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Warm. Warm and comfortable and Sasuke felt sleep coming to him quicker than any night he'd been on his own. He breathed in the scent of Naruto and sank into the feeling, sinking deeper, deeper…
Naruto shifted.
And Sasuke's consciousness rose, ever so slightly—not to the surface, but just enough to feel the air around him...change. Around his face, around his mouth…Naruto? Was Naruto…going to...? Sasuke felt the breath of his lips—
The air grew cold again.
It was so bright out today.
Naruto squinted out the window, looking out at the sky...trying to see past the clouds, the trees...Not that—not that he was looking for anything! No, he was just—just checking. On the off chance. Sasuke had been weirdly talkative lately, after all, and of course Naruto didn't expect a letter, but then—
But then, maybe he kinda did.
He hadn't, at first. After Sasuke had come back only to leave again, Naruto had been...well.
Not great.
Because it was weird, now. It was weird and complicated and Naruto couldn't just go to the training grounds and get stronger to bring Sasuke back anymore. It wasn't that simple. It needed something—slower. More complicated. Like a billion little pieces of paper fluttering away in the wind, and Naruto had to track them all down and shove them together and make them stick and stay and that—
That was something he was working on.
But the day after Sasuke had left (again), Naruto hadn't been able to work on anything at all. He'd just been...lost. Lost and sad and punched in the gut with something that shouldn't've felt like failure, but it had. And that feeling had led him back to the only place he really knew how to go to—back to the training grounds, ready to sweat himself into the ground until he couldn't move or think or stay awake a second longer—
The letter had dropped right on his head.
'Stop freaking out, moron.'
Short. Small. Sasuke never signed them and Sasuke never needed to. Naruto knew who it was from the second he saw the paper, even if he managed to miss the hawk. And Naruto's replies were longer, of course—he tended to ramble, and it was Sasuke's fault for being so far away that Naruto always had like a bazillion things to catch him up on. And that didn't even count the first time he was away.
Naruto breathed out. He'd thought that leaf was a bird.
Damn it.
And it was all Sasuke's fault—again—because he'd slowly and sneakily gotten Naruto really, really used to...getting letters. More letters, a bunch of letters, like Naruto barely even had times to reply to all the little ones and so he had to reply to them in chunks—it was like Sasuke sent him a letter every time Naruto even crossed his mind, which was…
'I saw a frog today. Thought you'd want to know.'
Naruto bit his lip.
A lot. It was a lot—more than Naruto would've thought, for sure. More than he would've even hoped for. And Sasuke had become...honest. Honest in a way that had Naruto excusing himself from a room so he could give Sasuke's letters the attention they deserved. That had been slow-going, too—Sasuke's first few letters had been short and vague, but now...
'I do miss him. I don't think I understand him, but I do miss what my brother used to be.'
Naruto leaned against the windowsill.
He guessed, if he thought about it, it had been...a long time. Since Sasuke had been in Konoha, anyway—Naruto had managed to sneak out when he could, but he was getting busier and busier, and the last time he'd seen Sasuke had been...months ago. When it had still been cold. And Sasuke had been...warm. And asleep, and Naruto had spent longer than he wanted to admit giving in to something he barely let himself even think about.
He'd nearly given in all the way.
He swallowed and turned back to his desk, kneeling by the drawer he kept...locked. It was probably stupid to have all these here. He knew it was—and he'd never tell Sasuke, Sasuke would never let him live it down, but…
'Wave country. The bridge is still here. You haven't seen what they named it, have you?'
The smile pulled at Naruto's lips.
It just made it easier. It just made it better. It wasn't like Sasuke was here, but with a bunch of paper in Naruto's hands, it almost felt like he was, and that—and that, today, he just—
"Still waiting, huh?"
Naruto jumped to his feet. Sakura leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms with a knowing smile—
"No," he said, kicking the drawer shut, "I—"
"Did he send a letter, at least?"
