Here it is, Chappie 24!

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Chapter XXIV

Try Me

Kakashi looked up from his book quietly. The room was empty, the clock read 1AM, and Sasuke was barely awake, paying attention to Naruto. Kakashi sat up as Naruto stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He got up and rolled his eyes as the two stared at each other infinitely. Naruto stared as Sasuke stroked his hair, their faces a mere inch from each other.

"Your blue eyes…don't blink…" Sasuke murmured. Kakashi crept up behind them as they went on whispering to each other. Naruto stayed basically quiet, soaking in the closeness.

"It.. hurts.." he murmured.

"I know.." Sasuke replied softly. Naruto stayed completely still, which unnerved Sasuke a bit.

"But.. you don't feel really bad.. do you?" Sasuke asked protectively. Naruto sighed shallowly.

"It's so hot.. I've.. got a fever.. right Sasuke…?" he murmured dazedly.

"Yeah.. you do.." Sasuke answered him just as quietly. Kakashi cautiously revealed a syringe.

"He's gonna have to blink those blue eyes for a few more hours Sasuke. His body's not ready for him to wake up yet. It's why he's in pain." Kakashi said quietly. Sasuke said nothing, watching silently as Kakashi drugged Naruto. Naruto again drifted off slowly, hugging himself closely to Sasuke, murmuring something Sasuke couldn't hear. Kakashi noticed the look on Sasuke's face, and smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry. He'll be awake before you are tomorrow. The trick is he'll be just a little bit…'off '." Kakashi said with slight laugh. Sasuke smirked.

"What else is new…"

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Sasuke woke up a little abruptly to Naruto's voice. Which was a little loud. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in the sunlight, barely clearing his vision before Naruto was on top of him.

"Sasuke-kun.. you're awaaaake—" Naruto interrupted himself by kissing him far too deeply than was appropriate for being in public. To Sasuke's confused and a little stunned expression, Kakashi laughed.

"He's really drugged. It's ok." He assured. Sasuke opened his mouth, prepared to make a smart comment, but when no sound came out Kakashi laughed again.

"Told you so. You can't speak." He informed him. Naruto was singing out of tune, bouncing in his seat in the center of the bed. Sasuke watched him dizzily, entertained and amused.

"Uhhhhm I'm definitely gonna throw up…" Naruto sang. Sasuke leaned forward and made him be still, pulling him back to sit down by him.

"Uh.. so yeah.. you're.. feeling better—" Naruto mumbled, and with that, he dropped out cold, falling all over Sasuke.

"Yeah.. that's the third time. It's ok really." Kakashi said as he picked up his book from the table beside the bed. Sasuke looked around, then spotted a paper and pen, grabbed it, and started writing. He held up the paper to Kakashi, who read it.

"'Did Sakura ever come back.' No she didn't.. Naruto said something earlier about her being in the hall before you woke up, but who knows what's running through Naruto's mind, he's too drugged to even function right now." Kakashi answered. Sasuke nodded and sighed, leaning back against the headboard. They both jumped as Naruto suddenly bolted awake.

"Sasuke!! I'll.. oh you can't talk.." Naruto murmured, dawning a warm, sympathetic smile. Sasuke smirked, liking the attention, and slipped his arms around Naruto, pulling him closer. Kakashi rolled his eyes as they started kissing warmly. He turned back around when Naruto got up.

"I'll get you some hot lemon tea, alright?" He said, walking out into the hall. Sasuke made a face and looked to Kakashi for an explanation. Kakashi shrugged.

"Naruto recovers quickly.. so maybe in his body a drug will work quickly and he gets over the affects very suddenly." Kakashi explained hypothetically.

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Later that night, doctors were in the room looking over Sasuke's monitors.

"Your chakra is looking good. You may be able to leave tomorrow!" The nurse told them. Sasuke only nodded, still unable to say anything above a quiet whisper. As the nurses left, so did Kakashi.

"I'll be back in awhile." He said simply, and was gone. Naruto smiled at Sasuke from the bedside.

"So.. how are you doing.." Sasuke whispered, clearing his throat a little afterwards. "Sounds like you might get your voice back soon.. I'm ok.. a little weird feeling but hey I'm used to that." Naruto said with a grin. Sasuke suddenly sat up, then stood up and began moving around. Naruto stood up with him and stayed nearby.

"Hey! Hey are you sure you should be standing?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.

"It's fine.. I have to move.." He whispered hoarsely. Naruto began to get a strange look on his face. Sasuke noticed, and sighed, staring at him.

"Look.. you can't blame yourself for this." He said, coming over and pulling Naruto to him. Naruto avoided eye-contact as Sasuke came closer, until their faces were centimeters apart.

