Thanks for the reviews on the first bit of this! It was going to be a one-shot until I thought of a continuation to the story...after the reviews I felt I should write more,seeing as I didn't put that it was to be a one-shot. So you know, there should be another piece to this afterwards but I'm intending to leave it as a 3- piece. This is in a slightly different tone to the previous chapter but continues from the story. It's mainly Sasuke POV and has a lil more smutbut still,barely any.
A reminder that I do not own any of the Naruto plot or characters.Enjoy!

On Tattoos...

It was beginning to seem, Sasuke mused one day (whilst sitting in a familiarly oversized recliner) that his life was going to be recorded through a series of tattoos. First off was the night that he saw his parents killed before him. Even though he had turned up afterwards, his brother had made him see what had happened over and over in his mind, making each punch, each kunai and every spurt of blood hurt just as much as if he was being tormented himself. There was no visible tattoo but Sasuke knew that the images of that night were already tattooed in his mind. His first tattoo of sorts, one which marked the beginning of life as he knew it- the end of innocence and the burden of responsibility towards his dead clan.

Then came his second 'tattoo'. The one given him by Orochimaru during the chuunin exams, the one that documented another period of his life, one where nothing he did seemed good enough and no matter how hard he tried, his brother's back got further and further away, as did Naruto's. Those were the days his heart was truly filled with hatred and he began to believe everything that his brother had said to him all those years ago. For that time, hatred was akin to power and Sasuke felt weak, even when he beat Naruto to a bloody pulp and left him by the Valley of the End and even after he managed to seek out Orochimaru to gain more power. Of course he also gained more hatred, this time for Orochimaru and his ambition. It was only later that Sasuke discovered that there are two ways to gain power. One is through hatred and suffering and the other is through loyalty, determination and inner strength and light. Naruto showed him that and now, even thinking of those days brought back a slight aching in his heart where it remembered an emptiness that was once there, now filled.

It had been a couple of years since he and Naruto had 'gotten together' as such, and even more years since the time that he'd staggered wearily back to Konoha, held up by a bloodied but grinning dobe. He would never forget the strength that Naruto had lent him during the years, even before Orochimaru, before he had even begun to realise it. This time not only had Naruto given him the strength to walk away from Orochimaru and from his source of power but he had also given him the strength to help defeat the snake. It was there and then where Naruto revealed his history with the Kyuubi and Sasuke gained a life-times worth of respect and awe for the blonde. After his rehabilitation into Konoha, their friendship blossomed - each still remembering like open wounds, the ache of having lost a best friend and both determined not to let their pride come in the way of a new important person in their lives…which brought his attention to one of his newer tattoos marking this 'relationship'.

Not only did Sasuke begin to cherish every moment with Naruto as his best friend, but he developed a major crush on him and now he was beginning to see where it had really started, back in Team 7's genin days with the countless fights and bickering. The tattoo did not represent that though. It represented Sasuke's feelings for Naruto now. The fox may have been a symbol of hatred to many of the villagers but Sasuke associated it with his new life in Konoha, his new friends who were friends to him before but now he allowed himself to become friendly with them and also the blonde who may act stupid but who had soothed the ache in his heart. To Sasuke the fox was a sign of inner strength and burning determination, of loyalty and honesty and of course, of his love for Naruto which had pierced through the smog which had been oppressing his soul for a long time to lighten the burden of responsibility and show him that he wasn't alone anymore, he had new family and hence a new responsibility- to protect them.

And now finally, here he was, holding hands with the one he loved, staring deep into his azure eyes and gritting his teeth as he received another tattoo which would represent a new era of his life. Finally, Hokage-sama had seen fit to promote Sasuke to the noble ranks of ANBU. A rank which Naruto of course had reached a half year before…but that didn't bother Sasuke anymore. What did bother him was the searing sensation of having a special symbol burned into the skin of his arm with chakra- an entirely different experience to having a conventional tattoo inked in. Instead of the bearable sensation of needle on flesh, this was more of the 'lets get a "lazer" and drag it through your arm'. Of course it was designed so that it could be activated using minimal chakra input and so would vanish upon death, but somehow Sasuke was beginning to wonder if it was worth the pain just to gain £20 more per mission and a more kick-ass reputation.

It was then that he thought that perhaps it would be an idea to make the tattoo into a much more…enjoyable memory. It would involve a secret shopping trip, but he knew it would be worth it. The happiness which he shared with Naruto was far greater than any he had expected already, but this would extend it beyond his imagination.

The celebration for Sasuke's promotion kicked off at 7pm and wasn't due to finish til the early hours, or when everyone collapsed into drunken stupors. Naruto had an apron on and was flitting between being a fantastic host and murmuring drunken-horny comments into Sasuke's ear. Sasuke himself was surrounded by his former fangirls and their boyfriends/fiancées/husbands who chose to stand back a little but either way were offering their support for the promotion and for Sasuke's new lifestyle…by drinking profusely, complaining profusely and in some cases, eating profusely until Ino frogmarched Chouji outside to be sick and lectured him on the dangers of binge-eating. He came back in looking a little worse for wear but soon resumed his feasting until Ino threatened to have his stomach stapled. Everyone was rolling about laughing at this until they realised that Ino was serious and seeing the Uchiha-worthy death glare in her eyes (obviously learnt after having witnessed it so many times) the atmosphere grew sober.

Sasuke decided this was a convenient time to halt the party for a few seconds and tinkled the side of his glass until everyone was silent. He stood shakily (and drunkenly) on top of a chair and wavering, began to say what he meant to.

"Tonight we are celebrating my promotion to ANBU!" he started. Big cheer.

"BUT I didn't intend it to be just that." Silence.

" Today has marked another milestone in my life, another step towards reaching my goals, so I thought that it would be an auspicious time to take another step forward towards reaching another dream that I have held in my heart for some time now- not to restore my clan but to start a family I can call my own"

"And no Sakura…I will NOT use you for this!" Sasuke gave Sakura a teasing look and she laughed at the joke, for she had long ago given up on Sasuke and now only saw him as a friend and occasional eye-candy.

"I don't quite plan on making babies with anyone yet…for now I wish to concentrate on the family that has been here under my nose the entire time, and the possibility of making it into something more…well…this will explain"

Sasuke leapt off the chair and walked purposely towards Naruto who was still tipsy but also silent for one of the only times in his life. Sasuke kissed him deeply to make sure then dropped gracefully onto one knee and whipped out a box. He opened it to reveal a classic, platinum ring, encrusted with an onyx Uchiha fan.

"I can't say that Tsunade-baachan would allow a conventional form of marriage between us…but Naruto…"

Sasuke brought Narutos face down to his level, eyes locking in silent communication.

"Would you officially become my family…forever?"

There was silence, broken only by the 'awwing' and 'squeeing' of the ladies in the room and the faint sound of "tch…how troublesome" before Naruto pulled Sasuke up from the floor, hugged him and muttered,

"Tch! She better let us marry or I'll threaten to take after Jiraiya a little more!"

Everyone cheered and Sasuke felt his face warm up and he grinned, not smirked, and kissed Naruto passionately, twirling him around and setting him down so hard that he would have fallen over into Gaara if it wasn't for the sand defense that cushioned him. Meanwhile everyone cheered the couple on and the night was filled with even more raucious laughter than before, especially when Kakashi suggested to Iruka that they start a family and Iruka replied that he'd hate to subject children to Kakashi's idea of an 'upbringing'.

It was later that night, after all the 'celebrations' had finished that Sasuke was tracing his fingers over Narutos tanned skin in bed or more specifically, over his tattoos. He kissed them- the area where the ANBU tattoo would be….then licking down to run his tongue over the spiral seal over his tummy, making Naruto giggle and moan all in one breath and then biting down to the tiny Uchiha fan on Naruto's hip which was where he stopped, propped his head up with one arm and stared into Narutos eyes contentedly. It was late/early, but a wicked gleam came into his eyes and he started to crawl up Narutos' body….

" You know," he whispered seductively, " The Uchiha symbol is the fan which heats the flames…"

He paused.

"…of desire!"

Naruto cracked up and without consideration to who was awake or asleep at that ungodly hour, let out a hyuge bout of laughter which left him aching at the sides and with tears rolling from his eyes.

" Jesus Sasuke…" he spluttered whilst trying to control the giggling enough to speak, " You can tell that it was Kakashi who trained you! Sheeeeze…you really have absorbed his mannerisms...it was a Kakashi-sensei-ism!"

Sasuke grinned then began to kiss Naruto down his neck before whispering into his ear …

"What? Are you saying you disagree…cause I could prove it to you right now…"

And looking into Naruto's eyes he began to prove it to him…for the second time of many that night.

Tattoos were an addictive but efficient way of storing memories, he decided. Memories which could be traced on the skin and treasured inside the heart…

and he was glad that he would have the memories of Naruto imprinted on his body for the rest of his life and in his soul for eternity.

Please R&R! Although please, constructive criticism only. One more chapter to go...squeeee! xxx