Disclaimer: The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.
Full Summary: Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?
Pairing List: Sasuke/Naruto
Chapters: 4/8
Updates: Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.
Beta: This chapter actually had the efforts to two betas. The lovely and sweet FlyingTackle and the amazing and awesome Lady Ivvy so let's give it up for both these fantastic ladies! *hugs them both*
A/N: Wow, there is nothing to say here, haha. So I guess, enjoy - heh.
Chapter 4
During Sasuke's absence from the room, Naruto had spent the first five minutes taking a more detailed look around his new bedroom. He didn't come up with many new discoveries other than the fact that the ceiling was as blue and as clean as the rest of the room. Naruto figured he'd have to wait until he was a bit stronger to do some proper examining.
He'd turned to the TV at that point, flicking through the few channels Sasuke had in the hopes of finding something interesting to watch. Naruto hadn't been sure whether to laugh at the predictability of it, or cry at the unfairness that Sasuke only seemed to have educational, weather and news stations. There wasn't a single thing he could watch without falling asleep. In the end, he just turned off the TV, and after glancing at the clock - only ten minutes wasted so far - he started shuffling towards the edge of the bed.
Since he had nothing to do and couldn't very well formulate a plan to figure Sasuke out without more conclusive evidence, he decided, weak muscles or not, that he was going to explore this room. Reaching the edge, he sat up before pushing the covers off him - wondering briefly just why Sasuke had decided to put him in the bed; he'd only fainted, for God's sake!
Turning so he could place his feet on the floor, he shivered slightly at the cold temperature. His apartment floor was never this chilly during this time of the year. Did Sasuke's house absorb his personality?
Dismissing the thought for the moment, Naruto focused his attention on reaching out and placing his palm on the bedside table, using it to lever himself carefully into a standing position. When his head didn't spin, he grinned before slowly starting to head towards the first set of drawers.
He didn't want to overexert himself - which, okay, he might have done that already, if passing out was any indication - but he was bored. Just because he'd fainted once didn't mean he'd do it again - after all, that was from a jutsu's interference in the first place. A short walk shouldn't pose too much of a problem.
Continuing his mental encouragement, it wasn't until he reached the dresser that he let himself beam, his breathing a bit laboured despite only having walked a few metres.
"See," he said lightly, "I'm getting better everyday."
"You're becoming more stupid everyday," Sasuke hissed, and Naruto winced slightly at the poison dripping from his words.
Turning around cautiously, Naruto kept one hand on the dresser as he asked with a disarming smile, "Hey, Sasuke. Back so soon?"
When he met the other's gaze, Naruto's smile dropped slightly. Sasuke looked less than pleased by his little exploration. The hand that was holding the bags of take-out dinner and videos was clenched so tightly that Naruto was surprised he wasn't ripping the material.
"Why are you out of bed?" Sasuke demanded, each word coming out sharp and clear.
Naruto's smile turned a little sheepish and the hand not holding the dresser came to scratch behind his head. "Uh… I was bored?"
"You had the TV."
"There's nothing on?" Naruto tried, watching as Sasuke twitched from clenching his jaw so tightly. Naruto tried to implement damage control. "At least I didn't faint!"
Walking forward, Sasuke put the food and videos beside the bed, continuing without pause until he was right in front of Naruto. "And what if you had? Do you not understand how fragile your body still is?"
Naruto let out an agitated huff of air. "I'm a ninja and the vessel to the Kyuubi. I think my body's got a damn good leap in front of everyone when it comes to a bill of health."
"Not right now it doesn't," Sasuke growled before reaching out and prying Naruto's hand from the dresser and bringing the other arm around his shoulders. "We're putting you back in that bed. I do not plan on cleaning up the mess if you fall over and kill yourself in my house."
Naruto rolled his eyes but allowed Sasuke to lead him back. "You're such a fucking mother hen, Sasuke."
The only reply Sasuke gave was a non-committal grunt that made Naruto want to hit the Uchiha over the back of the head. He managed to restrain himself though; he knew better than to hit the person who was helping him walk. When they reached the bed, Sasuke set him down before returning to the bags he'd abandoned.
Shifting into a more comfortable sitting position, Naruto asked, "What did you bring, bastard?"
