I own Naruto! But, lucky for all you obsessed fans, I'm selling. See. –Whips out slip of paper that says I own Naruto.- You can buy this piece of paper from me for a small sum of 1,000 dollars. (Okay so his is a poke at the people who actually believe they can buy public monuments. These people from Italy visited our Latin class and said that tourists actually pay for fountains that are public property because locals stand next to them and say that they are selling. I thought this was hilarious, and no, I don't really own Naruto. –Pouts-)
A/N: Hello and welcome back to But Home Is Nowhere... I've just realized, that for having fourteen chapters, my story is really short. Hmmm... Maybe it's because I update so quickly that all my chapters are so short. Tell me, would you prefer short chapters and short waits, or long chapters and longer waits? I can try to change my style if people want me to start posting longer chapters. All you need say is, "Mercury Bohemian. I need to talk to you about your chapters. They're too damn short, and I would much rather wait a week for a new chapter and have it be longer then get one every two or three days and have it be this short." If enough people say this, I'll give it a try. If you don't give a damn, I'll keep doing it this way. Is it sad that my story is only forty five pages long including all my author's notes? I think it might be. I'm not going to thanks my reviewers this time, I'll thank them in chapter 16, so that I'll have time to post today. I really have like thirty seconds, so yeah. Thanks.
I've decided to try something new this chapter. I might give up on it and switch back to the normal way, but I've decided that since they're together and alone, I won't do the whole POV switchee thingy. I'll just make it obvious who's thinking, since they're doing everything in the same house, and the point of the separation is to show what each one is doing in their respective locations. You'll have to tell me if it works.
But Home Is Nowhere...: How Soon Is Now?
At the end of the movie, when the credits began to run, Naruto found himself dissolving into tears yet again, and when he looked over at Sasuke, he was not disappointed to discover tears running out of his eyes as well. "Sad movie, huh?" he asked quietly, scrubbing at his eyes. Sasuke nodded mutely, mimicking Naruto and rubbing at his own eyes.
Naruto stood slowly, his legs cramped from sitting Indian style for two hours straight, and walked over to the DVD player. He removed the disk and put it back in its box, setting it on the shelf. He wiped at his face one more time and turned to Sasuke. "Did we have homework tonight?" Sasuke nodded. "Maybe we should do that." Sasuke nodded again, and stood.
He was quite shaken by the movie. It was unlike any other movie he'd seen, and the scary part was that things like it actually happened. It was horrible to think about, and he found himself wanting to watch the movie again because it was done so beautifully. "I really like that movie," he said quietly, smiling a bit. "Especially Danny."
Naruto smiled back. "Yeah, Danny's my favorite too. I love that movie." Naruto walked over to the CD player. "Do you listen to music while you do your homework?"
"Yeah. What've you got?" Sasuke walked over to the CD rack, looking over Naruto's shoulder. "The Smiths! Can we listen to them?"
"Yeah, and there's two more spaces. Is AFI okay with you?"
"Uh huh. What about the third one?" Sasuke was running his finger down the sides of the CDs, reading the titles as he went.
"What about The Cure?" Naruto looked sideways at him, and Sasuke suddenly realized that his chin was resting on Naruto's shoulder. He moved himself and gave a firm agreement. Naruto had some really good music.
Naruto put the three CDs into the changer and pressed the shuffle button before going into the hallway. "The speakers are in my room," he said absently, and Sasuke followed him. Naruto sat on his bed, and told Sasuke there was enough room for him too, or if he wanted, he could sit at the desk. Sasuke nodded, informing Naruto that he worked better on beds, and then unzipped his duffel. He dug through it for a moment, and then realized that he'd forgotten to pack any shorts.
He turned to Naruto a crestfallen look flittering cross his face. "Hey Naruto, do you have any shorts I can borrow. These pants aren't exactly conducive to comfort, and I forgot to bring my own." Naruto nodded and got up, glad he'd done laundry. He rummaged through his drawers for five minutes, looking for his longest pair of shorts. Sasuke was a few inches taller than him, so anything else probably wouldn't fit.
When he finally found the pair he was looking for, he pulled them out triumphantly shouting, "Ah ha!" Unfortunately for him, they were on the bottom, and he accidentally brought half the other clothes in his drawer out with them. He smiled sheepishly, handing the shorts to Sasuke. "Well, I guess while you change, I'll clean up the mess I've made. Sorry if they're small, I'm short." He brought a hand to the back of his neck, grinning, and rubbing at the nape of his neck. Sasuke just shook his head and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself.
Naruto stooped to pick up the clothes he'd dropped and began replacing them, refolding as he went. When Sasuke came out of the bathroom, he stuffed his pants into his duffel and asked if he could help. Naruto nodded, and Sasuke plopped on the floor and began folding, handing each new garment to Naruto. It wasn't until they were completely finished, and Sasuke stood up that Naruto noticed how utterly ridiculous his shorts looked on Sasuke. They might as well have been short shorts. But he had to admit, the boy had the legs for it.
