Hi all, welcome to the last chapter of "A Family Affair"! I hope you've enjoyed it. As I mentioned in my last note, there is going to be a sequel called "A Family Affair: A New Era" and while I debated heavily on whether I was going to even post it here (since I haven't gotten much engagement with this story), I have ultimately decided that I will not be posting it here. Instead, it will just live on AO3.

If you're interested in reading "A New Era", the first chapter will be up on Christmas Day, and you can find me on AO3 under SandXDemonX13.

Thank you to everyone who has read this, whether you reviewed or not. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you will consider coming over to AO3 to continue following the world I've crafted for the boys. :)


A Family Affair

Chapter 21


Three Months Later

"Hey, Sasuke, that cute boyfriend of yours is out front waiting for you."

"Oh, okay, I'll be out there in a minute," Sasuke said, looking up from the clipboard he was holding to see his co-worker, Makoto (better known as Mako), walk toward him through the door that led to the employee's only area of the cat shelter. Her long auburn hair was up in a high ponytail and swished behind her as she breezed past him to where they kept the cat food against the back wall.

"Okay," she said. "You better hurry, though. I think I heard him talking to Ami about adopting a sibling for Pancake."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke mused interestedly as he glanced down and finished scanning over the cleaning list he'd been checking before. When he put it down, he turned toward Mako and tapped a thoughtful finger against his chin before he said, "That might not be so bad."

Especially considering that ever since they'd adopted the big orange cat during their first month in Oto, Itachi had seemed more at ease. And while Sasuke was sure that Itachi's recent therapy sessions also played a large part in that, when his anxiety spiked or he was dealing with a panic attack, Pancake was nearly inseparable from him—as if the cat had a special sense and urge to help.

Though, to be fair, even when Itachi wasn't having a hard time, the cat was never far away from him, and Sasuke wasn't quite sure whether they had adopted Pancake or if Pancake had adopted them.

"Yeah?" Mako said, glancing back at him before she bent down to grab some of the cans of wet food from a pallet. "Well, he was out there looking at Marsh and Mallow before I came back here, so if you're lucky, you might end up with two new kitties."

Sasuke hummed to himself and smiled as he put the clipboard down, perfectly able to picture Itachi cooing at the cats out front despite not being able to see him simply because he could remember how excited his boyfriend had been the day they'd walked into the shelter. He'd made a beeline straight for Pancake, who'd been out roaming around and hadn't let the cat out of his sight.

In fact, he'd been so enthralled that Sasuke had immediately filled out a job application as soon as they'd gotten back home, Pancake in tow of course, in the hopes that Itachi would just be able to come by and enjoy spending time with the other cats whenever he came to have lunch at the cafe next door or visit between teaching his classes at the local community college.

And now, here they were.

"Well, I'll go remind him that we can't go adopting them. Today, at least," he said.

"No?" Mako asked, turning around. She looked at him confused. "Why—oh, wait!" She snapped her fingers as she seemed to remember and almost dropped the cans of food she had in her arms. Sasuke lurched forward in a bid to help but she caught herself almost immediately. Then she continued without even a comment about her regular clumsiness, "You're leaving early today, aren't you? To, uh—"

"Hey, Mako?"

A new voice, a bit higher than Mako's joined their conversation suddenly, and Sasuke turned around to see Ami poking her head through the door. Her short blue hair looked a little disheveled and the expression on her face was mildly displeased.

"Yeah, what is it, Ami?" Mako asked, walking forward and stopping beside Sasuke.

Ami sighed. "Whiskers climbed on top of the kennels again and I can't find the step-stool. You're taller, so could you—"

"On it!" Mako answered before Ami could even finish her sentence. She turned to Sasuke, glanced down at the cans in her hand, and asked, "Could you?"

"You got it," he answered, taking the cans from her.

"Thanks, I was just going to take them over to Mina. She's feeding the seniors right now," Mako explained.

"No problem, I'll take them to her."

"Thanks," she said. Then she turned to look at Ami, who still had her head poking through the door. "Alright, Ami. I'm coming to your rescue!"

"Well, more like Whiskers' rescue," Ami corrected as she stepped back when Mako pulled the door open.

"Eh, I'll be the rescuer for you both!"

Ami started to say something else, but the door swung closed, cutting their voices off and leaving Sasuke alone. He stood there for a second, shaking his head before he too headed out the door.

As soon as he was out front, the warm sunlight that brightened the room despite the chilly winter day outside hit him and made him smile. Or maybe it was because he saw his brother across the room outside the little gate that led into the playroom, wiggling his finger at the bonded pair of kittens the shelter had taken in two weeks ago that Mako had mentioned. The black cat of the pair, Marsh, rubbed his face against Itachi's finger (which earned him an ear scratch) while Marsh's sister, the white, fluffy Mallow, sat and watched the exchange while waiting for her turn. And as much as Sasuke wanted to go over and tell Itachi how cute he looked (which was cuter than the cats, though Itachi always denied that could ever be possible), he was on the clock. So he turned right instead of left and headed over to Minako (or Mina), where she sat on the floor in a closed-off room that was specifically for the shelter's senior cats, all of whom were milling around her.

