Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
After rereading my last chapter I've decided that it wasn't that bad and I don't think I'm going to mess with it other than to fix mistakes. Let me know if that bothers you. Otherwise, have a nice read. Rated MA for eighteen and older.
Chapter Twelve.
The time had come for them to leave. Naruto had completed all the necessary training and it was time for him to visit Tsunade again and get all of this squared away. The others were anxious to return to the village as well, but Sasuke was strangely hesitant to leave his brother. He stood there staring at him while everyone else was gathering their stuff. "I'm sorry Sasuke. I have to stay for your sake. Plus I belong with Deidara. I promise you though that we'll meet again." Itachi looked sad. Sasuke saw how guilty and upset Deidara looked. The blond obviously didn't want to be the reason that the two brothers stayed apart. Sasuke was still working on a way to get his brother out, but until he came to some conclusion it wouldn't hurt to let him stay with Deidara.
Sasuke smiled softly at the man Itachi loved before saying firmly, "Once a year. We'll come here for one of our birthdays, yours next year, Deidara's after that and mine the year after and so on. We'll stay for at least a week. I want to see both of you next year and I'll be bringing Naruto. Understood?" Sasuke felt a lump grow in his throat. Even after all the training he'd undergone there was still no guarantee that Naruto would be okay, or that this hadn't just extended his time a little bit. He'd have to wait and see what Tsunade said. With potential heartbreak in his future the prospect of parting from Itachi seemed extremely painful and permanent.
"We'll be here," Deidara said gently. Sasuke blinked quickly to dispel some rather unwanted moisture. He smiled gratefully at the blond. He felt arms come around him from behind.
"And so will we. June ninth, rain or shine, we will definitely be here Sasuke," Naruto whispered loud enough for the other two to hear as well. Sasuke hugged back the best he could in this position and felt happiness flow through him.
"We'll see you soon then. Time will fly, you'll see," he said bravely.
Itachi looked searchingly at him. "I'm not glad that Naruto was in jeopardy, but I am glad that you came to me. It's nice to have you back in my life Sasuke." He looked over his head as he said this, but Sasuke knew it was coming straight from his heart.
"Same," he said quietly. He smiled and with a look that promised they would all meet again he allowed Naruto to lead him away. Lee was saying goodbye to Bee who had grown rather fond of him. Kakashi was making sure everyone had everything as though they were merely going on a field trip or something. Sasuke picked his bag up off the floor and prepared to leave. He was inexplicably peaceful as he looked back and saw Deidara waving from Itachi's arms and Nagato doing the same from next to a pouting Konan. He waved back and then faced forward, towards his future.
"It's sad that we have to leave this place. I do not go with a happy face. On the other hand it will be good to be home. Our friends and our teachers will be glad that we've come!" Lee said loudly.
"SHUT UP!" was the unanimous reply. He'd been driving them all crazy every time he opened his mouth recently. He sighed but somehow managed to refrain. Everyone sighed in relief. The journey home was slow and it seemed that everyone was just happy in general and in no rush to get there. Sasuke was glad for this because he still wasn't sure how Naruto was doing and he didn't want him to push himself. It was almost hard to believe that he hadn't been home in over a month. It was even more shocking to realize that he hadn't missed it. Looking at the blond beside him he decided that it probably had something to do with him. How could he miss a place without Naruto in it? He took Naruto's hand and held it tenderly. He felt his answering smile when the blond turned on him with a large grin. This time they stopped every night to rest for several hours. It was nice to be able to go at such a leisurely pace. Naruto still welcomed him into his embrace every night. It made him feel good. When they showed up at the village the gatekeepers warned them that Tsunade was not happy. Sasuke cringed a little as they walked towards her office. He didn't feel even the slightest hesitation from Naruto however. That boy wasn't scared of anything. He's dying? Fine, there's nothing he can do about it. He's being kidnapped and supposedly taken to the Akatsuki to be killed? Okay, but he would have prefered to be told about it. Tsunade was going to murder him even though there was a chance he was no longer dying? Whatever, bring it on. The boy was unfazed by all of it. He would have thought he had blocked all of his feelings out long ago were it not for the images that continuously popped into his head reminding him that Naruto had most definitely cried. He'd hurt at the idea of losing him, of hurting him. That was enough proof for Sasuke that he really just wasn't scared as opposed to numb. They finally made their way into the building and up to her office and even Kakashi hung back a little. Naruto led the way in. He was definitely crazy.
