Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I am sooo sorry it's been so long D: But I hope this chapter makes up for the lack of updates. The story is almost over, so leave reviews! Danke!

Some romance and such occurs in this chapter, so yay!

Sasuke sat in the crowded barracks, in between a dying Roma woman and a starving Russian POW. His hair was matted down with grease and sweat and his dirty rags barely covered his jutting bones. His cheeks were sunken in from weeks of starvation and the scent of human waste and death was everywhere.

Suddenly, footsteps approached the barracks and the door opened, letting in sunlight that the prisoners hadn't seen in a while. A light brown-haired nazi soldier let his blue eyes roam over the crowded room and cocked his head to the side, face hard.

"To the showers," he said, his voice rough. He held up his gloved hand and motioned for a few other soldiers outside to come in and drag out the dead, all of the men standing to the side as the prisoners slowly walked outside. Fear was in all of their eyes, save for two Jewish Poles who had their chins high in pride for who they were.

The raven didn't know what to do. If he didn't follow orders, he'd be shot on the spot. But if he did, he would be passed and there would be no handsome Naruto to rescue him this time. He stood slowly and made his way to the very back of the barracks and looked around for anywhere to hide, sliding underneath a crooked shelf that held only dust and spiderwebs. He reached out and pulled two large bails of dirty water in front of where he was hiding so the officers wouldn't see him in the darkness.

He closed his eyes and licked his dry lips, wondering if Naruto was okay. His old friend could be dead for all he knew... yet he hid himself away like this because the hope of the blond coming to save him was too strong to release. The sound of footsteps approached him and he held his breath, his heart beat loud in his ears and throbbing in his temples.

"There are no bodies back here, Grenz," an officer stated blandly, kicking empty boxes to the side. "Just tell the others to dispose of whoever's dead in their bunks and we'll get lunch afterwards."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, wondering how those men could have a job so... horrible, yet they could freely enjoy a warm meal without any guilt. Imagining Naruto in his mind, all he could see was the joyful smile on the man's face as he made supper for the hungry Uchiha. He couldn't even remember what Naruto was like without his medicine.

The officer went back to where the bunks were and Sasuke could hear bodies hitting the floor, then being dragged out. A familiar voice reached his ears and he reached out to move one of the water bails to the side so he could hear better, his coal black eyes peering out from the shadows.

"Wurz, I didn't expect you to be back from the shooting range so soon," a man chuckled. "Are the men giving you a hard time?"

Ino's voice rose in pitch, clearly aggitated.

"You are to go with the group to the showers, Kolnas. Those are direct orders from Himmler himself," her heavy books clunked against the wooden flooring that was covered in dirt. "I'm sure you don't want to end up lined up like the prisoners in front of those trenches in the ground," she smirked. "Then shot in the back of the head."

The man known as Kolnas grunted and quickly rushed past her to do his job, leaving the blonde woman alone in the barracks. She walked through, her crystal blue eyes running along the bunks. "Sasuke?" the sound of something moving made her hurry to the back and her face lit up when she saw the man's hand reach out to take hold of her ankle.

Sasuke pulled himself out and got extra help from Ino in order to get up, his thin legs shaking beneath him. He was extremely malnourished, only a tiny bit of fat and muscle on his bones. To Ino, he looked like a skeleton covered in a cloak of skin...

"I'm so glad you've managed to survive in here," she told him with a pretty smile. "I got word from Naruto... he's been staying with his father in Berlin and will be arriving back here tonight. He told me that I needed to find a way for you to escape to my cabin before he gets here, because a train of Russian prisoners is arriving this evening. He wants you out of here before they're placed in all of the barracks."

The dark-haired man's thin lips turned upward into an almost warm smile. The man... had only been thinking of his safety the whole time he was gone. For some reason, that brought a foreign, strange feeling to his stomach. He lifted a slender hand up and pressed it against his non-existant belly, wondering what the sensation was. He'd been feeling it quite a bit the past few weeks, since he'd been shoved in the dirty room and away from the tall nazi he'd become so accustomed to.

"Is he... doing alright?" he found himself asking.

Ino nodded and held his hands in hers, rubbing her thumb over the skin by his knuckles. She could see excitement and hope in the pale boy's obsidian eyes, something that she'd seen in hers before... Releasing Sasuke's hands, she pulled out a small note on yellow parchment paper that was crumpled and torn a bit on the edges. Handing it to Sasuke, she smiled.

"This will answer that question. Now, you stay here while I see if there's anyone around. It's close to the time when the officers and workers have their lunches," she patted him on the shoulder before going to the open doors of barracks, peering out.

Sasuke unfolded the crinkled paper and stepped close to the wall where a beam of sunlight made its way through from the outside world. The small ray illuminated half of the paper and he swallowed as he read, his eyes moving over each and every well-written letter.

Sasuke,

If you're reading this, then that means you're either safe and sound in Ino's cabin or that you were too eager to wait to see how I was doing. I arrived in Berlin two days after I was taken out of Auschwitz, and my father greeted me at the train station. He looked extremely ill, which could be a good or bad thing... But when I hugged him, he immediately forgave me for harboring a prisoner in my cabin and let me stay with him until it was safe for me to return to the camp. Other than his beautiful lover, Eva Braun, and his faithful hound, Blondie, I am the only thing he has left to cherish and hold trustworthy. He would never throw me away, so I suppose I am very grateful for that. If I weren't his son, I am sure he wouldn't hesitate to have me disposed of.

I will be back at Auschwitz soon and I am very determined to go through with a plan to help you escape. No matter what happened in the past... I have forgiven you, like my father has forgiven me. I have learned that if you cherish someone, you forgive them for their mistakes. We were children, we didn't know any better. Hopefully, we can be as close as we once were.

It will be a pleasure to see you again,

Krzystoff Dietrich

The raven couldn't help but feel somewhat warm. He had no clue why he felt the way he did, or what exactly it was, but... it wasn't unpleasant. Folding the letter back up, he looked up to see Ino motioning for him to follow her. He took a deep breath, strangely excited to see Naruto's face again. Walking to Ino, he followed her out and into the bright sunlight he'd been stripped of for weeks.

xXxXxXx

Ino placed her coat over Sasuke's bony shoulders as he sat at her kitchen table with a cup of warm coffee in his grasp. She put a bowl of potato and beef soup in front of him, along with a plate of sausages and potato pancakes, hoping he would eat all of it and gain back the meat on his bones. It was unfortunate that Naruto would have to see him in such horrible condition, but knowing him, he'd probably cook and cook until Sasuke was twice as large as he was before.

"Don't eat too fast, you'll end up making yourself sick. I also made sure to add some extra fat so that you'd gain weight a bit faster," Ino sat down at the table, folding her hands under her chin. Her blue eyes watched Sasuke devour the food, his cheeks flushed a bit from the excitement of having food in stomach for the first time in a while. "Is it good? I used my father's recipe."

Sasuke nodded in reply and continued to eat, frushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. He was fresh and clean, having taken a long shower in the cabin before settling down for dinner, a pair of long sleeping pants that Ino had taken from Naruto's cabin on his bony hips. He also had on a beige sweater that the blonde woman never wore, the material loose on him.

"You know..." Ino began, "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but... there was another letter that Naruto sent to me that he wanted me to keep solely between us. You have a right to know, though, since it does have to do with you," she smiled and tilted her head to the side, her hair spilling over her shoulders. "Naruto told me about his past with you... and he told me about certain feelings that he's kept to himself all of these years..."

Certain feelings...? Sasuke frowned.

"Just because he is who he is doesn't mean he's different from any other man, Sasuke. Men have certain needs... desires," her eyes sparkled as if she were revealing something spectacular and known to no one else. "And some men, such as Naruto, desire a little... 'company', if you know what I mean. Especially during these times of war."

Sasuke felt his cheeks warm a little. Oh, he knew what she meant by 'company'.

"Don't get me wrong, he's not looking for a bed partner, he's looking for something--

A sudden knock at the door surprised the both of them, Sasuke's eyes filling with a tinge of fright. He calmed down, though, when Ino smiled sweetly and stood, mumbling a "don't worry" to him. Getting up from her chair, she shuffled to the door and opened it, peaking outside. When her face lit up, Sasuke could feel his stomach do a flip.

