Yay for writing until 3am... but it's a good way to stop being homesick after just getting back to university. Now I'm sleep deprived and must attempt to sleep even though I'm back in my horrible loud dorm (why is it still horribly loud at 3am? Because people are jerks who don't understand the concept of quiet hours!!!). Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Concrete Angel

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Chapter Thirty Five:

Naruto tossed and turned on the couch. It was as though his body was telling him that it was almost time for him to awaken, but his mind was resistant. Within his dreams, Naruto was dealing with a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

It all started with Sasuke, just one little goodbye kiss from Sasuke on the street and the entire world around them collapsed into chaos. Kiba had seen them kissing and Naruto didn't think he'd ever imagined a more disgusted look. Soon after, Kiba had told many people, who told many more and Nauto saw from both his and his boyfriend's perspective the scornful looks people gave them and the harsh words that were tossed at them all the time.

People were increasingly more violent with himself, pushing him around, throwing him down hills, a few punches here and there even. Mostly it was verbal; curse words, derogatory words, hateful words all revolving around his head in a never ending circular motion. He'd constantly be confronted by females who used to crush on Sasuke, they'd spit at him and shriek at him for corrupting Sasuke into a repulsive faggot. That was something he never seemed to handle well. He was so guilty over ruining Sasuke's reputation. If it hadn't been for him... Sasuke would still be loved by everyone... but now... people tried his boyfriend just as they had him.

What was worse was seeing the world through his dark, heavenly eyes. People who once admired him now hated him and looked at him with disgust. Teachers were failing him and Sasuke soon stopped trying with his grades. His friends abandoned him, he no longer had female stalkers chasing him or giving him looks of longing. Now avoided him like the plague and now looked at him with disdain. He couldn't bare seeing first hand how the world was treating his beloved boyfriend. He could at least ignore when people called him a fag but hearing it through Sasuke's ears... it hurt him worse than any pain he'd ever felt. It was worse than having bullets pass through his body.

Why did people have to treat them this way? Why couldn't they just let the two boys live and love in peace? How could they be happy if Naruto spent every night crying on Sasuke's shoulder and if Sasuke kept his emotions locked up within himself? This was no way to live! Naruto didn't want this for Sasuke! He didn't deserve this, any of this!

Then the scene changed and he and Sasuke were at home, which is what he'd come to call Sasuke's home. Naruto was crying again and Sasuke looked somewhat angry at what the blonde was choking out.

"Please Sasuke! I'm not worth this! Just forget you ever met me!" Naruto was pleading with him, no longer able to bare the guilt of ruining his love's life.

"What are you talking about Naruto! We're in this together! I love you and I'm not abandoning you!" Sasuke looked extremely frustrated, as though they'd had this argument more than once.

"You're not abandoning me! It's better for you if I leave! Me being here has brought you nothing but pain!"

"You're insane, Naruto! I can't believe you honestly think that!" But it was obvious Naruto did believe that, especially considering how persistent he was with this opinion.

"I've seen how people treat you now, it's all my fault!" Naruto pleaded to be heard, he just wanted what was best for Sasuke.

"Nothing is your fault Naruto!"

"Yes it is!"

"Naruto listen to me!" But Naruto was shaking his head, not paying attention to the Uchiha's words anymore. He was now continuously muttering "yes it is, it's my fault, mine" over and over again.

"Naruto! Naruto listen to me! Naruto! Naruto! Naruto, wake up, please!"

"Huh?" The blonde's eyes slowly opened painfully, as though the being back in the real world caused pain on the part of his brain that had created his dream world. He could see his boyfriend on the bed beside him, leaning over him to shake his body gently.

"You were having a nightmare. You kept saying that it was all your fault. What's all your fault?"

Naruto averted his eyes. Hearing that pained him, and though what he'd dreamt about hadn't happened yet. It was only a matter of time before people started to hate Sasuke for associating with him.

"Naruto, look at me," His voice was gentle and assuring as he hooked his finger under Naruto's chin to tilt his head up enough to be looked directly in the eyes. "What was your dream about?"

