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Sasuke had beat Naruto here.
In retrospect, he probably should have known better. He'd been too anxious for rest—too jittery to sit still. Three days had automatically factored in the time he should have taken to stop, to eat, to sleep—it was the amount of time he should have taken, but—
It hadn't been.
It had taken him less than a day. Not even until the next sunset, after which Sasuke had promptly collapsed in this clearing and still hadn't slept, his mind spiraling with memories and distraction and fear and doubt—was this clearing good enough? Should he have sacrificed privacy for the comfort of a bed? But then, that would be presumptuous—insanely so; that would bring Naruto's attention square and centered on the very feeling Sasuke had tried so hard to hide away—
This feeling. This fevered, wild, rampaging feeling. Sasuke had been lost in this wanting for as long as he could remember: the strangest, stupidest fixation since the day he'd realized Naruto's eyes were blue.
(It was the first time he'd looked into them.)
It was stronger, now. Against all odds, it had grown—and continued to grow; every time Sasuke thought that surely, now, this was all he could feel. Surely this was all his heart could take. Surely it couldn't get any worse—
It had. Like a storm, whipping and thundering and festering within him—and Sasuke had bowed his head and fallen to it. He'd accepted two losses at once, that day, bleeding out next to the cause of it all.
It was a miracle Naruto hadn't known, right then and there. Or perhaps it had been a curse—a lingering punishment for the mistakes Sasuke hadn't yet let himself forget. If only Naruto had known that Sasuke didn't like a quiet, solitary mind at all. If only Naruto had known the moments Sasuke had kept their bond closed were the ones where his mind was busy—preoccupied with tumbling over itself in fantasies filled with Naruto's skin on his. (Against his—moving with him or against him, looking at him with those eyes and breathing in a pant that not even their most desperate fight had brought out of him. Naruto was warm—warm and fierce and full of life—and his skin would be just the same—)
He was used to those moments. And he had thought it was another, at first—been easily convinced, as he began his slow descent into sleep, that his mind was running off on its own again...before he'd realized it had been Naruto's thoughts, coming through the bond, and not his own.
But they hadn't been his own.
Sasuke swallowed.
It had been his fevered dreams that had carried him through. His relentlessly stifled desires had given him a practice he hadn't known he'd had—and a confidence built out of shock and exhilaration and sheer, potent, torrid desire—
He didn't have that confidence, now.
No, all he had were his trembling nerves. Their bond was shut closed and kept closed, for fear of alerting Naruto to just how frozen Sasuke truly felt. It would surely stop Naruto in his tracks—even an echo of these nerves would pull forward all the knowledge that Naruto surely had somewhere in his head. For Naruto, this was a new, exciting discovery to be tracked down and studied properly, but for Sasuke—
For Sasuke, this was...it. This was a connection Naruto had yet to make, but it was there, somewhere within all he'd memorized and understood and truly known about Sasuke—and to explore it, but to realize, but to dig into it and dig into Sasuke and lay him bare for Naruto to see—
That was different. That was terrifying. This was terrifying. Sasuke didn't know where or how to begin, and Naruto's chakra was close, now—closing in on him, as it had so many times before—blaring out like a beacon, a message that Sasuke didn't understand how anyone else couldn't hear—it was so clear to him, so obvious, it always had been, and now—
"Sasuke—"
It was like a breath. A relieved, exhilarated smile, as Naruto stumbled his way into the clearing. He dropped his things at his feet and stood back—stayed as stiff and hesitant as Sasuke did.
Of all the times to give him personal space.
"Um," Naruto said, shifting in place. His voice held the echo with a nervous laugh; a breathlessness similar to the one Sasuke had still in his chest, no matter how he'd rested— "hi."
Sasuke nodded. A jerky, quick movement—a giveaway of Sasuke's nerves; he knew it from the moment Naruto's smile faltered and his eyes darted down and up and all around Sasuke's face—
"Um," Naruto said again, and Sasuke felt the small, gentle prod of Naruto at the edges of his mind. The soft knock at the door. The quiet ask for permission. The whispered let me in. The tender I want to talk to you, here. Where it's only us. Let me in, Sasuke.
