This chapter is dedicated to ToXicStArCaNdY & skyglazingMaro. The bit in Towa's P.O.V. near the end is for you guys!

Thanks to everyone else for favoriting/following/reviewing! I love every single one of them.

Un-Beta'ed. All mistakes are my own.

Chapter Three: Every time We Meet...Every time We Touch

Two months! It had been barely two months since that time at the cafe and Itachi was already calling him for another meeting. Naruto had assumed that the last time was the last meeting! Ever!

But here he was.

"There's a complication I didn't realize until now," Itachi began. Naruto moaned. Why can't the world just let him suffer in peace. He was resolved to let go. To walk away, even if it meant leaving his heart behind.

"What?"

"Towa's last name was never changed," Itachi explained, pushing a piece of paper across the paper to Naruto. Without blinking, Naruto looked down before pulling the sheet towards himself. His finger lingered on the last name. 'Uchiha.'

"I-" he began. "I decided to keep it as it is."

"I don't understand," Itachi confessed. Naruto smiled bitterly at that. It was his one selfish wish to keep a small reminder of a life he could never have. A life together with Sasuke. Instead, he would raise their child alone. Towa would forever be the reminder of the Uchiha that he couldn't have. Naruto looked up at Itachi with a nervous smile. He wasn't sure how to explain his selfish want. Instead, he lied.

"I cou-couldn't change his name. After all, he's an Uchiha, no matter what." Naruto laughed, then added for effect, "In case I'm in a financial bind, it's always a plus to have an Uchiha by my side."

Itachi looked skeptically at him. "Alright, if that's what you're telling yourself. Here's the worker compensation for Iruka's hospital payment." He pushed another set of paper at Naruto.

"Thanks, Itachi. For everything," Naruto said, taking them. "For being here for me."

"Don't thank me yet. I'm nowhere done helping you."

He didn't believe in 'love at first sight,' or so he told himself. The fastened heartbeat, heightened body temperature, and flushed-red ears were nothing more but mere fantasies from sex-deprived middle-age women who lived with cats. Generally, you could smell crazy from afar. Sometime, he excused it off as a romanticized part of life poor people make up to ease their miserable lifestyle-to make the living meaningful.

Sometime, when he was truly honest with himself, he knew that he, himself, was too cynical for something beautiful and sacred like 'love at first sight.' Love, in general, eluded bastards like him, reserved for others who were more worthy of receiving it.

So when this 'Naruto' came waltzing (read: running like a freakin' banshee was on his tail) through the door and crashed down in front of the model, his eyes glistered from unshed tears and a loud sigh of relief echoed through the room, Sasuke excused all of the aforementioned symptoms off as being surprised. But more than anything, more than the heartbeats and the body temperature and the flushing of his ears, he could feel his heart pounded as if trying to hammer its way out of his ribcage. His stomach knotted itself a puzzle piece and settled heavily at the bottom of his stomach. If he didn't know any better, Sasuke could swear that there were butterflies fluttering about everywhere.

He felt like throwing up from the overwhelming sensations.

Instead, he held himself tall and regal, just as his father had drilled into his very being. He took in the sight of the bewitching blonde on his knees, staring off into the distance. And he cursed to himself, wishing that he could see the expressive emotions that must be running through Naruto's eyes.

Sasuke didn't doubt that 'Naruto' wear his emotions on his sleeves-or whatever the expression was. He was never poetic.

Pushing aside his poor attempt at poetry, Sasuke pushed at his heels and moved forward, approaching the blonde. Despite his body on autopilot, he couldn't figure out what to say once he'd reached his goal. Endless possibilities crossed his mind. All of them seemed unsuitable. But his body pushed on, and before he knew it, he stood in front of 'Naruto,' staring into an abyss of mystified azure.

And once again, his body knew what it wanted, even if Sasuke didn't.

With practiced ease, he captured the blonde's hand in his own and kissed at the knuckles, subconsciously marveling at how calloused and male the person before him was. In his limited memory, Sasuke couldn't recall any romantic attraction to the same sex.

It would seem, every rules-every expectations-were meant to be broken.

