Well... it's been such a long time since I last updated this darn story, I imagine most of you have forgotten about it! (Go ahead and read over some of the story to refresh your memories!)

I apologise once again for being a terrible author. I've been spending a lot of time out of the house during these summer holidays... generally going round other people's houses and getting drunk, or going to the pub... and getting drunk, or hanging in the street - getting drunk... etc etc.

And to make up for my lateness in updating I've... done nothing.

Seriously. It's just another ordinary chapter, not exactly long, yet not exactly shorter than the others. Yeah, I don't like forcing myself to write extra amounts. It comes out so bad.

I guess I'm really not doing myself any favours. But, from all of your reviews, I know plenty of you lot like this story, so please keep reading!

Disclaimer: I wish it would only take a matter of months, but I need more time before I can own dear Naruto.

And like always, possible OOC.

Enjoy... and please don't hate me.

'What was all of this for? What was it all worth? Has there been a point this whole time? Now… now I am alone. Now, I have nothing…'

"Saaaaaasuke!"

'Naruto?'

"Oi! Sasuke! You ignoring me or what?"

'Naruto. It is you. I want to show you that I-'

"If you're going to be stubborn and rude and not talk to me, then fine!"

'It's not that. I can't… you're here, yet I can't make my voice reach you. Don't turn your back on me. Are you just messing about? Or have I pushed you away for good? Let me show you… just how much I…'

"Sasuke? What are you--?"

Naruto gasped as hands grasped his shoulders and forced him into a tight embrace. Sasuke's arms wrapped around him, and there they stood for what felt like hours. The innocent embrace soon turned into something much more as Sasuke pulled Naruto's face to his, and they shared a heated kiss. Their tongues soon started dancing about in one another's mouths, and soft moans escaped Naruto's throat. Sounds of enjoyment Sasuke couldn't muster.

Sasuke snapped his eyes open at the strange sensation he suddenly felt. It was like Naruto's body had turned to ice. All warmth disappeared. He jumped back slightly, pulling himself away from Naruto and stared in disbelief. Naruto's skin was slowly losing its colour. His eyes started to dull. It was as if Sasuke was witnessing his beloved dying before his very eyes.

'Naruto…?'

Sasuke slowly reached out a hand, and Naruto did likewise, acting like nothing less than his mirror image. As Sasuke's hand was about to reach Naruto's, something stopped them from touching, like an invisible barrier.

Naruto showed a momentary sign of life as tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over his once colourful cheeks. The moment ended quickly as his expression became hollow, and he fell backwards. Sasuke opened his mouth in a silent scream. He tried to get closer to Naruto, to grab him, hold him, anything; but that same invisible force was holding him back.

When it seemed Naruto would crash to the floor, he fell right on through, into an endless void of darkness and despair.

Sasuke clenched his hands into tight fists, piercing his flesh with his nails. This wasn't what he wanted for Naruto. He wished him… only happiness.

"Happiness…?"

Sasuke turned suddenly to face the direction that the voice had come from. In that moment, his eyes fell shut. When they opened, he was faced with only white.

"Sasuke!"

He wanted to shout. Nothing was making sense. In a split second, the brightness of the room he was in had caused him a headache, and a searing pain had erupted in his back. He started muttering incoherently, wondering if this is what death truly dealt to those unworthy of witnessing the bliss of a supposed heaven.

A mass of golden spikes and two blurs of ocean blue came into his vision. A soft hand touched his face, and stroked gently as the owner started speaking again.

"Sasuke, it's me, it's Naruto. I'm here."

"Naruto?" Sasuke croaked, relieved that he actually had his voice.

"It's okay. I think you must have been dreaming. You looked really distraught. You're okay now though. Here," he said, offering his hand. Sasuke stared at it for a moment, a little hesitant, before he grabbed it, stroking it with his thumb.

