Hello everyone! Yes, it's the last chapter and I'm so sad, but happy that I managed to finish the story. So I won't make you wait too long. Just a note…

I said this in Therapy, but if you don't read that story: All of my reviews will be on my DeviantART webpage because I don't want to get banned. My name is nabybluewings13. If you can't get to it, just PM me! Now let's get going onto the story!

Warning: Alright, if you've read anything of mine before, you should know that the last chapters are…'special'…-grins- boyxboy loving baby!

Disclaimer: -Why does it matter than I don't own Naruto? -sobs- MY LAST CHAPTER WHAAAAAAA!!! –clings to Sasuchan- I NEED TISSUES!

Come Home with Me!

"Not to pry into your life, Naruto, but is there any reason that Sasuke would want to accompany Neji on the bus ride back to the hotel?" Yeah, because I'm an idiot. I decided not to give that reason while I looked over to Lee, who now sat in the seat that Sasuke had been occupying for the entire trip. Said guy was now across the aisle, sitting rigidly next to Neji. If the two were talking, they were doing it telepathically. Well, so much for my 'he needed to talk to him' excuse.

"Teme's just strange. Don't bother trying to figure him out, he's impossible to read." I faked a laugh and closed my eyes to hide the shame I knew would be there. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to my strange behavior. If they knew that both me and Sasuke were out of it, it wouldn't take long for them to realize that something had happened between us. It was a conversation I didn't want to get into.

"What'd ya do kit, try and make a move on him or something? And here I thought Sasuke would be the dominant one in a relationship." Yeah, right. Kiba's playful poke only made me sink lower in my seat, silently begging for the floor to open up and swallow me whole. It would probably feel better than my heart kicking my stomach with guilt every two minutes. I just wanted the bus ride to be over. I let my mind drift away from the conversation when Lee and Kiba started to talk about the plane ride home. Instead, I continued to repeat the bridge confession over in my head. There was so much that I wanted answered, but Sasuke seemed content with putting as much space between us as possible. It was why he changed seats. I settled for the promise of being alone with him back at our room. After all, we did share a room. We'd have to pack, right? What better time to talk then that? With that problem taken care of, I closed my eyes to think about what I wanted to actually talk about. Mainly Sasuke's admission. A few times I had questioned my sanity. Did I really hear Sasuke confess to me? Or was I just hearing things? From the broken look I had received before Sasuke had left, I knew my own answer. Of course I heard it; otherwise Sasuke would be in the damn seat next to me!

"Alright guys, can I have your attention up here? Wake up anyone around you that may have fallen asleep, because I want to make sure everyone hears me." I looked up at Iruka, who we could barely see through the darkened bus. I heard some kids waking up, while others simply waited for the teacher to talk again. "We've reached the hotel. Now remember, it's very late and many of the guests in the hotel are already asleep. Please be respectful and stay quiet while we go back to pack. You have one hour to get everything together, take showers, change, or get a quick rest in if you can. You cannot be late though. We're running very close, and we cannot miss out flight. Now go get all packed up."

Sasuke managed to get off of the bus before me, though I wasn't sure how. By the way he reached the door to our room in record time, I figured it was intentional. But that didn't stop me from moving after him. I almost ran into the door when it slammed shut in front of me, and quickly I growled. The bastard did it on purpose! And people said I had an anger problem. Sasuke just hid it better. I managed to push the door open again, making it to our room before Sasuke could leave it. He casually took a few steps back while I mentally cheered for cornering him.

"You shoved a door in my face!"

"Hn." He brushed my accusation off like dust on his shoulder while he moved to his suitcase, grabbing the already packed bags. I moved after him while he continued to ignore me, only making my blood boil. Just who did he think he was anyways?

"Forget that, that's not why I came in here. We've gotta talk about what just happened at-" My sentence was cut short by a cold glare that was sent over Sasuke's shoulder before he moved out of the door. I blinked once before realizing why he had moved deeper into the room. He knew I'd follow him, giving him the opportunity he needed to get out of the room. Damn him! I didn't waste time sliding out of the bedroom, watching the pain in the ass continue to walk toward Shikamaru's room. "Sasuke! Get back here you bastard!"

"Stop acting childish." It was the only thing Sasuke said before moving into the lazy genius' room. What, did he plan to ignore me for the rest of the trip home? Like hell I was going to let that happen! I would have gone straight into Shikamaru's room and dragged the moody bastard out, but an urgent knocking at the front door caught me off guard. Now what? I groaned, debating what I should do. Curiosity won out after the second pounding on the door, and I slowly made my way toward the knocking. The confrontation with Sasuke was reserved for another time. But it would be soon. Very soon.

"What?" I pulled the door open, blinking once at three sets of eyes that peered up at me. "Uh…if you're looking for your missing panties or something, I don't got em. Ask Kiba, he's the pervert."

"That's not why we're here!" The blond paused, as if finally hearing what I said. "And my pink pair did go missing…"

"Ino!" Sakura hissed at the daydreaming girl, snapping the focus back to staring at me. I had almost succeeded in shutting the door before two sets of hands shot out, practically knocking the door off of its hinges with the force they used. Now terrified of what a set of determined girls could do, I stepped out of their reach.

"Didn't you hear Iruka?! We're supposed to be quiet!"

"We could hear you screaming at Sasuke through the door." Ino gave me a 'cut the crap' look, which made me roll my eyes.

"You better have a reason to be here, because right now I've gotta got to get ready to pack my shit and go back home." At the mention of leaving, the last girl finally spoke.

"No Naruto-kun! We…we have a reason, we do! It's uh…well, it's…" I wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or unsure of what she was going to say next. Either way, Ino finished it for her.

"We're here to make sure you don't screw up again!"

"Huh?"

"Come on, we'll explain it to you inside." Sakura grabbed my wrist, pulling me through the kitchen and into the most convenient room. I ended up sitting on my bed while the girls stood in front of me, Ino locking the door behind her.

