Nothing Better Than You (1/1)
This is what happens when I listen to The Divine Miss M herself. Bette Midler and Naruto aren’t supposed to mix, anza. No, no, no. Even worse, though, was when Runaway Bride came on TV at some point as I was listening to Chapel of Love/Do You Want to Dance while writing. Coincidence or not, my mind explored a strange new idea and boldly went where I will never let it go again.
Bad imagination-bad. Crack!fic is never the answer.
So, yeah, it's all hokey. An utterly soppy mess, oocness galore. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Once again, I blame Korean music (in the cube, but Block B's killing me softly atm). Although I do think this really playful Naruto just gets tickled right pink seeing Sasuke doing all these unintentionally cute things being contradictory.
***
Characters: Naruto/Sasuke
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3752
Summary: “So I’m not allowed to be happy around you anymore?”
“Still not talking to me?”
Raising his arms, Sasuke slips a rumpled grey shirt over his head, the same rumpled grey shirt that’s not his with the allegedly demented smiley face he claims not to like but wears the hell out of anyway. “I’m trying to get dressed.”
“Answering with a yes or no, I don’t think it’d hurt you to try that, too.”
“Then no,” Sasuke says, hands guiding his arms through short sleeves, “I’m still not talking to you.”
Sitting up, Naruto grins and throws his legs over the edge of the bed. Bare feet planted apart wide on the floor, he leans over, resting his elbows on his knees. He brings his hands together, watching Sasuke’s back disappear beneath the light grey shirt.
His gaze lowers to the bottom of the shirt falling right above Sasuke’s thighs and covering a loose pair of boxer briefs. Slowly, his eyes trail long legs, following a single bead of water leading a path curved along pale skin.
Running a hand through dark hair still somewhat damp, Sasuke bends over, picking up the match to the black ankle sock on his left foot. He barely lifts his right foot off the floor, left leg kept straight as he slips the sock over his heel.
Not consciously, with the unintentional intention of getting a view he can better appreciate, Naruto tilts his head slightly to the side. He tracks the careful movement of deft fingers that were all over him less than an hour ago, especially keen when Sasuke begins to stand, carrying Naruto’s gaze back up the length of legs that were also all over him less than an hour ago. Among a lot of other body parts involved in what happened less than an hour ago.
He always did admire Sasuke’s really good sense of balance.
“You don’t have anything else to do?”
Unfazed by the abrupt sound of Sasuke’s voice, in the middle of his blatant staring, Naruto doesn’t have the shame to feel guilty about being caught. It isn’t like he hasn’t been on the receiving end of Sasuke’s more subtle gaze from time to time, but he still makes a show of pretending to think. Squinting with one eye closed, he raises a finger to scratch the underside of his chin, eying the open doorway to his left and the large art portfolio sitting next to it on the floor.
Looking back to Sasuke, he sits up and lowers his arm, shaking his head. “Nah, not really.”
Sasuke sends him this highly unimpressed look from over his shoulder. “Sitting there wearing that kind of smile, coming across so pleased, it’s annoying.”
“So I’m not allowed to be happy around you anymore?” One at a time, Naruto rolls up the legs of his black sweatpants above his calves, not trying to hide a laugh at the almost pinched expression on Sasuke’s face. “Besides, I thought you weren’t talking to me.”
“I’m not.” Turning around, Sasuke shuts the top drawer to the short wooden chest in front of him.
This unremarkable piece of antique looking furniture that probably survived the Showa period, they’re supposed to try to refurbish it sometime this weekend. They splurged for it on a whim last Tuesday, because it was on sale, more than well within their budget, and as much as Naruto doesn’t mind Sasuke stealing his stuff, he’d actually like to be able to wear his own clothes every once in a while without worrying about running out of shirts by the end of the week.
Especially since the laundry Sasuke convinces him to do too often, poorly justified by the fact most of the clothes are his (completely ignoring the fact it’s not Naruto’s fault that Sasuke’s clothes just hang there on his side of their tiny little closet), he’s not a big fan of it.
At all.
“I guess if you really don’t want to talk to me,” he says, dragging out the words with a lazy drawl, “sure. Okay.”
After moving to close another drawer, Sasuke pauses. Shoulders tense, his hand hovers near the upper right corner of the chest. “Okay?”
Naruto immediately picks up on the suspicion in Sasuke’s voice, but he doesn’t answer. From the bed, a faint creak follows a soft rustling while he begins to stand. Trying to make as little noise as possible, he takes quick steps spanning the short distance bringing him closer and closer Sasuke.
“What are you-”
He pounces before Sasuke has a chance to finish. The stutter of his name fades into a soft cry of surprise as his arms grab by the waist a stumbling Sasuke who sends them both toppling backwards onto the bed.
