Changing Tides

The Changing Tides: Chapter 2

Sasuke followed Naruto up the stairs, careful not to watch the swing of Naruto’s ass, not wanting Naruto to feel uncomfortable around him or let the people lounging around see his reaction to the host of the party. As far as he saw it, nobody had to know about his attraction to the blond haired bombshell except himself.

They walked by two or three doors in silence until Naruto reached the last door down the corridor and put his ear to the door, listening to see if there was any movement inside. Finally, he grinned and waved Sasuke in as he opened the door wide. Stepping in, he peered around the room, feeling a little weird. Looking at the cheerful, bright colored walls and messy floor reminded him all too much of seeing Naruto dancing earlier in the day.

He hid his growing erection by sitting daintily on what looked like the only chair in the room, at least from what he could see through the pile of clothing laying on top. Noticing Sasuke’s disgusted expression, Naruto chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed his palm against the back of his neck in restlessness.

“Sorry about the mess; I forgot to do my weekly room cleaning.” Sasuke doubted Naruto ever took the time to clean up his room, but didn’t comment.

“I wonder where Haku went off too.” As Naruto pondered that, he browsed through his closet, going through the pants and pulling on his orange pajama pants. He figured he might as well be comfortable in his own house.

“Haku?” The quiet question brought Naruto out of the closet.

“He’s the friend that I said you were as cute as, remember?” He grabbed a pair of plain black boxers from his top dresser drawer, and turned away from Sasuke again. “I told him to meet me up here when I went off to save you from Sakura and Ino.”

Sasuke heard the zipper of pants and turned his head away from Naruto as he realized the blond was changing in front of him. He was having a hard time keeping his gaze away from Naruto. His eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they slowly moved back to Naruto and the boxers that emphasized his globes of his ass. Only the fear of Naruto finding out he was being watched gave him the strength to look away again.

“He’s probably in the bathroom, or went back down already.” Naruto was having trouble getting his legs into his pajamas, his head dizzy from the half a dozen beers he’d consumed. He turned his head casually around to make sure Sasuke wasn’t getting a good laugh out of his actions.

Sighing in defeat, he fell on his bed face first, arms stretched to the sides, and pajamas stuck around his ankles. He looked at Sasuke with a miserable expression on his face. Sasuke felt his lips quiver in amusement, but at the pathetic glare Naruto sent at him, the quiver turned into a loud laugh.

“It’s not funny.” Naruto whined.

“If you say so, dobe.”

“What did you just call me?!?!” Outraged, Naruto jumped from his position on the bed, and attempted to propel himself at Sasuke, forgetting about the pajamas around his ankles. He fell heavily into Sasuke, causing the chair under Sasuke to crack under their combined weight.

“You broke my chair, teme!” In Naruto’s anger, he didn’t recognize Sasuke’s glazed eyes or that something was poking against his ass under the hips he was straddling, only the need to hit the man who’d been the cause of his favorite chair breaking. “You’re gonna pay!”

The first punch Naruto threw was sloppy, skimming Sasuke’s face and landing on the hard floor beneath him. “Arrgg!” He sent another punch toward Sasuke’s smirking lips, but before his fist was able to connect with the face beneath his own, a pale hand stopped the projection with a steel grip. Before Naruto knew what was going on, Sasuke had rolled Naruto underneath him, switching their positions.

“It was your own idiocy that caused the chair to break, not me.”

“Your fat ass is the one that broke it!” Naruto’s hand escaped, and it was sent again at Sasuke’s face. A painful pressure on his groin soon stopped the motion, and a cry slipped through his lips without his notice. “Ow! Ow!”

The knee that was pressed between his legs stayed where it was, but let up a little. “You should have known better then to try and hit someone bigger then you. You’re not a fighter; you’re someone that should learn to hide behind one because of your small stature.”

Sasuke hadn’t meant to sound so cruel, but it didn’t seem that Naruto cared too much about the whole statement, only seeming to focus on the last part.

“I am not small! 5’5” is not small!” Another attempt on Naruto’s part was put forth to free his hands, failing when the pressure returned.

