Boohoo, the last chapter.

HOWEVER! I am thinking about doing a sequel called: The Prospect of Weird. So, update on that; go to the next chapter and there's part of the sequel. I figure there's still things to answer, so I will in that!

I'm going to a festival this week so it won't be up until next week, but when it's up I'll post a link here :)

Hope you enjoy the final chapter, boohoo again...

Thank you for all the reviews and for sticking with this story, means the absolute world, so much love!

Chapter 14.

Sand.

"Itachi, why didn't you just take my car? There's no room in this weeny little contraption!" Sasuke groused, shuffling about irritably.

The day had come to transport all of Sasuke's possessions, including Sasuke, to university. Sasuke was stuffed in the front of the car with his duvet and kept disappearing beneath folds of goose-down.

"Because I'm not insured on your car, for the eighth time, Sasuke," Itachi reminded him patiently.

"I'm not insured on your car," Sasuke mimicked mockingly and then craned his neck around to check on Izumi in the back. "How you holding up, Iz?" He inquired and she grimaced in response. She was submerged beneath a toaster, a sea of plates and was clasping an egg timer like an orb and a fork like a septer. "Looking good," he gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh, shut up," she scoffed and Sasuke grinned, "just because you took the soft, option, Sasuke," she winked, nodding towards the duvet and Sasuke groaned.

"Oh Iz, that was awful even for you; look, even Itachi's not laughing and he even mustered a chuckle at that diabolical flip-flop pun you came out with the other day." Sasuke sighed and ducked as Izumi made to swat him from the back seat.

"I say we fly-tip him on the side of the road," Izumi suggested with a playful smirk and Sasuke leant an arm back to knock the egg timer flying out of her hand.

Sasuke stood in his bare box like room; so, this was where he would be staying, this was his new dormitory in his halls of residence. For the first time that day, he felt nervous as he stared around at all of his worldly goods packed up in cases around the office like bedroom.

"Well, this is deeply depressing," Itachi commented and Izumi elbowed him in the ribs.

"He's right, it is incredibly depressing," Sasuke agreed fairly, admiring the thin brown carpet. "But it won't be once I've set all my stuff up."

"How many pictures of Aoda did you bring?" Itachi asked, looking incredulously down at a deck of photographs lining the inside of a shoebox.

"Not enough!" Sasuke snapped; he was still gutted that the snake wouldn't be able to live with him until he moved into a rental property in the second year. "And you look after him, I'll know if you've been neglecting him – Izumi will tell me!" Sasuke warned, narrowing his eyes. Itachi just held his hands up looking exasperated.

"Have you got your timetable?" Izumi pressed, looking anxious.

"They don't release them until fresher's week," Sasuke told her.

"And you've got enough food and medication?"

"Yes and yes," he told her; she looked on the brink of tears.

"And you'll be responsible and safe?" She said in a high-pitched voice.

"They're almost synonyms of the very same thing, Iz, but yeah, sure," He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well," she pulled him into a bone crushing hug and Sasuke pursed his lips.

"Oh for goodness sake, Iz," he muttered into the top of her head, but smiled nonetheless. It took her a good few, exceptionally weepy minutes to relinquish her hold on him. When Itachi stepped forwards, like he might try and hug him, Sasuke whipped out a rolled-up gaming manual and thwacked Itachi on the nose. "Try that again and it won't be your nose next time." He warned and Itachi scoffed, stepping back.

"And you'll FaceTime us every other day?" Izumi insisted and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, every other day, Iz, not every day?"

"Well, I didn't want to come across as overbearing," she admitted timidly and Sasuke swapped an incredulous look with Itachi.

"You, overbearing, Izumi? No."

When Itachi and Izumi finally left him, the loneliness hit Sasuke like a tonne of bricks. He could hear his flatmates congregating in the corridor outside, introducing themselves, but couldn't bring himself to join them. Instead he gazed down at a picture of him and all of his friends from back home, the craving for familiarity was painful. Did they all feel this way too?

His phone went and Sasuke lunged for it.

'Beach.'

He was on his feet in seconds, shoving his feet into the nearest shoes, not wholly sure they even matched; he was out of the door. Sprinting across his campus and through his new town, Sasuke's mind began to race. Everything was different now, and everything would continue to change because that was just how the world worked. Sai wasn't going to go to art school anymore, but he was going to have a baby with the woman he loved. Shikamaru had joined the army, and weeks before leaving for West Germany, he and Temari had fled to Gretna Green to elope; she was in Germany with him. Sakura and Lee had taken a spontaneous gap year to go travelling around Asia. Nothing was as they had planned it, but everything was okay nonetheless. Maybe things had only ever hurt so much because they made these futile little plans in the first place, and then attached so much insignificant meaning to them. If they simply let themselves move in the directions their paths took them without preconceived ideas of their futures, maybe they would be much happier.

It didn't matter anymore, because right then, in that moment; Sasuke was finally happy. It didn't matter that his brain was broken. It didn't matter about his mother and father. It didn't matter that he was fucked-up. Because, at the end of it all, somebody loved him for it all.

Sasuke stepped onto the sand of Bournemouth beach and scanned the shoreline, the white sea scum, throwing itself around his ankles. A small distance from him, he saw Naruto stood, his loping grace unmistakable, as he gazed out across the sea. Sasuke picked up his pace and began to sprint towards Naruto, sand picking up and clinging to the fabric of his clothes.

Naruto turned just in time to see Sasuke throw his arms around his neck. He caught Sasuke around the waist, with a little cry of elated surprise, and staggered backwards. Sasuke's feet vanished under the water and he felt the sea suck his shoe under as Naruto heaved him up. Laughing and smiling, Sasuke tightened his legs around Naruto's waist and pressed his forehead to Naruto's.

"You finally made it, then," Sasuke observed with a wry grin.

"I finally made it," Naruto nodded, placing both hands on either side of Sasuke's face.

People were passing them by, they could've been witnesses, but Sasuke didn't care anymore. Who he loved didn't define him, it was that he could love that defined him.

"Good, I was starting to worry you'd dropped off the edge of a mountain or something," Sasuke smiled, feeling the sand on Naruto's fingertips graze his cheeks.

"Nope," he eyed Sasuke, "I love you, you incredible fuck-up." He grinned and Sasuke tilted his head before leaning down to kiss Naruto and murmur against his lips.

"I love you too."

The end.