It was gone before Sasuke had a chance to respond. And he could have responded, still—he could have opened these floodgates and let his tsunami of thoughts surge forward and storm Naruto's head all at once—he'd hoped to have picked one to start with at this point, but he—
"You're early," he found himself saying. As if it was a complaint—as if it was something that bothered him, and not something that settled his heart in a way that no one else had ever been able to.
"I—yeah," Naruto said, ducking his head. "I couldn't sleep."
Sasuke swallowed.
I could have helped you with that, his mind supplied, and he pressed the words to the roof of his mouth with his tongue. This is why they were in person, this is why they were together, in physical form, so he could reign his mind back and pick and choose what to say—
Something—appropriate. Something explanatory. Something that would stop the discomfort growing more obvious in Naruto by the second. Something that wasn't coming to him, no matter how he searched for it—something to put them both at ease—something—
Something to get Naruto's hands on him. Something to bring him closer. Something to ease this ache in his lips, the palms of his hands and tips of his fingers. He supposed Naruto should have taught him, by now, that you could desperately miss something you had never had.
"Do you want to spar?"
Naruto's face relaxed into a wide, laughing grin.
"I should've fucking known," he said, the tension sliding from his shoulders. "Made me travel a day and a half just to spar? You that bored, teme?"
Sasuke's lips twitched.
(Naruto had already replaced himself with a clone.)
"It barely took a day, usuratonkachi."
(It had been the slightest twitch of his fingers.)
"A day I could've had off, you know."
(The slightest glint of acceptance in his eyes—of challenge—)
"You and I both know you're incapable of staying still."
(No one else would have felt that flare of chakra, but Sasuke knew it like the back of his hand.)
"Huh," Naruto said, his grin widening, "maybe you're right."
The kunai left his fingers at the same time he spun around and caught the real Naruto's fist. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and Sasuke pressed forwards—
"You think I can't read you by now?"
Naruto ripped his hand back as the other flew forwards, Sasuke dodged them in a flurry of moves—Naruto caught him and then caught him again, twisting Sasuke's useless sleeve around his wrist until their breath mixed again—
"Read me, then."
His mind echoed with the words. They pulsed against the barrier Sasuke had thrown up and haphazardly checked—it knocked him off balance and Naruto did the same—
Sasuke landed on his feet, and kept the bond closed.
He sprung forwards with all the force of his begging mind. It was filled with words he didn't want Naruto to hear—not yet, not all at once, not like this—Sasuke threw Naruto away only to gain the balance to pull him back again, twisting around each other in a rapidfire of motion Sasuke had memorized long ago—
Closer.
He wanted Naruto closer. Closer, closer, their bodies were pressed together with all the force of Naruto pressing Sasuke to the bark behind him and not an inch of Sasuke's skin was satisfied—
Something in Naruto's grip relented, and Sasuke heaved them back. Two kicks, and Naruto was on the ground, Sasuke on his chest and hand on his throat—
Naruto's tongue darted out between his lips. His chin raised up, his eyes dark and hooded, baring his neck for Sasuke's touch—Sasuke ran his thumb over his Adam's Apple and felt it as Naruto swallowed—
"You're distracted," he accused, the hypocrite that he was.
Naruto breathed out a laugh.
"Got a lot to think about," he whispered.
Sasuke breathed out. The motion set free something in his chest, loosened something in his arms, just enough for him to lean closer—
"And have you been?"
Naruto laughed again—warm and filled with some sort of emotion that Sasuke immediately understood. That same feeling that blocked his throat, held his tongue, had his mind spiraling and his muscles weak—
"Yeah," he said, soft and yielding. "Yeah, I really have been."
Sasuke swallowed.
Sasuke.
It was the feeling that echoed at the walls of his mind. Naruto's hand back at the door again—poised, but not knocking—just a hand, just the softest pressure, as if beckoning—
Sasuke leaned down, and opened the bond.
