Tears, a naruto fanfic

Recommended Song - Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne (yes, I like writing stories about tears, so what?)

The rain came down. It made the trees shake, the ground muddy, and everything seemed sadder when it rained. In all the darkness that surrounded the clearing, a blur was seen. One step on the sodden grass, making a splash before they jumped out of the clearing again.

The ground was flooded. The village was flooded. The forest was flooded. Everything was...flooded. Their friendship was flooded, sunk, gone. Gone beneath the waves of hate...despair...and loneliness...

What had he done to deserve this? What he'd done was worse than if he'd just stabbed him through the heart. A painless death would've been better than this...

Tears. They were mixed in with the rain. The only reason he knew they were there was the temperature. Rain was cold, tears were warm. He knew they were there...and he hated himself for it. He wasn't supposed to cry!

'Dobe...'

That was it. That was what had done it. One simple word. Why were things like this? Why were they so screwed up? He didn't know...he didn't know anymore.

Ironic huh? He was a genius, but he didn't know. He didn't have the answers anymore...and he'd wish the questions would stop being asked.

"Sasuke!" the blonde yelled as he ran up. The dark haired boy turned to him and smirked.

"Morning." he greeted almost tonelessly.

The 'bastard' and 'dobe' comments had been dropped long ago. Naruto and Sasuke were friends now. They had been for...a little over a year he guessed.

Sasuke's POV

Today was training. Naruto and I had not really said good morning to Sakura. We simply nodded our heads in her direction, Naruto smiled happily at her. I'm glad he stopped fawning over her. Not only was it annoying, it made me feel kinda left out. I hope she's feeling that right now.

I know...I sound like I like him. And I do. I have deep feelings for the blonde I call a friend. He's just so...Naruto. Why do I like him? I'm smiling.

Because he's an idiot. No, he's actually really smart. With the hatred gone, he doesn't lose so many spars with me and he's been learning faster. Why then?

Because of his smiles. Yea. He shines like the sun when he smiles.

Because of his attitude. Yea. He smiles all day, but I know he cries. He would now even come to me for comfort, to cry. It makes me happy.

Because he's him. Naruto is Naruto and I am me, Uchiha Sasuke. I've tried ignoring him, I really have. But he's like a magnet, I can't stay away.

So now I'm smiling, after the training is over and we're walking slowly to Ichiraku's. My smile disappears when we see other people. I know Naruto understands. I only smile around my friends, my close friends...around him...

I won't tell him how I feel, because it's wrong. No guy should like a guy. And besides, I am me, Uchiha Sasuke. And he'd hate me if I told him. He's just becoming comfortable around me, like I am around him. If I said anything remotely similar to 'I like you more than a friend' or, heaven forbid, 'I love you' to him...He'd never come near me again.

Naruto's POV

I love it when Sasuke takes me out for ramen! He's...rich, I'm not. I would never be able to keep up with this much ramen every week. I smile my big toothy grin and hop along in front of him, being loud and obnoxious as usual.

I saw him smirk. It makes me smile even more when he does that. Because it's not a mean smirk. Not full of hate, distrust, or evil intent. Just a smirk. Just short of a smile that he's desperately trying to hide.

If we were training, he would've already broken free of these bonds that hold his emotions in. The smile would be plastered on his face as he fights me. He told me once that I was the only one worth fighting. My heart felt like it would burst.

Why? I like him. But if I said anything...he'd hate me. I've only just begun to earn his friendship, I don't want to lose it. He's the only one in town, besides Iruka, who willingly comes near me...that considers me worth their time.

He just ordered his third bowl of ramen. I laugh. Sasuke never liked ramen, until I came along. Now, he's gotten so into the stuff, he eats 4 to 5 bowls when we come. Of course, I eat a whole lot more than him, about 12 bowls actually. After he's done, Sasuke takes to staring at me in almost awe as I eat.

