Sasuke watched Naruto chat away with Kiba. They cheered over something and finished their drinks. They were laughing again seconds later. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Did they ever stop laughing? The friendship dynamic between the pair had always baffled and slightly infuriated Sasuke.
On the surface it seemed shallow, based on childish humour and a love of practical jokes, but the longer Sasuke observed the pair, it was obvious their bond was a deeper kind of friendship. Naruto cherished his friends dearly.
He really wished he hadn't let Naruto talk him into coming along to this stupid thing. Naruto was talking animatedly in the centre of the room, surrounded by people Sasuke didn't care to recognise. Some of the faces were vaguely familiar from the hallways and the other dorm rooms, but some were entirely new. He watched as others surrounded Naruto. Since when had he made so many friends? Sasuke huffed as he wondered why he was bothered by it. Over the weeks since what Sasuke liked to refer to as 'The Incident' they had formed a tentative friendship.
Sasuke liked to tell himself it was through a sense of reciprocation; he was rewarding Naruto's silence with what Naruto seemed to want from him the most. A bond. A friendship. He had been incessant with his need for forming a bond. His so-called kind gestures and friendly offerings to Sasuke did not go unnoticed and Sasuke could feel himself warming towards the other boy. As much as he didn't want Naruto's attention or have time for friendship, he wasn't entirely heartless. It was hard to hate someone who was genuinely being kind.
Naruto came over, wrapping one arm around Sasuke.
"Having fun?" he asked loudly, straight into Sasuke's ear, making him wince. He shoved Naruto off, but the offending arm came right back around.
Naruto snatched Sasuke's drink away, playfully raising his eyebrows, and took a large swig. He spat it out hurriedly.
"Water?" Naruto snorted. "The second party you've been to of the year and you're drinking water?" he teased.
Sasuke rolled his eyes as he shoved Naruto off again. He had never seen the sense in alcohol. Why incapacitate yourself and slow your reaction times. It seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Then there was the risk of alcohol poisoning. He eyed the student around the room. The amount of alcohol being consumed that was probably a likely outcome for some of them.
There was also the fact that Sasuke vividly remembered his Father never being without a drink in his hand. If it had ever been a problem, Sasuke knew his Father never would have admitted it and his Mother never would have gone against his wishes. He took a sharp breath, pulling himself from his memories.
Kiba promptly tripped over a rogue sofa cushion and landed awkwardly on his face. His drink landed in the lap of a very unimpressed blonde-haired girl who stormed off with an exasperated sigh. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. If only he could escape so easily, too.
"Yes, please tell me more about how I'd like to look as graceful as you two idiots." He said.
He also vowed that if either of them were suffering from alcohol poisoning by the end of the night, they could just very well die. Sasuke wasn't taking time out of his schedule to drag any of them to the hospital.
Naruto pushed him playfully.
"Ah, you love us really!"
Naruto scuttled off again. He picked Kiba up off the floor, poking his cheeks.
"These tattoos are weird." He said.
Kiba laughed.
"I know, man!" he laughed. He proceeded to tell Naruto the origin of the tattoos and how he'd been ridiculously drunk at the time. The laugh fell off Kiba's face and he elbowed Naruto painfully in the ribs.
"The girls have arrived!" he said, eyes wide and fixed to the door.
Naruto's head snapped around and watched Sakura and Ino enter the room, along with a group of their girlfriends. Sasuke's face crinkled in distaste as Naruto and Kiba bounded over. Kiba was all over them like an overenthusiastic puppy. Naruto had his arm snaked around Sakura. She laughed and flipped her long silky hair as Naruto handed her a drink. Sasuke suddenly wished he had been drinking something stronger than water.
Sasuke felt a presence behind him. One of Naruto friends was leaning against the counter, also watching the commotion. Sasuke remembered him as Shikamaru; Naruto had introduced them once before in the corridor.
"Troublesome, eh?" he said lazily.
Sasuke didn't reply. Shikamaru regarded Sasuke, who had been watching the group intently since they walked in.
"Just so you know," Shikamaru said, an eye cracking open, his airy demeanour taking on a slightly more serious tone. "The blonde is spoken for."
Sasuke coughed, choking on his drink.
"Excuse me?" he hissed. Had Naruto made a move on Sakura without him noticing? That couldn't be possible!
"Temari. She's Gaara's sister. Don't even think about it." He advised.
Sasuke watched the other blonde, stood near Ino, look over at Shikamaru. She didn't bother with the coy looks like all the other girls, and winked at Shikamaru. She was tall and slim, with dirty blonde hair pulled back into four spiked bunches. Sasuke couldn't help but be impressed; it made a refreshing change. Sasuke had been all too aware of the eyes that had been on him since he'd walked in. girls, looking shyly across from the room, the alcohol not yet giving them the courage they needed to come over and make an introduction.
