When I opened my eyes it was dark outside the window, and my entire body felt weighted down. I attempted to sit up, but the moment I began to move, the room began to spin and I slowly laid my head back on the pillow. I had lain there for several minutes, noting the curious feeling of numbness coming from my left arm before I decided to attempt to move again. As I tensed my muscles to move, a voice said softly.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." With that statement, Neji appeared from the shadows of the room.
I shot him a glare, but relaxed slowly, waiting for an explanation.
He began with a sigh," The blade the attacker used was using a very high concentration of poison. The dose was enough to knock you out even though the actual wound is shallow. You should be able to move your arm by the end of the week, but until the poison works its way through your system, movement will be difficult."
"I've noticed."
Neji gave a smirk. Then replied," Unless you're hungry, I'd suggest you go back to sleep. Recovery will seem faster that way."
I had to agree with that sentiment and in minutes I was asleep.
When I woke up next, Naruto was asleep beside me. No, let me revise that, Naruto was having a nightmare beside me, if the tossing and turning was any indication.
My body Reacted without a thought, instantly moving my left arm to hit him. It had become a habit really. I was naturally a light sleeper and, although the nightmares had been less common as of late, I had always woken him up before when he had a nightmare. Therefore, when the natural reaction occurred, I had to bite back a hiss when pain shot through my arm.
I gently set my arm back down and began to think of how else to wake him up. Naruto was a heavy sleeper. Most of the time my hitting him only caused the dream to stoop, not him to wake up, and the few times he had awoken, to his knowledge, I was asleep.
I laid there experimenting. Aside from my left arm, the rest of me was able to move without pain and the rush of dizziness was gone as well. Therefore, I carefully reached out with my other arm to nudge him. The touch interrupted his dream and with one more turn, he ended up on his side facing me.
I watched his face as he laid there sleeping peacefully. I wondered how many people knew how much he worried about things. It had taken even me, someone who was very apt at understanding masks, to comprehend that his constant show of emotion was used to cover up any real feelings he may have. I wondered if, before me, he had slept through all the nightmares alone just so no one would worry. He probably had.
A small smile graced my face as my hand gently ran across his forehead. "Idiot."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How are you?" I was interrupted from my afternoon broodings by the appearance of the blonde.
"Bored," I grumbled out, knowing he'd continue to bother me until I replied.
He laughed at that. So easy and carefree was that laugh, it was hard to believe that the one who made the sound had seen so much. He sat down in a chair near the bed and said lightly. "They'll let you walk tomorrow."
I didn't merit that statement with a response.
He sighed and said softly. "The guards cornered the attacker and when faced with them, she killed herself. Based on her clothes, they believe her to have been from my kingdom, but they did not recognize her."
"You didn't see her?"
Naruto shook his head, and I could tell that this though troubled him slightly.
"It's strange that she would attack you." I said simply, voicing what he must be thinking.
He nodded in agreement. "The only thing we can think of is that he didn't mean to kill anyone, just restart a war with an assignation attempt that appeared to come from your kingdom, but who knows?"
Indeed, who knew?
That statement hung in the air between us for a while before a young girl suddenly burst into the room. I vaguely recognized her as one of the new recruits to the guard. She hastily bowed and said quickly," So sorry to interrupt, but sir, I have the information you requested." She had turned to Naruto as she said this.
Naruto looked at her a smile growing on his face. "And the information?"
"Definitely."
Naruto laughed happily. "Thank you for finding out," he said still laughing. "I'll make sure to repay you later."
"You don't have—"
"Nonsense, I made you spy on your superiors. I'll definitely give you something later, but for now, you are dismissed."
The girl gave a quick nod and left.
As the door closed Naruto looked back to me and answered the silent question that was no on my face.
"Gaara and Neji."
I know understood his laughter.
"You're going to have fun with this, aren't you?"
He gave a nod before bursting into another bout of laughter.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Naruto did indeed have fun with it. He spent the next few weeks intentionally walking in on wherever they were, forcing them to sputter out lame excuses and explanations. It was even rather entertaining for me because it was one of the few time Neji ever lost his cold dignity.
However, the torture was short lived because eventually they just owned up to the relationship, which had been the goal of the whole thing anyway, so Naruto was satisfied, and as time passed, things fell back into the pattern, the attack becoming distant in memory. Indeed, only one thing had changed, six inches.
It had started out with simple curiosity. I had wondered if there was any way to change he fact that Naruto was always dreaming because he kept waking me up and it was annoying, not because I cared or anything. At first it had been a vague urge to just find out if him holding me at night would help, but the night when I acted on the urge and let him hold me close, no nightmares came. The same things happened the next night, and the night after and pretty soon, I got used to the feeling of his body against mine, the sound of his heart… but that's besides the point, what was most important was that I was no longer losing sleep because of the idiot.
And overtime, I began to notice that Naruto seemed happier as well, better rested as it were. I wondered if maybe this was a good thing for both of us. In retrospect, it probably was.
However, the peaceful regiment would be shattered again, and this time, more than just blood from a little cut would be spilt. Indeed, much more, for betrayal hurts even more than death, and the combination is devastating.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ah, foreshadowing, isn't it a wonderful literary device?
The last part of this chapter was pretty much inspired by a fic called Losing Sleep, so I will not take credit for it.
Sorry, it's a few days later than I planned, but at least it's not a month like last time.
