Warnings: Nothing much for this chapter
Disclaimer: Characters are property of a certain Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N: I didn't mean it to take this long to write this chapter _ I've been busy with my finals starting and school in general so I apologize for not being able to answer your reviews personally, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for them! I really appreciate it that you take the time to leave me a couple of words, it really keeps me going. I love you all and I'm trying to keep writing this even now that Naruto's birthday and the NaruSasu day are demanding my attention too~

For Didi

A couple of times during his life Naruto had caught himself hoping the he'd had someone to travel with. A partner in crime, so to speak, although a more appropriate way to put it might've been a partner to stop the crime. Most of the time Whirl was more than enough company for him, he enjoyed being by himself as well as the lively atmosphere of the larger towns, and when he could get good doses of both in turns his life was close to perfect. But sometimes there were these dark nights or long roads to nowhere that made Naruto wish he could've at least talked to someone.

Now he was ready to take back all those stupid wishes.

Yesterday it had made him feel hot and nervous to have Raven sitting behind him, but now he was ready to throw the man to the next poor excuse of a well they passed. Granted, he didn't speak much, but it was in fact the silence that was making Naruto pissed off. He had never met anyone that could radiate annoyance and discomfort without even a single word as well as his new companion. During their ride Sasuke hadn't said a single word, he'd kept his mouth shut and at first Naruto had thought he was still angry about something. Then he had made the mistake of asking, and the angry hiss right next to his ear had almost made him jump out of his skin. Even that little sound had made it clear that no, Sasuke wasn't angry, but there was something else bothering him, and within an hour or two it had become almost too clear to Naruto what it was.

Of course he hadn't paid a single thought to the fact that Sasuke was not used to riding. Sure, he had danced a lot so he wasn't in a horrible shape, but riding a horse required muscles that many people didn't know they had before they got on horseback the first time.

And that was exactly the case for Sasuke. Not having ridden a horse in years, he had his muscles already screaming at him, forcing him to cling tighter to the strong body in front of him, and by every moment of showing such weakness grew the raven's anger. He was also getting pretty aggressive blisters in his inner thighs from the seams of the pants he wasn't used to wearing, and the temperature was rising as well. However, he refused to complain and kept his mouth shut, a concentrated frown on his face as he effectively ignored Naruto's attempts to strike up a conversation.

Naruto let out a sigh as he felt Sasuke shift behind him for umpteenth time. The dark-haired man hadn't been doing anything besides squirming and letting out weird huffing noises for a while now, and it was starting to annoy not only Naruto but Whirl as well. He was quite a good-natured horse but he wasn't used to carrying two and definitely not someone that was moving constantly like that.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?" the blonde finally asked, deciding to take the risk of having the angered raven snarling at him again. A moment passed and no answer was given, the other man just stilled completely and stopped his huffing and puffing as well, the slim hands tightening their hold of Naruto's shirt momentarily. The bounty hunter let out a frustrated sigh and relaxed on the saddle, lifting a hand to adjust his hat a bit. The sun was high already and it was getting real hot in the open plains, there was a drop of sweat on his upper lip and Naruto quickly wiped it off, a frown crossing his face.

"If you are, try to stay still. You're annoying." Maybe a bit harsh, but he wasn't here to pamper the other man. Sasuke had grabbed him along and not the other way, no matter what Naruto's plans had been just a few days ago.

After that it was quiet for a while. Sasuke had completely stopped moving and was now leaning a bit against Naruto's back; the blonde figured he was getting sleepy thanks to the heat. The sun didn't really bother him so he started to whistle, a slow melody shooing away the silence. It was nothing fancy but now that he didn't have any kind of instrument here with him, whistling would do. Surprisingly enough, the raven behind him didn't let out even a single noise of complaint, and so Naruto figured it wasn't bothering him.

The sound kept growing and changing slowly, jumping to high notes at times before returning to the melody. Naruto let a little smile cross his face, and much to his surprise he realized that despite the situation he was actually rather relaxed. It was hot, sure, and he was riding with a man that could be a hunted outlaw for all he knew, but at the moment he felt just extremely content and peaceful with what he had. Even after he'd stopped the whistling and just rode in silence, the situation was rather pleasing. It might be a good time for a quick break sometime soon, it was getting rather hot for riding and if his eyes didn't deceive him, there were some trees ahead. Trees meant shade. Yet it would be so nice to keep going now that Sasuke had stopped the fidgeting and was quiet and leaning against his back...

