Sasuke was still angry with him. Naruto didn't like that. It made him restless to know Sasuke didn't like what he had done, but it had been such a strong feeling at the time, he didn't know how he could have acted differently. It was overwhelming. But as overwhelming as it had been, right now he didn't feel anything like that anymore. Something had been soothed in his mind. He felt... more tame at the moment.

Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed to think something was still wrong with him, but Naruto didn't think so. Something happened, but that didn't mean it was wrong. It was more like a solution to something rather than a new problem. He had told them that, but they both kept glancing at him as they travelled back to Konoha.

Naruto did understand, though, that what he did had been dangerous. Not just for himself, but also for the others who were there. He had been selfish in a way, he knew.

Sighing, he looked at Sasuke, who was running in front of him. He felt his heart give a weird thud at the sight of the broad shoulders and flexing muscles as they travelled. His stomach felt tight. He even felt his eyes tear up as the guilt grew a little stronger.

At the same time, he felt eyes on the back of his head. Shikamaru was running behind him and he hadn't taken his eyes off Naruto. There was a layer of distrust between them now, and for some odd reason that was bothering Naruto. He hadn't thought he cared for Shikamaru enough to actually want the Nara to like and trust him. Sure, they were friends, but nothing more than that. Did other people feel the need to remain in the good graces of their friends? Naruto expected to feel that way just towards his chosen mate. His eyes fixated back on Sasuke and didn't leave him again as he was immersed in his own thoughts.

It was tiring to feel judged like that... again... He felt like he did the same thing Sakura had done... Without the outright attempted murder, but still... Argh, this was too hard to think about and he was tired. The mission was a success, nobody died, and he was feeling a lot better than before this all. If anything, Naruto was happy with how it all went down. After all, his need to search for blood was gone, back to slumbering in the back of his mind where it could do no damage to anyone. Except his sanity... Sanity was overrated anyway. He never had a need for it. It had been in the way most of his life, anyway.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped and turned around just in time to see Naruto crashing into him. Naruto had enough momentum to knock Sasuke off his feet and tumble to the ground with him. They ended up entangled with each other, both grunting in pain. "Teme, why did you stop so suddenly!?" He almost yelled, giving Sasuke a pouty glare as he pushed himself up a bit. Sasuke was flat on his back and leaned up on his elbows to glare back.

"Shikamaru called for us to take a break. You must have missed that." Sasuke sounded cold towards him. There was a small red flicker in his eyes, like an unspoken affirmation of anger. It hurt, and Naruto frowned when he saw the look pointed at him. He sat back further so Sasuke had enough space to get up and wrapped his hands around his knees, trying to think of something to say or do to make up with Sasuke. Naruto didn't like this at all... But he also failed to think of anything to say. For the whole break, Naruto didn't move, feeling miserable.

Sasuke stared at the blond. The sad look on his face was pulling on his heart strings and hard at that. Sasuke had such weak resistance against Naruto, but what Naruto did had been dangerous and irresponsible, impulsive and unexpected. Sasuke wasn't going to let the blond get off easily, but Shikamaru and he had already decided not to report the incident as an incident, but rather as an unexpected technical error that they had needed to work out. After all, they technically didn't have any proof that Naruto put them in a Genjustu other than that he looked back and smiled... Yeah, not very compelling evidence... And neither Shikamaru or Sasuke wanted Naruto locked back up again.

Sasuke went even further in this, keeping the fact Naruto woke up covered in blood a secret from Shikamaru as well. It was probably nothing, right..? And Naruto wasn't feeling well. He had told Sasuke as much. It was probably just a fluke, nothing to worry about.

What was still very worrying were Naruto's eyes. Sasuke had seen every iteration he thought possible, confirmed by Naruto, who had explained the five parts of his mind some time back. But now both eyes were completely and utterly different. The only thing that remained the same was the fact that they were still slitted, like a cat. Or a fox. The rest of his eyes, iris and sclera, were now a mix of red, blue and purple. Small white dots appeared and disappeared as the colours moved around each other. It was like a mist of small stars covered his eyes, getting lighter towards the corner of his eyes. Like a galaxy, up to and including the slight swirl, but against a white background instead of black. The harsh black slits down the middle made it seem as though part of the galaxy was being swallowed by a deep blackness. That didn't make his eyes any less beautiful, but it did feel a bit disturbing. Now that his eyes were coated in a layer of unshed tears, it just seemed to amplify the idea of endless space and the unimaginable depths of it.

