just ask
Summary
Naruto finally asks Sasuke for help.
Author's Notes
just a quick little piece done for the prompt "asking for help" :)
Sasuke didn’t make a habit of hanging around Konoha too long. He went in, grabbed a mission scroll from Naruto, and left again.
But even in those short periods, he caught glimpses of what was beyond Naruto’s brave facade. The man was tired, even possibly depressed. When he smiled, his eyes didn’t crinkle like they used to. When he laughed, it sounded stilted. When he thought nobody was watching, his posture deflated. The vibrant and whirlwind of energy that was Naruto had been drained away. Slowly and cruelly.
Being Hokage was killing him. But from what Sasuke had observed in the village, nobody actually realised that. How could they not see something so obvious? Even Sakura and Kakashi had brushed off his concerns.
But then the breaking point happened. The elders demanded something of Naruto that he could not give: a show of power. They wanted him to establish how big a threat Konoha was. They wanted him to attack a village with the aid of the nine-tail’s power.
Naruto refused.
And because of that refusal, they had been making his life even worse.
When Sasuke next appeared in the Hokage office, he could visibly see that Naruto was just hanging on by a thread. His acting sucked.
Sasuke approached Naruto at his desk and took a seat on the stack of books positioned nearby. “Dobe,” he said. “You could just ask for help.”
Naruto’s reaction was proof enough that he was losing it. He sighed. “Who’s going to help me? Everyone’s got their own lives. I can’t burden them with my problems.”
Oh how Sasuke wanted to slap him. They weren’t even Naruto’s problems; they were the village’s. “Ask me then.”
Naruto blinked. “What?”
“Ask me,” Sasuke said slowly, “to help.”
Naruto’s eyes widened in what would’ve been comical if Sasuke wasn’t annoyed. Had Naruto really never considered him an option?
“I couldn’t ask that of you, Sasuke,” Naruto said.
“I wasn’t giving you an option, Naruto. Find that one shred of survival instinct you have and prioritise it over your self-sacrificing instincts. Ask me.”
“Okay, fine. Sasuke will you help me?”
“Yes. But you’ve got to trust me. Do you trust me?” Sasuke extended his hand.
“Stupid question. There’s nobody I trust more,” Naruto said, taking hold of Sasuke’s hand. Sasuke’s heart raced. He knew Naruto trusted him a great deal, but hearing those words out his mouth was gratifying. The feeling was mutual, of course. There was nobody Sasuke trusted more than Naruto. Hell, Naruto might be the only person he fully trusted.
He tugged on Naruto’s hand. “Let’s go then.”
Naruto resisted. “We can’t just go! I’ve got papers to sign.”
“I thought you trusted me.”
“Sasuke… That’s not fair. You know I do. But I can’t just abandon my responsibilities.”
Sasuke sighed and let go of Naruto’s hand. “Alright, we’re having this conversation now, are we?”
Naruto frowned. “What?”
“Naruto… You owe this village nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s them who owe you a great debt.”
“Sas—”
“I don’t care how many ANBU are eavesdropping. It needs to be said: this village is not worthy of you.”
Naruto let out a breath and shot a tired smile Sasuke’s way. “I’m too tired to argue right now.”
“Then don’t. Just come,” Sasuke said, offering his hand once again.
To Sasuke’s surprise, Naruto took it. His willingess to comply showed just how exhausted he was. To think there would be a day where Naruto was too tired to bicker with Sasuke… Child Sasuke would never have believed it.
Sasuke led Naruto to the abandoned Uchiha estate. The elders had ordered for it to all be demolished, but that, along with Sasuke’s return to the village, were some of the few things Naruto had really pushed back on. He never told Sasuke such, but Kakashi had.
“Sasuke…?”
“I want to show you something.”
Sasuke whistled a few times and a flurry of cats emerged from their hiding spots and approached Sasuke and Naruto.
“Oh, heck. I should’ve known,” Naruto said, as he bent down and petted a black and white cat. “You always did have a soft spot for strays.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, the fact that you looked after me in our genin days.”
