Sasuke had never prayed before, but he was seriously considering it since he hadn't heard from Naruto in twenty four hours. The blonde had said that he would call him sometime the next day, but as the hours passed without a word, Sasuke had actually called him –three times. He had just reached the voicemail where Naruto said something in Swedish. Sasuke had listened to it with his eyes closed, just trying to feel close to the blonde again. He knew what Naruto must be going through, but he couldn't help but feel a bit left out. They had connected in some weird way the night before, and that had erased all the hopelessness in Sasuke. Yes, Naruto had a girlfriend, but he obviously wasn't completely straight, and that made Sasuke's desires so much more realistic.

He jumped and felt his heart skip a beat when his phone started to ring. He didn't even look at the screen before he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke? Are you okay, sweetie?"

The voice of his mother turned his racing heart into stone. He had been so sure that Naruto would be the one to speak up, and it physically hurt when that didn't happen.

He sighed.

"Yea, I'm fine."

He sat down on his bed.

"Are you sure? You sound so…"

He could practically see his mother's face in front of him. She was always worrying about her sons.

"I'm fine, mom. Just… Expecting a call."

That was the truth. He didn't have to tell her the whole story.

"Okay then. Speaking of that; Itachi will call you any minute. I just talked to him, and you two need to talk about how you're getting to the airport tomorrow."

Just as she finished her sentence, Sasuke heard three short beeps.

"Yea, he's calling the other line right now. I'll text you later or something."

"Okay honey, take care."

Sasuke sighed again and clicked a button on his phone to change the lines. He really didn't feel like discussing their ride home, but he probably didn't have a choice.

He put the phone back to his ear and fell backwards on the bed.

"Hey, Itachi."

He closed his eyes and mentally prepared for their talk.

"Who's Itachi?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he jumped off the bed, almost falling over in the action.

"Naruto!?"

He was breathing heavily and his heart started racing again.

"Yea. Hi."

Naruto sounded as if he had been silent for the entire day, and kept his voice down. Sasuke bit his tongue when he thought about how hard Naruto must have taken it all.

"So, uhm,"

Sasuke started to wander back and forth, now feeling rather nervous. What was he supposed to say?

"How are you?"

Silence. Sasuke wasn't sure if Naruto was thinking of an answer or just considering hanging up.

"Listen."

Sasuke nodded, not even caring that the blonde couldn't see him.

"I know what you think."

He swallowed hard. He still had no idea about what Naruto was about to say.

"But that's not who I am."

A few more seconds of silence.

"I'm okay with you being that way, but I'm not."

He heard Naruto swallow and take a shaky breath.

"Gay, that is."

Sasuke wanted to say something, but wouldn't find the words before his thoughts got interrupted.

"I love Sakura."

He licked his lips and nodded slowly. He desperately tried to deny the ache inside of him, and therefore didn't notice how shaky the blonde sounded.

"I know that."

His voice came out as a whisper.

"I know that, Naruto, but you-"

"Good night, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't get the chance to say anything before Naruto hung up. He was left speechless; phone still in his hand and his heart had dropped to his stomach. He felt like throwing up and the room was spinning, making him dizzy, and he was pretty sure that someone just had stabbed him in the chest with a knife. Or maybe an axe.

Why had he asked Naruto to kiss him? How could he have been so stupid!? Of course it would mess up their friendship and of course he would pave the way to his own heartbreak. He had known that the entire time, but still got so into his idea of turning Naruto around.

He dropped the phone on his bed and entered the bathroom, ignoring the calls from Itachi.

His brother found him and hour later, throwing up in the toilet. Sasuke was grateful that Itachi didn't ask any questions; he just held his hair back and then led him back to bed when he was done.

Their parents hadn't said anything, and Sasuke assumed that Itachi had told them to keep their distance for now.

He was standing inside the building of the airport, waiting for their plane to get ready. He had dark bags under his eyes and looked paler than usual. His hair was a mess and he was wearing blue jeans and an oversized, black hoodie. He felt completely numb, except for when he was thinking about what had happened the night before. His entire being was aching, as if he had been in a fight, and his throat was sore from throwing up. He had looked like that before, after some really late and drunk night out, but he had never felt like he felt. It was as if someone had emptied him on everything and replaced it all, from his guts to his feelings, with dust. He didn't even want to try to smile in case he would break from it.

"Sasuke, we have to go and check in."

He didn't even react until his brother put a palm on his back and gently pushed him forward. Itachi usually wouldn't be like that, but he knew when his little brother needed someone to stand tall and look after him. Yes, he could be a pain pretty much all the time, but he knew that there were limits. He would never kick on someone who was already down.

