Smile Tomorrow Again (1/1)
I'm going to pretend I wrote neither this nor the really bad allusion to Kishimoto's name that somehow works due to the laws of Japanese punology, through a kun reading, because (f)x's new single is making me want to write a fic where Sakura and Ino are in some idol pop band together, covering "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in an mv, and I'm like what?
Anyway, sibling stuff (aka Naruto being bullied by his little sisters, who've officially adopted Sasuke) and subtle mention of an unmentioned pairing. Although I wonder if I should feel bad about the way Naruto came out. Yet again. *ponders*
***
Characters: Naruto/Sasuke, Ino, Sakura
Rating: PG
Words: 2680
Summary: "Although it's nice to finally have a smart, older sibling-like figure I can look up to, sometimes, I really question how smart you can be having agreed to date someone like Naruto."
On the screen of Naruto’s laptop, blurry footage beginning to clear shows Ino impatiently patting the empty space beside her on the bed. “Come on, Forehead, hurry up!”
“Wait for me, Ino,” Sakura calls out, voice muffled through static from the computer’s speaker. “I’m coming-I’m coming.”
Ino shuffles to the left side of the full size bed, making room for an ambling Sakura pushing back her headband keeping away from her face short bangs as she appears in the doorway.
“I finally got Sasuke on Skype,” Ino whispers to Sakura off-screen, then waves at the camera on her laptop, while Sakura hops onto the bed to lie down beside her. “Hey, Sasuke.”
On her stomach with her feet raised, Sakura smiles alongside Ino. “Hi, Sasuke.”
Sasuke makes a low noise in greeting. He crosses his legs in his chair, pressing two keys with his thumb and forefinger to enlarge the window displaying Sakura and Ino on the screen.
“What about me?” Leaning over in front of his laptop sat on the small desk, Naruto drapes an arm over the back of the blue foldable chair Sasuke’s sitting in. He pushes up the glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose with a hand bringing the frames closer to his face. “No hi, Naruto or hey, how’re you doing, for your big brother?”
“Move, Naruto,” Ino hisses. “Your head takes up too much of the screen. I can’t see Sasuke with you in the way.”
“What the-”
Sasuke lets out a snort, and Sakura covers her mouth to unsuccessfully hide a giggle.
“Traitor,” Naruto mutters, nestling his forehead against Sasuke’s shoulder. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“You’ll live.” With an absent hum, Sasuke places a hand on Naruto’s head, gently running his fingers through unruly blond hair. “Unfortunately.”
An arm around Sasuke’s waist, Naruto chuckles when Sasuke’s hand in his hair moves to his face and half-heartedly tries to push him away.
“Get off me, Naruto.”
“But you’re comfortable.”
“I don’t care. I’m not your pillow.”
“Fine, fine,” Naruto says, though he’s smiling when he grabs the small and orange office chair he rolls next to Sasuke. The chair turned around, he takes a seat. He folds his arms over the cushioned back of the chair, gaze fixed on the slightly pixelated video of his sisters. “So what’s this all about anyway?”
“We wanted to actually see you instead of just calling,” Sakura says simply, tilting her head to the side in a cute gesture Naruto knows better than to believe is anything remotely close to innocent. “You’ve both been so busy lately, it seems. Since your graduation is next month.”
“Which we really can’t wait for,” Ino says, clasping her hands together. “We even bought you a present, Sasuke.”
“What about me?” Naruto says, making his presence known with a hand waving at the screen. “You didn’t get me anything?”
Ino gives him a blank stare, blinks, then immediately brightens when she focuses on Sasuke again. “Like I was saying,” she says, “we even bought you a present, Sasuke.”
Sakura laughs at Naruto’s dejected expression, bumping her shoulder against Ino’s. “Of course we bought something for you, Naruto. Ino had to make sure it was really special. She almost spent two weeks trying to-”
“You’re not supposed to say anything, “Ino whispers harshly, nudging Sakura with her elbow, but Sakura takes it in stride with a smile.
“What I meant to say,” Sakura says, “was that dad took us shopping for the graduation. For new clothes, too, and we found some really pretty dresses. Only, it’s been really hard trying to decide which one I should wear. There’s not that much time left, but I still haven’t found the right shoes, either, and I don’t know if I should get my hair cut or wait until after your graduation, because I’m still thinking about whether or not I should grow it out again-it’s all so much to take in at once.”
“...uh-huh.” Naruto gives a slow nod of his head. “Somehow, I think I should feel more slighted about you placing that much concern in your appearance over me.”
“Anyway,” Ino says, a little too loudly, “Sasuke-Sasuke, guess what my new rank is in our class.”
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. “First?”
“Yep.” Grin wide, Ino practically preens, her legs moving back and forth her feet she lifts from the bed. “Because of my math finals, I rank the highest now. I even outscored that annoying Sakai guy, but it’s about time someone kicked him off his little pedestal anyway.”
“It can’t be healthy to be so competitive,” Sakura admonishes. “Especially with the way you get with even a hobby as calm as Ikebana club’s supposed to be.”
“Says the teacher’s favourite in the girls’ judo club,” Ino says, turning to face Sakura with a knowing smirk. “You’re probably better than half the guys in the boys’ club, too.”
Blushing, Sakura fans her face. “I just happen to really like it. That’s all it is.”
“Yeah, I remember your first tournament.” Naruto rolls forward a little in his chair then slides back. Hanging one arm over the back of the chair, he sniffs and wipes at his eye that isn’t anything but dry. “And to think I taught you everything you know.”
Sakura snorts. “The trophies I have say otherwise.”
“Your general lack of coordination in this area is very severe,” Ino says. “You trip over air.”
Sasuke gives a slight, almost barely perceptible nod in agreement.
Bunching his shoulders, Naruto turns over his raised hands in defeat. “Since you all think it’s fun to gang up on me when it’s three against one-sure, why not? It’s not like these kinds of things can hurt me.”
“You know, Sasuke,” Ino says, an obvious gleam in her eyes, “although it’s nice to finally have a smart, older sibling-like figure I can look up to, sometimes, I really question how smart you can be having agreed to date someone like Naruto.”
“Hey-”
“You need to get your frames adjusted,” Sasuke says, head slightly tipped back to peer at Naruto. With one finger, he pushes back up the glasses again sliding down Naruto’s nose.
“So I do.” Cross-eyed, Naruto blinks. “Thanks.”
“Despite this obvious shortcoming, though,” Sakura says, smile small and gaze soft, “we really do like you.”
“Oh-oh, speaking of like.” Clutching the small and white accent pillow in her arms, Ino turns wide eyes to Sakura. “Tell them what happened after school yesterday, Sakura. Tell them before I have to.”
She turns back to Naruto and Sasuke. “You can’t just reveal this kind of news over the phone, you know. That’s why we-”
“You, really,” Sakura throws in.
“-didn’t think it’d be enough to just call.”
“...as long as it’s not bad.” Trying to keep his imagination in check, resolved not to let himself think of the worst case scenario, Naruto gives Ino a wary look. “I mean, it’s not bad, is it?”
“Something of this magnitude,” Ino says, brushing away his concern with a dismissive wave of her hand, “definitely not bad.”
Lips pressed together, Sakura tries not to smile, crossing her arms in front of her chest at Naruto’s expectant stare. “Oh, well...so, I guess, um, there’s this boy I’ve kind of liked since the beginning of the year,” she says, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger and ignoring Naruto’s squeak of boy, what boy that makes Sasuke flinch and glare at him with a why do you always have to be so loud. “And he-I suppose he confessed to me.”
“Then she said yes,” Ino adds before Naruto can open his mouth, a little too excited about the situation. “And now they’re going out.”
