Happy Spring Break! This week's chapter title inspired once again by Tokio Hotel :) Finished Friday but didn't want to leave you guys with 2 weeks of depressing chapters so I'll upload the next chapter really soon - in 2 or 3 days. I'm tired of emo Sasuke so I'm going to make him and Naruto get back together. I apologize for cynical behavior of late which are due to own love problems going on right now. But hopefully more cheerier chapters soon.

Also, I have an idea for new SasuNaru story so press Favorite Author if you want a little mail saying when I upload it ;)

Thanks 4 reading!

Sasuke wasn't sure where to go. He had no home to return to now that he had renounced being related to Itachi. His feelings were crushed and placed in a deep, distant part of his heart. He hadn't eaten the whole day, his stomach rumbled. His head throbbed with pent up emotions and he felt as if the world was spinning. Even though he had fallen asleep near the river, it did not help that he still felt tired.

He was miserable.

Yet he accepted this as a coming fact of life on his path to revenge.

He wandered the streets of the city called Konoha, wondering where to sleep and how to get food, although he made sure to keep away from parts considered "Akatsuki territory". As night progressed, he found his head nodding, his walk stumbling, and eyes struggling to maintain consciousness. He could not stand it no more and rather than sleep on the streets, he decided to go to the one place he wished to never return to: Naruto's apartment.

The dobe left the key unwisely under the doormat. While an irresponsible habit, a lucky one for Sasuke. Upon opening the door, he was hit with a breeze of that famous Naruto smell. He switched the lights on; a warm glow incinerated the living room. The apartment was just how they had left it this morning, nothing moved, nothing touched, nothing different. Yet everything was different now, twisted perversely as fate commanded it, and left broken and deformed.

After rummaging through the fridge, he found himself some food, reminding himself he would pay it all back, he stuffed as much of it down as he could. Although he wasn't very hungry anymore, he needed nutrition. After which he laid his head down on the couch and promptly fell asleep. The long and suspenseful day had come to an anticlimactic end.

Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke since his beating Saturday morning. He admitted, he was asleep most of the time, knocked out by painkillers, but the nurses said he's had no visitors to even be by his bedside. Something was wrong. Shouldn't Sasuke be here? For the umpteenth time, he looked out his third story window expecting to see a skinny, spiked haired teen walking towards the main doors of the dismal hospital, and each time he was disappointed. He wanted nothing more than to see Sasuke to brighten up his day, to take away the pain of his injuries, and make sure the raven was okay. Today he even laid off the pain medication for a while, against the advice of his nurse, as it made him drowsy and incoherent. He wanted to be lucid enough when and if Sasuke came by.

He sighed and tugged lightly at the tubes attached to nose and arms as they started to feel uncomfortable and painful, and to pass time, he looked around the bare room. A sink for cleanliness, cabinets to store medical supplies, a TV in the upper corner currently turned off, and some chairs in the corner for visitors- maybe he'd get some once word got out around school.

There was a light tapping on his door and a young nurse with bouncy curls came in smiling warmly at him, though she was pretty, who really caught his eye and made his heart skip was the person who came trailing in behind her.

"Sasuke," he breathed.

"You have a visitor, Naruto," the nurse chimed, allowing Sasuke to pass. He did a double take before he stopped to stare at Naruto, almost afraid to get close. Naruto imagined his face looking purple, swollen, and almost recognizable, yet he managed a grin that could assure the raven he was fine. What? Not even a smile or greeting after being cruelly ignored by the raven? In the mean time the nurse brought over one of the chairs from the sides of the room to bring it right up beside Naruto, upon which Sasuke sat in and crossed his arms, now glum-faced. \

"Anything you need, I'll be right out," the nurse said, flashing a brilliant smile at Naruto before clicking the door shut.

As soon as she was gone, "Bastard, you didn't even visit?" Naruto asked playfully. He could feel the aura of tension emanating from his partner. He hoped to dispel it by acting his joking, same old self. Sasuke didn't even respond properly. He just made a small snort and eyes lowered, something was clearly on Sasuke's mind, and he was sure it had to do with what happened between Itachi.

