The first thing Sasuke felt when he woke up was a strong urge to laugh. Naruto's face was dangerously close to Sasuke's neck and ear, breathing warm air in that sensitive spot and tickling Sasuke. He hadn't realized how sensitive he was there. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, trying to push down that funny feeling until it became so unbearable that he shoved Naruto off the bed completely.

"HEY!" Naruto jumped up, eyes half asleep still and fist clenched. "What the hell Sasuke?"

"Maybe stay on your side of the bed, loser." He turned over and glared at the wall, mind still reeling from the sensations he had gotten. From NARUTO of all people.

Naruto growled. What a bastard! Sasuke thought he could get his way all the time, and it was sickening! Naruto wanted to beat him up right then and there, but he was still half asleep and knew he would probably lose, so he just crossed his arms and sulked.

They had actually talked for a long time over their warm drinks last night. Talking about Konoha, their friends, shinobi in general. Sasuke hadn't realized just how EASY it was to talk to Naruto, and they had talked for so long that the shop owners had to kick them out. After their coffee shop date, they had both trudged home in high spirits, playfully shoving each other along the way. Naruto was happier than he had felt in a long time, seeing Sasuke in such an elated mood. It gave him a very warm, sunny feeling. Sasuke's expression was soft, contrasting his usual irritation and harsh demeanor. They were both exhausted, however, and pretty much went straight to bed. Naruto begrudgingly crawled in beside Sasuke, remembering the annoying fact that they had to share a bed, mere inches from his intoxicating body heat. Maybe since Sasuke was in such a good mood, then it wouldn't be so bad.

However, Sasuke's good mood apparently has a time limit because he was a complete ass now.

They both got up and packed their things and some spare food for the long trip back. It was a slow and lazy morning, the sun warming their room and making it harder to leave. As Sasuke packed his own things, he stopped. The alarm bells started going off in his head again. So suddenly, as if he had been stabbed. He hadn't really noticed anything since they had gotten to the Hidden Snow, but now that he was preparing to leave, he felt uneasy again. The good, warm feelings of last night had worn off, and now he just felt dread and worry. It got worse and worse until his hands got clammy and heart was racing.

"Come on, teme!" Naruto called out as he marched outside into the crispy air, puffs of frozen breath dissipating into the morning. The dobe was in a hurry to get back and see everyone back home, more importantly to get his favorite ramen. The sun was actually out, perfect blue skies and sparkling snow. Sasuke felt his legs glued to the floor as his anxiety was getting worse, his breath quickening. What was this feeling? Is it a jutsu? No…he didn't feel any chakra around but Naruto's. So it was just plain anxiety? He felt embarrassed at such a reaction. He is a ninja, not some anxious little girl. It wasn't like him to feel this way. But he felt like he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The room was spinning violently and made him want to hurl. Everything in him was telling him to stay put and not leave.

Naruto came back inside. "Hey you just gonna stand there all day?" He blinked at the raven-hair Uchiha, who was facing away from him and trembling ever so slightly. "Sasuke?" He asked when he hadn't received an answer.

Sasuke shut his eyes and swallowed, trying to force down his worries. The day was clear and bright. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about. As long as they moved quickly, then they would put enough distance between them and the Land of Snow. He opened his eyes and quickly turned to walk outside, despite what his intuition was telling him, brushing past Naruto without a word. He felt annoying how the dobe was watching him with large, probing eyes, making him feel like a caged animal.

Naruto just watched Sasuke walk down the path out of the village, blinking stupidly. Sasuke was as weird and cold as ever it seemed.

XoXoXoXoX

Despite the sun, it was a terribly cold day made worse by the shade they walked in through the trees. Snow was still underfoot, crunching away. There wasn't much of a breeze, but the cold grasped at their fingers and toes and forced them to take breaks to warm them. Sasuke suspected that it was near the single digits. They didn't speak much the whole day, even at lunchtime. Sasuke kept glancing behind them, eyebrows furrowing together. Naruto would look too, but nothing was there.

They continued on until nightfall, resting under a bright moon. Naruto tried to talk to Sasuke about anything at all, but he would only respond with short responses. Even the next day was the same. Same walk, same lunch, same sullen mood. Sasuke thought that if he pretended Naruto wasn't there, then he would forget about. Forget about why Naruto is suddenly everywhere, even in his thoughts.

Forget about how Naruto made him so damn happy just two evenings ago.

