Posted: January 5, 2007
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Warnings: Shounen ai, spoilers for anyone not keeping up with the manga, & AUish. Anything involving Akatsuki and bijuus after the timeskip is completely irrelevant to this story, and as such, never happened. Actually, this applies to everything after the timeskip except the part where Naruto, Sakura, and Sai meet up with Sasuke.
General: Takes place after chapter 308 for those of you that are keeping up with the manga.
Thank yous: goheh-remix and Nox (betas) as well as everyone who has reviewed SF. Much love!
Summary: The invisibility started with one silly wish upon a star. Good thing Sasuke's doormat personality, Sai's attempts at matchmaking, and a mission gone wrong were all quite normal in the life of Naruto Uzumaki... Wait. What? SasuNaru
Previously:
"But that was okay, because Naruto was sleeping.
And so Sasuke could finally say the one thing he'd been meaning to tell his friend for quite some time.
"I love you, too.""
Surface Flaws
Chapter 15 & Epilogue
"Sometimes
the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes round the
moon
I see the passion in your eyes
Sometimes it's all a big
surprise
'Cause there was a time when all I did was wish
You'd
tell me this was love
It's not the way I hoped or how I
planned
But somehow it's enough
And now we're standing
face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
Just when I
thought our chance had passed
You go and save the best for last"
- Save the Best for Last (Vanessa Williams)
Chapter 15: 1 Year Later
It was autumn and there was a chilled crispness to the air that had everyone wearing light coats and thin gloves. Konoha was lit up in a blaze of golds and reds and oranges. The river was no exception. The glassy blue of the water was hidden beneath a blanket of brilliantly coloured leaves.
The three youngest members of Team 7 stood on a bridge just above the waterway. They were all propped against the structure's rail in various positions, staring down in humbled silence.
"A cat," Naruto finally said disbelievingly, his look far off and insulted.
Sakura looked over at him and smiled. "A cat," she reaffirmed.
Naruto scowled. "I know. But…" He lifted his gaze from the river to look at her. "A cat?"
"Let it go," Sasuke advised blandly as he placed a wool clad hand over Naruto's. No one gave the action a second thought.
There was a pause.
Naruto glared at Sasuke for all he was worth.
How was he supposed to let go of a blow to the ego of this proportion?
"B-b-but a cat!" he exclaimed pulling his hand out from under Sasuke's and stepping away. He stood from his point between his two teammates and looked from one to the other as if they were absolute nutters.
He honestly thought they were.
"We've done so many cool things as a team. We defeated a jounin-level missing nin on our first mission! We fought head to head with Orochimaru, one of the Sannin!" A look to Sasuke. "Well you didn't, but that's not the point 'cause me and Sakura did! And we did a damn good job of it too!"
Sasuke scoffed and Sakura smiled. "We did, didn't we?" There was far too much condescension in her tone for Naruto's liking.
"Yeah. We did," he snapped irritably before heaving a dejected sigh and collapsing against the rail again. "Well we have an old one to re-add the list. We found a missing cat." He spit the word 'cat' out like it was some horrible food he absolutely detested - like it was nutrient enhanced apple sauce.
Sasuke smirked. "A cat."
When Naruto punched him square in the arm, he felt that he was completely justified.
-----
The first thing Naruto did when he and Sasuke arrived at their shared flat was check for mail. Not because he was expecting anything. Most of the time all they received were love letters for Sasuke and the occasional death threat.
Those were always a hoot to read.
"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto called as he pulled an envelope - addressed to him in neat flowing script - from the mailbox. "I got a letter!"
The brunette reappeared in the doorway to the apartment, sans his jacket and gloves, with a flat expression and his arms crossed sternly over his chest. "Good for you. Now get inside or close the door. The draft is going to chill the house."
"Aren't you getting domestic," Naruto taunted, doing as Sasuke asked. When the door was closed behind him, he glanced back down at the envelope that was addressed to him.
It was kind of chunky so there had to be more than a letter in there, though he had no idea what it could possibly be. "Hold this," he instructed Sasuke, holding out the letter to the boy. It was taken without a word and Naruto slipped off his gloves and jacket. Tossing them to the floor had been the original plan… Until Sasuke had pointedly cleared his throat and shifted his narrowed gaze to the closet.
"Neat freak," Naruto mumbled. But he didn't argue.
