A/N:
You only hold me up like this
Cause you don't know who I really am
Sometimes I just want to know what it's like to be you
We're making out inside crashed cars
We're sleeping through all our memories
I used to waste my time dreaming of being alive
(now I only waste it dreaming of you)
Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness
Cause all of our moves make up for the silence
And oh, the way your makeup stains my pillowcase
Like I'll never be the same
You only hold me up like this
Cause you don't know who I really am
I used to waste my time on
Waste my time on
Waste my time dreaming of being alive
(now I only waste it dreaming of you)
Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness
Cause all of our moves make up for the silence
And oh, the way your makeup stains my pillowcase
Like I'll never be the same
I've got headaches and bad luck but they couldn't touch you, no
I've got headaches and bad luck but they couldn't touch you, no
I'm not trying
You only hold me up like this
Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness
Cause all of our moves make up for the silence
And oh, the way your makeup stains
Like I'll never be the same
Fall Out Boy owns this song, not me, and I am making no profit from it whatsoever. Just don't sue me.
By the way, I decided earlier that this chapter was dedicated to xcloudx! She finally likes yaoi! Everyone congratulate her! –audience claps for xcloudx- I even made a dance for her and her new love! –dances the 'xcloudx is finally one of us' dance-
…And yes, if your outlook on me isn't pathetic enough, I really did do a little dance when I saw that xcloudx liked yaoi.
Disclaimer: Not only do I not own the song listed above, Of all the Gin Joints in all the World, I also don't own the title of this chapter. Satoshi Silver Syoran owns all rights over it and the feather idea. I wasn't going to make the pillows stuffed with feathers until she brought up the idea cuz SHE JUST ROCKS LIKE THAT! –does the Satoshi Silver Syoran dance-
Oh, Sato, I dunno if I haven't already dedicated a chappy to you yet, but I'm planning to do so as soon as a very… 'loaded' chapter comes up with lots of SASU NARU ACTION! WHOO! –flails happily- -audience cheers-
Oh, and I was debating if this chapter should be based on Of all the Gin Joints in all the World by Fall Out Boy or You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. Did I make the right choice?
Chapter 21
Feathers and Fluff
Naruto stared up at Sasuke anxiously. Why was he even here? Shouldn't he have gone back to the Inn by now? Yet here he was, sleeping against the fabric of the handmade tent, head bowed. Naruto grew bored with staring at the Uchiha and decided to wake the bastard.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called, his voice cracking slightly from sleep. There was no answer. Growling impatiently, he tried again. "Sasuke!" he called louder. Still silence. Becoming frustrated very quickly, Naruto reached a hand out of the blankets coating him and placed it against the raven haired boy's arm, the cool, smooth skin sending chills down Naruto's spine. Naruto ignored the jolts vibrating through his fingertips and proceeded to shake the older boy awake.
Sasuke looked up so suddenly that Naruto was momentarily taken aback. Naruto suddenly lost his resolve at the sight of Sasuke's face. Why were worry lines etched into his forehead? He seemed so frantic – like Naruto had accidentally pulled him out of some sort of trance. Naruto swallowed the sudden, unexpected lump in his throat and stared up at Sasuke.
"Sasuke?"
Naruto couldn't help being worried about his friend in the state the he was in at the moment. He felt his voice crack and fidgeted with the blankets to distract himself. The worry he felt inside was suddenly wiped away as he saw a small, fleeting smile cross Sasuke's features. Naruto felt his body become noticeably more relaxed and offered Sasuke a grin of his own. Sasuke didn't smile back, but his eyes sparkled in the darkness.
Seconds later, Naruto thought that the short-lived display of emotions on Sasuke's face must have been some ephemeral dream or a figment of his imagination, because Sasuke had adopted that usually serious face he always wore; no smile, no flickering eyes, nothing. Naruto mentally sighed.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked in his usual solemn tone of voice. Naruto looked away and nodded.
"That's good. You idiot, you fell backwards and hit your—"
"Why are you here?" Naruto interrupted. Sasuke gave him a questioning look, as if the answer was obvious. Naruto waited for him to answer, so Sasuke sighed.
