Author's note: This might be the longest title I've come up with so far LOL I've read quite some 'Four/Five things ... and the One Time ..." fics in another fandom and I came up with one of my own for the Naruto fandom. Not sure how many of these type of fics have been written for the Naruto fandom, but consider this my contribution LOL

Warnings: Various pov's; set for the most part during pre-Shippuuden and Shippuuden; doesn't follow the epilogue; established slash at the end; some fluff; references to violence and injuries; time skips

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!

Four Times Sasuke Didn't Sleep through and the One Time He Did

First time: Itachi

It was already deep in the night when he finally managed to return to the compound. Rolling a kink out of his shoulders, he walked through the gates; his breath escaping him in little white puffs. Winter was definitely settling in; it probably wouldn't be that long anymore until the first snow would fall.

All the lights in their home were out when he arrived, but he hadn't expected anything else considering the late hour. Silently he opened the door and slipped inside, taking care to remove his shoes without making too much noise. He wandered into the kitchen, intent on drinking some water before going to bed, but halted when his attention was snatched by a note on the table.

'Dear,

Sasuke insisted on staying up until you got home. He's in the living room (probably asleep by the time you arrive).

Love,

Mother'

Shaking his head with a smile, he changed course and went to the living room, where he spotted a small lump curled up on the couch, hidden underneath a thick blanket.

"You really should stop waiting up," he sighed and bent down to lift up the small boy.

Immediately Sasuke stirred and black eyes fluttered open, gazing up at him sleepily. "Nii-san, you're home!" he smiled brightly; his arms slipping around Itachi's neck.

"Yes, and it's very late," Itachi chided gently and Sasuke's eyes dropped down, suitably chastised. "I've told you before that you don't have to wait up for me, Sasuke."

"But if I don't, I'll never see you! You're always gone on missions!" Sasuke retorted petulantly, pouting.

And yes, all right, he supposed that was true. He had been going on more missions lately, leaving him with little time to spend with his little brother.

"All right, how about this: you go to bed at the time you're supposed to go and I'll make sure I'll spend at least one full day with you every week," Itachi suggested, turning around still with Sasuke in his arms.

The younger boy considered his offer quietly while Itachi walked up the stairs, ignoring the one which creaked in the middle.

They were close to Sasuke's bedroom when Sasuke said, "Okay! If you promise to spend at least one day with me every week, I won't stay up too late!"

It didn't escape Itachi's notice that his brother hadn't explicitly promised not to stay up late anymore – just not too late. He let that bout of sneakiness go for now and pushed open the door to the bedroom.

"I promise I'll make more time for you," he smiled and lowered his brother on his bed. "Now, it's already really late and you've got class in the morning. Time to go back to sleep."

Sasuke crawled underneath his blanket, burying himself within it so that only his eyes peeked out above the edge of the thick blanket.

"Good night, nii-san," he said, yawning. His eyes were already drooping shut; the late hour catching up to him.

Itachi smiled, brushing a gentle hand across Sasuke's forehead. "Sweet dreams, otouto."

Second time: Sakura

She tugged at her nightgown, removing the creases as much as she could. She'd got better at packing her clothes, so at least this piece wasn't as wrinkled as her clothes had been in the beginning.

She ran a brush through her long hair one more time, ensuring there were no knots left behind, and then nodded determined at her reflection in the mirror. The girl looking back at her had blushing cheeks and wide, sparkling green eyes and was dressed in a pale green nightgown, which reached right past her knees. For a short moment she regretted that she wasn't yet that gifted in the chest area like that Ino pig or Hinata, but she shook off those thoughts briskly. She wasn't going to let that insecurity ruin her plan for tonight.

Team Seven had received their newest D-mission yesterday; they were to guard the mansion of an affluent family for a week until they returned from their vacation in the land of Hidden Waves. Their own house was in a town close to Suna, but the wife was apparently a native from Konoha and that was why Konoha had received the mission instead of Suna.

The how's and why's behind their mission didn't really interest Sakura; all they had to do was guard the mansion and make sure nobody would try to break in, nothing complicated about that.

