Chapter 6: Old Me
Water poured down on Sasuke, the heat relaxing his muscles. He took a deep breath, a small smile spread across his face when he heard the shower door open. "I swear you take the same temperature shower as the devil," Naruto told him as his arms wrapped around the other man's waist.
"If you don't like it then take your own shower," Sasuke responded as he leaned against the other man, knowing he wouldn't leave. Naruto didn't respond as he grabbed the bottle of soap out of his hand, pouring some into his hand before throwing the bottle on the shower floor. "You know there's more to my body that needs to be cleaned," he told the blond as the other man seemed to only care about cleaning his chest and dick.
"You're right," Naruto smirked before moving his hands to Sasuke's ass, squeezing it before running his hand down the crack, making sure to circle his rim.
Sasuke hummed, trying not to get hard, "That's not what I meant." He turned around and placed a small kiss on Naruto's lips, "Baby, I'm exhausted, you've already worn me out this morning." It wasn't a lie, he was still a little sore from the morning sex they'd had not too long ago. "I just wanted a relaxing shower."
Naruto grabbed the shampoo from its place on the ledge of one of the cut outs in their shower, "Fine. But at least let me wash your hair for you." He popped the cap and squeezed some into his hand, this time placing the bottle back in its correct spot. "No funny business, I promise," he started massaging the shampoo into the other man's hair, causing him to groan. "But it really isn't fair when you're making those sounds," he teased.
"I will kick you out of my shower," Sasuke warned.
Naruto smirked but didn't say anything else, leaving a comfortable silence as they finished showering. There was nothing sexual about the way Naruto dried Sasuke's body once they were out of the shower. It was domestic and everything Sasuke wanted for them. "Let's go watch a movie," Naruto suggested as he threw their towels into the laundry basket. Sasuke just nodded as they made their way back to their bedroom to get dressed into pajamas, not planning to go anywhere that day.
It wasn't long before they were laying on the couch tangled in each other's arms. Naruto would never admit it, but he loved the way Sasuke had bought them matching red and black plaid pajamas. Naruto had forgone the black t-shirt, letting Sasuke trace the lines of his chest. Neither of them really cared about the movie that was playing in the background.
"I'm glad you took this break," Sasuke admitted, kissing the other man's bare chest. He smiled at the fact that Naruto had gained a little bit of weight in the month since he had stopped touring. He had agreed to take sometime to work on himself, on getting sober. He didn't mind the fact that his stomach was no longer pure muscle like when they were first together, it was better than how thin he'd gotten while touring.
"I've gotten fat," Naruto joked as he ran his hands through the other man's dark, wet hair. They hadn't bothered brushing their hair, letting it dry a mess that was left from using the towel to dry it enough to not be dripping.
"You're perfect," Sasuke told him as he ran his hand down his stomach with a smile.
Sasuke woke up, finding himself wide awake from his dream. He hated those kind of dreams, they reminded him that the Naruto from that life was indeed human. Those small domestic moments were the reason that version of Sasuke stayed. He wasn't all bad, just a drug addict that always seemed to fall off the wagon when they were apart.
He groaned when he saw how early it was, the clock reading five o'clock. It was his day off, he was't supposed to be up so early. He sighed as he rolled out of bed, knowing he wasn't going to fall back asleep. He didn't bother changing out of his sweats, telling himself that he wouldn't go anywhere, even if Naruto did actually text him. He brushed his teeth, but didn't bother making any effort to fix his appearance before making his way to the couch, deciding to watch TV to get his mind off the dream.
"What are you doing up already?" Suigetsu asked when he walked into the living room. The light haired man had to work that morning. He was a freelance photographer, making it so his schedule was never consistent and sometimes made it so he had to get up early for an all day photoshoot or one that required trying to get a perfect shot at sunrise. Sasuke had offered multiple times to help him get in with bigger companies. They often needed photographers for their artist's photoshoots, but Suigetsu would reject the help, saying he wanted to do it on his own. It would certainly help him get his own place if he took Sasuke's offer, but he did fine on his own and so he wasn't that desperate yet.
