Okay… So, kind of like a short story/long one-shot, but you all know me! I like the details!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Warnings: Self Harm/Lemons

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Need

Chapter 1

The darkness of the night was deep enough to eat away at all the light from the stars, casting a deathly shadow over Konoha. In the harsh blackness, there was no way to see the crimson rivers running down his arms, the white skin that stretched tightly over protruding bones, or the lifeless look in his deceivingly vibrant blue eyes.

Under the obsidian sky, Naruto Uzumaki let his pain flow freely from the void in his soul. He'd look at his haunting reflection in the mirror as he moved the blade again, knowing there was nothing for his eyes to see. But if there had been, it would only have a silhouette, a shell of the person he was supposed to be.

His mind tingled from blood loss while his breath produced less and less steam in the frigid night air. He'd lose consciousness soon, and fall into an even more nebulous state, but it would be all worth it. This ritual was his only escape from the torture of reality and he would gladly trade one world of pain for another if he could have some semblance of control.

The warm liquid pooled at his feet, reminding him that 'he' had been the one to cause it-that this was 'his' doing. Villagers could beat him, curse him, make him bleed, but only he himself could drag a razor across his skin this slowly.

His hazy blue eyes glazed over, closing in satisfaction. He rolled his head back sluggishly, submitting himself to the cold sleep that awaited him. In the morning, light would return to lie to him again; to promise an ending to this darkness.

Just like the sun he would rise and drive away the bleak, shadow filled hole inside him when people were awake, and just like the sun, he'd let the night take over again when all others were asleep.

***Next Morning***

Sasuke walked across the bridge to where his teammates were standing, a hint happiness filling him when he realized that Naruto must be getting turned down on yet another offer to take the kunoichi out for lunch.

The Uchiha was possessive like many people from his clan and wanted Naruto all for himself, not that he would ever admit such a thing to anyone. He had to think only of his revenge if he was ever to achieve it, and falling for the blonde would only hinder his goal.

Still, Naruto had seemed different since the exams; Tsunade had quickly promoted him to Chunin along with Shikamaru, seeing as he had single handedly stopped a near rampaging tailed beast and bested the Hyuga genius.

The Raven couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt like something inside of his rival had finally snapped, even though by all outward appearances he seemed to be the same. He stood quietly, listening to his teammate's antics while they waited for their ever-late sensei to arrive.

It was comforting for him to know that they behaved the same way around him after he'd almost gone off with Orochimaru. To his irritation, disbelief, but also small relief, Naruto had been able to stop him at the Valley of the End. This was no longer the deadbeat child who vandalized the Hokage Stone Faces, but he wasn't a mature Chunin either… Something didn't seem right about his actions.

Since he couldn't go on missions outside the village for an entire year, Kakashi and Naruto had been charged with 'babysitting' the Raven, and Sakura was nowhere near strong enough to go on something herself. So, in the months since he and the blonde had been discharged from the hospital their days consisted mostly of D-Ranked assignments or light training.

Sasuke watched Naruto's movements carefully. Even without his Sharingan active, he could see the occasional swaying in the youngers stance, noting that it was usually preceded by a blank look in his eyes.

It was like the blonde was barely able to stand without passing out, but he'd received an 'all clear' from the Hokage herself after their battle, and he appeared healthy. His skin was the same honey-tanned color, his hair a vivacious blonde and his eyes were sparklingly sapphire when he wasn't about to fall over.

Sasuke was roused from his musings when Kakashi finally arrived, nearly thirty minutes late. As usual, Sakura and Naruto scolded him, but the blonde's voice was quieter than normal, like the strain of screaming was too much for him to handle.

"Mah! Sorry! Sasuke, Naruto, you two will be sparring with each other today. Sakura, the Lady Hokage has summoned you for training and I have a mission to go on outside the village" he explained, narrowing his eye at the Uchiha slightly, "behave while I'm away."

Sasuke nearly snorted, knowing the last comment was directed solely at him, but he was content knowing that Naruto would probably stop him again if he tried to leave. Contrary to what most people believed, being beaten didn't make him want to go seek out power even more, it reminded him that there were still very strong and capable teachers here in the Leaf.

He sauntered over to his rival, doing his best to look put off by the idea of having to spar with him. "Alright dobe… It looks like I'm stuck with you today so try to keep up."

"Yeah, whatever teme" he replied loudly.

The two teens sparred for hours, one unwilling to lose out of pride and the other out of appearances. Naruto could tell that Sasuke was watching him with his piercing Sharingan. He'd done his research, and new that the Raven wouldn't be able to see his transformation jutsu even with the visual prowess, but there was always a chance he could slip up.

If all went like it usually did, the Uchiha would only be able to tell that he was expending far more chakra than necessary and that it wasn't going to his attacks or defense. He hoped that his rival's intellect wouldn't be able to figure out why, or that he simply wouldn't care enough to find out.

But now that even his stamina was depleted from their training and his desperate lack of food, Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to handle much more. His movements were becoming sluggish, and the Raven was gaining the upper hand.

"Tsk, dobe. Tired already?" Sasuke taunted. Inside though, the Uchiha was starting to get worried. He could tell that Naruto was wearing out much more quickly than he ever had before, and with his Sharingan, he could see the chakra wavering around the boy every so often.

Naruto growled lowly and threw himself forward to avoid suspicion. But he only made it part of the way towards his rival before collapsing to his knees. "No, if I lose consciousness now I won't be able to maintain the henge jutsu. Sasuke will…" he thought to himself as the familiar chill slipped into his mind.

