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.

Author Note: Phew- finally, another chapter update! Consider it an early Valentine's gift from me to all of you. I hope you enjoy it!~ Xoxo

Crazy About You

Chapter 8: Dying to Know

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

- Sharon Begley

--

Sasuke didn't come back for the rest of the day, and with each passing moment Naruto's guilt festered. He was still confused by the raven's anger, the distance that inexplicably grew between them, but he was also well aware that Sasuke's aggressive removal was his fault.

Sasuke didn't do anything wrong- he just wanted Naruto to explain himself. And he just.. couldn't. It was too terrifying to be that vulnerable, so his words stayed trapped- lost in a sea of insecurities. Naruto was certain that as soon as he put voice to those concerns it was all over, that he would lose Sasuke completely. And he just couldn't handle losing anything else.

Naruto paced across the community room as these thoughts rustled around in his head and soon his anxiety rose to a full-blown panic attack. He could feel his heart pounding relentlessly against his chest, his body trembling uncontrollably. The room was closing in, and his throat was constricting just as fast. Tears fell down his face, one after the other, but he couldn't feel them. The pain in his chest, in his skull, took over everything else.

Naruto backed into a wall and slid down it, crouching on the floor as everything collapsed around him. He buried his hands in his hair and clenched tight fists, trying to get a grip on reality with it.

"He doesn't want me.." he choked. "He doesn't want me, doesn't want me, doesn't-"

Naruto's voice hitched in his throat, stifling him. A pitiful sound fell from his lips in its place before he could stop it, and the orderlies closed in fast. He tried to shove them back, too overwhelmed to accept their help, but they weren't taking no for an answer. Before he knew it, he was medicated and dragged off to his room, a handful of reassuring words uselessly tossed out along the way.

The orderlies decided that they didn't need to restrain him, that it would in fact only worsen his panic attack. Besides, the meds would be kicking in any second now. He'd be out of it soon enough. So they brought him to his room, deposited him inside, and left.

Naruto continued his pacing until the meds kicked in and when they finally did, they hit him like a sledgehammer. He stumbled over to his bed and his knees gave out. He dropped heavily onto the mattress and his eyes flickered like a light switch- on and off, on and off. His thoughts were dazed, fading with each passing second as his consciousness slowly slipped away.

Why..? he thought sadly.

Why is it so hard to.. find someone to..

love..

me.

--

Naruto woke up to the soft clink of metal and instantly knew what it meant.

It wasn't the first time he's heard it.

He pushed himself up and sleepily looked across the room, his mind still half lost in a drug-induced fog. He could see a figure encased in shadows slowly closing his door before turning to face him. Dark impenetrable eyes locked onto him, tore through him, and Naruto shifted further away, not sure how to read that look.

Sasuke's mouth tensed into a terse line as he watched the blonde retreat further from him. It wasn't the reaction he was hoping for. He soundlessly padded over to the bed and sat down, his eyes still locked on the blonde's unwavering gaze.

"Why?" he whispered, fighting to keep the anger from his voice as he spoke. "Why are you acting like this? What changed?"

Naruto blinked, now feeling even more confused. "You did."

Sasuke furrowed his brows, echoing that same confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You changed."

"Yes, I heard that part" Sasuke grated out. "I'm asking you what the hell you mean by that."

"You.. you haven't.."

Naruto felt heat creeping up his neck. The words were harder to find in his embarrassment, but it was clear from the look on Sasuke's face that he wasn't about to let him off easy. He swallowed.

"You haven't touched me since…"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You wanted me to?"

"Yes."

The raven smiled. "Honest as always, I see." He shook his head as he dragged his fingers through his hair. "Naruto, you're the one who told me to stop."

"That- that was because it was moving so fast. I didn't mean stop forever." He bit his lip. "I thought.. you didn't want me anymore."

"Didn't- are you insane?!" He saw that he was about to answer and quickly cut him off. "Don't answer that. Naruto-"

Sasuke shifted forward, slowly closing the distance between them.

"I want you so bad it fucking hurts."

"…really?"

Sasuke nodded. "I just don't want to scare you off."

"But you weren't like this before" Naruto pointed out.

He was still having a hard time believing all of this. He hasn't known Sasuke for very long, but as far as he could see he wasn't the type to wait things out like this. Sasuke took what he wanted, when he wanted it. He snuck into Naruto's room because he could. He cozied up with him on his chair without waiting for an invitation. He dragged him off into a bathroom to kiss him because he saw an opportunity and went for it.