Actually, that was a bit too much. Naruto hadn't paid any attention to it before, but the raven's weight on his back was a bit too much. It was making him feel heavy and it also made his shirt wet with sweat, the contact making him hot in a wrong way. Gently the blonde reached behind himself, the little conflict from before forgotten already and grabbed Sasuke's knee, shaking it a little.

He received no answer. Another shake, and when a thin hand appeared from nowhere and slapped his, the blonde immediately snatched his hand back. Sheesh, he hadn't meant anything bad and Sasuke was already swatting him away like that! Could the other really stay angry with him for that long? That was so childish of him! Naruto let out an annoyed huff and rubbed his hand against his thigh, shrugging just to annoy the other man that was still leaning heavily on him. He was expecting at least an irritated scoff in return, but no sound reached his ears. There was only the same hand that had just hit him now brushing against his thigh's side, making the blonde freeze momentarily. What...

The touch had been limp, almost accidental. Unintended. And that was when Naruto sensed something was wrong. He took a better hold of his loose reins and twisted his upper body a little, turning to look back at his companion, concern coloring his voice as he spoke.
"Sasuke?"

All he got in return was a loud thud and a couple of side steps from Whirl as there was suddenly nothing behind him but air. From the corner of his eye he had caught the pale body falling down and the blonde let out a colorful curse, jumping off his horse in an instant. Well-trained as he was, Whirl stopped immediately, turning to look what on earth it was that his rider was doing.

Another series of swearwords ripped out of Naruto's throat as he knelt down next to the lifeless body, his eyes searching for the cause of Sasuke's condition. The raven was breathing heavily, his face red and hands clenched even in the unconscious state. Without a hint of hesitation Naruto ran his fingers over the pale lips, the dryness of them making him want to shoot himself. How had he been so stupid? He should've realized that Sasuke was in no way able to take care of himself in such a situation. It was all new to the raven, and Naruto hadn't even made sure he had water to drink. It was so important to drink in the heat.

Shamelessly the blonde grabbed the other man and effortlessly threw him over the saddle so that he lay there on his stomach and then started to lead them to the trees. He'd have to get Sasuke to drink as soon as possible to make him wake up, and the second important thing was to find a place to sleep in. Naruto himself quite enjoyed sleeping under an open sky but he was sure Sasuke wouldn't appreciate it at all, not right now. With yet another curse Naruto picked up his pace, his eyes trailing back to Sasuke every now and then.

The raven kept eerily quiet the whole time, enough to make Naruto wonder if he was dead. But of course he wasn't when the blonde checked, and afterwards he felt a bit stupid, being such a lady for worrying over another man this much. To his defense it had to be said that the man in question was freakishly thin, dehydrated and unconscious at the moment, but still.

As soon as they reached the shade Naruto pulled the raven down and placed him down to the ground, leaving Whirl free. The horse wouldn't go anywhere anyway so he wouldn't have to worry.

"Sasuke?" Naruto was kneeling next to the pale man, gently slapping his cheek. No reaction, and he tried harder, making the dark eyelashes flutter on the cheeks as the raven muttered something, his eyelids slowly peeling up. Sasuke seemed to have trouble focusing his gaze and Naruto gave him no reason to do that, water already dripping to the dry lips from his leather water bottle. The lips parted greedily and a pink tongue darted out to lap more of the liquid in, the dark eyes still half shut as the raven focused just on the water.

"Easy, boy", Naruto murmured, pulling the bottle back. Carefully he poured some on Sasuke's face and the obsidian eyes snapped open, staring right at Naruto.

"What..." The raven obviously wasn't feeling too good yet and he coughed lightly, glancing at the bottle.
"More."

The murmured command made Naruto roll his eyes but he obeyed anyway, bringing the bottle to Sasuke's lips again. This time the raven started drinking more steadily, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the liquid with greed. He still made no attempt to hold it by himself, but Naruto was more than okay with supporting the man still for a moment; it reminded him off the fragile-yet-strong dancer from the stage in the saloon.

After consuming almost the whole bottle of water Sasuke let out a satisfied sigh and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He didn't seem to have noticed that he was still lying down with his head resting on Naruto's thigh, the thin body looking almost ready to break into two for a moment.

