Fallen Angel

celestia193's Author's Note: And finally...we come to the last bit of angst and the happy ending. It has been a long, hard road for our boys, but finally they'll be getting the ending they deserve.

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. We all hope that you'll enjoy the grand finale of Fallen Angel. Oh and if you're interested, please consider checking out our other stories. Happy reading.

Chapter 29

It was times like this when Sasuke was glad that 'closed for renovations' didn't actually mean completely closed. Even if there was chaos with Kankuro going on in the back of the building, Sasuke was more than happy to help Gaara whittle down his stock of Irish whiskey. Or vodka. Or rum. Or whatever Gaara happened to have on hand.

Of course, even if his mind was starting to get a little fuzzy with the buzz, Sasuke was still more than aware enough to realize that his husband was being extremely cuddly today, even more so than usual. Which was a rather impressive feat, seeing as after the little…incident at the end of their honeymoon, Itachi had sulked and wallowed and given tentative affection for over a week before he actively started seeking Sasuke out for more aggressive cuddling. But even by Itachi standards, this was a bit much.

So he leans back into Itachi's arms, where they sat together in one of the lounge booths, and presses a kiss to Itachi's cheek as his dark locks slip to curve around his eyes. "You're very attached to me today." He smirks softly and cuddles into the crook of Itachi's neck. "What gives?" Did he think Sasuke was going to run away or something? Because that wasn't happening anytime soon, or ever.

"This." Itachi takes Sasuke's hand and kisses along his arm where the magnolia tattoo was. "You're my husband and I love you. Do I need a reason to express that?"

"No, I suppose not." Sasuke laughs softly. "It's okay if you want to be extra cuddly today. I like it." He liked almost anything Itachi did to him. He stretches out his other arm, where the crow tattoo had been expertly covered up through Temari's exceptional tattooing skills by the image of an angel with black wings. Itachi liked calling Sasuke his fallen angel, so he'd thought it would be poetic to have that adorning his arm instead. Now he was Itachi''s precious love twice over. By destiny and by choice.

Itachi smiles at that, but it wasn't one of happiness. It was one of guilt. "Good. I'm glad that you feel that way." He knew what would be happening as soon as the 5 o'clock news started. "I'll always be here for you. We've made it through more trials in the relatively short time we've been together than most couples will face in a lifetime and I just want to you to know, that I'm always here for you." He leans in and kisses Sasuke.

Accepting and returning the kiss, he could feel that something was different than usual. "Itachi?" Sasuke didn't know what it was exactly, but something was wrong. "Are you alright?"

"As much as I can be given the situation." He frowns when the kiss ends. "The news is going to be covering a lot of topics related to everything...BEFORE." Itachi didn't feel as though there was any further elaboration required at this point. "It doesn't matter anymore, but it might be painful for you to hear it all laid out once again."

"Not as painful as it would have been." After all, Sasuke no longer remembered most of it. It would be like…viewing the life of a stranger, but knowing that somewhere, somehow, it was actually his life. He'd already seen bits and pieces of it on the internet, so seeing it hashed out again on the news wasn't much of a shock. "When does it come on?"

"I imagine they'll headline with it." Itachi wasn't entirely sure that he bought Sasuke's casual reaction towards everything. "I'm sorry. I wish there was a way you never had to think of such things again." Even taking away memories didn't stop the world from commenting on it. He would have seen it mentioned online or on TV. Somewhere.

Gaara strides over with a number of fresh drinks and sets them on the table. "The Canadian broadcast of it starts in four minutes." He knew that look in Sasuke's eye. And even if Sasuke knew vaguely what happened now, there was no chance that he wasn't going to want to know what had finally come of his life's work. Most of what was online was speculative at best, but tonight, the CIA would be releasing their investigation files to the public.

Sasuke's eyes drift to the television and a single frisson of nerves shoots through him. Did he want to hear it? He supposed he would eventually hear about it all anyway, so maybe it was best to get it over with?

