Silence surrounded both boys. Neither spoke after the command left Sasuke's mouth, however Naruto's eyes glittered with emotion at the concern he detected within the ravens words. It was almost impossible for him to believe that his perfect, dark haired friend, who rarely ever displayed such prominent emotions, was worried for his well-being. Black and blue orbs remained locked together; one waiting patiently for the blonde to speak and the other lost within his own thoughts.

He could not even begin to explain how badly he wanted to tell Sasuke everything. He could not even begin express how much he wanted to cling to Sasuke's form, and weep like the small child he knew was buried inside of him. Naruto craved the comfort. He craved the love and support and reassurance that only Sasuke could give him; craved the release that telling someone of the hell he was forced to suffer, would bring him.

However, Naruto had never been presented with this situation before, he did not know how to accept the fact that another human being wanted to protect him, listen to him…save him. Ever since his parents died he had become consumed with the words that others threw at him. He deserved pain. He deserved abandonment; the blonde truly believed in his heart that he was not worthy of the attention that Sasuke granted him, nor would he ever be.

And so, as a response to the self-hatred swelling within him and a reaction to the confusing situation he was currently in, his defences shot up. Eyes hardening into a glare and his jaw clenching in defiance, Naruto replied to the demand the only way he knew how.

"Why the hell do you want to know, Bastard!? It's none of your business anyway!" Naruto shouted before pushing Sasuke's hand from underneath his chin and glancing down at his bed sheets once more; his blonde hair shielding his eyes from view. He felt ashamed, knowing that his best friend and the person he held feelings for had seen him in this state; it was almost too much for Naruto's pride to bear. He could not even make eye-contact with Sasuke as he felt his face flame in embarrassment and shame.

Dark brows furrowed at the, almost violent outburst and Sasuke gritted his teeth together in frustration; he had to get through to the blonde at all costs, whoever had done this to Naruto was still out there, could still harm him and Sasuke could not allow that to continue. He knew that once he gave Itachi a name, it was only a matter of hours before his brother would have them arrested and taken into custody; only then would Sasuke begin to relax and focus all his attention on helping Naruto heal. But first he had to be certain Naruto was safe.

Letting out a small sigh from his parted lips, Sasuke brought a hand up and ran it through is short, black hair. Regarding Naruto with dark, sympathetic eyes, he attempted to once again reach out to the blonde. "I want to help you, idiot." Sasuke said, surprisingly softly, realising that how the blonde reacted was very much a similar defence mechanism to his own. Whenever his father had insulted or scolded him in his younger years, the raven had always lashed out, mainly at Itachi, before curling into a ball within himself. From experience, he knew the only way to coax Naruto into confiding in him and trusting him once again was to treat him like a cornered animal; carefully and gently.

Blue, tear filled orbs quickly met black ones as Sasuke's words reached Naruto's ears. As his head jerked up, the tears fell; the blonde's hands were balled into fists as liquid streamed down his scarred cheeks. He could not hold it in anymore. Sasuke's gentle words had broken him.

"Why? W-Why would you want to help me?" Naruto croaked, his words fragmenting slightly, as he tried his hardest to halt the sobs that threatened to escape his throat and maintain the aggression that had once lined his words.

"I'm your friend. Isn't that what friends are supposed to do?" The raven said bluntly, his lips pulled down in a slight frown before his dark orbs glanced to the side. "I care Naruto." He murmured, quietly.

The raven was somewhat uncomfortable with Naruto's sobs and his own blatant display of affection; it was not something he was accustomed to. However, seeing the blonde with tears streaming down his tanned face pulled at Sasuke's heart strings quite violently, and he raised his eyes in slight determination before bringing his hand to Naruto's cheeks and softly wiping away the liquid that showcased the blonde's agony.

Naruto froze at Sasuke's actions and he glanced at the raven in surprise; giving a small sniffle and forcing the remaining tears from his eyes, Naruto leaned into the comforting touch, closing his crystal orbs briefly.