When he opened the door, she and all seven kitties turned to look at him. She offered him a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Sasuke," she said. "I was going to go get the food myself, but Max here just won't stop—hey you!—playing with my hair."

As she spoke, the senior cat in question, Max, batted at her long blond hair that brushed against the floor before he tried to bite it. She twisted around to grab him and scrubbed his head before putting him down an arms-length away so she could stand up. Sasuke handed her the food when she reached for it.

"No problem, Mina," he said. "Itachi's here, so I'm going to go talk to him for a few minutes. Was there anything else you needed help with, though?"

"No, I'm good here," she said, opening up one of the cans to empty the food on a plate before moving to the next. All the cats started swarming around her feet, meowing hungrily. "Tell your cute boyfriend I said hi, though."

She shot him a grin as she said it, and Sasuke rolled his eyes but he was smiling too.

"You're dating Rei, Mina" he said like she needed reminding.

Mina waved her hand dismissively. "And I love her, but I still have eyes," she said playfully. Then she perked up a little and added, "Oh, speaking of Rei, though—she's going to be here soon. So when she gets here, you can head out whenever you're ready."

"Oh, great," Sasuke said. "I'll keep an eye out for her out front."

Mina nodded and bent down to start putting the plates on the ground, and Sasuke left the room, heading back the way he came but continuing toward Itachi this time. His brother was crouched down now and the bottom of his long black coat was bunched on the floor around him, but Itachi clearly didn't care. He was still entertaining the kittens, so enthralled that he didn't seem aware that Sasuke had approached and stopped next to him until he spoke.

"Can I help you with anything, sir?" he asked as professionally as possible.

"No, I'm just—" Itachi started to say, but he paused as soon as he glanced over and saw that it was Sasuke who had come to talk to him. He smiled brightly and stood up, smoothing out his coat. "I'm just waiting for my boyfriend."

"Oh?" Sasuke looked around like he was looking to see if anyone else was there. When he obviously didn't see anyone, he looked back at Itachi and asked, innocently, "Well, do you mind if I keep you company until he gets here?"

"Hmm, I probably shouldn't, but," Itachi looked him up and down interestedly before he shrugged. "You're cute, so okay."

Sasuke's lips pulled into a smile and he laughed, pushing Itachi playfully. "You're terrible," he said, joking and light-hearted.

Itachi smirked. "That's not what you said last night," he shot back, his voice quieter so none of his co-workers would hear the comment despite none of them being around.

"Oh, shush," Sasuke said, waving his hand at Itachi. Not really worried about whether anyone one would overhear or not, but just embarrassed in general.

Because Itachi was right, that had definitely not been what he'd said last night.

And when he saw the mischievous glint in his brother's eyes, the one that told him that Itachi was beyond pleased with himself for the flush Sasuke was sure had started crawling up his neck, he grabbed Itachi's hand and pulled him close so he could kiss him. Intent on putting a stop to the teasing before he had to go splash water on his face to calm down.

He was at work, after all!

Thankfully, when they parted, Itachi seemed satisfied enough and offered him a fond smile as he asked, "How's work been?"

"Good," Sasuke said, his heart slowing back down to a more normal rhythm in his chest. He looked over into the playroom/lounge next to them that led into the cafe the shelter partnered with next door. "Slow today, but Mina and the others said that's usual, but that things should pick up a lot next week."

Itachi nodded. "Makes sense; it's finals next week, and then winter break right after so you're bound to have some stressed students come in to get some caffeine and recharge with some of these cute little guys."

Itachi turned to wiggle his fingers at the cats near the gate. Sasuke's heart warmed at the scene.

"Probably, but I also feel like we might be seeing a lot more of a certain teacher who can't keep his eyes off the cats for five minutes," he teased Itachi.

His boyfriend beamed at him. "That's not all I can't keep my eyes off of," he said softly, knowingly.

Sasuke's gaze fell briefly to the floor, flustered and flattered in equal measure. He was still getting used to the two of them being able to so openly flirt with one another in public, but Itachi had taken it in stride quickly. Sasuke had a feeling it had something to do with his brother's penchant for trying to embarrass him. He moved a little closer to Itachi and reached out to hold his hand.

"How were your classes today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Good," Itachi said, shrugging. "Nothing crazy. Like I said, it's finals week, so things are sort of winding down for me, aside from grading."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah," Itachi agreed. He glanced over at the cats, shifted on his feet, and then perked up suddenly. "Oh, I almost forgot," he mumbled.

He let go of Sasuke's hand so he could reach into the pocket of his coat and pull out his car keys. They jangled gently, grabbing the attention of a few of the cats, who meowed interestedly as Itachi handed him the keys.

