[Whatever he anticipated from tonight's exchange, it isn't this. Sasuke is preemptively relaxed enough that there is no resistance when an arm snakes around his waist and hauls him over; his guard is entirely lowered, for better or worse, in his best friend's company. Part of him expects to be thrown down and a test of strength to ensue — not the first time they've wrangled with each other, although in the context of a battle the sentiment is much different, struggling to win against that competitive rivalry they share. Yet they haven't even done that since they were children on low-rank missions as Team 7, those memories still glossy and bright in his mind for how content he'd felt in that past life.
Naruto doesn't wrestle him to the ground. Instead he holds on, arm like an iron bar around his hips, and presses his head against the bare nape of a neck. He's glad that Naruto can't see his face — for the rush of blood turns his cheeks uncharacteristically red, and his mouth twists into an unhappy scowl that's less about what Naruto has done than his own reaction to it. It's not unusual for Naruto to be physically affectionate, but there has always been some invisible line between them, in part because they're both men and this isn't how men touch each other. Not in any world he's known; it was rare for even Itachi to hug him, let alone his father, leaving only his mother to satisfy many of his childish needs for affection up until they were all gone. This is not a hug, which on its own Sasuke may have understood and accepted — this is Naruto holding him as though he's something precious to keep close, an extended amount of physical contact beyond anything he's accustomed or equipped to handle.
What is going on.
Naruto doesn't mean anything by it, he knows. He's expressing attachment to their bond, of course, and he's further uninhibited due to the food they've both consumed, so that expression is magnified. Logically, Sasuke recognizes this fact. It does nothing to stop his heart from sticking in his throat, or his whole body from stiffening, or his thoughts from crashing into disarray. He's aware of nothing else but where their bodies are touching. Naruto is too warm; his chakra is too immense, like a burning shroud wrapped around him, and every breath makes it worse because he can also smell his friend's familiar scent, natural and clean beneath campfire smoke.]
What are you talking about? [He did not hear a word of what Naruto said.] What 'whole new way'? [Excuse me he is?? In your lap??? This isn't normal???]
that's a content highlight not a content warning
Naruto doesn't wrestle him to the ground. Instead he holds on, arm like an iron bar around his hips, and presses his head against the bare nape of a neck. He's glad that Naruto can't see his face — for the rush of blood turns his cheeks uncharacteristically red, and his mouth twists into an unhappy scowl that's less about what Naruto has done than his own reaction to it. It's not unusual for Naruto to be physically affectionate, but there has always been some invisible line between them, in part because they're both men and this isn't how men touch each other. Not in any world he's known; it was rare for even Itachi to hug him, let alone his father, leaving only his mother to satisfy many of his childish needs for affection up until they were all gone. This is not a hug, which on its own Sasuke may have understood and accepted — this is Naruto holding him as though he's something precious to keep close, an extended amount of physical contact beyond anything he's accustomed or equipped to handle.
What is going on.
Naruto doesn't mean anything by it, he knows. He's expressing attachment to their bond, of course, and he's further uninhibited due to the food they've both consumed, so that expression is magnified. Logically, Sasuke recognizes this fact. It does nothing to stop his heart from sticking in his throat, or his whole body from stiffening, or his thoughts from crashing into disarray. He's aware of nothing else but where their bodies are touching. Naruto is too warm; his chakra is too immense, like a burning shroud wrapped around him, and every breath makes it worse because he can also smell his friend's familiar scent, natural and clean beneath campfire smoke.]
What are you talking about? [He did not hear a word of what Naruto said.] What 'whole new way'? [Excuse me he is?? In your lap??? This isn't normal???]