"I think I'm going to lie down for a while. Today wore me out." Naruto pressed a quick, but sweet kiss on Sasuke's lips. "Thank you for breakfast."

Sasuke watched Naruto as the entered the apartment. He had noted his exhaustion and decline in hunger over the last several weeks; and now, he was seeing the strain that this minor and almost inconsequential holiday, used more as a money maker for florists and candy makers than as an actual time to be celebrated, caused the man he loved. He didn't like it...at all.

This was the last thing he and Naruto needed. There were so many other things stealing minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years from them. Valentine's Day should not even register on their radar as anything but a silly holiday celebrated by teenagers trying to get laid and kids looking for any excuse to eat candy.

He hated thinking of what the future held for them. It seemed almost grim. There was no point in being placed on the UNOS yet. Naruto was in decline, but not sick enough to qualify for an organ. He was still active and positive about his situation, but he was not Sasuke. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke was very much afraid of what would happen in coming months.

He had looked into buying an organ. It was not like he had any shortage of money. The problem came in that the only country that would sell of organs was China. The harder he looked into it, the less of a plausible option it became. Criminals were executed and their organs harvested there on the spot with sometimes minutes passing before extraction could take place. That left them with possibly damaged tissue. The last thing Sasuke would ever allow was giving to Naruto a heart that was damaged, not to mention one from a criminal. Naruto was too good a person to take a heart that had been inside the body of an executed murderer or rapist. It was unthinkable and he doubted Naruto would agree to it, let alone thank him for arranging it.

He would continue looking, but there was no way to verify the quality of the organ or from where it was obtained. For Naruto, he was a hard man. If it meant Naruto would get a healthy heart, he would pull the trigger himself.

But, then Naruto would have to live with what he had done. He was not sure he wanted to see that particular look in Naruto's eyes. Itachi insisted that Naruto would get a heart, but the constant decline in his health was already beginning to take its toll on him. He was not sure how he would survive when Naruto grew really sick.

Itachi had already told him that his own emotions would affect Naruto. If he grew angry or upset over the progression of Naruto's illness, they would be compounded onto Naruto's own emotions and weigh him down emotionally. Naruto would need all his strength, both emotional and physical to get through the wait for a heart. People with support always had a more positive prognosis, no matter the illness.

And that was why he did not want to see the current look worn on Naruto's face...one similar to defeat. This one holiday had put that look on his lover's face and it hurt to see it. Even sick, Naruto had such a boisterous personality. He joked and teased people he liked. Now, a day meant to be a celebration of love had practically turned him into a living ghost.

While Naruto lay down on the sofa to nap, Sasuke settled in his office and plucked the phone from his desk, pressing a well known number.

"What is it, Sasuke? I'm ten minutes from having to scrub in for surgery."

"I need help."

There was a long pause across the line. "Is Naruto alright? I can have an ambulance there within minutes."

"He's the same, not eating and a bit sluggish in the mornings. The same as I told you."

Itachi gave a small huff. "I told you that it was expected and for you to just watch out for any significant changes in his health. I can stop by after the surgery if you like and give him a physical. I don't expect him to have changed much since I saw him last week. He's progressing, but he's still a ways from needing to go into UNOS."

"There's been a change."

"What is it? Be as detailed as you can," ordered Itachi, amusement gone from his voice.

"He's depressed because Valentine's Day is tomorrow," answered Sasuke.

He could almost see the wheels in Itachi's head turning at the revelation. "Come again?"

"He gets upset at seeing all the hearts everywhere because of Valentine's Day. I don't really understand it. I mean, they aren't even intended to be actual hearts. It's more of a metaphysical thing, I think."

Itachi released an audible sigh. "I can't say I understand, but I've seen similar things from past patients. It's not the hearts, but the reminder of his own heart."

"So what should I do about it?"

"How the hell should I know? Take him out to dinner, get him some flowers."

Sasuke released a small growl. "Stop being an ass. Seriously, what should I do?"

"If it's just the day, just wait it out. I'm sure that it will be fine once the holiday is over and he will be back to his normal chipper and annoying self. If that's not the case, then you can worry."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "But I don't want to wait it out. I don't want him to feel bad about it at all."

"The two of you together is almost sickening. I don't think I'll ever feel for a woman what you feel for your idiot."

Sasuke grinned devilishly. "You could always try men."

Itachi snorted. "I may not be exactly straight as an arrow, but I'm not quite that crooked. I'll leave all the men to you, little brother."

"I don't want all the men, just one." He heard Itachi sigh into his ear and relaxed a little. "Come on, help me out, Itachi."

"Why the hell are you asking me? I don't romance women, I fuck them. I probably know less about it than you do, not to mention there is the small detail that Naruto is not a woman."

"But you know hearts."