"Dream," Sasuke sighed. He didn't want to elaborate and knew that Suigetsu didn't have enough time to force him to explain.
"You should go if he text you today," Suigetsu suggested as he grabbed his gear. Sasuke just rolled his eyes in response. "Don't give me that look, just think about it," he looked him over, "But at least make yourself presentable if you do go."
"Shouldn't he want me regardless of what I look like?" Sasuke retorted with a shrug as he turned back to the TV.
"It never hurts to put in some effort," Suigetsu told him as he looked at the time, trying to determine if he had enough time to argue with the other man. He let out a sigh when he realized he had to leave. "I want to hear about your day with him later," he smirked as he made his way to the door.
"Who says I'm going to see him today?" he scoffed as he crossed his arms.
"We both know you'll give in," Suigetsu winked. "It's a soulmate thing," he called out as he walked out of the door, not giving Sasuke a chance to respond.
Sasuke grumbled as he got up to find something to eat. He hated that the man was probably right. If Naruto text him, he'd at least think about going, no matter how much he tried to resist. It really was a soulmate thing. Soulmates were like magnets, no matter how hard one tried to resist it. "Fuck," he cursed, knowing that his heart would be screaming at him to go if Naruto contacted him. He hoped the blond didn't text him later, it would make things a lot easier.
His hopes didn't last when around eleven o'clock he received a text from Naruto asking him to come over. He bit his lip, having typed out multiple responses and erasing every one of them. In the end he ended up agreeing, which was how he ended up standing in front of his closet trying to decide what to wear. He hated how it was so difficult. He shouldn't care how he looked. He shouldn't even be going. Yet, there he was trying to decide what to wear that would come off as not trying too hard, but still looked good.
It took an hour for him to get ready, just to settle on a simple pair of jeans and loose v-neck t-shirt. "It's just Naruto," he told himself as he fixed his hair, deciding to leave it down this time. Sasuke wondered if he should cut it or if Naruto liked his somewhat long hair. "Who cares?" he huffed to himself, upset that he was even concerned about whether or not Naruto liked how he looked.
"Took you long enough," Naruto teased when he opened the door. He shamelessly checked Sasuke out, feeling a little under dressed in his pajama pants and t-shirt. He had wanted to come off as casual, but wondered if it were too casual. "Come on in," he moved out of the doorway to let the man inside.
"I have other things to do than to rush over when you call," Sasuke lied. He wasn't going to admit that it took him a little over a half hour just to pick out what he was going to wear and another half hour to do his hair to make sure he looked presentable.
Naruto chuckled, "If you say so. Do you want anything to drink?"
"I'm good, thanks," Sasuke followed the other man into the living room. It made him think about the last time he had been there and the song the other man had played him. He wondered if the new songs would be similar to that or if he'd revert back to the same style he had on his last album.
Nartuo grabbed his guitar from where it was leaning against the couch. He had obviously been working on something before Sasuke had arrived. "Don't just awkwardly stand there and stare at me," the blond laughed. "You should be awkwardly sitting."
"Shut up," Sasuke mumbled as he sat across from the other man. He felt oddly anxious about hearing the new music.
"Seriously though, I appreciate you coming today. It's nice to have your opinion," it was left unsaid that it was because of the fact that the songs were about him. It was only natural to want your soulmate to like what you create.
Sasuke just nodded, not trusting what he might say in response. Sometimes his mouth didn't always consult his brain when it came to what he said to Naruto. He didn't even think about it when he nervously rubbed his soulmate mark.
"I'm actually a little nervous," the blond admitted. "It's weird how badly I want you to like it," he nervously played some random tune on the guitar. Sasuke looked down, not sure how to respond to the comment. "Sorry, am I making this awkward?"
Sasuke shook his head. He was a little flustered by Naruto's words, but somehow it wasn't as awkward as it should be, "Just play your song."
