I'll take you way back - countless centuries.
Don't you remember that you were meant to be my Queen of Hearts...

Meant to be my Love.

Through all of my lives, I never thought I'd wait so long for you.
The timing is right, the stars are aligned-

Bzzzt... B-Bzzzt... B-Bzzzt

Naruto's phone, left discarded and lonely on the bedside table next to his ear, vibrated with a jarring buzzing noise.

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

Sasuke groaned, reluctantly cupping both of Naruto's cheeks and pushing his face away from his own, frowning.

"How many friends do you have?" He asked, irritated as he directed his glare to the offending device. They were both laying chest to chest on Naruto's bed, one on top of the other separated only by the fabric of their clothing and had, until a moment ago, been sealing their new relationship with a heated kiss.

"Heh... I guess everyone's seen it on Facebook..." Naruto laughed nervously, then reached over to his phone and turned it off, wincing at the numerous missed calls from Sakura and countless texts from his friends at the theatre. He breathed a sigh of relief, as his ears were given a rest. "Now then..." He smirked, running his right hand through Sasuke's hair and letting it rest by his ear to gently cup the side of his head, bringing his head back down to continue kissing his boyfriend - his fingers tingling with excitement and happiness at the new word - when a hand was pressed against his lips, stopping him.

"Everyone?" Sasuke asked, looking quite horrified at the thought.

"Yes... That's how Facebook works. I have pretty much everyone at the theatre on my friends list... shit... I guess I didn't really think about that... Does it bother you?"

"Yeah, just a little bit!" Sasuke hissed, ignoring the fact that he had forgotten about it too - of course everyone would see it. "Not the fact that it says this," he gestured vaguely between them "is a relationship; but the fact that neither of us are out..." he said, putting more emphasis on the last word.

Naruto was silent for a moment or two, before his eyes widened with the realisation. "Shit, shit!" He had forgotten about that little detail. It hadn't even crossed his mind when he came up with the last minute plan, and his mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution. "I... I could say it was a joke and take it down?"

"This will probably get back to my parents..." Sasuke mumbled, initially ignoring the question but then looking away thoughtfully. "Yeah... Let's take it down..." He sighed, grabbing his own phone next to Naruto's pillow, to get rid of the relationship status on his profile.

"This sucks... It feels like I'm deleting what just happened." Naruto pouted as he sat up and grabbed his phone, tapping away at it and posting a made up explanation while he practically straddled his boyfriend. He blushed at the thought, his actions very much contrary to what he had just typed out.

"Well, we both know you're not... These things have to be done a certain way..." Sasuke said slowly, putting his phone back down.

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto sighed, putting his phone down too and gently shifting off of Sasuke, lying on his side to face the other and when Sasuke turned on to his side too, Naruto wrapped his free arm around Sasuke's middle. "Mmm... We can just stay in our own little bubble for a bit." He hummed, gently pressing their foreheads together.

"Of course..." Sasuke said softly, reaching up to run a hand through Naruto's currently messy hair, affectionate yet hesitant - this was all still new to him, and he was still calming down from how panicked he had got thinking everyone knew about it. It was also a soothing gesture for himself.

That night, Sasuke fell asleep wrapped up in Naruto's arms, his head pressed up against Naruto's warm chest - the steady heartbeat calming him. It was the safest he'd felt in a long time.

A week and a half (and many make-out sessions) later, and it was the last Sunday before Christmas - and the day of their final performance. On this particular day, Naruto was walking down the street on his way to Yamato's therapy with a spring in his step, humming Christmas songs as he went. The bruises on his face had faded and were almost gone, and the cuts were slowly (but surely) healing.

"Naruto!" He heard someone shout - a woman's voice - and he looked around for who had called him, pulling one headphone out his ear. Eventually, he spotted a vaguely familiar redhead walking towards him.

"Hello! Karin, isn't it?" He asked when she was within earshot, turning off his Christmas music and putting away his headphones to give her his full attention.

"Yeah, the other Uzumaki." She smiled. Naruto grinned. "What are the chances, hmm?" She laughed, and continued before Naruto had a chance to respond. "So, how did you find your first session with Oro?" She asked, moving off to the side to get out of the way of the busy city commuters. Naruto followed her.

