"Why does this always happen?"

Those words woke Sasuke from the deepest sleep of his life. He opened his eyes and came face to face with Naruto's chest. They were laying on their sides facing each other with their arms embracing the other.

Sasuke gasped and let go of Naruto. The blonde just laughed, he didn't yell or push away this time. Sasuke gazed at the tan boy from across the pillow. "Ya know what's weird?" he asked.

"What?" Sasuke asked, wishing his blush would go away.

"I've never slept so well in my life as I have since we got glued together."

The Uchiha felt his eyes widen. "Me either," he said softly.

"Weird, huh? Guess we were always destined to be glued together, or something," Naruto said with a laugh.

Sasuke just looked at him with wide eyes. I can't help but think the same thing…

"Well!" the blue eyed boy called out with far too much energy for this early in the morning, "let's get ready to face the day!" And with that Naruto lept from the bed, dragging a sleepy Sasuke with him.

I kinda wish he would have laid there for a little longer, Sasuke found himself thinking. The raven followed the boy he liked to the kitchen, knowing that he was falling hard with no way back.

Yare yare, I'm completely hopeless.


Naruto and his emo companion walked to the bridge. The blonde had convinced the raven to let him make breakfast that morning. Naruto had been rather proud of his toast and milk! Even though Sasuke had declared that he made far better toast than Naruto ever could hope to.

"What should we do today while waiting for the party?" Naruto asked as they stopped at the center of the meeting place of team 7.

"Walk around again?" the onyx eyed boy suggested.

"I guess so, I mean there's nothing much else to do."

"Sasuke-kun! Good morning Sasuke-kun! And good morning, Naruto."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Why does she always greet me so differently from Sasuke?

"Why do you say hello as if I am the only one you wanted to see?" Sasuke asked, taking the thoughts right from Naruto's head. "Naruto is here too, you know."

Sakura blushed a little in embarrassment, she was clearly taken aback by the question. "I-I uh…"

Naruto looked in surprise at Sasuke, who was fixing Sakura with a scrutinizing scowl. Usually the raven never stood up for Naruto, no one did, actually. Sasuke…

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Kakashi Sensei?!" Naruto asked in surprise. "Since when do you get here so early?"

"Once more, dobe. This is what 'on time' feels like, not early." Sasuke corrected.

"I have a busy day today, so I had to refuse the store owner asking me to help retrieve their lost vegetables-"

"Yeah right, we know you just actually tried to get out of the house on time for once!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What are you doing today, Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I have been sent on a mission for the day because the metal work is still not complete. The treasure may be hideous, but is strangely ornate. In order to keep the Leaf Village's reputation up with this specific feudal lord, we must return the treasure in perfect condition."

"Couldn't we just tell the feudal lord that the bandits messed up the treasure?" Naruto asked. That's what he would have done.

"That would be lying, Naruto. We shinobi have pacts with our clients. We pledge to complete the mission without fail. In doing so we also pledge our loyalty to the client for the duration of the mission. Lying about the reason behind a mission failure would be a betrayal of that pact and the trust of the client. Also, it is the shinobi way to complete the mission fully, with no short cuts or half-assery."

"Is half-assery really a term?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Of course it is, now listen to your sensei like a good little genin." Kakashi proclaimed.

"I guess that makes sense…" Naruto grumbled. Though it would certainly be easier to turn in the broken treasure, blame it on the bandits, and call it a day.

"Of course it does!" the pink haired overachiever called out. "It is only right to follow the shinobi code!"

"At least one of you gets it," the white haired jonin grumbled.

"Don't rope me in with this baka, I understand fully well and have understood the entire time," Sasuke complained.

Kakashi chuckled, "alright, alright."

"I understood from the start too, I was just testing you! Obviously…" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke shoved him and said: "Yeah right, usuratonkachi." Naruto shoved him back playfully, "Don't start a fight you can't win, Sasuratonkachi!"

Sasuke smirked, "that doesn't even mean anything, dobe!"

"It sure does! It means 'usuratonkachi' but far worse!"

The two of them started rough housing, and before anything could get too exciting Kakashi sighed and pushed them apart by their foreheads. "It's good to see the two of you getting along… in your own strange way.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke then stuck out his tongue. The raven pulled on his eyelid and stuck his out right back.

"Alright, I'm off," Kakashi proclaimed. "Sakura, make sure you keep training. Sasuke and Naruto, don't kill each other." He then formed a hand sign and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"I bet I beat you to the sushi restaurant!" Naruto declared to Sasuke.

"I highly doubt you even remember where it is! Besides, we're tied together, so it won't be much of a win in the first place… but even so, there's no way you'll beat me."

"We'll see about that!" Naruto cried out, and so the race began.


Sakura watched as the two boys darted across the rooftops. They were running and jumping in perfect sync, unlike the first day when they had both dislocated their shoulders. Sakura lowered her hand and closed her mouth. Before Naruto had declared the race she had been about to ask if they wanted to come with her to the training field.

But it was too late now.

They really were in their own little world together.

This always happens. They always seem to leave me behind. No matter how much training I do, no matter how hard I strive to keep up, they will always be two steps ahead… No! I cannot think this way! One day Sasuke-kun will see me as an equal! One day he will love me back! But…

Sakura recalled the way Sasuke had suddenly stood up for Naruto, and how they had come together so quickly once they had finally given each other a chance.

Why do I chase so furiously after the two of them?

