Sasuke Uchiha

Introvert | Tomato Enthusiast | Cat Person

[ifellinthefandom]

Reading amazing fanfiction, then forgetting to bookmark it

[aphony-cree]

enter this into the Google search

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[kristenconner96]

REBLOG TO SAVE A LIFE

[superpeanutwastaken-deactivated]

REBLOG TO SAVE MY LIFE

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

The absolute joy that Sasuke’s single word of agreement brought to Naruto’s face alone was worth the commitment he had made. Naruto answered the two fundamental questions he had posed while Sasuke continued to separate and spread the sticky notes recreating the sea of color on the wood floors. “I know what it is…” Why did Naruto want to take him to Hanagakure? That was an odd choice. Admittedly, he had never set foot there. There was no reason for him to. Sasuke wasn’t exactly into sightseeing the past three years.

“Of course she did, she’s a florist Naruto,” he mumbled separating the last of the colored squares and setting them on opposite sides of his board. It didn’t matter who suggested it because it seemed that there was more to Naruto’s little plan. Sasuke’s ears pricked at the sound of his giggle with himself. Eyes slit he looked over his shoulder at the scheming blonde. He was always up to something. What had he gotten himself into?

As expected, all playfulness vanished from Naruto’s face when Sasuke presented his wager. He leaned back on his toes to survey his work. He felt Naruto perch on the couch behind him to watch and caught his huffy comments. Sasuke scoffed with a smug smirk at Naruto’s clear irritation with his friend’s declaration of superiority. “You said if but I think you meant when,” he taunted.

A pale hand lifted the notebook of answers, in one fluid motion he bent backward at the waist, head falling back, to give him a better angle to give the blonde referee of this little game the answer key. Dark curtains of hair reached for the floor below, onyx eyes locked onto the other’s contrasting blues, and an overconfident smirk tugged up on the corner of his lips. The small pink tip of Naruto’s tongue poked out at him to say hello and taunt him. Why did he always have to be so cute? The sight made his heart rate quicken slightly. He felt an overwhelming desire to cover the tongue with his lips. “Tch.” He quickly pulled his upper torso back into an upright position facing away from Naruto as the blush burst onto his cheeks from the vision. He needed to distract himself again.

Without another word, he set to work mixing and matching all the answers. His face scrunched ever so slightly in concentration. The only indication the slight twitch of his cheekbones, the tug of his eyebrows, and the squint of his eyes. His hands flew across the notes, ripping one off the floor, bringing it to his eyes, scanning it thoughtfully, before sorting it. The same process repeated in a strange visual rhythm until they were all put in stacks.

Sasuke snatched the notebook from Naruto to look over his answers. He had gotten all of them right so far, he began to get smug, then cursed when he encountered an incorrect answer. “Again…” he whispered to himself like he always did when training.

He set back to work dispersing the notes only to yank them from their resting places seconds later. This round he moved slower with more purpose as he used caution with his placements. There was a rolling wave of nerves vibrating through his body. He felt the burning desire to be right, to impress Naruto.

Finishing, he double checked his answers before wordlessly taking the notebook again to ensure he was correct. “Hmph,” he smiled and lazily held the notebook out to Naruto to check for himself. “You’re going to have to work harder than this if you want to beat me on that test dobe,” he said voice dripping with arrogance.

@will-of-naruto​

Sasuke was indisputably a genius when it came to academics, Naruto knew this better than anyone. However, even if he did acknowledge the raven’s talent for theory, that didn’t mean he would so easily admit so right in Sasuke’s face, especially now that he had so shamelessly declared his superiority through his claim of needing only two tries to complete the sticky note exercise. 

“If,” he repeated himself, leaning forward and fulminating Sasuke with his own fiery gaze. There was no doubt in his mind that the Uchiha would best him. Though the thought of such thing occurring was not pleasant whatsoever, the blonde had no better fuel to his resolve than to feel obligated to surpass Sasuke at the next opportunity. He would show him, eventually. For now, he would sit back and watch his friend and maybe review what he had learned alongside him in silence.

There it is again. What a rare sight it was to have Sasuke’s face show shades of red. Naruto genuinely wondered if his friend had lied and he was actually about to get sick. Perhaps his village-arrest was taking a toll on him? Most likely. Hopefully their visit to Hanagakure would relief his friend of some tension. Then again, Naruto worried their little trip might stress him out further if things didn’t go as he imagined, which normally wasn’t the case. 

Shaking his head, Naruto’s eyes returned to look at the sticky notes resting on the floor, until one of them got lifted by one of Sasuke’s slender, pale hands. While the blonde had gone roughly through every answer with firm conviction, Sasuke took his time reading each note’s content and proceeded with caution, to the point his movements seemed almost graceful. At some point, he had finished and snatched the notebook with answers from his lap, at which Naruto grimaced a little annoyed. If he had succeeded at his first try, Naruto was unsure he would be able to control his indignation. 

But soon enough the smug smirk on Sasuke’s lips turned into a phrase and a curse he couldn’t quite hear. Naruto contained a mocking laugh, but began to worry when he compared the answers from the notebook to the ones arranged on the floor. Crap, he had gotten almost all of them right for a counted few. Sasuke was definitely going to keep his word.

In his second attempt, Naruto noticed just how serious Sasuke was taking all this. His caution had turned tenfold, to the point Naruto found himself with his fists clenched on his lap and leaning forward with all his attention on Sasuke’s hands’ movements. The tension was so strong. Come on, Sasuke, he thought to himself feeling his throat close and sweat on his forehead. You can do this.

“You bastard…” he spat out but his relieved tone betrayed his insult. He didn’t bother checking the answers himself, he had known the outcome the moment Sasuke had promised victory. “I have an entire weekend to surpass you and I won’t let it go to waste,” he said as he gave his friend a smirk. “I hope you are ready, by the end of this I promise to give you the best academic beating in history ‘ttebayo.” He lifted his fist, as a gesture to cement his declaration.

Only one inquiry remaining.

“So… what do you want?” Naruto rested his chin on the palm of his hand, tilting his head. “You wanted a reward, right? What is it gonna be?” he fired each question with a tilt of his head at the contrary direction. Sasuke hardly voiced mundane wants or wishes, so it was needless to say that Naruto was incredibly curious to what his friend would request. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Was that relief he heard in Naruto’s voice? Sasuke smirked, “Are you such a loser that you are relieved I beat you?” he inquired smugly.  He had expected more anger, protests, and annoyance from his friend. Instead, he was being oddly supportive of his own loss. Naruto’s tune quickly morphed to the indignant, combatant one he was used to with his ever so bold claim. “Your confidence will only make beating you more satisfactory,” he replied dark eyes twinkling with stars of mischief.

Sasuke pushed to his feet and faced away from Naruto at the questions. What did he want? His single hand lifted to his eyes and he pretended to be inexplicably interested in his nailbeds. When he said his answer he wouldn’t be able to face the disappointment in the deep blues or the way it would look like he had verbally smacked the smile off his face.

It wasn’t his intention to hurt him or push him away. No, what he must ask was for his own good. There was no way he would be able to handle the trip if this condition wasn’t met. The warring thoughts in his head were already almost deafening every time his hoarse voice filled his ears, and those intense eyes landed on his face. Each time they were inches away, he could feel his skin itch with the desire to be even closer. A dream that didn’t end by pinching himself awake. To protect himself from acting on this desire he would make this request.

“On the trip, I want to have separate rooms, tents, whatever shelter you pick for us. I-I want my own.” His tongue became sandpaper as the words passed his drying lips. This wasn’t what he wanted, this was what he needed. Sasuke wouldn’t have enough time to work through the encroaching epiphany before then, and he didn’t want it to rashly thrust upon him one night while laying only feet from a sprawled out, snoring Naruto.

His hand fell back to his side limply. He allowed himself to glance over his shoulder at Naruto sitting on the couch. Guilt twisted in his stomach and he felt the need to clarify his reason. “It’s not you or anything, though your snoring is annoying. I’m used to sleeping alone and have a hard time with another person in the room that’s all. You understand don’t you?”

All he could do was hope that Naruto would understand on some level the lie he had told. A small part of him truly did not feel comfortable with other people in the room when he slept, being a wanted Nin happened to make him paranoid. This though, this was Naruto and he trusted him with his very life and soul. He had to give him some sort of reason to soften the blow and if it meant a slight twist in the truth he would do it. Both for himself and the feelings of his friend.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

“When you lose to me you can spend the rest of your days mad about it ‘ttebayo,” he snickered with a smile wide enough to make his cheeks hurt. He wanted to laugh at Sasuke’s comment about him being a loser. Yes, he was a loser, in fact, he was an even bigger loser now that he had realized just how he felt towards his best friend and rival. Now that was worth pointing out as almost ridiculous; just how long had he been harboring these feelings? He had no idea. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was aware and Uzumaki Naruto wasn’t the type of guy to not do something about it. 

With his chin still resting on his palm, Naruto tilted his head as he observed Sasuke take his sweet time to answer his questions. He noticed the hint of hesitancy glinting from Sasuke’s dark eyes, but the illusion of him being possibly nervous was put aside when he finally started to speak. Naruto blinked. Did Sasuke stutter at the end? He never stuttered. Well, he had done so earlier, but Naruto had assumed he had because of possibly feeling sick.

“Uh, sure?” Their trip had two separate rooms already booked. It’s not like they were going to waste that. Sasuke rushing to give explanations felt even weirder. Damn, it was that big of a deal, huh? “Don’t worry, I get it,” he said with a little smile, crossing his arms. “My snores aren’t that loud though, it only takes a bit of time to get used to, you can ask Sakura, Kakashi-sensei or Sai,” he said with a hint of pride; now that he felt particularly confident of his snore ability. He was kind of reliving memories of countless nights he had spent with his team on the road. Good times, those. The only missing thing during those days had been Sasuke but he was now here so… no biggie. “Though this presents a little problem…”

Naruto lifted a hand to hold his chin. “I was going to offer a futon so you could sleep in my room but if you can’t sleep with others…” Naruto furrowed his brows. He nodded to himself once he reached a decision. “You can sleep in the living room or if you prefer it, I’m okay with lending my bed,” he offered, his tone as innocent as ever. 

Well, for their trip it didn’t really matter if they slept in the same room or not. His entire plan had more to do with what they were going to do rather than where they were going to be. Hanagakure just happened to have good ambiance, or so had told him Ino. 

“And another thing. You could have said all these without burning your reward, you know?” Naruto gave Sasuke the best deadpan stare he could muster. “Oh well, sucks to be you I guess,” he stuck his tongue out and put a finger on his cheek to pull down his eyelid a little. A bit of a childish gesture, but Naruto would never shy out of mocking Sasuke if only a little. He thrived from it. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Before he could stop himself a relieved sigh pushed passed his lips. He was surprised that Naruto didn’t seem to care. Part of him was disappointed with how well he had taken it, however, there was solace in not having to push further. Sasuke wasn’t sure if he could continue to compose reasons and stories behind his request. Lying was never his strong suit, it was why many people saw him as cold and harsh. He had no problem with telling people his true feelings…well normally, the current situation aside.

“Naruto, you forget I shared a room with you on several missions. I am aware of how intrusive your snore is.” The corner of his mouth twitched at the memory of waking early to find Naruto sprawled across his bed, limbs poking out every which way from under the blankets if they even stayed tucked in at all. Naruto’s sleeping positions were unnatural, it was part of what made him Naruto. Everything he did broke the status quo.

Something he would bear witness to again if he took him up on the offer to sleep on a futon in his room. The idea was tempting, but then it would destroy the lie he had told only minutes before. His bed? Sasuke looked away from Naruto again fixing his face to fake annoyance to stop any further heat rushing to his cheeks. 

Naruto’s bed, it probably had absorbed his warm scent. There would be an indent in the pillow from where he lay his head every evening. Sasuke didn’t doubt that there was probably a dried drool stain somewhere among the sheets as well. Naruto tended to sleep with his mouth open from what he recalled No, he would not, could not, take Naruto up on that offer. God, it sounded inviting though, the smell of his best friend brought him such comfort. To be enveloped in blankets that held his essences…

“It’s your house Naruto, I don’t care I can adapt to any of the situations,” he replied in a deadpan manner. He left it up to Naruto to uphold his passive attitude, but he prayed he didn’t pick the last option. Sasuke turned to face Naruto fully no longer feeling the need to avoid his gaze. 

Of course, he had to tease him about wasting his reward. Sasuke had been a fool to assume that his friend had already booked them a single room. He should have asked first, why didn’t he ask? Because when it comes to Naruto you don’t always think straight. A voice in the back of his mind nagged. Onyx eyes narrowed at his friend, his growing bangs hid the one twitching in annoyance. “Tch. Whatever.” Sasuke wasn’t even sure what else he would have requested anyway, but he would let it be. 

“Are we done studying for the night or would you like to continue?” he asked pulling his single arm to his chest where it would normally cross with the other.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto wasn’t sure what to take of Sasuke’s reaction to his words. He expected relief, but there was something more there and Naruto couldn’t pinpoint what. Sasuke’s thoughts had always been hard for him to read, then again when it came to the more serious stuff, he was sure he had a good understanding of his friend’s thought process. Now, for whatever was happening right now? He had no idea. Perhaps Sasuke was just nervous to spend a weekend outside the village after being stuck in Konoha for so long.

Yeah. That sounded about right.

“Living room for you it is,” he says, bringing his hands to rest on the back of his head. For a second he had considered letting Sasuke sleep on his bed. The idea of Sasuke’s scent staying on his bed sheets was a little tempting, yet also kind of dangerous. If he smelled like morning dew and sunshine, while Sasuke’s smell reminded him of fresh night and rain, what would the combined result of those two be? It was nice to wonder, but what they would need to do for him to know the answer only colored his cheeks red.

“I’m kind of tired, we should rest for tonight ‘ttebayo.” He brings a hand to his face to cover his blush and pretends he is just trying to battle sleep. “I won’t lose to you tomorrow though. I won’t rest until I manage to do this in one try!” he promises with a lifted fist and a glint of challenge in his eyes. 

Standing up from the couch, Naruto stretches and gives his friend a little smile. He stays quiet for a few moments, indulging himself in observing the way Sasuke’s hair covers his left eye, craving in his memory every little feature of Sasuke’s visage. His long eyelashes, his nose, his lips… 

“Ah,” he catches himself staring for too long. “L-let me bring the futon,” he storms out of the living room before Sasuke can comment on his little slip. Crap, you will have your chance ‘ttebayo! He reminds himself. 

It doesn’t take him long to bring the futon and place it in place. He hands Sasuke a blanket, a pillow and rubbing his clapping his hands together, he hopes that’s enough for him.

“Well. Let’s do our best tomorrow. Goodnight Sasuke!” he says with a grin and yawns. Naruto leaves the living room once again, this time to land on his own bed with a big thud. He feels mentally exhausted, and a little frustrated. Mostly exhausted.  

When he falls asleep he dreams about all he had planned for their vacation in Hanagakure. That is going to be his one chance and no way in hell is he going to screw this up. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

There was no hiding the way the tension in his shoulders loosened from Naruto's answer. Sasuke had to push down the sigh of relief that rose in his lungs when Naruto declared he would be sleeping in the living room.  Eyes sliding closed, he gave a nod of acknowledgment to Naruto's decision.

His dark eyes opened again at the sound of Naruto's voice, just in time to see the bright blush that suddenly burst onto those tan cheeks. Sasuke could clearly see him trying to cover it up with his hands and weak, feigned exhaustion. The inner corners of his eyebrows scrunched slightly, staring intently at the blonde. He was acting weird, but, then again, so was Sasuke. When he thought about it, the whole night had been a little strange for them. Normally they simply bickered non-stop, with the occasional physical tussle. Tonight, however, was tamer.

"Until you beat me hm? Should I just move in then?" he retorts with a smirk.

Naruto rises from the couch and Sasuke waits for him to walk passed to his bedroom, only to find that his intense blue gaze lingers on Sasuke's face for longer than normal. He watches them dart around each feature, from his eyes to his lips. Under those eyes, Sasuke's face flushes red. Thin lips parted to comment on the moment when Naruto finally breaks it and brushes passed him.  

Sasuke knows he should probably offer to help his host with the futon, but he is frozen on the strangeness of the exchange. He is pulled from the confines of his mind by the pillow Naruto pushes into his hand, followed by a blanket.

"Thanks," he mutters voice void of emotion. Watching Naruto scurry back to his room, he drops the pillow and blanket onto the futon. "Goodnight Naruto..." he whispers before lowering himself to his resting place for the evening. He buries his face in the pillow and picks up the faint remnants of Naruto's scent. Taking a deep breath, he feels himself relax and quickly doze off.

@will-of-naruto

[unfamiliarworld]

I love the way that he get up his hand

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

The absolute joy that Sasuke’s single word of agreement brought to Naruto’s face alone was worth the commitment he had made. Naruto answered the two fundamental questions he had posed while Sasuke continued to separate and spread the sticky notes recreating the sea of color on the wood floors. “I know what it is…” Why did Naruto want to take him to Hanagakure? That was an odd choice. Admittedly, he had never set foot there. There was no reason for him to. Sasuke wasn’t exactly into sightseeing the past three years.

“Of course she did, she’s a florist Naruto,” he mumbled separating the last of the colored squares and setting them on opposite sides of his board. It didn’t matter who suggested it because it seemed that there was more to Naruto’s little plan. Sasuke’s ears pricked at the sound of his giggle with himself. Eyes slit he looked over his shoulder at the scheming blonde. He was always up to something. What had he gotten himself into?

As expected, all playfulness vanished from Naruto’s face when Sasuke presented his wager. He leaned back on his toes to survey his work. He felt Naruto perch on the couch behind him to watch and caught his huffy comments. Sasuke scoffed with a smug smirk at Naruto’s clear irritation with his friend’s declaration of superiority. “You said if but I think you meant when,” he taunted.

A pale hand lifted the notebook of answers, in one fluid motion he bent backward at the waist, head falling back, to give him a better angle to give the blonde referee of this little game the answer key. Dark curtains of hair reached for the floor below, onyx eyes locked onto the other’s contrasting blues, and an overconfident smirk tugged up on the corner of his lips. The small pink tip of Naruto’s tongue poked out at him to say hello and taunt him. Why did he always have to be so cute? The sight made his heart rate quicken slightly. He felt an overwhelming desire to cover the tongue with his lips. “Tch.” He quickly pulled his upper torso back into an upright position facing away from Naruto as the blush burst onto his cheeks from the vision. He needed to distract himself again.

Without another word, he set to work mixing and matching all the answers. His face scrunched ever so slightly in concentration. The only indication the slight twitch of his cheekbones, the tug of his eyebrows, and the squint of his eyes. His hands flew across the notes, ripping one off the floor, bringing it to his eyes, scanning it thoughtfully, before sorting it. The same process repeated in a strange visual rhythm until they were all put in stacks.

Sasuke snatched the notebook from Naruto to look over his answers. He had gotten all of them right so far, he began to get smug, then cursed when he encountered an incorrect answer. “Again…” he whispered to himself like he always did when training.

He set back to work dispersing the notes only to yank them from their resting places seconds later. This round he moved slower with more purpose as he used caution with his placements. There was a rolling wave of nerves vibrating through his body. He felt the burning desire to be right, to impress Naruto.

Finishing, he double checked his answers before wordlessly taking the notebook again to ensure he was correct. “Hmph,” he smiled and lazily held the notebook out to Naruto to check for himself. “You’re going to have to work harder than this if you want to beat me on that test dobe,” he said voice dripping with arrogance.

@will-of-naruto​

Sasuke was indisputably a genius when it came to academics, Naruto knew this better than anyone. However, even if he did acknowledge the raven’s talent for theory, that didn’t mean he would so easily admit so right in Sasuke’s face, especially now that he had so shamelessly declared his superiority through his claim of needing only two tries to complete the sticky note exercise. 

“If,” he repeated himself, leaning forward and fulminating Sasuke with his own fiery gaze. There was no doubt in his mind that the Uchiha would best him. Though the thought of such thing occurring was not pleasant whatsoever, the blonde had no better fuel to his resolve than to feel obligated to surpass Sasuke at the next opportunity. He would show him, eventually. For now, he would sit back and watch his friend and maybe review what he had learned alongside him in silence.

There it is again. What a rare sight it was to have Sasuke’s face show shades of red. Naruto genuinely wondered if his friend had lied and he was actually about to get sick. Perhaps his village-arrest was taking a toll on him? Most likely. Hopefully their visit to Hanagakure would relief his friend of some tension. Then again, Naruto worried their little trip might stress him out further if things didn’t go as he imagined, which normally wasn’t the case. 

Shaking his head, Naruto’s eyes returned to look at the sticky notes resting on the floor, until one of them got lifted by one of Sasuke’s slender, pale hands. While the blonde had gone roughly through every answer with firm conviction, Sasuke took his time reading each note’s content and proceeded with caution, to the point his movements seemed almost graceful. At some point, he had finished and snatched the notebook with answers from his lap, at which Naruto grimaced a little annoyed. If he had succeeded at his first try, Naruto was unsure he would be able to control his indignation. 

But soon enough the smug smirk on Sasuke’s lips turned into a phrase and a curse he couldn’t quite hear. Naruto contained a mocking laugh, but began to worry when he compared the answers from the notebook to the ones arranged on the floor. Crap, he had gotten almost all of them right for a counted few. Sasuke was definitely going to keep his word.

In his second attempt, Naruto noticed just how serious Sasuke was taking all this. His caution had turned tenfold, to the point Naruto found himself with his fists clenched on his lap and leaning forward with all his attention on Sasuke’s hands’ movements. The tension was so strong. Come on, Sasuke, he thought to himself feeling his throat close and sweat on his forehead. You can do this.

“You bastard…” he spat out but his relieved tone betrayed his insult. He didn’t bother checking the answers himself, he had known the outcome the moment Sasuke had promised victory. “I have an entire weekend to surpass you and I won’t let it go to waste,” he said as he gave his friend a smirk. “I hope you are ready, by the end of this I promise to give you the best academic beating in history ‘ttebayo.” He lifted his fist, as a gesture to cement his declaration.

Only one inquiry remaining.

“So… what do you want?” Naruto rested his chin on the palm of his hand, tilting his head. “You wanted a reward, right? What is it gonna be?” he fired each question with a tilt of his head at the contrary direction. Sasuke hardly voiced mundane wants or wishes, so it was needless to say that Naruto was incredibly curious to what his friend would request. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Was that relief he heard in Naruto’s voice? Sasuke smirked, “Are you such a loser that you are relieved I beat you?” he inquired smugly.  He had expected more anger, protests, and annoyance from his friend. Instead, he was being oddly supportive of his own loss. Naruto’s tune quickly morphed to the indignant, combatant one he was used to with his ever so bold claim. “Your confidence will only make beating you more satisfactory,” he replied dark eyes twinkling with stars of mischief.

Sasuke pushed to his feet and faced away from Naruto at the questions. What did he want? His single hand lifted to his eyes and he pretended to be inexplicably interested in his nailbeds. When he said his answer he wouldn’t be able to face the disappointment in the deep blues or the way it would look like he had verbally smacked the smile off his face.

It wasn’t his intention to hurt him or push him away. No, what he must ask was for his own good. There was no way he would be able to handle the trip if this condition wasn’t met. The warring thoughts in his head were already almost deafening every time his hoarse voice filled his ears, and those intense eyes landed on his face. Each time they were inches away, he could feel his skin itch with the desire to be even closer. A dream that didn’t end by pinching himself awake. To protect himself from acting on this desire he would make this request.

“On the trip, I want to have separate rooms, tents, whatever shelter you pick for us. I-I want my own.” His tongue became sandpaper as the words passed his drying lips. This wasn’t what he wanted, this was what he needed. Sasuke wouldn’t have enough time to work through the encroaching epiphany before then, and he didn’t want it to rashly thrust upon him one night while laying only feet from a sprawled out, snoring Naruto.

His hand fell back to his side limply. He allowed himself to glance over his shoulder at Naruto sitting on the couch. Guilt twisted in his stomach and he felt the need to clarify his reason. “It’s not you or anything, though your snoring is annoying. I’m used to sleeping alone and have a hard time with another person in the room that’s all. You understand don’t you?”

All he could do was hope that Naruto would understand on some level the lie he had told. A small part of him truly did not feel comfortable with other people in the room when he slept, being a wanted Nin happened to make him paranoid. This though, this was Naruto and he trusted him with his very life and soul. He had to give him some sort of reason to soften the blow and if it meant a slight twist in the truth he would do it. Both for himself and the feelings of his friend.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

“When you lose to me you can spend the rest of your days mad about it ‘ttebayo,” he snickered with a smile wide enough to make his cheeks hurt. He wanted to laugh at Sasuke’s comment about him being a loser. Yes, he was a loser, in fact, he was an even bigger loser now that he had realized just how he felt towards his best friend and rival. Now that was worth pointing out as almost ridiculous; just how long had he been harboring these feelings? He had no idea. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was aware and Uzumaki Naruto wasn’t the type of guy to not do something about it. 

