Alright everyone I stayed up late to finish this chapter and this AN is important, so read it:) I did something I never thought I'd do in a fic, namely using song lyrics. I had absolutely no idea what to write in this chap, but then I happened to listen to a certain song Tuesday morning and it all came to me, nice huh? So anyway it's not a big part of it and you don't have to listen to it unless you want to, but it's my current favorite heh so if you do I'll be happy!

It's called Wake Me Up by Avicii, he's a dj from Stockholm (just like me except the dj part) if you don't know who he is. I think some of his songs are really good.

Also, I really love/hate this chapter. I don't know, but we're finally moving forwards! Not much left until the sequel...

Disclaimer: No I don't own the song I'm using, which you'd think is pretty obvious... oh well.

Chapter thirty-eight: Moving on is never easy

'

"Sasuke. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better."

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I-"

"Look, Itachi, I'll be okay. Stop worrying so much."

He could hear Itachi take a breath at the other end of the line, collecting his thoughts.

"It's not like I can help it. When are you coming back? I'd rather not say this but I kind of need you back at work. Either that or you take a longer leave."

"Give me a day or two. I can work."

"Hmm. Did Gaara call you?"

"He came over this morning, didn't he tell you?"

Itachi sighed.

"No. That man always does whatever he wants."

"You're a good match then."

"Sasuke…"

"I'll come in the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"…Alright. See you then. Take care, little brother."

Sasuke ended the call, putting his phone down on the coffee table and leaning back on the couch, sighing as he stared up at the ceiling.

"He's just worried Sasuke" Naruto said, putting an arm around his shoulders and squeezing them lightly.

"I know" Sasuke snapped, then sighed again and gave Naruto an apologetic look. "Sorry, didn't mean to…"

"It's fine" Naruto replied with a small smile.

They'd been talking for a long time, and then Sasuke had finally felt composed enough to call his brother. Running his fingers up and down Sasuke's neck, Naruto wondered if he'd walk around with a permanent tug at his heart every time he saw or thought of his boyfriend. They'd gone through both the good stuff and the bad; the whole company thing, Sasuke being Yukio's dad, Australia, Naruto meeting his godparents, their parents… The list went on, and still it felt as if there were a million more things that needed sorting through.

"Will you be fine when I start working again?" Sasuke suddenly asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. Oh, you mean… Right. I still don't know what to do with my life but," he gave Sasuke a reassuring smile, "I'm sure I'll work something out."

Sasuke didn't look completely convinced, but Naruto silenced him with a peck on his lips.

"Don't think too much about it. I'm feeling a lot better about it now."

He pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned against Sasuke's side. It was true; even though he hadn't gotten closer to figuring out his life while gone he didn't feel like it was such a big deal anymore. Which was a little strange, considering how upset he'd been just a month ago. Maybe meeting all those other people, who were older than him and no closer to a solution than he was gave him some perspective.

For a few minutes they sat in silence, thinking about nothing in particular. Just sitting close like that was enough. Then Naruto sighed, burying his face in Sasuke's neck and inhaling his scent deeply. His free hand took a hold of Sasuke's, their fingers playing lazily with each other.

"Wanna watch something?" Sasuke broke the silence with, turning on the TV with the remote when Naruto hummed in agreement.

They ended up on a music channel, not really paying attention to the screen. The sun was starting to set, the sky turning red at the horizon. The clouds had dispersed earlier in the day, leaving a pale blue sky that now darkened slowly. When a familiar tune drifted from the TV Naruto glanced at it.

"Feeling my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart, I don't know where the journey will end, but I know where to start" he mumbled, following the lyrics.

Suddenly he grabbed the remote control, turning the volume up almost painfully high. Then he stood up, and pulled Sasuke from the couch.

"Dance with me" he ordered, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow before he was pulled again, this time forwards to an empty spot on the floor.

Naruto started dancing, close to Sasuke, arms moving and hips swaying. When Sasuke just stood in his place awkwardly he grabbed him, forcing him to follow his movements, a grin on his face. As the speakers pumped out the bass, the sound vibrating through their chests, Sasuke found himself letting go.

"So wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older!" Naruto shouted with the chorus, laughing, and Sasuke laughed too.

Their hands were swinging above their heads, intertwined, and they jumped up and down. Their dance was silly and free, and Sasuke would never forget this sight, Naruto shouting out his exasperation, his hurt, accompanied by a laugh, the reddish golden light washing over his features. When the chorus came back for the last time Sasuke shouted with him, knowing he would only, could only, do this kind of thing with Naruto.