“It’s certainly not as tall as normal.” Sasuke was having fun frustrating the adorable blond, and Naruto’s squirming was making a particular part of his body very, very happy.

“Just because you’re tall doesn’t mean you should insult me!” Naruto bucked his hips, his thigh coming into contact with Sasuke’s erection. His mouth dropped open and his brows pulled together in surprise.

“Wha-wh…” Was Sasuke gay? Or was it something entirely different? Maybe the rubbing and bumping against a warm body had turned Sasuke on? Testing his theory out, his shifted his thigh slightly, letting it rub against the front of Sasuke’s pants. A low moan came from above him.

“Uh… Sasuke…” Sasuke’s face was flushed with embarrassment. He released Naruto’s hands and rolled off of him and onto his feet in one movement.

Feeling guilty for causing the obviously straight Sasuke’s erection and the awkwardness that was thick in the room, Naruto offered Sasuke a small grin. “Sorry Sasuke, it could have happened to anyone, right?”

“Hn.” He just wanted to go home and avoid Naruto for a while. It was bad enough that he got an erection the first time, but showing Naruto that he liked him by rubbing his aching cock against his thigh? He felt ashamed that he couldn’t control his own body.

“Look Sasuke,” Naruto stalled for time by pulling his pajamas up his legs and tying them tight against his waste. “I’m gay. I know you’re straight and all, but I just want you to understand that nothing wrong went on here. You got a little, uh, excited because of the physical contact, and I know it’s not because of me personally. I don’t want things to be awkward between us when there’s no reason for it. I won’t tell anyone, you can trust me on that.”

It was Sasuke’s turn for his jaw to drop and his brows to draw together. Naruto didn’t know? He’s pawning it off on physical contact? Sasuke’s brain was racing a mile a minute. He thanked Naruto’s naivety but at the same time wondered why the dobe hadn’t just accused him of being gay, which was probably the first thought that had popped into Naruto’s head.

Sasuke silently thanked Naruto. “I hope I didn’t scare you or anything. It is after all only a bodily response to stimulation.” A dark brow quirked in mocking amusement, one Naruto either chose to ignore or didn’t see.

“Right!” The cheeky grin was back on Naruto’s face. “Now before anyone starts to wonder where we went, let’s go back downstairs. There’s still some time to have fun and introduce you to the gang!”

Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and half walked, half jogged to the stairs and down them. The living room and hallways weren’t as packed as they had been before, but the crowd had only thinned marginally. Naruto gave the party another hour before he started kicking people out and possibly calling cabs if there weren’t enough sober drivers.

“Naruto!” Hearing Haku’s voice, he smiled widely.

“Hey Haku, where’d you go?”

“Long story! I ran into Gaara and the brown headed boy having sex against the wall between the guest room and your room. It took a minute to get my sight back, but when I did I had to urge them into the guest room. I was just about to leave the room when I heard a screech and remembered I had also put Kiba in the bed to sleep off his drunkenness.”

“So, was Kiba grossed out, or did he try to join in with the fun?” Naruto asked nonchalantly.

“Of course he tried to join in after the initial surprise wore off.” Haku rolled his eyes. “And you know Gaara and how he hates sharing. He tried to strangle Kiba, but luckily years of sleeping around and sneaking away paid off and Kiba escaped with only a bruised jaw.”

“That lucky bastard,” Haku and Naruto chuckled together. “Where is he now?”

“The last time I saw, he was talking with Shikamaru and Choji at the chips and dips.”

“They’ll keep an eye on him.” Naruto noticed where Haku’s eyes were straying to and slapped his forehead, feeling stupid for having forgotten about Sasuke.

“Haku, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Haku.” It was odd to see two such beautiful men standing next to each other. Naruto drooled a little and quickly swiped a hand across his mouth.

“Sasuke just moved in to the house next door. I rescued him from Sakura and Ino and that’s why I didn’t meet you upstairs in time to help you out with Gaara and Kiba.” Haku nodded, brushing off the apology. “I was just going to show him around and introduce him to everyone.”

