Saving You

Ch. 9: Whispers of Truths

The chiming of an alarm filled the room, quickly to be followed by a groan and the sound of something breaking. Sheets ruffled as a body turned over in the huge bed that was centered in the middle of the room. Creaking filled the room as the weight on the bed shifted slightly, before a loud bang filled the room.

"Naruto. Get up. School."

A tuft of blonde hair poked out from underneath the huge pile of blankets as foggy blue eyes peered at the body standing in his doorway.

"…No." croaked a sleepy voice, before the eyes disappeared back beneath the mound.

Sasuke stared at the bed for a minute, running his toothbrush along his teeth, munching on the bristles as he paused.

"Now. You have seven minutes before I leave and you get to walk to school. …and if you don't show up today expect a beating from me when I get home." That said he turned on his heel and left, no doubt going to get ready for school.

As the door clicked shut behind him, blue eyes peeped out from underneath the blankets again. As much as he hated getting up early for something as stupid as school, he knew that Sasuke was being entirely serious about kicking his ass. Neither of them had been to school for nearly a week, and while it wasn't that big of an issue for Sasuke, he was a different matter entirely. Missing even ten minutes of class often had poor consequences for his grades.

Grunting in the back of his throat, he struggled his way out of the blankets. He rolled off the edge of the bed, thinking that he would land on his feet, but failed to realize the blankets were wrapped around his ankles and waist. Face planting on the floor was always his favorite way to wake up in the morning.

Wincing, he stood and while rubbing his now bruised nose walked over to the closet and pulled out an outfit. Aimlessly pulling it on, he worried over his lip, biting it as his mind began to trace through the fears that had been his reason for avoiding school for so long. He was worried about how people would react when he finally showed up. Though the only people that should know about his condition were Sasuke and the doctor, he had a feeling that it would be known by all. The one thing he absolutely didn't want was people pitying him or abandoning him like had happened so many times before.

Staring down at his feet, he made his way out of the room, down the stairs and out into the garage where Sasuke sat waiting for him in the car. Numbly climbing into the car he ignored the curious look sent his way; he swallowed hard as the engine roared to life. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this. He COULDN'T do this!

As he began to panic he turned to Sasuke to tell him to let him out, but froze when he saw the daunting peaks of their school. Continuing to chew on his lip, he bit down harder as his agitation grew, biting through it in one clean shot. Flinching in shock, he let out a groan as the pain finally broke through his panicking mind. His tongue flicked out to swipe at the blood that was spilling over his lip and down his chin when a warm touch had him jumping in fright and his gaze only then moving from the building that was the bane of his existence at that moment.

Looking over, he saw Sasuke frowning in concentration as he wiped away the blood that was oozing from his busted lip. "What the hell did you do that for dobe?"

Suddenly his mouth was impossibly dry and he swallowed hard as he stared into those obnoxiously deep onyx eyes. His breath stuttered out softly, and he was suddenly aware of the distance that separated them; which was none at the moment. He literally could lean forward and touch those plush lips in front of him with his own. But he wouldn't because…because…why wouldn't he?

All of a sudden he realized what he was thinking and jerked back away from the soft fingers that were examining his wound. Licking his lips nervously, he hissed as he hit the hole in his lip. The man in front of him captured his attention once again when he began to speak.

"Way to go dobe. Now we have to go to the nurse so we can get that stitched up." Shaking his head, Sasuke grabbed his bag and climbed out of the car, shutting the door in his wake.

Naruto stared after him, mouth hanging open slightly while blood trickled down his chin, splattering on his hands where they lay in his lap. The whoosh of a door opening jolted him out of stupor and he looked over to see that Sasuke had opened the door for him and was standing there looking at him, a hand held out for him. Looking around he saw that despite the fact that they had arrived nearly an hour early, there were still people there. And they were watching them curiously.