Sasuke acted first and thought on it second.

None of what he was saying made any sense.

"Sasuke.. I- I don't believe you."

The raven's eyes burned straight through him, his rage palpable. "You don't believe me.."

His lips curled into a feral snarl- Naruto's only warning.

Before he could even begin to process what was happening, Sasuke grabbed him and threw him down on the bed. Naruto gasped as he leaned over him, his hands pressed firmly down on the mattress to either side of his face. His heart seized in his chest as he stared up at the irate raven- a mix between trepidation, fear, and anticipation swirling in his gut.

"Fine" Sasuke growled. "Then I guess I'll just have to show you."

"Sasuke-"

The raven roughly grabbed his jaw and held it tight as he lowered his face. Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke slammed their lips together, anger and lust pressed firmly between them.

Naruto had wanted Sasuke to kiss him again, he couldn't deny that, but not like this. Alarmed he pushed against Sasuke's chest but he wasn't willing to listen. To stop. Sasuke lowered himself on top of him, forcing himself between Naruto's trembling legs, and his desperation grew.

"Mnnph!"

He shoved harder until finally Sasuke pulled back and allowed him to catch his breath.

"Sasuke, stop."

"You said that before, but clearly you didn't mean it."

"I did mean it!" Naruto said hurriedly as Sasuke moved to capture his lips once more. "I don't want it to be like this."

"Like what?!" Sasuke snapped.

"Please" Naruto choked, "don't be mad at me."

Sasuke froze and whatever anger he felt before immediately fled.

"Shit."

He pushed himself off of the shaky blonde and dropped down beside him. He covered his face with his hands, unable to meet those huge eyes that looked at him with so much innocence- too much trust.

"I'm sorry" he murmured between his fingers. "Fuck, this is why I tried to back off. I'm always like this.. I ruin everything I touch."

Naruto turned on his side and eyed the dejected raven beside him for a moment before slowly reaching out. He grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from his face, and Sasuke let him. He turned and met his gaze, expecting to see blatant rejection but all he saw was that same softness he knew he didn't deserve.

"You didn't ruin anything" Naruto said quietly. "Not with me."

Sasuke shook his head. "Why would you want this?"

"I could ask you the same thing" Naruto muttered.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That was rhetorical. Naruto- do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How sweet and ridiculously forgiving you are?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Is that.. rhetorical too?"

Sasuke turned and propped himself up on an elbow to get a better look at the bewildered blonde beside him. He gently smoothed back his hair, his heart clenched into a tight fist as those brilliant blues stared up at him. "I don't deserve you."

"No one wants to be with someone who's schizophrenic, Sasuke. I understand if that's how you feel too. You don't have to make excuses."

A flicker of that familiar anger flashed across his face, but Sasuke forced it back. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that I want to be with you?"

"I told you" Naruto said simply. "I'm-"

"Schizophrenic, yeah, I know. So what? You've seen what I'm like- do you want me?"

"Yes."

Sasuke smiled. "It's not just for my looks, is it?"

He said it mostly joking, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to hear an actual answer from him. And with Naruto's constant candidness he knew he'd get one.

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke knew what he looked like. He was well aware that he was attractive, and he often used it to his advantage. He constantly flirted with the night staff to get access to Naruto's room, and had used similar tactics get away with a lot of things in his life. His alluring face drew in plenty of people, but inevitably his temper drove them away. And for the most part he was fine with that. But he didn't want it to be the same with Naruto.

He wanted things to be different with him.

So, part of him was actually afraid to hear his answer. But he couldn't resist asking. He wanted to know the truth.

It was better to know before he let himself fall any deeper.

"No" Naruto replied, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts. "It's not just your looks."

Sasuke tilted his head, an impish grin pulling at his face. "And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yes."

God, his honesty is fun.

"So, what else do you like about me?"

"I feel shy saying it" Naruto admitted.

"But you will anyways."

"Yes."

Sasuke waited, knowing that Naruto needed the time to find the right words.

"I like your eyes, and that you look at mine when you talk to me" Naruto finally said. His face was flush but his voice kept steady and sure. "I like that you stand your ground" he added, "that you're not afraid to say how you feel. I like your smile and the sound of your voice. I.. I even like how angry you get for me. When you protect me."

"Ok, ok, you don't need to say more" Sasuke murmured, all of his bravado drowning in embarrassment. "You like me. And I like you."

He leaned in, his voice soft as desire bloomed in his dark eyes. "A lot."

