Final chapter!

Christmas mornings were sort of a routine in the Uchiha household.

After the age of five, which was when Naruto had started staying over on Christmas Eve, the mornings of Christmas ran in pretty much the same fashion.

Naruto would be the first one up, and he would wake up Sasuke; likely through some rough ritual like jumping on him, or tearing his blankets off, or pushing him off his bed. After a round of insults and excited 'Merry Christmases' from the blonde, the pair of them would burst into Itachi's room and wake him up through use of similar techniques.

And Itachi, not being a morning person, would be forced to endure this about three times; managing to kick them out of his room twice and attempting to fall back to sleep. After he had been mercilessly tugged awake for a third time; his hair being pulled, or plaited, or his blankets being nearly flung out the window, he would drag himself to the kitchen to make them breakfast.

Itachi's coffee habit had started relatively young.

The three of them would sit in the kitchen having whatever it was that Itachi felt like preparing. Some years it was toast; other years he had felt more generous and made waffles. With that out of the way, the three kids were each permitted to open two presents from Santa, to amuse them until Fugaku and Mikoto managed to get up and join them with their first coffee of the day.

Between ten and eleven, Kushina and Minato would arrive; always managing to time it so they were there just as the coffee was being poured; and the two families would open their presents together in the Uchiha living room; the boys actually making an effort to get along with each other. And after that; they would share a lovely 'family' lunch together.

This year went somewhat differently.

This year, Sasuke was the first up.

He yawned sleepily; rubbing his eyes as Naruto shifted in his sleep; face dozing contentedly despite the state the pair of them were in.

Itachi was going to kill him. Absolutely kill him.

With a sigh, Sasuke looked over at the clock on Itachi's desk and noticed that it was almost ten. His parents would be getting up soon. Fondly, he brushed Naruto's bangs back off his face and clambered out of the bed; grimacing at the remnants of their night-time activities caked to his chest. Shower first, then.

A quick dash to the hall cupboard allowed him to grab a spare towel for Naruto, (leaving it on the edge of Itachi's bed), and he headed off to have a shower.

Last night…Well…he couldn't deny that that was what he'd desired for years. His heart was still pounding with the knowledge that Naruto loved him…but he was intensely annoyed. Five years he'd kept that quiet? Five years he'd had the option of just telling him?

To be fair, Sasuke hadn't answered his calls…so he was definitely at fault for that…

After his shower, he changed; feeling considerably cleaner, but a little relieved that some of Naruto's scent still clung to him. He set the jug to boil, and distantly heard the shower rattle on. Good; so Naruto was up. Maybe he should've stayed in bed with him a bit longer? It would've been nice to wake up together, he supposed.

Sasuke was in the living room, getting the fire going to make the morning a bit more cosy, when Naruto finally emerged; dressed in some of Sasuke's clothes, and sporting a rather prominent limp. He looked annoyed.

"What's that face for?" Sasuke inquired in amusement; quirking an eyebrow as Naruto limped forwards crossly and jabbed a finger at his chest.

"You!" Naruto snapped. " –You didn't come back for five years and now you dump that bombshell on me!"

"Bombshell?"

"You said you loved me, bastard!" he exclaimed fiercely, "You can't just…Come home and…"

"You told Itachi that you loved me," Sasuke growled defensively, "You told him before you told me! Were you ever going to tell me?"

"…Maybe…" Naruto snapped hotly, "I thought you'd forgotten about me, okay? I wanted to tell you in person, but you never came home!"

"You were the one who started talking about girls and everything!" he snorted, "I thought that I didn't matter to you; so I didn't want to come back!"

"You're a fucking idiot!" Naruto exclaimed, taking another step forwards, and suddenly finding that a pale thumb was tracing along his swollen lips.

"…You look good in my clothes…" Sasuke murmured in a low tone; leaning in and pressing his lips up against Naruto's to distract him. The blonde almost caved to the tongue running across his lips, but pulled back hurriedly.

"You said we'd talk!" he snapped flatly; only to wind up being kissed again. "…Sasuke…mmm…" Unable to resist, he pressed back against him; looping an arm around his shoulders and fisting his shirt roughly. Tongues met hotly; Naruto letting out a gasp as he was shepherded towards the couch.

"No!"

The exclamation caused the pair of them to jolt apart; staring over at the doorway. Itachi Uchiha was standing there in his pyjamas, looking absolutely livid.

So it was that Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha were roughly roused from sleep by the sound of aggressive yelling. Knowing that their sleep-in was over, they sighed and hoped that at least the jug was boiled for coffee.

"You had sex in my bed!" Itachi shouted; in a rare display of anger.

"Not on purpose!" Sasuke yelled back defensively, "It was a heat of the moment and –"

" –And you couldn't tell the difference between our rooms?" he squawked, "Jeez, Sasuke! You finally tell him you love him and you can't take a moment to get to your own bed?"

