Hearing footsteps, Naruto glances up from his feet where they dangle out of habit— kicking his legs just enough to rock the swing— enough to look normal. For someone on a swing. Just because he has no where better to be doesn't mean people needed to know that— especially if those people were assholes named Uchiha Sasuke.

Still, Sasuke is the last person Naruto ever expected to come up to him out here. Long after most of their classmates had been herded home by their parents and siblings. Typically the jerk just blew in and out of the place, without giving Naruto a second glance— like all the others. But here Sasuke is, storming up to Naruto from across the Academy courtyard, without explanation. Looking even grumpier than usual, which is saying something.

"What do you wan—" Naruto grumbles only to snap his mouth shut as Sasuke's hand snaps toward his face without a word—

Naruto flinches, wondering what the hell he could have done to piss Sasuke off this time— he hadn't even done anything. Y'know— today, at least.

Time seems to stand still for a moment as Naruto waits for it, too caught off guard to defend himself— which he totally could have because he is just as good as Sasuke, if not better. But the expected blow never comes.

Instead, Naruto bites back a yelp as a something touches his face— his eyeball. Or eyelid. Whatever. Sasuke is touching him— weirdly soft, considering what a aggressive shitbag he is the rest of the time.

No one ever touched Naruto. Most went out of their way to avoid it actually. Parents pulled their kids out of his path, muttering meanly about mating their son or daughter to a monster. ANBU picked him up by his coat tails, instead of grabbing his arm or shoulder like other adults do with kids who are kicking up a fuss. Shopkeepers shoved him out their doors with broomsticks, all to avoid putting hands on him.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto waits some more, for the other shoe to drop. There must be some reason Sasuke would do something like this— and Naruto can't think of a single one he likes.

Sasuke's hand pulls away.

Naruto opens his eyes. Only to find Sasuke looking at his own fingers with a scowl that looks as confused as it does angry.

How dare that asshole look confused when none of this made any sense and it was Sasuke's fault. Naruto is the one who should be confused here, not him.

"Oi—" Naruto says, "What the heck was that, y'know?"

"… Hn," Is all Sasuke says, before turning and walking away as quickly as he'd arrived.

"W-what the fuck dickface?" Naruto shoots up off the swing, shouting at his back, "Don't just do weird stuff and walk away, ya know!"

Sasuke doesn't look back.

Naruto falls back onto the swing seat with a huff—

What a bastard.

"Do you think I have a soulmate?" Naruto asks, snapping his chopsticks apart.

His ramen isn't ready yet— Teuchi still going through the motions of preparing it behind the counter— but no point in not being prepared.

Iruka smiles at him from the next stool over, drumming his fingers against the stall's counter, "Of course. Everyone has a soulmate."

Naruto likes Iruka-sensei a lot. He never made Naruto feel stupid about his questions— as long as they weren't about book stuff he was supposed to have read but didn't.

"Yeah, you're right," Naruto smiles back, tangling his ankles around the legs of his stool, "I just thought— I dunno. Do you have a soulmate, Iruka-sensei?"

"Somewhere out there," Iruka confirms with a soft laugh, "I haven't found them yet though."

"Have you even looked? I bet you'd find them right away if you looked."

"It doesn't really work like that," Iruka huffs as two bowls of ramen were set before them, Naruto happily shouting his thanks in return, "You don't look for your soulmate in the normal sense. The universe reveals them to you when it's time for you to meet."

"So you don't think they're like…" Naruto searches for the words between bites, "Hiding from you. Or something?"

"No…" Iruka answers slowly, "No, I don't think that at all."

"Well, that's good," Naruto nods, "They'd have to be pretty stupid to do something like that. Who wouldn't want to be your soulmate, huh?"

"Naruto—" Iruka says, before cutting himself off with a constipated look that makes Naruto snicker to himself. It was always funny to see his teacher get flustered, especially when it meant he wasn't about to start yelling at Naruto, for something or other, "Soulmates aren't something we choose. Whoever… my soulmate is, they're the person destined to make my life complete. To make me happy. They're out there somewhere, and someday I'll get the chance to make them happy as well."

