Dreams Aren't Real

Part 2

Chapter 2 (7)

Dreams About Learning With Distractions

"Ow!" Naruto rubbed the side of his neck and glared at Sasuke who was sitting in front of him, smirking at him and twirling a small stick between his fingers. How he'd even found a stick in this treeless environment was beyond him. Naruto often saw Sasuke with things he couldn't possibly have found lying around, and Naruto stared at it now while Sasuke's smirk just deepened.

He'd been trying to concentrate with his eyes closed when Sasuke had poked him in the side of the neck with the stick. This sort of thing wasn't new. For a few nights now Sasuke had been trying to teach Naruto to break out of the dreams on his own. Sasuke had told him it was just like breaking out of a genjutsu. Unfortunately Naruto wasn't at all competent in breaking out of genjutsus even when he was awake. Trying to control his chakra in his sleeping body from a dream was proving the be next to impossible.

But that's just what Sasuke said he did. Even asleep Sasuke could control the chakra flow in his body to such a degree that he could wake himself up in moments. He could also regulate his chakra while he was sleeping so it spiked randomly to keep him out of the dream on nights where he didn't want to dream. But the most pertinent thing he could do in regards to Naruto's issue of the dreams wearing him down to the point of death, was to completely negate the effect of physical exhaustion. Sasuke said he could relax himself, his real self, in the outside world to rest properly while he was dreaming. It allowed him to dream for many nights in a row without feeling too drained by it. Dreaming still mentally tired him out, but at least he wasn't suffering physically like Naruto had. And this is what he was trying to teach Naruto at the moment.

Naruto had to stay sitting perfectly still and relax his mind, closed to all distractions around him. Finally this was something he could do. He'd practiced this in the past in order to draw in nature energy the only trick now was to do it without letting Sasuke distract him which Sasuke seemed to take great pleasure in doing.

"I don't get it," Naruto muttered still rubbing his neck from the sixth time Sasuke had poked him. "What's meditating in my dream going to do for me?"

"What affects your mind here affects your body in the real world. If you can keep a part of your mind still and calm in this world, your body will relax more and you will sleep better."

Naruto sighed at Sasuke's matter of fact explanation. "It might help if you stopped poking me with that stick."

"I told you that no matter what was happening to you here you had to remain focused. I'm only trying to help."

"Then stop poking me!"

"Fine."

Naruto closed his eyes again but he could still feel Sasuke watching him. He tried to tune it all out and relax his mind and he did manage it so much that he didn't notice Sasuke move till he felt the strangest sensation of a warm gust of breath hit his face as Sasuke blew air on his nose from about three inches away from his face.

Naruto resolutely kept his eyes closed and frowned. "Cut it out, teme."

So of course Sasuke did it again.

But Naruto wasn't going to let him win. He would ignore Sasuke's attempts to distract him and do this. And he'd almost done it. He no longer felt Sasuke's breath on his face. He was only very vaguely aware as something soft (petals?) touched his check and ran down over his jaw and across his lips. Actually he found the attention quite soothing and it sort of helped him relax.

He found his head leaning into the touch of the petals without really realizing it. If he'd had a moment to understand what was happening, he probably would have been embarrassed, but he didn't and it felt nice.

And so did the warm soft touch against his lips. The gentle massage, the slick wet flick of something sliding against his bottom lip as though wanting in. He opened his mouth and let it slide against his tongue. But it was all happening in a hazy distant world of sensation. He felt fingers slide up the back of his neck and into his hair, twining themselves through the locks and pulling his hair a little roughly. Rough enough to snap him out of whatever daze he'd been in.

He made a muffled sound against Sasuke's lips as he regained control of all his senses again. He could have pushed Sasuke away, he could have at least stopped kissing him. But he didn't, he didn't want to.

It wasn't like he'd forgotten what had happened between them back when he thought this was all a dream and his actions didn't have real life consequences. He'd just sort of gotten embarrassed a little about it now that he knew Sasuke was real and he was experiencing the exact same thing.