They fall with a thump that draws out a loud creak from the bed. Naruto grunts, carrying the brunt of the impact and barely dodging the back of Sasuke’s head nearly colliding with his chin. Although Sasuke’s far from being the heaviest guy out there, he’s not exactly a lightweight, either, especially in a situation where he might start to feel uneasy about being this close to someone he doesn’t know.
Sneaking up on Sasuke from behind, the first few times Naruto tried something like this, while he was still trying to get Sasuke to be his friend, experience did well to teach him Sasuke doesn’t pull his punches.
He doesn’t have to worry about Sasuke retaliating on him for that kind of thing now, obviously. Not to the same extent at any rate. Still, there’s something he happens to like about being able to feel Sasuke’s weight on top of him like this. It doesn’t really make sense to him, not if he starts to think about it too much, but it’s more than just the aspect of being a physical sensation fuelling what Sasuke likes to claim is an irritatingly persistent need to constantly touch.
More importantly maybe, at least in this instance, if he really wants to think about the implications of intentionally making Sasuke fall for the sole purpose of proving he’ll be able to catch him, he’d like to believe there’s a significance behind his uncommon but not always uncharacteristic show of subtlety he knows Sasuke tends to respond to better, so Naruto just gives him a light squeeze, securing him in a loose hold that’s still firm.
Like he expects, Sasuke starts to wiggle a bit. It doesn’t take long for him to relax, though. Head leaned back, hair brushing against the sheets, Sasuke reaches for the arms around him, feet propped near the edge of the bed and on either side of Naruto’s legs.
“...Naruto.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s this?”
“I ambushed you.”
After a short pause, Sasuke sighs. “Not that you won’t make me regret asking...” Palms pressing down against Naruto’s forearms, he makes an unenthusiastic attempt to get Naruto to move. “Aside from stating the obvious, why did you suddenly feel the need to have me rethink how much of an idiot you really are?”
“Ah-ha!” Naruto pokes Sasuke in the hip twice. “Call me names all you want, but I still got you willingly talking to me again, didn’t I?”
Sasuke’s chest rises, like he’s getting ready to say something, but then he just sighs again. “I don’t even know why I bother.”
“Because you know you can’t deny that I’m right.”
“No. Now let go.”
“Actually,” Naruto says, keeping one arm around Sasuke’s torso while his other hand moves to slip beneath Sasuke’s shirt, “I’m kind of comfortable right now.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s not what you said earlier.”
“Naruto...” Making a weird little noise, Sasuke twitches, tense at the fingers on his skin slowly beginning to trace a path along his side. “Don’t you-”
Of course, what he already knows Sasuke was going to tell him not to do, Naruto does it anyway, practised fingers darting over Sasuke’s skin, attacking without restraint and earning him a sharp gasp that has Sasuke jerk violently in his arms.
It’s no secret Sasuke doesn’t like being tickled. Although Sasuke will let him get away with doing it every once in a while, he knows he’s still pushing his luck the few times he does it, but he seriously can’t help it if he thinks it’s funny the way a squirming Sasuke twists into all these awkward looking angles trying to get away from him.
“N-Naru-Naruto, let me-”
But when Sasuke actually starts to laugh, actually breaks into this uncontrollable fit of these really cute sounding giggles while he’s contorting his body and flailing all over the place, now that’s just downright hilarious.
More than Sasuke’s contagious giggling, though, being able to see him completely come undone like this-well, Naruto just about loses it at that.
“D-damn it, Naruto, you stupid-” Trying and failing to grab Naruto’s hands, Sasuke bends his back into this incredibly high arch, heels digging into the sheets in an attempt to escape relentless fingers. “I’m going to kill-s-stop it, stopitstopitdie.”
Naruto just continues to laugh, smile stretched wide even though he knows Sasuke will probably find a way to inflict some cruel form of retribution to get him back tenfold, but for now, being able to hear that kind of unreserved laughter from Sasuke, simply knowing Sasuke is comfortable enough with him to allow him to do this, it’s definitely worth it.
Or at least it is until Sasuke nearly guts him with his elbow. Once. Twice. But then Naruto decides better than to risk a third close call when he finally lets his arms fall away.
Moving pretty fast for a guy who looks so breathless, Sasuke rolls off Naruto and onto his back, head landing smack dab in the middle of the oversized pillow nearly half the width of the bed. Mouth slightly parted, he stares up at the ceiling with closed eyes, chest heaving and arms held listless above his head.
A moment or two passes, and Naruto watches with an already wide self-satisfied grin that only continues to grow when a tight-lipped Sasuke turns on his side to face him.
Left leg bent, Sasuke slides it up the bed, bringing it closer to his chest. He shifts his right knee to rest on his left foot, watching Naruto with narrowed eyes.
He’s more than used to Sasuke’s glares by now. Not that they did much to deter him in the first place. If anything, Sasuke putting down all those efforts to gain his attention ended up goading Naruto that much more-still does, actually. Although considering the messy dark hair sticking up every which way and the flushed cheeks that are starting to look a little puffy, Sasuke inadvertently doing his best to imitate the one thing Naruto can’t unsee ever since Itachi told him about it, the last thing that glare does is make Sasuke look menacing.