"What do you mean, why am I here? Do you not remember me being here before you knocked yourself out? Or did the impact of the tree against your head really cause that much brain damage?" Sasuke scoffed.
"Bastard, of course I remember. You nearly kissed me!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke grew oddly quiet at these words. Naruto didn't notice as he continued ranting, using his hands to gesticulate and add more effect to his words. "What I wanna know is why you're still here! You should've left already – gone back to the Inn with Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei! I don't want you here so go away! You've never stayed by my side before now, so why start!"
Once Naruto had stopped his rant to catch his breath, he realized that he'd hit a nerve inside Sasuke, who became suddenly guarded, his eyes narrowing into a glare.
"What are you talking about, dobe? I dragged you here after you idiotically hit your head and passed out." At this, Sasuke caught a glimpse at a small blush forming on Naruto's face before he turned away. Sasuke grinned, but it wasn't a 'happy-go-lucky' smile at all. It was a sadistic, 'Ha I've backed you into a metaphorical corner and now I get to have my evil way with you with my words and make fun of you' kind of smile. Those were always one of Sasuke's favourite smiles. "I've been sitting here, making sure the wolves didn't get to you."
Naruto growled. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Sasuke. You can't scare me with simple stories, teme."
It was at that moment that a noise rattled in the distance somewhere, causing both Sasuke and Naruto to jump. Naruto glanced up at Sasuke and was about to glower and announce how he knew how Sasuke had planned that all along, but froze when he saw the expression on Sasuke's face. Sasuke quickly pulled a kunai from out of the pack at his thigh and quietly crawled out of the tent, face tense and body poised and ready. Looking over his shoulder, he stared at the blond and mouthed 'stay' before turning back around and vanished. Naruto watched as he disappeared into the opaque night. Naruto shivered and pulled one of the many blankets up to his chin, brows knotted together angrily. Who did Sasuke think he was? Naruto wasn't some dog that could be ordered around.
Rising to his hands, Naruto sat back on his heels, reaching for his thigh as well. A small gasp escaped his lips when he felt his kunai pack gone. Looking around for the small weapon-filled pouch, Naruto suddenly noticed his shoes and forehead protector were missing as well as his kunai. Looking down at his feet, he wriggled his toes and laughed childishly. He continued to watch his toes until he remembered about Sasuke and stuck his head out of the flap of the tent, looking around for the young Uchiha. He was nowhere in sight.
Naruto yelped when a pale face suddenly invaded his vision. Naruto sat back on his knees as he stared into the crimson eyes of the sharingan.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in frustration.
"Dobe, must you be so loud?" he growled quietly. Naruto was about to say something back in his defense, but stopped when he remembered what had happened.
"What was that?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
Sasuke didn't answer at first and instead gestured Naruto into the tent again. His eyes had turned back to the cold, dark black instead of that chilling scarlet. Naruto gave Sasuke an unhappy look for pushing him around, but complied nonetheless. Once inside the tent, Naruto made to sit next to Sasuke against the tent's feeble fabric, but Sasuke gently pushed him back onto the bed. Naruto sighed at having his attempt to not be babied yet again killed. Lying down inside the blankets, he turned his deadly blue eyes to Sasuke, willing him to tell him what the hell was going on. He was still angry about their earlier conversation when Naruto first woke up and was only getting angrier at Sasuke for his delay to tell him an answer.
"Well?" Naruto pushed.
"It was just a squirrel." Sasuke shrugged, looking away from Naruto as he did so. He could almost feel Naruto's eyes narrowing in a suspicious glare directed towards him. But 'almost' only counts in two things: horseshoes and hand-grenades – neither of which situations was occurring at the moment.
"Oh really?" Naruto raised a blond eyebrow.
"Yeah."
"A squirrel?"
Sasuke nodded. Naruto snorted and his 'I don't believe you and I know you're lying' glared turned into an 'Aha I knew you were lying so admit it before I force the answer out of you using a mix between Chinese Water Torture and a pipe cleaner' glare.