Naruto licked his lips and Sasuke watched with the utmost focus.

"Can I kiss you?"

"You're asking for permission?"

Sasuke smirked. "No."

Then he captured his lips, and this time there was no anger behind the act, no aggression. Only an unmistakable fire, a passion that burned down to his core and quickly ignited Naruto's own.

Sasuke groaned and pulled the blonde closer, and Naruto echoed the same sound back. His mouth slipped open without prompting and their tongues tangled, fighting for dominance. Sasuke's hips rolled and this time Naruto didn't shy away from it. He arched into his touch, pressing his core firmly against Sasuke's.

Another groan fell from Sasuke's mouth and into Naruto's, and he rolled on top of the blonde, finding his way between his legs once more.

Sasuke ground his painfully stiff erection between his legs, their thin pajama pants leaving little to the imagination. Thoroughly ravaging his mouth, keeping his blonde preoccupied, Sasuke reached between them and shoved his pants down his thighs. And, after a moment of hesitation, he did the same to Naruto's. He left their boxers alone, for now, but he could still feel him stiffen beneath him, his protest on the tip of his entangled tongue. Sasuke lowered himself back down and thrust against him, finding a rhythm that silenced whatever Naruto might have said to stop him.

Naruto was tempted to resist but he couldn't deny how good it felt. And the faster Sasuke thrust against him, the more he craved. Naruto wrapped his arms around him as he rolled his hips, aching for a release, but Sasuke stopped before he could find it.

"W-wait.." he pleaded. "Don't.. don't stop.."

Sasuke had no intention of stopping.

"Do you have any lotion?" he breathed.

Naruto stared up at him with lust and confusion, but answered him nonetheless. "In my drawer."

Sasuke kicked off his pajama pants and wrenched open the drawer. He pulled out a bottle of scentless lotion and moved fast, hoping to act before Naruto's desire faded and coherent thoughts found their way back. He yanked Naruto's pajama pants off, followed by his shirt and, before he could utter a word about it, he did the same with their boxers.

Naruto gasped, fear flickering in those wide blues. "S-Sasuke.. I-"

The raven leaned in, his lips lightly brushing against his blonde's. "Shhh. It's ok, Naruto. I won't go all the way. I just want to try one thing."

"But I-"

Sasuke squeezed lotion into his hand as he delivered another searing kiss, sealing his concerns between them. He grabbed Naruto's length as he busied his mouth and felt him flinch against him.

"Mmnnn!"

Sasuke pulled back but kept his mouth close, ready to silence him again if he needed to. "Trust me, Naruto."

"Ahhh.. S-Sasuke.."

Sasuke's eyes rolled. "God.. don't say my name like that" he groaned. "It's hard enough controlling myself as it is."

Naruto's mouth slammed shut.

Sasuke coated Naruto's cock in the creamy liquid, careful not to rub too much. He didn't want to make him cum- not yet.

Once he was slick with the stuff he did the same to his own, then pressed their lengths firmly together and wrapped one powerful hand around both of them.

Another sharp gasp tore through Naruto at the sudden contact, and Sasuke quickly silenced him. He licked his way back into his mouth as he slowly moved his hand up and down their straining wants, agonizingly slow at first. Naruto moaned heavily against him, practically begging him for it, and Sasuke's hand moved faster.

Naruto wrenched his mouth free, gasping for air as Sasuke found a rhythm that made his toes curl and his vision flash white. Naruto thrust desperately into his hand as he clung to him, words spewing from his lips, pleas for more, for his hand to keep going.

"Pl-please.. mnhnn, please Sa.. 'ske.. ahhh, d-don't stop.."

"Naruto.." he breathed, "fuck, you feel so good.."

The two thrust against each other as their climax built, their moans getting harder to contain. Naruto threw his head back and Sasuke slammed his hand over mouth to stifle his scream as a shattering climax tore through him. With one last thrust, Sasuke's own release broke free and shot across Naruto's stomach.

The two stared at each other, their breaths merging into one. Sasuke studied the blonde's face as his thoughts cleared, as he realized how far he took things. As he remembered how new all of this was for him.

"Are you ok?" he breathed.

Naruto's mouth was dry, his voice raspy as he answered. "That felt so…"

"So…?"

"Good."

Sasuke smiled. He leaned in and kissed one of his whiskered cheeks. "I knew you'd like it."