"Songs," Naruto corrected. "I have multiple I want you to hear," he grinned.
"So sorry," Sasuke said sarcastically. "Just play your songs," he smiled a little as he relaxed in his seat. He hated the way he felt butterflies in his stomach at the thought of what Naruto may have written. It was no secret that it would be about them in some way.
Sasuke found himself captivated by Naruto's voice as he played the first song. It was obviously a pretty rough draft of the song, but the emotion he put into it distracted from the lyrics that needed some work. The blond didn't take his eyes off of Sasuke the entire time, giving him a sultry look that didn't really match the song but made him nervous nonetheless.
"I know it was a little rough," Naruto said once the song was done. "I was thinking it'd fit better as a duet," he told him, though he had no idea who he'd want to collaborate with.
Sasuke wasn't sure why he didn't like the idea of Naruto singing it with someone else. It was almost a feeling of betrayal because it was somehow their song. He really had no right to feel that way when he was the one resisting their potential relationship. It wasn't even like the other man would be with someone else, it was just singing a song that they might not even perform live together. "Anyone you have in mind?" he asked, trying to act as if he weren't effected.
Naruto shook his head, "No, but it just feels like there's something missing. I mean I know it's just a first draft of the song, but it still doesn't feel right."
Sasuke nodded, "I can make some calls once you get the song finished. It's not bad, but i'm not sending a demo version of that song to anyone." He wasn't trying to be rude, but the song wasn't ready to provide as a proposed collaboration with anyone that would be worth collaborating with. "No offense."
"None taken, it's nowhere near ready," he acknowledged that the song needed a lot of work still. He knew that Sasuke liked his more singer-songwriter songs so it was something he wanted to show him first. He wasn't sure how he'd take the other ones he'd written, they were more about their past life. "I'm a little nervous about this next one," he admitted.
"That bad?" Sasuke teased.
"Just different," he shrugged. It wasn't really about them, it was more a song of reflection of his past self. "I'm not used to writing about the past I guess," he told him, having usually writing about how he wanted the future to be. About how he always pictured meeting his soulmate would be. Now that he met him he had learned that it was nothing like he imagined. It wasn't a bad thing, it was just a wake up call that life wasn't a fairytale. That didn't make him any less determined to win Sasuke's heart in this life.
Sasuke nodded, not saying anything. There was nothing for him to say so he just waited for Naruto to play the next song. The lyrics surprised him, he hadn't been expecting Naruto to basically be shouting it out to his past self and all the mistakes that version of him had made. It was about what he'd learned from that version of him and not wanting to make those same mistakes.
There was a silence between them when the song ended. "That was," Sasuke started, but wasn't sure how to describe it. His words trailed off as he tried to think of what he wanted to say. "I," he tried to find the words, but was left speechless. It was deeper than what he usually wrote. There wasn't anything soft about it like his more hopeful songs.
"That bad?" Naruto tried to lighten the mood.
"It was good," he told him.
"I have one more I want to show you," he told him nervously. "I'm just not sure how you'll take it."
"I'm not sure I can handle another one," he admitted before his mind could stop the words from coming out. "I mean," he tried to back track but couldn't find the words to do so. "Why would you be nervous about it?" he asked, trying to change the subject off of the last song.
Naruto sighed, "It's a little less pop and a little more rock." They both knew that rock was the genre that Naruto from their previous life played. It was one of the reasons that Naruto hadn't chosen that genre. In fact, it was a reason he avoided it. "I mean, I would say more bluesy than rock, but still a sub-genre I guess," he tried to explain. "It just came to me after a dream I had."
Sasuke took a deep breath, not sure that he was ready to hear the song, yet he found himself nodding and waiting for Naruto to play it. As he played Sasuke realized that it was much less a song about them in this life, but more a song of their prior selves. As if he were saying what that Naruto should have said to that Sasuke. His mind started to run through all of the dreams that he'd had and made him wonder which moment had inspired him to write the song.
