Title: Parallels
Authors: Questofdreams and Lazuli
Rated: R
Comments: Huge thanks to our beta, proud snapist.
Disclaimer: Yep, they apply.

Chapter 5

When he woke up in the morning, he was still pressed against Sasuke, warm arms wrapped around him tightly. He didn't freak out this time; he just laid there for a few moments, basking in the feel of it, another memory to tuck away for future times when this wouldn't be his reality any longer.

He poked at Sasuke. "Time to get up."

Sasuke blinked sleepy black eyes at him before deliberately closing them again and turning his face into the pillow, messy black hair falling over his cheek.

Naruto poked him again. "Get up or my...father...might come bursting in on us again."

Sasuke shook his head, face still buried so that when he spoke, it came out muffled. "He left early this morning. I heard him get up."

Naruto snickered, leaning over Sasuke. "Who would have thought that Sasuke would hate getting up in the morning?" He poked him again. "I always thought you'd be the type to refuse rest and end up falling asleep out in the training field."

Sasuke hid his head under the pillow. "Shut up and let me sleep, Uzumaki. The sun is barely up."

Naruto poked at him again, and tried to take the pillow from Sasuke, but it was being held in an iron grip. "You can never tease me about sleeping in again, you know that, right?" he grumbled and flopped over.

Sasuke released his grip on the pillow and reached out to pull Naruto closer. "We'll go talk to him in a bit."

Sasuke moved his head just enough for him to burrow into Naruto's neck. He opened his eyes to slits, the drowsiness already leaving him as vague images of his dream flittered through his conscious mind. "I was wondering..."

Naruto sighed and lay his hand over Sasuke's. "What?"

"What kind of things did you and this...other me go through? I just want to...understand."

Naruto frowned up at the ceiling. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Sasuke levered himself up, glaring at him. "You said some bullshit earlier about me trying to kill you, Naruto. Was that true or not?" His dreams were barely remembered, but something had stuck in the back of his mind. "What happened?" He cupped Naruto's cheek, fingers tracing idly over the scars. "Tell me," he murmured.

Naruto continued to frown, not meeting his gaze. His lips tightened, tense lines forming around his mouth before he finally blew out his breath in resignation. "Do you know someone named Orochimaru?"

Sasuke rested his head in his hand, watching Naruto's expression. "He was one of the Sannin. But I heard he died several years back. I've never met him."

Blue eyes grew dark with a memory that only he could see. Naruto sighed and wished it had happened that way, that Orochimaru had died without any of the pain that they had to go through, any of the shit they had to deal with because of his bitch fest at not being chosen as the next Hokage by the Sandaime.

"He attacked during the chuunin exams." His words were clipped. "You and I got the brunt of the attack, but you came out of it much worse than I did." He took a deep breath, not wanting to get into details. "The short of it... you got infested with his stupid power, went nutso over it, and tried to kill me." He closed his eyes and turned away. "End of story. You happy now?" The comfortable feeling he had before was gone, leaving only faint traces of bitterness.

Sasuke stared down at Naruto's grim expression, his face not revealing any of the emotions the admission had roused in him. He was struggling to accept the words that rang with a truth he would have rather ignored.

Naruto sat up, avoiding looking at Sasuke any. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to bring that up here. I... " He ran a hand through his hair, agitated. "I thought I had gotten over that a long time ago."

Sasuke squeezed Naruto's arms reassuringly, although he was still mulling over what he would have done for power. He had gone through a period of frustration and anger in his younger years and perhaps, if he had met Orochimaru during that time, he might have done exactly what Naruto had said he'd done. It was disconcerting to think about.

"No, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to stir up bad memories, I guess." Since Sasuke hadn't experienced them, they weren't memories, per se...well, for him anyway.

Naruto turned and gave him a faint smile. "At least I know that you didn't have to go through that shit here," he said softly. "That there is a place where you were more well-adjusted, or perhaps I did something so that you didn't ..." He swallowed harshly. If he continued that train of that, he would touch on the idea of a reality where Itachi wasn't a crazy bastard... where Sasuke was happy... where... there were a multitude of possibilities that made him dizzy to think about.