They checked in and, once again, shook hands with some people from the business. The Hyugas weren't there, since they had left for the US a day earlier. Sasuke almost felt a bit relieved; Hinata probably would have pushed him into talking, and Neji wouldn't have let him leave until he had given them the whole story.

They finished up and boarded the plane, taking their usual seats. Itachi made sure to keep an eye on Sasuke from the bar, though. The younger raven felt so incredibly exhausted, but still felt a sour feeling in his throat when he thought about them heading home again. Bye Sweden – bye Naruto. He would never get to see him again just because of his huge, huge mistake two days earlier. He cursed himself and hid his mouth and nose under the collar of his hoodie.

It felt like an eternity before they, finally, started the engines and began to move. Sasuke wasn't sure if it would be nice to get home or if it would just feel like getting back to where it all began, so he decided to not think about more than necessary. He was just about to lean back into the chair and close his eyes when he saw a familiar blonde running towards the plane. His eyes opened wide. A million different things were flashing by in his head, but the only thing that made any sense to him was that he had to get off and meet up with Naruto.

"Stop! Stop the plane!"

He screamed and got up from his seat, ran over to the main door and saw Itachi rushing to the cockpit. It only took them a few seconds to stop, and Sasuke stood at one of the windows when his brother joined him.

"Is that him?"

Sasuke slowly nodded, unable to even believe it. Yes, that was Him. That was Naruto, standing outside their plane. Sasuke didn't even care if the reason Naruto was there was to punch him in the face; he just wanted to see him and look into his blue eyes. It didn't matter if his heart was about to break a little bit more. He needed to see Naruto.

"You know I'm gonna kill him, right?"

Sasuke ignored the comment and concentrated on keeping his heart rate down. It wouldn't surprise him if the butterflies suddenly escaped from his stomach and settled in his chest, giving him a heart attack any second.

The pilot came running, asking what's wrong, and Itachi muttered something in her ear. Sasuke was staring into Naruto's beautiful eyes, both of them breathing heavily. Soon – not soon enough, though – the staff had placed the staircase outside the door and Sasuke pushed through it without even checking if it was safe to do so.

They looked at each other for a while before Sasuke finally made his way down the stairs. They both looked scared and confused, mirroring each other perfectly. Sasuke had no idea about what was going through Naruto's mind, but he did know that it must be something important.

Naruto licked his lips and struggled to find the words.

"I don't…"

He turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact for a short moment in a try to collect himself.

"I don't know what's going on."

Sasuke nodded and did his best to stay calm and not jump to conclusions.

"But I think I need you to stay in Sweden for a few more days."

Sasuke was holding his breath, not sure if he had heard right.

"What did you say?"

His voice was close to cracking. Naruto licked his lips again, shifting his body weight back and forth.

"Can you just stay for a little while longer?"

Once again, a million different things were racing through his mind. He turned to look at his parents, who were now standing in the doorway, and then looked back at Naruto. He had his mouth open, trying to say something, when the blonde spoke up.

"Okay, then I'll go with you to New York."

Sasuke was still trying to just form some words when he gave up, closed his mouth and nodded.

"Okay."

They looked at each other for a while before they, a bit hesitant, turned towards the plane. Itachi had disappeared somewhere but their parents were still there, and they were looking rather confused about the situation. Sasuke glanced back at Naruto, gestured for him to follow and then went up the stairs.

"This is Naruto," Sasuke informed when they reached the door. "And he'll be coming with us."

With that, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged him into the plane, taking two seats at the back of the salon. They were still breathing shallowly, and just stared straight forward until the plane had started to move again. Sasuke swallowed, but found his mouth dry.

"Are you alright, Naruto?"

He slightly turned his head just enough to glance at the blonde, who nodded.

"Yea. I guess. I just… I need to do this."

Sasuke nodded and ignored his racing heart. This wasn't the time for his own feelings; he had to think about Naruto, who probably had it far worse than himself.

"I'll pay."

Sasuke blinked. He'd pay? For what?

Naruto noticed the confused look on the raven's face.

"For the ride, I mean. I'll come up with the money."

Sasuke snorted. Just who the hell did he think he was dealing with?

"I don't think so. I got this."

Naruto was about to protest when Sasuke sent him one of his famous ice cold glares, which shut him up pretty fast.

"You can sure be scary sometimes."

The blonde had muttered the words with a pout, and Sasuke could only smile at him.

"Only when I want to."

Naruto whole heartedly smiled, and with that, their conversation was over.

Sasuke suddenly felt just how exhausted he was, and he murmured something about him being sorry for falling asleep any minute. Naruto ensured him that it was okay and that he, too, would take a nap.

The raven was seconds away from falling asleep when he felt a warm, slightly bigger hand cover his own.