"Bastard," Naruto rasps out quietly, raising his hand to cup his cheek. Sasuke's eyes meet a sad, blue gaze and his breath hitches. "It's alright. It'll be okay."
Sasuke feels his jaw tense the longer he looks at the blond's half-quirked smile. "It's not," he murmurs, then swallows, feeling bile rise in his throat. "It's…" He inhales, jerking back suddenly and ignoring the sudden chill that sweeps across his cheek. "We need to go. We'll get you healed, and then—"
He stills when a warm hand encloses his wrist. "Sasuke," Naruto says, softer than he's ever heard him. A sad expression is settled upon his face, and Sasuke's blood boils because the look is directed towards him , as if he's the one bleeding out in the middle of a battlefield. As if it's not Sasuke's fault that the blond is in this situation in the first place. "I—"
"Shut the fuck up," Sasuke hisses venemously. He regrets his response when Naruto's hand jerks slightly, as if it's been burned. "I didn't… I…" He feels his anger leave him in an instant, gaze jerking down to his hands. "We're going to get you healed, and then we're going straight to Konoha to rebuild," he tells the blond, taking in a breath. "Then, you're gonna get that stupid hat you want so bad, and you're gonna bring everyone together through the power of friendship or whatever, and everything will…" He purses his lips. "Everything won't go back to normal," he amends, "But it'll be close enough."
After several moments pass, Naruto's lips quirk back into a small smile. "Alright," he agrees easily, and for whatever reason, it makes Sasuke's gut twist. "And you can be my right-hand man." He offers a teasing grin. "Like a kage-hokage."
Sasuke lets out a huff. "Yeah," he replies. He glances upwards, then immediately averts his gaze when he sees the cloudiness in the blond's own, something hot pricking at his eyes. "We'll do that."
The only sound made, within the next few minutes, is the ripping of Sasuke's sleeve and Naruto's complaints about his makeshift bandage being too tight. Neither of them comment on how blood breaches through the fabric the moment the sleeve is set in place.
"And you'll buy me a bowl of ramen, won't you, bastard?" Naruto asks quietly after a while, sounding tired but wearing a teasing grin nonetheless. "For your favorite teammate?"
Sasuke glances at his dimming eyes, then swallows before forcing out a snort. It sounds fake, even to him. "Whatever."
Naruto lets out a raspy laugh, shakily offering his hand with his pointer and middle finger extended. "Promise?"
Sasuke twitches and wraps his fingers around Naruto's. "Yeah," he replies quietly. When Naruto's hand goes limp a few moments later, he lets out a shuddering breath. "As many as you want."