"Oh sure, the bathroom can't have a damn lock, but the bedrooms do. Now where's the logic in that? I can't sleep without protection but being naked is perfectly cool? Backwards people, all of em…" But none of them seemed quite as irritated at the discovery as me.

"We're not here about the locks. We're here about Sasuke." Ino said, placing her hands on her hips. Slowly I tilted my head at the stance that almost seemed ready for a fight. Just what were they planning?

"Well, he's not in here. He's with Shikamaru."

"That's probably for the better, since we're not exactly here for him." Sakura seemed much less hostile then Ino, for the moment anyways. Slowly she sat next to me on the bed, her teeth worrying her lower lip while she thought of what to say next. "We're here about you and Sasuke…as in, you two both…together."

"Oh." Suddenly, I agreed with Sakura. Having Sasuke in the room would have been more than awkward. But just because he wasn't present did not mean I was going to open like a book. Hell, I wasn't even sure we were all looking at the same novel here! So instead, I waved at the concerned looks. "Don't worry, we fight all the time. We'll be fine once he gets over himself."

"I told you he was just going to deny it." But despite Ino's annoyed tone, Sakura still smiled.

"You don't have to try and hide it Naruto. We've kind of figured it all out on our own."

"Figured what out? There's nothing to figure out!" I held onto my defense tightly, not ready to admit anything had changed between me and Sasuke. It was a battle I was bound to lose.

"He admitted he loved you, didn't he?" I flushed at the question Sakura asked me, suddenly not liking how accurate they were guessing.

"W-what?"

"It was practically written on Sasuke's face when he came back into the restaurant. Boys really aren't good at hiding emotions, even someone like Sasuke." I mulled over Ino's comment silently, not sure what to think. Did they really know what they were talking about, or were they making a stab in the dark? All of them were extremely intelligent, but only two would lie to get what they wanted. Slowly I turned my attention to Hinata, who now leaned quietly against the wall near the door.

"What do you think, Hinata? Do you really think the bastard would ever say something stupid like that?" The younger girl almost jumped at my attention, which made me smile. Even with dog breath in her life, Hinata was still pretty shy. We'd work on that when we got home.

"Well um…I…" She shocked me when she took a deep breath and nodded quickly. "I-I think he is in love with you!"

"And then for some stupid reason, you messed it all up!" I turned my attention back to Ino, sending her a quick glare before speaking.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you denied your feelings for him instead of telling him the truth," Sakura replied.

"How do you even know that?" I shot up from the spot I was sitting in, needing to move around to calm myself. Or to keep from just blabbing the truth that they were slowly digging out of me.

"Naruto," Sakura's voice held a warning tone, showing that her patience was running thin. "You both came back at separate times."

"I needed more fresh air!"

"You wouldn't look at him the entire time."

"I don't need to be attached to the bastard's hip every day!"

"You both looked ready to cry!" Ino cut into the reasoning, shocking me enough to pause my pacing.

"He did too?" The words come too fast to stop, and I mentally cursed myself when Ino's satisfying smile came into view.

"I don't know if he did. I just said that so you'd admit that you went and screwed everything up. So now that we've got that out in the open, let's see how we can fix it." I stared at the tricky girls in front of me, who all now seemed focused on a problem that I never asked them to get involved in. But by the determined looks in their eyes, I knew I wasn't going to get out of this.

"Who said I made a mistake? What if I don't love him?" I still tried.

"Naruto, don't say that!" Sakura stared up at me while I quickly shook my head. It was the bridge scene all over again. My heart beat erratically and I could feel the heat radiating off of my cheeks. But the admission was buried deep in my stomach, and I wasn't going to let it out without a fight.

"Stop being so stubborn. Just go talk to Sasuke and tell him you're sorry. Tell him you didn't mean it an-"

"I never said I loved him!"

"Well…do you?" All three of us turned our attention to Hinata, who had remained quiet throughout the conversation. I watched her move closer to us, quiet but more confident in her timid questioning than I had ever seen her. "Do you love him?"

"I…" She was the first one to ask me how I felt. Everyone else assumed or accused me, giving me room to maneuver my way out of answering. Instead of giving a simple yes or no, I could deny that the answer they gave was right. But now that Hinata was giving me the choice of answering, I was stuck. "Why does it matter?"

"Because…if you love him, th-then you shouldn't hold back." Maybe it was how she said it, or the kind look she gave me. But somehow, she struck deeper with her simple reasoning than any demands from Ino or Sakura. The panic I felt before slowly started to calm, and I didn't feel the need to fight against her question. My body let go of the tension inside of my muscles, and I stared at her quietly for a few seconds. She didn't press me, but waited with a patient gaze and soft smile.

"I'm…not sure if he really loves me. I don't want to…if he doesn't really love me back." It was the best admission I could make.

"Of course he loves you Naruto, don't be silly. He said it, didn't he? Sasuke doesn't make mistakes when it comes to his heart." Sakura seemed to understand Hinata's gentle tone because she lowered her voice when she spoke.

"But what if he's just being stupid or something? I mean he…it's me and the teme. How could we even make this work? What if when we get home, it all changes? He might just walk away from this or something!"

"You're scared he'll leave you?" And just like that, Ino threw my fear out onto the floor. I stared at the wall above their heads, clenching my fists to keep from leaving the room. I didn't want to admit I was scared. I wanted to hide behind the idea of not knowing if I loved Sasuke or not. Because if I told them that the only reason I didn't return Sasuke's feelings was because I was scared of being left alone, I didn't know what they would do. Would the laugh? Or would they just scoff at me? Either choice wasn't something I looked forward to. "Naruto, its okay to be scared. But to let it rule your life is dumb. You can't let the fear of being alone stop you from being happy!"

