My new year's resolution is to update something every week. It probably should have been to study properly instead since I have two exams next week. And I'll probably fail that resolution soon anyway. But I bring you another chapter! First update of the new year, yay!

I'm also going to upload the extras I've written on tumblr for this story. If you haven't read them (there is a little smut and stuff lol) then you should!

Also I thought there'd be more of a commotion about the fact that Naruto kissed Sasuke last chapterX) Maybe we'll get a real kiss soon, yeah?

Until then, let's make our favorite boys suffer a little more:3

Chapter 27: Interruptions

xxx

Naruto had a funny feeling in his stomach. At first he'd thought it was the result of actually eating the strange, well, thing that Shisui had presented proudly at dinner (only he and Itachi had been brave enough to join in eating it). He'd said it was inspired by that ninja chef Itachi liked, and Charasuke had asked if the ninja part was trying to survive digesting it.

But no, it wasn't the dessert that had Naruto's stomach making him queasy. He tried to ignore it as he mopped the floor of the kitchen, scrubbing extra hard at a spot of dried tomato sauce from last night's dinner. Snorting, he recalled the look of disappointment on Sasuke's face that morning when Iruka mentioned that dinner had involved his homemade tomato sauce, made even funnier by how easily Iruka noticed and proceeded to make him another bento for lunch. Sasuke was going to become spoiled, and he didn't even work there or anything! But he supposed Iruka was like that, more so in this world.

Satisfied when the sauce disappeared, Naruto rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand. For some reason he felt so tired, only waking up when Sasuke kicked him out of bed. So harsh, jeez. If he didn't like him so much he might have-

He pulled up short, holding his breath as if waiting for someone to pop out of nowhere and tell him how wrong it was for him to feel like this. But no one came, and Naruto slowly let the air out, feeling ridiculous. Sasuke had even told him yesterday that it wasn't weird, that he wasn't wrong for liking guys, but then again, Sasuke didn't know it was because of him that he felt like this at all.

Maybe he was so tired because he'd spent too long before falling asleep thinking about this.

Maybe?

"I wasn't talking to you," he muttered, dipping the mop in its water and then squeezing it out, continuing his cleaning.

You never talk to me lately. What did I ever do to you?

Rolling his eyes, Naruto used more force than necessary to make the floor squeaky clean. Kurama had certainly been of no help last night, only giving him bad advice that mostly went along the lines of 'just kiss him already, you've got no guts!' which Naruto found extremely unhelpful.

Come on, he didn't seem to mind yesterday…

Naruto bit his cheek, gripping the wooden shaft of the mop so hard his knuckles whitened. Yesterday had been completely out of the blue, and he wasn't so sure Sasuke even noticed.

"Yesterday doesn't count," he whined, glaring at nothing in particular. "He was upset! It wasn't even a kiss, I just, I mean, kind of brushed his forehead and-"

He stopped himself there, feeling a violent blush heating up his face. Oh god, he couldn't believe he'd done that! But seeing Sasuke with those forehead protectors, telling Naruto it was fine to wear one even though, even though-

"Iruka-sensei! Naruto is talking to himself again!"

It was lucky Naruto wasn't carrying any weapons, or Natsuko might have been in some serious danger. Instead all he did was jump high, dropping the mop to the floor as his head whipped towards the small child standing in the doorway.

"Holy ramen, you scared me!" he scolded her, but she stuck her tongue out at him. "And I wasn't talking to myself!"

"Were you talking to the ghost?"

"Th- the ghost?" Naruto stuttered, his eyes widening to match hers.

She nodded sagely, scrunching her face up in what was probably supposed to look secretive, spying around the kitchen.

"Iruka-sensei says there isn't one but I've talked to it."

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine, then shook himself out of it. He couldn't go around getting frightened by some four-year-old talking about ghosts! What would Sasuke say!

Depends, is this hypothetical scenario before or after you confess?

