Chapter Two: A Restful Sleep

Author's Notes: Some of you were wondering why I took it down. Well, FF was being annoying, so...I thought I'd just put it back in a few hours. Anyway, 85% of you said the labeling wasn't needed, and I'm just lazy. I know. Yes, yes, evil woman - blah blah - sorry, the line is getting disconn - BEEEEEEP.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. If I owned it, I wouldn't be in the financial crisis I'm in now.

Warnings: I mean, there will be some boys love eventually. That's why we're here, right? And I'm a grammar and spelling tard. Like, I can't do it to save my life. So if you point out a mistake, really, my muses probably already did it. And I still ignored them because I'm that mean. Suffer.

Chapter Two: A Restful Sleep

When I wake up the next morning, I have the same thought I always do. When did I fall asleep? I don't even remember coming out of my room, but here I am on the floor of the living room, television on, and a cup of empty ramen next to me. What a party.

I lay with my back flat against the ground - the hardwood floor I might add - and I groan. My back is aching, my neck is stiff, and late night ramen tastes horrible a few hours later in my mouth. My eyes land on Sasuke's arm hanging off the couch in a not so prim-and-proper way. We must have had some late night movie thing going, considering it happens from time to time. He's an insomniac and I just eat too much sugar. It's funny how proper he is during the day; controlled, refined, and all around full of douchebaggary, but when he sleeps he loses it all. I'd call him a puppy if I wasn't scared of him waking like some crazed zombie and ripping my balls off.

When I seek out the clock, I notice it's still pretty early, but its teme waking time. I know what you're thinking right away. Death wish, right? No, I don't. See, I figured right about now I'd continue here where I left off last night. Why Sasuke and I are still yet, very close.

Now, stick with me, because this next sentence is going to sound weird. But his brother's said it so many times I just started saying it.
See, in a way, I'm kinda like Sasuke's mom and in a way Sasuke's kinda' like my dad.

Weird, right? It's just because of how we look out for each other.

Two months after the shooting incident, our lives didn't really 'go on'. My dad died. Cancer, but he put up one hell of a fight. Two weeks later Sasuke's mom passed away. The doctor's didn't go over her list of medications properly, and prescribed her two that are deadly together. Yeah, the Uchiha's practically owned the practice after that lawsuit. But, it was something else that brought us close together.

Initially, we were just mad at the world, and decided to take it out on each other. Each of us had what we lost. So, we had arguments over absolutely nothing, fistfights because we made eye contact, and no one there to put a stop to it all. It was downright absolute chaos. Sure, my mom called about four times a day then, and his brother made pit stops, but that never stopped us. We wanted to get our aggression out some way or some how. I know where your mind is going – fights plus an injured Sasuke equals bad. Yeah, it did. It all came to a head when we sent each other back to the hospital. Real good stress management for our parents who just had major losses in their lives. My mom was talking college transfer since I didn't have my football scholarship anymore, and Sasuke's dad was just looking like he'd take his damn soul away if he had the opportunity.

Itachi was actually the one who said to keep us together. At the time, I thought he was sadistic as Sasuke. And four minutes later when our parents left I tried to beat him with my IV pole. Nope, he wasn't. He simply understood. You know, we needed friends or something of that nature. Crazy gap we left out, huh?

So, we started getting along even better. Things like that happen and you're bound to become friends.

When I initially wake up, I immediately smell the damn ramen from last night that Naruto didn't clean up. He fell asleep eating it, and how he managed that, I'm still not so sure about. I realize he's awake, and staring off at the ceiling. He's been telling you things again, hasn't he?

"Rise and – oh! You're awake. You're doing that whole, lay there and refuse to get up thing again, aren't you?"

I move back on the couch when he gets in my face; his family loves invading your personal space because they think it's normal. When he grins, I know he's up to something, and I shove his face away and smirk when I hear his backside connect with the ground.

"Bastard!"

"Hn."

I watch him get up and rub absently at his bare chest where the scar still stands out, "We need to get ready."

I don't want to. In fact, I could lie there all day in contentment, resigned to the fact that I have to smell the horrid stench of Naruto's food, than have to get together with our families. We do it every week. Which makes me wonder why my University has to be only two hours away, driving distance, from our families.

That means two hours stuck in a car with Naruto. Not only does he have a habit of making truckers honk their horns, but he sings. Obnoxiously. He talks. Non-stop. And he constantly thinks he's a human GPS and he knows seventeen different shortcuts.

I don't mind having to see my father and Itachi while they lay into me about school, commitments with the company, and my future. I could care less. I've heard the same droned out speech so many times I could quote it, sign it, and give it to you in thirteen different languages. But when Kushina tries to lay into my father about lecturing me too hard, it gets to be a little much. Naruto's personality really is the spitting image of his mother's. So as soon as she gets on my dad's case, he gets on mine. Things about sticking up for myself and all that pointless bullshit. One day, that dobe might get that our families have big differences.

