Sasuke sat alone on his couch, book in hand. But his mind was elsewhere, and the words on the page before him meant nothing. He had tried to concentrate on the story, but to no prevail. His head was full. What had he done? Running away from Naruto like that, how cowardly. But what else could he have done? What do you say in a situation like that? What could he have done?
He heard the old grandfather clock in the hall strike 2 and he sighed. 'I should probably be in bed. We have training tomorrow,' he told himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind wander. What if Naruto was here right now? What would he do? What if he knocked on the door right now?
Suddenly, Sasuke realized there was someone knocking! He tossed the unread book aside and hurried to the door. He was startled by the sudden burst of cold air to his face. Before him stood a very drunk, very confused Naruto.
"Naruto! What the hell! It's…" Sasuke's thoughts were cut off when the disoriented teen fell forward, practically into Sasuke's arms. Letting the door swing open, the dark-haired ninja pulled his comrade into the foyer. The blonde lay on the ground, half-naked and completely passed out, and breathing quite heavily for some reason. Sasuke sighed, then heaved the surprisingly light body over his shoulder.
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Naruto groaned and opened his eyes. The world around him was dark and hazy. He explored his vision and found a door leading into a lighted hallway, another closed door, a window, a desk, a bookshelf… He heard breathing to his right. He slowly turned to look and saw a sleeping Uchiha sitting in a chair by the wall. Beside him on a table was a glass of water and a damp towel. Naruto stared in perplexity at his company. Where am I? I'm not in my house. Is this Sasuke's house? How did I get in Sasuke's house? What did he do to me? Why does my head feel like a brick? Where the hell's my shirt! Naruto's mind felt like a wasps' nest, swarming with furious questions.
Sasuke seemed to sense that his guest had awakened, for he dazedly opened his eyes to look at the blonde boy. There was a worried look on his face as he stood and hovered next to the bed. He picked up the towel and dabbed Naruto's sweaty forehead with an expressionless face.
Naruto complied with his face being dabbed only because he couldn't find the strength to retaliate. Eventually, Sasuke removed the cloth and placed it again on the bedside table. He then turned to his teammate and asked, "Can you sit up?"
Naruto stared blankly as if he could not decipher the words spoken. He opened his mouth to utter one of his many unanswered questions, but then shut it again. He nodded.
Sasuke leaned over Naruto and gently pulled him up by his shoulders, then placed the pillows neatly behind him before placing the boy's shirtless back against them. Naruto looked at his hands quietly while Sasuke arranged the pillows and sheets around him.
"Why am I here?" Naruto finally managed to mutter. Sasuke turned and looked at Naruto, who avoided eye contact.
"I don't know. You showed up at my door at two in the morning and passed out drunk on my floor. You tell me."
Naruto still only stared at his hands, though his face became troubled and pale. For several moments, he stared silently, his brow knitted in concentration. After several moments, he finally spoke, almost inaudibly, "The party. We were at the party. Then you left. And I left. And you made me mad and went home. I got drunk. I was sad. I wanted to find you. But I don't remember anything after that."
Sasuke silently watched the small blonde boy, and his face also grew pale. He felt overwhelming guilt befall him as he realized that Naruto almost died from his mistake. Sasuke almost killed Naruto! The Uchiha felt like he wanted to cry, when he noticed a small drop trickle down the younger boy's face first. Sasuke then felt compelled to look away. What have I done! More importantly, what do I do now? He looked up to see Naruto wiping his face with the back of his hand. Sasuke grabbed the glass of water and handed it to his teammate, who accepted it willingly. Naruto, now realizing his thirst, downed the whole glass quickly. Finally, he turned to look at the dark-haired ninja. "I'm hungry," he stated, as if nothing had happened.
Sasuke smiled. He's okay, he thought, as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Let me guess, ramen?" Naruto smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
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Sorry it takes forever for me to update. And sorry this chapter is so short. I wrote half of this in study hall today. I thought it was a good stopping point, so hopefully this will suffice until I can finish.
Thanks everyone for reading! And thanks for the reviews. They make me ohsohappy!