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"Don't cry, Sasuke." Naruto spoke with a pout as he watched the other child shedding tears.
"But your mom's gonna be mad at me..." The dark-haired boy whimpered, having accidentally dropped one of the woman's makeup compacts.
"She won't, I'll tell her it was me, okay?"
"But then she'll be mad at you."
The little boy sniffled, trying to wipe away his tears.
"It's okay, she'll know it was an accident, alright? Just don't cry." The blond boy said before hugging the other child.
"Okay..."
"You want tomatoes?" The little blond asked with a smile to his best friend—they'd been practically inseparable since they met.
"I do." The Uchiha said with a pout, feeling the older boy take his hand.
"Let's get some really yummy ones for you." Naruto said, watching him nod.
Later, when Kushina found out about the broken makeup, she couldn't bring herself to scold the children—not when she noticed her son trying to take the blame for his little friend who was on the verge of tears, before the real culprit finally confessed.
...
"Come on, Sasuke." Naruto called to his friend, but the dark-haired boy remained locked in the bathroom.
"I'm getting ready!"
"But at this rate we're gonna be late."
"I'm coming out in a sec!"
"What's wrong, Sasuke?"
"..."
"Tell me." The blond could practically see the smaller boy through the door.
"You're gonna make other friends there."
"Yeah?"
"You're gonna abandon me!"
"Of course I'm not!"
"Yes you will! You're gonna make tons of others and forget about me."
"I won't, Sasuke, you're my best friend in the whole wide world!"
"Then promise you won't replace me?"
"I promise."
"Pinky promise?"
"Pinky promise! You're gonna be my only best friend."
"Okay then." The dark-haired boy finally opened the door, already holding up his pinky finger to seal the deal.
"Promised." Uzumaki said with a smile before hooking their pinkies together.
"You carry my backpack." The smaller boy said with puffed-out cheeks.
"Okay."
...
"I can't do it." The blond-haired boy whimpered at the open math textbook.
He was doing homework with the Uchiha—well, Sasuke had already finished and was trying to teach him the material, but without much success.
"Take a breather." said the dark-haired boy. "We'll keep going in a bit."
"Okay." the taller one sighed.
Sasuke ran his hand through the blond hair when the boy rested his head on his shoulder.
"It's not fair, it's so easy for you."
"You're better at sports than me."
"That's 'cause you don't like to sweat."
"Shut up, I'm trying to show you what you're good at." Sasuke shot back.
"You're a couch potato, that's why you don't have the advantage."
"I'm trying to help you." he said, pinching one of the blond's cheeks.
"Transfer some of your smarts to me, Sasu."
"If I could, I would."
"Then do something else for me..."
"What?"
"I want some incentive." the taller one said, lifting his head.
"What kind of incentive?"
"... I want a kiss."
"..." the smaller one felt his cheeks heat up. "Seriously?"
"Uh-huh, but if you don't want to..."
"No! It's fine, but you have to close your eyes."
"Okay..."
Though his cheeks were now flushed, the blond closed his eyes. The Uchiha gathered all his courage to press his lips to the blond's.
The act lasted no more than a few seconds, with Naruto opening his eyes right after.
"..."
The dark-haired boy turned even redder when the taller one kissed him again.
"..."
"Motivated now, aren't you?" The Uchiha tried to sound firm, but his voice came out with a small embarrassed stutter.
The blond smiled before bringing his hands to the other's cheeks.
"I don't think so yet."
"Naruto..."
"I need a few more little kisses before I can face Bhaskara."
"... You need to study." spoke the smaller one, though he wouldn't complain one bit if that was the blond's course of action.
"You said I could rest."
"Yes, but..."
"None of that, this is my rest time now."
"Fine."
The dark-haired boy tried not to be too embarrassed when the other smiled and kissed him again.
...
"It wasn't that bad, come on." Rock Lee said with a whimper and a little pout—he'd made a joke during the conversation with their little friend group that got laughs from everyone else, except Sasuke, who looked like he was judging his very soul with just a glance.
"Terrible." said the dark-haired boy.
"Don't be so mean, Sasuke!"
"..." the judgmental look didn't leave the short boy's face.
"I haven't seen Sasuke smile once since we met him." Gaara commented while opening a straw wrapper.
"Smile at what? Did you see the kind of comments he makes?"
"Hey!"
