A/N: Hello, glad you all seemed to like the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter even more.

Man, I realized I hit a 100k words on this story..I never really expected that.

But thank you all and once again, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Sasuke's ears twitched when he read the word again. Marriage? He remembered hearing that word, but he wasn't exactly sure what it was. He looked at the picture of the girl inside but suddenly closed it.

He felt like he wasn't supposed to see this. Usually Naruto would tell him anything that happened. He wasn't sure what to think. He just grabbed the flowers and went back downstairs.

Downstairs, he gave the flowers to Sakura and then sat in the chair between Naruto and Itachi. He ate his food quietly, but no one seemed to notice he felt troubled. He picked at his food and ate slower than usual.

"Are you not hungry?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke's ears fell a bit, and he quickly shook his head and started to eat his food at his normal pace.

Naruto was first to finish and he excused himself from the table.

Sasuke sulked when he saw Naruto go back up the stairs alone. Usually they went up together. He felt his chest get all stuffy as he tried to finish his food quickly.

When Sasuke and Itachi were done, they put their plates in the sink and went upstairs.

"Are you going to master's room?" Itachi could tell Sasuke wanted to.

Sasuke nodded.

"Then goodnight Sasuke." Itachi hugged Sasuke. "I'm going to bed early."

Itachi was actually tired from playing with Sasuke all day.

"Goodnight aniki." Sasuke hugged his brother.

They went their separate ways, and Sasuke quickly went into Naruto's room.

He peered inside and already saw Naruto on his bed. He felt a little tension, but he climbed on the bed.

"Master..?" Sasuke for some reason went back to thinking Naruto was his master. He just felt intimidated.

Naruto turned over, startling Sasuke.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" Naruto sighed.

"I..I'm sorry.." Sasuke said in a small voice.

His ears fell and he slid off the bed.

"Where are you going?"

Sasuke stopped and shifted in his spot. He didn't know what to do or say.

Naruto got up and hugged Sasuke.

"I'm sorry..don't cry." Naruto rubbed Sasuke's back.

Sasuke didn't even know he was starting to cry.

"I just.." Naruto started. "There's a lot of things on my mind."

Sasuke nodded. He wondered if it had to do with the folder, but he didn't say anything.

"Maybe I should just sleep." Naruto mumbled.

Naruto started to go to his bathroom to brush his teeth. He told Sasuke to do the same.

Sasuke nodded and got his toothbrush. He brushed his teeth without any complaints. He knew that Naruto wasn't in the best of moods.

They went back to bed after changing into their pajamas. Naruto started to go under the covers, but Sasuke was still standing near the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. "Come."

Sasuke slipped onto the bed and laid next to Naruto. He hugged Naruto tightly, not knowing what to do to make him feel better. But he knew he felt a weight lift up on his chest when Naruto hugged him back.

"I love you." Sasuke whispered.

"I love you too Sasuke. I'm sorry for being in such a bad mood." Naruto said as he closed his eyes.

Sasuke gave a small smile and buried his head into Naruto's chest. He then felt Naruto's arm get heavier. His ears perked slightly and he looked up at Naruto. Did he already fall asleep?

Sasuke sat up and stared at Naruto. He poked Naruto's cheek but no response. Sasuke then went back to lay next to him, but the movement must've bothered Naruto as he turned around. He pouted and laid next to Naruto's back. It just wasn't the same though. Sasuke was used to sleeping with Naruto facing him.

"Hmph." Sasuke turned over, crossing his arms and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

Naruto woke up to a bunch of balloons and string in front of his face.

"Wha.." He looked over and saw Sasuke curled up on the other end of the bed.

"Did you do this Sasuke?" Naruto yawned, not expecting an answer.

He got up and put the half deflating balloons back down on the ground.

Sasuke stirred from his sleep and tugged on Naruto's shirt.

"What is it?"

Sasuke fully woke up and let go of Naruto's shirt. He started to pout again and buried himself under the blanket.

"Did I do something last night?"