Sakura remembered the incident with Haku and Zabuza, how she had sat helpless, contributing in no way whatsoever.

They will always jump in to do things for me. Even in the last mission when they got glued together. They will always try to do my job for me, as if I am incapable of doing anything but being in the way. I became a ninja to get noticed by Sasuke, yet he pays me no heed. Why do I have to chase after Sasuke? Is that all I am good for?

Naruto wants to be Hokage, Sasuke wants to restore his clan. What is my conviction? To get recognition from a boy who doesn't even know I exist?

You know what, damn Sasuke. Damn it all! I will be a ninja for my own reasons! I have to prove that I can be more than just a burden! I have to prove that I can fight for myself! I can't just let Naruto and Sasuke do everything for me, I will be strong all on my own!

My whole life people have always passed me off as weak and in the way. A burden that needs to be dragged along. I'll prove them wrong. I'll show the world that women can be shinobi too.

Sakura smiled in the direction Sasuke and Naruto had run off to. She then ran in the opposite direction. If she was going to prove that she could do it, she needed to get to work. She would train harder than ever before! However, she was not just proving that she could be a powerful shinobi to everyone else. Most importantly, she was proving it to herself.


Sasuke would rather have been anywhere else. Approaching Kiba's house felt like walking up to an execution. What would this be like? Normally he would have been training and honing his ninja skills. But now, stuck glued to Naruto, he was attending a gathering… though Naruto kept calling it a party.

"Don't look so glum, Sasuke!" the blonde said cheerfully. "This'll be fun! You'll see!"

"Any situation where I have to have all of my faith residing on you is a situation in which disaster is imminent." I trust you, if you say it will be fun, then I believe you. I'd follow you anywhere.

Wow, I'd follow him anywhere? That's a new one.

"Aw, come on Sasuke! Don't be such a jerk!"

"Don't be such a dobe and I won't feel obligated to act like a jerk." Never change the way you are, you are an incredible person and your optimistic manner never fails to make me feel like everything will turn out right.

Sasuke had spent yet another full day walking around the village and talking with Naruto. It was official, he had the worst crush on the blonde. Sasuke had always known that he felt no attraction to girls, but before Naruto he had assumed that he just held no attraction to anyone. The raven had no shame about his sexuality, it was the Uchiha way to own up to who you were. However, he did not know how the blonde would react. It was apparent that the tan boy liked Sakura, and Hinata liked him to add more depth to the situation.

Never thought I'd be a part of a love triangle over this dobe. Wait, love square? Sakura is involved.

On top of all of that, Naruto had only been sending strictly friendly vibes Sasuke's way. It had seemed like he reciprocated the raven's unrealized feelings at first when they had been in so many embarrassing situations, Naruto had been blushing just as much as Sasuke. However, now that they knew each other better the blonde seemed to have relaxed. He had no issue using the same bathroom stall or even waking up in a pile (as had been proved that morning). He even seemed less put off by the bath, though no amount of friendship would make that any less awkward… but maybe that was all on Sasuke considering how he felt. All that considered, all of Naruto's flustered actions could easily have been due to him not knowing Sasuke well enough to be comfortable in all of those close-contact situations.

All in all, it was clear that only Sasuke had feelings for Naruto, and not the other way around. The thought pained the raven, but he spent so much time with the person holding his affections that he did not notice, it sat on the back burner of his mind. For now he was just happy to be at Naruto's side.

If he had learned anything from Naruto, it was that you took life step by step, and never stressed to hard over the future. So Sasuke would think about his romantic issues when the time came, and would focus solely on the joy of always being in Naruto's presence while he could. Sasuke had the urge to follow the blonde's example, and be more like him. However, striving to be more like Naruto would not change his attitude towards this "party."

Naruto knocked on Kiba's door, and seconds later a "come in!" sounded from inside.

The blonde turned and grinned at his counterpart, and the smile made Sasuke's stomach flip and chest flutter. "Stop worrying, Sasuke! These boy's nights are so fun! Plus, it'll be even more fun now that you're here!"

That last statement short circuited the Uchiha's brain, but he didn't have the chance to obsess over it since Naruto was leading them into the house.

They walked through the dog boy's house, and Naruto took a left into the living room. In the room Sasuke found that Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Garra, Lee, Neji, and Kankuro were all already there. Shikamaru was sitting next to Choji on the couch (the dirty blonde haired boy was snacking vigorously on chips) and Shino was standing and leaning against the arm of the couch on the side closest to Shikamaru. The rest of the couch was open. Neji and Lee were sitting side by side in front of the coffee table opposite of Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino. Kiba was perched in the reclining chair adjacent to the couch, with Akamaru pacing from shoulder to shoulder, unable to decide which one to settle down on. Kankuro was sitting on the back of the chair and Gaara was sitting in the free area on the floor between the chair and the coffee table.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Lee exclaimed. "It is so good to see the both of you!" Naruto yelled an excited greeting and Sasuke just waved casually at the energetic boy.

"Took you long enough to get here!" Kiba called out to them.

"Yeah, we just about thought you two had bailed!" Kankuro added.

"Well, I was leading us to your house, Kiba, but Sasuke kept correcting me on which way to go!"

"If you don't want me to correct you, then don't be wrong." Sasuke countered. "Besides, if you hadn't insisted on arguing with me each time I told you which direction was faster then we would have been here on time."

