He'd Been Stopped

“You and I are going to talk. Sasuke needs to cool off, so let him go. But you and I are going to talk about what you've done,” Iruka threatened. “They want to put you in an institute,” Iruka murmured softly. “They want to make sure that you get the proper health care. That you're mental health is stable. And they want to make sure nothing like before is happening again. And, at the moment, I have nothing to give them, I have nothing to offer to have you come back home with me. I don't know what's wrong, because you jumped off of the deep end on this one.”

“It won't happen again,” Naruto rasped, quickly swallowing more ice chips. He looked away from the chestnut haired man, and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to die any time soon, and it kind of upset him. “I'm tired.”

“Sleep then,” Iruka sighed. “But I want you to know that it was Sasuke who found you. Sasuke who saved your life. No matter how little value you place on your own life, remember that there are people who love you. And I have never seen Sasuke so emotional before.”

With that, the older man took the cup of ice and sat it down behind Naruto, allowing the blond the chance to rest, if he wanted it. He said nothing else as he left the small room, leaving Naruto alone, yet again.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut, letting himself physically relax. The doctor's would come visit him if his heart monitor began to beat a different tempo. Alone, the shrill beeping was more noticeable, harder to ignore. He hated himself for failing, hated he couldn't even do that simple thing right. And he hated that it was Sasuke who had found him. He wanted to hate his lover for that, wanted to leave him, but he couldn't. He would cling to Sasuke for as long as he was alive.

He had a lot of explaining to do.

^v^v^v^

When he opened his eyes again, Sasuke was slumped in the chair again. He looked pissed, even while he was sleeping. It was Naruto's fault, he knew that, but he didn't know what he could do to try to make things better between them. Because if he was going to stay alive, he needed to have Sasuke at his side. It was desperate and foolish, but it was honest.

His throat didn't hurt so much anymore and he was grateful for it. He sat up and cleared his throat before calling Sasuke's name. Dark eyes blinked open slowly, and as cute as Sasuke was waking up, Naruto hated watching it turn to anger.

“Well?” he asked, straightening in the seat.

“I'm sorry,” Naruto answered, bowing his head. In a sense he was. He just wasn't saying he what he was sorry for, exactly.

“You were so still,” Sasuke whispered. He stood and sauntered gracefully to the blond's bedside. “I was afraid to touch you. It was like my family, all over again.”

Naruto wrapped a hand around Sasuke's wrist. Pulling the slender boy forward, he wrapped his arms around his standing lover. “I'm sorry Sasuke,” he whispered.

“Why'd you do it?” Sasuke asked. He climbed into the bed, sitting beside the blond. He adjusted, allowing himself to cling almost desperately to Naruto's body. “Why did you try to leave me?”

Naruto was surprised to feel the tears on his own cheeks. They were flowing freely as he held Sasuke. He wasn't supposed to cry. It wasn't an appropriate reaction. He needed to become stronger. “You wouldn't understand,” Naruto answered. “And I can't explain it to you.”

“Boys?” Iruka's voice interrupted.

He was kind enough to stand there for a few moments, allowing them to compose themselves. Although neither would ever admit to it, they were both proud, stubborn goats. Neither would want to be caught so emotionally vulnerable to an outsider. Satisfied, Iruka dragged the chair across the floor of the small space and sat down heavily. He was practically glaring at Naruto as he spoke softly, “The doctor's have ordered a mandatory seventy-two hour hold in St. Elizabeth's. They want to observe you.”

Naruto nodded slowly. He moved his hand to Sasuke's, and held it, a tiny anchor in the sudden storm. “And afterwards?”

“You'll be released into my custody, and we will be making some changes. This will never happen again.”

“Okay,” Naruto sighed, sounding for all the world to hear like a chastised teenager.

“Now, tell me the truth and explain why you tried to kill yourself in our home. What happened?”

Naruto's grip on Sasuke's hand tightened painfully, and he laid his head on the closest shoulder. “You wouldn't understand.”

“You've already said that. Now tell us the truth,” Sasuke growled.

“Because I wanted to get away from him. And I know that he won't follow me. He's too much of a coward to think about it.”

“Who?” Iruka asked softly. He wanted to be the one who was holding Naruto, but it was Sasuke's job as Naruto's boyfriend.

“Why are you so scared of him?” Sasuke asked quietly after a long silence.

“I'm not scared,” Naruto grumbled. Shifting on the bed, he let Sasuke lay against him, holding him as best as he could.

“If you aren't scared of him, then why did you try to kill yourself?” Iruka asked, cutting off any potential argument between the boys about it.

Naruto smiled, a sad smile that made Iruka want to cry. Sasuke didn't see it luckily because he was leaning against Naruto, face pointed toward the older man in the room. “It's not important.”

“Bullshit,” Sasuke growled as his elbow acquainted itself with Naruto's gut. “What's his name?”

Lost blue eyes stared into Iruka's dark eyes. The older man was torn. He wanted to tell Naruto that it would be okay, that he would protect him, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't lie to Naruto because Naruto had put himself into this situation. “Naruto,” he sighed softly. “You need to answer.”

“His name is Orochimaru,” Naruto answered faintly.

“He's back in town?” Iruka growled, standing up.

“Who is that?” Sasuke asked, turning to face the blond behind him.

“It's... The bastard was Naruto's last foster father. But he's a disgusting bastard,” Iruka spat.

Sasuke looked confused but didn't say anything. All he knew was that the blond was Iruka's foster son. He didn't know much else about how Naruto had grown up because he knew Naruto didn't like to talk about his past. And Naruto didn't know everything about Sasuke's past either. All the boys knew was that they needed each other and would protect each other, no matter what.

“What happened?” Sasuke asked softly, letting his confusion sound in his voice.

“Don't worry about it,” Iruka murmured softly. He placed a heavy hand on Naruto's blond head, running it through the soft strands as lovingly as he could. He wanted to protect Naruto as much as possible, even though he knew it was pointless. He couldn't be with Naruto all day every day. But he had to do something to make Orochimaru leave again.

“Iruka,” Naruto whispered, cuddling against Sasuke.

“How did you find out?” Iruka asked softly. His voice was cold steel, leaving no room for arguments, or options for not answering.

“He paid me a visit,” Naruto whispered against Sasuke's shoulder.

^v^v^v

Thank you for reading this story, I really appreciate it. I want to say a special thank you to Elaina and Death Warranty for their reviews.