The art of sand

A/N: The ending! No sequals I don't think, at least not now. Two more projects pending, and I'm not sure I could do anymore with them right now. Comments, complaints, suggestions, anything is welcome and wanted. So until the next one is up and running, thanks so much reading and supporting, hope everyone enjoyed it.


Epilogue

Kakashi watched as Itachi cleaned up the mess his father had left behind. The silver-haired man was nothing short of impressed. The Uchiha was un-phased; he had put his father in prison the prior day. Kakashi had the honor of escorting the older Uchiha into the court room. Itachi’s tongue had been smooth in court: He calmly sold his family out, and saved his brother. And only Itachi and Sasuke knew whether the younger brother was really involved anymore. Itachi was on the phone, speaking smoothly once again. Some business deal gone bad that needed re-doing, Kakashi assumed. His eyes wandered across the room. It had gotten quite messy over the weeks. He decided to help tidy up while his lover talked. He would never admit to anyone he had cleaned something, though. If Itachi had not been watching, he would have never believed it himself. He quickly ended his phone conversation to help Kakashi. Itachi had been relatively quiet since the night Danzo and his father had been busted. And the older man in the room with him had respected that needed space.

"Going to see Sasuke today?" Kakashi inquired after the room was cleaned.

"No. Otouto will find me when he’s ready."

There was a sadness to the Uchiha’s voice. Sasuke hadn’t really forgiven Itachi for selling the family out. The younger sibling knew there was a necessity to the actions that night. He knew what his father had been doing was wrong. He half expected Itachi to pick up the business, and therefore opted to stay away from his older brother. He had been staying with Naruto. Itachi dismissed the inner turmoil, and focused his attentions on Kakashi. The other man had been surprisingly patient. Itachi smirked and captured his lover’s hand. He raised a finger to his lips. Kakashi assumed he only meant to be quiet for the sake of the servants, seeing as there was no one else in the house. He was led silently upstairs and into the room the two had been known to spend countless hours in. Kakashi smiled knowingly as the door shut behind them.

********


Sai was sprawled out on the floor with his sketch book open. His hand led the charcoal pencil across the paper with expert ease. The lines already on the paper darkened with the added strokes. Gaara was stepping out of the shower while Sai stared out the glass door leading to the balcony. He was caught up in the way the colors of the sunset blended together. Sai had decided he would not take such a view for granted when he moved in. Gaara stopped short of the kitchen, clad only in the towel he had dried off with tied around his waist. Intent on something to drink, the sight of a carefree and happy Sai distracted him. He grinned to himself. He had watched the trial destroy the one he loved. Danzo had tried to control the young man even in handcuffs. Sai was indeed strong. He had held his head high when he took the stand. Danzo would not be leaving his prison cell for twenty years. Gaara secretly doubted the old man would survive his sentence. After seeing the damage to Sai’s small frame, the judge had made sure the man would not be let out early for behavior. Gaara sat on the couch and watched Sai sketch until the light from the sunset disappeared completely, forcing Sai to rouse from his trance. He blinked twice in a rather confused and adorable motion upon seeing Gaara sitting behind him. He smirked when he saw the lack of clothing.

"That’s not fair," he pointed out.

"When I have been fair?" Gaara huffed.

Sai left the book open and the pencil on the page. He stayed on his knees and closed the space between them. He grabbed Gaara’s red hair and used it to pull the man into a kiss. Gaara’s hands were instantly covering Sai’s form. Sai’s tongue parted Gaara’s lips and caressed the tongue hiding in its warm, wet cavern. His hands tightened on the hair he held. Gaara gasped, and took a hold of Sai’s hips. Even with his eyes closed, all Gaara saw were stars. Sai broke the kiss to stand and sweep Gaara into his arms. He carried the other man off into their bedroom and laid him gently on the bed.

"I love you," Gaara whispered softly.

"I know."

"Don’t be so arrogant," Gaara chided.

"That’s not fun," Sai responded matter-of-factly.

"I don’t have to give in to you," Gaara warned.

Sai stood back and looked at his lover. Gaara’s hair was still damp and currently a little messier than usual in the back. His towel had started to untie. All-in-all, he was damn sexy lying on the bed. Sai would have argued that Gaara was just begging to be fucked. Sai thought about the best avenue to take before acting. Deciding to try his hand at a pout similar to those that Naruto used, Sai put on his best puppy face. The result of said pout was that Gaara was rolling over laughing uncontrollably. Sai turned his pout into a frown.

"Did it look that bad?"