Sasuke shot him a glare, but Naruto ignored the look, his stomach already rumbling as Sasuke pulled out their dinner. It looked like chicken on rice with some kind of sauce and a mixture of vegetables. Naruto's mouth was already starting to salivate and he held out his hands with a grin.
Handing over the food, Sasuke also gave him a tea towel with a pointed look, and not wanting to start an argument, Naruto placed it over his lap. Pulling apart his chopsticks, Naruto opened the container's lid and dug in.
His eyes closed briefly at the taste; it was so good. He wasn't sure if it was the weeks of hospital food talking or just an amazing chef, but he didn't think he'd ever had anything so delicious in his life.
Moving to take another bite, he had just popped it in his mouth when his attention shifted to the TV that had been turned on and a movie put in. Turning to Sasuke, he was about to ask what movie it was when he noticed something that made him frown and hurriedly swallow his food.
"Hey bastard; what the hell are you doing on that chair?"
Sasuke turned to him with a raised eyebrow, the rest of his face blank as he held his chopsticks in one hand as the other rested over the container of his unopened dinner. "You eat so fast that I might as well just wait in the room until you finish your meal. I can take the trash out all at once that way."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "No, you idiot; why are you not on the bed?"
Sasuke's other eyebrow shot up to meet the first one, but Naruto wasn't wasting any more time as he put the lid back on his food before setting it beside him. He than leant over the bed so he could grab the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt and pull him forward.
He figured he must have really surprised Sasuke, because that was the only reason he could imagine for Sasuke to let Naruto yank him into an ungraceful heap on the bed beside the blond - especially with Naruto so weakened in the first place.
When Sasuke didn't complain and just righted himself with a small frown, Naruto took back his food and pressed play on the remote, starting the movie - which was actually one of his favourites.
Glancing briefly at Sasuke, he used the clean end of his chopsticks to poke Sasuke's shoulder. "Get the lights. You can't enjoy a good movie without darkness."
"What is this; Naruto's movie etiquette 101?" Despite the complaint, he still got up and made his way over to the light switch.
Instead of answering, Naruto just pulled the lid off Sasuke's dinner and stole a piece of chicken in retribution. It wasn't as good as his, but Naruto still planned to steal a few more bites before the night was out.
Feeling the bed dip and Sasuke sit beside him, Naruto couldn't help but grin as he stole another piece. Sasuke's shot him a disapproving look but Naruto just winked at him, mischief swimming in his eyes.
The movie started moments later, and even when Naruto focused his attention on it, he still saw Sasuke steal some of his own dinner in return. Naruto knew Sasuke could have done it without him noticing, but that wasn't what this was about.
Granted, Naruto didn't know what it was about, but he did know this wasn't their usual rivalry or even their usual bickering… if anything, this was their friendship.
The thought made Naruto smile, and from the corner of his eye, Naruto could swear he saw Sasuke smiling too.
-break-
It only took them an hour before they had finished eating - and stealing each other's food. When they were done, Naruto paused the movie and grinned at Sasuke. "Any chance you got us some dessert?"
"I don't like sweet things," Sasuke replied, but before Naruto could complain, Sasuke pulled out a small container Naruto hadn't noticed earlier and handed it to the blond.
Opening it curiously, Naruto let out a small, excited sound and took the spoon Sasuke was still holding so he could eat the green tea ice cream Sasuke had bought him.
He let out a small appreciative moan when he tried some. "That is so goood."
He knew this wasn't the hospital talking. This simply was the best green tea ice cream he had ever had. Licking the spoon to get off every drop, he turned to Sasuke. "Where did you get-" he cut himself off, frowning at Sasuke when he wouldn't look at the blond's face and once again seemed uncomfortable. "You okay, asshole?"
Sasuke gave a small grunt of acknowledgement and started to climb off the bed. Reaching out instantly, Naruto managed to snag Sasuke shirt for the second time that night. "Hey, wait. Sasuke, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Sasuke answered neutrally, "I'm going to go to my room so you can finish your movie. I'll get the rest of your rubbish later."
He started to pull away, but Naruto only held on tighter - not that he thought it would do much good anyway. "What are you talking about? Don't you like the movie? You picked it, you know."
Sasuke finally turned his head to face him; he looked somewhat confused, although his voice was still a monotone when he replied. "We don't do well in each other's company. If we want to survive this then I suggest we keep our interaction on a strictly necessary basis."
