A/N: Naruto always struck me as an expressive person (because, well, he is) and I figured it would carry over to his sleep, too. And, of course Sasuke doesn't miss anything (except that he's gay and so is Naruto and they should be together. sigh) and then I wrote this. If you followed all of that, you're amazing! BTW, I don't think "adorableness" is a word, but Word didn't object to it. So, who knows. We'll just pretend it is.


One-Shot #51
Dreamcatcher

Few things in the world could compare the adorableness of a sleeping Naruto. It was a view that Sasuke loved to witness, and he witnessed it a lot. He did wake up way before the blonde on normal occasions, a trait of his he loved all the more.

Not that Sasuke would admit any of this to anyone.

He would never admit his secret love for orange, or his secret love for blonde-haired blue-eyed shinobi. Especially when you combined both of them together.

Of all the things Sasuke loved about Naruto, watching the blonde sleep topped the list – and a very long list it was. He knew it was strange, watching another teenage boy sleeping, but he couldn't stop himself.

On the days Naruto's dreams were peaceful, his expression matched it. His features were relaxed and his arms were at various angles, lying calmly in their positions. When he had nightmares, the young teen would screw his face up, contorting his usually flawless features. His eyebrows would become knitted together, his mouth in a deep frown. His hands would be fisted and held close to his sides, as if protecting himself. He'd shake and shiver and growl. Those were the times when Sasuke would 'accidentally' wake the blonde up, muttering an apology as Naruto sat straight up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

This early morning ritual became second nature to Sasuke, who counted on it during missions as a way to calm himself down and collect his thoughts. He was amazed at how comfortable he felt watching Naruto dream.

They were sixteen now, an age when Sasuke felt he should have been able to stop his childish tendency of watching Naruto sleep. Two and a half years of not seeing it made the stoic teen miss it, crave it. Tsunade gave them a mission to do, just the two of them, which gave Sasuke ample opportunity to complete his favorite pastime.

Could he stop? Probably. Would he have stopped, even if he knew what was going to happen that day? Probably not.

Sasuke was absentmindedly stoking the fire, his eyes trained on Naruto's smooth features, as they suddenly screwed up into a deep frown and his eyebrows knitted together. Immediately, almost on instinct, Sasuke stood up and walked over to his sleeping friend, kicking him in the foot.

"Sorry, dobe." Sasuke muttered, taking his place by the fire again.

Just like every other time, Naruto sat straight up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes furiously. He eyed the Uchiha, who was stoking the fire again, and frowned. Something was off about this situation.

Granted, Naruto wasn't as quick as other people and it may have taken him a long time to figure this out, but he did think he figured something out. He watched Sasuke sitting on the log and felt it was the best time to ask the question. After all, they were on a mission and there was no way for the bastard to get out of this one.

"Sasuke," Naruto began, gaining the stoic teens attention. Sasuke eyebrow raised and he nodded to show he was listening. "Did you know that the only time I have nightmares is when you aren't around? When you are around, and I have one, I always wake up to you kicking me. Do you do it on purpose?"

Sasuke's head slowly turned to face the blonde, his face a plethora of expressions, and his eyes wide. "What?" He asked, nearly as slowly.

"You heard me, bastard. Do you do it on purpose?" Naruto asked, scratching his fingers through his hair. He may have been trying to calm it down, but he was making it stand on end even more. A sight Sasuke also loved.

The Uchiha didn't say anything, just stood up and stared at his feet. A slight blush was crawling over his cheeks, almost reaching his ears. He thought maybe Naruto couldn't see it; his hair did cover his face after all. He was wrong, Naruto saw it all.

"Aww, am I embarrassing you, 'suke?"

"Shut up." Sasuke growled.

"How can you tell I'm having a nightmare? Do I talk in my sleep?" The blonde stood up and walked toward Sasuke. "Come on, Sasuke. I already know you are the one waking me up. I can put two and two together, after all."

"Yeah, how many years after I started doing it?" Sasuke asked, smirking. If he was going to start this verbal battle, he was at least going to start with the upper-hand.

A frown appeared on Naruto's face, but quickly transformed into a smirk. "Wow, that many, huh? So, did you miss it when you were gone?"

At that, Sasuke's face dropped. "I…I, uh…" It wasn't often Sasuke stuttered or stammered. When he did, he was obviously distressed at the current situation. And this situation was extremely distressing.

"Oh, shit. Sasuke, I didn't mean it like that." He began rubbing the back of his head and kicking the ground. "I meant, um…I'm sorry…"

"Naruto, I missed you."

The admission shocked Sasuke as much as Naruto, who was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The shock slowly faded while Naruto took a couple steps in Sasuke's direction. When he reached the teen, he smiled.

"I missed you, too." Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against Sasuke's for a moment. When he pulled away, he said, "You can watch me any time. I really like not having nightmares. It's like you're my dreamcatcher."

A delicate eyebrow rose. "Dreamcatcher? So now I'm a talisman?" As soon as the word left his mouth, he smirked. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"Sasuke, what's a talisman?" Sasuke answered him with a kiss in hopes it made the blonde forget. He probably wouldn't get the answer anyway.


BTW, I didn't give up on Revenge and Afterward, I'm just semi-stuck. I...uh...forgot how I was going to end it. lol. I'm a spaz. So now I have to go find my notes, which I know I wrote...somewhere...um...yeah...