Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

„I think that's it,” Hinata whispered in a meek voice. She looked exhausted. Her face was covered in a thin veil of sweat, and Naruto could swear it was the first time when it was obvious that she was over thirty years old.

„Finally,” Sakura sighed, removing her hands from Naruto's temples, and leaning back on a chair. She too had to be tired. „How's Sasuke?”

Hinata gave the man a long look.

„I'm fine,” Sasuke muttered. Naruto mentally rolled his eyes. He could feel that Sasuke wasn't fine.

„Bullshit,” he grunted. „Hinata, how—„

He stopped himself mid-sentence, sitting up on the bed. Hinata was his wife. She was the mother of their children. He hadn’t even asked about who was taking care of Himawari when she was here. „How’s Himawari?”

„Oh, she's,” Hinata paused, giving him a sincere smile, „Hanabi's taking care of her. She's worried about you too.”

„Sorry,” Naruto mumbled out. He had no idea whether he was apologizing for making others worry, for forgetting to ask about his family or for wanting to leave them.

„N-no, no, it's not your fault,” his wife assured him in that soft voice of hers. If he was her Sasuke, then... Naruto knew how he felt without Sasuke. „Why... why were you like this? I know it's not just stress,” she mumbled out. „If it was just stress, then Sasuke wouldn't be like this--"

„I put him under genjutsu,” Sasuke confessed. „Are you able to use techniques? I need to go back—„

„Oi, you're not going anywhere until Sakura fixes you,”Naruto protested.

„It’s,” Hinata stuttered, „It's too late,” she finally said. „We won't be able to fix your eyes—„

„WHAT—„

„Calm down, Naruto,” Sasuke interrupted him.

„What do you mean we can't?” Sakura cried out. „You’ve said—„

Sakura looked away, her face unreadable. Hinata too wasn’t able to look her in the eyes.

„I'll just have something transplanted,” Sasuke hissed. „It's not a big deal.”

„What about your sharingan?” Naruto protested. „There’s none, that,” he growled. He shouldn’t had asked Tsunade to make sure the eyes of the clones rot. It was stupid, it was so stupid and irresponsible. Sasuke needed his eyes, all of his techniques were based on sharingan. „Why haven't you said anything earlier?”

He wasn't certain whom he was asking. Hinata knew there was something wrong, she knew that it would be too late if they kept on fixing Naruto, so—

And Sasuke had to feel that something was wrong, why hasn’t he said anything?!

„Your eyes aren't the problem,” Hinata whispered. „The problem is the connection between your eyes and the brain. The chakra pathways have already disappeared. Your nerves are deteriorating. It's impossible to fix.”

„Why haven't you said anything earlier?!” Naruto demanded to know. He's never yelled at Hinata. He's never even had a fight with her. He glared at her as her eyes filled with tears. Sasuke’s were blank. „You should've said something, it's your fault that he's—„

„Shut up, Naruto,” Sakura finally spoke up. Her lips were trembling. „I'll take care of you, Sasuke. So don't leave,” she pleaded.

„There has to be something you can do to reverse it,” Naruto snapped.

„There's not,” Sakura informed him in broken voice. „It's too late.”

Naruto stood up, and paced around the room. He wasn't just angry, he was furious. „Why haven’t you said anything?!”

„I'm s-sorry,” Hinata cried. „You were getting worse with every second, if we stopped to cure him, you might've,” she sobbed, „the damage could be inoperable, so... It's just eyes—„

„It's not just eyes,” Naruto yelled.

„It is,” Sasuke disagreed. He sounded dead.

„Sakura’s not the only medic in here, if you've said something, this wouldn't have happened,” Naruto shouted.

„And who do you think would want to cure him?” Sakura barked. „They would need a Hyuuga to help them, nobody—„

„I'm the hokage,” Naruto interrupted her.

„Even if you ordered them to do it, they would’ve made sure it didn't work,” Sasuke rasped. „Nobody would pass up an opportunity to—„

„Then you should've taken care of Sasuke and sent me to the hospital instead,” Naruto uttered.

„What we've done was extremely complex,” Sakura said. „Only Tsunade could've done it, and she's not here.”

Naruto glared at her. He was sick and tired of Konoha and its inner workings. He approached Sasuke, grabbed his shoulder, and teleported them out.

„What did you bring me here for?” Sasuke muttered. Naruto teleported them to the Valley of the End. Sasuke had no idea why the blonde even marked the place. It was just a giant crater and some rubble overgrown with ugly, yellowish grass. Naruto didn't reply him, he just slumped on the ground, and lied there. „I guess it means you're fully healed,” Sasuke sighed, and sat down next to him. His vision was already getting blurry. He wondered how much time he had left before he lost his eyesight.

He wasn't even able to activate his sharingan.

„You’ve cost me two eyes and a limb,” Naruto mumbled out. Sasuke sent him a questioning look. „It's what you've said. In there.”

„We should go back. If something happens in Konoha—„

„Others will take care of it,” the blonde sighed. „It's their village too. Itachi's said I can't do everything on my own.”

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto wasn't being himself. He yelled at his wife and Sakura. He pretty much ran away, leaving his beloved Konoha behind, defenseless. He had to know that there wasn’t anyone, who could match him. Except for Sasuke. But that was no longer truth. And soon it was going to get worse.

„So now you're quoting Itachi,” Sasuke said. He had no idea what he was going to do after turning blind. Given enough time, he would probably be able to become a shadow of his former self when it came to strength. But before that? He would be barely above an Academy graduate. A blind Academy graduate.

Everything was slowly being taken away from him. He's lost his parents, his brother, his clan, his drive, his purpose, his pride. He's lost Naruto. And now he was going to lose his eyesight and strength.

„I'm sorry,” Naruto whispered. „I shouldn't have come to you back then.”

„It’s my fault,” Sasuke noted.

„It's not,” Naruto disagreed. „I've told you I wanted to shoulder your anger and pain, and that you were more important than becoming a hokage, but in the end I left you alone. And I wouldn't have done anything about it if I wasn’t so fucking disappointed with my life choices,” he grunted. „Get angry at me. You should be angry.”

„I'm not,” Sasuke sighed.

„You should be angry at me, at Hinata, at Konoha,” the blonde started enumerating. „I am angry.”

„Hinata did nothing wrong. Even if you weren't her husband, saving the hokage is more important than saving a former missing nin,” Sasuke pointed out. „It was a smart choice.”

„Stop with this bullshit,” Naruto whined. Sasuke shrug his shoulders. There was nothing more to be said.

„Why this place?” He asked instead.

„It’s the first thing that came to my mind,” Naruto answered.

„Why? Because now we definitely won't fight again?”

„...perhaps,” the blonde admitted. „We've never had that fight I promised you.”

„There was no need for one,” Sasuke replied, lying next to Naruto. The sky had a nice blue hue. „I've lost, remember?”

„You didn't,” Naruto disagreed. „It was a tie.”

„Now I feel better about myself,” Sasuke snorted. „I've won the first one, though. The ones that came in between were ties as well, so... I guess my general score is higher. Not that I'm counting.”Naruto turned his head to look at him. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't getting provoked. He looked tired and beaten.„I intend to keep it that way,” Sasuke continued, letting out a heavy breath. „I could give you my eyes,” he offered after a longer while of unpleasant silence. „I won't be needing them anymore.”

He frowned, when Naruto’s hand landed on his face in a half-assed swat. It stayed there, obstructing Sasuke’s view of the sky. Then it covered Sasuke's eyes completely. He closed them, annoyed at how Naruto's fingers irritated his eyelashes.

„Someone else might try to take them by force. It's better if you have them,” Sasuke pointed out. „Don't let them go to waste.”

„You're not a warehouse for spare body parts,” the blonde hissed. „They're yours, and they will stay yours,” he declared. „I'll make sure of it.”

