A/N: It's time for some more sappy crap. Hah. Gotta love those.

I mention "voluntary" work in there. Truthfully though, the non-voluntary volunteer work totally happened to me and my batchmates. Don't even try to ask how it happened. It just sort of did. Ugh.

Oh! Italics in this chapter were directly taken from the song Before The Worst by The Script. I'm giving these guys credit for this awesome song and I'm citing their work as theirs. Such a fantastic "all them feels" song. Stings the heart just right. Haha!

Hopefully you guys like how this one turned out. This part is actually one of the few parts in the story that was constantly at the back of my brain. I've been wanting to write this chapter for the longest time now (we're talking years, people) and I genuinely hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed finally being able to write the scene out. We get to see a side of Sasuke that only Naruto will ever get to see. :D Lucky her! In any case, maybe an out of character warning should be given?

ENJOY THE MILESTONE CHAPTER, EVERYONE-SAN!

Thank you to alesfan and SweetHunniiBunnii for the continual support! Also, I'd like to show my gratitude to the silent readers who are still with me on this story! Please enjoy!

*DISCLAIMER APPLIES*

BEFORE THE WORST

In Times of Great Emotion

There was a time that we'd stay up all night. Best friends talking' til the daylight.

Naruto loudly grunted, obviously exerting a huge amount of effort as she tried to pull herself up from Sasuke's balcony onto the rooftop. Such a task would have been a breeze for her, what with her being so adept at doing somersaults and whatnot, however the added weight that the five cups of instant ramen she consumed beforehand had taken its toll. It was a complete and utter mystery where she put it all.

"Hey, Sasuke-bastard! A boost would really be perfect right now!" She was only able to pull herself up to mid-waist before her arms gave up on her and she was again feebly hanging onto the edge of the overhang.

Sasuke, who stood eyelevel to the back of Naruto's shins, massaged the bridge of his nose once he was met with the sight of Naruto's pathetic attempts. He'd warned her not to eat so much but did she ever listen? Nope. And this was what not listening to Uchiha Sasuke got you. The boy intertwined his fingers together and put his hands below Naruto's feet so she had something to step on. Once the girl had a foot in place Sasuke's hands, the boy pushed upward, successfully getting Naruto safely to the top of the roof.

"Thanks, Sasuke! Now get up here!"

Sasuke stood atop the provided outdoor table in his balcony and jumped to grab hold of the roof edge from atop the piece of furniture. Because he didn't eat like a pig like certain people he knew, he was able to pull himself up quite easily and was met with a marvelous display of stars. It was rare, impossible even, to have such an amazing visual of the night sky in the city. It was a shame how the multitude of cosmopolitan lights proved to hide the wonders nature had to offer.

"Earth Hour is totally underrated. Don't you think so, Sasu-cakes?" The young lady asked as she internally marvelled at the sight of the cosmos. She waited for Sasuke to sit right beside her, humming to herself while she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Hn."

Naruto smirked, glad that Sasuke agreed with her.

That night, Naruto had no interest in succumbing to a silent evening so she instead opted to make idle conversation with her significant other. "You think aliens are watching us right now?"

"It's possible granting how massive the universe is."

"Eh! You believe in aliens, Uchiha?!"

"Why not? It would be ignorant not to."

Naruto shrugged in response, silently agreeing with her best friend. "So have you physically, mentally and emotionally prepared yourself for tutoring tomorrow?"

Long having been accustomed to Naruto's tendency to thoughtlessly switch around topics, Sasuke was able to convey a proper reaction to the question. Assessing the groan she received, she guessed Sasuke was anything but prepared to tutor the little munchkins that they were assigned to.

"Don't remind me. I don't understand why the school calls it volunteer work when they really just corner you into doing the work." The young man complained. Students on campus weren't technically required to register to the program but if a student did fail to volunteer for at least one of the volunteer services the school held for an academic year, then said student would acquire incomplete status and would not be allowed to graduate on their final year. It sucked. It was some variation of false advertising and it plain sucked.

"Think of it this way: you've tutored me before. What could be worse than teaching Uzumaki Naruto?"

"... You have a point."

"What the hell! You weren't supposed to agree!"

Yeah. If he could stand his A-class bothersome girlfriend, he could withstand the snootiest, twitchiest booger-infested brat out there. Maybe. Hopefully. With enough prayers, possibly.

"I loathe children though. They're just so... disgusting." He grimaced at the conjured image of a snotty-nosed kid in his brain. Definitely a sight for sore eyes, that was for sure.

"What if we get kids?" Naruto added, not putting too much weight in her words. The idea of children was only, after all, still a hypothetical concept for the two of them.

"Then they better be well-behaved and immaculately clean at all times because I will definitely not tolerate teary-eyed filthy little gremlins."

Naruto whistled at the words. "Whoa. Way harsh, dude."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, deal with it." He was definitely not a kid person; the complete opposite of Naruto whom loved interacting with people especially with kids.

"I feel sorry for the kid you're teaching already, man." She grumbled mostly to herself but made sure it was loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Naruto silently prayed that Sasuke would change his disposition later through the years. After all, Naruto would utterly love to have children. Hopefully, Sasuke would end up having a soft spot for their babies like he had a soft spot for her. When she had kids, she'd make sure to give them all the love in the world, give them everything they need and want, shower them with affection. She could go on and on!

At some point during her musings, she began to fiddle with the jewel of her necklace. The very same necklace her own mother left to her. She directed a small fond smile to the jewel. There was another reason why she called Sasuke up on the roof other than to stargaze. Naruto was more than happy over the fact that her mother left the necklace for her to wear. At least the blonde still had a sense of physical connection to her mother, to both her parents even; but now, she wanted to share her very own connection to someone who was beyond significant. The blonde unclasped her necklace and held it against the moonlight, studying each facet with a meek smile on her face and memorizing the gem's sentimental beauty.

Sasuke drank in the visual of Naruto bathed under the pale moon; but then curiosity got the better of him. "Naruto?" Sasuke asked, unsure of what exactly Naruto was doing with her heirloom.

After spending another handful of seconds gazing at the gorgeous turquoise gem, she extended the necklace to Sasuke, offering him a most captivating smile.

"What're you doing?" He voiced with caution, still not on the same wavelength with his counterpart.

Naruto twitched and sighed. And Sasuke called her the clueless one. "I'm giving it to you." She further pushed out the hand holding the necklace to silently demand Sasuke to take the piece from her.

"Yeah. I can see that, dumbell, but why?" Arching a brow, Sasuke gingerly took the necklace and eyed the thing in his palms curiously.

"I just wanted to give it to you is all." Naruto ruffled the spikes at the back of Sasuke's head. It never ceased to amaze her how Sasuke's hair was silky to the touch despite its jagged saw-like appearance. She then smoothened the mess she made by tenderly caressing the midnight black locks. "Wear it all the time, got it? If you lose that, I'll cripple you." The threat was rendered ineffective because of the pout on Naruto's adorable face. As life-threatening as a puppy, Sasuke always believed.

"Idiot. Your mother left this for you. This is yours."

"Well now I'm giving it to you! It's yours now just as I am yours too." Naruto saying that out loud took Sasuke by surprise. How could someone ever decline an offering of such magnitude. He understood completely by that point that it was Naruto's physical manifestation of their long-time relationship not just as lovers but as the best of friends, as family. This had Sasuke chuckling. It was an impulsive gift from an impulsive girl. He put the necklace around his neck and easily secured the clasp; an uncharacteristically impulsive response from a premeditative boy.

"Take care of it, Sasuke." The Uzumaki girl, painfully unaware of the sheer gravity of the request, implored.

Sasuke could only nod in response as he accustomed himself to the new weight on his chest.

"Good." She chirped, stretched out her limbs, and lied down with her arms cradling the back of her head. The male teen smiled down at her and followed suit, however he opted to politely place his hands on top of his flat stomach.

A silence took over as the two lovers surveyed once more the canvass of stars splayed out just for them. What had just transpired between the two of them had just significantly put more depth to their bond. Their gravitational pull to each other had just been reinforced.

Sasuke went over their series of exchanges. He went back to earlier in their conversation and picked up on the detail of Naruto mentioning kids.

Kids.

She alluded to a family with him.

Family – something they'd been deprived of far too early in their lifetime. And here Naruto was implying that they would have one in the not too distant future. Flashes of images came to the forefront of Sasuke's mind. The imagery felt pleasantly nice in all actuality. Suddenly, the idea of having little Uchiha munchkins didn't seem so horrible. Well, as long as it was his and Naruto's munchkins, then he most definitely wouldn't mind. Wow. Naruto as the mother of his children? ... Sasuke couldn't be the only one feeling warm, could he? "So when we have kids, what're you going to name them?"

Naruto drew her attention towards him, looking startled for a mere moment before settling her expression to a look of pure adoration. "You want me to name the kids? You sure about that? What if I decide to call them something crazy like Bolt and Menma? Or, or, or Ramen and Sarada! Haha!"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the prospects. Seriously? Bolt and Menma? Ramen and Sarada? Sarada?! Who the hell named their kids after food? He exhaled to calm himself down, refusing to rile himself over it. He knew Naruto was only joking to get a reaction from him. "We're having two kids then?" The Uchiha looked to her with amusement visible in his eyes. Two didn't seem like a bad idea to him either. As long as they had a daughter, the number of kids didn't really matter to him.

Naruto cutely blushed. "Well, yeah. Or three? But two would be perfect, I think. A boy and a girl. I kind of like the name Asuka for the girl. Hmmm, and maybe Jin for the boy? Uchiha Jin and Uchiha Asuka. Sounds fun, right?" (1)

Something incredibly warm filled Sasuke's chest at the sound of the proposed names and he automatically nodded to regard Naruto's choice. Jin sounded perfectly fine to him. He would have preferred something dainty-sounding for their daughter though. Like maybe Himawari or something along those lines; but he surrendered. If Naruto was happy with the name Asuka, then their daughter would be named Asuka.

"I hope one of them turns out to look like me or maybe even my mom but knowing you and your stupid dominant genes, they'll probably end up looking like you. Ugh! So unfair!" The blonde griped and grumbled. Unfortunate as it was, Sasuke knew Naruto to be correct. Genetics sucked that way. It was a shame really. Honestly speaking, he'd want their children to look like Naruto. God. If their daughter ended up looking anything like her mother, she'd be the prettiest thing in the world. He would spoil her like it was nobody's business.

"I hope they inherit your eyes at least." Sasuke mused out loud. Naruto's eyes were easily his favourite feature. They were just so incredibly blue that it was almost unreal. And don't even mention the way they just seemed to naturally twinkle under the light of either the sun or the moon, rivalling even the glittery waters of the sea on a hot summer day or even the most enchanting glow of stardust at the dead of night.

The older teen was suddenly startled with the sound of Naruto laughing at his side. "Pff! Look at us talking about kids when we're not even married. Hell, we're just kids ourselves."

Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a little planning ahead."

"But that's way far into the future though. Who's to say you even ask me to marry you? Knowing how you're such a douchebag about things, you're probably gonna make things difficult cause if you don't you end up scowling like this." Naruto pointed to her face with a manicured finger and did the best impression of Sasuke's scowl with amazing accuracy.

"I do not." Sasuke, hilariously enough, scowled.

"You're doing it right now!"

With the accusation oddly affecting him more than it should have, Sasuke did something that even Naruto would never in her life expect from the boy. "Fine. Then I promise I won't make things difficult when I propose to you." Sasuke, in a most unSasuke-like demeanour, pivoted from where he was sitting and knelt down in front of Naruto. The girl appeared shell-shocked from where she sat.

"A few years from now, I'll be kneeling just like this without a scowl and with a ring on one hand. I'll take your hand..." He then tightly held Naruto's left hand and caressed the top of her palm with his thumb. "And then I'll politely ask you to marry me without a hint of anxiety because I'm an Uchiha. An Uchiha never shows weakness in uncertainty. Also, it's not like you're going to say no."

Naruto partially covered her mouth with her free hand to contain herself from bursting into uncharacteristic girlish giggles, however her eyes gave away her emotions anyway as her two sapphire orbs danced in delight. "Stupid jerk. How are you so sure I won't say No?" She taunted with futility.

Sasuke smirk-smiled the way he always did, without acknowledging the question. The notion that Naruto would ever reject him was just that ridiculous that it did not even garner a response; instead, he continued with his litany. "Then we'll get married and you'll move in with me or we could get a new home. It doesn't really matter to me. We'll get a dog and call it 'Sparky'. We'll have two wonderful children who I hope look like you but will most likely look like me and we'll name them 'Jin' and 'Asuka'. You're going to smother and spoil them while I try to be the disciplinarian of the household; but I'll fail miserably because they're going to inherit that blasted pout of yours, causing me to concede every time they use it. We're going to grow old together and hopefully get to see our grandchildren before we die of old age."

I was down on one knee and you were mine for life.

Naruto laughed once the monologue was over, clearly amused by the pleasant surprise that Sasuke had a sappy bone in him. "That was so cheesy, Uchiha." She rested her forehead against Sasuke, closing her eyes in the process. "That sounded less complicated than it actually is."

"Which proves that I don't make things difficult all the time." Sasuke closed his eyes as well, relishing in their close proximity.

Naruto giggled, sounding like clear bells in the silent evening. "I'll believe it once you walk the talk, jerk." Naruto pulled back so she could raise doubting eyebrow at her best friend.

"Promise. I hope you took down everything I mentioned because I absolutely will not repeat that." There was only so much sugary words Sasuke could mutter within a day; and he'd finished that quota in one conversation. If he said any more sappy shit like that, he thought he might just die. That aside, he'd make sure to prove Naruto wrong. Once he accomplished his narrative down to the last detail, he'd have the last laugh.

"I'll hold you to that, Sasuke." Naruto adoringly gazed at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. She considered herself the luckiest girl in the world. Even though Sasuke could be a bastard most of the time, the small moments when he showed he cared for her made up for every bicker and name-call exchange. It was uplifting, to be in love with him this immensely. It was as if she was soaring every time she looked at him. Consequently, it was also terrifying to some extent because the act of soaring through the limitless skies had within it the perilous danger of falling. She had all too willingly given Sasuke the power to keep her soaring and the power to let her fall down swinging. But the funny thing about love was the trust you put in someone to keep you afloat greatly outweighed each and every doubt, therefore you respond by promising to let the other experience the great heights of love in turn.

"Promise to stay by your side as long as you'll have me, jerk. In fact, I'll stay even if you get sick of me! You're stuck with me for life, Uchiha, and I can't wait to annoy you for the rest of our lives." Naruto grinned. The thought excited her. Even if something were to happen that Sasuke would grow weary of her presence (highly unlikely! Thirteen years as best friends with no signs of complaints thus far), she'd still stay because knowing Sasuke, he had the tendency to make life difficult for everyone. Of course, Naruto forgot to regard that nature had plans for them that were out of their control but hey. She was a fighter and if it was fate that was against her then she'd gladly counterattack fate itself.

"Hn. Annoying dork " Sasuke ruffled her hair as a gesture of endearment.

"Hehe! I love you, Sasuke!"

In times of great emotion akin to this, it was incredibly easy to make such promises.

We were thinking we would never be apart with your name tattooed across my heart

The hopeful teenager that was Naruto was certain to stay flying for the rest of her days and it was all thanks to her long-time best friend.

Hm.

...

...

Speaking of flying.

"So going back to those aliens..."

We were sitting with our backs against the world, saying things that we thought but never heard.

If memory serves me correctly, this is the first time I put up an Author's note at the end of the Chapter. Hn. First time for everything, I guess.

These were the names I decided on years ago. I planned out this story waaaay before Naruto ended and I wanted to keep the names. In any case, I mentioned the actual kids in the manga (even though it was in jest). Also Jin and Asuka are names that totally came from Tekken. Hehe! I just love their names!