Chapter 3: The Feeling

Cold was nipping at Sasuke's cheeks when he drifted out of his sleep. This was a sharp contrast to the previous day. He opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to what he was seeing.

A heavy frost was across the entire landscape outside the cave. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, turning the frost sparkly like diamonds. Pinks and blues and oranges glittered across the landscape, the frost so heavy it almost looked like snow. The fire had gone out in the night, even though Naruto was supposed to be watching it. He was snoring happily in his little cocoon of a bed, way too close to Sasuke's comfort. In fact, he was so close he could feel his body heat. He supposed Naruto got cold in the night and tried to stay warm, but that didn't mean Sasuke wanted to cuddle the dolt either. Although, the warmth of his body was pretty intoxicating…

Naruto snored loudly, waking Sasuke from his distraction. Sasuke glared at him and gently thwacked Naruto's forehead, causing him to wake up in a start. "S…Sasuke?"

"Get up, loser. We need to start moving." Sasuke rose up and got a better look at the outside. He frowned, and then frowned some more. He was staring for so long across the frosty world that Naruto thought maybe he had fallen asleep standing up. "What's wrong?" he inquired.

"Nothing." He replied. But he was in a big hurry and kept snapping at Naruto to go faster, and by the time they left he was practically running through the forest like a madman. So much for their leisurely walk like yesterday.

"Sasuke slow down!" Naruto cried out. Sasuke only grunted, but quickly slowed his pace and glared at him. "What?"

"Why are you tearing through the woods so quickly? We've got plenty of time." Naruto told him.

Sasuke sighed and stared ahead. "A frost at this time of year? Usually it's at least 2 more months for such a heavy frost in this area."

Naruto only stared. Sasuke had a point, but so what about an early frost? "That hardly means anything, teme. Look, it's already warming up."

Sasuke didn't respond. He felt that uneasy feeling again, like he needed to get back to the leaf village as soon as possible. They still had a very long journey ahead, so that might be somewhat of an issue.

They continued one without saying much else. Naruto struggled to keep up with Sasuke's fast pace. They barely stopped to rest at all, even for lunch. Around evening time, Sasuke finally settled in a much larger cave, satisfied with how far they had gotten that day. The day had turned out decently warm, but a lot cooler than yesterday. However, the sky had turned overcast, and the air felt thick, so Sasuke felt it was time to stop. There were still a few days of travel left, but they had gotten far.

Naruto stretched so big Sasuke thought his limbs had disconnected from his body. "Finally some rest!" He yawned. "Man I'm worn out after today. I don't even feel like dinner." That was unusual for him. Naruto always wanted to eat.

Sasuke threw some rice in a makeshift bowl from an oddly shaped rock and placed it on the fire he had just made. "You have to replenish your energy. You're going to eat some rice."

Naruto gave him a side eye, then shut his eyes, arms still behind his head and a smug look on his face. "What are you, my mom? Looks like you actually do care about me, huh Saucy?"

Sasuke hunched his shoulders a bit, the tips of his ears turning red. He was glad he was facing away from Naruto so he didn't see the ridiculous face he had made. "No loser, I just don't want you to slow. And don't call me that." What a ridiculous name. Why did the dobe have to get under his skin like that?

Naruto, however, noticed Sasuke's reaction and smiled ever so slightly. Sasuke was so amusing sometimes.

Sasuke boiled rice in silence while Naruto went though his bag. There were a lot of silent moments on this trip, Sasuke thought to himself. It was comfortable silence, but silent none the less. Naruto seemed deep in thought, but Sasuke didn't care to ask what was on his mind. He was so deep in his own thoughts though that he didn't even notice the rain starting outside.

"Oh wow look how much it is raining!" Naruto stared out into the valley. A musty fog came through, not allowing them to see very far. It was raining steadily, enough for pools to start forming in the hollows of the ground. Thankfully their cave was on a very slight cliff, and it was nice and dry on the inside. The rain was intoxicatingly slow, though, and made Sasuke suddenly drowsy. "So it seems."

They ate in comfortable silence at the mouth of the cave, sitting opposite of each other and watching the rain. The sky was low and gray, and the tall grasses in the distance were sodden and dripping. There weren't as many trees in this area, and there were more open fields. The grass seemed to be weeping. The lake nearby was rippling with the water droplets slamming on the surface.

Sasuke shut his eyes and took a large intake of breath through his nose, breathing in the rainy mountain air. He loved the rain. It made things dreary and wet, but he could stay inside and nobody would bother him. Plus, the sound of it was almost intoxicating. Sasuke could tell that they have increased in elevation, so the air was crispier. In fact, the air was getting chillier and nipped at his bare toes. But the rain…He opened his eyes to look over the landscape and suddenly realized Naruto had been staring at him. He glared at the blonde. "What?" He said with a slight attitude.

Naruto turned red and quickly turned toward the woods. "Nothing! I was just wondering if you were going to finish your rice!" Truth is, he had watched Sasuke's face relax into a complete serenity that was rarely seen. The usual scowl had disappeared, and Sasuke seemed genuinely at peace. Well, until he notice Naruto staring. Sasuke tossed his bowl to Naruto who happily gobbled it up, trying to calm his flustering nerves.

The dark headed uchiha turned his attention to the lake, a serious look on his face. Usually there were plenty of animals there, but… "Something is off." He said out loud.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Not this again. Sasuke, I told you that there's nothi-"

"There are no animals anywhere. Geese, duck, I don't care. It's like they've all left the area." Sasuke replied shortly. Now that he thought about it, things were awfully quiet on their journey. The rain was providing a white noise now, but usually there are plenty of animals around. "You know, birds always fly away before disaster. And this whole trip, we've really not seen animals at all. Which is unusual for this time of year."

Naruto looked out to where Sasuke was staring. He did admit to what the guy said. He didn't really see any animals at all on their journey. Usually there were rabbits, squirrels, deer, bears, birds, everything. It's like they had all hidden away. The cool breeze crept in his jacket and made him shiver. "You might be right." Naruto said slowly. "But no sense in worrying about something that may or may not happen."

Sasuke sighed, thought for a moment, then nodded. "Guess you have some sense after all, dobe." Although he wasn't that reassured.

Naruto giggled, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, we've got our cozy cave to keep us safe!" It was very cozy in the cave. The fire kept them nice and toasty, and the rain was making both of them drowsy. Sometimes a cold gust would creep in and nip at their toes, but the warmth would chase the cold away. Naruto felt happy sitting across from Sasuke in the peaceful evening. "This is nice, Sasuke. I…I'm actually having a good time, you know? Going on a mission with just you…even if you're a pushover sometimes, heheh."

Sasuke turned to look at him with a slight surprise on his face. The dying light made everything a dark shade of blue, and the fire made Naruto also have flicks of orange on his face. The mix of blue and orange on him with the contrast of the shadows…and those damn eyes…Sasuke actually felt a small jump in his chest and felt his breath hitch. Naruto was looking back at him again, full of peace in his eyes. It was as if time stood still again, nothing but the sound of rain and the look in each others eyes. It was as if they could exchange a thousand words just looking into each other's eyes, but what those words were? That was still a mystery to both of them.

Sasuke didn't like the feeling he got looking at Naruto. He had seen Naruto thousands of times. Why did he get this feeling suddenly? What even was this? He didn't know what it meant and didn't want to even think about it at all. So, to pull themselves out of the trance they kept getting into, he muttered, "You have rice on your face, idiot."

Naruto blinked and slowly wiped his face as Sasuke stood up to go to his bed. There wasn't anything on his face at all.

XoXoXoXoX

The rain stopped in the night and led to a slightly cooler day the next day. The colors were popping more than ever on the trees, and the grasses were tan and gray with specks of green. It was absolutely beautiful on their travels. They both picked up the pace with a sense of urgency, although Naruto was still a bit apprehensive about the whole thing.

There weren't anymore frosts, and the days were bright and sunny. They had enough food in their bags to last until they made it to the village, so they didn't worry about trying to scavenge for anything other than fish.

Despite the beautiful weather, Sasuke felt all of his ninja alarm bells going off more and more each passing day, so he pushed them faster than ever. Everything was completely still across the land, almost eerily. Sometimes he would stop right in the middle of the trek and just listen. Naruto would look at him with big blue eyes, face full of concern and trying to understand him. Sasuke was acting extra weird on this mission. He didn't think Sasuke to be one to have anxiety, unless he was just really good at hiding it. The almost black eyes were scanning the landscape, almost like he was trying to read the world. Naruto turned from the Uchiha and listened as well. The silence of the landscape was almost deafening. There wasn't even any wind. It was like the world was frozen, without the ice part. The calm before the storm.

"I don't like it." Sasuke said for the 40th time on one of their breaks. "I…I think it's the weather. There's something…" He shook his head. "I don't like this at all."

Naruto felt uneasy as well. Sasuke was making it hard not to be. He would glance at the sky oftentimes while they crashed through the forest, but nothing was ever there. He glanced toward the mountains in the north where they were headed, meaning they were closer and closer to the snow village, but it was clear blue skies as well.

Sasuke stopped again and stared toward the north mountains. He stared for a long time, eyebrows furrowing together. Naruto finally had enough and went up next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

Sasuke didn't budge for a minute, then looked at Naruto in the eyes finally. The uchiha didn't want to say it, but it was time he did. "It's going to be a hard winter. And we will probably get stuck in it."

Naruto stared back at him, at loss for words. So that's why it's so quiet. All the animals must have sensed it and made a beeline south for the winter. All the birds must be flying high and out of sight, all the land critters already burrowed away. The cold frost was a warning sign, being so early in the year. Well, no matter. Naruto met Sasuke's gaze with a determined look in his eye. If they did, then it couldn't be helped. Those ninja back in the leaf needed help. Naruto just nodded solemnly. His eyes said everything that needed to be said.

They didn't really talk much in the evenings anymore. Sasuke spent his time pacing while he ate his dinner, and he usually forced Naruto to go straight to bed to get an early start. Naruto tried to ease his worries, but Sasuke usually scowled or faked it. Naruto was beginning to worry about Sasuke himself. The blonde cared more about the Uchiha than he really liked to admit. It really was out of character for the usually stoic Uchiha to be so on edge.

After many warm days, they finally felt the air cooling down and started walking across snowy areas. It hadn't snowed in a while in this area, but there was still plenty of snow left from the last snowfall. The village saw snow almost year-round, so it wasn't unusual at all to see a later on the ground. They knew they were getting close. The valley area they were trekking through was surrounded by massive, snow covered mountains and tall, icy pine trees. Naruto would have liked to stay and admire the insane beauty of it, but they were in a hurry to get to the village before nightfall. There weren't anymore caves anywhere, and getting stuck in the cold was not how they wanted to end up.

The sun began to cast long shadows right as the village came into view. Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief. "We're here Sasuke!" He exclaimed, grabbing his hand and dragging him.

"Naruto wait!" Sasuke shouted, but it was too late. Naruto hadn't seen the large snow bank they were on top of, and they both went tumbling down into the snow. Naruto screamed loudly as his face landed right on Sasuke's stomach.

Naruto spat snow and ice out of his mouth, snow covering his face. "Ouch! Man, they really need a sign or something!" He started to wipe the snow from his face when he noticed Sasuke was shaking and trembling. Uh oh. Naruto looked up at him quickly and saw Sasuke trying to hide his face, shaking all over. "Uh…Sasuke? Are you okay?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. Well, great. The man has finally lost it. But when he saw Sasuke's face, he immediately started grinning. Sasuke was trying his hardest to repress his laughter from that fiasco. Naruto had looked like a buffoon as usual, but huh. Sasuke actually laughing. It was a nice change to his stoic demeanor. Well, he was repressing it pretty well and Naruto couldn't really see his face all that well, but it was still something similar to laughing. Naruto couldn't help but feel something similar to butterflies watching Sasuke trying to hide his grin, shuddering like mad. Naruto made an internal note to try and get Sasuke to really laugh at some point on the mission, since he never even laughs or smiles. But for now, little chortles were escaping Sasuke's grin as he tried his hardest to keep it in. Naruto grinned even more. "You look like a complete dope trying to hide your face Sasuke! It wasn't that funny, geez!"

He finally dropped his arm, his eyes glittering in the late sun, a genuine smile on his face. "It was hilarious."