A/N: This chapter was already written before I first posted the story so, after a check over, it was already prepared to be updated so soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Let me know what you think of the story so far.

It was a whole week before Naruto saw the boy again. He was pretty sure Konohamaru was making a point of avoiding him and was starting to regret randomly approaching someone he had no business talking to. Tsunade had always told him he acted too hastily and did things without thinking it through and now he knew he'd done it again. Konohamaru had probably ran home to his boyfriend and told the man all about Naruto. The two of them probably thought Naruto was some kind of creep and were laughing at him behind his back.

The whole thing was stupid. Just because the kid wore scruffy clothes, liked spending time outside his own apartment and sported the occasional bruise or mark didn't mean anything bad was going on. Not even his timid nature proved anything. The whole thing could just be one big, innocent mistake and Naruto had gone and blown it ridiculously out of proportion and overstepped the mark when it came to minding your own business.

Still, Naruto couldn't help but notice that the apartment he'd worked out to be the one the kid shared with his boyfriend was rather odd. Not odd as in 'oh my god, that's so weird' or anything dramatic like that. It was just the small things.

Naruto had never bumped into the boyfriend once in the hallway- something he put down to his own odd working hours. However, he had heard him. Every now and then, as he passed the door on his way back from work or on his way back from the gym, he'd heard shouting. A lot of shouting. Always from the same person. Thing is, couples argue all the time so it wasn't a huge deal…but, Konohamaru never shouted back. Not once had Naruto heard the kid's raised voice in reply. They weren't having arguments- the boyfriend was always yelling at Konohamaru. If Naruto ever did hear the boy's response, it was always a quiet apology or barely audible promise to be better. It was as if…he was being disciplined…

Naruto shrugged it off, convincing himself he was going crazy or just overthinking things. That was, until he saw Konohamaru again…

He'd just spent a couple of hours working out in the gym, without Kiba this time, and was on his way back to his apartment to enjoy the rest of his day off in peace. However, as he stepped into the elevator, his peace was shattered. He found Konohamaru curled up in the corner, knees drawn up to his chest, eyes downcast and the remnants of tears on his cheeks. The kid didn't even look up as Naruto joined him in the elevator. And the man was left not knowing what to say or do. First the cafeteria, then the windowsill and now the building's elevator? Did this kid ever spend more than five minutes in his apartment?

Naruto hit the button for his floor, clearing his throat awkwardly to try and gain the boy's attention. It worked. Konohamaru sniffed loudly, looking up in surprise to see the blonde stood there and instantly went about wiping his face on his grubby sleeve to rid himself of any lingering tears. But, he hissed in pain and pulled his hand away from his face, Naruto's blood started to boil.

Konohamaru had a fresh bruise, a bad one, over his left eye. Someone had hit hard enough to, not only give him a black eye, but break the skin in a couple of places around it. It looked damn painful and Naruto couldn't take any more of this crap. All of the denial and 'minding his own business' and trying to convince himself nothing strange was going on, that he was being an idiot…he couldn't take it anymore. The kid's onyx eyes seemed so sad…a sadness so deep and strong that Naruto's heart fell under the pressure of it. This wasn't right. It wasn't right to go on ignoring it. He had to do something.

"Konohamaru," he whispered softly, dropping down to kneel in front of the boy. His stomach twisted sickly when he saw the other flinch. This kid had really been messed up. "are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine!" The boy said immediately, putting on a smile so disturbingly fake that Naruto's heart ached. Something bad was definitely going on. And it wasn't too hard to figure out what, even if he didn't know the details. The smile, however, seemed to hurt Konohamaru's bruised face and it disappeared quickly. "I…I fell over outside a-and hurt my face," he lied, avoiding the blonde's eyes. "that's all."

"…" Naruto didn't know what to say. He knew what he wanted to put into words but couldn't do it. The boy seemed so emotionally fragile and vulnerable that he didn't want to scare him off. He knew he had to approach this carefully. "Well, the bruise seems pretty bad. You must have banged it hard." He said, going along with the obvious attempt at deception. "I've got a first aid kit in my apartment…why don't you let me fix you up?" He watched those eyes widen in a mixture of confusion and shock, before the boy violently shook his head.

"N-no…thank you. It's f-fine, really." He muttered, turning away. "I t-think I've got one at home. M-my boyfriend w-will deal with it when he gets b-back."

