'A warm hug on a cold day.'

That's what his little packet of powdered hot chocolate said.

It was a nice notion; receiving a warm, whether physically or emotionally, hug on a cold day (whether the weather was really cold or it was just a lonely day). And then to apply the charming phrase to hot chocolate. Ingenious

Though, Naruto didn't care about this at all. He only wished he could make his hot chocolate. But, he was running low on water, and a fire seemed impossible to start. It was irking in the worst possible way.

What made matters worse, was the weather. His other teammate had dressed warmer for the weather, while Naruto had not. He was freezing, he couldn't make hot chocolate, let alone a fire, and he just couldn't warm up. And this, this was increasing his foul mood ten fold.

Naruto had known that it was going to be cold on this mission, but he didn't know it was going to be this cold!

The cherry on top of his disgusting cake was that, according to his partner, they were half way to their destination, and it was only going to get colder. Colder.

" Uchiha, how much longer do we have to go?" Naruto asked.

The odd thing was, it wasn't unusual for the blond to refer to him as such. After all, it was just by chance they were on an ANBU mission together. They didn't really see each other anymore. Naruto's lips had almost forgotten how to form his name, odd, because he'd certainly thunk it enough.

" I told you thirty seconds ago."

" Fine, fine," Naruto replied as he sulked and sagged against the cave wall. He was well aware he kept repeating the question, but his mood and logic were not working well together.

Outside, the wind blew the snow in a crazed frenzy, and the bitter cold lingered and clung to everything. The howling gusts, the blinding white; it all contributed for one hell of a blizzard.

Naruto's teeth clattered together, and his body felt numb with cold. He glanced at Sasuke, who simply sat, bundled up and warm, gazing out at the swirling snow.

The blond settled for staring at the frozen ground in front of him. Sasuke; the mere look of him annoyed him. Even though they were older, the guy still treated him like an idiot. They were both in the ANBU, no idiot could accomplish that!

He couldn't stand this, working with such an arrogant bastard. That's what Sasuke was; arrogant. If Naruto could have prevented it, he wouldn't be here, in this festering cold with the person he disliked so.

It was simply a fluke that they were partnered up for this mission, and Naruto hoped it would go smoothly and quickly. Then, he could go back to a life that barely consisted of Sasuke. He knew that would make him happy, he knew it would relieve him of this dreary atmosphere and depression.

The storm was still raging by the time night fell. Naruto was still in a bad mood because his packet of hot chocolate taunted him. The phrase 'a warm hug on a cold day' seemed to stand out, and it bothered him that he couldn't receive the warm hug that one cup of hot chocolate offered.

Lost in his frustrated musings, Naruto barely noticed as Sasuke started preparing for bed, telling him they would head out at dawn.

The blond grunted in response. As if he didn't already know that.

Naruto eventually wrapped his blanket around himself, his whole body shaking uncontrollably now.

" Teme," Naruto couldn't stop himself. The word 'Sasuke' may be foreign to his lips, but old habits died hard. He couldn't resist the odd comfort old nicknames brought him. " Are you sure you can't start a fire?"

Sasuke glared at the blond. " Yes, I'm sure. What do you propose we use to keep it going? Snow? And if you're willing to go out in that," he paused and pointed to the chaos that was the outside of their cave, " to get frozen wood, then by all mean, go."

" Okay, I get it, bastard. No fire." Naruto's words came out in short breaths, his shivering shaking him to the core. He couldn't feel his hands, and he felt as though his very blood had frozen. He didn't even care that he was reducing himself to the point of actually asking something of such a bastard.

" Could you just use your fire jutsu to warm up a cup of water?" Naruto asked, yearning for something – anything – warm. He couldn't squash his building hope at such a notion before the other did it for him.

" Why?"

" Hot chocolate of course!"

" Moron, don't waste your drinking water on that." And there, his hope was ruthlessly squashed to smithereens.

And for the first time since their mission started, for the first time in a long time, Naruto let his lips form that forbidden word.

" Sasuke!" He whined. Whined. The name still felt rusty on his lips...but it felt so natural to interact this way. It felt just like old times...but then...he wasn't going to venture near anything that occurred in the past. It was the present now.

" No," Sasuke said curtly, resolutely ending the discussion.

