Naruto was annoyed. Really annoyed.
The university was holding a last-minute conference this weekend and every grad student was required to attend. Naruto had planned a nice Saturday doing absolutely nothing but relaxing with the babies because his brain was fried from all the school work. Next year he would be starting to teach students and he was looking forward to the next step on being a professor.
Lee and Tenten walked out the room with him, complaining as well. There weren't many students in the grad program but the students and the staff where close because of all the time they spent together. Late nights, tears and early mornings. Did he mention tears? He knew it would be all worth it but sometimes he had his doubts from the amount of work and stress. Lee and Tenten each were interested in different fields of literature, but the trio liked working together.
The weather was relatively warm, and Lee was wearing a green tank top, the matching jacket thrown over his shoulder, "Well, there goes my Saturday night plans." Lee let out a deep sigh.
"Same." Naruto groaned. "Do you know how we have to dress? I stopped listening after knowing my night was gone."
Tenten shrugged, "The usual. No black-tie or something ridiculous thankfully."
"Hell yeah to that."
They parted ways when they reached their cars and Naruto pulled out his phone, ready to vent about the event with Sasuke. He wasn't sure Sasuke would attend after what happened last time with Neji, but he had a feeling the alpha would want to go precisely to keep him safe.
After Naruto mentioned the event to Sasuke and after a big blue-eyed pout he agreed to go with him. It didn't take much convincing, Naruto thought Sasuke mainly contemplated it for amusement. They had said their goodbyes to the babies, with Naruto making sure to stress that they will come back home and not leave them to die.
Naruto checked over Sasuke's business casual outfit. The omega grumbled about how good he looked in black jeans, a pressed maroon button up and a matching black casual blazer. He pretended to pat down his outfit just for the excuse to touch the firm body and Sasuke smirked at Naruto's attempt at 'subtly' scenting him.
Sasuke personally didn't think his outfit was better than Naruto. The omega's tight white chinos were drool worthy and he'd be concerned of others looking at his ass if he wasn't Naruto's date. He was going to make sure tonight that he stayed close by.
When they slipped into Sasuke's SUV, Naruto held his free hand while Sasuke started driving, "Can you believe we're going to the library again, and now things are different between us?"
The brunette smirked "This time, I'm your date."
"Andddd you don't have to tell people you're single", the omega cackled at the memory now.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's laughter, "Of course not, I have you."
"Damn right!" The blonde kissed Sasuke's cheek before looking out the window listening to the tunes playing.
They walked into the library and Naruto saw the staff and few students mingling. They made their way to Lee and Tenten who were in a corner talking, with Sasuke glued to his side. It was endearing to Naruto, but he wasn't going to tell the alpha that. The library looked similar to the night of the event, but it was filled with gorgeous fairy lights cascading everywhere intermingled with gorgeous blue and white flowers. Naruto absolutely loved this place. He didn't know how a public place like this was so beautiful.
"Hey guys." He grinned at Lee and Tenten. It was odd to see them in business casual outfits, since during classes they mainly wore workout clothes. They each spent countless hours training in martial arts outside of university work.
"Hey! You're finally here. We've been standing here so bored." Tenten leaned on the high table and took a bite of some appetizers provided for the event.
"Is that caviar?" Naruto's eyes widened.
"Yes!" Lee excitedly answered, "I don't know why they're serving it. It's so weird but fancy."
Naruto was surprised at the director's choice of snacks, "When is the director getting here?"
"I saw him walking around, so he should start talking soon. Hopefully its over quick."
A few minutes later the grad program director drew everyone's attention and started talking about this next semester's plans and area of study they would focus on. Many of the students would be teaching classes like Naruto or interning with researchers. The director took his time going through the crowd, detailing the members of the audience. When the director saw Naruto and Sasuke, his face lit up.
"Ah! We have an Uchiha here. Please, come say something about the history of your company!"
"Fuck." Sasuke let out a nervous murmur and Naruto laughed. He loved that even though Sasuke drew so much attention, he loathed it. He hated talking about himself or speaking in front of people, even though he was perfectly good at it when it was needed. He oozed confidence even when he didn't want to be there.
"Go on babe. I'll be here in the front." The blonde grinned and gently nudged him to where the director was standing.
Sasuke stared into his eyes and walked forward, "For you." He took his place next to the director, shaking the director's hand. He cleared his throat and looked at his omega, "I want to thank my gorgeous boyfriend for inviting me to this event. The last time we were here, things were different. I was desperate to find him and constantly asked for advice from my mom."
A couple laughs broke out and Naruto urged him to get to the company part. He was starting to feel shy. Sasuke was shamelessly speaking about his blundering efforts to get Naruto's attention.
