Hey, how does Naruto response to softness? Sasuke seems to be overwhelmed with gentle touch when he's handled delicately, but what about Naruto?
I'd imagine he'd be more used to gentle care about his peers during more chill hangout time for Naruto, but has he ever been held like he's a delicate fragile loved one? Held and touched like he'd turned to dust if his partner wasn't careful? Would he feel overwhelmed and love it like Gaara when he's touched by the ever caring Naruto? Or would Uzumaki be more scattered and falling apart like Sasuke, feeling too comfortable with roughness that soft feels like torture?
Does Naruto have a double standard for himself on whether or not he wants/needs some delicate care for himself? Would he feel comfortable asking for something soft or does he need a nonverbal request signal to ask for something sweeter like how Sasuke uses his collar in a previous S&M post? Many things I here ponder 🤔🧐✨
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So many good thoughts anon...... here are mine....
In general
I don't think its as much of a... struggle? For Naruto? Not the way it is for Sasuke at least. He gets so much satisfaction from giving that receiving isn't always his first thought. It takes some time to find their balance but overall I think he'd be quicker to accept tlc than Sasuke. He doesn't have the same adversion to leaning on others that Sasuke does.
True Naruto maintains more casual closeness with people and doesn't have the same hangups around physical affection as Sasuke, but the emotional care aspects hit him. He has lots of friends who care for him deeply, but no one knows his heart and makes him feel known quite like Sasuke.
He probably does have a bit of a double standard about it all. He feels fulfilled by giving attention, and sometimes receiving it feels less important to him. I think Naruto always wants to feel useful, wants to be the one who puts others first. Being taken care of, like truly taken care of isn't something he's used to either. He naturally falls into a caretaker and protector role so I think he's a little caught off guard when the tables flip. His first instinct is to go back to what he knows, he should be the one giving care, affection, love. But in time they both get better at receiving in their own ways.
I think when Sasuke first initiates with nothing but gentle tenderness, not wanting anything from Naruto except to make him feel loved and accepted, it makes him so happy he can't really hold it. He's wanted. Someone wants him. Someone really really knows him and sees him and wants him. He's loved. Sasuke loves him. He always knew they were bonded. Even at their lowest he knew Sasuke cared about him, he just doesn't know what to do about it. But now he does. Sasuke knows how to love him now. He's giddy and smiling and tears threaten to fall at any moment. Its a good overwhelm. Hes like a wiggly happy puppy. Its so much better than when he used shadow clones to stave off the starvation. He can't stop smiling and making happy little noises, when Sasuke stalls he does that little shake to ask him to keep going. Nuzzles and buries himself in Sasuke to surround himself with his scent. It makes his heart hurt how happy this makes him, its like he can even feel Kurama purring too.
Once they reach that level I think he'd have no problem asking Sasuke to... pet him lol, but they don't always need words. Each of them can crawl into the other's lap or give a certain gentle glance and they understand what is needed.
On collars
Made me chuckle a little to see my interpretations of Sasuke's collar signal as 'sweet', I think its sweet too but he's basically like, without words saying "im fucked up rn come hurt me about it" lol
Gaara
And since you mentioned Gaara, in my imagined semi-canon-compliant timeline he was Naruto's first experience with like, intimate affection. They were able to comfortably explore tenderness together, and find out what it means for them. I think Gaara is straightforward with what he wants and likes, and even if Naruto takes the lead Gaara wants Naruto to feel good too. I don't think they fully banged/sexually touched eachother until later, but in the Shippuden days they had some chances where they just, needed something gentle. A mutual closeness between two people who shared a deep connection, but they both know its..... its different than whatever Sasuke and Naruto have. To me the line between platonic and sexual and romantic for them are all very....maliable? It doesn't make sense to everyone but it does to them. There's deffinitely some give and pull and they weren't always on the same page but at the core of it all is mutual love and respect. They both learned a lot from each other.
