A/N: Well, my beloved and faithful followers, this is it! 'It's Not Fair''s final chapter is here and it's a long one!

It's probably a lot different from what you guys were expecting, but this is the ending I have envisioned since I first started writing this fic, and even though so many things changed from what I had planned, this is probably the one thing that didn't, and I'm glad it turned out like this.

I want to thank every single person who has read, commented on, and recommended this fanfiction so far. I want to thank all of you who have stuck around to read to the very end. It's been exactly four years and 23 days since this big baby was born.

It was supposed to be a simple, romantic fic about two straight men falling in love and it ended up being one of my most famous fics, reaching out to so many people in so many different ways, changing hearts and minds and promoting love, understanding and acceptance. I never expected it to have this much of an impact in such a way.

So, for all of you who have given this fic a chance, and provided me with your words of support and love, a huge thank you. To those of you who have contacted me telling me their personal stories and in which way this fic has reached out to you on an emotional level, I'm so thankful, I will remember this forever.

You are all very precious to me in so many ways!

I want to shout a huge thank you to Solochely, who has been supporting and loving this fic for such a long time! She is such a wonderful artist and a wonderful human being everyone should be worshipping her. Her value of me has always been inspiring beyond words and I wish I could do more to show my appreciation.

Thank you to everyone who donated Ko-fi's, you are all so amazing and you made me feel so special!

Chat-noir-chocolate, I want to send a special thank you to you, who've been in my life for a short time, but whom I feel like I've known forever. You're a wonderful artist yourself, and you've also been supporting me and believing me and my work so unconditionally I have no words to express my gratitude. I love you, my dear!

narue_nara_chan, thank you a million times for the Ko-fi, too, you are amazing and I know you've been following me for such a long time and constantly making the effort to comment and show me your excitement, and you make me so happy! I hope you'll continue to follow my work from here on as well.

I'm feeling very emotional right now. I can't believe INF is finally over.

Again, I have no words to express the immense gratitude I feel. This story, up to a certain point, was very personal and emotional for me, but I'm glad Sasuke and Naruto took matters in their own hands and turned it into their own story.

I will still be writing for this fandom, of course! There are still works I must finish, and new things I'd like to try. To those of you following 'From Which We'll Rise', I suppose I'll see you all soon ;)

Well, I'll shut up before I start crying.

Not betaed. I will beta these last three or four chapters during the next few days, I know they are probably atrocious.

On with the show!

It's Not Fair

Chapter Twenty-Six: State of Happiness

"Sweet, fuck!" Naruto groaned in pleasure as his back hit the wall next to the entrance door of his home for the umpteenth time. In the haziness of his brain, he was somewhat glad that he had kept his sweater on, otherwise he was sure there might be some horrible scratches. Not that he cared particularly because damn was he feeling good.

He was struggling to simply keep standing, one single foot on the ground while his other leg was tightly wrapped around his lover's waist for leverage. He was firmly trapped between Sasuke's imposing body and the wall, so, weak and shaky as his legs felt, he knew was completely secure.

In fact, he'd never feel safer than he did when he was in Sasuke's hands, even like this, and hell did he enjoy every single second of it.

Somehow, even before trying it, he knew he would love it. The intimacy, the connection - so deep and shameless it became oddly sacred - the feelings shared, the love, the freedom of being completely owned by someone he felt so strongly about.

What was there, exactly, not to like? There was no bond quite like this, and no pleasure that could be more heightened.

It was hard to breathe as his arms tightened possessively around Sasuke's neck. A helpless moan threatened to escape his throat but he was too overwhelmed by his lover's constant pounding, moving deep and precisely inside of him with the same urgency they had both felt from the moment they had laid eyes on each other. Sasuke's grunts fuelled his libido, that smooth and slick slide of Sasuke's cock moving in and out of him unlike anything else in the world.

Sasuke's body was hot and made him feel like they were about to catch fire together. Naruto's erection throbbed between them with an escalating desire that brought him closer to his climax with every thrust. He was leaking, he knew, making a mess all over both his and Sasuke's sweaters, but he didn't care. He wasn't even sure if he had cum already because the sensations overwhelmed him and seemed never ending.

There was nothing but the sound of their rapid breaths and the lewd noises of their bodies rutting together, desperately seeking an almost immediate release.

It had only been two days since they had last done this, but it had already felt like far too long.

Sasuke whispered something incoherent before latching his mouth onto the side of Naruto's neck, possessively sucking along it over and over again. The way his lover breathed and moaned in his ear made weird things happen to Naruto's heart and stomach and damn it he was so close.

"Sasuke…" he breathed, against the back of the man's ear. "Harder… I'm…"

Sasuke's mouth was hungrily seeking his and silenced him quickly, understanding the message well. They kissed savagely for a while, their joined movements having become uncoordinated. Sasuke's lips parted so their tongues could find each other and their mouths could slide over each other with an acquired and practiced ease. And then, Sasuke's hands tightened on his ass and his thrusts became stronger, faster as he promptly obliged Naruto's wish and thoroughly fucked him against the wall. The way their bodies collided and rubbed against each other, stimulating Naruto's cock was driving them both crazy.

Closing his eyes tightly, Naruto allowed blissful oblivion to wash over him.

A few months ago, Naruto would've been terrified of making love in such a rough and mindless way, and yet, now, with both their bodies more than used to this sort of passion, he could say that he was completely unworried and always more than eager.

In fact, this was just one of the many stages of perfection his and Sasuke's relationship had reached in a horrifyingly short amount of time.

And now he was cumming with a strangled gasp, feeling every cell of his body pulsing with the adrenaline of his orgasm as Sasuke broke the hungry kiss to offer Naruto's chin a few bites. He vaguely heard his lover's almost surprised sigh before the last few plunges were offered and Sasuke, too, was desperately riding his own climax.

They were still for a minute, simply trying to get their breathings in check and allow the high to subside. Naruto's heart rate was wild, but as the rush withdrew, he could feel his muscles relaxing and a new form of tiredness and contentment washing over him.

Naruto leaned his head back against the wall, Sasuke's head on his shoulder. The fingers of both of both his hands absently caressed Sasuke's hair in soothing rubs.

That had been… sudden and maybe a little unexpected too. He hadn't exactly planned on attacking Sasuke as soon as he found the man within the walls of his house, but then again, Sasuke had seemed just as mindlessly excited. This being said, now that he took a second to think about it, he had no idea who had started it.

"Well," he muttered, a little baffled. "Hello to you, too."

Sasuke snorted against his neck. "Hi," he mumbled in a content and lazy tone.

"We gotta move, Sas, it's getting late and we gotta hit the road," Naruto muttered, pressing a kiss to his lover's head. "Plus, my legs are killing me."

"You are heavy," Sasuke conceded, with a nod. Sighing, he carefully slid out of Naruto, who flinched slightly at how sensitive he felt, and Naruto allowed his cramped leg to untangle from around Sasuke's waist so he could put his foot on the ground.

He took a moment to look at his boyfriend who, unlike him, had kept his pants on, having only freed his cock in the hastiness of their encounter. Sasuke's clothes were a mess, though, Naruto's cum having stained not only his sweatshirt but his jeans as well. As Sasuke released him to remove the filled condom his cock, Naruto looked at himself, noticing that he, too, was a mess. Great.

He looked at Sasuke, only mildly apologetic. "Change clothes and then we'll go?" he asked, with a smile.

Sasuke smirked at him. "I'm borrowing your stuff," he said, with a nod. "No disgusting colourful hoodies, though."

000

Naruto took a deep breath as he stretched his arms over his head, the fresh scents of the woods around him filling his senses. The drive to the small wooden cottage he and Sasuke would be spending the weekend at had been long and tiring after a hard day's work, but completely worth it. He and Sasuke had been lucky they had both managed to get off early so they could hit the road. Of course, their intense interlude before hadn't exactly been planned, but still, they had managed to be on schedule.

