Sasuke didn't initially notice, but observing Naruto climbing the grand staircase, there was definitely something wrong. The blond, the same teen who's the epitome of fit was almost gasping for air just from climbing the stairs. Knowing he shouldn't pry, Sasuke kept close to the blond as they made their way towards his room.

Entering Sasukes room, instead of flopping down like he normally would, Naruto gently laid himself down. Sasuke was itching to know what was wrong, he knew adrenaline could do wonders to a person, but when he saw him in the office there was no way he was this injured.

Normally he would have scolded the blond for laying on his bed in dirty clothes, but tonight he couldn't find it in himself to care, not with the haunted look that seemed to be permanently etched into his face. Without a word, Sasuke turned the light off and crawled into bed. Naruto turned over, wrapping the raven in his arms, gently pulling him against his chest. The slight gasp Naruto released didn't go unnoticed, and he knew it but chose to ignore it for the moment.

Time kept ticking by, but to them it felt like they were frozen. As if sensing Sasuke's turmoil, Naruto asked softly. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Sasuke didn't even try to mask his concern.

A few minutes passed and Sasuke was sure Naruto was brushing his question off, but he finally answered. "I...I don't know."

Hearing his boyfriend's tormented voice, Sasuke laid his arm over Narutos and laced their fingers together, giving a firm, gentle squeeze. "I'm glad you're here."

Naruto reciprocates the hand squeeze while placing a sweet kiss on the back of Sasukes neck. "Me too."

Sasuke lets out a content sigh before his mind leads him astray once more. It was hard for him to picture Naruto being the same boy who could have easily killed Kiba. He would be lying if he didn't find himself a bit scared of what Naruto was capable of, he would be mental not to. There was something inside of him that found that feral part of the blond extremely attractive at the same time.

Sasuke stopped himself from taking those thoughts even further, he didn't need to get turned on with his boyfriends current mental state hanging in question. Soft even breaths brushed over his neck, gently wrestling his hair, during his ponderings he hadn't even realised Naruto had finally managed to fall asleep. Knowing it was him his boyfriends found comfort it brought a smile to Sasukes face, as he too allowed the throws of sleep to reach the far corners of his mind.

Naruto woke up in a daze, he wasn't sure where he was for a moment. The persistent weight on his chest and abdomen, mixed with a slight warmth made him look down to be graced with a slightly drooling Sasuke. Finally realising he's in Sasukes room he allowed himself to relax and take in the sight of the ever adorable teen. The raven exerted a type of peace and relaxation in his sleep that brought that familiar warm tingle feeling to his chest, and he wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as the universe would deems appropriate.

Naruto absentmindedly ran his finger gently through Sasukes luscious midnight locks, his hair was always so soft and silky. The movement was enough to stir his boyfriend awake, with a slight groan and a squeeze to Narutos waits Sasuke began to open his eyes. Waking up to Naruto staring at him with such adoration was something Sasuke was sure he would never get sick of.

"Hey." Sasuke sleepily mumbled.

"Hey." Naruto softly replied with a smile.

Memories washed over Sasuke like a dam breaking, hoping Naruto couldn't see it flash through his eyes he buried his face back into the blonds sweater clad chest. "I can't believe you slept in a hoodie." He mumbled against the thick fabric.

Naruto shrugs as best he can, "it's more comfortable than you'd think."

"Hn. speaking of, how'd you sleep?" Sasuke wasn't sure how to start the conversation he knew they still needed to have. At least Naruto seemed to be in higher spirits this morning.

"Honestly?" Naruto pauses, contemplating his current mental and physical status. "Much better than I would have by myself, so thank you."

Sasuke furrows his brow, looking up at his blond. "For what?" He really wasn't sure he had done anything that warranted thanks.

Without hesitation, Naruto meets Sasukes eyes. "For being you, being here, dealing with my baggage, not asking questions when you knew I needed time. I really appreciate it." Naruto licks his dry lips before continuing. "I've never really had anyone to turn to and you being so willing to open your door to me means more to me then I can ever articulate."