His lips lingered a bit longer than they had to, and Sasuke reveled in every extended seconds until, ultimately, he let go. Yet, instead of showing his disappointment, he smiled.

He opened his mouth to say something, yet, Sasuke couldn't seem to fully keep up with his own words. Something about 'confusions' and 'angel.'

Whatever it was that he'd said, it snapped the blonde out of his daze as fire danced through those stunning orbs. They were probably the most magnificent windows-to-the-soul he'd ever seen. Red lips pouted and stammered, "I-I, the fuck? Sa-Sasuke?" At the sound of his name passed through those lips, unexplained desire surged through him. His heart once again demanded for full attention as his brain scrambled to keep him from going into cardiac arrest.

He cleared his throat and let loose an arrogant smirk. "Sasuke Uchiha, at your service."

Whatever he was expecting from the blonde, being pushed back violently by the deceptively lithe body wasn't on top five.

When Naruto received news of the break-in, his heart nearly broke in two. When he confronted with the 'thief,' his heart was a mess of shattered glass shards scattered casually on the ground for anyone to step on. He could feel his eyes widened, then narrowed with anger to mask the hidden pain. His lips snarled harshly to keep from verbally offering the man before him permission to take and keep the scattered mess that was his heart.

He pushed hard at the man so that he wouldn't given into his urge to reach out and never let go.

Naruto pushed to his feet, standing at the balls of his toes and pointedly glaring down. He was almost guilty at the confusion from Sasuke.

"What are you doing here? You can't be here!" Naruto hissed, pointing at the man. Sasuke pushed himself to his feet and stared at the fireball of emotion. He was glad to actually witness the torrent of emotions from the other man this time. The harsh fall against the floor was worth it to see such liveliness-so alive. So different than his own detached emotions.

"My apologies," Sasuke began, staring down with a widened smirk, "I was only planning on reuniting with my husband." He meant to be civil and diplomatic towards his spouse before he met the man, but now that Naruto was here, they were here-at this moment, together-a more sadistic side of him emerged. He wanted to test Naruto's limits. He wanted to push Naruto over the edge, just so that Sasuke could be there to lend a helping hand-just so that Naruto could do nothing, see nothing, but Sasuke. And only Sasuke.

The possessive-streak surprised him. But he didn't question it. He looked at the blonde before him: a few inches shorter than he was, but tall nonetheless, with hair kissed personally by the Sun-God, eyes of the clearest summer sky, and lips full of sinful promises, his body distastefully hidden by a loosely fitted button-up shirt and long khakis but seemingly fit. And Sasuke was more than willing to have a possessive-streak or two. Naruto Uzumaki was an angel amongst man.

And he belonged to Sasuke.

Naruto looked at him with bewilderment.

"Husband? What husband?" Sasuke noted the panic in his voice, he could literally taste the desperation rolling off of Naruto. His eyes danced frantically around the room, anywhere to avoid meeting Sasuke's eyes before landing on Towa. A sense of fright flashed before Naruto's eyes and Sasuke could almost sympathize. Almost.

Sasuke calmly reached into his suit's inner pocket and pulled out a manila envelop. He handed it to Naruto with a calmness that probably frightened the other male more than it would comfort. Naruto snatched it from his hands and pulled out the stack of documents Itachi had handed him the previous night. Without having to see what Naruto was reading, Sasuke knew what was there.

Everything.

Property rights. Asset statements. Business (his business) entitlement, etc.

The only piece of information he seemed to be missing was child custody. He didn't realize there was a child involved. Sasuke's eyes flickered back to the little boy, who so much mirrored his own look, sitting on the stool in the kitchen, eating his afternoon snack and watching television. In the half hour that they had waited for Naruto to arrive, the sheriff, who introduced himself as Shino Aburame, had ushered the boy into the other room to keep out of the way while Sasuke stayed next to the miniature model.

From his place, Sasuke had watched the child interact with Aburame. His cheery disposition was a complete contradiction to Sasuke's own nonchalance when he was a child. Towa was talkative, sharing everything and anything about his day; he was affectionate, touching and hugging and pulling every chance that he'd got; he was everything that wasn't Sasuke. And in that half hour of endless anticipation, Sasuke could already imagine the man who raised such a child.

