Trouble Sleeping

Chapter 1: Takemypantsoffplz

"…accident three days ago. In other news, another heat wave is passing through Konoha this week and temperatures are expected to rise above 40 degrees Celsius. There is a weather warning in effect advising citizens to stay indoors…"

"Another heat wave? Guhh, I don't think I can stand this anymore…"

"We've already had three weeks of this crap. When will it end?" Kiba wiped a clammy moisture from his forehead before sipping his ice tea.

"I can't even remember the last time I felt rain on my skin. This sucks." The blonde rested his head on the edge of the bar and let out a languid sigh.

At that moment, the shock of a palm slapping his shoulder jolted him upright. He turned to the grinning brunette with an unsmiling expression.

"It's okay Naruto; it doesn't matter when it ends. All that's important is that it will end. Let's just pray we don't spontaneously combust before then."

"Guhhh…"

The night was humid and the air was thick. Naruto traipsed through Konoha, dragging his feet with each step. He could barely breathe, especially having just completed a sparring session with Lee. This, I might add, had lasted from lunch until about ten minutes prior to the start of the blondes' long trek home. He hadn't even stopped to eat dinner.

Feeling slightly dizzy, Naruto stumbled over to a nearby bench and held his stomach as he sat.

The sun was setting beyond the horizon, but its blaring heat still burned his tan complexion. He sighed and looked to the sky.

"Ughh, Why god whyyyy…" He pleaded, his eyes now closed.

"Because, I just don't like you."

He bolted into a defensive stance at the sound of the semi-familiar voice.

"God?!?" he looked left, right and straight upward. But there was no one.

"Behind you, dobe."

Naruto turned and dropped his hands to his sides, "Oh, it's just you. What do you want?"

"Nothing, I was just heading home when I saw you collapse on the bench. You alright?" The raven asked smirking.

"Don't patronize me Sasuke, we both know you could care less." He replied dryly, glaring.

"Oh, sorry for having a heart. You seem awfully cold tonight, heat not getting to you?" Sasuke flipped his hair casually and stepped out from behind the bench.

Naruto followed with his eyes cautiously, "What's with you teme? You usually don't speak more than two words to me on a normal day,"

"Hn,"

A long silence followed the utterance as Sasuke circled the blonde.

"See, that's more like it. Now that you're acting normally again, can I leave?"

"No."

Naruto, who had been motionless until now, crossed his arms and pouted, "Why not?" he said in irritation.

"Because, I'm bored and I want to fight someone. You are my only worthy opponent."

At that, Sasuke lunged at Naruto, who quickly reacted by grabbing Sasuke's extended fist, rolling backward. Using his right foot, he pushed the raven backwards over his head and into the air.

Sasuke rolled in the air and turned himself upright, landing on his feet while Naruto continued rolling into a standing position. Both stood defensively for a brief moment.

Naruto let out a heavy breath. Given that he was already so warn out, he figured this battle would require defensive combat on his part.

He was right.

Sasuke lunged at him again, a fist tightly clenched. Naruto countered by grabbing Sasuke's wrist and spinning out, his foot pushing off the ravens back, sending him to the ground. But Sasuke rolled out and spun to face Naruto.

"You're getting faster Naruto."

"You're getting slower." The blonde smirked.

"Hn,"

They both lunged, colliding with a clap of energy. Their fingers intertwined as they clutched the others palms. They glared into each others eyes, provoking each other to make a move.

They broke apart.

Naruto flipped backwards, grabbing a kunai from a sheath by his ankle in the air. When his feet hit the ground, the blade was already lodged in one of Sasuke's armguards.

Another back flip and Naruto had carefully evaded an uppercut. But Sasuke tripped him on his landing, sending him to his hands and knees. Rolling, he dodged a blow that shattered the concrete beneath him. Spinning, he pushed off the ground and flew through the air before skidding to a stop a few meters away from Sasuke.

Leaping high, Sasuke flew upward until his feet pressed against a nearby building. Pushing off, he gathered chakra in his palms and dove into Naruto.

"Got you!" Sasuke said triumphantly.

"Try again." A voice from behind startled him as the doppelganger he had pierced vanished.

Naruto landed on his back and wrapped his arm around his rivals' neck. They hit the floor and rolled around as Sasuke struggled. Naruto had his legs wrapped around the ravens' neck, limiting his mobility.

"Surrender teme!"

"Never."

"But I'm exhausted." Naruto whined.

"No. Fight me." Sasuke's words choked out.

"Come to my house and play Soul Calibur?"

