In the morning Naruto and Sasuke started their travel again. Both of them weren't very chatty so they travelled in silence for the most part. They wouldn't reach their destination that day for sure. It took three days to reach Suna from Konoha and even though they were fast it wasn't possible to shorten the time to two days. Well maybe possible but not necessary. The weather was good so they could enjoy it. Sasuke didn't sleep much. His nightmares were back. He suspected it would be like that the moment he parted with Hinata for longer than a few hours. She was the reason why he slept so well for the past few month at least and he already missed it. That night his mind played a new record during the night. He usually had the same nightmares every night but now something changed. It started the same, from the night at the Uchicha District, the night that's started this whole wretched journey he's been through. But the images soon changed. It wasn't dark anymore he was standing at the top of the high cliff and he knew something was wrong. His nightmare-self felt uneasy to say the least. He was scared and there was one other feeling he couldn't put his finger on right now. When he was getting closer to the edge his whole being hurt. He didn't want to see what was down there but his legs didn't obey him. And when he saw what was down the cliff he woke up sweating. His past was undoubtedly a horrific one and he's wished for so long to change it, to undo things that made him want the world to burn. And that was how his life's been going on for a long time, hatred and pain filling him up. But now things were different, he still couldn't get past the things that'd happened in his life but now he did have other, warmer feelings in him and it was mostly because of her. So even the thought of losing her made his world shake. He hated this night and the fact that he couldn't just go back to her. Well, he could but it would not be a wise thing to do.
Sasuke watched Naruto in the morning. He didn't think much about their connection. He knew he could always depend on Naruto and he was there for the blonde as well but it was unlike him to dwell on this kind of things. But right now he needed to think about something else than Hinata because he was closer and closer to just turning around. He went back to their first encounters, their first missions and their rivalry. It was a weird thing that the two of them ended up becoming so close. They were close and they both thought about each other as best friend/brothers but they didn't act that way. Right now Sasuke knew close to nothing about Naruto and the thing that connected them was training together, that and this odd attachment they both felt. It wasn't necessary a bad thing that their relationship looked like that. It was just their way. Yet Sasuke wondered if they would have become friends if they met right now.
Naruto of course noticed that Sasuke was watching him with his stone cold expression on his face. But he didn't ask, he didn't even know if he wanted to know what was going on in his mind. He's also noticed that Sasuke was barely sleeping and when he did it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He did worry but asking Sasuke about his life, his troubles was pointless. Naruto could almost hear sarcastic answer Sasuke would most certainly give him. He wanted things to come back to the way they've used to be between the two of them. He knew Sasuke was a whole other person right now and he didn't know how to get to know him now. They had their way of getting along and it was hard to change it even though it could make their relationship better.
„Remember when we were learning how to go up the trees?" Naruto didn't look in his direction when he asked this question.
„Sure" Sasuke remembered those times good. When he and Hinata were in the Land of Waves he was flushed with them all.
„We were so stubborn" Naruto smiled to himself.
„Aren't you anymore?" Sasuke knew he was stubborn still, even more so when it came to some things.
„Probably I still am" he laughed out loud. „So are you"
„I've never said I wasn't"
„Wish we could go back to those times"
„Really? The world is in a better place right now"
„I'm talking about us, you know?" Even though Naruto wasn't looking at Sasuke he knew that his friend was rolling his eyes.
„Are we going to talk about our feelings now?" Sasuke didn't know why he boycotted Naruto's attempts at fixing their friendship but he just couldn't stand opening up to him right now. He was still angry about what has happened when they came to him and Hinata and it wouldn't change very soon. He could talk to him and even spend a lot of time together but there still was this bitterness in him that made fixing their bond a whole lot harder.
„I don't know Sasuke! Are we gonna talk about anything really?" Naruto lost his temper and yelled. „I still think of you as of my best friend but I barely even know you. And you don't know much about me" Sasuke sighed. He wasn't the only one thinking that after all.
„What do you want to know? What do you want me to know?" Sasuke knew well enough that this conversation couldn't be postponed much longer so they could as well talk right now.
„Oh I don't know. Is there anything grand in your life that I should know about?"
„Grand?"
„Important, don't play dumb"
„I don't know Naruto. I'm not the type who would talk about my life much. But if you want to know something important I can tell you something but if you tell anybody you can be sure I'll kill you"
„I won't" Naruto was curious now. He didn't really think that Sasuke would tell him anything new.
„I'm going to propose to Hinata soon" here it was. He was sure about it for quite some time but he was building up the courage to do it. And it was going slowly. Naruto was shook. He did expect it to happen sooner rather than later but it was still a shock.
„You two talked about it?"
„Not really, it's not something that came up in a conversation"
„Do you have a ring?" Naruto felt an odd pinch in his stomach during this conversation. Why wasn't he happy for his friends?
„My mothers" he found it in the house when they were cleaning it for the first time before they even started the renovation. „So there you go. Something important from my life. Is there something you wanted me to know?" Naruto was once again surprised. He couldn't believe that Sasuke moved on from this topic with such an ease.
„There is but right now it all slipped my mind. When are you going to do it?"
„I don't have a date set Naruto." Regret flushed all over him and he wanted this conversation to end. When Naruto finally stopped looking at him with impatience he exhaled. This exact moment was going to be remembered as the most uncomfortable and the most surreal in the history of this friendship for Sasuke. And they had tried to kill each other on numerous occasions.
When they finally reached Suna it was nearly nighttime so they didn't go straight to the Kage. They rented a room in a small hotel and decided to deliver the message in the morning.
Naruto laid in his bed with his eyes open and was looking at the celling but was not seeing it. He was still thinking about what Sasuke has told him earlier. He wondered if he was a bad friend because of the fact that he didn't exactly know if he was happy for Sasuke. Of course he wanted the best for him and was happy that he was happy at last but there was something stopping him from being enthusiastic. There was this small pinch he felt every time he thought about Sasuke's relationship with Hinata. Every time he thought about Hinata there was a flashback to his fight with Pain, to the moment she'd came to his rescue even though she hadn't stood a chance against him. And her words, spoken quietly but he somehow still heard them loud and clear in his mind. He knew that the only reason she'd said these words then had been because she's been sure she'd be dead soon. But it didn't matter. There hasn't been time for him to answer and now it was far too late to talk about it. Seeing her with his best friend hasn't been indifferent to him. And now this. Sasuke was in love with her so much that he wanted to start planning their life together and he was sure she was going to say yes to this upcoming proposal. It all made him think about his situation. He was a hero and lots of women tried to go out with him but it somehow didn't seem right. He also didn't feel this way towards Sakura anymore. He was alone and it sucked. He felt even more pathetic because of the fact that being in relationship or being alone mattered so much to him in that moment. It mattered and he was jealous of Sasuke's happiness. Sasuke's always been the one who had so much more than him and he thought that it's ended now but here was Sasuke in a good and happy relationship and he was once again alone. He even had a mean thought that it was unfair that the traitor had what he wanted, but he quickly stopped thinking that way. He grunted and turned towards the wall. He needed to let go of it and start being a supportive and true friend. Just like the old times. Envy and friendship.