"Oh, yeah... It went, um, well! Definitely... Different. I actually can't stop though, Karin, I'm on my way to an appointment."

"Oh right, okay..." She said, looking quite conflicted as she thought what to say next. "Well, I was actually thinking it might be cool for us to talk, sometime - I feel like our meeting was a sign... And I don't know what you think, but I always follow the signs." She smiled.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Naruto grinned, and wondered to himself if seeing Orochimaru for any length of time would make him think like Karin, too. "We could meet at the coffee shop around the corner later on?" He suggested.

"Alright, about six?"

"Sounds good." Naruto nodded with a smile, walking backwards as he gave her a "see you later!" with a grin and a wave as he continued on to Yamato's.

"So, how are you doing letting that mask go, Naruto - any progress?" Yamato asked a short while later.

"Yeah, alright I think..." He said, shifting in his chair.

"Alright? Can you give me an example?"

"Umm, well..." He looked back at Yamato, and gave him a genuine, bright grin. "I was finally a bit less guarded with Sasuke, and I've been asking him around a bit more for some company - like you had suggested!"

"That's great!" Yamato smiled. "So, did you notice any changes? Did it feel good to let go of that false happy mask?"

"Yeah, well... He's kind of my boyfriend as of last week, so, in that sense it changed things! And, yeah, it felt really good." Naruto said as he released a sigh, feeling happy and relieved all over again. Yamato smiled, and restrained himself from grinning at the positive result of his help. It reminded him why he chose this line of work.

"Good. See, imagine how many more things could change if you keep this up."

"Yeah - Actually, I met someone at Viola Ophidia with the same surname as me. I'll be meeting her later on. She believes we were meant to meet for a reason and wants to chat more over coffee. Perhaps we're very distantly related... That could be a good opportunity to relax a bit more?"

"Yes, it certainly seems so." Yamato said slowly, processing the new information. "I would usually say that's unlikely you're related, but Uzumaki is such an unusual and rare surname these days that it's definitely possible." He said, nodding as he spoke. The rest of their session continued as usual - reviewing his progress and how best to move forward - and he finally left the building at about five forty-five in the evening. 'Good, just enough time to get myself a hot chocolate before Karin arrives.' Naruto thought, as he set off for the nearest coffee shop.

"So, I went home and got some stuff after we bumped into each other earlier..." Karin said after a few minutes of uncomfortable small talk, and pulled her bag up on to the table with a dull thump. "And I think you might find this interesting, Naruto." She said, and out of her bag she pulled out a folded up piece of paper, placed it down on the table, and slid it across towards Naruto.

"Hmm?" Naruto put down his large mug of hot chocolate, a curious frown on his face as he picked up the sheet of paper and unfolded it. "What's this?" He asked, examining it as she answered him.

"It's my family tree, after we met a few weeks ago I was curious and did some research - like I said, I'd not met another Uzumaki for a long time... Well, I'll just let you look and find out for yourself." Karin explained with a smile, and Naruto just nodded slowly as he looked back down at the diagram.

At first glance, Naruto noticed something strange; the family tree started quite bare, expanding about three hundred years ago and then slowly disappearing again towards the bottom... 400 years of Uzumaki's, leading to-

"No fucking way..."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said."

"You're my cousin?!"

"Yeah... My aunt and uncle - Kushina and Minato - were your birth parents."

"No way..." Naruto said, almost speechless yet happy that he finally knew their names. He had wondered if he and Karin might be distantly related, but he hadn't actually expected them to be - and definitely not in this way. "Wow, and look, there was another Naruto Uzumaki 400 years ago." He smiled, pointing to the top of the sheet.

"Yep! See, here's one good reason why you should always follow the signs!" She joked.

"Yeah..." Naruto trailed off, and looked back at their family tree. "Wow... So according to this, you're a few years older than me, do you maybe-"

"Yeah, I remember them, do you?" She asked, already suspecting the answer.

"No." He shook his head sadly and looked back up, then took another sip of his hot chocolate. "I don't remember them."

