AN: Look at me being all nice and posting two at once -snort- Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Still K. Masashi's bitches.
(Wow, I'm in such a bad mood |D I'm sorry)
Sasuke was sweating when consciousness clawed itself back to the surface of his mind. A part of him suspected it had been for that very reason he'd been forced to wake up, though he couldn't recall why he was so hot. His blanket had always provided him with just the right amount of warmth that the cold air outside didn't make him shiver at night, but it wasn't so thick that he would feel uncomfortably hot.
Shifting gingerly, he felt arms tighten around his middle instinctively at the movement, and he forced himself further into wakefulness. Blinking open bleary eyes, he caught sight of the sunlight streaming in through his window, and lifted one hand to rub his eyes.
A soft snore from behind him caused him to frown, trying to remember the previous night. When he finally clued in to the fact that Naruto had slept over, and was currently cuddling against him, it became very clear why he was so hot. He'd have to make a mental note to always have a window open when the other slept over—or vice versa.
He smirked at the thought, enjoying the warm sensation it sent from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes—and not because Naruto was still heating him up—and shifted slightly. The blond's hold tightened and Sasuke almost snorted. He was so damn possessive.
Extricating himself from the other's grasp—with much difficulty, since he was trying not to wake him—the raven stretched, hearing a few joints pop, and moved towards the bathroom to relieve himself. The tile was cold under his bare feet, which made him hurry in his usual morning routine and rush back onto the plush carpeting of his bedroom.
Noticing it was well past noon, he moved towards the bed to wake Naruto when he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw it was the blond's phone and bent to pick it up. He was about to place it on the table beside his bed when he noticed there was a new message.
Sasuke wasn't one of those people who went around checking messages that didn't belong to him, but after the repeated ignored phonecalls, and the eventual reply to a text message, he couldn't help but feel curious. And truth be told, he didn't fully trust Naruto. It was a harsh truth, but it was the truth nevertheless. If there was one thing Sasuke hated, it was being lied to.
So, he clicked open the messages tab, and went to the sent folder first, to see what Naruto had texted back to—whoever the night before. Opening it, he scanned it quickly, his eyes darting up to regard the blond's sleeping form between every few words.
To: Dogface; Fucking hell, I told you I was busy! I'll call you tomorrow!
Biting the inside of his cheek, his eyebrows down in a frown, he exited the sent items and moved to the received. He was sure Naruto would notice it was open, which made things more difficult, but then he saw there was a "mark as unread" option near the top, kind of like in hotmail.
He deliberated for all of two seconds, his finger hovering over one of the buttons before finally pushing it down and reading the reply the blond had received sometime in the night.
From: Dogface; Yeah, yeah, fucknut! Vas-y avec ton sex, connard! You better fuckin' call!
Now just because he lived in Canada didn't mean that Sasuke understood French. Truth be told, he was terrible at it, so no matter how much his eyes burned while staring at the words, it still didn't change the fact that the only word he understood was the word "sex."
But what did that even mean? Realistically, it could mean any number of things. It could be someone asking Naruto to come by so they could have a quicky. It could mean someone was asking if Naruto had gotten into Sasuke's pants yet. Hell, it could mean someone asking Naruto how to have gay sex, for all he knew!
The point was, he didn't know, and as uncomfortable and suspicious as he was, he didn't want to start throwing blind accusations at Naruto again. Even if he didn't fully trust him, he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt—for now.
Quickly marking the text as unread, he put the phone back on the floor, figuring it was the safest place to put it, and then left his room, shutting the door silently behind him. Inching along the corridor, he started down the stairs when a voice behind him made him jump almost a mile high.
"The dead have finally risen."
Turning, he glared angrily at Itachi, the older man moving around him with a cup of coffee in his hand. It was obviously the unfinished remains of his morning cup being brought to the kitchen for a reheat.
Reheated coffee. Ew. Sasuke couldn't do that, but Itachi didn't have a problem with it. Good for him.
"Mum and dad go out?" he inquired, following behind his brother.
"They went for a walk. Dad started clearing the driveway but got tired after two rows and decided we'd wait for you and the idiot to wake up."
Entering the kitchen, Sasuke jumped up on the counter, leaning back against one of the cupboards while watching Itachi move to the microwave and place his coffee inside, setting the timer and hitting the start button. Then, he leaned back against the counter across from Sasuke and crossed his arms.
"Why didn't someone come and wake me up? Not that I minded sleeping in for once," he added as an afterthought.
"Mum was going to. She got the door open enough to see the cot empty and I think she lost her nerve. After all, you and him sleeping together drunk wasn't something she had the misfortune of seeing." The hints of a smile teased the corners of his brother's lips, and Sasuke tried to ignore the flush fighting its way up the back of his neck.
"I got cold," he lied, embarrassed. "He's like a walking heater."
"I fail to see why you're trying to lie to me, little brother." The microwave dinged and he reached into it to retrieve his coffee. "In case you don't recall, I was the one banging on my wall last night."
"Yeah, that was rude," Sasuke informed him, a smirk playing at his own lips now.
