Unlike Sasuke

Repression, Apologies, Blood, and Love

He didn't know why he was so depressed, frustrated, and angry lately. More silent than usual and more hostile to those around him. One person always seemed to get more of a tongue thrashing from the Uchiha then the rest and he always wound up making that person, the one he cared most about, walk away holding in his tears. The one Sasuke always hurt the worst, the one he loved more than life itself, his best friend, Naruto Uzumaki.

This had been going on for months now and the Uchiha didn't understand what the cause was. The only thing he really knew at the moment was how much he was hurting his best friend. It's not that Naruto would piss him off, it was quite the opposite actually. Sakura or Ino or any other of his rabid fan girls were the ones that tended to make Sasuke so pissed that he'd end up holding it all in until Naruto said something. Usually the blonde would just smile and wave at his raven haired friend and say hello. That's when the Uchiha would snap. He would yell and scream at Naruto until he was panting for air.

Then as he looked his precious blonde in the eyes he would see the hurt, the pain Sasuke had caused him. Fighting back the tears as best he could Naruto would smile at Sasuke, apologize for pissing the raven off, turn around, and as soon as his back was to the Uchiha the tears would fall freely. Every time it happened the blonde would walk back to his apartment, into his room, lay in his bed, and cry. What else could he have done? He couldn't ask Sasuke what was wrong for fear of being yelled at once again. Instead he sobbed into his pillow alone.

Knowing that it killed the blonde to be yelled at for no reason by him, Sasuke just couldn't stop. It was like having a disease he had no control over. It slowly entered his body and built up until he could no longer hold it in and it exploded at the first person he came into contact with. That person always ended up being Naruto. So sick and tired of what those worthless fan girls were doing to his and Naruto's friendship, Sasuke decided to do something. Instead of holding it all in he would expel it immediately so he wouldn't end up hurting his dear blonde again.

The first time in months Sasuke snapped at his fan girls and they stepped back from him in fear. As he walked away to find Naruto, the raven couldn't believe how much better he felt when he wasn't holding everything inside. Smiling to himself Sasuke went over to Naruto's apartment. He had every intention of apologizing to his friend for being such an inconsiderate prick to him for so long. As he knocked on the blonde's front door he waited for an answer.

A few seconds later a puffy eyed Naruto opened the door. Sasuke stared at his friend with guilt steadily rising. Opening the door further, Naruto smiled at his friend uncertainly and nervously. Sasuke noticed this and felt so ashamed of himself. Naruto had always been there for him and this, making him cry, was how the Uchiha repaid him. Sasuke couldn't take seeing the hurt and sadness in Naruto's gorgeous blue eyes any longer. Pushing the door opened all the way, the raven pulled Naruto into his arms and held the blonde as close to himself as possible.

Naruto was surprised by Sasuke's sudden action but wrapped his arms around his friends waist all the same. After hugging Naruto tightly for a few minutes Sasuke pulled back. He looked into Naruto's eyes again and wiped away the rest of the tears that were about to fall. When Sasuke first hugged Naruto he noticed the blonde was cold. Sasuke took Naruto's hand and led him inside the blonde's apartment, closing the front door in the process. He brought Naruto to his room and grabbed a blanket from the blonde's closet.

Sasuke wrapped the blanket around Naruto and pulled the blonde onto his lap once he was sitting on Naruto's bed. Once again wrapping his arms around Naruto's now shivering form Sasuke thought now was a good time to apologize.

"Naruto?" Sasuke quietly said.

"Yeah?" Naruto practically whispered, exhausted. Once again the blonde was up all night crying from Sasuke's repressed rage.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. Everything I've said to you these past few months, I didn't mean any of it. I was just so pissed off at Sakura and the other girls for never leaving me alone. I just kept it all in until they left and then I took it out on you. I know that's not a good excuse for how I've treated you but…"

"It's okay." Naruto interrupted Sasuke, looking up at him with a gentle smile.

Sasuke returned Naruto's smile with his own, happy that his friend had forgiven him. Suddenly Naruto turned away from Sasuke and started coughing profusely. Just when the raven was about to ask Naruto if he was alright he saw a red substance start to drip from Naruto's hand. When Naruto had finally stopped coughing a few seconds later he looked at his hand…it was covered in blood. Naruto looked up at Sasuke with confusion on his face.

"Wha…" Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence as everything around him went dark.

