Just watching the tears stream down his face pained me. My first reaction was to comfort him.

I pulled Naruto into a tight embrace. I buried my face in his blonde locks while stroking his back to comfort him.

I heard small sniffles come from him. I continued to stroke his back and whisper, "It'll be okay, it'll be okay," over and over again. I was planning on doing this until he stopped crying.

Once he did stop crying, he went silent, no sniffles. I pull away from the hug to see Naruto had fallen asleep in my arms.

The tears were still on his face. Some of them had gotten on my shirt, but it was okay. I dried the tears off his cheek and slid my arms around his torso and knees, and carried him bridal style to his room.

His room wasn't anything out of the ordinary, a 'ramen is life' poster on the wall, an unmade twin bed with orange covers, patterned with red circles with a swirl inside them.

I place him on the brightly colored bed and look around the room to have a better look at it.

The room had two windows, with a view of the parking lot. The paint on the wall was a plain yellow, and his closet was wide open, with only a few clothes in it.

While looking around, I realize the picture from the other day was no longer here, I could go through his things, but that would be an invasion of his private life.

Who am I kidding? I walk to the closet and look around. There were just a bunch of unfolded clothes that seemed like were washed a day ago.

Naruto's apartment was small, so there weren't many places he could've hidden his things in,

I look around the room. There wasn't anywhere else Naruto could've hidden something.

I sigh. Defeated, I walk to where Naruto was sleeping and sat near his legs. I watched him breathe at a steady pace, his face so calm.

I get closer to him, and I touch his cheek with my hand. If he woke up, he'd probably kick me out.

I see his eyes flutter. I retract my hand from his face as he half-opens them, "W-Where am I?" he asked, in a tired voice as he rubbed his eyes to wake up.

I help him sit up, and he took a look around and realized the familiar area he was in. His eyes darted across the room with worry, as if there were something to hide, but quickly focused back on me when he realized something.

"Thanks again. I feel bad thinking about the amount of time you take care of me," Naruto said, grinning while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's fine," I reassured him. He stopped grinning and looked down at his hands. "I assume you want an answer?", he looked up at me for my answer. I nod.

"I assumed," he admitted blandly, "Well, my mom passed away after a car crash," he said bluntly and with no hesitation whatsoever. My eyes widened, I thought it might have been something like that, but I never expected him to say it out like that.

"Yeah, that's the reaction I usually get," he admitted, "She died in a car crash. On her way home," he said. "It's just that sometimes I feel like it was my fault. I mean, I was the reason she was coming back early and-"

"That was not your fault," I stated, cutting him off. He looked at me, "It wasn't your fault, I-I know how you feel," I confessed.

He gave me a confused look, "M-My dad died when I was younger," I said, "He were on a business trip, and the plane crashed while traveling there," I explained. I had never told anyone about this.

Naruto gave me a blank expression, "I felt like it was my fault for a long time since I convinced him to leave a bit later than expected, but I realized it wasn't my fault," I say, getting up and grabbing Naruto's shoulders.

"So, Naruto, and believe me when I say this, it's not your fault," I say, trying to convince him. He stares at me before more tears began to fall. He pulled me into a hug and buried his face in my shoulder.

I did what I did before and started stroking his back whispering in his ear, "It'll be okay," over and over again.

"Thank you, Sasuke," he said between sniffles. "You really are important to me, you know that?" he admitted.

It took me a moment to realize what he was saying before softly smiling and pulling him into a tighter embrace, my face buried in his blonde locks.

His already tight grip on my shoulders tightened, and the number of times he sniffled slowly began to decrease.

Once he completely stopped crying, he pulled away from the hug, his eyes puffy and red. I wipe his tears off with my thumb and caress his face with my right hand.

He leans into the touch, his eyes closed. After a minute of admiring him, I retract my arm, "I'll go get you some water. You'll become dehydrated otherwise," he nods, and I get up and walk to his kitchen.

I see some bottled water bottles lying on the counter. I go over to them and pick one up. I look around for a kettle or something to heat the water with,

I check the cupboards for one and find it in one at the top right. I take the kettle, put it on the stove, and pour the water into it.

I put the stove on medium and waited for the water to heat up. After a few minutes, the water began to steam. I took that as a hint that the water finished heating up.

I took the kettle and a nearby empty glass and poured the water into it. I left the rest of the water in the kettle. In case we needed more water and I walked back to Naruto's room, water in hand.

As I walked in, I see Naruto staring out the window. He notices me come in and looks at me as I approach him. He reaches out for the water I was holding, but I gently push it away.

"You need rest," I tell him. He seemed confused but nodded, I use one hand to tilt his head and the other to pour the water into his mouth.

He obliged, taking small sips at a time. When he finished the water, I glanced at the time. The clock read 5:00 PM.

What time did we even wake up? Probably like 11 since we were until 3 in the morning, stupid Orochimaru, couldn't have had a regular sleep schedule?

I placed the water next to the bed, "Well, now what are we going to do?" Naruto asked me,

"We were supposed to go get more information regarding the last Uzumaki, but I guess we'll have to postpone," I tell him.

"I'm not tired," he states, "Let's go," he said, getting up from the bed. I get up with him, "Are you sure? We just got some info last night. We can rest and-"

"Sasuke, listen to me," he said, grabbing my shoulders, "You've done everything you could for me, so let me return the favor," he said without hesitation.

I was confused, "Are you sure?" I ask him, he nodded, and I got a sudden feeling of confidence.

I smiled and walked to the door. I looked back at Naruto, "What are you waiting for? Let's go,"