"No, you and blondie having no respect for me in the neighbouring room. That's rude." Itachi took a sip of his coffee and Sasuke snorted.
"You're just jealous because you're not getting any. Deidara not coming through for you anymore?"
It was a small satisfaction, seeing his brother choke slightly on his coffee, but one he knew he was going to regret in the near future. Itachi always found ways to make him regret breathing the same oxygen as him, one way or another.
"I'm looking for a little bit more of a challenge." There was an edge to his brother's voice that hadn't been there a second ago, and Sasuke knew he'd struck a nerve. Sex was a dangerous topic with Itachi, especially when Sasuke was presumably getting some while he wasn't.
"I'm sure Naruto has some friends you can break in." Sasuke crossed his arms, his eyes following the other's cup as it rose to his mouth again. He was debating getting his own cup, not entirely sure if he felt like having coffee this late in the afternoon was a good idea or not.
"I highly doubt your little plaything will have anything of interest for me."
"You know, that's a little uncalled for."
Sasuke prided himself for not being easily startled by anyone other than Itachi, but Naruto could give his brother a run for his money. He hadn't even heard the blond come down the stairs, and based on the drops of coffee on Itachi's hand, neither had he. They both recovered quickly, though, to the point where Sasuke was certain Naruto wouldn't have noticed he'd surprised them.
"And what might that be?" Itachi inquired, shifting his cup into his other hand and putting his free one in his pocket. Sasuke knew he was subtly removing the drops of coffee, and had to smirk.
"Calling me a plaything. Clearly Sasuke is the plaything in our relationship." The blond turned to grin at the other, who rolled his eyes. "I mean, if I were a master, I'd ensure I came downstairs dressed and proper-looking while my plaything would come down half-naked."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he turned his head to slowly regard the other. Naruto had gotten dressed again before exiting the room, whereas Sasuke had merely come down in his sweat-pants, like he always did. If he'd had the energy, he would have smacked the blond upside the head.
"Moron."
"Good morning to you, too, plaything."
The Uchiha resisted the urge to roll his eyes again, but it was hard.
"And what did I hear about breaking in playthings, anyway?"
Glad to have the focus back on his brother, Sasuke wasted no time in informing Naruto of the older man's type. Smirking while he did so, he noticed his brother's jaw clenching, but no other visible changes occurred to show his displeasure.
Sasuke knew he was going to pay for that, too. But oh, would it be worth it if it meant Naruto trying to hook his brother up with one of his crazy friends.
"You know, you're both pretty similar considering," Naruto said thoughtfully, a frown on his face. Then, he grinned wickedly, turning to look at Sasuke. "Is he a bottom, too?"
This time, Sasuke saw Itachi didn't bother to hide the smirk. He let it slowly spread across his face before taking another sip of his coffee, clearly amused by the murderous look in his younger brother's eyes. Sasuke, himself, turned slowly to glare angrily at Naruto, but the blond idiot just continued to grin at him, as if already knowing he would be forgiven.
"Moron." He did smack him across the head this time, jumping down from the counter and heading back for the stairs to get some clothes on. He was getting cold without his heater pressed up against him.
He half-expected Naruto to follow, but knew it was a lost cause when Itachi asked if he was hungry. If there was one thing he'd learned about Naruto since meeting him, it was that apart from Sasuke, he was obsessed with food.
When he reached his room again, he noticed the phone on the floor was gone. It made him wonder what Naruto had replied while sitting alone in Sasuke's room. Had he promised to go over for a quick fuck later? Had he assured the other person that he was going to get into Sasuke's pants soon? Or was Sasuke just completely overreacting and being a douche?
Well, he knew he was being a bit of a mercurial ass, but he felt somewhat justified! Naruto was lying to him, at least in some fashion! And until the other came clean, Sasuke was going to continue having stupid thoughts pertaining to what the other was doing when he wasn't looking!
Growling angrily, he grabbed a pair of pants, removing his sweats and yanked them on, doing them up while moving to his dresser. He searched for a long-sleeved shirt and finally found one, pulling it on and then grabbing a pair of socks.
By the time he got back downstairs, Naruto was already in the process of wolfing down some eggs and bacon, which Sasuke could only assume Itachi had prepared for him. He found another plate sitting on the table when he neared it, and called a thanks into the kitchen, taking his seat and beginning to eat in a slightly more dignified way.
"So what do you want to do today?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of toast.
The question caught Sasuke a little off-guard. He'd been anticipating Naruto trying to find an excuse not to hang out with him today, but apparently that wasn't the case. It only furthered Sasuke's confusion and he wondered if maybe he should just let the whole thing slide. Maybe the wrestling in the snow was nothing. Maybe the sleeping over was nothing. Maybe the French text message was nothing. Maybe Sasuke was just insanely paranoid.
It quickly became clear he hadn't answered Naruto's question and he hastened to do so, pretending to be fascinated by the food on his plate as a means to explain his delay. "I don't mind. We hung out here yesterday. We can go to your house today, if you want."
"Sounds good. I'm sure I can convince my parents to leave for a few hours."
