xxxChapter 3: Misunderstandingsxxx
Sasuke soon realized that the reason he felt bad for Naruto, that feeling that pinched his gut, was guilt. He hardly, if ever, felt such an emotion. Just what the hell did he have to feel guilty about? He hadn't done anything, not on purpose anyway. Damn the boy for being so fucking sensitive! How was Sasuke supposed to know that the marks were a delicate subject?
But knowing or not knowing, ultimately, he felt guilty and, dare he admit it, perhaps a tad bit remorseful. Nobody had ever been able to draw out reactions so easily from him. From confusion, to anger, to guilt...stupid dobe.
Luckily for him, Kiba had caught up with Naruto and started up a "let's talk about it" conversation with him. Out of hearing distance. The blond's hand was still on his cheek as he spoke softly to the other boy, but his anger seemed to be cooling down.
There was a nagging at the back of Sasuke's mind, something urging him to go...apologize to Naruto. Half because he really wanted to and half because Gaara, who had been left behind, was glaring at him with a seemingly murderous intent. And quite frankly, it was a damn scary thing to be pinned under.
The red head suddenly took a few steps so he was standing right in front of the Uchiha, fist balled. "Let me make something perfectly clear," he murmured, voice dripping with venom. "Naruto is like a brother to me. He doesn't much like the idea of you spending time with us, but believe it or not, he is willing to try and put up with it."
Sasuke snorted. "Well he sure has one hell of a way of showing it."
Gaara's eyes narrowed at being interrupted. "Listen Uchiha, it'd be wise to watch what you say around him. Because if you hurt him again, whether it be physical or emotional pain, despite what Kiba or Naruto say, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Sasuke's eyes widened as the other boy turned away from him, the chilling words dampening the air. "Was...was that a threat?" he forced out, shocked.
Gaara did not even turn back to him, "A promise."
The raven's blood ran cold, suddenly feeling very unnerved from being left alone with someone who was obviously a psychotic madman.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kiba and Naruto coming back to them, and relief flowed through his veins.
The late bell rang.
x-X-0-X-x
"Where are we going?"
"Aeon."
Sasuke raised a brow at the blond. "The mall?" He wasn't very fond of malls. There was too much...motion, too many people and it was always far too crowded. "You all need something there?"
Naruto shot him an annoyed look, "Why does everything have to be about money or school with you? We're just going to hang out and screw around, you know, have fun...oh wait..." A tan hand waved dismissively through the air, "Never mind, I forgot, you're a prick."
Sasuke glared at him. "I am growing very tired of your insults, baka."
Naruto snorted and grinned. "Hey prick, when you take Viagra, do you grow taller?"
Sasuke's eye twitched but he ignored the comment. "What is there to do at a shopping place, that doesn't include buying things?"
The blond rolled his eyes, "Jeez, you had a deprived childhood didn't you?"
He smirked, "At least I grew out of my childhood."
Naruto spun around with a scowl to face him, "Well I'm in no hurry to grow up if I'll turn into a snobby, cold hearted bastard like you!"
Sasuke just continued smirking. For some reason, he found it enjoyable to piss Naruto off, fun even. "And may I ask, why are we walking?"
"C'mon teme, you don't want to turn into a fatass by riding around in an expensive car all the time, do you? What would your precious fangirls think?"
Sasuke closed his eyes and tilted his head upward. "Tch, if that's all I have to do to get them away from me, then let me rent a scooter when we get there to ride around in. I'll be sure to gain so much weight, my blood type would change to 'Ragu.'"
Naruto and Kiba stopped walking, causing the other two to still as well.
Suddenly, Naruto's lip twitched up into a smile, and he began chuckling, Kiba being no different. But the chuckling slowly grew into full blown laughter, to the point where Naruto was holding his sides from the image of a morosely obese Sasuke sitting on a little scooter, flabs of fat falling off the edges of his seat.
Sasuke frowned, but not at the fact that they were laughing at him...but the fact that he felt...pride well up at knowing that he was the cause of that laughter. It was his first time hearing Naruto's laugh. Not a chuckle or a snicker, but actual laughter. He found the sound to be...melodic.
Sasuke placed a hand on his middle and gripped his shirt tightly, eyes transfixed on the laughing blond as his stomach gave an uncomfortable flutter.
x-X-0-X-x
They were at Aeon, and Sasuke had been forced to buy everyone ice-cream. Except for Gaara of course, who when offered, had simply closed his eyes, shook his head and turned away from the group.
But Naruto and Kiba couldn't be happier, hurriedly licking away at their cold treats.
Much to his dismay, Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away as Naruto lapped up the vanilla substance, white droplets dotting his face. The guy might be a complete and total moron, but that didn't make him any less attractive. Physically. And hey, Sasuke was allowed to look, he'd bought the damn ice-cream anyway.
When both boys finished, they stopped walking and threw their napkins in a trash bin. The blond licked the last remainders of the cream from his fingers, a pink tongue darting out to lick the tip of each digit. And despite himself, Sasuke felt heat drip straight to his groin from the sight.
Naruto turned to Kiba. "So, where to now?"
He shrugged, "Dunno, something you wanna do?"
Naruto looked up thoughtfully and brought a finger to his chin, tapping it lightly while he pondered the question. Then he grinned and looked at Sasuke, "We could get those toys now, you're paying anyway."
Kiba brightened up considerably. "Yes! C'mon!" He grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him in another direction, calling back for Gaara and Sasuke to follow.