"Oh, look who decided to show up!" Tsunade bellowed. "Forget the fact that you're DYING! Forget the fact that by all rights you shouldn't even be standing here right now! You just decide to go on some unauthorized rescue mission whenever the mood strikes you! You had better have a good explanation because otherwise I'll kill you myself!" Sasuke felt the anger radiate off of Naruto and quickly gripped his shoulder to keep him from doing anything.
"Dying?" Sakura asked in whisper. Tsunade's eyes snapped to the group behind them and widened as her jaw dropped.
"Why don't you guys go wait in the lounge while Tsunade and I get some things figured out?" Naruto said unemotionally, but again Sasuke could feel the anger washing off of him in waves. He wasn't going to follow the order until Naruto gave him a look that clearly allowed no room for argument. With a sigh he left the room. As soon as the door closed he heard Naruto and Tsunade start yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. He winced and made his way to the lounge.
"He's dying?" Sakura asked again, her pupils dilated in shock.
Kakashi sighed. "That's the reason we were there with Bee. He was our last chance. Naruto has been slowly getting worse for the last year or so. We've been monitoring it and we've tried everything. Even Gaara, the Kazekage, has been searching high and low for a solution. None of us were ready to let him go. He finally accepted that there was nothing he could do about two months ago and his health began to spiral downward at an alarming rate. It seemed that when his mind quit resisting his body followed suit. Before Sasuke went missing we estimated that he had about a month left. When Naruto went missing as well he had about three weeks. By our calculations he shouldn't be here right now, but somehow he is. Perhaps we finally found some way to save him."
"I can't believe he was that bad and didn't tell us," Kiba muttered.
"He didn't want us to treat him differently," Sasuke said quietly. "He told Hinata because they were close and even though she tried she still treated him like he was sick, worried about him when she normally wouldn't have. He didn't want his last months to be like that. He just wanted us to be his friends and treat him the way we normally would. He had letters written up for each one of us..." Kakashi nodded to back him up. Suddenly there was complete silence throughout the building and everyone sat on the edges of their seats. It was twenty-seven painstaking minutes later when Naruto walked out with an empty expression on his face, Tsunade following him with a stunned expression on hers. Naruto approached Sasuke who realized he was holding his breath. He let it out forcefully as Naruto stood mere inches away from him while the raven searched the azure eyes hopefully. Suddenly Naruto's lips crashed down on his and Sasuke felt light-headed.
When Naruto finally pulled away he was smiling. Sasuke felt his heart do flips in his chest. "Tsunade is giving me another year at least and she says if I continue to get better over the next six months she'll give me a clean bill of health. She wants me to come in once a week to get chakra infusions, but otherwise she says I'm free to do everything I would normally do." Sasuke was grinning like an idiot by now. He had at least another year with him! He couldn't believe his luck. He'd definitely done the right thing.
"I think that's cause to celebrate. How about Ichiraku's? On me?" Kakashi said happily. Everyone cheered. They were sitting there eating when Shikamaru came walking in with Ino and Choji in tow. Shino and Ten-Ten showed up shortly after and everyone ordered something. Sasuke listened to Naruto tell Shikamaru the whole story.
"That's great! I admit I was starting to get desperate..." Shikamaru said quietly. The night was wonderful and carefree and Sasuke was happy when Naruto pulled him towards his apartment with their hands intertwined.
"I still have nine days you know," Naruto said easily when they reached his place. "You ran out before you finished your time."
Sasuke grinned. "I guess you're right, it's only fair." He followed him inside before pinning him up against the wall and kissing him silly. When he finally pulled away he looked into those beautiful blue eyes and said quietly, "I want to read my note Naruto." Naruto looked at the ground as he contemplated his next move and Sasuke remained silent. The blond nodded slightly before disengaging himself to go into his room and ruffle through the chest at the foot of his bed. He came back with an envelope in hand and deposited it in his hand before turning and going into the kitchen to give him some privacy. Sasuke opened the note a little apprehensively.