Sasuke's ears were sticking out, so Naruto started to rub them. They twitched and Sasuke peeked out.

"Cold." Sasuke mumbled.

"Hm?"

"You didn't hug me." Sasuke noticed how he sounded and he started to blush.

"Aw, Sasuke!" Naruto hugged him. "Were you mad? Is that why you put your balloons there as a divider?"

Sasuke pouted and looked away, not responding.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I really am. But I feel much better now, after sleeping and all."

Sasuke nodded and hugged Naruto. He looked over Naruto's shoulder and noticed the folder wasn't there. He wanted to ask Naruto about it, but he was afraid he would get mad because Sasuke looked at it without him knowing. He just felt that he was not supposed to see that at all.

Naruto got ready for work as Sasuke slowly started falling back asleep. He lightly woke Sasuke up and kissed him goodbye.

Sasuke sleepily kissed him back and waved to Naruto as he left the room.

After several minutes of just laying on the bed, he got up since he couldn't go back to sleep like usual. He went to Itachi's room to see if he was awake.

Itachi had gained his freedom back and was able to sleep alone in his room. He honestly felt better when he found that out. He didn't have to wait for Kyuubi to get up in order to leave.

Sasuke peered inside and saw Itachi still sleeping. He walked to the bed and shook Itachi.

"Aniki..wake up."

"Hm..?" Itachi slowly woke up at the sound of his brother's voice. "Sasuke? You're up so early.."

Sasuke usually never woke up earlier than Itachi, but there was something bothering him.

"What's marriage..?" Sasuke asked, sitting next to Itachi.

Itachi seemed surprised by the sudden question.

"What makes you ask that?"

Sasuke shrugged, not wanting to tell Itachi the source of the question.

Itachi sat up trying to contain a yawn. It ended up escaping his mouth so he let it.

"Well..marriage is when two people love each other. They form a bond..like a promise to each other that their love will be forever."

Sasuke nodded.

"I want to marry Naruto..!"

Itachi almost choked on air when he heard the sudden declaration. He smiled at Sasuke.

"You should tell him that yourself." Itachi almost laughed. Sasuke was just too cute.

"But otouto, in the time we live..I'm not sure if they even allow that." Itachi suddenly remembered.

Sasuke's ears fell and his expression changed dramatically.

"Why not..?" Sasuke voice went to a low, soft whisper.

"Please don't be upset Sasuke.." Itachi wrapped an arm around his poor brother. "It's just that we live in a world where we as hybrids can't even marry. You should at least know where I'm getting at right..?"

Sasuke nodded solemnly.

"Also..I don't know if they'd openly accept two males..marrying." Itachi hated being the bearer of this kind of information.

Sasuke's ears were still fallen. He looked down and his fingers were playing with his sweater. He repeated what he heard over and over in his head.

He then went back to the folder he saw. It had a picture of a girl in it..did that mean he was going to marry her? Did Naruto not love him anymore?

But..just last night they told each other they loved one another.

Sasuke's head felt all messed up. He pulled on his ears downward in frustration, but he whimpered in pain at himself from pulling too hard.

"Sasuke..what's wrong." Itachi got worried. He took Sasuke's hands away from his ears so he couldn't hurt himself.

Sasuke shook his head and got off the bed.

"Hungry.." Sasuke whispered and started heading downstairs.

The whole day Sasuke was in a sullen mood. He was sluggish and just upset overall. He couldn't keep his mind off of the folder. He even tried finding it in Naruto's room, but he had no luck. He quietly cried to himself when he couldn't find an answer.

He laid in Naruto's bed most of the day, not wanting to do anything.

Itachi was of course, worried. Sasuke wouldn't talk to him at all, and he was afraid it was because what he had said about marriage. He tried offering Sasuke to play outside, but Sasuke refused without a single word. Itachi even brought dried fish up to Sasuke. To his surprise, Sasuke took the dried fish, but he ate them under the blanket.