"Since when do squirrels make a ringing sound?" Naruto asked obnoxiously. Sasuke turned back around to face the blond, his face unreadable.
"A ringing sound?" he inquired.
"Yeah, a ringing sound. Like a bell." Naruto grinned as Sasuke turned away again.
"It was…a trap," Sasuke replied simply.
"A trap?" The grin faded from Naruto's pink lips. Sasuke winced as urges forced their way into his mind, his Anti-Naruto conscience rejecting every one of them before they could be formed into ideas that his host might act on. Pro-Naruto was tied and gagged behind him. "What's a trap doing out here?" he continued, oblivious to Sasuke's internal tumult.
"I set it while you were still asleep. I tied wire about 20 feet around this opening and attached bells to the ends. Now we'll know if someone happens to intrude on us…" Sasuke said, still refusing to look at Naruto.
Naruto felt his face crumble. Suddenly, he'd forgotten why he'd been angry earlier. It didn't matter anymore. He turned on his other side to face the empty space unoccupied by Sasuke. Why had Sasuke bothered to set up an alarm system, no matter how primitive? In fact…Naruto began to ponder why Sasuke had bothered doing anything for him. Not very many people would stay up for the night taking care of Naruto. Naruto sighed, not liking the position he was in. Turning back to the Uchiha, he offered a smile. The least he could go to repay Sasuke for taking care of him was to be friendly.
"Here…" Naruto said, moving over to the side of the kakebuton and pulling the blankets back, revealing the plush, ivory covering of the kakebuton. Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto and gave him a questioning look. Naruto sighed.
"Look, if you're not going to go back to the Inn with Sakura-chan, you might as well have a place to sleep. So get in before I change my mind…" Naruto grumbled. He winced when he saw Sasuke's eye twitch.
"Dobe…" he muttered under his breath. "There is no way I'm sleeping in the same bed as you…"
Naruto snorted. "You will if you want a place to sleep."
"I don't need to sleep." Sasuke growled.
"So, what, you'll stay up for the rest of the night? I remember right, you were asleep just a little while ago, so that's big talk coming from a guy who had to be shaken awake!" Naruto smirked. He knew he had the upper hand. Why he wanted to win this battle so badly was a mystery to him; but a battle was a battle and he was going to win.
"Naruto, I wasn't asleep. I was lost in thought when you shook me," Sasuke tried to explain with no avail. Naruto was determined to win this argument.
"Were you angsting about your life again?" Naruto teased. His impish smile widened when he saw Sasuke's pale face flush a bit.
"Excuse me…?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he stared at the grinning blond boy.
"Well, if not that, then what else had your oh-so-superior Uchiha mind occupied? Certainly not little old me…" Naruto laughed. It was always so much fun mocking Sasuke. The boy needed to be brought down a few notches on the superiority chart and Naruto was always there to help him with that.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further. "What do my thoughts matter to you? You hardly think at all."
Naruto's smile faltered. "Well, you think too much…"
Knowing that this conversation was going nowhere, Naruto turned over on his side, sighing. Suddenly, he felt a weight by his side that wasn't there before. Turning his head to see the abrupt intrusion, he was surprised to see the pale face of Sasuke next to his own.
"Ah…!" Naruto, who hadn't been expecting the encounter, tried to restrain a blush. "I thought you were going to be your usual, annoying as hell self. What happened to being stubborn?" Naruto muttered, trying to add a suspicious tone to his voice. It didn't seem to work – Sasuke only gave a slight grin.
"I changed my mind…" Sasuke replied simply.
Naruto felt his eye twitch at the answer. "That's such a Sasuke answer…I should've known. Whatever."
Naruto turned back over on his side, but could still hear Sasuke say, "And that's such a Naruto answer…" Naruto growled half heartedly as Sasuke undid the straps to his shoes and untied his forehead protector. He placed them next to Naruto's and laid back. Naruto felt the kakebuton dip under the extra weight and moved over a little more, trying to put as much space between him and Sasuke as was allowed. Sasuke seemed to notice as Naruto felt him roll over on his side, his back facing Naruto. Naruto shifted his head slightly to stare at it, eye still twitching.
