A/N: So it took longer than a few days – thanks to my recently deteriorated updating frenzy – but at very least I managed to complete this story before the end of week seven, as I promised. (grins radiantly)
But first off… GOODNESS – HUUUGE thank you for those unbelievable, amazing reviews! (glomps, and showers with special treats) You guys have been an incredible audience to write to, you know? So THANK YOU! (sniffs a little)
Awkay, because I know you're pretty anxious to know how this one's gonna end (I can see those weapons, you know?), let's get down to it, un! I truly hope you'll like this ending.
REVISED VERSION.
Verse 4: The Closure
/ Ten days after he'd seen Sasuke with another Naruto finally gathered his courage and decided to look for the raven, who'd been missing once again until then. He was surprised and – although he tried to tell himself he shouldn't have cared – worried to discover the door of the Uchiha's apartment unlocked.
After gathering himself for a long time he finally stepped in, his legs slightly weak. " Sasuke? Are you here?"
The only response he got at first was the sound of someone throwing up gloriously. " Just… go away, Naruto."
Of course he wasn't one to obey such a command. A burst of determination hitting him he moved once more, walked up to the bathroom. His stomach squirmed uncomfortably with several emotions when the found he raven down on his knees before a toilet, seeming a lot paler than usual. " Hangover?"
Onyx eyes were slightly hard when meeting his after some seconds. " What… are you doing here?"
What he was supposed to do sinking in once more he shivered, feeling cold, and wrapped his arms defensively around himself. It took a lot of him to keep all his emotions in check. " I… I saw you, Sasuke." It was surprising that although his voice shuddered just a little it was nonetheless firm and almost cold. " With that other guy. I know your little secret."
For several moments Sasuke stared at him as though he'd spoken in a foreign language. Then, so swiftly it scared him, the man's eyes hardened dangerously. " Is that how little you trust me?" It seemed to require some difficulty, but eventually the raven managed to stand up and walk to him with a stern, nearly disappointed expression. " I've been cheated on before, and I'd never, ever do that to you. Do you understand, dobe?"
It took a moment before those words sunk in and much longer before Naruto accepted them, but eventually he scoffed somewhat wetly. " You better give me some proof, bastard."
As a response the raven kissed him hard. He didn't give a damn about the fact that Sasuke had just thrown up. Feeling heated beyond any belief and absolutely everything inside him throbbing with want he pulled the raven close rather violently and threw his all against the other man. Lack of oxygen, dizziness and other minor things meant nothing while they melted into each other.
As much as they of them enjoyed that day, they both had a feeling that the conversation had been the first sign of an approaching storm. /
Naruto could barely breathe while sitting in front of a mirror in his bedroom, staring at the image looking back at him as though mocking.
Everything should've been perfect and prepared. He was wearing his tuxedo, his hair had been taken care of, and he knew there was a church full of people as well as Sakura waiting for him to appear. But still the annoying, dull throbbing wouldn't disappear from his chest. It felt like a piece of him had been missing, and he had a feeling that wasn't something he should've experienced only hours before his wedding.
He actually shivered a little when there was a knock, although he pretty much knew who it was. " Yeah?"
After a couple of moments Sasuke opened the door with an expression he couldn't read. " So you're ready."
He wished he could've turned around, met the Uchiha's eyes in something more than a mirror image, but it seemed all strength seeped from his muscles.
" It's time", the raven announced in a voice he didn't recognize.
He nodded, losing himself to examining how the Uchiha looked like in a tuxedo, the one open button of a shirt clearly visible with the absence of a tie. His hand moved, and it was almost too late before he finally managed to stop it from reaching backwards.
A tiny, frail grin that was painfully clearly a faked one crazed his lips while he took a deep breath. " Then let's get going."
Something he hadn't seen in a long time flashed momentarily in Sasuke's onyx depths. Then, without saying a word, the man walked on and fastened a single white rose to his clothing, precisely above where his heart was hammering furiously.
He looked at Sasuke with confusion. " What was that for?"
