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He wakes up in pieces. First comes the dull, throbbing pain all over his body - and that checks out, he supposes - and then the rough grating of time-worn stone on his skin. Emotions come after, a flood of pain and relief and bitterness and most of all an overwhelming sense of relief that truly wakes him as he gasps, breathing in cool, early-morning air in thirsty gulps. The stone feels cold under his body, and he can't tell whether it's actually that frigid or it's his chakra-drained body that's cold, the rock just syphoning away any residual heat that he still possesses. He groans, and the slight vibration that the noise causes in his chest makes him wince, hissing out a sharp, “Ouch!”
“Awake now, huh.” Naruto's voice sounds from beside him, raspy and raw (probably from all the yelling, Sasuke figures, but he's not sure.) He sounds just as wrecked, physically and mentally, as Sasuke feels. The black-haired one looks down, swallowing the shame he feels when he hears Naruto like that, and makes a strangled, undignified noise of surprise.
“It's just like you see it,” Naruto confirms solemnly, eyes half-lidded from both bruising and exhaustion, and it's just now that Sasuke notices that his face is far too pale. “If we move too much, we’ll bleed to death." (From the way he coughs after saying it, blood trickling lazily from his parted lips, and the way that the pain from Sasuke's lost limb is muted so far that he can barely feel anything from it, Sasuke knows they'll probably die anyways. And from the way Naruto says it, like it's as simple a fact as 1+1, Sasuke knows he probably thinks the same as well.
There's a silence after that, just a brief thing. (Sasuke thinks it lasts a lifetime.)
"Just look at you…” he finally says, a preemptive grief making its way up his throat and making his voice crack like a stupid teen - and he still is one, technically, but he's pretty sure he hasn't been a kid since he was seven years old and couldn't taste a thing except bile and the metallic tang of his own blood on his tongue. “Why do you insist on getting in my way?” (He knows the answer, deep down, but he’s so desperate to hear the words that it’s strangling him.)
When Naruto doesn’t answer, he continues. “I… fell into darkness and gained powers to cut everything in my way.” And I see it’s wrong now, but can’t bring myself to feel guilty for getting away from the village, he doesn’t add. It wouldn’t fit the statement he’s going for. “It didn’t matter who it was, I tried to cut ties with everyone around me.” ( It didn’t work, not for you. Not fully.) He looks to Naruto again, and the boy is smiling. “But you… you never thought of cutting ties with me.” His voice peters out at them end, the simple act of talking straining his torn, shattered body. (“Why didn’t you give up on me,” he tries to say, but all that comes out is a whisper of a sound that’s more like a breath then anything proper. You should’ve given up. I’m not worth all that)
He has to take desperate gulps of air to be able to speak again, and when he does his voice is ragged and halting. Naruto doesn’t try to interrupt. “Why… why do you care so much about me?” He’s asked before, but Naruto can’t move now, can’t do anything but talk. There are words he wants to hear so, so desperately - needs to hear, his heart says. But he doesn’t need it, not technically. Gods, he doesn’t even deserve the thought.
"Don’t you already know?” Naruto asks, and Sasuke thinks he does. “Heh,” the blonde laughs. “Look at you talking so much now, just ‘cuz you can't move…” He trails off, smiling bittersweetly. Sasuke knows it's meant to be easy banter, reminiscent of their genin days where things were chaotic but still far, far easier, but Naruto knows just as well as him that they're just trying to choke out their final words, trying to make every moment of their final minutes last a lifetime.
"Just shut up and answer me!” Sasuke snaps back, not because he's angry - he's far too tired to be angry anymore. He's tired and he can feel his life slowly ebbing away and he doesn't know how much longer he can fight it back, how much longer he can stay. Naruto seems to contemplate his reply.