"I... you... we..." It killed him to say this. He didn't want to say it, he loved Sasuke. He was the first one to ever accept him and love him. He was the only one supporting him in this world. Now he had to tell him that this couldn't be. That they couldn't be together anymore because it would only lead to misery. He opened his mouth to tell him these facts, but it just wouldn't come out. He didn't want to say it, he didn't want Sasuke to leave him.

"Naruto what's wrong?" Sasuke seemed extremely concerned now. Of course anyone would be genuinely concerned when their boyfriend was behaving this was after all the things that had gone wrong before.

"I... well, it's just... I dreamt that you had... disappeared." Naruto kicked himself for lying, but he couldn't tell the truth. Not just yet. If he could, he would try and make this happiness last, at least for the rest of the time that he would be staying at the raven's home.

Sasuke sighed, believing Naruto's lie without any suspicion. Of course, it was simple enough to believe that Naruto would be so worked up over losing someone as important to him as Sasuke was.

"Naruto, you know I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave your side, ever." The raven's voice and eyes were reassuring and once again Naruto cursed himself at receiving it under false pretenses.

But nonetheless, Naruto offered his boyfriend a smile that showed he was now satisfied with Sasuke's response and he, in turn, received a warm, protective hug. There was a pang of guilt in his heart as he soaked in the heat from their embrace but Naruto pushed it aside for the time being. There was no time for guilt just now, he had to make the most of the little time he had left.

----

Finally it was a new day, that was how Sasuke felt as he sank down onto his couch, turning the television on with a click of the remote. Normally Sasuke would consider it to be too early for T.V. But that was mainly because at 7am he was either getting ready for school on a weekday or sleeping in a few more hours on the weekend.

Currently it was the weekend, so Sasuke technically should be sleeping still, but he had to wake up at six regardless so he may as well stay awake. Naruto had that same feeling and the two actually sat down and ate breakfast after the blonde took his pill. Now said blonde was talking a bath upstairs, Sasuke had told him, with a wink, to yell if he needed him.

He almost wanted to go up there unannounced and join him. Sasuke laughed at himself. How could such an innocent little blonde make him so forward and perverted? Though that would be fun. Having a nice peaceful and playful morning bath with his boyfriend after all the drama from yesterday.

The raven got up to do just that, almost turning the television off with a press of the button, when the phone rang. Sasuke gave the ringing telephone a glare that said, "Really, of all times you pick now to ring?"

Rolling his eyes with an annoyed huff, Sasuke reached for the receiver but stopped just as his fingertips touched the noisy object. A jolt of forgotten fear flooded through his body and he pleaded with the universe that this phone call wouldn't bring anymore grief into his life.

Regretfully, Sasuke answered the phone to here an all too familiar voice.

"Sasuke..."

He let out a sigh, "Kiba." Silently he wondered why in hell Kiba would even be aware of the world this early on a Saturday, but he decided against asking him for now.

"Hey... I... can we talk?" The Inuzuka sounded both nervous and ashamed, at least he wasn't angry.

"That's what people normally do on the phone, Kiba." Perhaps some light sarcasm could lighten up the mood.

"Not funny, Sasuke. I mean, can we meet somewhere and talk. About... well I'm sure you can guess."

"Why don't you come here?" He asked hopefully, not wanting to leave Naruto's side under any circumstances.

"Will he be there?" It was obvious whom he was referring to in that vaguely suspicious tone.

"He doesn't have to be around," Again Sasuke hoped that would suffice.

"As in you're not going to ask him to leave so you can talk to your best friend for a little while?"

Sasuke tried to remember when his best friend had become such a jealous person. Maybe he'd always been that way, but Sasuke never had a chance to see it because he'd never had any other person be important to him.

"It's not that, I just can't." He feared Kiba would ask him why he couldn't, and Sasuke really didn't want to go into details yet since they really weren't entirely his details to give.

The brunet on the other end sighed in frustration. "Fine, whatever. Let's meet at the lake."

Despite the fact that Sasuke really didn't want to leave Naruto alone in his house, he couldn't let things go unspoken with Kiba. He was his best friend after all, and things needed explanation. "All right, see you there."

Kiba hung up the phone without saying goodbye and Sasuke followed suit. Now he would have to go and interrupt Naruto's bath, but in a far different way than he'd originally planned.

