Boruto is the Sun.

Mitsuki isn't sure he can survive in the dark.

He tries anyways.

Every step away from Boruto feels deadly. Feels wrong. Like he's moving against every instinct and belief he's ever known. All humans need light and warmth to survive. But Mitsuki isn't human.

Boruto follows. Because he's stubborn. Because he's foolish and headstrong. Mitsuki wonders if maybe the Sun needs the Moon too. Maybe there cannot be light without darkness.

Mitsuki doesn't want Boruto to follow him anymore. He needs this, he needs to know if he can live without light and warmth. Without easy smiles and touches that burn like a flame. He can feel Boruto's resolve, it's depth like an ocean. Boruto has always followed Mitsuki whenever Mitsuki stopped following Boruto. They push and pull each other like the tides, like the ocean in Boruto's heart.

The first time Mitsuki stopped following Boruto, he had fled to find his true will. He had followed Hidden Stone shinobi, had followed Lord Ku, had followed stranger and stranger that offered him a path. The feelings he felt for Boruto were too much, too human, they couldn't have possibly been his. The warmth Mitsuki felt must have been a lie. Inhuman creations couldn't feel such impossible warmth at the mere sight of a smile.

But all Mitsuki did was follow others. At the end of the path he'd found Boruto. Hurt and angry, but still Boruto. Still his Sun.

And then, as easy as breathing, Mitsuki had returned to his place as Boruto's Moon. Revolving, following, and always in his shadow. At fifteen, Mitsuki didn't want to follow anymore. The warmth he received from Boruto had become an inferno blazing under his unblemished skin at every glance and tough. Mitsuki wasn't human. He wasn't supposed to feel this. So he ran. He wouldn't follow anyone now. He set his sights west and kept moving.

Boruto followed. Mitsuki wasn't surprised when he felt that oceanic chakra, hot and bright in its intensity, racing towards him. Mitsuki kept moving at his steady pace. He didn't speed up, couldn't when he felt that gravitational pull towards his Sun, but didn't slow down either. When Boruto caught up, only slightly out of breath, Mitsuki didn't give him time to speak. If Boruto asked him to come back then Mitsuki wasn't sure he'd be able to say no. Instead Mitsuki did what he'd done before, sent a burst of lightning at Boruto's chest.

Of course, Boruto wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. The lightning burst the shadow clown in a puff of smoke just as Mitsuki felt strong hands grip his ankles and start dragging him into the Earth. Mitsuki barely escaped, used his snakes to haul himself up into the trees. The real Boruto came at him, apparently not interested in talking either, with a kunai.

The fight seemed to last for hours but really was over in a matter of minutes. Boruto was strong but Mitsuki always managed to take him by surprise. Before Boruto's body had hit the ground, Mitsuki was running.

It wasn't three hours later that Mitsuki felt Boruto's chakra again. He was moving slower, still recovering from Mitsuki's last lightning jutsu, but at his current pace he would catch up to Mitsuki within another hour. Mitsuki remembered the tears that had formed in Boruto's eyes as they fought, the way his chakra rolled and crashed like waves around them, and sped up. He didn't want to fight Boruto again, at least not soon. Not when his own eyes felt hot and stinging.

Mitsuki was always surprised at just how much Boruto felt. The boy was always feeling something and always too much. Especially when it came to Mitsuki. Mitsuki spent his days watching Boruto's emotions paint themselves across his tanned face. He'd learned how to read Boruto in the set of his jaw, the arch of his brows, and the line of the mouth. Sometimes pink would rise in Boruto's ears and cheeks, like the warmth Mitsuki felt was being reflected in him. Mitsuki liked those moments best.

Another four hours later, the moon was high and Mitsuki was tired. Boruto's chakra was nowhere to be found but Mitsuki knew this could possibly mean Boruto had decided to hide it. This would be surprising, since usually Boruto could only do that when he was completely calm. Boruto was rarely calm. He was too active, always moving, running, with the Sun on his back and Mitsuki racing to keep up.

Mitsuki was tired, he'd been on the move nonstop since before sunrise. He picked a tree, settled himself among the branches, and tried to will himself to sleep. Approximately seven minutes after Mitsuki closed his eyes, Boruto was there crouched on the branch next to him and close enough to touch. Mitsuki's eyes had snapped open. Neither boy moved.