"I don't think it's okay to leave it that long," Naruto pressed on, knowing he had no choice but to pressure the kid into accepting help. "it could get badly infected. Just let me take a proper look at it, okay?" He offered a small smile as the elevator door opened behind him on their floor and gestured down the hallway. He was trying to be as nice as possible. Eventually, after a moment of silent deliberation, Konohamaru looked up at him and whispered his response so quietly Naruto almost missed it.

"O-okay…"

"Follow me," Naruto said with a triumphant grin, climbing to his feet and waiting for the kid to follow. Konohamaru clambered up and nervously toyed with the hem of his own shirt as he hesitantly walked a few feet behind the blonde- as though trying to decide whether to make a run for it or not. But Naruto wasn't having any of that, not when progress was being made. He kept glancing over his shoulder to give the kid a reassuring smile, trying to comfort him. Konohamaru seemed to relax a little but continued tugging on his shirt and avoided Naruto's eyes.

"I-I dunno…" the onyx-eyed boy murmured, staring nervously at the door Naruto was holding open for him.

"Come on," Naruto pressed, smiling wider. Eventually, after glancing down the hallway worriedly, Konohamaru stepped in and stood awkwardly as the blonde headed into the kitchen area to retrieve his first aid kit. "Take a seat on the sofa!" The man yelled.

Once he'd returned with the kit, he found the boy sat rigidly and still playing with his shirt. The kid looked like he was in the waiting room at the hospital or something. Why was he so scared all the time?

"Alright," Naruto said with a forced smile, kneeling down in front of the nervous kid. "this is gonna sting a little." His warning may have been clear, but Konohamaru still hissed and flinched once the alcohol-soaked flannel touched the cuts around the bruise. Nonetheless, he sat obediently and allowed Naruto to patch him up. In the end, all the blonde did was clean the cuts and place a plaster on one of the larger ones. Konohamaru still looked like hell but nothing could be done about the already-formed black eye. "that wasn't so bad, was it?" Naruto whispered softly, looking directly into the kid's eyes. Despite their dark colour, there was so much meaning and emotion swimming within them. Naruto recognised a great deal of confusion in their depths.

"T-thank you." Konohamaru replied softly, staring back with a slight pout. "I should really go."

"Stick around for a bit if you want," Naruto offered as he climbed to his feet. "I was about to do some dinner so I can whip you up something if you'd like."

"Well…m-my boyfriend will be home soon…" the boy said, face scrunching up slightly as he considered it.

"What's your favourite food in the whole world?" Naruto asked, cutting off the kid's inner thoughts.

"I like r-ramen…and chocolate covered bananas!" The sudden excitement and enthusiasm in Konohamaru's voice, as well as the genuine smile that spread across his face was heart-warming. There was still a happy heart in there after all.

"Ramen I agree with, but chocolate covered bananas?" Naruto challenged, screwing his nose up.

"It tastes awesome!" The kid argued, the usual halting and stuttering absent this time. That alone made Naruto grin.

"Alright, then I'll make it for us."

"Y-you don't have to feed me…" he muttered, the nerves creeping back into his voice. But Naruto wasn't prepared to argue further.

As they ate together on the couch, Naruto managed to get a few questions answered and learned a little about the mysterious kid. It took a great deal of effort to get decent responses to his questions and he had to try and sneak them into natural conversation so as to avoid it looking like prying. But still, he only managed to learn everyday stuff that still didn't satisfy his curiosity.

Konohamaru Sarutobi was 16-years-old (17 in a few months) and no longer attended school- though he wouldn't say why. He had grown up with his grandfather, but didn't say any more than that, and had an uncle who no longer spoke to him- again, he wouldn't go into detail. He'd moved in with his boyfriend, some guy called Sasuke, just down the hall.

Actually, looking at it, Naruto hadn't learnt very much at all. The kid was guarded and hesitant in any personal information he gave, but he was starting to loosen up a little as he gobbled down his favourite food- even having a second helping. And, if he were perfectly honest, Naruto was beginning to enjoy the kid's company.

"What's the time?" Konohamaru asked suddenly, eyes darting round to locate a clock.

"Er…8pm." Naruto said, glancing down at his watch. "What time does your boyfriend get back?"

"I…dunno…" he whispered, eyes downcast. "but he usually texts w-when he's back so I know when I can come h-home."

"Why? Don't you have your own key?" The blonde man had meant it as a joke, and even began to laugh, but the sudden look that crossed Konohamaru's face shut him up instantly. "You don't?"

