Chapter Text
Continuation – Naruto’s POV]
The couch held him like dead weight. His limbs draped over the cushions, his body too heavy to move, like his soul had sunk into the fabric hours ago and never bothered climbing back out.
The room was dark now. Not that he remembered turning the lights off.
His mouth tasted stale—leftover carrot and smoke. The bong still sat nearby, forgotten. His phone buzzed again.
He didn’t want to check it. Not really. But the vibration kept happening—soft, persistent. Like a knock he couldn’t ignore.
With a sigh that felt like it came from somewhere ancient inside him, he dragged his arm across the couch and reached for the phone.
One voice note. From Sasuke.
He stared at the message. Thumb hovering over the play button. His heart kicked once in his chest.
He hated voice notes. Too raw. Too real. Too much.
But this was him.
Sasuke.
Naruto sat up slowly, the couch groaning under his weight. He pressed play.
“You don’t have to smile for me. Just… let me in next time.”
That was it.
One sentence.
Sixteen words.
And somehow they felt heavier than everything else in the room.
He listened to it again. And again.
It wasn’t desperate. It wasn’t a plea. It was soft. Steady. Unpolished.
Real.
It cracked something in him—not enough to break, just enough to feel it.
Let him in.
Naruto blinked, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers pressing into his temples. He didn’t cry. He didn’t know how anymore. But something inside him trembled—quiet, like the flicker of a candle in a storm.
He tapped his fingers again on his knee. This time slower. He was still here.
Still here.
He stood up. Wobbled a little. He didn’t bother changing. Just slipped his hoodie on over the shirt he’d been wearing all day—maybe longer. Grabbed his keys. Looked at himself in the mirror by the door.
Still didn’t recognize the man staring back.
But maybe someone else did.
He left the carrot on the table. Left the bong. Left the silence behind.
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[Later – Sasuke’s Apartment]
A knock at the door. Not loud. Not urgent. Just… there.
Sasuke didn’t move at first. He stared at the door like it might vanish if he blinked.
Then he stood. Walked slowly. Opened it.
Naruto stood in the hallway, hands in his hoodie pocket, hood pulled low over his head. His eyes were tired. He looked like someone who hadn’t slept in days. Someone who had considered not showing up more times than he could count.
But he was here.
Sasuke didn’t say anything. Just stepped back, letting the door open wider.
Naruto stepped inside.
The apartment was dim, quiet. It smelled like tea and old pages. Lived-in. Safe.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Naruto walked past him, took a slow lap around the room like he was reacquainting himself with the space. He paused by the window. Then sat down on the edge of the couch. Leaned back into it with a soft, exhausted sigh.
Sasuke stayed standing. Watching. Waiting.
Finally, Naruto looked up.
“I didn’t wanna be alone tonight,” he said. Voice hoarse. Almost fragile.
Sasuke nodded. “Then don’t be.”
Silence stretched between them—but not the bad kind. Not empty. Just space being held.
Naruto glanced at the floor, then at Sasuke. His lip twitched, not quite a smile.
“I left a half-eaten carrot on the table.”
Sasuke blinked. “…What?”
Naruto shook his head, a laugh barely escaping. “Never mind.”
Sasuke didn’t push. He walked over and sat beside him, not close enough to crowd, but close enough to feel the gravity shift between them.
Neither of them spoke again for a while.
Eventually, Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke’s shoulder.
Just for a second. Maybe less.
But Sasuke didn’t move. He didn’t pull away.
And in that quiet, the ache didn’t go away—but it eased.
Nothing was fixed. Nothing was solved.
But something shifted.
And for now, that was enough.