Whirl let out a content puff on the background and Naruto heard the horse slowly walking forward and munching the grass with good appetite. A soft smile crossed his face as he glanced at his loyal companion. Most of the time, Whirl was all he needed and he felt righteously proud for having trained him all by himself; he went even as far as admitting that Whirl was the best friend he'd had and would ever have.

Another soft cough brought his attention back to the other man, and he was immediately captured by the dark, still slightly hazy eyes staring right into his own azure ones.

"Why are you smiling?" For once Sasuke didn't sound either annoyed or arrogant; his voice was just questioning, gentle even on some level.

Naruto couldn't help his smile widening just a tad at that.
"I was just watching Whirl..."

"The horse?"

"Yes... But don't you dare to speak of him that way, he's more than just a horse!" The blonde puffed his cheeks like an angry chipmunk and tried his best to glare down at the arrogant raven, finding it surprisingly hard to stay angry at anything that was resting in his lap so nicely.

"Hn."

Naruto waited for a moment, but when nothing else came he just shrugged, feeling just a tad irritated. No-one should speak of Whirl with such voice, his horse was the damn best there was.
"Whatever, bastard... Are you done being a girl? We should get going if we want to get anywhere today! At this rate we'll never reach Leaf Creek, and I had hoped..." His voice trailed off as he realized how pale Sasuke had suddenly gotten.
"Hey, are you okay? Are you feeling worse or somethin'?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly and blinked. His hands pressed against the ground to push himself up, and for a moment he just sat still with his head hanging and his upper body swaying just a little as if he was still half-asleep or something.
"I'm fine", the young man snapped, his voice making Naruto even more confused.

The blonde had been expecting an angry snarl or at least some level of annoyance, bu what he got was an almost choked reply full of something he couldn't quite place. Whatever the emotion was, it had made Sasuke's voice thick and somehow painful to listen to. Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly, wanting to bang his head to the ground. Why did Sasuke have to be this difficult already?

"Uh, okay... Now do you think you can ride? How about you hop in the saddle and I ride behind you, it'll be easier for you that way... And remember to drink often, it's really hot here man, I can't have you passing out on me like that again..." Not that he'd ever admit it, but it had made him worry when Sasuke had just fallen down.

The raven turned to look at him, his lips parted as if he was going to say something, but then he apparently changed his mind and snapped his mouth shut. It took him a moment to stand up and even after he'd gotten to his feet he didn't look too stable. Naruto's attempts to support him were discarded with a swat of hand and the blonde pulled back, letting Sasuke get to the saddle on his own as well. It took him at least twice the time he'd needed to stand up straight.

And when Naruto finally got up and took his place behind the saddle, he suddenly realized how difficult it had to have been to Sasuke to actually stay on. There wasn't much space and he felt like he was sliding backwards all the time, over the croup of Whirl towards his tail and then eventually to the ground. It was a funny feeling, and as soon as the horse started to move he found himself grabbing Sasuke by the waist, his arms immediately wrapping around the thin body, forcing him to realize how little muscle the man really had. Damn, the raven was definitely built like a snake in stilts.

"What's the matter, wimp? Is it too hard for you?" The cocky voice caught Naruto by surprise and his head whipped up, the tiniest amount of red coloring his cheeks as he realized he had accidentally buried his face to Sasuke's back while holding onto him.

"N-no...! And hey, I'm not a wimp! Shut up!"

Sasuke just smirked back at him before turning to face forward, allowing Naruto's arms to remain wrapped around him. It supported his tired body as well so there was no need to complain.
"Tell me which way we're going."

Naruto blinked, surprised with how quickly Sasuke had dropped the subject. Or maybe the other was still feeling weird after fainting like that.
"Just... forward. You see those mountain?" Well duh, they couldn't really be missed as they were looming right ahead of them. Not really close but not too far either.
"Head there. Leaf Creek is near the mountains." Towards the mountains also meant more trees and more water, and Naruto would welcome both with open arms. So would Sasuke, he was sure, but he was again given a cold shoulder after a sharp nod. It was apparent that the raven didn't really like the idea of heading towards Leaf Creek but he hadn't said anything about it so Naruto wasn't going to pry. The blonde sure knew that people had their secrets.

As the hours passed, their way of traveling started to slowly become more pleasant for both of them. At first Sasuke had been stiff as a rifle barrel, the strong arms around him making him uncomfortable, but slowly he had started to relax until he was almost leaning into the touch, an unexpectedly relaxed look on his face. He was holding Whirl's reins loosely in his hand, knowing that the horse was well-trained enough not to start running like a madman without a warning.

