Warning: Some sweet moments and mentions of sex.

Chapter Ten: The Best Christmas Present

Ever since that day when they confessed to each other everything changed for the better. Sasuke no longer hid his feelings behind an emotionless mask from others. He was open and honest. Thanking, assuring and apologizing when it was necessary. He was everything he had never been before, of course he was still somewhat cold when in a bad mood and short-tempered, but he had changed a lot the last few months.

It took some time for the change to happen, though when it did it didn't go away like many of the staff members thought. It was still there. His dark eyes that were mostly dull and shadowed were shining with joy. Instead of a frown or expressionless face he was smiling and laughing more and more.

He seemed to finally be truly happy. Though there still was that issue with going out. Even though Sasuke has shown kindness and compassion the curse had not lifted. He was in no hurry though; too happy to care when the source of all his happiness was right within his reach.

The sun began to come up on the horizon, its rays of light shining through the window on the bed where the two boys slept. They stirred but did not awaken as the sun kept on going up until it was in place on the blue sky, only then did one of them rise.

Eyelids opened up to reveal a pair of blue eyes that quickly shut because of the bright light in the room. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes before he carefully untangled himself from his lover's limbs and then sat up. He stretched a bit while yawning, rubbing the back of his neck.

He looked towards the window where the outside was coated with thick layers of white snow. He smiled a little and then turned to look at the still sleeping raven. He watched the pale complexion of his lover, to his tousled dark hair and then the rise and fall of his chest.

He stretched a hand over to stroke the other's hair, the feeling of the soft strands felt absolutely wonderful under his fingertips.

"What are you doing?" he heard a muffled voice from below.

He looked down and into the dark eyes of his lover.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

The other shook his head as his lips turned up into a small smile. He then moved closer to the blond, putting his arms around him as he leaned his head on the other's chest.

They stayed like that for a while. Just lying there – content – in each other's arms.

After a moment of comfortable silence between them they leaned in for a kiss. It started of soft and sweet though it didn't take long for it to heat up.

Naruto started placing open mouthed kisses along the raven's pale neck, making a trail down to his exposed chest. Sasuke moaned, slightly muffled by the hand covering his mouth.

The blond worked his way down, enjoying the sounds he was inflicting on the other. When he reached for the other's dark blue pajama pants the door suddenly burst open to reveal Tayuya.

"Rise and shine you two!" she exclaimed, looking over at the two men on the bed, her gaze unfazed of what she saw.

It was still kind of new to the other two maids to see the two men in bed together. So when it came to waking them up that duty was handed over to either Kakashi or Tayuya.

Naruto groaned a little inwardly as he got off Sasuke who glared daggers at the red-head.

"Bad timing," he said not ceasing the glaring. It did nothing to the red-head though, still wearing the same expressionless mask.

"It never is a good timing when it comes to you two," she said shrugging.

"She has a point," the blond whispered to the raven that merely dropped his eyes and rolled over.

"Oh no. It is time to get up not go back to sleep," the red-head said. Her brown eyes firmly set on the Uchiha as she put her hands on her hips.

"You better listen to the lady," the blond said, patting the raven on the back. "Before she finds a bucket and goes out to scope up some snow to pour on us."

The raven sat up immediately, turning to the blond. "She wouldn't dare."

"Oh she would, wouldn't you Tayuya?"

"It's not what I really had in mind, but I like the idea," she said with a small smirk. "I'll give you forty minutes to shower and get dressed. If you aren't down by then, we'll see what I'll do." And with that she was gone.

Naruto turned to Sasuke who had gone out of bed pretty quickly and stood now in the doorframe of the bathroom.

"Are you coming?" he asked with a seductive smirk.

The blond gave his own smirk and walked over to stand in front of the raven. He leaned in and captured the soft-looking lips in a chaste kiss, putting one hand on the back of his neck, with the other resting lazily on his hip.

The raven wrapped his arms around the blond, pulling him in close to deepen the kiss. He then backed away with the other following him in until they were standing inside the shower stall.

They broke away to breath, smiling, while watching each other with lust and affection.

"We have a little over thirty minutes before we need to go down," the blonde said, trailing down kisses along the other's jaw down to his neck. "What do you say?"

The raven didn't need to think it through as he captured his lover's lips in a heated kiss. "I say that I must be stupid to refuse something like that."

