As always, beta'd by Shira_Taka!

adrift

"Well?"

Sasuke sat by a small river with Sarada, eating lunch he'd bought from the nearest convenience store.

Sarada picked at the grass at her feet. "Umm…" She glanced at him before quickly looking down at the grass.

He didn't miss the nervousness in that glance.

"I—I was wondering…" Sarada bit her lip. "Why don't you…visit Hokage-sama?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You…were following me because you wanted to ask me that?"

Sarada turned pink. "N-no." She grabbed an onigiri and took a big bite out of it. Her cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk as she tried to chew.

Sasuke knew full well she was trying to prolong her answer for as long as possible. It made him curious. He was used to Boruto following him around, but Sarada was new.

"Um…Papa?"

"Hm?"

"Can I…um…ask you something?"

Sasuke inclined his head. "Go on."

"What does…" Sarada worked furiously at the grass. "Um. What does…Hokage-sama…mean to you?"

"What—?" He cleared his throat when his voice caught. "Why do you ask that?"

"Um…" Sarada chewed her lips. "I…I've always heard stories about the two of you, but…I never really asked you about it. So…" Her pitch-black eyes, so much like his own, were wide with curiosity.

Something about her gaze made him feel like she was able to see into his very soul, and he looked out at the river instead.

"Naruto is…my closest friend."

"But…what does that mean?" Sarada asked.

Sasuke had to force himself to not react. He remembered asking that very same question to Naruto all those years ago in the Valley of the End, as they lay next to each other, beaten up and bleeding out.

But what exactly does that mean to you?

"Naruto is…"

His throat tightened.

Naruto was everything to him.

He glanced at Sarada, wondering what kind of answer she was looking for. Only to find that she was looking at him closely.

"Naruto is just that," he said, looking away quickly. "A—friend. Someone I've always been able to rely on."

The way Sarada watched him made him feel unsettled. She was sharp for her age and Sasuke wasn't sure whether to be proud of her or a bit scared of her.

"So why aren't you visiting him?" Sarada asked.

"Because…Boruto—"

"But why listen to him? Why did Boruto ask you to leave his family alone?"

Sasuke frowned at her. "Boruto blames me. For his father getting hurt."

He couldn't really fault the kid. Though something in him felt that there was something more to Boruto's reaction. Something more that Sasuke didn't want to think too deeply about. Something more that Sarada also seemed to discern.

"But that's not fair," Sarada said softly, sounding as if she was talking about something more. She hugged her knees and curled into herself.

Sarada seemed so small at that moment that Sasuke felt a need to hold her. But he wasn't sure how she might react to it. If she would even want comfort from a parent who had never been there for her. How would it feel to have some like him, who might as well be a distant relative to her, act as her parent?

But the longer he looked at her, the more he wanted to do something to lighten the load those small shoulders seemed to be carrying. Sasuke moved toward her and slowly put his arm around her.

Sarada started, and Sasuke froze, watching her carefully. To his surprise—and relief—her face brightened and she curled into him, hugging him tight. Sasuke held her close, feeling something unclog in his chest.

The moment didn't last long. Sasuke soon sensed a presence approaching them.

"Sakura."

Sakura put down her bag of groceries and crouched down in front of them, smiling down at Sarada. "Is our baby having a good time curled up there?"

Sarada burrowed further into Sasuke, hiding her face. "I'm not a baby anymore," came her muffled protest.

Sakura nodded slowly. "Mm, I can see that." She winked at Sasuke.

"Leave her be."

It was strange how she seemed lean on him with so much…trust. It was intimidating, especially since he'd done nothing to really earn it. It was strange how the girl still wanted him close when he'd been absent all her life.

Why would she want someone like me? Still, he couldn't help but feel warmth toward her. Thank you...for still accepting me.

Sakura reached across and caressed Sarada's hair. She looked at Sasuke, and he wasn't prepared for the emotion that swelled in her green eyes as she cupped his cheek with her other hand. "I love you both, so, so much."

"I…love you, too."

If Sakura noticed the tension in his voice, she gave no indication. She only smiled, and kissed him. It was brief, but it took all of Sasuke's effort not to recoil.

They left for home, as a family, as it was supposed to be.

It was more difficult than Sasuke expected.

Then again, he should have known that anything to do with Naruto never came easy.

