Blackmail and Betrayal

AN at end of chapter.

Chapter 20


Sasuke sat across from the coroner as Chouji finished off the last of his barbeque sandwich. The bluish light coming from the exam table cast his features into an even paler relief as he twitched with impatience. Between Shikamaru dragging his feet up to his work station to fingerprint the postcard and Chouji’s insistence on not being able to give an accurate diagnosis on an empty stomach, he figured he would be here most of the night.

Sasuke’s eyes trailed over to the corpse which was stretched out on the metal table. He figured it was a different body since this one had the skin on its head pulled back to reveal the bloodied skull beneath. He glanced over to the coroner happily chowing down, brown-red barbeque sauce dripping from around the sandwich and had to suppress a shudder.

After finishing the sandwich, licking his fingers, running a napkin over his mouth and letting out a very satisfied belch, Chouji turned toward Sasuke. “Now, you had something for me to look over?”

Sasuke fished out the pictures from his file and handed them over, carefully keeping his eyes averted from them as he did so. “Tell me what you see.”

Chouji flipped through the pictures while making ambiguous noises at the back of his throat. Sasuke repressed the urge to lean over and forcibly throttle information out of the other man and settled for glaring at him instead.

“Well, just at first glance I would say that he was shot from the front. Maybe ten to fifteen feet with a handgun more than likely from the size of the damage channel. Probably bled out at the scene.”

“They said he died on the operating table. That there wasn’t anything else they could do,” Sasuke said quietly while rolling the new information around in his mind.

Chouji looked up from the photos and lifted an eyebrow at the detective. “Only if they all just stood there and watched him die, maybe.”

Sasuke’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

Chouji turned the photo displaying the autopsy cuts towards Sasuke. “Do you see any other incisions there? Any other marks? This man never made it to a hospital.”

While Sasuke sat there and stared, Chouji brought out another photograph. “You see this here?” he asked pointing to the bullet wound on the opened chest cavity of the body. This hole is almost a half inch off from the one in the other picture. You can tell by the position of the ribs in relation to the wound.”

“It’s not the same body?” Sasuke asked, his mind still in a state of shock.

Chouji let out a huff of a laugh. “Not unless they killed him twice.”

Considering the fact that this was the second time that Sasuke had had to go through Naruto’s death, he didn’t find the comment amusing.

Just then Shikamaru shuffled into the room. “Too many prints to pull off anything usable,” he stated with a long-suffering sigh. “It’s been through a lot of hands on its way here.” He handed the postcard along with a photocopied enlargement over to Sasuke.

Sasuke was slightly disappointed, but decided that it didn’t matter. The lines were already starting to connect in his mind and the picture was starting to form. Apparently Orochimaru wasn’t the only one that could fake people’s deaths.

“Thanks, Akimichi, I owe you one,” he muttered before hurriedly leaving the room.

The feds had only needed ten minutes because either they already knew that the shooter wasn’t in the building or, more likely, were covering for the shooter so he could get out. With the way that they had left the building and went straight to the vehicles, Sasuke could easily believe that one of the agents that had exited the building had been inside since that morning.

A 7mm round would have gone through a bullet proof vest and since that wasn’t his body in the autopsy photos, then they must have loaded the round light. Put in enough gunpowder to fire and make an impact, but not enough to have enough force to go through a vest. Naruto had been wearing that over-sized suit jacket that morning which would have been plenty bulky enough to hide the contours of a light weight vest.

No one had been allowed near his casket at the funeral; a casket that had only left his head visible. Sasuke would bet his badge that it had been because they didn’t want anyone to see that his color wasn’t due to cosmetics and that his pulse still beat in his throat.

The lack of a serious investigation, the zeal with which they had posted an unnecessary and probably staged DNA test, all of it pointed to a cover up. It wouldn’t surprise Sasuke to find a print of Naruto’s from his house or from the printed photos that Naruto had first tried to blackmail him with and take it to the precinct only to have it show a false negative when matched to Naruto’s prints on file.

Orochimaru was an amature. The FBI would have been exceedingly thorough.

The only thing that didn’t fit in were the postcards.

He unlocked the door to his car and slid in, putting his files to the side. He shut the door and paused for a moment, before pulling the card out and examining it closely.

Kakashi had kept harping about them, had kept telling him to take a vacation in Vegas. The emphasis had been there all the time and it had gone right over Sasuke’s head.

His eyes roved over the words, not making any real connection to the written message at first. Then his mind seemed to kick back to the puzzles and word games that he had played growing up.

Drop a letter

He quickly worked through the first sentence, dropping letters on words but found no rhyme or reason to it. He worked backwards with the same results. Being the methodical person that he prided himself on being, except perhaps when he was obsessed and grieving and clearly not thinking straight, he worked his way downwards, repeating the process.

His breath stuttered to a halt in his chest and his eyes widened.

Can
I
Keep
You

He swallowed thickly before uttering a harsh, whispered word. “Naruto.”

The little shit had been trying to contact him all this time and he had been too fucking stupid to notice.

His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the card. It didn’t make sense. Why encode a secret message and then send it on a card that proclaimed to the world where he was hiding? Surely the idiot wasn’t that dumb?

His eyes then caught onto the light pink stamping next to the postage. It was the postal mark where a letter or package was stamped in the city of its origin. Los…

He squinted at the faded ink a moment before reaching into his folder once more to grab the photocopy. The printing was much darker on the reproduction and he was able to see the stamp more clearly.

Los Angeles.

His hands were shaking as they picked up his cell phone and dialed the police station. The operator connected the call to his captain at his request.

“This is Uchiha,” he said, trying to hold his voice as steady as possible. “I need to put in for some vacation time.”

“I was wondering when you would finally get around to that,” his boss said jokingly, but Sasuke could hear a slight tone of relief in his voice. “When do you want to schedule it?”

“Immediately,” he stated.

“Detective, you know that you can’t just drop everything and take off-”

“We finished my main case today. The rest of it is in the preliminaries and any of the other detectives can pick it up and run with it,” Sasuke interrupted.

There was a sigh over the phone and a slight rustle as if the other man was nodding without realizing it. “Fine, fine. We all need a break.” Of course he didn’t elaborate on whether it was a generalized statement or perhaps a break from Sasuke in particular. “You get a week. I expect you to be in here after that week is up.”

“Yes, sir.”


Sasuke threw his apartment door open, already focused on the hallway to his bedroom to pack a carry bag when his peripheral vision caught sight of something.

Or perhaps someone would be more apt.

He stopped and looked over at Kakashi, who was sitting on his couch with his legs propped up and reading a porn magazine. He immediately saw red and took the two strides over to the older man, his arm already drawing back in his anger.

“You seem upset, detective,” came the bland observation even though the man had yet to look up from his questionable literature.

The fist came forward before it was promptly caught in a steely grip. “Is there something I can do for you, Sasuke?” he asked curiously as his eye reluctantly left his reading material and focused on Sasuke’s anger flushed face.

“You knew,” Sasuke growled down at him. “You knew all along.”

“I knew,” Kakashi confirmed calmly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kakashi sighed. “I couldn’t. Ebisu would have had my ass had I done so. Your grief was the proof of the deception. Your grief made others believe the lie and protected Naruto.”

“Where is he?” Sasuke demanded, unsure if was ready to forgive the other man yet or not.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Kakashi looked genuinely surprised.

Sasuke gave a low sound in his throat and tried to pull his arm out of Kakashi’s grip. Once he found that he was unable to do so, he settled for glaring down at the man instead. “I know what city he’s in. I just don’t have an address yet.”

“Ah, I see.” His single eye curved up into a smile, but his mouth was hidden by that annoying scarf that he had taken to wearing with the cooler weather.

Kakashi let go of his arm and reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. He retrieved a business card from it and handed it to Sasuke.

“Sannin Security Systems?”

“They’re really good at finding people among other things. Talk to the owners, either Jiraiya or Tsunade and tell them I sent you.”

“Why? So they can toss me out or shoot me?”

“Ha. Ha. Very amusing, Uchiha.” Kakashi stood up and folded his magazine before sticking it in his back pocket. “Well, I’ll leave you to pack. Have fun on your trip.”

Sasuke watched as the older man let himself out before looking back at the card. He flipped the card over out of habit more than anything else and then paused as he saw an address written in what was apparently Kakashi’s sloppy handwriting.

A hint of a smile curled his lips as he glanced back at the closed door.

“Thanks, Kakashi.”

******************
He sighed as he closed and locked the door behind him. Today had been another long-assed day. He dropped his keys on the bar and gave a stretch, wincing as his back popped a few times.

He moved over to where he had his laptop stationed at the end of the bar and checked the image displaying the hallway outside of his apartment. He had removed the peephole from his door and had replaced it with a miniature camera that was in turn attached to the laptop. He had a program running in the background that saved the footage every hour so that he could sort through it and keep stills of anyone that walked through the hall.

He knew the value of saving information.

After checking the log to make sure that it was doing its job, he reached up and scratched at the back of his neck. God, he would never get used to this persistent itching. Grabbing a handful of hair, he yanked, ripping the brown wig from his head. He sighed in relief as he ran his fingers through his short, spiky hair.

He walked through the small but nicely appointed apartment to the master bathroom where he dug out a small white container. Opening it and setting it to the side, he proceeded to roll his eyes back so he could get the first green contact lens out. He dropped it into the saline solution filled holder and then lifted his hands to the next one.

The doorbell rang.

“Shit!” he cursed. He hesitated, torn between sticking the accursed lens back in his eye or just ignoring his visitor.

However he had to wonder just who in the hell would be visiting him in the first place. Anyone he worked with knew to call ahead and he couldn’t exactly go out and make new friends.

The doorbell rang again.

“Geez, I’m coming already,” he grumbled as he slipped through the bedroom. He had learned not to stomp through the house the first time Tsunade had smacked him upside the head for it. According to her, it was hard to pretend you weren’t home when you could be heard through the door.

He snagged a pair of sunglasses from his dresser on the way by and stealthily sneaked out to the main room again to check his monitor. His mismatched colored eyes widened in shock and a grin slowly spread across his smooth face.

Naruto stepped away from the monitor and quickly ran his hands through his hair. His fingers caught on the sunglasses which he quickly snatched off his head and tossed carelessly onto the bar. He ran his hands nervously over his clothes and took a deep breath.

He reached out and opened the door, revealing the man standing on the other side.

Black eyes lifted to meet his own and they both seemed to freeze as they connected.

“Sasuke,” he breathed.

Before he could utter another word, he was roughly grabbed and jerked into Sasuke’s arms. He was walked a few steps backwards and the door was kicked closed behind them. Sasuke locked his arms tightly about him and muttered fervently against his neck.

“God damn you, Naruto. Damn you. Don’t you ever do that to me again, you son of a bitch.”

Naruto’s smile widened further, if that was even possible. “Yeah, I missed you, too.”

Sasuke let out a snort that sounded suspiciously more like a choked sob, but refrained from answering. He merely held on with his face buried in Naruto’s blond spikes. Naruto’s arms came up and gently ran up and down his back in soothing motions.

“You’re never allowed out of my sight again,” Sasuke growled after a few long minutes. “Every time you are something fucked up happens.”

Naruto let out a small chuckle. “We can’t be attached at the hip twenty-four seven.”

Sasuke pulled his head back to give him a slight smirk, the total effect ruined somewhat by the glassiness of his eyes. “I can’t see why not. Sounds like fun actually.”

Naruto laughed for a moment but then sobered up as Sasuke studied his two different colored eyes. Sasuke’s gaze then went upwards as his fingers carded gently through the shorter hair before trailing down over the seemingly smooth cheeks.

“Did you have them removed?” he asked quietly as if unsure what to think about that fact.

“Nah. Make up.” Naruto looked away and shrugged slightly. “I figured I had paid for them, I might as well keep them. They’re a part of me.”

Sasuke cupped Naruto’s chin and turned his face back towards him. He lowered his head and brushed his lips softly against Naruto’s before moving them up onto his cheek and gently placing three kisses about where the scars would be.

Naruto made a sound that seemed to originate low in his chest and he twisted his head slightly until his lips forcibly met Sasuke’s. He snaked his arms up between them and wrapped them around Sasuke’s neck, tangling his fingers in ebony locks.

Sasuke moaned and slid his hands down to the small of Naruto’s back. He would have gone further but cool metal halted his progress. He reluctantly pulled away long enough to tug the gun, holster included, from the back of Naruto’s pants. He guided them back closer to the bar so he could set the handgun up there and then shrugged out of his jacket to remove his own shoulder holster.

There was an awkwardness between them as their eyes met again where Sasuke wanted to take charge but was afraid to and Naruto figured he should take charge but didn’t want to.

Naruto broke the staring match with an uncertain smile. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke agreed as he stepped closer and touched his forehead to Naruto’s. He brought up a hand and traced the smooth cheek with a feather-light touch with the backs of his fingers. “I thought I had lost you.”

Naruto quirked a more genuine smile. “Again.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke quietly agreed.

Another short silence passed between them. “I’m here now.”

“I want you,” Sasuke said honestly, “but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“The only way you would hurt me is if you left me,” Naruto whispered.

“Sakura…Sakura always said I was too rough,” he said, refusing to look away in embarrassment.

“I’m not Sakura,” Naruto said patiently. “And I trust you. I know that you’ll stop if I tell you to.”

After everything that Naruto had been through, for him to tell Sasuke those words both relieved him and scared him more than anything else ever had.

Sasuke gently twined his fingers with Naruto’s and tugged him to follow as he walked to the door. He flipped the deadbolt and then led the other man down the hallway. He stopped in front of the most likely door out of three and looked to Naruto for confirmation. Once he received a nod, he pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside.

It was a rather plain room. Pale walls, beige carpet, a single dark wood chest of drawers and a full-sized bed. There were no pictures on the walls, no posters; just a stark bareness that seemed to imply that the owner wasn’t planning on staying very long.

The only thing that loudly proclaimed who the owner might be was the dark orange duvet covering the bed.

“That’s a dead giveaway,” Sasuke announced with a smirk over towards Naruto.

“Hey! Don’t disrespect the orange,” Naruto protested with a fake pout. “This damn place needed some kind of color,” he added deprecatingly. “Speaking of which, let me get this other freaking contact out of my eye before it drives me buggy.”

He stepped away and Sasuke reluctantly let go of his hand. He watched as Naruto disappeared through another door into the master bath when he found himself moving to follow. Call it paranoia but after having found Naruto again, he wasn’t ready to lose sight of him for any reason.

Sasuke watched as he carefully removed the other green contact lens and, as Naruto lifted his head up to look in the mirror, Sasuke had the breath knocked out of him by a pair of vivid blue eyes.

“Could you hand me the washcloth there on the rack beside you? Need to clean my face off.”

Sasuke retrieved the requested item, but didn’t hand it to Naruto. He ran a portion of the cotton under the tap and, once the water had warmed and soaked into the cloth, wrung it out. He carefully wiped it along Naruto’s cheeks, watching as the foundation disappeared and scars emerged.

“You know, cold cream would get these off easier and faster,” Sasuke commented.

“Do I look like a girl?” Naruto growled.

“It has nothing to do with you being male or female,” he countered. “Cold cream is just better for the job.”

Naruto shot him a small glare as if he would like to protest further, but kept his mouth shut.

Sasuke finished cleaning his face and leaned back slightly, taking in the whole view. “Perfect,” he said softly.

Naruto blushed slightly under the scrutiny and quickly stepped back out into the bedroom. Sasuke smiled after his retreating form before quickly rinsing out the washcloth and joining him.

Sasuke reached out to the flustered man and cupped his face with both hands. His thumbs ran over the now marred and much more suitable skin.

Tired of waiting for Sasuke to get around to it, Naruto leaned forward and covered Sasuke’s mouth with his own. A low moan was uttered against his lips and Sasuke quickly took control over the kiss, deepening it and using it to claim Naruto.

He reached down to peel off Naruto’s orange t-shirt before tossing it blindly to the side as Naruto’s fingers came up to swiftly undo the buttons on Sasuke’s dress shirt. As Sasuke finished pulling the shirt from his shoulders, Naruto ducked down to lathe his tongue over a bared nipple, causing its owner to make an appreciative sound.

Sasuke’s hands tangled in short blond locks as he held Naruto’s head in place for a moment, enjoying the little sparks of pleasure from the attention before he used his handhold to straighten the other man up before gently pushing him onto the bed.

Naruto fell lightly onto his rump and then onto his elbows as Sasuke continued to urge him backwards. Deft, pale fingers undid the button fly on his blue jeans and was about to yank them down when dark eyes noticed the lack of undergarments. Sasuke made a strange sound, almost a cross between confounded and needy as his eyes lit on the blond curls. He carefully pulled downward on the sturdy canvas, revealing a hardened cock just starting to dampen the skin beneath it.

“Naruto,” he whispered hoarsely, having no idea what else to say. He looked up into darkened blue eyes and knew that his own clearly showed his arousal, his lust. “I missed you,” he breathed and then seemed to see how that could be misconstrued. He shook his head. “I want you, but not just this. Not just-”

“It’s okay, Sasuke,” Naruto reassured him through his heavy breaths. “I know what you mean. I want you to find me arousing, but I know it’s not just that.”

Sasuke held his gaze. “Not just that,” he agreed quietly. He lowered himself down to his knees and continued to pull the jeans down past Naruto’s knees. “Although this is really damn nice, too.”

Naruto’s husky laughter brought a smile to Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke ran his hands back up Naruto’s thighs until they came to rest on either side of the younger man’s groin. Naruto slowly, almost cautiously, reached a hand down and threaded his fingers into Sasuke’s blue-black hair before gently applying pressure.

Sasuke allowed himself to be guided and when the musky scent hit him full on, he readily extended his tongue to lap up along the length before him.

“Yes, oh god, yes,” Naruto uttered breathily while tilting his head back.

Sasuke paused at the head, an unfamiliar taste teasing the edge of his tongue. He swallowed, rolling it around on his tongue for a moment before sliding a hand over to lift the rigid manhood upright. Naruto’s fingers twitched closed in his hair in anticipation as Sasuke lowered his mouth onto the engorged head of Naruto’s cock.

Fingers tightened even harder in his hair as he felt the flesh in his hand swell further, felt the testicles under the edge of his hand clench and lift.

“Sasuke,” Naruto said in a strangled voice.

Sasuke knew that Naruto was right at the edge. If he just held still for a few tense moments, he was sure that Naruto would regain control over himself and that they could continue.

Naruto forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply, trying to push himself back away from the edge. He watched as Sasuke lifted his head just slightly so that pitch black eyes lifted to meet his own. His breath caught as he saw the darkly mischievous look that Sasuke sent his way right before quickly engulfing his cock.

A rough cry ripped itself from his throat as Sasuke’s beautiful mouth pushed down to where his hand gripped the base of Naruto’s dick before applying suction for its rapid ascent. Jolts of pleasure flooded Naruto’s body, making his limbs twitch and quiver in an almost embarrassing manner for someone of his level of experience. He couldn’t draw back, he couldn’t contain himself and his muscles started to tighten in an alarmingly familiar manner that told him he was already about to shoot his load.

“Sasuke! I’m going to come!”

Naruto’s eyes rolled back as Sasuke growled around his cock as his words roused Sasuke’s own body even further. His hips lifted on their own accord and started thrusting, Sasuke’s hand firmly on his cock the only thing preventing him from choking the older man. Sasuke locked his free arm around Naruto’s waist to try to maintain some control as the tanned body began to shake and shudder.

Naruto’s mouth was open but no sound emerged as pure sensation swamped over him. He allowed himself to hit the bed below as his other hand joined the first in fisting Sasuke’s hair. There was a moment of pure bliss and then his body went lax as he collapsed back to the mattress.

As he greedily sucked up air, he lolled his head slightly to look down at Sasuke who was watching him with an almost kind of possessive awe. The older man’s usually pale lips were flushed and swollen from having been buffeted between knuckles and teeth and Naruto felt both contrite over having lost control and yet a bit smug that his had been the first cock in that luscious mouth.

Sasuke seemed to shake himself out of his daze and moved back slightly to pry off Naruto’s shoes followed by his pants. Naruto reluctantly moved to right himself in the bed as Sasuke divested himself of the remainder of his clothes. Naruto smiled welcomingly as Sasuke joined him, lowering himself down between Naruto’s thighs.

They kissed deeply, Sasuke propped up on his elbow with his other hand trailing over Naruto’s body. He traced over the warm, tanned skin of Naruto’s chest, pausing to brush his thumb over the dusky nubs there, and then trailed his hand lower over the toned stomach, admiring how their skin contrasted. His hand then slipped down to caress Naruto’s balls and slowly hardening cock.

“Condoms are in the nightstand,” Naruto said, his eyes fluttering slightly over the pleasurable touches.

“Were you waiting for me?” Sasuke teased lightly as he found the unopened box of colored condoms.

“Yeah, just didn’t think you would take so damn long to get here,” Naruto murmured against a pale shoulder before kissing and nipping at it.

Sasuke pulled out a red condom since it was first in the box and reached in to pick up the half empty tube of lubricant. He lifted a dark eyebrow towards Naruto.

“I never said I was a fucking saint,” Naruto grumbled, sounding a little embarrassed at having resorted to self service in Sasuke’s absence.

Sasuke chuckled as he sat back onto his heels and rolled on the condom. He hesitated when he picked up the lubricant. He looked uncomfortable for a moment before looking up at Naruto. “You’re going to have to tell me if I do something wrong,” he mumbled, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s been awhile since I… well, you need to… here, let me see the lube.” Naruto plucked the tube from the unresisting pale hand and squirted some onto his fingers. He lifted his legs up. “Hands behind my knees and push. Like we did in the chair.”

Sasuke pushed Naruto’s knees up and apart and watched in rapt attention as Naruto rubbed the lubricant around his hole before pushing a finger in. That finger was quickly joined by another and Sasuke was literally throbbing in anticipation.

His eyes located the lube and he propped Naruto’s feet against his shoulders as he squeezed out some of the gel onto his own fingers. He looked to Naruto for permission and was answered with a smirking leer accompanied by that same damn blush. He still didn’t know how the moron managed that. Redirecting his attention downwards, he noticed that Naruto’s fingers had parted slightly, giving him room.

Putting a hand to a knee once again, to give himself more room, Sasuke slid his finger into the tight opening and felt a surge of desire briefly tighten his muscles, making his cock twitch. Naruto slid another finger out, allowing Sasuke to slip another inside. Soon, Sasuke had three fingers in him and Naruto was moaning as he moved his hips against them, his hand lazily stroking his stiff shaft.

“Naruto,” Sasuke said huskily, “I need inside.”

Naruto’s response was a heavy groan followed by a hard thrust down onto his fingers.

Sasuke reluctantly pulled his hand away and quickly slathered his erection with lube. He moved forward and positioned the tip of his cock against Naruto’s reddened entrance, rubbing against it.

“Don’t tease, bastard,” Naruto protested breathlessly.

Sasuke carefully pushed forward, feeling the tight ring of muscle sliding over his manhood with mind-numbing slowness. Each small movement, each breath, each heartbeat was pleasure. He wanted so badly to throw himself into the sensation, but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice Naruto to the demands of his own desire.

Finally, finally he felt his balls rest snuggly against Naruto’s ass. He blinked open eyes that he had no recollection of closing to meet a pair of blue ones watching him intently.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Naruto whispered almost reverently.

Sasuke gave him a slight smile. “You ready?”

“For a long time now.”

Sasuke squeezed Naruto’s ankle gently to indicate his understanding and agreement of the sentiment before pulling back. He made it halfway before he gave into the urge to reverse directions and push deeply back into his lover. The moan from below let him know that the action was well received.

“Faster, I want more,” Naruto panted.

Sasuke picked up his pace, setting a tempo that had them both moaning in pleasure. He could feel Naruto shifting beneath him and started to put some variance into his thrusts.

“There! Oh shit, just like that!”

Sasuke leaned forward until his hands were braced on either side of Naruto’s head, the younger man’s legs draped over his upper arms spreading him wide and angling him for depth. Sasuke obeyed Naruto’s half shouted instructions until he was practically hammering into him.

The increasingly tight grip on his cock was slowly eroding any rhythm and soon he was merely thrusting as fast as he could, dimly aware that Naruto had grabbed a hold of his own dick and was stroking with the same abandon.

Muscles clenched down on him as Naruto spilled across his own chest, pulling a cry from Sasuke as it triggered his own orgasm. He lost himself to the ecstasy that coursed through him.

“Naruto!” he yelled as his mind swam almost dizzily. He vaguely hoped he wouldn’t humiliate himself by passing out before it was over.

When the world reformed around him, he was laying on top of Naruto with the younger man’s arms around him in a hold that was both comforting and possessive.

“Welcome back,” Naruto said with an easy curl of his lips.

Any embarrassment Sasuke might have felt was erased by that accepting smile.

“Hn.”

Naruto let out a small chuckle as Sasuke pulled out and rolled off of him. He turned so that he was pressed up against the older man’s side. He dropped his head onto the shoulder beneath him and smiled into it as arms came around him.

Lips brushed against his hair before parting to speak. “Yes.”

Naruto’s brows quirked slightly. “Yes?”

“Yes,” Sasuke affirmed. “That’s the answer to your question.”

Naruto quickly searched his memory, knowing that Sasuke, unlike him, wasn’t one to talk just to hear himself. The answer presented itself to him and a grin spread itself across his face. “I’m glad,” he replied honestly.

“Hn. As if you had a choice. I told you that I wasn’t letting you out of my sight ever again.”


THE END

AN: Well, here it is… the end of all things. I hope you guys enjoyed the ending! I appreciate the support that I have received throughout this project! Twenty chapters for something that was originally meant to be a one-shot, lol. It was challenging to write and I really did enjoy it.

At this point in time I will start working on the sequel to “The Sound of Dreams.” I will probably write out a few chapters before I start posting just to make sure that it is going in the direction that I intend. I expect “Dreams of Fire” to take up the next year so I do not know if I will be starting up any other multi-chaptered fics. Maybe a one-shot here and there, but nothing huge.

Thanks again, everyone!