Sasuke was stunned, and he wasn't one to be blind sided. He couldn't believe Naruto was really thanking him for something so simple as being there for him. There was a softness in Narutos face that made Sasuke want to permanently attach himself to the blond and never separate again. Yeah he may be in a bit deep.

Sasuke collects himself, bringing his hand up and resting it on Narutos marred cheek. "You don't need to thank me for that, ever. It makes me so happy that I'm the one you find comfort in if I'm being honest." Sasuke stops for a minute as he feels heat rise to his cheeks. "Though, that doesn't get you out of explaining everything to me." He playfully hits Narutos broad chest.

The action makes Naruto let out a carefree chuckle. "I know, I was going to ask if you had to go to school today? I wanted to take you somewhere special to me and figured we could talk there."

Hearing Naruto wanted to bring him somewhere special to him was enough for Sasuke to give zero fucks about school. "I think that can be arranged." That's when he realised that Naruto was escorted off the school grounds yesterday, and if the blond, the teen who never misses school was asking him to ditch, that could only mean he couldn't go to school today. The realisation made him visibly frown.

The downward pull of the raven's lips gave Naruto the wrong idea. "It's okay if you can't. I'm not going to force you to ditch school or anything."

Sasuke snapped his head back up. "No! I mean, I want to, I really do. I just realised that meant you weren't going to school today."

The sudden jerk of Sasukes head snap, sent a jolt of pain through Naruto's side, rendering it impossible to hide the painful gasp that escaped him. Sasuke pulled back, sitting up at lightning speed. "Are you alright?!" Worry evident in his voice.

Grunting as he sits up. Leaning against the wooden headboard Naruto sighs. "Yeah, I'm alright." He honestly didn't know the state his body was in, the adrenaline his body was running off of last night prevented him from feeling the full brunt of his injuries. This morning seemed to confirm that he was quite injured, though he would rather not have to tell Sasuke that. His hands would barely open, he wasn't gasping for breath, but his breathing was definitely laboured. The pain in his ribs and abdomen were bad but nothing he couldn't handle.

"Dobe, stop acting tough! You're allowed to say you're hurt." Sasuke growled as he looked his boyfriend up and down. When he gets to his hands he grabs one without thinking. "Jesus fuck Naruto! Look at your fucking hands!"

Naruto would have brought a hand up to rub his head nervously but wasn't sure his hand would be up to the task. Sasuke glare was making him nervous, like it was challenging him, daring him to tell him it wasn't that bad. "Heh, I'll be alright, honestly Sasuke it's fine." Naruto nervously mumbled.

"It's not fine Naruto! What else hurts?" Sasuke demands, looking at him expectantly.

"I'm fine Sasuke." Naruto groans, breaking eye contact.

"Naruto, you either tell me, or I'm going to drag it out of you. And I promise you, it won't be in a way you enjoy." The raven threatens.

Naruto leans his head back and groans defiantly. "Fine, My side is fucked, my hands throb and my arms are scratched to shit. Happy?" He was a little more than irritated that Sasuke refused to drop the matter.

"Why the fuck would you being injured make me happy Naruto?!" Sasuke growled, angry that the blond was hiding his injuries from him. "Show me." Sasuke demands. Seeing the damage was the only thing that would soothe the raven rapidly forming thoughts, he needed to know.

"Wha—No! I'm fine." Naruto mildly panics. He hadn't seen the damage yet himself, he definitely didn't want to expose that part of himself to Sasuke.

"I wasn't asking Na-ru-to." This time when Sasuke pronounced his name that way, there was nothing seductive about it, it made Naruto shudder, and not in a good way.

Naruto hangs his head. "Sasuke, why? Can't we just leave it?"

Sasukes face softened slightly, but he wasn't going to let this go. "No Naruto, we can't. I need to make sure you're okay or it will drive me insane."

