Authors Note: This is going to be a little 2-shot…I just thought of how to finish it :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, it would be a yaoi manga ;)
Alone at the Training Ground Naruto sat with his legs stretched straight out in front of him. Team Seven had long since stopped training for the day, but still Naruto remained behind. As the sun dipped lower in the sky he sat watching his shadow grow longer. The cold began to seep through to his bones, so he drew his legs close to his chest, hugging his knees.
Naruto was reflecting. Reflecting on everything in his life, his past and his… relationships. He felt so alone. It seemed everyone in Konoha had someone else in his or her life to fall back on; be it a friend or a partner. Only Naruto had no one. Sakura had Ino and her love of Sasuke to keep her going. Naruto's old sensei Iruka appeared to have plenty of friends, recently it seemed he didn't have time for Naruto. Just last week he visited Team 7 when they were training and spoke to Kakashi of all people. He left without so much as a 'hello' or 'goodbye' in Naruto's direction. The young ninja's heart had ached for hours afterward. Even Kakashi had…acquaintances. He and Gai seemed to get on pretty well considering the fact that they were 'eternal rivals'. Not like himself and Sasuke. Naruto sighed his teammates name 'Sas-uke' and pressed his forehead against his knees. He didn't notice the bushes rustling nearby. He didn't notice anything- he was too engrossed in his thoughts of the raven haired Uchiha.
--
All Naruto wanted was to be close to Sasuke. After all, he must understand what it's like to be lonely. He too had no family, save for his murderous brother. Surely he could see Naruto's pain. The blonde suspected that Sasuke had glimpsed it sometimes during training or out on missions, when his 'hyperactive' mask had slipped. Every time Kakashi dismissed him or Sakura scorned him, Naruto could feel the pain burn in his chest. He should be used to rejection by now, but it never seemed to stop hurting. Keeping his face innocent and mischievous was easy now; practically second-nature, but the flashes of emotion in his eyes betrayed him every time. Occasionally, Naruto thought he saw exactly the same thing in Sasuke's cold, black eyes; flickerings of sadness and hurt. When he did, the blonde just wanted to hold his teammate close to him, to whisper comforting words and tell him everything would be alright-that he was there for him.
So far, he hadn't even gathered the courage to ask Sasuke out for ramen. He couldn't see their relationship ever becoming 'friendly' never mind 'more than friends', which Naruto so badly craved. Whenever Sasuke was around Naruto felt his heart fluttering and his concentration ebbing away. He found himself daydreaming during training sessions, watching Sasuke train, his eyes following the movement of his teammate's hands. Countless hours had been lost wondering what it would feel like for those hands to touch his skin; whether they would be cool or warm; smooth or rough; if the black-haired boy would be gentle or not.
--
When Naruto was alone like this the pain in his chest got worse. It was no longer a dull background throb, but a stabbing pain right in his heart. His chances with Sasuke seemed to slip away and become nothing more than unrealistic fantasies. Every bad conversation with the Uchiha came back to haunt him. Each 'dobe' the other boy had uttered returned to pierce his heart once more. Sitting here in the training field, with the sky darkening above him, Naruto felt more alone than ever. The loneliness welled up in his chest, preventing him from catching his breath. It caught in his throat and ended up coming out as a strangled sob. The blonde buried his head deeper into his knees as the tears began to leak from his usually bright eyes.
Curled up in the centre of the field with his eyelids scrunched shut, Naruto barely reacted to the cool hand that was placed gently on his. He merely tightened his grip on his knees, causing his knuckles to whiten. The blonde's eyes remained firmly shut even when the fingers of a second hand began running themselves through his hair, twisting strands as they went. Ever so slowly, Naruto became aware that the hand resting on his own had moved and was now trailing its fingers along his jaw line. The smooth fingers found his chin and tilted it upwards. The young ninja squeezed his eyelids tighter together as another sob racked his body. Suddenly Naruto felt soft kisses brushing every part of his face, starting at his forehead. The lips pressed lightly against each of his eyelids in turn, and then proceeded to drift downwards, catching the tears which still flowed down the blonde's cheeks. Naruto noticed that the kisses felt hurried; there was a slight tension behind each one. The hand tangled in his hair was pulling him closer, tugging at the roots. Fingernails were digging into his chin. Despite all of this, he still refused to open his eyes; if he did he feared that the person behind all this wouldn't be the person he wished it to be. Once he opened his eyes the dream would be shattered. Either it would be someone he had no feelings for, or there wouldn't be anyone there; because he had finally snapped and was hallucinating. To his aching heart, the latter seemed more likely. In fact, it seemed preferable. Finally going mad seemed comfortable, welcoming. He wouldn't have to suffer or worry anymore. The longing and the loneliness would be gone. But he could only contemplate this fact for a few seconds before his thoughts were interrupted by sound rushing from between the invisible lips. Familiar sound.
