Previously: Overhearing the kids talking about their dad's relationship, Naruto freaked out. Meanwhile, Sarada wondered about the fate of her family.

a relentless storm

Naruto went straight to an isolated training ground to train.

Hinata was the one he loved. Hinata. Beautiful, gentle, Hinata.

Not—not Sas—

He put forth more effort, moving through more complicated sequences, intensifying his exercise.

Naruto married her, that had to be proof he loved her.

Sasuke was just his best friend. Deep friendship was all Naruto felt for him.

It was normal to feel happy to see one's best friend after a long time. It was normal to wonder about them when they were away. It was normal to feel like everything was possible with one's best friend. Especially when that friend was Uchiha Sasuke. He was a powerful ninja, of course anything would feel possible with him.

Yet.

Never had Naruto been confronted with the fact that love could feel so…powerful. That it could be a force in and of itself, something that could infuse such warmth into someone as cold as Sasuke.

Naruto kicked a post out of the ground and moved to pushups.

Sasuke, who usually kept his emotions under tight wraps, had let some leak into his voice when he spoke of Sakura. Let his eyes come alive, soften in a way Naruto had never seen before. Something in Sasuke's voice made love sound like something…sacred.

What was most bewildering was that it—hurt.

Naruto punched a tree with enough force to uproot it and send it flying back a few hundred feet. He ripped his top off and threw it to the side before joining his hands in a familiar sign.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

A thousand of his lookalikes surrounded him on all sides and attacked him as one. Breathing deeply, he charged, fighting off fists and limbs from all directions.

When Naruto compared that to his own feelings for Hinata—no. Sasuke's feelings seemed to go beyond affection, beyond love—it just didn't feel right to compare.

Punching the last clone out of existence, Naruto brought his hands together once again.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

Had Naruto gotten it all wrong? Was that what love felt like?

Whatever love Sasuke felt for Sakura didn't have to be the same as whatever Naruto felt for Hinata. Love felt different for different people.

Right?

Naruto wasn't even tired by the time he finished with the second batch of clones.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

He repeated this more times than he cared to count. With each set of clones, he felt himself tiring, felt himself taking longer, the ache in his muscles becoming more pronounced, but—

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

He was fighting himself. He knew how he fought. And it made it too easy, made his body go on autopilot, freeing his mind to think again and beating the purpose of him coming here in the first place. Once the very last clone was kicked out of existence, Naruto hunched over, panting, but his mind was still occupied by that—bastard.

"Are you just about done, now?"

Naruto froze. Visibility was low with the large plume of smoke covering the grounds, but there was no mistaking that voice, that presence.

How long had he been standing there?

The presence neared him, albeit warily.

Naruto spat to the side. "What are you doing here?"

"You ask me." His voice reached Naruto's ears, soft, but hesitant. "Hinata sent me."

Naruto had to look up at that. "Hinata sent you? To…me?"

"Yes." The smoke was dissipating, slowly revealing Sasuke, who had come to a stop a few feet away from him.

"Why?"

Sasuke gazed around at the training ground. "You were gone for too long and she became worried. She asked me for help."

Naruto glanced up at the sky and was startled to realize that the sun was already setting. After how he'd left, it was no wonder Hinata had become worried. But… "She thought you could help? How?"

"You tell me." Sasuke shrugged, still taking in Naruto's surroundings, not entirely looking at him. "She didn't tell me much. Just that you were freaking out."

The sheer absurdity of the situation caught up to Naruto, and he burst out laughing. No way this could be real.

"Hinata," Naruto repeated. "Hinata. Sent. You."

What was she thinking?

Sasuke looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. "Mind enlightening me about what you find so funny about this?"

"Because—" The laughter left Naruto just as quickly as it came.

Sasuke was still looking at everything but Naruto.

It was starting to piss him off. "Look at me, damn it!"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and he looked back at Naruto, his gaze briefly flitting down his body.

It was then that Naruto became acutely aware of the fact that he wasn't wearing his shirt.

No. There shouldn't be any reason for him to feel self-conscious. It wasn't as if Sasuke had never seen him half-naked either. Hell, they'd seen each other fully naked back when they were younger, when they'd stop at public baths during missions.

