Don't Leave Me

Rain.

Endless rain.

Once again, a young, blonde ninja of about 16 years of age stood in endless, pelting drops of dense water. He was clothed fully in black, with the faintest traces of orange inside of his dark coat. His usually-bright sapphire eyes were now distant and cloudy, fixed on the damp grass beneath him. It had only recently begun to drizzle, though it was finally beginning to pick up. Everyone had left a good 20 minutes before, and yet Uzumaki Naruto stayed behind. Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura had all urged him to go home, but he wouldn't budge. He refused to move until he cleared his thoughts to their fullest.

What had taken place earlier was all that it took to send the blonde into an emotional breakdown. He did not flinch, he did not quiver, he did not cry. He merely stared down at the ground, as he was now, with dark, grueling eyes, filled to the brim with grim and misery. It seemed that, with time, the weather adjusted to his mood and thoughts, his feelings in particular.

Now he had not moved an inch, and it worried his team mates greatly. They couldn't do anything to help Naruto, as he appeared much too deep in his own thoughts to even listen to them. So they let him be, knowing that he'd come around….eventually.

But maybe eventually was too far away. Maybe Naruto would just stay there for the rest of the day, the rest of the night, the rest of the week, stuck on the one particular subject in his mind and not being able to shake the feeling.

Maybe the subject wasn't that much of a subject…but more of a person.

A person who had left him almost three years ago.

Someone who had been his former comrade.

Someone whom he had loved without a doubt.

Uchiha Sasuke.

It might be difficult to believe for some, but it was very true that he had always felt something for the ravenette. No matter the predicament, whether they were training or on a mission, or just having their daily quarrels-which Naruto secretly found incredibly amusing-, he was always fixed on Sasuke. He didn't realize that this was more than friendship before that fateful night that Sasuke had decided to just leave, without a trace.

Somehow, Naruto had found out about it and followed him up to the gates, stealthy as can be, and tried to talk some sense into him. The images of the pale-skinned boy still ran vividly through his mind, his egotistical voice and smug smirk, the glint in his obsidian eyes that left Naruto wondering.

That was the night it hit him; the both of them, in a way. Though Naruto was the first to actually realize it, then to blurt it out. His confession, although hasty, was quite obvious. It caught the ravenette off guard, but he knew it was true; there had always been something inside of him trying to tell him the same thing.

The blonde felt that telling him had just drove him away, made him leave in more of a hurry than before. Though he'd never know if that was true or not, he just had a good feeling he was right.

This was not even close to the extent of Naruto's thoughts; this barely scratched the surface. He could think about Sasuke in general for hours without boring himself, but that didn't mean he wouldn't lose some self control. It took all his will power to not break down crying in the middle of the drenched fields at that very moment. His eyes were already bloodshot, both from the rain and his emotional anxiety.

All time stood still as an extra gust of wind blew from behind Naruto, the sense of it feeling a bit unfamiliar and strange. Though he dared not tear his gaze from the grass, he didn't have to, because the presence moved itself right in front of Naruto, and the feet were, already, a dead giveaway.

Pastel feet settled into dark black sandal-like shoes, stretching up into lean, muscular legs which were clothed in black pants at the calves, followed by a purple cloth and rope tied at the waist. The only other article of clothing present was a flowing white shirt, which resembled one of a pirate, and a sword that was bound by the rope.

Naruto refused to believe it.

He couldn't be here! There was no way! Sasuke, in the flesh, in the rain, in front of him, after 3 years?!?! Nothing of the sorts was possible.

Although somehow, through the heavily falling rain, the Uchiha's deep, silky voice was still clearly heard.

"Hn. Long time no see, Usuratonkachi,"

He expected to get some sort of reaction out of his former comrade, but received nothing; not even a glance in his direction. He arched an ebony eyebrow, a hand resting on his waist as he just watched Naruto's eyes glare at the ground, narrowed dangerously and distant still.

They stood there in silence, all but the rain emitting any sounds, until Sasuke sighed and eyed Naruto carefully. "I finally come back, and you don't even say a word to me, eh, dobe?" He tried again, a smirk tugging at his thin lips. Naruto barely even threw a glance in his direction. "What happened to the whole 'I love you, don't leave me!' serenade 3 years back?" He asked, his smirk twisting devilishly.