"I didn't say it was jus—"

"Girls." A bored voice came through the door, cutting my sentence off. I glanced to the door, watching it swing open to reveal the lazy genius. I started to ask how he got the door unlocked, but Shikamaru held up a small key while he spoke. "Iruka just came by. He gave us our twenty minut warning, so you better let Naruto pack his stuff. I'm pretty sure Iruka will leave him here if he's late again."

"Thanks Shika," Ino replied, sending him a smile before turning to face me again. I jumped when she cupped both of my cheeks in her hands, sending me a focused look. "Don't let what you think may happen stop you from what you know will."

I watched the girls move past Shikamaru and to the door, leaving our apartment quietly. If Shikamaru had heard any of our conversation he didn't say, simply sighing and walking away from the empty room I stood in. It took me a few minutes to finally push myself to mindlessly shove my clothes and accessories into the suitcase it had once fit in comfortably. After a few tries, I finally squished everything together tight enough to close the suitcase. Throughout the packing I couldn't shake what the girls had said to me. Hinata's simple reasoning, Sakura's reassurance, and Ino's final words continued to play in my head. Mixed with my own thoughts, my entire brain was focused on the problem known as Sasuke. Several times I felt myself coming to a decision. Sometimes it would be to forget everything in Italy, while other times, reason convinced me to tell Sasuke how I felt. No matter the decision, my other thoughts would immediately drag me back into the middle with insecurity and promise of failure if I went down that path. It was almost enough to make me miss the bus on purpose just to hide from either choice.

But somehow, my body was able to get me to the side of the bus. I pushed my luggage into the side compartment of the bus before making my way up the small steps for one final time. The sadness of leaving finally singed the sides of my heart, reminding me of everything I was leaving behind. Even though I was tired and more than ready to make it back into my own bed, Italy had been a blast. I had never felt so free and small and….alive. From the first step into Rome until the last hop off the bus from Venice, I had changed. I had not only learned more in one week than I had all year, but I had found myself. I figured out things about myself that I probably would have never discovered unless I had come here. I knew that some of these things would be tested and analyzed when I went back home, but I didn't mind. I already got weird looks from most of the school, so what was a little more publicity? As if I saw it as a mental challenge, I smirked into my reflection from the bus window.

Lee sat next to me again, though I didn't mind. This time, it was probably for the best. With everything that had been racing through my mind, I needed time to figure out just what I was going to say to Sasuke. So I chatted with Lee a bit before I rested my forehead against the window and tried to sleep. But all I could remember was how warm Sasuke's shoulder had been when I fallen asleep against him during the trip home from Pompeii. It was enough to keep myself awake throughout the two hour drive to the airport. Why we had to take such an early flight I didn't understand, but it was probably cheaper than the day flights. And with as many kids as we had, it was probably easier to keep us together on red-eye flights.

Either way, it didn't make my energy stay with me for long. I dragged myself into the airport, practically dropping my deadweight into the first chair I found. Sakura, seeing how worn out I was, let me borrow her shoulder to sleep on. And yet despite how much my body was begging for just a few minutes of sleep, I couldn't manage to get comfortable. How was it that Sasuke made me sleep without even trying? Sakura was slightly shorter, which made her much cozier than the bony asshole. And yet, despite her warmth and height advantage, I couldn't sleep. My eyes stayed half mast, and I watched as Kakashi and Iruka moved toward the information center with…

"Is that the puppy I saved?" I wasn't sure if Sakura would understand what I was saying, but I seemed to get my point across when I pointed over to our teachers.

"It is. Kakashi must have gotten attached to it." Figures. I nearly get run over because of the flea bag, and Kakashi decided to keep it as a pet. And dragging Iruka into the complications of getting an animal onto the plane? He was acting like it was both of theirs! I would have scoffed, but I was too tired. Despite my ability to sleep, the half dazed state my mind was in made time fly by much faster than before. Without knowing it, the time to board the plane came to our attention. The entire group seemed to lag while we shuffled our way onto the plane, which was basically deserted except for our school. It shouldn't have mattered where we sat, but Iruka made sure that we were all in the right seats. Not that I really could complain, since I got the window seat. Lee sat in the aisle seat of our row, and Neji sat in-between us. Having the older Hyuuga there almost made me want to ask him if Sasuke had said anything to him on the bus rides, but I held my tongue back. Even if Sasuke had spoken to him about something, I doubted that Neji would go against Sasuke to tell me what he said. So instead, I stared out at the black sky while the pilot made his way to the runway.

After what seemed like forever, we lifted from Italy. I couldn't ignore the sadness I felt watching the boot country slowly disappear from underneath us while we made our quick trip to Germany. Just like we had to do on our way to Italy, we landed in Berlin to switch planes. The waiting time was much shorter, and we didn't even have time to sit down before we were being ushered onto the larger international plane. Just as before I sat with Lee and Neji, but the positioning of the two was switched. Even if I wasn't completely awake or cheerful as Lee, it was refreshing to have his energy around me. And with his constant exclamations about youth and love, I couldn't help but think about Sasuke again.

"Lee, what do you think about love?" I could almost see the shock on Neji's face as he turned to face our conversation for the first time since the plane trip started three hours ago. Lee showed no such shock, but only seemed to be excited to answer.

"Love is a beautiful connection between two or more things! People, animals, hobbies, it doesn't matter. When you are in love, your heart swells and you are able to reach any goal! It makes you the strongest person alive, and you're able to change the world if you need to. That's love, my youthful friend. And to be in love is the greatest gift in the world."

"Yeah but…don't you think it'd be scary?" I asked, trying to sound casual. But I could tell that Neji could see through my act with the knowing look he sent over Lee's shoulder. Still, he remained quiet while Lee nodded.

"Of course it would! Love wouldn't be love without fear." Now I was confused.

"Didn't you just say love was the greatest gift in the world? What's so great about being scared?"