Fearing the reactions that might ensue if he grabbed Sasuke hand, he hesitated before looking up at Sasuke's face. Watching the expressions that ran through Sasuke's eyes before they went cold and his hand started to drop, Naruto realized he didn't want to disappoint Sasuke. So before the hand fell too far, he reached up and grabbed it, allowing the other to hoist him out of the car after a moments' pause.

Staring up into the other's face he pushed down his rising fear of reprisal from the other students and smiled brightly. "Thank you Jeeves."

For all his humor he simply got an eye roll and scoff at the action as blood rolled down his chin as a result. "Come on. We've got thirty minutes until school starts and thanks to you attacking yourself we've got a stop to make."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the raven before walking around him, starting on the well-known path to the nurse's office. "Alright Mr. Moody. Let's go then."

They managed to make their way to the nurse's office with little confrontation; the only fighting was friendly banter back and forth between the two, usually kept up by the boisterous blonde. The nurse had frowned when he arrived at his office only to find them waiting but since it was a sight he so often saw there was no questioning. With quick precision and little pain, he stitched Naruto's lip while scolding him lightly at the same time. However his words were left to deaf ears. The entire time the two boys made faces at one another, silently continuing their banter. After the stitching was done the nurse contemplated scolding the boy once more but deemed it a lost cause as his attention was elsewhere. Shoving them out of his office, he sighed while shaking his head as he watched Sasuke pull Naruto into a headlock that was allowed with minor complaints. Those two were so lost as to what they were feeling for each other it was hilarious.

Rounding a corner, Naruto laughed as he shrugged Sasuke off him before stopping in his tracks when he saw that hallway was packed with students. Within seconds he became introverted, falling in on himself as he shied away from meeting anyone's gaze. It was nearly impossible to see the happy, bubbly boy that had been there mere moments before. The change was so obvious that Sasuke stared over at him in puzzlement.

Scanning the faces around them, he couldn't find anyone that was giving the blonde the stink eye or who seemed particularly threatening that would be able to scare him into such submission. Looking back at the other, Sasuke opened his mouth to question the sudden oddity in his behavior when a whispered conversation reached his ears.

"Look at em…"

"It's just weird."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Sasuke deserves better than that whore."

"Did you hear about him? I heard that he's got some sort of disease…"

A scowl crept across his face, leaving anyone who looked his way to turn away in fear. Glaring at everyone near them, he looked over at Naruto and saw a deep flush had crept up his neck and that his eyes were shiny with tears. Fury made his lips thin out to a barely recognizable shape, and his nostrils flared as a wave of unexplainable protectiveness crashed over him. Biting the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood, he followed closely behind the blonde as he made his way to their first class. Silence seemed to creep alongside them as they moved, people ceasing their conversations as they passed only to pick up again moments later with momentum.

Stepping into the classroom had never been such a relief for Naruto. He had expected people to know about his illness but to actually have his suspicions confirmed was another thing entirely. He hadn't expected it to hurt so much. What he hadn't expected was to hear people calling him a whore for being friends with Sasuke. For some reason, that was the comment that had hurt him the most.

Slowly making his way to his customary seat, he kept his head down, avoiding the gazes of those who were already in the room. Sinking into the seat, he stared at the wood in which he had craved many things during his boredom here. A light touch to his shoulder had him jumping as if someone had stuck his finger in a light socket. Turning around with wide eyes, he came face to face with Sasuke.

Looking into those unblinking dark eyes, he bit his lip nervously. He was so captivated by those eyes he almost missed what Sasuke was saying to him.

"-don't let it bug you okay? None of them know shit."

Nodding, he forced a small smile, thankful for the pale boy's pathetic attempt at consoling him. However, despite that fact that they were mundane words repeated by everyone, he felt special that Sasuke actually cared enough to make an attempt to relieve his anxiety. Turning back to face the front, he settled in to his seat, acknowledging that there were more eyes staring at him, them, but discounting it. They were of no importance. As long as he knew there was at least one person who wouldn't judge him or treat him differently because of his sickness, he would be alright. He nodded to himself as he began to trace a new doodle on his desk top, falling back in to the same routine that he had followed every day. The only difference being the new person in his life.