Everything in Naruto was telling him "danger, danger, turn back, run away!" But he couldn't, Sasuke didn't deserve that especially with putting up with him after yesterday and not running away himself. Naruto took a deep laboured breath and nodded. "Fine, but whatever you see, we don't talk about it until later okay?"

The obedience pleased Sasuke in more ways than one, so he nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Naruto held his arms up, Sasuke was confused until he realised Naruto was giving him the consent to remove his tops. Propping himself up on his knees so he's sitting back on his heels, Sasuke gently lifts the sweater he once secretly defiled, off of Naruto. Immediately he noticed the angry gashes tracking down Naruto's right arm, it made the raven frown, but he knew he couldn't ask yet, he'd agreed to wait until later.

Naruto wasn't looking at him, his gaze was frozen on his lap. The blank face on the blond made Sasuke chest ache, he hated seeing Naruto a shell of himself. It was almost enough to make him want to stop, but he was this far in, he wasn't going to stop now.

Reaching for the hem of Narutos half black, half white t-shirt, he slowly raised it up and over his head, closing his eyes, preparing himself for what could possibly make Naruto gasp for breath in pain. Sasuke felt him drop his hands at his sides, this was what gave him the push to open his eyes. When he gazed at Naruto's torso he gasped, there was no hiding his shock. "Oh Naruto." he whispered dolefully.

Naruto's abdomen had a large, round bruise that was splotched reddish-brown, while his whole left side from the base of his well defined pecs down to his hips ranged from red to angry deeper bluish-purple bruising. Sasuke was torn from feeling mortified, and feeling utterly enraged. 'What the fuck happened after school?'

Being naked made Naruto feel less vulnerable than he did at that moment. Him being injured was a side of him he never wanted to share with anyone. "Can I have my shirt back now?" His small voice muttered.

Sasuke frowns, skewering his face, but gives Naruto his shirt back. Naruto gently places his shirt back on, trying his hardest to not to show any more weakness. Once his shirt was on he still wouldn't look at Sasuke, and that made the raven internally panic. 'Maybe I pushed him too far?'

Sasuke was about to speak up but was interrupted by a knock on his door. "Sasuke? Are you up?"

Being saved from the tense moment, Sasuke sighs. "Yes Itachi, I'm up."

The door opens. "Good because I have something we need to tal-" Itachi stops when he notices his little brother wasn't alone. "Oh, good morning Naruto. I wasn't aware you were here."

"Good morning Itachi. Sorry I um–" Naruto begins to mumble but Itachi cuts him off.

"Naruto it's fine," Itachi chuckles, finding the blond's nervousness amusing. Only then did he notice the state of his hands and arms. Being the Uchiha he is, he didn't allow his face to show he had noticed the injuries that may not have been in his right to see.

Narutos injuries snapped Itachi back to the reason he was at Sasukes door to begin with. "Can I have a moment Sasuke?"

Sasuke cocks an eyebrow at his brother, but nods nonetheless. "Sure." Sasuke turns back towards Naruto before leaving. "You can get a shower and help yourself to my clothes, I'll be back in a bit."

Naruto gives him a curt nod, but doesn't say anything. Letting out a defeated sigh, Sasuke follows Itachi towards his office. Both brothers enter, Itachi takes a seat in his lush chair, while Sasuke stands expectantly in front of him.

"Take a seat Sasuke." Itachi's suggestion was more of a demand.

Grunting, Sasuke takes a seat. "What is it?"

Itachi takes a deep breath, that alone sends alarm bells ringing through Sasukes mind. "It would appear someone is trying to capitalise on what happened at your school yesterday."

Sasuke furrows his brow, that gnawing feeling in his stomach was back. "What do you mean?"

Opening the left desk drawer, Itachi procures a folder then hands it out for Sasuke to take. "Look for yourself."

