Disclaimer: I don't own. Do not want! …to own, that is.
Note: Last chapter guys. Here's your finale. I hope I tie up all the loose ends.
This Is My Destiny
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sasuke woke up early the next morning, smiling faintly as he peeled back the covers and discovered Naruto's arm draped over him.
Lifting the blond's hand carefully, Sasuke made to get out of bed, but Naruto stirred and clutched onto Sasuke tightly. "Mmh," Naruto murmured. "Don't go."
"I have to go to school, dobe," Sasuke whispered, turning over to face his lover.
"But…" Naruto whined softly, opening his eyes to stare at Sasuke, who was smiling faintly, surprisingly.
"Trust me, I'd stay if I could. You know I can't. Finals are coming up," Sasuke explained softly, running his fingers through Naruto's messy hair. "But…and I'll only tell this to you," he said, a slight flush coming over his cheeks, "I can't wait to come home to you."
Naruto blushed and smiled, leaning over and kissing his husband. "Okay. I'll take that excuse. Go get ready."
Sasuke winked and got out of bed, heading off to the bathroom to get ready for school.
…
Gaara frowned. "You want me to what?"
Tenten smiled coyly, her foot waving back and forth on her big toe behind her. She sighed. "Come on, Naruto's willing to learn."
"But…salsa?"
"Why not?"
"Because…I don't dance."
"That's a stupid excuse," Tenten replied, poking his chest. Gaara covered the place she'd poked with his hand and frowned deeper.
"Then…how about because I don't want to."
"Well, can you learn because I want you to?" she asked. Gaara sighed, pursing his lips as he mulled the thought over.
"We'll have time for this?" he asked. Tenten nodded.
"Tuesdays at eight. For an hour. I mean, it's not that I don't already know it…but we'll take it together."
"You can't just teach me in the living room?"
"It's not the same," she argued.
Gaara sighed. "I'll think about it, okay?"
Tenten returned the sigh. Good enough.
…
Shikamaru groaned. "You're not serious, are you?"
Tenten laughed. "It'd be fun! Come on, please?"
"Your idiot boyfriend and your friend and his idiot boyfriend…teach them salsa?"
"We need to do something. We're wasting away here." Tenten giggled and poked Shikamaru's middle. "And in case you haven't noticed, you've picked up some weight. Enjoying married life?"
Shikamaru's cheeks flushed and he growled under his breath.
"You want me to bring my wife, or what?"
Tenten laughed. "She's already agreed."
Shikamaru groaned loudly. "…Seriously? This is beyond lame."
…
Dance class had been a complete disaster. Tenten sent her kids home half an hour early, and they didn't protest. It was that night that she'd taught the class alone, so as soon as the door was closed with the last student having left, she picked up her cell phone and called Shikamaru.
"What's up?" he asked, answering on the second ring.
"Ask your wife if you're allowed to come dancing. I need…real dancing."
"Where's Gaara?"
"He doesn't like dancing at the club. I know he's come with me a couple times, but he doesn't usually want to."
"You sure? I'd hate to ruin our 'friendship'," Shikamaru joked. In his living room, he turned to his wife who was in the kitchen. "Tenten requests my presence."
Temari smiled gently. "Behave yourself."
Shikamaru grinned and returned to the phone. "Where?"
Tenten sighed. "Anywhere there's good music. I need to get this day danced off of me."
…
The music pulsed louder than Shikamaru could think. Tenten was already dancing before they'd even made it to the floor, before he could even get her a drink.
When he made it to her, he passed her her drink and she downed it in one shot, him following her example in bewilderment. When the glasses had been disposed of, Shikamaru just decided it best to follow her lead.
Even if that meant letting her lead, which was a problem for him. But not tonight. Especially when she looked like that. Like that…with her black pants so tight he could see her every curve. He knew Tenten's body almost as well as he knew his own wife's, which, had he backed up and thought about it, would have been disturbing, but not only was Tenten his best friend, but having been her dance partner for several years now, he knew how she moved, and how each simple curve of her body melded well with his during their choreography.
Gaara was a lucky man.
However, Shikamaru couldn't concentrate on how lucky his brother in law was, as the girl in question was far too close in proximity for Shikamaru to comprehend his breathing patterns. For the time being, he needed to put Shikamaru on a shelf and just become someone else. Just be the guy Tenten was dancing with. He'd need to put her on a shelf too, and let her just become someone else. The guy dancing with the girl in the club to the pulsing music surrounded by other couples doing exactly that, though many of them didn't actually know each others' names, didn't actually grow up together, didn't actually sometimes want each other by accident… Like now, when she had her arms around his neck, one hand trailing down his neck, his chest, his stomach, stopping at his belt, her face inclined up, but she wasn't looking at his face.
He studied her face as the music pounded in his brain, his fingers able to detect the sheen of sweat over her lower back because of how her shirt was riding up, not that his fingers weren't helping…
It was times like these that he almost wished he wasn't married and she wasn't dating his brother in law. However, those moments didn't last very long, as he'd then realize where he was, who he was, and who she was. She was his best friend. They'd grown up together, danced together often. He'd cried with her over breakups, fights, bad grades, good grades, graduation, and unfortunately, a miscarriage.
So why was she so captivating tonight? Perhaps it was the way she wasn't leaving much space for his imagination. She was practically pressed right against him, molded to his body in a way that would make it harder to breathe than usual, hard as it already was with the stuffiness in the air. The lights shone on her skin, turning it to various colorful hues, until he found himself meeting her eyes, turned a strange green by the light. She grinned and sent him a wink, which brought him out of his reverie. Why was she leading the show? He frowned and shook his head, grinning slightly at her.