Another angry blush made its way across Naruto's cheeks, and he was just about to curse the demon fox out when he remembered little Natsuko.

"I wasn't talking to a ghost," he said stiffly, picking the mop up from the floor.

"Then who were you talking to?"

While he'd been occupied with Kurama and the mop, she'd climbed the fridge and now sat dangling her feet contentedly while staring down at him.

"I was talking to Kurama, and you know you can't be up there."

"I don't see a Kurama!"

"That's because he lives inside my stomach."

Natsuko's little mouth formed an 'o', her ginger hair sticking out from her head in a perfect mess.

"Sensei!" she called, pulling her feet up when Naruto lunged for her. "Naruto has a Kurama living in his tummy! I want one too!"

"No you don't," Naruto muttered, heaving himself up on the counter with a knee and grabbing the struggling child.

Rude, Kurama sniffed, and Naruto hoped this meant he'd be quiet for a while.

"Noo, I don't wanna be on the floor!" she wailed as he put her down, right in time for Iruka to make an entrance.

"Natsuko, don't bother Naruto when he's cleaning," he sighed, carrying Daisuke under one arm and holding a hairbrush. "Come on, we haven't finished with your hair."

Immediately, Natsuko stopped struggling against Naruto's hold and instead clung to him.

"I want Naruto to do it!"

Clearing his throat, Naruto was torn between shaking her off and picking her up. She was clinging pretty hard to him, possibly hard enough to leave bruises on his poor arm.

"Do you mind?" Iruka asked him, and he shook his head quickly. "Alright then, try to get her to sit still long enough to get rid of the knots at least. I don't know how she manages."

"Sure thing."

Iruka smiled, hoisting Daisuke a little higher up as he left the brush on the table, making his exit. Once he was gone, Naruto glanced at the kid hanging from his arm.

"What's a Kurama?" she asked, brown eyes curious as he lifted her to sit on the table next to the brush. "It's not a ghost, so what is it?"

She was wriggling again, her small feet kicking Naruto's thighs as he lifted the brush to her hair.

"He's a fox," he replied, combing through her hair for all of two centimeters before it caught on a knot.

"Owwie," she complained, ducking her head to escape. "He's just a fox?"

Let me talk to her, Kurama muttered, and Naruto didn't need to see him to know his tails were swishing in annoyance.

"He's a really big fox, and he's really strong," he continued, ignoring the fox in question and using his fingers instead to work on the knots.

Just a fox my ass.

Naruto shook his head, wondering which one of them was the real four-year-old. He spent a good half hour with Natsuko and her hair, entertaining her with stories (some made up, some not) about Kurama and several of the frogs he'd gotten to know at Mount Myoboku. Kurama was growing increasingly grumpy, but Naruto figured it was appropriate payback for the past few days of nothing but whining about how he lacked guts (and a few other themes Naruto didn't want to think about with children present).

The rest of the day passed by quickly, and before he was ready it was already time to go meet up with Sasuke at the police headquarters. The funny feeling in his stomach had returned, his palms sweating a little as he neared the building. It was stupid, because it wasn't as if anything had changed, not for him and not between them, but still. Apparently realizing he liked guys and knowing Sasuke didn't mind was enough to mess with his body control.

Sasuke was waiting for him, leaning against a pillar with crossed arms, looking every bit as handsome as Naruto remembered him to be. Wetting his lips nervously, Naruto forced a grin when the other ninja noticed him.

"You're late," Sasuke commented, looking at a spot somewhere above his left shoulder.

"Am not," Naruto replied.

And then, nothing. No arguing, no easy rambling leaving his mouth. Just silence wrapping around them both.

Weighing on his heels, Naruto couldn't remember ever feeling this tongue-tied. What the hell? It was just Sasuke! Sure, things had been a little weird yesterday after the whole forehead protector thingy, but it hadn't been like this in the morning. Neither he nor Sasuke was wearing one now, but he suspected Sasuke had brought his to work and worn it while on duty.