Yet, Naruto couldn't help but feel—weird—under his stare.

He felt something crawling beneath his skin, a feeling that spread throughout his body, an itch he had to scratch, scratch now—

Without warning, he shot toward Sasuke, throwing everything into a punch that Sasuke caught deftly, absorbing all of Naruto's force. His fist closed firmly around Naruto's, his eyes piercing and unreadable as Sasuke gazed at him. Naruto's breath caught. Something about the gaze made Naruto feel vulnerable, but—he wanted that gaze to stay on him, liking the way it made him feel seen.

Sasuke had always understood him. Had always known him. Had always seen through his mask, even when Naruto would try to hide—

Did Sasuke know what he was thinking about now?

The thought jerked him to cold reality, and Naruto jumped back a good ten feet, feeling the hairs at the back of his neck stand up.

No.

Sasuke took his cloak off, assuming a fighting stance. "Come."

A thrill went through Naruto and he moved, throwing a roundhouse kick that Sasuke once again blocked with his forearm.

The force of the impact reverberated back through his body.

Powerful.

Naruto's heart pounded against his chest as if it was trying to escape. He was still feeling the impact running its course throughout his body, relishing in it and that gaze, calculative and—

Sasuke returned a kick of his own and Naruto only just blocked it, feeling it in his very bones.

Exhilarating.

He could see a gleam in Sasuke's eyes that made Naruto's lip twitch in a smile. The very air felt charged with electricity even though Sasuke wasn't using his favored element. Naruto wondered—

Naruto found himself thrown about halfway across the training ground. He jumped to his feet, just in time to block yet another one of Sasuke's deadly kicks. Sasuke didn't give him a chance to recover, and Naruto found himself on edge, the blood pumping through his veins awash with adrenaline, as he retaliated with a series of blows of his own. Though Sasuke was down an arm, he certainly made up for it with more technique and intensity than Naruto had ever experienced, and the sheer power that seemed to exude from every pore of his skin was—

When even was the last time they'd sparred? It had to be—

Sasuke came at him, and Naruto was absorbed into the fight, watching for Sasuke's next move. He didn't notice that he'd finally been able to free himself from his spiraling mind, Sasuke giving him the very distraction his shadow clones had failed to provide.

Naruto's entire body was in pain by the time they finished, but he felt lighter than he remembered feeling in years. He was more than glad to see that Sasuke was also looking quite beat up, sitting across from him.

Naruto beamed. "We should do this more often, bastard!"

"You're feeling better now?" The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards.

That tiny expression was enough to make Naruto feel like he was soaring. "Oh, hell yeah!" He jumped up and stretched his protesting body, looking around. And grimaced. It looked as if a mini earthquake had ravaged the training ground. Trees were uprooted, the earth was overturned, and dust was hovering in the air. The place bore no resemblance to what it had looked like when Naruto had first arrived.

Well, it'd give the kids a different kind of terrain to train with, at least.

Naruto found his gaze drifting back to Sasuke, who once again seemed to be avoiding looking in Naruto's direction. Naruto found himself missing that dark, analytical gaze that had been focused on him, and only him, when they were sparring.

The thought wiped the smile from his face. Something surged within him, an invisible force that seemed to wrap itself tighter and tighter around him. He bowled over, gasping.

"Don't tell me you've gotten that old," Sasuke said.

"Hah. Very—" —funny, Naruto meant to say, but he was running out of air, the short, sharp breaths he was taking hardly enough for his lungs. He tried to breathe deeper, but his body refused to cooperate.

"Hey." Sasuke was suddenly in his face. "Naruto, look at me."

Already feeling like the entire world was closing in on him, Naruto didn't need Sasuke of all people to take away what little space he had. He shoved. "Get off me."

"Dobe." Sasuke was back again, gripping Naruto's shoulder, black and purple eyes boring into his own. "Breathe. Breathe slowly."

Don't you think that's what I'm trying to do, dumbass? Naruto opened his mouth to say just that. "I'm—"

"Don't talk. Focus on breathing."