But it wasn't like Sasuke would have the same issues. Sasuke had known the reality of the dream before they'd fucked each other's brains out repeatedly on the cave floor, against the cave walls and generally anywhere else that wasn't too cold or uncomfortable. Well okay, even in those places too. But it wasn't just that, it was the things he had said to Sasuke during, before and after those times. Embarrassing emotional things that he'd been trying like hell to stop from coming up again.

This was, in a way, a lot better. Sensation was something he remembered. So he didn't stop the kiss, he kept it going till it was Sasuke that drew back, lips pink and shiny, his eyes smirking.

"You failed."

"Ask me if I care," Naruto muttered still more than a little dazed. When he realized what he said his eyes widened and he looked a little panicked.

This time the grin from his eyes met the rest of Sasuke's face.

"You should care, we've been at this for five nights not including the two you took the potions for, you should have learnt a lot more by now."

"You're the one constantly distracting me."

"It's part of the training."

"And so was kissing me?"

"Yes."

Naruto looked at him in disbelief for a moment before he realized something important.

"You fucking liar."

Sasuke actually looked pleased that he had been caught out. "Half lying," he corrected. "But no matter what is happening to you here, you have to keep at least one part of your mind focussed and relaxed otherwise it won't work. And it shouldn't matter what is happening, you need to train your mind so you aren't focussed on one thing only."

"That explains annoying me, but not you…doing that."

"It does if you think about it. Which relaxed you more, being kissed or being poked in the neck with a stick?"

"Before or after I realised what was happening?" Naruto asked a little annoyed.

"Does it matter?"

And to Naruto's further annoyance, it didn't really matter. Being kissed by Sasuke was not bad, nor was it really all that shocking anymore. He'd been lost in sensation, even after he'd come back to his senses fully, he hadn't wanted to stop because it fell nice, comforting and familiar, even though it had been a while since the last time.

"Okay fine! So it was better than being poked in the neck with a sharp stick. Does that soothe your ego at all?"

Perhaps, to judge by how quickly Sasuke lost his smirk, that last comment had been a little cruel. He hadn't thought Sasuke would take it so personally though.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered feeling bad but still feeling a little annoyed anyway.

"I don't get it," Sasuke said after a moment watching Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I know you're all embarrassed now that you know I'm real and everything, but I would have thought you'd get over it."

"Why?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fucking moron." And then he disappeared.

Naruto was left staring at the space Sasuke had been sitting in not a second ago blinking in surprise.

This was the first time since coming back here that Sasuke had left before him. Usually Sasuke stuck around until after Naruto had woken and it disturbed him more than a little that he'd managed to piss Sasuke off so much to change his habits now.

Naruto didn't have to think about it long to figure out why. Sasuke never said why he was always the last to leave the field, but Naruto knew it was to make doubly sure Naruto woke up when he was supposed to. That Naruto wouldn't be tempted to stick around and possibly end up hurting himself again. And now that it seemed Sasuke didn't care enough to stay, it depressed him more than a little.

Sure pissing Sasuke off was not a hard feat. Well it hadn't been before, but lately, no matter how much Naruto argued with him, Sasuke stayed almost, well not serene as far as normal people might view it, but certainly laid back for Sasuke. He wondered if Sasuke had really changed or whether he had only changed where the dreams were concerned.

Whatever the case, pissing Sasuke off had actually been a bit of surprise and Naruto had to wonder just what he'd said which was so different, so bad, that Sasuke had reacted that way. Cool indifference seemed to be Sasuke's thing these days, not disappearing in a huff because Naruto had maybe hurt…his…feelings.

Naruto let out a big puff of air and said, "Fuck. I actually hurt his feelings didn't I?"


Naruto still had three more nights to go before his next round of potions but he had to wonder whether Sasuke would show up the following night. He was pissed off and perfectly capable of staying out of the dreams if he wanted to and Naruto was left feeling like he might be stood up tonight because the Uchiha didn't want to see him.

And certainly Naruto came into the dream alone and stayed that way for what he estimated to be hours and still Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Resigned to having a lonely night, Naruto decided he might as well put his time to good use and try to meditate like Sasuke had been teaching him. The idea worked for him in a few ways, mainly because a busy day had kept him from dwelling on hurting Sasuke and he now had proper time to think it over, but also because without Sasuke here to distract him, he was more likely to be able to achieve that state of calm he needed.

