Author: Rasengan22

Note: Nothing particularly special, but it's the first thing I've written in a while where I wrote through without a plan... not feeling pressured about anything. And I got to work on unique descriptions, metaphors, etc... So it was a good exercise, I think, and for some reason, I kinda like it. Even if it's just a six-page drabble. But some of you might find use and meaning in it. Some won't.

For Nori because of her excellent story about the parrot. It made me laugh. Chu. I'm sorry this isn't SB, SAM or -groans- TTM.

They were lying on Sasuke’s bed. It was about 10.30 in the evening. The window was cracked a few inches off the sill. A light breeze drifted in. Outside, it was cool. It had rained all afternoon, and the lingering scent of late summer showers saturated the room. The lights were off. He was sharing his full-sized bed with Naruto, who was lying to his right, crammed against the wall. Naruto waved his hand in front of his face as if casting a spell or performing a curse. Sasuke was glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, wondering what the hell his idiot friend was doing, but not interested enough to ask.

“My fingers,” Naruto brought them to his nose and sniffed, “Still smell like her crotch, I think.”

Sasuke’s brow furrowed, eyes concentrated on the ceiling. Maybe an earlier day he would have been disgusted, surprised, infuriated, but he had known Naruto for so long, such a comment barely registered on his emotional radar. If he sat here, quietly, and didn’t respond or acknowledge the comment, the good news was that Naruto might drop it. He was like a great grizzly bear. If Sasuke froze, the dumb creature would grow bored and return to gathering berries or stealing picnic baskets. Whatever it was bears did in their free time.

Naruto made another grand sniffing noise. “Do you think it was something she ate? I mean, is it really normal for me to still be smelling that on my fingers?”

Sasuke sighed. Perhaps he hadn’t been still enough. “I’m not so sure that’s how it works.”

“Huh?” Naruto rolled his head to the side and studied Sasuke’s profile in the darkness. Moonlight coming in from the window draped over their bodies like shiny, translucent white powder. “How do you know? Maybe it’s like with your breath. If you eat garlic or onions, it’s pretty strong, right?”

Sasuke wrinkled his nose the slightest bit.

“Not to say it smells like garlic or onions,” Naruto rambled, focus, like Sasuke’s, drifting to the ceiling, intently watching the moving shadows cast by the swaying branches of the old oak tree at the side of the house. “I mean… it smells nice, I guess. Do you think that’s weird I think that?”

“Naruto…” Sasuke breathed while closing his eyes as if in pain and rubbing across his temple, “I think everything you think is weird.”

“I know.” Naruto shifted and placed both hands on the center of his stomach. He dragged his left knee up, bending it, moving it side to side, reminding Sasuke of a rocking boat.

A peaceful quiet took hold of the room. Crickets chirped and hummed, filling up the comfortable silence. The paddle fan moved in lazy circles as if rotating all day had tired it out and made it weary of its monotonous existence.

“What do you think about going down on girls?”

“What do I think about it?” Sasuke repeated.

“Yeah. What do you think about it,” Naruto said, as if that cleared up everything, as if all Sasuke needed was to hear it again in order to comprehend the motive behind the question.

“I think… this is a stupid conversation.”

Naruto hummed disapprovingly and shoved both hands behind his head, grumbling quietly. “It’s not stupid. We‘re both guys. It’s normal for us to talk about. Compare notes.”

“Oh?” Sasuke smirked and lifted an eyebrow without being conscious of it. “Are you saying you need… tips?”

Naruto was silent for a bit as if mulling it over. Sasuke tilted his head, catching Naruto’s finger as it scratched absently at a cheek. “No… That’s not what I meant. Hm. What did I mean?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Mah well. I just think it’s interesting is all. Sex and everything. Not even just sex, but yeah,” Naruto unfolded his arm from behind his head and lifted his hand in the air again, “Fingers, tongue, whatever… I dunno. When you’re a kid… well, for boys anyway, you just think so much about sex, sex, sex, and then you have it, and yeah it’s great… and then, I dunno… sometimes it’s like I’m going through the motions. Do you know what I mean?”

Sasuke frowned, feeling a split second of being rather uncomfortable. Probably their close proximity. The topic. The fact that he’d had sex in this bed that Naruto was now lying in. A multitude of irrational thoughts that made a minority of muscles more rigid. Until he became conscious of it and willed himself to relax.

