A/N: You know how I said I was such a jerk last chapter and such? Yeah...two days after I posted it, I got sick and felt like I had pneumonia D= I'm super sick. That is what I call divine retribution. Let's hope I don't get killed by the end of this story xD.

Edited August 25, 2012.

DISCLAIMER: It goes without saying that Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. However, we both share the love for Sasuke x Naruto...Look up some of his interviews if you haven't already.

'Till Death Do Us Part - Loneliness

Azure eyes opened to a gray ceiling lit by the morning sun. A light breeze blew into the bedroom, chilling the blond teenager unnaturally throughout his entire body, even through the blanket that was covering him. Uzumaki Naruto sat up and rubbed his clear blue eyes.

Why am I so cold...?

He shook his head groggily and stared out the spotless window. The villagers were already bustling through the streets. Children were laughing loudly, screaming with joy as they played tag with one another. Naruto felt like chewing them out; how could they be so happy when the greatest person he knew and loved was dying, suffering so much throughout his last days? He knew inside that it wasn't their fault, that he was just angry, but it was just so hard...

"I should go see Sasuke today," he mumbled to himself, picking himself up and climbing off the bed. He had a hard time falling asleep the night before; Sakura had forced him to go home, and he wasn't used to sleeping by himself anymore. He missed the warmth of Sasuke's body, the way they snuggled together in their sleep, the sound of Sasuke's breathing, and even the faces he used to make in his sleep. Naruto always watched him before falling asleep himself, and he would sometimes just be entranced by his sleeping face when he woke up in the morning.

Naruto got dressed out of his pajamas and into his Halloween colored jump suit. He took one last look at Sasuke's bedroom and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a soldier pill from the counter. He stared momentarily at the bottle of medication beside the solider pills. Inside it was the medication Sakura had given him before that would either cure or kill the Uchiha. Ignoring the ominous feelings that came with look at it, he made his way outside and ran through the crowds of people, pushing them out of the way to get to Konoha Hospital as fast as he could.

"HELLO, NARUTO-KUN!" a familiar voice called out.

The blond stopped in his tracks only a few meters from the hospital grounds. He turned around sharply to see an ugly teenager with bushy eyebrows and a green, spandex suit.

"Hey, Lee," Naruto smiled as much as he could, but he could tell that his smile wasn't as genuine as it used to be.

"Hello, Naruto-kun!" Rock Lee grinned wildly. "How is the spirit of your youth? You don't look very well! You need to find your inner youth and celebrate it! How about we sweat our young sweat together and exercise valiantly?"

"I'm fine, Lee," Naruto shook his head. "I'm just visiting Sasuke, and maybe he'll get discharged today."

"Oh yes, I heard about his condition," the bushy browed teenager's eyes watered. He lifted a fist into the air, screaming with energy, "but he must not let that stop the spirit of his youth from sprouting! He must fight on, and overcome the challenge he faces within his youth! He must not waver or go back on past promises! He must stare into the sunset and cry manly tears of his youth, and -"

"I can't see him doing that!" Naruto nearly laughed. "I'm sure he'd rather die...or not see his goals accomplished before doing that!"

Die...die...die...

It keeps on echoing in my head. I know he's going to die, but I just can't accept it. How can I accept something like that?

"Oh," Lee's face fell. "Well, tell him I say hello and that I hope his youthful spirit comes back in full blossom! I would enjoy sparring with him again and sharing our youth!"

"I'll tell him," Naruto replied, "and I hope he'll be able to spar with you again too..." Without another word, he turned back around and ran through the hospital doors.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun! Until we meet again!"

Naruto found himself in the lobby of the hospital. Ignoring the people around him, he hurried onto the room down the hall he knew Sasuke was staying in. He slammed the door open to find the fragile boy jolting awake, a look of fury directed at Naruto.

"Oh, sorry," Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Did I wake you up?"

"Obviously," Sasuke scowled, "you loser."