Naruto on the other hand was enjoying himself a lot more now that Sasuke was okay with the situation. There was a little smile on his face as he kept suggesting breaks every now and then, the sun still scorching them. At times he hopped down and walked for a while next to the horse to let him rest a little bit, and every time he climbed back up Sasuke tensed a bit at first before scoffing and relaxing again. It had become a kind of a game, to see how quickly Naruto could coax Sasuke back from his tense state.

That night they arrived at a decent-sized town and Naruto immediately hurried to find them a hotel. Again, he asked for only one room and after paying for it he couldn't help noticing how light his wallet felt already. He did have another one in a saddle bag but it hadn't been as full as this one to begin with, and he didn't know how long he'd have to keep Raven with him and if he'd be able to get a reward for a lesser criminal in some town. That would be much needed, and it was what occupied his mind as he wandered to the stables to take care of his mount.

Sasuke dragged himself upstairs with the key to their room, his legs aching like never before. He couldn't remember ever hurting this much before, and definitely not this way. The stairs had been torture and he stopped in front of the door, turning the key in the lock.

The view that greeted him as he stepped inside wasn't exactly what he'd expected. The room was perfectly sized for two people to stay there comfortably and the double bed on the other side of the room was neatly made. There wasn't a single speckle of dust anywhere (although Sasuke knew that there had to be some brushed under the carpet) and a small table to two chairs in the middle of the room gave it a little sumptuous touch. They had a mirror on the right wall and a window on the left and the curtains that framed the window were pleasant to watch, the dark red color bringing in a soft shade of red as the descending sun touched the curtains with its rays and then casting the light to the room.

All in all, it was much better than Sasuke had expected.

Half an hour later, when Naruto finally closed the door of their room after himself, Sasuke was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but a ragged towel around his waist and a small pile of cloth strips on the bed next to him. His left ankle was resting on his right knee, the position leaving his legs spread and most of his thigh visible; from another angle Naruto knew he could probably see everything that was hidden under the towel.

A familiar heat crept to his face and he rubbed his neck, offering Sasuke a sheepish grin as the raven turned to stare at him with those dark, blank eyes. Naruto shifted, opening his mouth to speak but something in Sasuke's expression cut him off and he let his hand drop, his grin losing some of its volume.

After a moment Sasuke scoffed and turned to look down again, Naruto's shoulder slumping as he let out a breath he had been holding. Feeling still slightly embarrassed, he let his eyes roam over the pale chest and stomach, and it almost made him wince as he realized he could probably count Sasuke's ribs if he wanted. The other's arms looked even paler and skinnier than before, and his thighs...

Naruto swallowed, his eyes widening, and at the same time Sasuke reached for the first strip of cloth, starting to wrap it around his thigh. Under the observing stare of the bright blue eyes he flinched a little as the material first touched his broken skin there. Even from where he was standing, Naruto could tell that immaculate skin of Sasuke's inner thighs was now speckled with huge, nasty-looking blisters. He stepped closer, to take a better look, but what he got was the pale legs immediately snapping together and the towel being tugged lower to cover Sasuke's crotch from his view, the obsidian eyes again scorching him.

"What?" Sasuke sounded strained, annoyed, and Naruto could tell that it wasn't just because he was irritated with Naruto being curious.

"What... were those?" Naruto immediately wanted to bite his tongue off, the stupidity of his question and the closed off look on Sasuke's face making him wince.

"I mean, I know what they are, but-"

"Shut up."

Again, Naruto did, but it didn't stop him from walking closer until he stood right in front of Sasuke who was still sitting and gripping the towel.

"Look, R... Sasuke. I just... Can I help you with those?" He pointed at the cloth strips that were obviously meant to serve as bandages, and as he briefly glanced at them, he never saw the odd look crossing Sasuke's face. By the time his eyes were back staring at Sasuke's, the other's face was again blank and completely void of any emotion.

"No."

Not that Naruto had expected any other answer, but Sasuke's clipped tone still made him frown. The raven shifted on the bed and suddenly it struck Naruto how uncomfortable he had to be feeling. Sasuke was practically naked, just that poor towel covering his things and here was Naruto, looming over him and asking if it was okay to touch him around that area like... It made him bite his lip that the first word to cross his mind was 'Orochimaru'. Although he was fairly certain that that bastard had never bothered asking.

