When Sasuke awoke the next morning he noticed two things. One: He was not in his room. And two: His head felt like it was going to split in half.
He groaned loudly before placing both hands on either side of his throbbing head.
I will never drink that much again, he swore and then blinked to clear his vision.
When his eyes had adjusted to the brightness of the room he decided to get up. The moment he stood up, dizziness overtook and he quickly reached for the wall to keep up his balance. He took a few deep breaths before he considered himself good enough to walk. It took longer than he would've liked before he managed to get out and reach the kitchen.
When he walked in the first thing that greeted him was Naruto. He was standing by the stove with a spatula in hand looking very handsome in a pale blue buttoned down shirt and grey jeans. The raven momentarily forgot about his headache as he looked at the blond.
How he wished to walk over there and wrap his arms around the other. Take in the other's scent before he leaned in and-
No. Sasuke shook his head, ridding himself of the images that had popped up in his head. But by doing so, he got reminded of his splitting headache. He let out a soft groan which made the blond look up and smile at him.
Damn Naruto and my feelings, he thought in frustration when his heart skipped a beat.
"Good morning," greeted the blond. "Painkillers are in the cupboards on the far right and glasses on the left. Help yourself."
The raven gladly did so as he quickly reached for the items. After gulping down the water he went over to the table and sat down. The pill had yet to work so he had to withstand a few more minutes of pain.
"Would you like something to eat?"
The question had caught Sasuke a bit off guard but he just nodded.
"Got any wishes?"
"No. Surprise me."
The two didn't talk as Naruto made food which looked an awful lot like omelet. The raven was right when after a couple of minutes the blond put the plates down. He had to go back and forth a few more times until everything was on the table and he'd sat down, opposite the raven.
Sasuke dug in and complimented the blond on his cooking skills. The other's response was a large smile that lit up the room more than any lamp light ever could.
The rest of their meal passed on in relative silence with just snippets of conversation a little here and there. When they were done the raven felt good enough to help the blond with the dishes.
"You don't have to," said Naruto at one point.
"I know. But I want to."
The blond didn't do anything else as he just smiled before getting back to work.
When the two were done with the dishes they went into the living room and sat down on the couch for a breather. It was quiet for a while which seemed rather odd to the raven. Naruto has never appeared to be the quiet type. He has always been talkative if a bit noisy and annoying at times. Sasuke almost missed all the noise that would come from his friend.
"I never got the chance to thank you."
The raven looked up at the blond in surprise. "Whatever for?" he asked a bit confused.
"For your present," the blond answered simply. "I can't believe you remember my fondness for foxes."
Sasuke smiled slightly at that. "Me neither. I was a bit surprised that I remember that myself."
They lapsed into another silence, though this one didn't last for very long.
"I wanted to ask you for a favor."
"Oh?" the raven immediately perked up in interest. "And what would that be?"
"I need some help with picking out a suit to wear at Itachi's and Kokoro's wedding."
The raven nodded, understanding where the other was coming from.
"So, will you help me?"
Sasuke didn't need to think about it as he smiled and nodded. He might come to regret it later but right now he didn't care because Naruto was smiling at him.
"What about this one?" asked Naruto when he stepped out of the small dressing room.
Sasuke looked up and studied him for long moments before shaking his head. "No. Not good enough." He didn't elaborate what wasn't "good enough" as he presented him another pair of suit pants, buttoned down shirt and blazer. "Try these."
The blond sighed. He'd tried on at least six different colored outfits and was getting a bit tired of it. But he didn't say anything to the raven as he took the pieces of clothing and went back into the dressing room to change.
It only took him a few minutes to change and when he had he admired himself in the mirror for a few seconds like he always did. He would agreed that some of the outfits or rather the colors hadn't suited him. His favorites were so far the orange and pale blue one. He drew the cream colored curtain and once again stepped outside where Sasuke stood.
He once again studied the blond before shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath that the other didn't catch. He didn't have time to ask either as new pieces of clothing was thrusted his direction. Again, he kept his comments to himself before going in to change.
When he looked in the mirror this time he thought that the raven must be stupid to turn this one down. The pants and blazer were a dark blue color while the shirt was crispy-white. He drew back the curtain with confidence before stepping out. The sight that met him was a bit different than the usual criticizing onyx eyes of his friend. He seemed a bit frozen and the blond was a bit afraid he'd stopped breathing.
"How is it?" asked Naruto, hoping it would gauge a reaction out of the other.
He felt immense relief when the first thing Sasuke did was draw in a breath before he answered his question. "It's not bad."
"Oh come of it," said the blond. "You know I look great in this."
The raven didn't say anything but he didn't need to for the blond to know what he was truly thinking.
After buying the outfit the two went to a restaurant for lunch. After they had ordered and the waiter had gone Naruto decided to start up a conversation.
"So, what will you be giving them as a wedding present?"
"A bouquet of Casablanca lilies and a coffee machine."
"I take it the flowers has a certain meaning?" he asked.
