Summary: Naruto starts to have nightmares. It's only when he lets his barriers fall that he finds solace in an unlikely place. Set during an alternative storyline where Sasuke doesn't leave. Non-explicit SasuNaru in later chapters. Slash.
Warnings: Un-beta-ed and this story will contain and lead up to the romantic pairing of Naruto and Sasuke. So it will contain slash at some point- so don't continue reading it if you don't like.

Chapter 3

"Why are you wearing a scarf?" Sakura asked, "It isn't even cold, Naruto!"

"I'm cold." He muttered, stubbornly avoiding her gaze and rubbing his eyes. He could physically feel the bags that were forming under them. Gravity itself seemed determined to drag his eyelids closed- nature needed him to sleep.

"You are okay, though?" the sudden compassion in Sakura's voice startled him and he guiltily returned her stare and nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about me!" he exclaimed, forcing a smile onto his face. From Sakura's sceptical expression and the reluctant squeeze of his shoulders, he knew he hadn't convinced her.

Naruto's neck ached- it was a phantom ache that kept forcing his mind to relive the dream of a few nights ago. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and fixated his gaze on the town below him. His favourite spot was tarnished now with the horrors that were constantly replaying in his mind. He felt as though he was in the back row of a cinema, being forced to watch a film he hated. At least he could distance himself from it to some extent. Going without sleep invigorated him- he had achieved a wonderful, albeit momentary victory, over the monster that lurked in his body and he relished it.

But his awareness had suffered, and he didn't immediately notice Sasuke's presence, the offering he'd brought. He only registered a vague warmth due to his sudden closeness.

Naruto didn't understand warmth, how the mere presence of another human being can transfer body heat across even a substantial physical gap. Young, alone, he had thought a person's attitude, how they-acted- was a representation of how warm they were and to him the rest of the population had been cold- their frozen faces would loom, leering, into his consciousness at night; their laughter, the malicious muttering would shoot through his veins, icy and painful. Only the smallest of children, innocent, unprejudiced, still undecided about the world and its inhabitants appeared to emanate a simplistic, fascinated warmth. As a child himself, however, he had not experienced it- no parent allowed their child near enough and this is why he had learned to read warmth (or the lack of) in their faces. The hardening of the eyes, clenching of the jaw, the protective arm around a bewildered toddler were fragments that made up his earliest memories. And as he'd grown up, children naturally began to jeer, to push and to compete and warmth was replaced with steely defiance, rivalry. Only the girls maintained a superficial warmth with one another- the face-to-face civility was practiced, perfected only when they weren't interacting with him.

This closeness with Sasuke, when competition wasn't dominating his mind, dulling his more sociable senses, confused him. Sasuke had the coldest exterior, the most distant expressions- he was the most untouchable and guarded of all- yet the warmth that Naruto could feel merely sitting by his side overwhelmed him. Which one of them was letting their guard down? Naruto had the sneaking suspicion it was him and it angered him slightly- he was in no fit state to be vulnerable. The increasing concern in the gazes Sakura fixed him with were indications that his forced insomnia was not going unnoticed, nor were the mood swings, which were, he was sure, the only reason for Sakura's hesitance in asking what was wrong. Sasuke's concern was even worse to bear. Sasuke had stopped antagonising him because the responses he gave were lacklustre, exhausted. Naruto forced himself to contain his outbursts by no longer speaking. Now Sasuke was the one initiating the conversations.

Sasuke was uninvited. Naruto's perch on the Hokage's head had been violated by Sasuke's presence. He had arrived only moments ago and his warmth had seeped past Naruto's guard so quickly it unsettled him.

"I bought soup." Sasuke murmured. Naruto was glad he wasn't looking at him; his vision was suddenly clouded with tears. So badly he wanted to push him, scream at him but he ached from suppressing his anger. He wanted so badly to say "thank you".

A long silence passed while Naruto stubbornly avoided his gaze. Sasuke shoved the flask into his hand, squeezed his wrist to urge him to drink.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

No response. His voice was literally stuck in his throat- he couldn't release words without the tears spilling forth.

"You didn't turn up to the ramen bar."

And Naruto was suddenly drinking, burying his tears and pushing his emotions back down.

"I- uh-" Naruto stopped, cleared his throat, "decided to stay here and look at the stars."

Sasuke didn't buy this story- Naruto hadn't once met his gaze since he'd arrived.

"Which is your favourite?"

"My what?" Naruto sounded bewildered.

"Your favourite constellation." Sasuke replied, arching his eyebrow.

Naruto squinted at the night sky, pointing vaguely towards a line of three stars, "Oh. That one- I think it's the belt thingy."

Sasuke returned Naruto's suddenly indignant glare with an amused one- at least he was finally looking at him.

"Orion's belt, you mean." Sasuke corrected. Naruto nodded, smiling slightly upon remembering.

"I can't really see the other ones, you know." He confessed, leaning back until he was flat on his back, "Iruka-sensei said that the one over there is the Dragon but there are too many stars clustered together for me to make it out."

Laying down was a mistake, Naruto thought: he hadn't let himself lay down for three days. Even though the rock beneath was hardly as comforting as his bed, the exhaustion and tension was already seeping from his shoulders. The warmth of the soup still lingered in his stomach and he felt sleepy. He was sure he was hallucinating when Sasuke lay down next to him and took the hand he was pointing with to help him trace the general shape. The warmth from Sasuke's grip spread rapidly down his arm and he relaxed. Sasuke murmured about starting from the dragon's head; he guided Naruto's arm down the swish of the dragon's tail.

