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It wasn’t until everyone else had gone home and the sun had sunk far below the mountains that Naruto finally asked what he’d been wondering all evening.
It was weird to have Sasuke back in Konoha, and to be sitting next to him without need for tense shoulders, ready to dodge at any moment. Naruto still felt out of breath whenever he was around Sasuke, but if he had to tell the truth, it’d almost always been like that with him anyway.
It was even weirder still to have spent the afternoon with his friends, and having that include the dark-haired boy. When Sasuke was finally released from the hospital, he was still supposed to take it slow by demand of Tsunade. She’d eyed Sasuke’s still battered and bruised torso from his fight with Orochimaru, turned to glare warily at Naruto and then sighed at her clipboard before finally letting him loose.
So they’d spent the day doing next to nothing, with Naruto pretending that things didn’t fundamentally change for the worse when Sasuke stepped out of his reach. He must have not been faking too well, however. Everyone, even Ino and Shikamaru, had just acted for the day, and as out of character as it seemed, it felt so good Naruto’s chest hurt.
Sasuke hadn’t done much talking since he’d freely stepped into the streets of his old city for the first time. Besides Kakashi, who’d appeared behind him in a flash. His hand was hard on Sasuke’s shoulder, at least enough to make him wince slightly. The dark-haired boy had lowered his head, but ultimately followed when Kakashi leaped into the trees above them. Naruto had waited for them until it was almost dusk, anxious at what their Sensei had to say. When they returned, both of them looked worn down, but then Kakashi messed up Sasuke’s hair with his visible eye curled into a smile, much to his old student’s protests. Naruto was glad.
“That’s Kakashi-sensei for you, always so cool,” Naruto said, watching him stroll away in the darkness, and then turned to look at Sasuke, who only shrugged.
“Not always,” Sasuke corrected. “I would know. Try to teach an angry 13-year-old three years of taijutsu in one month, and you’re going to snap once or twice.” Naruto hadn’t been sure what to say to that. The Chuunin Exams felt so distant. The memories of easier times seemed hazy, though if 13-year-old Sasuke could have one word pinned to him, it could very well be angry.
Sasuke had also been visited by Sakura in his hospital room many times, where she stayed for hours. Naruto ignored this, as it made his stomach twinge in an uncomfortable way and he preferred not to think about why. He wanted them to make up, they had to, but whenever he saw her replace the flower in the vase by his bedside… Damn it. It doesn’t matter, they have to make up.
For the amount of time Naruto had spent with Sasuke, however, very little had been said. Being impatient was nearly a constant state for him, as it had been for years. Naruto had always been jumpy, but it was beginning to feel ridiculous. Any conversation between them wasn’t urgent if Sasuke was going to stick around, but they were best friends, weren’t they? Sasuke was the only one he had ever had. Maybe he just didn’t know how these things work…
Naruto considered this and the events of the long day as everybody had said goodbye, put on their jackets, wandered away. Sasuke just sat on the grassy hillside where they’d all rested for a while as the sun had started its descent. Nodded at Neji, waved at Lee, smiled slightly at Sakura, but didn’t move besides that, dark eyes on the even darker horizon. Even though his anxiousness rose with each departure, Naruto sat, fingers twitching. He didn’t know what he would say, what would happen if they were alone again.
Sasuke’s hair had gotten longer, and it fell in his face more now than before, creating long shadows. His black eyes showed the years he’d gained away from home. He had more scars, everywhere, small in size but monstrous in number. Naruto looked at the ones on his hands. Even though florid knuckles and deep wine colored scratches might be at home to Sasuke, they looked strange to Naruto.
But there was one thing that Naruto couldn’t figure out, one thing that had changed.
It hadn’t been what he had meant to say, not even remotely. He had bigger plans, words Naruto had thought about saying for years, had even stared himself down in the mirror repeating them but instead of all that: “Are you chewing on something?”
Sasuke turned towards him, expressionless save for the slight tilt of his head. “Hn?”
“What’s in your mouth? You’ve been moving your jaw weird all night.”
This time, Sasuke looked genuinely confused, and then chuckled. “Oh. I forgot it’s there.” He lifted himself off his elbows, grass leaving imprints on his skin, and rolled onto his side. “Here.” He stuck out his tongue.
Naruto stared in complete and udder horror. There was something on Sasuke’s tongue… No, through it. A tiny metal bar stuck out of his mouth, the icy silver ball on the end looking odd against the soft pink of his tongue. “Is that- “
“A piercing?” Sasuke nodded.
Even though Sasuke had closed his mouth, Naruto was still staring at his chin, tiny movements turning the metal inside. His words came out before Naruto could stop them yet again. “Did… Did he make you do that?”
Laughter, again. Could they laugh about that now? Naruto wasn’t sure yet. “Gods, Naruto, no. I just decided to do it one day."
“Yourself?” Naruto squeaked, and Sasuke nodded again, mouth moving still, lips in a familiar smirk. He imagined Sasuke, needle in hand, standing in front of a mirror, and shuddered. “But why?”
