3Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!
Summary: COMPLETE. In which Sasuke has a dream. SNS, canonverse, oneshot.
A/N: I MADE IT. I DID IT. February's fic! It's a shorter one for a ton of reasons but one big one is that you have 11k of a secret project to look forward to...at some point. Not yet! But soon. It took up way more of my writing time this month than I intended ;D At any rate, I really hope you enjoy this one. It's simpler, but it's an idea I've been wanting to somehow incorporate for a long time...
Eventually
It was a miserable sleep.
Sasuke laid awake in a chilled, damp discomfort that seeped directly into his bones, tossing and turning until his thoughts finally let him rest. It wasn't a rare night—no, Sasuke laid alone in his despair and anguish and festering hatred longer every day.
Every night.
But he awoke, soon after, feeling...rested. To the gentle sound of trickling water...Sasuke breathed in, wondering if it had begun to rain…no, it was too warm for rain. Too warm in this part of the country anyway. In fact, it shouldn't have been this warm at a—
Sasuke sprung up.
"Whoa," said a voice—a familiar, voice, a far too familiar voice, Sasuke's heart twisted in his chest as he turned—
"Hey," Naruto said, close and smiling and entirely unfazed by Sasuke being here, Sasuke being here— "Nightmare or something?"
Sasuke breathed.
Naruto continued to smile. A soft smile—a gentle one, with reassurance and patience and no hint of pain in his eyes. He wore no gear and he held no weapons, Sasuke barely recognized the—
"Hey," Naruto said, reaching forward with a hand so gentle that Sasuke had to flinch away. "Hey, hey, I'm here…"
The hand tucked the hair behind Sasuke's ear, and then lingered, pressing its warmth to Sasuke's neck, his chin, his cheek…
This...was not real. This was impossible. This must be some sort of illusion, some sort of genjutsu—Sasuke closed his eyes and felt, reached out with his senses, his chakra—sent his chakra to his eyes and opened them again—
And Naruto was still smiling.
"I know," he said, unfazed, "sometimes you need to check."
No.
"I do it, too."
No—this was impossible. This was—no. Sasuke breathed in and then breathed in again, and again, and again, and aga—
Naruto's forehead pressed to his.
"Slow down," he said, "bastard. You think too fast."
"You think too slow," said Sasuke's mouth, and Naruto pulled back—
"There he is," he laughed. "Welcome back, asshole. Get any rest?"
Sasuke didn't answer.
"Hm," Naruto said, as Sasuke reached out again, looked around again, stared around himself at the room he didn't recognize—full of simple, unassuming furniture (or it would be, if not for the fountain pouring water not a foot away from him, locked behind glass, as if caged—
"D'you wanna talk about it?"
Sasuke's head snapped back to him. Naruto's—Naruto's eyes hadn't always been this blue, surely—
"'Kay," Naruto said, tilting his head a little. "Want me to cancel dinner?"
Dinner. Sasuke was in a room he didn't recognize with a Naruto he intensely recognized, and they were talking about—
"Sakura'll be mad," Naruto continued. "I don't really want to move either, though."
Naruto's head fell onto his shoulder.
Sasuke froze.
"It'd be nice," Naruto said gently—almost a whisper, "if we could just stay like this."
Sasuke closed his eyes and refused to acknowledge the thought. This was—this was a dream. On some level, he knew it must be, no matter how real it felt, no matter how warm Naruto was, no matter how—
Naruto's fingers gently threaded through his.
Oh.
Sasuke breathed out.
That sort of dream.
He closed his eyes. A dream, then, about everything...he did not want to visit. Revisit. Thoughts he'd crush and crumble as soon as he had the strength to do it.
A dream of weakness.
"Hey," that voice came again, and Sasuke's heart trembled, "hey. Are you sure you don't wanna talk?"
No. Sasuke didn't. He didn't want to talk to this—this vision. This image, this reminder, this—
Sasuke ripped his hand free.
"You aren't real," he said, and his eyes snapped open.
"...Huh?"
"You aren't real," Sasuke said again, more insistent, this time— "this isn't real. Don't touch me—don't—"
Sasuke snapped up onto his feet, breathing as if he'd climbed a mountain, heart hammering in his chest—
"I feel pretty real to me," Naruto said, patting at himself.
"Don't—you're not! You aren't here and I'm not here, I—"
"You're not here?" Naruto said, eyebrows raising. "Where are you then?"
