Confession Forbidden

By keL-rebecca

Two Before The Conflict

Naruto arrived in the classroom, his head low and one hand clutching his chest. As much as he wanted to look normal in front of everybody, as much as he didn't want to show his pain, nothing would allow him. Everything that was he was grief-stricken. An acquaintance to his senses, Naruto remained unwelcoming to the pain, although he embraced the love that caused it all. Love's beauty never ceases to victimize.

Unexpectedly, no one approached Naruto even as he had sat down and buried his face in folded arms drained of strength. Maybe, they thought he was having another sleepy day and to disturb him was surely like digging their own graves. Naruto could be eternally cranky if he wanted to.

Their teacher, going by the name of Iruka, entered and quickly noticed an inattentive boy of orange and yellow. He sighed, the scene already of irritating household status. The other students were aware; they didn't care was the problem. Before Iruka could shout, from where he stood in front, at the apparently sleeping form, a pale arm shot up in the air, belonging to a dark-haired boy who wore a passive look on his handsome face.

"Um, do you have a question, Sasuke-kun?" asked Iruka. He had had to restrain himself before he could say anything.

"I think it's best if we didn't wake him," said Sasuke, retreating his arm. "He looked a bit tired to me a while ago,"

Iruka smiled to help with his excuse. "But Sasuke-kun, we have a very important lesson today. As a teacher, I cannot let even a single student of mine to miss anything, especially not someone like Naruto,"

Sasuke's face hardened, frightening his poor teacher. "Well then I'll be the one to give him a copy of the notes and I'm also willing to teach him all that we will be discussing today," A loud buzzing rose in the room. It was curious that Sasuke was being kind to Naruto all of a sudden.

"I guess that could work," said Iruka who knew when to give up, notably when it was someone like Sasuke opposing him. "We'll be having a test on the topic tomorrow, so do make sure that Naruto studies very well,"

"I'll make sure of that," replied Sasuke. Looking to his side though not in an obvious manner, the blonde didn't appear like he was getting up during the span of the class. Sasuke took his pen and began copying. He had to hurry if he was going to copy everything twice.

When Naruto's body jerked for about the third time, the blonde decided it was time to go back to reality. He unfolded his arms and stretched them, his mouth opening widely to let out a loud yawn that somehow contributed to his snapping himself awake. He was yet to open his eyes and sat in a crouched position as he waited for that sudden jolt of energy to come.

"Dobe," Naruto literally jumped at the voice, landing on the hard floor with a mighty thud. His butt easily felt sore and he swore his butt bone had been damaged. He swore many times before he realized that it was Sasuke who had called him.

"What the HECK was that for, Sasuke?" said Naruto angrily. He tried to stand up but, just as he'd feared, the fall had paralyzed him a bit and it hurt to move. He winced at the terrible discomfort—he recovered quickly since he didn't want Sasuke to notice him further. He put on an I'm-okay-so-what-do-you-want face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto could be such a genuine idiot most of the time.

"You could try sitting down on your chair first," said Sasuke in reply. He smirked inwardly when Naruto's cheeks colored at the remark. He shook his head and bent down to check Naruto's back, taking note of the deeper shade of red the blonde acquired once more albeit Sasuke had no idea where it was coming from. "If you weren't so clumsy, this wouldn't have happened. Where does it hurt?"

Naruto looked somewhere else, frowning and pouting at the same time. "This is all your fault. Don't go blaming me, Uchiha…Huh? Hey, where're our classmates? And our teacher's gone, too! Sasuke, they've disappeared! Is this a dream?" When Naruto turned to the other boy he already had his ears covered with his palms. "Hey! I'm talking to you, bastard!"

Sasuke put his hands down. "Damn, I will never get used to your noisiness. Classes were dismissed half an hour ago, dobe. You've been sleeping since this morning. Jeez, I've never seen anyone's brain escape in protest for not being used for a long time from their skull,"

"You're such a bastard, do you know that?" Naruto crossed his arms and lifted his leg, but when he did something pulled on his muscles excruciatingly. "OUCH! Man, that hurts!" He squeezed his inner thigh with both hands as though it would suppress the agony, although yes, it didn't. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. How could a stupid and short fall cause such a pain in the ass? He didn't have time to think when Sasuke, without warning, lifted him slightly and…embraced him? "Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?" complained Naruto, his whole face turning red.