The Raven stood stalk still when Naruto hit the ground. His eyes were wide with fear from the way the boy slumped on the Earth before him. Once the smoke from his jutsu had cleared, the blonde's true body was visible. He was completely emaciated, his skin a sickly white from what Sasuke could only assume to be a lack of blood and even his hair looked dull.

He looked around quickly to determine if this was some joke or test, but no one was around in the lonely forest besides them, and this was definitely Naruto. Sasuke stumbled over, terrified he might not find a pulse when he turned the prone body over.

To his relief, there was a steady, gentle thudding beneath his fingertips. "Naruto, what the hell happened to you?" he whispered.

His first instinct was to take the teen to the hospital for Tsunade to check over, but he thought better of it. If the idiot had gone to such lengths as the transformation technique, he clearly didn't want anyone to know.

So instead, he picked him up tenderly, holding the fragile body close to his own. The sun was just beginning to set over the far horizon, and Sasuke decided he'd use to night to his advantage to sneak Naruto back to his apartment.

***In Naruto's mind***

"Ku ku ku… foolish boy. I told you to use my chakra, didn't I? Now the Uchiha brat knows your secret." Kyuubi purred darkly.

"Just shut up you stupid fox! I don't need your help. Besides, if I had taken your power then he would have definitely thought something was wrong since I never use it when sparring. Plus, what if another shinobi had come around and seen me using it? I'd have gotten into a whole world of trouble for that."

"Aren't you concerned he'll tell the Hokage?"

Naruto snorted in sarcastic amusement and rolled his eyes. "Sasuke hates me. He'll probably take the opportunity to leave now that I'm unconscious and Kakashi-sensei is away on a mission. I bet I'll wake up tomorrow still lying face down in the dirt where I fell."

The Nine-Tails smirked, agreeing with the pessimistic teen. He'd been in Naruto since the child was less than a day old and watched how he was treated by everyone. All humans ever did was destroy each other, especially those who were different.

Kyuubi would never understand his blonde host. Why couldn't he have gotten a jinchuuriki like Gaara that fed off his rage? The blonde only ever used the sinister chakra when his very life was in danger or he felt a strong emotional surge; not once had he called upon the power solely from hatred.

The kid was in shambles, but even now he held no true desire to seek vengeance against all the people that had hurt him.

Sasuke carefully stripped the dirt covered clothes off his secret crush, wincing at the miserable sight. All of Naruto's bones were showing proudly, the skin above them taunt without any muscle to smooth it. But what was so much worse were the still healing scars that lined his lower arms.

Their bright red streaks marred the previously flawless surface as if they were mocking the very life of the person who had created them.

The Raven ran a bath and placed the limp body down gently, hoping that the hot water would bring some color, or at least warmth back to the cold, clammy, skin. He ran his fingers down the teen's face, regret filling his usually arrogant black eyes.

After taking off his own shirt, he set about washing the slumbering boy, using a cloth to wipe away the sweat and grime from their sparring match. He couldn't take his focus off Naruto's uneasy face while he worked; it haunted him more than Itachi's.

Sasuke wondered how long the blonde had been hiding such despair. He knew it would have been months at the very least to achieve such total emaciation, but was it before or after the Chunin exams?

The Raven had first noticed something was off right after Naruto had fought Gaara, but he'd been so consumed with trying to avoid thinking about the blonde that it was possible he simply ignored the signs.

But even if that was the case, how did no one else see what was happening? Naruto was slowly becoming popular among their peers; even Shikamaru had mentioned to him that their group only came to 'rescue' him from Orochimaru because the blonde had been so adamant.

Shaking his head in self-loathing, Sasuke pulled Naruto from the water and dried him off, being especially careful to not press down too hard; he was truly afraid that the frail form would break like glass if he did.

For the first time in months, when Naruto woke from his numb sleep, he was warm and comfortable. His hands clasped onto the soft material, telling him he wasn't on the tile of his bathroom or the dirt floor of the forest. But the bedding also wasn't as rough as it would have been had he woken in the hospital.

The blonde opened his eyes in confusion, only to realize he was lying next to Sasuke in what he could only assume to be the Uchiha's room. A small ache started in his chest when he stared at his rival.

When the Raven was sleeping, he didn't have the hatred, anger or bored look that he usually wore; instead, his face was almost peaceful. The only emotion that could be seen on his pale skin was worry, but that was impossible, or simply not meant for him.

Naruto sat up slowly, pulling his bare feet from the comfort of the sheets to leave. A strong hand grabbed onto his arm, the long graceful fingers wrapping around the limb completely he was so thin. But the blonde wouldn't look back, he refused to see the disapproving, hurtful glare Sasuke always gave him.

"Let go of me Sasuke, I want to go home" he demanded blandly.

"No Naruto, you aren't well and you're lucky I didn't take you straight to Tsunade. You're going to stay with me until I'm sure you won't just keel over" the Raven replied firmly.

The younger tried to jerk himself away from Sasuke, but it only made his head spin, and he was easily pulled back down to the mattress. He sighed heavily, reaching around in the dim lighting to cover himself again.

Sasuke finally released the blonde and sat up himself, helping to tug the blankets back up around the shivering body and tucking him in. Naruto watched him with the faintest amount of amusement.

"Hey teme, why are we both only in boxers?" he asked quietly.

"Because dobe, I cleaned us both up and put us in fresh underwear so we wouldn't get the bed dirty."

Despite his despair, Naruto couldn't help but smirk, "ah, so that's why they feel so loose" he teased.

Sasuke didn't understand at first, seeing as Naruto's boxers barely stayed on his thin hips too, but he soon realized the boy was commenting on their respective 'sizes'. Unfortunately for him, he'd seen the blonde's privates and couldn't say anything; the younger was bigger than him, if only slightly.