"Damn Uchiha…" Naruto muttered under his breath.
"Stupid Uzumaki…"
Naruto rolled back on to his side opposite Sasuke's and closed his eyes, smiling.
Sasuke had waited what seemed like hours for sleep to have its way with him, yet it never bothered to take him. He could only guess the reason as the boy beside him began to squirm around. Sasuke stifled an annoyed growl. Why couldn't the damned blond nin just fall asleep already? If sleep were to posses Naruto, then surly it would claim Sasuke as well. But Naruto continued to move around, their bodies only just inches apart. Sasuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as Naruto's leg brushed against his own.
Hello, Sasuke, a voice said in his ear. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Mr. H. ormone. I'm here to ruin your life and cause you to embarrass yourself in front of the people you really don't want to – such as Uzumaki-chan. Your life will never be the same now that I'm here…
Why must every voice in my head torture and plot against me? Sasuke growled mentally. Mr. H. ormone gave an indifferent shrug.
Sorry, kid, it said, but you've been neglecting me for too long now. Get ready to become a blundering idiot who blushes all the time and looses the capability to form comprehendible sentences around those special people.
Are you kidding me…? Sasuke sighed. Naruto's fidgeting stopped at the sound.
Nope. From here on out, Mr. P. enis and I will be plotting against you until the very end. You see, he plays a part in this whole teenage romance thing as well, the voice informed him. Sasuke mentally begged the voice to go away, but it remained. Well, you've been forewarned. Beware awaking us again in fear of loosing your reputation…
Sasuke shivered at the now-faint voice's words. As Naruto began to kick around again, he knew that Mr. H. ormone wouldn't be given a chance to sleep. Sasuke closed his eyes, willing his body and mind to sleep. Minutes ticked by, each feeling like its own eternity to Sasuke. As soon as the first wave of drowsiness began to take its toll on his mind, a voice roused him awake again, the strange feelings from before which had been dimming with sleep were now hitting him wave after wave, each bout fiercer and demanding than the last.
"Sasuke…?"
Sasuke was extremely pissy at the moment. He was pissy for many reasons, one of which being that he couldn't get to sleep. Another reason was that once he almost finally got to sleep, his peaceful state just had to be interrupted. Another, more loathed reason was such effect hearing Naruto say his name had on him. It was all quite irritating and Sasuke felt that he couldn't be blamed for not responding.
"Psst! Sasuke – hey!" he heard Naruto call.
…
"Are you asleep yet?" Naruto asked as he nudged the back of Sasuke's leg with his toe. Again, chills were crawling up his spine at the touch.
"What is it, Naruto!" Sasuke said through ground teeth, each word spoken with deliberation. He regretted being so forceful almost immediately; he could practically feel the pout on Naruto's face. Maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh… Sasuke shook off the thought instantly. He was still pissed about his lack of sleep. Uchihas liked their sleep.
Naruto still hadn't answered. Sasuke sighed.
"What?" he asked more gently as he sneaked a quick glance over his shoulder to peek at the blond. Naruto turned over on his other side as well, his dazzling cerulean eyes now turned upon Sasuke. Sasuke quickly looked away again before the full effect of those eyes left him as a speechless, blundering, blushing idiot. Somewhere in his lower abdomen, Mr. H. ormone snickered.
"I can't sleep…" Naruto mumbled helplessly.
Sasuke felt his eye twitch. Damn eye. "Well I can."
Naruto whimpered and began kicking his legs towards Sasuke furiously. Sasuke stiffened with each kick and tried to scoot away from the flailing nin, but Naruto only kicked harder.
"Don't fall asleep without me!" he whined.
"Fine." Sasuke sighed, defeated. He would do anything to stop Naruto from kicking him. As he wished, Naruto's kicking ceased, but Sasuke was totally thrown off by his next comment.
"There's so much more we could do instead of sleep, anyway!" Naruto said in his usual, hyped cheery voice.
