Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the affiliated characters therein, but the general concept of this one shot that I put serious thinking time into, is my idea so nuh! Oh, and the song is a Gary Allan Special, so I don't own that either. It be called, "Learning to Live With Me."
A/N: I love the song, and I love this pairing, so I'ma try ta work it! To warn you ahead of time, the line in the song, 'A big duke in thewest' is a reference to John Wayne. Over half of the movies he was cast in were Westerns and he was dubbed 'The Duke'. That was just a lil tidbit for those of you who didn't know. Enjoy!
Live is like a puzzle whose pieces you hold in your hands. Though God decides the picture, you have to decide which pieces you put together first…
I used to wish that I was
Great as any man
Better than I am
Could do things no one can
And I used to wish that I was cool as I could be
But now I'm learning to live with me
Kyuubi brat, monster, demon child, useless fool… he's been called so many names. He's been pushed around, beaten down, scorned, and laughed at for who he is and daring to dream what is the ultimate dream for him. To be Hokage is his dream, to be noticed and recognized just for being himself, just for being Naruto and not the Kyuubi. For people to realize that Uzumaki Naruto is not the fox, but is the only thing holding the fox back from killing every single one of them… that is his deepest wish… to be seen as the hero he is, not the beast he's got caged within him.
Is anybody satisfied with who they really are?
You could be the moon
And still be jealous of the stars
You gotta learn to swim
If you can't walk upon the sea
So I'm learning to live with me
Why is it that every time he thought that he was better than both of his teammates, one particular blonde had to prove him wrong by continually getting stronger while he—while he struggled at something that once was easier than breathing for him. Naruto was the one who always fought and struggled to train, Naruto was supposed to be dead last, not him, not Sasuke. Yet for all of his confidence, for all of his smugness and holier-than-thou attitude, Sasuke couldn't help but resent the fact that the Dobe was indeed becoming stronger. He may not be at Sasuke's level as of yet, but he was getting pretty darn close very quickly and he wasn't slowing down. Thanks to the curse mark, Sasuke feared that Naruto would leave him in the dust and never look back, and that's part of the reason he left for Oto. Naruto... take me with you, but please don't leave me behind...
And I used to wish that I was
Braver than the rest
A hero nothin' less
A big duke in the west
But I know the way I am is who I'm gonna be
So I'm learning to live with me
After failed attempts to retrieve Sasuke, training four years with Jiraiya, failing to retrieve Sasuke once again, and a bad episode of getting roughly thrown out of the village he'd lived in his whole life, Naruto went to the only person he could turn to—Gaara, the current Kazekage of Suna. He found out that the leader of the Akatsuki was none other than the fourth hokage himself and that the man was his father, but had faked his death, leaving his son where he'd thought he'd be safest. After a few meetings and tests, Naruto joined up with his father, taking Kisame's recently vacated spot. There he trained with his father and came to accept the life that had made him who he was, the father who'd given him a curse but wasn't meant to come into his life before now, and he accepted being thrown out of his home and the missed chance at being Hokage, but he never would accept the loss of his most precious person to Orochimaru.
Is anybody satisfied with who they really are?
You could be the moon
And still be jealous of the stars
You gotta' learn to swim
If you can't walk upon the sea
So I'm learning to live
After years of separation, the driving force that brought them together was the avenger's brother, Itachi. The elder Uchiha was still a thorn in Sasuke's side, so after he killed Orochimaru, he went straight for the hideout of the Akatsuki, mindset on killing them all and returning for his dobe. Imagine his surprise when he found out that not only had his dobe joined the band of nukenin, but he'd actually managed to get Sasuke to give up his mission to kill Itachi. He would admit later that seeing his young nieces and nephews running towards him did much to heal his heart. After all, having experienced it himself, he couldn't possibly put the children through the torment of seeing their father killed. He was thus able to come to terms with his past… he still dislikes Itachi with a passion, but he can stand him enough to let sleeping dogs lie now.
Learning to forgive
Learning to live with me
Together now, Sasuke and Naruto watch in satisfaction as the members of the council and the villagers of Konohakagure squirm under Arashi's angry tirade on how they treated his son and the hero of the village who, even after all they'd done to him, still protected and gave his all for the village. Even Tsunade was joining in on his tirade. Both of them alone made the council cringe in fear, but together? Let's just put it this way; it was one heck of a show to watch. Naruto was soon named Rokudaime and proved what good he could do for the village as with him, he brought in friends from the surrounding villages that made strong alliances and allowed peace to reign for years to come. And, with Sasuke by his side, he was happier than he'd ever been. His smiles were real, as real as the ones Sasuke gave to only him, and the love they shared only grew in strength with every day that passed. After all, once you love yourself, you can love another freely, without any fear or doubts that they could ever love you in return...
I'm learning to live, learning to forgive; I'm learning to live with me…
A/N: This one was kind of random. I love the song and I tried to find a way that those two could have a lil song one shot typed around it. Truthfully, I think the song fits both of them in different ways. Sasuke seems to either hate or resent himself for being too weak to stop Itachi when he was younger, and again when they met up the first time in the hotel Naruto and Jiraiya were staying in. Naruto has to come to terms with the beast inside of him and the effects Kyuubi has on his life and the way he has been treated in his life by most of the villagers and possibly even the council. So, "Learning to Live With Me" seems almost perfect for them. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. Lemme know what you think. I don't mind criticism or a lil pat on the back here and there; either is fine by me.