An Unexpected Visit

Summary: When Naruto gets sick, Sasuke is forced to check up him. But when he arrives, will Sasuke simply find his annoying rival, or will the young shinobi stumble across something much more precious...friendship? (just fluff, hints of sasunaru)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Naruto characters...

I hope you enjoy, and please give me lots of feedback!

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Sasuke glared. Well, perhaps this was an understatement, as the young Uchiha really did nothing but glare. No, the look he was currently fixing his sensei with was one of hatred, contempt, and absolute venom. In short, if looks could kill, said sensei would currently be six feet under.

So naturally, it was very fortunate indeed that Kakashi was immune to his pupil's infamous eyes and their ability to make blood run cold. Ignoring the images of his very violent death being projected from the prodigy genin's eyes, Kakashi smiled sweetly at his student from behind his always-present mask.

"Something troubling you, Sasuke?"

"Why do I have to go?"

If Kakashi was not absolutely certain that Uchihas were incapable of something as degrading as whining, he would have sworn that the youngest survivor of the powerful clan had done just that. However, it was impossible for the almighty Uchihas to actually whine, so he must have been mistaken.

With unwavering, teacher-like patience that would have made even Iruka proud, Kakashi pinned the young brunette before him with a one eyed glance of his own, taking a deep breath to explain the mission yet again. "You have to go because a) I am spending Team 7's off time doing a special mission, b) Naruto's neighborhood can be a bit…rough around the edges, and c) I'm not sure what state of dress our number one hyperactive ninja might be in when you arrive, so it wouldn't do to send our innocent Sakura on this mission. Understood?" His tone left no room for argument.

Grumbling darkly to himself, the words too soft for Kakashi to properly pick up but oddly resembling "hopeless dobes" and their "meddling pervert sensei", Sasuke rose to his feet and trudged towards the door. Grabbing the grocery bag Kakashi had left on the table before leaving, the young avenger slammed the door on his way out, causing every window in the house to rattle.

"Well," Kohona's illustrious Copy Cat Ninja mused quietly to himself, eyes twinkling merrily as his fished a copy of Icha Icha Paradise from his vest pocket, "that went well."

Surely this could not be right. His worthless, pervert-of-a-sensei must have given him incorrect directions, because it was impossible that anybody, even the dobe, lived here.

Sasuke's sullen march had finally brought him to the foot of a rundown chain of apartments in the slums of Kohona, and the term "rundown" was being generous. The crumbling complex was covered with graffiti, trash littering the steps leading to its front door that hung haphazardly from its hinges, kicked in long ago. Scanning the windows of the upper floors, Sasuke wasn't surprised to find that over half of them were covered in grime, broken, or simply missing. Rats the size of dogs prowled the streets for scraps, and from within the building came the wail of several crying children.

The dark genin checked the address in his hand for the eighth time, once again confirming that it did in fact match the apartment-from-Hell before him. Finally shaking himself from his shock induced stupor, Sasuke squared his shoulders, dodged a very drunk beggar, and headed up the stairs towards the fourth and final floor of the complex.

Walking down a dimly lit hallway, the he squinted at the peeling numbers marking each appartment's door, trying to make them out in the flickering light. At one point Sasuke had to suppress a very un-Uchiha-like squeal as he accidentally stepped on one of the dog-rats' tails and almost had his ankle bitten off as punishment.

Finally he reached his destination, a dismal-looking door at the very end of the dingy hallways. After checking the address one last time, he knocked hesitantly at the door, almost afraid of who or what would open it.

When there was no immediate answer, Sasuke rapped his knuckles against the wood harder, calling out impatiently. "Oi dobe, open up, its me."

Still receiving no reply, the genin reached for the doorknob and attempted to force the door open, but was surprised to find it very firm and unmoving. "Naruto?" he called again, wondering if the younger boy had gone out.

However, just as he was about to hightail it out of his very uncomfortable surroundings, Sasuke heard a faint rustling from within the apartment. Pressing his ear to the door, he was able to make out soft footsteps dragging tiredly towards the door. When their owner finally reached the door, there was a long series of clicks as multiple locks and chains were unlocked and unfastened, and finally the door opened cautiously a crack, an azure eye peering warily at its visitor.

"Sasuke?" The Uchiha had to wince in sympathy. His teammate sounded awful; his voices scratchy and exhausted, and his one visible eye half lidded due to interrupted sleep.

He opened his mouth to respond, but before Sasuke could get a word out, the door across the hall swung open, an old, graying woman with a baseball bat glowering menacingly at him from the apartment within.

"Everything ok, Naruto-chan?" she asked gruffly, glaring suspiciously at the pale boy before her. Despite her apparent old age, Sasuke found himself backing up towards Naruto's door, deciding that this was one lady he defiantly did not want to cross.

"It's fine Mai, he's a friend of mine."

After giving Sasuke a long, measuring look, the old woman finally broke out in a warm smile. "Well in that case, you're more than welcome to visit! Any friend of our little Naruto here is a friend of mine! He doesn't have nearly enough of them for my taste. 'Bout time one of you showed up to help the poor dear out, he's been just miserable."

By this time the aforementioned genin had fully emerged from his apartment, joining them out in the hall. Mai fondly reached forward and ruffled his head of unruly gold curls affectionately. "I have to go out for a while honey, but I can check up on you this evening if you'd like. That fever of yours is starting to worry me."

Naruto's cheeks were dusted a faint pink, and Sasuke wasn't sure if the coloring was due to a blush or the fever. Perhaps it was a bit of both. "Thanks Mai, but I'll be fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sure thing, squirt," she smiled softly at him again before turning to Sasuke. "Keep an eye on him, huh?" Sasuke nodded a bit awkwardly, not used to the idea of "keeping an eye on" or caring for anyone but himself, least of all Naruto.

Her mother-hen instinct seemingly satisfied for the moment, Mai retreated back to the apartment, swinging her baseball bat cheerfully.

The two boys remained in the hall, staring awkwardly at one another for a moment before Naruto cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?" He asked bluntly.

"Kakashi sent me."

"Ah," the blonde nodded, turning back to his apartment. "Well come on in then, before the rats eat you." Sasuke wasn't sure if he was joking of not, but wisely decided that he didn't want to wait and find out.

Whatever Sasuke had imagined his rival's apartment looking like, it had definitely not been the scene before him. As he surveyed the small but tidy room before him, the Uchiha was tempted to go back into the hall and make sure this was the same grimy building he had been looking at before.

Once the door was firmly closed behind them and Naruto had refastened over a dozen locks, the kyubi container gestured his guest farther into his home. The room they had just entered, seemingly the main room of the apartment, served as both a kitchen and a living room, the far end sporting a small sink, stove, and refrigerator. This small cooking area was marked off by a short island counter, with several bar stools pulled up to it.

The other half of the room was furnished sparsely with a faded rug, battered couch, and overstuffed reclining chair. A small t.v. sat in the corner, although it didn't seem to get much use. Most of the furniture in the room looked like they had been picked from the trash and cleaned up or repaired as well as possible, and although it was obvious their owner was far from well off, their odd combination gave off a sort of cozy feeling.

Two doors branched off from the main room, and Sasuke assumed they lead to the bathroom and bedroom. His scan of the house complete for the moment, he returned his indifferent glance towards is teammate, taking in his haggard appearance.

To put it simply, Naruto looked horrible. The normally chipper blonde sported dark bags under both eyes and had clearly been in bed all day, a set of orange (surprise surprise) boxers and a white tank top serving as his pajamas. The end of his nose was a brilliant shade of pink, and his slouched posture screamed of discomfort and misery. As a pitiful cough escape his teammate's lean body, Sasuke was almost overcome with sympathy. Almost.

"I thought the great Uzumaki Naruto never got sick," he taunted as he tossed the bag on younger boy's counter. His smug statement earned him a dark glare.

"Yeah well, my…er…immune system and I had a disagreement, and he- I mean it- decided that as long what I have won't kill us- er, me- then I just have to suffer through it. The blonde closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally commanding his "immune system" to stop laughing evilly at his state of misery. "What'd you bring me?" He motioned with his chin to the bag.

Sasuke shrugged, settling himself on a barstool and trying to ignore how pitiful and oddly…cute Naruto looked in his rumpled state. "Whatever Kakashi put in there."

The blonde opened the bag curiously, silently praying that Icha Icha Paradais was not on his teacher's list of "get-well" items. His prayers were answered as he emerged with a large bowl of ramen, a box of green tea, several bottles of pills, and a container of salve whose label claimed it helped with breathing. Just your standard, I-have-a-cold kit.

"Tell him thanks for me," Naruto sniffled as he placed the ramen in the fridge for later (he must really be sick, Sasuke realized with some surprise) and began studying the directions on the pill bottles warily.

Unable to resist the pathetic creature before him any longer, Sasuke reached forward to snatch the bottles from his tanned, training-scarred hands. "Oh, just let me," he groused irritably, angry that the dobe had managed to melt a little of his heart of ice once again.

"Thanks," the blonde mumbled weakly, his compliance a clear testament to his exhaustion. "What's Sakura up to?" He attempted small talk hesitantly.

