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“Will you go out with me?”
Sakura took a minute to respond.
“I thought you were gay,” she finally said.
And Naruto thought just what in the world would ever give her that impression.
“I mean,” she started. “You do like Sasuke, yeah? Honestly thought you were going out, but you kept it a secret cuz, y'know, you’re both guys and whatnot,”
“No, we're just… friends.” Naruto didn’t understand why the words felt so foreign on his tongue at that moment. Because it was true, Sasuke was his best friend and he wouldn’t trade him for the world.
“Alright, it’s cool with me if you were, though. Besides, I’m dating Ino,” she dropped the fact like it wasn’t a huge deal. All this time he had thought they were just good friends…
“Right,” he said, and honestly, what else was there to say?
Sakura thought he was gay and dating his best friend, of all people. Sasuke couldn’t be his lover, he was his best friend and maybe rival (most definitely rival), ever since they were young. Naruto wasn’t rich like he was, didn’t have parents like he did, and wasn’t a stickler for rules like he was. He didn’t have a clean slate like him.
He had no one in his life, a kid raised in the system that fell out of it quite easily. When he had turned twelve, or maybe it was a little bit older— the age where you aren’t a child anymore, where you stopped looking at the world through rose coloured glasses. When you stopped admiring your heroes and realized that those heroes aren’t heroes— just regular, like you.
‘The Akatsuki’ was what their gang was called. Naruto fit right in. Despite everyone being of different age groups, they worked. Life was funny that way. It was only a little after, did he realize that one of the members was Sasuke’s older brother. Itachi Uchiha was what he was called. He wondered how a person like him— rich, smart, conventionally attractive, and talented could ever fall into this life. But it wasn’t his place to ask. Itachi was a little surprised to see him there but took to watching over him like he was his own little brother.
Naruto got into fights. A lot. Every time he was bloodied and bruised, beaten beyond black and blue— Sasuke was there. Rain or shine, he came with the same indifferent expression he always had before calling him the idiot he was and taking him back to his place. His shiny wooden floors with a ceiling so high it caused an echo in the rooms that barely had any decoration for their size. He would never admit it, but he liked whenever it happened.
Just Sasuke and him, alone. Tender touches that turned to pain whenever Naruto got too rowdy. Sasuke didn’t know the truth about him or Itachi, and Naruto swore to the older man that he would never tell his little brother. He didn’t know what Sasuke thought he got up to, and the other teen never cared to ask. They just had that kind of relationship. Sasuke had his back and he had his.
He would fight for the other boy, he always did. Sasuke wasn’t weak in the slightest, Naruto just had such a temper that whenever he heard someone badmouth him, he couldn’t help himself. That was his job. Whenever someone called him a stuck up rich kid, he told them off. Sasuke was so much more than just his money. It embarrassed the other, but that was okay. There had been a time another thug like him called the other boy a fag and he just couldn’t help himself.
He beat them beyond unconsciousness, even when his hands were stained crimson and there was nothing else that could crunch or crack— he kept going. Maybe Sasuke was wrong like him because he didn’t stop him. He just stared. Naruto will never know if he was scared that day or entranced. Eventually, the other teen dragged him off. He always had Sasuke's back. Right when his and Itachi’s parents died and Sasuke was suffering through a manic episode. At the time, when the symptoms were first showing, no one really understood what was going on.
He was happy and giddy, Sasuke was never giddy. He was so giggly and smiley, it freaked everyone out. However, all the girls liked the change in him. Naruto wasn’t sure if it was a good one, considering what happened before such a change. Then he was picking fights like a rabid animal which was Naruto’s job. Sasuke never picks fights. That's when he knew something was definitely wrong.
Something was definitely wrong because he tried kissing him after that.
Sasuke doesn’t kiss.
Sasuke doesn’t try getting into Naruto’s pants.
Sasuke doesn’t splurge on random products that were advertised to him.
Sasuke doesn’t post on his story 100 times a day before blocking everyone on social media.
Sasuke doesn’t run away in the middle of the night to take a walk in the woods.
He was admitted to the hospital shortly after and when Naruto finally got a look at him, Sasuke wouldn’t look at him. He was embarrassed of the things he did remember and couldn’t look at Naruto as such. Naruto was just glad that Sasuke didn’t do anything too drastic. After he read up on some of the things people have to go through, he was just glad it ended after two weeks.
Two weeks of mania.
Despite it all, Naruto was still there for him. During and after it ended. He knew Sasuke didn’t mean those things, knew something was wrong and he was just glad Sasuke had control over himself again. The things Sasuke did had hurt him, but he would never blame him. What were best friends for, anyway? It was difficult to get back into their normal routine, neither of the two boys knew what to do with all the useless junk he bought off of eBay.
So yeah, they weren’t lovers. Couldn’t ever be. There was too much going on in their lives; they had no room for that kind of love. When Naruto turned 18, a man showed up claiming to be his brother. He had a little pug at his side and, man, did it look like an old dude. Naruto was such an enigma, even to himself. The story of how he was born but then was stolen and his kidnappers lost him so he was put into the system was quite the story indeed.
Kakashi Hatake was his adoptive brother and although their parents were no longer with them, he still wanted to be with his little brother. Naruto never had a family to call his own so he agreed. Even if Kakashi did live in the middle of nowhere and so, that meant he would be leaving everyone behind.
He would be leaving Sasuke behind.
“You can visit him whenever you want,” Kakashi had assured him. Naruto knew this of course, but a loss was still a loss.
He met with Sasuke at the riverbank that day. Told him everything; from the chaotic story of his birth, to his adoptive brother, and to the fact that he would be leaving. Sasuke let him talk and just nodded when he was done.
“Idiot,” he said.
Naruto looked up.
“You never have nothing nice to say!” He huffed. “Should’ve just left your sorry ass without saying goodbye,”
Sasuke laughed. The tiny puff of air that left his mouth for no more than a second, that was Sasuke’s laugh.
“Maybe you should’ve,” he smiled.
“Asshole!” Naruto got up, ready to pack his things and leave.
“Naruto,” and then they shared a look. A look that didn’t need words for them to understand each other.
And then they kissed.
Again.
But this time it was done under both their consensus. It confused Naruto because best friends didn’t kiss, did they? Rivals didn’t kiss, did they? So they couldn’t be either, but if they weren’t either, just what were they? Not lovers. There was no room for romantic love. He left the riverbank confused, but that was okay.
Even after everything they’ve been through, they were not lovers. But perhaps they could be something close to that. Whatever it was.
Sasuke was Sasuke.
And Naruto was Naruto.
So they really didn’t need to label their relationship, because they always had each other's backs.