There, they were mostly isolated from the world, and they could only see trees and vegetation from around them, but they had passed a town on their way that he estimated to be about forty-five minutes by foot if they took the right track, and it would be even easier to get there by car.

Gaara's uncle - to whom the cottage belonged to - had been kind enough to allow them to use it if they promised to clean up a bit. Since the place had been left by a grandfather who had passed away several years before and no-one in the family really liked it, it was in good condition but mostly unattended to because of it being so secluded and too small for a family with children to spend quality vacations at. Trying to sell it had been pretty useless, as well.

For Naruto, though, it was currently the epitome of perfection. It had but one single room, with a rusty iron double bed pressed to the left wall and a huge fireplace that had a sort of grill to the right. The single window was facing the entrance door over a dusty couch, and one could see a big old blue wardrobe on the wall next to the door. They were happy when they found an old camping chemical toilet inside it that would make relieving themselves during the night a whole lot easier. There were dirty and previously colourful carpets all over the stone floor. In the centre of the room, a low round wooden table had been placed, convenient for mealtime.

After sweeping and washing the floor with the cleaning items they had brought, Sasuke and Naruto had thoroughly dusted the carpets outside before putting an old blanket Naruto had brought from home over them on the floor - they had no chairs or stools, so they'd have to sit on it, which was different, but completely fine.

There was no electricity, but somehow there was a pipe emerging from the ground with a faucet at the back of the house from which the water had come out clean after running a disgusting brown hue for a while.

All in all, it wasn't exactly ideal - and not at all romantic - but they couldn't really afford anything fancier at this point. Sasuke had had money on the side from his divorce with Karin, but a couple of months ago Naruto's car had unexpectedly kicked the bucket and Sasuke had insisted in helping him buy a new one, even if it was second-handed. They had argued about it for days because under no circumstance did Naruto want his lover to give away his money for him, but in the end, Sasuke had proven to be the more stubborn one of the two, and Naruto had finally caved in under the condition that they would share the car.

After almost four months of dating, they had finally managed to have some time off to plan for a weekend together, and it felt like the best thing that had happened in forever. Apart from finally having Sasuke all to himself, that is.

Honestly, Naruto couldn't be happier.

Naruto dropped his arms at his sides and shoved his hands inside the pockets of his parka with a pleased sigh. It was so blissfully quiet it felt surreal.

It was almost nightfall and they had already cleaned up enough and settled in. They had brought enough food and water for the night, clean bed sheets and pillows and several old covers. Sasuke had brought lanterns and candles. Tomorrow they would take a walk around the woods and maybe go to town. It wasn't like they had made plans other than to actually spend some time together, just the two of them.

Naruto's eyes scanned the surrounding area with a small smile, taking the view in before dark settled in. Kankuro had said that there was a nice lake nearby, maybe he and Sasuke would be able to find it. Of course, swimming was out of the question since the weather was still too cold for that.

"It's a good thing we gathered enough wood on our way here; I think it's going to rain," a voice said from behind Naruto, making him look over his shoulder to see Sasuke emerging from the cottage. He didn't have his coat on, so he immediately rubbed his hands together.

"Did you manage to start the fire?" Naruto asked, offering Sasuke a hand, that the man took.

"Yeah, it was easy," Sasuke said with a shrug of his shoulders - after all, he had prepared in advance for this short trip, and like the genius he was, had been efficient around the cottage every step of the way. "I put my mom's stew on the pan we brought, too. I'm already heating it up."

"You're such a dedicated man," Naruto teased, turning to Sasuke completely and pulling him closer by the hand until he could put his arms tightly around him so he could be warmer. "I'm such a lazy ass, aren't I?"

"You already dusted the place, cleaned the floor and helped me change the bed, you're not a lazy ass," Sasuke said, with a small, but frustratingly charming smile, surrounding Naruto's waist in a hug. "I think we're all set for a nice, quiet weekend all by ourselves."

"Well, I'm not sure about the quiet part since I have plans to make you scream at some point starting tonight," Naruto teased, with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows that had Sasuke rolling his eyes.

"Aren't you full of energy," he said, sarcastically.

"For you, always."

Sasuke snorted, but smiled more openly. "We need to take some water inside, to fill the toilet and the basin so we can wash up. I don't want to have to go out in the middle of the night if I want to take a piss."

Together, and still holding on to each other - which made them stumble along the way and laugh in the process - they went back inside the small cottage, where the smell of Mikoto's stew was already filling the place.

While Naruto went to fetch some water for the chemical toilet and added some bleach to it, Sasuke busied himself with setting the low table. Then, Naruto took outside the large metallic basin they had also found in the wardrobe and also filled it with water after washing it, calling for Sasuke when he needed help carrying it back inside.

Since the cottage no longer had a pungent smell of dust and moss, Sasuke finally decided to close the door for the night, locking it afterwards. It would take a while for the place to properly heat up, but that didn't stop Sasuke from still wanting to wash up and promptly demanding that Naruto did the same. Together, they used the small towels they had brought and some soap and cleaned themselves up for the night before putting on their warm PJ's and comfy hooded sweat jackets.

Sasuke had truly thought of everything, Naruto thought, sitting down at the low table on the blanket and appreciatively eyeing the plain plates and cutlery, the bottle of red wine (already opened), the tall glasses and a small and very convenient box of fancy dark chocolate bonbons for dessert. Apart from all the other ones lit around the place, Sasuke had also lit a candle he had placed at the centre of the table, so the atmosphere was almost dream-like and strangely cosy. It almost made him forget that they were in the woods, hidden inside devil's ass with poor living conditions and no electricity.

But it didn't really matter, he thought with a smile, as his eyes followed Sasuke's movements as he knelt down and served Naruto the now hot stew before letting the rest of it slide from the pan into his own plate. Naruto couldn't help but notice that his own portion was bigger than Sasuke's, but since the man always did that and they always argued about it, Naruto already knew it was a lost cause.

"I feel so spoiled," Naruto said brightly, as Sasuke placed the now empty pan down on an uncovered spot on the floor. Sasuke then sat down with his legs crossed Indian-style. "It's almost like a romantic dinner."

"What do you mean 'almost'?" Sasuke asked. with an eyebrow quirked upwards. "Wine, a nice fireplace, candles, heart-warming stew; I can't possibly think of a bigger romantic cliché."

"Ah, I guess you're right," Naruto conceded with a grin, grabbing for the bottle of wine and pouring both himself and Sasuke a generous amount.

"I still have a few sandwiches in case we get hungry during the night, but tomorrow we'll definitely have to take a trip to town," Sasuke said, with a thankful nod as he picked up his glass. He eyed Naruto with a small smirk. "Shall we toast to something?"

Picking his own glass up, Naruto's smile grew. "To us?" He suggested, brightly. "That we may always spend weekends like this, preferably in better conditions, but as happy as we are right now."

"Sounds good to me," Sasuke agreed, as they clinked their glasses together. Their eyes were glued to each other as they drank, and for some reason, Naruto couldn't stop smiling. Sasuke seemed amused by this.

"Okay, let's eat!" Naruto said excitedly, putting the glass down and grabbing for his cutlery, not wasting a single second and putting a neatly cut piece of meat in his mouth. He moaned at the tenderness and the assault of flavours that invaded his senses. "Holy shit; your mom's cooking is the best, dude. The fucking best."

While his godparents had always done their best, it was no news that neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade were great with domestic stuff, least of all cooking, which meant that, while growing up, Naruto couldn't really say that he'd had the tastiest meals. He'd had to self-teach himself at some point, but he knew he wasn't really all that good at it either, so finally having someone in his life who was a master at pleasing his palate was definitely one of the many good things that had come from his official relationship with Sasuke, along with Mikoto's constant coddling.

Well, Sasuke himself was no chef, but he did know his way around a kitchen, and was a much better cook than Naruto would ever hope to be. It was like living a dream with his very own moody prince charming, and Naruto just wanted to shout out his happiness whenever he thought about it.

