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He should really get his bloodwork done.
It’s just Sasuke has better things to do than going to the doctor, getting another referral, going to the lab and then actually having a needle japped into him.
It’s fucking annoying because something as trivial as iron deficiency has him acting foolish. Now that he’s in university, he’s constantly studying and having exams. It’s hard to have a spare moment. He has other priorities.
Yet, university comes at a drawback because with his current stress levels his iron deficiency has been getting worse. It seems like he’s more lightheaded than before and his elevated heartbeat in the middle of nowhere has him stressed.
In all honesty– he thought it was Naruto’s fault.
He hates Naruto. The man causes his heartbeat to spike and he genuinely thought the chest pain he's been experiencing was because of him.
“--watcha thinking about?” Naruto, speaking of the devil, is brushing up beside him as they walk along the sidewalk on the way home to their shared apartment. Naruto is way too close. He can practically feel the warmth and body heat spreading its way onto Sasuke.
Naruto has gotten taller recently as if he entered yet another growth spurt. Somehow his skin still looks sun kissed and tan even though the weather’s been getting colder. Sasuke snaps out of his thoughts and meets the man’s gaze. And Naruto gives him a little smile and playfully shoves him.
Fucking hell.
The thing he hates about Naruto the most– is that he doesn't hate him at all. Sasuke might actually be cursed to like him too much because it’s just his luck that he fell in love with his straight best friend.
His head feels a little woozy as they keep walking. Today was a rough day. The lecture he had was horrendously annoying and the lab afterward took him half the time but he was still forced to stay the whole session. And he forgot his lunch at home and refused to buy overpriced garbage.
The next step he takes is a little funky. He can't feel the floor and fuck, his head is spinning. There aren't many times where Sasuke feels confused and scared in his own body but his sense of awareness is starting to fizzle.
He almost feels like falling flat on his face into the cement before he feels a warm hand around him.
Naruto’s gripping onto his arm and another goes around his waist. His body feels strong and steady against his own and he can't help but ground himself and take a moment to settle down.
It may have been a moment, could have been a minute or more, but he hears Naruto’s voice above him.
“Sasuke, are you okay?” The concern is dripping off of him, his worry is evident as he grips onto him strongly.
Sasuke allows himself a moment to rest before he nods, “uh, yeah,” he’s starting to feel better. It was just a weird occurrence, must've been the stress from the day and this damn deficiency.
He tries to take a step but halts. Sasuke’s hit with a piercing headache and winches. Ugh.
“Hey,” Naruto's voice sounds a bit more comforting and gentle. For someone so loud he sounds oddly soft spoken now, almost like he’s trying to soothe him. “It’s okay.”
Sasuke wants to roll his eyes but Naruto’s comfort is working. His flash of weakness and dizziness passes and he’s left with the feeling of Naruto gripping onto his body. Now he feels weak for a completely different reason.
“I’m fine,” he goes to shrug the other man off but he can't help but realize just how nicely Naruto’s hands feel against his own body. One more second won’t hurt. “Just uh, give me a second.”
And Naruto’s hand isn't even touching his bare skin. He has a thick sweater on but he still feels tingly. The way someone might think they're a couple makes his cheeks start to warm up.
Okay, he can't go on banking this on any further and pushes Naruto away. It’s almost physically painful for him to do it. “What happened? Is it like, your uh, vitamin thing?”
Snorting under his breath, Sasuke rolls his eyes, “Iron deficiency, yeah…”
“Has it been getting worse?”
It’s not like he has mentioned it getting worse, so it’s not like he’s been lying, but it’s not like he brought it up either. Still Naruto sounds so sad and concerned it almost makes him feel bad.
“Kinda,” he settles with, “it’s whatever.”
“It’s so not whatever,” and then before he even knows it Naruto is linking their hands together. “I thought you were gonna fall!”
Sasuke doesn't know why Naruto is holding his hand now but he isn't going to snatch it away either. “I’d survive,” he shrugs. He knows it's melodramatic but whatever.
“Sasuke,” Naruto warns before he changes his course of words, “don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he teases now, he’s a bit more calm but Sasuke can tell Naruto is solely holding onto his hand cause he’s worried Sasuke will slip and will actually fall into the concrete.
Their fingers are laced together and Sasuke just needs to act natural and not start overly sweating or something.
Maybe, a little dizziness is okay if he gets to hold onto Naruto for a while.
━
Sasuke doesn't consider himself a lover of physical touch that much but it’s been on his mind recently.
