For: usagi_no_hotaru

[sne_mod2]

For: usagi_no_hotaru
Title: Because I Love You
Rating: R
Summary: After Sasuke's battle with Itachi, Naruto reaches him before Akatsuki does, and manages to take him back to the village.
Warnings: ANGST? And some light porn, but nothing too bad.
A/N: I screwed around with how baths work in Konoha, because it was the easiest way for my plot to happen. SO it won't read like a traditional Japanese bath, for which I am sorry, but I got the scene in there, so I hope you enjoy it. I really meant for this to be kinkier than it is, but it ended up being fluffy and full of angst. My apologies for total lateness, and for an overload of angst somewhere at the end.
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.



Sasuke looked up at the sky. It was still raining, but this was over now. His revenge...was it complete? It didn't feel complete. It felt empty, hollow. He felt empty, hollow. Part of that was the lack of chakra, and part of it was something else entirely. He couldn't put his finger on it, but for now, he would just have to stay empty. His eyes closed, and the only thing left was that emptiness. Even that faded into darkness, into blessed silence, as consciousness slipped away from him.

---

Naruto knew that finding Sasuke was impossible. The Akatsuki that they'd fought seemed to know so much, and they hadn't even scratched him. How was he supposed to get Sasuke away from someone like that?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

That didn't matter, though. Impossible or possible, he was going to try anyway. He had to. He'd been working toward this for over three years. He'd lost Jiraiya to these crazy bastards, and he wasn't going to lose Sasuke to them, too. He'd lost Sasuke to Orochimaru once, but Orochimaru was dead. He'd sworn to bring Sasuke back, then, and he still had that promise to live up to.

Impossible wasn't a word he could afford to believe in.

He saw Kakashi run in another direction, but he didn't hear the words that the Team Seven leader was saying. He raced forward, until even Sakura couldn't follow him anymore. He had to get there, and he had to get there first.

He felt the battle rage behind him, and he hoped that Kakashi would be all right. But Kakashi was Kakashi, so he had to be all right. Naruto faltered for a step, but he didn't turn around. He had to get Sasuke first, then he could turn around and come back here to make sure everyone was all right.

The rain hit suddenly, as if it had come from nowhere. He wasn't aware of there being any rain before, so it was strange, but it wasn't going to stop him or even impede his progress.

The clouds seemed to get darker above him, and he couldn't find any sign of Sasuke's chakra. That alarmed him. If Sasuke had really killed Uchiha Itachi, then he was alive himself...wasn't he? Then where the hell was his chakra signature?

Naruto reached the rock structure. There had obviously been a fight here; the place was practically destroyed. But there, lying near a wall, were two bodies. Naruto didn't have to get close to them to be able to tell which one of them was which. He'd only met Uchiha Itachi twice, but he recognized him, even battered and bloody.

And...

Sasuke.

Naruto's heartbeat seemed to pound in his own ears, so loud he couldn't hear anything else. Both brothers were beaten up, bloody, bruised. That Aloe Vera guy had said that Itachi was dead, but...that meant Sasuke was alive, didn't it? Even if there wasn't a distinct chakra signature...

No, none of that mattered.

Running on auto-pilot, the blond shinobi raced forward, closing the last few feet between him and his one-time friend. His one-time rival. His one-time...whatever else it was that they had been.

Sasuke.

Naruto knelt by the other shinobi's body. He stared at him, trying to remember what he'd learned about how to make sure someone was alive if they didn't have a chakra signature. Luckily for him, he didn't have to really think about it - Sasuke's chest was rising and falling as he breathed. It wasn't much, and Naruto wasn't sure he'd even keep breathing, but it was enough. Sasuke was alive.

Alive and unconscious, which actually made him much easier to deal with. They wouldn't have to argue, or to fight, or any of that. Sasuke didn't have any choice but to let Naruto take him back to the village.

Naruto felt tears sting the backs of his eyes. It had been raining when he'd fought with Sasuke at the waterfall, the Valley of the End. He'd been the one laying on the ground, then. It was almost like déjà vu, in a sense. After all this time, he had what he wanted, and he could keep his promise to Sakura. He knew that Sasuke wasn't going to be happy when he woke up, but hopefully his chakra wouldn't come back fast enough that he'd be able to run away where Naruto couldn't follow.

Or maybe he'd just have to tie Sasuke down to keep him from leaving. That was fine, too.