This mission, however, offered her a brand new opportunity she hadn't got before. Well, she supposed she could have tried it before, but claiming innocence by entering the wrong tent was a lot harder to do than claiming innocence by accidentally picking the wrong room in an unfamiliar house.

This house was huge after all and who could blame her if she lost her way in the dark and accidentally walked into Sasuke's room and fell asleep there? Nobody surely! It wasn't her fault every room looked the same in the dark!

Stifling her exhilarated grin – it wouldn't do to have her excitement give her away – she flipped off the light in the bathroom and slipped into the hallway. Their sensei was holed up somewhere on the third floor, having given them clear instructions not to disturb him unless they were on the verge of dying. When Naruto had pointed out that by that point, it would be far too late to alert him, Kakashi had just dryly answered he should try not to get to that point then.

Typical Kakashi answer.

Using the thick carpet to muffle the sounds of her footsteps, she slowly walked through the dark, using the faint moonlight slipping between gaps in the curtains to guide her way. The three of them had chosen a room on the second floor and she had taken care to memorise which room Naruto had chosen and which one Sasuke had. It wouldn't do for her plan to fail miserably all because she'd walked into the wrong room. The last thing she wanted was to fall asleep next to Naruto.

She shuddered and halted in front of the room she was certain had Sasuke in it. Butterflies started racing in his stomach and she swallowed, brushing her hands down her nightgown one last time. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and slowly pushed the doorknob down. As soon as the gap was big enough, she slipped through it; her heart starting to beat quicker in anticipation.

There was a very thin sliver of moonlight squirming through the curtains, painting a single, faint line across the floor. She walked a couple of steps further into the room, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to recall where exactly the bed was situated.

She was pretty sure the bed was to the right of the door, so she turned to that direction, carefully shuffling her way through the darkness. She wished the gap between the curtains had been bigger so she could at least see a bit, but she would work with what she had! She wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers all because of a lack of decent light!

Hah, take that, Ino-pig! I'm winning!

"What are you doing here?"

She jumped three feet in the air and barely covered her mouth on time to muffle her scream. At once the room was flooded with warm yellow light and she shut her eyes in reflex to protect them from the influx of bright light, hissing quietly.

When she carefully opened her eyes again, she flushed when she met Sasuke's blank eyes. He was sitting up in his bed, still fully clothed, and not appearing sleepy at all.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated flatly; his hand resting right next to the lamp – and close to a kunai, she realised uneasily.

She tittered nervously, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun, I got lost in the dark and picked the wrong room apparently. Really sorry!"

"Your room is at the end of the hallway." The way he stared at her, his face a blank mask, was incredibly unnerving and she took a couple of steps back, smiling weakly.

"Right, not used yet to the layout of the mansion," she laughed awkwardly.

"We had a tour of the entire house this morning. Even Naruto knows the entire layout and he got distracted by the kitchen halfway through," he commented monotonously.

"Right, erm, guess I should have paid a bit more attention," she muttered embarrassedly and scuttled back to the door. "Ah, I'm going to my room then. Good night, Sasuke-kun!"

She didn't receive any answer in response and with cheeks stinging with heat, she escaped from the room and practically ran to her bedroom; embarrassment making her feel like she would spontaneously combust.

That had definitely not gone like she'd planned.

Third time: Kabuto

He couldn't believe the nerve of that little bastard! Snubbing the great Orochimaru like he was more important than the Sannin, like he had the right to pull up his nose and declare arrogantly that training was finished for today!

Gnashing his teeth together, he silently made his way through the underground corridors, aiming for the one furthest into the compound. He'd never questioned his master's decisions before, but he was starting to seriously consider whether Orochimaru hadn't made a grave mistake marking that Uchiha kid. He could understand to a certain point why Uchiha's body – or well, the future version of it actually after he'd finished the training – would be the most desirable out of all the possibilities, but that didn't make up for the sheer arrogance and blatant rudeness the kid displayed every damn day.

Uchiha had been at the compound for barely a year so far, but Kabuto had lost count of how many times he'd wanted to wring that kid's neck already. Oh, how many times hadn't he wished so far that he could rip out the bastard's tongue and make him swallow those sneering comments he was so fond of sprouting all the time? Or stab out his eyes – but no, he couldn't do that; those eyes, the proof of his bloodline, were the only valuable part about Uchiha.