Naruto huffed out a breath and, uh, casually moved back to shut his window.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, of course he did."
'Nervous?'
And then, when he'd flipped it over—
'Scaredy-cat?'
He turned back to, uh, fiddle with some books and papers and whatever made it look like he hadn't just been hopelessly staring out a window. Sakura probably saw right through it, but it wasn't like he didn't know, okay, that it was stupid to hope. Sasuke hadn't been here in years, and he hated Konoha on the best of days, and just because this might shape up to be one of Naruto's best of days didn't mean—
"You're going to pout all day, aren't you?"
"No!" Naruto said, flopping the pages back onto his desk. Or well, not his desk yet— "No, I—obviously Sasuke isn't gonna come to a Hokage inaugaration, I'm not dumb, I know that—"
"YourHokage inauguration."
"Like it matters."
Sakura shifted, and Naruto looked...somewhere other than her face. Whatever. Whatever—so he wanted Sasuke here. He always wanted Sasuke here! What was the difference? There wasn't any, and dwelling on any of it just made it all—
"Yup," Sakura called—nearly shouting, "ruin the surprise or he's gonna pout."
"What?"
Sakura swung the door open all the way.
"S—Sasuke?!"
"You're an idiot."
Naruto tackled him to the ground.
Idiot.
Stupid, shining, glowing idiot.
Sasuke breathed out and leaned back, further into the shadow. It hadn't been a good plan. Not even a decent one, but even an idiot could have read the hope in Naruto's letters. Woven through them in scribbled, messy print. The position had been his—it had been for longer than either of them likely knew—but this still meant something crucial and monumental in Naruto's heart, and Sasuke knew it better than anyone.
Still, Naruto hadn't asked.
He'd dropped hints, sure. He'd littered Sasuke's footsteps with them. And with no place to store the letters, Sasuke had been left to burn the ink between his fingers, breathing in the smoke—
(Of course, he tended to read them with red eyes, as opposed to black. He'd yet to forget the single slant of a letter. Naruto slanted his 'e's and scribbled his 's's. The dots of his 'i's went on for too long and every 'j' or 'g' scraped along the bottom of the words, like he slid the pen across the page…)
Sasuke breathed in, and watched him.
No, he hadn't asked. But Sasuke had answered nonetheless.
He'd been answering for months. Years, even. As clearly as Naruto's pages had dripped with hope, Sasuke knew his must have been just the same. A different hope—an insistent hope. Pounding. Ever since Sasuke had loosened the cage on his emotion it had been bursting—raging like a fire, growing like thistles covered in thorns, thick roots spread through his head—
Naruto didn't know.
(If only Naruto knew.)
Sasuke had been building to this if only to keep himself from exploding. Letting it leak into his letters instead. Letting it be Naruto's breath on his face as they'd fallen asleep in a field they hadn't meant to even lie in. Warm and close and Sasuke remembered the way Naruto's breath had hitched and held, as if ready for something—
The kiss hadn't come, but the memory had seared itself into Sasuke all the same.
And so Naruto had explaining to do. And Sasuke had something in his heart to cure or to crush, because this affection was gradual and slow and insidious. It would bloom until even Naruto couldn't laugh and shrug off the emotion anymore, and so—and so all that was left was for Sasuke to run ahead of the question and ask.
At the best, most right time.
Naruto laughed and waved a hand, ducking his head.
And that...was now. That would be now. Wouldn't it? Naruto was the happiest he could be. Achieving a lifelong dream. Seeing Sasuke again, after so long. The worst response would be gentle and kind, and the best would be—would be—
Sasuke looked away.
His heart was hammering in his chest, and Naruto was coming straight towards him.
"Whew—fuck, how'd I do? I didn't swear, did I?"
"It was close."
"Fuck," he breathed out, running a hand through his hair. "I should change—or I guess—do I wear this all the time, now? I don't—fuck, I'm so hungry."