With his chin still resting on his palm, Naruto tilted his head as he observed Sasuke take his sweet time to answer his questions. He noticed the hint of hesitancy glinting from Sasuke’s dark eyes, but the illusion of him being possibly nervous was put aside when he finally started to speak. Naruto blinked. Did Sasuke stutter at the end? He never stuttered. Well, he had done so earlier, but Naruto had assumed he had because of possibly feeling sick.

“Uh, sure?” Their trip had two separate rooms already booked. It’s not like they were going to waste that. Sasuke rushing to give explanations felt even weirder. Damn, it was that big of a deal, huh? “Don’t worry, I get it,” he said with a little smile, crossing his arms. “My snores aren’t that loud though, it only takes a bit of time to get used to, you can ask Sakura, Kakashi-sensei or Sai,” he said with a hint of pride; now that he felt particularly confident of his snore ability. He was kind of reliving memories of countless nights he had spent with his team on the road. Good times, those. The only missing thing during those days had been Sasuke but he was now here so… no biggie. “Though this presents a little problem…”

Naruto lifted a hand to hold his chin. “I was going to offer a futon so you could sleep in my room but if you can’t sleep with others…” Naruto furrowed his brows. He nodded to himself once he reached a decision. “You can sleep in the living room or if you prefer it, I’m okay with lending my bed,” he offered, his tone as innocent as ever. 

Well, for their trip it didn’t really matter if they slept in the same room or not. His entire plan had more to do with what they were going to do rather than where they were going to be. Hanagakure just happened to have good ambiance, or so had told him Ino. 

“And another thing. You could have said all these without burning your reward, you know?” Naruto gave Sasuke the best deadpan stare he could muster. “Oh well, sucks to be you I guess,” he stuck his tongue out and put a finger on his cheek to pull down his eyelid a little. A bit of a childish gesture, but Naruto would never shy out of mocking Sasuke if only a little. He thrived from it. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Before he could stop himself a relieved sigh pushed passed his lips. He was surprised that Naruto didn't seem to care. Part of him was disappointed with how well he had taken it, however, there was solace in not having to push further. Sasuke wasn't sure if he could continue to compose reasons and stories behind his request. Lying was never his strong suit, it was why many people saw him as cold and harsh. He had no problem with telling people his true feelings...well normally, the current situation aside.

"Naruto, you forget I shared a room with you on several missions. I am aware of how intrusive your snore is." The corner of his mouth twitched at the memory of waking early to find Naruto sprawled across his bed, limbs poking out every which way from under the blankets if they even stayed tucked in at all. Naruto's sleeping positions were unnatural, it was part of what made him Naruto. Everything he did broke the status quo.

Something he would bear witness to again if he took him up on the offer to sleep on a futon in his room. The idea was tempting, but then it would destroy the lie he had told only minutes before. His bed? Sasuke looked away from Naruto again fixing his face to fake annoyance to stop any further heat rushing to his cheeks. 

Naruto's bed, it probably had absorbed his warm scent. There would be an indent in the pillow from where he lay his head every evening. Sasuke didn't doubt that there was probably a dried drool stain somewhere among the sheets as well. Naruto tended to sleep with his mouth open from what he recalled No, he would not, could not, take Naruto up on that offer. God, it sounded inviting though, the smell of his best friend brought him such comfort. To be enveloped in blankets that held his essences...

"It's your house Naruto, I don't care I can adapt to any of the situations," he replied in a deadpan manner. He left it up to Naruto to uphold his passive attitude, but he prayed he didn't pick the last option. Sasuke turned to face Naruto fully no longer feeling the need to avoid his gaze. 

Of course, he had to tease him about wasting his reward. Sasuke had been a fool to assume that his friend had already booked them a single room. He should have asked first, why didn't he ask? Because when it comes to Naruto you don't always think straight. A voice in the back of his mind nagged. Onyx eyes narrowed at his friend, his growing bangs hid the one twitching in annoyance. "Tch. Whatever." Sasuke wasn't even sure what else he would have requested anyway, but he would let it be. 

"Are we done studying for the night or would you like to continue?" he asked pulling his single arm to his chest where it would normally cross with the other.

@will-of-naruto

[kihba-deactivated20211123]

[yo-aloe-vera]

Y’all please reblog tha hell outta this.  The other one is messing me over. 

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

The absolute joy that Sasuke’s single word of agreement brought to Naruto’s face alone was worth the commitment he had made. Naruto answered the two fundamental questions he had posed while Sasuke continued to separate and spread the sticky notes recreating the sea of color on the wood floors. “I know what it is…” Why did Naruto want to take him to Hanagakure? That was an odd choice. Admittedly, he had never set foot there. There was no reason for him to. Sasuke wasn’t exactly into sightseeing the past three years.

“Of course she did, she’s a florist Naruto,” he mumbled separating the last of the colored squares and setting them on opposite sides of his board. It didn’t matter who suggested it because it seemed that there was more to Naruto’s little plan. Sasuke’s ears pricked at the sound of his giggle with himself. Eyes slit he looked over his shoulder at the scheming blonde. He was always up to something. What had he gotten himself into?

As expected, all playfulness vanished from Naruto’s face when Sasuke presented his wager. He leaned back on his toes to survey his work. He felt Naruto perch on the couch behind him to watch and caught his huffy comments. Sasuke scoffed with a smug smirk at Naruto’s clear irritation with his friend’s declaration of superiority. “You said if but I think you meant when,” he taunted.

A pale hand lifted the notebook of answers, in one fluid motion he bent backward at the waist, head falling back, to give him a better angle to give the blonde referee of this little game the answer key. Dark curtains of hair reached for the floor below, onyx eyes locked onto the other’s contrasting blues, and an overconfident smirk tugged up on the corner of his lips. The small pink tip of Naruto’s tongue poked out at him to say hello and taunt him. Why did he always have to be so cute? The sight made his heart rate quicken slightly. He felt an overwhelming desire to cover the tongue with his lips. “Tch.” He quickly pulled his upper torso back into an upright position facing away from Naruto as the blush burst onto his cheeks from the vision. He needed to distract himself again.

Without another word, he set to work mixing and matching all the answers. His face scrunched ever so slightly in concentration. The only indication the slight twitch of his cheekbones, the tug of his eyebrows, and the squint of his eyes. His hands flew across the notes, ripping one off the floor, bringing it to his eyes, scanning it thoughtfully, before sorting it. The same process repeated in a strange visual rhythm until they were all put in stacks.

Sasuke snatched the notebook from Naruto to look over his answers. He had gotten all of them right so far, he began to get smug, then cursed when he encountered an incorrect answer. “Again…” he whispered to himself like he always did when training.

He set back to work dispersing the notes only to yank them from their resting places seconds later. This round he moved slower with more purpose as he used caution with his placements. There was a rolling wave of nerves vibrating through his body. He felt the burning desire to be right, to impress Naruto.

Finishing, he double checked his answers before wordlessly taking the notebook again to ensure he was correct. “Hmph,” he smiled and lazily held the notebook out to Naruto to check for himself. “You’re going to have to work harder than this if you want to beat me on that test dobe,” he said voice dripping with arrogance.

@will-of-naruto​

Sasuke was indisputably a genius when it came to academics, Naruto knew this better than anyone. However, even if he did acknowledge the raven’s talent for theory, that didn’t mean he would so easily admit so right in Sasuke’s face, especially now that he had so shamelessly declared his superiority through his claim of needing only two tries to complete the sticky note exercise. 

“If,” he repeated himself, leaning forward and fulminating Sasuke with his own fiery gaze. There was no doubt in his mind that the Uchiha would best him. Though the thought of such thing occurring was not pleasant whatsoever, the blonde had no better fuel to his resolve than to feel obligated to surpass Sasuke at the next opportunity. He would show him, eventually. For now, he would sit back and watch his friend and maybe review what he had learned alongside him in silence.

There it is again. What a rare sight it was to have Sasuke’s face show shades of red. Naruto genuinely wondered if his friend had lied and he was actually about to get sick. Perhaps his village-arrest was taking a toll on him? Most likely. Hopefully their visit to Hanagakure would relief his friend of some tension. Then again, Naruto worried their little trip might stress him out further if things didn’t go as he imagined, which normally wasn’t the case. 

Shaking his head, Naruto’s eyes returned to look at the sticky notes resting on the floor, until one of them got lifted by one of Sasuke’s slender, pale hands. While the blonde had gone roughly through every answer with firm conviction, Sasuke took his time reading each note’s content and proceeded with caution, to the point his movements seemed almost graceful. At some point, he had finished and snatched the notebook with answers from his lap, at which Naruto grimaced a little annoyed. If he had succeeded at his first try, Naruto was unsure he would be able to control his indignation. 

But soon enough the smug smirk on Sasuke’s lips turned into a phrase and a curse he couldn’t quite hear. Naruto contained a mocking laugh, but began to worry when he compared the answers from the notebook to the ones arranged on the floor. Crap, he had gotten almost all of them right for a counted few. Sasuke was definitely going to keep his word.

In his second attempt, Naruto noticed just how serious Sasuke was taking all this. His caution had turned tenfold, to the point Naruto found himself with his fists clenched on his lap and leaning forward with all his attention on Sasuke’s hands’ movements. The tension was so strong. Come on, Sasuke, he thought to himself feeling his throat close and sweat on his forehead. You can do this.

“You bastard…” he spat out but his relieved tone betrayed his insult. He didn’t bother checking the answers himself, he had known the outcome the moment Sasuke had promised victory. “I have an entire weekend to surpass you and I won’t let it go to waste,” he said as he gave his friend a smirk. “I hope you are ready, by the end of this I promise to give you the best academic beating in history ‘ttebayo.” He lifted his fist, as a gesture to cement his declaration.

Only one inquiry remaining.

“So… what do you want?” Naruto rested his chin on the palm of his hand, tilting his head. “You wanted a reward, right? What is it gonna be?” he fired each question with a tilt of his head at the contrary direction. Sasuke hardly voiced mundane wants or wishes, so it was needless to say that Naruto was incredibly curious to what his friend would request. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Was that relief he heard in Naruto's voice? Sasuke smirked, "Are you such a loser that you are relieved I beat you?" he inquired smugly.  He had expected more anger, protests, and annoyance from his friend. Instead, he was being oddly supportive of his own loss. Naruto's tune quickly morphed to the indignant, combatant one he was used to with his ever so bold claim. "Your confidence will only make beating you more satisfactory," he replied dark eyes twinkling with stars of mischief.

Sasuke pushed to his feet and faced away from Naruto at the questions. What did he want? His single hand lifted to his eyes and he pretended to be inexplicably interested in his nailbeds. When he said his answer he wouldn't be able to face the disappointment in the deep blues or the way it would look like he had verbally smacked the smile off his face.

It wasn't his intention to hurt him or push him away. No, what he must ask was for his own good. There was no way he would be able to handle the trip if this condition wasn't met. The warring thoughts in his head were already almost deafening every time his hoarse voice filled his ears, and those intense eyes landed on his face. Each time they were inches away, he could feel his skin itch with the desire to be even closer. A dream that didn't end by pinching himself awake. To protect himself from acting on this desire he would make this request.

"On the trip, I want to have separate rooms, tents, whatever shelter you pick for us. I-I want my own." His tongue became sandpaper as the words passed his drying lips. This wasn't what he wanted, this was what he needed. Sasuke wouldn't have enough time to work through the encroaching epiphany before then, and he didn't want it to rashly thrust upon him one night while laying only feet from a sprawled out, snoring Naruto.

His hand fell back to his side limply. He allowed himself to glance over his shoulder at Naruto sitting on the couch. Guilt twisted in his stomach and he felt the need to clarify his reason. "It's not you or anything, though your snoring is annoying. I'm used to sleeping alone and have a hard time with another person in the room that's all. You understand don't you?"

All he could do was hope that Naruto would understand on some level the lie he had told. A small part of him truly did not feel comfortable with other people in the room when he slept, being a wanted Nin happened to make him paranoid. This though, this was Naruto and he trusted him with his very life and soul. He had to give him some sort of reason to soften the blow and if it meant a slight twist in the truth he would do it. Both for himself and the feelings of his friend.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

“I’m insulted that you think I would ever lose voluntarily dobe, especially to you.” Letting Naruto win was the same as saying he didn’t believe in him to win on his own, which was anything but true. Sasuke enjoyed pushing Naruto to do his best, it always amazed him how far the blonde could go. The Uchiha was not so naive that he wasn’t aware that he, himself, was one of the best motivators for his friend. Naruto would travel around the world ten times over for Sasuke. He never gave up on him, even the last three years, despite what Sasuke had done.

He had never known how to interpret his friend’s dedication. Friend? Brother? That was exactly the problem, there wasn’t a word he could think of that encapsulated their relationship. It was beyond the definition of language.

When he declared he would go first, Sasuke nodded, “Fair enough.” It was technically for Naruto’s sake, but the truth was tonight was helping Sasuke too. Being back was difficult for him. He would never admit it out loud, but every day was a battle with the darkness that so desperately wanted to claim him again.

The presence of his sun pushed it farther and farther away. So, yes what they were doing was for Naruto’s benefit, but it was just as beneficial for him. He smiled softly, as Naruto yelled at the lifeless colored paper. “I’m sure they are trembling Naruto.” He rolled his eyes as he separated the last batch.

A single dark eyebrow rose at the request. A prize? What kind of a prize would he want? Part of Sasuke didn’t trust himself giving Naruto a vague promise such as this, but if it would motivate him to get them all right quicker he would allow the questionable decision. “Within reason, yes,” he replied.

Sasuke leaned back against the couch to give himself a full view of the layout of notes. “Ready? Go.” Only Sasuke would still manage a monotoned, Go.

As the blonde worked, his fingers twitched wanting to intervene when he made mistakes. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ever since the day he had moved to save Naruto from Haku all those years ago, he had acquired an almost undeniable instinct to aid his friend whenever he saw him struggling. Even when they battled, but he had extinguished the desire every time. Pushing his greater desires to the forefront. Clearly, the effort had ultimately failed.

Now, when he had no greater ulterior motive for letting Naruto flounder, he had a harder time not intervening. The combination of biting his lower lip and pinching his nose were the only things holding him back. They reminded him not to speak, to keep quiet and let Naruto do it. To let him impress him as he had so many times before. Something that always made Sasuke feel…something…something he couldn’t place. It was a little more than charming? Attractive?

The idea lingered in his mind. His dark eyes began to look Naruto over. He supposed that the way his bright eyes contrasted with his slightly darkened skin was pleasing to the eye. Or how his blonde hair only furthered this perspective. The uniqueness of his whiskers was rather adorable. What always caught Sasuke’s attention was the emotion in his eyes that always betrayed whatever he was thinking.

He realized that he had tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned forward to stare at the concentrated blonde. He quickly fixed himself back into his previous position and rested a hand on his nose to hide the pink he was almost positive had appeared on his cheeks from the embarrassment he felt from what he had just been doing and thinking.

@will-of-naruto

He kind of expected Sasuke to dismiss him. Asking for a prize was a childish move, then again when he heard the raven compel to his request Naruto didn’t hide the gleam of surprise surfacing through his eyes, goosebumps going through his entire body. He blinked with clear disbelief, but shortly he grinned again, rising a fist to the air. Now he felt more than motivated; he would fulfill his word no matter what for that prize!

“Prepare to be amazed!” he declared, full of confidence in his ability to manage the fit he had just promised. Three tries. Only three tries or else he wasn’t getting his reward and he would never forgive himself if he failed.

Naruto kneeled, hands lifted in the air as if he was about to pounce. He waited for Sasuke’s incredibly boring signal to start. The blonde would have complained at the lack of enthusiasm shown by the raven, but instead, he was already revising the answers he knew within his mind as a head-start. 

“Here I go ‘ttebayo!” With his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Naruto began his task, eyes flashing with ardent resolution. 

His first try didn’t go as well as he expected. He was glad he hadn’t said ‘first try’ during his prize request, or else he would have been sulking about his defeat for the rest of the night. Fingers moved across sticky notes while he shuffled them away for his second try. Naruto could feel his nerves building up in the depths of his stomach; he knew the answers and yet he was struggling with some names and dates mix-ups. By the end of his second try, he had way fewer mistakes. He was so concentrated that he didn’t even notice Sasuke staring and evaluating his efforts.

He took his sweet time during his third try. It was his last one, after all. Cold sweat ran through his face as he slowly moved sticky notes to match answers with questions. Having Naruto be this careful was a rare sight, yet for the blonde, this didn’t feel as different as if he were trying to learn to stand still to gather nature energy or concentrate his chakra to create a rasengan. If anything, this level of caution helped him to concentrate enough to not let his own hesitation and doubts cloud his mind. 

Before he knew it he was done. With hurry, he took the notebook with the answers. His eyes scanned through Sasuke’s almost perfect caligraphy with unease. His lips twitched to form a smile for each time his own answers matched the ones in the notebook. By the time he reached the last written sentence, that perfectly matched his last sticky note, Naruto had a perfect grin painted on face.

“HELL YEAH!!” he yelled louder than he intended, raising both his arms into the air. “Look Sasuke!” He turned to show his friend the result of his efforts, but he was greeted with a sight that left him a little confused.

Sasuke had a hand covering half his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes, standing up with hands on his hips. He quirked a brow and leaned forward, facing Sasuke and invading his personal space. 

“What? Where you about to laugh at me for taking so long? Huh?” he accused, pouting like a child. However, his pout disappeared once he noticed something. Sasuke’s ears were a little red and now that he was looking closer, his cheek looked a little… pinkish? 

Naruto blinked, a little shocked by the sight. Was that…  

“Are you okay?” Naruto kneeled in front of Sasuke. His hands went to rest on the couch, each at one side of the raven. “Your face is red ‘ttebayo.” There was a very subtle hint of worry in his voice. “Wait– was it the tea?!” Perhaps the tea leaves he had used had already expired. He drank the same beverage yet he was feeling perfectly fine… 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

The way his tongue stuck out of his mouth the tiniest bit as he concentrated was annoyingly cute too. Naruto was concentrating so hard for whatever this prize was he wanted, that he was actually sweating. It only amplified the naturally smooth, shine of his skin. God, he really needed to stop staring if he hoped to get rid of the blush by the time Naruto finished checking his answers. Each twitch of his lips only made things worse for the Uchiha. Absolutely not. Stop it now! He mentally scolded himself and his eyes shifted to the side. The hand over his cheeks pressing down to try and further hide pink gradually turning red hue of his face.

  Sasuke had never given his sexuality a second thought. He had never defined it, to begin with, so there wasn’t anything to second guess. When he was with Orochimaru traveling, the sanin had offered him the chance to get out his “frustrations” with men or women, Orochimaru didn’t judge. Sasuke, however, had no interest. Any free time he had was dedicated to training and if there was no opportunity to do that when they stayed disguised at different inns, he would read, or torment Kabuto. He got a kick out of riling the man up until Orochimaru intervened and almost always took Sasuke’s side. The look on Kabuto’s face when his own master betrayed him for an “ungrateful brat” was priceless. 

Sasuke had only ever cared about power. He had once considered things like love and lust weaknesses. Loved ones were a liability to be used against someone and sex was a distraction, both he couldn’t afford. Now he was faced with the very real possibility that he considered Naruto attractive. He couldn’t sort through all of the complex interweavings of that sitting in Naruto’s living room though. Instead, he began some meditation techniques he had read about. Trying to clear his mind and push out all thought. 

The heat finally began to drain from his face when he heard Naruto’s exclamation. His dark eyes darted back in his friend’s direction. It looked like he had succeeded within his three attempt parameters around him getting this mystery prize. “Let me check,” he replied trying to keep his voice even. Right now he really wished he had that other arm so he wouldn’t have to eventually remove his hand to look at the answers. 

Before he could even take the answers, Naruto had moved to stare him straight in the eyes. He caught those shining blues scanning his face and realized that Naruto had noticed the red tint, which only increased the phenomena. The color expanded it reaches to his normally pale ears. Having normally colorless skin was a curse when it came to blushing. It made any change in color extremely noticeable. 

Laugh at him? Sasuke wished that his sin had been that simple, that innocent. He was still trying to explain to himself what he had just been doing, he couldn’t very well explain it to Naruto. Matters couldn’t get any wors- the thought stopped right there as Naruto moved his face within inches of his own. Sasuke moved to scramble backward but found his back only hit the front of the couch. He was cornered. 

His eyes flitted between the two hands that had taken up on either side of his head before resting on the intense, concerned gaze of his friend. He gulped as his own eyes got caught in the magnetic blue of Naruto’s. The fact that Naruto was genuinely worried about him warmed his chest. His whole body felt uncomfortable warm under Naruto’s stare. Was he okay? Physically speaking yes. Mentally? For the most part besides the pandora’s box of emotions, he was opening. 

“I-” he coughed and finally brought his hand down to lightly pound on his chest. “The tea just went down the wrong pipe,” he pushed out in a strangled voice. He had been holding his breath, so it sounded sort of believable, however, Sasuke Uchiha had never been praised on his acting skills. 

“There was nothing wrong with it dobe. I simply almost spit it out in surprise that you got them all right.” Gaining his voice back he placed his foot on Naruto’s chest and kicked him off. “Did no one teach you about personal spaces?” he asked before grabbing the notebook of answers off the ground. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he glanced between the answer key and Naruto’s answers. The act allowed the color to finally drain from his face his thoughts on the task at hand instead of the way Naruto strangely smelled of sunshine and ramen, or the disturbing fact that the two scents actually worked together. 

After a couple moments, he set the notebook down and gave a nod of approval. “Okay so what’s this prize you want? More ramen? Dango? A walk around the block?” He couldn’t imagine what Naruto would name as his reward. If there was one word that described Naruto it was unpredictable.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto had never really taken much attention to Sasuke’s visage. The Uchiha’s long, graceful eyelashes only accentuated the sharp edge of his eyes’ shape. Skin smooth and fair, tinted with shades of pink-red, contrasted perfectly against dark, raven hair that reminded him of the beauty of a pitch black night. Though Naruto had approached with concern for his friend’s well-being, he found himself lost within the obscurity of deep, obsidian eyes that looked at him with emotions Naruto couldn’t read. In fact, he wasn’t sure he would be able to read his own right this moment.

He was so close to Sasuke and yet his voice seemed so far away. He wasn’t listening. He hadn’t thought about how dangerous his own impulsiveness could be, especially this close. 

That is, until a foot placed on his chest shoved me away. He landed on his butt on the floor and the blonde blinked a little confused by what had just happened.

Did he just? Was he about to… ? Ah, shit.

“Hey!” he growled in clear protest, refusing to overthink his own actions “I was just– nothing wrong about checking on you ‘ttebayo,” he said, looking at the floor while his hands clenched in fists on the ground. A little blush appeared on his own cheeks as he got called out for his lack of awareness regarding personal spaces. “I know what personal bubbles are, you bastard. Again, I was just a little worried… that’s all,” he turned his head as a gesture to showcase his offense. Geesh, one part of him was grateful Sasuke had pushed him away. Had he not done that, perhaps he would have done something a little stupid… 

… correction, something super stupid. 

Since Sasuke had returned to the village, Naruto had had to deal with the realization of what his friend meant to him. At first, he had thought the reason behind his immeasurable anger when people talked ill of his friend was just him defending his honor. After all, he was Sasuke’s best friend and he would do anything for him. It wasn’t until he had gotten into a heated argument with Kakashi regarding Sasuke’s fate that he had come to one conclusion. 

His feelings for his friend went beyond simple affection. And the thought was kind of terrifying. Why? Well. He didn’t know what to do with them. His feelings.

Sasuke wasn’t a girl. Jiraiya had told him everything he could about courtship regarding girls. Had he learned a thing? Certainly not, but at least he knew a thing or two. But what did you do if your target was a boy? How did you make it obvious without making yourself look like a fool? What was he supposed to do?

He would figure it out… he hoped. For now, he would just shove his silly thoughts and focus on the task at hand. 

“Huh?” Naruto was so distracted by his own conflictive feelings he nearly had forgotten about his bet. “Oh! Yeah, my prize!” Shit. Okay. He had a chance here. Better not fuck this up. “Well, you see… “ his voice took a shy tone that he immediately corrected. Confidence! Jiraiya had told him it was about confidence! “I-I asked Kakashi permission to take you outside the village a few days ago. Uh, I figured you would appreciate the change of environment for a few days. Three to be exact. Do you… “ Was his face burning? He felt as if it was. “Do you want to come? It’s gonna be like a mini-vacation, hehe,” he chuckled sheepishly. 

Damn, the silence was killing him. Perhaps he should have asked for a spar has he had originally planned. That would have been so much easier. Kakashi had granted him his request, sure, but that didn’t mean Sasuke would comply to his wishes. He was praying though. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

“You don’t have to breathe all over my face to check on me,” Sasuke said indignantly. The feel of Naruto’s breath didn’t annoy him which troubled him. Each breath the blonde released had brushed over his cool skin, warming it, melting it, like grass on a frosty morning under the heat of the sun. It sent goosebumps traveling through his body, every pore rising one after another all the way down to his feet. He overenjoyed the sensation.

