30. Under the Rain

Wrote this one for my 100 prompt challenge. Sorry I'm so slow, but real life, you know.

I'm going to write a part II to this, from Naruto's PoV, about what happens during their "sleep over". So stay tuned for that.

Takes place after the end of the series assuming everyone lives and is happy? I hope?

(Very quickly edited, please let me know if you spot a typo!)

30. Under the Rain

The crack of thunder was as unexpected as the sudden deluge of icy cold water that dropped on their heads.

"Aw shit, where the hell did this come from?" Naruto said, raising his arms to shield his face from the rain.

"The sky, idiot." Sasuke said flatly, his face so serious that Naruto could tell he was joking only from years of experience.

Naruto shoved him playfully, "shut the hell up," he said, laughing.

He turned away from Sasuke and pointed to a store front with a large awning. "Come over here".

Naruto didn't see Sasuke's smile as he ran off, his sandals making a splash with every step.

Sasuke followed him, not bothering to run for shelter. His clothes had already soaked through in only a few short moments. His shirt and pants clung to him unpleasantly.

It was late and the produce shop was already closed. No one would mind them waiting out front for a little while. A sudden flash of intense lightning streaked across the sky bathing Naruto in electric light. Sasuke chuckled to himself when he saw Naruto jump in surprise. When he too reached the awning he couldn't help himself as he said with a sly grin, "I didn't know you were scared of lightning. I guess we can add that to the long list of things that frighten you."

Sasuke shook the water from his hair and brushed his damp bangs back from his face. He glanced to Naruto from the corner of his eye and counted down to another 'creative' retort. 3... 2... 1...

"Scared? I'm not scared of anything, jerk." And there it was. For being the "Number One Unpredictable Ninja" it certainly was easy enough to anticipate his actions.

Naruto was peeling off his jacket and wringing the water from it. Sasuke watched him discreetly. He found himself fascinated by the muscles flexing under tanned skin as Naruto tried to squeeze the excess water out. "If anything," Naruto continued doing his best impression of superiority, something Sasuke could never take seriously, "I was just surprised by how bright it was. After all, your chidori is so lame that I forgot how powerful real lightning can be" he said throwing his jacket across his shoulder.

Sasuke scoffed and threw one of the wet arm covers he had been removing at Naruto's head. It made a sharp, wet, slapping sound as it smacked him right in the middle of his face.

"Sasuke..." Naruto growled out in a low tone that made Sasuke shiver somewhere inside. But when the arm cover slid off of Naruto's face and landed in a puddle forming near Naruto's feet, Sasuke forgot about his involuntary shivers and burst into laughter. Naruto's face was bright red where the black fabric had smacked him in the face.

"Haha, Naruto you look even more stupid than usual, hahaha..." He could tell Naruto was trying to look pissed off at his insult, but at the sound of Sasuke's laughter a slow smile spread over his face and he joined in instead.

Naruto picked up the long black arm cover and looked at Sasuke with a malicious grin on his face. And Sasuke knew well enough not to trust Naruto when he had that expression. It only meant trouble for the person he was targeting. "Oi, keep away from me, you."

Sasuke backed away as Naruto slapped the cover against his palm. It sounded like a whip. He continued to back away as Naruto slapped it against his palm again, but somewhere inside of him was a crazy urge to get closer. He pushed it down. Not an appropriate time or place for self-discovery of that nature.

"C'mere Sasuke. I think you deserve a smack on that girly Uchiha face to match the one you gave me." He slapped the cover against his palm again, and made a sudden leap for Sasuke, his jacket landing in puddle, forgotten for the moment.

Sasuke was expecting a smack in the face, but what he got was Naruto's arm around his neck, and sharp knuckles scraping across the top of his head messing up his already messy hair. "Urgh! Naruto, get off me!" He yelled. They were ninja, and getting Naruto off him wouldn't actually be problematic. But throwing around a chidori wasn't always appropriate. He pulled at Naruto's arm, the one holding his head firmly in place against Naruto's chest. How it was possible to be so uncomfortable (knuckles grinding in scalp) but also somehow kind of turned on (his face on Naruto's chest, hands grappling at tanned, firm, arm muscles) was a kind of mystery to him. But Sasuke didn't have time to wonder about it, the urgency to get away from the heat of Naruto's skin intensifying in him.

