Completely On Purpose

Chapter 8

There was absolutely no way Sasuke had done this again. Not with what was at stake between them?

Naruto's head hurt every night, going to sleep alone, trying to figure out where Sasuke was, when he'd be back, if he needed help. Mostly, Naruto's heart ached. It felt like he'd never even gotten Sasuke back in the first place. The pain was only deepened by the fact that Sasuke was pregnant, had their baby inside him, and Naruto didn't know where. Every day, Naruto woke up in the afternoon and stayed out all night, looking for Sasuke. Every day, Naruto came closer to officially abandoning this mission in favor of looking for Sasuke. But he wasn't a child anymore, and this wasn't 4 years ago when people would have let him do that. It was Sasuke's choice, whatever this was.

So, for months, Naruto let it be Sasuke's choice.

Sasuke had wanted to leave, clearly. He hadn't left a note, hadn't told Naruto where he was going; he hadn't even waited until Naruto got back so that they could discuss it. Of course, Naruto's heart was broken. Of course, he was a wreck. But of course, he was going to let Sasuke do whatever he wanted to. He hadn't ever been able to stop Sasuke.

But eventually, that kind of thinking got old.

Naruto eventually gave up thinking that he knew everything. He missed Sasuke more than anything; the only thing he missed more was being able to put his hand where he knew their baby lived and grew. One week turned into two, and that turned into three months. All the while, Naruto didn't hear anything about Sasuke from anywhere, from anyone. Kakashi mentioned that he'd sent the escort months ago, and they had returned without Sasuke. He was running out of hope, and he was beginning to think the worst. And the worst part of all of this was that he felt like Sasuke's chakra was nearby... but he chalked that up to the lingering traces of Sasuke everywhere. It only got colder, it only got more lonely. Naruto hadn't felt this alone in a long, long time.

Since Sasuke had left, all Naruto did was miss him. He could barely eat, and he never slept. Whenever he came back from another fruitless night of searching, he would take a long gaze at the painting Sasuke had left, of their clans' symbols put together, and it would nearly bring him to tears. Then, he'd remember the little things about Sasuke, the ways that he moved around, the things he said, how Naruto loved to talk to him just to hear him speak. He would think about holding Sasuke, kissing Sasuke, doing things to Sasuke that he hadn't ever let anyone else do. And then, he'd start blaming himself.

It had to be his fault, right? Sasuke had clearly not believed that all of his efforts were real, that it was an attempt to get to know everything about him, and to make sure Sasuke knew Naruto cared about him more than life itself. He'd had enough of... uncertainty, Naruto guessed. He hadn't made any indication that when they got back to the village, they'd really be together, besides the extent that the baby would tie them together. This was just a fantasy right now, made a bit more real because of the baby, but that didn't mean that they had worked everything out. There would be a lot to work through, once they were finally reunited.

Naruto knew that by now, Sasuke would be finally showing, as small as he was. It was evident now to the world how deep their love was for one another. And Naruto wasn't there to witness it. It drove him crazy, to think that Sasuke would just leave, not say anything, and not try to reach out. It almost made Naruto feel like Sasuke hadn't left, someone had to have changed his mind about their situation.

Or, the unthinkable, the impossible: someone had taken Sasuke against his will. It was impossible. Sasuke was so alert, he could sense enemy chakra for miles. Well, he had been able to before. Sasuke had never been pregnant before, so neither of them knew how it was affecting his perception and his senses. And it wasn't impossible. He wasn't exactly being the most secure when he left Sasuke here at night, asleep and defenseless.