Out of breath Naruto let go of his hands to hold him tight around the waist, holding him as he kept jumping and turning round and round in circles. Sasuke hugged his shoulders, faces so close their noses bumped into each other. And then, as the song ended, Naruto tightened his grip and lifted him up, spinning him around in the air.

"I love you Sasuke!" he shouted, the light flickering over his face like that from a lighthouse as they spun. "And you damn better love me back" he added as they slowed down, both feeling slightly dizzy, eyes refusing to break contact.

"You know I do" Sasuke mumbled, wonder on his face, and he couldn't remember the last time he felt this bubbling happiness in his stomach.

Another song switched on, calmer, but the beat still pumped through Sasuke's veins, and the sudden smile overtaking him was wider than any he'd ever experienced before.

"I love you" he said, still smiling as he rubbed their noses together, loving the way Naruto chuckled happily, his eyes lighting up a bright blue.

They stayed like that for a long time, moving slowly in circles accompanied by the music, not caring whether the song fit the moment or not. They were there, together, in love, and that was all that mattered.

And slowly, slowly, they would heal.

~Line breaker~

"Dad!" Yukio shouted, latching onto Sasuke's leg after throwing the door open.

Sasuke smiled, lifting the child up in his arms and stepping over the threshold into Karin's apartment.

"So my lost cousin has returned huh?" Karin said, giving Naruto a look as she came into the hallway.

"Yeah yeah, you don't have to sound so annoying" Naruto answered, grinning cheekily when her eyes narrowed.

"Whatever, hurry up or the food will get cold" she said, turning back into the kitchen where she'd come from.

"You made food?!" Naruto exclaimed, hurrying after her.

"Hey!" she snapped, slapping his finger away as it tried to reach down into the frying pan to taste the sauce. "Don't think I'm trying to be nice or anything, I was just making this for Yukio and there happened to be some extra."

"Ha, I bet you're just trying to impress Sasuke with your cooking" Naruto teased, quick to move away and avoid a harder slap.

Fuming silently Karin glared at him as she put down the sauce next to the pasta already on the table.

"This is my special bacon sauce, if you don't appreciate it I hope you choke to death on it!"

Sasuke chuckled lightly, but Naruto simply rolled his eyes.

"Sheesh Karin, you need to get laid."

"What's that?" Yukio asked, innocently looking between the three adults.

Karin gave Naruto another murderous look as she took Yukio from Sasuke's arms, putting him in his chair and placing a napkin over his lap.

"Your uncle is just being rude, forget about it" she muttered, flicking her hair and daring the blond to further corrupt her son.

Naruto snorted, starting to help himself to some pasta.

"And who said you could start?! God you drive me crazy, how the hell do you even stand him Sasuke?"

"Are you sure he's not doing it just to annoy you?" Sasuke calmly asked, accepting the bowl from Naruto once he'd finished.

"Give me give me!" Yukio shouted excitedly, holding his plate out to Sasuke.

"Oops, guess I'm busted" Naruto said as if without a care in the world, grabbing the frying pan instead.

With an aggravated sigh Karin poured some milk into Yukio's glass, face morphing into a smile despite her anger when the kid laughed at Naruto licking his fork in an exaggerated manner after dipping it in the sauce, jokingly moaning at the taste.

"Fine, I give up" she said, shaking her head at his antics.

After lunch Yukio dragged Sasuke with him to show how far he'd gotten on a puzzle he'd started on in the living room, ordering him to help find the right pieces to a tricky part of the rainforest.

Naruto helped Karin clean up, then went over to lean on the wall and overlook his boyfriend crawling over the carpet and looking for pieces with great concentration.

"I guess I should have told you earlier" Karin startled him by saying, having snuck up beside him.

"Nah" he shrugged. "Sasuke said himself it's a good thing you waited until now. He wasn't much of a kid lover when we first met anyway."

"Hard to believe, looking at him now" Karin snorted, and Naruto had to agree.

"It's my good influence, I suppose" he grinned, pushing his hands down his pockets, grin fading into an affectionate smile. "They really do look alike, don't they?"

"Unfortunately" Karin said, rolling her eyes when Naruto gave her an insulted look. "I didn't need to be reminded of who his dad was all the time."

"Yeah, I guess… But on the other hand, Yukio is lucky to get the good genes!"

Laughing when Karin yelled and tried to hit him he escaped, jogging over to help with the puzzle instead.

~Line breaker~

A couple of hours later they entered their own apartment, Sasuke stopping in the middle of the hallway with a contemplative look on his face.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, toeing off his shoes and chucking them onto the shoe rack.

"I just remembered… I was thinking about moving."

Naruto froze, staring at him.

"Moving?" he repeated with a confused frown.

"Yeah, to a house."

Naruto's mouth fell open.

"You don't like the idea?" Sasuke asked, eyeing him uncertainly. "I was just thinking that it would be nice to live closer to Karin, since I want Yukio to live with us too you know, and it'll be closer to his school… And a garden would be kind of nice…"

Naruto closed his mouth, swallowing thickly.

"I like the idea, I just never… I never imagined I'd ever live in a house. It always seemed so nice to me, having a family and living in a house, like some of my classmates in high school…"

Sasuke smiled faintly, walking over to the blond and wrapping his arms around his back.

"Mm, I thought so too…"

Naruto put his cheek on Sasuke's shoulder, closing his eyes. Things were so bad and so good at the same time; it was difficult to keep up. He hooked two fingers through the hoops on Sasuke's jeans, enjoying the warmth of Sasuke's hands against his skin underneath his shirt.

"I can't really contribute money-wise, but I wouldn't mind living in a house" he mumbled, feeling fuzzy inside when Sasuke kissed his brow and tightened his hold for a moment.

"We can look for something during summer" Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded, pressing himself a little closer to Sasuke's body. "You okay?" Sasuke continued, moving one hand to brush through blond locks.

"I don't know, I guess things are just catching up to me."

Naruto rubbed his face against Sasuke's shoulder, exhaling loudly.

"And acting like everything's fine in front of Yukio didn't exactly help" Sasuke continued for him.

"Mm."

Thinking for a second Sasuke started to walk them further inside, his sight set on the bedroom. Naruto let him lead, walking backwards and trying to maintain his comfortable position while not stumbling. Once inside Sasuke pushed him gently towards the bed, pulling the covers to the side and following him as he lay down. Naruto gave Sasuke a questioning look as he pulled the covers back over them, covering them completely and blocking out most of the light streaming in through the windows.

"No one will hear you cry in here" Sasuke said, and Naruto snorted.

"I'm not gonna cry."

"Hn, that's where you're wrong. You'll be crying out my name."

Naruto felt his throat constrict. The way Sasuke said it… It wasn't anything like dirty talk, or a joke. He said it with such caring conviction, fingertips brushing over his cheek, and Naruto suddenly did feel like crying just a little bit.

He put his hands above his head, curling his fingers around the duvet to keep them closed off from the world as Sasuke pushed his t-shirt up. Closing his eyes he inhaled deeply, Sasuke's hands roaming his chest in soothing movements. He felt hairs tickling his stomach as kisses were pressed to his skin, fingers teasingly brushing over his hipbones. His jeans had slid down a bit, and Sasuke made sure to cover all the exposed skin with those light kisses.

Sasuke took his time, moving up and down, sucking on his nipples and biting random places. Naruto's heart picked up speed, pounding a steady rhythm as those skilled hands gripped his hips before sliding inwards to rub him through his pants. He hardened slowly, Sasuke deliberately calm, but once he was straining against his confines Sasuke's mouth moved up to his neck to suck harshly on his pulse, making him groan.

"I didn't get to taste you enough yesterday" Sasuke mumbled, nipping the forming bruise with his teeth, one hand unbuttoning his jeans.

Naruto didn't answer, only raised his hips to let Sasuke ease pants and boxers down. He felt his body tingle, and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a frustrated noise escaping his lips as Sasuke ignored his need in favor of making a trail of saliva along his groin up to his left hipbone.

"You got a tan line."

Sasuke's murmured comment was followed up by that teasing tongue tracing the line across his stomach, fingers running over the insides of his thighs.

"I guess so" Naruto answered, breath hitching when nails suddenly dug into his thighs, forcefully moving them to the sides.

The air was going bad, what with the way they were blocking it from circulating, but Naruto hardly noticed because Sasuke was finally paying attention to his length. It was standing to attention, begging to be noticed, and Naruto shivered when the tip of it was enclosed by a wet mouth. He couldn't help a moan, letting out another louder one as he was allowed to sink deeper into the heat.

"Damn you're so good at this" he gasped when Sasuke changed from slow teasing to business.

Unable not to thrust into the mouth as Sasuke bobbed his head quickly up and down he twisted the covers in his hands, tilting his head back, his breath now heavy puffs of air reflected against the fabric above him. He groaned with pleasure, Sasuke hollowing his cheeks and sucking hard a few times before rubbing his tongue up and down and circling the head.

Naruto's legs jerked inwards thanks to teeth scraping the sensitive flesh. Every time Sasuke swallowed he would tense, and every time long licks were given along his shaft he'd exhale with a shudder. Sasuke's fingers shifted from their light touches to massaging his thighs, thumbs pressing into his muscles. Biting his lip Naruto thrust wildly into Sasuke's mouth, no restraints placed on him as Sasuke let him do as he pleased.