He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, tousling his hair in a way that made the blonde's heart flutter. Naruto's heated gaze slipped lower, past those dark eyes he loved losing himself in, down his chiseled face, his muscular torso. When he saw Sasuke's thick length his eyes shot back up again, much to the raven's amusement.

"Find something you like?"

"Yes."

Sasuke laughed lightly as he used his shirt to wipe the now slightly-less-innocent blonde clean. He quickly cleaned himself off after, then dropped back down on the mattress beside him. He pulled Naruto into his arms and was pleasantly surprised when he resigned himself to it. Naruto laid his head down on his chest and Sasuke lowered his face in his hair, breathing in his scent.

"How are you able to do this?" Naruto asked, his voice heavy with exerted lust and thick exhaustion.

"Well, when two boys like each other very much.."

Naruto rolled his tired eyes. "Not that" he murmured, "I mean sneaking into my room at night."

"You don't really expect me to reveal all of my secrets already, do you?"

Naruto would have answered honestly, just as he always did, but sleep had already claimed him. And soon after, it did the same for Sasuke.

--

When Naruto woke up the first thing he noticed was that Sasuke had already left.

The second was that it bothered him immensely.

He knew it wasn't realistic for him to stay considering where they lived, but he wished he could have. He wanted to wake up and find Sasuke smiling down at him, his arms still wrapped securely around his waist. Waking up alone instead felt so.. cold.

Which brought him to his third realization, which was that he was completely naked. And he definitely didn't want the orderlies coming in while he was like that.

Deva was the only orderly who ever did anything to him, but it didn't mean he wanted to be that vulnerable around the others. He didn't trust that they weren't tempted, especially now that he'd been hurt by one of them.

Naruto quickly pulled his clothes on and dropped back down on the bed, a relieved sigh slipping free when no one showed up. He didn't have any windows in his room, but he assumed it must be pretty early still. He didn't hear anyone in the hall yet, no patients being pulled from their slumber, and figured that meant he had more time to fall back into his own.

Naruto closed his eyes, willed his pulse to slow, his mind to go blank, and he sank back into a peaceful dreamless oblivion.

--

"Alright, kid, time to get up."

Naruto groaned and reluctantly blinked open one bloodshot eye. Asuma, the large burly orderly he had grown accustomed to seeing in the morning, was towering over him, just as impatient as always.

"Mm-mm."

Naruto flipped over onto his side, ignoring the orderlies request in favor of more sleep. Unfortunately, that's not how things worked around here.

"Nice try."

Naruto was easily hefted from his bed and forced to his feet. With his eyes still half shut he was half-guided half-dragged out of his room, down the hall, and into the bathroom. A change of clothes were shoved into his hands along with his small container of toiletries.

"Clean yourself up, get dressed. Time for meds soon."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Oh goodie."

Asuma raised a brow at that. "Well, aren't you the spirited one this morning."

Sasuke must be rubbing off on me.

Naruto blushed as he suddenly recalled another way he had been rubbing off on him.

He hurriedly turned away from the curious orderly, not wanting his face to reveal too much, and set off to get ready for the day. Last night came back full force while he was in the shower, scrubbing off the remnants of their passion that was still somewhat caked on his chest. He felt his groin stir but didn't engage. He didn't want the orderly to overhear him.. acting on it.

Naruto shoved down the unwanted rush of desire, forcing his mind to focus on something else as he finished washing up. He completed the rest of his morning routine shortly after and spent the rest of the time futzing with his hair, just as he had been doing the last couple of days. But this time it wasn't because Sasuke suddenly seemed indifferent towards him. No, this time was the complete opposite.

He felt shy. He wasn't sure how to act around Sasuke after everything that happened last night, and couldn't help but drag his feet a bit. He was excited to be with him again, eager in fact, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. The orderlies wouldn't let them get too close. Was he supposed to hug him? Would he want him to smile at him? Naruto tried a few practice ones in the mirror, but they looked wrong. Disingenuine. Some were even downright scary. Maybe it didn't look as bad when they were real? He hoped that was the case- because if that was the smile that Sasuke saw from him, he would do his best not to make one at all.

In the end Naruto still hadn't made up his mind on how he should act around Sasuke before the orderly finally lost his patience with him. Asuma stormed in, grabbed hold of his arm, and pulled him back into the corridor.

"I don't think I've ever seen you spend so much time staring at yourself in the mirror" he muttered. "Getting all dolled up for someone special, are we?"

"Yes."

Asuma shook his head. "You are something else, kid."