Sasuke turned his back to Naruto, afraid to lose his resolve to stay mad at the blond for at least the rest of the way back. He sighed. He couldn't handle Naruto being upset, but he felt like Naruto needed to feel that what he pulled was wrong and this was the most effective way to do that.

What Sasuke didn't see was the utter hurt that bloomed in Naruto's eyes the moment he turned his back. Or the actual tear escaping Naruto before he covered it up with a quick swipe and a glare at Sasuke.

Shikamaru sighed at the interaction, giving Choji a meaningful look, conveying the blond was troublesome and he wasn't going to do anything with it. Not his troubles. Choji nodded and went with it, keeping himself out of it as well.

They didn't return to the small town like the original plan had been. Instead, they started their travels back right away. It had been Sasuke's idea, arguing that sleeping under the stars and standing guard was more efficient than spending one night in luxury extra and then start the travels home, and the benefit of traveling back right away was being home earlier, which was always a good thing. And none of them were seriously injured or worn out. Not even Naruto, who had healed very quickly and was already injury-free again. Shikamaru had wanted a lazy night before heading back, but didn't have any good arguments besides being lazy, so he agreed and they went back quickly.

After a few more hours of travelling, they stopped for the night. Significant awkwardness ensued when Sasuke and Naruto realised they were still sharing a tent and, despite Sasuke already feeling guilty for making his blond feel bad, Sasuke still had no intentions of making amends. After standing in front of the tent for an awkward moment glaring at each other, Naruto was the first to move. "Fine." He snapped, and turned around, jumping into a tree and settling down rather quickly and naturally against the trunk. To the group it seemed like he was asleep within a second, something they didn't second guess since, when all was said and done, Naruto had still been the one to spent the most energy and been the most injured during the mission. It wasn't all that surprising he'd be tired enough to fall asleep so quickly.

"Hn." Sasuke entered the tent right after he made sure Naruto was alright where he was. There was a quick rustle of sheets inside the tent before it went quiet again.

"Well, I'm turning in as well." Asuma said, disappearing into his tent as well.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome. I guess that leaves us to determine who gets first watch, Choji." Shikamaru turned to Choji, but only just caught a glimpse of him zipping up their tent as well... "Okay, then. First watch it is. Troublesome idiots." He muttered, picking out a tree that provided enough cover to go a little unnoticed, but at the same time provided a wide view of the area.

The night started quiet, leaving Shikamaru to mull over the happenings during the mission. Since the start Naruto had seemed off, but now he was different. It was more like a feeling than an actual observation in Naruto's behaviour, but that didn't make it any less obvious. He decided to wake Naruto for the second watch and make up with him then. Maybe being on friendly terms again would provide more insights in this development.

He went to the tree Naruto settled in, only to find it empty. How did he not notice? They weren't that far apart. He hadn't heard any zippers either, so Naruto didn't decide to get into the tent. Looking around, Shikamaru saw footsteps in the mud underneath the tree, leading into the darkness of the woods. He sighed and decided to wait for a few minutes, since it could just be a case of nature calling, but he felt a little uneasy. Not alarmingly so, just enough to feel a little guilty about their treatment of the troublesome blond. A groggy Naruto stumbling into the woods for a toilet break was sure to have made some sound and he hadn't heard anything at all.

After the few minutes passed and Naruto still wasn't back, Shikamaru went to wake up Sasuke. "Your loverboy up and left. He's probably sulking somewhere. Go and find him and while you're at it, make up with him. I think he gets it by now." Sasuke was up and out of the tent before Shikamaru had finished talking, almost knocking the Nara over. "Troublesome." He mumbled after Sasuke, and re-took his position to keep watch over the camp.