"Whatever, we've been on time everywhere! It's about time we got somewhere on Uzumaki-time!" Naruto said as he plopped down onto the couch beside Choji, dragging Sasuke along with him.

"And by 'Uzumaki-time' you mean late? Because that would be what it is."

Naruto just laughed and slung his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "You know me so well, Sasuke!" he said in a goofy voice. Sasuke's heart just about jumped out of his chest, but the moment ended when Naruto shoved his head down and jostled him around.

Sasuke smirked and shoved him off as he said "usuratonkachi."

"Well that was certainly unnatural!" Choji said around a mouthful of chips.

"Oh yeah! They got glued together and are apparently friends now," Kiba explained.

"Incredible! Friendship is a key part of the springtime of youth!" Lee exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm.

Kankuro snickered, "you Leaf people sure are eccentric."

"Do not rope the rest of us in with the likes of Lee, you will find that he is… one of a kind," Neji said.

"What he said," Shikamaru added.

"Now that everyone is here," Garra asked, "what is it that we do now?"

"Heh, Gaara's never been to a party before, he's sorta clueless," Kankuro explained.

"Well that makes two of 'em!" Naruto called out while gesturing at Sasuke.

Kiba laughed menacingly, "Oh, I've got a few ideas on what to do!"

Sasuke met Gaara's confused ice blue eyes with confused eyes of his own.

"Why do I feel threatened?" the crimson haired boy asked before the room fell to utter chaos.


Hours passed, and Sasuke did indeed have fun. The first thing they had done was chase Kiba around the house… he had proposed a game of capture the flag. Sasuke had opposed it at first, pointing out that it was a children's game. He had learned that that was not necessarily the case.

It had been every man for himself, aside from Sasuke and Naruto, and any jutsu were legal… as long as the house did not end up destroyed. Neji's visual prowess and Kankuro's pupeting ability had come in handy a number of times with the many close calls they came upon, helping to avoid breaking furniture and Kiba's family's belongings.

Naruto and Sasuke had worked together seamlessly and had come in possession of the flag numerous times, however were defeated numerous times by Shikamaru's strategic mind and the seemingly endless possibilities that came with Gaara's skill with sand.

However, the game came to a close with no one as the winner… Sasuke had accidentally set the flag on fire when Lee accidentally kicked it into the inferno that was his Fire Ball Jutsu. Luckily they had been on the roof at that point so nothing had gone up in flames.

Sasuke could only imagine the complaints that would be coming in from the neighbors.

For the rest of the time they had eaten and just generally messed around.

Now they all were seated back in the living room, with Naruto and Sasuke back on the couch, this time beside Gaara and Neji. Lee was in the chair while Shino, Kankuro, Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru were scattered across the floor of the room.

All of a sudden Lee leapt to his feet and yelled: "I have the greatest of ideas!"

"I certainly hope it is better than your idea to try and use the lamp as a weapon earlier," Shino replied driely.

Numerous laughs erupted as the rest of them agreed.

"It is better!" Lee yelled, not discouraged in the least. "I propose another game!"

"What is it?" Neji asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Truth or dare!"

This proposition was met by a multitude of different reactions.

Groans came from Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji. While Kiba and Kankuro immediately agreed. Shino simply shook his head, and Gaara asked what the game was. Naruto and Choji both leapt to their feet and yelled in excitement at Lee, who yelled back. They sounded like howler monkeys.

"Why the hell would we play a stupid game like that?" Neji demanded.

"What is this, a girl's sleepover?" Sasuke added.

"Fun is a part of the springtime of youth!" Lee called out. "What better way to celebrate our brotherly bonding than a game of revealing truths or taking daring feats?"

Neji gave a "what the fuck?" look and said: "'Brotherly bonding?' Why did you have to put it that way?"

"Wait, what is this game you call truth or dare?" Gaara asked once again, seeming very confused.

"It's a game where you go around and ask someone 'truth or dare' and then choose which one. If they pick truth then they have to answer a question truthfully, and if they pick dare then they have to do whatever the person says," Shino answered.

"That sounds trivial… and rather embarrassing," Gaara said drily.

"That's what Neji, Sasuke, and I-the intellectuals in the room-are trying to get you fools to understand," Shikamaru stated.

"However," Gaara continued, "I am interested to see how it will go."

Kankuro, Kiba, Naruto, Choji, and Lee all cheered at Gaara's declaration.

Sasuke groaned along with Shino, Shikamaru, and Neji. He had no interest in playing this. However, it seemed like they were outnumbered and would have to end up playing. The raven could only imagine the manner of things he would be dared to do, especially by Naruto. And speaking of Naruto, there was no way he would turn anything down, he had no intention of losing to him. Just because he had admitted to himself about liking him did not suddenly mean that he would expect defeat in any of their numerous competitions. He was still his rival, though Sasuke knew he was better than Naruto at everything.

"Come on, friends!" Lee said. "Gaara has never played before! We must give this experience to him! What time aside from the present is best to try new things?!"

"Yeah, don't be party poopers!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Right, what are you, a coward, Sasuke?" Naruto jabbed, knowing full well how the raven would react.

"Of course not!" Sasuke snapped, knowing that he was playing right into the blonde's hands, but also knowing that there was no way that he could deny this boy. "I'll beat you at anything, usuratonkachi!"

"Let's do it! We outnumber you guys anyways!" Kankuro said.

"What a drag. You all have good points. I guess we have too," Shikamaru grumbled.