His hawk eyes observed, calculated the emotion on Naruto’s face. Sasuke felt bad for being harsh, for punishing Naruto for his own internal turmoil. It wasn’t his fault that Sasuke couldn’t control his own emotions. Anger glinted off the deep blues of his friend and he was…blushing? A corner of Sasuke’s mouth twitched. Naruto looked like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, scolded for his wrongs. It was utterly adorable.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at his own thoughts. Luckily he wasn’t left to linger on them long, as Naruto’s voice started to explain what he wanted as his prize. Naruto was acting shy, the way that Karin and Sakura did when they were trying to make a pass at him. He never acted sheepish around Sasuke. Normally the blonde was his most confident in his friend’s company. Why was he being so strange now?

As he spoke Naruto’s cheeks grew pink, then red, and soon the color bled over the entirety of his face. Perhaps he thought Sasuke would say no and he was afraid of how awkward that would make the rest of their evening. No, there was something else. Rejection was rarely something Naruto feared. The blonde was acting particularly vulnerable at this moment. It was a big ask, Sasuke hadn’t expected something like this.

Three days outside the village, on a vacation, with Naruto? He would hardly call that a vacation, the blonde was too hyperactive to relax properly. Sasuke’s idea of a vacation was laying around, reading, unwinding, but he supposed he could try out Naruto’s idea of a break. They had never done something like this together. If they stayed at a hot spring or inn it was during a mission never for leisure. 

Sasuke wasn’t positive he could handle being in close proximity, alone, with Naruto for seventy-two hours. Not with the emotional storm brewing inside his heart. He stared blankly at Naruto while going through his options. He could say no…but then he would be breaking their bet. Worse, he would let Naruto down. The image of his disappointed face, slumping shoulders, and sadly twinkling eyes tugged at Sasuke’s heartstrings. How could he do that to him? The answer was simple, he couldn’t. He just had to hope that he set himself straight emotionally before they left.

He was flustered that Naruto even wanted to spend that much time with him one on one. It was flattering in a sense and thoughtful. Naruto knew, though Sasuke never said it, he knew that he was going stir crazy stuck in the village like this. He was itching to get out on the open road again. He hadn’t stayed in one place for this long since he was thirteen. Naruto was looking out for him, like always. Sasuke could never properly pay him back, but going on this trip as he requested was a start. 

“Fine,” he replied as if he hadn’t thought about it for two minutes straight. “Where to? And when?” he asked beginning to separate the sticky notes once again. The whole time he was mentally hoping he had not damned himself to three days of torture. Not because being around Naruto in itself was torture, the exact opposite, he loved being around him, and that was the problem. The inexplicable magnetic pull he felt towards Naruto, the desire to be closer to him, in more than friendly ways. He bit his lower lip and forced his concentration on the sticky notes.

“So, if I get them all right in two tries do I get a prize as well?” Sasuke couldn’t believe such childish words came from his mouth, but he couldn’t help it. He knew that the idea of Sasuke getting it done in less than three would piss Naruto off and he was sure he could think of a reward of his own.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Two whole minutes of silence. Each passing second was just torture for the blonde. His face was still red, burning with fury as his eyes fixed on the floor, occasionally looking at his sides. God, what was he so shy about? This wasn’t like him at all. How many times had he asked Sakura out only to be rejected? Each rejection had felt like a stab but none of them had affected him that much; he had tried again at the next opportunity.

This felt so different though. He was terrified. Sasuke’s rejection would be something he wasn’t sure he could so easily brush off his mind, even if it would make perfect sense for him to deny him a request as abrupt as this. Sasuke wanted out of the village, of course, but that didn’t mean he would agree to the first opportunity, especially if it meant the two of them spending time together. What if he found the idea annoying? He was always poking fun at him being a nuisance. What were Sasuke’s true feelings? Did he really find him that irritating? 

Naruto was sweating at this point. He should have never invited him, maybe he should just–

‘Fine’

“Huh?” Naruto’s head rose up. He couldn’t believe his ears. Was his mind playing tricks? “Really?!” His eyes glinted with so much hope to the point it was blinding. “We are going to Hanagakure. It’s a small village not far from Konoha; we would leave two days after the test ‘ttebayo!” Naruto explained as he swung back and forth on his seat. He was grinning like a little kid. “I have never been there but Ino told me it’s a super nice place. I’m sure it’s gonna be a lot of fun!” He remembered Ino talking about her last visit to the place when he found her having coffee with Sakura at a small cafe close to Ichiraku. There was more to his plans taking Sasuke there, but he wanted to keep those a surprise. Naruto chuckled with a hint of mischief; Sasuke had no idea what he just had agreed on and Naruto was so excited.

That is, until he heard him say he could get the answers in fewer tries than him. Naruto passed, in manner of seconds, from a joyful expression to one that clearly reflected his clear offense. Blue eyes fulminated the Uchiha while his mouth now rested in a strong frown.

“Two tries? Aren’t you getting way ahead of yourself?” A little vein was showing on his temple. “… Pff, fine.” Naruto huffed some air, letting his annoyance towards Sasuke’s confidence slide out of him. “You can get a prize as well if you do make it, I suppose.” Naruto shrugged. He stood up and sat on the couch, his chin resting on his palm as he watched Sasuke scatter the sticky notes. A little inquiry began to place itself in his mind. What could Sasuke possibly want? He wasn’t the type to make fun bets like him. Curiosity was so strong in him he almost wished for Sasuke to actually win his bet, even if that meant his own humiliation for taking three tries instead of two. 

Meh. Whatever. If Sasuke managed to outsmart him, he just had to outsmart him back another time. That’s how their rivalry worked anyway. Pushing each other limits was their thing, in a way. No one could motivate the both of them better than each other, and that on itself was so special to Naruto the idea of possibly losing it was so terrifying. 

“Teme, don’t disappoint me now,” he teased, sticking his tongue out to Sasuke. His rival better deliver now or else the blonde wasn’t going to shut up all night about his failure. He would remind him about it his whole life and, surely, Sasuke was aware.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

The absolute joy that Sasuke's single word of agreement brought to Naruto's face alone was worth the commitment he had made. Naruto answered the two fundamental questions he had posed while Sasuke continued to separate and spread the sticky notes recreating the sea of color on the wood floors. "I know what it is..." Why did Naruto want to take him to Hanagakure? That was an odd choice. Admittedly, he had never set foot there. There was no reason for him to. Sasuke wasn't exactly into sightseeing the past three years.

"Of course she did, she's a florist Naruto," he mumbled separating the last of the colored squares and setting them on opposite sides of his board. It didn't matter who suggested it because it seemed that there was more to Naruto's little plan. Sasuke's ears pricked at the sound of his giggle with himself. Eyes slit he looked over his shoulder at the scheming blonde. He was always up to something. What had he gotten himself into?

As expected, all playfulness vanished from Naruto's face when Sasuke presented his wager. He leaned back on his toes to survey his work. He felt Naruto perch on the couch behind him to watch and caught his huffy comments. Sasuke scoffed with a smug smirk at Naruto's clear irritation with his friend's declaration of superiority. "You said if but I think you meant when," he taunted.

A pale hand lifted the notebook of answers, in one fluid motion he bent backward at the waist, head falling back, to give him a better angle to give the blonde referee of this little game the answer key. Dark curtains of hair reached for the floor below, onyx eyes locked onto the other's contrasting blues, and an overconfident smirk tugged up on the corner of his lips. The small pink tip of Naruto's tongue poked out at him to say hello and taunt him. Why did he always have to be so cute? The sight made his heart rate quicken slightly. He felt an overwhelming desire to cover the tongue with his lips. "Tch." He quickly pulled his upper torso back into an upright position facing away from Naruto as the blush burst onto his cheeks from the vision. He needed to distract himself again.

Without another word, he set to work mixing and matching all the answers. His face scrunched ever so slightly in concentration. The only indication the slight twitch of his cheekbones, the tug of his eyebrows, and the squint of his eyes. His hands flew across the notes, ripping one off the floor, bringing it to his eyes, scanning it thoughtfully, before sorting it. The same process repeated in a strange visual rhythm until they were all put in stacks.

Sasuke snatched the notebook from Naruto to look over his answers. He had gotten all of them right so far, he began to get smug, then cursed when he encountered an incorrect answer. "Again..." he whispered to himself like he always did when training.

He set back to work dispersing the notes only to yank them from their resting places seconds later. This round he moved slower with more purpose as he used caution with his placements. There was a rolling wave of nerves vibrating through his body. He felt the burning desire to be right, to impress Naruto.

Finishing, he double checked his answers before wordlessly taking the notebook again to ensure he was correct. "Hmph," he smiled and lazily held the notebook out to Naruto to check for himself. "You're going to have to work harder than this if you want to beat me on that test dobe," he said voice dripping with arrogance.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

“I’m insulted that you think I would ever lose voluntarily dobe, especially to you.” Letting Naruto win was the same as saying he didn’t believe in him to win on his own, which was anything but true. Sasuke enjoyed pushing Naruto to do his best, it always amazed him how far the blonde could go. The Uchiha was not so naive that he wasn’t aware that he, himself, was one of the best motivators for his friend. Naruto would travel around the world ten times over for Sasuke. He never gave up on him, even the last three years, despite what Sasuke had done.

He had never known how to interpret his friend’s dedication. Friend? Brother? That was exactly the problem, there wasn’t a word he could think of that encapsulated their relationship. It was beyond the definition of language.

When he declared he would go first, Sasuke nodded, “Fair enough.” It was technically for Naruto’s sake, but the truth was tonight was helping Sasuke too. Being back was difficult for him. He would never admit it out loud, but every day was a battle with the darkness that so desperately wanted to claim him again.

The presence of his sun pushed it farther and farther away. So, yes what they were doing was for Naruto’s benefit, but it was just as beneficial for him. He smiled softly, as Naruto yelled at the lifeless colored paper. “I’m sure they are trembling Naruto.” He rolled his eyes as he separated the last batch.

A single dark eyebrow rose at the request. A prize? What kind of a prize would he want? Part of Sasuke didn’t trust himself giving Naruto a vague promise such as this, but if it would motivate him to get them all right quicker he would allow the questionable decision. “Within reason, yes,” he replied.

Sasuke leaned back against the couch to give himself a full view of the layout of notes. “Ready? Go.” Only Sasuke would still manage a monotoned, Go.

As the blonde worked, his fingers twitched wanting to intervene when he made mistakes. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ever since the day he had moved to save Naruto from Haku all those years ago, he had acquired an almost undeniable instinct to aid his friend whenever he saw him struggling. Even when they battled, but he had extinguished the desire every time. Pushing his greater desires to the forefront. Clearly, the effort had ultimately failed.

Now, when he had no greater ulterior motive for letting Naruto flounder, he had a harder time not intervening. The combination of biting his lower lip and pinching his nose were the only things holding him back. They reminded him not to speak, to keep quiet and let Naruto do it. To let him impress him as he had so many times before. Something that always made Sasuke feel…something…something he couldn’t place. It was a little more than charming? Attractive?

The idea lingered in his mind. His dark eyes began to look Naruto over. He supposed that the way his bright eyes contrasted with his slightly darkened skin was pleasing to the eye. Or how his blonde hair only furthered this perspective. The uniqueness of his whiskers was rather adorable. What always caught Sasuke’s attention was the emotion in his eyes that always betrayed whatever he was thinking.

He realized that he had tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned forward to stare at the concentrated blonde. He quickly fixed himself back into his previous position and rested a hand on his nose to hide the pink he was almost positive had appeared on his cheeks from the embarrassment he felt from what he had just been doing and thinking.

@will-of-naruto

He kind of expected Sasuke to dismiss him. Asking for a prize was a childish move, then again when he heard the raven compel to his request Naruto didn’t hide the gleam of surprise surfacing through his eyes, goosebumps going through his entire body. He blinked with clear disbelief, but shortly he grinned again, rising a fist to the air. Now he felt more than motivated; he would fulfill his word no matter what for that prize!

“Prepare to be amazed!” he declared, full of confidence in his ability to manage the fit he had just promised. Three tries. Only three tries or else he wasn’t getting his reward and he would never forgive himself if he failed.

Naruto kneeled, hands lifted in the air as if he was about to pounce. He waited for Sasuke’s incredibly boring signal to start. The blonde would have complained at the lack of enthusiasm shown by the raven, but instead, he was already revising the answers he knew within his mind as a head-start. 

“Here I go ‘ttebayo!” With his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Naruto began his task, eyes flashing with ardent resolution. 

His first try didn’t go as well as he expected. He was glad he hadn’t said ‘first try’ during his prize request, or else he would have been sulking about his defeat for the rest of the night. Fingers moved across sticky notes while he shuffled them away for his second try. Naruto could feel his nerves building up in the depths of his stomach; he knew the answers and yet he was struggling with some names and dates mix-ups. By the end of his second try, he had way fewer mistakes. He was so concentrated that he didn’t even notice Sasuke staring and evaluating his efforts.

He took his sweet time during his third try. It was his last one, after all. Cold sweat ran through his face as he slowly moved sticky notes to match answers with questions. Having Naruto be this careful was a rare sight, yet for the blonde, this didn’t feel as different as if he were trying to learn to stand still to gather nature energy or concentrate his chakra to create a rasengan. If anything, this level of caution helped him to concentrate enough to not let his own hesitation and doubts cloud his mind. 

Before he knew it he was done. With hurry, he took the notebook with the answers. His eyes scanned through Sasuke’s almost perfect caligraphy with unease. His lips twitched to form a smile for each time his own answers matched the ones in the notebook. By the time he reached the last written sentence, that perfectly matched his last sticky note, Naruto had a perfect grin painted on face.

“HELL YEAH!!” he yelled louder than he intended, raising both his arms into the air. “Look Sasuke!” He turned to show his friend the result of his efforts, but he was greeted with a sight that left him a little confused.

Sasuke had a hand covering half his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes, standing up with hands on his hips. He quirked a brow and leaned forward, facing Sasuke and invading his personal space. 

“What? Where you about to laugh at me for taking so long? Huh?” he accused, pouting like a child. However, his pout disappeared once he noticed something. Sasuke’s ears were a little red and now that he was looking closer, his cheek looked a little… pinkish? 

Naruto blinked, a little shocked by the sight. Was that…  

“Are you okay?” Naruto kneeled in front of Sasuke. His hands went to rest on the couch, each at one side of the raven. “Your face is red ‘ttebayo.” There was a very subtle hint of worry in his voice. “Wait– was it the tea?!” Perhaps the tea leaves he had used had already expired. He drank the same beverage yet he was feeling perfectly fine… 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

The way his tongue stuck out of his mouth the tiniest bit as he concentrated was annoyingly cute too. Naruto was concentrating so hard for whatever this prize was he wanted, that he was actually sweating. It only amplified the naturally smooth, shine of his skin. God, he really needed to stop staring if he hoped to get rid of the blush by the time Naruto finished checking his answers. Each twitch of his lips only made things worse for the Uchiha. Absolutely not. Stop it now! He mentally scolded himself and his eyes shifted to the side. The hand over his cheeks pressing down to try and further hide pink gradually turning red hue of his face.

  Sasuke had never given his sexuality a second thought. He had never defined it, to begin with, so there wasn’t anything to second guess. When he was with Orochimaru traveling, the sanin had offered him the chance to get out his “frustrations” with men or women, Orochimaru didn’t judge. Sasuke, however, had no interest. Any free time he had was dedicated to training and if there was no opportunity to do that when they stayed disguised at different inns, he would read, or torment Kabuto. He got a kick out of riling the man up until Orochimaru intervened and almost always took Sasuke’s side. The look on Kabuto’s face when his own master betrayed him for an “ungrateful brat” was priceless. 

Sasuke had only ever cared about power. He had once considered things like love and lust weaknesses. Loved ones were a liability to be used against someone and sex was a distraction, both he couldn’t afford. Now he was faced with the very real possibility that he considered Naruto attractive. He couldn’t sort through all of the complex interweavings of that sitting in Naruto’s living room though. Instead, he began some meditation techniques he had read about. Trying to clear his mind and push out all thought. 

The heat finally began to drain from his face when he heard Naruto’s exclamation. His dark eyes darted back in his friend’s direction. It looked like he had succeeded within his three attempt parameters around him getting this mystery prize. “Let me check,” he replied trying to keep his voice even. Right now he really wished he had that other arm so he wouldn’t have to eventually remove his hand to look at the answers. 

Before he could even take the answers, Naruto had moved to stare him straight in the eyes. He caught those shining blues scanning his face and realized that Naruto had noticed the red tint, which only increased the phenomena. The color expanded it reaches to his normally pale ears. Having normally colorless skin was a curse when it came to blushing. It made any change in color extremely noticeable. 

Laugh at him? Sasuke wished that his sin had been that simple, that innocent. He was still trying to explain to himself what he had just been doing, he couldn’t very well explain it to Naruto. Matters couldn’t get any wors- the thought stopped right there as Naruto moved his face within inches of his own. Sasuke moved to scramble backward but found his back only hit the front of the couch. He was cornered. 

His eyes flitted between the two hands that had taken up on either side of his head before resting on the intense, concerned gaze of his friend. He gulped as his own eyes got caught in the magnetic blue of Naruto’s. The fact that Naruto was genuinely worried about him warmed his chest. His whole body felt uncomfortable warm under Naruto’s stare. Was he okay? Physically speaking yes. Mentally? For the most part besides the pandora’s box of emotions, he was opening. 

“I-” he coughed and finally brought his hand down to lightly pound on his chest. “The tea just went down the wrong pipe,” he pushed out in a strangled voice. He had been holding his breath, so it sounded sort of believable, however, Sasuke Uchiha had never been praised on his acting skills. 

“There was nothing wrong with it dobe. I simply almost spit it out in surprise that you got them all right.” Gaining his voice back he placed his foot on Naruto’s chest and kicked him off. “Did no one teach you about personal spaces?” he asked before grabbing the notebook of answers off the ground. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he glanced between the answer key and Naruto’s answers. The act allowed the color to finally drain from his face his thoughts on the task at hand instead of the way Naruto strangely smelled of sunshine and ramen, or the disturbing fact that the two scents actually worked together. 

After a couple moments, he set the notebook down and gave a nod of approval. “Okay so what’s this prize you want? More ramen? Dango? A walk around the block?” He couldn’t imagine what Naruto would name as his reward. If there was one word that described Naruto it was unpredictable.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto had never really taken much attention to Sasuke’s visage. The Uchiha’s long, graceful eyelashes only accentuated the sharp edge of his eyes’ shape. Skin smooth and fair, tinted with shades of pink-red, contrasted perfectly against dark, raven hair that reminded him of the beauty of a pitch black night. Though Naruto had approached with concern for his friend’s well-being, he found himself lost within the obscurity of deep, obsidian eyes that looked at him with emotions Naruto couldn’t read. In fact, he wasn’t sure he would be able to read his own right this moment.

He was so close to Sasuke and yet his voice seemed so far away. He wasn’t listening. He hadn’t thought about how dangerous his own impulsiveness could be, especially this close. 

That is, until a foot placed on his chest shoved me away. He landed on his butt on the floor and the blonde blinked a little confused by what had just happened.

Did he just? Was he about to… ? Ah, shit.

“Hey!” he growled in clear protest, refusing to overthink his own actions “I was just– nothing wrong about checking on you ‘ttebayo,” he said, looking at the floor while his hands clenched in fists on the ground. A little blush appeared on his own cheeks as he got called out for his lack of awareness regarding personal spaces. “I know what personal bubbles are, you bastard. Again, I was just a little worried… that’s all,” he turned his head as a gesture to showcase his offense. Geesh, one part of him was grateful Sasuke had pushed him away. Had he not done that, perhaps he would have done something a little stupid… 

… correction, something super stupid. 

Since Sasuke had returned to the village, Naruto had had to deal with the realization of what his friend meant to him. At first, he had thought the reason behind his immeasurable anger when people talked ill of his friend was just him defending his honor. After all, he was Sasuke’s best friend and he would do anything for him. It wasn’t until he had gotten into a heated argument with Kakashi regarding Sasuke’s fate that he had come to one conclusion. 

His feelings for his friend went beyond simple affection. And the thought was kind of terrifying. Why? Well. He didn’t know what to do with them. His feelings.

Sasuke wasn’t a girl. Jiraiya had told him everything he could about courtship regarding girls. Had he learned a thing? Certainly not, but at least he knew a thing or two. But what did you do if your target was a boy? How did you make it obvious without making yourself look like a fool? What was he supposed to do?

He would figure it out… he hoped. For now, he would just shove his silly thoughts and focus on the task at hand. 

“Huh?” Naruto was so distracted by his own conflictive feelings he nearly had forgotten about his bet. “Oh! Yeah, my prize!” Shit. Okay. He had a chance here. Better not fuck this up. “Well, you see… “ his voice took a shy tone that he immediately corrected. Confidence! Jiraiya had told him it was about confidence! “I-I asked Kakashi permission to take you outside the village a few days ago. Uh, I figured you would appreciate the change of environment for a few days. Three to be exact. Do you… “ Was his face burning? He felt as if it was. “Do you want to come? It’s gonna be like a mini-vacation, hehe,” he chuckled sheepishly. 

Damn, the silence was killing him. Perhaps he should have asked for a spar has he had originally planned. That would have been so much easier. Kakashi had granted him his request, sure, but that didn’t mean Sasuke would comply to his wishes. He was praying though. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

"You don't have to breathe all over my face to check on me," Sasuke said indignantly. The feel of Naruto's breath didn't annoy him which troubled him. Each breath the blonde released had brushed over his cool skin, warming it, melting it, like grass on a frosty morning under the heat of the sun. It sent goosebumps traveling through his body, every pore rising one after another all the way down to his feet. He overenjoyed the sensation.

His hawk eyes observed, calculated the emotion on Naruto's face. Sasuke felt bad for being harsh, for punishing Naruto for his own internal turmoil. It wasn't his fault that Sasuke couldn't control his own emotions. Anger glinted off the deep blues of his friend and he was...blushing? A corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched. Naruto looked like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, scolded for his wrongs. It was utterly adorable.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at his own thoughts. Luckily he wasn't left to linger on them long, as Naruto's voice started to explain what he wanted as his prize. Naruto was acting shy, the way that Karin and Sakura did when they were trying to make a pass at him. He never acted sheepish around Sasuke. Normally the blonde was his most confident in his friend's company. Why was he being so strange now?

As he spoke Naruto's cheeks grew pink, then red, and soon the color bled over the entirety of his face. Perhaps he thought Sasuke would say no and he was afraid of how awkward that would make the rest of their evening. No, there was something else. Rejection was rarely something Naruto feared. The blonde was acting particularly vulnerable at this moment. It was a big ask, Sasuke hadn't expected something like this.

Three days outside the village, on a vacation, with Naruto? He would hardly call that a vacation, the blonde was too hyperactive to relax properly. Sasuke's idea of a vacation was laying around, reading, unwinding, but he supposed he could try out Naruto's idea of a break. They had never done something like this together. If they stayed at a hot spring or inn it was during a mission never for leisure. 

Sasuke wasn't positive he could handle being in close proximity, alone, with Naruto for seventy-two hours. Not with the emotional storm brewing inside his heart. He stared blankly at Naruto while going through his options. He could say no...but then he would be breaking their bet. Worse, he would let Naruto down. The image of his disappointed face, slumping shoulders, and sadly twinkling eyes tugged at Sasuke's heartstrings. How could he do that to him? The answer was simple, he couldn't. He just had to hope that he set himself straight emotionally before they left.

He was flustered that Naruto even wanted to spend that much time with him one on one. It was flattering in a sense and thoughtful. Naruto knew, though Sasuke never said it, he knew that he was going stir crazy stuck in the village like this. He was itching to get out on the open road again. He hadn’t stayed in one place for this long since he was thirteen. Naruto was looking out for him, like always. Sasuke could never properly pay him back, but going on this trip as he requested was a start. 

"Fine," he replied as if he hadn't thought about it for two minutes straight. "Where to? And when?" he asked beginning to separate the sticky notes once again. The whole time he was mentally hoping he had not damned himself to three days of torture. Not because being around Naruto in itself was torture, the exact opposite, he loved being around him, and that was the problem. The inexplicable magnetic pull he felt towards Naruto, the desire to be closer to him, in more than friendly ways. He bit his lower lip and forced his concentration on the sticky notes.

"So, if I get them all right in two tries do I get a prize as well?" Sasuke couldn't believe such childish words came from his mouth, but he couldn't help it. He knew that the idea of Sasuke getting it done in less than three would piss Naruto off and he was sure he could think of a reward of his own.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

“I’m insulted that you think I would ever lose voluntarily dobe, especially to you.” Letting Naruto win was the same as saying he didn’t believe in him to win on his own, which was anything but true. Sasuke enjoyed pushing Naruto to do his best, it always amazed him how far the blonde could go. The Uchiha was not so naive that he wasn’t aware that he, himself, was one of the best motivators for his friend. Naruto would travel around the world ten times over for Sasuke. He never gave up on him, even the last three years, despite what Sasuke had done.

He had never known how to interpret his friend’s dedication. Friend? Brother? That was exactly the problem, there wasn’t a word he could think of that encapsulated their relationship. It was beyond the definition of language.