Sasuke froze, unable to comprehend the meaning of Naruto's words. He wanted to ask Naruto what he meant (more like what the hell was wrong with him) but his hormones screamed 'OH YESS-SS-SS!' while his conscience screamed 'OH NOO-OO-OO!' – making him confused. Why the hell did it sound like Kool-Aid men were fighting in his mind? Stupid hormones. Stupid conscience. Stupid Kool-Aid man.
"What do you have to say, Sasuke? I don't want to sleep right now…" Naruto continued, not realizing the effect his words were having on the said boy.
Sasuke gulped. 'What did he have to say?' Naruto had asked. 'WHAT DID HE HAVE TO SAY!' Is that all Naruto had to say after proposing such a strange and not-homosexually-suggestive-at-all idea? Well, not that Naruto would ever know, but after Naruto's words, Sasuke's vocabulary had been reduced to cute and simple words such as 'Oh yes…' and 'Oh no…' and 'nipple.' Those three simple words were cluttering his brain, refusing to allow him to think properly. So aside from, 'Oh yes…' and 'Oh no…' and 'nipple.', Sasuke said the only thing he could say without making a complete idiot out of himself.
"What…!"
Oh yeah, that's smooth, Sasuke… his inner sense congratulated. Way to keep your cool… You don't look like an idiot whatsoever. But before you turn around to face him, I suggest you get that blush off your face.
Sasuke took a deep breath and did as he was advised. Once he felt the heat finally dying from his cheekbones, he turned around to face Naruto to be blown away by the sight of—
—a pillow.
—in his line of vision.
—landing on his face with a muffled 'thuwmp'.
—and that chillingly obnoxious, yet adorable laugh afterwards.
There, the pillow stayed. Sasuke could almost hear the pillow laughing at him. 'Feel the wrath of my squishy and fluffy EVIL and prepare to DIE!' it mocked. Sasuke glared at it from the squishy confines and bit it. Suddenly, he felt something very…tingly being shoved up his left nostril. What the hell…?
As Naruto pulled the pillow away from the Uchiha's face and reeled his arm back to smack him again, he stopped mid-attack. His face had gone from sadistic to shock in seconds. Suddenly, he broke out in a grin and began laughing at Sasuke, a finger pointing in his direction to complete the look of a bumpkin laughing hysterically. Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glare as he stared at the laughing boy. Uchihas didn't like being laughed at whatsoever.
"…What?" Sasuke asked with an offended edge to his voice. Naruto, however, continued to laugh and point rudely. Sasuke glowered.
"Y-y-you…you're…aha, you're n-nose!" Naruto managed to say in between his laughter. Sasuke glowered still. Uchihas had very beautiful noses, he thought, just like every other part of their bodies. They also didn't like having people point and laugh at them, either.
"You're…making fun of me?" Sasuke growled, stating it more as a fact than a question. He tried to snort when Naruto didn't answer, but felt that damned tingling feeling near his nose once more. Naruto gulped in fresh air as the air in his lungs expired and leaned over to Sasuke. Sasuke stiffened as Naruto's face filled his vision inch by inch. Suddenly, he felt Naruto's warm breath blow over him, the sweet scents of the blond overtaking him. Naruto pursed his lips together and blew gently on Sasuke's face again, laughing as he did so. Sasuke closed his eyes, the aroma dizzying. When he opened his eyes, something white flickered past his vision. He heard Naruto laughing at him again as he reached out to Sasuke's face, his fingers just barely touching Sasuke's face in a tantalizing motion. When he withdrew his hand, Sasuke's eyes followed it, longing for his touch (his conscience hissed at him disapprovingly). Clenched in one of his smaller hands was a white feather. Sasuke stared at it.
"…That's what you were laughing at?" Sasuke asked incredulously.
Naruto grinned foolishly. "Well, that and your feminine looks."
As Naruto laughed at Sasuke's mockery, he suddenly felt his head bombarded with something soft and squishy. He was knocked over, landing roughly on the kakebuton. Looking at Sasuke, he grinned when he saw a pillow in his hand, multiple random feathers fluttering about.
"Take that back." He demanded, his voice deadly. Naruto's foxy grin widened, his eyes gleaming dangerously.