Naruto summoned his best glare as he curled in on himself, trying in vain to warm up. He cursed aloud as a gust of piercingly cruel wind melded with snow blew into the cave.

Damn cave, can't there be a door? Naruto thought. He sneezed. He coughed. He felt sick, he felt sick from the cold. He groaned; he hated this.

Out of Naruto's peripheral vision, he thought he saw Sasuke looking at him with something akin to worry in his eyes. He scoffed at such a thought. As if. Worry and Sasuke did not share the same sentence structure, nor did they gravitate anywhere near Naruto's person.

The blond's eyebrows knitted together.

Sleep. The thought poked him in the side. He knew he needed it, and by the sudden drowsiness, he knew it to be a good idea. Though, if not for the need to stay awake, he would have gratefully succumbed to the fleeting peace of sleep. But, in fear he would freeze to death in his slumber, he resisted the strong tugging. Instead, he opted for keeping himself occupied.

" You know what, Sasuke, the minute I get back to Konoha, I'm making myself some hot chocolate."

His teammate said nothing, but lay down instead. Naruto was jealous of Sasuke. He seemed to be nice and cozy warm; able to fall asleep. The prick.

" Sasuke...when did you say we'll get there?" Naruto asked slowly, simply for the sake of speaking, sounding less energetic than before.

" Stop complaining. Just go to sleep," Sasuke said as he settled into his makeshift bed.

" I don't want to, I'll never wake up," he groaned.

Sasuke turned on his side, so that his back faced the blond.

" Damn," Naruto cursed under his breath. He wouldn't be surprised if his very skin was blue. His teammate was also getting under his skin for the hundredth time that mission. He was so aggravating! After so long, and he still acted like a superior monkey! It was infuriating to have to be anywhere near him.

Trying to distract himself from his unpleasant thoughts, and to keep himself alert, he forced his mind to stay awake, he forced thoughts to keep swirling. He couldn't sleep, it was suicide. So he put his plan into action and his plan indeed worked; his mind drifted.

Soon, images of steaming bowls of ramen floated in his head. He could also smell the sweet aroma, and taste the wonderful blend that was spiced and cooked to perfection. Oh, he couldn't wait for this mission to be over! Then, his eyes landed on the form that was Sasuke.

He couldn't wait for it all to be over. For happiness to return, to go back to how things were... to barely seeing Sasuke again...to being ignored...to busying himself with all the work he could get

Naruto blinked. The cold air was making his eyes water. He ungloved a hand and rubbed his cheeks to keep them from losing feeling completely. Naruto inhaled sharply, making a sound – suspiciously akin to a sob – that hurt his throat.

" God damn it, Sasuke, I fucking hate you!" he screamed at the top of his voice, anger burning passionately within every word. He had no idea why he was shouting obscenities at his teammate, but, boy, it felt good.

And hey, Naruto thought idly, this was keeping him awake alright. The only backfire to it all was that his lungs now throbbed painfully from gulping in too much arctic air.

This staying-awake-method, this thoughtless yelling and thoughtless thinking method, hurt a lot.

" Naruto, I'm trying to sleep."

" And I'm trying to stay awake," he snarled, truly pissed off with his teammate, just for being Sasuke. He was wanting, itching, to annoy and provoke Sasuke as best he knew how. It would be fun...if only he could get the guy really angry, maybe then he could throw a punch or two...

His thoughts were put on hold though, as he suddenly felt a horrible feeling gripping him. The fatigue that he was trying to ward off seemed to make a last ditch effort to capture him, and it was working. He felt as though his body was shutting down on it's own accord, painstakingly one section at a time. All his energy was being dragged away involuntarily.

" Ugh," Naruto's voice was now no more that a hoarse whisper. His already worn body was completely drained. It was too tempting to close his eyes, too tempting to give in to the blissful evaporation of the world.

I'll die! Naruto thought weakly. Aw hell. He felt light then. Like he was floating away. And presently, he was lay down gently, and a small warmth reached him. At least it's warm...the blond thought. Lazily he opened his eyes, wondering what heaven looked like.

Through his foggy brain, only utter shock registered.

" S-Sasuke?!" he managed in a strained voice.

" You're too cold," his teammate said calmly.