"In a cave," Sasuke snapped. "In a cave, in the dirt, with Juugo, Karin and Suigetsu and no one else. I haven't seen you in—in—"
Something clicked in Naruto's eyes.
"Oh," he said, leaning back—as if the comment settled him, instead of startling— "is this before or after you left Sound?"
Sasuke stared.
"...After." The word left his lips without a thought.
"Yeah," Naruto said, like a quiet sigh. "I know. You haven't seen me in a long time. I hadn't seen you, either. I was afraid I'd forget your face, sometimes."
Sasuke swallowed.
"Let me look at you a bit longer," Naruto said, and Sasuke felt the words as if they were his own.
Naruto caught him as he knelt. The floor was soft—carpeted, in the colour of Naruto's eyes. The walls, too, and he hadn't quite caught the colour of the couch until just this moment—
"Hey," Naruto said, "keep looking at me."
Sasuke obeyed. He had never had a dream so vivid.
"Can I tell you something?"
Sasuke couldn't have stopped him if he wanted to.
"I think you'll be here. I think you'll get here eventually."
Sasuke shook his head.
"I won't," he said. "I can't."
Naruto's smile widened.
"You don't really think I'll accept that," he said, leaning in so close Sasuke could feel his breath on his lips, "do you?"
(Sasuke gasped as he awoke.)
Years later…
"Sakura wants to meet us for dinner. I forgot to tell you—crap. That okay?"
Sasuke snorted.
"If she wants to come all this way," he said, tucking the apron back over his head, "she's more than welcome."
That earned him a grin and Naruto's arm around his waist, squeezing him tight as he used Sasuke to swing himself around. Sasuke matched him, eyebrow raised.
"You made food?" Naruto asked, innocent and charming and sucking right up to him in the most obvious way—
Sasuke sighed.
"I'll make more. Let me eat first."
Naruto pressed his smile right to Sasuke's, and any fatigue Sasuke had felt peacefully faded away.
"You're the best!" he said, gallivanting away, and Sasuke rather thought he had it backwards.
He wouldn't tell Naruto that, though.
He grabbed himself a bowl—and Naruto, too, because the moron would surely happily eat two dinners tonight, and slid in front of the couch—settling on the soft blue carpet.
(Sasuke had insisted.)
"Ah! Food!" Naruto said, snatching the bowl right out of Sasuke's raised hand. "Thanks, Sasuke!"
Sasuke snorted, looking up as Naruto grinned right back down. He'd wasted no time in settling in right behind Sasuke's shoulders.
"We should get a fountain," he said, staring up into Naruto's eyes.
Naruto let out a surprised laugh.
"A fountain?!" He nudged himself all over Sasuke's back. Sasuke didn't even flinch. "What are you even—what the hell d'you want with a fountain?"
Sasuke didn't reply.
Naruto continued to peer at him, upside down.
"You're a weirdo," Naruto said, grinning in his face. "Like in the middle of the room?"
Sasuke let his head fall, his eyes naturally finding the place that called the memory—as vague and foggy as it remained—back to him.
"Over there. Instead of the table."
Naruto laughed.
"Yeah? Anything else, milord? A pillow for the floor you always sit on?"
Sasuke reached up and flicked the tip of his nose. Naruto flinched back with a yelp, laughing out an—
"Asshole!"
"The carpet is perfectly comfortable."
"It's not," Naruto said, leaning right back to where he'd been, "I've tried. Why're you always down there anyway?"
Sasuke scanned his face. The easy smile, the calm eyes, he found himself scanning them, over and over again…
"It reminds me of a dream I had," he said quietly, staring up at Naruto as if his face would fade right in front of Sasuke's eyes, "a long time ago."
"A dream?" Naruto asked, his smile widening. "I hope it was a good one."
The smile found its way back to Sasuke's face, echoing the gentle peace in his heart. He tilted it back as Naruto leaned closer.
"Yes," he said, letting Naruto's lips press to his, "it was."
A/N: They say dreaming of fountains symbolizes peace and relief in one's heart...I think Sasuke got there, eventually. What did you all think?
My life gets a little easier after March 10th next month, and will (hopefully) get continually easier after that. I can't wait to get some of my bigger projects done for you all! I hope this tides you by for now :)
Until next time,
- Kinomi