"Y-yes!"

Sai threw himself onto his back on the bed. He let a smile grace his features. It was finally over. The only thing left was the start of his life with Gaara. He waited patiently for the laughter to die before attacking the man. The form of such attack starting with Sai removing the towel obstructing access to a hardened member, and a prompt engulfing of said member with his mouth. That shut Gaara up pretty fast.

********


Gaara was fussing with the tie around his neck. He had been shooting death glares at Sai for the past four hours, ever since the accursed thing was forced on him. Sai ignored it, having learned within the first few months of his new life with the other that such threats were empty. Sai gently passed him a glass of champagne, and moved back into the crowd to mingle. The Uchiha manor was pretty full, which was a feat all in itself, seeing as how the dining room could have housed at least 150 people easily. Sai knew Gaara would stay in the corner he had taken sanctuary in upon their arrival three hours prior. Sai was still searching for the happy couple hosting the party. Sai would have been damned if he was going to miss such a big announcement. Mister Antisocial, known as his boyfriend, would just have to suck it up for the night. Sai bowed low upon encountering Uchiha Itachi.

"Lovely turn out?" Sai asked, almost teasingly.

"I suppose," the Uchiha answered. "Annoying. I keep asking them to end this soon. Most of these people should not be allowed to be even within 100 feet of this manor."

Sai nodded his agreement. Their host had pretty strange taste in friends. As Sai was bowled over into Itachi by a certain brown-haired hooligan, both men’s opinion was proven right. Sai sighed and stood up straight to dust himself off. He nodded his farewell and weaved in and out of people again. Meanwhile, the couple he was looking for had found Gaara. Naruto wrapped his arm around the man’s shoulder. Sasuke glared, but said nothing.

"So when are you going to ask? You can’t let this teme beat you to the alter can you?"

"Shut up," Gaara growled.

Naruto laughed loudly and detached himself to place a light punch in the red head’s ribs. Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"Stop embarrassing me, dobe."

"Shut up. He’s my friend!"

Sasuke pulled Naruto into a quick kiss. The blonde was too satisfied to continue with his teasing. Gaara reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Opening it, he revealed a small band of white gold.

"Took all my paychecks for the past seven months. Now I’m not even sure how to ask."

"You better not crash this party," Sasuke warned. "This is for us. I promised this idiot a party when he accepted. I’ll not have it ruined."

The threat was thick on the words spoken by the youngest Uchiha. Naruto was nodding his agreement. Gaara smiled weakly and pocketed it.

"If I don’t do it tonight I’ll lose my nerve again. But I’ll wait until after, does that work?"

Before they couple could respond, an arm slid around Gaara’s shoulder once more. Kankuro hiccupped his slightly drunken state for everyone to see. His smile was huge.

"’Grats to the happy couple," he said carefully, straining to keep the slur out.

"Thanks," Naruto accepted the congratulations smoothly with a nod.

He made Sasuke proud every now and then. Kankuro proceeded to nudge his brother in the side.

"When you are you going to secure that kid of yours?"

"Later. Go away. You’re heavy."

Kankuro removed himself from his younger brother’s shoulders, but did not leave. He instead carried on conversation with the others around them. He had stopped hiding the slur. Sai had made a full circle of the room before seeing Gaara in the uncomfortable position and the people he had been hunting. He slipped between his boyfriend and Kankuro quickly and extended his hand to Sasuke.

"Congratulations on the engagement," Sai said politely.

"Thank you," Sasuke accepted with a smile.

Naruto half purred as he snuggled into Sasuke’s arm. Sasuke blushed and looked away from the small group surrounding them. The night passed on with a minimal amount of chaos. Much to Itachi’s dismay, the night stretched on for several more hours than planned. Sai and Gaara had been forced to excuse themselves around the two o’clock hour. They were walking home, seeing as neither had bought a car yet. They were waiting at a cross walk when Gaara growled low and spun Sai to face him by his shoulders. Sai looked at him questioningly. Gaara fumbled in his pockets before dropping to his knees. He held the box open and bowed his head low.

"Will you marry me, too?" he almost shouted.

Sai was taken aback. The signal for them to walk went off. Sai took the box carefully. He pulled the ring out slowly and examined it in the light. A date was engraved on the inside rim for just under a year from the date. Sai smiled. He touched Gaara’s shoulder softly to get the man on his knee to look up. His face matched his hair in color.

"Aren’t you supposed to put it on my finger?" Sai asked.

"That’s for if you say yes," Gaara mumbled.