Sasuke was still apprehensive about these "toys" everyone kept going on about. He looked up at Naruto, who was chatting animatedly with Kiba not too far ahead of him. "I want the really big one! You know, the one with the pump!" He was waving his arms around frantically, chattering like it was going out of style.
"Yeah," Kiba agreed, "I like the durable ones! They last for months and you can use them over and over again!"
Naruto nodded excitedly. "Yeah, my old one broke after the second time I used it." He folded his hands behind his head with a wide smile, "Guess I was a little rough."
With each word they said, Sasuke felt himself grow redder and redder. They couldn't be talking about what he thought they were talking about, right? They wouldn't make him buy things like that...right?
Naruto placed his hands in a manner to look like he was holding something. "I like it when it vibrates from the pressure, and then..." he shoved his hands in the air, "it COMES OUT! And you feel great!"
Sasuke flushed when an image of Naruto lying naked and sweating on a bed flashed in his mind. A "toy" shoved up his arse, and moans flying from his lips as he arched and pushed it inside himself. He groaned and rubbed a palm against his forehead, 'This is so wrong.'
He was pulled out of his thoughts when they stopped in front of a store. Sasuke looked up slowly, only to be met with the name "X Toys" in black, bold, loud letters.
He heard Naruto say, "It's a great workout for your arm, pushing it in and out like that" as he walked in.
Sasuke shut his eyes as he followed the other footsteps, refusing to believe he was going to go through with this.
"Hey teme, how come you got your eyes closed?"
"Why are you making me buy this shit?!" Sasuke blurted.
Naruto frowned. "Hey wait a minute! You said you would buy us whatever we wanted!"
"But...but I can't buy you this!"
"What the hell do you have against waterguns?"
Sasuke's eyes snapped open, "Waterguns?" he parroted in confusion.
Naruto placed his hands on his hips with a frown. "Yes, waterguns, what the hell did you think we were talking about?"
Sasuke took in his surroundings with wandering eyes.
There was nothing sexual about this place; action figures, playing cards, dolls, it was a regular toy store.
Red with fury and embarrassment, Sasuke threaded fingers through his hair and gripped a fistful of it. "What the hell kind of toy store names itself 'X Toys?'" he growled through clenched teeth.
Naruto looked up from the watergun he was testing in his hands. "I thought you were supposed to be smart? It's like in algebra, 'x' can stand for any number, well here, 'x' stands for any toy, tch, dumbass." He went back to inspecting the gun.
Sasuke groaned and placed his fingers at his temples, rubbing them in a slow circular motion to ward off the pending headache. "Maybe I should rethink this plan."
A giant watergun suddenly got shoved to his chest, a grinning blond behind it. "I want this one."
x-X-0-X-x
After buying the guns, all four boys left Aeon, and Naruto led them to a park.
What for? A water fight of course.
Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke filled up there guns at the lake in the center of the park before walking to the middle of a field of grass that was surrounded by trees and scattered picnic benches.
Gaara sat on a bench on the sidelines. Water gun fights, like most social activities, just weren't his thing.
Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance at the "weapon" he'd been given. "This can't be fair," he muttered under his breath. He had a tiny squirt gun for his arsenal, like the one's you get in goody bags at kids' birthday parties. A pitiful sight compared to Naruto and Kiba's monstrous waterguns that held gallons of the liquid.
Naruto suddenly yelled, "Break!" and him and Kiba dashed off in different directions, lacing through the blur of trees in the park, leaving a stunned and confused Sasuke behind.
Before he even grasped what was going on, Sasuke got jabbed by a stream of water square in his back, the liquid completely soaking his shirt that now clung to his body as if in hunger.
"Fucking!" He spun around in anger and pointed his small gun to a running Kiba. He grinned and made to pull the trigger when another blast of water struck him in the back of his head, drenching his hair.
Mortified at being played with, he whirled around but got tackled to the earth, Naruto straddling him with a huge grin. His golden locks were dripping with perspiration and water that caressed his marred cheeks and curved down to his chin before falling and sinking into his already soaked shirt (guess Kiba got him). He was breathing heavily, watergun tip staring the raven in the face.
Sasuke licked his suddenly too dry lips, "Naruto..." He jerked suddenly, realizing that was the first time he had ever used the other's name.
But Naruto didn't seem to catch that fact, "Don't try to talk your way out of it, teme." He pushed the gun to brush the tip of Sasuke's nose.
The Uchiha's breathing increased noticeably as he felt Naruto's hips move against his when he pushed the weapon. "Naruto I'm...sorry." He had to put in a conscious effort not to clap a hand over his mouth or let his lips part in shock, as the apology had tumbled out with just as much permission from Sasuke as a muscle twitch or an intake of breath.
Blue eyes widened and Naruto's grip went slack. "Sorry? I know you're an ass, but you don't have to be sorry about it."
Sasuke shook his head, feeling incredibly awkward. "No, your marks...I'm sorry about what I said earlier...I didn't know it was a sensitive subject."
Naruto frowned and pulled the gun up, his other hand resting on Sasuke's chest, which was moving quickly beneath his fingers. "Well I'll be damned...an Uchiha apologizing to me..." His lips tilted upward, "Shit, maybe the Apocalypse really is coming."
Sasuke smirked and squirted the other's face with his tiny gun. "Shut up, dobe."
The blond sputtered before laughter tore from his lips.
The stoic boy's mouth twitched to a small smile, drinking in the sound of that laughter.
And he decided: if he liked one thing about Naruto besides his looks, it was his laugh.
Hehehehe, waterguns B]