Work Text:
Ramen Flavored Kisses
Sasuke stared at the empty room, scowl darkening as he whirled around to look accusatorily at the medic-nin who was supposed to have made sure a certain blonde-haired shinobi didn’t leave. “What did you not understand about don’t let him move an inch?” he growled at the nameless ninja. He took special joy in the way the medic-nin flinched, only lifting a brow when he still didn’t receive an answer.
“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said, stepping between Sasuke and the medic-nin, “you know if Naruto wants to leave, no one can keep him here.”
“I doubt that excuse would hold if we were talking about prisoners.”
“Naruto isn’t a prisoner!”
He narrowed his eyes, “Maybe he should be so he can’t disappear like this.”
Sakura sighed, hands on her hips, and shook her head. She had sent Sasuke out to go and at least take a shower because he was still covered in Naruto’s blood from when he brought their friend into the hospital. Naruto had been unconscious for two days and Sasuke had barely moved from his side until she had threatened to ban him from the hospital unless he went home and took a rest.
And, of course, in the four hours he was gone, Naruto had woken up and decided to leave without telling anyone. She had told Sasuke as soon as he arrived that Naruto was missing and knew he would be angry, but that anger was misplaced. Naruto knew exactly what he was doing and knew he shouldn’t leave, but hated hospitals almost as much as Sasuke hated them. Neither one of them made good patients, much to her annoyance since they were often the ones getting the most hurt.
“I’ve already sent Konohamaru to check his house and see if he’s there,” she said, already feeling a headache forming at the dark glower directed at her, “he’ll be back any moment.”
“I already know where he is,” Sasuke muttered, interlacing his fingers except for his pointers which were pressed together. Before Sakura could protest, Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke and left her stomping her foot as she curled her hand into an angry fist.
“Idiots!”
Sasuke pushed aside the heavy fabric that kept the dust and winds out of the ramen shop, sighing as he spotted a familiar figure stuffing his face with ramen, and stepped inside. “Oi, dobe.”
Naruto turned on the stool, a bright smile already on his face, and laughed as he waved at Sasuke, “Hey! You found me.”
“Of course, I found you. Why would you go home when you can come here?” he snorted, rolling his eyes and stepping further into the small shop. The shop was cozy, it felt lived in and homey with all the little trinkets and pictures tucked into every corner. And the shop owner, Teuchi, was always ready to lend an ear to whatever drivel Naruto wanted to talk about. Sasuke could understand the appeal, both of them returned home day after day to an empty and silent apartment, but this was somewhere Naruto could feel like he belonged, where he could pretend he had a family to tell his day to.
His smile softened, becoming endearing as he gestured for Sasuke to come join him, “I knew you would. You always find me.”
Sasuke looked him up and down, the kimono Naruto was wearing was the same atrocious orange with black trim that was the color of all his things, but it was loosely tied and allowed him to see the bandages wrapped around his waist. It reminded him of the gaping hole that had been there just forty-eight hours before and he suddenly felt slightly queasy. He was a battle-tested shinobi, there wasn’t much that made his stomach turn, but seeing Naruto like that always did. His eyes flicked up, doing their best to ignore the peek of nipples he caught, and he scowled at the healthy flush on Naruto’s cheeks. “You’re drunk.”
“Not drunk,” he said, almost pouting as he picked up the small saké cup, “Kurama won’t let me get drunk, but I can get a little buzzed.”
“Naruto, you’re still healing, you shouldn’t be drinking!”
“Stop being a mother hen, teme,” Naruto said as he tilted his head back and finished off the sake before Sasuke could stop him, “I’m already healed up and you know it. You’re such a stick in the mud, now sit down and eat the ramen I ordered for you.”
Sasuke stepped closer and sat down on the stool next to Naruto, giving the blonde a dour look at the empty bowl in front of him.
“Okay, so I ordered it for you,” he explained, pointing his chopsticks accusatorily at his friend, “but the noodles were starting to get soggy, so I ate it for you so it didn’t go to waste!”
“Are you really feeling better?” Sasuke asked as he sat down, holding up his hand and ordering a small bowl of miso vegetable ramen.
“Absolutely! I’m as strong as an ox again,” he beat on his stomach with a closed fist, wincing slightly before sheepishly laughing at Sasuke’s set jaw. “So maybe not quite fully healed, I’m a little sore, but I am feeling better, and Kurama gave me the green light to leave the hospital.”
Sharingan eyes flashed angrily, “I’m going to muzzle that damned fox.”