Itachi holds his hand and gives him a reassuring smile. "Just remember, you're safe now and it doesn't matter what they think of you." They being the public in general. "As far as they're concerned, you're dead."

"I know." Sasuke snuggles a little closer, settling himself deeply into Itachi's lap. He was strong. He could handle this. He'd handled it once before when he had all of his memories, and he would handle it even better without them. "TV, on." Thank the heavens that most things could be controlled through voice command. Because he really couldn't be bothered to get up from Itachi's lap right now.

"I love you." Itachi's grip tightens on his husband as the news begins. He wasn't entirely sure that he was ready for this, but it was too late to back out now.

As his gaze shifts to the television, Sasuke spies a picture of himself from quite a long time ago, when the CIA had made him 'presentable' for the courtroom. Only, it was one of the pictures they hadn't used, since it made him look younger, more innocent than they would have liked to portray to the world.

"Last year, the world saw the death of one of the most prolific serial killers in history, Sasuke Uchiha." The anchorman settles his notes on the desk, everything about him perfectly professional. "But since his death last fall, the CIA's biggest case in years exploded with new information that pointed to a massive wave of crime, corruption, and murder that have some experts questioning just who this young man was. Villain, vigilante, or victim? After the findings surrounding the renowed scientist and medical doctor Orochimaru Sannin came to light, new evidence has been provided to cast a light on international trafficking rings led by figures such as Danzo Shimura, another of Uchiha's less than upstanding victims."

Pictures flash across the screen, first of Orochimaru and Danzo, then of other faces that Sasuke vaguely recognized from glances at the notes he'd given to Shisui. Then, came the faces of the two old prosecutors. "The corruption reaches as far as the supreme courts as prosecutors Mitokado and Utatane are found to have deep ties to the crime lord Danzo Shimura, and facilitated his navigation around the rule of law."

"The counselors in question were unable to be reached for comment in the months following the initial findings, and new records coming to light assert that Counselor Mitokado and Counselor Utatane have both passed away under suspicious circumstances. Whether murder, suicide, or by natural causes, the cause of death has not been made public knowledge."

Sasuke blinks bemusedly, then turns his head to Itachi. "They're dead?"

"That is what the news report says." Itachi didn't regret it in the slightest. The only thing he regretted was not making them suffer more. "So yes, I would say that's safe to say." First, he had ruined their careers and then, he may have directed some of their former victims towards them and let nature take it's course. Their deaths had been horrific, but not horrific enough in his opinion. He could only hope that they were suffering even worse in the afterlife and Itachi was damn sure their family members were all embarrassed to be related to them.

But the broadcast still wasn't over just yet. "Three months ago, a cousin of Sasuke Uchiha's published a biography of the young man whose life turned from one terror to the next. In it, what readers have found is the horrifying and inspiring account of a boy failed by the system, who sought justice for those who also felt betrayed and passed over by the institutions that were supposed to see that justice was done. From punishing murder to assault to gang violence, abuse to sex crimes to the underworld's drug cartels. There seems to be no unfinished crusade that this young vigilante would not take up for those who couldn't find justice alone. Whether for good or ill, last year the world lost a force of nature in Sasuke Uchiha. And whether he will be remembered as a villain or a hero is for history to decide."

The anchorman shuffles through the last of his papers and nods grimly. "The story of Sasuke Uchiha is available for sale internationally, the work titled When Eyes See Only Darkness is a graphic and dark representation of the underbelly of society and the injustice that many victims face and have no power to alter or control. Making the top of the New York Bestsellers List, the work is acclaimed to be visceral and gripping, with a genuine look into the darkness of humanity thought all but lost. For adult readers, it is cautioned and recommended as a biography as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. For more information on the published work and further coverage of the story, see our website."

