Chapter 15

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

The flame wasn't very big. Naruto sighed as he leaned back in his seat, frustration making him uneasy and on edge. The candle was lit but he wasn't satisfied. Oh, he had lit it using fire magic, which he was pretty sure most people would find impressive. But every time he managed to do so he felt like something was off. He was tired and he shouldn't be. Somehow he knew he shouldn't be so drained. He grabbed his coffee mug—that was perhaps his sixth coffee today—and took a few sips of the beverage. It was cold now but he barely even noticed.

A sweet hazelnut scent spread in the room. Not the coffee, he hadn't put anything in it. The smell came from the candle, and it was comforting. That had been one of his mother's favorite scented candles. He sighed again, and blew to kill the flame. Closing his eyes for a moment as the room was shrouded in darkness once more, he wondered if this was his limit. He had a pretty bad headache, and he couldn't think clearly.

He had done this about twenty times now. Lighting the candle with magic. His mother had written that the second step was to do it faster, in less than a second, without even having to think about it too much. Well, Naruto hadn't quite reached that second step just yet. It took him a good five minutes of intense concentration every time. He had to feel that warmth, that tingle. That sort of glow that seemed to envelope him and protect him. He couldn't really understand it. And unfortunately he couldn't say he was getting any closer to controlling it.

Naruto pressed his hand to his temple, then raked shaky fingers through tangled blonde hair. Every time he lit that candle, it felt good for a brief moment, even though he was exhausted. But it felt odd. Like an athlete that got tired way too fast all of a sudden. As though he went to the sports center to swim laps and got tired after only fifteen of them, or something ridiculous like that.

His eyes snapped open when the door creaked and the lights were flicked on. Itachi poked his head in. He looked tired, too. But a normal person kind of tired, like he'd been in front of his computer too much.

"Everything okay in here?" He made a face at the mess; the piles of clothes on the bed and chair, the tissues and other trash that hadn't quite made it to the paper basket, the food leftovers on the desk.

"Everything's fine, Itachi."

"Is that tomato sauce?" He pointed at the bowl. "You should really put that in water, at least, if you're not going to wash it…"

"Itachi you're not supposed to come in here," Naruto reminded him.

"Right, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I keep hearing you… sighing really loudly."

Naruto hated lying to him. "It's nothing. Just homework."

"You were doing homework in the dark?"

"It's for English class. I was just trying to get inspired."

"Right…"

He had no choice but to lie.

"Good night, Itachi."

"Night."

He couldn't exactly tell Itachi that the next night he would go to another dimension—which happened to be Hell—with Sasuke to help him in some crazy Reaper territory fight. Sasuke didn't want him to come at first. But Naruto had said that if he didn't let him come, he would hate him forever. And forever, they now knew, could be a very long time. Still, Sasuke hesitated. So Naruto used a different argument: if the situation was reversed, what would Sasuke do? Would he let Naruto go alone to fight Sasori and Temari? They both knew he wouldn't. So that shut him up.

The next night. A Tuesday. Could be just any normal April night. Naruto glanced out his window. Couldn't see much from here except buildings. He wasn't sure what he expected to see, anyway. Everything just looked completely normal. The sky was actually really clear and nice. He could see the quarter of the moon. No sign that this could be his last night on Earth. Except the fear in his heart, making him cold.

Well, if it was his last night, then he didn't want to spend it alone. His phone was in his hand before he even realized it. He balanced his chair on its back legs, texting. Yeah he could do that without holding the desk; he had a lot of practice at school.

'Can I come over?'

Send. There.

There.

He felt so nervous all of a sudden that the chair fell backwards and he hurt his head.

"Fuck," he hissed, massaging the back of his head. Somehow he was still holding the phone. He staggered to his feet and leaned against the bed, trying to locate his jacket in the mess. Sasuke wouldn't say no. Come on. He wouldn't.

Unless that text sounded too desperate? Naruto plucked at his bottom lip nervously. Then stopped. Sasuke had told him to stop doing that.

No, the text was fine. He had kept it short and sweet. He hadn't told him all the things he was thinking.

I want to be with you all the time. I miss you. I want us to be together in every possible way. I don't want to be scared anymore. I trust you. I want to spend the night with you. And I'm not just saying that because we might die tomorrow. Well, maybe there's some of that, but—

Sasuke replied to the text.

'I'm waiting.'