Naruto grinned at the sight of his best friend, boyfriend, or whatever he should call Sasuke. The amount of weight he had lost was almost unsightly, but he still remained beautiful in Naruto's eyes. His blacker than midnight eyes were entrancing, and they contrasted amazingly with his porcelain white skin. His skin was smooth and only lightly scarred in places where he had been given medical testing.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto smiled as he climbed into bed with Sasuke, putting his arm around his thin frame. "Lee says hi and to get better, youthful spirit and crap. Anyway, I got up early just for you, so be grateful that I'm here! So, you feel okay?"

"I'm just fine," Sasuke looked away, attempting to maintain his pride.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whined. "I want to know the truth! Even if you don't tell anyone but me, that's fine! I thought I was special to you!"

"You are, idiot!" Sasuke admitted, quickly turning scarlet. "I have a headache. Is that good enough for you?"

"Yes, that is," Naruto snuggled his head into the crook of Sasuke's neck, breathing heavily. "You know that I love you." The blond giggled when he could feel goosebumps rise across Sasuke's skin. "Hey, Sasuke, how about we ki-"

"Naruto, I'm going to the bathroom," Sasuke interrupted sternly.

"I can take you there if you want," Naruto shrugged. "I don't mind."

The Uchiha sighed and somehow managed to sit himself up. His trembling hands slowly took a hold of the sheet that covered him and lifted it, sluggishly removing it from on top of his body. Suddenly, he paused, then collapsed back into the bed.

"Get out," his voice shook, trembling with despair.

Naruto was about to complain when he felt something warm soak his behind. He sniffed the air, only to smell acid.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were going to the bathroom," Naruto frowned. "Couldn't you hold it?"

"Get the HELL out!" Sasuke's voice cracked, and he coughed from the strain of trying to yell.

Naruto's eyes widened as the truth dawned on him.

He just peed his pants, but only because he can't hold it anymore.

He jumped out of the bed, only to see Sasuke huffing for breath. His hands went to his chest, and sweat was dripping down his face. As if by miracle, the pink haired medical ninja happened to make an appearance. She took one look at Sasuke and took action. Naruto watched in awe as Sakura did her job. Within moments she had given Sasuke a breathing mask, and he was breathing normally again.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. "Did he...lose control of his bladder?"

Naruto nodded, and Sasuke lowered his head in shame.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled comfortingly. "You had a hard time breathing probably because you have pneumonia, but it's under control with the medication you're on. Also, we'll get you cleaned up. I don't know if you want me to help you or not considering I'm a girl and your friend, but I'm also a medical ninja. Naruto could help you, or I could get someone else to help you..."

"I can do it myself," Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"If you're sure," Sakura sighed, "but we'll get someone to change the sheets for you. I'll get a nurse to take you to the rehab center while your sheets are being changed. I'll make sure you get new clothing too."

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto interrupted. "When is Sasuke going to be discharged?"

"I don't want to be discharged," his voice came out strained, as if he didn't have enough air to say everything he wanted to. "I can't live normally anymore."

"Can he do that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto flared up. "He's just going to stay in the hospital and never come home!?"

"It's a good idea," Sakura replied, trying to stay calm. "The disease is progressing at an alarming rate, and if he doesn't take his medication, even with rehab, he could be bedridden within months."

"Sasuke, take your damn medication!" Naruto yelled. "Don't you want to go home? Why are you doing this!?"

"I don't want to draw this out anymore," he answered weakly, his voicebox barely allowing him to convey his feelings.

"We'll leave you alone for now, Sasuke-kun," Sakura exited through the door and motioned for Naruto to follow. Naruto took one last glance before leaving. The rosette-haired girl shut the door.

"I guess our promise to laugh together is a bust," she whispered tearfully. "Chances are he can't even smile anymore, let alone laugh. The disease...it's so cruel."

Naruto felt his eyes sting, and he grimaced. "Sakura-chan, should I bring his things over here since he'll be staying here?"

Sakura nodded, "That would be great. In the mean time, I have to go to the bathroom myself." She placed her hands on her stomach and winked. "I'm a little bit nauseous."

The blond smiled. "Is little Mioku making Mommy feel bad?"

Sakura's face fell slightly. "I still haven't told Tsunade-sama, let alone my parents. I think Tsunade-sama will forgive me, but I don't even know what my parents' reactions will be. I'm scared, Naruto."