"So um, should we go?" he forced out, relieved when Sasuke glanced at him and then nodded.

He tried his best to search Sasuke's face without being obvious about it, wondering why he looked even more stoic than usual. Almost as if he was deliberately keeping his expression emotionless. It was unnerving. Not that Sasuke was a very expressive person, but that didn't mean he never showed emotion. In fact, he was a lot more expressive than many of their friends at home seemed to think. Especially lately, what with all the stuff happening. To see a look resembling the one he'd worn while working with Orochimaru was…

"Sasuke, are you-"

He bit his lip, knowing how much Sasuke hated being asked and how often Naruto couldn't help himself anyway. Instead of showing annoyance, however, Sasuke merely stiffened a little more around the shoulders.

Okay, something was up and Naruto wanted to know. Needed to know.

"How was work?"

Sasuke shrugged, but there was a tightening to his lips that Naruto didn't like seeing. Normally he would keep poking until Sasuke either told him or they started to fight, but something about the troubled look in Sasuke's eyes held him back. He seemed too preoccupied with his own thoughts to even notice Naruto staring at him, walking with long, determined strides towards his parents' house.

So Naruto stayed silent, frowning at the ground for most of the way.

Upon reaching the house they discovered Shisui and Itachi at home, lounging in the living room.

"Yo!" Shisui greeted them with a salute, grinning at them from his position on the couch, spread out with his head in Itachi's lap.

Now that Naruto knew they were together he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at how unashamed they were. They had been even worse at last night's dinner, exchanging lovey-dovey words and sneaking kisses, all while Naruto tried to pretend he couldn't see anything at all and wondering why no one else seemed bothered. Though he'd caught Charasuke glaring at them now and then, for whatever reason.

"There's some tea in the pot, if you'd like," Itachi informed them, distractedly threading his fingers through Shisui's curls while he talked. "It should still be warm."

"Alright," Sasuke replied quietly, heading for the kitchen and leaving Naruto wondering if he should follow or not.

"I see that you also survived the night," Itachi remarked with an amused smile, ignoring Shisui's indignant protest.

"Haha, yeah I guess. It wasn't that bad, honestly!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but Shisui smacked his leg and nodded eagerly.

"See? I told you it was edible! And I don't see why you're even complaining, you ate the whole thing!"

"Sure, but only because I love you so much."

First Shisui looked pleased with that answer, but then a suspicious look crossed his face.

"Why are you making that sound like a bad thing?"

"What, aren't you happy knowing I love you so much I'd give my life for you?"

"You little shit!" Shisui yelled, turning around and crawling onto Itachi's lap.

Naruto took it as his cue to leave.

He found Sasuke pouring tea in a pretty teacup, the delicate pattern of flowers making it look handmade. When Sasuke held it out for him he accepted it in slight surprise, trudging after him when he lifted his own and headed for the kitchen door.

Today was rather cold, the sun hanging low in the sky. They stopped by the small pond, staring down at the koi fish swimming around without a care in the world. Some were bright orange, some speckled in white and black, all shimmering in the sunlight.

"Do you think," Sasuke started, holding his cup in both hands close to his chest. "That there are only good and bad people here?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked after a small pause, wondering if this was what had been troubling Sasuke on the way here.

"If they are only good or bad. Or," he licked his lips, staring intently into the water, "if there are people here too that do things because they see no other choice."

Something in Naruto's chest clenched, squeezing his lungs until he could barely draw in air.

"Sasuke…"

"I'm not talking about myself," Sasuke clarified, furrowing his brows. "But how would you know?"

When Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke raised his eyes to look at him.

"I just thought this place wouldn't judge people as quickly. At least they don't execute them."

"Konoha doesn't really…"

"Oh please, Konoha does whatever it feels like depending on who's in charge. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it never happens."

"Well, I'd never let that happen at least."