The Uchiha's face started to become pink thinking about his crushes dick, but he let it happen in the hopes that it would help Naruto relax. Judging by the increased sneer he was receiving, it did.

"Whatever dobe…" he replied lightly.

Sasuke laid back down, hoping that the teen next to him couldn't feel his anxiety pouring out of him. Their shoulders touched lightly, but for whatever reasons, neither made any effort to move them.

The Uchiha could see that Naruto had his eyes open and that he didn't attempt to hide the deadness behind their blue depths. He wondered if this was what always happened to the blonde when he went home.

"Naruto, why-"

"I don't want to talk about it Sasuke, and I'm only staying the night until my chakra returns" the blonde interrupted coldly.

The Raven almost gave an equally harsh retort but knew that it wouldn't help. Instead, he rolled to his side and hesitantly wrapped his pale arm around the teen, watching carefully to see if it was unwanted.

Naruto didn't move; there wasn't even recognition on his face that he was being touched. They remained silent until both succumbed to sleep.

***Next Morning***

Naruto woke up once again in complete comfort, being spooned by the boy he once called friend. He rolled his eyes and pulled away quickly, this time making it to his feet before Sasuke started to stir.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke questioned.

"I told you that I was going to leave in the morning. My chakra levels are back up" he replied, though when he went to take a step his legs collapsed beneath him.

The Uchiha scrambled out of his bed and managed to catch him just before his knees hit the hard wood. "Stop struggling usuratonkachi! Just let me take care of you!" Sasuke growled when Naruto tried to push him away.

"Damnit teme! I need you to take care of me like I need another one of your Chidori through my chest. Just let me go home and you can go run off with Orochimaru like you wanted. You know I can't stop you this time and Kakashi-sensei is away" Naruto seethed, the anger hidden deep within him starting to flow to the surface.

Sasuke was so stunned by the verbal jab that he momentarily loosened his grip, allowing Naruto to push past him. "Was I the cause of all this? Has he been punishing and killing himself all this time because of me?"

The Uchiha turned quickly and tried to call out for the blonde, only to have a pitiful whine make it past the large lump in his throat instead. But Naruto stopped at the sound and looked back over his shoulder angrily.

"What the fucking hell Sasuke? You're the one who always thought he was better than me, blamed me for starting to get strong, and then decided that you'd rather 'sever your bonds' and kill me then come back to Konoha even after I begged you. Don't act like you care about anyone but yourself, especially not me."

Tears of shame and guilt started to burn the elder's eyes as all his prior questions of 'why' were answered by the fuming blonde. But he tossed his head to the side and tightened his lips into a line out of pride.

He heard Naruto start to grumble something under his breath, but didn't try to listen. He didn't prevent him from slipping on his clothes or using the transformation technique to cover up his destroyed body. He wouldn't even let go of his ego when the blonde slammed his front door shut as he left.

Naruto made it back to his apartment just after sunrise, having borrowed chakra from Kyuubi to get himself away from the conflicted Uchiha.

He was beyond pissed that Sasuke had pretended to care for his well-being, and even more so at himself for sleeping next to him all night like a lost puppy that was taken into a warm home. The blonde growled loudly and used what energy he had left to throw punches at his pillow, pretending it was the arrogant Raven's face.

After becoming even more exhausted than he had been the night before, he fell onto his abused bed with a loud thud and willed himself into a restless sleep.

***Later that Night***

Sasuke marched to the Hokage's office with a renewed sense of purpose, one that was entirely different than his other goal of killing his traitorous elder brother. Once the silence of his room had become too deafening for him to stand, he'd been forced to face the reality that it was his cold behavior that had pushed Naruto to his breaking point.

He knocked loudly on the office doors, knowing that Tsunade was inside despite how late it was.

"What is it?" she shouted, clearly annoyed that her 'work' was being interrupted.

The Uchiha stalked in and shut the door behind him, his Sharingan activated from his frustration. Tsunade leaned forward, clearly wondering if he was dumb enough to attempt an assassination. The only thing that stopped her from taking the offensive was the sad, bloodshot eyes of the teen; they practically screamed that he'd been crying.

"Naruto is sick" he stated bluntly.

The woman's face immediately changed from defensiveness to worry and she gestured to a seat in front of her desk.

"If you're here without him that must mean he isn't on death's doorstep, though I wouldn't put it past you after all the stunts you've pulled" she hissed.

Sasuke glared at her but locked his jaw. She was telling the complete truth and he had to admit it, at least to himself.

"Naruto has been using a transformation technique to cover up his lack of eating and cutting."

The Hokage's mouth tightened, but there was no shock present. Her face was completely blank, an emotionless slab.

"You don't have to believe me, but I suggest you check him out. We were sparring yesterday and he collapsed. I took him home to take care of him, but he hates me almost as much as I think he hates himself" Sasuke continued.

Tsunade's face contorted to pure anger, her golden eyes gleaming with murderous intent. She obviously blamed the Uchiha for Naruto's behavior if it was in fact true. "And why didn't you bring him to the hospital, or to me if he's as depressed as you claim?"

The Raven felt that ball begin to form in his throat again, suffocating his lungs and preventing him from speaking. He hadn't done what he should have because he wanted to take care of the blonde himself. But that idea had backfired badly and just made him look like even more of a heartless ass.

The Hokage sighed loudly and rubbed her face in irritation. She was in her fifties and had seen much of the world, even been in love herself. With all the wisdom she had on her side, she didn't need the Uchiha to answer her. It was obvious that he loved Naruto, even if he'd done a piss poor job of showing it.