Sasuke planned to be long gone before that moment came. The so-called music was hurting his ears, he had a deadline tomorrow and an early lecture. He set his cup down with a groan. Since when had he aged about forty years? Regardless, he had things to do tomorrow and he wasn't having any fun standing and watching Naruto hit on girls all night. He eyed the door and readied himself to leave.
Yet, Sasuke didn't move, and continued to mentally burn holes in Naruto's female companions. The girls around Naruto seemed to be multiplying.
"H-Hello, I'm Hinata," a soft voice came from beside Sasuke. He turned. A short, ample-chested girl looked up at him shyly. Her eyes were pale and milky, almost white.
"I'm not interested." Sasuke said simply.
"B-but-"
"Not interested!" he snapped back sharply.
The dark-haired girl, looking horrified, turned away. Kiba was there in an instant, taking her hand.
"Is this bastard giving you any trouble?" he asked, brown eyes on Sasuke warily.
"N-no!" she said. She was crimson from embarrassment and placed her hands over her heated cheeks.
"Don't let him bother you, he can't help his asshole ways." Kiba explained.
Kiba led the uncomfortable girl away from Sasuke as he threw a final glare in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke's eye was caught by something across the room. The music had slowed to something more sensual. Naruto was on the other side of the room with Sakura. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against his body. Sasuke twitched. Sakura made no move of protest and instead, with a brief look over at Sasuke, aligned herself flush with Naruto. Sakura was now pressed fully against Naruto, closer to him than he, his roommate, had ever been.
And ever would be.
Naruto's dancing was hypnotic, and his shirt was riding up, revealing more and more of that tanned skin. Sasuke's skin started to itch and his pulse was racing. Some unknown feeling was boiling deep in his stomach. Naruto was rolling his hips to the music, his hands on Sakura's waist. Sasuke's anger was reaching critical mass. He needed to leave. Through his wave of unexplicable anger, he could hear Kiba cheering Naruto on. Kiba himself had his arm slung around a blushing Hinata and an equally pale-eyed boy was watching the pair with concern.
"Fuck this." Sasuke snapped, throwing his half-empty plastic cup in the sink, forcefully pushing past the pack of people in the hallway and leaving. Why he had spent most of his evening watching Naruto dry fuck Sakura, he would never know.
Sasuke stalked through the building. Luckily it hadn't been far from their own building. He reached the outside and the cool night breeze was a welcome feeling. He could still hear the music pumping in the background, but it was much quieter now. The fresh air calmed his anger slightly.
"Sasuke!"
He turned, to find Naruto behind him. He was surprised Naruto had even noticed, let alone managed to catch up so quicklys. Just seconds ago he had been completely wrapped up with Sakura.
"You're leaving so soon?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"You noticed." Sasuke challenged icily.
Naruto blinked.
"Whatever, I'm heading back. You have fun with Sakura." He spat the name.
Sasuke knew he probably wasn't making much sense to Naruto, but he didn't care. He wasn't making any sense to himself. He was too angry to censor himself. Anger made Sasuke do reckless things; that was a proven fact. The way he felt now, he just wanted to knock some sense into Naruto. Repeatedly.
Naruto didn't head back, however, he trailed after Sasuke.
"You know, how do you expect to have any fun if you sit in the kitchen all night with the sponges?" Naruto countered.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept walking.
"Just go back and have fun. I thought you were drunk, anyway?" he said, watching Naruto walk in a perfectly straight line. He'd watched Naruto throw the drinks back all night.
He shrugged. "High tolerance."
Great. He'd been dancing with Sakura, so obscenely, dead sober. Somehow, that realisation made Sasuke feel worse. He pushed their door open with more force than necessary glad he was back. He felt like he needed to shower for a week after what he had just witnessed in there.
"Let's just go back, Sasuke! Kiba is gonna wonder where we are!" he said.
"No." by Sasuke's calculations of Kiba's drinks, he was probably unconscious by now. Having probably vomited over some poor, unsuspecting soul.
"Ah, come on, Sasuke! It'll be fun!" Naruto whined.
Sasuke's patience snapped.
"You do realise that you can function without me?" he hissed. He needed Naruto to just leave.
Naruto blinked. "What?"
He needed Naruto to leave. He needed to be alone, to get his emotions back in check. He was blind with anger, but with no real reason to be. It was like being a teenager again.
"You're so dependent on me! It's pathetic! Get a grip and live your own life. No wonder people never accepted you, you're such a burden!" he snapped.