When he declared he would go first, Sasuke nodded, “Fair enough.” It was technically for Naruto’s sake, but the truth was tonight was helping Sasuke too. Being back was difficult for him. He would never admit it out loud, but every day was a battle with the darkness that so desperately wanted to claim him again.

The presence of his sun pushed it farther and farther away. So, yes what they were doing was for Naruto’s benefit, but it was just as beneficial for him. He smiled softly, as Naruto yelled at the lifeless colored paper. “I’m sure they are trembling Naruto.” He rolled his eyes as he separated the last batch.

A single dark eyebrow rose at the request. A prize? What kind of a prize would he want? Part of Sasuke didn’t trust himself giving Naruto a vague promise such as this, but if it would motivate him to get them all right quicker he would allow the questionable decision. “Within reason, yes,” he replied.

Sasuke leaned back against the couch to give himself a full view of the layout of notes. “Ready? Go.” Only Sasuke would still manage a monotoned, Go.

As the blonde worked, his fingers twitched wanting to intervene when he made mistakes. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ever since the day he had moved to save Naruto from Haku all those years ago, he had acquired an almost undeniable instinct to aid his friend whenever he saw him struggling. Even when they battled, but he had extinguished the desire every time. Pushing his greater desires to the forefront. Clearly, the effort had ultimately failed.

Now, when he had no greater ulterior motive for letting Naruto flounder, he had a harder time not intervening. The combination of biting his lower lip and pinching his nose were the only things holding him back. They reminded him not to speak, to keep quiet and let Naruto do it. To let him impress him as he had so many times before. Something that always made Sasuke feel…something…something he couldn’t place. It was a little more than charming? Attractive?

The idea lingered in his mind. His dark eyes began to look Naruto over. He supposed that the way his bright eyes contrasted with his slightly darkened skin was pleasing to the eye. Or how his blonde hair only furthered this perspective. The uniqueness of his whiskers was rather adorable. What always caught Sasuke’s attention was the emotion in his eyes that always betrayed whatever he was thinking.

He realized that he had tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned forward to stare at the concentrated blonde. He quickly fixed himself back into his previous position and rested a hand on his nose to hide the pink he was almost positive had appeared on his cheeks from the embarrassment he felt from what he had just been doing and thinking.

@will-of-naruto

He kind of expected Sasuke to dismiss him. Asking for a prize was a childish move, then again when he heard the raven compel to his request Naruto didn’t hide the gleam of surprise surfacing through his eyes, goosebumps going through his entire body. He blinked with clear disbelief, but shortly he grinned again, rising a fist to the air. Now he felt more than motivated; he would fulfill his word no matter what for that prize!

“Prepare to be amazed!” he declared, full of confidence in his ability to manage the fit he had just promised. Three tries. Only three tries or else he wasn’t getting his reward and he would never forgive himself if he failed.

Naruto kneeled, hands lifted in the air as if he was about to pounce. He waited for Sasuke’s incredibly boring signal to start. The blonde would have complained at the lack of enthusiasm shown by the raven, but instead, he was already revising the answers he knew within his mind as a head-start. 

“Here I go ‘ttebayo!” With his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Naruto began his task, eyes flashing with ardent resolution. 

His first try didn’t go as well as he expected. He was glad he hadn’t said ‘first try’ during his prize request, or else he would have been sulking about his defeat for the rest of the night. Fingers moved across sticky notes while he shuffled them away for his second try. Naruto could feel his nerves building up in the depths of his stomach; he knew the answers and yet he was struggling with some names and dates mix-ups. By the end of his second try, he had way fewer mistakes. He was so concentrated that he didn’t even notice Sasuke staring and evaluating his efforts.

He took his sweet time during his third try. It was his last one, after all. Cold sweat ran through his face as he slowly moved sticky notes to match answers with questions. Having Naruto be this careful was a rare sight, yet for the blonde, this didn’t feel as different as if he were trying to learn to stand still to gather nature energy or concentrate his chakra to create a rasengan. If anything, this level of caution helped him to concentrate enough to not let his own hesitation and doubts cloud his mind. 

Before he knew it he was done. With hurry, he took the notebook with the answers. His eyes scanned through Sasuke’s almost perfect caligraphy with unease. His lips twitched to form a smile for each time his own answers matched the ones in the notebook. By the time he reached the last written sentence, that perfectly matched his last sticky note, Naruto had a perfect grin painted on face.

“HELL YEAH!!” he yelled louder than he intended, raising both his arms into the air. “Look Sasuke!” He turned to show his friend the result of his efforts, but he was greeted with a sight that left him a little confused.

Sasuke had a hand covering half his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes, standing up with hands on his hips. He quirked a brow and leaned forward, facing Sasuke and invading his personal space. 

“What? Where you about to laugh at me for taking so long? Huh?” he accused, pouting like a child. However, his pout disappeared once he noticed something. Sasuke’s ears were a little red and now that he was looking closer, his cheek looked a little… pinkish? 

Naruto blinked, a little shocked by the sight. Was that…  

“Are you okay?” Naruto kneeled in front of Sasuke. His hands went to rest on the couch, each at one side of the raven. “Your face is red ‘ttebayo.” There was a very subtle hint of worry in his voice. “Wait– was it the tea?!” Perhaps the tea leaves he had used had already expired. He drank the same beverage yet he was feeling perfectly fine… 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

The way his tongue stuck out of his mouth the tiniest bit as he concentrated was annoyingly cute too. Naruto was concentrating so hard for whatever this prize was he wanted, that he was actually sweating. It only amplified the naturally smooth, shine of his skin. God, he really needed to stop staring if he hoped to get rid of the blush by the time Naruto finished checking his answers. Each twitch of his lips only made things worse for the Uchiha. Absolutely not. Stop it now! He mentally scolded himself and his eyes shifted to the side. The hand over his cheeks pressing down to try and further hide pink gradually turning red hue of his face.

  Sasuke had never given his sexuality a second thought. He had never defined it, to begin with, so there wasn't anything to second guess. When he was with Orochimaru traveling, the sanin had offered him the chance to get out his "frustrations" with men or women, Orochimaru didn't judge. Sasuke, however, had no interest. Any free time he had was dedicated to training and if there was no opportunity to do that when they stayed disguised at different inns, he would read, or torment Kabuto. He got a kick out of riling the man up until Orochimaru intervened and almost always took Sasuke's side. The look on Kabuto's face when his own master betrayed him for an "ungrateful brat" was priceless. 

Sasuke had only ever cared about power. He had once considered things like love and lust weaknesses. Loved ones were a liability to be used against someone and sex was a distraction, both he couldn't afford. Now he was faced with the very real possibility that he considered Naruto attractive. He couldn't sort through all of the complex interweavings of that sitting in Naruto's living room though. Instead, he began some meditation techniques he had read about. Trying to clear his mind and push out all thought. 

The heat finally began to drain from his face when he heard Naruto's exclamation. His dark eyes darted back in his friend's direction. It looked like he had succeeded within his three attempt parameters around him getting this mystery prize. "Let me check," he replied trying to keep his voice even. Right now he really wished he had that other arm so he wouldn't have to eventually remove his hand to look at the answers. 

Before he could even take the answers, Naruto had moved to stare him straight in the eyes. He caught those shining blues scanning his face and realized that Naruto had noticed the red tint, which only increased the phenomena. The color expanded it reaches to his normally pale ears. Having normally colorless skin was a curse when it came to blushing. It made any change in color extremely noticeable. 

Laugh at him? Sasuke wished that his sin had been that simple, that innocent. He was still trying to explain to himself what he had just been doing, he couldn't very well explain it to Naruto. Matters couldn't get any wors- the thought stopped right there as Naruto moved his face within inches of his own. Sasuke moved to scramble backward but found his back only hit the front of the couch. He was cornered. 

His eyes flitted between the two hands that had taken up on either side of his head before resting on the intense, concerned gaze of his friend. He gulped as his own eyes got caught in the magnetic blue of Naruto’s. The fact that Naruto was genuinely worried about him warmed his chest. His whole body felt uncomfortable warm under Naruto's stare. Was he okay? Physically speaking yes. Mentally? For the most part besides the pandora's box of emotions, he was opening. 

"I-" he coughed and finally brought his hand down to lightly pound on his chest. "The tea just went down the wrong pipe," he pushed out in a strangled voice. He had been holding his breath, so it sounded sort of believable, however, Sasuke Uchiha had never been praised on his acting skills. 

"There was nothing wrong with it dobe. I simply almost spit it out in surprise that you got them all right." Gaining his voice back he placed his foot on Naruto's chest and kicked him off. "Did no one teach you about personal spaces?" he asked before grabbing the notebook of answers off the ground. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he glanced between the answer key and Naruto's answers. The act allowed the color to finally drain from his face his thoughts on the task at hand instead of the way Naruto strangely smelled of sunshine and ramen, or the disturbing fact that the two scents actually worked together. 

After a couple moments, he set the notebook down and gave a nod of approval. "Okay so what's this prize you want? More ramen? Dango? A walk around the block?" He couldn't imagine what Naruto would name as his reward. If there was one word that described Naruto it was unpredictable.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

Keeping Naruto’s passion, for things he normally wouldn’t find interesting, was like tending to a campfire. As the fire starts to die it needs to be prodded to keep it from being reduced to embers. Sasuke was simply tending to the flame of Naruto’s attention, prodding it with insults and the threat of losing. He smirked at the ease of it all, as Naruto acted like he was telling the world, not just his living room, that he was going to beat Sasuke.

“God, you’re like a broken record with that,” he muttered feigning annoyance. Sasuke couldn’t help the fact that Naruto’s constant determination and declaration that he would beat him was oddly endearing.

Sasuke was stunned that Naruto didn’t ask him to repeat the instructions. He opened his mouth to proceed with doing just that when Naruto repeated back the underlying concept of what Sasuke had said. Maybe he had caught on to what was about to happen, if not he would learn as they went. “Yes,” his almost colorless lips pulled into a small smile. “Teamwork for now.”

He pulled his knees under his butt to give himself more reach over the sea of sticky notes. Naruto’s declaration of self-confidence was entertaining. Sasuke glanced at him and tsked, “Correction, we can do this,” and they began. Several arguments broke out as Sasuke realized how much Naruto had spelled wrong, or they fought over who was right. At one point Sasuke had held the wrong answer hostage from Naruto, holding it up in his hand and leaning back every time Naruto lunged for it, all while screaming that the blonde was wrong right in his whiskered face.

Sasuke felt like he had fought the five kages all over again by the end. The sticky notes had acquired war wounds, torn, wet with spittle from the screaming, and one even had a smear of blood from a paper cut. The Uchiha panted softly shaking his head, “We did it…” he said weakly. He looked at Naruto, “Now we have to do it until it doesn’t go like that. Naruto, we aren’t done until we get them all right without a doubt,” he paused. “Until we agree on every single one,” he added to clarify. Until we act perfectly in sync and at harmony.

He began to check their work and grumbled, “We didn’t even get them all right.” The raven continued showing Naruto the ones they had gotten wrong before taking the neat stacks apart to spread them randomly once more. “Ready?” he looked at Naruto with a determined expression. He was beginning to take this more serious than before.

@will-of-naruto

‘We can do this’ Simple words, but whenever Sasuke included him a rush of warmth would take over Naruto’s chest. Though studying was hard and they would constantly bicker over who was right, the blonde was just happy to be able to spend time with his best friend. It was nice to know that, even if the path to become Hokage was his and his alone, he had Sasuke beside him to give him a push if he ever faltered.

“Until we get them all right?” he asked in a weak tone. He was feeling already mentally exhausted after all the yelling and bickering… but he refused to give up now. “Okay. Until we agree ‘ttebayo,” he repeated, looking at the sticky notes with fiery determination. 

Naruto frowned when Sasuke pointed out the ones they had gotten wrong. He huffed, shaking his head and trying to clear his mind before they continued or else he felt he would faint by frustration alone.

“I’m always ready!” He helped to spread them all randomly again. 

He lost count of how many tries it took them to get them all right. Maybe he had been a little too difficult, with his natural stubbornness, but at least that nature of his had been spot on and prevented them from doing more mistakes after each try. At one point he noticed how he and Sasuke would move in silence, in sync, as if the movement of one prompted the other to take the next step and so on. 

When they finally agreed on each answer Naruto felt as if he had finished one of his most rigorous physical training sessions. He was exhausted. He was sure all answers were now in his head, after seeing them and discussing them for who knows how long. 

Naruto glanced at the clock hanging in the wall of his living room. Wow, they had been doing this for 2 hours?

“We should take a break.” Naruto stood up, feeling his legs a little stiff for staying on his knees that long. “Do you want anything? I can make us some tea or…” He waited for Sasuke to answer him, though he was kind of already leaving to make himself something to drink. 

[will-of-sasuke]

“Don’t tell me you are going to give up that easily dobe?“ Sasuke knew that them managing to agree on the order of fifty plus answers seemed impossible. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to be seen as weaker necessarily. They were both simply two pigheaded shinobi forever locked in a battle of wills. He could see the makeshift bonfire of passion for studying that he had lit earlier flickering and he had to fan that flame back to life. 

He saw the bright flash of a revived flame glint through the deep blue eyes of his friend and smirked. There, that’s all he needed to see before proceeding. Sasuke simply nodded in agreement before setting to work. Each time they got slightly quicker, things they had argued about slowly lessening. 

It felt like they were genin once more, partaking in training tasks that seemed more like childish games than ninja training. Both wanting to be the best, but none the less, they would both lock away their stubborn nature long enough to focus on the larger goal of improving and learning. As they had once done when learning to climb trees. They started out competing until they had realized that together, together they pushed each other to be their best. To transcend beyond their personal roadblocks. They hadn’t failed and fallen among the stars, no they had succeeded and climbed among them.

The sparkling glints that decorated that night sky, showed up in the irises of Sasuke’s own eyes now, fueled by the high of working with his best friend once again. He road the peak of this adrenaline like a wave until he felt exhausted. He pursed his lips and let out a sigh of relief, exhaustion, and annoyance. The self-made breeze disheveling the dark locks spreading out like the bristols of a broom before falling back together to provide a makeshift eyepatch for his lilac eye. 

He stopped the airflow from his lips as Naruto stood. Sasuke followed suit stretching out his stiff spine toward the ceiling, his tank top pulling up slightly to reveal his waistband and an inch or so of pale skin. “Since when do you drink tea?” he asked surprised by this development. 

“If you actually do have some I’d appreciate a cup of caffeinated anything.” Black tea or some sort of plant tasting water that would provide him the power to stay awake to finish the tedious task in front of them would be appreciated. Next, they would have to get it all right individually and it would take every rope of restraint he had to let Naruto be wrong without correcting him right away. 

Sasuke followed after Naruto shortly after the blonde had entered the kitchen and leaned with his back against the counter. “Is this helping?” he asked. He didn’t want to continue with the method if it wasn’t working. “I have…other methods too if this one isn’t working.” The raven wanted his friend to succeed at the end of the day, no matter how much he acted like winning mattered more. Sasuke wasn’t doing this to beat Naruto, or to prove a point, he just wanted him to pass the test. He didn’t expect his rival to win, but he had learned not to put expectations on Naruto when it came to “can’t”. Naruto could do whatever he set his mind to, after all, Sasuke had learned this long ago under that night sky, and now everyone knew. Naruto had gotten the acknowledgment he had so desperately wanted from those who had once cast him out.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto started boiling water, his fingertips appreciating touching the cold surface of the teapot instead of crumpled paper, especially after being handed back and forth due to their inability to agree on the correct answers.  

“Since when?” he repeated the question, his eyes narrowing towards Sasuke. He shook his head and huffed some air before answering. “Well, I made a promise not long ago that I would have a more balanced diet.” He opened one of the cabinets and searched for the herbs he would need. “I didn’t like it as much when I was little, but now I think it’s soothing and it’s one of the things he taught me to make ‘ttebayo.”

He, of course, being his teacher. 

“Do you remember him? Ero-sennin?” he asked, absent-mindedly and focused on his tea-making task. “When you… uh, left, I traveled with him so he could train me. He was surprisingly strict and when I told him I didn’t know how to do this,” he gestured towards the teapot, “he shook his head saying something like ‘I can’t believe you, brat. It’s so easy, anyone can do it!’” he quoted his words while also doing a terrible job at trying to imitate his teacher’s voice. “Anyway… now I’m a tea expert.” No, he wasn’t, but that didn’t stop him to brag as a joke. 

Talking about Jiraiya didn’t hurt anymore. If anything, the blonde liked to talk about the man that had been the second closest to a parent he ever had. He wished he was here. He missed him every day. But he was proud to say that, one way or another, he was closer to making his teacher’s dream come true and his own. 

He was also really happy that the very reason he had asked Jiraiya to train him was standing only a few feet away. Jiraiya wasn’t here, however, Sasuke was and he was sure his teacher would have been happy for him.

You saved your friend, good job kid. 

He had said to his teacher once he would rather be an idiot than forsake his friend. How ironic that they were attempting to correct just that, now that he was back. 

Well. Just for a test. It was funny to him nonetheless. 

Naruto served Sasuke a cup of black tea. He then served himself one as well and walked towards his friend. Giving a sweet smile, while listening intently to Sasuke and the little hint of worry in his voice, he offered one of the cups.

“It is working!” he reassured. “I swear I tried a lot of things. My biggest mistake was probably that I was trying to memorize everything,” he rolled his eyes at himself for attempting just that with his army of clones. Never again. “I don’t like having to learn a million uninteresting facts. It’s hard and boring and your method makes it simple enough that I just have to worry about a few. Hell. it’s been actually fun studying with you ‘ttebayo!” He put a hand on Sasuke shoulder. “So… thank you, really. You have no idea how much this means to me.” His hand stays longer than he had planned and when he realizes, he brings it down and turns around. 

He takes a long sip of his tea, practically downing it in one go. 

“Yeah, well, I still think studying sucks but you make it bearable ‘ttebayo,” That was close, he thinks, aware of his heart beating slightly faster. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke stifled a scoff at the promise his friend had made “not long ago”. This was coming from the boy who once listed every kind of ramen there was in a long list of his favorites. He was transfixed on watching the blonde bounce along heating the water and measuring out some tea leaves for their cups.

He…there was no need for his friend to evaluate, Sasuke knew exactly who he was referring to. His mouth fell open slightly surprised that Naruto had brought him up so casually over his shoulder. The silver-haired, loud, pervert was hard to forget. Sasuke had probably never exchanged more than peripheral glares with the man. For whatever reason, they had instantly taken a long distance approach to their relationship, if it could even be called that.

Sasuke supposed he had owed him something after he saved him, and more importantly Naruto, from his brother. Still, words never passed through their lips in acknowledgment of one another. Perhaps he was envious of how the man had become a father figure to Naruto, while Sasuke remained alone.

No matter the past, Sasuke found he thought of the man with a strange fondness. Jiraiya had respected Sasuke’s wish to be left alone. In the end, he had been the one who helped Naruto become strong enough to keep his promise. It was his effort that allowed them to be sharing a cup of tea today.

“I do, you have a lot in common. He’d be proud of you,” Sasuke replied as he recalled the old feelings of quiet admiration. He watched Naruto intently waiting for any sign that he needed comfort. That he was in pain. But there was none, perhaps a flicker of sadness like driving under a bridge on a sunny day. It was clear that Naruto had worked through his demons with the issue.

Shikamaru.

The copycat nin had been the one to pull Naruto out of the depths of depression and loss, not him. The Uchiha felt guilt for not being there to support his friend. There was nothing he could do about it now, but he wished to forever heal Naruto from sorrow.

He accepted the warm mug from the blonde, the dark aroma of the black tea, mixed with the light, sweet scents of the fruit. Similar to the coexistence of the two auras in the kitchen. He blew across the surface creating small ripples and cutting off the fog of steam rising from it. The warmth of pride radiated through his body when Naruto said the technique was working.

Sasuke placed the cup to his lips to take a sip but paused as Naruto closed the distance between them and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. His dark eyes slid to the side staring through the thin cloud from his cup at the tan hand on his pale shoulder. They stand their both temporarily frozen in place. The rhythmic hum of Sasuke’s heart skips a beat from the drawn-out contact. Before he can gather his wits about him the warmth is removed and his body reacts and cools the skin on his shoulder once more.

He takes a sip of the tea finally as if nothing happened. He pulls the cup away from his lips to reveal a small smile. “Glad it’s helping dobe. You’ll need to work a lot harder than this though if you are going to beat me,” he said fixing his expression back to one of severe, seriousness.

With teacup in hand, he made his way back to their study spot a couple of feet away. His steps falter at his friend’s final words. He stops mid-stride and glances back at Naruto through his bangs. “I guess studying with you isn’t the worst thing I could be doing tonight,” he replied. That was the closest thing to a compliment Sasuke normally gave.

He folded his knees back onto the floor and began to prepare for the next round. “Do you want to go first or shall I? Remember this round we will be solo. No help from the each other.” He locked onto the majestically blue eyes of his study partner. “Right now…the competition begins.”

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

‘He’d be proud of you.’

He would be proud of you too; he refrained from expressing his exact thoughts. 

It was a little scary how much need he had to remind Sasuke that he was… important. 

Sasuke had allowed him to pull him out of the dark. Sasuke was here not only because of his own stubborn conviction of bringing him back, but Sasuke had decided, right at the end of their fight when they laid exhausted and gracing death’s door, to believe in him. To believe in his word and that the path to a better future could be possible as long they worked together. Stayed together. 

It was so perfectly clear to Naruto that a world without Sasuke was a world he would rather not be part of. If Sasuke had decided to, ultimately, give up on his life, to see no point in it, Naruto was sure he would have followed right behind.

After all, how could he let him face any sorrow by himself? He couldn’t. Any pain they felt was shared from the moment their bond had been forged. 

Even now, as he watched Sasuke drink his tea in slow, quiet sips, he could occasionally almost feel the turmoil within him. It was reflected in his obsidian eyes that would betray him and show his regret, his guilt. They would obscure, then glance at him with a glint Naruto couldn’t identify, leaving him debating if he should say something, do something. He didn’t want to pry in what was sensitive territory… yet, here he was, looking for the slightest hint of Sasuke’s turmoil and thinking of a million ways to make all that was bad and hurting him go away.

In the end, the short sights of Sasuke’s struggle were not pleasant. Not at all.  

But it’s okay, Naruto reassured himself. If he had to dedicate a lifetime to cast away Sasuke’s shadows, he would do so with no second-guessing. Sasuke was more than just his best friend. More than just his rival. Perhaps, more than a brother.

Sasuke was…

“Huh?” Naruto blinked, being brought back from the abyss that it was his own mind. What a bad habit. Kurama was to blame, considering how much time he would spend sometimes conversing with his partner. “It wouldn’t be fun if you went easy on me ‘ttebayo,” he teased him, an arrogant grin across his lips. He was glad to hear that Sasuke was having fun studying with him as well. Not his exact words, but most of Sasuke’s words had to be put through interpretation. “I will go first. We are doing all this for my sake, after all.” Naruto downed his tea in one big gulp, leaving the cup resting on the table. “Let’s go! I will show this sticky notes who is boss ‘dattebayo!”

Naruto ran back to the living room, too excited to begin now that he felt refreshed and his energy replenished. A rush to get started kicking in, he immediately went to spread the sticky notes across the room. 

“Sasuke!” he yelled, voice full of enthusiasm. “If I get them right under 3 tries, can I have a prize?” he asked with a childish voice, yet both his eyes and smile hinted to something. What exactly? Only he knew. 

[will-of-sasuke]

"I'm insulted that you think I would ever lose voluntarily dobe, especially to you." Letting Naruto win was the same as saying he didn't believe in him to win on his own, which was anything but true. Sasuke enjoyed pushing Naruto to do his best, it always amazed him how far the blonde could go. The Uchiha was not so naive that he wasn't aware that he, himself, was one of the best motivators for his friend. Naruto would travel around the world ten times over for Sasuke. He never gave up on him, even the last three years, despite what Sasuke had done.

He had never known how to interpret his friend's dedication. Friend? Brother? That was exactly the problem, there wasn't a word he could think of that encapsulated their relationship. It was beyond the definition of language.

When he declared he would go first, Sasuke nodded, "Fair enough." It was technically for Naruto's sake, but the truth was tonight was helping Sasuke too. Being back was difficult for him. He would never admit it out loud, but every day was a battle with the darkness that so desperately wanted to claim him again.

The presence of his sun pushed it farther and farther away. So, yes what they were doing was for Naruto's benefit, but it was just as beneficial for him. He smiled softly, as Naruto yelled at the lifeless colored paper. "I'm sure they are trembling Naruto." He rolled his eyes as he separated the last batch.

A single dark eyebrow rose at the request. A prize? What kind of a prize would he want? Part of Sasuke didn't trust himself giving Naruto a vague promise such as this, but if it would motivate him to get them all right quicker he would allow the questionable decision. "Within reason, yes," he replied.

Sasuke leaned back against the couch to give himself a full view of the layout of notes. "Ready? Go." Only Sasuke would still manage a monotoned, Go.

