[He doesn't cry the way he otherwise might, but that's because it feels like the moment he's about to, Bolin is there to catch him. His eyes squeeze shut and the tension threaded through his body snaps like a cut string; it's as if he just can't hold it any longer. Maybe that's true. Bolin asked him what he missed most and the words just start spilling out of him.]

I miss the house I always lived in, even though it's dirty 'cause I haven't seen it in months. I miss my friends that're all counting on me, and the people important to me that've died. I wanted my master to watch me grow up and do everything we talked about and I didn't get to say goodbye. I miss Neji who died 'cause he believed in me.

I miss my parents I never got to see and Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei who were always looking out for me- and Obaa-san shouting at me even though she's the Hokage. I miss having chakra and bein' able to practice jutsu. I miss all the streets I walked on and my friends from other villages and the playground I used to stay in and the kids that nagged me to train with them. I even miss Kurama and we only just became friends.

[The breaths shudder out of him. Naruto's grip doesn't change around Bolin's body- his forehead pressed into the skin of his throat and the pattern of inhale-exhale rocking out of him.]

I miss everything'attebayo.

And I'm gonna miss everything here when it's gone too.