We'll Always Be

A/N: This story is going to operate under the assumption that readers are keeping up with the Anime at least and ideally the Manga as well. Therefore, I won’t be going into a lot of details that mirror canon. As Sasuke did not abandon Konoha in this version, Sai has not been introduced. So, the missions where Sai was involved - like rescuing Gaara or avenging Asuma – in the Anime, Sasuke is the one in his place in this story.

If this gets confusing for anyone, please let me know and I’ll try to clear it up. I doubt it will be a problem.

Also, if anyone thinks that I put Kakashi in a bad light at all, keep in mind that he was pretty dismissive of Naruto as a student until Sasuke left. So, if Sasuke remained, I think that it would take more effort to get people to look past the prodigy and see his hard working best friend. The same theory is being used for Sakura’s portrayal. How much would she have changed if Sasuke had not left her behind?

Thank you for all the reviews and alerts.

Warning: Mentions of character death, lemon, bits of angst and fluff, and a whole lot of plot. This story is going to be a long - for me - and very much plot driven - I hope.

Clarification: I've seen several different definitions in fanfics for "dobe" and the one I'm using is "dead last."

Special thanks to caidanu who showed me how to add italics and such to my stories on AFF!

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

Smoke and dust swirled in the air above the newly made crater in the ground. Sasuke stood at the edge and looked impassively down on the man below.

‘Impressive,’ he thought. ‘Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken, huh? Kakashi said he was nowhere near done successfully combining the Rasengan with his wind affinity. Figures he’d underestimate Naruto again.’ Sasuke tried hard to avoid thinking negative thoughts, including his annoyance with Kakashi’s almost constant preference for the young Uchiha. Took the man long enough to start seeing Naruto’s potential.

Sasuke internally shrugged. At least Kakashi and his formerly fellow ANBU, Yamato, had worked with Naruto in developing this new technique. His Sharingan whirled as he took in the scope of the damage noting the shredded chakra cells. Kakuzu had been a monster and he had not been able to defend his body against Naruto’s attack.

He made his way to the man struggling to live despite his obvious defeat. Standing next to Kakashi, he listened as the Akatsuki member moaned that he was destroyed by a bunch of children.

Barely listening to Kakashi’s response, Sasuke charged his Chidori and dealt the final blow ending Kakuzu’s life. He may not have cared as much for Sarutobi Asuma as Team 10 or Naruto, but he wanted to avenge the murdered Jounin as well. He had gleaned what very little he could about Itachi from Kakuzu – Hidan was already defeated by Shikamaru when he arrived as support with Sakura – and felt it was time they returned to the village.

If he had known that Team 10 and Kakashi would find the Akaksuki team so quickly, he wouldn’t have waited as ordered with Team 7 as Naruto worked furiously to complete his technique. He would have been with the main attacking force instead of being their support. Sasuke grudgingly admitted that he also should have had more faith in Shikamaru. He knew the young man was a genius, but still didn’t think Hidan would have been taken out single-handedly by the shadow user.

Keeping his aggravation in check, Sasuke accepted his almost non-existent role in this battle.

Turning away from the corpse that Kakashi was preparing for transport to Konoha, Sasuke made his way to the gathering that surrounded his secret boyfriend. He was worried that the blond was being so quiet despite the congratulations he was receiving from their friends.

Chouji noticed his approach and made room for Sasuke to take a look at his teammate sitting on the ground. The blond was smiling and laughing off the praise he had received while Ino was struggling to heal the damage on his right arm. Beads of sweat were starting to drip along her fair skin from the effort she was using. Sasuke was obviously not the only one noticing her strain because Sakura was soon next to her, taking over Naruto’s treatment.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan again and his brows furrowed when he noticed the same cell damage on Naruto’s attacking arm that had been on Kakuzu’s entire body. He watched as his lover almost imperceptibly flinched while he had been thanking Sakura and Ino for their efforts. The idiot was not taking his injury seriously.

Sitting back on her heels, the pink-haired kunoichi sighed. “That’s all we can do until we get you back to the Hokage.” Without waiting for a response, she got up and walked over to Kakashi. Naruto watched her walk away with saddened eyes. Lately, it was almost like she could not stand to be around him.