"Shut up, will you? I'll do a check on you before I take you to the nurses' office,"

"Why do you have to do THAT? Get off!"

"How can I get off when you're more on top of me than I am on you?"

All kinds of unpleasant images ran through Naruto's mind, and distracted as he was he didn't feel Sasuke lowering his pants and boxers enough to see if he had any marks whatsoever. Sasuke frowned at what he saw.

"Congratulations, dobe. You've just won a bruise two inches in diameter for having fallen off your chair that's barely a feet from the ground,"

"WHAT?" Naruto attempted to look at his sore behind for himself but to no avail. The pain made itself known to the poor boy, making him cringe and bury his face in Sasuke's strong shoulder. He thought perhaps Sasuke would push him away. However, the dark-haired boy didn't move. In that instant, Naruto felt like thanking the bruise for allowing him to be as close to the god that was Sasuke, though it was in hell that he had to experience it.

"Hold on. I'll carry you to the clinic," Sasuke reached for Naruto's uneaten cup of instant ramen before standing up with Naruto in his arms.

"Sasuke, I'm real heavy," warned Naruto. "It's okay if you just drag me there. I'll try my best not to whine,"

"I think I'll go with my original plan, thanks," said Sasuke. He bent slightly to place his right forearm under Naruto's knees and lifted him off the ground with minimum effort. "Okay, I think you should weigh yourself again 'coz you're even lighter than Sakura,"

Sakura. "Have…have you lifted her like this before?"

"No, but she told me what her weight was the other day and I've lifted that much in the past so I should know. She'd kill to be as light as you are,"

Naruto chuckled. "That's so weird! Why were you talking about weight, of all things?"

"I don't know with her," said Sasuke when he started walking. "She keeps mentioning that she's on a diet, but when we go out she eats little of the main courses and eats a lot of dessert. I keep telling her if she goes on she's going to gain more weight, but I don't believe she grasps what I'm saying,"

I shouldn't…

"You must really like going out with Sakura," said Naruto, wrapping his left arm around Sasuke's neck and laying his head on the stretch of muscle where Sasuke's neck and shoulder met. "She sounds like a lot of fun. Am I right? She's a lot of fun?"

I shouldn't be envious.

"It depends," was all that Sasuke replied. Naruto spoke no more. The truth was that simply Sakura's name, especially when it came out of Sasuke's mouth, was unbearable for him. It tore at his gut and burned his skin. He tightened his hold on Sasuke. He didn't want to go to the nurses' office and leave the arms of his beloved. He wanted to, if possible, have that second be frozen until time ended. It was a dream come true for the blonde. Dreams are so distant that when touched and pulled into reality is already a great miracle. Naruto knew it was selfish to think of himself first, but with all the smiles that he have been deprived of for so long, he thought he deserved to be happy that time around.

Fate, though, was not in sync with his thoughts. Sasuke stopped to slide the nurses' office door open. Naruto recognized the doctor's voice when she asked Sasuke what had happened to his friend and told him to lay Naruto down on the bed. Naruto held onto Sasuke as tight as he could.

"Naruto, you're choking me," said Sasuke. "The doctor has to take a look at you and give you medicine,"

"She can look at me and give me medicine like this," argued Naruto, Sasuke's hair muffling his voice.

"I don't think so, dobe. Now let go," Even when Naruto's legs had rested on the bed, his upper body still stuck to Sasuke. "What's the matter with you?"

"It hurts, Sasuke!" lied Naruto. Sasuke's warmth was strongly addicting.

A minute later, Sasuke found himself under Naruto as he followed the doctor's advice to lie on the bed along with his friend if he was so stubborn. Naruto wouldn't look at him but instead his head remained tucked under Sasuke's dark hair. He refused to move away.

"Damn you, Naruto. This has to be the most embarrassing moment of my cursed life," said Sasuke without bothering to lower his voice. He saw the lady doctor smile but said nothing about it. "You're such a baby,"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke…It hurts so mu—aaahhh!" Sasuke felt goose bumps rise on Naruto's face. The blonde's body shivered. "Nngh... It stings, Sasuke…"

Sasuke's brows met. Naruto gave a soft gasp when Sasuke placed a hand on his hair. "It'll go away soon, dobe, so stop whining,"

I wish YOU don't go away soon, Sasuke…

After the doctor had applied ointment on Naruto's injured behind, the next problem that Sasuke—since Naruto was pretending to feel weak and tortured—had to solve was how to get the blonde home. The arms around his neck only got stronger when he tried to pull them off so he really had so little of a choice. He needed Naruto's cooperation first and foremost.