There were other constellations too. But Naruto had melted; he no longer had the energy to keep his eyes open or keep his shoulders tense. He relinquished all control to the comfort that was Sasuke's presence. Naruto's eyes were no longer open. Sasuke had ceased guiding his hand and had laid it to rest on his chest.

"Naruto?"

"Just…" He muttered, sleep beckoning with a silent siren song, "… give me five…"

Gasping, he awakened in a foreign bed, heart thundering in his ears as the screams lingered in his mind. He wasn't shown the horrors this time, luckily. He could only hear them, crystal clear in the darkness; he had felt he was crouching, cowering, trying to hide from the noise. He gradually came to the realisation that he must be in one of Sasuke's guest rooms- the Uchiha symbol blazoned on the bedspread seemed the biggest clue. No sunlight blinded him.

He exited the bedroom in search of the kitchen, wary of creaking floorboards that he would be unaccustomed too. What had even happened? He remembered dreaming of soup and stars before the nightmare began. Perhaps that hadn't been dream. He blanched at the possibility he had a fallen asleep next to Sasuke. He must've done to have ended up here.

Relief flooded his senses upon finding the kitchen- no judgemental glares seemed to await him here. He wandered over to the fridge to pour himself a glass of milk.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke's voice came like the crack of a whip from the dark doorway; Naruto dropped the milk in shock and cursed.

"Don't do that!" he hissed, relieved to see that the carton hadn't burst open.

"How are you awake?" Sasuke asked, distrust lacing his expression. Naruto felt this was slightly misplaced- he wasn't the one who'd been carried through town and placed in a stranger's bed. And how?

"Well, I don't know, maybe because my body realised it wasn't where it was supposed to be!" he forced as much venom as possible into his words, although it sounded more like bitterness to his ears."

"You should be thanking me- you would've frozen if I'd just left…"

"I didn't ask for your help, did I?" he yelled, slamming the milk back into the fridge with vigour. He realised that his hands were shaking and he gripped onto the handle of the fridge door for support. Stupid tears were flooding his vision again and this time control was eluding him- it was all he could do to remain silent as they fell.

"What is wrong with you, idiot? Is this stupid insomnia some sort of protest against Tsunade?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto murmured through his tears, inexplicably angry that his weakness was suddenly up for discussion.

"I'm not stupid, Naruto." Sasuke spat, "You're not leaving this kitchen until I get an explanation."

Naruto glared at him then, finally turning despite the tears. He was indignant- Look at my weakness then. Have your fun. The expression of pity that flew across Sasuke's face was the final stroke.

He was suddenly laughing, the tears still streaming. He hadn't been as effective at concealing this issue as he'd thought. He laughed until he felt he could no longer stand and Sasuke was suddenly guiding him to a stool at the breakfast bar. The misplaced euphoria was fading quickly. The odd warmth Sasuke kept providing was trying to lull him back to sleep. He buried his face in his hands.

"I've been having nightmares." He muttered, the pressure of his dreams suddenly settled onto his shoulders as soon as his world was pitch black again.

Naruto in his refusal to meet Sasuke's glare imagined the look of triumph that would surely cross his face- the superiority in his gaze would be too much for him to face. Instead, realisation flitted across Sasuke's features; he found himself placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto raised his head to meet Sasuke's gaze, smiled without happiness at the gesture. He couldn't see Sasuke's expression in the darkness.

"I put sleeping pills in the soup I gave you." Sasuke confessed guiltily. Naruto hadn't finished the soup, only taken a few gulps of it.

Naruto recoiled, shrugging the comforting hand off of his shoulder, mourning the loss of a chance to relieve himself of his burden.

"Is it the fox? Is that what you're dreaming about?" Sasuke's concern was deafening. Naruto shook his head and groaned, "I'm sorr—"

"Goodnight, Sasuke." Naruto muttered, closing himself off through his guarded gaze.

Naruto stayed awake until breakfast and his aversion to the garish sunlight was glaringly obvious. Sasuke watched from as Naruto squinted groggily at his bowl- half expecting it to do something and trying to work out what he was supposed to be doing. It was definitely lacking something. Dulling blue flickered up to meet his seemingly blank gaze.

"Could you pass me the milk?" came the sleep-deprived murmur slowly lacing its way across the space between them.

Sasuke then focused his gaze on the rapidly forming bags under Naruto's eyes as their fingers brushed against each other during the exchange of the milk. He didn't see Naruto fail to grip the carton; he didn't watch it slip and crash onto the tabletop. He only regarded silently the shock that wavered swiftly through Naruto's eyes. Naruto, despite how quick he was to curse, despite how rapidly he jumped from his seat to find something to stem the spillage, failed to stop to flow of milk and it ran onto the floor. Sasuke could only watch- his spoon halfway to his mouth, steadily dripping milk back into his bowl- as Naruto fervently busied himself with cleaning up. He wondered briefly when exactly Naruto had lost control.

The ordeal seemed to have woken him up- the ceiling was suddenly extremely interesting.

"Thank you for what you tried to do for me last night." He murmured rapidly, absently stirring the cereal in his bowl.

"It was Sakura's idea," Sasuke interjected; Naruto smiled affectionately at the thought, "she said you should go see her about it; she has some…"

"I'm fine." Naruto lied, gaze suddenly hardened, "I can deal with it myself."

And Sasuke gave up. Naruto was disappointed but suppressed the urge to pour his heart out and continued to eat his cereal.

A/N: This whole story is planned- I actually wrote the ending first. Which in hindsight was a bad idea- I'm struggling to actually get there with this. Still, any feedback is appreciated (especially concerning the dialogue- I find it very hard) The chapter title was taken from Danger Zone by Gwen Stefani. Thank you!