'A nightmare,' he thought to himself as he gazed at Naruto's face and continued to stroke his hand. 'Just a nightmare…'

As his thoughts lingered on the nightmare, Sasuke suddenly pulled his hand away from Naruto's, recalling the hell he had witnessed Naruto going through. Though it was simply a dream, a way for his cruel mind to toy with him, Sasuke couldn't shake the knowledge that he had severely wronged Naruto, and didn't deserve his kindness.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto's voice called to him, sad and lonely, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to answer. With or without a sign that Sasuke was indeed listening, Naruto spoke to him softly. "I know what you must be thinking right now. Sasuke, you've shown me what I have doubted for so long. Right now, I'm relieved to see you alive. What you did was both amazing and stupid. You could have died, Sasuke. But… I'm happy. I know the truth now."

"The truth?" Sasuke queried.

Naruto responded with a simple smile.

"Well, that really didn't go according to plan."

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying. It could have gone a lot better."

"Shut up."

"And you know, Naruto doesn't even know we're here."

"I said, shut up."

"It was for the best though. I wish for Sasuke's quick recovery too."

"Do you know the meaning of 'shut up'?"

Gaara glared at his dark haired lover, daring him to say another word. Neji cocked one of his slender eyebrows, sighed and then stood up to walk around the tiny cell they were being held in.

His eye twitched as he recalled the way that he and Gaara had been tackled and wrestled to the ground by roughly 10 police officers. And now, to make matters worse, they were in some dingy cell that reeked of stale piss and cigarette ends.

But it was all worth it, for an important friend.

"You could forgive so easily?" Sasuke asked, glaring down at his still slightly stained hands.

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he stood up and approached the window. Every thud within Sasuke's chest seemed to be amplified. The pounding echoed and vibrated against his ribs. His heart was throbbing terribly, and the beating became more agonising as the seconds went by. Naruto remained silent.

"I've always loved you," Naruto stated simply, "even when we were supposedly worst enemies. I loved you. I've been a nobody all my life, but you… you seemed to be the only one who acknowledged me. You noticed me. You gave me purpose in life."

Sasuke smiled sadly. There was so much he wanted to say at that moment, he simply didn't know where to possibly start. He remained in silence, and Naruto continued.

"As bad as things started to get once you started working with… Orochimaru… I still loved you. It broke my heart that – that there was the possibility you… you didn't –"

Sasuke felt his heart clench as Naruto's shoulders started to shake. His whole body became rigid, and his hands came up to grip the window sill, making his knuckles turn white. Naruto willed himself to keep talking, though his voice shook with emotion that he couldn't contain.

"I refused to accept that you didn't love me anymore. It worked for a while. But… but, my faith left me in the end. I started to lose my trust and belief in you. I grew suspicious of you…"

"And you had every right and reason to," Sasuke spoke up. Naruto turned his tear stained face to him, and then gazed at the floor. In the moment that Naruto had burst into the room and seen Orochimaru, his heart had skipped a beat, and all he could think about in those few short seconds was that he had been right…

"I was right then… you let Orochimaru go…"

Sasuke nodded numbly, feeling every inch of hatred within him pouring into his own soul, eating away at him. He truly loathed himself.

It couldn't compare to the feelings rushing through Naruto however. His love towards the raven haired man compelled him to ignore everything his mind was throwing at him. Everything that told him, 'walk now… get away from him… he deceived you. He let that monster get away!'

He stood still. His eyes shone with heavy tears that blurred his vision. He could feel his heart ache and cry along with every other part of his soul that he had devoted entirely to Sasuke.

He stayed. Broken, but still…

"Sasuke," he whispered after what felt like an eternity of painful silence, "I don't know what I can do to overcome this." Sasuke clamped his eyes shut, unable to place the emotions taking hold of him. Every word Naruto spoke felt like knives to his heart. As Naruto continued, the pain grew more as the once so bubbly blonde spoke with less emotion. His voice turned cold.

"I figured I couldn't live without you. I forced myself to trust in my heart. And yet, there was always that voice in the back of my head, telling me what I already knew…"

Sasuke looked up, knowing what was going to come next.

"You lied."

"Naruto… words aren't enough for me to tell you how sorry I am…"

"You let him go."

"I wish I could go back–"

"Let him go after what he did to me."

"I wouldn't let him–"

"And even then, you acted like the rape never happened."

