They Way That We Are

Chapter 1

"Sasuke" The name came out of his mouth like a breath. With his blue eyes open wide and his hands shaking, he slowly bent his knees and crouched down to the figure before him. The man in front of him was huddled over with his knees to his chest and his forehead resting on the caps. His smaller frame shook with little subtle sobs, making his dark hair flutter slightly. He thought that he was dreaming.

"Sasuke" he said again, this time a little louder than the first. His heart beat in his ears like the steady pounding sound that results from hard swift fists connecting to flesh and bone. His breath rattled with sharp intakes of air as his nerves sped up and anxiety began to rise in his chest.

The figure did not look up at the sound of his name. Instead his sobs became faintly louder and he hugged his knees even tighter against himself in an attempt to keep this new intruder that certainly wasn't a dream, out and away.

"Sasuke" he said a third time. He was growing impatient. His fingers, although cautious, thread themselves in the dark hair. He felt the strands against his skin and pulled, a hard and commanding gesture. 'It's soft and black like ink' he thought. He forced the head up, gentle and stern in both ways.

The eyes. The eyes he saw looking up at him froze him into place, an unexpected paralysis. They were filled with pride, fear, and what could have been hurt. He felt the heat rise up his throat and spread across the scars on his face. He felt angry that his friend's eyes were overflowing with pain. He was angry at what could have caused this. Yes, after all these years apart and after all the mistakes that Sasuke made, he still considered the other man his closest friend. To see him like this now made the fury in him spill over as well as in the fox in his stomach. 'He looks like a broken doll' he whispered to the animal.

"What do you want, Dobe?" the mouth of the doll inquired. A salty tear stained red. It stopped just before it reached his lips on its downwards decent of the bruised face.

'Such pale skin tinged with the effects of battle and self-hatred.' The sly fox broke the silence within Naruto's head.

The raven's mouth flattened out into a line after his question and he consciously drained all the emotion from his eyes. He was not willing to share anymore of his soul with this idiot. He mentally scoffed at this thought. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul, he was once told.

"Teme, what happened to you?" the dobe blurted out, his excitement getting the best of him. He scolded himself as he saw Sasuke's body pull tighter into itself, body language indicating that he was closing himself up to the interaction.

'Oh no. Oh no, I don't want him to pull away from me. Not again.' He allowed his tan fingers to slide from the hair and felt the tips brush against the water on the smooth skin before he realized it. It was then that he allowed himself to crouch down even lower, one of his knees hitting the earth. Dust rose into the air where it was disturbed, but quickly settled once again. He lifted his free hand to caress the other cheek, still cautious but determined.

The object of his attention attempted to pull away, to remove the fingers and the hand. The heat they omitted burned him. But the idiot would not allow it. Instead he pressed with a small amount of pressure, commanding enough to make the raven hold still.

He opened his mouth as the words fell out with a softer tone, "Teme, tell me what's wrong." He was sure that the whole world could hear the rhythm of his heart.

Sasuke turned his head away from him, this time strong enough to disconnect the feel of skin on his face. He rested his chin on his knees. "Get away from me. You're not worth my time." No, Naruto's was not worth his time, not after he had accomplished his goals whereas this dead last had not reached his own yet. He was far too advanced in skill and social status to associate with him. At this thought, he felt his conscience scold him and reprimand him for being hateful. He was just looking for an excuse to keep himself guarded. If he had no bonds to begin with, they could not be broken and they could not hurt him.

He could smell himself. He could smell the tangy metal of blood on his own skin; he knew that Naruto could smell it and see it too. This made him feel vulnerable and vulnerability was not an option. This disturbed him.

Naruto could feel himself growing angry. 'I just want to help him. I want to make him better. To take him home with me.' With me. He contemplated this last part and determined that it was correct 'yes with me.' He shook his head, dismissing this revelation and promising to revisit it later at a better time. The anger remained.

"Why are you like this, you jerk? You've always been like this. I get that your pride won't allow you to accept help, but from the way you look right now you look like you can barely breathe. I think you need me." He said this loud. 'I want to hold him, his head looks heavy' he heard himself echo like an empty room in his head.

Sasuke did not react to this statement right away and so to invoke something in the other man, he moved a little closer. He could sense the other's body tense but it remained still as if to prove that he was unafraid.

A dark clump of bangs fell across porcelain skin and his fingers dared to brush it behind a small ear. This gesture of kindness finally caused a reaction.