"W-well…I don't need one…" the boy muttered, avoiding eye contact once more. Naruto only grew more and more concerned and he was starting to find it difficult to hide his worry.

"Konohamaru," he began, speaking as softly as he could. "when did you last sleep in your apartment?"

"Er…w-well Sasuke didn't come home y-yesterday but…he was home the day b-before." It was all starting to make sense. Naruto was starting to understand why Konohamaru had been in the hallway and the cafeteria. Without his boyfriend to unlock the door to his apartment, the kid had nowhere to go.

"Does he often not come home?"

"O-only sometimes…" Konohamaru said quickly, glancing up into the man's face. "his work makes him really busy so…he can't always make it back. It's not his fault…he's s-so busy he doesn't even have time to call me and let me know…"

Naruto felt sick again. The blonde had a hectic and demanding job himself and there were often times he ended up coming home at ridiculous hours. Every now and then he'd just sleep at the office for the sake of convenience, or crash at Kiba's (seeing as he lived closer to Naruto's office) but still…if he was going out with Konohamaru, he would definitely give the kid a key. And even then, he'd always call to let him know if he couldn't make it home. He hadn't even met this 'Sasuke' but he was really starting to dislike him…and there were the bruises…

"I w-went to see him at work today…but he doesn't like me bothering him…"

The blonde scowled angrily, grinding his teeth at those words. The fresh bruise…is that where it had come from? Had Sasuke hit Konohamaru just because he visited him at work? Naruto was starting to get really angry. On the one hand, it was easy to make a judgment so easily without having met the kid's boyfriend, but on the other Naruto was a guy who acted on emotion and gut feeling. Even if this whole thing was just a misunderstanding because of a bunch of crazy coincidences, Naruto couldn't just ignore it and not mention his concerns and he was just opening his mouth to say something…when a beeping from Konohamaru's pocket cut him off. Instantly, with a surge of panic on his face, the kid yanked his primitive mobile out of his pocket and stared at it.

"Is that…?" Naruto began curiously.

"I g-gotta go," the kid said, jumping to his feet. "Sasuke's on h-his way home."

"You can wait here till he gets back." Naruto offered with a forced smile, pretty sure he knew it was all in vain.

"No!" The boy snapped, already heading to the door. "Thank you for dinner, I p-promise to pay you back."

'Pay me back?' Naruto thought in utter disbelief. He had cooked his guest dinner, why on earth did Konohamaru think he had to pay him back?

"I…" there was a moment of hesitation as Konohamaru went to open the door, as though there was something he desperately wanted to say but couldn't. The kid seemed frustrated and disheartened and was about to leave without another word before Naruto spoke up.

"You're always welcome," he said. "y'know, if ever wanna hang out or something." That offer alone was enough to bring out one of Konohamaru's rare, but genuine, smiles and Naruto actually felt his heart flutter.

"Thanks," the boy said, opening the door. "bye, Naruto."

"See ya."

After their first evening together, Konohamaru would visit Naruto as often as he possibly could- often waiting outside his apartment whenever the blonde got back from work. It was a routine the two of them had fallen into. They'd sit together for a couple of hours eating dinner and watching TV, as well as just talking comfortably, until around 10pm- when Konohamaru would always insist on leaving, even if he didn't receive a text from his boyfriend. It was oddly enjoyable and Naruto was starting to love the boy's company. Underneath all of the nerves and fear, Konohamaru was a really cool person and was actually very similar to Naruto. They got on well.

One night, as they were watching a comedy panel show which had them both snorting with laughter, Konohamaru accidentally called Naruto 'Nii-chan', something which he instantly apologised for whilst blushing furiously. Naruto just laughed and said it was okay, that he actually rather liked being seen as a 'big brother'. Since then, Konohamaru continued to call him Nii-chan and it became rather endearing.

Naruto always looked forward to their evenings together and often grew concerned when he got home to find Konohamaru not outside his door waiting. In fact, he was starting to worry about just how attached he was getting to the kid. He'd often sit at work, completing all the tasks Kakashi assigned him, and find himself wondering if Konohamaru would be there when he got back. On the nights he wasn't, Naruto would lie awake wondering where the kid was. It wasn't healthy.

Only a week of this arrangement went on and, despite how much time they spent together, nothing really changed. Konohamaru remained hesitant and quiet and still insisted that he would pay for the food Naruto made him when he had the money. He wouldn't even ask to use the bathroom and Naruto had to keep an eye on him so that he could give him 'permission' whenever the kid started to show signs of a full bladder. The blonde had tried altering the behaviour but he hadn't gotten anyway.