What. The. Hell.
Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment as his mind went a couple hundred miles an hour. What was Sasuke talking about? It sounded like he didn't want to spend time with him. But how could that be right? Hadn't they been having fun just then? Hell, Sasuke had offered his home and spent almost every night at the hospital with him… Did Sasuke think Naruto didn't want to spend time with him? Well, Naruto would have to put a stop to that stupid idea.
"I asked you to sit up here and watch a movie with me. That tends to mean I want your company. So why are you bailing? And why did you offer your house if you didn't want to spend time with me, too?"
There came that strange look again, and for a moment, Naruto panicked that he'd interpreted Sasuke's response wrong - or that he was about to learn about his stay had the biggest catch in the world attached to it. Sasuke's next words halted his worrying though, even if it did bring back that almost ever-present confusion. "You… want me to stay here?"
Shoving away that extra amount of confusion Sasuke's response brought - for now - he answered with some small amount of annoyance; and really, why did Sasuke always have to overcomplicate the simplest things? "Yes, you idiot; so sit down, stop being a jerk and maybe then I won't hit you for making me let my ice cream melt."
"Dumbass," Sasuke quietly said, but he still looked slightly puzzled - and hey, Naruto could relate.
Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, Naruto took another spoonful of ice cream, pondering the slight softness he had heard in Sasuke's tone.
All of a sudden, it hit him and he almost dropped his spoon. He couldn't believe he'd missed it when the same thing could be said about him. Sasuke's lonely.
He wanted someone in the house to talk to and spend time with. He probably didn't want to admit it, emotionally stunted prick that he was, so he used Naruto's injury as a way to go about getting company. Naruto didn't doubt he was also getting off on being able to boss Naruto around, but it was mostly about interaction. This mansion seemed suffocating in its silence.
Looking Sasuke up and down, he nodded, pleased with his analysis. Lightly nudging Sasuke's shoulder, he grinned at him. "You should invite me over here more when I get better."
Sasuke gave him a sceptical look. "Say that again once a week's passed."
"I will!" Naruto told him firmly.
Sasuke just shook his head lightly. "Just put the movie back on."
"Can't," Naruto replied absently, starting to feel his bladder complain.
Scooping up the last of his ice-cream and letting out another, longer moan as he swallowed it, he opened his eyes only to feel his good mood shift as he frowned. Sasuke had that… that look about him again. What the hell had he done to receive it? Maybe having company around was only a small part of Sasuke's problem? It seemed that there was a lot more inspiring his strangeness than just loneliness. It was such bad timing too; he couldn't sit here and try to figure it out when he really, really had to go to the bathroom.
He'd just have to ask Sasuke for his help and hope for the best. Maybe he could figure it out as they walked across the room and he pried him for information? In a subtle way, of course.
"Sasuke?" He waited until he received a grunt of acknowledgement, because Sasuke wasn't looking at him anymore. It was all beginning to piss him off, and he ended up snapping his request. "Help me get off here and take me into the bathroom." [1]
He felt some confusion override his anger when Sasuke whipped his head up to look at him with that guarded face again, although there was visible surprise in it this time. Naruto once again wasn't sure what he'd done to accomplish more of this weirdness - and was that another blush too? - but he made a mental note to ask Tsunade to examine Sasuke's head after she checked him out, just in case.
Standing up, Sasuke moved around to the right side of the bed and pulled Naruto's arm around his shoulders. Pushing himself out of the bed, Naruto helped Sasuke as much as he could as they made their way through the darkened room. Naruto absently wondered if Sasuke was using his Sharingan to direct them, but dismissed the thought to focus more on Sasuke's behaviour.
With their backs to the TV it was too dark for Naruto to read Sasuke's face, and he internally frowned in annoyance. Without a visual reaction to go by, any questions he did ask would be useless. He'd have to postpone the investigation until they were back on the bed.
"I can leave you in the bathroom without you cracking your skull open?" Sasuke questioned.
Naruto almost rolled his eyes as Sasuke opened the door. "Yeah, yeah. I'll call you when I need your help again."
Sasuke gave a grunt in reply before switching on the light. Naruto blinked for a moment to let his eyes adjust. Once they had and he could see the room, he did let them roll this time. "What do you know," he said sarcastically, "more blue."