"The point is you don't smile at anything, get it?" Temari asked her friend.
"And why would I go around smiling?"
"Stop being such a buzzkill."
Lee whimpered.
"You're the one talking shit and I'm the buzzkill?"
"What do you have against me?!"
"Everything."
"Stop making the baby cry, Sasuke." The redhead of the group gave Lee light pats on the back.
"Then tell him to stop being annoying."
"You're the difficult one."
"Yeah right." he grumbled.
"Changing the subject, apparently a new student's coming tomorrow." said the blonde.
"In the middle of the year?" asked Gaara. "I dunno about that..."
"Since when are my gossips wrong?"
"I dunno, it's just weird at this point." No Sabaku shrugged.
"I'm just relaying what I heard, honey."
"Uh-huh..."
...
Well, the blonde wasn't wrong after all.
"You good?" the newcomer smiled as he approached the No Sabaku siblings.
"Yeah, we're good." Temari smiled. "You liking it here?"
"I mean, it's pretty big." the boy said with a little smile. "I'm Naruto, and you guys?"
"Temari and Gaara." the girl answered, gesturing to both herself and her brother. "We're siblings."
"Wow, you don't look much alike..."
"Thank God." they said in unison.
"I'm perfectly fine like this, thanks." The redhead said before turning his attention to the door, seeing the Uchiha arrive with his usual unfriendly expression.
The blond seemed to light up as soon as he saw the dark-haired boy, but didn't get a chance to speak to him, since a pink-haired girl grabbed his arm and pulled him toward a little group.
"They want to meet you too, Naruto!" the girl said excitedly.
The dark-eyed boy had to blink hard a few times when he noticed the presence of the boy who had been in his spot moments before. Had he started going crazy?
"So there really was a new kid?" Gaara asked his friend.
"..."
The Uchiha quickly went from stunned to irritated when he noticed his best friend near Haruno—he didn't even come say hi to him! They hadn't seen each other in six months, since the blond had moved to the neighboring city for a while because of his parents' work.
"He didn't even tell me he was coming back." he thought, fuming.
The blond-haired boy was practically drilled by the dark-haired boy's glare until the teacher entered the classroom, and even though Gaara tried to make conversation with Sasuke, he kept turning his attention back to the new student. Maybe he was already planning to terrorize the poor kid's life? Gaara wouldn't doubt it.
"Is he okay?" Rock Lee asked, a little scared.
After all, as soon as the break started, Sasuke quickly left the classroom, looking like he was about to murder someone.
"Who knows..." Gaara cut himself off when Naruto approached them.
"You guys are friends with Sasuke?" the blond asked.
"Yeah... Look, don't worry about him, he's like that with everyone." Temari tried to justify the angry look the blond had received during the first three periods.
"Relax, we're friends." the blond smiled. "Mind if I sit with you guys?"
"... You're friends?" Gaara asked incredulously—he didn't believe those words for a second.
"Yep." the blond confirmed. "So... can I?"
"Of course." said the girl. "... But are you sure?"
"About what?"
"That Sasuke is your friend?"
"Absolutely." the taller one smiled. "Come on."
The others headed to the cafeteria accompanied by the blond, already willing to swear he had some kind of problem in the head.
...
At the table they usually shared, Sasuke stared irritably at his tray while waiting for his friends to arrive. Lee was the first to show up.
"You okay, Sasuke?"
"Do I look okay to you?"
"You started the day like this already?"
"Can't you tell?"
"I give up." Lee whimpered.
He made a point of sitting a few chairs away from the Uchiha. The one who ended up sitting next to the grumpy boy was the one they now considered a poor blond soul.
"..."
Temari sat next to her brother, both staring at the newcomer.
"You're not gonna talk to me, Sasuke?" the blond smiled, poking the grumpy friend's cheek.
Lee—for a moment—could swear the newcomer would lose his finger in a bite from the Uchiha; however, the reaction was without a doubt... different from what he expected.
"Hmph."
"What's wrong, baby?"
"Go hang out with your little girlfriends."
The others just looked at each other in shock at the dark-haired boy's response.
"What girlfriends?"
"I dunno, ask that bitch Sakura."
"I missed you too." The blond laughed, hugging the other's waist.
"Get off."
"Don't be so bitter, Sasuke, it's still early." the blond said with a little smile.
The others were too shocked to even speak.
"Hmph!"
