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Sasuke stumbles up to the front door, hands shaking so much from chakra exhaustion and sleep deprivation that he can barely slot the key into its hole. The metal handle is partially frosted over, the ice nipping at his numb fingers and providing a twinge of extra pain that he can hardly feel.
“I’m home,” he manages, exhaustion seeping into his voice and making the words sound dull and empty, no matter how much he's glad to be there.
"Sasuke!” Naruto calls, the excited cry coming from the living room and the loud padding of slippers on hardwood floors grows closer until Naruto's standing in the doorframe from the dining room to the foyer. He runs to hug him, underestimating the severity of Sasuke's weariness, and Sasuke stumbles at the impact and falls to the ground, bringing Naruto with him. “Shit!” Naruto yelps, grabbing Sasuke’s shoulder and pulling him to his chest - Sasuke looks too dazed to react. “Are you hurt?” He asks, voice much softer.
“Nah. M’just tir’d,” Sasuke slurs out, making no attempt to move his head from his husband’s chest or even to look up.
“Okay,” Naruto replies, relief tracing his tone as he chuckles sympathetically. “I’ll run a bath and then we can go to bed, ‘Kay?” Sasuke just nods drowsily, letting Naruto pick him up. “Jeez Sas, you must be tired if you’re letting me pick you up. You’d never let me do this if you were awake.”
Sasuke scoffs. “F’course I’m tired dumbass, that’s what I’ve been saying this entire time,” he mumbled into the other man’s chest.
“Mhm,” Naruto acknowledges fondly. “Now get undressed and I’ll start the bath.”
He waits until the water is warm before motioning to Sasuke, who drags himself off his seat on the marble counter and into the tub.
“You good?” He confirms, and when Sasuke nods an affirmation he presses a kiss to his head. “I’ll go make a snack and some hot chocolate. Don’t fall asleep and drown.”
“I can probably do that,” Sasuke says in a tone that indicates that he has no fucking idea if he can do that or not.
“You know what? I’ll check on you every few minutes.” He closes the door reluctantly, padding back to the kitchen with concern itching at his brain. “How long has it been since he slept?” He mutters to himself, and makes up his mind to ask the man once he’s out of the bath. “Now… how to cook.”
Naruto resolves that heating up a frozen toaster strudel would be better then burning the kitchen down in an attempt to cook for real, and sets out on his next task: making hot chocolate. They don’t have any mix left; this time of year comes with a lot of people coming around to talk and bringing their toddler-age kids because they can’t find anyone else to take care of them. Inojin and Shikidai are over plenty, and, like most toddlers, they are set for an hour if given some toys and a treat. Their hot chocolate goes quickly like that. So he grabs a couple chocolate bars from the pantry and puts some milk on the stove, and goes to check on Sasuke.
“Sas? Are you awake?” He asks, knocking softly against the bathroom door.
“Yeah?” Sasuke replies, sounding unsure.
Naruto shrugs. Good enough, he supposes.
“Grab some of my comfortable clothes - seriously, what do you have against comfy things? - once you’re out. I’m making hot chocolate.”
Sasuke hums. “Sure.”
“Great. I’ll finish up the cooking.”
He’s pleasantly surprised to see that the milk is steaming already, and clicks the burner to off and pulls out two mugs. “I have no idea how to do this,” he states out loud, breaking the chocolate into smaller rectangles and just dropping them into the hot liquid. He stirs until it gets even, and shrugs. “Probably good enough.” He sets the darker-colored milk in Sasuke’s spot - in his personal opinion dark chocolate is unnecessary but Sasuke loves the weird gourmet chili-chocolate that that one store in Suna sells, so they always have enough for anything they’d need it for - and Naruto sticks with regular, boring milk chocolate, setting his mug on the end table on his side of the couch.
"You done, Sas?” he calls, and before he repeats himself, Sasuke half-stumbles out into the living room, pressing his face into Naruto's shoulder.
"Jesus Christ Sas, how long have you gone without sleeping?"
Sasuke mumbles something incoherent before repeating a slightly more distinguishable, "M’ybe three days…? Fo’r?”
“Sas, you’ve been gone for five days.”
Sasuke nods sagely. “Four, then.”
“Come on, time to get some food in you and go to bed,” Naruto sighs, herding his husband onto the couch. Sasuke grabs the mug with two hands and takes a slow sip. Naruto snuggles up next to his husband, throwing a thick, white blanket over both of them. The fire is blazing, and he throws another log onto it before starting to drink his own hot chocolate, and monitoring Sasuke to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep and spill the hot liquid all over himself. When he starts to nod off again, mug a little over two-thirds of the way empty, Naruto’s quick to snatch the mug out of his hands and set it on the end table. He presses a kiss to Sasuke’s forehead as the man’s breathing evens out, slumped comfortably against the blonde’s side.
“Goodnight, love,” he whispers fondly, voice ever-so-full of love as he watches Sasuke’s chest rise and fall.