„My hero,” Sasuke sneered. „Are you going to follow my every step?”

„If this is what it takes,” Naruto blurted out. „What... what are you going to do? Sakura's said she will take care of you—„

„I don't want her to,” Sasuke interrupted him. „You might as well leave me in that hideout before heading back to Konoha,” he sighed. „I'll manage. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

„I'm not questioning your ability to look after yourself,” Naruto replied. „But you've said you'd stay with me—„

„The circumstances have changed, don't you think?” Sasuke inquired. „We were supposed to throw down the council but I'm about to become fucking useless.”

„You're not,” Naruto disagreed. „And even if you were,” his voice collapsed, betraying his anxiety, „it doesn't change anything,” he stated.

„Am I supposed to be touched or something?” Sasuke asked. He was tired. Tired of everything. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to go back to Konoha, he wanted to hide somewhere, all alone, and sort everything on his own. „I'm serious, piss off and leave me alone.”

„I won't,” Naruto retorted. „I'm done with leaving you alone,” he muttered.

„If you think I'm going to follow you like a lost puppy, you're up for a disappointment—„

„What gave you that idea?” Naruto interrupted him. „Do you seriously believe I'm going to think less of you just because you're going to be blind?” He snapped. Sasuke didn't bother with replying. It was absolutely pointless. „What about Orochimaru?” Naruto asked, suddenly jerking up and removing his hand from Sasuke's eyes.

„What about him?”

„He couldn't use his arms for a while because of what the Third did to him but then he changed bodies, so—“

„You do realize the host has to be alive?” Sasuke sighed. Naruto groaned in reply. „The technique also doesn't last too long, I'd have to find myself a new body after a few years,” Sasuke continued. „What's more, even if I transplanted my eyes into a new body, they wouldn't work as well as they did before. Why do you think Orochimaru went through all that trouble if he could've just snatched a pair of eyes?”

„Right,” Naruto mumbled out. „We'll think of something.”

„There’s no need,” Sasuke grumbled. „Forget it.”

„You know I couldn't,” the blonde whispered.He stared at Sasuke, guilt written all over his face. „We’re heading back to Konoha,” he decided. „Sakura still needs to check if there's nothing more wrong with you. Then I'll teleport you to wherever you want. I'll,” he paused, „I'll deal with everything and come back to you. I promise.”

Sasuke opened his eyes to see nothing. Everything was black, and he felt as if he was drowning, falling thousands of miles down into the abyss. It was too fast. He was certain he'd have at least a few more days before he'd be forced to close his eyes forever.

He was walking. He could feel and hear the grass under his feet. He recognized Naruto’s presence, he felt a bony, warm hand resting on his shoulder. Naruto was supposed to take them back to Konoha, so why—

„Where are we?” Sasuke demanded to know. He pondered whether informing Naruto that he's already lost his eyesight was a good idea. Probably not. It would just keep the moron away from what he was supposed to be doing.

„I'm not entirely sure,” Naruto admitted. „But we’re moving in the right direction, so it should be alright.”

„Isn't your office marked? What's the point of teleporting this far away from Konoha?” Sasuke hissed. He was getting annoyed. He didn't feel like having a walk, he wanted to get away from all of this, at least for a while. He didn't want anybody to see him in his weakened state. He didn't want anyone to try to help him. He wanted none of that. He needed to take care of it on his own. He needed to get better, to become independent again before... before letting anyone see him again.

„What are you talking about?” Naruto asked, sounding confused. „We’re trying to get away from Konoha, remember?”

„What?”

„Uh, Sasuke, seriously, why are you surprised? You need to take a rest or something? Because I think I saw a good spot for that just a while ago, so we could turn back—“

Naruto paused when Sasuke’s hand invaded his hair. They were much longer than he remembered them to be. Unless...

„Shit,” he cursed. It was that stupid genjutsu again. Or whatever it was. How was he supposed to go back to the real world? He didn't have his eyes, so he'd have to rely on someone else to break the illusion for him. Naruto's said he was taking Sasuke to Sakura. She should be able to notice that something was wrong. According to Kakashi, she had a talent for genjutsu. Not that it's ever helped her. Or showed. Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh. „You know it's not real, right?” He muttered. It was just a waste of time. A huge waste of time.

„What?” Naruto stuttered. „Ye, I think you need a rest. Let's go,” he blabbered, grabbing Sasuke’s hand, and hauling him... wherever. Sasuke let the blonde drag him. It didn't matter what they did in here. For all he cared, they could throw themselves off a cliff. He almost tripped when Naruto suddenly stopped. „Ah, sorry,” the blonde blurted out. „Like, I'm still not good at, uh, this,” he continued as if he had to explain why he sucked at leading a blind person. „So, er, you can just sit down here, and I’ll be back with you in a moment, I just have to,” he paused, „right, actually, do you have to pee?”

„What?” Sasuke barked at him.

„I could help you,” the moron offered, sounding disgustingly embarrassed.

„I don't need your help,” Sasuke hissed.

„Oi, you don't have to get all defensive on me, like, it's not a big deal if you want me to lead you to a, uh, proper place or something, I mean, I know you can hold your,” he stuttered, „your dick on your own, so it's not even this weird, like, there's no shame in this--"

„Just shut up and go,” Sasuke sighed. „I'll tell you if I ever need you to lead me to a proper place, and aim my dick for me.”

He heard Naruto make an unintelligible noise. Then there were steps. Loud steps. Very not ninja-like steps. Sasuke had no idea whether the moron was just absurdly bad at stealth or trying to be considerate but it annoyed him all the same. He got even more irritated when he realized that right now his world consisted of darkness and the sound of Naruto pissing.

„As if I couldn't reach a tree on my own,” he grunted under his breath. Naruto was being ridiculous. Sasuke was half-expecting the idiot to try to spoon-feed him next. This Naruto wasn’t even real. There was no reason for him to be this dumb. A sound of zipper and nearing steps. „Finally,” Sasuke complained. „Maybe next time I should lead you to a proper place.”

„Haha, fuck you,” the blonde grumbled. „Are you hungry or, or thirsty, or, like, is there anything I can do for you?”

„Yeah, get lost,” Sasuke growled. Naruto plopped on the ground next to him. He heard him spill some water on the ground, he heard it sloshing through his fingers. He could smell Naruto’s sweat, and the cold ground around them. After all, it was winter. It was good that the temperature never fell below zero degrees.

„You know it's not going to last forever, right? We’ll find you some eyes soon,” the blonde whispered.

„I don't care about this world,” Sasuke replied. „This is not real, you're not real... I don't care about being blind in here,” he added. Naruto’s hand squeezed his. Sasuke flinched when he felt something hard and warm rest against his forehead.

„I'm real,” the blonde insisted. His breath moved Sasuke’s hair, tickling his skin. „So stop saying that. We'll find you some eyes. Hell, if you want... I'm certain we could find Madara's eyes in Konoha. But first we need to find a safe place, find you any eyes, and get back in shape. So try to hold on. It's really not going to last forever.”

„...what if it is?”

Sasuke had no idea why he felt the need to ask the question. This wasn’t the real Naruto. This was... it was less than a clone. A figment of his imagination. So wasn't he actually asking himself? What was the point?

Naruto’s head rested on his shoulder.

„Sasuke, I know you,” he whispered. „You'll manage. You'll adapt, and before you know it, you'll be just as good if not better than you've been,” he insisted. „You’ll find a way around that. I know that right now I’m, well, acting kind of worried but it's just because it's new to you, and you're probably all disoriented and lost. But I know that you're strong, and, like, you won't need me or anyone else to, uh, look after you,” he said. „So let yourself be lost for now. I'm here for you. You're not alone.”

Sasuke breathed in. This was exactly what he wanted to hear. This was the last thing he wanted to hear.

Because none of it was real.

„Sasuke,” Sakura cried out, clinging to her husband’s chest. „You're awake, you’re finally awake,” she sobbed.

Naruto watched the scene from a distance, feeling as if he didn't belong in there. Hinata's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Sakura was crying. Naruto was close to tears himself. He shouldn't have taken Sasuke away to the Valley. It was his fault that he didn’t receive help on time.

„Sakura, you’re heavy,” Sasuke complained in a calm voice.

„How are your eyes?” she whimpered, sitting up, and letting go of him.

„I can still see,” the man informed her. „But it's worse than it was.”

Sasuke’s words stabbed Naruto’s heart as if they were daggers. Old, rusty daggers. Ones that wouldn't leave a clear wound. The worst part was that Naruto knew Sasuke wasn’t blaming him.

„How’s his brain?” he asked. Hinata took a deep breath before replying.

„It’s fine. I m-mean, it's going to be fine. It's not as bad as it was with you, so,” she stuttered, „Sasuke’s going to be fine.”

„Except for the fact that he's going to lose his eyesight,” he said before he could stop himself.

„I'll manage,” Sasuke rasped. „I'll adapt. Give me a year, and we might make another crater. For the old times sake. It’s been a while since we've last yelled each other's names for no reason whatsoever.”

„Don’t be ridiculous,” Naruto barked.

„Naruto,” Sasuke started with a heavy sigh, „either shut up or leave. It’s not Hinata’s fault. It’s not Sakura’s fault. It’s not your fault. You’re just making everyone feel guilty over something they shouldn't feel guilty about. It's not helping.”

Naruto withstood the other man’s glare. Everything was crumbling to pieces. He sat down on the chair Sasuke used to sit on. Their situation reversed completely. But Naruto came out of the whole ordeal with only some minor brain damage. Sasuke was going blind. He’d lost way too much because of Konoha, because of Naruto. And he was silently agreeing to it, saying what others wanted him to say. He’d even apologized all these years ago. It was a half-assed apology but… still, he apologized for things he shouldn’t have to apologize for. Konoha never apologized to him.

Nobody even knew that the Uchiha massacre was directly caused by Konoha. Kakashi decided it was too late to make a difference, and the news would just upset people. Sasuke agreed.

The council forced him to reproduce. Naruto supported the idea, believing it would anchor Sasuke in Konoha.

Sasuke agreed.

Naruto asked him for help.

Sasuke agreed. He’s said he was willing to take another blow for Naruto. To once again be the bad guy, so Naruto could emerge as a hero.

At this point Sasuke was just a husk of his former self. He’d probably agree to anything if he thought it would be beneficial for someone. For anyone . Anyone but him.

“You need to be more selfish,” Naruto mumbled out. He’s never thought he would say this to Sasuke, out of all people.

“What for?” Sasuke asked.

Yes, indeed. What for? What for. What for.

“I agree with Naruto,” Sakura carefully chimed in. “You’ve done enough. You’ve repaid for all that you’ve done—“

“Sasuke’s done nothing wrong,” Naruto interrupted her.

“I’m pretty sure I did some bad things,” the brunette sighed. Naruto felt as if he was talking to a man, who was thousand years older than him, who was tired of his shit, who just hoped to die in as little pain as possible.

“N-Naruto, you know Sasuke’s right,” Hinata whispered.

“Grow up, Naruto,” Sakura said. “You’re too old to be this infatuated. You’ve already done your part saving Sasuke. I can take care of him.”

Has nobody noticed just how broken Sasuke was? Have they all really thought that Naruto’d succeeded? He wanted to scream but he was pretty certain Sasuke would eventually throw him out of the room. Besides, talking to him while Sakura and Hinata were present, was pointless. He wasn't himself around them. Naruto breathed out, forcing himself to calm down, at least for the time being.

“I’m not staying here,” Sasuke informed Sakura, his voice absolutely devoid of emotion.

“You can’t be serious,” the woman exclaimed. “You’ll be blind, you need someone to look after you. I’m your wife, I love you, you know that I can make you happy! Do you really want me to wonder if you’re still alive, if—“

“Naruto will know when I die,” he interrupted her. “So you won’t have to wonder about anything.”

“That’s not  the point!” Sakura shouted. “I just want you to be happy, why don’t you want to be happy?!”

Hinata’s face was the reddest thing Naruto’s ever seen. No wonder. It was the first time she saw Sakura and Sasuke interact with each other. After all these years, Naruto got used to it. He got used to Sakura trying to convince Sasuke to stay, and to Sasuke telling her it wasn’t going to happen.

“You were supposed to heal me,” Sasuke reminded her in icy tone. Sakura’s hands were trembling. She looked as if she was about to have a mental breakdown.

“L-let’s leave them alone for a while,” Hinata mumbled out, deactivating her byakugan, and walking up to Naruto. She reached for his hand. He took it, and lead her out of the room, out of Sakura’s house, and into the small garden. Honestly, it was just a lawn, but it was well-kept. Naruto was somewhat amazed at how clean and neat Sakura’s house was. It was the same for theirs. Both Hinata and Sakura had to spend hours working on it.

“Is this a good idea to take a break right now?” He asked. “You didn’t want to take a break when it was me—“

“Sakura’s too upset right now,” Hinata replied in a meek voice. As if she was afraid he’d hit her. As if she had a battered wife syndrome. Naruto had no idea why. Until today he’s never even raised his voice at her. He’s never told her anything mean. All he did was saying how grateful he was for everything she’s done for him.

“Do you like being with me?”

He himself was surprised at the words that fell out of his mouth.

“W-why? Why do you ask?” Hinata whimpered. “I know you’re upset that I haven’t said anything about Sasuke, and I’m sorry but—“

“It’s got nothing to do with Sasuke,” he said to calm her down. It didn’t work. He had no idea that it was possible but she became even more terrified. “Relax,” he pleaded. He raised his hands to grab her shoulders but stopped himself. He wasn’t certain why he stopped himself. “It was just a question,” he assured her. “Because, like, Sakura’s not happy,” he lied. “So I was wondering if you are.”

“I’m very happy,” she replied without a second of hesitation. Naruto slowly nodded. She didn’t look happy. The last time she looked happy was when Boruto was born. Because after that he became a hokage, so it took priority over his family life. He wasn’t there when Himawari was born. He wasn’t certain he actually was there for the conception. Immediately after becoming a hokage, he was missing his family, eating meals with them, and generally living with them. A year or so later family became nothing more than a responsibility. He was sending clones to his house, so they would take care of it for him. After a while he stopped caring about all the memories he would receive after a clone would disappear.

“I wasn’t a good husband. Or a father,” he noted.

“You’re busy being a hokage,” she smiled. “We’re all very proud of you. You’ve said it yourself, to you all the villagers are like your children—“

“Is this what you imagined when you were picturing your future with me? When you were marrying me?”

“W-well, n-no, but I understand why it has to be like this,” she replied. “Sakura told me you were considering to quit but you really don’t have to worry about us.”

“That’s not the reason I want to quit,” he said, carefully weighing his words. He was guessing Sasuke told Sakura. And then Sakura told Hinata. It didn’t really matter. “I want to quit because everything’s just as it was when the Third was in charge. Or Tsunade. Or Kakashi. I wanted a change, I’ve promised a change. But there’s nothing I can do to bring it,” he confessed.

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Hinata whispered. “Konoha is blooming, look how much bigger and richer it became. The children are no longer in danger. Ninjas are slowly becoming an obsolete profession. It won’t be long until we’ll have a true peace. It what you’ve wanted.”

“I wanted justice,” he disagreed. “Hyuugas are just what they used to be. You have a slave branch in your family, it’s got nothing to do with peace,” he continued.

