So, I'd like for you guys to really enjoy this one. I thought it was really cute, myself. Also, thanks for your reviews!
Enjoy ma lahtest chaptah.
'Your Guardian Angel' by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Last time on Lost Kit:
"Don't worry, Tsunade already tol—"
"Naruto was crying."
Sasuke whipped around and whispered harshly, "What?"
Kakashi glanced at them through Tsunade's door window, cocking his head.
"I heard him sobbing behind your door when I went to give you the message."
Before he could say anymore, he was released and pushed away, as the raven turned on his heels and sprinted back towards the stairs.
Sasuke was flying down the hall, mind flashing images of Naruto through hs mind, and he heaved his chest, running faster.
Have to hurry...in time...in time for what?
Dread was boiling up like acid into his throat, as he sucked in more air.
What would he find when he got there?
His fist smacked against the door to the staircase, and he pushed past a book-carrying boy, careening dangerously before regaining balance and running up towards the third floor, taking two or three steps at a time.
Naruto.
He was nearing his exit, and he sped up, practically exploding from the staircase doors. A teen walking by jumped and squeaked, staring at the raven as he ran down the all, fumbling in his pocket for his room keys. Clenching them in his long pale fingers, Sasuke skidded to a halt, mask falling, as the world seemed to be ripping apart around him all over again.
Please be alright. Please...
He slid the keys in and unlocked the heavy wooden door, the frame splintering under his frantic shoving.
He ran in and stopped, tears coming to his eyes and a gasp coming out as a sob. He slid to the ground, looking at the fragile, bleeding body on his carpet. Dropping his keys, he put his face in his palms, door still wide open.
And you know what?
He began to cry again.
Tears ran, unempended, down his pale, angular cheeks, and he didn't give a flying fuck.
Oh Naruto...dobe...
He whimpered, and fire alighted once more in his eyes, pushing him up to standing, his chest heaving. He realized that he'd forotten to get the bandages he'd left for, and stepped quickly into the bathroom, digging around under the sink for the emergency stash kit he'd built on the first day back.
He pulled it out, slamming the lid open to reveal layers of gauze, pain meds, and antibacterial cream. Correct dosages and warning were glued to the lid. He checked them, dumping out four of the pain pills and snatching up a rag from beside the kit. He got it soaked, wrung it, then made his way back to the blonde.
Working through his worry and frenzied concern, the raven gently carried the blonde onto bathroom counter, putting a cloth under his shimmering gold head. The now bleeding cuts on his face were inflamed from the salty tears, and his eyes were still puffy.
This just happened. I was so close.
The teen stripped the blonde of his extra long shirt he wore, and blushed, fighting his new-found feelings as he looked at the blonde naked body.
The day before, Naruto had asked to only wear the shirt because the sweats and boxers stung and scraped at his bruises and bandaged cuts. Sasuke had admitted defeat in this and given him the longest, loosest shirt he owned. On him, it came a little below the top pockets of his jeans, but on the blonde, it nearly came down to his knees. Of course, the raven had stretched it quite a bit, just in case it was too short. It wasn't, and they'd gone the rest of the day comfortably like that.
Now, though, the arm holes were a nuisance, and he strugled to lift the other and take the shirt off at the same time while being gentle. When he finally did, however, he was too late to surpress the gasp and whimper. The thick white gauze that surrounded and cushioned Naruto's ribs and upper body were soaked through, the lower body bloody and smeared with sweat.
I can't believe he nearly made it to the door like this. It's almmost fifteen feet, for God-sakes!
Sasuke growled, and carefully unwrapped the white bandage, peeling off the last layer from his puffed up and shredded skin. With all the salty and metallic smells iminating from the other, the raven fought not to start crying again. He needed to be able to see to do this right, he convinced himself.
A flashback stole him away.
Flashback to three months ago:
The small blonde laughed and tugged at Sasuke's chicken butt hair, curling it around his fingers and giggling.
"Pfft. I can't believe you just giggled, baka," a deep, husky voice said.
A pout took over the other's face, and he scowled at his best friend, who sat beside the bed, reading a book, his glasses riding low on his nose, raven hair falling around his perfect alabaster face.
Naruto's bottom lips stuck out, and he pulled harder, his blue eyes crackling.
"Shut up, teme. I can giggle if I want to. It takes a real man to be comfortable giggling, you know."
"Mmm," the other didn't say anything, but smiled secretly, unbeknownt to the blonde teen on the bed above him. He turned the page and sighed, content.