" –You knew?" Naruto exclaimed hotly, "You knew he liked me, and you didn't tell me? Even when I was terrified I'd be rejected –"

"That is not the point here, Naruto!" Itachi snapped, "The point is that I am well aware of what sex between men involves –and I'm assuming that neither of you used protection?"

" –There wasn't…I wasn't thinking about that!" Sasuke shouted back; the three of them apparently oblivious to the fact that Mikoto and Fugaku had slunk past to the kitchen.

"Oh, but you had enough time to use my lube and not the condoms?" his elder brother retorted snidely, "In the same drawer, little brother!"

"Why was the bottle so empty, big brother?" Sasuke shot back aggressively. Itachi turned a nasty shade of pink.

"We are not discussing my sexual activities!" he exclaimed.

"Then why are we discussing ours?" the younger Uchiha growled flatly.

"Because you had messy, unprotected sex in my bed!" Itachi snapped, "I'm going to have to burn it now!"

"You're being melodramatic," Sasuke snorted.

"Oh? So you'd be completely okay if I brought Kisame here and fucked him on your bed?" he growled back.

" –Well for one thing, I don't think you'd be doing the –" Sasuke found himself cuffed over the head by an annoyed Naruto.

"You're getting off topic!" Naruto snorted crossly, "…Itachi, why didn't you tell me? It might've made me, I don't know; a little less terrified? And Sasuke; seriously –you could've called…"

"Like I said; you started talking about what would happen when we got girlfriends, and I just thought that you only thought of me as a friend," Sasuke explained hotly.

"Well I did!" he sighed in exasperation, "But then I realised –"

"So why didn't you put that in your letters?"

"…Because I wanted to tell you face to face!" he snorted, "…And I thought that you wouldn't come home, if you knew!" Itachi promptly knocked their heads together and they glared at him.

"You're both fucking morons," he sniffed crossly, "Sasuke; you were a brat and you should've come home for Christmas. It was childish to try and stay away just because you were denying feelings for Naruto. And Naruto…you should've just written to him. He might've come home."

"Oh, yeah, like you can really be giving advice –" Naruto squawked.

" –You came to me for advice," Itachi reminded him, "And wound up having sex with my little brother. Which, I by the way; heard from the guest room." Naruto flushed in embarrassment. "I think that gives me –"

" –Boys…boys; why are you yelling?" Kushina's voice suddenly inquired from the doorway, where both pairs of their parents were currently congregating and wondering what on earth all the fuss was about. The three boys looked over at their parents sheepishly, before glaring at each other.

"Itachi started it," Sasuke informed his mother.

" –Don't be a brat; I did not," Itachi growled darkly. "You two started it when –" Naruto immediately elbowed him in the gut; flushing even deeper when he realised that his mother and father were present. Kushina and Minato looked at the Uchihas for explanation as they were shepherded into the living room; bearing gifts.

"...You look tired, Mikoto," Kushina commented with a raised eyebrow.

"…We were…kept up late," she replied tactfully. Sasuke and Naruto traded undeniably guilty looks as they sat down on the couch; the blonde lowering himself down gingerly. His mother appeared to notice.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in understanding, "…So they, you know…finally…" she winked at her good friend.

"Apparently so," Mikoto replied with a low giggle, "…And apparently in Itachi's bed."

"Mother!" Sasuke and Itachi exclaimed hotly as Kushina cackled to herself; Minato and Fugaku exchanging weak glances. Kushina leapt over and wrapped her son in a tight bear hug; jostling him and making him cringe in pain.

"Oh; I'm so happy!" she exclaimed in delight, "I mean, I was going to kill Sasuke when he took my baby's innocence; but when I realised that you actually lo –"

" –My innoc –mom, you knew?" Naruto exploded in disbelief; his eyes wide in shock.

"Of course I did," she sniffed hotly, "Sweetie, in college I roomed with a gay man, and I'd already caught Itachi doing the 'walk of shame' home various times by that stage, so trust me when I say you didn't disguise your limp very well when you came home." He clamped his hands over his face in embarrassment.

"Mom, can we not do this right now?" he whimpered.

"…Will you boys stop fighting?" she asked lightly.

" –But Aunt Kushina…" Itachi complained; definitely not sounding his age.

"Itachi; behave yourself, and we'll continue to pretend that we don't know the real reason you made us buy that new rug when you were in high school," his mother pointed out.

"I don't know what you…" he began to say.

"Oh please, Itachi; we're your parents," Fugaku snorted, "You can't hide these sort of things from us. We know all about you and that delinquent."