"Because of the feeling you get when you receive it. It's hard to love someone, because you're extremely unsure of how that person will react to you. But one should never give up on that feeling of love, even if there's a chance of failure. After all, love isn't something simple or given without sacrifice. It's the chance of failing that makes the end result worth it. And that result is wonderful love!" Without knowing it, Lee had jolted something from my memory. Something that I should have realized so much sooner.

"Atychiphobia...You idiot. It's the fear of failing."

The thought made me fall back against my seat in shock. Sasuke was afraid of failing, just like I was afraid of being alone. And yet he had somehow pushed himself past his own phobia in order to tell me what he really felt. He had thrown himself out of his comfort zone, and told me something he didn't have control over. I was like art to him. He couldn't predict what I was going to do. He didn't know if what he said or did would get the response he wanted, or if it would flunk. This wasn't some sick joke, or a simple infatuation he thought would disappear once he got back home. By admitting he loved me first, he had given me the power to accept or reject him in a way I was sure he had never done before.

And like a moron, I had missed that. I had let my own insecurity eat away my real feelings and misunderstood everything it had taken Sasuke to admit the truth. I must have been the biggest idiot in the world to mess up something like that. No wonder he was avoiding me! What else would he do when he had gotten his biggest fear smacked right back in his face by a blonde headed bimbo? I had to fix this. And fast. Any thoughts of forgetting the admission flew straight through the plane window as I casted a glance a few seats in front of us, watching the silent artist draw. His headphones were on, signaling he was tuned out from the world. Mentally I cursed, realizing I'd have to wait until the plane got back to America to tell him. And I would tell him, even if he didn't want to listen. I looked up at the path tracker in front of the plane, groaning when I realized we still have several hours to go until we got back home.

I fidgeted in my seat, continuously looking over to Sasuke before back to the tracker. Really, it made time seem to go much slower than ever before. I tried to think of what I was going to say, but everything sounded too planned or bland. After a few weak attempts, I decided I was going to wing it. Nothing better than the unplanned, right? Well, unless it was a kid. That was never a good thing. Gah I got weird thoughts when I was antsy.

So I was beyond excited when I heard the announcement of our landing, and almost jumped out of my seat when the plane finally hit the runway. The sudden jerking nearly cut off the circulation to my legs from the seatbelt, which I had forgotten to unbuckle in my haste to get off of the plane. I wrestled with the devilish contraption for a few seconds, letting out a triumphant cry when I finally got the clasp to release. I jerked my head up to see if Sasuke had gotten off the plane yet, and spewed a string of curses when my head smashed into the carry-on compartment above the seats. Several people gasped or glared at my colorful language, but I didn't care. The throbbing in my head slowly died down, and I managed to pull out my backpack from above me while I followed Neji and Lee off of the plane. My eyes continued to dart around, my heart skipping a beat when I finally caught sight of a black duck butt moving through the passage toward the airport. He was pretty far in front of me, but that could be fixed with a quickening of my pace. What started as a casual walk soon turned into a jog while I tried to locate the pale bastard again. The energy that I had thought was depleted was quickly rising while I pushed into the main part of the airport.

I took a moment to let my ears get use to the loudness of the airport before returning to my task. I swore under my breath when I realized the bastard had (unintentionally or not, I wasn't sure) put more distance between us. Remembering Iruka's blurry instructions on the way to the plane, I knew Sasuke was heading toward the bus with the rest of the group. If he got there, I'd never get the chance to get him alone. People would want to talk to him, or me, or take pictures of the group when we got back to the school. And somehow, Sasuke would find a way to slip out of the crowd and into his car without a moment's notice. So I came up with a simple plan while I sprinted through the airport and directly toward the unsuspecting teme.

Do not let Sasuke get on that bus.

"Sasuke!" Maybe the lack of sleep was making me lose my mind. It didn't really matter in the end. Sasuke only had time to turn toward my sharp shout before we were both flying to the floor. My tackle had left me with the advantage of laying over him, which I made sure didn't change during our meeting with the floor. We finally stopped moving, and both of us had to take a moment to get our minds working again. But as soon as Sasuke grasped onto why people were staring at us, I received a deadly glare.

"What are you doing, dobe?" An insult never sounded so good before. Had Sasuke's voice always sent a shiver down my back? I shook my head slightly, trying to think of a good answer for his question. But when I couldn't think of anything, I gave him a hesitant smile.

"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I'm just kind of….ya know, going with what feels right."

"Knocking me down in the middle of an airport 'feels right'?" I stared down at him, ignoring the glare and the scowl to try and see any sort of disgust or hatred for me. I could handle anger. Hell, I knew me and Sasuke would never truly get along. But I needed to make sure that I wasn't the only one who was feeling the rush that flowed through my veins with being this close to Sasuke. My body buzzed with positive recognition of his body, and my heart was practically doing back flips with my bold actions. Sure my head was going a little crazy with how public I was being, but who really listens to their mind in the game of love?

"No. But…damnit, how do I say this…hold on."

"Like I can go anywhere," He answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. I ignored it to focus on what I was saying.

"Being here with you feels right. It doesn't really matter where it is. Italy or home or on some weird airport floor, it doesn't bother me. Just…we should be together for it." If he noticed the weakening of his glare, he didn't announce it.

"You're rambling."

"I want this to be right, damnit! Stop messing it up and just shut up." He scoffed at my growl, easily ruining the moment.

"You've already ruined that with your rambling, dobe." He wasn't understanding me. Didn't he get what I was trying to tell him? I felt panic seize me again when Sasuke tried to sit up, ignoring what I was saying. I fell back into his lap when he sat straight, sending me a reprimanding look. "The bus-"

"I'm scared too teme!" I caught him off guard, the same way he had the night before. And I knew that the only way I was going to get through to him what I meant was the same way I did everything in life. Keep at it until something right comes out. "I said something stupid last night, I know that. I acted like…like I didn't like you in the same way you liked me. But I didn't mean it. I…it's just-I don't want to be alone. I don't want you to leave, because then I'm alone and you're not there and…and damn I'm not really sure if I'm making sense but it's all so easy to understand in my head. You know my mouth-brain relationship is complete shit. So why am I using it? I shouldn't be, huh? Screw it then!"

