I just couldn't contain my feels after reading Naruto chapter 662... So this little thing entered my brain. Ninja-verse with timeskip because I crave a happy ending.

Disclaimer: You think they'd be dying if I wrote the manga? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Can't live without you

xxx

Naruto walked out onto the balcony of his apartment, taking a deep breath of chilly air as he leaned against the railing. The sky was already full of bright stars as he swept his eyes over Konoha, an affectionate smile ghosting over his lips. His new apartment was an almost replica of the old one that got ruined during the Pein invasion, the view just as spectacular. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, imagining the old Konoha, comparing it to how it looked now. It was more than appearance that had changed though, and he rolled a stiff shoulder to relax from another day's hard work.

The war sure had taken its toll on all of them, had drastically changed the future for the five countries in the Shinobi Alliance. A lot of it was to the better however, and they were all working closely together to reach a new world, not too unlike Obito's wish for peace. The means to achieve it weren't as drastic though. Still, they'd lost a lot thanks to Obito and Madara, and many names had been carved into the memorial stone that Naruto thought shouldn't be there yet. He'd fought tooth and nail with the council to add Itachi's name, the look on Sasuke's face when he saw it worth every second of that fight a hundred times over.

It was a little funny how Sasuke had been the main focus of his thoughts for so long, and still was today. He'd been so close to losing him during the war, too close, and without even knowing it at first. If there was anyone he thought deserved to see the new, peaceful future it was Sasuke. Even now he spent a lot of time making sure his best friend was fine, to the point where he'd been told to stop fussing if he didn't want another chidori through his body.

Despite the harsh words he'd felt happy, and continued his fussing but in secret of course. There was just something about Sasuke that was vital to his own well-being, and it was impossible for him to relax if Sasuke wasn't relaxed as well. He still dreamt about the battlefield sometimes, how they'd fought so desperately together. He'd been forced to try and suppress so many feelings, his elation to meet Sasuke and his dad, overcome instead with the pain of losing friends. It wasn't until Madara was down, and a united gasp of air had been taken by everyone still able to breathe, that he'd been able to look at Sasuke, really look at him.

He'd stumbled over to his side, knelt in front of the already slumped solitary Uchiha, feeling the ache in his body and mind reflected in the dead tired gaze that met his. He'd stretched out a hand, wiping off some of the blood streaming from Sasuke's eyes. There was a painful wish in his chest to clean all of the blood from Sasuke, clean it from his past, clean it any way he could, even if he had to lick it off he just had to remove it. "Sasuke" he'd let out in a raspy sigh, drowning in his dark eyes. For so long he'd wanted to save Sasuke, wanted to reach out to him and show him the light, but in that instant there was already light beneath the layer of pain.

People who only knew Sasuke from after he'd left the village, or had only heard about his deeds, thought he'd changed drastically. Naruto knew better. Sasuke hadn't changed, he'd changed back. He was closer now to the younger Sasuke, the Sasuke that Naruto had befriended and never been able to let go of. Still, it hadn't been Naruto who had saved him. In some ways it was Itachi, in some perhaps Hashirama's story, but most of all Sasuke had changed himself. Naruto couldn't help but feel extremely proud of him.

At the battle field, as he traced Sasuke's cheek, he'd opened his mouth to say something. Something along the lines of 'We can finally go home now' or 'We did it, we won'. None of that came out, instead the one sentence that had spun through Naruto's mind over and over again ever since Sasuke appeared with his declaration of becoming Hokage left his mouth, despite his tries to fight for another reason, for the world, for his friends.

"I can't live without you."

Sasuke's eyes had widened, and Naruto's heart had started beating furiously as if trying to reassure him that he was still alive, that he really was alive and so was Sasuke. They'd been interrupted that time, before Sasuke had time to react, but Naruto knew the words had struck hard inside him. It made him feel strangely smug and satisfied whenever the occasional girl gave Sasuke a look of interest, made him think Yeah sure, you think he's pretty, but would you die without him?

He never talked to anyone about how strongly he still felt for Sasuke, how he felt as if now that he knew what it was like to be this close he was incredibly scared to lose him. Now and then he'd wake up at night, sweaty and panting, throat thick and chest aching from a dream where Sasuke disappeared. When that happened, he'd sneak across the room to the other bed where Sasuke was sleeping, getting in under the covers and soaking up his warmth. Just thinking about Sasuke made him feel warm, and he sighed suspiciously happily as he leaned his chin in one hand, elbow against the cool metal surrounding the balcony.