Naruto's head was becoming cloudy, so he bit back another retort. He was trying to breathe, but it felt like something was squeezing his very life out. Darkness was encroaching on the edges of his vision—

"Naruto, I'm telling you to breathe. Slow down and breathe."

Annoyance sparked but instead of snapping (never mind the fact that he probably couldn't have even if he'd wanted to at that point) Naruto focused on that spark, trying to get a hold of it. It was much better than this unbearable feeling of suffocation. The spark slipped away though, drifting farther and farther away, leaving Naruto flailing—

"Naruto."

Naruto felt another squeeze, but this time it was on his shoulder, this time he felt a warmth there, a warmth Naruto grabbed onto. His gaze locked on that black eye of his, somehow softer than ever, a velvety darkness that welcomed Naruto in, a darkness he felt…safe in.

Safe.

Naruto felt his throat relaxing slightly, and he grabbed at the chance, gulping in air as if he'd been drowning, not aware of how he'd let himself collapse into a strong body, a strong body that held him as he regained his breath.

It was only when his world came to a standstill that he realized just how close Sasuke was, their foreheads almost touching. It occurred to him how he'd never seen Sasuke up so close. Naruto could see faint aging lines on Sasuke's pale face, making him wonder just how long it had been.

Naruto's hand moved—and he caught it just in time when he realized it was about to touch Sasuke's face. Heart jumping to his throat, he scooted away quickly.

"Th-Thanks," Naruto said, unable to meet Sasuke's gaze.

"Hn."

Naruto felt his stomach twist itself as he sat there in unbearable silence. But as time passed, and the sky darkened, Naruto started noticing how the faint light of the crescent moon softened Sasuke's sharp features. Naruto's stomach twisted even further but he couldn't look away.

Sasuke really was…beautiful.

But that was no new fact. He'd always been almost disgustingly handsome. No person, straight or otherwise, could dispute such a fact.

Wait a second.

The fact that Naruto found Sasuke attractive didn't have to mean anything. It might mean that Naruto might be just tiny bit…gay.

Sasuke cleared his throat, an odd look on his face. "Are you okay?"

Naruto shot up. "Yup!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't argue. "Then you should go. Hinata's worried."

Sasuke just happened to be there, and he happened to be—beautiful. It didn't have to mean anything more. Attraction didn't have to mean love. This might just be a passing curiosity.

That's it!

Just a passing curiosity.

Naruto felt as though whatever force that had been squeezing his chest had finally loosened. He felt almost light-headed with relief.

Just curiosity. Just because he might be a tiny bit gay didn't have to mean he didn't love Hinata.

Naruto let out a single breath of laughter. He had to go to Hinata. Hinata, who he was both attracted to and had spent more than a decade with. "You're right. I'm gonna head out."

Sasuke eyed his chest. "Without your shirt on?"

Naruto smirked. "Getting distracted, are we?"

Sasuke stared. "What?"

Naruto's smirk froze in place when he realized what he'd just said. "I-I'm just kidding!" He quickly went about looking for his shirt. He needed to get out of here. Get a good night's sleep. Sleep always made things better.

Yes. Sleep deprivation could do weird things to people. That was what this was.

He couldn't find his shirt in the mess he made of the training ground, though. He laughed nervously. "I…I guess I lost it. But…I should get going." Naruto needed to get away before he did or said anything else he might regret.

But as Naruto made to leave, Sasuke said, "Wait."

"What?"

Sasuke pursed his lips, and as Naruto waited, he found his gaze wandering to Sasuke's features, intrigued by how that moonlight danced upon his skin. Sasuke had changed much over the years, but…Naruto remembered all those times in the past he used to admire those very features but hadn't really read too much into it—

He was relieved when Sasuke spoke before Naruto's mind had the chance to follow that thought.

"Did all this…" Sasuke jerked his head toward the overturned training ground. "Have anything to do with what we were…talking about…earlier?"

It had everything to do with it.

Naruto regretted waiting for Sasuke to talk. He felt weighed down, exhausted. He wanted to clear his mind, turn back time, wishing he hadn't overheard the kids and their stupid, stupid speculations.