He fell limp, unconscious in Sasuke's arms, barely breathing. Sasuke screamed out his friends name, getting no response. Fearing the worst, the raven picked Naruto up bridal style and rushed him to the hospital. Luckily the Hokage, lady Tsunade, was there. Running up to her, Sasuke begged her to help Naruto. Without hesitation Tsunade took Naruto from Sasuke and quickly carried him into an emergency room, her assistant, Shizune, on her heels.

Sasuke was left in the hall, outside the emergency room, alone, and desperate for his friend to be alright. Sitting down on the bench against the hospital wall, Sasuke put his face in his hands, and, for the first time in years, he cried. It felt like an eternity had passed since Tsunade first took the sick blonde from the raven's arms. After two, torturous, hours Tsunade finally came out of the emergency room and approached Sasuke. As soon as he heard the door open the raven jumped out of his seat.

"Is Naruto…?" Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence, his voice constricted in his throat in fearful anticipation.

"He's gonna be alright Sasuke." Tsunade answered. She sounded tired.

"Do you know what caused him to cough up blood?"

"Yeah. Stress was a minor part of the whole thing but the main cause…" Tsunade hesitated, not really sure she wanted to tell Sasuke. She sighed and then finished what she was saying, "someone beat the hell out of him a few days ago Sasuke. He had quite a few deep wounds, bruises, scratches, and some internal bleeding." the Hokage finished.

Sasuke was horrified at what he was just told. How could he not have known his best friend was hurt so bad? How could he have not known his friend was suffering from more than he let Sasuke know? How could he be such a bad friend?

As Tsunade watched Sasuke she saw that he was about to have an emotional breakdown. Tears flooded into his eyes and were about to spill over when the emergency room door opened a second time. Sasuke and Tsunade looked to see who it was and their moths fell open in surprise. Naruto was walking out of the E.R. and towards Sasuke. When he was standing directly in front of the raven, Sasuke gently pulled him to his chest, hugging him close.

"Sasuke."

The raven looked up at his name being called.

"I want you to keep an eye on Naruto for a while. Alright? I don't want anything more to happen to him. If he's attacked with his body in the state it's in now, he'll die." Tsunade said seriously but grimly.

"I understand." Sasuke whispered.

"Good. I'm counting on you Uchiha."

With that Tsunade walked back into the E.R., leaving the two teens in the hall together. Sasuke pulled back from Naruto slightly to look into his face. He saw how exhausted the blonde looked and hugged him close again. Naruto clung onto Sasuke, glad to be back with his friend.

"Naruto?"

"…yeah…?" Sasuke was surprised to hear how low, raspy, and weak Naruto's voice was.

"I want you to move in with me." Sasuke whispered into Naruto's soft, golden hair.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and looked up at Sasuke. He couldn't believe what the Uchiha had just said. Looking into Sasuke's eyes Naruto knew he wasn't kidding around. The raven was serious about what he said.

"Will you?" Sasuke asked. He wanted Naruto to be safe and the only way Sasuke could ensure that was to have his friend move in with him. He didn't want Naruto to get hurt again but most of all he didn't want the blonde he cares so much about to be killed.

Resting his head against Sasuke's chest once again and closing his eyes, Naruto answered in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay."

Sasuke smiled into Naruto's hair. He then picked the blonde up bridal style, getting a surprised yelp from the injured teen. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck as the raven carried his friend to his home. On the way Naruto fell asleep in the raven's warm embrace, making the Uchiha smile warmly at his tired friend. When Sasuke arrived home he carefully opened his front door and quietly closed and locked it.

He carried Naruto up to his own room and laid the blonde in his bed, covering him up with the sheet and blanket. Sasuke sat beside Naruto for a while watching the angelic blonde sleep peacefully. A sudden realization hit Sasuke then. He was deeply, truly in love with his best friend. Somehow though, the realization didn't seem so surprising to the Uchiha. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had always been in love with the blonde beside him and he smiled to himself. He couldn't believe it took him this long to realize how he felt, and here he's supposed to be a genius.

He reached out and gently stroked Naruto's cheek. He smiled at his beloved friend as he leaned down and kissed the younger teens forehead before getting up and putting his pajamas on. He then went to the other side of his bed and crawled in beside Naruto slowly, so as to not disturb the sleeping angel. After he wrapped his arms around Naruto, the blonde unconsciously cuddled against Sasuke's chest. Sasuke watched Naruto sleep a little while longer before he too nodded off to the world of dreams.

--

Author's note:

There are going to be other chapters but I need to finish posting the rest of my stories first. Hope you liked it!!