Sorry it's taking me so long to update all my stories! I hope you haven't forgotten about them!

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto!

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The Secrets We Hold

Chapter 3

~Time Skip: 1 Month~

The Chunin exams were right around the corner, and the whole team was on edge. Everything had gone somewhat smoothly after Naruto and Sasuke had their heart to heart, but there was still an air of tension between them.

The blonde had watched his friend closely, giving him a look every time he noticed the familiar limp in his step. But Sasuke couldn't stop even if he wanted to, it had become as necessary as the air they breathed for him. Even now he was itching to burn himself again, but the idiot just wouldn't leave him alone.

"Dobe… I told you to go home and leave me alone! You need to be preparing for the exam next week, not stalking me." He seethed, trying to put distance between him and the blonde.

"I know what kind of 'preparation' you are planning on doing and I know I said I'd leave you alone but not this time. If you aren't your best because you've hurt yourself then you put me and Sakura in danger. Secrets are fine, I mean hell I've got a big one, but not when they hurt those closest to you." Naruto argued, refusing to back down.

"Just shut up, loser!" Sasuke shouted, though inside he knew the blonde was right. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his performance was not what it had been before he'd begun his little ritual, and the Chunin exams were supposed to be tough.

Naruto ran in front of his teammate and grabbed his shirt in his fists, shaking the elder slightly. "Come on, you're coming with me!"

Sasuke started to protest but then noticed how the villagers were glaring at Naruto, correctly thinking the blonde was bothering him. It wouldn't have been so bad, but he knew they would just use that as another excuse to hate the bubbling teen.

Gritting his teeth together, he gave in and let Naruto drag him where ever he was planning on taking him. It wasn't until the blonde's apartment came in sight that he started to drag his feet, dreading whatever the younger was planning.

"When I told you to go home I didn't mean to take me there with you!" Sasuke hissed, attempting to jerk out of Naruto's grip.

The blonde didn't pay him any attention though and unlocked the door, pulling them both into the messy living room. "Look, I can see that you're dying to hurt yourself and whenever I had thoughts of doing anything like that in the past I always felt better if I was with someone" Naruto explained.

Sasuke gasped slightly at the confession, he'd never thought that someone so carefree could feel so down. "You mean you…"

Naruto looked back at him with a small sad smile before heading into his room and rummaging through something. When he returned he had a deck of cards and a first aid kit. "Take off your pants and make yourself comfortable teme! We're going to have fun tonight!"

The Uchiha's jaw almost dropped, his face turning pink from the teen's words. "Judging by the look on his face, he doesn't seem to know how sexual that sounded," he thought. He sat down silently, still trying to get his thoughts under control.

"Teme! I said take your pants off, I need to take a look at your leg!" Naruto stated loudly as he shook the medical kit around.

Sasuke's face went from pink to white and then completely blank before being covered in a scowl, there was no way he would let Naruto see his injury, absolutely no way.

Sensing what the Uchiha was thinking, the blonde unzipped his jacket and pulled up his shirt, concentrating chakra around his abdomen until his seal appeared. He watched Sasuke swallow and examine the markings, slightly worried about what he was thinking.

"See…" he started carefully, "I know you won't judge me so you have to trust that I won't judge you either. It's okay, just let me look at them."

Sasuke lowered his gaze to his leg, debating on whether or not he should listen to the usually dense teen. "You didn't have a choice with your marks, I made mine voluntarily." He finally responded.

"That isn't the point, Sasuke… And besides, when that villager hurt me you tried to take care of my wounds and now it's my turn. You're my friend." Naruto pushed, once again refusing to take no for an answer.

Sasuke huffed but could see the resolve in his teammates face. The teen wasn't going to let him go home that night and probably wouldn't stop pestering him until he gave in. He got to his feet and undid his shorts, carefully pushing them off his hips before sitting back down with a pout on his lips.

Naruto, however, was smiling widely and bounced over. He carefully pushed up the cloth from Sasuke's boxers and then started undoing the bandage there, being careful not to grimace at the pitiful site.

"You really go all out on everything, don't you teme" he teased, doing his best to dispel the tension that was in the room as he gently cleaned the blistered flesh.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Sasuke snapped back.

Naruto looked up through his lashes and gave a toothy grin, "I think I piss you off even when I'm not trying so I might as well have some fun with it, right?"

The Uchiha threw his head in another pout but felt the blonde's hands stop working on his leg. He looked back down to see the teen was deep in thought, sadness mixed into those blue depths.

"…Naruto?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to come off too caring.

"Can I ask you something? And this time I really want you to answer." Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke refrained from gulping down the lump that formed in his throat. Eventually, he was able to find his voice, though it remained weak. "You can ask, but I won't promise a response."

Naruto sighed, but accepted that was probably the best he was going to get from the Uchiha. "I know I irritate you, and I actually kind of enjoy our bickering sometimes, but, please… I'd never keep doing… Did… Did I cause this?" he finally managed to get out, his eyes shining in worry.

For the first time, Sasuke didn't care if he let his emotions get the better of him. It tore him up inside to think he'd given Naruto the impression this was his doing. Truthfully, it bothered him that the blonde was getting so strong when he felt like he was slowing down, but that wasn't his friends fault.

He put his hands on the blonde's shoulders and gripped them tightly, trying to convey how serious he was. "You are not to blame for my weakness, Naruto. No amount of fooling around would ever set me on edge enough to burn myself."

The blonde dropped his head some, but still stared at him intently. "So, you've never done this in response to something I've done?"

Sasuke gulped this time, and accidently let his guilt show.

"So, I have caused this…" Naruto concluded sadly, tears forming in his eyes.

