Sleep

Rated: M

Pairing: SasuNaru

Summary: Dreams are more like nightmares now, and sleep is dreaded. His scent, his face, his voice, sometimes it seems too close, too real and maybe, just maybe...This...Isn't a dream? SasuNaru.

Genre: Angst / Romance / Fluff

Unbeta'd.

Chapter 1.

Naruto hated sleeping.

It wasn't because he couldn't train when he was asleep, (okay, maybe partially that was the reason) and it wasn't because that it wasted time (okay fine, so maybe it was also partially that) but mostly it was because of the dreams.

It was always the same dreams over and over again, words like weakling and monster, the memories of his childhood before his recognition by Iruka-sensei, the cruel eyes of hate from the villagers and the spiteful things that came out from their mouths.

Then the memories of the academy would come rushing back, the way he always acknowledged Sasuke's presence even though he hated him so much, Its not fair, he's an orphan now too and everyone still loves him, and he's so good at everything, those childish thoughts drifted around in his mind during sleep.

Having a crush on Sakura-chan, the way Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji and him would skip class and irritate Iruka-sensei to no end, those made him smile.

What made him smile even more in his sleep was his time when he officially became a genin. Kakashi-sensei's ridiculous bell test, Sasuke's first act of 'kindness' towards Naruto (When he was tied up and punished, Sasuke was the first one to give him his bento for lunch) and Sakura-chan's amazing genius in controlling chakra and knowing almost everything about what they came across.

The chuunin exams, Hinata bravely fighting Neji, Lee and Gaara's breathtaking battle, him defeating Gaara and making him a dear friend.

Yes, those were dreams. Nowadays they were replaced by nightmares, according to the blonde himself.

The tears shed at the Valley of the End, and the constant question that he always asked himself, Why didn't Sasuke just kill me there? and the loss of a beloved teammate. The sentences that Sasuke said.

You are, my best friend.

But best friends didn't attempt to kill each other, did they?

Best friends.

The warm sunlight shone in through the window into the classroom full of excited children, their faces all showing delighted smiles and ignoring the sun rays that glared into their eyes.

Their teacher had a scar on his nose, and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His face was kind, and in his hands he held several sheets of paper.

"Irukaaaa-senseeeei! What are we doing today, yo?"

"Che, whatever it is its going to be troublesome."

Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba, both of whom were rather good friends. Shikamaru was a lazy ass, but he was a downright genius. Heck, if he wished to, he could have come up with a plan to take over the world. Kiba, however, was a different story. With two red triangular marks on both cheeks, he gave off an almost dog like look. His dog, Akamaru always sat on his head, and to Naruto, that dog was a nuisance most of the time. He pooped everywhere and peed everywhere. Of course, Kiba made excuses for Akamaru, stating that his peeing was a way of practicing jutsus.

Not that anyone actually understood that.

"Boys, quiet." Iruka's voice echoed throughout the classroom, and the children immediately settled down, except for one small blonde boy.

His eyes were a brilliant cerulean blue, but they were hidden under eyelids and long eyelashes, and three whisker like marks on each side of his cheeks gave him an animalistic beauty. The boy was snoring, peacefully , until Iruka noticed, of course.

"Uzumaki Naruto... WAKE UP!!!"

"GYAAAH?!"

Naruto woke up with a start, banging his knees on the underside of the table due to the force of his shock.

He muttered several words before using one hand to rub his knees and the other to rub his head. Grinning, he focused his attention towards his teacher, who was currently frowning and shaking his head at him.

"Naruto, how many times have I told you not to-"

"YEAH YEAH, not to sleep in class and pay attention and be a good boy and blah blah blah. Iruka-sensei, I KNOW, dattebayo'!"

"Naruto! Do not speak to your se-"

"Shut up, dobe. You're noisy."

Naruto let out a huff of displeasure, before turning around to glare at the intruder into the conversation.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Or as he always called him , teme.

Sasuke was so opposite from Naruto, it was ridiculous when they were compared to each other. Blue-black hair that framed the pale-skinned boy's face was styled in what resembled a 'duck butt' from the behind, but in front, bangs covered the sides of his face. Fathomless black eyes with seemingly no emotions in them whatsoever were big, and if you stared at them long enough they could suck you right in, like black holes.

Only, this was according to Naruto, and what he meant by suck you right in, was to annoy you to no end, but to still draw you in like a lost puppet, like something enchanting and enticing was in the raven's eyes.

"Oi, usaratonkachi. What are you staring at?"

Naruto didn't even register the fact that he was staring at something, nevertheless at Sasuke, and a slight blush quickly formed on his face.

"I-I wasn't staring at you, teme!"

"If you weren't staring at me, how would I know you were? Because, you were. Simple as that."

"T-TEME!"

Naruto looked too ready to strike Sasuke down and have another giant argument with the annoying raven, but a stern clearing of the throat signaled their teacher's displeasure, and Naruto took it as a warning before sitting down.

"Now that everyone is all settled down, here's your assignment for the day." Iruka went around and passed blank pieces of paper to the students before continuing.

"I want you to draw you and your best friend, and then at the bottom, write your answer to this question, 'What would you do if you would have to kill your best friend?'."

"W-what!? Iruka-sensei!" Haruno Sakura, a pink haired girl cried. "K-kill? You're joking right, Sensei?"

"No, I'm not." Iruka paused, if only for dramatic effect before continuing. "There will be times, when you all become full-fledged shinobi, that you may have to abandon your team mates in sake of the mission. If your team mate is in great pain and is about to die, would you kill him to end his misery and continue the mission, or save him and abandon the mission?"

Naruto listened - if only briefly, and then looked at Sasuke.

Best friend my foot.

AU: I wrote this like - eons ago, so I just decided to upload this. Forgive my bad writing here - you could consider this a drabble. This will either be a two-shot or a three-shot, and don't worry, Taken is still on-going. Hope you enjoy.

-Skylovesyou. (L)