The Way Things Were and Are

Yay! I finally finished one! haha I hope you guys will really like these side fics. :) Makes me so happy to think that you're looking forward to reading them. :D Happy reading! The first side is between Sasuke and Naruto. ^_^

For those of you who are slightly confused as to where this story connects, it's a side story to my much larger one, "The Way Things Are" (a Shikamaru/Neji fic). You'll understand this story better if you've read that one. :D

Note: This is pulled from Chapter 6 in TWTA.

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Side 1 (Sasuke/Naruto)

It had been two years since he had come back to Konoha. One and a half years of the worst kind of punishment that any man could have ever been given. Never, in his entire life, had Sasuke thought that being in charge of a bunch of pre-teen kids would be worse than fighting his brother. He frowned at the thought of the other and moved back on track with his thought process. Before his punishment had been over, he had gotten together with that idiotic blonde.

Sasuke smirked. If there was one person who could get on his nerves faster than any shuriken and yet be able to bring complete and utter peace to his torn soul, it was Naruto. Other than Sakura, the blonde had been the only person really happy to see him return. Oh, there were those who were indifferent about his return, but a good majority of the village had seemed almost…angry that he had been allowed to return. And all because he was a Uchiha.

Frowning, Sasuke looked towards the window near him. There was still quite a bit of time before the sun would come up. Sighing softly, he closed his eyes. He wasn’t proud to be a Uchiha anymore. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to revive the clan. Sure, he could control it at first, and there would be no crimes within his family. But what would happen further down the line? Would something happen similar to what Itachi had done to him? He wasn’t sure he could bear to make someone else go through the agony and pain he had.

A shifting of warmth next to him broke his concentration and he gave a small smile as he turned his head. Naruto was definitely a cuddle bug. The blonde loved that kind of thing. As soon as the two of them were alone, he would snuggle up to his side and give Sasuke those ungodly puppy dog eyes until the dark-haired shinobi would either wrap an arm around him or walk away, more often then not the latter. Of course, Naruto would chase after him and pout until he got what he wanted.

Sasuke chuckled softly as he pulled the other closer to him. Naruto gave a soft hum of approval before he unconsciously snuggled closer. Slowly, the Uchiha ran his fingers through the blonde’s hair, staring down at the person who had always been at his side and had never doubted him. The only person who was willing to go through life and death to keep him alive and safe. The only person Sasuke had ever felt was truly a part of his family. Naruto was just special.

He continued to lay there, stroking Naruto’s hair as the sun came peaking into their room. Sasuke had moved back into the Uchiha compound as soon as he was able to, cleaning up as much of it as he could. Naruto would sneak into the compound every night to sleep with him as Sasuke was still under a house arrest of sorts. He really owed the blonde a lot. He wouldn’t ever be able to vocally express his thanks to the other.

“Urgh…Sasuke, turn off the damn light,” Naruto mumbled, burying his face into Sasuke’s pale flesh as the rays of the sun fell onto his face.

Sasuke smirked. “Dobe. As if I could turn off the sun.”

Naruto let out a soft sigh and slowly brought his eyes up to meet Sasuke’s onyx black ones. They were so blue. Sasuke would always get sucked into those blue pools, often drowning in them of which there was almost more often than not no return. That is until Naruto would blink and then he’d be saved again. Almost tenderly, Sasuke ran the back of his fingers against the blonde’s cheek, thumb running over the skin of Naruto’s cheekbone.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Sasuke whispered, pressing a kiss to Naruto’s forehead.

“Mmm, good morning to you too,” Naruto hummed, smiling at the kiss. “Did you miss me?”

“Always,” Sasuke grinned.

Naruto snickered. “You are terribly romantic sometimes, teme.”

“Only around you, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke smirked.

Naruto snorted. “That, on the other hand, was uncalled for.” He stuck out his bottom lip and turned to face the other completely, pouting.

Sasuke’s smirk grew and he leaned down, pressing his lips softly against Naruto’s pouting ones. The blonde hummed happily and pressed back, his arms reaching upwards to wrap around Sasuke’s neck while the dark-haired male wrapped his own arms around the younger shinobi’s waist. He pulled Naruto’s body up on top of his own, the blonde’s legs straddling his waist. Naruto moaned when a tongue was added to their kiss, opening his mouth to let the muscle in further.

“As much as I’d love to get you aroused,” Sasuke panted, pulling back with a gasp, “you do need to make it back to your apartment before someone notices you’re here.”

Naruto groaned. “But Sa~suke~”

“No buts, Naruto,” Sasuke said. “You know it wouldn’t bode well with others if we got caught.”

