Author's Note: Nothing special to say other than that the plot thickens yet again. Hmmm, I know that there is a lot of detail to remember. I myself need to vacillate between my summaries for future chapters, old chapters and plot development blocks that I've been working with and that's just for what comes next, to say nothing of all the little details I try to keep straight because they may play a part later on. Well, these next couple of chapters should be toned down in drama and raised in intrigue, if I've done it right. I very much enjoy writing all of my stories and I hope that it has improved my technique somewhat. Cheer up though! I plan on putting Sasuke and Naruto through their paces at the new Chunin exams. Remember how little Naruto and he are technically still genin? Yeah, I have to fix that because, really, Naruto's too damn powerful and has grown too much even with the manga as it has been lately, for the stupid council and Tsunade not to have finally given him a promotion, no matter if he actually has to do the exam.
Also, I've decided I am in dire need of a beta. Don't worry, I've already found one. Many thanks go to El-Gilliath for her help. I asked her, and she graciously agreed, to take a look at the last two chapters as well as the beginning of this one. So, if you feel like re-reading (you know you want to, the smut is in the last chapter) go ahead once I've edited. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this latest installment.
Chapter title is shamelessly stolen from the imitable and indomitable Johnny Cash song, Walk the Line. May he rest in peace and not sue me for the use as I don't own the rights.
Chapter 16
Walk the Line
Sasuke turned the key to the lock of the gleaming door to their home. He sighed as he slid off his shoes and traipsed through the living room toward the kitchen. The brand new coffee maker he had set up, along with everything else they'd bought on their doomed trip through town, was calling. He walked over and set it up to drip a strong brew, already feeling better as the heady odor of it wafted throughout the lower rooms. He'd left the door open. He knew Naruto would take care of it for him. He could hear the clicking of the machine drowned out by the slamming of wood on wood and Naruto tramped heavily to the couch to sit down.
"We need to talk," Naruto said evenly.
"I know," Sasuke responded quietly, eyes closed and neck muscles shifting to try and alleviate some of the tension built up there. He had a lot to answer for, in some ways so did Naruto.
"Why didn't you do anything?" Naruto hedged faintly. Sasuke felt his heart skip and lose rhythm, jolting him to nearly stagger as he made his way to sit next to him numbly.
"I don't know," Sasuke answered, trying to come to terms with what had been running inside his head; the unadulterated terror at the sight of those people, so angry, and that knife, all aimed at Naruto.
"The truth, Sasuke. I may not always be good at telling when someone is lying. I may not always be good at seeing a lot of things, but I want the truth," Naruto said firmly.
Fear made Sasuke's resolve crumble at the same time as it brought out his anger; so it always had.
"Can we not do this now? It's been a really long, really bad night," he snapped.
"Has it? Really? All of it, Sasuke? Because I distinctly remember some of it being, if not completely wonderful, then at least ending up that way," Naruto murmured to him while smiling softly.
Sasuke knew what he was talking of. And for that too he should feel guilty, if not completely deserving of the hatred Naruto should be pinning him with right now. He looked down at the floor and tried to keep the shaking from his hands and voice. When had he gotten so bad at concealing himself?
"And what about you, huh?" he decided to hide in his irrational anger and pull Naruto into it as much as he could. When in doubt, delay and distract, right? Naruto blinked. He could see it out of the corner of his eyes though they still studied the wood grain and knot holes of the hardwood flooring.
"I . . . ," he sighed and swallowed. "Everything in the past few days, or few weeks or whatever, has come and gone in bits and pieces, fits and starts. I wasn't always there. I mean, I knew what was happening just as you did but I was also somewhere in my head, kind of like most of the time in that village. Sometimes I could feel things: the air, your hands, or the smell of the sea. And other times I was hollow. I ignored what I could and escaped when I couldn't and yet didn't want to be where I was. I don't really know if . . . I'm not sure if I can do this, coming back here. But I refuse to just hide away in some peaceful garden village no matter how great it was. Sasuke, I came back here to try to piece everything together and because I wanted more than just some story I saw inside a psycho's head."
Sasuke raised his head a little to look over at him and wished he hadn't. The hollow, wounded look was back. But at least Naruto was still talking.
"I'm angry at her. It's why I wouldn't go see her first. I don't understand any of it, but worse, I'm afraid the real reasons will be nothing like what I'm hoping they are. Even if they are, she hid things, she lied about so much and she stole from me. I could have had something worthwhile to hold onto all those years in that apartment alone. I mean, I had a caretaker for a few years and one to drop off food, and then money, after that. That went on until I was deemed old enough to get by on my own." Naruto rambled and must have realized it because he stopped suddenly and continued with what he had been trying to avoid.
