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 5: Face to Face

"I'm tryna be headstrong but it feels like I slept on my neck wrong."

- Eminem

--

Kakashi called in a few orderlies to escort Naruto back to the community room, ensuring that he got there safely. He watched them leave, staring after the sad blonde for a moment as he thought over his next steps. Then he stepped back around his desk, fell into his chair, and pulled out his staff records.

It had taken quite a bit of prodding on his part, and two strong cups of tea, but Kakashi finally managed to get Naruto to tell him about the man who attacked him. His description sounded faintly familiar, but Kakashi couldn't recall his face. He assumed that wouldn't be much of a problem once he started looking though.

The orange hair would be a dead giveaway.

After going through a dozen papers, Kakashi finally spotted the autumn hair and cold eyes of the man Naruto had described. Kakashi narrowed his eyes on his face, engraving it to memory. His gaze lowered as he read his information. "Deva Pain.."

Seems fitting, he thought bitterly. He does seem to cause a lot of it.

Kakashi slid his chair along the length of his desk to the schedule he kept posted on the wall and slid his fingers down the list of staff working each day. Looks like he doesn't come in again for a couple days.

Kakashi wasn't about to let that happen.

He grabbed his work phone, shifted back to the center of his desk, and typed in the number he had on file. As it rang, Kakashi decided he'd just make up an excuse to have him come in early. Then he would confront him at the front entrance, away from his patients, and have security remove Deva from his sight when he was done with him.

Kakashi wanted to see the guilt in his eyes before he threw his fist between them.

It wasn't exactly the most professional way to handle this situation, but Kakashi was known to, let's say, bend the rules from time to time. Always for the greater good, of course. He didn't necessarily condone or excuse it away, but that didn't change the fact that sometimes a bit of extra assertiveness was necessary.

After what Naruto told him, Kakashi decided that this was one of the times when it was pretty fucking necessary.

After several unanswered rings, the call was directed to voicemail. Kakashi willed his voice to sound friendly as he quickly let Deva know who he was and what he wanted. He made up some bullshit about there being staff changes, and that he would like to arrange a time for him to come in and discuss his new schedule. He figured that was a believable enough excuse. Then he hung up and leaned back in his chair with an exasperated sigh.

"How the hell did a guy like that get in here in the first place.."

Truth be told, he didn't remember hiring him. The name didn't even ring a bell, and it should have. Even if Deva hadn't dyed his hair until after he was hired, with a last name like that he would have stood out.

"Meaning I wasn't the one who hired him."

The realization hit a nerve.

In fact, it hit several.

"That dumb cow."

Kakashi's fist clenched tight around the bastard's smug face, wishing it was his neck in place of his bullshit file.

I never would have hired this asshole.

"I should have fired Tsunade a hell of a lot sooner."

--

Naruto groaned as he blinked heavy sleep from his eyes, slowly getting his bearings to come back. The dark was insistent, but he wasn't letting up either. He didn't know what it was that woke him, but he had a crawling suspicion that he needed to.

Naruto looked up at the alabaster ceiling overhead. The small night-light they permitted him illuminated its nothingness. He narrowed his cloudy eyes at it. Naruto never trusted a blank canvas, but his illusions loved nothing more.

The meds appeared to be working, because there was no sign of them. The shadows didn't start crawling towards him, there were no mysterious eyes he couldn't help but stare back at, no beings shoving their way through the drywall. Ok, he had no reason to fear anything above him. But that might not be the same for everywhere else.

Naruto lazily dropped his head to the side, still weighed down with exhaustion and chemicals. He blinked, puzzled by what he saw at first, wondering if he really was hallucinating. Then reality hit him- like a fucking grenade.

Naruto's heart lunged up his throat and he bolted upright in bed, his eyes wide with panic. He shot back, hitting the wall in his haste.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!"

A hand pressed against his mouth, relatively gentle but firm enough to keep him silent.

"Shh, they'll hear you."

Part of Naruto wanted them to, but his curiosity got the better of him- as usual.

Naruto pulled the hand away and willed his heart to settle back in his chest as he met those deep dark eyes.

"Why are you here, Sasuke?"

The raven dropped his head, his remorse genuine. "I'm sorry. I know, I've said that to you a lot lately, but I do mean it. I just.. I lost it when I thought about someone touching you and-"

"That doesn't make it ok."

Sasuke grimaced. "I know that."

"And you went too far before that."

Sasuke sighed and looked up, prepared to face the truth that Naruto would inevitably tell. "I know that too."

"I might not know much about friends" Naruto went on, "but I know they don't do that."

"Maybe I don't want to be just your friend."