When he glanced up, onyx locked with sapphire, and he could feel the other's grin before his eyes found his lips. He had to snort. It was snort or punch the idiot, and snorting would attract less attention from the eavesdropper in the kitchen.
"Why, are we going to play another game?" He smirked.
"Mm, maybe. Our game yesterday was cut off pretty quick. We both got distracted far too easily. We should work on that. Practice makes perfect, after all." Grinning like the idiot he was, Naruto lifted another forkful of food to his mouth.
"I have to shovel the walk first," Sasuke informed him, his annoyance clear in his tone. He figured he should just do it before his parents got home and asked him to do it, anyway. At least doing it before they had to ask would put him in their good books for a while. He might even be able to con another sleepover out of his mother. After seeing him and Naruto sharing the bed—despite how old he was, his mother still saw him as her little boy—he was sure she'd at least be more hesitant to approve. She'd never say no, not to him, but he knew she would probably lie awake at night wondering what evil things the charmer Naruto was doing to her little boy.
Oh, if only she knew! The dumbass was good!
"I probably do, too." Naruto turned to glance out the kitchen window. "Not that my parents ask me, since I don't mind doing it, but I'm sure they'd notice if I let it slide for once. Besides, it'd be harder to convince them to get out of the house."
Snorting, Sasuke kicked him lightly under the table and finished his breakfast, taking both his and Naruto's dishes to the kitchen, then reemerging and motioning the front door. "Let's not keep our parents waiting, shall we?"
"Heaven forbid." Naruto bounded towards the door with him, grabbing his coat and pulling it on, then hunting around for his shoes.
Sasuke got his own coat and shoes on without a word, then led the way to the garage. Naruto followed behind him, hopping on one foot while attempting to get one of his shoes on. They both cringed when the large door lumbered upwards and the cold air bit into their exposed skin. Sighing, Sasuke grabbed the shovel, moving out after Naruto while the blond trudged through the snow towards the end of the driveway. He paused at the street, turning to grin at Sasuke.
"I'll race you."
Cocking an eyebrow, the Uchiha snorted. "You'll finish first, I usually have hired help shovel the walk."
"Oh, yes." Naruto's face turned into a mask of fake-horror, one arm coming up to place the back of his hand dramatically to his forehead. "Curse my peasantry! Curse it to the fiery pits of hell!"
"Always so dramatic." Sasuke snorted, kicking at the powdery snow and sending a puff of it in Naruto's direction.
"How about this, then," Naruto began with a wicked smirk. Sasuke already didn't like where this was going. "I'll let you get a ten minute head start, and whoever finishes first gets to choose the scenario we'll play once I convince my parents to leave the house."
"And who says I even want to play?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, leaning against his shovel. Not to say he didn't want to play, but Naruto had to stop assuming he knew him so well.
Shrugging, the blond just grinned at him mysteriously and flew across the street. Snorting, Sasuke began working, knowing that even with the ten-minute head start, Naruto was still probably going to win.
Which was fine by him, really. He didn't have much of an imagination.
Sasuke was in the process of hanging the shovel back up in the garage when his parents showed up, walking up the cleared driveway and making snide remarks about him finally being out of bed. He noticed his mother glance across the street, where Naruto was in the process of ushering his parents out of the house, but she didn't say anything.
"So what are your plans for today, honey?" She asked, pausing at the door that led into the house. Fugaku was already inside.
"Just going to hang out with Naruto again. There isn't really much else to do."
"I suppose." Her eyes flickered upwards and Sasuke turned, seeing the blond bounding across the street. He looked particularly pleased with himself, and the Uchiha had to wonder if it was because he'd won their little race, or because he'd managed to get his parents out of the house.
"Morning, Mrs. Uchiha. Or, afternoon, I should say." He flashed her a brilliant smile and Sasuke could practically see his mother's wary walls crumbling. She returned his smile and greeting before inviting him into the house for some hot chocolate.
Naruto was ecstatic and they both disappeared inside without even bothering to remember Sasuke exited. The raven scowled, finding Naruto's charm a little too powerful, but tried not to dwell on it as he followed them half a beat later into the house.
He'd barely gotten his coat off when the phone rang and Itachi appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"It's for you. It's Bambi."
"Bambi?" Naruto grinned from the living room, Fugaku scowling at the newspaper while Mikoto worked on their hot chocolate in the kitchen.
Sasuke said nothing, but was thankful for Itachi's comment. It was something he would be able to use to his advantage later.
Choosing to take the call upstairs, he called out when he'd picked up the line and heard Itachi hang up. Shikamaru's lazy voice spoke a second later.
"Way to shatter my eardrums, Uchiha. And here I was worried you didn't like me."
Snorting, Sasuke fell onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling, counting the cracks visible in the old paint. He'd have to tell his parents it was time for a paintjob.
"What can I help you with now, Shikamaru?"
"Why, do I have a limit? Are you going to cut me off soon?"
"Maybe." A smirk played at the Uchiha's lips. "I have company."
"Ah. The sexy neighbour?"
"I never said he was sexy." Sasuke frowned.
