A/N: Before I continue, I would just like to say that I know that this plot is a bit overused and some people are getting tired of reading the same thing over and over again but as a typical fangirl, I couldn't help but make my own version. So here, hope you guys like it.

SASUKE: NEAR KISSES

"WHAT!" Haruno Sakura shrieked.

It was a very unappriopriate thing to do, since it was only seven in the morning. If the girl was unaware, the people of Konoha had their own alarm clocks that weren't supposed to go off until later that day. Obviously, Sakura cared more for the matter at hand than waking up the people in the vicinity with unnecessary noises.

While Sakura was very surprised after receiving unbelievable information, the Uchiha of Team 7 said nothing and judging from the looks on his face, his thoughts were far from the newsflash the two of them received. Kakashi, unlike either of the two, just smiled sheepishly.

"So I guess today's mission is off," Sasuke finally said.

"Unless you and Sakura decide to do it by yourselves," Kakashi quipped. The Jounin was quite happy today, for some unknown reason. Then again, Kakashi found joy in simple things—like his "sacred" novel, "Icha Icha Paradise."

"How can Naruto be SICK?" the girl demanded all of the sudden, still not convinced that the loud, arrogant Uzumaki Naruto could actually act humbly before a lowly virus.

"He's… human?" Kakashi answered uncertainly, casting a look at Sasuke, who merely shrugged. Sakura though, was not convinced with such an answer. The Jounin, despite all his knowledge and chart-topping IQ, could not make Haruno Sakura understand that Naruto couldn't feign sickness even if he wanted to and it was possible for him to get sick—for real. Sasuke just stood there the whole time, just outside Naruto's house.

With all the noise the three (two, actually) were making, it wouldn't be surprising if things started flying towards them. It was such an ungodly hour in the morning and normal people would rather be asleep during this time.

"The mission is off, then." Saskue announced.

The five-word statement managed to catch the other two's attention as well as shut them up. It also managed to put funny, indescribable looks on both Kakashi and Sakura's faces. If Sasuke wasn't so serious about what he said, he would've laughed at them for being able to look like that in the first place. It was Kakashi who recovered first and afterwards, he wiped the look off his face.

"If that's your decision, it's fine with me," Kakashi nodded towards Sasuke. Sakura looked as if she wanted to disagree but said nothing of the sort.

"Great. It's settled then. But we have another problem," The Jounin's face became solemn as well as his voice. "Who's going to take care of Naruto?"

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks and it was evident that neither of them wanted to do the said job. Kakashi sighed. Where was the "team" in Team 7 if none of the members would volunteer to take care of a sick comrade?

Then again, this is Naruto we're talking about.

You could bury him alive and he'll come back the day after or maybe drown him in the sea and he'll manage to swim back to shore—and it's not only because of the demon fox inside of him. Naruto was so persistent to live that it was unbelievable for him to get sick in the first place.

"I wish I could go but I have a lot to do today," Kakashi said.

"Some reading perhaps, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. Kakashi laughed nervously but decided best not to reply. He chose well.

The next few minutes were spent glancing at each other, hoping the other one would give in and volunteer. During the time that the three were together, they had managed to get through each other's barricades somehow and be a bit more closer to each other. But not close enough to want to take care of Naruto for the whole day. The other two had a bit of sanity left to disagree.

After countless minutes, telepathic messages and worried glances, Sasuke finally spoke up.

"I'll do it," he said in a I-pity-the-guy-so-I'll-do-it kind of way.

"Are you sure, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked him.

Sasuke nodded. It's just one day, he assured himself. Nothing bad could possibly happen.

"I hope you don't mind," Kakashi told the Uchiha. "But it's no chore, really. You just have to watch over him. He's asleep so it's much easier."

Inwardly, Sasuke wasn't sure if he did the right thing. In fact, he wasn't sure why he volunteered in the first place. It wasn't pity, that's for sure. There was nothing to pity when it comes to Naruto, at least from his perspective. There was just something so compelling about the boy that Sasuke's curious about.

Kakashi gave him a nod before leaving while Sakura looked like she wanted to stay. In the end, she left with Kakashi and just gave Sasuke a half-proud, half-pity look before completely leaving.