As the blonde worked, his fingers twitched wanting to intervene when he made mistakes. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ever since the day he had moved to save Naruto from Haku all those years ago, he had acquired an almost undeniable instinct to aid his friend whenever he saw him struggling. Even when they battled, but he had extinguished the desire every time. Pushing his greater desires to the forefront. Clearly, the effort had ultimately failed.

Now, when he had no greater ulterior motive for letting Naruto flounder, he had a harder time not intervening. The combination of biting his lower lip and pinching his nose were the only things holding him back. They reminded him not to speak, to keep quiet and let Naruto do it. To let him impress him as he had so many times before. Something that always made Sasuke feel...something...something he couldn't place. It was a little more than charming? Attractive?

The idea lingered in his mind. His dark eyes began to look Naruto over. He supposed that the way his bright eyes contrasted with his slightly darkened skin was pleasing to the eye. Or how his blonde hair only furthered this perspective. The uniqueness of his whiskers was rather adorable. What always caught Sasuke's attention was the emotion in his eyes that always betrayed whatever he was thinking.

He realized that he had tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned forward to stare at the concentrated blonde. He quickly fixed himself back into his previous position and rested a hand on his nose to hide the pink he was almost positive had appeared on his cheeks from the embarrassment he felt from what he had just been doing and thinking.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

Keeping Naruto’s passion, for things he normally wouldn’t find interesting, was like tending to a campfire. As the fire starts to die it needs to be prodded to keep it from being reduced to embers. Sasuke was simply tending to the flame of Naruto’s attention, prodding it with insults and the threat of losing. He smirked at the ease of it all, as Naruto acted like he was telling the world, not just his living room, that he was going to beat Sasuke.

“God, you’re like a broken record with that,” he muttered feigning annoyance. Sasuke couldn’t help the fact that Naruto’s constant determination and declaration that he would beat him was oddly endearing.

Sasuke was stunned that Naruto didn’t ask him to repeat the instructions. He opened his mouth to proceed with doing just that when Naruto repeated back the underlying concept of what Sasuke had said. Maybe he had caught on to what was about to happen, if not he would learn as they went. “Yes,” his almost colorless lips pulled into a small smile. “Teamwork for now.”

He pulled his knees under his butt to give himself more reach over the sea of sticky notes. Naruto’s declaration of self-confidence was entertaining. Sasuke glanced at him and tsked, “Correction, we can do this,” and they began. Several arguments broke out as Sasuke realized how much Naruto had spelled wrong, or they fought over who was right. At one point Sasuke had held the wrong answer hostage from Naruto, holding it up in his hand and leaning back every time Naruto lunged for it, all while screaming that the blonde was wrong right in his whiskered face.

Sasuke felt like he had fought the five kages all over again by the end. The sticky notes had acquired war wounds, torn, wet with spittle from the screaming, and one even had a smear of blood from a paper cut. The Uchiha panted softly shaking his head, “We did it…” he said weakly. He looked at Naruto, “Now we have to do it until it doesn’t go like that. Naruto, we aren’t done until we get them all right without a doubt,” he paused. “Until we agree on every single one,” he added to clarify. Until we act perfectly in sync and at harmony.

He began to check their work and grumbled, “We didn’t even get them all right.” The raven continued showing Naruto the ones they had gotten wrong before taking the neat stacks apart to spread them randomly once more. “Ready?” he looked at Naruto with a determined expression. He was beginning to take this more serious than before.

@will-of-naruto

‘We can do this’ Simple words, but whenever Sasuke included him a rush of warmth would take over Naruto’s chest. Though studying was hard and they would constantly bicker over who was right, the blonde was just happy to be able to spend time with his best friend. It was nice to know that, even if the path to become Hokage was his and his alone, he had Sasuke beside him to give him a push if he ever faltered.

“Until we get them all right?” he asked in a weak tone. He was feeling already mentally exhausted after all the yelling and bickering… but he refused to give up now. “Okay. Until we agree ‘ttebayo,” he repeated, looking at the sticky notes with fiery determination. 

Naruto frowned when Sasuke pointed out the ones they had gotten wrong. He huffed, shaking his head and trying to clear his mind before they continued or else he felt he would faint by frustration alone.

“I’m always ready!” He helped to spread them all randomly again. 

He lost count of how many tries it took them to get them all right. Maybe he had been a little too difficult, with his natural stubbornness, but at least that nature of his had been spot on and prevented them from doing more mistakes after each try. At one point he noticed how he and Sasuke would move in silence, in sync, as if the movement of one prompted the other to take the next step and so on. 

When they finally agreed on each answer Naruto felt as if he had finished one of his most rigorous physical training sessions. He was exhausted. He was sure all answers were now in his head, after seeing them and discussing them for who knows how long. 

Naruto glanced at the clock hanging in the wall of his living room. Wow, they had been doing this for 2 hours?

“We should take a break.” Naruto stood up, feeling his legs a little stiff for staying on his knees that long. “Do you want anything? I can make us some tea or…” He waited for Sasuke to answer him, though he was kind of already leaving to make himself something to drink. 

[will-of-sasuke]

“Don’t tell me you are going to give up that easily dobe?“ Sasuke knew that them managing to agree on the order of fifty plus answers seemed impossible. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to be seen as weaker necessarily. They were both simply two pigheaded shinobi forever locked in a battle of wills. He could see the makeshift bonfire of passion for studying that he had lit earlier flickering and he had to fan that flame back to life. 

He saw the bright flash of a revived flame glint through the deep blue eyes of his friend and smirked. There, that’s all he needed to see before proceeding. Sasuke simply nodded in agreement before setting to work. Each time they got slightly quicker, things they had argued about slowly lessening. 

It felt like they were genin once more, partaking in training tasks that seemed more like childish games than ninja training. Both wanting to be the best, but none the less, they would both lock away their stubborn nature long enough to focus on the larger goal of improving and learning. As they had once done when learning to climb trees. They started out competing until they had realized that together, together they pushed each other to be their best. To transcend beyond their personal roadblocks. They hadn’t failed and fallen among the stars, no they had succeeded and climbed among them.

The sparkling glints that decorated that night sky, showed up in the irises of Sasuke’s own eyes now, fueled by the high of working with his best friend once again. He road the peak of this adrenaline like a wave until he felt exhausted. He pursed his lips and let out a sigh of relief, exhaustion, and annoyance. The self-made breeze disheveling the dark locks spreading out like the bristols of a broom before falling back together to provide a makeshift eyepatch for his lilac eye. 

He stopped the airflow from his lips as Naruto stood. Sasuke followed suit stretching out his stiff spine toward the ceiling, his tank top pulling up slightly to reveal his waistband and an inch or so of pale skin. “Since when do you drink tea?” he asked surprised by this development. 

“If you actually do have some I’d appreciate a cup of caffeinated anything.” Black tea or some sort of plant tasting water that would provide him the power to stay awake to finish the tedious task in front of them would be appreciated. Next, they would have to get it all right individually and it would take every rope of restraint he had to let Naruto be wrong without correcting him right away. 

Sasuke followed after Naruto shortly after the blonde had entered the kitchen and leaned with his back against the counter. “Is this helping?” he asked. He didn’t want to continue with the method if it wasn’t working. “I have…other methods too if this one isn’t working.” The raven wanted his friend to succeed at the end of the day, no matter how much he acted like winning mattered more. Sasuke wasn’t doing this to beat Naruto, or to prove a point, he just wanted him to pass the test. He didn’t expect his rival to win, but he had learned not to put expectations on Naruto when it came to “can’t”. Naruto could do whatever he set his mind to, after all, Sasuke had learned this long ago under that night sky, and now everyone knew. Naruto had gotten the acknowledgment he had so desperately wanted from those who had once cast him out.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto started boiling water, his fingertips appreciating touching the cold surface of the teapot instead of crumpled paper, especially after being handed back and forth due to their inability to agree on the correct answers.  

“Since when?” he repeated the question, his eyes narrowing towards Sasuke. He shook his head and huffed some air before answering. “Well, I made a promise not long ago that I would have a more balanced diet.” He opened one of the cabinets and searched for the herbs he would need. “I didn’t like it as much when I was little, but now I think it’s soothing and it’s one of the things he taught me to make ‘ttebayo.”

He, of course, being his teacher. 

“Do you remember him? Ero-sennin?” he asked, absent-mindedly and focused on his tea-making task. “When you… uh, left, I traveled with him so he could train me. He was surprisingly strict and when I told him I didn’t know how to do this,” he gestured towards the teapot, “he shook his head saying something like ‘I can’t believe you, brat. It’s so easy, anyone can do it!’” he quoted his words while also doing a terrible job at trying to imitate his teacher’s voice. “Anyway… now I’m a tea expert.” No, he wasn’t, but that didn’t stop him to brag as a joke. 

Talking about Jiraiya didn’t hurt anymore. If anything, the blonde liked to talk about the man that had been the second closest to a parent he ever had. He wished he was here. He missed him every day. But he was proud to say that, one way or another, he was closer to making his teacher’s dream come true and his own. 

He was also really happy that the very reason he had asked Jiraiya to train him was standing only a few feet away. Jiraiya wasn’t here, however, Sasuke was and he was sure his teacher would have been happy for him.

You saved your friend, good job kid. 

He had said to his teacher once he would rather be an idiot than forsake his friend. How ironic that they were attempting to correct just that, now that he was back. 

Well. Just for a test. It was funny to him nonetheless. 

Naruto served Sasuke a cup of black tea. He then served himself one as well and walked towards his friend. Giving a sweet smile, while listening intently to Sasuke and the little hint of worry in his voice, he offered one of the cups.

“It is working!” he reassured. “I swear I tried a lot of things. My biggest mistake was probably that I was trying to memorize everything,” he rolled his eyes at himself for attempting just that with his army of clones. Never again. “I don’t like having to learn a million uninteresting facts. It’s hard and boring and your method makes it simple enough that I just have to worry about a few. Hell. it’s been actually fun studying with you ‘ttebayo!” He put a hand on Sasuke shoulder. “So… thank you, really. You have no idea how much this means to me.” His hand stays longer than he had planned and when he realizes, he brings it down and turns around. 

He takes a long sip of his tea, practically downing it in one go. 

“Yeah, well, I still think studying sucks but you make it bearable ‘ttebayo,” That was close, he thinks, aware of his heart beating slightly faster. 

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke stifled a scoff at the promise his friend had made "not long ago". This was coming from the boy who once listed every kind of ramen there was in a long list of his favorites. He was transfixed on watching the blonde bounce along heating the water and measuring out some tea leaves for their cups.

He...there was no need for his friend to evaluate, Sasuke knew exactly who he was referring to. His mouth fell open slightly surprised that Naruto had brought him up so casually over his shoulder. The silver-haired, loud, pervert was hard to forget. Sasuke had probably never exchanged more than peripheral glares with the man. For whatever reason, they had instantly taken a long distance approach to their relationship, if it could even be called that.

Sasuke supposed he had owed him something after he saved him, and more importantly Naruto, from his brother. Still, words never passed through their lips in acknowledgment of one another. Perhaps he was envious of how the man had become a father figure to Naruto, while Sasuke remained alone.

No matter the past, Sasuke found he thought of the man with a strange fondness. Jiraiya had respected Sasuke's wish to be left alone. In the end, he had been the one who helped Naruto become strong enough to keep his promise. It was his effort that allowed them to be sharing a cup of tea today.

"I do, you have a lot in common. He'd be proud of you," Sasuke replied as he recalled the old feelings of quiet admiration. He watched Naruto intently waiting for any sign that he needed comfort. That he was in pain. But there was none, perhaps a flicker of sadness like driving under a bridge on a sunny day. It was clear that Naruto had worked through his demons with the issue.

Shikamaru.

The copycat nin had been the one to pull Naruto out of the depths of depression and loss, not him. The Uchiha felt guilt for not being there to support his friend. There was nothing he could do about it now, but he wished to forever heal Naruto from sorrow.

He accepted the warm mug from the blonde, the dark aroma of the black tea, mixed with the light, sweet scents of the fruit. Similar to the coexistence of the two auras in the kitchen. He blew across the surface creating small ripples and cutting off the fog of steam rising from it. The warmth of pride radiated through his body when Naruto said the technique was working.

Sasuke placed the cup to his lips to take a sip but paused as Naruto closed the distance between them and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. His dark eyes slid to the side staring through the thin cloud from his cup at the tan hand on his pale shoulder. They stand their both temporarily frozen in place. The rhythmic hum of Sasuke's heart skips a beat from the drawn-out contact. Before he can gather his wits about him the warmth is removed and his body reacts and cools the skin on his shoulder once more.

He takes a sip of the tea finally as if nothing happened. He pulls the cup away from his lips to reveal a small smile. "Glad it's helping dobe. You'll need to work a lot harder than this though if you are going to beat me," he said fixing his expression back to one of severe, seriousness.

With teacup in hand, he made his way back to their study spot a couple of feet away. His steps falter at his friend's final words. He stops mid-stride and glances back at Naruto through his bangs. "I guess studying with you isn't the worst thing I could be doing tonight," he replied. That was the closest thing to a compliment Sasuke normally gave.

He folded his knees back onto the floor and began to prepare for the next round. "Do you want to go first or shall I? Remember this round we will be solo. No help from the each other." He locked onto the majestically blue eyes of his study partner. "Right now...the competition begins."

@will-of-naruto

[ukiyoin-deactivated20200926]

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

Keeping Naruto’s passion, for things he normally wouldn’t find interesting, was like tending to a campfire. As the fire starts to die it needs to be prodded to keep it from being reduced to embers. Sasuke was simply tending to the flame of Naruto’s attention, prodding it with insults and the threat of losing. He smirked at the ease of it all, as Naruto acted like he was telling the world, not just his living room, that he was going to beat Sasuke.

“God, you’re like a broken record with that,” he muttered feigning annoyance. Sasuke couldn’t help the fact that Naruto’s constant determination and declaration that he would beat him was oddly endearing.

Sasuke was stunned that Naruto didn’t ask him to repeat the instructions. He opened his mouth to proceed with doing just that when Naruto repeated back the underlying concept of what Sasuke had said. Maybe he had caught on to what was about to happen, if not he would learn as they went. “Yes,” his almost colorless lips pulled into a small smile. “Teamwork for now.”

He pulled his knees under his butt to give himself more reach over the sea of sticky notes. Naruto’s declaration of self-confidence was entertaining. Sasuke glanced at him and tsked, “Correction, we can do this,” and they began. Several arguments broke out as Sasuke realized how much Naruto had spelled wrong, or they fought over who was right. At one point Sasuke had held the wrong answer hostage from Naruto, holding it up in his hand and leaning back every time Naruto lunged for it, all while screaming that the blonde was wrong right in his whiskered face.

Sasuke felt like he had fought the five kages all over again by the end. The sticky notes had acquired war wounds, torn, wet with spittle from the screaming, and one even had a smear of blood from a paper cut. The Uchiha panted softly shaking his head, “We did it…” he said weakly. He looked at Naruto, “Now we have to do it until it doesn’t go like that. Naruto, we aren’t done until we get them all right without a doubt,” he paused. “Until we agree on every single one,” he added to clarify. Until we act perfectly in sync and at harmony.

He began to check their work and grumbled, “We didn’t even get them all right.” The raven continued showing Naruto the ones they had gotten wrong before taking the neat stacks apart to spread them randomly once more. “Ready?” he looked at Naruto with a determined expression. He was beginning to take this more serious than before.

@will-of-naruto

‘We can do this’ Simple words, but whenever Sasuke included him a rush of warmth would take over Naruto’s chest. Though studying was hard and they would constantly bicker over who was right, the blonde was just happy to be able to spend time with his best friend. It was nice to know that, even if the path to become Hokage was his and his alone, he had Sasuke beside him to give him a push if he ever faltered.

“Until we get them all right?” he asked in a weak tone. He was feeling already mentally exhausted after all the yelling and bickering… but he refused to give up now. “Okay. Until we agree ‘ttebayo,” he repeated, looking at the sticky notes with fiery determination. 

Naruto frowned when Sasuke pointed out the ones they had gotten wrong. He huffed, shaking his head and trying to clear his mind before they continued or else he felt he would faint by frustration alone.

“I’m always ready!” He helped to spread them all randomly again. 

He lost count of how many tries it took them to get them all right. Maybe he had been a little too difficult, with his natural stubbornness, but at least that nature of his had been spot on and prevented them from doing more mistakes after each try. At one point he noticed how he and Sasuke would move in silence, in sync, as if the movement of one prompted the other to take the next step and so on. 

When they finally agreed on each answer Naruto felt as if he had finished one of his most rigorous physical training sessions. He was exhausted. He was sure all answers were now in his head, after seeing them and discussing them for who knows how long. 

Naruto glanced at the clock hanging in the wall of his living room. Wow, they had been doing this for 2 hours?

“We should take a break.” Naruto stood up, feeling his legs a little stiff for staying on his knees that long. “Do you want anything? I can make us some tea or…” He waited for Sasuke to answer him, though he was kind of already leaving to make himself something to drink. 

[will-of-sasuke]

“Don't tell me you are going to give up that easily dobe?" Sasuke knew that them managing to agree on the order of fifty plus answers seemed impossible. It wasn't because they didn't want to be seen as weaker necessarily. They were both simply two pigheaded shinobi forever locked in a battle of wills. He could see the makeshift bonfire of passion for studying that he had lit earlier flickering and he had to fan that flame back to life. 

He saw the bright flash of a revived flame glint through the deep blue eyes of his friend and smirked. There, that's all he needed to see before proceeding. Sasuke simply nodded in agreement before setting to work. Each time they got slightly quicker, things they had argued about slowly lessening. 

It felt like they were genin once more, partaking in training tasks that seemed more like childish games than ninja training. Both wanting to be the best, but none the less, they would both lock away their stubborn nature long enough to focus on the larger goal of improving and learning. As they had once done when learning to climb trees. They started out competing until they had realized that together, together they pushed each other to be their best. To transcend beyond their personal roadblocks. They hadn't failed and fallen among the stars, no they had succeeded and climbed among them.

The sparkling glints that decorated that night sky, showed up in the irises of Sasuke's own eyes now, fueled by the high of working with his best friend once again. He road the peak of this adrenaline like a wave until he felt exhausted. He pursed his lips and let out a sigh of relief, exhaustion, and annoyance. The self-made breeze disheveling the dark locks spreading out like the bristols of a broom before falling back together to provide a makeshift eyepatch for his lilac eye. 

He stopped the airflow from his lips as Naruto stood. Sasuke followed suit stretching out his stiff spine toward the ceiling, his tank top pulling up slightly to reveal his waistband and an inch or so of pale skin. "Since when do you drink tea?" he asked surprised by this development. 

"If you actually do have some I'd appreciate a cup of caffeinated anything." Black tea or some sort of plant tasting water that would provide him the power to stay awake to finish the tedious task in front of them would be appreciated. Next, they would have to get it all right individually and it would take every rope of restraint he had to let Naruto be wrong without correcting him right away. 

Sasuke followed after Naruto shortly after the blonde had entered the kitchen and leaned with his back against the counter. "Is this helping?" he asked. He didn't want to continue with the method if it wasn't working. "I have...other methods too if this one isn't working." The raven wanted his friend to succeed at the end of the day, no matter how much he acted like winning mattered more. Sasuke wasn't doing this to beat Naruto, or to prove a point, he just wanted him to pass the test. He didn't expect his rival to win, but he had learned not to put expectations on Naruto when it came to "can't". Naruto could do whatever he set his mind to, after all, Sasuke had learned this long ago under that night sky, and now everyone knew. Naruto had gotten the acknowledgment he had so desperately wanted from those who had once cast him out.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

“You fought with the guy in the war, and you can’t have the decency to remember his name,” he clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “You have a face to put to the name,” this was going to be a long night. A real-life experience hadn’t even been enough to make his brain store the memory of something he had learned.

Sasuke practically choked on his laughter, when Naruto dared to say he could take him down so effortlessly. Firstly that had been slightly insulting it seemed Naruto had been working on his sarcasm these last couple of years. Secondly, it wasn’t true and they both knew it. He scoffed and glared at Naruto like he was the biggest asshole on the planet. “You want to test that theory?” his voice became threateningly low. He continued to stare his friend down. Their eyes meeting to show the glimmer of amusement mixed with the fire of determination and challenge behind the dark features of the Uchiha. He continued to burn the other under his gaze until he was satisfied with his act of intimidation. The features of his face softened and he finally averted his stare from boring into the depths of Naruto’s passion-filled blues.

It had taken guts to make such a declaration he had to give him that. Those kind of gutsy statements were part of Naruto’s “charm” for lack of a better word. They made people stop and listen, that and the general boom of his voice.

He sighed, “That’s for another day,” he said bending down to pick up two stacks of sticky notes and two books. “Excuses won’t get you anywhere Naruto. Sorry, this isn’t the most riveting stuff to you, but these are the men who shaped the position you so desperately want to take one day. This is part of preparing to become Hokage as well. History,” he paused taking a deep breath. Sasuke was not normally a long-winded person, but here he was trying to convince the knucklehead in front of him to be interested in the acts of dead people. He let out the breath and continued, “History, has a way of repeating itself and the only way to stop the cycle is to learn from past.” He dropped the book in the blonde’s lap, “You want to be a great Hokage one day? Get interested,” he dropped a pen and sticky notes on top of the book.

Sasuke plops down in the spot next to his friend with a book and supplies of his own. Hearing how Naruto had studied in the past was almost painful to his OCD mind. That system was so flawed he didn’t even know where to start. Using shadow clones to train was intriguing and Sasuke wanted to ask more, but that was for another time, right now they needed to hit the books.

“If you pass out on me I will find a way to wake you up,” he left the threat ominous not wanting to give away his methods. “Don’t waste my time,” he added. Sasuke leaned forward and began to write on four different colored sticky notes. When he was done he posted them on the front of the book and turned it to face Naruto. “As you go through the chapters, which I’ll tell you which ones you’ll need in a second, use the ‘What?’ ‘Who?’ ‘Where?’ ‘When?’ ‘How?’ method,” he pointed at each sticky note that had the five questions written on them.

“Test always ask things under these umbrellas. ‘What happened?’ ‘Who did it?’ ‘Where did it take place?’ ‘When in time did it happen?’ ‘How did it come to pass?’ Take the sticky notes of the corresponding question color and answer them on the note. Place it near the text that backs it up, so you can refer to it later for clarification if necessary. This way, when we are done reading it will be quick to find all the answers again to study, without having to try and memorize them, dobe,” he explained.

He set the packs of different colored sticky notes between them and cracked open the book in his lap. “Now we can split up the reading too, so it takes less time to find all the answers. It’s a team effort in this sense,” he reached over and opened Naruto’s book. His dark eyes quickly moved over the table of contents. “You’ll need to read Chapters 4-7. Think you can handle that?”

Sasuke’s efforts to intimidate him only fueled his resolve to not let the Uchiha surpass him. He didn’t even need to say anything, his passionate blue eyes glared right back at Sasuke the moment he issued his challenge. The air in the room got heavy, the tension between him and the Uchiha certain and unavoidable. It was nostalgic really, having this result whenever any of the two dared to provoke the other. Naruto was fully aware of how frightening powerful the both of them were now. He would still, occasionally, have dreams about the battle that defined their lives forever. A battle of such a scale should never be repeated again. Although, Naruto would be lying if he said the idea of battling Sasuke once more, this time without such high stakes in peril—besides their pride—was certainly tempting.

Another day, huh? Their staring contest was put to a halt and Naruto was thankful for it. It was way too easy to get lost in those eyes. Who would have thought, after all these years, that to stare at his friend’s obsidians—correction, an obsidian and a new amethyst as eyes— would be enough to leave him speechless? 

Putting that thought aside, Naruto listened attentive to Sasuke talk. He huffed when his friend preached him about the importance of history. He knew this! He knew how important history was, geez… but he was kind of content to hear his friend say so directly. Sasuke’s ideology had been once about erasing the past, disregarding it, and having him be the one to remind the blonde of the importance of history was just another proof of his friend’s change of heart.

Naruto rolled his eyes but his big smile disregarded the gesture’s disrespectful tone for more of a playful one. “You are right, my bad,” he still thought the books were boring but at least Sasuke’s words had been a little inspiring and he was feeling ready to try and actually enjoy this, even if he knew he would never ‘cause studying was so terribly tedious to him.

And Sasuke delivered another threat. Damn, did he really have to act like he had a stick up his ass all the time? “You are such a fucking bastard, you know that right?” he narrowed his eyes towards his friend, but decided against keeping the animosity going. “I promise to not pass out. That only happened because I used more clones than I should—I didn’t take into account that having good physical stamina does not equal having good mental stamina ‘ttebayo,” he had learned that the hard way. After such experience, he had experimented further and he was more aware of his mental strain limits, but god, had that been an awful event. 

