Disclaimer: Hehehehe. Nope, not mine. But someday.. -cough- anyway, I don't own Naruto. I only own a muffin. Want one XD?

Please flame if you want to. I can take it. But not, I repeat NOT about the pairing. I've warned you, and if you think it's disgusting/old-fashioned/gross/over-used or not readable in any other way, go complain somewhere else. You can flame about my writing style, though, but that won't help me get any better. So, PLEASE, if you have tips for me, say it.

I know there are a few typos left in Chapter 2, I'll fix them soon. Thanks to Suus for proof-reading.

Naruto woke op, feeling slightly stiff, but good. He looked around him. Where was he? The woman beside his bed almost seemed to read his thoughts, because she replied:

"The hospital."

"Tsunade-baba! You scared me! Don't ever do that again, will you? And besides, how did I get here?" It wasn't that he wasn't remembering last night; oh no. He only didn't recall getting into the hospital.

"After Iruka, or rather, Sasuke came here to look for you, Sakura warned me, because she knew it was him. And no, I don't know why she didn't warn you, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"Neji and Sakura went to pick you up, because we knew you two wouldn't make it back to the village alone. Although.. I have to say Hyuuga didn't look too pleased to see you lying there with Sasuke."

"Well.. I can understand that.. He's a missing nin, after all.." Tsunade's hazel eyes hardened visibly at that.

"Yes, Naruto, we have to talk about tha-"

"Tsunade-baachan, please don't be too hard on him."

"Naru-"

"Please?" the blond pleaded.

"We'll talk about this later," the 50-year old Hokage said sternly before exiting the room.

-----

Darkness. Only black. Where am I? Am I dead? I can't move.. I open my eyes slightly, but here's not much light here, either. There's a pink-haired medic-nin sitting next to my bed. Wait. Medic nin? Did I hurt Naruto? Where is he? A thousand more questions are floating through my head, and the only thing I remember.. is.. Naruto and I got in a fight. For real, this time. I try to sit up, to prop myself up on my elbows, but a stinging, whining pain in my abdomen restrains me.

Sakura sat up when she saw Sasuke had opened his eyes.

Finally, she thought. I thought I had lost him. She leaned forward and embraced the boy's fragile and sore body.

"I'm so glad you're awake, Sasuke," The first thing he noticed was she'd left the suffix -kun away. It seems even Sakura has been growing up the past years.. he thought, and didn't move in the embrace.

Sasuke looked around the room. The curtains were closed, but through it, you could see the rays of sun. The rest of the room? It eyed all white, and within an arm's length, there was a bed with Naruto in it. He released himself from Sakura's death grip, so that he could take a close look at the blond boy. Well. Not really, because he didn't really have much power left in his arms, so he wiggled a bit and Sakura took the hint.

Unlike a few years ago.. he thought.

Sasuke stared in the blue orbs, only to look away a few seconds later. He grabbed the glass of water on his bedside table, and took a few nips to soothe his aching throat. Not that he wanted to say something, really.

The same went for Naruto.

When he'd stared into the Uchiha's eyes, everything he'd been wanting to tell him was gone. And that's why Sakura was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence they were in.

"Um, Sasuke, Naruto? How are you feeling?" Sasuke and Naruto both had the urge to snap at her, for her dumb question. Of course they weren't feeling fine! They had beaten each other up the last night! How good CAN a person feel when his best friend has just beaten him up?

But, before they got the chance to, when Sakura saw their cynic faces, she apologetically lifted her hands and smiled.

"Sorry, sorry. I had to ask. Orders from Tsunade-sama," she said. "But! I'll have to treat your wounds now, and again, orders from Tsunade," she added when she saw Sasuke's horrid face. He didn't like being examined by some horny fangirl, who was going to drool all over him anyway. He complied as yet when he saw Sakura's calm face. "Don't worry, Sasuke, I won't try anything," she assured him. He didn't even know what kind of wounds he actually had, but Sakura was about to show him. And Naruto.

He had one really bad cut across his chest, and when Sakura removed the bandages and drained it in alcohol, he hissed in pain. The stinging, whining pain he had felt earlier came from a deep, small sort of hole in his lower stomach. He remembered the fight, when Naruto had plunged his kunai there. He also had a sprained ankle, a few minor shuriken cuts, and simply felt overall bruised.

Naruto smiled distinctly at Sasuke's examination. He himself had already healed. He only felt a little sore, which was all. He just needed rest. And some talking, that was obvious.

Sakura finished bandaging the ankle. She left its owner, who nodded, and turned around to close the curtains, which hung behind her. Now Sasuke finally had the chance to take a good look at Naruto. He was practically the same as when he'd last seen him, but slightly taller, along with his hair. Still Naruto.

Naruto didn't know what to do under the Uchiha's gaze, so he started fidgeting with his sheets.

"Sakura, could you please leave us alone?" Sasuke quietly asked.

"Of course. I'll be in Tsunade's office if you need me," she replied, head poking out of the doorway before she closed it behind her with a metallic click.

With Sakura gone, Naruto decided it was time for him to do something. He hoisted himself off the bed, walked to Sasuke's, and pulled himself on it, along with his legs, which he crossed. The blond looked the other in his eyes, then cast his own downwards.

"Sasuke," he started, whispering. "I'm.. I'm glad you're back. I missed you." Sasuke noted this came straight from Naruto's heart, and replied:

"..Me too. I..I missed you.. so much.. I really did." Sasuke replied, determinedly looking at the sheets Naruto was fidgeting with. Hearing this lit a sparkle of hope with Naruto, who slightly more confidant than before, looked up and asked:

"Well, don't you have something to say?" Sasuke winced. He'd been hoping Naruto wouldn't ask something like this from him, although it wasn't more than logical..

