Archive of Our Own ^beta

Naruto leaned against the brick wall of the dorm building, practically digging craters into his hand in frustration. It was extraordinarily chilly out, and he tapped his foot against the snow-covered ground, leaving deep impressions of his boots where they landed. The strain of his jaw caused his muscles to ache as he moved the hinge back and forth. He’d shave his teeth down to nubs if he grinded them any harder.

“Where the hell is he…” he whispered to himself. He’d been waiting outside for at least 30 minutes, but it really felt like hours, for his perpetually absent roommate, Sasuke Uchiha. If you could even call him a roommate. Naruto could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen him for longer than 30 seconds the entire time he’d known him, which was about as long as he’d been in college for—one semester. Due to his chronic procrastination and prioritizing of passing whims over preparation for his big transition into college, he’d never gotten the opportunity to settle down and find a suitable roommate for himself before the deadline was up. So of course, he was stuck with having to settle for random selection, which ended him up in this lovely arrangement with the least likable person possible.

“Fuck… It’s always me, ain’t it?” Naruto cursed himself. It seemed no matter which corner he turned, he always seemed to run himself into trouble. And nine times out of ten, it was all his own doing.

He didn’t know much about Sasuke, the reserved weirdo made absolutely sure of that. As he stood in the cold, the frost nipping at his fingertips, he pulled his coat closer into himself. He remembered all the times he tried to strike up a conversation with the guy, only to be brutally shut down. He doesn’t even give him the courtesy of an excuse. It’s either an “I don’t have time for this” or a nasty look paired with an abrupt 180-degree turn. Sometimes, something in between if he was lucky.

Naruto had always been popular throughout high school. He was that "friends with everybody” guy, and he knew how to have a conversation, no matter who he was talking to. His name was well known due to him being a star player on the football team, and (everyone else’s words, not his) he was remarkably attractive, so who wouldn’t have wanted to be approached by him? You’d’ve been hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t fuck with him, even at least a little bit. But somehow this guy, Sasuke, just seemed to defy all of reality and everything Naruto had ever known about human nature.

He grew more irritated by the second. Who did that guy think he was? Was he some kind of celebrity? Naruto tried to rationalize his arrogance but came up empty, fueling his frustration further. He was gonna blow. And it was all Sasuke’s fault.

“Damn it!” Naruto yelled. He began to pace around the lot. Kicking up snow, rocks, whatever stood in the way of his tantrum. “Who the hell does that guy think he is?” He continued to wreak havoc on the snow. Anyone looking in would think he was on drugs. Or schizophrenic.

He picked up a huge block of ice, and feeling an uncontrollable urge to throw it at something (or someone), he raised it over his head. He let out one last bellow and was about to chuck it at the nearest object when he heard:

“What the hell are you doing?”

Naruto stopped in his tracks. He slowly felt the red clear from his vision and finally took in the aftermath of his wrath in the parking lot. What the hell was he doing? He slowly lowered the ice block to the ground, cleared his throat, and turned to face the new threat that faced him.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto looked at him stunned for a moment. Considering the fact that he’d only ever seen the guy a handful of times, the last time being over a month ago, he’d kinda forgotten what he looked like. Naruto already has a pretty hard time keeping up with new people, especially ones he doesn’t see much (it sounds vain, but he already has enough friends to keep up with), so the appearance of the aloof, elusive, vampire-like loner who always avoided him was bound to be lost on him. Now that he actually got to look at him face-to-face, he realized the guy was basically the exact polar opposite of him.

The guy had pitch black hair, as dark as a starless midnight sky, maybe even darker, with eyes just as dark, and ghostly pale skin. A complete contrast to Naruto’s tan skin, bright blond hair, and blue eyes. He also quite literally dressed like a ghost. Or maybe a sexy vampire. In the handful of times he’d seen him, he’d never seen him wear a color lighter than charcoal. And this time was no exception. While Naruto was wearing his huge winter coat, bundled up in a scarf and gloves and wool beanie to protect himself from the biting cold, and looking the furthest thing from cool, Sasuke wore a long, dark trenchcoat that clung to him, with its collar turned up in the icy wind. His black pants were tucked into dark, shiny boots with silver embellishments decorating them. Just as silver as the rings that glinted on his pale fingers. There wasn’t a bit of wool or fur on the guy. Like the cold didn’t bother him. It was as if he walked with the winter rather than against it. Fitting for a vampire.

He thinks he’s so fucking cool, doesn’t he?

Naruto clears his throat to pull himself back into the moment. “Took you long enough. The hell were you doing for so long?”

“Packing.” One-word answer. Of course.

Now that he’d said it, Naruto finally allowed himself to focus not on the boy in front of him, but the suitcases, bags, and cases he had with him. He had a lot of shit. It looked like an airplane had dumped its cargo on him.

“Dude, what the hell do you think you’re doing? We’re not gonna be able to fill all that shit in the car. It’s already full as is!” Naruto complained, waving his hands around to trace the silhouette of the abomination of luggage that he knew would go nowhere near that car.

“It all fit when I brought them here.“

“Yeah, that’s because there wasn’t another fucking person who had to transport their shit with you! You’re not leaving forever. Go put some of that stuff back,” Naruto emphasized with a huff and crossed arms.

“Did you forget that this is my car? You’re lucky I’m even letting you touch it, let alone cram your 50 pounds of junk into it,” Sasuke spat. “I’m not accommodating for you. Either all my stuff’s going in, or none of yours is.”

Fuck. He got him there. It was Sasuke’s car, and he did have to practically beg him to let him drive with him in the first place. He didn’t want to have to stoop that low, but he was left with few options and even less time. See, it was winter break, meaning it was the time for the annual sacking of thousands of undergrads to head home for the holidays. But of course, Mother Nature hadn’t been so kind to them, so most of the airports in the surrounding area got snowed in, and flights were cancelled, leaving everyone to fend for themselves. Most people took to driving, carpooling if they had to, to make the long trip home. However, the issue made itself painfully clear when Naruto remembered he didn’t have a car. Which meant he had no direct way home. Despite his pleading with his numerous pals to let him tag along, no one had enough room for both him and his ridiculous pile of luggage. Fake asses. I guess the saying is true that a friend to many is a friend to none.

However, once he‘d heard through the grapevine that Sasuke coincidentally lived in the same town as him, he believed his luck was turning around. That was until he realized he would have to resort to asking the one guy who seemed to hate his guts for no reason to allow him to sit in a cramped car with him for several hours, suffocated by suitcases, bags, and more, with nothing but each other to accompany them. It sounded worse than having to hike for weeks through the snow to get home on foot (which he almost considered if he didn’t have so much shit to bring with him. He was NOT leaving his ancient, barely-held-together-by-duct-tape computer behind).

