Usual warnings apply. And same warnings from previous chapters.

I should probably have put this at the beginning but Y!Gal and were pissing me off because I haven't posted in long time and I am NOT good with tech, really. Fixing something maybe, but software other than Word not so much. Heh heh Anyway, inspiration for this story comes from having watched hours of military homecoming videos like this one, and the song from BoB and Taylor Swift, Both of Us (normally I hate her music, but between that song and the vids, this idea would, not, leave, me, alone. So here you go.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the pic, not the characters, just the words in the story. Happy?

Chapter 2

A River Runs Through It

"Hello?" Itachi's voice sounded as deep and reassuring as always, even in a greeting. Sasuke felt more clam than with any of his breathing exercises.

"Hey, it's me."

"I know who it is, Sasuke. I have caller ID, I'm sure you are aware," Itachi's voice sounded amused as Sasuke shifted to press his head against the cool glass of his window, drawing his knees up onto the bed with him. He frowned at the comment, then smirked.

"Well, yes, but you are old, big brother. And you haven't had that smart phone of yours for very long. I thought maybe you might need a manual just to answer it," he replied smugly.

This was met with a snort from his brother, who had always seemed to enjoy needling Sasuke. Sasuke had hated it when he was younger and now found he could answer on equal footing now that he had grown older, and wiser to his brother's dry humor.

"Really, Sasuke. I am only seven years older than you, not fifty. And you have yet to tell me why you called."

"Maybe I did and your senility kicked in and you forgot," suggested Sasuke, not willing to let go of the easy banter just yet. What he had to say would not sit well with Itachi despite his brother having served in the military himself.

"Sasuke," Itachi warned, though it never had any bite to it. He had a way of saying his name that to anyone else appeared as though all he wanted was to get his attention, but Sasuke knew him well; he'd been raised by Itachi since he was a child and that did not come without a certain understanding. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke launched into what he had to say with as much dignity as anyone in his rather prestigious family had ever possessed.

"I got a letter in the mail today," he began. Hearing his brother scoff, he hurried to continue before he found himself on the receiving end of more of Itachi's scathing wit.

"From the Secretary of the Navy." He knew that Itachi was well aware, despite being a different branch, who the head of the Marine Corps was, and why he would be sending a letter.

"You've been given new orders." It was not a question. "Where?"

But Sasuke could tell from the change in the timbre of his voice that Itachi already knew.

"You know I'm not allowed to give you an exact location," Sasuke warned. He really didn't know why he was fighting it so much. Maybe if he told his brother, one of the few people who understood not just what it meant, but what it meant for Sasuke, then it would be all too real. Leaving the States, leaving Naruto. God, he had made such a mess of things, hadn't he?

"Sasuke, are you still there?" Itachi asked, louder than before. Sasuke called up a weak smirk but it died before he could find it in himself to retort. Blithely, he sighed and rubbed his forehead on the now warmed glass.

The smooth texture reminded him of the lake he could just see peaking out from a tall stand of pines, just inside the boundary of their property. Something like this would normally be unaffordable to someone with military pay, but Sasuke and Naruto had gone into OTC after college, to augment their pay scale, and money from both their families deaths had helped. It belonged solely to them, no mortgage to have to worry about while being chased by angry men with guns in a godforsaken sand pit. Sasuke sighed.

"You know where, Itachi," he said quietly. "You know what I have to do."

"If you mean that dirt pile between Syria and Iran, forget it," Itachi growled.

Sasuke smiled for real this time

"So, I take it you didn't like it?" Itachi had already been sent over, two tours. No injuries, just as Sasuke had expected. But the emotional toll (there was still something that lurked behind his brother's gaze) had worried him. And he knew that Itachi, having always been a bit . . . protective, would not be any different. In fact, Sasuke feared his big brother's intentions. It was true that Itachi could handle himself in any fight, large or small, but Sasuke had already done enough to hurt him in the past. But he was speaking now, and Sasuke had missed it.

"What?"

"I knew you weren't listening," Itachi admonished. "I asked you if you had told Naruto yet."

Sasuke remained silent, which was answer enough.

"I didn't think so. Are you going to soon? When do you have to ship out?"