“If you’re done holding us up, usuratonkachi, it’s time we got back to the village.” Sasuke smirked. “Or do you need a stretcher?”

“Teme,” Naruto growled as he got up. Shouldering past the bastard he saw that everyone else was already prepared to depart. Throwing his left fist into the air he called out, “What are you all waiting for? Let’s go!” And the next instant he was gone.

Infected by his enthusiasm, Ino and Choji were in the trees after him. Sasuke heard Shikamaru affectionately muttering “baka” under his breath. The young Uchiha silently agreed as they followed behind with Sakura on their heels. Kakashi and Yamato took the rear as they all made their way home.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

Sasuke moaned as he moved above his golden lover. His fingers were intertwined with Naruto’s uninjured ones as his other hand gave him support on his boyfriend’s thigh as his body arched in pleasure. Sweat glistened on their bodies as they moved together on Naruto’s bed.

“Suke.”

His torso straightened so he could look down at the beautiful blue eyes regarding him as though he was the sexiest thing alive. His blood heated at the look and onyx flashed as he raised himself up and pounded himself down on the hot flesh within him.

He loved it when Naruto looked at him like that.

Their joined hands gripped his hip and he was encouraged to continue his movements faster, harder. He answered the silent request by slowing down, keeping the motions deep and sensual. He didn’t feel like giving up his control at the moment. Naruto’s moans were his reward. Sasuke reached behind him to caress his lover’s balls as he tightened within heartily enjoying the lustful cries his efforts received.

They did not look away from each other once as Sasuke continued his slow torture. White teeth clenched down on a full bottom lip as Naruto tried to stifle his increasingly loud cries and whimpers. Sasuke punished him by coming to a complete stop and pinning bronze hips with his body.

“Bastard! I’ll kill you.” It was too much; buried within his lover and unable to move. He had been so close for so long and Sasuke was not allowing him his completion. He glared up into warm dark eyes and cursed his arm that was still in a cast and difficult to move without hurting himself.

“I want to hear you.”

Naruto nodded his head promising to let Sasuke hear everything that he forced out of the blond. He groaned as Sasuke began to move again and just a bit faster now. Naruto gave his boyfriend what he wanted; his submission. He didn’t mind. A commanding Sasuke was an incredibly sexy Sasuke.

Besides, he seemed to handle everything else better lately when Naruto gave him so much control in bed. And on the kitchen table. The counter, the couch, the shower, and anywhere else the mood struck.

They moaned and moved together. Their passion heightened by the sporadic cries at a well aimed thrust or a glorious tightening of warm flesh.

“I’m close, Suke.”

“Just a bit longer.”

Naruto could only shake his head, his sweat drenched hair darkened and sticking to his face. His eyes rolled back and his hand tightened with Sasuke’s as his orgasm ripped through his body and filled his lover.

A dark brow twitched as Sasuke looked down on his spent boyfriend. "Dobe," he growled.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Technically, I was first."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke moved to jerk himself off when a tanned hand smacked his own away. His eyes flashed angrily and his jaw clenched at Naruto's insubordination. He began to lift off of his lover as Naruto sat up. Before he could move away, Naruto's hand grabbed a firm hold of his taut, ivory ass and guided Sasuke's flesh into his waiting mouth.

Sasuke groaned as he was enveloped and shallowly thrusted into Naruto's mouth as he was licked and sucked with abandon. He had been close as well and the unexpected blow job was well received. "Naru," he moaned as he gripped golden hair in both hands and shoved himself down Naruto's throat, orgasming with sharp jerks of his hips, his seed lapped up and swallowed greedily.

Naruto released him from his mouth and placed a kiss at the tip of Sasuke's penis. Sasuke watched breathlessly as Naruto straightened and he lowered himself back into his boyfriend's lap. On the way up Sasuke's body, Naruto placed another kiss at his belly button. Then over his heart. At the base of his neck. Under his jaw. And finally, a lick to Sasuke's lips before their tongues clashed and they were breathing each others air.

