Disclaimers: Naruto is not mine, sadly. This is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, & angst. It is a SasuNaru story, so don't read if you're not a fan of that pairing.

It's All In Your Head

Chapter 28

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Orochimaru gave the Uchiha an indecipherable look, leered at the blonde, then closed the door firmly behind him.

Sasuke watched after him for a moment before moving back to sit on the edge of his bed, deep in thought- thoughts that he carefully kept Naruto out of.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the cautious, clueless teme and flopped back onto the bed. Exhaustion pulled his mind down and he could feel himself sinking into a deep.. restful..

"Do you understand how stupid it was for you to come here?"

His eyes shot open.

"God, I hate you so much right now" Naruto muttered. "I was so close to falling asleep."

"I asked you a fucking question, Na-"

Sasuke had turned to glower down at the blonde, but his eyes escaped him. Naruto was laying on his bed, hair mused, eyes heavy, shirt halfway up his exposed stomach, and he couldn't see anything else. His focus immediately went to his body, and the blonde in his mind knew it.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, as Sasuke hurriedly grabbed his disarrayed shirt, and roughly yanked it back down.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto shouted, slapping his hand away. He pushed himself up on his elbows, eyes locked onto him. "Why are you acting like such a freaking lunatic?"

Sasuke leapt to his feet and paced the space in front of the bed, his irritation growing with every step. "Fuck, Naruto. I mean- look around you!"

"So, we're just going to ignore what you just did.."

"Naruto! Look at your fucking hands! Why the hell would you come here?! Why would you do this!?"

Naruto stayed silent, and it was obvious why.

Sasuke stopped, but kept his eyes averted. "Did you really expect it to work? That I would see you again and just abandon everything that I have worked for?"

Naruto's eyes darkened. "And why not, Sasuke? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time you've abandoned something important- would it?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw. "You want to get it off your chest- go for it."

"You're such a fucking prick."

"And you're a fucking moron!"

"Why, because I'm actually willing to try?" Naruto snapped.

"No, because you fucking came here! Alone!" Sasuke turned and took an angry step towards him. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

"You fucking came here first!" Naruto shouted, sitting up in the bed. "What? You think it makes me a moron, but you a fucking genius? At least I came in here with my dignity, Sasuke, and not sucking off some snake for power."

Sasuke grabbed him by the shirt, and jerked him close. "Don't fucking test me, Naruto. I'm not in the mood for your shit."

Naruto stared at him incredulously. "Oh, and I am?" He held up his bandaged hands. "I just had my fucking skin ripped off, Sasuke. Think you might wait a while before you tear my head off too?"

Sasuke fought back the urge to throttle him, threw Naruto down on the bed, and sank down into a chair across the room. He dropped his head in his hands and dragged them through his hair. "Dammit, Naruto.." he sighed. "I don't want you here.."

"Gee, thanks a lot."

Sasuke glared over at him. "I didn't want that-" he looked pointedly at his bandages, "-happening to you." He swallowed hard. "That was.. that was fucking horrific."

"I know" Naruto whispered, "I was there."

"Is everything a fucking joke to you?" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto propped himself up on an elbow and carefully laid his head against his knuckles. He winced twice before he finally found a position that worked. Sasuke was fuming the entire time. When the blonde met his eyes again, they were practically on fire.

"What do you want me to say, Sasuke? Yeah, it sucked. Definitely in my top three."

Sasuke jumped to his feet, itching to fucking deck him no matter how injured he was, and Naruto raised a hand in surrender. "Will you just relax? I get it, ok. Everything with Kabuto was.." his voice trailed off.

It was horrible. I mean, why do you think I called out for you in first place?

Naruto bit his lip hard, hating himself for thinking it. Hating even more that Sasuke heard it.

"Forget I said that." The shackle and chain on his ankle rattled violently as he turned his back to him. He closed his eyes, ready for sleep to take him away from his overwhelming embarrassment.

"Naruto.."

Don't. I don't want to talk and I sure as fuck don't want to listen. Naruto curled up tight and forced his body to relax, his heart rate to slow, his mind to wander.

It was not off to a great start.

He could see himself in Sasuke's mind, his back turned towards him, lying on the bed, his body curled in on itself. Sasuke didn't look away.. in fact, Naruto wasn't even sure he blinked as he slowly approached him.

Sasuke, stop. I just want to be left alone.

The footsteps stopped, and he wondered what the raven was up to when he felt his fingers gently running through his hair.

Huge blue eyes shot open. He whipped around and stared up at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

What..? What are you doing?

Sasuke lowered himself down onto the edge of the mattress, his hip lightly brushing against him. Naruto's eyes shot down to stare at the place of impact, before darting back up to stare at the Uchiha in absolute bewilderment. His onyx eyes were intense, and he immediately regretted making eye contact with them. It was like missing a step in the dark- his stomach took the plunge first and then, almost as quickly, his heart.

Naruto moved to get up, but Sasuke gently pressed his shoulder back against the bed.

Blue eyes widened. "Sasuke.." he tried again, "what are you doing..?"

Those fingers returned to his hair, slipping through the locks, before tangling in the back. Sasuke kept a firm hold as he lowered his face. Naruto's breath caught in his throat, and Sasuke's gaze dropped down to his lips as they parted for air. How tempting it was to make them part for so much more.

Sasuke.. Naruto thought- not understanding that it was precisely the way he murmured his name, how his eyes flickered across his face, how he gasped for air, that fueled his desire and pulled him closer.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from his lips and gazed deeply into Naruto's wide azure eyes. Naruto shivered under the weight of his gaze, but Sasuke read it as anticipation. He closed the distance and kissed him. His mouth was firm, dominating. Naruto wanted to resist, but he could feel himself melting under the heat of it. He started to kiss him back, and Sasuke pushed him into the mattress, tilting his head as he deepened the kiss. A surge of something primal rushed through Sasuke as he hungrily kissed the blonde. He wanted to taste him, mount him, ravage him... and he wanted to protect him.

I won't let him hurt you again, Naruto..

Naruto froze. He slid his arm between them and shoved Sasuke back, pulling out from his embrace. He quickly turned away, forcing down tears that suddenly lodged in his throat.

"You'll have to be more specific, Sasuke" he said quietly.

A lot of people hurt me.

Author Note:

Sooooo... what are we thinking?

Do you hate it?

I feel like you hate it.

You hate it..

Well, I have a whole lot more planned and some hopefully surprising twisties coming along...

But you can admit if you hate it.

It's ok.

I already know.

So now we both know.

You hate it.

Ok~ well. I'm going to try to win you over with Chapter 29 then! ;D