“He’s pretty cute.” Haku commented, looking the new guy up and down in interest. “So Sasuke, what kind of person are you interested in?” Naruto nearly slapped himself again on the forehead. Sometimes Haku didn’t have any resemblance of modesty.

“What kind of question is that to ask to someone you’ve only just met?” Haku squealed when two arms wrapped around him from behind and squeezed him tight. Zabuza kissed Haku’s neck and grinned at Naruto. “Did I miss anything fun?”

By the stricken look on Naruto’s face, Sasuke knew it was Haku who’d been partially to blame for Naruto’s need for new pants. Zabuza must have come to the same conclusion because he reached over Haku’s shoulder and grabbed Naruto’s wrist.

Sasuke got ready to defend the dobe if need be, but Zabuza didn’t attack Naruto like he’d thought. Actually, it was the opposite of what he’d thought would happen that did happen.

“You guys didn’t have sex, right?” Haku nodded his head in affirmation, a smile tugging on his lips. “And you enjoyed yourself?” Naruto nodded, relief that he wasn’t going to be killed slowly showing on his face. “Good. I’d be upset if you didn’t enjoy yourself. Just don’t enjoy yourself too much with my Haku, you dig?” Another shaky nod in response from Naruto.

Zabuza whispered in Haku’s ear, earning a low giggle from the smaller boy. Haku gave Naruto and Sasuke a quick “good bye” and was pulled out of the house by an eager looking Zabuza, looking just as eager himself.

Naruto was busy scratching the back of his neck when Sasuke started to eyeball Naruto. Naruto didn’t seem like the type of person to just casually have almost-sex with people, so it was most probable that Naruto and Haku had been intimate with each other on more then one occasion. However, Sasuke highly doubted Naruto had actually had sex with Haku, seeing as possessive and terrifying Zabuza had seemed.

But what kind of boyfriend would let their lover screw around with another man? It was either that Zabuza didn’t care too much about Haku, which Sasuke also doubted, or that Zabuza loved Haku so much that he wanted him happy, even if him being happy involved being close to Naruto. Sasuke thought the second explanation was more real then the primer, but couldn’t say for sure.

“Sorry about that.” Naruto’s wide smile was back. “Come on, I’ve got to start showing you to everyone before people start leaving.”

The first person Naruto spotted was a seemingly sober Sai having an in depth conversation with Neji of all people.

“Hi guys!” Naruto beamed at the duo, budding in the conversation in his usual style.

“Hey Naruto.” Neji smiled briefly at him.

“Great party, man.”

“Thanks Sai! I just want to introduce you both to Sasuke. He moved in next door and he’s in terrible need of friends who’ll teach him how to have a proper conversation with other human beings. He’s like the opposite of Lee!”

Sasuke was tired of being talked about like he wasn’t there, and shoved Naruto with his shoulder, moving closer to the two strangers. Naruto ‘hmphed’ at him, but other than that and a low grumble, he didn’t react to Sasuke’s shove.

“Hello Sasuke, my name is Sai.” Another thing Sasuke was tired of was being looked at with appraising eyes, almost as if being looked at for flaws and insecurities. He shot Sai a glare, and tilted his head as he waited for the other boy to say something.

The boy reminded Sasuke a little of himself; guarded, pale eyes looked back at him. Sasuke had never seen an eye color like that, and it left Sasuke wondering if there was anything else special about the boy. The long black hair tied back with a leather tie should have looked ridiculous on a man, but it emphasized the bones of the man’s face, almost giving off an ethereal feel.

“I’m Neji Hyuuga.” Sasuke raised a brow at the stiff, formal introduction. Naruto only sighed.

“Damn Neji, no need to sound like you got a stick shoved up your ass; you’re going to give the guy a bad impression.” Sai joked.

“I don’t care.”

“You’re worse than Sasuke!” Naruto whined.

“You don’t have to hang out with me, Naruto,” Neji said.

“But, I do! I vowed to help you out, and trust me, you need it!”

“Whatever. I’m going home; have to wake up early for an important family meeting.” Without saying goodbye, he left Sai, Naruto, and Sasuke.

“What crawled up his ass and died?” Naruto chewed his lip in worry.