"It's because she knows you're a fan that she cooked this especially for you," Sasuke informed, digging in as well. He also made an appreciative sound with the back of his throat as he chewed.

For a while, they ate in comfortable silence, listening to the sounds of the crackling fire as they exchanged looks. Every time their eyes casually met, Naruto's heart would skip the most wonderful beat.

He didn't think he'd ever get down from the high of finally being in an open relationship with the person he loved.

Because, to him, from the very start, Sasuke had always been more than a friend, and even now, 'lover' didn't seem enough to describe him.

It was no news that Naruto had always been a hopeless romantic. He'd been in a few relationships, some of them that had been nice, some not that much, but even if he had cared about the girls he'd been with, none of them had ever made him feel the way Sasuke did. And Sasuke had made him feel so many things all at once from the very beginning that it had felt to Naruto like the other man had barged into his life to hit him like a typhoon.

Naruto had always firmly believed in love, so he had been sure that, no matter how many failed relationships might cross his path, eventually, 'the one' would come to stay. Of course, open minded as he was, there was no denying that never in a million years would he have expected for 'the one' to come in the shape of a gorgeous, intelligent man, who also happened to be married.

He and Sasuke had hit it off so naturally in spite of their seemingly different personalities that it had been both exciting and refreshing at the same time. Naruto was a sociable person, a natural empath, one might say, but even though others connected to him quickly, his heart had a hard time finding precious connections. With Sasuke, however, he had desperately wanted to reach out to him and make that connection deeper.

Thinking about it now, Naruto had not anticipated the blow to his heart when Sasuke had confessed to be married. This had also been when Naruto had noticed that maybe his interest in the other man was probably not exclusively as a mere friend, and this, too, had come as a surprise, but not one that he found disturbing. In fact, even if he had never had any interest in the same gender, he had come to accept the fact that he had been very attracted to Sasuke as if it was something meant to be. It hadn't matter to him that Sasuke was a man, nor if his body was a complete mystery he knew nothing about.

Now, he thought that it definitely might've been something karmic because, somehow, loving Sasuke had come to him as easily as breathing; as if his heart had somehow loved him before they had even met - as if he had been waiting for him all his life.

It was a corny way to think, but that was how Naruto felt. He knew he had fallen in love hard, and it had been (still was) the best feeling in the world, as well as the most terrifying because he had wanted someone he shouldn't/couldn't have. With the exhilaration had come the guilt, and with the guilt, came the anguish of desiring someone so deeply it was physically painful to hold back his feelings.

Boy, how he had tried to see Sasuke as just another guy and just another good friend. He had tried so hard to be annoyed by the flaws, to find something in the man that would upset him, some physical trait that would make him less attractive, but there had been nothing. He had been able to handle Sasuke perfectly well, and he has instantly liked Sasuke's cold bluntness - at least he knew the man was transparent. Their banters had been exciting, too, and Naruto had had fun. About Sasuke's looks, well, even for someone who had never appreciated another man's beauty, Naruto knew Sasuke definitely set the bar high for both men and women. There was nothing 'ugly' about him, and he had no disgusting habits one could pick on either, quite the contrary - he was always so effortlessly pristine and clean it made you want to lick him.

Yes, he had thought about it quite a lot.

Naruto had tried, and he had suffered immensely because of it. At some point, it had been stronger than himself, especially when Sasuke had been pulled along so nicely, openly giving away his own strangely oblivious attraction. Their chemistry had brought them together with the force of a thousand gods.

When they had finally managed to clash, it had been glorious and horrifying at the same time. Like living their very first love, they had started off innocently, teasingly and experimentally. And then, everything had matured and spiralled out of control in times where they had both been aching without knowing what tomorrow would look like for them.

Naruto swallowed a bit of carrot with difficulty, frowning slightly as his eyes softly scanned Sasuke's features.

Their feelings had been so selfish, so hungry and genuine that in sometimes nothing else seemed to matter - not even the feelings of those from the outside.

Naruto had never been the kind of person to care about himself more than others. Never did he put himself or his own interests above others, but never had he had someone in his life that he'd been so thoroughly scared to be without either.

Frankly, he had hated this new-found part of himself, this emotional impulsiveness that overpowered his better judgement and turned him into this greedy man that didn't know how to walk away from something so easily within his reach.

A part of him resented Sasuke for turning him into that kind of person - resented that Sasuke couldn't be the better man for the sake of his own marriage -, but all the negative feelings he could've possibly had would always be quickly overpowered by the beautiful force of what they felt for each other.

In so many ways, it had been the mutuality of it all that had become so fatalistic in the end.

Naruto had genuinely never felt as miserable in his life as he had when he'd decided to break up with Sasuke. Those weeks he'd lived without knowing how things would turn out for them had been the absolute worst. Back then, he had kind of learned how to resign himself into believing that he and Sasuke were over and that they'd have to eventually handle each other as 'friends', but truth was, within himself, Naruto had felt like he'd never get over the heartbreak, dramatic as it sounded. He had thought that he would love Sasuke forever without being able to feel the same for another person, ever again.

"What's with that look?" Sasuke's voice woke him up from his depressive thoughts. Naruto blinked at him, noticing the concerned look on his lover's face.

That's right, those days were behind them. Sasuke had chosen him, in the end, and even if things were a little uncertain for their future still, they had each other and they were doing more than fine. Sasuke was his, and that was all that mattered. If he had a say in it, he would keep him forever.

He didn't want Sasuke to ever regret this, and he would do anything within his power to make sure of it.

"Ah, it's nothing," Naruto dismissed, with a smile. "I was just thinking about how happy I am that we're here right now. I mean, even if it's been a while already I still can't believe we're… well, together, you know? I just get all fuzzy when I think about it."

Sasuke eyed him gently for a few seconds. Naruto noticed he had already finished eating. "Hasn't the novelty worn out, yet?" Sasuke asked in a playful way. "It's not like we haven't been together before being official."

"Well, it's just different," Naruto said, with a shrug of his shoulders, noticing that his plate still had food in it. "Now we have everyone's blessing and you're all mine. Everything else feels so far away."

After a thoughtful pause, Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it definitely does."

Naruto beamed at him and hurriedly tried to finish his food. In the meantime, Sasuke poured himself more wine. With his elbow on the table and his fist supporting his cheek, he took sips on the beverage as he attentively watched Naruto eat.

In spite of himself, Naruto felt his cheeks heat up because there was always something about the way Sasuke looked at him that made his insides boil. Maybe the novelty hadn't worn out yet, because Naruto still hadn't been able to not feel very instantly affected by everything Sasuke.

Well, he wasn't a teenager damn it, he was supposed to have more self-control than this. But Sasuke didn't exactly make it easier, so constantly seductive in a very nonchalant way.

When Naruto managed to finish his food, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and also took a gulp on his own wine, hoping it would help calm him down.

"You know, huh…" Naruto began, setting the glass down as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think I've ever thanked you for… you know, for what you did. You actually let go of everything to be with me. Karin, your home, your stability…"

"I did it for my own benefit, Naruto; it's not like it's something you need to thank me for," Sasuke said, quietly. "Of course, I wanted to make you happy by doing it, but I was also searching for my own happiness."

"I know, but…" Naruto felt his cheeks redden further. "I mean… I have to be very important to you for you to do something like that. I mean, how badly do you have to like someone to go that far?"

"Badly enough to want to go that far, for sure," Sasuke replied, with a small smirk, putting his own glass down over the table. "You're thinking about useless things, aren't you?"

"No, I just…" Naruto looked away, finding Sasuke's eyes to be too intense. "I just don't want you to think that I don't appreciate it just because I didn't have anything to lose, you know? It was the best thing anyone has ever done for me in a long time, and I doubt anything in this world will ever top that. I guess I wanted you to know that; that's all."

"Naruto." A hand reached out to touch his cheek, gentle fingers sliding down to grab for his chin so Naruto would face the other man again.