It must have begun somewhere around then, Sasuke thought as he applied new ointment to the bleeding blonde's shoulders and arms, tears threatening once more.
"Sasuke?"
His big, sapphire blue eyes looked down onto the other's dark hair, and rubbed his fingers along Sasuke's scalp, knowing he'd get an answer eventually.
"Yes, dobe?" His response finally came, when he completed a sentence. He glanced up, in the direction he felt the blonde to be in.
"Why are you friends with me?" the whisper came softly, and seemed like a roar to the raven, who blinked, smiled, marked his page, and shut the book.
He set it down and turned, getting onto his knees to look the blonde directly in the face.
A question was in his own face, nest to the hesitation, and Naruto shook his head, sighing.
"Nevermind, sorry Sasuke I just-" Sasuke cut him off, answering swiftly, "Because you're good for me."
A blush blossomed across the other's face,and his eyes widened.
"Ehh? Good for you how?"
Sasuke shook his head and sighed, "Not what I meant, dobe. I just meant that you...are the only one who makes me smile. I don't get as irritable with you around as I used to. I couldn't quit smoking for two years, and then you come into my life, and it takes me less than a week. You're such a good person, it rubs off on me."
Naruto felt tears come to his eyes, and he grinned winningly, grabbing the other in a fierce hug.
"Aww! I'm good for you! How sweet!" Sasuke knew his ears were on fire as he gently pushed the blonde away, snorting.
"It's not that big a deal, baka."
"Careful, or your good influence will get angry," Naruto teased, poking the raven as Sasuke smiled secretly again, and turned back to is book, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose once again, and opened up his novel.
On the bed, though, the blonde was still watching him, smiling warmly.
It must've started then, Naruto thought in his dream.
That's when I began to fall in love with my best friend.
End Flashback.
Sasuke was rewrapping the hand bandaids and rubbing the cream in gently to his fingers when a knock came at the door. He cursed and brought the towel up over the rest of Naruto's body, to kee him from getting too cold. Then he heard creaking, and he remembered he'd left the door wide open. Cursing again, he opened the bathroom door after shutting the light off and stepped out, not shutting the door. Kiba was standing it the door, a pizza box in one had, a question on the other.
"Sasuke? Why's your door open?' The raven scowled and te Inuzuka boy backed off, smiling wanly and trying to remember his reason for venturing out here, one floor above his.
"Soo...hey," he began badly, and Sasuke raised a thin ebony brow, as if to say, 'You're-joking-right?' He gulped and blurted out, "Have you seen Naruto lately?"
Sasuke stiffened, and shook his head, face a mask of stone, "Why do you ask?"
The two of them weren't really close. They'd defintely spoken before, but they'd been in the same school since elementary grade. Who wouldn't? Plus, they always had at least two classes together. It was inevitable that they'd had a tiny bit of interaction.
But not enough for Kiba to know Sasuke's 'back off' signs.
He was glaring right back into the deep ebony eyes, but in confusion, not anger. He scratched the back of his head.
"Not you either, huh? Damn it. I thought you might have, being best friends?" he let that statment hang like a question, inviting suddenly remembered information. Sasuke shook his head very slightly, signaling that no, he hadn't.
"Well," he mumbled, looking away sadly, "That's everyone. Pizza's probably cold by now." He looked down at the box he held.
"Hn."
"You want it?" he asked suddenly, offering the box and it's contents to the raven, as he smiled haltingly.
Sasuke thought for a second, and then nodded, taking it gently away and asking if there was anything else he needed. No 'Gee, thank you for giving your pizza to me'. He really shouldn't have expected one.
"Okay. I guess tell him hi if you do, alright?" Kiba asked as he turned and waited for an answer.
"Hn," Sasuke nodded the tiniest bit, knowing the other could tell he did. The brunette walked off, pulling out his phone after a few steps. Presumably to call Naruto again.
Sasuke suddenly realized that he had no clue what had happened to Naruto's phone.
Not that it mattered in the slightest right now. He tossed the pizza onto his bed from three yards away and went back into the bathroom, flicking on the light once more.
He pulled the towel back off and set to work again, not able to tell if anything else had been wounded. But it was extremely unlikely. The blood spatter, as far as he could see, showed a direct trail from the bed to where he'd found the blonde, and just falling wouldn't do it.
He hoped. It was the middle of the day and he damn sure wasn't going to go get help and leave Naruto by himself again. Carrying him to the office was out of the question too. He knew Naruto would've chosen death, rather than letting so many people who hated him know he was so vulnerable.