I grabbed his face faster than he could blink, which worked in my case. Lips weren't just nifty in talking, you know. If I was embarrassed yet, I couldn't tell. My focus was on the soft lips that I was kissing, my thumbs stroking the pale cheeks that were starting to warm under my hands. Trying to punctuate my muddled rambling, I pressed my tongue against his lower lip and licked it for entrance. For a minute I thought his lips tightened, denying me access. But that fear was quickly dispelled when warmth moved against my tongue, and slender digits moved into my hair to keep me from jerking away. Apparently, Sasuke didn't want to be interrupted. His mouth was warm and tasted almost sweet, blending nicely with Sasuke's unique taste. It had my tongue searching for more.

The kiss fest could have gone on much longer if not for the fact that someone's bag smacked into the back of my head. I pulled away with a hiss, looking up to realize that the woman didn't even seem to notice the two of us sitting on the floor. In fact, I glanced around to see that only a couple of people were watching. Jesus, you would think two teenage boys making out on the floor would attract more popularity. But everyone was so wrapped up in their own plane tickets and boarding times, they didn't even watch where they were walking! I scoffed and turned my head back to Sasuke, our foreheads brushing slightly from the proximity of our lips. I held his strong gaze for a few seconds before I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against his.

"I'm not sure we'll work…fuck, I'm pretty sure we'll be even more dysfunctional now than before. You're still an ass and I'm pretty sure I'll always be stupid. But I wanna try this or something. I wanna try because I don't wanna be alone anymore and I…I don't want to be your first failure." I waited for him to respond while I panted quietly against his mouth. Feeling oddly out of place, I pressed my forehead closer to his to try and edge him into an answer. Even a yes or no would work. But he didn't speak, making me mumble, "So…so what do you think?"

"I'm waiting for a proper response. Three words, particularly, would suffice." That cocky bastard! I growled and glared up at him, my anger growing when he smirked to me. I tried to hit him, but he easily caught my fist and pulled me into a quick kiss. Despite the shortness of the lip lock, I took a minute to come back to earth. He was still smirking, and I was still pissed, but I didn't try to hit him again when he leaned closer to me. His words were quiet, embarrassing, and released the coil of anxiety in my stomach. "Next time, skip the speech dobe."

"No way. They work, don't they?" I grinned up at his eye roll, but he didn't get the chance to answer before a roar of applause came from behind me. I blinked once before turning my head, quickly scrambling out of Sasuke's lap when I realized the others were now whistling and cheering for us. My face easily lit up at the attention, though Sasuke seemed completely unaffected by their catcalls.

"We knew you could do it Naruto!" I tried to laugh off my blush at Ino's thumbs up, but it easily came back when an unexpected voice entered the conversation.

"Well, it's no wonder why Tsunade calls you the number one student at surprising people. Attacking Sasuke in the middle of an airport…wasn't expecting that." I choked on air as I stared at the silver haired teacher in front of me before throwing a shaky finger at him.

"W-What the hell are you doing here?! Yo-you're supposed to be with the others!" He smiled and tilted his head as if I wasn't shouting at him.

"Well someone had to make sure you two lovebirds got to the bus. Now hurry up, we don't want Iruka to worry about you. Come along kids, nothing else to see here." And with that, he ushered the others toward the bus. My mouth must have hit the floor at the casual tone he took with me, and if not for Sasuke yanking me to stand up, I would have sat in the middle of that airport for the rest of the day. It was only after Sasuke started to pull me toward the bus did I snap back to reality. And maybe I should have been happy with Sasuke holding my hand. Or maybe with the fact that somehow, me and Sasuke had made up. But really, I only had one thing on my mind.

"THAT DAMN PERVERT SHOULD NOT BE A TEACHER!"

~**~

"Damn pervert…shouldn't be a damn teacher...and what does algebra equations have to do with the revolutionary war?!" I smacked my head against the desk, both my history and math book sitting in front of me. Leave it to the copy teacher to copy from the wrong subject, and then try to apply it to our history class. I lifted my head weakly to stare at the problem, which barely made sense. "If twenty American soldiers went to battle against fifty British, and the Americans came out with twice as many soldiers as the British with forty percent of their soldiers still living, how many of the British soldiers got away? I bet he doesn't even know the answer to this!"

"Four." I jerked my head back to see Sasuke casually pushing my door open while he moved into my room. I blinked once in confusion while he rolled his eyes and sighed, moving to my bed to lay something thin and flat on it. I tried to see what he had brought, but he stood in front of it. "Forty percent of twenty is eight, and half of that is four. It's not hard, stupid."

"I'm not stupid! And who the hell said you could come in here anyways?"

"Your mom said to come up." Of course mom did. She thought Sasuke was just the cutest thing she'd ever seen. He could rob a bank and she'd think it was cute. Her and half of the school. But what her and almost the entire school thought was even 'cuter' was me with the bastard. Somehow the make-out in the airport two weeks ago went through the school fast, resulting in our 'unofficial dating' status. It was unofficial because Sasuke was too stubborn to ask me out and I wasn't going to give in first. And no, that doesn't mean I'm stubborn either! Besides, he probably wouldn't say yes anyways.

"I didn't even invite you over." He looked at me for a minute before scoffing and looking out the window.

"Sakura told me to come over." An excuse, like normal. I sent him a glare, which he returned for a few heavy moments of silence before he spoke again. "And I didn't think you'd want to be late. So I offered to come and make sure you got the party."

"Meaning you wanted to come see me." I grinned for a second before he rolled his eyes and turned his back toward me, walking to my bed.

"I assure you, I see too much of you as it is."

"Hey!"

