I know, I know. It's been sooooo long since my last update. I'm so sorry. Things came up; I kept getting distracted. I promise you will never have to wait this long for a new chapter again. This chapter has a little surprise in it. Let's see if you can spot it

I wake up the next morning around 8:45 feeling like crap. The dream about Gaara kept me from sleeping peacefully. My body is sore from tossing and turning the rest of the night. I keep my eyes closed in a foolish attempt to try to go back to sleep. Once I'm awake though, I can't go back to sleep. I move my arm around the other side of the bed feeling for Sasuke. He isn't there.

I sit up and rub what little sleep there is in my eyes away. The door opens, and Sasuke walks in. He has a tray of food with him. "Breakfast in bed this morning?" I ask. He climbs in bed next to me, carefully holding the tray steady. "Yes. After last night, I figured you'd be tired this morning and wanted to stay in bed." he said. Sasuke was right. I was tired, upset, and sore. I didn't feel like doing anything today.

"I made eggs and toast for you." said Sasuke.

"Thanks." I said, and took the food. I picked at everything, eating it little by little. I was starving but I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to eat like I normally would. Sasuke let me eat in silence. He didn't need to ask if I was alright. It was clear I wasn't. When I finished, Sasuke took the tray back to the kitchen. He returned with some tea. I gladly took the cup he offered. I could always drink tea whenever Sasuke made it. I downed the drink and set the cup aside on the nightstand.

Sasuke asked, "Wanna talk about it?" Of course I did but I just didn't know how or where to start. He pulled me close and said "Start whenever you want to." I took a deep breath and said "Gaara always promised me that he'd take care of me. And he did. He kept me safe, kept me happy, and kept me high. Back then, that was all I cared about. Staying high or drunk was the only important thing." My voice sounded hollow, probably from lack of a good night's sleep.

I sigh and put my head in my hands. "Why can't I make the dreams stop?" I yelled. I didn't mean to yell but it felt a little good. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. "I've tried everything, damnit! Why won't they just leave me alone?" My voice got louder with each word I spoke. Sasuke's voice was gentle when he asked "Naruto, have you had these dreams before while staying here?" I shook my head. "No, not exactly. I haven't had these dreams, but sometimes, if my mind isn't occupied with something, I'll find myself thinking about the past. This is the first time I've had one of these here." I say.

He asks "So you've had them at home?" I nod.

"There's more stress at home, and that's what causes it." I tell him.

"What stress have you had here?" asks Sasuke.

"None that I can think of. I've had a blast here." I said.

Sasuke opens his arms and I go to him. He pulls me into his lap and I mold myself against him. "Have you thought about counseling?" he asks. "Yes but I don't want people to think I'm crazy." I say. He laughs, "That sounds crazy. No one has to know you go to counseling. It can be your secret. Also, so what if people know? It's not something to be ashamed of. A lot of people go to counseling. You now I've been."

I look up to his face. He kisses my forehead and I smile for the first time today. "I'll think about it." I say. Sasuke smiles at me. "That's all I ask, hun." I hug him and kiss his neck. "I love you too." I yawn and stretch. Now I feel sore from staying in bed too long.

I get out of bed and stretch one more time. "Okay, I'm ready to get out of bed now." I say and laugh a little.

Sasuke laughs at me and we head to the living room. We both plop down on the couch and have the same thought.

What the hell are we gonna do today?

It's about eleven o'clock and we were bored out of our minds.

"We could go to the river." Said Sasuke

"Too cold. We could walk around the mall." I said.

"I'm not that bored." Sasuke said.

I agree. It's not that boring of a day to go walking around the small shopping center our town insists on calling a mall.

We sat in silence for a while before I finally had an idea. It was one I knew we'd have to do sooner or later. I was just hoping for a little later.

"We could go to my house. I mean, it is about time I saw dad and spent some time with him." I said. My voice didn't sound as distant as I thought it would. I do miss my dad, but I guess I'm still a little mad at mom.

Sasuke studied me for a moment, trying to see if it's what I really wanted. "Alright. We can do that. I'll help you pack when you're ready." I looked at the clock. It was half past ten which meant mom would be at work. Dad had the weekend off starting today.

I got up and walked to Sasuke's room. I heard him get up and follow me. I set out a plain black shirt and white pants with belts to wear. Sasuke helps me fold my clothes and put them back into my bag. "Do you wanna wash these first?" he asks. I shake my head and say "Nah. I'll do that when I get home."

We finish packing my stuff and I tell Sasuke I'm gonna shower.

"Alright, I'll straighten up my room a bit while waiting for you." he says.

