Ah… My friend is having a fight with this girl who thinks she's my friend, and I can't be rude to her because we're partners for an assignment… gosh, this is not good. Could someone help me out here?

Please read: Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – its sooooo awesome!

Disclaimer I don't own Naruto…

-- Previously --

"Naruto…"

"I don't… deserve it… I don't…" Naruto fell lifelessly to the floor; his face was pale and cold. Sasuke, on reflexes, jumped to the floor and began examining Naruto's body, he was still breathing and but his heart was beating rapidly.

"Naruto, get up! Naruto!"

Sasuke watched over Naruto like a hawk, his eyes never left the young nurses moving hands over his chest. Naruto still looked quite pale but his original tanned skin was beginning to bleed away the pale tone of his skin, Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's forehead and placed a hand over his own. Naruto's was burning up as he was showing symptoms of fever, Sasuke looked down worriedly at Naruto before sending the nurse a glare. The nurse sent him a sideways glance before continuing on with her work, "I know what you're going to ask Uchiha-san…" She said unsteadily, not really keeping her concentration on her words at the moment.

Sasuke ignored her and asked said question, "Why aren't you doing anything for Naruto's fever? He's burning up!"

The nurse let his rude tone of voice slid and replied "I'm not going to treat him just yet--"

"—But that's your job!" Sasuke interfered with a low growl

"…I will, however, get you to give him these tablets--" She shoved a bottle of pills into Sasuke's hand, "—he'll need them most likely when he first wakes up, he may complain of a headache so they will help cure that and the other symptoms that may occur." She looked at Sasuke skeptically as a worried look scarred his placid face. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and rubbed it gently with his thumb, the nurse looked back at him with a small sigh.

Sasuke seized his motions and held Naruto's hand close to his face; the young nurse was just about finished her inspection of the Kyuubi vessel. She leaned back up and smiled at Sasuke, "He'll be fine Uchiha-san… he was just too weak and since he had lost a critical amount of blood, it was difficult for his heart to be under so much stress which caused him to pass out." She stated clearly, she looked over Naruto and continued her diagnosis "He'll need to rest for a while… but when he wakes up I need you to make sure he eats, he is terribly under weight and Hokage-sama would have my head if he died of starvation!" The nurse shivered in fright and walked out of the room after seeing Sasuke's nod of approval.

Sasuke heard the door click shut and he let out a sigh of relief, he ran a hand through his hair and exhaled his caught breath slowly. Sasuke stretched his arms outwards and climbed on to the bed so he rested besides Naruto's lifeless body. He laid his head down on Naruto's chest and yawned beneath his hand, Sasuke placed his chin atop Naruto's chest and felt his steady heartbeat. His heartbeat was normal and his breathing was regular, Sasuke let out another sigh of relief and let himself relax into the warmth of Naruto's chest. He turned his head so it was back in its previous position. Sasuke casually turned his gaze from Naruto's face to the windows, raindrops calmly spattered against the glass and Sasuke sighed in content. He watched as they slid down the cold, frosted glass until they stop at the edge of the frame, he didn't flinch when a loud clap of thunder echoed throughout the dark sky.

The whole room went dark as the last shed of light in the sky diminished; a cold breeze picked up and blew through the partially open window. Naruto's body temperature dropped dramatically and he began to shiver, Sasuke moved over and pulled the body-heated blankets up to around their necklines. Sasuke pulled Naruto into his arms and gave himself a half smile; Naruto's body heat began to increase steadily as he subconsciously scooted closer to Sasuke for warmth. Sasuke smirked and placed his chin on to of his head and fell into the black abyss that was slumber…

-Later-

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open to see darkness; the pure black night sky had the shadows mingling with the dimness of the room. Despite how dark it was, Sasuke could still see Naruto's golden hair. Sasuke smiled mildly and nuzzled Naruto's hair with his face; Sasuke squeezed Naruto tightly in his half-hearted hug. Sasuke's body drank in the warmth of Naruto's, he sighed and it echoed throughout the silent and empty room and corridors. Sasuke's eyes drifted closed as he felt the slumber pulling him down deeper into the warmth of the bed. Sasuke sighed in pleasure as his body lingered in the state of wake and sleep, "Sasuke? You awake…?"