Lately, he'd discovered he wasn't even thinking in terms of 'I' or 'me' anymore. It wasn't 'when I become Hokage' but rather 'when we become Hokage'. Right now they were working hard under Tsunade, building up and securing their relations with the other ninja countries, trying to keep business up as usual with missions and the Ninja Academy. They weren't rivals anymore, not in the way they had been before at least, and their friends could still look at them strangely whenever they communicated wordlessly as if they instinctively knew what the other thought. They did bicker though, argued even, but they'd learnt when to listen to each other and when to disagree.

Perhaps it was the fact that they did everything together now, working, planning their meals and eating together, sleeping in the same room. Whatever it was had Naruto in a perpetual good mood, only broken for real when someone was stupid enough to doubt Sasuke by bringing up the past. Especially in the beginning his friends had been forced to restrain him a lot, since many of the villagers hadn't understood the whole story yet. His dream was for them to become Hokage together, wiping off all doubt from people's minds and making the world a better, more accepting place.

The door behind him creaked open, but he'd already felt Sasuke's presence approaching. He had an almost obsessive need to always know where Sasuke was, and Tsunade had learnt the hard way not to separate them for too long.

"Dinner's ready" Sasuke said, in his familiar, deep voice, resembling Itachi's a little more now that they were older.

Stretching lazily Naruto turned around, grinning appreciatively. He leaned back against the railing again, hands stretched out and gripping it loosely. Sasuke stopped a few steps away from him, face raised up to look at the thin sliver of moon hanging low in the sky. The faint light made him look paler than usual, the dark color of his standard ninja shirt in stark contrast to it. It was sleeveless, making Naruto frown.

"Aren't you cold like that?" he asked, feeling the chill in the breeze that swept over them, ruffling their hair.

"I'm fine" Sasuke shrugged, expression still calm and thoughtful despite his bangs flowing almost wildly across his face.

Looking at him, Naruto felt a nervous coil in his stomach, taking him by surprise. He could feel it sometimes, when they took baths together and Sasuke stretched right in front of him, or if Sasuke had turned in his sleep and they woke up face to face. But never like this, like a gentle calling to reach out for him simply because he could. Acting on the urge he pushed himself off the railing, walking the few steps it took to bring him close enough to Sasuke to touch him. He traced Sasuke's cheek with the knuckles of his left hand, the pale skin burning against his own. Sasuke didn't move, simply stood there like a breathing statue as Naruto's hand moved up again, this time using his fingertips. It was fascinating how grey his tan skin looked in the faint moonlight compared to Sasuke's almost white. Swallowing thickly he moved his hand lower, over the fabric covering his neck and collarbone, his defined chest and slender waist.

"You sure about that?" Sasuke asked, almost sounding amused, as Naruto's fingers hooked over the hem of his pants.

Naruto had followed the movement of his hand with his eyes, but raised them at Sasuke's words. The Uchiha still looked as calm as ever, just a little hint of a smirk at one corner of his lips. It made Naruto glare at him, like he always responded to Sasuke's smirking face. He'd been thinking of how Sasuke's body looked agile rather than strong, but how well he knew that both were correct. The ninja in front of him had seen enough of the world for a lifetime, and he carried his past around with him, swept it around him like an aura of lethal calm. It was something Naruto found strangely… attractive.

"Is that a challenge?" he said, gripping Sasuke's waistband tighter, his other hand opening and closing as if he wasn't sure what to do with it.

Sasuke finally looked at him, smirk widening, sticking his hands into his pockets in that arrogant pose that had always annoyed Naruto.

"Just asking" he answered, voice indifferent to the point of raising the hairs at the back of Naruto's neck in sudden anger. "You tend to do things before thinking them through."

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Naruto stepped into Sasuke's personal space. Chests touching and breaths mingling hotly, he felt as if the world started spinning too fast around them and the only thing that held him grounded was Sasuke's questioning gaze.

"You think you're so smart" he muttered, right hand clutching Sasuke's wrist now.

The truth was, Naruto had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that he was standing really close to Sasuke, and it felt really good. Oh, he knew what Sasuke had meant with that question. It wasn't as if the concept of sex was alien to him, and anyone with a few brain cells had noticed that there were couples springing up everywhere around them. Apparently tough times made people draw close to each other, or so Tsunade had told him when he'd complained how all his friends seemed too busy dating in their spare time to hang out with him and Sasuke.

He just didn't know what he was doing acting like this with Sasuke of all people, but on the other hand he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather stand like this with. Still, Sasuke was too important to mess around with.

"If I died, what would you do?" he asked, changing the subject. Or perhaps not changing it at all.

"Nothing" was Sasuke's easy reply. When Naruto started making angry noised he sighed and placed a hand over his mouth none too gently. "There's no way you'd die before me, usuratonkachi."

"But if I did" Naruto insisted, the words muffled underneath Sasuke's hand.

"You wouldn't" Sasuke stubbornly repeated.

"It was a hypothical question."