“...you jackass.”
Naruto grins at the hand shoving against his chest. He already knows Sasuke isn’t seriously trying to push him away. “Since when does wanting to make you feel better make me the jackass?”
“When I’m finished with you, Naruto, there won’t be anything left of your body to find.”
“Heh.” Rubbing a finger against the side of his nose, Naruto chuckles. “Can’t blame me for not being ticklish like you.”
“I can. And I will.”
“You’re not really going to hold a grudge over something like-hey, man code, man code-watch it. No kicking down there, all right.” Both hands guarding his very, highly important assets, Naruto cringes when Sasuke’s foot hits his arm, a little too close to his crotch for comfort. “That’s the part of me we both really like, remember?”
“Do I look like I care? Be grateful this is the only thing I’m in the mood to do right now.”
“What kind of-h-hey, hey, didn’t I just say that area’s off limits? Kicking me so casually, I know we already talked about you resorting to this kind of thing before.”
“Like I’m even hitting you that hard.” Sasuke sticks his leg out again, the heel of his foot this time digging into Naruto’s thigh. “You really think I’d do that to you?”
“The way you keep kicking at me, yeah,” Naruto says, deflecting another onslaught that seems more like some kind of personal vendetta against his thigh. “Cause it sure as hell doesn’t look like you’re too far off from trying to neuter me.”
Sasuke rolls his eyes. “You would think to put it that way, wouldn’t you,” he says, getting Naruto in the leg one more time. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been trying to kick you off the bed.”
“Trying to kick me off the-” By the time Naruto realises how close to the edge he’s been moving, he’s already falling off the bed, and he squeaks, eyes large as he watches Sasuke’s face disappear.
He lands on the floor with a swift thud, quiet with the exception of a low groan more out of irritation from being pushed off the bed than any kind of pain. But, slight irritation aside, it didn’t hurt. He wasn’t expecting it to, either. The short drop was an uneventful trip he can say he’s made a few times before. Although, despite how often Sasuke does threaten to kick him off the bed, it’s the first time he’s actually tried to do it. Not that Naruto assumes it’ll be the last, knowing how unforgiving Sasuke can be sometimes, but usually, when he does find himself on the floor, it has more to do with his bad sleeping habits rather than Sasuke’s self-conscious nature.
In the meantime, though, he stretches out on the floor and makes himself comfortable, leaving one leg up while extending the other. Placing his hands beneath his head, he waits, listening to the shuffling noise from the bed growing louder as it comes closer.
Two or three seconds later, Sasuke peers over the edge of the bed, laying his head on the oversized pillow tucked under one arm.
Naruto meets the quiet concern in Sasuke’s gaze with a grin. “Not even going to ask me if I’m okay?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“Uh, considering you just kicked me off the bed, yeah. You could afford to look a little less uncaring. What if I got hurt or something?”
“You didn’t.”
“But still. What if I did?”
“You’re fine.”
“You could at least pretend to worry about me, you know. For my sake.”
“For your ego, you mean.” Lifting his head, Sasuke makes this small little frown. “I don’t like being tickled.”
“I know. That’s why I did it.”
“And that’s why you’re on the floor. You shouldn’t be so dramatic anyway.”
“I am not-” Quickly, Naruto sits up, standing on his knees and crossing his arms he throws on top of the bed. “...dramatic.”
Sasuke snorts. “You’re messy, too.” Ignoring Naruto’s offended cry, he beckons him closer with a finger Naruto follows without hesitation. “Let me see.”
“What is it?”
“There’s something on your mouth.”
“Where?” With the back of his hand, Naruto rubs at the corner of his mouth. He goes cross-eyed when he looks down, trying to see if he got whatever it is Sasuke’s talking about. “Did I get it?”
“No, you...” Licking his thumb, Sasuke reaches to wipe a spot above Naruto’s upper lip. “Something white,” he says, drying his thumb on the sleeve of Naruto’s dark blue shirt.
“Oh.” Naruto blinks. “Probably that cream custard filling you made. It was actually pretty good. Better than the raspberry jam one. That wasn’t bad, either, but the green tea roll cake, even though it’s less sweet, I think you should keep that recipe. It’s different.”
“I’m going to assume you already ate the rest of it.”
“What? It’s not like you made a lot of it. And you said I could have it.”
“I did. I just didn’t think you’d finish it all at once.”
“I know I tease you about your food sometimes-”
“Sometimes?”
“Okay, okay, a lot-I tease you about your food a lot,” Naruto admits, cocking his head towards Sasuke with a playful smile, “but I mean it. This one was good. Really.”
Eyes closed, Sasuke makes a soft hum, readjusting the pillow in his arms. He lowers his cheek against the pillow, hiding the right side of his face as he opens his eyes.
