Growing Into Love

By Insane Vampire Maru

He'd been caught between wanting to rush the boy in his arms to the hospital, or simply bring him home, but when Sasuke finally reached the outskirts of Konoha village, Naruto had somewhat calmed. The boy's trembling had died down to nothing but a shiver, though his skin was still pink with the obvious heat that he was experiencing. Sasuke decided on simply bringing the boy back to his apartment, seeing as the hospital wasmuch further from them than Naruto's shabby little place. Then, it clicked in his mind that the Uchiha compound happened to be much closer than either Naruto's place or the hospital. He felt disdained and half-hearted at having to nurse the blond idiot to health. It wasn't as if it was his fault that Naruto had suddenly fallen into fever. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been swept captive by Naruto's obvious delirium. So, why should he have to take care of a sweaty, fidgety dumbass, who didn't have sense enough to stay in bed when he was sick? He resigned himself with a sigh. Because, Naruto was his teammate, and as much as it pained the dark boy to admit it, he did have a heart for Naruto. A small, insignificant one that could probably shrivel up and die at any given moment, but a heart none-the-less.

Making up his mind, Sasuke jumped up into the air, and raced along cold, tiled rooftops, toward the Uchiha compound and his home. The compound greeted Sasuke with silence, as it always did. It was painfully obvious that the compound was inhabited by none. Not only did the eerie quiet speak for itself, but most of the homes had fallen to ruin. Dirt, dust and grime coated the buildings in the compound, a result of neglect and years of torture from weather. Gardens, or any hand-made greenery that had at one point existed, long ago died away and left nothing but shriveled, almost burned-looking remains behind. The only things that continued to grow were trees and weeds, seeing as these things needed no care or nurturing to live. Sasuke sped past the mess of the compound, having long ago learned to look past the buildings; to simply ignore them.

Sasuke finally came to a stop. He stood in front of a home, not unlike all of those that he had passed, though this home was clearly in less ruin. The walls were clean and washed, and even a few gardens stood blooming and colorful in the pale moonlight. Sasuke used his foot to slide open the door to his house, sliding it closed again once inside. Trekking through the house silently, Sasuke came to a room furnished with a futon laid out over the wooden floor. Modern pillows lay against one edge of the futon, and a dark blue blanket covered the length of the futon, made neatly. The blanket carried the same Uchiha family seal that Sasuke wore on his back. A bit of paraphernalia lay across the floor neatly, mostly consisting of ninja gear and scrolls. Otherwise, the room looked almost obsessively clean and out of touch with modern times. Sasuke walked over to the futon and gently set Naruto down upon the soft blanket, making sure to rest the blond's head on a pillow. He was giving Naruto his own bed, something he was sure he'd regret if he ended up catching whatever Naruto had, but he didn't happen to have a guest room. He'd never had need for one.

Naruto had now almost gone completely still. His skin was still a bit hot to the touch, and his chest rose and fell with deep, troubled breathing, but other than that, he seemed to be getting better. Sasuke let out a sigh of agitation. Had Naruto not gone out at such an ungodly hour, Sasuke would have never been bothered with this. It was annoying. He looked down at himself and noticed with great distaste that his own dried sweat had caused his shirt and pants to become stiff and grate against his skin in an extremely obnoxious way. He spared one glance at Naruto, and decided that the boy wouldn't be waking anytime soon, so he left the room and took a long, hot shower, before settling to sleep in his bed, despite Naruto's presence. He simply moved Naruto under the blanket and rested above it, himself. He wasn't going to let the dumbass rob him of a comfortable sleep, even if he did think that Naruto could have used a shower.

A loud hammering drilled through his mind. It was incessant and loud, the likes of which he had never before heard. It was also drawing him out of his sleep. That was enough to drive Sasuke's kill intent up several hundred notches. Not only was this sound loud enough to drive all thoughts (Besides the thoughts of killing something), out of his head, but it was also starting to sound like some kind of animal. A snorting, snarling animal with bad teeth, wheezy breath and, more than likely, the brain capacity of a nutshell. Sasuke snapped his eyes open, irritation clear on his sleepy features. He sat up and his gaze fell onto the owner of the most annoying sound he'd ever heard. Naruto lay, tangled up in a mess of navy blanket, his mouth open wide, drool dripping down his cheek and onto the pillow below. He was snoring. Sasuke visibly twitched in obvious irritation. A wheezy breathed, pea-brained animal. That sure as hell wasn't far from the truth. Choking back an urge to smother Naruto with a pillow, Sasuke got up from the bed, leaving to make himself something to eat. Of course, he'd make Naruto something to eat as well, though he doubted it would be anything that the blond would like. The idiot never seemed to go for more than ramen, and Sasuke absolutely refused to house that instant crap.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open slowly as he swam into consciousness at a snail's pace. He mildly registered a warmth on his face, but it was unlike the heat he always felt after waking up. This was a gentle glow against his skin, coming from an outside source, and not from within his own body. He groaned as he blinked the haziness from his eyes and found himself lying on his side, facing a window. The sun shone directly into the glass-less window, washing over his face in a more than welcomed way. His mouth opened wide as he let out a long yawn, his arms stretching up over his head, body arching upwards as he felt a few joints pop. With a relieved sigh, he fell back against the bed and curled up in the warmth of his blanket and the radiating sun. He'd never felt this good waking up before. His bed was so comfortable, his blankets smelled so clean and crisp and the sunlight felt like heaven...

