A/N LAST CHAPTER. Or epilogue. Whichever you think suits this best. Whatever it is, it's the end of this fic. More to come though, I'm sure x)

I sincerely apologize to anyone I may offend with references to God. There is a reference to prayer here, don't say I didn't warn you. And yeah, I don't think God exists in Naruto-world or whatever, (except for like, Jashin, if you're Hidan), but oh well lol.

Though I'm sorry – I still can't make myself write toooooo graphic, there is some stuff in here that's not for those who can't stand anything related to yaoi. I wanted to see how far I could push myself to write, as a kind of personal challenge in case I do want to write yaoi or anything sex-related later…so be warned I guess xP If you don't want to see the content in this, you could just tell yourself the last chapter was the end…but if you don't mind (which you probably don't since you chose to read something M-rated), read on and let me know how this attempt went, please xD

I still don't own Naruto or Sasuke. Why must we write this with every chapter…

The first thing I notice is that I am very warm. Then I notice that I'm on my couch, and not on my bed. Then I smile, since I realize that last night was entirely nightmare-free and Sasuke must have been right. Then – holy hell – Sasuke! That must be the warm figure lying on top of me!

Then I realized my eyes weren't open. I don't mind, though. I lift my hand to rub my neck, but instead my fingers encounter soft hair. I grinned to myself – Sasuke must have fallen asleep on me. I forced my eyes open. Yup. His head rested on my neck, tickling my throat with his hair. His legs were tangled with mine, and we were still covered by the same comforter I had wrapped him in last night.

And then I remembered two things. First of all, I loved Sasuke. And the second I thought it, I knew all over again that it was true. I would have lifted his face so I could kiss his lips again, but he looked so serene in sleep, so unguarded, and that was the Sasuke I loved. The Sasuke who saved me. Secondly, it was Christmas!

I glanced out the window, massaging Sasuke's head absentmindedly, which made him snuggle deeper into my chest. One of his legs slipped between mine, making me gasp slightly at the contact. Oh God, he felt so good. All of a sudden, I decided to do something I had never done before in my life.

I decided to pray.

"Dear Lord," I whispered, looking out the window at the snowy sky, "thank You. Thank You for granting me deliverance for my pain, though I never asked You for it. Thank You for sending me a blessing like this one. Thank You, o Lord, for showing me that love really can exist." At this point, I felt a lone tear of – well, I don't really know what it was. Was it joy? It was some sort of emotion. Whatever it was, it trickled down my cheek, but I didn't want to wipe it away because I didn't want to wake up Sasuke by moving. I kept staring out the window. "Thank You, for sending me Uchiha Sasuke."

I didn't care that it sounded lame and cheesy. I meant every word I said.

"Amen," I whispered.

And then my heart froze as I felt a slender hand gently wipe away the tear on my cheek. I looked down to see Sasuke smiling up at me with barely opened eyes.

"Dear Lord," he began, making my breath catch in my gullet, "thank You. Thank You for showing me that I can live without my existence centering around revenge. Thank You for showing me that I'm not alone, and there are people who really do care for me." He put his hands on either side of my body and pulled himself up so that his mouth was level to mine, and he was murmuring directly to me. "Thank You for blessing me with Uzumaki Naruto."

He bent his neck and smiled and kissed me not too lightly, but not too rough.

"Amen." He sighed the word into my throat and I leaned up and met his lips again. It was so difficult to believe I wasn't still dreaming, with his arms around me and his knee ever-so-lightly pressing between my legs, making me moan slightly. But then something changed. I looked up at him and he looked down at me with a hard look in his eyes and I knew we both needed to know that it wasn't a dream, that it was really happening. And I thrusted myself into him and he put his hands behind my head and pulled me closer and despite the fact that it must be nearing zero degrees outside, it was hot on the couch, oh so hot. I couldn't stand the heat, so I let my hands leave his back (which made him whine in displeasure, which in turn made me smirk slightly into his mouth) and yank my shirt off my head. Ahhh. Much better.

For a moment, I thought of convention. I thought of thoughts like this is wrong and you're both guys and this is moving too fast!

But then his fingers were on my chest – no, his lips were on my chest and his fingers were in my mouth and he tasted so sweet, and I didn't think anymore, I just kissed him and bit him and let him kiss and bite me.

"Your skin is so soft, dobe," he panted teasingly, "you're almost like a girl!" He tried to snicker at me, but we were both so caught up in the moment he barely could.

"Shut up," I growled, and sealed his taunting mouth shut with my own. He curved his back while keeping the kiss (I swear, he's some kind of contortionist or something) and let one hand trail down my body. From my neck…to my upper chest…to my stomach (here he traced the swirl where the Kyuubi usually speaks from and I shake my head blissfully – no, it's still absent, he must have been right)…to just below my stomach….to –

"Sa-suke…"It was my turn to pant as I arched my back into him. I couldn't believe it; it literally was beyond my brain capacity to process how much I loved him at that moment. I could lie to myself and say it happened spur-of-the-moment, but something told me these feelings had been pent up for a long time now. And now they were begging for release.

I tugged at his hair and let my hand creep up his shirt and play with his chest, which, I must say, had to be softer than mine. Take silk. Mix it with molten velvet and velour. Add more silk, and multiply by a thousand, and that's how soft his skin felt. I licked his lips, feeling a sort of carnal pleasure when it elicited a tortured groan from them. He bit my lower lip, which made me gasp again and made him chuckle. I get it now...for some insane reason we were fighting, almost, and I was determined not to let him win, dattebayo!

I moved my hand to the small of his back. Lower…lower…yes!

"Naruto!" It was his turn to gasp. I was about to move my hand to his front and really win, but then I heard it –

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!

I pulled my lips away and turned my head towards the window, where the church spire was vibrating to sound the holiday.

"Naruto?" He was concerned now. "W-why did you--"

"Christmas bells!"

"What?" Jeez, he looks so cute when he's confused and sweaty like this.

"Christmas bells!" I was beaming. "The Kyuubi hated bells! Every time they started to ring, it would fill my mind with its words, blocking them out! I've never heard Christmas bells!"

His face relaxed into a smile and the magnitude of the past twenty-four hours hit me full force.

"It's really never coming back?" I asked.

Sasuke leaned down to kiss my lips, very softly, not the competitive way.

"As long as I'm around, you'll never have to worry about your demon again," he said in his low voice that I love. "And I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon."

"You promise?"

He laughed and kissed me again, a little deeper now.

"I promise."

"Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Merry Christmas."

He looked at me, with our bodies still tangled together, each with the feel of the other's lips still on us, and we both smiled.

"Merry Christmas."

--END--

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and I hope you enjoyed it! xD

Much love,

ZST