He placed his hand on his stomach once again, now knowing what it was...

He wanted 'company', as well; he wanted Naruto's company.

"Come on in, we've been waiting!" she opened the door wide enough to let Naruto in, the man dressed in a pair of dress pants and a snug, black, leather jacket. His hair had been trimmed and he looked even more... handsome than usual, Sasuke noted, his spoon of soup frozen by his lips.

The blue-eyed officer grinned that foxy grin of his, his eyes crinkling a bit.

"I'm glad you're safe and sound, Sasuke. It looks like my men followed my orders and didn't kill you, which I'm very thankful for. I might have to get them a couple of beers," he chuckled, slipping off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack by the front door.

Sasuke looked away, not laughing. He somewhat wished that Ino wouldn't have informed him of how the blond longed for a partner... because that had made him realized what exactly he was feeling. He wanted someone, too... And the fact that Ino had said his letter had to do with him... that only meant that he was the one Naruto wanted. That was strange, considering Naruto hadn't shown any sexual or romantic interest in him at all.

Maybe Ino was just fooling around with him, since that was what women liked to do. Mess with mens' heads.

"He might be safe for now, but look at how malnourished he is," Ino chided, running her fingers through Sasuke's silky locks. He felt like a child, being talked about by adults. "There's hardly any meat on his bones and he has trouble walking because his legs are so thin."

"That's why we're going to feed him everything we have, so that he can gain the weight back," Naruto grinned even wider, placing his hand on Sasuke's head after Ino had removed hers. He looked down at the man with cerulean eyes, something in them that the raven couldn't distinguish.

Ino smiled knowingly.

"Ah, but I have watch duty this evening, so... I'll be leaving the two of you alone. Forgive me for not being able to stay longer, but I don't want anyone searching for me and finding Sasuke," she put on a different official coat than the one draped over Sasuke's shoulders and headed out, waving to them before shutting the door behind her.

Naruto crouched down so that he was close to Sasuke's height sitting down, and checked out his face, neck, then the rest of him. He lifted the shirt and grimaced at the sight of the rib cages completely sticking out over his sunken stomach.

Sasuke felt embarrassed, his cheeks dusted a light pink. He could die in this concentration camp, he could never see the outside world again, he could end up buried somewhere and never found... But at that moment, all that mattered to him was that he looked like this in front of a man that looked so high-class.

Look at me, an Auschwitz prisoner falling for a nazi officer...

He looked down at Naruto's concentrated face as he examined how tight the skin was against his bones, his fingers running over pale skin. Sasuke sighed.

Is that what's happening? I'm falling for him? The only friend I had as a child, the only person I ever trusted other than my older brother... and the only man now who tries so desperately hard to save me?

Everything seemed so sudden to him, like a typhoon of emotions that decided to suddenly ambush him now. Not able to stop himself, he shifted his arm and placed his palm against Naruto's defined jaw, causing the man to lift his gaze upward. The blond looked up and was surprised when the male leaned in and brushed his lips against his.

Naruto jerked back and stood, stumbling back. He cleared his throat, feeling guilty for causing that expression of hurt to cross Sasuke's face. He licked his lips and almost shivered as he remembered the feel of the other's lips.

"I-Ino must have... told you about the letter," he guessed, looking away. "I should have known that she would tell you anyway..." he sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Look, I... I used to like you when we were little... and seeing you again for the first time when you arrived here brought all of those feelings back... I kept them to myself, though, since romance is something that doesn't belong in a place like this."

Sasuke stared, shocked.

"Especially a homosexual relationship," Naruto chuckled bitterly. "I refused to tell you anything; I wanted to get you out of here before I became too attached to you again and before anything bad happened to you."

The raven stood up and stepped forward, reaching out to grip onto the collar of Naruto's button-up shirt.

Naruto looked straight into his eyes.