Naruto whistled in awe at Sasuke’s study technique explanation. “That actually sounds so much easier,” he chuckled, suddenly feeling pumped. Using simple questions to find meaningful answers was much more manageable than trying to discern important facts from scrutiny details that only confused him. “Team effort. Got it. I will be done with this chapters before you feel tempted to insult me again dattebayo!” he teased, sticking his tongue out. He really didn’t mind the tough treatmen. In a weird—maybe even masochistic way—he had missed it. He also missed doing the same to him, so the scales were even here.

With no further ado and a big grin plastered on his lips, he started reading. Finding the answers to certain questions wasn’t that easy to him (he would occasionally interrupt Sasuke and ask him what he thought on one or two occasions), but he certainly did his best on his own and he felt as if he had learned something this time instead of overloading his brain with useless memorized information.

By the time he was done he had even learned by heart each color code. Simple analogies and association had always been a good thing for him to grasp concepts, so the sticky notes had been on point to help him. “I think I’m done…” he announced. He looked at the sticky notes inside the book he had placed. His handwriting was not… the best but it was legible. A bit childish even and his word choices were always simple and straightforward; just like him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

For Naruto to remain silent and not interrupt him, as he spoke was new. Sasuke welcomed this change since it allowed him to explain things far quicker than he usually could with Naruto incessantly interrupting every other sentence. He snorted when Naruto said he was right. He decided to comment on it because if he did he probably would never hear those words from the blonde again. Instead, he would silently bask in the glory of Naruto’s husky voice admitting that Sasuke was right and he was wrong, music to his ears.

At least the idiot had gotten something out of his previous mistake. It didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes at the conclusion though, “Hn, yeah which is exactly why I’m a better student than you, I have both,” he smirked. Sasuke knew he was being relentless tonight, but he had three years of insults to catch up on, plus this banter would only further motivate Naruto in his studies.

Naruto’s praise of his technique caused the spread of the familiar warmth of pride in his chest. He hadn’t felt that in some time. Sure, Orochimaru had praised him plenty in their time together, but it felt empty and hollow. He never enjoyed it or cared if the creep approved or not. Everything he said to Sasuke was ambiguous. He wasn’t applauding the boy, so much as the power of the body, he so keenly had his eyes on. Naruto’s admiration though came from the heart and it warmed Sasuke’s own in turn.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the next statement, “Then you better stop talking and get to work,” he teased in return, but his voice remained flat. Seeing Naruto begin to pour over the pages of Konaha’s history, Sasuke turned his attention to his own work. His demeanor was calm, but he worked quickly attaching sticky note after sticky note to the pages and scrawling out information in neat handwriting. Naruto, of course, had a question here and there, but that was natural for him and if he didn’t there wouldn’t be much point in Sasuke being there still.

The Uchiha turned in his seat facing Naruto and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch. His left stub leaned up against the side of the couch. He hadn’t thought much about the fact that he was wearing a tank top, making what was left of his one arm completely visible. The appendage was wrapped in white tape, the same material Naruto usually wrapped his arm with. Occasionally he would glance through the curtain of his growing bangs and watch Naruto. The intense stare on his face, as he worked was entertaining and captivating. It was the same one he wore when they learned to climb trees all those years ago.

Finishing before Naruto, Sasuke scanned through the notes he had made double checking them, making some additions here and there until he heard the blonde announce he was finished. Sasuke reached out and took Naruto’s book into his lap and began to flip through the pages glancing over the notes. “Once I learn how to read this new language you’ve produced, I think we can work with these,” he set their books on the ground and moved to grab the next set.

He dropped two books in Naruto’s lap, “The top one only has one chapter about Tobirama, as it is about the entire history of the academy, which you don’t need yet for what Iruka is teaching you,” he resumed his crisscrossed position on the couch, “The other has two more about the First Shinobi War,” he cracked open his book. “I’ll be reading this one and then we can begin memorization techniques.”

@will-of-naruto

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Naruto’s gaze followed Sasuke’s fingers as they laid on the book resting on his lap. As the raven took the book to evaluate his work, Naruto noticed himself stiff if only slightly. Obsidian irises moved across the page with meticulous care and Naruto found the action alone more interesting than the book he had just read. The spell was cut short as he heard his friend criticize his handwriting, at which all Naruto could do was avert his eyes. He was scowling. “It isn’t that bad ‘ttebayo,” he defended himself, or at least he tried. “I bet yours isn’t any better,” he was probably wrong, but his words left him before his better judgement commanded him to not make it worse for himself.

Two books landed on his lap and Naruto grunted. He would have complained about this, but Sasuke quickly delivered more instructions. Seeing no point in arguing, Naruto nodded, opening the first book to look for the mentioned chapter of Tobirama in silence.

As he read his eyes widened slightly at certain facts. Like Tobirama’s foundation of the Uchiha Police Force. Or how the Second had also dictated for the Uchiha to live at the outskirts of the village in the Uchiha Compound. He wondered if Sasuke already knew this part of his clan’s history—well, of course he did. This book belonged to him. He had to know.

Blue eyes turned discreetly to observe the raven next to him. After giving it some thought, he decided to mimic his friend’s position. Naruto moved to sit face to face with legs crossed. Lazily leaning his chin on his bandaged hand’s palm, the one he had accepted as replacement of what he had lost, he took notice of what Sasuke was missing himself.

“I have been wondering,” he began talking knowing well Sasuke would probably not be thrilled to hear his next words. “Why didn’t you accept it too?”

This it being obvious, considering where his own blue eyes were fixed.

“It’s just—” he sat straight looking at his own bandaged arm— “I have been wondering about it for a while. I did because most of my techniques require both my hands. I need it,” his voice was firm. “I’m not saying you should have done the same. I think I get why you wouldn’t want it… but I have been wanting to hear it from you ‘ttebayo. So… why?” Naruto’s tone lacked severity. It was a simple question really. Innocent even. He had waited a long time to talk with Sasuke about… lots of things.

Inside his own apartment he felt safe, guarded from prying ears and judgement. He could only hope Sasuke felt the same; especially with him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke’s dark eyes flickered from the pages to Naruto when he tried to say Sasuke’s handwriting was bad as well. His face reflected his surprise at such a bold claim. “Do you want to take that comment back?” he could see the regret on Naruto’s face from his poorly thought out statement. There was no need to further humiliate him, as it was clear he knew that he was wrong, so he let it drop without further scrutiny. The handwriting wasn’t something Sasuke even cared about overall, but he had to comment on Naruto’s, they wouldn’t be Naruto and Sasuke if he didn’t.  

His attention turned back to the pages of Konaha’s history in his lap. Never had he thought he would be sitting on Naruto Uzumaki’s couch reading about the history of a village he had sought to destroy only months before. Sasuke was a great student, but he had forgotten plenty of what he had learned in the academy, which was the only thing making this competition fair. When it came to battle or any form of rivalry, the Uchiha believed in fighting fair. He wouldn’t have challenged the blonde if he didn’t think that they were both on the same start line for the most part. 

Every time Naruto’s expression changed Sasuke couldn’t help but notice and he smiled softly at the looks of wonderment that lit up his friend’s tan face. See it can be interesting. It was nice to watch as Naruto learned, sometimes he could be so much like a child seeing the world for the first time. He had become so fixated on it that he almost got caught. He saw the twitch of Naruto’s eye muscles as he swung his blue eyes in Sasuke’s direction. The raven blinked, when his eyes reopened they were back on the black and white pages in his lap as if they’d never wandered in the first place. 

He felt Naruto shifting on the couch and glanced up to see that they were now face to face. The two went back to their respective readings until Naruto’s voice broke the quiet concentration of the room. “Hm?” Sasuke lifted his head to look at Naruto inquisitively. His expression went blank, as he heard the question. The hand on the book began to fidget with the corner of the pages. Sasuke instantly became uncomfortable and felt himself go stiff. 

Why did he have to ask this? Why did it have to be him?

“Why do you think then? If you think you get why I wouldn’t want it?” Sasuke asked. He wasn’t mad that Naruto had made his own conclusion, but he was curious as to what they were.

He sighed and finally straightened his posture to look Naruto dead on. Their contrasting eye colors focused on each other before Sasuke’s gaze finally broke and looked off to the side. The shame he felt danced across his face before he could stop it, but he quickly clamped his stoic mask over it.

“Because, Naruto, I, unlike you, do not deserve that arm,” he lifted up what was left of his missing limb and stared at it sadly. “Physically, my body is lighter without it, but mentally I feel the ghost of its weight every morning and remember what I’ve done, who I hurt, all my mistakes,” his hand reached up and gripped at the side of it’s lost brotheren. “It reminds me of my new resolve, to atone for my sins, and protect what I once sought to destroy,” his expression fell. The shadows of many sleepless nights under his eyes seemed to darken, reflecting the decisions that haunted him every hour of every day. 

He finally steeled himself to look back into the bright eyes of his one true friend, his own obsidians reflecting his sorrow and emotional turmoil. “Yes, learning how to fight without it will be a pain and I’ll have to learn to perform one-handed techniques, but that is part of my punishment to myself. You got me released from prison, and I’m eternally grateful, but I still deserved a fate far worse than what I was given.”

Sasuke was glad that he had not been killed or imprisoned for life, it allowed him the chance to repay his friend and fix all the wrongs he had done. At the same time, however, he felt like death was what he had deserved. He came to terms with the fact that he would be allowed to live and decided to use it as an opportunity.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

“That’s— “Naruto hesitated for a second. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to reveal his thoughts just yet. There was a reason why he wanted to hear Sasuke first.

And his wish seemed about to be granted, relief taking over his heart if for only a second. When Sasuke’s eyes met his, Naruto did not miss how quickly the already dark obsidians darkened even more, as if losing the determined gleam they had showed all night. As Sasuke looked away, the blonde felt his own throat close and his chest clench.

Naruto figured his questions had prompted such reaction from the raven, but part of him needed to hear this. Hear it from the source and not from those who tried to persuade him of being warier of the one person he would do anything for.

For each word coming out of those pale lips, Naruto clenched his fists resting on his knees, nails almost piercing through his own skin. He never looked away, his eyes focused on every detail of Sasuke’s expression. He was not good at telling when others lied; sometimes he would misread the mood in a situation and get in trouble for it. But Sasuke… it had taken a while for him to truly understand Sasuke’s turmoil, the depth of his pain.

So now, as he watched his friend pour out his anxieties in the confidence of his home, his presence, Naruto felt truly not just honored, but bursting with respect for the man right in front of him, because Sasuke had meant every word. Sasuke’s change of heart was genuine and Naruto would fight anyone who dared question his friend’s resolve.

And then he heard him say he should have deserved much worse and Naruto felt his heart crumble, sinking in a dark place that made him clench his jaw.

“Sasuke…” he called softly. “I—I figured you didn’t accept the arm because you felt you didn’t deserve it. I don’t… agree, but I didn’t want to convince you to take something that wouldn’t bring you peace, you know?” Naruto straighten himself. He took a deep breath as he kept talking. “And if there’s someone who could become the most powerful shinobi in the world with just one hand, that person, I’m sure, could only be you ‘ttebayo,” he chuckled at the praise he had just delivered. Sasuke didn’t need both his arms to kick his ass, Naruto had no doubt about this.

Bringing one of his hands to rub at the back of his neck, as to relax his nerves for what he was about to say, he continued. “But, Sasuke… do you remember what I told you at the valley? After our fight?” His blue eyes glinted with an intensity resembling his conviction all those months ago when they fought to practically decide the fate of the world. “We are going to change the world. We are going to make it better. We— “Naruto tapped on the book resting on his lap— “won’t repeat the same mistakes. Don’t you dare say you deserved something worse when my dream— our dream for a better future can only happen with your help. I need you, more than anyone.” I can’t picture a world without you. His last thought remained in the comfort of his own mind. He didn’t want to overwhelm him further, if he had. He hoped his words had been enough to make him understand…

… understand that, after all these years, after all that’s happened, the last person he wanted to see being swallowed by his own darkness was him.

“If you can memorize all this crap I bet you can keep my words in that thick skull of yours ‘ttebayo,” he joked as he gave his friend a playful push. “I can always beat you up into understanding what I just said, if you want. It worked last time,” he stuck his tongue out and snorted.

Now that he had poured out some of his thoughts he felt so much lighter. Much better. There was more he would have wanted to say but…

“Well, we should keep studying. If we don’t want to repeat dumb mistakes, it’s probably for the best we learn something. Especially me,” he looked down on his book, ready to resume his reading. “Bet you I can finish this faster because I actually have this book in my room.” Naruto gave Sasuke a playful look as he took some sticky notes and a pen. He wiggled his brows obnoxiously, hoping his friend would accept his silly little challenge.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

As the last word left his lip, there was but a moment of silence before Naruto responded. Sasuke was thankful that he spoke so quickly, or the rising suffocation of anxiety creeping up from the pits of his heart towards his lungs and brain might have taken hold of him. His heart was pounding against his ribs like it was desperate to escape the human who had so cruelly abused it. The soft huskiness of Naruto’s voice instantly calmed the erratic rhythm. It was as if the organ paused to consider the warmth of the boy in front of him, and his heart loved the blonde so fiercely that it decided to stay. He felt the beat skip before it resumed beating slowly returning to normal the more Naruto spoke. 

Sasuke took in the sight of his friend, the clear anguish Sasuke’s words had invoked on him. In all of his travels, Sasuke had never encountered someone with as much empathy as Naruto. He so selflessly took on the sorrows and pain of those around him, to understand them, to help them, and make sure no one ever felt the crushing loneliness he had as a child. Sometimes it truly worried Sasuke that one day it would burn out the fire of Naruto’s soul or that he would take on something too horrible and it would crush him. He had faith in his friend though, Naruto was the most resilient person he knew. If anyone could take on the pain of the world it was him, and if he ever stumbled Sasuke wouldn’t hesitate to step in and take it for him. 

The dark overcast that had blocked the little light that Sasuke’s eyes held began to move at Naruto’s words. A smirk decorated his lips at the compliment of being the greatest shinobi with one arm. “I appreciate that dobe,” because he knew that if Naruto had pestered him, he wouldn’t be able to deny him. 

His gaze moved to Naruto’s face at the mention of their final fight, there was a flame of regret in them, but it was quickly extinguished as they flooded with joy and hope. Sasuke truly didn’t feel like he deserved to be included in any we that included Naruto, but the sentiment did touch his heart. No matter how hard he tried to keep it iced off from emotions he could never produce more than a thin sheet, easily melted away. 

The Uchiha’s face lifted in both surprise at the passion of his friend on the subject and that Naruto felt he needed him. Naruto Uzumaki, the sun of the world, claimed to need Sasuke Uchiha, the man shrouded in darkness for most of his life. The world didn’t need both of them, it only needed Naruto, in Sasuke’s opinion, but he felt a swell of honor that Naruto felt he was that important. Perhaps, Naruto had a point. “You’re right dobe, who else can keep your ass out of trouble,” he smiled softly the darkness that had set on his features slowly moving as the sun in front of him peeked through his clouds of despair and lit up his pale face. The circles under his eyes disappeared replaced by the wrinkles of a smile. 

Sasuke allowed himself to be slightly pushed back as he rolled his eyes. “You beat me last time, but it doesn’t mean it would happen again,” he shot back. His single hand reached out and he extended two of his fingers and lightly poked Naruto on the forehead. It may seem like a gesture to return the shove, but it meant so much more to Sasuke. For this was the way his brother had communicated his love and he did it to honor his memory, this was Sasuke Uchiha’s highest form of admiration and love.

He locked eyes with Naruto as he pulled his hand back, “Though I don’t fully agree with you yet, I-I appreciate you saying that” he felt his cheeks grow hot with a light pink blush. “Th-thank you.”

In typical Naruto fashion, he broke the tension and serious tone of the room with a challenge. Sasuke chuckled, “Yeah I’d like to see you try. You forget these are all my books,” he replied. “But you’re on dobe,” he reached out grabbing several sticky notes of his own.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Ah, there it was. That glint he liked. The one he adored. “No one else, really,” he chuckled while giving a wide, bright grin. “No one else,” he repeated, closing his own eyes, grin softening and letting the words sink in not only for Sasuke, but also for himself. Sasuke was everything he wanted to be and more; the sentiment had changed slightly over the years and Naruto had found a better image of the person he wanted to become, but Sasuke’s influence had undeniably shaped that image. Sasuke’s pain was his. Naruto had no doubt in his heart that together, they would be unstoppable. They were going to show the world. Together they would make it a better place. Just you wait, world.

When he opened his eyes, right before he could playfully taunt Sasuke back, he felt his own forehead be poked. Naruto blinked, raising a hand to rub the place his friend had just touched. His eyes met obsidians and right below he didn’t miss the slight tint of pink on Sasuke’s pale features. He felt colors surge in his own face as well, but he stopped it all from escalating with a soft cough. “A-anytime… ‘ttebayo.” What else could he say? Hearing Sasuke’s genuine thank you had him speechless for a second. It didn’t help the raven’s voice had sounded more silvery than usual.

Not to mention, was it just his imagination but that poke to his forehead had felt rather… intimate? He couldn’t place it, but Naruto had a hunch such a gesture meant something. He wasn’t sure what. And he was too nervous now to ask. What if the answer made him turn into a tomato?

“Oh yeah?” Thankfully Sasuke had accepted his little challenge, letting him rest from figuring out whatever feelings were taking over earlier. “I will wipe the floor with you one page at a time ‘dattebayo!” Naruto’s voice was determined and full of energy. He opened the book resting on his lap and immediately submerged himself to find the answers he needed for his sticky notes.

He kept silent and this time he didn’t ask as many questions, getting slowly the hang of what information to look for and what to ignore as unnecessary detail. Naruto felt much more confident by thinking of this as a small competition, instead of something he had to overcome on his own. Nostalgia regarding their genin days placed itself on his mind for a few seconds and Naruto chuckled over it. He pretended it was nothing, a funny word he read in the book or something, even if his expression betrayed him because he was now smiling with a certain tenderness. 

“Finished!” he said, placing a dot on the last sticky note as formality. “Damn, it’s so much easier this way,” he was still surprised how quickly he was absorbing information when he could ignore irrelevant facts. “I’m getting closer to being worthy of his techniques, don’t you think?” Naruto chuckled, remembering Sasuke’s taunt regarding his shadow clones.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Relief washed through Sasuke when Naruto didn’t ask about the meaning of his little gesture it was not a topic he wanted to broach right now. Talking about Itachi took an emotional toll on him every time. He would lose his breath and grounding in the world and sink into a hole of guilt and grief. A hole that took all his energy to pull himself out of and Naruto had already sucked up most of his emotional reserves with this conversation. Sasuke hated to be so emotionally raw and exposed, with Naruto, however, he felt the most comfortable letting down his barriers.

His focus became the mirrored flash of color on Naruto’s face from the gesture. Sasuke smiled as the blonde pushed it back down. It was the same reaction he had always had when Itachi had done it to him. The two of them were alike in so many ways that sometimes it scared him, but they were also starkly different, it was a fine balance that they had. They were each other’s yin and yang, one the darkness, the other bright, one negative, the other positive. 

Sasuke lightly shook his head at Naruto’s silly declaration, “Please…for every two pages I turn you turn one,” to emphasize his point he dramatically turns another page. The fire of pride and competition lighting behind his dark eyes once more, as he stared at Naruto. “I could use the Sharingan for this…” he teased. He wasn’t sure if Naruto knew that it didn’t work that way or not, but he wanted to get a reaction out of him. As they resumed their reading, this time

 the questions came less frequently and they finished far quicker, they were starting to get a rhythm down. The sweet sound of Naruto’s chuckling made Sasuke smile and look at his friend in surprise. What was he laughing about? Nothing in these books was that entertaining. The soft smile on Naruto’s lips gave him away, Sasuke could read him like any of these books. Naruto was thinking about something other than what was in the pages in front of him, and he was fond of whatever it was. Sasuke scoffed at him before returning to finish his own reading. 

“I’m glad you find this easier than your previous, more foolish, techniques,” Sasuke reached over and took the book from Naruto. He uncrossed his legs and stood to place all of the five books they had just read out on the floor. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ll be worthy of Tobirama’s legacy when you pass this test and maybe beat me,” he knelt down taking out all the sticky notes while simultaneously writing on a notepad what they contained. 

He then began to place them randomly around the floor creating splashed of color here and there. “Now…we memorize,” he stood and turned to face the blonde on the couch. He rested his one hand on his hip taking on a confident and commanding pose, “I’ve messed up all the order of the events and facts on the floor. Our task is to put them all together again. One yellow, one green, one orange, one blue, and one purple per row. We’ll do this until we don’t get any wrong. I wrote the answers on this paper,” he folded it and then tucked it into the pocket of his pants. “First we will work together, bouncing off what we think is right and wrong until we finish. Once we get them all right together we will both go individually until we can do that on our own as well,” the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “Got that Usuratonkachi?”

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Naruto chuckled when Sasuke mentioned the Sharingan– wait, the Sharingan?! “Don’t you dare cheat!” he pointed at his friend with his finger, frowning upon him with clear disapproval. “If you do that I’m using my clones ‘ttebayo.” He wasn’t sure a couple of his clones could make up in speed against his friend’s eye prowress, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna try anyway if their competition escalated to that extent. 

Now that both of them were done with their reading, Naruto made use of Sasuke’s explanation to flex his arms behind his back. The blonde wasn’t fond of staying still for long period of times; sage mode training not counting, of course. His muscles were thankful the moment he started to move them around. 

“Maybe beat you?” he laughed at that. “Worthy or not, mark my words. I’m gonna beat this test’s ass and I’m beating yours as a plus!” he said, smirking towards Sasuke.

He watched intently as Sasuke started explaining what they would be doing next. Sticky notes now resting on the floor, Naruto gave the raven a confused look. “So… teamwork, right?” A nervous chuckle came out of his lips as he looked down upon a sea of facts that suddenly made no sense to him. He wanted to ask for the instructions at least three more times but decided against it. He was an idiot, but he had a general idea. 

“All right. Yellow, green, blue– I mean, orange, blue and purple. Got it!” he repeated each color and gave himself a few slaps on his cheeks as to motivate himself. “I can do this!”

It was hard. Sasuke had written the answers for them but Naruto was stubborn enough to still fight some answers, thinking his memory was on the right track rather than undeniable proof of his mistakes. After some yelling, Naruto nearly losing his head because he had misspelled a name when filling his notes, and a very frustrated acceptance of his own memory’s limits, they were done.

[will-of-sasuke]

Keeping Naruto's passion, for things he normally wouldn't find interesting, was like tending to a campfire. As the fire starts to die it needs to be prodded to keep it from being reduced to embers. Sasuke was simply tending to the flame of Naruto's attention, prodding it with insults and the threat of losing. He smirked at the ease of it all, as Naruto acted like he was telling the world, not just his living room, that he was going to beat Sasuke.

"God, you're like a broken record with that," he muttered feigning annoyance. Sasuke couldn't help the fact that Naruto's constant determination and declaration that he would beat him was oddly endearing.

Sasuke was stunned that Naruto didn't ask him to repeat the instructions. He opened his mouth to proceed with doing just that when Naruto repeated back the underlying concept of what Sasuke had said. Maybe he had caught on to what was about to happen, if not he would learn as they went. "Yes," his almost colorless lips pulled into a small smile. "Teamwork for now."

He pulled his knees under his butt to give himself more reach over the sea of sticky notes. Naruto's declaration of self-confidence was entertaining. Sasuke glanced at him and tsked, "Correction, we can do this," and they began. Several arguments broke out as Sasuke realized how much Naruto had spelled wrong, or they fought over who was right. At one point Sasuke had held the wrong answer hostage from Naruto, holding it up in his hand and leaning back every time Naruto lunged for it, all while screaming that the blonde was wrong right in his whiskered face.

Sasuke felt like he had fought the five kages all over again by the end. The sticky notes had acquired war wounds, torn, wet with spittle from the screaming, and one even had a smear of blood from a paper cut. The Uchiha panted softly shaking his head, "We did it..." he said weakly. He looked at Naruto, "Now we have to do it until it doesn't go like that. Naruto, we aren't done until we get them all right without a doubt," he paused. "Until we agree on every single one," he added to clarify. Until we act perfectly in sync and at harmony.

He began to check their work and grumbled, "We didn't even get them all right." The raven continued showing Naruto the ones they had gotten wrong before taking the neat stacks apart to spread them randomly once more. "Ready?" he looked at Naruto with a determined expression. He was beginning to take this more serious than before.

@will-of-naruto

[will-of-sasuke]

Now What?

[stillwater-and-tea]

will-of-sasuke

Hearing about Itachi, about the what happened behind the scenes of his brother’s life, the things he never saw, it made Sasuke’s entire body ache. He knew that Itachi loved him, that what he had done was his way of protecting him, of helping him. Sometimes…sometimes he just wished that there had been another way. While Itachi was confessing his sins to Shisui in a puddle of tears, Sasuke had been cursing his name and thinking of every way he could kill him. The guilt that sat on his shoulders constantly since his fight with Naruto felt like it might crush him at this moment.