He had promised himself he wouldn't let Uchiha get to him, would let Orochimaru's amusement soothe his burning irritation, but today Uchiha had gone too far. Not only had he shown up far too late for his scheduled training, but he'd refused to listen to even the slightest correction or explanation Orochimaru had been most gracious to give him and on top of that, he'd just marched out of the room, declaring that training was done, and had refused to listen when Orochimaru had attempted to coax him back inside!

The Sannin was willing to offer Uchiha all the training he needed and this was what he received as thanks? No, that wouldn't do. Kabuto wouldn't allow such disobedience to pass unpunished. Orochimaru was being far too lenient with Uchiha, too blinded – yes, Kabuto could admit, in the most private recesses of his mind, that his master's obsession with gaining the perfect body occasionally blindsided him to reality – by the future victory he stood to gain after training Uchiha to even reprimand the boy for his behaviour. Thus, the task to punish Uchiha for his unbelievable rudeness fell on Kabuto's shoulders.

Briefly he swiped his thumb over the small vial in his pocket. He'd just finished creating a new poison, inspired by one of Sasori's works, and he thought it fitting to test it out on the impudent brat. It wouldn't kill him – he wouldn't ruin Orochimaru's plans that way – but it definitely would ensure he would think twice in the future before running his big mouth again.

Checking the time, he nodded to himself. It was just a bit past midnight, which should ensure that Uchiha was fast asleep by now. Just a quick, tiny jab and then his work here would be done.

Smirking, he quietly unlocked the door and slipped inside. He knew the entire layout of the compound like the back of his hand, so he had no trouble navigating through the pitch black darkness, aiming straight for the bed which he knew to be right across from the door.

He stilled when something sharp pressed right into the middle of his spine.

"This is the only warning I'm willing to give you tonight," Uchiha murmured; his voice soft yet menacing at the same time. "What are you doing here."

Never learnt to use punctuation either, Kabuto thought sourly. He hadn't expected the kid to still be awake, let alone find him immediately in the darkness, and he barely kept himself from clenching his teeth. There was just no end to how annoying this bastard could be, was there?

"Orochimaru sent me," he lied smoothly instead, giving nothing away of his original intention. "Wanted me to tell you he won't tolerate behaviour like yours tonight for much longer."

"Hn." The fine tip of the katana was pushed a fraction deeper into his spine and he only just managed to supress a twitch.

"Well then, why don't you go back to him and tell him I'll take his advice into consideration?" Uchiha said, audibly smirking this time.

Kabuto closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, reminding himself once more that killing Uchiha wouldn't get him any favours with the Sannin. Even if it would be oh so satisfying …

"You do that," he said curtly and turned away. The blade disappeared at the same time and when he took a couple of steps towards the door, he didn't feel anything in his path.

How had Uchiha managed to move away that quietly?

"Have a good night," he said neutrally, deciding he'd get his chance another time.

He was just about to leave when Uchiha's silken smooth voice drifted over to him from somewhere in the darkness, "You show up again in my room, no matter the hour, Kabuto, and that'll be the last thing you'll ever do."

Kabuto told himself the shiver dancing down his spine was because of the chill lingering in the corridor, not because of Uchiha's thin veiled threat.

If he quickened his pace to get as far away from Uchiha's room as fast as possible, that was just because he couldn't stand to be near that arrogant bastard any longer.

Fourth time: Tsunade

Rolling her eyes as the soft snoring started anew, she checked his file one more time before closing it decisively and hanging it back on the bed. As expected: the Kyuubi's healing had finally kicked in fully and was taking care of the majority of the scraps, cuts, burns and broken bones the brat had sustained during his last fight. If the healing kept up at this rate, he would be out of the hospital by the end of the week for sure.

His arm was a whole other matter, of course. She eyed the bandage wrapped stump critically and nibbled on her lower lip, considering the options. The Kyuubi wasn't capable of regenerating the rest of the arm again, as he'd gruffly pointed out when Naruto had been brought into the hospital. That was a feat even beyond the considerable powers of a Bijuu.

