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“We don’t even have to, like, do anything. If you don’t want to.” Naruto said, laughing awkwardly, rubbing a hand behind his neck, “‘Cause it’s a game. It’s just a game. We’re not, y’know, forced to do anything. We don’t have to…” He trailed off, raising his gaze for the first time since they’d been shoved into the tiny closet and gazing into Sasuke’s dark eyes. Sasuke looked back, then to the side, looking out the tiny gap between the doors of the closet.
They were at a stupid house party, and their little group of friends had decided to play spin the bottle. By some sort of divine intervention (or maybe divine punishment), Naruto and Sasuke had kissed twice, and the third time the bottle landed on them their friends shoved them into the tiny closet. Naruto didn’t know how long they’d been in there, but he knew they had plenty of time to go.
Naruto sat with his back to the wall and his legs crossed, leaning forward slightly and arms flying in anxiety. Sasuke had his back to the opposite wall, his knees brought up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. Their legs were touching, and the closet was small. Naruto’s face was flushed a deep red, and he was glad that the space was dark because he didn’t want Sasuke seeing him like this.
It was quiet. Too quiet. Naruto had stopped talking, and Sasuke wasn’t going to say anything. It was just going to be awkward for the remaining however-many minutes, and probably forever after that–
“What do you think they’re saying?” Sasuke said softly, refusing to meet Naruto’s eyes in the darkness, “About us?”
“Us?” Naruto responded, wearing a shaky smile. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down. “I– I guess they might be talking about what we’re doing. What we’re supposed to be doing.”
Sasuke let out a breath, and Naruto held his. “Naruto, no one is forcing us to kiss. All they did was put us in here. If you wait another five minutes, we’ll get out of here and everything will go back to normal.”
But things wouldn’t. Naruto wasn’t naïve enough to believe that. They’d been best friends for years, and Naruto had had feelings for Sasuke for nearly all of them, and tonight changed all of that. They’d kissed tonight, twice. How could things ever go back to the way they were? Naruto would never forget the feeling of Sasuke’s lips on his. He didn’t want to.
“Besides,” Sasuke continued, “Those kisses… that’s all they were. Just kisses. They didn’t mean anything.” He said, and continued to stare out the crack between the doors. Naruto stared straight forward, feeling his heart cleave in two. His smile faltered, but he quickly picked himself back up, needing to save face. If it didn’t mean anything to Sasuke, then Naruto would play it so that he felt the same.
“Yeah, no, that’s all they were. They were just kisses. They didn’t mean anything, they were just for the game. They didn’t mean anything to me.” Naruto said, his voice wobbling at the end. He hated this. He hated these stupid feelings, the ones that had been crushing him for so long.
To his absolute horror, Sasuke turned to look at him. It was almost pitch black, but he felt like Sasuke could see him clear as day.
“Naruto?” Sasuke asked softly, and Naruto couldn’t do this. He couldn’t continue this conversation, not when he knew where this would go. He didn’t want to confess, not here, not now. He never wanted to tell his best friend his feelings, because he didn’t want things to change. He didn’t want to lose everything.
“Sasuke.” He responded, giving a watery laugh. He wanted to get out of that cramped little closet, he didn’t want to be trapped. He needed to get away from him or he was going to cry, and he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to get his heart broken today.
Sasuke gave him a look. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Naruto answered immediately, shifting so his back was pressed against the wall. He pushed himself back into it, desperate to get away. “I just– how much time do we have left?”
Sasuke grabbed his phone quickly, then set it back down, plunging them back into darkness. “Three and a half minutes. Now tell me what’s wrong, you’ve been acting differently all night.”
“Nothing’s wrong.” He said quickly, probably too quickly. But he couldn’t help it. He was anxious, his hands were shaking, and he couldn’t do this. “Nothing’s wrong, I swear.”
Sasuke paused, then shifted his leg so they were pressed closer together. “Tell me, it’s okay.”
Naruto took a breath, then put his face in his hands. He rested his elbows on his thighs, pushing them into the muscle. He lifted his head quickly, then ran a hand through his hair once more. “Did they really mean nothing to you?” Naruto asked, sounding more vulnerable than he wanted to, “Those kisses. They didn’t… matter? They didn’t mean anything to you?” He asked, suddenly desperate to know the truth.
Sasuke went quiet, then pulled his legs away. Naruto knew he’d overstepped for the first time in years, and pulled back so their legs didn’t touch.
It was obvious Sasuke didn’t feel the same. There was no way. All he could do was wait for him to break his heart.
Naruto saw Sasuke check the time. They had a little under two minutes left, and Sasuke turned to look out the crack between the doors.
“They meant something to me.” Sasuke said, and Naruto felt like the earth stopped spinning. “But I thought they meant nothing to you.”
Naruto sat frozen, his heart going a million miles an hour. “Nothing?” He asked, “Sasuke, they meant everything to me.”
Sasuke went quiet again, and Naruto thought he’d messed up. He was actively destroying the best thing that had ever happened to him, and there was no going back.
Sasuke let out a sharp breath. “They weren’t supposed to happen. It was just a game.” He said, his posture stiffening, “I wasn’t supposed to kiss you. It never should’ve happened.”
Naruto’s jaw trembled, but his hurt was quickly replaced with anger. “No, you weren’t supposed to kiss me. But we played the game. You could’ve quit the second we got told to kiss. You could’ve backed out at any time. So why didn’t you?” He asked, fists shaking and eyes watering.
“Because I wanted to.” Sasuke blurted, raising his voice. At the same moment, the timer went off, and Sasuke quickly silenced it. Neither of them moved to exit the closet.
It was quiet, save for the sounds of Sasuke’s breathing. Naruto had been rendered breathless, unable to do anything. He couldn’t even think.
“I have feelings for you, okay?” Sasuke said, turning his gaze to Naruto. His voice was still stern. “I have for years. I was never going to say anything, but then we played this stupid game and kissed twice now. Things are changing and I never wanted them to. I know you don’t feel the same–”
“I have feelings for you too.” Naruto said softly, extending his legs and letting them press against his. “I’ve felt the same for years.”
It was quiet again. All Naruto could hear was the rapid thumping of his heart.
“I really want to kiss you.” Sasuke confessed, and Naruto sucked in a breath. He reached forward and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.
Naruto pulled Sasuke’s hand. “Then kiss me.” He said with a smile, and pulled Sasuke in. Their lips crashed together, and Naruto knew everything would be okay.