Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated as such and belong to the author, Jae (Dae T. Angel).

A/N: Moving on! Enjoy!

—.&.&.—

XVII.

I Love You

Once they were back in the seclusion of the house, Naruto turned to face Sasuke. The other ninja stopped his progress by the table, silently waiting for Naruto to speak.

A passive tension hummed around them. It was not as thick or electric as their exchange that morning. Though it felt just as heavy, and the anticipation sent an unwelcomed ripple of nervousness through Naruto.

This was it. He needed to come clean about what was happening to him and put an end to his practice of sidestepping the issue. There was no other choice. Even so, from the pit of his stomach, the worry of how Sasuke would react made him hesitate. This would be the first time since his wife was alive that he really spoke about the intimate details of his desertion. No one else knew about his jumbled misgivings, and he was not sure anyone else could match the unfettered kindness and understanding Kaiya had shown him despite them.

He took in a deep breath. If he dwelled any longer on these thoughts, the tide of anxiousness that lapped at him would only grow larger. He needed to stop delaying.

"Here it is," Naruto said, voice mercifully steady. "There's nothing else that I can tell you about what I did after I left." He watched as Sasuke's brows sunk in confusion. "But that's not because I don't want to tell you, it's because I don't remember any of it."

Sasuke's befuddled expression did not change.

"Come again?" he asked.

Naruto placed a hand on his hip while running another along the back of his neck. "That first year or so after I left is a blank for me, and I can barely remember specifics about the events leading up to it. All I can recall clearly from back then is waking up out of a coma some time afterward and Kurama filling in bits and pieces for me."

When Naruto refocused on Sasuke, the other man's eyes were narrowed in an assessing glare.

"You've mentioned that name before. Who is Kurama?" Sasuke questioned.

From the shadows of his thoughts, Naruto could feel Kurama shifting warily. Its unease with their conversation was evident, but it said nothing.

"That's the Kyuubi's true name—Kurama," Naruto replied.

Sasuke continued to look at him with a penetrating stare. "So, you're telling me that you've suffered partial amnesia and have trusted the creature imprisoned within you—which has a history of negatively influencing you—to be honest about what may have happened?"

The deadweight of Sasuke's statement had Naruto feeling reflexively defensive. He tried his best not to outwardly bristle as he answered, "That's a helluva a way to put it, but yes."

Sasuke's grimace migrated into incredulity.

"Are you serious—"

"—I know what it sounds like, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted, "but I trust Kurama. Our relationship isn't perfect but it's become one of my closest friends. If not for saving my life by helping me out of that coma, then definitely for helping me weather the emotional shit storm that was Kaiya's death."

Sasuke went quiet. In his lull, he maintained his steady gaze—face cloaked in an unreadable expression. Several moments passed by before he said: "This is … not what I was expecting to hear."

Naruto huffed out a short laugh as he shifted to the side absently. " Yeah, well, can you see now why I wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity to share."

Sasuke hummed a noncommittal sound.

"What's its motivation?" he asked a beat later, folding his arms.

Naruto looked at him, perplexed. "What?"

"What's the Kyuubi's motivation for helping you?" Sasuke clarified. "For all intents and purposes, it's your prisoner. Why would it help you in the way you're claiming it has?"

This query made Naruto pause. It had never occurred to him to question Kurama's incentive for helping him. It was a given that the fox wanted its freedom, but after spending so much time interacting with it over the years, Naruto intuitively knew that it had the capacity for empathy. That was what underlined their bickering and Kurama's frustrating demeanor. Kurama cared about what happened to Naruto outside of its own self-interest. It proved that time and time again.

"Believe it or not, Kurama is pretty decent. It's a sarcastic pain in the ass but it keeps its word and it has a ton of integrity, " Naruto said.

Kurama shifted again, this time in what felt like satisfaction and a hint of pride. Naruto smiled.

"How are you so sure of this?" Sasuke challenged. "It could just be manipulating you."

Naruto's countenance set into a determined look as he said: "The same way I was sure you would come to your senses after I stopped you from joining Orochimaru."

Sasuke gaped at him, speechless. His stunned silence lingered for a few seconds before his features sank into another indecipherable look.

When Sasuke spoke again, his voice was neutral.

"All right," he said.

Naruto blinked.

"All … right?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

Sasuke unfolded his arms; then crouched down to take a seat at the table. Naruto watched him quizzically as he did so. Once Sasuke was settled on a floor cushion, he raised an expectant brow at the blond. It took a few moments for Naruto to realize that he wanted him to sit as well.

A bit bewildered, Naruto did so, taking the seat adjacent to Sasuke.

