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Naruto had always been clingy. Affectionate. Thriving on love and attention. That was no secret to anyway who knew him.
What people didn’t realize, however, was that Sasuke could be just as bad. Only, while Naruto sought out contact anywhere he could get away with it, Sasuke was different.
In public, he never went beyond hand holding, putting his arms in the back pocket of Naruto's jeans, or indulging Naruto and letting him be all over him.
In the privacy of their own home, - away from prying eyes, safe in the warmth of the space they created together - or occasionally, around the friends they knew for what felt like forever, however, Sasuke could be just as starved for love as Naruto himself.
He hadn’t been like that in the beginning of their relationship, though; Sasuke pretended to be annoyed by Naruto whining in his ear for cuddles, puckering his lips for kisses. Fought Naruto at every turn, was difficult on purpose, only to hold Naruto tight through the whole night anyway, to make space so Naruto could lay on top of him and tuck his nose into the soft skin on Sasuke’s neck, to grab Naruto’s puffed out cheeks with one hand, a scowl present on his face – face slightly flushed – and bring his face closer to his to kiss Naruto for hours.
(He had been even worse before they got together - back in high school, before either of them realized how they felt. Shrugging off the arm Naruto threw around his shoulders, face marred by mock-disgust, kicking Naruto in the shin when he tried to sit on his lap, or grabbing one of Naruto's ears and tugging when he got too close. But he could never hide the red tainting his cheeks.
Naruto found his reactions hilarious, so, naturally, he never let up.
It was a good thing, too, otherwise Sasuke might have never kissed him as retaliation – expecting Naruto to be just as embarrassed as he had been, expecting to shock Naruto enough that he would stop his little game. Only, that was not what happened.
After Sasuke pulled back, eyes wide, not knowing how to proceed when Naruto didn’t push him away, he was met with an equally wide-eyed Naruto.
Naruto slowly raised his fingers to his mouth, tracing them along his bottom lip. “Woah,” he breathed out, voice awed. Then he looked straight into Sasuke’s eyes, determined. “Do that again.”
So, Sasuke did.
As it turned out, they both liked the press of the other’s lips against their own a little too much to ever stop.)
Sasuke took a little longer to fully trust someone; hated showing what he considered to be a weakness, a vulnerability.
But with time, he grew more and more comfortable around Naruto, showing every side of him. Letting Naruto see him, all of him; at his worst as well as at his best. Even when he initially tried pushing Naruto away, not letting him get too close, Naruto never let him. Always fought for him. Saw right through him.
So, step by step, he learnt to let himself be loved, and love just as hard in return.
That was how Naruto realized that Sasuke was just as affection-starved as he was; only, he had a harder time showing it.
It started with pulling Naruto into his lap, unprompted, to nuzzle into his back with a content sigh, arms sneaking around Naruto’s waist and under his shirt to touch his warm skin. With him lying down on top of Naruto to curl onto his chest after a hard day. Grabbing Naruto’s wrist to drag him into bed when Naruto was taking too long to get in for his liking, facing away from Naruto and pulling his arms around him without a word.
(Naruto found it impossibly endearing, but never dared tease Sasuke for it, fearing it would make him stop. And he couldn’t have that, no sir. He deserved this, for being a good person and all that bullshit. Yes he did.
So he just smiled to himself secretly and held Sasuke that much tighter, kissed him that much harder.)
The next phase of Sasuke Slowly Getting The Stick Out From His Ass - as Naruto dubbed it in his head - began when Naruto was sitting in his chair, playing on his PC with his friends online.
One second, he was looking at his screen, concentrating with his tongue out, then the next thing he knew, he had Sasuke - who seemingly materialized out of thin air - squeezing and twisting his way onto Naruto's lap so they were chest to chest, Sasuke’s legs on either side of his hips, hanging off the chair, arms going around Naruto’s neck and resting his chin on his shoulder.
Naruto didn't dare move beyond giving Sasuke space to worm his way into his embrace. All the while, Sasuke just held up a book and began reading, unbothered, like it was the most natural thing in the world to climb into Naruto's lap like he owned it.
(To be fair, he wasn't wrong.)
Naruto was having an out of body experience. Sasuke had never been this... bold? openly clingy? before, so forgive Naruto for being a little too shell-shocked to form a coherent thought at the moment. He was a weak weak man, and Sasuke still made his heart beat like they were 17 sharing their first kiss, and not 23 sharing an apartment.
And Sasuke still wasn't saying anything? Not to be dramatic, but Naruto might actually die.
It was the shouts of, “Dude, fucking move!”, in his ear through his headphones that slammed him back into his body.
“Oh shit, hold on, I’ll be right back,” he answered, then paused the game, pulling his headphones off his head.
After a longer period of silence, he tentatively spoke up, “…Sasuke? Um," he awkwardly cleared his throat, "What are you doing?” He was still holding the console in both hands, so his arms were around Sasuke, linked behind his back.