Sasuke could taste himself and took complete control of the kiss, shoving Naruto's tongue back and then using his own to claim the mouth that his dick had just owned. His fingers had never left Naruto's hair and his grip tightened as he angled his lover's head just right so he could map out every corner. He loved kissing Naruto. It didn't matter if it was soft, hard, affectionate, or passionate. He always loved it.

He moved away to nibble on Naruto's ear - much to his lover's apparent enjoyment - and huskily asked, "You like having my cock down your throat, don't you?"

Sasuke smiled at Naruto's chuckle. Naruto kissed him on the shoulder before answering. "Probably as much as you like my dick up your ass."

His hair was tugged in retribution. "Ow!" Pulling away, Naruto gave Sasuke a nip on his lower lip. "Bastard."

Sasuke smirked as he licked his abused lip. In truth, it didn't matter who was inside whom. It just so happened that Naruto was better at deep-throating - the joys of not having a gag reflex - and Sasuke was better at drawing out their gratification - Naruto tended to be too impatient. They enjoyed the sex, the connection, and were content with allowing whatever felt good at the time. Sometimes, if they both felt in the mood for the same thing, like topping, then someone had to earn it - usually leading to some rather intense fucking before the night was over.

They laid down together, Naruto on his back and Sasuke draped over his body. Sasuke supported his head with his hand as his elbow propped him up so he could keep watching Naruto's face. Naruto's good arm was wrapped around his boyfriend, his hand splayed across Sasuke's lower back.

Naruto grunted as he started to lift his other arm to complete the embrace, but rested it back down to the bed as the bulky cast wouldn't let him bend his arm the way he wanted it to. "This damn thing keeps getting in the way." He tried to keep his inflection light-hearted, but his annoyance was clear to his lover.

"Naru," Sasuke's serious tone claimed Naruto's undivided attention. "You can't use the Rasen Shuriken again, not in its current form." He talked right over Naruto's attempt to argue. "I heard what you said to Kakashi about knowing your body better than anybody. That may be true, but I saw how hurt you were and I saw what exactly that technique did. I don't have anything that destructive." He watched Naruto's eyes widen a bit at that statement. It was true, but not exactly common for Sasuke to admit. "But I also don't need a hospital visit after using any of my attacks. That Akatsuki member was a good test, but you didn't need to use the jutsu. You're strong enough without it and I was only a few minutes away with Shikamaru, we could have taken him out without you hurting yourself so bad."

Naruto turned his head away but a hand to his chin turned him back to meet Sasuke's somber expression. "Suke...we need everything we can use against Akatsuki."

"I'm not arguing with that. I'm just saying that you shouldn't use that jutsu again until you've modified it enough that you don't get injured as well. You surpassed Yondaime with that technique, I know you can make it safe to use as well."

They stared into each others eyes while Sasuke willed Naruto to agree and the blond thought about everything his boyfriend just told him. Finally, he nodded his head lightly. "I won't use it as it is now unless absolutely necessary and I'll work on it until there's no recoil, ok?"

Sasuke accepted that answer knowing he wasn't going to get anything better on the subject. "Besides, it's not like you're the village's only defense. There's enough strong shinobi here to defend Konoha even if both of us weren't able to fight."

Azure eyes narrowed as they took in Sasuke's apparent indifference. "Why wouldn't we be able to fight, Suke?"

He shrugged as best he could in his position, his expression studiously apathetic. "I'm just trying to get it through your head that you're not solely responsible for the whole village. You need to take better care of yourself."

"Why should I when I have you to take care of me?" Naruto's tone was playful but his eyes were still thoughtful, trying to figure out what was going on in Sasuke's head. He felt like he was missing something.

Sasuke gave him a short, chaste kiss and motioned with his head to Naruto's injured arm to change the subject. "You get your cast off tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the hospital in the morning and Sakura-chan should be there to remove it and give me a quick check up." Naruto didn't miss the tightening of Sasuke's lips at the mention of their teammate. "What's going on with you and Sakura?" He was surprised by the anger his question provoked.

