Disclaimer: Naruto and characters belong to their rightful owner. Song lyrics belong to One Republic
Warnings: Swearing, M x M romance, explicit sexual scenes in this chapter, mentions of mental illness and treatment processes
Author's Notes: Sorry for the long, long, long wait guys. Hope this chapter more than makes up for my tardiness.
Chapter 38: Living On Love
When you're happy like a fool, let it take you over
When everything is out, you gotta take it in
Good Life by onerepublic
A warm beam of early morning sunlight stirred Naruto from his sleep, and he opened his eyes and immediately smiled. After almost another two years since their initial reunion, Sasuke was finally sleeping next to him once more.
Naruto spent the next few minute rememorizing the planes and angles of Sasukes face. He was sleeping on his side with his arms crossed before him, displaying his beautifully sculpted and toned muscles, and his flawless pale skin. Inky eyelashes kissed his sleep warmed cheeks, and he breathed slowly and steadily, sleeping on beside Naruto.
He ached to reach out and touch, but he was hesitant to disturb the moment of peace that had taken ahold of their bedroom.
Sasuke had reluctantly returned home to his family after Naruto had found him, and Naruto had returned to his treatment centre. For two weeks they hadn't talked again, but Naruto hadn't been worried. He had seen Sasuke's longing for him, and knew that Sasuke would do anything and everything for a future together. So he hadn't stressed when he didn't hear from him.
Eventually, the phone had rung late one evening, and the sound of Sasuke's deep, smooth voice on the other end had filled Naruto with heat and love. Sasuke's father hadn't died, but it had been a close call. He was a shadow of his old self, and his health remained frail to this day. Sasuke had experienced mixed emotions about the news, but he and his father had reached some sort of peace between them, and that was enough. They would never be close or even comfortable with each other but they had reached an understanding that was only clear to the two of them.
The head of the Uchiha family had been forced into an early retirement, and had moved with Lady Mikoto to one of their coastal properties where the climate was warmer and easier on his health. This meant that Sasuke became the proud owner of the Uchiha Estate, its grounds, manor and stables, as Itachi already had property of his own.
The running of the various family empires had fallen to both Sasuke and Itachi, and surprisingly, Sasuke had thrown himself into the task and thrived in his new role. Itachi too, had married and settled down, seemingly content with his newly elevated position as well. Sasuke and Itachi had somehow reached an impasse with their silent warfare upon each other (which Naruto had never really understood) and became close once more.
Despite his role within the family empire, Sasuke had also dedicated himself to expanding the Uchiha stables and re-establishing their reputation as one of the highest quality breeding stables in the country. They bred world class competition horses and race horses, and new housing and arenas had been built to accommodate the rapidly expanding enterprise.
Naruto knew that Sasuke had been keeping himself busy to distract himself from the physical distance that had existed between them. They talked every night on the phone, and Sasuke had helped him through a couple of rough patches in his therapy sessions. The urge to just get on a plane and fly to him had been almost overwhelming at times, but Sasuke had talked him down. In a funny way, it seemed like they knew each other on a deeper, more intimate level after their long conversations each night. Time had only increased his need to be with Sasuke again.
So two years passed in such a fashion, with Naruto picking his life up again and Sasuke burying himself in his art, his horses and his work. Two years until Naruto finally felt ready to move back across the country and dedicate himself to Sasuke and their future together. He had set up regular appointments with a local therapy centre, and last night when he had driven up that old, familiar driveway, he had thought that the excitement and anticipation would explode from his chest.
Sasuke had been waiting for him at the front door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, and Naruto had never seen anything so appealing in his life. Sasuke had welcomed him back wholeheartedly into his life, and Naruto's body was still aching pleasantly as he lay their watching his lover.
They had gotten so carried away the night before that they hadn't even brought his luggage in from his truck. And Naruto had completely forgotten about the other surprise he had for Sasuke.
At that moment, Sasuke drew in a deep breath and opened his dark eyes. He stared at Naruto for a moment with his usual early morning blankness before smiling warmly and pulling Naruto into his sleep warmed body. Naruto wrapped his arms around him and pushed his nose into his neck where Sasuke's spicy scent was strongest and enhanced by the night's sleep.
"For a moment there I thought I was dreaming again," Sasuke murmured in a roughened voice.