"Dobe, I can't take you home if you keep clinging to me like a baby koala to its mother," Sasuke felt disgusted at the simile. "I have to get you on my back so let me go or else I'm going to kick your sorry ass,"

"But how do I do that? I can't stand up, you know,"

"Are you even listening to me? I said you have to let go of me. I can't do anything with you crushing me with your damn fats,"

"Bastard! You said I was lighter than Sakura! You're a liar, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto unwrapped his arms to pound his fists on Sasuke's chest. It was more playful than painful In Sasuke's opinion.

"Yeah, but you're still fat. Now GET OFF, Naruto!" The blonde frowned at the irritation in Sasuke's voice and slid off of his friend slowly. His eyes turned into thin slits, which normally happened when he was annoyed or forced to do something by tyrants, one of them being Sasuke. Speaking of whom, Sasuke jumped off the bed at once, and Naruto stared when he bent so that the top of his back was as high as the bed itself.

"Err, what exactly are you doing, Sasuke?" asked Naruto when the other boy failed to straighten himself up.

Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto, still in that strange position. "Climb on my back, dobe. My arms will break if I carry you to your house with them. My spine hasn't received the torment of your heaviness, and this would be less embarrassing for me," A goofy look of disbelief appeared on his face when Naruto's own suddenly brightened at his offer.

"Yahoo! Sasuke! You can be nice, too, after all!" exclaimed the blonde. Sasuke had no time to react when Naruto jumped on his back, causing him to fall forward slightly if not for his quick reaction of placing a hand on the floor to keep himself steady. Naruto's laughter rang in his ears.

"If I had known you had the capability of being a handful brat and a noisy punk at the same time, I wouldn't be helping you right now, dobe, so shut the hell up if you don't want me to have you flying instead," Amazingly, the orange-loving ninja zipped his mouth close at once. Sasuke hopped once to make sure Naruto was on properly, said a quick goodbye to the doctor, and went on his way.

Halfway towards Naruto's house, which was a small place at the rooftop of an old apartment, Sasuke felt Naruto's arms squeeze his neck stronger. He could hear the smaller boy mumbling to himself though he couldn't make out of any of his words.

He must be sleeping, thought Sasuke. He took smaller and slower steps. It could be that he didn't want to wake Naruto up, or perhaps he had another reason, which, dear reader, you need not know at the moment, for enough has been revealed (which will not be pointed out, and not because of the author's selfishness but for the plot's sake). Naruto's grip kept tautening, though there was no pain involved.

After several minutes, Sasuke cursed under his breath. No wonder the dobe was almost always late for class—he had six stupid flights of stairs to get through, and an impossibly long hallway before reaching the damn exit! Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired boy confronted yet another problem: how to get inside Naruto's house.

"Dobe. Hey, Naruto," Sasuke tapped Naruto on the side but to no avail. He was out cold. "How can he sleep if he just slept for eight hours straight?" he muttered to himself. He decided to ponder on a solution instead of getting mad at anyone. "Think like a dobe…think like a dobe…" Sasuke just saw a disadvantage of being a poster boy of perfection. Reversing the entire package of having looks and intelligence was unattainable, and who would want that anyway? "Hmm…" Well of course if anyone was perfect, that person could do anything, including being a dobe. Sasuke looked at the cup of ramen Naruto was supposed to have had for lunch and saw that his theory was right. The cup's foil lid was opened ever so slightly that one would not be able to take it as something that had already been opened. Sasuke peeled the top off. The pre-fried noodles were inside a small plastic bag, and a couple of old-looking keys were inside the cup. Sasuke smirked at the stupid but nonetheless ingenious hiding place and unlocked the door.

"Nnn…" Naruto moaned when Sasuke attempted to put him down on the unmade bed. "Sasuke…don't…"

"If anyone's sore between us right now, dobe, it would be me since I've had you on me for more than half an hour. Now please, spare me more pain,"

"Is it…" Sasuke was taken aback at how gentle Naruto's voice could be. "Is it painful for you then?" The other boy swallowed. "Having me in your arms? Having…me?" Naruto's arms and legs tightened around Sasuke's body. It was almost like Naruto didn't want to let go…

Sasuke recognized the absurdity of the thought. How could Naruto have such feelings, and for him? He shook his head as though the movement could physically remove the idea. When Naruto nuzzled against the back of his neck, the blonde's question came back to him.