Naruto manages to get in another horrified squeak.
No longer holding back a smile, Sakura picks at the thick purple comforter covering Ino’s bed, pink colouring her cheeks. “...I have a boyfriend.”
“B-b-boyfriend?” Naruto falters, nearly crashing to the floor trying to avoid the edge of the desk. “You have a boyfriend?”
“He has really nice eyes,” Ino says. “But he’s nothing like you, Sasuke.”
“Of course,” Sakura says, and Ino repeats what seems to be the consensus between them, “Of course.”
Sasuke makes a noncommittal noise.
Bottom lip trembling, Naruto just stares.
“He’s somewhat of a dark, mysterious type, I should think,” Ino says. “At first I thought he’d be a playboy type, because that’s the kind of impression he tends to give around a crowd, but mostly he’s just really shy.”
Sakura nods. “With that, being a little shy, I can’t argue, but he still has a cute personality.”
“I’m not hearing this.” Nearly throwing himself across Sasuke’s lap, Naruto grabs him by both shoulders, using Sasuke as leverage to rotate his chair. “Tell me you’re not hearing this. Because I’m not hearing this.”
Unfazed, Sasuke forcefully pries away Naruto’s fingers digging through his shirt. “I’m hearing it.”
“Yeah, he can be cute, I’ll give you that,” Ino says, a thoughtful look on her face. “Even if he does act like an old man more than half the time. For a guy who’s fifteen-going-on-forty, though, he’s not a bad catch.”
“Fifteen,” Naruto all but shrieks, tugging on the ends of his hair. “He’s fifteen.”
“So?” Sakura blinks twice. “What’s your point?”
“You can’t have a boyfriend. That’s my point.”
Ino frowns. “Why not?”
“You’re too young to have a boyfriend.” Naruto moves closer to Sasuke again. “Quick, they listen to you. Tell her, Sasuke-tell Sakura she’s too young to have a boyfriend.”
“You’re too young to have a boyfriend,” Sasuke says, bored, similar to that tone he sometimes uses whenever he’s purposely tuning people out.
Sakura and Ino giggle.
“Yeah, that sounded really convincing.” Naruto sucks his teeth. With Sasuke’s enthusiasm, he’d think the guy was being forced to watch paint dry. “Like anyone would buy something said with that little conviction-no, you have to mean it when you say it. Like this.”
Face close to Sasuke’s, Naruto reaches for Sasuke’s cheeks. He gently squeezes, pulling up and down to puppet Sasuke’s mouth that doesn’t open. “Repeat after me,” he says, then clears his throat, firm in the attempt to impersonate his mom during one of her rare scolding moods, “Sakura and Ino, you’re not allowed to have boyfriends because you’re too young to be dating and you’re not allowed to grow up without me there.”
Sasuke just gives him this highly uninspired look.
“Like that, okay.” Naruto gives an encouraging nod, failing to hold back a snicker at the expression on Sasuke’s face. “Now you try.”
Reaching with two fingers, Sasuke takes a hold of Naruto’s nose, pinches his nostrils when Naruto squawks and flails away from him.
Ino snorts, letting go of her pillow and resting her hand against her face. “Don’t make such a big deal out of something like this so unnecessarily, Naruto. If we’re old enough to stay at home alone, we can have boyfriends.”
After Sasuke releases his nose, Naruto narrows his eyes. He points an accusing finger at his sisters. “Who said this?”
“Mom,” Ino says, then Sakura adds, “and Dad.”
“They did not.”
“Did, too,” Ino retorts. “You’re the only one freaking out about it.”
“Plus,” Sakura says, “mom even said you had your first girlfriend when you were twelve.”
“That was,” Naruto sputters. “I mean-because I-so she was a year older, yeah, but I’m a guy, so-”
“Naruto...” Shoving her way in front of Ino, Sakura moves closer to take up the entire scope of the camera. She shakes her fist at the screen, movement slowed by the delayed frame rate of the video. “Are you implying I can’t have an older boyfriend at fourteen when you had an older girlfriend at twelve just because I’m a girl?”