"What do you mean 'what's going on'?" He was practically snarling at Naruto who seemed utterly confused by Sasuke's reaction. Naruto felt him tense up as though he was preparing to leave and he pressed Sasuke down with his good arm still around his lover's waist. His eyes widened when he thought about what Sasuke had meant.

"Not like that! Shit, what the hell is wrong with your head that you'd think I was accusing you of that?" He remembered Sasuke's accusations about Naruto's possible infidelity and glared at the man above him. He hoped Jiraiya got back soon to take a look at the seal on Sasuke's neck. "It's just that she's been rather cold lately and you seem to be avoiding her. Did something happen that you're not telling me about?"

Sasuke seemed to calm down, his body relaxed and he placed his head down on Naruto's shoulder, his nose buried in his lover's neck. The cursed chakra induced mood swings were really starting to piss him off. His eyes closed as Naruto kissed the top of his head and tangled their legs together.

"What aren't you telling me, Suke?"

Sasuke sighed as though responding was entirely too troublesome. "Last week when you were training with Yamato and Kakashi, the Hokage sent Sakura and I on a quick retrieval mission."

"And?" Naruto had known about the mission to retrieve a certain herb for one of Tsunade's experimental medications. It had taken less than a day and he had not heard of his teammates encountering any problems.

"We stopped for lunch in the forest on the way back."

"...and?"

Suddenly, Sasuke rolled off of his boyfriend to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling angrily. "And she got it in her head to try to seduce me."

Naruto gaped at his boyfriend. "She's being so cold because you rejected her? But you've always turned her down when she asked you out, I thought she was used to it. Hell, I've been hoping she'd stop. I hate to see her so upset."

"I've turned her down for dinner and other stuff that she'd consider a date." Sasuke gritted out his words. "I have never had to reject a woman who unzipped her top and told me she understood that guys my age had certain needs and I should feel comfortable relieving them with her. It would be 'no strings attached' because she didn't want me to feel like I had to settle to alleviate my tension."

The blond Jounin lay there struggling with anger, pain, jealousy, and disappointment as he watched his lover. He was disappointed in Sakura for demeaning herself in such a way. He truly cared about her and wanted her to be happy. How could she throw herself at someone who has never encouraged more than friendship? He was angry because Sasuke did not need anymore stress than he was already dealing with.

Then, something Sasuke said about Sakura not wanting him to settle popped into his head. "Do you think she knows about us?"

Sasuke shrugged. He was trying to keep his emotions in check - there were several things he wanted to discuss and this was not one of them. "I haven't made it a secret that I prefer your company. Everybody knows you're my best friend."

"But for her to go from thinking of us as friends to lovers? Why would she think that?" Naruto wasn't so much concerned with Sakura knowing about their relationship beyond that she would be angry and hurt. He was concerned with the risk of it becoming common knowledge. They had discussed it and they were both hunted young men. Between Akatsuki and Orochimaru - as well as narrow minded bigots within the village - it was safer not to let anybody know that they were each others weakness. Neither wanted the other to be used against them.

"Our policy of no sex while on missions hasn't stopped us from fooling around. She's a decent shinobi; she might have seen something we didn't want her to."

Naruto turned his attention to the ceiling as well. He'd been spending a lot of time recently with his gaze in that direction. "What do you want to do?"

"She hasn't said anything specific regarding us and I don't want to deal with tracking her down just to confide in her about things that are none of her business."

The blond could deal with that for now. If Sakura confronted them with her suspicions, then they would tell her about their relationship.

He frowned. "Poor Sakura."

Sasuke didn't respond, but Naruto could tell that he wanted an explanation for that comment. "She was fooling herself."

"Hn?"

Naruto turned his head to regard his lover. "There's no way anybody could be with you and have it just be sex."

Dark eyes warmed as they contemplated the earnest expression on Naruto's face. "It's not just sex for you?" The tone was serious, but the expression was flirtatious.

"You're my world, Suke."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that. It was rare for them to talk about their feelings in such a way, but he felt the splendor the statement filled within his chest. Rolling over again so that he was resting his body against Naruto's side, he stared intently into glowing sapphires. "Naru, you are all that I care for. You are my heart."