And he wondered why he had let such a person go.

Now that Naruto was standing in front of him, skimming over the legal jargons, Sasuke once again questioned himself.

Cursed the follies of his youth!

"No, no, no, no," Naruto muttered to himself once he had gone through all of the papers. Even in his haste, he knew what they were saying. They weren't divorce settlements. They were marriage license!

That bastard Itachi lied to him.

He could see his own scrawly signatures that he had done in haste four years ago at the cafe. He could perfectly recall the distress, the pain and agony, he was suffering under as he penned these. Unbeknown to him at the time, he wasn't signing their separation. He was penning his name onto the Uchiha's family register. Everything that was Sasuke's was his, and vice versa. Everything was done in such meticulous details that even the great Fugaku Uchiha, with all of his wisdoms and resources, would have a hard time reversing the legal binding.

Itachi Uchiha was truly a devil reborn.

Or a really good lawyer. Naruto couldn't decide.

He looked up at the man who he once couldn't live without-and probably still couldn't-and snarled, "Is this a joke?" He smacked the papers against Sasuke's broad chest, momentarily distracted by memories of barehand against skin before snapping out of it. Focus, Naruto!

"What gave you the impression?" The familiar, infuriating smirk irked him as much as it beckoned. Memories of a time long ago came flooding back like a broken dam, endlessly without stop. Naruto winced against the tide and kept his best poker face. Even so, his eyes betrayed him.

"T-this! What is all this?" he snapped, pushing the papers into Sasuke's hands. The man took everything and allowed his eyes to run through them as he casually answered, "Incomplete divorce documents. What else?"

"What else?" Naruto growled. What incomplete divorce documents? He doubted that there was one to begin with. Itachi was playing both of them, so it would seem. The thoughtful frown on Sasuke face was an indication of his coming to understanding the same thing Naruto was enraged about.

"Hn," was a very typical reply from Sasuke as he actually looked at the words. Now Sasuke remembered why he always feared Itachi. The man was conniving and manipulating, if nothing else. And the end always justified the means. That didn't answer the question though: what the fuck did he sign yesterday?

Lordy! In his bewilderment at his own situation and his father's pressure, Sasuke forgone his first and foremost business principle-read every fucking word before signing. The one time he trusted his sibling, it came back and bit him in the left butt cheek.

"I didn't know," Sasuke muttered, more to himself than Naruto, but the blonde heard nonetheless and it ticked him off more than anything he could possibly think of. Sasuke Uchiha didn't just not know. If everything else in this world was a big uncertainty, Sasuke Uchiha was the single point of conviction. The northern star in Naruto's sky.

So in respond to Sasuke's doubt of the situation, Naruto's world was being taken apart, piece by piece with no assurance of reassembling.

"Get out," Naruto commanded in a whisper, fearing that if he raised his voice, his world would truly fall apart. "Get out of my house."

Sasuke looked up from the papers and followed the finger that pointed to the door. He thought about retaliating but before he could even open his mouth, the blonde was already pushing Sasuke out the door. Caught by surprise, both at the unexpected action and the strength, Sasuke tumbled out the door before it slammed shut immediately after him. From outside, he could hear the multiple 'click' of locks. For once, he was unsure of what to say. Sasuke squinted down at the words that danced across the papers once more, then giving up on trying to make out the tiny prints. Instead, he pulled out his phone and called his brother's cell.

On the nth ring, he was transferred to voice mail. Growling, Sasuke called the office number. Nothing again. Infuriated, he dialed a third number.

"Neji's here. Certified shrink to the world's number one asshole, what can I do for you?" a arrogant voice, much similar to his own, answered. Sasuke growled, not in the mood for friendly banter.

"Hyuga. I need you to look at something for me," Sasuke snapped into the phone as he watched a male getting out of a car and approaching him. With a wary glare in Sasuke's direction, the black-haired male walked pass him and knocked on the door.

"It's me, Kiba. Let me in!" he called as he repeated knocked on the door. A second later, the door opened and Aburame poked his head out before letting him in. The newcomer glanced in Sasuke's direction once more before entering, asking, "What happened?"