“Thought it’d look cool.” For a moment he stuck out his tongue again, and Naruto leaned a little closer, curiosity getting the best of him. “Does it not?”
“No, it does, it just looks kind of scary.” Naruto withdrew almost immediately and rubbed the back of his neck
“You’re acting strange.” Stated like a fact with a steady stare, like there was no more to it, and Naruto blushed.
He was, wasn’t he? This was completely solid proof that Sasuke had changed, shining like treasure in his mouth, and it made Naruto uncomfortable no matter how he swung it. The old Sasuke would have never done that.
“Is it… Sharp?” Wouldn’t that be painful?
The other boy studied him, eyes cold on pale skin, but then he smiled slightly, warm. “You wanna know?” Sasuke stuck out his tongue.
“W- What?” Sasuke flicked his tongue against his front teeth, but waited, one eyebrow raised.
The old Sasuke would have never…
The night had taken an unexpected turn. They were supposed to be hurt still, right? A little broken, on the mend. It was too early for Naruto to be reaching towards his friend’s mouth, because he hadn’t said all the things he’d meant to yet, but…
The ball was smooth on his pointer finger, surprisingly warm and slightly wet. It was still a little gross to him, but it was hard to look away from Sasuke’s mouth. Naruto pressed against it, enough to leave a slight round mark on his skin, and then made the horrible mistake of meeting Sasuke’s gaze.
Something had changed. What, Naruto couldn’t be sure of, but it was tying his insides in knots. Sasuke’s eyes, especially this close, were endlessly familiar, but the way he was staring was suddenly so… heavy. Yeah, that was new. And nearly more curious than Sasuke’s new mouth.
“Uh.” Naruto removed his hand, throat dry. “It’s… interesting.”
Sasuke shrugged, and then rolled onto his back, hands behind his head. “It’s not for everyone.” He paused. “Thank you, for today.” Another shock. Since when did Naruto get thanked for anything? “I know they were acting, at least partially, but still, thank you.”
None of this was what he had planned, damn it. You’re welcome, could be his next move, or maybe no we weren’t acting, or maybe please don’t leave me behind again. (Well, not that, that was a little too desperate.)
“Does it hurt you?” he asked instead, hoping the subject change wasn’t painstakingly obvious. “Does it make your mouth sore?”
“No. Actually,” Sasuke said, “it feels good. It’s soothing to play with.”
“Really?”
“Why? You wanna know?”
Naruto turned to look at his friend in surprise, but Sasuke was still facing the sky like he hadn’t said anything at all. He thought he must have misheard him, or misunderstood, until Sasuke’s hand reached out to his wrist, pulling lightly at the fabric of his jacket. It was only the slightest movement, but it felt like… An invitation?
Something, something had changed, and he still hadn’t said what he wanted, but boy, Naruto was beginning to warm up to new Sasuke more quickly than he thought.
He sat up, arms a little shaky, hopefully not noticeably so.
If he was going to be honest, Naruto had thought about kissing Sasuke once or twice, but he didn’t think it’d actually happen. Or if it did happen, it wouldn’t be like this. He wouldn’t have to do it. Being swept off his feet was out of the question, of course, but when would he have ever thought Sasuke would be lying in front of him, features growing softer in the weak light, just waiting. Waiting for Naruto.
Naruto had spent time waiting. It was horrible. He shouldn’t expose Sasuke to that pain, right? That’s not what a best friend would do…
He leaned over and put one hand on either side of Sasuke before he could think about it anymore. Naruto bent down until his lips touched Sasuke’s.
Kissing him was soft, much more so than Naruto had thought Sasuke to be capable of. It wasn’t that he wasn’t attractive, because he was (ask anybody). Sasuke just didn’t look nearly as saccharine as he tasted. Naruto opened his eyes for just a moment to see that Sasuke’s were closed, and that made something hopelessly warm bloom in his chest.
Well, it was warm, the way they were, until Sasuke lifted one hand to the back of Naruto’s neck, running his fingers through his blond hair. The other, he placed on Naruto’s cheek and gently pushed him away. Sasuke studied him for second, hand cool against flushed skin, and then put his thumb on Naruto’s chin.
He let Sasuke open his mouth slightly and pull him down again with little resistance. He bit Naruto’s bottom lip. Not enough to hurt, of course, because they didn’t do that anymore. It was enough that Naruto made a tiny noise that was half surprise and half... something else.
Suddenly the warm feeling in him was replaced by something much hotter.
Sasuke kissed him again and opened his lips against Naruto’s, tongue sliding into his mouth. Naruto had forgotten the piercing was there until it clinked against front teeth. He could feel it on the roof of his mouth, and Sasuke was right, it didn’t hurt, but the metal that had once been comfortable to his finger seemed scorching.
Saying Naruto had thought about this once or twice might have been an understatement. He might have been thinking about this for years, and because of that, there was plenty of time for imagine what kissing Sasuke would be like.
But having Sasuke underneath him, tasting him, his hand on Naruto’s neck so tightly, drop-kicked his fantasies halfway to Suna. It was twice as fiery, and the way they were both pressing forward was a hundred times more satisfying. Sasuke was eager against him, which was next-to unheard of. Naruto was wanted, and it was shameful how much that made him want Sasuke in return.