Maybe he just wasn't used to the whole friend thing. Did friends cause these kind of emotions? Just happy at the face that they were merely in each other's presence. He had snipets of getting these feelings before from Naruto when they were younger. Kids who would pester and fight, but poke fun and share a laugh together. He remembers the conversations they had as kids, finding himself surprised at who Naruto really was when he got to know him more. There was more to Naruto than just his outward idiocy. Sasuke remembered feeling happy around Naruto even then and also pained when he saw Naruto feel pain of his own. Sasuke also remembered running from those feelings. Those feelings that he believed was making him weaker.

But now he knew that he didn't have to run from it. He could fully accept Naruto's companionship. So why did it scare him so much? He clicked his tongue and scowled, kicking up snow in annoyance.

They stopped for dinner, miles and miles away from any kind of civilization. It was later in the evening but still sunny out, and the sun cast long shadows across the dense forest of pine. Naruto sulked over his meat that they had trapped.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "What's with you?" Naruto isn't usually a sulker, and Sasuke supposed it was time to at least talk about something. He usually welcomed silence, but the silence forced him to think about things he didn't want to think about.

Naruto sighed. "I just don't get you sometimes, Sasuke. I mean you were in such a good mood yesterday, but now it's like we're strangers again." He felt a twinge of pain. He wanted nothing more than for Sasuke to actually be happy. That's what friends want, right?

Sasuke turned back toward his own dinner. "That doesn't concern you."

"Of course it does!" Naruto exclaimed. "I just…" He trailed off. Took in a sharp breath. Hestitated. Closed his eyes for a moment, then locked eyes with those dark colored ones. "I just want you happy for once in your life."

Sasuke didn't respond or move, staring at his half eaten plate. He pondered what Naruto said. You've made me happy, he thought to himself. It's true. This trip with Naruto has made him happier than he has been in a while. Well, two nights ago, at least. The evening in the snow village was pleasant. He too wanted to feel happy more and not dwell on past sorrows, but he didn't want to think about how it was because of Naruto. Why? Why does he have such a hold on him like this?

Sasuke looked back at Naruto, an unreadable expression on his face. "My happiness doesn't concern you either." He said coldly.

Naruto jumped up, eyes flaring with anger. "Damn it Sasuke! Why can't you just let someone care about you for once?! Why do you always have to push me away!?" He threw his plate down and stomped off into the trees.

A twinge of paint stabbed Sasuke, and he instantly felt guilty. Wait, why? Has he completely lost himself? Usually he didn't care how Naruto reacted to his insults, but he actually felt…bad. And Naruto's words had some merit to it. Why couldn't he let someone in his shell? Why did he have to push everyone away, like Naruto said? He stared at his half eaten dinner sullenly. He didn't have answers to any of that. He was actually pissing himself off.

He looked back up at Naruto, going to say something, but stopped. Naruto's face had heavy shadows on it, like someone had blown out the sun. Sasuke felt panic again, blood turning to ice through his body. Where was the light?

Naruto just stared at him. "What?!" He shouted. Sasuke's weirdness was starting to tick him off.

Sasuke looked all around him, noticing how dark the forest had gotten. An eerie breeze rustled the tops of the trees, making Sasuke shiver despite the fire. All the warmth in his body vanished. "Why did it get so dark suddenly? We should have several more hours of daylight." He looked up at the sky and noticed dark blue clouds looming overhead, rolling and tumbling quickly across the Earth. This is bad. It was JUST sunny. Sunny and bright blue skies the color of Naruto's eyes. How did he not notice any of this?! What the hell is wrong with him? He jumped up as he saw tiny flakes falling around them, an even colder breeze rustling his dark hair. He swallowed his panic and started stomping out their fire. "We need to move. Now."

"Huh?!" Naruto cried out, running back. "Sasuke it's barely snowing! This is hardly something to freak out about."

"We need to go Naruto." He threw snow on the fire and packed up his things at the speed of light, sweat starting to drip from his forehead and hands trembling. He couldn't tell if it was from the cold or his rising fears.

"Sasuke calm down! It's not even doing anything." Naruto retorted. What a weird sight at seeing Sasuke panic over just a few flakes. It actually concerned Naruto. Sasuke has been acting weird this whole mission. "There's no reason to freak out!"