"If you want me to explain, I'm not really sure how to put it.” (I love you) “It's just that, when I hear you blabbering about carrying everything on your shoulders" (I love you) “I can kinda… feel the pain too.” (I love you)
And Sasuke stares with wide eyes, because that wasn't a confession, wasn't a frivolous promise, it was simply… an acknowledgment. “It really hurts, there's just no way I can ignore it!” he adds, and Sasuke understands. He winces as a tremor wracks through his body, and he wheezes. “Must've yelled too loud,” he mutters, voice hoarse as he clears his throat. “Well, today I'm hurting all over so there isn't much I can do.” He grins, smiling easily and brightly, and Sasuke stares at the expression with an expression that isn’t quite surprised, more akin to a gentle mix of awe and happiness. (He understands, too. It hurts for him, to see Naruto upset.)
It’s a few minutes of silence after that, as both boys - and they’re still just boys, too. Just kids who’ve both lost their way in some way or another, broken and lonely - just lying together, listening to the other’s breathing rattle unevenly and hoping for just a few more minutes together. Sasuke hesitates as he decides how to respond, not letting himself wait any longer (he doesn’t even know how much longer he has left. He’s fading, slowly but surely.)
“I love you too, Naruto.” And he’s certain in the way he says it, firm because this is the one thing he’s been fully certain of in years.
“That is the word, isn’t it,” Naruto says fondly. He turns slightly to look Sasuke straight in the eyes. “Well then, Sasuke Uchiha, I love you too!” He smiles blissfully, with all the carefreeness of someone who knows he doesn’t have much time left in the world and doesn’t regret the time he’s spent. Sasuke can hear the other’s breathing start to get labored, and he hisses in pain.
“Hey, Naru, are you-”
Naruto starts to cough, practically hacking up his lungs as he rolls onto his side until he’s facing away from Sasuke.
“Fuck!” Sasuke spits out, eyes wide with concern. He forces his shutting-down body to move, propping himself up with his arm and half-crawling closer to Naruto - it’s rather pitiful to look at.
“Sorry, Sas,” Naruto chokes out through coughs. “Pretty sure one of my ribs punctured a lung.” The last words devolve into a wheeze , and he retches, coughing up a mix of blood and bile.
Naruto winces. “Yep,” he croaks, “definitely punctured.”
The tiny jolt of adrenaline that had allowed Sasuke to move drains away startlingly quickly, and he slumps back to the ground, on his stomach now and hand close enough to brush Naruto’s side. Blood bubbles up past his lips, and coughs again, muscles convulsing from the harsh movement. He knows, of course, that Sakura would be far too late to save them - and that’s alright, because he thinks he’s happy to die this way.
“ehh, ‘m gettin… pretty tired, Sas,” Naruto mumbles, eyes half-lidded and face far too pale.
“I’m sorry, Naruto. I know you- ya wanted t’do a lot. B’come hokage ‘n the like.” Sasuke’s words are starting to slur now, his vision lapsing in and out.
“s’okay. I got what I wanted anyways. People like me now! B’sides, yer goin’ too. ‘If I die you’ll die with me’ and all that. I’m happy, y’know. You don’t need to apologize. I guess I’m sad that I’ll have to leave Konohamuru behind, And Kaka-sensei and Iruka… Dad. But I’m glad I’m with you.”
Naruto’s smile is the last thing Sasuke sees before his vision fades out again, and with it goes the last of the pain as his body goes numb. And wow, this is actually happening, isn’t it? It’s not that he isn’t okay with it anymore, but there’s so much more he could’ve been able to do. He wants to say goodbye to taka, because no matter how insufferable they are, they don’t deserve to be left alone, because they’re well and truly good, if nothing else. He wants to give Itachi a grave next to the others, stone carved carefully with hands that are no longer seven and shaking with grief. He wonders if he’ll have a grave (probably not, but if he does he wants it to be next to Naruto’s) and how Sakura will react to their deaths.
“Naruto? Are you still awake?” He asks, voice barely even a whisper.
“Yeah,” Naruto responds.
“Can you…” Sasuke hesitates. “Can you hug me?”
Naruto hums thoughtfully. “I’ll try.” Sasuke can hear Naruto shift beside him, even if he can’t see any more, and then there’s an arm around his back and Naruto’s face in the crook of his neck. All Sasuke can do is lift his arm a bit, letting it fall on Naruto’s back and grabbing at his shirt, hand forming a weak fist.
“Naruto?”
“Mhm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
(When Sakura gets to them, their bodies are already cold.)