Feeling the anger rise its head inside himself, Naruto took a deep breath and forced the tension to leave his shoulders, the tense and wary look on Sasuke's face making him feel like he was doing something wrong by wanting to help the other. Slowly, careful not to scare the raven, Naruto sat down on the bed, far enough to still let Sasuke keep his distance, and he flashed Sasuke a smile that he hoped came out as reassuring.

"I just want to help."

In return he got a suspicious, almost contemptuous scowl.
"I don't need your help." Sasuke turned to look away, a hard look on his face. Naruto could tell he was still feeling uneasy due to the tension in his jaw and the way his forehead was wrinkled. He was also still fisting the towel and it crossed Naruto's mind that he had no idea where that had come from. However, he was sensitive enough to keep the questions to himself and instead he let out a frustrated sigh, his hand reaching to touch Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke, c'mon! I can wrap those in a minute and then we can-"

"Can what?"

Naruto was slowly starting to wonder if he had hit his head while jumping out of the window back in Soundsville, because he seemed to shut up so efficiently every time Sasuke as much as opened his mouth. But this time it was just because the raven had sounded so... so defensive, and almost hurt.

"What can we do?" The menacing voice was followed with the dark eyes narrowing and searching something from Naruto's face. Leaning a little closer, Sasuke shook off the hand from his shoulder and instead pressed his own one on Naruto's thigh, making the blonde flinch from surprise, his eyes widening.
"Wouldn't it be easy for you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, yet it reached Naruto's ears better than it would if Sasuke had been shouting. Something there made his insides clench unpleasantly.
"You could easily sit down between my legs and tend my wounds and then 'suddenly' realize that I'm actually wearing nothing but this useless rag and you'd slide your h-mmph!"

Something inside Naruto snapped and he pressed his hand almost violently over Sasuke's mouth, his other hand holding the pale neck to prevent the man from escaping his hold. His eyes were sparkling with anger, hurt showing through even though the blonde obviously tried to hide it.
"How can you even think I'd do something like that?" Naruto growled, finding it hard to look into Sasuke's eyes. It really stung, knowing that the other really believed he'd do something so... so obscene, something that was so wrong. He would never... Never.

The dark eyes widened even more and Sasuke made an attempt to pull away from the hold, but the hand tightening around the back of his neck froze him still.

"Don't!" Naruto snapped, moving his hand lower a tad so Sasuke could breath properly through his nose. Then he fell silent, watching the ex-dancer calmly. The anger slowly died from his eyes, leaving them almost tranquil blue, but as the raven slowly started to relax, a hint of sadness dipped into the blue pools and stayed there.

It wasn't Sasuke's fault that he was acting like that. It was more like learned manners, something he'd grown used to, and Naruto couldn't really blame him. He was only sorry for Sasuke.

Feeling a bit awkward again, Naruto cleared his throat and slowly pulled his hand back from Sasuke's mouth.
"I would never do anything like that to you, Sasuke." His voice was firm and convincing as he spoke, keeping his eyes locked with Sasuke's. He knew the blisters on the other's legs had to hurt, but right now he couldn't really spare a thought to bandaging them; all that mattered was convincing Sasuke about his motives.
"I'm not like that."

Sasuke seemed to hesitate and his gaze dipped lower, to Naruto's heaving chest and finally to his own hand that was still holding Naruto's thigh.
"Why?" he asked, his voice quiet. Not weak, just low, as if he was afraid of shattering something by speaking too loud. He didn't raise his gaze until he had peeled off his fingers from Naruto's leg and set them to his lap.
"Why would I believe you? I saw you looking at me in Soundsville, and after that, in that hotel..." Sasuke's voice hadn't been a tad bitter or accusing as he said that, only firm and slightly confused, as if he really didn't understand that Naruto actually wanted only to help him.

It made another sting of hurt and disappointment pinch Naruto's chest, and he couldn't understand why. He barely knew the guy, and yet he couldn't help feeling somehow betrayed when Sasuke so clearly voiced his distrust. And damn it, he swung only for ladies!

But then again, how did you explain such things to someone like Sasuke?