"Just hurry up," Sasuke snapped in response, moving him over to the basin and walking away when Naruto had a firm grip on it. "I'll be throwing out the garbage."
Naruto waved him off as he glanced around the bathroom. There was a porcelain toilet, not far from the vanity basin he was in front of, which had built in cupboards that opened up underneath it, and while the basin was both white and porcelain like the toilet, the vanity itself seemed to be made of something like marble. A mirror spanned the area of the wall above it.
A large shower with a white curtain was on the opposite side of the room, and a rack for towels was to the right of the door. The floor was also tiled with the occasional blue flower pattern disrupting their polished and white colour. Naruto also didn't miss the Uchiha fan that was present on the tiles that contained flowers.
"Wow," Naruto muttered once the door had closed, "what an overdone and boring bathroom."
Making his way over to the toilet, he made sure to add this room to his, 'things to fix' list.
-break-
Sasuke ended up being gone for almost ten minutes, and during that time, Naruto took the opportunity to explore as best he could. He got tired easily from too much moving around, so he settled on pulling out bathroom supplies from inside the cupboard under the sink. They were all new and the same brands that he used – Sasuke must have looked through his apartment too - and he couldn't quite stop himself from snorting at the orange toothbrush Sasuke had supplied for him.
He had just managed to finish brushing his teeth and was wiping his hands on the hand towel - everything now stowed back inside - when he heard a knock on the door. Turning to it, he called out, "Come in."
There was a pause before the door opened and Sasuke entered. His face was back to its usual blank mask as he walked over to Naruto, scanning the room as he did. Naruto couldn't help wondering if Sasuke had used his Sharingan to memorise his house, just so he could know what Naruto had touched.
He probably would have if he wasn't so pedantic about chakra wastage, Naruto thought absently.
"Ready?" Sasuke asked, breaking Naruto from his thoughts.
Naruto almost rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Wrapping his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, he let himself be led out of the bathroom. He would never have admitted it out loud, but his legs were killing him; it took all he had to stop them from wobbling. He was really looking forward to that bed.
Sasuke turned off the light, kicking the bathroom door shut behind them, and Naruto had to blink slightly to refocus; the only light in the room now coming from the TV. Despite his inability to see very well, they managed to make it to the bed without any stumbles or collisions, and Naruto happily climbed under the covers.
Reaching out for the remote, he had to pat the bed a few times before he could find it, but once he'd grasped it, he turned to Sasuke. He was still standing beside the bed, but in a place that conveniently hid his face in the shadows. Bastard.
"Come on, asshole. Get your butt in here."
It may have been dark, but Naruto could still visualise the look on Sasuke's face at his comment. One eyebrow raised and the faintest flecks of disbelief in his eyes.
Then again, his mind whispered traitorously, you could be wrong. You hardly know how he'll react to what you say or do anymore.
And Naruto was just going to ignore that for now. Sasuke at least made it slightly easier by replying to him.
"What?" He sounded faintly incredulous as he stayed rooted to the spot.
Grabbing the covers, he lifted them slightly in invitation as he explained, "You're always the first one to freeze on missions - which I always find hilarious since you're such an ice prince - but it also means that you bitch at me for laughing or never getting affected by the cold. So I'm going to save myself a lot of grief by making sure you stay warm." Shaking the covers slightly, Naruto added, "Now get in. I want to finish watching the movie."
Sasuke stayed stubbornly where he was. "I'm not going to-"
"I'll tell everyone you're a shit caretaker." Naruto could practically feel Sasuke's eyes narrow, but he still didn't move. "I'll tell everyone your room is pink." When he once again didn't react, Naruto pulled out the big guns, "I'll tell your fangirls where your room is and how to-"
He cut himself off as Sasuke shoved his hand out of the way and got inside, glaring the whole time. "I fucking hate you."
Naruto just grinned cheerfully while turning back to the TV, not even bothering to reply as he pressed play. He faltered slightly when the next scene began. This was always his least favourite scene; it was mostly dialogue between the hero and heroine as they so obviously danced around their feelings. It was so fucking stupid.
Wanting to express some of his agitation, he glanced at Sasuke. He was watching the movie with interest, and since Naruto couldn't tell if it was feigned or not, he leaned close to Sasuke to whisper his words into the other's ear. "You'd think people would get a clue and admit their damn feelings, you know?"
