Oh wow, I updated within a day... not bad, not bad. This one didn't take much time at all. Well, enjoy the chapter. I'll leave notice on my profile page when I finally buckle down and start studying haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Concrete Naruto"

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Chapter Thirty Two:

Sasuke's hand shook as he nervously reached out for the vibrating receiver. He didn't want to answer it. He didn't want to hear his brother's voice again. His body sensed his hesitation and his hand was nearly retracted but after resisting slightly, his hand continued until it had a firm grip on the phone. The grasp tightened unconsciously, whether out of his lack of nerves or to keep the phone from falling out of his shaky hand.

Slowly he brought the phone up to his ear, he was thankful it wasn't ringing anymore, but currently he'd much prefer it. The other end seemed silent as he pressed the receiver to the side of his face.

"...Hello?"

As soon as the word was out of his mouth his whole body tensed with dread that he'd just invited his brother to speak to him, to torment him, to return... And with Naruto was standing right there, watching him and looking horribly uneasy.

"Yo Uchiha! What's up?" A cheerful, idiotic voice rang from the other end.

Sasuke had never been so thrilled to here his stupid best friend's voice. He let out a long sigh of relief, leaning against the wall beside his tensed body relaxed dramatically in an instant.

"Kiba you've got some great timing," Sarcasm dripped from his voice but he smiled all the same.

"What's that supposed to mean? You sound relieved to hear me, who were you expecting?"

Damn that dog boy and his senses. He constantly had to butt his nose in when he felt something was off. Not to mention that he wasn't so easily tricked when those senses were running properly... and they were never off about Sasuke, it was just the way things had always been.

"...No. Guess I was worried Ibiki would call and give me hell about missing his math class so much." He offered a laugh, hoping it would convince his friend but he knew that was doubtful.

"Yeah right, Uchiha. You ain't gettin' off that easy." Was his reply, obviously far from convinced. "So what's up? You feelin' better? Probably not, eh? Or else you would be in school right now."

Sasuke paused, confused for a moment. "Wait, where are you? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I have my free period right now. Man do you even know what day it is?"

Sasuke shook his head, knowing very well that Kiba couldn't see him. Though it was more for his own confirmation that anything. "No, not really. I can't even remember my schedule right now." He laughed uncomfortably. He hadn't even been sure what day of the week it was earlier, there was no way he would remember something as futile as a class schedule.

"Dude you really aren't okay. I'm coming over after school."

"Kiba, don't just invite yourself to my house. You aren't coming over. I'm perfectly fine, I don't need you to be my watch dog."

"Ah man, that hurts. You're my friend and I'm worried 'bout ya. You angst out in your lonerdom of emo solitude, especially on a Friday!"

Though Kiba's odd descriptive skills with anything involving 'emo', 'angst', or 'loner', impressed Sasuke, he wasn't going to give in. Most importantly, he wasn't any of the three... though he might have been angsting just a little.

"No, Kiba. I am not a loner or an emo, and you aren't coming over here. I don't care that it's a Friday, I have things to do and I don't need to over here to annoy the hell out of me."

"Whatever man, you love my company. Everybody's happy when Kiba is around. Staying alone in your house isn't healthy for someone like you, see you at three thirty!"

"Kib-" Sasuke was cut off by a long "beeep" as the Inuzuka had hung up on him.

"Damn it..." Sasuke growled, putting his own phone back on the hook, slightly aggressively. He didn't want Kiba showing up and interrupting his time spent with the cute little blonde.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, after having kept silent for the entire conversation. Though it was clearer obvious to him that it wasn't his brother. It was made apparent the moment Sasuke relaxed so rapidly. If anyone missed the next clue, when Sasuke spoke Kiba Inuzuka's name, they had to be a little impaired.

"Uh... you know Kiba Inuzuka?" Sasuke asked, turning to the blonde a little hesitantly.

Memories of that day beside the lack flashed through his mind. Kiba was one of those people who enjoyed bullying him... "Ye... yeah I know him..."

Sasuke saw the distress in the boy's eyes. "Naruto?"

"Uh..." The blonde diverted his eyes, turning to distract himself by grabbing the glass and rising it out in the sink. "He's... well... he used to... torment me... a lot.."

Naruto hated saying this, Kiba was one of Sasuke's friends who he always saw him hanging out with. He felt bad telling Sasuke the truth about who he concerned to be a reliable friend.

"What?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He couldn't say he was surprised, Kiba aspired to attend the police academy and join the K9 Unit. Naruto's father, had been his inspiration and he respected him greatly. But people like Naruto's mother, people like the murderers he assumed killed Sasuke's family, and people like the Sabaku siblings disgusted him. He'd been one of the many children to be brain washed by their resentful parents into believing that Naruto was a monster, just waiting until he could turn out like his mother. (1)

"Naruto... I'm sorry," Sasuke didn't really know what to say, he couldn't defend his friend's actions, even though he knew deep down he was a good guy, just mislead. He closed in the few steps of space between them and wrapped his arms around the Uzumaki from behind, pulling him back into a hug. "I'm sorry he bullied you." He whispered against Naruto's neck.

Naruto bit his lower lip, "It's not your fault... you didn't know..." He said this in a tone that was slightly questioning, but hoping that what he'd said was the truth.

"No, I didn't know he did that. But I should have, and I should have stopped him a while ago. Should have set him straight about who you really are." Sasuke said this, resenting himself for having let Kiba think so badly about Naruto for so long.

