A/N: Hey there, folks! (grins)

I'm so sorry that it took quite a bit of time, but now this sequel for 'Cracking the Frames' is FINALLY about to get started! (grins again slightly nervously and rubs hands together) First off, thank you so much to all those who had enough faith in me to wish for this to get started!
DISCLAIMER: Me, OWN?! (howls with laughter) MAN, you've gotta be joking me! I still don't own, and unfortunately do so 2010, either. (pouts, and sobs)

WARNINGS: YAOI, adult themes, language, general weirdness…. (smirks) Ya know, all the usual lot from my ficcies.

Awkay, because I guess stalling won't do any good, let's go! (gulps) I really hope ya'll have a nice ride.

Fixing the Cracks

Verse One: Trust

Nineteen Months Later

Naruto had known to expect that the journey with Sasuke wouldn't be easy; he hadn't been childish enough to imagine that everything that'd happened could be overcome in a blink of an eye. But it'd nonetheless caught him by surprise just how difficult the road they'd taken had been.

Sasuke was recovering, but even slower than the previous time. Having been forced to go through all that twice had left the raven marks Naruto wasn't sure he could heal. The raven was also wary and self-conscious because of various kinds of scars, which was difficult for the blond to handle. Sasuke had always been a proud, confident person; it made him sick with fury that someone like Ruki had been able to damage all that. Most nights, he knew, the Uchiha woke up to dark dreams the man still wouldn't talk about. But things were, at least, getting slightly better. They weren't officially… together yet, but nonetheless Sasuke was still staying with him. And the Uchiha talked, a little bit, if he was careful enough to listen. During the past two years he'd learned a lot more about Sasuke than he'd been able to during all the years they'd known each other before that. The things were so simple that he was ashamed he hadn't known them before.

He'd learned that although Sasuke hated sweets, the man had a strange fascination for mocha-chocolate. He'd come to know that midnight-blue was Sasuke's favorite color, and that although most music irritated the Uchiha the man loved Bach. He'd always thought Sasuke was fearless, but now he knew that the man was fidgety of the dark and loud noises; he had a nasty feeling that it was Ruki's doing.

Trust was the biggest obstacle between them, and it applied to both sides. They didn't quite dare to trust the other not to slip away just yet; past mistakes had left deep scars.

But some days, life was pretty damn close to normal.

Close to eleven that Sunday, Naruto was for once the one to wake up earlier. He just had to smile at the sight of Sasuke's completely relaxed sleeping face, and at the way the Uchiha all but pouted at some dream he could only guess. He definitely enjoyed how warm the man felt, having snuggled just a little bit closer to him in his sleep.

He really, really didn't want to wake Sasuke up, especially because he knew how rare calm sleep like this was for the Uchiha. But he didn't really have a choice – they couldn't just sleep all day.

Careful to be as soft and tender as possible, he pressed a tiny kiss to the raven's hairline. At first Sasuke shivered a little, one hand twitching, until the man's mind seemed to return to the present. Slowly a pair of slightly hazy eyes opened halfway to peer at him.

He grinned. "Hey. How did you sleep?"

Sasuke shrugged and frowned a little, most likely still trying to wake up. A one more thing he'd learned recently – as early as the Uchiha usually woke up, he woke up very slowly.

Not discouraged by the very typical lack of response, he started playing with the other's silky raven locks. Although Sasuke usually hated touching, the man apparently loved it when someone touched his hair. He found that odd, but liked it a lot. "You know… I've been thinking. We've been through quite a bit – we deserve a break."

Sasuke glanced towards him, a little more awake already. "What do you have in mind?"

"We both have tons of unspent holidays and days off in store. So I was thinking of a vacation, just the two of us. Maybe we could go to the mountains, for five days or so."

Sasuke frowned. "What about Chiasa?"

He grinned. For once he was one step ahead the Uchiha. "I already called Itachi. He's more than happy to have her for a few days."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, appearing mildly amused. "You sure are determined."

His grin from before widened. He already knew he'd won this one. "Well of course when it's about you."

Sasuke's smile was most likely supposed to be wry, but it carried a little too much. "Hn. So I've noticed."