And now Sasuke thought he caught the first hint of worry, so deeply hidden perhaps only he would know it was there. He applauded his brother silently for not being up front about it. Itachi really did now him well, how much he would hate being fawned or fretted over. Whether he agreed with the reasons behind being there, he had been ordered to serve and if there was one thing he had learned from Naruto, it was that there were some things in life you had to just do. This was one of them.

"It's his birthday today. I'll wait till tomorrow, or maybe the day after." And now Sasuke was stalling, stalling for time, because there suddenly wasn't enough anymore.

"And when do you have to leave?" Itachi asked again.

"In two weeks," Sasuke replied, and then a heavy silence followed.

"I'll be by later, so save some time for me."

And with that Sasuke breathed out a breath he had no idea he'd been holding in. He knew his brother had flown in for the day from where he was currently stationed in Maryland, for the very celebration Sasuke was supposed to preparing for. But it would definitely help to have his brother nearby.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow morning and then you can relax."

Again Sasuke was grateful. Not having to worry about picking up supplies, the cotton black t-shirts he would need (polyester burned right into the skin instead of burning away) along with everything else he needed he could pick up in a few hours with his brother tagging along, and that would mean he would have most of the day to figure out how to break the news. The rest of his friends would find out from Naruto most likely, he would never be able to keep something this important to himself for very long.

"It starts at two, yes?"

Sasuke nodded, then remembered he was on the phone.

"Yeah. And Itachi . . . " Sasuke found he had to swallow hard before continuing, which only gave Itachi an opening.

"Don't worry about it, little brother. You'll go, do your time, and be back before anyone has the chance to miss you," Itachi assured him, but Sasuke couldn't hear any smugness, just an empty lilt that made him uneasy.

"Okay," was all he could say for the moment. There would be time later to really talk. He knew that. He knew not everyone over there became injured or was killed, that the numbers seemed harshly inflated thanks largely to vast media coverage. He would be fine, but Naruto was the problem. That man was so reckless, Sasuke feared he would try something inanely stupid while he was away.

"I'll see you in a few hours, little brother. Wish Naruto a Happy Birthday for me until I see him."

Sasuke frowned. "He's going to think you're being facetious."

"Well, you can spend the next few hours explaining to him what that means, then can't you?" Itachi replied with a dry laugh. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh, and you can field all his friends ridiculous conversations about the latest video game or whatever it is they like to harass him about."

Itachi laughed again and signed off, leaving Sasuke to stare at the phone in his hand until he heard the sound of the water turn off in the bathroom. It had not felt like it had only been a few minutes. Swinging his legs down to the floor, he stood and took a deep, cleansing breath. Stretching his arms over his head, Sasuke shuffled his feet as he made his way to the closet. Having already showered (Naruto hated to rise early unless it was for work), he dressed quickly and turned his thoughts to what he was going to make Naruto for his Birthday breakfast, determined to not throw a pall over the day's festivities, no matter what.

Sasuke found himself in the kitchen, washing dishes as Naruto's high pitched laughter reached him from the living room. He was not happy. There were too many people, more than he thought his roommate had invited. No one ever mentioned the fact that it was supposed to have been a surprise party. But then it happened every year. They would plan and Naruto would weasel it out of someone at some point. The strange and funny thing was, he still maintained the air of someone that had no idea, quite convincingly.

That wasn't what had made Sasuke angry though. He wasn't really sure what had actually. He sighed as he finished off the plates and Kiba stumbled into the kitchen, slightly drunk, just before Naruto and Ino. Naruto's arm was around the shorter, curvy blonde girl, her light blue eyes focused on Naruto's darker ones. Sasuke remembered a time when that fond look had only ever been directed at him and he pouted. Naruto's friendships had grown astronomically since they had both been lonely orphans all those years ago and Sasuke frowned deeper. No. He would not acknowledge this, not now. He shook his head roughly and stepped up to Naruto, smirking.

But fate was a mean bitch. Instead of Sasuke introducing his present, or getting to have that smile, Kiba was planted in front of his face, scowling.

"What?" Sasuke said after Kiba moved to block him again. They had never really been friends. Out of all the people Naruto had gathered to himself like so much static after a storm, Sasuke had never liked Kiba. The others weren't bad. He'd even had some delightful debates on existentialism with Neji and Gaara, but not the brash and loud Kiba who was like a harder, cruder version of Naruto with a lot less of the warmth and humor to offset it.