Neji scoffed, but agreed.

Shino sighed.

Sasuke had already agreed when Naruto had challenged him.

"How are we gonna go about this, then?" Neji asked, as usual getting straight down to business.

"Yes, what rules will we play by?" Shino added.

"Hmm," Kiba leaned over and grabbed an empty soda bottle. "We'll sit in a circle and spin this bottle to determine who will go!"

"What should the penalty be for those who refuse to answer the question or do the dare?" Kankuro asked.

"No penalty!" Lee declared. "We will play by honor! I believe that all of us will play truthfully and never back down from a challenge!"

"Alright, but we each get 3 passes for both the truths and the dares. There might be some things we do not want to answer or some crazy stunts that could get out of hand. That would calm things down a little, at least," Shikamaru offered up.

"Yeah, let's do that," Sasuke said.

"Aww, takes the fun out of it," Naruto grumbled.

"So is everything decided?" Gaara asked.

"Yes! Let's get this party started!" Kiba yelled.


They all were now sitting in a circle on the living room floor with the bottle in the center. The boys had pushed the furniture to the edges of the room to make more space, and all was set. Sasuke sat next to Naruto, and from there it went Gaara beside Sasuke, then Lee, Neji, Kankuro, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru, Shino, and back to Naruto.

Sasuke was not looking forward to this. Yare yare, sometimes I wonder how I get into these absurd situations.

"Who wants to go first?" Choji asked.

"Me! Let me go first!" Lee called out.

"Knock yourself out," Shikamaru drawled.

Lee pumped his fist in the air, and then spun the bottle. Sasuke watched it spin and spin, until it landed on Kankuro. "Truth or dare, Kankuro?" Lee asked with far too much enthusiasm.

"Dare," Kankuro declared.

"I dare you to… take off your face paint!"

Kankuro "pfted," "Really, that's it?" he asked. Then he wiped off the purple paint onto his black sleeve. Sasuke had to admit, he was watching intently, along with the others. They were all interested in seeing what the sand shinobi's face looked like under all of that paint (save for his brother Gaara, of course).

"Done!" he declared.

A series of "woahs" sounded from the other 9 boys.

Kankuro laughed, "Come on, it's not that exciting! It's just paint!" The puppet master then reached for the bottle, and spun. It landed on Shino. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to take off your sunglasses!"

"Pass."

"Seriously?" Kiba asked with a laugh.

"Come on, dude!" Naruto exclaimed.

Shino ignored them and spun the bottle, it landed on Neji. "Neji, truth or dare?"

Neji paused for a moment before answering "truth."

"Did Guy Sensei really convince you to put on the green jumpsuit one time?"

Neji's pale eyes widened, and he blushed a little in annoyance. Naruto, Lee, Choji, Kiba, and surprisingly Shikamaru all burst out laughing. "Yes, though I will regret it until the day I leave this world." Neji ground out.

Naruto giggled, "How did it feel? Tight enough for you?"

Neji glared, "one truth per spin."

He then grabbed the bottle and spun it, ignoring the laughing all around him. The bottle landed on Gaara. Sasuke was just glad it hadn't landed on him or Naruto yet. Because whatever each of them did the other would have to come along. And considering the glue situation, and the so far ruthless nature of the other boys, any dares (or truths, for that matter) would most likely have to do with the other.

"Truth or dare?" Neji asked Gaara.

The ice eyed boy's eyebrowless brow furrowed. "Dare, I guess."

Neji thought for a moment. "I dare you to… eat a handful of your sand."

Snickers erupted around the circle.

What a stupid thing to dare someone to do. I would dare him to create a complex object or give me a sand-armor or something.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who was dying laughing at his side.

Dobe, of course he would think this was hilarious.

Gaara did not seem amused, or fazed, for that matter. He simply held out his hand, summoned a fist full of sand, and just… ate it. There was not a shortage of giggles though.

Once the pale boy had downed his sand, he wordlessly spun the bottle. It landed on none other than Naruto. Oh no. Sasuke braced himself for the worst.

"Naruto, truth or dare?" Gaara asked in his cool, monotone voice.

I know what he'll say.

"Dare, of course!" Naruto exclaimed.

I knew it. Oh god, what will it be?

Gaara sat looking at the blonde for what felt like an eternity. The Nine Tails Jinchuriki seemed merely excited to finally get his chance to do something stupid, but Sasuke was filled with only dread. What would he be involved in/dragged along to do?

"I dare you to draw whisker marks on Sasuke," Garra suddenly said.

The room exploded with laughter, everyone was practically suffocating in hysteria. Even Neji was rolling on the ground. Naruto was giggling in excitement, barely able to contain himself.

"I'll go get a sharpie!" Kiba called out as he darted from the living room.

Sasuke was frozen in horror, and utterly overwhelmed by the laughter that engulfed him.

Suddenly Kiba tossed a black sharpie to Naruto, who caught it swiftly. "Come'ere, Sasuke!" Naruto said goofily.

"Absolutely not!" the raven cried out. There was no way he was allowing this!

"Heehee, it's not your call! The dare's already been accepted!" Naruto said before launching himself at the onyx eyed boy.

Sasuke acted immediately, and sprinted away, but Naruto was glued to him and there was nowhere to run to. The raven leapt over the couch, and Naruto soared after him. The laughter surrounded Sasuke like the caws of a million crows, and he ran and dodged the blonde for his very life.

