He’d knocked twice. No answer.

And now he was just standing there—on your doorstep—arms crossed, brows furrowed, jaw tight like he was trying not to panic.

Naruto had never been good with silence. Not even the small kind.

Especially not this kind.

“Oi… I know you’re in there.”

His voice was muffled through the door, more serious than usual. It held something heavier than worry. Guilt, maybe.

“You didn’t show up for training… again. You haven’t even gone out to buy food.”

A pause.

“I asked at Ichiraku. At the market. No one’s seen you in days.”

More silence.

So he did something he never would’ve done before: he slid the door open without waiting for permission.

The room was dim. Cold. And you were sitting there on the floor, wrapped in your blanket like you hadn’t moved in hours. Thinner. Pale.

He stepped in slowly. No jokes. No loud “dattebayo.” Just Naruto—quiet. Real.

“…I get it.”

His voice cracked.

“I lost people too. But… I didn’t lose you. Not yet.”

He knelt down next to you, stubborn blue eyes refusing to leave your face.

“So don’t disappear on me too.”

And for once, he didn’t try to fix it with a smile.
He just stayed.

Because maybe this time, that was enough to start with.