"Let's just go talk to my father." It came out before he could even think about it. He grimaced, his hand tugging through his tousled hair in agitation. He was getting too attached to the way things were here.

He turned his face to look out the window, seeing the roofs of buildings gilded by the sunrise. Things were so painfully similar, but the differences were sharper pains, in places so deep he had forgotten they were there. He turned to Sasuke, who hadn't noticed how easily he'd let the word...the thought...slip out.

"And I want to go back to sleep," Sasuke mumbled, taking the chance to hide under the pillow again. Naruto felt his lips twitch at the sight of Sasuke acting so childlike. It was rare indeed and that sharp pain twisted inside him briefly. This was how it should be. This was how he wanted it to be and how he wanted it to stay. But it couldn't. This Sasuke wasn't the Sasuke he grew up with. He just... he didn't know what he wanted. His head hurt.

Maybe a little more sleep wouldn't hurt, he decided, closing his eyes against the dull throb that had begun in his left temple. He settled back onto the pillow, Sasuke's foot curling around his calf. It really was quite nice, he thought with a sigh, just lying with the man. Why was he so anxious to leave this again? Oh right, he thought a little bitterly, because this wasn't supposed to be happening in the first place...he swallowed back the lump in his throat and scooted a little closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke's arms reached out to wrap around him, warm lips nuzzling his neck. "See how much nicer this is?" he murmured. "Now just relax for a little while, Naruto."

Naruto gave a defeated sigh, eyes closing and breath evening out, the throb in his temples vanishing. He turned his face into Sasuke's hair and closed his eyes.

It seemed as if no more than a few minutes had passed when Sasuke rolled on top of him and whispered, "Time to wake up for real, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes seemed glued shut as he turned and forced his lids open. "What time is it?" he asked drowsily, glancing out the window at the position of the sun.

"9 am. Let's go see how your father is doing."

"Now I'm the one that doesn't want to get up." He laughed softly. "Sasuke is too comfortable." He managed to lever himself up, rubbing his eyes with a fisted hand, stifling a yawn with the other.

Sasuke snickered and poked him in the side. "Get up. He'll be expecting us soon anyhow."

"Will he?" Naruto asked, lifting his arms above his head for an exaggerated stretch.

"Well, he'll be expecting us to go see what he's found out, in any case. Now, get up." Sasuke was already pulling on his pants.

Naruto pushed aside the bed sheets, filled his lungs and hopped off the bed, prepared to start the day with a positive attitude.

As he gathered his clothing, warm arms wrapped around his middle. "Things will be okay, Naruto." He wasn't entirely sure how things would be ok, but it was really the gesture that counted right then.

Naruto barely managed a nod as his hands reached for the rest of his clothing.

After showering, Naruto braced himself to face the village again and they set out for the Hokage tower. Upon their arrival, Naruto was a little unnerved at how nice everyone was being to him. The ninjas on duty ushered him straight to the Yondaime's office, even going so far as holding the door open for him. He gave them a strained smile and walked into his father's office.

It looked almost exactly the same as when Tsunade was sitting there behind the desk, rather than the tall blond man who sat there now.

"Hey boys, I figured you'd get out of bed sooner or later," he said, smiling.

Naruto flushed as he and Sasuke took seats in front of his father. "We... we were tired," he said, the excuse sounded flimsy and all too filled with implications to his ears. He fought down the new blush.

The Yondaime chuckled "Looking to find out what else I've dug up?"

Naruto immediately straightened in his seat, expression sobering. His gaze flickered briefly over to Sasuke, who was lightly frowning and slouching in his seat. He didn't appear too interested but Naruto could tell by the sharp look in his eyes that he was paying attention.

"So? Spill it," Naruto urged.