XxXxXxXxX

The behavior continued throughout the day, making Naruto wince every time he heard the nasty comments people were making about him. Despite the fact that the nasty behaviour followed him everywhere he went, he managed to at least pretend it didn't bother him. This was only because he stuck to Sasuke like gum on a thirteen year old girl's braces. Hiding behind the shadow that the raven cast, Naruto managed to show up to school for the entire week, though he was very unhappy to do so.

Each day the rumors would increase and thus the time he spent with Sasuke would increase as well. It did nothing about the rumors that were circulating about the relationship between the two however. That was the one thing that was constantly grating on Naruto's nerves. There were ridiculous ideas about the two of them being passed throughout the school. They ranged from ideas that he was blackmailing Sasuke into being his bodyguard to ones where he was Sasuke's slave because he'd broken something and couldn't pay for it, and freakily enough ones that suggested Sasuke had somehow gotten him pregnant. Among these rumors were also minor truths, such as his illness and his staying with Sasuke, but oddly enough there wasn't the one truth that he may have actually wanted them to say. That he and Sasuke, despite all odds, had actually become friends, and that occasionally it seemed, something more.

Flopping down onto the wooden bench, he let his head fall into his hands. All these thoughts were rolling around in his mind throughout the week and just weren't letting up. He hated that he didn't know what was going on between Sasuke and himself. The more he thought about it the more confusing it became. Groaning in frustration he made a mental decision. Fuck what people thought. He and Sasuke were just friends. He would take the new step in their relationship without questioning because, right now, he could use any less confusion he could get.

The new trimester of school had started on Wednesday and with it, tryouts for the winter sports. Normally, he wouldn't have worried about it but what with the rumors spreading and everything, his concentration was seriously lacking. He wasn't sure how his new reputation was going to affect how the tryouts for the downhill ski team. It was such an expensive sport there was no way for him to pay for it so he had to place on the Varsity squad just to be able to qualify for the reduced fee. The entire week so far had been tryouts for him and right now, he was just exhausted. It was Friday so he had done all he could and now just had to hope.

Nibbling gently on his recently split lip as he thought; he looked up as soon as he heard a metallic chink in front of him. Sitting down across from him was Kiba. He stared in shock. He hadn't seen the dude since the whole beat down in the cafeteria a few weeks ago except for when they had tryouts for skiing. But even then, he hadn't come close enough to talk to or even do anything to show he wanted to interact with the blonde. So Naruto had kept his distance.

Eyes shifting side to side nervously, Kiba finally spoke to the kid who he claimed was his best friend. "Hey."

Naruto blinked before all the rage and frustration inside of him imploded. "HEY? THAT'S ALL YOU CAN FUCKING SAY TO ME YOU DUCHE BAG? I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN 5 WEEKS. 5! DO YOU KNOW THE SHIT I'VE GONE THROUGH?" he pushed forward, talking over the other when he opened his mouth to defend himself. "No you don't! I needed my friend! I needed my best friend to sit there and defend me and listen to the shit! But you weren't there! Do you know what I thought when I came to school and heard people talking about my illnesses? I thought you'd fucking ratted me out. Do you know how much that hurt? I trusted you with something that no one else knows and I heard about it being blabbed all over the school! MY PERSONAL LIFE! What? Wasn't it fun enough for you to see me hurting? Why didn't you tell them about the abuse too? Huh? I trusted you…" he ended with a whimper, sliding back down into his seat from where he had burst up onto his feet to scream at the other, covering his face with his hands as tears finally broke past the dams he had erected.

Kiba stared at his best friend who sat across from him sobbing so hard his shoulders shook. It was hard to see his friend hurting and to be unable to do anything about it. Clenching his fists, he vaulted the table and straddled the seat next to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto…it wasn't even like that. I swore to you that I would keep your secret when you told me. Nothing has changed. I promise. Naruto…" he shook the shoulder underneath his palm slightly, bringing the watery blue gaze up to his. "I swear on Akamaru's life that I will never tell anyone your secret, no matter what. I haven't been here for you but…I didn't know what to do. You didn't tell me anything about what was going down and all of a sudden you start hanging out with that stuck up bastard you've always claimed to hate. You just stopped talking to me. It was a hit in the gut to me. But-" he went on as Naruto opened his mouth to deny it. "It was still both our faults. I should've been there for you, and you, you dumb idiot, should have known that you can trust me with anything. So, from now on, we'll tell each other whatever is going on and trust. It's what best friends are for, yeah?"

Naruto smiled at his best friend through bleary eyes, sniffling before pounding the fist proffered to him. "Yeah."

They looked at each other and started laughing, softly at first, hesitant, testing, then louder and boisterous, happy there was someone who understood. Jostling each other playfully, neither heard the sound of someone coming up upon the scene. The sudden clearing of a throat drew them out of their happy moment, both looking over at the source of the sound. Naruto blanched while Kiba turned an awkward shade of red and blue. Standing in front of them was Sasuke; looking fairly cross about something.

"Sas-Sasuke."

"Uchiha…"

Sasuke's gaze narrowed as he took in the new addition to the blonde's side, a person he vaguely remembered as someone Naruto used to hang out with, and the redness that rimmed his eyes. "What the hell happened?" he asked in a low voice, a thread of malice creeping into it.

"Nothing teme. Just forget it. We worked it out." Naruto responded quickly, before the raven could do anything drastic. He stood up and took the few steps to the raven's side, grabbing his bag in the process. Walking past the raven, he paused, "Let's go teme. Places to be."

When the other turned and brushed past him, Naruto looked back at Kiba, who still sat frozen and mimed texting on a phone. The brunette nodded stiffly, still shocked at the protectiveness that had exuded from Sasuke when he saw that Naruto had been crying.

Blinking slowly, Kiba watched as his friend hurried to catch up to the stoic raven, nudging his shoulder when he finally caught up to him. Surprise covered his features when Sasuke just reached over and flicked the blonde's cheek, smirking. Well, that was interesting.

XxXxXxXxX

Tilting his head up towards the sun shining down on him through the window, Naruto smiled. This was the best he had felt in a long time. Venting everything to Kiba and realizing that he still had at least one friend, made all his troubles seem a little less prevalent. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed happily as it massaged his scalp, something he always enjoyed.

"So you going to tell me what the old lady wanted?" he asked as he rolled his head over to look at the moody bastard who was driving.

A silent glare was his response as they whipped around the corner, the tires squealing as they tried to find traction on the icy surface. Naruto yelped as he slid into the door, hard, before righting himself and staring at Sasuke.

"What in hell's bathroom crawled up your leg and bit you in the ass?" he questioned exasperatedly, bracing himself against the door as they whipped around another corner, entering Sasuke's neighborhood.

His question was ignored yet again as they slid to a stop in the driveway, Sasuke slamming the car into park, and turning to exit with a speed previously unknown to man. Naruto lunged forward, his hand closing around Sasuke's wrist.

"Stop. Listen to me, damn it. What happened? Why are you acting like this right now?"

The pale man tugged on his arm, attempting to pull it out of the tan hand that captured him but to no avail. Naruto stared at the thin frame, noticing that Sasuke seemed much more vulnerable at that moment. His head was bowed, his shoulders hunched over and the domineering aura that had always surrounded the obnoxious man was…gone. And without it, Sasuke seemed so fragile and breakable. Feeling a heaviness in his chest at the thought he clambered across the middle console of the car, pulling Sasuke back into the car by the hand on his wrist.

"Sasuke. Stop." He leaned his head against the headrest as he stared at the smaller man's back. He could feel the heat emanating off the man's form, his body soaking it up with relish. How someone so tiny could be such a furnace was a mystery to him. Granted, in the month he had been staying at Sasuke's place the guy had been filling out a little bit. No longer were you able to see the ligaments holding his arm and wrist together. He was still a little too thin for Naruto's comfort but since he had no investment in the boy himself it was pointless. Yeah, because Naruto didn't care what happened to the teme at all.