Sasuke fought down his smile.
"You ought to at least wear it for ramen."
Naruto's head snapped up.
"Ramen?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Come on, loser."
"Thanks!" Naruto laughed, waving goodbye—
"Hokage-sama!"
He turned around again. He hadn't even gotten a chance to apologize to Sasuke before he'd been dragged away. It was like coming back from the war all over again, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh—
"Yeah! Definitely feels weird," he agreed, glancing back as the people kept talking. He couldn't even see Sasuke anymore. And he should—should've been drinking this in, should've been soaking up the attention, but all he could do was—
"Listen, I'm going to go back for food, but—uh—"
A piece of paper fluttered down, and he snatched it out of the air.
'In your new office. Take your time.'
Naruto breathed out.
"Oh," he said, flipping it over between his fingers. Sasuke had—
'Yes, I have your ramen.'
Sasuke.
The word sighed in Naruto's head.
"Um," he said, slipping the paper into a pocket, holding it there, not letting go— "yeah—sorry. What were you saying?"
Hm.
Sasuke wandered around the desk, his nervous energy...waning. Naruto would likely be trapped in the crowd of his admirers for the rest of the day. It was getting less and less likely that Naruto would show up in any reasonable time, and more and more foolish for Sasuke to sit here and let his own food get cold, too.
He stared out Naruto's window.
He wasn't going to stay. Not for any decent length of time. Sasuke felt the unease and restlessness rise up in him as soon as he'd seen the entrance. And Naruto would want him to stay, even if he never said the words, and then—
And then?
Sasuke breathed out.
The longer he stayed here, the clearer it was getting that this plan was...terrible. Barely even a plan at all. It had seemed so wonderful, at the time, giving in to the aching sigh that had his heart turning over and over again, but now—
Now, it was stupid.
Sasuke kicked the edge of Naruto's desk, and a drawer popped open. Shoddily locked—Naruto had left the key in the hole and forgotten to turn it. Sasuke snorted and shifted a slip of paper to stop it from getting caught as he closed the drawer a...gain...
Oh.
Oh. These were...Sasuke's letters.
Sasuke swallowed and shut the drawer. Locked it, slipped the key onto Naruto's table, and sat back on the floor.
Terrible. This terrible heart of his.
It had convinced him this plan was great again.
Naruto burst into the room.
"Sorry!" he yelled into the dark. "Sorry, Sasuke, I—"
Naruto stopped. The lights were off—Naruto flicked them on, searching for anyone—Sasuke's presence was either hidden or…
Gone.
Naruto's hand dropped to his side.
"Moron," came a sigh, from...behind his desk? "You're so loud."
"Wh—oh. Oh!" Naruto breathed out all his relief, moving around— "Sas—were you sleeping on my floor?"
"No," Sasuke grumbled, disheveled and squinting and Naruto really, really tried not to laugh at him— "fuck off."
Naruto pressed his lips together.
"Were you that tired?" he asked. "You didn't need to—"
"I reiterate my original statement," Sasuke said, grabbing a bag. "Hungry?"
"Fucking starving," Naruto let out a breathless laugh, running a hand through his hair. "Um—I'm sorry that I took so long, I didn't think—"
"You don't tend to."
"Asshole!"
The smile pulled at Sasuke's lips. Naruto narrowed his eyes, fighting his own—
"You're such an—are you warming up my food?"
Sasuke adjusted the bowl between his knees, holding his hand underneath it—
"Sorry, did you want cold ramen?" he deadpanned.
"No!" Naruto huffed, plopping himself down beside the stupid, smug asshole. Sasuke didn't reply, just going back to focusing on...whatever he was doing, Naruto couldn't quite see a flame…
"Um, but I mean—" he shifted a little, "thanks. Just, um, thank you."
Sasuke glanced over at him, and Naruto's breath stuck in his throat.
"Not just for the food," he added, feeling—breathless. Breathless and nervous and it was just so much today—Naruto had literally had dreams like this. At night and in the middle of the day—daydreaming about all the things he'd finally be able to do once he was Hokage. What it would be like once he fixed everything, as if it would make Sasuke miraculously appear at his side—stay at his side. As if it would make Naruto worth coming back to, for him, like—like—
No—not like now. This was—different. Naruto wasn't—hadn't done enough yet. But—this—this taste, of what it could be like—
Naruto swallowed, and his throat felt thick.
Shit. His heart couldn't take this...
"You're an idiot," Sasuke answered simply. "Here."
"Thanks. Um."
Naruto took the container, but didn't open it.
Sasuke huffed out a breath.
"Moron," Sasuke said, shifting. "No, I haven't explored the village. No, I haven't decided how long I'm staying. No, I'm not going to stay forever. No, I don't plan on leaving tonight."
Sasuke flicked his hair out of his eyes, and Naruto's breath stuck in his throat.
"Now eat your food."
The laugh finally broke free.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto said, bumping his shoulder into Sasuke's, "asshole."
Sasuke rocked right back at him.
"Moron."
Naruto was so...warm.
Warm and gentle and—comforting. At his side. His shoulder pressed to Sasuke's with a quiet, delicate intimacy, and any chatter around them had been reduced to the lowest hum.
It was quiet, and closed off, and just…
Them.
And Sasuke stared at the floor, holding his breath, because it was now. Like months ago, but with both of them awake—they were alone, and close and in a moment where it was—
It was Sasuke's chance to...ask.
He breathed in.
"You're so quiet," Naruto said, and Sasuke's voice died in throat. "You okay with being—here?"
Sasuke looked over at him.
"Listen," Naruto said, turning to him, "because this—this is amazing, and I know I haven't had a lot of time to go see you and I know I'm Hokage now so I won't be able to leave all the time, but I don't want that to mean—"
"Sakura didn't drag me here," Sasuke said, scanning him. "If that's the idea you've gotten into that idiot head of yours."
"That—asshole! I didn't—I don't know. You're an ass."
Sasuke snorted, and the quiet filled the room again.
He breathed in again.
Alright. Okay. Ask him. He just had to ask him. It was the best chance Sasuke would ever get. Maybe. Not really. Best case scenario, Sasuke would just go back to feeling this from afar. And Naruto would do the same. Feel the same, pour it into their letters and never see each other in—
Damn it.
Sasuke glared down at the floor.
He should have said something before this point. Before Naruto had been Hokage—now he was locked here. Now he was stuck here, and Sasuke couldn't be stuck here, and that meant that they'd see even less of each other, and the more Sasuke thought about it, the more it seemed like this was actually the worst time he could bring something like thi—
"Oh!" Naruto said, sitting up. "That reminds me—I worked out my new schedule, hang on. I was gonna send this to you."
He reached up, kneeling to reach his desk, shuffling through the pages—
"I'm gonna—the weeks aren't set in stone or anything," he said, sitting back down and shoving the page under Sasuke's chin, "I'm just blocking time in—d'you—um."
Naruto ran a bandaged hand through his hair.
So, i—it doesn't have to be every time, but um. I've blocked off Saturdays. For um, travel, or whatever. So if you happen to be nearby…"
"Saturdays," Sasuke repeated.
"Um," Naruto said, "yeah."
Sasuke stared down at the calendar.
"That's far more than we've seen each other recently," he said quietly, and Naruto immediately shifted.
"I—uh. I mean, yeah, sorry, I know you—I know you're away a lot of the time, so don't worry about—"
"Naruto," Sasuke said, something settling in his heart, "that was not a complaint."
Naruto sagged with the smile, the relief audible in his breath.
"I—yeah," he said, and it sounded breathless. "Um. Not that I mind the letters! I do—I mean, I don't, um—"
"I know," Sasuke couldn't help but say, eyeing the drawer Naruto leaned back against—
"I—wait. How do you—hang on."
