Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, or any of the other characters I mention. I'm still poor, and don't make any money for writing these.

A/N: I know, I know, I should be writing my other story. But this has been all I've been able to think about the past couple of days.

Naruto sat at his desk, his brow furrowed and his fingers intertwined, thinking. What had he done? This was not a good situation for him to be putting himself in, or Sasuke for that matter! He thought he understood what he had to do. It would have been so much easier on Konoha if Sasuke was gone. He sighed. He felt like he was betraying the village he'd sworn to protect by sleeping with Sasuke. It couldn't happen again, he decided. But he had already promised Sasuke he'd be back. At that moment, there was a gentle tapping on his office door.

"Enter," he said, sighing. A pretty, pink-haired woman stepped through the door and eyed him suspiciously.

"Where were you?" she spat. "I waited up for you all night to come home, and you never did. Now I know we're not together for real, but you should at least have the common decency to tell your fake fiancée where you were all night."

Sakura had been his cover for a couple of years now. He didn't want to come out to his people, so he hid behind Sakura. He knew it shouldn't matter, but for some reason, he felt as though he'd be letting the villagers down by being an openly gay Hokage.

"I spent the night with somebody," he answered truthfully.

At that, Sakura perked up. "Who?" She asked in a sing-song voice that made Naruto cringe.

"I'd prefer not to talk to you about this," Naruto said, furrowing his brow.

"Why not?" Sakura scoffed. "You're normally more than willing to tell me everything, even down to the most minute details. What's your deal, anyway? You're acting like you slept with Sasuke or something."

Naruto felt a guilty look wash over his face, and before he could stop it, Sakura was grabbing him by the collar and pulling him out of his seat, forcing him to look in her eyes.

"You slept with Sasuke?" She hissed, narrowing her sea-foam eyes and pulling him right up to her. "Now you have to tell me what happened. Or I'm outing you."

Naruto gulped. He wasn't normally scared of women, but to be quite frank, Sakura scared the hell out of him in a way no other person ever had, and with this fiery rage in her eyes, Naruto wasn't sure at all what she was capable of. So he gave in.

"I sought him out," Naruto admitted. "I had to see him. We fought. I won. I took him back to his hideout and healed him. I told him I loved him. We had sex."

"How could you?" Sakura spat, her eyes still narrowed. "Doesn't this village mean anything to you? He could kill us all. And you slept with him." She released the front of his robes and threw him down in his chair.

"He could," Naruto agreed, "but he won't. He loves me just as much as I love him. I think I can get him to come home, Sakura."

"Is that really what's good for this village?" She shouted.

Naruto shot her a glare that told her to keep her voice down.

"A rogue ninja that has killed countless people, including his own sensei, Orochimaru, coming back to live in Konoha? He's dangerous, Naruto. I thought you understood that we'd have to kill him if it came down to it. Do you think the Raikage would be pleased if you welcomed his brother's supposed kidnapper back in to our village with open arms? There would be war! And you've brought peace to the ninja world. Why fuck it up now?"

"Sasuke has changed," Naruto muttered. "He's not hell-bent on the destruction of Konoha anymore. I could see it in his eyes that he's changed. His eyes aren't as cold and filled with hatred as they used to be. Deep down, I can tell that he wants to come home."

"What part of 'There will be war' do you not understand?" Sakura snapped. "As an adviser to the Hokage, I would advise you to kill him next time you see him. Or I will do it for you."

Naruto jumped up from behind his desk, meeting Sakura's angry stare with one of his own. "You even try it," he growled, "and I'll make sure you pay. Just give me a chance to convince him. If he decides against it, or if he kills anyone in the village, I'll take care of it myself."

"And as for the Raikage?" Sakura crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'll deal with that when the time comes," He stated simply. "Now if there's nothing else, you're excused."