I've resigned to that fact, but it seems he hasn't.

"What do you want to eat, teme?" He calls, I not even realizing he had gotten up.

"Something that won't give me a heart attack." I called back.

I hear him make a noise that insinuates I insulted him, but the crap he eats is just that – crap. The fact that I'm letting him cook for me is dangerous enough, so why can't he just take that as a complement and be done with it? Oh, right, he's Uzumaki Naruto.

"Eggs?"

"Toast."

"Both." He chimes merrily, liking the calmness to our disagreement.

I don't know why I sigh, I'm used to this day in and day out. He cooks breakfast, and I cook dinner.

We're like…

"We're kinda like an old married couple, huh Sasuke?"

I'll drag him behind my car on our way to meet our parents.

We get home late that night, around midnight or one. I didn't bother to check the clock, and I think Sasuke never cares enough about the time unless it involves class anyway. I immediately drag my feet over to my spot on the ground and promptly flop down, yelping when my butt connects with a fork. I hear Sasuke snort, but I ignore it. It's too late at night to start an argument. While one of us is use to staying up crazy hours studying, and reading and all the crap, well…I'm just not. I like sleeping. So as soon as my head lays back and hits the cushions of the couch, I can feel my eyelids getting heavy.

I hear Sasuke's footsteps falling closer to me, and I was tempted to scold him about leaving his shoes on and scuffing up the floor. Him and those damn dress shoes and making an impression I tell you, they'll be the death of me.

He crouches next to me with balance that my football coach begged me for, "Dobe, go to bed."

My head limply follows the path of my eyes and I curl my lip, "Nope."

I watch as his eyes roll, and he shakes his head, leaving his hair to flutter along. The overhead light that I managed to turn on in my sleepy stupor catches the subtle glances of the sweet tint of dark blue in his hair that matches perfectly with the black. I didn't even realize he had looked down till he looked back up, and his dark eyes looked just as tired as I felt.

Ah, I'm denying the bastard of rest.

The next time I closed my eyes to blink, I found it nearly impossible to open, but I managed. When I found his face, he was smirking, and I never wanted to kick him so hard in my life. One small facial expression and he turned into a prick.

He seemed like for the first time in his life or our existence together, I watched him give up. Though on what, I'm not entirely sure. Probably using his stellar mind powers to get me to move. I watched him move languidly from his crouching position to sit next to me, and sloppily kick of his shoes. When he stripped his tie, he smacked my face with it causing both of us to chuckle tiredly.

Usually I manage to pull on the worst clothes I own while he dresses like he's going to a court appearance.

I turn my head limply to him and crack a drunkard's smile, "Hey, where's dinner?"

I watch his face turn from a dirty look and transform into a smirk as I watched his eyes flick around my face taking in my appearance. "You wouldn't be able to stay awake in time for me stand up."

I make some sort of sound in between my lips that should be my laughter, and he grimaces, and I think I might have spat on him a little.

"We should go to bed." He sighs, resting his own head against the back of the couch, his face still turned to me.

I chuckled lightly at the thought of my best friend who was usually so pushy and driven was having a moment of sheer human laziness. "Nah," I waved him off and purposely put my hand on his face half-hazardly, adding on the effects of being tired and goofy, "Here's good."

He slowly swatted away my hand that pressed against his face and sighed, "Hn."

That means he's going to sit right here with me, but he just doesn't want to say shit like that out loud. Probably scared to kill the bastard inside of him or something.

I instantly got uncomfortable laying my head on the couch considering my chin digging into my chest wasn't the way I imagined myself falling asleep that night. I didn't hesitate twice with laying my head on Sasuke's shoulder, and if he asked me what I was doing, I'd pretend to be so close to being asleep I could claim insane.

Honestly, thinking about it right now, it does seem pretty irrational.

He instantly tensed, and I felt his bang sweep across my face from him turning sharply to look at me. Personally, I didn't care. I was too tired to get up, and laying my head here was more comfortable than the awkward angle my neck found itself in.

But I felt the tense muscles ease up instead of push my head away, and I opened my eyes to stare forward at the front door. The light was still on, and the television had a movie on that he must have put on before he initially approached me.

I didn't expect him to return the … gesture? I didn't expect him to rest his head on mine, grab my hand, or wrap his arm around my shoulders.

It wasn't Sasuke.

But I didn't expect to contently fall asleep with my best friend, my head resting on his shoulder, and my heart thudding in my chest.

Author's Notes: Yeah, I do mostly Naruto because he's not so fucking complex.