"Troublesome woman," he said in her ear, taking her waist and pulling her closer, if it was possible. She smirked up at him, her lips parted just slightly so he could feel her breath on his lips. She was so close. He could kiss her if he wanted to, but… Weren't they doing enough? She'd probably hit him. That, and…he was married. Troublesome.
But really, how could she move so…provocatively? She didn't always dance with him like this.
"Are you and Gaara alright?" he asked in her ear. She grinned at him.
"Does that really matter right now? Why are you thinking?" she purred, her voice sending shivers down his spine. "Just lose yourself. Stop being Shikamaru."
He ground his teeth together and found himself losing his grip on reality. When he shook his head to clear it, Tenten was leading him from the club.
"Where are we going?" he asked, confused, his brain foggy.
Tenten smiled. "Back home. We've been here forever. You need to go back to your wife."
He shook his head again, trying to clear the fog. "I'm so confused. Did you drug me?"
"No. You just…lost yourself. I'm impressed. You've never done it successfully before. If you could do that at our performances we'd be unstoppable."
"I behaved, didn't I? Temari's going to kill me if I didn't."
"Reasonably," Tenten replied with a wink as she hailed a taxi. He watched her, dizziness clouding her mind as he watched her. He shouldn't dissect her like this. He shouldn't study the way her pants fit, the way they fit just perfectly over her rear end…the way her shirt had ridden up a little, showing the smallest hint of skin. She grinned back at him when a cab caught her attention and he was almost certain there was something in her eyes he hadn't noticed before.
A yellow cab pulled up and they got into the backseat.
Giving the driver the address of Shikamaru's apartment, Tenten refocused her attention on distracting Shikamaru. This plan had to work. She knew him well enough to know that it was working. His entire body was tense, his jaw clenched and his breathing irregular.
She slowly drew circles on his forearm with her index finger, smiling ever-so-slightly when she heard his teeth grinding together.
Minutes later, once they'd pulled up to Shikamaru's apartment, he got out and glared at his best friend. "I either hate you or love you. I can't decide."
"Tell Temari I said hello," Tenten said with a wink as he closed the door behind him, stomping off to the apartment building.
…
"Temari," Shikamaru called, walking into the room and making his way through the darkness to find his wife who was already in bed. By the curve of her hip, he noted she was on her side. By the arm that was outside the blankets, he noted she was wearing a tank top. He ground his teeth together and tried to focus as she stirred, waking from her sleep. She really was an angel in the moonlight as it bathed her skin in an ethereal glow. Her eyes sparkled when she turned her face to him.
"What is it, are you okay?"
"Wake up, please wake up…" He kicked off his shoes, pulled his shirt over his head and crawled onto the bed next to her.
"What did she do to you?" Temari said with a laugh as she rolled over to find her husband at her side, pleading in his eyes.
"She got me so hot it's too troublesome to be troublesome. Please tell me you don't have a headache," he begged, his fingers gripping her arm in desperation. Temari smirked.
"I think she did that on purpose."
"Did you tell her to?" he asked, giving up asking and planting kisses on Temari's arm, trailing up to her neck.
Temari chuckled and remained still, relishing in the idea of her husband actually doing all the work. It wasn't unusual to have her be the one to do all the work, because Shikamaru's laziness extended to even the most delightful of activities.
She allowed him to trail kisses all over her exposed skin before she put her arms around his neck and brought his mouth back up to meet hers.
…
The next morning, Tenten answered her phone on the way to work.
"Hello?"
"Tenten? It's Temari. I just wanted to say…thanks."
Tenten grinned. "Sorry. I …"
"Don't apologize, for the love of all things holy. It was…there are no words. Seriously."
Tenten paused before laughing. "Well, then…it was…my pleasure."
"Anytime. Don't hesitate."
With a laugh, Tenten bid her friend goodbye.
…
Sasuke was standing in line at Starbucks waiting for his coffee when he noticed someone familiar enter the store. Someone as familiar as…his older brother.
"Hey, little bro," Itachi greeted with a smirk, stepping up to Sasuke. The barista handed Sasuke his coffee with a smile and Sasuke nodded his thanks as he took it.
"Are you still living in the city?" Sasuke asked, not as curious as he tried to make himself sound.
Itachi snorted lightly. "You don't even care, little brother, why do you ask?"
"I'm trying to be courteous," Sasuke replied, taking a sip of his coffee as he used his other arm to readjust the bag across his shoulder.
"Off to school?" Itachi asked with a curious glint in his eye. Sasuke nodded.
"Aren't you here to get a drink?"
"No, actually. I saw you in the window and wanted to see how my dearest baby brother was."
Sasuke sighed and took another drink of coffee to Itachi's amusement as they left the store.
"So why wasn't I invited to the wedding?" Itachi asked a moment later as Sasuke brooded at the pavement in front of them.
Sasuke glanced at his older brother with a frown. Itachi nodded towards Sasuke's left hand that held the coffee.
"You're wearing a ring."
"I didn't have a wedding," Sasuke shot back hotly.
"But you got married."
"Sure."
Itachi sighed. "Okay, a civil union, then?"
Sasuke couldn't help his smirk. "Yeah." He paused and put his free hand on his hip. "Did you want something? Because I'm going to be late for school."
"Tell your hubby I say hello."
"If you're curious," Sasuke said as he turned to walk away, "It's the same guy. Has been for eight years."
"That little blond wuss that was in your room that time?" Itachi asked with raised eyebrows.
Sasuke nodded, a hint of a smile brushing his lips. To his surprise, his older brother grinned.
"Good. You're happy, then?"