Asuma didn't release the blonde until they were well into the community room. He closely supervised as he took his meds, checked to make sure he had actually swallowed them this time, and then went off to collect the next patient on his roster list.

Naruto looked around, scanning the sea of faces for one in particular, but Sasuke wasn't out yet. Naruto felt a little disappointed, but he knew it wouldn't be long. He decided to wait for him at their usual spot and headed over to the frayed orange chair in the far corner of the room. He snagged a fresh pen on the way over, prepared to jot a few things in his journal as he waited. As soon as he sat down he fished his hand between the cracks of the chair to take it out.

But it wasn't there.

Naruto's heart slammed against his chest as panic surged through him.

"No… no, no, no.. where is it?"

"Looking for this?"

Naruto jerked back, startled by the unexpected voice, and found someone standing over him- someone he had never seen before. Shaggy crimson hair hung low over a deathly pale face. Hollow jade eyes peered between the cracks, and a devilish smile pulled his skin taut. Naruto shrank back from that look- that is until he noticed what the stranger held in his hands.

Naruto leapt to his feet and lunged towards it, but the redhead jerked his hand up, pulling the journal out of reach. He was quite a bit taller than Naruto, his build more masculine- it was clear that Naruto wasn't getting that journal back unless he wanted him to.

But that didn't mean that Naruto would just accept that quietly. There were too many personal things in those pages, and it horrified him to see it in someone else's hands. Who knew how much of it he had already read, how many secrets and tormented memories had already been exposed. The mere thought of that made his stomach twist into sickeningly tight knots.

"Give it back" he snarled.

The redhead smiled down at him, clearly enjoying the sound of his panic, his desperation. This was exactly what he was looking for. Someone to toy with. To dominate. He craved the chance to pull those twisted emotions out of people, to see the hate in their eyes- hate that he forced to the surface.

Hate he could control.

"You seem upset, Blondie." Gaara smirked and opened a page at random. "You don't like people knowing your private thoughts, do you."

"Stop! Just give it back!"

Gaara's cold eyes found those wide horrified blues before turning his focus back to the pages once more.

"I still remember the feel of his knife against my face" he read. "I didn't understand why he wanted to hurt me at first. But I understand now.."

A gutteral cry tore from Naruto's throat and he threw himself at the redhead, knocking him to the ground. Naruto slammed his fist into his face before he had the chance to block him and lurched forward, scrambling to retrieve his journal. Gaara tossed it away from them, sending it sliding across the linoleum, then threw his body to the side and landed on top of the blonde.

Naruto screamed as he pinned his arms to the floor, fear rushing in to replace his rage. Before he could say anything, do anything, a dark blur shot across the room and slammed into the redhead, sending him flying. Sasuke managed to get in one solid punch before an orderly grabbed his arm and wrenched him back.

"Break it up! Break it up!!" Iruka shouted.

He expected Mizuki to be with him still, to have his back, but the orderly was standing off to the side, leaving him to fend for himself. Iruka gave him a confused look before an elbow slammed into his face. He dropped back and hit the ground hard. His skull hit the linoleum with a sickening crack, leaving him stunned. Iruka's ears were ringing, a deafening shriek that pulsed in his temple, one he couldn't shake even as he managed to blink back the light blinding him. When his vision finally cleared, he sought out the man who should be helping him and saw something akin to pleasure gleaming in his eyes.

Fucking homophobe, Iruka thought.

He wanted this to happen.

Luckily several other orderlies picked up the slack and the Uchiha was pulled off of the new kid before he could do too much damage. Naruto had kicked an orderly away and scrambled across the floor, but they managed to detain him as well. Iruka could hear him screaming about a journal, but it looked like Sasuke managed to get his hands on it when Naruto failed to.

Iruka knew there were plenty of people on the scene now, but he couldn't just lay there and do nothing. Especially after such an epic failure. He should have handled this situation better, and it was a rookie mistake to succumb to such a simple attack like this. He was embarrassed by the fact, and eager to redeem himself before anyone else noticed.

Iruka tried to push himself up, but dark splotches consumed his sight and nausea swept through him. His eyes rolled and he crashed back down onto the floor, the jarring impact the only thing keeping him conscious.

"Nnghn.."

Iruka groined in pain as his head collided with the unforgiving linoleum yet again, aggravating whatever damage he had already done. He could feel something hot against his scalp and reached back. He gently prodded the spot, and his fingers came back sticky with blood.

"Dammit.."

He tried to sit up again, but this time it was a hand on his shoulder that stopped him. "Just stay there. Don't try to move."