Now, he’s gonna have to be the one to suck up to Sasuke, the snooty little asshole he clearly is. Naruto knew he’d be a difficult character, just by the way he’d be so brutally curbed at each conversation attempt he tried to make. He'd be dumb not to put two and two together. Even by just the way the guy stood, that ever so slight upward tilt in his chin, you could tell he thought he was better than everyone in whatever room he walked into. Naruto couldn’t stand people like that.

Naruto scoffed. “Alright, fine. Have it your way. We’re fitting all this shit in.”

“Good luck with that.”

Naruto felt gobsmacked. “Huh– What the hell do you mean, good luck with that? You want me to pack your shit into the car?!”

Sasuke looked at him like he was the stupidest creature alive. “I’m the one doing you a favor. You don’t really expect me to break my back trying to squeeze my things around your useless shit, do you?”

“Wha–obviously, you need to—“

“Figure it out,” Sasuke snapped as he turned to walk back into the building. “All my stuff better be in that car by the time I get back.”

Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists like he was trying to draw blood. He didn’t think he could get any more pissed off if he tried.

As Sasuke opened the door, he turned his head one more time to add, “Oh, and don’t snoop around any of my shit or you’re dead.” He then disappeared behind the doors and into the dorm building.

Naruto decided right then and there. Sasuke Uchiha was going to be his worst enemy.

Before Naruto lost his mind, he took one more deep breath in, looked at the mountain of luggage that he was going to have to figure out how to fit in the already half-full car, and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to become this guy’s bellboy for the next half hour. What a great start to winter break.

—————

Naruto was a genius.

He could hardly believe it himself, but he was able to cram every single one of Sasuke’s items into that car and preserve most of his, like a perfect game of Tetris. He did have to make some sacrifices (goodbye, beloved record player…), but each and every container and suitcase that made the final cut found itself a nice, very snug home in the vintage ‘67 Chevrolet Impala.

He mopped his brow with the back of his hand and gave himself a proverbial pat on the back for his exemplary work. Sasuke was gonna glaze the hell out of him when he saw this.

He once-overed his masterpiece for a final time before he was pulled from his trance by a deep voice behind him.

“Done?” Sasuke said as he made his way towards the car, one hand in his pocket and a drink in the other. I guess he had time for a little detour while Naruto was engaging in back breaking labor.

“Yeah! I thought I was gonna tear a muscle trying to lug all this shit in there but I did it! I had to flip one of the big suitcases on its side and wedge like 4 duffel bags into the floors of the backseat, but the shit’s airtight! You couldn’t budge it if you—“ Naruto stopped himself mid-ramble, heat rushing to his face. What the hell was he doing trying to impress this guy? What did he care if Sasuke thought he was some kind of packing savant? He just declared the guy his sworn enemy, yet he’s already fucking it up. He really isn’t good at this hating shit.

“Er– yeah, I’m done. We can go now. Whatever.”

“…Alright. I’m driving,” Sasuke said as he moved toward the driver-side door to open it.

“Yeah. Sure. Do whatever you want. I don’t care,” Naruto grumbled with a huff. He was met with a weird look paired with raised eyebrows by Sasuke. Fuck, was that bad? Was he trying too hard? How the hell are you supposed to hate someone?!

An awkward silence befell them before Sasuke entered the car, followed by Naruto into the passenger seat. This was going to be a long ride.

————

Thirty minutes in, and Naruto found himself checking his phone every thirty seconds to figure out how much longer it would take for them to arrive. He’d lost track of how many times he’d opened up Instagram to check a random story, just to close it again because he couldn’t focus (or care enough to try to). They had barely even made a dent in the full ride’s duration, and he was already about to break. At the very least, Sasuke had some music playing to dissipate the suffocating silence.

For what felt like the umpteenth time during the ride, Naruto’s gaze drifted over to his left and fell onto the boy who sat in the driver’s seat, seeing if he was anywhere near as wrecked as Naruto was in that moment, but the guy was perfectly stonefaced. He nodded and swayed his head to the rock music that played a bit, but that was about as much semblance of human emotion as he displayed. How could he stay so calm in this cramped car with him without even feeling a little agitated?

Naruto could hardly explain it himself—he hated the guy—however, in his 18 years of life, he’d never once gone more than five minutes in a room with someone, stranger or not, without yapping to them, (was it the extrovert in him? or ADHD? who could say) and he simply couldn’t bring himself to just shut the hell up now.

“So… Sasuke, right?”

Silence. You would’ve thought he was a stand-up comedian doing a routine at a city council meeting occupied by octogenarians, the way that opener completely bombed. He got not a flinch, a quiver of a lip, or even a single blink. Maybe he hadn’t heard him? Naruto clenched in his seat and hesitated a little before he tried again. He couldn’t just give up. He was a talker, and dammit, he was gonna talk.

“Yeah, man, I was just thinking, like… this is kind of crazy, isn’t it? Us being stuck in here together for hours. I mean, not that it’s bad, or maybe it is for you, but it’s fine for me, I don’t mind, I like road trips. Well, not like-like road trips, more like tolerate them, you know? I’m not some kind of road trip fanatic or anything. Anyway, do you do this often, driving people around? Or do you usually go solo? ’Cause you don’t really strike me as the carpooling type, you know?” Naruto rambled on with no idea where he was even going with it. He got like this whenever he was nervous, just didn’t know how to shut that trap of his. However, despite how dumb or pointless his rambles usually were, it always got the other person talking in an awkward situation, no matter how introverted they were, but somehow, Sasuke still sat there, eyes glued on the road, pretending like Naruto didn’t even exist. Unbelievable. But he couldn’t give up. Not when there’s still another 6 more hours of this drive.

“Come on, man, you know we’re roommates, right? We’re supposed to be freakin’ living together, but you’re never actually around. Not that I’m keeping tabs on you or anything, but like, you’re gone all the time. And when you are around, you act like I’ve got cooties or something. I’ve seen you talking and hanging out with people, so clearly you’re not like an outcast or anything, but why is it so hard for you to even look at me? I mean, where do you even go all the time? Do you just wander around avoiding me on purpose, or—”

Suddenly, the car jerked forward, almost sending Naruto nose-first into the dashboard. He had to grab onto it to steady himself before he could fully process what just happened. His heart was beating fast, and he clutched his chest to calm himself. His eyes darted to the culprit of his almost-heart attack, and he saw him staring dead at the road with a blank expression on his face. Sasuke had just slammed the fucking brakes.

“Hey! What the fuck was that for?! You almost sent us flying through the damn windshield!” Naruto yelled. He had no idea what was going through the loner’s mind. Was he trying to kill them? Would he rather perish in a fiery car crash than talk to Naruto for two seconds? Sasuke’s so fucking lucky the roads are empty right now.