All of this could have been perfect, if not for the collective need for air.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve done this,” Naruto blurted out.
Sasuke looked slightly dazed, and blinked. His lips were pink and he was breathing heavy. “No, it’s not.”
“It wasn’t really the same then, though.”
He let his hands fall from Naruto. “No, it wasn’t. That was an accident, and,” he continued, “we were 12. It doesn’t seem like that was your last kiss, though.”
Said as a fact, again, not a question, but Naruto felt compelled to answer anyway. “There were random things, I guess. And me and Hinata, we went out for a while, sort of. I like her, but it didn’t work out. It was while you were…” He trailed off.
“You like her,” Sasuke prompted slowly, “so why didn’t it work out?”
Naruto looked down at him, and Sasuke's face was unreadable. He had changed his mind; he didn’t want to talk. He wanted his mouth occupied, to kiss the now-empty skin on Sasuke’s neck where his curse mark used to be and replace any memories it left behind.
He hadn’t answered yet. “Uh…” he began, avoiding Sasuke’s eyes, “it just didn’t.” Explaining why it didn’t seem necessary; it would only make this more awkward. “Like I said, you were… Away.”
“And now I’m back.”
“Uh-huh.”
Silence. Naruto shifted uncomfortably above his friend. “Sorry to be a buzzkill, but my arms are killing me.”
Sasuke smiled. “Are they?” He pushed Naruto away, back onto his side, only to roll over, switching their positions. His knees were on either side of Naruto, and when he captured Naruto’s mouth for the third time that night, Sasuke was so close it was futile to argue this wasn’t real.
Finally, Naruto got to do all the things he had pushed down, bottled up, convinced himself were impossible. Run his fingers through Sasuke’s hair, as soft as he’d thought. Pull away for air just to sink in deeper when Sasuke kissed him again. The metal on Sasuke’s tongue still hit his teeth every once and awhile, but Naruto was getting used to it. He let his hands wander, like he’d always envisioned. Sasuke’s shoulders, his ribs, the arch of his back, down to his-
“Uh.”
Both boys jerked up at the noise. Naruto was looking upside-down at the intruder, but if the flat voice didn’t give it away, the ponytail did.
Shikamaru stood in front of them, fidgeting and red. Naruto had absolutely no idea what to say. Sasuke sat up, but didn’t stop straddling Naruto or act like they hadn’t just been desperately groping each other in a field.
“Yo,” he said simply, and the way Shikamaru went even redder made Naruto stifle a laugh.
“I forgot my jacket.”
“...Alright.”
“And, uh,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck, “you guys are kind of laying on it.”
Shit. “Sorry!” Naruto said loudly, grabbing onto Sasuke to sit up (as he clearly didn’t seem to be going anywhere.) Shikamaru snatched his jacket away, huffing.
“Well, at least it’s nice to see you’ve figured all of that out.” He stormed away through the trees, grumbling to himself.
Naruto wanted to protest, that literally nothing had been figured out, but the second Shikamaru was out of earshot, Sasuke started laughing, resting his forehead on Naruto’s shoulder. That noise, Sasuke joyful, when was the last time Naruto had heard that?
“That was the definition of a compromising position,” Sasuke said, slightly muffled. “Did you see his face?”
“Do you think he’ll tell people?”
“Probably not.”
“What if I told him I was just seeing how your tongue piercing felt?”
That only made Sasuke laugh harder. “That sounds like the biggest excuse ever, Naruto. I’m surprised even you fell for it.”
An excuse? The thought that maybe Sasuke had been wanting to kiss him all night made Naruto pull him closer.
Even if it wasn’t the same for Sasuke, even if it wasn’t years, one night was okay, too. And even if there were conversations to be had, hearing Sasuke laugh soft, letting Naruto touch him, was more than okay.
Naruto hadn’t realized he was so scared of the new Sasuke untilthe feeling began to fade.
“Naruto… You’re squeezing me really tight.”
He instantly let go. It’d been instinctive. “Oh no.”
Sasuke shushed him, burrowing back into him. “You don’t have hold on so fast. I’m not leaving. Though,” he murmured, quieter, “it’s okay. I don’t mind it too much.”
Naruto wasn’t convinced, wasn’t sure he’d ever be. “You’re not leaving” he mumbled, hugging Sasuke again, careful this time. He tried to believe it.
“There’s time. For us.”
He knew what Sasuke was talking about. “Yeah, you’re right.” Naruto paused, and then asked: “Was that really an excuse?”
Sasuke snorted. “Of course it was, idiot. If I had known you’re still so gullible, I would have tried that weeks ago.”
Naruto blushed and rubbed his nose. “It’s cold.”
“It has gotten really dark,” Sasuke agreed, and then looked at Naruto. “You want to head home?”
Home. Naruto was glad it was dark, hoped Sasuke couldn’t see him blinking. “Yeah, I do.” So much had changed while Sasuke had been gone, Hell, in the past 20 minutes, but Naruto was glad that some things never would.