---

Sasuke had no idea where he was when he woke up. What had happened? He was fighting with Itachi. Itachi had wanted his eyes, and then...

He tried to sit up, but he couldn't. Was he still that weak? He knew he'd lost all his chakra, but it had to have come back by now, or he wouldn't be awake. He started to struggle against the ropes that bound him, but he couldn't find the strength to break loose. His head spun.

"Itachi. Where is Itachi." His words sounded slurred to his own ears; if there was anyone around to hear them, he had no idea what they'd sound like to them.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you're awake," came the voice, at once familiar and unwanted.

Sasuke stopped struggling.

"Kakashi," he said, quietly, pointedly.

Kakashi's face appeared above him. Or, as much of Kakashi's face as was ever visible appeared above him. Even with that mask on, though, Sasuke could tell that the jounin was smiling.

"You woke up faster than I thought! I was just watching to see if anything changed, and now you're awake."

"Where is Itachi?!" Sasuke demanded. There were other questions, but they were all irrelevant. He had to make sure that he'd won, that he hadn't dreamed it, that he wasn't weak enough to be a failure.

He hadn't killed Itachi. He knew that.

He recalled something about "there won't be a next time," but it was still fuzzy.

Kakashi's visible eye widened, and he blinked once, though whether his surprise was real or feigned, Sasuke couldn't tell.

"Oh? You were the one that killed him, can't you remember? It would be a shame for all your revenge to mean nothing, if you can't remember it." Kakashi's tone was light, almost teasing. Sasuke recognized it, but he also recognized the intent behind the jounin's words. Kakashi had warned him, once, that revenge was meaningless. He disagreed, even now, even when he felt hollow and empty. Even when he couldn't remember everything entirely clearly.

Sorry, Sasuke.

Sasuke closed his eyes. Itachi was dead, whether he had truly killed him or not. He had done what he set out to do, more or less. To him, the end justified all the means.

He heard footsteps moving away, a door opening, shutting. He didn't bother opening his eyes, and after a moment, the world slipped away again.

---

Naruto raced down the hallway, nearly knocking over some unprepared genin in the process. He'd gotten out of his chair before Kakashi had ever even finished the words "Sasuke is awake," and was halfway out the door before whatever it was Kakashi had said next. The Team Seven leader had let him go, of course, and now here he was.

He opened the door, expecting to see Sasuke glaring at him, or fighting, or yelling, but...Sasuke's eyes were closed, and he was back to just laying there, unmoving. He was bandaged up, and Sakura had done her best to heal his wounds, but somehow he was still asleep now? What the hell! Kakashi had just said he was awake!

"HEY! Hey, hey, Sasuke! Open your eyes! I know you're awake!" Naruto said, loudly. There was no response, not even a twitch. He repeated what he'd said, louder, yelling the words into the room. Still nothing.

He moved closer to the bed. "SASUKE! I'm gonna punch you if you don't open your eyes!" he said, hoping he sounded convincing. He didn't actually want to hit Sasuke right at the moment - maybe later when he wasn't tied down, because that seemed kind of unfair after all this time, but not now.

"Sasuke?"

Either the other shinobi was the best actor ever, or he'd fallen asleep again.

Naruto went all the way up to the bed this time, and shook his friend a little harder than he really meant to. He felt almost desperate. He'd ran all the way here, and Sasuke was supposed to be awake, and he wasn't. It wasn't fair! He'd been waiting three days for Sasuke to wake up, so he could yell at him, and now here he was unconscious again? That was so like him.

"Wake up, damnit!" he demanded, but his words were quieter now. Sasuke had lost so much chakra, that even waking up after three days was amazing. Of course he couldn't stay awake, not even Sasuke could do that, but Naruto had wanted to see him before anyone else did.

He sat in the chair by the bed and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't figure out if he was supposed to be worried, or angry, or what. He was exhausted from all of this. He hadn't really slept a whole lot. It was actually only bad luck that had put Kakashi in this room when Sasuke woke up. Sakura and Yamato had come in and dragged him away to make sure he ate something, leaving Kakashi promising to send word the second Sasuke woke up, and he hadn't been there because of that. What if it was another three days before Sasuke woke up again? Or longer? What was he supposed to do? He knew he wasn't going to be able to stay in this room forever, but he'd fight anyone who tried to pull him away again, that was for sure. Who cared about eating and sleeping normally right now?

"Untie me."

The words were soft, almost inaudible, but they were definitely spoken in Sasuke's voice.