"Naruto".
Sasuke breathed his teammates name, watching intently as the blonde's eyelids flickered open. The brilliant blue eyes immediately widened in shock, and then closed again, his cheeks flushing red. Sasuke knew he was ashamed at being caught showing emotion, crying. The Uchiha hated this and wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling him into his chest. He wanted to stop the tears and sorrow more than anything. He had been watching the fox boy for a long time now, but he'd never found an excuse to show the boy his true feelings. Feelings. They'd crept up on him and by the time he'd realised, it was too late. He first became aware of them during Team 7's mission in The Land of Waves. That was quite a while ago, but Sasuke had never acted upon his feelings or desires. Instead, he had stood back and watched as Naruto had become more and more isolated, until the Kitsune had sunk deep into depression. The Uchiha sorely regretted letting that happen. But it was too late for that now, what was done was done. By not acting, Sasuke believed he had been trying to save Naruto from more heartbreak. Knowing that the one, solid figure in his life; his rival, felt romantically attached to him would only mess the young ninja up even more. However, Sasuke had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, a guilty voice that said that he wasn't protecting the blonde, but himself. But the raven-haired boy refused to admit that he was only acting, or not acting, as the case happened to be, purely to avoid the pain of rejection. Rejection was one of the things Sasuke feared the most. But being rejected wasn't important now, what was important was the weeping boy curled up into his chest. Sasuke hugged him tighter, as if doing so would squeeze the depression out of the boy. He nestled his face into the blonde spikes, inhaling Naruto's unique, musky scent. Time passed, but Sasuke was only aware of it due to the pitch-black sky and many beats of Naruto's heart against his own. Eventually the sobbing slowed to a stop and the blonde tilted his head upwards and gazed at the older boy.
"Dobe"
Sasuke whispered affectionately, but regretted it almost immediately. His Sharingan eyes had registered the brief flash of agony in the other boy's features, before they glazed over into an emotionless mask. Suddenly, Sasuke knew what he had to do to at least attempt to repair some of the emotional damage. He leant down and kissed the other boy full on the lips; the hand in Naruto's hair sliding down to rest on his cheek. He tried to place all of his loneliness, sadness and longing into the kiss, to show the fox ninja he was not alone. He felt the blonde's hands reach up and entwine themselves in his raven hair, brushing the bangs out of his face. Naruto began to slowly part his lips, tempting Sasuke dearly, but the Uchiha resisted the urge to explore the other boy's mouth with his tongue and instead pulled away. Resting his forehead lightly against Naruto's, Sasuke watched as his teammate finally re-opened his eyes and gazed into his own deep, black ones with a questioning look.
Sasuke felt a small grin grace his features as he hoisted himself to his feet, before offering Naruto a hand. The blonde had not asked for an explanation towards Sasuke's sudden behaviour, or why he had pulled away, but Sasuke wanted to explain anyway, for once. He took the other boy's hand in his own and began to lead him away from the training field.
"Come on-I have something I want to share with you'
Strangely, his voice rose a little at the end of his sentence, almost showing emotion, but the Uchiha suspected that this was either from lack of use or actual excitement. He couldn't wait to share his secret with Naruto-to finally have company and not be alone anymore. Nearly all his life, he had been alone. The entire village referred to him as 'The Last of The Uchiha Clan', and Sasuke was tired of this. He didn't want to be always on his own, he didn't want to be the last of anything.
Authors Note: Hmmmm, well I'm not too sure about the ending of this chapter…but I can always improve it later. Suggestions on how to do so are much appreciated
And I apologise for my excessive use of commas. It's like a disease :3