Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, nor do I make any profit from this fanfic.
Beta: Unbeta'd
Rated: G
Pairing: SasuNaruSasu
Summary: Sasuke does know. Drabble, Gift fic, SasuNaru Day.
Author's Note: A sudden and very much unplanned drabble written for my babe, greatest-change, over on Tumblr for SasuNaru Day. There might be mistakes since it was written on the fly, but I hope you enjoy this meager offering either way.
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Two Halves of the Same Whole
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Sitting on top of the Hokage Mountain, their arms resting upon bended knees, Naruto and Sasuke wiled away what was left of the afternoon. They did this often on late afternoons when the sun was perfectly ablaze and the clouds covered it just enough so that the breeze was able to be well appreciated.
Both were dressed in civilian clothing. Naruto in dark shorts, a white shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on it, and Sasuke in a black shirt and pants with a small Uchiha crest on the back. They had both been given the day off, and as they tended to do when they had free time, they'd spent most of the day together.
Sasuke closed his eyes as a gentle breeze blew, his dark bangs swaying. To think that only a few years ago, he never thought a moment such as this would be possible again.
"Do you ever have moments where you feel… I don't know… grateful?" Naruto suddenly said, interrupting his inner musings.
Sasuke opened his eyes to glance at the other nin. Naruto's face was tilted back, his eyes closed, as the sun highlighted his face in muted orange hues. His blond fringe shifted across his forehead. He looked young and carefree in that moment, Sasuke thought, his mind instantly taking him back to times past, years ago, when they would sit together after another lame D-rank mission.
"Grateful?"
Naruto turned to look at him, head still tilted back. "Yeah. Like, when we're together like this, or like, when suddenly everything just seems right, and you realize it was all worth fighting for."
How many times hadn't he thought so, was the better question. Sasuke wasn't usually one to get needlessly sentimental, if he could avoid it, but even he knew how monumental the fight for the world had been. It was what had inevitably brought him and Naruto together once again, working as one.
"Sometimes," he replied, his gaze turning to scan the village before them, once more.
"I think about it all the time," Naruto said. He moved his arms to plant his hands on the ground behind him, resting his weight on them. "We've lived through so much, together and individually, and we still somehow came out of it together."
Sasuke's eyes lowered, recognizing the truth in those words.
"I just… I don't take these moments for granted Sasuke. I feel lucky to have you by my side. As a friend, as anything at all."
Sasuke had heard him say this before in many different ways over the last few years. However, this time the meaning was a little different. This was now after Naruto's blazing confession.
Sasuke rested his arms on his knees. "I know."
Naruto had said as much yesterday evening in Sasuke's back yard, when Naruto had unleashed his innermost feelings in all of their unabashed glory, taking Sasuke by surprise. Although, if Sasuke were to be honest with himself, there was a part of him, a deep, hidden part of him, that had always known. He'd just never thought that the day would come when the nagging notion would be confirmed. They'd exchanged words, with Naruto asking him to really think about everything he'd said, and Sasuke told him that he would have an answer for him when they met up the next day.
Well, it was now the next day, and despite having already spent a few hours in each others' company, Sasuke still hadn't said anything regarding the situation. He knew it had Naruto anxious, and while it wasn't his intention to delay the pending conversation, as he already knew what he wanted to say, he didn't mind making the other sweat it out a little, either.
"So…" he heard Naruto say uncertainly.
Sasuke turned to look at him, his dark eyes roving over the features that he knew so incredibly well. The tanned face and strong forearms. The bright, unruly, blond hair, and even more remarkably brighter blue eyes. He'd always inwardly marveled at how they always seemed to reflect everything: happiness, pain, fear, sadness. There was no holding back.
"What exactly is it that you want from me, Naruto?" he asked seriously.
Naruto blinked, his brows furrowing slightly. "What do you mean what do I want from you? I want you."
"I mean, what is it that you expect from me? From this. I'll never be easy," he said pointedly.
Naruto shrugged a shoulder. "If I wanted easy, I would've married Hinata, and I realized a long time ago that she isn't what I want."
Sasuke found it hard to control his scowl, looking away. He didn't feel at all pleased at having the kunoichi's name come up in a conversation between them, feeling an unwelcomed surge of jealousy at the reminder of that period in time. "She probably would've bore you a child by now," he murmured.
He heard Naruto sigh, sensing him shift until his own arms were resting on his knees once more. Their elbows bumped. "Maybe. But we'll never know for sure and I can live with that. I don't think about her or anything I could've had. I think about what I can have now. You are my present, Sasuke. And my future."
Sasuke's eyes locked with his once more. The unflinching honesty in the other's tone was enough to irk him.
"How can you be so sure?" he then asked probingly. The weight of where this conversation could possibly lead them to, in terms of their relationship, was suddenly falling upon him in a sudden swoop. "After everything. How do you know?"
He watched in surprise as Naruto suddenly sent him one of those lopsided smiles. The kind that did funny things to his stomach.
"I just do. We're equals, Sasuke. You know it. You've said it. And I don't think it's just in terms of shinobi anymore. I think it applies to us as two people as well, as the human beings we are. You complete me, and I complete you. We balance each other out. When my head's in the clouds, you're there to knock the sense into me, and I like that about you, even if it makes me want to beat your ass sometimes," he said, sending Sasuke a sudden tender look that made Sasuke feel inexplicably warm inside.
"I know who you are. I see your faults for what they are, but more than that, I also know your strengths, and I'll gladly take the whole package as long as I get to be with you. Don't you see, Sasuke, we're perfect for each other. And deep down, I think you know it too," he asserted, the firmness of his voice contrasting with the light dusting of pink suddenly blooming in his cheeks.
Right then, the intense blue of his friend's eyes seemed to burn into Sasuke's own. The determination was clearly there, but even more so was the yearning, and it was something that he found himself utterly transfixed by. He'd already thought about what Naruto wanted—had spent all night thinking about it—quickly realizing that it was also what he wanted as well. However, he wanted that assurance, needed to know why, because once he gave himself over, he knew that he wouldn't let go.
Sasuke let out a soft breath and looked forward once more. A moment passed before he spoke. "You talk too much. Usuratonkachi." He then glanced at Naruto, watching in mild amusement as the other blinked in surprise. He finally allowed a small smirk.
Watching as an impossibly bright smile overtook his friend's face, Sasuke tried his best to control his beating heart, which threatened to burst out of his chest in that moment, feeling as if they'd grown wings. He was a hopeless fool, he found himself thinking. Just as hopeless as the shinobi sitting next him. But the thought didn't stop him from leaning in when Naruto's unexpectedly soft lips suddenly caught his in a gentle kiss.
He wasn't perfect by any means, and despite Naruto's compassionate and generous nature, neither was he. Where he was ruthless, Naruto was sympathetic, and where he was realistic, Naruto was idealistic. But somehow, together, Sasuke did know that they were perfect together. Like two halves of the same rock-solid whole. It was so unlikely and yet so clichéd, it was enough to make his eyes roll.
But Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way.