"You know he will despise you even more for telling me about what you've seen" she explained, searching his face.

Sasuke nodded solemnly, understanding that what little chance he might have had for salvaging their friendship had died the moment he stepped into her office. But it would be worth it if his blonde angel would be okay again.

"I need to think carefully about how to handle this. Go home and wait for my instructions" Tsunade commanded.

After several minutes passed, and she was sure the Raven was out of the building, she called for Kakashi to come out.

"It would seem our fears were grounded" the Jonin commented.

"Yes, but neither of us ever thought that it was this extreme. Do you really think it was the best idea to set up Sasuke like that?"

The copy-ninja thought intently before answering, "Naruto is a strong person, but Sasuke has always been his weakness. If there was anyone that would have been able to get the truth out of our little blonde it would be him."

"What are you suggesting Kakashi? That I send him home with the Uchiha?" the Hokage asked jokingly, but soon realized that it was exactly what he was thinking. "You can't be serious. You heard what Sasuke said, that Naruto might hate him almost as much as he hates himself. Putting those two together is like throwing oil on a fire."

The silver haired man shrugged and gazed out at the stone face of his old sensei. "If Naruto is really as sick as Sasuke says, then I doubt it would hurt. As helpful as his determination is for most things, it could be very difficult in this situation. I say we let Sasuke clean up the mess he made."

***Time-Skip: 1 Week***

The Uchiha stood in the middle of their old training grounds, letting the weeping sky cover his distressed tears. Tsunade had still not called him back to her office to discuss what the plan was, but he doubted she would. It was his fault the teen was so damaged in the first place.

Still, he wished he knew what he was supposed to be doing. Seeing Naruto every day and having to pretend that nothing was wrong, that he didn't know such a dark secret, was more than he thought he could handle.

"What do you want Kakashi?" he asked bitterly when the familiar chakra landed behind him.

"Lady Hokage has a mission for you" he responded, not taking his eye off the porn book he always read.

Sasuke rolled his puffy eyes but nodded anyway, slightly glad that he'd be sent to do something other than just dwell on the blonde.

But when he reached the office, the woman had an irritated smirk on her face, like she couldn't decide if she was upset or happy about whatever assignment she was about to give him.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. You will be in charge of watching over Naruto for the next few months now that I'm aware of the issue. The Uchiha compound has been under construction since I took office and is ready to be inhabited again. Take Naruto there and get settled in under the pretense that I don't trust you to live alone."

The Raven didn't feel anything at first, his mind couldn't process the order he was just given. "W-what?" he finally gasped out.

"Are you deaf? I said that you will act as if I don't trust you and take him to live with you at the Uchiha compound. Naruto will not know that you've told me anything, and I will call him in shortly to tell him that he must stay with you at all times. Dismissed" she concluded, throwing her arm slightly to shoo him away.

***Two Days Later***

Sasuke waited silently in the waiting room for Naruto to come out. He still hadn't fully come to terms with what Tsunade had told him to do. It was bad enough that he'd be stuck with the blonde now, but being in the place where his entire clan was slaughtered made it infinitely worse.

It made sense rationally, Sasuke would keep Naruto from going off the deep end and in turn, the blonde would continue his mission of keeping the Raven from running off to Orochimaru. But that didn't change how utterly stupid he thought the plan was.

"Teme" the younger called quietly, refusing to look at his rival.

The Uchiha blinked and tilted his head in the direction of the door, waiting some for Naruto to make his way across the room. From there, they walked in silence to the deserted compound, Sasuke having already taken most of his and Naruto's things over.

The blonde looked around curiously at the many newly redone buildings, but Sasuke wasn't sure if this was just another air he was putting on to divert concern.

"Did you ever come back here after 'it' happened?" Naruto asked.

"No, this place was off limits until recently" he answered.

Naruto nodded quietly and followed him down a long street to what he assumed was Sasuke's old home. "Where am I going to sleep?" he questioned.

The Raven ground his teeth together, not really knowing the answer. There were three bedrooms in the old house: his, Itachi's and his parents. "You can sleep in my old room I guess" he finally responded pointing down the hallway.

"Right, I'm going to bed."

Sasuke growled lowly, "you haven't eaten any dinner yet dobe."

"Ha! What are you going to do? Rat me out?" Naruto challenged, still heading to his bedroom.

The Uchiha didn't say anything in return to the venom laced remark. Instead, he walked over to his new room and slammed the door loudly, hoping Naruto would be able to hear it if he was dead.

The Raven tossed in his bed, hating the fact that this used to be his parent's room before they were brutally slaughtered by his elder brother. He didn't think that he could allow Naruto to sleep in here, but he definitely wouldn't let anyone enter Itachi's room.

A loud crack of thunder boomed above the house, flashing light through the closed blinds as another streak of static crossed the dark sky. Within seconds of the deafening sound, Naruto had bolted into the room and landed solidly on him.

"Ow! Dobe, what are you doing?" he hissed. Even if the kid was thin, being jumped on was unpleasant.

"Sasuke, there's someone outside" he whispered fearfully.

The Uchiha was immediately alert and sat up, holding onto the trembling form on top of him. He didn't sense anything at first, but sure enough, amidst the loud clatter of rain hitting the roof, he could hear voices. Whoever they were, they weren't shinobi; their chakra signatures were much too low.

Sasuke frowned. There were only two surviving members of the Uchiha clan, and one of them was a rogue shinobi. As such only he and Naruto were allowed to be in the compound unless given express permission. If he claimed the title of leader of his clan, not even the Hokage could let someone come here.