"If anything happens, you can count on me to help you!" Naruto reassured. "You should tell them before you get a big stomach because they might get really mad if you don't bother, but I guess we could cover it up, and then they'll never have to know!"

Sakura chuckled, "Thanks Naruto, but I'm going to have to tell them. I'll see you later today, okay?" She took off towards the bathrooms, leaving Naruto alone.

"Let's see," Naruto sat on the floor of Sasuke's bedroom. "What exactly am I supposed to bring?"

He sprawled himself onto the floor and stared up at the bland ceiling.

It's going to be so lonely now that I'm going to be by myself. It might be worth moving back to my apartment at this point. I think it's still vacant right now.

He got up again, completely out-of-sorts. He crawled over to his closet and took out a bunch of clothes, most of them black or blue.

I've taken him for granted so much. How am I supposed to sleep without him here, me protecting him? I thought we had reached happiness, but now he can't even live a normal life, so he has to stay in the hospital to survive...

He took out a navy bag from the bottom of the closet and shoved the clothes in. He stood up finally and headed towards the bathroom, grabbing whatever belonged to Sasuke.

I feel like I'm defiling his house by being here alone. It's like I've invaded Uchiha property. It's kinda creepy actually...

Naruto shuddered and stuffed the random things he had taken into the bag. "Maybe I should have asked Sakura-chan and Sasuke what to bring..." Naruto mumbled. "I guess I can always bring more stuff if I have to." He quickly rummaged through some of the drawers with a small, hard covered book caught his eye. He snatched it from it's place in the organized drawer and shut the drawer closed. He snickered and opened the black book. On the front cover written in childish writing was 'Property of Uchiha Sasuke! Don't look inside!'

Heh, Naruto smirked, this must have been his diary as a kid. He flipped the page to read the first diary entry.

"Hello! This is Uchiha Sasuke! I got this journal from big brother Itachi for my eighth birthday! Mother and Father got me books and stuff, but I don't think they care as much as Itachi does. That makes me so sad! Itachi cares, and I love him, so I'm okay! I'm going to write in this whenever I can! Bye!"

Naruto's eyes widened at the fact that that journal entry was Sasuke's. It was so...naive, but so sweet, yet somewhat sad. It was honest. The cerulean orbs moved onto the next entry.

"I'm sorry I haven't written in this for so long. It's been a year, hasn't it? Itachi, that bastard, he...he killed off everyone! He killed the whole Uchiha clan! I don't understand! He said it was to test his capacity, but how could he kill off everyone for that? Why did he leave me alive!? To suffer!? I can't handle this...The person I trusted most lied to me! He said that he'd always be there for me... I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to write in this because Itachi gave it to me, but it'll remind me of what I have to do. I have to kill him."

Naruto's eyes watered. The words of the eight year old Sasuke were painfully raw, and he noted that the paper was rippled and stained in places from his tears. He flipped through the pages until he came to one that seemingly popped out at him.

"I got my squad assignment today. That stupid kid, Naruto, is in it. I don't mind Sakura because she's actually intelligent, but to have the worst in the class? Actually...Naruto isn't that bad. He's a special person who knows the same pain as me, maybe even a friend of mine. His choices are different, but we're almost the same inside. I want to get to know him more and try to understand how he can act so happy. He's the only person I can tolerate around me."

The teenager felt himself smile. Sasuke seemed to have taken an interest in him those three years ago. He would have never guessed that Sasuke had always liked him! He felt a small fire of hope blaze inside his heart. He flipped towards the middle section of the journal. The Uchiha didn't seem to write in the journal often; if he had had it since he was eight and the journal wasn't even close to being filled to the end, he obviously didn't feel the need to write in it.

"I'm fourteen tomorrow. I'm planning on spending the day with Naruto. I hate to say it, but I really like the idiot, but I'll never admit it to him. I don't want to like him, and I can hardly believe myself for liking him so much. I can't afford to like anyone; I need to only hate Itachi, the man who I refuse to call a brother. As stupid as it sounds, I don't think I can ever love again after I loved Itachi. I can't go through that pain again. It's better if I never say anything to him at all about it. I don't want to have to suffer because of our bond. Naruto's not gay anyway; he has an obvious crush on Sakura."