"Here you go."

"Thanks," Sasuke said, slipping them into the pocket of his jeans. Itachi nodded but looked at him like he wanted to say something. When he didn't, Sasuke gave him a little nudge, "What is it, babe?"

"Oh, it's…" Itachi started to say, but he trailed off, cleared his throat, and started again. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't want me to go with you?"

Sasuke's lips quirked up and he reached out to squeeze Itachi's hand appreciatively. They'd both been working on being better about saying what was on their mind and not trying to just brush things off.

"It's—"

He was cut off by a sudden tinkling noise as the bells above the door were jostled when it opened. They both looked to see who had come in and Sasuke smiled when he saw Mina's girlfriend and their co-worker step inside.

"Hi, Rei," Sasuke greeted, waving at her while she pulled off her coat. Her black hair was the same length as Mina's and swished around her when she pulled off her motorcycle helmet and shook her head.

"Hey, Sasuke," she said in reply, giving him an easy smile. Then she bowed to Itachi. "Nice to see you again, Itachi-sensei."

"You too, Rei," Itachi said.

"I'm going to go get clocked in," Rei said, directing the comment to Sasuke.

He nodded. "Alright, Mina's with the senior cats if you're looking for her."

Rei said a quiet thanks before she headed off into the employee area. As she walked away, Sasuke turned his attention back to Itachi.

"What was I saying…?" he mumbled to himself, rolling the last minute back in his mind to remember what Itachi had said.

"I asked if you were sure you didn't want me to go with you?"

"Oh, right," Sasuke said. Then he tilted his head to the side and added, "You know it's not like I don't want you to come, but, like you said, you have grading to do and you still have class in the morning."

"I could cancel class," Itachi said easily. "That's the benefit of teaching college classes—we don't always need to meet. Especially during the last week of the quarter."

Sasuke smiled softly. "It's okay, Itachi," he said reassuringly. "I can go by myself just this one time. You don't need to worry about me."

"I never said I was worried."

"No, you didn't. But," Sasuke leveled a knowing look at him. "We both know you are."

Itachi didn't answer for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped a little and he sighed like he'd been found out.

"Alright, yeah, I'm worried," he admitted. "We just haven't been apart since we moved here—aside from going to work, of course, but that's never for very long. This is going to be…"

"I know. We're going to be apart all night," Sasuke said quietly. Itachi nodded.

"And I guess I just don't want to be alone."

Sasuke's heart melted at the tenderness and vulnerability in the words and he moved closer so he could wrap an arm around Itachi's waist and lean against him.

"I don't want to be alone either," he admitted. His brother's arm wrapped around his shoulders, urging him a little bit closer. "But this is the last time we have to make the trip, remember? Then we're done—we're here. We won't have to worry about going back."

"Yeah, I know…" Itachi sighed.

He still sounded incredibly reluctant, which Sasuke could understand since he was just as reluctant to be apart from Itachi for the night, but this last trip really couldn't be put off. After all, Itachi's house back in Konoha had been sold, and the keys needed to be in the new owner's hands in the morning. This also meant that the last few boxes they'd been putting off going back for finally had to be retrieved.

"I'll call you once I'm there," Sasuke said in consolation. "I figured I'd call Sakura before I go—see if we're still on to meet up, you know? But I'll still call and talk to you."

"Okay," Itachi replied, but there was a frown on his face.

Sasuke didn't like the look of it, so he pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Itachi's mouth.

"We can fall asleep together on video chat like we used to," he said quietly. Then he kissed Itachi's cheek. "And we can have breakfast together in the morning over video too."

His brother made a semi-interested noise but said nothing in reply.

So he brought his lips to Itachi's ear and whispered enticingly, "You can fuck me against the window again when I get home."

This proposal got more attention. Itachi's fingers tightened just slightly against his arm and a low hum rumbled through his brother's chest, and when Sasuke leaned back so he could look at Itachi's face, he was pleased to see that Itachi's brow was arched and he looked more than mildly intrigued.

"Well," Itachi said, drawing out the word. "I suppose that's not the worst thing I could ask for, so okay."

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head, but he was glad that Itachi didn't look so sullen anymore. He didn't like leaving his boyfriend's side when he was upset. Well, he didn't like leaving Itachi's side at all, but sometimes he knew he had to.

Like now.

He extricated himself from Itachi, letting his fingers linger against his brother's when Itachi's hand fell from his shoulders and brushed against his own.

"I should let you go and get going," Sasuke said. "It's a long drive and I'd hate to make it longer by getting stuck in traffic."

"Alright," Itachi sighed. He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on Sasuke's lips. Then another and another as he brought his hands up to gently cup Sasuke's face.

"Mm, Itachi; I really need to go," Sasuke murmured in between kisses, trying to sound firm, but not really sure it quite came across that way when he kept kissing Itachi back.

