Hey loves! I'm so sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter out. With starting classes back up at university and moving and a lot of personal stuff going on, I got really distracted. Of course I wrote another drabble fic instead of updating this because I'm a horrible person. Its posted on this account if you would like to read it, however :]

I had awful writers block getting this out, so I hope it turned out ok. Let me know what you guys think!

Spring was Naruto's favorite time of year. Greenery surrounded his office, and the sweet smell of cherry blossoms floated in from the open window. It would have been peaceful, were not the small bundle of nerves bunched in his gut at this particular moment. He sat on his large oak desk with his coat in a heap beside him.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at his close friend. "I'm just a little bit nervous, haha. Never done this kinda speech thing before."

Shikamaru groaned and rolled his eyes. "You're the village's leader. Everyone just wants you to say a few words, thats all. I know its a big pain."

"Yeah, yeah I know. Totally forgot to plan something so I just have to wing what I say. By the way, you're getting married like that?!" Naruto said, glancing down at Shikamaru's outfit with a surprised expression on his face.

Shikamaru looked down at his black suit, sans tie and dress shoes. He chose instead to forgo these things in favor of an open collared shirt and sandals. His hair was tied in its usual ponytail, and his bored expression was firmly in place.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Looks so informal, I dunno. I guess I've never been to a wedding before, though."

"It's fine. We need to get going. I really don't want Temari to yell at me and we haven't even gotten hitched yet."

Naruto donned his Hokage jacket and straightened his black forehead protector, flashing a smile.

"Yeah, that would start this out on the wrong foot, wouldn't it? Lets go!"

The wedding was beautiful, actually. They had managed to not be late, and Temari looked radiant in her white dress and long sparkling veil. It was held in a large clearing in the middle of the village, with lights and lanterns stung about overhead. Half of the village had attended, including a fair amount of family and Shinobi from the Sand village. Naruto's little speech had gone well, and his nerves fizzled into happiness as he reconnected with old friends. Gaara and he had quite the animated conversation about the perks of ruling a country.

Speaking of friends, where was his boyfriend? Naruto scanned the large crowd. He knew the other man would show up regardless of pointedly ignoring the blonde every time he brought the subject up. He looked towards the edge of the party, knowing that would turn up the quickest results. Bingo, Naruto sniggered to himself. Predictable as usual, he spotted Sasuke's signature hairstyle at the very back of the event. He quickly pushed his way through the throngs of people.

Sasuke's arms were crossed in front of his Anbu uniform. For once he happened to be wearing the proper gloves, vest and arm guards for the sake for formality. He looked bored, but his expressionless face could have been hiding anything, really. He raised an eyebrow at the approaching of his golden haired lover. Rakish grin in place, Naruto leaned in and whispered into a pale ear.

"Dance with me, Sasuke."

Sasuke actually gave him a look that implied Naruto had literally lost his mind. "Hell no."

"You're boring as shit, come have fun."

"I am having fun."

Naruto actually felt that statement was true due to the tingling of contentment he felt in his right hand. Still, was is so bad to want a a dance with your significant other? He rolled his eyes dramatically, and pulled on the older man's sleeve.

"At least stand with me and pretend to want to talk to people."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Well you did try to kill me like five times, so you owe me." Naruto pointed out, his blue eyes glittering wickedly.

"….I don't think it works that way."

Despite his protests, Sasuke allowed himself to be tugged away from the sidelines and into the celebration. Naruto grabbed a bottle of champagne and started fighting a path to the newly wedded couple. After they exchanged words with the newlyweds, both men gravitated toward the edge of the group surrounding the happy couple. They stood with close together but not touching, passing the bottle back in forth. The two made a formidable looking pair, with Sasuke donned in black and silver and Naruto with his wild golden hair and billowing white coat.

"You two look really good together."

Sasuke turned, and looked down into smiling green eyes. His expression softened as he recognized his former teammate. Her pink hair was done up in elaborate curls, and she was wearing a shimmering green kimono that made her jade eyes pop.

"Thanks, Sakura."

"Enjoying the wedding?"

Sasuke passed her the bottle, and shrugged his shoulders in a non committal gesture. She took it and lifted the neck, the same time Naruto decided to join in and toss a forceful arm around her shoulders.

"Sakura!"

"Naruto I almost spilled this!"

