A/N: And I was scared that everyone forgot about me! lol. Maybe it wasn't a million and ten reviews but I was happy that people were still reading! So I wrote up this chapter as fast as I could as another apology for taking so long with the last chapter. So enjoy this one because I find it rather cute!

Summary: Fleeing to Kirigakure, what could be in store for the team?

Warnings: Now packed with 100 percent more shonen-ai for your fangirl-y (fan-boy-ish?) pleasure! Of course as usual the languge is shaken not stirred (AKA swearing...-.-;)

Chapter 24

Pakkun curled up beside Mio on the beach. The breezy day that the group had spent at the beach was coming to a close. Like the three had agreed they told Pakkun about staying on the beach for the night. He only agreed after his conditions were met. Since he was the one in charge of getting them safely to Kirigakure he wasn't going to allow them to be careless. The fact that he was utterly attached to them had nothing to do with it…of course it didn't.

Sakura had to put up a genjutsu that was fool proof, the three had to sleep in shifts to ensure the safety of the team and the whole group had to leave on the first ship out to Kiri. Eagerly Naruto agreed for all three of them. Sasuke and Sakura could tell that it was because he loved playing with Mio like he had been out on the beach. He loved tossing her in the air and catching her easily. He loved chasing her and his teammates in a game of tag. But most of all he loved hearing Mio laugh freely into the salty air.

The sun was sinking in the sky and maybe if Sasuke and Naruto had been totally different people, or girls, then they could have appreciated the way the light tinted the sky brilliant pinks and hues of purples and oranges. But they just enjoyed how easy it was to breathe now.

"Ah," Sakura sighed out. "It's so beautiful out here."

"Ugh," Naruto teased rolling his eyes at Sakura. "Sentimentality!"

Sakura kicked him over with her bare feet, "Shut up! I've heard some of the things you've said to Sasuke!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out on her and situated his head on Sasuke's lap, "So what? I'm sure you've said gushier things to Ino!"

"I don't know, Naruto," Sasuke interceded. "You've said some pretty sentimental things yourself."

"Yeah? Prove it pretty boy," he challenged smiling in a cocky manner.

Sasuke shrugged and bent down to kiss Naruto. He let Naruto relax his body and allow Sasuke's tongue passage. Sasuke gripped Naruto's hair lightly and then bit his lip hard enough to taste blood.

"Ow!" Naruto yelled after Sasuke pulled away from him. "You made me bleed!"

"Exactly," Sasuke waggled his eyebrows at Naruto.

Naruto stared at him confused for a second before touching his bleeding lip again, "Oh…" Then he hushed his thoughts and licked his lip.

"Hey! Hey!" Sakura called out breaking the silence that was about to fall over the couple. "I wanna know what's going on!"

Sasuke turned to Sakura, "One day Naruto-"

"NO! NO! It's nothing Sakura!" he assured her as he waved his hands around.

"Told me that he-"

Naruto smacked Sasuke's face with his hands and tried hooking the boy's lips with his fingers. Sasuke took a hold of his wrists and kept talking to Sakura.

"Couldn't live without-"

"AHHHH!! No! Don't tell her that Sasuke!" Naruto objected as he tried to wiggle his hands free of Sasuke's grip.

This of course went unacknowledged by Sasuke and Sakura, "Me. And bit my lip to symbolize that."

"What does biting your lip have to do with anything?" Sakura asked as Naruto groaned obnoxiously in the background.

"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" Naruto shouted waving his hands in front of Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke swatted at Naruto's hands and shrugged, "It was just the way he told me that he couldn't live without me."

Sakura nodded and watched a look of nostalgia sweep over Sasuke, "I see."

Naruto folded his arms across his chest and looked the other way, "You guys have just stripped me of my manliness…I hope you're happy."

"Ecstatic," Sasuke said glancing down at Naruto with a small chuckle.

Sasuke crawled over to Sakura and shook her awake, "Hey, the next boat to Kiri just arrived."

Sakura blinked up at him and yawned, "Mmhm…"

She pushed herself up from the weird clothing-blanket they made to keep sand from crawling into weird places. Sasuke got up and walked over to Naruto and Mio. He sat down next to his daughter and shook her until she opened one eye to look up at him.

"Come on Mio," he said tilting his head to get a better look at her. "Time to wake up."

"Little longer 'Suke…" Naruto muttered batting Sasuke's hand and hugging Mio tighter.

"No, Naruto," Sasuke urged as he prodded him a little bit more. "Now."

Pakkun was already up. He had accompanied Sasuke to the dock to talk to the man who was running the small boat.

Mio elbowed Naruto in this nose as she stretched to wake herself up, "Les get ready blond one." She slurred her words tiredly.

Naruto rubbed his eyes but looked like he needed more convincing. So Sasuke leaned over Mio and pressed his lips against Naruto's neck, letting his tongue slip for a second. The boy shivered and reached out to hold Sasuke's head in its current place. Sasuke however had different plans as he bobbed out of the way of Naruto's selfish hands before he could be pinned.

"Get up and maybe you'll get more," Sasuke promised with a half smile.

Mio's head snapped over to her two parents, her look of utter mortification unashamedly obvious, "Can you guys wait?! I'm still here!"

Sasuke dipped his head down and kissed Naruto chastely just to annoy his daughter. She made a fake gagging noise and got up to go hug Sakura tightly around her waist.

Naruto groaned and rolled over when Sasuke refused to kiss him a second time.

"Come on," Sasuke urged a second time with a few good smacks to Naruto's thigh. "We have to get on the boat if we want to make it to Kiri in a reasonable amount of time."

"Fine, fine," Naruto huffed out dramatically before sitting up to start the day.

Mio, having never been on a boat, got sea sick several times. Naruto rubbed her back and tried to comfort her but that only ended with a lethal does of last night's dinner all over his shoes. Sasuke tried to stick close to her and give her a few soothing touches after that incident. Though the Great Naruto Bridge was finished they opted for a boat for the sense of subtlety and familiarity that it boasted.

"Only a few more miles," the man guiding them promised with a dull voice.

Mio blearily cheered for this information. Her poor head was throbbing and her stomach couldn't handle too much more of this wide open sea. Sasuke tucked her hair behind her ear and hushed her.

Sakura absentmindedly stroked Pakkun's brown fur as she stared at the horizon. Being in this boat reminded her of the mission that was too far away now. It was back when they were naïve and she was so infatuated with Sasuke it would make her current self sick several times over. But that was in the past, it was nice to visit but she'd never give up the present for the past.

The boat jolted forward as the wood collided with the rough beach of the Mist country. Sasuke helped Mio out of the boat and set her down on the solid land. He was little surprised when his daughter began to praise the land with her kisses.

Naruto went over and laughed briefly at her before he picked her up to make her stop worshipping the earth. Sakura walked with him and Mio up a small hill and waited for Sasuke to pay the man in the boat. Once that was done all that was left was to get to the Mizukage's Tower.

After they were in his presence it was anyone's guess as to what was going to happen.

Pakkun stood in front of the doors to the Mizukage's office with no hesitance in his aura. The three teenagers however seemed to be conquering the lumps that rose in their throats from just being where they were.

Sasuke gave Naruto's hand a squeeze and whispered, "It's now or never."

Naruto nodded to him and then to Sakura, careful not to jostle Mio into waking up. Sakura turned her weary eyes to her boys and then pushed the door to the Mizukage's office open.

Much to their surprise the Mizukage looked, young. His face was fresh and free of scars and blemishes. Sandy blond hair sat atop his head in a flat, neat way that said that he cared very much for his appearance. The Mizukage's lips didn't quirk up when they entered, they remained neutral to their situation and in a serious line on his face.

"You guys are the ones from Konoha?" he asked motioning to the chairs that littered his presence.

"Yes," Sasuke said as the spokesperson for the group.

"My name is Aoi and I will be providing you with housing and protection," the man spoke softly but sternly, two good qualities in a ruler but Sasuke couldn't help but feel that their circumstances were making him speak this way and that usually this man was probably a very cold leader.

"Excuse me," Naruto spoke up tiredly, asking the question that had seated itself in everyone's minds after Aoi introduced himself. "But why are you doing this?"

"I care nothing for your situation and would probably hand you over to the Council in Konoha," Sakura winced at these words but Aoi pressed on. "If I was not in debt to Tsunade…"

Naruto's head snapped up at this, disturbing Mio in the slightest but not making her aware of the world, "You owe Tsunade?!"

Aoi nodded stoically and looked almost like he was swimming in something from generations before that point in time. He decided against scolding the blond for his tone in favor of keeping the little girl asleep.

"How does something like that happen?" Naruto asked in disbelief. Sasuke wanted to push Naruto over for his obvious casualness in his voice. If things continued like this they were going to end up in the Council's clutches by nightfall.

The Mizukage looked at Naruto with a sharp look in his eyes, "Tsunade protected my family during the Ninja War. Even though we were on opposing sides she kept my family alive." He let nostalgia take over for a second before regaining control over his mentality.

"For her kindness I will keep your family alive as my payment," Aoi finished with a chilly look in his face.

Sasuke wanted to say thank you to Aoi for this but the reply to such a gesture would have likely been 'I'm not doing this for you…' He chose to keep his mouth shut for now.

"You will be living in a housing unit that my country has set aside for refugees," he explained writing down the directions to the house on a piece of snow white paper. "I have no doubt that the Council will send ANBU here to scout for you but because of a treaty that Tsunade and I forged they will be in violation and will be unable to look for any of you."

Sasuke's mind reeled. Tsunade and the Mizukage had forged a treaty in order to protect Sasuke and Naruto? That was…astounding. However, Sasuke thought that it had less to do with him and more to do with Naruto on Tsunade's side of the story. And that was okay, because Sasuke could understand why.

Aoi passed the address to Sasuke, "There is one catch." Sasuke and Naruto looked up. "Neither of you can become a ninja of this country. If you guys are on our records or payrolls in something so obvious then there is nothing I can do for you if the Council sees that."

The blond felt like something inside of him crumbled. It was a cruel twist of fate that made being a ninja impossible for him at his current standing. After all the years of training and it led up to this…That was just merciless.

"Both of your bank accounts have been transferred over to the bank at the refugee site," Aoi continued, uncaring about Naruto's and Sasuke's inner turmoil. "They have been put under new PIN for both of you and different names. Most of the people at the site have an account like that and it is only accessible through that bank."

At least if nothing else, Sasuke thought, they could live comfortably off of his money for a long time to come. Neither would need a job but he had the distinct feeling that Naruto would want to get a job even if it meant he would only be working a part time. Sasuke knew that Naruto would want to contribute, just a little bit would do.

Aoi wrote down the rest of the information and passed it to Sasuke in silence.

After a moment of stillness, "What is her name?" The Mizukage motioned to Mio, who was still knocked out against Naruto's shoulder.

"Her name is Mio," Naruto stated with unhidden fondness in his voice.

"She will be enrolled in the civilian school at the refugee site," Aoi informed them. "I don't want any of the children of my country going uneducated."

Unlike his predecessor, Aoi had implemented free education up to the high school level for civilians and up to the Chunin level for ninjas. He had a firm stand on education and he wasn't letting anyone go without it if he had something to say.

Sasuke agreed with a curt nod of his head. The older man looked at the bags on the floor that the group had brought with them. At least the house came furnished so they didn't have to worry about that unless they wanted to redecorate. But that was up to them.

"And all of your mail will be sent here unless it's from within the country," Aoi finished with a tone of finality. "You guys can go and get settled in now."

As far as public housing went, this was one of the nicer ones that Sasuke had happened upon. Most other countries used leftover money for their refugee housing, if they had it at all. But this one looked as if it were a top priority. The shingles on the roofs were all in line and in perfect condition. Each house was different but study looking, just for those famous Kiri thunder storms.

Naruto pointed at the house number Aoi had directed them to. All that was left to do was go inside.

"Maybe now we can get Mio some real clothes," Naruto muttered shifting the little girl on his back to better situate her.

"Now that you're going to be more stable?" Sakura asked touching the back of her fingers to Naruto's shoulder to comfort him.

He nodded at Sakura and Sasuke forged the path to the house. If they didn't get inside soon all they would do is stand outside and gawk at the house all day long. It was already past noon and it was easy enough to see that everyone needed to get some rest.

Sasuke turned the key and opened the door, which swung open to reveal an understated house. One story, blue and green couches, and simple storage spaces.

"Home sweet home," Sasuke said dejectedly. While he was grateful for the house and protection, it just wasn't the apartment they all shared back in Konoha.

Naruto let Mio climb off of his back, all her squirming was uncomfortable.

"WOAH!" she exclaimed all wide eyed. "This place is humongous!"

The girl scrambled around the house, touching and inspecting every inch of the house. Sasuke shook his head at her and went about his own appraisal. Of course since she'd been living on the mellow streets before Sasuke and Naruto took her in. And even after that it was a small house that the three of them lived in so the house they'd been given was immensely amazing.

"OH MY GOD!" Mio screamed when she pushed the door to her bed room open. "I have my own friggin' bed!!"

"Mio!" Naruto raised his voice a little. "Watch your mouth."

She gave him a look of 'yeah right', but said nothing against him. Mio climbed into her bed and pressed her face against the feathery soft pillows as much as she could. She sighed contently and relaxed her body. Naruto shook his head at her and walked around the house to find Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out lazily. After traveling like they had he felt he had the right to be lazy.

"Sasuke!" he shouted again milling slowly around the house.

"Sasu-!" some one grabbed his arm and pulled him into a room.

Naruto jammed his elbow into the ribs of his captor, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Sasuke?"

"Who else would it be idiot?"

"I'm sorry for being on my guard," Naruto sarcastically apologized. "But you were the one who grabbed me."

"Whatever," Sasuke rolled his eyes oh-so maturely. "I wanted to show you our room."

Naruto looked away from Sasuke for the first time since he'd hit him. Around them was a master bedroom. There was a bathroom, with a shower and a bath tub. A few generic pieces of furniture decorated the room but in the center of the room laid a big ornately carved four-poster bed.

The blond gawked at it for a moment.

Sakura poked her head out from the bathroom, a serious look on her face, "I don't think it's as big as the last one…"

End of Home

A/N: Yup that was the mysterious guy who kept sending letters and stuff to Tsunade as a thank you!! Ummm...hope you liked it but I gotta get to school! lol. You'll have to make due with this short note and no preview!! SORRY!!