"And then I got him to be my friend and the rest went from there. Naruto, you have been the exception to everything I never thought I cared about. I never cared about relationships or what people thought of me. I was just wandering through life aimlessly and then I met you and I started questioning everything. I've loved you in ways I'd never thought possible. I didn't know the human body could feel all the things you make me feel. The peace and the utter happiness. I'm terrified of the thought that one day it might not be there. I can't…" His voice cracked slightly and at this point he couldn't be self-conscious. Not when he saw Naruto's shocked and confused face with watery eyes. He made his way towards him and stared into his eyes deeply before getting down on one knee. He pulled out the velvet box he'd bought the same month Naruto agreed to date him. Because he knew even then.
Naruto was bawling, he couldn't hide it or even feel mortified about it. What was going on? His heart was hammering in his chest from a mix of emotions.
"Please, Naruto, please give me the absolute honor to be the fucking luckiest guy in this universe, to have you as his spouse and mate?" Sasuke's intense gaze never wavered but he could see the nerves in those onyx eyes at being so vulnerable in front of Naruto. The world faded and it was only them at this moment.
"You're so stupid." Sasuke would've been hurt, but he could see his beautiful smile through his tears. "You didn't even have to… yes. Of course, yes." Naruto threw his arms around him and cried into his chest. He felt so lucky. He didn't think he'd ever be this…happy. But Sasuke had always just given and given and when he felt there was nothing more that he could possibly give him, Sasuke would give more. He was so utterly lucky and in awe at how much adoration the alpha gave him. He was different than the man he met during that flight and he could see and acknowledge the changes he'd gone through.
Naruto felt so many things at once, his mind and heart couldn't wrap its mind that this was happening.
That's when he heard the cheers and another sob broke through because he could see both of their families peeking, scattered on each floor. They must have been hiding and now they were taking pictures from every angle, calling out to them and holding sparklers. He could see his parents, Iruka and Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Gaara, and practically the whole Uchiha family. Shisui and Obito threw a banner over the railing that read 'Naruto and Sasuke sitting on a tree… e.n.g.a.g.e.d!' Reo and Riku were throwing blue and white flower petals, making it rain over the floor. Sasuke couldn't have made this any more perfect in Naruto's eyes.
Naruto looked at Sasuke, crystal eyes slightly rimmed pink from crying, "This was a fake conference wasn't it?"
Sasuke grinned and held up Naruto's hand adorning the engagement ring, "Yes. I didn't know how else to get you here without being suspicious."
"It definitely worked." He giggled at Sasuke kissing his ring finger tenderly. The omega hadn't even had a chance to detail the ring, too overwhelmed with everything going on.
"Do you like it?" It was rare to hear Sasuke speak with such a vulnerable tone.
Naruto looked at the intricately designed 2 carat (holy shit) antique engagement ring. The alpha knew him so damn well. Between the location and the ring, he just knew what Naruto loved.
Their families joined in and started their congratulations and asking to see the ring. By the end of all bone crushing hugs and tears, Naruto felt he was covered in everyone's tears and his back sore. He really hoped the hugs were done for now.
Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair with affection, "You have no idea how long my brother has been carrying that ring."
Sasuke scowled trying to hide his mortification, "Itachi!" Naruto didn't have to know that detail.
"Since when?"
Itachi threw Sasuke an evil smirk, ready to embarrass the shit out of his baby brother, "First month you agreed to date."
Naruto's mouth dropped and turned to Sasuke with wide eyes. The brunette was blushing. Blushing. He knew Sasuke had been courting him, but this was different. This meant Sasuke had known for a while that he wanted to be with him. Sasuke loved him way before he'd said those words to him.
Minato smiled, "When he asked me for permission a few weeks ago, I asked him if it wasn't too early. And he said he knew from the beginning."
"You asked my dad for permission?!"
Sasuke scoffed, "Of course I did." He held Naruto by the waist and kissed the crown of his head.
"So!" Tsunade clapped for their attention, she wanted to get to the juicy details, "Long engagement? Short?"
Sasuke looked into sapphire eyes, "I'd like short, if you're okay with it?"
Naruto nodded quickly, a watery smile on his face, "I definitely am, but why?"
Sasuke cupped his cheek, "I've met my soulmate, why would I want to wait longer?"
A round of 'awww' and 'that's fucking cheesy' rang around the room.
Naruto grabbed his face and kissed him like his life depended on it, not caring that everyone could see him trying to suck Sasuke's tongue. After some wolf-whistles, Naruto whispered, "Hey Sas?"
"Hm?"
He made a show to check Sasuke's body out slowly, "Tonight I get to sleep with my fiancé."
Sasuke murmured in his ear, "Don't say that baby, I'm going to want to whisk you away early."
Naruto pouted before getting a wicked idea, "How about we sneak away to an upper floor for a bit."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his suggestion, "That we can do."