"I'm not called a genius just for kicks, Sasuke." He heard his friend sigh on the other end. "You called him attractive and then proceeded to start describing all of his muscles. If that isn't a hint that you find him sexy, then I'm a leprechaun."
"You are pretty good at mimicking the Irish accent."
Sasuke expected Shikamaru to sigh and call him troublesome. Instead, the other boy hung up. Unable to help himself, the Uchiha burst out laughing, finding his friend's overreaction to have been somewhat of a surprise. He supposed he shouldn't be such a jerk, considering his friend had probably gotten pissed off due to the comparison.
Shikamaru was half-Scottish, and if there was one thing worse than calling a Canadian an American, it was calling a Scot and Irishman.
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he texted a half-sincere apology—only half-sincere because he was still laughing while typing it out—and then sent it to Shikamaru. He knew the other wouldn't hold it against him for long. Being mad was too troublesome.
Though now he was going to be stuck wondering what Shikamaru was annoyed about. He only ever called to complain about something or another, and if it wasn't about the suit he had to wear at Christmas, then Sasuke was now insanely curious as to what could have bothered him so much he'd made another long-distance call to his friend in England.
Sighing, he resigned himself to his fate of not knowing until the other called back, and headed downstairs. His hot chocolate was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, everyone else out in the living room chatting. He could hear Naruto recounting some kind of crazy tale about a friend's yacht and the south of France, but didn't really pay too much attention to it.
When he joined them, they'd all fallen silent again, his mother sipping on her own cup of hot chocolate while Itachi nursed another cup of coffee. Or maybe it was even the same one, who knew?
"Are you still planning on going out shopping today?" the raven inquired, sipping the hot drink and almost choking on a marshmallow. He made a mental note to remember his mother still thought he was a little boy.
"As soon as I'm done." Mikoto smiled at him. "Itachi, will you be coming?"
"I suppose. I don't relish the thought of being home with these two playing cops and robbers."
Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke's cryptic breakfast conversation hadn't gone undeciphered. Itachi appeared to know what they were planning on doing, and it made Sasuke a little unhappy with how perceptive his stupid brother could be.
"Oh, we're gonna go play video games at my house." Naruto beamed. "So you don't need to worry about us being loud."
A smirk threatened to break out across Itachi's face, and Sasuke knew the bastard was pleased with how uncomfortable he'd just gotten. He threw him the filthiest glare he had in his arsenal and took another large swallow of his drink, ignoring the way it burned down his throat.
"In that case, I'd rather remain home. I'll provide you with the list of items I'd like you to buy for me. I'll be sure to give dad the list with yours on it."
"Men." Mikoto rolled her eyes. "They never do their own shopping."
"I do my own shopping." Naruto piped up.
"You would," Sasuke whispered with a smirk. He felt rather than saw the blond's annoyance at the statement.
"I love shopping with my mom. She's crazy, it makes it more entertaining." Naruto straightened, a gleam in his eye, and Sasuke was suddenly very worried about where his crazy little mind had just gone. "Hey, my parents just went out shopping not five minutes ago. I'm sure if I called them, you could all meet up. The women could go shop while the men talk about sports or whatever it is people like my dad talk about." Naruto snickered.
Sasuke was sure he'd been about to comment on "old men" before remembering Fugaku was in the room, but he didn't think his father had caught on to that.
"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Mikoto exclaimed. "It would certainly be nice to shop with someone who's excited, for a change. What do you think?" She turned to Fugaku, who just grunted his ascent.
"Maybe you guys could even catch dinner or something. You and my mom work so hard all the time, you should take a break. I'm sure Sasuke, Itachi and I will find something to eat."
"You're making this sound more and more appealing, Naruto." Mikoto laughed, placing her half-finished cup on the coffee table. "Oh, I don't want to keep your parents waiting too long if they agree. Would you mind calling? I'll go get ready."
"Sure thing."
Beaming, the blond disappeared into the kitchen, pulling out his cell phone. Mikoto rushed up the stairs to get changed—which Sasuke didn't understand since she was already dressed. Women.
His father just grunted under his breath randomly every now and then, and Sasuke could only assume he was thinking about something. Probably still moping about the company in Shanghai. He and Itachi mostly ignored him.
Catching his brother's eye, he felt a growl forcing its way up his throat at the amused expression he was met with. Apparently, Naruto's cunning hadn't gone unnoticed, not that he'd expected it to. Still, it annoyed him that Itachi was finding the entire situation funny.
It was times like this where Sasuke really wished Itachi had someone he was interested in, because it was easier to get his brother to leave him alone when he had the threat of being teased right back shoved in his face.
Naruto reemerged from the kitchen a while later, falling back on the couch beside Sasuke and finishing off his hot chocolate, licking his lips and cradling the cup in his hands. Mikoto took slightly longer to return, and when she finally did, Naruto told her where his parents were and gave her his mother's cell phone number so they could find one another more easily.
Practically dragging Fugaku from the house, the two of them were gone less than a minute later, the garage door closing in their wake. All three boys were silent until they were sure the car was long gone.
Then, Itachi let out a small laugh. "You're good, Uzumaki. For a plaything, you're quite impressive."