His eyes flashed red suddenly in desperation; they sometimes did that unconsciously. Naruto laughed and released Sasuke's head. "Wow, Sharingan? You must really hate people touching your…" he snorted, as he eyed Sasuke's head, "perfect... hair, bahahaha."

Sasuke looked up toward the top of his head pointlessly, and ran his hands through black locks, attempting to make it lie in some semblance of order while Naruto's laughed drowned out the sound of the rain.

Naruto still had that dumb grin on his face as he tossed the arm cover harmlessly back to Sasuke, which only looked more the mischievous with those whiskers on his cheeks. But the grin faded when a new crack of thunder and a flash brightened up the sky and it was Sasuke's turn to look superior. "Pick up your jacket, Naruto. We can't stand here forever."

Naruto sighed in exasperation as he picked up his jacket and began the task of wringing it out once more. "Hey, why don't we just go back to the bar until the rain stops. It's pretty close." Naruto said. They'd just returned from a mission that day, and as was customary, gone for a few drinks afterward. But a few drinks had turned into a few hours of eating and drinking and now the sky was dark and most everything else was closed. From his estimate, even the bar would be closing soon.

"Sure, that would only be completely useless. The bar would kick us out before the rain stopped and we'd be back at square one." He looked out at the continuing downpour. The little puddles were starting to form rivulets that flowed downhill back in the direction they'd come from.

Naruto slicked his dripping hair back and sighed in exasperation. "The academy and my apartment are both so far from here." Naruto wasn't widely known as someone who whined or complained. He was someone who got things done. But Sasuke knew the petulant, childish side of Naruto that seemed to surface only occasionally. Sasuke figured Naruto had the right to want to be spoiled once in awhile; saviour of the ninja world as he was. And although Sasuke never admitted it out loud, and tried to do it in a way that didn't draw any suspicions, he didn't mind being the one to do the spoiling. Especially when Naruto looked especially charming with his damp hair off his face, and his black t-shirt clinging to him just so.

"I guess it can't be helped, since you're scared of both water and thunder," Sasuke began. Naruto frowned and looked like he was about to protest again, but Sasuke cut him off. After all, he didn't want to appear like he actually cared one way or another. His aloof Uchiha demeanour meant something to him. "I guess you can come to my place tonight, since it's not too far from here."

Naruto's eyes widened. Even after all these years, after all the time spent chasing Sasuke, growing stronger and, (as difficult as it was to admit), surpassing him in certain ways, somehow Naruto still looked up to Sasuke. The smile that lit up his face and his clear blue eyes were almost too much for Sasuke to take sometimes. "I can? You don't mind? Thanks, Sasuke!" He said, slapping a hand down on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don't mess the place up, I've seen how you live a life of squalor." Sasuke said. It was hard to talk honestly and without insults when that big, dumb grin was flashing in his direction. He didn't want to say something he might regret instantly. Like, something nice for instance. He ducked the low hanging edge of the awning and started in the direction of his house.

He had taken about 5 steps when he felt a heavy weight land on his head. Naruto's jacket. He turned to question him but Naruto just smiled teasingly. "I'm gonna get there miles ahead of you, Sasuke. So you better use that to stay dry." He tossed a mock salute and took of running in the direction of Sasuke's house.

Sasuke's face felt a little warm, and he was glad the jacket was covering most of it from view. He hated that one little smile, or joke, or acknowledgment could make him feel flustered. It was supposed to be the other way around. But it was so natural coming from Naruto that he couldn't help but be affected by it. Although he'd do his damndest to hide it. If there was any inherent Uchiha trait that surpassed any bloodline limit it was the ability to hide one's feelings. And Sasuke had mastered that one already.

Sasuke tied Naruto's jacket around his waist. He didn't mind getting wet, the rain was refreshing; it cooled down his heated face. He slipped the arm cover back onto his hand and pulled it in place as he moved to take off after Naruto. But not too quickly. Naruto didn't have a key to his place, and there was nowhere to hide from the rain until Sasuke arrived. Losing a race would be worth it to see Naruto standing impatiently at his front door, waiting to be let in. He wasn't used to having someone to come home to. He smiled to himself. It might not have showed on his face, but he felt it in his chest somewhere.