Naruto jerked his head up. Sasuke's eyes were still closed. Had he imagined that?

"S...Sasuke?"

"Untie me.

The words were only slightly louder, but the irritation was unmistakable.

Naruto practically leapt out of the chair. "Sasuke! You're awake! You're awake! Are you okay? Sakura-chan tried to fix you, but she wasn't sure that it was enough, and Kakashi-sensei said you were awake but then you were asleep when I got here and I tried to wake you up but you're a pain in my ass and you wouldn't wake up but I didn't want to leave again because you might wake up and be angry and I just wanted-"

Sasuke opened his eyes and turned his head so that their gazes met. Sasuke's eyes flashed red for just a second, but he didn't have the chakra necessary to keep the Sharingan activated. It was enough to cut Naruto's stream of words off, however, and they just looked at each other.

It was the first time in several years that Naruto could remember seeing Sasuke look anything but furious.

"Untie me," he said again, and though it was a demand, his face remained calm.

Naruto shook his head. "No way! I'm not letting you run away from me until you promise you'll stay!"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, just slightly. "You're contradicting yourself. Untie me."

"What? No I'm not. And no I won't! I'm not untying you because you'll just leave again!"

"If I had enough chakra to run away, I would have already," Sasuke said. It sounded reasonable enough, but Naruto couldn't trust that. Sasuke was really smart, so maybe it was some kind of a trick! He had to be sure it wasn't a trick first.

He moved over to the bed, and climbed onto it. Sasuke's eyes followed him, but he didn't struggle or even try to move very much at all. Naruto straddled the other shinobi, making sure he wasn't putting too much weight on him, and looked down at his friend's face.

It had been way too long.

"Sasuke..." he said, softly, desperately. How could he tell Sasuke how much he'd missed him? He'd thought about him every day for over three years, wanting to bring him back as much as he wanted to become Hokage. He had a promise to keep, of course. And anyway, Sasuke was his - Sasuke had been his...

"Get off," Sasuke said, and he finally frowned. So he was annoyed.

"No! I can't untie you! I told you, you'll run, and I don't want you to run."

Sasuke glared up at him. "What do you want from me? I won't stay here, and you won't be able to keep me here."

"Why the hell not? Why can't you stay? You did what you wanted, and you got your stupid revenge, so can't you stay in Konoha? Stay with us?" His eyes teared up, and he brushed them angrily away. "Stay with me?"

Sasuke sighed, and turned away. He knew he should have expected something like this. But he'd expected his team to find him and carry him off afterward. Or he'd expected to die. He wouldn't have cared so much if he died, as long as Itachi had, too.

Again came that pang of emptiness, that hollow feeling. There was something wrong with this, all of it. Something about his revenge that was incomplete.

Uchiha Madara.

The name ran through his mind, and he remembered Itachi's words.

An invincible immortal.

He remembered the Kyuubi's words.

Just like Uchiha Madara.

His revenge wasn't complete yet. He wasn't sure if that was where the hollow feeling came from, but what other explanation was there? He'd wanted Itachi to die by his hand, and he had. More or less. Why worry about it now.

"Hey, hey, Sasuke, are you even listening to me?"

"Get the fuck off me," Sasuke growled in response. He didn't need this right now. He didn't want Naruto whining at him, demanding he stay. He couldn't, and his reasons for that were ones he wasn't going to share. The Konoha shinobi were weak. No matter how strong Naruto had managed to become in the years since he'd left the village, he would always just be one of them. Their will of fire meant little and less to Sasuke. All that mattered was his revenge, and it was not complete.

"No! I'm gonna stay right here until you listen to me, even if I have to beat you back into unconsciousness!"

Naruto was as stubborn as ever.

Sasuke didn't answer.

Naruto glared back down at him, and his tears came back. Even after this, Sasuke wanted to leave? Why? Hadn't they mattered to each other once? Why did it have to be different?

Naruto felt his hands ball into fists, and he forgot about how much weight he was putting on Sasuke. He was so angry. They'd gone through all this hell just to bring him back, and Sasuke was already talking about leaving.

He swung without thinking about it.

"You idiot! We came and got you before those Akatsuki guys, and you could have died! You killed your brother, isn't that what you wanted to do? You've been talking about it forever!"

He swung again, though there was nothing to relish in the connection of his fist with flesh.

