Author's note: I finally managed to update according to my original schedule! (Somewhat at least. This time you didn't have to wait a month!) We're slowly making progress!

Thanks to the following reviewers: KitsuneJen; sasunaru1214; 666snoopy; richon; Iraheta 127; Kalos; SehunsBae37

Warnings: Minor angst

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!


Chapter 9: Admittance Part 2

The both of them remained silent while Sasuke slipped off his scarf and coat and replaced his shoes with the house slippers provided for him a while ago. They walked to the living room in silent agreement and they stood there, studying each other carefully. The atmosphere between them had never been this awkward before; not even when they had just began to know each other better and Sasuke had been reluctant to let anyone close, let alone the new kid in the class.

The awkwardness only served to remind him just how badly he had fucked up last week.

"I'm sorry."

"I've been an idiot."

They both blurted out at the same time, which didn't help the awkwardness already present. Naruto laughed jittery, his eyes flitting to the side, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do you – do you want to go first or so?" he suggested tentatively.

That probably was for the best before Sasuke would lose his nerves. "Yeah," he agreed and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "At the ball when you kissed me - "

"I'm sorry about that!" Naruto cut him off abruptly. "I thought you – no, it doesn't matter what I thought, I shouldn't have done that. I don't – I don't want to mess up our friendship, so I'm really sorry. Can't we just, I don't know, can't we forget about it?" He cringed and crossed his arms, hunching his shoulders slightly.

Sasuke's nerves were instantly replaced by a wave of exasperation. "Will you let me finish?"

Naruto nodded abashed, going as far as miming his lips shut.

Sasuke sighed, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable again now that he remembered how stupid he had been. "I was an idiot," he admitted.

"Erm …" Naruto appeared quite taken aback.

"When you kissed me … I should have kissed you back instead of just standing there," Sasuke went on, still vexed with himself for having been such an idiot. He crossed his arms and unable to look at Naruto, he instead glared down at the floor. "I've been …"

He paused, not wanting to sound like he was just making his excuses, but he needed to explain himself and this was the only way he knew how to explain why he had fucked up. "I'm not good with emotions," he said slowly. "After – after my family died, I didn't want to feel anything anymore. I kept everyone at a distance; it's not like anyone was interesting enough for me anyway."

If he didn't care for others, he couldn't get hurt anymore. It had seemed so simple back then, when none of the other students could hold his attention. Kakashi had tried to encourage him to talk more to the others time and time again, but Sasuke had ignored him every time. He wasn't interested in the others, so why would he go through the trouble of getting to know them?

"And then you came along and … everything changed." He had to laugh at himself for that, shaking his head. Somehow, what others hadn't managed in years, Naruto had managed in less than a couple of months. So unfair. "It's cliché, but it's true. There's something about you that's just hard to ignore. I tried, but well, I clearly didn't succeed. I don't know when things changed for me, but …"

When had his feelings exactly changed? He couldn't pinpoint an exact moment, but then again did feelings really let themselves be dictated by time? Somehow, along the way, his feelings had shifted from friendship to something more and try as he might, he could have only ignored that shift for so long. Too long perhaps, considering the conversation they were having now. He probably should have been honest with himself a lot sooner, but having to admit he cared about someone else to the point of falling in love with them … It was terrifying.

"A while ago I realised that I … that I feel more for you and – I was an idiot at the ball. I don't know why I didn't do anything. I'm sorry it took me this long to show up; I was just … I hadn't expected you to feel the same and I just." He shook his head again and forced himself to look straight at Naruto this time, so that there wouldn't be any misunderstandings between them anymore. Even so, his heart thudded like mad when he admitted aloud, his voice catching in the middle, "I like you. Romantically that is."

He had to be the only one in the world who could make a confession sound this idiotic, but he forged on, unwilling to give up now. "And I'd really like a do-over, if you don't mind."

"A do-over?" Naruto echoed; his own voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah, I kind of messed up our first kiss, so what do you say about another first kiss? This time I promise I won't be an idiot and I'll kiss you back," Sasuke smiled self-deprecatingly.

It was a risk, asking for another kiss after he had ruined it last week and it would serve him right if Naruto had given up on him after all, but … He was done running away.

To the Alpha's surprise, Naruto grinned and quickly reduced the distance between them, curling his arms around Sasuke's neck. "I think I can do a do-over, yeah," he said, but insecurity lurked in his eyes when he asked next, "If you're really sure, that is. I don't want you to feel like you have to - "

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted and wrapped his own arms around the blond's waist, thrilled that he could do this now. That he could do this still, even after his stupid stunt. "Shut up."

He bent his head and carefully pressed his mouth against Naruto's before the other boy could start rambling.

There was a sharp intake of breath before Naruto surged forwards eagerly and kissed him back. Feeling Naruto's mouth moving against his, equally enthusiastic, having his hands clutching at Sasuke's shoulders as he stepped closer; their breaths intermingling, soft wet sounds escaping their lips when they parted and met again …

Their second first kiss was definitely infinitely better.


Sasuke's mouth was still tingling slightly when they walked upstairs, going into Naruto's bedroom. Naruto tugged him onto the bed easily, a mischievous grin playing around his reddened lips when he pulled Sasuke closer. A hand came up to cup Sasuke's cheek and then their mouths were locked together again; the Omega's pleased hum vibrating against Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke had no idea how long they kissed like this, but when they pulled away eventually, he found they had somehow ended up lying down, snuggling each other. The fierce blush on Naruto's cheeks was a pleasing sight to witness and a soft sigh left Naruto when he rested his head against Sasuke's shoulder, throwing his left leg across the Alpha's thighs, trapping him. He grasped Sasuke's hand, tangling them together across Naruto's stomach.

"I'm glad you came here today," Naruto muttered, rubbing his thumb over the back of Sasuke's hand.

The touch was electrifying; Sasuke found himself pressing his own hand, the one trapped underneath Naruto, closer against Naruto's back, needing it to ground himself.

"I'm glad too," he murmured, watching their linked hands gently rise and lower with each breath Naruto took.

"I – I was afraid you wouldn't want to be friends anymore," Naruto revealed softly and rubbed his cheek against Sasuke's shoulder.

"I would have still stayed friends with you even if I didn't feel the same," Sasuke instantly reassured him.

Only if Naruto himself would have preferred to no longer remain friends would Sasuke have backed off. It was stupid of Naruto to assume that one kiss could have meant the end of their friendship, but then again, Sasuke winced, he had been the one to stay away for a full week. No wonder Naruto had started to worry that they were no longer friends.

"I was stupid to stay away for a week," Sasuke said, annoyed with himself still.

Naruto shrugged. "It's not like I was any better. I didn't dare to text or call you either," he said, pursing his lips.

"Considering you thought I'd rejected you, I don't blame you," Sasuke sighed, rubbing circles into Naruto's lower back.

They were quiet for a little while; the vague noise of traffic in the distance the only noise disturbing the silence.

"What made you decide to come here after all?" Naruto questioned.

That question had Sasuke slowly breathing out, his eyes wandering to the ceiling. It was a valid question. After a week of pure radio silence, of course Naruto would be curious what had finally pushed Sasuke into showing up at his doorstep. He should count himself lucky that Naruto had even been home to start with, considering he hadn't given him any warning that he would show up.

He became aware of a gaze resting on him and he looked down, right into curious blue eyes. He smiled wryly, figuring he might as well tell Naruto everything. No more misunderstandings after today.

"I've said that I kept everyone at a distance after my family died, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you said that," Naruto said bemused, nodding slowly. Clearly he had no idea why Sasuke would bring that up suddenly.

"It's …" Sasuke took a deep breath and reminded himself that this was Naruto, the one person who had managed to break down all his walls after his family had died. Naruto hadn't given up on him so far, even when Sasuke had kept him at a distance at the start. If anyone deserved to hear this, it was Naruto. "I kept everyone at a distance because I … was afraid of losing someone else I loved."

Naruto's eyes widened and he wrapped his arm around Sasuke's waist, hugging him firmly.

"I didn't want to feel that pain ever again. Love wasn't worth that," Sasuke continued in a low voice. "What's the point in loving someone if you end up losing them? I know that – the chance of me losing someone else was small, but why take the risk, right?" He chuckled, aiming for self-deprecating but instead he only sounded weak and pained.

Two things he never wanted to feel like ever again.

"I tried hard not to feel anything for you," Sasuke said, staring unseeingly in front of him. Unconsciously he shifted his hand and the movement caused his hand to slide underneath Naruto's shirt, touching warm skin. "But the more we spent time together, the more I realised that – I really liked you. At first I thought I felt that way because I hadn't had friends for so long and I was just confusing friendship for something else. But then it hit me and – it scared the hell out of me. I wasn't ready to admit it and I thought that I could just ignore it. Because there was no way you would ever feel the same for me."