“I’m not a Hyuuga anymore,” she stated, straightening her back. “I wish they changed, for Neji, but—“

“He died protecting you,” Naruto pointed out. “I’m not saying anything should’ve happened to you, of course,” he blabbered, frantically waving his hands in front of his face, “but it’s rather symbolic, like, you know, he wanted to be free—“

“Do you think I don’t feel guilty about his death?” she exclaimed. “There’s not a day when I don’t wonder if he did it because of the mark or if he actually,” she stopped, her eyes getting teary, “if he just wanted to save me. And he was not a symbol, he sacrificed himself for you, so,” she sobbed, “please, don’t make him into a symbol. He was your friend. He believed in you. We all believed in you. He did that, so you could still fight. Because he knew you were the only one, who could do anything against—“

“Shhh,” he whispered, his hand rubbing her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. He shouldn’t have mentioned Neji. He knew it was a sensitive topic. It was one of very few topics about which Hinata was passionate. “But I’ve promised him I’d change Hyuugas, and I didn’t,” he murmured. “That’s why I’m disappointed with myself.”

“Hyuugas were like this since the beginning. It’ll take more than just a couple of years to change it,” she insisted.

“So what, I’m supposed to sit back and be happy with myself because almost everyone can afford a cellphone?” Naruto snapped.

“No,” she replied. “But you have to understand that some things are easier to change than others.”

He let go of her shoulder, and paced in a circle. Talking to Hinata just made him more confused. There were some things she didn’t know about, things he couldn’t tell her about. The way the council worked against him, torpedoing his every initiative. The fact that Konoha got bigger and richer not because of what he’s done but thanks to Shikamaru and the council. The fact that the Root still existed. That Konoha still had agents hidden among the population of allied villages. That the peace they worked so hard towards was just as frail as when people were forced to unite because of Madara. The Uchihas. All the reasons why it was so easy to excuse Sasuke’s actions.

“I'm all burnt out,” he confessed. “Hinata, for all these years I've been nothing but a poster boy,” he continued. “All I do is signing papers I don't want to sign. If… when the other hidden villages attack, we’ll be defenseless. Honestly, all we have is our generation, and almost none of us has been training for the last ten years. I almost wasn't training. Sasuke probably was but now there’s no Sasuke. We're pretty much screwed,” he sighed. “The strongest ninjas are loyal to the council. If they were to do anything, there would be nothing that could possibly stop them. Aside from me, and maybe a couple of others but I can't expect them to put their lives on line again. Especially since everyone seems content with how everything’s unfolding—“

“Naruto, you're worrying too much,” she interrupted him. “Why would anyone attack Konoha? Why would the council start an uprising? There's no reason to.”

“Why do countries attack other countries? Why would politicians overthrow a leader? Money and power,” he suggested. “And it would be easy money, and easy power. Konoha is weak. We're an economic power but that's it. My position is weak. There’s nothing I can do as a hokage. Look, I've been away for the last few days, and yet nobodywas trying to reach me. I’m nothing but a hand holding a pen,” he explained.

“Then,” she stumbled upon the word, “then what do you want to do?”

She looked worried and sad, but not disappointed with him. Naruto sent her a weak smile. He was supposed to break her heart, shatter it into smithereens.

“I want to quit,” he confessed. She looked away, biting her bottom lip. “I'm sorry, Hinata, it's the only way—“

“It’s not,” she disagreed. “What then?”

He shook his head. He didn't want to say it. She was his friend. She loved him. She's supported him through all these years, never complaining about him not being there for his family.

“Shikamaru'sprobably going to take my place for the time being since he's my advisor,” he said instead. “But he'll probably be named the hokage anyways. There's not much competition,” he sighed.

“I was asking about your plans,” she clarified. She didn't really have to. Naruto knew what she was asking about. He just wasn't ready to have this conversation with her. He needed to think things through. He needed to find the right words.

“We should check up on them,” he suggested. “Maybe they've stopped fighting.”

Hinata nodded before she hung her head low, and followed him into the house. He hated himself. He knew how much he meant to her. Now he was going to take it all away from her because he was stupid when he was nineteen years old. Because he couldn't man up and take responsibility for his decisions. Because he was lying when he promised her to stay with her till death do them part.

Naruto walked upstairs, and stopped when he heard amuffled crying coming from Sakura’s bedroom. He closed his eyes, realizing that even this was his fault. He was nothing but a failure.

“I'll try to talk to her,” Hinata quietly offered. He nodded with gratitude, and headed towards Sarada's bedroom.

“I want to leave,” Sasuke muttered the moment Naruto opened the doors. The brunette was standing by the window, glaring at the sky.

“Soon,” Naruto promised, standing next to him. “Hinata’s said there wasn't much work left. She's trying to cheer up Sakura, so,” Naruto’s voice trailed off, “you just have to wait a little longer, and then I’ll teleport you.”

“I want to leave now,” Sasuke insisted. “You wanted me to be selfish, so this is me being selfish, take me away from here,” he hissed.

Naruto gave him a long, worried look.

“I guess I could take you to Tsunade but Sakura’s really worried about you, so,” he stopped himself, seeing how Sasuke tensed at the mere sound of his wife's name, “Let me just tell Hinata where we’re going,” he eventually said.

It didn't take him long to do that. Hinata didn't look too happy about the news but she accepted them. She's always accepted everything Naruto told her.

“Let’s go,” he told Sasuke after returning to the room. The man was already dressed and packed. Naruto wanted to know why he was so upset but everything about Sasuke was pretty much screaming at him to stay away. Naruto breathed in, touched the other man's shoulder and teleported them out.

“Naruto!” Tsunade exclaimed when she saw them in front of her doors. She moved outside the village, into a rather busy city. Sasuke had no idea why she didn't want to live in Konoha anymore but he didn't really care. “I haven't see you in ages, you brat,” the woman laughed. “And Sasuke came as well,” she added, sounding a lot less cheery. Sasuke didn't blame her. He did want to kill her. He also wanted to kill Sakura. The two medics that were capable of healing him. Just his luck.

“You look pretty good for your age,” the blonde chirped in an obvious ploy to turn her attention away from Sasuke. The woman swatted the moron on the head. Her moves were slow, Naruto could easily dodge the attack if he wanted to but, apparently, he wished to sport a bump and risk a concussion.

“I can't say the same about you,” Tsunade grumbled. “What brings you two here? I wasn't expecting any guests, so the flat is a mess but I guess neither of you cares.”

“Yeah, we don't,” Naruto admitted. “I need to ask you a favor,” he said the moment she let them in. Her flat was tiny but extravagant. Lots of expensive-looking things packed into a space way too small, and with no sense or reason when it came to their arrangement. “I need you to fix Sasuke's head—“

“I think it's way too late for that,” she grunted, her hands touching Sasuke's temples, her chakra already probing into his brain. She tsked a couple of times, a deep frown on her unnaturally young face. “There's nothing I can do about the eyes,” she informed them. “Sorry, but the connection—“

“We know,” Sasuke interrupted her. Naruto gave him an ugly look. Still, hearing that one was going blind twice in just one day was a little bit too much.

“It’s about the rest of his brain,” the blonde supplied with a huge grin on his tanned face. Sasuke sighed, realizing that soon he wouldn't be able to tell one expression from another.

“Ah, yes,” Tsunade hummed. “But someone was already working on it, huh? Masterfully done, so it must've been Sakura,” she guessed. “Why did you come to me? She could've done it on her own.”

“Uh, well, it's not possible at the moment,” the moron blabbered as the woman's eyes kept narrowing. “Please,” he pleaded.

“Fine,” Tsunade grunted. “But know that I don't like it even one bit,” she barked. “Come,” she ordered them as she led them into a smaller room. This one was much cleaner and better organized than the rest of her apartment. It was filled with medical utensils, scrolls and books. There was also a cheap, narrow bed. “Lie down,” she muttered as she pushed Sasuke onto the mattress.