"Wasn’t that enough of a yes? Well, I’ll be frank. Yes, Gaara, I’ll marry you."

Gaara swallowed hard and stood. He took the ring and slipped it onto Sai’s finger with a trembling hand. Sai kissed him hard. They stayed that way for several moments. When they pulled away, both looked across the street. The occasional car sped past them.

"I think we missed our signal," Sai whispered.

"I’m not pushing the button again," Gaara huffed.Epilogue

Kakashi watched as Itachi cleaned up the mess his father had left behind. The silver-haired man was nothing short of impressed. The Uchiha was un-phased; he had put his father in prison the prior day. Kakashi had the honor of escorting the older Uchiha into the court room. Itachi’s tongue had been smooth in court: He calmly sold his family out, and saved his brother. And only Itachi and Sasuke knew whether the younger brother was really involved anymore. Itachi was on the phone, speaking smoothly once again. Some business deal gone bad that needed re-doing, Kakashi assumed. His eyes wandered across the room. It had gotten quite messy over the weeks. He decided to help tidy up while his lover talked. He would never admit to anyone he had cleaned something, though. If Itachi had not been watching, he would have never believed it himself. He quickly ended his phone conversation to help Kakashi. Itachi had been relatively quiet since the night Danzo and his father had been busted. And the older man in the room with him had respected that needed space.

"Going to see Sasuke today?" Kakashi inquired after the room was cleaned.

"No. Otouto will find me when he’s ready."

There was a sadness to the Uchiha’s voice. Sasuke hadn’t really forgiven Itachi for selling the family out. The younger sibling knew there was a necessity to the actions that night. He knew what his father had been doing was wrong. He half expected Itachi to pick up the business, and therefore opted to stay away from his older brother. He had been staying with Naruto. Itachi dismissed the inner turmoil, and focused his attentions on Kakashi. The other man had been surprisingly patient. Itachi smirked and captured his lover’s hand. He raised a finger to his lips. Kakashi assumed he only meant to be quiet for the sake of the servants, seeing as there was no one else in the house. He was led silently upstairs and into the room the two had been known to spend countless hours in. Kakashi smiled knowingly as the door shut behind them.

********


Sai was sprawled out on the floor with his sketch book open. His hand led the charcoal pencil across the paper with expert ease. The lines already on the paper darkened with the added strokes. Gaara was stepping out of the shower while Sai stared out the glass door leading to the balcony. He was caught up in the way the colors of the sunset blended together. Sai had decided he would not take such a view for granted when he moved in. Gaara stopped short of the kitchen, clad only in the towel he had dried off with tied around his waist. Intent on something to drink, the sight of a carefree and happy Sai distracted him. He grinned to himself. He had watched the trial destroy the one he loved. Danzo had tried to control the young man even in handcuffs. Sai was indeed strong. He had held his head high when he took the stand. Danzo would not be leaving his prison cell for twenty years. Gaara secretly doubted the old man would survive his sentence. After seeing the damage to Sai’s small frame, the judge had made sure the man would not be let out early for behavior. Gaara sat on the couch and watched Sai sketch until the light from the sunset disappeared completely, forcing Sai to rouse from his trance. He blinked twice in a rather confused and adorable motion upon seeing Gaara sitting behind him. He smirked when he saw the lack of clothing.

"That’s not fair," he pointed out.

"When I have been fair?" Gaara huffed.

Sai left the book open and the pencil on the page. He stayed on his knees and closed the space between them. He grabbed Gaara’s red hair and used it to pull the man into a kiss. Gaara’s hands were instantly covering Sai’s form. Sai’s tongue parted Gaara’s lips and caressed the tongue hiding in its warm, wet cavern. His hands tightened on the hair he held. Gaara gasped, and took a hold of Sai’s hips. Even with his eyes closed, all Gaara saw were stars. Sai broke the kiss to stand and sweep Gaara into his arms. He carried the other man off into their bedroom and laid him gently on the bed.

"I love you," Gaara whispered softly.

"I know."

"Don’t be so arrogant," Gaara chided.

"That’s not fun," Sai responded matter-of-factly.

"I don’t have to give in to you," Gaara warned.

Sai stood back and looked at his lover. Gaara’s hair was still damp and currently a little messier than usual in the back. His towel had started to untie. All-in-all, he was damn sexy lying on the bed. Sai would have argued that Gaara was just begging to be fucked. Sai thought about the best avenue to take before acting. Deciding to try his hand at a pout similar to those that Naruto used, Sai put on his best puppy face. The result of said pout was that Gaara was rolling over laughing uncontrollably. Sai turned his pout into a frown.

