A/N: I have no idea where this came from. It was kinda like I set the pen to the paper (my fingers to the keyboard) and this showed up! XDD I started writing, out of nowhere mind you, and kinda just made things up as I went along! Ah well, more oneshots for you XDD

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Fear

By Midnight Mourner

"Sasuke, do you love me?" Naruto's voice was soft, carrying on the wind like a soft hum. It was deeper then it had been when we were younger, before we'd become lovers, but still so childish and unique. I would forever be attuned to that voice, no matter how many mile's or years were put between us.

We were lying on a grassy hill, watching the clouds go by. I'd been so consumed in my own thought's that I hadn't even noticed how quiet Naruto was being. I turned my head and quirked an eyebrow at him, not quite understanding the question, the reason behind it. It was usually so easy for me to understand what was going on in his mind by the tone of his voice, by his facial expression's, by the word's he used…but it wasn't the same this time.

It wasn't like when he just needed the reminder that I loved him. His voice didn't betray any inner turmoil, nor any inflection. His face was clear, a mask. His word's were so simple…yet not.

He didn't look me in the eye, just kept staring up at the cloud's above us. I felt the crease form above my eyes at his evasive behavior, at his unusual continence. I wasn't use to the bubbly blonde being so…so like me. I knew him to be serious at time's, and I knew him to be much smarter then his character showed to most people, and that was what had caused me to fall for him in the first place. That and his bubbly personality that seemed to call my own in a way I could never understand.

What would the point of the question be?

"Sasuke?"

"Yes dobe, I love you." I knew in my voice he could hear the confusion. He still didn't look at me, but I thought I saw a tear roll down his face. I frowned in confusion and hurt. I didn't like when he cried. I didn't like seeing him upset. I sat up on my elbows slowly, trying to get a better look at his face, to see what was bothering him in his eyes.

His mask was so careful. I couldn't find a break in it. He was hiding something from me, and it hurt me to wonder what it could be, to not already know. I'd always thought Naruto trusted me, but at this point I wasn't quite sure. I got up, Naruto's eyes still not meeting mine. They didn't move from the sky above me, probably understanding that I wasn't leaving. I sat down above his head, cross legged, and picked up his head and arm's, scooting forward and lying them in my lap. I sighed in contentment, petting his face, his hair, softly.

As I looked into his eyes, trying futilely to decipher what was wrong, I noticed a patch of skin that seemed oddly different then the rest of him. I'd thought I knew his body better then he himself did, but I didn't recognize the discoloration. In fact, as I looked closer, eyes intent, I noticed a lot of spot's on his arm that didn't look quiet right. I couldn't even be sure of when the spot's of discoloration had shown up, not having been intimate with Naruto in at least a month, maybe more, having been away three weeks of the summer vacation, unwilling to bring Naruto home to my hostile family. When I gazed back into his eyes, my hand's having stopped their movement's, I realized he was finally staring back at me.

"Naruto-"

"Don't stop…please…" I frowned once again in confusion, but then realized what he must mean. I started stroking his face again, rubbing soothing circles into his tan skin with the pad of my thumb, stroking his hair, running the soft golden strands through my finger's. I heard a sigh of contentment and watched his eyes ease closed. I stared at his face, at the innocence of it, and felt a well of tears come to my eyes. I felt so much like I didn't deserve him, like he'd be better of without me. And yet, I was so selfish that though I felt I was hurting him, I knew I couldn't leave him. I knew I would never have the strength to.

Naruto's breathing evened out, but I knew he wasn't asleep. The sky above was darkening slightly, but neither of us had anything important to do, so I didn't move him, still petting him, content to just feel his sun kissed skin underneath my finger's. I turned my face to the sky, closing my eyes, letting a few tears escape. I didn't like thinking I was the one who was hurting him, though I had no idea if it was me or something else entirely that had him manifesting the mask that I always wore.

Suddenly I knew how Naruto felt when I wouldn't tell him what I was feeling, when I held up a mask to hide behind. Suddenly I knew I couldn't wear it in front of him anymore, no matter the circumstances. It wasn't fair. We'd given each other over to the other, promised never to leave, never to stop loving each other, and we both knew it as truth. We felt it in our hearts that we were perfect together. There was no need to be afraid to let him get close to me, we were already close in most other way's.

Knowing this strengthened the fear that whatever Naruto was hiding from me was big. My eyes strayed from the sky to one of the points of discoloration, the spot that had alerted me to it's presence before hand. I looked to his eyes to make sure they were still closed, then moved the hand buried in his golden locks to the point of discoloration on his arm. I touched it softly, feeling him stiffen underneath my fingertips. I moved my finger across the discoloration, never meeting his eyes, and watched in horror as a hidden light pink line appeared from where my fingers had just traipsed across.

Lifting my finger's gingerly, I stared at the fine powder that darkened my own skin tone, a shade lighter then Naruto's. My eyes were wide, and my nostrils flared in anger. My brow puckered in pain, and I closed my eyes to keep the angry and distressed tears from welling over. I opened them slowly, meeting the azure gaze of they boy beneath me. His mask had fallen, and his face showed nothing but pain and fear.

"Why…?" I whispered so softly I wasn't completely sure he'd heard me. His eyes tightened in fear, and I could tell he was afraid of my reaction. He pulled one arm out from underneath his head and moved it up to my face, cupping my cheek softly, tentatively, almost as if he were afraid of rejection.

"I…was going to tell you…myself…but I was…so scared…" His eyes filled with tears, and I put the hand still on his face on top of the hand on my face, holding it closer to myself. I closed my eyes once more, breathing deeply, sorry for ever leaving him alone. My eyes opened slowly once again, staring into the depths of his. My other hand moved to his arm, fingertips sliding over the spot's of discoloration, counting to myself each one, feeling the concealer come of on my fingertips. 12.

"Why…?" I repeated, my voice jagged with pain.

"It's…harder…to be without you…they all hate me…for taking you away from them…" His eyes retained the fear for my reaction, but gained a new depth of fear. A fear for himself. A fear of the world around him. I pulled him up, sitting him on my lap, and wrapped my arm's around his waist, hugging him close. My lips moved to the hollow under his ear, and I kissed it softly. A few tears splattered onto his black t-shirt, and he looked behind himself to see my face. I'd closed my eyes again, and I whispered into his ear.

"I'll never leave you again …just please…don't do it anymore…" My whisper was a broken one, and I hugged him tighter to myself, afraid if I let him go he'd disappear like a mirage and I'd found myself waking from a dream. Remembering, perhaps, that the night before I'd come home to a dead Naruto, and a town to blame.

My heart ached for the boy in my arm's pain, and my fears came true. I was hurting him, even if it wasn't physically.

"We'll leave…we'll go anywhere you want as soon as we finish senior year. I won't let them be around to hurt you anymore…just please…please don't…I love you…" Naruto was sobbing in my arm's, and I could feel him lean back into my touch. My lips were still at the hollow of his ear, and I kissed it tenderly again, trailing kisses down his neck. One of his hand's came up to shield his eyes. To hide them. The other came up to cover his mouth, to try and stop the sob's and little moans of pain I could hear emanate from him every once in a while.

I pulled one of my arm's from around his waist and moved it to the hand covering his eyes, carefully squeezing the finger's, then bringing the palm to my lips to kiss it. I let it go, let it fall to his lap, then turned his head towards mine, cooing word's of comfort. I pulled his hand away from his lips and kissed him gently, trying to still the sobs with my lips. Tears were falling down my cheeks, but I would never cry as he did. His hand's came up to cup my cheek's, deepening the kiss he now sobbed into. He pulled away, gasping for breath, spending it all in his sob's and the kiss.

"I'll never stop loving you Naruto…I won't let them hurt you anymore…" My forehead was leaned against his, my tear's now dry upon my cheeks. He cried wordlessly, the tears streaming down his cheeks silently, still sitting in my lap, our hand's now clasped together in his lap.

"I promise…I won't do it anymore…" He choked out, his lips moving closer to mine, hovering a breathe away.

"You won't need to worry about it for much longer…I'll take you somewhere they can't hurt you…" My word's were mumbled against his lips.

"I love you so much Sasuke…" And as he said this, our lips were already moving together in intimate ways.

-Owari-

A/N: So, how'd you like this one? I found it…very fluffy XDD I don't know what's with me and fluff nowadays, or whenever a days that I wrote this and all the other fluffy fics waiting to be uploaded on Fanfiction dot net. Any who, I hoped you enjoyed my attempt at fluff!