“I think he’s worried about this ‘family meeting’, but I don’t know for sure. He’s a tight ass when it comes to giving out information.” Wanting to change the conversation, he looked at Sasuke again with a grin tugging at his lips, his interest in the taller boy obvious.

“So Sasuke, want to dance?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

Naruto laughed at Sai. “Shot down!”

“Shut up, pipsqueak.” Sai shrugged the refusal off easily.

“Why is everyone calling me short today?!” Naruto cried. “I’m not short!”

“You’re shorter then about ¾ of the people in this room, even most of the girls.” Sai pointed out.

“It’s true.” Sasuke agreed.

Naruto pouted, frustrated that everyone thought he was short. He knew he was short, that fact was hard to avoid, but that didn’t mean everyone had to bring it up. His confidence was always pretty shaky when it came to his height and having friends that were basically all taller than him didn’t help the issue.

“Not much you can do about being short, Naruto, might as well just get over it.” Sasuke couldn’t understand why Naruto was getting so upset about being called short. He couldn’t imagine the blond being tall. The shortness worked well for him; not that Sasuke would tell the dobe that. He imagined that Naruto fit well against him.

“Heh, I know.”

“So get out of the funk you’re in. This is a party, not a funeral.” Sai rolled his eyes.

“One of these days I’m gonn-“ Naruto spotted Sakura and Ino zeroing in on the small group. Remember what had happened when they had gotten a hold of Sasuke, he grabbed Sasuke’s wrist and pulled him toward the kitchen.

“Gotta go! It’s been nice talking to you Sai!”

“Stop pulling me, dobe!” Sasuke cursed when Naruto only pulled harder.

“Shut up, teme! Sakura and Ino are looking for you again, and unless you want them to find you, then come with me!” Naruto grinned when Sasuke’s pallor whitened. “Thought you’d feel that way.”

“Just go!” Sasuke pushed bodily through the sea of people around him, not willing to be in the two girls’ clutches again. Just the thought alone sent cold shivers running through his skin.

When Naruto and Sasuke reached the kitchen, they hid amongst the people who where talking to friends, drinking beer, or eating the food that had been lying around. They leaned against the far counter, keeping an eye on the kitchen door, their shoulders touching companionably.

“They almost found me.” Sasuke rested his elbows the counter behind him, and let out a tired sigh.

“Poor Sasuke,” Naruto said with a chuckle. “Always having to fend off the women.”

“It’s tiresome.” Sasuke admitted. “At least where I came from, the women got the point that I didn’t want to deal with them. Now I’m going to have to go through the same thing until they finally figure out I don’t want to date any of them.”

That’s the longest time he’s spent talking all night, Naruto mused. It would have bothered Naruto that Sasuke thought all women fell at his feet, but Naruto wasn’t blind. He saw the looks the women had given him from the start of the night. Plus, Sasuke didn’t sound like he was proud of the fact, he just sounded tired of it all.

“Most men would kill to be in your shoes.” A blond eyebrow rose.

“I’m not most men then,” Sasuke replied.

Naruto was finally getting that. Sasuke wasn’t like all the typical guys his age he met. He seemed more… Naruto couldn’t find the right word to describe Sasuke. He was just more... knowing. Like he’d experienced life already and was struggling with the knowledge he’d gained, not wanting people to figure him out.

They both stayed quiet, simply listening to the conversations around them, perfectly okay with silence between themselves. Sasuke stared aimlessly off into the crowd, head nodding occasionally to the music blasting from the living room. Naruto was thinking about Sasuke. He didn’t know why he was so interested in Sasuke, but he was inevitably drawn to the quiet boy with the eyes that spoke of pain and loneliness.

Naruto knew a thing or two about those two emotions, and looking at Sasuke’s blank face, vowed to change how Sasuke looked at the world. It wasn’t right that a boy of Sasuke’s age should have to hide his desires and happiness. He should be out having fun, not worrying about the grand scheme of things.

When Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto, he was surprised to find the boy looking at him oddly, as if lost in thought. His brows raised slightly, the motion seemingly bringing Naruto out from his stupor. He shook his head and grinned sheepishly at the raven headed boy in apology.