That left only two options: either Naruto would have to live with a stump for the rest of his life or she would have to come up with something, some sort of fake arm perhaps, that would at least give him the appearance, if not the full advantage, of having two arms once more. She'd always liked a challenge; she was looking forward to finding a way to give Naruto his arm again.

After everything the brat had done for their world, the least he deserved was to have two fully functioning arms again. Perhaps she could experiment with the First Hokage's cells? It wouldn't be easy, but …

Mulling over that option, she left Naruto fast asleep behind in his room and turned to the right, walking to the end of the corridor. Coming to a halt in front of the door to the room here, she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes slightly. Two guards stood on each side of the door; their faces hidden behind their masks. She thought their presence was unnecessary, because in his current state, the man they were guarding wouldn't be able to move much, but allowing the guards' presence had been the only way to ensure she could treat the man here instead of in the cells.

She already had got quite the earful from Naruto when he'd found out about the guards, she didn't dare to imagine the fuss he would have kicked up should his friend have been brought to a cell instead.

Ignoring the way the guards twitched when she reached out for the doorknob – what did they think would happen? That she would let herself get attacked? Please. – she quietly stepped inside the room, intent on quickly checking up on her last patient before she would turn in for the night.

She noticed immediately that the curtains weren't drawn and made a note to talk to the nurses about it in the morning. Just as she reached out to grab the file, she became aware of the gaze resting upon her and she looked up slowly, locking eyes with the young man in the bed.

"You should be asleep," Tsunade remarked calmly, flipping through the pages and studying the notes of the nurses.

"I could say the same about you," Uchiha commented dryly. He was sitting up in bed, appearing for all intents and purposes unruffled, like he was just reading a book and not almost entirely wrapped up in bandages; some of them preventing him from bleeding out again.

"I wasn't the one who had a fight so severe with my best friend that I blew my own arm off," she retorted equally as dry and he just uttered a nonsensical grunt.

She closed the file and studied him carefully, eyeing the bandages. They were finally remaining completely white, meaning he wasn't at risk anymore of bleeding out – if he didn't do something stupid of course.

"How are you feeling?" she questioned, returning the file back to its regular place.

He shrugged almost laconically. "Could be worse," he murmured.

"That's not an answer," she pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"This," he raised his stump slightly, "hurts like hell, but that's nothing new. What else do you expect me to say?"

"I can up the dosage of the painkillers for you," she offered, but he shook his head.

"Don't bother."

She sighed, not in the mood to start an argument about painkillers. If Uchiha wanted to be in pain, that was his prerogative. She just had to make sure he didn't end up dying.

"You should get some rest," she told him instead and when he narrowed his eyes, she added flatly, "You look like shit, Uchiha. You need the rest, trust me."

He only looked marginally better since he'd been brought in, but then again, he didn't have the benefits of a Bijuu helping him heal.

"I'm not a child," he said darkly, resting his remaining hand on his thigh. "I don't need you to tell me what to do."

She leant forwards, baring her teeth. "No, you're not a child," she agreed coolly, "because a child knows when to go to sleep when they're tired. They don't remain stubborn and fight off sleep for what? To prove a point?"

He glowered at her, but remained quiet.

The utter lack of response made her study him more closely. The dark circles underneath his eyes could almost rival those of the Kazekage's; he looked so pale he almost blended in seamlessly with the moonlight pouring inside the room.

"How long has it been since you last slept decently?" she inquired, crossing her arms.

"Probably when I was bleeding out after my fight with Naruto," he replied lightly.

She didn't miss the way his eyes briefly flickered towards the door, but only because she was paying very close attention to him.

Relaxing a bit, she murmured, "You're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Tell that to your guards outside," he sneered; his face closing up.

"They're here because the Council doesn't trust you," she said bluntly. "Frankly I haven't decided yet whether I trust you or not, but you're my patient and more importantly, the kid trusts you. If he trusts you, that's enough for me."

Uchiha shifted almost minuscule. "How is he doing?"

She blinked, a bit taken aback by the unexpected question. "On his way to full recovery," she answered after a pause. "Kyuubi's healing finally kicked in completely so he should be able to leave the hospital at the end of this week."