Naruto swallowed hard.

"Sasuke, I.. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you're real. And that you still want to be around me. This place.. I'm going to be here for a while, and I-"

He could feel himself rambling, but he didn't know how to stop. How to make his feelings and thoughts concise instead of a mixing bowl of nonsense and panic. He wasn't used to saying a whole lot of anything to anyone- not anyone real at least.

And he definitely wasn't used to having someone want to…

Naruto shook his head. "The only thing I need in here is a friend, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked annoyed, but he tried his best not to be. He didn't want to take his anger out on Naruto again, but he didn't want to have to just drop it and move on either.

"You won't even give me a chance?" he said between clenched teeth.

"I'm not sure I even want to talk to you" Naruto shot back, surprised by the feelings bursting out of him. "You attacked me, Sasuke!"

"And I already told you that I'm fucking sorry for it!"

"But how do I know it won't happen again?"

"I'm not trying to hurt you" Sasuke said, his eyes pleading with him to believe him, to hear him, and to ignore the perpetual anger that still swirled alongside it.

Naruto could see the sincerity despite the ever-present rage. He did believe that Sasuke regretted lashing out at him, but he wasn't sure that was enough. He didn't know anything about this man aside from the fact that he's also living in a mental institution and that he is always angry. It didn't exactly make him want to let his guard down with the guy.

Not to mention the fact that this was now the second time he has inexplicably been able to sneak into his room in the middle of the night.

He would be a fool to trust him.

"You should go, Sasuke."

Those impenetrable eyes seemed to get even darker. "I don't want to."

The intensity in his voice drew goosebumps to Naruto's arms. The nervous blonde pulled himself further away on the bed, pressing his back firmly against the wall.

"Sasuke, I.. I can't give you what you want."

"You don't know what that even is" he argued.

"I think I do."

Sasuke's eyes flashed. "I'll prove you don't."

He dropped back on the bed and without warning grabbed the blonde and yanked him down with him. Naruto yelped in surprise but the rest of his protests stayed trapped in his throat, silenced by his fear. He tried to scoot away, but Sasuke's arms tightened around him and pulled him close to his side.

"W-wait-"

"This is all I want, Naruto."

The blonde paused and looked up as Sasuke tilted his head enough to meet his stare.

"I just don't want to be alone."

Naruto's heart seized in his chest. He knew that feeling. He understood what it was like to hate solitude, to be irrationally afraid of it. To be willing to do anything to escape it. There was a reason Naruto had yet to fully shut out the creatures in his head.

He didn't want to be alone either.

"You.. really just want this?"

Sasuke stared down at him without amusement or jest, without anger. Naruto wasn't sure he had ever seen him look so serious without a secondary emotion tacked on along with it. He wasn't sure if that look was reassuring..

or terrifying.

"Sasuke..?"

"Just let me hold you" he said quietly. "I'll leave before shift change."

"What if someone checks?"

"No one's going to check."

He seemed pretty confident about that. Naruto decided that at some point he'd have to get Sasuke to explain how in the world he was sneaking out of his cell at night, seemingly without a care in the world. But now didn't need to be that time.

Naruto gave the raven's face one last searching look before finally resigning himself to a comfort he had never known. He dropped his head and let strong arms circle around him, pulling him into Sasuke's intoxicating scent and undeniable warmth.

Anyone who claimed that this man was cold was dead fucking wrong. Naruto felt heat inside and out and all of that was because of the rather mysterious, but very real, Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto knew what it was to be touched by someone cold and cruel.. better than most. Sasuke wasn't one of them.

"Why would you want to do this with me.." Naruto breathed, an inside thought that had somehow found its way out.

"I want to do this because it's you" Sasuke murmured, suddenly unabashed in his own honesty.

Naruto gave an incredulous laugh. "You don't even know me."

"Maybe. But I know enough to know I want to know more than I know."

"That sounds like nonsense."

"Not in my head."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut. He had never heard a more relatable sentiment.

Sasuke took his silence as approval, and settled in. He buried his face in lush blonde hair and inhaled deeply, his eyes rolling as Naruto's scent invaded his senses and drilled deep in his mind. He nuzzled his cheek against it and slowly closed his eyes, relishing in the absurd amount of comfort it offered.

"I wish you liked this the way that I do."

There was a long, excruciating pause before Naruto finally answered. His voice was low, shy. It made Sasuke's heart skip a beat.

"I never said I didn't like it."

Dark eyes shot open. Sasuke slipped his hand up and raised the blonde's face with it, prepared to do something about their shared feelings. He wanted to kiss him, taste him. Devour him.