"They think I'm the reason you tried to leave" Naruto explained quietly.

Realization hit the Raven like a hard punch to the gut. Not only had he hurt the blonde by treating him like he was a nuisance, but by attempting to betray the Leaf, adults who knew of the boys tailed-beast likely used that as another excuse to hate him.

"I won't let them hurt you, besides, the doors are locked and they're just villagers. They won't be able to get inside" he soothed.

Naruto bit his lip but nodded, moving to get out of the bed. Sasuke didn't let go though and held the blonde in place.

The younger let a pained expression cover his already anxiety ridden face. "Don't Sasuke, please. I don't need you to pity me. I don't want you to pretend you care about me when it isn't real."

The Uchiha was about to respond when they heard the outside door start to rattle as someone tried to twist the locked knob. Sasuke saw the anger, fear, and suffering begin to well up in Naruto's damaged blue eyes he watched the hallway.

Acting on instinct alone, he lifted his hand to turn the boys head back around and gently placed his lips on the others. Naruto stayed perfectly still, shocked at what Sasuke was doing.

Another, louder bang resounded off the strong wood and the blonde whipped his head away to look at the hall for intruders. But the Uchiha was determined and tugged the lightly tan chin back to claim his mouth again.

He deepened the kiss this time, hoping that he wasn't upsetting Naruto further. The blonde didn't pull away, but he also didn't return the act and Sasuke wasn't sure what else to do other than keep going.

The Uchiha cupped the youngers face softly, and rested his forehead against Naruto's, withdrawing his lips just long enough to take in a breath before letting them fall back into place.

"Get out here and face us you damn demon!" someone screamed in the distance, but Sasuke didn't let his crush turn away this time.

He flipped them so that Naruto lay on his back, and he hovered over him, showering the Uzumaki with butterfly kisses all over his face.

"Sasuke…what are you doing?" he murmured almost inaudibly.

"Do you want me to stop Naruto?" the Raven asked, using his nose to nuzzle the underside of the blonde's chin.

'CRACK!'

Something smashed against the window, causing the younger to tense until Sasuke nibbled his bottom lip, bringing his attention back to the two of them. Naruto whimpered loudly and brought his hands up to squeeze the Uchiha's shoulders tightly.

"Shh, don't worry dobe; just focus on me."

"I… you… you'll l-leave" the blonde finally managed to say, his voice cracking.

Sasuke peered down into Naruto's pleading eyes, remembering he'd received the same look so many times before and ignored it. "Even if I try I know you'll always come to stop me and bring me back to where I belong right?"

The younger started to cry but nodded in defeat. No matter what Sasuke did to him, he'd always forgive the Raven and welcome him back.

The Uchiha smiled softly and leaned in for another chaste kiss before settling down on his side next to his love. He pulled Naruto into his arms, breathing in the warming smell of his soft blonde hair. Sasuke shivered some when he felt hot breath starting to even out as it hit his bare chest, knowing this was the most content he'd ever felt in his life.

Sasuke opened his groggy eyes, hating the sunlight that had so rudely woken him. He'd stayed awake for most of the night, listening intently for any sign that the vile Konoha citizens were able to get inside the house.

He had kissed Naruto's head for every bump, crash, and insult that he heard, determined to let the blonde know that he was cared for. But now that sleep had left him, he became aware that the boy was not in his bed.

Panic surged through him and he tumbled to the floor, his legs still caught in the sheets. After freeing himself, he ran through the house, searching for his crush. Had he gone to far last night and taken advantage of the boy?

Discovering that Naruto was not in the house, he practically tore the door off its hinges to get outside, only to find him without his transformation jutsu, slowly sweeping up the glass that had been shattered on the walls the night before.

"What's up teme? Did I wake you from your beauty sleep?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't worry me like that Naruto! I woke up and you were gone" Sasuke growled through his relief.

The blonde stood up straight and cocked an eyebrow, clearly letting the Raven know that he was calling the kettle black. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you remember? Since apparently, you can't live alone even after being supervised for three months without an incident."

Sasuke thought fast, trying to come up with an explanation that would cover up the Hokage's scheme. "Yeah well, I mouthed off to the old hag and flashed my Sharingan at her, so it's not surprising."

Naruto rolled his eyes but seemed to accept that the Uchiha would be gutsy enough to do it.

After several awkward moments of standing still, and not daring to speak about the intimacy they shared the night before, Sasuke cleared his throat. "Come inside usuratonkachi, if we have to live together you're going to help me make meals."

The blonde followed him inside but didn't bother expending extra energy to keep his pace. The Uchiha compound was completely deserted now that the angry mob had left, and there was no one to see him faltering.

Sasuke pulled different items from the cupboard and began handing them to his crush to lay out. But soon he could sense the faintest uptake in the boys breathing, and knew he was getting tired already. How the teen had hidden his condition for so long was nothing short of remarkable, and the Raven was sure if he'd been anyone else, Naruto wouldn't have allowed himself to show his exhaustion.

"Go sit at the kitchen table dobe" he urged.

The blonde glared at him and continued to fill the pot with water for rice. "I already told you not to pity me teme. I don't need or want it."

The Uchiha walked up behind him and took the saucepan, setting it off to the side. He twisted the irritated boy around and forced their eyes to meet. "I'm not trying to offend you Naruto" he started, cupping the youngers face in his hands gently, "but I won't let you keep pushing when there isn't any reason to. Just rest for a bit and you can help me with the dishes after you've eaten, okay?"

Naruto slapped his hands away, though there wasn't much force behind the action. He made his way over to the chair and plopped down loudly, giving his best pout. "Don't think that last night is going to become a habit teme" he spoke.