Sasuke sighed. "Yeah, I am."
Itachi reached forward and lightly poked his younger brother's forehead with his index finger.
"Take care of him, you know?"
"Huh?" Sasuke frowned. "Since when do you get sentimental?"
Itachi glanced at the ground, finding the pavement more interesting than meeting the eyes of his brother at the moment. "Since we've both had a crappy life. It's time…you got what you deserved. So…be good to each other."
Sasuke studied his brother for a long time, unable to read the expression in his face.
"Why don't you ever call?" Sasuke whispered finally. Itachi's eyes grew dark.
"You wouldn't take it if I did call you," he replied softly. "And…I don't ever have anything to tell you."
Sasuke paused and then smiled, but faintly. "Well. I guess you're right. See you around, then?"
"See you, baby bro…"
Sasuke took a few steps away from his brother before he turned around. "Hey, Itachi?"
Itachi raised his eyebrow. "Hm?"
"Thanks."
Itachi could only smile as Sasuke turned and walked away.
(Note: I'm sure Itachi was out of character. …I don't really care. He needed to be for that scene.)
…
Sakura chased Takeru around the coffee table for what was probably the fiftieth time. "Takeru, I swear, you're going to turn me into an old woman long before my time!"
"Dada!" the toddler proclaimed as Lee unlocked the door and burst into the house with much jubilance, as was usual for every day.
Striding across the room, Lee dipped his wife and kissed her with a flourish before scooping Takeru into his arms and throwing him into the air. "And how's my youthful son behaving today?"
"He's a rascal," Sakura replied, ruffling Takeru's hair as she walked away.
"What do you want for dinner tonight?" she asked, calling from the kitchen. Lee spun Takeru around a few times until they were both dizzy.
"Whatever you make will fill me with nourishment, my love. Your heart's desire is mine," Lee replied, tickling his son, who screamed loudly with joy.
Sakura sighed and poked her head into the room. "It's just dinner, Lee, there's no need to be so dramatic."
"Why not, angel?" Lee asked, his expression that of the utmost seriousness. Sakura chuckled.
"Never mind."
"So how was your day?" Lee asked, wandering into the kitchen to chop vegetables or do something helpful.
"Good. Tenten called. There's a huge party happening at Gaara's in three weeks to celebrate…everything, really. Sasuke and Naruto are happy again, Sasuke's almost done school, everything's good with everyone, it seems. Party for the sake of partying, I guess."
"And we're invited?" Lee asked.
"Of course. But I've been so many times lately we can't afford it."
Lee stepped up to his wife and put his arm around her waist. "I could put in more hours, my love, if you wanted to go. You know I'd pull the moon out of the sky if you asked me to."
Sakura put down her vegetables and put her arms around her husband's neck. "I know. And it is for that reason I love you because I know you'd do anything I asked you to. But I think I'd rather stay here, with you."
Takeru toddled into the room and clung to Lee's leg in a desperate attempt to climb it. Lee kissed Sakura on the forehead before lifting his son into the air.
"Shall I distract the young one to keep him out of your hair?" Lee asked.
Sakura laughed. "That would be the best help you could give me right now."
"Then it shall be done," Lee said with a grin as he took Takeru's hand and pointed his arm out with his own. "Come, young soldier! Away!"
…
Naruto's phone chirped in his pocket and he answered it.
"Holla, Gaara! What's up?" the blond said with a wide smile. Gaara laughed on the other end of the phone.
"Hi Naruto. How are you?"
"Good as usual. I repeat: what's up?"
"I don't ever call to say hello, do I?" Gaara asked with a chuckle.
"Negative."
"Okay. Well, are you busy tonight?"
"Ask my hubby."
"Seriously?" Gaara asked.
"I'm teasing. What do you need me for?"
Gaara hesitated. "Well…I need to run an errand and I require your assistance."
"Sure thing! Tell me when I'm needed."
Gaara hung up the phone and sighed. Well. Now or never, he supposed. At least he had Naruto's help.
….
"So when are you free tonight?" Naruto asked while he flipped channels as Sasuke piled his homework on the coffee table. The brunet looked at Naruto with a sigh.
"I've got a midterm tomorrow, dobe. I have to study first."
"Gonna pencil me in?"
"If that's what it takes," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "Give me an hour and a half to study, okay?"
Naruto glanced at the clock. It was just after nine in the evening. "That's a lot less time than I thought you were going to say."
"I could study longer," Sasuke said with a raised brow as he sat next to Naruto on the couch.
The blond grinned. "No, an hour and a half is fine." He leaned over and kissed Sasuke's temple gently before resuming his TV watching while Sasuke studied.
After half an hour, Naruto resolved that a bath was in order. Or a shower. Something. He hummed to himself and headed to the bathroom to kill some time.
When he was done, he opened the bathroom which let out a burst of steam into the room and smiled when he noticed Sasuke was now seated on their bed, his books spread out before him, his reading glasses on his nose as he frowned, deep in concentration. Naruto walked over to him and grinned.
"How much time left?" he asked.
Sasuke glanced at the clock and then up at his husband. "Still half an hour, dobe. Haven't you ever heard of patience?"
Naruto shrugged. "Not when it comes to you."
He crawled up onto the bed beside Sasuke and sighed. Sasuke turned to him, his eyes still on his book before he finally looked up. "You smell really good."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Fresh shower smell, I guess."
"I did just have one," Naruto said with a dopey grin. Sasuke shrugged and held a finger to his lips.
"Shh. Half an hour. I'm almost done."