"This is a little weird," Naruto said.

Sasuke afforded him a smirk. "Only because you're reading too much into it," he replied. He placed his hands casually on his thighs. "I'm still a little dubious about your situation with the Kyuubi, but I'll leave the subject for now since you feel so strongly about its intentions. So, please don't feel like you can't tell me the rest."

Naruto stared. He continued to watch Sasuke intently for what felt like a lifetime's worth of moments.

"You know, you're a lot easier to talk to when you're not being an asshole," Naruto finally offered.

Sasuke snorted.

Another pause.

"I kind of miss being able to talk to someone like this," Naruto continued, much softer.

He glanced down at his idle hands, deciding to place them on the tabletop and loosely lacing his fingers together.

"When you think about it, life's really strange, you know? Before, it used to be you that I always confided in; then I left and I found Kaiya. Now, somehow we're full circle and it's you again," he mused.

Heavy silence swelled between them. When Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, the man was looking down at the glossed wood of the table with a pensive expression.

"It sounds like you loved your wife a lot," Sasuke said lightly.

"I did," Naruto confirmed. "She's the best thing that could have happened to me after I left. She made me feel safe; she gave me a family; and on top of her own charm, she embodied a lot of the traits I remember loving about you."

Sasuke glanced up, eyes wide and conflicted. His lips parted as if to say something, but he hesitated. He worried his bottom lip in an uncharacteristic manner, his expression turning doleful the longer they gazed at each other.

"You didn't have to leave," he whispered. "I never wanted…"

His voice trailed off.

Naruto gave him a sad smile. He looked down at the way Sasuke's fingers clenched and unclenched against the man's thigh. Wordlessly, he untangled his hands and reached over to thread his fingers with those of Sasuke's.

"Seems like that's the problem with us, right?" Naruto slowly stroked Sasuke's hand with his thumb. "Nothing is ever easy and we always end up fighting before we tell each other how we feel."

When Naruto looked up again, Sasuke leaned forward and pressed a warm, tender kiss onto his lips. The care he conveyed in that single kiss made Naruto's heart flutter. He closed his eyes, feeling warmth melt its path along his skin and pool in the places where Sasuke's lips touched his and where their hands linked.

It felt like an eternity filled those brief moments—blissful and gratifying.

Then Sasuke pulled away, leaving behind the remnants of warmth in his wake.

"I don't know if it matters now, but take that as a testament of what I should've said back then," Sasuke's voice was barely above a whisper.

Naruto took in his words with a soft sigh, eyes still closed. A multitude of emotions were gliding through him. There was elation, sadness, love, fear, and uncannily, resentment. This bizarre mixture of feelings was at odds with what he thought he should be experiencing. Slowly, he opened his eyes to peer into Sasuke's dark gaze. The familiarity of his deep attraction for the other man bloomed in the expanse of their stare. It unfolded with the memory of friendship and adoration, fringed with lust and an aching to be understood. Yet, hedging its border was distant anger and possessiveness which congealed into a singular sentiment: Sasuke was his.

Naruto frowned, worried by this strange feeling. He swallowed, attempting to wet his dried palate.

"I want you to say it," he said with hushed urgency as he lightly squeezed Sasuke's hand. "I want to hear exactly how you feel about me, Sasuke. It does matter. It's always mattered."

Sasuke's eyes roamed his face—seeing something Naruto could not fathom—then he reached up with his free hand to cradled the back of Naruto's neck, guiding the blond closer so their foreheads could touch. He peered at Naruto through dark lashes.

"I love you, dobe. I'm sorry that it took you leaving and finding someone else for me to be able to see that but know that I love you."

Sasuke's words reverberated through Naruto in ways he could not understand. He felt light-headed and unfocused. A faint ringing sound was filling his ears.

"Concentrate, brat," Kurama's gruff voice boomed through his mind, momentarily distracting him. "Don't fall victim to another episode. Stay in the moment."

Naruto took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. He had no clue of what was washing over him, but he latched onto Kurama's advice and focused on the present; on Sasuke.

Tilting his head so he could angle up, he placed a solid kiss on Sasuke's mouth. He felt more than heard the small gasp of surprise that preluded Sasuke's submission to his doubling-down with another hot, open-mouthed kiss. Naruto brushed his tongue across the soft skin of Sasuke's mouth before diving in as Sasuke parted his lips to match the building heat of their kiss.

His hands found their way up to cup Sasuke's face, pulling him closer while the other man's fingers gripped at his hair. The fog that had threatened to consume his thoughts was dissipating, taking with it the incessant ringing in his ears and giving way to the melody of arousal that crescendoed around him. Naruto moaned in both relief and pleasure as he concentrated on devouring every sigh and groan he could draw out of Sasuke.

When they finally parted it was with the wet slide of their lips and the rush of their harried breaths wafting between them. Naruto kept his eyes closed, savoring the rippling electricity skittering across his skin from the intensity of their kiss. He licked his lips, trying to calm his breathing.

Sasuke let out a heavy sigh as his hand fell from Naruto's hair down to the blond's shoulder.

"That," he said breathily, "…was something."

Naruto hummed an agreement, also letting his hands slip from cradling Sasuke's face so they could settle on his own lap. He had opened his eyes again, this time to stare past Sasuke at a nondescript spot on the wall while he gathered his thoughts.

"Tell me about it," he replied. "I'm debating whether to say 'fuck it' and continue, but that would be counterproductive to what I'm trying to do here."

Sasuke smirked, amused. "I'm glad to see that restraint is one virtue you've gained an abundance of in adulthood," he said.

Naruto's blue eyes flicked back to him, accompanied by a lopsided grin. "Teme, stop being cute. I might actually kiss you again."

"It wouldn't be the worst thing," Sasuke quipped.

Naruto groaned as he averted his eyes to look down at the table, grinning wider. "You're definitely more likable when you're not being an asshole."

Sasuke chuckled but removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder. He shifted back, allowing some room to exist between them once more.

"What else is it that you need to say?" he prompted.

Letting his grin filter into a more subdued expression, Naruto let out a weary breath.

"The bigger picture with my memory loss is that it seems it happened on purpose. Kurama says that I asked it to take them from me," he said.

"You asked it?" Sasuke responded. His frown was back.

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "Kurama and I had a deal between us; it saved my life in exchange for me letting some of it out of its cage. However, I'm learning that somewhere in there I'd also asked it to take my memories, too."

Sasuke's silence was deafening. Naruto glanced over to find a grim look on his face. It made him want to wince at how grave the other man appeared.

"I'm trying to reconcile a lot of the things you're telling me, Naruto," Sasuke finally said after a few weighty moments of stillness. "Especially with how much trust you've put in the Kyuubi. But it's a little difficult to do so when it seems like you don't have much cogent information about what's going on."

Naruto gave him a wry smile.

"That's why I'm being upfront with you. I don't know the full story of what's going on with me, and Kurama is being super cautious. It wants me to figure something out for myself, but I can't seem to properly suss it out on my own. Hence, this conversation."

A deep furrow creased Sasuke's brow and his lips were pressed into a thin line. His shoulders slumped forward as he propped an elbow on the table so he could massage his temples with his hand.

"You've managed to overcomplicate an already complicated situation," he said.

Naruto laughed, "I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

Sasuke's eyes cut to him with a slight glare.

"Listen," Naruto said as he reached over and slipped his hand into Sasuke's once again, "you wanted me to be honest with you and I have been. I have no idea how this is going to play out for me, and Kurama probably thinks I'm an idiot for taking this chance, but you said I can trust you. So, that's what I'm doing."

Dark eyes watched Naruto thoughtfully. Sasuke peered down at their coupled hands, and after a moment, shifted them so that their fingers were interlaced like before.

"All right," he said quietly.

"All right," Naruto smiled.

.—.

"Are you certain you don't want to approach Hokage-sama or Jiraiya with the information you shared with me?"

Sasuke placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Naruto. The blond's hands immediately cradled it as he offered up a grateful smile. Although the midday air provided a temperate heat that flowed through the house by way of the open panel door, the warmth seeping through the ceramic cup gave the kind of comforting feeling that Naruto needed.

"No, not yet," Naruto shook his head. "After everything that's happened already with my demotion, I'd rather not risk the potential of any more restrictions being placed on me. I know Tsunade is trying to come from a good place, but she's still the Hokage and I'm still a deserter. I don't want to do anything that could take me away from Kanaye."

Sasuke watched him wordlessly; he was seated at the table again with his own cup of tea. It was not long before he nodded in concession.

"Okay, I won't say anything unless I have to," he said.

Naruto gave a subdued smile. That was the best that he could hope for at the moment. He sipped his tea.

"Does your family know about your memory loss? I don't assume they know all the details," Sasuke continued his inquiry.

"Kaiya's the only one that knew any real details about my amnesia or me leaving Konoha. My in-laws know I used to be a ninja, but understand I left that life behind. They've never asked about anything more since it never caused a problem, and no one else in my village is privy about my past. That's how it is out in the country; there's gossip, but if you don't want it spoken about, people will keep mum," Naruto said.

Sasuke hummed one of his usual sounds of acknowledgment.

