Softer Side
By: FiendisHSerapH

DEVELOPMENT: SECOND MOVEMENT

Movement followed as the being lying on a bed turned to meet the light coming from an open space of the room. Blue eyes welcomes the dark as it focused on a black-haired guy turning away from him as if watching something outside.

"Sa... Sasuke? His voice, now husky upon being over-used, called weakly. Void pools turned to meet azure ones without any words uttered.
Hands now neatly bandaged brushed past sunny yellow fringes as the owner tossed around, seeing where he was, smelling what he wasn't supposed to inhale and be conscious about.

"Why am I... on your bed?" he inquired meekly upon recognizing the sterile white sheets tucking him in securely.
"Kaka-sensei slept on your bed... so I carried you here and..."
The low voice trailed off as the husky voice's owner sat upright and looked at his cured hands and touched his cured forehead.
"Why... why did you... stop me?" This time it wasn't angry, just regretful and low, as one may see by the sorrowed look on his face.
"And... you should be the one sleeping here."
"No. You need it." Ebony eyes looked away again, wind tossing his hair of the same color. Faint moonlight rendered him mystiquely.
"You need to rest, too." The form on the bed moved and left a space to his right, eyes looking again at the lad enjoying his solitude. "Sleep now, please?" his eyes sparkled with the moonlight.
"When had he become this polite?" the boy asked to himself as he jumped down and walked to the bed. "A dobe polite? How crazy can you get?!"

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Heat touched heat as two bodies tucked in together under the sheets. The two turned away from each other, spending silence as greatly as possible, yet deep within themselves, each can't help but wonder as to their whereabouts that dawn. Two lips emitted each other's names almost simultaneously.

"Naruto..." the voice that was heard first by a nanosecond began, "What were you doing outside?" the voice caused a change of air.
The boy being interrogated shifted, "Just... practising."
"I saw everything, and I know it wasn't practising." came the straighforward reply that made the air much more suffocating for both of them.
Bitter silence ruled, and tight gripping of fists in the sheets followed.
"Tell me, Naruto... what's your problem?" The words felt like water gushing naturally from a faucet, and it felt alien as he said that.

No reply, but shaking reigned. He shuffled to look back at the person lying beside him, and he's shaking violently... sobs walking on his ears.

"Na... Naruto?" his hand reached out involuntarily to the trembling shoulder.

"Why are you... crying?"

"You... YOU DEFINITELY KNOW NOTHING!" his sobs turned more hysterical, choking and almost drowning. Inside, the sharingan user wanted to scold him for being such a crybaby, but still he can't. He knew when to stop scolding someone... and such time is now.

"What..." it's now his turn to whisper. "... do you mean?"
"CAN'T YOU SEE?!" Tear-stricken face turned to him as his hissing scream vent out right on his face. "YOU HAVE EVERYTHING I WANTED!"

That didn't make sense, so he gave a parted mouth as an implied question.
"EVERYTHING, YOU SEE?" He was so enraged, yellow tuffs of hair masking his now dim eyes. "I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING TO BE LIKE YOU... BUT I KNOW I CAN'T!" Hysteria taking over him, he wiped his face with one arm, the way a lost child does. Mouth still gaped open, the Uchiha knew what he meant, and he knew he was wrong.

"WHY CAN'T I BE STRONG JUST LIKE YOU?! I'VE TRIED SO HARD... SO HARD..." he burrowed his face on his hands, not wanting the highly-known genius of their batch to see him grieve like this, though he felt like he was being relieved through this outburst.

"Why... why can't you see your strength? Your inner strength?" Though hesitant, he still voiced out his deeply-seeded opinion that he shared with no one. He felt something tugging deep in him, probably pity, with some amount of guilt for causing him so much trouble, and surprisingly, concern boling deep, way deep to be unearthed easily. Once again, he was wrong.

It's creeping, slowly overtaking him.

"Strength? ARE YOU MAKING AN IDIOT OUT OF ME?!" Harsh words were accentuated with bandaged hands grabbing his bedmate by the collar. Blue eyes grew fiery as he stared into ebony calm and haunting ones, thought not obviously also burning up inside... the ebony pair's owner still stared. Boy, was he beautiful.

"As I've said you know nothing..." he shook his head side to side, being driven to anger again. "So just sh--"

It overtook him.

As quick as sudden, words turned incomprehensible as lips claimed the ones struggling to talk. The blonde's harsh fists on his collar died down into gentle hands landing on the ebony-haired lad's chest. Hands encompassed him, pressing the insecure lad's form to his, trying hard to merge it together to form an invincible body as lips drowned the other one with unspoken promises, pausing gently to wipe off the salty liquid that had slightly evaporated on the tanned cheek.

"You're wrong... I've been observing you... and I know just what... just what... you feel." as the sentence formed between pauses for catching breaths.

I've seen you try everything. Mind you, you never failed.
You stood up, and you never sat down.
Strong? You are strong, Naruto, but you can't see that strength in you.
Someone did understand you... and I still do.
You were hated, but I came to love you.

"Aaaa... Sa... Sasuke." the blond's breathing turned ragged as the pressing of their lips still didn't cease, only coming to know that it was turning more intense as the intrusion of something inside their mouths took place. Shifting of unknown times took place, and tongues slid, swivelled and connected with each other to ignite the fire in them.

"Why are you... doing this?" he huskily asked as lips roamed down the side of his neck. He always have one like this each time they lie side by side... but he can never deny that this one had turned more intense, more passionate, and more soul-reviving than he could ever imagine.

"You are... everything... I wanted." he revealed in his lowest tone. "I may have nothing: no talents... no skills... no charm... no... family... but I'll be okay... if I... I have you." he breathed in his most-adored smell, then whispered, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun." in his softest tone.

Tears instantly sprung out of his eyes. He didn't know, but this is the very first time he cried among the countless times the rookie said those three words on a night like this, away from their girl teammate and sensei's sight.

"Aishiteru, Sasuke-kun..." Fear of what his future might be being a useless genin gone, he closed his eyes and smiled, even wider than he does upon the sight of ramen.

"Tell me what you want, Naruto... tell me." he inhaled locking hsi sight with his rival.

Despite the spellbounded moment, he still can remember what his yearnings lack. A little favor won't hurt, will it?

"Just once, Sasuke-kun..." he began in a requesting tone, fingers gently closing in on the lad's nape.

"Just once, let me win."

If that would mean his happiness, then he would do it, for the sake of his happiness. The reply was an assuring nod, and tears once again overflowed.

Pale hands cupped the tear-stricken face as his gentle mouth set comforting words ree.

"Hush now. I just want you to smile for me tonight."

With that, the blonde knew what was coming. He closed his eyes and beamed yet again.

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- Reviews, please! MAKE ME HAPPY! :) -