Disclaimer: Yea, I don't own Naruto.

Rated M for later chapters- The first few chapters may go slow but I am just trying to get inside of the characters heads. I am writing this after the time skip so it is a bit hard considering the lack of some information. If any facts I write are wrong or incorrect with the series or manga please let me know. I'm up for criticism but I hope you guys like it.

Ok, here goes…………………….

The Way Things Are

Chapter 2

Naruto stared blankly into Sasuke's face. The Uchiha's apathetic stare made the tension in the grove thicken so much that Naruto finally gave in and let his head bob downward.

Sasuke's lips curved slightly into a small, almost unnoticeable, cynical smile as he won the staring competition he had just shared with Naruto. Sweat dripped from the blonde boy's scrunched forehead and he let several small grunts out. His breathing started to accelerate. Sasuke's ensnaring treatment still left Naruto's upper body damaged. The last thing Naruto wanted was to appear weak in front of Sasuke. He hugged his arms around his torso as he struggled to get his breathing back to normal.

Naruto moaned as he collapsed yet again and felt his chest crash against the ground. He felt like he was going to pass out or puke but his body was unable to do either completely. So instead he lay in agony as his stomach lurched and tightened trying to force something out. He gagged from the pain and felt his insides convulse yet again. His head throbbed making him feel like he would explode. He felt something suddenly fall in front of his face. His eyes broke open widely and he gasped loudly as he saw Sasuke's knees right in front of him.

"If you're not gonna look me in the eye I'll just have to make you dobe." Sasuke sneered as his hand stretched forward and grabbed Naruto's spiky blonde hair. He pulled the smaller boy's body by his yellow locks causing even more of a commotion from Naruto.

"Lemme…. stop… Sa…..Sasuke….damn teme….ah..ow.…no!" Naruto's heavy breathing had quickened to the point that it sounded like he was hyperventilating. His arms hung limply as he felt Sasuke tugging harder and harder at his hair, pulling his whole body closer to the other boy. Naruto lay loosely on the ground while his head stayed in front of Sasuke's because of the stabilizing death grip he had on the other boy's hair. His eyes narrowed as they met Sasuke's and his entire face tightened in anger.

Sasuke pulled Naruto upward until both of their faces were mere inches apart. The Uchiha's dark eyes shimmered with a hint malice to them, a trait he had unintentionally picked up from Orochimaru. His vexing expression enticed Naruto into a confrontation. Their glaring continued for a bit until Sasuke broke the silence.

"Tsch. Tsch. Did poor little Naruto get wrapped up in a trap? Your insides must be killing you right now. I knew you were still a major dobe but to be caught by that means that you are still as weak as ever. I should've kno-"

"Stop!" Naruto's weak voice cut off Sasuke's venomous speech. It almost seemed as though the blonde was pleading. "Why are you… What do you wa…. Please just talk to me for a second…. Do you hear what you're…. Damn it….. Sasuke……." Naruto stopped with a loud sigh and felt the tension in his hair loosen. The dark haired boy released his hold and Naruto felt his chin bump into the ground. Naruto tightened his fist in anger.

"Why don't you answer!?" Naruto exploded in fury. "All you care about is hurting people! You say that I'm weak and haven't changed but now I understand. It's the other way around Sasuke!"

Sasuke's expression stayed the same. He was void of all emotions and, for some odd reason, listened to Naruto's rant closely. He knew why he was there with Naruto and he knew what he wanted. He hadn't thought about how to tell Naruto though. He only insisted on doing what it took to get what he was after.

"He still doesn't understand me." Sasuke thought sadly to himself. Sometimes he felt like the only place he could express himself honestly was in his mind, alone. "Ugh, why did I come here?! I mean I know why I came, but, why did I do it anyway? I slipped up bad! Shit I can't believe I went through with this! I've gotta focus on Itachi and Akats-" Sasuke's mind wandered back to the present and he watched Naruto glare at him in rage. It was so hard for him to watch Naruto's eyes fill with wrath towards him. However, it made Sasuke angry at the same time too.

The Uchiha's feelings were so mixed up. He hated Naruto one minute and then wanted nothing else but to apologize to him another. He yearned for power to kill his brother and was full of spite. Yet, sometimes, he longed for the days when he was training with Naruto and Kakashi. Hell, sometimes he even missed Sakura.

"But I hate them!" He wanted to love and then wanted to slay and destroy. He refused to let himself ever think he was weak and made himself suffer even more. He was drowning in hate and was consumed with revenge and the hunger for power to achieve that revenge. He was deep in thought again until Naruto interrupted.