Though he kept his distance as Boruto had asked, he would still watch Naruto from afar whenever he could, if only to reassure himself that Naruto was recovering. He'd watch as his family visited him, as the kids clambered onto his bed and chatted with him, as Hinata kissed him—it burned, even though it was always just a light, chaste kiss. Naruto would laugh and tell them stories, but that smile melt away the moment they left, the look in those blue eyes pulling at Sasuke. It was in those moments that the need to reach him, hold him, banish that look, felt all too strong for Sasuke. In those moments, he wondered if Naruto was thinking about him as well.

Sasuke had known this would happen, had known that it'd be painful, but he still couldn't bring himself to regret that night.

"…ke-kun? …Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke blinked, realizing he'd somehow spaced out again. He grimaced. He'd been doing that too often these days. "I'm…sorry." He looked down at his plate of food.

Sakura reached across the table to touch Sasuke's hand. He resisted the urge to snatch his hand back, and forced it to stay where it was.

"Please eat something, Sasuke-kun." There was a strange look in Sakura's eyes that made him feel uncomfortable.

He glanced at Sarada, who was very focused on her own food, on a mission to finish everything on her plate as fast as she could. When she did, she excused herself and washed her plate, before essentially running back to her room.

Sasuke winced internally.

He felt the absence of his daughter almost immediately when the atmosphere turned steadily heavy. Sasuke hadn't realized the impact of Sarada's presence among them until then. She was a serious child, but she had an optimism about her that lent the home an easy atmosphere. And now that Sarada was gone, Sakura seemed to loosen the hold on her emotions, and they seemed to spreading into the air, crowding him, suffocating him. He braced himself, but she remained quiet for the rest of dinner. Even when they cleaned up after, and went to bed, she never said a word.

Sasuke fell into a fitful sleep that night.

…

A few days later found Sasuke almost rolling his eyes when he sensed yet another child following him. Though this one was not as surprising, he'd still been under the impression that a kid like Boruto would have needed much longer to cool off before he was back to following Sasuke asking for more training

He really was like Naruto in that sense. Snorting, Sasuke jumped up to the nearest tree and hid his presence. Boruto started, looking visibly devastated when he realized he'd lost Sasuke. For the third time that day.

The kid's stealth skills were sorely in need of improvement.

At the same time, Sasuke was strongly reminded of those times when he himself would try (and fail) to stalk Kakashi with his team. He knew for sure Kakashi had a kick out of sending them on wild goose chases.

Sasuke was beginning to see why.

He followed Boruto, letting the kid flounder for some more time before he showed himself.

"Gah!" Boruto yelped and assumed a defensive stance, then relaxed when he realized it was Sasuke.

"Mind telling me why you've been following me?" Sasuke found himself asking for the second time that week.

"Um…" Boruto shifted. "Uh…"

Sasuke had to admit, it was amusing watching kids sweat under his stare. The stakes always seemed so high for them when it really wasn't in the grand scheme of things.

Boruto said something unintelligible.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

He turned pink. "I said, I'm—" His mouth twisted. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Boruto was a prideful kid, always acting with a strong sense of righteousness. For him to conclude that he was wrong for something he did…could not have been possible without help. Sarada had something to do with it, Sasuke was sure.

He smiled to himself.

Sasuke ought to make Boruto work a little more, since Sarada did give him a helping hand. "What for?"

"For—" Boruto looked down, kicking the dirt at his feet. "For—yelling…at you. Sorry."

Amused, Sasuke placed his hand on Boruto's head, resisting the urge to ruffle hair that looked so much like Naruto's. "I appreciate the apology, Boruto. Thank you. But I understand. You were afraid you were going to lose your father. You were upset, and needed an outlet." He was his teacher, it was the least he could do for him, especially after—

"Um…" Boruto's voice was so soft Sasuke almost didn't catch it. The look on his face reminded Sasuke of how Sarada looked earlier. It reminded him of something particular that Boruto had said that night.

Leave my family alone! You're always messing it up!

Sasuke had been trying to pretend that it didn't really mean anything, that Boruto had simply been too angry for any of his words to make sense.

Still, it stuck with him.

And that look on his face gave Sasuke the urge to end the conversation there, leave before Boruto had the chance to talk.

Yet, Sasuke couldn't let it go.

"Boruto."

Boruto looked up. Blue eyes so much like his. Blonde hair so much like his. Down to his whisker marks, everything about the child screamed a younger Naruto. The same passion, the same infuriating stubbornness.

"That night—" Sasuke started. "Why—when you—" He hesitated.

Unlike Sarada, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep his composure around Boruto.

Was it too late to backtrack? To go back to pretending?