Stunned. Sasuke was simply…stunned into silence. There it was. His life was out there. And apparently quite the read, too. He'd read it himself, of course, but to hear it put that way was something he'd never expected. He also never even remotely expected that the word hero would be thrown around in the same news report as him. "Itachi…"

"It's over, Sasuke." Itachi sighs as he kisses his cheek. "I wish that there was some way that we could have found you sooner and that you and all those people wouldn't have had to suffer so horribly."

Thousands of times every single day. Itachi was quite certain that was an accurate estimate at this point how many times such thoughts would consume him, but no matter what he did...he couldn't change the past.

"As much as it's ever going to be over." He knew that one never 'got over' what Sasuke had been through. And even if Sasuke didn't remember a thing, the ghosts of those memories would follow himfor the rest of his life. Hell, his exposure had 'only' been secondhand and Itachi knew it was unlikely he'd ever manage to get over everything that happened. "I hope having your true story out in the public brings you some measure of comfort and we can get on with building our lives together." He brushes his lips against Sasuke's.

"Yeah." Sasuke hoped for that too. But at least he didn't have to remember any of it anymore. He leans into Itachi's kiss, rocking gently back and forth in his soulmate's lap. Itachi's warmth was always a comfort, and Sasuke desperately wished that he could make everything better for Itachi. But he knew that only time would heal them both. Time and love.

Sasuke stokes the fire in the ancient fireplace, the warmth of the flames warming his skin as raven locks fall across his cheekbone. It was nice to be back in this place, the cabin out west where they could be alone or have the family over for a visit.

He and Itachi spent most of their time in Toronto nowadays, but they came out here to British Columbia sometimes to get away from it all. And it had become their usual retreat away from the world.

This Christmas, though, it wasn't just their retreat. "Hey Sasuke!" Shisui pokes his head out of the kitchen, arms laden with cheese, crackers, and fruits for days. "Where do you want these?"

"You can put them in the middle of the table. Make sure that the kids can get to them." The last thing they needed was one of the tables getting upended by a mischievous, rambunctious munchkin. Sasuke didn't want to clean up another mess like that.

He pulls the grate up and presses the button to drop the glass panel in front of the fire. The heat still came through the tiny holes in it, but no one would accidentally fall in this way. Sasuke strides towards the kitchen and looks around the edge of the door frame. "Hey Mom, is the turkey plate ready? You know that Itachi can only distract them for so long."

Mikoto Uchiha smiles at Sasuke and shakes her head. "It's ready, but I'm afraid it's missing the drumsticks." She clucks her tongue as she remembers just how that happened. "It seems that your father and Madara have far more in common than they'll ever admit. Sneaky as thieves when they want something."

Sasuke shakes his head snorts with amusement. "I should have known that those two were up to something." Those two had been sneaking around way too much for it to be innocent. "You kept one of the thighs for me, right?" He glances at her hopefully, dark eyes sparkling happily.

"Sasuke, after everything you've been through, you could take the whole damn turkey and I wouldn't protest." She shakes her head and smiles at him.

Planting a kiss on his mother's cheek, Sasuke picks up the huge platter filled with a gigantic turkey's worth of meat. This was no small reunion, and he wondered if maybe the second turkey in the oven might not be enough to feed their whole family. "Is Itachi still outside with the kids?" Last he'd checked, his husband was trying to enjoy the sprinkling of snow while it lasted. It wasn't often that snow came this far southwest.

"Mhm. They were going to go sledding, but I think they've turned Itachi into the sled." Mikoto smiles at her only child. "He's rather adorable with them and I couldn't ask for better grandchildren."

"Yeah…" And no matter how much trouble those two caused, he wouldn't give them up for the world. Despite how they sometimes made Sasuke want to rip his perfectly dyed hair out. "Do you mind calling them back in? I've got to finish setting the tables." He'd commandeered the sitting room for this meal, since the dining room couldn't hope to hold them all. "And I should probably make sure that the wine and whiskey are out of sight." The last thing they needed was those two accidentally getting into the grown-up drinks.