Naruto squeezed harder.

After a moment, Sasuke tapped out. Naruto released his death grip.

The raven then inhaled deeply, relishing what little air there was to breathe.

The two boys lay together gasping, sweaty and sticky, for minutes. Pealing himself off of Naruto, Sasuke stood up and brushed himself off. He extended a hand for Naruto, but he wouldn't hear of it. Of his own effort, Naruto stood up and brushed himself off.

It wasn't two seconds before the blondes' knees gave way and he began to fall.

With quick reflexes, Sasuke caught him before his knees hit the floor.

"Whoa, are you alright?" He asked, with a surprisingly genuine tone.

Naruto could only manage a garbled groaning of sorts.

"No, okay let's get you inside."

And with that, Sasuke cradled the blonde bridal style and took off over the Konoha rooftops.

Naruto felt his back against a hard surface. A wall, or maybe a door.

He tried to open his eyes, but his head was throbbing and the light was too much. He was suddenly aware of his own paralysis. A rigid body was propping him against the wall. He felt something moving in his pocket.

"Fuck." The body muttered.

"Nnn…" Naruto opened his eyes again, and the world was spinning. He was in a familiar looking hallway.

He shut his eyes again to block the light. Suddenly, the movement felt like fingers, thin fingers, sliding up his inner thigh. The sudden movement evoked a moan and his grip on the body tightened.

"Ah! Sorry…" The movement stopped abruptly.

"Mm… Back pocket…"

"What!?" Sasuke's voice hitched.

"My keys…Back pocket…" Gathering some strength, Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and pulled himself up off the wall. He opened his eyes again to see the face of the body that held him. It was very flushed with a humiliated expression. Naruto smiled and rested his head on the ravens shoulder.

Sasuke's hand retreated from the front pocket and ventured to the back. This time, Naruto was careful not to gasp as Sasuke basically molested him.
After a minute of fumbling, the door to Naruto's apartment swung open. Sasuke picked Naruto up again and took him to the couch. Gently, he rested the lifeless body on the soft blue cushions.

It was cooler in the apartment, but Naruto was still soaking in sweat.

Stupid idiot was wearing that ridiculous orange jumpsuit again. He was boiling. Sasuke palmed his forehead. He was definitely running a fever.

Sprinting, Sasuke stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a nearby dishtowel. He soaked it in cold water and booked it back to Naruto's side. Soothingly, he patted the blondes' forehead with the cold cloth.

"Nngh…My heeaaaddd…" Naruto mumbled.

Silently but quickly, Sasuke ran to the light switch and turned every light in the room off. Unplugging electronics where necessary. He pulled the curtains closed and carefully made his way back to the couch. With so much crap all over the floor, this apartment was a death wish in the dark.

"Sasukeee…" Naruto whined.

"Hn,"

"Why are you…being so nice?"

Sasuke stiffened, his expression of concern changing to that of annoyance.

"Because, baka, you're my teammate and I can't afford to lose you to heat stroke."

"Hmm…"

"Besides that, you're my rival. And if you die for some stupid reason I won't have anyone to fight when I'm bored."

"Plus, you're my excuse for escaping from Sakura and those other baka fangirls. Tch."

"Mmhmm…"

"And, well, just because I'm a heartless, ice cold bastard, doesn't mean I don't care about anyone…"

"Awww… Teme, you really care about me?"

"No! I mean… Shut up."

"Aawww… You're sho cute."

"I can kill you. Right now. Do you want me to? Say something. Anything. I swear to god."

"Help me."

"What?"

"I'm so hot and I don't want to wear this anymore. Help me." Naruto meekly fidgeted with the collar of his jacket.

"Ugh, stop moving." Sasuke kneeled over Naruto and pulled the zipper of his coat down. Lifting him off the couch slightly, he pulled the jacket off completely. Underneath, Sasuke could feel a fishnet material. "This too?"

"No. Leave it. Uhm…" Naruto continued fidgeting.

"What?"

"Well, C-can you… takemypantsoffplz."

"Can I what?"

"I hate you."

"What, why? What did I do now?"

"Guhh. I said. Can. You. Take. Off. My… You know…"

"Oh." Sasuke blushed a little at this but wasn't too shy.

First, he untied the laces of Naruto's shoes and removed them. Then, he reached for the button of the pants and fiddled for a moment before releasing it. Slowly, he pulled the zipper down and parted the opening. He slid his hands along the blondes' bare thighs and calves, making him shiver and squirm beneath the touch.

