Chapter Text
Sasuke follows after Naruto and hops off the bus.
Outside the vehicle, Sasuke squints, the sudden daylight feeling way too bright on his eyes after being in such a closed, dark space for hours.
The sun is so blinding Sasuke barely manages a faint smile back at Naruto, who’s practically beaming at him while they walk from the platform toward the lobby.
“She said she’s already here!” Naruto says as he guides Sasuke by the hand through the sea of people filling the hall. They quickly spot a red-haired figure standing at a corner.
“Mama!” Naruto grabs his mom in a tight hug — perhaps overly tight for Sasuke’s liking, if he were in either of their places — and Kushina kisses her son’s cheek.
“Oh, Naruto! You look all grown up!” Kushina pinches Naruto’s cheeks as he smiles from ear to ear, eyes closed. Sasuke would like to think it annoys him when Naruto does that, but it’s actually very cute.
“And look at you, you’re so handsome! You must be Sasuke, right?”
Alright, time to put that Uchiha charm to good use. Remember: polite, calm, centered. Just focus on that and you'll make a fine impression.
“Mrs. Uzumaki, it’s a pleasure to meet you—”
Sasuke freezes as he feels warmth invading his personal space. All of a sudden, he is locked in a tight, somehow gentle embrace. It is weird, so weird, how the gesture feels undeniably disarming — ”open up to me,” it’s like her body says.
It's not that his mother never hugs him. On the contrary, she does it whenever she has the opportunity. But this feels nothing like his mother's quiet, measured hugs.
This feels like hugging the fucking sun. And it burns, it burns so good.
Sasuke only notices he's reciprocating the hug when Kushina lets go of him, and he feels his arms hanging in the air, elbows still slightly bent. He knew Naruto’s family was going to be intense — people who gave Naruto such overly-loud-and-obnoxious genes just couldn't be normal — but this is too much. It makes him feel too much.
And he's not sure he's ready for that.
The drive to Naruto’s parents’ house doesn’t take too long.
Even though Sasuke is stuck in a car with two of the people who are likely the closest existing thing to a hurricane trapped in a human body, it’s a surprisingly calm trip. Kushina asks him a few questions — about college, about his plans for the future — and stays out of the subject of his family. Naruto probably gave her a hint about it being a sensitive topic, so Sasuke mentally thanks his boyfriend for the consideration.
They step out of the car, and as Sasuke stares at the tall, light-colored house, he feels something he can only describe as… coziness. If he even knows what that word means.
The Uzumaki-Namikaze home is far from small, but definitely not imposing. It’s the exact opposite of the numb, overly-clean Uchiha household. Beyond the soft hues that tint the external walls, the place is surrounded by flowers, and visitors are welcomed by a charming front porch.
Sasuke can’t help but look everywhere as he follows Kushina and Naruto to the door. The vibe of the place feels absolutely foreign to him — he will definitely need some time to adjust.
“We’re hoooome!” Kushina sing-songs as she opens the door, after knocking on it three times.
Sasuke timidly enters, trailing behind Naruto as if trying to hide in his silhouette. But there is no hiding from what, or rather, who he sees next.
A man with bright-yellow hair and an even brighter, yet somehow soft, smile approaches them. He’s wearing a blue turtleneck — which really complements his eyes, but Sasuke tries to forget he even noticed — with a pink apron over it. He has a kitchen towel in his hands, drying them as he speaks — and Sasuke uses every ounce of self-control in his body not to stare for too long at those slender, seemingly strong fingers.
Sasuke had seen pictures of Naruto’s family before. He knew what Minato looked like. So why is he so flabbergasted by the guy?
Sure, he looks like Naruto, but at the same time, he completely doesn’t. Because Naruto is a whirlwind, while Minato is just… a leaf in the wind.
Minato looks calm, but he also looks… firm. And fierce. And wise, and— and brave. Fuck, he looks like a man.
It’s not fair for a guy in a pink apron to look so… manly. Fuck, that’s sexist.
This fucking guy. It’s all his fault. He’s messing with Sasuke’s head with his gorgeous blond locks and deep blue eyes and heartwarming smile. He’s messing with Sasuke’s head so much that he’s actually becoming sexist. It’s all his fucking fault.