"I feel strange. I feel like something inside of me is breaking. I've noticed that I've lost a lot of weight, maybe five pounds since the beginning of the week. I haven't done anything different, and it's too much weight to just be a part of adolescence. I've been tripping too. It's like I can't control my own balance, and I fall over. It's weird because I don't have reflexes either. I fall on my face. Sometimes, it's like I can't move at all. My body won't move when I want it to. Something's wrong with me, but I refuse to acknowledge it. I can't afford to let anyone notice."

"I tried to leave Konoha the other night. Hell, I was so out of it that I bought drugs. Drugs. I never thought I'd sink that far, but I needed to distract myself. Sakura showed up, and then I tripped, so I got scared. I had to go home after that, and I was frightened enough to actually try the drugs. I swear, I'm not going to do them again. The drugs made me lose control, and I'm not willing to do that again."

Naruto's started to shake a little bit. The Sasuke that wrote in the journal was so much more open about his feelings, probably because he felt like there was nobody he could confide in without getting hurt. Now, the blond knew what was coming in the next few pages.

"It's been over a year since I've written in this. It's already December of the next year. At lot of things happened, and I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I haven't known what to do for so long, so it's hard to come back here and try to confront my own feelings. I'm dying, but I'm losing everything while I'm at it. The only thing that has come out of this is that Naruto seems to like me a lot, but it's a curse. I don't want to leave him behind if he's the only one keeping me alive. I can't walk well. I notice that I choke when I eat sometimes. I feel weak. Nobody has noticed yet, but my words are screwed up sometimes. I can feel myself dying, and it's all such a waste. My handwriting is worse than a child's. I just wish I could tell Naruto I love him, but that would make everything even worse."

It was with that that Naruto felt a few cool tears slide down his tanned cheek. The handwriting on that page was so awkward and messy compared to the page before, and it was just painful to both read and even look at. Sasuke let his words flow freely, trusting that nobody would ever read them.

I'm a traitor. I'm looking through his diary without permission! I'm reading things he would never want me to read about him. I shouldn't be doing this! But, it's so hard to try to help him when he never admits how he feels. Hell, he's only cried once! I don't think I've ever felt so far away from him...There are so many things going through his mind that he's never bothered to tell me. Yeah, he loves me, but he doesn't trust me to not hurt him! There's a barrier between us, and I never even noticed. I thought we had become so much closer too...

He sunk down to his knees and shut the diary, pounding the floor with his fist. "IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY IS GOD SO UNFAIR!? WHY SASUKE!? WHY!? HOW COULD GOD DO SOMETHING SO CRUEL TO A PERSON!?"

Naruto couldn't see anything in his blind rage. His vision became crimson, and he could feel his nails growing longer, his teeth becoming sharper.

"Take my power. Destroy to relieve your pain. Come on, you've asked for my power before. Remove the seal."

Naruto clutched onto his head and tried to control himself, grimacing in sheer agony. His blood was boiling beneath his skin, burning to the touch.

No, you bastard Kyuubi! I refuse to hurt anyone! I need to be under control so I can take care of Sasuke and make him happy!

SASUKE!

The enraged teen began to feel cool again. The red surrounding him faded away, leaving him alone in Sasuke's bedroom. Ignoring what just happened, Naruto stuffed the journal at the bottom of the bag, undignified. He zipped it closed, a few angry tears spilling onto its handle. He grabbed it roughly and stopped out the door, heading back to the hospital to see his dear Sasuke once again.

Sasuke, I swear, I'm going to get you to confess that you love me, and I'll convince you that it's okay to feel that way!

A/N: I'm sorry for the terrible ending DX. I'm actually quite excited for the next chapter. Lots of NaruSasu in there XD. More than you'd think...I'm just stuck on how to write it 'appropriately' *wink*. POCKY TO THOSE WHO REVIEW! Until next chapter: Memories.