Sasuke stopped.

Naruto's eyes were huge and vibrant and so.. so fucking trusting. Sasuke was used to provoking people- eliciting chaos, rousing fear and outrage- forcing any kind of reaction he could get. He was angry and inconsolable and he needed the whole world to be unable to turn a blind eye to it. But Naruto never had. He didn't look away when things were ugly and raw- his stare was unwavering. Even when he was afraid, even when Sasuke fucked everything up, he never stopped looking at him.

He didn't want to do something that would suddenly make that stop.

With more control than he had ever exhibited before, Sasuke leaned down and kissed Naruto lightly on the cheek. He didn't say anything after, but he made sure to hold Naruto's gaze- to show him that he wasn't backing down and he wasn't embarrassed by how he felt.

Naruto didn't say anything either. He didn't berate him, or question him. He didn't push him away, and he didn't kiss him back. He didn't give him any sign of how he felt.

But he didn't look away either.

--

Kakashi was getting pretty goddamn impatient. So much so that he had even gone to the bastard's house, and still nothing. He wondered if Deva was suspicious of him and had bailed to avoid getting caught.

Kakashi was fine with the idea of him never showing his face in his facility again, but Deva simply disappearing wasn't enough. If he really had violated Naruto, which Kakashi was inclined to believe, it was highly likely that he had done so to other patients as well. And who knows how far he had gone. He wanted more than for Deva to just lose his job. He wanted to make sure he paid for the crimes he committed. And he couldn't very well do that if he couldn't find the asshole!

He had already tried to involve the police, but they were pretty fucking useless. It was clear from their exchanged glances and lack of questioning that they didn't believe him. The second that Kakashi said it was one of his patients who reported it they lost interest. They didn't say as much, but their expressions were plenty transparent. To them, Naruto wasn't of sound enough mind to know what happened. If there were times when he saw things that weren't real, that must mean everything wasn't- right?

The thought sent a wave of fury crashing over him. Naruto's schizophrenia wasn't the cause of this. Those bruises, the terror in his voice, the tears that he couldn't hold back- Naruto was a victim.

And it pissed Kakashi off to no end that they refused to see it.

Fuck 'em- he wasn't giving up. Kakashi would be taking matters into his own hands, and the useless police force could pick up the pieces when he was done.

That is if he ever fucking found him!

At this rate he's going to show up for work before I have the chance to confront him.

Which meant he'd have to intercept him before he could get access to his patients.

To Naruto.

He's already hurt him, and I failed to see it. To stop it.

Kakashi clenched his jaw hard, forcing a vein to the surface.

It won't happen again.

--

Naruto had to admit, it was lonely without Sasuke. He didn't think it would be that bad- just the same usual loneliness he always felt. He's been here for over a year, after all. This wasn't his first time spending the day alone in the community room. So why did it feel so much worse now?

Sasuke's latest outburst had earned him five days in solitary- five days that Naruto had to spend without him. Well.. except for that first night, when Sasuke had snuck into his room.

Naruto still had yet to find out exactly how he did that, but if he had to guess it probably had something to do with flirting his way to freedom with one of the night staff. Sasuke was alluring, to be sure- it wouldn't take much. Especially if the orderly in question felt like no one would be the wiser for it. If Sasuke's night escapades were simply about stretching his legs for a bit.

During the day, on the other hand, there were plenty of staff and patients milling about- it would be pretty difficult to get away with something like that now. A thought that Naruto was surprised to find filled him with immense disappointment. Especially since he hasn't seen him at all since that first night. He didn't come back any of the following ones, and Naruto was oddly saddened by that.

Maybe he's lost interest in being around me..

It could just as easily be that the staff was on rotation and the one in charge the last couple nights wasn't willing to look the other way for him, but Naruto was inclined to assume the worst. He had learned a long time ago not to get his hopes up- about anything. It seemed foolish to do so now.

So, he was even more surprised when he walked into the community room that morning to find Sasuke already waiting for him in his chair- two days sooner than expected. A warm feeling spread through him, and while he couldn't seem to get his face to respond he could feel the smile in his eyes and hoped that the raven could see it.

Naruto stared as he walked over to him, trying not to seem too eager as he went, and Sasuke easily met it. And held it. Somewhere along the way, Sasuke seemed to have gotten used to Naruto's habit and even went as far as to return the gesture. Naruto felt the corner of his mouth tilt up slightly, his smile fighting its way to the surface.

He stopped in front of the chair, suddenly feeling nervous. "Hey" he said quietly.

Sasuke smiled. "Hey." He patted the chair, smile locked in place. "Come sit with me."