"You're so ungrateful! I've spent all this time chasing you because I love you and you just want to run off without even saying hello or goodbye and you--"

He stopped abruptly, and his eyes went wide. He looked down at Sasuke, and found his own surprise mirrored on the other shinobi's face. Sasuke's lip was split and bleeding, but if he noticed, he didn't comment on it.

Because I love you.

"...Naruto..."

Naruto could have sworn that Sasuke leaned up into the kiss.

---

"Stop struggling! You smell all dirty, and you still can't stand up, so I'm going with you."

"Get off me, idiot, I can bathe myself."

"No you can't! No you can't, you can't even stand up for very long! Aren't you even listening?"

Almost a week had passed since Sasuke had woken up. Kakashi had said something about him needing a bath. Naruto was sure it was teasing, but then he'd thought maybe it was a good idea, so now he was fighting with Sasuke, trying to get him to agree to get in the bathtub.

"Anyway, I can't leave you alone or untie you because you'll just run away."

"How the hell are you going to clean me up if you don't untie me, you moron?" Sasuke shot back. His eyes flashed red. They were doing that more often, now, and Naruto knew it wasn't going to be long before he was able to get out of the ropes without anyone untying them for him. He wanted Sasuke to stay, and he knew the whole village would be on alert, not wanting to let him leave. But he wanted Sasuke to stay by choice. If he tried to run, he'd be a prisoner. Old lady Tsunade had made it really clear that there was only once chance. If Sasuke wouldn't stay, then they'd force him, and Naruto wouldn't be allowed to see him then. He couldn't stand that thought. He hadn't told Sasuke yet, of course, because Sasuke wouldn't care, but he just couldn't let that happen.

He stopped, though. Sasuke was right, damn him! He had to take Sasuke's clothes off to get him in the bath anyway, and how was he supposed to do that if he was all tied up?

"But, but I can't untie you or you'll run away."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was probably the thousandth time they'd had this argument.

"I won't run away. You think I want to be dirty?"

Naruto considered that for a long moment. "How can I be sure you won't run away?"

"I guess you'll just have to stay with me to make sure I don't," Sasuke said, without missing a beat.

Naruto felt the blush come up into his face. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd seen Sasuke without clothes on. And he'd been planning to stay anyway! But hearing Sasuke just say it like that made it sound worse than he'd thought about it.

"O...okay, I guess I can untie you, but I'm going to tie you back up afterward!"

Sasuke sighed, but didn't answer. Naruto took that to mean that he wasn't protesting, and began working at the knots binding his wrists. Sasuke put up with it, having little other choice, until finally the knots came undone and he was free.

Once he was free, Sasuke turned away, and took a step toward the door.

Naruto tensed, afraid that Sasuke had somehow tricked him, but all Sasuke did was turn to look over his shoulder.

"Are you coming, or are you going to stand there and stare at me all day?" Sasuke asked. His tone was so similar to how it had used to be that Naruto felt his throat clog up with feeling. Somewhere under all that coldness, Sasuke was still Sasuke, and it was good to know that.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm right behind you!"

They made their way to the bath. The water was already heated, so all they had to do was get in. Naruto was trying to work up the courage to just take his clothes off like it was no big deal, but Sasuke beat him to it.

Sasuke pulled off his shirt like he didn't have any care in the world who was watching. Really, he hadn't been wearing a shirt when they'd found him, so that much wasn't a big deal, but he took his pants off with the same lack of hesitation.

Naruto stood up a little straighter and followed suit, figuring that if Sasuke could manage it without being embarrassed, then so could he!

Sasuke was so different now. He was taller, had more muscle tone. He had more scars. Naruto couldn't help but stare at him. It had been so long since he'd seen Sasuke without his clothes on, so long since he'd been able to be alone with him, to do anything but argue and throw bravado around. To do anything but yell and scream and fight with him.

The blond moved forward and wrapped his arms around Sasuke before the other boy could protest. Sasuke stiffened, all his muscles going tense, but he didn't pull away. He didn't even try to pull away.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke turned in his arms so that they were facing each other. He was still irritatingly taller, of course, but it wasn't as big a deal right now as it could have been.

"The water's going to get cold," Sasuke said, but his tone was softer than usual.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't care."

Sasuke's mouth twitched, and he leaned down and brushed his lips against Naruto's. It couldn't even really be called a kiss, but it sent shivers through the blond shinobi's body anyway.

When Sasuke moved away, Naruto let him go. He was still a little shaky on his feet, but this was the steadiest that he'd been in awhile. Of course, being tied up all the time probably didn't help that any, but that was just the way it had to be.