As Naruto glared at him, Sasuke gripped the steering wheel tight before he loosened his grip and took in a long, deep breath, staring down at his lap.

“Please. Just shut the fuck up,” Sasuke strained out. Naruto could feel the exasperation in his voice. He just stared at Sasuke in a mix of shock, disbelief, and stinging embarrassment. Sasuke continued, “You really think everyone wants to suck your dick all the time, don’t you? The world doesn’t revolve around you. Not everyone has to be one of your little groupies. I don’t wanna be friends, so deal with it or get out of my car and walk home.” He finally turned to look at Naruto for the first time in the ride, saying, “You’re lucky I don’t have you in the fucking trunk.”

Naruto was frozen in his seat. Not only shocked at the fact that this was the most he’d ever heard Sasuke speak in one sitting, but also because of how fucking full of it this guy was. His shock simmered deep within him until it was indiscernible from pure anger.

Sasuke was a puzzle Naruto hoped he could solve. He thought if he could just approach it in the right way, he could make some headway in cracking the code, the pattern, and finally take a peek into the mind of the mysterious roommate who continuously eluded him. But it seemed this bitch of a puzzle was a master of ragebait, and when all the pieces of the puzzle are incoherent and unreadable and purposely jumble themselves in your mind just to piss you off, you flip the board and give the fuck up.

“Fuck you,” he spat. “You don’t know a damn thing about me! This is basically the first time we’ve met, and you think you even know the first thing about me? I haven’t done shit to you, asshole!” Naruto hadn’t felt the urge to swing on someone in a while, but this guy was really pushing him over the edge.

Sasuke still stared at Naruto, but this time his snarl began to shift into a bitter grin. He let out a single harsh laugh and said, “You? Done nothing?“ He quietly snickered to himself at the thought, whatever it was, then slowly locked his eyes back on the road and began to move his hand to the gear stick that sat between them. Was he just about to start driving again? Without explaining anything?

Naruto’s hand flew down to the stick, rested on top of Sasuke’s, and grabbed it, squeezing it a bit harder than he intended, yet his grasp didn’t yield.

“You’re not gonna explain yourself?” Naruto stared into Sasuke’s eyes, holding him hostage by eye contact alone. Each time he felt like Sasuke would pull away, he gripped his hand just a bit tighter. ”Tell me what I did to you. I haven’t even had a proper conversation with you until today, so I couldn’t even guess what I could have possibly done. Just tell me.”

Moments passed with neither of them saying a word. They just stared at each other intensely, waiting for the other to make a move. Sasuke’s angry gaze seemed to fall into something else, something more intentional, like he was searching for something in Naruto’s eyes. But suddenly, he yanked his hand from Naruto’s and turned to face the road again.

“Whatever. If you don’t remember, it doesn’t matter,” He started the car back up again, turning the key in the ignition. “Let’s just go.”

Naruto reached over to the ignition and grabbed Sasuke’s hand as he turned the key.

“We’re not moving until you tell m–“

“Get your hands off me!” Sasuke snapped as he yanked his hand from Naruto’s. He put the key back in the ignition and turned it, sharper than he needed to. “We’re not friends, and we never will be. Just shut up before I kick you out.” He put the car in drive, and the vehicle started moving once again.

Naruto was frustrated, hurt, pissed off, every emotion he could possibly feel in that moment, he felt. He didn’t want to give up. He wanted to know. He hated not knowing. Why was Sasuke so stubborn? Who was Naruto to him? When had they met before?

He combed through his memory but came up empty. He resigned himself to his seat and stared to his right out the window, watching the buildings zoom past them. He couldn't help but notice the music was no longer playing, no longer distracting them from the presence of one another. The next few hours of the drive stretched on in a tense, suffocating silence.

————

“Hey. Wake up.”

Naruto hadn’t noticed when he fell asleep. He was counting buildings and strip malls one second and started dozing off the next. He let out a raspy, “huh?” as he lifted his head off the window and wiped the almost dry drool off his mouth. “What’s going on? Are we there yet?” he further inquired. He was still sleepy, and his eyes were barely open. He watched a blurry Sasuke turn the key with a click to shut the car off and unbuckle his seatbelt.

“No, we’re not there,” Sasuke said, a harshness in his tone as if the answer was obvious. “It's late, and the car needed gas. I filled it up while you were knocked out. Now get out, we’re staying at a motel for the night.”

He opened the car door before Naruto even had a chance to respond, and the blond stammered as he watched him exit, “H–wait, hold on! I ain’t agree to this yet!” Naruto quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, almost choking himself with it as he scrambled to exit the car. He yelled at Sasuke, looking at him over the roof of the car, “Come on, man, I thought we were one-trip’ing it! We can tough it out for the rest of the night. There’s only like 3 more hours left, we’re basically already there. I can take over if you’re too tired to–“

“No. You’re not driving my car. We’re stopping here for the night. End of story.”

“Hey! You insinuating I can’t drive?!” Naruto huffed, thoroughly affronted by the remark. Sasuke didn’t even humor him with a response and continued to grab a few things from the trunk of the car before he made his way toward the entrance of the motel. Seriously? What was Naruto, chopped liver?

Naruto took in the exterior of it. It was a somewhat small building, at least for lodging standards, and was a bit on the disheveled side. He looked up at the big glowing sign that hung proudly on the building. The One Bed Lodge. His eyebrow physically twitched. Damn it. He was not looking forward to staying in the same room as Sasuke. Or was Sasuke getting his own room? There’s no way he’d want to stay in the same room as him, right? Naruto definitely didn’t bring enough money with him to rent a whole room to himself. Maybe Sasuke will spot him one? Damn it, he shouldn’t have made enemies with the guy who’s clearly richer than him. He looked back down toward Sasuke as he approached the entrance of the motel. Naruto watched with squinted eyes as he grabbed the door handle and pulled. The rings on his hands… and that coat. Definitely Chrome Hearts. He suddenly wished for the spontaneous ability to explode Sasuke with his mind.

Naruto stood there scowling for a few more seconds, or minutes, fuming, before he finally made his way inside after Sasuke.

He stormed inside, ready to give Sasuke an earful, but was momentarily stunned by the interior. It was… a little worse for wear to say the least. How the hell is this place still open? He asked himself. There were stains on the carpet that looked about as old as the building itself, and the lights flickered a bit like they were in a horror movie. He’s pretty sure he even saw a rat scurrying across the ground with a cockroach in its mouth, probably to feed its family with. His face scrunched a bit in disgust. He shook his head and clapped his hands on the sides of his face before he stomped his way over to where Sasuke stood speaking to the receptionist.

