Happy Birthday, Sasuke!

"Sasuke, you look terrible"

It's the first thing Suigetsu says to Sasuke when he opens the door to let him into his apartment.

"Is Karin here?" 

Sasuke ignores Suigetsu's comment and gets straight to the point.

He's so tired, and all he wants is to sleep.

Suigetsu shakes his head, stepping out of the way so Sasuke can pass by.  "She just left".  Karin had come by to drop off some watermelon she has received as a gift from her neighbor before leaving to meet up with friends in Shibuya.  "She won't be back until tomorrow".

Sasuke nods but he's not really listening to that part.  He drops his backpack beside the dining table and then sinks into the sofa that's just past it.

"Do you need to stay here tonight?".  

Suigetsu could be a lot of things; annoying, jarring, blunt, abrasive, to name a few, but insensitive and oblivious weren't among them.

Sasuke nods, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and thumb as he scrunches his eyes shut.  He wants to keep them shut forever.  

"Just on the couch is fine".

It was embarrassing enough that he needed to ask Suigetsu to let him stay the night, there was no way he was going to ask to sleep in the same bed too.

"You're not going to be lonely?" Suigetsu fake pouted, sticking his bottom lip out in a way that made him look stupid.  Annoying was definitely one thing he did well.

Sasuke rolled his eyes behind his hand.  "Shut up, will you?"

He didn't hate it though, the way Suigetsu would turn it into a joke or pretend to flirt.  There were plenty of ways the situation could be made worse but Suigetsu always knew how to keep it light.

"I'll be fine". He sunk further into the sofa, sliding down until his neck was resting against the back of the cushion.

He felt like he could sleep for years.

"Are you going to be here for now?". 

It was only 7 p.m., so it wouldn't be unusual for Suigetsu to head out.

Suigetsu pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing his finger to the home button until the screen lit up with the time.  "I'm meeting up with Mangetsu for drinks at 9, wanna come? You can catch a nap before then"

Sasuke kept his eyes shut, "maybe I'll go".

The idea of going out sounded like hell, but maybe if he could sleep first…

He could already feel himself getting drowsy, the promise of not being alone enough to convince his brain he could finally relax. his limbs felt so heavy.

"Well, I'll be here until then so move over"

Suigetsu crossed the room and dropped onto the couch next to Sasuke, pushing the darker haired man out of the middle and onto the far side so he could have room to stretch out.

 "I want to clear the next level of the game before I go".

He grabbed the game remote from the short table in front of them and then settled back down on the couch, situating himself diagonally so his back was resting in the corner where the back cushion met the arm and one leg was stretched along the back of the couch, the other stretched in front of him.

"C'mere" 

He reached over and grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him over on top of him before the dark haired man could even realize what was happening.

"Wait–" Sasuke pulled his arm out of Suigetsu's grip and sat back on his heels. The tips of his ears were tinged pink.

 "If you need the couch I'll just use the bed".

He thrust his chin towards the corner where Suigetsu's bed was positioned half secluded from view by shelves of One piece volumes and various decorations.  

Sure he'd be alone, but maybe he'd be fine with Suigetsu in the same room. Even if he did wake up screaming it would be much less embarrassing than whatever the hell this arrangement was going to be.

He started to get up and then yelped when Suigetsu yanked him back down.

"Look, Sasuke."

Suigetsu's voice was low, 

"this is better for you, isn't it?  You sleep better with someone close by so just shut up and sleep.  You look like crap."

.

"Sasuke. Hey, Sasuke"

Sasuke stirred, groaning softly as he opened his eyes.  It was dark in the apartment now with only the light from the TV casting a glow around them.  

On the screen Suigetsu's game was paused.  

Sasuke rubbed his eyes.

He was still laying on top of Suigetsu, his head resting on his friend's chest and the rest of his body curled between Suigetsu's legs because the couch was too short for him to stretch out.

His legs felt distant and when he moved his foot it started to tingle.

"What?" Sasuke's tongue was heavy in his mouth as he tried to speak.

Suigetsu laughed softly, carding his fingers through his best friend's hair to get his bangs out of the way.

"It's almost 9"

Sasuke pushed himself upward using Suigetsu's hip as a hand hold. 

Nothing felt real.  He rubbed his palm into his eyes again to get the haze out of them.

"You need to get going then" 

His voice sounded weird, he should drink some water.

With Sasuke no longer on top of him Suigetsu stretched, sticking his arms and legs out stiff and almost kicking Sasuke in the face.

"Ahhh that's so much better" Suigetsu sighed.

"You're kinda dead weight when you're asleep. I couldn't feel my legs"

He was back to his usual light voiced, teasing self.

Sasuke snorted, pushed Suigetsu's foot out of the way so he could get off the couch and stretch his back.

"Yeah I slept fine, thanks".

He no longer felt exhausted to the point of throwing up but he was still tired.  What he needed was to sleep for a solid 9 hours.

Maybe on the bed this time since there was way more leg room.

But Suigetsu was heading out and if he stayed to sleep he would be by himself in an apartment that wasn't his own.

And as tired as he was he didn't want to have to deal with the inevitable consequences of being alone.

"Are you coming?"

Suigetsu asked as he tossed the controller on the table and stood up.  "I told him I'd meet him at the bar".

Sasuke rubbed his eyes again, the bed was looking extremely tempting.

"Yeah I'll go".

It would be better to just hang out for a few hours and then go back to sleep.  Suigetsu knew how tired he was, there was no way he would keep him out for too long.

. . . Or so he thought but he'd forgotten how much of a talker Mangetsu could be.