Disclaimers: Naruto is someone else's, this is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, graphic adult themes, violence, angst, a good friend, and eventually yaoi love.


Hard to Read:

Chapter 34

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Sasuke pulled away, just enough to look into those beautiful blue eyes. He gave a small smile to the blonde blushing beneath him. "Naruto" he said, his voice a low, husky whisper, "I want you to come to bed with me."

Naruto's eyes filled with fear instantly, and Sasuke chastised himself for speaking without thinking.

"Wait-" Sasuke blurted out hurriedly, "that's not what I meant."

Naruto quickly sat up on the couch, and Sasuke could easily see that the fear remained. He sat back, giving the blonde space, and quickly tried to explain, hoping to extinguish the rest of Naruto's concern.

"Naruto- wait! I didn't mean it like that! I'm not going to try anything. I just want to have you near me- that's all!"

He met the blonde's disbelieving eyes. "I mean it! I just want to hold you while we sleep." He sighed. "Can we just try it?"

Sasuke forced back his pride and dropped his gaze as he whispered- "Please..?"

Naruto swallowed back the emotions clawing up his throat, threatening to overwhelm him. "Why..?" he finally choked out.

Sasuke looked.. nervous, which completely shocked Naruto. He wasn't sure he had ever seen the Uchiha show that particular emotion before.

"I just thought.. it would be a good first step." He looked up at Naruto. "I know that you usually sleep on the floor.."

Naruto's face flushed with embarrassment and shame, and Sasuke quickly moved past it.

"So, I thought.. maybe we could just try this. Together."

"Sasuke, I-"

"If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave. I won't force you to stay." Sasuke poured as much sincerity and compassion into his voice as he could. "Naruto- I'm not going to hurt you. Please, you can trust me."

The blonde dragged his fingers through his hair, disheveling it even more than usual as his mind and heart battled for control. "Ok.."

Sasuke smiled. "Ok."

He pulled Naruto off the couch and down the hall, pausing in front of the bathroom. He gently pushed Naruto in. "Get ready- I'll meet you in my room."

"I-"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You already said yes" he reminded him. "Are you going back on your word?"

Naruto bit his lip and shook his head.

"Good- now hurry up. I'll use the one in my room." Then he closed the door, leaving the anxious blonde to prepare for a night with Sasuke.


Naruto stepped out of the shower feeling more anxious than ever. I can't believe I fucking agreed to this..

He glared daggers at his reflection. Do you understand what you just signed up for?

You are going to sleep with Sasuke.

In his BED!

Are you fucking insane?!

The answer seemed pretty obvious based off the internal screaming match he was having with his unhinged reflection.

Christ, Naruto. Get your shit together.

He finished up the remainder of his routine, then looked from the empty bathroom counter, to the pile of clothes on the floor- now sopping wet from where water had leaked from the shower. Then back to the counter. Then the floor. Then to the horrified blonde in the mirror.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me.."

Apart from the small towel he had wrapped securely around his waist, Naruto did not have a single article of clothing with him. He completely forgot to grab clothes to change into, and now he didn't even have the option of wearing the ones he started with.

Fuck..

Left with no other options, he opened the door, and crept towards his bedroom, hoping to make it there unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, a very thoughtful Uchiha had also realized that Naruto was pajama-less, and had thought to remedy that. A floorboard creaked and, not wanting to get caught standing naked in the hallway, Naruto rushed forward. He looked over his shoulder just as Sasuke quickly stepped out of his room, arms full of clothes.

Neither saw it coming.

Naruto crashed into the raven and his legs flew out from under him. He dropped to the floor, gasping at the pain shooting up his backside. Almost immediately a heavy weight dropped on top of him, forcing the breath from his lungs, and his head to snap back. It slammed into the floor with a sickeningly sharp crack.

"Ahh!" he rubbed the back of his head where it collided with the hardwood floor, surprised to find that it was still intact, and looked up to find Sasuke slowly lifting himself off of him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto screamed.

"You're the one who slammed into me!" Sasuke shouted back at him.

"Why were you in my freaking room, Teme?!"

"I was getting you some fucking clothes to change into! Why are you running through the damn hallway?!"

"You- I- what?" Naruto now noticed the assortment of clothes that Sasuke had been carrying surrounding them on the floor. "Oh.. well- you should still watch where you're going!"

Sasuke pushed himself up to all fours, wincing at the pain in his knees after slamming them into the floor on his way down. "For the last fucking time, Naruto- you ran into.." His voice trailed off.

