Sasuke wants to go to bed immediately.

He turns down Naruto's offer of food or a shower or anything like that and instead heads to the spare room and helps the blonde make the bed and dust shit off - it's been a while since Naruto used this room for anything, obviously - and they're done in twenty minutes. Sasuke has always been a bit of a neat freak, but just the basics will do for now.

He's exhausted.

"Shut off the lights, please." Sasuke requests, his cue for Naruto to leave. He's anxious to get in bed and get some real sleep and the tiniest inkling of real peace.

Naruto, however, is worried and he lets it be known, "Sasuke, if you need anything I'm right next door. You can come to me."

"Okay."

There are things to be said, he knows. Since Naruto brought him back to the village and their massive argument, his stupid decision to cave in, and all the conflict that followed. He is almost disgusted; what kind of desperate must he have been at that specific moment to admit the things he admitted? To let Naruto say all those things to him and convince him, just so randomly, to come back to this place?

He thanks his lucky stars he didn't tell Naruto he loved him back. He reminds himself he doesn't and they are not having that conversation. Not now. Maybe not ever.

For the first time in a long while he just wants to hide. Shut everything out.

"I'm worried that you're angry with me." Naruto continues, "You know, because of the thing you said at the tower..."

Sasuke can't even look at him. He averts his gaze and crosses his arms over his chest, uncomfortable. Here's Naruto, so healthy, wanting this healthy relationship and to 'talk'. Sasuke never was and never will be that person. He doesn't want to talk about it. He wants to go to bed.

But Naruto goes on, "I mean, I know it's easy to blame me. You came back with me. I could do nothing to get you out of that place for three whole days and I let you believe that everything would be totally normal if you came back with me- "

"You didn't let me believe anything." The Uchiha interjected, "It was my stupid choice."

"Who could blame you? It's like you have no safe place to turn! I don't like those things you said to me when we last spoke outside the village. I'm worried about you. I missed you so much when you were gone, Sasuke; you know that, don't you?"

Sasuke turns his back, brushing it off with a wave of one pale hand, "I just want to go to sleep. I'm tired."

Naruto sighs and Sasuke hears the rustle of his clothes against the doorframe as he straightens himself up, "We should talk eventually, though. I know it's not your thing, but you... Look, I meant every single thing I said to get you to come back to Konoha with me. I love you. And I want to be here for you. I spent years trying to have this."

Sasuke is irritated at the words. Angry or embarassed, he couldn't pick if he had to, but he knows his pride is kicking in. A part of him wants to push all Naruto's buttons and spark an argument - use that same statement, I came back for you and look at what you let happen to me. And he wants it to bother him.

"Sasuke, I'm really sorry about all the interrogating and-"

Sasuke turns back around. The conversation is still going and the lights are still on. "I don't want to talk about whatever happened in the tower, Naruto. I don't want to talk about my life after I left the village or while I was with Akatsuki. I don't want to talk about my brother. I don't want to talk about my clan. I don't want to talk about our confrontation or about whatever you feel guilty for; I am fine. Just tired."

Naruto bites his lip, perfectly straight, white teeth pressing down just the slightest bit. He's conflicted, too. "Well..." He says, "Just please come to me if you need me."

"I will." Sasuke says, although he knows he won't need to. It's been a while since Sasuke has relied on anybody and he can tough most things out just fine.

The light switches off and Naruto closes the door behind him as he leaves Sasuke to crawl in bed, underneath warm covers and close his eyes to fall into a blissful state of unawareness. Five minutes in bed and he is already asleep.

Naruto wakes up to footsteps in the hallway. He doesn't normally have people over, especially not overnight, as he'd rather go out himself. And Sasuke's footsteps, while recognizable, are a tad clumsy. They're not at all stealthy, not silent, not the way they used to be. His hallway is hardwood and it's not hard to detect a legitimate stumble. Sasuke might not be the same, but he shouldn't be stumbling.

Worried, Naruto steps out of bed and crosses the room to poke his head out of his cracked door, "Sasuke? Are you alright?"

"Fine."

The brunette waves him off.

His hands are trembling though, that much is blatant. He's got one of them partially covering his face and at the sound of Naruto's voice, he stops walking and leans against the wall. He doesn't look at him.

"Are you sure you're not sick?" Naruto asks, "Because you don't look okay."

Sasuke shakes his head no, bangs covering up everything his hand isn't. He leans forward, nearly doubled over, and now that Naruto is closer he can see the tremble through his entire body, "Go to bed."

His voice isn't even steady.

Naruto reaches out to try and get Sasuke up straight again but Sasuke shoves his hands back, shaking his head, "No. Go to bed."

"I'm not going to bed until I know you're okay. What are you even doing?"

"Nothing! Oh my God, just go back to bed!"

Sasuke is growing increasingly unstable, shaking harder. His breath comes in ragged and hitched and terrifying.

"Sasuke, let me take you to the hospital. You can't even breathe."