Reverently and helplessly, Naruto ran his eyes over Sasuke's flawless features, admiring the perfect cheekbones and the almost feline contour of his grey eyes. Those eyes seemed pitch black in the dim lights of the room, but Naruto knew that, under the sunlight, that hue of grey became considerably lighter and Sasuke's eyes looked almost like liquid steel.

Naruto allowed himself to appreciate the tone of Sasuke's pale and unblemished skin - how it was such a shocking, yet gorgeous contrast to those eyes and dark, dark hair.

"I don't need you to say these things to me, because I know them well," Sasuke said lowly, his thumb caressing Naruto's chin. "You don't ever need to reassure me, you should know that."

Sasuke truly was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life, Naruto thought, and even now, he still thought so. If Naruto had ever thought that, by now, the amazement would have diminished, he had been thankfully mistaken - he still found Sasuke as alluring as he had when he had first met him.

Naruto always had the urge to tell Sasuke how stunning he found him, but he often tried to keep it to himself since the other man had certain moods during which he didn't want to be flattered.

Reaching out, Naruto used two fingers to brush a strand of hair away from Sasuke's face, which in turn made Sasuke's expression falter a little and Naruto knew instantly that something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked shifting a bit so he was closer to the other until their legs touched. He brushed the back of his fingers over Sasuke's jaw.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, the movement - as everything about him, really - elegant but surprisingly casual. "I don't really know," he sighed. "Now that we're talking about this, I guess I can't help but think about England. About you missing your chance to make a debut album I mean."

In spite of himself, Naruto tensed, letting his hand fall. "Come on, Sas, we've talked about this a million times already," he said, with a frown. "My decision is final and I'm not changing my mind just because Kiba is pissed. I told him he could get another lead singer."

"You just don't want to go because you're afraid of the distance and what it might do to our relationship - what that type of career might do," Sasuke said, with a frown. "But it's your life, Naruto, and your future. You can't think about 'us' or about 'me' when it comes to that."

"It's not just about you," Naruto protested, frustratingly. "I don't want to go, and I'm being…"

"What if I go with you?" Sasuke interrupted, his low voice serious in ways Naruto hadn't heard in quite a long time. "Will you reconsider, then?"

Surprised, Naruto blinked at his lover, his mouth hanging open, at loss for words. Sasuke was actually offering to leave everything he had built to go to England with him just so they could be together? It sounded almost hopelessly romantic and it made Naruto's heart beat faster. He wanted to laugh, but was sure Sasuke wouldn't be pleased.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said gently instead, shaking his head. "You finally have a job you love. You work so hard, too. I'm going to start working as a teacher at the Conservatory I studied at myself, a place I loved. We can't just…"

"My job is just a job," Sasuke said, with a dryness he sometimes used without noticing, crossing his arms over his chest resolutely. "I'm as eager to part ways with you as you are, but this is bigger than both of us. So, if it's something you want to do, if it's the fulfilment of your dream, then we'll both fight for it, Naruto. We'll do this together. We'll rethink everything and it'll be fine."

Feeling himself relax instantly, Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes as endearment filled him. For a moment, he contemplated how lucky he was, having someone so amazing as Sasuke loving him like this. All the emotions he felt for his lover made Naruto know that this was the most important and precious thing he would ever truly own. There really wasn't anyone quite like Sasuke, for him.

Oddly enough, from the moment he and Sasuke had reached this beautiful stage of their bond, so many things he had thought he had wanted for himself had started to diminish in relevance and seem almost frivolous. There were so many things he now understood that he could happily let go of, but this love with Sasuke wasn't one of them.

"Sasuke," Naruto said firmly, turning more to him so he could properly face him. "I used to think that I wanted to be a Rockstar and live a life full of adventures and fame while being surrounded by a lot of people. But, when I was in England, trying my best to impress people and promote the band, working my ass off for little money while barely being able to breathe, all I could think about was how much I wanted to see you." He took a moment to put a hand on Sasuke's thigh, noticing how the man's dark eyes had softened. "I thought I wanted that. I liked being with the band, I liked the shows, being on stage and all that. I still do. I do love making music. But that was just the part where we're nothing but small fry, and when I think about a bigger picture, somehow, I don't feel happy at all. I don't want to be tied by contracts, tours and an impossible agenda. I don't want that kind of life, Sasuke, even though, before you, I thought I did. But I had nothing. I didn't have you."

"You don't want that kind of life, not even if I'm by your side?" Sasuke questioned, his voice having lowered in tone as well.

Naruto smiled. "I simply don't want it, Sasuke," he said, honestly. "You have to believe me. A lot of things look ideal when you're young, single and without life prospects." He rubbed Sasuke's knee for emphasis. "Right now, I just want to go back to teaching, something I loved, and being with you, that's all. And somehow just thinking about it makes so much happier than me being a Rockstar."

Pressing his lips together, Sasuke nodded. He grabbed for Naruto's free hand and placed a small kiss to the palm. "I just don't want you to regret it at some point," he said, carefully. "It's true that I love my job and the quiet life we have now, but if it's to make your dream come true, then I'm fine as long as we're together."

"As I said, it's not my dream anymore," Naruto pressed on, his smile growing to a reassuring one. "My dream is to build a future together with you. I just want to go through every stage of our lives with you, as normal people, preferably happy. Unless you'd be terribly upset that your boyfriend didn't become rich and famous, of course, then we'd be talking differently."

"Stupid, as if I care about something like that," Sasuke mumbled, grumpily. "I fell in love with you making shit money at the school we both worked at, in your old as fuck Ford Fiesta."

"My baby was very sexy, just so you know," Naruto mumbled, faking a pout. "And I always looked very sexy in it, too."

"Indeed, you did," Sasuke agreed, with a smirk. He placed another kiss to Naruto's hand before releasing it. He took a deep breath before bringing the glass on his lap to his lips and downing the rest of the wine. "So, that is it, then."

Naruto bit down on his lower lip. "We're together," he said, happily. "And it's been really wonderful every step of the way. I just… I don't think I will ever be able to stop feeling grateful for the fact that you actually did leave everything for me and still are willing to do it if necessary. I know you never wanted anything in return, but I want to give you everything I can. I don't want to be away from you, and I don't want anything to ever come in between us." He frowned. "I mean it. I'd fuck up everything and everyone who dared to destroy this or try to take you from me. I don't want to risk jeopardising us. This is a million times more important to me than anything else."

Sasuke's small, soft smile was the most gorgeous thing Naruto had ever seen, and truth was, it only appeared for him. It still made funny things happen to his stomach and his cheeks catch fire because it was so infuriatingly charming.

"I get it," Sasuke conceded. "I suppose that, even now, it's hard to remember that we do share the same feelings about everything."

Naruto could definitely relate to that. They had been drawn to each other helplessly from the very start, and things had always been mutual between them, their feelings shaped and developed together. They hadn't been children, nor inexperienced, but there had been many firsts between them that they had both desired with the same passion and had embraced without regret.

Even now, thinking about all the ups and downs they had gone through, it still felt to Naruto like some sort of erratic dream, or a twisted fairy tale. Explaining how their love had blossomed and quickly became indispensable wasn't something Naruto could do. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that his heart had decided to love Sasuke unconditionally the way it did - sometimes it felt like that love had always been there, waiting - but this had never scared him. In fact, - even if he had blamed himself for the weakness - it had been impossible for him to move away. How could he, really, when he had felt the same love coming towards him whenever Sasuke touched him, kissed him, smiled at him or even looked at him?

How can one simply walk away from such a fulfilling, yet agonizing perfection?

It had been a wild ride for them, and they had loved each other and hurt each other and so many things about their lives had changed, as well as themselves, but it had all been worth it.

"Sasuke, I want you to come live with me."

There he had said it, and it hadn't been at all how he had planned it, but it was out anyway, and Sasuke looked genuinely taken aback.