But he shouldn't have bothered. He'd wanted to meditate on the Sasuke problem, but his swirling thoughts did nothing to relax him. So he soon gave up, propped his head in his hand and stared and the distant fields.

Clearly he'd hurt Sasuke's feelings, as strange as that seemed, but why? What was Sasuke being so touchy about? Alright, so they'd been talking about kissing and Naruto being uncomfortable about it because he knew now that Sasuke was real and not some dream, no consequences version of him. So did Sasuke think that Naruto didn't want the real thing? It seemed likely, but at the same time he had trouble believing that was all there was to it.

But he'd leave that for later, right now he had to decide whether there was something to the first part of it. Of course Naruto cared that it didn't just turn out to be make believe. He'd said things and done things to and with Sasuke that still brought a bright red glow to his face to think about. He'd never really had anyone to confide in before and it embarrassed him that his non-existent confidant had turned out to be not in his head, but a real live person. It was actually worse that it was Sasuke too, and not say, maybe Sakura, who was understanding and comforting and who wouldn't use past deeds against him for her own amusement. Of course he had to admit, he'd probably have never ended up in that predicament with Sakura in the first place.

But perhaps it was time to face the facts. He'd confessed his feelings to and then acted on them with Uchiha Sasuke who he cared about and obsessed over finding and now that it was done, albeit by Sasuke being a sneaky fuck and keeping his real existence to himself, he should deal with that and move on. He knew he had wanted everything that had happened before and that he'd wished so many times when he woke up to have that warm body beside him in his bed rather than just in his dreams. So why should he be complaining that he now had the opportunity to do so? His Sasuke, the ones from his dreams, was real and alive and out there in the real world somewhere. And there must be a part of Sasuke that wanted this too, otherwise he wouldn't be randomly kissing him or reminding him of things they'd done in the past like he missed it.

"I didn't know you could feel constipated in dreams, but you sure look that way now."

Naruto had been so wrapped up in himself he hadn't noticed Sasuke appear. The latecomer was watching his face with a blank look just out of Naruto's previously dazed line of sight. Naruto flinched a bit when he'd spoken.

"I didn't think you were coming," Naruto told him.

"I wasn't going to. I thought I was going to sleep normally, but apparently I'm too exhausted to stop it tonight."

Naruto doubted he was lying. And it kind of hurt that Sasuke had intended to stay away from him and had only shown up because he'd been unable to stop dreaming tonight. But really, Naruto been the one to do the hurting first, so he figured it was only fair.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto began, watching the other ninja sit down a few paces away, his back to Naruto like he could pretend the other person didn't exist if he couldn't see him.

"Shut up, I'm not in the mood."

Okay, so Sasuke's serenity had been pretty well demolished apparently. This was a lot more like his old self.

"You were testing me before by not telling me about the dreams back when we were in the caves, weren't you?" Naruto persisted, wanting to get this out in the open.

"Does it really matter?"

"Of course," Naruto responded obviously. "You wanted to know how much I cared about you without me worrying about embarrassing myself or over thinking things like I would if I knew you were really real."

"So?"

"So you can't be surprised that I'm embarrassed and over-thinking things now, right?"

He couldn't see Sasuke's face to know if he was getting annoyed but he could see Sasuke's fists clenched in the tufts of grass either side of him.

"I'm not surprised. I expected as much."

That hadn't really been the win Naruto was hoping for. Instead of an understanding tone, he'd gotten sullen resignation. Not really what he'd been aiming at. He should have known better because no matter how much he loved his friend, Sasuke had a bad trait - one among many others if he was going to be honest - of not being able to properly empathise with people. He was too drawn into himself to feel for anyone else around him.

"Don't say that like I let your expectations down!" Naruto spat back suddenly very angry at Sasuke's lack of insight.

"Not my realistic ones," Sasuke replied unperturbed by the outburst.

"Urgh! Teme, you're so wrapped up in yourself sometimes you don't see things properly. Do you honestly think I could have brought myself to fuck any version of you, real or not, if I didn't want the real thing in the first place?"