Itachi hummed affirmatively, though, and just when he thought that Itachi might not stop kissing him, when he leaned further and further into his brother until he was ready to ask him to never stop, Itachi finally pulled away.

"I love you," he said quietly, pressing a final, especially loving kiss against his forehead.

"I love you, too," Sasuke replied, smiling even as they slowly, finally parted from one another completely.

"You'll be safe?" Itachi asked.

"I always am."

"You'll call me when you're there?"

Sasuke chuckled and nodded. "Before I'm even out of the car."

Itachi drew in a slow breath.

"Okay," he breathed out. "Okay. Then I'll talk with you when you call, and I'll see you when you're back tomorrow."

"Okay, I love you," Sasuke said.

"I love you, too," Itachi said in return. Then he took a step backward, glanced over at the cats and waved at them before he turned and headed to the door. The bells jingled as it opened and Itachi glanced back at him one last time to give him a smile and a wave before he stepped out the door, drew his coat around him and headed off down the street.

Sasuke watched him go, still smiling to himself even after he couldn't see Itachi any longer and started to turn to head to the back and grab his things.

Before he could take a step, though, he jumped, startled, when he heard a loud, longing sigh from behind him.

"Wow," Mako said, a wistful note of yearning in her voice. "You're so lucky, Sasuke."

"Mako, you scared me!" he reprimanded her, flapping his hand in her direction when he turned around and saw her leaning against the wall behind him. "How long have you been there?"

"Oh, long enough," she said. Her expression was dreamy, but a smirk played at her lips when she caught his gaze. "That boyfriend of yours is so hot," she said like she did almost every time Itachi came by. "Would it be okay if I try to steal him from you?"

Sasuke laughed loudly. The sound reverberated slightly through the room.

"Sure, you can try," he said good-naturedly. "But I have to warn you, I don't think you're his type."

Mako clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth like she was disappointed, but then she raised her hands, palms toward the ceiling as she shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess he does seem pretty hopelessly in love with you, doesn't he?" she said playfully.

"Yeah, he kinda does," he joked back. But then he lifted his hand to his chest and pressed his fingertips to where his heart was beating steadily under his skin. "And I love him, too."

Mako smiled, but then almost immediately groaned and stuck out her tongue.

"Ugh, the two of you make me sick with how cute you are," she complained. She waved her hand at him dismissively. "So go get out of here already—I'm tired of seeing your face."

"Yeah, yeah; I'm going, I'm going," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes before he started again on his way to the back.

This time, he made it successfully without any of the other girls interrupting or stopping him and he took off his little name tag, put it in one of the cubbyholes mounted on the wall—the one that had his name written above it—and grabbed his bag and coat. Once he shrugged on his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder, he clocked out and headed back out front. He waved goodbye to Mako and Ami, told them that he'd be back the day after tomorrow and to tell Mina and Rei bye before he stepped outside.

Immediately, the cold winter air hit his face and after he located where Itachi had parked on the street, Sasuke headed over to the car, doing just as he'd seen his brother do when he'd left the shelter and pulling his coat around himself.

The winters in Oto, they were learning firsthand, were much different from those in Konoha. In Konoha, winter had barely seemed like its own unique season and instead more of an extension of autumn, with mild weather, the occasional chilly breeze, and more rainfall than snow. That was not the case in Oto, though. No, the winters in their new home were a completely different beast, complete with freezing mornings and evenings, some panic-buying of winter boots and clothes, and snow—lots and lots of snow.

Which was exactly why they'd been putting off going back to Konoha to get the rest of their things since neither one of them was comfortable enough driving in the snow longer than they had to yet. But the snow that had fallen last week had long since melted away, and there wasn't anymore in the forecast for another week at least. So, when coupled with the sale of the house, it had finally seemed like the perfect time to go and gather the rest of the things they'd left behind.

Did that also mean that Sasuke was dealing anew with the thought and threat of the same kind of homesickness he'd fought for the first week or so after they'd settled into their apartment, though?

Sure.

And did it also, also mean that he was actively trying to not think about the fact that this would be the actual last time he'd be seeing Sakura since their fateful see you later three months ago?

Absolutely.

But he knew he could combat the second (and more pressing) one of his worries, at least a little bit by pulling out his phone after he unlocked and slipped into Itachi's car, which was thankfully still a little warm since it hadn't been off that long. He put the keys in the ignition and started the car to keep it warm as he unlocked his phone and pulled up Sakura's contact information.

They'd been in nearly constant contact since he'd left the village, with most of their communication being via text, but he hit the call button on his screen and lifted his phone to his ear. It rang a couple of times before she answered.

"Hey, Sasuke," she said cheerfully. "You heading out?"

"Yep," he replied as he buckled his seatbelt. He'd told her about his plans at the beginning of the week shortly after he and Itachi had made them. "It'll be a few hours before I'm there, but I wanted to let you know I'm on my way."