Sasuke perked up at the sound of Naruto's voice, he looked down for his eyes to meet with clear blue ones. Naruto stared at him sleepily as Sasuke returned the stare with the same expression, "Yeah…?" was his slurred reply, he hadn't meant for it to sound so down but it just came out that way. Naruto faltered for a second, his words died in his mouth before he could reply.

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, even though he would love to hear what Naruto had to say… he just couldn't keep himself awake. Naruto's fingers idly played over the edges of Sasuke's shirt, he licked his lips absentmindedly and opened his mouth to speak again. Naruto took in a sharp inhale of air, his breaths were delayed and hitched from the slowly rising fever that was weakening his body every second. Sasuke yawned politely behind his hand as sleep was dawning on him once again; Naruto swallowed the last ounce of saliva in his mouth and opened his mouth to speak once again, "I… want to protect you all… I love everyone so much, especially you…" Naruto's voice was hoarse as he whispered; although he was surprised he had actually spoken clearly.

Sasuke may have been half-asleep, but he heard that loud and clear. "Really?" He asked in surprise, Naruto nodded and continued, "Yes… But, if I was to protect you I have to leave… it's not a choice I want to make… but you have to understand." Naruto looked up sternly and stared into Sasuke's eyes.

"I know, that's true… but Naruto, please stay… I'm sure most people would agree that we would be safer from Akatsuki if you weren't here, but Akatsuki would still attack, knowing that you would come back and protect us. Now you have to understand that…" Sasuke stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

Naruto stayed eerily quiet, Sasuke's words hitting him hard. Sasuke groaned silently as he felt his body being pressured down into the warm depths of his sleep, Naruto looked up and noted dimly that Sasuke was falling asleep again. Naruto coughed lightly as the effects of the fever were taking their toll on his body, Naruto clutched tighter on to Sasuke's shirt and sighed loudly. Sasuke blinked rapidly and looked down at Naruto, Naruto looked up at him and closed his eyes as he spoke "I'll stay…" Naruto bite the inside of his cheek and opened his eyes to look at Sasuke's expression, it was mixed between shock, relief and happiness.

Naruto looked down at his hands, trying to ignore the strange stare he was being given. Sasuke hugged Naruto tightly; he let a smile slip into his expression as he held Naruto. Naruto pulled away from the hug and stared at Sasuke, "where is Gaara?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto, who just gave him a stern stare that wouldn't falter in a million years. Sasuke sighed and looked over towards the door, "why?"

"I need to apologize, face to face." He stated quietly, pushing himself up from the bed and on to his own wobbly legs. Sasuke was ready to catch the wobbly patient in an instant; Naruto caught himself before he fell back on to the bed. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Alright… He's just down the hall…his room is 341." Sasuke stood up to follow but was pushed back down; Naruto shook his head and spoke up.

"No, you stay here."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke questioned with a tilt of his head

Naruto simply nodded before he slowly made his way over to the door, Naruto pushed the door to a slow shut as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Naruto looked both ways, the rooms went in ascending order and he was in room 329 so he went left. Naruto crept up the hallway making as little noise as possible, even when he would step on creaky floorboards they wouldn't make much of a sound considering his weight. Naruto watched as the door numbers climbed higher and higher, he stopped walking hesitantly when he realized he was already at 340. The next door was partially open and the moonlight illuminated through the small opening in the door, Naruto lowered his head in shame. 'What if he doesn't forgive me…?'

Naruto swung his arms and shuffled his feet idly; they had begun to feel heavy like lead weights. Naruto shifted closer to the door, he could hear faint breathing from the patient. Naruto looked back; there was a large window on the wall at the end of the hallway. The dark sky was painted in various blues and was speckled with the pure light of stars; the moon wasn't facing the window as it was creeping through the windows on the side of the building already. Naruto looked back and pushed his palm up against the door slowly, it let out a low creak as he pushed it further and poked his head around the corner. Gaara's head snapped in the direction of the doorway, his eyes narrowed in the direction of Naruto and he turned his head away. "Uzumaki."