"You're just like Orochimaru you stupid bastard!" Naruto spat out quickly. His breath was still short and he struggled to get the next words out.

"Fuck you Sasuke!" Naruto's words echoed in Sasuke's ears. His eyes widened in pain as the he felt the sting of the other boy's statement. Naruto's face loosened up for a second when he saw the strange expression on Sasuke.

"NO!" Sasuke yelled out as his already clenched fist hit Naruto square in the face. The blonde grunted in pain and suddenly felt Sasuke's hand tighten around his neck. Sasuke pulled Naruto up with him by his throat. His air supply was cut off yet again and he struggled with Sasuke's grip as his feet lifted off the ground. His eyes met the Uchiha's. Naruto choked viciously and kicked at Sasuke. After a short bit of struggling, Naruto hung limp in the air.

"Sto-ahhh……Damn……lemme…..argh….Fuck y-"

"DON'T SAY IT AGAIN!" Sasuke screamed in Naruto's face. He scoffed sadistically as he watched Naruto cling to life and thrash for air. He squeezed harder at Naruto's neck and pulled out a kunai with his free hand. He was about to stab Naruto but felt his hand shake. He stared at the kunai and then at Naruto.

Naruto slipped out of Sasuke's shaking grip and he fell to ground. The kunai fell quickly afterwards and Sasuke came next onto his knees. He looked down at his hands and finally at the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Sasuke thought to himself.

"Naruto…….I'm- Sor…... I'm sorry Naruto…. I….This isn't what I came for I ………." Sasuke stopped suddenly confused and angry at himself for saying that. He noticed that the other boy was fighting to stay conscious and decided to help him. He approached Naruto slowly and held out his hand. He was surprised when he felt Naruto slap his arm away with the last of his strength.

"Stay the hell away from me! If you didn't come here to kill me then why are you here?!" Naruto demanded. "What are you blabbering about anyway!? Sasuke, you're insane! You're fucking crazy! You're a messed up, sadistic psychopath!"

"You don't get it! You would never understand! You're such a fool!" Sasuke didn't let Naruto finish and he was full of anger again. "Why can't you just…….why can't I….. Why was it always like this for me and you? Why do I care more than ever now? I don't get anything anymore! I've been pretending not to want to care for so long! And now why do I want to understand!? AHHH! I HATE YOU NARUTO!" Sasuke finished realizing he had just said all that out loud. Naruto's confused face enticed the Uchiha deeper into anger.

"Sasuke…….. I……. "

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sasuke erupted. He charged towards Naruto screaming in fury. Naruto tried to raise his arms to defend himself but found his attempt was useless. He was too weak and confused to properly protect himself.

Sasuke's leg reared back swiftly when he reached the other boy and he kicked Naruto forcibly in the stomach, sending him into the air. Naruto coughed up a large amount of blood from the pain in his stomach. Sasuke didn't waste a second this time to continue attacking.

"Hidden shadow snake hand!" Sasuke projected as he punched his fist into the air. Four snakes flew out of Sasuke's sleeve and headed for Naruto. The blonde watched as the snakes came towards him rapidly.

"He's summoning snakes now? This must be a new jutsu he learned from Orochimaru! I can't dodge it! They could kill me if they get ahold of me too! Damn it, what's wrong with him?!" Naruto's mind raced as he plummeted to the ground. Before he suffered the impact however he felt two of the snakes wrap tightly around his body. He moaned as he felt the familiar pain around his torso. "Is it ever gonna end? I swear I'm gonna puke up some organs soon!"

Naruto's body lifted off the ground and he watched in horror as the two snakes that weren't ensnaring him opened their mouths and sank their teeth into the blonde's right shoulder and left elbow. His body felt like it was spinning and his vision disappeared completely. The snakes released themselves from his body and vanished swiftly back into Sasuke's sleeve.

Naruto's body slammed into the ground and immediately lost consciousness. Sasuke approached the other boy slowly ready to attack again. When he finally realized that Naruto was unconscious he ran towards him.

"Naruto!" Sasuke sat on his knees next his powerless old friend. Sasukes stared helplessly at the unconscious blonde, trying to find a way to help Naruto. "Shit! What did I do?"

Sasuke slammed his fist into the ground next to Naruto. "Damn it! You stupid dobe! It's your fault! So why am I making such a big deal about it?!" Sasuke yelled down at the knuckleheaded blonde that he had developed such mixed feelings for.