Itachi left Sasuke alone after that. He figured he wouldn't talk to him if he didn't want to, so he just had to wait. He told Sasuke that he was there for him, but that he would give him his space.

Sasuke was grateful for that. He continued to nibble on the fish, but then he felt bad that Itachi gave it to him and he didn't even acknowledge him.

Sasuke slipped out of the bed and found Itachi. He then thanked him for the fish. Itachi had asked him if he still wanted to be alone, and Sasuke nodded. Itachi patted his head and told him again that he was there if Sasuke needed him.

Sasuke quietly thanked his brother again before going back to Naruto's bed.

When Naruto came home, he wasn't greeted by Sasuke like he usually was. Instead Itachi took his place.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked, not used to the absence of Sasuke.

"He's been in bed most of the day." Itachi said quietly. "He's been in a sad mood and I feel I'm partly at fault."

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he took off his shoes.

"He suddenly asked about marriage this morning..I told him the truth about how..we can't marry, nor are two males openly accepted in marriage. I think he might be upset from that."

Naruto felt his heart sink down to his stomach.

"I'll go talk to him.." Naruto said as he started going upstairs.

"Thank you." Itachi whispered.

Naruto went upstairs and saw the lump under the blanket on the bed.

"Sasuke..?" Naruto slowly lifted the blanket to reveal a sleeping kit.

Naruto sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Sasuke's hair.

This caused him to stir from his sleep and saw Naruto looking down at him. He slowly got up and hugged Naruto. He was still upset and frustrated, but he did miss Naruto.

"Hey you.." Naruto softly smiled. "I heard you weren't too happy today."

Sasuke's ears fell and he let go of Naruto, quietly sitting in place.

"You saw it didn't you.." Naruto started. "The folder..with that girl.."

Sasuke nodded, and he felt tears come up. He had so many questions.

"I'm sorry.." Naruto hugged Sasuke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you immediately. I had a fight with my father yesterday about it, so I didn't want to push that to you. I promise I was going to tell you though."

"Do you not love me.." Sasuke sniffled as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"No! No..Sasuke. I mean, I love you so much." Naruto held Sasuke's hand and squeezed it.

"Th..then marry me..!" Sasuke cried out. "Aniki said..marriage is..like a promise." Sasuke was starting sniff even more, trying to hold back his tears.

Naruto was surprised at Sasuke's proposal of marriage.

"Sasuke..let me explain first."

Sasuke nodded, letting Naruto speak.

"What you saw wasn't a choice I made. It's not even official or anything..my dad told me that I should marry the daughter of another company so we could be partners." Naruto simplified it since he believed Sasuke wouldn't understand nor care about it.

"I do not love that woman in the picture..I never even met her!" Naruto sighed. "I immediately refused when my dad showed it to me. He wondered why..he doesn't know about you. He doesn't know that my lover is you Sasuke. Being the Hokage's son..it just puts a lot of pressure on me.."

It started to make sense to Sasuke. He felt much better knowing that Naruto wasn't in favor of the marriage.

"I'm too young to even marry..and I'm not going to put my own life through an arranged marriage. I can't do that to you either. But I'm also afraid of telling my father about you. Not because you're a hybrid or a male..I'm just scared what he's going to do to you or me.

"My father's not cruel. He's serious and does his work correctly. But I just have this fear that he would take you away from me..then I wouldn't know what to do. He..he's been trying to partner with the other company for a while. Even being Hokage didn't help at all..the only thing that they proposed was an arranged marriage with their daughter. I'm sure if I told him I was in love with another girl..he would understand. But since it's not a girl who I love..I don't know how he'll react to that."

Sasuke nodded. He felt scared wondering what Naruto's father could do. He just couldn't imagine a life without Naruto. Even though Naruto was harsh to him in the beginning, he forgave him. He fell in love. And he's still in love with him. He knew Naruto had a hard life. Although it might not be as rough as his own, he knew Naruto had suffered differently.

"I'm sorry Sasuke..I never intended to put you through this."