Naruto yelped in horror as he suddenly sat up with wide eyes. Glass-less window?! Clean sheets?! This was definitely not his bed, let alone his room! Naruto looked about in a panicky fashion, taking in the clean room, which looked almost sterile to his eyes. His heart began to suddenly race as he looked around himself. Nothing looked familiar. He'd been taken captive! Oh good god, that was it exactly! Somehow, he'd fallen unconscious last night during his walk, and now the enemy had him! Their dirty, evil little paws would be all over him! Probing him for answers, torturing him! His mouth opened wide in an attempt to scream for help as loud as he possibly could, but that's when a pale, slim figure appeared in the doorway to the room, effectively causing the scream in Naruto's throat to die.

Sasuke eyed the blond in clear distaste as he watched him go from a panicky mess to a confused bundle in a matter of seconds. The way that the boy switched from one emotion to another was truly baffling. Sasuke placed his hands on his slender hips and raised an eyebrow in question as he stared at Naruto.

"Are you trying to catch flies, dumbass?"

Naruto blinked at Sasuke's comment, then noticed that his mouth was still wide open. He quickly shut his lips and glared at Sasuke, instantly furious at his comment. Not to mention, he wanted to know where the hell he was!

"Shut up, bastard! And where the hell am I anyway?!" he said as he wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his lips.

"Well," Sasuke said, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice, "If you weren't such a complete idiot, you'd have noticed that this is my house."

"How the hell was I supposed to figure that out, shit-head?!"

Ignoring Naruto's crude language, Sasuke pointed indifferently at the large Uchiha emblem on the blanket that still lay to cover Naruto from the waist down. Naruto gazed down at the blanket with a blank stare, until his lips split into a sheepish grin and he rubbed at the back of his head. A nervous habit.

"Heh...yeah...that might have been a dead give away..." he suddenly stopped and frowned in an outrage. "That doesn't explain what I'm doing here!!! In you're bed!! OH GOD! You raped me!! You had your dirty little way with me, didn't you?! I always knew you were a freaky pervert!!!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed on Naruto at this comment. He was far from a pervert. Actually, from the little display last night, he found it safe to say that Naruto was more of the pervert. A fevered, delirious pervert, but that wasn't the point. He scoffed at Naruto and walked into the room, yanking his blanket off of Naruto, and the futon, in one swift motion.

"Maybe in some sick little fantasy of yours, retard."

Naruto instantly paled at this and avoided Sasuke's eyes, but Sasuke wasn't one to notice.

"You were sick with a fever and I decided to be gracious. Now, get the hell out of my bed and wash up. You smell."

Naruto looked down at himself, at his relatively clean clothes, which already smelled like dirt and sweat because he had thrown them on while his body in general had been dirty. Naruto made a face, grimacing. He did reek, he had to admit. And a shower was sounding, oh so good right about now. Naruto gazed up at Sasuke, who was busy throwing his blanket in a hamper. Naruto didn't think that this was quite necessary. He didn't smell that bad, but he didn't feel like picking a fight with Sasuke over it. Not after that fantasy comment. Naruto sat up on his knees as Sasuke made to leave the room and let his eyes grow wide and innocent, his voice sweet and melodious.

"Eh...Sasuke...where's your bathroom, Sasuke?...I don't know, I don't know."

Sasuke frowned and turned to look at Naruto, only to stare at the boy for a bit. The blond looked like a pup. A dirty, mop-headed puppy who annoyed the hell out of him, but still, a pup that was easy to get close to. It brought a smile to his lips. Though, the smile only remained for a second, for when he realized that he was smiling, it quickly turned into his usual, cold frown. He feigned a rather soft sigh and pointed toward a door at the far end of the room. Naruto jumped to his feet, smiling brightly and thanking Sasuke quickly, before disappearing from the bedroom and into the bathroom. Sasuke watched him with an annoyed frown. The blond's moods changed way too quickly for his tastes, though he had to admit, at times like this, it was rather amusing. He'd never admit it outloud, but it was. He shook his head and returned to his kitchen, finishing up the last touches on breakfast. He was glad to find Naruto in better condition. At least his fever seemed to have passed. Oh, how wrong Sasuke was. How terribly, terribly wrong.

Thanks for the reviews guys. Third chapter will be up soon. And far more interesting.