"But.. I can't believe that happened.. now we've both hurt each other and we say we care about each other." Naruto reasoned. Sasuke shook his head insistently.

"Stop.. the things that happened were all a result of controls that we're under. We've both got seals.. curses.. issues. There's nothing we can do other than learning to control them." Gradually Sasuke's voice had gotten better in the middle of the sentence, and he cleared his throat a few times after he finished speaking.

"There. Good as new." Sasuke said normally. Naruto looked up and smiled at him, and Sasuke smiled back.

"Yeah there's my smile." Sasuke commented. Naruto watched Sasuke begin to mess with his cast, then gasped as he took it off, leaving only the pre-bandaging.

"Sasa-kun—" He got a finger over the mouth, quieting him.

"It's fine." Sasuke assured. Naruto sighed a little, rubbing Sasuke's upper arms while Sasuke fingered the bandages.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke looked up, and Naruto was staring at him with his bright blue eyes. Without saying anything else, Sasuke closed in on Naruto, running his hands down Naruto's arms to his hands. They kissed lightly at first, and then pressed closer and warmly lipped, gently sucking before tonguing.

"Mmm.. Naruto…" Sasuke murmured, stroking along Naruto's waist. Naruto smiled a little through the sloppy kissing as he pressed their hips together.

"Hey.. you're excited.. it's cute.." Naruto murmured during a brief few second break. "Yeah—yeah.. I've been laid out in a hospital bed for 3 days.." Sasuke murmured, slipping his hands under Naruto's t-shirt, smilingly listening to him moan softly. They stood in the middle of the room making out, all over each other for a few minutes, then began moving toward the bed.

"Do you.. do you want to…um.." Sasuke murmured, backing Naruto to the edge of the bed. Naruto nodded breathlessly, lying down with Sasuke on top of him. Just then, the door opened and Sasuke jumped about 5 feet away, scowling when it was just Kakashi. "Aaaand I'm back. My God, MUST you hump each other every time you're alone." Kakashi said bluntly, shaking his head at Naruto, who was on his back on the bed staring at the ceiling, and Sasuke still 5 feet away, his back turned. Naruto sighed and sat up, not able to really get rid of the sex flush he had been developing.

"So.. where did you go?" he asked Kakashi. Kakashi went over to Sasuke and made him sit down on the bed.

"Well, Sasuke is doing great and he can leave tomorrow if his chakra reaches a certain level by then. That means he needs a good night's sleep, and no strenuous activity. That means you Naruto." Kakashi said while he put Sasuke's cast back on emphatically. "Naruto helps my chakra." Sasuke snapped suddenly. Kakashi rose his eyebrows.

"Ohhh he can talk!" he snickered slightly while Sasuke scowled at the floor, lightening his expression just slightly when Naruto came and sat beside him.

"Fine, fine. Just go to sleep, and you can leave in the morning Sasuke." Kakashi said.

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The next morning, before anyone had come into the room, Sasuke was already up and packing his belongings into a small bag. Naruto was drowsily staring at him from the bed.

"I have Anbu business.." Sasuke said quietly after a few more peaceful moments of silence. Naruto woke up a bit faster.

"What.. but Sasuke don't they know you just got out of the hospital?" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke sighed.

"No.. not really. I've had the job since before your incident.. I'd planned on taking care of it that night—"

"Sasuke! You weren't going to tell me? I don't care if you didn't want to worry me that's not fair!" Naruto interrupted. Sasuke continued packing.

"This job won't be difficult for me. The location is somewhere crowded—it's only an Anbu task because of the target's level.. but.. seamless ambushing is my specialty." Sasuke reasoned. Naruto frowned a bit more, but after seeing that it was doing no good to complain, he got up off of the bed and went over to Sasuke, tugging him by the arm. "Come on, jump in the shower with me." He said eagerly, pulling at Sasuke's shirt. Suddenly Sasuke's hand came up and gripped him by the wrist, slowly pulling his hands away. He didn't say anything. Naruto looked confused.

"Uhm.. Sasuke-kun?" he questioned, slightly hurt. "Hey.. can I kiss you?" Naruto asked finally. Sasuke turned his back and kept packing.

"No.. not now." Sasuke finally answered. Naruto nodded.

"Oh—okay." He agreed hesitantly, but he felt strange. He bit his lip, angry at himself for being almost ready to shed tears about it. They remained in awkward silence, until Sakura and Kakashi came in, followed by Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru. Sasuke stayed to himself mostly, remaining quiet as they all left the room to check Sasuke out of the hospital at the front desk, and Neji discreetly watched Naruto remain in close proximity to Sasuke, but they were lacking their usual level of obvious connection. It seemed more like it use to be back when they'd been younger. Naruto still bright and generally happy, but Sasuke's bitter, alone attitude affecting his usual decibel level.