Naruto lowered his head and stepped inside the small room, closing the door shut behind him, he stood silently at the edge of the room in an awkward manner. Neither of them spoke, the tension in the air was thick. Naruto didn't like it being like that, although he couldn't bring himself to break the silence. Naruto could feel his heart beating rapidly, he was afraid. Thousands upon thousands of questions raced through Naruto's mind, 'will he forgive me?' 'Will he hate me?' 'Will he hurt me?' 'Will he kill me…?' Naruto shuddered inwardly at the last thought; Gaara avoided complete eye contact, not even a slight glance was given towards Naruto. Which made Naruto feel all the more worse.

Naruto dawdled slightly; he lifted and dropped his feet in discomfort. Naruto could tell Gaara was pissed off, by how his breath was coming out in short grunts from his nose. Naruto contemplated leaving and trying again later… or tomorrow at least, Gaara's scowl deepened with each passing minute. Naruto sighed inwardly and turned on his heel, his hand rested on the doorknob about to turn it when Gaara gave a sigh of… pity? Naruto shook his head; Gaara and pity were like water and oil. "You didn't come in here to waste time, Uzumaki."

Naruto turned around and looked down at his feet, "Yeah… You're right…"

Gaara shifted on the bed so he could see Naruto's downcast expression, Gaara saw Naruto's eyes divert to him so he beckoned for him to come closer half-heartedly. Naruto hesitantly obeyed his commands and crept forward, Naruto stopped at about 1 meter away from Gaara's bedside. Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow and let his face sink deeper into a scowl, "well?" Gaara spat out sending Naruto a venomous glare, Naruto looked up at him with a stern face.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto felt like the world had been lifted from his shoulders when those words left his lips, "I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so… sorry." Gaara ignored the pleas that Naruto was spluttering out at him, "Please don't ignore me Gaara… if you want to hit me, hit me. Just please… answer me."

Gaara took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Naruto…" Naruto perked up at the sound of his name

"Y-Yeah?"

Gaara inhaled and exhaled again, "Naruto… I know it was the Kyuubi no Kitsune's influencing you to kill me--"

"--And im so sorry!" Naruto interrupted with a beg of sorrow, Gaara ignored him and continued talking

"—And I understand you had no way of controlling the Kyuubi's actions, so I forgive you…" Gaara said in a matter-of-factly tone, Naruto looked down at his feet in with a depressed expression gracing his features. 'Why aren't I happy? He forgave me… I should be glad… but why do I feel so pitiful?' Gaara looked at Naruto and rolled his eyes, "what now Uzumaki? I forgave you, go on and smile." He stated in a drab tone of voice.

"I… feel terrible about what I've done, I could've killed you Gaara. You shouldn't forgive me so easily and blame it on the Kyuubi…" Naruto muttered under his breath and looked down at the doorway, Gaara gave him a deranged look that clearly said 'WTF' Gaara shifted his body around and swung his legs over the side of the bed, and gave Naruto a sympathetic look.

"Why do you let yourself get hurt Uzumaki?" Gaara sighed and placed his elbow on his knee and cradled his chin in his palm, Naruto looked over at Gaara with a questioning stare.

"What?"

"You are forgiven. I don't care what you've done to me, it wasn't your fault… you couldn't have stopped the Kyuubi's rampage even if you tried. Forget about it." He growled but gave out one last sigh before turning away from Naruto's forlorn stare.

Before Gaara knew what was going on he had been tackled into a hug, he groaned when his neck snapped to a side and an unknown weight was lying on top of his stomach. Naruto pressed his warm forehead into the crook of Gaara's neck as he gave him a hug; Gaara sat there awkwardly allowing the other demon vessel to cuddle him. Gaara wasn't the one to hug people, Naruto knew, so he wasn't expecting him to return his heart-filled hug. "A million apologies couldn't explain how sorry I am for hurting you--"

"—Would you stop with the sorry's?" Gaara hissed and glared down at Naruto, "its getting really annoying Uzumaki." Gaara shifted and leaned back on to his hands, Naruto didn't stop hugging Gaara as he began to spurt out more excuses for Gaara to hate him, "Please… just think about this… I could've taken your life."