The smaller one just started eating, with Naruto pulling out a small container from the bag that only now the others noticed he was carrying. Uzumaki simply opened it, starting to eat the chocolate dessert inside, and Rock Lee was already praying for that soul when he saw the blond bring the spoon with the dessert close to the Uchiha's lips.
"Try a little bit, Sasuke."
Temari opened her mouth to try to warn the boy, but ended up just gaping when the dark-haired boy's cheeks reddened before he actually tasted the dessert.
"You like it?" Naruto asked. "New recipe from Ms. Kushina."
"It's good."
"She'll be happy to hear that." Uzumaki smiled. "Want more?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Open wide."
Lee clenched his hands into fists to hide that they were trembling as he watched the blond feeding the dark-haired boy. What kind of lunatic was Uzumaki to get someone like Sasuke to blush?!
The dark-haired boy's friends watched him simply ignore their presence in favor of talking to the strangely cheerful blond boy.
"And then?"
"He almost had to pay for a hotel to sleep after he broke the vase during Ms. Kushina's move."
The Uchiha tried to hold it in, but the laugh ended up coming out freely as the other boy told the story of the move back.
"Can we get out of here?" Gaara whispered to his sister. "Sasuke's acting weird, I'm scared..."
"..." the blonde didn't even know what to say. "Did he laugh?"
"He laughed." the redhead whimpered in fear.
"..."
"They missed you too." the blond was saying. "You should come over for lunch."
"I will one of these days."
"How about today?"
"Isn't Ms. Kushina busy?"
"Nah, she'll be thrilled to see you."
"Then I'm good with that."
Again a shy smile painted the dark-haired boy's lips.
The others decided not to comment on it, too horrified to do anything.
...
"Sasuke..."
"Hm?" the dark-haired boy found it strange how nervously Gaara approached him. Temari and Rock Lee also approached, practically surrounding him at his own desk.
"We made a little treat for you..." said the girl, showing a container she was holding and opening it. "Try it."
"... Are you crazy?"
"It turned out good, see what you think."
"You know I don't like sweets, I'm not eating that." he said with a frown, staring at the others like they were some kind of weird attraction.
"But you ate what Naruto offered you." said Lee.
"That's different."
"Different how? We're your friends too." said the redhead.
"... It's still different!"
"Come on, just a little bit." Temari insisted.
"I'm not eating it."
"But..."
"No."
"It's good." said the tall dark-haired boy. "Just try a tiny bit."
"I already said I don't want any!"
"Sasuke..." the blonde practically whimpered.
"No means no."
"Then why did you eat what he offered you?!" Gaara asked.
"Because Ms. Kushina made it."
"Who's that?"
"His mom."
"Still, it was sweet!" No Sabaku argued.
"Stop it, have you guys lost your minds?"
"Why were you acting so cute around him?" Lee asked, confused.
"I was not being cute!"
"You were too! You had all those little smiles for him!"
Lee seemed to be accusing him of something.
"Of course I didn't."
The smaller one spoke with an unfriendly expression.
"Sasuke!" as if to break the mood, the blond approached them looking excited. "Today I'm playing in a basketball game, you coming?!"
"A game?" the smaller one made a little face.
"Uh-huh, come on, it'll be fun. I'll walk home with you." the taller one said with a smile.
"Hm..."
"Pretty please? You can cheer for me."
"Fine." he grumbled. "But you carry my backpack."
"Of course!" the blond quickly kissed the smaller one's cheek and waved goodbye to the others.
"See?!" Rock Lee spoke up again.
"What?"
"You find ways to not set foot on that court even when it's for a grade. On top of everything, you're all blushing! If it were any of us giving you a kiss, you'd slap us in the face."
"Stop it, what kind of irrational jealousy is this?"
"We fought tooth and nail just to get you to even sit with us at the table, Sasuke!"
Gaara threw it in the smaller one's face.
...
"What'd you think of the game?"
The blond asked with a smile already at the school exit gate.
"I didn't understand any of it, but it was good that you won."
The dark-haired boy smiled when the other seemed to get excited at his words even though he hadn't said much. Uzumaki promptly putting both backpacks on his back.
"Next time, I'll dedicate a basket to you."
"I'll hold you to that."
"You can." the taller one laughed before ending up holding the dark-haired boy's hand.
It was already becoming a habit for them to walk home together.