This was when Sasuke snapped, grabbing Naruto by the shoulders and shaking him violenty. "You idiot! Don't you see?! There's no shelter anywhere! It's getting colder and snowing, and we have nowhere to go!" His eyes were flaring. Naruto stared at him with his mouth agape. He had never seen such fear in Sasuke's eyes. "Sasuke…" he muttered.

Sasuke growled and threw Naruto aside. Naruto didn't understand. Of course not. He was too simpleminded and stupid. Already the snow was picking up. "Stay here if you want. I'm leaving." And with that, he took off. Naruto stared at him for a moment, completely flabberghasted, before jumping up and running at Sasuke's heels.

It didn't take long before it was snowing hard enough for visibility to go down far into the distance. The horizon was completely covered in white, falling flakes. The wind was picking up too, snapping his cloak in the breeze and sending chills up his spine. He gritted his teeth and stared madly around him. They couldn't go on like this. They needed to stop and find shelter before it got worse, but there was nothing around. No buildings, caves, anything. Just snow and trees and more snow. His worst fear had come true. He forced his panic down as he tried to look for something, ANYTHING, for them to take shelter in. Naruto was starting to feel uneasy too. If Sasuke of all people was this worried…he tried to make out something in the increasing snowfall, but it was starting to become a white blur. Naruto was starting to understand Sasuke's panic.

The wind picked up more and more, making walking harder and harder. Sasuke was trudging ahead as fast as he could, but it was becoming more difficult from the wind. Snow was bombarding him at this point, slapping him around. He was fully panicking at this point internally. Damn it. He KNEW this was going to happen. He KNEW he should've stayed in that hotel. He recounted stories of the ninja that met the same fate as he and Naruto are about to, losing their senses in the blinding whiteness and dying of frostbite. He activated his sharingan, staring around him to try and find something. Anything. He turned in circles madly around him, eyes glaring into the snow, but his sharingan didn't work very well if he couldn't see anything. Plus, it was getting harder to think clearly the colder he was getting. "Damn it!" He screamed.

Naruto wasn't much better off. Wet snow kept finding itself in his cloak, making him shiver. Thankfully he wasn't terribly cold, thanks to the nine-tails. Having Kuruma inside him was sometimes like having his own internal heater, although it could only do so much in this kind of weather. Sasuke was becoming harder and harder to make out in the snow, and Naruto was worried he was going to lose him.

Sasuke got slower and slower until he stopped suddenly, causing Naruto to nearly run into him. The storm had gotten worse so quickly, and now all they could see was swirling white. Howling around them like rabid dogs. He stared in front of him at the nothingness. That's it. There's nothing around him. There's nothing that could be done about it. Sasuke was so cold at this point that he didn't even care. His limbs were growing number by the second, his hair forming icy chunks. He felt snow scratching his face, and it felt like he was smothering. His body was already growing numb and fatigued. He stared down at the snow in front of his feet, defeat on his face. "N-Naruto…" He muttered, barely heard among the wind's voice.

Naruto was never one to give up. So he grabbed Sasuke's shoulders like he had done to Naruto earlier, and glared at him. "Don't you give up on me!" He yelled out over the wind. Sasuke just stared at him numbly, Naruto's eye's like shining orbs in the snow, anchoring him back down to earth. How is it that the dobe had this power over him? He nodded, too numb to speak anymore.

Naruto gritted his teeth and slid his hand into Sasuke's, interloping their fingers and squeezing. He had to be strong for them. He had to get them out of this mess. Naruto didn't mind the cold as much. He had actually camped a lot in the cold, snowy winters as a kid, but it was clear that Sasuke was having issues. Hypothermia? He hoped not. Sasuke's fingers were icy in his, but holding his hand gave him a warmth deep in his soul.

They were miles from anyone or anything, completely alone in the world except for their hands clasped together. Naruto knew if he let go, then Sasuke would be completely lost and would keel over. The Uchiha was starting to stumble next to him, feet starting to turn numb as blocks of ice. He trudged forward, clasping Sasuke's hand tightly, hoping. Praying.

They were both shaking from the cold and stumbling. Sasuke fell once and didn't want to get back up, but Naruto got in his face and screamed at him not to give up. He was starting to fear for Sasuke.

Then suddenly, out of the swirling whiteness, something hit him. He slammed his shoulder into it hard, crying out in pain. But then he felt his hand on it. A building! "Sasuke! I think it's shelter!" He cried out behind him, still clutching his hand. The blonde nearly started sobbing. Only a step or two to the left and he would have missed it completely. He practically dragged Sasuke around the building until he found a door, flinging themselves inside.