He could practically hear Itachi's eyes rolling. "I know hearts in a sense of how to dissect them and take them out and put new ones in. You're on your own on this one, little brother. Call me if you need my medical advice."

"Asshole," snarled Sasuke and his brother's laughter filled his ear before the line went dead.

He sat staring at nothing for a long time. What could he do for Naruto that would make him stop thinking of Valentine's Day in the sense of what he did not have? While Naruto did have a sappy side, he did not think that candy and candlelit dinners were the way to go. They were far too traditional and cliché. Naruto needed something special.

An idea came to him and he shook his head at the thought. Why hadn't he thought of it before? Because there was one thing that held as much a hold on Naruto's heart as Sasuke, though he was loathe to admit it.

Now he just had to set it up. When Valentine's Day arrived, the last thing Naruto would be thinking of would be those damn cut-out hearts. There was plans to be made.

Naruto lay across the sofa with his head pillowed on one of his beloved orange pillows. He loved the things even if Sasuke thought the color atrocious. Then again, that reason alone had cemented his desire to add them to the plethora of things they had bought that day in order to make Sasuke's apartment more of a home. He lifted the hand holding the remote and began flipping through channels. Every time he saw a romantic Valentine's Day special, he sneered and quickly flipped to another station. Hell, even ESPN had commercials advertising flowers from national florists and commercials about special V-day M&Ms. It was positively revolting. He was not safe, not even on a manly sport's channel.

Damn that day. It truly was a blotch on the world.

"Naruto?"

Naruto glanced up to see Sasuke walk from their bedroom wearing jeans and a button down shirt. Damn, he could probably make a leopard print thong look good. The image of Sasuke in that particular piece of lingerie had him practically drooling. He would have to make a point of getting Sasuke a pair, not that the ass would wear them. Maybe if he played the dying card he could get him into them.

"What's with that look?" asked Sasuke with an arched brow.

Naruto grinned innocently. "What look?"

"Do I even want to know what you were just thinking of?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on what you think of leopard print underwear."

"As in Tarzan?" Sasuke's brows hit his hairline. "How is this for an answer. Fuck no."

Naruto pouted and folded his arms across his chest. "You're no fun, Sasuke."

"Well, how about we see to changing that? Want to go for a drive?"

Naruto flopped back on the sofa with a grunt and shook his head. "I'm not in the mood."

Not that he could get away from Valentine's Day inside either, it seemed. The hearts were everywhere. Short of reading a book, he was pretty fucked on all sides.

"You're not in the mood? You named that damn car of mine and profess your love to it, but when I offer you the chance to go for a ride in it, you aren't interested?"

Naruto flipped to Spike. Maybe he could find a James Bond marathon or maybe some UFC. Nothing was manlier than two guys beating the shit out of each other for sport. Spike would not dare put frou-frou hearts and shit on their channel.

He heard the clink of keys against each other before they hit him in his head. "What the fuck?"

"Well, if we're going for a ride, I figured you might like to drive."

Naruto stared at the keys. His heart's desire, or at least one of the desires, was to drive Scarlet. Sasuke never offered to let him drive, never.

"You're serious?" Naruto stared at the keys in his hand. "You're going to let me drive Scarlet?"

"I still can't believe you named the damn car, but yes, I'm going to let you drive it."

Could he turn down this opportunity that might not happen again? Hell no!

"Let's go!"

Naruto grabbed his coat from the rack and shrugged into it. He was practically skipping as they made their way down to the parking garage and the beautiful Scarlet. She seemed almost happy to see him with her brilliant shine and gleaming rims. Scarlet was a sight to behold.

"For God's sake, stop making eyes at the damn car and come on." Sasuke slid into the passenger's seat and fastened his buckle.

Naruto grinned and slide behind the wheel. His hands stroked over the cool leather and he gave a shudder as she purred to life when he turned the key. This was heaven, pure and simple. He loved Sasuke with all his heart, but Scarlet definitely had a place there too.

He turned his grinning face to Sasuke. "Where are we going?"

"I'll give you directions. There's something I want to show you."

Naruto shrugged and smoothly pulled the car from her reserved parking spot. He was too happy about being behind the wheel to care where they went.

"Left here," said Sasuke.

Naruto glanced around, not having noticed that they had gone out of the city and more into the outskirts of the suburbs. "Where the hell are we?"

"If you'd been paying attention to where we were going instead of trying to feel up the car, you would have seen the signs."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke before focusing on the rather narrow drive up the hill. When they pulled up into a small parking lot, Naruto scanned the empty area. The large block letters over the entrance stated, "Museum of Arts and Sciences".

"We're at a museum? You brought me to a museum?"

"Just wait," chuckled Sasuke. "Pop the trunk."

Sasuke stepped out of the car and around to the trunk where he removed a large basket and a blanket. "Don't just sit there like an idiot. Come on."

Naruto blinked dumbly before quickly following him to the building. Of course the building was locked when Naruto tried the door. It was Thursday and the museum times listed that and Sunday as closed days.

"I guess we're not going to the museum," said Naruto with a snicker.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled out a set of keys. "Oh, ye of little faith."

"Oh shit, don't tell me you own this place...because if you do, your nerd level increased like fifty-thousand points, and let me tell you, Sasuke, it's already freaking high because of that shit you write."

"Idiot," muttered Sasuke as he pressed the key into the door and stepped inside to press a code into the alarm. "A friend of mine runs this place. She let me borrow it for today."

"Well, at least there won't be any breaking and entering charges."

"Just follow me." Sasuke trotted down the hall, past the Native American display as it faded into a history of space travel display.

Naruto grew more intrigued as they worked through the various displays and to a pair of double doors with the word planetarium blazed over them. "I don't think I've ever been to a planetarium."

Sasuke smiled and opened the doors. He led Naruto down a ramp until they reached a large center stage with a podium-like device in the middle. He pushed Naruto into one of the chairs at the base of the podium and then moved to the computer.

"You better not break their shit. I'll finger you if we get arrested."

Sasuke chuckled and the room went dark before the night sky was brought to life above them. Naruto's eye went wide at what he saw. Living in the city, he was lucky to be able to pick out a couple of stars because the city lights overshadowed the more delicate light created by the stars. There were millions of tiny lights dotting the dome ceiling in a perfect rendition of the night.

"Whoa."

He felt Sasuke slide into the chair beside him and arm rest lifted so they could press against each other. The blanket was thrown over their legs and Naruto found himself pressing his head onto Sasuke's shoulder while staring at the sky.

"This planetarium is part of a group of planetariums. This is the night sky from somewhere out west where the stars are easily seen because of the distance from any town."

"It's amazing."

"Yeah. Itachi brought me here when I was eleven or twelve. It was so amazing that I wanted to share it with you."

Sasuke pulled away and dove into basket where he pulled out a bottle and two glasses. He handed the glasses to Naruto and then proceeded to pop the cork of the bottle.

"Sasuke, I don't think I can have alcohol."

Sasuke's face was barely visible in the darkness. "Idiot. It's sparkling juice."

Naruto chuckled and handed Sasuke a glass that he filled. "So I guess getting me drunk and having your way with me is out."

"I don't need to get you drunk to have my way with you." Sasuke leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a kiss flavored by sparkling grape juice. It was perhaps the best kiss Naruto had ever had and it brought a misting of tears to his eyes.

"Sasuke—"

Sasuke pulled back and lifted a hand to caress Naruto's cheek. "I love you. Whenever you think of Valentine's Day, whether it be next year or ten years from now, I want you to think of today. I want you to think of drinking fake wine beneath a starry sky instead of stupid cut out hearts. That's what I wanted today to do for you."

Sasuke kissed him again and again—a series of slow and innocent kisses that caused his heart to thump erratically and his breath to catch in his throat. How could this man continue to take his breath away with everything he did?

"Do you know how much I love you? Do you know how much it hurts to see you hurting and there is nothing I can do to make it stop. I would do anything and pay anything to get you a healthy heart."

Naruto blinked through the darkness, seeing the faint light gleam off of Sasuke's face. His heart hurt as it thumped irregularly in his chest. It was not a physical hurt, but one of the soul.

"Sasuke," whispered Naruto. His hands tugged Sasuke closer and their lips met again. The kiss was a mixture of love and bitter sweet reality. They wouldn't have forever, though he thought if it was possible, Sasuke would try and give it to him.

"Don't give up. I need you to want to stay with me even if we have to look at ridiculous cut out hearts every day of every year. I need you to forget everything, but me."

A lopsided grin spread on Naruto's face as he stared at Sasuke. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Sasuke snorted and cupped his hands on Naruto's cheeks. "What does that say about you for staying with me?"

Naruto gave a small hum. "Well, you are technically in possession of Scarlet."

"That damn car again?" Sasuke gave Naruto a playful shove. "If you like it so much, why don't you go marry the damn thing?"

"Well, she just can't fully satisfy me in certain ways," teased Naruto. "Love can only take you so far."

"Oh, I see how it is. I'm the dick you can play with but my damn car is the love of your life."

Naruto grinned, put aside their half empty wine glasses, wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, and pulled him into another, much deeper kiss. "You're first in my heart, Sasuke. I love that car. It's sexy and always sounds happy to see me when she purrs to life, but it's you that I would want sleep beside every night and talk to and spend what's left of my life with, however long that might be."

"It will be a long time."

"You can't promise that," said Naruto.

"Watch me."

Their lips met again and this time, a hint of desperation flavored the kiss. There was that fear of losing the other that gave the kiss that emotion.

Sasuke shifted beside Naruto and then moved to straddle his lap. Their lips never parted as he began to roll his hips until both bodies where hard pressed to find relief from the building passion between them. Their lips did not part until breathing became too difficult to do through their noses and they pulled away.

"I love you."

Naruto reached up to grab Sasuke's head and pulled him down once more. He took one of Sasuke's hand in his and tugged it beneath his shirt to press over his heart. Fingers stroked over the bulge of his pacemaker before settling to feel the beat of his heart.

"I love you," he repeated.

Sasuke looked up and their eyes met. "Me too."

Naruto dropped his hands and settled them possessively at Sasuke's hips. There was something so wrong about doing this here and yet it seemed so right. Today, the worst day of the year, he felt as if it was now the best day because of Sasuke. Something that potent needed to be acknowledged in more than mere words.

He had to touch him this way. He had to know that they belonged to each other even if he died tomorrow.

Sasuke growled low in his throat and tightened his thighs on Naruto's hips. His eyes could barely be seen through the darkness of the planetarium, yet the sparkling of the stars provided just enough light for them to be able to see each other.

Half blind in the darkness, their hands stroked and lips ate of each other as if starved. Still, even with the excitement of the moment, Sasuke was cautious. His hand never left Naruto's chest and he would pause every so often, slowing their kisses and touches until the burning fire between them cooled to a simmer before continuing.

Naruto understood his reasoning and was too wound up in desire to object. He groaned loudly into Sasuke's mouth and tightened his arms around his waist as the grinding continued after a moment's pause. His body was pulled tight like the strings of a guitar—one well-placed pluck and the string would snap.

Naruto pressed his hands beneath Sasuke's shirt and tugged it over his head. He wanted to, needed to, feel the smoothness of the skin. He pressed his lips to the warm flesh over Sasuke's heart before pressing his ear to the flesh. He loved the sound of Sasuke's healthy heart. His own weakened organ always tried to take up the steady beat of Sasuke's heart as if knowing that Sasuke was his soul mate, if he believed in such things.

He laid his brow against Sasuke's chest as Sasuke rode him. Their hips lifted and pressed with the building need to reach the end. All was forgotten—all sickness, all worry, everything. The only thing that mattered was the need to connect on this primal level. In that moment, it was all they needed to survive.

Their hands clasped at each other and they groaned in simultaneous tandem. Naruto arched in the seat and Sasuke ground down upon him. They could almost feel each other's ecstasy as it broke over them like the waves against the sandy dunes of the shore.

Sasuke released a sobbing groan and Naruto panted out a needful keen as they crested together, one following quickly behind the other until all that was left was two limp bodies shuddering the the residual pleasure of a moment shared.

"I can't believe we did this here," panted Naruto.

Sasuke gave a small huffing laugh and pressed his face into Naruto's sweat damp neck. "Why not?"

"You do realize kids are going to sit here one day, right?"

Sasuke leaned back and smirked. "What they don't know won't hurt them."

Naruto's eyes grew wide before he threw back his head in laughter. "Oh my God, you're a pervert...a right deviant. I bet you get off on doing stuff in weird places."

Sasuke lifted his head and scowled at Naruto. "You aren't the only one who got off here."

"Yeah, but I was only going with the flow. You were the one that orchestrated this so you're the pervert."

"Actually I got the idea after talking with Itachi."

Naruto snorted and shifted beneath Sasuke, his nose wrinkling at the feel of wetness in his underwear. "That, I can easily believe. I've always said Itachi was a pervert. The man is a man-whore of the highest degree."

Sasuke chuckled and slid from Naruto's lap. "He's a genius in his field."

"That doesn't mean the man can't be a pervert. You're a genius in that boring ass shit you write, but you're still a sex fiend. I'm beginning to think that all geniuses are sexual deviants."

Naruto sighed and allowed Sasuke to pull him into his arms. They stared up at the twinkling stars and for an instant; he could almost imagine he wasn't in a building but outside staring at the beautiful lights, away from the city and the noise.

"Thanks for this," he said, finally. "Even if you are a pervert, you did good with it."

"I did this for me too."

Naruto lifted his head and glanced at Sasuke. "What do you mean?"

"If you're upset, it upsets me. I want you happy. If you're unhappy, something isn't right in the world."

"You realize how corny that sounds, right? You're becoming pretty good at sounding like that, Sasuke."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto grinned and nuzzled his head against Sasuke's chest. His heart felt lighter and staring at the stars, he had a sort of revelation. He didn't see his future self receiving a heart or living a long life, instead, he saw that Sasuke would be there to make sure he lived every moment to its fullest, even if it was on a diet of cardboard and tasteless soup. Suddenly, that did not seem like a bad life after all as long as Sasuke was with him.

AN: THank you for the comments, favs, and follows. The next part in this story will be called Total Eclipse, and just like the name, it will be very angsty.