"That sounds great," Naruto sighs, "And then you guys will get to be a family, right?"

"We will be," Iruka confirms, watching Naruto closely as he continues to devour his ramen, "That's the wonderful thing about soulmates— they give everyone the chance to have a family."

"Yeah…" Naruto says thoughtfully, around a mouthful of noodles. He swallows, "Yeah, they do don't they?"

Everything… everything will be different, when Naruto finds his soulmate, he is sure of it.

Now… he just needs people to stop not touching him all the time so he can find them and finally be happy.

"I can't believe that bastard kissed me, ya know," Naruto shouts at the top of his lungs, throwing his hands in the air behind his head, "This was supposed to be the best day of my life. I was saving that kiss for my soulmate."

"That's stupid," Shikamaru huffs back at him from where he walks next to Naruto, as they head out of the building. Next to him, Chouji is snickering, "Why would you save a kiss for your soulmate? You might not meet them until they're thirty— and they might not want to kiss you, even then."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto scowls, "Of course they're gonna wanna kiss me— they love me."

"Whatever," Shikamaru drawls, "My parents are soulmates and they don't love each other like that."

"Eh? Really?" Naruto drops his hands, feeling stricken, "But… they're you're parents. They had you. You're a family right?"

"Yeah, of course," Shikamaru says, sounding like he thinks Naruto is stupid or something— but he talks to everyone like that, so Naruto doesn't take it personally most of the time, "But all this soulmate business is just fluffy nonsense anyway. Who cares, huh?"

"I care a bit," Chouji admits sheepishly, before turning to Naruto, "Wouldn't it have been funny if Sasuke was your soulmate? You'd have those marks on your lips for the rest of your lives. Like lipstick or something."

"Ugh, as if I'd ever what to be that jerk's soulmate, y'know," Naruto grumbles at the thought.

How awful would that have been, right?

"It wouldn't have been on their lips anyway," Shikamaru points out, "There's a reason we did the introduction ritual on our first day at the Academy, and its to avoid stupid shit like that."

"Oh right," Chouji nods as Naruto frowns at them both.

"Introduction… ritual?" he murmurs, "What was that again?"

"You remember," Shikamaru says, "On the first day we were all in class together and they made us do that whole stupid song and dance with the unison signs? That was to get all the first touches out of the way without the troublesome mess of training and sparring first."

"Iruka-sensei was pretty surprised none of us were soulmates, huh?" Chouji chimes in, wistfully.

"What? I don't remember that at all, y'know!" Naruto groans, digging his fingers into his hair.

Shikamaru turns to him with a frown, eyes squinting, "… Now that I think about it, maybe you weren't there. Didn't you come in late that day?"

Pushing down the initial excitement that anyone had noticed his tardiness at all— let alone remembered it, Naruto frowns, thinking back to his first day at the Academy. He had been a little late— but only a couple minutes! Well, maybe a little more than that. It wasn't his fault that some asshole had directed him to the wrong classroom when he'd gotten there. He'd spent like two hours in that room with a bunch of fourth years before the teacher had bothered to tell him he was in the wrong class.

By the time he'd gotten to the right place, everyone was already at their desks, scribbling away in their notebooks. Iruka hadn't done anything more then toss him a dirty look, pointing Naruto to an empty seat in the front row. He hadn't thought he'd missed that much, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"Aw, man," Naruto sighs, "I guess I did miss it."

"Whatever. It was boring anyway," Shikamaru huffs, with a hint of an actual smile— rather than his usual smirk, "Anyway— good luck with your jounin-sensei today. Chouji, Ino and I are gonna grab lunch together before we meet ours this afternoon."

"Oh," Naruto says— he'd been kinda hoping Chouji and Shikamaru would want to hang out, they way they sometimes did when they stumbled into each other, without their parents, "Right. That makes sense, I guess."

Up ahead, Naruto spots Sakura, walking away from the school building, looking a little lost.

Perfect timing!

