Blood Red Thread
"You're mine," was the first thing Naruto heard after a strong arm embraced his chest from behind.
He quietly placed on the table the scroll he was reading moments before. He wasn't surprised. He left his window open on purpose. He knew Sasuke would be back from that three-days mission soon.
Naruto wasn't just waiting for a report, he was waiting for that feeling. The feeling of completion, even though that single arm seemed to form an odd embrace. But for the seventh Hokage, that single arm was more than enough to hold him.
He laid his back against the chest behind him. The faint scent of sweat and the feeling of soft hair against his forehead made him forget what he was reading before. He brought his left hand onto his own chest and held Sasuke's right tightly.
The blonde closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"Three long days," he muttered. He could feel a thumb softly caressing his own. Sasuke's warm breath against his cheek felt like a summer breeze.
"Why do you have to keep on disappearing, Sasuke?" He asked softly, opening his eyes and facing the wall lit by the moonlight. Naruto already knew the answer for it, but he needed to be reminded, because right at that time, he could only think of how good that moment was and how it was painful whenever they parted.
"Because I'm your shadow, and that's what shadows do" Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear, tightening the embrace.
They both could feel through that embrace the rythm of the Hokage's heartbeats getting faster. They both recognized that sometimes they felt like throwing everything away and just running away together, hand to hand.
But these thoughts would go as quick as they came, because running away at that point meant ignoring everything they lived so far and everything they believed in. Their own reasons to survive and to fight.
Even so, the feelings they suppressed daily made them want to be selfish every now and then, and at times like these, they wanted to think that they belonged to no one else, but to each other, as Sasuke made sure to state on the second he landed on that office.
"If you're my shadow, what am I to you?" Asked the blonde, bright blue facing the warm charcoal eyes.
"What are you thinking, usuratonkachi?" Was the soft reply, lips brushing against blonde hair. "Shadows exist because there is light".
The brunette skilfully turned Naruto's body to face him, locking their lips together in a kiss filled with longing.
"I missed you too" Sasuke whispered, with a gleam on his eyes and a lazy smile on his face.
It would be one of the few nights they could forget everything else, when everyone was sleeping peacefully and they didn't need to hide their feelings. But even though they tried to live on, they could never ever forget the sight of the blood red thread that linked them together, as if it could replace missing limbs in a way that they both would become one forever.
A/N: It's been ages since I last wrote some sasunaru! I had lost interest in the series after the zombies started to creep in, but recently I learned about what happened at the end and the part that Naruto and Sasuke fight for the last time has renewed my love for that pairing. I also watched the movie and that feeling became extra strong after I saw how deeply they still cared for each other, and honestly, Susano'o becoming armor for Kurama was the last proof of deep bond they could have shown. Everything since then has touched me deeply, so I decided to write this tribute for their love. I hope you all appreciate it! And by the way, the idea of the "blood red thread" came from that pannel in the manga in which it shows their arms are gone but they are linked by a blood stain on the floor. I really loved that image!