pants OK guys, this is the last chapter hopefully. Big thanks to my lovely reader, SilverDragon-Kerinthia for suggesting this. Thanks for reading guys!

Everything went black. Or maybe white. It didn't matter. What did matter was that Sasuke couldn't see anything. He looked at his hands. Still there. But something was different about them. They no longer looked as if the skin was dripping off the bone. Instead, the skin was firmly wrapped around a little muscle and the bone. He rubbed them together. Smooth and soft. He felt his face next. It was no longer wrinkled, but firm. What's going on?

Sasuke heard an echoed scream and kunais clashing. Where is that coming from? And why does it sound so familiar? As it dawned on him, his eyes widened and his breath quickened. No...I don't want to hear this! That scream...Naruto and I were escorting him when we were attacked. Wait...Naruto! Everything went quiet for a while. That's when I got knocked out. Naruto must've gotten pretty mad to cause that much carnage. A few moments later, he heard a groan and, after that, panting. That was when I woke up. Naruto was still standing, albeit scratched and battered. He killed everyone who attacked us. Well, almost... He then heard shuffling behind him. He turned around to find nothing but emptiness. Then, a familiar voice screamed, "Sasuke!" He heard a sickening sound, like someone being stabbed. He couldn't help but yell, "No! Naruto!" at the same time his memory-self did. Tears began to form at the painful memory. He heard two bodies fall: one being the attacker (Naruto took advantage of his position and slit the man's throat) and the other, Naruto, with a sword in his chest. Heavy, labored breathing followed. He heard himself scramble over to Naruto and caressing his head. "Naruto..." he heard himself whisper. He remembered Naruto's weak smile as he managed to force out a pained, "Love you..." as his once beautiful eyed lost their smile and sparkle. Sasuke closed his eyes, tears falling freely now. Here it comes... Then, a horrible scream, soft at first, but crescendoing into a terrible wail. He remembered holding Naruto's limp body, after carefully removing the sword (not that it did any good), and pitifully begging, "Come back...please. You can't..." before breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably. Sasuke fell to his knees and hugged himself. "Why couldn't I do anything? Why did I have to watch him die?"

He then felt someone's hands on his back. "Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

He opened his eyes to see who's voice sounded so familiar. "M-Mother?!"

Mikoto smiled warmly. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Sasuke-kun?"

If she wanted to say anything else, it would have to wait because Sasuke hugged her with all his might. When he released her, he asked, "Where's Father?"

"He's right here, silly."

He looked over to his right and his father was standing there. "Father..."

"You've grown into quite the young man, Sasuke," Fuugaku stated.

"Wait Father, I have a question. Am I...dead?" Sasuke asked.

Fuugaku sighed. "To be frank, yes. You are dead."

"But, I was an old man, but look at me now!"

Mikoto said, "That's how it works when you come up here. You appear physically as if you were in your prime."

He took a closer look at his parents. They do look younger... He gasped. "Wait a minute..." His face brightened. "Do you know a person named 'Uzumaki Naruto'?"

Mikoto smiled. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Naruto told us about you two. He misses you very much."

"We were a little surprised when we found out you were gay, but it's alright. You're still Uchiha Sasuke, and my son," Fuugaku said and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke was filled with pride. "Thank you, Father."

"Now, how about I take you to see Naruto," said Fuugaku.

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. "I would like that very much. I would like to make a stop first, though."

--

Naruto sighed. He had been sitting by the fountain for almost an hour. What else was he supposed to do? He had already done everything he could do. The fountain was his favorite place to sit and relax. The water gently cascading over the statue of a rose, creating tiny rivulets through the petals, could have that effect on a person. When Naruto looked at the rose, he thought of a similar flower Sasuke gave him once. He sighed again. Sasuke... It had been a while since the last time he got a letter from him. Something was wrong. He closed his eyes and sighed for the third time. I wish I knew what was going on... He heard someone approaching but tried his best to ignore them. I really don't want to talk to anyone right now.

--
Sasuke saw him. He immediately recognized his golden-blond hair. He was a little surprised to find that he hadn't changed at all. Thick, toned muscles covered by tan skin; he remembered the last time he saw it all bare. The mere thought induced a mischievous grin. He had to stop himself before he lost control. Naruto probably wouldn't appreciate it much if I "attacked" him right here. It's a good thing Father left though...

--

Naruto was starting to get annoyed. Why are they just standing there? He turned around and was about to yell, but when he saw who was standing behind him, the breath was knocked out of him. "S...Sasuke?" he gasped.

Sasuke was a little surprised too after not hearing Naruto's voice for so long. But he soon regained his composure. "It's good to see you too, Naruto."

Naruto smirked. "You know, if you weren't so healthy, then I wouldn't have had to wait as long to see you again, teme."

Sasuke chuckled. "Oh shut up, dobe."

Naruto grinned as tears began to well up in his aquamarine eyes. He stood up clumsily and rushed into Sasuke's arms, knocking him over. As they lay on the ground, Naruto crying, Sasuke hugged him tightly and murmured, "I missed you."

Naruto managed to choke out, "...missed...you...too..." in between sobs.

Sasuke planted soft kisses on the top of Naruto's head, all the while moving downward...to his forehead...the bridge of his nose...until he reached his destination: Naruto's lips.

Naruto and Sasuke had shared many great kisses before; the one in front of their class, their first real kiss, their last kiss before Naruto died; but none of them compared to their kiss then. It was fueled by warmth, comfort, love, desire, and passion. Naruto, no longer crying, broke the kiss and nuzzled into Sasuke's neck, taking in his scent. Sasuke himself buried his head in Naruto's hair and breathed deeply. Naruto giggled.

Sasuke grinned. "I'm glad you're not crying anymore, but what's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just...that tickled."

Sasuke chuckled. "Oh! I almost forgot. I got you something." He reached over and picked up a white rose and handed it to Naruto, who was still laying on him. "You made me drop it when you tackled me. It doesn't seem to be too damaged." He smiled. "Happy birthday, Naru-chan."

Naruto sat up a little to take the rose. Sasuke seized the opportunity to sit up and, with Naruto sitting in his lap, pulled him into another kiss.

It isn't often when two people are thinking the exact same thing. When asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", the proper response would be, "No. I'm not a mind reader so I obviously have no way of knowing whether we're thinking the same thing. And you're obviously not one either because instead of asking me a stupid question, you could've just read my mind and answered your question yourself, thus rendering this entire conversation utterly pointless." However, in this case between Naruto and Sasuke, they were both thinking the same thing, "I can't wait to get home."