#nsntext

“Ugh, my back is killing me,” the blond complained, the soreness and stiffness having finally gotten to him. He dropped onto the bed with an unceremonious flop, bouncing Sasuke, who sat beside him. The book went tumbling from Sasuke’s hands, and similarly, a sigh from his lips. Naruto had only gotten home a few minutes ago, and it was well past evening. The idiot had been leaving at sunup and wasn’t home until it was pitch black. How Naruto was even sleeping was beyond Sasuke. 

“It’s your fault, idiot,” Sasuke warned. “I told you, you’re working too hard. You need to take it easy before you hurt yourself.” Dark eyes cut to the side towards Naruto, who was still face down in his pillow. The guy just didn’t know how to say no…and he thought pushing himself until he broke was an improvement. Maybe, but progress meant nothing if you laid yourself up in bed to get there. 

“Well, we can’t all be prodigies, teme,” Naruto said, muffled by the pillow. “Besides, I’ll be good. I’ve got Kurama on my side. I just wish he’d heal this stupid ache in my back. Feels like Sakura-chan used me as a punching bag.” 

Privately, Sasuke doubted that’d be too far from happening.  Reaching up, Sasuke rubbed at the back of his neck. It’d make him a jerk if he didn’t help Naruto out at least a litte, right? “Um…” 

Naruto heard Sasuke, but when the Uchiha didn’t continue, it prompted the blond to look up. He noticed the slight flush on Sasuke’s face and cocked a brow. “What’sa matter, Sasuke?”  

Sasuke refused to look at Naruto—the ground was too interesting. “Do you…well…I mean…I could give you a massage?” he awkwardly finished, cutting his eyes to the side to gauge his lover’s reaction. It was just a simple, stupid offer. Sasuke had nimble fingers, Naruto could use some tension relief, it was pure logic.

Naruto blinked once, twice, and a large grin broke out on his face. “Seriously?” he snickered, “hell yeah! Gimme all ya got, teme.” Naruto wiggled to get more comfortable on the bed, having already shed his shirt before plopping in. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he stood, rounding the bed to come to Naruto’s side. Honestly, he’d regret offering. Naruto would probably start asking now, at every chance. Still, when Sasuke touched Naruto’s back, he winced at the tightly coiled stress there. Applying gentle pressure, Sasuke began to knead the knots away, varying from his fingertips to his knuckles as he carefully massaged away the stiff ache in his lover’s back. Naruto groaned in pleasure, arching up like a needy cat. 

“God, you’ve been holding out on me. Guess I’m not the only one with magic fingers, eh?” he smirked at his own perverse joke. Sasuke slapped him on the shoulder for it, tempted to stop right there, but Naruto was already relaxing so much…and, Sasuke would be a liar if he said he wasn’t enjoying it, himself. Naruto was always so warm, his skin smooth and silken beneath Sasuke’s fingertips, not a scar to be found. Sasuke never failed to lose himself in Naruto, no matter how innocent the touch was. Eventually, when Sasuke had lost track of time but his fingers had gone numb, he stopped for the night.

Nonetheless, here he was, trailing along behind his two housemates while they bantered away a few strides ahead of him. It was one in the morning on a Saturday, so already there were several crowds bustling about on the streets, the lights from lampposts and towering buildings illuminated the sidewalks. A few people bumped shoulders with Sasuke, making him cross his arms tighter. It wasn’t like he was afraid of people or anything, he just…wasn’t good with them. He’d been a loner his whole life, and had a few close friends instead of a gaggle of people where the only thing Sasuke knew about them were their names. Being a shy, quiet kid made for growing into a shy, quiet teenager, but by then, that made one a bit of an outcast. Well, not quite an outcast, considering his family was rich, everyone back home knew who Sasuke was. He’d grown up around formal parties, meeting with his parents’ friends or business partners, and having to do most of his talking himself when his parents were too busy to attend certain school events. Sasuke may be introverted, but he wasn’t socially inept. Just…a little put off, was all.

Sasuke sighed to himself and looked up, where he wished he could see the paths of stars he’d grown up with. He used to spend hours outside, getting lost in the night sky and her ocean of stars. In the city, there was too much light pollution; Sasuke was impressed he could even see the moon.

“Oi, are you gonna lag behind all night?” Suigetsu called over his shoulder to his foot-dragging friend. Karin nudged Suigetsu with her elbow and said something to him that Sasuke didn’t catch, but he suspected she was telling their shared friend to lay off. All three of them were already a little tipsy—they’d hit up a bar before Karin had convinced (or, convinced Suigetsu and dragged Sasuke along) to try this club with her. Now that Sasuke thought about it, that was another reason he’d been so easy to coerce along. A couple of drinks could make a person easy to manipulate, especially if you were as conniving as one redheaded anthropology student.

“I’m hoping I’ll lose you two in the crowds,” Sasuke called back to his friend. Karin snickered, and Suigetsu raised his hand to aim one rude gesture at Sasuke. Really, they were best friends, it might be hard to believe at first sight, but really.

Up ahead, the crowds were getting thinner. “We’re almost there, kids. Come on,” Karin took Suigetsu’s elbow and pulled him into an alley that Sasuke hadn’t even seen, it was so well-hidden. The brick walls were unpainted, unlike the fronts of the buildings that sandwiched the little pathway. Sneaking through the dim alley made Sasuke feel like he was asking to get stabbed and robbed, that was what happened out here, wasn’t it?

“You know what happens to pretty faces in alleyways, Karin?” Suigetsu grumbled, as if he’d read Sasuke’s mind.

Karin snorted, “I guess Sasuke and I better be careful, then,” she deadpanned. Sasuke smirked at her sardonic comment. People used to ask why he was friends with her when they seemed so…incompatible. All they had to do was hear her open her mouth. Karin was sharp as a whip, and she wielded her words with as much danger. For some people, it hurt, for others, it attracted them like moths to a candle. Plus, if Karin liked you, there was nothing she wouldn’t do for you.

“There it is!” Karin exclaimed, and Sasuke felt his shoulders sag. The building was lit up with deep colors; dark green, blue, and red lights flashed, and the nearer they got to it, the more Sasuke felt the music pounding through his feet. Ugh, was it too late to fake an illness and dart home?

Approaching the line of people that were waiting to get in, Sasuke noted that most of them looked drunk already. He guessed it was pretty late, and this probably wasn’t the first stop for most of the club goers here. Karin made it her business to sidle up to one of the good-looking guys, while Suigetsu made it look easy to join in on a group conversation with strangers. Assholes. Sasuke scrunched his nose at the scent of vodka wafting around, his arms folded close and his shoulders hunched, looking every bit as uninterested in being here as he felt. He let his two roommates (see above, assholes) get caught up in their own escapades, where they got lost in conversation and didn’t pay attention to Sasuke. On one hand, it suited him fine to not have to try and meet their standards, but on another, what the hell was he supposed to do, now?

More people joined in the line, jostling into Sasuke. Annoyed, the young man tried to step to the side and out of their way. As he separated a little bit from the jumble, he happened to glance to the side, towards the roads. Cars were parked beside the sidewalk, and several parking meters lined along it, too. As if anyone inside was going to remember to come out to refill them. That was rich. Sasuke shook his head at the idea, his gaze creeping up the sidewalk and counting the meters as a distraction from the noise. His eyes widened a fraction when, a little ways away, he saw a dog tied to one of the parking meters. It was an impressive dog, huge and with pointed ears that kept swiveling like it was trying to listen to everything. Sasuke thought it looked something like a Shepherd, but its solid, rusty orange fur made him believe it was a mix of some sort. It was calm, too, all it was doing was sitting and watching the people pass by, occasionally sticking its head out to sniff curiously.