Somehow he hasn't been able to get the feeling of Naruto holding him out of his mind. It’s actually strangely addictive to run through the memory in his head.
It’s just that Naruto is so broad. It’s not like he even expected it but he makes Sasuke feel protected. Maybe, it’s circumstantial. Maybe, it’s only because he had a moment of dizziness.
Maybe, it’s because he’s sickeningly in love with him.
They’re watching television now and his fingers are basically twitching. Naruto is so close yet so far. Somehow, they're sitting side by side on his couch yet their bodies aren't touching.
The flashback of how it felt to have Naruto caring for him almost makes him throw up. He wants that man so bad.
He should distract himself and grab some food from the fridge or something. He goes to stand up and his head feels a bit scattered. It’s just all his yearning for Naruto making him sick.
“Sasuke?” Naruto sounds a bit concerned.
He could just… pretend to have a flare up. It's an iron deficiency, it's not like he’s dying or anything.
“I’m fine,” he’s being silly, he should stop, he’s about to keep standing up but Naruto’s hands somehow are already on the route of guiding him to sit down again.
“I’m gonna get you some meat or chickpeas or something–”
Naruto’s sweet. He’s really sweet. Sasuke almost feels bad.
“It’s okay, I'm not hungry,” he truly isn't. They just had dinner a while ago. “I just need to rest.”
He expects Naruto to take his hands off of him and keep them to himself. Which isn't what happens. Instead, Naruto starts running his hands across Sasuke’s arm in a calming motion, “you alright?”
Sasuke can only feel himself flustered, “yeah,” he has to close his eyes as Naruto’s hands just feel so big and strong. He almost feels perverted. “Just dizzy.”
Sasuke feels like a sick greed overwhelms him. He wants Naruto to pester him. He enjoys the attention from the other man. It’s sickening that he fell in love with his best friend.
Great, so he’s never doing that again. Having Naruto's attention on him is way too much. It’s slowly making him go insane and he needs to stop before he gets ahead of himself.
He does it again. It’s not on purpose, really.
It’s been a long lecture and he’s waiting for the seconds to move faster. Naruto’s waiting outside for him and they're planning on walking back home together.
Finally, it’s dismissed and people start trickling out of the lecture hall. Sasuke can spot Naruto’s bright blond hair from a distance. It’s purely platonic and completely normal for your friend to wait for you after class. Yet, Sasuke can't help but want to greet Naruto with a kiss.
Ugh. His mind is sick. Sick with greed and delusion!
He’s trying to make eye contact with Naruto but it looks like the other man gets a bit distracted and is approached by someone else. It’s a girl and the closer he walks the more he can hear them talking.
“Oh, cause I swear I've seen you on campus before?!”
Naruto laughs, it sounds purely polite but Sasuke can’t help his blood boil, “I’m on a couple of teams and clubs, maybe that's why?”
“I just transferred, I’d love to have you show me around,” It’s flirtatious and Sasuke can't help his heart sink. It’s not like Naruto can't get a girlfriend. He should have a love life and it’s highly probable he’ll date someone soon.
“I mean–” Naruto starts to look around and then he’s met with Sasuke’s gaze. “Sasuke!” Sasuke just noticed he’s holding some kind of smoothie as he makes his walks over.
“Naruto, hey,” he briefly smiles at the girl but narrows his attention back onto Naruto. He expects Naruto to almost push him aside for a moment and continue his conversion but–
“I brought this for you! You’re probably lightheaded..” He’s popping the smoothie into his hands looking awfully proud of himself, “It’s high in protein. I made it myself.”
“You could've waited till we got home,” maybe if he didn't come he’d be saved from Naruto finding a girlfriend, at least this time around.
“I said I'll protect you,” Naruto has such a cute boyish charm to him it almost makes Sasuke die.
“Yeah, because I'm some princess that needs protecting from iron deficiency," Sasuke rolls his eyes but he’s finding it hard to stay calm. He’s a bit pissed off. He shouldn't be falling for his straight best friend.
“Uhm–” the girl, who’s still there, goes to clear her throat, “I–”
“But you're my princess,” and Sasuke might just melt into the floor.
“Shut up, let’s go,” and he’s turning around a bit too fast. Sasuke realizes that the girl, who’s done no wrong, probably deserves a goodbye so he stills for a moment but Naruto must've taken that for a moment of weakness.
“Sasuke!” and his hand wraps around his side, the flirtatious girl forgotten as his hand runs a soothing motion, “be careful.”