Sasuke notices that while he’s in his head, Minato has already greeted his wife and son and is now heading toward him. Oh fuck.
Okay, he’s just going to shake Sasuke’s hand. He definitely won’t greet him with a kiss or a hug, just as he did with Kushina and Naruto.
But how would a hug from him feel? Sasuke bets it’s soft, warm, and a little tight. Being in his arms must feel so safe.
“Sasuke! I’m Minato. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Minato says, extending his hand. Sasuke doesn’t know which deity to thank as his brain finally starts functioning again, allowing him to actually shake his father-in-law’s hand. Minato’s grip is the perfect amount of firm.
“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Namikaze,” Sasuke answers, his voice lower than he would’ve liked.
He can’t take his eyes off Minato. He looks so reliable. He looks like a man who protects his family while remaining gentle and understanding with his loved ones.
He looks nothing like Sasuke’s father.
“You boys must be so tired from the bus trip,” Kushina says, breaking Sasuke’s trance. “Naruto, won’t you take Sasuke to your room so you can drop off your backpacks? I’ll help Minato finish lunch.”
Sasuke follows Naruto upstairs, doing his best to stop thinking about Minato’s… everything.
Sasuke follows Naruto through the hallway, until they stop in front of a closed door covered in stickers. Sasuke is able to recognize only a few of them before Naruto swiftly opens the door — a skull with “DANGER ZONE” written below it, and a “DO NOT ENTER” sign.
They enter the room, and Naruto closes the door. Then, they leave their backpacks on the bed, which is just as neatly made as everything else in the room, creating an interesting contrast with… the rest of it.
Naruto's bedroom is the perfect picture of a pop-punk-obsessed 2000s teenager. There are posters and flags all over the walls — and even the ceiling. Sasuke recognizes some of the bands and artists: Blink-182, Green Day, Simple Plan. There is a large poster of Avril Lavigne from her Let Go era, though he would never let Naruto know he can tell exactly when it's from.
Everywhere he looks, there are stacks of CDs, manga and comic books. He spots a guitar hanging in a corner, and an old but well-preserved radio sitting on top of the dresser.
The place is quite clean and organized for something so aesthetically chaotic — it is clear that Naruto's parents take good care of it. It feels like a museum of their son's childhood and teenage years, and Sasuke finds that embarrassingly endearing.
After all, it was probably full of dirty socks on the floor when Naruto actually lived in it.
“Do you wanna take a picture?” Naruto says smugly.
“Shut up.”
Sasuke feels warmth against him, and then Naruto's hands are on his hips, Naruto's mouth too close to his neck.
“We're at your parents’ house,” Sasuke says, the image of Minato and Kushina popping up in his head as he speaks. Sasuke flinches as Naruto's lips touch the skin just below his ear.
“Door's closed,” Naruto replies, peppering kisses all the way from Sasuke's jaw to his shoulder.
“Still, we have to respect them,” Sasuke says between sighs. A flashback of Minato drying his hands on the kitchen towel appears in his mind, and he desperately tries to brush it away.
“As long as we're not full-on sucking dick in front of them, I don’t think they give a shit.”
“Keep your voice down!” Sasuke hisses, turning his head to stare angrily at Naruto.
“Why? Do you think they're listening from behind the door?”
Sasuke pulls away from Naruto's touch. He doesn’t know how to explain to Naruto why he's so vigilant, and he doesn't want to. Naruto probably wouldn’t understand anyway. He didn't grow up in a household where he couldn't be himself — where he couldn’t love so freely.
Naruto must notice something beyond anger in Sasuke's eyes, because he quickly apologizes.
“I'm sorry. I won't kiss you or do anything if you're not feeling safe here.”
Hearing Naruto say he wouldn't kiss him actually hurts a little. Even if that was exactly what Sasuke seemed to want just a few seconds ago.
“I'll probably be more in the mood later, but for now I'd like to keep things simple.”
“Then let's go eat lunch, alright?”
Sasuke nods, and they head downstairs.