The raven nodded. "I read that they evoke celebration. And lilies are also one of Kokoro's favorite flowers."
"Wow, you really have thought it through."
"Well, she is my future sister-in-law so I kind of have to."
The blond chuckled a little.
"What about you? What are you going to give them?"
"Er..." the blond said and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't quite know. I was kind of hoping you could help me with that." He looked up at his friend with a sheepish smile.
It was quiet for a moment as Sasuke just stared at Naruto. His eyes showed no emotion which frightened the blond a little. He usually was able to read his friend but at the moment he couldn't.
Finally the raven let out a soft sigh before he said, "Alright fine." The blond sagged with relief. "But you owe me two then."
"That's fine by me."
After lunch they went to the gift shop where Naruto found three or four things that he thought would be appropriate. Sasuke however disagreed.
"What's wrong with giving them coffee mugs?" asked the blond when the other shook his head in disagreement to a pair of white and black mugs where one said "Mrs." and the other "Mr."
"Kokoro doesn't drink coffee. She prefers tea," answered the raven.
"So what? You can drink tea in a coffee mug. Mum does it all the time."
The other had no comeback to that as he turned and went to the other side of the store. The blond smiled feeling victories before he picked up the mugs and put them in the basket he was carrying. He looked around for a bit more until he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. Turning around he came face to face with someone he recognized from work. Or rather, a regular customer at work.
"Oh, hello," he said in greeting to the black-haired girl.
"H – Hello Naruto-san," she greeted back with a small smile. "What b – brings you h – here?"
Naruto waved a hand at the basket he was holding. "Gift shopping. What about you?"
"Same. I'm l – looking for some – something for my c – cousin."
"Ah. And is you and your cousin close?" he asked, trying to make conversation.
She nodded. "We're v – very good f – friends. Even th – though we're four y – years apart."
"Well, it's nice that you're friends."
There was a small pause before Mariko managed to find her courage.
"Um, N – Naruto-san. I – I was w – wondering some – something..."
"Oh?"
"U – Um... W – Well... I was w – wondering, do you have a – a girlfriend Na – Naruto-san?"
The blond looked at Mariko who was avoiding his gaze while her face was rapidly turning a bright shade of red. He was honestly a bit surprised at the black-haired girl's question. He had been told by both Kaede and Konohamaru that Mariko seemed to like him but he always ignored them. Now he vowed never to ignore them again.
"No," he finally said and then decided to add, "And no woman has ever caught my eye either."
"W – what d – do you m – mean?" asked the black-haired girl in slight confusion.
"It means that no matter how attractive or kind a woman is, I will never have any interest in her."
"Oh."
Naruto's heart broke a little at the shattered expression on the other's face. He reached out for her hands and grasped them in his own. The black-haired girl was hesitant at first but eventually lifted her gaze to look at the blond.
"Mariko-chan... Can I call you that?" Again there was slight hesitation in the girl but she eventually nodded. "I think that you're a wonderful young lady. And that any guy out there will be lucky to have you."
The girl was practically oozing with embarrassment. Her face was so red that someone could've mistaken her for a tomato. She murmured her gratitude which the blond accepted with a smile. Mariko shortly left but not before she asked the blond if they could be friends. Naruto was more than happy to say yes and with that she was gone.
"Your kindness really knows no bounds."
Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke standing there. The blond then looked in front, towards the other aisle where the black-haired girl was standing.
"How do you know her?"
The blond glanced over to the right where the raven was now standing before looking back in front.
"From work. She's a regular customer at Sakuranoki. She either comes alone to read or with friends."
He saw a motion at the corner of his eye that could've been the raven nodding. They stood there for a bit longer until Sasuke seemed to remember why they were there in the first place.
The past two hours were spent looking for anything other than the two mugs Naruto had found. In the end nothing was found except for a few items that caught the blonde's interest. They called it a day before going their separate ways.
The blond was tired when he got back home and decided to take a quick shower before going to bed early. As he lied there on the bed he thought about Sasuke. How could he not? Sasuke with all his creamy-white skin, onyx eyes and dark hair.
He imagined running his fingers through the other's hair, tugging at the ends before traveling down his shoulders and back. He imagined the other having smooth skin beneath all that clothing. He wanted nothing more than to feel, smell and taste the other. Hear the man he loved say his name. Hear him when he came undone.
Naruto came back to the present with a violent shudder and muffled moan. He withdrew his hand only to find it sticky with his come. He wondered briefly what had happen before the thought came flashing by.
Did I just jerk off while thinking about Sasuke? The thought of it made his face heat up in embarrassment.
He has never jerked off while thinking of a person he liked. Well, that wasn't quite true. But those he have were more of men he had found attractive. He has never had a connection with any of them. This was different than that.
Naruto glanced over at the clock and found that it had been only half an hour since he had gone to bed for some sleep and ended up doing this instead. He sighed before getting up and took another quick shower before going to bed, this time strictly not thinking about Sasuke.