Sasuke can't be careful– he’s actually the opposite of careful. He’s slipping down a slipper slope.
━
Naruto hasn't stopped touching him. It seems like every time they're together now somehow the man is offering himself up to be leaned on, to hold his hand, or guide him… Sasuke swears if he would ask Naruto to carry him home– he would.
Right now he’s waiting in line at the new local bakery to pick up new treats and a coffee, Naruto is trying to find a seat. Usually they don’t frequent cafés since coffee is expensive and Sasuke could just make it at home… but Naruto has been whining to check it out and.. Well, it kind of feels like a date.
Sasuke knows he’s living in delusion. Naruto is just very very self assured in his masculinity and doesn't mind going on a little coffee run with his friend.
He wonders if Naruto will join his back in line or if he should order for him. He knows exactly what he wants, so it’s really no issue. Even Sasuke viewed the menu earlier. The coffee cake looks pretty good. He goes to turn around to spot the other man.
Somehow, he ends up making eye contact with another man right behind him. His eyes wander for a moment just because his hair colour is a smidge similar to Naruto’s but he doesn't think much of it.
Until the guy speaks, “I’m not sure what to get. Any recommendations?” The man in line seems to spark a conversation with Sasuke. Sauke never understands why this happens. He doesn't seem to appear overly friendly yet people approach him for the most random issues.
“Not sure,” he ends up settling with, quite indifferently. He has enough friends. “I don't work here.”
The man though doesn't seem set off with his response, instead he laughs. It’s deep and rich and actually influences Sasuke to give him the time of day. It’s a nice laugh— "you're funny.”
“Thanks,” Sasuke drily responds. Is this man hitting on him?
Maybe, he should broaden his horizons. Here is playing mental board games pretending to be on a date with his best friend. Maybe, he should actually start dating someone who'd be romantically interested in him.
“Pretty too,” the man says as Sasuke can't help but feel a bit of mixed feelings. It’s the blond hair that’s getting to him, really. It’s almost his turn in line cause the next guest ends up leaving to the pick-up counter, so Sasuke approach the counter as the man does too, “drinks on me–”
The words get cut off abruptly as Sasuke feels a familiar presence right beside him. It's almost like Naruto’s been watching, “I’ll have a medium lavender latte and an almond croissant," Naruto starts off as he's making himself comfortable, “Sasuke?”
“Small Americano,” he mutters, “no room for milk,” but his heart skips an extra beat.
“Nothing to eat?” Naruto almost sounds disappointed. Apparently, this café specializes in fancy drinks and pastry, with outlandish prices. Sasuke is fine with his small Americano.
“I’m fine,” He wonders if the man standing beside them is listening to the conversation. Maybe it appears that he and Naruto are dating, it makes him feel flustered, even at the thought of it.
“And a coffee cake too!” Naruto adds as Sasuke groans but a smile fights to take its place. As the barista tells them their total, Naruto automatically goes to pay.
“Thanks,” Sasuke says quietly, it's nothing out of the ordinary to be paying for each other, they do it frequently. Still in this context it makes him a little flustered, even if he doesn't show it.
“Of course,” Naruto responds and does the unexpected as he laces their fingers together, “Always.”
He's wondering why Naruto laced their fingers together and why they're holding hands now. Maybe he seemed a little weak and the other man was worried about his potential collapse onto the floor.
They make their way over to the pick up area. It's a really pretty café, the bakery section is abundant and the mix of moderate and retro design makes it cute and comfortable. It's definitely a nice date spot.
They're waiting for their stuff, and the other man goes to take his order. Naruto is stroking the side of his hand with his finger, as they hold hands. It's cute, but it almost makes him want to die.
It takes everything out of him not to go and inspect how their two hands look wrapped around each other. Unfortunately for him, there’s a bit of a mirror ahead of them.
Sasuke catches his reflection almost instantly. Naruto is standing so close to him. And Naruto's tall, and strong appearance looks so complementary with Sasuke’s own body.
The more he stares in the mirror the more he thinks that they look like they're dating– because this handholding shit is not platonic.
The coffee “date” was fun. Now they're walking past the bakery and the colder months have started to catch up with them. It’s a little chilly as a breeze hits Sasuke’s face. He hopes the fresh air helps calm him down.
“So..did you have a good time?” Naruto for some reason seems a bit nervous. Sasuke tries to make eye contact with him but Naruto just looks away. It’s different than how he usually is.
“It was alright,” he settles with. He isn't going to feed into Naruto’s ego that it’s good for him to have a social life.