"No?" Sasuke's gaze was boring into him, tired rather than angry. "What if everyone told you that you had to? What if everyone else wanted someone to die?"

"Sasuke." Naruto's chest was hurting now, but his expression hardened in resolution. "I'm not going to be that kind of Hokage."

"And the Hokage succeeding you?"

Frustrated with Sasuke's questioning, Naruto threw his hands out to his sides, spilling some of his tea.

"How would I know? I'll just have to pick someone who wouldn't."

Sasuke kept staring at him, and considering Naruto usually didn't like it when Sasuke wouldn't look at him he was feeling strangely uncomfortable now.

"You'll pick someone," Sasuke repeated slowly. "Like how the Second picked Sarutobi before he died, which in turn made Danzo work from the shadows in order to take over. It might have been Danzo's plan, but the Third certainly didn't put up a fight when Itachi was ordered to kill our clan."

Opening and closing his mouth, no sound coming out, Naruto wondered where this came from all of a sudden. He knew what had happened, and Sasuke knew that Naruto had understood the truth now and wasn't defending or excusing any of it.

"And what am I supposed to do about that?" he asked finally, heart beating fast and fists clenched.

"I don't know."

Naruto gaped at Sasuke, but he'd averted his eyes again towards the pond.

"I don't know and it bothers me."

Sasuke crossed his arms, hugging himself as a shadow passed over his face. His gorgeous, wonderful face and Naruto hated feeling so helpless.

"But all day I've been thinking about it, and all these goddamned emotions," he spat the last word, fingers tightening around the arm closest to Naruto. "They're not helping. I feel like crawling out of my skin."

Raising his hand, Naruto ran his fingers lightly down Sasuke's covered neck. He felt like he could cry, just from seeing him like this. Sasuke was so tense underneath his touch, his breathing shallow and quick.

"Is it really that bad?" he asked quietly, letting his fingers run back up to gently thread through the little hairs at the base of Sasuke's skull. "To feel?"

Sasuke slowly tilted his head to meet his gaze, looking at him like he just asked the stupidest question he'd ever heard. He didn't move to push Naruto's hand away though, letting him run little circles into his skin.

"Did you seriously just ask me that?"

Naruto blushed angrily, averting his eyes to stare at his own hand instead. His thumb was getting adventurous, brushing over Sasuke's pulse point. Swallowing with slight difficulty, he bit his bottom lip and shrugged.

"You're the one who started talking about it," he mumbled.

"Well," Sasuke snorted, no humor in his voice. "We can't all be like you."

"What do you mean?" Naruto frowned, raising his eyes again.

It was Sasuke's turn to look away, an unhappy expression on his face as he sighed. Even so he relaxed a little, arms still crossed but shoulders slumped.

"It doesn't matter."

Naruto pressed his thumb into the skin behind Sasuke's ear, turning his head so they were face to face.

"It matters," he disagreed, holding Sasuke's gaze. "Everything you say matters. To me."

Sasuke looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or scoff at him, settling for shaking his head with a roll of eyes.

"What, you don't think it does? Sasuke."

Steadying Sasuke's face again, Naruto cupped his cheek and forced him to meet his eyes properly. His heart was pounding, throat constricting at the sight of Sasuke so clearly holding back whatever emotions plagued him. He waited for him to speak, but his lips were drawn in a thin line and his body had tensed up again.

"Sasuke," he added, softer this time. "It's alright to feel. You don't need to hide it."

He could see the conflict in those dark eyes, the struggle not to let anything even remotely close to weakness show. Stepping closer, feeling Sasuke's warmth through the slight chill in the air, he ran the back of his fingers over Sasuke's cheekbone. It was his left hand, the one without bandages, pale skin smooth underneath his touch. Sasuke's arms brushed against his chest, and he could hear the sharp little intake of breath his best friend made when their foreheads connected.

"Naruto, I-"

"Oooi! You two!"