“So...” Naruto props his chin on his forearm. “As long as you plan on keeping up with this whole not talking to me thing, it still means you’re not, not kissing me, though, right?”
At first, Sasuke doesn’t answer, but then he starts to crack this barely there indulgent smile. “...yeah, Naruto.”
“Just wanted to make sure.” Naruto grins. “Seeing that I really like kissing you, I don’t want you to stop kissing me because of something like this, okay.”
When Sasuke doesn’t say anything, gently, Naruto prods an exposed cheek. “The old pervert knowing about your paintings, that is okay, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t okay.”
“No, you just stopped talking to me.” Naruto snorts. “Even though you already have some exposure, because the pervert knows a lot of people that are into the more traditional stuff, I thought you’d be happy about this. I can’t be excited for the both of us all the time, you know. It doesn’t work like that.”
“You told me,” Sasuke says slowly, “while we were in the middle of having sex, you told me your uncle-the same uncle you always accuse of being a dirty old man and the reason why you’re such a pervert now-wanted me to be part of a book he was working on with a friend. Tell me, Naruto. How was I supposed to react?”
“Well, when you put it that way, since most of his books are pretty much perverted memoirs, it almost sounds like I was telling you he wanted you to join a thr-”
Sasuke reaches to tug on Naruto’s ear. Hard.
“Owowow-okay, I get it, I get it. It sounds bad, really bad-I get it.” Squinting, Naruto lets out an irritated huff when Sasuke releases his ear. “...I don’t remember it coming out like that, though. Seriously. Whatever came out, that’s not what I was trying to say, obviously, but I only decided to bring it up then because it’s easier to talk to you about your paintings when you’re more...you know,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
Annoyance taking up the form of a half-hearted glare, Sasuke flicks Naruto’s shoulder. “Doesn’t matter what you were trying to say. It’s what you ultimately did say.”
“Except you’re not me. You wouldn’t be so quick to jump to the wrong kind of conclusion. I know what I said isn’t what got you upset, so I still don’t get why you stopped talking to me. I mean, I tell you Jiraiya knows people who just happen to know other people who are really big on the kinds of things you’re really good at doing, and suddenly you go all shy on me.”
“Shy, Naruto?”
“All right, maybe not the normal people kind of shy-since apparently you can’t be normal like normal people. But the special kind of Sasuke shy that usually involves you putting me in the kinds of situations I generally consider unfavourable to my overall wellbeing whenever you’re embarrassed.”
Sasuke glances to the side, mouth pressed against the pillow muffling his voice. “You’re an embarrassing guy.”
“See? Like that,” Naruto says, smiling at Sasuke’s expression. “But if that’s the case this time, then it just makes me feel like you can’t accept me helping you.
“Even though my uncle came to me about the idea, I’d still like to think I’m entitled to do this kind of thing for you, to do what I can for you. Taking care of you, I don’t really get a chance to do it. And I like doing things for you. Not because I think you need me to do things for you, but because I want to do things for you. It’s just harder when you won’t let-”
Teeth lightly skimming across Naruto’s bottom lip, slowly, Sasuke begins to pull away. “I won’t let you what?” he breathes, coarse strands unravelling from his finger as it follows the hair trailing along the side of Naruto’s face.
“...kissing me like that without warning, Sasuke, now I just feel like you’re trying to distract me.”
Sasuke gives him this amused little smile. “You’re the one who can’t even take care of yourself.”
Laying an arm over Sasuke’s pillow, Naruto returns the smile with a sly one of his own. “That’s what I have you for.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. It is. And the sex, too. Although that’s probably because it’s the one thing you’ll actually let me get away with.”
Sasuke snorts.
“Don’t pretend you don’t like me.”
“I never said I liked you.”
“Come on, Sasuke,” Naruto says, hand making a brief sweeping motion at himself, “what isn’t there to like about all of this?”
“What is there?”
“You always say the nicest things, don’t you.”
“Acting as if I like you, there’s nothing nice about that. There’s nothing I should like about a loser like you.”
“What if I gave you the best reason of them all,” Naruto says, “would that be enough for you to like me then?”
“...depending on what it is.”
A smile is quick to spread across Naruto’s face. “Remember earlier, when you asked me if I had anything else to do?”
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. “You were staring at me.”
Naruto lets out a low chuckle, reaching up with a palm that curves around the back of Sasuke’s neck. “Okay, yeah, I’ll cough up to that,” he says, fingers absently playing with the hair still not fully dry at Sasuke’s nape, “but you know why I said no?”
Eyes soft, Sasuke allows Naruto to bring him closer “...why?”
“Because being here with you,” Naruto whispers, his lips a bare brush against Sasuke’s mouth, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.”
With a scowl, Sasuke shoves Naruto away. He grabs the oversized pillow, misusing it to repeatedly smack a shamelessly grinning Naruto who can’t stop laughing behind the arms he holds up to protect his face from Sasuke’s assault.