"Cool!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to see you! I've been holding onto some news that I've been dying to share with you for weeks."

"Weeks?" he said, both surprised and maybe a little disappointed that this was the first he was hearing about this. "Is it good? Bad? Why haven't you told me?"

"It's good," she reassured quickly. He let out a small sigh of relief at that. "I've just been wanting to tell you to your face is all, when you're actually here, you know?"

"Mm, I guess…" he hummed, not sure if he liked that answer. "You could still just tell me, though."

Her laugh crackled across the line, breaking up slightly. Sasuke pulled his phone away from his ear briefly to check his service, but when she spoke, her voice was clear.

"I'll tell you when you're here, I promise," she said. "But I do want to ask you something."

"Sure."

"I know we were just planning to meet for dinner tonight, but…" She trailed off and Sasuke raised his brows, almost worried he lost her and about to check to see if the call dropped before she suddenly continued. "But I was wondering if maybe we could have a sleepover, instead?"

"A sleepover?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Yeah!" she said brightly. "I mean, we've never had one, and it'll be the last time you're coming back, so I thought we could have a sleepover at Itachi's house. I'll bring dinner, we'll stay up late and gossip…"

She trailed off again, but this time it was because she was letting him sit with the information. And he considered it. He also considered how flippantly she'd just thrown out the words it'll be the last time you're coming back, but he decided to overlook that for now and focused on the idea at hand, chuckling when he considered it more seriously.

"Okay, we can do a sleepover. I mean, as long as you're cool sleeping on the floor."

He'd just been planning to get a hotel room for the night—something he and Itachi hadn't had to deal with on their other trips because one of them would drive to the village while the other drove back soon after they packed up the car.

But her idea wasn't terrible, especially not after Sakura said excitedly, "We have some sleeping bags at my house! I'll bring those over too, along with some pillows."

Sasuke smiled. "Alright, I'll let you know once I'm at the house then and you can come by whenever."

"Great! I'll see you when you get here then," she replied.

"See you then."

He pulled his phone away from his ear and hung up, but not before hearing the girlish squeal that Sakura let out. The sound of it made him smile and once he secured his phone in the vent clip and pulled up a playlist to listen to on the drive, he pulled away from the curb and headed back to Konoha for the last time.

XxX

Several hours later, after getting into town and alerting Itachi to the slight change of plans, Sasuke and Sakura were sitting on the floor of what used to be Itachi's living room. They had laid the sleeping bags she'd brought over on the floor and were sitting on top of them, eating the sushi she'd bought from her favorite restaurant while they played cards and talked.

"So, have you and Itachi talked about what you're doing for Christmas this year?" she asked conversationally as she laid a card down on the stack between them. Sasuke glanced up at her and hummed.

She'd spent the last hour or so catching him up on all the gossip in town, all the little things that he'd missed that he never even thought about as being integral to his life before—like who was dating who, where someone had had the gall to be seen shopping, or why someone had ended up in the hospital during one of Sakura's shifts.

It was still the same old high school level drama, sure, and he didn't really care about most of it, but he couldn't deny that there was some charm to being able to sit like this with Sakura and just bitch about things because they wanted to and could. Of course, he and the girls at work (especially Mako) did the same things, but it was different. He hadn't lived in Oto long enough to really know anything, and while the girls were more than keen to explain everything and the lives of everyone they knew in town, this was different.

In some ways, it was still home. At least it would be until morning.

"Yeah, we're going to do something small," he answered, picking up a card and looking at his hand. "Just open presents and spend some time together, you know?"

"That sounds nice," she commented. "Do you know what you're going to get him yet?"

"I've got a few ideas." He discarded and glanced at her questioningly. "What about you? Are you and your parents doing anything special this year?"

Sakura hummed quietly. "Well, about that…"

"Hmm? What about it?"

She didn't answer. She didn't even look at him. She just picked up a card and immediately discarded it without barely a glance at her hand, choosing instead to hide the lower half of her face behind the cards she had fanned out in front of her. The behavior made Sasuke narrow his eyes and he put his cards face down on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked again.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," she said quickly, trying to wave him away.

But he could hear the smile in her voice, the obvious glee, and shot back, "Bullshit."

She laughed, giving herself away, and put her own cards down as well.

"Okay, okay, you've got me!" she exclaimed. She scooted forward on her sleeping bag until her legs were pressed against her cards, scattering them a little bit, and then she leaned closer like she was going to tell him a secret. "You remember how I told you on the phone that I've been waiting to tell you something?"

"Uh, duh," he said. "I've only been waiting for you to tell me since you walked in the door."

Her grin widened; her eyes sparkled.

"Well, something happened recently—something big and I think you're going to be excited about it."

Sasuke's eyes widened a little but before she could tell him what exactly the news was, he leaned closer and tried to guess, "Did you get a boyfriend?"

