Lost in the Blue

#6 - Naruto

Their first full day at sea was pretty boring.

It featured a lot of planning with Shikamaru, Rock Lee and Shino, followed by weapons prep with TenTen and Sai, then checking in with Chouji in the kitchen. By mid-afternoon, Naruto felt the need to run through a field of grass.

Also— he hadn't seen Sasuke all day. He wanted to check on him.

He stepped down to the lower deck, eyes squinting as he adjusted to the sudden lack of light.

His steps creaked extra loud as he paced took towards the end of the hallway. A porthole at the end swished with bright blue water as the ship rocked back and forth.

Sasuke's door was cracked open— must mean he was allowing visitors at this time.

Naruto pushed the door, freezing in his tracks when he saw a half-naked Sasuke.

His pants sat low on his hips while he unfolded his long-sleeved white shirt, the one Naruto remembered him wearing when they first met at Orochimaru's lair— three years after Sasuke left Konoha. His torso was fully exposed, pale skin almost twinkling in the sunlight cast through the room's porthole. Scars decorated his back, the calloused skin even lighter than the rest.

"What?" He snarled, turning around to face Naruto.

Naruto blinked, eyes stuck on Sasuke's torso.

He was in such good shape.

Everyone here was, but Sasuke's body was... different.

Whereas Naruto's shoulders were broader, legs a little shorter and hips a bit wider, Sasuke was just... lean.

He felt his eyes trail down his abdomen, stopping at the v-line between his hips.

A shoe struck his forehead perfectly in between his brows, bringing him back to reality.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, first words coming to mind.

"I'm changing." Sasuke said, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Heh." Naruto said, face contorting to a grimace. He walked over to Sasuke's bed and plopped down.

"Come on in, I guess." Sasuke said.

Naruto leaned back, splaying his legs in front of him.

That didn't feel right.

He crossed his legs.

Nope, that wasn't comfortable either.

He straightened his back, trying to push his shoulders down, but they seemed to be glued to his ears. He tapped his hands on either side and exhaled loudly.

"What the hell is going on? Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm bored."

Sasuke watched him with a pinched expression.

"Are you gonna put your Orochimaru shirt on?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke flipped the shirt back and forth between his hands, the soft material moving with fluidity. "Is that what you call it?"

Naruto shrugged.

Yea, him and Sakura came up with a name for that shirt after their run-in however many years ago:

~~~

As they had collected themselves after Sasuke evaporated to who-knows-where, Sakura's eyes bulged as she clutched her cheeks.

"Ino is gonna flip when I tell her what Sasuke is wearing now." She said.

Naruto wiped the tears from his face, "Huh?"