"Sakura-chan!" he calls out, running of ahead of his other classmates, "Since we're on the same team, we should eat lunch together, ya know!"

The funny thing is, Shika is the first one of them to actually meet his soulmate, despite being the least interested in that sort of thing. Well, least interested aside from Sasuke— who wasn't really interested in most things, most of the time.

Well… Naruto knows that isn't really true anymore, but old thought patterns are hard to break, right? And Sasuke certainly still acts like he doesn't give a shit about anything, even if Naruto had seen the proof for himself that Sasuke… cared a lot more than most people. About a lot of stuff, actually. Naruto included.

It's… kinda awesome.

Anyway, the fact that Shikamaru's soulmate is that scary Sand chick is actually hilarious. Even though it makes Naruto feel a little impatient for his own soulmate to hurry up and find him already.

For one minute— one weird, kinda long minute— it occurs to Naruto that… that Gaara could be his soulmate. He's never met someone else like him— someone who feels like he feels. Has walked through the world the way he has. Despite the fact that Gaara is honestly scary as fuck, there is a pull between them that Naruto can't ignore.

Gaara has already said no one has ever touched him, because of the sand that shields him from the world.

So when Naruto slams his forehead into Gaara's, breaking the tanuki demon's hold over the boy's mind— a part of Naruto expects to come away marked. And everything else aside… Naruto is excited. Excited that they've found each other. Maybe now, they both can be a little less alone—

Even if Gaara is scary and grouchy and makes, like, the worst decisions Naruto can think of— Naruto thinks he might like that. He might like that a lot.

Later, as Sasuke is wiping the blood from Naruto's brow to inspect the wound, Naruto asks, "Is there— is there anything?"

Sasuke hardly blinks at the question, "Any what, dobe?"

Naruto huffs, "A mark, asshole. Is there a mark?"

Sasuke pulls back, finally dragging his eyes from Naruto's forehead to his face, looking confused, "A… mark? What— a soulmark?"

"Uh, duh, y'know!"

"You… you think that freak is your soulmate?" Sasuke asks, sounded offended by the very idea of it.

"Don't—" Naruto attempts to argue, but stops himself— Sasuke wouldn't get it. No one would, probably, "Just— is there?"

Still looking conflicted for reasons Naruto can't guess, Sasuke resumes cleaning the wound.

"There's nothing here but blood and your thick skull, usuratonkachi," Sasuke eventually says, "No mark."

Naruto feels himself deflate, before he can think to hide it.

"Oh," he says, "That… that makes sense, y'know. Thanks for checking, I guess."

Sasuke looks away, "… Yeah."

Naruto doesn't even find out Jiraiya has a soulmate, until he's nearly killed the man during a training session gone horribly, awfully wrong.

He can see it in Jiraiya's face, as he helps his mentor patch the wound, methodically applying the bandages over his gored torso. Naruto sees it— the regret, the disappointment. It cuts Naruto to the core, that Jiraiya might be rethinking his decision to train him at all. All because he can't get this damn demon under control. Of course the Kyuubi would continue to ruin his life, over and over again.

Jiraiya has been wearing a pair of soft, lambskin gloves for as long as Naruto has known him. Something about women preferring the soft touch to a man's callouses, or something. It had never occurring to Naruto that the man would be hiding something like this. But he is grateful now, that the Kyuubi's chakra had singed the worn leather badly enough to have the man discarding them in a huff— because Naruto would give anything to wipe that look off of Ero-sennin's face. Even if it meant poking a likely sore subject.

After tucking the edge of the bandage in against his mentor's ribs, he aims to take full advantage of the distraction offered.

"You got a soulmate you've been stepping out on, Ero-sennin?" he asks cheekily, tapping a finger against Jiraiya's broad, orange stained palm, "What a lech, y'know."

Unexpectedly, Jiraiya merely snorts, "Nah, it ain't like that, kid."

"Yeah," Naruto smiles, trying to lighten the mood, "She probably dumped you because of all those pervy books, huh?"