“What? Saying that kind of thing to you, I can’t help it if it’s true.”
“You corny idiot!”
Bad imagination-bad. Crack!fic is never the answer.
So, yeah, it's all hokey. An utterly soppy mess, oocness galore. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Once again, I blame Korean music (in the cube, but Block B's killing me softly atm). Although I do think this really playful Naruto just gets tickled right pink seeing Sasuke doing all these unintentionally cute things being contradictory.
***
Characters: Naruto/Sasuke
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3752
Summary: “So I’m not allowed to be happy around you anymore?”
“Still not talking to me?”
Raising his arms, Sasuke slips a rumpled grey shirt over his head, the same rumpled grey shirt that’s not his with the allegedly demented smiley face he claims not to like but wears the hell out of anyway. “I’m trying to get dressed.”
“Answering with a yes or no, I don’t think it’d hurt you to try that, too.”
“Then no,” Sasuke says, hands guiding his arms through short sleeves, “I’m still not talking to you.”
Sitting up, Naruto grins and throws his legs over the edge of the bed. Bare feet planted apart wide on the floor, he leans over, resting his elbows on his knees. He brings his hands together, watching Sasuke’s back disappear beneath the light grey shirt.
His gaze lowers to the bottom of the shirt falling right above Sasuke’s thighs and covering a loose pair of boxer briefs. Slowly, his eyes trail long legs, following a single bead of water leading a path curved along pale skin.
Running a hand through dark hair still somewhat damp, Sasuke bends over, picking up the match to the black ankle sock on his left foot. He barely lifts his right foot off the floor, left leg kept straight as he slips the sock over his heel.
Not consciously, with the unintentional intention of getting a view he can better appreciate, Naruto tilts his head slightly to the side. He tracks the careful movement of deft fingers that were all over him less than an hour ago, especially keen when Sasuke begins to stand, carrying Naruto’s gaze back up the length of legs that were also all over him less than an hour ago. Among a lot of other body parts involved in what happened less than an hour ago.
He always did admire Sasuke’s really good sense of balance.
“You don’t have anything else to do?”
Unfazed by the abrupt sound of Sasuke’s voice, in the middle of his blatant staring, Naruto doesn’t have the shame to feel guilty about being caught. It isn’t like he hasn’t been on the receiving end of Sasuke’s more subtle gaze from time to time, but he still makes a show of pretending to think. Squinting with one eye closed, he raises a finger to scratch the underside of his chin, eying the open doorway to his left and the large art portfolio sitting next to it on the floor.
Looking back to Sasuke, he sits up and lowers his arm, shaking his head. “Nah, not really.”
Sasuke sends him this highly unimpressed look from over his shoulder. “Sitting there wearing that kind of smile, coming across so pleased, it’s annoying.”
“So I’m not allowed to be happy around you anymore?” One at a time, Naruto rolls up the legs of his black sweatpants above his calves, not trying to hide a laugh at the almost pinched expression on Sasuke’s face. “Besides, I thought you weren’t talking to me.”
“I’m not.” Turning around, Sasuke shuts the top drawer to the short wooden chest in front of him.
This unremarkable piece of antique looking furniture that probably survived the Showa period, they’re supposed to try to refurbish it sometime this weekend. They splurged for it on a whim last Tuesday, because it was on sale, more than well within their budget, and as much as Naruto doesn’t mind Sasuke stealing his stuff, he’d actually like to be able to wear his own clothes every once in a while without worrying about running out of shirts by the end of the week.
Especially since the laundry Sasuke convinces him to do too often, poorly justified by the fact most of the clothes are his (completely ignoring the fact it’s not Naruto’s fault that Sasuke’s clothes just hang there on his side of their tiny little closet), he’s not a big fan of it.
At all.
“I guess if you really don’t want to talk to me,” he says, dragging out the words with a lazy drawl, “sure. Okay.”
After moving to close another drawer, Sasuke pauses. Shoulders tense, his hand hovers near the upper right corner of the chest. “Okay?”
Naruto immediately picks up on the suspicion in Sasuke’s voice, but he doesn’t answer. From the bed, a faint creak follows a soft rustling while he begins to stand. Trying to make as little noise as possible, he takes quick steps spanning the short distance bringing him closer and closer Sasuke.
“What are you-”
He pounces before Sasuke has a chance to finish. The stutter of his name fades into a soft cry of surprise as his arms grab by the waist a stumbling Sasuke who sends them both toppling backwards onto the bed.
They fall with a thump that draws out a loud creak from the bed. Naruto grunts, carrying the brunt of the impact and barely dodging the back of Sasuke’s head nearly colliding with his chin. Although Sasuke’s far from being the heaviest guy out there, he’s not exactly a lightweight, either, especially in a situation where he might start to feel uneasy about being this close to someone he doesn’t know.