“Come on, are you sure there’s no more left? Check again,” Sasuke said, gripping the counter as he leaned a little too forward over it.

“I’m sorry, sir. I–I already checked, and there are no more double rooms left. We’re more packed than we’ve been in years because of this storm and—”

“I said. Check. Again,” Sasuke strained out, leaning more and more forward to punctuate each word he said.

“…Yes, sir,” the woman timidly replied as she tapped away at her keyboard in search of the double room she’s being shaken down for. Unsurprisingly, she comes up empty.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I’ve checked, and every room is booked except for the one single we have. If you find that unsatisfactory, then I suggest you find somewhere else to stay.”

“How about I–“ Sasuke’s words are cut short by Naruto harshly grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling his gaze towards him before he turns to the receptionist. “The single is fine, ma’am,” Naruto said brightly, his closed eyes and white teeth easing the frightened woman, “We can totally stay there comfortably, right, Sasuke?” he glanced at the disgruntled guy. His still wide but now noticeably strained smile basically spelled out just suck it up and stop making a scene, asshole.

“Yeah, sure… whatever.”

Sasuke begrudgingly pulled out his wallet and card along with it to pay for the room.

“Thank you for choosing The One Bed Lodge. Enjoy your stay!” she said as she handed Sasuke the room key and receipt. He snatched the items from her hand and quickly turned to the corridor that hosted the dozens of rooms. A dazed and frustrated Naruto followed behind him. “The hell was that about, jerk? Is it that unbearable an idea to stay in a room with me for one night?”

Sasuke bore him no response as he continued his trudge toward their first-floor room. Naruto’s protests were muffled in his ear as he beelined to the door. He inserted the key, turned it, and walked into the room as he attempted to slam the door shut. Fortunately, Naruto caught the door before it closed completely. Not so fortunately, it was with his fingers.

“FUCK! You little– what the fuck is wrong with you?!” Naruto continued to blurt out various extremities as he cradled and waved his red, throbbing fingers in the air to hopefully cool them down. As he writhed in agony, Sasuke had already discarded his bag to the carpeted floor and settled on the plain queen-size bed as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He laid spreadeagle on the sheets, hogging every inch of it. This. fucking. guy.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were doing this on purpose,” Naruto said as he wiped away the last tear from his eye from his fit of pain.

“Really. What gave you that idea,” Sasuke deadpanned.

“You– whatever,” Naruto was gonna try him, but realized he didn’t have the energy for it. At least not right now. He made his way over to the bed and frowned at the disgusting biblical greed on display before his eyes. There’s no way this jerk thought he would be getting the bed all to himself.

“Move it.”

Sasuke turned his head toward him and gave the most disgusting smirk at him.

“Make me.”

That’s it.

He had it coming.

Naruto snatched the pillow from beneath Sasuke’s head, causing it to jerk and crash into the uncomfortably firm mattress, and before the dark haired boy could react, Naruto swung that very pillow as hard as he could into Sasuke’s side, driving him off the bed and crashing him into the floor with a thud. “Oh shit!” Naruto laughed, slight concern in his voice as he wasn’t expecting him to land on the ground, at least not that hard.

Disheveled and his hair tussled, Sasuke emerged from the depths of the edge of the bed, his hands gripping the white sheets. His eyes were wild with anger. No… anger isn’t quite right. Fury? Rage? Mm… closer. Pure, unbridled wrath? Yep, that’s the one. His eyes were wild and glinting with pure, unbridled murderous wrath.

It all happened in a flash—Naruto barely saw it coming—but Sasuke swiftly grabbed the other pillow lying on the bed and lunged toward Naruto like he was possessed.

The impact hit Naruto square in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and the pillow out of his hand with a ridiculous high-pitched yelp he absolutely did not mean to make. “Hey–!”

Sasuke swung again before he could even fully react, this time smacking Naruto across the shoulder. His relentless assaults continued, rapid-fire blows landed on Naruto, attempting to subdue him before return fire could come.

“Oh, you’re fucking dead–“ Naruto wheezed, outraged but laughing. He ducked and deflected some of Sasuke’s attacks, being struck by most of them in the process, and tried and failed to snatch the pillow out of Sasuke’s hands. He let himself be knocked back by one of Sasuke's swings and scrambled across the carpet to retrieve his lost weapon.

“This is war!” Naruto hollered, raising the pillow over his head. He dove back onto the bed and drove his pillow down straight toward the top of Sasuke’s head, but– THUD.

It was blocked by Sasuke’s forearm, held in place as neither let down the opposing forces of their arms. “Pathetic.”

“You’re pathetic, jerk!”

“You hit like a girl.”

“You hit like a—“ Naruto swung again, missed completely, spun in an almost perfect 360-degree circle, and accidentally smacked himself in the face.

Silence.

One second. Two.

Then Sasuke snorted.

Naruto blinked. Did he imagine that? “Did you just laugh?”

“No.” Sasuke’s voice cracked on the lie.

“Yes, you did! I fucking heard that!” Naruto pointed the pillow at him accusingly.

“I did not—“ Sasuke started, but Naruto leapt forward and whacked him again, softer this time. Sasuke swung back, missed, and whacked the headboard instead with a hollow thunk.

Naruto burst out laughing, Sasuke following suit. He was actually laughing. Like, for real.

They both kept swinging weak, noncommittal hits at each other that barely had any force left behind them until their arms grew tired and they both collapsed toward the bed on their backs, breathless and red-faced from their laughter.

“You suck at war,” Naruto sighed out as he let out his last wheeze.

“You suck at aiming. Dork,” Sasuke said as he tried to catch his breath. But he was still smiling. The first time Naruto had seen him smile ever. Naruto’s head was craned toward him, watching him come down from the high of their stupid pillow fight. Naruto hadn’t thought about how… mesmerizing… Sasuke would look all happy like this. Was he always this pretty? His chest fluttered in a weird way that he’d never felt before. He couldn’t bring himself to look away. Until—

“What are you looking at? Weirdo,” Sasuke sat up and placed the pillow back behind him, and he began to get up and walk toward his bags. “I’m gonna go take a shower.”

Naruto watched Sasuke disappear into the bathroom and felt his face heat up. Damn it, what was he thinking? Mesmerizing? Pretty? Stupid, stupid. They were having a moment, and he ruined it. What was he looking at?

Naruto used his fists to beat the weird thoughts out of his head, and he mentally kicked himself, too.

He heard the shower turn on and the water rushing down onto the probably tile floors. His mind started to wander. It wandered to places he didn’t want it to go, places he knew he’d regret letting it go, but he let it wander anyway. Now he was picturing Sasuke stepping under the water, steam curling around him, hair plastered to his stupidly perfect face, warm droplets sliding down his—

“Nope!” he exclaimed out loud. He couldn’t believe he was this much of a pervert. “Stopthinkingstopthinkingstopthinking,” he repeated to his traitorous brain. He rolled over and shoved his face into the pillow, screaming internally.