Lunch, like everything else involving Naruto’s family, was intense; but Sasuke was quickly learning how to deal with intense. Since he didn’t know exactly how he felt about them yet, he stuck to the safest approach: being quiet. It was an easy conduct to follow, indeed, since Kushina and Naruto talked enough for a whole group, with Minato occasionally commenting on something. Being quiet didn’t mean Sasuke wasn’t polite: he answered appropriately when questioned, thanked them for the meal, and offered to help with the dishes. Minato politely declined, claiming it was “his job”, even though he had already prepared most of lunch. “It’s his discreet way of trying to impress you,” Naruto explained to him later.
The thought of Minato trying to impress Sasuke made his stomach twirl just a little.
Now, Naruto and Sasuke are alone. Minato had a client to attend to, and Kushina left for a book club meeting. Usually, Naruto would use the opportunity to do something sexual — Naruto was always up to do something sexual. But ever since Sasuke’s low-key rejection earlier, Naruto has been more restrained. And he’s keeping that attitude now: even though they are completely alone in Naruto’s bedroom, he’s sticking to showing Sasuke tokens of his teenage years.
Naruto is holding what is probably the seventh participation medal he found in the room (“I had a lot of energy, so my parents put me in all kinds of sports. I wasn’t exactly great at any of them,” he explains) when he decides to get up and search for a CD to put on.
He settles on Green Day’s American Idiot.
For a while, they continue their own personal explorations through Naruto’s room. Naruto keeps messing with a stack of CDs, while Sasuke sits in a corner reading a Spider-Man comic he just found out. Naruto doesn’t play the music too loud, contrary to his usual habits — and Sasuke appreciates that.
Naruto hums softly along to the song, which is also unusual since he usually screams along to whatever he’s listening to.
“So, what do you think of my parents?” Naruto asks, breaking the silence. Except it wasn’t exactly silence, since there’s still a low, although agitated, tune playing. Sasuke isn’t quite a Green Day fan, but he does recognize some of the lyrics from the band’s Jesus of Suburbia:
“And there’s nothing wrong with me
This is how I’m supposed to be
In a land of make-believe
That don’t believe in me”
“They're… intense,” Sasuke answers, not taking his eyes off the comic book. Spider-Man is about to fight Dr. Octopus.
“Intense?” Naruto echoes, unconvinced.
“Yeah.”
“My mom, okay… but my dad? He's cool as a breeze,” Naruto argues.
Sasuke doesn’t want to explain that he’s calling Minato intense because he makes Sasuke feel intense. Because that’s not an appropriate thing to say about your father-in-law.
“They're nice people. I just feel… weird around them.”
“Of course you feel weird around them, you come from a bizarre family. Or clan. Or whatever,” Naruto replies, his annoyance not going unnoticed.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Sasuke asks, closing the comic book and turning to Naruto.
“Dude, your family is scary as fuck. Everyone's dark and serious all the time, and even the ones who are gentler have this strange aura of sadness that doesn’t seem to ever leave them,” Naruto blurts out.
Sasuke wants to feel hurt at Naruto’s words, or at least mad. But it’s such a deeply well-constructed impression of his family that, for a moment, he’s just in shock that Naruto, of all people, had the insight to come up with it.
In the midst of the uncomfortable silence, the lyrics of the song suddenly sound a little too loud.
“It says, ‘Home is where your heart is,’ but what a shame
‘Cause everyone’s heart doesn’t beat the same
It’s beating out of time”
Naruto is looking at him like he’s expecting Sasuke to punch him right in the face. Perhaps, if it had been a few years ago, Sasuke would have done just that. But after a couple of years of therapy (which Itachi insisted on once he started to make his own money, even if their father thought it was unnecessary), that kind of reaction is not even close to being his first option.
“I’m sorry, Sasuke—”
“No, it’s— you’re right.”
They stay in silence once again. Naruto’s eyes keep alternating between the stack of CDs on the floor and Sasuke’s face, like he’s thinking of what to say next but isn’t quite sure yet.
Then, Naruto makes up his mind.
“Look, what I meant is that my family is… softer. I understand why you feel like they're intense, and that's probably my mom's fault, but she's super caring with the ones she loves. And she already loves you, so you’ll stay off her bad side,” Naruto explains. After a pause, he adds, “Of course, don't get on her bad side. That would be terrible for both of us.”
All Sasuke does is nod.
