Unconditional Sides of Love [SasuNaru]

Chapter 3

"So, how are you feeling, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Are you still having nightmares?"

Naruto nodded lightly, looking anywhere but at the person in front of him.

"Are you having any suicidal thoughts?"

Naruto flinched at the words that came out of Iruka's mouth. He knew this was a terrible idea. Hesitant blue eyes glanced towards the kitchen doorway.

"He can't hear us, Naruto. It's just me and you, remember?" The brunette therapist reassured.

Glancing back at his hands that laid in his lap, Naruto closed his eyes. The only thing he could do was drop his head in order to not make eye contact.

Though he was in the comfort of Sasuke's home as requested, Naruto was still very uncomfortable with this meeting. He didn't want to meet with the therapist again. He didn't want to have to be honest about how he was feeling.. about how all of this was truly effecting him.

"Would you be willing to talk to Sasuke?" Iruka asked in a gentle tone.

Naruto hesitantly looked into soft brown eyes. He felt his own blue orbs begin to swell with tears. He softly shook his head no. It wasn't something he wanted the raven to know.

Hell, it wasn't something he wanted anyone to know. It was bad enough he was going to gain attention from the abuse.. he didn't want people thinking he was after more attention if they caught wind of his suicidal thoughts. He opted to keep them to himself as he could just as easily swallow them whole, along with his bottled emotions.

Naruto watched nervously as Iruka made several notes. He couldn't help but wonder just what the therapist was scribbling down. Naruto couldn't read the expression on Iruka's face. The man had a perfect poker face. This only heightened the blond's anxiety.

"Would you like to speak somewhere else? Maybe your room?" Iruka asked as he had caught how Naruto was fidgeting.

Blue eyes widened as he furiously shook his head no. There was no way in hell he was going to be shut in a room like that with anyone. Naruto didn't even want to be in there by himself, let alone with someone else.

But he also didn't want another one of his secrets to be exposed. Naruto refused to let anyone into his room. Even when Sasuke was helping him move his things from his apartment, Sasuke was never allowed to step foot into the blond's room. It was the only place he felt as though he could be himself and try to cope.

On the outside, Naruto was trying to appear normal like always. But everything he did felt so forced, it was exhausting. Since he had been released from the hospital, the only time Naruto socialized was at work. And even then, he kept it to a minimum.

He was thankful that Sakura didn't push him to speak. Sasuke had told her that Naruto simply went through a bad breakup, which the blond was thankful for.

"Do you want to tell me what happened to your hands?" Naruto was caught off guard as he had spaced out. He frowned as he looked down at the poorly bandaged hands in his lap. He mumbled something about an accident as he pushed the memory to the back of his mind.

Lately, it seemed like everything and anything caused unwanted memories to resurface and it made him nauseous. He was craving to be normal again, but his mental state was holding him back. Naruto felt as though he was still walking on a thin sheet of ice, and one false move would cause the ice to shatter, dragging him down into the depths and drowning him in the cold reality that was his life.

Iruka sighed and closed his notebook, placing it on the table in front of him. He watched as Naruto seemed to be trying to shrink himself into the couch.