"Naruto, judging by what happened yesterday, you should be able to briefly touch the other world that you opened a pathway to. Now, I don't know how to make it permanent, but for a short while you can 'go back' and each time you do that, I'd wager the visits should be longer."

Naruto's puzzled expression clearly told the Yondaime that he did not. "Well...how?"

Sasuke watched Naruto from the corner of his eye, observing Naruto's reaction to his father's news. He, himself, wanted to believe that what the Hokage was saying was true, especially considering the abrupt shifts in Naruto's behavior the night before. It was incredibly bizarre but it was a preferable explanation as opposed to Naruto losing his mind.

The Yondaime frowned a little. "I'm not exactly sure what triggers it yet. This is still something quite new, but I think that if a situation parallels--such as you talking with Sasuke about the same thing, or even our conversation--I'm only speculating, but if something is so similar, then the connection may bring you back until something around you changes."

Naruto leaned back in his seat and briefly closed his eyes, dragging a hand through his hair. "Geez, this is confusing." His stomach lurched.

"Then explain it to me, you brat."

Naruto's eyes flew open in alarm. He jerked up in his seat as Tsunade glared at him from across her desk. He cast frantic eyes to Sasuke, who was slouching in the chair beside him, same as before. He swallowed, taking a deep breath to steady his pulse.

There should be some type of warning label on this damn thing, he grumbled to himself. His eyes immediately went to the pictures above the desk, and his heart twisted painfully at the image of the Yondaime, of the man that he had been talking to only a minute earlier.

"I... " He swallowed. "What did I tell you already?" He managed a cheeky grin.

"You haven't told us anything, idiot," Sasuke muttered from beside him.

Tsunade cast him a quick frown before settling her gaze on Naruto again. "We've established that the kyuubi had something to do with it," she said patiently, carefully, as if Naruto was too slow to comprehend. And honestly, right then, he was a little scattered.

"Have you looked at my seal?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke sat up, scoffing. "She just did; what the hell's wrong with you now?"

Naruto turned to him, losing his temper. "Maybe if you knew what the hell was going on, you'd know why I was asking these questions." If Tsunade had no idea, then he had to tell her while he had the chance. "Yondaime believes I've crossed into a parallel... universe, I guess," he said quickly, laying it out like he would the basics for a mission. "I switched places with this other Naruto."

Tsunade frowned. "What's different about this other universe?" Tsunade looked deeply interested and not at all skeptical like Naruto thought she would be.

"I have a father... the Yondaime."

He observed the way her eyes widened just a fraction before she caught herself and schooled her expression, revealing nothing more than rapt interest. Naruto swallowed and continued.

"And no one looks at me like I'm a demon," he muttered, eyes growing blank as he recalled the friendly smiles of the villagers as he and Sasuke had made their way here not very long ago to see a completely different Hokage than the one seated before him now.

"Idiot," Sasuke's voice drawled out to his right. "You honestly believe that you are in an alternate universe?" His brow rose as he turned to look at him. "One where the Yondaime is alive?" Only Naruto would be able to detect that hint of worry in his tone--no one else could read Sasuke so well. "Humor me, then. What other things are different in this world that you're from?"

Naruto, realizing that his two companions were not aware that he had switched places, turned to Sasuke and gave him a flat look. "You're in love with me."

Sasuke returned the blank expression for a good ten seconds before his lips curled into a half sneer, half smirk. "That was a pathetic joke," he said, although the strange glint in his eyes was suspicious.

The last time Naruto had momentarily switched back to his own world, Sasuke had mentioned him...or, rather, the other him, practically mauling Sasuke. He returned Sasuke's glare with a humorless grin.

Naruto's face lost its expression, and he turned back to Tsunade. "At any rate, we figured out somewhat of what happened. Apparently I and my ... other self... got hit by a faulty jutsu at the same time, causing us to switch. And..." He took a deep breath. "The Yondaime said that I switch back momentarily when things are... the same in both worlds. What have you guys learned?"