"Live with you?" Sasuke breathed. "What?"

"I know it's not much, and you know my place is pretty small, but you know my bed can fit two, and there's place for an extra wardrobe if you need it!" Naruto hurriedly explained.

"But… what about Jiraiya?" Sasuke asked, in disbelief. "I can't just…"

"He's totally fine with it, I talked to him already and he was pretty chill," Naruto assured him. "He's not the type to bother, or go up there unannounced! He always calls first, so we'll have all the privacy we need."

"I…"

"The house is ours so you don't have to pay rent or anything, and you don't need to worry about…"

"I can't just freeload at your place, Naruto!" Sasuke protested. "I'm not exactly swimming in money to get a place of my own by myself, but I'm not so bad off that I'd need you to cover for me when you haven't even started working yet!"

"That's not what I meant, love; I was just saying it's not a problem!" Naruto quickly explained, with a smile that he hoped would calm his lover down. "You can totally help with the bills if you want, I'm cool with that."

Sasuke huffed, relaxing a little but still looking very conflicted. "Why this all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I told you I want to be with you," Naruto admitted, with small, nervous laugh. "I wanted to make the suggestion at the beginning, but didn't want you to think I was being creepy. I understand if you think it's too soon or something. I just thought you'd feel better living with me rather than at your parents'. It isn't much, but we'd be together. We can totally try to find a better place at some point when we're both better off financially. I mean, I like my place, but I don't wanna live there forever, of course not. I want us to have our own place, eventually."

Sasuke simply looked at him, speechless, and as often happened, his expression showed so many things all at once that it seemed to close off into something unreadable and it became impossible to tell what was going through his mind. He seemed to be breathing a little hard, too.

And suddenly, there it was - an energy Naruto was far too familiar with by now, and almost as if on cue, he felt his body tense in awareness, helplessly affected.

And then, there was that look.

Oh. Sasuke was happy.

Maybe it was the perspective of new things to come for them, or maybe it was the simple fact that they had only seen each other for a couple of hours per day during the last week that had forced the tension they had been feeling from the start to crack again. All Naruto was aware of, really, was of how hot his skin suddenly felt as Sasuke moved so he was on his hands and knees, quickly invading his personal space until he was practically half on top of him - not that he minded at all.

There was but a moment during which they exchanged a silent, intense look, their faces mere inches apart from each other as their joined breaths mingled between them, and Naruto wasn't really aware of his body moving to face Sasuke, or his hands coming up to cup Sasuke's face in them before demandingly pulling him in for a kiss.

As everything between them, still, the roughness of the initial intimacy seemed to ignite something within them that would hardly be put out easily. The kiss was fast paced, hungry and dominating on both sides as they both seemed eager to devour each other to somehow express things words simply couldn't. There was the lingering taste of Mikoto's stew and wine between them as their tongues met but neither cared. The rush that invaded them both was too sudden and dizzying for them to care about anything else but the desire within them.

Instinctively, Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, adjusting himself so he could fall back and lie down, pulling Sasuke along so the man could lie on top of him. They struggled a bit desperately between clumsy kisses and pants as Naruto attempted to somehow spread his legs so Sasuke could settle between them.

It was a welcomed relief when their bodies came into full contact and their lower parts joined. Sasuke wasn't shy in teasingly thrusting down in search for some friction, which elicited a moan from Naruto as he felt his libido skyrocket and his cock harden instantly at feeling the other's obvious arousal.

God, he loved this so much.

"Don't tease me…" he huffed against Sasuke's mouth, even as he eagerly tried to thrust upwards to meet the amazing friction.

"I'm not," Sasuke huffed wantonly. "I'm just loving you".

And Naruto was completely lost.

Two years later…

"Shisui, stop! You're getting me all wet!" Naruto protested, laughing hard as he ran away from the splashes of sea water being kicked his way.

"You're wet already, what's the difference?" Shisui said, with a huge grin, running after Naruto and getting himself all wet as well before promptly kicking more water towards him.

"You wanna pick a fight with me, Uchiha?" Naruto dared, kicking back full force. "If you wanna lead me on let's fight like real men and I'll have your head underwater in a heartbeat!"

"Bring it on, blondie!"

Sasuke snorted as the two men promptly started wrestling each other, both fully clothed. Well, it was a warm day, and thankfully Naruto had brought a t-shirt and shorts, but Shisui was wearing jeans, and both men were already drenched. If Naruto wasn't so carefree about these things because they made him so absolutely happy, Sasuke would've been scolding him already, but this was a special day to have fun, so he wasn't going to bother.

The beach wasn't very crowded considering it was still spring, but even so, their tiny group of four was the only that still had their street clothes on. They hadn't exactly been planning on dropping by the beach, but Shisui had insisted and they had obliged him.

A body sat down heavily on the sand next to Sasuke as an arm was thrown over his shoulders. "Who would've said these two would get along so easily?" Itachi commented casually, making Sasuke turn his head to look at him and see him smiling.

"Somehow, I'm not that surprised," Sasuke said, smiling back at his brother. He was happy that Itachi had come to visit, and that he had brought Shisui along, too. Their parents had been surprised, but his mother had been very happy to see her nephew. No matter what she said though, it hadn't convinced Shisui to try and contact his own family.

Itachi's forehead bumped playfully on Sasuke's temple. "You look terribly happy, little brother," he noticed.

"That's because I am," Sasuke admitted easily, looking back at the two wrestling men ahead just in time to see Naruto being thrown underwater. "Life is pretty normal, I guess; but surprisingly good at this point. I don't think I could've asked for anything more, really."

"Mm," Itachi agreed, still looking at him observantly. "You know he's going to propose to you, right?"

Sasuke's smile turned into a knowing smirk. "He wears the damn rings in a necklace around his neck," he told Itachi, shaking his head. "I haven't seen them yet because I'm kind of indulging him in pretending I don't notice it, even giving him the chance to take them off to hide them by turning around and such. He's so dumb in these things it's almost adorable."

"He's probably waiting to use the right cliché, at the right time," Itachi said, chuckling. "Don't tease him too much when he does; he means well."

Sasuke pursed his lips together and took a deep breath through his nose. "I don't care about his clichés, to be honest," he mumbled pushing his sunglasses up his nose. "I don't even know why he's killing himself over this. I'm fine with whatever he does."

Itachi was silent for a while before calmly asking "Are you going to accept?"

Sasuke threw him an unimpressed sideways glance as if asking if he was joking, which in turn made Itachi laugh a little. "Well, right now I definitely cannot say that I'm opposed to it. You're older now, with a steady life and a promising future and you've worked very hard to be where you are now. You're in a relationship that brings out the best in you, and that's wonderful to see. I'm actually very proud of you, Sasuke, and of what you've accomplished, even if you did exasperate me a lot before."

In spite of himself, Sasuke's cheeks reddened. "I didn't exactly ask for your blessing, but thanks," he muttered, more to assert his pride than because of some ill feelings, because, inside, he was thankful for Itachi's words. Even if he'd never admit it, his brother's approval had always been very important to him, and not having it when he had gotten married to Karin had been devastating. Not that Itachi hadn't supported his decision or respected it - because he had - but he hadn't been completely convinced that it had been something Sasuke should've been doing at the time. Well, he had been right, Sasuke guessed. Or not. If Naruto hadn't gotten into his life, maybe Sasuke would have still been married to Karin, convinced that he was living the life he was supposed to live. Or maybe, he would've eventually felt like something was missing.

Either way, there was a strong chance that he would've believed that he was meant to be with Karin for the rest of his life and, committed to things as he was, he probably would. He had gotten married thinking that it would be forever.

Well, he would never know now, but this wasn't something he thought about frequently, anyway. What was done was done, and with every passing day, he was given constant proof that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Feeling resolute, Sasuke, offered his brother's hand a pat. "I'll be back in a sec," he said, as Itachi removed the arm from around his shoulder so he could get up.