Soon the rest of the boys joined in the chase, and before Sasuke knew it he was pinned to the ground with Naruto sitting on his chest, Kiba holding his legs, and Shikamaru holding his free arm. Neji, Kankuro, Choji, Shino, and Lee were all stooped over them watching and laughing like idiots. Shino's chuckles were particularly surprising to hear.

Sasuke jerked his head from side to side to avoid Naruto's free hand and the sharpie, but then Gaara's hands suddenly grabbed his head and held him still. The raven looked up in horror, and met Gaara's ice blue stare. The red haired jinchuriki was actually smiling. Not laughing or leering evilly, but a sweet, toothless smile was sitting on his face. Of course, Sasuke's gay-ass found it absolutely adorable.

Great, first Naruto and now I find all boys attractive.

Sasuke was snapped from his thoughts as he felt the tip of the marker on his cheek, he gazed wide eyed at Naruto, who was grinning and choking down laughs as he drew the lines across Sasuke's cheeks.

The Uchiha was a goner when it came to the blonde's smile, but even his winning grin could not take the horror out of this situation.

After the longest few seconds of Sasuke's life, the dog pile of boys stepped back to view their handy work. Sasuke sat up and glared at all of them. Gaara wordlessly handed him a mirror, and the others lost it again.

The raven looked at his reflection, and sure enough. Six whisker marks across his cheeks, perfectly matching Naruto's.


Everyone was back in their spots now, and Naruto looked at Sasuke again. He giggled once more, unable to contain himself. Sasuke just looked so strange with those whisker marks! He couldn't take the Uchiha seriously.

The raven snapped his head in the blonde's direction, witnessed his giggles, and punched him in the arm-hard. Naruto couldn't even cry out, it was just so funny! Once he had a hold of himself, he reached out and spun the bottle. It landed on Choji.

"Choji, truth or dare?"

"Truth, I'm honestly scared to see what dare that you would come up with."

"Alright then, I don't blame you," the blonde then laughed evilly. "Hmm, I've heard this so I wanna confirm it…" Naruto paused for dramatic effect. "Do you have a crush on Ino?"

Several of the boys in the circle laughed… including Choji. He was laughing as if it were the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "Ino?!" he choked out. "Who came up with that?!"

"I dunno, I just heard it!" the blonde responded.

"No, I most definitely do not!" the tubby boy answered. "She's too mean! Plus she's way too obsessed with Sasuke."

Kiba chuckled along with a couple of the others and slapped Sasuke across the back. Naruto watched out of the corner of his eye as the raven eyed the dog boy in annoyance.

"Besides," Choji continued, "Ino is far too skinny. I like girls with a little more meat on them."

"That sounded so wrong," Neji pointed out.

"Yeah," Kankuro agreed with a chuckle, "If Tamari had heard that she would have beaten you into next week! She would have said something like 'women's only purpose on this world is not to serve men!' Or, 'a little meat on our bones? What to you expect us to do, change who we are just for your approval?'"

Choji chuckled nervously, "Well it's a good thing she's not here!" He sounded genuinely scared. "Alright! Let's see who's next!" The plump boy then spun the bottle and it landed on Lee.

"Truth or dare, Lee?"

"Dare! This is the springtime of youth! I must take any chance I can get to take daring feats!"


The dares continued on for the better part of an hour. Sasuke hated to admit that he was having fun… whenever he wasn't dared to do something erotic or asked an agrivating truth. All of them were now out of passes-aside from Gaara, Naruto, and Lee who hadn't used any.

A lot of ridiculous things had gone down. Kankuro had licked the floor, Shino had eaten a handful of his insects, Lee had stood on his hands till he passed out, Neji had been forced to sit in Shio's lap for 10 minutes, and a load of other things. The worst thing that Sasuke had been dared into doing was having to call the rest of the boys "daddy" until his next dare was taken… it didn't sound that bad, but it had been terrible with all of the suggestive jokes cracked.

Sasuke returned his attention to the game, where Kiba had just asked Naruto truth or dare.

The blonde thought for a moment, and then picked truth. Sasuke assumed that it was because he was afraid of what Kiba would dare him to do next. The last time Naruto had been dared to lick Sasuke's face… that had not been a fun experience. Now Sasuke could not get the memory of the blonde's tongue against his cheek out of his head.

Kiba grinned and then said, "Tell the others what your nickname for Sasuke was at the lake yesterday!"

Naruto snickered.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered, and he most definitely did not want everyone calling him that… which would probably end up happening.

The blonde opened his mouth.

"Naruto, no!" Sasuke commanded.

"Naruto, YES!" the blonde quipped back. "Sasuke was the bottom for the chicken fight so I called him SasUKE!"

The boys erupted into snickers, and Sasuke "tched" and looked to the side to hide his blush.

"Haha, you have uke in your name! I never realized till now!" Kankuro said.

"I know right? Isn't it so funny?" Kiba replied, not helping the situation.

"Okay, okay. My name is so incredibly entertaining. Just spin the bottle already, usuratonkachi!" Sasuke said as he shoved the bottle into Naruto's hands.

Naruto giggled and then spun it. It landed on Shikamaru. The lazy boy chose truth, as he always did (he had declared that it was too much of a drag to do something crazy).

"No fun as always!" Naruto complained. "Hmmm… I can't think of anything! You're so boring! I guess… what's your favorite color?"

A series of groans, laughs, and "that's all you could think ofs?" arose from the room.