Something in him flared up and fought against that idea, and he forged on before he could stop himself. "When you told me to leave your family alone. What did you mean by that?"

Boruto stiffened. Glanced sideways. But Sasuke had made sure there was no one nearby to eavesdrop.

"D-Dad…" Boruto said softly, looking down. "Dad was finally—finally spending time with us. Mom was happier. Himawari was happier. My family felt—whole—again…"

Sasuke felt a prickle of unease

"Then—then you came back. And Dad— When I look back…I remember how Dad always seemed…distracted…whenever you're around. He—" Boruto shifted. "He's always…different around you. More…" He frowned. "I'm not sure. I didn't…I didn't really think too much of it at the time."

Boruto finally met his gaze, and Sasuke felt something heavy weigh his body down as realization hit. "Sasuke-san… My dad…he's happy with us. I know he loves us. I just—my mom—my sis—I just want them to be happy." He bit his lip. "So—please—go back—to your own family. I know it would make Sarada really happy if you paid more attention to her and…your own family…and…leave my dad alone."

Sasuke became much too aware of the acute throbbing in his wounded leg, and he stood there awhile, watching as the kid shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

Boruto…saw.

Sasuke wasn't sure how much he saw, or what he saw, but he saw something. And if Boruto did, then Sarada definitely saw something.

It was making sense now.

Sasuke knew Boruto was right. That one night was just that. One night. It wasn't supposed to change anything.

But it changed everything.

That night was when Sasuke confirmed years upon years of nagging doubt that had always lingered in the back of his mind. When he realized that it wasn't just him, that it wasn't all in his head. The realization brought with it a bittersweet taste, but still, for just one night, Sasuke let himself pretend. He let himself imagine what could be, let himself succumb to that dizzying sensation he'd felt from being honest with himself, with Naruto.

It was a night he'd keep close to his heart, even as the repercussions worried him.

Surprisingly, though, it was easier to stay away from Naruto than he expected. He was hesitant about seeing Naruto again. Just a glimpse of him was enough to make Sasuke unsteady on his feet, so it was easier to keep a distance, pretend that it had all been a dream.

But a bigger part of Sasuke still longed to be near him again, feel…whole again.

But that night had just been a break from reality. Now that they were back, they had to focus on their own families, their own responsibilities. Sasuke owed at least that much to Sarada.

He made his bed. Now he must lie in it.

For once I don't feel like anything's missing.

Naruto couldn't, for the life of him, get that night out of his head. Those memories were especially vivid when they revisited him at night. Almost every single time, he would wake up painfully hard, as if he were a hormonal teenager or something. To his utter embarrassment, Hinata noticed it one morning and smiled conspiratorially.

He couldn't let her.

He mumbled one excuse after another and threw himself into a cold shower. He didn't dare touch himself.

More than that night, though, Naruto found himself looking back on the simple evenings he used to spend with Sasuke, as much as he tried not to. Though, he knew he wasn't really trying hard. Despite the ache it gave him, he couldn't deny the peace it brought him when he thought back to those afternoons they'd spend bickering over the smallest things. He missed how the mere presence of Sasuke was enough to fill him up. With Sasuke, he was simply Naruto. Not the Hokage, not a husband, not a father. Stripped of everything he thought he'd wanted in his life, yet he felt more whole, more like himself, than he could remember feeling. After all that, returning to his present, where he was once again the Hokage, once again Hinata's husband, his childrens' father, felt…strange. Like wearing clothes that fit him but just didn't feel right. He felt conscious of his every move, feeling as though everyone was watching him, waiting for the opportune moment to catch him making a mistake.

Sasuke had not visited him once during his stay at the hospital, and with every day he didn't visit, Naruto felt like it was all in his head. It felt as though he lost Sasuke, much like the phantom limb pain he used to feel when he'd lost his arm all those years ago. Except, this time, it felt deeper, impossible to ignore. Sasuke was…there. Naruto could feel him.

I want to see him.

Maybe it was good that Sasuke was staying away. Meeting him would only bring everything back to the surface, and that would only make getting back to his normal life more difficult.

Still, Naruto wanted to see Sasuke.

He knew he couldn't go on like this, and he was glad when he was finally discharged. Now that he was out of the hospital, he could distract himself. And luckily enough for him, there was a festival happening that weekend. He'd take the chance to spend time with his family—and hopefully forget about him.

So, on the morning of, Naruto took the kids out, and wandered the streets, looking at all the different things the stalls offered. Himawari seemed content enough staying by his side, holding his hand and swinging it between them.