"What do you want dobe? I'd like to get in my house before tomorrow comes."

Naruto jumped slightly, so lost in his thoughts about the other's health that he hadn't realized how long he sat there staring. Clearing his throat he let go of the other's arm, "Um…just, what the hell happened? Why are you acting like the frigid bastard I met in the beginning of the school year again? What just happened? Was it something Tsunade told you?"

He watched as Sasuke's shoulders tensed up. "Why do you care?"

"It's just…after I talked to Kiba you seemed…" he trailed off, the cogs and mechanics in his head finally kicking into gear for the first time all day. "Wait…is that it? Kiba? Did you not want me talking to him? What the hell bastard! You can't dictate who I talk to or hang out with! So get that idea out of you're head before I knock it out for you! You know what? Fuck You teme! Take that stick that's shoved up your ass-"

"It made me mad to see you crying and it was his fault." The quiet mumble broke through Naruto's tirade, though the dobe almost missed it with how loud he had been yelling.

Naruto froze, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Sasuke was being a bastard…for…him? "So…you were…being a douche…because Kiba made me cry…and that upset you? You-"

He cut himself off, watching as Sasuke's back tightened up perceptively. It seemed the raven was worried about how he would respond, but honestly…he wasn't quite sure how to act after that little confession. He knew that the whole point of them staying together was for them to get along, but this was a little too much for him. With the way things were going between them lately, it almost seemed like, to him, they were…flirting. Which he would NEVER do with a teme like Sasuke. He liked girls. Girls…with their hourglass figures and their sweet smelling hair and tan lines…

Swallowing hard, he pushed any thoughts about their relationship, whatever it was, to the back of his mind and forced himself to focus on the situation. "Heh," he laughed softly, reaching up to push Sasuke slightly. "I never knew you cared so much teme. I can take care of myself though. You're being so sentimental, it's like you're a girl." He joked, sliding out of the car as Sasuke stepped away.

The raven turned around and scowled at him, obviously not pleased with the blonde's humorous remark. "Shut up dobe. It doesn't mean anything. Forget it."

Naruto laughed, running up alongside Sasuke, nudging his arm as he continued to rib the other boy as they walked into the house. "I'm never going to forget it. Sasuke cares about me!" He giggled, covering the way his heart stuttered a little bit at the thought of someone actually caring about what happened to him.

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto frowned in confusion down at the pass in his hand as he strolled through the halls. He didn't know why he had been sent a pass to see the school's therapist. Last he knew he wasn't crazy. At least, he hoped he wasn't! Oh my god! What if he was? Why hadn't anyone told him? Naruto started fretting, nearly giving himself a panic attack before he realized that he was standing in front of the door to the therapists' office.

Swallowing hard, he knocked ever-so-gently on the door, hoping that the therapist wouldn't hear it and he could run away before something ultimately traumatizing happened to him. Funnily enough, luck was not on his side. The door swung open several seconds later, smoke tumbling out to cover his feet in a sea of ominous gray…or so he imagined. As he stood there, too scared to move, a hand emerged from the wall of smoke and wrapped around his wrist, tugging him into the enclosing cloud. Naruto let out a shout of alarm that was muffled by the door swinging shut behind him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke grunted as a heavy weight flopped down on the couch beside him, sending the papers that he had laid out into disarray. Glaring over in the direction of the one who disrupted the work he was focused on he saw an unusual sight. Instead of a bobbing, bright blonde that was ridiculously buoyant, there was a somber, frowning faced man pouting next to him. His eyes narrowed at the sight, pushing away his irritation at the interruption due to how upset his friend was.

"What Naruto?"

The blonde looked up in confusion, his blue eyes glazed over in thought. "Hmm?"