Naruto was in his mind within the heartbeat. Flooding him with relief and happiness—showing him a night of Naruto's restless, giddy sleep—a morning of dawning realization, of disbelief, of—
Oh.
Acceptance.
Stupid—Sasuke, you idiot, I—
He felt Naruto's smile against his lips and Sasuke slid his hand around the back of Naruto's neck, up into his hair, pulling him deeper into this connection, this flood of feeling—Naruto's memories pushing further into him; the first time they kissed, when Sasuke had saved him, when Naruto had saved Sasuke, the nights apart and the nights together—Sasuke was suddenly struck by the thought that maybe they were the same—maybe Sasuke had left the pieces of Naruto unconnected, too—maybe none of this had been new at all—
Naruto's laugh broke the kiss.
"New?! New? Sasuke, you fucking moron—"
Sasuke kissed him again. Naruto grabbed his hair in answer and happily stifled his laugh—
I can't believe you loved me this whole time.
He didn't know if it was Naruto's thought or his own. The disbelief and exhilaration reflected right back at him—Naruto pushed through Sasuke's memories and Sasuke didn't block his path, watching him grab each one piece by piece, pushing back for his own evidence, his own proof—
I can't believe you didn't know I loved you too.
Naruto pushed him onto his back and Sasuke let him, raising his arm as Naruto pulled his shirt away. Those hands were back on him after barely a breath, one rough and bandaged, the other soft and warm—Sasuke closed his eyes and memorized the feeling—
"Sasuke—"
Sasuke breathed in.
Sasuke—
Yes, moron—he thought, arching into the touch. Yes, he was here. He would always be here. God knew he'd tried to stay away for long enough. God knew it had never worked. Naruto knew it had never worked, not even for a second, the idiot should have known that by now—
I love it when you tell me.
Sasuke sighed out a breath and bared his neck for Naruto's touch, just as Naruto had for his...
Tell me again.
Which piece? The way Naruto's memory had haunted him, like a ghost, visiting him even in his dreams no matter how far away Sasuke had tried to run? The way his eyes had been the one thing Sasuke couldn't fucking fight against, the way those eyes had seen him, the way he had never been able to hide from them—
Yeah?
The way he'd craved Naruto's attention in each and every way he could get it? His eyes, his lips, his hands, his voice—anything. Anything, anything, anything, just to have Naruto know him, Naruto look at him, Naruto come back to him—there was so much else for him in the world, Naruto could have anything else, and yet—
It's nothing without you.
Sasuke shuddered.
You know that.
He arched and trembled, and Naruto took his chance to pull back—his cloak long forgotten, his shirt to the floor—he pushed Sasuke back and Sasuke let his vision sharpen, if only for that moment, burning the image of Naruto's hooded eyes and parted lips into his mind forever—
Naruto pushed back over him, and Sasuke fell again. Fell to Naruto, fell to this feeling—he'd be on his knees if he wasn't already on his back—
I'd love you on your knees.
Sasuke breathed out a laugh, and Naruto bit the side of his neck. There was a gentle teasing in that motion, a reminder that no amount of Sasuke's denial could hide the thoughts in his head—the desire flittering though in Naruto's head, now—
Been thinking about that night for days.
A day, Sasuke reminded him. Only a day. It felt somewhere so much further, though—like a dream. In fact, all of this felt like a—
Naruto bit him again.
How about now?
Sasuke breathed out. Naruto pinched him once, and then again, as his hand trailed down Sasuke's waist, down to the hem of the pants he still so unfortunately wore—
I can take care of that.
Sasuke shivered.
Naruto took it as the plea that it was, and Sasuke had to do little more than lift his hips as he felt the fabric leave him—he felt the flash of nerves surge through him as Naruto moved up again—
Relax. I saw your ass in the hospital, remember?
Sasuke slapped his arm over his eyes.