"Come here." I huffed at the command and shook my head.

"Why should I?"

"Because I want you to, dobe." I growled at the age-old insult. The only reason I walked over was because the mystery object on the bed was gnawing at my curiosity. So I moved, standing in front of him and crossing my arms to show I came over on my own accord, and not because he told me to.

"Teme, this better be good," I said. I lost my irritation when I saw Sasuke's weird behavior. He wasn't looking at me, for once. Several times his fingers had grabbed the black covering that rested over the object of my current interest, but he hadn't pulled it off yet. He sat poised and regal like always, but his other hand clenched and unclenched next to his side. It was almost like he was…"Hey, are you nervous or something?"

"No." He shot me a glare that paled in comparison to his normal look. I stared in shock at the discovery I had just made. Sasuke was really nervous about showing me whatever he had brought over. I tried to think of something to say to make him shake off the nerves, but I knew he wouldn't listen to reason. Well, maybe he would, but I didn't feel like wasting the time. So instead, I gave him a mischievous grin and grabbed his hand, trapping the cloth between his fingers. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you out. That cloth ain't going to move itself, you know." I tugged slightly for emphasis, watching the top corner of the flat surface slowly reveal itself. I blinked once at the bright colors I saw before looking up at Sasuke, who seemed to grow more uncomfortable with each inch of exposure. "Sasuke?"

"Hn." His grip tightened under mine, and after a few seconds of silence, Sasuke pulled the sheet off of the brightly colored canvas. My eyes widened as I stared at the painted collage in front of me. I recognized every part as more than just Italian scenery. The painted sunset over the city of Rome was the first time Sasuke had admitted to not hating me. The scenery of Assisi was where we first kissed. The dark alleyway of Florence was the first time either of use showed weakness. The Venice Bridge and the airport…the awkward admissions of love. Our entire relationship was now displayed for anyone to see, and yet only we would know it. Slowly I tore my gaze away from the intricate work to look up at Sasuke, trying to think of something to say. I must have looked like a blubbering fish, because Sasuke spoke. "The art teacher wants me to enter into a contest."

"You showed someone else?"

"Yes." I couldn't help but gape at him. How did he manage to face his fears so easily? For a minute, I almost thought he had almost made up the entire thing just to make me shut up in Florence. But by how hard it still was for him to show his art to me, I could tell he was still struggling.

"What…kind of contest?" I asked slowly, watching him cover the canvas again before sitting it against the wall.

"If I win, I'll win money to put toward my art schooling. Not that I need it, I suppose."

"Art school? You mean…you're actually going to do it?!"

"Why not? You said it yourself, I'm Uchiha Sasuke." It was the first time I had heard confidence in his voice when he spoke about his art. He sent me a casual look, and I swore I saw a smile quirk his lips. "I'll make it work."

"Cocky bastard…" I blushed through my grumble, which only grew when he smirked and pulled me into a kiss. I relaxed against the quiet kiss, because it was rare that we weren't fighting over something stupid. It had become more frequent during the past two weeks, but still very uncommon. He didn't bother for an invitation to invade my parted lips, and I quietly moaned at the sensual touch of his tongue against mine. He had my skin tingling when he captured my tongue between his lips, barely sucking the muscle before diving into another heavy kiss. Breathing became a concern just under cementing my mouth to his.

Eventually he pulled back from the kiss, and I tilted my head back on my bed to allow him access to my neck. I barely kept my eyes open, and wondered for a fleeting moment how Sasuke maneuvered us to lay on the bed. But when demanding lips sucked against my pulse, all thought stopped. I moaned at the hot fire that was running through my veins from the sensual touches of his lips against the hollow of my neck. My hands grabbed his shoulders, and my grip only tightened at the quiet nip against my collar bone. I rolled my eyes at the silent command, but lifted my arms when he yanked my shirt over my head. I returned the favor by sliding my fingers under his shirt, using the back of my hands to lift the material while I dragged my fingertips against the newly exposed skin. When he shivered I grinned, which received a silent glare before another attack against my mouth.

We fell back on the bed, half naked and aroused. His palms burned my abs while I focused my attention on sucking the spot just behind his ear, my smile growing when I felt his breath hitch. His hands grabbed my hips while I leisurely licked the sensitive spot, pulling back slightly to enjoy the pink tone that would eventually bruise into a hickey. I turned my head to him, running my fingers tips along his spine to feel his body straighten then shudder. My mouth leaned forward to kiss his neck again, but he pushed me back to lie completely against the bed, his body quickly following. It was only when he pressed his hips closer to mine did I realize the affect of my prolonged teasing. The hardened flesh pressing into my own cause me to hiss and press up quickly to rub against him. His heavy breathing scorched the side of my neck while he continued to nip at my pulse. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the heavy pleasure infiltrating my body was too much for my eyelids to hold, and I found my sight engulfed in darkness. I nearly whimpered when Sasuke stopped his hips from rocking into mine, pulling them up to avoid any accidental movements.

"Enough," He mumbled against my neck, and mentally I groaned. My body was awake, alert, and not ready to let go of the pleasurable feelings just yet. I gripped at the back of his shoulders, forcing my eyes to open and look up at him. By the flushed features and heavy breathing, Sasuke's body was on the same page as mine.

"What now?" I asked, watching him glance to my clock.

"Sakura's party." Damnit, that was starting soon. Why was the world against me? For two straight weeks, we hadn't gotten past dry humping. Though I thoroughly enjoyed making out with the bastard, something always stopped us from getting any father than that. School, work, friends, and one time the damn fire alarm went off in his house and his 'state of the art' water system completely soaked us on our way out. And Sakura's party was the last straw. I was not going to take another cold shower!

"We'll go late."

