Chapter Seven: Stickwitu
The morning sun shone brightly through the blonde's curtains, signaling the dawn of a new day. He glanced next to him sleepily; smiling at his Teme lying next to him, sound asleep. Naruto quietly crawled out of bed and grabbed an outfit for himself than threw together a similar outfit for Sasuke. The raven's eyes opened slowly, realizing where he was.
"Naruto?"
"Yeah, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha smiled and sat up slowly, glancing to the doorway to see the boy smiling back at him.
"How'd you sleep, Teme?"
"Pretty well. I haven't felt this great after waking up in a long time."
Naruto grinned, chuckling.
"Good. Well, for now, my home is your home until you can find your own place. Or, if you want, you could always just stay here. I could use the company and my parents certainly wouldn't mind."
"Oh yeah. That's what I forgot to ask, Dobe. Where are they? Shouldn't they be home or have at least come home by now?"
Naruto shook his head, still smiling but rather bittersweet now.
"My parents somewhat disowned me. I live by myself for the most part unless they decide to randomly feel generous and give me some money or food for the month. Besides that, they're normally off on some vacation or at their jobs. They're very busy people and when they aren't, they choose to be with each other rather than me."
Sasuke looked towards the clock, trying to change the subject.
"So, what time do you usually leave for school?"
"Hm? Oh, probably in about a half hour. Is that enough time for you to shower and get ready? I have extra everything. Brush, toothbrush, you name it, I have it."
Naruto chuckled, walking into the living room.
"You know where the bathroom is. Go get ready and then I'll finish. I always shower at night so we don't have conflict there. I'll have evenings and you'll have morning. Simple as that, ttebayo."
Sasuke stood quietly, and then grinned.
"Well, you know, Dobe, I would like to have some company in there if you don't mind. I don't feel like being alone quite yet and you do seem to calm me down. Care to join me?"
Naruto practically spit out the orange juice he had just poured himself, his nose bursting out in a small nosebleed.
"Damn it."
He muttered to himself. After a moment of very awkward imagery in his mind, he shrugged and walked into the bathroom.
"Sure, Te- gyah!"
The raven stood naked in the boy's bathroom in all his natural 'glory'. Naruto stood for a moment turned around, blushing a beat red.
"What? Haven't you ever showered at school after gym class or anything? Just think of it like that and it's not nearly as awkward."
Sure. That would have worked had it not been for the fact that it was just he and Sasuke, alone, and in his shower in his own house. The boy collected his thoughts quickly and nodded, trying to reassure himself it wouldn't feel awkward at all and began to strip down as well, walking towards the shower.
"So, do you listen to music while you shower or are you a quiet bather?"
Naruto kept his goals in order. He wasn't going to stare at the other's crotch, he was going to stay a safe distance from the other's body as to not stir any awkward feelings, and he was going to stay attentive, hopefully, to their conversation or the music that would play. Sasuke, on the other hand, was already standing rather close behind the other, turning on the water.
"I prefer music and no, I'm very talkative."
The blonde took a deep breath and nodded, went and turned on the radio, the song "Stickwitu" playing. He smiled still a shade of red, and turned it up. He walked back to the bathroom and joined the shower already in progress.
"I always loved this song. How about you, Sasuke?"
The raven nodded, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist and pulled him close to his own body, slowly rocking back and forth with him, nuzzling into the crook of the other's neck. Naruto blushed a deeper crimson, laying his head down on the other's shoulder. Was this what it was like to feel close to someone? Was this how it felt to be cared for by someone else? He wasn't quite sure yet, but it seemed like this could be something he could get used to pretty quickly. Sasuke started to whisper to the other.
"If you can figure out what this phrase means, I'll give you something special, alright Dobe?"
Naruto nodded gently, still smiling.
"Here we go."
He paused.
"Aishiteru matta, Dobe."
The blonde's eyes shifted around a bit, taking in the words and trying to remember his Japanese lessons. Sounded interestingly enough, but what did it really mean? Should he cheat later and use the Internet? No, surely Sasuke would keep an eye on if he were doing that or not. All right, if Sasuke wanted to challenge him then so be it. He would accept. Now all that was left to do was to delve into his books on Japanese again. It wouldn't be too hard.
They finished their shower, drying each other off with a towel and got dressed. They finished getting ready and made their way down the streets of town, holding hands and making small talk and enjoyed each other's company. Before they made it to school, Sasuke whispered into the boy's ear.