Is it painful for you having me?

"Naruto…" the dark-haired boy began to reply. "Stop asking stupid questions. You're proving to me just how much of a dobe you are,"

On his back, Naruto frowned. Though his mind and body screamed to stay that way as long as possible, his heart knew better.

You're not mine.

Sasuke felt Naruto's legs and arms move, and the weight slipped off of him.

You're never going to be.

The Uchiha faced his friend, who had an emotion he couldn't really read. It was an expression he wasn't used seeing Naruto have. It was almost…

…Heartbreaking.

Naruto had just breathed in when air, and all sensible reason, rushed out of him within the extent of but a moment. He blinked once, twice, before he sensed the body being pressed to his. A tight force grew around his waist and shoulders, and a warm breath caressed his right cheek. Naruto's face immediately reddened.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" he heard Sasuke ask. He was overjoyed that in just one day he'd had the chance to be so close to Sasuke, and yet it also made him miserable. Why had they not been in that situation before when he really wanted it? Why not that time when he was being swallowed up by his sorrow and needed someone, most of all Sasuke, to show him some kindness? Why only now, when he was already trying to push Sasuke out of his life? Why did everything have to be so late? "Tell me. Talk to me. You never…tell me anything, Naruto…"

"But I don't have anything to say," answered the blonde, letting out a half-hearted chuckle. "Besides, you wouldn't listen,"

"I would!" defended Sasuke, releasing Naruto who was stunned to see the faint blush on the other's cheeks. "How could you have come to such a conclusion? Naruto, I'd…I'd listen to you more than anybody, I assure you. I swear to you," Naruto's mouth formed a small 'o'. He was speechless. "Stop it. Don't do that,"

"Huh? D-do what, Sasuke?" Did he just punch Sasuke without knowing it?

"Don't…stop smiling. I hate it…when you frown, because…" Sasuke took a step back and covered his mouth gently, looking away as though he didn't want to speak but couldn't help it. "…Smiles belong to you, Naruto. Without them you'd be…just like the rest, and I like you for standing out…"

If Naruto had not learned to control himself in the past, he would've cried and embraced Sasuke with all his might, confessing to him everything in the blink of an eye. However, all he did was erase any emotion off his face so Sasuke felt he simply had a question for him.

"Sasuke, I can't always smile; not for anyone, not even for me. I'm glad that you say that you…like me because of my smile, but…" Naruto stared at the white, wrinkled sheets under him. "…It's not like that will make you like me more than anyone—Huh!" He gasped at his own words, eyes shooting up to meet Sasuke's. He'd failed to hold it back, and at such crucial a time, too! As he waited for Sasuke to speak, he could only hope that the other boy had not heard that last sentence. He wondered if his voice was soft enough then.

"What was that Naruto? I didn't hear you…" Fate seemed to love him more and more.

Naruto laughed, scratching his head to enhance his lie. "Haha! I didn't say anything important, don't worry!" His laughter faded fast. He couldn't look at Sasuke anymore, not after that.

"I see," Sasuke took out a scroll from his pocket after observing that Naruto had nothing else to say. "Here. These are the notes from today," He handed it to the blonde gently. Naruto unrolled it and gave a long "ooh".

"Wow! The writing's really neat, Sasuke! Did you do this for me?"

Sasuke blushed. Thankfully, Naruto was too busy ogling at the scroll to notice. "Y-yeah, I did,"

"Thanks a lot! By the way, what jutsu did you use? It's really good…"

"I didn't need to use a jutsu, dobe. I copied all the notes and rewrote them before you woke up,"

"WHAT? You mean this is YOUR handwriting? Man, you're the biggest geek ever! How in the world can you write so well?"

An urge to punch the dobe to the next century rose in Sasuke's chest, which was quickly ignored. "I'm not surprised that a dobe like you is so utterly astonished at such a small thing, but I suggest you be a little dishonest when it comes to your reaction next time around, that is if you don't want more people to recognize your idiotic status,"

That night when he was staring up at the ceiling in bed, Naruto could think about only one thing.

Of all the people in the world, why did I fall for the biggest jerk?


Note to Readers: School's killing me right now so please be patient. And this chapter will be the basis for Naruto's future actions, in case you're wondering.