This made Naruto's eyes widen, and he slowly looked up at Sasuke. He shook his head slowly, still not wanting to process the fact that this was Sasuke, and clenched his fists. "Go away, teme," He muttered, glaring at the Uchiha.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "What for?"

Naruto clenched his teeth, not believing that he could be tricked into something like this, and crossed his arms. "Just leave me alone, you bastard," He was convinced by now that the rain was finally giving him a cold.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows now, reading Naruto's expression skillfully through the rain. "Is that any way to treat your best friend?" He asked smugly, knowing that they probably weren't on those terms since he left, but he loved to piss Naruto off.

It was clearly working as cerulean eyes met onyx, and he growled. "I know you're not here. I don't even see the point in talking to you if it'll just tick me off. So why don't you leave my imagination just like the real Sasuke did!" He snapped, ready to turn on his heels and head straight home.

Sasuke gave Naruto a peculiar look. His assumptions from just his expressions were bad enough, and now that Naruto thought he wasn't even real made it just a little worse. Yes, an under-exaggeration. Go figure.

"So now you don't think I'm real, dobe? The rain has really gotten to you, hasn't it?" He teased, following the blonde as he stormed off. Naruto said nothing back, pissed off enough at his own mind for conjuring up such a thing. What he needed now was a nice, hot bowl of ramen and his bed, then he'd be better in the morning. His thoughts were interrupted as something held him back from around the waist, and he looked down to see it was Sasuke's arms. They felt so real and life-like, Naruto was forced to turn around and meet soft, pale lips. Accidentally, of course.

What had turned into an accidental brushing of lips soon was pressed into a real kiss, by none other than the Uchiha himself. He couldn't help it; Three years with a freaky snake pedophile and no Naruto made for tough times. Naruto, frozen with shock, stood there with wide eyes as he stared back at Sasuke. Once coming to his senses, and realizing that his mind probably wasn't tricking him in the first place, he pushed at Sasuke's chest, breaking their kiss with a loud popping noise and stumbling back.

Sasuke caught a glance at Naruto's face and saw it to be a light tint of red. It made him smirk, and he crossed his arms as Naruto just stared back at him. "S-Sasuke…" He murmured, covering his mouth after a moment, acting completely unlike himself. Sasuke was here. Sasuke came back. Sasuke just kissed him. Sasuke was…real.

And at that moment, Sasuke began to walk towards him. "Still think I'm in your head, usuratonkachi?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. Naruto shook his head, both answering Sasuke's question and clearing his thoughts.

"How did you…? Why did you…? When did you…?" He asked, not bothering to finish his sentences as he tried to process everything in his mind first. Sasuke only smirked, standing directly in front of Naruto, and replied "Because of you,"

This only perplexed the blonde further. "Me…?"

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "You haven't change a bit…" He muttered under his breath, before explaining. "Ever since I left, I haven't forgotten what you said. In fact, it's been lodged in my memory. It kept me up most nights. All because of you. And that's why I came back; because of you," The Uchiha prodigy stated very simply, as if what he just said hadn't meant the world to Naruto.

The blonde just stood there, wide-eyed and dumb-founded, staring up at Sasuke. "S-so…do you mean that…?" He half asked, half pleaded for Sasuke to finish the sentence.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and captured Naruto's chin, pecking his lips softly as he smirked defiantly. "Does that answer your question?" He answered Naruto's question with another question, and Naruto, blushing, smiled softly and draped his arms around Sasuke's neck.

"So…you've come back?" a nod from Sasuke. "And you're not going to leave?" another nod. "And you're not going to leave me in another whirlwind of torment that I had to endure until now?" A smirk and a gradual nod from the Uchiha.

This made Naruto's heart soar, but just to be extremely sure, he ran a hand down Sasuke's now-wet arm slowly, feeling the soft skin and the bulging muscles with caution. If this wasn't real, Naruto didn't know what was. He smiled to himself and hugged Sasuke tightly, resting his head on the raven's revealed chest. Sasuke allowed the smallest of smiles to slip onto his lips as he watched the blonde and eventually wrapped his own arms around his waist.