Naruto bit his lip, and Sasuke watched with the utmost focus. Naruto quickly released it, his cheeks reddening.

"There's.. not a lot of room."

Sasuke's grin widened. "I'm ok with that."

Before the blonde could protest further, Sasuke grabbed hold of his wrist and yanked him down beside him. Naruto yelped in surprise, but somehow the orderlies had missed it. They were still yawning over their coffees, preoccupied by the horde of patients still making their way into the room.

Sasuke quirked his brow at the startled blonde. "This can't keep surprising you, Naruto."

"You're lucky no one saw that."

Sasuke shrugged. "Felt worth it to me."

Naruto seemed prepared to continue arguing his point, but Sasuke wasn't interested in carrying it out any further.

"So, did you miss me?" he asked, mostly kidding though a part of him wanted the candid blonde to tell him. To reassure him.

Naruto couldn't help but stare, and he couldn't stop himself from answering truthfully.

"Yes."

Sasuke's smile softened. He lowered his gaze and lightly traced the top of Naruto's hand with his fingertips.

"I missed you too."

Naruto couldn't seem to find the words. His tongue froze in his mouth, his thoughts trapped inside. But Sasuke appeared to be unbothered by it.

"You're not mad at me for sneaking in the other night?"

Naruto quickly looked around to make sure no one else overhead that.

"It's fine" Sasuke said, already knowing what he wanted to say. "No one heard."

Naruto relented, but his concern brought another one to the forefront of his mind and he couldn't shake it. Sasuke noticed the look on his face and had a feeling he knew why it was there. He didn't want to acknowledge it, didn't want to deal with it, but he knew he couldn't ignore it forever. Might as well get it over with.

"Say what you want to say" he said, his voice sharper than he had intended for it to be.

Naruto flinched, and Sasuke immediately hated himself for it.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I'm not trying to be a dick. I can tell there's something you want to say, so you might as well say it." When Naruto continued to stay quiet, he added, "I'll listen."

The blonde nodded, searched for the words, and pushed down the anxiety that kept them scattered. "I, umm, I don't know how to.."

"Don't worry about how it sounds" Sasuke cut in. "Just say what's on your mind."

Naruto knew that Sasuke's anger was quick and unpredictable, so it worried him to do that. But it looked like that was exactly what he was going to have to do.

"I was scared" he said, unable to be anything but honest.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Of?"

Naruto swallowed but couldn't look away. And he couldn't help but answer.

"You."

He could see his jaw click, and knew he was already tredding on thin ice.

"Why?" Sasuke said between his teeth, unable to hold back his anger enough to get out anything else.

"You were so mad" Naruto whispered. "I.. didn't know what you were going to do to me."

Naruto could feel the heat from the inferno in Sasuke's eyes burning straight through him.

"Were you afraid the other night?"

Naruto paused, thinking back. "Only at first" he admitted.

That seemed to cool Sasuke's temper a bit. Just enough to keep his composure mostly in place.

"So we're talking about what happened in here."

Naruto nodded, but Sasuke could see there was something else he wanted to say. The real reason he was bringing this up now. The reason he had been so scared during his last outburst.

Sasuke wanted to ask gently, but he was having a hard time keeping his anger in check. "Was there something else?" he snapped.

"You.. said I was yours."

"Because you are."

Naruto gave him a pained look. "Sasuke-"

"I'm not taking it back" the raven growled. "Don't ask me to."

"I just want to be your friend" Naruto said weakly.

"Friend" Sasuke repeated, something akin to disgust in his voice. "You think friends lay in bed together?"

"It wasn't like that!"

"I held you!" Sasuke snapped, his voice rising fast. "And you fucking let me!"

"Sasuke, please."

Naruto reached towards him to take hold of his arm, to try to ground him, but his hand froze. He wasn't sure that he should touch him- not when he was accusing those touches of being less than innocent.

"If you do this, they're going to drag you away again."

"What the hell does that matter?!" Sasuke shot back.

Naruto gave him a sad look, one that made his anger falter. "I don't want to be alone again."

The raven dropped back, his rage successfully doused by his blonde's truth.

"Ok" he breathed. "Ok. Fine, I'm sorry."

He was tired of saying sorry.

"You still haven't told me what that asshole did to you."

Naruto looked sickened by the thought. "I don't want to make you mad again."

"I thought we covered this" Sasuke said, "I'm always mad."

Naruto gnawed at his bottom lip, still not convinced that he should keep testing Sasuke's self-control like this. "He.. touched me" Naruto forced himself to say.