"Delinquent?" Sasuke inquired curiously; looking over at his brother. He'd never seen Itachi turn such a horrified shade of green. "Do share, dearest big brother?" Itachi's lips were clamped shut and he was glaring accusingly at his parents. Mikoto just smiled at him charmingly.

" –I'll behave," he muttered; huffily sitting down on one of the couches. Sasuke and Naruto both looked at him quizzically; wondering what information his parents had on him.

"Oh good; now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can have a nice Christmas," Mikoto chuckled; the parents all taking a seat. "Now, Naruto; would you like some aspirin and a heat pack for your back?"

"…Please…" Naruto mumbled in embarrassment; hiding his face in his mother's hair. This was just too mortifying. His parents had known all along that he'd slept with Sasuke! Hell, now they knew that he'd slept with him last night!

"…Told you Sasuke would top," Mikoto whispered to her husband, swatting him gently as she headed to the kitchen. "Have a bit of faith in your son."

" –Well, I just assumed that he'd take after Itachi," Fugaku reminded her quietly, "Not to mention he always let Naruto boss him around…"

"We can hear you!" Sasuke and Itachi growled out in annoyance at the notion that their parents had actually discussed their son's sex lives. "And I do not let this moron boss me around!" Sasuke sniffed flatly. Minato just ruffled his hair affectionately as he began handing out presents.

"Mom; why didn't you tell me you knew?" Naruto grumbled with a pout.

"I knew you'd tell us eventually," she assured him.

" –But I didn't…you just barged in…" he muttered.

" –Well, we knew that Sasuke was kind of a sensitive topic, so we didn't know how you'd react if we said that we knew," she shrugged and he let out a small grumble in response.

"Uncle Minato; give Sasuke the present from me," Itachi offered lightly, "I just know he's going to love it." Sasuke raised an eyebrow as a heavy present was placed in his lap. He had a terrible feeling about this. "Although I'll admit that I didn't think you'd need it just yet." Sasuke looked up at him with a glare.

"…It's lube, isn't it?"

"Why don't you open it when mother gets back, and find out?" Itachi's angelic voice wasn't fooling anyone. Sasuke just sighed heavily and looked over at Naruto, who was peeking at him through his hands as he snuggled up against his mother. Okay, so Itachi had effectively gotten them together, since he had been able to see what they clearly hadn't…and then they'd had sex in his bed…

…Sasuke had to admit to himself that he could perhaps allow his brother a small amount of amusement at his expense.

It was, after all, Christmas. And maybe if he behaved himself, mother would tell him this story about the rug.

"Um, Sasuke?" Naruto inquired nervously as the pair of them leisurely strolled down the concrete path through the park, (Sasuke had flat out refused to skip, though he had deigned to wear a Santa hat and sweater, which they had worn while opening presents. Sasuke's guess had been right; Itachi had been thoughtful enough to gift him with a bottle of lube with a note saying 'have fun kids' on it. Sasuke hadn't been overly amused, but their parents had been. Naruto had gone rather red; especially when Kushina informed Sasuke that he better take good care of her baby boy, or she was going to take that entire bottle and jam it up, well...She painted a rather graphic image of what would happen if he ever left Naruto in the lurch again. Even Itachi had looked sympathetic.)

The afternoon was crisp and fresh, and there were children building snowmen on the grass. Carols could be heard from the band rotunda.

"Yeah?"

"…Can we hold hands?" Sasuke looked over at the blonde incredulously; as if he was seriously asking permission to do such a thing. Rolling his eyes, he stuck out a hand and laced their fingers together. Naruto's expression brightened and he pressed a shy kiss against Sasuke's cheek. It was the raven's turn to blush.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" They could hear Sakura's voice and quickly spied her waving them over. The rest of their friends were waiting for them nearby; gathering as they did every year, to hear Hinata sing in the park on Christmas day.

"Merry Christmas, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed in delight as she beamed at him; cheeks flushed from the chilly air.

"Well aren't you two just the cutest things ever?" she exclaimed with a tiny squeal to her voice as she warmed embraced them both –much to Sasuke's annoyance. "So…you guys are like…together…now?"

"…Uhh…I guess…we are," Naruto replied with a quick look at Sasuke to see if he approved of this development. The raven just gave a 'tch' as a response and left it at that. There was no declination so Naruto grinned.

"Where are the others?" he inquired curiously as Deidara and Hidan wandered over; well, Hidan was drinking a coffee with his arm slung around the limping blonde's shoulders and Deidara was blushing furiously and protesting about it.

" –Kisame's gone to pick up Itachi, yeah," he informed them, glaring up at his sometimes-boyfriend. "Kiba's over at the rotunda with Ino, Temari and Shikamaru, and Gaara's 'distracting' Neji, yeah."

"Distracting?"

"Sucking face," Hidan explained and Naruto made an 'ohh' noise of understanding.