Sneaking up on Sasuke from behind, the first few times Naruto tried something like this, while he was still trying to get Sasuke to be his friend, experience did well to teach him Sasuke doesn’t pull his punches.
He doesn’t have to worry about Sasuke retaliating on him for that kind of thing now, obviously. Not to the same extent at any rate. Still, there’s something he happens to like about being able to feel Sasuke’s weight on top of him like this. It doesn’t really make sense to him, not if he starts to think about it too much, but it’s more than just the aspect of being a physical sensation fuelling what Sasuke likes to claim is an irritatingly persistent need to constantly touch.
More importantly maybe, at least in this instance, if he really wants to think about the implications of intentionally making Sasuke fall for the sole purpose of proving he’ll be able to catch him, he’d like to believe there’s a significance behind his uncommon but not always uncharacteristic show of subtlety he knows Sasuke tends to respond to better, so Naruto just gives him a light squeeze, securing him in a loose hold that’s still firm.
Like he expects, Sasuke starts to wiggle a bit. It doesn’t take long for him to relax, though. Head leaned back, hair brushing against the sheets, Sasuke reaches for the arms around him, feet propped near the edge of the bed and on either side of Naruto’s legs.
“...Naruto.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s this?”
“I ambushed you.”
After a short pause, Sasuke sighs. “Not that you won’t make me regret asking...” Palms pressing down against Naruto’s forearms, he makes an unenthusiastic attempt to get Naruto to move. “Aside from stating the obvious, why did you suddenly feel the need to have me rethink how much of an idiot you really are?”
“Ah-ha!” Naruto pokes Sasuke in the hip twice. “Call me names all you want, but I still got you willingly talking to me again, didn’t I?”
Sasuke’s chest rises, like he’s getting ready to say something, but then he just sighs again. “I don’t even know why I bother.”
“Because you know you can’t deny that I’m right.”
“No. Now let go.”
“Actually,” Naruto says, keeping one arm around Sasuke’s torso while his other hand moves to slip beneath Sasuke’s shirt, “I’m kind of comfortable right now.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s not what you said earlier.”
“Naruto...” Making a weird little noise, Sasuke twitches, tense at the fingers on his skin slowly beginning to trace a path along his side. “Don’t you-”
Of course, what he already knows Sasuke was going to tell him not to do, Naruto does it anyway, practised fingers darting over Sasuke’s skin, attacking without restraint and earning him a sharp gasp that has Sasuke jerk violently in his arms.
It’s no secret Sasuke doesn’t like being tickled. Although Sasuke will let him get away with doing it every once in a while, he knows he’s still pushing his luck the few times he does it, but he seriously can’t help it if he thinks it’s funny the way a squirming Sasuke twists into all these awkward looking angles trying to get away from him.
“N-Naru-Naruto, let me-”
But when Sasuke actually starts to laugh, actually breaks into this uncontrollable fit of these really cute sounding giggles while he’s contorting his body and flailing all over the place, now that’s just downright hilarious.
More than Sasuke’s contagious giggling, though, being able to see him completely come undone like this-well, Naruto just about loses it at that.
“D-damn it, Naruto, you stupid-” Trying and failing to grab Naruto’s hands, Sasuke bends his back into this incredibly high arch, heels digging into the sheets in an attempt to escape relentless fingers. “I’m going to kill-s-stop it, stopitstopitdie.”
Naruto just continues to laugh, smile stretched wide even though he knows Sasuke will probably find a way to inflict some cruel form of retribution to get him back tenfold, but for now, being able to hear that kind of unreserved laughter from Sasuke, simply knowing Sasuke is comfortable enough with him to allow him to do this, it’s definitely worth it.
Or at least it is until Sasuke nearly guts him with his elbow. Once. Twice. But then Naruto decides better than to risk a third close call when he finally lets his arms fall away.
Moving pretty fast for a guy who looks so breathless, Sasuke rolls off Naruto and onto his back, head landing smack dab in the middle of the oversized pillow nearly half the width of the bed. Mouth slightly parted, he stares up at the ceiling with closed eyes, chest heaving and arms held listless above his head.
A moment or two passes, and Naruto watches with an already wide self-satisfied grin that only continues to grow when a tight-lipped Sasuke turns on his side to face him.
Left leg bent, Sasuke slides it up the bed, bringing it closer to his chest. He shifts his right knee to rest on his left foot, watching Naruto with narrowed eyes.
He’s more than used to Sasuke’s glares by now. Not that they did much to deter him in the first place. If anything, Sasuke putting down all those efforts to gain his attention ended up goading Naruto that much more-still does, actually. Although considering the messy dark hair sticking up every which way and the flushed cheeks that are starting to look a little puffy, Sasuke inadvertently doing his best to imitate the one thing Naruto can’t unsee ever since Itachi told him about it, the last thing that glare does is make Sasuke look menacing.