He felt Sasuke go rigid beside him and Naruto could swear the other stopped breathing. His words were strained when he spoke. "What?"
"In the movie," he said slowly, slightly concerned for Sasuke's mental health, "they take forever to say how they feel."
Naruto was watching Sasuke carefully, so when the tension in Sasuke's muscles started to release, he was able to tell that Sasuke was deliberately doing it slowly, as if he didn't want Naruto to notice.
"It's to build suspense, surely even you can understand that," Sasuke replied, his voice a monotone, and Naruto was pretty sure he was trying to deflect attention from his real reaction by egging Naruto into an argument.
Naruto let out a disbelieving huff that had nothing to do with Sasuke's theory on the movie's plot line. Naruto was about to try prying the reason behind Sasuke's tension out of him when the raven let out a sudden shiver. Naruto was once again thrown through a loop.
There was no way Sasuke was cold. Naruto knew this for a fact, because even when Sasuke was covered in icicles he barely shivered; his pride stopped him. So what had made him shiver? Had Naruto's breath tickled him? Or was this one more part of that strangeness Sasuke continued to exude?
Maybe he was so rigid because Naruto was close to him? Naruto already knew Sasuke had some personal space issues, so was this another part of it? Maybe being lonely for so long had made him averse to touch when it wasn't in a fighting scenario? Maybe he was even trying to break that by inviting Naruto to stay here? It kind of made sense in the: I'll-never-tell-you-the-true-reason-I-do-things way of Sasuke's.
Well, if it was the truth, Naruto had no problem assisting him with that! He was always happy to help out, especially when Sasuke was already doing so much for him - even if there was a selfish motive behind it. He'd just have to take it slow, not only to keep Sasuke from realising he'd figured it out, but because Naruto had a feeling if he pushed too hard Sasuke would run even further from healthy human relationships.
Grinning internally, Naruto let out a yawn that started out fake but soon became real - damn, he was kind of tired - as he leant his head against Sasuke's shoulder. He felt Sasuke tense again.
"What are you doing?" He growled out, but since he didn't shove Naruto off, the blond was encouraged.
"I'm tired."
"Then lie on a pillow," Sasuke snapped.
Naruto couldn't help grinning a little at that. "Nah. It's easier to talk this way." His smile turned a little devious since he knew it was hidden from Sasuke's view. "Besides, you shivered a few seconds ago, right? This way I'll keep you warm."
There was a long silence and Naruto could practically hear Sasuke cursing in his head and trying to find a way out of it. He even started to shift away, and for a moment Naruto hesitated, but than he forcibly shoved the deliberation aside. He was going to help Sasuke, and like usual, that meant beating him around the head and shoulders until he gave in.
Reaching out with his left arm, he lightly gripped the edge of Sasuke's shirt. "We've shared a bed before, asshole."
"We were on a mission," Sasuke answered, but Naruto could already feel him wavering, and he was thankful for it, because he was suddenly getting really tired. His body seemed to be realising how worn out it was now that he was relaxing. It also helped that Sasuke was surprisingly comfortable. He smelled nice too.
"Well, consider this a mission." Naruto mumbled, his eyes drifting shut. "You are looking after me and all." He yawned again, his voice fading fast. "Tsunade's orders, right?"
He heard Sasuke sigh slightly as he began to drift off, Sasuke's arm moving to wrap around and support his lower back. It was just as he fell asleep moments later that the Uchiha softly whispered his response. "I offered."
A/N: Well, there you go. What do you think? Cute? Cliché? Boring? Let me know! Just review away, I guarantee you'll get a reply from me :)
Number Notes:
[1] - The reason this response makes Sasuke act all flustered is because he's already uncomfortable at the sounds and looks Naruto's been making from the ice-cream as well as being in such close proximity while on a bed.
He's kind of, mentally talking himself down and not really focusing so when Naruto says: "Help me get off here and take me into the bathroom."
The bold parts are what his mind - already in a perverted haze - catches onto more strongly. So for a moment, all he hears is an impatient Naruto wanting Sasuke to ~do things to him.
So yeah, in case you didn't get it - which I don't really blame you for - that's the reason behind it, hehe.