"The hell if I know," Sasuke tossed back, placing several pills in the younger boys hand and searching for a cup to fill with water.

"Don't bother," Naruto stated dryly before tossing his head back and swallowing them dry. Without another word, he grabbed the container of breathing salve off the counter and stumbled blearily into the darkness of this bedroom, Sasuke tagging hesitantly at his heels.

When fumbling fingers found a light switch and brought the room into illumination, Sasuke couldn't hold back his snort of amusement. Now this was the Naruto he knew and lo- well, that he knew. The room's walls were bright orange, a circular rug covering most of the wooden floor a sunny yellow. Not that you could really see the rug, as it was buried beneath a sea of clothes, various weapons, and dirty tissues. The bed also looked like a tornado had hit it, the blankets knotted and bunched every which way. To the side, a window (surprisingly unbroken) provided a not-so-spectacular view out onto the street, and beneath it sat a battered wooden desk and chair, overflowing with books, scrolls, and more weapons.

Naruto trudged tiredly to the bed, flopping down with a groan and pulling a pillow over his head. As the pillow shifted over his mountain of spiky hair, Sasuke registered with some surprise the set of kunai that glittered from its newly exposed hiding place. Who knew the dobe slept with weapons? Though in this neighborhood…

Sasuke lingered in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Although when normally dealing with his obnoxious rival he would have been gone ten minutes ago, now, staring at the half-dead genin before him, Sasuke couldn't shake of the urge to stay and…well perhaps "play nurse" was pushing it, but definitely help, at least a little.

Approaching the figure on the bed, Sasuke cleared his throat, unsure of what to do. At the noise, the boy before him turned his head slightly, blue eyes staring owlishly out at him from a fever flushed face. "You're still here?"

Awkward and at a loss for words, the youngest Uchiha settled for stating the obvious. "You look terrible."

"What a coincidence, I feel terrible." The older boy winced a bit at the irritable tone.

"Can I, uh…help?" If the words sounded weird to Sasuke, they just about bowled Kohona's number one hyperactive ninja over. The blonde stared at his teammate for several moments, blinking in a state of shock over his question. Finally shaking himself out of it, he cleared his throat carefully.

"Um…you could grab the spare blanket from the closet for me…it's freezing in here." Sasuke nodded silently, still shocked at his own offer, and turned to retrieve the blanket despite the fact that Naruto's bedroom wasn't cold at all.

Together the two boys made up Naruto's bed, Sasuke's worry for his companion growing every second as the smaller boy began to wheeze slightly, sweat dripping from his face. He considered calling their pink haired teammate for a moment; she always had a knack for taking care of people, but decided against it as Sakura would probably gush over him instead of Naruto. Besides, this neighborhood was no place for their naive, innocent friend.

The bed made, Naruto sat down, a series of deep coughs racking his toned chest as he reached for the breathing salve on this nightstand. Gathering a small amount of it in his hands, he smeared some on his chest, hissing at the coolness, and then began reaching awkwardly to apply it to his back as well. After watching his halfhearted attempts for several long moments, Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed the salve from his loose grip, plopping down on the bed behind him.

"Take off your shirt and lie on your stomach," he instructed tonelessly, warming some of the salve between his hands. Naruto wordlessly obeyed, too tired at this point to even give his usually cold teammate a look of puzzlement.

Warm, slick hands descended on his back, causing Naruto to jump in surprise. The hands paused for a moment, Sasuke peering curiously down at him. "Too cold?"

"N-no, its fine."

Talking ceased between the two boys, Sasuke setting to work on his rival's back, pale hands diligently working in the salve and massaging out the knotted muscles caused from hours of coughing. Although Naruto tensed at the odd sensation at first, he eventually relaxed and let Sasuke's skilled hands work, closing his eyes and going limp beneath his ministrations.

When Sasuke dug his thumbs into a particularly stubborn knot of muscles in the middle of Naruto's lower back, the younger boy let out a moan of appreciation, too far gone to even realize what he was doing. Burrowing his head into the pillow beneath him, the blonde sighed contentedly, his breathing finally coming out slow and even. If Sasuke hadn't known any better, he would have sworn that the boy below him was purring.

Getting up and wiping the excess salve from his hands, Sasuke felt his lips twitch into a slight smile before pulling the blankets over his sleeping friend. 'How do you do it, Naruto?'

Shaking his head bemusedly, he crept silently from the bedroom, and after a moment's consideration, settled himself on his friend's worn couch, prepared to stand guard over his rival…his friend, for the remainder of the night.

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Well, what do you think? Should I keep going, or just leave it at that?