"I hate you," he muttered, and he felt Naruto's warm laugh against his skin. He felt his chin, too, resting just above Sasuke's hipbone, and he pulled his arm away just in time to see Naruto's eyes glittering up at him—
"What is it about that lie," he asked, "that makes you wanna tell it so much?"
"Fuck you," he said, and it was pitiful. It didn't even make it to halfhearted, and Naruto's grin only widened in response—
"You could, if you wanted," Naruto said, one hand lifting Sasuke's thigh as Sasuke's brain sluggishly registered the words—
I keep thinking of this, though.
Sasuke trembled in a breath and reeled back, closing his eyes as Naruto pressed between his legs—as he flashed that same, familiar image though Sasuke's head, Sasuke had pictured it a million times—
You have no idea, Naruto's voice rang through his head, what that's been doing to me.
Didn't he? Didn't he, though? Naruto's hands couldn't be everywhere at once and yet Sasuke's skin was yet to be satisfied, his hips were lifting themselves and the pleasure was already pulsing between his legs—
You want this, Sasuke?
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—
"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered, grabbing Naruto by the hair and pulling him down to kiss him properly. To kiss him hard and fast and yes, god, finally, finally, finally—Sasuke felt something cool and hard be pressed to his side—be rolled up his side, and one glimpse into Naruto's mind told him he'd come prepared, like he'd known, like he'd wanted this—
Of course I wanted this, you're dumber than I am.
Impossible, Sasuke thought, and Naruto laughed against his lips again. It broke it just enough for the kisses to trail away, trail down Sasuke's neck as Naruto raised Sasuke's leg again—Naruto lifted the jar and Sasuke caught it by the lid, using Naruto's grip to unscrew it—
Blue eyes snapped up to his.
Now who's the eager one?
"Fuck off," Sasuke said, shoving it towards him. Naruto's tongue darted out to wet his lopsided smile, and Sasuke's heart trembled at the sight—he flicked his hair away and let his sharingan come to life again—
Naruto ducked his head.
C'mon. I'm not that good-looking…
Fuck him. Fuck that idiot, sitting there and blushing and smiling and acting like every inch of him wasn't created with the sole purpose of driving Sasuke crazy—Naruto's teeth ran over his bottom lip and Sasuke thought if Naruto didn't hurry up that he would just grab Naruto's dick and do it himse—
"Not yet, Sasuke, jeez," Naruto said, holding two fingers up—slick with something, something from the jar in his other bandaged hand, "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"Hurt me," Sasuke snapped, and Naruto laughed at him.
No, said Naruto's voice, with the same laugh as his glittering eyes. Only in good ways. Lean back. Relax. Let me feel you, Sasuke...
Naruto pushed forwards, and Sasuke's eyes rolled back in his head. Just the smallest sensation overwhelmed him completely, rushed through him and rendered his mind blank—Sasuke breathed in and it was all he could bear to do—
I've got you.
He knew. He'd always known. Naruto's pressed his kisses up Sasuke's stomach and Sasuke gave in to them, letting Naruto dive through his head deeper than he ever had before—deeper than Sasuke had been brave enough to go for so long, because if he really thought about it, if he really put it all together, if he stopped denying it for just a moment too long, then he would have been forced to realize long ago—
Me too, came Naruto's voice, his breath trembling against Sasuke's skin. Me too. You know that, right?
Sasuke breathed in, gasping in the air as Naruto pushed forwards. It made his eyes snap open, the blurry sky and treetops slowly focusing until he could meet Naruto's relentless eyes—
One more?
Sasuke let his head roll to the side, unblinking. If Naruto didn't know how badly he wanted this by now, he—
"Hah—!"
Sasuke gasped in a breath as Naruto pushed another finger into him, throwing his hand over his mouth before it could betray another sound—
No.
Naruto snatched the hand from his face, interlacing their fingers as he pressed it to the ground.
No. No hiding. Not from me.
Sasuke swallowed. The moan was in his throat and the pleasure in his thighs, in his stomach, in the dick that was so fucking untouched—
Naruto laughed.