Sasuke's lips twitched.
Naruto's blatant suspicion worsened.
"...You didn't lock it," he said finally, and Naruto—
"Asshole!" he said, shoving at him. "You snooped!"
"I didn't snoop," Sasuke said, but he didn't fight back.
"You did! You went thro—I just—okay, listen, some people have pictures or whatever and I'm not one of those people, so—"
"You keep them," Sasuke finished for him, and Naruto wilted once again.
"I. Um. Sometimes?"
"Sometimes," Sasuke repeated. "Only your favourites?"
"Um," Naruto replied.
"More than your favourites?"
"Uh."
"...Do you keep every letter I send you?"
"No! That would be—who would—"
Sasuke stared at him. Naruto's protests died in his teeth.
"Just—fuck off, okay?!"
Sasuke let out a laugh, letting Naruto shove at his side again. His natural response to being cornered—Sasuke let him fight back until he was shoved to the floor, wrestled there, held there underneath that smile—
Sasuke thought he could happily spend the rest of his life underneath it.
"Don't worry," he said, feeling the smile on his face and the back of his head on the wood. "I'll keep sending them."
"Fucker," Naruto replied, shoving his face into the floor. Sasuke bit at his knuckle.
"Ow!" Naruto said, snatching his hand back. "You prick!"
The laugh rumbled in Sasuke's chest, and Naruto visibly deflated. Something in his face softened, and Sasuke met those eyes and stared into them, memorizing the way they looked at him...in fact, he ought to make sure he'd remember...
Naruto blinked as Sasuke's eyes changed, but he said nothing.
Sasuke's smile widened. He felt his affection in his heart. In his cheeks, in the way Naruto held him down without really holding him down at all. In the way Naruto bit his lip, in the way he looked down, flush in his lips and blush in his cheeks—
"You keep my letters," he said, burrowing himself in the feeling like a rabbit in a hole.
"You—you—you send the letters! All the time! I get like fifty a day—"
"It's too many," Sasuke agreed. "You ought to throw some out."
Naruto swallowed.
"...No." he said, quiet and nervous. Sasuke watched him with eyes that saw too clearly, alert and ready and taking every inch of him in all at once.
The room felt so bright, all of a sudden.
"Mhm," Sasuke replied, and Naruto suddenly seemed to realize he was still on top of Sasuke. He rolled off and shifted, and Sasuke stayed, laying on the hardwood. It felt like he was laying back, in that field, all those months ago—when the moon had been high and the night had been dark. Sasuke had felt the chill of the air and Naruto had shuffled closer and closer until all it had been was long, torturous silence.
Sasuke had been feeling Naruto's breath on his lips ever since.
"So, you're—you're not staying," Naruto said. "Did you sa—did you—"
"I didn't stay how long I planned on staying. It's not forever."
"Yeah—no, of course," Naruto said...pulling back. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the motion. "Did you see—or—I guess I talk about all the stuff I'm doing anyway, so, you already kinda—um."
"I know," Sasuke said, furrowing his brow. Of course he knew. He knew Naruto had thrown himself into this in exactly the way he'd always said he would. He knew Naruto would do it, too, in the end. He knew better than to doubt it anymore.
"...Yeah," Naruto said, hugging a knee to his chest. "It's—thank you for—for coming here at all."
"This again," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you need to go back through your drawer? I'm sure I have more words for you there."
Naruto laughed out his offense and kicked him. Sasuke grabbed his leg and locked it in place.
"Loser," he said, and Naruto huffed.
"I'm the goddamn Hokage," he grumbled, "and I'm not—I'm always gonna be a loser to you, aren't I?"
"Of course you are."
Naruto laughed and attempted to kick again. The best Sasuke let him do was wiggle his toes.
Naruto's laugh trailed off, and Sasuke looked over at him. Naruto met his eyes for only a second before he looked away—swallowing, scanning the floor—
Hm.
"Am I...I'm not close, though, am I?"
Sasuke let go of Naruto's leg.
"To you—or, I mean—um. I guess you might never come—um. Live—here. Right?"
He let out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair.
He still didn't look at Sasuke.
"It's possible," Sasuke said carefully. Naruto nodded in reply, unsurprised.
Sasuke read the sadness in his face anyway.
"It doesn't mean I can't stay," he grumbled, shifting to sit up. "It doesn't mean you can't visit. It doesn't mean you can't live somewhere else, either—"
"But I'm—I'm Hokage now."
"And by the time you've fixed the world around you?" Sasuke asked, leaning back against the desk. "Will you be Hokage still?"
"Oh. I mean—yeah, I guess not," Naruto said, finally raising his head. "I guess we could...you'd want me with you?"
Sasuke blinked. Several times.
"I mean—I mean yeah, I—I don't know. My head's all—uh. I don't know." Naruto laughed a little. "I'm really surprised you came here."
"You seem it," Sasuke replied. "You know, the original plan was to let you spot me during the ceremony."
Naruto laughed.
"I would've forgotten everything I was talking about!"
"I know. I looked forward to it."
"Asshole!"
Naruto used a slap on the floor to shove himself up, finally relaxing enough to look at Sasuke properly.
"You're—ugh," he laughed, and it sounded like a sigh. "Just—such an asshole."
"It's my defining trait."
Naruto threw him a grin, and Sasuke received it the same hopeless way he always had.
"Okay," Naruto said, breathing out. "D'you have a place to stay tonight?"
Beside him, in a field, if Sasuke's traitorous mind had its way.
"No," he said, ignoring it. It was the same part of his brain that was hammering in his head, chanting at him to ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask—
"Wanna stay at my place? I've only got the one bed, but—"
Hm.
"Sure."
Maybe he didn't have to ask...
This was rough. This was brutal. Naruto had totally forgot how fucking wild his head went whenever he was close to and smug and with that stupid smile on his face.
Damn it.
Naruto was never gonna be able to sleep like this. This is exactly what had happened to him last time. His head just—just spiralled, and Sasuke smiled and didn't mind when he got closer and was so stupid and funny and Naruto had missed him so much and fucking hell.
Naruto glared up at the ceiling.
This wasn't allowed. Not now. Not yet. He could—he could get to have all these stupid feelings when he deserved to have them, and until everything was fixed, he didn't. So there was no point. There was no point. He had so much to do before he could let himself think about any of this—
But his head rolled to the side, and Sasuke's hair curved against his pillow.
Naruto's heart panged.
It was just too much. It had been enough to be just beside Sasuke overnight—be close enough to feel the warmth of his body in a way that didn't involve them beating the shit out of each other. That had already overwhelmed him, already had him nervous and awake and staring even as Sasuke peacefully slept the night away, and it had been a goddamn miracle he hadn't kissed Sasuke right then and there.
Naruto held the breath in his chest.
What were the odds on two miracles in a row?
Naruto pulled the blankets up, and ended up closer to Sasuke. Naruto adjusted his pillow, and ended up closer to Sasuke. Naruto rolled to face away from the window, and ended up—
Closer to...closer, to, um…
Naruto swallowed.
It wasn't just...that Sasuke was here. It was that Sasuke was here. You know? Sasuke—peaceful and blissful and so far from any of the pain Naruto had seen on his face...this was the Sasuke that Naruto could imagine...telling things to. Once it was all done. Once he was happy. Once Naruto had done all he could for Konoha and all he could for Sasuke, then—then, maybe, he could let himself…
Feel this.
But until then he'd just have to...close his eyes. Just—just stay back. Just stay here. He just—if he moved, he'd get closer to Sasuke, and then he'd end up doing something stupid—so all he could let himself actually so was just...lay here. And not move. Just stay still, and close his eyes, and act as if he could actually fall asleep with his head like this.
