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

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, sexual assault, explicit sexual content (yaoi), & angst.

Crazy About You

Chapter 3: Madness

"We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

-Alice in Wonderland

--

Sasuke slipped out of Naruto's room just as soundlessly as he had entered it, making sure to lock the door behind him as he left. Naruto continued to stare after him well after he was already gone, absolutely confounded after his visit. Even more so than he was when he first discovered that the raven-haired stranger wasn't a hallucination.

It just didn't make sense.

The guy had been so angry with him before, practically ready to tear him apart. He had even snuck into his room with the sole intention of hurting him, and yet the way he left..

The raven was still angry, that much was clear, but it was different now. His fury wasn't directed at Naruto. Rather he seemed angry for him. Like he wanted to protect him.

But why..?

Why would he suddenly care what happens to me?

It didn't make sense and no matter how much it swirled around in his brain he just couldn't find any reason behind it. Or maybe he didn't want to..

Maybe he was afraid to.

Naruto let out a deep sigh and turned onto his side, facing away from the door and the echo of the raven that had just left it. His eyes slowly closed, lids falling with the weight of of the heavy feelings that had pummeled him over the course of the day. His anxiety still gnawed at a corner of his mind, but exhaustion had it beat and soon he was sinking into a new darkness- one he welcomed with open arms. And in it he found reprieve from all that had tormented him while he was awake. The nightmares stayed buried, lost somewhere thankfully out of reach, and instead all he saw were two obsidian eyes filled with warmth.

Naruto smiled as he plunged headfirst into oblivion.

--

Naruto was startled awake by the abrupt slam of his door and the sudden gruff voice of a rugged-looking orderly. His eyes narrowed on the blonde, before shooting over to the men standing beside him.

"How the hell did he get out of his restraints?" he snapped.

The others shuffled their feet, but they didn't answer him. It only served to piss him off more.

"Are you two listening?!" he shouted. "Who the fuck authorized this?!"

"I'm- I'm not sure" one of them finally answered. "Someone from the night crew must have-"

"Find out who did it and have them fired" the burly orderly snarled.

His cohort paled. "Asuma, you know I don't have the authority to do that."

"You do now" he growled. "Go. Both of you."

The two seemed eager to obey that order at least.

Without a word or second glance they rushed from Naruto's room and disappeared down the hall. The man, Asuma, turned back to the blonde, his eyes brimming with rage. Naruto slowly sat up, his eyes locked on those fiery orbs, unable to look away.

"Did you do this?" Asuma forced out between clenched teeth.

Naruto shook his head, his stare as persistent as his silence.

The man looked doubtful but didn't comment on it. He gave a heavy sigh and dragged hand down his face, already exasperated with the day. He checked his watch. And it's only eight AM.

Fantastic.

Asuma eyed the blonde for a few more seconds before finally giving in. He came here to collect him anyways, and it didn't look like he was out of control or anything. There was no point in restraining him, let alone locking him away again.

Fuck it.

His mind made up, Asuma walked over to the small blonde. He unceremoniously grabbed him by the arm and easily hefted him to his feet. Panic flitted across Naruto's stare, but otherwise he didn't respond to his forcefulness. The orderly stepped back across the room and out the door, dragging the patient after him.

"W-where are you taking me?" Naruto finally managed to say.

The orderly glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning back to the long corridor before them. "Bathroom" he muttered. "Then the community room."

Naruto's heart sped up. "I can leave my room?"

"For now."

Then maybe I'll be able to see him again.

Naruto silently promised himself he'd find out his name when he did. There were only so many times he could think of him as the raven-haired stranger. If he was supposed to see him as a real person, he needed to know his real name.

Naruto freshened up quickly, eager to get to the community space. His chair was there, his journal hopefully still tucked inside, and there was someone he was inexplicably excited to see.

Naruto wondered if he felt the same way as him and decided there was definitely a possibility of that. While there was still a chance that the raven was angry at him all over again, there was also a distinct possibility that he was still feeling protective of him. Meaning he'd want to get close.

Maybe even be his friend.

