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Naruto woke up to the warm rays of sunlight filtering through his small apartment window. His head was pounding a little from the night before, but nothing a good meal and some fresh air wouldn’t fix. He stretched lazily, yawning as he blinked up at the ceiling. The village outside was already bustling, and judging by the noise, it was well past morning.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand, pulling him from his thoughts. He groggily reached for it, squinting at the screen.
Training. Be there in 30 minutes. - Sasuke
Naruto shot up, eyes wide. “What?! Thirty minutes?!” He scrambled out of bed, blankets tangling around his legs, sending him crashing to the floor with a loud thud. “Damn it!”
Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto rushed to his closet, yanking it open. His usual orange and black jacket was nowhere to be found. His training pants? Gone. Frantically, he started rifling through the drawers, realizing with growing horror that every single item he normally wore was missing.
It all hit him at once. “Crap! It’s laundry day!”
His dirty clothes were piled up in the corner, mocking him. In his rush to go out last night with Kiba and the others, he hadn’t washed a single thing. With only twenty minutes left, there was no way he could do laundry and make it to training on time.
Naruto groaned, looking around his apartment in desperation. His eyes landed on a pair of old orange shorts—way too short, barely covering half of his thighs—and a white tank top he hadn’t worn in ages. He sighed. “Guess this will have to do…”
He quickly threw the outfit on, feeling ridiculous. His reflection in the mirror confirmed his fears: his legs were far too exposed, the tank top hung off his shoulders awkwardly, and he looked more like someone heading to the beach than a ninja.
But Sasuke hated when he was late, so there was no time to worry about his appearance. Grabbing his headband, he dashed out the door, praying Sasuke wouldn’t comment too much on his outfit.
---
When Naruto arrived at the training grounds, Sasuke was already there, of course. His back was to Naruto, his usual calm, stoic posture on full display as he faced the forest. Naruto skidded to a stop, panting a little, and called out, “Yo, Sasuke!”
Sasuke turned around slowly, his onyx eyes locking onto Naruto. For a split second, Naruto could have sworn he saw something flicker in Sasuke’s gaze—surprise? Amusement?—before the Uchiha’s expression settled into its usual unreadable mask.
"...What are you wearing?" Sasuke asked, his voice calm but with a tinge of something Naruto couldn’t place.
Naruto’s face flushed. He knew this was coming. Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, he grinned sheepishly. “Uh… It’s laundry day,” he admitted, trying to laugh it off.
Sasuke blinked, his eyes trailing down to Naruto’s shorts, which barely reached mid-thigh, then up to the tank top that left his arms and shoulders completely bare. Naruto shifted under the scrutiny, feeling a wave of heat rise to his face.
The silence between them stretched on longer than Naruto would have liked.
“...You look ridiculous,” Sasuke finally muttered, but his tone lacked its usual sharp edge. There was something softer in it—like maybe he was holding back from laughing, though it was hard to tell with Sasuke.
Naruto puffed out his cheeks. “Hey! I didn’t have much of a choice, bastard. What was I supposed to do, skip training?”
Sasuke gave him a side glance, his lips twitching just barely. “Maybe skipping wouldn’t have been so bad.”
Naruto scowled, though he couldn’t hold it for long. There was something in Sasuke’s voice today that felt… lighter. It wasn’t the biting sarcasm or cold remarks Naruto was used to. Instead, there was an almost playful undercurrent.
“Alright, let’s just get this over with,” Naruto muttered, trying to shake off his embarrassment. But as he moved to start their warm-up drills, he could feel Sasuke’s eyes still on him, and not just in the usual "watching-your-movements" kind of way.
Naruto tried to ignore it, but his heart started racing. Why was Sasuke looking at him like that?
---
As they began sparring, Naruto could feel his focus slipping. He was hyper-aware of the way his tank top brushed against his skin, the cool breeze against his exposed legs, and more than anything, the way Sasuke’s gaze seemed to linger on him longer than usual.
They weren’t even halfway through their usual routine when Sasuke called for a break, surprising Naruto.
“We just started! You tired already, teme?” Naruto teased, though he was secretly grateful. His face was still warm from the way Sasuke had been looking at him, and he needed a moment to compose himself.
Sasuke shot him a look. “You’re the one who’s distracted, idiot.”
Naruto blinked. “Huh?”
Sasuke didn’t elaborate, just sat down on the grass and rested his arms on his knees, watching as Naruto slowly joined him. The blond sat cross-legged, fiddling with a blade of grass as the silence stretched between them.
After a moment, Sasuke broke the quiet, his voice softer than usual. “You really didn’t have anything else to wear?”
Naruto glanced up, surprised by the question. Sasuke’s eyes were focused on the ground, but there was a small crease in his brow, as if he was thinking about something more than just Naruto’s ridiculous outfit.
Naruto laughed lightly. “Nope. I guess I should’ve done laundry before going out last night.”
Sasuke hummed in response, his gaze drifting toward Naruto again. This time, though, it felt different. Warmer.
Naruto felt his cheeks heat up once more, and to his horror, he could feel himself starting to ramble. “I mean, it’s not that bad, right? I can still move around fine, and it’s just clothes, so it doesn’t really matter what I—”
“You look… fine,” Sasuke interrupted, his voice almost too quiet to hear.
Naruto froze mid-sentence, blinking at Sasuke. “What?”
Sasuke’s eyes flicked up to meet his, and for a split second, Naruto thought he saw something tender there, something that made his heart skip a beat.
“I said you look fine,” Sasuke repeated, a little louder this time. His usual smirk wasn’t there—just a calm, steady gaze that made Naruto’s pulse quicken for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.
Naruto swallowed, unsure of what to say. He wasn’t used to this side of Sasuke. The quiet compliments, the soft looks—it was so different from their usual banter, and it made Naruto’s chest feel warm in a way that was both unfamiliar and exciting.
“Thanks,” Naruto mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Sasuke didn’t say anything else, just looked back out at the trees, his expression soft. The silence between them was comfortable now, and Naruto found himself relaxing in Sasuke’s presence. There was something about the way Sasuke could be so calm, so steady, that always made Naruto feel grounded. Even when they weren’t talking, just being near Sasuke was enough.
They sat like that for a while, side by side, the sunlight filtering through the trees, casting soft shadows around them. Naruto’s heart wasn’t racing anymore, but it was full—full of something warm and quiet, something that made him want to stay here, in this moment, just a little longer