"Keep that hand in my hair," he said, pulling back. Sasuke took about four blinks to get back into reality, and about four more to realize—
"Ah—fuck—"
Naruto snatched the hand out of the air again before Sasuke had the chance to slap it over his mouth. His eyes stayed closed, though, as he took all of Sasuke into his mouth—his fingers pushed in and his mouth moved down, up and then down again, Sasuke breathed in and in and in and in—
—can't believe—
Naruto's thoughts came through again—in scattered, exhilarated disbelief. Sasuke imagined he'd be feeling something similar if not for the melted mess Naruto had made of him, he'd only now managed to remember how to exhale, and his mouth had let out far too much of his voice for him to be satisfied, but—
—like this, Sasuke…
He couldn't focus, he couldn't breathe, he could barely move at all—Sasuke's head rolled back and Naruto spread his fingers out, pulling his head back to run his tongue along Sasuke's shaft and where the fuck had he learned any of this—
Naruto ducked his head to laugh, coming back up again with a sparkle in his eye.
Porn, Sasuke. How'm I doing?
"Terrible," Sasuke mumbled, and Naruto curved his fingers just a little bit mo— "ah—hah—"
Uh-huh. Want me to stop, then?
Fucking hell. Sasuke reeled back against the force of Naruto's desire—
"Hm?" Naruto continued, and Sasuke felt the smile. "Whatcha want, Sasuke?"
Sasuke desperately attempted to catch his breath. To focus his eyes—to get the stars out of them—to—
What?
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the pants Naruto still wore.
Naruto laughed.
"Okay, okay," he said, biting his still-swollen lip as he slowly, slowly pulled out of Sasuke. Sasuke still found it to be far too fast—far too much—he breathed in and in and then out, all at once, as Naruto's warmth left him—
Demanding, came Naruto's teasing voice, with only the barest glance. Sasuke knew the playfulness in those eyes far too well to miss it, though, bond or no bond—
"Are you complaining?" he whispered, unmoving. A very naked Naruto knelt back down, jar back in his hand—
"Are you kidding?" Naruto laughed, pulling Sasuke's knee to his chest.
This is a dream.
Sasuke swallowed and leaned back, letting the newest wave of emotion run its course. It bounced between the two of them time and again—Sasuke could barely tell where it truly came from when the bond was this open between them—
"Hey," Naruto said softly, nudging Sasuke's legs up.
Sasuke looked back down at him, giving the question in those eyes a firm are you kidding me answer. If the idiot was trying to make him beg then he was well on his way—
"I'm not!" Naruto said, leaning forwards. "I'm—I just want this to be—"
Naruto swallowed the rest of his words.
Sasuke heard them anyway.
His hand reached up and Naruto caught it; Sasuke used the motion as a convenient excuse to pull the moron to him, to catch those lips with his own, to raise his hips and feel Naruto—feel Naruto—f—
"Nngh—"
"Ah—god—fucking hell," Naruto gasped out, squeezing his eyes shut only to fling them open again. He could feel the explosion of pleasure ricocheting around his head, an echo of Naruto's own combining with the feeling of Naruto pushing into him—if Naruto was feeling anything like this, it was a wonder he was still upright at all—
"Sasuke—" Naruto breathed and then his mouth was firmly occupied. Sasuke kissed him with a desperation he hadn't had even a moment ago—it was as if every emotion in his heart had been pulled up to the front of his mind and magnified, there was nothing to hide anymore, nothing he could hide anymore, he was—
Mine.
Naruto pulled back, a string of saliva connecting Sasuke's tongue to Naruto's bottom lip. His blue eyes were hooded, darkened with a lust that had Sasuke's desire rushing through him like a wave—
Sasuke let Naruto feel it, too.