"I'm surprised he hasn't been running around the place already," he smirked.

"It's not the running around we have to prevent, it's him trying to burst into your room before he's fully healed," she said dryly. "We had to threaten him with tying him down if he didn't keep his arse in the bed until he's mostly healed."

That, for some reason, had Uchiha looking somewhat pleased and she sighed inaudibly, staring at the young man in front of her. She didn't know him as well as she knew Naruto, Uchiha having almost immediately left Konoha after she'd arrived here, and she had no clue whether to really trust him or not.

But Naruto trusted him, had fought for years to bring him back and had never stopped believing in this young man – that counted for something. If she couldn't trust Uchiha, she at least trusted Naruto to know what he was doing.

With that in mind, she retrieved a small scroll out of her pocket, barely the length of her thumb and threw it onto Uchiha's lap. He stared at it blankly, not making any move to pick it up.

"A new way to treat my wounds? I've never seen this particular treatment before," he said sarcastically.

"Like I said before, you're safe here," she repeated, tapping her nails against the metal rail of the bed. "The Council might be afraid you're coming for their useless arses, but I'm still the head of this hospital and my word is law here. Those guards out there aren't allowed to come inside this room unless I or you require them too."

She took a deep breath, ignoring his suspicious look. "That said, I also understand why you don't feel particularly at ease right now. I can't let you leave the hospital yet and you do need some serious rest, so to ensure that you actually do get some sleep before you crash completely, you can have this scroll. You feel threatened or unsafe at any moment here, you open that scroll, drop a bit of blood onto it and I'll be here instantly. You have my word."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because I'm your doctor and I need you to get some rest finally. If that scroll is what it will take for you to sleep, then so be it," she stated brusquely. She then added lightly, "Besides, you want to be rested at least somewhat if you want to deal with the hurricane that is the brat currently snoring up a storm. Pretty sure he's plotting ways to get out of his bed and sneak into your room any day now."

"Thought you said you'd threatened to tie him down?" Uchiha smirked, finally taking the damn scroll.

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "You should know that a threat like that won't keep him down for long. There's only so much I can do to keep him away from you. So it's in your best interest to get some sleep now to prepare yourself."

His smirk deepened, but he finally acquiesced to lying down and didn't say anything when she closed the curtains.

"Don't die in your sleep," she told him curtly on her way back to the door. "The brat's already annoying enough with you just injured."

"I'll try not to," was the dry response before she closed the door.

The guards inclined their heads at her when she walked past them and she returned the gesture, her mind already wandering towards the soft bed awaiting her after a long day of treating patients and dealing with stubborn idiots.

She paused when a pair of luminous blue eyes stared at her from between a cracked open door.

"He okay?" Naruto whispered; a very small hint of red surrounding his pupils.

"Yeah, he's going to be just fine," she murmured. "Just as stubborn as you are, brat."

He flashed her a grin before melting back into the shadows.

Honestly, these two, she thought fondly. They really were something else.

That one time: Naruto

"I'm going home," Sasuke murmured in his ear and he nodded, a bit distracted as he watched Ino trying to drink Chouji under the table.

"You mind if I stay a bit longer?" Naruto asked, eager to see who would win the contest. Chouji might be a master at eating the most food, but Naruto was willing to bet Ino could outdrink him.

Sasuke snorted and squeezed the back of his neck gently. "No, just don't do anything stupid."

"Hey! When have I ever done - " But Sasuke had already left the small pub by the time he'd turned around in his chair.

Rolling his eyes, he went back to watching Ino and Chouji, grinning when he saw her reach for her fifteenth glass of sake already. Chouji on the other hand was already struggling with his thirteenth.

"Hey, where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked surprised, dropping down next to him with some kind of pink monstrosity in a high glass.

"Oh, he already went home. Yes, Ino, you go!" he shouted and she winked at him before throwing back her sixteenth shot. "Guess he was still too tired from roaming through the Snow Country."

Sakura clucked her tongue and the admonishing noise had him looking at her surprised. "What?"

"Shouldn't you go with him then?" She raised an eyebrow, brushing a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.