"S'okay. Don't worry about it." Naruto took the bottle from her hands and took a huge swig as he looked her up and down obviously. "You look hot."

"Naruto! Sasuke is right there!" Sakura punched the arm wrapped around her shoulders as Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"He's being lame and won't dance with me."

"Well I won't either! You're drunk!"

"What? That's not fair, I want to dance, damn it!"

Sasuke sighed a long suffering sigh as the two bickered like old fishwives. "I'm leaving."

Blue and Green eyes watched his back retreat in unison toward the other side of the wedding celebration. Naruto took that as his cue to hastily say his farewells to Sakura and take off after him. Once he caught up, he grabbed Sasuke's arm. As the black haired man turned to him, he expected a short annoyed rejection but was instead met with a faint smile.

"Let's go home."

Naruto gave him a wolfish grin. "Home? Yeah, let's go home. I can think of some better things to do with you."

The smile turned into a smirk and Sasuke turned on his heel.

They continued walking past the throngs of people until they found a deserted alley that led to Naruto's apartment. When they were out of direct eyesight of the party, Naruto found himself pushed up the rough brick wall with amused eyes staring right into his.

"What things?" Sasuke's quiet voice had a hint of amusement in it, and Naruto felt his tattoo burn with desire. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, and lifted his lips to Sasuke's ear. He felt arms fingers digging into his hips hard enough to bruise.

"That depends on you, now. If you're good I'll let you fuck me."

"I can be good." Sasuke's mouth descended on his in a clash of teeth. Their mouths moved in a practiced ritual as their tongues tangled together for dominance. Naruto buried his fingers in handfuls of silky black hair and pulled, feeling quite satisfied with the appreciated groan it received. Sasuke ground his hips into Naruto's, who found himself literally pinned between a rock and a hard place. It became his turn to gasp as Sasuke's hands traveled downwards, roughly groping his ass over his pants and jacket.

Naruto pulled his mouth away, his eyes dark with playful lust. "I don't know about that, S'uke. You should suck my cock right now to prove it to me."

To his absolute surprise, Sasuke did.

The next morning thrust Naruto back into regularly scheduled programming.

Maybe he had drank a little too much last night, because his head was killing him. Man, when did the light coming through those big bay windows become so bright? Naruto rested his head in his folded arms and sank down into his plush office chair.

"Look lively, chief." Kakashi's voice drawled lazily from somewhere in the room. He had taken Shikamaru's place while he was away on his honeymoon.

Naruto sat up straight in his chair and hurriedly pushed his slipping forehead protector back into place. Just then, the door to his office burst open, and Raido, one of his members of the intelligence division, bust through the door unceremoniously.

"Hokage, there is something important you have to see." Raido's voice was calm but his words were urgent. His scarred face gave no indication of what he might be thinking.

Naruto pushed his chair back from his desk, brow furrowed. "What is it?"

"There has been disturbing discovery by the black ops division this morning, sir. Come with me." Raido gestured with his hand out of the door, and bowed his head slightly. He waited respectfully for Naruto to come to him. Kakashi nodded to Naruto, indicating he would wait and watch over the office in his absence.

Naruto was around the desk and briskly walked with the officer. The walk led throughout the Hokage tower and into the tunnels separating it from the intelligence division and Anbu offices. The further the decent into the tunnels, the air cold and tingled with a stale, faint order. They arrived at a heavily guarded door that was shielded by two Anbu members in flak jackets and grim expressions. Naruto pressed past them silently and opened the door, unsure of what might lay inside. The lights were bright however, so it was not hard to see what had been so urgent.

Naruto had seen gore before; he had killed and seen people die. Blood and guts didn't phase him in the slightest. However, nothing could exactly prepare him for the shock of seeing a man lying on a metal gurney whose eyes were simply missing. Blank, bloody sockets stare emptily at the ceiling out of an otherwise unmarred face of a man. Naruto averted his eyes respectfully, but his brows furrowed in confusion. The emblem on the sleeve of the jacket, a yellow single with a single orange flame marked the unknown man to be a member of the Hyuga clan.

"What is the meaning of this?" Naruto asked, turning to Raido with his brow furrowed in confusion. He has an uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.

"Anbu operatives found this man, identified as Ko Hyuga, in the forests of northern Konaha about 20 kilometers from the village early this morning. We have kept on gathering evidence of a team of highly dangerous S-ranked criminals attacking the neighboring shinobi, sir. They have already murdered about 12 elite from sand and mist territories." Raido explained.

