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

Summary: COMPLETE (new chapter up everyday - total of 35 chapters!). Sasuke's a writer whose been writing the same words for years. He's tired, he's annoyed, and his money situation is...pretty messed up, even by student standards. Enter Naruto. Modern AU (College/University), Sasunaru/Narusasu. Posted for Sasuke's birthday!

A/N: Chapter 33! Two more, after this! I can't believe it!


Enter Naruto

Chapter 33: Timing

Sasuke held very little hope that his eyes were anything but red and puffy as left the kitchen. His mother wasn't much better off, really, but she was smiling as he left, eyes as bright with hope as they were with tears as she waved him off—

He glanced around the room.

"Where's Naruto?" Something sank deep into his stomach—if his father had—

Itachi turned back to him. "I think he might have had to take a phone call." His father only stayed silent—watchful and wary, like he had been so far, but Sasuke would deal with that later—

He found Naruto by the stairs, sitting on the floor with his phone laid in front of him.

His eyes were closed.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto's eyes snapped open as Sasuke dropped to his knees in front of him—

"Oh—Sasuke—I—" His mouth opened and closed—and then he let out a laugh, shaking his head. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"You aren't subtle, usuratonkachi. What's wrong?"

Naruto let out a shaky laugh, slouching against the railing as he ran his hand through his hair. He still didn't touch his phone.

"Nothing's...wrong, but—um, how did talking to your mom go? Was it okay?"

"It was fine. Answer the question."

"What do you mean 'fine'? You—"

"I'll tell you more later. Answer the question."

Naruto let out another laugh.

"Um," he picked up his phone—quietly unlocking it and handing it to Sasuke, "here."

Naruto's...emails? What—

Sasuke's eyes focused on the third from the top.

His name's Jiraiya. He recognized me.

Sasuke met Naruto's eyes.

"For the record," Naruto said, all trace of a smile gone as he looked away, "I know this is really shitty timing. I'm really not trying to make today about me—I just—you said you didn't want me to try to hide this stuff, so—"

Sasuke cut him off, gently pulling Naruto to him. It took longer than usual for Naruto to relax into his arms—but he did, and Sasuke pressed their lips together several more times, just for good measure—

"And you actually listened to me," he said, only pulling back far enough to speak. "Some wonders never cease."

And Naruto's face broke, just then—he laughed as he gently pressed his fist into Sasuke's shoulder—

"You asshole," he whispered, eyes still closed but smile back again—

"Mm," he pressed a soft kiss to Naruto's forehead, "are they pictures of your birth parents, you think?"

"...Yeah," his voice was a strained sigh, "I think they will be."

"You want to look at them."

Naruto nodded.

"It's such a bad idea," he let out a wet laugh, still nodding, "but I—"

"Naruto," he said seriously, "it's not. I think you've waited long enough at this point."

He saw Naruto swallow. Sasuke let his body roll, twisting until he sat with his own back against the stairs, too—shoulder pressing right into Naruto's. He draped an arm over Naruto's knee to hold his phone out back to him.

Naruto let out a breath—and then another, shakier than the last—and gently pressed on the email.

Sasuke made no move to hide the fact that he was reading over Naruto's shoulder. If he was guessing right, it was exactly what Naruto had wanted him to do. Really, the fact that Naruto had sat here, waiting for him—his phone over a foot away, as if he was scared that the need to check it would overwhelm him before Sasuke made it there—

He leaned closer into Naruto's body, resting his head against the side of Naruto's face. Jiraiya had detailed what each photograph was—where it was from, what was happening...vacations, birthdays, their wedding—there weren't many (although he said he would continue to look), but he certainly hadn't held back on the descriptions.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he scanned the email, and his body was tense. He still didn't take the phone from Sasuke, finger trembling over the text as he scrolled—

"Let's look at them one by one," Sasuke offered. "What was the first?"

Naruto glanced at him—pausing before he let out a long, long breath—

"Um," he swallowed, scrolling back up, "Ku—I mean, my—my mother's," he tripped over the word, "birthday. Her twenty-second—" he sucked in a breath, "—she's—she's my age—"

Sasuke gently scrolled to the bottom of the email, and clicked on the photograph.