Naruto sighed and sat up straight, getting off of the other. “Yeah, yeah.” With obvious disappointment and frustration, the blonde made his way to the other’s shower, closing the bathroom door firmly behind him. Sasuke let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes, letting the back of his hand rest on his forehead. He hated doing that to the other, but if he didn’t…

Sasuke wanted to the blonde to become the Hokage, but without the support of his fellow shinobi, it was impossible. It was dangerous enough that the blonde was his friend, but he would never, ever, tell Naruto to stop being his friend. He wasn’t sure he could handle living life without someone like Naruto in it. If he didn’t have Naruto, who did he have? Sakura was a good friend, but nothing more. Naruto was everything Sasuke needed. Naruto was his life.

His attention was grabbed by a tap on his window and he frowned. Who was here this early in the morning? Grumbling, he grabbed a nearby set of boxers and made his way over to the window, lifting the blinds. He relaxed when he saw that it was merely a messenger bird. Slowly, he opened his window and took the scroll from the bird’s back, petting it and giving it some feed, before it flew away and he closed the window.

Taking the boxers back off, as they belonged to his blonde-haired lover, Sasuke settled back into the bed, opening the scroll in his hands, wondering what the Hokage would want from him this time. As his eyes read over the message he sat up straight slowly and reread the message. His eyes widened with surprise. Was this a joke? No, they wouldn’t joke about this, especially with him. He felt a grin twitching at the corner of his lips. It was almost too good to be true.

“Oi, Sasuke, your shampoo smells like a girl’s,” Naruto stated as he walked out in nothing but a towel, still slightly wet from the shower.

Usually, Sasuke would have come back with some witty retort, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. “Dobe, I have something I want you to read.”

Naruto groaned. “You’re kidding me. What is it?”

Sasuke tossed him the scroll, still grinning and waited for the explosion. Naruto gave him a funny look before he opened the scroll and started to reading. His eyes widened just as Sasuke’s had and he looked over at his lover. “Is this…real?”

“What do you think?” Sasuke smirked.

“You’re…really going to be…in the ANBU forces?” Naruto asked, a smile spreading across his face.

Sasuke nodded. “They accepted my application.”

Nothing could have prepared the Uchiha for the blonde blur that pounced excitedly on top of him. The force surprised him, forcing him back against the head board. Hissing, Sasuke grabbed the back of his head and leaned forward as tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes. He may have been a shinobi, but having the back of your head hit still hurt. Naruto immediately realized what had happened and the smile left his face.

“Sasuke! I-I’m sorry!” Naruto exclaimed, unsure of what he should do. “I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

“Shut up, baka,” Sasuke growled. “I know.”

Biting his bottom lip, Naruto wrapped his hand over Sasuke’s and started to massage the for sure bruising head. Sasuke grunted at first at the sting of pain, but relaxed under the ministrations as they made the ache turn into a dull throb. He sighed softly and wiped away the tears from his eyes, slightly frustrated that they had even showed up. Naruto leaned forward and placed a kiss over the tender spot, looking down at the other in concern.

“Does it feel any better?” Naruto asked softly.

“A little,” Sasuke sighed, shifting. “Thanks.”

Naruto smiled. “I’m really sorry though.”

Sasuke snorted. “Forget it.”

“But,” Naruto beamed, “you’re in the ANBU! Wow Sasuke! That means the village is beginning to trust you again!”

Sasuke snorted. As much as he wanted to believe it, he knew it wasn’t true. They had forced him to tell them that he obtained the other Sharingan abilities through Itachi, and that’s the only reason he was in ANBU now. And yet he hadn’t told Naruto he had the Mangekyou and didn’t plan on telling him anytime soon either. “No, they only let me in because I’m a Uchiha, Naruto.”

Naruto’s smile lessened. “Oh, be more optimistic for once, you pessimistic asshole.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Right. Whatever.”

Naruto sighed and bounced on top of his lover. “We should celebrate.”

Sasuke had to bite his tongue to stop a moan that wanted to roll out of his mouth. He knew Naruto was doing that on purpose but wouldn’t let the other have the pleasure of knowing it had affected him. “We will celebrate, later. You have to get home, now.”

Naruto frowned. “Sasuke…shouldn’t we just tell everyone?”

Now it was Sasuke’s turn to frown. “Are you forgetting that pink-haired friend of ours?”

“Oh yeah,” Naruto muttered.