Jiraiya levels a warning finger at him, "I think you mean my romantic arts, and no— any woman would swoon if her partner displayed the sort of literary sensuality I purvey to the masses. Unfortunately, it wasn't a woman who left this mark on me."

Naruto gasps, "Eh? You mean it's a man!?"

Snatching his hand back with a scowl, JIraiya growls, "Don't act so shocked, brat— fate works in mysterious, often mystifying ways. Perhaps in another life I could have been an equal opportunity lover, if you know what I mean."

"… Ew. But if you're soulmate is a man in this life," Naruto says slowly, "What's stopping you, huh?"

"My dear, naive, precious student," Jiraiya sighs, "In life, you learn sometimes these things just don't work out the way one would hope."

"Is he…" Naruto gulps, "Dead?"

"No, no, nothing so tragic as all that."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto barrels on, "So what happened to him then?"

Sitting up with a groan, Jiraiya's face turns contemplative for a moment, "I told you once before— that continuing to pursue that sour faced friend of yours was something only a fool would do. Do you remember?"

"Ah," Naruto scratches his head, "I mean, I do, but—"

"What I didn't tell you," Jiraiya plows on as if Naruto hadn't said a word, "Was that I only know it because I was that fool once. Some people are beyond our help— even if they're our soulmates, Naruto."

"… Sasuke isn't my soulmate," Naruto corrects, conscious of just what it was Jiraiya is revealing to him, after all this time, "Just because you let Orochimaru leave—"

"No one lets Orochimaru do anything," Jiraiya interrupts with a haggard chuckle, "He does what he wants, always— no matter who he has to step on to do it."

"… You're soulmate's a real piece of work, y'know," Naruto mutters, "But Sasuke's not like that. And we're not—"

"Soulmates, I know, I know," Jiraiya laughs with little in the way of humor, "That doesn't mean you won't suffer because of a person like that. He and Orochimaru might as well be the same person, in that sense."

This conversation is not going how Naruto had wanted or expected.

"Listen, kid," Jiraiya says, low and serious in a way he rarely is— Naruto had long ago learned to listen with rapt attention, when it happened, "Soulmates… they aren't the be all end all, you hear me? You will form many close, powerful bonds throughout your life— each of them equally capable of deep meaning and deeper pain. Just because someone isn't your soulmate doesn't mean they don't have that capability. That we won't give them that ability.

"You may not have his mark," Jiraiya says, But you've given Sasuke that power. But it isn't too late to take it back. Save yourself from a pain that— and I can tell you from experience— just isn't worth it, kid."

It is all Naruto can get him to say on the subject. And he can tell Jiraiya is well aware he hasn't changed Naruto's mind, in his mission to save his friend. He knows Naruto way better than that, by now.

But still, what Jiraiya may not know is that conversely, Naruto's conviction has only grown stronger, listening to the man's words.

His teacher would surely call him a fool for it. Naruto doesn't care. If anything, he is grateful, because that pervy old man had opened his eyes to a world of possibility he'd never seen before now.

For so long, he's assumed meeting his soulmate was the only way find happiness. To finally getting the love and acknowledgment he'd always reached for, over and over. Only… that isn't true, if the man was to believed. Maybe, Naruto doesn't need his soulmate to find happiness after all.

Maybe it could be found through other people. Through Iruka-sensei and Ero-sennin. Through Sakura-chan and Shikamaru. Through Kakashi-sensei and Baa-chan.

Through Sasuke. If he could just bring the stubborn bastard home.

Sasuke had told him Naruto was his closest friend. That despite all the suffering that had followed him, he'd been happy with Team Seven. That's the thought that sticks with Naruto, as Jiraiya eventually recovers his strength enough for them to drag their battered bodies to the nearest village to recover further.

More than finding happiness for himself, maybe… maybe Naruto could make Sasuke happy. Happy enough to erase the years of pain and loneliness they'd both lived. Sasuke's soulmate obviously wasn't in a rush to do it themselves, so Naruto would just have to pick up the slack in the mean time.

If he could only bring the stupid jerk home.