It was the only invitation Naruto needed. The only message Sasuke needed to send. Naruto's lips were back on him within the second, and Sasuke felt Naruto start to move, start to rock them together—Sasuke let his head roll back and he breathed, just breathed, just relaxed further and further into this feeling—
Sasuke…
It was ecstasy. It was perfection, and something in Sasuke's mind reeled that the thought that Naruto had never thought there was a case where it couldn't have been. Even for them—especially for them, in their messy, unspoken, chaotic understanding—
God, Sasuke, I can't—
Sasuke trembled. He shook all over, he shuddered and grabbed with his weak, pathetic grip—his breaths hitched and stopped completely, and Naruto grabbed his reaching hand from out of their air and clenched it tight—
It's so—Sasuke, it's too—
Too much, it was too much—it felt too good, it felt so good, Naruto—
"Nngh, Sas—you ca—"
You can't say that, Sasuke, you can't think that, I'll—
Sasuke's head rolled back, his grip tightened, his back arched and he squeezed Naruto between his legs—
I'll—
His body tightened all at once, the pleasure rising and rising and rising and—
Sasuke, I'm—
He grabbed ahold of Naruto, and let it all release.
"Ah, fuck—fuck—"
Naruto's pleasure reeled through his head and Sasuke found himself gasping, digging his nails into Naruto's skin as the orgasm echoed through him twice—he breathed in and in and in and in and each time it was interrupted, the waves of pleasure hit the walls of his mind and Sasuke found it a wonder he didn't collapse entirely—
"Holy shit," Naruto gasped out, "can we do that every time? Fucking hell—"
Sasuke jabbed a useless fist into Naruto's arm, the rest of him too...liquified to move. He didn't even know if he had muscles anymore. Did he still have a body? He…
Naruto laughed, and Sasuke let out a small, grumbled yelp as he pulled back. Pulled out—slowly, but fuck, fucking hell, Sasuke wasn't ready—
"Sorry!" Naruto said, immediately flung right back into Sasuke's vision. "Sorry, you okay?"
Sasuke breathed out.
Good question.
"Sasuke," Naruto laughed, still hovering around him. Sasuke waved a vague hand and made no attempt to hide any of his thoughts, which all should have informed Naruto quite thoroughly—
"Yeah, but like—"
It's different when you say it out loud...
"Buh," Sasuke told him.
Naruto dissolved into laughter again.
"Oh my god, okay, let me—I've got some—"
Naruto ran off, and Sasuke melted back onto the floor. There was a stream nearby, which was something Sasuke had actually factored into all this, but—
I brought stuff, gimmie a—
More stuff? Sasuke's head lazily rolled to the side. Perhaps a bed would have been less presumptuous than he'd thought…
Naruto's laugh came from somewhere much farther than Sasuke had registered him being. Sasuke forcibly dragged his consciousness up a few levels, just as that warmth came back to him—
Bed woulda been real nice, came Naruto's voice, as he dumped what looked to be his drinking water on a rag of some kind, "teme."
Sasuke's lips twitched at the word. It was muttered and soft, echoed by the one in his head, and Sasuke found some comfort in the way Naruto could get lost between the boundaries of how they spoke, too. He didn't find any comfort at all in how cold that water was, though—
"Sorry, sorry," Naruto said quickly, wiping at Sasuke's stomach. "I'm almost done. Lift your leg up?"
Sasuke huffed out a breath. He could do it himself…
Yeah, of course, came Naruto's voice, filled with amusement, as his face stayed suspiciously blank. One glance back at Sasuke had his lips twitching, though, and he pressed them together in an obvious attempt to hide the laugh.
Sasuke lazily blinked at him and let him know exactly how stupid he looked in just this moment.
Naruto swatted the end of the towel at him.
"You love it," he said, pulling himself back. "Here are your clothes."
I brought a blanket and stuff, too...sleeping bag...are we staying here?
Naruto's thoughts scattered again as he moved away. Sasuke desperately tried to muster together the will to move. It didn't much matter, though, did it? It wasn't as if they had all that much time…
Huh?
"Pass my shirt," Sasuke said, distracting himself. It was useless to dwell on these things, and he was getting cold, anyway. It might be better, actually, if he closed it comple—
Hey—
"Hey, no, Sasuke, don't—" Naruto came scrambling back into his view, "just—not yet. Please? I know I'm distracting—"
"It's not that."