Sasuke clutched the stirring utensil he held tightly, saddened by the firmness in his crushes voice.

The Uchiha stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching Naruto puke up the few bites of rice he'd forced him to eat that morning. If the teen couldn't even keep that much down, he'd starve to death before anything else killed him.

When he was finished, he laid his pounding head down on the floor and let his body slump over. He couldn't believe how heavy he felt even though his frame contained almost no fat or muscle anymore.

Sasuke gently wrapped his arms around the shaking form and lifted Naruto up, carrying him bridal style to his parent's room. He sat him on the bed and undressed him like a child, completely ignoring the weak protests he was receiving.

But once the blonde was laid back on the soft pillows he seemed to forget his annoyance and sighed loudly, his head finally ceasing to spin. The Uchiha closed all the blinds tightly, stripped down to his boxers as well and climbed in next to him, pulling the covers around them both.

Sasuke slid his arm under the teen and flipped his over so that their bare chests were flush against one another, and Naruto could rest his head against the pale shoulder.

"Damn it, you bastard! Do you ever listen to me? I said that last night wasn't going to happen again!" the blonde hissed, trying to push himself off the comfortable body.

"I didn't get much sleep dobe, so pipe down. You can scream at me later when you are feeling better" the Uchiha responded, lacing his fingers through Naruto's.

The blonde huffed, mumbling about being forced to live with assholes like him. Sasuke kissed the mop of golden hair and started smiling softly when he felt the boy relax afterward.

As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered if Naruto really did have a crush on Sakura, or if that was just another rouse that he put on all this time. The teen didn't seem to mind his affection for any reason other than believing it was fake, so maybe he was attracted to the Raven. He hoped with all his heart that was the case.

***Time-Skip: 1 Week***

Much to Sasuke's annoyance, many of Naruto's friends had discovered that the Hokage had assigned the blonde to live with him in the Uchiha compound, and started to visit.

He growled to himself when Sakura showed up, cursing the pink haired kunoichi with all the power he had. It was impossible for him to make much progress with the boy when everyone kept appearing; Naruto absolutely refused to let them know how much he was struggling, or that he and the Raven cuddled every night.

Plus, he fawned over their teammate like always, completely ignoring Sasuke in the process, while she, in turn, ignored him. Sasuke couldn't understand why the blonde was still badgering her for a date just hours after crawling out of bed with him.

Eventually, the bubble-gum nuisance left, and the Uchiha was ready to explode. "What the hell was that baka?" he seethed, doing his best not to activate his Sharingan.

Naruto continued waving after the girl until she left the district and then let his face fall back into apathy. "You always call me an idiot Sasuke, but do you really believe it's true?"

The Raven paused for a moment, unsure of where the question was leading. He took too long to answer because Naruto spoke again.

"Because I'm fully aware that you told Tsunade about me, and that's why I'm here living with you. Hate me, ignore me, treat me like I'm a nobody but don't keep pretending that you're being so loving because you care. I know that you're only doing what the Hokage ordered you to do. If I want to keep acting like a bubbling dunce and asking out a girl I don't like then that's what I'm going to do."

Sasuke was dumbfounded, he truly didn't think that Naruto was stupid; the younger was always able to come up with some ingenious battle plan when he needed to, but he shouldn't have been able to figure this out.

But what bothered the Uchiha even more, was that his crush thought that his affection was simply to fulfill a mission and make him believe someone cared when they didn't. He shook his head violently, but couldn't find the words to say.

The blonde turned and smiled sadly at him, his blue eyes just as dead as they had been weeks ago. "I think I'm going to go lay down… In my own bed" he stated.

Still unable to think of anything to express how he felt, the Uchiha let him walk by, a terrible knot twisting in his stomach. He left Naruto alone the rest of the day, occasionally peering through the door to check on his chakra levels.

When the night started creeping over the compound, he went straight to bed, deciding that sleep might help clear his head.

Naruto heard the muffled screams through his closed door and began to worry. It had been a few hours since the Raven had apparently turned in for the night, and something was wrong. He crawled out of bed and carefully walked down the dark hallway towards to sound, his bare skin twitching in the cold air.

He didn't sense anyone else around, but Sasuke was clearly crying and mumbling something incoherent. Taking a deep breath, he readied the kunai he'd taken with him and pushed open the door, finding the Uchiha tossing violently in his bed, dreaming.

Whatever was playing through his mind was clearly horrible. He was covered in sweat, his face scrunched in fear and pain, and all his limbs were rigid. Naruto set down the knife and walked up beside him, biting his lip in conflict.

Sasuke was the one who had always hurt him and made him feel worthless, but here he was having a nightmare. Something about seeing the genius Uchiha panicking in a sleep induced terror made Naruto want to forget about his own suffering. He leaned down to hear whatever it was Sasuke kept murmuring.

"N-no, A-Aniki… please s-stop!"

The blonde pulled back and immediately felt pain in his chest. If this was the extent that the Raven was hurting from his brother, maybe he could understand the intense drive to do whatever was necessary to kill him, even the Valley of the End.

"Sasuke… Sasuke wake up… it's just a dream… come on… wake up Sasuke!" Naruto urged, lightly rubbing the boy's shoulder.

The Uchiha sat up screaming, hitting the younger in the gut harshly from his reflex.

"Hnng" Naruto groaned, holding his concave abdomen as he fell back.

After Sasuke regained his bearings, he realized he'd struck the blonde when he was just trying to wake him up. Naruto simply waved his hand at him and gave a small smile of understanding. "You want me to stay in here with you tonight?" he asked.