"Naruto." Neji called, and Naruto glanced at him, then back at Sasuke, who was staring out the window to his right while Kakashi filled paperwork. Naruto then hesitantly wedged between Shikamaru and Kiba to stand next to Neji.

"Yeah.." Naruto answered warily.

"What's up?" Neji questioned quietly, motioning his head inconspicuously toward Sasuke. Naruto shrugged.

"I.. I'm not really sure.. He.. He does have Anbu business but.. I don't think that's it." Naruto said. Neji moved closer to him and whispered.

"You see? He's so moody.. You never know with that guy. How can you be sure he's not going to end up gone again Naruto? At least mess with someone who's going to be around." Neji warned. Naruto swallowed hard, glancing past Neji to Sasuke, and they briefly caught eye contact. Naruto found himself looking away first. Neji, however, was getting closer.

"When Sasuke goes to do his Anbu work, come on over to my place and I'll help you figure this out Naruto." Neji said even more quietly. Naruto kept his gaze averted. Shikamaru and Kiba were beginning to look at them strangely for being so quiet.

"Fine.. okay.." Naruto agreed quickly, and just as quickly got some distance from everyone. He stayed by Kakashi the entire walk back to the house.

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Later in the morning, Sasuke was already leaving the house.

"I'll be coming back in a little while." He said quietly. Kakashi turned around and watched as Naruto approached Sasuke almost cautiously. The two hadn't talked in an hour.

"So you're leaving? Now?" he asked Sasuke, who was by the door counting his supplies. "Yes." He answered. Naruto stood there silently while Sasuke fastened his belt. Sasuke paused by the door when Naruto didn't move. He sighed and turned around, slowly coming back to where Naruto was.

"Don't look so awful. You'll break my concentration while I'm out hunting." Sasuke commented briefly. Naruto smirked a little and moved forward, but lost his smile again when all he received was a slight kiss on the cheek. Sasuke left. Kakashi paid attention while Naruto's fists clenched.

"What? What is wrong with him!?" Naruto growled, his voice breaking.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked. Naruto shook his head and began tugging on his sandals. "Nothing.. I'll be back…" he muttered, wiping his face afterward on his sleeve as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Neji told me to go to his place.. So I guess I'll go.. I wonder what he wants.."

"Hold on." Kakashi interrupted him before he could take a step toward the door. Naruto stood still while Kakashi approached him.

"Sasuke is…he's feeling some things." Kakashi began. Naruto slowly sat down, and Kakashi sat beside him.

"What things.." Naruto murmured. Kakashi smiled slightly and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"He's probably trying to distance himself."

"Why!? Why would he do that??" Naruto exclaimed, feeling angrier but at the same time feeling a piercing stab in his heart.

"That's just the thing Neji was blabbing about.." Naruto found himself thinking. Kakashi noticed the conflicting feelings, and kept explaining.

"He's.. he's afraid that he's too attached, so he's starting to shell himself up again. But he thinks he's doing it to protect you." Kakashi said as best he could. Naruto sat and fidgeted nearly constantly.

"He's.. but he's not.. Man.. everything I thought was right.. What was I thinking—trying to love.. Sasuke…" Naruto's voice trailed into nothing, and Kakashi stared rather sadly as Naruto donned an obvious look of defeat. Naruto looked up slowly.

"What.. what do I do.." Naruto sighed exhaustedly. Kakashi leaned forward with his elbows against his knees to think.

"Hm. Well I'm thinking you need to talk to him about it. He told me some things, but I can't just tell you in his words. There's things you need to hear from him, and there's things I already said that he needs to hear from you. Plus more, that I could never add." Kakashi continued. Naruto's hands clenched and unclenched.

"Okay.. but.. I need to go somewhere first…" With that, Naruto stood up and ran outside before Kakashi could make him wait.

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Halfway to Neji's house, after quite a while of hesitating and rethinking his actions, Naruto ran into Neji himself. He halted in the pathway, and Neji smiled at him gently.

"Hey. I was just coming to see you." He said, coming closer. Naruto sighed heavily and plopped down on a nearby log, Neji with him. Naruto put his face in his hands.

"I'm so—tired.. What's my problem.. what's his problem?! I.. don't know what I should do but it's driving me crazy." Naruto vented. Neji placed a hand on Naruto's back. "Just—how close are you to Sasuke?" Neji asked cautiously, finding the mini outburst just a bit out of character. Naruto kept his gaze locked to the dirt between his feet. "Close." That was all he would tell Neji.

"Do you two make out?" Neji asked next, very plainly. Naruto looked up to stare at Neji. He didn't know what to say.

"Um—no." Naruto lied.