Naruto stopped, and Sasuke pulled the shirt from his hands. If he was wise, he would have rinsed himself off before putting his pants back on—preventing that awkward middle layer of dirt and grass—but he was…
Settled. Here.
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably and looked away, knowing that Naruto could easily sense where the discomfort came from—and where it didn't.
Naruto plopped down at his side in answer, pressing their bare shoulders together. He still held his own shirt, too.
"It's nice, though," Naruto said, continuing on one of the many thoughts Sasuke had sent in his direction. Sasuke inclined his head and stayed silent, preferring only to watch—or maybe to let Naruto project something awkward and embarrassing in his direction for once—
Naruto laughed.
"Are you kidding?" he said, nudging his shoulder into Sasuke's. "You forget what caused this whole thing?"
Sasuke's lips twitched, and he looked down at the grass. He certainly hadn't forgotten.
"You're processing this rather well," he commented, not looking up. Naruto seemed quite happy to put his weight further and further onto him, and Sasuke needed something sturdy to ground him—
"I'm still processing it," Naruto said. "Can't you tell?"
Sasuke looked up.
The memories flittered through his head, one by one, obscuring his view of the blue eyes beside him. Naruto, his hand over his heart, his chest closing in as he struggled to breathe...Sasuke, up above him, staring down with a gaze that barely held recognition, let alone affection...he…
Sasuke looked down again, twisting the fabric of his shirt.
It's okay.
He could feel the pain.
It's okay, Sasuke.
And he understood. Naruto was unravelling something thread by thread, and so much of what Sasuke was to him was hidden in that pain—
Sasuke—
It was only natural that they would have to revisit it. Over and over again. They—
Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and spun him around.
"The reason behind the pain, asshole. Find it."
Sasuke breathed in. Naruto didn't relent, staring into Sasuke's eyes as if they would guide him to what he needed to know…
I loved you all along. That's not a question anymore. I'm just trying to figure out how much. And when it all started.
Naruto closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Sasuke's.
Every time I think I've found it, I look back and there's...more. There's so much, Sasuke. I can't believe I went so long without understanding it.
"That's because you're an idiot," Sasuke whispered, if only to hide the lump in his throat, the way his hands shook, the way his eyes would surely leak if let himself open them—
"Teme."
Sasuke breathed in.
Usuratonkachi, he sent back, letting Naruto curve his head to nuzzle into Sasuke's neck. Sasuke pressed his lips to Naruto's hair and pushed back the reminder that this couldn't possibly last forever. It was enough to have this at all. Even when Naruto had to leave—likely tonight, if anything, he…
Naruto pulled back.
"This again—what're you talking about?"
"Your mission," Sasuke said, clearing his throat, "moron. The real reason you had to leave."
"The real—I'm a moron?! You were the rea—my mission doesn't start until next week!"
Sasuke…
"What?"
Naruto laughed.
"You ass! I thought you knew! What's the point in being in my head all the time if you don't—"
"You said you had to leave tomorrow!"
"Yeah! Leave Konoha! To come see you!" Naruto let out another exhausted laugh. "Dumbass."
He flopped down on the ground, staring up at the sky with his stupid, self-satisfied grin.
How heavy d'you think I pack, asshole?
Sasuke snorted and looked away, admitting that, yes, there was obviously more in that bag than necessary. But he hadn't expected—Naruto was never one to take time off, he—
I just...missed you. You'd been all quiet recently. That okay?
Naruto looked up at him with the words, and Sasuke's heart fluttered. Idiot. Stupid, perfect idiot, there was a reason he'd been so relentlessly silent and it was the exact reason that had him hoping to scrape these few hours together at best, but a week, an entire week of only them, an entire week of—
Naruto grinned.
I'll take that as a yes.
Sasuke's eyes snapped back to his.
"But, uh," Naruto said, "can we actually get a real bed or somethin'?"
Sasuke swatted the top of his head.