“I suppose,” Sasuke answered eventually, still with a small frown.

“Doesn’t it make you think… I dunno. Like, eh,” Naruto fumbled around, huffing at his apparent inability to articulate his thoughts.

“Like it’s overrated?” Sasuke suggested.

“Yeah. Kinda.” Naruto looked over at him. Sasuke met his gaze with an indiscernible expression.

“Maybe you haven’t found the right person.” Sasuke’s mouth was a thin line. It was hard for him to offer advice, encouragement. That wasn’t his forte. Naruto was who he, reluctantly, went to whenever he had something he couldn’t work out for himself. Which happened very rarely for Sasuke. But so what. Naruto was always willing to listen. Sasuke could take his advice or discard it as he chose. They were guys. It wasn’t necessary to share feelings or cry all over each other. All they both needed was a mutual understanding. Invisible signals concerning when to push and when to give space. This is what brought them together as friends in the first place.

“Maybe…” Naruto mused, a 30 second delay in responding.

The fan whirred.

“Have you ever had sex with anyone you really liked?” Naruto asked him. His voice was funny though. Laced with genuine curiosity, but it was as if he was trying to hide it.

“No,” Sasuke said flatly. Because he hadn’t. Liked? They were only 18. In Sasuke’s eyes, that was far too young to be concerned about sentimental crap, but Naruto had always been a bit different. He’d lost his parents at a young age, and as far back as he could remember, seemed like he wanted a family as soon as possible. They were both headed off to college, but Sasuke wouldn’t be surprised if Naruto was married before either of them graduated.

“That’s sad.”

The finality with which Naruto spoke caused Sasuke’s eyebrow to twitch. He scratched at the shell of his ear and let his arm fall to his side again. He didn’t respond. Sasuke watched the shadows play off the navy wall, the way it caused the white crown molding to appear drab and gray. Dull. He could hear the wind rustling the leaves just outside the window, and he had a strong sensation. A certain longing. It was fleeting, but it struck him quite forcefully. That they’d never again be able to spend a summer like this. He and Naruto were going to different universities. Not far away from each other, but enough distance that they might grow apart. He found his mind wandering down childhood memories of summer little league games. The dirt and dust that kicked up at sunset. The way the orange globe folded behind the clouds and the sky was dripping in robust and beautiful colors. The twinkling sound of the neighborhood ice cream truck. Glimpses of chocolate ice cream attached to the corners of Naruto’s mouth. The both of them sneaking out late at night to play hide and seek with the neighborhood kids. Then they’d stayed friends throughout high school. Close friends. Sasuke’d never admitted it, but he considered Naruto his best friend, and deep down, he was aware he’d never find another person like him. Yet, it seemed indisputable that time would continue its trickle forward. Precious things would be left behind, tossed like pennies into fountains. It seemed cruel and unfair. Time. Brutally thrusting forward. Thoughtless and oblivious to those affected by it, those caught in its undertow with no choice but to be dragged to the bottom.

“Oi.”

Sasuke blinked, lost in his thoughts.

“You asleep?”

Sasuke shook his head.

“You got all quiet on me.” Naruto rolled over onto his side, fussing with the comforter at first. Then he jabbed Sasuke in the shoulder as if he hadn’t already gotten Sasuke’s attention. “ ‘Sup?”

The corner of Sasuke’s mouth lifted. He reached up and poked Naruto in the center of his forehead. Naruto’s mouth twitched. A frown. A smile. A frown, then another smile and into a grin he’d obviously lost control of. Sasuke laughed, a low husky sound. Naruto was nearly the only one who could make him laugh. Although his laughter died away as Naruto punched him hard in the shoulder. Sasuke growled and got up on his side, punching Naruto even harder near his ribs.

“Ow!” Naruto rubbed the spot. “You bastard!”

“Go sniff your fingers some more,” Sasuke said, lying back down and trying to get comfortable.

“Don’t want to.”

“Don’t pout.”

“I’m not pouting,” Naruto whined, voice high-pitched and nasally. “Just because you don’t say all the things in your dumb head. Because you don’t wanna sound stupid.” He drawled out the last word, sounding very childish.

“I don’t say stupid things because I don’t think as stupid things as you do,” Sasuke responded easily. It seemed to him the fan had slowed even more, and he wondered if there was a problem with the motor or if maybe he was growing more tired.

