A/N: For some reason this story was not set on 'complete' status, even though it is complete. I was wondering why so many people were putting it on watch. I'm so sorry everyone.
It was a Monday. However, it was no ordinary Monday, and Sasuke was glad for that. He pulled his toes into the warm confines of the blankets on his bed, silently wishing the cold morning away. For all the wishing he would do, Sasuke would still get up like always, and tackle this day with an unwavering expression. This was the glorious Monday that ushered in the beginning of winter break at Amonha State College. By this time, all the other students had left for their cozy little homes and their cozy little families.
Right, Sasuke had wished that were true. In cruel reality, all the students hadn't left, because there was still that one idiot that he couldn't seem to get rid of. No, not even for the sake of him getting the dorm all to himself for the holidays.
Sasuke finally threw the covers off himself, body scrunching in slight discomfort to the sudden chill air of the bedroom. What the hell had that moron done? Turned the thermostat down to 60? "Probably something stupid like that..." Sasuke mumbled to himself as he pulled his clothes on. He then proceeded to wander out into the living room, content by the fact that Naruto was probably still slee-
Just joking.
Much to Sasuke's dismay, the blonde was in fact sprawled out on the floor, blanket twisted about him, playing videogames. In all honesty, he looked like a retard, tongue jutted out between his lips in concentration, tilting ever so slightly to the left or right when he wanted the character to move that way, like it would actually make the difference. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Why are you still here?" he asked, as if annoyed by Naruto's very existence.
"Stupid, you know I'm not going anywhere," Naruto responded immediately. They had had this conversation before. Naruto would ask if Sasuke was going home for Christmas, and Sasuke would call him a moron and tell him to shut the hell up and why wasn't he going home for Christmas? Naruto would insult him back into realization that he didn't have anyone to go home to, and that this was his home. Then Sasuke would drop the subject and walk away.
"What are you doing today?" Naruto inquired of his roommate, quite innocently.
"None of your business," Sasuke retorted, like he actually had business to make not Naruto's. He leaned against the doorjamb of his bedroom, just staring at Naruto play his game. What was so interesting about watching Naruto look dumb? Rather, it must have been watching Naruto look happy that made him stay standing there. It was a huge relief on Sasuke's eyes, as well as on his mind, to see that the depressed and broken Naruto from just a few months ago gradually slipping back into some form of normalcy.
Naruto turned off the SNES and rolled onto his back. He slowly looked at Sasuke and grinned.
"What?" Sasuke asked, irritated at that ginning face, knowing that he was getting an idea. A dangerous thing for Naruto. He then added, "Whatever it is, the answer is no."
Naruto pouted. "You didn't even let me ask the question you jerk!"
"Its probably stupid."
Naruto sat up, bright yellow blanket falling and bunching at his waist. "Let's go for a walk," he suggested.
Of all of the brilliant ideas...
"No," Sasuke said flatly. "Go by yourself." He retreated to his room.
Naruto was up in a flash. When he wanted something he wanted it and he wasn't going to stop until he got it. Abandoning the blanket, he bounded over to Sasuke's little piece of their dorm and annoyingly stuck his head in the door.
"C'mon, c'mon! Fresh air is good for your health!" he said in a singsong voice. Sasuke glared at him from his perch on the unmade bed. He knew Naruto would eventually come into the room, and drag him outside. Sasuke's "Fine." made it clear at he absolutely did NOT want to go on a walk, and with Naruto of all people.
It only took about ten minutes for Naruto's freakish amount of energy to sweep them both out the door. Sasuke had bolted a disapproving expression on his face the moment he had agreed to Naruto's childish endeavor. Sasuke wrapped a dark-colored scarf around his neck as they stepped into the elevator. It contrasted extremely with Naruto's multicolored one that was sloppily twined about his own neck. "Didn't anyone teach you how to wrap a scarf properly?" Sasuke asked, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance in his voice. Naruto simply stuck his tongue out at the dark-haired boy. "Nyah! Who cares, scarves are scarves, dummy. They go around your neck." At this point he pushed Sasuke out the elevator and all the way out the dorm building.
Sasuke's very irritation seemed to go out his mouth in the form of a sigh, curling in the crisp December air. Naruto exhaled rapidly for the sole purpose of seeing his breath in the air, which he promptly grinned at. The two would start for a walk around campus, but not after Sasuke remarked "Freak." Naruto jabbed him in the side with his elbow, and ran a few feet ahead.