Naruto was nearly naked beneath him, and it was truly a sight to behold.

Sasuke's eyes traveled down his freckled sun-kissed chest, to his toned stomach, following down to the muscled divets in his hips that led a tantalizing trail to where his towel was hanging provocatively low.

Holy shit..

He realized he had been staring and quickly snapped his attention back up to Naruto's face, but the blonde had obviously noticed Sasuke admiring his physique. Sasuke noticed the blush spreading across Naruto's face, and felt his own starting as he looked back at him.

"Sasuke.." Naruto breathed, the air hanging heavy between them, weighing down his voice into something low and husky. He could hear it cracking under the pressure. The sound of it stirred something deep in Sasuke, something he tried to ignored while he had a mostly naked Naruto pinned beneath him.

God, he wanted to touch him, kiss him, caress him.. He ached for it, his arms actually trembling with the effort it took to not lower his body onto Naruto's, pulling the towel away on his way down..

But the look in Naruto's eyes told him that wouldn't be the best idea right now.

He looked away, forcing his desire under control, then lifted himself off of the nervous blonde. Back on his feet, he held out a hand. "Come on" he said simply. Naruto took his hand and let himself be hefted back up, grabbing his towel with his free hand to make sure it stayed in place.

"Uhh.. thanks" he muttered.

Sasuke scooped up the clothes he had dropped and shoved them towards Naruto. "Here. Go change- I'll see you in the room." Still averting his gaze, Sasuke walked around the blonde and shuffled off to his room, closing it behind him.

Naruto looked down at his bundle of clothes. "Well.. that was awkward."

He stepped into his room to change, tossed the towel in a hamper, and padded down the hall. He paused in front of Sasuke's door, once more feeling nervous- especially after all of that, but he felt like it was too late to back out now.

"Just come in, Naruto" he heard Sasuke say. "I already heard you come down the hall."

"Teme" he mumbled as he opened the door.

"I heard that" Sasuke growled.

"You were meant to" he shot back.

Sasuke eyed him, noting his jitteriness. "You don't need to be nervous, Naruto. I told you- you can trust me."

"Yeah, I heard what you said. Doesn't change.." the fact that I still feel fucking scared.

"Go lay down- I'll get the light."

"Wait, I-" Naruto started.

"I know, Naruto" he said quietly, as he turned on a small, dim lamp before turning off the main light.

"Oh."

"Weirdly enough I actually pay attention to you" Sasuke muttered sarcastically, "I'm very aware of what you like." He was talking about the light, but Naruto couldn't help but read into it, especially as he climbed into the other man's bed.

Sasuke joined him, and turned his body to face him.

"Ok- this feels fucking weird. I don't know about this-" Naruto moved as if to sit up, but Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder, gently holding him in place.

"Can you give it more than three seconds before you decide to bail?" he couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice.

"What exactly did you have in mind with all of this?" Naruto grated out, his anger a weak attempt at hiding his growing fear.

"Just.. come here." Sasuke gently put a hand on his hip and pulled him over. As Naruto processed how strong Sasuke's one arm was, the Uchiha pulled Naruto onto his side, his back facing Sasuke. He dragged him over into the crook of his lap, spooning him. Sasuke kept one arm wrapped firmly around his waist, holding him close, and tucked the other beneath the blonde's pillow.

He relished in the warmth of having Naruto's body so close to his- in the way it seemed to fit perfectly against him. He could feel the blonde stiffen up though, and quickly snapped out of his own pleasures, ready to soothe his concerns.

"Talk to me Naruto," Sasuke whispered.

"What do you want me to say?" he whispered back.

"Tell me about.." he thought for a moment, "when your feelings for me changed. When you decided I was more than a friend to you."

Naruto blushed. "I don't know.."

"Oh, come on. There's no point in hiding it. I already know how you feel."

"Fine. Well.. I think it started when I felt.. protective over you" he admitted, discovering pieces of himself as he thought it through out loud with Sasuke. "When you were hurt shielding me from Haku, when I stepped in to protect you from Gaara.. times like that. Made me realize, I don't know- how important you are to me."

Sasuke smiled and nuzzled his face against Naruto's hair, encouraging him to go on.

"You do know this is super awkward admitting out loud to you right?" Naruto stated bluntly.

"I like you awkward" Sasuke replied. "It's.. endearing."

"Shut up.." he mumbled.

"You haven't actually answered the question yet though" Sasuke said. "When did you know?"