“And my dad is super chill. I don't know what your deal with him is yet, but I swear it, whatever it is that you're paranoid about, it's not true. He’s as simple as he looks, and I mean that in a good way. Things with him are just uncomplicated.”
Sasuke stays silent, but doesn’t take his eyes off Naruto.
“Please, say something,” Naruto pleads.
“I’m… listening.”
Listening. That’s something he’s been learning to do in therapy. Listening before attacking.
“Okay, so just listen to one more thing: I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, Sasuke. I know we’re supposed to stay for the whole week, but if you’re not feeling well here, we can leave earlier. Of course, I’d love for you to stay, but it’s only nice if you’re alright.”
“Naruto, I don’t need to leave. I don’t want to leave. I'm just still adapting to all this.”
“Okay, but let me know if it’s too much.”
“I will. Don’t worry about me,” Sasuke says, offering a shy smile.
“Do you wanna watch a movie? I have lots of DVDs,” Naruto says as he gets up, eager to move on from their heavy conversation.
“That would be nice,” is all Sasuke says.
Sasuke follows Naruto toward a pile of DVDs, while he listens to the song coming to its end:
“And I leave behind
This hurricane of fucking lies
And I’ve walked this line
A million and one fucking times
But not this time”
As Naruto and Sasuke head to the living room to watch a movie, Naruto explains that he used to have his own TV and DVD player in his room, but he “doesn’t know what his parents did with them.” He also mentions that he used to spend hours playing video games there.
Sasuke thinks about how spoiled Naruto must have been. His father would never let him have a TV in his bedroom when he was a child, and not even when he became a teenager. “A boy’s room is for sleep and study,” he used to say. Damn, when Sasuke was eleven, he asked for a copy of Harry Potter for his birthday, only for his father to say it would be “too distracting”.
After that, Sasuke spent years without reading for pleasure.
Naruto puts the DVD into the player. He has begged Sasuke to pick a movie, but Sasuke insisted on refusing (“I’m not going to pick a movie just to sleep afterward. I’m still tired from the bus ride. You can pick whatever.”) He regrets those words a little bit when he sees which movie Naruto has picked.
It looks like the dumbest movie imaginable. The House Bunny, the title reads, accompanied by an image of what he supposes are attractive girls wearing (kind of?) revealing outfits.
Perhaps Sasuke is being sexist again. Or is it misogynistic? Anyway, he blames it on the memory of Minato in that pink apron.
“What? You’re gonna sleep through it anyway,” Naruto says, shrugging, likely in response to the obvious expression of disgust Sasuke is wearing.
Naruto slouches on the couch, while Sasuke sits in an overly composed manner for such a casual situation. This may be Naruto’s house, but it isn’t Sasuke’s.
As Sasuke slowly begins to return to reality, he tries to move but notices he’s trapped by a firm, warm something holding him in place. Actually, whatever’s underneath him, it’s firm and warm everywhere. It feels really, really nice. He concludes it’s probably not worth trying to escape such a comfortable position, so he decides to settle back onto his very firm pillow, letting whatever is scratching so nicely at his scalp drift him back to sleep.
Sasuke jerks awake as he notices some sort of commotion. Naruto seems annoyed.
Then, Sasuke is blinded by sudden flashes of light in his face.
“I told you he was gonna wake up!” Naruto snarls at someone.
Sasuke finally starts to understand what is happening when he looks up from the couch to see Kushina pointing her phone camera in his direction.
Actually, in his and Naruto’s direction, since they’re both on the couch — very entangled with one another, by the way.
“Mrs. Uzumaki—” Sasuke mutters, trying not to panic.
“Sasuke, I’m sorry, but you two look so cute!” Kushina says, overly enthusiastic. “You’re gonna cherish that kind of memory when you’re both forty and married!”
“Mom, I can’t believe you’re—”
“It’s okay,” Sasuke says, looking at Naruto and placing a soothing hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Just please don’t post it on social media,” he pleads, turning back to Kushina.
“Oh, because— right, okay,” Kushina answers, suddenly embarrassed. She quickly exits the living room, leaving Sasuke extremely confused.