"Or you could study later," Naruto suggested, running a finger up Sasuke's arm. Sasuke turned and glared, not completely seriously, but enough so to make Naruto withdraw his hand. "Your loss," the blond muttered.
"Not really."
"Well not yet," Naruto said with a sigh. "You'll win later."
"I'm sure I will."
"So does that mean it can be me tonight?" Naruto asked, delight entering his face. Sasuke frowned, puzzled.
"I wasn't aware we decided beforehand who got to do it. I figured it was always a heat of the moment kind of thing."
"I know. And it's been you lately."
"Want a turn?" Sasuke asked, looking over the rims of his reading glasses.
"Are you serious?" Naruto asked carefully, incredulously.
Sasuke nodded. "Absolutely. But let me study first or I'll have to destroy you in other ways."
Naruto grinned and pressed his lips together to remain quiet. Now he was even more anxious. Dominance had never been an issue between them, but there was pride involved for whomever got to be the 'leader' that evening.
In the remaining half an hour, Naruto paged through an unattended textbook of Sasuke's. When there were ten minutes left on the clock until ten-thirty, Sasuke set his book down and took off his glasses.
"I can't do this anymore. These words are blurring in my mind when I read them."
"Then you must be ready for your midterm," Naruto said with a grin, closing the book he was thumbing through.
"Easy for you to say. They didn't test you for massage therapy."
"Yeah, but I still need to study."
"I think you could study my back and shoulders if you really wanted to," Sasuke said with a groan as he set his books into his backpack on the chair next to the bed.
Naruto smirked. "Want a fancy one? Like, with oil and stuff?"
"You have it all here?"
"Isn't it my job?" Naruto replied with a grin. "Of course. Take your shirt off."
"Don't have to be so demanding," Sasuke muttered with a smirk. "Aren't you supposed to do that, anyway?"
Naruto rolled his eyes as he rummaged through the cupboard in the bathroom through his different massage oils.
Minutes later, Sasuke had fallen asleep under Naruto's gentle touch. Despite the fact that Naruto was straddling him while he lay on his stomach, Sasuke had fallen asleep almost immediately.
Next to the bed, Naruto's cell phone chirped.
"Hello?" he answered quietly, continuing to lightly rub Sasuke's shoulders as he dozed.
"Naruto! You're up late."
"Tenten! You're calling late."
"I was going to leave a message. I hope I'm not bothering you."
"Nah. Sasuke just fell asleep while I was giving him a massage."
"Right now?" Tenten asked. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"What, nothing's happening. Don't be silly, Tenten. He's sleeping."
"Okay, if you say so…"
"What's up?" Naruto asked, moving from Sasuke quietly and heading out to the living room so he could talk more freely.
"Well, I was just wondering…if you wanted to sign up for the salsa class I've convinced Gaara to take with me."
"What!" Naruto cried.
"What's wrong?"
"You said you'd take it with me. Who's gonna be my partner?"
"Sasuke, you idiot."
"He'd never take salsa," Naruto scoffed. "But I still kinda want to…"
"Well, it's not like you'd be the only single in the class you know."
"I'll ask him. If he doesn't, I'll still think about it."
Tenten smiled on the other end of the line. "You're a peach."
"Well, I try."
"Go wake your husband up. Tell him it's high time he gave you a massage."
"Nah. He deserves the rest," Naruto said with a smirk. "He's been studying awfully hard lately."
"But giving you the attention you deserve, I hope?"
"Like a newlywed," Naruto said with a grin. Tenten laughed.
"I see, so you're doing well then?"
"There aren't words," Naruto replied. "Anyway. I'll ask him and get back to you, 'kay?"
Tenten bid him goodbye and they hung up.
As Naruto headed back into his bedroom, he turned off the lamps and crawled into bed after coaxing Sasuke under the covers through his sleepiness.
…
Naruto dozed into the night and was awakened sometime later by Sasuke's lips on his neck.
"Mmh," Naruto mumbled. "What's going on?"
"I fell asleep," Sasuke whispered. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay. I've got a magic touch," the blond muttered sleepily as he surveyed the situation. Sasuke still wasn't wearing a shirt. What a pleasant sight to wake up to.
"I won't disagree," Sasuke said softly, shifting so he was leaning over Naruto. Naruto blinked and reached his hands up to rub his eyes.
"What time is it?"
"It's late." Sasuke glanced at the clock. "It's after one."
"You have to get up soon," Naruto said, reaching his arms around Sasuke's neck and pulling him down to him. Sasuke shrugged as best he could from where he was, pinned with his arms folded on Naruto's chest.
"I slept for two hours and a bit already. Wear me out and maybe I could be talked into something," he said softly with a smirk.
Naruto brushed away Sasuke's bangs from his forehead but left his fingers in Sasuke's hair.
"Where did this sex drive come from?" the blond found himself asking out loud while Sasuke leaned down to plant a few soft kisses on Naruto's neck and up his jaw.
"It's always been here. I just…kind of ignored it."
"You're the idiot then, not me," Naruto said. Sasuke sighed.
"You're right. But you're still an idiot," he replied.
"Sure, whatever," Naruto said, shaking his head. Sasuke shifted himself up and kissed Naruto on the lips softly.
"I just guess I didn't realize how delicious you were. I'm an idiot for ignoring you for so long." He continued to pepper Naruto's neck with attention and the blond lay in quiet delight for a moment until Sasuke found his way to his mouth again.
"Are we going to sleep or…?" Sasuke murmured against Naruto's mouth.
"You're giving me a choice?" Naruto asked with a frown as he sat up and turned Sasuke over onto his back.
Sasuke smirked and pulled Naruto on top of him by his t-shirt. "No."