"Who I really am?" Naruto turned around within the other's arms.

Sasuke gazed down at the other's face, connecting his dark eyes with Naruto's gorgeous blue ones. "Kiba, he really admires your father. He wants to become a police officer, so it's natural for him to really hate people he considers bad." Noticing a hurt look that flashed through the serene blue eyes, Sasuke hastily added, "I'm not trying to justify his actions or say that you're a bad person. It's just... you know how the parents are, and were at the time. They taught their children to hate you as they'd hated your mother."

He hated putting things so bluntly, but he had to explain things to the blonde. "Kiba was one who was mislead by his parents, who are in charge of the K9 Unit, to think badly about you. I'm not saying that it was right for him to do what he did to you, whatever he had done was wrong, of course. But... Kiba is a really great guy, deep down. He's very passionate about the law and making people pay for their wrong doings. You didn't do anything, which is why I'm a little shocked that he would bully you with just his assumptions on your mother and who his elders thought you would become. He's hotheaded, and quick to judge, which are his downfalls and probably why he behaves that way towards you. I think, I think we should set things straight."

Naruto was no longer looking up at the raven. His eyes were lowered to the floor, unsure of himself, remembering all the hurtful words Kiba had thrown at him and all the times he was pushed to the ground by him. He didn't seem like a nice person, at least not to him. However, if Sasuke was friends with him, and defending him, he couldn't be all bad. Just to him... people were good people until they knew about Naruto.

Suddenly the blonde felt his chin being lifted by Sasuke's forefinger and he was forced to look into the other's dark depths.

"It was wrong of him to hurt you, Naruto." He spoke in a very straight forward manner, getting his point across.

Once Naruto nodded his head, Sasuke's thumb pressed against the tip of his chin and pulled his face closer to kiss him gently on the lips. It was short, sweet and made Naruto's legs weaken beneath him.

"I'll always protect you." Sasuke whispered against his lips before pulling his face away. Instead of backing away all together, he pulled the other into a loose embrace, being weary of his injured shoulder and arm.

Naruto sighed within Sasuke's hold, and though it was comforting to be so close to the one he loved so dearly, he didn't quite understand what the raven's objectives were.

After moments of silence, Naruto pulled back slightly and gazed back up into the other's face. "Sasuke, how are you going to 'set things straight'? What do you mean by that?" Those were the words that he hadn't quite understood what Sasuke had meant by them. It wasn't like he couldn't go back and change the past, keeping Kiba from going near him and hurting him in the ways that he had.

"Well... Kiba insisted on coming over after school. So... when he shows up, I'm going to tell him the truth."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "The truth about what?"

"That what his parents taught him about you is false, and that he shouldn't judge you on the pretense of what your mother had done in the past. It might be hard for him to shift his perception of you all at once, but well, I can't have you two always hating each other. Though I think it will be easier for him to accept you after he know the truth about us."

"What about us?" Naruto wasn't teasing. He honestly had no idea what the raven was planning on telling his friend who'd often been a bother to him.

"Well," Sasuke licked his lips nervously before continuing in confidence, "that we are going out."

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Naruto's eyes just about fell out of their sockets and his mouth gaped widly. Had Sasuke just said... had he just... did he...? He couldn't even form a coherent thought in his mind he was so bewildered. So when he tried to express himself verbally, it was only natural that he would fail.

"Did you... what do you... are you...?

Sasuke chuckled with a self-satisfied smirk. It was apparent that Sasuke enjoyed teasing the easily befuddled fair haired boy.

"Basically..." Sasuke started once he realized that Naruto was not in the state of mind to understand him on his own, "I'm asking you out."

If it was physically possible for his eyes to widen anymore, Naruto was sure that they had... hell his eyelids had probably fallen off in the process. "You-you mean l-like a b-boy... fr-friend?"

"No."

Sasuke blunt rejection of this notion completely through the blonde off guard and his expression fell drastically. He'd gotten his hopes up that they could be together and that they actually shared the same feelings. At least... Naruto had been certain that they'd technically confessed their love for each other. Or perhaps, Sasuke's love was just physical...

"Not like a boyfriend. I want to be your boyfriend." Sasuke was smiling down at him when he lifted his teary eyes to gaze upon his serious face. He shouldn't have tricked him like that, it wasn't funny at all and it gave him such disappointment. But now... as he looked up into his face, tears of joy formed at the corner of his eyes.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist teasing you when you stuttered. It's so cute when you do that." Sasuke's smile transformed into a sly grin that could always manage to charm the blonde.

"You're so cruel to me," Naruto pouted playfully, not being serious in the least, though it was rather mean to tease him in such a way.

"I'm sorry, if you weren't so adorable you wouldn't provoke me to be so mean." With each word he inched closer to the blonde, and this time Naruto didn't back away.

"Maybe I like provoking you." Now they were teasing each other, he didn't know he could have so much fun with such simplistic words as their bodies moved nearer and nearer to each other.

"That might not be in your best interest," Sasuke warned him, flirting with not only his words and his eyes but his hands, which were now travelling up Naruto's sides, as well.

"But what if it is?" Naruto countered with a flirtatious smirk of his own.

"Well, if it is..." Sasuke's lips moved ever-so closer to Naruto's ear, brushing lightly against his cheek before whispering, "Then let's go upstairs."

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(1) A K-9 Unit is a special unit in law-enforcement where police dogs are used. K9 = canine.

Yay for two cliffhangers in a row! Don't hate me... please ^.^' eheh