Thirty-five minutes later the two came down the stairs. Both freshened up and clean as they made their way to the dining room. Once they arrived they took their spot opposite of each other before digging into their meal.

After breakfast the two took a stroll down the mansion before they took their coats and went out into the cold. The beast once again made an appearance when Sasuke stepped out and into the cool air. Naruto grabbed his hand, careful to avoid the sharp claw-like nails as they strolled around the gardens.

The twigs and some of the leaves of the rose bushes were frozen, just like the ground they were walking on was. Snowflakes fell from the sky and stuck onto their hair.

"Will you stay with me here, forever?" Sasuke said after a few moments of silence. His breathe coming out in white puffs of hot air.

"Forever is a very long time," Naruto began. "But I'll stay for as long as you want me to."

The raven smiled. His yellow eyes looking into blue as he leaned in for a kiss.

The blond returned the kiss and then pulled away as they made their way back to the mansion. Both unaware of the person standing a few feet away from them, a small satisfied smile gracing their lips as the boys disappeared into the mansion.

"Merry Christmas Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed as soon as she spotted the two. She gave both of them a bear hug and wink before she went back to her date.

It was Christmas Eve today and both men had decided to have a Christmas party for everyone they both knew and didn't. Most of them were people Naruto knew while Sasuke knew only a few like Sakura, Kiba, Hinata and Gaara.

The party had been going on for a few hours now.

The ballroom was decorated in colors of white, green and red. There was a big Christmas tree standing on one side of the room with piles and piles of presents that were from the people who had come.

Sasuke and Naruto were standing by the tables, holding hands while looking over the dancing couples. When the song ended two people came up to them.

"How are you doing, bud?" the brunet asked with a big grin.

"I'm doing well. How are you guys doing?" the blond said.

"Great! Actually, it's better than great."

"Oh, how so?"

Kiba put an arm around his wife's shoulders and said, "Because we're going to be parents soon."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?" nod was given. "Congratulations. When will you be due Hinata?"

"S – Somewhere in August," she said softly. "W – We wanted you to be the first to know. A – And we were wondering if you w – would like to be the godfather of our c – child."

The blond felt happiness wash over him and he smiled. "I'd be honored."

And with that the married couple left, leaving the two lovers to themselves.

When the blond turned, the raven was holding out a hand.

"May I have this dance?"

"Of course," the blond said and accepted the hand as they went to the dance floor.

Minutes later the two had separated and now was mingling together with other people. Naruto still kept a close eye on his lover who was surrounded by women. He looked calm but his body language said that he felt very awkward.

He took pity on his lover and was about to save him but was stopped by someone calling his name.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

He turned around, coming face to face with a beautiful woman with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail and brown eyes. She wore a long red dress with the pattern of white flowers on the upper part of the dress and red heels.

"Yes?" he said, wondering who this woman could be.

"My name is Tamaki," she introduced herself, stretching a hand out to him.

He instinctively took her hand and gave a small shake before leaning over and placing a soft kiss to her knuckles.

"Should I know you?" he asked after a moment's of silence.

"No. But your friend should," she said and nodded towards Sasuke who was still standing in the group of females.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and then it seemed to dawn on him on who this person was. He looked back at her to ask. "Are you-"

She nodded, cutting him off.

A silence fell between them before the brunette said, "Walk with me." And turned as she began to walk away.

The blond was uncertain on what to do but finally decided onto follow her.

They walked in silence until they reached the front doors of the mansion. Only then did she turn around to face him.

"You're wondering why I brought you here."

The blond didn't trust his voice to speak so he just nodded.

"Did he tell you about what I did?"

"Yes."

"Did he also tell you why?"

"It was because he showed no compassion or kindness."

She nodded. "Yes."

"Why did you do it though? I can kind of understand why but I also can't. It feels like there's more to tell than you let on."

She looked back at him, brown eyes meeting blue head on.

"You're correct. There's more to the reason than just that."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to explain.

"But I'm sorry to say. I can't explain."

"Why not?"

"I promised Itachi-san not to say a word."

The name of Sasuke's deceased older brother brought up questions. He asked none though as he waited for her to speak again.

She turned to the door and opened it. Cool wind was let in, blowing out the candles that had been lit in the room. She stepped out until she was on the porch before she turned to Naruto, inquiring him to follow her. He did, stopping right in front of her where she put a hand on his chest.

"This is where it began… and it's where it will end," she said.

A blue light appeared making Naruto shield his eyes. When it had dimmed he opened them again only to realize she was gone. Only a few blue rose petals remained where she had been standing.

He looked down to his hands, wondering what this meant.

"Naruto."

The call of his name snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned to look to the entrance to the living room where Sasuke stood. There was a questioning look in his dark eyes as he watched his lover standing by the open door.

"She was here," he said softly, looking out to the forest.

Sasuke didn't need any clarification on who the blond was talking about as he walked towards him and pulled him into a hug. The blond returned the hug before they pulled away to look into each other's eyes.

"Did she do anything to you?" the raven asked.

The blond shook his head. "I don't think so. But… she said something kind of unsettling."

"What?" the worry in the other's voice was so clear it made him almost smile.

"I'll tell you later," he promised and then leaned in to kiss him.

The kiss was… different than the others they had shared together. A strange surge of warmth flowed through their bodies; it was gone as soon as they pulled away.

"What was that?" Naruto breathed out, looking around a bit dazed.

"I don't know. But I don't like it." Sasuke said, just as dazed.

The blond had a sudden urge to turn around to look out. He did so and saw a small object sitting on the side of the fountain. He left the warmth of his lover's arms and walked towards it.

When he was in front he could see that it was a box wrapped up in silver paper with a white ribbon. He picked up the box and turned to his lover only to gape in shock.

"Sasuke…"

"What?" the raven asked, oblivious to what the blond was seeing.

He had just walked out to see what the matter was with his lover. He brought a hand up to run over his hair but stopped when he saw pale flesh.

What?

He looked down at his hands, which hadn't changed one bit even though he was standing out in the open. He brought them up to feel his hair, it wasn't long.

A feeling of joy exploded in his chest as tears of relief filled his eyes. He looked up and into his lover's still stunned expression. He hadn't moved from his spot.

"It's broken," Sasuke said softly.

The sound of his lover's voice made him snap back into reality. He walked up and wrapped his arms around the raven, his raven.

They stood there for a long time until a gust of wind reminded the two they were outside in the cold without coats. They walked back inside and closed the door before making their way to the living room

They sat down on the couch, leaning against each other, just looking into the fire until Naruto remembered the box he had picked up.

"What do you reckon it could be?" he asked his lover who looked up.

"I don't know," he said and studied the box. "Why don't you open it?"

The blond nodded and went to slowly untie the ribbon and remove the lid. Inside of the box were another, smaller box and a note. He picked up the note and opened it.

It read:

I'm sorry for casting that spell on you to begin with Uchiha Sasuke. But understand, the spell did much more than turn you into a monster, it made you able to find the love of your life.

I cannot tell you why I did this, since it's not my story to tell. I just wanted to let you know that I did this as a favor for the person I love, and I hope you have a wonderful life.

Sincerely, Tamaki.

Sasuke read the message a second time, wondering why she couldn't tell him the reason for casting the curse to begin with. He looked over at Naruto who had opened the lid of the other box, and was staring at it.

He leaned over to take a look himself and his eyes couldn't help but widen. There, on the small velvet cushion sat two silver bands with a small round jade stone. There also was another note inside.

Sasuke picked it up and opened it. He almost broke down in tears when he read through it.

The bastard. He thought with a faint smile.

It read:

To my lovely younger brother and his future love. May these rings protect you when I can't. I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Sincerely, Uchiha Itachi.

Naruto reached for the note and scanned through it before he put the box down on the table with the rings. He then reached for his love, kissing the top of his head as he just sat there, holding him.

"He was a good man your brother," he whispered into his lover's hair.

"I miss him…"

He looked over at the mantel where the pictures rested. "I know, I know."

They pulled away shortly, the raven sniffed, wiping the tears away before he looked over the rings. A hand patted him on the shoulder and he looked up.

"Shall we try them on?" Naruto asked with a warm smile.

Sasuke swallowed before nodding.

The blond reached for the rings and put one on his left fourth finger before putting the other on Sasuke's. They were a perfect fit and they looked at the rings in wonder for a moment before leaning in for a kiss.

"Merry Christmas Sasuke."

The raven smiled fondly. "Merry Christmas Naruto."

The End