"Black," Shikamaru answered.

"Kinda expected that."

"Typical."

"Who would have guessed."

Shikamaru brushed off the other boys' comments and spun the bottle. It landed on Sasuke.

Seriously? I'm out of passes too…

"Sasuke, truth or dare?"

I would rather not pick dare, but if I pick truth , who knows what he'll ask after what Kiba just asked.

"Dare," Sasuke answered.

Shikamaru smirked.

Sasuke had the creeping feeling that he had just fallen into a trap of some kind.

The lazy boy walked out of the room, and disappeared into the kitchen. Excited chatter burst out, and Naruto rocked back and forth while pulling on Sasuke's shoulder in anticipation of what the raven would be forced to do.

Shikamaru returned with his hands behind his back.

Oh no. I'm beginning to regret this.

"I dare you to…" that evil smirk slid back onto his face. "Drink this entire bottle of sake," he finished as he revealed what he had been hiding behind his back: a bottle of strong sake.

The boys burst into excited outbursts, and Naruto was dying at his side. Everyone was egging him on, and before Sasuke knew it, everyone was chanting "chug, chug, chug, chug!"

Sasuke glared, there was no way he could turn this down. Naruto had already taken more dares than him. He was losing. If he did this, this thing that was so crazy (it was illegal, actually), then he would be winning.

The Uchiha walked up to Shikamaru with Naruto in tow, snatched the bottle, popped it open, and chugged it all down.


Naruto watched in amazement as Sasuke chugged the entire bottle of sake. Based on the label, it was super strong and there was no way it did not burn going down. The blonde chanted with the other boys, and when the raven finished he held the bottle up to the air. Everyone cheered like there was no tomorrow.

"That was awesome!"

"Where did you even get that?"

"Isn't drinking at our age illegal?"

"That was the most badass thing I've ever seen!"

Naruto slapped his friend across the back, and laughed. "That was great, Sasuke!"

"Haaaah, thanksss, Naruto."

Everyone stopped freaking out and turned their attention to Sasuke. He was completely wasted. Kiba snickered, "oh my god, he's drunk!"

A few of the boys giggled, Naruto among them. This was so ridiculous! First Sasuke had agreed to drink underage, which was illegal (who would have thought perfect-ninja-Sasuke would have done that!) and now he was drunk!

Kiba laughed, "Hahaha, come on, Sasuke! It's your turn next!"

"Yeah? Yeah!" Sasuke asked then yelled. He turned to walk with the rest of them but stumbled and fell. Naruto immediately rushed to catch him. Kankuro, Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru all laughed at him, along with Naruto.

"Woah," Sasuke said as he flipped himself over in Naruto's arms so that it looked like the blonde had just dipped the raven in a formal dance. "Thanxxx for that, Naru-chhan."

Naruto snickered, "'Naru-chan?' What the hell, Sasuke?"

The others laughed too.

"O ma godnessss, Naru-channn! Your eyez are so bluuuuue! They-rr like da skyy!"

Naruto's eyes widened in confusion as Sasuke flopped his arm in the general area of his face a few times before finally resting his hand against the blonde's cheek.

Kiba was dying, and he and Neji were holding each other up they were laughing so hard.

"Tha sky! Just like da sky! Ur eyez are so pretttyyyyyy!"

Kankuro wheezed, and tried to get something out (likely a jab at Naruto) but couldn't.

Sasuke suddenly went boneless, flopped out of Naruto's arms and to the floor, and then stumbled to his feet. He then staggered over to Kankuro and wrapped him up in a hug… which Naruto was a part of due to their hands being glued together.

"Kan-ko! Ur so nice!" Sasuke said as he hugged the sand shinobi.

The usually face-painted boy snickered before saying "What are you, a drunk hugger?"

The raven then flopped onto Shino next, and said "m not drunk! Jst, everyone needs som hUgs!"

Naruto stumbled after Sasuke as he attached himself to Shino. "Sasuke! Stop it, you weirdo!"

"Yes. Let go," the insect master said in annoyance as Sasuke hugged him from behind with his chin on his shoulder. Shino was much taller than the raven so he was pretty much hanging off the cloaked genin.

"Awwww, but ur so taaaall," Sasuke complained.

This is so weird! And kinda funny!

All of a sudden Sasuke lurched away from Shino and wrapped his arms around Naruto! The blonde felt his eyes widen in surprise, this was so weird! The Uchiha had his chin tucked against Naruto's shoulder, and his arm tightly wrapped around him (the other was stuck at their sides because of the glue). The raven then leaned all of his weight onto Naruto and the jinchuriki stumbled backwards with the added weight.

"Woah, Sasuke, what's this for?!"

"Naru-chan, ur so stroooonnng," Sasuke slurred.

Kiba snickered "Naru-chan! I just can't!"

"K-ba!" Sasuke then called out and flopped onto the dog boy, embracing him from the side. Naruto was once again pulled over to another boy as Sasuke decided they needed a hug.

"K-ba! Ur coat is so puffy!"

The dog boy laughed and side hugged the suddenly affectionate Uchiha, "Heh heh! Thanks!"

From there the boys tried to sit down and continue the game, Lee offered to take the next turn since Sasuke was clearly incapable… what with being so preoccupied with hugging Kiba.

However, once the bottle was spun and landed on Gaara, Sasuke (who was beside the red head) launched himself at him next and enveloped the pale boy in a huge hug. Naruto sighed in annoyance as he was dragged along once again.