The Uchiha ran his hands through his damp hair and nodded, grateful that something good had come out of such a horrendous dream.

"Yeah well go take a shower first while I change the sheets, I'm not sleeping in a wet, sweaty bed" the blonde continued.

Sasuke obliged and went to the shower, pondering what could have caused his crush to come in and help him, even when he believed that the Raven was only there for a mission. He figured it had something to do with the 'bonds' Naruto always went on about, and that they boy was a naturally good person.

That thought only made his already intense guilt over his actions even worse. The blonde cared for everyone, no matter how poorly they had treated him, while all he could do was hate.

"Let's go get some ramen dobe" Sasuke called when he finished showering "neither of us had lunch or dinner and I don't want your stomach to start shrinking again."

In the past week, Naruto had been able to hold down more and more food if the Raven kept pushing him to eat. The Nine-Tails helped his frail body heal quickly, even with undoing food rejection from starvation, and he was rapidly approaching a healthy weight. His skin and eyes were even brighter than they had been with the uptake in nutrition.

The two sat at the ramen bench, Naruto speaking animatedly to the old man about how Sasuke never let him eat the heavenly noodles at his house.

"Whatever usuratonkachi, it's not healthy to only eat ramen for every meal" the Raven claimed in defense.

After they returned to the compound, Naruto stretched and undid the jutsu. Even though his form had already started to fill out and his scars already vanished, he was cautious when they were in public.

"Alright teme, let's go to bed. You get all cranky when you don't get enough sleep" he teased, stripping down to his boxers.

Sasuke watched him undress in the pale moonlight, unconsciously licking his lips in desire. Even if the boy was still underweight, he was beautiful. Without thinking, he closed the gap between them and kissed the teen.

Naruto pulled his head away but didn't try to get out of the Raven's arms. His big blue eyes stared up into Sasuke's, a world of emotions behind them.

"It's not…I'm not doing this for a mission…" the Uchiha explained, dropping his head down so their lips were almost touching.

The blonde hesitated but tilted his head up just enough to bring them together, sliding his hands up the Raven's arms slowly.

They kissed cautiously, even though this wasn't the first or even second time it had happened. Gradually their lips began to move faster, press harder. Sasuke ran his hands through Naruto's unruly hair, pulling him closer.

The force of their touching edged them closer to the bed, causing them to tumble onto it in a mess of tangled limbs. Naruto straddled Sasuke's waist and pulled up on his shirt, wanting to feel that soft, pale skin beneath his fingers.

Right then, he didn't care what the Raven's motivations were, he needed to touch and be touched, to know that in that moment he wasn't alone, wasn't hated, wasn't a nuisance. The blonde connected their tongues once again, losing himself in the bliss.

The younger bit down on his lip, causing Sasuke to jolt his pelvis upward, grinding their growing erections together. He hissed and tightly grabbed the boy's hips, forcing himself not to move again; he didn't know how far Naruto was willing to let him go.

"D-dobe… we need to stop… I…I want to… touch you" he stammered out, feeling his already flushed face grow hotter at the confession.

The blonde gulped audibly, his haunting orbs searching the Raven for some unknown answer. "Then do it Sasuke, or are you still a scaredy-cat?" he taunted, sitting up.

Those were not the words that the Uchiha wanted to hear, but right then they would suffice. He quickly flipped them over and pulled off his own pants, leaving them both in only their boxers. Leaning back over the smaller boy, he started to kiss his neck roughly, marking him with his teeth.

Naruto closed his eyes in pained pleasure, letting any worry he might have be sucked away by the elder's mouth. He was so caught up in the feeling that he barely noticed his boxers being pulled away until something hot and wet enveloped his erect cock.

"Ssss ah… Sas…" he moaned loudly, gripping the sheets until his knuckles turned white.

The Raven hummed, sending vibrations through the pulsating organ. Naruto arched his back in ecstasy, tossing his head in a pleasured haze. He would have never imagined that Sasuke Uchiha, the cold, arrogant genius would be showing him such adoration. It was all he'd ever wanted and more.

Sasuke's talented mouth pulled away right before he reached his climax, dragging him back to the real world as he hissed in dissatisfaction. "Ha... bastard…" he breathed, glaring down that the smirking Raven.

The Uchiha crawled back up his body slowly, letting his bare skin graze over the blondes. "Naruto…" he whined, feeling his own cock throbbing to be released.

The younger blushed heavily but nodded in understanding. He shifted slightly, and rolled over to his stomach, keeping his legs spread so Sasuke could stay between them. "Do you... you know… know how?" he questioned, his voice full of embarrassment.

The Raven looked equally as awkward. To be honest, he didn't know much about intimacy, let alone sex, but it couldn't be that difficult. "Just relax usuratonkachi" he replied, thoroughly coating his fingers in saliva.

Taking a deep breath, he slipped one of the digits into the blonde's tight entrance, using his other hand to rub Naruto's tense back.

"Gaa what the hell teme!" the younger growled.

"I read somewhere you need to do prepping first. I don't want to hurt you" Sasuke explained matter-of-factly.

The blonde groaned slightly in pain but did his best to relax like his lover had told him. "Next time you're on the bottom…" he thought to himself smugly, "then will see how much you like it."

When the third finger pushed into him, Naruto jerked away. He didn't imagine that it would hurt so much. But the Uchiha coaxed him back, kissing him on the shoulder blades and at his hairline.

Despite the pain, part of him doubted he'd ever get to be with Sasuke like this again, and he wanted this more than anything, maybe even more than becoming Hokage.

The Uchiha twisted and scissored his fingers inside the blonde, stretching him until he felt the boys breathing slow. Removing them, he quickly pumped his own length, rubbing it down with more spit.