"I already told you, Sasuke is the plaything," Naruto replied, but the grin on his face showed he was much too pleased with himself to let the tease bother him.
"Well, if you'll both excuse me, I'll be retiring to my room to work on a few things. If you'd be so kind as to follow through with your promise, and leave the house, I would appreciate it."
"Yes sir." Naruto grinned. "Oh and uh, don't wait on us for dinner. I have other ideas."
Sasuke would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little concerned.
It was strange finally setting foot into Naruto's room. He'd been looking into it for so long from across the street, he'd actually almost forgotten he'd never been in it. Not that there was much change from looking in through the window.
There weren't any posters in the room, and the blond explained that because he only came every Christmas, and it was rented out the rest of the year, he didn't bother putting any up since he'd have to take them down. The punching bag in the corner of the room usually disappeared into the basement when he left, and anything else that was present usually went home with him.
Sasuke looked around the room slowly, and frowned when he finally realized Naruto didn't have a television in his room. Turning to the blond, he asked him where his console was, since he often spoke of playing video games, and had even told his mother that's what they would be doing.
Grinning, Naruto put both hands behind his head. "Are you kidding me? My Xbox is at home, in the dorms. I just figured your mother would feel more comfortable if she thought we were doing something as innocent as playing video games."
Sasuke snorted and sat down on the blond's bed. He cocked an eyebrow and bounced slightly. "Your bed is really bouncy."
"I know! It's awesome!" Without warning, he leapt onto the bed right beside Sasuke, and the bounciness cause the raven to fly into the air, the Uchiha barely managing to land on his feet as he was propelled off the bed.
"Jesus! You have sex on that thing?!"
"No, but now that you mention it, it might be fun." Naruto waggled his eyebrows and then laughed, though he seemed to be thinking about something other than Sasuke's annoyed expression. "Oh my God, this morning! Your poor mother! You should have seen her face when she checked in on us at like, ten or something. I felt so bad."
A stab of fear flitted through Sasuke's mind at the mention of Naruto being awake, and he was momentarily terrified the other might have been conscious during Sasuke's moment of weakness with his phone. He convinced himself that couldn't be the case, as ten in the morning was very far from when they'd actually gotten up.
Forcing a smirk onto his face, Sasuke took a seat in Naruto's desk chair, idly noting he and the blond were seated in the same fashion as they had back at his house. "What happened?"
"Well, honestly, I think it was our state of undress that bothered her more than anything. She opened the door and I could just see that she'd noticed the cot was empty. It opened a fraction more and I guess it didn't look like you were wearing pants or something because she closed the door really quickly after that. When I glanced down, your left leg was sticking out from the covers, and I guess your pants must've rolled up cause it really did look like you weren't wearing any pants." Naruto grinned. "Not to mention we were both topless, and I'm pretty sure Itachi banging on the wall didn't go unnoticed. She does realize you're an adult, right?"
Snorting, Sasuke leaned back in the chair, wondering how his poor mother had survived that heart attack. He had to wonder if her constant jokes about his sex life was her trying to come to terms with the fact that Sasuke had one.
"I'm always gonna be her little boy," Sasuke said with a scowl, not pleased with himself for having shared embarrassing information like that, but feeling the need to explain.
Surprisingly, Naruto didn't laugh. "Yeah, it's weird. I know how you feel, sort of. It took a little while for my mom to realize I was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I guess it'd be a little different for you, probably. You have a brother, and all. I know one of my friends has an older sister, and his mom isn't nearly as protective of her as she is of him."
It was so brief that Sasuke wondered if he'd imagined the panic that flashed through Naruto's eyes, but the way he tried to act completely natural right afterwards just proved that it had happened. And Sasuke was getting curious and jealous again, because obviously, Naruto hadn't meant to mention such a friend. Which only helped him move on to his earlier plan.
"Yeah, my friend Shikamaru's mom is a nazi, because he's an only child. She insists on meeting virtually everyone who comes into his life, even if it's only for a school project or something. Drives him insane." He tried to keep his voice even, and casual. "He's the one I was talking to on the phone. The one my brother calls Bambi." He snorted. "Stupid nickname, really, but it fits. You got any nicknames for your friends?"
Maybe not as subtle as he'd intended, but Naruto didn't look suspicious, or even concerned. Obviously he hadn't clued in to what Sasuke was doing, and if he didn't worry about nicknames, he obviously didn't seem to believe the raven had seen his text message.
"No, I usually call people by their real names once I get close enough to them. Though for you, I'll probably have to make an exception." He grinned. "You just make such a good princess."
And there was another lie. Or so Sasuke felt it was a lie. Maybe the name in the phone wasn't a nickname, maybe it was just a way for Naruto to differentiate two people with the same name. Or even just how he liked to organize his phone. After all, Itachi had everyone in his phone listed by age.
The older Uchiha was weird that way.
"Hn." It was all Sasuke could think to say.
"So," Naruto said, clapping his hands together, "we need a new scenario, don't we?"