At that moment, as he looked at Sasuke and felt something strong swell inside him, he couldn't hold himself back, no matter how much his reason tried to beg him to stop. He shifted forward, catching Sasuke's lips into a heated kiss that obviously managed to catch the raven off guard. As the kiss and the surges inside him intensified he lost all control over his body – including his hands. While the left one pulled Sasuke closer demandingly, the right one roamed its way around the Uchiha's body, feeling up and eventually first sneaking under the other man's shirt, then into the man's pants.

And then Sasuke placed a firm hand to his chest, pushing him away so hard that it almost hurt. Onyx eyes became filled with a mixture of emotions he couldn't identify. "Don't."

Immediately feeling bad for it, he felt a bang of disappointment as he nodded and licked his lips, almost shivering. He withdrew from the raven, feeling colder than he should've. "'K. It's… It's okay", he muttered as he lay back down. "It's okay. Things will work out, eventually." He wished from the bottom of his heart that he could've sounded more convincing.

Silence was thick and heavy as they lay there, both deep in thought and he fighting to hold back tears of sadness and frustration.

Just then, so quietly that he barely heard, something that'd probably been spinning inside Sasuke's head for a long time became voiced at last. "What if this is the best it'll ever get – if you'll never get more than this?" The man's eyes were much darker than usual, carried something he'd never seen in them before. "Is this really enough?"

At first he stared at Sasuke for a couple of still, shocked moments. Then, very slowly, a small smile made its way to his face. "You've never let me closer than this, you know? And that… That means a lot more than all the physical crap. A lot more."

At first Sasuke looked at him with obvious suspicion, but then – very slowly – such trust he'd never seen before appeared to those onyx orbs. And for the first time ever the Uchiha kissed him first, in a way that left no room for doubt. He'd never felt as happy in his entire life.

Once lack of oxygen broke the kiss he kept his eyes closed and smiled while leaning his forehead against Sasuke's and holding the raven. Although Sasuke shivered just a little bit at first, the man made no move away from his hold. No words needed to be spoken.

That's how they remained for almost an hour.

When they finally made it out of the bedroom and sauntered into the kitchen, they were surprised to discover that they weren't the first ones there. The heavy scent of both scorched and good food greeted them as they walked in and saw Chiasa, who'd clearly at least tried to make breakfast for them.

The girl grinned radiantly, obviously proud of her doings. "You slept late, so I made some rice and nattō for us."

The glanced towards the plate-full of food she'd placed to the table. Almost half of it was pretty badly burned, but the rest… looked pretty good, actually.

"Thank you, Chia." Sasuke's face tensed up slightly as the raven sat. "After the breakfast, there's something we should talk about." Ah, something more he'd learned about Sasuke. Although it was never spoken out loud, he could tell that the Uchiha felt guilty about all the fear, doubt and worry Chiasa had been forced through because of Ruki. And leaving his daughter behind, even if for just a couple of days… was something so hard Sasuke had never even tried it before.

But apparently there was no need to worry. Chiasa shrugged, smiling. "If you mean the holiday trip, I already know – I've seen uncle Naruto fiddling the advertisement. I think it's a good idea. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" She then nodded towards the nattō. "Now start eating before it gets cold."

Naruto just had to grin brightly as he sat down and attacked the breakfast.

At that moment it was very, very easy to believe that perhaps one day, things would be at least close to normal again.

TBC, or does it?

A/N: Soooo…. What's the verdict? (gulps) Was that any good at all, or should I demolish this and pretend this never existed?

PLEASE, do leave a review to let me know your thoughts! Awww, c'mon, I know ya want to, for the sake of the new, fantastic year about to start. (gives puppy's eyes)

IN THE NEXT ONE would be: Naruto and Sasuke head off for their well earned vacation, but things don't work as planned as people tag along. Also, a very unwanted person comes back to the picture…

GAH, I really gotta get going. Thank you so much for reading this!

'Hope I'll see ya guys next year!

And, of course… HAPPY, INCREDIBLY EXCITING NEW YEAR TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

Mary: Oh my goodness! (blushes) You can't even imagine how happy it makes me that you enjoyed the story THAT much! (beams, and hugs)

Colossal thank yous for the absolutely amazing review!
'Hope I'll be seeing ya around someday.