"Naruto…"

Sasuke gripped the bed covers. His brow creased, and tears welled up in his dark eyes. "Please," he whispered.

"Sasuke, you betrayed me."

Sasuke had no words left. He willed them to come, but they wouldn't. Fear flooded him as he saw how Naruto's body twitched. Before he could think of what to do, Naruto started walking towards the door, and out of Sasuke's life.

"Wait!" Sasuke shouted, throwing his arm out, stretching his fingers, as if he would be able to reach Naruto and pull him back. The sudden movement sent pain shooting through his back. He winced and pulled his arm back in, wrapping it around himself along with his other arm, as if the self-comfort would force the pain to go away.

Naruto noticed this and hesitated at the door. He looked back at the man he still loved, and still longed for, hunched over in agony – agony that was caused for the sake of his life.

His eyes narrowed, and he forced himself to turn away from the sight.

"You looked – looked happy. Before, earlier, I woke up and you smiled, and… why?" Sasuke spoke in a hurry, without thinking of the words tumbling from his mouth. What had that pure smile earlier on meant?

Naruto glanced back at Sasuke, wondering whether he should answer or not. His feelings towards Sasuke compelled him to do so.

"The whole time you were unconscious… no, from the moment you took that bullet and saved me, I had forgotten all about how I've been feeling for so long because of you. I forgot about the pain, I forgot about your coldness, and your lies. None of it mattered." A wry smile momentarily crossed his lips. "I said earlier that I know the truth now. I was wrong in saying that at that point. Now, I do know the truth. Then, I thought I knew. I thought that you truly… that you really do…"

Sasuke sub-consciously leaned forwards on the bed slightly. He never thought he would ever be so intent on hearing what Naruto had to say. But it seemed Naruto was having a difficult time getting the words out. He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head before fully turning to face Sasuke again.

"It really doesn't matter now. I know all I need to know."

A sadly whispered, "I love you," escaped Naruto's lips as he quickly turned, opened the door and ran out.

"I guess there is no need to worry."

"Shut up…"

"They did say we'd only be in here for a few nights while they do some questioning and investigating."

"Just shut up."

"And you'll just be let off with a speeding fine. Imagine that."

"Neji, I am warning you."

"That damn Oroch – "

"Neji!" Gaara snapped, slamming his hand against the wall next to Neji.

"Gaara," Neji spoke cautiously, noticing the anguish in his lover's eyes. "Why didn't you just say – "

"Just drop it," Gaara snapped once again. Neji frowned and quickly sat himself on top of Gaara, taking him completely by surprise.

"Neji!" he exclaimed, but Neji silenced him with a slender finger pressed softly against his lips.

"I know you're feeling wound up, angry and hurt about everything that has happened to Naruto thus far concerning Sasuke and Orochimaru." Gaara narrowed his eyes at the mention of Orochimaru's name. "But you can relax a little bit, knowing that he is now where he belongs, and after what he's done, he won't ever know the taste of freedom again. We've helped Naruto, and when we get out of here, we'll be able to help him once more."

"How so…?" Gaara queried.

"By offering Naruto a permanent place to stay with us."

Dum dum duuuuum!

I'm leaving you all with another ickle cliff-hanger. Sorry, it's difficult to resist.

So, will Naruto take Neji and Gaara up on their offer?

When will Sasuke get out of hospital?

Will he be able to mend Naruto's heart and win him back forever?

How much longer will Gaara and Neji be able to put up with being in a tiny cell?

Why are they in the same cell anyway?!

Gaara: Because you apparently made it so.

Neji: And I'm grateful for that, by the way. -Grin-

Kasia: Oh...

Neji: However...

Kasia: However...?

Neji: Why did you have to stop at me sitting on Gaara's lap?

Kasia: Uh... anyway...!

Sasuke: -Glares-

Kasia: -Cringe- Wha... what have I done now?

Naruto: -Places hand on chin, looking thoughtful- Mmhm. It would definitely be a good idea for you to run this time, Kas.

Kasia: O.O My readers shall protect me! Right? Um, right...? My beloved readers...?

Readers: -Glares-

Kasia: Ahem... well... -Backs away- I love you all! -Runs-