"I want to hate her. I want to hate Kakashi. I fear seeing the others, to the point that I avoided them altogether. I'm not even sure what they know about what happened in that cave, or that battle, with the training at that village . . ."
Naruto stopped talking again and Sasuke held his breath, waiting. Would it stop now? Would that be the last thing he heard for a while, or forever? Sasuke panicked.
"I froze," he said quickly and Naruto looked at him, eyes widening.
"I froze," he said again, willing himself to get it all out before he lost all courage or the guilt ate away at his voice and he brewed in silent anger until something like that happened again.
"I froze and, later, I figured out why . . . or at least I think I have."
"I almost wanted it. I'm sorry, Naruto," and now he was pleading. "I saw the knife, and their faces and I knew what was happening. I felt like . . . I felt like if part of me could help you and the other part could let it happen . . . But there was no way that could happen all at once and I froze. I don't want to feel this . . . whatever it is that's between us; I can't do this again. I'm scared of it. I want it to go away."
"I want it to go away," he said again softly, silently asking for something, anything, to tell him what to do now. He felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed. The hand stayed and he reached up to cover it with one of his own. The lines and knots in the wood blurred and Sasuke blinked them into focus, seeing the drops of water on the floor. Was he crying . . . again?
"I'm sorry," he croaked.
"I don't buy it, Sasuke. But I don't live in your head, you do. So, if that's what happened, then we've got work to do," narrowing his eyes at him. Did he think he was stupid? Or maybe Sasuke was purposely trying to confuse him.
He got up off the couch and headed to the sliding glass door that lead to the garden training ground behind the house. Sasuke followed mutely after, scrubbing his face with his hands and shutting the coffee maker off. It looked like adrenaline would serve a better stimulant than coffee today. He was sure they wouldn't have much time before the medical teams showed up to collect Naruto, or else Naruto started a row with them in the backyard. He smiled slightly as Naruto turned and signed the words, 'Come at me, with everything. Now.' Sasuke would not have denied him at any other time and he thought he could guess at what Naruto was up to anyway.
Starting off with a few stretches to warm up, Sasuke launched himself at Naruto without warning, taking him to the ground in a rough slide sweep. Naruto struggled to his feet and huffed out a breath before attacking in a series of hits, kicks and sweeps before Sasuke stopped a kunai with a hand chop to Naruto's wrist. Now, it was serious. Sasuke wondered what it was that Naruto was trying to accomplish. Is this really just more training? They fought hard, twisting into each other and away hard, sweeping, breathing and somersaulting off of trees until they both resorted to ninjutsu and Sasuke brought out the Sharingan. When Naruto began to summon natural energy, Sasuke hesitated, watching. The transformation was unlike anything else he'd seen, from him or anyone else. It was intense and powerful and utilized a clone so that Naruto could still move, distracting Sasuke. Sasuke could sense the tension in the air between them. This was more than just a spar between them as rivals, or even as friends. Perhaps he regretted what they had done together? Sasuke should have talked with him about it before. But his cowardice was inevitable. He really had not wanted to lose it after all, this thing between them, or Naruto himself. Neither one of them could spare any more time for speech though. Sasuke sweated and huffed his way into the fight and watched for any change in Naruto's face. He wondered if Naruto could see any.
They were desperately trying to overtake each other now, much like they had at the Valley of the End. Only this time it felt even worse, as if something even deeper were happening at the same time. It all happened so fast, and yet Sasuke felt as if they were barely moving so fluid and strong were his and Naruto's movements. Until Naruto missed a step just as Sasuke brought out a blade, spiraling and crackling with Chidori. There was no way, tired and still slightly injured from the previous day's attack and probably also from the night of lovemaking, that Naruto was going to be able to avoid it. Sasuke could see that. Utter panic rose in his chest like some howling beast and Sasuke could not, would not, let it happen again. He moved on instinct, blocking the kunai with another he'd drawn from his pouch as he swung Naruto out of the way and swiveled back to avoid the charge overreaching the blade. Fear gripped his chest but his hands had been strong and steady . . . and he'd moved. Suddenly, anger lit inside his stomach dully, he was too tired to let it burn full bore, as he realized what Naruto was really trying to do. He hadn't been trying to get Sasuke to calm down through exercise or let slip something different from the truth because he was frustrated and angry. Rough, dry laughter from behind him, softly sweeping past his ears and out into the air, only confirmed his suspicions.
