Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!

Summary: Sasuke is tired. Sasuke is hungry. Sasuke is...well, hunting, now. Vampire AU, SNS, will be explicit. Two years later...it's done! New chapter will be up every day until the fic is finished!

A/N: I have an earlier update for you all today, friends! Consider it an absolutely overwhelming thank you at the amazing comments I haven't been able to get to! You are all so incredibly kind!

Bite Me

Chapter 36: Future

It blurred together. Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi—Naruto breathed them in and reached himself out, felt it as they awoke and felt it as they fell asleep. This power was overwhelming, it boomed through him and he followed it—accepted it as his guide and watched for where it would lead him next. There was a part of him that knew exactly what this was, knew exactly what to do to—

And so he let it lead him.

Warm. Strong. He knew he couldn't control it, but he could let it go—the seals drained the something from him, and Naruto coaxed it into letting go of him. Just let it go. Let it go. Let it…

"That's it," Tsunade said, and Naruto opened his dizzy, blurred eyes. "That's three. He'll sleep it off from here. Jiraiya, can you—"

Naruto swayed and then knelt, breathing in.

"I've got him," he heard Jiraiya say, and he blinked a few times to let his other senses come back to him. The coolness of the room, the humming of the furnace—the dust under his feet, the ink on his skin. Itachi had already been pulled to the second makeshift mattress, sleeping away the rest of it all, just like his parents.

Naruto breathed in again.

It was exhausting. It pushed him and pulled him and he, even now, didn't really know what was going on, but he could do one more. He wasn't tired enough yet. Not yet, not until Sasuke was done—he pressed a hand to the floor and pushed himself up—

"Stop," Sasuke said quietly, pushing him back down. Naruto looked up at him and felt Sasuke boom like fire across his skin—Naruto breathed in and it was hot, it was steam, it felt like an explosion—

"We'll continue. Or later," he said, and his voice was distant. "Naruto needs to rest."

"No!" Naruto said, "I'm—"

"You do need rest," Tsunade pointed out. "At least some water. Jiraiya—"

"But—"

"Naruto," his dad started, "you—"

"I need a break," Jiraiya grumbled, and Naruto's protests trailed off. "You can re-enter that state. Tonight, even. But let's just—breathe for a sec. We shoulda breaked before we did the other kid…"

"Yes, yes, you're old and fragile, go help Naruto adjust his seal."

"Bossy woman," he grumbled, and Tsunade slapped at the back of his head as he came by. Sasuke moved to stand behind Naruto, and Naruto found himself leaning back, resting against his body…

"Just a small adjustment," Jiraiya said, and Naruto felt something…

Snap.

"O—oh," he said, jerking as his senses dropped so quick he felt it in the pit of his stomach. Like it had been him that fell, and maybe it had—Sasuke caught him by the shoulders and Jiraiya caught him by the chest—

"Alright, kid?"

"Ye—yeah," he said, breathing in. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm fine. Just—it was just weird, that's all."

Jiraiya nodded and let go, grunting as he stood back up. Sasuke just sat down, sliding just far enough to face Naruto and hold him by the wrists. Naruto threw him a small grin, but didn't try to get to his feet.

"I'll get you both some water," Tsunade said, following Jiraiya up the stairs.

"And food!" Iruka said, hurrying after her. Naruto looked back at Sasuke, feeling—

"Don't you dare try to protest," Sasuke said. "You can barely even stand."

Naruto huffed out a breath.

"Yeah, maybe, but I can do one more," he insisted. "Easy. I'll just be a bit tired at the end. I'm not gonna stop at you—c'mon, Sasuke."

"I can wait another day."

"You're not gonna."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but Naruto's grin only widened.

"...Alright," he said, leaning back. "Talk."

Naruto blinked.

"Talk?"

"Talk," Sasuke repeated. "You're obviously worried about something. Tell me."

"What? I haven't been worried at all!" Naruto said. "I'm literally—I'm good to go! As soon as they're back down—"

"I know," Sasuke said, and Naruto stopped. "That's what's giving you away."

"...Huh?"

"You're eager. You're deflecting. You want to rush through this so badly," Sasuke said, leaning forwards again, "as if you're afraid of stopping. As if it will let you dwell on something you're trying not to think about."

"I—um. What? That's—"

Naruto stopped, his mind...reeling. Well—maybe. A little bit. He'd—it was just going to be a later thing. He—he knew what he had to do. He was happy to do it. He was fine. Wasn't he? He was…

…

Damn it.

"Sorry," he said, ducking his head. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, I didn't realize I was actually—worrying...about all of this. Um…"

Sasuke snorted and shuffled closer.

"Moron," he said, pulling Naruto's hands between them. "I know. That's why I'm sitting here."

Naruto let out a soft laugh.

"Okay. Um. It's stupid, though."

"Let me decide that."

Naruto laughed again, shaking his head.

"Um," he started, "I guess I'm a bit...nervous. About it all."