"You're lying." Neji immediately said. Naruto then jumped up.

"You know what?! I can't handle this right now!" Naruto blurted, turning to leave, but Neji had caught him by the wrist.

"No! I'm sorry. I have insight, I'm sorry. But…Naruto, Sasuke's not going to stay around. He'll always leave. Now you're confused because you didn't think Sasuke would ever move on from Konoha, especially not after what happened a while ago, but he will. He's tired of this Naruto. Can't you tell?" Neji continued, keeping Naruto there by gripping him on the upper arms. Naruto was easily getting angry, and Neji could tell, so he released his grip but instead pulled Naruto forward and hugged. Naruto, a little stunned, relaxed slightly, then closed his eyes.

"You're right.. I guess.." Naruto murmured.

"I'm not going anywhere. Come to me instead." Neji replied. Naruto opened his eyes then, and blinked, realizing finally what was happening.

"N-Neji—" Neji suddenly had his hand, and they both paused as Naruto looked up. They locked gazes. "Here.. where I don't have to worry about you.. and dark power and.. crap like that.." Naruto murmured. Neji nodded, taking his other hand.

"Yeah.. Yeah Naruto-kun." Neji grew closer, his hand coming up to Naruto's cheek. Their faces neared within an inch of each other.

"Neji..." He murmured, closing his eyes and laying his head on Neji's shoulder. Neji smiled as Naruto's hands began to course through his hair.

"You.. your smell reminds me of Sasuke…a little.." Naruto said hesitantly. Neji paused, backing up a few steps and staring. Naruto stared back blankly. "I—can't help myself." Naruto explained plainly, scratching his head. He sighed heavily while Neji uncomfortably stared at the ground and crossed his arms.

"I.. have to get back.. I should go.. I shouldn't have—um—later Neji.." Naruto hurriedly backed away, then turned and quickly vacated the area. Before he got too far, he suddenly felt a sharp sting in his shoulder. He stopped and gasped, rubbing it with his hand, leaning against a tree.

"No big deal.. just a spasm.. I guess...it's probably reacting to stress..." He sighed and started to walk again, but suddenly felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn around, he'd backed into Sasuke. He gasped briefly, but then relaxed slightly.

"Oh.. Sa-Sasuke.." He stammered, turning around. Sasuke stared back at him a bit blankly.

"What.. are you doing out here.." Sasuke asked him quietly. Naruto shook his head. "Nothing.. I—" Sasuke's eyes cut to the side.

"Neji's nearby.. were you talking to him?" Sasuke asked coolly. Naruto started to say no, but as he stared at Sasuke, he could tell that Sasuke already knew the answer.

"Yeah.." he answered then, feeling increasingly guilty about the conversation he'd had with Neji. Sasuke began to walk, and grabbed Naruto with him, and they walked, Naruto noticing that Sasuke was holding him in close proximity purposely. Naruto gasped, as a few drops of blood spotted his arm, which was close to Sasuke.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, making them stop. Sasuke scoffed bitterly.

"He got me on the upper arm.. but it was nothing…my overhead officers knew it would be simple for me.." Sasuke mumbled, looking away as Naruto found the cut and looked at it. He spotted a patch of fresh grass and made Sasuke come over and sit in it with him. "I've got.. some of this medicine stuff.." Naruto said, digging around until he found it in his supply pack on his belt. Naruto watched Sasuke silently flinched when his sleeve was pushed up. Sasuke then remained deathly silent the entire time while Naruto treated his cut. When Naruto finished, Sasuke didn't say thank you. He stood up, facing away, and started to keep walking.

"Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly shouted, standing up abruptly. Sasuke paused, but didn't turn around, and Naruto's fists clenched.

"What's wrong with you? How come you stopped talking to me?" Naruto asked, going over and forcing Sasuke to turn around. Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto's wrists and pulled Naruto's hands away from his shoulders.

"Naruto—I have to stop caring about you so much." Sasuke said bluntly, this time making eye-contact for the first time in awhile. Naruto felt himself freeze.

"Wha—Sasuke.. what're you talking about?" Naruto breathed, backing up a few steps from Sasuke. Sasuke turned his head quickly, but not before Naruto spotted the tears surfacing.

"Sasuke…" Naruto murmured quietly, feeling the color drain from his face. Sasuke shook his head rapidly.

"No.. I gave this.. this curse to you.. And.. I can't forgive myself for it.. How could I let that happen?? It's because we just had to get use to each other, had to distract each other.. It's not going to work. This can't work.." Sasuke's voice broke, and Naruto stared in disbelief at Sasuke's tears.

"You're.. you can't be really serious.. right?" Naruto said hoarsely. "Right??"

Uh oooh... O.o

-Kitsune