Sasuke lowered himself into the bathtub. Once he was settled, he looked over at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything, but even Naruto didn't miss his meaning.

Well, are you coming?

Naruto climbed in after him, almost too eager. Some of the water splashed over the edge of the tub, and Sasuke rolled his eyes slightly. Years apart couldn't change the fact that Naruto was still Naruto. All the skill level in the world wouldn't ever change that.

It was only after they were seated there, legs entwined because there was no other option, that Naruto realized.

"Um, um. Sasuke."

"What?"

Naruto grinned, a little sheepishly. "I...I forgot the soap in the other room!"

Sasuke pursed his lips together. "You're an idiot," he said, immediately.

Naruto's smile faded. "I can go get it, you know! Stop looking at me like that!"

Sasuke shook his head and moved his hand, splashing water up at Naruto before the other shinobi could think to react to it.

Naruto stared at him, mouth open, water dripping from his hair. "HEY, HEY! WHAT THE HELL!" he sputtered, and splashed back. Sasuke neatly dodged the water, and reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand. He jerked the blond closer, pulling him up onto his knees. They were close enough that they were practically breathing the same air.

"Don't worry about that," he said, his voice low.

Naruto's blue eyes went wide again, and he opened his mouth to say something. Sasuke shut him up by pulling him the rest of the way closer and kissing him. This time, it was more than just a kiss. It was like nothing had changed between them, like they could secretly (or not so secretly) mean the world to each other. Naruto had missed being kissed this way, and he eagerly returned it.

The kiss turned from whatever it was into desperation, at least on Naruto's end. He didn't really have any idea what Sasuke was thinking, but he didn't much care. Sasuke was here, and kissing him, and this was how it was supposed to be.

Because I love you.

Sasuke's hand moved under the water, sliding down Naruto's body. Naruto moaned slightly against his mouth.

"You want to do this here?" he asked, pulling away from kissing Sasuke long enough to mumble the words.

"Is that a problem?"

Naruto shook his head and went back to kissing Sasuke. Sasuke's hand moved further down, wrapping around the blond's already-hard cock. Naruto moved away from his mouth and settled for kissing his neck, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's shoulders to steady himself.

"Sa...Sasuke..."

"Shhh, don't make too much noise. Wouldn't want anyone to find us this way, would you?" Sasuke teased. It wasn't as if he really cared; he'd never cared about anything like that before. He didn't take unnecessary risks, but if someone saw them in the bathtub together, he really just did not care. Naruto's feelings couldn't possibly be a secret to anyone else, with how he acted. Sasuke's feelings would remain a secret as long as he wished them to be; feelings were irrelevant.

Sasuke sped his hand up, and Naruto's hands tightened. It didn't take much more effort to bring him to climax. He bit down on Sasuke's shoulder to keep from making too much noise, as instructed. Sasuke winced slightly, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

It took Naruto another minute before he let go of Sasuke and slid away from him. "I meant to get you clean, not make you dirtier," he said, smiling again.

Sasuke snorted. "Idiot," he said, but there was affection in his voice.

Naruto leaned against Sasuke, burying his face against the other boy's neck. "You're not going to leave this time, are you? Like last time."

"Don't ask stupid questions," Sasuke told him. He brought one hand up to rest on the back of the blond boy's neck, and they stayed there for a minute, just holding each other.

Sasuke, of course, was the one that moved first. He let his arm slide away from Naruto and pushed the other boy back.

"We can't lay here all day," he said.

"Oh. Oh yeah, I have to go get the soap, huh?" Naruto asked. He was still grinning, though it was nothing new.

Sasuke nodded. "I won't leave while you do that. But I'm going to change the water."

Naruto's face turned red and he looked away. "Well...well that's your own fault, you know, you didn't have to-"

Sasuke silenced him by putting a hand on his mouth. Naruto jerked away, embarrassed by the fact that he was embarrassed, and climbed out of the tub. Sasuke got out right behind him and pulled the plug. Naruto found a towel and sort of dried off, then grabbed his shorts and pulled them back on. "Okay, don't leave, or I'll kick your ass!" he said, but it sounded like anything but a threat.

Sasuke watched as Naruto raced off down the hall to get the soap. He was back faster than even Sasuke thought was possible; the bath was hardly refilled. The blond stood in the doorway, panting, soap in hand.

