Naruto gripped Sasuke's hand in his. "Don't leave me," he whispered, mouth hovering as near as he would dare to Sasuke's ear. "Not again." Eyes as black as the night fluttered open, forcing Naruto to reluctantly withdraw his hand.

"Naruto?" Sasuke murmured groggily. The smile the blond gave him was the first smile in quite a while that wasn't either forced or faked. Still, a sort of lingering sadness glittered in his eyes. He had missed this man so, so much. Even now that Sasuke was here, his presence couldn't erase all of Naruto's sleepless nights, longing for Sasuke to come home. His bed was a sort of graveyard it seemed, sitting there, taunting him. Sometimes he played games with his mind, putting pillows under the sheets of Sasuke's bed just to pretend he was still there. He could even make himself believe that the sheets were rising and falling with his steady breathing. Sometimes, these games eased his mind, if only a little. Most of the times, Naruto ended up in tears.

"Naruto? What am I doing here?" Naruto snapped back to really at the sound of Sasuke's voice. The smaller man laughed a little at Sasuke's sleepy confusion.

"There was a thunderstorm." Naruto explained. He watched with amusement as Sasuke's eyes lit up as his memories fell back into place.

And suddenly, Sasuke was not next to him but scrambling around the room, searching for his coat.

"Sakura's so going to kill me!" Naruto frowned at Sasuke's frantic tone. "I never told her where I was going so, of course, she will assume the worst. And she won't believe that I stuck out just to calm you down!"

Naruto's heart fell. Of course Sasuke was putting Sakura before him, she was his wife. But still, that had not stopped him from hoping, playing the game again. He was in a state of constant denial, but still didn't want the fantasy to end and for reality to sink in. He didn't want to believe that Sasuke loved the she-witch. He couldn't believe it.

In Naruto's warped reality, Sasuke could only love him. But he still knew how to differentiate his fantasies from real life. It was just that, right now, real life sucked so hard.

"Oh, ok." Naruto whispered as Sasuke finally found his coat where it had fallen under the bed. "Sasuke I need to tell you-" but before he could even finish his sentence, Sasuke was gone – again.

Naruto couldn't help but think that maybe he had left for the last time, that he had wasted the last chance to tell him . . . to tell him everything. But he knew that he was being a drama queen. Naruto knew that Sasuke still cared, just not as much as he wanted him to. Not as much as he used to.

Was he not good enough? The question's poured through Naruto's mind. Why didn't Sasuke love him?

Why did he leave?

Naruto felt tears biting at his eyes. He mustn't cry, he mustn't cry, he must not –

Naruto cried.

Sasuke crept into the house. The lights were off, at least in the entryway. He mechanically dropped his coat on the coach, as per usual. Silence had never been more eerie.

The light was on in the bedroom.

Shit.

Sasuke sighed as Sakura's silhouette appeared in the doorway. Sasuke cautiously drew nearer. Sakura looked like a Barbie doll with her lacy white night gown and pink hair falling in ringlets past her skinny shoulders. She would be a picture of innocence if she didn't look so damn mad.

"Where were you?" Her words were as icy as her eyes, awaiting an appropriate response.

"At Naruto's place," Sasuke's demeanor shifted as he held his head high. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

"In the middle of the night?" He nodded at her clipped words.

Then she did something that Sasuke didn't expect: she laughed. "I should have known! I've always known that he was in love with you, but I didn't expect you—"

"What?" Sasuke couldn't believe her. Naruto in love…with him?

"You didn't know?" Sakura looked genuinely shocked. "It's so obvious. He's in complete fucking love with you! It's discussing." She hissed.

Sasuke ignored her last words, zeroing in on the proof. The way Naruto looked at him, wide eyed and so, so trusting. The way he reacted to Sakura since they first met. How he could not explain why Sasuke should not get married but obstinately stood against it, to the point of not attending. He had never wanted to be Sasuke's best man…he wanted to take Sakura's place!

"Sasuke! Are you even listening to me?" Sasuke did not satisfy her with an answer; he simply turned around and left.

Sorry it's short and shitty and way late. I've had this outlined for a while now and never got to editing…which is probably why it's so bad. I might end up replacing it once I get back in the swing of things.

Sorry again!