"I can't believe how lame you are." As interesting as he found it that the blond enjoyed their weird little role-playing game, it didn't make it any less weird for Sasuke. Especially since he knew every time they did it, there would be some kind of sexual act involved. He didn't need to be a mind-reader to know that.
"Hey, you had fun last time, so don't even." Naruto grinned, looking around his room. "Hm, how about you're trying to get as buff and sexy as me," he flexed his muscles and Sasuke resisted the urge to snort, "and I'm your very attractive and gay personal trainer?"
"You're seriously messed up."
It didn't stop Sasuke from standing up, though. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his sweater, figuring he might actually work out during this game. After all, what the blond had said was true. Not five days ago, Sasuke had been admiring Naruto's firm chest and wished his own looked half as good.
"Hm, we need to make this more realistic."
The grin on the other's face definitely wasn't comforting, but he just let Naruto pass by him and rummage in his closet. He threw a pair of sweats to Sasuke a second later, followed by a black wife-beater. Since he was still rummaging around after having done so, the Uchiha shrugged and pulled off his jeans and shirt, replacing them with the clothes Naruto had thrown at him.
He glanced out the window self-consciously every now and then, half-wondering if Itachi would feel inclined to see what they were doing. He knew his brother wouldn't willingly spy on him if he thought Sasuke was being inappropriate because, really, they were brothers, but he also knew the other man was a very curious and self-centered. He always liked to know everything, even at the risk of finding out more than he really wanted to know.
Thankfully, the windows across the street were empty and lacked any such person. Itachi's curtains were even closed, and Sasuke was certain that his brother wouldn't bother to hide if he were truly spying on him. It made him wonder what Itachi was working on.
"Hey." He turned when Naruto spoke, and found the blond wearing similar clothing to his own, only his wife-beater was white. He was also wearing a hideous pair of orange sweatpants.
"What are those?"
"Hey, hey! Don't go dissing my style! These pants are awesome!" Naruto pouted.
"Yeah, they were, back in the eighties!"
"You're just jealous 'cause I can pull them off better than you." The blond stuck his tongue out and then moved over to his punching bag, standing behind it and holding it with both hands. "All right, Mr. Uchiha, time to get to work."
Snorting, Sasuke wondered if that was Naruto's cue to start their game, or if his words were already part of the game. Lord knew the raven could have gone on and on about the horrifying pants.
The excited, almost eager look in the blond's eyes made Sasuke roll his own and move towards the punching bag. Raising his fists, he slammed his right hand into it. The pain that action caused was not something he'd been anticipating. It wasn't like he was a wimp and was going to go crying home to mother or anything, but the way he always saw Naruto punching it, he'd assumed it wouldn't feel like punching a brick wall.
Oh, how wrong he was. Now his hand hurt, and if he let it show even the slightest bit, the blond idiot was going to laugh and tease him for the rest of the holidays.
"Hn," Sasuke said to no one in particular, and started punching the bag again, this time trying not to put all of his force into it. It hurt less to go easy on it, but it was obvious Naruto could tell. The blond was trying not to grin, if the way the corners of his lips twitched was any indication. It made Sasuke growl and hit the punching bag with more force, causing it to jerk back into the blond slightly.
"Something bothering you?"
"None of your business," Sasuke groused, using his right hand to punch at the bag since his left one was now incredibly angry with him.
"You don't seem as into this one as you were with our last. Are you worried it'll take too long for us to get to the good stuff?" Naruto grinned.
"I don't think about sex half as often as you do, Naruto," he insisted, dropping his hands since their game was obviously over. "I just thought you had some kind of plan. I don't really feel like standing here punching a bag all day."
"Well excuse me." Rolling his eyes, the blond moved out from behind the boxing equipment and headed for his door, motioning for Sasuke to follow.
Cocking an eyebrow, he did so, the two of them making their way downstairs and into the kitchen where Naruto turned to lean against the counter and crossed his arms. Sasuke didn't understand what he was meant to be cluing in to.
"What are we doing?"
"Well, you wanted something more concrete to do." Naruto glanced at the time. "I know we recently had breakfast, but why not start on dinner? You can make me something."
Sasuke tried to ignore the way the blond spoke, as if the Uchiha were his girlfriend who should be feeding his overly large appetite.
"Who says I know how to make anything?" Sasuke crossed his arms. "I have cooks at home, too, you know."
"Yeah, I figured, but you strike me as the type who'd at least know how to make food." Naruto grinned. "I know a lot of rich people, and if there's one thing they all have in common, it's that they know how to make food."
As much as he was annoyed with Naruto's accuracy, he was right. Sasuke did know how to cook. Well, somewhat. He only knew how to make a few things, but they were all fairly complicated. He tried his best not to feel smug.
"Besides," Naruto continued, not having been privy to the other's thoughts, "your brother made us breakfast. I'm pretty sure if he can cook, so can you."
"Eggs and bacon aren't that hard to make." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Hey man, I know someone who can't even make toast or boil water without setting something on fire."(1)
"Hn."
The Uchiha moved further into the kitchen and started opening cupboards, trying to establish if Naruto had everything necessary for what Sasuke was planning on making. He reached the fridge and opened it, peering inside and finding that virtually everything he needed save for one or two of his favourite vegetables were present. And considering it would take close to two hours to make, this worked out well since they'd just eaten.
