Disclaimer: Don't own anyone or anything except the plot...
Naruto stared at Sasuke's sleeping form. He still couldn't believe it. Sasuke had nearly died trying to protect him from Haku's senbon needles. Him of all people, but then again they were in a situation only they could get out of. He idly wondered why he did it. Did he really mean something to the stoic Uchiha boy? Or did he just throw himself in front of the blonde boy out of obligation? Naruto sincerely hoped not. He wanted...no needed to have a friend. Somebody other than the Old Man Hokage and Iruka-sensei caring for him. He needed somene who understood him, and Sasuke was here. He understood what lonliness was, after all he spent practically every waking moment brooding in the vast mansion that the Uchiha Clan had owned. He was so lost in his jumbled thoughts, he didn't notice that inky black eyes were watching him...
Sasuke watched Naruto. He watched the different expressions flit across his face, and the different emotions flitting across cerulean eyes. Naruto was probably thinking why he'd saved his life, and hell he was wondering the same thing.
His ambition in life was to kill his murderous brother, yet he nearly sacrificed his life to save the blonde dobe's. Something must be wrong with him. The dobe was just a dobe, he decided. He yawned, and effectively brought Naruto out of his little reverie.
"Sasuke, your awake!" The Uchiha was about to make a snide comment regarding Naruto's obvious statement, when he realized that the short blonde hadn't added his usual suffix of teme to his name.
"You didn't call me teme." "I-What?" "You didn't call me a bastard." "I didn't?" Naruto looked confused, and Sasuke had the brief thought that it was cute. 'Wait...WHAT!? Since when did I think the dobe's cute!' Sasuke mentally yelled at himself.
"No." "Oh." Naruto appeared to pout, which made his whisker marks on his cheeks to scrunch up with the movement. "You know what Sasuke?" "What?" Sasuke asked mock-irritated, but the blonde near him didn't appear to hear the irritation in his voice. "Your a bastard." Sasuke blinked. Somehow he didn't think that the blonde would say that, and the way he said it sent him into a fit of hysterics.
He was almost done laughing a couple of minutes later, but started to laugh again when he got sight of Naruto's gobsmacked expression complete with wide eyes and open mouth.
It felt...reallt refreshing to laugh. He hadn't laughed or cracked a hint of a smile since the Massacre...and it was all thanks to the urasontakanchi.
"Thanks dobe." "Huh? What for?" "For making me laugh." At that, Naruto smiled a really big smile that had his ocean sapphire eyes sparkling. "No problem...teme."
THE END!