"Wait, wait. Sasuke, do you want me to take care of your first? I should have before I left, but I-"

"Not here," Sasuke said, "just get clean and we'll go back to the room. I'd rather lay down anyway."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, but he nodded, reluctantly.

The rest of the bath was just that - a bath. Naruto was glad of the excuse to touch Sasuke, but now that his head had cleared, it wasn't enough. He wanted to reciprocate, but Sasuke didn't seem interested. That was frustrating, but he was Sasuke, and he was frustrating by nature. That much had never changed.

---

Back in the bedroom, things were much different than they'd been in the bathroom. The second they'd come in the door, Sasuke had pushed Naruto against the bed. They'd been here for who even knew how long, with Sasuke leaning over him. Naruto threw his arm over his face to muffle the sounds, and Sasuke worked some kind of magic that Naruto had almost forgotten he knew how to do with his mouth.

Afterward, Naruto lay on the bed panting and Sasuke stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at him.

"Come here," Naruto whined, holding a hand out to Sasuke.

Sasuke stood still for a minute, and Naruto was afraid he was going to leave, but he finally came closer again. He took Naruto's hand, and held his own free one out for Naruto's other hand.

Naruto gave it to him, not questioning, and Sasuke pinned his hands above his head.

They were kissing again. Naruto arched up into Sasuke, and tried to pull his hands away, but Sasuke's grip was firm. When had he gotten this much strength back?

The kiss was deep, and almost fevered. Naruto managed to lose himself in it enough that he didn't realize his hands were tied until it was too late.

"What? What, Sasuke, what are you doing?" he demanded. He was still breathing hard, but he managed to look suitably angry.

"You really are an idiot," Sasuke said, and the coldness had returned to his voice. His eyes were red, and Naruto couldn't manage to look away from him. "You should never trust your enemy."

Naruto's jaw clenched. "You are not my enemy!" he said, and there was something darker under his tones. His own eyes echoed the red in Sasuke's, but that look was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"I don't need you involved in this. I have things I need to do," Sasuke said, flatly, as if it was any kind of explanation at all.

"Why?" Naruto demanded, pulling hard at the ties on his wrists.

Their eyes locked, and Naruto felt his own fill with tears. He couldn't read Sasuke's expression, but he was sure he wasn't imagining that Sasuke had looked sad for just a minute.

Because I love you.

Sasuke didn't answer him, and the attack came so swiftly that Naruto had no time to react before unconsciousness took him.

---

Exactly two days later, after enduring lectures from everyone (including Yamato, old lady Tsunade, and Sakura), Naruto sat on a rooftop looking out at the rest of the village. Sasuke was gone, and not even the ANBU had been able to locate him. He'd been faking how strong he was, or so they said. Biding his time.

Naruto felt like a big enough idiot without everyone lecturing him about it. But how could he tell them why he trusted Sasuke? It wouldn't matter. Shinobi weren't supposed to have feelings like that, wasn't that right? They weren't supposed to trust anyone, because they weren't supposed to love anyone. But once Naruto said something, he never went back on it. He said he loved Sasuke, because he did love Sasuke, and that was that. But he knew he couldn't tell anyone about it.

"Naruto, you can't stay up here all day," came a voice, breaking into his thoughts.

"Go away, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, not bothering to look back.

The jounin came and sat down next to him without asking if he wanted company.

"What happened wasn't your fault," Kakashi said, glancing over at Naruto before looking out at the village with his good eye. It was the first time that anyone had said anything like that.

"Yes it was. Everyone says so. I shouldn't have trusted Sasuke."

Kakashi nodded. Naruto's words were true. "Probably not. But even if you hadn't trusted him, he'd have escaped. Nothing could have kept him here. I don't know what he's thinking now, but I don't think you could have kept him anywhere he didn't want to be."

"But he's a member of this village! And he's my...he's my friend! I can't just let him go like this! I'm going to break all his bones next time I see him so he can't run from me anymore! I'm going to...I'm going to..." His word cut off and he had to bite down to keep from crying. His tears fell anyway, but at least they fell silently.

Kakashi reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Now, come on, what kind of face is that? We'll find Sasuke."

Naruto looked up at his teacher, and swallowed. Kakashi was smiling, just like always, but it was easy to believe what he said. Of course they'd find Sasuke. They'd found him once, and they'd find him again, and Naruto would make him stay once and for all.

He wiped his tears on the back of his sleeve and stood up.

"You're right, Kakashi-sensei. I'll find him and drag him back here no matter what."

Because I love him.