----

Naruto lowered his blushing face into the water as soon as the door had closed behind Sasuke. Why did he have to make such embarrassing comments all the time? And wink too... he knew what that meant, as ignorant as he was, and that just served to increase the blush.

He blew a few bubbles into the water before immerging. He could still feel his blush very prominent on his cheeks but he now knew it wasn't just the result of Sasuke's comment. It was what he was currently thinking about, which revolved around his comment. Despite himself, he honestly wanted Sasuke to come back into the room and... assist him...

And it wasn't as though the two would be cramped, this tub was huge, big enough for three people to move and have enough room for themselves. So they could get along just fine, just as long as Sasuke could support him... which Naruto knew he was capable of.

He sat red faced and contemplating for quite a few minutes before he actually started to wash himself. He was nearly finished with the majority of his body and was going to attempt to wash his back and hair when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Naruto's eyes widened instantly and a hopeful yet horrified expression flashed onto his face. Sasuke was here without him calling for him... he must be extremely eager this morning.

"Uh... come in?" He was unsure of how to behave in a situation like this. It wasn't as though Naruto knew how to be coy and playful.

The door squeaked open, but no one entered.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, turning his head around to see the raven standing in the doorway looking apologetic. He didn't know if he liked that look. He'd never really seen Sasuke look as though he were apologizing for something that he may or may not be at fault for. He wasn't certain if it was a minor thing, a major thing, or if he was somehow being flirtatious in his own little weird way. "What's the matter?"

"Well, Kiba called and he wants me to talk with him."

Ah, now it all made sense. Stupid Sasuke thought he'd be mad with him if he talked to Kiba after the fight yesterday. Naruto knew that the Inuzuka was Sasuke's best friend, he wasn't about to pry them apart just because of his own history. However, try as he might to believe that, his dreamed nagged at the back of his mind, confirming that he was a tad bit fearful of what the Inuzuka was going to do. But it wasn't as though Kiba could do anything to Sasuke in his own home. Nothing to worry about.

"That's good, you guys should talk," that's right, being supportive is a good thing, right? "When is he coming over?"

Sasuke shuffled his feet, "Uh... he's not. He wants to meet by the lake, so... I'll be out for a little while."

"Oh..." All Naruto could do was blink. He was unsure of how to take this news. Didn't Sasuke say he wasn't going to leave him alone in the house? Well, repairing a friendship was probably more important than school, seeing as how Sasuke could catch-up with the school work without any trouble once the week was over, but friendships couldn't be left to unravel.

But that meant that Sasuke would be out of the house, an open easy target if Kiba wanted to express his outrage at his best friend being gay and in love with a person he'd grown up despising. And at the lake too, that was where Kiba had pushed him around before, it was a prime target area.

"Do you need to go? Why can't he come here?" Naruto found himself all of a sudden blurting out.

Sasuke looked somewhat shocked at Naruto response, probably expected him to assure him that he'd be fine on his own, since Sasuke had obviously been worried about leaving Naruto on his own alone in the house. Or at least now he knew that was why Sasuke looked so apologetic.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I have to go meet him. You'll be okay for a little while just-"

"No, I don't want you to go out. What if something happens to you?" Again Naruto was surprised at himself for his exclamation but he couldn't help it. He was honestly very paranoid over his boyfriend's wellbeing, especially after his dream that constantly haunted him.

"What?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, looking both confused and suspicious.

"He's mad that you're gay and with me, he might try and hurt you!"

Now the raven looked like he was trying to solve the velocity of a flying squirrel when shot out of a cannon and into a tornado.

"Naruto, Kiba is my best friend. He has been for years. I know he's upset that it took me this long to confide in him, but he'd never try and hurt me. I'll be fine, don't worry."

When Naruto kept giving him a skeptical look, Sasuke sighed and moved forward to kneel beside the tub and place a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead. "I promise"

Naruto sighed reluctantly. "Fine... just be careful okay."

Sasuke laughed at this, "Don't worry." And then he turned serious, "Before I leave. I have some things to tell you."

Now he could be exasperated by the same reason Sasuke was originally worried. "Sasuke, I told you before. I will be fine on my own. I'm not a child."

"I know that but still... I'm worried about you with your injury. So just relax and watch a movie or something afterwards and I'll be back to make lunch okay?"