“Sakura needed Hinata's help,” Naruto informed her. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”

“Of course I will,” Tsunade replied. “Drink this,” she said, handing Sasuke some weird-smelling concoction. “I’m not going to poison you,” she growled, rolling her eyes, probably noticing his hesitation. “Your boyfriend would've been seriously upset with me if I did, and I kind of like him,” she added, a mischievous smile on her face. Sasuke snorted when he saw a violently red blush spreading on Naruto’s face.

“I'm so glad you two are bonding,” the blonde huffed. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, drinking yet another mixture Tsunade gave him.

“If you want to tell him something embarrassing, now's the time,” the woman chuckled. “He should go to sleep any minute now, so he’s not going to remember—“

That was the last thing Sasuke's mind registered.

Sasuke blinked, trying to see something, anything, but there was nothing. He cursed under his breath. He must've been in that genjutsu again. And soon this darkness was going to become his reality.

He was lying on the grass, bundled up in an unpleasantly soggy blanket. He turned on his side, facing the point, where he could feel Naruto. The other Naruto. The fake Naruto.

“Oh, hey, you woke up,” the boy chirped. “Finally, like, I'm dying to get some sleep too,” he whined.

“Stay with me a little longer,” Sasuke said. He’d much rather have a fake conversation than pretend to keep the watch. Especially since he was quite certain that nobody was going to attack them anyways.

Bony fingers wormed themselves into his hair. “Sure,” Naruto agreed, stifling a yawn. Sasuke let out a shaky breath. He had to admit that he could understand why Naruto found this reality so enticing. “How do you feel?”

“I'm,” Sasuke stopped himself from saying fine. Nothing he did in here mattered. Nothing he said in here mattered. “I'm scared,” he admitted.

“Me too,”the other boy confessed, combing through Sasuke's fringe. “At least we can be scared together, huh?” Naruto murmured in a soothing voice.

“I guess,” Sasuke whispered. Somehow, it made him feel better, less lonely and pathetic in his fear.

“But it's not going to last forever,” the boy assured him. “We've been dead, like, seriously dead, and yet we came back to life, so I think we’ll do just fine,” he laughed. “Also, like I'm pretty fucking certain that there is a way to make you see through my eyes or somebody else's, so even if we can't find a pair of eyes for you, and, like, you know, it's not something you can just find lying around, we’ll make it work.”

“I'm genius,” Sasuke realized, suddenly sitting up, and crashing his head with Naruto’s. “Shit, it still hurts,” he complained. He froze when he felt the boy embracing him. “You can let go of me,” he said.

“I don't want to,” the blonde whined but did let go of him. Sasuke tapped his fingers on his knee. He just had to wait to return to the real world. He just needed to—

He needed Naruto and his clones to search through Orochimaru's vast collection of scrolls. One by one.

And then he'd need him to stay with him, to lend him his eyes.

Naruto didn't have time for this.

Sasuke growled in annoyance, and fell down on the grass again.

“What's wrong?” Naruto questioned.

“Nothing,” Sasuke sighed. He had no idea why he even bothered to talk to… whatever it was. Was it his own genjutsu? A figment of his imagination? A part of Naruto that got cut off after Sakura healed him? Either way, it was the last time Sasuke would see it.

“You can't do everything on your own, Sasuke,” the blonde whispered.

“So you're quoting Itachi too,” Sasuke muttered.

“Yeah, I mean… he was right when it came to this. He said that Madara turned into what he was because he wanted to do everything on his own, because he believed he needed the power to do everything on his own, and shoulder everyone's pain and then to fix the system,” Naruto blabbered. “We’re not alone, Sasuke. We have each other. Don't forget that.”

Naruto wasn’t able to stand still. He was pacing around the small room until Tsunade got annoyed with him, and threw him out. Now he was sitting on a ridiculously short sofa, tapping his feet against wooden floor, which was covered with papers, lottery tickets and pillows. He was acting almost the same when he was waiting for Hinata to bear their son. But it's been hours since Tsunade started, and—

“I’m done,” Tsunade yelled, leaning through the doorway, and shoving Sasuke out of the room.

“Sasuke,” he rasped. The man sent him a long, unreadable look.

“Thanks,” Sasuke whispered, turning his head to look at Tsunade, who just rolled her eyes.

“I wasn’t doing it for you,” she grunted. “Naruto, you should visit me more often,” she complained. “Now you’re old enough to actually go out with me for some drinks,” she added. “Besides, I do miss you every now and then. And, if you want me to ever heal your boyfriend again, you’d better make me believe that’s not the only reason you’d visit me for,” she grumbled. She gave Naruto a stern look, but soon her frown turned into a genuine smile.

“Sorry,” Naruto mumbled out. “I was so busy with, uh, work, that I barely had the time to scratch my ass,” he tried to laugh it off. “But I’m going to visit you soon,” he promised. He did intend to keep his promise. He’d broken way too many of them already.

“Do tell me in advance, though,” she said. “You’re lucky I was home this time.”

“Sure,” he murmured. He stood up to give her a hug, but she just flicked his forehead. “Thanks,” he added. “This means a lot to me—“

“Yeah, yeah,” she interrupted him. “I’m not going to say that it was nothing but you know I’d do almost anything for you, so,” she trailed off. “Do come see me later.”

“I will,” he smiled. “See you soon,” he said before teleporting Sasuke and himself into the Orochimaru’s hideout.

“That was awkard,” Sasuke noticed. The man gasped when Naruto crushed him in a tight embrace.

“Sorry,” Naruto mumbled out into Sasuke’s shoulder. He smiled when he felt a hand carefully patting his back. “I was kind of a dick to you and everyone else,” he clarified. “I was angry, and I took it out on you, and—“

“You were scared. You still are,” Sasuke interrupted him. He was right, wasn't he? Naruto was scared. He was scared that Sasuke was already broken beyond repair, he was anxious about making such drastic changes to his life, he was anxious about hurting Hinata like this, he was scared that he was going to lose his family, he was afraid to leave Konoha virtually unprotected. “I'm scared too,” Sasuke confessed.

Naruto breathed in. Nothing’s made him ready to hear that Sasuke was scared. He knew Sasuke was scared, any sane person would be scared, but the man was never particularly open about his feelings.

“But I'm going to be fine,” the brunette continued.

“Ye, I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around,” Naruto said, letting out a sad laugh. Sasuke just shook his head, and eventually rested it against Naruto’s.

“It’s getting late,” the man whispered. “You should—“

“Let me stay,” Naruto interrupted him before he could say go. “I'll send a few clones to the village, so--"

He didn't want Sasuke to be alone when he'd open his eyes to find nothing but blackness. The building, or rather compound, the man was staying in was huge and empty. The walls were thick, and there were places where one could hear their heartbeat if no-one was talking. Quiet. Too quiet.

“I think you've already been absent because of me for way longer than it’s socially acceptable,” Sasuke sighed. Still, he didn’t say no.

“It's not like I'm going ona  vacation,” Naruto pointed out, forcing a chuckle. “For the time being,” he started, “I'll stay their workhorse but I've already told Hinata I'm going to quit, so it's just a matter of time until I’ll be done with everything,” he said. Sasuke tensed in his arms. Naruto gulped, afraid the other man would break the hug but he did nothing of the sort.

“I intend to work anyways,” Sasuke finally replied. “And I'm pretty certain that whatever you want to do, I'll be just slowing you down.”

“I've waited so long that a few more months won't make a difference,” Naruto stated.

“What do you want to do?” Sasuke asked, taking a step backward. Naruto breathed in, pondering over the answer. To be honest, he wasn't too good with planning ahead. He knew what he was supposed to do for now—quit as a hokage, divorce Hinata, stay with Sasuke and help him adapt to the… new circumstances. But that would be solved within months. For better or worse—although he believed that whatever the worse would entail, it’d still be better than what it was now.

