...Hi! Aaah my bad, I went on vacation, which delayed this delightful chapter for a week. Also had a bit of writers block. Which may or may not be evident...you be the judge.

But I'm back!!! You guys thought I died or something didn't ya...

"I'll show you what's on my mind. I'm not waiting anymore." Sasuke said calmly. Sasuke glanced back, and saw that Naruto's blue eyes read complete cluelessness. He let a smirk show through. "Good. He doesn't suspect a thing. If I take him somewhere special now and just ask him…it couldn't happen any better…any simpler…it's just how I want it. Out of nowhere and without much fuss." Sasuke had dragged Naruto down the hall and almost reached the door before suddenly Kakashi came out of nowhere.

"Ah-ah-ah, hold on. I've got something to tell you both." He said. Sasuke spun around. "Kakashi, this really isn't a good time—"

"Sorry, but it has to be." Kakashi noticed that Sasuke was beginning to look a little pissed off, but whatever it was that the two had been about to do, Kakashi knew it would have to wait, and most likely wouldn't happen just yet once they found out the news.

"Sasuke…you've been assigned Anbu investigation of a location that Orochimaru may or may not still inhabit. It's in the southern border of the Grass Country."

Chapter 32

Marry Me

Sasuke at first didn't react, almost as if he were too stunned at such a serious interruption to respond properly, but Naruto's building excitement over the entire issue became suddenly relentless. He stepped from beside Sasuke and went toward Kakashi a few steps.

"This is it! This is how we'll finally find out why our DNA got stolen!" Naruto was exclaiming, his trademark over-eager grin emerging effortlessly. Sasuke silently stood behind as he watched Naruto's eager attitude. He heard no more words, he simply watched the back of Naruto's head, and watched Kakashi listening to Naruto's enthusiasm…

"No…I can't let this happen…" Sasuke's hand traced the precious engagement ring in his pocket as his thoughts began to dwell on only one thing; that was keeping Naruto away from this mission at any and all costs. He then heard only a few words apart from his thoughts. Naruto's words pierced to his inner core.

"I'm not afraid of this! I'm not scared of Orochimaru, I'll find him with Sasuke and we'll make him pay for everything!" Sasuke blinked, and suddenly he could no longer be silent.

"No!" He calmed himself briefly—he'd nearly screamed the objection. Kakashi looked up calmly and Naruto spun around, worsening all of Sasuke's worry simply by looking at him with perfectly blue eyes. Sasuke shook his head defiantly.

"You're not going. I'm the Anbu officer, this is MY mission! And I'm not going to let Orochimaru anywhere near you." Sasuke finalized his decision, crossing his arms for emphasis. Naruto was grabbing him by the shoulders suddenly, shaking him a little to gather his every attention.

"Sasuke-koi how could you even think I'd let you get out of here on a mission without me?? I have just as much reason to forbid you from going as you do to forbid me!" Naruto exclaimed, obviously more than a little bothered by the fact that Sasuke was attempting to shelter him. Sasuke didn't answer at first, as he could feel his emotions beginning to shut off one after another—one of many, many unwanted reflexes he'd acquired as a born assassin. He now had pressing objectives to complete. One was investigating the location in question, and the other was keeping his soon-to-be fiancé from suffering anything at all by the hands of Orochimaru. Naruto pressed him tirelessly, beginning to see simply by looking that Sasuke's mind was sealing off to anything other than his assignment.

"I've seen this happen before! Now he'll do anything to keep me from going with him, and he'll get all tunnel-visioned and over-focused…" "Sasuke! Listen to me! I think I actually have more reason to forbid you to go! You're the one that he wants to control, you're the one that's got the original curse mark! What happens if that thing wakes up again for some reason? And then you're alone on a mission, I have to go! I have to!" Naruto shouted. The silence that followed was rather thick and uncomfortable. Kakashi said nothing; the way he saw it, the decision was between the two on their own, unless things got out of hand. Sasuke had seemingly already made up his mind, but now it was becoming hard to confront Naruto. The blue eyes were beginning to brim tears. Naruto shut his eyes and looked away quickly, his hands sliding off of Sasuke's shoulders.

"I'm fine.." Naruto blurted before either Sasuke or Kakashi could ask him.

"Just…I'm frustrated…" Naruto sniffed, wiping his face with the back of his hand. Sasuke couldn't remain stoic any longer. His arms came uncrossed, and he moved forward, placing a hand behind Naruto's head and kissing him silently. Naruto stilled as Sasuke pulled away. The look on Sasuke's face was a little sad, but he still didn't say anything else.