“I know I was going to introduce you to everyone…” It was getting late, and Naruto was getting tired. He imagined Sasuke was too; moving to a new place did that to a person. “But I’m telling everyone to go home. If parties run too long, expensive things start to break and I’m really not into all the other stuff that I know will occur if the party continues.”

“That’s fine.” A yawn escaped from Sasuke’s mouth. He hadn’t felt that tired, but his body was telling him it was time for some rest. Not willing to risk falling dead on his face in front of company, he was secretly glad Naruto was calling it quits. If the party had gone on any longer, he’d have had to give Naruto some lame excuse explaining his need to leave. It was better for his ego this way.

“Wait here for me, okay? Don’t leave yet.” Naruto left Sasuke’s side and headed for the living room. It took him longer then it should have taken, but he finally reached the stereo.

He hit the power button. Immediately people started complaining about the lack of music, but Naruto held up his hands. “It’s time to go home people. You don’t have to go home, but you got to get the hell outta my house.” Naruto grinned cheekily.

“Aw, Naruto! Just another few hours!”

“Yeah! Come on dude!”

“Don’t be a party pooper!”

Naruto only laughed. “Sorry people, but not even being called a party pooper will change my mind.”

“You’re no fun, Naruto!” A few ‘boos’ filled the air.

Naruto grabbed his chest as if his heart was breaking. “You wound me!”

More grumbles and 15 minutes later, all but Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba had left to do whatever one does after a party. Naruto wasn’t even going to worry about the mess in all rooms of the house, promising himself he’d get to it in the morning.

“Did you guys have fun?” Naruto asked his friends, drowsiness making his voice husky.

“I enjoyed myself.” Choji smiled.

“Did you?” Kiba glared. “All you did was stand near the chips, how fun is that?”

“Don’t get upset because you had to stay with us,” Shikamaru defended Choji in his own lazy monotone. “It was for your own good.”

“My own good? Bah! I was perfectly okay the whole night.” Kiba folded his arms against his chest, daring anyone disagree with him.

“That’s why you passed out from drinking too much alcohol and nearly got killed by Gaara? How troublesome.”

“It’s too late to be yelling,” Naruto sulked. “I’m tired, and you’re hurting my ears.”

“It’s time we get going anyways. Come on Kiba, let’s go.” Shikamaru and Choji pushed themselves out from the plushy couch, and Kiba made a face at them.

“I’ll drive myself, I’m not drunk.”

“You’re going with them,” Naruto asserted. “I’m not going to be blamed for you going out and getting yourself killed because you’re too proud to admit you’re drunk as a skunk. Plus, I have your keys, so you’re not going anywhere with your piece of junk.”

Kiba glared fiercely at Naruto, but he got up and followed Shikamaru and Choji to their car without arguing.

“Thank God.” Naruto fell onto the unoccupied couch and stretched out while Sasuke gracefully sat on the chair facing the couch. “For a few minutes, I didn’t think everyone would leave.” He kicked his shoes off and eyed Sasuke.

“What?”

“How old are you?”

“18. I’m finishing up my last year of High School.”

“Cool, me too. But I’m 17, not 18.” He corrected himself. “I’m so tired, I can’t even think straight.”

Sasuke smirked at him. “Is it past your bedtime?”

Instead of getting upset, Naruto just laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is. Parties really take a lot out of me. Maybe I’m just getting old.”

Sasuke sent him a look that said ‘are-you-stupid?’.

“Heh, just kidding I guess.” He closed his eyes, head sinking into the couch. “So, do you live with your parents?”

Naruto felt, rather than saw, Sasuke tense up. He opened his eyes only to see Sasuke getting up from the chair, and walking toward the front door. His back was stiff, and Naruto immediately regretted asking the question.

He popped up from the couch, reaching out toward Sasuke. “Sasuke, you don’t have to answer. I’m sorry; I didn’t know it would make you uncomfortable.”

Sasuke shot Naruto a glare, flinching when Naruto made a move to touch him. “It’s nothing. I just want to go.”