"We can't idi—" But his sentence was cut short when I decided the best way to convince the Uchiha was to get him overly aroused. I mean, it worked for me. So I didn't waste time sliding my hands along his skin while I kissed him, muffling a cheer of success into his mouth when my fingers brushed over his zipper. My hand quickly worked on undoing his jeans while I snaked my other hand around his neck, pulling him closer to my overheating body. I could tell I had reached my goal when my fingers skimmed over his boxers, his cock jumping from the wanted contact. He broke the kiss, whether to catch his breath of yell at me I wasn't sure. But I didn't give him time to even think before I pushed him onto his back, cupping his through his boxers while my mouth latched onto his nipple. The gentle arch in his back showed the pleasured surprise I invoked, and it unconsciously urged me to rub my hand against the hardened skin while my tongue played with the stiffening bud. If Sasuke had wanted me to stop before, he wasn't showing it now. Instead, his hands were pressed against my back, making my chest brush against his stomach. I moaned against his nipple when my own was scraped against his skin, sending a jolt of pleasure straight down my spine. I dragged my mouth over to accommodate the twin while both hands hurried to push off his jeans and boxers. The plan was heading toward success until the clothes got snagged on the shoes Sasuke hadn't bothered to take off. Growling in frustration, I bit his nipple in undeserved punishment before I pulled away, yanking his shoes and the rest of his clothes off. By the time I managed to relive him of his clothes he was on the move, shoving me onto my stomach.

"What the fuck!" I glared back at him, but the insult I was going to throw out turned into a groan when he pressed against me, his hands easily sinking into my loose jeans. I jerked my hips back a bit, trying to keep the inevitable from happening. The bastard always had to be in control, even when I was the one who started the whole thing. My fingertips dug into my palms when a cold hand caught my pulsing member, the contrast of temperatures making me hiss. I could feel his chest pressing against my back, and I tried to push him off so I could continue with what I was doing. But the movement only helped his hand create torture against my body, my arms shaking in need. Mentally I chastised myself for enjoying the touch, especially when I was underneath him. I was supposed to top, not him! But it seemed he had other plans when he huffed a command into my ear.

"Lube, dobe." I paused in my squirming for a second, giving him the time to jerk down the rest of my clothes. I almost fell when he yanked my knee up, pulling my leg through my pant leg.

"Jesus hold on! What's your rush?" He glared up at me when I shook out of the other side of my jeans, and pressed his reason for rushing against my ass. The lust made obvious in his eyes flushed my cheeks, and I turned my head back forward to hide it. "My nightstand drawer."

"Typical."

"Typical," I mocked, lowering my voice to imitate him. He didn't seem to find it funny, which I realized by the harsh shove on my back. My face fell into the bed faster than I had time to protest. It didn't stop me from glaring up at him. A glare that quickly turned to panic when I felt something cold and slippery brush against my ass. "Whoa!"

"What?" Quickly I turned, planting my ass onto the bed and shaking my hands in front of me.

"Just where were you putting that thing?!" Sasuke arched his eyebrow when I pointed to one of the three lube-covered fingers in front of me.

"Where do you think?" I didn't want to say where I thought. Really, I didn't have to, because Sasuke decided that this position was just as easy to get the job done in. I shouted when I was hoisted up, reminded me of the bathroom debacle a few weeks back. Well, reminded me up until the point when Sasuke slid his first finger inside of me. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. And I made sure he knew that when I glared up at him, using my hands to hold my upper body up.

"You're an ass."

"Actually-" I hissed as a second finger squirmed its painful way into my body. I closed one eye while Sasuke leaned over me, nipping at my lower lip and smirking. "You're the ass in this case."

"Te-Teme—fuck!" He took the moment to spread his fingers inside of me while capturing my sensitive earlobe in his mouth. The gentle licking of the bundle of nerves almost overrode the pain, despite his constant probing. Between the pleasure and pain, my mouth couldn't keep shut if my life depended on it. My body trembled, and jerked when another finger was mixed into the situation. This wasn't fair; wasn't I the one who suggested this? Shouldn't I get the right to top?! According to Sasuke and his trio of pain makers, no. I was about to shout at the bastard to remove his digits or get them chopped off, but something strange stopped me. No, strange wasn't the word. Eye widening, body tensing, amazingly good hit me. I yelped and arched off the bed, completely confused and wanting more.

"Too easy." I heard him mumble against my ear while he continued to touch whatever kept erupting inside of me. My heels dug into the bed and I had to bite my lip to stop from crying out at the strokes against the button of bliss inside of me. I shook from the feeling, and it almost felt too good. He didn't relent in his thrusting, sadistically enjoying how my toes curled while I gasped for air. He had to stop before I tore apart at the seams. But any time I tried to voice my command, another hit inside of my sent my voice crawling out at as groan instead of a demand. I couldn't even keep my eyes open!

"N-Nya….s-stop!" He did, but not until he got another three thrusts in. By then I was a panting mess underneath him, trying to collect any type of control of my hormones. But it seemed impossible to focus on anything but the need that was collecting in the pit of my stomach.

"Ready?" What the hell kind of question was that? I couldn't voice my thoughts, so I simply nodded and gritted my teeth when he rubbed the spot with the tips of his fingers. "Sure?"

"Sad..Sadistic ba-bastard!" I huffed and managed to flutter my eyes open long enough to glare at him and form a three worded sentence. "Hurry up…te-teme."

"What's the rush?" I hated him. And if not for the fact that I didn't want to jerk myself off, Sasuke would be dead. Instead, I dug my nails into his shoulders when he finally pressed his tip against me. He glared and I somehow mustered enough strength to smirk.

"Eye for an eye."

"Hn." And I soon regretted my words when Sasuke pressed quickly into my body. He stopped short of that spot; to make sure I knew who was 'in control' I'm sure. I breathed through my nose, because if I opened my mouth I would have whined. And Uzumaki Naruto does not whine. So I swallowed my medicine, clenching onto his shoulders tightly to ignore the stretching of my body. But it was hard. Really hard. "You ready?"