Naruto didn't want to get his hopes up, but for some reason the thought of being friends with the raven filled him with a rush of new feelings. They weren't unpleasant necessarily, but they were definitely unfamiliar, and he didn't really know what to make of it. He had not considered being friends with any of the other patients before, not even Kiba even though he was someone he got along with fairly well. He just couldn't help but keep his distance from them. All of them. And yet with this man it was different. He couldn't explain it, but he felt some sort of compulsion to be near him, a desire stronger than anything he's felt in a very long time.

And he didn't want to ignore it.

--

When Naruto finally made it back to the main room, he was disappointed to find that there was no sign of his potential friend. He had unknowingly built-up hope of seeing him and now was left feeling hollow.

Naruto tried not to think about that as he padded across the expansive room and over to his chair. He dropped down on it and ran his hand down between the cushions. He breathed an audible sigh of relief when his fingertips skimmed across the top of his notebook. He didn't know what he would have done if it went missing.

Naruto pulled the journal free from his lumpy orange companion and settled back against the chair as he pulled his pen free and flipped to a fresh page. He tapped the pen against his chin, considering what he wanted to say, then brought it to paper and let his mind unravel all over it.

He was so focused on his manic ramblings that he didn't hear footsteps approaching. And he failed to notice the person hovering beside him. At first. When he did finally notice, it startled him immensely. Naruto flinched and his eyes shot up fast to find two curious dark orbs staring down at him.

"Naruto."

Naruto snapped his notebook closed, his face flush with sudden inexplicable embarrassment.

The raven quirked a brow at his reaction. "Got something to hide?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at that, and decided to let the blonde keep his secrets.

For now.

He sat on the arm of the chair beside him without invitation, settling in as the blonde continued to stare at him. "Was there something you wanted to say?" the raven inquired.

As a matter of fact, there was. And Naruto had been looking for the perfect opening to do just that. "Yes" he said quickly. "What's your name?"

Sasuke studied him for a moment before answering. "Why?"

Naruto stared up at him, those wide blues just as captivating as they were the first time he saw them. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, refusing to let himself get pulled in, refusing to acknowledge that it was a battle that he was not going to win.

"Real people have names" Naruto said simply.

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at that- a reaction he was not very familiar with. "Still think I'm a hallucination?"

"Maybe a little."

The raven leaned back against the chair, laying his head against the soft backing as he turned his eyes up to the overarching ceiling above. "Sasuke" he said quietly. "My name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke.." Naruto repeated, familiarizing himself with the syllables, the feel of it on his tongue. "Thank you, Sasuke."

Dark orbs found him once more, brows drawn in puzzlement. "For what?"

Naruto glanced around, making sure there were no orderlies within earshot before whispering, "for untying me last night".

"I'm sure you would have done the same for me" he said sarcastically.

"I would."

Sasuke propped his elbow against the chair, his head against his hand as he turned to face the blonde. "You know, you're surprisingly honest."

Naruto tilted his head, the question written all over his face before he even asked it. "Why is that surprising?"

"It seems like you have a lot to hide."

"Does it?"

"Unless you just go around telling the whole world that you're schizophrenic and played a part in cutting up your face."

Naruto flinched back and gave him a horrified look, like Sasuke had struck him.

Like he had hurt him.

Fuck.

"Naruto, look, I-"

"How could you say that to me?"

Sasuke sat up, his heavy sigh filled with regret. "Because I'm an asshole."

Naruto rose to his feet, his notebook clasped close to his chest, anchoring him. He knew his face was a blank emotionless slate, but their were so many feelings rolling through him, forceful and relentless, and he didn't know how to handle them. He had faced so much hate, so much criticism for who he is, things beyond his control. But this was someone he had hoped would be his friend.

"I thought you were different" he said sadly, still unable to look away. But he wanted to.

For the first time since he met Sasuke, he didn't want to look at him at all.

"I guess you really are real."

Sasuke got to his feet at that and took a step towards the blonde, but Naruto shyed away from him. He scrambled back to keep even more distance between them and Sasuke's steps faltered. He was surprised by the pain he saw, and more so by his reaction to it. How seeing Naruto like that seemed to tear a gaping hole through his chest.

He wanted to take it back, to fix what he had broken, but Naruto clearly didn't want him to. Sasuke felt stuck. He considered closing the space between them anyways, ignoring what he wanted, but he didn't want to scare Naruto. Sasuke was aggressive, impatient, constantly angry, but there were still times when he regretted being so rash and abrasive.

This was definitely one of those times.

