Sasuke pointed the kunai at Naruto's throat, pushing it harder till the cold metal stung at tanned skin, and Sasuke - drenched in sweat and blood - laughed. "I never thought either of us would die this easily," he said, as the first drop of blood poured out of Naruto's neck, painting the stretch of his throat, sun kissed skin made impure by the poison of love. "I'm not," Naruto panted, "dead yet."

Sasuke's laughter increased, and he lowered his head against Naruto's chest. The other's hands squeezed dangerously against his pulse point, and he wheezed a little - "I'm tired, Naruto," and Naruto's fingers eased a little and Sasuke found he could breathe again. Still, Naruto's voice came raspy and far away, "we can still change this," Sasuke heard, but he just closed his eyes against the world and shook his head, feeling too exhausted to hold on to consciousness any longer.

Naruto's arms closed around Sasuke's body as the kunai slipped, scratching against his neck as it fell, and he held on tighter as the bleeding increased. His vision faltered and he could feel his energy draining fast, the last of his power leaving him. He could still hear someone yell from afar, "kill him," the voice cried, and retaliated urgently, "kill him now."

Naruto held tighter, but his hands slipped from Sasuke's pulse to his waist and he pressed the raven's body against his own, hugging him, embracing and not wanting it to be the last time.

"No." He said, "I won't."

●•●●•●●•●

Slipping away from consciousness, their souls bound together in a place without time or space. "You're my friend," they could hear - they could see each other holding on for dear life, Naruto's hands extended towards Sasuke, reaching and ever-close, but not exactly touching. Sasuke fell, the weight of death and burden of revenge too heavy to carry any longer, and Naruto ran - heart racing, beating dramatically against his chest, and Sasuke's pain is clearer with every step, his cries more evident -
And then altogether, it stopped.

Naruto stood looking down at the source of his affection, and he ached to touch - to feel - to protect. Instead, Naruto stood in uttermost silence, looking down at tear stained cheeks, and found that he could not move. He was paralyzed in place, frozen stiff in the darkness, and he knew that even if he had the ability to move, he would not be able to break the glass wall that separated them.

Naruto's tears began to fall, but it was a slow kind of pain, not wavering nor ceasing. He couldn't make himself look away from Sasuke's tortured features - from the pain in his dark eyes - and though he could feel every bit of the other's heartbreak, he could not control it.

He could not tell Sasuke that he loved him, though he did. He could not whisper his affections nor scream them out, and it was as if he had found his limit - the limit that was once rumored nonexistent, the pain that was once told to be unreal. Elsewhere, Naruto thought, even he had his breaking point - his just had to be Sasuke.

●•●

As high level ninja, seeing the truth in each other's hearts was never a difficult thing. Naruto and Sasuke had a flourished connection, but sometimes it left them at a disadvantage.
Sasuke desperately wanted to look away from Naruto's sea blue eyes, but his pride wouldn't let him. "You know now," Sasuke said, his voice cold and distant but not breaking - not as sad as Naruto had heard it, not as empty as it could be. It was better than the silence they'd been suspended in, the blackness brought by the sorrow that had the power to freeze time, and when Sasuke spoke again, Naruto had already foretold his words. "It's easier to be angry."

With that, Sasuke turned and walked away, and Naruto could tell his resolve had fallen, and for now all either of them would do is rest.

●•●

Their eyes connected, and in a second Naruto knew he had lost.
It started slowly at first, and Naruto could almost muster the power to gather his chakra before the world started closing up on him. It was the darkness Sasuke had to live with, the sorrow of seeing your own parents murdered by someone so dear to you - and Sasuke knew Naruto would only understand his pain if it was mirrored to him - so Sasuke mirrored it.

Sasuke was gore with a need for murder in his eyes, and an appetite for blood, and even though Naruto knew he was caught in a genjutsu, he couldn't tell himself the sadness wasn't real. The ground below him turned bloody, and he could almost sink in it - could almost drown in his friends' blood. Sasuke watched him as he cried, as he shivered and fell to the floor, thinking - I'm the only one that can see him like this. Sasuke's the only one who could make Naruto cry, can make him fall into a heap on the ground, clutching at his heart and shivering uncontrollably, gasping, breaking and crying as fiercely as he laughs, letting out all the emotions Sasuke has always kept inside -

- And then, Naruto was waling, his eyes turning red, and Sasuke knew he'd pushed too far. Then again, he'd been pushed too far as well, and he knew Naruto's pain all too well because it was his own. Naruto knew, too, as the world started shutting against him, squeezing around him, as the darkness became too heavy and the world too small for his grief. The least bit of light was left, and as it decreased, the pain strengthened, and Naruto found that he was scared, and alone, and he didn't know whether he could bear it. Even then, he knew that the pain wasn't entirely his, that it was Sasuke who was truly suffering - and that made him need to feel it all the more.