The walk they shared would be silent. It mimicked most of the time they spent together, be it walking, sitting, standing, or eating dinner. The only noises that could be heard between the two were the shuffle of their sneakers, swish of their jackets, and the intake and exhale of freezing air. Sasuke mostly liked it better this way. It made it so he didn't have to think of names to call Naruto, and Naruto wasn't spouting something that wouldn't make sense until much later.
Somehow, within minutes, Sasuke had let this walk get far out of hand. The two had actually started outside the campus. So much for the hopes of a quick stroll and return to non-interaction between the two. Sasuke looked over at Naruto absently. As usual, a smile played about his lips, waxing and waning just such when the boy saw something that was pleasing to his eye. The colder boy looked away, agreeing with the quiet tut-tutting of his shoes. Just what made Naruto smile so damn much? And more importantly, why wasn't it something that could make him smile as well?
Because, Naruto took pleasure in much too simple things. Example.
It wasn't long before Naruto's eye happened to be snared by the bistro cart placed strategically on the sidewalk. His hands gravitated together in some form of excited clap. Sasuke noticed the girlish movement. "What's your problem now?" he asked, knowing full well. He had spotted the cart some time ago, and even stored up a false hope that Naruto wouldn't do the same. Fat chance.
"Yum! Hot chocolate!" he exclaimed. They approached the cart. There was a young lady behind it, bundled appropriately for the weather. Maybe... Sasuke could use this to his advantage.
"Look," he said, "If I pay, could we go straight home and never go on a walk again?" he proposed. Naruto hardly paid attention to what he said. "Yeah, sure. Whatever," he responded, waving a hand. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ordered a mocha for himself and hot chocolate for Naruto. He received his topless drink first, holding it carefully in his ungloved hand. Once again he rolled his eyes, watching Naruto watch the lady prepare his drink. His eyes were lit up, hands clenched in anticipation. Absently, Naruto pushed his tongue from his mouth, running the tip over his top lip. Sasuke almost twitched himself out of entrancement. That pink showed itself one more time, sliding painfully slowly over the blonde's lips, before being tucked back into his mouth again.
Sasuke had been unaware of his hand slowly squeezing his cup until burning hot liquid flowed over the top and dripped down his hand. "hah, hah!" Sasuke exclaimed, instinctively dropping the cup. It landed on the ground and tipped, contents meeting the sidewalk. Sasuke stared at it in distaste. Good thing he hadn't dropped a Starbucks mocha or something. Then he'd be really pissed.
Naruto had his chocolate already, clutched tightly between his hands. "What are you doing, dummy?" he asked, brow furrowed at Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him and brought his hand up to his mouth, delicately licking the spilt drink off his hand. A moment later he caught Naruto's eyes staring at him over his steaming cup. "Shut up," he told him, turning and heading towards the campus. "I didn't say anything!" Naruto argued, following behind. Sasuke caught his voice falter in just the slightest, and he almost smirked.
They had almost, almost made it within the campus when an "ooo!" could be heard from Naruto. Sasuke ignored it until a moment later, when he realized Naruto was no longer walking next to him. He had stopped to stare in some random window at something random. Sasuke stopped and faced his direction. "Come on, dork.' he ordered. "I'm not waiting for you." One last look at... whatever it was, before Naruto turned heel and headed to catch up with Sasuke.
It will only take you a moment to remember all the things that you learned in science class, and apply them to this day. With all the water that falls from the skies in Olympia, and all the cold air that is a telltale sign of winter, there is sure to be some of that liquid freezing into its next form, solid. There was a patch of such ice, spread in a convenient area a few inches from Sasuke's feet. It stretched its cold slippery fingers all the way across the sidewalk. It stood as the unseen enemy against wet feet and jogging to catch up.
As circumstances go, it would be that as soon as Naruto's left foot hit the patch of ice, his step would turn to a slide. Unfortunately for the other boy beyond the frozen barrier, he would pitch forward instead of back. Naruto's arm went up, and Sasuke watched that steaming cup of chocolate slip right out of his hand. Naruto had tossed it in favor of something to grab hold of to steady himself.
That something just had to be Sasuke, didn't it?
Their bodies collided with a thud, Naruto's arm grabbing hold of Sasuke's shoulders, and, when the blonde started to slip, Sasuke grabbed back. There the two roommates stood, Naruto clutching Sasuke's arms, Sasuke keeping Naruto in standing position via two arms around his middle. Sasuke's eyes were on Naruto. That indifferent expression askew for mere seconds. Naruto's eyes were on, well, the sidewalk. He was deeply affected by the loss of his hot chocolate. He watched it drip off the curb and run down the gutter with a quiet and forlorn "awwwww, shoot." His attention was on the spilled drink, while Sasuke's attention was on having the short blonde in his arms.
