A/N: Ummm. Hey? I know, some are you are probably wondering where the **** Pulse 21 is, and I'm working on it, I promise! Just having terrible writer's block and it's just not feeling right to me, so it may take some time. Also, I'm having some direction problems as far as the chapter as well as other outside factors (such as school and dumb f*****g teachers) and so on. So I'm gonna have to read, or should I say re-read, all of Pulse to get back into the feel of it. Nevertheless, I wanted to try my hand at one shots to get my creative juices flowing again, so without further ado, I bring you 'In other words!' :3

Please don't mind any grammar errors, I swear I did my best for four am. And I swear, since I've taken Chinese, as well as been hanging around my Mexican, Hmong, and Bengali friends, it feels like my English is slipping away :/(trying to learn there languages lately). But anyway.

I don't own Naruto.


Despite what many first believed, himself included, this was hard. With every show that he watched, the premise being bumbling teenage idiots trying but failing to express their feelings and punking out in the end, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. It seriously couldn't be that difficult. Three little pointless, overused words simply were not that hard to say.

But now, as he stood, in front of the center of his life, his affections, his everything, he couldn't help but think that this was karma's way of getting back at him for mocking those before him all those years. Because standing, or should he say shaking, in front of his other half, tongue twisted and stomach tied in painful knots, was definitely not how he was supposed to act. His cool, level-headed, borderline stoic demeanor had all but fled…along with his balls, apparently. And Naruto was the only one who could ever do this to him with simply a look.

Though, in hindsight, actually being in this position, he could understand how others felt and failed. Those big, blue, innocent eyes staring curiously and expectantly, as if aware of his inner struggle but unwilling to make this any easier on him, nearly made his knees give out. This Sasuke could understand, they'd been together for over five years, and those words were long overdue, especially to someone like Naruto, someone who thrived on love and affection. It must have been painful for him, to be with someone for so long, and to not hear those words. Just the thought of depriving him of what he so needed and desired made Sasuke feel like shit.

Though, in his defense, it's not as if he didn't feel that way. There were many days that his feelings threatened to overwhelm him. Where his chest felt as if it would explode from the amount love he felt for the other. Times like after a passionate night of lovemaking, where the beautiful blonde lay exhausted in his arms, breathing softly and everything felt so perfect. Or when they argued and those blue eyes would glaze over and darken in anger and his passion for whatever he'd happen to be defending at the moment—nothing seemed to turn Sasuke on more than the burning passion Naruto put into everything—and just that look would cause his heart to skip a beat. Or even simple things like the way he laughed, his beautiful smile, the way he nagged over and cared about him, the way he sung painfully off key just to annoy the living hell out of Sasuke…all of it made him want to kiss the boy breathless, make love to him all night long and whisper those sweet words into his ears until he understood that he was the only person to ever make Sasuke feel weak, strong, crazy, happy, perfect, and alive.

God, he fucking loved this boy.

This boy, his angel, Naruto, he deserved all the love in the world. Someone as strong as him, who'd been through everything imaginable and still managed to smile and be optimistic; someone who bears the burdens of everyone and doesn't utter so much as a complaint, someone who felt so wrongfully undeserving of love, he deserved to be loved and protected and revered like the perfect saint that he was. His stomach had began to feel queasy, his hands clammy, and now he feared that he would do like others before him and punk out. Squeezing his eyes tightly, he took a few deep breaths before slowly opening them again, looking down into his lover's eyes.

In moments like this, where all else feels hopeless, he can't help but think back to those captivating blue eyes that first drew him in, that had saved him from himself.

Naruto was his everything. Everything that he was, is, and could ever hope to be.

How he managed to go five years without saying the words, or how Naruto had managed to go that long without hearing them was beyond him. The idea of holding them in now made him want to explode.

At first, he tried to find a way around them; tried to find some way to convey them with actions or other words without actually saying them. Because to him, those words weren't exactly necessary. You know what they say; actions speak louder than words. But, as much as Sasuke felt that Naruto loved him through the loving kisses, the tight embraces, the scratches down his back from their more passionate nights, and his constant worry over him, he could say without a doubt that nothing actually compared to hearing those sweet words.