Meek, Naruto actually draws back, almost cowering behind Sasuke. “...no?”
Sasuke snorts.
“Honestly, Naruto.” With an exasperated sigh, Sakura lowers her fist and scoots back on the bed, pushing from her elbows. “I’m already fourteen. Ino and I will be in high school next year. We’re not kids anymore. More importantly, though...”
She trails off, gains a faraway look with determined eyes almost too intense. Shoulders slightly shaking, she starts to cackle beneath her breath. “The best thing about it is that I managed to get a boyfriend before even Ino.”
Sulking, because everyone else seems more than content to disregard his opinion, Naruto murmurs, “Weren’t you the one earlier who claimed it wasn’t healthy to be so competitive.”
“That’s because I have more adult tastes than you.” With a flick of her wrist, Ino whips back long strands of blonde hair fallen over the side of her face. “Obviously.”
Sakura laughs. “Still got a boyfriend before you, didn’t I?”
“Bragging about something like that, don’t be so immature, Forehead.”
Naruto sinks further into his chair, turning pleading eyes to a Sasuke who doesn’t even move to comfort him.
Her grin undeterred, Sakura’s eyes widen when the silence fills with some song by Perfume, or at least Naruto thinks it sounds like that one girl group Sakura likes. She reaches into the back pocket of her pale blue shorts and takes out a small pink phone, decorated with rhinestones, stickers and a Keroppi charm hanging from the upper left corner.
“Oh, who is it?” Ino says, smile sly and expression far too eager, “I bet it’s him, isn’t it? How bold to call you so soon after he confessed-or is it an email? Either way, you have to take it. Go ahead and message him back.”
The phone rings again as Sakura places it on the bed between herself and Ino.
Quickly, Naruto sits up. “You can’t take that call.”
Lowered gaze fixed on her phone, Sakura absently corrects him. “It’s an email.”
“Call or email-doesn’t matter.” Naruto shakes his head. “Ino, even though you’re the youngest, I’m officially making you the second oldest, so you can’t let Sakura take that call, all right.”
Completely ignoring him, Ino turns her gaze from the phone to Sakura, then leans closer to share a conversation of hushed whispers too low to be heard through Naruto’s computer.
The conversation is short-lived, though, and they break away when Naruto hears two familiar voices faint in the background.
“Mom and dad must be home,” Sakura says with a sweet smile. Following a quick wave of her hand, she hops off the bed, eyes glued to her phone and fingers flying across the touchscreen. “I should probably go reheat dinner for them. See you later, Naruto and Sasuke.”
“Sakura, you can’t just-”
Placing a hand over Naruto’s mouth, Sasuke nods. “Bye, you two.”
“Bye, Sasuke,” Ino says, fingers reaching for the lid of the laptop. “Please continue to take care of our brother for us.”
Naruto takes Sasuke’s hand away from his mouth. “Ino, wait, don’t-”
The video feed disconnects a few seconds after Ino flips down the screen.
Fingers over the keyboard, Sasuke closes out the programme and reveals the desktop background he constantly keeps changing without permission.
Sighing, Naruto rests his head on Sasuke’s shoulder, sagging against him. “...now I think I understand how Itachi feels.”
Sasuke grunts. “They have to grow up sooner or later.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Naruto mumbles into Sasuke’s shirt. “I can’t believe this might mean I have something in common with your brother. Me, of all people, I’m finally able to relate to someone like-” He stills. “You won’t tell him about this, will you?”
“About what-your sudden epiphany that children eventually grow older?”
“No, really. What if-”
“You’re being melodramatic.”
“But you’re still going to take care of me, though, right?” Lifting his head, Naruto wriggles his eyebrows. “After all, Ino did ask you.”