"Well? What's the verdict? We gonna cook or what?" Naruto was grinning again.
"Hn." Sasuke smiled this time. "Yeah, we're gonna cook. Well, more specifically I'm going to cook, and you're going to do all the chopping and cutting. If you're going to eat my food, you're going to work for it."
"Sounds fair." Naruto stretched and pushed away from the counter. "So what are we making, your highness?"
Snorting, Sasuke decided Naruto didn't deserve to know, after that comment. "You'll see when it's done. Take out all the vegetables and start cutting."
"But I don't like vegetables." The blond pouted.
"Well, you'll like them this time. I guarantee it." Sasuke grinned and went about finding a pot that would be big enough for what he was planning.
"What are you doing?" Naruto crinkled his nose from behind Sasuke, watching the raven as he worked. The Uchiha himself didn't answer, he merely continued what he was doing.
"I'm making it taste better."
"You're ruining it. It tasted fine before you decided to do this!" Naruto whined and started tugging lightly on the back of Sasuke's shirt.
"It'll taste better, stop being so impatient. You just want to eat right now, that's the only reason you're complaining so much."
Tilting the frying pan towards a bowl, Sasuke scraped out the chicken fried rice and then returned it to the flames, putting some more onto its hot metal surface and restarting the process. He had to smack at Naruto's hand more than once when the blond kept trying to eat the un-fried portion of the meal.
It really wasn't that different, whether it was fried or not. Both were edible, Sasuke just felt that if he was going to make chicken fried rice, he was going to at least fry it, or else it was just called chicken rice. Besides, Naruto could bitch and moan all he wanted, but he hadn't even bothered to try the fried portion of the rice yet, so Sasuke wished he'd either try it or shut up. He wasn't allowed to complain about it without even having tried it.
"Come on, just let me have it the normal way. You're ruining it!" Naruto whined for the millionth time.
Finally beginning to lose his temper, Sasuke thrust the bowl of fried rice into the blond's hands and stalked across the kitchen to find the cutlery, jabbing a fork into the bowl. "Try the damn rice before you complain my ears off," he snapped, annoyed.
Turning his back on Naruto, he returned to frying the rice in the pan, using the spatula to flip it over every now and then. When he was sure it was ready, he turned to grab another bowl, and by the time he'd turned back to the stove, the pan was empty. Cocking an eyebrow, he turned to regard his thief, who had just inched out of the kitchen with his bowl full again.
Snorting, and adding more rice to the pan, he wondered if he was going to be allowed to eat, as well. At least Naruto had stopped complaining, and if his new hobby of thievery was any indication, he liked the fried rice just as much, if not more, as the unfried rice. That was something, in Sasuke's opinion. He felt somewhat good about himself.
"So how long do you think they're going to be gone? It seems like they've been out for a while," Sasuke called out, managing to salvage the rice in the pan for himself this time. He added more, knowing Naruto probably wasn't anywhere near finished.
"I don't know." The blond's mouth was clearly full when he replied. "Knowing my mother, they'll be gone for a while longer. Hell, they've probably just sat down to eat dinner themselves. And seeing as how your mom and mine are probably getting along really well, they'll want to make this last as long as possible." He heard the other snort.
Sasuke shook his head, but couldn't help smiling slightly, taking a bite of his own food. He was glad his mother had someone to spend time with. He knew she got lonely every now and then, because Fugaku wasn't exactly the best company in the world, and really, he wasn't so much a friend. It was nice to know his mother might enjoy this holiday more than any others they'd had.
"I think having them spend the day together was a good idea," Sasuke informed the blond, still working on the rice in the pan. He smacked at Naruto's hand when the other tried to steal his bowl. "My mother doesn't really get to go out with others much. She spends most of her time fawning all over my brother and me."
"I'm glad, too. My mom was probably going to end up driving my dad bonkers." Naruto snickered. "In case you haven't noticed, they're kind of different."
"I noticed." Sasuke smirked, dumping the new batch of rice into Naruto's waiting bowl, which promptly disappeared. "Your father is a little calmer than I'd anticipated, given your similarities."
"Yeah," Naruto let out a small laugh, obviously having heard that before, "dad's great. But yeah, I look like him, but I act a lot more like my mother. My dad's pretty calm and focussed. My mom and I are both eccentric and crazy. I sometimes pity dad—for all of five minutes. Then I remember it's his fault for being so normal."
Naruto snickered and Sasuke had to smile slightly. The blond was so ridiculous, making fun of his father like that. Though it was still endearing. He spoke so lovingly of his family, it sometimes made Sasuke feel bad for not appreciating his own like he should.
"What are you thinking?" Sasuke's head jerked back, startled, when Naruto's forefinger appeared on his forehead, rubbing at the crease between his eyebrows.
"Nothing." He smacked the other's hand away, slightly irritated, and added more rice to the pan.
"Yeah, because the way your eyebrows turned down like that, that's just your normal expression, right?" The blond leaned against the counter beside Sasuke, surveying him. The raven did his best to ignore him. "How are you with your family? I mean, really?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I get along with my mother, and with Itachi."