Tsunade cocked her head. "We figured it out?" she asked, confused.

Naruto blinked, realizing what he'd just said. "Er..." he said intelligently.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked tentatively.

Naruto turned back to him. "Yes, it's me. For now, anyway. And I don't know for how long."

Sasuke looked very much like he wanted to say something but his lips remained pressed together, as if afraid something might slip if he allowed himself to relax.

"The Yondaime is doing research, trying to figure this out," he said softly. "I'm sure this is causing problems on this end as well." His lips quirked slightly as he imagined the kind of problems Sasuke in particular was probably having. "I can't imagine my other half... the other me having an easy time of it here. Everything is opposite of what he's used to."

"Well, he's twice as obnoxious and twice as loud as you are," Sasuke muttered, leaning back into his seat and turning to stare out the window, seemingly avoiding Naruto's gaze.

Naruto snorted softly, but ignored the remark. "Tsunade-bachan, have you ever heard about these different, er, parallel realities?"

She tapped her fingers on her desk, face set. "That brat of a Hokage did research on it. It was one of the many quirks that he had." Rubbing her forehead as if it hurt, she considered. "I'll have to go through his records and see what he found out about it, and then do some extra reading on my own. We will have to fix things; there's no telling what effects this could have on either reality."

Sasuke frowned and turned to Naruto, his gaze more perceptive than usual. "Do you want it to go back to normal, Naruto?" he asked, eyes never leaving Naruto's, and ignoring Tsunade for the moment. "Or are you too happy in this other life?"

Naruto was careful not to give anything away as he turned opaque blue eyes to Sasuke. "Don't be an ass, Sasuke. Why wouldn't I want things normal again?"

Sasuke, who knew Naruto much better than Naruto believed him to, continued staring hard into those blank eyes until Naruto's gaze finally wavered. "Tell me, Naruto. What am I like in this other world?"

Naruto cast Tsunade a quick glance to determine what she would say but she seemed wholly uninterested in what he and Sasuke were discussing.

"You're pretty much the same, except... " He swallowed, unable to keep some form of emotion from his voice as he continued. "You never had the chance to go to Orochimaru, because he died several years before the start of the Chuunin exams."

Sasuke blinked at that, suddenly unable to find any coherent response. His mind was stumbling over the possibilities his life might have taken had he never been cursed with Orochimaru's seal...all the grief and the pain he and Naruto might have been spared. It was almost overwhelming to think about.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Is he stronger than me?" It was pure curiosity that spurred the question.

Naruto gave him an exasperated look. "You're still you. I doubt you're any less or more powerful than him...you, whatever. Unless you want to include all those creepy jutsus you learned from Orochimaru."

Naruto couldn't help but give a faint smile at the question, though. It was such a purely Sasuke thing that he wanted to relax and just pretend like none of this was happening in the way that it was. "You're more relaxed and open, but that's to be expected." He snorted and stared at his hands. "I still don't know how the other us... whatever... got to be friends, though. It's not like we had the same things in common." The last part was almost mumbled to himself.

"How did we become..." Sasuke paused as he realized what he was about to say. He coughed discretely and answered his unfinished question instead. "We were on the same team so we were forced to spend time together. Teamwork would naturally build bonds. I'm sure it was the same for them."

Naruto glanced at him, the corner of his lip tugging upward. Sasuke had just inadvertently admitted that he thought of Naruto as his friend.

Naruto shook his head. He really didn't know how much time he had left and stated as much to both Tsunade and Sasuke. "I think you better ask what questions you can now before whatever happens flips me back." He could almost feel the other him doing the same thing, that same feeling of urgency.

"Well," Tsunade said, returning her full attention to Naruto. "Let's review, hm? Parallel worlds. You've switched places with this other Naruto because of a faulty jutsu and Kyuubi has something to do with it. Is that about right?"

"Er." Naruto knew it was just a small detail and that he shouldn't really let it bother him but, at the same time, it was a huge detail and something that he needed to believe. "Yondaime says that it's not just another Naruto...it's still me." At Tsunade's quizzical look, he clarified. "The same soul."