"By the way, Deidara; you're friends with Itachi, right?" he added curiously.

"Supposedly, yeah?"

"…Do you know anything about 'the real reason he made his parents get a new rug' in like, high school?"

Hidan promptly choked on his coffee and spluttered loudly. Deidara rolled his eyes as the platinum haired man spat a mouthful of his hot drink into the snow.

"Wouldn't have a clue, yeah," Deidara shrugged lightly, "…What about you, Hidan?" He was smirking.

"Nope. Don't know a fucking thing," he coughed; glaring down at his smug boyfriend. "Now uhh, are we going to fucking listen to Hinata or what?" Sasuke and Naruto just shrugged and followed them over to the rotunda where a choir was singing cheerfully. Sasuke, receiving a text, slipped his free hand into his pocket. It was from Itachi.

Mother and father are out. Kisame and I will be…delayed.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror at what immediately jumped to mind.

Mother fucker, he text back as he glared mutinously at his phone.

Relax, little brother. We're just getting coffee. Sasuke made an annoyed noise. Itachi loved messing with him far too much. Annoyed at his big brother, but unable to help but feel a surge of affection for him for at least helping him to finally get Naruto, he found himself dragged over to the rotunda.

Naruto was unbelievably happy. He had Sasuke's hand in his own; and Shikamaru was standing nearby with Temari wrapped in his arms; a locket hanging around her neck –the locket that Naruto had helped Shikamaru pick out before she left, and which he had therefore never been able to give her; until now. All felt right in the world.

So he and Sasuke had been stupid morons for five years…but they'd decided to let that go. Everything was out in the open now, so they could move on from their mistakes. He couldn't help but grin. Trust the magic of Christmas to make such things possible. It had brought them together one year...and again this year.

"Oh…by the way…I forgot to get you a present," Sasuke admitted sheepishly; jolting him from his thoughts.

"It's okay," Naruto shrugged brightly; drinking in the beautiful feeling of Christmas around them. The band rotunda was decorated for the occasion, and half the crowd gathering was wearing either Santa hats or reindeer antlers.

"Really?"

"Really," he assured him with a small laugh. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

" –What'd you ask for?" he inquired curiously.

"What?"

"What did you ask 'Santa' for?" he elaborated, "The thing you asked for every year?" Naruto just chuckled to himself and scratched his chin awkwardly.

"Um…" he murmured, "You."

"Huh?"

"…I uhh…I asked Santa to bring me you," Naruto coughed. Sasuke stared at him. "Every year, I um…I asked for you, for Christmas…coz you were something special that I knew I wanted to keep forever."

"How unbearably cheesy…" Sasuke muttered and the blonde shoved him lightly; kissing him on the cheek again.

"…And uhh…five years ago…you finally asked for me too," he murmured; Sasuke staring at him, "And…that was why I decided to…give you…me…for Christmas…coz you wanted to keep me around..." He averted his eyes in embarrassment.

"…You gave your virginity to me as a Christmas present?" Sasuke inquired incredulously.

"…Uhh…yeah," he muttered.

" –Wait, you looked at my wish list?"

"…How else was I meant to know what to get you for Christmas?" Naruto complained, clutching his arm cheekily. Sasuke blushed and averted his eyes.

"…And you kept asking for me?" he inquired flatly. The blonde nodded brightly; kissing him once on the lips and loving the way his heart fluttered at the simple touch.

"You were my best friend," he admitted with a small laugh, pulling him over to see Hinata singing happily; her choir spreading Christmas joy for all to hear. "I wanted you to stay that way; so I wished for it every year; even when you were gone. And this year…the magic made my wish come true. You came home."

"Idiot," Sasuke murmured, rolling his eyes. Naruto chuckled to himself.

"…I love you…" he whispered softly in the raven's ear, and he saw Sasuke smirk slightly as he leaned in for a slow kiss. "And…having you stick around…having with you, in some way...that's all I ever wanted for Christmas."

Slow zoom out. We see Kiba and Ino singing along with Hinata's choir. Shikamaru kisses Temari on the top of her head. As the camera moves back, we see Deidara stuff snow down Hidan's back and then trip and fall into the snow as he tries to run away, because his back's still sore. Kisame and Itachi are walking down the path with their coffees, to meet the others. Gaara's red hair is visible from behind a tree with Neji. And of course, Naruto dancing in the snow with the kids and dragging Sasuke to join.

Fade to credits.

Did someone say cheesy Christmas in the park ending?

Finally finished! And on time! A very Merry Christmas to all of you out there! I really appreciate you reading what I write! Happy holidays all; I'll still be here writing as long as you're out there, reading. Also; soz about my ridiculous author's notes; sometimes they seem to uhh, get long haha. *smiles*

But yeah; there's my Xmas fic. END.
Merry Christmas!

xx K