Naruto's eyes were wide, complete panic consumed him. Here he was, engulfed in Sasuke's slowly spreading warmth, pressed tightly against his whole body, feeling the rise and fall of his sturdy chest. It was an odd sort of hug, almost like a position two lovers may assume as they curled up in bed together. He could smell Sasuke, could feel him, could hear the blood pounding in his own ears, and he could feel the steady heartbeat of the one beside him. And Naruto, capable of little coherent thought, was panicking.

Naruto liked it. Liked it more than he could allow himself to admit.

" Leave me die in the cold," he argued in a very unconvincing way, his voice weak and small. Though, he was glad to say that it held none of the emotion he was feeling. His tone remained as sharp and demanding as it could be.

But...it was too much. It was so hard to keep telling himself he hated the bastard, when he was reacting with every feeling besides hate at the close proximity.

" Look, I don't want to be doing this either, but an icicle of a partner won't do me any good."

Naruto was frantic, he shoved his hands at the warm chest, hearing a hiss from Sasuke. The Uchiha knocked the hands away, and secured his own arms tightly around Naruto's form. Now he was flush against him.

" Your hands are ice cold, don't touch me."

Despite these words, Naruto's hands were trapped between their bodies, and they were indeed touching the other.

" Damn you, let me go!" Naruto tried raising his voice, but his throat hurt too much. Inside his head, he found himself now repeating one word over and over; no.

" I'll be glad to first thing in the morning." Perhaps it was the way that Sasuke said it, so lacking in emotion, or perhaps it was Naruto's distressed demeanor, but for some reason, some illogical, irrational reason, these words made him angry.

" I don't even want to be on this mission with you. I don't want anything to do with you, now. Let. Me. Go."

" Do you want to freeze to death?" It was disturbing, and somehow fascinating that Naruto could feel the vibrations of Sasuke's voice and breath, being so close to him. But, what was he thinking? He needed to get out of this deathly embrace.

"Just let me go! I hate you! Let me go!" Naruto's voice was still pathetically weak, but he thought he was doing a rather good job of getting his point across.

" No."

" What?"

" No." Still, he could feel the vibration of Sasuke's throat as he talked.

" Ugh! Damn you, bastard, let me go, let me go!" Naruto felt the words coursing through his mouth, directed viciously at the one so close to him, but even as he demanded to be free, he was unconsciously clinging to the warmth that was Sasuke. His shivering was slowly residing, and he felt safe from the biting chill.

Naruto's hands now clung to the other's shirt, his head was buried near the crook of his neck. His feet dug in between the other's shins, searching for the warmest position possible. But, he told himself, only because he was cold and the bastard was warm did he cling to the other so. It wasn't because he actually liked the closeness.

Not at all. He hated this. Yeah. Even as he assured himself, he had a lot of forceful pushing to do to his rising emotions to convince himself.

He stubbornly kept repeating the words 'let me go' over and over, each time more slowly, more softly, until finally he stopped.

A particularly strong breath of wind swept through their cave, and Naruto shuddered before making sure there was not any space between them. He sighed, while he listened to the breath of Sasuke, as he finally surrendered to the warmth. He could feel every inch of the other's body, he could feel the reassuring barricade of Sasuke's arms around him, he could feel the rapidly spreading warmth, like a wild fire, and it all felt wonderful.

" Now that you're done being an idiot," Sasuke said, breaking the silence startlingly. " Go to sleep, usuratonkachi."

Naruto went still at the old nickname. His heart swelled unexpectedly. But, before the feeling could grow, he crushed it harshly.

" Bastard," was all he could mutter.

" Next time, dress warmer," Sasuke said, his chest rumbling with silent laughter.

Naruto frowned. " There won't be a next time," he said icily, almost coldly enough to match the temperature around them.

" And why not?" Sasuke questioned, his voice even.

" Because I'll ask Granny never to partner us together again." Uh oh. Naruto was feeling panicked again. He was feeling very panicked. After all, he didn't need to be warm. He could warm up on his own. And it wasn't helping anything being so close to Sasuke. It wasn't helping anything.

" Oh?" Sasuke drawled in his ever level voice. Naruto could hear the question in his voice, and knew that he couldn't answer that question.

