{ written 04.27.08 for hanakage }

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

Hitting The Books

With the SAT looming on the horizon, Sasuke's life consisted only of textbooks, meals that he ate up in his room, and annoying calls from his best friend. Naruto was convinced that he was going to fail miserably and had the need to wail this over the phone to him, even during odd hours of the night. "Naruto, just come over to study with me," he finally groaned one night when the moron decided to call at three in the morning. He was much too tired to fully comprehend what he'd said.

So, the next day, when Naruto arrived laden with junk food and no study materials, Sasuke glared up at him while simultaneously stabbing his scrambled eggs with his fork. "What do you want?"

"You said I could study with you," his best friend chirped cheerfully, beaming.

This was a perfect example of why he shouldn't answer the phone at three in the morning. "Fine," the dark-haired boy grumbled, carrying his dirty dishes to the sink. Naruto bounced after him, standing by the sink as Sasuke began to wash the dishes.

The mostly one-sided conversation filled the empty space in the kitchen. And, at first, they were comfortable. Naruto gazed at his best friend as he normally did. But, oddly, he saw things he'd never taken the time to notice before. Sasuke had pretty eyes with long lashes and a cute nose perfect for Eskimo kisses. His stomach jumped when pale fingers snapped in his face. "Oi, dobe."

"Can I kiss you?" The words tumbled out before he could stop them. Naruto gaped stupidly. He did not just ask his best friend if he could kiss him. He did not just ask Sasuke, of all people, if he could kiss him.

Sasuke stared, blinked, stared. Then he promptly hit Naruto with a dishtowel. "Shut up, stupid," he snapped. The blond cowered when his friend brandished the dishtowel again.

There was a long awkward silence as they stood in the kitchen. It was Kakashi who broke the uneasiness. The dark-haired boy's guardian waltzed right into the kitchen, whistling. "Ah—there are two, shy schoolgirls in my kitchen," he remarked in a singsong.

Violence abruptly broke out. Kakashi only chuckled as Sasuke attempted to beat him viciously with the dishtowel, and Naruto shouted rude things at the top of his lungs.

The blond boy was content to take over Sasuke's bed when they finally got down to studying. He sprawled across the bed, munching on food full of fatty content, getting crumbs over everything. Mostly, he was getting on his friend's nerves. A third of the time that they should have spent studying was spent bickering like an old married couple.

"I think I like you a little bit, Sasuke," Naruto decided to say out of the blue one day. If he felt any trepidation, he hid it well, under a bright smile.

"Shut up and eat your junk food."

Their study sessions were rather quiet after that, besides the crunch of junk food, pencil tapping, and the occasional hum of music. Naruto finally broke and started to talk at Sasuke during one such session. His best friend tuned him out, focusing on the textbook, a slight frown on his face. "You're pretty, Sasuke," the blond observed exuberantly, checking to see if said pretty person was listening.

"Go away," came the grumbled reply. There was a very faint twitch of pale pink lips. Naruto grinned.

Then studying absorbed their attention once more. Under the table, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and gave it a warm, gentle squeeze. After a moment, Sasuke replied with a vague squeeze of his own.