"Well, there's something I've been wanting to ask you since I found out, and a few things I want to tell you." Karin said, looking around at the almost empty coffee shop to make sure they wouldn't be disturbed, or that nobody was listening in. It was an independent coffee shop; large warm and cosy with little nooks, and plants lining the walls on shelves - some hanging from the ceiling - and it was dimly lit, with the faint smell of a patchouli scented incense stick burning somewhere nearby. They were sat in two large plush chairs in a small alcove, well out of ear shot of any other customers, or even staff. Once Karin felt assured that this would be a private conversation, she continued. "Let's start with; do you know anything about them, anything at all?"

"Hmm... I only know what I've been told by others over the years, so it might not even be true. All I know is a lot of people didn't like them. Some gang I think, because I noticed a lot of them wear the same symbol on their clothes." Naruto explained. "And I learned recently that my dad's surname was actually Namikaze, but I suppose they were never married when I was born, and I got the Uzumaki name? And then, the only other thing I know is he and my mum got together, he left the gang, and... They weren't too happy about it."

"Okay... So, you know one small side of the story, then..." She said quietly with a frown, as she tried to work out how best to continue. Naruto shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "I don't know what you've been told about them over the years, but your dad, he..." She sighed, sadly. "I'm sorry you probably had to grow up thinking they were bad people, Naruto, but trust me; they really, really weren't." She gave him a sad smile.

"Oh... That's a relief..." Naruto sighed, and Karin nodded before before continuing.

"I knew nothing about it at the time, but before my mother's passing when I was nineteen, she told me everything I didn't know about my aunt, uncle, and you." She paused, and took a sip of her tea. "Your mum and dad knew each other from a young age, and they were teenage sweethearts... But then your dad had unfortunately grown up in a bad neighbourhood, and in their eyes he was talented - he was fast and silent, perfect for stealing things, and the gang who's territory he lived in trapped him in debt somehow so he couldn't leave them... I don't know the exact details, but he was drafted in to the gang - Senchi - and they didn't approve of his relationship with your mother for reasons nobody but they, and your dad, knew. Not even your mum had the full details..." She paused, took another sip of her tea, sighed, and then continued.

"So... Your mum soon found out she was pregnant with you, and Uncle Minato left the group when they began to demand he leave you both, and threatened your's and your mother's lives if he didn't." She said quietly, and Naruto took a sharp intake of breath. "They left the city and hid their identity, and it was all quiet for a while until you were almost three years old... When they..." She trailed off, a pained expression on her face. Naruto reached forwards, and placed a comforting and warm hand on her shaking one. She looked up in to his equally warm and comforting face, and felt the strength to continue - Naruto didn't remove his hand as she continued to talk.

"You were all on the way to visit me and my mum in the city for the first time in years, after a long time of no contact in order to keep your location secret. I don't know why; maybe they thought it was safer after almost four years of laying low but, unfortunately, they never made it... Not long after they reached the city, they got hit." She took a deep breath, needing a few moments to compose herself before she continued. "At a crossroads just around the corner from here, they were hit by a truck, killing them instantly. Luckily you were in the back and survived with only minimal injuries, miraculously." She explained, and Naruto slowly lifted his free hand up to trace one of the faint scars that were present on his cheeks.

"It was a targeted attack organised by Senchi, so because of this the authorities felt it best not to leave you with existing family in case that put us in danger. I was about ten years old, it was... A horrible night, to say the least." She said, breathing a sigh of relief at finally being able to talk about it. "So, I always knew I had a cousin out there somewhere, but I had never met you and didn't even know your name. I'm surprised you kept the surname... That must have been overlooked, somehow..."

"This..." Naruto began slowly, not quite sure what to say or how to process what he had heard. "This is too much..." he eventually said quietly, pulling his hand away from hers and sinking back in to his chair, not looking at her as certain pieces of his memories began to quickly fall in to place at a painfully alarming rate. It was like his life was finally making sense.

"I understand. I'm really sorry, Naruto..."

"I have to go, I-I'll see you again..." He mumbled, standing up and starting to leave, his hot chocolate now long forgotten. "I need to see someone..."

"Wait-" Karin said, reaching out and holding on to Naruto's wrist with one hand, and pulling out a small piece of paper from her bag with the other. "Please - here's my number. If you ever want to talk, I'm only a phone call away." She said, and Naruto took the slip of paper she gave him without another word, then left her alone.

Ding!

The elevator bell chimed and the automatic doors slid open, indicating that he had arrived at Sasuke's floor. It was a private floor, because it was taken up almost entirely by Sasuke's apartment - Sasuke had to buzz Naruto up there in his private elevator from the floor below; it was the only possible way to reach Sasuke's floor without a resident's key card. Naruto stepped out of the elevator and walked down the bright hall in a daze, then gave one solitary, loud knock on the door when he finally got there.

"Hey, you're early for a change." Sasuke said as he opened the door, a small smile playing on his lips - a smile that quickly fell when he saw the uncharacteristically lost and vulnerable expression on Naruto's face. "Naruto..." He said, and placed a hand on the other's shoulder to gently guide him inside. He didn't ask for an explanation, instead deciding to let Naruto be the first to talk.

"Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled, as he sat down on a chair at the kitchen counter. Sasuke circled round in to the kitchen, so he could face his boyfriend. "Something really weird just happened."

"Oh?" Sasuke said, not sure what else to say. He began to quietly make Naruto a hot chocolate, just the way he liked it; plenty of cream and sugar and little marshmallows on top. Naruto often invited Sasuke in to his home after rehearsals and performances - too many times to count - during the weeks Sasuke drove, and Sasuke had quickly learned hot chocolate was Naruto's hot drink of choice. Sasuke had secretly bought a tub of instant hot chocolate, whipped cream, and a bag of little marshmallows - just in case the situation to use them ever presented itself.

"I found out why my parents are dead." He said, not knowing how else to bring it up. Sasuke stopped, and the little spoon slipped out of his grip and on to the marble counter top with a clatter. His jaw dropped.

"O-oh..." He repeated. "... How?"

"Car crash... Intentional..."

"They intentionally crashed their car?" Sasuke asked, quietly and softly.

"No, somebody else hit them on purpose, I was the only one to survive."

"Oh, Naruto..." Sasuke said, still not knowing what to say. The distant sounds of traffic outside drifted in through the open kitchen window, uncomfortably cutting through the tense atmosphere until Naruto finally spoke up again.

"It was a gang called Senchi that did it, apparently." He said, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered the name; it was the one that sandy-blonde haired police woman had used, to refer to the men who had beaten Naruto in the park. Sasuke's eyes quickly narrowed, and he continued making Naruto's drink. "I also have a cousin." Naruto added, a very faint smile beginning to creep in. Sasuke dropped the spoon again, watching as it sank in to the hot drink and disappeared before he looked up at Naruto.

"That's ... a lot." Sasuke said, suddenly feeling stupid for making the hot chocolate, as if it could help.

"Yeah, and we have to get up tonight and perform that show, like everything's normal..." Naruto trailed off, looking worried. Sasuke gave up on the hot chocolate, and came back round to the other side of the counter to sit on the chair next to Naruto. Naruto spun around in the chair so they faced each other, and Sasuke reached forwards to take Naruto's hands in to his own, and looked him in the eye.

"Naruto." He said, commanding his attention. Naruto looked up from their hands, and their eyes connected. "You always say the show goes on no matter what, right? I know you're strong enough to get through it. It's the last show tonight, let's just focus on getting to the curtain call, and then you can stay here tonight. I'm here for you."

"Really?" Naruto asked, his eyes starting to water.

"Yeah. It's what partners are for..." He smiled softly. "If this is going to work between us, I've got to make you a priority, and you me." He said, already beginning to think of his parent's failed marriage. He had decided to commit to this between them, and he didn't plan on going back on his word. "I'm all in."

All evening during the last performance, Sasuke and Naruto found it extremely difficult to avoid invasive questions and ignore the knowing looks directed at them. Sasuke was quietly seething to himself, cursing them all for not minding their own business and giving him a chance to comfort his boyfriend in his time of need, and Naruto tried his best to act like everything was fine. Throughout the last week and a half since the Facebook incident, everyone had been watching them like hawks, or hanging around like vultures waiting to pick at them, or asking them inappropriate questions. Tonight was no exception, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief when the curtains finally closed on this show for the last time.

"Speech!" Someone shouted out when they had all congregated in the green room, congratulating and hugging each other. Naruto groaned, and looked around for Sasuke as Sakura began to read out the speech she had prepared for them all, addressing each cast member one by one. Naruto checked to see if anyone was watching him, and left to go and look for Sasuke when he was completely sure nobody would notice he had left. He didn't have to look for long, and found Sasuke in the men's dressing room getting out of his Romeo costume.

"Hey, found you." He said with a smile, and Sasuke smiled back, his leg half out of his tight trousers.

"Let's get changed and get the hell out of here." Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded. Naruto was halfway out of his Nurse's costume - hooped skirt halfway over his head with Sasuke's help (or rather, his attempt at helping) when Lee poked his head in to the dressing room.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Naruto!" He shouted, covering his eyes as Naruto moved some of the fabric aside to peer out of the skirt at their intruder. "S-Sakura is just up to your part in the speech, and asked me to find you." He said, and before Sasuke had a chance to rearrange the skirt and save Naruto's dignity, three other cast members arrived, quickly followed by more. Someone at the back wolf-whistled, and they all started to murmur loudly to each other about the provocative situation they had found the pair in.

"Get the hell out!" Sasuke shouted, and everyone fell silent. Naruto finally got his skirt back down, and avoided looking at anyone.

"Alright, jerk." Kiba was the first to speak up again before leaving, almost everyone else following until just Sakura was left - a curious frown on her face as she lingered for a moment looking back and forth between the two, before she also left. Sasuke sighed.

Ten minutes and a lot of fighting with fabric later, Naruto and Sasuke were both changed and heading for the back door, as everyone else was still enjoying the after show pre-Christmas party feast in the green room. Sasuke was about to open the door, when a small cough stopped him. Naruto turned around to see Sakura standing there, next to a pile of discarded props that hadn't been thrown out yet.

"You two aren't staying for the Christmas party?" Sakura asked, looking quite upset by that fact.

"Uh, no..." Naruto said apologetically, looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke drove tonight, and I couldn't convince him to stay!" He lied, refusing to look Sakura in the eye. Part of him regretted that they weren't staying, as he normally loved a party like this - in fact, they had all been talking about it for weeks; especially Naruto.

It was going to be a joint after show and member's Christmas party, so it was going to be busy. There was going to be a secret santa, a raffle, and drinking games - back at the beginning of rehearsals, Naruto had even planned on asking Sakura for a kiss beneath the mistletoe. But a lot of things had changed since then, and all Naruto wanted to do now more than anything was to go back to Sasuke's apartment, curl up under a blanket with his boyfriend, and not think for a while.

"That's a shame..." Sakura said, shuffling from one foot to the other and looking like she had more to say. "But, it's not goodbye at least - I mean, you'll both be back here again in a couple of weeks for the preparations on the next show no doubt!" She smiled.

"Of course!" Naruto grinned. Sakura smiled back.

"Here, you didn't get to hear the speech before..." Sakura said, handing the piece of paper to Naruto. "Make sure you both read it! Happy Christmas, and if I don't see you both before - Happy New Year!"

"Ah, you too, Sakura." He smiled, genuinely this time, and she gave them both a wave before running off to join the others.

"You think she knew?" Naruto asked a few moments later, as they got in to Sasuke's car.

"Not a clue." Sasuke said, starting the car. "Never been able to understand women." He said, and Naruto finally laughed for the first time that evening.

AN: Thanks for reading and sticking with this story 3 I appreciate and see it all, the favourites, follows, reviews; thank you! As I said, this story is unfolding and becoming something I never imagined at the start and I love it - feel a bit like I'm on this ride with the characters and you my lovely reader :) suggested to accompany this chapter; Past Lives by BØRNS - the lyrics are so perfect, it gave me all the feels c':

PS; I don't think the Senchi will be explained much in this story as they're quite secretive, naturally, so I'll let you know here if you're interested! The name is a mixture of Senju and Uchiha; two old clans they were inspired by from which two prominent members founded Konoha (as you probably know!) 400 years ago in the mythical 'age of shinobi' (that nobody believes was real, and instead they believe most stories from that time are just myth and legend). They use the old Uchiha clan symbol (which is not used by the Uchiha family anymore - there aren't any clans and therefore no clan symbols) to appear powerful. Naruto recognised it when he saw it, because he'd seen it in his dreams where he glimpsed his past life with Sasuke (the life we all know about!)