"I'll be back…I'm gonna go think. Don't fall asleep, I have something to ask you when I come back in." Sasuke said, fingering Naruto's hair before he jammed his hands in his pockets and walked away, disappearing into the humid night air. Kakashi sighed, thinking about stepping in and resolving the entire issue, as Naruto turned and left also, heading for the opposite exit and leaving the house, apparently to deal with his own growing stress levels. Now alone in the dimly lit room, Kakashi finally realized something.

"Hm…I more than likely interrupted an impromptu proposal…I'll have to make that up to Sasuke…I'm sure he's plenty angry about it…"

---------

Naruto reached a tree about 50 yards away from the house and found himself sitting in the long grass at its base, staring up at the midnight blue sky and thousands and thousands of stars.

"Why would he stop me from going…I mean I know why…he's…really, really protective of anything he loves." A few fireflies floated by, and Naruto stared at them until they were out of his vision. They reminded him of the second night he and Sasuke had slept together—the time when they'd been outside in a field.

"He likes controlling everything around him. I don't mind that I guess…but he needs a partner in this mission, and it's not like I can't take care of myself…and besides…" Naruto paused in his thoughts to put his hand over his middle.

"I've got Kyuubi…" he said aloud. "You won't let anything really take me out of commission, will ya…" Naruto said.

"No, I won't, kit." Naruto started, a bit surprised. He hadn't actually heard Kyuubi talk to him so directly in a long while. "There's something wrong with you. I don't have much patience for that." Kyuubi was saying. Naruto sighed and laid back in the grass to get a more relaxed view of the black silhouette of the tree leaves against a stunning background of stars.

"It's…Sasuke-kun."

"That Uchiha."

"…Yeah. That Uchiha." Naruto murmured. "I might be an Uchiha too someday." He said frankly. His mind briefly crossed the idea that he was so openly speaking to the demon inside of him, but then it occurred to him that after so many years, he was fully accustomed to Kyuubi and had no qualms with casually talking with it.

"I realize you might be," Kyuubi was saying. "you forget, kit. I'm sealed inside your body. I know your insides maybe better than you do. Goes without saying that I know you love the Uchiha brat." Naruto smiled.

"Oh, yeah." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the night air, beginning to feel more calm already. Being calmed by talking to his inner demon made him feel strange, but how he felt couldn't be changed. He wasn't threatened by Kyuubi; he felt they were in a mutual agreement with each other. Work together or tear each other apart.

"Sasuke wishes he was in your position…Sasuke wants to feel everything I feel, see everything how I see it…hurt every time I hurt. I can't understand that sometimes. It's like…I don't think that somebody can care that much about me." Naruto said. He opened his eyes again to stare at the sky, but his eyelids felt heavy. A cool breeze wafted through and stirred the leaves of the oak tree he had situated himself under.

"I always liked that sound. Wind in trees…sure had enough alone time to listen to them…"

"Don't go to sleep, kit."

"Why…"

---------

When Sasuke had come back inside, Naruto wasn't there. After a while of searching, he came to the oak tree, and Naruto underneath it, flat on his back and snoozing.

"Hm…I told you to stay awake Naru-chan…I still have to ask you the most important question of our lives."

---------

He had laid Naruto in bed, managing to not wake him. Sasuke stood in the front doorway in full Anbu uniform, his mask hanging around his neck to be used if needed. "If I get out of here now, there wont be any debate about whether I should go alone or not. I'll be long gone by the time dawn hits." He'd put the engagement ring in a very tiny pouch, tied that pouch with a string, then chained the pouch around his neck like a necklace, and finally, tucked it into his shirt.

"I guess that will wait until I get back." Slipping silently out the door, the rush of night air immediately set him into a mission mind-set. He crept through the trees, pulling distance from the house, ever mindful of Kakashi, and the fact that it wasn't easy at all to get out of the area without him knowing. Suddenly his assassin instincts caused him to whip around, and he thought he saw a fleeting shadow through the trees. His muscles immediately reacted, and before his mind even realized it, he had darted into a nearby tree, perched high in the branches, staring sharply at the ground below and around about a 50 foot radius. He felt his Sharingan ignite, but by the time his adrenaline reached the point necessary for him to feel the need to use it, it was apparently too late. The Sharingan picked up a movement toward him from behind, and he spun around quickly, only to come face to face with Kakashi, standing but a few inches away.

"And where do you think you're headed?"

"Through you, Sensei. With all respect." Sasuke replied without a second thought. Kakashi looked down, and there was already a kunai against his throat.

"Nice reflexes." He commented. Sasuke sighed and lowered the kunai from Kakashi's neck.

"Sorry." The younger ninja murmured bitterly.

"No problem." Kakashi said dryly, remaining in his position not 12 inches from Sasuke. There was an awkward silence before Sasuke looked back up and made eye contact.

"I'm leaving. Naruto can't see me leave, he won't let me go." Sasuke said plainly. Kakashi crossed his arms.

"I can't let you go Sasuke. Don't make me lay a guilt trip." He said. Sasuke make a movement, and Kakashi immediately pushed his hand to the center of Sasuke's chest, keeping him from going anywhere.

"Naruto will only go after you if you leave. And I won't stop him." Kakashi threatened. At that, Sasuke slammed his fist into the tree trunk beside him.

"Dammit…"

"Come on. Inside right now, and I won't tell Naruto you tried to leave in secret." Kakashi stood and waited for Sasuke to make the right decision. Sasuke sighed, leaning against the tree trunk and pushing his hand through his black hair, which was a little moist with the humidity in the night air.

"Fine." Kakashi stood and made sure he watched every move as Sasuke dropped from his perch on the branch, landed gracefully, and strode into the house indignantly. Kakashi followed once he made sure that no visual deceptions had been involved in Sasuke's 'cooperation'.

"Hmph. He most likely won't try anything. He wouldn't dare, if Naruto's involved."

----------

The next morning, Kakashi was busying himself with making breakfast when, Sasuke came out of seemingly nowhere. He was still wearing the Anbu uniform, and he looked paler than usual.

"Uhm. Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned. "You look terrible." He observed. Sasuke shot him a disgruntled, sour stare before sitting down and putting his head in his hands.

"Up all night." He said quietly. Kakashi wordlessly sat a cup of coffee down in front of Sasuke, then went back to making eggs. Sasuke sat back in his seat taking the coffee and draining the cup far quicker than anyone normal should.

"When do I have to leave.." Sasuke asked then. Kakashi glanced at him.

"When you get rid of those dark circles under your eyes."

"Sensei…" Sasuke grumbled, warning him to stop the wise-cracks.

"Alright, alright. But in all seriousness, you should leave, first, after you un-stress. Second, whenever you and Naruto decide together if he will go with you or not, that's when you should leave. Just try to make it in the next three to four days. Alright?" Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded, but his face was uncertain.

"I won't let him go, but he won't stay here. He won't. And there's no way I'll change his mind." Kakashi sat down and put a plate of food in front of Sasuke.

"Well then you'll just have to take him, now won't you?" Sasuke didn't answer that comment, but in a few more seconds, he spoke again.

"I just…I just want to propose before we even get into this mission."

"Oh so you've decided to do it for sure?" Kakashi asked.

"Already getting the ring fitted—" Just then, Naruto stumbled in the doorway, half asleep and rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"Teme…were you up all night? I woke up somewhere around 3am and you'd moved me to bed but you weren't there.." Naruto muttered. Sasuke let out a nervously held breath upon realizing that Naruto hadn't heard anything.

"You mad at me?" Sasuke answered with a tired smirk. He got up and went to Naruto, smothering him with a deep kiss before he could say anything in reply. "I'm the one that should be mad…you fell asleep before I came back." Naruto playfully shoved at him. "Sasu…hey you look terrible!" Naruto then noticed. As the two talked, Kakashi stood up, giving Sasuke a meaningful glance before leaving. Sasuke went back to paying attention to Naruto.

"I know what that look meant…I have to decide with Naruto how this mission will go. If I don't…he's not even going to see me as mature enough to propose marriage…then maybe I should hurry up and do it before Kakashi tells me not to."

"Naru-chan?" Naruto looked up from across the table where he was picking at his food. "Yeah Sasuke?" Sasuke stood up.

"I'll be off doing some things I have to get done. You probably won't see me until later…alright?" he told Naruto. Naruto gave him a funny look.

"Really? Okay I guess…but…hey, no leaving in secret on that mission! I'm going with you whether you like it or not!" Naruto exclaimed, standing up and pointing at him for emphasis. Sasuke smirked and turned to go outside.

"I'm not leaving, Naruto."

---------

"Naruto calm down. I'm sure Sasuke hasn't left for the mission." Kakashi was telling the nervous blonde. Naruto put his hands in his hair, growling out of frustration. "But where is he then? I mean I know he's…you know, Sasuke, and sometimes he gets really agitated at nothing in particular and wants to be by himself…but this isn't like that! I know he's not mad or anything…where's he at?" Naruto vented. Before Kakashi could shed any more light on the situation, Naruto turned and vacated the room.

"I'm gonna' go train or something…"

---------

While Naruto stood by himself outside, he could barely focus on doing anything. "Too much is going on. It's only the mission and…I guess the fact that I really want to get to the next level with Sasuke…It's all freaking me out!" He went to do a few kicks at a tree stump, but was almost immediately distracted by the setting sun. He stood for awhile and gazed at the brightly colored sky, taking in the fiery orange and red light streaking the atmosphere above him along with pink tinted clouds.

"Didn't know it was so late…" he murmured out loud.

"Hello? Naruto!" Naruto jumped at hearing a female voice call his name.

"What the hell…Ino!?" He called out upon recognizing the voice to not be Sakura's. Ino came from around the side of the house, wearing a purple sundress.

"Hi Naru-chan." She giggled. Naruto rose an eyebrow and stared intently.

"Hey why'd you call me that? Have you been talking to Sasuke…" Naruto asked suspiciously. Ino came over to him and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of the yard.

"Haven't see you guys in forever, so I figured I would come and talk." Ino said. Meanwhile they were leaving the yard and short-cutting through the woods toward town. "Okay, that's great but where are we going off to?"

"We're going to see if we can find Sasuke in town, I guess. Since he's not with you." Ino said, glancing back at him briefly. Naruto brightened instantly.

"Good. I haven't seen him all day." He said with a grin, blushing when Ino gave him a teasing look while she pulled him along. They moved pretty quickly through the woods, until Naruto stopped, noticing something.

"Hm? Hey Ino-chan, what way is this? I usually take a totally different short-cut." Naruto asked as he looked around. Ino glanced back at him once again, but kept walking, forcing Naruto to follow.

"It's my short-cut. Just come on!" The sun was almost completely set, and the sky was turning a rich lavender color. Ino was slowing down, and Naruto could see a clearing up ahead.

"Hey this is weird, what's going on? Are you not telling me something?" Naruto asked. This time Ino didn't even answer, but Naruto's attention was diverted when a black butterfly settled right in his hair.

"Hm? Hey Ino, look—" Naruto looked up and there were a few more ahead of them, and then a few blue ones. Beautiful, vibrantly colored butterflies had surrounded them, seemingly coming from the clearing up ahead. Ino quietly watched, a smile on her face as Naruto curiously was drawn to where the butterflies were coming from. He started moving faster toward the clearing.

"There's so many…this is really weird!" He emerged from the long grasses into the field—a field filled with black roses. A smile immediately broke out as he picked up and a few and stared at his surroundings. Fireflies and butterflies in the entire clearing. Naruto stood still, feeling a few shivers travel through his body.

"You gave black roses to me a while back." Naruto called out into the clearing, trusting fully on the fact that Sasuke was listening. He walked out a few more steps into the middle of the clearing.

"So…what's all this for, Sasuke-koi? It's not because you're leaving me for a long while…is it?" Naruto said, clutching the bunch of flowers against his body. He was staring up at the sky, gazing into the wide expanse of fading daylight.

"I told you I wasn't leaving." A voice in his ear. Naruto stayed still as a smirk crept onto his face, and he leaned back slightly, finding himself body to body with Sasuke. "Heheh…hey Sasuke…" Naruto giggled as Sasuke's lips brushed the tip of his ear. He looked to the side, where he saw Ino making herself comfortable in the grass at the edge of the clearing, securing herself a front-row seat, smilingly waving at them.

"What's going on—" Naruto started to ask, but Sasuke cut him short by whirling him around to face him.

"Hm—whoa, you look…you look—" Naruto sputtered endlessly, fingering Sasuke's black button-down shirt, which he wore untucked with a pair of dark jeans.

"Thanks." Sasuke again cut him off, putting the blonde out of his shock-induced hunt for comprehensible words.

"It's only a normal outfit though." Sasuke excused away, putting his hands in his pockets and uncharacteristically blushing as he stared at the ground.

"But…that's not the point." Sasuke then said, looking back up. Naruto gazed around himself in quite obvious wonder.

"How'd you even do this…" The butterflies were still there, as were the fireflies, both in abundance, flitting among the hundreds of black roses.

"My secret…and a lot of time and planning…" Sasuke said with a short grin. The grin was mostly because of the fact that Naruto obviously still hadn't suspected the point of so extravagant a meeting. "But that's not important either, really."

"Then what is important?" Naruto asked, not able to quit grinning as Sasuke came in closer to him.

"You…you are. And us. We're important.." Sasuke murmured, finishing with a soft kiss, which grew deeper than previously intended. Naruto whimpered a little, dropping the handful of roses he'd been clutching, and Sasuke opened his eyes partway just before their lips separated, seeing that Naruto's eyes were already open again. They remained close, noses touching.

"That's…intense…" Naruto murmured. They both felt that the sparks between them seemed to be nearly visible at the moment.

"This is too perfect…" Sasuke murmured with a small smile.

"Hm?" Naruto gazed at him quizzically with his trademark bright blue stare. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke inadvertently backed up a few steps, then lowered to both knees. Naruto made a move to sit with him in the grass, but Sasuke motioned for him to stay standing.

"Sasuke-kun..." Naruto said quietly, watching Sasuke stare at the grass, his expression hidden by a curtain of silky dark hair.

"I really didn't think any of this would happen nearly so soon…" Sasuke began hesitantly. Naruto quietly stood still, not knowing what had come over Sasuke all of a sudden, but knowing it was serious enough that he should just stay silent and listen. A couple of black and blue butterflies settled on Sasuke's hair as Sasuke gave a small chuckle.

"Hell, no one that was my age would have ever suspected anything that's happened to me…but it did…and…here I was by myself, everything taken away from me by force. Lives, anyway…at least I still have my family's things…" When Sasuke paused, Naruto started to speak again, but thought better of it as Sasuke moved, his hand going into his right pocket.

"And I wouldn't let go of any of those things for anything. They're all I have left…but…there's one thing I wanted to give away…" Sasuke's voice had decreased to nearly a whisper.

"I'm your family…" Naruto interjected hesitantly, innocently, leaning down to try to see Sasuke's face. Sasuke then looked up suddenly.

"I know. Let's make that official, get it?" Sasuke said then, taking his hand out of his pocket. Before Naruto could put two and two together, the words were out of Sasuke's mouth.

"Please take my mother's ring…and marry me, Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke intently watched with amusement as Naruto's pupils dilated.

"Sas—Sasuke—" Naruto stopped talking, feeling his breath catch in his throat. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he truly couldn't think for a moment. Sasuke patiently waited, kneeling on both knees at Naruto's feet, until it became evident that Naruto truly couldn't find words.

"Just say yes." Sasuke urged, smirking a little as he took Naruto's left hand. Naruto let out a short gasp as Sasuke positioned the yellow diamond ring over his finger, then paused, still waiting on a verbal answer.

"I didn't…I didn't expect…I really didn't even think you'd ever…really?!" Naruto dragged his eyes from the diamond to ask Sasuke with a questioning stare.

"I can…I can have your mother's ring? I can…you wanna marry me?" Naruto's voice faltered and he resumed staring. Sasuke stood up, putting an arm around Naruto's waist while his other hand smoothly slipped the ring onto Naruto's finger.

"Of course I do…how could you even ask that?" Naruto couldn't keep the giddy grinning off of his face any longer.

"We're really young…but I don't care!"

"Would that be a yes...?"

"Yes! I'll marry you...Sasuke..." They could hear Ino's thrilled giggling and clapping in the background when they kissed, Sasuke with his hands in Naruto's hair, messing it up even further than it already was, nuzzling him, obviously excited. Naruto was snickering at the out-of-character thrilled expression on Sasuke's face.

"Uchiha Sasuke…I didn't see this coming for anything." Naruto was saying.

"Good." Sasuke answered. He looked toward Ino while Naruto excitedly hugged on him. "Ino, thanks, I owe you." She smiled broadly, seemingly just as excited as if she had been proposed to herself.

"You don't owe me a thing Sasuke!" Sasuke turned his attention back to his new fiancé, and Naruto was giving him one of the most intense looks he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Being engaged to you really makes me wanna jump all over you…you know that?"

---------

As soon as they'd said goodbye to Ino—hurrying at first, then explaining why as they rather rudely rushed off—they flew inside to their room, not seeing Kakashi, so figuring he could wait to hear the news. Naruto made a nimble leap onto Sasuke, his legs around Sasuke's waist as he pushed his fingers through Sasuke's hair.

"I'm gonna make you the most satisfied guy on the planet…" Naruto purred. Sasuke playfully traced whisper kisses down his neck and shoulder before taking Naruto's shirt off, then peeling down the loose tank top underneath to Naruto's waist.

"Already have, Naru-chan."

"And you're glad you didn't leave in secret right…" Naruto asked with a grin, closing his eyes as still more shivers went up and down his spine. That had been happening a lot recently.

"Definately.." Sasuke murmured as he moved to sit Naruto on the edge of the bed, then leaned down to twirl his tongue around Naruto's navel before softly sucking inside, his hands gently but firmly rubbing up and down Naruto's upper thighs. He moved to sit on top of Naruto's legs and undid Naruto's pants before sitting Naruto up and adjusting their position so that Naruto was sitting in his lap. Naruto had his legs around Sasuke's waist again as they continued to make out while Sasuke held him up.

Soon, Naruto slowly slipped off Sasuke's shirt as they madly tongue-kissed, breaking only for the brief second it took to remove the shirt, and Naruto simply flung the top across the room as he held on to Sasuke while Sasuke leaned back slightly with Naruto on his lap and tugged Naruto's pants off. They both broke a sweat as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the waist, fingering the band of Naruto's boy short underwear before he tugged them down a bit, waiting until Naruto naturally arched his back and inched upward against Sasuke, and Sasuke slipped them down, then gently lowered Naruto back onto the bed, and pulled them off all the way, immediately pulling Naruto back to him. They both moved faster, leaving little time for words as Naruto made short work of Sasuke's pants.

"Hey it's actually been a little longer than usual since we slept together hasn't it? Probably only a day…but…" Naruto moaned, his voice strained with tension.

"Ah…that's too long…" Sasuke finished for him. He gently pushed inside of Naruto, finally giving a short gasp of release as he came inside Naruto, who was breathing hard, closing his eyes and drawing his breath sharply through his teeth before letting out a few open gasps and an exclamation of satisfaction. They easily slid against one another, and since they were both practically sitting up, it was easy for them to move back and forth with one another, and Naruto panted as Sasuke continued pushing into him.

"Ah—Harder...faster.." Naruto murmured, nearly slurring with sexual bliss and contentment. Sasuke seemingly had boundless energy.

"No problem..." he breathed as he continued to bounce Naruto on top of him. They began laughingly kissing as it seemed to finally click that they were engaged and would eventually get married. Just then, everything except their engagement seemed to fade from existence, and not even the mission mattered anymore; all that existed was the two of them and their obsession with each other.

"Didn't think this would ever happen to me…" Sasuke murmured against Naruto's neck as he sucked it, and they began to move slower, out of breath and exhausted.

"Me either…God, I'm going numb.." Naruto gasped. Sasuke laid down Naruto back into the pillows at the head of the bed and they fell into a steady, slower rhythm, and Naruto softly panted and moaned, gripping tightly around Sasuke's torso as he began to feel light-headed.

"I might pass out.." he laughed breathlessly. They settled beside each other closely after separating, and after only a few minutes, Sasuke looked and caught Naruto staring at the ring on his finger.

"Happy?" he asked with a smirk. Even in the dim lighting of the single lamp in the corner of the room, the yellow diamond still sent off a sparkle or two.

"Duh." Naruto answered plainly, turning his head to give Sasuke a smirk in return. Sasuke smiled at Naruto's bluntness.

"Good…and…I guess I'll have to let you go on the mission with me." Sasuke added slowly, unable to hide the reluctance in his voice, but knowing that after making Naruto so happy he couldn't immediately turn around and make him as angry as leaving alone would have made him. Naruto didn't even bat an eyelash.

"I know I'm going." He said confidently. Sasuke rose an eyebrow.

"Hn. And why is that?"

"Because I told you…" Naruto turned to look at him again while he fingered the ring, twisting it on his finger. "I was going whether you like it or not." Sasuke closed his eyes, exhausted from all the excitement of the day. He felt Naruto's body press warmly against him. His arms immediately closed around Naruto's torso, and he squeezed a little, shifting to rest his head against Naruto's. "Even if you're going…nothing's going to happen to you…I'll be sure of that."

"So…tomorrow we leave then." He said aloud to Naruto. Naruto yawned and responded sleepily.

"Tomorrow we leave."

Things are about to kick up a notch. ;)

-Kitsune

P.S. Thanks for 100,000 hits!!