Naruto jumped several meters backwards, ending up in the middle of the pond with a huge splash. Gaping wide in shock, he and Sasuke simply stared at each other for all of two seconds before Shisui's hysterical laughter filled the air. Clothes soaked and water up to his neck, Naruto sat in the pond wondering what had just happened and why his heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst out his chest.

Oh, and there had been a second there when he contemplated sending a Rasenshuriken spinning in Shisui's direction.

"Oh man, Itachi come and watch this!" Shisui called into the house, holding his stomach and barely able to stand straight.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto got up on his feet, dripping water. He'd just cleaned his jumpsuit and this had to happen! Pulling down the zipper to his jacket he started wading towards the edge of the pond, taking it off and wringing out the water before angrily throwing it on dry ground. Then he pulled his t-shirt off, using the time spent twisting it to calm down. From the corner of his eye he could see Itachi join Shisui in the doorway, and then, lo and behold, Charasuke came peeking too. Just great.

"Dobe, how long are you going to stand there?"

Huffing, Naruto accepted the outstretched hand Sasuke offered him, climbing out of the pond with a wet splosh. His pants were so soggy, clinging to his legs, but at least he wasn't wearing shoes. Unbuttoning the pants he let them fall down to the ground, cringing at the nasty wet sound they made on impact.

"Goddammit," he muttered, stepping out of them. "Now I have to clean it again."

"Maybe this is nature's way of telling you to wear something less atrocious," Sasuke commented, and Naruto sent him a dirty look.

"You can borrow some clothes from me," Charasuke said, for some reason having walked over to join them.

"Oh no! You stay back!" Naruto shouted, holding his hands out in case he needed to push him away.

"Tch, you're so rude," Charasuke huffed, but dutifully stayed a couple steps away.

Didn't mean he wasn't looking, though.

See, he agrees with me.

Groaning, Naruto kicked at his sad pile of wet clothes. What did he do to deserve all this shit?!

xxx

Turns out that what Shisui wanted was to make them watch a movie that Charasuke had been sent out to buy. Since the oldest Uchiha present refused to take no for an answer, all of them were gathered on the couch with the exception of Naruto who'd been sent off to dry up and change. Charasuke had (while lying through his teeth, Sasuke had seen his wardrobe after all) handed Naruto a pair of slim-fit tights and a tank top, saying they were the only clean clothes he had.

Sasuke would have fetched something less revealing for him, but the look of despair on Naruto's face was too funny. Besides, somehow, the result wasn't too bad. You could see every muscle outlined in detail, and while Sasuke had seen Naruto naked before, he'd never really thought of his body much. If anything, he was surprised over just how well defined his muscles were. He in no way had a thick build, being more on the lean side like Sasuke, but seeing him dressed in all black made Sasuke realize how much he'd actually grown the past year. It wasn't just his hair, to put it shortly.

"I feel like Lee," Naruto muttered, standing indecisive next to the couch after having changed.

"You certainly don't look like Lee," Shisui grinned, Charasuke nodding eagerly.

Letting out a dismayed sound, Naruto snatched a pillow from the couch, throwing it on the floor in front of Sasuke's legs and promptly sitting down on it.

"And it's cold," he complained, squirming a bit.

Sasuke could see faint goose bumps forming on Naruto's arms, frowning when Naruto settled in between his legs, pressing the insides of his calves against his sides.

"What am I, your blanket?" he asked irritably, trying to pretend that Naruto didn't feel warm and cozy against him, especially with his cheek leaning against his left knee.

"I wouldn't mind being your blanket," Charasuke teased, earning a filthy look from Naruto before he scooted a little away from him, bringing Sasuke's legs with him.

"Alright, alright, let's start the movie," Shisui laughed.

Naruto sent him a look, too, probably because he and Itachi were taking up most of the space and forcing him to sit on the floor. There was a bowl of wasabi peas on the small table over on Shisui and Itachi's end, and Naruto crawled over to grab a handful. Sasuke didn't miss the way his back muscles bunched with the movement, and neither did Charasuke apparently.