"I didn't think so," Naruto said with a grin as he leaned in to kiss Sasuke deeply.
…
Sasuke stared into Naruto's half-lidded eyes and gave him a faint smile. Naruto's breaths were slowing finally, the blond's smile even more faint as Sasuke's hand was entwined in Naruto's hair.
"I love you," Naruto whispered. Sasuke nodded.
"I know," Sasuke replied quietly, tilting Naruto's chin up ever-so slightly and leaning in to kiss him. "But I'm exhausted. You wear me out."
"And you have school tomorrow," Naruto said with a grin. "Thanks, though."
Sasuke nodded. "Happy to."
"Goodnight," the blond whispered. Sasuke kissed Naruto's forehead with no intention of rolling over.
"Night, dobe."
Naruto wormed his way closer, settling his head under Sasuke's chin and sighed, his breath tickling Sasuke's chest. Sasuke smiled faintly. They'd been getting along very well lately, but it was definitely taking effort on Sasuke's part, which he was reluctant to admit he wasn't so annoyed to make.
Naruto had already fallen asleep, which wasn't surprising. He could fall asleep in a heartbeat if he wanted to. Sasuke's eyes were heavy but his mind was awake. Which pissed him off, because he had sleeping to do before school the next morning. All the same, he finally convinced his thoughts to shut up before drifting off into the night.
…
Sasuke woke up at six-thirty that morning with a sigh. Sometime in the night, Naruto had pulled on a grey t-shirt which was tangled around his body as he sprawled over most of the bed. Sasuke smiled and slipped out of bed to get ready for school.
An hour later, with his school bag packed and his shoes at the door, Sasuke slipped his keys into his pocket and climbed onto his bed where Naruto had moved over, practically sleeping sideways, his mouth open while snoring lightly. Sasuke, amused, ran his fingers through Naruto's hair and kissed him on the temple.
"See you tonight, usuratonkachi," he whispered. Naruto groaned and rolled over, blinking.
"You leaving?" he murmured. Sasuke nodded.
"It's seven thirty, you should get up soon."
"I don't work until ten," Naruto muttered, rolling his face into Sasuke's pillow.
"All the same, if you don't start getting up now, you'll be late." Sasuke ruffled Naruto's hair and smiled faintly as he left, locking the door behind him. Naruto groaned and fell back to sleep moments later.
…
It was later in the day, and Tenten had just come home from another long day of dance classes and for whatever reason, was getting ready for bed in Gaara's bathroom. He was sitting on his bed, his back against the headboard as he watched her. She was undoing her hair, studying herself in the mirror, washing her face. She was beautiful. He was entranced.
"Are you going to have a shower?" he asked. She turned and looked at him with a smile.
"I was planning on it," she said. "But alone. I want to have a quick one," she added with a wink. He grinned.
"Yeah, well…"
"I'll only be a minute," she promised, closing the door, but not all the way. Gaara lay back and sighed, listening to the sound of the running water while he waited for her. There was no purpose for his waiting, he just wanted to be near her.
He dozed off for a few minutes and was awakened when she crawled onto the bed next to him in one of his t-shirts. He smiled faintly as she cuddled against his chest, her wet hair tickling his chin.
"Hi," she said softly, her breath warm against his neck.
Gaara squeezed her lightly, kissing the top of her head. "How was work?"
"Hm, you know. Busy. Stressful."
"Shikamaru giving you trouble?"
"Always," she replied with a smile, pushing out of his grip and settling with her hands on his chest so she could look down at him.
"What about you?" she asked. He frowned, moving some of her wet hair behind her ear.
"What about me? Work was horrible as usual. I would swear my eyesight is getting worse from all the paperwork I have to stare at."
"Don't you have anyone to help you?"
"No. No one wants to work for me. Apparently I give off this persona of being some evil tyrant."
"I don't know what gives them that idea," she said, kissing his nose.
"I don't know either."
"I think you're perfect."
Gaara hesitated, his heart lurching into his throat. I think you're perfect, too…
He could say nothing. His tongue was stuck. Instead, he brought her forward and kissed her.
…
It had been a long day of school and testing and Sasuke was more than thankful that his midterm exam was over.
He was out of coffee, his bag was close to dragging on the ground, as he couldn't be bothered to carry it any longer. The streets were fairly quiet that night as he walked home, the skies darkening early as clouds gathered, threatening rainfall.
With a heaving sigh, Sasuke desperately hoped that Naruto would be making coffee or at least something warm for them to eat when he got home. Something edible, at least, not instant ramen noodles. Sasuke would not deny that they were good when he felt like eating them, but he wanted something with substance. Meat, maybe, or something with bread.
Maybe he'd just make dinner instead.
Beyond his control, another sigh escaped him.
And then his bag started dragging on the ground. Sasuke was exhausted. How many more nights of walking home in the dark after school could he take? And he still needed to find a job after his exams finished for the semester. It wasn't looking good for him. No one wanted to hire someone in law school, especially someone with no references since the last place had fired him.
Sasuke ran his palm over his face to wake himself up and frowned when he glanced up and saw a couple of young men leaning against the brick building ahead of him.
No harm so far. The men, three of them, were smoking cigarettes, leaning against a building. Lots of people did that.
All the same, Sasuke felt a vague sense of unease creeping up behind him as soon as the one leaning against the wall stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, leering down his nose towards Sasuke.
Trying not to look alarmed, Sasuke prepared himself for what might be a battle.
"Hey," one of the men said as Sasuke approached. Sasuke set his jaw and said nothing but instead watched as the leader approached him, his other two cronies stepping up behind him for support. Or intimidation. Either way, Sasuke wasn't too shaken. Assuming these guys didn't know how to fight, he'd probably be okay. If they did…all three of them were a good lot bigger than he was. And that wasn't bound to end well.
Sasuke put his hand in his pocket to reach for his cell phone, but the guys weren't entirely dim-witted.
"What do you think you're doing, white boy?" the leader asked, sneering with crooked teeth and bad breath that wafted into Sasuke's face. The leader, though younger, was at least four inches taller.
"Gimme your phone," Leader demanded, holding out his hand, his sneer still vulgar and the smoke from his cigarette just as distasteful as his breath.
"So…" Sasuke started, his gaze remaining on Leader's face.
"So nothing. This is my sidewalk. Take your business elsewhere."
"I'm just walking home. I could have been off 'your sidewalk' ages ago."
"I don't like your tone, pretty white boy."
"Pretty?" Sasuke asked with a frown, his eyebrow raised. "I'm not interested."
"No. You've got your own filth, don't you? I know who you are, white boy…" Leader sneered, stepping closer. Sasuke glanced around. Why was no one intervening? There weren't a lot of people around, but a few had frowned in their direction. This was New York. Fights were common.
Maybe no one would intervene until a punch was thrown.
"I don't care if you know who I am. Let me pass and I'll pretend this didn't happen," Sasuke said, his voice dropping to a menacing growl.
Leader chuckled. "Aha! This is rich. Isn't this rich, guys?" His cronies snickered behind him. "Little Pretty white boy thinks he can smooth talk his way out of this."
Leader grabbed Sasuke by the front of his shirt and pulled him close, so his breath washed over Sasuke's face entirely. "But he should know better."
"What do you want from me, moron?" Sasuke asked boldly, his arms hanging at his sides.
"Moron!" Leader cried with a yelp of incredulous laughter. "You're talking way too tough when you should be begging to be let go. Mercy, maybe. We didn't show any to your little boyfriend, so why should we give you any? Huh, Pretty. White. Boy…?"
Sasuke's eyes widened. "You…you guys were the ones who attacked him?"
"Ah, so you know who we are now," Leader said, his crooked teeth yellow in Sasuke's face.
Someone stepped up to them. "Guys, take it somewhere else."
"Back off, old man!" Leader cried, but glanced around, let go of Sasuke and pushed him down the alleyway nearby.
"This isn't over," the cronies said, running ahead in case Sasuke tried to escape. Once they were out of sight, Leader grabbed Sasuke and pushed him against the brick of the building.
"You know why I hate people like you?"
"I bet you'll tell me anyway," Sasuke muttered smartly. Leader gritted his teeth and snarled.
"Because you think you're invincible. You fags and all your gay pride. You make me sick."
"You're probably just afraid of the feelings you have for one of your cronies over there," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Either give up or give in. And let me go. You're wasting your time."
Leader ignored Sasuke's remarks and took a fistful of his hair. "I think we should rough him up a bit, eh boys? Or should we just ignore that and kill him now?"
The cronies cracked their knuckles and returned Leader's sinister grin.
Sasuke took in a deep breath and checked his surroundings. …What could he use as a weapon? There was a garbage can lid, and a bag of garbage. Well…not much to go by, but he'd make do with what he had.
Leader took a swing and Sasuke successfully dodged it. With a swift punch to the belly, Leader doubled over as Sasuke ducked out of his grip. Cronies. Both of them charged him at once and he dove for the garbage can lid, which he held as a shield and took several blows to, blocking them. Swinging the lid, Sasuke made contact with one of the cronies, knocking him over as Leader let out a roar of frustration, charging with both arms flailing, curses streaming from his mouth.
Leader and the remaining crony did manage to get a couple of punches to Sasuke, one to his cheek, and several to his middle, but Sasuke had the advantage: he was trained for this. All those martial arts classes and sparring with Naruto had paid off.
Spinning with a kick to one crony's head, he knocked him out. With his inertia, he used his fist to knock the remaining charging crony. Just Leader was left now.
"You sick freak," Leader panted, dirt smudged on his clothes. Sasuke paced, his eyes never leaving Leader's face.
"You like what you did to him?" Sasuke asked, wiping a trickle of blood from his cheek. "He was in the hospital for weeks. He almost died. I'm glad I found you because I swear, since you put him there, I've wanted to kill you."
"Try and take the opportunity," Leader snarled. "You'll never get another one. Sooner or later all fags will be extinguished. Let's start with you!" With a running charge, Leader had the advantage for being bigger, but Sasuke managed to barely step out of the way and kick Leader against the wall, knocking the garbage lid against his head and then took one swift hit to a pressure point to knock him out.
With all three thugs defeated, Sasuke stood in the alleyway panting.
A shadow darkened the opening to the alley. Someone was there. "Hey you! Are you okay?"
A woman's voice.
"Yeah," Sasuke called back, stepping towards her as he glanced at the unconscious men. "Could you call the cops? I need these guys arrested."
…
Naruto was ticked. Sasuke was never late for dinner. Sure, it was ramen again because they hadn't been shopping in awhile, but it was warm, and they would be eating it together.
The blond was just about to start eating his second cup of noodles when Sasuke opened the door.
"There you are!" Naruto cried, heading to the door. "About freaking time-"
Sasuke stepped inside with two police officers.
"Hey," Sasuke said with a small smile. Naruto then saw the cuts on his lover's face.
"Are you alright!?" he cried, his eyes wide.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sasuke grinned. "You should see the other guys," he added, using an old joke he seldom made.
Naruto frowned. "Guys? As in plural?"
"Three of them. Same ones who attacked you. These officers offered to take us both to the station so you could identify them."
Naruto looked at the officers who nodded in his direction. Naruto blinked. "Y-yeah, of course…but could we…get you something for your face?"
"I'm fine," Sasuke excused. Naruto ran to the kitchen and wet a tea towel. Handing it to Sasuke, he put his shoes on.
"I can't wait to get this done," Naruto muttered. "I hope they squirm."
"I made sure to hurt them," Sasuke whispered, the officers in the hallway leading the way after they'd left the apartment.
Naruto reached for Sasuke's hand and laced their fingers, squeezing tightly. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Bruised, but fine."
Naruto's eyes were watery for a moment. "What if…"
"Don't start, usuratonkachi," Sasuke whispered, his voice full of warning. "Let's just get this over with. We can talk about it later, okay?"
"…why you? Why not me again?" Naruto whispered with a sniffle.
Sasuke squeezed his husband's hand. "I'd rather me than you. Now come on. Let's take care of this."
…
Naruto was given five minutes alone with Leader, who was handcuffed and seated in a chair. Across the table, Naruto looked at him with compassionate eyes.
"Why? Why are you with him? Aren't chicks good enough for you?" Leader pleaded, his eyes full of confusion.
Naruto frowned. "Why is that important to you? But yeah, chicks are awesome. I love them. But…" Naruto turned and glanced at Sasuke who was answering questions with an officer, and smiled. "He's all I'll ever need, or want. That's how simple it is. People like you who don't understand that are what's making this world go to hell."
"But he's a guy!" Leader breathed.
"And so am I. So what? We're living in a world where that really doesn't matter anymore. You people are the ones who can't take the change and I feel sorry for you. What are you so angry at, man?"
Leader was quiet and stared at the table for a long time. "It's just not right…"
"That doesn't make it right for you to beat us up and try to kill us. It's not your job to be the judge. I'm going to leave that to Someone higher," Naruto whispered, standing up and turning around. "We're done here," he called to the guard, who opened the door to let him out.
"Wait!" Leader called.
Naruto turned with a frown. "I'm not going to give him up because you want me to. You tried to kill me. I owe you no favors."
"I…" Leader sighed. "Do you think there's a way I can be redeemed?"
"I dunno," Naruto said with a shrug. "Probably. I like to think anyone can be redeemed for anything, no matter how bad. But you'll need to mean it, I guess. So…start small."
Leader offered a small smile. "You're not a bad guy, I guess…for a fairy, anyway."
Naruto grinned and left the room, shaking his head.
He reached Sasuke and squeezed his forearm discreetly. "What's the verdict?"
"They're going into jail. The leader guy, Marshall is his name, is going to be in the longest. Community service and all kinds of other crap to get out and they're not allowed to come near us ever again."
"Seriously?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes wide.
"Seriously."
"You can go home now," the officer said, offering his hand to shake Sasuke's.
"Thanks. For everything."
"No, thanks for reporting them. I hope you can rest easier now that they're off the streets."
Sasuke smiled faintly. "I hope so too. Thanks."
He turned to Naruto and in a bold move that Naruto seldom experienced, took his hand in his own and they walked from the police station.
…
"So, you're coming to the party tonight, right?" Tenten asked Shikamaru as they practiced recent salsa dance moves before their students arrived.
"At Naruto's? Yeah, me and Tem are coming."
"Good. It's been a long time since we all got together."
"Sakura said she couldn't come though," Shikamaru said with a frown.
"Yeah, her and Lee have enough on their plate with Takeru," Tenten said, twirling around and landing perfectly back in Shikamaru's grasp.
"Can you believe those idiots who attacked Sasuke, though? I wish they'd known ahead of time. They'd have spared themselves a serious butt-kicking."
Tenten laughed. "Yeah, well, Sasuke doesn't look like the type who can kick your butt easily."
"No, that's true."
Two students entered the room and smiled at their teachers. Tenten grinned. "You're up next!" she called, waving one of the girls over for a turn as Shikamaru groaned.
"What a drag…"
…
Naruto was excited. They had arrived an hour before the party started to help set up, though there wasn't much to set up. The food was prepared in the fridge, the oven was preheating to get set for appetizers, and Sasuke was chopping vegetables, as Naruto was no longer allowed to handle knives, per Sasuke's instruction.
Gaara was having a shower, having just come home from work, and Tenten was due to arrive any moment.
Naruto danced around the kitchen, jittery with excitement.
"Why are you so excited?" Sasuke asked, not even looking up from the vegetables.
"I don't know, it's just exciting to be having a party!" the blond said with a twirl. Sasuke glanced up from under his bangs and shook his head.
"Would you sit down? You're making me nervous."
Naruto twirled over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You don't get nervous. Don't lie."
"I'm still living that night over again," Sasuke whispered, the knife shaking in his hand. "I swear, it was all fluke. I shouldn't have survived against three guys."
Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and said nothing as Sasuke reflected.
"But you did," the blond whispered after a moment. Sasuke nodded.
"I shouldn't have. Someone's watching out for me, I guess."
"I like to think so," Naruto said softly as there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it!" he shrieked, streaking off to the door to let Shikamaru and Temari in.
"Where's Tenten?" Naruto asked as the couple walked inside.
"Nice to see you too," Temari said, greeting Naruto with a kiss on the cheek.
"Sorry. She's just not home yet."
"She's on her way," Gaara said, holding up the cordless phone as he came down the stairs. "I just called her."
"Is this everyone, then?" Shikamaru asked. Tenten then opened the door and entered the foyer with Hinata and Sai in tow.
"I found some people in the street and thought to myself 'hey, why should they miss out on a great party?'" she proclaimed with a laugh. Hinata blushed and Sai rolled his eyes.
"There's enough food," Gaara said. "Come in, guys."
He greeted Tenten with a kiss and a small smile as she kicked her shoes off. "I'm going to go shower quickly," she told him quietly.
He nodded. "Don't be long," he whispered, watching as she rushed off to get some fresh clothes.
When Tenten returned, the group started in on the food and mingling. Gaara didn't find himself to be that hungry and thought that playing with his hands nervously was much more entertaining.
More than once, Naruto caught his eye and frowned as if to silently ask if he was okay.
Gaara nodded slightly and offered a nervous smile.
Tenten wandered around, refilling drinks, joking, laughing, and Gaara wanted to join in on the laughter but found himself only staring at her. It was all he could do to remind himself that people were in the room to have fun, but he could do nothing but watch her. His heart was pounding, and he couldn't control it.
She happened to notice him looking her way and sent him a wink in response. His heart may have stopped right then, but he wouldn't have noticed.
Sai's voice cut through then, as the young man muttered to Hinata. "This place blows. Let's go somewhere else. Like…find a closet or something."
Hinata's face flushed tomato red and Naruto bounced over to them. "Sai, I wasn't aware you were into girls now."
Hinata blushed harder, if it was possible as Naruto winked at her. "I guess she's just that irresistible, eh?" he asked Sai.
Sai shrugged, a slight flush coming over his cheeks as he crossed his arms angrily. "Whatever."
In another part of the room, Temari pulled Shikamaru to the side and whispered into his ear while the rest of the crew chattered mindlessly, music pulsing in the background while Tenten poured more drinks and Naruto danced around the room, showing off his fully healed knee.
Temari smiled at her husband as he pulled back from her, her newfound information swirling through his brain.
"You're what?!"
His yelp caught the attention of everyone in the room and Temari blushed. "Shikamaru, do you mind?"
"Are you serious?" he asked, ignoring everyone else.
"Well, you may as well all know," Temari said, looking past her husband to everyone else. "We're going to have a baby."
Shouts of congratulations and excitement sounded all around the room as Shikamaru turned to face them, his face a ghastly shade of white.
"I'm going to be a dad…?" he whispered. Temari squeezed his knee.
"You're going to be fine," she replied with an encouraging smile.
As soon as everyone crowded around to ask embarrassing questions, Sai included, Gaara found his chance.
Grabbing Tenten by the hand, he led her to the kitchen away from the noise.
"What's going on?" she asked. He stopped at the counter and sighed, still unable to settle his erratic heartbeat.
"I need to talk to you now before I lose my nerve."
"What is it?" she asked, frowning. She could feel his nervousness: it was radiating from his body.
She leaned against the counter while he stood in front of her, his hands trembling before he clenched them tightly.
"Okay. Tenten, please just…hear me out."
She nodded, frowning.
"The last little while has been difficult for me because I've come to the realization that you make it worth getting up in the morning. I know…that I have you as my girlfriend, and I know that I love you, and I'm sorry I don't say it often, but I do… But you need to know that it's not enough for me."
Tenten's eyes widened. "Gaara, what-"
"Let me finish or I won't," he said, out of breath as he looked at the ground. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead and Tenten desperately tried to hide her amusement.
"I guess I'd better just say it. I'm sorry that everything we try to accomplish ends up being harder than hell, and I'm sorry that two people have died since we got together, but that doesn't scare me." He rounded the nerve to look her in the eyes. "I love you, and I want to be with you. Forever."
Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a ring with shaking fingers. A huge diamond ring that was probably way too much for her, but she wasn't looking at it right now, she was looking at him.
"Please say you'll marry me?"
As soon as the sentence had left his lips, he let out a sigh of relief, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders.
Tenten was silent for a long time, shocked. "Oh…my gosh. Are you serious?"
He nodded, unable to make another sound.
A small smile spread across her lips as she wrapped her arms around him. "Why are you so nervous, Gaara? Of course, of course I'll marry you!"
His legs gave way then, and they both collapsed on the floor, laughing, Tenten crying, both trembling.
"Will you try the ring on, at least? Naruto helped me pick it out. I have no taste in jewellery."
"It's gorgeous, but it's way too much for me, Gaara, why'd you do it?"
"Because I love you," he replied, putting it on her ring finger. Naruto wandered into the kitchen in that moment and upon seeing them sitting on the floor, Tenten with her ring finger out and looking at it intently, Naruto burst into a huge smile.
"Did she say yes?!" he cried. Gaara smirked.
"Your timing is impeccable."
"So she did?!"
"Yeah, I said yes," Tenten said with a grin as Gaara stood and helped her up.
"Can I tell the others?!" Naruto squealed.
Gaara nodded and Naruto dashed out of the room. "GAARA JUST PROPOSED AND SHE SAID YES!"
More cries of resounding excitement and Gaara shook his head with a sigh.
"Guess it's our turn to answer questions now," Tenten smirked. "When did you sneak out to buy this?"
"Naruto came with me for a 'guy's night', remember? He took me to this jewellery store he knew of. Some woman named Blanche helped us. I think he knew her."
Tenten reached up and kissed him softly. "Let's go. We may as well get this over with."
Taking her by the hand, Gaara led his fiancée into the living room for the onslaught of questions.
THE END
Note: SIGH! PHEW! I'm DONE! I can't tell you how good this feels. Well, it's over. We're done. I'm not sure if I'll explore this story in the future, or if it'll get a sequel. I was thinking of a NaruSasu related something or other, but…we'll see.
Thanks for everything, guys. I appreciate all your reviews.