All right, fuck the jacket. Couldn't find it anyway. His gaze lingered on his stack of converse shoes, then he instead grabbed the boots Deidara had given him that time. And he was off.

He was lucky enough to catch the bus right on time but it still took him a good thirty minutes to get to Sasuke's apartment, including quite a bit of walking on 9th Avenue. He wished he could teleport. Hands in his jeans pockets, he walked with his music bursting in his ears. Poison, Alice Cooper was on. I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison. He liked his classics.

Naruto looked up as he passed that bar. Laid-Back. With the red door. People hanging out outside. Bass thumping. The smell of cheap perfume and artificial fog reaching his sensitive nose even across the street.

Walking past the establishment quickly, he couldn't stop the memories from rushing to his head.

Sasuke dancing with him. The glint in his eyes. That smirk on his lips. The way his hips moved. The touch of his skin. Softness of his hair. Curve of his spine. The taste of his lips.

Naruto breathed in the night air and walked faster, wind blowing in his hair. He needed to get to Sasuke's place, now.

48th, 49th Street… Nice how the streets were numbered in this city. Smart. The apartment buildings all looked alike but Naruto seemed to magically remember which one it was.

A few minutes later he was on the third floor in the bland, bad-smelling hallway—why did old building hallways always smell bad?—knocking on Sasuke's door. Sasuke opened before the third knock.

"Hi," said Sasuke in that low voice of his. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Which was perfectly normal, Naruto supposed. Sasuke was in his own home and he had every right to walk around shirtless.

Besides no one was complaining.

"Hi."

Sasuke looked so confident and hot, it wasn't fair. It made Naruto feel intimidated. As though sensing this, Sasuke grabbed his arm, pulled him in, and shut the door.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Are your roommates home?"

Sasuke shook his head. "They're training with my partner on the other side. Well," he snorted, "for Suigetsu that mostly implies trying to stop being scared of some chainsaw murderer…"

"Your partner?" Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Deidara. Business partner only, of course. Don't worry, I'm not cheating on you."

Naruto ignored that, but he hardly repressed an amused smile. "The other side?"

"I got bored of saying Hell."

He looked past Sasuke at the living room. The couch was littered with clothes Naruto didn't recognize. Kiba's stuff, he assumed.

"Come on," Sasuke said and Naruto followed him to his bedroom, the floor creaking with every step.

They closed the door even though they were alone here. The thought made Naruto feel very… hot. All of a sudden he felt like he could light up a thousand candles at once if he wanted to. He caught his reflection in the mirror behind the door. His face looked normal so that was good. Not too red or anything. Whatever. He turned around and saw that Sasuke was pouring some white wine in two glasses. The bottle was half-empty already.

"You've been drinking," Naruto said. It wasn't really a question. "I thought your breath smelled like alcohol."

Sasuke crossed his arms, holding his glass but not drinking it. Only his desk lamp was on, and the room was dim. His laptop was open, too, with a word document. But it was blank. Lack of inspiration, perhaps.

"Yeah well your breath smells like coffee."

"Really?" Crap. He should've brushed his teeth.

Sasuke smiled. "I don't know. Lucky guess. Well, not really. Itachi texted me the other day. Said he was all worried because you're addicted to caffeine and we should do an intervention soon."

"Itachi worries too much."

Sasuke took a sip of wine. Then offered the other glass to Naruto.

"Want some?"

He stepped closer. He couldn't help but lower his gaze for a moment. The way Sasuke's hips stuck out. His flat abs, pale skin. Little to no body hair—his Asian genes, perhaps.

"Sure."

Naruto took the offered glass and started drinking. Wasn't too bad. Kinda fruity but not too sweet. Maybe it was an expensive one. Not that he was a wine expert or anything.

"They didn't card you?"

Sasuke looked thoughtful. Like he was thinking about something else. But he said, "I never get carded."

"Because you're tall."

"So are you."

Naruto drank some wine. "And confident," he added.

"I'm not always confident."

Naruto's eyes caught that fox tribal tattoo again, the one taped to the wall just over the laptop. He wanted to ask about it but didn't.

"You always look confident," Naruto replied instead.

They drank their wine rather quickly, as if it was a competition or something. And Sasuke filled up their glasses before they were empty.

Sasuke lowered his voice. "I just have a really good poker face."

"Yeah, you do."

For a moment Sasuke seemed a bit shy. He just drank his wine, his dark brown eyes looking down as he randomly rearranged some papers on his desk. Naruto drank his wine, too. He sat on the bed and Sasuke sat in the computer chair, rolling it a bit closer so he could fill up their glasses again. Naruto realized the bottle was empty.