Why the hell was he having these weird thoughts? And about Sasuke of all people? It had to have been the motel air or something. It was definitely toxic.

He needed a distraction.

He grabbed his phone to open up Instagram, but it wouldn’t even fucking load. His eyes shot to the signal. Barely one bar, great. He groaned and tossed it to the side, then sat up and looked around the room like a zoo animal looking for an escape. There was nothing but empty space and a tacky, peeling wallpaper staring back at him.

Fuck it, he wasn’t just gonna sit here with these thoughts.

He got off the bed, changed into a plain black t-shirt and bright orange shorts, and planted himself prostrate on the ground. He then started cranking out pushups—as many as he could without stopping. Up, down, up, down was all he would let run through his mind. Doing pushups always cleared his head when he was stressed. And he was stressed quite a lot during football season. These guns didn’t come from nowhere.

Naruto heard the door creak open, and he immediately sat up, slapping himself as hard as he could to pull himself back into reality. A stinging red palm print formed where his hand landed.

His gaze turned to Sasuke as he stepped out, hair dripping, towel slung around his neck, and a fresh t-shirt clinging slightly to his still-damp shoulder. He was rubbing his hair dry with the towel as he made his way over to his bags. “I’m done with the shower. You can go wash that… slap off your face now.” He side-eyed Naruto as he was still sitting on the floor from his attempt at exorcising his thoughts clean with pushups.

Naruto’s face immediately flushed, making the red from his shame and the red from his slap indistinguishable. He shot up to his feet immediately and made his way to the bed. He lay face down with his face buried in the pillows, hoping it would hide his shame.

“I’m–I’m good. I showered this morning already. And it’s cold out so– y’know I don’t stink or anything.”

“…Right.”

Naruto suddenly felt himself wanting to be thrown off a cliff. Fuck punching and kicking, he was mentally beating his own ass right now. Maybe the bed would show him mercy and just swallow him whole right now.

“Hey.”

Naruto jumped as a voice suddenly appeared next to him. He turned to see a dryer Sasuke. Naruto noticed his hair was down, not in its usual “up” style that was probably achieved with a lot of hairspray. He took note of the way his bangs fell across his face and almost completely obscured his pitch black eyes.

“Move over,” Sasuke deadpanned.

Naruto blinked.

“Er– yeah, sure. Whatever.”

Naruto scooted over to his right to make room for Sasuke. Sasuke laid down on the bed, his back already facing Naruto. It was quiet. Naruto would’ve thought he was completely alone if he couldn’t still hear Sasuke’s gentle breathing.

After a few more minutes of silence, he couldn’t take it anymore. Was this really how they were gonna end the night?

“Hey, Sasuke?”

No response. Of course.

Naruto turned his gaze from the ceiling to Sasuke’s back. He watched the way it ever so slightly expanded and relaxed with his breaths. “Sasuke. I know you’re awake. Don’t ignore me.”

Still silent.

Naruto started to get pissed off.

“Sasuke—“

“Don’t talk to me.”

Naruto flinched at the sudden harsh response.
So he was awake.

“Just go to sleep and leave me alone so we can get the fuck out of here.”

Naruto blinked, feeling a sting from his words. “Woah, okay… harsh, dude. I kinda thought we were getting somewhere and starting to be friends.”

Sasuke let out a scoff. “Friends? As if.”

Naruto’s eyebrows snapped together. “What the hell is your problem? We literally just had a fucking pillow fight, and we’re laughing together about it? Do you do that with every guy you hate?”

“That wasn’t—!” Sasuke stopped abruptly. “That didn’t mean anything. Just stay away from me.”

Naruto’s eyebrows knitted together more tightly. He couldn’t understand this guy at all. Why the hell did he hate him so much?

“Sasuke.”

He watched as the other boy twitched ever so slightly at hearing his name.

“Tell me what I did to you, Sasuke. You act like I murdered your whole family or ruined your life or something.”

Sasuke stayed silent, but Naruto saw his shoulders soften, or maybe not soften but sink, ever so slightly.

Naruto let out a shaky breath before he continued. “You said earlier—when we were driving—that I ‘did something,’ or–you didn’t say that, but you made it pretty damn clear that I did. And I swear, I swear on everything, I don’t remember ever even meeting you before this year. So tell me what I did. Just–tell me. I can’t fix it if I don’t even know what the hell it is.”

A long, heavy pause settled over them. And Naruto almost gave up and went to sleep until he heard Sasuke finally speak up.

“…You really don’t remember,” he said, barely audible.

“Remember what?” Naruto pleaded.

“Two years ago. Junior year of high school,” Sasuke started, his back still facing Naruto, like he couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes. “I dm’d you on Instagram. Actually, my friend Sui did with my phone, that asshole, trying to be my fucking wing man or something, and I was pissed at him, but I hadn’t actually expected you to respond.”

He paused.

“But you did, to my surprise, and we started talking for a few days. The way you texted was so… stupid,” Naruto frowned at his comment, “but I just couldn’t stop responding for some reason. We just… clicked. In this weird way. I’d never talked to anyone like you before.”

Naruto watched him curl up in the sheets tighter as he fell into a brief but intense silence.

“And then you just–stopped. After 2 weeks of us texting.”

Naruto’s stomach twisted a bit. “Huh? I’m sorry I don’t–I don’t really remember this…”

“Of course you don’t. But shut up, I’m not done.”

Naruto shut his ass up.

“The next couple of days, I texted you, but I was left on delivered every time. I felt so dumb chasing after you, so I stopped. I saw you kept posting, for friends' birthdays and shit, so I got the hint.”

He began to quietly laugh in this weird, unnerving way.

“…Is what I wish I could say.” Naruto’s eyebrows curled in confusion. This whole thing didn’t make any sense to him. And why didn’t he remember any of it?

“My stupid brain didn’t want to let you go. So I kept almost… stalking you. I kept tabs on you, trying to figure out your interests. Turns out you’re a moron who’s only into video games and sports. But for some reason… I kept chasing after you. I don’t know why, but… you’re–you were the first guy I—“

Naruto’s eyes shot open wide. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Sasuke saying what he thought he was saying?

Sasuke cleared his throat, “A–Anyway, I figured out which college you got your sports scholarship to. And I fucking followed you all the way here. Like a stupid fucking idiot. Altering the trajectory of my life for a guy I talked to for 2 fucking weeks? Can you believe it?”

He couldn’t. And he felt his throat close up with guilt.

