27: Unspoken, yet Understood

Sasuke had noticed it.

The way Naruto looked at him sometimes.

Not just the usual, reckless intensity Naruto always had—but something else. Something hesitant. Something unspoken.

And Sasuke hated things that went unsaid.

So when Naruto refused to meet his eyes for the third time that day, Sasuke decided he'd had enough.

He was going to ask.

They sat by a quiet river, the sky tinged with deep orange as the sun lowered. Naruto was fiddling with a stray twig, pointedly avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

Sasuke exhaled.

"You've been weird lately."

Naruto stiffened. "Tch, I'm always weird."

"Not like this."

Naruto went quiet. He snapped the twig in his fingers, then tossed the pieces into the water.

Sasuke watched him carefully.

Naruto had never been good at hiding his emotions. He wore them like battle scars—messy, obvious, real.

Except now.

Now, he was hiding something.

Sasuke hated it.

"Do you—" He stopped himself. The words felt too heavy. Too real.

He tried again.

"What am I to you?"

Naruto's breath hitched.

For a moment, nothing moved.

The river kept flowing. The wind brushed against the grass.

But Naruto—Naruto froze.

Sasuke didn't look away. He wasn't letting him run from this.

"I—" Naruto's fingers curled against his knee. His voice was quieter than Sasuke had ever heard it. "You're my best friend."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That's all?"

Naruto swallowed.

He wasn't answering.

And that, that, was the problem.

A slow realization settled in Sasuke's chest.

Naruto didn't know.

Naruto had never let himself think about it.

The idiot.

Sasuke sighed and reached into his cloak. "Here."

Naruto blinked as Sasuke placed something in his hands—a small, polished charm carved from obsidian. A protection charm.

"It's from the Land of Twilight," Sasuke muttered. "They say it keeps idiots from losing themselves."

Naruto snorted, but his fingers tightened around it.

Sasuke didn't let go.

For a moment, they simply sat there, hands lightly touching, warmth bleeding between them.

Naruto's breath was uneven.

"Sasuke… why are you giving me this?"

Sasuke held his gaze. "Because you still don't know what you want."

Naruto inhaled sharply.

Sasuke didn't press.

He didn't need to.

Naruto's silence said everything.

And as Sasuke pulled back, leaving the charm in Naruto's hands, he simply smirked.

"Figure it out, dobe."

Naruto's fingers clenched around the charm.

It was smooth, cool against his palm. But the heat from Sasuke's touch still lingered on it.

On him.

His heart pounded—too loud, too fast. He felt exposed, like Sasuke had reached inside his chest and pulled something out he wasn't ready to look at.

"Figure it out, dobe."

That smirk. That damn smirk.

Naruto's breath hitched.

He wasn't stupid.

Sasuke knew something.

Maybe something Naruto himself wasn't ready to admit.

His eyes flickered to Sasuke's face—those sharp, dark eyes watching him, waiting for something.

And suddenly, the air between them was too tight.

Too charged.

Naruto forced a laugh. "Tch, you sound like some old monk."

But his voice cracked.

Sasuke didn't look away. He leaned in just slightly, his gaze steady.

"You didn't answer me."

Naruto swallowed.

His throat was dry. Too dry.

"Answer what?" He tried to sound careless. Casual.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "You know what."

Naruto did.

And that was the problem.

His fingers curled tighter around the charm. His pulse thundered in his ears.

He had to say something.

Anything.

"You're my best friend."

It was safe. It was true.

But it wasn't everything.

And Sasuke—Sasuke knew it.

His expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. Disappointment? Expectation? Naruto couldn't tell.

The silence between them stretched. Too thick. Too unbearable.

Naruto hated it.

"Tch," Sasuke exhaled, looking away at last. "Idiot."

The moment should have passed.

Naruto should have been relieved.

But he wasn't.

Because now, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

The way Sasuke's hand had lingered on his. The way his voice dropped just slightly when he said Naruto's name.

The way his own heart wouldn't calm down.

The charm burned against his skin.

Naruto wanted to throw it.

Wanted to scream.

Instead—he shoved it into his pocket.

"Let's go." His voice was rough. He turned before Sasuke could say anything else.

But as he walked away, he felt Sasuke's gaze on him.

Still waiting.

Still expecting.

And Naruto didn't know if he'd ever be ready for the answer.

Naruto didn't know what came over him.

One second, they were standing there in that damn unbearable silence, and the next—

He had moved.

Before Sasuke could react, Naruto wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a firm, unshakable embrace.

Sasuke stiffened.

"What the—"

"Just shut up for a second." Naruto's voice was rough, honest in a way that made his own chest ache.

Sasuke didn't push him away. Didn't move.

Naruto closed his eyes, gripping the back of Sasuke's cloak.

"You're the only one I can trust like this, y'know." His voice was quieter now, but steady. Certain.

"No matter what happens—no matter how much everything changes—I know you've got my back."

Sasuke exhaled, a sound that was almost a laugh, almost a sigh. "Idiot."

But his arms—slowly, hesitantly—lifted.

And for a moment, just a brief, fragile moment, he returned the hug.

"You're a reckless fool, dobe."

Naruto smirked against his shoulder. "Yeah. But I'm your reckless fool."

Sasuke tensed—but didn't pull away.

And for now, that was enough.