“Reading, what's it look like?” came the casual answer.
“Um, okay. Cool.” He turned his head, trying to make eye contact with Sasuke, who was still resting on his shoulder. “Why here, though?” Hurriedly, he added, “Not that it’s not cool! It’s totally cool. So chill. Very chill. But, um, I was, kinda playing?”
Sasuke moved his eyes away from the yellowing pages of his book – worn out from time and use, it was one of his favourites –, slightly turning his head so the tip of his nose tickled Naruto’s neck. “You don’t have to stop.” A pause. Then he nuzzled closer to hide his face, mumbling something.
“What was that?”
Sasuke let out a small groan, then repeated himself through clenched teeth, “I said. I just want. Attention.”
Naruto gaped. Holy shit.
“I know you’re making a stupid face right now, so stop.” Naruto closed his mouth. “Say a fucking word and I’ll elbow you in the gut. Go back to playing.”
Naruto couldn’t hold back a snort, then he broke out into a grin so huge his face started hurting almost immediately, cheeks warm with happiness and love.
He jostled Sasuke a bit so they were even closer, dropping a kiss to the top of his head, readjusting his headphones; his smile never left his face. “Alright, not saying a word.”
Sasuke seemed content with that, because he simply grunted, then went back to reading, but refusing to look at Naruto. He stayed put for the next few hours, nevertheless. Even falling asleep at one point; perfectly comfortable with Naruto’s heart beating against his own, skin against his, with Naruto’s laughter in his ears.
(Even after finishing his game, even after his whole body was asleep, Naruto never woke Sasuke.)
After that, Sasuke became better at voicing his desires – along with threats of murder if Naruto ever dared make fun of him, but still. Progress.
Now, he wouldn’t just either glare a hole into Naruto’s hand until he somehow magically read Sasuke’s mind to figure out what he wanted, or reach for it to put it on his head when he wanted his hair played with, but actually asked. Well, kind of.
Okay, it was more along the lines of, “So you gonna play with my hair or do I gotta do everything around here?” with his arms crossed, staring ahead of himself with a hard glare from his position between Naruto’s legs on the couch, who was curled around him like a little octopus.
“The dramatics,” Naruto laughed, but leant back into the pillows at his back, dragging Sasuke down with him, so he could lay his back on Naruto's chest, their legs tangling.
“Better?” Naruto smiled down at Sasuke, love-sick expression adorning his face as he run his fingers through the soft black waves, occasionally scratching Sasuke’s scalp or messaging his temples.
“Hm.” Sasuke sounded like he was already drifting off, voice quiet.
“Okay.”
It was silent for a while, the only noise coming from the TV where an old rerun of Jurassic Park was playing. Naruto's fingers never stilled, even reaching down to Sasuke's ears every now and then too, softly caressing them. Leaning down to press barely-there kisses to the crown of Sasuke's head, to his temple.
Then, Sasuke looked up at him with droopy eyes, letting out a quiet “Kiss,” while butting his chin out with pouty lips.
Naruto giggled, but reached down to touch Sasuke's jawline, pressing his smile onto Sasuke’s mouth, who almost whined in response.
“Kiss me properly, dumbass.” He tried glaring, but with his barely-opened eyes and messy hair, he just looked cute.
“Alright, you big baby.” Naruto was being a brat on purpose now, but he couldn't help it. A sleepy Sasuke being clingy was his favourite thing in the whole world.
“’M not baby.” Sasuke's gaze hardened, a scowl present on his face, but it just made his pout grow. Naruto's heart missed a beat in his chest at the sight.
“Sure you are, you’re my baby.” Naruto gave him a shit-eating grin, then pinched his cheeks.
(God, he could die tomorrow and he'd still be content knowing he, and him only, had the privilege to see Sasuke like this.)
Sasuke batted his hand away with a scoff, “Die.”
“Aw, but then who’s gonna give you kisses and play with your hair, huh?” He leaned down to bite Sasuke’s cheek this time.
Fisting Naruto’s hair in his hands, Sasuke pulled him back, “Idiot. Don’t drool on me.” Coming face to face with Naruto’s blinding smile, he grumbled, “Just fucking kiss me already.”
With a teasing glint in his eye, Naruto answered, “Anything for my baby.”
Sasuke brought Naruto’s face closer to his, biting down on his bottom lip. Hard. “Shut the hell up.”
"Yeah," Naruto let out a breathy sigh, speaking his next words into Sasuke's mouth, "I can definitely do that."
(They didn't get to finish the movie that night.)
X
(Their marriage proposal was a little uncommon.
There was no ring. No questions of "Marry me?" It was just Sasuke, content, with Naruto wrapped around him, looking out into the night sky from their balcony, the world quiet around them. Speaking his mind without second-guessing, without overthinking, without fear, without holding back.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
It was barely a whisper. Just for them to hear.
It was perfect.)