“I don’t want you going home like this…”

“There is no ‘this’. Nothing is wrong.” He grabbed at the door knob but it wouldn’t open, even as he wrenched at it. He looked down at he ground and saw Naruto’s foot holding it closed. “Get your foot out of the way, dobe, or I’ll cut it off.”

“I’m not as stupid as you obviously think I am. I know something is wrong.” Naruto scowled back at Sasuke, idly wondering why his question had set off this anger in Sasuke.

“Maybe if you weren’t so nosy we wouldn’t be having this discussion?” Sasuke shoved Naruto away from him.

“I just wanted to know a little about you! You’re my neighbor! Of course I’m going to ask you questions in order to find out your interests and what kind of a person you are!” Naruto was quickly losing his patience with Sasuke. He didn’t like being irritable, but Sasuke brought out the worst in him.

“Just mind your own business,” Sasuke demanded. “Not all neighbors have to be friendly toward each other!”

“Arrg!” Naruto shoved Sasuke away from the door, surprising himself at the force of the shove. Sasuke tripped over his feet and fell on his ass.

“Dobe!” Naruto grunted as Sasuke’s shoulder connected with his belly, causing stars to erupt in his eyes. Not one to get beat, Naruto threw his fist out, connecting with Sasuke’s chin with bruising force. Sasuke turned his body in reflex and his elbow crashed against Naruto throat.

Naruto gurgled, hands cupping his throat in obvious pain. Tears quickly formed in his eyes and poured out at the corners in uncontrollable rivers. Sasuke, seeing just how badly he’d hurt Naruto, was shocked frozen. He’d hurt people in his past, but this was different; Naruto didn’t deserve to be hurt, he had only been trying to help.

The blond had curled himself into a ball on the floor, his back facing Sasuke. Sasuke didn’t know what to do to comfort Naruto, so he carefully placed his hand against Naruto’s shoulder, frowning when Naruto tensed under his hand as if getting ready for an attack.

“Look…” Sasuke started. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Naruto. My family is just a touchy subject for me.”

When Naruto didn’t respond to his apology, Sasuke tugged on Naruto’s shoulder in order to roll him over. He didn’t put much of a fight up and was easily rolled over, though still hunched into a protective ball. Sasuke had made up his mind to leave the blond alone when he saw Naruto’s body quivering.

Sasuke pinched his nose to alleviate the pressure forming in his head and then dropped his hands to Naruto’s shoulders. As gently as he could to get the job done, he pulled Naruto up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him. He sat there, feeling stupid when he realized he wasn’t helping anything by holding the blond, just making the boy tense up more.

He’d apologized more this night than he’d ever apologized before, and it was grating on his nerves. Before he could open his mouth to mutter yet another one, a pair of tanned arms wrapped around his waste and clung to him. To say Sasuke was shocked was an understatement. He’d hadn’t been embraced like this in years, not since his parents had died that fateful night.

He awkwardly combed his fingers through the messy blond hair, cooing softly in Naruto’s ear, hoping that he would calm down and stop crying. He didn’t know how to do this sensitive thing and his legs were starting to go numb from Naruto’s weight.

Naruto sniffled into Sasuke’s shirt, noticing almost with amusement that it was soaked through. He straightened in Sasuke’s grasp and rested his head on the stiff shoulder.

“I’m sorry I cried all over your shirt, it just hurt a lot and I couldn’t control it.”

“It’s okay, just don’t get used to it,” Sasuke said.

“I know, Mr. Cranky Pants.” Naruto rubbed his chin against Sasuke’s neck, glad that Sasuke didn’t pull away from his touch. His throat felt better, but the feeling of being held made him feel safe and it was an entirely nice feeling.

“It’s getting late…” Sasuke reminded Naruto, breaking the thick silence.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Naruto didn’t want Sasuke to leave, but he doubted the raven headed boy would stay just to cuddle with him, someone he’d only just met. “This will probably sound weird, but I uh, just wanted to ask you if you would maybe…”

It was evident that Naruto didn’t know how to go on, so Sasuke nudged Naruto’s head with his own, asking with the small gesture to go on.