"Oh fuck" he moaned, already close, heat pooling in his lower abdomen.

He pressed the duvet down over his face, the sheets filling his nose with Sasuke's smell. He saw spots dancing in front of his squeezed shut eyes, wondering in passing if they came from the lack of air or the effort of thrusting with his whole body so tense.

Sasuke broke free from him, coughing a little but stroking him steadily with one hand, twisting his grip. Moving upwards Sasuke's mouth closed over a nipple instead, pressing it flat down with his tongue before circling it, alternating with sucking on it. Letting go of the covers with one hand Naruto buried it in dark hair, tightening his hold when he felt Sasuke grind down on him and groan at the friction against the hard bulge in his pants.

"Nnngh, that's it Sasuke, feels so good."

Naruto was panting now, feeling sweat starting to form on his body from the heat. For a few minutes they kept moving like that, Naruto trying in vain to move his hips as Sasuke pushed down on him. Crashing their mouths together Sasuke moaned, tongue sloppily battling Naruto's, smearing the drops of precum over Naruto's length for smoother movements. Forcing Sasuke's mouth harder against his own Naruto stilled as his orgasm hit him, unable to breathe through the pleasure washing through his limbs, coating Sasuke's hand with his release.

Once he came down from his high he blinked, breathing harshly, his mouth now freed. Sasuke was crouched above him, head bent down, his bangs almost reaching Naruto's face. As he lifted his head Naruto combed through his damp hair, smiling a little.

"You need a haircut" he mumbled, and Sasuke frowned.

"I didn't notice" he answered, glancing at the strands of hair hanging down along the sides of his head.

"Sasuke…"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine."

The worry in Naruto's eyes didn't let up though, and he brushed his fingers over Sasuke's cheek.

"We'll get through this" he promised, tugging at the hair on Sasuke's neck.

Nodding Sasuke forced out a smile.

"Shower?" he asked, and Sasuke nodded again, sitting up and bringing the covers with them, fresh air washing over them, the sudden cold making goose bumps spread over Naruto's stomach and arms.

"Let's go" Sasuke said, pulling Naruto up by the hand.

Life moved on every day, and they had to do the same.

No matter how hard it was.

~Line breaker~

"Hey" Itachi greeted Sasuke with as he entered his office the morning after. "Sit down, we have some things to talk about."

"Do I have to? I'm still mad at you. I'll do whatever work needs to be done and then go home."

Itachi shook his head, gesturing towards the chair standing to one side of his desk. Reluctantly Sasuke trudged over, pulling it in front of the desk and sitting down. He wasn't very happy about getting back to work, but that's how a grown-up's life was. If anything it was a momentary distraction, thought he'd rather just spend the day having sex.

"What's that?" he asked, giving the paper Itachi slid towards him over the desk a suspicious look.

"It's your letter of resignation. Well, you have to fill it in first, but…"

"So you're finally firing me" Sasuke guessed, snatching the paper up to read through it, not sure how he felt about that. Mostly surprised.

"I was just thinking you'd take the chance to quit, considering we're selling the company."

"We're doing what?!"

Sasuke had frozen, watching Itachi with disbelief written all over his face. This must be some sick joke, Itachi would never do that!

"I got a good offer yesterday, and as Gaara put it when I saw him last, shit's about to go down. He found evidence in those boxes you helped him get at the house that there's been some major tax evasions going on, and he'll be charging some of the board members with it. Apparently they've still been doing it without me noticing. I figured it'd be easier for all parties involved if we sold it first."

"So we're leaving a sinking ship?" Sasuke asked, still highly doubtful of the plan. "And what about the whole incident with Naruto's parents, didn't he want to get them for that?"

Itachi shrugged.

"The evidence for that is thin, and it might take years. At least with this they'll get some sort of punishment. But no, we're not leaving a sinking ship. It's just that there'll probably be a huge media craze about it, and it's easier if we sell it first, the new owners can fire the board members and start over. The regular employees have nothing to do with it anyway, everyone working on that research program left ages ago."

Sasuke spent a moment mulling Itachi's words over in his mind, feeling it was too early in the morning for this kind of thing.

"Are you quitting as well?" he asked, fiddling with the paper in his hands.

"Yeah. I'd like to do something other than devote my life to running a company."

"Like having a family."

Itachi smiled, nodding once.

"I'm sorry to do this to you now that you finally started taking the job seriously, but…"

"When did you decide on this anyway?"

"Yesterday. Yamato Industries gave another offer."