Iruka's heart skipped a beat.

He knew that voice.

Kakashi.

He blinked back the darkness that had been steadily closing in on him and stared up at the silver fox he worked for- the constant source of his deepest desires. At first he was awestruck, dazzled by his crush's flawless features, but his infatuation fizzled and shame quickly took its place. He didn't want Kakashi to think that he was so incompetent, but it was pretty difficult to deny when he was just laying here like this- utterly useless. He was ashamed that he had failed so miserably right in front of him, and that he continued to look so fucking pitiful afterward.

"I'm sorry" Iruka said quietly. His voice sounded strange to him, and he realized he didn't have as strong a grip on his consciousness as he thought he did.

Don't pass out, he told himself. Don't make this any worse.

Kakashi raised a brow, his eyes filled with nothing but concern and confusion. Which definitely made it worse.

"You have nothing to apologize for Iruka."

My name.

It sounds so much better coming from him.

Then darkness bloomed in his eyes once more, and this time he was far too weak to fight it. His hands fell limply to his side and the sound of Kakashi's worried voice guided him into a deep, consuming abyss.

"Dammit- I need a medic over here!"

Kakashi looked around the chaos, seeking out someone more experienced in this area than he was. He knew some basic first aid, but he wasn't willing to deal with head trauma- at least not the physical kind.

Unfortunately, his staff was pretty preoccupied at the moment.

Two had Uzumaki pinned down as a third was forcing a sedative into his arm, while several more were attempting to do the same with Sabaku and Uchiha. The two seemed pretty hellbent on finishing what they started, and Kakashi's team was just as determined to stop them. Sasuke kept a firm grip on the journal Naruto had been fighting to get back and his glare met Gaara's head on.

They continued to spit threats at each other- mainly Sasuke, who made it very clear that he had every intention of disemboweling Gaara as soon as he got the chance. The redhead didn't seem in the least bit concerned by this, which only aggravated the raven more. Instead Gaara's focus returned to the journal he had used to start this mess in the first place.

"Your boyfriend has something to hide" he taunted, "don't you want to know what it is?"

Sasuke's eyes darkened.

"I know he does."

His gaze slipped over to Naruto's. Those scared blues stared back at him, flickering between his eyes and the journal then back again. He was clearly terrified to see it in his hands, desperate to keep his secrets. Sasuke was tempted- of course he was tempted- but he wouldn't do that to him.

Before Naruto was completely sedated, before he could wonder what he would do, Sasuke slid the journal over to him.

Sasuke watched it move with perfect precision into Naruto's outstretched hand, saw the relief fill his eyes just before they rolled back in his head, and knew he made the right call.

He could feel his own sedative taking over, pulling him away from the mayhem he had literally leapt into, and this time he chose not to fight it. If Naruto was out, and that red-headed bastard was out, he might as well be too.

With the three finally unconscious, the orderlies were finally free to attend to other matters, which is exactly what they did. Two immediately moved from the trio and ran over to Iruka. They carefully checked his injury as a third dropped down beside them, a first aid kit in hand.

Kakashi glanced over at his staff as they prepared to move his sedated patients. "Bring them to their rooms" he ordered. "They don't need to be restrained."

He paused for a moment then added, "and put that notebook in Uzumaki's room."

The orderlies nodded and tended to the three and Kakashi turned his focus back to the brunette beside him. He gently brushed his hair back to get a better look at his face. A bruise was forming on his cheek where he had been struck by Sasuke's elbow, the deep purple shade a stark contrast against his paled skin.

Is that from blood loss or shock? he wondered.

Kakashi shifted his gaze to the orderlies treating him. They either didn't notice the tenderness their boss was showing to their colleague or simply pretended not to. Either way it was appreciated.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He might need stitches. We'll need to clean up the wound more to know for sure."

"Can he be moved?"

"We've got the area bandaged up. We need to keep his neck stable while we get him on a gurney."

Kakashi volunteered to help, and they took him up on his offer. A gurney was brought out and they carefully lifted Iruka onto it before shifting him to a cot. As soon as he was in place, they carted him off to the medical ward. Kakashi barked a few more orders to ensure that the other patients were seen to, then rushed off to join them.

He would stay by Iruka's side.

And when he woke up, there were a few things he needed to tell him. Things that, after seeing Iruka bleed out on the floor like that, Kakashi realized he could no longer wait to say.

Author Note:

Gibi111: Aww, I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for reading this one. I hope you like the rest of it too. :)