"Dunno. Naruto's pretty shaken up though," Aburame answered as he closed the door, locking it once more. Sasuke cursed to himself, damn small town and noisy neighbors!

"Sasuke, you still there?" Neji asked. Sasuke mumbled a 'yeah' as he returned his undivided attention to his phone once more. Neji continued, "What do you need me to look at? I don't have all day you know. Between all these contracts and your missing ass from the office."

"Can it, Neji," Sasuke mumbled as he walked to his car. Fumbling with his pockets to find his key, Sasuke quickly found it a few second later. "I can't return right now. Something came up."

"Like what? You just up'ed and disappeared," Neji replied. Sasuke could hear the shuffling of papers on the other line and he sighed.

"Sorry 'bout that. I was conned, apparently. And by Itachi no less." Neji laughed.

"That's getting old, Uchiha," he joked before settled his tone on a more serious note. "But really, what happened?" Sasuke wasn't one for ditching work. In his morosely empty life, there wasn't much Sasuke could be doing beside work. They both knew it.

"I'm going to forward the papers to you. Just read it and let me know of anything worthwhile. That means anything Hyuga!"

"Alright, enough with the last name! The last time you did that, I was trying to score a MILF," Neji said. Sasuke growled.

"That was my mother!"

Neji laughed, "that was college!"

"Just read!" Sasuke snapped one last time before ending the call. He then quickly logged onto his archive, found the digital copy, and forwarded it to his friend. If anyone was near competent enough to figure out Itachi's mind trick, it was Neji.

Once done, he turned on his ignition and drove off, heading back into the Konoha city district. He had a date with one scheming bastard.

Once Sasuke was out the door, Naruto literally collapsed on the ground. His breathing came in pants. Why was he here? Why now?

"Naruto, you okay?" Towa asked as he came over. For a child of eight, he was oddly good at obeying orders. Of course he was just like any other child, rambunctious and rowdy, but when it came down to it, he knew of the concept of time and place. He knew when to stay out of the adults' ways. But for once, he regretted his decision as he watched the defeated form of his father by the door. While Naruto and he looked nothing alike, their personalities could be described as two peas in a pod. Seeing his dad's downcast form, his little heart clenched with pain beyond his years.

His little hands touched Naruto's shoulder as he ran them in soothing circles. Naruto snapped out of whatever trance he was in and looked up at him, his father's blue eyes stared into his own and tears threatened to fall. Towa cursed Sasuke. Despite the man's friendly attitude towards him early, Towa wasn't going to forgive him for hurting his dad.

"It's okay Naruto, I'm here for ya," he said as his short arms stop their motion to wrap around Naruto's much larger shoulder. He clasped his hands together in a tight bind, hoping to anchor his dad to the ground and shielding against whatever was hurting him. He could remembered a time when his hands couldn't completely encircle the shoulder. He remembered his own desperation at his own inability to protect his dad, and how he had wished and wished to grow quickly, to be stronger so that he could shoulder whatever untold burden his father had. A child of eight, yet his mind had matured much faster. A single parent family had a larger affect than one could imagine.

"Towa," Naruto muttered as he pulled his baby closer. Sasuke was Naruto Northern Star, but Towa was his life.-his very essence of being Without Sasuke, Naruto could grudge on, bear whatever life threw at him-miserable as he was. But without Towa, without his baby...

"I'm here," Towa replied, noticing how heavy his dad was and he cursed to himself. If Naruto was to completely fall apart, torn into pieces by the cruel world and no longer could stand, Towa wouldn't be able to do anything but watch him fall. With all of his child-like might, all of his feeble strength, he couldn't even able to keep the man from hitting the dirt. He felt like crying.

As if sensing his distress, Naruto pulled away from Towa and smiled. Towa could easily detect how fake, plastered on, it was but he remained silent. "Sorry Towa, I was a little tired today after seeing Iruka."

Towa was a grade-A actor, so he played along. A large grin broke out on his face, even if his eyes were brimming with frustrated tears, "Yeah, how's uncle Iruka? Did he draw anything for me?"

"Yeah, but I don't think you wanna see it," Naruto forced a laugh as he pulled himself up from the ground. Towa, despite knowing his own weak strength, helped his dad. Naruto smiled down at him once he was proper.