Sasuke gulps before taking the folder from his brother's hand. Opening it, he's greeted with a variety of images that range from Naruto pummeling Kiba, before, during and after, Sasuke hugging Naruto, and Neji's altercation with both Naruto and Kiba.

Nothing was clicking at the moment, but every sense told Sasuke that there was no good that could come from this. Sasuke looks up at Itachi nervously. "So, what does this mean?"

Resting against the sleek black desktop, Itachi folds his hands together in front of him. "Well dear brother, this means I've been trying to do damage control most of the night."

"Damage control?" Sasuke questions.

Itachi lets out a deep, tired breath. "Yes Sasuke, damage control. I've had most of these images taken down, but the thing with the internet is that things never really disappear once they're there to begin with." Itachi stops to make sure Sasuke was still following. Noticing his brother is patiently eyeing him he continues. "Think about it, this has not one, not two, but three prestigious families and a violent hooligan all tangled up in something horrific. Not to mention you're seen quite close to the violent one."

Sasuke gets defensive immediately, hearing his brother label his blond enraged him. "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT HAPPENED!"

Itachi holds his hand up, effectively silencing his brother. "I'm on your side. You should know how fond I am of your blond kitsune. I don't think Naruto is violent nor a hooligan, but that's exactly how the press is going to try and portray him. With all these images they won't have to push very hard either. I wouldn't put it past them to bring up the shooting and try and turn that on him, making it look like he snapped. Now, I'm doing my best to try and keep damage to a minimum, but this sort of thing takes time. Reporters are going to be all over the place, so I'd like you to stay home for the rest of the week at least. I've already emailed your teachers and they've all agreed to email you your lessons and you can do any tests you miss when you return."

Sasuke was speechless. How was he supposed to process this? He was used to being in the limelight, but now Naruto was being dragged into as well. Sasuke was beginning to get a migraine, it seemed nothing in Narutos life could ever be simple, and that made Sasukes whole being hurt. "What am I supposed to tell him?"

Itachi may not be able to take his brother's anguish away like he wished he could, but that wasn't going to stop him from doing everything in his power to lessen the blow. "Tell him the truth. I'll do my best to take care of the rest."

With a pained look across his face, Sasuke looks down at his lap. "It's just...he never seems to catch a break. Why is it always him against the world? It hardly seems fair."

Itachi frowns, not bothering to hide it. "I wish I had all the answers Sasuke, but I unfortunately don't. I can tell you one thing though."

Sasuke looks up at Itachi curiously. "And what would that be?"

Itachi smirks. "It's not just him anymore. He's not alone, he has us."

"Us?" Sasuke couldn't help but snort.

Itachi's smirk only continued to stretch further. "Well of course, you didn't think I'd let you take all the credit. Besides, if it wasn't for me you'd still be scowling at a wall trying to deny your feelings."

Sasuke shakes his head, but smiles nonetheless. "Humble as always I see."

Smiling back, Itachi waves his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways you should probably get back to your blond. It looked like he needed it."

Sasukes smile drops. "Yeah, he does." The younger raven gets up and begins to leave, before he exits the office he turns around, "Thanks Itachi, for everything."

The warmth that Itachi felt from that one statement brought him back to when they were young, and he couldn't help but smile. "Anything for you little brother."

Sasuke left the office and made his way back to his room, his mind swarmed with thoughts. How was he going to break the newest development to Naruto? Should he tell him now or wait until they talk? Sasuke let out a frustrated groan as he reached his room.

Naruto was sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone when he entered, and the sight cause Sasukes breath to hitch. The raven's clothes were a tad bit snug on Naruto, but Sasuke definitely appreciated the view. Something about Naruto smelling like him, coupled with being layered in his clothes brought out a possessive side that even Sasuke didn't know he had. It made him want Naruto to only wear his clothes from now on, that or nothing at all. Knowing the thought was ridiculous he allowed himself a few extra seconds to fantasise before shaking his head.