“Who else would even bother?” Sasuke smirks, straightening the glasses again lying crooked on Naruto’s nose before pressing his lips against Naruto’s grin turned into a pout.
“Sasuke...”
Anyway, sibling stuff (aka Naruto being bullied by his little sisters, who've officially adopted Sasuke) and subtle mention of an unmentioned pairing. Although I wonder if I should feel bad about the way Naruto came out. Yet again. *ponders*
***
Characters: Naruto/Sasuke, Ino, Sakura
Rating: PG
Words: 2680
Summary: "Although it's nice to finally have a smart, older sibling-like figure I can look up to, sometimes, I really question how smart you can be having agreed to date someone like Naruto."
On the screen of Naruto’s laptop, blurry footage beginning to clear shows Ino impatiently patting the empty space beside her on the bed. “Come on, Forehead, hurry up!”
“Wait for me, Ino,” Sakura calls out, voice muffled through static from the computer’s speaker. “I’m coming-I’m coming.”
Ino shuffles to the left side of the full size bed, making room for an ambling Sakura pushing back her headband keeping away from her face short bangs as she appears in the doorway.
“I finally got Sasuke on Skype,” Ino whispers to Sakura off-screen, then waves at the camera on her laptop, while Sakura hops onto the bed to lie down beside her. “Hey, Sasuke.”
On her stomach with her feet raised, Sakura smiles alongside Ino. “Hi, Sasuke.”
Sasuke makes a low noise in greeting. He crosses his legs in his chair, pressing two keys with his thumb and forefinger to enlarge the window displaying Sakura and Ino on the screen.
“What about me?” Leaning over in front of his laptop sat on the small desk, Naruto drapes an arm over the back of the blue foldable chair Sasuke’s sitting in. He pushes up the glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose with a hand bringing the frames closer to his face. “No hi, Naruto or hey, how’re you doing, for your big brother?”
“Move, Naruto,” Ino hisses. “Your head takes up too much of the screen. I can’t see Sasuke with you in the way.”
“What the-”
Sasuke lets out a snort, and Sakura covers her mouth to unsuccessfully hide a giggle.
“Traitor,” Naruto mutters, nestling his forehead against Sasuke’s shoulder. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“You’ll live.” With an absent hum, Sasuke places a hand on Naruto’s head, gently running his fingers through unruly blond hair. “Unfortunately.”
An arm around Sasuke’s waist, Naruto chuckles when Sasuke’s hand in his hair moves to his face and half-heartedly tries to push him away.
“Get off me, Naruto.”
“But you’re comfortable.”
“I don’t care. I’m not your pillow.”
“Fine, fine,” Naruto says, though he’s smiling when he grabs the small and orange office chair he rolls next to Sasuke. The chair turned around, he takes a seat. He folds his arms over the cushioned back of the chair, gaze fixed on the slightly pixelated video of his sisters. “So what’s this all about anyway?”
“We wanted to actually see you instead of just calling,” Sakura says simply, tilting her head to the side in a cute gesture Naruto knows better than to believe is anything remotely close to innocent. “You’ve both been so busy lately, it seems. Since your graduation is next month.”
“Which we really can’t wait for,” Ino says, clasping her hands together. “We even bought you a present, Sasuke.”
“What about me?” Naruto says, making his presence known with a hand waving at the screen. “You didn’t get me anything?”
Ino gives him a blank stare, blinks, then immediately brightens when she focuses on Sasuke again. “Like I was saying,” she says, “we even bought you a present, Sasuke.”
Sakura laughs at Naruto’s dejected expression, bumping her shoulder against Ino’s. “Of course we bought something for you, Naruto. Ino had to make sure it was really special. She almost spent two weeks trying to-”
“You’re not supposed to say anything, “Ino whispers harshly, nudging Sakura with her elbow, but Sakura takes it in stride with a smile.