"Naruto-"

The blonde just shook his head and finally managed to turn away from him, and Sasuke let him. The remorseful raven watched as the person he had so callously hurt walked to the far side of the room over to a small alcove. The blonde tucked himself inside, curled up tight. He wrapped his arms around himself and buried his head in his arms- unable to do much else to escape him.

Guilt seized the raven, and he didn't know what to do with it. So for a while he just stood there, staring after him.

Just like Naruto always did.

And he couldn't help but wish that he would raise his head and do it all over again.

--

Sasuke lasted all of about twenty minutes until he just couldn't stand it for another second.

He wasn't one to beg for attention or to apologize for shit, no matter how badly he fucked up. And yet here he was, prepared to do just that.

So far, he was not a fan.

He didn't know what to say, how to make his face look apologetic instead of royally pissed, and he didn't know how to get the blonde to look up at him without just reaching out and forcing him to. Just stay calm, Sasuke reminded himself. You're the asshole here, not him. Be patient. Be calm.

Self-talk had never been all that useful in the past, but he figured it was worth a shot considering all the other new things he was trying.

And for what? Some fucking blonde I don't even know? A guy in a fucking insane asylum? He's no one to me.

No one.

Even as he thought it, Sasuke knew he didn't mean it. Naruto had already managed to crawl his way under his skin and burrow in his mind, like a fucking louse. He couldn't just look the other way. For any of it.

Sasuke slowly approached the despondent blonde, reminding his face to stop scowling as he moved closer. He could see Naruto stiffen as he stopped in front of him, but he didn't try to get away. In fact, aside from the tension in his body he didn't do anything. Sasuke wasn't so sure that that was a good sign, but at least it made him easier to approach.

He took a knee in front of him and slowly reached out. Sasuke paused, his hand poised over his arm, waiting. "Naruto" he said quietly.

The blonde scooted further back, pressing himself firmly against the wall. He didn't look up.

Sasuke let his hand fall back to his side.

"I'm sorry" he murmured. "I shouldn't have said that."

He waited, growing impatient with every passing second, and finally Naruto lifted his head. His eyes were dark, heavy with the weight of everything in his mind. Sasuke hated knowing that he put it there.

"I thought you said you found a new target."

The raven clenched his jaw hard, forcing back the sudden burst of anger flaring up inside of him. "And I meant it" he grated out.

Naruto stared at him, noticing the anger and his crumbling control over it.

"Are you always angry?"

"Yes."

Naruto bit his lip, considering him as he searched for the words still scrambled in his thoughts. "Can you.. direct it towards someone else..?"

It took everything in Sasuke not to implode on the spot. Somehow he managed to regain enough control to force out a relatively calm response. "I'll.. try."

Naruto nodded and Sasuke, eager to take his rage out on something, asked, "have you seen him? The guy who hurt you?"

Those captivating blues widened. "I never told you he hurt me."

"It wasn't hard to guess."

Something lodged in the back of Naruto's throat, and he did his best to shove it back down. "I.. I haven't seen him" he choked.

Sasuke noticed immediately, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he rose to his feet and held out his hand. "Come on" he said, as gently as he could.

Naruto eyed his hand suspiciously. "Where?"

"Back to your favorite spot."

Naruto studied him, his curiosity peaked once more. "And how do you know it's my favorite spot?"

"I just do."

Naruto considered him a moment longer before finally placing his hand in Sasuke's, letting him pull him to his feet. "Where will you be sitting?" Naruto asked.

His looked down. Sasuke had yet to release his hand.

When he looked back up he found a smile waiting for him.

"With you, obviously."

Naruto blinked. "Is it obvious?"

Sasuke slowly reeled him in, watching his eyes find his again, flickering between them, desperately trying to read them as he drew closer.

"It should be" he breathed.

"Are you.. trying to be my friend?" Naruto asked, surprised that he found the nerve to say it.

Friend, huh.

"And if I was?" Sasuke asked.

"I.. don't really know how to do that" Naruto admitted.

Something sinister flashed in the raven's eyes, just for a moment, before disappearing entirely. But Naruto had definitely seen it. And he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Don't worry, Naruto" he said slyly.

"I'll teach you."

Author Note:

I just adore a devilish Sasuke. Anyone else feeling that way?

And thank you, solitare1~ I'm so glad you like it. :)