Sasuke clears his throat in order to suppress a sexually frustrated groan. "Feeling better?"

Naruto looks up from his phone. "Yeah. Hope you don't mind, I used your deodorant."

Sasuke chuckles. "That's fine, if you can swallow my cum I think I can share my deodorant." The raven internally slaps himself. 'Way to be subtle, idiot!'

Naruto gives him the eyebrow, completely oblivious to the effects he has on Sasuke while in his clothes. "You make a valid point, hornball, but I thought I'd at least tell you. There was no way I was going without wearing any." He scrunched his nose up at the thought of going without deodorant.

Sasuke turns away and shrugs, his cheeks slightly flushed at the "hornball" comment. "I can't help it that you make it impossible to not want to jump you, And like I said, it's fine, it doesn't bother me."

The blond couldn't help but snort. "Whatever you say. Anyways, hurry up so we can get going."

Sasuke walks over to his closet, in search of what to wear. "Where are you taking me anyways?"

"You'll see. All I'll tell you is dress warmly because we'll be outside." Naruto informs him.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at him but compiles, picking out an appropriate outfit. After his shower the two eat breakfast and head out. Naruto steals Sasuke's phone to set their destination. Being in town for a couple months now, Sasuke can't say he's overly familiar with its surroundings, so he has no idea where Naruto is leading them. Shrugging it off he lets Naruto connect his phone, controlling their musical lineup. First up, Duality by Slipknot.

The ride was short, taking a whole fifteen minutes. Sasuke pulled into a parking spot in a rather empty lot. The lot was bordering on a large forest. The majority for the trees seemed to be ancient looking spruces that gave the usual barens season an appreciated greenery.

Sasuke turns the car off. "What now?"

Naruto unbuckles himself and opens the door. "Now you follow me."

Sasuke hurried to follow, seeing Naruto wasn't waiting for him. "Oi dobe! Wait up!"

Naruto turns with a smirk on his face, but waits nonetheless. Once Sasuke catches up he holds his least mangled hand out for the raven to take. Sasuke takes his boyfriend's hand without hesitation and the two walk silently through the forest, enjoying the peace in the presence of one another.

When the two get to a clearing, Sasuke's left speechless again. He didn't know there was a lake, let alone a cliff near town. The view was breathtaking.

Naruto walks over to the edge and flops down, patting the space next to him, signalling the Uchiha to sit. Sitting on the edge of a cliff brought forth a fresh batch of anxiety, but Sasuke was quick to brush it aside.

As soon as Sasuke sat down Naruto began to speak. "This is my second favourite place. It would be my favourite, but that abandoned park is closer." Naruto chuckles before continuing. "I come here when I need to be left alone, it's quiet and peaceful. Not even Shika knows about this place."

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure what to say, but knowing that he's the only one Narutos shared this spot with, made him feel privileged. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

Naruto responds with a soft smile. "I'm glad I can share this place with you. Now, ask away."

Contemplating where he wants to start, Sasuke looks out over the turbulent lake. It was a cold windy day and he was thankful for the extra layers Naruto convinced him to wear. "How about you start from the beginning. Well, you know, from when we parted."

Naruto winces as he tries to run his hands through his hair. "Well I handed in a request for a class switch, which was approved. After that I left Iruka sensei's office and all I remember is seeing Kiba, then you were there. I can't remember anything that happened between that time gap."

Sasuke looks over at Naruto, not liking the empty look in his eyes as he tries to remember. "You kind of scared me." he confessed,

The blond lowers his head in shame. "I know, I'm really sorry you had to see that. Honestly, I scared myself. I understand if you want nothing to do with me after that."

"No!" Sasuke mildly panicked. "I mean, that's not how I want you to feel. I've just never witnessed anything like that before."