"Will you go out with me, Naruto Uzumaki?"
The other was silent for a moment but then nodded, kissing the other on the cheek.
"Yes, Teme. Of course."
Once they arrived, they kissed for a moment and went their own ways for the day to class.
The week past quickly, the boys quickly getting used to one another. Though, it wasn't surprising since their level of compatibility already seemed to be rather high from the start. The beginning of October signaled a change in the temperatures, dropping rather drastically from one day to the next. It was as if October was the pinnacle of fall weather, even though it was really still only the beginning of it. Naruto was on the couch, playing a video while Sasuke washed the dishes.
"Hey, Dobe, if you don't have anything to do today, which I'm assuming you don't, how about you and I go out to the park for the day. Most of the trees have turned and it would be some great together time."
The blonde turned his head, nodding.
"Definitely, I want us to not stay in the house too long at one time anyway. I don't want us to get too bored too quickly."
Sasuke chuckled.
"Dobe, you should know that I would never get sick of you. But that's fine. We can decide what to do there once we arrive."
They made their way towards Konoha Park at a brisk walk, trying to warm them up for the day that lied ahead. The entrance wasn't far from the blonde's home so he was used to the distance there but Sasuke seemed to be keeping up very well, staying at an equal pace with the blonde to entire time. When they arrived, Naruto took a seat at one of the benches and began to think.
"Ok, so I was wondering about what we could do and I came up with the perfect idea. Tell me what you think of this."
Sasuke nodded and the other continued.
"How about we play a game of tag football with Kiba and some of the others here?"
He pointed down to where the others were gathering to make teams.
"I had forgotten that they were here today for their ritual game that they hold every week and I figured once we finish that, we could go and have some lunch and then see a movie. Physical activity, food, and alone time all in one day."
The raven considered the idea for a moment then nodded, shrugging at the other.
"If you want to loser, just remember that I'm competitive and I won't lose to you, even if you beg."
Naruto rolled his eye, scoffing stubbornly at the other.
"In your dreams, Teme. I don't plan on losing this for one minute."
Both of the boys made their way down to the field, joining the others.
"Hey, Naruto, didn't expect you to be here. You even got Sasuke to come along? How are you guys not fighting?"
Kiba poked some fun at the two of them just to have a little fun. Chouji and Shikamaru joined in.
"Yeah, Naruto, you guys are always bitch fighting and if not that, you're always in competition."
Chouji chimed in.
"Maybe that's why they're here. They wanna compete through the game."
Sasuke smirked, angling his head down but Naruto shook his head and responded.
"No, no, we just wanna get some manly sport in for once. Besides, we had both decided we needed more exercise in our lives."
Rock Lee appeared from no where.
"Yes, I definitely agree with them. It is fun to have a bonding game between friends and best buddies. But might I ask, Naruto, why are you two hanging out so much that you both are now agreeing on things?"
The group nodded in agreement with that, questioning all at once. Sasuke sighed in irritation, grabbing Naruto and shoving him into Kiba, practically knocking both the boys unconscious from the force.
"Because we had nothing better to do. Now, let's play some football, alright?"
They all nodded and began picking teams. It was Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Naruto on one team while Rock Lee, Sasuke, Neji, and Shino made up the other team. Everyone took their places. Within a half hour, the game had gone from friendly tag football to all out warfare tackle football and only one rule. Get the damn ball to the opposite of the field before you were maimed or wounded. They were now down to the last play of the fourth quarter, and tensions were running high. Naruto's team was in need of scoring, and they were only ten yards away from the goal. Meanwhile, Sasuke was supposed to go after the blonde, not giving two shits what the others did.
"Set, Hut!"
Naruto caught the ball and ran as fast as he could down the left field, closing in quickly on the goal. Sasuke followed close behind, barely a foot behind him. The blonde lunged towards the goal at the same time the raven jumped after the other.
"Naruto's team takes the win!"
Ino belted out. She had measured it out and Naruto was right on the line.
"Damn it."
Sasuke muttered, getting up and brushing himself off. Naruto's team ran at him, yelling in victory. Meanwhile, the Uchiha's team fell quiet, packed up and left. Everyone else left after a few minutes of celebrating and said their goodbyes, waving and going their own directions. Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave him a caring hug.
"You did your best, Teme. Don't worry, you're not a loser in my eyes."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the notion, nodding and embracing back.
"If you say so, Dobe."