Five Times

A story about life and being saved

5.

"Sasuke! Darling, are you okay?" Naruto calls from the top of the cliff and Sasuke swears at him as he treks up the steep path. Naruto's grin widens as he waits for Sasuke to come up.

"Damn it, dobe! Why did you choose the most difficult trail there is?" the raven scowls as he leans heavily on the pilgrim's staff, grimacing at the dull pain from his knees. "It'll rain tomorrow." he grumbles and Naruto grins at him.

"Your knees hurting, teme?" he says because, after more than ten years together, they still call each other names.

"Hn."

"I must say, those surgeries and months of rehabilitation did you good. And.. except from not hearing you bitch about feeling pain, always knowing if bad weather is coming is pretty good!" Naruto laughs and receives some hits from the staff Sasuke keeps with him, but the raven is smiling. "Teme." he grins and Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Come on, dobe. Else we'll be stuck up here forever." the raven says and is about to turn and continue walking when Naruto grabs his free hand and stops him. Sasuke turns to the blond fully and looks at him with an eyebrow lifted. "What?"

"Nothing." Naruto smiles and Sasuke frowns slightly but steps closer when the blond tugs on his hand. An arm wraps around his waist and Sasuke let his staff drop, the backpack on it landing with a thump. He knots his now free hand into the blond's hair as Naruto leans down and kisses him, holding the man close.

"You're a moron." he mumbles when they split, leaning his forehead against the blond's.

"Oh, shut up, teme." Naruto chuckles then he kisses the raven again, tightening his hold around the pale man's waist some.

"Dobe." Sasuke mumbles between one kiss and the next. He tilts his head to the side, parting his lips wider when Naruto kisses him harder, plundering his mouth. Taking command until he can't do much more than try to follow.

"You're my angel, darling. My guardian angel." Naruto whispers against his lips and the raven smiles slightly, his eyes still closed.

"Then I suppose you are my sky." he replies softly, only half joking and Naruto smiles then murmurs,

"I mean it. You've saved me so many times by now that I've lost count. But what's meant the most to me is that you saved me from being afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Sasuke asks, opening his eyes and looking into blue, happy orbs.

"Being without you. I love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke knows that Naruto is about to kiss him again and he can't help but feel disappointment when voices reach them, effectively ruining their moment.

"...-ere they are. Shouldn't two young men like they be on their way back already?" the park ranger Tom's voice comes from down below and Sasuke sighs as he leans back a little. Naruto doesn't let go but eases up slightly so that they're not completely flush against each other.

"Yeah. Maybe they stopped to eat or something? I know that the one with dark hair had a backpack on the pilgrim's staff he has." Kendon, one of the other rangers, replies and Tom grunts. Naruto's blue eyes grows as wary as Sasuke's as they look towards the edge of the cliff, waiting for the two men to come up.

"Maybe. I just hope they know there could be bears around." Tom says then they come into view and Naruto smirks slightly at Tom's startled look.

"And you two are looking for us because of.. ?" Sasuke asks as he lifts an eyebrow, moving his hand from Naruto's hair to his shoulder.

"Err.. it will be dark in less than an hour, the sun is beginning to set. And it'll storm tomorrow." Tom says and Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"We know. We were going back."

"Uh.. really?" Kendon asks doubtfully and Naruto frowns.

"No. We were in the middle of kissing and you two are interrupting something I've planned for months so if you could be so kind to turn around and go back." the blond says irritably and the two rangers both turns red and does, almost running away. Naruto grins. "Hah! It worked!"

"Planned what?" Sasuke asks, frowning, and Naruto chuckles then turns the raven around in his arms so that he's facing the vast space the cliff overlooks.

"I wanted you to see this." the blond mumbles as he places his chin on Sasuke's shoulder as the sun bathes them in golden light.

Sasuke smiles slightly as he watches the sun set over the ocean far away. Colors of apricot, crimson red, bright orange, golden and yellow, cobalt blue and deep purple paint the sea and the sky, the clouds shimmering in pearl-gray.

"Marry me."

"… what?"

"Marry me. Be mine, and let me be yours." Naruto whispers softly in his ear, and Sasuke turns his head, staring at him. Then he turns completely in the blond's arms and kisses him, hard. When they split, Naruto's smiling. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes. Dobe." Sasuke mumbles as Naruto tightens his hold on him again.

"Teme."

A kiss.

"No ring?"

"No, I assumed you were going to kill me." Naruto replies and Sasuke's honestly surprised over the disappointment he feels.

"Hn."

Naruto laughs as he kneels down and reaches into his pocket, grasping Sasuke's hand and slipping the simple gold ring on. He kisses Sasuke's palm as he says,

"'Course I got a ring. You know what a sucker I am for romantic things."

"Dobe." Sasuke mumbles, but he's filled with the same warm, fuzzy feeling he felt the first time the blond kissed him. The same blond that's smiling up at him, still holding his hand. He tugs on Naruto's hand, making the man rise again so he can kiss him which makes the blond smile wider. "I love you."

"I love you too."