"I've never done anything like that before." Naruto mumbles, his head still low. "Anyways, you saw everything that happened after you got there. When I left I came here" Naruto raises his arms to gesture around them. "When I mentally came around enough to face my shit, I went back to school where I found out I'm suspended for three weeks, then I'll find out if I'm getting expelled or not. A nobody like me against a school full of important kids apparently isn't a good look. The only things I can hope for are Kibas confession, and the fact that I've never instigated a fight before."

"Jesus Naruto. I'm sorry." Sasuke knew it would be bad, but he didn't think Naruto could be up against expulsion.

"Not your fault. Anyways after I saw you and was escorted off the school grounds I spent four hours at the PD. Obviously taking a simple statement wasn't enough for them." Naruto scoffs. "When they finally let me go I was greeted by Neji waiting for me outside."

Sasuke cut Naruto off before he could finish. "What the fuck was he doing there?!"

Naruto rolls his eyes, the irritation over the situation was reigniting inside him the more he remembered it. "He took me for food to thank me for looking out for Hinata, and to threaten me to stay away from you so I don't ruin your reputation any further. Apparently he's going to get your whole group of pretentious pricks to help get you away from me. So yeah, fun." Naruto feigns a slow chuckle.

Sasuke was so angry that he was deadly silent. He feared if he tried to speak at the moment his wrath would blow the cliff apart. How could Neji go that far even after finding out Kiba was the one behind everything? It didn't make sense, it's like pieces were missing.

Naruto sat silently alongside Sasuke, he knew how important it was to have time to internally process. The blond could practically feel the waves of rage permeating off the raven.

"Why would he say that?" Sasuke finally asks, his voice quivering darkly.

"I'm beneath you guys." Naruto answers simply with a shrug. It wasn't a secret that the elitists view him as scum.

"You're not!" Sasuke all but shouted.

Naruto turns to look at Sasuke. "To them I'll always be nothing, it's just my lot in life. It doesn't bother me, I couldn't care less what they think of me, it's you I'm worried about."

Sasuke meets Narutos gaze with a confused look. "Why would you be worried about me?"

"Because he was right. After yesterday, all it would take to cause problems for you is for news to leak that you associated with the bat shit crazy blond who brutilised his classmate. Nobody would care about the monster Kiba was because he's an Inuzuka after all. His family has money and influence I could never hold a light to." Naruto lets out a heavy sigh and visibly deflates.

"Naruto, I—Fuck." Sasuke groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What? You know it's true." Naruto asks, his voice empty.

"No! It's just I needed to talk to you about, well, sort of that." Sasuke looks over and sees he has Narutos full attention. "Itachi spent all night having images taken down of yesterday's fight. Today he's trying to do damage control."

"By damage control, do you mean keeping your name from the press because of me?" Naruto asks, guilt evident in his voice.

Sasuke frowns. "You're included in that dobe. Itachi wants to look out for you too."

Furrowing his brows, Naruto couldn't understand why Itachi would look out for him. "Why would he do that?"

'"Because he cares about you. I swear he'd initiate you into the family tomorrow if he could." Sasuke chuckles fondly, the thought of his brother caring about his boyfriend warmed his heart.

"I...I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that." Naruto blushes. Being cared for wasn't something he was used to, he didn't know if he would ever get used to it either.

"You don't have to say anything." The raven smirks, he rather likes the colour on his dobes face.

This conversation was making Naruto increasingly more uncomfortable. In an attempt to sway the conversation away from the topic at hand, Naruto blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I wish I could build a house here."

"That's random." Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. He knew full well what Naruto was doing, but he was getting answers so he wasn't going to point it out.

Naruto shrugs his shoulders, trying to play it off like it's nothing. "I just wish I could be somewhere this peaceful all the time. I feel like my soul needs the peace it would bring." he chuckles nervously.

The comment reminded Sasuke of his next line of questioning. "Naruto, where'd those injuries come from? Those aren't from Kiba, there's no way."

"I'd rather not say." Naruto whispers just loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

"Naruto." Sasuke warns, he needed answers, how was he supposed to let this go?