Mikoto nods at that request. "Of course." She winks at him. "We all know that Madara and Naori want to see them as much as your father and I do." With that being said, the Uchiha darts off to coral well, more Uchihas.

Sasuke chuckles softly to himself as he brings the heavy platter of food out to the sitting room and settles it on the center table. Around it lay snacks and small desserts, since no one believed that they were going to be able to keep anyone out of the desserts until after dinner. But the heap of garlic butter mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese was to die for, and Sasuke knew that would disappear before the desserts were even touched. The peas, carrots, and broccoli were another story, but his kids would get their greens, he would make sure of that.

A familiar, quiet tread glides into the room from the archway behind him. Ad it was a tread that he knew very well. So well, in fact, that it comes as no surprise when two strong, gentle arms wrap around him and pull him away from the wide coffee table, the fingers of those hands trailing under his shirt and across his skin. What DID make him jump was the realization that those arms were- "COLD!" They were fucking freezing! "ITACHI!"

"Don't worry. I can always warm you up later." He chuckles as he kisses his cheek.

"You're the one making me cold!" Sasuke bats Itachi's hands away and wriggles out of his husband's embrace. He shivers lightly and retreats towards the fireplace. "Did you wear gloves at all out there?"

"I wore mittens." Itachi laughs softly at his lover's antics. "You've always been so sensitive to the could though. I'll warm up soon enough. I'm inside now."

Sasuke pouts softly, but sits next to the fire and glances back at Itachi. He shuffles over to make a space for his soulmate there. "…Come on. It'll be faster if you warm up by the fire."

He smiles and sits by him. "Yes, it will be much faster." He pulls Sasuke into his lap. "Even more so with my own sexy electric blanket here."

Resisting the urge to shiver again, Sasuke takes Itachi's hands in his and holds them close to the warm glass panel. "So, Mom took over wrangling those two, I take it? She said something about them turning you into their sled."

"Yes, they do seem to love doing that." Itachi smiles at his husband. "You know I can't say no to their Bubble Eyes. They inherited them from you. But your mother is exceptional at handling them."

Sasuke grumbles softly as he leans back against Itachi's chest. "I do not have 'Bubble Eyes'." That implied something cute. Ad Sasuke was most certainly NOT cute. He had bedroom eyes, that's how he got whatever he wanted from Itachi these days. NOT Bubble Eyes.

"Yes, you do and they're irresistible." He smirks and kisses the other man as if to prove his point.

He huffs into the kiss indignantly, but doesn't protest as he welcomes Itachi's tongue into his mouth. Yes…he did so love the things Itachi could do with his tongue…

"EEEEWWWW! Papa's kissing Daddy!" And…the sound of their five year old son jolted Sasuke back to his senses in an instant.

Itachi breaks the kiss and smiles at their son. "Well yes, I do try to make a habit of doing so. You'll understand why one day when you're older." Much, much older if Itachi had anything to say about it.

"Don't worry, Hiro, you don't have to look." Kieran, the elder of the boys by three years walks in, his spiky black hair a mess of damp, half ruffled locks. He claps a hand over his little brother's eyes, then one over his own. "I got you covered, Dad."

Sasuke chuckles and turns in Itachi's lap, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck. "Good boy." He presses a kiss to Itachi's lips, not minding the sight of his mother watching and giggling, and trying very poorly to hide it.

"That's a good boy. On both counts." Itachi smirks as he returns the kiss happily, reveling in the domestic bliss.

"Does that mean I get to open my presents early?" Kieran perks up at the idea of being able to bargain with his Papa. His Papa was always easier to make deals with. Though their Dad spoiled them plenty too.

"I don't see why not." He smiles at Sasuke. " You don't mind, do you? What's it matter if he opens them a couple hours early?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, the glances over Itachi's shoulder at where their eldest son was peaking through his fingers, grinning widely as he hoped for a yes. "…Fine. But that means that you have to play with your brother and keep him entertained. Alright?"