Naruto breathed in and out heavily. So, he really had been afraid. Then, as he was now, yet it was something different when they had faced those villagers. But, he was trying to overtake it, as he probably had when he'd faced Itachi years ago at that inn. Naruto understood it now. Sasuke was guilty of many things, including hurting him, and yet he was changing at the same time. It was slow and subtle and Sasuke fought it bitterly but Naruto could see it happening anyway. Naruto had grown too then, he supposed, to be able to see it. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly he turned to face Sasuke fully and with eyes clearer than they had ever been before.
"So, still want to see me get hurt now?" Naruto asked and Sasuke could hear the tired smile without having to turn around.
"You . . ," Sasuke said swinging around to face him, voice dangerously low and shaking, "Naruto, you . . . were you trying to get yourself killed?!!" he finished on a roar. "I should grant your wish, just to spite you, you asshole!"
"Maa, easy there Sasuke, you could really hurt someone, with anger like that," Kakashi said calmly, appearing in front of Sasuke in a cloud of silent smoke.
"Bastard, don't appear out of nowhere!" Sasuke fumed. "And how the hell did you get passed the security wall without my sensing it?" he demanded.
Surprisingly, Kakashi gave him a straight answer for once, "I didn't get into the ANBU Corps because I was lacking in stealth, Sasuke, even against someone like you."
He turned to Naruto who was intent on counting grass blades with his eyes, every single one of them it seemed.
"Hello, Naruto," Kakashi said gently. Naruto looked up at him and it looked to Sasuke as if he really were making good on his desire to hate the man.
"You look good, Naruto. You both did, from what little of that spar I saw. You work well together. But then, I always thought so." Kakashi kept his voice quiet. Naruto snorted and turned away.
"I want to talk to you, to both of you." He cut his eyes to Sasuke as well who glanced away and then looked over at Naruto to see what he would do. He didn't move so neither did Sasuke. Kakashi took a deep breath and started to speak.
"I realize you have no reason to trust or believe me but I came here to tell you the truth, as I have known it, about you and your parents," he told Naruto.
"And your family as well, Sasuke," he leaned his head toward Sasuke while keeping his one eye on his other student. Sasuke twitched and scowled at him. Naruto continued to study the grass, narrowing his eyes angrily at it, as if he could burn his indignation through it and erase it from the world.
"Naruto, I knew your father as well as anyone, and better than those people who worked the closest with him. I loved him. He was like you in that he used his determination to surmount the nearly impossible odds against him to become this village's fourth leader. It took him almost no time at all to show this place that he was both willing and capable enough to protect them, from anything. And he did. You are included in that desire. We hid that from you, though I had at least wanted you to know what your father went through to keep you safe."
Naruto looked up at this a moment, searching Kakashi's face before returning his eyes to the ground. Confusion sparked there and Sasuke held his breath, not willing to take this away from him. It was what he had wanted after all, to know the truth. He was careful to keep the Sharingan on so he could judge that everything Kakashi told Naruto was truth and not some half-lie based on what he wanted to hear.
"When you were born, you were very small. Too young, perhaps, to survive at all let alone without grave problems. Minato, as much as he trusted the council and the others he was close to, myself included, did not want you to suffer. It was also why he made it law that you would not be told of the demon. He had not counted on the disintegration of fear into anger and hatred. Neither had the council, too caught up in the possibility of training Konoha's very own Jinchuuriki."
Kakashi stopped for a moment to regard Naruto evenly. He fought down the rolling pain in his body at the memories clawing each other to overtake his soul.
"As for your mother's death, I don't know why the Sandaime chose to lie to you about her, making up that story about some village by the sea. I'm sure he had a good reason. Probably the same as I had in choosing to keep the violence of serving as a member of the ANBU assassination squad as far away from you as possible, until you were ready to begin training seriously as a ninja."
Kakashi stopped again when he saw that Naruto was shaking. This was far from the setting in which he had wanted to reveal the mistakes they had all made where Naruto was concerned. He felt the words catch in his throat and swallowed thickly to free them. Atonement was not a peaceful thing.
"Her death was brutal, Naruto. Perhaps . . . perhaps the Sandaime believed it better for you to think she had been too overwhelmed by her family and too proud to suffer ridicule at having to give you up. If you could see beyond the betrayal and that pain, then you might think that way too, if it had been your son. Which is better to hear, though, I have always wondered? Which is less painful? Is the truth really better, or hearing the lie that saved you from a life amongst a dying village with nothing to eat and nothing to drive you to fight for something better? Of course the lie took from you the fact that she had loved you."