Smiling, Sasuke pulled away from the crowded line and headed towards the leashed dog. Once he started nearing it, he clicked his tongue to get its attention. The dog turned to face the noise and cocked its head when it noticed Sasuke standing a couple of feet away. Sasuke knew better than to approach a strange dog, he’d only wanted a better look at the beautiful thing, but when it stood and started wagging its tail, it was hard to resist. Sasuke held out his hand and let the dog smell him before he went any closer, moving his hand along the dog’s head to give its pointed ear a scratch. “What a good boy,” Sasuke murmured, wearing a soft smile. He loved animals, though he’d grown up with cats, which the rest of his family preferred. Sasuke liked dogs like this, the quiet, calm ones.

Sasuke knelt on his knees beside the overjoyed dog, who was taller than Sasuke when standing and Sasuke was sitting. Most people gave the dog a wide berth, clearly intimidated by it, but Sasuke was too busy ruffling the dog’s ears to feel intimidated. The dog sat and placed one paw on Sasuke’s thigh, thoroughly enjoying the attention the young Uchiha was lavishing upon him while murmuring quiet praises. “It’s much better out here, where it’s quiet,” Sasuke told the dog, who woofed in response. “Right. You wouldn’t like it inside. You’re better company than most people in there, anyway,” Sasuke smirked. He lost track of time with his new friend, spending several minutes petting the dog.

It was a voice that snapped Sasuke from his thoughts. “Even my dog meets people at the club, huh?” the sunny voice laughed, startling Sasuke and making him look up at the owner of said voice. A smiling young man with blond hair towered over Sasuke, his hands shoved in the pockets of his orange jacket. The dog’s ears pricked up and he stood, his tail wagging furiously.

Sasuke felt heat warming up his face, and he hurried to stand, brushing his hands off on his jeans. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to get a better look. He’s beautiful,” he explained, leaving out the whole “hey, I’ve been sitting here petting your dog for fifteen minutes” part.

The man laughed again and placed his hand on his dog’s head, earning another cheerful bark. “Don’t worry about it, man. Kurama’s actually pretty territorial, I’m impressed he let you pet him,” Naruto explained. “Usually I get people complaining he growled at them, I guess you’ve just got a special charm,” Naruto winked, and wow, did Sasuke’s heart always beat that fast?

With a shrug, Sasuke glanced down at Kurama. “I’m not exactly sure who charmed whom,” he said, “but he’s a great dog. I’m Sasuke,” he added, finally remembering through the haze of his earlier drinking and initial surprise, that it was polite to introduce himself to new people.

The blond held a hand out, causing the sleeve of his jacket to pull up and reveal the beginnings of a sleeve tattoo on his left arm. “Name’s Naruto, nice to meet you! You’ve already met Kurama.” Sasuke took Naruto’s hand, strong and warm in his own. Kurama whined and nudged the pair’s clasped hands, as if jealous. Sasuke couldn’t help a laugh. Naruto swallowed dryly. “I guess he likes you. It’d be a shame if he didn’t get to see you again,” he said, with a bark from Kurama following.

Sasuke wasn’t sure how to respond at first—was he supposed to laugh, offer his number, what? “I don’t live far from here,” Sasuke started, “but I’m still kind of new around here, so I don’t know many places nearby.”

That made Naruto grin. As he unhooked Kurama’s leash from the meter, he nodded his head over his shoulder. “I know a few. There’s a park a few minutes from here, it’s got a good vantage point for looking at the stars that you can’t see in the city. Plus, it’s quiet. No offense, but you don’t really seem like the club type,” Naruto rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.

Sasuke scoffed. “What gave me away, the fact I was loitering outside with a dog instead of going in?” he asked dryly. Naruto snickered and nudged Sasuke’s shoulder.

“Smartass,” the blond said, “come on, I’ll show you the way.” Kurama trotted a little ahead of the two boys as they walked away from the club, with Naruto’s amicable chattering and the occasional thoughtful reply from Sasuke, it didn’t occur to Sasuke to feel uncomfortable for a moment. He felt perfectly in place with this bright-eyed, bubbly stranger. And, of course, with his tail-wagging dog.