The boys all laughed as Sasuke gasped and declared, "I only just met Gaara today, but if anything were to happen to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself."

He said it in the most serious tone! And somehow that once sentence was un-slurred, unlike the rest of them.

"But you're met Gaara before now, Sasuke!" Kankuro choked out between laughs.

"Ya, but b'fore I never knew how niiiccce he wasssss," the raven said as he crushed poor Gaara against his chest. The red head's ice blue eyes were wide in surprise, he was clearly not used to so much affection.

"Pre-shous cinnamon roll, I'll never let a'ything hurt u! Gotta protect dis inn' cent child from da everything!"

Neji was losing it, and Gaara looked so confused.

Naruto snorted, Sasuke was acting so strange! Was this a window into how Sasuke actually felt under all of his masks and emo acts? In a warped… completely drunk way.

All of a sudden Sasuke got up and flung himself at Shikamaru, who had been snickering into his hand. Sasuke half laid in the boy's lap and hugged him while singing some incoherent song.

Shikamaru shook his head and loosely hugged the raven back. Naruto squirmed and grumbled, he did not like being dragged on the ultimate hugging tour of their male genin friends.

"He must be touch starved or something," Shikamaru hypothesized. "And it sort of surfaces when he's super drunk in that he gets all touchy feely."

"That does make sense, Choji agreed."

"Kind of sad, if you think about it," said Neji.

That actually explains a lot… Naruto thought as he remembered waking up with Sasuke snuggled up against him the past three nights. It really is sad. I sort of feel the same way, I guess. But I make up for it by putting my arm around my friends shoulders or walking close beside Sakura or Kakashi Sensei. However, Sasuke always distances himself from everyone. He must be really lonely, if he is triggered to act this way.

Look at me! Feeling bad for Sasuke, what the hell!

"So, now what should we do?" Kankuro asked.

"Try not to get attacked by Sasuke's affections, is what I would suggest-" Neji started but was interrupted by none other than Sasuke… displaying the affections he was just talking about avoiding.

Naruto grumbled as he was once again pulled into a triple hug by Sasuke.

Neji sighed, and to everyone's surprise, hugged Sasuke back. Kiba snorted, and he and Kankuro started shaking each other back and forth to try and contain their laughter. Neji skewered them with a heated glance. "It really isn't that funny, if anything you should be grateful. Sasuke usually hangs back, choosing to further his own physical prowess than to have anything to do with us, however now his drunken manner is showing his true feelings: he considers us all comrades, it just isn't his way to show that feeling. This should make all of you grateful and happy, Sasuke is one of the strongest of us, and he considers us true comrades."

The boys sat in silence as they looked at Neji in bewilderment.

With the Hyuga's words sinking in, Naruto looked at Sasuke again, this time in a new light. He watched as the raven tightened his hold on Neji and slurred out "ss okay, Neejee, life in du Huuga compex musst be hardd, but ss okayy~~"

"Having second thoughts about Sasuke's current state now that he's shown affection towards you?" Shikararu inquired with a mischievous smirk on his face.

Neji glared at the lazy genius and hid the lower half of his face in Sasuke's hair.


Naruto sighed and yawned, over the course of the past hour they had played a heated game of cards… with Sasuke's state worked into it. Whoever Sasuke was with got to draw whenever they so chose, this made things quite interesting. However, when Sasuke's body couldn't take the influx of intoxicating chemicals he passed out… on Naruto's lap.

Now they were all about to go home, and unfortunately Naruto would have to carry/drag Sasuke back with him.

"Friends, this was a fun experience! Remember and cherish these memories we crafted this night for this is the springtime of our YOUTH!" Rock Lee exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm for someone who had stayed up till 3 am, like all of them had. Well, not all of them. Sasuke was sleeping. Naruto snickered as he looked at the armchair, which held Kankuro and Kiba. Kiba had been sitting on the arm of the chair but had fallen against Kankuro when he fell asleep, now they were leaning against each other and snoring, with Akamaru splayed out across both of their laps.

"Alright, I'm out," Shikarmaru called as he raised one hand in the air in goodbye. "You coming, Choji?"

"Yeah! Just let me raid Kiba's fridge first while he's sleeping!"

Shikamaru grumbled, "No!" as he dragged Choji out of the house by the ear, ranting one the way out the door: "How many times do I have to tell you?! You can't just raid random people's fridges while they sleep! It's wrong and unethical! Not to mention illegal! You know what? I'm telling Ino about this and she'll-"

The door slammed behind Shikamaru and Choji.

"Well, I'm heading out as well, see you guys," Shino said before disappearing into a cloud of insects.

"Lee, it is about time we left as well," Neji said.

"NOOoooOOOOoOoOO! Let us stay a little longer!" he whined.

Neji groaned and threw his head back to the ceiling, "No! Now come on!" he commanded.

"Goodbye Naruto, Gaara. Greatest luck on getting those two home," Neji called out as he dragged a crying Lee out the door.

Naruto waved goodbye to them, and then looked down at the task at hand: Sasuke. He was sound asleep in the blonde's lap. He was drooling all over Naruto's orange pants, and his hair was ruffled and messy from lurching around for so long.

I don't have the heart to wake him up..

"Naruto?" Gaara asked.

"What is it?"