Later, they are in Naruto's bedroom again when Naruto apologizes for what must be the seventh time.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
“It’s okay,” Sasuke responds, accommodating himself on the floor mattress Kushina settled next to Naruto’s bed so they could sleep near each other. But he can barely see Naruto from down there.
“I still can’t believe my mom did that,” Naruto continues, as if Sasuke hasn’t said a word. “You sure you’re not hungry?”
“I’m not.”
“Okay.”
They stay in silence for a while. Sasuke closes his eyes, trying to sleep. He’s still tired — the nap on the couch was nice, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the trip.
“This isn’t gonna work,” Naruto says suddenly.
Sasuke barely has time to move out of the way before Naruto basically launches himself onto the floor mattress, sliding under the sheets and messing up the perfectly organized bed Sasuke had tried to make.
“Idiot, you’re on my arm!” Sasuke snarls, trying to pull his limb from under Naruto’s heavy body.
“Oops, sorry!” Naruto says, too busy making himself comfortable to actually care about Sasuke’s anger.
“I don’t think we both fit on this.”
“We’re already fitting,” Naruto answers, pulling Sasuke closer to him by the waist.
“What are you doing?”
“You didn’t seem very opposed to this when we were on the couch,” Naruto smirks.
Sasuke lets out a muffled “hmpf,” but doesn’t make a move to break away from Naruto’s embrace.
Once again, it is comfortable.
They settle into silence again, both trying to sleep. After a while, Sasuke thinks Naruto might actually be asleep, but he speaks anyway.
“Naruto?”
“Hm?” Naruto murmurs sleepily.
“Why did your mom leave like that?”
“Leave like what?”
“Like she was embarrassed or worried,” Sasuke explains.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell her anything about me?” Sasuke asks. “About my family?”
“I told her a lot about you,” Naruto says, “and a bit about your family.”
Sasuke just nods slightly in response.
“Why? Is that not okay?”
“It’s alright.”
Sasuke doesn’t know what to think. It is thoughtful of Naruto to tell his parents certain things, especially to prevent any trouble or discomfort for Sasuke. But he still feels… exposed. And that’s not a feeling he’s familiar with.
He remembers what Kushina said earlier — about being “forty and married” — and decides to pick up on that. Surprisingly, it’s a less uncomfortable subject than his family.
“You haven’t brought a lot of people to meet your parents, right?”
“Wow, we’re talking exes now?” Naruto laughs nervously.
“Your mom’s reaction got me curious,” Sasuke admits.
“Well, no, I haven’t,” Naruto answers.
Sasuke stares at him, waiting for Naruto to elaborate.
“Okay, okay… one girlfriend. And now you,” Naruto says shyly.
“And this girlfriend, when was that?”
“Ah— during high school,” Naruto says, looking adorably embarrassed. Does he actually think Sasuke is going to be mad at him for bringing home a girlfriend in high school?
“It’s been a while, huh,” Sasuke smirks. “You’re quite popular. I know you dated other people, even if you’re scared of telling me.”
“Yeah— it just… didn’t feel right, y’know?” Naruto flushes. “At least, not until now.”
“Right,” Sasuke mutters with a restrained smile.
“Your turn!” Naruto blurts out.
“Are you sure?” Sasuke raises an eyebrow.
“No— fuck! Don’t tell me,” Naruto says, letting go of Sasuke and turning to face the ceiling. Sasuke laughs.
“You’re the only serious relationship I’ve ever had,” Sasuke says.
“Only serious relationship…” Naruto echoes. “So, that means…”
“Naruto—”
“Is it someone I know?” Naruto asks, his face contorting with displeasure.
“Do you really want to know that?”
Naruto nods, the expression of discomfort not leaving his face.
“Really?”
Naruto nods again.
“Some friends of mine.”
“Some friends…” Naruto looks like he’s calculating something. “But Sasuke, you barely have any friends.”
“Fuck you!” Sasuke playfully pushes Naruto’s chest down onto the mattress.
“Wait, wait! Oh no. Oh shit. No, no, no, no…” Naruto keeps muttering.
“You said you wanted to know!” Sasuke says, laughing.
“I’m never letting you go out with Suigetsu again! Or that weird-ass Juugo!”
“You wish,” Sasuke says, still laughing.