I sometimes wonder. Why does he stare at me? Because I eat so much? Because I eat so fast? But sometimes I hope...maybe he likes me too. It's cut off as he smirks and flicks me in the forehead, saying it's time to go. I whine that he's not being fair, I've only had 10 bowls!

Normal

"Why'd we leave early?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"I guess I'm tired." he turned and stopped. "See ya tomorrow..." he said softly, walking off.

'That was when, wasn't it? I should've guessed. The day we left Ichiraku's early...

That's when it all went down the drain! My life! Why? I didn't do anything...what happened? Someone...tell me...What'd I do?'

He dropped to his knees in the mud. What did it matter anymore? He'd run far from the village he guessed, he hoped. No one would find him, he prayed to be forgotten almost.

The rain beat hard on him, making him cold on the outside, to match how numb he felt on the inside.

He wanted to scream. But with what little strength he had? He raised his head, staring into the darkness that was the sky. Why was the earth crying? He was the one who had gotten hurt. So, he stood up. He wanted to scream.

Tears were still streaming down his face, he needed no strength to cry. He took in a silent, deep breath. Fisting his hands at his sides, he screamed. His voice carried, even in this storm. The wind, the rain, the mud, the clouds, the debris, the pain...

By the time he was done, his throat hurt, his head hurt, he hurt all over. His fists had been raised to be level with his chest and his head had tilted to each side a few times. Letting his head droop, he let himself fall.

He didn't hear the other call in the night, full of sorrow, and regret. He didn't feel the ground as it came up to meet him. All he knew was darkness as his eyes grew dimmer. The one he loved...hated him. What point was there in the world?

'Naruto!'

It was Monday, but they had no training. Naruto had woken up early and was ready for the day though. He was so bored! Then, remembering a promise between friends, he got up and ran off. Sasuke and him had said that no matter what, they would train everyday. So far, everyday training had been with Kakashi, except a few times, and they always kept this promise.

Sasuke had been at the school's courtyard at sunrise. Knowing there would be no training with Kakashi or Sakura, he'd come to this place to meet Naruto. Not that he thought the blonde would actually be there this early...No, why would he have thought he'd be graced with such luck?

Sasuke felt himself die...almost...when he saw them. They were coming closer...What horror would they bring upon him today? Closer...he should run. But his mind and body weren't connected anymore.

Run Dammit Run!

Too late. He'd been captured! In the evil clutches of...FANGIRLS!

"Ah." he let out a small amount of his discomfort as he was grabbed.

"Sasuke!" one screamed. "Why do you hang out with Naruto more than us?"

"Yea! He's an idiot!" another screeched.

'These girls are making my head hurt' he thought as he listened to the girls hound him for information. 'I wish they'd just go away...Where the heck is Naruto?'

"Sasuke!" they yelled as they noticed he was looking elsewhere and didn't seem to be paying attention. Ok...That was IT!

"We aren't close at all. I only walk around with him to keep him entertained. I don't want to see any of you ever again now that I've said this. Get lost, I'm waiting for the dobe." their eyes widened, and they all ran away crying because 'Sasuke didn't want to see them ever again!'

His breath hitched. Dobe...the word had come from his mouth so easily. He hadn't said it in so long, but it was as if he had been saying it daily...like before. A sound so soft it was almost inaudible made his head turn and he felt himself die completely.

"N-naruto..." he blinked, wondering when he'd forgotten how to breathe. Naruto shook his head.

"No." he whole body shook for a moment before the blonde took off.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, breathing again and taking a few steps in the direction the blonde had gone.

It rained. Soon, Sasuke was soaked to the bone almost, his clothing stuck tight to his skin, his hair flat.

"Naru-...I'm sorry." he turned and walked off, towards the Ichiraku.

Sasuke stopped when he'd realized the thought behind the place. That was where Naruto always went when he was hungry...He turned and went, instead, in the direction Naruto had taken off.