The bruises still showed up. They were mostly small ones and not often on the face, but Naruto could tell from the way the boy hissed and winced whilst moving that they were on his body somewhere. Naruto only occasionally asked about them, but the kid would insist with great defiance that they were all caused by accidents. Naruto knew he should do something, but he didn't know what. He was stumped and confused. All he knew was that he enjoyed Konohamaru's company and was hoping the boy would start opening up to him soon.

That didn't happen…

It was after a particularly busy night at work, as Naruto dragged his exhausted feet towards his apartment door, that it all ended. Instead of finding Konohamaru waiting there, he found a note outside his door. Surprised, the blonde picked it up and read it with keen interest. As the scribbled words sunk in, he frowned, his heart sinking.

Naruto-Nii-chan,

Thanks for being so nice to me and for all the meals. I promise as soon as I have the money to pay you for all the food I'll slip it under your door. It's been really fun but I can't come visit you anymore. I'm really sorry but I'm gonna be really busy from now on so I won't have any chance to spend time with you. I hope you don't mind and I really wish I could keep having fun with you but I just can't.

I hope you had a good day at work.

-Konohamaru

Naruto bit his lip, clenching the note so tightly his knuckles turned white. He'd never felt so angry and bitter in his entire life. He didn't believe one single word of that 'gonna be really busy' crap and he could guess exactly why the kid suddenly couldn't spend time with him. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure it out. But, beneath all that surface anger, Naruto felt a deep pang of disappointment and sadness in his heart. He didn't want his time with Konohamaru to end but he was unwilling to admit to himself just how important the boy's company had been to him.

Trying to stomp down the sudden emotion in his heart, Naruto stormed into his apartment and tore up the note, throwing it in the trash without a hint of hesitation. If he were honest, he felt abandoned- something he had had problems with in the past- and was desperately trying to cover up the hurt he was feeling. He didn't blame Konohamaru at all, but rather blamed himself for being stupid enough to get so attached to something that was so unreliable. He should have seen this coming and he was furious with himself for not expecting it. It was best to just mind his own business like Kiba had told him and forget all about Konohamaru Sarutobi. From now on he'd listen to his friend more and he was secretly glad he hadn't told anyone about his time with Konohamaru. At least he'd be saved from embarassment.

With a stubborn and pained heart, Naruto went to bed. He tried to distract his mind by mentally going through the work Kakashi wanted by the end of the week but knew it was ultimately pointless...

4 days passed since Naruto had read, torn up and thrown away the note. Not once had he seen Konohamaru around the building since and it was now painfully obvious the boy was avoiding him entirely. It wouldn't be the most difficult thing, seeing as the kid had probably learnt his unpredictable schedule after spending so much time with him. He was trying to convince himself that he wasn't too upset but, in truth, Naruto was devastated. He'd really bonded with Konohamaru and not being able to see him was turning into hell. However, he decided he was glad the kid was going to extra lengths to stay away from him. It made forgetting about him easier. With the combination of an increased workload and no kid walking around reminding Naruto of his existence, the blonde man was getting over it. He was pretty sure that, by the end of the week, Konohamaru would be nothing but a distant memory.

However, Naruto may not have seen Konohamaru for the last 4 days, but he did end up seeing someone else. Sasuke Uchiha, a man living on his floor who Naruto had never met before, passed him in the hallway once as the blonde returned home from work. He knew for sure it was Sasuke because Naruto had met everyone else living on his floor at least once in the past. The black-haired man who slipped past him into the elevator was the only person Naruto hadn't seen around before and his stomach instantly churned.

Sasuke looked cold, with empty eyes void of any emotion and a general look of uncaring about him. Naruto couldn't sense any warmth from the man and doubted he had any inside him at all. Despite only seeing him for a moment, and hardly getting a good look at him, Naruto knew he instantly loathed Sasuke. He couldn't stand the thought of Konohamaru being in a relationship with him. It was sickening…absolutely sickening…

A/N: I feel pretty bad for putting Konohamaru through this. The temptation to instantly craft up a happy ending is pretty damn strong but each story has its path to follow and I have to abide by that. Anyway, this chapter went through varying degrees of happy and sad regarding Naruto and Konohamaru and I'm interested to know what you all think so far.

Thanks for reading.