He wrapped the other up as best he could, afterward brushing his sunshine bangs from his face and putting thick pads back onto his cheeks, atop fresh ointment.
Lastly, he opened the blonde's mouth and dropped one of the pain pills down it, stroking his adam's apple so he would swallow.
Soon, he'd gotten that done and was still looking intensly at Naruto's naked body, which made him blush, mummified or no. With the tips of his ears burning, the raven picked up the smaller nineteen year old, carrying him from the bright porcelain bathroom to the black interior from where he began his short, painful journey.
He put the blonde on his side and pulled the covers up, tucking him securely in, although Sasuke was very light sleeper.
Then, grabbing the pizza box, he put it on top of the fridge and returned to the bed, hunting down the remote control. He sighed, and looked at the television, which was bathing the room in a blue sea. He flicked the remote at it, and it switched to the live news. He stood up, and went over to his fridge, stiffening as Naruto shifted, waiting for the whimpers to start.
They never came.
Instead, he heard something that made his pulse race.
"Sasuke...Sasuke..."
A deep shudder rippled down his perfectly carved body and he adoted the all too familiar 'Deer-The-Headlights' look, staring over his shoulder at the slumbering blonde teen.
"Naruto?"
Then, the moment passed, he ripped his gaze away and instead stared at his hands, any elation over the blonde remaining quiet, over him saying his name as he sleep, was crushed by the overwheling guilt.
Again, it was his fault. He shouldn't have left him alone. He should have told Kakashi through a newly frightened delivery boy, or called Shikamaru, since it seemed he already knew most of it. He could've counted on the brunette, he knew.
But no, somewhere, deep inside, was a part of himself who'd wanted a break. He hated that part. He despised that he could've even thought of possibly thinking of feeling that way. He shook his head, vision blurred, and snatched up a can of grape soda, popping the cap and taking a long swallow. He then turned and went back to the bad, shutting the fridge door.
He settled down into the fluffy comforter, climbing in next to the blonde. But he couldn't bring himself to look at that tanned, angelic face, when he'd made it suffer so much.
He turned down the news so much it was a faint whisper. He thought about his past year, and how different it was compared to the rest of his life. It was...happy.
Another flashback sucked him in.
Flashback to five months ago:
"Hey Sasuke?" The blonde's hair was falling into his tanned face, and his blue eyes showed an unknown depth, that Sasuke hadn't seen before.
"Hn," he mumbled, signaling that he was listening.
"Why you suppose God lets people be lonely?" his normally vibrant voice was quiet, almost silent.
"Why do you ask?" The raven peeked at him through his lids.
They were sitting in a tree, Sasuke below the blonde on the nest limb. Naruto was looking out into the trees, and his eyes were misty now.
"Because I wonder why someone who is supposed to love us would inflict so much pain on a person." He glanced over at the raven, and his cerulean eyes crackling with questioning.
Sasuke shut his eyes again, thought for awhile, and sighed, "So we can meet the people we care about, and know what it's like to not be lonely anymore."
Silence.
Then, "Thanks for not letting me be lonely, Sasuke."
The raven opened his eyes and looked up at the blonde, but he'd looked away again.
End Flashback.
"I never did say thank you back," Sasuke murmured into his pillow as he drifted off.
Naruto woke up, covered tightly in blankets, and he blinked, pain vaguely coming back to him through the sleep fog.
Then, startled, he shifted. He felt new,crisp bandages on himself, and murmured, "Sasuke...Sasuke..." Then settled back down. He heard someone move behind him and nearly turned around he was so scared, but then a deep, husky voice, somewhat starined, said, "Naruto?"
He remained quiet, and listened, wondering what had happened. Then, remembering Shikamaru, he felt anxious, but surely he wouldn't be here if the raven was angry at him.
He heard a can open and the fridge door shut, quiet steps on the carpet.
The bed sunk in with the other's wieght, and he panicked for a split second, memories shooting through his mind, but disappearing just as quickly. When his mind had returned to from it's brief but intense fright, Naruto listened. He couldn't feel the pleasant wieght of the raven's gaze, and he heard the TV's silent static in the background, so he wondered just what the other was doing.
After a little while, he felt Sasuke shift and lay down. The buzz of electricity still went in the back, and the other's breathing lulled him into a light sleep, barely awake.
Then he heard, as he was slipping back into his slumber, "I never did say thank you back."
He let the question of what Sasuke meant slip from his head as he fell unconscious again.