"Hypothetical" Sasuke corrected him, and Naruto aimed a kick at his leg that Sasuke easily avoided. "And there was no point to it anyway. Are you coming inside to eat dinner or not?"

Naruto pouted, but didn't let Sasuke move away from him. He was staring down at Sasuke's shoulder, hesitant to act but not wanting to let the moment slip from his grasp. Sasuke's hand had returned to his pocket, and Naruto was free to gnaw at his lips. He glanced up at Sasuke, who appeared almost bored, but he could see through the act. He'd known the other long enough now to see the signs of slight unease, as if Sasuke wasn't sure of what to do either.

"I don't want you to die before me" he mumbled, inching closer, so close that he could almost hear Sasuke's heart beating.

"Then I guess we have a problem" Sasuke breathed out, lips all but brushing over Naruto's cheek.

Silence fell over them, an anticipatory kind of quiet that had them both on edge. When they were younger they'd competed over who acted first. Now, it was the opposite between them. Neither wanted to risk the delicate balance they'd created over the past few years, risk taking a wrong step on the shaky ground they treaded.

Taking a deep breath and holding it in, Naruto leaned in enough to make Sasuke's lips touch his cheek instead of just teasing it. Despite his efforts he was still shorter than Sasuke, and when he slowly turned his head he was forced to tilt it a little upwards in order for lips to find lips instead, his stomach fluttering and his lungs emptying.

He didn't dare to meet Sasuke's eyes at first, standing with limbs frozen and veins raging with fire. It was nothing like the previous times they'd kissed, when mouths had clashed unexpectedly and unwillingly. This was real, overwhelmingly real, and when hands twisted through his hair and pulled him closer his mind clouded over and his body melted, heart drumming against his ribs harder than during battle. He gripped the back of Sasuke's shirt, pressing himself flush against his body. It felt as if every blood vessel inside him had burst open, the warm liquid crashing through him in wave after wave, causing every nerve to tingle and his toes to curl.

Sasuke's mouth moved against his, tasting, licking, sucking… Naruto didn't think anything could compare to this feeling. He felt as if his soul was leaving his body and entering Sasuke's instead, as if his feelings were too strong to contain in just one body. It didn't even compare to the searing heat of losing control of Kurama like he'd done while fighting Nagato, when he'd lost his mind to darkness. If fireworks could feel themselves explode, it might be something like what he felt right now. A huge, bright explosion outshining the stars, overflowing his chakra points.

And all of that just from Sasuke kissing him.

He couldn't form coherent thoughts anymore, vaguely aware that he was stumbling clumsily on their way inside, trying to keep up with Sasuke's speed. The feeling of a mattress against his back punched the air out of his chest again, his palms searing hot as they pushed fabric out of the way. He felt alive, more alive than ever before, life surging through their bodies in the form of pleasure. Instinct guided them, skin gliding over skin praised with muffled groans and shaky gasps. Strong fingers leaving bruises, eager mouths almost drawing blood as they rolled around, falling on the floor and not caring one bit.

They were too caught up in each other to notice the world around them, to care if a head bumped too hard into the edge of a bed as they sat up against it. Sasuke hissed when Naruto's teeth made deep dents in his shoulder, returning the favor by raking his nails down his back. Fingers trembled as they stroked each other, breaths and moans disappearing down the other's throat. When pleasure erupted through their bodies in tremors they shuddered, pressed against each other in an incoherent mess.

Nothing meant anything to Naruto in that moment other than Sasuke. The heat from Sasuke's body was blinding, and he buried his nose in his neck, breathing in deeply. There were bruises all over his body and his knees were scraped, but that only made him believe that this wasn't in his imagination. Sasuke had held him tight, still held him tight, and Naruto couldn't understand why the desperation in that touch hurt so good.

Pushing all of his confused thoughts away, deciding to deal with them later, he brushed through Sasuke's soft hair with curious fingers, curling them around the strands at the back of his neck. In fact, his whole body felt as if it was curled around Sasuke's warmth, and right now nothing could feel more perfect.

"I already told you the solution a long time ago, remember?" he whispered into Sasuke's skin, pressing his lips against it as well when he felt Sasuke swallow. "I mean, it won't be from fighting each other, but still."

He listened to Sasuke's steady breathing for a while, playing absentmindedly with his hair and wondering if they were remembering the same thing.

"You sounded so certain, that time" Sasuke murmured, breath fanning over Naruto's ear.

"Yeah. It's the one thing I knew for sure."

He straightened up, tilting Sasuke's head up so their eyes could meet, Sasuke leaning against the bed with Naruto on his lap. A million things and more passed between them, silently, their communication finally in perfect sync after all those years of not getting through to each other.

"When we die, we'll die together."

Yeah I know the smut was barely there, but this was for the feels, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading:)