When the letter was safe and sound in his hands again, Naruto waved it experimentally. There was a tiny crinkling sound - very curious - but nothing else. His brow furrowed and the blonde gave Sasuke a questioning look as the brunette disappeared into the kitchen.
"I wonder what's inside," Naruto called after him.
"I don't."
Laughing at the concise response, Naruto skipped into the kitchen after Sasuke, undeterred by his comrade's grouchy attitude.
"Bet it's a love letter from Sai," he breathed dreamily, then as an afterthought: "Actually, he does have really impressive abs."
The glare he received from Sasuke was beautiful.
Naruto grinned - wide and cheeky - at the boy and bounced to him, planting a chaste kiss on his lips. "Looking kind of jealous, dear."
"Would you get out of my way? I'm trying to make a sandwich." Sasuke was in a brilliant mood.
With a huff, Naruto relocated to the table, plopping down to his seat. He stared reverently at the envelope, trying to work out who it was from, and stewing over Sasuke's lack of concern. He was always interested when Sasuke got a letter!
He couldn't take it!
Jumping out of his seat again, Naruto darted back to Sasuke's side and pushed his face in front of the other's - assured he had his attention. "But I never get mail!" he explained as if Sasuke hadn't already known that.
"I. Don't. Care." Sasuke shoved him aside with a growl and returned to his two slices of bread - whole wheat.
Naruto grimaced.
"Oh come on!" he said, slinging an arm over Sasuke's shoulder - forgetting all about whole wheat bread - and smirking in a very dastardly way. "You've gotta be curious," he whispered, tight to the boy's ear.
Sasuke froze.
"Just a little bit?" he continued, light and toneless. His tongue darted out to wet his lips - brushed Sasuke's ear. "It's a little mysterious, don't you think?"
Was that a tiny shudder?
Naruto grinned and let out a warm breath of air against Sasuke's flushed neck.
Definitely a shudder.
Slowly, as if any quick movement could crack the atmosphere, Naruto trailed one finger down Sasuke's arm. His nail scraped ever so lightly upon the boy's bared milky skin. Sasuke's fingers twitched and Naruto unhurriedly took hold of the boy's hand, entwining their fingers one by one.
"You want just a peek?" the blonde queried, his voice rough and breathless as he started getting into it as well. Sasuke's hand tightened over Naruto's and he turned his head oh so painfully slow.
Black eyes burned with passion and Naruto drew in a sharp gasp, body shivering as Sasuke took a step closer.
Their noses brushed. Electric and tingling even when the contact was gone.
"More than a peek," Sasuke said, eyes narrowed as they travelled so casually over the length of Naruto's body. They stopped at the boy's hips and a small smirk slowly found its way to Sasuke's mouth.
Naruto swallowed roughly and he knew his face was a dark red. He could feel it burning, searing him into a heady dizziness. His hand tightened around Sasuke's and he allowed his weight to fall lightly into the boy.
A crooked, lustful smile bloomed over his lips and he pulled his arm from around Sasuke's shoulder to let it hang loosely at his side - cold and flashing all over with pleasant little tingles. "You actually want to see then?"
They were so close now. Touching at their foreheads, noses, chests - their locked hands were trapped between their bodies and burning. Sasuke's tongue flicked out of his mouth and leisurely trailed over his bottom lip. His Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, the sound audible. "Yes," the brunette nearly groaned.
Naruto smirked - leaned forward just the slightest bit more - and tilted his head, catching Sasuke's bottom lip between his teeth and pulling until the other boy was nearly falling into him. His free hand tangled itself in Sasuke's thin dark locks of hair, tugging aggressively as he ran his tongue over Sasuke's teeth, pressing forcefully.
Open up.
Sasuke complied and Naruto's tongue was plundering through his mouth, pushing against and tangling with Sasuke's as the other boy tried to gain control over the kiss. Naruto nipped Sasuke's lip again, this time harder, and jerked his hair roughly.
No.
Sasuke grunted and when Naruto pressed into his mouth a second time the boy didn't resist, though a low a growl rumbled deep in the back of his throat. The blonde smirked, his lips curving up against Sasuke's and he guided their locked hands to the growing bulge between Sasuke's legs, rubbing and coaxing with the back of his hand.
A hiss of air passed from Sasuke's mouth to Naruto's and the blonde tore away from the kiss, pulling a ragged gasp from Sasuke as he did so. His fingers straightened, allowing his hand to slip free of his lover's and a second later he stepped back, leaving Sasuke chilled and hard as a rock.
Naruto grinned mischievously and hopped back to the table, where he had left his letter. "Well, if you want to see it so bad then I'll open it!" he said gleefully, waving the letter before him and sitting on the table's edge.
Sasuke's eyes were slits as he stared at Naruto, looking thoroughly snogged. Swollen lips - from the biting -, mussed up hair, and a raging hard on.
Naruto really should have seen it coming, what with the furious look Sasuke was eyeing him with, but the blonde was too consumed in his teasing. So when Sasuke disappeared in a flash of blue and reappeared on top of him - on top of him? - he was completely disoriented and confused.
The blonde looked to the side and realized he was lying on the table, his legs crooked at the knee and dangling over the edge. "Sasuke," he growled, dropping the letter and grabbing two fistfuls of the boy's shirt.
The brunet was tugged forward, and rather than resisting, he let the momentum carry him until his face crashed against Naruto's, his lips latching painfully to the blonde's. There was a muffled grunt as Naruto tried to speak, but it was completely lost as Sasuke braced his elbows on the table - on either side of Naruto's head -, his hands latching painfully onto blonde hair.
Naruto winced and bit Sasuke's chin painfully hard when the boy moved away for air.
He wanted to read his damned letter.
Sasuke laughed and yanked Naruto's head to the side, attacking his bared neck with a flurry of kisses and nips and bites and licks and…
When he breathed on the moist skin just like that it felt so so nice that Naruto couldn't help but release a small moan. His grasp on Sasuke's shirt loosened and he slid his arms over the boy's shoulders, clasping one hand at the back of Sasuke's neck and the other in the boy's hair. If he could just get Sasuke closer…
He pushed his partner's head to his neck and Sasuke nipped him especially hard; Naruto groaned and he couldn't help it that his hips lifted, rubbing his erection against Sasuke's thigh.
Bolts of pleasure shot their way through his system and Naruto nearly began humping Sasuke's leg like a hormone-ridden girl.
"No you don't," he growled, suddenly fierce, before hitching his hips off the table definitively and throwing Sasuke over, rolling with him. They fell off the table with a clatter of chairs and the assurance of bruises that would be quite uncomfortable later.
But that was rather irrelevant in the midst of things.
Because now Naruto had Sasuke pinned to the floor.
The blonde smirked and ground himself against Sasuke, who gasped roughly, his eyelids fluttering half shut for a quick moment.
"Don't… get too excit..ed too quickly. I want you to hold out this time," Naruto taunted in breathless anticipation as he pushed Sasuke's shirt up, revealing washboard abs and two pert nipples.
"Fuck you," Sasuke panted as Naruto began deliberately ghosting the calloused pads of his fingers over his companion's body - over responsive muscles that twitched and rippled under his touch.
Naruto laughed and leaned down to trace Sasuke's nipple with his tongue. There was this wonderful sound Sasuke made when he touched it… just…
Ah, there it was.
Naruto grinned, his lips pushed roughly against the side of Sasuke's hardened bud. Then he lifted himself back up and let his fingers continue the work his mouth had started on Sasuke's nipple. Keeping him making those sharp little pants for air, Naruto made a humoured face at the boy.
"Fuck you? But I have," he reminded Sasuke - took a moment to catch his breath -, "But do you remember? That one time it wasn't even worth it because I'd basically just got in and you came."
The world spun and Naruto was flat on his back with Sasuke sprawled over his body, almost predatorily. "If your technique was a little more refined and didn't simply consist of 'shove it in as fast as you can and aim straight for the prostrate' the sex might have been a little less… shit."
"My technique is fine!" Naruto contended, completely appalled that Sasuke had just called him bad in bed.
Sasuke laughed darkly but didn't reply, he instead busied himself with rocking against Naruto, rubbing their throbbing erections together. Warmth pooled in the base of Naruto's stomach and he arched slightly, groping for the hem of Sasuke's shirt and sliding his hands under it to desperately grip the boy's slender hips.
He led Sasuke into another painfully pleasant thrust and let out a rough laugh as he drove himself up against the Uchiha roughly. "Y'know… you weren't arguing… about my technique… yesterday," he breathed, because he couldn't let it go.
Sasuke, who was leaning over him and was mere centimetres away from his face, smirked and caught Naruto's lips with his own.
The blonde moaned. As if he wasn't having enough trouble breathing already.
Except, the heavy breaths escaping through Sasuke's nose were disjointed and uneven, so the lack of breath wasn't one-sided. He could live with that, he decided as he turned his head to the side - breaking the kiss with a deep gasp - before Sasuke recaptured his mouth again.
Their hips were still rocking to the rhythm Naruto's hands set as he guided Sasuke forward.
Every part of him was burning with need and Sasuke's tongue tracing along the roof of his mouth wasn't helping. He had to be closer.
Still holding tightly to Sasuke - the brunette would have bruises tomorrow for certain -, Naruto wrapped his legs around the boy and pulled him tighter, making the connection of their groins even deeper.
Sasuke panted and ripped away from the kiss. "Bed?" he suddenly asked, breathless.
Naruto, head lolling to the side as his entire body tightened, pressed out a groan and caught sight of the letter. Nothing like a little post-coital reading.
Letting go of Sasuke's hips and casually reaching for the letter, he nodded.
"Bed."
-----
Naruto nudged Sasuke's shoulder. The boy was sprawled out beside him - completely naked, one hand resting on his stomach, and panting for breath.
"Sasuke?"
"What?" the Uchiha asked in a soft voice, his head falling to the side so he could look at Naruto. The blonde grinned brightly and Sasuke's expression softened.
"I have something I want to share with you!" the blonde told him in a very confidential manner, rolling onto his side and placing his hand on Sasuke's arm.
The brunette groaned. "We're not having another go just so you can try to prove you have good technique."
"I do have good technique." Naruto bristled. "You just can't hold out against the Great Uzumak--"
"We've been through this," Sasuke drawled with a dry smile as he leaned over to kiss Naruto's shoulder. "Hurry up with what you want. I'm tired."
Well how could he stay mad when Sasuke was being so… nice.
Naruto grinned. He loved Sasuke after sex. He was all soft touches and a surprising amount of patience.
"Wore ya out, did I?" Naruto inquired with a wink. Sasuke snorted and yawned, scratching his stomach, and hell if these weren't the best moments anyone could ever have, let alone ask for, in their life.
Reaching around behind him, Naruto groped for the letter and held it above Sasuke's head.
Sasuke's expression abruptly became exceedingly dry. "I thought you left that in the kitchen."
"Nope!"
"Wonderful," Sasuke groaned.
"You're just jealous because I might finally have a secret admirer too," Naruto mumbled and tore the top off the letter.
"Why would I be jealous when it was me you were just fucking around with?" Sasuke asked all too logically.
Why did he always have to do that?
Naruto scowled at him over the envelope as he shoved his fingers in, struggling to get purchase on the actual note. "Because you hate even the thought of competition. That's why you can't stand Sai."
"Can you not bring him up when we're in our bed?" Sasuke sniffed.
He was so jealous. "You are so jealous."
"Just open the fucking letter." That was definitely a growl.
Naruto cast Sasuke a look that clearly said 'Quit acting immature' and pulled the letter from the envelope.
His face lit up immediately and he let out a tiny squeak.
"It's a card!" Naruto chirped, admiring the ink drawing on the cover and the neat folds. The honestly happy smile on his face became a hint more playful. "…From Sai!"
Sasuke definitely looked like he wanted to kill something, Naruto observed as he opened the card with a brightly curious expression.
Two long strips of condom packages fluttered to the bed.
Black eyes narrowed dangerously as Sasuke made a horribly primitive noise.
"What. Does. It. Say?" the brunette demanded as he restrained himself from ripping the card from Naruto's hands and doing something completely instinctive - like eating it.
Tearing his gaze from the condoms, Naruto blinked and returned his attention to the card.
Clearing his throat, the blonde read,
"Hello!
Well, I just got back from an S-class mission. I'm not allowed to say anything about it unfortunately. I was just talking to Sakura and it seems you have a lot of spare time in between saving cats and collecting recyclables. I have a feeling I know what you and Sasuke will be up to and, being the concerned friend that I am, I thought I'd give you a gift! Hope these help!
xoxo,
Sai"
When Naruto looked back up at Sasuke, he saw that the other boy no longer looked lethal. On the contrary, he was fingering the two strips of condoms with an amused expression.
"What?" Naruto asked, putting down the card and looking down at the packages.
Sasuke smirked. "The strips are labelled. One each."
"Huh?"
That was pointless, Naruto thought. He certainly didn't need a different kind of condom than Sasuke.
A strip of condoms was thrust at him. "Here're yours."
Naruto blinked as he looked at them. His eyes began to narrow.
"Though I don't know why he labelled them. I'm pretty sure the size is self-explanatory." Sasuke grinned and waved his own extra-larges under Naruto's nose.
That little bastard! Naruto threw his strip across the room, glaring at Sasuke when the boy began to chuckle.
"Shut up and go to sleep," Naruto snapped.
When Sasuke didn't listen to him, Naruto felt that he was more than justified in delivering a hard smack to boy's arm.
-----
Epilogue
Sasuke was asleep now. Most everyone in Konoha probably was, Naruto figured with a quick glance at the clock, which read 3:56.
Almost four in the morning.
In two hours Sasuke would be waking up, not saying a word until he had had his morning shower and brushed his teeth.
A gentle smile formed on Naruto's face and he let his gaze stray to the window. It was dusted in a thin layer of frost and, with a shock of realization, it occurred to Naruto that this time last year he had been holed up in the bedroom of his old flat, eating mush and being unable to move.
The boy flexed his fingers simply because he could and blinked, ever so slow. Had that really been one year ago?
It felt like yesterday.
Like yesterday that he had put on a brave face and grinned as wide as he ever had while Gai and Kakashi argued - Gai argued with himself really - over how Kakashi's Youthful Encouragement needed to be more Youthful and Encouraging. And other words that just didn't feel right if they weren't capitalized.
It felt like yesterday that Sai and Sasuke had been glaring at each other - more Sasuke glaring at Sai really - from either side of his bed. Sasuke aiming to prove that he cared for Naruto more; Sai aiming to rile the other boy up as much as possible.
All the while, Naruto had been laughing and making jokes to ease the tension, even though neither boy had paid him the slightest bit of attention. Until he had fallen asleep of course. When that had happened, Sasuke had woken him up and demanded to know that he was okay.
And Sakura…
Naruto's stomach tightened. That felt like yesterday.
How many times had she come into his room and sat at his side, speaking for hours about everything? From the relationship she suspected Ino was having with Shikamaru to the rain that had lasted three days.
All the while looking at him with an adoration he could never return to her.
But it was okay now, Naruto reminded himself. Because there was a nice village boy that Sakura had been seeing a lot lately. He was fairly plain. Black hair, brown eyes, strong jawline. But he liked Sakura, and Naruto could only hope that she would like him back.
Everything felt like yesterday, really.
It felt like yesterday that Naruto had been wondering where he fit in with all these people that had been constantly moving forward - leaving him behind. Now he realized that he had moved forward too. He had just been on a different path, going somewhere else. Over the last year their paths had converged, and they were all together again, walking the same road and it was marvellous.
Eyes dropping to Sasuke, Naruto's heart swelled with so much happiness and appreciation and love that it nearly hurt, and he shifted closer, curling his body into the smaller boy's and resting his head on the other's chest.
Finally, after everything that they had been through, both Naruto and Sasuke had finally found a home, and it wasn't a silly flat with chairs and a table and a bed. It was each other.
A soft kissed planted itself lovingly upon Sasuke's chest.
Their pasts had once been gaping wounds, but slowly they had been stitching each other together. Taking away the sting until the horrible nightmares of yesterday were nothing more than scars; healed wounds that had left their imprints but hadn't destroyed them.
They were unimportant in the end; there but not there. Surface flaws.
And, looking forward to tomorrow, Naruto knew every scratch had been, and always would be, worth it.
-----
AN: … T-t-t-the End.
I'm slightly emotional right now. Playing Vanessa Williams' "Save the Best for Last" in the background probably isn't helping. My bedroom kind of feels like a sappy 90s romance flick right now. You know, the ones with Julia Roberts and shoulder pads?
Anyways, I'd like to do some Thank Yous right now! I'd like to thank the multiple people that have beta'd SF over the last year and a half: civetta-x, Wanda, vogueanthem, amain, and of course, goheh-remix.
And obviously, all the reviewers. Thank you so much for all your input, compliments, and feedback. MWAH!
-TJ
((OH YEAH! Lololol, before anyone says 'Coming instantly because your prostate is hit is lame' I just want to mention that actually, it's not. It's called 'The Prostate Story' and it happened between two of my best friends. It is, in fact, one of the funniest things I have ever heard because they bicker so horribly when it's brought up.))