So Naruto, in a frenzied manner, tried to push himself away from his heater, tried to untangle his limbs from the other's.

This was ridiculous! Why had he ever stopped fighting? He couldn't be so close to Sasuke! He couldn't! Not after being so far away for so long! This was reeling him into a false sense of happiness, one he should have never fallen into in the first place. He shouldn't be feeling anything at all! He told himself not to be drawn in, he had planned to keep his distance, and this was certainly not keeping his distance.

Naruto felt like he was suffocating, and Sasuke wouldn't let him go. This hurt. It was hurting too much, it was making his chest feel like it was imploding. It was torment.

" Sasuke!" Naruto gasped, inhaling a breathe of frigid air. " Please, let me go," his voice was quivering, and his eyes were mysteriously watering again.

The blond gave up his struggling, but he didn't stop pleading for the other to let him go. It was bad enough being so excruciatingly close to Sasuke, and it was worse that the older was actually being, in his own way, friendly. Perhaps not the ususal definition of friendly, but, their brand of friendly. Their brand of friendship, something Naruto thought he'd lost a long time ago.

It wasn't fair. This was making him feel things he'd long since repressed.

Sasuke...that distant figure setting out in a blur of comings and goings, never having time for talk, never having time to acknowledge his friend's existence. And Naruto, utterly baffled why the deteriorating friendship was impacting him in such a big way, shrugged off the feelings and instead concentrated on anything but.

And one stray mission together, one act of kindness to keep Naruto from freezing...no...simply being in his company...it was the worse kind of pain the blond had ever had to endure.

" You will freeze. You know that, don't you? Stop struggling. I don't have time to be dealing with you."

Oh. That was it. It was all it took.

" You never have time to be dealing with me," Naruto said in an almost inaudible reply. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing this horrid reaction, these horrid feelings bubbling to the surface to stop. In all truth, he probably would have been fine if Sasuke's arms were not around him at the moment.

" Naruto...?" That was great. All the bastard could do was call Naruto's name.

" Ugh!" The younger gave a violent push at Sasuke's chest, effectively putting some distance between them. Immediately, the cold air invaded, raising the goose bumps all over his body, making him shiver.

Naruto sat up, his wits slowly creeping back. He directed his liquid eyes at Sasuke in a heated glare.

" I hate you, I hate you so much," he said lowly. It was better to hate than feel anything else, after all.

" That's why you don't want to be on this mission with me, correct?"

Some small part of Naruto wanted to make that statement right. He wanted to tell him that, no, he didn't hate him, he actually...

But that was only a small, insane part of the blond. He immediately overruled his options and went for the only one he knew: self-defense.

" Yeah, so now that we've gotten that straightened out, leave me alone," Naruto said menacingly in his still-strained voice.

" Enough already!" Sasuke said suddenly. Naruto blinked, but didn't lower his defenses.

" What's wrong with you, you--"

Naruto reeled. " What's wrong with me?" he said, outraged, cutting the other off. " What's wrong with you! You're the one...you're the one..." He'd said a lot already...he might as well...

" You're the one who blocked me out! You're the one who's too god damn busy to say hello! You're the one who hates me now, so, damn it Sasuke, leave me alone, and let me try and hate you too," the last few words grew quieter, softer, and Naruto felt like something was blocking the passage to his airway.

Naruto couldn't bear to look at the other, he dropped his eyes to the ground, horrified to find his vision was blurry. Great. Was he crying? He was, wasn't he? How pathetic. Naruto sniffled, absolutely wishing he could not only sink into the earth, but evaporate into the very air as well.

" I don't hate you," came a soft, lilting voice from far away. It almost sounded sad. Naruto closed his eyes, hoping he'd slip off into a dream, where he could hear that same beautiful voice without ever waking again.

And then, his eyes shot open as his body was pulled into a tight embrace. His first reaction was to push away from the offending hug, but even as he tried to do this, he felt his strength ebbing away. He slumped, resting his head on a shoulder and letting his body be molded with the other's. His arms hung loosely at his sides, and he spoke a weak protest.

" I'm sorry," Sasuke said, his voice quieter than before. His embrace tightened around the blond. " I don't hate you," he said simply, softly, as though this explained everything.