The thought haunts Naruto for years. Through the unimaginable pains and triumphs that were to come. Through loss and gain. Successes and failures. War and peace.

Through Ero-sennin's death. And Sasuke's return.

Naruto never forgets.

"Despite my efforts, I couldn't protect my own soulmate," Itachi's unnaturally dark eyes look down at his own hands, before his spinning red gaze returns to Naruto's— a little ways away Nagato hums in sympathy, "No, I don't believe the bonds fate foists upon us have that inherent power. As it is, I'm counting on you to take care of Sasuke."

Naruto puffs up, feeling the burn of Kyuubi Chakra Mode flare with the strength of his conviction, "That was always my plan, y'know!"

At that, Itachi smiles, "I was right to trust you after all. I can only hope when my brother meets his soulmate someday, they prove as devoted to him as you are, Naruto.

"I'm grateful… that my little brother has a friend like you. More than any soulmate I could wish for him."

Then the war is over.

And Naruto thinks about Itachi's words and the marks, placed on the pair of them by the Sage of Six Paths. And wonders.

Did having a soulmate feel anything like this? Finding the mark on his stomach after the war, he feels conflicted. Surely this powerful, time-transcending thing between him and Sasuke isn't your average bond, but it isn't real. Nothing about that was real— not in any way Naruto cares about. He isn't Asura. He isn't Hashirama. No more than Sasuke was Indra or Madara. The emotion and understanding that had connected them all this time— that wasn't fate's doing. That was them. Their pain. Their earnestness. Their stubbornness. Their choices— all of it was theirs and theirs alone.

Naruto, for the life of him, can't imagine feeling for his soulmate even half of what he does, when he thinks about Sasuke. The idea of it is terrifying. This thing between them… felt all consuming at times. Too dangerous and unyielding in its potential to tear them apart just as it could bring them crashing back together. How could his soulmate— nudged into his life by a fate Naruto had never asked for— even begin to compare to something like that?

He wonders if Sasuke has ever thought about it like that. He wonders if Sasuke has ever thought about it at all.

"I'm… sorry," Sasuke had said, as they lay there, broken and bleeding amongst the ruins of a fight that had been more about finally listening to one another than it had ever been about winning.

"Cool," Naruto said, "I forgive you, y'know."

He'd smirked as he felt Sasuke's stare boring into him— it had still hurt to move, so he hadn't bothered looking back.

"That's it?" Sasuke'd asked, "Just like that?"

"I mean… yeah?" Naruto said, with only a hint of uncertainty, "But I'm not the only one you'll need to ask for it. All the fucked up stuff you did— not everyone's gonna understand. And then there's Sakura-chan— you really need to apologize to her, asshole."

"… I know."

"That's what I'm saying, I guess," Naruto shrugged, grimacing as he did so— because shit, literally every inch of him hurt, "You know what you did. And you know what you need to do to make it better, now. All that's left is to do it, y'know."

"And you think I'm still capable of something like that?"

"I know you are, idiot," Naruto scoffed, "What do you think the point of all this has been, huh?"

"Hn," Sasuke had grown quiet.

But that was fine. At the time, Naruto couldn't believe they'd managed to remain conscious for so long, with injuries as extensive as theirs— let alone managed to talk as much as they had. He didn't think they'd ever spoken like this— not with so much laid bare and honest between them, at long last.

But Sasuke had continued to surprise him.

"What you said… about not doing it on my own…"

"… Yeah? What about it?"

"I think… I'm going need that help. Not just to change things. But to do… everything else. They things I'll have to do to move forward from here."

Naruto had listened to Sasuke's softly spoken words, feeling like a breath he'd been holding all this time could finally be released. A painful tightness in his chest finally easing.

"… Of course you're gonna need help, y'know. We both know what an idiot you really are now— you're going to need all the help you can get, bastard."

"… Shut up, usuratonkachi."

A warm sensation filled Naruto— starting at the tips of his remaining fingers, creeping up his arms, over the burns and scrapes left in Sasuke's wake. Like the feeling of sitting beside a campfire.