"Oh," the word breathed out of Naruto broken in half as the picture loaded—as a girl, as young as they were, with fierce red hair and Naruto's smile waved back at the camera—

"She's beautiful," Sasuke said, because anyone with that smile instantly was—

Naruto let out a trembling breath.

"Y-yeah," he whispered, and Sasuke could hear the way his voice hitched, right in the middle—

"Is that your father? In the background?" He could see a flash of blonde hair—and Naruto had said that they looked alike—

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"I—um, I—I don't—" Naruto closed his eyes, as if trying to pull himself together—Sasuke slipped an arm around his waist to stop him from falling further—

"The next photo…?"

"Oh," Naruto's eyes opened, "yeah—it's from the same p-party—"

And there they were.

Naruto's mother, and what was unmistakably his father (blonde hair, blue eyes—although he only had eyes for Kushina, from the looks of it), arm in arm—both unaware that the photo was being taken, both laughing at something that Naruto and Sasuke couldn't see—

Naruto turned into Sasuke's shoulder and sobbed.


It hurt.

It hurt, and Naruto couldn't even begin to understand why. He hadn't known them. He had never known them, not a single day of his life, so why—so why did this feel so—

"I thought you were holding it together suspiciously well," Sasuke voice was soft and soothing, right beside his ear. Naruto felt the laugh bubble out of him even as another tear dropped—

"Asshole," he whispered, sucking in a breath. He had really not wanted to—damn it, he was crying all over Sasuke again

"Um," he swallowed, trying to pull back, "sorry—I—"

"When have I ever minded?" Sasuke asked, arms not loosening in the slightest. "Moron."

He laughed, just once, again, and let himself relax back against Sasuke. He was warm and calming, and Naruto nuzzled himself further into Sasuke's neck just a little more—somehow, it was helping with the lump in his throat.


"Talk to me," Sasuke prompted, running a hand in small circles along Naruto's back.

Naruto's face pressed further into his neck. More than a few tears had already spilled under Sasuke's shirt, and Naruto had been alternating between attempting to look back at the phone and burying himself into Sasuke's body since he had broken down—

"I'm never going to meet them," Naruto's voice was a half-broken whisper. "I'm never—I'll never know—I'll never be able to—"

His voice cut off in a painful gasp of air, arms tightening around Sasuke as he twisted into him again—

"I know," Sasuke said quietly. "I know."

He pulled Naruto closer, letting the blonde shudder against him. There was a...permanence to a loss like this. A permanence that Sasuke hadn't experienced, yet. He had been upset over his parents—he had grieved over them, even, but—

There had always been a chance.

A chance Naruto didn't have.

He pulled the blonde up—closer to him, further against him—and kissed the top of his head.

"...Did you know Kakashi set us up?"

He felt Naruto's breath pause—and then he pulled back. Even with red rims, Naruto's eyes were never any less bright.

"He—what?"

Sasuke shifted—and it made Naruto shift with him—

"The day we met," he started, softly, "I went to the café—on his suggestion. He told me to go there—on that day, at that time—because he said it was a good...environment to write in. To get inspiration." Sasuke paused, watching as the realization dawned in Naruto's eyes—

"He always suggested specific places like that. And specific times—like that. I never took him up on it until that day."

Naruto stared at him.

"You think—you think I was always—"

"I think you were always there," Sasuke said quietly, looking down at their hands—his fingers traced along Naruto's palm. "I think he's the reason I met you. And Iruka is the reason you met him, and if your parents hadn't—then I never would have—"

His voice cut off as Naruto clutched him again—less desperately, this time, but just as tight—

"And you're the reason I'm here," he told Naruto's neck. "You're the reason I agreed to this."

"No, I—"

"You are." He let Naruto move away, but only the smallest bit. "You gave me the strength to do this. Even if it doesn't work out—you did this. You helped me. I think I really needed to meet you."

Naruto stared at him as if Sasuke was offering him the world.

"Naruto," he said quietly—firmly, honestly, "I needed you in my life."


"Do you think—something happened?" His wife gave the doorway another worried glance.

Fugaku followed it, letting out a soft breath. They had both left rather quickly—Naruto had disappeared when Fugaku's back had been turned, and Sasuke was yet to bring him back.

Had he offended him so badly? He had been taking great care not to. At least, he thought he had been.

But perhaps he had stayed too silent—and it had been taken as...disapproval? Dismissance? Something else negative and entirely unmeant by Fugaku's quiet demeanor?