"W-We should—get going." Naruto turned around again, eager to leave—

"Naruto."

Naruto couldn't bring himself to look at Sasuke. "Not—not today, Sasuke. I need—space."

It was quiet for so long that Naruto thought the bastard had left without saying anything. It would be just like him—

"Okay," said Sasuke.

Something in his voice made Naruto pause, a strange hiccup that made him look back at Sasuke.

And breathe in sharply.

There was something naked about Sasuke's expression that made Naruto feel the need to look away immediately, give him privacy. Yet, he couldn't look away.

"S-Sas?" Naruto took a step toward him. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke looked paler than usual. Pale enough to rival the sliver of moon that was above him. If Naruto didn't know any better, he'd say Sasuke looked…afraid.

But that wasn't possible. Sasuke was never afraid. Even if he was, he'd never let it show. He never let anything show, let alone—fear. Unadulerated—

It vanished. Gone as if it had never been there, making Naruto wonder if he'd simply imagined it. While Sasuke still looked slightly paler than normal, the mask was back, his face a smooth, cold marble.

Naruto wondered how it might feel to touch that cold marble of skin.

And quickly shook the thought away, horrified.

It's just curiosity. That's all. It didn't have to mean anything. Just curiosity.

"Y-Yes," Sasuke said. "I—need to go as well. Goodbye."

Before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto stood staring at the spot where Sasuke vanished, and then forced himself to make his way back home. But he couldn't quite get that expression out of his head, even as he reached home, greeted by a particularly loud household. Himawari was chasing Boruto, who was teasing her with a toy.

"Naruto-kun? Is that you—" Hinata came around to the door, gasping when she spotted him. "Naruto-kun!" She rushed toward him, her eyes and fingers tracing the myriad of bruises across his body. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Naruto waved her off. He was already healing, anyway. "I was just training—"

"Woah, dad," Boruto said, having just noticed Naruto. "Why're you half-naked? You look terrible."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah—woah!" Something small had flown right at him, attaching itself to his legs.

"Papa! You're back!"

Smiling, Naruto patted Himawari's head. "Don't get yourself dirty 'cos of me, Hima-chan."

"Come on, Hima." Hinata pulled Himawari off Naruto. "You can be with Papa after he showers, okay?"

Himawari let go, pouting. "Okay."

Hinata's eyes were once again searching his own. "Are you feeling better?"

Naruto tried not to look away. "Y-Yeah—I—um—just needed to…let off some steam."

Hinata placed her hand on his chest, her hand warm against his skin. "I'm glad Sasuke-kun could help." She got on her tiptoes and pecked his lips. "Go clean up. I'll have dinner warmed up for you."

"Wait—what did Sasuke-san—" Boruto started, but Naruto pulled Hinata back in, tasting her lips, needing to get rid of Sasuke from his—

"Ew, can you stop already?" Boruto yelped, covering his sister's eyes. "What are you, horny teenagers or something?"

"What?" Himawari pulled at Boruto's hands. "I wanna see, I wanna seeee!"

"There are some things best left unseen, Hima." Boruto threw a disgusted look at Naruto.

Grinning, Naruto curled his hand around Hinata's waist, holding her closer. "What, how do you think you were made, huh?"

Boruto turned the brightest shade of pink.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shoved Naruto off her, just as pink as her son.

Boruto finally found his voice. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" He flew at Naruto with a kick.

Naruto easily avoided it as Himawari asked, "How was nii-san made?"

Laughing to himself and ignoring the identical glares Hinata and Boruto sent his way, he made his way upstairs.

Naruto hoped the shower might help wash this whole mess of a day off him, but Sasuke's expression kept butting into his mind as soon as he'd try to push it away. It made him feel strangely guilty even though he knew he didn't do anything wrong.

Stupid bastard. The hell was his problem?

As Naruto made his way back downstairs, he met Boruto in the middle, on his way up to his bedroom, Himawari in tow. Boruto's face scrunched in disgust and Naruto snorted, ruffling his hair. Looking even more disgruntled, Boruto shook his head as if to get rid of Naruto's hand.

