Canon Verse: After the War
Summary: After Itachi, after Madara, after everything--Sasuke and Naruto, as they often do, meet each other again. One my hopeful endings.
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It's amazing what's said when you just stop fighting, when it's all over and you're so tired, so desperate and hurting and scared and...tired of running.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…"
Sasuke is silent, expressionless at Naruto's panicked, relieved /"the fight I wanted"/ face inches from his. "…"
"…should never have hesitated, should have done this a long time ago…"
Naruto's crying, trying not to but he's so hysterical Sasuke's alive and Madara's not and Sasuke's alive it's slipping out. He grabs his hand before Sasuke can react, holding it tightly, and Sasuke finally understands something as it happens.
Naruto understands something when Sasuke doesn't fight him, and he wants more than just Sasuke's hand anyway.
Sasuke understands something as Naruto pulls him in a bone-crushing hug, as Naruto cries and calls him a stupid, retarded bastard, and he, Naruto, was one too, and he was so sorry, so sorry for not telling you, for not saying when I should've, for not... that I…! and his voice cracks and Sasuke is very aware he's being held instead of broken like he should be.
Sasuke's so still at first.
So is the rest of world.
Then, Sasuke closes his eyes. He feels his body relax. His hands move (he responds)—
—and Naruto feels it too.
want to help you/want you to help me/want to do the Valley of the End right
This time, neither ever wanted to let go.
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One of the things that I believe about Naruto is that he blames himself for Sasuke leaving, rather than Sasuke himself. He'll blame Itachi, Orochimaru, Madara, anyone and anything but Sasuke himself or just "Sasuke being stupid." He'll reject that Sasuke left of his own will and not because of outside circumstances. I think Naruto believes if he had been better and less selfish and told Sasuke what he meant to him, judging from his internal monologue at Valley of the End (none of the most heart-breaking lines were actually said TO Sasuke), things would have been different.
Wah, I'm such a sentimentalist. :goes and cries in the corner for Sasuke and Naruto: