A/N: Dammit you guys! I promised you a confrontation between Sasuke & Sai and I felt like what I typed up wasn't adequate enough for you! Ugh… I FAIL!

Plus I'm sorry for making you wait so long.

DISCLAIMER: Naruto belongs to whom? Me? No….

WARNINGS: stuff…

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He shut his locker and did an about face towards the front of the school. He and Sasuke had slowly begun to get better. The tension was decreasing little by little. They wanted to make it work.

They had talked frequently about what had happened. It still… irritated Naruto about Sasuke had done what he did overseas. It wouldn't be right away but he would forgive him. He didn't expect Sasuke to be perfect at all. He didn't see him as a god.

He just saw him as Sasuke.

But when he tried speaking about Sai, the raven would get upset. He would sneer at the name and clench his fist. Naruto would guess that Sasuke was thinking along the lines of 'I'll kill that bastard.' But whatever the raven thought of, he could guess that it came with a mental picture of how to destroy Sai.

And speaking of Sai, he had yet to see the guy since their incident.

Unofficially he broke off their tutoring for French after what had happened.

Was he avoiding him?

Or maybe Naruto had just been so preoccupied that he hadn't paid the least bit of attention to him?

Either way, he had no idea what he would do if he saw Sai again. Maybe the next time he saw Sai, he could punch him in the face or something.

As Naruto walked he could hear some jeering from outside the school. Normally he didn't get into huge fights or try to associate so much with them but this one really caught his attention. He ran outside and gaped at the large crowd.

He pushed through the barrier or people to see what was happening.

Finally he was inside the circle and saw who was in the middle of it.

Sasuke and Sai stood in the middle, both scuffed up from fighting each other. That's what Naruto guessed.

They were both adorned with bruises, bloody knuckles, and their clothes were a mess. Sasuke was bleeding from lip and Sai had a black eye, although he still wore that stupid smile.

Naruto couldn't help but think that Sai was totally crazy. He was all fucked up and he was smiling for whatever stupid reason. Yup, he thought Sai was really fucked up.

He wanted to stop the fight but he was entranced by how both pale men seemed to go against each other. Sasuke threw punches and Sai dodged and it was the same reversed.

There were actually very little blows but every time one was impacted, no doubt it hurt more than getting punched ten times in a row.

They were evenly matched in strength, people could see that. Sasuke's face contorted into a scowl, Sai was obviously taunting him. One could only guess that it was about Naruto, most likely.

Sasuke had finally caught Sai by his collar and cocked his fist back. Naruto had unknowingly been holding his breath the entire time. Sasuke had looked absolutely furious at Sai but he didn't want the guy to get his jaw broken.

Without even thinking he had ran towards Sasuke and pushed him away.

To say that Sasuke was surprised would be an understatement. "Sasuke! What the fuck are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Putting him in his place." Sasuke said with a shrug. He looked back at Naruto and cringed. He looked upset. "What?"

Naruto began to help Sai up to his feet.

Yeah, the guy pretty much was the cause of their fight but it's not like he actually wanted to kill him.

"You know Sasuke-kun," Sai started, "you really should take better care of the things you love."

Naruto looked at him, his mouth open. Sasuke was about to knock his lights out and he just saved him, and he was trying to provoke Sasuke again! Was he asking for his death?

Sasuke sneered at him and dared a step closer. "Don't try to antagonize me. You're damn lucky Naruto stepped in. I just want to tell you two things: don't ever try that shit you do with him ever again. And…" Sasuke stopped and everyone listened intently.

Naruto was sort of curious as to what he was going to say.

"Thank you."

Everything was silent.

Naruto gave Sasuke a confused look. The raven glanced at his blonde and reached an arm out to pull the stunned Naruto against him.

Sai was confused too. "You're… welcome?" he said.

Sasuke smirked, although it seemed more arrogant than usual. "I don't want you to ever touch Naruto the way you did with him last time, believe that. But I have to admit, that if you have done it I wouldn't be able to say this."

He faced the crowd and announced, "I love Uzumaki Naruto!"

Before Naruto could register what Sasuke had said, he was pulled into a fierce lip lock. It was better than all the previous kisses he had ever received from the raven before. His hands wrapped around Sasuke's neck and he stood on his tip toes. He felt himself being lifted by strong arms without breaking the kiss.

But they had to break away for air.

Sasuke settled Naruto back on the ground and smirked at Sai.

"My, that was a steamy kiss wasn't it?" Sai commented with a light laugh.

"Hn. Just get out of here pervert. I did what I wanted to do and said what I wanted to say." Sasuke said back.

Sai nodded his head and was ready to walk back. But then he was stopped with a, "Wait!"

He turned back to see the blonde run up to him. He smiled down at the blonde and said, "Have you come to confess your love for me and leave Uchiha?"

Naruto shook his head but did laugh a little. He cocked his fist back and punched Sai in the face. It wasn't powerful enough to make him stumble but it gave him the satisfaction he wanted.

"Okay, I suppose I deserve that."

Naruto nodded his head and gave Sai a little push. "Just shut up and go get cleaned up before Sasuke and I decide to tag team you."

Without another word, Sai hobbled back inside the school.

He felt the raven behind him. Without having to look back, he grabbed his hand and also led him inside the school.

They walk slowly, hand in hand, Sasuke needing no help in walking. They stopped walking in the hallway and Naruto turned to face him. The raven put his arms around Naruto and leaned against him, Naruto supporting him well. "I love you."

Naruto was silent but he let Sasuke repeat it. "I love you."

He pulled away and cupped Naruto's cheek to look him in the eye and tell him again. "I love you Naruto."

"Me too Sasuke." Naruto said back. He smiled and cupped Sasuke's face. He leaned up and pecked Sasuke on the lips. "Say it again."

"I love you." Sasuke repeated, and it seemed even more sincere than the last.

There was a cough and the two looked to see who had come in at the scene. It was Kakashi and his finger pointed at Sasuke. "I believe you and I need to take a little trip Sasuke-kun. You can finish what you're business with Naruto-kun later after you explain why you attacked Sai."

Sasuke let out a breathy laugh. "That little shit…"

Naruto smiled softly and ran a hand through Sasuke's hair. "Looks like you're in trouble."

"Seems so. I'll see you later, I love you." Sasuke said as he walked away.

Naruto flushed and said back, "Me too." He watched Sasuke walk with Kakashi and he leaned against a locker. He needed a few moments to compose himself.

He smiled to himself, happy that Sasuke had told him that he loved him. No, happy was an understatement. He was practically glowing and could probably puke rainbows. He was feeling pretty euphoric.

"Well isn't that nice?"

Naruto looked around to see who had spoken.

Sakura had come from around the corner and stood next to Naruto, her hands on her hips. He stood up against the lockers and faced the pink haired girl.

"What's nice?" he asked.

"It's nice that Sasuke-kun just kicked some ass for you and your relationship, announced his feelings for you in front of the school, and told you that he loves you. That's nice." She said.

"Uhh… yeah, I guess that is nice."

"I would say romantic."

Naruto flushed at the word romantic. He thought of what just happened not too long ago. He concluded in his head that it seem like what just happened would belong in some romance movie. He nodded his head and played with his hands a little.

"Except for one thing…" Sakura said in a low voice.

"Huh?"

Sakura sighed and relaxed her arms. "Me too?" she mocks.

"W-what do you mean?"

"You have got to be joking. You said that not too long ago and you've already forgotten! Sometimes you are really hopeless, you know that Naruto?" Sakura says, rolling her eyes.

Walking towards Naruto, she stopped right in front of him and poked him on his forehead. "Sasuke-kun told you he loves you and what do you say? You say, 'me too.'"

"I… I don't think there's anything wrong with what I said! I told him I love him." Naruto said, his voice rising a little and he began to glare at the pink haired girl.

"No you didn't. You might as well just said ditto. It's not the same thing!" Sakura's voice matched the blonde's volume.

"And how would you know?"

"Because I've confessed to Sasuke-kun at least a thousand times and each and every time I've told him I loved him! He tells you he loves you and all you say is, 'Me too!' It is not the same as actually saying it!" she shouts.

To say the least, Naruto was taken aback.

Was that the rules or something?

He wasn't sure.

But he thought on it and it seemed to make sense. He guessed it wasn't official until the words actually left his mouth. He couldn't go the rest of the time letting Sasuke say it but he wasn't saying it back.

Naruto looked at Sakura and he felt determined. He would say it to Sasuke the next time he saw him.

But he would have to wait until Sasuke was released.

Sasuke could see how tense Naruto was. It was quite obvious in his posture, not to mention the way Naruto held onto his hand.

"What's the matter? You're as stiff as a board dobe." He said, breaking the trance his blonde seemed to be in.

Naruto's head shook and he faced Sasuke. He looked like he wanted to say something so Sasuke wanted to encourage him to say what he wanted. "Come on, what is it? There's something you want to tell me right? It's written on your face."

He brought an arm around his blonde's shoulder and brought him a little closer.

"Ummm… could you, like, say it?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke's eyebrow rose, wondering what 'it' was. But the thought hit him quickly on what Naruto was asking. He smiled and said it, "I love you."

He saw a bit of a smile on Naruto's face. And then that expression where he wanted to say something returned to his face. He bit his lip and knitting his eyebrows together. Then all of a sudden he found himself being kissed. Sasuke, to say the least, was feeling rather pleased.

They hadn't really kissed that often except for when Sasuke made that announcement at school.

Naruto pulled away and his face was flushed but still had that expression on his face.

"Naruto, whatever you want to tell me, just say it." Sasuke said firmly. He didn't want Naruto to ever hesitate because of him.

The blonde inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before blurting out quickly, "I love you Sasuke."

Yes, Sasuke was very pleased.

A/N: I rushed this because I felt like I've been keeping you guys waiting. Sorry for the rushed chapter, crap 'fight' scene between Sasuke and Sai, and that not so (what I wanted to be) dramatic standoff between Naruto and Sakura.

Very important question: do you guys want this to be the last chapter before the epilogues or do you want an extra chapter with Sasuke confessing his love for Naruto to the parents and then the epilogues?