Kakashi encased himself in his own guilt, feeding it with his own doubts and anger. Had I watched, had I listened, this child would not have suffered. They should not have been made to suffer. Neither of them could do anything to stop what happened and can do nothing now to erase it. I cannot change that. Kakashi sighed heavily. Gods, he wished for a different life, as he had at no other time. Not even when his father had cursed himself and his son with his disgraceful cowardice and dishonorable tactics.
"She loved you, they both did. And, I . . . I grieved for my teacher and friend. I pushed away the chance to raise you until it was too late and your caregivers had already been decided. I will not beg for forgiveness for that, or anything else, because I don't deserve it. I cannot change what has been done, only learn to live with the person I have become and hope that it is still enough to be your friend and teacher. We really were trying to protect you from as much of the consequences of having been formed into a Jinchuuriki as possible. Their hatred was watched closely. Had anyone overtly tried to hurt you, they would have been stopped and punished, severely."
Kakashi could not keep the pain from his voice this time. He could not stop the trembling in his throat from leaking into the words. He did not struggle against it. It was his own failures that had brought them here, even if he had only played a small role in the events themselves.
Sasuke scoffed at him. All those comrades had been pretty non-existent when they had been attacked not just two days ago. Never mind that they had been in some kind of village-wide ninja meeting, excluding Danzou's own ANBU of course. They had actually been discussing him and his widening influence. There had been disturbing reports that he was trying to subvert the village government and the position the Hokage had formed into when Tsunade took office. At least, those were the rumors and whispers spreading out among them like so much grain on the wind. It appeared that the ones responsible for the attack had been the only ones so far to fall victim to the propaganda. As they had acted on their own, and the ANBU Tsunade did control could not find any direct evidence against Danzou orchestrating it, she could not imprison him. But she could imprison the ones directly behind it and she had; committing them to a very harsh, but allowable, sentence in Konoha Penitentiary. Sasuke listened as Kakashi's quiet voice explained it to Naruto. He was hoping for a chance to hear more of his family, even if he refused to believe any of it. He longed to know what had really gone on in the village at that time. There seemed to be far too many people slipping through the cracks and being wiped away under the mired sewage they trucked out as success stories for Sasuke's liking. Apparently, Naruto felt the same as he began to shake his head slowly, eyes still cast to the ground. What was it Kakashi had just said? That the Godaime had been worried about him constantly and requested that they meet with her?
"I can't believe that," Naruto muttered. "It's not enough."
Sasuke could sympathize. Learning so many awful things couldn't be easy, especially not when it came from someone you were supposed to trust, someone you had trusted. Naruto shook his head at Kakashi again. What was he supposed to do with this? It didn't take away what he and the others had done. It didn't give him back all those years he could have been remembering his father and mother. Worse, he still couldn't trust that his father only had his health and the lives of the villagers in mind when he sealed the Kyuubi away. Maybe if he had known about it before. He should have known about a lot of this before. Naruto risked a glance up at Kakashi and knew that the despair he found in his teacher's eyes was real. The man had always hidden everything so well. To show this much of his private pain, it had to be real. Didn't it? Naruto didn't know anything anymore, maybe he never had. But when he looked over at Sasuke, he could be sure that the pain he saw there, a suffering that was for him, was something that he could rely on. He didn't want it, true, but it was there all the same. Suddenly all he wanted was sleep and Sasuke's touch. Tsunade could wait until he was ready to hear her story.
"Leave now, Kakashi," he said tiredly. "I'm going to bed. I'll come when I'm ready."
Kakashi nodded and turned to Sasuke.
"If you like, I could tell you what I know about your family, or I could wait. You've heard a lot of things today. If you would rather I come back when you are able to process everything, or perhaps you don't wish to know because you cannot trust me . . ." Kakashi trailed off, waiting to hear what Sasuke wanted.
"I can't believe anything that comes from your mouth. I don't want to believe it. But for it to come from Tsunade or those senile politicians that only have the larger picture in their eyes instead of each individual that they serve . . .," Sasuke shook his head, so many things holding sway over his heart.
"I can believe them even less. I will trust you, if only because my Sharingan is more powerful than yours and so you cannot lie. Not without my knowing about it," Sasuke said as he looked Naruto over critically. Sasuke watched the strength he'd previously used to keep himself on even ground during that fight dissipate quickly. "Come back later. I can wait another few hours to learn the truth."
