Disclaimer: I don't own anything, sadly.

Warning: Abuse. Angst. M/M in later chapters.

X-X-X

Slotting the key into the keyhole, he gave it a twist and pushed the door open before he entered the apartment. He slipped his shoes off, placing them in an orderly manner on the small shoe rack which only contains two other pairs of shoes. One of them was his casual shoes and the other his father's. His heart dropped at the sight of the old and battered pair of slippers. His father was currently at home.

Shit.

He crept along the short corridor that leads to the living room as quietly as possible, minding not to kick any of the empty beer cans that littered the floor. He would have to find time to clean up the mess his father had made again. The old man had gone away from home these few days. Not like it was anything out of the ordinary. He would always disappear for a while before coming back to the apartment smelling heavily of alcohol and sweat.

Sasuke stopped to stare at his father, who was settled on the floor with a beer can in his hands, his back facing him. He knocked his head back to chug down the poisonous liquid into his body, mumbling something incoherent before he reached into his pockets for his cigarettes. He cursed loudly, fiercely annoyed that he was not going to get his fix as he had ran out of the nicotine sticks. He crushed the box and flung it across the room, before it landed in front of the teenager with a soft thud.

The teenager stared at the miserably crinkled cardboard with cold, unreadable eyes before he picked it up and continued his way to his room.

"Stop right there." Sasuke complied and halted.

He could hear shuffling from behind him and a presence drew closer. He mentally readied himself and clenched his fists. At the same time, a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him forcefully around as dirty fingers dug into his flesh. It stung a little, but Sasuke kept a straight face.

"Where do you think you are going, little bastard?" The man sneered and Sasuke could smell his breath that stunk excessively of alcohol and smoke. He resisted the urge to scrunch up his nose or heed the bells that were ringing inside his head to push the man away. He knew the more he retaliate, the more provoked the other will be. "Do you think I didn't see you there?" His words were slurred, but that did not stop the man from sounding equally as threatening as if he was sober. The teenager just kept quiet and stared into the face of the other.

Seconds later, he could feel a sharp pain in his left cheek as a fist rammed itself against his face. His head turned due to the harsh impact. Staying in that position, still and silent, he pushed back the instinct to fight back. He had learnt to stay as motionless as possible when his father became like this. He wanted this to end quickly. As long as he did not do anything to aggravate his father's temper, it would be over soon enough. He still had his part-time job to go to.

"Did you turn into a fucking mute, huh?!" A slap to his other cheek. Sasuke could taste copper as blood trickled from the abrasion in his mouth down to his tongue. Both his cheeks throbbed in pain but he was used to it now. This was actually nothing compared to other times. "Hmph, stupid little shit." His father spat at him, the filthy substance stuck to his side fringe as it was covering his face. Sasuke waited before the other staggered off, wobbling in his steps as he was drunk, and plopped himself on the spot he sat on previously.

The raven went into his room nonchalantly before grabbing his towel and a fresh change of clothing. He was going to be late for work.

X-X-X

Sasuke took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he raised an arm to wrap around his upper abdomen. His gastric was acting up again as he had completely forgotten to grab a bite before coming to work earlier. He inhaled another breath of the dry night air, shivering slightly as his jacket was not thick enough to fully protect him from the icy wind. He hunched his back slightly as he trudged on home; the chilling gust blowing in his direction was not helping with the pain in his stomach. Even the bruises on his face were faintly hurting. They were now slightly swollen and they ached a little whenever he talks, but it was nothing he was unable to deal with. His co-workers had asked about the bruises, but he had simply brushed it off by saying there were some rough playing during a friendly basketball match in school.

His fist clenched a little tighter around his stomach as the pain was mounting steadily. Sasuke mentally cursed himself for leaving his medicine at home. At least he was off work now and his house was just down the next few blocks.

"Sasuke?!" A familiar voice boomed from behind. The raven inwardly cringed at the volume the person had cried out. It was the middle of the night for god's sake. He pretended he heard nothing and continued on his way, quickening his pace intentionally to shake off the nuisance behind him. His stomach ached in protest at the speed he was moving, but nothing would beat the headache he knew he was going to get when dealing with the blond.

"Oi, wait up! I know you heard me!" His ears picked up the fast tapping of shoes against solid concrete and he sighed, having accepted his fate and paused in his steps. A hand settled itself on his shoulder and a figure came into view. He was wearing an orange winter jacket that anyone could spot from miles away and a black scarf that looked like it was hastily put on. Sasuke then tilted his head up slightly, looking at the young man that had his infamous grin on his face. "Fancy meeting you here, Teme. You just finished work?"

Sasuke gave a curt nod and stayed silent. He was afraid to speak as he was not confident in maintaining a steady voice. The pain in his gastric was proving hard for him to even stand straight.

"Why are you sweating," he watched on blankly as Naruto looked down at the arm wrapped around his abdomen, "your gastric is acting up again, isn't it?" As if Naruto's knowledge of his current condition had snapped something within him, Sasuke's knees buckled as his legs were unable to fully sustain his weight due to the pain that had turned excruciating. Naruto caught him just in time as he looked down at the other, who had doubled over and was clenching onto his stomach even tighter. The blond knew his gastric pain could get really unbearable, and it was not the first time he had witnessed him like this.

Naruto grabbed both of his arms and hoisted him up so that he was able to look at his face. He was even paler than usual and cold sweat was rolling down his forehead. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut as his teeth bit into his lower lip in an effort to stop himself from moaning in pain.

"Where is your medicine?"

"At… home…" Sasuke choked out.

Naruto knew that he was fully incapable to move in this state. Bending down, he placed an arm under Sasuke's knees and the other one slipped down to his shoulder before lifting him up into his arms. Sasuke, barely aware of the situation he was in, did not retaliate and allowed himself to be carried. A hand reached down to his as Naruto wound it over his neck.

"Hold on."

"What… are you… doing?"

"Bringing you home. Now shut up and rest."

Sasuke could not resist the warmth that engulfed him and closed his eyes.

X-X-X

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