Naruto had the rare experience of seeing Sasuke caught off guard before the dark-haired boy recovered, and he couldn't help grinning a little at the image. "I don't know all of what that means or how that will help but..." His eyes turned to Tsunade. "That's why you're the Hokage and not me."

He turned back to Sasuke. "Hey, cut the other me a little slack, hm?" he asked, almost as an afterthought. "He doesn't know how to deal with a Sasuke that's been through quite as much as you. That's my job."

Sasuke didn't reply for a couple seconds and Naruto could tell that he was remembering all the biting remarks he had probably made to Naruto's counterpart, although Naruto supposed Sasuke might have been justified if his other self had really tried to jump on him. Sasuke, after all, was not the touchy-feely sort. Try to hug him and he'd break your arm.

"Then we should figure out how to fix this as soon as possible so I won't have to 'cut you some slack'," Sasuke finally said.

Naruto snorted at that. "I think I'll be glad to have the psychotic Sasuke back myself," he muttered under his breath. Sasuke gave him a dark glare at the comment. "You don't know how weird it was to have Sasuke..." He broke off, a blush rising to his cheeks as he stopped the sentence before he could say too much.

Tusnade was smirking at him though, and he just glared at her, daring her to voice whatever thoughts were going through her head.

Sasuke, however, had tilted his head just slightly, looking at him askance. "Finish your sentence."

Naruto shrugged and straightened in his seat. "So, yeah, the same soul thing--"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, interrupting him. "What did this other me do?"

Naruto fixed an incredulous look on his face and gazed at the Hokage pleadingly. "Is this really necessary? Can we just get on with it?"

Tsunade smirked and shook her head. "It may actually shed some light on the situation. The smallest piece of information could be the most important."

Naruto didn't want to alienate Sasuke here, to risk losing their friendship by having Sasuke assume--or worse, find out--how Naruto felt about him. He clasped his hands together, looking down at his lap and almost wanting to switch back at that point. "He..." Naruto paused. "He... um... kinda pushed me up against a wall and kissed me." His cheeks were bright red now, and he sure as hell wasn't going to admit anything else that the other Sasuke did.

He couldn't bear to look at Sasuke at the moment and so he chanced a glance at Tsunade. She was watching Sasuke, something akin to pure glee twinkling in her eyes although her smile only spoke of mild amusement.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, intensely curious, and was taken aback to see Sasuke's face screwed up in concentration, as if using all his willpower to suppress the color that was just beginning to rise in his neck. Naruto, despite his warm cheeks, let a grin split his face. "You look constipated, Sasuke."

That did it--Sasuke glared at him and he lost the will to keep the blush from his cheeks. "No wonder you tried to do the same thing to me!" he snapped. He realized what he said half a second later and the blush was back full force, Naruto's face the same shade of red. Tsunade looked like she was barely restraining herself from laughing out loud.

Some tiny part of Naruto's brain was reassured that Sasuke wasn't outright disgusted by his admission. Maybe the whole same souls thing really was true; maybe the other Sasuke really was a part of this Sasuke... and the thought was encouraging.

"So," Naruto said, raising a blond eyebrow at Tsunade. "Did that 'shed some light' on any of this for you?"

Tsunade smiled serenely. "Well, we've at least discovered that it's possible to find some humor in all of this. Even if it's at the expense of you two," she said with a snort.

Naruto composed himself and jumped up, glaring at her. "You old hag!" he shouted. "This is serious, not some damn soap opera for you to be amused by!" He was frustrated, obscenely embarrassed, confused and just wanted his head to stop hurting and things to return to normal. "While I admit that Sasuke blushing is almost worth all this," He smirked at the other boy. "This is more serious than that."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, lips compressed into a thin line now that he had gotten over the mortifying urge to blush. "Naruto," he muttered. "One would think that you enjoyed it." That was his parting shot.