Why had he hesitated? The rain was so hard. The ground was so wet. He'd gone and killed what he held dear. He was no different than Itachi. Why was he so stupid?

'Just let it come down...My world is crumbling as I run...I need not your sympathy...your sweetened lies...My support is gone...And so I fall...' were words running through his head as he ran. 'Please...don't leave me!'

He jumped into a clearing, landing in the center with a dull splash in the sodden grass before he was off and out of the clearing again. He stopped on a branch and looked around.

'I hurt you. I'm sorry. Where are you? Come back.' he remembered all the times they'd spent together over the past year. Times before. He cursed as he felt the warmth at the corners of his eyes. He wasn't supposed to cry!

He screamed. As he yelled, the tears ran down his face. He sank to his knees on the wet branch and fisted his hands. His scream echoed in the depths of the forest. His voice carried in the wind. The wind, the rain, the mud, the clouds, the debris, the pain...

Wait. What was that in the storm? It echoed, it ran through him as nothing else could. A cry. A cry of pain, sorrow, betrayal, and need. He'd screamed as they had, but they has screamed for a split second more, allowing their cry to be heard.

So far from the village, it was obvious to let out your pain at this distance. But it didn't matter where they were. Naruto was near. Naruto was in pain.

'Naruto!' he yelled in his mind, racing off with all the strength he had left over from his own yell.

Sasuke landed in the mud with a splash on his side. This was it. He couldn't run anymore. Not with the rain, the heaviness of his clothes, the weight of his heart, and the lack of remaining energy.

He sat up and spit out the mud that had gathered in his mouth. His entire right side was covered in mud, and he had landed on a tree root, exposed by the overdose of water. Sasuke turned his head when he finally realized he wasn't alone in the tiny clearing.

"N-naru..." he gasped and stood up, then fell to his knees.

No good, still no energy. He resorted to throwing himself as best he could with the strength he had in his legs still and then crawled over to the blonde. He wasn't moving. Sasuke bit back more tears that wanted to fall and went around to Naruto's other side. His thoughts from earlier crossed his mind.

He'd gone and killed what he held dear. He was no different than Itachi. Why was he so stupid?

"No...please don't say I actually killed you..." Sasuke looked down at Naruto's face from his somewhat-sitting position. "You don't shine anymore...Where'd the light go?" he asked no one.

The rain continued to pour down relentlessly. Sasuke cursed it. He cursed everything. The rain, himself, the stupid word he had said, those girls, the world, the causes and effects that made this reality the reality. He began to mumble...

"Just let it come down...My world is crumbling as I run...I need not your sympathy...your-" he fell forward, using his hands to support him. "-sweetened lies...My support is gone...And so I...fall...Please don't leave me" Sasuke lost the feeling in his arms and fell into the mud again, this time next to Naruto.

He looked into Naruto's eyes, they were half open. It seemed he had died, the rain made it useless to use body heat as a checkpoint. The dark haired boy lay on his side and reached out to brush some hair from the blonde face. He then laid his head against Naruto's chest to hear for a heart beat, his hand next to his head.

A small, sad smile graced his lips at the faint beating he felt and heard. Naruto was still alive! He pulled away and smiled up at Naruto's half dead face, then his smile faltered. If Naruto was alive, this was the worst kind of living he'd ever seen.

"Naruto." he managed, his voice hoarse from his yelling. "Can you...hear me?" he pushed himself so his head was level with Naruto's, then whispered in said boy's ear. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean it..."

There was no reaction. He frowned.

"We aren't close at all. I only walk around with him to keep him entertained. I don't want to see any of you ever again now that I've said this. Get lost, I'm waiting for the dobe." he muttered. Naruto gave the semblance of a flinch and he kept going. "All I meant from that was that I never wanted to see them again...I'd like to think we were very close...I'd hope. I walk around with you because I like being with you. And I was waiting for you, I didn't mean to say dobe...I really didn't."