"Why am I doing any of this? I shouldn't have ever come. I should've stayed strong and alone and kept training! I should've forgotten about this stupid dobe by now! I should've just acted the way I did when I saw him a couple of weeks ago! I should've left him with that image of myself!"

Sasuke had been struggling ever since that meeting weeks ago when he told Naruto that he could kill him on a whim. "I wish I could have actually greeted him. Instead of almost impaling him with a sword I just wanted to hold- ………"

Sasuke's mind stopped for a second realizing what he had just thought about. "WHAT? What is going on with me? I've had these weird feelings for him ever since we met but they just won't go away! They keep getting worse! They wouldn't have if this stupid dobe and Sakura wouldn't have tracked me down! Naruto was almost out of my mind completely. But he had to show up and ruin all of my concentration! I have to kill him now while I have the chance! I can't be distracted by him!"

Sasuke reached for his sword and held the blade along Naruto's neck. "This is it. Once he's gone he won't be able to cloud my vision or stop me from finishing my revenge." Sasuke swung the sword behind him, ready to bring it down on Naruto to kill him. The sword was right on target until Sasuke's hand began to shake violently again. He dropped the sword and sat in horrifying silence for a second.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed into the air with every ounce of hate in his body. He screamed until his throat hurt and his voice cracked. He hurled his fists into the ground again and again. His breathing was heavy and his face eventually scrunched into raw, uncontrolled anger, pain, and sadness. His face was so tense he felt as though it would be stuck that way forever. His nose began to get runny and he felt a tear roll out of his eye and land on Naruto's cheek. His fists and jaw clenched as he let out everything he had been holding in for so long.

"Naruto……I'm so….." Sasuke sobbed between breaths lightly. His body collapsed onto Naruto's unconscious one and he clutched his fists into the other boy's jacket. He buried his head into the blonde's side. After a while, Sasuke sat himself up. He rubbed at his eyes and stared down at Naruto's figure. He reached his hand down and cupped Naruto's whisker scarred cheek. His thumb ran smoothly along the side of the other boy's face, gently massaging him. He placed his other hand behind Naruto's head and lifted him up towards his face. He pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and placed the other boy's head on his shoulder.

Sasuke held Naruto like that for a moment before getting angry at himself and dropping Naruto to the ground. His body tensed again and he kicked at the ground. "What the fuck am I doing!? This is sick! I can't…….. Damn it, I can't give into this……" Sasuke closed his eyes gently and sighed.

"Naruto………………I want you to understand me Naruto………It's so hard sometimes…… It's like knowing what you want to say, but, never finding the words……I……. I wish I could be able to talk to you…… I can't muster up the courage to really show you who I am…….. I wish I could open up to you. But it seems impossible for me………I never could open up to anyone and I sometimes I pretended to never want to……….. But Naruto you don't understand! I wasn't always pretending! You don't know what it's like! You could never really underst-… Why can't I just say all this to his face? Why can't I say these things out loud?!…………..Naruto……………. I need you to understand me…………..I can try……… But what if he…."

Sasuke suddenly remembered everything that had just happened and everything he had just done to Naruto in the past and present. He remembered Naruto's corrosive, spiteful words, and the anger in those deep, blue eyes.

"All you care about is hurting people! You say that I'm weak and haven't changed but now I understand. It's the other way around Sasuke!"

"You're just like Orochimaru you stupid bastard!"

"Stay the hell away from me! If you didn't come here to kill me then why are you here?! What are you blabbering about anyway!? Sasuke, you're insane! You're fucking crazy! You're a messed up, sadistic psychopath!"

"Fuck you Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes flew open. He cringed as he looked at Naruto sadly. He eyes darted away as pathetically as Naruto's eyes did earlier. He let a sharp, sobbing sigh out before closing his eyes again. His eyebrows furrowed on his forehead and his jaw tightened. "I will make you understand me Naruto……… I will make you."

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at the fallen Naruto angrily. His arms wrapped around the other boy and he picked the unconscious ninja up. Sasuke stood with the helpless blonde boy in his arms. He pulled Naruto closer to him and made sure his head was stable. Sasuke leapt from the ground carrying Naruto like a baby. He moved from tree to tree quickly into the shadows of the forest.

"You're mine now, Naruto. We'll do this my way. I am sorry though, Naruto……I'm so sor………No. It isn't about that right now. Naruto, you're the one that's gonna be sorry. I will make you understand me Naruto. I will."