Naruto gasped. Sasuke had never said that to him before. Bringing their foreheads together he whispered, "My Sasuke." They lay there together, watching each other and delighting in their intimacy. The comfort they felt together overwhelmed them when they thought about it. Usually, they just sat back and enjoyed.

After several minutes, Sasuke noticed Naruto trying not to appear sad. "What is it?"

"You said that I'm what you care about." Sasuke nodded and Naruto's eyes strayed to a pale shoulder. The curse seal was stark against the alabaster skin. "But I'm not what's most important to you, am I?" Sasuke stiffened and Naruto met his gaze again. "Would you break your heart to achieve your goals?"

Cupping a scarred cheek in his hand, Sasuke gave his lover the truth. They had been so open with each other for years now that it was hard for him to hide from Naruto. "It's getting harder. Sometimes, I don't even realize when thoughts that aren't my own appear in my head. You sleep with me and when you're most vulnerable a voice whispers 'Mangekyou'." Naruto understood the significance; he knew that if Sasuke killed him then his boyfriend would gain a much stronger version of the Sharingan. However, he felt no fear from his lover. Seeing this, Sasuke asked, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"When I put my faith in someone or something, I can't doubt it." Naruto couldn't help but smile. "It's my nature."

"You're an idiot."

The blond laughed. "Probably, but I'm your idiot."

Sasuke managed to push his body even closer to Naruto's. "Yes, yes you are." It didn't seem like there was anything more to be said on the subject.

"Are you staying tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Naruto got up to use the bathroom and retrieve a damp towel to wash away the mess that was clinging to their bodies. The sheets were a mess as well, but neither had the energy to shower and change the bedding. It could wait until morning. Curling back on the bed with his boyfriend spooning him, Naruto began to drift to sleep within Sasuke's arms.

"Naru..." The hesitance he heard forced Naruto to blink his eyes open.

"Hmm?"

"I've been studying a lot of different seals lately, trying to find something that could help. I haven't found anything stronger than what Jiraiya put around the curse mark, but I did find something that would keep you safe from me."

Naruto wanted to argue that he was already safe with Sasuke, but he was too tired and curious to do so. "What is it?"

"I found it among the forbidden jutsu. It's-"

"When did you get near the forbidden scrolls?" Naruto turned his head trying to see Sasuke's face, but the bastard had his nose buried in Naruto's hair. The scrolls in question were locked in a vault guarded by ANBU in the Hokage tower. Naruto chuckled, Sasuke had been naughty. "So, what did you find?"

Sasuke pinched a golden hip in retaliation for the interruption. "It's something that would bond us together. It's forbidden because it requires a huge amount of chakra from the receiver. I wouldn't be able to maintain it, but you've got more chakra than I have. You could do it."

Naruto took Sasuke's hand in his own and began to rub his thumb along the life line on the palm. "What exactly is it, Suke?"

Nonchalantly, Sasuke kissed the back of Naruto's neck. "It's complicated. Do you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"Then what's the problem? We should do it as soon as possible."

This time Naruto did meet onyx eyes when he turned his head. There was something in Sasuke's gaze that was pleading with Naruto to accept. To accept blindly something that would require a large amount of his chakra. He wondered what it could be that Sasuke was worried about giving him the details. The fact that his boyfriend was pushing it and the time issue he mentioned, Naruto realized that Orochimaru's curse must be bothering Sasuke more than he had thought.

After several minutes of deliberation in which Sasuke seemed to be maintaining a tight rein on his anxiety, Naruto came to a decision. "Alright."

Sasuke released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. His expression was grateful when he asked, "Do you have the day off tomorrow?"

"Yeah, after I get my cast removed in the morning, I have the whole day free. You want to do this then?"

"Yes. Come to my place after you finish at the hospital. We'll have the day together and then we can perform the jutsu tomorrow night."

"Okay."

Naruto lay his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He had given his word; there was nothing more to think about.

Sasuke twined their fingers together. "Thank you, Naru."