So he kicked him.

"What the-!" Charasuke pouted at him, rubbing the now sore spot on his ankle with his other foot.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, sliding back between Sasuke's legs and stuffing his mouth full of peas.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied, sinking lower into the pillows.

And it should be nothing, so he decided to ignore it. Otherwise he'd have to think about the moment over by the pond, and he'd rather not. Besides, he'd been feeling like shit the whole day, and it was much easier to just concentrate on that instead of involving a whole different set of emotions as well.

"Shh," Itachi hushed them, motioning towards the TV screen with his hand.

The movie was just starting, showing a scenery with a setting sun, closing in on a lonely house where some family looking like they were on vacation were busy unpacking the small boat they'd used to get there.

"What's it about?" Naruto asked, his attention now on the people on screen entering the dusty old house.

"You'll see," Shisui told him, "No talking or Itachi will throw you out."

For another minute or so the family kept bustling about, until they were all heading to bed. Sasuke couldn't say it looked very promising, preferring to zone out instead. He glanced at Itachi, who pretty much had Shisui cuddled into his chest against the high arm rest of the couch (their legs on the couch as well, thus blocking Naruto's seat). Shisui was playing with Itachi's long, loose hair, face nestled against his shoulder, and Itachi seemed very content to hug him close and kiss the top of his head now and then.

When Itachi's eyes flickered towards him he turned back to the screen, fidgeting a bit in his seat. Naruto was leaning his face against the inside of his knee again, having gotten himself more peas to chew on. He wondered if they looked anything like Itachi and Shisui, and if that was why people kept mistaking them for a couple. Because in that case, all those misunderstandings were clearly Naruto's fault.

In fact, today at work Fugaku had asked if he'd talked to Naruto about the upcoming mission, implying that he had something to say about it that wasn't only stemming from the fact that they were stuck in this world together.

Sasuke had lied and said it would be fine. Of course, he knew that Naruto wouldn't like the idea. He would probably cause a big fuss, which was why Sasuke didn't plan on telling him until the day before. Staying quiet wasn't as easy as he'd thought it would be, however, and he wondered when he'd gotten so used to discuss things with Naruto. In fact, he wondered when the last time he'd been separated more than twelve hours from Naruto had been. Before the war, probably.

It shouldn't bother him but it did. He could only imagine Naruto's worried eyes haunting him the whole way, just like they'd haunted him in last night's dreams. It was just a mission, there was no need to over think it.

Except it was a mission to catch a missing nin, a detail he clearly couldn't let Naruto know. He doubted Fugaku would have asked him had he known his background, which seemed to indicated that A; Tsunade hadn't told anyone outside the interrogation room, and B; Fugaku hadn't asked her first if he could bring him on a mission.

Maybe he wouldn't even be allowed to go, in the end. Maybe-

A high-pitched shriek rang through the room, and all of a sudden Sasuke had an armful of trembling dobe clinging to him.

"No no nooo," Naruto whined into his neck, and Sasuke turned to the other three in order to find out what had happened.

"Is Naruto, uh, afraid of ghosts?" Charasuke asked, holding a hand in front of his mouth and trying not to laugh.

"Ghosts?" Sasuke repeated, frowning when the other three nodded towards the TV. "Ah."

While Sasuke had been occupied with his thoughts, the family had apparently discovered they'd moved into a haunted house. There were doors slamming at random, rattling chains, and cliché spooky music accompanying it all.

Great. Naruto wasn't going to sleep at all tonight.

"Oh come on, it's not even a horror movie, just a parody!" Shisui grinned, but Naruto had his hands clamped down over his ears and wouldn't stop chanting that he wasn't listening.

"I doubt it makes a difference to him," Sasuke sighed, accepting his fate as a human pillow for the remainder of the movie.

"Is it over yet?" Naruto whimpered, squirming and trying to look at the TV without actually looking.

"It's a parody," Sasuke informed him, wondering how things would have gone if Naruto's enemies had found out about his fear of ghosts.

He would have been fucked, most likely.

"So the ghost is coming back?!"

"Not what I said, but-"

"Oh look Naruto, it's all fine now!" Shisui said, resulting in Naruto opening his eyes properly just as the little sister of the family peeked out from underneath the covers of her bed and came eye to eye with what was clearly a person dressed in a sheet.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled, diving behind Sasuke and trying to hide between his back and the couch. "You lied! Asshole! I'll never trust you again!"

Shisui was snickering openly, Charasuke rolling his eyes.

"You're the one being fooled too easily," Charasuke muttered, folding his legs up against his chest and hugging them. "That was just the dad in the family caught in a bed sheet."

"Really?" Naruto sounded suspicious, but he did release the death grip he had on Sasuke's shoulders. "So there are no real ghosts in it?"

"Ghosts aren't real, moron."

Naruto punched his shoulder blade, a rather impressing feat considering he was squeezed against it.

"They're real in the movie!"

"Whatever, can I get my seat back now?"

Embarrassed, Naruto moved from behind him, instead squeezing himself in between Sasuke's side and the arm rest.

"Gah, you can't sit there, there's no space!" Charasuke complained, forced to scoot towards Shisui and Itachi.

"I'll sit where I want," Naruto pouted, though he didn't precisely look comfortable. "Why can't Shisui move his legs."

"Hell no, I'm too comfortable like this. Just sit in Sasuke's lap or something."

"What?!" Naruto squawked, balling his fists and leaning forwards threateningly.

"Just shut up," Sasuke huffed, tired of their antics, grabbing Naruto's legs and pulling them so that he sat much like Shisui, back against the armrest but with his ass between it and Sasuke's thigh. "If you don't want to watch the movie we can go somewhere else."

"Hmph, I'll watch it," Naruto disagreed, but flinched at another glimpse of fluttering white on the screen.

He moved around a little to make himself comfortable, knees leaning on Sasuke's chest and cheek resting on the back of the couch next to Sasuke's shoulder. That way he could easily curl up during the scary parts and hide his face in Sasuke's neck, something he did so often that Sasuke started wondering why he bothered unfolding himself at all.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Naruto had caught his arm in a tight grip, relaxing it now and then during the less scary parts only to kill the blood flow whenever another so called ghost appeared. At some point his right hand switched to hold Sasuke's, pressing it against his chest. The only reason he didn't say anything about it was because he didn't want the others to notice it.

Once the movie ended, Naruto released a relieved sigh, curled up in his lap even as Shisui switched to some child friendly drama show on one of the regular TV channels.

"That was exhausting," he muttered, still holding Sasuke's arm and hand at an awkward angle.

"At least you won't have bruises all over," Sasuke muttered back, scoffing when Naruto grinned innocently at him.

In his opinion, the movie had been incredibly boring. Not to mention he was hungry.

"Haah, I'm getting hungry," Naruto announced as if reading his thoughts, letting go of him and stretching his hands up in the air with a yawn.

His very much bare hands.

Sasuke froze, staring up at Naruto's right hand where no white bandage could be seen wrapped around it.

"Hey!" Naruto protested when Sasuke tugged his arm down, gripping his hand much like Naruto had done to him before and turning his palm upwards. "Sasuke, what are you-"

Then he sucked in a breath, fingers stiffening in Sasuke's hold.

"Hmm? What?" Charasuke asked, leaning over to look. "Oh, is that a tattoo? Is that why you kept it bandaged?"

Sasuke supposed that Naruto hadn't bothered with a dry bandage after his little bath, of course forgetting he wasn't supposed to touch people with his palm.

"Umm, I didn't, did I?"

They shared a look, but before Sasuke could reply, Charasuke had reached forward to poke at the hollow circle in Naruto's palm.

"Does it have some kind of meaning or something?" he asked, both Itachi and Shisui seeming interested as well.