"And the Kyuubi? Did your wife know about it?"

This time, Naruto smiled in earnest.

"Yeah," he answered, "she's the only one that did. Funny enough, the idea of it didn't scare her; she was fascinated by it. She even used to make up fairytales about a boy who chased after a nine-tailed kitsune that had stolen his name."

He laughed, "It's a pretty wild story. She would tell it to Kanaye at night. How she came up with stuff like that is beyond me. She was amazing at storytelling."

Sasuke's silent stare studied Naruto as he spoke. There was something tacit hovering in his expression but it slunk away with the moment. A niggling feeling gnawed at Naruto about what it may be; he made a small mental note to address it later.

"I have an idea about how we can try to solve your memory problem," Sasuke said mildly, eyes still watching Naruto. By his hand, sitting idly, his drink had yet to be touched. "It's possible for me to guide you through certain pathways of your mind using the Sharingan. It wouldn't be perfect and I can't reveal anything that you haven't already experienced, but it's worth a try. That is if you're open to me using my technique on you in this manner."

Sasuke finished his statement with a cautious incline of his head, taking in Naruto's small frown. Naruto held his gaze for a while before looking down at his tea—contemplating.

Allow Sasuke to use his Sharingan on him again? Earlier, the notion of the other ninja entering his mind had not sat well with him. However, this time Sasuke was proposing a combined effort to traverse his thoughts.

"I want to speak to the Uchiha," Kurama's voice suddenly broke through Naruto's pondering.

Huh? Naruto projected, surprised. Why all of a sudden?

"You've told him all you wanted to tell him. Now I want to say my piece."

Naruto mentally gaped at the fox. For real? You want to talk to him now after grumbling about him before?

"Stop being dramatic, brat. Isn't your plan to have him help you? I'm simply following your lead," Kurama retorted.

Naruto mulled Kurama's comment over for a bit; though, the effects of his rumination must have seeped into his expression because Sasuke abruptly asked: "What's wrong?"

Naruto blinked, switching his attention back to the man beside him.

"Um, it seems like Kurama wants to talk to you," he said slowly.

Surprise registered onto Sasuke's face, then suspicion, "Why—"

A persistent internal pull immediately lobbied for Naruto's attention. Distracted, Naruto unconsciously turned to it. All at once, he found himself standing in the vision of the stone corridor that led to Kurama's cage. The blond frowned, jarred by how deep he had been coaxed into his mental scape.

"It's nice to see you'll show up when I call," a voice said from behind him.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see Kurama's bronze-skinned persona. He leveled the fox with a flat look.

"This is a bit sudden, isn't it?" he noted irritably.

Kurama shrugged its shoulders as it began to walk a loose circle around Naruto.

"That's inconsequential," it replied, stopping its circuit at Naruto's right side. It folded its arms and looked at him expectantly. "So, will you let me talk to Uchiha or not?"

"How exactly do you propose doing that?" Naruto questioned, deciding to entertain whatever it was Kurama was attempting to do—all be it with some annoyance.

Kurama smirked with a pleased expression before placing a casual hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"As long as you relax, it'll be over in no time," it said.

Giving Kurama an incredulous look, it took a moment for Naruto to realize that warm wisps of red chakra were languidly slinking from Kurama's hand along his entire body. The sensation was not unpleasant. In fact, there was a low level of peacefulness threading through him as the chakra gently flowed across his skin. Within a few seconds, the chakra was gone and Kurama's hand had evacuated its place on his shoulder.

"And that's it, brat," Kurama supplied.

Naruto glanced down at himself, then looked up at Kurama.

"Was all that ambiguity necessary?" he asked. "What did you even do?"

With its arms folded anew, Kurama considered him with an enigmatic look.

"Believe me when I say it's better this way. You're onto something with this direction you're going in. I'm glad to see you're using your brain again," it smiled.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, bemused, but did not respond. Assessing the fox one last time, he shifted his attention back to the common area and the table he sat at with Sasuke.

When he glanced over to said man, he found Sasuke staring at him intently with narrowed eyes.

"Ah, I guess Kurama spoke to you?" Naruto said sheepishly.

"Yes," was Sasuke's simple answer.

Sasuke looked down at his untouched tea before picking the beverage up and sipping it. As Naruto prepared to say something else, Sasuke shook his head, revealing a small, tired smile.

"It's fine, Naruto," he said. He replaced his cup on the table; and after a brief pause, reached over to gently brush a few strands of Naruto's hair from his face. Naruto was awed by how gentle the gesture was. Enthralled, he remained silent, not resisting the way Sasuke urged him forward and kissed him sweetly.

—.&.o.o.&.—