Sasuke glared at the roof of the tent, the glow of the full moon faintly visible through the synthetic material. He tried to summon the calm he usually found in the moon’s presence, inhaling deeply for a measured breath, closing his eyes, and—
“Would you lie still?!” He grabbed one of his sandals from behind his head, flinging it in Naruto’s general direction. The dull thunk and pained grunt that meant it’d reached its target made the rage boiling within his veins reduce to a more manageable simmer.
“I can’t help it, okay? It’s been too long since I’ve been on a mission outside of the village,” Naruto whined. “Now I’m all used to sleeping in my cozy bed, cuddling my body pillow...” He sighed mournfully. “Cuddling my backpack isn’t the same.”
Sasuke opened his mouth, ready to lambast Naruto for being such a pathetic shinobi, but the words died in his throat. For some reason, the idea of Naruto cuddling some stupid pillow to sleep every night made him bristle with irritation. Or possibly another, much worse emotion, one that he refused to name.
He glanced over to where Naruto lay a few feet away, wishing either of his dojutsu granted him better night vision, and scoffed. “If cuddling will make you stop moving so I can sleep, then come over here.”
At that, Naruto did stop moving, becoming so still Sasuke began to worry hope he’d already fallen asleep. But then he bolted upright, his blue eyes as big and round as the moon outside.
“I—really? Well, okay,” he said quickly, practically leaping out of his sleeping bag and crawling over. “Should I just—”
“Hold on, idiot,” Sasuke muttered, fumbling with the zipper of his bag. It was too small to fit them both, but they could spread it out flat and use Naruto’s as a blanket overtop. His heart began to pound as he explained the plan to Naruto, who deftly unzippered his own bag with the ease that two hands allowed. By the time they were lying side-by-side, Sasuke felt like his heartbeat was surely loud enough to hear, the sound of it echoing in his ears.
“So…” Naruto cleared his throat, and after a short silence where Sasuke didn’t respond, rolled onto his side facing Sasuke.
Sasuke stiffly rolled onto his side, too, and held his breath as Naruto shuffled closer, his broad chest covering Sasuke’s back and his knees tucking in behind Sasuke’s own. After a moment, one of his arms wrapped around Sasuke’s waist, his fingers briefly spreading over Sasuke’s stomach before curling into a fist instead.
“This alright?” Naruto whispered. He sounded uncharacteristically gentle, almost nervous—there was none of his usual brashness, and the surreality of it all made Sasuke’s lone palm sweat.
“Whatever,” Sasuke said, his own voice tight and strangled. “Just go to sleep.”
“If it’s uncomfortable, I can—” Naruto started to pull away and Sasuke grabbed his hand before he could stop himself, pulling Naruto’s arm tighter around him.
“It’s fine,” he mumbled. Slowly, his body relaxed, and Naruto seemed to relax with him, his foot grazing Sasuke’s ankle as he settled into a more comfortable position.
“Okay,” Naruto said. Sasuke could feel him smile, his lips a barely-there brush over Sasuke’s neck. His scent was overwhelming like this, sweat and miso and something fresh, too, like the cypress trees that surrounded their tent. “Thanks, Sasuke. I gotta say, you feel way nicer than my pillow.”
Sasuke desperately tried to fight the way his breath began to quicken, silently reciting breathing exercises in his head. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“I just mean, I might get used to you too.” Naruto’s voice dropped lower, “and then I’ll need to cuddle you to fall asleep even when we get back home.”
Breathing exercises were bullshit, Sasuke decided. He clenched his eyes shut once more, focusing on how it felt to be in Naruto’s embrace. It felt... good. Warm, secure, safe—better, really, than he’d ever imagined, and he could no longer pretend he’d never done so.
This time, Naruto's smile was firm, pressing into Sasuke’s skin like a kiss. With a shaky exhale, Sasuke squeezed his hand, and their fingers twined together without another word between them.
Sleep came easily, and every night thereafter, always in Naruto’s arms.