“I know we just met and all…” Naruto babbled on. “But I just wanted to know if you’d stay the night with me.” He stopped for a moment, and then quickly went on to fill in the silence. “Not like anything weird or anything, I just don’t want to be alone.”

Sasuke was silent, thinking over the request that sounded almost like a plea. Maybe Sasuke wasn’t the only lonely one. It seemed to Sasuke that although Naruto had plenty of friends, he might still alone. Sasuke had worn his mask for years; it was possible Naruto wore one of his own.

“Sure,” Sasuke replied.

“Really?” Naruto asked in disbelief.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Sasuke grumbled.

“I just didn’t expect you to…” Naruto let it go, not wanting Sasuke to change his mind. “Come on.”

Sasuke followed Naruto to his room, smirking at Naruto’s back when the blond tripped going up the stairs.

“You need to call anyone to let them know you’re staying the night?” Sasuke shook his head, knowing Itachi wouldn’t worry about him.

“Want some pajamas?” Naruto searched through his drawers for a clean pair of pajama pants, a bit embarrassed when he realized the pair he was wearing was his last clean pair of bottoms with the exception of boxers.

“Let me guess, the maid took the week off and you have no clothes for me to sleep in?” Sasuke said sarcastically.

Naruto offered Sasuke a cheesy grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat down on the edge of the bed to take his shoes off. He watched Naruto as he ran around the room throwing clothes in a white hamper, then as he fixed the bed’s sheets and blanket so they weren’t falling off the bed.

Sasuke pulled off his socks, then tugged off his shirt. He didn’t hear Naruto’s swift intake of breath, nor did he see the tent that formed in his pants. Sasuke, Naruto noted, was pale all over. His chest was almost a milky white, but it went well with the lean muscles covering his body. He wasn’t over muscular, but there was a noticeable set of hard abs that Naruto desperately wanted to nibble on. Naruto shook his head, trying to get his focus back. Sasuke isn’t gay. Stop drooling over a straight man.

Sasuke tugged off his pants, folded it, and placed it on top of the dresser. Clad only in silk black boxers, he sat back down on the bed and looked at Naruto. Having missed Naruto’s internal battle, he wondered why he looked so sulky with his pouting lower lip and pinched brows.

“You okay?” Sasuke asked, worrying that Naruto was still hurting.

“Just peachy!” Naruto’s grin was a little off. “I’m beat; time for bed.”

“Hn,” Sasuke muttered, eyeing Naruto closely, looking for the real reason of Naruto’s uncomfort.

“Well, good night then.” Naruto pulled up the blanket and sheet and rolled into the warm cocoon. Sasuke followed suit, careful to keep to his side of the bed. Instead of going right to bed like he thought he would, Naruto moved around for a few moments to get comfortable. However, his movements were making Sasuke anxious, and he barked out a low, “Stop.”

“But I’m so uncomfortable!” Naruto whined childishly. “I can’t find a good position.” He scissored his legs, flopped onto his back then to his chest, but nothing worked. He knew he must be annoying Sasuke, but until he could find a comfortable position for himself, he’d just have to deal with it.

“Jesus,” Sasuke grumbled, grabbing Naruto’s arm and pulling him toward him. He moved his body so it rested on its side and tucked Naruto’s back against his front, hoping to appease Naruto’s restlessness and stop the annoying movements. If he didn’t stop moving, well then Sasuke was in a better position to hold the blond down.

Naruto bit his lip, uncertain as how to react to his new spot. Deciding to just go to sleep, he relaxed into Sasuke’s chest and wiggled his butt around to get closer to the warmth Sasuke was emitting. “Night,” Naruto murmured sleepily, wrapping his tan arm around the pale one that was slung over his body.

Sasuke mumbled something unintelligibly, welcoming sleep. At the back of his consciousness, he knew he shouldn’t have stayed over, knew he shouldn’t be sleeping with Naruto curled in front of him, but he found himself not caring for once. Just plain tired, he ignored the quiet voice in his head telling him to leave, and fell into a deep sleep.

*****
Dragon & llyoung: Thanks for taking the time to review and tell me what you thought about the first chapter! I really appreciated it. I hope you guys liked this chapter. =]