“What I meant to say,” Sakura says, “was that dad took us shopping for the graduation. For new clothes, too, and we found some really pretty dresses. Only, it’s been really hard trying to decide which one I should wear. There’s not that much time left, but I still haven’t found the right shoes, either, and I don’t know if I should get my hair cut or wait until after your graduation, because I’m still thinking about whether or not I should grow it out again-it’s all so much to take in at once.”
“...uh-huh.” Naruto gives a slow nod of his head. “Somehow, I think I should feel more slighted about you placing that much concern in your appearance over me.”
“Anyway,” Ino says, a little too loudly, “Sasuke-Sasuke, guess what my new rank is in our class.”
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. “First?”
“Yep.” Grin wide, Ino practically preens, her legs moving back and forth her feet she lifts from the bed. “Because of my math finals, I rank the highest now. I even outscored that annoying Sakai guy, but it’s about time someone kicked him off his little pedestal anyway.”
“It can’t be healthy to be so competitive,” Sakura admonishes. “Especially with the way you get with even a hobby as calm as Ikebana club’s supposed to be.”
“Says the teacher’s favourite in the girls’ judo club,” Ino says, turning to face Sakura with a knowing smirk. “You’re probably better than half the guys in the boys’ club, too.”
Blushing, Sakura fans her face. “I just happen to really like it. That’s all it is.”
“Yeah, I remember your first tournament.” Naruto rolls forward a little in his chair then slides back. Hanging one arm over the back of the chair, he sniffs and wipes at his eye that isn’t anything but dry. “And to think I taught you everything you know.”
Sakura snorts. “The trophies I have say otherwise.”
“Your general lack of coordination in this area is very severe,” Ino says. “You trip over air.”
Sasuke gives a slight, almost barely perceptible nod in agreement.
Bunching his shoulders, Naruto turns over his raised hands in defeat. “Since you all think it’s fun to gang up on me when it’s three against one-sure, why not? It’s not like these kinds of things can hurt me.”
“You know, Sasuke,” Ino says, an obvious gleam in her eyes, “although it’s nice to finally have a smart, older sibling-like figure I can look up to, sometimes, I really question how smart you can be having agreed to date someone like Naruto.”
“Hey-”
“You need to get your frames adjusted,” Sasuke says, head slightly tipped back to peer at Naruto. With one finger, he pushes back up the glasses again sliding down Naruto’s nose.
“So I do.” Cross-eyed, Naruto blinks. “Thanks.”
“Despite this obvious shortcoming, though,” Sakura says, smile small and gaze soft, “we really do like you.”
“Oh-oh, speaking of like.” Clutching the small and white accent pillow in her arms, Ino turns wide eyes to Sakura. “Tell them what happened after school yesterday, Sakura. Tell them before I have to.”
She turns back to Naruto and Sasuke. “You can’t just reveal this kind of news over the phone, you know. That’s why we-”
“You, really,” Sakura throws in.
“-didn’t think it’d be enough to just call.”
“...as long as it’s not bad.” Trying to keep his imagination in check, resolved not to let himself think of the worst case scenario, Naruto gives Ino a wary look. “I mean, it’s not bad, is it?”
“Something of this magnitude,” Ino says, brushing away his concern with a dismissive wave of her hand, “definitely not bad.”
Lips pressed together, Sakura tries not to smile, crossing her arms in front of her chest at Naruto’s expectant stare. “Oh, well...so, I guess, um, there’s this boy I’ve kind of liked since the beginning of the year,” she says, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger and ignoring Naruto’s squeak of boy, what boy that makes Sasuke flinch and glare at him with a why do you always have to be so loud. “And he-I suppose he confessed to me.”
“Then she said yes,” Ino adds before Naruto can open his mouth, a little too excited about the situation. “And now they’re going out.”
Naruto manages to get in another horrified squeak.
No longer holding back a smile, Sakura picks at the thick purple comforter covering Ino’s bed, pink colouring her cheeks. “...I have a boyfriend.”