"The Kyuubi could've taken my life." Gaara hissed and pushed Naruto away from him; Naruto fell off the bed with a small grunt. He didn't dare look up at Gaara as he spoke, "you're not going to hate me for this are you?" Naruto sighed and brought his knees to his chest and laid his forehead atop them. Gaara let out a small chuckle, it was the closest Naruto was sure Gaara had come to laughing normally, and laid his head back on the pillow behind his head. "No."

Naruto looked up and smiled at Gaara, "Thanks." Gaara raised his hairless eyebrows in surprise, Naruto laughed and tackled Gaara painfully into a hug. Gaara groaned and pushed Naruto into a more comfortable position for him, muttering a "must you always do that…?" darkly under his breath. Naruto laughed and pulled out of the hug, so he sat on the end of the bed with a small smile. "You're always there for me aren't you Gaara?" Naruto said softly

"Not really." Gaara replied in an instant with a snort, "I've hardly ever been there for you… but when I'm there… I'm there." He exhaled his words in between a yawn; Naruto beamed at him and tackled him into yet another hug, Gaara gave him a look and Naruto pulled away instantly as if he had been burned. "S-sorry… I'm just so… happy… the happiest I've been in a long time… maybe in my whole life" Naruto sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as it began to run from his cold symptoms. Gaara patted him on the shoulder and spoke up, "Go on, I can tell the Uchiha is waiting for you."

"How did you--" Gaara interrupted Naruto's sentence

"His constant cursing at the nurse's wasn't something that could be ignored with his deafening voice." Gaara growled

Naruto laughed and grinned at Gaara, 'it's so good to see him smiling and laughing again…' Gaara thought dimly within the twisted depths of his mind. Naruto slipped off the bed and gave Gaara one last smile before running down the hall at a fast pace and back into his own dorm, Gaara watched Naruto leave and strangely found himself smiling too. What was even weirder… was that he couldn't stop.

Naruto ran down the hall, his feet barely touching the ground as he ran into his room and tackled Sasuke into the bed and pillows. Sasuke was slightly taken back by the sudden weight and intruder in the room so he let out a girlish yelp of fright. "What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked a little uneasily, Naruto laughed loudly and grinned widely at Sasuke. "Nothing baka! Im just happy… the happiest I've been since…" Naruto looked down and away from Sasuke as a blush grew on his face.

"Since…? When?" Sasuke asked quietly, not noticing Naruto's blush in the darkness

"Since…" Naruto looked up at him and Sasuke felt his own face grow hot when Naruto looked deep into his eyes with pure desire, "… we first kissed…" Naruto pulled himself closer to Sasuke and pressed their lips together in a hot, soft kiss.

Sasuke deepened the kiss and with a dominating lick on Naruto's bottom lip, it became a wild battle of the tongues as they danced with one another in and out of each other's mouth. Sasuke won the dominance battle, although they didn't care who was winning. Sasuke pulled away when the need for air became to great, he held Naruto's face within his cupped hands as they both panted and smiled at each other. Naruto let a small blush scatter over his cheeks as he watched Sasuke smile with him; Sasuke spoke up in a hoarse whisper, "Don't ever leave me…"

"I won't, if you won't" Naruto promised with a smile and a wiggle of his pinky

Sasuke smirked and hooked his pinky with Naruto's, forever promising that neither one of them would leave each other again.

OMG!

I would've had this updated ages ago, but my homophobic friend came to visit me (not that im complaining) and before that my computer had a massive, unscheduled shut down and I lost all my work… but to be honest, I don't care! I'm happy! I hadn't seen Elise-chan for four years!! I missed her so, so much! SO MANY HUGS IN JUST FOUR DAYS… I lost count after ten on the first night…

Okay, I'm still deciding whether this should be the ending or not… either way, I'm going to do an epilogue! (Bows and gets knocked out by rock)

Reviews are Love.

Love,
Sweet Tragedies