“I'm going to fix Konoha,” Naruto answered.Sasuke kept just staring at him. “I'll remove the council. I’ll make sure the new one isn't just a carbon copy of this one. I’ll make sure the Hyuugas change. I'll uncover every disgusting thing Konoha's ever done.I’ll make them walk into a new era.”

“New era, huh,” Sasuke repeated, sounding utterly unimpressed. “Sounds fun.”Naruto withstood his stare. He wasn't doubting himself, and he knew what had to be done.Fixing the world was the least he could do. “I guess you are going to ask for my eyes in a few years,” Sasuke muttered. “It’s much easier to control people with a sharingan, and gods know you have enough chakra to actually use it,” he growled. “What are you going to do if I won't agree—“

“What are you going on about?!” Naruto snapped. “I'm not going to ask for your eyes—“

“Ah, so you're not even going to ask,” the man interrupted him.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Naruto yelled at him. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

“I wish I was,” he retorted. “How are you going to deal with those, who oppose you? Do tell me. What are you going to do? Because you do know that your usual talk-no-jutsu isn’t going to work, right? You do know that you will most probably cause an uprising in Konoha—“

“Konoha needs an uprising,” Naruto hissed.

“Right,” Sasuke murmured. “It’s been too long since the last time someone innocent died. Who is it going to be now? My kid? Your kids? Your so-called friends and their kids?”

“Nobody’s going to die,” Naruto growled.

“So it’ll be a bloodless uprising,” the man said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “And how do you want to achieve it without my eyes?”

“I’ll find a way,” the blonde assured him.

“Madara had a fun plan,” Sasuke chirped. “For my sake I’m just going to suggest you to use his eyes instead.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Naruto demanded to know. “I’m not going to use his eyes to control everyone, that’s fucking sick,” he screamed. “Gods, you’re so infuriating—“

“Leave and don’t come back,” Sasuke interrupted him. He reached to his bag, showed Naruto the marked kunai, and destroyed it. “I’m going to destroy every single one I find,” he informed the blonde in a cold voice.

“Can you stop being this dramatic? Isn’t this what you’ve wanted? You wanted to reform the shinobi world, so why are you flipping out on me like that? Seriously, what is wrong with you—“

“I am going to come after your ass if you make even one false move,” the brunette threatened him.

“You’ve gone crazy,” Naruto realized. “Do you seriously think I’m going to turn into some fucking super villain? Like, for real, what gave you the idea?”

“You,” Sasuke answered.

“Me?! Why? Because I want a better tomorrow?” Naruto asked. “Seriously, like, you’ve asked me one question, I answered, and now you’re freaking out for no reason whatsoever. For fuck’s sake, Sasuke, talk to me.”

“Fine, here’s another one. How much are you willing to sacrifice for the greater good? How much are you willing to pay?”

“I don’t plan to sacrifice anyone,” Naruto protested. “I’m going to talk to them, like, that’s an option too, you know—“

“Then what have you been doing for all these years? It seems that talking doesn’t work anymore. Are you going to tell them you’re going to destroy them if they won’t listen to you? You kept blabbering about being true to your words, so I assume you are going to mean what you’re saying—“

“You’re batshit crazy,” Naruto whispered. “These people are hurting others. I can’t just stand back and let it happen. Their victims can’t do anything about it because they’re too weak, but I’m—“

“You’re strong enough,” Sasuke supplied.

“What’s the matter with you today? I know you’re probably dead tired and all that, but,” he paused, finally allowing himself to catch air, “we were talking about throwing the council down before. You’ve agreed with me that it had to happen. Hell, you even said you were willing to do something illegal to make sure they disappear. What’s changed?” Sasuke just looked at him, visibly uncertain about how to reply to that. Naruto mentally patted his back. Making Sasuke speechless was a rather rare occurrence, although he couldn’t say it was completely unheard of. “Remember? We were supposed to find some dirt on them and make them resign. I wouldn’t call that a violent solution,” he continued. “And I don’t know how we’re going to deal with the rest of the issues, but, like, we’re together in this, so I’m pretty certain we’ll be able to come up with something.”

“You’ve said you were going to make Konoha walk into a new era,” Sasuke muttered. “It doesn’t exactly sound like you were going to give up if diplomacy and blackmail were going to fail.”

“You always seemed to be a type that would be good with blackmail,” Naruto blurted out. “Also, like, you know, if they didn’t want to resign on their own, then, like, I guess we could tell the public about what they’ve done? Then they’d be forced to just give up, and I think that if I or someone like, I don’t know, Tsunade, suggested a council member then people would be more willing to actually go with it? I mean, there’s plenty of options. And Konoha does need to come clean about all the shit it’s done. People aren’t going to like it, I mean, I was terrified when I heard of how it was all working, and I’m pretty certain I’ve heard just a fraction of it, so…,” he trailed off, “Anyways! I came to terms with it, er, wait, I did not come to terms with it, but, like, I think people need to know of what’s really been going on behind the curtains. I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what we’re going to do about Hyuugas but maybe making the matters more public would help the case? I don’t know, maybe they’d feel pressured to change their ways if people stopped treating them like some nobility? Like, I don’t think any sane person would just go oh yeah that’s cool after hearing about it? It’s no secret but I guess people were fine with it when everyone was still at war with everyone, and now they’re just this is how it is, and they’re all used to this or something? Sasuke, you’re asking me about things that haven’t been fixed for decades, don’t expect me to come up with solutions this fast. We’ll have plenty of time to talk this through while you’ll be getting better—“

“Fine,” Sasuke rasped.

“Fine what?”

“You can stay,” the man decided, looking away. “Sorry,” he added.

“Ah, well,” Naruto chirped, feeling the weight being lifted from his shoulders. “It’s somewhat comforting to see that, uh, you’ll be keeping tabs on me. I would’ve appreciated it if you didn’t freak out like this but I guess it’s a part of your charm,” he joked. Sasuke breathed out and rolled his eyes, visibly relaxing. Naruto smiled at him, handed him a replacement for the kunai the man had destroyed, and made a few clones. “Now I’m going to teleport back to Konoha, tell Hinata that I’m staying here with you,” he informed the man, “and then I’m coming back. I can leave a clone with you for the time being—“

“I don’t need a babysitter to watch over me,” Sasuke interrupted him, sounding mildly pissed off.

“It might take a few hours, though,” Naruto said. “At first I wanted to talk to her about divorce after you’ll get back on your feet, but it wouldn’t be fair to her.”

“It wouldn’t,” Sasuke agreed. “Don’t rush yourself, I’ll be fine,” he assured the blonde. “Even if it takes longer than just a few hours. But if it will,” he paused, sighed, and looked Naruto straight in the eyes, “I’d appreciate it if you sent a clone to at least tell me how it’s going.”

“Sure,” Naruto replied. He gave Sasuke’s shoulder one last squeeze, and teleported back to Konoha.

Naruto took a deep breath, bracing himself for the conversation he was about to have. He was going to make his, Hinata’s, and their children lives do a one hundred and eighty degrees turn. It was all his fault. It was selfish. Nevertheless, he had to admit that the only reason he’d consider staying in a marriage with Hinata was guilt, and that would be disrespectful. He could feel that she was at home, and he did consider just teleporting there but, eventually, decided against it.

He walked through Konoha’s streets, smiling and waving at passersby. It was night already, so the only people he saw were either still working or coming back home. He passed a group of teenagers, who looked as if they were up to no good but they ran away the moment they saw him. It seemed that whatever they wanted to do—and judging from the location, they just wanted to get drunk—would have to wait till another night. It was calm in there. The night was chilly and windy, there were no clouds. When he was a child, he was able to see stars from Konoha but now it seemed that the amount of light pollution was too high. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh. He missed the Konoha from when he was a part of Team 7, when it seemed that the village was crystal clear and bred nothing but heroes. When he stopped feeling lonely.