This better be worth it.

ooOOoo

When Sasuke heard about Naruto getting sick, he couldn't believe his ears just like the next guy. It was like saying that Chouji went on a diet or Neji had started chasing women and likewise Jiraiya giving up on women. It would be more correct to say that Naruto fell off the cliff or he tried to prank the women in the bath or things like that. They accurately describe Naruto but being sick does obviously not. Naruto was strong both physically (thanks to the Kyuubi) and emotionally and all this is a result of hardships and obstacles the boy fought hard to get through and in which he survived. So how could a mere fever slow him down?

Sasuke opened the door to Naruto's so-called house which consisted of a bed, a table, some other undistinguishable things scattered on the floor and of course, cup ramen and hot water. The room was small, cozy and plain—the total opposite of it's occupant, who was snoring softly on his bed clad in his pajamas and his forehead protector clutched tightly in his fist.

Sasuke neared the bed and watched Naruto. The Kyuubi boy could've been mistaken for dead if not for the steady rising and falling of his chest. After having stared at the boy for what seemed like minutes, Sasuke pulled up a chair and placed it beside the bed before sitting on it. He watched Naruto again, envying his peaceful look. His face was devoid of any emotions and at the same time, he exuded a calm and soothing aura and his naïve and childish features made him all the more pure.

At the realization that Naruto was indeed someone who was pure and untainted, Sasuke became aware of his hands. They were hard, callous yet skilled. Just reminiscing what these hands have accomplished—or wished to accomplish—they are very dirty, compared to the hands Naruto owns. Is this what the Uchiha saw in him?

Innocence… Naivety… Purity. The relentless will to try and try again and the persistent drive to become the Hokage. Sasuke had dreams of his own. Then again, they weren't really dreams. Drives, perhaps but far from being a dream. Dreams were from childish fantasies brought about by hopefulness and wishful thinking.

Sasuke's though, was driven by a single, solitary thing.

Hate.

"Un…" Naruto moaned and shifted his figure to the right. Sasuke jolted back to reality. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, wondering if he really was sick, as Kakashi-sensei told them. Partly out of curiousity, Sasuke placed his hand on the boy's clad forehead.

His hand might as well burn with the heat that Naruto's forehead was giving off. Sasuke pulled his hand away and immediately went to find a wet towel until he realized there was none. With a completely composed face, the Uchiha stood up and while rummaging through Naruto's things that can serve as a hot compress (A/N: Did I get it right? ) Sasuke heard Naruto's unmistakable cry of pain. At first, the Uchiha felt no need to do anything but when the cries started to get more frequent, he quickly rushed to Naruto's side.

After all, he DID volunteer to take care of him.

Naruto was tossing and turning, his once peaceful face now contorted in pain. Sasuke frowned and racked his brain for the most sensible thing to do. The first thing that came to his mind was to wake Naruto up—and that's exactly what he did.

"Naruto," Sasuke nudged the boy, in hopes of waking him up. Naruto didn't seem to respond the way Sasuke wanted. He continued to toss and turn in his bed.

As much as Sasuke wanted to ease Naruto of the pain he was obviously going through—or trying to go through (A/N: Huh? I don't get my point here.) he was to wake Naruto up to do so. Still not giving up, Sasuke continued to nudge Naruto. His efforts bore fruit at least. Naruto finally woke up.

"Huh… Wha—" Naruto said groggily.

"You're awake, finally." Sasuke said in his usual bored (or if you prefer casual, that can do too) voice although the corners of his mouth were tugged to form a small smile. Naruto, unfortunately, was too sleepy to care.

"Hmm… Sasuke?" Naruto said in his sleepy voice.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied dutifully, although he felt quite stupid to answer in the first place. The next few minutes were spent breathing (provided by both Naruto and Sasuke) and some squinting from the blue-eyed boy. "How… How are you feeling?"

"Ramen," Naruto said hoarsely, trying to sit up.

"Huh?" was all Sasuke could say.

"Ramen."

"You… want ramen?" Sasuke guessed, rather offered helpfully to the boy. Naruto nodded wordlessly and once again tried to sit up. It was only now that Sasuke recognized this gesture as a sign that the boy was indeed having a hard time and as his caretaker, he should help him. Unfortunately, when Sasuke realized all of these, Naruto was already sitting up.