Naruto sighed. " Me either." He again spoke his protest and insistence to be free.

" I just, I never figured..." he trailed off, and Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this. Sure, he was in Sasuke's arms, and sure, he had said 'I don't hate you,' but what in the hell was that suppose to mean? More importantly, how was Naruto suppose to feel?

He soon was given the answer to all his questions in a blur of movement that had no time. Because, next thing he knew, an animated face, bearing a look of sadness and regret, was staring at Naruto's own face. And then, soft lips, that were slightly chapped from the cold, touched delicately to his own. It was like a kaleidoscope of color and sensations exploded from behind Naruto's eyes and spread through his entire body. His lids closed, he reacted to the touch, leaned into the touch, and made a sound in the back of his throat, somewhere between a moan and a sob.

When Naruto's lips were left alone, he blinked once, twice, and thrice.

" I just never figured," Sasuke repeated again, holding the blond's shoulders as he spoke.

The latter was bemused. A slow smile was spreading to his lips, his freshly kissed lips. Kissed. Sasuke's kiss.

" You...never figured...?"

" Yes. Or rather, I never wanted to figure that I...that I...cared for an idiot. Sorry, for ignoring you."

" You..." Naruto's brain was working out the kinks, slowly. " You..." The wheels were turning, memories were rerunning, words were sinking in, coincidences now had solid explanation, and then, it all clicked, with such fitting perfection that it was audible.

" You are a bastard," the blond uttered, in a somewhat amazed voice. And then, he laughed. In one swift movement, he encircled his arms around Sasuke's neck, burring his head in his shoulder as he stifled his laughter.

Sasuke returned the embrace, tolerated being repetitively called a bastard, and even bore a tiny smile at the turn of events. After all, it wasn't as if he'd planned to abandon his well-built wall, but outside the wall was a hurting someone, and no wall could shield him from feeling for him. No wall could block out what was meant to be.

It was certainly better this way. No more pretending. Because, both of them knew that it was most exhausting to be insincere.

This felt right. And it was right. They might not be as perfectly cut for each other as puzzle pieces, but they sure as hell fit regardless. Besides, puzzles were never that much fun.

Both of them knew it. It would never be voiced. But it was simple fact, it was just simple. If human beings were made in factories with every aspect of their character planned out, every aspect of their life planned out, then they would be the most unlikely and misfitting pair. But, if indeed they had been created in a factory, they went against every programming and instinct within themselves and followed the one thing that mattered most. Their tender feelings of love.

Naruto, back in the same comfy position he had previously been in, hummed contentedly. Sasuke was soft and strong, and he was enveloped in his warmth. It took Naruto so long to know that all he ever wanted was this. This, this moment, the moments to come, whether it be raining or sunny, would be forever perfect.

" Now," the older of the two said. " Now can we go to sleep?"

Naruto nodded, and allowed himself to be pulled back to the ground, nestled close to Sasuke.

Sasuke suddenly touched his lips to Naruto's, in a fierce, sweet kiss. He threaded his fingers through the blond locks, felt Naruto all but melt at his touch, and relished how their lips just fit together in the most wonderful way.

Sasuke pulled away, giving one lingering kiss to the blond's forehead before he once again brought Naruto into a tight, protective embrace.

" Goodnight," Sasuke uttered softly, receiving a hum in response.

And Naruto, snuggled into Sasuke's body, no longer in his false sense of happiness (nor cold, for that matter), had a brilliant thought occur to him before he drifted off.

He may not have gotten his cup of hot chocolate, but he'd certainly received a warm hug on this cold day. A warm hug that was better than any cup of steaming chocolate liquid any day.

(EDIT) I went back, and changed the ending a bit, fixed some sentences, and rewrote a couple things I felt needed to be rewritten. I wish I'd gotten the edited version up sooner, but it took be a while. I'm finally satisfied now though. The moral of this story is to hold on posting my work until I'm completely finished. Aha. (/EDIT)

Uh. I forget the hot chocolate that has this lingo, but, there is one out there. And, this story...is a little messed up. I suppose I like the end result, but I'm not quite satisfied. Tell me what you thought?

Oh, and sorry for the excessive SasuNaru. I just. I don't know.

Mucho love!