...
"I'm telling you, I saw the two of them holding hands."
Haruno was telling the other people in the classroom, just waiting for Uchiha and Uzumaki to arrive.
"Sasuke?" Temari asked with a frown, as if she'd said something absurd.
She wasn't one to talk to the pink-haired girl, but she seemed genuinely interested in clarifying that topic.
"Yes, I saw them like that when I left school."
"... Sasuke?" she asked again.
"The one and only."
"Well, he turns into a different person around Naruto, so you guys shouldn't be that surprised..." Shikamaru commented with a yawn.
"It's Sasuke." the two girls said together.
"Yeah, but he's been acting weird ever since Naruto arrived."
"That's true." Lee had to agree. "He even smiled! Sasuke smiled, people!"
"Yeah, but... Those are pretty high levels, I can't believe he could reach them that fast." said the blonde.
"Me neither." the dark-haired boy agreed.
"Look, there they are." Nara gestured to the door where the mentioned duo had just entered.
Naruto had one arm over the smaller one's shoulders, saying something that seemed interesting to the Uchiha.
"Naruto!" Sakura quickly approached the blond when Sasuke went to leave his backpack on his desk.
"Yeah?"
"I have a little question for you..." the taller one just nodded. "Are you single?"
"Hm...?" was the only thing the boy let out.
Anyone watching would say it was because he didn't understand the question, but he just didn't know how to answer that.
"Are you single? Because I could've sworn I saw you holding someone's hand yesterday..."
The pink-haired girl left it hanging, and Uzumaki brought his hand to the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.
"Well..."
"Stop bothering him, can't you see he's uncomfortable?"
Sasuke ended up butting in.
"I just asked him a question."
"And can't you tell he's not comfortable with that?"
Naruto just kept a nervous little smile while looking at the dark-haired boy—they'd actually never talked about what they were exactly.
"What's the problem, Sasuke? Everyone wants to know if he's seeing someone." said another girl.
"And why?!"
"Isn't it obvious?!"
"No!"
"Look at him!"
"I'm not dating anyone." the boy said with an awkward smile, trying to end the scene unfolding.
Sasuke swore he'd beat up the blond. Naruto was a jerk!
"In that case, we could..." the pink-haired girl was about to propose something, but the taller boy cut her off.
"But I like Sasuke."
"Oh..."
The pink-haired girl found herself at a loss for words; silence took over the classroom while the Uchiha could feel his face go through several shades of red.
"... Wow." said Gaara in shock.
"Yeah..." Temari just went along with it.
Naruto, for his part, just smiled before walking to the desk in front of the Uchiha's, sitting down.
"Today we have a new recipe from Ms. Kushina." he seemed unbothered by what he'd just said to the class.
That was the cue for the others to try to return to normal, with the little groups breaking up to talk about what had happened.
"..."
Sasuke stared at the blond, his cheeks still burning.
"What?"
"I think we need to talk..."
"Can it be after school? You can have lunch at my place again."
"..." the dark-haired boy just nodded.
"Try some, she put that jelly you like on it."
Naruto seemed to ignore the awkward atmosphere while offering a little piece of toast to the smaller one.
...
"Understood, Ms. Kushina."
Naruto said with a laugh before appearing in the room with a tray of snacks.
"You okay there?" the Uchiha asked, sitting on the bed. "We just had lunch."
"My mom thinks you're too skinny."
"But..."
"Are you really gonna argue?"
"Never."
The taller one nodded, placing the tray on his desk and then sitting close to the dark-haired boy on the bed.
"So? What did you want to talk about?"
"... I think you have something to tell me." the smaller one started with a pouty tone.
"Are you seriously gonna make me do it?" the taller one laughed, seeing the other's cheeks puff out.
"Hm..."
"I already made it clear I like you, Sasuke, if it wasn't obvious after all these years..."
"... Then why did you tell her you were single?"
"Because we never made anything official."
"Hm..."
"But I still said I liked you." he said before hugging the boy.
"Then why haven't I heard a proper question?" his tone sounded pouty.
"After all this time with us like this, I was kind of afraid of ruining everything."
"Idiot..." Sasuke said embarrassed as he rested his cheek on the taller one's shoulder. "Ask."
"Will you go out with me?"
"I will." he answered with a small embarrassed smile spreading across his lips.
He'd been waiting for that question for quite a while.