Sasuke rushed into the woods and followed the obvious footsteps. He was relieved the footsteps were this obvious. If Naruto had wanted to run away, Sasuke was sure he would do so without leaving a trace. Turned out, Naruto wasn't that far away from the camp, only a few minutes, near a river. He sat on a rock and was gazing at the water. Even from a distance Sasuke could make out the movement of Naruto's head, shaking it like he was answering to someone. He was staring at the water with a distant look in his eyes. Curiosity caught up with Sasuke and instead of outright approaching, he suppressed his chakra and snuck closer.

Naruto wasn't saying anything out loud, but it was clear something was going on in his mind. His expressions, nods and shaking of his head indicating he was in a conversation of some sort with himself. It was a quick succession of tears, followed by anger, shaking his head, then nodding, looking frustrated, then scared and confused, back to anger and finally a deep blush. And that was the expression Naruto stayed on. Sasuke guessed he just witnessed some of the normal turmoil of Naruto's mind without Naruto's constant control and filter over it. It looked a little weird, but Sasuke didn't dislike it.

Deciding it was unfair to keep spying, Sasuke let his chakra go. "Naruto." He said, his voice still laced with a little anger. Naruto looked back at Sasuke and grinned. That damned grin Sasuke was yet to become immune to. "Mind if I sit with you?" Sasuke asked, taking a step forward. Naruto shook his head, losing the grin but settling on a content smile.

Sasuke sat down next to him, leaving almost no space between them. "You're still angry with me." It wasn't a question. Just an observation.

Sasuke sighed. "Not really. It's just... I guess I'm disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to let me help you. I would do anything for you, you know. Even something as small as just listening to you."

Naruto looked at him with his big, bright eyes, throwing Sasuke off a bit when he saw the obvious guilt in them. "I'm sorry... I didn't want to worry you..." Naruto said with a small voice.

"But you did! When you act strange like that, of course I'm going to worry! And then, what you did in the cave... that was really, really scary. When I saw you lying on the floor, unmoving, covered in blood and with Kazuku hovering over you... I thought you were dead... I never want to feel like that again, so don't ever do something like that again, you hear me?" Sasuke turned a bit towards Naruto, looking at him seriously. Naruto just nodded, brows furrowed in guilt. He hadn't thought about it like that, like he was worrying the others over him... Now he really felt bad...

It took a short moment until Naruto couldn't handle it anymore and glomped Sasuke. He was crying into Sasuke's neck and holding on tightly. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and held him for a while. Naruto practically crawled on Sasuke's lap, a leg on either side to get comfortable. Sasuke moved his arms so they rested on Naruto's waist now. "I'm sorry..." Narutu mumbled into Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke sighed and sat up a bit better, hugging Naruto back tighter and burying his face in his hair. "It's okay, love. It'll be alright." He let Naruto cling to him for a while, happy to be close to him again, even if it had been just a day.

After a while Naruto sat back, looking Sasuke in the eyes. Despite crying for a bit, his eyes seemed as perfect as before, no trace of just having cried. "Sasu..." He said in a soft voice, a bit cracked from crying. Sasuke felt a blush push to his cheeks at the nickname and the tone of voice it was spoken in. It spoke to the imagination quite strongly. "I love you." Naruto added, catching Sasuke even further off guard. He blinked an swallowed, and kept eye-contact with the blond in his lap.

"I love you too..." He said, and then cleared his throat when he heard his own voice come out a little high-pitched and scratchy. The dazzling smile that broke Naruto's face was enough to forget his little blunder within a second. Naruto smashed his lips against Sasuke's, kissing with all his might and toppling them both, so Sasuke was on his back and Naruto was leaning over him. Hands boldly travelled underneath Naruto's clothing, going further than Sasuke had dared before. The soft content sounds coming from Naruto just encouraged him to go further.

"I said make up with him, not make out with him..." Shikamaru interrupted them... Again... Both of them glared at the boy standing behind them with his arms folded. He had been worried with how long it took Sasuke to retrieve Naruto, but is seemed his worry was misplaced. After a moment he held up his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine, I get it. Have fun. But keep it down, you're not that far from the camp..." Shikamaru walked away with a sigh. "Troublesome."

Sasuke deflated as Shikamaru left and looked at Naruto. Naruto happily smiled down at Sasuke and kissed him again, picking right back up as though they hadn't been interrupted at all. Sasuke just went with it and kissed back fiercely.

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