Work Text:
Walking into an upset Naruto was never easy. Finding him sitting on the floor in front of the bed wiping at his tear stained face with an oversized sweatshirt sleeve was heart wrenching. Sighing and leaning against the door frame Sasuke waited.
“She left me.”
Sasuke made his way across the room and lowered himself to the floor. He had always known that there was a possibility that Hinata would leave. He also knew that this was an inevitability he had been looking forward to. Knowing that he was going to be the person that scooped up the pieces of Naruto and sewed them back together with a steady hand and fine precision, gave him purpose. This wasn’t the first time he had to play seamstress and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. But the look of devastation in his friends eyes felt earth shattering.
“Three years. Three whole years out the window. Like it was fucking nothing.” Sasuke kept quiet.
After a few moments of companionable silence, filled intermittently with Naruto's sniffs and light sobs, he pulled up his sleeve and turned his head. A small, inch wide circle with a black crescent moon in the center had etched itself onto Naruto’s tan wrist. Sasuke laced his fingers together in his lap. He wanted to touch it; to caress the newly blemished skin. It was only when Naruto turned to look him in the eyes for the first time, he realized that he had been staring at the mark, mind racing with things he wanted to say, but none of them materializing as full thoughts. Naruto winced when his own eyes landed back onto the mark.
“It was there this morning. I was staying at Hinata’s and when we woke up…” He looked away again, this time toward the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh “She noticed it before I did.”
Hinata had already gotten her soulmark a year or so before, and it didn’t match the simple shape that his friend was now covering back up with his sleeve.
“She said that if I wasn’t her soulmate that there wasn’t any point in us pretending.” His head fell onto Sasuke’s shoulder. “I told her I wasn’t aware we were pretending in the first place, and she just said that I was being difficult and knew what she meant, and that even though she loves me, she would rather be looking for her forever partner .” He punctuated the last words with air quotes, and began crying silently. Sasuke slid an arm across his shaking shoulders.
“You have talked about this since you were 12 and figured out that it wasn’t just a right of passage for everyone to get a fun little tattoo when they reached adulthood.”
Naruto snorted something close to a laugh. As silence washed over them again Naruto’s breath evened out and he began playing with the fringes on Sasuke’s jeans.
“You’re right. I have always wanted this, but I assumed it would be her. Like it never crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be her, ya know? I dreamed of the matching mark showing up and us being together forever. I really thought if I believed it hard enough it would just be real.” he hiccupped. “Fuck, I know that’s stupid.”
Sasuke squeezed Naruto’s arm and tried not to think about the soft finger tips that kept brushing the inside of his knee.
“Well, you are stupid.”
Laughing, Naruto pulled his hand away from Sasuke’s leg and sat up.
“You’re a Bastard you know that?” He looked at his mark, laying his wrist next to Sasuke’s unblemished one. “Do you think you’ll get one too?”
Suddenly needing to put space between them, Sasuke pushed himself off the ground. “Unless I’m in the .3% of people who don’t, yes. Do you think you will go looking for your match now?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Naruto replied in a reserved tone. “Eh, not yet. I know there are, like, apps and stuff for it. In case your match is like thousands of miles away or whatever. But I think I need some time to heal. And to be honest that sounds exhausting.”
Now that Sasuke got a good look, Naruto already looked exhausted, his puffy eyes were ringed by dark circles of stress and his shoulders were slumped in resigned defeat, but he smiled at him anyway.
“Are you excited to get yours?”
Sasuke froze. Doing his best to exit the conversation smoothly he replied, tone even and controlled, “I don’t really think about it. It comes when it comes, and I doubt I will go looking when it does.”
As he turned to leave he heard Naruto muttering under his breath about how it wasn’t surprising that he wouldn’t seek out his soulmate even though he was the “most sought after guy, like, ever.” Normally Sasuke would have bitten back about him just not having the time or the energy but at that moment he took the small blessing of being able to pretend that he didn’t hear anything and let the conversation die as he left.
////
When Sasuke got home from work, Naruto was sitting on the kitchen counter, legs swinging restlessly, phone in one hand and the other running through his hair. It had been a little over two months since Hinata had left him and over that time the blond had started to come back into his vibrant confidence. And with that came the beginning of his quest to find “the love of his life”. Sasuke hadn’t seen him so fidgety and uncomfortable in weeks.
“What has you worked up?” Sasuke began making his way into the house, leaving his shoes and jacket at the door.