"No, you… I mean… it was just the one time and it wasn't because you were pestering me! I just got so worried when I couldn't find you after hearing there was a mob at your apartment. But it… Naruto… I swear this isn't your fault."

The younger nodded his head, but it was obvious he still felt responsible. "I'm sorry, Sasuke…I was hiding like a coward and didn't know you were looking for me" he said returning to the wound he'd been cleaning.

Sasuke didn't know what else to say to convince his friend and felt that familiar itch return in full force. The impulse was so strong he started to shake, his hands now gripping the chair tightly.

"Naruto… I need…" he chocked out, his voice quivering in need.

The blonde returned his gaze to Sasuke's face, taking in how distressed the elder was. He slowly stood and whipped his wet eyes, having finished rebandaging the leg. Slowly, he reached out and pried one of the pale hands off his chair pulling the Raven to his feet as well.

Naruto kept going until they reached his bedroom before gesturing to the small bed. When Sasuke didn't move, he went ahead and climbed in, never letting go of his friend. Another small tug and the Uchiha was beside him.

They sat there for a short time before Naruto's small, tan hand pressed against the Raven's chest, pushing him onto his back. He could feel Sasuke's heart beating frantically beneath his hand, and knew the elder was still suffering.

"Just relax, it will pass if you just stay strong… I promise…" he whispered, tightening his grip on the Raven's shirt.

Sasuke's breathing was erratic, his eyes closed tightly. He reached down to scratch the fresh wounds, hoping that would be enough to satiate his need. But he was stopped by a firm, warm grip on his forearm.

"This isn't helping! Just let me do something you loser! I can't stand it!" Sasuke shouted, beginning to struggle.

Naruto sat up quickly and flipped to rest on the elder's lower legs, pinning his wrists above his head on the pillow. "No, you can do this, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha activated his Sharingan and glared deeply at Naruto, silently threatening him. He was so desperate for release that he wasn't thinking straight. The teens saddened face was stuck in his mind and the only thing he believed could get rid of it was to feel that searing pain again.

"Are you really going to try and attack me? You'd go that far just to hurt yourself?" Naruto asked accusingly.

Despite how crazed he felt, the blonde's words bore deep into him, "No… that would only make it worse… But I… I can't…"

A determined look covered the youngers face when the Uchiha didn't respond and he swiftly climbed off Sasuke before moving to his dresser, retrieving two kunai. He stomped back over and boldly handed one to his confused friend.

"Here… just go ahead and do it…" he ground out, eyeing the Raven intently.

Sasuke took it greedily, like an addict in withdrawal and quickly heated it before pulling back his boxers to attack the other leg. The crackling of burning flesh filled the room as he hissed in pain before letting the relief flood through him. His red eyes closed in contentment, the pounding in his chest subsiding.

"Ah!" he heard through his haze, pulling his attention back to the blonde. To his horror, Naruto's pants were off as well, a deep, gushing cut running across his tan thigh.

"What the fuck, Naruto!" he screamed, faltering as he tried to get out of bed.

The blonde panted, feeling a little light headed from the sudden blood loss. "You're stuck in the dark, stumbling around. I get it, Sasuke, really…. But I'm not going to let you suffer like that alone."

The Uchiha shook his head in disbelief and guilt, wishing he'd just listened to Naruto earlier, and never taken the kunai he'd been offered. "I…" he tried, his voice fading as his chest tightened again.

"Come on teme," the blonde said, a small smile forming on his face. "I'm sure you noticed that I'm absolutely terrible with medical stuff, so I'm going to need your help to clean this up" he finished, gesturing to his leg as he started limping back to the kitchen.

Sasuke stared after him, his mind unable to believe that the blonde would go so far for him. "B-but why? I've always been so cruel to you…" he questioned.

Naruto let his blush fade before turning around, "you're my friend, Sasuke, and I care about you."

The younger inwardly gulped, hoping the Raven would just leave it at that. Sasuke knew his big secret about the Nine Tails, but he had other secrets that he'd prefer stayed hidden, such as his crush on the stoic teen.

"Just come on… I'm actually getting kind of hungry so we should go out for ramen for dinner. Then we can focus on having a real sleepover instead of this wild stuff!" he finished, dragging the Uchiha after him.

Sakura had been looking everywhere for Sasuke, hoping that they could hang out after training. As she walked back to her house in disappointment, she heard the familiar laughing of her blonde teammate and looked over.

To her surprise, Sasuke was sitting beside him at the ramen stand, a mixture of sulking and mild amusement coloring his handsome face. She stomped over, irritated that they were having dinner together and didn't invite her, or more specifically, that she wasn't having dinner with Sasuke.

"Hey!" she screeched smacking Naruto on the head roughly. "Just want do you think you're doing bothering Sasuke?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, "leave him alone Sakura, can't you see we're busy?"

Naruto flinched when he saw the irritated look in his female teammates eyes, "the teme and I are just doing some of that team bonding you always talk about that's all… sorry we didn't invite you. I just figured you'd say no or have dinner with your family… or something…"

Sasuke watched the blonde intently, trying to determine if he should say something or not. Their eyes connected and he allowed the side of his mouth to twitch slightly, just barely hinting at a smile.

Apparently, it was all the support Naruto needed however, and his trademark grin returned, "let's get going teme! I'm going to kick your ass at Go-Fish tonight!" he exclaimed happily, completely ignoring the jealousy that poured from Sakura as she realized they must be having a sleep over of sorts.

The Raven smirked and gave his usual 'hn' but was kind of happy Sakura knew they'd be hanging out without her there. "Yeah, whatever dobe…"

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Hope you liked the latest update! I'll do my best to write more as soon as it actually comes to me -_-' (sweat drops).

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