Within minutes, they were both asleep.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

Getting his cast removed had been an uncomfortable experience. After talking with Sasuke the night before, he was more aware of Sakura this morning. Now that he was not distracted by his training on creating a wind based Rasengan, he could see just how unhappy his friend was. Sakura would not respond to his cheerful greeting or any of his attempts to make her smile. Her behavior was cooly professional and diligently avoided looking into Naruto's eyes. Her attitude made it clear to Naruto that she either knew or at least suspected that he and Sasuke were in some kind of sexual relationship.

However, since Sakura made no comments beyond what was medically relevant, he decided he would give her time to reconcile herself to the situation and then make sure that their friendship did not ultimately suffer. He thoroughly believed that, given time, Sakura would get over her crush on Sasuke and they could all be happy. He wanted her to find her own love and fulfillment very much.

After leaving the hospital, Naruto went to the graveyard reserved for Konoha shinobi. He walked down the rows of white stones that marked the fallen heroes who had been able to be buried. Most of the time when a shinobi dies on missions, the village does not have a body to bury. Naruto finally stopped in front of a gravestone, the name written on it was Sarutobi Asuma. He bowed his head in respect for the man who had allowed Naruto to train with him to improve his wind based jutsu and introduced him to strategy games like shogi. He was nowhere near a master, but he surprised the smoking Jounin on several occasions with his unpredictable moves, though he had never succeeded in defeating Shikamaru at the game.

"Hey, Asuma-sensei. I know that we didn't spend much time together and I wasn't on your team, but I wanted to say thank you. You were a good teacher and a good man."

"Yes, he was."

Naruto turned around to watch the lazy genius approach. "Shikamaru."

Shikamaru stood beside the blond as he looked down at the memorial stone. "Naruto."

They stood in silence for a moment paying their respects to the dead.

"He liked you, you know." Shikamaru did not look up from his teacher's name. "He thought you had a lot of potential."

Naruto smiled thinking how much he, too, had liked the man.

"He used to complain about how Team 7 had two Jounin on it and his own team were all still Chuunin."

"We all know that you could be a Jounin if you wanted to, Shikamaru."

The genius sighed as he turned his gaze to the clouds. "Rank isn't essential to me. Asuma taught me what is most important; what I will spend my life defending."

"What is that?"

"The children of Konoha. The ones who will carry the Will of Fire after we are gone."

"Yeah." Naruto looked at the gravestone with reverence. "He was a very wise man."

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

Naruto disengaged the traps on Sasuke's door with the ease of long habit and let himself into his boyfriend's apartment. Smiling, he saw the ramen takeout from Ichiraku sitting on the table waiting for him. He closed the door behind him and reengaged the traps, toeing off his shinobi boots he entered the main room and placed his own package on the table.

"Thanks," he said to Sasuke who had just entered from the bedroom.

"Hn." Naruto rolled his eyes at his lover's eloquence.

"I got some more tomatoes from the market. They just got them in this morning from the farms." He indicated the bag he had brought.

Sasuke took the bag with him into the kitchen to wash and put away his favorite snack. "How's your arm?"

"Good as new." Naruto sat down and politely waited for Sasuke to join him at the table which the young Uchiha did after a minute with a fresh tomato in his hands, still sparkling from the water used to rinse it off.

They ate their ramen, Naruto slurping his down swiftly while Sasuke maintained a more dignified pace. Of course, Naruto finished first and sat back with a content sigh happily patting his full belly. When Sasuke finished his own bowl, Naruto picked up both their containers and disposed of them in the kitchen. "What did you want to do today?"

Sasuke shrugged as he picked up his tomato and turned it in his palm. "The jutsu is supposed to be tiring, so we should do that this evening. I figured today could be just for us." He looked up to see his blond standing next to him with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, really?" Naruto sat himself in his boyfriend's lap, straddling his thighs and putting his back to the table. "So, I guess that means you want to go and train, right? Maybe a spar?" He grinned as he plucked his prize right out of Sasuke's hand. "You didn't have anything else in mind, did you?" He took a bite out of the juicy red flesh.