“On top of that, Naruto,” Sasuke said softly, sitting up completely and looking down at Naruto’s seal. His fingers brushed over the marking, eyes growing distant. “Those that know already hate you for this. I wonder what they would think if you were homosexual…and with the only living Uchiha for that matter. They’d call you selfish…and unworthy of being the next Hokage.”

Naruto sighed. They went through this so many times he was wondering if he was rehearsing for some dramatic play or something. “Sasuke, I don’t care what other’s think about my personal life. And I am selfish, baka. I’m keeping a beautiful, drop-dead sexy Uchiha all to myself. How is that not being selfish?”

Sasuke flushed slightly at the comment and glared at Naruto. He hated it when the other would do that. “Usuratonkachi.”

Naruto chuckled. “Well, because you want to get rid of me so badly, I’ll get dressed and leave. Where do you want to go for breakfast this morning? I’ll come ‘pick you up’.” He snickered at the thought as he bounced off the bed and grabbed his boxers. Which Sasuke had worn to answer the bird at his window. Sasuke’s blush got a littler redder at the thought before he too got up.

“I’m fine cooking breakfast for myself, Naruto,” the Uchiha answered. “How about we have lunch together instead.”

The blonde nodded and grinned. “Ramen?”

Sasuke smirked. “Yes, we can have ramen for lunch if you really want it.”

“Yay!” Naruto cheered, running over to his lover’s side. He pressed a quick peck to the Uchiha’s lips before he raced out the door, leaving Sasuke to simply shake his head and head to the shower. As the water sprayed over his body, Sasuke couldn’t help but grin. ANBU. He was finally in it. The only position higher than what he had obtained was ANBU captain and Hokage. He’d eventually get the first position, but he’d leave the Hokage to Naruto.

The Hokage was supposed to be the strongest man in the village. No doubt Naruto would easily fill that role. Despite the fact that Sasuke had beaten the other so many times, Naruto had definitely grown stronger. And that jutsu of his…the one based off of Rasengan…it was so deadly. Sasuke seriously and truly hoped that he would never be on the wrong end of that. To have tiny needles made of Naruto’s natural wind element pierce every cell in his body did not sound enjoyable.

Finishing his shower, Sasuke dressed and made his way down to the kitchen. He always had memories flood back when he would walk in here. His mother was at the counter, making some sort of meal, his father reading the newspaper while sipping at his coffee. Occasionally Itachi would be in the memory, his gentle smile welcoming Sasuke into the room, poking him in the forehead before the younger boy would sit down, chuckling when Sasuke would glare and grab where he had been poked.

Sighing softly, Sasuke made his way over to the fridge and pulled things out. He had killed Itachi. He shook his head. Actually, his older brother had killed himself. Itachi had been protecting him from Uchiha Madara. He frowned at the memory of the other man, the knife in his hand falling a little harder over the meat he was cutting. He continued to make his breakfast (which happened to be an omelet), memories of a kind, caring older brother running through his head.

What would you think now, Itachi? Sasuke thought to himself as he sat down at the table. Now that I have been accepted into ANBU, would you still feel like you needed to protect me? Or would I finally be able to be at your level and eventually surpass you?

Breakfast went by quickly and Sasuke spent the next hour meditating. He knew he didn’t come across as the type to believe in that kind of exercise, but after all of the trauma he had put himself through something like this was a good thing. It allowed him to clear his mind and to refresh it. Sitting down on the soft mat sitting across from the gardens, Sasuke had to smile. His home had still been treated with respect despite his disappearance. The gardens were as clean and beautiful as they had ever been, alive and breathtaking. Nothing like the Hyuuga gardens, but nonetheless pleasing to the eye.

Thinking of the Hyuugas brought to mind some of the rumors he had been hearing from Naruto. They weren’t straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak, but they were interesting nonetheless. He smirked at the story of Neji blowing up a tree. The thought of the Hyuuga losing his control like that was more than amusing, considering the verbal battles the two of them would have with each other when they did speak to each other, which hadn’t been and wasn’t often.

His meditation was broken when a puff of smoke in front of him alerted him of someone’s presence, his eyes watching as the stuff disappeared. He was slightly surprised to find the Copy nin visiting him. Kakashi hadn’t said much to him since his return and Sasuke couldn’t blame him. The other had told him not to get revenge, to avenge his clan in another way. Sasuke had blatantly and almost rudely ignored the advice.

“Good morning, Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke nodded, moving to get up and greet his guest.

“No need to get up, Sasuke,” Kakashi stated, his eye curving into that way that let the other know he was smiling. “I just haven’t seen you much since you’ve gotten back.”