"No."

"A girlfriend?"

"I wish!" she said wistfully.

"A themfriend?"

"No," she said, but then she gasped. "But did I tell you that Sai—"

"Came out as nonbinary? Yeah, like a month ago."

"Well, if I thought they were cute before—" Sakura let out a quiet, wanting noise and bit her lower lip. "It's the confidence, you know? It makes them even hotter now."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "There's still no accounting for taste with you, is there?" he joked. When she reached over to shove at him playfully, he swatted her hand away and motioned for her to go on. "Well, if the news isn't you dating someone, then what is it? I don't know what else I could possibly be excited about."

He said the last part playfully, laughing when Sakura's mouth fell open and she let loose an indignant noise.

"You should be excited about everything I do, jerk!"

"Then tell me what to be excited about!"

"Okay, okay, shut up then," she urged.

Sasuke grinned at her exasperation but lifted his fingers to his lips and pretended to zip them shut before gesturing for her to continue. After giving him an exaggerated eye roll, she explained.

"Alright, so, like a month and a half ago, Tsunade told me about a paid internship opportunity and encouraged me to apply for it. I was a little hesitant at first because she told me that it was outside of the village, but I applied for it and…"

"And you got it?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura nodded excitedly. Sasuke smiled and reached forward to grab her hand and squeeze it.

"That's amazing, Sakura!" he said.

"I know!"

"I mean, that's like your dream, so… Wait." He trailed off suddenly as something that she'd said echoed in his mind. His grip loosened on her hand; his shoulders slumped a little bit.

Sakura looked at him concerned. "What is it?" she asked.

"You're moving?" he asked, his voice quiet like he didn't want it to be true because…

Well, because he didn't want it to be!

Sure, he knew he should be excited for her, and he was. On some level at least—truly! He just hadn't expected to hear that, to find out that she was going to be moving on with her life just like he'd moved on with his.

No, part of him had expected—wanted almost—her to stay in the village, stay living her regular life because then he would always have a tie back to his first home. He would always have a tie back to her. Something he could count on to keep them close because he worried that if she left then it would be too much—too much distance, too much newness. Too much for their friendship.

Was that fair to her, though? To expect her to stay in one place when he hadn't? When he'd set some sort of precedent for the both of them that it was okay to go out and explore the world just because they could?

No, it wasn't. And he recognized that. He appreciated that.

He appreciated her. Enough that he could accept that if it was time to let go, then he needed to let go.

So he cleared his throat, tried to smile at her, and asked, "Where're you moving to?"

She squeezed his hand and smiled softly.

"Well, that's the best part," she said easily. "I'm moving to Oto."

Sasuke's mouth fell open. "What?" he breathed.

She nodded enthusiastically. "That was the only reason I applied. As soon as I saw that they had the opening there, I knew I couldn't not throw my hat in, you know?"

Sasuke nodded dumbly, still stuck on the fact that she'd said Oto. Still stuck on the fact that this wasn't goodbye. That tonight wasn't potentially the last they'd see of one another.

Far from it, in fact.

But as the knowledge settled over him, as it settled firmly in his heart and soothed the gnawing ache that had been her imminent departure from his life, he couldn't help himself and pushed himself up so he could tackle her to the floor in a hug. Their cards scattered everywhere as they fell onto the ground together, but neither one of them cared as they laughed, their happiness bouncing off the walls and filling the room as they spent the rest of the night talking until they finally fell asleep.

XxX

In the morning, after the car had been packed, the new owner of the house had come to pick up the keys, and Sakura had left, Sasuke stood in the driveway next to Itachi's car, looking up at the house that had been his home for a short, but meaningful, time. He'd been standing there already for several minutes, his hand on the hood of the car, but he just hadn't been able to pull himself away yet.

Something in him needed another minute, another moment, another breath to remember this part of his life, and he allowed himself to take all the time he could. That was until he heard footsteps coming up the driveway and turned around, both surprised but also not surprised at all to see a familiar shock of blond hair coming toward him.

Naruto smiled at him when their eyes met. It was shy, but not malicious; calm, but not angry. Almost like the Naruto he'd known before, and Sasuke caught himself wanting to smile back.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said when he stopped a couple of feet away from him and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The distance and the action were clearly intentional.

"Hey."

The silence between them was awkward. How could it not be after all they'd gone through during his last few weeks in the village? But Sasuke didn't try to break it. He didn't think it was his place. And eventually, Naruto cleared his throat.

"I, uh…" He started to say, but he stopped himself like he suddenly thought better of whatever had been on his mind and then started again. "Sakura let me know that you were gonna be in town one last time, so I thought I'd swing by to see if I could catch you—so we can talk," he added the last part quickly, an expression on his face that read as equal parts apologetic and ashamed. Then Naruto swallowed and tacked on a quiet, "I hope you don't mind."