“...you jackass.”
Naruto grins at the hand shoving against his chest. He already knows Sasuke isn’t seriously trying to push him away. “Since when does wanting to make you feel better make me the jackass?”
“When I’m finished with you, Naruto, there won’t be anything left of your body to find.”
“Heh.” Rubbing a finger against the side of his nose, Naruto chuckles. “Can’t blame me for not being ticklish like you.”
“I can. And I will.”
“You’re not really going to hold a grudge over something like-hey, man code, man code-watch it. No kicking down there, all right.” Both hands guarding his very, highly important assets, Naruto cringes when Sasuke’s foot hits his arm, a little too close to his crotch for comfort. “That’s the part of me we both really like, remember?”
“Do I look like I care? Be grateful this is the only thing I’m in the mood to do right now.”
“What kind of-h-hey, hey, didn’t I just say that area’s off limits? Kicking me so casually, I know we already talked about you resorting to this kind of thing before.”
“Like I’m even hitting you that hard.” Sasuke sticks his leg out again, the heel of his foot this time digging into Naruto’s thigh. “You really think I’d do that to you?”
“The way you keep kicking at me, yeah,” Naruto says, deflecting another onslaught that seems more like some kind of personal vendetta against his thigh. “Cause it sure as hell doesn’t look like you’re too far off from trying to neuter me.”
Sasuke rolls his eyes. “You would think to put it that way, wouldn’t you,” he says, getting Naruto in the leg one more time. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been trying to kick you off the bed.”
“Trying to kick me off the-” By the time Naruto realises how close to the edge he’s been moving, he’s already falling off the bed, and he squeaks, eyes large as he watches Sasuke’s face disappear.
He lands on the floor with a swift thud, quiet with the exception of a low groan more out of irritation from being pushed off the bed than any kind of pain. But, slight irritation aside, it didn’t hurt. He wasn’t expecting it to, either. The short drop was an uneventful trip he can say he’s made a few times before. Although, despite how often Sasuke does threaten to kick him off the bed, it’s the first time he’s actually tried to do it. Not that Naruto assumes it’ll be the last, knowing how unforgiving Sasuke can be sometimes, but usually, when he does find himself on the floor, it has more to do with his bad sleeping habits rather than Sasuke’s self-conscious nature.
In the meantime, though, he stretches out on the floor and makes himself comfortable, leaving one leg up while extending the other. Placing his hands beneath his head, he waits, listening to the shuffling noise from the bed growing louder as it comes closer.
Two or three seconds later, Sasuke peers over the edge of the bed, laying his head on the oversized pillow tucked under one arm.
Naruto meets the quiet concern in Sasuke’s gaze with a grin. “Not even going to ask me if I’m okay?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“Uh, considering you just kicked me off the bed, yeah. You could afford to look a little less uncaring. What if I got hurt or something?”
“You didn’t.”
“But still. What if I did?”
“You’re fine.”
“You could at least pretend to worry about me, you know. For my sake.”
“For your ego, you mean.” Lifting his head, Sasuke makes this small little frown. “I don’t like being tickled.”
“I know. That’s why I did it.”
“And that’s why you’re on the floor. You shouldn’t be so dramatic anyway.”
“I am not-” Quickly, Naruto sits up, standing on his knees and crossing his arms he throws on top of the bed. “...dramatic.”
Sasuke snorts. “You’re messy, too.” Ignoring Naruto’s offended cry, he beckons him closer with a finger Naruto follows without hesitation. “Let me see.”
“What is it?”
“There’s something on your mouth.”
“Where?” With the back of his hand, Naruto rubs at the corner of his mouth. He goes cross-eyed when he looks down, trying to see if he got whatever it is Sasuke’s talking about. “Did I get it?”
“No, you...” Licking his thumb, Sasuke reaches to wipe a spot above Naruto’s upper lip. “Something white,” he says, drying his thumb on the sleeve of Naruto’s dark blue shirt.
“Oh.” Naruto blinks. “Probably that cream custard filling you made. It was actually pretty good. Better than the raspberry jam one. That wasn’t bad, either, but the green tea roll cake, even though it’s less sweet, I think you should keep that recipe. It’s different.”
“I’m going to assume you already ate the rest of it.”
“What? It’s not like you made a lot of it. And you said I could have it.”
“I did. I just didn’t think you’d finish it all at once.”
“I know I tease you about your food sometimes-”
“Sometimes?”
“Okay, okay, a lot-I tease you about your food a lot,” Naruto admits, cocking his head towards Sasuke with a playful smile, “but I mean it. This one was good. Really.”
Eyes closed, Sasuke makes a soft hum, readjusting the pillow in his arms. He lowers his cheek against the pillow, hiding the right side of his face as he opens his eyes.
“So...” Naruto props his chin on his forearm. “As long as you plan on keeping up with this whole not talking to me thing, it still means you’re not, not kissing me, though, right?”