"Look Sasuke, don't dwell too much on what Itachi did. I'm fine aren't I? If he wanted to - " He was about to say "kill" but knew it wouldn't help "- permanently incapacitate me, he would have done it, but he didn't."

Those onyx eyes lifted themselves to meet his own eyes, the brow was furrowed, a dam plainly obstructing the pent up emotions.

"That's because it was a warning." His face crumpled, as if it pained him to speak. How odd that it should be the other way around.

"A warning for what?"

"To keep you away from me."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because of a damn insane idea he had like when he killed my fucking parents!"

He burst angrily.

"Well it's not going to work right? I love you too much, Sasuke and you-" he looked at him "you love me too right?" Sasuke bit his bottom lip, desperately holding back the answer from those eyes that pleaded to be told those words. "Sasuke?"

He shook his head. "No, Naruto I don't."

He hastily got off his chair to turn towards the door and away from Naruto, away from that bruised face that would furthermore be crumpled in disappointment. "In fact, it's better if we keep away from each other."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Don't mess with me, Sasuke."

"I'm not. I'm leaving Konoha."

"No. You're not," he said stubbornly, as if it was the truth.

"Tomorrow."

"No. You're not."

"I'm… going."

"No! You're fucking not!"

Sasuke paused. Why did he even tell Naruto that? He knew why. Deep down he wanted the blonde's approval, he cared what the other thought. Naruto was right. He knew him too well to know he wouldn't be able to leave. And he knew himself to know he was too much of a coward - his fists tightened - but he wasn't so much of one that he wasn't about to abandon the task he set out to do – the task to break that blonde's heart.

Naruto let out a frustrated growl. "Don't do this because of Itachi!"

"It has nothing to do with Itachi." Sasuke lied.

"Then don't go away! Don't leave!"

"I don't-" he couldn't say it, "- have feelings for you."

"Bullshit! I know you love me! You can't admit it to yourself, Sasuke, but I know that you love me." Was he saying those words for his own sake?

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I really am." The truest thing he's said so far.

"Say you love me, Sasuke! Say it! Don't leave this room until you say it!"

The blonde couldn't honestly think he could tell him what to do. "I might not be able to leave the city but at least I can leave this room." It was time to leave. He gave one last desperate attempt. "I… I can't stand being near you, Uzumaki!" And before his emotions got the better of him and because he was too much of a coward to turn around, he simply mumbled, "Goodbye," before opening the door and exiting the room.

"Get back in here, bastard! I'm not done with you! Don't you dare leave! Don't you dare walk away! Coward!"

The machines started beeping loudly. Sasuke heard a heavy thump from behind him. Did Naruto just fall out his bed? He was about to turn around when nurses came rushing from all different directions towards the room. They would take care of Naruto, and as he walked briskly down the hall and stood waiting for the elevator, he continued to hear Naruto's screams.

"Bastard! You love me! I know you do! Sasuke!" The next part was cut as the elevator doors closed and solitude enveloped him with a bitter embrace, his mind a broken record, echoing and replaying those last few screams.

Sasuke knew pain. He had been saturated in it since a young child, tantalized himself with it, struggled against it, and now he gave it to the one person he never wanted touched by it. Finding an empty hallway in a corner of the hospital, he dove into the nearest restroom, where he locked himself into it and tears started to fall silently.

"Naruto," he half choked. "Naruto, I love you."

Duty to his family or his own selfish happiness? Itachi decided that for him when he practically killed Uzumaki. Whatever Sasuke loved, Itachi would destroy. He was never going to be happy with Itachi alive. He was doing this to protect Uzumaki. The other Uchiha wouldn't attack Uzumaki again if Sasuke showed no interest the blonde. He felt like a coward, but this was the only way. Once Itachi was dead, he would apologize to Uzumaki, give his whole self to him, never cringe away – that is, if Uzumaki would and could ever take him back.

I'm sorry, Naruto.