Boruto, too, seemed to be enjoying himself. Granted, he had been acting a little weird around Naruto lately, but he didn't let it bother him. The kid wasn't acting as hostile towards Naruto as he used to, so Naruto would take any weirdness over hostility any day. He'd use this chance bond with him.

Boruto lit up suddenly and waved his hands, looking at someone far behind Naruto. "HEY! SARADA! OVER HERE!"

Naruto turned and saw two figures—

He froze.

He was out here to forget about him, not—

Shit.

"H-Heyy, Hima." He picked Himawari up and found a nearby stall selling cotton candy. "Do you want some of that?"

"Oooh!" Himawari bounced in his arms. "Yeah, yeah!"

"I want some too!" Boruto chimed in.

Naruto grinned. "Let's go, then—"

"HEY, SARADA," Boruto hollered over the crowd. "DO YA WANT COTTON CANDY?"

"SURE! WE'LL BE RIGHT OVER!" Sarada yelled back.

Naruto swiftly walked to the cotton candy stall. "Uh—three cotton candy, please!"

The stall-owner grinned. "Coming right up! That'd be 900 Ryo, please!"

Naruto lifted Himawari and sat her upon his shoulders, freeing his hands to fumble around for his wallet.

"Sara-nee!" Himawari waved.

"Hi, Hima-chan! Hi, Naruto-san!"

"H-hey, Sarada," Naruto looked down at Sarada, who was beaming, cheeks rosy with excitement.

Naruto felt his skin prickle. He couldn't ignore the other person standing beside her. He knew he only had to look up and he'd see those devastating features.

He hadn't seen him since—

No. Stop.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Sasuke. "Hey, S—"

Meeting his gaze was a mistake. In that visible pitch-black eye, Naruto found much of the same, alternating, dizzying sense of both the peace and the intensity that he'd felt that night—

Damn it, he wanted—needed—

That night wasn't enough. Naruto should have known it would never have been enough.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was cool, controlled.

Naruto, he remembered Sasuke whispering in his ears, voice thick with desire and pleasure and pain, condensed into a single word that weighed heavily on Naruto's chest.

"Naruto," Sasuke said again, this time with a sharpness that shook Naruto out of his momentary daze.

Naruto took another deep breath. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Papa, Papa, com'on, the cotton candy's ready!" Himawari patted his head excitedly, pulling the rest of him back to the here and now.

Naruto plastered on a big smile. "Alright!" He took the cotton candies and handed one to each of the kids. Boruto and Sarada were oddly quiet. Then, Boruto gave Sasuke a long look, to which Sasuke nodded. Boruto nodded back, his expression strangely severe, and then beckoned Sarada to follow him to a stall.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"An agreement between a student and his sensei," Sasuke said.

From the set of his jaw, Naruto knew the bastard wasn't going to elaborate. He'd have to see if he could extract it out of Boruto, then.

Naruto reached out for something else to talk about, something to distract him from thoughts of—

He felt on edge, energy coiled up inside him straining to get out. Clashing with that was the strange sort of contentment he also felt walking beside Sasuke, the excitement he felt at being so near him again. It all made his chest feel uncomfortably full.

"Keep your shit together," Sasuke said under his breath. He was facing ahead, but his eyes were trained on Naruto with a look of warning.

Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He tried to focus on Himawari instead, who was on his shoulders humming a little tune as she played with his hair. He held her legs to his chest, just firm enough to ground him.

"Did Shikamaru have any updates for you about the village?" Sasuke asked.

A safe topic. Good.

"The—" Naruto's voice cracked. He cleared his throat and continued, "Um—the team was dispatched a week ago, but it's too early for them to have any messages for us."

"Hn."

The conversation was over more quickly than Naruto expected, and he cast about for something else to talk about. Fortunately, Naruto noticed that Sasuke was favoring his wounded leg.

"Um…how's your leg?"

"It's fine," Sasuke said.

"You know…I could transfer Kurama's cloak to you for a minute. It'd heal your leg in an instant."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

The politeness of it rubbed Naruto the wrong way. "Why not?"

Sasuke ignored him.

Another topic, over much too fast. Naruto sighed to himself. He tried to think of something else to talk about, but nothing came to mind. That night kept coming back to him, the way Sasuke had looked so flushed and breathless and—

Enough, Naruto.

The silence that followed probably only lasted a minute, but it felt like it dragged. Naruto could feel the air between them, thick, nerve-wracking and—weird.