Biting his lip, Naruto pushed himself off the bed, refusing to wince at the way Sasuke immediately leaned backwards to be able to keep an eye on him. That guy seriously had some trust issues. Raking his fingers through his hair, Naruto gave the man just one more look, unable to say anything else. The disappointment still welled inside him and the anger hadn't disappeared either, it was making his fingers itch. He was so tempted to just punch some sense into Sasuke's thick head, but he knew it wouldn't be worth it. Hitting the man would definitely do nothing good to their already tricky relationship. Idly Naruto wondered if the other would ever be able to truly relax around him.

"It's okay", he finally stated although it really wasn't. It was not okay, he didn't want to leave Sasuke tend his wounds alone, he wanted to help! But he knew he couldn't.
"I won't touch you. Tell me when you're ready."

With that, Naruto walked over to the window and kept his back turned to the room and most importantly, to Sasuke. He folded his arms across his chest and tried to appear relaxed despite the troubling thoughts going through his mind. Just last night Sasuke had been okay with sleeping in the same bed with him, there had been nothing like a scene like this, yet now... Now the raven appeared a lot more tense than before.

Naruto almost turned around as he heard a noise like a quiet whine from the bed, but he held himself back, trying to shut out everything. In a sense he blamed himself for the wounds on Sasuke's legs; he should've realized that the raven wasn't used to riding and that he hadn't probably even been outside that much, not when Rattlesnake had been hiding his gender so carefully. He shouldn't have made Sasuke ride two days straight, not with that short pause at that small town, and after doing some quick calculations in his head Naruto came to the conclusion that he could afford at least a couple of nights more in this place if necessary. They had to let Sasuke's thighs heal at least a little bit before putting him on horseback again, and...

Just thinking about horses made Naruto wince. He had long ago realized that while Whirl was a strong little being, he wasn't used to carrying double weight and by walking himself Naruto would just slow them down. Which meant that he should buy Sasuke a horse, and that was something he couldn't afford. Sighing, Naruto turned his eyes to the curtains, inspecting a couple of loose threads as if he'd seen nothing so interesting in a while.

What had seemed like a perfect maiden-rescue in the beginning had turned out to be a lot more complicated and expensive than Naruto had never expected.

"Done."

A quiet word snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned around, only to see Sasuke already having crawled under the blanket. The raven wasn't facing him, but even from the distance Naruto could see that his shoulders were tense. He almost didn't manage to fought off the urge to go comfort him.

Without as much as one word Naruto walked over to their bed, starting to undress. Suddenly he was feeling tired, his limbs heavy and eyelids threatening to fall shut at any moment. He let his clothes crumble on the floor and he slid to the bed wearing only his union suit, a huge yawn almost dislodging his jaw. The pillow was nicely soft under his head and he could feel sleep flooding over his as soon as he lay his head on it. Naruto never got even halfway through the mumbled 'Goodnight Sasuke' before his breathing grew even and he curled up in his sleep, knees almost touching his chest.

Had he been awake longer he might've seen the dark-haired man on the other side of the bed lying awake for hours, trying to keep his aching thighs apart while keeping his toes from touching Naruto.

And when Naruto opened his eyes in the morning, he woke up in an empty room.

After blinking a couple of times and calling out for Sasuke in low voice just in case the man was hiding somewhere in the room, the bounty hunter did the only thing he could; he hit his head to the pillow and swore until his lungs were empty.

To be honest, Naruto felt like hitting his head against something much harder and maybe even sharper. He had been a complete fool, forgetting to lock the door. He had trusted Sasuke blindly while knowing hardly anything about the man, and the bits and pieces he had collected should've warned him about putting too much faith in him. Living under Rattlesnake's wing was unlikely to make anyone trustworthy.

After whacking himself on the head once more with his hand, Naruto pushed himself up from the bed and started to dress up. Now was not the time to start blaming himself, it was still rather early and if he was lucky and Sasuke hadn't left long ago, he'd still have a chance to catch the man. He wasn't exactly sure why it meant so much whether he managed or not, but he just knew he had to prevent Sasuke from running away.

As he sprinted out of the room with his shoes on the wrong feet, not even bothering to lock the room after himself, Naruto couldn't help bitterly congratulating Sasuke in his head. That had been a perfect plan, indeed. The raven had gotten out of Soundsville with his help, made Naruto pay for a couple of nights in hotels and the blonde had even given him a ride to a slightly bigger town. Naruto had never asked him a single thing and just a vague mention of another reward had been enough to convince Naruto to let him tag along. If he had thought about it rationally though, he would've realized that reward or not he would've kept Sasuke with him, but now he just wanted to be angry with the man.