"You're an ass," Kiba stated simply. He swayed slightly on his feet, already drunk. His eyes slid out of focuis for a moment before his gaze snapped to Sasuke's face and he snickered darkly.

"Okay," Sasuke answered, shrugging. He could not care less what the man thought, only that he was in the way. Tension had built up in the small room, and Sasuke could hear laughter and music as if it was coming from inside a tin can from the living room.

"You're a complete ass," Kiba said again, slurring slightly on the last syllable but making sure to emphasize the middle bit.

Naruto rolled his eyes behind Kiba and began tugging him backwards by the crook of his arm. Kiba wrenched at it violently and stepped to Sasuke so that they almost touched noses. Sasuke could smell vodka and mint.

"What's your problem, Inuzuka?" Sasuke was sure to use Kiba's last name in an effort to hopefully remind him Sasuke and Naruto, being full lieutenants, and not NCOs, outranked him. Maybe that would get rid of the uncomfortable feeling in Sasuke's chest. He did not like how Kiba was staring at him, or how bewildered Naruto looked.

"You," Kiba answered flippantly, snorting. "You're an ass, a complete ass, the worst one I've seen . . ."

He trailed off as Naruto tisked behind him and grabbed his arm again.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You realize who you're talking to, right?" he told Kiba as he pulled harder until Kiba finally had to move back or risk landing on his ass in the small, stuffy space.

"I heard it from my CO," Kiba hollered at Sasuke as he was dragged unceremoniously backward and Ino's eyes flashed up to Sasuke, a hint of fear in them. Sasuke drew in a breath, ready to cut him off if Kiba should start barking something else even more stupid.

But Ino cut him off, and for that Sasuke was grateful.

"Shut up, you dog," she groused. "You're going to ruin Naruto's birthday. And didn't you do that enough times already?"

Sasuke gave her a small, warm smile and Ino winked at him, then jerked her head in Naruto's direction. Sasuke saw that his roommate had been swiveling his head back and forth between them, as if he were watching a ping pong match. Then he looked back at Ino who mouthed 'tell him when you're ready, but soon'. Sasuke nodded. Looking back at Naruto, the man was shaking his head quickly and glancing over at Sasuke with a look that said he had missed something. Sasuke chose to go back to smirking.

"He's just pissed I got you something better," Sasuke supplied, shrugging. Naruto narrowed his eyes, not convinced. From the living room, the music pulsed louder as someone turned the base up, and Kiba was shouting somewhat incoherently over it.

"I never ruined nothing! Naruto wanted to go to that field! How was I supposed to know the farmer had motion-sensor alarms?"

Great peals of raucous laughter overrode him and Naruto shook his head again more slowly, smiling.

He flipped the swinging door to the kitchen open and hollered out to Kiba. "Yeah, but the theft of the pig the next year was your idea. And you don't even have the excuse that you were high, you moron. Shut up and go with Ino. She'll take you home."

And Sasuke knew without seeing it that Naruto was waggling his eyebrows and grinning at Kiba from the outraged squawk he heard. And because he knew Naruto best, or so he had always prided himself in thinking. They had certainly known each other the longest, having met the rest of the crowd throughout middle and high school.

Naruto was laughing good-naturedly as he turned back to Sasuke, letting it peter out before he wiped at the corners of his eyes. Sasuke felt the itch in his chest turn into a full-fledged burn that crept up his throat. He had not anticipated it would be so hard just to open his mouth around him after receiving the letter, or how lying to him, if even for a day, made the feeling infinitely worse.

Itachi's presence at the party, and the fact that he had slipped silently and unobtrusively into the kitchen from the dining room, helped. He turned and gave his brother a look that appeared blank. Itachi nodded and turned heel to walk right back the way he had come. Naruto called after him, never one to miss ribbing or cavorting with his friends, or family of friends, it didn't matter.

"Hey Itachi, you forgot your brother's stick!"

More laughter assaulted them from the living room, Sasuke rolled his eyes and huffed.

"You can have it, Naruto. Call it an extra Birthday gift, to go right along with the bath set I gave you," came Itachi's response.

Everyone present knew that Itachi had given him fox figurines to complete the set on his shelf and a book on military strategy and history. But they exploded in laughter louder than before anyway. Because everyone present also knew of Naruto's introduction to Sasuke, in which Sasuke had called him a useless idiot, and Naruto had growled that Sasuke was an ice princess with a pole up her ass. They had calmed down since then, of course. Actually, they had become friends not too long after, when Sasuke had saved Naruto's life, but that was another story.

Sasuke wondered idly, while watching Naruto rummage in the fridge for another beer, whether the old saying he had been told by his mother was true, that when you saved someone you became their protector and guide for life. Somehow it always felt as if the roles had switched at some point, or maybe many points, he was never sure. But he wished more than anything he could stand in front of Naruto now, as if all his words tonight had barbs, and stainless steel ones at that. He cleared his throat and Naruto looked up at him, eyebrows raising in question.

But the words got stuck somewhere between his stomach and his throat. Naruto raised a blond eyebrow and when Sasuke simply cleared his throat again, he grinned while turning away toward the inging door.

"Really, Sasuke. You're so strange tonight. I'm starting to think you've developed a crush on me. Following me around, fighting with Kiba, and before that glaring at Gaara like he was going to kidnap me or somethin' . . . "

Sasuke frowned, his breath catching in his throat again. His heart was pounding more than it should have been. Sure he knew he was in trouble now, that he should probably not come back to the house after his assignment, that he was treading dangerous seas already, falling in love with his roommate and best friend. But seeing Naruto reach for the door had him indescribably terrified. And he knew he was lost. Without realizing he had moved, he was suddenly behind Naruto, hand flat against the slim, smooth wood of the door.

"Wait," he pleaded. Yes, pleaded, his voice rough and raw. He swallowed. Naruto had frozen at the movement. Completely. Sasuke willed him to stay where he was and Naruto, for once, seemed to understand. But when he began to turn around, Sasuke moved closer until he was nearly touching Naruto from behind with his full body. The heat was indescribable, and indescribably painful. Sasuke wouldn't give it up for the world, not even the chance to see his parents again. That thought gave him courage like nothing else.

"Naruto," he said softly. Breathing against the back of Naruto's neck sent the little blond curls there fluttering erratically in the warm air.

Not wanting to break whatever had caught them, the heavy atmosphere sizzling along his skin as if he, not Naruto, had bathe in lake, and it had been charged with lightning, Sasuke breathed in deeply for a moment.

"Naruto," he said again. Naruto squirmed slightly, which meant he brushed against Sasuke's chest and legs.

"Sasuke," he started uncomfortably. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Sasuke breathed in again, taking in a scent so rich and complex, all Naruto, and smiled. He wanted, itched, to brush a kiss on the back of his head, to lay his own down on Naruto's firm back, to wrap his arms around him. Instead, he reached into the back of his dark wash jeans, the dark blue sweater he wore riding up a little from the action, and pulled out the slim package he's been keeping there so that no one else would become curious. Or see it when Naruto opened it.

"Happy Birthday," he murmured as he reached around with the arm holding the package and presented it to his friend and would-be, could-be, please God, lover.

Naruto frowned, Ssauke could see it from the edge of his face he caught in the light of the kitchen stove. So far, this birthday had been the same as all the others, or similar in any event. Naruto's hands shook slightly as he took it, or so Sasuke liked to believe. It was better to hope that it was because he was happy and not afraid, but Sasuke had to settle for watching as Naruto slid a kitchen knife he'd found in the drainer along the flap, having shrugged around Sasuke distractedly to get to it.

"What is it? Why didn't you just bring it out when everyone else had theirs?" Naruto asked curiously.

There was an edge to his voice but Sasuke could see he wasn't focused, distracted by the strange way Sasuke had delivered it. Sasuke tried to smile but he was too caught up in the edges of the shiny blue paper coming apart and the bow fluttering to the floor. Naruto turned the slim box around and lifted the lid. Finally comprehending what he was seeing, his mouth suddenly hung open and giving a cry of surprise, Naruto stood stunned before he hugged Sasuke lightly. The hug turned into a grin and even a few tears before Sasuke could manage to breath and relax, satisfied they wouldn't be interrupted. Perhaps Ino had stayed long enough to curtail any of their other friends from intruding.

"How did you find it?" Naruto asked thickly.

Sasuke smiled broadly.

"It wasn't easy," he answered back just as quietly. "The guy refused to give it up, too, until I showed him my sword collection. It was too tantalizing an offer apparently."

Naruto sucked in a wuixck breath but Sasuke squeezed him tighter, his hands also shaking. He wouldn't know just how many times he would be able to have this gift in the future, so it was well worth the price of his family's antique swords.

"Hey, I'm not upset about them. To me, you're worth more."

Another breath, shaky, and Naruto sniffed into his shoulder. His arms tightened around Sasuke.

Worth more indeed. The book Naruto held had been thought lost, and certainly it had gone out of print after the author, Naruto's grandfather, had died. It hadn't been very popular to begin with, although neither Naruto nor Sasuke could understand why. Sasuke had to give it to that pervert that while most of his novels were raunchy and trashy, this one was different. This one was good. The titular character carried Naruto's name, and Naruto's father had plucked it from its pages the day he had himself had read it. The selfless attitude and determination, even the character's naivete, were all reminders of the old man to Naruto at the same time as Sasuke saw why his grandfather had written it that way. If he could force down his jealousy of anything and anyone that divided him from Naruto's attention, he might like the man for it.

As it was, Jiraiya had died unexpectedly and Naruto, having been upset and depressed, had given everything of his away before realizing the one thing he was going to keep, the one thing he could never let go of before that horrible day let alone after, was gone. It had literally taken Sasuke six months to get his hands on what seemed to be the only copy left in the world. Grunting and smirking, Sasuke begrudgingly pulled away when he heard movement, murmuring, and the door closing softly in the other room. Then it was quiet, the music gone as well. The sound of the wind from off the lake and crickets chirruping lazily from the brush were all that met his ears. That and Naruto's heavy breathing.

"Did they know?" he asked quietly. For a moment, Sasuke was confused. For a moment, his heart sped up to a rushing and a ringing in his ears.

"They did, didn't they? That's why they all left without saying good-bye."

"I wouldn't say everyone has gone just yet," came a voice from the other side of the door and both men jumped. Naruto laughed out loud and slapped the wood with the palm of his hand. Trust Itachi to know how to scare the shit out of anyone, or ruin a perfect moment. Sasuke swore he delighted in it even. Laughter met them back and Sasuke heard it recede further before the piercing whine of the sticking hinge on the front door came out.

"I'll be back in a bit, and so will some of the others. It's still before eight, so you know they want more time to spend with you, Naruto. But we all thought you might be a bit of a cheese for a little bit and no one wants to see you commit personality suicide."

Naruto frowned and pulled at his hair. Sticking his tongue out, something Sasuke was always surprised and amused to see, he barked a sudden laugh. Swinging the door open to catch Itachi before he left, Naruto pointed a righteous finger at him.

"You WILL pay for your crimes, heathen!" he shouted at Itachi's back as it disappeared behind the door. An arm came around the edge in a lazy wave, black clad in an impeccably tailored suit Sasuke still had yet to closely inspect. (He was fond of good fabric. A shocker, he knew. But being gay had its perks, even if very few people knew about them.) Sasuke stifled a snort, and relaxed his face from the smirk he knew was coming. Trying to bring back the lost intensity would be impossible but Sasuke would settle for sitting with Naruto to leaf through a few pages and humorously chide the man who had created it. The man who had helped raise Naruto. Just one of the many people from Naruto's weighty past that Sasuke had never gotten a chance to meet, let alone thank. Fabric rustled as and the cream area rug under his feet swished as Sasuke crept out to stand behind Naruto, who had moved into the lving room, grumbling under his breath.

"Boo," he said softly. When Naruto jumped slightly and turned comically slow to stare at him with wide eyes.

Sasuke laughed, all his previous reticence at the day's events, and especially those of tomorrow, suddenly washed away as though the tide had finally come in. Together, they settled easily on the couch, Naruto never one to allow the inferences of stupid-minded people to ever keep him from enjoying a lap, or in this case a shoulder, as Sasuke began to read out parts of his grandfather's work.

Long ago Naruto had secretly told him this was what he would wish for if he could have anything, knowing full well no one could raise the dead. And Sasuke was beyond happy to have a roaring fire in the oversized grated fireplace, reading the book that had been enormous trouble to find to the man he was closest to save his brother, but most of all for the chance to have that familiar weight leaning against him one more time before he had to travel to an uncertain, but certainly dangerous, future.