I'm sorry

You did say you love me

Everything ended up happening exactly like Naruto had feared. He knew it. He always knew it. And it sucked and he was tired. Angry.

As soon as they arrived to Sakura's apartment, Sasuke left Naruto to go drink with the guys. Naruto wasn't very much of a drinker. He had a few drinks every now and then but he didn't like to do it much since he always kept in mind Uzumaki Kushina's words. One of the happiest moments in his life, which had been very few, was when he got to meet his mom while fighting to control Kurama and he always remembered the advices she gave him. And it wasn't like he got easily drunk. Unlike Sasuke, he could have a lot to drink and he kept himself in a very decent state. He just didn't do it because he didn't want to. But Sasuke seemed to want it a lot. He was already having a lot of fun with the rest of the guys and obviously, Sakura and Ino, among others. The blond and the pink haired girls were holding Sasuke's both arms and they were happily talking and laughing. But soon, Sakura went closer and closer until she was sitting on the raven boy's lap. Naruto saw this from the chair he was sitting on the other side of the room and the pain in his chest started really bad this time. Shikamaru was looking at the blond carefully and, as smart as he was and as well as he knew his friend, he walked across the room with a beer in hand, perfectly knowing what was happening in Naruto's mind.

"Will you ever tell him how you feel about this?" Shikamaru said while handing the blond Shinobi the beer. A sad look showed on his features.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." he replied, receiving the beer and drinking it quickly, always staring at Sasuke and all his moves.

"Oi, Naruto... It's me who you're talking to. You should know you don't need to hide from me" the Nara boy sincerely said. Naruto looked up at him, taking another big sip from his beer.

"Shikamaru..." Naruto looked down to stare at the ground.

"It's ok, Naruto. You don't need to say anything. I know all of it. I just think you should stop torturing yourself and tell him. You need to stop hiding your pain. You love him. And if he truly loves you, he deserves to know he's hurting you" Shikamaru said and walked away to give his friend space. He probably was going to need some time to think.

Naruto had already finished his beer when his friend finished speaking. He knew Shikamaru was right and that he needed to stop this but he simply wasn't ready to say anything about it yet. He decided that he needed more alcohol and went to the other room to take a bottle of Sake. He found one and he rapidly opened it and started pouring it down his throat. A few minutes later, the bottle was almost empty. He took some steps back to take a look at Sasuke and right when he did, he saw Sasuke pushing Sakura away as she had tried to kiss him. He contemplated the scene some more and saw how Sasuke kept on laughing and grabbing Sakura from her waist to keep her from falling down, despite having rejected the kiss. He saw how both of them were pretty wasted and a sudden fear of what could happen next took over him. He... had had... enough.

He finished his Sake bottle and  grabbed another one, since one beer and one bottle weren't enough to blur his mind up and he left the room heading out the apartment, wanting to delete that image from his eyes. He crossed paths with Hinata in his way out but he just waved at her, not really paying any attention to whatever she had said. He felt bad because she was nice and they were friends but he really... really needed to get out of there. He ran and jumped through several roofs to get as far as he could and he opened the bottle in his hand to keep pouring the liquid down his throat while slowing down his pace.

One hour later, Naruto was sitting on his father's head. Yes, he was up in the hill with the Hokages' faces. He stared down at the village that had given him so many emotions and, still drinking from the three other alcohol bottles he bought in his way up to the hill, he didn't know what he was feeling anymore. He only knew that he wanted to erase his mind and make the chest pain go away. For the first time in his life, he allowed himself to forget about his mom and he poured the liquor in the bottles to his insides as if there was no tomorrow. He would've done anything he could to just forget.

Back in Sakura's apartment, Sasuke had stopped drinking since Shikamaru and Choji had gone to sit with him with the task of replacing his beers and Sake filled glasses for non-alcoholic drinks. Shikamaru had had enough of seeing his blue-eyed friend in such big pain and, for historical reasons, it was a sensitive subject for Shikamaru. He had witnessed way too closely how much Naruto had fought when the black-eyed boy left following Orochimaru and then he also saw how much pain Naruto went through after they could not get him back that first time. It had been enough! He couldn't stand seeing how Sasuke kept hurting him even after coming back. The boy in the ponytail knew perfectly well how Sasuke held Naruto from leaving his house to start making out with him for hours. He knew how he used Naruto's weakness for him to get him to never leave him alone. He knew how happy he had been when Naruto finally said he loved him but he also saw how he never was brave enough to say it back. Before, he had been sure he did love him back, but after witnessing the embarrassing scenes Sasuke and Sakura were playing, he wasn't sure anymore. That's why he convinced Choji to help him get Sasuke sober, hoping that he would notice Naruto's feelings when his mind cleared up. And once again, he'd been right.

Around two hours after Naruto left the apartment, Sasuke wasn't having much fun anymore. He had gotten Sakura away from his lap and he was desperately looking around the house. Shikamaru immediately realized he was looking for Naruto but Sakura kept forcing him to only look at her, which was annoying Sasuke beyond his edge. Shikamaru had hoped to complete his task in time, before Naruto left, but an hour ago, Hinata had approached them while looking for Kiba and she told them, visibly affected, that Naruto had literally ran away from the place looking very upset. He didn't ran after him because he was aware the blond needed to be alone but he wasn't going to make things easier for Sasuke letting him know Naruto had left. The least he could do was to look for him.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke suddenly asked, standing up from his sit but immediately being forced back down by Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun! You're with me now!" Sakura shouted angrily.

"Sakura! I came here with Naruto. I'm not supposed to leave him alone" he stood up again and freed himself from the kunoichi's hold. He started looking for Naruto everywhere and Shikamaru followed him nearly, waiting to see how he'd react when he didn't find him. Sakura followed him too, screaming around things Sasuke didn't care about and wasn't listening to. His mind was mostly clear but he wasn't completely sober so after a few minutes, he appealed to his last resource.

"Narutoooo!!!! Naruto, where are you!!!" He called for him but the blond man was nowhere to be seen.

"Narutooooo!! Why did you leave me alone, you usuratonkashi!!!" He kept shouting around the whole apartment until he arrived to where Hinata and Kiba were sitting.

"Oi, you Baka! What the hell is your problem!" Kiba stood in front of him.

"Get away! Where the fuck is that dobe! Why isn't he answering... Narutoooooo!!"

"Enough!!" A female voice broke through the mess that was forming around Sasuke and finally some silence reached the room. "How much longer will you do this to him, Sasuke-kun? Naruto-kun has been gone for a long time already!" The anger was evident as Hinata spoke to the raven boy while Kiba grabbed her waist to try and calm her down. "And you're just noticing he's not here? You're unbelievable, Sasuke-kun..." Hinata turned her back to him and Kiba walked to her still looking at Sasuke who was taking the news in.

"What...? Naruto...? He's... he's gone?" Sasuke looked passed everyone and everything, just to the emptiness. Shikamaru prepared himself to come into action but he was intercepted.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun!! Naruto's gone. So what? You're here now. You're with me..." Sakura said trying to sound sexy as she walked closer to try and hug him. And she did.

"No..." he whispered.

"C'mon... who cares about Naruto now? You're here... he did us a favor..." the pink haired head buried itself into Sasuke neck and he finally reacted...