Disclaimers: Naruto is someone else's, this is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, angst, hopefully some decent jokes, and (of course) beautiful SasuNaru love.

Chapter 7: A Time and Place

"One day you will kiss a man you can't breathe without, and find that breath is of little consequence."

-Karen Marie Moning

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Sasuke dropped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Naruto..

.. About past mistakes and broken trust.

He thought about the day he fought Naruto and left him for dead, betraying the Leaf and his best friend on his quest for power and revenge. He thought about how he joined Orochimaru, and of the choices he made as he sought out his brother and evaded Naruto's efforts to bring him home. It was selfish. He had been blindsided by pain and his own feelings of betrayal. So much so that he had caused the same feelings in someone else- the only person he truly, deeply cared about.

He regretted it, and he had done all that he could since his return to fix his mistakes, but the scar of what he did was still there. He could feel it between them.

They were so much closer now- one of the few two person teams the Hokage allowed because of how close and in sync they were- but the feelings still sat between them, an unwelcome guest with nothing better to do. He wanted so badly to just erase that part of their past, to clear it from Naruto's mind- especially now that he was beginning to feel something more for him- but it didn't seem likely that Naruto would ever completely forgive him.

He felt a tear slip down his cheek, then another, and he threw his arm over his eyes to hide his shame. It hurt. All of it.

It just.. hurt.

A heart-wrenching scream tore through the night, jolting Sasuke awake. No- NO! Dammit!! I fell asleep! He flew out of bed and tore through the hallway, his chest tight with fear. He slammed open Naruto's door, shouting his name into the dark room.

Naruto was on the floor, gripping his hair in tight fists, curled on his side as he screamed in agony. His eyes were screwed up tight, but tears still managed to escape them, or what he thought were tears. When Sasuke dropped to his knees next to him he saw that it was blood.

"Fuck", he breathed. His hands shook as he struggled to close Naruto's mouth, afraid of hurting him more, horrified that this pain might last longer if he didn't.

A sob tore from those lips just before he managed to close them. Sasuke swallowed down his own as he leaned forward and roughly kissed the tormented blonde. He could feel the screams reverberating against his lips, and he pressed harder, desperate to make the pain stop.

It took longer this time, and for a moment he was terrified that he was too late. All he could do was hold onto Naruto's thrashing body, keep his lips pressed firmly against his, and wait for the hourglass to reset.

After an eternity, the screams faded, his body relaxed, and his hands loosened from his hair. Sasuke pulled back to look down into haunted blue eyes lined with thick crimson tears. Sasuke's jaw clenched. He reached out and smoothed back blonde hair, his fingers still trembling.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

"I-" Naruto started to say, but then his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp. Sasuke let his own sob finally slip free as he cradled his unconscious friend, quietly promising he'd never be late again.

He spent some time just holding him, pushing through the frustration he felt with himself for not being there on time, the anger at the psycho who did this to him in the first place, the ache he felt for Naruto- his screams still echoing in Sasuke's head. "Why.." he whispered. "Why did it have to be you? Why is it always you?"

Hasn't Naruto suffered through enough?

He scooped up the blonde and held him close as he carried him down the hall and into his bedroom. He didn't want to leave him alone. Not tonight. Not after this.

Sasuke gently placed him down on his bed, and smoothed back his hair to look at his face. Blood was smeared across his whiskered cheeks, a stark contrast against his abnormally pale skin. Sasuke pulled off his shirt to wipe the blood from Naruto's face, gently running the fabric beneath his eyes to catch the last remnants of crimson tears. Then he threw the shirt to the side and tossed the covers over Naruto before lying down on his side next to him. He lifted himself on an elbow and watched the gentle rise and fall of Naruto's chest.

He was wearing one of Sasuke's shirts, and it made him smile to see it. He could be reading into it, in fact it was highly likely, but it made him feel like Naruto had intentionally tried to feel close to him.

Like he might not be the only one feeling more than friendship towards his most important person.

Naruto felt something heavy weighing down on his chest and right arm, and it was slowly waking him up. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but the more he became aware of it the more he wondered what it was, and that was what woke him up.

He blinked open his eyes, trying to adjust to the obnoxiously bright light streaming in through the window, when he noticed a few things:

1. This was not his room.

2. This was not his bed.

3. Someone was lying on top of him.

His eyes shot open and he looked down at the mop of jet black hair spread across his chest and shoulder, and the muscular pale arm wrapped around his waist. He felt a rush of panic at first, but as he tried to scoot away the head on his chest shifted, revealing a very familiar face.

Sasuke..? He froze, eyes skimming over a smooth porcelain face, gossamer ebony hair, and when he looked down.. even more pale skin. Is he freaking naked?!!

"Ummm.. Sasuke?"

The Uchiha made some unintelligible noise and snuggled into him, pulling Naruto even closer to his bare chest. Which was probably the most un-Uchiha thing Naruto had ever seen him do.

"Sasuke."

Another indecipherable sound. Another attempted escape on Naruto's part. Another reinforced grip that kept him from leaving. Then the hand around his waist snaked under his shirt, shifting across his hip and stomach.

"Woah!" Naruto grabbed the wrist of the intrusive hand, halting its path. "Sasuke!!!"

"Christ- what!!?"

"Stop molesting me!!"

Sasuke shot up and looked back down at Naruto with huge obsidian eyes. And when he did, he noticed a few things:

1. He had definitely been laying on Naruto.

2. He did not have a shirt on.

3. His hand was up Naruto's shirt.

Sasuke looked down at the hand holding onto his wrist and arched a brow. "Are you trying to get me to feel you up?"

"What?! You- you're the one who- you were all over me!" Naruto sputtered.

"That was unbelievably convincing" Sasuke replied, with the utmost sarcasm. "Can I have my hand back now?"

Naruto released his grip and glared at him. "Don't twist this around, Teme! You can't just molest people in their sleep- you need consent!"

Sasuke gave a half-hearted chuckle as he sat up. "Naruto- I haven't bothered to get your consent for a lot of things lately."

Naruto blushed. "Well.. that's-"

"Which reminds me."

Sasuke turned back towards him, leaned down, and before Naruto could process what he was doing, he kissed him. He tucked his hand into unruly blonde locks and pulled his face close to deepen the kiss for good measure, I mean.. it did take longer to reset the hourglass last night, and then just as abruptly as it started, it stopped. Sasuke let him go and turned back around to move out of bed.

"Wha-? What the hell was that?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Didn't know where my watch was."

He stepped away from a flustered Naruto to walk out of the room. Just before he left, though, he heard Naruto yell-

"Dammit, Teme. You're wearing your watch!"