"Shut up." He was probably trying to be nice after being such a dick, but I didn't care. The fact he was enjoying my pain made me snappy. He seemed to realize the predicament, because I felt him shift forward enough to press against the spot he had tortured. I wasn't expecting the touch, and a mewl fell through my lips before I had time to catch it. Both of our eyes widened, but he recovered much faster with the biggest smirk the bastard had ever made. I knew I was never going to live it down.

"Guess you are." See? Already he was going at it. But I didn't respond, because he started to move away from the spot. The rubbing inside of me no longer hurt, and I squirmed to try and get him to move faster. And apparently Sasuke wanted that too, because he didn't waste time before pushing back into me. I moaned over his grunt, and easily Sasuke got the hang of it. I panted at his concentrated look, groaned at the sharp thrusts, and muttered different versions of 'teme' and 'bastard' when he would purposely miss the bundle of nerves inside of me. My body arched off the bed when he finally gave into me, continuously hitting into that spot. Occasionally my vision would flash white, and I knew I was sharply reaching the end. Sasuke wasn't far behind from the way his hips started to lose their finesse.

"Tell me." It was the first time either of us had spoken a coherent sentence. I could barely make sense of his words, too far gone to care about words.

"H-huh?" Was that my voice? Shit, I sounded way too breathy.

"Say it. What you-" He shuttered against me, and it was then I realized he was holding back. But after a pause Sasuke slammed back into me, causing an undignified cry to pass my lips. "-you didn't say at the airport."

"N-now?!" I choked out, not believing it. Sasuke picked the most inconvenient times to get emotional!

"Say it." I shivered at the deep tone he growled into my ear. But there was no anger or force. He just sounded distressed, like he needed me to say it. Maybe he did need it. He had admitted it to me, and I had fumbled with words and done exactly what I hated. I had been trying to use my body to tell him what I felt. I felt blinded with the pleasure he was sending through my body, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to try and keep my mind focused on his voice. "Naruto, say it."

"I…" My eyes tightened in nervousness. If I said it, I was giving him the power to be with me. But I was also letting him have the choice to leave me too. Could I do it? I gasped for air while I looked up at Sasuke in fear. His eyes were half lidded but focused on mine. He had admitted he loved me. He had entered an art contest. He was going to art school. Sasuke was facing his fears. And wasn't I always saying I was just as good as Sasuke? Anything he could do… "I…love y-you! Fuck I-I love you!"

"Good." His hands held onto me tighter, picking up more speed than I thought possible. Not that I minded the overload of pleasure in my head. Within seconds I was careening over the edge, pressing my face into his neck while I came. He didn't have to do much to join me, already having been at his edge for a while. How he had managed to get that worked up I never figured out, but I didn't give a damn. Right then, all that mattered was how good it felt to finally let go. It was the most intense orgasm that I had ever felt, and it was enough to convince my pride that taking bottom wasn't so bad.

The bed was way too warm for my taste, but I didn't complain out loud. Sasuke still hadn't gotten out of my bed, which wasn't going to change until he felt ready. Bastard. The room probably smelt of sweat and sex, but really what was the difference? During sex, you sweat. So sweat was the smell of sex, wasn't it? My mind was too muddled to think straight.

"How late are we?" I asked, laying my head against his shoulder. He was hogging my pillow anyways, so I'd use that as an excuse if he asked.

"Half hour." I sighed, knowing I should have gotten up and showered. Or done something other than move closer to him. "She'll probably call in ten minutes."

"Let's wait." Because really, what was the point in rushing for the memories from two weeks ago?

Here with Sasuke, I felt like I was in Italy all over again.

WHAAAAA! It's all over! I'm actually extremely sad by this. I had so much fun writing this story, and I'm happy that so many of you enjoyed it with me. Got to give a big thanks to my beta Sasuchan for sticking through it with me, even with my horrible grammar. She's a big help.

Now, I told you all that I couldn't tell you what made me think of this idea because it was special. But some of you guessed it or around it anyways. Yes, I went to Italy. All of these places were on my trip, which is where I got the idea for this story. And I took some of my own experiences from my trip and morphed them into the story. Like:

Chapter One: Behind the Desk (my friends Aren and Mike, who are complete idiots), Card game (all of us!)

Chapter two: The bike dude (except he blew kisses at the boys instead), the shopping (I was all the guys, while my friends Kathryn Katie and Jess were the girls), Running up and seeing the sunset over the Spanish steps (Me and my friend Erik)

Chapter three: Pizza experience (Me and my friends Kathryn Jess and Katie), the dog (all of us kind of just…cried and stared), Pompeii (yup, even goofed around in the theatre like Lee and Neji), shoulder sleep thing (me and Erik…swear we're just friends though!)

Chapter four: Breaking of the bed (Kathryn broke my bed…-grumbles-), Sistine chapel (it's friggen amazing), the fish incident (I…hate…fish…-twitch-),

Chapter five: Getting gelato (YUMMY) hit on by guys (my friend Kathryn, who is also blonde), the run up to the castle (we all called it Mike's Hike since he led us)

Chapter six: Night club (our teachers got drunk though), chicken dance (…-sighs-), carousel (it was so much fun!), getting lost (me and my friend Jess…)

Chapter seven: The Love letter (me, I was just angry about relationships)

Chapter eight: Flooding of the bathroom (my friend Katie, though I cleaned it up), Gondolas (AMAZING)

Chapter nine: What I wish would happen to me…..=)

And the rest came from my little head and plot bunnies. So I hope that you enjoyed the ending, and let me know what you thought of the story! What was your favorite part or who was your favorite character. Whatever you want really! And be on the lookout for new stories. As you may have seen, there was a poll in my profile about the next stories that I'm going to do. There will be another poll soon for my next set of stories, but this is the order:

Ferris Wheel, Tattoo, Succubus
So be ready for more SasuNaruSasu stories! THANKS FOR READING! Niki