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Despite the two’s attitude towards the other, their time in their team gave them more understanding of the other. They had more in common than they thought and when they weren’t on missions they would spend some time together. Of course, Naruto was the more rowdy one of the two and led Sasuke to insult or shut him up soon after. It was more common for these two to hang out around night since it’s a calmer environment and Sasuke seemed to hate their conversations being cut short. Plus, Naruto didn’t seem to have a set sleeping schedule anyways, so their time would be spent talking outside one of the other’s window if they wanted some company. These past few days, Naruto had been more bothersome than usual since the exams because of Sasuke’s mark and knew something wasn’t right. Even though he wasn’t the smartest in the village, he’d gain some brightness from being aware throughout said exams and basic cues from the other.
Naruto had been walking alone during sunset, passing the small houses when he noticed his teammate leaving from his window. Something was different this time, however. It appeared as if Sasuke was checking to see if anyone was following him, making Naruto's eagerness and curiosity increase steadily as he watched him disappear just before following him from a distance. This small 'chase' went on for a few minutes before Naruto began losing distance with the other, causing him to call out to catch his attention.
"Sasuke! Slow down, will you?"
The voice caught the paler boy to look behind him to find it was none other than Naruto. Of all people. He stopped and faced his body towards the one gaining up on him, waiting for a reason he couldn't figure out, but all he felt was a slight glimmer of hope when he saw his friend. Albeit his face not showing even the smallest hint of joy. The more he watched Naruto get closer, the more he felt himself being torn between leaving and staying, but Sasuke wasn't afraid of sacrificing the greater good if he had to.
"Man.." Naruto said as he finally caught up, slightly catching his breath. "Where the hell you headed this late?"
"That's none of your business. What are you doing here?" Sasuke switched the question ironically, balling his fists to keep himself tolerating the small hope he felt.
"The hell do you mean? I'm followin’ you. Yer the one runnin’ around the village like some idiot." Naruto's said with his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make sense of whatever was happening.
"Y'know," he brought his hand up to the other to point at the area of the mark Sasuke had hidden in his neck fabric "you've been actin’ really weird ever since that exam fight. I seen that mark grow n’ shrink on you, and it's not pretty either.
The mention of the strange curse mark caused Sasuke to cover it with his hand, immediately giving him away as he spoke.
"Mind your own business, Naruto. I don't have time for this." He began to turn around to leave until he heard the same annoying voice behind him.
"Why am I always the one left out of these things, huh? Why's it seem that everyone on the team knows about you and I don’t. Sakura's been worryin’ non-stop about you, y'know that?" Naruto's voice began to slowly become louder and louder as he tried to get his point across, seemingly scolding the Uchiha.
"I don't care for Sakura." The other said sternly and quickly.
"But she cares for you! Doesn't that matter to you?! You can't keep doing these things alone, dammit!”
Naruto’s voice increasingly began to aggravate Sasuke. It seemed that no matter what he did he’d end up bumping heads with this dunce everytime. That’s how he saw it, at least. Despite all of that, he always felt thankful. Sasuke or Naruto were not aware of how much influence the blonde had over the other. It was always Naruto to push the team further when they were on their knees, yelling out why he shouldn’t give up. Even during the Preliminary Exams, Naruto was the one to snap Sasuke out of his own doom. It was always him—Naruto—of all people. Had it been Sakura, he wouldn’t care that much. Kakashi might’ve impacted him a little, but not as much as Naruto. Sasuke looked towards the entrance gates of Konoha, knowing he should leave. But with Naruto being here, he had thought to himself: ‘Is it worth it?’
Naruto stuck out his right hand—a gesture that the two had been well acquainted with.
“Take my hand.” Naruto’s eyes were opened, fully focused on the other as he hoped he’d stay. His pupils were dilated and his eyebrows were furrowed, causing his face to show desperation and concern.
Sasuke dared to look back, combating the look with a glare that seemed cold and unforgiving before it softened just slightly.
“I can’t.” The sternness in his voice unwavering as he kept eye contact.
“Why the hell not?!” Naruto exclaimed.
“You can’t understand. That’s where you and I fall different, Naruto.”
The statement aggravated Naruto as he kept his hand out. Sasuke tried his best to distance the two so he could walk away with no regrets, not that Naruto caught on.
“I have to do this to get stronger—“
“You think I don’t know that?! It’s not like we didn’t meet the same guy hours ago!” Naruto belted out while balling his fist and bringing it to his side.
“You don’t have to leave to get stronger…you can stay here, in the village, with everyone! Why do you always have to do these things alone?…”
Naruto’s head tilted down, looking at the tiles on the roof underneath his feet. His expression seemed saddened and the grip he held in his fist began to increase as he tightened them. There was silence between the two as Sasuke looked at the boy and waited. He didn’t know why he was. He could have already left and completely ignored Naruto, but he didn’t. He stared at Naruto as he tried to find a reason why it mattered to him so much.
“If you want to go, go. But don’t think for a second that I won’t try and bring you back. You’re a part of this team—this village, Sasuke. Whether you like it or not.”
Those words seemed to break Sasuke’s comfortability. They caught him off guard and seemingly dared him to retaliate, but he would’ve had no time to.
“I never thought you to be this big of an idiot. Just because there’s a path in front of you doesn’t make it the right one. The Sasuke I know would’ve seen that by now.”
The paler boy felt a pain in his chest to those words—Naruto’s words at that. His grip loosened as he felt his body relax and turn towards Naruto, who was avoiding Sasuke’s look at first.
“Don’t be stupid about this, Sasuke.”
Naruto felt the irony in his statement as he spoke. His tone was softer but the hurt could be heard through his voice