"The ritual? We can put it on hold until—"

"No! Not—not the ritual. Kinda. Um..."

He shifted, feeling awkward and stupid and uncomfortable. And stupid for feeling stupid. And stupid for this whole thing—Sasuke looked at him like he was all that existed right now and still, Naruto was scared that he—that he might—

"You love me now," Naruto said, quiet and small. "What happens when you remember the rest of your life?"

"Naru—"

"Because I love you. I love you, and I'm going to do this, and I'd never want you to stay this way, but—this part of your life, with me in it, the part where you fell in love with me—it's not gonna look good. In a month, it's not gonna look good. In a year, it's not gonna look good. I know how much you've hated this and against the rest of your life, all I'm gonna be is a reminder of everything you hated, and I'm—I'm scared of what that'll mean. If you even remember. You might not even remember any of it, and I don't know—I don't—"

He swallowed, and Sasuke stared at him.

"I just…don't know."

…

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"What?" Naruto said, scanning the smile Sasuke was obviously fighting— "hey, asshole, don't—"

Sasuke cut him off. Softly and slowly and with a hand on Naruto's inner thigh, a gentle kiss to his lips. A broken kiss, made loose by the smile that still stayed on Sasuke's face—

"You're such an idiot," Sasuke whispered, and Naruto's eyes blinked open.

"I—"

"First off, I will remember," Sasuke said. "Tsunade could have told you that. As could your father. As could I."

Naruto breathed in.

"We did all check these things," Sasuke said, and it was tender. It was laughing, but it was tender, and it sent a lump right back into Naruto's throat—

"Secondly," Sasuke continued, still leaning close, "I love you. I'm in love with you. You've taken something that should have been a nightmare and turned it into a dream. The only thing you'll remind me of is that I can get through anything if you're at my side. Understand?"

Naruto's breath hitched.

"And besides," Sasuke said, pulling back, "I don't know about you, but I'm fairly sure we've already discovered this isn't the only part of my life you've been involved in."

Naruto swallowed against the lump in his throat.

"Yeah," he whispered. Sasuke breathed out as he smiled.

The hand that had subconsciously found its way to Sasuke's tightened, for just a second. Naruto didn't really feel like he could talk anymore. He didn't really feel like he had to. Something in his head felt...lighter. Better. Like a weight had been lifted off him…

Stupid. He should've talked to Sasuke from the start.

"All I could find was—" Iruka stopped, midway through rushing down the stairs— "oh. Have I—I'll go back up—"

"It's fine, dad!" Naruto laughed, sniffing a little. His eyes were way more watery than he'd thought they'd be, shit— "Come down. What d'you have?"

"There, ah—sorry," he said, hurrying back down. "There wasn't any traditional food in the house, but I did have some granola bars in my car—Tsunade, they—"

"We're coming, we're coming…trying to give the kids some privacy, you know."

Naruto laughed at the way his dad flinched again, kneeling up to give him a quick hug as he passed over the same granola bars he still always kept in his car. Naruto had been really snacky as a teenager, after all…

"How are we feeling now?" Tsunade asked, as Naruto sat back down.

"Better. I think I'll be okay to keep going—and I mean that, I'm not pushing myself, I still need a couple more minutes," he said, specifically to Sasuke, who looked annoyingly satisfied with himself.

Stupid pretty, perfect bastard.

"But—um. It might take a little bit longer for me to clear my head as good as before," Naruto said, catching Jiraiya's eye. "That okay?"

Jiraiya laughed.

"Take your time, kid. We've got all night."

Sasuke breathed out.

He wasn't nervous. Not nearly as much as he'd expected to be. Something about settling Naruto's fears had left him feeling...different. Encouraged. Ready. Determined—

To prove Naruto wrong.

To prove himself right. Sasuke felt like he might need to spend his entire life proving the point and that would suit him quite fine—Naruto had taken him by the hand and led him through hell and here he was, feeling as if he'd never been burned by the flames at all.

And Naruto, being Naruto, still didn't seem to know.

Sasuke raised his chin, and straightened his back. He was ready, now. He was ready for the rest of his life—for his past, yes, but he wanted this future. He wanted a future with a family, with Naruto, with everything in between—

Naruto's skin began to glow.

Sasuke breathed out.

It almost hurt to look at. As if it was the sun itself—the glow was so bright and brilliant that Sasuke could almost feel the warmth. In fact, he could...

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, and Sasuke met the rush of affection as it came.

"Ready?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto's gaze didn't waver.

"Yes."

"Sasuke," Jiraiya said, and Naruto's hands reached out—

Sasuke took them.

"Do it," he said, and Jiraiya took his paintbrush to Sasuke's skin—

And made the last mark.

A/N: Ahhh man. Three more after this! Well, two, and an epilogue. Particularly excited about tomorrow's, but that's pretty much how I've felt every day posting this haha! I think my favourite bit that people guessed was Dia - so many of you absolutely called it! I love that.

See you tomorrow!

- Kinomi