The second Naruto loosed his grip just a little, Sasuke let go of him and locked on that cold expression as always. "You klutz, watch what you're doing." he scolded, stepping away from the boy and starting his stride again. Naruto followed with a sigh, sticking his hands into his pockets, the memory of his chocolate still warm on his palms.
By some miracle, the two made it back to the dorm in silence. Naruto caught Sasuke's stern glance as they entered. It said, "Take off your shoes. Drag that mud all over the carpet and I will torture you to death." They both slipped their shoes off at the door, Naruto dropping his coat right on top of them, dejectedly at the very least. Sasuke took his to his room, and hung them in the closet, followed by his scarf. He entered the living room once again, to find Naruto sulking on the couch. Geeze. He could get so worked up about something as pointless as hot cocoa. Sasuke should be the depressed one, having wasted money on both the drinks that were fated to the sidewalk.
So, how did he find himself in the kitchen, extracting milk from the fridge and mugs from the cupboard? He vaguely pondered his motives as he popped the cups into the microwave and watched them turn together as heat was inflicted upon them.
There were a lot of things Sasuke disliked to varying degrees. He just disliked cold weather, and he really disliked it when the neighbors threw freakishly disturbing parties right before midterms. Then there was Naruto. Sasuke disliked him because he was annoying, he was childish, he smiled way the crap too much, he was so freaking happy, so freaking loud. So loud that when he was silent...Sasuke hated it more than anything.
Minutes later, Sasuke walked out of the kitchen and thrust one of the cups at Naruto sitting on the couch. Naruto dropped his game controller in an instant and looked up at Sasuke, taking the gift of such a wonderful beverage. He absolutely had not expected this at all. He searched Sasuke's face for just a moment, trying to spot some hidden intent. "...thanks!" he said finally, holding the cup up to his nose and sniffing the aroma. "mmmm."
"You're such a retard," Sasuke commented, placing himself on the couch next to the boy. He tucked his feet underneath him. Even with socks they were feeling a little heat neglected. Through steam from his drink he stared at the halfway swung Donkey Kong paused on the screen.
Upon hearing a rustling beside him, he lowered his now half full cup and turned his head. Naruto was trying to dig something out of his pocket. "What...are you doing?" Sasuke asked, figuring that really, he just shouldn't ever, ever ask that of Naruto.
Naruto pulled out a small hooked candy from his pocket. He smiled at the discovery that it was still intact, and pushed it out of it's wrapper. Sasuke didn't want to know where he had gotten the little candy cane from. He watched closely as Naruto dropped it into his cocoa. Sasuke sat back into the couch with a sigh. Only Naruto would do something weird like that.
In a few more seconds, he had finished his drink off and set it on the side table. Naruto was still stirring his joyously with the candy cane. "Just drink it already, weirdo," Sasuke muttered. He released one of his feet to reach out and capture the blanket that Naruto had left on the floor previous. He dragged it towards him and spread it over his lap for extra warmth. Either it was getting colder or the heater wasn't doing it's job. Naruto was engaged with his game again, sucking on that little cane as he concentrated. One of his hands began groping for the blanket. "Share..." he muttered, pulling it over himself as well.
Sasuke just sighed an irritated sigh and sunk down further into the couch, wrapping his arms around himself and closing his eyes. The only noises to disturb him were the incessant sucking of Naruto's mouth, and the very faint game music leaking out from the TV. The vague idea that hot chocolate made one sleepy, and the pondering of how such a small boy produced so much comfortable heat were the last things he remembered before slipping into a gracious noontime nap.
Absolutely, this is why Sasuke didn't nap next to people: for pure disturbance of what position he would be in when he woke up. Surely, he could trust Naruto to push him away if he had slept himself into even a slightly awkward place? Of course not.
Restriction of air to his face was more or less what made him stir. He crinkled his nose experimentally, and it rubbed gently against some kind of fabric. Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, only to blink a few times as he stared directly at what seemed to be a fold of fabric. He immediately closed his eyes, a very, very slight panic washing over him for mere seconds. Just where, or what exactly was his head buried into!? He cleared his head immediately, and realized that logically, it was buried into some part of Naruto. Which part is what disturbed him just a little. However, whatever his face was pressed against wasn't stirring. Perhaps, in sheer luck, Naruto had fallen asleep as well, and Sasuke could extract himself without embarrassment?