Naruto stood up straight, shoving his phone in his pocket, and gave Sasuke a grin that did little to squash the anxiety in his eyes. “I don’t know what you mean Sas, I was just waiting on you to get home so we could go grab food or something. It’s Friday night, and we do that.”
Rolling his eyes Sasuke started to push past his friend, but was stopped when he felt a warm hand land softly on his arm. “Yes?” He bit out more harshly than intended. “You said you were fine. Can I change? Then we can make dinner plans. Like you said, it is Friday and we do that.” He knew he sounded indignant, but the unease that Naruto was dripping into the atmosphere was starting to seep into him with every second their skin continued to touch.
Dropping his hand, Naruto took a step away and looked at his feet. “I lied.”
Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Obviously.”
Naruto walked back to the counter, sagging against it. He let out a long exhale. “I kind of need to talk to you about something important, but it seems like you’ve had a long day so you can go change first and we can talk later.”
The tiredness that bled into Naruto’s voice took Sasuke aback. He wasn’t used to hearing the blond filled with so much reservation regarding anything to do with him. Sasuke took his place next to the blond at the counter, “I’m fine, idiot.”
With that Naruto let out a shaky laugh. “Okay, well you know I started my quest for love.” Sasuke nodded trying to keep his expression neutral. “So I was thinking about how maybe one of those apps might help after all, and when I was filling out the info about, like, preferences and stuff I started to think about what that person might look like for me. Like in an ideal world ya know?”
Sasuke felt his stomach in his throat, waiting for him to find words to describe his soulmate.
“Well, I realized something.” Naruto met his eye, “What if.. Maybe, I wouldn’t mind if my soulmate was…” Sasuke held his breath, a trickle of hope coiled its way into his periphery. “.. a.. Guy?”
Sasuke hadn’t known what he was expecting the blond to say but he knew what he was hoping he would, and the prospect of Naruto's soulmate being a man wasn’t exactly what his heart had been yearning for but it got him one step closer. But he had said it like a question. Like if Sasuke didn’t react the way Naruto needed him too he would take it back and pretend the words never left his mouth to begin with.
Loosening his shoulders, Sasuke pushed his own feelings to the back of his mind and let out a snort.
“I’m gay Naruto. Why would you thinking your soulmate might be a man, and being okay with that bother me?” Relief washed over the blond, his eyes softening while he let out a genuine laugh.
“I don’t know man. It isn’t like I thought you’d freak out, or think I was gross. But saying it out loud made it a lot more real, and I was worried that me being into dudes would make you look at me different because you like dudes too.”
It did make him look at Naruto differently but only because of that nagging sliver of hope it brought credence too. It made every thought that Sasuke ever had that he would wake up with a little black circle with a crescent moon on his arm slam into the forefront of his mind at once. Immediately shaking the images from his mind he reminded himself this wasn’t about him. This was Naruto coming out to him, about him seeking reassurance and comfort, not him fueling Sasuke’s deranged fantasy.
“I would never see you any differently for something like that. You’re my best friend. And something like sexual orientation doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Wrapping his arms around Sasuke’s shoulder Naruto sniffed, “Fuck you. Made me cry. Saying you’re my best friend. You never say shit like that.”
Friends were exactly what they were. Sasuke reminded himself of that fact as he returned the hug and quickly excused himself to his bedroom, promising Naruto they would get him his favorite dinner to celebrate.
////
Sasuke’s ears rang. His vision blurred as he wordlessly gaped at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. A flash of black on his left wrist sent his stomach plunging to the floor. He had known this day would come, but not all the years of emotional preparation he had put himself through could have truly readied him for this moment. A circle with a crescent at the center branded itself on his milky skin right above his pulse point.
“Fuck.” he murmured under his breath.
A bang on the door knocked him from his trance and sent his toothbrush clattering into the sink.
“Hey, man, I’m heading out for my brunch date. I don’t know when I’ll be back so don’t worry about making dinner plans.”
Naruto had gotten a boyfriend a couple of weeks before, and things had been going well for them. He was a nice enough guy who had a soulmark but didn’t feel like he needed to spend his whole life searching for that special person, and Naruto seemed content with his company.
Sasuke was bracing himself against the bathroom counter, head hanging, trying to sort through the sudden onslaught of emotions. Fear and elation thrummed through him like a melancholic symphony. The inky stain on his arm leered at him from its fixed position.
“Sas? You okay in there?”