Figuring that the only way Sasuke would let up is to agree without arguing any further, "Okay, I'll go digging through the movies downstairs."

Sasuke looked like he was about to get up and leave but he paused, his eyes turning dreadfully serious. "Oh, and don't answer the phone at all."

Naruto knew why he was telling him this, for some reason Sasuke was paranoid of the phone and he'd yet to admit to him why. If only he could get a little bit of information out of him. "What if Tsunade calls?"

"Then she'll yell at me later for not picking up the phone. I just don't want you answering it, okay?" When Naruto stayed silent, Sasuke pressed on, "Promise me."

With a reluctant sigh, Naruto nodded, "Okay, I promise I won't answer the phone."

With that serious note finished, Sasuke smiled brightly and pushed a kiss onto the blonde's lips, "Thanks. Now take care, and be good." He added a wink to the last part as he stood up.

"Yeah, be careful," Naruto added in a concerned tone but with a smile on his face from Sasuke's quick mood swing.

Sasuke was already on his way towards the door, and before closing said door behind him he added, "I'll be fine."

Again Naruto sank his head under the water as Sasuke left, only he wasn't embarrassed this time. He was worried, confused, and frankly a little upset that his boyfriend wasn't telling him the truth about why the phone was apparently a dangerous object.

----

Keeping his promise, Naruto went straight down to the living room after he finished with his bath and went searching through the movies to find something interesting. He was surprised to see that Sasuke owned as many DVD's as he did. He never really suspected Sasuke as someone who bought lots of movies, or watched them for that matter. But there were dozens of movies in the cabinets of the television stand. Many of them were either thrillers, horror or suspense movies. Something else Naruto hadn't really expected.

Then Naruto spotted a movie he liked. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The description sounded interesting, forgetting someone ever existed... maybe he could try getting everyone in the village to forget his mother.

Since it seemed like one of the few movies that wasn't going to freak Naruto out with horrific images or terrifying surprises, he closed the cabinets doors, with the DVD case in hand and stared at the technology before him. He had no idea how to work a DVD player...

Groaning in disbelief and frustration, Naruto fixed his blue eyes upon the equipment. It couldn't be that difficult to understand. It looked as though it was already hooked up by yellow and white cords. So let's see, power button is always useful. A little red light came on when he pressed that one and he smiled at his success. So far so good. Now to put the DVD in... that would probably be the eject button? Pressing that one, he smiled again as the tray moved out and he popped open the case and placed the DVD in its rightful position, pushing the eject button once again to get it started.

He figured that would be all he'd have to do. Stick it in and it would play, but the television was still playing some random show from cable that was playing when he got downstairs. Damn it. He was so close to figuring it out. There must be something else you have to do... or maybe it wasn't hooked up probably.

"Ugh.. Sasuke, why couldn't you have done this before you left?" He exclaimed in exasperation, sitting back on the floor.

Now what was he going to do? Watch television and maybe take a nap? Seemed like all he could do really, since he was all alone in Sasuke's house.

He wasn't about to go snooping around without Sasuke's permission. He couldn't pry into his boyfriend's private life like that. Not to mention the guilt that would reek havoc on his mind. It was bad enough having that dream on his mind, he couldn't deal with something real.

So, he took the DVD out of the machine, placed it back in its case and that back inside the cabinet and stood up to lay down on the couch. And he was just about to pick up the remote so he could behave himself for a few hours when an loud tone rang through the house.

Naruto turned and looked at the phone sitting on the table next to the couch. It was ringing. He stared at it like a deer caught in the headlights.

He couldn't answer it. He knew he couldn't answer it. Sasuke didn't want him to answer it. But he wanted so badly to know who it was that Sasuke was so afraid to have contacting him.

It rang three more times.

Naruto blinked.

Once more it rang.

Naruto moved forward.

The phone made a strange sound and stopped ringing for a split second and was replaced with a beep, then a computerized voice came from the phone. "Hello, you've reached – Sasuke Uchiha –please leave your message after the beep." Naruto didn't have time to laugh at how drone and unpleasant Sasuke sounded when stating his name because the phone beeped once again and the caller left their message.

"Little brother you have to learn to treat your guests better. Leaving them alone and injured is very irresponsible of you. Isn't that right, Uzumaki?"