"And your dad?"
He shrugged again. "He's busy. Works too hard. Doesn't really have time for anything else. He is the head of a major corporation. Can't really blame him."
Naruto's snort caused Sasuke to look at him. The blond was stabbing at the rice in his bowl.
"My dad is number two at the company he works for, and he still makes an effort to know me. I find that parents who don't make an effort to know their kids are just scared that they'll disappoint them. You know, like maybe your dad is scared to get close to you because he thinks you'll find him boring, or scary, or you won't approve of what he does."
Sasuke snorted. "That's ridiculous."
"Is it really?" Naruto was staring at him intently again. "I don't know, I feel a lot of people are scared that way. Why try and make friendly when you're just worried about what the other person says when you're not around? Why try and get to know your kids if you think you'll just be a disappointment? Why bother telling someone you love them when you know they'll just end up hurting you in the end?" Naruto shrugged. "They're all risks we take or don't take, and the outcome of everything ends up being linked to which road we choose."
Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds, unsure of what to say, and then he just snorted and looked back at the pan.
"Stop being so smart, dumbass."
That effectively ended that conversation.
The two of them ended up watching a few movies for the rest of the night, Sasuke having to applaud Naruto's self-control since the other didn't try to jump him once. They'd kissed a few times during the movies, but never let it turn into a full-blown make-out session. It probably helped that the movies were too good to ignore for long.
Around ten-thirty, Naruto's parents finally came home, and Sasuke was somewhat worried to see the state of his own when he noticed Kushina was totally smashed, and Minato was a little redder in the face than usual. Bidding Naruto good night—and getting another mind-numbing kiss in the process—he hurried back across the street to find his parents in a similar state.
Itachi looked torn between being amused and being horrified, especially after Fugaku picked Mikoto up in his arms and carried her fireman-style to the bedroom. His brother suddenly had important matters to attend to elsewhere and disappeared from the house shortly thereafter. Sasuke half-wished he'd gone with him.
It was completely out of character for his parents to, not only drink, but come home inebriated, but he supposed it was a good thing. His father seemed a lot happier, and not quite as stressed as he usually looked. And despite not wanting to hear what was going on in their room, he was glad they'd had a good time with Naruto's parents.
Though he didn't rush to the nearest available coffee shop like Itachi, Sasuke didn't want to listen to his parents any more than his brother did, so he went out for a walk, his boots keeping his feet relatively dry despite the fact that the snow came up to almost mid-calf.
He didn't know how long he'd been wandering around in the dark, but eventually, the cold air biting into his exposed skin was too much, and he had to head home. Once there, everything was quiet, and he heaved a sigh of relief and disappeared into his room to crawl under his covers and try to regain some feeling in his fingers.
Though unsure of when he'd fallen asleep, he was jerked awake due to a disturbing dream, which he couldn't entirely remember, but knew it had upset him enough that he felt tears burning in his eyes. He wiped them away viciously before they had time to spill over, and climbed out of bed, noting it was almost eleven.
The kitchen was empty save for a cup of coffee being heated in the microwave, and a few seconds later, Itachi emerged from the downstairs bathroom, nodding to him and then disappearing back upstairs with his drink.
Pouring his own cup, he couldn't help but smirk at the thought that his parents would be just as hungover has he'd been a few days before, and almost had the desire to be loud to punish them for making him shovel the walk on that same day.
Almost. He wasn't suicidal.
Getting ready much more slowly than usual, if only because he didn't feel the need to rush since his parents had yet to emerge from their hovel, he made himself breakfast, dressed, and then headed out of the house and across the street on the cleared walks, finding satisfaction in the fact that it hadn't snowed again.
He knocked lightly on the front door, hoping Naruto would answer since he was somewhat worried his presence would anger the hungover people, but it was the blond's mother who opened the door. She didn't appear to look too bad, considering how drunk she'd been, and even managed to offer him a smile.
"Good morning, Sasuke. What brings you here so early?"
It was hardly early, but he chose not to comment on that. "I was just coming by to see if Naruto wanted to do something today."
Confusion flashed in her expression briefly before she winced. "Oh, honey, didn't he tell you? He went Christmas shopping today. He probably won't be home until later tonight."
A stab of anger pierced through the Uchiha before he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't like he owned Naruto. The blond was allowed to go fucking shopping! And besides, Sasuke hadn't done any of his own shopping yet, either. Not that he had much since he'd given his parents his list, but considering their state the night before, he wasn't even sure if any of it had gotten done. Maybe he and Itachi could go out for a while.
"That's okay, he probably forgot. Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki. Have a good day."
"Goodbye, Sasuke."
Heading back across the street, it didn't take him as long as he'd anticipated to convince Itachi to go out with him. He figured his brother was still a little repulsed by his parents' actions the night before, and was trying to procrastinate having to see them. Grabbing the car keys, they left a note for their parents and left the house, Sasuke trying not to get his hopes up that he might magically run into Naruto.
(1) I do, too, she's called my sister XD