Sasuke’s eyes lowered to the ground in front of him. “I haven’t been out much. People haven’t been very excited about my return and not…receiving proper punishment.”

Kakashi’s visible eye went to a more serious state and he moved to sit next to Sasuke. “As true as that may be, you’re not giving others much a chance to change that opinion.”

“Do I deserve such a change in anyone’s opinion?” Sasuke asked softly. Especially yours?

“You’re not twelve anymore, Sasuke,” Kakashi said seriously. “A lot of years have gone by since you left. You’re nineteen now, right? You’ve matured. Give people a chance to see that.”

Sasuke paused, staring out over nothing. Many years had passed since he had returned. Maybe…just maybe, there was some truth to Kakashi’s words. The silver-haired male was much wiser than he was. He wasn’t stupid enough to deny that anymore. Kakashi knew so much more than he did. Sighing softly, he took in a deep breath and let it out, his eyes falling shut in the process. “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

“None of that,” Kakashi chuckled. “I really came here to congratulate you on your promotion to ANBU. That’s quite a jump, considering your age.”

Sasuke blushed slightly. “Naruto?”

Kakashi nodded, smirking underneath his mask. “I won’t tell. It’s not my place.”

“Thank you,” Sasuke replied softly. “I’m…trying to think of a way to let Sakura know and to not hurt Naruto’s reputation more.”

Kakashi chuckled. “You’ve become much more considerate, Sasuke. Don’t worry about what people think about Naruto. He’s tough and can handle anything thrown at him. And Sakura will handle the news better than you think she will.”

Sasuke thought about both momentarily before turning to face his former teacher. He opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly tackled, eyes going wide as he was pushed onto his back. How had he not noticed the other? That thought crossed through his mind as another pushed its way in. Naruto was straddling his waist.

“Ready for your congratulations lunch?” Naruto grinned, squeezing his thighs a bit.

Sasuke flushed. “Dobe! Get off!”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen this before, Sasuke,” Kakashi teased, successfully making the Uchiha go redder.

Sasuke glared at the Copy nin before he looked up at Naruto. “Get off or you can forget about lunch.”

Naruto wasted no time and was off the other in an instant, sitting on his knees and looking almost expectantly at Sasuke. The dark-haired male sat up, sighing softly and rubbing the back of his still tender head. The blonde grinned and turned to their former teacher, blue eyes sparkling. Sasuke shook his head and closed his eyes. He really needed to learn how Naruto could do that. Maybe he could live an easier life that way.

“You want to join us, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked smiling.

“Nah,” Kakashi answered, shaking his head as he smirked. “I need to find Gai. He wants to give me another…challenge.” With a chuckle and a wave he disappeared, Naruto making gagging noises and Sasuke grimacing at the spot his teacher had been sitting on.

“Gross,” Naruto said, sticking out his tongue before he turned to Sasuke with a smile. “Ready?”

Sasuke nodded and the two made their way over to Ichiraku. They sat down and ordered, the cook giving Sasuke a hesitant look before turning away. Sasuke shifted in his seat, not surprised by the man’s actions, but not very happy with it either. Fortunately, Naruto decided to bring up something for conversations sake, relieving Sasuke of his troubling thoughts. Sasuke mentally smiled. He really was grateful to have the blonde on his side.

They hadn’t been eating for more then ten minutes when Shikamaru and Neji showed up, Sasuke tensing slightly. He gave a brief nod in greeting before he went back to his ramen, eating quietly, eyeing the two from the corner of his eye. Shikamaru looked like he could care less about who his company was, not giving Sasuke the scathing look he had been receiving from most lately. Neji didn’t seem to be judging him either and it made him relax slightly.

“How are you doing, Sasuke?” The Uchiha’s eyes widened slightly as he turned to glance over at the Hyuuga.

“I’m doing well, thank you Neji,” he answered, watching as Neji sat down next to the Nara.

“Oh, Sasuke, did you hear about these two?” Naruto asked, as he turned back to his meal. “They’re going be fiancées!”

Sasuke would have choked had he been eating. His gaze snapped back to his lover. “What?”

The Hyuuga let out a soft sigh and Shikamaru shook his head before turning to the blonde. “Maybe you’d better expand on the situation, Naruto.”

“Right, right,” Naruto chuckled, squinting his eyes and scratching the back of his head. He turned towards Sasuke and started explaining the whole situation in detail. Sasuke couldn’t help the smirk that crawled on his face. The great Hyuuga Neji was going to be engaged to the lazy Nara Shikamaru. It was rich. Too entertaining and deliciously humorous for him to pass up. This was definitely making his day better. It was much more amusing as well.