Sasuke’s fists rolled up into balls on the table he dug his nails into his palms trying to turn sadness into pain to stop the tears from forming in his eyes. The lump of sadness was uncontrollable, however, at Shisui’s last statement. He didn’t sob, or scream, or shake, Sasuke Uchiha had perfected the silent cry. Tears pooled on top of his bottom eyelid before spilling over and sliding down his pale cheeks. He bowed his head a little pretending to stare intently at his teacup, this allowed his bangs to hide most of what was happening on his face. He couldn’t stop the droplets that made their way onto the table though, or he would completely give himself away. “Yeah I know…” even through tears, his voice didn’t waver. If it weren’t for the tiny pools of water on the table, no one would be able to tell he was crying.

There were so many things that Sasuke wished he could say to his brother. More than anything he wanted to go back in time and stop himself from ever killing him. He would give the world to have Itachi with them now enjoying tea and salad, with that kind smile he always wore. He’d chuckle at even the smallest amusing thing Sasuke did, because he either actually found it funny, or he would want his little brother to be comfortable. Itachi often did this to him when he was a kid, especially around their parents. Whenever Sasuke tried to be funny or get into some sort of antic as a child, his father would look at him sternly. Little Sasuke’s face would fall in shame, but Itachi would give him that smile and laugh to lighten up the whole room. Sasuke would instantly blush and grin at his brother’s approval. If he could see his smile and hear his laugh at least one more time…

“Did you wait to come out of hiding until Danzo was dead?” he asked. Sasuke understood if this was the case and he knew that even if they had met secretly Danzo likely had some sort of mild surveillance on him. The younger Uchiha still had tons of questions about his brother, but that was for a different time.

Shisui could see the tears fall from the younger’s concealed face but made no comment. Instead, he turns ever so slightly and attempts to sip at his tea again thus granting Sasuke to privacy he clearly desired. They remain like this for as long as Sasuke needs.

It hurts when Sasuke asks about his hiding until Danzo’s death… because that was exactly he had done, hid. He grunts an agreement his tongue feeling thick. “Nobody knew. I always covered my face when I was in the village but I was here. I attended your graduation ceremony. I followed the exams. I always looked after you until you left the village. I didn’t expect that.”

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke was surprised that no one knew that Shisui survived except Itachi, "No one?" he wanted to make sure that was correct. "Except Itachi..." he sighed and reached up pretending to brush his bangs aside while simultaneously brushing away the small trails of tears.  "So tell me," he took a sip of his tea to clear the hoarseness that always resulted from emotional conversations. "Did you report to Itachi about me?" he had to know how closely his brother was watching him.

He snorted slightly when Shisui said he hadn't expected him to leave the village, "No one did," he glanced off to the side. "And people like Naruto were convinced I didn't leave by choice," a shadow fell over his face. "But I made my choices and now I have to live with them."

His attention fell back onto Shisui, "After Danzo fell...why didn't you come to find me then?" he asked. Sasuke wouldn't be angry no matter the answer. He wasn't mad that Shisui hadn't told him about his survival, he understood, and even if he had it wouldn't have changed anything he was far too lost in the darkness at the time.

@will-of-shisui

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

Sleepover no Jutsu

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

will-of-sasuke

“You fought with the guy in the war, and you can’t have the decency to remember his name,” he clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “You have a face to put to the name,” this was going to be a long night. A real-life experience hadn’t even been enough to make his brain store the memory of something he had learned.

Sasuke practically choked on his laughter, when Naruto dared to say he could take him down so effortlessly. Firstly that had been slightly insulting it seemed Naruto had been working on his sarcasm these last couple of years. Secondly, it wasn’t true and they both knew it. He scoffed and glared at Naruto like he was the biggest asshole on the planet. “You want to test that theory?” his voice became threateningly low. He continued to stare his friend down. Their eyes meeting to show the glimmer of amusement mixed with the fire of determination and challenge behind the dark features of the Uchiha. He continued to burn the other under his gaze until he was satisfied with his act of intimidation. The features of his face softened and he finally averted his stare from boring into the depths of Naruto’s passion-filled blues.

It had taken guts to make such a declaration he had to give him that. Those kind of gutsy statements were part of Naruto’s “charm” for lack of a better word. They made people stop and listen, that and the general boom of his voice.

He sighed, “That’s for another day,” he said bending down to pick up two stacks of sticky notes and two books. “Excuses won’t get you anywhere Naruto. Sorry, this isn’t the most riveting stuff to you, but these are the men who shaped the position you so desperately want to take one day. This is part of preparing to become Hokage as well. History,” he paused taking a deep breath. Sasuke was not normally a long-winded person, but here he was trying to convince the knucklehead in front of him to be interested in the acts of dead people. He let out the breath and continued, “History, has a way of repeating itself and the only way to stop the cycle is to learn from past.” He dropped the book in the blonde’s lap, “You want to be a great Hokage one day? Get interested,” he dropped a pen and sticky notes on top of the book.

Sasuke plops down in the spot next to his friend with a book and supplies of his own. Hearing how Naruto had studied in the past was almost painful to his OCD mind. That system was so flawed he didn’t even know where to start. Using shadow clones to train was intriguing and Sasuke wanted to ask more, but that was for another time, right now they needed to hit the books.

“If you pass out on me I will find a way to wake you up,” he left the threat ominous not wanting to give away his methods. “Don’t waste my time,” he added. Sasuke leaned forward and began to write on four different colored sticky notes. When he was done he posted them on the front of the book and turned it to face Naruto. “As you go through the chapters, which I’ll tell you which ones you’ll need in a second, use the ‘What?’ ‘Who?’ ‘Where?’ ‘When?’ ‘How?’ method,” he pointed at each sticky note that had the five questions written on them.

“Test always ask things under these umbrellas. ‘What happened?’ ‘Who did it?’ ‘Where did it take place?’ 'When in time did it happen?’ 'How did it come to pass?’ Take the sticky notes of the corresponding question color and answer them on the note. Place it near the text that backs it up, so you can refer to it later for clarification if necessary. This way, when we are done reading it will be quick to find all the answers again to study, without having to try and memorize them, dobe,” he explained.

He set the packs of different colored sticky notes between them and cracked open the book in his lap. “Now we can split up the reading too, so it takes less time to find all the answers. It’s a team effort in this sense,” he reached over and opened Naruto’s book. His dark eyes quickly moved over the table of contents. “You’ll need to read Chapters 4-7. Think you can handle that?”

Sasuke’s efforts to intimidate him only fueled his resolve to not let the Uchiha surpass him. He didn’t even need to say anything, his passionate blue eyes glared right back at Sasuke the moment he issued his challenge. The air in the room got heavy, the tension between him and the Uchiha certain and unavoidable. It was nostalgic really, having this result whenever any of the two dared to provoke the other. Naruto was fully aware of how frightening powerful the both of them were now. He would still, occasionally, have dreams about the battle that defined their lives forever. A battle of such a scale should never be repeated again. Although, Naruto would be lying if he said the idea of battling Sasuke once more, this time without such high stakes in peril—besides their pride—was certainly tempting.

Another day, huh? Their staring contest was put to a halt and Naruto was thankful for it. It was way too easy to get lost in those eyes. Who would have thought, after all these years, that to stare at his friend’s obsidians—correction, an obsidian and a new amethyst as eyes— would be enough to leave him speechless? 

Putting that thought aside, Naruto listened attentive to Sasuke talk. He huffed when his friend preached him about the importance of history. He knew this! He knew how important history was, geez… but he was kind of content to hear his friend say so directly. Sasuke’s ideology had been once about erasing the past, disregarding it, and having him be the one to remind the blonde of the importance of history was just another proof of his friend’s change of heart.

Naruto rolled his eyes but his big smile disregarded the gesture’s disrespectful tone for more of a playful one. “You are right, my bad,” he still thought the books were boring but at least Sasuke’s words had been a little inspiring and he was feeling ready to try and actually enjoy this, even if he knew he would never ‘cause studying was so terribly tedious to him.

And Sasuke delivered another threat. Damn, did he really have to act like he had a stick up his ass all the time? “You are such a fucking bastard, you know that right?” he narrowed his eyes towards his friend, but decided against keeping the animosity going. “I promise to not pass out. That only happened because I used more clones than I should—I didn’t take into account that having good physical stamina does not equal having good mental stamina ‘ttebayo,” he had learned that the hard way. After such experience, he had experimented further and he was more aware of his mental strain limits, but god, had that been an awful event. 

Naruto whistled in awe at Sasuke’s study technique explanation. “That actually sounds so much easier,” he chuckled, suddenly feeling pumped. Using simple questions to find meaningful answers was much more manageable than trying to discern important facts from scrutiny details that only confused him. “Team effort. Got it. I will be done with this chapters before you feel tempted to insult me again dattebayo!” he teased, sticking his tongue out. He really didn’t mind the tough treatmen. In a weird—maybe even masochistic way—he had missed it. He also missed doing the same to him, so the scales were even here.

With no further ado and a big grin plastered on his lips, he started reading. Finding the answers to certain questions wasn’t that easy to him (he would occasionally interrupt Sasuke and ask him what he thought on one or two occasions), but he certainly did his best on his own and he felt as if he had learned something this time instead of overloading his brain with useless memorized information.

By the time he was done he had even learned by heart each color code. Simple analogies and association had always been a good thing for him to grasp concepts, so the sticky notes had been on point to help him. “I think I’m done…” he announced. He looked at the sticky notes inside the book he had placed. His handwriting was not… the best but it was legible. A bit childish even and his word choices were always simple and straightforward; just like him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

For Naruto to remain silent and not interrupt him, as he spoke was new. Sasuke welcomed this change since it allowed him to explain things far quicker than he usually could with Naruto incessantly interrupting every other sentence. He snorted when Naruto said he was right. He decided to comment on it because if he did he probably would never hear those words from the blonde again. Instead, he would silently bask in the glory of Naruto’s husky voice admitting that Sasuke was right and he was wrong, music to his ears.

At least the idiot had gotten something out of his previous mistake. It didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes at the conclusion though, “Hn, yeah which is exactly why I’m a better student than you, I have both,” he smirked. Sasuke knew he was being relentless tonight, but he had three years of insults to catch up on, plus this banter would only further motivate Naruto in his studies.

Naruto’s praise of his technique caused the spread of the familiar warmth of pride in his chest. He hadn’t felt that in some time. Sure, Orochimaru had praised him plenty in their time together, but it felt empty and hollow. He never enjoyed it or cared if the creep approved or not. Everything he said to Sasuke was ambiguous. He wasn’t applauding the boy, so much as the power of the body, he so keenly had his eyes on. Naruto’s admiration though came from the heart and it warmed Sasuke’s own in turn.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the next statement, “Then you better stop talking and get to work,” he teased in return, but his voice remained flat. Seeing Naruto begin to pour over the pages of Konaha’s history, Sasuke turned his attention to his own work. His demeanor was calm, but he worked quickly attaching sticky note after sticky note to the pages and scrawling out information in neat handwriting. Naruto, of course, had a question here and there, but that was natural for him and if he didn’t there wouldn’t be much point in Sasuke being there still.

The Uchiha turned in his seat facing Naruto and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch. His left stub leaned up against the side of the couch. He hadn’t thought much about the fact that he was wearing a tank top, making what was left of his one arm completely visible. The appendage was wrapped in white tape, the same material Naruto usually wrapped his arm with. Occasionally he would glance through the curtain of his growing bangs and watch Naruto. The intense stare on his face, as he worked was entertaining and captivating. It was the same one he wore when they learned to climb trees all those years ago.

Finishing before Naruto, Sasuke scanned through the notes he had made double checking them, making some additions here and there until he heard the blonde announce he was finished. Sasuke reached out and took Naruto’s book into his lap and began to flip through the pages glancing over the notes. “Once I learn how to read this new language you’ve produced, I think we can work with these,” he set their books on the ground and moved to grab the next set.

He dropped two books in Naruto’s lap, “The top one only has one chapter about Tobirama, as it is about the entire history of the academy, which you don’t need yet for what Iruka is teaching you,” he resumed his crisscrossed position on the couch, “The other has two more about the First Shinobi War,” he cracked open his book. “I’ll be reading this one and then we can begin memorization techniques.”

@will-of-naruto

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Naruto’s gaze followed Sasuke’s fingers as they laid on the book resting on his lap. As the raven took the book to evaluate his work, Naruto noticed himself stiff if only slightly. Obsidian irises moved across the page with meticulous care and Naruto found the action alone more interesting than the book he had just read. The spell was cut short as he heard his friend criticize his handwriting, at which all Naruto could do was avert his eyes. He was scowling. “It isn’t that bad ‘ttebayo,” he defended himself, or at least he tried. “I bet yours isn’t any better,” he was probably wrong, but his words left him before his better judgement commanded him to not make it worse for himself.

Two books landed on his lap and Naruto grunted. He would have complained about this, but Sasuke quickly delivered more instructions. Seeing no point in arguing, Naruto nodded, opening the first book to look for the mentioned chapter of Tobirama in silence.

As he read his eyes widened slightly at certain facts. Like Tobirama’s foundation of the Uchiha Police Force. Or how the Second had also dictated for the Uchiha to live at the outskirts of the village in the Uchiha Compound. He wondered if Sasuke already knew this part of his clan’s history—well, of course he did. This book belonged to him. He had to know.

Blue eyes turned discreetly to observe the raven next to him. After giving it some thought, he decided to mimic his friend’s position. Naruto moved to sit face to face with legs crossed. Lazily leaning his chin on his bandaged hand’s palm, the one he had accepted as replacement of what he had lost, he took notice of what Sasuke was missing himself.

“I have been wondering,” he began talking knowing well Sasuke would probably not be thrilled to hear his next words. “Why didn’t you accept it too?”

This it being obvious, considering where his own blue eyes were fixed.

“It’s just—” he sat straight looking at his own bandaged arm— “I have been wondering about it for a while. I did because most of my techniques require both my hands. I need it,” his voice was firm. “I’m not saying you should have done the same. I think I get why you wouldn’t want it… but I have been wanting to hear it from you ‘ttebayo. So… why?” Naruto’s tone lacked severity. It was a simple question really. Innocent even. He had waited a long time to talk with Sasuke about… lots of things.

Inside his own apartment he felt safe, guarded from prying ears and judgement. He could only hope Sasuke felt the same; especially with him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke’s dark eyes flickered from the pages to Naruto when he tried to say Sasuke’s handwriting was bad as well. His face reflected his surprise at such a bold claim. “Do you want to take that comment back?” he could see the regret on Naruto’s face from his poorly thought out statement. There was no need to further humiliate him, as it was clear he knew that he was wrong, so he let it drop without further scrutiny. The handwriting wasn’t something Sasuke even cared about overall, but he had to comment on Naruto’s, they wouldn’t be Naruto and Sasuke if he didn’t.  

His attention turned back to the pages of Konaha’s history in his lap. Never had he thought he would be sitting on Naruto Uzumaki’s couch reading about the history of a village he had sought to destroy only months before. Sasuke was a great student, but he had forgotten plenty of what he had learned in the academy, which was the only thing making this competition fair. When it came to battle or any form of rivalry, the Uchiha believed in fighting fair. He wouldn’t have challenged the blonde if he didn’t think that they were both on the same start line for the most part. 

Every time Naruto’s expression changed Sasuke couldn’t help but notice and he smiled softly at the looks of wonderment that lit up his friend’s tan face. See it can be interesting. It was nice to watch as Naruto learned, sometimes he could be so much like a child seeing the world for the first time. He had become so fixated on it that he almost got caught. He saw the twitch of Naruto’s eye muscles as he swung his blue eyes in Sasuke’s direction. The raven blinked, when his eyes reopened they were back on the black and white pages in his lap as if they’d never wandered in the first place. 

He felt Naruto shifting on the couch and glanced up to see that they were now face to face. The two went back to their respective readings until Naruto’s voice broke the quiet concentration of the room. “Hm?” Sasuke lifted his head to look at Naruto inquisitively. His expression went blank, as he heard the question. The hand on the book began to fidget with the corner of the pages. Sasuke instantly became uncomfortable and felt himself go stiff. 

Why did he have to ask this? Why did it have to be him?

“Why do you think then? If you think you get why I wouldn’t want it?” Sasuke asked. He wasn’t mad that Naruto had made his own conclusion, but he was curious as to what they were.

He sighed and finally straightened his posture to look Naruto dead on. Their contrasting eye colors focused on each other before Sasuke’s gaze finally broke and looked off to the side. The shame he felt danced across his face before he could stop it, but he quickly clamped his stoic mask over it.

“Because, Naruto, I, unlike you, do not deserve that arm,” he lifted up what was left of his missing limb and stared at it sadly. “Physically, my body is lighter without it, but mentally I feel the ghost of its weight every morning and remember what I’ve done, who I hurt, all my mistakes,” his hand reached up and gripped at the side of it’s lost brotheren. “It reminds me of my new resolve, to atone for my sins, and protect what I once sought to destroy,” his expression fell. The shadows of many sleepless nights under his eyes seemed to darken, reflecting the decisions that haunted him every hour of every day. 

He finally steeled himself to look back into the bright eyes of his one true friend, his own obsidians reflecting his sorrow and emotional turmoil. “Yes, learning how to fight without it will be a pain and I’ll have to learn to perform one-handed techniques, but that is part of my punishment to myself. You got me released from prison, and I’m eternally grateful, but I still deserved a fate far worse than what I was given.”

Sasuke was glad that he had not been killed or imprisoned for life, it allowed him the chance to repay his friend and fix all the wrongs he had done. At the same time, however, he felt like death was what he had deserved. He came to terms with the fact that he would be allowed to live and decided to use it as an opportunity.

@will-of-naruto

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“That’s— “Naruto hesitated for a second. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to reveal his thoughts just yet. There was a reason why he wanted to hear Sasuke first.

And his wish seemed about to be granted, relief taking over his heart if for only a second. When Sasuke’s eyes met his, Naruto did not miss how quickly the already dark obsidians darkened even more, as if losing the determined gleam they had showed all night. As Sasuke looked away, the blonde felt his own throat close and his chest clench.

Naruto figured his questions had prompted such reaction from the raven, but part of him needed to hear this. Hear it from the source and not from those who tried to persuade him of being warier of the one person he would do anything for.

For each word coming out of those pale lips, Naruto clenched his fists resting on his knees, nails almost piercing through his own skin. He never looked away, his eyes focused on every detail of Sasuke’s expression. He was not good at telling when others lied; sometimes he would misread the mood in a situation and get in trouble for it. But Sasuke… it had taken a while for him to truly understand Sasuke’s turmoil, the depth of his pain.

So now, as he watched his friend pour out his anxieties in the confidence of his home, his presence, Naruto felt truly not just honored, but bursting with respect for the man right in front of him, because Sasuke had meant every word. Sasuke’s change of heart was genuine and Naruto would fight anyone who dared question his friend’s resolve.

And then he heard him say he should have deserved much worse and Naruto felt his heart crumble, sinking in a dark place that made him clench his jaw.

“Sasuke…” he called softly. “I—I figured you didn’t accept the arm because you felt you didn’t deserve it. I don’t… agree, but I didn’t want to convince you to take something that wouldn’t bring you peace, you know?” Naruto straighten himself. He took a deep breath as he kept talking. “And if there’s someone who could become the most powerful shinobi in the world with just one hand, that person, I’m sure, could only be you ‘ttebayo,” he chuckled at the praise he had just delivered. Sasuke didn’t need both his arms to kick his ass, Naruto had no doubt about this.

Bringing one of his hands to rub at the back of his neck, as to relax his nerves for what he was about to say, he continued. “But, Sasuke… do you remember what I told you at the valley? After our fight?” His blue eyes glinted with an intensity resembling his conviction all those months ago when they fought to practically decide the fate of the world. “We are going to change the world. We are going to make it better. We— “Naruto tapped on the book resting on his lap— “won’t repeat the same mistakes. Don’t you dare say you deserved something worse when my dream— our dream for a better future can only happen with your help. I need you, more than anyone.” I can’t picture a world without you. His last thought remained in the comfort of his own mind. He didn’t want to overwhelm him further, if he had. He hoped his words had been enough to make him understand…

… understand that, after all these years, after all that’s happened, the last person he wanted to see being swallowed by his own darkness was him.

“If you can memorize all this crap I bet you can keep my words in that thick skull of yours ‘ttebayo,” he joked as he gave his friend a playful push. “I can always beat you up into understanding what I just said, if you want. It worked last time,” he stuck his tongue out and snorted.

Now that he had poured out some of his thoughts he felt so much lighter. Much better. There was more he would have wanted to say but…

“Well, we should keep studying. If we don’t want to repeat dumb mistakes, it’s probably for the best we learn something. Especially me,” he looked down on his book, ready to resume his reading. “Bet you I can finish this faster because I actually have this book in my room.” Naruto gave Sasuke a playful look as he took some sticky notes and a pen. He wiggled his brows obnoxiously, hoping his friend would accept his silly little challenge.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

As the last word left his lip, there was but a moment of silence before Naruto responded. Sasuke was thankful that he spoke so quickly, or the rising suffocation of anxiety creeping up from the pits of his heart towards his lungs and brain might have taken hold of him. His heart was pounding against his ribs like it was desperate to escape the human who had so cruelly abused it. The soft huskiness of Naruto’s voice instantly calmed the erratic rhythm. It was as if the organ paused to consider the warmth of the boy in front of him, and his heart loved the blonde so fiercely that it decided to stay. He felt the beat skip before it resumed beating slowly returning to normal the more Naruto spoke. 

Sasuke took in the sight of his friend, the clear anguish Sasuke’s words had invoked on him. In all of his travels, Sasuke had never encountered someone with as much empathy as Naruto. He so selflessly took on the sorrows and pain of those around him, to understand them, to help them, and make sure no one ever felt the crushing loneliness he had as a child. Sometimes it truly worried Sasuke that one day it would burn out the fire of Naruto’s soul or that he would take on something too horrible and it would crush him. He had faith in his friend though, Naruto was the most resilient person he knew. If anyone could take on the pain of the world it was him, and if he ever stumbled Sasuke wouldn’t hesitate to step in and take it for him. 

The dark overcast that had blocked the little light that Sasuke’s eyes held began to move at Naruto’s words. A smirk decorated his lips at the compliment of being the greatest shinobi with one arm. “I appreciate that dobe,” because he knew that if Naruto had pestered him, he wouldn’t be able to deny him. 

His gaze moved to Naruto’s face at the mention of their final fight, there was a flame of regret in them, but it was quickly extinguished as they flooded with joy and hope. Sasuke truly didn’t feel like he deserved to be included in any we that included Naruto, but the sentiment did touch his heart. No matter how hard he tried to keep it iced off from emotions he could never produce more than a thin sheet, easily melted away. 

The Uchiha’s face lifted in both surprise at the passion of his friend on the subject and that Naruto felt he needed him. Naruto Uzumaki, the sun of the world, claimed to need Sasuke Uchiha, the man shrouded in darkness for most of his life. The world didn’t need both of them, it only needed Naruto, in Sasuke’s opinion, but he felt a swell of honor that Naruto felt he was that important. Perhaps, Naruto had a point. “You’re right dobe, who else can keep your ass out of trouble,” he smiled softly the darkness that had set on his features slowly moving as the sun in front of him peeked through his clouds of despair and lit up his pale face. The circles under his eyes disappeared replaced by the wrinkles of a smile. 

Sasuke allowed himself to be slightly pushed back as he rolled his eyes. “You beat me last time, but it doesn’t mean it would happen again,” he shot back. His single hand reached out and he extended two of his fingers and lightly poked Naruto on the forehead. It may seem like a gesture to return the shove, but it meant so much more to Sasuke. For this was the way his brother had communicated his love and he did it to honor his memory, this was Sasuke Uchiha’s highest form of admiration and love.

He locked eyes with Naruto as he pulled his hand back, “Though I don’t fully agree with you yet, I-I appreciate you saying that” he felt his cheeks grow hot with a light pink blush. “Th-thank you.”

In typical Naruto fashion, he broke the tension and serious tone of the room with a challenge. Sasuke chuckled, “Yeah I’d like to see you try. You forget these are all my books,” he replied. “But you’re on dobe,” he reached out grabbing several sticky notes of his own.

@will-of-naruto

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Ah, there it was. That glint he liked. The one he adored. “No one else, really,” he chuckled while giving a wide, bright grin. “No one else,” he repeated, closing his own eyes, grin softening and letting the words sink in not only for Sasuke, but also for himself. Sasuke was everything he wanted to be and more; the sentiment had changed slightly over the years and Naruto had found a better image of the person he wanted to become, but Sasuke’s influence had undeniably shaped that image. Sasuke’s pain was his. Naruto had no doubt in his heart that together, they would be unstoppable. They were going to show the world. Together they would make it a better place. Just you wait, world.

When he opened his eyes, right before he could playfully taunt Sasuke back, he felt his own forehead be poked. Naruto blinked, raising a hand to rub the place his friend had just touched. His eyes met obsidians and right below he didn’t miss the slight tint of pink on Sasuke’s pale features. He felt colors surge in his own face as well, but he stopped it all from escalating with a soft cough. “A-anytime… ‘ttebayo.” What else could he say? Hearing Sasuke’s genuine thank you had him speechless for a second. It didn’t help the raven’s voice had sounded more silvery than usual.