Sasuke grimaced, "What?" He noticed the amused look on Naruto's face when he stood, and was suddenly aware of how horrible he looked in the other boy's shorts. But alas, he was not going to parade around in his underwear, and he couldn't wear any of the pants he'd brought and still be able to work comfortably.
Naruto snorted. "Nice legs." Sasuke frowned at him.
"I would say thanks, but I know you're just making fun of the shorts." He paused. "It's not my fault you're so damn short." Naruto puffed up indignantly, standing as straight as he could, and almost coming off his heels.
"I'm not THAT short. You're just deformed!" He picked up a pillow off the bed and threw it at Sasuke, hitting him square in the face. Sasuke pulled the pillow to his chest and grinned evilly.
"You are SO going to pay for that." Naruto blanched, and Sasuke charged, wielding the pillow in a deadly manner and smacking Naruto upside the head. Naruto picked up the other pillow, and devised a defensive strategy. He held the pillow up, blocking Sasuke's blows, and then, just when the Uchiha was about to strike him for the fourth time, he lunged for the other boy's waist, dropping the pillow and successfully tackling him.
Sasuke scowled and Naruto sat astride the pillow that was now resting his chest. "So Sasuke?" he said almost conversationally. "Tell me. Are you ticklish?" A look of brief horror flitted across Sasuke's face, but was gone just as quickly.
"No," he lied, desperately hoping Naruto wouldn't discover his tickle spot.
"So you wouldn't mind if I did this!" He bent down, rubbing the tips of his fingers against Sasuke's ribs just lightly enough to cause the horrible itchy sensation known as a tickle. Sasuke was motionless, his face trained into stern iciness, but Naruto knew better. He could see the corner of Sasuke's mouth twitching, and he was breathing harder than usual. "Hmm... Very interesting. Maybe you're ticklish here." He moved his fingers upwards a little. Sasuke still didn't react, other than to nod his head to the side, but this was all Naruto needed. Of course he would try to protect the ticklish spot. "Oh. I see how this works."
Sasuke watched in horror as a look of comprehension spread across Naruto's face, and his fingers moved upwards once again. He was then rendered helpless by the light sensation of fingertips on his neck, right under his chin. He face faulted momentarily, snorting and attempting to keep from laughing, but alas, the blonde had discovered one of his most secret tickle spots, and he soon found himself giggling, hard. The giggling soon turned into full blown laughter, and presently, he was begging for Naruto to stop, screaming like a girl.
Naruto smirked at him. "Am I short?" he asked evilly, slowing his tickling to let Sasuke answer.
Sasuke looked up at him, "Y-yes!" He burst out laughing again, and Naruto's tickling was renewed with full force. "S-stop! Please!"
Naruto gave him the evil look and asked once again, "Am I short!"
This time Sasuke relented. "No, you're perfectly n-normal!" Naruto stopped immediately.
"That's what I thought. You're the mutant, not me. And now I know your weakness." He stood victorious, one foot on Sasuke's chest, and the Uchiha gave him a withered look, still attempting to recover his breath. Finally, Naruto took pity and stood down, extending a hand to help Sasuke up. The other boy took it gratefully and said slyly,
"You know one weakness. There's one more!" Naruto suddenly looked horrified.
"Well! I am going to have to find this second weakness." He smirked. "I suggest you run."
And run Sasuke did, out of the bedroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen where he looked in the fridge and grabbed a can of coke. Naruto was not far behind him. "You come near me and I pour this on you!" He said, but Naruto lunged anyways. Sasuke dodged, and before the blonde pursued, he grabbed his own can of coke.
He chased Sasuke through the living room, dodging the pillows and couch cushions that were flying at him, and then they were out the door. Both of them were laughing by now, and Sasuke shouted, "You'll never catch me, shorty!"
Naruto sped up and shouted back, "I am determined to discover the second weakness, you mutant!"
Somehow, the blonde had managed to come dangerously close to Sasuke. So close in fact, that he would be able to turn around and drench the boy in coke. This thought in mind, he stopped abruptly, ripping the can open and making a 180 turn. Naruto skidded to a halt and a brief look of terror flashed over his face as the coke came flying out of the can.
Drenched in soda, and ready for revenge, Naruto opened his own can and jumped on Sasuke's back, pouring the entire can over the other boy's head and hanging on piggy back style. As Sasuke was fighting him off, he began desperately searching for the second spot. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke fell to the ground at that moment, and they landed in a jumbled heap in the soft grass. It didn't really hurt, but he lost his advantage as an evil glint came into Sasuke's eyes.
"So, shorty, are you ticklish?" Naruto screamed as Sasuke began tickling him all over, and in his desperate attempt to fend the other off, he tickled back. After five minutes of this, they were both hyperventilating with laughter, and suddenly Sasuke stopped, practically squealing as Naruto's fingers came into contact with the small of his back. Naruto's face lit up in glee.
"Ah hah! I-I've f-found the second sp-spot!" he shouted triumphantly between giggles, and began tickling Sasuke's back ruthlessly, not stopping until Sasuke proclaimed that he was about to die. Once Naruto had ceased, they both collapsed in the grass and spent fifteen minutes catching their breath. When they were finally breathing normally again, Naruto gave a victorious, "I know both your weaknesses now! And I got you wetter that you got me!"