"Actually, there is something else," Sakura chirped. "Konohamaru's squad is back from their mission. They'd like to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

-OoOoO-

Sasuke was still reeling from his encounter with Naruto two nights before. Had it actually happened? He wasn't sure what to make of the dobe's love confession, but admittedly, he felt something too. He hadn't felt anything like this before, and wasn't sure if he could give it a name. It wasn't love, he was sure of that. But it wasn't hatred, either. He knew hatred, and he knew it well.

For the past several years, all he ever felt was hatred. Hatred toward his brother, then Orochimaru, Konoha and finally Madara. Now, he had no hatred. He'd been feeling numb for some time now, and Naruto had brought emotion back in to his life. He wasn't sure if he liked it. He sat down on his shoddy mattress with his knees up, and hung his head. This was not how he'd envisioned the rest of his life. He figured he'd live in this god-forsaken hideout for the rest of his days, and die lonely and miserable. Naruto was offering to change that.

But how could he go back to Konoha? That village that murdered his clan, and cast him out so easily. Although, if he wanted to get technical, they didn't cast him out at all. He left. He left, and for years, Naruto had made it his mission to brink Sasuke home. Home. This was his home now, wasn't it? What did Konoha have to offer him that he couldn't get on his own? Love, he thought, almost bitterly. What use did he have for love? Although, he had to admit, it would be nice to sleep in a real bed again; instead of this motherfucking mattress he called a bed. He could actually eat on a regular basis, instead of practically starving himself. But what would him going back to Konoha mean for the rest of the ninja world? Surely the other Kage's wouldn't let it happen without some sort of argument. All the other Kage's had seemed to make it their village's personal mission to hunt him down and kill him.

He flopped down on his mattress and closed his eyes. Visions of his night with Naruto came flooding back to him. It had felt so good to feel the touch of another human being. Since Taka had been disbanded several years before, he'd had no human contact whatsoever, and Naruto had come in and made him feel worthy of someone's affection. It wasn't a feeling he was used to and, in fact, he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. He had enjoyed the sex, of course, and he had also enjoyed the close, intimate feeling after, but he wasn't sure if he liked the way he couldn't get it out of his head. He didn't like the fact that he had lain awake all last night, replaying the images over and over in his head. He didn't like the erection caused by the thoughts, either. He felt the same arousal creep over him again, and groaned. Last night, he hadn't allowed himself the satisfaction of release. Maybe tonight, if he just got it out of his system, he could stop agonizing over it, and maybe get some sleep.

But no. He wouldn't give in to his yearning for Naruto. Naruto. The one who knew some of his pain, who grew up without a family, just like him. The guy who chased him down for years after their fight at The Valley In The End, while he, Sasuke, was on his pursuit of power. Naruto. The one person who could make him feel something other than hate. But what was this he was feeling now? What had Naruto brought out in him this time? This unadulterated lust that was fueled by something more… intimate…? And what would this make him, masturbating to the image of Naruto's face? Would this mean he was in love? And if it did, is that what he wanted? He'd never been in love before, so he wasn't sure what it would feel like. But love meant sacrifice. He knew that. He had seen it when Itachi did what he did, and after hearing what really happened that night. What was Sasuke willing to sacrifice to be in love with Naruto?

In that moment, when his thoughts of Naruto became erotic again, and the aching in his pants grew too strong to ignore, Sasuke decided what he was willing to sacrifice. My pride, he thought as the image of Naruto's naked body kneeling over him filled his mind. Just for tonight, I can sacrifice my pride.

He reached in to his pants and grasped the erection that wouldn't go away; thinking of Naruto and the way his body felt when it was pressed up against him. He stroked himself slowly, imagining a large, tanned hand instead of his own. I love you, Sasuke. He heard the blonde's words in his head, the sentence he kept replaying over and over since it had first been spoken. He pushed his pants down around his knees with his free hand as he jerked up and down his shaft; moaning, in spite of himself. He licked two fingers and penetrated himself, desperate to be filled again. He curled his fingers to massage his prostate as he stroked himself. He moaned again, imagining Naruto's cock gliding in and out of his hungry hole. His breaths were coming in gasps as he felt the orgasm swelling up inside him, begging for release. He turned himself to the side, just in time to come all over the cold stone floor next to his mattress.

Releasing his now flaccid cock from his grip he wiped the sweat off his brow. He was breathing heavily, and watched as his chest rose and fell with his breathing. He still couldn't get Naruto out of his head. He growled to himself, frustrated, and pulled his pants back up. He blew out the candle beside his bed and closed his eyes, determined to get some sleep.

Sasuke's dreams that night were filled with Naruto's smile, and his return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Everyone welcomed him back with open arms, and he and Naruto lived peacefully together for the rest of their days.

-OoOoOoO-

Naruto felt Sakura's cold eyes on him as he ate his breakfast at their kitchen table. She hadn't treated him quite the same since she found out he'd slept with Sasuke. He'd tried to tell himself it was jealousy on her part, but wasn't convinced by his own thoughts. He knew she was right, that Sasuke's return would mean certain war between the Leaf Village and the Cloud Village. Was he willing to sacrifice some of his own people for the chance to have Sasuke home again, for the chance at happiness? Very few people knew the secret behind his and Sakura's relationship, and if Sasuke came home, he'd have to tell everybody about his sexual preferences. He wasn't sure whether his villagers would look upon him in disgust at his sexuality, or if they would feel betrayed that he didn't share sooner. He supposed it would be a mixture of both, and that soon, whether Sasuke came home or not, he would have to come out publicly. He felt ashamed for hiding such a big secret from his people, but when he had taken the office of Hokage, he was still scared of being judged.

"You're going to see Sasuke again today, aren't you?" Sakura finally asked, making Naruto practically jump out of his skin.

"What's going to happen if I say yes?" he asked, his mouth full of pancakes.

"I'll have to make up some lie about where you are," Sakura sighed. "But I won't follow you. As much as I hate to say this, I trust you. And if you think Sasuke has changed, maybe he has. But you realize that if Sasuke comes home, you'll have to come out?"

"Of course," Naruto replied. "I was planning on doing it soon anyway. It's unfair to the villagers that I'm not being honest with them."

"You're right," she said quietly, "but where does that leave me?"

"In the exact same place you already are," Naruto responded. "Except I won't be holding you back from dating. We'll still be best friends, and you'll still stay here."

"With you and Sasuke?" she asked incredulously. "No thanks. I'll get my own place if he does come back."

She sat down across the table from Naruto with her own breakfast. They ate in silence, occasionally sharing a look of hope across the table.

Naruto knew Sakura wanted Sasuke to come home, even if it was because she was still in love with him. He thought that, deep down she knew she would never get Sasuke. She just wanted him home, where he belonged. Naruto did, too. And he knew that somehow, some way, he was going to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. And Sasuke was going to be happy. No matter what it took.

A/N:A big thank you goes out to my amazing beta, SurefirePhoenix, who catches mistakes that I miss and makes my chapters readable. Another big thank you goes out to my readers who have favorited this story or any of my others, and those who have added me to their favorite authors list. I'm honored, you guys, really.

Okay, so here's the deal. I'm a serial reviewer, and review almost everything I read. I'm mildly disappointed that I haven't gotten that many reviews. So if I get, let's say, ten reviews for this chapter, I will post the next chapter of this before posting anything else. This means that my plan of alternating between uploading chapters of this and uploading chapters of Somebody To Love will be on hold. So seriously guys, review, review, review. I want to know if my readers are enjoying Taking Chances, and what they think is great/horrible/original/totally cliché/blah blah blah. I really want to know how you guys feel. Oh, and another thing you should consider: Chapter 3 is complete and just begging to be posted. And I may post it un-beta'd. That's up to her though. Looking forward to your reviews! ^_^