Debate Team (sasunaru/narusasu)

|| Chapter Sixteen ||

Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie. Except for Shikamaru, who had been forced to remain awake the whole movie by Ino. He gave up trying to sleep after a few attempts and instead focused on the movie.

Sakura took advantage of the movie and took it as an opportunity to flirt with Sasuke, which she felt went well. She even attempted to sit on his lap, but he frowned and walked away to "use the restroom."

When he came back from the bathroom he sat near Naruto because from what he could tell, Sakura didn't like him so he served as a Sakura repellent.

Naruto had dozed off halfway through the film. Shikamaru protested that this was unfair, but Ino countered that it was better that he was asleep since he was quieter that way.

When Naruto awoke, he looked around and saw that everyone was gone. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes with his fingers. Had he fallen asleep? "Finally, you're up." Naruto leapt to his feet and turned towards the entrance, where the noise had originated.

"Sasuke! You scared me!" He screamed making Sasuke wince, his finger pointing at the raven.

With a shrug, Sasuke walked over to Naruto. "Are you going to leave now or what?" He inquired, his gaze falling on the blond.

"You wanna get rid of me that bad?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

Sasuke sighed and sat beside Naruto. "I don't really care."

For a few minutes, the two sat in silence before Naruto said, "Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in the direction of the blond. "What?"

Naruto blushed and shifted his gaze to the floor. "Thank you for not allowing me to drown and for not telling anyone that I couldn't swim. I owe you one..."

Sasuke chuckled. "Yeah, you do," When he looked down, his grin sagged. "I also wanted to express my gratitude to you, Naruto."

Naruto raised his eyes, wide-eyed. "What for?! I haven't helped you in any way."

Sasuke blushed as he prepared to say something. "No one else has ever defended me against my father like you did. Thank you; it meant a lot to me. I'm also sorry for being mean to you and hitting Kiba in the face when we were playing soccer the other day. It was amusing, though," he chuckled. "I think we should play together again."

"Yeah, we should," Naruto blushed and nodded.

"It's late; won't Jiraiya be upset if you arrive late?" Sasuke inquired after a few more moments of silence.

Naruto shrugged, frowning at the floor, and said, "No, he's probably out doing who knows what."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "Don't you get lonely?" He blurted out, not expecting Naruto to answer.

"I suppose, it makes me sad whenever I see the house dark and empty; I just wish I had a sibling or someone to talk or open up to. What I'm most afraid of is relapsing into depression; it was a difficult time for me when I was. But I'd rather not talk about it." As Sasuke kept a close eye on him, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He had no idea why he was telling him, but it felt right to do so for some strange reason.

"Loneliness still scares me to the point that I start overthinking and shaking," he said. "When I was depressed, even the tiniest remark would set me off and make me consider suicide. I'm just afraid of relapsing into that. I'm just being paranoid though. Those thoughts, on the other hand, haven't surfaced in a long time!" Naruto chuckled drily.

"I understand how lonely it can be... If you ever need to talk to someone, you should come to me." Sasuke smiled. "Just call me if you ever feel lonely, okay?"

Who knew Sasuke could be so caring? Naruto blushed. "All right," he said with a smile.

"Have you ever considered... it when I said something rude to you...?" Sasuke asked.

"Suicide?" Naruto asked Sasuke and got a nod. "Of course not! When you call me an idiot, I love it." He smiled at Sasuke, who blushed and averted his gaze.

"Anyways, you have any ramen?" He asked.

Sasuke chuckled. "No way, I'm not going to feed you that."

"Pleaseeee!" Naruto begged, his puppy dog eyes shining brightly.

Sasuke blushed as he turned away from the blond. He had no intention of giving in. "No, but I'll make you something even better."

Naruto's eyes opened with delight. "Yes! Yes!" He jumped up and down, ecstatic. "Let's go!" He exclaimed, as he snatched Sasuke's arm and dragged him out the bedroom door.

Sasuke smiled as he was led to the kitchen. "So, what are you making me?" Naruto asked, leaning on the countertop.

"You mean what are we making?"

Naruto's jaw hung open. "You said you were preparing a meal for me! I don't know how to prepare food! Do you have any idea how many times I've come close to burning down my house? Do you want your home to become a pile of ashes?"

Sasuke burst out laughing. "I'm assisting you, moron. If I have to, I'll show you how to cook."

Naruto groaned. "That's too much work!"

"Can you get the flour for me?" Sasuke inquired, dismissing his remark. "It's in there," He shifted his gaze away from the stove and pointed to a cabinet.

Naruto sighed and walked over to the cupboard. He opened it and checked the contents for a few minutes before spotting the flour. He reached for it, but it was too far up for him.

He didn't want to ask Sasuke for support because he'd be mocked for his height, so he got down on his tippy toes and reached for it. He pressed his index finger against it and pulled, bringing it closer to the edge.

"What are you doing?" A voice was heard behind him making him jump. He gasped and let go of the flour making it tip over and fell on him. He shrieked as the flour fell over him.

He brought his hands up to wipe the flour off his eyes and turned around to see Sasuke with flour all over him. Naruto tried not to laugh at the sight but couldn't hold it in, pissing Sasuke off even more. "You idiot!"

"It was your fault Sasuke!" Naruto said, jumping up to his feet quickly before starting to run away from the very angry Sasuke. "Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"

Sasuke sprang to his feet and chased Naruto off. Naruto took a pillow and hurled it at Sasuke's face as they walked through the living room, but he easily dodged it.

As he chased Naruto into his bedroom, a dead end, he smirked to himself. "There's no way to get away now." As he got closer to Naruto, his grin grew even wider.

Naruto's widened as he saw Sasuke reach out his hand, causing him to flinch and close his eyes.

A few seconds passed before Naruto erupted into laughter.

Sasuke had tickled him.