A/N: This is the first piece for Naruto that I've written in six years, so I'm a little rusty with terminology and characterization, but I've been getting into it again since I've started roleplaying. The prompt is somewhat generic and perhaps a bit overplayed, but I was inspired by a piece from carrotcakebandit and some prompts I've been working with in my roleplays on Tumblr.

I hope you enjoy! As usual, reviews get cookies.

He never wanted to stay.

Nothing was here, not for him. Only the remains of a place he once called home and hollowed shells he calls people were of identity, because they stood, yes, still existed and took shape, but inside they carried nothing.

Fire could be set to all of it, and he would never shed a tear; now, it's why he's here, ankle-deep in water where beheamouth statures overlooking the village he's about to leave behind.

Nobody was here to stop him. A strangled chuckle leaves his throat, but he's sure it's all out of amusement. Has to be. Why would he show up to do this a second time?

"Is that it?"

Just one foot forward. Progress is halted by a scratchy voice echoing in the boundaries.

"...Are you really here to stop me again, dobe?"

"To the bitter end."

"Oh?"

Now it can no longer be ignored; the attention commanded by every snarl in his voice forces the raven to turn on his heels.

"You think you're just gonna leave, just like that?"

"I was hoping I could. You can be quite the pain."

Naruto laughs. Loud, shrill, hand on his stomach while he has to bend over to catch his breath. In his hand dangles a head protector; the metal jingles with every motion he makes and it's only when he stops that the object is revealed to Sasuke.

"What's so funny?"

"...You forgot this."

"..."

"...and you didn't say good-bye."

"What?"

"Good-bye. Weren't you going to...tell me...when you left again?"

"You're not making any sense, Naruto."

There's a 'tut' buried in the back of his voice and he clicks his tongue. How ironic that they find themselves here again, only for the blonde's first action to be a demand of 'good-bye'.

"Aren't you going to fight me? Drag me back? Break all my limbs so I can't wander away? Go on, then. I've got all night to leave here."

"Don't be a moron, I'm not gonna fight you. …All you had to say was good-bye, Sasuke."

His arm, once at his side, now lifts, and he extends the protector to the raven with a sheepish grin.

"And maybe...take this back, ne? Y'know I'm kind of getting sick of holding it for you."

"I don't want it."

"Please."

"Why?"

"It's a promise. I swore on it that one day, I'd bring you back...and I know that when you came back, you weren't gonna stay for long...so I guess...I mean, it's technically fulfilled. You came home."

Silence.

"Please..."

"Naruto, I don't - "

His protest dies on his lips. The blonde didn't have to say another word, merely keep his arm out with a wince in his smile as the raven began his rejection.

It unnerves him. A cold settles into his core and makes it hard to speak; his knees want to sink. His stomach chruns. Every inch of him is twitching to run, to turn tail and never have to look at that face again.

He never meant to make him hurt like this.

"...Okay. So I take it, and say good-bye. Then what?"

"I let you go, as long as you promise me one thing."

Obsidian irises flicker down to gaze at the steel. The water is growing colder, and the memories get fonder.

He is suffocating.

"What's that?"

Pause.

"Come back and see me?"

"...You idiot."

Expression once vacant, the raven finds himself smiling despite it. He wanted to leave; no, needed to go, craved escape from the past. Being here only reminds him of the price he paid to hollow out his soul in the name of 'vengeance'.

There is, as he said, nothing here for him.

Almost.

How could he ever forget Naruto? Abandon the nights that they've spent pressed up against the wall and the bed, forsake lips-pressed-to-skin-at-three-in-the-morning rituals, neglect that laced hands and quiet murmurs never meant anything at all? Even in lonsome nights of contemplated suicide and self-loathing did the raven always remember the one who would never let their bond break.

No rust could ever weaken it. No weapon, would cut it. Every tug and pull only brought them closer, and closer, until all the space squeezes them together and forces them to inhale while sharing the same air.

Sasuke knows he's a fool, but failing to realize what Naruto meant to him would have to make him the King of them.

"Do you really think I'm going to run away and never come back to see you? That isn't how being a boyfriend works."

"!"

Pale fingers slip over the metal and curl until they can get a hold of the warm flesh underneath.

"...you promise?"

"Yes."

"Will you come back to the village, soon? I mean...will you stay for good? Stay with me?"

He hesitates to answer the question, wetting his lips and pursing them. There's only one right answer to that.

"I can't breathe here. I don't like it."

"Sasuke, I know it's hard, but...that's why I'm here! I'm gonna help you get used to it again...I'm not the only one that missed you, y'know."

"I just need time, okay? I can't promise that."

The blonde smiles again, this time genuine. He squeezes the raven's hand.

"Well, alright then, haha! Got yourself a deal, teme. I'll give you time, just don't be gone for too long!"

"You make my life difficult, sometimes, you know that?"

"Somebody has to! If I don't, who's gonna remind you that you've got more reasons to stay then you think?"

"!..."

Before the message can sink in, there's a warmth against his lips, and a technicolor of whites and purples. He's gone, and so is the protector. All that lingers is a hushed echo.

'You're the only reason worth staying.'