"S-sorry…" Sasuke stuttered out.

"S'okay." Naruto's voice was shaking slightly.

Sasuke pulled them off completely and rested them by the side of the couch.

The room was silent after that; the only audible noise was the sound of Naruto's shallow breathing. Sasuke was surprised by the weak state that Naruto was now in. He must have pushed himself way too hard training that day.

Sasuke stood and cautiously made his way to the kitchen. Feeling around a bit he located the sink and turned on the cold tap. Opening every cupboard, he fumbled around in search of a glass. Once found, he filled it with cold water and brought it back to the blonde.

"Sit up."

Naruto complied, and drank the entire glass in one gulp. Sasuke placed the empty glass on the floor.

"Better?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be alright. Think you can help me to the bedroom?"

"Here," Sasuke pulled Naruto off the couch slowly, "Can you walk?"

"Mmhmm," Naruto wobbled momentarily before steadying himself on Sasuke's shoulder.

The two stumbled about in the apartment until reaching the bedroom in the back. Naruto immediately collapsed on the bed with a sigh of relief.

Sasuke turned to head for the door but felt a hand grasp his arm.

"Huh?"

"Ne… Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay with me? Just tonight, please?"

Sasuke was puzzled by the request but wasn't about to start asking questions. It probably had something to do with a childish fear of the dark or something juvenile like that.

He turned for the door again but felt the grip on his wrist tighten.

"Where are you going?"

"To the couch. Duh."

"No. Take off your shoes and stay here." Naruto sounded determined.

Sasuke shrugged and complied, removing his shoes as Naruto slid over on the bed.

The raven climbed into the bed and lay facing the blonde. Unknowingly, they stared at each other in the pitch black for minutes. It wasn't long before their eyes grew heavy and they drifted into contented sleep.

Silence.

Water falls over thirty foot cliffs.

The sky was dark and murky. A dense fog blurred his surroundings.

Blinking and squinting, he stumbled forward. His hands ground into the jagged gravel below. Blood seeped from fresh wounds. He looked around, calling for help, his voice however muted. There were ruby red rivers sliding down his arms. He could see himself kneeling, battered and covered in blood.

He fell to the floor, his face colliding with a hard surface. Off in the distance, he could vaguely make out a city. It was Konoha.

People were screaming and fleeing. A sound of terror louder than earthquakes rang in his ears. It was deafening and horrible.

The rooftops had all been set aflame.

How could that have happened? Who would do such a horrible thing?

Naruto's eyes filled with hot liquid. He felt it scolding his skin as it poured down his cheeks.

He turned onto his back, unable to watch his home disintegrate.

Suddenly, a figure was standing over him. His flesh riddled and pierced with long thin needles. The dark form fell to his knees over Naruto, revealing his bloodied and disfigured face.

"Sa—Sasuke?" Naruto was mortified as the full weight of Sasukes' corpse landed on top of him.

Naruto's eyes were wide as his body shook, petrified with shock and repulsion at the events that had just taken place.

With nothing left to do, he simply shut his eyes and opened his lungs, screaming for all he was worth, feeling a dark energy within taking over his very being.

His eyes shot open again, the dark haze still clouding is vision. He blinked a few times, his breath heaving.

His vision cleared as his eyes adjusted to the morning light and serenely sleeping, no more than two inches away, was the corpse of his rival.

Alive.

Breathing.

Not a corpse.

Naruto sighed in relief. He pushed his hand against Sasuke's chest, checking to make sure his heart was still, you know, beating.

It was.

Naruto sighed again. Sure now that this wasn't a dream.

Blearily, Sasuke's eyes began to flutter, until they opened to see Naruto's anxious and tear filled eyes.

"Uhh… Hey… Hey! What's wrong?!" Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed with concern. Instinctively, he placed his hand on Naruto's cheek and wiped the wetness from his reddening cheeks.

Naruto tried to smile, "It's okay. I just had a bad dream. I'm okay. You're okay. Everything's fine… Thanks for being here."

"Hn,"

Naruto closed his eyes, "I just… need to make sure," Naruto shuffled closer to Sasuke, and pulled himself closer to Sasuke's chest, wrapping his arms around the raven.

Sasuke stiffened briefly, but relaxed into the embrace after a moment. He had never been this close with anyone before and wasn't entirely sure how to react. He settled to just hold Naruto back and gently stroke his back.

"Sasuke…"

"Yeah?"

"You know, this doesn't change anything. I'm still gonna kick your ass at Soul Calibur today."

"Hn,"

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