It may have been the gentle touch of the dawn sunlight, cresting over the shattered rim of the valley. It had been a long time since Naruto had been at ease enough to simple soak in such warm when it was offered.

Later, after finding a red hand print under his ribs, Naruto wonders. Would he have wanted Sasuke as his soulmate, if given the choice? Instead of this… nameless, faceless person— someone he's never met? Someone who will never know the full extent of what it had taken for him to get here? Someone who'd never offered Naruto the acknowledgment, trust, and understanding— not because he'd proven anything to them or because they bore Naruto's mark. But the way Sasuke had— just because he could.

He let the soft heat bathe him.

… Did Naruto even want that person? His soulmate?

He doesn't think so.

But then he remembers his master's words that day and he realizes—

The choice is still his own after all.

After Sasuke's birthday, Naruto thinks Sasuke understands.

… Sure, Sasuke hadn't known Naruto'd received his soulmark. Which was— it was weird. Naruto had been sure Sakura would have said something. At least to Ino, who was the biggest gossip Naruto knew. That had seemed to tick Sasuke off a little, actually— which Naruto had taken as encouragement, if anything. Sasuke hadn't seemed any more eager to find his own soulmate, after all.

Naruto wasn't sure why it had been so difficult to convince Sasuke he felt the same way about the whole thing. But there were still a lot of things he was re-learning about his friend.

Including just how much about Sasuke had actually remained the same.

Like how he enjoyed tea a little too much to be healthy— it was dirt water, Naruto would die on that hill, thanks.

Like how Sasuke seemed to relax more with Taka around than he had with any one else outside of their team— not that strangers had made him nervous before, but he'd always been a bit of hermit, honestly.

Like how Sasuke's entire body language changed, when getting ready to spar— even down an arm, he could pack a fuckin' punch, y'know. That would teach Naruto to take it easy on the guy just because he didn't have Kurama to help his healing along.

Like the way they could still rib each other— getting under one another's skin like nothing and no one else could.

But none of that could compare to the things that were different now. The things Naruto was learning for the first time.

Like the way Sasuke's entire demeanor had shifted, when he'd realized Naruto had done all this— taken time off, brought him to tea, invited his friends back to the village. All for Sasuke's stupid birthday.

Naruto liked to think he could read Sasuke pretty well at this point. Better than most, if he's being realistic about it. And he didn't think he was mistaken, seeing the naked surprise and appreciation in Sasuke's eyes, when he'd realized the effort Naruto had gone to, for him. Sasuke had definitely been different— less skeptical or guarded or whatever— after that.

It gave Naruto… hope, he supposed. That maybe he wasn't the only one who thought this was enough. Universe or destiny be damned.

And so he'd taken Sasuke's hand— like the foolish, hopeful idiot Sasuke had always said he was.

Because then Sasuke had left, and Naruto's conviction had flagged for the first time since he could remember.

But he moves forward anyway.

What other choice does he have?

"Are you sure, Hinata?"

She smiles at him softly, and behind closed doors, Naruto can almost believe this is the right choice. Only the dull roar of the… audience on the other side sends his gut churning— nerves clawing at his throat. No amount of talks with Iruka-sensei could prepare him for this.

"Of course I'm sure," she says, and Naruto almost believes her— makes the choice to believe her, anyway, "I've loved you… practically my entire life. I don't need a soulmate, compared to something like that."

Her words more than anything else strike a cord within him— so closely resembling thoughts and emotions he's been trying so hard to leave behind. He knows he's failing at it— miserably. Every time he hears Sasuke's name or— on even rarer occasions— sees his face, he's forced to confront that fact.

But Sasuke had made his choice. A choice Naruto had fought tooth and nail for him to have at all.

Now its time for Naruto to make his own choice.

It helps that he wants to love her so badly. Thinks he even might, on a certain level. She's all he's ever wanted, on the surface. The unconditional acceptance and love he's ached for his entire life. A person who wants nothing more than to be with him because she wants to. Someone willing to give him the family he knows he's been all but desperate for.