Sasuke just smiled. "We should go back inside and clean up, before we get sticky." Naruto nodded in agreement, and they stood, picking up their cans and going back into the house. When they were back in the blonde's bedroom, he sighed enormously and said happily,
"I haven't had that much fun in a very, very long time." He smiled at Sasuke.
Sasuke smiled back and said quietly, "Me either. Now, who's gonna shower first?"
"You. I poured more soda on you. Oh, and I can wash your clothes tonight."
"Thanks." Naruto showed him where the towels and rags were, and Sasuke grabbed his shampoo and soap from his bag before commencing the bathing.
He turned the knob so that the water would come out at a nice temperature, and then pulled the lever (1) to make the shower come on. Once it was warm enough, he took off his clothes and stepped into the tub. He'd brought his strawberries and crème shampoo and soap, so by the time he was done, the entire bathroom smelled fruity, like a girl's bathroom. He hoped Naruto wouldn't mind. Because, really, he wouldn't want to ruin the lovely happy feeling they had created by making the blonde angry.
'Well, I suppose it's too late now.' He turned off the water and opened the curtain, stepping onto the tile floor. He quickly dried himself off and, realizing he'd forgotten to bring clothes to change into, wrapped it around his waist. He picked up his dirty clothes, and opened the door.
Naruto looked up and saw a cloud of steam escaping the bathroom. There seemed to be a shadow within the steam, but it as so thick it was hard to see. He assumed that was Sasuke, and his suspicions were confirmed when the aforementioned boy walked out of the room. Naruto was a little surprised to see that he was wearing nothing but a towel. Not that he minded. Because, really, why would he mind? Except for the fact that he looked drop dead sexy wearing nothing but a towel, and Naruto was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be staring like he was. (2)
Sasuke was a bit confused at the sudden catatonic sate Naruto seemed to have slipped into, so he kneeled in front of the blonde, who was sitting on the floor, and shook him gently. "Earth to Naruto. Come in Naruto." Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment before he gave a quiet,
"Oh, fuck."
"Hey, are you okay?"
The blonde struggled to regain his composure as he replied, "Um, yeah, I'm fine. You can put your clothes in the washing machine, and we'll start it once I'm done." Sasuke nodded slowly, giving a slightly confused,
"O-kay." He then stood, and left the room, still wearing nothing more than a towel. Naruto grabbed a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and hurried into the bathroom before his friend returned. As soon as the door was shut, he sank the floor.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity Fuck, Fuck. What the hell is the matter with me?" He buried his hands in his hair, resting his elbows on bent knees. 'Nothing's wrong with you, really,' his mind told him, attempting to rationalize the sudden feeling of attraction he was feeling towards Sasuke. 'It's not like you've never been attracted to a guy before.' Naruto scowled. "But I like Sakura. I've like her for at least a year now."
'Ah, but you haven't thought of her once since you met Sasuke. Not even when you've seen her.'
"So? It's only been a few days."
'But you haven't thought of her once. Besides, what's so bad about thinking your friend is hot? Everyone else does.'
Naruto growled in frustration. "Okay, so maybe you're right. He is hot. Very hot. But that doesn't mean we can't be normal friends. I can ignore the hotness."
'That's the spirit hon. Now take a shower. You're sticky.'
Naruto stood slowly, and stripped out of his clothes, turning the water on and grabbing a towel. He showered quickly, smiling at the smell left by Sasuke's soap. When he was done, he dried off and pulled on his new pair of black cotton boxers and white t-shirt. He forgot to be self-conscious about the fact that the wet fabric was practically transparent, meaning that Sasuke would be able to see the marking on his stomach, because when he thought about it, Sasuke was his friend, and he thought it was stupid to care. Sasuke was his very sexy friend. The thought made him smile.
TBC...
A/N: Chapter title is a song by The Smiths, so it's not mine. This said, what do you think? Should I keep doing this style when they're alone together, or should I use the other way? Do you think I did okay with the introduction of Sexy Sasuke within Naruto's head? Was this as poorly written as it seems to be? And what about that pillow fight? Sexy, yes? You know I didn't even start this chapter thinking I was going to do anything that happened after the first page. But I guess my mind just ran away with me. I actually had a Coke fight with my friend one time and it was great fun. We went through an entire twelve pack of Vanilla Coke in less than five minutes, and then we jumped in the pool fully clothed. It was great fun. So yeah, I endorse coke fights! That's all I really have to say. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
-Tootle Loo-
ISAN
1. Okay, I don't really know what the thing is called, but you know on showers how there's a part on the faucet that you pull to make the water come out of the shower head? That's what I'm talking about.
2. I sense impending SasuNaru! I told you it would be here soon, although, they won't be admitting it for a while, I am pleased that we see the first bud of a beautiful flower right here. Are you excited. I am. Because let me tell you, this was not supposed to take so long to get to the SasuNaru. I had planned on getting right into it. Oh well, I guess things just don't always go as planned.