and was testing him so that he could shout fag all over the school?

But Naruto was not like that. He wasn't vicious. He wasn't judgmental.

He was… sigh.

He was just about the most perfect man on the planet alive.

A straight man.

So why?

Whhyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Sasuke wanted to bang his head on the wall. So distressed he was that his art professor said something had been off with his work today.

Sasuke opened the door with a crash, not minding a bit if their neighbors would be disturbed by the noise. He was feeling especially cross today, he wanted to break something. His hand went up to the wall to flick the light open.

Nothing.

He turned the switch off then on again. The bulb did not provide the needed light.

Now what?

Light was broken.

"Damn it!" Sasuke cried out, hurling his bag across his bed.

Now what was he supposed to do? He didn't know how to fix a broken light. He closed the door and huddled on one corner, bending his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He was so agitated. Couldn't Naruto see how much Sasuke tried being not gay only for Naruto to start a prank like that for him?

How could Naruto be that cruel?

If Naruto wanted to experiment on his sexuality then he should do it with somebody else. Not to me! Of all people, not to me!

Sasuke just continued to sit there, head buried on his knees.

Naruto noticed that their light was out when he came home. "Sasuke?" His roommate should be home at this hour now. He quickly opened the door, scanning the room for his roommate. Sasuke should be in since the door was not locked anymore.

Sasuke was sitting by the kotatsu, his head as usual was buried on his books. Good thing he had a study lamp. It was the only light on.

"Hey, what happened?" Naruto asked worried. In a flash he was beside Sasuke, kneeling, grabbing him by the shoulder.

Sasuke roughly shrugged off Naruto's hand. "Sorry. I don't know how to fix the light."

Naruto took that moment to study his roommate in the dimness of the room. He had come to a conclusion tonight as he was in practice, as he as walking home. He would ask Sasuke if it was okay for Naruto to kiss him. Just once. He just wanted to know if he really was beginning to be gay or was it only Sasuke who was making him feel this way.

This time Naruto would not steal a kiss. He would ask nicely. He had pretty much of a notion that Sasuke might be gay, too, the way that he seemed to also want the kiss to happen a while ago. If Sasuke had been straight, he should have shoved Naruto right away. Naruto had made his movement slow, giving ample time for Sasuke to decide whether he wanted it too or not. But Sasuke did not move away. In fact he seemed anticipating the kiss. So maybe it wouldn't be too bad if Naruto would ask him this time.

But not now. He still had a light to fix.

He stood. "Can you please move the kotatsu to the side, Sasuke? I'm getting a ladder and a spare bulb." He went out the door.

"Okay." Sasuke picked up all his books, dumped them in his bag and moved the low table to the side.

Naruto came back with an iron ladder and a light bulb. He set the ladder directly under the bulb and began working. Sasuke watched him, feeling inadequate that Naruto could deal with broken fixtures like this as easily as he dealt with life in general. He was such a happy go lucky creature nothing seemed to faze him.

"Okay, I'm done. Can you open the light now?"

Sasuke moved to the wall and hit the switch open. Voila. Bright light hit the room.

Naruto grinned down at him. "How long have you been waiting, anyway? You should have texted me so I could have gone home earlier. Here. Throw it somewhere, will you?" Naruto held out the broken bulb to him.

Sasuke stood directly under Naruto, taking the bulb. He watched in silence as Naruto descended on the ladder.

"Fuck!" Naruto cursed as his foot slipped and he began falling.

"Naruto!" Sasuke cried out, spreading his arms wide to catch his roommate.

The ladder crashed down with a loud noise. But it remained unnoticed.

Naruto found himself sprawled on top Sasuke on Sasuke's bed. It was a good thing the bed was there, otherwise both of them would be hurt by the fall.

"Owwww…" Sasuke groaned from underneath.

Naruto raised his head and looked at the face directly under him. Just in time for Sasuke to open his eyes and stare at Naruto as well.

Naruto's gaze was intense. His heavy body was draped all over Sasuke, their chests snug against each other. With horror Sasuke felt his erection coming to life. He didn't want Naruto to get an inkling of his arousal so he tried to wiggle from underneath and crawl away.

Thing was, Naruto wouldn't let him move away. He pinned Sasuke by the bed, holding down his two wrists with his big hands.

"What the fuck, Naruto?" Sasuke yelled, his eyes wild.

Naruto did not break his gaze on Sasuke's eyes. "Please. I just want to know how it feels like."

"What?" Sasuke gasped. "What the fuck do you mean?"

Naruto made a sharp movement on his hip, slamming his groin to Sasuke's. Sasuke froze, feeling Naruto's hard throbbing prick against his own. He could never be mistaken. Naruto was equally aroused. "I know you know what I mean, Sasuke. Just once. Just let me kiss you once."

Sasuke tried to fight him off but his strength was puny compared to Naruto's. "Stop it, usuratonkatchi!"

"Just once. I won't ask anything of you again. Please," Naruto begged, his voice a breathless whisper.

He dipped down and placed his mouth on top of Sasuke's.

Xxxx

So. What do you guys think? Completely sappy for a first time kiss eh?

Hehehe. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Love you guys.