"I'm fine Sasuke, can't we leave it at that?" Naruto asks, clearly exasperated.

Sasuke skewers his face. "No Naruto, we can't."

Naruto glares at Sasuke, but his heart wasn't really behind it. "All you need to know is the person who did this to me didn't get away unscathed. That's all you're getting."

Sasuke sighs. "Why is everything like pulling teeth with you?" All he wants is to help his dobe, but he always makes it so difficult.

Naruto shrugs unapologetically. "You've done more to break down my walls than anybody else. You should take that as a victory and move on."

The response irks Sasuke. "Why don't you trust me?"

Having shared more with Sasuke than anyone, his jab hurts Naruto. "Sasuke, I trust you more than anybody else!"

Sighing again, Sasuke leaned over, resting his forehead in his palm. "Look, I'm sorry. I trust you too. It's just, you're hurt and I can't do anything about it! I just want to make you feel at ease for once, but you won't let me. You won't even give me the opportunity."

Naruto stare dumbfounded at his idiotic boyfriend. "Is that what you think? That you've done nothing to help me?"

Sasuke lifts his head and slowly nods. "Well, yeah."

As painful as it is, Naruto reaches over and gently squeezes Sasuke's hand. "Sasuke you idiot. You've done more for me than I can ever repay. You've shown me compassion, you've always been there for me, you've let me cry on your shoulder. Even yesterday when I pissed you off, you still let me show up and sleep over with no questions asked. You're always going above and beyond for me, I'll never be able to pay that back."

With a soft smile, Sasuke bumps shoulders with Naruto. "Who's the idiot now? Those are things I will always do for you Naruto, I never expect anything back in return for them. I don't know if you've noticed, but I kind of care about you a lot."

Naruto can't help but find himself smiling back. "You're something else teme. Tell you what, if you drop the injury question, I'll give you a one time only, ask whatever else you want to know. What do you say?"

Sasuke scrunched his face, he needed to think if this was acceptable enough for now." Hn. alright."

This both relieved and made Naruto nervous. The blond was a man of his word, and if somehow the Uchihas question was worse than the injury question, he'd have to answer it regardless of how much he didn't want to.

Sasuke was going to use this opportunity to his utmost advantage, so he had to seriously consider what he wanted to ask. It wasn't everyday his dobe was almost an open book. Weighing all his options, he finally had a question in mind, it was perfect. "Alright I have my question."

Naruto takes a deep breath. "Alright, shoot."

"Alright, well you've met mine, why can't I meet your family?" Sasuke was anxious for the answer, he knew that the blonds parents were strict, but his mom was a kindergarten teacher apparently, so obviously she couldn't be that bad.

Naruto paled, this definitely wasn't what he wanted to answer. He should have known the nosey raven would pick a question equally as intrusive. It took everything for Naruto to will his pending panic attack away. Naruto shuts his eyes, willing the world away, then speaks. "My dad's an asshole, he makes your dad look like a pussy cat."

Sasuke gapes in disbelief. "That can be possible." it was hard to picture being any tougher than his father, maybe that's why Naruto was able to deal with his, nerves and all?

Naruto opens his eyes and side eyes the raven, contemplating if what he was about to ask was a good idea or not. Making his choice he takes a deep breath, "Believe me, it's possible. My father aside, would you like to come with me to meet my mom?"

"Now?" Sasuke can't hide the shock in his voice. Was it really that simple to be introduced to someone in the blonds family finally?

Naruto nods, "Now."

Naruto gets up and offers his hand to help Sasuke up off the sketchy cliff side. The two walk back through the forest, Sasuke was glad Naruto knew where he was going, because he had no clue how to get back to his car.

They kept walking, and Sasuke was sure that they were taking longer then it took to get to the cliff. He was beginning to think Naruto didn't know where he was going. Eventually the duo made it out of the forest and into an area Sasuke vaguely remembered, but it was in no way the parking lot they parked in. "Uh dobe, I don't mean to sound rude, but this isn't where my car is."