"I already knew that. What I want to know is why they have not been taken out already as promised by our allies, as they should have done months ago." Naruto's voice was impatient. He did not come all the way down here to rehash old topics. Terrorists were not a new adversary.

"They are proving trickier to kill, and their objectives are just being unveiled. As you can see, Hyuga's eyes here had been removed. It appears they are more than just simple terrorists, sir. They are collecting the eyes of those with powerful dojutsu techniques. It would seem these criminals are taking out those who have them to try to use for themselves." Raido's voice remained impassive, although he lifted an eyebrow to Naruto's expression of disgust as realization dawned on him.

Naruto swallowed, his tongue feeling heavy and thick in his mouth. "And how many are there?"

"About 7 of them from what we have calculated."

"And who are we going to send to take care of this?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer he knew was coming.

"We need Uchiha Sasuke on this mission, sir. His abilities are the only thing that could be prepared for handling a situation like this. His own dojutsu techniques will be able to unveil theirs. There is no other way. No other members of the Hyuga clan are able enough to take on such a task."

Naruto shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. He's going to be a direct target for someone as dangerous as this. He is the last living Sharingan user, besides Kakashi. I'm not going to risk on of the villages best shinobi and put in him that situation."

"We already asked him, sir. He and his Anbu team discovered the body and brought it here, actually." Raido said nonchalantly. Naruto could have sworn he felt his heart jump with dread at the words. He itched to leave this stale room and get as far away from this cold room with a cold, dead body in it as quickly as possible.

"When was that, exactly?"

"About two hours ago."

The jump turned into a heavy brick of foreboding.

"And Sasuke?"

"Should be preparing to leave, sir."

Naruto kicked opened his front door with such force he almost broke a hinge. Sasuke looked up from his position on the couch, where he was polishing his beloved katana. A confused expression passed over his pale face, his brows knitted together.

"What's with you?"

Naruto stalked over, controlling his voice as best as he could. "Why didn't you tell me you were taking that mission? Why didn't you tell me you were about to leave?"

Sasuke looked back down at the task at hand, his voice as calm as if Naruto had casually mentioned the weather was nice that day.

"Why would I?"

"Because I'm your Hokage, asshole. But more than that even, we live together, you should have said something when it happened."

"Why?" Sasuke's voice was annoyed now, and he set his cleaning tools aside as he stood.

"Because thats what people who are together do! You actually have conversations about things, especially if those things are important and could possibly lead to your death." Narutos eye's flashed with anger.

Sasuke cocked his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me the real reason you're mad, Naruto."

"I don't want you to take this mission."

"Oh?" Sasuke's face remained impassive, but the tingle in Naruto's palm allowed him to feel barely contained anger. "Why?"

"I'm sure you have already made up your mind to go anyway, But you are a target, Sasuke. They want you, they want your eyes, and the rest of the intelligence division doesn't mind putting you out there as bait, which is so fucked up to me but I can't make them understand…I can't, as your leader, put you in that position. I'm not going to take that risk without trying to stop you first." Naruto rubbed his temples and continued to pace around the room. This conversation would not end well, the twisted knot in the bottom of his gut knew it.

"So what you're saying is you don't believe in my ability to take care of myself." Sasuke's words were clipped with an edge of sarcasm.

"NO!" Naruto vehemently denied. "What I am saying is I don't want you to needlessly risk your life and put yourself in danger. We can send a different team."

Sasuke sneered, "Go to hell. What are you, my mother? Trying to protect me?"

Naruto grabbed the front of Sasuke's grey shit forcefully, pulling him close. "This isn't about your pride, you bastard. It's about doing something- or actually, not doing something for the good of other people. Something you wouldn't know anything about."

Naruto had almost, almost forgotten how hard Sasuke could punch. The taste of blood filled his mouth as the well placed blow struck him right in the teeth, splitting his lip. He snarled, kneeing the black haired man as hard as he could in the gut. Naruto felt a sense of dark satisfaction hearing Sasuke hiss in pain at the blow.

"Shut the fuck up with all of your self-indulgent bullshit." Sasuke spat out vehemently. "I'm sick of it. Do you want to treat me like your girlfriend? Want me to stay home and cook for you while you order other people to go fight scary ninjas?"

"You know what the fuck I mean!" Naruto's blue eyes flashed in indignation. "You're a direct target, you'll be hunted down specifically bastard, I'm trying to save your life!"

"I don't want you to save my life! I've had enough of your goddamn hero complex." Sasuke said as he elbowed him in the neck, bringing him down.

Naruto landed on his side, but swung his leg out just in time to knock Sasuke off his feet. The two fell to the floor, kicks and punches flying as they fought needlessly for control. Naruto grabbed Sasuke around the waist and sat on him, pinning him down as hard as he could. He grabbed the dark haired man's shoulders, slamming him down on the floor as hard as he could, hearing a satisfying thud as Sasuke's head smacked the hardwood floor.

"Haven't you had enough self destruction in your life, huh? Want to go fuck up everything again?! What to go off alone again, you selfish piece of shit?"

Sasuke snarled like a feral creature at that and grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt with both hands, his grip was white knuckled tight. Naruto braced for the inevitable punch or strangling that never came as they locked eyes and breathed heavily. His eyes were dark chips of obsidian instead of their usual grey, but his voice was eerily calm and devoid of emotion.

"Yes." The grip on the shirt slacked, and he twisted to the side, forcing the blonde off of him. Sasuke stood slowly and carefully as Naruto stood abruptly, chest heaving with ire. He watched silently as Sasuke grabbed his katana and stalked out of the apartment.

The door closed behind him with a loud bang, and Naruto sank back on to his knees. A flash of memory popped to the forefront of his mind, a night where he laid under the night sky as a teenager and wished on a shooting star that he could see Sasuke again. A raw laugh of anguish bubbled through his throat as he contemplated the irony of it all.

For the second time in ten years, Sasuke had left once again, and Naruto was unable to change his mind. His tattoo throbbed with anger in his palm, and for the first time since it had been placed there Naruto wished he could cut it out.

Sakura was not used to having people pound on the door at all hours of the night. When it happened, it was always an urgent emergency, so she walked to the door with slow brewing anxiety in the pit of her stomach. However, she certainly did not expect to see Naruto in her doorway, wearing a rumbled tracksuit with an expression of misery etched into his scared face.

"Naruto? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"…Yeah."

She ushered him into her apartment quickly. Naruto sat himself at the kitchen table, looking sadly into the tablecloth. Sakura busied herself with making tea and tried not to barrage him with nervous questions. As if on cue once the steaming mug was put into his hands, Naruto spoke.

"Sasuke's gone on another mission."

Sakura learned from a young age that usually the entire truth in men's stories had to be pried out with careful questions and patience."Yeah? He goes on them all the time, right?"

"We had a fight before he left." Naruto fidgeted with his fingers around the handle of his cup. Sakura presses onward, choosing her words with tact.

"I mean, you guys fight all the time, about everything. I'm sure it's going to be ok. He's just got to blow off some steam, that's all. Then he'll come home like he always does."

Naruto closed his eye's and sighed heavily as he took a long drink of tea. He sat the half drained cup on the table, still staring into the mug. He hoped that if he looked hard enough, a genie would pop out and reverse what had just transpired in the last hour.

"He took a really dangerous mission, Sakura. Where he's a direct target. And the elders wanted to send him anyway, and I told them I would convince him not to take it. But well, we all know how well I can reach Sasuke, huh?" His voice sounded bitter and tired, a tone very rare for the usually cheerful blonde.

Sakura took his hand, which he squeezed tightly. She had never seen such an expression of grief on Naruto's face in a long time.

"He'll be back. And he's going to be ok, he's one of the strongest shinobi we've ever seen, you know?"

Naruto squeezed back. "Yeah, you're right. I should calm down.. its just..I can't handle him leaving again, on angry terms. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, as stupid as that sounds."

"Its not stupid. Loving someone makes you worry, even if you trust in their abilities. Its totally normal." Sakura comforted, and took a long sip of the strong green tea in her cup.

Naruto mulled her words over in his head. "Love. Hmmm…"

Sasukra rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away. "Yes, Naruto, love. That mushy feeling people have when they are with someone. When you accept them and care even when they act in a way that bothers you."

Naruto smiled them, and looked up. "Well, me without him isn't a reality I'll ever accept. That's the only way I know how to live."

Sakura smiled a small smile in return. "I know."