“B-b-boyfriend?” Naruto falters, nearly crashing to the floor trying to avoid the edge of the desk. “You have a boyfriend?”
“He has really nice eyes,” Ino says. “But he’s nothing like you, Sasuke.”
“Of course,” Sakura says, and Ino repeats what seems to be the consensus between them, “Of course.”
Sasuke makes a noncommittal noise.
Bottom lip trembling, Naruto just stares.
“He’s somewhat of a dark, mysterious type, I should think,” Ino says. “At first I thought he’d be a playboy type, because that’s the kind of impression he tends to give around a crowd, but mostly he’s just really shy.”
Sakura nods. “With that, being a little shy, I can’t argue, but he still has a cute personality.”
“I’m not hearing this.” Nearly throwing himself across Sasuke’s lap, Naruto grabs him by both shoulders, using Sasuke as leverage to rotate his chair. “Tell me you’re not hearing this. Because I’m not hearing this.”
Unfazed, Sasuke forcefully pries away Naruto’s fingers digging through his shirt. “I’m hearing it.”
“Yeah, he can be cute, I’ll give you that,” Ino says, a thoughtful look on her face. “Even if he does act like an old man more than half the time. For a guy who’s fifteen-going-on-forty, though, he’s not a bad catch.”
“Fifteen,” Naruto all but shrieks, tugging on the ends of his hair. “He’s fifteen.”
“So?” Sakura blinks twice. “What’s your point?”
“You can’t have a boyfriend. That’s my point.”
Ino frowns. “Why not?”
“You’re too young to have a boyfriend.” Naruto moves closer to Sasuke again. “Quick, they listen to you. Tell her, Sasuke-tell Sakura she’s too young to have a boyfriend.”
“You’re too young to have a boyfriend,” Sasuke says, bored, similar to that tone he sometimes uses whenever he’s purposely tuning people out.
Sakura and Ino giggle.
“Yeah, that sounded really convincing.” Naruto sucks his teeth. With Sasuke’s enthusiasm, he’d think the guy was being forced to watch paint dry. “Like anyone would buy something said with that little conviction-no, you have to mean it when you say it. Like this.”
Face close to Sasuke’s, Naruto reaches for Sasuke’s cheeks. He gently squeezes, pulling up and down to puppet Sasuke’s mouth that doesn’t open. “Repeat after me,” he says, then clears his throat, firm in the attempt to impersonate his mom during one of her rare scolding moods, “Sakura and Ino, you’re not allowed to have boyfriends because you’re too young to be dating and you’re not allowed to grow up without me there.”
Sasuke just gives him this highly uninspired look.
“Like that, okay.” Naruto gives an encouraging nod, failing to hold back a snicker at the expression on Sasuke’s face. “Now you try.”
Reaching with two fingers, Sasuke takes a hold of Naruto’s nose, pinches his nostrils when Naruto squawks and flails away from him.
Ino snorts, letting go of her pillow and resting her hand against her face. “Don’t make such a big deal out of something like this so unnecessarily, Naruto. If we’re old enough to stay at home alone, we can have boyfriends.”
After Sasuke releases his nose, Naruto narrows his eyes. He points an accusing finger at his sisters. “Who said this?”
“Mom,” Ino says, then Sakura adds, “and Dad.”
“They did not.”
“Did, too,” Ino retorts. “You’re the only one freaking out about it.”
“Plus,” Sakura says, “mom even said you had your first girlfriend when you were twelve.”
“That was,” Naruto sputters. “I mean-because I-so she was a year older, yeah, but I’m a guy, so-”
“Naruto...” Shoving her way in front of Ino, Sakura moves closer to take up the entire scope of the camera. She shakes her fist at the screen, movement slowed by the delayed frame rate of the video. “Are you implying I can’t have an older boyfriend at fourteen when you had an older girlfriend at twelve just because I’m a girl?”