“But…” Sasuke paused for a while, a long while. “During orientation. I saw you. You were with a group of your jock buddies. I guessed you guys all came here on the same scholarship. But I was here all on my own. Leaving my friends behind for the slim chance that you’d even remember me. I thought I’d be bold. Go up to you and coolly ask where you’d been. But when I went up, one of your big dumb friends ran into me and made me knock over all my shit. I picked it all up and walked away as fast as I could. But not before hearing him call me an ‘emo freak.’”

Sasuke finally began to shift, startling Naruto in the tense moment, and, without turning his body, craned his head toward Naruto and said, "Guess what I saw when I turned back toward you guys. You. Laughing. Laughing so obnoxiously at your dumb friend humiliating me.”

He turned back to face the wall, away from Naruto, away from his shame and embarrassment.

Naruto was frozen, completely silent. He was still piecing everything together in his brain, still trying to make sense of it all, but something was still missing. But he did pick up one thing. One big thing.

“Sasuke… are you gay?”

The room’s atmosphere turned suffocating, like every bit of circulation just came to a complete halt. Naruto felt like he’d just dropped the biggest bomb possible. Announced the elephant in the room on a fucking megaphone. Sasuke didn’t move an inch. Until he suddenly threw the blanket off himself and sat up, placing his feet on the ground, about to escape—when Naruto, just as fast, caught his arm to prevent him from fleeing.

They both were breathing heavily. Naruto’s eyes were blown wide open and a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Sasuke’s head was held toward the ground. They remained in that position for what felt like hours, until Naruto pulled him back into the bed. Sasuke sat down without putting up a fight.

“Sasuke. Please. Don’t run,” Naruto said softly, like he was trying not to scare away a frightened deer.

Sasuke’s body then began to shiver, or tremble, like he was… crying? Oh no. Naruto felt his stomach drop to his knees. He scooted closer without realizing it. “Hey… Sasuke… Look at me.”

Sasuke didn’t. He sat frozen, as if moving would cause the world to implode around him.

Naruto hesitated, then reached out, slowly, putting a warm, tentative hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke stiffened, and Naruto slowed his movement even slower. His arms began to move, ever so slowly, ever so carefully, to wrap around Sasuke’s body from behind, enveloping him in a warm, gentle hug. The air between them thickened, and Naruto’s voice dropped to barely even a whisper.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “For real. I’m really… really sorry.”

Naruto held him closer before he continued, “I’m sorry that I hurt you. I don’t remember us talking in high school–I don’t even remember us going to the same high school, but I do think I remember that incident at orientation. I think it was dumbass Kiba that bumped into you. I was distracted at the time, so I don’t think I ever saw your face… but I do remember when he said that… comment. I laughed because of how dumb he sounded, knowing damn well he had an emo phase in high school. Afterwards, I definitely told him something along the lines of ‘You were way cooler back when you were emo in high school. Those kinda guys are cool as hell because they actually express themselves. And they’re not afraid to look different.’ I really admire that, y’know?”

Naruto felt Sasuke’s rigid posture soften. And he let out a brief sigh of relief. “And I’m so so sorry about the ghosting. I’d never do that kind of thing on purpose, but my junior year of high school was a mess and a complete blur to me. The only thing I remember about it was my g—“ Naruto’s eyes widened, as he had finally remembered something. That was it. The missing piece.

“Sasuke! That was it!” Naruto yelled as he suddenly released Sasuke from his hug and spun him around to face him. “Junior year was the year my godfather died! I was genuinely in shambles that entire year… Nothing in my life was going right… my girlfriend broke up with me, I was getting failing grades in every class, I got into a car accident and broke my arm… and I eventually just repressed that entire year to the back of my mind.”

Naruto stopped his rambling and finally took in Sasuke’s expression. His relieved smile dropped when he saw the red in his eyes and the way he bit his lip, almost drawing blood.

“Sasuke…”

Sasuke immediately turned back around and flew back down to the bed, curling himself up and hiding himself under the sheets. Naruto couldn't help but giggle at his desperate attempt to hide himself. So cute.

Naruto gently patted him on his shoulder, which was concealed under the covers. “Sasuke… come on, don’t be embarrassed,” Naruto teased.

Sasuke curled up tighter. “Shut up. I feel so fucking stupid right now,” Sasuke whispered out, partially hoping Naruto didn’t hear him. Unfortunately, he did.

“Yeah. You are kinda stupid.”

Sasuke ripped the cover off himself and sat up to glare at Naruto with his red eyes and puffed, equally red cheeks. His attempt at intimidation utterly failed as Naruto laughed in his face again.

“I fucking hate you,” Sasuke said, but he couldn’t help but let a smile creep out. Naruto decided he would milk this situation for all it was worth.

“I don’t think you do, Sasuke,” Naruto said, putting on the most sultry tone he could muster. Sasuke’s giggles cut short, and his smile dropped. He stared at Naruto, and Naruto saw a glint of fear seep into his expression, like some kind of humiliation or rejection was coming, and he had to brace himself. “You… are gay, right, Sasuke?”

He could see in Sasuke’s eyes that he wanted to run away again, but he wouldn’t let him. Not this time. He reached his hand over to Sasuke’s and grabbed it gently. “And… you do like me, right? Sasuke?” His face immediately burned red, and his eyes grew wide, pinning him until he couldn’t take it anymore and had to break their eye contact, his eyes shooting down to Naruto’s hand holding his in his lap. He quickly snatched his hand from Naruto’s warm grasp and covered his face with both his hands to hide his burning blush. He then gave the cutest mini-nod Naruto had ever seen.

Fuck.

Naruto brought his hands to Sasuke’s and gently brought them down from his face. “It’s okay, Sasuke,” Naruto said, a soft smile on his face that he hoped would soothe the scared boy in front of him.

“I… I don't think I’ve ever liked a guy before… maybe because I’ve been surrounded by meatheads and douchebags my whole life. But for some reason…” he brought his right hand to Sasuke’s cheek and gently raised his face up to look him directly in the eye. Sasuke’s red blushing face made his stomach do backflips, and he knew these feelings weren’t just platonic.

“…I look at you differently,” he finished.

Disbelief, fear, hope, panic—all emotions that overwhelmed Sasuke in that moment. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying…?” It came out more like a question than a statement.

Sasuke’s breath hitched as Naruto lifted his chin ever so slightly.

“What I’m saying is, can I kiss you, Sasuke?”

The world could have stopped right there, at that moment, and neither of them would’ve noticed. Sasuke’s heart was beating a million miles per minute, and he could hear Naruto’s beating too. His glossy eyes widened just a fraction, and he nodded, so softly that it was almost imperceptible, but Naruto was sure it was there. He leaned in ever so slightly, just enough for Sasuke to feel Naruto’s warm breath on his mouth, and Sasuke’s eyelashes fluttered, and his hands resting in his lap tensed with anticipation.