The hand falls from his eyes and Kieran grins widely. "Okay Dad!" Then he grabs his little brother and pulls the tiny boy towards the table. "Come on, there's food!" and he knew what that meant. It was time to steal some of the dark meat before it all disappeared.

"They're too adorable." Itachi kisses his cheek and smiles. "You know that you can't say no to them anymore than I can."

"I admit to no such thing." Sasuke blinks twice, his nose twitching, then covers his mouth and nose with his sleeve, only to sneeze loudly. The sound that comes from his mouth resembles a mouse more than the dog he felt like as his hair shakes back and forth with the force of it. "Ugh…alright, who let Hinata sprinkle fairy dust everywhere?" Again…

"Madara was curious about it." Gaara flashes Sasuke a somewhat apologetic grin. "That and well, Hinata does love to show off her unique abilities. Seeing as it's Christmas, I didn't see a reason to protest."

Hinata pops up behind the vampire's shoulder, her wings fluttering as she presses a kiss to her love's cheek. "And I'm sure that Itachi finds you adorable when you sneeze."

Sasuke's cheeks blaze a vibrant scarlet. "I am NOT cute."

Itachi chuckles as he pulls Sasuke into his arms and kisses his beloved's cheek. "Of course, you're the sexiest sneezer on the planet." Everything that Sasuke did could be construed as adorable now that he had outgrown his martyr streak.

"Shut up…" Sasuke sinks deeper into Itachi's embrace, hiding his face from the laughter he could see brewing on the faces of the two immortals. He loved Itachi, he really did, but did everything Itachi do have to be embarrassing?

"Well, I suppose I could other things with my mouth besides speaking, but not in front of the children." He smirks. "Honestly, Sasuke."

Now that, Sasuke could latch onto. "That sounds like an interesting promise…" He smirks and presses a kiss to Itachi's neck. "We could have Shisui and Sakura watch them. I'm sure their cousins would enjoy a sleepover."

"I like the way you think." He sighs in pleasure at the attention.

"Boys, save the fun for later!" Naori strides across the room and straightens out some of the pillows on the closest couch for two little girls and a little boy, all with matching dark hair and eyes, save for the boy's jade green irises. "There's children who want their presents first."

Itachi nods at that as he smiles at their children. "Go on and open them." He knew that the living room would be a mess in short order, but eh who cared? These were priceless memories.

"Yay!" Hiro bounds towards the tree and nearly dives headfirst into the pile of presents underneath the tree. Predictably, all but the two eldest boys end up diving into the mountain.

Shisui chuckles as his little girls go at it with their cousin. "They're certainly eager." And he'd known as soon as Itachi and Sasuke agreed to let their boys open presents early, there was no way he was getting away with saying no. Besides, what would that make him, when he always begged to be allowed to open them early as a kid.

"Whatever you do, don't shake the one with the red bow on it." Fugaku chuckles as his youngest grandson darts over to his present.

Madara shakes his head. He knew exactly what the other man had done. It was a classical choice, but Madara considered himself a modern man. "The one with the purple bow, you can shake as much as you desire though." He knew damn well why Fugaku didn't want the one with the red ribbon it shaken and why there was so much wrapping paper on a pet carrier with airholes in it. Large ones. Fortunately, their youngest grandson was only five. So he didn't understand.

Hiro gleefully picks up the one with the purple ribbon and shakes it, hearing only a soft thumping inside before he starts tearing at the wrapping paper.

Kieran swallows a spoonful of mashed potatoes, having chosen to start eating with his cousin Eito first, rather than get into the middle of his brother and cousins' crawling. But the box with the red bow was making noises, and it intrigued him. "Hey." He elbows his cousin. "What do you think is in it?"

"It's probably a puppy or a kitten." Eito shakes his head. "That's why it has airholes." To him, it was obvious.