Itachi seemed comfortable enough—but he had little to lose, today. Sasuke had kept in touch with him—had communicated with him, even when he had been ready to drop the Uchiha from his name—

He let out another breath—quick and quiet—through his nose.

Naruto's presence here was as much a test as Sasuke's, and he could easily fail either one.

"It wasn't us, was it?" Mikoto asked softly, turning back towards their eldest son. "If we upset him—"

"I don't believe so." Itachi caught his eyes for a brief moment. He was unsure—just as they were, and it did little to still Fugaku's nerves—

"I could apologize," Mikoto offered, again, ever-willing to brave a storm—

"No," Itachi shook his head, "I don't think that's necessary." He let out a small breath. "...I suppose I could check."

"Could you?" Mikoto asked, and it was so filled with hope that Fugaku could hardly interpret it as anything other than an order—

Itachi smiled softly.

"Give me a moment."


"I love you, you know that?" Naruto whispered—voice thick with emotion, eyes still burning with the threat of even more tears—

"You've made sure that I do." Sasuke's weight leaned just a bit more heavily on him—his arm tightened, too, and Naruto suddenly felt so loved and cared for that he just—

"Sorry to interrupt," Itachi's voice came softly—from the room behind them—and Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin—

"Oh," Naruto frantically wiped at his face, "no—I—um—it's fine. Sorry—I—sorry. Sorry."

"No need to apologize," he said softly—in the doorway, now. Sasuke had sat up straight, too, and he was still holding onto Naruto's phone—

"What is it?" He didn't need to see Sasuke's face to know he was scowling.

"Fugaku—our father didn't upset you, did he? He's not a—"

"Wh—no! No, no, no, that's not it at all—crap, I'm sorry," Naruto shoved himself to his feet. "I—hang on—"

This was exactly the type of misunderstanding he had been trying to avoid—this is why he'd normally never say anything at all—he scrubbed his eyes with the bottom of his shirt as he trotted back into the dining room—

"I'm sorry," he said, as soon as Sasuke's parents turned back to him—Mikoto's eyes were wide and worried and even Fugaku looked more stressed than calm—

"I didn't mean to—make it seem like you upset me," he ducked down—ducked back, and it was only then that he realized that Sasuke and Itachi had followed him—and, crap, no one was gonna believe him unless he explained—

"Okay—um," he ran a hand through his hair, "just so—just—basically—I got—I've been looking for my birth parents for a while, and I never knew who they were or anything and then I met someone who did know them and he only just sent me pictures today and I saw them and it sucks and I know this is shitty timing and I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to—"

"Breathe, usuratonkachi." Sasuke slipped around him, the lightest touch of his hand running along his back as he moved—

"Oh, um," Naruto sucked in a breath—his lungs still felt weighed down—heavy, the way they would sometimes get when something really, really got to him— "yeah. Sorry."

"Your—parents…?" Mikoto prompted, gently, taking a step forward—

"My birth parents, yeah." He nodded, swallowing. "They—um—I knew they—they, um, passed away the day I was born, so I never really expected to find anything—so it's all a bit…" He waved a hand, ducking his head as his eyes started to burn again—

"Sorry," he said finally—again. He really hadn't meant to do this—everything else going on was way more important, and—

"Well," Itachi broke the silence, "that certainly explains why you were so insistent on Sasuke coming here."

Naruto's head snapped up.

"Wh—hey, no, I—I apologized about that!" He spun back to Sasuke, waving at him— "Tell him!"

"And I told you you never needed to," Sasuke said quietly, eyes boring into him.

Naruto swallowed the rest of his words.

"Anyways—sorry. I didn't mean for all—this—" he waved his hands around him, looking back down, "to come up today."

"It's hardly your fault." It was the gruff, low tone of Sasuke's father that made his head snap back up. Fugaku was frowning, staring at him as if—

"Could we—I mean," Mikoto took a step forward, "do you mind if we—see the photographs?"

Naruto blinked in surprise.

"I—no, of course not. I don't mind at all."


A/N: It's a bit of a shorter one today, so that the last two can really wrap things up. And we're wrapping things up! Wow! I thought 35 chapters was so many compared to how much I usually write, but this fic has just flown by. I hope you're all excited for the end!

See you tomorrow,

- Kinomi