Tranquility

Tranquility


His eyes were closed; his posture relaxed. He’d been here for over an hour and had barely moved a muscle.

Waiting.

Sasuke heard the breeze rustle the leaves above him, and felt it flutter across his face and arms in a gentle caress on his perch. He was leaning back against the tree trunk, one knee up with an arm tossed carelessly atop it, the other leg dangling from the branch. Listening.

He tilted his head to the left, only slightly. Took a slow, easy breath, inhaling the scent the wind brought with it; leaves, dirt, crisp grass, slight musk, just a hint of shampoo, and ramen.

He smiled.

Dobe.

Opening his eyes the barest amount, he slanted them left and grinned, closing them once more. Resting his head against the rough bark, he began the countdown.

5…

4…

The snap of a twig, a muffled curse.

3…

Several hurried steps, the thunk of a sandaled foot landing heavily on a branch.

2…

1…

A strangled yelp, several thuds and an almighty splash.

0.

Smirk.

“SA-SUKE!! What the hell?!”

Getting up and stretching out a couple of kinks, Uchiha Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and jumped down from the branch. He took several steps forward, until he was at the edge of a small pond, roughly thirty yards across and only reaching twenty-five feet deep in the middle. Where one currently soaked, angry, and extremely loud Uzumaki Naruto was treading water.

“Teme!” Naruto growled. “What the hell was that for?” He pulled himself up onto the surface of the water, using his chakra to sit on top. He glared at Sasuke and shook a clenched fist at him, water dripping from every spike of hair and glistening in the late afternoon sunlight.

“Hn. It’s not my fault you got caught in such a simple trap, usuratonkachi.” Sasuke drawled, shoulders slouched and looking like he hadn’t a care in the world.

Spluttering, Naruto gestured madly between the woods, Sasuke, and his feet, which were bound tightly in a length of cord. “But you – ! And the training – And you said – ” Huffing a sigh, he set to work untangling himself, and continued in a smaller voice, almost talking to his feet, “… you promised me ramen, Sasuke.”

Sasuke made the mistake of looking at the other boy’s face, and immediately regretted it. There it was, the puppy-dog-look, in all it’s glory, complete with pouting lip, large blue eyes, and drooping hair. How the dobe managed to make his hair droop, of all things, Sasuke could never figure out.

Hating himself for his weakness, the Uchiha sighed and walked across the water, reaching down and tugging on one of the knots. The rope came undone in seconds, and Naruto smiled happily down at his unencumbered ankles.

Tucking the rope away in his pouch, Sasuke looked back at the blonde. Naruto grinned that earsplitting grin up at him, and thrust out his right hand. Wordlessly, Sasuke clasped it and pulled him to his feet, steadying the other on the water while Naruto caught his balance.

“Thanks, Sasuke.” Naruto chirped, and leaned in to plant a short kiss on his lips before stepping away and across the pond to the shore. “C’mon, teme! Ramen!” And grinning his cheeky grin, he took off through the trees.

Smiling gently, Sasuke took off after him, leaving only a ripple on the smooth surface of the water.

The only trace anyone had been there at all.