They looked at each other for a moment, waiting.

"Ramen," Naruto repeated. Sasuke then remembered the boy's previous request and stood up to make ramen. For some weird reason, Sasuke found Naruto very distracting today. Then again, the boy did want to be distracting.

Sasuke was itching to look at Naruto as he has his back facing the boy as he prepared Naruto's oasis for his so-called desert. Sasuke moved quickly and tried to finish preparing the ramen before any reactions from Naruto come. Unknown to Sasuke, Naruto had already surrendered to the sweet call of sleep. While the Uchiha was debating whether to peek or not (he was concerned about Naruto's perception if he did—he might mistake his curiosity for concern.), Naruto was already snoring softly behind him.

"Here's your—" Sasuke stopped short at the sight of Naruto's eyes shut. Sasuke didn't know how to react. Should he be the ever-patient caretaker that he should be or the ever-cold Uchiha Sasuke that he truly is?

But looking at Naruto's face seems to erase everything Sasuke had in mind. Who knew why? Certainly not Sasuke, who questioned himself over and over again what was so attractive about Naruto.

Sasuke placed the ramen on the table and sighed. He wanted to understand a lot of things. Like what pushed him to volunteer to be in this room in the first place… or what was with Naruto that aroused his curiosity so much… or even why he was feeling this way towards the Kyuubi boy.

I like him.

That's true. Sasuke likes Naruto. He liked his loud, disturbing voice, his eccentric personality, his do-or-die-trying principle in life and especially his cerulean blue eyes. There was something in those eyes that Sasuke can't put his finger on…

But if to like something means to constantly crave for it, to be nothing without it, to suffer without it even to sacrifice everything for it… then Sasuke doesn't like Naruto.

What he feels if much, much more than that.

The Uchiha wanted to shield Naruto from all the impurities the world has to offer, to be with him at all times, protect him from anything that can harm him and destroy everything that causes him sadness…

He wanted Naruto to be his.

And that isn't just "like." It's something more than the said word. Much, much more that that.

Then what is it?

Sasuke stared at Naruto's sleeping face, once again envying him. The boy wondered when he would be able to sleep like that. He wondered if it was even possible for him to do so. His gaze swept over Naruto's closed eyelids to his eyelashes down to his nose and finally to his lips.

Never had Sasuke felt so tempted to do something so… new and foreign. Before, his cool and calm demeanor always prevailed in thinking about these kinds of things. He had an exceptionally strong control over the things he does and he wasn't like Naruto to act rashly and act on things as his emotions dictated. Yet, here he is, feeling the exact same way.

Sasuke frowned. Did he… Is he…

Am I?

It's just one kiss.

Is it worth it?

What will Naruto say?

Torrents of questions flooded Sasuke's mins and he found them quite annoying. They did nothing but echo back and forth across his head that is was impossible to ignore them. He tried to block them out and he managed to do it even for only a quarter of a second. But it was during this short moment of silence that Sasuke made his decision. The boy nodded and started to lean towards Naruto.

Every second, every heartbeat was seemingly recorded in Sasuke's memory although the questions that plagued his head still continued their persistent questioning. Sasuke paid no attention to them anymore.

He lowered his head with no other thought in mind…

Except Naruto, that is.

Just when Sasuke felt so sure that what he was doing was okay, just when Sasuke assured himself that he wasn't taking advantage of the boy—just grasping an opportunity given to him, just when the Uchiha thought nothing could ever stop him now, just when their faces were a mere nanometer away…

"Un," the Kyuubi boy groaned and shifted his body once again, this time to the left. The action caused Sasuke to freeze in his place, his eyes wide in silent shock. As Naruto moved, his lips brushed Sasuke's lightly and it was then that Sasuke pulled back.

The "kiss" wasn't something he had in mind. He actually planned a longer, more romantic one but unfortunately, his approach must've been wrong. For the first time, the Uchiha's tactic failed. But he wasn't saying he was regretting it.

Maybe it didn't go as planned…

Sasuke smiled to himself as he looked at Naruto.

But there's always next time.

-owari

A/N: haha. Hope you like it! Reviews pleeeeeeaaaase!