~'0'~
Sasuke exited Tsunade's office, and looked around for Naruto. He noticed Naruto leaning on a wall, and a couple people around him. It seems that Kiba, Shikamaru, and Shino had found Naruto alone, and began teasing him.
"Dude, you look like shit!" Kiba laughed, poking at Naruto's face.
"Kiba screw off. Don't you have a dog toy to chew on or something?- Ow!" Naruto exclaimed. Kiba was plucking at Naruto's hair, giggling.
"Look at you, man, your hair is a mess! Did you just wake up or something?" Kiba prodded. Naruto scoffed. Shino stood silently as Kiba messed with Naruto, and Shikamaru sighed.
"Kiba, we have to go man." Shikamaru stated. Kiba groaned, annoyed.
"What, are you actually excited for patrol duty?" He hissed.
"Hell no. I couldn't care less about patrol duty, it's a drag. But dude, look," Shikamaru pointed at Naruto's face. Naruto was covering the side of his face and looking at the floor. His face red with embarrassment, and his legs shaking. "You're bothering him, jackass."
"Awww, come on Shikamaru. I'm just messing around. Hey, Naruto. You should come with us to the hot springs later. It'll be fun-" Kiba felt pressure on his shoulder. When he looked over, he found Sasuke with his hand on his shoulder, pressing down uncomfortably. Kiba winced.
"You're bothering him, jackass." Sasuke repeated Shikamaru's words, but with more vulgar intensity. Kiba shoved his hand away.
"God, everyone around here has such huge sticks up their asses." Kiba mocked. Sasuke squinted at him.
"What, you want me to pull yours out and play fetch with you?"
Kiba glared at him with hot-blooded fury. Shikamaru immediately howled with laughter. Shino stifled a small chuckle, to which Kiba's ears heated up.
"AhHAHA!! Holy SHIT! aHAhHAAHA!" Shikamaru began crying and holding his stomach. Kiba scowled and grabbed Shikamaru by the collar, pulling at him. He looked back at Naruto and Sasuke and mouthed "this-isn't-over" before pulling a dying Shikamaru away, with Shino following behind.
Sasuke turned to Naruto, and found him shivering again. He was breathing heavily, and he was covering the sides of his face with his hands. Sasuke looked around, making sure they were alone. He then took Naruto in a warm embrace. He squeezed Naruto tight as the blond clutched at Sasuke's shirt. They stood for a moment, holding each other. Sasuke could hear Naruto's heart beat. It was fast, but it slowed down overtime. He sniffed Naruto's hair, maple cinnamon.. he wasn't sure what it was that caused this smell, but he became smitten by it. He softly left kisses on Naurto's hairline, rubbing his back as they stood. Finally, Sasuke pulled away, to check Naruto's face.
"Better?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto gave a small nod. "Hungry?" Naruto nodded again. Sasuke smirked, proud of his correct assessment of Naruto's mood. Sasuke began walking, pulling at Naruto's wrist to get him going.
They left the Hokage Office building and headed for Ichiraku's. Naruto stared at the floor. Sasuke heard a distinct giggle, and he looked at the blond next to him.
"That was funny." Naruto muttered. Sasuke took a deep breath.
"Yeah." Sasuke mumbled back. Now, they were both smiling.
~'0'~
Arriving at Ichiraku's, they both took their seats. They were the only ones there for the time being, so they ordered their food and sat quietly. As they ate, Sasuke kept note of their surroundings. He made the mistake of letting Kiba and the others from before get too close, so he made sure to keep track of all possible threats. He felt like a bodyguard, keeping Naruto safe. Although, he didn't mind.
When they first entered, due to some new policy, they had to take off their shoes at the door. Apparently a new mat was put in, or something or other. Naruto had on black socks, and Sasuke had grey socks on. Sasuke slowly moved his left foot to the base of Naruto's chair. Their feet rubbed together, and Naruto froze for a moment. He wasn't caught off guard for long, since Naruto began reaching for Sasuke's foot with his own. Their feet rubbed each other, and Sasuke discreetly and quickly moved his chair to be closer to Naruto.
They kept eating, while playing footsies under the table. It was bittersweet; Naruto and Sasuke didn't exchange a single word throughout this endeavor, just subtle gazes and caressing of their feet. Finally, they finished their meal. Naruto went digging for his froggy wallet, unaware that Sasuke had already paid. He pulled Naruto's arm along and held him upright. They put on their shoes and stepped outside.
"Did Kiba say something about a hot spring?" Sasuke said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah." Naruto huffed. "You wanna go?"
Sasuke scowled. He thought of the last interaction, and felt uneasy with what the hot springs could bring, with Kiba's teasing. However, the heat from the spring could help Naruto's condition. Against his personal feelings toward the matter, Sasuke nodded. Naruto sighed.
"Well, alright then. Let's go now, so we won't be out too late." Naruto stated.
Sasuke gave an agreeing grunt, and walked alongside him to the hot springs.
However, Sasuke did not forget the stunt Kiba pulled. How he poked at Naruto's face, and pulled at his hair. How close he got to him..
Sasuke was going to get some payback.
End of Chapter 9
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sorry, guys, only 890 words this time.
i've got an exam in like 3 hours i kinda gatta study for OvO
hope you liked this chapter!!
<3 sugarski
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