He knew in the back of his mind that he had to reply. That Naruto wouldn’t leave until he did. But words escaped him as flashes of blue eyes and crescent moons swam before his eyes.
“I can cancel if you’re sick or something.”
The door knob jiggled and Sasuke jolted. “No!” His voice was too forced so he took a calming breath. “No, I was just brushing my teeth, I’m fine. No need to cancel anything.”
The door knob stopped and there was a pause. “You sure? You sound kind of weird?”
Annoyance surged through Sasuke. “For god sakes Naruto. I said I was fine. Now leave before you’re late.”
He heard Naruto grumbling, and the apartment door shut, but all he could focus on was what he was supposed to do next. He sank to the floor. Wrapping his arms around his torso he filtered through his thoughts. Naruto had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who he knew wasn’t his soulmate and was happy with. He couldn’t assume that having a matching mark would automatically make Naruto drop everything and run to him. And he also knew that if Naruto found out and he didn’t want to be with Sasuke he would come up with a stupid rationale like “Soulmates can totally be platonic bonds.” But they would both know that wasn’t the truth.
In his room Sasuke pulled on pants and a shirt readying himself to be anywhere but their apartment. He knew that harboring a deep love for your best friend for years was grounds to break a friendship whether they had matching soulmarks or not, and the thought of losing Naruto was too overwhelming to even consider.
Stepping out into the warm afternoon air Sasuke set out to walk himself to a conclusion. He wandered for hours before settling down on a swing in an abandoned park that he was all too familiar with. Sasuke knew when he left that morning he would end up swinging idly, letting minutes tick by wondering if Naruto would come to find him or let him work through things alone. To his surprise it was after dark now and there still wasn’t any sight of the blond.
His phone buzzed in his pocket for the 100th time that evening. He knew that ignoring the messages made him a coward, but he also knew that he wasn’t ready to face the reason he was out there in the first place. The time away hadn’t done anything but put space between the two, and Sasuke was beginning to feel guilty for his absence. Pulling his phone from his pocket he was met with an onslaught of message notifications. All of them were from Naruto.
Hey I’m home. Where are you?
5:09PM
I know I said not to like worry about making plans with me or anything. But I figured you’d let me know if you made any yourself.
5:12PM
You seemed pretty pissed this morning for some reason so I’m sorry for whatever I did.
5:25PM
Seriously youre starting to worry me.
6:00PM
Sasuke
6:15PM
If you dont text me back I’m going to call in a missing persons report.
6:22PM
OK you know that wont happen but still. Text me back bastard.
6:29
I can tell you left early and in a hurry. You didnt even make any coffee.
6:43PM
I know youre probably fine but I’m still worried about you. It feels like I did something.
6:45PM
Look idk what I did to make you so mad that you aren’t even reading these messages. But please come home.
7:30PM
I’m sorry.
9:47PM
Closing his eyes he slid his phone back into his pocket, bracing himself for the walk back home. It was nearly 10 o’clock now and he knew that if Naruto was that worried he would have come looking for him, unless he assumed he was the problem, and technically he was the problem but that didn’t make it his fault.
The walk between the park and the apartment was full of fruitless thoughts. As Sasuke slid his key in the door, he prayed that Naruto had gotten tired of waiting and had gone to sleep.
“Holy Shit. Thank fucking god you really aren’t dead.”
Naruto was sitting hunched over on the couch, elbows on his knees, on the edge of his seat, his body stiff with anxiety.
“Yeah, well, here I am.”
Sasuke started toward his room as Naruto practically ran to him. He held his hands behind his back, like it was the only thing keeping himself from reaching out and holding Sasuke still. Sasuke exhaled.
“I’m really tired and I don’t want to talk about it tonight. I promise I’m okay. We are okay. Go to bed and we can talk about it tomorrow.” and with that he left the blond standing alone.
////
Naruto was back on the floor at the foot of Sauke’s bed waiting for him when he got home from work.
“What is it this time?”
Blue eyes looked up to meet Sasukes. Not filled with tears like was expected but instead tempered and overflowing with restrained frustration.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
“No. I have not.”
He had been. They hadn’t talked about why Sasuke had run away. Naruto didn’t ask the next morning and Sassuke wasn’t about to peel open his heart and bare his soul if he could avoid it. But this caused Naruto to dance around him. And Sasuke had felt bad so he started to put some distance between them, doing his best to escape the fact he was most likely hurting his friend. Which meant he took more shifts at work, spent more time at the gym, and spent as much time outside of the apartment as he could make excuses for.