"Teme…you better not leave again, or I'll shred you to a million pieces," Naruto mumbled, his hold on Sasuke tightening.

The Uchiha scoffed but look down at Naruto, obsidian eyes lidded in the slightest. He knew that he couldn't leave now, and he sure wasn't going to leave Naruto, of all people. "Dobe…I'm not going anywhere," He replied smugly, but slowly ran his hand up the middle of the Kyuubi vessel's back.

Naruto smiled and shivered from the never-ending rain, not being able to move as they just stood there in each other's arms, the pouring rain drenching the both of them to the fullest. But they didn't care; Sasuke was back, Naruto was happy, and it was all real.

~_~_~Flashback~_~_~

Rain fell as hard as it did at the third Hokage's funeral. And yet it only seemed to be gloomier than the past event. A lone, ravenous figure walked past the old academy, where he and his team mates had graduated months before. Onyx eyes glanced at the establishment, but the ravenette dared not stop walking. He carried only a small backpack, and with his head down and long, wet ebony bangs shielding his face, he made his way through the center of Konoha; past the Hokage's tower, quietly around Ichiraku's Ramen, and slowing at a certain blonde's home. He looked up in agony, knowing what would happen if he left without a trace, but he knew that it had to be done.

From a small apartment room from above, a young blonde with whisker-like scars on his cheeks peered out the window. He enjoyed the rain, though it brought back saddening memories. If it wasn't in the middle of the night, he'd probably go out at that moment. And if he went out at that moment, he would have encountered the other traveling boy below. But he didn't, and he only stared out his window. But even if he didn't leave his home, he could hear very faint, quiet steps from the streets, and he looked down to see none other but the figure himself. The blonde furrowed his eyebrows, quizzically, not understanding why a teme like him would even bother going out in the pouring rain. That's when he saw the backpack, and it hit him. His comrade, his friend, rival, and secret love was leaving. It couldn't be possible!

Stealthily, he rushed downstairs, pulling on his bright orange jacket and zipping it up as he walked outside. He saw the figure far ahead, and he began making his way towards him. Though he kept his distance, he hurried, and the raven, somehow, did not even acknowledge the other's presence. Once they were closer to the gates and farther away from the village, Naruto caught up and called out to the boy, making him stop in his tracks.

"Sasuke…! Where are you going?"

Said Sasuke's eyes went downcast, then suddenly flickered to the blonde hesitantly. "Where does it look like, dobe?"

Naruto frowned and watched Sasuke's back for a moment, seeing as he didn't bother to turn around yet, and replied "Don't tell me you're leaving, Sasuke…what are you thinking?!"

Sasuke slowly turned around, his dark eyes glaring at Naruto. "I'm thinking it's time to get out of Konoha. There's no use for me here, and I need power. I won't get it here; I won't get anything here," He replied lowly, his eyes fixed on oceanic blue.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, a peculiar frown tugging at his lips. "Wh-what!? Sasuke, you can't leave! What about the village, and Kakashi and Sakura?!"

"I don't care about them. This village, team 7, and you are all slowing me down," He snapped back, hands tightening into fists. He had a feeling Naruto wasn't going to give up too easily.

Sasuke was right as Naruto snarled at the Uchiha."How could you not care…?! After all we've been through together as a team, you dare tell me that you don't even care?!" Naruto's eyes flickered a distant crimson.

Sasuke sighed, knowing that this was going to take a while. "I've never cared, you dobe! That was all fun and games here in the leaf village, and I don't have to be around you stupid genins to get power! There isn't any way that would happen!" He retorted, his eyes darkening tremendously.

"You don't have to, or you don't want to?! Is this still about your brother, Sasuke?! Revenge isn't always the answer!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling the tension between them rising.

Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at Naruto again. "There you go again, acting like you know everything! You think you know me so well, but you don't even have the slightest clue of what I've been through,"

Naruto bared his teeth. "You're only saying that because it's true! Sasuke, what Itachi did is in the past, and you can't fix it! Even if you kill him, it's not going to do you any good! So what if he's dead? So's the rest of your clan!"