The man standing behind the counter in the hotel lobby opened his mouth to a greeting but Naruto only waved at him quickly, not stopping even when the man tried to shout something after him. There were still some of their stuff in the room so if the hotel staff went to check, they'd know he was going to come back. Too bad he couldn't say the same about Sasuke.

The morning was warm, the sun greeting him with soft yet bright light that made him frown. It was going to be a hot day again, then. Well, that might slow Sasuke down a little since the man hadn't been able to handle the heat that well. Where would he be going anyway, did he have relatives or something somewhere? And how would he...

The blue eyes rounded at a realization and then Naruto was running again, towards the small stable of the hotel. If that bastard had taken his horse, he swore he wouldn't rest until he had Sasuke locked away in the coldest and most disgusting prison he could imagine. His chest was heaving and momentarily he saw red as he yanked open the stable door, a peaceful sight greeting him.

Nothing had changed after he had left Whirl here last night. Not even a single horse was missing and the only new thing was a startled young man in the back corner, staring right at Naruto. He had been apparently feeding his horse, the brown animal huffing irritably as the food service had been interrupted. The man had his hand on his hip, ready to draw his gun, but as Naruto just stood there and did nothing, he slowly relaxed and turned to his horse again.

Not knowing how long he had actually stood there, Naruto finally released a breath and walked over to Whirl's stall, a soft neigh greeting him as he leaned against the horse's side. Whirl turned to look at him, the round eye appearing almost concerned as the animal watched his owner as if trying to ask him what was wrong. It was one of those moment when Naruto silently swore horses were at least as intelligent as humans, screw what everyone else said. At least Whirl was more sensitive to feelings than many of the humans he had met.

Resting his forehead on the stallion's back, Naruto reached to run his fingers through the horse's mane, finding the rough texture somehow comforting. The thought of maybe losing Whirl had hit him surprisingly hard, but he did understand it. Whirl was all he had, after all.

He felt the horse sigh, the round barrel rising and then sinking again, and Naruto couldn't help but to let out a little laugh. Suddenly he felt a little stupid, and Whirl still hadn't stopped staring at him, but now there seemed to be a mocking look in the only visible eye. Naruto blinked and then smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah yeah, boy, I know. You would never leave without me. Now don't worry, I'm gonna go gather some information about that prissy lady you had to carry and then we'll get going. We have some hunting to do." He patted Whirl on the croup and turned to walk away, grinning brightly at the man that was again staring at him. What, it couldn't be that weird to have someone talking to their horse! Many people did that, after all. At least Naruto had always thought so.

He waved goodbye at the guy in the stable before walking out, the sun almost blinding him. It was going to be a really hot day, that was for sure, and again he felt rather grateful for it. At least Sasuke wouldn't be getting far with no equipment.

Naruto tugged the scarf cover his face better and then flicked his hat to the back of his head, untamed blond locks falling to his forehead. He'd have to cut his hair sometime soon again, it was getting a bit too long to be comfortable and he really needed a shave too, his stubble was starting to itch. Or perhaps just a good bath could do. Shrugging carelessly the man turned around a corner, finding the hotel doors again in front of him. A sigh escaped his lips only to be caught in the scarf and he stuffed his hands to his pockets for a moment, kicking a small stone on the road like a little kid.

The truth was, Naruto had no idea where to begin his search.

Grumbling to himself the blond turned to the hotel, glaring at the doors before deciding to step in. He could as well ask someone if they had any idea where Sasuke could've gone to.

But before he could take a single step, the same man that had tried to stop him earlier opened the door, his eyes on Naruto.
"Hey, mister!" The man shifted as if he was in a hurry but there was an irritated wrinkle between his dark brows.
"Why didn't you stop when I shouted after you? I have a message for you." He had closed his mouth fast after saying that and Naruto could tell he had been about to add some kind of insult to the end of his sentence, but right now he didn't have time to dwell in the bad habits of this man.

"What message?" He asked a bit dumbly instead, his hand immediately flying up to scratch his ear. His anger was already quickly deflating but he refused to let it die and give way to hope that tried to gain footing.

"From that friend of yours." The man scoffed and rolled his eyes, showing clear disrespect.
"Honestly, boy, no any kind of manners but I guess it could be expected from the likes of you..."

