Sick of You (narusasu)

Chapter 17: Breathe

~'0'~

Naruto's room was once their safe haven. A room in which the two of them could occupy together, share space with each other, share warmth... neither of the boys felt this anymore. Now, this room was a reminder of what they were losing. Sasuke lost his worth to Naruto as a caretaker. Naruto lost the excuse of being close to Sasuke. 

It was as if they mourned the loss of something that never existed. 

Sasuke opened the bag from the market and began setting the peaches and broth on the table, attempting to busy himself instead of sulking. Naruto sat on his bed, staring into space. He was unable to mask his sulking. 

The food was set for dinner. Sasuke grabbed some spare ramen cups and made himself his meal. He looked up to Naruto to signal him over to eat. Naruto sat at the table and took a peach, taking a slow bite. From reflex of the sweetness and surprising warmth, Naruto's face softened as a subtle smile revealed itself for a few seconds. 

Sasuke's heart sank. Naruto truly was feeling better. At the surface of his heart, he was thrilled that Naruto wasn't in pain anymore. However, after digging slightly deeper, you'd find that he was devastated. He knew it meant that their unspoken arrangement would be over. He mustered up a forced grin in response.

Naruto felt uneasy from Sasuke's smile. He was happy Naruto was better. He was happy it would be over. Everything was coming to an end. 

Sasuke grabbed the broth container and used his fire palm technique to heat up the contents. He opened it and slid it across the table to Naruto. Naruto took the bowl and sipped it from the side. It was impossible for Naruto to hide how good it was, and how good it made him feel. His smile grew as he muttered, "Ahhh.. damn..", gaining a small chuckle from Sasuke.

"I'm assuming you like it?" He asked. Naruto nodded as he took another sip. Sasuke let out a quick breath. "I'm glad." 

They both sat comfortably in each other's presence, enjoying dinner together. After finishing up, Naruto stood up and stretched as Sasuke collected the trash and stored the extra couple peaches in their bag. Naruto happily trotted to the futon while Sasuke threw away the garbage. As they did before, they both got comfortable on the futon and Sasuke restarted the fire. Both boys removed their shirts, awkwardly facing opposite ways and throwing them aside. They both then laid down, and stared at the ceiling. Sasuke remembered that Tsunade mentioned there would be a couple more heat flashes for Naruto tonight. Ideally, keeping Naruto warm seems to be helping. Sasuke just wanted to help. 

Sasuke rolled over on his side, facing Naruto. Naruto turned his head to the right, and stared at Sasuke's face. Without exchanging words, Naruto turned himself toward him and snuggled himself into his grasp. With the fire behind him, Naruto pressed his body against Sasuke's, one arm against his chest and the other around his neck. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Naruto, and entangled their legs.   

Their last night began.

~'0'~

Neither of them could fully fall asleep, but they didn't want the other to know that. 

As Tsunade said, Naruto's body temperature was rising and falling at insane levels recurrently. Sasuke found himself pulling Naruto's head to his neck, as he took in the scent of his hair. Maple cinnamon.. he loved it. 

Naruto barely noticed his fluctuating fevers, more preoccupied with feeling Sasuke's skin on his own. His skin was always so soft to the touch. Nuzzling his face against his chest felt heavenly. He could almost feel Sasuke's heartbeat against his face. 

Without realizing, both boys took this time to fully feel each other. Sasuke's hand finding itself beside Naruto's head, rubbing the nape of his neck. Naruto's fingers gliding up and down Sasuke's arms, rubbing patterns and loops as they went.