"Good luck," Itachi said, knowingly, and Sasuke just had to roll his eyes because, seriously, the man had to be a wizard.

Brushing the sand off his ass and legs, Sasuke made his way to the edge of the sea, just deep enough so the waves would reach his naked feet just at ankle level.

He took off his sunglasses and hanged them on the collar of his t-shirt. "Hey, dumbass! Come here!" he called out to the two men ahead, who were both waist deep in the sea, fully clothed. For some reason, both stopped upon hearing his voice, and Sasuke had to smirk. "Not you Shisui; my dumbass!"

Shisui ran both hands through his dark hair to push it back and laughed.

"Hey, I resent that!" Naruto pretested, even if he started immediately stumbling out of the water. He looked over his shoulder at Shisui. "I'll be back!"

"You better, 'cause we've got a score to settle!" Shisui said behind him, also getting out of the water and heading towards Itachi, but in a more composed manner that Naruto, no doubt about it.

Sasuke watched his lover emerge from the ocean with his clothes dripping heavily all over the sand and sticking to his body, his blond hair flat against his head. He looked like some drowned cat or something, and it was immensely funny to see, but also strangely sexy, and Sasuke didn't know if he should laugh or be annoyed because, really, Naruto could be worse than a child sometimes. But that was one of his good traits, as well.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, beaming at him, his eyes glowing impossibly under the sunlight, bluer than the sky itself, if such a thing was even possible. For a couple of seconds, Sasuke's breath was caught in his throat at the sight.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "Look at you, you're soaking wet," Sasuke admonished, reaching out a hand to brush Naruto's fringe away from his forehead.

"Heh, I was fighting your cousin, and winning, mind you," Naruto said, grinning happily as he twisted the hem of his t-shirt to rid of the excess water.

"Of course, you were," Sasuke said, condescendingly. Then, he silently extended his hand, palm turned upwards, waiting.

Naruto eyed the hand, confusedly. "What?" he asked, frowning. "Why are you doing that?"

"Give them to me," Sasuke demanded firmly.

Naruto blinked at him. "Give what to you?"

"These," Sasuke said with an exasperated sigh, casually slapping Naruto's chest with the back of his hand where, underneath his t-shirt, the contours of the necklace and rings could clearly be seen. "I want them."

Naruto immediately looked down at his chest, horrified. "Oh, damn, I forgot to leave them home today!" he said, looking up at Sasuke with his eyes very open, a suddenly anxious expression flooding his features. He brought his hand to his chest, protectively covering the shape of the rings there. "You weren't supposed to have seen this!"

"I've known for days, stop being a baby and give them to me," Sasuke insisted, still holding his hand out, waiting.

Chewing on his lower lip, Naruto visibly hesitated, clearly disappointed, especially at himself. "But… but it's not how I…"

"Naruto," Sasuke cut. "Give. Them. To. Me."

Pouting, Naruto huffed and conceded, taking the rings from underneath his wet t-shirt before bringing his hands behind his neck to unclasp the necklace. Crestfallen, he placed everything over Sasuke's expecting palm.

Looking down at the items, Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. The rings were simple, the design much like any other wedding ring, perfectly shiny and beautifully polished, but they weren't gold. "Steel?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah; I figured you wouldn't want the typical golden rings, so adamant about not wanting clichés in your life as you are," Naruto explained, crossing his arms over his chest, insecurely. "Plus, steel is more resistant and a lot less prone to getting scratched and stuff. I wanted it to be like a symbol of how resistant we are, too. I know it's lame."

Sasuke licked at his lower lip with the tip of his tongue, assaulted by so many things that words failed him. Leave it to Naruto to kill himself meticulously thinking of details to make those rings more meaningful that what met the eye. They were simple, but Sasuke found them to be incredibly beautiful, too.

"Were you going to get down on one knee and propose or something?" he ended up asking quietly, making the rings slide from the silvery necklace before putting it away inside the pocket of his shorts. He inspected both rings, easily identifying which one was his and which one was Naruto's since there was a considerable difference in width.

"I don't know; maybe, maybe not," Naruto said, and when Sasuke glanced at him, the man was looking down at his feet, embarrassed. "I just didn't really know how to do it in a way that you wouldn't find corny."

Without replying, Sasuke grabbed for one of the rings - the one he was sure was for him - and put it on the ring finger of his left hand. He noticed Naruto lifting his head to look at him, then. Oddly enough, it was a perfect fit, and he couldn't help but wonder about how the hell his lover had managed to know his exact size.

He was overwhelmed by the sudden joy he felt at seeing the ring on his finger and found the sight to be strangely powerful in an almost surreal way.

"Give me your hand," Sasuke asked in an authoritative tone. Naruto made a suspicious face and offered him his right one, that Sasuke promptly slapped, which earned him a pout from his lover. "Not that one, idiot. The other one."

Realization seemed to hit Naruto then, as he immediately blushed before silently offering Sasuke the requested hand.

Effortlessly, Sasuke grabbed for the wet hand slipped the remaining ring on Naruto's finger, afterwards taking his time looking down appreciatively. The item's simple yet elegant design seemed to make quite the contrast with Naruto's tanned skin and rough fingers, and Sasuke found the sight just as beautiful.

Naruto's fingers twitched nervously before closing around Sasuke's gently. Looking up, Sasuke found blue eyes watching him worriedly, but also immensely embarrassed and it was sadistically adorable.

Sasuke wanted to smile, but even now, he couldn't help but tease the other man.

"They're both a perfect fit it seems," he commented, casually and seriously, his thumb caressing the fingers under it. "It's settled then. I'll do it."

"You'll do what?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"I'll marry you."

Seeing the other man jump back so suddenly he was completely out of his reach was completely unexpected to Sasuke, whose hand was left hanging in the air. "Wait, are you fucking serious?!" Naruto asked, his eyes becoming huge once more, unblinking as he looked at Sasuke.

"Are you fucking seriously telling me you were going to propose expecting me to decline?!" Sasuke protested confusedly.

Naruto then started stuttering, his hands moving awkwardly with no apparent purpose as if he didn't know what to do with them. "No, I… I just… I just thought that there might be a chance of you saying it was too soon 'cause we just got an apartment and…" He huffed, bringing both hands to his head. "Oh shit, are you sure? Like, completely sure?!"

This time, Sasuke did smile. "I'm sure if you are, Naruto," he said softly. "But I hope you understand you'll have to put up with me for the rest of your days."

Stilling, Naruto dropped his hands at his sides, seeming to relax. The way he looked at Sasuke then made all sorts of strange things happen to his stomach, even now.

Next thing he knew, Naruto had quickly closed the distance between them to put his arms around his neck and hold him so tightly he felt crushed. Naruto's wet and cold body quickly soaked Sasuke's own clothes, but the way his heart was beating was enough to keep Sasuke from protesting. With a sigh, he surrounded Naruto's torso with his arms. Neither cared for the people around them, nor the fact that both Shisui and Itachi could see them clearly from where they were.

After a while, Naruto leaned away and pressed a chaste kiss to Sasuke's lips. "You gotta promise not to fall in love with someone else in the meantime," Naruto muttered, with a small but teasing smile. "Once burned, as they say…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but smiled back. "You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

"Nope."

It was okay, though, Sasuke thought, joining their foreheads together. Somehow, they both knew that there was no way they would ever feel the same way for someone else ever again.

Five Years Later...

"Hi, Karin."

The afternoon sun was setting over the lake at the local park, the breeze slightly cold. Naruto found Karin sitting alone at a bench, peacefully watching the scenery in front of her. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and she was wearing a gorgeous white dress with green flowers under an unbuttoned dark green coat. She looked mature. feminine and very professional-like, and more beautiful than Naruto remembered, her vibrant hair gleaming with the last rays of sun.

When she looked up at him, she smiled warmly, taking him by surprise.

"Hello, Naruto," she greeted him, before patting the empty spot on her right in an indication that he should sit. With a thankful smile in return, he obliged her.