"Papa!"

"Yeah, Hima?" At least he had his baby girl to chat with—

"Put me down!"

Never mind.

"Aww, you don't like being on Papa's shoulders?"

Himawari giggled and hugged him. "I love it! But I wanna also be with Sara-nee!"

"Alright." Chuckling, Naruto hoisted Himawari off his shoulders and put her down. "Here ya go."

"Nii-san!" She started running towards Boruto and Sarada, then skidded to a halt. She ran back to Naruto and almost slammed into his legs, hugging them. "Love you, Papa!"

Naruto almost melted. He knelt to her level and hugged her back. "Love you, too, princess."

Himawari blushed and then ran up to the other kids, yelling, "Nii-san! Nee-san! Wait for me!"

"Has she always been close with Sarada?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?" Naruto followed his gaze to find Himawari holding Sarada's hand, bouncing along as they chatted. He smiled. "Yeah. Hima's always adored Sarada. You know, Sarada used to come over to our place often, whenever Sakura had to work night shifts. So, they got pretty tight." He snorted. "At one point, Boruto got jealous, and he got into a fist fight with Sarada for 'stealing his sister from him'."

"I'm glad she had you."

Naruto gave a sidelong glance at Sasuke, who was looking at Sarada with an expression that made his heart go out to him. "What do you mean?"

"When I wasn't…here. Thank you…for being there for her."

"Aww, Sas." Naruto nudged him. "I saw her as my own. I'm glad that you're here for her now. She loves it whenever you're home, ya'know?"

"Mn."

Naruto went back to watching the kids. They were at a fishing stall, trying in vain to catch fish with nets that were clearly rigged. Grinning, Naruto made his way to them.

"You kids having trouble?"

Boruto made a face. "Well—you try if you think you're so good at it."

"Ho ho, let me show you how it's done." He waved to the owner. He used to suck at this, but he wanted to try another trick. "Sir, I'd like three nets, please!"

The owner gave him the nets with a suspicious look.

Putting the nets together, Naruto went for a scoop. And missed.

He went for another scoop and got a fish. The first net broke through, but the second and third held, and he lifted the fish—

The last two nets broke, and the fish fell back into the water with a soft plop.

Boruto scoffed. "Wow—that's pathetic, Dad."

Determined, Naruto bought three more nets from the owner, who was looking at him smugly. Huffing, he went back to fishing, determined to catch at least one.

It couldn't be that hard, could it?

Long story short, he failed.

Sarada giggled.

Sasuke pushed Naruto aside. "Move over, loser."

"O-Oi—" Naruto sputtered. "What the hell—"

But Sasuke was already focused on the fish, holding his net at the ready. When the opportunity came, Sasuke—using just one net—deftly scooped up not one, not two, but three goldfishes in successive scoops. He made to scoop a fourth one when the net finally gave out, and he looked up at the stall owner, who paled a little under his stare and meekly gave him a second one, free of charge.

With that one, he scooped four more. He had the grumpy owner separate the seven goldfish into three little bags and gave one to each of the wide-eyed kids, giving the one with the extra fish to Himawari, who smiled widely. "Thank you, Sasuke-san!"

Sasuke smiled and ruffled her hair. She seemed to preen under his attention.

Naruto gave Sasuke a dirty look. "You tryna steal my kids or something?"

"I wasn't the one making a big fool out of myself," Sasuke said flatly.

Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright, you kids wanna play more games? I heard they set up some new games, ya'know!"

Boruto pumped his fists in the air. "Alright!" he yelled and followed Naruto.

"Nii-san! Papa! Wait—oof!"

Naruto whirled around to find Himawari on the ground, dust-covered and coughing, and rushed over to her. "Hima-chan!" He helped her up, dusting her clothes off. "I'm so sorry—you okay?"

"Mm." Himawari looked down, lips trembling.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay. Let me look at you." Naruto found scratches on her palms and knees. There was a particular one on her knee that was bleeding slightly. He dug into his pack, looking for his first-aid kit. "Does it hurt, Hima-chan?"

"No," she mumbled.

Naruto dug deeper into his pack, wondering if he was dumb enough to forget—

Shoot—was it with Hinata?

"Here." Sasuke crouched next to Naruto, his own med-pack open, dampening a cotton ball with antiseptic. "May I?"

Himawari nodded but whimpered when Sasuke started cleaning her wounds.

