Third Wheel (Sorry)
They were twenty years old, and finally, finally, Kakashi-sensei approved a mission for the original Team Seven trio. It was a simple one: reconnaissance at one of the satellite villages in the outskirts of Fire Country, but it was one Naruto craved to share with his teammates.
They'd set up camp on their first night in a little clearing. A crackling campfire danced its flames in its pit, smoke tendrils wafting into the chilled nighttime air, each ghostly arm reaching high for the twinkling heavens before dissipating into nothingness.
And, with him, his two best friends, the greatest teammates a guy could ask to have in life.
The three of them finished eating dinner: a modest serving of fresh-caught fish from the river they'd been following as well as a small handful of rice Sakura was generous enough to carry in her pouch. They'd all refilled their water bottles and were ready to turn in for the night under the stars.
Sweet, sweet nostalgia.
"I'll take first watch," Naruto offered as he unrolled his sleeping mat, expecting and assuming Sasuke would verbally assent to staying awake with him and bicker like they usually do. When no response came, however, Naruto lifted his head and openly gaped at the scene.
Sakura was already sound asleep on her mat, her back facing away from the campfire's lazy heat with her hands resting beneath her head as a pillow. The three of them usually slept in a triangle around the flames as kids, but Sasuke had unrolled his mat right next to the slumbering medic, using his form to block her from the dark tree line. He propped himself up using the remnants of his left arm and studied the girl, the stress around his mismatched eyes receding.
Naruto watched as the Uchiha gently brushed her petal pink locks away from her face and let her tresses spill gracefully over her shoulder as if to get a better look at her. It was a gesture that looked as though he'd done it hundreds of times before. Naruto suddenly felt as though he was intruding. Seemingly satisfied with Sakura's sleeping state, Sasuke glanced up at the blond with an unamused expression.
"What?" he whispered, but the venom in his voice was no less lethal.
"I...I...," Naruto stammered. "Surprise."
Sasuke raised a single eyebrow. "I surprise?" he mocked dully. Before Naruto could get another word out, the Uchiha rolled his eyes and moved to settle on his back. "If you're going to keep watch, keep watch on our surroundings. Pervert."
The blond sputtered indignantly at that, but a mischievous smile broke out across his whiskered face when he saw the hints of reddening on Sasuke's cheeks. It didn't help Sasuke's situation anymore when Sakura murmured incoherently in her sleep and reached out to splay a hand atop his broad chest. When her fingers found purchase on the fabric of his shirt, a sleepy, satisfied sigh escaped her lips.
"About damn time," Naruto muttered to himself, his smile softening as he finally turned away from the pair and up to the night sky. "Next time, come be the third wheel when Hinata and I go on a mission, Teme."
"Shut. The fuck. Up."