Sasuke,
I know that you're probably in a bit of a shock right now, but I want you to know that I only withheld this information from you in order to make our last days together normal instead of strained. I want you to know that I cherished the time we spent together; you truly were my greatest friend and my life would have been much duller without you in it. I also want you to know that I've been madly in love with you since you stepped in front of me during our fight with Haku on the bridge. That may come as yet another shock to you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you in person, but again I didn't want things to be awkward. Just being with you was enough. I admit I was also a little cowardly; I could never get past my fears in order to tell you, but I wanted you to know because I know how important it is to know that you are loved. I feel like I'm rambling, but that's because there's not much I can say. Our friendship meant more to me than you could ever possibly know and I hope it was good for you as well. Always remember that you were the reason I smiled, the only reason I even got out of bed each day. You kept me going far longer than should have been possible, but sadly all things must come to an end. I'll see you again someday, of that I'm sure, and until then I hope that your life is long, prosperous and full of happiness. Goodbye Sasuke.
Love Naruto.
Sasuke felt the moisture that had gathered at the corner of his eyes and for once he didn't fight it. He walked into the kitchen and pinned the blond boy to the counter. He grabbed his chin, forced him to meet his gaze. "Tell me," he commanded softly.
Naruto gulped and for a minute Sasuke thought that he wouldn't do it, but then he cleared his throat and whispered hoarsely, "I love you Sasuke. I have for years." Sasuke pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed him as though his life depended on it.
"Thank God you've finally admitted it. I was going to strangle you if you kept fighting me." Sasuke smiled at him. Naruto sighed and laid his head on the raven's chest. Sasuke just stood there holding him like that for what seemed like ages. When he finally pulled back it was to kiss him again, but this time it was a very heated kiss. It had been entirely too long since he'd had him. "Make love to me Naruto," he whispered against his lips.
"Always," Naruto whispered back before threading his fingers through the dark locks and leading Sasuke to his room. Sasuke pushed the blond onto the bed and straddled him. He continued to feather kisses on his lips as he slowly undressed him. Naruto's hands fumbled with his clothes as well and soon they were both completely naked. Sasuke grabbed the lube that he'd placed in the bedside table several weeks ago and slicked Naruto's erection with it. Slowly, savoring every inch, he lowered himself onto that glorious piece of flesh. Naruto threw his head back and groaned as Sasuke sank all the way down to the hilt. The pale boy started to move, impaling himself roughly with each thrust. When Naruto hit that spot again he cried out in extacy. He felt the blond's hands on his hips holding him in place as he used each thrust to hit that special place inside of Sasuke. Suddenly the world was spinning and when it righted itself again he was on his back with Naruto pounding into him.
"Harder!" Sasuke cried as he tried to add to the force with which they came together. Sasuke felt himself sliding up the bed with each rough movement of Naruto's hips. The blond wasn't holding back anymore and it was amazing. It wasn't soft, it wasn't sweet, but it was beautiful nonetheless and Sasuke wanted more. He pushed Naruto out of him and turned over, raised himself up onto his hands and knees. When Naruto slid back home he saw stars. The boy pounded into him relentlessly until, with a jolt, Sasuke came all over the bed. He felt that warm liquid filling him once again and he allowed his arms to collapse beneath him. That shoved Naruto further into him and he groaned as he brushed against his prostate. He felt Naruto's hand working on him again and wondered if the blond didn't know that he'd finished. "What...?" Sasuke murmured as he gasped for breath.
"I want to feel you inside me, even if it's only this once." Sasuke's eyes widened at that and his slowly recovering member became fully erect. He moved out from under Naruto and pushed the boy onto his stomach. He used his fingers to prepare him slowly as he kissed up and down his spine. He loved the way he was clutching the sheets, loved the noises coming from his throat. He pulled his fingers out and positioned himself.
"I love you Naruto," he said as he slowly pushed himself as deep as possible into the boy he couldn't seem to get enough of. He moved around inside him until he found that special spot and then angled his hips and pummeled into it. Naruto practically screamed as he shoved back into Sasuke begging for more. Sasuke moved faster, thrust harder, pushed deeper and all the while he kept hitting his prostate. With an animalistic growl Naruto slammed himself against Sasuke and started cumming. The tightening around Sasuke's arousal was his undoing and he thrust once more weakly and spilled his seed into the boy he loved. Sasuke picked the blond up and carried him to the shower. He was never going to forget this night and hoped Naruto wouldn't either. He saw the sleepy smile on Naruto's face and felt his heart do somersaults. "I love you Naruto," he repeated tenderly as he smiled back and kissed him sweetly.
"I love you too Sasuke." Sasuke held on tight determined to never let go. Who would have thought that Naruto would ever mean this much to him? He thanked fate for pushing them together when it had and set about washing his blond.
No, it's not over. I promise. There are still three more chapters.