Himawari, on the other hand, looked more than happy to see Naruto and lifted her arms up to him. "Pick me up!"

"Of course!" Naruto lifted her into his arms and kissed her cheek. "Let's tuck you to bed, shall we?"

"Mhm!" Himawari snuggled into him.

Feeling her small body curled up against his own, Naruto nuzzled her back as he followed Boruto back up the stairs. While Boruto went into his own bedroom, Naruto went into Himawari's bedroom and tucked her in. His stomach was grumbling with hunger, but he didn't really feel it as he read her to sleep, her arm wrapped tightly around him. He almost didn't feel like leaving her side. But once she fell asleep, Naruto went to Boruto's room. The door was left ajar, but when Naruto peeked in, he found the boy deeply engrossed in a video game. Knowing from experience that it would be wiser not to interrupt, Naruto slowly closed the door. He went back downstairs, where he found two plates of food on the dining table, steam curling up from it.

"Did you not eat earlier?" Naruto asked, sitting down.

Hinata set down the last of the sides before she sat down before him. "I wanted to eat with you."

She had to have waited hours while he was at the training ground, stealing glances at—him.

Appetite lost, Naruto set down the spoon of rice and curry.

"Naruto-kun?"

No. Naruto made himself take a bite out of the food. He couldn't let her hard work go to waste just because—

He swallowed. "This—this is delicious, Hinata!"

As always. Naruto couldn't have known a more devoted and loving person than the one sitting in front of him. Unlike Sasuke. Who was always leaving.

Yet, there Naruto was, yearning for—

No. He focused on the food, eating with deliberate care to savor every bite of her cooking.

He couldn't taste anything.

Of course, nothing missed Hinata's sharp eyes. As they ate, as she talked about her day, about their kids' shenanigans, he could feel her watching him, bursting with concern. Naruto held his breath, but as they finished eating, cleared the table, and washed dishes together, all Hinata did was talk quietly of inconsequential things, her voice soft and soothing.

They went upstairs, and as he went to lie in bed, she went into the bathroom. He looked at the door, behind which he could hear the shower running. He used to join her before. Wondering when he'd stopped, he debated whether he wanted to join her now. He could feel small tingles of desire stirring deep within him as he thought of his wife naked underneath the steamy shower, her dark hair wet—

It felt wrong. Wrong, even though this was his own wife he was thinking about.

What the hell?

Frowning, Naruto decided to join Hinata. But before he could, she came out, the subtle floral scent of her body wash wafting into the room with the steam of the shower, relaxing Naruto further with its familiarity. Already clothed in satin pajamas, she slipped into bed and curled up next to him. She touched his face, brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto shut his eyes. Her touches, her voice, her smells, they were doing things to him. They reminded him of the night of their date, of her gasping out his name, breathless, her fingers buried in his hair—

That was only a few nights ago. When things felt so much simpler—

Was that really only a few days ago?

Hinata lightly scratched his head. "Naruto-kun."

He opened his eyes.

Her hand slowed to a stop and cupped his face. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

Naruto placed his hand on top of hers. Hinata's eyes were calm, empathizing.

It wasn't fair.

"Know that I love you," she said. "I'll be here for you whenever you're ready."

Kind, unselfish.

She was his wife. Why did he have to feel so—

Naruto leaned forward to catch her lips in a light kiss. "I love you, too," he said, his throat thick with bile. "Thank you. For everything."

Hinata smiled. "Of course, Naruto-kun."

He shouldn't have any reason to feel so guilty. He loved her.

Naruto kissed her again, deeper. I love you. I love you.

Hinata let out a soft moan that spurred him on, and he pressed himself against her, his hand roaming her body, his fingers easily sliding through the buttons of her nightshirt. I love you. I love you.

I love you.

Replies

nosimphere0, aw I'm glad that I could be of help in some way through this fic ^^ I'll be honest, I'm realizing that the fics I write are just my way of working through my own sets of issues, so I'm happy that it's helping others, too. At least it saves money on therapy haha. Anyways, thank you so much for leaving a review, really made my day 3