Not to mention, was it just his imagination but that poke to his forehead had felt rather… intimate? He couldn’t place it, but Naruto had a hunch such a gesture meant something. He wasn’t sure what. And he was too nervous now to ask. What if the answer made him turn into a tomato?

“Oh yeah?” Thankfully Sasuke had accepted his little challenge, letting him rest from figuring out whatever feelings were taking over earlier. “I will wipe the floor with you one page at a time ‘dattebayo!” Naruto’s voice was determined and full of energy. He opened the book resting on his lap and immediately submerged himself to find the answers he needed for his sticky notes.

He kept silent and this time he didn’t ask as many questions, getting slowly the hang of what information to look for and what to ignore as unnecessary detail. Naruto felt much more confident by thinking of this as a small competition, instead of something he had to overcome on his own. Nostalgia regarding their genin days placed itself on his mind for a few seconds and Naruto chuckled over it. He pretended it was nothing, a funny word he read in the book or something, even if his expression betrayed him because he was now smiling with a certain tenderness. 

“Finished!” he said, placing a dot on the last sticky note as formality. “Damn, it’s so much easier this way,” he was still surprised how quickly he was absorbing information when he could ignore irrelevant facts. “I’m getting closer to being worthy of his techniques, don’t you think?” Naruto chuckled, remembering Sasuke’s taunt regarding his shadow clones.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Relief washed through Sasuke when Naruto didn't ask about the meaning of his little gesture it was not a topic he wanted to broach right now. Talking about Itachi took an emotional toll on him every time. He would lose his breath and grounding in the world and sink into a hole of guilt and grief. A hole that took all his energy to pull himself out of and Naruto had already sucked up most of his emotional reserves with this conversation. Sasuke hated to be so emotionally raw and exposed, with Naruto, however, he felt the most comfortable letting down his barriers.

His focus became the mirrored flash of color on Naruto's face from the gesture. Sasuke smiled as the blonde pushed it back down. It was the same reaction he had always had when Itachi had done it to him. The two of them were alike in so many ways that sometimes it scared him, but they were also starkly different, it was a fine balance that they had. They were each other's yin and yang, one the darkness, the other bright, one negative, the other positive. 

Sasuke lightly shook his head at Naruto's silly declaration, "Please...for every two pages I turn you turn one," to emphasize his point he dramatically turns another page. The fire of pride and competition lighting behind his dark eyes once more, as he stared at Naruto. "I could use the Sharingan for this..." he teased. He wasn't sure if Naruto knew that it didn't work that way or not, but he wanted to get a reaction out of him. As they resumed their reading, this time

 the questions came less frequently and they finished far quicker, they were starting to get a rhythm down. The sweet sound of Naruto's chuckling made Sasuke smile and look at his friend in surprise. What was he laughing about? Nothing in these books was that entertaining. The soft smile on Naruto's lips gave him away, Sasuke could read him like any of these books. Naruto was thinking about something other than what was in the pages in front of him, and he was fond of whatever it was. Sasuke scoffed at him before returning to finish his own reading. 

"I'm glad you find this easier than your previous, more foolish, techniques," Sasuke reached over and took the book from Naruto. He uncrossed his legs and stood to place all of the five books they had just read out on the floor. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You'll be worthy of Tobirama's legacy when you pass this test and maybe beat me," he knelt down taking out all the sticky notes while simultaneously writing on a notepad what they contained. 

He then began to place them randomly around the floor creating splashed of color here and there. "Now...we memorize," he stood and turned to face the blonde on the couch. He rested his one hand on his hip taking on a confident and commanding pose, "I've messed up all the order of the events and facts on the floor. Our task is to put them all together again. One yellow, one green, one orange, one blue, and one purple per row. We'll do this until we don't get any wrong. I wrote the answers on this paper," he folded it and then tucked it into the pocket of his pants. "First we will work together, bouncing off what we think is right and wrong until we finish. Once we get them all right together we will both go individually until we can do that on our own as well," the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. "Got that Usuratonkachi?"

@will-of-naruto

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Sleepover no Jutsu

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will-of-sasuke

“You fought with the guy in the war, and you can’t have the decency to remember his name,” he clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “You have a face to put to the name,” this was going to be a long night. A real-life experience hadn’t even been enough to make his brain store the memory of something he had learned.

Sasuke practically choked on his laughter, when Naruto dared to say he could take him down so effortlessly. Firstly that had been slightly insulting it seemed Naruto had been working on his sarcasm these last couple of years. Secondly, it wasn’t true and they both knew it. He scoffed and glared at Naruto like he was the biggest asshole on the planet. “You want to test that theory?” his voice became threateningly low. He continued to stare his friend down. Their eyes meeting to show the glimmer of amusement mixed with the fire of determination and challenge behind the dark features of the Uchiha. He continued to burn the other under his gaze until he was satisfied with his act of intimidation. The features of his face softened and he finally averted his stare from boring into the depths of Naruto’s passion-filled blues.

It had taken guts to make such a declaration he had to give him that. Those kind of gutsy statements were part of Naruto’s “charm” for lack of a better word. They made people stop and listen, that and the general boom of his voice.

He sighed, “That’s for another day,” he said bending down to pick up two stacks of sticky notes and two books. “Excuses won’t get you anywhere Naruto. Sorry, this isn’t the most riveting stuff to you, but these are the men who shaped the position you so desperately want to take one day. This is part of preparing to become Hokage as well. History,” he paused taking a deep breath. Sasuke was not normally a long-winded person, but here he was trying to convince the knucklehead in front of him to be interested in the acts of dead people. He let out the breath and continued, “History, has a way of repeating itself and the only way to stop the cycle is to learn from past.” He dropped the book in the blonde’s lap, “You want to be a great Hokage one day? Get interested,” he dropped a pen and sticky notes on top of the book.

Sasuke plops down in the spot next to his friend with a book and supplies of his own. Hearing how Naruto had studied in the past was almost painful to his OCD mind. That system was so flawed he didn’t even know where to start. Using shadow clones to train was intriguing and Sasuke wanted to ask more, but that was for another time, right now they needed to hit the books.

“If you pass out on me I will find a way to wake you up,” he left the threat ominous not wanting to give away his methods. “Don’t waste my time,” he added. Sasuke leaned forward and began to write on four different colored sticky notes. When he was done he posted them on the front of the book and turned it to face Naruto. “As you go through the chapters, which I’ll tell you which ones you’ll need in a second, use the ‘What?’ ‘Who?’ ‘Where?’ ‘When?’ ‘How?’ method,” he pointed at each sticky note that had the five questions written on them.

“Test always ask things under these umbrellas. ‘What happened?’ 'Who did it?’ 'Where did it take place?’ 'When in time did it happen?’ 'How did it come to pass?’ Take the sticky notes of the corresponding question color and answer them on the note. Place it near the text that backs it up, so you can refer to it later for clarification if necessary. This way, when we are done reading it will be quick to find all the answers again to study, without having to try and memorize them, dobe,” he explained.

He set the packs of different colored sticky notes between them and cracked open the book in his lap. “Now we can split up the reading too, so it takes less time to find all the answers. It’s a team effort in this sense,” he reached over and opened Naruto’s book. His dark eyes quickly moved over the table of contents. “You’ll need to read Chapters 4-7. Think you can handle that?”

Sasuke’s efforts to intimidate him only fueled his resolve to not let the Uchiha surpass him. He didn’t even need to say anything, his passionate blue eyes glared right back at Sasuke the moment he issued his challenge. The air in the room got heavy, the tension between him and the Uchiha certain and unavoidable. It was nostalgic really, having this result whenever any of the two dared to provoke the other. Naruto was fully aware of how frightening powerful the both of them were now. He would still, occasionally, have dreams about the battle that defined their lives forever. A battle of such a scale should never be repeated again. Although, Naruto would be lying if he said the idea of battling Sasuke once more, this time without such high stakes in peril—besides their pride—was certainly tempting.

Another day, huh? Their staring contest was put to a halt and Naruto was thankful for it. It was way too easy to get lost in those eyes. Who would have thought, after all these years, that to stare at his friend’s obsidians—correction, an obsidian and a new amethyst as eyes— would be enough to leave him speechless? 

Putting that thought aside, Naruto listened attentive to Sasuke talk. He huffed when his friend preached him about the importance of history. He knew this! He knew how important history was, geez… but he was kind of content to hear his friend say so directly. Sasuke’s ideology had been once about erasing the past, disregarding it, and having him be the one to remind the blonde of the importance of history was just another proof of his friend’s change of heart.

Naruto rolled his eyes but his big smile disregarded the gesture’s disrespectful tone for more of a playful one. “You are right, my bad,” he still thought the books were boring but at least Sasuke’s words had been a little inspiring and he was feeling ready to try and actually enjoy this, even if he knew he would never ‘cause studying was so terribly tedious to him.

And Sasuke delivered another threat. Damn, did he really have to act like he had a stick up his ass all the time? “You are such a fucking bastard, you know that right?” he narrowed his eyes towards his friend, but decided against keeping the animosity going. “I promise to not pass out. That only happened because I used more clones than I should—I didn’t take into account that having good physical stamina does not equal having good mental stamina ‘ttebayo,” he had learned that the hard way. After such experience, he had experimented further and he was more aware of his mental strain limits, but god, had that been an awful event. 

Naruto whistled in awe at Sasuke’s study technique explanation. “That actually sounds so much easier,” he chuckled, suddenly feeling pumped. Using simple questions to find meaningful answers was much more manageable than trying to discern important facts from scrutiny details that only confused him. “Team effort. Got it. I will be done with this chapters before you feel tempted to insult me again dattebayo!” he teased, sticking his tongue out. He really didn’t mind the tough treatmen. In a weird—maybe even masochistic way—he had missed it. He also missed doing the same to him, so the scales were even here.

With no further ado and a big grin plastered on his lips, he started reading. Finding the answers to certain questions wasn’t that easy to him (he would occasionally interrupt Sasuke and ask him what he thought on one or two occasions), but he certainly did his best on his own and he felt as if he had learned something this time instead of overloading his brain with useless memorized information.

By the time he was done he had even learned by heart each color code. Simple analogies and association had always been a good thing for him to grasp concepts, so the sticky notes had been on point to help him. “I think I’m done…” he announced. He looked at the sticky notes inside the book he had placed. His handwriting was not… the best but it was legible. A bit childish even and his word choices were always simple and straightforward; just like him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

For Naruto to remain silent and not interrupt him, as he spoke was new. Sasuke welcomed this change since it allowed him to explain things far quicker than he usually could with Naruto incessantly interrupting every other sentence. He snorted when Naruto said he was right. He decided to comment on it because if he did he probably would never hear those words from the blonde again. Instead, he would silently bask in the glory of Naruto’s husky voice admitting that Sasuke was right and he was wrong, music to his ears.

At least the idiot had gotten something out of his previous mistake. It didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes at the conclusion though, “Hn, yeah which is exactly why I’m a better student than you, I have both,” he smirked. Sasuke knew he was being relentless tonight, but he had three years of insults to catch up on, plus this banter would only further motivate Naruto in his studies.

Naruto’s praise of his technique caused the spread of the familiar warmth of pride in his chest. He hadn’t felt that in some time. Sure, Orochimaru had praised him plenty in their time together, but it felt empty and hollow. He never enjoyed it or cared if the creep approved or not. Everything he said to Sasuke was ambiguous. He wasn’t applauding the boy, so much as the power of the body, he so keenly had his eyes on. Naruto’s admiration though came from the heart and it warmed Sasuke’s own in turn.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the next statement, “Then you better stop talking and get to work,” he teased in return, but his voice remained flat. Seeing Naruto begin to pour over the pages of Konaha’s history, Sasuke turned his attention to his own work. His demeanor was calm, but he worked quickly attaching sticky note after sticky note to the pages and scrawling out information in neat handwriting. Naruto, of course, had a question here and there, but that was natural for him and if he didn’t there wouldn’t be much point in Sasuke being there still.

The Uchiha turned in his seat facing Naruto and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch. His left stub leaned up against the side of the couch. He hadn’t thought much about the fact that he was wearing a tank top, making what was left of his one arm completely visible. The appendage was wrapped in white tape, the same material Naruto usually wrapped his arm with. Occasionally he would glance through the curtain of his growing bangs and watch Naruto. The intense stare on his face, as he worked was entertaining and captivating. It was the same one he wore when they learned to climb trees all those years ago.

Finishing before Naruto, Sasuke scanned through the notes he had made double checking them, making some additions here and there until he heard the blonde announce he was finished. Sasuke reached out and took Naruto’s book into his lap and began to flip through the pages glancing over the notes. “Once I learn how to read this new language you’ve produced, I think we can work with these,” he set their books on the ground and moved to grab the next set.

He dropped two books in Naruto’s lap, “The top one only has one chapter about Tobirama, as it is about the entire history of the academy, which you don’t need yet for what Iruka is teaching you,” he resumed his crisscrossed position on the couch, “The other has two more about the First Shinobi War,” he cracked open his book. “I’ll be reading this one and then we can begin memorization techniques.”

@will-of-naruto

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Naruto’s gaze followed Sasuke’s fingers as they laid on the book resting on his lap. As the raven took the book to evaluate his work, Naruto noticed himself stiff if only slightly. Obsidian irises moved across the page with meticulous care and Naruto found the action alone more interesting than the book he had just read. The spell was cut short as he heard his friend criticize his handwriting, at which all Naruto could do was avert his eyes. He was scowling. “It isn’t that bad ‘ttebayo,” he defended himself, or at least he tried. “I bet yours isn’t any better,” he was probably wrong, but his words left him before his better judgement commanded him to not make it worse for himself.

Two books landed on his lap and Naruto grunted. He would have complained about this, but Sasuke quickly delivered more instructions. Seeing no point in arguing, Naruto nodded, opening the first book to look for the mentioned chapter of Tobirama in silence.

As he read his eyes widened slightly at certain facts. Like Tobirama’s foundation of the Uchiha Police Force. Or how the Second had also dictated for the Uchiha to live at the outskirts of the village in the Uchiha Compound. He wondered if Sasuke already knew this part of his clan’s history—well, of course he did. This book belonged to him. He had to know.

Blue eyes turned discreetly to observe the raven next to him. After giving it some thought, he decided to mimic his friend’s position. Naruto moved to sit face to face with legs crossed. Lazily leaning his chin on his bandaged hand’s palm, the one he had accepted as replacement of what he had lost, he took notice of what Sasuke was missing himself.

“I have been wondering,” he began talking knowing well Sasuke would probably not be thrilled to hear his next words. “Why didn’t you accept it too?”

This it being obvious, considering where his own blue eyes were fixed.

“It’s just—” he sat straight looking at his own bandaged arm— “I have been wondering about it for a while. I did because most of my techniques require both my hands. I need it,” his voice was firm. “I’m not saying you should have done the same. I think I get why you wouldn’t want it… but I have been wanting to hear it from you ‘ttebayo. So… why?” Naruto’s tone lacked severity. It was a simple question really. Innocent even. He had waited a long time to talk with Sasuke about… lots of things.

Inside his own apartment he felt safe, guarded from prying ears and judgement. He could only hope Sasuke felt the same; especially with him.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

Sasuke’s dark eyes flickered from the pages to Naruto when he tried to say Sasuke’s handwriting was bad as well. His face reflected his surprise at such a bold claim. “Do you want to take that comment back?” he could see the regret on Naruto’s face from his poorly thought out statement. There was no need to further humiliate him, as it was clear he knew that he was wrong, so he let it drop without further scrutiny. The handwriting wasn’t something Sasuke even cared about overall, but he had to comment on Naruto’s, they wouldn’t be Naruto and Sasuke if he didn’t.  

His attention turned back to the pages of Konaha’s history in his lap. Never had he thought he would be sitting on Naruto Uzumaki’s couch reading about the history of a village he had sought to destroy only months before. Sasuke was a great student, but he had forgotten plenty of what he had learned in the academy, which was the only thing making this competition fair. When it came to battle or any form of rivalry, the Uchiha believed in fighting fair. He wouldn’t have challenged the blonde if he didn’t think that they were both on the same start line for the most part. 

Every time Naruto’s expression changed Sasuke couldn’t help but notice and he smiled softly at the looks of wonderment that lit up his friend’s tan face. See it can be interesting. It was nice to watch as Naruto learned, sometimes he could be so much like a child seeing the world for the first time. He had become so fixated on it that he almost got caught. He saw the twitch of Naruto’s eye muscles as he swung his blue eyes in Sasuke’s direction. The raven blinked, when his eyes reopened they were back on the black and white pages in his lap as if they’d never wandered in the first place. 

He felt Naruto shifting on the couch and glanced up to see that they were now face to face. The two went back to their respective readings until Naruto’s voice broke the quiet concentration of the room. “Hm?” Sasuke lifted his head to look at Naruto inquisitively. His expression went blank, as he heard the question. The hand on the book began to fidget with the corner of the pages. Sasuke instantly became uncomfortable and felt himself go stiff. 

Why did he have to ask this? Why did it have to be him?

“Why do you think then? If you think you get why I wouldn’t want it?” Sasuke asked. He wasn’t mad that Naruto had made his own conclusion, but he was curious as to what they were.

He sighed and finally straightened his posture to look Naruto dead on. Their contrasting eye colors focused on each other before Sasuke’s gaze finally broke and looked off to the side. The shame he felt danced across his face before he could stop it, but he quickly clamped his stoic mask over it.

“Because, Naruto, I, unlike you, do not deserve that arm,” he lifted up what was left of his missing limb and stared at it sadly. “Physically, my body is lighter without it, but mentally I feel the ghost of its weight every morning and remember what I’ve done, who I hurt, all my mistakes,” his hand reached up and gripped at the side of it’s lost brotheren. “It reminds me of my new resolve, to atone for my sins, and protect what I once sought to destroy,” his expression fell. The shadows of many sleepless nights under his eyes seemed to darken, reflecting the decisions that haunted him every hour of every day. 

He finally steeled himself to look back into the bright eyes of his one true friend, his own obsidians reflecting his sorrow and emotional turmoil. “Yes, learning how to fight without it will be a pain and I’ll have to learn to perform one-handed techniques, but that is part of my punishment to myself. You got me released from prison, and I’m eternally grateful, but I still deserved a fate far worse than what I was given.”

Sasuke was glad that he had not been killed or imprisoned for life, it allowed him the chance to repay his friend and fix all the wrongs he had done. At the same time, however, he felt like death was what he had deserved. He came to terms with the fact that he would be allowed to live and decided to use it as an opportunity.

@will-of-naruto

[unendingsunshine-blog-deactivat]

“That’s— “Naruto hesitated for a second. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to reveal his thoughts just yet. There was a reason why he wanted to hear Sasuke first.

And his wish seemed about to be granted, relief taking over his heart if for only a second. When Sasuke’s eyes met his, Naruto did not miss how quickly the already dark obsidians darkened even more, as if losing the determined gleam they had showed all night. As Sasuke looked away, the blonde felt his own throat close and his chest clench.

Naruto figured his questions had prompted such reaction from the raven, but part of him needed to hear this. Hear it from the source and not from those who tried to persuade him of being warier of the one person he would do anything for.

For each word coming out of those pale lips, Naruto clenched his fists resting on his knees, nails almost piercing through his own skin. He never looked away, his eyes focused on every detail of Sasuke’s expression. He was not good at telling when others lied; sometimes he would misread the mood in a situation and get in trouble for it. But Sasuke… it had taken a while for him to truly understand Sasuke’s turmoil, the depth of his pain.

So now, as he watched his friend pour out his anxieties in the confidence of his home, his presence, Naruto felt truly not just honored, but bursting with respect for the man right in front of him, because Sasuke had meant every word. Sasuke’s change of heart was genuine and Naruto would fight anyone who dared question his friend’s resolve.

And then he heard him say he should have deserved much worse and Naruto felt his heart crumble, sinking in a dark place that made him clench his jaw.

“Sasuke…” he called softly. “I—I figured you didn’t accept the arm because you felt you didn’t deserve it. I don’t… agree, but I didn’t want to convince you to take something that wouldn’t bring you peace, you know?” Naruto straighten himself. He took a deep breath as he kept talking. “And if there’s someone who could become the most powerful shinobi in the world with just one hand, that person, I’m sure, could only be you ‘ttebayo,” he chuckled at the praise he had just delivered. Sasuke didn’t need both his arms to kick his ass, Naruto had no doubt about this.

Bringing one of his hands to rub at the back of his neck, as to relax his nerves for what he was about to say, he continued. “But, Sasuke… do you remember what I told you at the valley? After our fight?” His blue eyes glinted with an intensity resembling his conviction all those months ago when they fought to practically decide the fate of the world. “We are going to change the world. We are going to make it better. We— “Naruto tapped on the book resting on his lap— “won’t repeat the same mistakes. Don’t you dare say you deserved something worse when my dream— our dream for a better future can only happen with your help. I need you, more than anyone.” I can’t picture a world without you. His last thought remained in the comfort of his own mind. He didn’t want to overwhelm him further, if he had. He hoped his words had been enough to make him understand…

… understand that, after all these years, after all that’s happened, the last person he wanted to see being swallowed by his own darkness was him.

“If you can memorize all this crap I bet you can keep my words in that thick skull of yours ‘ttebayo,” he joked as he gave his friend a playful push. “I can always beat you up into understanding what I just said, if you want. It worked last time,” he stuck his tongue out and snorted.

Now that he had poured out some of his thoughts he felt so much lighter. Much better. There was more he would have wanted to say but…

“Well, we should keep studying. If we don’t want to repeat dumb mistakes, it’s probably for the best we learn something. Especially me,” he looked down on his book, ready to resume his reading. “Bet you I can finish this faster because I actually have this book in my room.” Naruto gave Sasuke a playful look as he took some sticky notes and a pen. He wiggled his brows obnoxiously, hoping his friend would accept his silly little challenge.

@will-of-sasuke

[will-of-sasuke]

As the last word left his lip, there was but a moment of silence before Naruto responded. Sasuke was thankful that he spoke so quickly, or the rising suffocation of anxiety creeping up from the pits of his heart towards his lungs and brain might have taken hold of him. His heart was pounding against his ribs like it was desperate to escape the human who had so cruelly abused it. The soft huskiness of Naruto's voice instantly calmed the erratic rhythm. It was as if the organ paused to consider the warmth of the boy in front of him, and his heart loved the blonde so fiercely that it decided to stay. He felt the beat skip before it resumed beating slowly returning to normal the more Naruto spoke. 

Sasuke took in the sight of his friend, the clear anguish Sasuke's words had invoked on him. In all of his travels, Sasuke had never encountered someone with as much empathy as Naruto. He so selflessly took on the sorrows and pain of those around him, to understand them, to help them, and make sure no one ever felt the crushing loneliness he had as a child. Sometimes it truly worried Sasuke that one day it would burn out the fire of Naruto's soul or that he would take on something too horrible and it would crush him. He had faith in his friend though, Naruto was the most resilient person he knew. If anyone could take on the pain of the world it was him, and if he ever stumbled Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to step in and take it for him. 

The dark overcast that had blocked the little light that Sasuke's eyes held began to move at Naruto's words. A smirk decorated his lips at the compliment of being the greatest shinobi with one arm. "I appreciate that dobe," because he knew that if Naruto had pestered him, he wouldn't be able to deny him. 

His gaze moved to Naruto's face at the mention of their final fight, there was a flame of regret in them, but it was quickly extinguished as they flooded with joy and hope. Sasuke truly didn't feel like he deserved to be included in any we that included Naruto, but the sentiment did touch his heart. No matter how hard he tried to keep it iced off from emotions he could never produce more than a thin sheet, easily melted away. 

The Uchiha's face lifted in both surprise at the passion of his friend on the subject and that Naruto felt he needed him. Naruto Uzumaki, the sun of the world, claimed to need Sasuke Uchiha, the man shrouded in darkness for most of his life. The world didn't need both of them, it only needed Naruto, in Sasuke's opinion, but he felt a swell of honor that Naruto felt he was that important. Perhaps, Naruto had a point. "You're right dobe, who else can keep your ass out of trouble," he smiled softly the darkness that had set on his features slowly moving as the sun in front of him peeked through his clouds of despair and lit up his pale face. The circles under his eyes disappeared replaced by the wrinkles of a smile. 

Sasuke allowed himself to be slightly pushed back as he rolled his eyes. "You beat me last time, but it doesn't mean it would happen again," he shot back. His single hand reached out and he extended two of his fingers and lightly poked Naruto on the forehead. It may seem like a gesture to return the shove, but it meant so much more to Sasuke. For this was the way his brother had communicated his love and he did it to honor his memory, this was Sasuke Uchiha's highest form of admiration and love.

He locked eyes with Naruto as he pulled his hand back, "Though I don't fully agree with you yet, I-I appreciate you saying that" he felt his cheeks grow hot with a light pink blush. "Th-thank you."

In typical Naruto fashion, he broke the tension and serious tone of the room with a challenge. Sasuke chuckled, "Yeah I'd like to see you try. You forget these are all my books," he replied. "But you're on dobe," he reached out grabbing several sticky notes of his own.

@will-of-naruto