Sasuke hugged Naruto tightly as he started to calm down.

"But hey..I didn't know you wanted to marry me." Naruto couldn't help but give a small grin.

"Aniki said we can't marry." Sasuke said sadly, remembering what Itachi said.

"Speaking of your aniki..he's extremely worried for you, you know. He thinks he's in fault for your mood when it was really my fault."

Sasuke felt upset at himself that he made Itachi feel like that.

Naruto noticed the troubled look on Sasuke's face.

"Why don't we explain to him what happened later..okay?"

Sasuke nodded and sat on Naruto's lap.

"Do you know how marriages work Sasuke?"

Sasuke shook his head.

Naruto smiled and got up, putting Sasuke back on the bed.

"Well first, usually the man asks the lady if they want to spend the rest of their lives together. They present a ring which represents the neverending love. I know you're not a female, but I will show you. Something like this..don't laugh."

Naruto quickly rummaged through his drawers, finding an old ring he used to wear in his more rebellious age.

He then got on one of his knees and held up his hands. One of his hands contained the ring, and the other was covering it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto declared. "I've loved you for a very long time. I hope you love me just as much as I do to you. I wish to spend the rest of my life with you..will you marry me?"

Naruto silently waited for a response from Sasuke but none came. He looked up and saw Sasuke crying and smiling.

"Hey! I said not to laugh." Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke shook his head, but he couldn't stop smiling. He wiped his tears. He thought Naruto looked rather funny kneeling like that and proclaiming his love in such an odd tone. But he was so happy to hear those words and hoped he actually meant it.

"You're supposed to say yes by now." Naruto hinted, still on his knees.

Sasuke pretended to think about it. He acted as if he was in deep thought, tapping his finger on his chin.

"You're killing me Sasuke."

Sasuke couldn't stop smiling.

"Yes!" Sasuke finally said.

Naruto got up and lifted Sasuke off his feet.

"I love you Sasuke, I really do." He kissed Sasuke's lips and then put him down.

"After that though, they put the ring on. In this case, I would put the ring on your finger."

Naruto slipped the ring on Sasuke's finger, but it was too big.

"Damn, you really have slender fingers."

"Feels weird.." Sasuke mumbled as he took the ring off.

Naruto did a loud, purposeful gasp.

"Are you rejecting my love to you?!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto wide eyed and quickly shook his head. He placed the ring back on his finger and showed it to Naruto.

Naruto laughed and messed Sasuke's hair.

"I'm just playing with you." He grinned. "But you don't like wearing a ring, huh."

Naruto took the ring off. He sat back on the bed with Sasuke on his lap.

"Marriage though..sometimes it could be treated like a piece of paper. Like a contract almost. That's how this arranged marriage feels like..but if I were to marry you? Man, that'd be great."

Sasuke's ears perked when he heard that. So Naruto would marry him!

"I'm not going to go through that marriage Sasuke. After just proposing to you, even though it wasn't exactly real, my feelings are there. I know we're kind of young..but hey, that can't stop us from loving each other, right?"

Sasuke nodded and then smiled at Naruto.

"You feel better though Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded again. He was oozing with happiness.

"Our time will come.." Naruto mumbled into Sasuke's neck. "Even if we don't get married, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Naruto gently held Sasuke's hand and kissed the palm of it.

"Even though marriage is nice, it doesn't mean we love each other less if we don't..okay? I'll love you the same with or without marriage, so don't think too much about it."

Sasuke nodded. He now understood how deep Naruto's love was for him.

Naruto grinned and laid down on the bed, taking Sasuke with him.

"I'm glad you found out. We were able to clear it up quicker." He turned to Sasuke, who was next to him. "I'm sorry." Naruto said again.

Sasuke nodded, accepting his apology.

Naruto stretched and sat up. He offered his hand to Sasuke.

"Let's go clear things up with Itachi okay? I'm sure he's still worrying about you."

Sasuke nodded and grabbed his hand.

They both went downstairs to Itachi, holding hands with their newfound happiness.