Sasuke turned his head to the left and opened his eyes again. They stared at the dark TV screen. Moving his eyes down he spotted Naruto's leg. So, that's where he was. He had sunk down and his head had settled somewhere in Naruto's side, in the indent of the boy's waist, kept from slipping any further by his hip. It seemed like it would really be an uncomfortable position, but somehow he had slept there long enough for Naruto to get bored with his game and turn it off. And still Naruto hadn't moved him? Sasuke lifted his head slightly, turning it enough to look up at Naruto.
He held back a sigh of relief. The blonde was asleep too. However that relief was quickly countered when Sasuke realized the only thing that kept the other boy from toppling over was his own head lodged into his side as a support. Sasuke frowned. Why should this be so complicated?! If there was embarrassment when Naruto woke, he could insult him and shrug it off. He moved to sit up.
Naruto toppled like a Jenga tower. He landed along Sasuke's back, arms dangling over his side, head somewhere around his waist. Yet he didn't wake up! That indestructible idiot. Sasuke fumed as he lay where he had been bodily shoved, right across Naruto's lap. He would just shove him off. If Naruto wasn't sleeping like a freaking LOG. He brought his hand up and pinched the leg underneath him.
Maybe it wasn't the best idea. As usual, Naruto startled easily. Sasuke should have known that. In one yelp, and one panicked movement, Naruto had caused Sasuke to roll off the couch. Naruto fell to the floor with a thud, and worse, became tangled in the blanket the two had previously been sharing. This caused him to panic even more, limbs flailing slightly. "Calm down!" Sasuke demanded, reaching over to pull the blanket off. Naruto, in haste, ended up whacking him across the face. In immediate response, Sasuke hit him upside the head. "Geeze, you- oof!" Naruto had gotten his foot caught in the blanket, and involuntarily lunged at him, blanket obstructing his view. Sasuke was forced onto his back, only his elbows holding up his upper half.
Naruto almost growled, yanking the offensive piece of fabric off his face. "Sasuke you bast-" he put his hand down to catch his face plant to the ground, and felt his nose bump ever so lightly with the other boy's. His frenzy was promptly ceased as he studied the face before him. Sasuke, who had previously looked angry, was startled. Naruto was afraid to move. Sasuke was likely to change that expression back and kick him in a moment.
The blanket, the cold house, the lingering naptime sleep, the panic and anger from just previous were completely forgotten. Sasuke could feel the carpet digging into his elbows, but he didn't move. He remembered that breathing should happen the moment he felt Naruto's warm breath on his face.
Apparently, his own breathing startled Naruto again, and his hand slipped, inching their faces closer together. Sasuke wanted to kick him off, he wanted to so badly. If only he hadn't been captivated by the other's searching eyes, darting from left to right. Everything seemed to be stagnant, faces dangerously close. Each waiting for movement from the other.
About 300 years later (or so it seemed) Sasuke finally took the initiative and spoke. That slight movement, and quiet (and what he thought was stern) whisper of "Get off," was just enough to cause his lips to brush against the other's in pure accident. They might as well have been flint and tinder for the spark it created. Naruto tried to sit up abruptly, but Sasuke would have none of it. His hand shot out and grabbed hold of his shirt, gathering fabric into his grasp. He yanked.
"Don't-" Naruto failed an attempt to speak before their mouths collided. It was a clumsy kiss at best, not what Naruto had expected from Sasuke. Shouldn't he be...really experienced? And why suddenly was the house much hotter than just a moment ago? And why was the hand, that was trying to push Sasuke away, grabbing hold of the cloth of his shirt instead? The rythmatic slamming of his heart against his ribcage was starting to become painful. Or...maybe that pain was because he had stopped breathing.
Naruto tore away with a small gasp, and his head dropped to regain his breath. When his eyes fell on the Sasuke's face again, he had turned his head away. He ran his tongue across his lips and muttered, "...peppermint." Naruto opened his mouth to say something, anything, when Sasuke interrupted.
"I said get off, idiot," he looked annoyed once again. Naruto scurried to get off of Sasuke. How in the world did his attitude change so suddenly? Sasuke calmly made his way back onto the couch, scooping up the blanket on his way. Naruto sat on the floor, bewildered. When he saw that Sasuke looked harmless he sat back down next to him. What should he say? What should he do? "Sasuke," he began, only to be cut off.
"Shut up," Sasuke scolded, sinking down into the couch and leaning on Naruto. He pulled the blanket over them both and settled down, closing his eyes. "Wake me up again from my nap and I'll kick your ass," he muttered. Naruto rolled his eyes. Exactly like Sasuke, to act like the last few minutes hadn't happened at all. Naruto sighed heavily and prepared to sink into sleep once again, vaguely thinking; come tomorrow, would things be different?
Well...that was tomorrow.