"Make me." He challenged, a wide grin plastered to his face. Before he knew what had happened, he was on the kakebuton, Sasuke holding him down by the shoulder. A pillow was in his hand and the sparkle in his eye looked sadistically menacing. Naruto gulped loudly, but his grin stayed. Sasuke broke out into a rare grin as well as he reeled his arm back and began attacking Naruto with it. He could hear Naruto's muffled laughter penetrating the pillow. Suddenly, a pillow flew up from his side and hit him in the head, knocking him off of Naruto. Naruto took that chance to start his own onslaught of pillowy fluffiness, but that chance was soon lost as Sasuke sat up and blocked Naruto's pillow with his own.
Naruto was soon blinded by white feathers. Apparently, these pillows weren't made for intense battle, but both boys chose to ignore that obvious fact as the pillow fight continued.
"YAARR!" Naruto's battle cry echoed through the dark forest. He flung the pillow in Sasuke's direction, but Sasuke's hand flew out and trapped Naruto's wrist within the confines of his long, pale fingers. Naruto began to struggle, trying to pry his wrist from Sasuke's clamped hand, but was distracted by the pillow flying in his direction.
"That—that's cheating…bastard!" Naruto yelled trying to avoid the white mass in Sasuke's other hand. Sasuke's grin widened as he leaned in close to Naruto. The blond froze, feeling Sasuke's lips next to his ear, and shuddered as the warm breath passes over his neck, ruffling his blond strands of hair. Goosebumps chilled his body as Sasuke leaned close still, his lips just barely touching his earlobe.
"What about it, dobe?" he whispered so tantalizingly close.
Naruto's breath hitched as Sasuke closed the space between them. Suddenly, working on its own will, Naruto's arm was raised and the pillow in his hand was whacked into Sasuke's head, forcing the Uchiha back.
"Argh!" Sasuke grunted as the pillow plowed into his head. When he regained his balance on his knees, he stared at Naruto and swung the pillow at him. Naruto, however, dropped his own pillow and, with his now free hand, grabbed Sasuke's pillow only inches from his face. As Sasuke tried to pull back, a loud ripping noise filled the small tent.
While Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other, eyes wide, thousands of small white swan feathers, all raining down on them. The feathers littered the ground of the tent, invading the bed and covering the two boys. Sasuke looked around at the now-blindingly white surrounding and sneezed as hundreds of feathers violated his face. The moment he took to tear his attention from Naruto was his downfall. Naruto attacked Sasuke's feathered head and knocked him over. He pounced on top of the older boy and began attacking him furiously, laughing all the while.
"Na-Naru…to! Naruto!" Sasuke called out trying to block the bombardment of feathers and fabric. He was choking on feathers!
Naruto couldn't hear Sasuke's demands over his own laughter and continued his flurry of pillow-ness. Sasuke, desperate for air that was clean of feathers, grabbed at Naruto's pillow and yet another ripping sound echoed in their ears. The white pillow began tearing at its seams, its feathery insides pouring out of it in a feathery cascade. Naruto watched t for a moment, but shrugged once the case was empty and tossed it aside.
The blond boy sat back, grinning wildly, and pumped his fists into the air triumphantly. Sasuke, however, crossed both his arms and legs, annoyed. Here it comes… he thought with an air of doom.
"Ha! I knew I'd win! Take that, Sasuke, you girly man! I knew you wouldn't win!" Naruto yelled in a victoriously obnoxious tone. Sasuke felt his eye twitch.
"Whatever, dobe…" Sasuke muttered.
Naruto continued to squirm around jubilantly, as if some kind of freaky tribal dance, laughing and congratulating himself. He toed Sasuke's thigh victoriously. Sasuke moved away uncomfortably.
"Stoppit," he said bluntly, trying to edge away from the offending toe.
Naruto grinned devilishly. "Why?" he asked obnoxiously, toeing Sasuke's thigh harder. "Is the great Uchiha ticklish?"
"No, not ticklish," he mumbled gruffly. "Just…sensitive, that's all…"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Suurre you are, Sasuke."