For a long drawn out moment there was silence and both boys remained in their positions until Naruto let out a shaky breath and came to an unwavering decision. He raised his eyes and locked them with Sasuke's own.

"My parents died in a house fire when I was 6, I still remember it so clearly and most nights have nightmares about what happened. I suppose no child forgets when something like that happens to them…" Naruto paused and took a breath, trying to reign in his emotions and stop the shaky tone his voice had taken on. Sasuke removed his hand and gracefully sat on the edge of the hospital bed, his face stoic, yet his gaze intense; letting the blonde know that he had his complete and undivided attention.

"I had no other living family and since no one else wanted me, I was taken to an orphanage, just outside of a small town called Suna. It was…I mean, I can't really describe in words how awful it was; I was the outcast. Most of the kids picked on me for either my looks or the way I acted or what type of clothes I had on that day. I remember this one guy, Orochimaru, he was a social worker there." A dark chuckle escaped Naruto's lips, yet his eyes looked completely dead as he told Sasuke of this particular memory.

"The bastard raped me whenever he thought he could get away with it…he fucking…" another shaky breath, more tears prickled at crystalline eyes. "…he never got caught and I never told anyone, at the time I wasn't even sure what was happening, so how could I explain to someone what was going on when I wasn't even aware?"

"After I was taken away from that place, a man called Mizuki fostered me…" Naruto brought his sleeves up and furiously wiped at his eyes, trying to dispel the tears falling down his cheeks. He gritted his teeth in frustration when they kept falling, and returned his gaze to Sasuke; who's eyes had widening slightly as the blonde confessed everything, that he had bottled up for many years, to the raven.

"It was hell, Sasuke. I went to live with him just over two years ago and he's beaten me every day since. Some days I can barely breathe without my body hurting and I don't know what to do…and I'm…it's so fucking…I just…" Heaving a deep breath as his words and thoughts became jumbled the blonde sniffled lightly; his eyes glancing to the side, breaking eye contact with the raven. And yet, Sasuke could clearly see the fiery determination that had begun to burn behind their cool blue depths.

"I can't go back to the orphanage, I refuse to go back to that fucking place and I'm not old enough yet to get my own apartment, I have nowhere else to go, I have to stay with him." Naruto said, his voice growing softer as he finished and a hopeless expression began to form on his features. He really was pathetic. He'd just lumbered Sasuke with his problems without so much as a thought about what the raven would think or feel about them.

His eyes had dried up and no more tears formed within them; he felt so weak, so damn ashamed and as his teeth gnawed on his bottom lip in vexation and anger at his own pitiful self, he could not bring himself to raise his eyes and look at Sasuke for fear of what he might find.

Sasuke had not reacted throughout Naruto's confession, only listened intently to what the blonde had to say and widening his eyes in shock at some of the words and memories that escaped Naruto's lips. Brooding silently over everything the blonde had just told him, Sasuke could not help the anger and pure hatred that flared inside of his core toward everyone who had dared hurt Naruto, and his features took on a deadly appearance when he thought about what he wanted to happen to every single one of them.

Realizing that he was glaring and Naruto still had not looked up or spoken, he breathed out slightly and regained his stoic expression, softening it somewhat when he came to a decision about what to do next. Hesitantly raising his arms, he slowly embraced the blonde and pulled him into a small hug. Both Naruto and Sasuke's posture was tense; Sasuke as he was not used to showing affection with anyone other than Itachi, and Naruto, as he was not expecting a hug, of all things, from the raven. However, slowly both boys relaxed into the warm embrace and Sasuke brought his lips to the blonde's ear.

"It's going to be okay, Naruto." He whispered, before his voice took on a rather deathly tone that made the blonde almost shiver in pleasure. "I swear, no one will ever harm you again."

Authors Note:

I hope it wasn't an anti-climax, with the cliff-hanger I left you guys with last chapter! I'm so sorry if Naruto and Sasuke are OOC, let me know if they, I find it quite difficult to tell sometimes.

I'll probably do a couple more chapters and then a prologue as I don't want to it be too long and then you guys get bored!

Reviews are always welcome ^^