Naruto smiled and pressed a kiss to his broad chest.
"Not this time, you're not," he replied before pulling back slightly so he could see Sasuke's face. "God, I missed you."
Sasuke pressed a lingering kiss to his lips and Naruto closed his eyes, relaxing into Sasukes gentle touch on his skin.
"I'm glad you're finally home. This place hasn't felt right without you here," Sasuke admitted to him softly. His fingers tracing slow patterns on Naruto's back. "I feel like I can breathe again."
Naruto could sense Sasuke struggling with something, as if he had something he wanted to say, but he didn't press, knowing that he would speak when he was ready. Instead, he set about slowly relearning the shape and feel of Sasuke chest with his fingertips.
Eventually, Sasuke caught and trapped one of his hands. "Do you think…." He began slowly before licking his lips. "Do you think you'll be happy here? Will you be okay with all the history you have with this place if we live here permanently?"
Naruto mulled the questions over in his mind as he slid one of his legs over Sasuke's hip and fit them closer together. It wasn't that he had doubts, he just needed a moment to properly form his reply in a way that Sasuke would understand and accept.
"Adjusting is going to take a little while, I think," he said slowly. "And I'm okay with that. I still love this place, and I can't wait to see how you've helped this place grow. I think that as long as I have you, and I keep up with my medication and my therapy I'll be more than okay."
At hearing his reply, Sasuke relaxed and gave him a brilliant smile.
"I've been worried about it for a while, but I've just been so busy that I kept forgetting to ask you," he admitted. "Just…if things get too much, you'll tell me right? We could move somewhere else, or go travelling for a while, anything."
Naruto smiled and cupped Sasuke's face in his hand, feeling his heart swell with love for this man.
"I promise, if things ever become too much to handle, you'll be the first to know. I want to be with you, Sasuke, for the rest of my life and I'll do everything in my power to make sure it happens."
With that, he pressed his mouth to Sasuke's . Sasuke responded fiercely, rolling so that he was on top of Naruto with his hips cradled by his thighs.
Naruto slid his hands down Sasuke's back and up again, smiling as Sasuke's mouth attacked his neck.
"You're insatiable," he grinned, gasping a moment later as Sasuke bit down onto his shoulder.
"It's been more than two years, Naruto," Sasuke growled against his chest. "Two years with nothing but my own hand and memories."
Naruto laughed quietly as Sasuke kissed his stomach. "Now that would have been a sight I would pay to see."
"Maybe some other time," Sasuke grinned up at him as his talented hand wrapped about Naruto and began to move. Naruto moaned, his eyes falling closed as heat surged within his veins. "Right now I want to fuck."
With that, he took Naruto in his talented mouth and within seconds Naruto was writhing on the bed with his hands buried in Sasuke's silken hair. It would be over too soon if Sasuke kept up that swirling motion of his tongue, and kept gently rolling and tugging at his balls. When one of Sasuke's fingers slyly brushed Naruto's opening, he felt the beginnings of his orgasm start up in the pit of his stomach. It really had been too long if he was about to explode after only moments of Sasuke's attention.
He arched his back, his eyes slamming closed as he came, his body seizing and trembling under Sasuke's continued onslaught. His hips jerking, he whimpered as the feel of Sasuke's mouth on his sensitive flesh became too much, and Sasuke released him slowly before crawling up Naruto's trembling body. He pressed sensual, slow kisses to Naruto's mouth, smiling as he struggled for breath.
After pressing one more kiss to Naruto's jaw, he encouraged Naruto to lie on his stomach and ran his hands softly down Naruto's back, resulting in a sigh as he relaxed and pillowed his head on his arms.
For the second time since he had woken up that morning, Naruto remembered the news he had for Sasuke as he jogged down the stairs after his shower. Sasuke was in one of the parlours with a full breakfast set out before him.
Naruto paused in the doorway and smiled and the sight of his lover and life partner sitting in the morning sun and pouring over renovation plans for the mansion before crossing over to join him.
Sasuke glanced up at him with a smile before reaching to pour him some orange juice.
"Nice shower?" he enquired.
Naruto nodded as he bit into a piece of toast.
"Mmmph," he mumbled before swallowing quickly. "It's nice to wash the travel off my skin."
"I didn't have a problem with it," Sasuke grinned at him before turning back to his papers. "In fact, after breakfast we could go and…"
"Let me stop you right there," Naruto laughed. "I have something I want to talk to you about."
Sasuke straightened and set aside his work to pay full attention to what Naruto had to say. And that was yet another thing he loved about Sasuke; he always had time to talk and pay attention, no matter the circumstance. Their time apart had taught Sasuke patience that he hadn't had before. It had made him a little more self-aware and a lot less high strung that he had been previously.
"A while ago you told me that you were trying to sell the rural land behind the estate. You remember?"
Sasuke nodded and frowned in confusion. "Yeah of course I remember. I signed the sale papers to the anonymous buyer last month. Why?"
"It was me. I bought that land."
Naruto watched Sasuke as he processed that and had to bite back his smile at the incomprehension on his face. To the majority of people, Sasuke was a closed book and an enigma, and that was why they were wary of him. He had complete control over himself, and was able to hide his emotions and thought processes as easily as breathing. To Naruto though, Sasuke was easier to read than anyone else he knew, and this drove Sasuke batty because he was unable to hide anything from Naruto, even if he tried to.
"But that land is to be used for farming, Naruto. Why would you want it?"
Naruto smiled at him, hardly able to contain his excitement. He had been planning this for a long time, and now that his dream was within his reach he couldn't wait to let Sasuke in. This project was his baby, and he had worked so hard to make it a reality. All he had lacked was the space, and now that he had that he could finally begin to get his hands dirty and dig in to the nitty gritty details.
"I don't know if I ever told you this, but my father came from an old family with money. He wasn't the type to spend it or throw it around like it meant nothing," Naruto paused here, and his father's face flashed within his mind. "We never had a permanent home. We wandered from place to place by choice, because that was how we liked it. We were happy that way, moving around and experiencing the world."
Sasuke reached over and took his hand on the table top and that contact alone allowed Naruto to shake off the sad memories and smile at him. It was definitely true love if a persons' very presence drove away the shadows from your mind.
"Anyway, he spent most of his life saving because he had a dream. And when he died, it became my dream too. Last year, the money was released from my trust fund and I began the process of looking for a place to build that dream."
"You've never mentioned this before, Naruto," Sasuke commented, but he didn't seem mad or hurt by the secrecy.
"I know. And that's not any reflection on you at all," he hurriedly reassured him. "This is something that I feel that I needed to do on my own, because I owed it to my father. But now I need your help and if you have the time, I'd really like your input."
"On what? C'mon Naruto, this is killing me. What's the big surprise?" Sasuke seemed to have caught on to Naruto's excitement and was squeezing his hand in anticipation.
Naruto grinned at him. "My father always dreamed about starting his own horse rescue and retraining facility. He wanted to take horses that had been abused or were to be slaughtered and to retrain them into leisure horses for families. He wanted to give them second chances at a better life."
"And that's what you're going to use the land for?"
He nodded. "I've already found several sponsors, and set up some contracts with government welfare organisations to receive horses they've seized. I have enough money left over from purchasing the land to start building and even to hire some employees. I'd like your help planning the stables and arenas."
Sasuke sat back, seemingly lost for words and buried in his thoughts. Naruto smiled contentedly to himself as he continued to eat. It pleased him immensely whenever he was able to baffle Sasuke to this degree, because it happened so rarely. Sasuke possessed a sharp mind to go along with his sharp wit, and it was rare that anyone could catch him off guard.
"Naruto…" Sasuke murmured. "I'm…I'm amazed. I can't believe you've managed all this without me knowing. "
Naruto grinned at him. "I know. Pretty amazing, right? Although, I'm not sure if I should be insulted at just how stunned you are."
Sasuke snorted inelegantly and waved a hand at him. "All that aside, how did you manage all the contracts that come with all of this? That shit is a nightmare if you don't know what you're doing, and I know that from experience."
"I took business courses when I was at the retreat, remember? And I hired a part time business manager. Surprisingly, it has all been easier than I thought it would be…."
"I'm so proud of you Naruto," Sasuke interrupted him, standing up. "This is amazing!"
Naruto pushed to his feet to accept Sasuke's hug, and kissed the Uchiha's neck softly.
"So will you help me?"
"Of course I will," Sasuke murmured into his hair. "In fact, I know just the guy for the job."
TBC – More Tomorrow