Notes: Sorry I didn't clarify how that sword gift really worked. In essence, it's just like the Yondaime Hokage's "yellow flash" trick--the one that made him famous on the battlefield. He ties a knot, essentially, of his own chakra to a solid object (in the previous story's case, Naruto tied his chakra to the blade of the sword) and when the object is "used", he registers the use of his chakra and "summons" himself to the signature. Like teleportation; moving through space at incredible speeds. Hope that clarified.

"Anyaknow whaddelse? Knowhaddelse?"

"What else?" Uchiha Sasuke smirked as he downed his second shot of whiskey and watched his raving drunk boyfriend across the table waving his fourth glass of vodka around haphazardly.

"I'm not a dobe!" Uzumaki Naruto slurred, jabbing a finger through the air at his partner. "Ammnot!"

"Oh?" Sasuke just lifted one elegant dark eyebrow and continued to let the blond make a fool of himself.

"You always sayyit, so I'm tellin' ya, I'm not!"

"You're not?"

"'Saright," he nodded defiantly, draining the last of his drink and waving the bar waitress over for another. "I'm not. Anna prove it, I joined theanbus people."

Theanbus people…? Anbus…? The Anbu? The Uchiha's usually calm face broke into one of utter panic: his dark eyes flew open wide and his cheeks suddenly flamed an angry crimson as his mouth gaped around words that would not come. The woman brought Naruto his fifth drink, took one look at Sasuke, and went to refill his shot glasses. Shaking slightly, the dark-haired man rose to his feet, an aura blacker than death and more menacing than Gaara on a bad day flaring up around him.

"Naruto…"

The drunken man looked up with a bored expression: "Eh?"

"YOU JOINED THE ANBU SQUAD?" The bar waitress sighed and filled a third shot glass for the aneurysming ninja.

"Ow…" Naruto rubbed his tender ears. "Whyrrya yellin', man?"

"You joined the Anbu Squad!" he repeated, slamming his hands down on the table, making the empty glasses clink together and fall over with several small popping crashes. "Why? Why would you do such a ridiculous thing, Naruto?"

The blond puffed his scarred cheeks in agitation, looking slightly hurt as the hesitant waitress lay the new glass of vodka and the three whiskey shots on the table and scurried away as fast as her legs could take her. She had seen the broken pieces of glass beside the table, but decided it would be better to get a yell from her boss than a sharp object to the head, so she didn't clean it up right away.

"You wouldn't lissentame evanif I tired splanin'," Naruto grumbled.

"Try me," the snake-like hiss was unmistakable. It sobered the blond up good.

"I…" he cleared his throat, also trying to clear the alcohol from his head at the same time, "It's just… You've been risking your life this whole time, and…and, I can't stand sitting at home waiting for you to come back…"

Sasuke really didn't understand his boyfriend's reasoning. "So then," he took a deep breath to calm himself as he sat down and picked up one of his shot glasses, "why exactly did you join?"

Naruto sighed and leaned forward with his forearms on the tabletop, clasping his drink in both hands and watching the gold liquid swirl and gleam gently with the dim overhead lights. His brow furrowed. "You always put yourself in danger, every time you go out on a mission," he tried to string his thoughts together in a coherent pattern. "You…wouldn't understand how nerve-wrecking that is. To know that the person you care about most in this world is constantly in danger of leaving you forever…"

"Dobe…" Sasuke started, then saw Naruto giving him an impatient glare, so, he corrected himself momentarily. "Naruto, do you really think I'd get taken out that easily? I thought you had more faith in me than that."

"If I have to have faith in you, why can't you have a little more faith in me?" he shot back, lifting eyes to his boyfriend's that weren't exactly dry… "I joined the Anbu because I thought that if I could be there with you, I could keep an eye on you, and not have to worry as much, and…"

"…protect me?"

Naruto flinched. "…maybe."

Sasuke sighed inwardly and tossed the shot back with a skill that came from much practice. "I think," he finally spoke up, picking up the second shot glass with slightly shaking fingers, "that I complete my missions efficiently because you're there at home, waiting for me." He grinned humorlessly and downed the second one. "You can welcome me home when I come back."

There was a strained silence as neither man looked up from their final drinks of the night. The waitress inched toward them cautiously with a broom and a dustpan, and when she was certain nothing sharp was flying her way, she knelt and swept up the pieces of broken glass. The abrupt scraping of a chair's back legs against the floor wrenched her gaze upward; the blond was standing and fishing in his pocket for something. His partner stood up as well, and both of them each dropped a handful of yen onto the tabletop. She blinked up at them.

"Keep the change," the blond man gave her a slight smile as he turned to leave the bar. "I owe you for those glasses."

"My fault," the taller man with black hair didn't glance her way, but address her anyway. "Thank you for the drinks."

"You're…welcome?" she blinked as she watched them leave.

"There's no helping it: I'm in the squad with you now."

"Who okayed this?"

"Not telling you."

"You just want to be stubborn."

"I just don't want you killing anyone."

"Sometimes, you're too cute for your own good, dobe."

"Sasuke…"

"Shut up. We're drunk; I have a mission tomorrow--"

"Enough! But this time we're going to your place. Your damn hair clogs my shower drain."

"You're not so cute anymore."

"Too bad. You started it."

"Did not."

"I'm in the Anbu whether you like it or not."

"Alright, alright. Just…promise me something."

"What?"

"…that you'll definitely welcome me home this one last time."

"…now you're the one who's being cute."

"Bah."