His heart stopped in its tracks. That was the first part of the memory that jumped out at him. He and Naruto lay cuddled on his bed, one quiet rainy morning some three years back. The blonde's head lay on his chest, humming softly and unconsciously rubbing lazy circles across the pale stomach. Every so often, he'd comment on his odd heartbeat, and then go back to humming. Sasuke stared at the ceiling, running his hands through the thick hair of his lover. It came so randomly, so out of the blue that Sasuke could remember choking on his spit and nearly going blue in the face.

I love you.

Naruto had looked up at him patiently then, though Sasuke refused to make eye contact, keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling. His heart had stopped; he knew the blonde who he held so close to it, both physically and figuratively, could hear it. His eyes were wide and he waited out the gaze he felt lingering on his face. With a soft sigh, Naruto laid his head back on Sasuke chest and continued to draw circles, humming once again as if he hadn't said the words that changed Sasuke's world forever.

In that moment, hearing those words had destroyed everything inside of him. Broke down all his carefully sculpted walls, barriers, defenses; everything was gone. His fears, his worries, everything. It had, instead, been reborn into something new; an intricate web of feelings and emotions wrapped and rebuilt around the notion of Naruto's love. And the fact that he hadn't so much as acknowledged the other hurt. And if it had hurt him, then he knew that it had practically burned Naruto. Naruto, the one who loved other's so fiercely and passionately, who took without giving, who'd put up with Sasuke's moodiness, introversion, and terrible ways for, at the time, two long years…love was the least Sasuke could offer him.

Naruto deserved that feeling. That and so much more.

The snow around them was beautiful; where Sasuke's pale skin blended near perfectly with the pure white substance around them, Naruto's sun kissed skin stood out sharply against it. He looked innocently into Sasuke's own dark eyes, waiting, covered comfortably in Sasuke's over-sized jacket. It came out beautiful, stifled in the vacuum silence of the bitter winter, the only noise being their soft, hushed voices.

I love you.

Sasuke watched as the other blinked, white snow crystals caught on his lashes. Those deep blue eyes stared back, dozens of emotions flitting across the cerulean, clear surfaces. Looking into those eyes, he knew he'd made the right choice, chose the perfect time.

Suddenly, the blonde released a relieved chuckle. The melodious laughter melted away the tension in the air, causing a large, relieved, uncharacteristic smile to rise to Sasuke's face and his body to relax. Stepping closer, Naruto wrapped shy hands around the taller's neck, laughing softly into the crook of his neck. Soft lips pressed gently into the juncture, moving to pepper butterfly kisses across the pale neck and collarbone. The warm breath sent chills down Sasuke's spine as the other breathed deeply, still laughing in joy. The sound was beautiful. Craning his head up, Naruto brought his lips to Sasuke's ear, first pressing a loving kiss to it, then letting out another soft chuckle as he whispered softly, his voice shaking with emotion.

Took you long enough.

Wrapping his arms tightly around his angel's waist, he pulled him in for a sweet, breathtaking kiss. There was none of the usual roughness or rush that marked their other kisses, only the gentle brushes of their tongues and the slightest of pressure from their lips. This kind of kiss was more passionate than any other kiss they shared, and Sasuke had a feeling that there lovemaking tonight would be as well because now, the words had been said. Those three words that Sasuke had once felt were so painfully pointless and overrated had proved to be the thing needed to convey how he truly felt about the person held tightly in his arms. He couldn't help but think that now, with no words left unsaid, everything felt right—perfect.

He loved Naruto.

Naruto loved him back.

And that mutual love had wrapped itself around them, covering them in a blanket of happiness and contentment. Sasuke couldn't help but laugh softly into the kiss, reaching up to wipe away the tears that had begun to spill from Naruto's eyes.

He was gonna marry this boy. He'd marry him and take care of him for the rest of his life, make love to him, and just love him forever.


A/N: So, that was my second attempt at a one-shot, my other from years ago, and was pretty bad, in my opinion(the first one, that is). So I hoped you guys liked it! Tell me what you think. This one was a short, sweet, fluffy little thing, stemmed from my hopeless-romantic imagination. As well as my Frank Sinatra obsession this month .-.