“Oh no, Uchiha, you’re not doing this to me this time. You have been and I know you have been and I can fucking prove it.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes and started heading to the bathroom.
“Don’t you walk away from me!”
He froze at the desperation simmering in Naruto’s voice.
“Whatever. You can’t prove anything.”
Naruto got up, eyes wild and face red.
“Oh yeah? How about me and my boyfriend broke up a week ago and you didn’t even fucking know because you haven’t been around enough to even notice.”
Sasuke tensed. How could he have missed that?
“Bullshit.”
“How fucking dare you bullshit me! I’m the one who called you 3 times Sasuke, 3 goddamn times and you couldn’t be bothered to answer, even though I know damn well you were at some shit bar trying to get laid and could have totally spared a few minutes for your best friend. But no. I get a “I’m Busy call Sakura” text instead. Because evidently that's how much I matter to you. A shit lay is more important than 3 phone calls. Which, you know if I dial a 3rd time it means I really need it.”
He did know it, and he knew it that night when Naruto’s face had flashed across his phone screen. He had been painfully drunk and equally deep in his own feelings and knew that a crying or anxious blond would have thrown him over the edge. The last thing he wanted was to drunkenly confess his feelings to his best friend over the phone.
“How was I supposed to know that?”
Naruto gave him an annoyed look and threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Sasuke’s eyes watched the soulmark on full display, hand reaching for his own.
“I don’t know Sasuke. But I do know if you had just been around like normal you would have.”
“I have had shit to do Naruto, my life doesn’t fucking revlove around you. And last time I checked you do have other friends.”
Naruto sighed and leaned against the bed, the fight completely leaving his body, head hanging in defeat.
“I know that Sasuke, and they helped me because you didn’t. But they aren’t you, and they never will be you. You’re my best friend, my person. And I don’t want to fight, I just want to know why you are avoiding me and not spending time with me anymore. I have gone over it again and again in my head for what I could have possibly done to make you so mad at me but I can’t figure it out. You just left that day and since you came back you have barely even looked me in the eyes.”
Sasuke felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He didn’t want this, but he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t let Naruto know what was really going on and he didn’t have an excuse.
Naruto got up again.
“Fine. Don’t tell me. But let me tell you something. I know something is going on, you look like shit, you constantly rub at your arm. You’re always wearing long sleeves even if its 90 fucking degrees outside. And I think you got your soulmark and don’t want anyone to know.”
Sasuke's heart nearly stopped.
“What?”
Naruto walked closer to Sasuke crossing his arms.
“It’s the only thing I can think of. You were in the bathroom freaking out and then you just dropped off the face of the planet. Which is only something you do when you can’t figure out what to do about something big. And then the long sleeves and the rubbing and looking like you haven’t slept. Probably because it’s keeping you up at night.”
How could Naruto read him so easily?
“And I assume it is someone we know. Probably someone you either don’t like and are mad about it or someone who already has a partner and you don’t want to fuck their shit up. Which is commendable but you can’t live with a burden like that alone forever and they deserve to know. So just tell me.”
“No.”
Naruto blinked, disbelief clouding his expression.
“So I was right?”
Sasuke felt like he was going to die from oxygen deprivation.
“I didn’t fucking say that, did I Moron.”
“You don’t have to tell me who it is. In fact you could cover it with a bandage or something if it being a secret is that big of a deal to you, but can you at least let me support you through the emotions you have going on? Your Soulmate is probably someone you don’t like and it feels like mine is never going to show up. So how about we commiserate together instead of you avoiding me?”
Not liking his soulmate was the opposite of the problem, but Naruto was giving him an easy out and being in the other's orbit was a temptation he would give into every time.
“I don’t know how you puzzled that out like that but I guess I can live with you knowing I have one as long as I get to keep it to myself for now.”
Naruto beamed.
“It's because I know you better than anyone, Sas. You never would have been able to hide from me forever anyway. You know I always have a way of finding out shit.”
////
He was naked except for a pair of boxers. In Naruto’s bed. Sasuke stared at the ceiling fan, trying to piece together what had happened to get him into this situation. He had gone out the night before with some friends, Naruto not included. He had sworn to himself he wouldn’t drink too much but here he was. Hungover, undressed, in his best friend's bed, soulmark exposed. And there was no way Naruto hadn’t seen it.
At that realization panic pumped into Sasuke’s veins. He knew he had worn the wrist cuff he always used to cover the mark. And he knew that there was no way Naruto would have taken it off of him. Which meant that Sasuke had taken it off himself.