After multiple attempts, he finally managed to drop his gaze. He stared at his hands as his fingers tangled together on his lap. The silence between them made him incredibly nervous, but he didn't want to look up yet.

"Down.. there" he added. "He said that I'll be" his face contorted, "his soon."

"When you were tied down to your bed" Sasuke grated out, hating the images that flashed in his head at the thought.

"Yes."

So that's why he doesn't like when I say he's mine. That fucker did the same thing.

Sasuke ground his teeth together.

But Naruto really IS mine. And that bastard won't take him from me.

NO ONE will.

Not even Naruto.

"I'm not him."

Naruto's head shot up at that, eyes wide as they locked onto him. "I know that."

"Do you?!"

"Sasuke-"

"I'm trying, alright! But I am fucking mad. What else would I be?! You're acting like I did the same thing!"

"No, I know you didn't. I'm just telling you that I was scared-."

"That I would" Sasuke finished for him.

"I don't know what you'll do. That's why I'm scared!"

"You don't know what your hallucinations will do" Sasuke argued. "Are you afraid of them?"

"Yes."

That quieted him.

"You.. said you preferred them."

Naruto shook his head slightly. "I just.. never had anyone else."

"Well, you do now. So stop pushing me away."

"I just-"

Naruto's words snagged in his throat.

It had been just a glimpse, something he noticed out of the corner of his eye for maybe a second, but it had been enough. Naruto recognized that color- a shade of orange that was practically burned into his brain. It wasn't something he could easily forget.

He hoped he was wrong, that he was just being paranoid. That it was merely a hallucination brought on by stress. He wanted so badly to write it off as something that was just in his head, something he could erase with the right combination of meds, but he already knew it wasn't.

It had been real then, and it was real now.

Naruto forced himself to look over and all of the blood instantly drained from his face.

It's him.

Those eyes found him and locked on, excitement and cruelty flickering inside.

Naruto's whole body trembled under that look, which only made it worse. His stomach twisted and tangled, a sensation that moved up and constricted his throat- leaving him breathless. He wanted to run, but he couldn't move, couldn't think. Terror seized his limbs, his voice, his mind, and refused to let him go.

Sasuke noticed his sudden fear and followed Naruto's gaze to the orderly that had just walked into the room. His eyes shot back to Naruto before finding the guy staring at him again.

"Is that him?"

Sasuke tensed, ready to spring out of his chair the second Naruto confirmed his suspicions. The trembling got worse, which was answer enough, but he still wanted to hear him say it. He was on the verge of repeating the question, when Naruto finally said one word that got Sasuke out of that chair faster than he thought possible. One word that echoed in his head over and over, driving every step forward.

"Y-yes."

Sasuke walked with purpose, but he didn't sprint at the bastard the way he wanted to. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, on what he intended on doing. Sasuke was going to make damn sure that there wouldn't be a single person there to stop him.

His dark stare never left the man's face, but he wasn't looking back at him-

he was still looking at Naruto.

Sasuke marched past the breakfast line, snagging a fork along the way, never dropping his eyes. He wished that the thing was metal instead of cheap plastic, but he'd make it work.

Sasuke tighened his fist around the fork so hard that it snapped in half. He let the useless end fall to the floor and adjusted his hold, sliding his fingers down to the prongs, leaving the jagged part exposed. A malignant smile twisted his features, a promise of pain in his eyes.

When he got close enough the man finally turned to face Sasuke, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Something I can do for you?" he asked, having yet to notice the murder in his eyes and the opportunity in his hand.

"Yeah. There is."

Sasuke's smile widened, a malevolent sneer that stretched his skin taut and never failed to instill fear.

"You can fucking die!!"

Sasuke suddenly launched himself at the orderly, knocking him to the ground. Deva's head smacked into the hard tile floor with a sickening crack. His eyes closed against the pain as darkness crept in, threatening to pull him inside. But being under a violent patient wasn't the time to lose consciousness.

Deva opened his eyes fast, and they shot up- giving Sasuke two perfect targets.

Sasuke spun the fork in his lithe fingers, eyes gleaming with intent as his fist closed around his makeshift weapon.

Deva saw his arm raise, saw the broken plastic in his hand, and those perfect targets widened.

"Stop!"

And just like when Naruto had pleaded for the exact same thing from this bastard,

he didn't.

Author Note:

In case you are looking for a solid song to listen to, the one I quote at the beginning of this chapter is 'Kings Never Die'. I fucking love the lyrics, and Eminem is forever a typhoon to be reckoned with- I highly recommend listening to it.

"Ok!"

~*Wipes angst-covered hands off on angst-splattered pants. Grins like a madman.*

"Who's ready for another chapter?"