He internally laughed when Sasuke pounced, taking back what was his. They fought over every bite amid nips and licks of tongue and mouth.

They made love right there on the table. And again in the bedroom. They did not often get an opportunity to spend an entire day together in private and they took advantage of the time they had. Their lovemaking continued in the shower and then once more out of the shower. The last time was in front of the full length mirror in the bedroom. Sasuke was moving behind Naruto who braced them with his hands on either side of the reflective glass. Sharingan activated memorizing every movement, every expression, from the azure passion in Naruto's eyes down the pleasured body to the warm flesh stroked by an ivory fist. Nothing about his lover or their sex escaped Sasuke's notice and when they came together, he could do nothing but stare at their reflection in awe.

After another shower, this one more languid than the first, they curled up together on the bed and napped with the afternoon sun warming their bodies through the gossamer curtains.

Naruto woke alone in bed as the light of the setting sun was fading in the room. He got up from the bed stretching as his sleep pants fell dangerously low on his hips. Entering the main room of Sasuke's apartment, he noticed his boyfriend had moved the furniture against the walls leaving an open space in the middle of the room where Sasuke was apparently just finishing drawing an intricate seal on the floor with black ink.

The dark haired Jounin sat back on his heels to observe his work, nodding to himself when he was satisfied with what he saw. There were two rings, one inside the other with space for a single person to sit in the center. A radial line was drawn from the center to the edge of the outer ring and another spot, in the shape of a rounded triangle with the apex meeting the line attached to the outer edge. Many symbols were drawn in and around the entire seal, making it incredibly elaborate in Naruto's eyes. He tried to make out the purpose, but without seeing the scroll itself, he couldn't be sure what it was meant to do.

"You look well rested." Sasuke's comment distracted the blond from his perusal.

Naruto came to stand in front of his lover who was still on his knees and trailed a finger along the hard, pale jaw noting the circles under beautiful dark eyes. "And you look like you haven't slept at all."

Sasuke didn't dignify the obvious with an answer. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and kissed the firm abdomen. His action was devout, almost worshipful. Naruto's brows creased in concern, his fingers carded through sable strands as he allowed Sasuke to hold him for as long as he wanted. "Suke?"

The arms tightened for an instant before Sasuke pulled away. He reached for a bowl and knife that were beside him. "I need some of your blood."

Blood for techniques, especially high level ones was not uncommon, so Naruto did not hesitate in providing his wrist and did not flinch at the shallow slice. Sasuke did not need much and when he had enough in the bowl, he covered the wound with a towel to stop the blood flow. When he knew that enough time had passed for Kyuubi to have healed the wound, he used some water and the clean edge of the towel to wipe the residual blood away. Now Naruto realized why Sasuke had a bandage on his own wrist. Looking around, he saw another bowl already filled with blood, easily twice as much as Naruto had just given.

"Here," he handed Naruto a delicate brush, the bowl of blood, and a piece of paper. Leaning back, he exposed the skin of his belly. "You need to paint a seal below my navel exactly as I have drawn it for you."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding as he kneeled down next to Sasuke. Placing the brush and bowl on the ground, he observed the seal that he would have to copy. Compared to what was on the floor, it was a simple design with several symbols tied into it. Two characters caught his eye: "male" and "life." He was going to ask about it, but the expression on Sasuke's face begged him not to question what they were doing.

Without a word, Naruto precisely copied the seal in his own blood between Sasuke's hips.

Once Naruto was finished, Sasuke focused chakra to the area and the seal glowed subtly on his skin. Then he reached for the basin of his own blood and another clean, delicate brush so that he could draw his own seal on Naruto. "Lay back."

Carefully, he duplicated the intricate seal from the scroll that he kept out of Naruto's line of vision. This one was more than double the size of the one on his own belly and it was a painstaking process.

"It feels like some of what you're drawing is very close to Kyuubi's seal."

