Worry
"5,000 years??" Naruto stammers hoarsely in disbelief. "5,000.... 5 and 3 zeros?? 5 times 1,000??" the blond whisper yells so he won't get kicked out of the 'library'. "Yes, 5,000 years. We're probably in the same area as the Uzumaki village." Sasuke mumbled, knowing how the blond would probably respond to that.
"If that's true, then that means everyone's gone, even the Uzumaki can't live that long. But, does that mean the Uzumaki are extinct? Am I the last one??" Naruto sniffled softly, his eyes brimming with tears. 'Everyone's gone, dad, Karin, Nagato-san...'
Sasuke started to panic when he saw the tears roll down Naruto's cheeks. 'No, he's crying. Quick, comfort him. Or something...' Sasuke truly hated seeing his best friend cry, and felt so bad for being the one to cause his tears. "Don't worry, we still might be able to get back home! I think someone summoned us here, so if we find them, maybe they know a jutsu that'll send us home!"
"You-you think we were summoned here? Why?" the blond looked up at the raven sadly with a hint of hope in those ocean eyes. "Yeah, I do. It's a hunch I've had for a while now. I have no proof other than the fact we were ingulfed by chakra before we ended up here."
"Well, it makes sense, I guess..." Naruto says hoarsely. "We should get going. The sun's setting and Hirano-san said that the area she lives in is not extremely safe at night. While we do have jutsu, I'd rather avoid using it. After all, no one has used chakra in over 2,000 years. I'm not sure if people believe it exists anymore." Sasuke whispered and took the blond's hand in his own. No, he wasn't doing this to hold his hand, at least not the only reason. He knew Naruto was fond of physical contact, so maybe it'll help cheer him up.
Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand, consciously or unconsciously Sasuke wasn't sure.
They walked back to Hirano-san's home hand in hand. Naruto was unusually quiet, but it made sense. There was a chance they'd never make it back, the thought hurt the blond. His family was very important to him, he had already lost his mother. Now he'd technically lost his father as well.
Sasuke felt the same, family is very important to him. But he needs to be strong, for his and Naruto's sake.
They make it back without incident. When they knocked on the door Hirano let them in and commented on the fact that both boys looked hungry, and went to go prepare dinner. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Sasuke." but before the raven haired male could answer Naruto had already entered the kitchen. "Do you need help, Obaa-chan??"
"Oh! Uzumaki, I didn't hear you walk up. Hmm, now that you mention it, I could use some help with the dishes."
"Ok"
After a minute Hirano looks at Naruto and says, "Are you ok?" "Huh? Oh! Yeah, why?" the blond fumbles nervously. "You're less cheerful than normal. So, I was wondering if you were ok." she softly answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was- It was a long day." he insisted. "Ok, but you can talk to me if needed... Or maybe you'd rather talk to your boyfriend, I can understand that." she kindly added.
"Wait- BOYFRIEND???" Naruto quietly sputtered. "Is he not your boyfriend? Sorry for assuming. It's just, you're both very affectionate with each other and obviously care about one another a lot. And I know you aren't related." she said with a small smile. "Yeah, I care about him, he's my best friend. And I'm affectionate with a lot of people!" he whisper yelled so Sasuke wouldn't hear him.
"You may be a naturally affectionate person, I know this. But you always seem to gravitate towards him, no matter what. You may not have noticed, but when we first met you pressed yourself up to him, as if to shield him in case I decided to do something." she pointed out with a soft smile etched on her face.
"I what?" the blond whispered almost to himself. "You heard me." "I- Uh... FINE!! I may have feelings for him, but he probably doesn't feel the same." Naruto quietly admitted with a huff. "What makes you say that?" Hirano inquired. "Well, I'm one of his- no, I'm his only friend. So, he'd be more willing to let me touch him. He never initiates it."
"Whatever you say, Hun... You should rest, it's getting late."
"Ok, goodnight, Obaa-chan!" he says sleepily.
When he entered the room Sasuke was already lying down, but Naruto knew he probably wasn't asleep yet. He laid down next to Sasuke and said raven haired male turned to look at him. "You were in the kitchen for a while, I was waiting for you to go to bed." he mumbled sharply. "You could have gone to bed y’know." Naruto reminded his best friend.
"I could have, but you entering the room would have woken me up."
"True"
After that the boys lapsed into silence, just looking at each other. Soon enough, Naruto fell asleep. The same couldn't be said for Sasuke. He felt bad for lying to the blond, but he needed to keep him safe. He had felt a powerful chakra earlier, while Naruto was in the kitchen, it unsettled him. He needed to be vigilant. He sat up and looked at the boy next to him. He watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. He eyed the golden locks of hair, he wanted to run his fingers through it, but that would probably wake Naruto up. And he'd never ask if he could touch the younger boy's hair. Feeling kinda creepy, he looks away.
He doesn't know how long he sits there in the dark, but he knows it's been a while when he hears Naruto stir. He quickly lays down so the blond won't know he's been up all night, even though he'll most likely figure out somethings wrong. He's always been like that, noticing things about Sasuke that others don't notice.
He slowly sits up so he won't get a headache and croaks, "Morning dobe." "Mornin teme." Naruto retorts back with a scratch to his voice.
They exit the room and the smell of breakfast greets them, they take their places at the table just as Hirano enters the room. "Good morning! Here's your breakfast."
They begin to eat and after a minute Naruto speaks up, "Sasuke, are you alright??" "I'm fine.... Why do you ask." he murmured, dreading the blond's answer. "You're acting more, tired than usual. Did you sleep alright?" he said with a concerned expression.
"I'm fine!" Sasuke said a little too quickly.
"Sasuke"
"Fine! Fine! I didn't sleep that well. Happy?"
"You should lay down, even if it's just for a little bit." Hirano proposed. "Yeah! You go to bed, I'll help Obaa-chan today!" Naruto said loudly. He then stood up and grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and dragged him to their room and made him lay down. "Get some sleep, teme, I'll do your work today." he stated with a small smile and concern in his eyes. "But-" "No but's!! I've already decided I'm doing this! If it makes you feel better, I won't let Obaa-chan in the room. Ok?"
Sasuke let out a long sigh before saying, "Ok, stay safe."
"I will! Sweet dreams S'ke!"