This at least got Sasuke's attention. He looked over his shoulder at his red-faced friend like he couldn't quite believe what Naruto had said.

"It's not like I wanted to take you for a test spin just because you were there and there were no consequences," Naruto continued, "You make it sound like I would have jumped on anyone in those circumstances. But you said it yourself; you wanted to test whether I would want you, whether I really cared about you. So if it's okay with you, do you mind getting your head out of your own ass and stop acting like I just told you I hated you! I can't believe you could think that after everything I said to you back then."

Sasuke hadn't stopped staring at him over his shoulder and he didn't say anything either. Naruto expected Sasuke to snap back at him, tell him to get over himself or something. He sure didn't expect Sasuke's quiet reply.

"And this is why I didn't want you to over think things."

"Tell me I'm wrong!" Naruto challenged.

Sasuke turned back to face forward again. "Think whatever you want."

Sasuke was being a dick, but the tone of his voice suggested Naruto hadn't been wrong. Naruto suddenly felt a little elated by working it all out, but then a little more worried that it might mean that although he'd worked out Sasuke's problem, he still hadn't managed to resolve it. And that meant that Sasuke didn't believe what Naruto was telling him.

Naruto wanted to hit him. How could he forget everything Naruto had told him so soon? But then wasn't Naruto proving Sasuke's point by acting like their times in the cave disturbed him?

Well there was one sure way to prove Sasuke wrong there and as much as he wanted to one up the stupid bastard, it was a difficult thing to actually make himself do. Not because he didn't want to, but because he was still a bit embarrassed about it actually.

But he willed himself to do what he could. He crawled over to Sasuke's turned back and on his knees behind his friend, knowing that if he was wrong about this he was likely going to be hit again, he wrapped his arms loosely around Sasuke's neck and bent forward to prop his chin on Sasuke's shoulder. And surprisingly it didn't feel as awkward as he imagined it might. It felt good to be close to him again, just to feel connected to Sasuke once more.

Sasuke didn't move though and Naruto muttered, "Stubborn fucking bastard."

He could only see the side of Sasuke's face, but he caught the smile anyway. He certainly didn't miss Sasuke resting his hands on Naruto's arms, not pulling them away, just touching for the sake of touching.

"Good thing for you that I am. If I hadn't kept coming here all those nights since you started on the potions waiting to see if you'd come back you would have been here alone."

"You kept coming back in case I did too?" Naruto asked surprised. Previously Sasuke had told him he only came here because it was a pleasant, quiet dream, not because he'd been waiting.

"I knew you weren't cured of the dreams," Sasuke explained. "Because what was the point of me continuing to dream if you weren't here? I didn't want you to fuck up and hurt yourself again."

It shocked Naruto that he hadn't thought about that. Sasuke was as much a part of this as Naruto was. Whatever had been done had been done to them both for a reason. But whatever that reason was it was, still a mystery to him. Sakura had told him once that she thought the dreams had been a way for the two of them to say goodbye to each other. But who would place them under a genjutsu for a reason like that? Surely no one that wished them well would endanger their lives like this.

"Are you worried someone did this to us to hurt us?"

Sasuke shrugged as much as he could with Naruto half draped over him. "Not really."

"Why?"

"Because they obviously failed."

TBC


Notes: So could Sasuke be right and it wasn't worth worrying about because this time neither of them are particularly in danger of dying? Well basically at this point, who cares? Our boys are getting all cuddly again and that can only mean good things. I know the fighting and such was a little drawn out, but Naruto had a big shock to deal with to go from being in an intimate relationship with someone he thought wasn't real to knowing that Sasuke was real and remembered everything. I mean really, that's pretty embarrassing, so it just didn't seem to feel right to have him jump into Sasuke's arms and yell 'take me now you amazing bastard!' Would have been funny though

So yay, as of last chapter Dreams Aren't Real has made it into the 100 plus reviews and big yay to Yamanvie who scored number 100! Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed this fic so far you help feed my addiction so I love you all. I know it might have been difficult for a lot of people to review last chapter because I replaced the preview with chapter 6 and you can't double review so hopefully this time there won't be that drama and I look forward to hearing from you all again :)

Dash