Perhaps thinking like that had also been a way to protect his heart. If he thought it was impossible for Naruto to respond to his feelings positively, then he wouldn't get hurt that badly if their paths ended up separating. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that nothing would ever happen after all. They might grow apart, something more horrible might happen …

If he had kept up the small wall, their parting might not hurt that badly in the future. All the walls were torn down now, though, leaving him vulnerable in a way he hadn't felt like in years.

"How could you ever think that? I thought I was being so obvious about it," Naruto mumbled, breaking his silence for the first time since Sasuke started talking.

In hindsight, Sasuke supposed Naruto was right. Looking back, Naruto had indeed thrown several signs at him that he had been interested in more, but it had been easier – safer for his heart – to ignore those.

"I think I was just too scared to see the truth. Because if I had to admit that I liked you, then – I would set myself up for getting hurt and I never wanted to be hurt again," Sasuke said quietly.

It sounded so childish, saying that aloud, but … Ever since that night, he had sworn to himself that he would never let anyone get close to him again. Losing his family had nearly torn him apart, why would he ever risk feeling like that again?

Then Naruto had upended his whole life and changed everything. It was a major cliché, but it was true.

"What – what made you decide to - " Naruto trailed off, licking his lips.

"Because I wanted you more than I was afraid of getting hurt." As terrifying as it was to admit that aloud, it felt freeing as well. Yes, he was still terrified, scared of getting hurt, scared of losing Naruto, but now he would never have to wonder what if.

His admission had Naruto gaping at him, wide-eyed and amazed. Sasuke couldn't resist and kissed him softly.

"We don't even know each other for a year yet, but I'm terrified of losing you," Sasuke spoke hushed, barely pulling back from the kiss. He cupped Naruto's cheek, feeling warm when Naruto pressed into his hand, almost nuzzling it like a cat would. "So I had two choices: I'd pull back, pretend that we're only friends and be miserable the whole time, wondering what if. Or I could bite the bullet and admit that I feel more for you and … Yeah. It took me more than a week, but here I am."

"Here you are," Naruto echoed; his eyes shining. "And here I am. You're not going to lose me, I promise."

"It'll be okay, I promise." Once upon a time someone else had made a similar promise to him. His heart aching at the memory, Sasuke could only smile sadly in response.

"That's not something you can promise, Naruto."

Nobody could make such a promise. Not even his father or his old brother, both the strongest people Sasuke had ever known, had been able to keep such a promise.

"I can and I will," Naruto riposted stubbornly, because of course he would. He sat up and snatched Sasuke's hands tightly. "My parents are police – you don't think they taught me anything? Thanks to you, I'm also learning more self-defence from Gaara and you're with me."

Naruto made it all sound so easy … "Things can happen," Sasuke began, but the blond boy cut him off instantly.

"Sure, things can happen. I can step outside and get hit by a car, I could slip in the bathroom and hit my head on the tub, I could fall down the stairs – so many things can happen, but that doesn't mean we can't live our lives," Naruto insisted.

Why did he sound so much like Temari had during their conversation?

"Look, obviously I'm not going to force you, but you don't need to be afraid, all right? I can take care of myself," Naruto promised and squeezed Sasuke's hands.

"I can't lose you, Naruto," Sasuke said quietly.

"And you won't, I promise. We Uzumaki always keep our promises," Naruto said solemnly.

Sasuke sighed, feeling helpless underneath those earnest blue eyes. He supposed he had no other choice but to try and trust the other one to keep his promise.

"I'm holding you on to that," he told him.

"Fair warning," Naruto said casually and unexpectedly climbed on top of Sasuke, straddling his lap and grasping Sasuke's shoulders, "now that you've got me, you're not going to get rid of me that easily." His eyes gleamed.

Sasuke smirked and grabbed Naruto's hips, moulding his hands around them. "I think I can live with that," he retorted dryly. He paused then, thinking of Naruto's parents.

Kakashi had figured out on his own that Sasuke was in love with Naruto and had basically granted him his blessing. Not that Sasuke had been particularly worried about that, but it was nevertheless nice that the older man wouldn't make any issues about his relationship. How would Kushina and Minato react, though? Would they be okay with them together? He didn't really think they would raise a fuss, but he also didn't dare to claim he knew them perfectly after not even a year of knowing their son.

"So how badly are your parents going to freak out about this?" he chose to ask lightly.

"I don't think you'll have to worry," Naruto said thoughtfully. "Mum's the one who made me realise everything."

Ah. Well, at least Sasuke wasn't the only one whose guardian had to verbally knock some sense into him. Still, making Naruto realise his feelings and actually being okay with their relationship – weren't those two different things?

"Oh, well, that's great?" he said tentatively. "What about your dad?"

Naruto's mouth dropping open in an o-shape was answer enough.

"You have no idea how your dad is going to react?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto pouted, scowling half-heartedly at him. "I didn't exactly think we would go beyond being friends, so there hasn't been a reason yet to talk about this with dad," he defended himself. "I don't think he's going to react badly, though?"

The rising intonation indicated he wasn't so sure of it himself, which did not much to reassure Sasuke.

"Well, I suppose we'll find out eventually," he muttered. He figured he had gathered enough goodwill at least to survive a possible confrontation between him and Naruto's parents.

The sound of the front door opening broke their private bubble and Kushina's voice floated upstairs, "Naruto? We're back!"

"Ah, yeah, coming!" Naruto yelled back and slipped off Sasuke's lap, brushing down his shirt. "They're back from grocery shopping."

"I'll help," Sasuke offered and together they walked downstairs.

Minato raised both eyebrows when he noticed Sasuke following right behind Naruto. He smiled and inclined his head in greeting before going outside to the car. Kushina's face lit up when she spotted Sasuke.

"Oh hello there! You've been here for long, Sasuke-kun?" she asked friendly.

"He arrived a bit after you two left," Naruto explained, shivering when cold wind blew through the open front door. "You two were away for a while."

"Traffic was horrible," she grumbled, putting her purse down. She eyed Sasuke carefully. "You two okay again?"

"Of course," Sasuke replied. "I was an idiot for which I apologise."

She waved off his apology. "You don't need to apologise to me. Obviously you two made up if you're still here," she smiled.

Sasuke had the strange feeling that she seemed to mean something with her remark, but the next moment Naruto handed over two bags and they became too busy with trudging back and forth between the car and the kitchen, unloading all the groceries.


"You want to spend Christmas with us tomorrow, Sasuke-kun?" Kushina suggested a little while later after all the groceries had been put away. "Your parents can join too if they want!"

Sasuke blinked, taken aback both by the invitation and by the mention of his parents. Kushina and Minato didn't know his parents were dead? He had been certain that Naruto would have mentioned that fact by now, assuming that both Kushina and Minato were just too polite to comment on it.

Naruto glanced at him uncertainly and Sasuke looked back, a bit bewildered. "You didn't tell them?" he asked baffled.

"Tell us what?" Minato sighed pleased as he settled down in the armchair, clutching a cup of coffee. His nose was still slightly red from the cold wind outside.

"I didn't think it was my story to tell," Naruto explained and rolled his shoulders.

That was … Not entirely unexpected considering Naruto had been respectful from the start, but still to not even have told Sasuke's story to his own parents?

Naruto blushed at the warm look Sasuke gave him and glanced away, uncrossing his legs.

"What story?" Kushina sat down on her husband's lap, serenely ignoring the grunt he let out at the added weight, and frowned. "What was Naruto supposed to tell us?"

Sasuke leant back and pursed his lips, debating whether or not to tell them as well. He didn't believe they would disrespect him and just blurt out his story to anyone who wanted to listen, but … Not even Gaara knew the full details.

"You don't have to tell them, you know," Naruto said softly, correctly guessing what Sasuke was thinking about. "They'll understand."

They would and that was what convinced Sasuke to tell them as well. They wouldn't spread his story around, he could trust them enough not to do that. There was also the fact that eventually they would find out the truth anyway. In time they would start wondering why they never got to meet Sasuke's family; it was better to come clean now.

"No, it's fine," he said and inhaled deeply, focusing on his breath to calm down. Even after having told Naruto about his family before, though, he doubted it would become easier any time soon. But it wasn't as if he was planning on telling even more people about his family after today.

He startled slightly when Naruto grabbed his hand, linking their fingers together; their grip remaining hidden behind Sasuke's crossed legs. The warm touch grounded him, made it easier to breathe and he shot Naruto a quick, grateful smile, which Naruto returned with a small, encouraging one.

Sasuke's smile disappeared when he turned his attention towards Kushina and Minato. "My parents and my brother – they died when I was twelve."

Minato's eyes widened a notch while Kushina gasped, slapping her hand across her mouth. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry to hear that, Sasuke-kun!"

"They … were killed during a burglary that went wrong," Sasuke went on, tightening his grip around Naruto's fingers, focusing on the squeeze he received in return instead of the dark memories threatening to fill up his mind entirely. It helped somewhat, though the echo of gunshots couldn't be entirely ignored.

"Did the police catch the ones who did it?" Minato questioned sharply, abandoning his coffee on the small table next to him. The shift from relaxed dad to attentive police officer was plain to see.

"My father and my brother – they killed the burglars before they passed away," Sasuke answered monotonously. That was the only good thing about that entire fucked up night: the fact that he wouldn't have to fear any of those burglars finding him again.

A part of him thought he would prefer the risk of having those bastards come after him if that meant having his family back.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," Kushina said quietly; her eyes glimmering with sympathy. "Nobody should have to lose their family at such a young age – especially not in such a manner. Are you staying with another family member now?"

Well, he supposed Kakashi could count as some sort of family member in a way. He had known Itachi quite well at least.

"Kakashi's my guardian," Sasuke replied. "He was a friend of my brother and he took me in after – after they were killed."

She exchanged a look with Minato. "Would Kakashi-san like to come over tomorrow too?" she inquired, giving him a tentative smile. "We could celebrate Christmas together."

Sasuke didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't help the snort escaping him. Kakashi celebrating Christmas? Yeah, right, the mental image alone was inconceivable. Kakashi and Christmas just didn't mix.

"Don't bother inviting him," he told her, shaking his head. "Kakashi's never been interested in Christmas."

He couldn't even recall whether they had any Christmas decorations in the attic to start with; ever since his family had died, he hadn't celebrated Christmas. He had never felt a need for it and Kakashi wasn't interested in it.

"Oh, er, what do you two usually do then?" Kushina asked bewildered while Minato lifted an eyebrow.

Sasuke shrugged laconically. "Kakashi usually holes up in his room with some booze and his books and I just read or watch a movie. We'll order some takeout and that's that."

Clearly that wasn't the answer either of them had been expecting, because they instantly regarded him with twin looks of horror. He supposed for people actually celebrating Christmas, his and Kakashi's manner of spending that day might sound … bleak.

"Well, ask your guardian just in case he wants to come over. Even if he doesn't come, we'd love to have you here," Kushina said decisively, leaving no room to argue.

Sasuke still tried. "I don't want to bother you," he said carefully, unwilling to push his presence on them on such a day.

Naruto, who had been unsuccessfully trying to control his snickering just now, instantly sobered up and turned to face Sasuke, clucking his tongue before he smacked Sasuke's arm. "We've literally been having sleepovers for months – why the hell would you think you'd be bothering us by celebrating Christmas with us?"

Because there was a difference between having sleepovers during regular days and actually spending a day like Christmas with his parents? Sasuke thought the difference was pretty obvious.

Before Sasuke could reply, however, Minato interjected, "You won't be bothering us at all, Sasuke-kun," he reassured. "Kushina is going to make way too much food like every year, so we could use an extra person to get rid of all the food." He winked.

That earnt him a slap on the shoulder from his wife. "I am not that bad!" Kushina protested, pouting slightly.

"Of course not, honey," he replied soothingly and pecked her lips.

"Well, if you're sure, I'd love to come over tomorrow," Sasuke smiled faintly.

It would be nice to celebrate Christmas again in a family setting. It had been too long since he last had been able to do that.


"I'll be visiting Naruto tomorrow," Sasuke informed Kakashi later that evening. "I might stay the night, not sure yet."

There hadn't been an explicit agreement between him and Naruto about that, but the chances of him spending the night were relatively high based on their history.

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Tomorrow is Christmas," he mused aloud and glanced at Sasuke. "You two made up?"

"Yes, we're okay," Sasuke replied, his mind already mentally with the presents he would need to put in his bag before leaving in the morning.

"Okay okay, or okay okay?" Kakashi asked, putting an unnecessary stress on the last two words.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The second one," he admitted reluctantly.

Kakashi looked ridiculously pleased about that, but surprisingly didn't tease for once. He returned to his book instead, resting his ankle across his leg. "All right, enjoy yourself tomorrow."

"I will." For the first time in years Sasuke found himself looking forward to Christmas again.


AN2: Christmas chapter in the middle of the summer, why not? I will do my best to update my other ongoing stories in the upcoming week! My mind has unfortunately been all over the place *winces*

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.