4
Sasuke stood in front of the office door and debated. Naruto had locked himself away since three in the afternoon, and the only one that had come in or out of the office since that time had been the Kazekage. Now, the red-head came out again, looking weary but otherwise the same as always.
"You're still here, Uchiha?" he asked the Anbu captain. He got a particularly nasty snarl in response.
"I'm not waiting here for you," he said archly.
"I'm sure you're not," Gaara said with a little grin. "He's finishing up some official documents from the arrests that happened the other day. You should walk him home, Uchiha."
"Since when have you been an official on relationships?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.
"So, you admit that it is a relationship that you have with Naruto," Gaara pounced and Sasuke blanched.
"Of course it's a relationship!" he finally got his mouth to retort. "That's what people have with one another: relationships!"
"Sure," Gaara strode past him. "If you ever decide to leave your denial behind you, Naruto's waiting."
"What?" Sasuke turned to watch him go but the Kazekage was already out in the hallway, making his way toward his guest quarters. Sasuke growled low in his throat and snapped on his radio collar. "I need three Anbu in the Hokage tower stat."
Three identical flashes landed nearby not even two minutes after his summons. They stood and saluted him. "You called, sir?" one prompted.
"Replace the three Anbu standing watch over the Kazekage's quarters. You'll be relieved in the morning," Sasuke ordered.
"Sir!" the three saluted and they were gone as quickly as they had come. Sasuke let out a tired sigh as he flipped off the transmitter and turned back to the large double doors leading to the Hokage's office. He knocked on the embossed oak.
"Hokage-sama?" he called through it. There was no response. He knocked again. "Hokage?" He waited and still nothing. Frowning, he turned the brass knob and pushed the door inward, revealing an orange lamp-lit room and a white-robed figure hunched over a desk piled high with papers. His hat was drawn low over his eyes and a pen was clutched tightly in one unmoving hand. Sasuke frowned again and walked closer to the figure behind the desk. "Naruto?" he called, softer than before. The hand holding the pen twitched and it rolled out of his fingers and across one of the papers in front of him. A small moan came out of him. Sasuke leapt up and darted around the desk and grabbed one shoulder and shook. "Naruto!"
"Nnh… uh? Sasuke…?" the blonde's voice, thick with sleep, murmured from beneath his hat and a tangle of disheveled hair. The dark-haired Anbu let a rush or worried breath out of him.
"Dammit, usuratonkachi! You scared the shit out of me!" he whispered fiercely. "I thought you'd been… That someone had…"
"Sasuke… did I…worry you?" Naruto smiled thinly. "I'm sorry…"
Sasuke took in the red, weary eyes, the dark circles underneath them, the slumped shoulders, the shaking hands and twitching mouth. His lips tightened. "Stop it," he demanded. "Stop it right now."
"Stop what…?" Naruto blinked blearily.
"Stop killing yourself!" Sasuke snapped and reached down, scooping a dazed Naruto into his arms.
"Wha—? Sasuke…!" he gasped, struggling feebly. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking you home," Sasuke stated and turned, walking out of the office.
"Sasuke, put me down!" the blond struggled a little more. Sasuke ignored him and made his way down to the street entrance of the tower. He passed Nara Shikamaru on the way out and gave a brisk nod at the tactician, who had a brown and grey striped falcon perched on one arm.
"Nara, lock up the tower. The Hokage will be back tomorrow afternoon," he said.
Shikamaru wisely didn't argue the statement, but did raise a questioning eyebrow at the Anbu carrying the Hokage bridal-style. "Sure thing," he said and watched Sasuke take Naruto away.
"Sasukeeeeeee!" Naruto was almost fully awake and fighting him. "I can walk, you know!"
"Shut up, dobe," he ignored the flailing arms, dodging the fists and ducking the blows.
"I have work to do!" he cried. "Aren't you the one who told me I had to work?"
"If you don't shut up, I'll shut you up," Sasuke turned another street corner and made his way down toward Naruto's apartment complex.
"I will not shut up!" he fumed. "Put me back in my office! I still have all these papers I have to—WAH!"
Sasuke abruptly stopped, dropped Naruto to his own feet, pinned him up against the nearby building wall and planted his mouth on the other man's. The fight went out of Naruto for exactly three seconds, and then the fists flew full force. Sasuke had to take a step away in order to dodge them all.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Naruto roared, his cheeks scarlet.
"I told you I'd shut you up," Sasuke shrugged.
"THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO DO A THING LIKE THAT!"
"You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood."
"I DON'T GIVE A GOOD GOD DAMN—!"
He was pinned against the building again. Sasuke pushed his tongue quickly between Naruto's open lips and into his mouth, licking firmly. Naruto's knees gave and his hands shot out and grabbed a fistful of Sasuke's green vest to keep himself upright. Sasuke's hands reached up and grabbed either side of the blonde's scarred face and held their mouths together, his tongue lapping at Naruto's. He increased the intensity, lapping deeper and faster, sucking up the hot sweetness of the blonde's taste. Something deep inside of him roared to life, reaching up and latching onto that sweet warmth, making a strange and beautiful connection between them. Naruto desperately tried to pull away but Sasuke held him there, kept him there, forced the connection to become brighter, stronger, fusing those something's together. He finally withdrew his tongue and pulled away but that bright connection stayed between them and ran throughout both of their bodies, stunning Naruto to silence and opening Sasuke's eyes wide in realization.
"Sa…Sasuke…" Naruto panted. His blue eyes were glazed, his chest heaving and his hands shaking visibly.
"I told you I'd…" Sasuke tried to take in calming breaths but it wasn't working. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, drowning everything else out except those intense blue eyes that were staring up at him, and he was beginning to drown in them. He struggled, fought it for a few moments, and then let it go. He wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto's shoulders and yanked the other man close, tucking his head against the curve of his neck and beginning to shake.
"Sasuke, I don't—" Naruto tried desperately.
"I love you, Naruto," Sasuke said in a rush. "I love you. I've always loved you and I realize that now. I always thought I was condemned to a fate of darkness, blood, and death but you set me free. Your light poured into my life and burned all those shadows away. I owe my existence to you and I love you for it; I'll love you forever. I always have and now I always will."
"Am I dreaming?" Naruto said with a weak half-laugh. "Are you really saying those things and meaning them? Do you even know what it is you're saying?"
"I know," Sasuke insisted. "And I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but I couldn't understand my feelings before. I do now though."
"But…" Naruto struggled helplessly in Sasuke's embrace. "What about the kids? And Hinata…?"
"My children will always be my children," Sasuke pulled away and looked down into Naruto's eyes. "And Hinata… She knows I never loved her. But after all this time, I do respect her." He smiled. "I'll talk to her, and I'll make her understand how I feel. Maybe she'll even be happy for me."
"This…is all so weird!" Naruto half-laughed again. "What about the rumors that'll spread? Hana and Haku will find out and they'll start asking you questions. And what if Hinata doesn't understand? Sasuke—"
"Don't worry, Naruto," the dark-haired man lowered his head and hugged his friend and his new lover close. "I'll make it work. And I don't care what anyone has to say about us; I'll be with you, no matter what happens."
"This is a dream!" Naruto laughed, abrupt tears coming into his eyes. "You, of all people, don't say things like this!"
Sasuke lowered his lips to Naruto's, breathing in his scent, taking in the features he had taken for granted for so long. "I'm saying it, so get used to it." They kissed again.
Naruto's lips pulled away from his: "But Sasuke…"
"If you're not comfortable with this, then you shouldn't have told me that you loved me," Sasuke's head darted forward and the kiss continued. After another few weak struggles, Naruto gave in and closed his eyes, letting Sasuke overtake him.
I…want this, he thought. I've wanted him to do this for a long, long time… So then, why am I so apprehensive about it all of a sudden? Is it too soon? Too fast? What's wrong with me…?
They parted again. Sasuke looked down at him, a frown marring his angular face. "W-what?" Naruto paled.
"Stop being an idiot and thinking stupid thoughts," Sasuke declared as if he'd been reading the blonde's mind the whole time. "I do as I please, and I'll love whomever I want to. Is there a problem with that?"
The blond hokage blinked away his tears and stared up into the face of the man he'd loved for years. He waited to see if the feeling had finally ebbed; if the waiting had eaten away some of his emotions. The rush of emotions welling up inside him nearly choked him with their intensity. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's back, leaning his face against the broad, vested chest.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes and led Naruto away from the building and toward home. "You'd better be able to take responsibility for your feelings."
"I know that," Naruto nodded. "And I will."
"Good," Sasuke said simply, and the rest of the walk was in silence. The only difference being their hands brushing shyly, slipping together in the darkness, their fingers intertwining and locking together tightly, like a solemn vow to never let go again.