Funny how he’s never stopped feeling lonely after Sasuke ran away.

Naruto shook his head, walked up to his house, knocked on the doors, and waited for Hinata to open him.

“N-Naruto?” His wife murmured the moment she saw him, a deep blush spreading on her soft cheeks. “You’ve lost your keys?”

“Ah!” Naruto yelped, realizing he’s been a massive idiot. He hasn’t come to his house in years, if he ever needed anything, he was just teleporting there, and for most of the time it was his clones, who were teleporting there. Naruto had no idea where the keys to his house were. Or if he even still had those.

“I'll have someone make a copy for you,” his wife offered with a shy smile, and invited him inside. Naruto didn't have the heart to tell her that he wasn't going to need the keys. “How's Sasuke?”

“Oh, he's,” Naruto paused, feeling like a fraud, “he’s better now,” he finished the sentence. “We've just came back from Tsunade. How's Sakura?”

“She's still shaken,” Hinata answered, handing him a cup of a steaming hot tea. He had no idea when she managed to prepare a tea. The woman closed the doors to the living room, and sat down on a bright couch. “Himawari's asleep,” she explained. “I can wake her up if you want, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you.”

“I’ll talk to her later,” he mumbled out. He set the tea on the coffee table. He didn't feel like he deserved a tea.

“Is something wrong?” Hinata inquired.

“We don't work as a couple,” he said. Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes started filling with tears. “I'm sorry, you’re being perfect,” he hastily added. “I… I've been struggling with this for a long time now, and…”

“N-Naruto, I’m sorry, I,” she stuttered in a whimpering voice, “I did it because I love you, and I knew that if you knew about Sasuke's eyes, you would've,” she sobbed before her voice completely gave up.

“No, no, no, Hinata, I wouldn't divorce you just because I was upset with you,” he protested, wiping her tears with his sleeve. “I just… wasn’t ready for such a commitment back then when we were still nineteen, and now it's just… we've rushed it, everything was so rushed,” he blabbered, “but I can't go on like this, it's not fair to you,” he whispered in an apologetic tone. “You're important to me, and you'll always be important to me,” he assured her. “I love our children, and I thank you for them. I don't regret being married to you, you are a wonderful wife, and you deserve so much better,” he said. His voice was starting to break, and, before he knew it, fat tears were rolling down his face.

“T-then wh-hy—“

Naruto waited for her to finish the sentence because he didn't want to interrupt her, but it seemed that she was unable to speak more. He breathed in, his heart aching. He's had more difficult conversations today than in the last fifteen years. And this one was most painful.

“It’s difficult to explain,” he replied. It wasn’t, not really. There's not a day when I don't regret not going with Sasuke. “We were better friends than we are lovers,” he whispered. “I don't even remember when was the last time I came here in person.”

“B-but you wanted to resign as a hokage, so now you'll have plenty off t-time to come,” she whimpered, choking on air. She was quiet even when she cried. She was always talking in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. “Don't leave,” she pleaded. It hurt.

“I,” he tripped on words, “That’s impossible, sorry,” he whispered. “I've realized it only recently but deep down you probably know it as well,” he started, feeling nauseous from anxiety, “I could've been here, and a clone could've been doing the paperwork,” he confessed. “But I didn't do it. I was running away, Hinata. Because even then I knew I couldn't possibly reciprocate your feelings.”

She just stared at him, at loss for words. He knew he hurt her. He knew he was going to have this conversation with her again, after she'll be able to think things through.

“If you’ll allow me, I'll come back later,” he stated. “We can talk about this more if you want. If you don't, then,” his voice trailed off. “We have some savings, they're all yours. The same goes for the house. The paperwork should be done by tomorrow, one of my clones—“

Hinata slapped him across the face, hard. Her lips were trembling.

“I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be mentioning all these trivial things but I don't want you to worry about it,” he explained himself. She looked away, clearly ashamed of herself. He rubbed his cheek. It was the second time she’s raised her hand at him.“I'll come back tomorrow, okay?” He asked. “Or, like, if you want more time, just hand a note to one of my clones, and I’ll be there when you want me,” he suggested. She slowly nodded her hand. “Then I'll be waiting for you to tell me when you're ready to talk again,” he stated. “I'm sorry, Hinata,” he whispered.

Sasuke breathed out when he felt that Naruto appeared in the hideout. He stood up, put the scroll he'd been reading away, and headed towards the source of chakra. It didn't take him long to find the blonde sitting next to a table, his upper half lying on it as if he was dead.

“Want to talk?” Sasuke questioned. Naruto shook his head. “Want me to stay here with you?”

This time the blonde nodded. Sasuke sat opposite of him, uncertain about what he was supposed to do next. He’s never had to comfort anyone. Nor felt the need to. This was different, however. This was Naruto.Sasuke hated to see him in pain, it was actually worse than when he himself was hurting.

“I've made your bed,” he informed the blonde after a couple of minutes of awkward silence. Naruto let out a grunt, as if to affirm that he's heard Sasuke.

Then there was the silence again. Sasuke wasn't particularly gifted at small talk. Besides, he knew he'd hate it if someone was hoping to distract him with random topics, and Naruto's said he didn't want to talk, so… Sasuke hummed under his nose. Inaction seemed also as awful. He sighed, and rested his hand on the back of Naruto's head.

“There, there,” the blonde mumbled out.

“What?”

“That's what you're supposed to say,” Naruto whispered. Sasuke tilted his head.

“There, there,” he repeated, sounding far less human that Naruto. At least it earned him a tiny chuckle.He moved his fingers, gently scratching the blond scalp. Naruto's breathing pattern was slowly returning to its normal state.

“The fact that you're so awkward when it comes to basic human interactions is almost charming,” Naruto murmured under his breath. His voice broke in the middle of the sentence. Naruto's hand grabbed Sasuke's, and held it in place.

“What do you want me to do?” Sasuke inquired.

“Let's just stay like this,” the man pleaded.Sasuke nodded even though he knew that Naruto couldn't possibly see it while lying face down. Sasuke rested his head on the table, and closed his eyes.

He was already almost blind in darkness, and had trouble reading. There was a big chance that by tomorrow he wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

“I'm going to need your help,” he informed the man.

“Sure,” the blonde replied. “What is it?”

“Reading,” Sasuke sighed. Naruto sat up, causing Sasuke's hand to fall on the table, and soon there were two more Narutos standing in the room.

“You don’t have to do it right now,” Sasuke said. The man shrugged his shoulders, and sent him a questioning look. “Go to the library and find anything that would make me see,” Sasuke ordered the clones, who immediately marched off. They too looked miserable.

“I actually thought of something too,” the blonde mumbled out. “When you're in a sage mode, you can kind of feel things, like, you just know where the attacks are coming from, so you can fight normally even if you don't see anything. And you'd be able to feel other people's chakra too, so it wouldn't be just mine. It's not much but it's something, so—“

“Sounds good,” Sasuke murmured back, stifling a yawn.

“I guess I better set you up on a date with toads then,” Naruto replied, yawning as well. “That'll be funny to watch,” he let out a little laugh, and lied on the table again, placing Sasuke's hand in his hair. “Am I a bad person for looking forward to seeing you half-turning into a frog and being smacked with a giant stick by a toad? Because I am looking forward to it.”

“I'd say it's a definite yes,” Sasuke said.“I'll be blind by then.”

“Don't worry, I'll tell you how you look like,” Naruto chuckled, turning his head to look at Sasuke, who smiled at him in reply.