And then slowly, Naruto leaned in more. Just enough for Sasuke to understand what was happening. Giving him just enough time to pull away if he didn’t want it. But he didn’t. Instead, Sasuke’s eyes snapped shut, and Naruto took that as the final ‘yes.’

He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against Sasuke’s soft ones. Electricity crackled between them, and Sasuke trembled under him. Their lips moved against each other a bit before Naruto pulled away, just an inch or two, his breath still reaching Sasuke’s lips. He opened his eyes and looked to see Sasuke’s half-open, stunned eyes.

“…Was that okay?” Naruto asked, voice low.

Sasuke swallowed hard. His lips parted. His voice came out embarrassingly soft. “…Do it again.”

Naruto obliged.

His hand slipped from Sasuke’s cheek to the back of his neck, guiding him in with a steadier kind of confidence this time. Their lips met again, deeper now, warmer, Sasuke tilting and melting into Naruto’s touch. He hesitantly raised his hands to Naruto’s waist and slowly trailed them up his back, scrunching up his shirt in the process. He leaned more into the kiss, but suddenly Naruto pulled back from him, and as Sasuke was about to whine, he tilted his head and captured Sasuke’s lips again, kissing him deeper. A moan escaped Sasuke’s throat and vibrated into Naruto’s, sending shivers down his body.

They continued moving their lips against each other, finding a rhythm with one another and letting their bodies speak the thoughts they were too afraid to utter. Their body temperatures rose by the second, and Naruto wanted to push further… just a little more. He separated their lips and caught Sasuke’s bottom lip with his teeth, asking to be let in. Sasuke looked into his eyes with hunger, not needing to use his words for Naruto to understand. Naruto released his lip and closed in again, letting his tongue slip into Sasuke’s mouth. The boy let out the sweetest moan and gripped Naruto’s shirt even tighter. Naruto let the hand on Sasuke’s neck slip down to his waist, and his other hand followed suit. His hands found a slight peek of Sasuke’s skin between the hem of his shirt and shorts. His thumb gave the opening a slight brush, testing the waters, and Sasuke shivered in response but continued to lean into their wet, messy kiss. Naruto took that as a green light and let his hand intrude in the opening.

Sasuke feels his mind go blank as Naruto’s tongue swirls against his and his hand begins to trail up his naked back, touching him like he’s precious, like he wants him and only him. Their soft moans fill the room, and Sasuke silently prays the walls aren’t as thin as they look. He feels a heat pool in his lower body, and his eyes shoot open. We have to stop.

Sasuke suddenly pulls back from Naruto, pushing against his chest to put some distance between them. His face is completely flushed, and his lips red and swollen and glistening, matching Naruto’s. “Wait. We shouldn’t go any further. Not here in this dingy motel,” he said, still catching his breath from being kissed within an inch of his life. Naruto breathes heavily and can’t seem to wipe that goofy smile off his face. “Yeah, you’re right. But there will be a next time, right?”

Sasuke scoffs and pushes Naruto away, almost knocking him off the bed. He then gets back under the covers and lies on his side with his back to the grinning Naruto.

“In your dreams.”

Naruto, recovering from the sudden attempt on his life, scrambles back to Sasuke’s side and says, “Wh–Hey! Jerk! You liked me kissing you!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You were average at best. Too much teeth.”

An annoyed grin plasters itself on Naruto’s face, and his eye twitches. “You little shit…”

Naruto dives into the bed and holds Sasuke in a death grip of a hug, almost squeezing the air out of his lungs.

“Hey! Let go, moron!”

“Not until you say I’m a good kisser!”

“Fuck you!” Sasuke laughed as he fought against his grip. But goddamn, could this beast of a football player squeeze like his life depended on it.

After a few more seconds of struggling and laughing, Sasuke realized he didn’t have the energy to keep fighting and resigned. “Alright, alright! You were… passable…”

Naruto rolled his eyes and released him, taking that as a good enough response. “You know you liked it,” he said smugly. Trailing his hand under the sheets and caressing Sasuke’s waist. He leaned into the crook of his neck, letting his warm breath fan over his ear, causing chills to run down his spine. Sasuke involuntarily arched his back in response as Naruto whispered in his ear, “Don’t deny it… the way you whined and moaned into–oof!”

Naruto felt a hard elbow into his gut and sputtered before he could finish his sentence. He fell into a coughing fit and grabbed one of the $1 water bottles off the side table and chugged the whole thing. He took a while to come down from his dramatic choking episode, but once he did, he crushed the plastic bottle in his hand and tossed it into the small trash bin next to the bed.

“You little asshole…” he strained out.

“Just go to sleep, weirdo.”

Naruto pouted and flopped back onto the bed with a humph. Feeling unsatisfied and a little blue-balled, he turned onto his side to Sasuke’s back and slowly shifted closer to him. He let a hand trail onto Sasuke’s side and pressed himself to his back, getting into a big spoon position. He waited a few seconds for a protest, and when he didn’t, he felt a smile grow on his face and got himself comfortable, nesting his face in Sasuke’s warm back. This is nice, he thought.

“G’night, Sasuke.”

He didn’t get a response, but he felt Sasuke's hand move to his, which rested on his side and interlocked his fingers with Naruto’s. Naruto felt his heart grow fuller and warmer, like it was finally where it was always meant to be. They drifted off to sleep, lulled into sweet dreams of each other and everything that might come next.

————

“Hey, moron. Wake up.”

Naruto struggled to open his eyes to the handsome, brooding vampire that loomed over him.

“Oh, hey, beautiful, what’s up?” He said groggily, his raspy voice made raspier by the sleep still clinging to his throat. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, dragging himself back from the dead.

“Don’t call me that, idiot. We need to start leaving,” Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes. He was already fully clothed, but he walked over to his bags and began packing some of the few items he had taken out for their stay.

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Naruto groaned petulantly. He threw himself out of the bed and stretched his arms with a yawn. He made his way over to his bag, changed back into the clothes he had come to the motel in, and was ready to go. Once he was done, he turned to see Sasuke leaning in the doorframe. “You finally done, princess?”

Naruto scoffed with an annoyed grin, “Yeah, I am, your highness. Let’s go.” They smiled at each other one more time before they stepped out of the dingy motel room, checked out, and made their way back on the road again.

————

They got to the car and packed their belongings back in as carefully as they could without unleashing the avalanche of miscellaneous items from the depths of the car. Naruto managed to shut the trunk without any casualties and was surprised when he saw Sasuke enter the passenger seat and close the door. He went up to the window and tapped on it with his index finger, a puzzled look on his face. Sasuke rolled it down and looked at him with the most nonchalant expression, like nothing was awry.