"You're going to sell it to them?" Sasuke asked with dismay. "Mother's going to throw a fit." His eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god Itachi, she's really going to throw a fit! She'll never let us live this down! And what about the parts she owns? I don't think you can sell it just like that."

"We're just selling our shares and quitting, she can't stop us since we have more than fifty percent of the company. Don't worry about it, I'll talk to her."

"Don't worry don't worry," Sasuke muttered, "That's all you ever say. I just feel like father is going to rise from the dead and haunt us for this."

"You're too old to believe in ghosts, Sasuke" Itachi scolded lightly. "Come on, I know you never wanted to work with this anyway, this is your chance to change careers."

Sasuke frowned, unease filling up his stomach. Sure, he hated being forced into this line of work, having to inherit a company without any choice of his own. On the other hand, this was all he knew about. Would he have to apply for other jobs now? What if nobody wanted to hire him, thanks to all the drama going on with his past.

He closed his eyes and almost hit himself. What was he doing worrying about finding a new job?! With the money from the deal plus the amount he'd already inherited from his father he was set for life. But not working sounded a little boring…

"You're not going to quit working altogether, are you?" he asked, searching his brother's eyes.

"Hmm, no, but I haven't quite decided what to do yet. It's pretty sudden after all."

Sasuke nodded slowly, thinking that he and Naruto were in the same situation now, having no idea what to do in the future. Well, they could always travel the world or something like that.

"This is really weird" he said, glancing down at the paper again. "Does it mean I don't have to look through all those numbers from sales my secretary was talking about?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to work normally for the coming month, until the period of notice is over and the ownership has changed.

Sasuke made a grimace.

"But really, Yamato Industries? Weren't there any better options?"

"Just because their vice president wants to get in your pants it doesn't mean it's a bad company. And you can't deny she's good at her job."

"She's crazy, that's what she is" Sasuke shuddered. He'd learnt early on to never be alone in the same room as her.

"How are Naruto and Yukio?" Itachi changed the subject with, leaning back in his chair seemingly not bothered by anything going on.

"Yukio's fine, Naruto's coping. If there's nothing else you need me for I'd better get to work, seems like my department is in chaos as usual."

Itachi didn't comment as Sasuke stood up and left, he simply stared after his retreating form and winced when he slammed the door behind him. He still wasn't so sure that he was doing the right thing, but he was just so tired of everything his father had put them through. It was time to bury the past.

Still watching the door he blindly reached for his phone as it rang, not surprised when the caller was Gaara.

"Well?"

"We're selling" Itachi sighed, spinning his chair around and looking out through the window instead, the sky a cloudy light grey. "Though I'm pretty sure he'll react more heavily once it sinks in."

"Your decision" Gaara replied, sounding uncaring. "I'll wait a month or so then."

"If you can."

"You owe me dinner and drinks."

"Don't make it sound like you're asking me out, I'm not in the mood."

"And you just killed mine. Any ideas on what you'll be doing once you resign?"

"Hmm, not sure."

"You can always come work with me. I'll teach you how to handle a gun."

"And how to drive?" Itachi's voice was amused, and he smirked to himself.

"Hey, that was once. And admit you were impressed."

"I don't recall such a feeling. How about tomorrow night? Sakura's out, so you can hog my attention all night."

"Wow, I'm honored you have some time to spare for me. Take me to that new seafood place, I heard it's good."

Itachi snorted. Only Gaara could manage to sound so sarcastic and demanding at the same time.

"Fine. I'll call you tomorrow then."

"I'll bring my gun and we can practice if the food turns out to be bad."

"Not something I want to hear from someone supposed to maintain the law."

Gaara only chuckled, ending the call with a 'See you tomorrow'. In all honesty, Itachi was happy for Gaara's company. He enjoyed being with Sakura, and his little brother too, but Gaara was so interesting to banter with.

He quirked his lips. Maybe he should take Gaara up on his offer.

He had a few bones to pick with Akatsuki anyway.

Hmm hmm what do you think, should Itachi become Gaara's partner? I mean, in the working kind of sense, though we're of course not excluding the other possibility:p Next chap we'll sort out Sasuke's and Naruto's future plans! I'm sorry for so little smex once again, I'm thinking I'll do a special smut chapter before we finish, so any ideas? Top/bottom, kinks? Haha or should we just have something really emotional?

I have soooo much planning out to do for the sequel, shit I can't just write it however I feel like it like I've done with this haha. But yeah let's step it up a notch shall we?

Also, as always you people are so awesome and I love talking to you whether it's here or tumblr or facebook or whatever! Hope you're all having a great weekend, I'll be working six days in a row now yay!