Someone who chose him. Not because of some grand plan, but because of him.

It's his chance at a future. The future he'd only been able to dream of, as a kid.

Naruto smiles back, and takes Hinata's hand. She's the one who leads them toward the massive double doors, into the ceremonial hall.

A flash of heat washes over him out of nowhere. He tries to find comfort in the warmth, but it can't compete with the cold numbness taking root in his chest.

By time the noise of the crowd hits him, it feels like his heart is far, far away from here.

He pretends he doesn't know why, and moves forward.

When Sakura returns to the village, over a year after leaving, she has Sasuke in tow. But that isn't all.

A baby. Sasuke has a baby.

She's amazing— Sarada is amazing. The best of both the people he cares more for than anyone in this world, aside from Boruto. Naruto does his duty as defacto uncle and fawns over her as much as he is able— and it isn't hard. She's genuinely one of the most precious things Naruto has seen or held in his life. Though just like with Boruto, he's almost afraid to touch her. Something— someone— so small and fragile he feels like she's liable to bruise if he breathes too harshly. His hands and body dwarfing her, making him clumsy and nervous in a way he hasn't felt in years.

Wonder and excitement aside, Naruto collapses like his strings have been cut, no sooner than he is out of sight of Sakura's parents' house. It's some… random alley, as far as he's aware— but it hardly matters.

Sasuke had a baby. Sasuke and Sakura had a baby. He can hardly wrap his mind around it.

They aren't soulmates, but at least for Sasuke that isn't surprising. With all the disdain he'd held for the concept over the years, Naruto shouldn't be shocked. But Sakura… Sakura had spoken so wistfully of meeting her match for years.

How had this happened? Why?

There's no point in thinking about it, he tells himself. What's happened is done. Best to just move forward. Be happy that Sasuke has found what he was apparently looking for all this time. And now has his own family to show for it.

Yes, best to just keep moving forward.

But he can't. He just can't. Questions and confusion swirl through him regardless of his intent to just let it be. Anxieties he hasn't felt in years swarming his brain whenever there's nothing more pressing to occupy it. He's never been adept at managing his own thoughts. Prone to fits of whimsy and idealism in turn. He knows that. It's nothing new.

Nothing about these feelings are new, he realizes quickly, with a sharp spike of shame. The darkness of them a familiar, bitter shroud he thought he'd left in the past, under the thunderous rush of a waterfall.

But here he is all over again. Wondering. Despairing.

Thoughts always circling back to one question amongst the torrent of others—

Why?

Why was he never good enough, huh?

The night Hinata brings home the divorce papers, Naruto moves backwards. In a fit of grief and madness, he does something he'd promised himself he'd never do.

He calls Sasuke home.

For the first first and hopefully last time ever. But for now, he lets himself be selfish. Lets himself ask for help from the one person he can bear to call upon, for something like this. God, he could hate Sasuke, for being the root of it all— this pervasive inadequacy he can't seem to escape from, no matter how hard he tries or how fast he runs or how strong he becomes.

But he can't. He can't hate Sasuke.

Because Sasuke, to his credit, is there within the hour. Naruto has no idea where he'd been or if he'd interrupted some important investigation all because Naruto'd summoned him— but if Sasuke feels inconvenienced he blessedly keeps such thoughts to himself. Content to barge into Naruto's home— the Tower apartments, now— without knocking. Striding into Naruto's new living room as if he visits every other day, rather than once in a damn blue moon.

Naruto eyes him from where he's sprawled haphazardly across the couch cushions.

"That was fast, y'know."

"You never call for me," Sasuke answers, as if it's an answer at all.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbles, looking away.

"… I didn't ask for an apology, dobe," Sasuke huffs, shoving Naruto's legs off the couch to take a seat himself.

"Did you stop and see Sakura and Sarada, at least?" Naruto asks.

"… They didn't call me."

"Only because they don't know how to reach you, probably."

Sasuke hums, "But you do. And yet you never summon me back here."