I give him a quick kiss and go to the bathroom. I start the water, setting it on hot, and strip off my clothes. When the water is ready, I step in and turn my back to the shower head. To most people, the water probably would have been a bit too hot, but to me, it feels like stepping into a hot springs. The water warms my skin and loosens my muscles. The shower head's force is making it feel like a massage on my back.

I turn around to warm up my torso before stepping under the head to completely wet myself. I move away and squeeze my hair so it's barely damp. I lather and rinse shampoo and conditioner from my hair. Next I wash my body with coconut scented soap.

I stand under the water for a minute more, and then get out, turning off the shower as I do so. The bathroom is filled with steam. I flip the switch that causes the exhaust fan to turn on. Slowly, the bathroom becomes clearer. I wipe off a spot on the mirror to see myself. I dry off with a towel and comb my hair. My hair naturally spikes on its own, sort of, but today I felt like styling it. I look around Sasuke's linen cabinet and come across some Axe hair gel. I scoop out a quarter sized amount of the gel and make a fluffy styled Mohawk with the sides of my hair lying down.

I wrap the towel around my waist and walk into Sasuke's room. I notice there's another bag packed.

"What's with the other bag, babe?" I ask as I'm getting dressed. Sasuke smiles and plops on the bed. "I'm staying with you. If that's alright?" he says. I zip my pants and sit in his lap. "Nothing would make me happier. I'd love it if you stayed." I tell him. He kisses me deeply and I can't help but moan softly. He's way too good at that.

We break apart for air and he says "Control yourself Fox." I laugh and say "If you wouldn't kiss me like that, I could control myself." Sasuke kisses my cheek and get off him. "Do your parents know that we're going to my house?" I ask, grabbing my bag. Sasuke nods and tells me "I called them at work and told them what's going on. They're cool with it."

Sasuke locks the house and I notice the car is already started. It's a good thing too because it's cold as hell outside. I can see my breath as I'm walking to the car. We put both bags in the back seat. It's so warm inside the car, I'm not shivering anymore. I haven't told dad I'm coming home. I want it to be a surprise.

"Your hair looks good, by the way. You should wear like that more often." said Sasuke. I blush and smile saying thank you.

Sasuke pulls out of the driveway and starts for my house. I turn the radio on and Burn from Papa Roach is playing. I stare at the radio. I like this song but I'm not sure if I wanna hear it right now. "You ok baby?" asks Sasuke. I decide to leave the song on. "Yea I'm alright. I was just thinking about if I wanted to hear this song or not." I say. Sasuke nods and turns his attention back to the road.

Much of the drive was spent in silence. I didn't mind. We talked occasionally about small things that happened while being at Sasuke's house. Other than that, Sasuke focused on the road and I stared out the window. It was sunny but freezing. We eventually made it to my house.

"Well here we are." says Sasuke, parking the car in the driveway. 'Home sweet home.' I think as I'm getting out of the car. "Dad'll be happy to see us. You haven't been over in a while." I said. We grabbed the bags out of the back seat and headed for the door. I slowly opened the back door and motioned for Sasuke to be quiet. There was a chance dad didn't suspect anyone to be here. If he knew, he would have come outside. We quietly sneaked inside and tip toed across the kitchen. I peeked around the counter and saw that dad wasn't in the living room. I heard the shower running and knew we had a great chance of surprising him.

My dog, Shuichi, come running off the couch towards us. He's my Pomeranian I got for my birthday a few years ago. I picked him up and he licked my face. I giggled and said "Hey boy. I missed you too." He yipped and I shushed him gently. "Shu, be quiet. We want to surprise dad." I said. I set him back down and gave him the command to return to the couch.

I patted his head and told him to play sleep. He did as told and pretended to sleep. I taught him that by accident. I was trying to teach him to play dead, but instead he pretends to sleep.

Sasuke and I quickly made it to my room and set the bags on my bed. I sat down on it and breathed a sigh of relief for being home, but also of sadness because it will never be the same home. Sasuke must have noticed my mood change because he pulled me up from the bed and hugged me tightly. "It'll be ok." he said. I hugged him back and nuzzled his neck.

We sit on my bed, waiting for the water to stop. I stare at Sasuke. He looks so good in the emerald green shirt and smoky black jeans he's wearing. I love him so much and I know he feels the same way about me. I close my eyes and smile about thoughts of us together. Sasuke must have noticed because soon I felt his lips on mine. I responded and he proceeded to kiss me deeper, gently pushing me down on my bed. He straddles my lap and I wrap my arms around him. He manages to keep kissing me through all this.

He's not trying to do anything. He just wants to kiss me. I'm fine with that. I love kissing my Sasuke. He lays down on me and rests his hands next to my head. I let my hands rub all over his back. I push up under his shirt to feel his skin. It's smooth like porcelain. I memorize where his spine makes a ridge in his back, where his shoulder blades move under his skin, and the small dimples in the small of his back. I even let my fingers trace the small amount of ribs visible in his sides.

He kisses my lips, jaw line, and my neck. His lips are just as smooth as his skin. They send tiny shivers through me every time they touch my skin. Sasuke kisses my lips one more time and is say I love him. "I love you too, my Fox." he says. Sasuke caresses my cheek and I hold his hand against my face. It's warm and it makes me smile. "My Sasuke, my raven." I said. He smiles at me and this time I kiss him.

We lay there together, my arms around Sasuke and his fingers playing in my hair. Sasuke is resting his head on my chest. We're like that for a few minutes, listening to each other's breathing. Then I hear the water stop. Sasuke looks at me and we smile. We sit up and wait for the sound of dad's bedroom door to close. It doesn't take him long to get dressed. About ten minutes later, we hear the door open and close. There's an audible 'oof' from dad sitting down in his chair.

Sasuke and I slowly open my bedroom door and tip toe out. I can see just enough of the TV to know he's looking through the guide, trying to find something to watch. I motion for Sasuke to follow me out slowly. Dad has amazing peripheral vision. He'll catch something if it's moving quickly, but we move slowly enough, he won't pay us any mind. We make it to behind the couch without dad noticing us.

"Hi dad." we say together.

He jumps and drops the remote to the floor. Sasuke and I laugh at him and walk around to sit on the couch. Shu hops into my lap and I scratch his back. "You boys gave me a good scare." he said. Dad smiled at us and I got up to give him a hug. "Sorry dad. We wanted to surprise you." I said. He hugged me tightly and I did the same to him. "It's alright son. I'm glad you're home." he said. I sat back down on the couch next to Sasuke. "How are you Sasuke?" asks dad. Sasuke smiles and says "I'm good. I've been taking care of Naruto. How are you?"

Dad's smile falters a bit but he recover's quickly. He says "That's good. Thank you for watching out for my boy. I'm as good as I can be, all things considered. I'll be alright." Sasuke gets up and hugs dad. He hugs him back like he did me. Dad always treated Sasuke like a second son. Sasuke always thought of dad as a second parent. Sasuke sat back down next to me.

"When's mom gonna be home?" I ask. Dad looked at the clock, then said "Around seven, possibly." I just nod and mutter an "ok." Sasuke starts to scratch my back to soothe me. With the exception of the TV, we sat in silence for a few minutes until Sasuke gets up off the couch and takes his shirt off. He turns his back to my dad and asks "What do you think?" Dad gets up and walks closer to Sasuke to get a better look.

"It looks nice. Bet it hurt like a bitch though." he says. Sasuke laughs, putting his shirt back on. "It stung a bit, but not too bad. I was basically numb by the time the outline was done." he said. Dad looks at me and asks "Naruto, are you gonna show me your tattoo?" I stood up and took my shirt off. Dad looks at it and traces his finger across it. "Do you like it?" I ask. He smiles at me and says "Yea, I like it. It looks good on you." I put my shirt back on and say "Thanks. I think it looks good too." When I sit back down, Sasuke pulls me into his lap. I blush because I haven't told dad we're dating. "Sasuke put me down." I whisper. He looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. "Dad doesn't know yet. Put me down." I plead. Instead, Sasuke just holds me tighter. I hear dad clear his throat and I blush furiously. I know he sees us and I'm waiting for him to ask. "It's about time." he says.

'What did he just say?' I think. Shuichi yips as if he's laughing. I playfully thump his head and he licks my hand. I pet him and he goes back to lying down.

I look at him with my 'what the fuck' face. "What? What did you say?" I ask. Sasuke and dad laugh at me. I look at both of them, dumbfounded. "Am I missing some type joke here?" I ask with some slight annoyance. Dad looks to me and smiles. "Naruto, you're my son. I've learned when you develop a crush on someone. I've known you've liked Sasuke for a while. I was waiting for you two to get together." he said.

I couldn't help but to blush again. They laugh at me again and I pout in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke lifts my chin and kisses me. "Love you." he says. I squint and stick my tongue out. Sasuke pokes it and that makes me smile. "Naruto, it's ok. I was gonna find out sooner or later." says dad. I sigh and say "I know. I just didn't think you'd expect it to happen."

We watch TV for a while. Sasuke still has me firmly in his lap. I gave up on asking him to put me down and settled, comfortably, against his chest. I focused more on his heart beat than on the TV. Soon I could feel my eyelids getting heavy.

*roughly three hours later*

I opened my eyes and looked around to find that I was in my room. "I must have fallen asleep." I say, rubbing my eyes. I sat up and yawned and stretched. The door opened and it was Sasuke and Shuichi. Shu hopped up on my bed and licked my face. I rub his stomach when he rolls over. "Hey sleepy. How ya feeling?" he asked. I yawned again and answered "I'm ok. How long have I been out?" Sasuke looked at my clock on the nightstand and said "About three hours."

I get out of bed and stretch again. I needed the nap after my crappy night. I follow Sasuke out to the living room. Shuichi runs out past us and lies down on his bed. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty is awake." says dad. I smile and wave. "I guess I didn't realize how tired I was." I said. I sit down and Sasuke wraps an arm around me. I lean on him and watch TV. It's around 5:30 and mom will be home in a couple hours.

"What's for dinner, dad?" I ask.

He answers "Not sure. What do you boys want?"

I look at Sasuke and he shrugs. "What do you have in the freezer?" he asks.

"Sasuke, you're a guest. You don't have to cook here." says dad.

"I don't mind. I love to cook." Sasuke says.

"Dad's right hun. You've been cooking since I was at your house. Why don't we just order something for tonight?" I say.

We settle for ordering a pizza from Dominos. A large pepperoni with cheesy bread sticks.

"So, dad, how have you been?" I ask. He sighs and gets a forlorn look across his face. "I've gotten better. I was pretty upset when she first told me, but I've come to accept that that's what she wants." he says. Sadness washes over me as I hear him speak. Dad continues "She's gonna move out when everything is finalized. Until then, your mother will still be living here." I look at him and say "You know I'll be staying here, right?" Dad looks at me for a moment and nods. "I know. I think your mother will figure it out." he says.

A silence falls over us for a couple minutes before dad asks "How are you handling this, Naruto?" I was hoping he wouldn't ask that. Sasuke tightens his hold on me, assuring that everything will be ok. "I'm better than I was when mom first told me. I'm still a little mad at her, but I'll get over it. I just loved the fact that I could always say I live with both parents. It sounds selfish, I know, but I liked that I use to be the only one of my friends whose parents was still together." I said. I managed to keep my voice even while I was talking. I saw the sadness play over my father's face and how he had to work to stay strong. His voice falters a bit as he speaks, "I know son. I know. I want nothing more than for your mother to stay, but once she's made her mind up about something, she sticks to it. Everything will work out though. I promise."

The doorbell rings and Shuichi starts barking. "Shu, quiet." I say. He stops barking and returns to being lazy. Dad answers the door and it's the pizza guy. "Good evening. How are you all doing?" he asks, handing the pizza to dad. Dad takes the pizza and I take it to the kitchen. "Good. How are you?" says dad. The pizza guy smiles and says "I'm doing well. That'll be $14.98." Dad hands him a twenty and tells him to keep the change as his tip. The pizza guy stumbled over his thank you.

Dad closed the door and saw that Sasuke and I already tore into the pizza. "I'm guessing you boys were hungry." he says. Our mouths were too full to speak, so we settled for nodding our heads. Dad fixed his plate and sat in his chair. I noticed the clock read 6:15. "Mom should be home soon." I said. Dad looked at the clock and said "Yup. Should here her car any minute."

We finished our pizza, leaving enough for mom in case she wanted some. We all got comfortable watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother. It's the episode where Marshal tries to jump to the next apartment building. We were halfway done with the episode when I heard mom's car pull into the driveway. Shuichi's ear pricked up and he ran to the backdoor. He gets excited when someone comes to the house.

I heard the back door open and dad put a finger over his lips telling us to be quiet. "Whose car is that in the driveway?" she asked. Dad got up and said "Come out into the living room and you'll see." He walked into the kitchen and I heard him fixing a drink. I heard mom sigh and say "Minato, just answer the question." Dad walked back to his chair, mom not far behind him. "Kushina, look at the couch." he says. She walks around and when she saw me, her face lit up. "Naruto! You're home!" she says, voice full of joy.

I got up and gave her a hug. "Hey mom. I decided to come home as a surprise." I told her. She hugged me tightly and said "It's a wonderful surprise. I've missed you." She released me and that's when she noticed Sasuke. "Hello Sasuke. How are you?" she asked. I sat down and Sasuke said "I'm good. How are you?" Mom made an exasperated sigh and laughed. "I'm good. Just a long day." She sat down on her spot on the love seat. "How long have you been home?" she asks.

Shuichi jumps up on moms lap and sniffs all over her. She holds him still and pets him. "Since around twelve, I think." I say. Dad turns around in his chair and says "Yup. I came out after a shower and they scared the hell out of me." Sasuke and I smiled like we were innocent. Mom just laughed and said "Way to go." She gets up and Sasuke says "There's some pizza for you, Mrs. Uzumaki." She smiles and said "Good. I've been starving all day."

Mom walks into her room to change her clothes. "Well that didn't feel awkward." I said. It was true. I didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable at all. It's going better than I thought it would. Mom comes back out and goes to get her pizza. She sits down and Shu tries to jump on her. "Shu, go lay down. You know better." I say. Shu flattens his ears and stalks to his bed. He knows he's not allowed near anyone while they're eating, but he refuses to listen unless I tell him. He only listens to my commands.

Mom is eating her food, dad's watching TV, and Sasuke is running his fingers along my side. It feels good and ticklish at the same time. "Mom, Sasuke and I got tattoos." I say. Her eyes got wide and she gulped down the last of her pizza and said "Show me, show me." We got up and took off our shirts. Sasuke turned around to show mom his. She looked at them and said "Wow, they look very nice."

Dad cleared his throat and said "Tell her the other news now." I squinted at dad and mom looked at him. "What other news?" she asked. Dad raised his eyebrow and look towards me. "Sasuke and I are dating now." I said. Mom donned a huge smile and said "That's wonderful. I'm happy for you too. It's about time anyway." Seriously? This again? How many other people were waiting for us to get together? I'm just gonna leave it alone. "Yea, it finally happened." says Sasuke. We redress and sit back down. Sasuke pulls me to him and I wrap my arms around him.

All of us settle into a comfortable silence for a couple hours. Occasionally, mom would get up to smoke outside; Shu would prance around the house, dad would play with his phone, or Sasuke and I would shift around on the couch to get comfortable again. All in all, it was a pretty normal night for me. Around this time, the house was pretty much quiet until we went to bed.

It was around nine when dad went to bed. He needed to be up at four for work. He told us good night and hugged Sasuke and I. We all said good night to him and he disappeared into his room. "Hey mom? Where are you sleeping?" I asked. I figured it would be too awkward for her to be sleeping in the same bed as dad since announcing the divorce. "The guest room. I fixed it up with the futon and TV from the garage. I also moved my dresser in there and cleaned out my things from the closet." she said.

The guest room was originally an office and game room. There was a desk and computer in there, and dad had his PS3 in there. "Did dad move the play station out?" I asked. Mom nodded her head. "Yup. It's in his room. The computer is still in there though so I can use it." she said. I nodded and told her I'm glad she's comfortable.

Mom went to bed at ten and Sasuke and I went to my room for the night. Shuichi stayed in his bed in the dining room. I changed into a pair of black boxers and plopped down on my bed. Sasuke joined me after putting on some shorts. I lay on my stomach and Sasuke was on his side. "So how do you feel?" he asked. I looked at him and said "I'm good. That went better than I thought." He smiled and said "Me too. I thought everything was gonna be awkward. It went pretty good."

I closed my eyes and felt Sasuke get on top of me. He started rubbing my shoulders and back. "Mmm, that feels good, babe." I said. He places butterfly kisses along my shoulder blades. I sigh and moan at the sensation. Sasuke uses his thumbs to rub circles in the small of my back. It feels wonderful because I have a lot of tension there. He works his way back up to my shoulders and neck. I lower my arms to give him better access to my neck. He uses his pointer and middle fingers to massage it.

Sasuke expertly works his fingers all over my back, shoulders and neck. I'm so relaxed when he's done. He goes back to lying on his side next to me. I open one eye and smile at him. "Thanks Sasuke. That felt great. "I said. He smiled back at me and said "You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it." I yawned and Sasuke pulled me to him. I wrapped an arm his waist and rested my head on his chest. He held me, tightly, against him. Sasuke pulled the covers over us and kissed me. "Good night, my fox." he said. I kissed his chest and said "Good night, my raven."

Minutes later, the sound of Sasuke's heart beat lulled me to sleep.

I know it might seem a little long. But I had to deal with a lot in this chapter. I hope you all liked it. Even though you had to wait so long for it *rubs back of head nervously* I'll try to update regularly from now on

As always, reviews and comments are appreciated.