Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!
Summary: Sasuke is tired. Sasuke is hungry. Sasuke is...well, hunting, now. Vampire AU, SNS, will be explicit. Two years later...it's done! New chapter will be up every day until the fic is finished!
A/N: Ahh friends, how are you all? Happy New Year, if it's already passed for you! I still have a couple hours to go. I spent some time yesterday making my writing summary of 2021 if you're interested! It's over on tumblr and twitter :) I kept up with last year better than I thought.
This chapter's a bit of a shorter one, but it's an important one. I hope you like it!
Bite Me
Chapter 5: On the Line
Sasuke yawned.
It was almost seven in the morning, now. Naruto had been sound asleep, snoring away, as Sasuke had debated whether the more appealing option was to randomly wander the streets, or sit here, staring at his phone, struggling with whether or not to start a search that he knew would be fruitless.
He'd gone with the latter, if only to make sure Naruto stayed asleep...and alright.
Sasuke sighed and set his phone to sleep, rubbing at his eyes. He still wasn't sure whether or not he was better off trying to sleep during the day...maybe, if he got the job…
"Ugh...Sasuke?"
Sasuke sat up properly.
"Morning," he said, scanning over Naruto's tired, confused face. "I'm surprised you're awake."
"I…" Naruto laughed pitifully. "Shut up. D'you have some, um, water?"
"Oh," Sasuke said, sitting up, "one second."
He didn't have painkillers, though, which might end up being a problem. Not that he had any memory of being hungover himself, but he knew...enough…somehow...
"Here," he said, sliding the cup onto the small storage bin he called a bedside table. Naruto groaned and rolled closer.
"Thanks," he mumbled, downing about half of it. Sasuke watched him, amused.
"No more going to bars together, I assume?"
Naruto snorted.
"We need to get you a fake car or somethin'," he said, one hand rubbing at his forehead. "Then we could just say you were driving…"
"That would blow up in our faces the moment someone asked for a ride," Sasuke pointed out.
Naruto laughed.
"Well, shit," he said, opening his eyes again, "s'not like my ideas have ever blown up in my face before. Got anything better, Sasuke?"
Sasuke knelt down at his side.
"I have one," he offered, and Naruto looked just a little bit more awake. "You stop taking bullets for me."
Naruto's mouth widened into a smug, teasing grin.
"You don't own me, bloodsucker."
Sasuke rested his arm over his knee and watched him.
"You really don't listen easily, do you?"
Naruto laughed again, low and lazily.
"Nope. Not one bit. Iruka'll be the first to tell you. You okay though? You seem tired."
And still, Naruto went right back to him. Sasuke resisted the urge to shake his head.
"The sun's up," he pointed out. "It's my bedtime."
Naruto's sloppy grin came back in full force, and he shuffled himself back until he hit the wall.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Please don't make me get up," Naruto said, that pathetic, pleading look back in his eyes. "I'm so tired…"
"I have no qualms with sleeping on the floor," Sasuke pointed out.
"I'm not gonna make you do that! Then I'm the asshole! At least make me sleep on the floor," Naruto said, rolling right up to the edge again—
"You are impossible," Sasuke sighed, catching him with his foot. "Close your eyes. I'm getting changed."
"Yessir," Naruto said, yawning, "but I'm pretty sure we've both seen each other naked already."
Sasuke snorted, pulling his shirt over his head. He didn't quite have pajamas, per say, but they were old, looser clothes that he liked a bit more...
"You've seen me," he said, although he'd spared Naruto the view of his...neck. "You only lost your shirt last night, moron."
"No," Naruto mumbled. "I meant in class, when I modelled. Weren't you there? I thought you were…"
"I was not. I would have recognized that tattoo. Move over."
Naruto obeyed with a soft groan, eyes still closed.
"Pretty sure you were..." he mumbled softly, "s'not a tattoo, though..."
"Is it not?"
"Dunno," Naruto said. "Could be, I guess. Don't remember getting it if it is."
Sasuke...paused. Naruto's eyes stayed closed and his mouth stayed open. He was obviously tired, but he was also obviously not elaborating...Sasuke sighed and shuffled in beside him.
The towel was still underneath them. Maybe it was better it stayed.
"You're not going to vomit on me again, are you?" he asked, scrunching it between them.