Naruto rolls his eyes. "No shit sherlock. Come on, we're almost there."

Sasuke gives Naruto a curious look. "Naruto, why are we walking through the cemetery?"

Narutos face remained impassive. "Just keep up." That earned him a grunt from the raven.

Naruto began to slow down and Sasuke was about to ask what he was doing, but that's when Naruto sat down on his knees and began to speak. "Hey mom, I'm sorry I didn't bring you any flowers, but I brought you something else instead. Mom this is my boyfriend Sasuke Uchiha, Sasuke this is My mom Kushina Uzumaki."

Sasuke thought he knew how to handle many situations, but this shook his entire being. "Na-naruto, I-I'm"

Naruto stops him, a sad smile pulling at his lips. "It's okay Sasuke, I kept this to myself because I didn't want any pity. And before you say anything I know now that you won't pity me. It's just easier to pretend than to acknowledge it sometimes I guess."

Sasukes face softens before mimicking Narutos pose. "Hello Mrs. Uzumaki, It's an honour to meet you. I promise to look after your son for you. He's quite amazing. You would be very proud of him."

Naruto looks at his boyfriend in amazement. "Sasuke."

Sasuke grabs the blond's hand, bringing it up to his lips, sweetly kissing his palm. "I'm only telling her the truth, Naruto."

The two sat there for a while, only getting up to leave once the chill became too much for them. When they finally made their way back to Sasuke car he began to nervously ask, "how did she—I mean, um, when did she—uh-"

Naruto knew what he was trying to ask. With him knowing about his mom he felt no need to hide how she died. "Sasuke, it's okay. I actually never got to know her, she died during my birth."

They both get into the car, buckling up, Sasuke had a small frown on his face. "Still, I'm sorry you never got to meet her."

Naruto sighs. "Yeah, me too."

The drive back to Sasukes was quiet, not even music was playing, just the soft sounds of tires on pavement disturbed the quiet. Once through the gate and parked Sasuke realised he never asked Naruto if he wanted to come back or not. "Shit, was I supposed to take you home?"

Naruto chuckled, somehow feeling lighter even after the weight of today's discussions. "Nah, it's alright. I can leave for work from here."

This pleased Sasuke, he wasn't really ready to let Naruto leave yet. "Hn. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Itachi wants me to stay home from school until the whole reporter thing dies down. Since you're suspended, and we have all the same classes, I was wondering if you'd want to do the work with me? That way you wouldn't fall behind either."

Naruto smiles at him. "I'd like that."

"Wow, you really are a pervert." Neji grunts, looking through a drive filled with images.

Sai shrugs his shoulders. "If it weren't for my hobby, you wouldn't have images of blondie."

Neji raises an eyebrow at the pale teen. "Still, how did you even get all of these? I swear you have incriminating photos of just about everybody in our grade and then some."

"Like I said, it's my hobby." Sai shrugs again. The teen knew his voyeuristic tendency's weren't taken kindly, but it didn't make it any less fulfilling to him.

A thought pops into Neji's mind. "Come to think of it, you don't have any of Lee. Is this why you're always tricking him?"

Sai gives his signature creepy smile. "I'll get it one of these days."

"Please stop, I still have nightmares of his Cats solo." Neji shutters.

The pale teen drops his poorly executed smile. "Sorry, no can do. You have your hobbies, I have mine."

"But mine aren't against the law." Neji mutters.

Sai shakes his head in amusement. He may have the emotional capacity of a grain of rice, but at least he could take things for what they were. He was a pervert, and Neji was a petty blackmailing asshole. "Sure, keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever, just be ready when I tell you and your perverted habits are safe with me." Neji scoffs, then storms away.

Once the brunette is out of sight Sai smirks to himself. "Must be because of his tiny dick"