Their eyes met, but Naruto said nothing. Sasuke put the bottle away.

"So how's it going at school?"

"You're really asking me about school?" Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, never mind. How's it going with your band? Back together with them?"

"Kinda," Naruto said quietly. "How's it going with your screenplay?" He glanced at the blank document on Sasuke's laptop.

"It's not really happening right now."

"Must be hard. I've never tried writing a screenplay. Or a story. I just write songs sometimes. And they suck."

"Don't say that."

Naruto just shrugged. Drank the rest of his wine.

"I have more," Sasuke said. And he went to get it before Naruto could say anything.

He came back, filled up their glasses, sat in the computer chair again. Floor creaking under the wheels. Naruto made a nervous laugh.

"Why are we so shy?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied, the hint of a smile crossing his face.

"Last time it was—"

"Amazing," Sasuke said. "Perfect."

Naruto tilted his head. "It sort of just happened."

"Yeah."

Sasuke put on some music on his laptop. Melodic dubstep. It wasn't what he was used to, but Naruto liked it anyway.

"So you quit the coffee shop?" Sasuke asked. He crossed his long legs, then uncrossed them.

"Yeah. I think that place is gonna close anyway."

"But you're still addicted to coffee." He drank some wine, then brushed his dark hair to the side with a nervous movement of his hand.

"I just don't get it for free anymore. So I shouldn't have quit, really."

Sasuke kept looking at him. And Naruto kept glancing away. Drinking wine. Looking at his feet. At the old wooden floor. Sasuke's black skinny jeans. Why had it been so easy the last time?

Maybe they were just overthinking it now.

"You do look a bit shaky," Sasuke said softly. "Maybe I shouldn't make you drink alcohol."

"It's fine," Naruto replied too quickly. But he kept drinking, and Sasuke didn't stop him. "What's up with you these days anyway? Still working your two jobs?"

"I'm trying."

"How did you get into rock climbing, anyway?" He was eager to change the subject.

"Suigetsu's father taught me. He co-owns the gym where I work."

Naruto made a noise like a chuckle. "Why would anyone want to do that? I don't even understand."

"It's exciting," Sasuke smiled. He was beautiful when he smiled. "It's thrilling. Liberating. And sometimes it's really hard to reach the top, and sometimes you can't quite reach it. But when you do, it feels pretty damn good."

"It sounds like you're describing an orgasm."

Sasuke laughed, a genuine, melodious laughter and Naruto smiled. It was good to hear him laugh.

On a whim Naruto grabbed the bottle and refilled their glasses. When Sasuke stared, he shrugged.

"Might as well finish it."

Sasuke played with the chain around his neck. "Okay."

A few sips of wine later, as Sasuke was busy choosing another song, Naruto suddenly asked, "So have you been with a lot of guys?"

"Define a lot?"

"I don't know. You're only eighteen. Have you been with more than ten guys?"

"Define been with?"

Naruto's heart was beating really fast and he felt embarrassed. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced away, shrugging.

"Well, you know what I mean."

Sasuke smiled. "I guess I do. Yeah I've been with more than ten. But not much more. Probably fifteen."

Naruto drank more wine. Maybe he shouldn't have asked that. He felt intimidated and inexperienced now. There had been Sai, but that was… He shuddered. He didn't want to think about that right now. And there had been Sasuke, the other night. And that was it.

Sasuke said, "I'm glad you're here."

Naruto took one more sip of wine, then put his glass down on the desk, and he looked up.

"If you wanted me to come why didn't you just ask?"

"I guess some part of me whished that you would change your mind about tomorrow night," he admitted. He ran his hand through his hair and glanced away.

On a whim Naruto took his hand. "I'm not changing my mind." Their fingers touched and intertwined, and their eyes met, and it was electric. Their arms found each other and their bodies crashed together like any distance between them was unthinkable. Their lips touched and it tasted like wine. Naruto didn't care. In fact, right now, he decided he loved wine.

They found the bed and fell and rolled over together until Naruto pinned Sasuke down. He took a moment to just look at him, and lock eyes with him, and then they kissed again, their eyes squeezed shut once more like they wanted to forget the world. Naruto's hips bumped against Sasuke's and he moaned. Sasuke smiled through the kiss, and bit Naruto's lip gently.

"Oh my God," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. He looked fucking sexy just like that with his dark hair all messy. His piercings. The chain around his neck.

"Are you happy to see me?"

Naruto arched his back, and Sasuke ran his hands all over him.

"Happier and happier," Naruto said.

They rolled over again so that Sasuke was on top. He kissed Naruto's neck, breathed in his ear, and kissed just below it. Naruto was going crazy. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke and pulled him close, so close. He pressed his hips into him. He just needed to touch him more, so much more.

Sasuke helped him to sit up, and to take his shirt off. Then he kissed his shoulder, and his chest. Naruto's eyes lidded. His fingers tangled in Sasuke's hair. Then he lowered his hands down Sasuke's back and pressed their bodies together. Sasuke's skin was so warm. His heart was beating ridiculously fast. Naruto could feel it.

He whispered in his ear. "You smell amazing."

Sasuke said, "So do you."

"I want this." Naruto's fingers found the hem of Sasuke's stretched jeans, below his hips.

"You mean what's in my pants?" Sasuke breathed, amused.

Naruto felt a little intoxicated, but he liked the feeling. He kissed him, softly and their tongues almost touched, but then he pulled back.

"Yeah."

The laptop speakers still blasted music. The voice singing over the fast-paced beat went, 'I say we start a revolution, just you and me.'

"Come and get it." Sasuke removed himself from the bed so he could take his pants off and toss them aside. It wasn't like in Naruto's bedroom here; his shirt and Sasuke's jeans were the only items on the otherwise clean floor.

"You mean?" Naruto couldn't stop looking at him. The desk lamp cast shadows and lights across the angles of his body. He was beautiful, and fit, but it wasn't even that. Just… it was him.

It was Sasuke. And he could tell he was holding his breath. His eyes searched Naruto's. Behind it all, he was vulnerable.

"Only if you want to?" Sasuke's low voice was the sexiest thing Naruto had ever heard.

"I want to." He crawled to him and his knees touched the floor.

"Are you sure? I can do it for you first."

Naruto looked up and smiled. "No I want to go first."

Sasuke laughed; masculine and vibrant. "We don't have to fight…"

Naruto was nervous. He wasn't the most experienced person. But he really wanted to do this.

So on a whim, and because he really wanted to see how Sasuke would react, he licked him. The whole length, nice and slow, and he felt it harden as he did.

"Ohh shit…" Sasuke breathed in.

Naruto smirked, and decided he quite liked that reaction. So he just kept going, faster, faster, then slow again, and he played with the tip.

"Fuck… you're good at this, you know?"

Naruto paused, and looked up. "I've been watching a lot of… tutorial videos."

"Tutorial," Sasuke chuckled, "sure. I watch those too sometimes."

Naruto didn't stop. He went for it, the alcohol helping him feel confident. He grabbed Sasuke's butt for support as he blew him. When he dug his nails in the skin a little, Sasuke tilted his head and made the sexiest noise ever. Naruto just loved making him react like that. So he dug his nails more, and tried to go faster and faster with the blow job. He couldn't fit it all in his mouth but he fit as much as he could, and tried not to think about the fact that maybe Sasuke had received better blow jobs from other guys before.

But when you try not to think about something…

As though sensing his sudden insecurity, Sasuke stopped him. He took his arms, helped him up in slow, sensual movements. Pulled him close, kissed him, kissed his neck.

Naruto was so horny. He held Sasuke sort of desperately, and his hands wandered down again, squeezing that hot, tight ass. Sasuke moaned as he lifted one leg and wrapped it around Naruto's hips, pulling him even closer. Sasuke ran his hand in Naruto's hair, pushing it away from his face, and he looked at him with those dark eyes.

They sort of lost balance, and fell on the bed again, smiling. Naruto started to kiss Sasuke all over. He had never felt this way before. Never desired something so much. Someone.

"What do you like?" he asked Sasuke.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke pulled him into a kiss, like he wanted to avoid the question.

But Naruto pulled away softly. "Don't play dumb."

"I guess," Sasuke sounded almost guilty, "I like topping."

"That's okay." But he was a little nervous and Sasuke clearly sensed it.

"I would never make you do anything you don't want to do." He was stroking Naruto's arm. Their eyes met.

Naruto started talking really quickly, the words pouring out messily. "With Sai I hated it. Well, obviously. I hated it, but I kinda liked it. But I felt all guilty and weird for sort of liking it. And I got tested after to make sure I didn't catch anything, by the way. And I'm clean."

"I trust you," Sasuke said in a low voice, reaching out to him, his arm curling around his waist.

Naruto nodded. "I trust you too. Anyways, I never thought I'd ever want to do something like that again. Never thought I'd even have the slightest crush on a guy again, not after what happened with Sai. I mean… but with you, it's… I mean it's more than a crush. Well… fuck. I think I'm drunk." What was he saying. Now he felt all embarrassed and flustered and his heart was beating so loud and fast that he wondered if he was having some kind of panic attack. He slid a hand in his hair and looked away, sort of hiding behind his arm.

But Sasuke grabbed him and looked at him. "Naruto…" The way he said his name. It made Naruto feel too warm inside. Way too warm. And his heart wouldn't stop beating like crazy.

"Naruto," Sasuke said again. He was frowning slightly, looking kind of vulnerable. Maybe they both were. That made Naruto feel a bit better. "Baby," Sasuke said, "I would never hurt you."

"I know. I know. I want this."

That seemed to be Sasuke's cue. He took something out of his drawer. Lube. He didn't have to look for it or anything. He knew where it was. That made Naruto smile. He let himself fall on the bed and Sasuke kissed his back as lubed up fingers slowly entered him. Sasuke tried two fingers, then three.

"It doesn't hurt?" He kissed his neck. It made Naruto all shivery. Shivery and feverish and excited.

"No… I kinda like it… I… Ahh… Yeah…"

"Yeah?" He could feel Sasuke's smile against his neck.

Naruto moaned, spreading his legs more. Arching his back more. Sasuke kissed his spine.

"I want you inside me," Naruto said the words before he could even think them.

"Oh my God… you have no idea how hot you are right now…" Sasuke's voice was low and raspier than usual.

Naruto swallowed, then parted his lips. Sasuke kissed them. He was using some more lube to lather his cock now, and Naruto stole a few glances. That was so hot.

"You're… fucking gorgeous," Naruto said. "You could be like, a model, or a porn star, or something."

Sasuke chuckled. "I'm too skinny."

"I don't care."

"Can you…" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hips and sort of pulled them up a little. "Yeah, just like that. You ready? I'll be really gentle." But he sounded too impatient. Naruto kind of liked that.

"Not too gentle I hope."

Sasuke breathed out shakily. He pushed forward and started to fuck him, slow and gentle as promised. Only half of his cock was in probably, but already it felt overwhelming to Naruto. He moaned and fisted the sheets.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really… Lube is magical."

That made Sasuke laugh a bit. "Yeah, it is."

When Sasuke's thrusts became deeper, Naruto felt something burst through him. Pleasure he could feel all across his body.

He whispered, "Don't stop."

"Not stopping," said Sasuke.

Instead he picked up the pace. Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. Nothing else made sense to him. The electronic music playing. The rain that had started to fall outside, clattering against the window. He barely registered those things. There was only Sasuke, and the way it felt when he fucked him so deep and hard.

He had no idea how much time passed. It was so overwhelming. He looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke. The lustful expression on his face was so hot. Naruto wanted to be closer to him and hold him but at the same time he didn't want to move because he didn't want it to stop. So he just kept meeting Sasuke's thrusts with his raised hips.

"Feels so good inside you," Sasuke breathed, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

Oh my God…

"You're so intense," Naruto said. "Is it… okay to feel this good?"

Sasuke's hand holding his hip was warm and strong. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know, I… I think I'm gonna come…"

"Mm… me too." Sasuke slid a knee forward on the bed and reached around with his hand to stroke Naruto's cock while he never stopped thrusting inside simultaneously. And he didn't even slow down or anything.

"You're fucking amazing," Naruto whispered, his voice shaky. His arms were trembling from holding himself up on the bed. His entire body was trembling. But he didn't feel pain. Just pleasure.

"So are you…"

"Sasuke…"

"I know. Me too…"

Their breathings were loud. They came together and for a long moment Sasuke stayed inside him, hugging him from behind. They didn't say a word. When Sasuke pulled away, Naruto eagerly turned around so that he could hold him in his arms. Sasuke kissed him, then let himself fall and be held really tightly.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked softly.

"More than okay," he whispered in his ear against silky raven hair.

Naruto held Sasuke so tight that for a moment he was worried he would break his ribs or something. But Sasuke didn't complain. Still, Naruto loosened his hold on him.

Then, Sasuke said, "I should probably change the sheets."

"Sorry about that."

"You don't have to apologize."

Sasuke was pulling away, but Naruto held on to his arm, lazily trying to keep him close.

"Next time I'll bring a towel."

"You don't have to bring a towel." The corner of his lips twitched into a smile. "I have towels."

"Stay… We can clean up tomorrow."

Sasuke shook his head, smiled. "How are we supposed to sleep?"

"We can sleep on just one side of the bed. We'll cuddle."

Sasuke gave up then, falling in Naruto's arms again.

"Good night. Little fox."

"Don't call me that. It's weird."

"Deidara calls you that."

"Exactly."

Sasuke laughed softly, then closed his eyes. Naruto had his arm around Sasuke's waist. Thinking that it would be nice if he could just press pause and make this moment last longer.

…

It was late. Dark and quiet. Sasuke was asleep in his arms. His skin was soft and warm. His breathing even. Naruto could feel his heartbeat. He sort of squeezed him tighter in his arms while being careful not to wake him. Naruto felt worried and anxious. He felt protective of Sasuke. They'd had fun and all but now he was reminded that in less than twenty four hours they were supposed to fight some completely insane fight. In Hell.

Maybe they should just run away together, Naruto thought. He didn't want Sasuke to get hurt, or worst. No one in their right mind would willingly venture in Hell and fight crazy demons. He sighed.

Naruto didn't want to go back to sleep, anyway. He'd had some weird dream and he was afraid to go back to that if he closed his eyes again. In the dreams he was going to some attraction park with Sai. Stupid subconscious.

Why would he go to an attraction park—why would he go anywhere with Sai? He hated that guy.

And he fucking hated roller coasters anyway. Those things were scary.

He sat with Sai and they were stuck in that little car thingy and it started climbing up and up, with very worrisome rickety noises. It climbed so high up in the air, higher than all the other roller coasters. Why would they choose this attraction? Why would anyone?

Naruto realized with a sharp pang that they weren't even tied to their seats. That just wasn't right. Fuck. They would die. They would just totally die; be hurtled in the air and fall and fall…

The car dropped and Naruto's stomach did a lurch but then he woke up with a gasp in cold sweat.

It had happened. He'd fallen back to sleep, to that dream again… Shit. He sat up, his hands fisting the sheets on either side of his legs. Sasuke moaned lightly in his sleep but didn't wake up.

"Bad dream?" A soft voice in the dark.

Naruto froze.

A silhouette came out of the shadows and crept closer to the bed. He wasn't very tall, swathed in black from head to toe and had short spiky red hair. The same guy who had crashed Nagato's party and hurt Kiba at that club. Sasori.

Dark Angel. With his wings folded behind his back, and his shiny metallic scythe in one hand. The whole gear.

Naruto breathed out and it formed a white cloud of air. He was so cold all of a sudden, goose bumps running across his skin all over. And he was so terrified that it paralyzed him.

But he found the strength to grab Sasuke's arm. He wanted to protect him, but he didn't know how.

"Don't worry," Sasori said in a sickly sweet voice, "it's not him I want."

The coldness spread and tightened his heart like he was suffocating. His ears started to buzz. He tried to shake Sasuke's arm but his hand wouldn't listen. He tried to say something, shout, anything. But the scythe was wrapped around his neck before he even realized it.

Sasori smiled, a cold smile that contorted Naruto's insides in fear. He felt so fragile and raw all of a sudden, like he was made of sand paper inside. This wasn't right. This couldn't be right. Sasori came to the bed and pulled Naruto closer with the scythe. The blade turned Naruto's skin to ice. He felt short of breath. Sasori's brown eyes were cruel and narrow and they were mocking him. Time seemed to slow down.

"Sleep now," Sasori said teasingly.

No, no…

Life was slipping away. He could feel it slipping away as surely as Sasori's cruel smile was inching closer, and soon it was all he could see in the dark room. His hand slid from Sasuke's arm.

He couldn't feel his body anymore. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

"It's okay," Sasori said and he lay him down.

And then there was nothing. Nothing… The emptiness engulfed him. It was like trying to swim back up from the depths of the water but realizing he'd already drowned. His last thought was that he wanted to tell Sasuke that he understood his fear of drowning now. And he felt so lonely, and he wished there was someone to pull him out of the water. But there was no one. Only Sasori, taking his life away. Pressing his cold, pale finger to Naruto's lips as he breathed his last breath.

…