"I… I-" Sasuke's chest ached what he was about to tell the other boy. "I'll say this right away, before you get any assumptions. I do not regret my actions. I'm certainly not proud of what I have done, and I've already taken responsibility, but I can't apologise, simply because I don't feel sorry," Sasuke sternly said, biting his lip in insurance of what the other's reaction would be. But he simply had to do this. It was true what he'd just said, and he didn't like saying this, especially not to Naruto, but he felt it as his duty as an Uchiha to make it clear. Uchiha's didn't feel sorry, didn't feel anything at all. But seeing the hurt look on is friend's face shattered all his pride again. "Naruto.. Please don't get me wrong. I would like to just say sorry to you and make you happy, but I… I can't. I can't betray my clan, and myself can I? And I don't want to lie to you, either…"

Naruto's facial expression was unreadable. It held a kind of acknowledgement in them, but also hurt. Lots of hurt. He hopped off the bed and lay down on his own again; his back turned.

"I understand, Sasuke. I understand,"

"A-are you sure? Are you okay, Naruto?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Go to sleep, you need the rest." Still unsure, but noticing the truth in the boy's words, he lay down again and faced the other's turned back.

"Maybe you're right.." he said, and with that, he closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

Naruto closed his eyes too, though not in an attempt to sleep. He needed to think. Badly. What he'd said hadn't been difficult for him, but for Sasuke, it turned out to be a whole lot of a problem. What should he do? Forgive him? Get mad at him? Well, no. The latter wasn't really an option, since the dark-haired boy's mental health already wasn't really… stable.

A sigh filled the room. The blond turned around, to see the face of the sleeping Uchiha whose steady breathing was audible. Seeing this peaceful scene, Naruto was about to forgive Sasuke this instant. But, even HE had some self-respect left. He sighed again. He wasn't sleepy at all… As he hopped off the bed again, he grabbed his clean non-pyjama clothes and put them on. He hesitated. If he were to go through the door, Tsunade would definitely catch him. And… since he wasn't allowed to be out of bed, he wasn't exactly looking forward to the woman's wrath. He shivered. The window it is, then, he thought, as he took one last glance at Sasuke before jumping out of the window.

-----

Tsunade looked at the clock. Shit. Time to see the two boys. Naruto, this time, wasn't the one she was mad at.

She knocked on the door, and rudely entered immediately. The cold wind greeted her the instant she'd opened the door. Naruto…

She cracked her knuckles evilly and looked homicidal for a moment – She'd told him to stay in the hospital, or else he would wear himself out too much again. She closed the window quietly, but the sound made Sasuke wake up.

-----

Naruto walked. And walked. And walked some more. He always did that when he was upset or needed time to think. He just walked, and he would see where he could sit undisturbed.

This time it was a lake. He plopped down unceremoniously and rested his chin on his knees, where he'd wrapped his arms around.

Think, Naruto. Think.

-----

"Hello Sasuke-san!" Tsunade said while obviously faking her voice. "Time to clean your bandages," she said, clenching her teeth to force herself to stay polite. That face.. that calm, calculated pretty face only could make her blood boil already. Sasuke, who was in a sitting position now, cast his eyes up and said:

"Tsunade-sama, I'm not stupid. Quit faking your voice and get angry with me already."

"Alright, Uchiha," she said, clenching her teeth even more while leaning forward. "I don't like you, and I don't think I ever will. You may be smart, and you may be the last sane Uchiha heir - but I'm not stupid either. You betrayed Konoha, you betrayed its people, but most of all, you betrayed Naruto. You have NO idea how much he's suffered while you were gone! And," While speaking her voice gained volume, "If it weren't for Naruto, I would've kicked you back to that bastard of an Orochimaru to let you rot!"

Sasuke had expected something like this, but it still came down quite harshly. When she'd spoken her last words, she turned around and marched away.

-----

Naruto raised himself from the cold ground, hand buried deep within his pockets. He stared at the lake, and wondered why he couldn't be as careless, without worries.

"Hi," sounded from behind him, and even without knowing he knew it was Sasuke. He now stood next to him, staring into the depths of the water, "What are you thinking of?"

"Meh.. nothing."

Sasuke lowered himself to the ground, and sat with his back against a tree trunk. He motioned for the blond to join him.

They sat there for about an hour, just talking. Just… talking quietly, chastely, trying to remain the little friendship they'd carefully built up during the last hour. Both boys found it strange to talk to the other without arguing, without having to fight.

"So.. How's Konoha been doing while I was gone?"

"Hmm…" Naruto hummed. "Same as usual. Did quite a lot missions to pay my apartment, you know… Chuunin exams… but… Mainly missions."

"So," Sasuke started, finding the Chuunin exams an interesting subject – after all, he was still a Genin himself. "You're a Chuunin, then?"

"No, I only said they took place, not that I participated," and answering the unspoken question, he said: "Didn't want to do it without you…"

"Actually, Iruka, Ero-sennin and Tsunade urged me to take it. They didn't believe you would come back…"

"What? But if you had taken it, you would have passed, I know that for sure… You would even be able to pass the Jounin exam…"

"Yeah, I know. Meh, doesn't matter, because you're here now." Before Sasuke could respond, a loud growl coming from Naruto's stomach beat him to. The blond smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I guess I'm hungry…"

"No shit, dobe," Sasuke smirked.

"Alright, I take it you pay? Thanks, bastard! And don't call me dobe!"

Everything was back to normal, it seemed.

If you've come this far, thanks for reading. Please review