"You remember when we were genin and we had a day off? We were both pretty bored with nothing to do so I asked you where you wanted to go. You said, 'I'll follow you.'" Boruto's voice was low as he spoke. Mitsuki realized Boruto wasn't looking at him, but had his head tilted up to look at the moon above them. "Well … I'll follow you."

Heat, searing and bright, blossomed under Mitsuki's skin. He responded with another lightning jutsu and running off through the branches. He knew his jutsu had hit but could feel Boruto's chakra thrumming steadily. He hadn't hurt him too badly.

Mitsuki didn't stop running for another five hours. The horizon was just starting to turn a light pink when he stopped, doubled over, and gasped for breath. Boruto had been dazed by the lightning jutsu but it hadn't stopped him. Mitsuki could feel his chakra gaining up to him quickly. Before he was ready, Boruto was there. He wasn't close but he was there. Mitsuki looked over his shoulder to see blonde hair in the distance. Boruto gave a final burst of speed before he too doubled over with his hands on his knees. He still wasn't too close but close enough for him to hear when Mitsuki spoke.

"Why?"

Boruto raised his head to look at his pale friend. His right cheek was cut and bleeding, his white tee shirt was singed and dirty, and his black jacked must have been discarded earlier.

"It's my will."

Mitsuki felt the swooping flames settle in his stomach at the words. Just being able to see Boruto left him feeling warmer, stronger, more human. He wasn't sure how to respond but he felt a small smile settle on his lips before he could stop it. Boruto gave a small smile in return and took a step forward. Mitsuki also took another step forward, keeping the same amount of distance between them.

He still didn't know where he was going. But with Boruto at his back, Mitsuki felt like the destination didn't matter much.

The moved together, as in sync as they had been on team seven. It wasn't for another two days that Mitsuki left Boruto move closer. Before he had meticulously kept a distance between the two and Boruto hadn't pushed, hadn't rushed forwards in a burst of speed. But after two days, Mitsuki realized he wanted Boruto closer. So, while they ran through the branches he suddenly stopped. Boruto had been midair though so he automatically had moved closer. When it looked like he wasn't about to he another lightning bolt to the chest, Boruto took a few more leaps until he stood on the same branch as his friend.

They hadn't spoken. Though Mitsuki knew Boruto wanted to, he didn't. Just as he hadn't broken the careful distance Mitsuki kept between the two, he also didn't break the silence. Mitsuki wasn't sure what this meant but knew it was somehow significant. He could feel Boruto's eye on him and what a marvel that was - to feel Boruto's eyes on him while he looked away. It had always been the opposite for them, with Mitsuki watching Boruto while Boruto watched the world. This, too, felt significant though Mitsuki didn't understand why.

They continued to move together until the trees faded into grassy slopes. Then they slept next to each other, eating ration bars, and watching the moon from their backs.

Later on, Mitsuki was the first to speak as they entered a small village. Silence broken, Mitsuki felt himself relax as he listened to Boruto comment on the small size and look of the village. When Boruto pulled out his money to purchase some breakfast, Mitsuki realized Boruto hadn't been planning on taking him back to Konoha. Boruto had packed ration bars and had apparently emptied his bank account and was carrying all of his savings in a scroll. Boruto had prepared for chasing Mitsuki for a long while.

That morning they ate breakfast together in a nondescript field outside of a small village. When they finished eating, Mitsuki reached out and took Boruto's hand. His laced his white fingers with Boruto's tan ones and marvelled at the warmth. For some reason he didn't understand, he wanted to thank Boruto. For not pulling his hand away, for buying breakfast, for giving Mitsuki such soft smiles even after taking a lightning bolt to his chest. For following him.

Instead, Mitsuki didn't say anything but his eyes began to water and sting. He almost felt too warm, like Boruto was going to burn him. Mitsuki trusted Boruto though.

Despite his silence, Boruto seemed to read Mitsuki's face, just as Mitsuki had done time and time again. Boruto's blue eyes slid over the stiff line of Mitsuki's mouth and the sheen in his eyes. He tightened his hand around Mitsuki's and repeated himself.

"I'll follow you."