Sasuke could smell bacon cooking and hear his friend quietly moving around in the kitchen. The delma was whether Sasuke just got dressed and acted like everything was fine and normal and let Naruto decide if there was a conversation to be had or if he was going to bring it up before the blond had the chance to think it over anymore than he already had.
Making his mind up Sasuke swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed a pair of sweat pants off the floor, electing to forgo finding a shirt or his wrist band, and made his way out to the kitchen.
Naruto was still at the stove watching something in a pan, singing softly to himself. He hadn’t seemed to notice Sasuke emerging from his room, giving Sasuke the upper hand. He pulled out a chair and sat at the counter.
“Mornin’ Sas.”
That hadn’t been what he had expected. Nothing in Naruto’s voice lent itself to anything out of the ordinary. Sasuke realized at that moment that there was a possibility that he had taken off the wrist cuff after Naruto had gotten him into the bed, and that Naruto hadn’t had the chance to see the mark. But before Sasuke could get up to correct this mistake the blond turned around and handed him a plate of food across the counter.
“You look like shit.”
Sasuke said nothing, just looked into his plate of food.
“Nothing to say to that? The hangover must be pretty damn bad, good thing I made the bacon extra greasy and used the leftover fat to cook the eggs in. I’ll grab you a glass of water and some tylenol.”
Before Naruto could turn away, Sasuke croaked out, “How did I end up in your bed last night?”
Naruto blushed and scratched at his neck.
“Oh, um.. Well.. that's where you asked to be. Don’t worry I slept on the couch, but when you got dropped off you kept telling me that you wanted to sleep in my bed because it smelled better than yours.”
Sasuke closed his eyes knowing his own blush was reaching down his neck and chest.
“and my clothes?”
Turning to the cabinet to grab a glass and some medication Naruto shrugged awkwardly.
“Oh well I helped you out of your shoes and jeans and then you kind of just started taking everything else off yourself.”
Death must have come for him in the night, and this was the sequence of events curated for his torment. Sasuke had overreacted. He had made a rash and unnecessary decision to leave the mark uncovered. His arms were crossed on the table and his wrist still hidden but he was being handed pills, and he had to take them. So he used his right hand to reach out.
“You forgot to wear your wrist cuff.”
It was a blunt and controlled statement. Sasuke felt like he had been hit by lightning.
“That isn’t a mistake you have ever made.”
Sasuke did his best to get the pills in his mouth and drink to his lips with his non dominant hand. He was starkly avoiding Naruto’s gaze
“I didn’t take it off of you and you didn’t take it off when I was in the room last night so I didn’t see your mark if that's what you thought when you woke up without it.”
Sasuke could feel Naruto’s eyes trying to see through the arm still placed firmly on the counter. He could tell the blond wanted to know, and the thought made him want to run. So that's exactly what he tried to do.
A warm hand caught his left wrist.
“Thank you for the breakfast Naruto, but I really don’t feel well and probably need to shower and lay down in my own bed for a while.”
He didn’t pull away for fear of revealing the mark. But Naruto didn’t let go either.
“Sasuke, why won't you show me?”
His voice was small; sad like he was a little boy again. Sasuke couldn’t handle this, he needed a way out.
“I know it's a big deal to you and I’ve been working it over in my head the past few months since I figured out that that was your problem. We tell each other everything. I just can’t think of a reason for you not to let me know.”
Sasuke was still eyes caught on his bedroom door, just past Naruto’s shoulder.
“If you wont show me can I at least know why? Can you let me know what’s keeping you from telling me this one thing. It's eating me up that you don’t trust me with it. You know I won't tell anyone, hell I won't even bring it up ever again if that's what you want. I just feel like there is a distance that was created between us when you got it and I just want that to go away.”
Naruto’s breath shook and Sasuke knew he was trying not to cry. Against his better judgement he looked into his best friend's eyes. The earnest hurt that swirled there tugged at the part of Sasuke that would always give the blond what he wanted. He counted to 4, taking in a deep breath.
“I’ll show you. But I don’t think it will make you feel any better.”
Naruto cocked his head in confusion as sasuke rolled his wrist over. And there it was. He was shaking, and Naruto hadn’t let go.