At first, Sasuke doesn’t answer, but then he starts to crack this barely there indulgent smile. “...yeah, Naruto.”
“Just wanted to make sure.” Naruto grins. “Seeing that I really like kissing you, I don’t want you to stop kissing me because of something like this, okay.”
When Sasuke doesn’t say anything, gently, Naruto prods an exposed cheek. “The old pervert knowing about your paintings, that is okay, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t okay.”
“No, you just stopped talking to me.” Naruto snorts. “Even though you already have some exposure, because the pervert knows a lot of people that are into the more traditional stuff, I thought you’d be happy about this. I can’t be excited for the both of us all the time, you know. It doesn’t work like that.”
“You told me,” Sasuke says slowly, “while we were in the middle of having sex, you told me your uncle-the same uncle you always accuse of being a dirty old man and the reason why you’re such a pervert now-wanted me to be part of a book he was working on with a friend. Tell me, Naruto. How was I supposed to react?”
“Well, when you put it that way, since most of his books are pretty much perverted memoirs, it almost sounds like I was telling you he wanted you to join a thr-”
Sasuke reaches to tug on Naruto’s ear. Hard.
“Owowow-okay, I get it, I get it. It sounds bad, really bad-I get it.” Squinting, Naruto lets out an irritated huff when Sasuke releases his ear. “...I don’t remember it coming out like that, though. Seriously. Whatever came out, that’s not what I was trying to say, obviously, but I only decided to bring it up then because it’s easier to talk to you about your paintings when you’re more...you know,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
Annoyance taking up the form of a half-hearted glare, Sasuke flicks Naruto’s shoulder. “Doesn’t matter what you were trying to say. It’s what you ultimately did say.”
“Except you’re not me. You wouldn’t be so quick to jump to the wrong kind of conclusion. I know what I said isn’t what got you upset, so I still don’t get why you stopped talking to me. I mean, I tell you Jiraiya knows people who just happen to know other people who are really big on the kinds of things you’re really good at doing, and suddenly you go all shy on me.”
“Shy, Naruto?”
“All right, maybe not the normal people kind of shy-since apparently you can’t be normal like normal people. But the special kind of Sasuke shy that usually involves you putting me in the kinds of situations I generally consider unfavourable to my overall wellbeing whenever you’re embarrassed.”
Sasuke glances to the side, mouth pressed against the pillow muffling his voice. “You’re an embarrassing guy.”
“See? Like that,” Naruto says, smiling at Sasuke’s expression. “But if that’s the case this time, then it just makes me feel like you can’t accept me helping you.
“Even though my uncle came to me about the idea, I’d still like to think I’m entitled to do this kind of thing for you, to do what I can for you. Taking care of you, I don’t really get a chance to do it. And I like doing things for you. Not because I think you need me to do things for you, but because I want to do things for you. It’s just harder when you won’t let-”
Teeth lightly skimming across Naruto’s bottom lip, slowly, Sasuke begins to pull away. “I won’t let you what?” he breathes, coarse strands unravelling from his finger as it follows the hair trailing along the side of Naruto’s face.
“...kissing me like that without warning, Sasuke, now I just feel like you’re trying to distract me.”
Sasuke gives him this amused little smile. “You’re the one who can’t even take care of yourself.”
Laying an arm over Sasuke’s pillow, Naruto returns the smile with a sly one of his own. “That’s what I have you for.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. It is. And the sex, too. Although that’s probably because it’s the one thing you’ll actually let me get away with.”
Sasuke snorts.
“Don’t pretend you don’t like me.”
“I never said I liked you.”
“Come on, Sasuke,” Naruto says, hand making a brief sweeping motion at himself, “what isn’t there to like about all of this?”
“What is there?”
“You always say the nicest things, don’t you.”
“Acting as if I like you, there’s nothing nice about that. There’s nothing I should like about a loser like you.”
“What if I gave you the best reason of them all,” Naruto says, “would that be enough for you to like me then?”
“...depending on what it is.”
A smile is quick to spread across Naruto’s face. “Remember earlier, when you asked me if I had anything else to do?”
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. “You were staring at me.”
Naruto lets out a low chuckle, reaching up with a palm that curves around the back of Sasuke’s neck. “Okay, yeah, I’ll cough up to that,” he says, fingers absently playing with the hair still not fully dry at Sasuke’s nape, “but you know why I said no?”
Eyes soft, Sasuke allows Naruto to bring him closer “...why?”
“Because being here with you,” Naruto whispers, his lips a bare brush against Sasuke’s mouth, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.”
With a scowl, Sasuke shoves Naruto away. He grabs the oversized pillow, misusing it to repeatedly smack a shamelessly grinning Naruto who can’t stop laughing behind the arms he holds up to protect his face from Sasuke’s assault.
“What? Saying that kind of thing to you, I can’t help it if it’s true.”
“You corny idiot!”