What he really wanted to say, that if it came from his old teacher, someone he still admired and very much wanted to trust then he could believe it, was left at the pit of his stomach to rot and fade away. So much was still unanswered and yet it no longer needed to be heard immediately. He felt things changing between them all, Naruto, Kakashi and himself. Nodding to his teacher as he left the training grounds, Sasuke walked over to Naruto who was so exhausted that he swayed on his feet. Before he could touch him, Naruto moved away toward the house.
"We should eat something. And I need a shower," he mumbled in Sasuke's direction, still keeping his head bent toward the ground.
Sasuke caught his arm as he passed by and swung him around so they faced each other.
"If you want to go back to Gure-pu Sawa, no one will see it as running away, not that what they think should matter," he said quietly.
Naruto stiffened in his grip and hissed out a breath. He looked up at Sasuke angrily while he tried to twist away.
"Running away? You think I want to run away!? What good would that do?" he cried out.
"I know that I may never see her or Kakashi the same way again, but they were trying their best, the best they knew how to do. Maybe they had planned on telling me when they were sure I could handle everything. I've never exactly been one to show off my mature side, have I? And you think I want to run away from it rather than stay and fight for what we all had together? I didn't chase you for more than three years for you to give up the moment things got weird or tough. And, I didn't work for nearly four years to be accepted and loved just to throw it away the first time someone hurts me, especially if what they thought they were doing was saving me from a deeper pain!" he yelled at Sasuke before breaking free and heading into the house quickly.
Sasuke caught up with him in the living room and stopped him again. Naruto growled at him and the tension in the air increased. Sasuke backed off enough to give him some space but not enough to allow him to run any further.
"What's wrong with spending your time with me? What's wrong with living in a place that has never seen war and doesn't know the pain of loss outside of illness or the occasional drunken fight? Here, we deal with massive death and crime by horrendous demons wearing human skin. Here, we will get bogged down by all the pain we see, the injuries we cannot stop. What's wrong with not wanting to do it anymore!?" he yelled back, frustrated that Naruto chose to see it as a weakness to want to live a better life.
Naruto sighed and looked at him, gentle understanding clear in his eyes.
"I'm not saying it's wrong for anyone to want that, Sasuke. But, I want this life. I'm not ready to give it up yet. I want to see how the others end up, whether or not they realize their own dreams. I want to protect these people, even if it's only from themselves."
Sasuke knew he had to be thinking of the attack when Naruto's gaze drifted off to the skyline and then back to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe in and out steadily. He couldn't give any more of his thoughts away so easily. Naruto spoke again and Sasuke opened his eyes to look at him, memorizing the speech patterns almost unconsciously. He'd forgotten how much they had soothed him.
"If you want to go back to that place . . . Gure-pu Sawa, was it? I won't stop you, Sasuke. It's your choice to live your life the way you want. I can accept you leaving if it's so you'll be happy and not end up hurting again."
Damn it, Naruto, why does everything with you have to be so self-sacrificing and so demanding at the same time? Sasuke didn't even want to touch the reason Naruto didn't remember the name of the village. That time was passed now. They were trying to start fresh. Although, the idea scared him enough to want to use anything he could grasp to shove it all into a hole somewhere and never look back.
"I don't want to go back. I just want to be with you," he said softly. He must have realized what he'd actually admitted because he looked stunned for a moment. Naruto felt something warm rise in his chest at the honest lilt despite all he'd heard that day. His head spun with confessions and emotions, not all of them his own. He felt giddy and nervous all at once.
Shit, did I just . . . Sasuke resisted the urge to clap a hand over his mouth and swallowed instead. It was too late. Naruto had already heard it. He needed something else to throw him off, then. Sasuke's thoughts raced ahead of themselves until they collided and turned back on each other furiously.
Naruto watched him close down quickly and sighed. But, it was Sasuke to speak again next and what he said threw him into a whirl of confusion he felt at his core.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't want to bring up last night so soon but I need to say this," he mumbled. He could feel it pulling urgently at him to get it out. Not just to use it as an excuse to throw Naruto off the trail his earlier words led down. That wasn't it at all, he told himself. He had learned recently not to try to bury things like this, hadn't he? How else would he climb out from all the harrowing things keeping him back from a life that was different, a life with Naruto? He shuddered, both afraid and exhilarated at the sudden about-face his thoughts had taken. Naruto, on the other hand, felt his mouth drop open when he finally realized what Sasuke was talking about.
"You think . . . you think I didn't want it to happen?" he asked incredulously.
"Whether you did or not doesn't matter. I took advantage of the situation. I wanted to feel you, to spend time with you . . . in that way. I didn't stop for a moment to think what it might cost you." He relented only when he felt a strong grip on his arm.
Naruto stared at Sasuke, determination and strength hardening him. He had no idea what had prompted this sudden change in Sasuke's thoughts. Perhaps he was trying to hide his desire to leave. Or, maybe he'd been using it as a shield. Naruto shook his head and increased the pressure around his wrist. Sure, he hadn't thought it would turn out the way it did. But, Sasuke had said it would be better the next time. Naruto believed him because that feeling he had seen only from a distance had been directed at him. It was still there now. Maybe he should have said something about it during the sex, or after? He gritted his teeth, frustrated with himself and how many things he still didn't know.
"I wanted it, Sasuke. I knew what we might end up doing. Maybe I didn't know how it was going to happen exactly, but I wanted to be with you too, more than I've wanted anything else ever. I saw that look in your eyes, something I'd only ever seen when I watched kids get picked up by their mothers or husbands greet their wives after a long day away and I wanted it. It was so strong and fierce and I thought if I let it escape me last night it might not come back. I realized today that it was probably there all along. Or, at least, it's been there for a while. And there isn't much to pull it apart, not when it's so strong," Naruto muttered hurriedly, waving his arms around excitedly as he did so.
It was embarrassing, having to explain. Why couldn't Sasuke be smart about this too? How had he become more knowledgeable about love when he'd never had it? Well, not this kind of love anyway. He loved Iruka, he was sure, and maybe Kakashi and Tsunade despite being pissed at them right now. Sasuke looked extremely puzzled.
He frowned at Naruto, irritated. "I don't understand. What look? There was no look. If there was, why didn't you say so before?"
Damn him, he really is confused, Naruto thought heatedly. Then he stopped thinking altogether. Could Sasuke really not know he was in love? Maybe Naruto had gotten it wrong? No, he was sure he had seen it in others before. It had been the same look, so he had to be in love. Then why hide it? Naruto thought about all the other things he'd seen in Sasuke's face and hit upon the angry shield he'd put up after his parents had died. Naruto hadn't known that had been the cause at the time. He had only seen it as one more reason to pulverize him. So, Sasuke was using the confusion to protect himself or else he was ignoring it in hopes that it would go away and they could continue being . . . whatever it was they had been in the village. Naruto snorted and narrowed his eyes teasingly.
"Oh, there was a look. You looked at me all starry-eyed and I couldn't help but throw myself brazenly at your feet, begging the shiny knight to ravage his no longer distressed prize." He batted his eyes at him playfully for good measure. Sasuke rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Whatever, you idiot. I'm still not sure I should let it go at this, but since you're serious about it. Well, until now anyway. Now you're just being stupid and it's not going to work."
"Work? Why, Sasuke, I don't know what you mean," Naruto mocked, pouting. The buzzing that had started in his head shortly after Kakashi had left returned suddenly, and in full force.
"I thought you wanted a shower," Sasuke grumbled.
Naruto allowed the almost pleasant buzzing to engulf him. He felt tired all of a sudden, all of the day's events and words bombarding him from all sides. He yawned hugely and stumbled against Sasuke's shoulder, sighing at the warmth radiating from it.
"Hey, you can't fall asleep like that."
Sasuke's rich and melodious voice reached him through the fog in his head, startling him, and he looked up blearily. Or had he been speaking softly? Sasuke's eyes raked over him gently as he smiled. Naruto tried to smile back. He might have mumbled something about it being different the next time, because Sasuke had promised, and Uzumaki Naruto wasn't going to let him forget it. It could have been a dream though. This whole day could have been a floating wonderland of strange dreams and almost nightmares, as far as he was concerned. Soft sheets, lemon scent and cool, clean air enveloped him soothingly as he landed on their brand new bed. He drifted along on purple smoke that shifted into his mother's smile. He missed it already. Naruto sighed heavily as Sasuke materialized in front of him. He wasn't talking though, and that was good. Naruto didn't have the strength to come up with anything decent to say. He felt pressure dipping the bed and warm arms wrapping around him. Sasuke's breath reached his cheeks and Naruto hummed in pleasure. However the road ahead had slanted and snagged at him, he knew that he hadn't lost sight of his friends or his family. The pain in his chest eased, albeit slowly. It was, indeed, losing ground. Naruto could feel it happening. Sasuke's hands had moved and begun caressing his back in a slow massage. It wasn't so bad, being home.