They both gasped for air, ears ringing from the silence of being inside, even though the wind and snow could still be heard howling away. For a moment, they just stood there, staring in the room with their hands still intertwined. They both felt relief. It looked like a small abandoned cabin, or maybe a vacation home. But someone had been here at least sometime because there was wood near the fireplace, and Naruto could see a bit of dry rice and other dry foods on the counter.

Naruto finally caught his breath and looked at Sasuke, full of concern and still clutching his hand. He was pale, his eyes only half open, still struggling to breathe or stand fully upright. Naruto set him down carefully and removed his snow encrusted shoes and cloak, dusting snow out of his hair carefully. Sasuke was starting to feel better now that he was out of the horrible cold from the wind chill. He sat and let Naruto care for him, and he felt a lump in his throat at the kind gesture, remembering how his mother would do the same for him after he was done playing in the snow. Is this what someone caring about him feels like? He suddenly felt himself getting warmer in the cheeks, embarrassed for looking so weak from a little snow.

"Well that blizzard out of nowhere." Naruto finally said, walking to the fireplace. "I'm just glad we found a place out of the snow. Sorry for not believing you earlier." He began to clumsily make a fire, his fingers starting to burn from gaining feeling back. The room was still terribly cold, however, and started to crawl into his clothes. He looked back at Sasuke. "You okay, Sasuke? I was…I was worried."

"I'm fine." Sasuke muttered. Any longer outside and he would've been an Uchiha-cicle left to die in the woods. He was thankful for Naruto to keep their heads on straight, but still was bitter that he looked so weak. He watched Naruto for a moment, struggling to make a fire, then knelt down beside him. "Give me." He demanded.

Naruto handed him the sticks, their fingers touching, shooting electricity through both of them. They both remembered at once how easily their hands felt together, like everything else fell away except their clasped hands. Despite the cold, it had kept them warm in the very depths of their beings. Sasuke never realized how…PERFECT their hands fit together, or how warm Naruto's hand was. Standing there in the snow and cold forced him to realize that. It was the only thing he could focus on, and he had forced himself to focus on it in order to not completely succumb to nature. Sasuke remembered the sensation of Naruto's fingers interlaced with his. He nearly dropped the sticks in his hand, but steadied himself and struck them together for a fire. He was too weak to even try a fire jutsu, and he felt numb and stupid.

He coaxed a roaring fire easily, chasing away the cold of the room and illuminating the dying light. They sat there together, shoulders pressed against each other, shivering violently in the cold. They could feel the heat on their skin, but they were chilled to the bone on the inside. The two were as close to the fire as they could be without actually sitting in the flames.

"I can't get warm Sasuke," Naruto said softly, trembling. The blonde had been fine just a few moments ago, but the cold must have gotten to him finally. Sasuke was thankful for Naruto to have kept a straight head and finding them shelter. He didn't know what would've happened if he was alone. Probably freeze to death. Sasuke watched Naruto tremble for a moment before begrudgingly head for the kitchen away from the warmth, looking for anything at all to warm them up.

He returned with two large mugs of pipping hot tea, gently placing one in Naruto's hands, noticing how much they were shaking. Sasuke's were shaking as well, and he was grateful to be back in front of the heat. He wrapped a blanket around him and Naruto and huddled together with him, their sides mashed together as close as possible. Usually he would shy away from such physical touch, but he didn't care at this point. He was just so darn cold, and Naruto's body heat was incredibly inviting. He wanted to shove his hands under the dobe's shirt to warm them even more, but that would just be completely insane.

Naruto slowly took a sip of the tea. "Wow this is great Sasuke!" He grinned. "Looks like you can do something after all!"

Sasuke shut his eyes, mildly aware of how close Naruto's face was to his. "Tch. I'm just glad there even was any at all." He said drowsily.

"Yeah me too. I wonder who lived here." Naruto said quietly. "Well…oh well it's ours now!" He turned to the Uchiha and grinned again, leaning his body closer.

Sasuke sighed in contentment. It really was wonderful to be there safe from the bitter cold and wind outside. It was almost Heaven-like, sipping his warm tea and sitting there with Naruto near the fire, safe from the outside world and miles from anyone else. He was finally getting warm, but Naruto was the one warming him on the inside.