‘Sasuke!”
“Fine, fine, it was nice… it was a good idea,” he says reluctantly. It’s true though, it was nice going out for a sweet treat and indulging himself with his pretend-boyfriend scenario.
“‘Cause we could do this again,” Naruto says strongly, he’s almost staring at Sasuke way too intensely.
Sasuke can't help but snicker and hollow out a dry laugh, “You liked the café that much?” that might've been too mean, “but we can go anytime. I don't mind–”
“No I mean, like you and me,” It’s like he’s fumbling with the words, “we can go out.”
“Yeah, it’s no problem Naruto, we can go anywhere you want," he’s unsure why the other man has started to get all flustered. If anything, Sauske should be getting flustered.
Naruto stops for a second, like he’s getting frustrated with himself for not being able to articulate his words. Sauke doesn't understand why, he’s getting the point across perfectly. It’s really not that serious–
“Yeah,” Naruto just finishes with. They keep walking but an awkward silence fills the air with tension, which is rare. Sasuke’s even unsure where this tension came from.
Naruto looks so pretty with the sunlight bounces off him, he’s almost as radiant as the sun himself.
There’s a moment of silence before Naruto gushes out, “Do you like me?” Naruto’s voice starts off strong but weakens.
“Huh?”
“Do you like me Sasuke?”
"Of course I like you, Naruto,” he might just like him too much. It’s become addictive living in the same spaces and having so much opportunity to reach out to Naruto. Instead he conceals his feelings.
“No,” it’s like Naruto’s frustrated now with his boyish charm that’s impossible to resist, “like, I mean, like me like me.”
Now, that’s a crazy way of wording it. Sasuke is mentally begging anyone of higher power to grant him this opportunity. He’s not a religious person but for this moment he will be.
“Oh,” and Sasuke might just fall ill. What is this… should he lie because he made Naruto uncomfortable? It’s impossible. Naruto is almost as possessive and touchy as himself—
Naruto’s eyes seem a bit frantic and perhaps sad. He’s picking at his cuticles and his face looks slightly paler, “because I really like you Sasuke.” Naruto says the words like he’s never said anything more important in his life.
“You do?” Sasuke’s heart almost drops out of his chest, he feels himself getting warmer but this can't be what he thinks it means.
“Yeah,” Naruto simply responds, like he’s trying to be nonchalant, shoving his hands in his pockets and kinda like swaying with the breeze.
“Like, you wanna be my boyfriend?” He needs proper confirmation cause his mind is spinning. Maybe he’ll actually pass out from dizziness.
The way Naruto looks at him is so endearing, “yeah,” he’s straightening out his posture now. “Will you be my boyfriend?” the silence rings in the air, “pretty please?”
Pretty fucking please. Naruto looks at him like Sasuke himself makes the world go around.
And Sasuke– Sasuke isn't gonna say no, “I’d like that.”
━━━
Dating Naruto is kinda like being his best friend but now they do couple-like things too. Which is great.
It’s an excuse to make everything a date night. Going to the movies is a date. Dinner is a date. Walking home from classes is basically a date with the way Naruto plucks wild flowers on their way home and offers them up to Sasuke.
And God– how did he think Naruto was straight? Cause that boy definitely does romance him. It’s almost sickening.
Saying Naruto is obsessed with him is downplaying it. In all honestly, he would almost be concerned if it wasn’t for the fact that he himself is sickingly obsessed with Naruto.
Naruto wants to celebrate every milestone. It’s like he marks everything on the calendar so they can even celebrate mundane things– not just their anniversary but also their first-kiss-versary. And so forth.
Sasuke would probably hate it if it was anyone else but Naruto, but this is what being in love is like, or so he guesses.
“Sasuke!” Naruto greets him, he’s wearing a silly little cooking apron and looks ridiculous. Still, Sasuke is enamoured. “I made dinner!”
“Thanks,”and makes his way to the kitchen too kiss the other man on the cheek. It still makes his fluster.
He observes the pan as Naruto starts going on a long winded explanation of the feast, “and I made steak, green beans, and quinoa.”
It looks delicious, truly but the combination is a bit random. “-- and they’e all good for iron deficiency, it’ll make you strong,” Naruto goes to flex his arm as a joke, but holy, his biceps are incredible…
The steak looks incredibly expensive too. It almost make’s Sasuke guilty but at the same time he’s holding back a laugh. His iron deficiency isn’t even that bad. Maybe he should tell him..
… “Hey, wanna hear something funny–”
Fin.