“Good, I wouldn’t want to miss out on that,” he sighed, mostly to humor the blonde. “So if you mess up now, you still look like a frog?”

“Nah, I was trying to do it but I guess I'm too awesome to mess it up now,” Naruto confessed, sounding ridiculously saddened by this fact. “Oh, and, like, you'll get quicker so maybe you'll still be able to use some of your bullshit techniques,” Naruto perked up. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, silently scolding the man for calling his techniques bullshit. “They are bullshit,” Naruto insisted.“Mine maybe don’t look as fancy, and, like, most people could probably copy them, but they do their job. Yours do it too, of course,” he blabbered, “but they seriously look unnecessarily complicated.Gods, you generally fight as if you were challenged to a dance off,” he snorted.

“A dance off,” Sasuke repeated in a cold voice, enjoying the shiver that went through the moron's body.

“Oi, it's not my fault that you have a thing for drama,” Naruto blurted out. Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at the idiot. And it worked. The blonde shut up for solid fifteen minutes. “Speaking of drama,” the man uncertainly whispered, “Hinata is… uh, well, she's not taking it too well. I mean, it's not like I was expecting her to take it well but I think she's seriously messed up because of this.”

“Sorry to hear it,” Sasuke replied, raising his head, and staring at Naruto, who apparently refused to exist if his cheek wasn’t glued to a table. “What did you tell her?”

“That I was stupid and got married too soon, but I don't regret doing it because she gave me two wonderful children,” the man reported. “And that I don't reciprocate her feelings. And that she can keep all the money—“

“Smooth,” Sasuke commented.

“I'm sorry I'm not an expert on getting divorced,” Naruto hissed.

“I'm just surprised that you'd call me awkward when it comes to basic human interactions,” Sasuke replied.

“Getting divorced isn't a part of basic human interactions! Comforting a friend is,” Naruto retorted.

“There, there,” Sasuke muttered.

“Gods, you're so bad at it that it's actually working,” the blonde wailed.

“It's going to be fine, it's natural that she reacted like this if she thought everything between you two was  going well,” Sasuke pointed out. “Give her some time to sort it out.”

“Yeah, I've already told her to contact me when she wants to talk again. But now I think that maybe she's never going to contact me, so it was probably a terrible idea.”

“She is going to contact you. And if she won't, you can always contact her yourself. But first give her some time,” Sasuke said.

“I hope you're right,” Naruto whined. “What about, er, Sakura? Hinata’s told me she was still upset when she left her.”

Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh. “She didn't say anything you haven't heard before,” he eventually answered.

“I guess the same goes for you,” the blonde whispered. Sasuke nodded. “It's a miracle you two have a kid.”

“I'm not certain how I feel about you imagining Sakura and me having sex but no, it's not a miracle, it's science,” Sasuke corrected him. Naruto’s cheeks turned to a curious shade of red.

“I see,” he mumbled out. “That's somehow more obscene.”

“It's not,” Sasuke sighed. “It's just a normal procedure. Not too different from any other—“

“Yeah, I don't recall a doctor ever asking me to jerk off into a plastic cup, so no, it is different,” the moron disagreed.

“So now you're picturing me jacking off into a plastic cup,” Sasuke mused. “Cute.”

“Sure, I'm going to build my next sexy no jutsu around you jerking off into a plastic cup, like yeah, this is what people normally get off to,” Naruto barked. “I'm going through divorce, you're going blind, and yet we're talking about plastic cups,” he realized in terror.

“You started it,” Sasuke pointed out.

“I've just said that it's a miracle you two have a daughter together, like, I didn't ask for any details,” the blonde whined. Sasuke hummed under his nose, considering it for a short second. The moron was actually right.

“Perhaps I am more socially inept than you,” Sasuke admitted.

“You think?!” Naruto snorted. “Gods, I shouldn't be smiling right now,” he scolded himself, hiding his face in his linked hands.

“There, there,” Sasuke said. The blonde let out a short laugh before sending Sasuke a death glare. “There, there,” he repeated.

Naruto snickered. Stopped. Snickered again. Then he burst out laughing, his hands pressing his head into the table, as if it could stop him from acting like a complete moron. Sasuke smiled at the sight.

“For fuck's sake, Sasuke,” Naruto wheezed, gasping for air, “you’ve accused me today of becoming new Madara, we’re going through so much shit at the moment,and now you're acting like a complete dork,” he chuckled. “Please, don’t change,” he pleaded.

“You too,” Sasuke replied, and yawned. “We should go to sleep. It's been a long day.”

Naruto woke up, feeling almost sick with anxiety. He did a run of breathe-ins and breathe-outs, convinced it was just stress but he soon realized that something was off, terribly off. He got up from an old bed, and quietly left the room, walking into a dark corridor. Orochimaru's hideout looked like something straight out of a horror movie. No wonder. It was probably crowded with ghosts of all those people, who were killed in here. It was a good thing that the room Sasuke was residing in wasn’t too far away.

Because the uneasiness he felt was caused by Sasuke.

The blonde gently opened the doors, and entered the room. A thick candle was burning, giving a modest amount of light. Sasuke was sitting on the bed, looking defeated.

“Sasuke,” he called out. “What's wrong?”

“I can't see,” the man replied him in a dead voice. “I can hear the candle burning but I can't see it,” he continued, audibly refraining his voice from breaking. Naruto frowned, and walked deeper into the room to sit on the bed next to Sasuke, who was intently glaring at the flame, his eyes unfocused and shifty. “I can't see it,” he repeated.

Naruto threw an arm over the man's back, and pulled him closer. There wasn't anything that he could say to make Sasuke feel better.

“It’s too fast,” the brunette whispered.

“It's already dawning,” Naruto informed him. Sasuke made a small noise, and leaned forward, almost bent in half. His skin was moist with cold sweat, his breaths were loud and heavy. Naruto slowly rubbed the man's back with his hand, frantically trying to come up with something to say. “I'm here,” he said in a hushed voice. Just imagining that Sasuke could've been alone was painful. “I'm with you,” he murmured.“Breathe with me,” he pleaded, kneeling in front of Sasuke, grabbing his shoulders, and resting his forehead against the other man's. “You're with me,” he assured the panicked brunette. “It’s going to be okay,” he promised.

After a few more minutes Sasuke's breathing returned to normal. Naruto climbed on the bed, sat behind the other man, and pulled him closer, making them both lie on the mattress. He gently embraced Sasuke, looking for any sign of protest but there was none.

“There, there,” the man rasped in a sad voice some time later. Naruto hugged him closer, pressing his face against Sasuke's back. He knew that it was going to happen, they both knew it was going to happen, but it hit them all the same.

“There, there,” Naruto croaked in reply. Sasuke’s strong body trembled in his arms but the brunette didn't allow himself to fall apart. It was already morning, and they were soaked in sunlight.

“It’s day already, isn't it?” Sasuke asked. Naruto made an affirmative noise. “It’s warmer,” the brunette sighed. “And you are the only thing location of I’m certain,” he said in a defeated tone. “In that genjutsu,” he started, words clearly coming hard to him, “you—or me but through your mouth—came up with something. Seeing through somebody else's eyes.”

“We're already connected,” Naruto noticed. “It should be easier for you to use mine.”

“I don’t know how to do it, though,” Sasuke replied. “But it looks as if it could be useful for intelligence purposes. Somebody probably already came up with a way to do it.”

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed. “So this is what we're looking for,” he realized. “I can search through Konoha’s library too. And, like, they have an actual librarian and an index of all those scrolls, so it should be easier to find.”

“Perhaps,” Sasuke said in a hushed voice. “Don’t leave,” he pleaded. He sounded ashamed of himself for making this request. As if he needed to ask Naruto to stay, as if he didn’t know Naruto was going to stay with him.

“I’m not going to,” Naruto promised.

It was the most important promise he’d ever made.