"We can talk," Sasuke answered, inclining his head. He'd been able to get enough distance and time away from what had happened with Naruto to feel okay enough with that at least.

Naruto sounded relieved when he sighed, "Thank you," but he didn't say anything else.

So Sasuke decided to ask, "Was there…something in particular you came to say?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied quickly, nodding. "I… Well, I came to say that I'm sorry. For everything that happened. I just wanted to apologize before I, uh, lost the chance, you know?"

Sasuke nodded. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Naruto muttered.

They stood there for another moment before the blond took in a deep breath, scuffed his shoe against the concrete, and turned to leave without another word. But as Sasuke watched him go, a strange feeling settled over him. One that he'd felt time and time again whenever he'd talked with Itachi or Sakura or Mako about what had happened between them.

It was a nagging, annoying heaviness. A frustrating, familiar sense of…of sadness? Of sympathy?

No, no. That wasn't it.

It was deeper, in his gut. Making him sick. Making him upset because he felt… He felt…

Sasuke's eyes widened and he suddenly stepped forward.

"Naruto, wait," he called.

And as Naruto turned around, his blue eyes wide in surprise, the feeling found a name in his chest.

Guilt.

"I'm sorry, too," Sasuke continued. His shoulders fell as he took one more step closer. "I…never actually apologized for what I did—for lying, hurting your feelings. So, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

Naruto's lower lip quivered and he bit down on it to stop it, to stop the emotion rising inside him. He took a long, slow breath in, and when he let it out, he just said, "Thank you."

Sasuke nodded. "I want you to know, though, that me hurting you didn't give you the right to do what you did."

"No, I understand that," Naruto answered quickly.

"Then…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and glanced down at the ground between them. The six or seven feet that felt like miles, that made it seem like they were screaming at each other across some vast canyon. "Then why did you do it?"

The question landed between them quietly—was almost blown away by the soft breeze that wrapped around them, but the weight of it, the desperation attached to it—to know, to understand, to finally get the thought out of his mind—kept it in place. Anchored it to the ground, anchored them in this moment.

"I think," Naruto said slowly. "I think I just couldn't believe that you could care about him more than me." He looked down and blew out a long breath before he wet his lips and added, "I think I remembered how much he hurt you when he walked out of your life before and I didn't want that to happen to you again. I knew that I wouldn't do that to you."

Sasuke nodded. As much as he might not have wanted to understand that at one point in time, he could admit that he could see where Naruto was coming from. Not that he was condoning what had happened—not at all—but he could understand not wanting to see someone he cared about hurting because of someone else.

"At the end of the day, though," Naruto continued. "I think it just came down to not really believing that you could feel that way for…him, you know?"

The way Naruto said the word "him" was so neutral, so unlike how he'd said it a few months ago—full of hatred and disdain that Sasuke really had to give him credit. Because if Naruto were still angry at Itachi, Sasuke would never have known.

"I didn't really know I could feel the way I do for him either," Sasuke admitted. "But I do, and I have for a lot longer than I realized."

"Yeah, I understand that now. I've, uh, been going back to therapy, and… Well, let's just say that I'm…" He stopped, pressed his lips together like he was reconsidering the words, and then began again. "That I hope the two of you are happy together. Really, I do."

Sasuke's eyes widened; he couldn't help it because—

"Did you really just say that?" he asked, laughing disbelievingly.

"Yeah," Naruto said, laughing himself. First quietly, then a little louder. "Yeah, I guess I did."

They both kept laughing, louder and harder, bouncing off of one another just like Sasuke and Sakura had last night. Not because it was really funny, but because once they'd started, it was hard to stop. Because once they'd started, it was easier to see one another.

Because once they'd started, Sasuke almost felt like they were friends again.

And the feeling stayed even after their laughter faded away into the morning. It assuaged the guilt in him—guilt that he hadn't even realized was still living inside him; it alleviated the anger he'd felt—not all of it, but some. It made his heart feel brighter, lighter, and he hoped from the smile he could see playing on Naruto's lips that the blond felt it as well.

"Thanks for that," Sasuke said. He was smiling too.

"Anytime," Naruto replied. "And I mean that 'cause, like, if you ever decide that you, maybe, wanna…talk again or something? I'm, you know, here, is all I'm saying."

"I'll think about it," Sasuke said, nodding. And he knew he would. Maybe it would take a while, but maybe it would be worth it. "I should probably head out now, though."

"Of course," Naruto said, pulling his hands from his pockets to hold them up like he was graciously accepting a defeat. "I'll let you go, but please tell Itachi that I'm sorry, too. Oh, and that there's no hard feelings over my nose."

Sasuke's lips curled into a grin and he shrugged.

"Eh, I think you look better this way—rugged, you know?"

"Rugged, huh?" Naruto struck a pose and wiggled his eyebrows playfully. The way he used to. "Then I guess you should thank him for me, instead."

"Oh, trust me, I think he'll be more than happy to hear that."

They both laughed again and the distance, the canyon they'd been screaming across before, shrunk. Just a little.

They waved goodbye to one another and then Naruto headed back down the driveway and Sasuke got in the car. When the driver's door shut, leaving him alone in the eerily calm and quiet solitude, Sasuke sat for a minute, considering something, before he turned over the engine and backed down the driveway, heading in the direction that Naruto had gone. He caught up with Naruto quickly, rolled down his window, and slowed down.

"Hey, Naruto?"

The blond stopped on the sidewalk and looked over, surprised to see him. Sasuke stopped the car and waved him over. Naruto walked over quickly while Sasuke checked to make sure no one was coming up behind him.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked when he stopped and bent over so he could look at Sasuke, still keeping a respectable amount of distance between them.

"I want you to be happy, too," Sasuke said. "So, when you feel up to it, you might consider giving Neji a passing glance one day."

Naruto's eyebrows stitched together in confusion. "Neji?" he said like the brunette's name tasted strange in his mouth.

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded.

"You mean, he…" Naruto's voice quieted a little as he glanced down at himself in wonder. "He likes me?"

Sasuke chuckled. "I think he's liked you for a while, man, so… You know, it's just something to keep in mind. If you're interested, that is."

Naruto nodded, dumbstruck, and mumbled a quiet thanks before backing up and letting Sasuke continue on his way. And though he knew that he should really get out of the village and on the road so he could get back home and see his brother, Sasuke couldn't help himself from taking an extra few minutes to drive around the village one last time.

He was in a good mood, after all, because today had turned out to be a day worth remembering.

So, he took the most winding route that he could, driving near the village center, past the empty high school, and then over by Sakura's. Not really paying attention to where he was going as he rolled down the car windows so he could appreciate the beautiful day.

At least not until he stopped at a light and turned his blinker on.

He didn't know why he did it, didn't understand at first, but after the light turned green and he didn't immediately move, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction his mind had automatically been trying to get him to turn. Realized it was the direction he'd turned hundreds of times before. Every day. For years.

To go home.

No, he reminded himself, to go to his parents' home.

And he knew he shouldn't—knew he should have squared his shoulders, flicked off his blinker, and driven straight through the light…

But he didn't.

Instead, he turned.

He drove on and a few minutes later, he was parked at the curb outside his parents' house, staring at it. Wondering despite himself what might happen if he tried to go inside; if he dared to even get out of the car and walk up the drive.

Nothing good would come of it, he knew that. He and Itachi had talked about it, talked about trying again to explain to their parents what they were, but they had both agreed that it was useless. Because what they were would never change—not to their parents, and they needed to accept that.

They had accepted that, actually, but…

But as Sasuke continued to stare at the front door, he couldn't help the bitter pang of disappointment on the back of his tongue. He swallowed it down, though, and cleared his throat, ready to leave, but just as he moved to put the car into drive and go, his eyes widened as he watched his mother step out of the house.

She had a bag of garbage in her hand and was taking it to the bin outside, and, at first, she didn't seem to notice him or the car, which was okay—he was just happy to see that she seemed fine. Because, ultimately, that was all he wanted, to know that they were doing as okay as he and Itachi were.

As she turned around to head back into the house, though, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes glued to his, and, suddenly, he had the urge to roll the windows back up. To try and hide. But he didn't, and she didn't move.

So he took a breath; he took a chance and lifted his hand in a little wave.

For a moment, there was no reaction. She just watched him, seemingly as surprised as he was that he was actually there, that they were actually seeing one another, but then…

But then.

His mother lifted her hand to wave back.

It was brief, and she turned to hurry back inside almost as soon as she'd done it, but she had done it. He'd seen it.

And that one final action, that tiny spark of recognition made Sasuke smile as he pulled away from the curb—finally ready to leave.

As he drove back in the direction of the village gates, he pulled up Itachi's contact info on his phone that sat securely in the vent clip, dialing his brother's number. Itachi answered on the second ring.

"You're leaving a little later than I thought you would be," Itachi commented when the line opened.

Sasuke shrugged even though Itachi couldn't see him. "Yeah, I got a little side-tracked, but I'm on my way back home now. How's your morning been?"

Itachi's happy laugh filled the car and made Sasuke's heart warm.

"Oh boy, it's been something, I can tell you that."

"Yeah? Well, I can't wait to hear all about it when I'm back. Maybe over dinner tonight?"

"Sounds like a date," Itachi answered, a smile clear in his voice. "I better let you go, though, my next class starts in just a couple minutes."

"No problem, just wanted to let you know I was okay. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

The line disconnected just as the light at the gates turned green, and as Sasuke pushed play on his music, he took a deep breath and hit the gas. Within seconds, Konoha was in his rearview mirror, slowly shrinking away, but he didn't glance back. No, Sasuke kept his eyes on the road ahead.

The road that led to the rest of his life.