“Oh”
That was all he said, while staring at it. The deep black circled crescent, showing Naruto a secret he hadn’t ever wanted to share. Mirroring Naruto’s own mark which was so close to his, innocently etched on tan skin, holding him so gently. Then Naruto looked up. Sasuke felt another punch to the gut as he realized he hadn’t ever seen Naruto hurt like this before. His eyes red rimmed tears falling down his cheeks unchecked. His eyes were clouded in despair but he smiled broad and bright. Sasuke broke and his own tears began to fall.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Sas. I get it, we’re best friends and it's not like I don’t understand that, that is a miracle in and of itself, ya know.”
Naruto’s smile was only getting wider and tears only coming faster as he let go of Sasuke’s wrist, his own falling to his side uselessly.
“No, no, no. That’s not it at all. I didn’t hide it because of something stupid..”
“Hey, really Sasuke. You don’t need to make excuses, it's not a big deal. It's fine. I’ll live with this.”
Fuck. This wasn’t going how he thought it would at all. When he ran through scenarios they always involved him being the one who was a blubbering mess not the other way around.
“Stop!”
Naruto flinched a little and the smile fell away. He looked scared, like Sasuke was going to hurt him even more. Realizing he needed to calm down Sasuke closed his eyes and reached out for Naruto knowing that he was the only thing that ever truly grounded him.
“Please listen to me. I didn’t hide it because I was upset that it was you. You had a boyfriend when it showed up.”
Predictably Naruto shrugged.
“I would have left him.”
“I am aware of that which is why I kept it to myself. You were happy and who was I to fuck that up. I knew perfectly well you would have reacted immediately even though it wasn’t what you wanted your soulmate experience to be.”
“Sasuke, I..”
“I didn’t want to fuck anything up for you, and then when you sussed out that I was hiding it from you it was a relief. I didn’t feel I had to hide but how could I tell you then? I had just treated you like shit and you had just been dumped. What was I supposed to do?”
Sasuke was shaking and Naruto wasn’t saying anything, so he kept talking.
“You were the one that said I was hiding it because I was upset about who it was, and it was easy to just let you believe that. It let us go back to normal. It let me pretend like one day I wasn’t going to throw a massive wrench into the middle of our friendship, that I’m still not sure whether we are going to be able to come back from.”
Sasuke let go of Naruto’s shoulders. His tears had slowed and his demeanor was more angry than sad now, which was good, Sasuke could handle an angry Naruto.
“You didn’t think that maybe I would have liked to be able to be a part of that decision? You didn’t stop and think for one fucking second that I would have wanted to be apart of knowing whether or not something was going to ‘fuck up my life’. Because it sure as hell feels like you were only thinking about you, despite you doing your damned best to frame it like it was for me.”
Sasuke winced.
“If you didn’t want to be my soulmate, fine. We could have worked that out. If you were scared I would reject you than thats just fucking stupid. And honestly I feel insulted that that would even be a possibility to you.”
Naruto was pacing, hands fisted, and his breaths coming in ragged huffs.
“I didn’t want..”
“You didn’t want what? Your best friend to know that he does, in fact, have a soulmate already? You didn’t want me to stop looking at every single person I passed as a potential partner?”
He turned toward Sasuke, shoulders slouched and ran his hands through his blond hair.
“Fuck Sas, it feels like you just didn’t want me.”
Sasuke took the 3 steps that separated them and wrapped his arms around Naruto’s waist, laying his head on his shoulder as the other weaved strong arms around Sasuke and pushed his nose into black hair.
“I didn’t want you to not want me.”
It was barely audible but Sasuke could tell Naruto heard it by the way he squeezed Sasuke tighter.
“I could never not want you Sasuke///.”
Shaking Sasuke breathed out,
“Naruto I mean.. I wanted you to look at me like your soulmate. Like the marks mean something.”
Naruto chuckled wetly.
“They mean everything. You’ve always been everything, mark or not. I’ve told you thousands of times that you're my person. That you mean the world to me.”
“I want you to love me, Naruto.”
Pulling away Sasuke looked into the others tear soaked eyes, and saw relief and happiness.
“I always have.”
////
Ending back up in Naruto’s bed in an equal state of undress as when he woke up, was not what Sasuke had expected from the day. Even more of a surprise was that now, Naruto was pressed against his side. Their arms laid in between them, fingers intertwined, a movie playing in the background.
“You know, if you just told me when you got the mark, we could have been doing this for so much longer.”
Sasuke scoffed.
“Whatever, Moron.”
“You know you love me.”
Naruto flashed a cheeky grin that Sasuke couldn’t help but return.
“Of course I do.”