"How should I go about this?" the redhead mumbled with a vague gesture to Kankuro and Kiba. Naruto snickered, an idea formulating in his mind. He gently pushed Sasuke off of his lap, and awkwardly carried him over to the armchair.

"Wanna see something funny?" Naruto asked Gaara with an evil grin.

The pale boy simply blinked, clearly confused.

I'll show him!

"Behold! The art of pranking!" Naruto snickered, and then tapped each Kiba and Kankuro on the head. Kiba snorted in his sleep, and squirmed, which woke up Akamaru, who stood up and shook off, waking the two boys sharing the armchair up.

Kankuro mumbled something incoherent, and then flung his arms up in a stretch, only to lean up against Kiba, who was slowly blinking the sleep out of his eyes. They looked each other in the eye and simply stated: "Bro." "Bro."

"Ehhh?" Naruto exclaimed, confused as ever. When he had first woken up next to Sasuke his brain had short circuited! And here Kiba and Kankuro were, simply standing up and moving on like it was nothing! What? Was it not embarrassing to fall asleep on another boy at all?

Naruto mentally froze.

If it's normal NOT to freak out… then why did I freak out? Aren't Sasuke and I friends? So why would it matter so much for me to wake up next to him? WAIT JUST A SECOND-

"Whelp!" Kiba said with a tired sigh as he slung his arm around Naruto's shoulder, snapping the blonde from his train of thought. "That sure was fun!"

"So much fun," Kankuro commented.

"Yeah.. fun." Gaara said, however clearly in thought.

Kiba walked the 4 boys out, and waved to them until they got to the street. Then he closed the door and likely went to clean up the mess and catch a few hours of sleep before morning. Kankuro waved back good naturedly, and watched as the door closed, emotions swirling in his dark eyes.

Naruto was just about to tell the two sand siblings goodbye, when Gaara poked Sasuke in the face, then again. And again. "Sasuke. Sasuke," he said each time.

"Oi! What're you-" Naruto started, then shut up when Sasuke awoke.

The raven cracked his eyes open and groaned, then coughed. "Why does my mouth taste like Naruto crawled up and died in it?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Hey!" Naruto cried as Kankuro snickered.

"Well good morning, ray of sunshine!" the hooded boy quipped, "looks like the sake has worn off!"

"Sake? Wha-?" Sasuke then proceeded to rub the side of his head, and then apparently give up on existence: he plopped his head down onto Naruto's shoulder. "My head hurts."

Naruto felt his face heat up, and thanked the ninja gods for Kiba's dark street, cause otherwise the other two would have seen his pink cheeks.

"Sasuke," Gaara said, and then.. Hugged him? wHat?

Sasuke seemed just as confused as Naruto, because the cutest- NO! Most confused look of confusion crossed his face. "Um…" He said, clearly out of it because normally he would have had Gaara pinned to the wall with a Kunai by now.

"Thank you for showing me affection. I do not often come across it. It meant a lot."

"Uh…"

Naruto elbowed him in the ribs.

"Y-Your welcome."

Kankuro gave a small laugh, rubbed the back of his head, and walked up to the other three. "Well, as it seems physical touch is the theme of tonight's boys' night.." He wrapped the three of them up in a group hug. Naruto was.. Confused. But Mostly. Happy. He was glad he had such a great group of friends. Under normal circumstances they would never show how much they cared for one another, however in the most unlikely of situations Sasuke, the most anti-social of them all, had unlocked the true feelings underneath.

"I'm glad I met you morons," Kankuro said with a loose grin, then let go, slung his arm around Gaara's shoulders, and walked away. "Goodnight, you two!" he said with a wave over his shoulder. "Hopefully our paths cross once again," Gaara said in his classic monotone.

"Heehee, yeah!" Naruto waved until they turned the corner, and then smiled to himself.

"Oi, usuratonkachi," said a grumpy voice right in his ear.

"Sasuke! Hahahah, forgot you were there for a second, isn't that weird?" Naruto said in a rush, suddenly feeling very nervous and awkward.

Sasuke gave him a quizzical look, squinted with red tinted eyes. Then shook his head and leaned his full weight on Naruto's side. "I feel like I'm gonna die. Can we go home now?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, leaned against his shoulder. He found himself wishing more than ever that he had two arms again, if only so that he could properly embrace him with both arms-NO SHUT UP!

"Yeah, let's go home," he said simply.


The walk home was… peaceful. The breeze was cool and everything was quiet, plus Naruto was able to walk down whatever street he so chose without Sasuke complaining about there being a faster or more ethical way.

Speaking of Sasuke, the Uchiha was half asleep, occasionally whimpering or complaining about how much his head hurt. All the while completely leaning on and trusting Naruto to bring him home.. It warmed the blonde's heart. That Sasuke trusted him so easily. Now that he thought about it, just the THOUGHT of Sasuke warmed Naruto's heart.. He didn't seem so far off anymore. He was no longer a lone figure on the road ahead obscured in shadow, but a crystal clear figure sparkling in the sun.

Naruto found himself wishing that this walk would never end.

He wanted to walk through these quiet streets forever, just him and Sasuke. Embraced by the peaceful night breeze and guided by the silvery light of the moon.


AN: I wrote this a year ago, and that's where I stopped cause I ran out of ideas :') I do want to finish this, however I am currently working on a different project, Skyfall, which I will start yeeting chapters up for pretty soon. If I take a brain break from Skyfall I'll force myself to be distracted with this instead of something else lol. Hopefully I'll be back in the near future!