Fugaku saw through their plan and swiftly grabbed Sasuke by the back of his shirt, "Nope." He held his son in a firm grip. He could understand the excitement, he remembered when he first got engaged to Mikoto. He'd been insatiable. But this was a special moment and they'd made plans. They could celebrate later tonight.
"Let's go, we have a celebration to get to!" Kushina clapped with enthusiasm and wrapped her arm around Mikoto's.
Many of the guests that were in on the scheme started filtering out after congratulating the couple but without the bone crushing hugs.
Lee shook Sasuke's hand before he and Tenten left, "It was a pleasure helping you Sasuke. I hope we get to meet again."
"Likewise. Have a good night you two." Sasuke shook Tenten's hand as well, who had a fucking firm grip in his opinion.
"Bye Naru!" Tenten kissed Naruto's cheek before they headed out of the library. They'd come prepared and had their clothes packed. Now that the night ended, they still had enough time to get some training in.
Naruto waved his friends off then questioned to the group, "Where are we going now?"
"We rented a restaurant." Madara sternly answered with his arms crossed.
"Will we see Lightweight Madara?" Tsunade snickered at Madara's horrified face. The night had just started, and she had a whole bag full of 'shit on Madara' comments ready.
"How did you hear about that name?"
Jiraiya held his phone and showed screenshots from the Uchiha group chat that were sent to him. Madara felt ultimate betrayal. It really would be your own family. He learned that statement from Deidara and it seemed fit in this moment. Though he still struggled to 100% understand what it meant.
The elder Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the subtle challenge, "I will show you how much Uchiha men can drink."
"Oh shit, Lightweight Madara will be competing for his name to be changed." Shisui held one of the burnt-out sparklers as a microphone.
Minato took a moment to grab his son by the shoulder and kissed his forehead, "I'm proud of you son."
Naruto's eyes watered at his father's words, "But I didn't do anything." It wasn't the first time he'd ever heard those words. His parents always made a point to tell him how much they loved and were proud of him. But in this moment, he didn't really feel like he did anything…
Minato laughed, "You definitely have. You've accomplished so much in your life. You've brought joy to all the people here and now it's our turn to pamper you."
The omega gave his dad a watery smile (he was full of those tonight). After everything he'd gone through, it all led to this. He drove to the restaurant with his parents, wanting to spend a bit more time with them. The rode in the backseat with his mom, letting her pet his hair as he cried from happiness. Kushina made sure he looked presentable by the time they pulled up to the location.
The restaurant looked packed with all the guests. The restaurant had managed to make the tables and chairs created a large oval, so everyone had a view of each other and were able to speak comfortably. The waiters started bringing drinks and snacks for Riku and Reo.
"I will show you how it's done old man." Tsunade held a glass of sake before throwing it back, then poured three more and threw those back.
Deidara rolled his eyes from the competition happening a few chairs down, "So does this mean we can make a new group chat for everyone?"
Itachi groaned, "My phone is going to blow up from all the messages." He constantly needed to keep his phone charged with just the other group chats. A new one with these many people would be worse.
Obito scoffed, "No one needs you in it. You're lame." Obito held out his hand for Shisui to high-five. Itachi really did walk into that one.
Itachi's eyes narrowed at his cousins, "I am the genius of the family."
"I don't know who decided that when your dumbass was convinced you were some elite spy and fell down the roof trying to be 'sneaky'." It was Shisui's turn to hold his hand out to Obito.
"I don't know why we listened to Madara and Izuna." Sasuke rubbed his forehead, which made Naruto giggle. He'd seen some of the home movies and both Madara and Izuna appeared to be the culprits.
Obito sighed in disappointment, "Because we used to think they were cool."
Izuna's eye twitched, "Used to?"
A tiny hand raised in the air and Reo cheered Izuna on, "I still think you're cool!"
The longhaired blonde flipped his hair and pursed his lips, "He doesn't know better yet."
"Jiraiya also gave bullshit stories to Naruto." Kakashi piped in, wanting to throw in some juicy gossip as well.
A gasp came from Jiraiya, "You wound me."
Tsunade smacked the white-haired man's arm and pointed to Naruto, "He was really talkative. Brat wouldn't shut up. So Jiraiya convinced him if he stayed quiet and concentrated he would be able to talk to frogs."
"Poor thing refused to talk for days."
Naruto squawked at his dad's word's. He wasn't ready for his embarrassing stories to come out. He preferred for the Uchiha's to have the floor for the next few years.
Sasuke smirked, "Did it work?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed at Sasuke's smug face, "Of course not."
"Shame."
"Soooo – " Deidara swirled his drink, " – who's going to be the best man?"
The Uchiha men went eerily silent as they stared at Sasuke with stoic faces. Naruto found it creepy how all of their faces went blank in waves throughout the room.
"I've decided all of you will compete for the spot."