Naruto sighed, resigning himself to the awkward. "I think.. it was when our hands were glued together."

Sasuke pushed himself up on an elbow, surprised. "Really?"

Naruto looked up at him. "Well, I don't know! It was weird at first, but then I realized that I actually liked- ughh, this is going to sound stupid.." He looked away. "- I liked holding your hand, and being close to you. Made me feel.. something. I don't think I was ready to admit what it was, but I knew it meant you were someone I'd never be able to let go."

Sasuke studied the shy blonde in his arms, then leaned in and kissed his temple before cozying back up to him. "Feels good" he admitted, "knowing that. I'm glad you told me."

Naruto smiled. "Are you going to return the favor?"

Sasuke swallowed, knowing he got himself into this one, but also feeling anxious sharing his private thoughts out loud. "Umm.."

"Come on, Teme. It's only fair."

"Well.. it's not exactly the same" he started. "I felt a lot of different things at different times, and I guess I didn't realize what it meant until.."

"Until?"

"Until I almost lost you."

Naruto wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, and then it hit him. He felt a rush of guilt rising in his gut. He means when I tried to kill myself..

"That.. was recent."

"Well, that's when I put a label on it. But it has been there for a while."

"I'm listening."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine. Well, like when I saw you at Orochimaru's hideout and I noticed-" He could feel his face redden.

"Noticed what?" Naruto asked curiously.

"How.. good you look."

Naruto laughed and looked back at him. "What?"

"Well.. your hair was longer, your eyes more intense, and you looked, I don't know- grown up? I know that I was still a fucked up psycho back then-"

Naruto laughed again.

"-but I jumped down because I wanted to see you up close. And yeah. I realized how attractive you are."

"Umm- that's adorable."

"I will punch you" Sasuke growled.

"Were there any other times you felt something, or was it basically just when I turned you on?"

Sasuke glared at the back of his head. "You piss me off sometimes, you know that?"

"Obviously it works for me though."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well.. there were a lot of missions we used to go on where we seemed-" he tried to find the words, "-in sync. I felt connected to you. And there were times where it felt like more than just a simple bond."

Naruto smiled. "I know what you mean." He paused for a moment, then looked over his shoulder at the raven cuddled into him.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke propped himself up on his elbow again, so he could look down at his face. "You ok?" Naruto's voice had suddenly gotten serious, and Sasuke worried that something changed.

"Yeah." Naruto looked up at him. "This.. this actually helps." He looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Talking to you like this. It just- makes it feel normal.. feel safe." He met the raven's eyes once more. "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

Sasuke's eyes burned with intensity as he gazed back at his blonde. His jaw tightened. "I would do anything for you, Naruto."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat, and then he surprised both of them as he lifted himself up and kissed Sasuke.

The Uchiha's eyes widened and all he could do was stare as Naruto pulled back.

"I love you, Sasuke."

That's when they heard a crash coming from the living room- a sharp sound of splintered wood, broken glass, and a rush of steps headed their way. Sasuke turned to Naruto- seeing the fear rush to his eyes.

"Naruto- hide. Now."

Sasuke jumped out of bed and rushed to the door, locking it. He grabbed his weapons, arming himself before barricading the door. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Naruto frozen on his bed, panic stricken. He ran over, grabbed the blonde, and shoved him toward his closet.

"Naruto!"

The blonde finally snapped out of it and looked up at him.

"I want you to hide, and no matter what- do not make a sound."

Naruto glared at him. "Don't be fucking ridiculous, Sasuke. Have you ever known me to hide from an enemy?" His eyes hardened. "We're a team. We face this shit together."

They could hear the intruders on the other side of the door, trying to force their way in. The two turned to face the threat at their doorstep, readying themselves for a fight. Sasuke spun out a set of kunai as Naruto summoned an intense amount of his chakra.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Two other Narutos appeared and got to work setting up a massive rasengan in the palm of his hand.

"Bring it, assholes" the Narutos growled in unison.

Sasuke knew Naruto was strong, but he was also struggling with what happened to him, and he couldn't completely mask the fear that flickered in his eyes as his mind sent him back to the last time he was attacked. Itachi was dead, but Naruto's fear of him was far from it.

I will protect him, Sasuke thought, eyes narrowing on the door.

No matter what.


Author Note:

I just couldn't help myself! I wanted more adorable sappy, awkward SasuNaru before ruining their lives. :)

"Alright- Cinnamon. Time to fuck shit up."

Angst-horse throws on a pair of angst-sunglasses*

"Neigh."