The expression he met wasn't such he would've been able to name. " Hn. Just for luck." As the raven turned around quite forcefully, turning his back on him with a gesture that seemed a lot like a closure, he couldn't control himself. Almost frantically – as though he'd feared the man might disappear forever if he didn't do something – he grabbed the Uchiha's hand, holding on tight. " Hey, look…" He swallowed thickly, finding it hard to hold back tears all of a sudden. " I… I'm sorry you had to do this. I'm… I'm sorry. But…" He trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say.
It took several moments, but in the end Sasuke's hand tightened just a little around his. He was fortunate enough to not notice how the raven's shoulders quivered the slightest bit. " Dobe." It came out so softly it almost broke his heart. With that they left the apartment, never noticing that they were still holding hands.
/ After four months had passed from when Naruto and Sasuke managed to clear air, it became apparent that things wouldn't be the same between them. When such a door of mistrust had been opened it was hard to close it again.
Quite late that night they were both tired and upset – though not drunk – when entering the Uchiha's apartment.
Naruto rolled his eyes with exasperation when noticing just how sharp the raven's motions were while the man took off his jacket, then walked into the kitchen. He followed although he had a feeling it might turn out to be a mistake. " Sasuke, you've gotta be kidding me!" he exclaimed, gesturing with his arms. " It was just a game of spinning a bottle, okay? Gaara was drunk and he'd accepted a bet. You can't honestly think…" He trailed off, coming to a realization that he was being hypocrite. With all the crap between them, how the hell was either one of them supposed to be sure?
Sasuke's eyes were somewhat dangerous when finally meeting his, for the first time in over two hours. " Do you have any idea how hard that is to believe?"
His eyes hardened and stung so badly that water almost broke. This was something he couldn't handle. " If this is how little we trust each other… Then what's the point in going any further?" If the heat on his cheeks was a blush or tears, he didn't want to know. " I… I'm sick of doubting myself, Sasuke. And I'm sick of doubting you. I can't go on like this anymore."
" Then get the hell out of here." Those words and the sound of Sasuke's voice nearly startled him, and he just had to look at the Uchiha. Onyx eyes were burning with something he'd never seen in them before. " You've made up your mind, and frankly I'm fed up with this as well. So why are you still standing there? Get out."
Naruto staggered a step backwards, his eyes widening the slightest bit. Those words… They sounded so final…
In the end, however, he was just too tired and angry – with himself or Sasuke, he didn't know. His eyes narrowed as he turned around sharply. " Fine." His steps were uncomfortably loud while he walked up to a door and opened it, his heart hammering in a foreign rhythm. " I'll tell Kiba to bring you your stuff tomorrow."
Sasuke didn't say a word.
Never had the sound of a door closing hurt his ears as badly as it did then.
He never knew about the one proud tear that slipped from Sasuke's hold. /
While sitting in one of the church's various tiny rooms Naruto couldn't rip his gaze off of the clock that ticked on inevitably.
One and a half hours to his wedding. Then one. Then half. And in the end only fifteen minutes. With each and every minute what felt like a rope around his neck kept growing tighter, almost enough so to make him choke.
It's okay to have cold feet, right?, he questioned himself. It's perfectly normal to hesitate a little. That's what everyone says.
Yet he had a feeling something was deeply wrong, because he shouldn't have been feeling like he'd burst into tears any given moment. He should've been able to forget what Sasuke's skin had felt like, should've been able to push aside all those damn memories.
He groaned, rubbing his face with both hands.
What am I doing?
So consumed by that thought he was, that he jumped and yelped with startle when the room's door opened, then blinked when spotting Kiba stood by the doorway. " Huh?" He blinked again. " What… are you doing here?"
The brunette's eyes hardened. " I came to talk some sense into you", the man announced somewhat gruffly, folding his arms. " Because I can't let my best friend do something like this to himself."
He frowned. " Do what?"
" Live your life in a lie." Slightly forcefully Kiba offered him an unclosed envelope, a strange look on his face. " Sakura told me to give you this if I see it fit – she figured I know you well enough to be able to determine. I really think you should read this before you make a huge mistake."
His frown deepened still as he fished out a letter. " What the heck is this?"
Kiba's eyes flashed. " Something that may change the way you think about this so called marriage." The brunette then turned around. " We're waiting for you in ten minutes, whatever you've decided. Just remember that no one's gonna judge you, okay?" With those mysterious words his best friend had disappeared.
As soon as the man was gone he started to read, unable to hold himself back. The further he got the colder he felt.
' Naruto,
I know it's my wedding day and I should be overjoyed, but I feel repulsed and mad at myself, because I've been keeping secrets from you.
I know about you and Sasuke – I just found out, actually. That's why I need to do this, before it's too late to prevent the mistake.
What if I told you that there's an explanation to everything? That Sasuke distanced himself from you for a reason, that everything between you wasn't just a mistake? He really needs you right now, Naruto, would've needed you a long time ago when I snatched you away. He told me to never say anything to you, but I can't keep my quiet any longer, not when I know how much you both still care about each other. He's suffered long enough, you both have. Someone needs to do something.
Listen to your heart carefully. If you still want to go through with this wedding I'm glad, and I'll be waiting for you. But if your mind's been changed I understand. I just don't want my marriage to start out on a lie.
Sakura'
Once more he groaned and closed his eyes, finding it almost impossible to keep tears from coming.
Because as clearly as he finally remembered how things had ended between Sasuke and him, it seemed to memories were also more distant than ever before.
And for the first time he openly wondered if those feelings he'd once had were as buried as he'd thought.
/ Troubled as he'd known Sasuke to be, Naruto would've never expected he'd have to bail the raven out from a prison.
Only two days after his twenty-second birthday, he sighed heavily when seeing the dark figure hunched into the very back of a tiny, stinking cell. " Is he your friend?" the guard stood behind him inquired.
He nodded stiffly, barely managing to believe such a surreal conclusion himself. " Yeah." Yes, that was Sasuke – that was the guy with whom he'd been fighting what felt like only seconds earlier, the guy with whom he'd spent all those nights, whom…
He shivered when the guard patted his shoulder and opened the cell's door. " Good luck, then."
He barely heard while he all but swayed a step forward. Suddenly it was very hard not to feel bitter and irritated. " You better give me one hell of a good reason to why I'm bailing you in that condition, bastard."
Instead of responding Sasuke leaned backwards and rested his head against the cell's wall with closed eyes, emitting a somewhat broken groan.
He frowned, worry and something even deeper swelling in his chest. " Sasuke?" Slowly he reached out a hand to touch the raven's cheek. The skin underneath his fingertips twitched furiously under tears that without a doubt wanted to erupt. " Hey…"
The raven's jaw tightened before nearly glimmering onyx eyes rose to meet his confused blue ones. " There's… something I want to show you."
He knew he didn't have to care, that it might've been the best considering his sanity to just walk away. But he'd never been blessed with too much rationality, and that's why he nodded without much of a hesitation.
Due to Sasuke's condition it took them a while to reach their destination, and when they did Naruto found himself blinking rapidly several times.
A… cemetery?
He found himself unable to speak while they made their way through rows of headstones, finally stopping before a certain one on the far edge of the cemetery that opened a view to a lake. When he read the names he gasped, nearly took a step backwards.
Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, the latter of which had died only such a short time ago in a painfully young age…
It took what felt like forever before Sasuke finally spoke, refusing to look at him. " You… always asked about my family. This is the furthest to meeting them you'll ever get."
There was a long moment of heavy silence until he swallowed thickly and whispered, barely daring to utter the words. " Is… Is this where you always disappear off to?"
" Hn." Sasuke's eyes seemed all but moist, although the raven visibly fought tears. " Sometimes."
If the situation had been some other – a little less fragile, a little less beautiful – he might've spat out a bitter question.
Why the hell couldn't you be this open before it was too late?
In this case, however, he wrapped first one arm and soon both of them around the raven he'd never realized was so frail, as though attempting to keep the wavering pieces together.
In many ways they returned to the past that night. Such moans and other sounds of pleasure that disturbed their neighbors were delivered as they surrendered under what both had been longing for so long, came hard into each other.
Unfortunately the following morning was also a return to the past, for Naruto woke up alone, only a single rose and the briefest of notes left for him.
' I'm sorry, dobe. But one of us needs to stop this.'
That day he quite unexpectedly stumbled to Sakura for comfort. And fate spun forcefully. /
Naruto's heart had never before jumped in the rhythm it'd chosen while he stood by the altar, his head spinning with about a million emotions he wasn't even close to ready to face. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing his heart didn't seem to believe it.
And then the huge double doors opened, letting in the bride and all but sealing his fate.
As Sakura approached, instead of the woman his eyes turned to meet Sasuke's, finally taking in all the ache that still lingered in them despite all the years passed. Finally his eyes were open to see everything. His gaze blurred as he turned it away, the ache in his chest becoming too much, and he forced himself to focus on Sakura's green eyes, which were filled with nervousness and anticipation while she took a stand beside him.
What the hell am I doing?!
He barely heard the priest's first words, registered everything there was going on around him only scarcely. All he could focus on was the sound of a door closing when Sasuke walked out of the church, this all apparently becoming too much for the raven.
When he finally caught on once more, he heard the words much too clearly. " … you, Naruto Uzumaki…"
" I…" The lack of words startled him, and his eyes were widened when meeting Sakura's sad yet unsurprised ones. " I…" I'm so sorry.
The amount of hurt he saw in Sakura's eyes was almost enough to break his heart although his feelings were finally clear. " I know", she murmured in a tone he'd never heard from her mouth before. " I just hope you'd known earlier." And so – even in the current strange situation loyal to her nature – she gathered all her grace, lifted her chin and turned around, then walked away without the slightest weaver in her steps.
Naruto might've been relieved by the act, had he not known that she'd break down as soon as she was out of everyone's sight.
It took several moments before he finally realized that all the attention of every single guest in the church was now fixed on him. They whispered and murmured, exchanged knowing glances and nods. It took only moments before it all became too much for him, especially with all the mess there was in his head.
He'd never been one to give a damn about grace or dignity. That's why he felt no shame when all but running out of the building, gasping as though the place had been suffocating him. He had no idea where he was headed, nor did it matter as long as it was far enough.
/ Paris was colder than Naruto had ever expected and he shivered while he stood by the edge of Seine six months after bailing Sasuke out from a prison, waiting anxiously.
" Why did you invite me here?" Although he'd been waiting the voice caught him off guard. Turning around, he met Sasuke's frown. " I thought we were through."
He shrugged, realizing it was the only gesture he could muster. " I just… I heard you're here on a business trip, and I…" Yeah, what? He had no clue. " It's been six months, and I'm still desperately trying to remind myself of why we broke up."
Sasuke's eyebrow bounced up. " So you came all the way to Paris because you're having regrets?" The raven turned around, starting to walk away. " We broke up because we couldn't stand being around each other, remember that now? So don't waste your time on trying to sugar coat those memories."
" I'm… I'm going to propose to someone soon, okay?" He swallowed hard, his eyes very sore all of a sudden. " I… I promised myself that if I'd get my head sorted out, I'd propose as soon as I get home. So…" So, if you still feel this way, too, please tell me.
Very slowly Sasuke turned around, then – faster than he could gasp – placed a long, slightly harsh kiss to his lips. Obsidian eyes were filled with a storm when looking at him. " You need to stop running after something that'll never be more real than that." So saying the Uchiha turned around and started to walk away.
Too stunned to do a thing – to act as his heart would've desperately wanted – he brought his hand to his lips, staring at the raven's back as the man walked away from him.
It was the last time they met before his and Sakura's wedding. /
It took hours before Naruto finally made it home. And when he did, he finally realized just how much there was to be dealt with after the disastrous 'wedding'. Because he found Sasuke packing up.
The Uchiha didn't even look up when hearing his steps. " Kiba called me and told what happened." There was a tense pause. " In case you're wondering, Sakura's not here. I haven't seen her since the church."
Had he possessed the strength for such, he would've snorted.
Do you honestly think that's all I care about?
At that moment Sasuke finally met his eyes with a frown. " Why did you do that, anyway? I thought you wanted to marry her."
He shrugged, feeling teary and nauseated. " So did I." He swallowed against the bitter taste in his throat. " Not the first time I was wrong." He then frowned. " You… You're not leaving, right?" He couldn't understand why he was surprised, even hurt. He could only imagine how painful staying this long had been to the raven, and things were bound to get even more awkward.
" Hn." Sasuke seemed to restrain a sigh while finishing up the process of packing. " I have to go, dobe. There's… something important I need to do." The torn look in the raven's eyes nearly broke his heart. The man then handed him something – it turned out to be a beautiful necklace that held a bluish jewel of some sort. " I… was supposed to give you this, as a wedding present."
He looked at the raven with shock. " But… that was your mother's…!"
The man shrugged somewhat sharply. " I… don't need it anymore." It seemed the raven would've wanted to do or say something else entirely, but in the end only grabbed his bag and started to head towards the door instead. " Bye, Naruto." It sounded far too much like 'goodbye'.
Naruto stood absolutely paralyzed, holding the necklace in a madly trembling hand, his eyes wide and teary. Hard as he tried he couldn't bring himself to say 'don't go', 'bye', or even 'thank you'. His head was too messed up by everything that had happened. He was too tired to think straight, to sort out the mess of feelings swelling in his chest.
It wasn't until about an hour after Sasuke had closed the door he finally came to realize just how huge of a mistake he'd done.
He'd never felt that lonely in his entire life.
/ Naruto jumped several inches when his cell phone snapped to life. It took several moments before he managed to respond, especially after seeing who the caller was. " H – Hey."
" I got the invitation." Sasuke's voice was far sharper than he'd remembered, carried something he couldn't name. There was a long pause. " Do you honestly want me there, with all the crap between us?"
He swallowed laboriously, finding it very tempting to whisper ' No'. Yet in the end… " You… You're important to me, Sasuke." He couldn't comprehend why his voice was as soft as it was. " It's going to be hard, but…" He trailed off.
There was another pause, even longer than the last. " I'll see you tomorrow." With that Sasuke hung up.
It was around the Naruto started to realize just how messy things were about to get. /
Some hours later Sakura was sitting in a bar, finding it extremely hard to make any sense to that day's events.
To think that the very same morning she'd been pulling on her wedding dress, preparing herself for becoming Mrs. Uzumaki, and now…
" Hey, are you okay in there?" The male voice startled her so badly that she almost yelped while lifting her gaze to find a man at her age with shortcut black hair on pot haircut, and black eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned, which made her feel pathetically good.
She arched an eyebrow, taking down the rest of her bitter drink. " What makes you think I wouldn't be?"
He shrugged, pouring a generous dose of a cocktail of some sort to a class. " When a woman who looks like you is sitting in a bar wearing a wedding dress, it's a pretty clear sign."
She blushed, mostly owing to alcohol. ." Yeah, I guess." Then, her sanity numbed by alcohol, she outstretched a hand. " I'm Sakura."
He nodded, accepting the gesture and offering the drink to her with his free hand. " I'm Lee, and it's very, very nice to meet you." He then seemed to come to think of something. " The drink's on the house, by the way. I really hope you'll still remember me in the morning, though."
That, she did.
Five days after his so called wedding, having endured several sleepless nights, Naruto took a look at the rose Sasuke had given him, which was the only memory of that day he'd kept. And finally he understood what both Kiba and Sakura had been talking about. Less than a day later found himself doing what he probably should've done years ago. He started a nearly desperate hunt for Sasuke, who seemed to have disappeared from the face of the planet. The raven wasn't much help with this job, for the man accepted none of his about a hundred phone calls – not that the said fact would've surprised him the slightest after all that'd happened. In the end he ran into one of Sasuke's friends (who turned out to be the same guy he'd once thought he'd seen kissing the raven), Suigetsu. After he'd shed an embarrassing amount of tears and all but punched the man he finally managed to find the Uchiha from about the last place he would've thought of searching from.
The hospital.
He didn't know how long he'd been wandering around the surgical ward – his mind too jumbled to really determine what he should've done – until a female doctor with long blonde hair on a ponytail appeared right before him. Tsunade, said her nametag. " Are you looking for someone?"
He swallowed thickly, trying to piece his thoughts together enough to produce something the woman would be able to comprehend. " I… Sasuke, he's here, right?" Good job, Naruto, a sarcastic part of his brain congratulated dryly. That was convincing.
Tsunade folded her arms. " I'm sorry, but I can't give any information to anyone but members of family."
At those words he felt tears well in his eyes, and he knew breaking down was close. " I am the closest thing to a family he has!" he all but cried out. " I… He… He's important to me, okay? So, please, just…" He trailed off, feeling anxious and defeated.
Something that looked like understanding flashed by Tsunade's eyes. " You're Naruto, aren't you?" Seeing his expression, she sighed heavily. " Look… I'm fairly sure he hasn't told you anything, and I don't have time for details, so I'm putting this shortly. Sasuke's condition is something that runs in his family – it's extremely rare, but we do know it puts his body through a lot of strain, and he's been forced to run in dialysis and other forms of treatment for a long time. This illness claimed the lives of his mother and brother, but he has a much milder version so I'm cautiously optimistic. But you should know that there are still many problems, including the kidney transplant he's finally going to get today." Her eyes turned stony. " Are you absolutely sure you're willing to take the chance of getting hurt? Because I'm not letting you in just so you can walk right back out."
To Naruto, everything finally made so much sense it felt like a hit right across his face. He swallowed once more, feeling dizzy and fully ready to throw up. Yet there was no hesitation in him. " Can… Can I see him?"
Tsunade motioned him to follow after debuting, and led him to a nearby door. " You've got five minutes."
He barged in without fear – only to find himself freezing two steps from the door.
Never, ever had he expected Sasuke to be able to show such surprise the Uchiha did when finally realizing that it truly was he stood there, right before those tired, bewildered and lost onyx eyes. " What the…?" The rest faded away.
His eyes and chest filled with something he couldn't explain, and suddenly it was very hard to hold back emotions. " Did you really think I'd never find out?" he all but murmured, fighting the urge to just run all the way to the raven and pull him into a hug.
Sasuke's eyes flashed with something he was almost willing to call fear before the raven looked away. " I never wanted you to find out."
Naruto took several deep breaths. At the moment he wasn't sure which one he was madder at – Sasuke for hiding something like this, or himself for not seeing the signs that'd been so very visible now that he looked back to it. " Teme…" His legs trembled as he finally approached and sat to the bedside, his head whirring so that he could barely grasp on the workings of his mind. " Why… Why didn't you tell me, before it was too late?"
Onyx eyes were incredibly tired when meeting his. " What would you have done with that information, dobe?"
As his response, he slipped his hand gently into the raven's and emitted a deep, badly shuddering sigh. " I would've never, ever let go. I would've been there beside you through all this shit. That's what."
Even with the best of wills he couldn't tell if the sound erupting through Sasuke's throat was a chuckle or a sob. " Idiot."
He grinned, although he had a feeling some tears slipped because he sobbed. " Yeah, I know. Getting all worked up over a bastard like this…"
Sasuke made something that could've been anything from a sound of irritation or amusement to a sob, leaning his head against his shoulder. It wasn't until then he realized just how exhausted the raven was.
Feeling a huge stab of guilt he swallowed thickly to ease the tightness of his throat and wrapped his arms rather tightly around the Uchiha, his head spinning with about a million emotions. If only he'd known, if only he'd been able to understand, he would've never…
Or would he have? It was impossible to tell.
Apparently sensing the way he shivered and fought against a storm of emotions Sasuke pushed him slightly further to look at him with a frown. " Dobe, what's with that face?"
He looked into the raven's eyes, very afraid – nearly terrified – all of a sudden. " Promise me you won't be a idiot enough to give up, alright? You better come back to me."
If there even was such a feeling in his repertoire, Sasuke seemed baffled when looking at him until the expression became clouded by something much harder. The raven probably tried to swat his head, but ended up caressing instead. " Dobe." The Uchiha seemed to be fighting for words, " Thank you."
And suddenly the room felt much colder than before.
He jumped a little when there was a sound of a door being opened, and looked to side to notice Tsunade approaching. She seemed to come close to smiling, probably seeing everything there was hiding in his eyes. " I'm glad to see a visitor here, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave now. We're starting to prepare Sasuke for the surgery."
He nodded, feeling so reluctant to leave that it came out as nausea. " 'K", he muttered breathlessly, then turned towards Sasuke once more. In the spur of the moment he did something he would've never expected. He kissed the raven, so long and hard that he probably cut all roads for oxygen, finally breaking apart to meet almost dazed eyes. For some reason his eyes stung when he all but stroked the other's cheek. " Bear that in mind while you sleep, okay?" With that he left, although it was the pretty much last thing he would've wanted to do.
He could've sworn he heard " Idiot" on his way out.
As soon as he was safely in the hallway he leaned heavily against the wall and let tears flow. It was the first time in his life he prayed.
/ Five Years Later. /
A rather small house on the edge of the city was quiet while Naruto took a hold of a photo album with slightly shaky hands and took a seat on the couch placed almost directly behind him. His trembling deteriorated slightly as he started to go through the flashes of memories.
There was a picture of their first official date, he sitting in a glaring Sasuke's lap. / " Idiot, put that camera away right now!" " Awww, don't be shy, I know you like this." /
There was a picture of them sleeping in each other's arms, which Kiba had taken when sneaking into his apartment when he'd forgotten to lock the door. / " For a teme you're a real softie." He'd gotten his head smacked painfully for that one. /
There was picture Sasuke had taken, of him sitting on a bed; naked, deep in thought and happy. / " Hey what was that for?" " What were you thinking of?" A mysterious smile had been his reply. /
There was a picture Sakura had taken, of him hugging Sasuke with a huge grin in a café, and the raven once again glaring. / He could still recall Sakura's roll of eyes. " You two are like a friggin' married couple." /
Although he'd taken one of the last pictures in the hospital, right after Sasuke's surgery, it was his favorite, because to him it represented hope and a new beginning. Sasuke was looking at the camera with half open eyes and a tiny smile the man probably didn't know of, a rose he'd placed there behind the raven's ear. / " Is this your idea of letting me get rest?" He'd responded with a kiss. /
He made a small, choking sound although he smiled, and found that tears weren't all that far away. Just then he gasped when feeling a kiss on his neck. " Going through that again, dobe?" The voice was amused. " I'm glad you like your early wedding present, though."
He grinned sheepishly, turning his head to kiss his fiancé's – soon to be husband's – mouth. " Maybe I'm getting old, but I love going through those every once in a while." Seeing how the other looked at him he realized he was at the brink of tears. " Nah, it's nothing, these just get me a bit… emotional, I guess."
Sasuke's onyx eyes were softer than he would've expected to see them, filled with understanding. The man kissed his forehead this time, gently. " It's time to go", the man announced in a murmur, wrapping a pair of tender arms around him. He gladly lost himself into the embrace. " There's a church full of people waiting for us."
His expression turning cheeky, he looked at the Uchiha. " What do you say if we make them wait for a one more hour?"
Sasuke agreed gladly, attacking him with several heated kisses. Almost ridiculously glad about such a response he took the Uchiha as gently as he could muster, enjoying the fact that the man was feeling particularly strong and healthy that day. After the long, painful and still ongoing road there'd been – with Sasuke pushing him away at times, their insecurities, fear, uncertainty, treatments, medication, agonizing pain and equally painful waiting – such a well-timed good day felt like a positive sign of some sort, and that was something he welcomed with open arms.
When he stood beside Sasuke two hours later in front of all the people who mattered to them, he meant the words he said from the bottom of his heart. And for the first time in his life he wasn't afraid of jumping into the unknown.
Whether it'd be ten months or fifty years long, they'd take their path together. This time the pledges they gave each other would hold.
I take you to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part.
Owari.
(To those wondering… Don't try to find any information on Sasuke's illness, yeah? It's my own doing, so…) (grins sheepishly)
A/N: Lol, how 'bout that? A HAPPY ending from me for once! With a side tone with Sasuke's condition and all, but still. (grins from ear to ear) Heh, I already thought the only type of endings I'm able to produce are sad ones.
Awkay, because I'm running out of time pretty badly I'm starting to tune out.
Once more THANK YOU, from the very bottom of my heart, for all those fantastic review you've taken time to send, as well as for reading and listing! (HUUUUGS) Your guys are so wonderful that I TRULY hope you'll find this ending worth the wait. (gulps nervously) And I really hope you'll take time to leave a lil' note, un. (glances hopefully)
Bye for now folks, and yet again thank you! I'm really gonna miss this story, ya know? (sniffs)
Take care!