"Don't worry, I've made a modification so the jutsu will not be affected by the Kyuubi. The fox will have nothing to do with this." Sasuke words were firm and Naruto did not doubt him; there was something possessive about the way he said that the fox wouldn't be involved at all. Sasuke put the now empty bowl and brush aside. "I need you to focus on my blood on your body and direct chakra to the area." Naruto followed his direction and felt the seal warm on his skin.

In a daze, he took his position in the center of the rings as Sasuke instructed and sat cross legged while Sasuke sat on the triangular section just outside the circles. He made the hand seals that Sasuke led him through and maintained a steady stream of chakra to the growing warmth on his stomach. With what Sasuke had said about the jutsu requiring extreme amounts of chakra, Naruto was surprised by how little he had to do. It was Sasuke who was continuing the complicated hand signs and pumping copious amounts of energy into the emblem on the floor.

As the seal on the floor began to glow, Naruto kept his eyes on Sasuke and focused on his part; making sure that his own chakra flow was never interupted. Suddenly, the outer ring disappeared in a flash of light and Naruto felt a wave of nausea as his stomach began to burn. Pushing the discomfort to the back of his mind, he held his lover's eyes as the amount of chakra he had to maintain increased.

Onyx and sapphire clashed as a burst shot from where Sasuke was sitting down the line to Naruto as the final ring disappeared. At the eruption of chakra within his body, Naruto blacked out and all was silent within the apartment.

With a shuddering breath, Sasuke picked himself up from the floor now empty of the elaborate markings that were there only minutes before. Fighting a wave of dizziness, he stumbled to the blond's side. His heart stopped as he took in the form of his lover. It was as though he had not seen Naruto clearly in a long time. His eyes wandered down the deliciously golden skin unmarked like his own of the seals that had been painted onto their flesh. He drank in the site of the strong body that housed a truly wonderful soul. There was no whispering in his head to destroy his boyfriend anymore. The fog was lifted. Naruto was safe from him.

Picking Naruto up into his arms, Sasuke traveled the small distance to his bedroom and deposited his precious burden onto the bed. 'Time to say goodbye.'

Leaning over the blond, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and gently lifted Naruto's eyelids revealing blue eyes hazy from lack of consciousness. Tomoe spun as Sasuke prepared Naruto's mind to remember what he was about to be told.

"When you wake up, I will be gone. I have to remove the snake's influence and to do that I have to leave. If I can destroy Orochimaru, I will go after Itachi before coming home to you. It is past time that my clan was avenged. If I can't, everything I have is yours.

"I have to leave you behind. I wasn't lying when I told you that it was getting harder. Years ago I had two goals that I swore I would achieve." His free hand lightly rested on Naruto's throat. "For months I have been reminded that with a single slice, I could be so much closer to attaining my first goal: Itachi's death. But the urge is gone." His hand caressed down his lover's torso till it rested on the slight concavity below his navel where a new organ was created and a new life was forming. "Because now you carry the achievement of my second goal; a new generation of Uchiha.

"I'm leaving the scroll for you, it will explain everything so you know what to expect and how to take care of yourself. If you don't want this," Sasuke hesitated for a moment before starting over, his voice carefully clear of any inflection. "If you don't want this, the jutsu is safely reversible within the first 8 days. If you decide not to cancel it, you won't be able to fight, so don't take any missions. Most of your chakra will be used for our child." His voice almost broke over the last word. His thumb caressed the slight bump on Naruto's belly.

"Please forgive me. If I wasn't such a selfish bastard, I would have broken up with you a long time ago. I would have stayed away from you. But I couldn't. I kept you close and didn't care that I was endangering you because I can't ignore my feelings for you. I can't stop loving you." He smiled as he finally told Naruto that he loved him. It was something neither of them had ever said.

"Stay safe, Naru. If it is within my power, I will come back to you."

Releasing his Sharingan, he allowed Naruto's eyes to close. There was so much more he wanted to say, but he didn't have the time. Moisture caused his eyes to sparkle as he met Naruto's unresponsive lips with his own. A single tear coarsed down a whisker marked cheek as Sasuke pulled away.

Resolutely, he dressed for stealth and grabbed his pre-packed bag leaving his bedroom with his heart behind.

TBC