"Thanks buddy," he said as he walked into the kitchen, his hand never letting go of Towa's. "Hey Shino, sorry about the craziness."

Shino, the local sheriff and a friend, laughed nervously. He seriously wasn't sure of what to make of the situation. When Naruto came into this middle-of-nowhere-town four years ago with a four years old and a mentally disabled father, he had assumed the blonde was simply trying to forget his deceased wife or something equally tragic and starting anew. But between the short, albeit dramatic, confrontation between the well-cut city dweller and Naruto, Shino's curiosity couldn't help but spiked. But he wasn't one to pry. He left that job to the local housewives.

"It's okay," he said as he watched Naruto making his way through the kitchen and sorting through his fridge, then setting a few items onto the counter and getting ready to prepare dinner. His hand remained attached to Towa's and Shino couldn't help but marvel at the ease of movement between the two of them, as if it was a dance they frequently practiced.

"Kiba gave me a ride. He's still waiting outside."

On cue, the door pounded as Kiba demanded entry. Deciding to leave the suffocating room, he volunteered to open the door. When Kiba asked, he gave a hushed answer laced with concern and Kiba took it, both glaring at the newcomer before returning inside.

Shino was tempted to slam the door just to see the city dweller's reaction.

But he didn't want to risk the models lying around.

"Since you both are here, would you like to stay for dinner? To make up for all of the troubles I caused."

Kiba snorted, "What trouble? Don't worry your pretty head over it."

Towa laughed. "Stop tryna flirt with Naruto! He's gonna marry me."

Shino noticed that Towa's grip tightened, as if it was an actual promise rather than playful banter. He decided not to comment on it.

"Watch it, brat," Kiba growled playfully, settling on one of the stools.

"Or you do what?" Towa stuck out his tongue.

"Well, I do have a mutt that needs a happy home but..." Kiba left the sentence hanging, an arrogant smirk graced his dog-like expression.

Towa glared at him before realization struck him. He looked back and forth between Naruto and Kiba multiple times before speaking, "Naruto, is he joking?"

"It depends on you," Naruto replied with a bright grin.

"Oh yes! YES! Please! Please! Please!" Towa screamed at the top of his lung.

"And what do you say to Mr. Inuzuka?" Naruto asked. Towa paused, letting go of his hand and ran to Kiba.

"Thank you! I'm sorry for calling old man Inuzuka crazy!" Kiba laughed at that and patted his head affectionately. Nobody could be around Naruto and Towa and not be pulled along into their rapture.

"You're welcome brat."

Towa immediately ran back to Naruto and latched onto his legs. "Thank you, Naruto! I love you!"

Shino actually laughed at that before excusing himself. He still had work to do. Kiba, on the other hand, stayed for dinner.

After Towa was put to bed and Naruto retired to his own bedroom, instead of falling onto the mattress and drift off into a blissful sleep, easing away the day's event, Naruto shuffled around the room. At the bottom of his dresser was a small box. He pulled it out and popped the cap open. There were various things inside, each with their own story. Any other time, he would take the time to run his fingers over each and everyone of them, reminiscing a simpler time while crying bitter tears. Tonight he had a purpose.

He pushed every aside and pulled out some papers at the bottom. They were old, with the paper turning slight yellow and small tears at the corners. He didn't pay any mind to the imperfections. Instead, he looked at the words that ran across the page.

'PETITION FOR ADOPTION OF MINOR' etched across the top, under the case number and judge name. Naruto knew each line by heart. He ran his hand across the neatly written letters on the page. It wasn't his chicken scrawling. He remembered shaking so hard he could barely pick up the pen, much less write anything legible.

TOWA UCHIHA was written neatly with much care. He smiled at the memory of the writer's own hands shaking.

He looked at his own name on the page as the petitioner for the adoption. His rushed and shaken signature. When he reached the end of the page, he frowned at the name. It was the same person who had prepared and handwritten the adoption petition.

BIRTH FATHER: ITACHI UCHIHA.

To Be Continue

Well I'm sorry for being WAY late. I'll try to finish the next chapter soon.

See y'all next time.