Naruto continued to prod higher up Sasuke's thigh, trying desperately to get more of a response than having his foot shoved away. Sasuke flushed and again tried to retreat from the felonious foot. He was pissed again. Uchihas didn't like being tickled. Stupid Naruto. His thigh tingled in a 'Ha ha I'm such a ticklish spot' kind of way. Sasuke glared at it. Stupid thigh. When Naruto's incessant prodding ceased, his next action hit Sasuke like a ton of bricks. Literally.
"KYAAH!" Naruto yelled as he tackled Sasuke. Before Sasuke could comprehend what was going on, Naruto was on top of him, straddling his legs and grinning playfully, one hand pinning Sasuke's shoulder down while the other began grabbing at his shirt. Sasuke's eyes widened. What the hell? Rape! Rape!
But it was worse than rape – so much worse than rape. It was worse than death! Naruto was— Naruto was—!
—Tickling him. Tickling the hell out of him, to be precise. With his shirt yanked up to his chin, Sasuke was desperately trying not to laugh. He felt Naruto's hands wandering up and down his sides, pinching in places that were making his skin crawl. In an act of defending his pride, wriggle out from Naruto enough so his left arm was free and pushed Naruto off of him. Naruto fell backwards off of Sasuke and onto the kakebuton.
Smirking, Sasuke pounced. Naruto let out a small squeal as Sasuke hastily pinned him down – his knees pinning Naruto's legs and his hands at his shoulders. He began unzipping the front of Naruto's orange jumper, savoring every moment as the pull tab slowly slid down the chain. Suddenly he stopped, only just now realizing what he was doing and what it must have looked like to an outsider. But he didn't care – revenge was revenge and he was going to get his. No one tickles Uchiha Sasuke and gets away with it.
As soon as the zipper came undone and Naruto's flailing arms were finally forced out of it, he lifted up Naruto's black undershirt and stared at the tanned stomach toned with days on end of training. He smoothed his hand over it, allowing his pinky to wander into the dip of Naruto's navel. It was only when he felt the blond underneath him shudder that he remembered he was on a mission. He released Naruto's shoulder to use both hands for this task. Naruto tried to sit up now that he had both arms free, but he wasn't given enough time as Sasuke began his mindless tickling rampage.
Naruto felt tears come to his eyes as the laughter overtook him. His body flailed around uselessly in an attempt to escape the wandering, feather light touches caressing the sides of his torso. He could feel the soft feathers cushioning both his and Sasuke's weight, random plumes taking flight in the air around them. Naruto's vision was colored white as the feathers filled his surroundings, oblivious to Naruto's pain.
After a few more moments of Sasuke being on top, Naruto had managed to nudge his right leg out from under Sasuke leg hold and managed to reverse the position once more.
"You…bastard…" Naruto laughed out, giving the Uchiha under him a halfhearted glare. Since Naruto had never been one to quite master the delicate art of glaring, his glare turned out as more of a pout than anything.
Naruto was too exhausted from the tickle-fest to try tickling Sasuke anymore than he had. Griping his twisted stomach, he leaned forward, collapsing on top of Sasuke. Looking away from Sasuke, Naruto desperately tried to regain his normal breathing patterns. He didn't want people seeing him all breathless and blushy blushy-like – especially Sasuke. His face was flushed and seemed out of place against Sasuke's pale complexion.
Sighing happily, Naruto was finally able to control the color of his face when he felt warm arms warp around his waist. He felt his blush return when Sasuke pulled him close in a tight embrace. Feeling all sense die away completely, Naruto allowed his primal instincts to take over and pressed him cheek against Sasuke's bare chest – the shirt still up to his chin where Naruto had left it. He felt the sweet warmth radiating off of Sasuke and onto him. Sitting up so he was straddling Sasuke's hips, Naruto stared down at him and grinned. He never thought he'd see Uchiha Sasuke with white hair.
From the two boys' movements, feathers had splayed everywhere; up Sasuke's shirt, in Naruto's collar, both their faces dotted with feathers, but the most dramatic change was the feathers in Sasuke's midnight black hair. It was white and furry, like some odd white afro. Naruto laughed again, but winced when his stomach protested from too much laughter.
Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his cheek. Looking down, he saw Sasuke staring back up at him, his palm still resting on Naruto's cheek. Reaching his own hand towards Sasuke, Naruto felt a sudden rush of shyness. He hesitated, feeling vulnerability overtaking him, but calmed when Sasuke's thumb slowly started tracing circles on his cheek. Smiling, Naruto plucked a feather out of Sasuke's hair and blew it away. It soared into the open, twisting and twirling in the air. It slowly floated to the ground, but Naruto ignored it as he continued to clean the white plumes out of Sasuke's hair.
As he worked, he stopped, eyes widening. What was he doing? What were they doing? This was…wrong! Naruto shook his head violently. Things weren't supposed to be this way – Sasuke would never want Naruto like that…and it was stupid for him to hope as such. Naruto bowed his head sadly, his face shadowed by his hair. Blushing furiously, Naruto withdrew his hand and began rolling off of the boy underneath him.
"…Sorry…" he muttered demurely. As he tried to roll off, he stopped, two arms around his waist preventing him from moving. Suddenly, he found his vision level with the ground, his head resting against the soft cushiony fabric of the kakebuton. From the impact, hundreds of feathers flew into the air, showering down upon the two bodies. The arms around his torso tightened their hold and Naruto was pushed against a warm chest. Blushing furiously, he didn't bother looking up to see the pale face of the owner of the chest. He didn't thing he'd be able to stand seeing that face.
Naruto didn't know what to do. He'd never been in a position like this before and didn't know how to handle it. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to be at complete peace with this situation. Shrugging mentally, Naruto sighed, allowing himself to give in to the touch. He slowly raised his own arms, starting at Sasuke's middle and gradually sliding his hands up to his shoulders. He felt Sasuke shiver at the touch as Naruto slipped his arms around Sasuke's neck, bringing him closer to the older boy.
A sudden contentment spread throughout his entire body as he cuddled against the cool chest. He continued to nestle closer until their bodies were locked together firmly – Sasuke's arms secured around Naruto's waist and Naruto's arms around the Uchiha's neck. Sighing happily, Naruto let his thoughts drift away; they were only a distraction – nagging for him to let go, reminding him that he didn't deserve this and how he would never deserve this.
But Naruto didn't care. For one night, he would allow himself to be happy – whether the demon child Kyuubi deserved being happy or not. Sasuke didn't know about the seal and he never would. That thought alone comforted Naruto. He wouldn't be able to stand it if his friends – the only people who loved him – found out about the nine-tailed fox living inside of him. They would hate him.
Slowly, but surely, Naruto could feel the mask he had worked his life on making starting to fall to pieces. Light shone through the cracks and what lay behind wasn't sadness like it had used to be, but rather true happiness. The light he had hidden away and lost long ago had finally returned to him. He knew who helped him get it back and wouldn't be able to stand it if they hated him. Snuggling closer to Sasuke, he sighed contently as his eyes fluttered closed.
That night Naruto had forgotten to fix his mask before he had fallen asleep – something he hadn't forgotten to do in years. The pillows lay torn and the feathers scattered everywhere, but Naruto couldn't care less.
He much rather preferred the pillow he was sleeping on, anyway.
A/N: Keh, I don't know why, but I really do hate this chapter. Well, maybe not. But it doesn't matter what I think as long as you all liked it! Especially you, xcloudx! –sigh- Was that enough mushy fluff for you? My god, I'm exhausted! –falls over- So, what did you all think? I could really use some feed back, people! The amount of reviews I got last chapter was pathetic! Not that I'm one to complain, I suppose. Anyway, reviews are much appreciated and are always replied to! And I can only dedicate a chapter to a person if they review, so… -hint hint-
-cries- Augh, the plot is going nowhere! By the way things are going, there's probably about at least 12 more to go (if I'm lucky!) Oh, and with New Moon Werewolf's request, that's probably another 5 more chapters! Gah! Oh well! Meh, speaking of requests, don't forget yours, xcloudx! Oh, and Sato, I actually updated when I said I would! (Though it's kinda late at night…) Alright! Bed now!
-passes out-