"Nothing could come out of a relationship with me, Sasuke. It would only lead to misery--" he was cut off when chapped lips pushed against him, but he didn't make any move to stop the action. He let his eyes slip shut and he kissed back passionately, not knowing how all of this happened. He could remember there not being any feelings between them all of those other times, then... then this.

Sasuke felt something flare up inside of him, something in the back of his head telling him he wanted this more than anything.

"S-Sasuke," the blond groaned when the other male pulled away slowly. "Becoming attached will only make things more difficult..."

"I don't care," the man kissed him again, moaning against those lush lips. He'd never kissed anyone before, never held a man like this, never wanted anything so passionately. This had all happened so suddenly, so out of the blue... But he didn't regret it.

"Sasuke..."

"Nothing keeps you from what you want," Sasuke whispered against red lips. "That's what you told me when we were little. What happened to the persistant Naruto I used to know?" Those words seemed to have struck a cord deep inside of the officer, because he growled deep in his throat before pushing Sasuke across and knocking him onto the bed. He loomed over him and kissed down his throat.

"You're a cheat, Uchiha, you always were."

Sasuke smiled faintly and tilted his head back, moaning lightly. Nothing happened after that, though. Naruto was still, laying his cheek against Sasuke's collarbone long enough for the raven to become a little tired. He didn't complain because of the lack of intimacy, since he was beyond tired...

He smiled.

Naruto knew all along that he was going to pass out from exhaustion. Now who was the cheat?

"Naruto..."

"Rest," the man sat up and placed his hand on Sasuke's cheek. "No continuing this until you're back to normal and completely healthy. I will see you in the morning."

Sasuke groaned tiredly, but let his eyes slip shut and his mouth fall slack.

Let us sin all we can, until our time comes to have it all taken away...

xXxXxXx

Sasuke awoke to the sound of people yelling outside of the cabin, the voices shaking the walls. He rubbed the slumber from his eyes and sat up, his stomach growling for food. No one was in the cabin, Ino's and Naruto's coats gone, which meant they were out on duty.

"You were with your father for almost two months, Dietrich! If you knew he was going to do this, why didn't you talk him out of it! He should have taken a plane out of Berlin!" a nazi shouted, clearly angry. His blue eyes narrowed as he glared at Naruto, the officer looking as calm as ever.

"He didn't want to abandon his people and leave Berlin, so he chose to hide himself away in his bunker. You drone on and on about how great my father is and how he loves his people, yet you become irked when he doesn't abandon them?"

The unknown soldier looked ready to punch Naruto in the face, but he refused to do it. If the Fuhrer found out, he would surely be given the death sentence.

"The Reds are on their way to Berlin right now!" he hollered. "If they find your father, they'll kill him!"

"Don't you think I understand that?.!" Naruto finally snapped, his teeth gritted. Kolnas, Grenz, get him away from me before I spill his blood!" he ordered the two men beside him. They nodded and grabbed both arms of the angry soldier. "Put him under house arrest in his cabin for three days. I don't want to see his face."

"Yes, sir!"

Ino watched on behind her friend, sighing. She knew it wasn't the anger he had when off of his medication, but she was still frightened. How much longer could he take before he snapped? Sure, he had the comfort of having Sasuke by his side, but the only man that had cared for him and watched over him had a huge chance of dying...

"Dietrich," she spoke his fake name, "come with me to my cabin. I'll make you some tea to calm you down."

Naruto followed her, still uptight. But once he entered the small home and saw Sasuke placing cups of tea on the table, along with plates covered in different tasty breads, he let his shoulders relax and he smiled warmly to his friend.

"I heard everyone yelling outside, so I thought I'd make tea to relax you both. I haven't made it in a while, but it should be alright," he sat down and watched the handsome officer settle himself beside him, taking a bite of jellied wheat bread.

"Thank you so much," Ino smiled happily and took a seat, as well. "You saved me the effort."

Sasuke didn't recieve a vocal reply from Naruto, but as he felt the large and very warm hand of the other man being placed on his knee, he smiled to himself.

That was all the reply he needed.

Yes, a much less darker chapter. I also added some romance, which I was happy to finally get to. Please review!