“Uh… aren’t you gonna drive? Cause this is your car?”

“Well, obviously not. Look where I’m sitting.”

“Well, I see that, which is why I’m confused.”

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated, and responded without looking at Naruto, “Just get in the car, you oaf.”

Naruto, still confused, slowly made his way over to the driver’s side and sat down in the seat. He turned to Sasuke, still confused by the way, and stared at him for a few seconds in silence.

Sasuke looked at him, annoyance growing by the second.

He muttered to himself, “I can’t believe I like this fucking guy…”

“Obviously, I want you to drive, dumbass. What’s not fucking clicking?”

Naruto blinked at him.

One second. Two.

“Oh! I get it!” Naruto finally came to the revelation. “But…why, again? Could you remind me?”

Sasuke could not have looked like he wanted to kill Naruto any more than in this moment. “I’m just tired, okay? And I want you to drive. It’s no big deal, so just step on the thing and fucking move.”

“Yeesh, my bad, man, I’m on it.” Naruto moved to turn on the ignition and put the car in drive, then they took off. “You’re really just as dense as you look.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Naruto turned to him, thoroughly offended.

“Keep your eyes on the road, idiot.”

Naruto snickered a bit at the response. He was growing fond of Sasuke’s jabs and insults. He hoped he’d get to hear them for a long time coming.

After a few more minutes on the road in their comfortable silence, music quietly playing on the radio, Naruto decided to speak up.

“So, Sasuke. Why do you like me?”

Sasuke almost choked on his saliva, and he dropped his phone into his lap. His now-free hands immediately flew to his face to hide his shame again. A habit he has—noted.

“Ugh, please shut up. Last night was by far the most humiliating night of my entire life. I’d rather die than think about it again.”

“What–no, Sasuke! Last night was… special to me,” Naruto trailed into a soft voice. “I learned a lot about myself, and I learned a lot about you. And I want to continue learning. So answer me. Why do you like me?”

Sasuke slowly pulled his hands from his face, a soft pink dusting his cheeks. He began to fiddle with his rings as he answered, “I don’t really know. I noticed you ‘cause you were popular at our high school, and I guess I thought you were hot.”

It was Naruto’s turn to almost choke on his saliva. He’s lucky he didn’t almost swerve them off the road.

“Jesus, relax. You know it’s true.”

He wiped his mouth with his left hand, his right still on the wheel, and he felt his face begin to flush as well.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but it’s weird to hear directly from a guy. Especially one as pretty as you.”

Sasuke felt his embarrassment dissipate, and a small smirk grew on his face as he looked at Naruto.

“Oh, you think I’m pretty?”

“N–No! Er, I mean—yeah…? I guess… I dunno, this is all new to me, okay?! I’ve only liked girls up until this point.”

“Oh, yeah, you did mention you broke up with your girlfriend junior year. Was she cute?”

“Uh–yeah, I guess so. I liked her face.”

“Hm. Really? Cuter than me?”

“What? You jealous?”

“Jealous? Of some random stuck-up girl from high school? Please,” Sasuke said, crossing his arms as he stared straight ahead at the road.

Naruto’s eyes widened in amusement, and he began to smile. “You are jealous! You knew Hinata back then, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.” He did. “I just don’t wanna hear you talk about how cute some random girl is when you literally kissed me stupid last night.”

“Ohhh, you are so jealous,” Naruto teased.

“Fuck off, jerk,” Sasuke spat as he looked down at his lap.

Naruto laughed, but noticed something was off. Sasuke had called him a bunch of insults before—dumbass, idiot, moron, oaf—but never jerk.

“Hey, Sasuke,“ Naruto said, voice softened, “Sorry, I… didn’t mean it. Are you okay?” Naruto tried to look at Sasuke but kept having to turn his head back to keep his eyes on the road.

“I’m fine. Just keep your eyes on the road.”

Naruto could tell he was lying. Something bothered him. He reached over, gently brushing his knuckles against Sasuke’s hand. “Sasuke.” Sasuke froze at the touch, lips pressed together. After a moment, he said quietly, “I just… I don’t know. I don’t wanna be some phase for you.”

Naruto’s heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way. In an almost-stopped-completely kind of way. Sasuke kept going, his voice scared to speak any louder than a whisper.

“You’ve only liked girls before. You said that. And I’ve liked you for… longer than I want to admit. Last night was a lot. And you haven’t even had the time to think about whether it was even right for us to do… that. And I don't wanna—” He sucked in a shaky breath. “I don’t wanna get my hopes up just for you to change your mind one day. Or freak out, or regret it.”

Naruto’s throat ached, and he let out a breath. He didn’t want to crash the car, so he pulled up to a curb nearby to temporarily park. He then let go of the wheel and took Sauke’s fidgeting hands into his own.

“Sasuke,” he started, his voice low. “I’m not gonna regret you. I may not be the brightest person, but I don’t just quit things when they get scary or hard. I mean, I’ve worn the same mismatched socks on game days ever since I was like twelve, knowing damn well that shit never worked and that I only got good in high school.”

Sasuke’s breath wavered, and he finally dared to look up at Naruto.

“I’m confused, yeah. I'm still figuring stuff out and how to approach all this, and I’ll probably be awkward as shit for a while,” Naruto squeezed his hand. “But that doesn’t mean I’m unsure about you.”

Sasuke’s eyes glossed over, and he had to fight himself not to turn away from Naruto. “You don’t know that.”

Naruto gently smiled and caressed Sasuke’s hand in his own. “I mean, of course I don’t. But I’m one hell of a stubborn guy, so it’s gonna take a lot more than you doubting yourself to get rid of me.”

Sasuke quickly turned his head and used his sleeve to wipe at his eyes before anything could fall. “God, you’re so annoying,” he muttered.

Naruto grinned. “You like me annoying, don’t you?”

“Shut up.”

Naruto laughed under his breath and squeezed Sasuke’s hand again, as a sign of assurance.

“Alright, let’s get back on the road.”

Naruto started the car back up again, and before he could put his foot back on the accelerator, he felt his shirt get tugged as Sasuke curled his fist into it and pulled him toward his face, crashing Naruto’s lips into his. Their lips moved against each other as they kissed softly for a few seconds before they pulled back with soft pants escaping their lips.

“Don’t you ever let me go.”

Naruto smiled, his white teeth beaming at Sasuke, and Sasuke reciprocated a smaller one. Then, they set out onto the outstretched road, the sun peeking its head out for what felt like the first time since this snowstorm hit. It seemed this would be a good day for Naruto and Sasuke. With hopefully many more to follow.