Obito jumped up, startling half of the guests, "Helllll yeah!"
"I accept the challenge." Itachi was positive he would win this. He carried and wiped Sasuke's ass for the first few years of his life. And let Sasuke sleep in his bed for years. He deserved this position.
"As do I." Madara spoke firmly drawing horrified looks from the rest.
"Why?" Fugaku asked at the elder Uchiha in shock.
"I would like to be a best man before I pass away."
"Ha! Can't guilt trip us old man. You still have plenty of years." Shisui cackled at Madara's attempt.
"One day it will work."
Gaara changed the subject, a curious question in mind, "You said you wanted a short engagement. Any month in mind?"
"December! I want a winter wedding." Naruto looked at Sasuke to see if he agreed and the alpha smiled. A winter wedding sounded perfect.
Kushina pulled out her phone and made a note on her calendar, adding Mikoto and Deidara to it. "We got six months."
Deidara whistled, remembering all the shit he had to think of for his wedding, "Honeymoon. Venue. Flowers. Good thing there's a shit load of us."
"You have a lot of details to go through, but we'll be there with you sweetheart." Mikoto gave Naruto a sweet smile, trying to not overwhelm him so soon with all the details.
"Can I carry the rings and Riku the flowers?"
Riku had no idea what they were talking about but hearing his name from Reo and flowers excited the toddler. He waved his pacifier around in excitement, almost smacking his dad in the face. Though Itachi was used to it at this point after Reo. The kid had headbutted him, vomited on him, peed on him, and so fucking much more.
"Of course!"
"Any suggestions for bachelor parties?"
Sasuke tensed at Izuna's question and the thought of being separated from the omega for such an event. He didn't want strangers touching or surrounding his omega and he had a feeling Naruto would have the exact same reluctance.
"What about a joint one?" Gaara suggested, it was the perfect solution in his mind. He had no idea the chaos that his suggestion would bring at this moment in time.
"Joint?!" Deidara marveled at the idea –
But Itachi groaned, "It's going to be a shitshow."
"I'm so down." Tsunade raised a glass, she was always ready to party.
Madara quickly followed, "I am too." Like hell was he going to be left behind. Specially by Tsunade and Jiraiya!
"Is this some sort of weird competition between you two now?" Fugaku grumbled and Mikoto giggled at their antics.
"I think so." Iruka laughed, not seeing Tsunade so fired up in a while. Usually only Jiraiya competed with her. Now there were new people joining in.
The main dishes were brought, and the chatter quieted down a bit as everyone stuffed their faces, hungrier than they expected. Deidara took the opportunity while everyone was eating to walk around the table, gathering the contact information from all the new members to add them to the group chat. It took him a little while to think of the perfect nicknames, but he was happy with the end results.
Deidara U. [Da bomb] has created a new group: The Fam Fam
The Fam Fam
Shisui U. [Curly] has been added to The Fam Fam
Obito U. [Tobi] has been added to The Fam Fam
Sasuke U. [Ducky] has been added to The Fam Fam
Naruto U. [Kyutie] has been added to The Fam Fam
Gaara S. [Sandy] has been added to The Fam Fam
Mikoto U. [Boss Mom] has been added to The Fam Fam
Fugaku U. [Chief F] has been added to The Fam Fam
Madara U. [Lightweight Madara] has been added to The Fam Fam
Itachi U. [Cutie Pattootie] has been added to The Fam Fam
Tsunade S. [Lady Luck] has been added to The Fam Fam
Jiraiya S. [Sage] has been added to The Fam Fam
Kushina N. [Hottie] has been added to The Fam Fam
Minato N. [Flashy] has been added to The Fam Fam
Kakashi H. [Copy Dog] has been added to The Fam Fam
Iruka U. [Iru. Sweetie] has been added to The Fam Fam
Izuna U. [Mad. Bro.] has been added to The Fam Fam
"I love my name!" Kushina swooned at the phone notification.
Itachi sighed, "Why is my name still Cutie Pattootie?"
Deidara leaned his head on the alpha's shoulder, "Because you're a cutie baby. You gave me cute babies."
"I'm not cute." Reo narrowed his eyes.
"Of course not. You're a man." Izuna patted the young boy's back in pride.
"Don't give him any ideas." Deidara hissed at Izuna. Him and Madara always got these ideas into Reo's head that would lead to destruction. Destruction that he would have to clean up.
As the night went on, Naruto held Sasuke's hand and swooned at the smile plastered on Sasuke's face. Sasuke didn't smile like that around others. That smile was reserved for only the people at the table and Naruto knew that. He'd been with Sasuke for a couple months at this point and he felt he knew so much about the alpha. Everything he needed was there in front of him. The only ones missing were Tomato and Noodle, but well…they couldn't be there for obvious reasons.