He reacted to Naruto's attempt to comfort. His temperature increased and the confusion became louder and much fuzzier in his brain. 'I hurt him. I tried to kill him. I've been running from him for years. I don't understand. I'm so mean to him. I don't understand. I want to hate him because he is everything that I am not. I don't understand. He is truly stupid.' He lifted his head and again faced his rival. What he saw was no surprise.

He saw sky blue and yellow the texture of fur. He saw sun kissed tan and whisker scars. Broad shoulders and orange fabric. In the eyes he saw anticipation. In the hands he saw frustration. And on the neck he could see the heartbeat, the rush of blood frantically pumping through the veins in attempt to circulate oxygen into the lungs. It was this that captivated him. He fixated on the fast but steady rhyme of the beating.

'Yes look at me, notice me' the blonde chanted inside himself. He felt that if his friend could see the emotions that he was feeling, he'd finally listen and maybe open up to him. This was a stretch, he admitted to himself. But he was an optimistic man.

He couldn't decide what to say and so he settled for cruelty, for this is what he is used to. "If I have always been this way, then how could you expect me to act otherwise? I don't need you. I have never done so before and I will not in the future. You have nothing I neither want nor need. Go away." He took a deep breath, felt his ribs crack. He winced. He had completely forgotten about the wound on his upper stomach that he had hastily slapped a bandage on to stop the bleeding. It hadn't even been cleaned. It will become an infection and fester. It stung. Water gathered in the corner of his eyes.

The words hit him like nails, although they were logical. Sasuke was right, how could he expect things to be any different. The world was not full of unbroken promises and easy rain. The fact that this dark haired man needed him was an unwavering thought in his head however. He saw him flinch. 'The pain is coming from his stomach' he noticed. Then it was decided. If he wanted this, wanted Sasuke to come home, there was no time and no other chances but to take him by force right now.

The frown that had planted itself on his lips curled upward. "This is what's best for both you and me even though it might not seem like it right now. You can't move on your own, otherwise you would have run off from me. I'm going to take you to get help. If you come willingly you can ride on my back, but if you fight me I will carry you in my arms."

There was no other option. He knew where they would be headed and he found himself not minding much. He had done what he had set out to do. He was an avenger and he supposed there was nothing else left for him out here. "Hn," he replied to this.

Startled by the absence of a snappy comeback or hate filled words, heat began to bloom across his skin. As Sasuke unraveled himself, he began to feel nervous. He placed one strong hand and arm under Sasuke to help him stand up straight.

"Climb on my back Teme." His voice shook.

To preserve his image he began to struggle. He did not want the dobe to know he had given up and he did not want to go willingly, even though he knew it was necessary to return to the village he had left behind as a child.

He kicked as well as he could, with his aching abdominal area, and he curled his hands into fists. He struck the blonde everywhere that he could and he screamed a long deep yell.

The fox container sighed. He knew this would not be easy. His strong limbs itched to fight back, for that was how they knew how to communicate best. He gave no warning. He slugged the other man in mouth as hard as he could, no regrets. After he saw the stagger and the shock, he swiftly placed his arm under Sasuke's legs and pulled him to his chest. His other arm wrapped around his back, holding him into place.

The avenger did not expect to be hit in the face. He assumed that Naruto would feel pity for his sorry state, even though he was making such a fuss. He was caught off guard once again as he felt himself being picked up and held against a chest.

The heartbeat again. Instead of seeing it this time, he felt it against his skin. It beat so strong it was audible and could be sensed even through Naruto's clothing. The wound spread pain throughout his whole body, his nerves begging to become numb.

The steady movement of him running calmed the pale one in his arms down. He watched the other frown then slowly close his eyes. This man's chakra was low; he could feel it even as he saw him sitting on the ground moments ago. 'You die when you run out right?'

He ran faster as the darkness of his eyelids enveloped his friend.

Chapter Summary and Author's Notes:

This chapter is written in a broken apart way to portray both men's disorientation, confusion, and exhaustion. Naruto finds Sasuke crouched in a field with a large and almost fatal wound in his stomach. Sasuke is in disbelief that Naruto is actually there at first and Naruto struggles with the strong emotions that he is feeling towards the other man. After realizing just how injured Sasuke is, Naruto makes the not so hard decision to take him by force back to the village while worrying about Sasuke's survival. Sasuke pretends to put up a fight to keep up his reputation and is slightly confused as to why he doesn't mind being taken back by Naruto as much as he would have before.