"Which dream inspired it?" Sasuke asked, his voice a little shaky when the song ended. His curiosity took over, while his mind was screaming at him to shut up.
Naruto was surprised by the question. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "One that you've probably never had," he told him, knowing they didn't have dreams that weren't from their past lives point of view. Naruto dreamed from what his past self felt, while Sasuke saw the world through his past life. "It was," he took a deep breath, "a nightmare about the day my past life died."
Sasuke had always wondered what happened after he had died in that life. Obviously that version of Naruto died shortly after since they were both reborn in 1999. "What happened to that Naruto?" he asked, his voice barely over a whisper.
"Suicide," Naruto didn't hesitate to tell him. "Overdose after that Sasuke died. It's a pretty depressing dream," he told him. "But I get it. I can feel his emotions, you know? I know how hard it was for him to accept that Sasuke died and the guilt he felt for it happening," he explained, putting his guitar down so it was leaning against the couch. "I know he wasn't a good person, but he still had feelings."
"He wasn't all bad," Sasuke shifted in his seat, fighting against the desire to comfort the blond. Before he could stop himself he moved to sit next to the blond. He reluctantly placed his hand on Naruto's thigh, "He, uh, had his moments."
Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's actions. "He was pretty bad though," Naruto frowned. He looked at the other man to find him already staring at him. He wanted to kiss him, but resisted the urge, knowing that'd only make Sasuke run. "Go out on a date with me," Naruto blurted out. "Please," he added at the end. "Just one."
Sasuke wanted to say no. He wanted to say that it would be a bad idea. "I don't," he was trying to find his voice to decline the offer, but it wouldn't come out.
"Give me one chance and if you hate it then I own't ask again," he practically begged. He wanted a chance to show Sasuke that would make it work. That he wasn't the same person and would treat him the way he deserved to be treated. "Please."
"I should probably go," Sasuke said, removing his hand from Naruto's thigh as he got up.
Naruto grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving, "You didn't answer me." He didn't let go of his hand as he got up, keeping eye contact with Sasuke. "Give me a chance," he whispered as he used his other hand to move a piece of hair out of the other man's face.
Sasuke didn't pull away as he looked at Naruto, his heart racing. "Okay," he gave in.
"Really?" Naruto asked, no believing what he was hearing. He was ready for another rejection, not for Sasuke to accept his offer. He knew that he felt something between them, but he also knew that Sasuke was fighting against the feeling so he hadn't expected him to agree.
"Yeah," Sasuke agreed as he looked down at their connected hands. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might jump right out of his chest. He squeezed his hand nervously, "I really should go though." Part of him wanted to kiss Naruto already and it scared him. He agreed to the date, but he didn't want anything to happen that they might regret. "But you have a schedule the next few days," he reminded him.
Naruto smiled, "It doesn't have to happen right way, whenever you're ready."
Sasuke smiled back. It was a small smile, but it was enough to make Naruto grin. "I really should go," he said once again. Naruto reluctantly let go of his hand, allowing the man to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told him softly before making his way towards the door.
Naruto followed him with a smile, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." They gave each other one last look before Sasuke left. Naruto waited a moment until he was sure that Sasuke was far enough away before he let out a squeal of excitement. He wasn't sure when they'd go out, all he knew what that he had to make it perfect.
'I have so much to tell you!' he sent Sakura as he walked back towards the couch, knowing that she'd be excited for him.
'Did Sasuke come over?' she text back. He knew it was probably killing her a little that she was on a job and couldn't gossip with him.
'Yes,' he replied with a grin emoji.
'I want details when I get home!' she text back, making Naruto smile.
'Only if you help me think of an idea for a date,' he could imagine her reaction. She probably reacted very similarly to him and let out a squeal of excitement.
'DEAL!' he chuckled at her response.
He looked at his guitar and thought about trying to write but decided against it. He decided instead to let himself bask in the fact that Sasuke said yes. The smile didn't fade from his face for the rest of the night.
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