He reaches for the slightly shorter male and despite the steadily weaker attempts to push him back again, he forces his back against the wall and he takes his hand away from his face. Sasuke's eyes are shut tight and his mouth is parted, each breath so shallow.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Naruto asks, growing increasingly frantic himself, "Did you take something?!"

The thought of Sasuke getting into the medicine cabinet was a scary one and honestly one Naruto should have been prepared for, but with everything happening the way it was he hadn't had a chance to sit and think this whole thing through. He doesn't know how to Sasuke-proof a house and up until now he didn't think he had to.

Still, Sasuke shakes his head, struggling to get his hands back. He opens his eyes, says, "You're making it worse, idiot. Back. Off."

Naruto lets go of his hands and bends to scoop Sasuke into his arms so that he can carry him out - despite the fact that Sasuke doesn't want to walk, they're going to the emergency room. Sasuke struggles against it, "N-no! Naruto, don't! I-!"

The frustration in Sasuke's voice is almost tangible and Naruto stops moving for a second to look at him. Maybe if he explained, Sasuke would take it better. He wasn't letting him die here.

And he notices tears welling up in his eyes.

"I can't breathe." Sasuke says, through his uneven breathing.

"I know that, Sasuke, That's why we're going to the hospital."

"I'm having a panic attack. I... I'm not dying. Just stop."

"You're what?" Naruto asks.

"I can't breathe."

And Sasuke bends over again, reaching out with one trembling hand to grasp Naruto's forearm and the blonde helps him regain his balance, watching his back rise and fall and shake.

And Naruto knows what a panic attack is. This is not one of them. He has never seen a person panic so hard they couldn't even stand upright.

"I can't breathe." Sasuke repeats.

Naruto tries to sit him down and Sasuke goes with it. He lets him put his hands back over his face. He lets him bend his knees up to his chest.

"Sasuke, you're sick. I can't have you die here in my hallway. I'd never forgive myself." The blonde explains, grabbing Sasuke's free hand.

The Uchiha takes it, squeezing in return. He keeps shaking his head, "N-no. It's almost... I-It's almost over... Panic attack."

Naruto wonders how long he's been like this in the first place. And what could possibly trigger a panic attack of such extreme measure? And does he ever believe this is a panic attack in the first place? Naruto decides he's going to give Sasuke the few minutes he requested to ride it out. He feels the smaller hand within his own still trembling hard despite its weight being carried.

He looks at his face.

From underneath the hand over the top half of his face, Naruto can see stray tears traveling down his face as the Uchiha's breath hitches and hitches and hitches.

"Please... Please don't take me to the hospital."

Naruto squeezes his hand just a little bit harder in response, "It's okay, Sasuke. We won't go if you don't have to."

"I don't."

Sasuke draws in a long breath and holds it until it forces itself back out. Naruto's been out here with him for a good five minutes or so, he realizes. He can't let him keep going like this forever, despite the fact that he thinks it'll disspiate on its own.

"But you have to get better. This is not good for you."

Sasuke shakes his head some more, letting his hand drop from his face. Their eyes lock and his are wide and fearful and he explains through breaks, "It's not going to just... leave in five minutes, Naruto. I have back to back panic attacks sometimes, just p-please... Please don't. I'm fine. I need to go back to bed."

"Fine." Naruto says, and he helps Sasuke stand. Really, maybe he should ask Sakura about some of this stuff and he still hasn't eliminated the possibility that Sasuke took something off his mental checklist of things that could possibly be wrong with him.

He helps Sasuke walk to his room. He gets him in bed and he sits on the edge as he watches his best friend struggle, pulling covers up over him completely.

And it hurts watching him like this. The dissipation of the happily ever after image Naruto had built up over the years becomes more and more tangible. Each ragged breath, each barely audible sob, every minute that passes happily ever after is slowly being chipped apart, eaten away.

Ten minutes pass and Sasuke is still panicking, now turned on the side facing Naruto because he can't pick a side to be comfortable on.

Fifteen minutes pass and eventually he's sitting up, crying, helpless. Naruto is so tempted to take him to the ER kicking and screaming.

"Do you want to go, Sasuke?" He asks, "I'll stay with you the whole time. They can get you albuterol and even if this is just a panic attack that'll help."

Naruto can only ever remember having one panic attack, right before his jonin exam. Sakura gave him albuterol for it. He's seen her give it for asthma attacks, too. Anything and everything respiratory. And it really, really did help completely abate his five minutes of panic.

Sasuke shook his head no.

It was hard to imagine him wanting to go, he supposed. His face was blotchy and tear stained and he was seeming to get worse, not better.

Twenty minutes in and it seemed to be going away, slowly, slowly.

Sasuke managed a few words, "I-I'm so tired."

"Do you want to lay down?"

Another headshake, "It's so-so late."

"I know, Sasuke."

"Don't... leave."

"I won't, Sasuke. I'll stay up all night with you if I have to."

Thirty-five minutes in Sasuke was sleeping, completely crashed, gracelessly.

Naruto stayed with him until sunrise.