The raven grunted in annoyance before repeating himself. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it!" The blonde flashed a quick smile, closing his eyes against the intent stare given his way. Keeping up his grin he reached out and grabbed a handful of papers from in front of the other, anything to keep him from questioning further. Just as he had hoped it distracted Sasuke, who reached for the papers with an exasperated sigh.

"Give em back dobe. I'm trying to study for the test, just like you should be doing. I've seen your biology grade. You definitely need it."

Naruto gave an indignant scoff. "I'll have you know bastard that I've worked hard to keep my grade at exactly seventy-three percent. Do you know how difficult that it to do?"

"No. I prefer to keep my grades at the top of the class so I'll actually be able to do something with my life besides sitting behind a stove at the ramen hut."

Naruto scrunched his nose at the insult, before throwing the papers in the raven's face and shoving his shoulder, sending him toppling ass over tea kettle to the floor. The look at surprise and offense on his face sent the blonde into a fit of laughter so strong it literally took him minutes to recover from it. By that point Sasuke had gather his dignity and his papers, stalking from the room with a glare over his shoulder at the other, which just sent Naruto into another round of laughter.

Naruto wiped tears from his eyes as he finished out his giggles, loving the fact that he got to see the stoic raven in such a vulnerable state. As the last bout of laughter ran out of his system his smile fell from his lips, the humor he found in the situation gone and the serious air he had before returning once again. He stared at the doorway that the pale teen had disappeared through. Without any prompting the problems that had been plaguing him for the day returned to the forefront of his mind.

He didn't understand what was happening between himself and Sasuke. It had been relatively easy between them with only the occasional argument popping up and throwing tension into the mix, but he couldn't really imagine their relationship without them fighting at least some of the time. Their relationship…that was the pestering thought that wouldn't leave him alone and it was all thanks to the damn therapist. Not only had the dude been weird looking to begin with but he also had some weird ideas about him and Sasuke. As if there would ever be a intimate relationship between them. They couldn't go two hours without punching, kicking or shoving one another. When he pointed this out the therapist he had just laughed and shoved him out the door, saying he would understand what that meant in time. He didn't need to think about what it meant. Obviously the two of them fought because they hated each other…right?

The blonde stared at the carpet underneath his feet, his brow furrowing deeply as he contemplated. It was so frustrating! The more he thought about their interactions together and how he felt about Sasuke now compared to how they had been a couple months ago, the more he began to notice the differences. He couldn't honestly say that he hated Sasuke anymore because…well, he didn't. The nasty, bad tempered raven had become one of his closest friends. The other man was really important to him. He just didn't understand how it had happened.

There wasn't anything that the other did that made him so drastically different from how Naruto had perceived him to be three months prior. He just noticed when Naruto was feeling upset, made sure he had all his meds, made him go to school everyday, helped him through his first day back after his recent trip to the hospital, gave him a place to stay…put his hand on his back to steady him when he was nervous, carried him up the stairs when he fell asleep on the couch, held out a hand when he was scared and wanted to run away, stood by him no matter what other people said, and pulling back and smiling so happily after he had pulled Naruto into a spontaneous kiss …

Oh GOD! Naruto leapt up from the couch, the back of a hand pressed against his mouth as his face flushed bright red and his eyes widened. There was no, no, no, no, no noooooo way that was possible. He couldn't actually have feelings for the emotionless, self-centered, bastard of a human being. All that stuff…Sasuke was just being friendly. He was only doing it because they were being forced to spend a lot of time together. Getting closer was nothing too special. It was bound to happen. People spend time together, they get close. Done deal. Yup, that was it. He was not at all attracted to his friend. Nope. He liked girls. Hell, he had been thinking about asking that girl at the hospital out. Yeah, he would do that. Right now!

Nodding decisively, Naruto strode out of the room, running down the hall to the front door. Pulling it open, he sped outside, determined to make good on his impromptu decision to get a date. So involved in denying whatever had been brewing in his chest when he thought of all the kind things Sasuke had done for him in the past, he didn't see the pale teen that peered out from the top of the stairs, watching as he disappeared down the street with a lonely look on his face.