Meek, Naruto actually draws back, almost cowering behind Sasuke. “...no?”
Sasuke snorts.
“Honestly, Naruto.” With an exasperated sigh, Sakura lowers her fist and scoots back on the bed, pushing from her elbows. “I’m already fourteen. Ino and I will be in high school next year. We’re not kids anymore. More importantly, though...”
She trails off, gains a faraway look with determined eyes almost too intense. Shoulders slightly shaking, she starts to cackle beneath her breath. “The best thing about it is that I managed to get a boyfriend before even Ino.”
Sulking, because everyone else seems more than content to disregard his opinion, Naruto murmurs, “Weren’t you the one earlier who claimed it wasn’t healthy to be so competitive.”
“That’s because I have more adult tastes than you.” With a flick of her wrist, Ino whips back long strands of blonde hair fallen over the side of her face. “Obviously.”
Sakura laughs. “Still got a boyfriend before you, didn’t I?”
“Bragging about something like that, don’t be so immature, Forehead.”
Naruto sinks further into his chair, turning pleading eyes to a Sasuke who doesn’t even move to comfort him.
Her grin undeterred, Sakura’s eyes widen when the silence fills with some song by Perfume, or at least Naruto thinks it sounds like that one girl group Sakura likes. She reaches into the back pocket of her pale blue shorts and takes out a small pink phone, decorated with rhinestones, stickers and a Keroppi charm hanging from the upper left corner.
“Oh, who is it?” Ino says, smile sly and expression far too eager, “I bet it’s him, isn’t it? How bold to call you so soon after he confessed-or is it an email? Either way, you have to take it. Go ahead and message him back.”
The phone rings again as Sakura places it on the bed between herself and Ino.
Quickly, Naruto sits up. “You can’t take that call.”
Lowered gaze fixed on her phone, Sakura absently corrects him. “It’s an email.”
“Call or email-doesn’t matter.” Naruto shakes his head. “Ino, even though you’re the youngest, I’m officially making you the second oldest, so you can’t let Sakura take that call, all right.”
Completely ignoring him, Ino turns her gaze from the phone to Sakura, then leans closer to share a conversation of hushed whispers too low to be heard through Naruto’s computer.
The conversation is short-lived, though, and they break away when Naruto hears two familiar voices faint in the background.
“Mom and dad must be home,” Sakura says with a sweet smile. Following a quick wave of her hand, she hops off the bed, eyes glued to her phone and fingers flying across the touchscreen. “I should probably go reheat dinner for them. See you later, Naruto and Sasuke.”
“Sakura, you can’t just-”
Placing a hand over Naruto’s mouth, Sasuke nods. “Bye, you two.”
“Bye, Sasuke,” Ino says, fingers reaching for the lid of the laptop. “Please continue to take care of our brother for us.”
Naruto takes Sasuke’s hand away from his mouth. “Ino, wait, don’t-”
The video feed disconnects a few seconds after Ino flips down the screen.
Fingers over the keyboard, Sasuke closes out the programme and reveals the desktop background he constantly keeps changing without permission.
Sighing, Naruto rests his head on Sasuke’s shoulder, sagging against him. “...now I think I understand how Itachi feels.”
Sasuke grunts. “They have to grow up sooner or later.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Naruto mumbles into Sasuke’s shirt. “I can’t believe this might mean I have something in common with your brother. Me, of all people, I’m finally able to relate to someone like-” He stills. “You won’t tell him about this, will you?”
“About what-your sudden epiphany that children eventually grow older?”
“No, really. What if-”
“You’re being melodramatic.”
“But you’re still going to take care of me, though, right?” Lifting his head, Naruto wriggles his eyebrows. “After all, Ino did ask you.”
“Who else would even bother?” Sasuke smirks, straightening the glasses again lying crooked on Naruto’s nose before pressing his lips against Naruto’s grin turned into a pout.
“Sasuke...”