"Shh, it'll be okay, baby." Naruto held her, rubbing her arms, as Sasuke tended to her, neatly and efficiently cleaning, and bandaging her wounds. His hand moved with a grace and fluidity that Naruto found himself hypnotized by. The sharp scent of antiseptic did nothing to mask Sasuke's own smell now that he was so close again. Naruto swallowed back the wave of emotion rising up within him and held Himawari tighter.

He wasn't sure if he felt better or worse when Sasuke was done. Shaking his head, Naruto helped Himawari up, holding both her hands. "Can you walk?"

Himawari nodded and took one small step. Then another. She wobbled. "Uuuh."

Naruto chuckled. "Come on, let Papa carry you."

"No." Himawari turned away, pouting, and held her hands up to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked just as surprised as Naruto felt.

Boruto cackled. "Even Hima's realized how pathetic you are, Dad."

Naruto made a face but could only shrug when Sasuke glanced at him. He looked almost uncertain when he looked back down at Himawari, who was on her toes reaching for him. Sasuke crouched, and when Himawari hopped onto him, his eyes widened. He hesitantly curled his arm under her bottom and picked her up. She snuggled into him, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

Himawari had always been an easygoing child. Though a little shy, she got along with most everyone once she warmed up to them. But there was something particular about how comfortable she looked in Sasuke's arms, looking completely at home with her silly smile, that made Naruto's chest tighten.

He forced a smile. "Guess some things still haven't changed, huh?"

Sasuke still looked somewhat bewildered. "What?"

"You still have girls falling all over for you."

Sarada whirled around. "Wait—what? Papa, did you really?"

Naruto smirked. "Oh yeah, he definitely was a heartbreaker back in the day."

Sarada's eyes grew large. "So…how many people did you date before Mama?"

Naruto tried not to laugh at Sasuke's expression.

"I…didn't date. I was too…focused on…er…" Sasuke glanced at Naruto, and it dawned on him that Sarada probably didn't know about her father's…history.

"He was too busy training," Naruto said. "He wasn't any good with girls."

"Oh?" Boruto said. "Then what about you? Did you have any girls after you?"

"Of course!" Naruto puffed his chest out. "I've had tons of girls after me!"

Sasuke snorted. "When…exactly…was this? All I remember was you failing over and again with Sakura."

Naruto turned red. "Th-This was after the war, bastard. You weren't here. I was a hero, remember?"

"Of course," Sasuke deadpanned.

Naruto realized it had grown unnaturally quiet then and found Boruto and Sarada staring at him.

"…What?"

Sarada chewed her lips, her brows furrowing. Eventually, she asked, "You…asked my mom out?"

"Oh yeah," Sasuke said smoothly. "He had a huge crush on Sakura."

"But then…" Boruto said, "what about…my mom?"

Naruto somehow felt as though this was not an off-hand question. He crouched and put his hands on the kid's shoulders. "Sakura-chan was just a crush, Boruto. Your mom? I married her."

"You…love her, right?"

"Yeah, of course—I do." Naruto was taken aback by the intensity in Boruto's gaze. There seemed to be more behind the question, and Naruto felt the need to add, "We share more than love, Boruto. We promised ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives. We had you and Hima-chan and built a family together."

"Yeah, whatever." Boruto shook Naruto's hands off him and looked away.

"Boruto—come, I found another game!" Sarada led Boruto away to another stall.

Naruto stayed crouched, watching the kids as they played, but not really seeing them.

He had made a promise to love her. For the rest of our lives.

The realization hit Naruto like a punch to his gut.

His vows to her played back in his head, in his young voice, full of excitement and optimism. Again and again and—

What a fool he'd been.

Notes

nosimphere0, thank you for always leaving a review, I love reading your thoughts and they mean so much. And thank you for still being here? Grad school has been crazy and I barely had time or energy to do anything, and I can't really promise regular updates, but I'll try my best. To respond, you bring a good point, it's true you shouldn't really force anyone into anything, I didn't actually consider that. Where I was coming from, it just way too obvious what's between Naruto and Sasuke, and I honestly feel like anyone who knew them would know, you know? In my verse, at least, it would be weird that kakashi or tsunade didn't atleast stop naruto and sasuke to think about things before they jumped into marriage? so I guess this is my explanation. As for being gay, to be honest, its very complicated in our world, too. Because otherwise...Naruto and Sasuke would actually have been a pairing? Like, when you think about it, if Naruto or Sasuke were a female character, they would have no doubt ended up together. That's my take. Okay I'ma stop rambling, hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next one will come soon!