"No, I'm...hang on, again? Aw, no, you're kidding me, I didn't—" Naruto's eyes flickered open, tired and strained—
Sasuke gave him a look.
"Fuck me," Naruto breathed out and Sasuke's smile widened, "I'm so sorry. It's all a blur after that last drink, I should've just—"
"Relax, moron," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes, "I didn't care. You only hit my feet. But if you're going to be sick again, shove me out of the bed first. That's all."
Naruto's mouth stretched back into that lopsided smile, and his eyes closed.
"I owe you one," he sighed softly, voice trailing off.
Sasuke stared at him.
"You really, really don't."
Naruto's deep breaths were his only reply.
It was warm.
Everything around him, really. Sasuke felt warm and comfortable and like he could just...just stay here, forever. Stay like this, immersed in this brilliant heat...he could feel it pressed against him, on his palm, his fingertips, his lips—
…
His lips...?
Sasuke sucked in a breath, and it tasted like blood.
It was the flash of blonde that had his heart stopping—as he pulled back, but not enough, not far enough, not back enough, his head was in a fog and he wasn't himself and no—no—
"It's okay," Naruto whispered, eyes hollow and unfocused, body slanted and stumbling, smile filled with fatigue and faith, "I trust you."
No, Sasuke thought, feeling his body move forward again—no, no, no, no, no, no, not Naruto, please, not Naruto, he couldn't, he couldn't, he—
He bit down.
He felt it, as he drained the rest of Naruto's life from his body. He felt it in his hands, as Naruto's muscles seized and then fell loose—as his skin stayed hot and went cooler, cooler, cooler, cold—as Naruto gasped for breath, almost like a cry, but no voice was in that horrible sound—
Sasuke pulled back, and Naruto's lifeless body fell at his feet.
Naruto didn't know when he awoke.
The room was still dark. Still weirdly dark, for how awake Naruto was now, 'cause he…
Oh.
Oh yeah.
As if on cue, Sasuke rolled even further, burying himself into Naruto's chest. That explained why one of his arms was helplessly asleep, stuck under him—and the other, well—
The other was wrapped around Sasuke, pulling him close. And he didn't really want to move it. It was weird, though, with Sasuke being slightly cool to the touch...Naruto remembered Sasuke saying something about "old blood", but the rest of those memories were pretty blurry. Then again, maybe it was better that Naruto didn't remember puking on Sasuke.
He cringed and rolled away, working on wiggling the fingers of his numb, numb arm—
Sasuke sucked in a breath, eyes flying open.
"Sorry," Naruto said quickly. "I wake you?"
Sasuke continued to stare at him, eyes wide, before he muttered a small, harsh, "fuck."
Naruto blinked.
"Hey. You okay?"
Sasuke fell back into his single pillow and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, breathing in and then swallowing, and then breathing in again—Naruto sat up a little more.
"Sasuke?" he asked, 'cause he—uh. Well, he looked— "You have—have a nightmare or something?"
Sasuke finally pulled his hand from his face, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling with...red-rimmed eyes.
"Hey, Sasuke..."
"You've stayed here long enough, I think."
Naruto blinked.
"What?"
"I think you should go."
"I...huh?"
"Leave. Now."
He swallowed after he spat out the words, still staring up at the ceiling with his eyebrows furrowed—
Naruto felt his heels dig in.
"No."
"Get out."
"No. I—"
"Get out," Sasuke insisted, eyes snapping to his— "Why are you still here? Why do you have no sense of self-preservation? I could kill you. I could kill you like it was nothing, and—"
Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shirt and wrenched him up.
"Do it, then," he said, staring Sasuke dead in his angry, flashing-red eyes. "If you're so ruled by this, then prove it. Can you fight it or can't you?"
And there it was. The anger and frustration melted from Sasuke's glowing eyes to reveal the deep, shattering fear keeping him frozen in Naruto's grip—
"You're not going to do it," Naruto told him. "Look at me. You're not going to kill me. Okay?"
Sasuke continued to stare, unblinking, eyebrows furrowed, looking stricken—Naruto let go and saw a piece of the scar that had been under the bandage, what he assumed had to be the bite—
"You don't know that," Sasuke whispered. "I just—"
He swallowed the rest of his words, as if unable to voice them. Naruto understood, though.
"You just dreamed about it," Naruto finished the sentence, and it made Sasuke flinch.