Still nothing. Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. Naruto wasn't responding to anything. Tears began to creep at the edges of his eyes, but he held them back. He was Uchiha Sasuke dammit! He didn't cry!

Leaning in, he pressed his lips softly against Naruto's in a chaste kiss.

Naruto was laying on the ground in a dark place. He heard a grunt and a splash. A short gasp and some voice he couldn't clearly hear. Another splash and grunt, like someone had been thrown to the ground, then a sad noise. A voice followed, this time...he heard it.

"No...please don't say I actually killed you..." It was Sasuke. Why was he here? And why did he sound like he was crying. "You don't shine anymore...Where'd the light go?" The question wasn't directed.

Naruto had the faint knowledge that it was still raining. Just the dull noise that seemed to surround him and the voice. But it didn't hinder how well the voice seemed to pierce into his subconscious. He heard a mumble...

"Just let it come down...My world is crumbling as I run...I need not your sympathy...your-" he heard Sasuke fall forward with a tiny splash. "-sweetened lies...My support is gone...And so I...fall...Please don't leave me" Naruto heard him fall to the ground with a larger splash. Sasuke sounded so sad. But, he couldn't bring himself to move.

His limbs didn't work. Nothing worked. His mind barely worked. The blonde wanted to cry. Sasuke...did he hate him or not? It was one of few intellectual thoughts running through his head.

Naruto felt a hand brush his forehead and slightly relished the softness. His head was pounding with each tiny, slow beat of his heart. He felt warm for a moment before it was gone.

"Naruto." he heard Sasuke's hoarse voice. "Can you...hear me?"

Yes...I can hear you.

Sasuke grunted slightly and Naruto heard his voice, close to his ear. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean it..."

His eyes would've widened, if he could've managed it. But all that happened was his mind paused.

"We aren't close at all. I only walk around with him to keep him entertained. I don't want to see any of you ever again now that I've said this. Get lost, I'm waiting for the dobe." he heard it, muttered. Naruto flinched at the memory, not even bothering to realize the movement he'd made. "All I meant from that was that I never wanted to see them again..."

What?

"I'd like to think we were very close...I'd hope. I walk around with you because I like being with you."

You do?

"And I was waiting for you, I didn't mean to say dobe...I really didn't."

Sasuke...!

Naruto felt the tears falling. They fell freely, but he still couldn't make his limbs move. He still couldn't see the object of his affection, and his pain. He wanted to hold the dark boy and cry into his shirt, as he had done only twice before. Sasuke sighed and Naruto realized that Sasuke couldn't see his tears. Sasuke couldn't see his relief. His love of the truth.

Sasuke made a noise as if he were close to crying himself. Naruto tried desperately to move, but to no avail.

Sasuke! Don't cry...Please don't cry! I...I love you!

There, he'd 'said' it. In his mind, because his mouth wouldn't work. Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his lips. There was a light and then suddenly...

He could feel the rain, harder than ever. He blinked and could see Sasuke's face, eyes closed, lips pressed to his own, crying. He could hear everything, smell, feel, everything was back! He exhaled a breath it seemed he had been holding since he fell. Then he realized it, he still couldn't move...

Sasuke pulled away, opening his eyes slowly. He was crying. He begun crying as he kissed Naruto. He hadn't meant to, but now he wanted to. Naruto hadn't reacted much to his last chance try. He looked down slightly, noticing Naruto's breathing seemed to have returned.

His breath hitched again in hope. He looked up at Naruto's face again, but then dropped his hope. Naruto's eyes were still half lidded, a slightly glazed look on them, like he was dreaming. He wasn't there...Naruto wasn't there!

He sat up and pulled Naruto close, holding him. He might not have actually killed the blonde, but this was bad enough. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall. He may not have wanted to cry, but he couldn't stop them anymore. Six years of pain, flowing out at one time.

Naruto's head was against his chest, his breath blowing softly across the dark fabric. His arms were limp, one on Naruto's side and stomach, the other just laying in the mud.

Naruto closed his eyes and willed all the strength he had left to let Sasuke know. He wanted Sasuke to stop crying!

'I'm here...I'm...'

Sasuke half-froze when he felt something. He heard fabric moving and a comfortable weight around his waist. He wasn't breathing, wasn't crying, wasn't moving except for his erratic breathing.

The rain covered up everything. An almost silent plea was also drowned out, but Sasuke felt it in the difference in breath. Naruto's breath on his chest changed slightly, and he knew the words said...as if he had actually heard them.

'...here...I'm here...'

His head snapped down and he looked at Naruto's face. His eyes were still half-lidded, but now they were pleading, glazed and desperate. His mouth was trembling slightly as he repeated those two words, like a mantra. His arms were around Sasuke's waist in a slightly comforting way, but also in a way as if it were his anchor.

Sasuke went to say something, but stopped when Naruto's mouth stopped repeating the soundless 'I'm here' mantra, and he whispered other words. Words that caused Sasuke's heart to stop, his eyes to widen, and his breathing to cease.

'I love you Sasuke...'

Only once. Only once were they said, but they were there. Then those blue eyes closed, he exhaled, and went limp except for his hold on Sasuke's waist.

Moments later, Sasuke blinked, his heart started up again, his breath returned, but he still didn't move. He realized the rain had stopped only when sunlight pierced his eyes and caused him to wince. The dark haired boy looked up to the sky, the clouds were gone.

The sun was shining, and the sky was the clearest it had been in a month. Sasuke looked down and saw Naruto seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He wasn't smiling, but it was more a feeling than an appearance. Sasuke smiled his truest ever smile.

Naruto was shining again!

The sun only seemed to shine brighter. The birds chirped and everything seemed to be alive now that the rain was gone. Sure, the ground was still waterlogged, but the sun would rid the world of that.

Sasuke leaned down slightly and nudged Naruto's nose slightly. The blonde scrunched his face up, as if in disgust, but smiled and leaned into Sasuke more. The dark haired boy would've laughed he felt so free right now.

Sasuke stood up, cradling Naruto as he did so, and marveled at how light the blonde was, even though he ate so much ramen all the time. He carried him back through the city to Naruto's dingy apartment.

He set Naruto on the couch and went into his bedroom. The boy was not staying there today so he needed to pick some things up. He grabbed a small bag and started putting some clothes in it, then caught a glimpse of their Team 7 picture. Amazing...at 14, they were still all together.

In the picture, they seemed to be one large, dysfunctional family. In a way, they were. And at the thought of Naruto being family, Sasuke smiled...then blushed at what his mind had just come up with. He quickly finished packing Naruto's things and slung it on his back, picking the blonde up (along with some ramen packs) and headed out to the Uchiha Mansion.

Naruto blinked his eyes open, and rubbed the sleep from them with his hands. He suddenly remembered what happened and turned his head to look around. He was in a large bed, way bigger than his was. It was draped in dark sheets and had black and white pillows. He blinked, there were no lights on, and the door was open.

Suddenly, he was caught in a kiss. He only just noticed when it was gone. Sasuke smirked.

"Morning." he said, slightly happier than usual.

Naruto was lost, sitting in what he guessed was Sasuke's bed, and having just been kissed by said boy. Naruto watched as the dark haired boy crossed the room to the door, then looked back at him, still smirking.

"I made some food incase you were hungry when you woke up. Want some?" he asked in a tone Naruto had never heard him use. He blinked.

"Yea!" he jumped up and noticed what he was wearing. He paused, Sasuke answered his unasked question.

"We were all wet from the rain. I gave you some of mine. Now come on, before the food gets cold." he motioned for Naruto to follow as he walked out. Naruto smiled his biggest smile ever and ran after his dark haired friend.

"Love you too." he muttered softly, yet happily, as he passed Sasuke in the hall on the way to the kitchen. Sasuke smirked and followed at his own pace.