Let Me In

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Sasuke wanted to scream, to sob, to crawl away from the mess he was in, but he would never let himself cry in front of another. The silence of the room was unbearable, and all he could do was watch the gentle breathing of the blonde.

Fix me.

The words were released from his lips silently, desperately hoping Naruto could somehow read his mind. Much to his dismay, however, a quiet knock interrupted the moment, seemingly loud in the quiet of the room.

"Naruto?" A girl's voice.

The blonde didn't answer.



Whoever had knocked must have assumed that the boys were resting, for she had left them in silence once again. Sasuke lifted himself up to his hands and knees, ignoring the painful aches and screams of his exhausted muscles. His attempts were overpowered by his lack of chakra, and he found himself pathetically falling back towards the ground - that is, until something caught him.

"Don't touch me." Sasuke got out through his gritted teeth. He could not take the warmth of Naruto's actions at the moment. Why wouldn't Naruto just leave him alone? Naruto just continued to try to lift him up from under the shoulders.

"I said -"



"I know what you fucking said, I just chose to ignore it." Naruto stood back to glare, but watching Sasuke pathetically try to latch on the side of the bed to lift himself up was too much. It seemed to be taking all of his strength just to lift his arm above his shoulder, so Naruto did the only thing he could think of - picked him up wedding style.

Sasuke was speechless. All he could feel at the moment was the concern that his teammate seemed to emit. No one had ever been this caring or gentle before to Sasuke, and he almost couldn't stop himself from nuzzling his way to Naruto's neck - almost. Instead he lay stone-still, just praying Naruto would drop him onto the hospital bed and leave him alone for a while. He could feel himself being laid down onto something soft, and then the warmth left him. A grunt of frustration left his throat, how could Naruto take that warmth away from him? Sasuke was only vaguely aware of how all his thoughts seemed to contradict each other as he reached out blindly, finally latching onto something solid.

And warm.

Naruto jumped slightly and looked down at where the Uchiha's hand had met his. Sasuke's eyes were closed, but his fingers were tightly entangled into his. What the hell does he want from me?

He ended up standing there awkwardly, his fingers were still, and he could feel blood rushing to his face. There were no chairs close by to grab, but even as Sasuke's hand grew limp in his he couldn't bring himself to let go.

He's so cold.

Whether it was his instincts or his concern that made him sit down on the edge of the bed, he couldn't be sure. There was sweat collecting around the dark-haired boy's hair line, but he was shivering. The hand in Naruto's gripped him tighter, seemingly trying to bring Naruto closer. The seal was burning itself a pathway towards the right side of Sasuke's face, and all Naruto could think of was how Sasuke's face was contorted with pain, how the pulse under his chin was moving too fast to be normal, and how all he wanted to do was to hug Sasuke to him until it was all gone.

So he did.

Naruto was nearly shaking now, as he held Sasuke close to him on the bed. Go away. Leave him alone...Gods...take me, but not him. He pressed his lips hard to the pulse on Sasuke's neck, trying to possibly suck the evil out of him while trying to get his pulse back to normal. If possible, Sasuke's hand became even more tense and even more cold as he fought with the seal in his sleep. Naruto's tears were soaking Sasuke's collar as he willed him to get better, to be Sasuke again.

"Sasuke...please...come back..."

Sasuke awoke with a sharp gasp, his normally black eyes opening wide and red and unfocused. His arms found Naruto and held him close, the fact that there was another body in the bed with him hadn't even registered. He just needed something solid. Something to hold onto so he wouldn't feel so alone in this fight. His breathing and heartrate had not slowed down yet and he held the warmth as close as possible as they slowed. Before long, his eyes were back to their usual black, and it was then that he realized what it was he was holding. Naruto had his arms around him, sobbing lightly into his neck as he pressed his lips to the pulse on his neck. It was beginning to feel sore, but not uncomfortable, and Sasuke was not in any position to throw the boy off of him.

"Dobe, I'm fine." The look in those blue eyes was heartbreaking. Naruto looked like he had just battled death eight times over. The blonde looked at him with tears still falling down his face, his lips swollen and red. Sasuke couldn't look away.

And then Naruto kissed him.

The kiss was not something a first kiss...or second kiss...should be. It was rough and demanding, like Naruto wanted to make sure of Sasuke's existence. Sasuke had no choice but to let it happen, forcing his mind to stop thinking about the soft hand running through his hair, the teeth lightly nibbling on his lip, or how he wanted to press his lips back into the soft ones that were pressing so exquisitely to his. He tried to force his mind to think about anything but the hot breath on his cheek and the warm pads of Naruto's fingertips that trailed their way down his cheek. The kiss was only ended when the blonde began dry sobbing into Sasuke's neck, while Sasuke found his eyelids sliding closed as he gave in to his body's request for rest.