Sasuke sighed. But found that he couldn’t quite dispute it. “Trust you to compare your situation to a stray cat’s.”
Naruto smiled. “We’re alike in more ways than that.” A small group of cats had amassed around Naruto now as he diligently made sure to pat each and every one.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. We’re both cute.”
Sasuke couldn’t deny that. “There’s an easier way to fish for compliments, you know.”
“And that would be?”
“Just ask me.”
That brought a bright laugh out of Naruto. There was a sparkle in his eyes. “You got a thing about me asking today.”
Sasuke smirked. “Just trying to drill it into you that you can and should ask for things.”
Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants. “Okay then. What would you compliment me on?”
Sasuke’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. He didn’t think Naruto would go through with this. But that was okay. “Depends. Do you want comments on your physical attributes? Or on your personality?”
“Both,” Naruto said, with the biggest grin on his face. He was definitely enjoying this.
Fuck it, Sasuke thought. “Physical attributes-wise, cute wouldn’t be my only adjective of choice. The cats are cute. But I don’t want to fuck them.” He let the implication hang in the air.
Naruto’s reaction was hilarious. His eyes widened comically and he opened and shut his mouth several times before finally, pointing at himself, he said, “Y-you want to fuck me? No, I must’ve misunderstood that. Surely.”
Sasuke squatted down to pat some of the cats. “You didn’t misunderstand.”
Naruto’s face instantly lit up red. It was very amusing. “But… You could have any girl you wanted.”
“I don’t want any girl,” Sasuke said. “But if that’s something you want, I’m certain no girl would be opposed,” he added, somewhat grouchily though he’d never admit it.
“I just—what is happening right now?”
Without missing a beat, Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. “I’m giving you what you asked for. Ready to hear about your personality?”
“I—uh. Yeah, go on then.”
“You’re unpredictable and stubborn. Sometimes foolish, often naive—”
“Hey!”
“—But you’re the bravest, most warm-hearted person I know.”
Naruto frowned. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Sasuke?”
Sasuke stood, brushing the little bit of cat fur off his pants. “Is it that hard to believe you have good traits?”
“Objectively I know I must have some but it’s not like people go around praising me to my face and telling me they want to… you know…”
“Fuck you?”
Naruto diverted his gaze as his blush came back with a fury. “Yeah, that.”
Sasuke couldn’t resist. “Hm. Well, I’d prefer if you fucked me, if I’m being completely honest.”
Naruto literally squeaked. It was funny. He then said something so fast that Sasuke didn’t catch it.
“What?”
“I’d like that too. Well, either way. With you.”
It was Sasuke’s turn to be surprised. “Oh. I assumed you liked Sakura.”
Naruto laughed. “When I was 12! I don’t know if you remember, but I was a bit pre-occupied chasing a certain boy for my teenage years.”
“Ah.”
Naruto shrugged. “I guess we’re both pretty blind to what’s in front of us, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Why did you bring me here, Sasuke? Surely it wasn’t to tell me all this.”
“Mm. Thought the cats might get you out of your head.”
“It wasn’t the cats that did that.” Naruto extended his hand. “Come back to mine?”
Sasuke took hold of Naruto’s hand and Naruto grinned. A grin so warm it could melt the most frozen of people. And Sasuke? Well, he had never felt more certain of his feelings.
As they walked back to Naruto’s apartment, hand in hand, Sasuke decided he’d be honest. He would tell Naruto how much he loved him. Even if the feelings weren’t fully reciprocated, Naruto deserved to know the potency of Sasuke’s feelings. To know that his feelings extended to the depths of the ocean, beyond the clouds in the sky. That Naruto was worthy of all the love in this world and more.
That for Sasuke, Naruto was it.
His next goal would be getting Naruto to understand that the village needed him more than Naruto needed it. But that was a conversation, or a likely argument, for another time. They’d get there. One step at a time.
Author's Notes
thanks for reading! this will likely turn into a series as i hope to write a follow up oneshot.