"I—"
"Sasuke," Naruto said softly, "the fact that your brain is sending you nightmares about killing me doesn't mean you want to. It means you're terrified of it."
Sasuke swallowed, but didn't reply.
"And if you were going to kill me, you would have tried already. You've already been desperate. Hell, you didn't even recognize me the first night. You were as detached as you could've been, and you—you just—"
Naruto sucked in a breath—
"You just sat down. Like you rather would've died."
Sasuke tried to look away, but Naruto didn't let him.
"And I won't let you do that. And you won't let me die. Okay? We're both going to be okay. We're gonna figure this out."
Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes, which slowly, slowly faded into that deep, dark brown.
"Why are you putting your life on the line for me?"
Naruto pulled back a little.
"I—" he said, thinking, "I'm not. Not like that. Your life's already on the line. I'm just...stepping onto that line with you. And I could step back off but turns out I kinda like who you are, so I'm here. And I'm hanging on. Okay?"
Sasuke breathed in, and it shuddered. It was about all the permission Naruto needed to dive forwards again. It was there—in the back of his mind, ever since he'd seen Sasuke again—the thought that Sasuke had been ready to give up. He'd been living a life he'd hated for who knew how long, and Naruto could barely imagine…
He hugged Sasuke tighter.
"I'm here."
He meant it. He'd be here. Him and Sasuke would figure this out. They'd—
Sasuke's hand pressed on his back. Soft and hesitant, as gentle as his still-shuddering breath on Naruto's neck—
"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered, and Naruto shook his head,
"No," he said immediately. "No. I'm here. I'm alive. You're not hurting me and you're not gonna hurt me. I'll sit here as long as it takes to prove it to you."
It was slight—just the barest touch—but he felt Sasuke's stiff body relax, just a little.
"And besides," he whispered, smiling a little, "I puked on you yesterday. You've got a free pass for pretty much anything today."
Sasuke heaved out a breathy laugh and pulled back. He was smiling though, just barely, and it made Naruto's small smile widen.
"...How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked, watching him with still red-rimmed eyes.
Naruto ducked his head.
"I'm not gonna do it again, if that's what you're asking," he said, feeling a flash of victory at Sasuke's snort, "but, uh, my head is fucking pounding. I'm dreaming if I think you've got painkillers here, yeah?"
Sasuke visibly flinched.
"I don't have any," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. I coul—"
"No, don't get up, Sas—you wouldn't even be able to go anywhere anyway. I've got some at my place, it's fine. But, I…"
Naruto trailed off, glancing back at Sasuke.
"Your shirt is drying in the bathroom," Sasuke offered. Naruto shook his head.
"It's not that."
Sasuke's gaze grew softer.
"Go home, Naruto. I'll be here."
Naruto smiled a little.
"You still gonna keep being dumb?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I make no promises."
Naruto laughed, sliding his way over Sasuke's legs to get off the bed. This headache was relentless, but first, he needed to...huh, his phone was still in his pocket. Good enough flashlight to find his way to the bathroom…
"Do vampires even use a toilet?" Naruto asked, lifting the shirt above himself to check if it was still wet—
"Do we—" came Sasuke's incredulous voice— "how many times do I have to tell you that my body functions like a body, you—"
Naruto dissolved into laughter, stumbling from the bathroom midway through buttoning his shirt back-up.
"Okay, okay. But like, your diet is like totally liquid, so wouldn't it—"
"Moron."
Naruto laughed, patting himself down for his keys, wallet—all still in his pocket from last night, perfect—
"See, this. This is why you'd be justified in killing me."
And Sasuke fully rolled over then, staring at him as if unable to even believe what he'd heard—
Before he settled back down with a pained, pained sigh.
The effect was pretty ruined by that smile, though.
"You are the dumbest person alive. Get that light out of my face."
"As my dark lord wishes," Naruto said, dutifully flicking it off as soon as he found Sasuke's doorknob. "Thanks for taking care of me last night!"
Sasuke let out a grumble in response, and Naruto laughed as he pulled the door shut behind him.
Sasuke was probably gonna regret letting Naruto know where he lived.
A/N: That's it for now! More to come tomorrow. As usual, the chapters are broken up less by equal word count and more by the events of chapters, so they'll be some alternating lengths like this from time to time.
Have a very happy new year!
See you in 2022,
- Kinomi