The look on Naruto's face told Sasuke he'd said what needed to be said to get rid of the other boy. Naruto stood in shock, Sasuke's words hitting hard. Sasuke had always been sharp and unapologetic. He was often rude, but he was never simply mean. To have Sasuke use his weaknesses against him was heart breaking. That Sasuke would use something Naruto had shared with him. Confided in him, like he hadn't with Kiba, or Chouji. And he'd turned it against him with the sole purpose to hurt. Because he was annoyed? Bored?
"You bastard." Naruto breathed.
Sasuke swallowed as Naruto's impossibly blue eyes filled with tears. They were blinked away quickly. Sasuke jumped as Naruto door slammed shut. He felt like he couldn't breathe. What had he done? He had forgotten why it had been just so important to drive Naruto away. The room was almost spinning. He hadn't felt this awful since the last time he had spoken to Itachi. Sasuke crossed the room, placing his palm on the cool wood of Naruto's bedroom door.
He could hear Naruto crying softly inside. He wanted to go inside, apologise, tell Naruto he was having a momentary lapse of insanity. Anything to make Naruto feel better. Sasuke grit his teeth, knowing his pride would never allow him to go in and apologise. Annoyed, Sasuke snatched up his wallet and his coat and left the flat, venting some of his anger by loudly slamming the door.
Naruto heard a loud thump. He looked up from his books warily. Was someone trying to break in? Was that even possible? You needed a key card to get into the building. Naruto had been pretty impressed by the security. He flew into the hallway on high alert, switching the light on. He found Sasuke crumpled on the floor, his legs tangled up in his own scarf. Naruto's first instinct was to laugh, but he was still absolutely furious with Sasuke, and something about Sasuke's demeanour didn't seem right.
"What are you doing?" he snapped, still very angry at Sasuke.
Sasuke freed himself and staggered to his feet, using the wall for support.
"Wardrobe malfunction." He said simply, before walking through into the communal area. He flopped down on the sofa. Naruto blinked and took in his dishevelled appearance.
"You're drunk." Naruto said. His voice came out as a mixture of surprise and worry.
Sasuke had finished back-to-back exams and coursework and hadn't touched alcohol. Naruto had found him drinking water at Tenten's party. Why would he choose now to start loosening up? Sasuke's cheeks were lightly dusted pink from the alcohol and Naruto filed this away to tease Sasuke with at a later date.
"It's…" Naruto turned to squint at the barely illuminated clock hanging in the kitchen. "It's nearly four in the morning."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Your point?"
"I don't…how did you even get hold of alcohol this time of night?"
"You're so naive, Naruto. We're on campus." He said with a snort.
Sasuke rarely drank alcohol and he knew he was going to wake up with one hell of a hangover. He just needed to drink until he felt better. Until he didn't see Naruto's eyes filled with tears. Until he couldn't feel it anymore. Except, it hadn't quite worked. The guilt in Sasuke hadn't dulled much. The room was spinning. He watched Naruto walk into the kitchen area and pour a glass of water. Sasuke refused it with a wave of his hand. Naruto placed it down with a sigh, looking down at Sasuke. He looked awful. Maybe he did have a conscience in there somewhere. Or maybe this had nothing to do with him, as always.
Maybe something else was bothering Sasuke. Naruto could always sense something was setting Sasuke on edge. Yet he would never speak of it, no matter how often Naruto pressed. He obviously didn't feel comfortable sharing, or confident Naruto could keep his secrets, or that Naruto wouldn't judge whatever he had to say. This realisation hurt. He would trust Sasuke with anything. Apparently it wasn't mutual. Naruto wondered if Sasuke had ever, truly, trusted and confided in another human being.
Sasuke reached out, letting his fingers touch gently against the straight, parallel scars on Naruto's face.
Naruto's skin was like fire under his fingertips and he pulled his hand back quickly.
This is why Sasuke chose not to drink alcohol. It lowered the inhibitions to a laughable level. He couldn't afford to lose himself around Naruto.
Naruto's eyes are red. His own eyes were red, though not from tears. "I didn't want to say what I did." Sasuke admitted. Naruto passed him the water.
"Okay," Naruto replied noncommittally.
"I can't. It can't be like this, not again."
"You're drunk. Drink your water." Naruto said, in response to Sasuke's nonsensical words.
"I didn't want to say what I said." He repeated.
Naruto supposed that was as close to an apology as Sasuke got. It wasn't enough.
"I heard you the first time. Just go to sleep."
Naruto grabbed one of the orange blankets from the other side of the sofa and threw it over Sasuke. Sasuke made a grunt of disapproval; even drunk, he could appreciate how vile the orange blanket was and how undignified it was to be sleeping under such a thing. He turned to tell Naruto his feelings on the matter, yet he was gone. Naruto's bedroom door shut with a soft click.
Sasuke sighed, the room still turning wildly. He closed his eyes, though this seemed to make the spinning worse. Seconds later, he was sleeping.