He can hear the question in Sasuke's tone. Not that Sasuke isn't aware— Naruto had said in his message. His marriage was over. Hinata had chosen her soulmate, after everything.

So Sasuke must be asking why. Why had Naruto called him back for something like this. Naruto doesn't have an answer. Not one he could offer Sasuke at least. He'd told Sasuke once they no longer told each other everything— and it had been true. Sasuke keeps his own confidence as much as ever— his relationship with Sakura and their subsequent child were evidence of that. But Naruto holds cards close to his chest, too. That isn't liable to change just because he's experiencing a moment of… of…

Whatever this is. Loneliness? Depression? Despair? None of that feels right, to describe this feeling.

Too much. Everything was just too much. And he hadn't known what else to do.

And now Sasuke is here.

"I wasn't even sure you'd come," Naruto admits in lieu of answering Sasuke's taciturn question.

Sasuke huffs, the hint of a smile twitching at the corners of his lips as he finally relaxes back into the cushions.

"Of course I came," he says, "You'd know that if you'd ever bothered asking before now."

"Of course, he says," Naruto snorts, mostly to himself, "Coming from the guy who literally only bothers to visit when Sakura threatens his life or someone is dying—"

"Naruto," Sasuke chides, somewhat sternly, "I came, I didn't I?"

"Yeah… you did. Thanks, bastard."

They descend into stilted silence. Nothing but the creaking of the wooden tower and their even breaths to break it. Naruto doesn't mind. Sometimes Sasuke's silence feels like more familiar ground than his words, considering how much of it he's endured over the last ten years. He'd sit with Sasuke in silence another ten, if it meant Sasuke was here. Even though Naruto knows very soon… he won't be.

This is all temporary. Just like everything else in Naruto's life, it feels like.

To Naruto's eternal shock, Sasuke is the one who speaks up first.

"So… what are you going to do now?"

"I dunno… die, maybe?"

"Don't be dramatic."

"I'm not," Naruto whines, not at all dramatically, "I'm suffering over here and you can't even pretend to be sympathetic, you jerk."

"Is that why I'm here?" Sasuke asks, "To offer my sympathies?"

"No. I just… didn't want to be alone, I guess."

"You're hardly alone. Just because you're not married—"

"It's not the same," Naruto sighs, "It's just… not, y'know."

"Ah," Sasuke murmurs, his eyes not meeting Naruto's, "It's not."

Without another word, Sasuke is shoving off the couch again.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Naruto jerks himself upright, chest tightening in what feels like panic.

He's quelled by the dry look Sasuke tosses back at him.

"I'm going to make some food," Sasuke says, with pointed edge to his tone that takes Naruto back to their childhood in a heady rush of nostalgia, "Because you're probably shit at looking after yourself on the best of days. And this isn't the best of days."

"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine, asshole—"

"I'll believe that when I see it," Sasuke dismisses him, continuing his march toward the kitchen, "You'll have plenty of time to prove it to me, before I leave."

"You're… staying?" Naruto asks, hating the hopefulness in his own voice, "How long?"

"Until you can demonstrate you won't wither away into nothing but a sack of bones and dirty laundry without Hinata to look after you, usuratonkachi."

"… There's take out in the fridge," Naruto tells him, not sure what else to say to that.

They don't talk about the divorce that night. Or the next. There really is no need. Sasuke already knows his heart— the fragile patterns of its beating. He offers exactly what Naruto had needed but hadn't known how to ask for.

He's just there. And Naruto hates him, because all his life he's wanted Sasuke there, and this is what he's left with. A broken home on top of a broken heart. Sasuke's presence, as much as it's a balm for fresh wounds, only serves to remind him of that fact.

Despite all his accomplishments and renown, Naruto has lost count of the times he hasn't felt like enough. At the end of the day, this was just another one for the pile.

He tries to move forward again. But it's hard.

Naruto presses his forehead into Sasuke's and tells him, "You're the stupidest man alive." And then there's no need to move forward, anymore.

For the first time in his life, he's perfectly happy right where he is.