“Ah, I see,” he stated, looking over at the Hyuuga with an almost innocent look. “I must say, I’m shocked. I would have expected you to be throwing a hissy fit, Hyuuga.” These verbal battles...gods, how he had missed them.

“Really?” Neji asked, raising a brow. “I thought that was your lot in life.”

Sasuke snorted. “More like Naruto’s actually.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped and Shikamaru snickered at his expression. “Teme!” he glared, smacking the Uchiha upside the back of his head. “See if I ever do you any favors.”

“Damn it, dobe!” Sasuke hissed, clutching onto his head. “That’s where I hit my head this morning on the headboard!”

Naruto’s expression changed immediately. “Oh, Sasuke, I-I’m sorry! I totally forgot!” Not completely thinking clearly, Naruto pulled the Uchiha closer to him and kissed the spot he had just barely hit.

Sasuke flushed at the action, not missing the looks on Neji’s and Shikamaru’s faces. What the hell was Naruto thinking? He would have paled had he not been blushing. There was no question in his mind that the two would figure out what was going on between them and that frightened him slightly. He didn’t hear Neji’s comment, but the smirk was screaming that he knew what was going on. Maybe he could play as if nothing was going on between him and Naruto.

“I’m surprised I didn’t know about it,” Shikamaru grinned. “And people say I’m a genius. How long have you two been hiding that?”

Sasuke’s blush grew. “Hiding what?”

“I don’t think you want me to say it out loud, Sasuke,” Shikamaru said. Sasuke cursed. He didn’t and he knew that Shikamaru wouldn’t, but there was always that chance.

Naruto was just as dark as the Uchiha and his head was slightly bowed. “Please don’t tell anyone. Especially Sakura…”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Neji stated, allowing Sasuke to let out a soft sigh of relief. That’s one down… He didn’t need to make the Hyuuga promise. Neji kept his word.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru started, staring at the blonde with a look so blank no one could have beat it, “have you ever heard of either of us spreading a rumor?”

Naruto sighed, Sasuke feeling completely relieved now. “Thanks guys.”

“Let’s just say we’ll be expecting a really big gift from the two of you when we’re officially engaged,” Shikamaru smirked.

Naruto spun on his chair to look over at Sasuke. “That’s a good idea! What should we get them, Sasuke?”

Sasuke shook his head and muttered “dobe” under his breath. The blond really was clueless sometimes. They finished their lunch shortly after, saying good bye to Neji and Shikamaru and making their way back to the Uchiha compound. He was willing to try and give Kakashi’s suggestion a try, but he wasn’t mentally ready for that. He’d need to prepare himself for all of the negative and degrading looks he’d get from others. That wasn’t going to be easy.

Once inside, Sasuke slumped down on a nearby couch, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. Other than Naruto and himself, there were now three people who knew about their relationship. Three extremely trustworthy people, but three nonetheless. They needed to be more careful when they were outside. And Naruto needed to be more careful about who he let information slip to. He was lucky it was Kakashi he had run into and not someone like Iruka-sensei.

He was brought out of his thoughts when his blonde friend came and straddled his hips, smirking when his eyes snapped open. Chuckling, Naruto leaned forward and pressed his lips against Sasuke’s, wrapping his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders. The Uchiha smiled into the kiss in approval and pushed his tongue against Naruto’s bottom lip, slipping it inside when the other granted him access. The blonde moaned softly, rolling his hips against the others.

“Shall I give you the other part of your congratulations?” the blonde panted as Sasuke’s lips and teeth moved to his neck.

“Mmm, sounds good to me,” Sasuke grinned, licking Naruto’s tanned neck. “Would you rather give it to me here on the couch or should we go to my bedroom?”

“Bedroom,” Naruto breathed, tilting his head to give the Uchiha more room to work.

“The bedroom it is,” Sasuke grinned, standing up and wrapping Naruto’s legs around his waist. He continued to kiss the other as they made their way to Sasuke’s bedroom, falling down on the bed with Naruto on the bottom wriggling for more attention. Sasuke grinned and pressed a soft kiss to Naruto’s lips. “I love you, dobe.”

Naruto smiled. “I love you too, teme.”

What followed after that was definitely the best sort of celebration Sasuke had ever had in his entire life.
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Ahahaha, sorry. No smut in this chapter. ^_^; Terribly sorry about that. But that reveals how Sasuke hit his head on the headboard, ne? heehee Anyhow, please review and tell me if you liked it! I'd really appreciate it!