As the first line of blood left Sasuke's eyes, and Naruto's screams intensified, something changed.
Sasuke was no longer looking at his rival, nor his enemy, nor his friend. All he could see was a pain no one should have to deal with - a pain he'd yielded under for nine years. It was that realization which lead to him standing before Naruto, without knowing how he'd gotten there, and without knowing why, he'd found himself leaning, pulling Naruto up by the arm and catching his lips with his own.

Naruto wasn't expecting the pain to stop so suddenly, and his tears continued to fall even when it did, but he felt something against his lips and realized that the only thing holding him up was Sasuke's arms around his waist. It had stopped when Sasuke's eyes had shut closed against his kiss, his lips pressing lovingly against Naruto's, sweet and close and almost healing.

Naruto froze in place, knowing this was important but not knowing why - or how. Sasuke had known that Naruto loved him - had always known, but it had never mattered. So, he waited, and Sasuke kissed, and Naruto couldn't help but wish it could end this way, with bittersweet lips against his, and that overpowering taste of fire and lightning that soared in every ounce of Sasuke - and then something new, and different, and almost dazzlingly strong - the taste of love.

"You have to die," Sasuke whispered, breaking the kiss in a pant and then capturing Naruto's lips again - fiercely, this time, and Naruto wondered whether his words meant that he loved him, too.

Naruto pulled away a while later, breathless finally, regaining feeling in his arms and enough strength to wind them around Sasuke and beg him, "we'll fix it," and "I love you," and "please" so fast and so urgent that Sasuke knew he meant it with every ounce of his being - that Naruto would spare his life for him, and go so far beyond that. Naruto would push himself to death if he had to, and Sasuke knew that he did.

Naruto's cheeks stung, and he hadn't expected it so fast, didn't expect Sasuke's hands to hurt this much, didn't even know that slaps could burn.

"Shut up and fight me," and Sasuke stepped away with lightening in his hands and fire in his heart, and Naruto stood behind and watched, thoughtful for a moment, not able to forget the tingling on his lips or shake away the knowledge that this wasn't how they were meant to be - angry and thundering all the time - the knowledge that his wind was made for better purpose, that he could save Sasuke, could make him stronger, better than he could fight him - but he pushed himself on for Sasuke's sake, smiled a little though his heart was breaking all over again, and put his guard back on, armed to fight the man he would die with.

●•●●•●●•●

Naruto knew he was losing too much blood, and he didn't know whether Sasuke would come to - didn't know whether their time had finally run out. He closed his eyes and pressed Sasuke closer to him, their blood mixing together until it could no longer be distinguished as either's, and he whispered, "you never told me you loved me back."

Against him, Sasuke's breathing hitched, and for the first time, Naruto felt afraid of death. He brought his hands up to Sasuke's face, shaking unsteadily, and wiped away the dirt that had stuck to the other's skin, till the red had eased out and pale skin was revealed, white as snow and beautiful, and Naruto let himself cry. Sasuke's heartbeat didn't stop, but it faltered, and Naruto reached for his hand and his fingers wound around Sasuke's, and he never wanted to let go, but fatigue made his touch slippery, and he found that he couldn't truly hold. "Sasuke," he whispered, and his free hand brushed through Sasuke's soft hair, and he opened his eyes to look one last time, forcing out his words, "you're still beautiful, even now," and then his throat constricted, and his hands fell to the ground, and he didn't feel Sasuke's final breath against his cheeks, didn't hear Sasuke's words as much as he felt them, soulmates.

The world seemed to slow and for the last time time their souls merged, their lives flashed before their eyes in a moment of uncertainty, and Naruto searched for Sasuke's presence and for the first time found that it was reaching out to him. They joined once again, and Naruto could feel Sasuke nudging him - if this is our last time, then I want you to know.

Naruto saw himself in the rain, and he remembered it well - remembered trying to get Sasuke to stay, and falling unconscious because of it. He didn't know that Sasuke had kissed him, scared and desperate and almost regretful - didn't know that Sasuke had touched him that sincerely, and cried over his body.

I tried to kill the part of me that loved you - and then they were young again, and Naruto took Sasuke's hand in his own, and seven year old onyx eyes met blue - and Naruto did smile, glad that even if he did die, he would die knowing.

●•●
~END~