The days following seemed to go by in a blur.
Naruto had the seamstress make him clothing of the thickest fabric available for their area. It was hard to find, considering their weather never got to snowing and Sasuke said it snowed heavily and early where he lived.
Naruto was excited to see snow but felt his gut get more twisted with anxiety everyday as they drew closer to the kingdom.
Naruto could tell his clothes wouldn't be thick enough but hoped there would be undergarments that he could wear that would warm him up. He had never paid attention to the fabrics or clothes he wore before but now that it was his identity in this new land. Naruto stroked the fabric lovingly for the thousandth time that day and looked out the window where things were covered in a thin layer of snow.
They were only half a day away and Naruto wanted to get out and play with the weird white stuff but knew he would freeze.
He also worried that once he arrived that the king and queen would force him into a dress. He was currently wearing a burnt orange jacket that went to his knees and buttoned up the middle, with a white shirt below that had a hood and went out the sleeves onto his hands. Under that was black pants and mid-calf boots.
The blonde had brought a couple of the binders Sasuke had made but only a few as he knew in this culture he would most likely be told to take it off.
Things between the princes were becoming increasingly easier. They slept together in bed and talked about various things - though Naruto did most of the talking.
The blonde looked over to the silent raven beside him. Sasuke was reading a book, wearing a dark black jacket, a white shirt buttoned to his neck underneath, navy pants and mid calf boots to fight the snow as well. When Naruto looked back at his husband though, he found their eyes met, and for a moment he was entranced.
Then he realized he was staring.
"Ah! Hey! You are- uh- boots! Let's stop and play in the- the uh- snow!" Naruto got out in a flustered manner, his face heating up since he was caught admiring the other.
"Stop to play in the snow? Wouldn't you want to end our traveling instead of stopping for snow?" Sasuke asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Well yeah, my ass hurts but also I have never been in snow! Let's play!" Naruto this time was not trying to cover his embarrassment but was genuinely excited. He did want to explore the new terrain. "Will we be able to once we make it there?" Naruto asked, trying not to sour the mood but curious about how things would be.
This caused the other prince to bristle slightly before shaking his head no, "Let's stop."
Naruto nodded in agreement and made a motion to catch a guards attention outside their carriage.
"Can we stop? I need to stretch!" Naruto lied and tried to feign a big stretch and yawn. The guard obviously didn't believe him but nodded anyways, calling ahead to stop the group.
When the carriage finally came to a stop the blonde was buzzing with excitement. He couldn't wait to be out of the small space and to explore something new.
When the door was opened by a guard Naruto bolted out and was surprised to find the snow crunched under his boots. He expected something soft and fluffy that would easily give to his steps. He stopped and stomped like a child, raising his knees before stepping down heavily and getting that satisfying 'crunch' sound again.
"I thought it would be soft!" Naruto explained to the raven as he came around the carriage to join the blonde.
"In some places it is. But here it's too warm. The snow turns more into an ice than the light fluffy snowflakes that fall like they do around the castle." The raven said as he dug his heel into the snow, seeming dissatisfied with the texture.
"Oh! It'Il be like that when we arrive? Oh man! We gotta get going again then!" Naruto said and ran around in a circle before hopping back into the carriage, making the stop obviously useless. He saw the raven shake his head and speak to the guards for a moment before getting back inside.
Naruto watched the scenery pass and the white layer of snow become thicker. Naruto itched to play in it and try to distract himself but when he saw a town in the distance he knew they couldn't. They were too close. Naruto knew he needed to hide himself and stay inside, just as Sasuke had warned him.
Apparently his coming was more to flaunt Sasuke being wedded than to actually congratulate the new couple. Sasuke had warned the blonde that he would meet many people and his mother would most likely throw a party for the social status of it more than anything.
Naruto knew that's how things were but it still stung, and it was even worse because he knew everything about him wasn't enough to the Uchiha standards. He wouldn't doubt that they would request he keep his last name and forsake taking the Uchiha name if only to preserve these standards.
Naruto was lost in these thoughts so when he snapped out of it, it was only because they had stopped. The blonde looked up and blue met onyx, but his stomach dropped. Standing there waiting for them was Itachi.