Work Text:
When Sasuke realized he was in love with Naruto, it wasn’t necessarily a slow burn. It came to him one morning after one of their many late night hangouts. They had traveled to Tokyo the previous night, narrowly escaping from one of the late night guards at the village walls.
The dream wasn’t anything special, but it struck something within.
His dream was fairly normal, the two young adults hanging out at one of Naruto’s favorite cafes. Only this time, Naruto was holding him from behind, his hands resting in his uniform pockets, chin resting on Sasuke’s shoulder as they waited in line for their turn.
Just as Sasuke turned his head to ask Naruto what he was getting, Naruto turned his head too. The two accidentally bumping heads, their lips meeting in a short kiss. Naruto immediately took his hands out of Sasuke’s pockets and backed up. The dream started to get fuzzy, fading away into Sasuke’s subconscious. The last thing Sasuke recalled was the two of them laughing it off before the early morning sun shone on his eyelids just right, causing him to wake up.
✰ ✰ ✰
Weeks went by, and Sasuke still felt a bit awkward around Naruto. Ever since that night, he noticed Naruto more. It was weird almost. Sasuke noticed how he moved, becoming hyper aware of his smaller mannerisms. Like how Naruto always licked his lips before eating anything. How he licked his lips when he ate his lollipops, and especially how his lips *looked* after using them like a temporary lip gloss. He’d always ask Sasuke how he’d look, if that shade from the sugary candy looked good on his lips. If only Sasuke could lick the sugary substance off Naruto’s lips and see just how deep the flavor penetrated his stupidly perfect lips…
His lucky day eventually came!
When they were waiting in line at a nearby carnival, Naruto gently turning him around to tell him something. The two staring at each other before Naruto smiled a goofy smile, quickly leaning in, giving Sasuke a quick peck on the lips. Sasuke’s eyes widened, left completely shell shocked with his mouth slightly agape when Naruto pulled back. “What the hell man?!” Sasuke said as he punched Naruto’s chest, the other man letting a wheeze out when the hit landed.
“I thought you wanted me to kiss you?! You’ve been staring at my lips the past few weeks man! Sorry for assuming but I thought maybe you wanted to do it but were too afraid to ask…and I was about to ask you but you looked too perfect and—“
He’s cut off with another punch, this one to the gut by Sasuke.
“I wanted to make a move on my own terms you idiot.”
Naruto rubbed his stomach, knowing that there will definitely be a hefty bruise there later. Had he misread everything leading up to now? Naruto noticed how Sasuke distanced himself for a while. Their usual and casual closeness now a space. Even Sakura had offhandedly mentioned the separation, questioning if maybe Naruto said something that upset Sasuke or vice versa. Even Kakashi had to start monitoring their recent sparring sessions, noticing Sasuke going a bit harder on Naruto than usual. He took it like a champ however but he wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
They stood there in silence for the next minute or so. Both of them trying to navigate the best course of action. “I’m sorry for kissing you. I should’ve asked you first before anyth—“
“I wanted to kiss you dumbass.” Sasuke cut him off, rubbing his arms over his long sleeves, feeling the threads trying to curb his sinking feeling deep in his gut.
Oh!
Naruto now was the one standing there, completely dumbfounded at the entire interaction. Was this actually happening? After knowing each other for 8 years at this point. Their last “kiss” being their first day of Genin training, when someone pushed them together during an argument. Truth be told Naruto had been waiting for another moment to bring it up to Sasuke, never shaking those butterflies he got all those years ago.
He finally comes out of his thoughts when he feels lips on his, his shoulders relaxing as his arms wrap around a familiar waist. The kiss didn’t last very long, Sasuke pulling back to look at Naruto. His eye twitched slightly in annoyance. “So…is it okay if I kiss you?” Naruto sheepishly asked, smoothing the back of Sasuke’s shirt down. “Why do you think I kissed you?” Sasuke asked, slight annoyance in his tone. “Because I like you…” Naruto began to sweat. Had he crossed a line again? Romance is hard.
Sasuke sighed, moving Naruto’s arms off his waist, his hand moving to hold one of Naruto’s. “Let’s go.” Sasuke says before starting to walk, gently pulling Naruto along. “Where are we going?” Naruto rushed out, still sweating. Sasuke looked back at him, “to get food? I’m hungry and you’re paying.”
From that moment on, their relationship had been sealed. No more sneaking around when others weren’t looking, no more secret late night hangouts, no more extra sparring sessions just to touch and be closer to one another, none of that. They hugged one another, kissed whenever they wanted, they loved openly.
Sasuke started spending more and more nights at Naruto’s apartment. They fell into a routine fairly fast. Naruto would wake up early and make Sasuke tea, gently rubbing his shoulder and kissing his cheek to wake him up. Sasuke made breakfast, and their lunches if they had any missions that day. Naruto did the dishes, and made sure the apartment was clean to Sasuke’s liking.
They spent their off days lazing around either at the nearby creek or with friends, always finding away ti sneak off and go on their own adventures together. Typically in a tree high up or behind some rocks to make out.
Their makeout sessions never got too heated. It was like their expeditions, always to learn more about each other. Sasuke typically initiated it, always looking in Naruto’s eyes before leaning in, pecking him on the lips. Naruto would follow up with a slightly deeper kiss, and it would just snowball until one of them eventually pulled away and straightened their outfits.
Their night’s together usually entailed stargazing on the balcony or roof atop a blanket. Sasuke was the one doing the stargazing, mapping out constellations and watching meteors race by. Naruto sometimes gazed at the sky, but he mostly watched Sasuke. Watching his hair flow in the warm summer breeze, how his lips moved when he talked about the constellation’s stories, how his chest rose and fell, the stars sparking even brighter in his eyes, even the tinge of blush on his ears when he realized he was being watched.
And when they finally went to bed, Sasuke always cuddled up to his partner. His head resting just beneath Naruto’s chin with an arm wrapped around his waist. That’s one thing Naruto noticed almost immediately. He always slept better when he had Sasuke in his arms. Something calming his soul that he never knew needed to be calmed. They always kissed goodnight, typically a small peck on the lips followed by a respective kiss on the cheek from Naruto which caused Sasuke to let a small grin slip out, warming Naruto’s heart without fail every. single. time.
Their dreams were filled with their past adventures from their youth, and them older in the future. Whether it was on a boring mission, or in retirement, the two knew they were set with one another for the rest of their days.