A puppy? Kieran's eyes widen as he scrambles towards the present addressed to him and his little brother, where he could hear faint whimpering coming from inside. "Grandpa!" He rips at the wrapping paper and unveils the pet carrier. The latch didn't look too hard. No harder than the lock on the snack cupboard at home. So he fiddles with it and pops it open, pulling out a beautiful little golden puppy, only for a little black puppy to come right along with it. Two puppies! "Hiro! Hiro! Look!"

Hiro giggles as he glomps them. "Puppies! This one be Sunny and that can be Shadow." The names make perfect sense to him. One looked sunny, and one looked like a shadow.

Sasuke laughs as he watches the puppies crawl all over their sons. It was a damn good thing that they'd gotten a bigger house recently. The tiny apartment that he and Itachi had moved into a decade ago definitely wouldn't have been able to handle two kids and a couple of puppies. "At least Father ran it past us first so we could puppy-proof the house."

"Yes, that was kind of him." Itachi shakes his head in amusement. "Though they still haven't opened Madara's present yet."

"It's half open." Sasuke glances at the mess Hiro had made of the other gift. "Hiro. Go finish opening your lion grandpa's present, okay?"

Hiro laughs and nods as he opens it. "Video games and a new system!" A very expensive looking one at that.

"Bribery with puppies and video games." Sasuke smiles as one of the puppies manages to crawl over onto his lap for a snuggle. "I think our fathers are trying to compete."

"Probably, but it's adorable." Mikoto laughs as she kisses her husband's cheek.

"Just as long as they don't become UTTERLY childish and start comparing sizes." Naori snorts in amusement as she also bestows a kiss on her husband's cheek.

"At least they can't compare fangs." Shikamaru yawns from the couch, where his head is pillowed in Temari's lap. "That gets bloody."

"That, from the vampire that Madara called a koala bear with fangs." Sasuke rolls his eyes, glad to not be part of that particular pissing match.

"Well, it is an accurate description." Itachi shrugs. "One has to give credit where it is due."

Shikamaru rolls his eyes at the description, but merely rolls over in Temari's lap and goes back to sleep.

Sasuke pops a peppermint into his mouth, rolling it about on his tongue to rid himself of the smell of garlic from the mashed potatoes. His mother's cooking was delicious, but it didn't always make for the best kissing breath. "I like having our family together for the holidays. It had become something of a tradition, but only this year had they managed to get everyone together and available at once.

Itachi playfully pokes Sasuke's forehead. "I agree. Besides, they can hardly say no to a request from such a beautiful fallen angel as you." He smirks at his own play on words.

A matching smirk curls Sasuke's lips, and he leans back to press a kiss to Itachi's lips as the puppy in his lap takes off in search of another warm human to cuddle. He was so very happy. Happier than he'd ever thought he would be. "So have you forgiven me now? For everything I've done…?"

"Well, I wish you hadn't been such a martyr, but I suppose it doesn't matter anymore." He smiles and kisses Sasuke back. "We found our happy ending, even if our love story was rather..unconventional."

Sasuke supposed that was as close to forgiveness as he was likely to get. And he would take it. He would take whatever Itachi gave him without a second thought. He raises a hand to Itachi's hair and strokes it gently, pressing their lips firmly together. "I love you."

"I love you too." Itachi smiles as he kisses him deeply. "More than anything, even my sanity at times."

"Sanity's over-rated. You've been driving me crazy since that first night in the bar." A night that Sasuke would never forget for as long as he lived. Itachi was the one thing that he would never, ever forget.

"Good because I was about to say the same to you." Itachi smiles at him.

Sasuke presses his advantage and pushes Itachi over onto the floor, straddling his hips and pressing a fiery kiss to his lips. "A fallen angel I might be, but I'm your magnolia." Now and forever. Their tongues dance, and nothing in the world could ruin this feeling.

"EEEEWWWW! Daddy's kissing Papa again!"