“Your eyes are so pretty like that,” Naruto said without thinking. He wasn’t lying that he couldn’t get drunk because Kurama’s chakra burned the alcohol off too quickly, but that didn’t mean getting tipsy was beyond his abilities—especially when Kurama’s chakra was depleted from saving his ass once again.
“Most people are afraid of my eyes.”
“I’m not, never have been.” He leaned in closer, grinning goofily at his friend as Sasuke watched him warily, “You’re so pretty like this.”
Sasuke looked away even as a blush dotted his cheeks, “Shut up, usuratonkachi. Finish your ramen because Sakura wants you back at the hospital to check over.”
“I don’t want to go back,” he pouted, waving to Teuchi and ordering loudly, “Another please!”
“This is the last one, dobe,” Sasuke said as he poked at his ramen that was just set down, “then your ass is going back to the hospital, even if it means I need to tie you up and throw you over my shoulder.”
Naruto would later blame it on the alcohol, but he knew the truth of that, he was more than sober enough to know it had nothing to do with it. He just wanted to see Sasuke blush again, the way his pale skin turned such a comely shade of pink made him feel things he kept trying to suppress. “Sounds kinky, Sasuke, I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.”
“W-what?” he sputtered, dropping the bamboo shoot in disbelief as his face turned bright red.
He laughed raucously, leaning back almost too far from the counter so that he had to grab the edge of it to pull himself upright again, “You’re too cute. Teasing you is so much fun, Sasuke, but I gotta stop laughing ‘cause now my stomach hurts.”
Sasuke ground his teeth together and hunched over his ramen, “Idiot.”
There was a pregnant pause as Naruto started to dig into his ramen, the blonde sucking it down faster than what should be humanly possible, and then he turned to stare at Sasuke as he ate his at a much more sedentary pace. He smiled, elbow on the counter and hand propping up his head, and watched the controlled way Sasuke ate. Small bites slipped between curved lips, lips that were also pale, and a red tongue that darted out to lick the broth off of them, and Naruto found his eyes locked onto them. “I wonder how red you’d turn if I kissed you,” he blurted out, his thoughts catching up with him a moment later at the wide-eyed look Sasuke was giving him. “I-I mean…that…uh, I just—”
In a swift move, Sasuke grabbed the front of Naruto’s kimono and yanked the blonde toward him, sealing their lips together before Naruto could think twice. He squeaked, startled when a warm tongue lapped against his lips, and opened his mouth to protest, but the protest died before it even started when Sasuke tilted his head and deepened their kiss. Miso mixed with his tonkatsu ramen and Naruto melted into the kiss, moaning softly as Sasuke traced every inch of his mouth his tongue could reach before coaxing Naruto’s tongue into responding.
The kiss broke just as Naruto was getting into it, his hand cupping the side of Sasuke’s face, and Sasuke shoved him away gently. Naruto stared at him slack-jawed and astonished as he tried to remember how to talk. He had only kissed once before and that was an accidental kiss between him and Sasuke, but this had been so different—searing hot and arousing. “What was that?”
Sasuke smirked haughtily even as his face heated up, “A kiss. Your face is very red, I hope you know that.”
“Well, yours is too!”
“Not as red as yours though.”
“That’s not even possible,” Naruto said, crossing his arms, “your skin is white, a blush would show up so much better on your face.”
“That must mean you’re blushing even more than what shows then,” he pointed out, finishing off his ramen as dignified as he could.
“That’s because you caught me off guard,” he argued even as he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, “let’s try again, I’ll prove I can make you redder than me.”
“Only once Sakura discharges you from the hospital,” Sasuke said, his stomach flip-flopping at the thought of kissing Naruto again, but if it got the idiot back in his bed…
“Then let’s go now, Sakura-chan can discharge me while I’m kissing you!” Naruto stood up, a little too fast as all the blood that had rushed to his face suddenly dropped, and he grabbed the counter to steady himself.
“Take it easy,” he hissed, wrapping an arm gingerly around the blonde’s waist, “you won’t get any kisses if you faint on me again.”
Naruto patted his kimono, nervously laughing as he scratched the back of his head, “Uh…Sasuke, I don’t have my wallet on me.”
He sighed, rolling his eyes as he pulled out his wallet one-handedly and handed enough money to cover the exorbitant bill and more to Teuchi. Sasuke ignored the way Naruto caressed his ear and dragged the blonde out of the restaurant, “You’re paying me back, dobe.”
“In kisses?”
Dhampir
Page 5
6/26/2023