He watched Naruto shiver as he placed the tip near his entrance, and felt his stomach coil in anticipation. Carefully, he pressed forward, determined to take things slow.

The blonde had other plans, and thrust himself backward, impaling his hot cavern around the large organ.

"Mnnng f-fuck Naruto!" Sasuke moaned. He had his hands on either side of the youngers shoulders, barely able to keep himself hovering as the intense pleasure washed over him. He drew his hips back and then snapped them forward, throwing his head back in ecstasy.

Naruto groaned into the sheets, but couldn't deny how pleasant the filling feeling was; he'd barely even felt the pain at this point. "M-more" he whined, grabbing on to one of the Raven's forearms to urge him to move.

Sasuke didn't hesitate this time, he let his instincts take over and began thrusting into the writhing teen, though he still held back so he wouldn't hurt him. He leaned down and left butterfly kisses all over the exposed back, lapping at the sweet tan skin with his tongue.

"It's not enough…I want…I need" he thought desperately. Sasuke retracted himself completely and roughly flipped Naruto to his back before shoving back in, smirking some at the shocked look he received.

The Raven kissed his lover passionately, melting in satisfaction when the blonde wrapped his arms around him tightly, pulling him closer while their hips connected repeatedly.

They both were panting heavily, running their hands over one another's sweating bodies with need and desire, completely giving in to their yearning to be near each other, to feel that someone cared.

Naruto moaned Sasuke's name loudly as his insides jolted, his vision going white in utter ecstasy. His senses were burning so hotly all he could feel and hear was his lover's orgasm crashing through him.

He breathed heavily for several minutes, not letting up on his death grip until the last traces of his climax receded, but then it was over. He waited for Sasuke to tell him to leave, or at least roll away from him.

"Naruto…I… I love you" the Uchiha confessed, hiding his red face in the other's neck.

The blonde felt his heart stop beating, the blood in his veins ceasing to move. "What?" he asked, certain that he'd only heard what he wanted to.

"I said… I love you dobe" Sasuke repeated, this time more firmly, locking his eyes with the youngers disbelieving ones. "I didn't know what to call how I felt towards you before, but now I do. I love you and I'm sorry I kept pushing you away before."

Naruto abruptly pushed him off and sat up, moving to sit on the edge of the bed as he hunched over, apparently in pain. "Don't… don't say that to me Sasuke… Please…I can't..." he begged, letting the tears he'd been holding in for so long finally fall.

The Uchiha moved behind him and wrapped his arms around the weeping boy, nuzzling his neck gently. "You don't have to forgive me for how I treated you Naruto, but it's the truth" he whispered soothingly.

The blonde shook his head violently. "You tried to leave! You told me that I was nothing to you and that you were going to sever all your bonds!" he cried, trying to struggle out of the Uchiha's hold.

"Then why did you let me touch you? Why allow yourself to feel something like that when you thought it wasn't real?" Sasuke questioned.

"Because… Because I thought that if I did it once then I'd have something to remember once you left again…"

The Raven felt his chest ache in remorse, wishing that he'd never tried to leave the village, "is that why you stopped eating and cut yourself?"

Naruto nodded in defeat, "I fought Gaara after the Chunin exams and realized he was just like me. I kept telling him that I had people to protect, and that's why I'd never give up, but the one person that I was thinking about was you, and you detested me for intervening. Then…"

Sasuke nodded his head slowly, willing the blonde to continue.

"Then you still didn't respect me, and I started to feel like maybe Gaara and Neji were right. That I had a destiny to be hated that I couldn't escape, and I didn't have a reason to exist. After you followed me and Jiraiya-sensei, you blamed me for why you couldn't defeat Itachi, and I wish I could have done more to help you but I couldn't."

The Uchiha felt his own eyes brimming with tears, and he held on to his love tightly, forcing himself to listen to the rest of what Naruto needed to say.

"But when you left the village, I completely lost it. The things you said to me were worse than anything the villagers could say, worse than any blade or jutsu. I decided that if I couldn't control my destiny, there had to be something else I could, like whether or not I ate, and the pain of cutting helped me to feel something other than being lost. I've loved you since the first time I saw your eyes when we were kids. They were the same as mine, but you couldn't ever feel the same way about me. I'm useless, a loser, a failure. The only purpose I was serving was to be a target for peoples hate, especially yours and I couldn't take it anymore."

Sasuke turned the blonde around and kissed him with every ounce of strength and love he possessed, letting all his thoughts and feelings flow through his lips into the others. "Naruto, I can't promise you that I won't try to leave, or that I won't let my hatred for Itachi consume me again. But I can swear that I love you with all my being, and I'll always come back for you because I know you'll be there to pull me from my darkness. I need you."

The younger nodded, and let out a choked sob, accepting that their love would always be turbulent and difficult, but first the first time, he had hope that they'd make it through.

The two embraced, tangling each other in another desperate kiss.

***Next Morning***

"Well?" Tsunade asked impatiently.

Kakashi leaned against the doorway leisurely, his usually bored expression temporarily replaced by amusement. "I can't say that things are perfect, but I believe that they both will heal with time. Sasuke cleaned up his mess, though they managed to thoroughly wreck their bed…"

The woman's face became pink in embarrassment, images of her 'little brother' and Sasuke flashing through her perverted mind; she was as bad as the rest of them. "Kids really should learn to keep their blinds closed" she mumbled, holding her nose to keep it from bleeding.

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Okay! I hope you all enjoyed! I'm going to post this before I go back and do a grammar check because I'm lazy, but I'll eventually get it done!

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