Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto universe.

Characters: Sasuke, Naruto
Relationships: Naruto x Sasuke
Rating: T
Summary: It's hard for Sasuke to breathe.
Word Count: 750

January 2

It was eerily silent. There was nothing. No trees, no birds, no people, none of the background noise that Sasuke was used to waking to. Only the sound of ragged breathing rattled through the air. A moment, maybe an eternity, passed before Sasuke realized it was him. His lungs burned as they struggled to suck enough oxygen.

Itachi pressed an insistent finger against his lips in a shushing motion. Sasuke was giving their position; his breathing too shallow and too noisy under the strain of keeping up with the older boys.

Then Shisui was there. He was tensed, ready to run, as he handed their captured prize to Itachi. "Too late, they already heard us," Shisui said with a hint of laughter. And then he was swinging Sasuke up into his strong arms, on the move. Silent like a proper ninja.

Sasuke flushed pink and clapped too small, too chubby fingers over his nose and mouth, willing himself to be quieter.

Pain bloomed in his shoulder. It raced down his fingers and across his back, clenched around his lungs and heart like a vice. Sasuke tried again to lift himself up only to find he couldn't move his left arm at all. He could barely feel his arm through the hot rush of pain. Panic started to rise to his throat and he choked, unable to fight.

"Shh." Naruto was there quite suddenly. He looked worried. Fear glittered in his too large, blue eyes and his hair had flopped over, damp from a shower. A large hand rubbed soothing circles on Sasuke's chest as a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him up.

Fresh waves of pain shuddered through Sasuke as he flinched away. Even so he fell against the too warm and too bright wall of Naruto's chest. He breathed slowly through his nose.

Nausea rolled through his stomach. The thick, wet ink of seals crawled heavily against his skin. Electric chakra cut through his veins. It left a painful prickling sensation like a thousand senbon on every inch of his body.

Shinobi didn't show vulnerabilities. It made them weak. But Kakashi said nothing, only held Sasuke's hair back as mostly liquid vomit and bile slopped against the concrete floor.

The smell of freshly cleaned laundry filled Sasuke's senses. It was cozy and almost enough to set him off again. He kept a sharp eye out and fought the urge to cough. Naruto either didn't care or didn't notice, tucking the too big shirt and too crisp sheets around Sasuke.

"I'll get you some water." Naruto nervously twitched the sheets again. He didn't move. Not until Sasuke nodded just a little, his throat burned as he gasped for air. "Right," Naruto said.

Naruto was wasting his chakra flitting around the apartment like that, weakening himself. He didn't see Sasuke as an enemy. Not that it mattered; Naruto kept blurring out of Sasuke's sight and making him dizzy. Then he was there, pressing a cool glass to Sasuke's lips.

Blood filled his mouth. Karin shuddered and made an undignified whimpering noise. Sympathy tugged at some part of Sasuke. It was nothing compared to the scrapes and burns and shattered bones that had started twisting against the healing chakra. Sasuke pressed her arm closer to his mouth, drinking greedily. Her hand was in his hair as the world started to lose shape.

Everything tilted to the side ominously. His vision had started to fade and blacken around the edges. Sasuke could barely make out Naruto's orange jacket anymore. It had faded into the shadows. He fought to stay awake. Naruto was still the enemy and it wasn't safe for Sasuke to be here unprotected.

"You need to rest." Finally, finally, Naruto stood and moved away from the bed. He stretched to his full height, pulling arms over his head and locking the fingers together. Distantly Sasuke could hear Naruto's vertebrae popping. There was an off casualness and familiarity to the action and Sasuke found he couldn't look away. Sasuke kept staring long after Naruto had disappeared into the kitchen, sliding the door shut behind him.

When he felt safely alone, Sasuke moved slowly and cautiously. He couldn't get up; the pain and stiff muscles through his back and shoulder made sure of that. And he couldn't breathe enough to mount any sort of attack. But he could move his right arm enough to search the drawer of the bedside table blindly. Sasuke slept better with a kunai in hand.