Sasuke shifted, and Naruto's eyes snapped open.
Shit.
Shit. Sasuke was closer now. He hadn't counted on Sasuke moving, he barely ever moved in his sleep, but now—but now—
Naruto stared at Sasuke's face.
His leg had nudged over Naruto's—pressing their calves together in a soft, gentle warmth. His arm fell between them, palm curved ever so slightly, his fingertips just barely resting against Naruto's chest…
The tip of Naruto's nose bumped against Sasuke's.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open.
"Uh—!" Naruto said, tearing himself away—but Sasuke caught him by the arm and pressed it down as he rolled—
He looked down at Naruto, and Naruto was pinned in place.
"The last time we were together," Sasuke said, no sleep in his voice, "you thought I was asleep."
Fuck.
"I wasn't."
"Fuck."
He breathed out the word, staring, waiting for—for the inevitable blow or shove or yell or hell, just chidori him out the goddamn window—
But Sasuke just kept looking down.
"You were going to kiss me," Sasuke said, and it was careful. It was hesitant, it was testing the waters, and Naruto knew he should laugh or play it off but his mouth already snapped—
"No!"
—and it was too late. Sasuke's chin raised.
"You were going to kiss me," he said, and it was stronger.
"No," Naruto insisted, breathless and panicked. "No, I wasn't—"
"The way you haven't been storing away all of my letters?"
Naruto's mouth snapped shut.
Sasuke continued to look at him.
"Listen," Naruto breathed out, unsticking the breath from his throat. "Listen, we don't—it's nothing. It's not anything to worry about until—it's—don't worry about it. Okay? Just ignore it."
"Ignore it," Sasuke repeated, "until—what?"
Naruto swallowed.
"Um," he said. "Until everything else is...done."
…
"...What—"
"Because I know you don't," Naruto said, wrenching his arm free and using his other to push Sasuke back. "I know that you don't—have this, right now, and I won't have a chance until I earn it proper—"
"Earn it?" Sasuke said, staring. "What do you have to—"
"I haven't even brought you back yet!" Naruto yelled, and then he breathed in.
Sasuke stared at him.
"Listen," Naruto said, feeling his pulse in the hand he held out— "I might—there's—something in my head. But it's not something I get to feel until everything else is done, okay? It's not—it's not something I can—"
"It's not a happiness you'll permit yourself."
Naruto breathed in.
"I don't—I don't think it'd be a—um. Um?"
Sasuke continued to look at him.
Naruto's heart jumped into his throat.
"It—would—would it?" he asked, and it felt like a breath. It felt like all of his air, Naruto suddenly felt like he could barely breathe, because Sasuke's face softened into the best, most beautiful laugh—
"Every day," he said, flopping back onto the bed, "I think to myself, Naruto can't possibly get any dumber. And every day, you continue to—"
Naruto launched himself into Sasuke's side.
"Asshole!" he yelled, wrestling with him. Sasuke caught his arms and shoved a knee into his chest, fighting back until Naruto was launched back onto what should have been his side of the bed—
Sasuke thumped down beside him, his eyes narrowed, his mouth smiling
"You absolute moron. Where the hell do you think I am?"
Naruto breathed in.
"You—"
"I never needed to be in Konoha to be back."
Oh.
"You ought to know that by now."
"I—" Naruto said, but the words caught in his throat. It was—yeah. Yeah, Sasuke was right. Of course Sasuke was right—on some level, he knew that that day, after they'd fought, had been something huge. Something that had changed them both, not just Sasuke, but—but then—
"What's your excuse now?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto—
"I don't...have one..." he whispered, and Sasuke's head tilted, ever so slightly.
"Then finish the job," he said, voice quiet and teasing and oh—oh, okay, um— "scaredy-cat."
Naruto breathed out, and gave in.