"Thank you for meeting me here," he said easily, leaning back on the bench but looking at her. "You look absolutely stunning by the way."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, politely. Naruto was surprised at how at ease she seemed, her walls apparently completely down.

Years had passed since Karin and Sasuke had gotten a divorce, but unfortunately, try as he might, she hadn't wanted to talk to him until he eventually gave up. However, whenever they talked about Karin Sasuke would always have this distant and sad look in his eyes that he would try to conceal, but Naruto knew well that this unresolved issue would always eat at him.

Because Sasuke sometimes exchanged texts with Suigetsu and a couple of their mutual friends, he was able to know things about Karin's life and know she was doing very well, which had been some form of relief, in so many ways, but still not exactly enough for him to be at peace.

A couple months ago, Naruto had by chance found Karin in his friend suggestions from Facebook and hadn't hesitated in sending a friend request. Back then, he'd had no idea if Karin would find it offensive. He was shocked, but excited when the request had been accepted and had immediately contacted her via messenger with a huge assed text apologising and telling Karin things about him and Sasuke and how Sasuke felt about her.

He had never expected Karin to suggest them to meet up.

For a moment, Naruto contemplated the irony of them meeting there. Karin had been the one to choose the meeting spot, and while they hadn't exactly decided where in the park they would find each other, Karin had somehow ended up there.

The exact park, in the exact bench where he and Sasuke had, so long ago, almost shared their first kiss. The night where everything between them had changed.

Not that he would ever tell her this, but the coincidence was being mind-blowing.

"So, now you're a music teacher, a famous Maestro and a composer," Karin commented, elbowing him playfully. "Somehow it doesn't fit you at all."

"Heh, yeah; I didn't think I'd go down that path myself, but teaching at the Conservatory really opened new horizons for me," Naruto admitted, with an embarrassed chuckle, thinking that, since she was being so nice, he could just be himself. "And, well, I wouldn't say I'm famous at all. I mean, I have a known name in my type of industry, but I suppose the world of classical music is very closed in many aspects."

"And Sasuke has become a writer," Karin pointed out, sounding genuinely interested.

In spite of himself, Naruto felt his chest swell with pride. "Yeah, his poems sold well, and his first novel was well received, too, so he's already been requested to write a sequel."

Karin paused for a moment, as if choosing whether or not to share the next bit of information with him. "Yeah, I've read all his books," she eventually said, with a pensive nod. This left Naruto momentary speechless, but glad because this meant that, resentful as she had been, she had still wanted to stay connected to Sasuke in some way and know about him. This didn't really upset him at all - in fact, it made him feel strangely emotional.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that Sasuke loved him like crazy. That same love had led him to hurting and abandoning this wonderful woman who had loved him dearly. But Sasuke had loved her, too. Because Sasuke didn't connect with people easily, the ones who did manage to get inside his heart were precious to him, and Karin had meant a lot to him. Naruto accepted it for what it was. There was nothing worse for him in this life than seeing his family hurt, and Sasuke was, and would always be, his family.

Knowing that Karin had been thinking about Sasuke, too, was beautiful thing, and he was so happy for Sasuke he could cry. Karin had wanted to meet just him, without Sasuke, but for sure, this could be the first step towards something more at some point, or so he hoped.

"And you're going to become a doctor?" Naruto said, pushing aside the swelling in his heart that almost made his eyes water. "That's so impressive!"

"Yes, I'm almost finishing my studies and then I'll be doing my full-time internship," Karin told him, with a smile.

"You're going to be a great doctor, Karin," Naruto assured her, with a conviction he honestly felt.

"Of course," she agreed, with fake arrogance, sticking her pretty nose up in the air. She then crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes looking at Naruto from up and down evaluatively until they stopped at the left hand he had resting over his knee. Naruto noticed her gaze stopping at the steel ring he was wearing, her smile slowly disappearing.

"How long?" She asked softly, without a hint of animosity.

"About five years," Naruto said, feeling endeared as he looked down to his ring as well. "It wasn't a big ceremony or anything; just close friends and family. It was nice, anyway."

"You could've invited me," Karin said, looking up at him with a reproachful frown that surprised him.

"We thought about it but weren't sure if you'd be offended," Naruto admitted, awkwardly. "I mean, you were his wife at some point, and being invited to his wedding would have been…" he cleared his throat, suddenly struggling with his words. "Sasuke talks about you a lot. He's always been thinking about you, you know? He's been wanting to talk to you all along."

Another long and silent look was offered to him. Then, Karin heaved a sigh and looked away to the lake. "I know that, Naruto. Where is he now, by the way?"

"At a café close by, with Kei."

"Your baby?" She asked, closing her eyes. "Sorry, I saw your Facebook entries."

"Ah, yeah," Naruto said happily, feeling himself blush because, no matter how long he and Sasuke had been preparing for the arrival of their child, it still seemed unreal. "Sasuke's really happy."

Opening her eyes, Karin looked back at him and threw him mischievous smile. "Well, text him and tell him to stop being a pussy and come over here."

Naruto's very soul felt about to burst from excitement, and he actually considered asking Karin if she was sure, but then thought against it in case she changed her mind. "Gotcha!"

He couldn't believe this; Karin wanted to see Sasuke! And he was bringing Kei, too, so she was going to see him, as well. For some reason, this made Naruto so happy because he felt like, for her own happiness and peace of mind, she needed to see how things had turned out for him and Sasuke - that her suffering had served some sort of greater purpose for all of them and that it had not been in vain.

He enthusiastically fished out his mobile phone and quickly tapped a message to Sasuke for him get his ass over there, letting him know where they were. Sasuke's reply didn't take long, saying he was on his way.

For a fleeting moment Naruto wondered if this was a plan of Karin's to take the chance to beat the shit out of Sasuke again, but worst-case scenario she'd land a punch and Naruto would most definitely intervene. No matter what she did, surely Sasuke would always accept it, but still.

They had to take the chance.

God, his heart was pounding so hard.

They sat in a strangely comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply watching the colours change around the park as night slowly fell. Even the swans and ducks that had been floating around in the lake seemed to be one by one retreating to their homes.

"You guys are happy, aren't you?" Karin questioned gently after a while. A light breeze made her hair sway slightly. It was getting a bit colder.

"Oh, definitely!" Naruto assured her, twisting his body so he could fully face her. "I mean, we have our ups and downs like all couples do, but it was never something serious enough to pull us apart. We're actually pretty level headed even in the ugliest fights." He chuckled a bit as a few memories assaulted him. "But like, we fight a lot about stupid stuff to blow off steam. We're both guys, after all, but it's gone as quickly as it comes, basically. We get along really well."

Nodding, Karin turned to him slightly as well, her eyes not leaving Naruto's.

"You know, I was angry at first, but not exactly at you, and not really at him, either," she confessed, shaking her head. "Sasuke and I got together so naturally. It was nice, but not exactly romantic. Everything we did was mutually agreed on and previously discussed, not exactly a relationship filled with intensity and surprises, just… a lot of complicity and good enough chemistry." She smiled again, but now it had a hint of sadness to it. "I suppose a part of me always knew that, eventually, Sasuke would understand that he didn't want to be married to me."

"Don't say that; he loved the life he had with you," Naruto assured her, daring to touch her arm, glad when she didn't reject the contact.

"That's got nothing to do with it," she said, dismissively. "Sasuke is… just Sasuke. I knew he loved me, he just wasn't passionate about me, so I knew he would leave once he found something, or someone he felt true passion for. I just thought that, blunt as he is, he would tell it to my face the moment something got off track before letting it get that far."

"He didn't want to hurt you," Naruto informed her, firmly.

"Well, he did." She bit on her lower lip. "I truly loved him, Naruto. I don't even have a reason for that other than he's always been so… unpredictable. He's a good person, but so… different, difficult to loosen up, to reach out to. But he's this wonderful character that you can't help but be drawn to for some reason. He's so higher above us all, somehow, that you can't help but want to be seen by him, to mean something more than everyone else."