The young Uchiha's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his clan. He wouldn't show it, but just the thought made him want to cry out in agony, the memories taking over his mind. He instead glared darkly at Naruto. "You're such a nuisance! When will you learn that there isn't anything that you can do to stop me?! I'm going to kill Itachi, even if it kills me!" He hollered, pure anger in his voice as he began to turn away from Naruto.

Naruto was taken aback from the Uchiha's words, feeling his heart break in two as he watched Sasuke's retreating form. He didn't know what to say, what he could say to make Sasuke stop…His heart only pained and it felt worse than any pain he'd ever felt. He wasn't too sure what it was that was causing this pain, but he only yelled back at Sasuke. "When will you learn that I'm going to do all I can to stop you?! And even if you do leave, I'm going to hunt you down and bring you back!" The pain only increased at the thought of Sasuke gone, and immediately, Naruto knew why. It had always been there…Naruto was just too oblivious to had noticed it beforehand. And now he knew…that it was now or never.

Sasuke stopped and only looked back at Naruto, a calm, collective face in place of his previous angered one. "How will you do that, you idiot, if you haven't even beaten me once? Even when I go easy on you in training, you still don't even come close to victory. You'll never bring me back, by force of otherwise," He retorted lowly, turning on his heels once more and making a move to walk silently away from Naruto.

Naruto bared his teeth and growled, glaring lowly at Sasuke's back. Without thinking, he lunged for Sasuke and grabbed him from behind, turning him over and landing on top of him in mid-air, pinning him down effectively to the cold, wet ground. His body had moved on its own from that point on, which is why the two boys had engaged in a rather entrancing lip lock. He had to do it; as Naruto had thought, it was now or never, and he had chosen now.

The Uchiha was majorly caught off guard, and his eyes widened; a distant and unspoken memory from the past rising in the depths of his mind. Their first kiss. It had all been an accident, yes, but that didn't necessarily mean that it couldn't have been enjoyable. Of course, neither boy would ever admit that to one another. Hell, they never even spoke of the incident since. But now….now the Uchiha prodigy, the stoic, the almighty and powerful Sasuke Uchiha, was at his lowest point, his most vulnerable attribute…

Naruto.

Once Naruto pulled back, both of the boy's cheeks were a light tint of pink. It was completely silent, save for their soft breathing, and neither dared to look at each other. Sasuke was the first to make a move, nudging Naruto to get off of him; his ebony eyes cast downwards as he stood. Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, frowning a little and looked away as well. Sasuke sighed, shook his head in dismay, and turned away from Naruto once more, heading off into the distant darkness. Naruto looked up in time, and his eyes grew cold, though somehow warm at the same time. "Sasuke…" He called out, and Sasuke reluctantly stopped and looked over his shoulder at the blonde nuisance. "You….you know why I did that…right?" He asked, a hand still rubbing at the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Sasuke looked down, smirking faintly, and gave a faint "Hn…yeah, I know," and with that he turned around once more and began making his way down the wet stone path.

Naruto clenched his jaw, his eyes flickering to a deep red again. "And you're still going to leave!? Leave everything you've grown up around, leave everyone who cares about you and who loves you?!" He yelled at the Uchiha's back, and, once again, Sasuke stopped and tensed. "That's right, Sasuke….no matter how they act, a lot of people here in the village care about you…"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the cold on his skin from the slowing rain. His grip on the backpack only tightened, and he took in a deep breath before saying coldly "And are you trying to make a point here, loser? Because if you are, you're not doing a very good job of it,"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat and he nibbled on his bottom lip before looking down and saying "I'm trying to say that I'm one of those people who care about you…and that loves you..." He said softly, but he knew either way that Sasuke had heard him.

In an instant, Sasuke was looming behind Naruto, his eyes narrowed and dark. Naruto felt him, but he said nothing; he just looked off into the darkness with hazy cerulean eyes and expected the worst. A faint, dark whisper was heard amidst all the silence, and Naruto's eyes widened as he was struck at a pressure point, causing him to collapse right then and there on the cold pathway to be drenched by the rain. Sasuke picked up Naruto's unconscious form and placed him on a nearby bench, a deep frown gracing his lips, and, lightly, he pecked Naruto's parted lips, before darting off into the night.

"Thank you….Naruto…."