He shrugged, taking a swig from his own beer. "Nah, I asked him if he would mind if I stayed longer and he doesn't. I'll leave in an hour or so. Hey, what the hell was that for!" he hissed, rubbing over the sore spot in his ribs where she'd just jabbed him viciously.

"Even if he doesn't mind, have you ever heard of being courteous?" she asked exasperatedly. "You're going to wake him up if you go home later than him!"

"Nah, I won't." He waved his hand dismissively. "The bastard never wakes up when I get home later than him, don't worry about that. If anything he just hogs more of the bed."

She frowned, looking a tad perplexed. "That's odd. Whenever I used to pass his room or tent during our missions, he was always wide awake."

"Tell me about it," Karin groaned, slinging an arm around Naruto's neck and chugging back something which smelt like a very alcoholic drink. "I never could surprise him. He was always awake, no matter the hour I went to see him."

"You mean, the times you were a creepy stalker and tried to molest him in his sleep," Suigetsu corrected her, snickering. "Guess our dear leader had a radar for creepy - "

Nobody even flinched when she slammed her fist into his stomach, splashing water all around them. They were too used at the sight by now to be surprised by it.

"Well, either way, I won't wake him up, so it's fine," Naruto reassured Sakura, who still didn't look like she believed him, but she let it go at least.

All the lights were out naturally by the time he arrived home and he circled around the ground floor, closing the drapes there before making his way to the first floor of the small cottage he and Sasuke had been sharing for three years now.

There wasn't any light source here either, but he felt his way around by trailing his hand across the wall until the wall gave away to a door, his hand dipping to close the gap. He tiptoed his way into the room, but as expected, there wasn't any special need for him to be utterly quiet.

Sasuke was fast asleep on his side of the bed, not even stirring when Naruto did his business in the adjoining bathroom before patting back into the bedroom on bare feet. He paused on his side of the bed and cocked his head, looking at the picture the other man made. He was facing Naruto's side, his remaining hand resting on the empty space next to him as if searching for someone, and the blond man grinned.

Hah, he knew Sasuke missed him when he wasn't there!

"You sure do suck at being vigilant, though," he muttered, crawling carefully into the bed. Scratching absently at his bandage wrapped arm, he went on, "I could be an enemy and you wouldn't even wake up! Who's the idiot now?"

Of course there was no answer, because Sasuke remained dead to the world once he was asleep. Honestly, Naruto didn't get why the girls kept insisting that nobody could surprise Sasuke at night. The man was conked out for the entirety of the night as soon as his head hit the pillow and nothing save for Naruto kicking him out of bed or sucking him off would wake him up then.

"Maybe they're the loud ones instead of me," he mused, wriggling deeper underneath the blanket.

Everyone kept saying he had as much the ability to be quiet as a fireworks display, but clearly he was quieter than them if they woke up Sasuke every time and he didn't! So take that!

Still, maybe Sasuke should be a bit more aware during the night. How could he be so sure it was Naruto entering their home and not some stranger?

"Really, for such a smart guy, you can be so dumb at times," he told his sleeping lover.

Sasuke just buried himself against Naruto's side; his hand resting limply on his chest.

Naruto kissed his forehead lightly. "Night, Sasuke."

He'd tell Sasuke to be more careful when they'd wake up tomorrow. Now, sleep was calling for him and he wasn't about to say no to it.

"You know, you really should be more careful at night. I know this cottage is in the middle of the woods and all, and there's basically no chance anyone's stupid enough to get inside here, but still! What if an enemy does sneak inside? You'd never know on time because you won't wake up!"

"Why would I wake up when I know it's you?"

"But you don't know that! How can you be so sure it's me getting home and not some stranger? You don't because you don't wake up! Honestly, what kind of shinobi are - " The feisty mouth was immediately silenced by a kiss.

"I keep sleeping because I know it's you, idiot."

And oh. Ooooh. Now he got it.

If Naruto walked around with a smug grin on his face for the rest of the day after that particular reveal, well, that was nobody's business but his own.

The End

AN2: Can this be considered some sort of trope? If so, it's another one I can scratch of my list :D

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!

I hope to see you all back in my future stories!

Cuddles

Melissa

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