“True…” Naruto stated thoughtfully. “You never say stupid things. Everyone thinks you’re smart.” He said this in a way that he seemed… almost proud. Sasuke didn’t know what to make of the feeling that caused, so he let it subside, like watching tiny bubbles burst in the air. Needless to say, he didn’t do well with compliments. Naruto, however, Sasuke had observed, was always hungry for the praise Sasuke was always so wantonly given.

“What are you talking about?” he found himself saying. “The teachers love you.” He almost sounded envious to his own ears, which surprised him, but if he was honest with himself, he could see why he would be. The teachers had high expectations of him, of course, which was fine. Sasuke had high expectations of himself, but with Naruto, it was different. They adored him, it was true. Sometimes Naruto stirred up trouble, but for the most part, many people liked him.

“Pfft. They’re always picking fights. Never surprised if I fail a test or forget my homework.”

“That’s because after the millionth time, it’s hard to be surprised,” Sasuke said. He stretched his right arm up, grabbing hold of his shoulder as he stretched and the socket popped. He gripped the decorative post of his wooden headboard, rubbing the smooth surface and running his fingers over the carved indentation. “You’re plenty popular. Besides. What does it matter? Now we’re going to college.”

“It doesn’t, I guess,” Naruto said, punctuating the comment with a sigh. Naruto’s own hand reached up to his side of the headboard and squeezed it. His fingers tapped audibly on the wood, a thudunk, thudunk.

The wind appeared to have died, and the night had grown silent. The shadows ceased to wave across the walls like so many spider legs.

“Hey, Sasuke?”

“Mm?” He realized he’d closed his eyes at some point, sleep becoming a heavy weight on his skin, an invisible force pressing down on him from above.

“You tired?” He could feel Naruto shift on the bed, but he didn’t bother to open his eyes.

“Mm.”

Naruto’s question, whatever it was, went unspoken. Locked, perhaps, in a tomb like that unknown soldier. Or perhaps it was floating, unfettered, like a lost satellite in the Earth’s orbit.

“Mind if I sleep over tonight?” He heard Naruto ask. The mattress dipped, and Sasuke ‘oofed’ as Naruto crawled over him. He was too tired to yell or even punch the idiot, but happened to crack open his eyes just as Naruto removed his shirt. Sasuke watched his back, the moonlight hitting his skin and taught muscles like an ethereal scar. He averted his eyes as the pair of cargo shorts Naruto wore dropped to his ankles. This time, Naruto crawled back in by way of the foot of the bed. Sasuke had already changed for the evening, a pair of black sweatpants he usually wore to work out in or when he ran in the morning. Like he would do the following morning. Naruto would sleep in. Long enough that Sasuke could shower and get dressed. Naruto would drag himself out of bed and ask Sasuke to make him breakfast.

As if Naruto had been thinking along the same lines, he spoke, his back turned to Sasuke and his face near the wall. “Can we have omelets tomorrow? With, uh… cheese and ham and… green peppers. That sounds good.”

“I was thinking pancakes,” Sasuke murmured.

“Both sound good.”

“We’ll have both then.” He groaned, sitting up for a second to tug back the comforter. Naruto refused to budge, but that didn’t much matter. Though more than likely, it would grow cold with the window open, and Naruto would whine and shift until he woke Sasuke up, and the bedspread would have to be pulled the rest of the way off. Naruto would fall easily back to sleep. Sasuke would lie awake, staring at the ceiling fan, waiting for the lights of dawn and the smell of dew. Then get up and run a few miles or as far as he could manage before his body told him he could run no more.

The nostalgic, melancholy feeling from before covered him again, heavier than the comforter spread across the lower half of his body. It anchored his limbs. He could hear Naruto’s soft, gentle snores. He could make out the rise and fall of his friend’s shoulders. Already sleeping peacefully. Sasuke let his eyes close, his breath evening out, succumbing to the inevitable continuation of time. A part of him longed to resist its pull, but he bullied it until it merely rattled the cages of his soon-to-be slumbering consciousness. Eventually, it was lost entirely to the fringes of approaching dreams, their feelers locking onto his mind, shedding and warping the day’s images until they were reassembled into something pleasantly new and altogether indecipherable.