"I understand the feeling all too well, Karin," Naruto muttered, remembering his own uncontrollable desire to become part of Sasuke's life no matter what. "We really didn't mean to do things the way we did. I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to be." Karin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I suppose you can't help things from happening, especially when you're in love. More than angry I was jealous, mostly of you. I never expected him to fall in love with another man. Because I actually thought, or hoped, that eventually I would be the one in his eyes, or at least become it in time. I guess it wasn't meant to be."

Naruto eyed her, at loss for what to say because he was assaulted by a wave of affection and respect for this woman who had been strong enough to meet his ex-husband's lover and talk to him. Naruto had honestly liked meeting Karin back then, and he knew she was the sort of person he would get along great with, but he understood that some things couldn't be overcome just like that.

And now, there she was, this wonderful, brave person who was proving to be so much above all of the horrible possible case scenarios Naruto had tried to predict before coming here.

Fortunately, he didn't need to think much because the now familiar sound of wheels rolling over stony ground could be heard and he turned his head towards the sound to see Sasuke approaching while pushed Kei's baby stroller in front of him.

"Ah, there he is!" he said excitedly, jumping from his seat and not wasting time in exuberantly waving at his husband. "Sas, we're here!"

Karin got up as well, and Naruto glanced at her to see her crossing her arms over her chest almost protectively. He noticed her eyes becoming wide in slight amazement.

"Oh my God, he's as handsome as ever," she said in a breath, and Naruto wasn't sure if she had even meant to say it out loud, but he had heard it anyway and found it immensely cute.

"I know, right?" He didn't care that he sounded a little cocky and proud, but hell, that was his man, and Sasuke was aging rather gracefully. Naruto often wondered if there would ever come a time when he wouldn't be this infatuated with the man.

Sasuke approached them, slowly but confidently, all nicely dressed up in black jeans and a dark blue coat and Naruto's chest swelled with pride and emotion f. In times like these he was hit with the full impact of how his life had turned out, and Sasuke's strong presence, along with their baby, was the perfect embodiment of it all. That Naruto was still able to feel this kind of fulfilment said a lot, and in so many ways, he wanted Karin to understand it, but didn't really know how to get there. She had seemed to accept it, somehow.

"Hi, Karin," Sasuke greeted politely, as soon as he stopped in front of them. "How are you doing?"

In spite of himself, Naruto, who had been sort of standing between Sasuke and Karin, took a step back, out of their way. He felt a little nervous, though, looking from one to the other as they exchanged a long and silent look. Sasuke didn't seem upset by this, his figure calm and composed, only an uncommon stiffness in his shoulders giving away his state of alert. Karin, on the other hand, was a vision of internal conflict, so many things going through her expression - longing, resentment, endearment - Naruto wanted to hug her.

Eventually, Sasuke reached out a hand towards Karin, evidently hoping that she would take it.

This was when Karin's eyes watered behind her thick rimmed glasses. "Oh, stop being an asshole and come here!" she sniffed, opening her arms and actually going to Sasuke in order to hug him. Throwing a look at his husband, Sasuke carefully let go of Kei's stroller, that Naruto immediately took over protectively in fear that it would slide away.

With his throat dry, Naruto watched as Sasuke and Karin hugged. It was a hesitant hug, not at all intimate and actually rather awkward, one might say, but there was no doubt that they had both felt some sort of relief in the contact.

"It's really wonderful to see you," Sasuke muttered with a smile, once they pulled apart and regained some decent distance between them. "You look beautiful, Karin."

"You and Naruto have to stop it, we are not going to have a threesome and that's my final word!" Karin said, jokingly, lifting her glasses a bit to wipe at the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath and fanned herself with a hand. She took notice of the baby stroller and her expression brightened considerably. "Is that little Kei?"

"Yeah, that's our son," Sasuke informed, with a proud nod. If it had been possible, Naruto would've literally melted at the chosen word of 'ours' rather than 'mine'. "Go ahead, he's been looking forward to meeting you."

Karin all but threw Sasuke a unimpressed look before going to stand beside Naruto so she could look down at the baby. Naruto couldn't help but curiously watch her reaction, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Oh… he's just a tiny Naruto, isn't he?" she whispered, bringing a hand to her chest as more tears filled her eyes.

"That was the general idea when we were looking for a surrogate mother," Naruto informed, looking down at his baby son. Kei was just a few months old, but the resemblance to him was uncanny. Since the baby was awake, it was possible to see the big and attentive blue eyes, and even his hair was the same sunny tone as Naruto's.

Kei looked up at Naruto, then at Karin with a sort of surprised look on his face. "I know, Kei, she's terribly pretty, but don't go falling in love already, you're too young and she's too old," Naruto said teasingly to his son. Karin elbowed him, but still reached out to tickle Kei's belly, making him smile and wiggle his tiny arms happily. She gently arranged the blanket around him better before straightening up, more composed now.

"Will there be a tiny Sasuke at some point, too?" She asked Sasuke.

"We haven't really thought that far yet, since this one is already a handful," Sasuke replied, with a shrug of his shoulders, looking at Naruto inquisitively. "Maybe?"

"It's something to probably have in consideration a few years down the road if all goes well?" Naruto replied hesitantly, feeling himself blush at the thought that Sasuke would even consider another child at some point. They hadn't discussed something like that yet, since having Kei had already been such a huge thing for them. The prospect of the possibility of their family growing further eventually seemed appealing though. Knowing Sasuke thought so, too, was wonderful beyond words.

This time, it was Karin who looked at the both of them. She had stopped smiling, and again, there was a strangely conflicting expression on her pretty features that was hard to interpret.

Another strange pause settled between the three of them, and while it was slightly tense, the atmosphere didn't feel dangerous or exactly uncomfortable. All things considered, this was going better than anyone could've expected, or hoped for.

At some point, Karin, arranged the strap of her purse and threw her long hair over her shoulder. She moved away from them a little before turning to them with a resolute look. "Well, I hope you guys are free right now, because I happen to have leftovers at home and my own very beautiful daughter to brag about," she unexpectedly said, a clear invitation. "Suigetsu is probably picking her up from school right now. What do you say?"

"Sounds great," Sasuke and Naruto said at the exact same time, without even looking at each other for confirmation.

"Urgh, you two really are disgusting," Karin groaned, making a face. "Come on, we have a lot of catching up to do!"

Karin promptly turned around and started walking ahead of them with firm and confident steps, her flowery dress billowing as she walked. Sasuke approached him and Naruto looked at his lover while he watched her walk away with a rather peaceful expression. There was a small, but beautiful smile on Sasuke's lips, and the sight warmed Naruto's heart in ways he couldn't possibly explain.

His hand reached out to grab for Sasuke's and give it a gentle squeeze. The other man turned his head to look at him.

"You alright?" Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke's smile grew slightly. "I'm better than ever," he said sincerely, with a reassuring nod. They exchanged an intimate look that spoke words unuttered. Sasuke's hand closed around Naruto's, his thumb caressing the fingers held. Then, they both twisted their bodies slightly so they were facing each other and leaned in for a short, but meaningful kiss. In his stroller, Kei made a small grumpy noise, causing them to pull apart, both smiling.

"Let's go," Naruto said jovially. "I suspect someone will need a diaper change soon."

"I suspect I know whose turn is next," Sasuke teased him, pushing Kei's stroller.

"No way, I changed all of his diapers yesterday, Sasuke!" Naruto protested, walking beside him and gently punching his arm. "Do you realize he had a serious case of diarrhoea?!"

"Do you realise I told you to just give him one single drop of medicine for his constipation instead of soaking his pacifier in it?"

"I wasn't paying attention!"

"How about reading the instructions, then?"

Together, the two followed after Karin while trading some good-natured bickering as night fell around them with the promise of good things to come.

THE END

Don't forget to comment!