Naruto took a step closer, frustration flashing in his eyes. He didn't have time for listening to the man rambling about Sasuke's behavior, not even when he could definitely second what had been said.
"Hey, the message? Do you really have one? If not, I'm really in a hurry here!"

The man rolled his eyes again.
"And here comes another... Well, the message. 'I'll be back before noon.'" He clamped his mouth shut after that, staring at Naruto like expecting something rude again.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no intention of saying anything at all. Confusion flared up and left him feeling tired and somewhat stupid again. So, here he had been, so sure that Sasuke had ran away, and in reality he had...
"Where did he go?" he asked suddenly, a frown crossing his face.

"He didn't say. Now please excuse me, I have customers..." It was an obvious excuse but Naruto let the man go, his mind already working on the new information.

Sasuke was still here. A ridiculously happy smile twisted Naruto features, the scarf hiding it from curious eyes as he strolled down the street, scanning the buildings with his eyes. Sasuke hadn't ran away when he had had a chance. He hadn't gone anywhere and more importantly, he hadn't left Naruto. That had to mean that he trusted the bounty hunter, at least a little bit.

Fighting the urge to laugh, Naruto skipped a little, waving happily at an elderly lady staring suspiciously at him. She raised her hand hesitantly in return and the blue eyes turned away from her, to the street in front of him. Now where could Sasuke be...? What business might he have in a town like this, it was such an ordinary place... Perhaps he had just went to get himself some clothes? Naruto chuckled at the thought, just because it wasn't all that impossible. He could see that Sasuke didn't really like the clothes he had been given.

The bounty hunter chuckled again, not even trying to fight down the odd feeling of happiness in his gut. He was still aware of the possibility of Sasuke lying to the man at the hotel, he could just as well run away with such a lie to make sure Naruto wouldn't go after him, but somehow Naruto just knew that was not the case. Sasuke was still here.

The clock ticked on and the noon came, meeting Naruto sitting in the hotel room. His eyes turned to the clock every half a minute and as the first minute after 12 o'clock sharp had passed the man was pacing nervously in the room, trying to make himself still believe in Sasuke. He hadn't been tricked, right? The raven was just a minute late after all, he might've had something really important to do before coming back...

It was a little more than a quarter past 12 when Naruto couldn't stand anymore. He turned around, giving the clock one last bitter look, and walked to the door, taking a deep breath. Sasuke wasn't the type to be late, so it was time to accept his defeat. He'd have to go running after the man for real.

As he opened the door, he found himself staring into a gun barrel.

Naruto froze, not daring to move an inch. Colorful curses went wild in his head, blaming him for being such a fool. Sasuke hadn't left the city after all, oh no. Instead, he had been doing some urgent shopping; something Naruto should've guessed to take it into account. The blonde had never really been afraid of death, and he wasn't now either, not even when he could practically see his life streaming in front of his eyes as the barrel pressed against his forehead.

The topmost feeling in his head was, however, disappointment.

"Heh", Naruto chuckled dryly, turning to look Sasuke in the eye.
"Nice to see you came back." There was no fear in his voice as he spoke, but the way he refused blink was telling away how not confident he was. He couldn't let Sasuke out of his sight even for a second.

Sasuke didn't answer, just pressed the cold metal barrel harder against the tanned skin. His face was clear of any emotion as he stared into Naruto's eyes, neither of the men moving. Naruto was waiting for the shot and Sasuke for a reason to pull the trigger.

Time dragged on torturingly slowly, but finally the dark-haired man sighed and let the gun drop. Without a word he pushed past Naruto into the room, not noticing the way the blonde's shoulders slumped for a brief second from relief. He stopped in the middle of it, glancing around in the room. Naruto had packed up everything, it looked like he had been preparing to leave which was probably just the case, but other than that Sasuke couldn't make out what the had been thinking about his sudden disappearing act.

Naruto turned around slowly, staring at Sasuke's straight back and the gravity-defying haircut. He could feel that something had changed. Something in the air was telling him, even while he couldn't quite grasp it, but there was something in the way the man carried himself. Perhaps it came from the gun holster that was now wrapped around his hips or the clothes that didn't seem all that old or ragged anymore, or maybe it was caused by something that had happened inside the young man.

Either way, Naruto found himself thinking that he sort of liked the change.

And then Sasuke turned around, a smirk on his face.

"It wasn't even loaded, idiot."

TBC

A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter ~