A Mind is A Terrible Thing to Lay Waste || lunamist » vonlane

Chapter 5

Still unconscious, Sasuke laid Naruto's battered body down on the bed, cutting the bloodied shirt and bandages from his chest - taking a deep breath as he surveyed the damage. "Gods, what did my brother do to you," Sasuke hissed before taking a warm, wet cloth to the ravaged skin. Once the blood was gone, he was relieved to see that the wound was only seeping mildly, not running in rivers. Using the bandages he'd found in Naruto's bathroom, Sasuke re-wrapped the wounds and lay his friend back down on the bed, covering his shivering form with blankets.

He should have gotten up and left Naruto to his sleep, but somehow Sasuke couldn't make his body move from the bed. As his hand pushed the dampened strands of gold from Naruto's face, Sasuke marveled at how good it felt sitting there. Never had he allowed himself to believe that he'd ever be able to be this close to Naruto again. Sasuke had squashed even a mere whisper of that thought. To have allowed his mind to wonder down those roads would have been incomprehensibly painful. He'd realized that the moment he left Naruto by that river three years ago. But even then, he'd had no real idea what he'd given up. No, that knowledge had come later, and with it, yet another regret.

Naruto's eyes slowly flitted open to see a deep frown on Sasuke's face. Sasuke! He thought to himself as his eyes widened in surprise. "I wasn't dreaming?" Naruto whispered, his voice weak and unsure.

Sasuke's dark eyes moved to make contact with the blue sea's filling Naruto's beautiful ones. Smirking, he answered, "I don't know. What were you dreaming about?"

Naruto closed his eyes, swearing underneath his breath. "No, definitely not a dream. Your still the cocky, arrogant bastard you've always been."

Slowly, a true smile began tugging at the corners of Sasuke's mouth. How long had it been since that had happened? Then he thought, it really hadn't been that long, when he was in Naruto's mind, he'd smiled a lot. Even laughed.

But as quickly as the smile came, it faded when a knock was heard at the door. Reluctantly getting up off the bed, Sasuke went into the living room to see who their guest was. The bright pink hair greeting him was not entirely unexpected.

"Sakura," Sasuke managed to clip out.

Nodding her head once, she answered, "Sasuke. I've come with the supplies you asked for." Then, craning her neck around him, she asked, "Is Naruto all right?"

"Come in and see for yourself," Sasuke offered while moving to the side.

Sakura hesitated for only a moment. Lady Tsunade had been furious with Naruto when she found out he was missing, but it was a fury born out of worry. And then, upon hearing both where and who he was with, she'd asked specifically for Sakura to check on Naruto and bring Sasuke the needed supplies. Even she knew better than to drag Naruto back to hospital. After all, he'd just find another way to escape, and next time, he might not make it home.

Sakura didn't wait for Sasuke to invite her into Naruto's bedroom, but instead went straight for it. And, unlike Sasuke, she'd actually seen him these past few days and wasn't surprised in the least by his questionable appearance.

Groaning, Naruto looked up into the overly bright pink haze surrounding Sakura's head and flatly stated, "I'm not going back."

Sakura lowered her head, her face turning several shades of red with her frustration. Lady Tsunade hadn't been the only one worrying about him. "Idiot! Do you even know how much trouble you caused by leaving?"

Grabbing the cover's Sasuke had wrapped him in, Naruto ducked his head deeper into their folds, as if that would protect him from Sakura's wrath. Stuttering, he started to at least try and apologize. "I'm sorry S-Sakura. Real-l-y, I am."