Staring at the astonishment on Naruto's face, Sasuke waited for it to dawn on him. Apparently, now that Naruto couldn't access his sage powers, the mark in his hand was just that, a mark.

"It's, uh." Naruto fumbled for words, but Itachi was faster.

"That's a mark from the Sage of Six Paths, right?" he asked, leaning over to see better. "Something wrong with it?"

"I… no, not really."

"Let me see!" Shisui elbowed Itachi out of the way, grabbing for Naruto's hand to check it. "So this is how Hashirama's mark looked, right? Do you have the same powers?"

"Depends on what powers he had," Sasuke replied calmly in his stead. "But right now they don't seem to work."

"Yeah, Obito told me," Itachi said. "Only yours do."

During the exchange, Charasuke had been turning his head back and forth between them, eyes widening until he put his hands up towards them.

"Hold on," he started, narrowing his eyes again. "What powers? Sage of the Six Paths? You're joking, right?"

"Nope," Shisui happily chirped. "Those tattoos they've got is proof they've received his powers."

"The yin and yang marks," Itachi helpfully provided. "The sun and moon."

"Huh." Charasuke stared with renewed interest at Naruto's palm, processing the information. "You're the sun?" he asked hesitantly, frowning in thought.

"Umm, I don't really think that's what it means," Naruto replied, flustered from all the attention.

"Well, you've got the right hair color," Shisui snickered, earning a light slap from Itachi.

"Is that why Sasuke said you're stronger than him even though you used to suck?"

Charasuke had a dubious expression on his face, but Naruto was gaping at him.

"He said what?"

Sasuke heaved a sigh, staring at a wall. Why did people have to remember the stuff he said?

"Sasuke!"

"Slip of the tongue."

"Why you-!"

"So what would the mark do if you could still use your powers? Considering you've got them covered up."

It was Itachi interrupting them, appearing completely unfazed by his brother's comments. Not so sure he wanted to share, Sasuke merely shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry," was all he said, ignoring Naruto's frown at his words.

Charasuke opened his mouth, but closed it again when noises could be heard from over by the front door.

"So this is where you're all hiding, huh?" Mikoto asked as she entered the living room, closely followed by Fugaku. "Didn't anyone think of starting dinner?"

All five of them jumped up from the couch, Itachi hurrying to relieve her of the grocery bags she carried and heading for the kitchen with a reluctant Charasuke in tow.

"Sorry about that," Shisui smiled, heading for the kitchen as well but stopped by Mikoto's arm.

"You, young man, are banned from cooking for the time being. Go be useful and clean the upper floor bathroom instead. You're much too old to be freeloading!"

Shisui grimaced, shoulders slumping, but obediently dragged his feet towards the stairs.

"Anything we should do?" Naruto asked, scratching his neck a little awkwardly.

"Oh no, you two sweethearts just take it easy." She smiled at them, then seemed to notice what Naruto was wearing. "And why aren't you wearing something warmer?"

"He fell in the pond!" Shisui helpfully called from the hallway, making another grimace when Mikoto shooed at him to keep going.

"Ah, haha, it was an accident, sorry." Naruto apologized, but Mikoto put her hands to her sides and shook her head.

"All the more reason for you to wear something warm! The water must have been freezing, be careful so you don't get a cold!"

"I'll find him something better," Sasuke promised, and satisfied with that Mikoto nodded and headed for the kitchen as well.

"She's really nice," Naruto mumbled, weighing on his heels.

"Yeah."

"Too bad you only take after her in looks."

Needless to say, there was a rather big commotion as everyone came running at the sound of Sasuke's chidori.

Ah, emotions, such a formidable enemy. I smell a loss for Sasuke in the near future. It's probably for the best he can't hear what Kurama's saying, right? Both he and Naruto have such a way with words. Also don't joke about Sasuke's dead mother if you're not Naruto. You'll die. :D