"Did it look that bad?"

"Y-yes!"

Sai threw himself onto his back on the bed. He let a smile grace his features. It was finally over. The only thing left was the start of his life with Gaara. He waited patiently for the laughter to die before attacking the man. The form of such attack starting with Sai removing the towel obstructing access to a hardened member, and a prompt engulfing of said member with his mouth. That shut Gaara up pretty fast.

********


Gaara was fussing with the tie around his neck. He had been shooting death glares at Sai for the past four hours, ever since the accursed thing was forced on him. Sai ignored it, having learned within the first few months of his new life with the other that such threats were empty. Sai gently passed him a glass of champagne, and moved back into the crowd to mingle. The Uchiha manor was pretty full, which was a feat all in itself, seeing as how the dining room could have housed at least 150 people easily. Sai knew Gaara would stay in the corner he had taken sanctuary in upon their arrival three hours prior. Sai was still searching for the happy couple hosting the party. Sai would have been damned if he was going to miss such a big announcement. Mister Antisocial, known as his boyfriend, would just have to suck it up for the night. Sai bowed low upon encountering Uchiha Itachi.

"Lovely turn out?" Sai asked, almost teasingly.

"I suppose," the Uchiha answered. "Annoying. I keep asking them to end this soon. Most of these people should not be allowed to be even within 100 feet of this manor."

Sai nodded his agreement. Their host had pretty strange taste in friends. As Sai was bowled over into Itachi by a certain brown-haired hooligan, both men’s opinion was proven right. Sai sighed and stood up straight to dust himself off. He nodded his farewell and weaved in and out of people again. Meanwhile, the couple he was looking for had found Gaara. Naruto wrapped his arm around the man’s shoulder. Sasuke glared, but said nothing.

"So when are you going to ask? You can’t let this teme beat you to the alter can you?"

"Shut up," Gaara growled.

Naruto laughed loudly and detached himself to place a light punch in the red head’s ribs. Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"Stop embarrassing me, dobe."

"Shut up. He’s my friend!"

Sasuke pulled Naruto into a quick kiss. The blonde was too satisfied to continue with his teasing. Gaara reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Opening it, he revealed a small band of white gold.

"Took all my paychecks for the past seven months. Now I’m not even sure how to ask."

"You better not crash this party," Sasuke warned. "This is for us. I promised this idiot a party when he accepted. I’ll not have it ruined."

The threat was thick on the words spoken by the youngest Uchiha. Naruto was nodding his agreement. Gaara smiled weakly and pocketed it.

"If I don’t do it tonight I’ll lose my nerve again. But I’ll wait until after, does that work?"

Before they couple could respond, an arm slid around Gaara’s shoulder once more. Kankuro hiccupped his slightly drunken state for everyone to see. His smile was huge.

"’Grats to the happy couple," he said carefully, straining to keep the slur out.

"Thanks," Naruto accepted the congratulations smoothly with a nod.

He made Sasuke proud every now and then. Kankuro proceeded to nudge his brother in the side.

"When you are you going to secure that kid of yours?"

"Later. Go away. You’re heavy."

Kankuro removed himself from his younger brother’s shoulders, but did not leave. He instead carried on conversation with the others around them. He had stopped hiding the slur. Sai had made a full circle of the room before seeing Gaara in the uncomfortable position and the people he had been hunting. He slipped between his boyfriend and Kankuro quickly and extended his hand to Sasuke.

"Congratulations on the engagement," Sai said politely.

"Thank you," Sasuke accepted with a smile.

Naruto half purred as he snuggled into Sasuke’s arm. Sasuke blushed and looked away from the small group surrounding them. The night passed on with a minimal amount of chaos. Much to Itachi’s dismay, the night stretched on for several more hours than planned. Sai and Gaara had been forced to excuse themselves around the two o’clock hour. They were walking home, seeing as neither had bought a car yet. They were waiting at a cross walk when Gaara growled low and spun Sai to face him by his shoulders. Sai looked at him questioningly. Gaara fumbled in his pockets before dropping to his knees. He held the box open and bowed his head low.

"Will you marry me, too?" he almost shouted.

Sai was taken aback. The signal for them to walk went off. Sai took the box carefully. He pulled the ring out slowly and examined it in the light. A date was engraved on the inside rim for just under a year from the date. Sai smiled. He touched Gaara’s shoulder softly to get the man on his knee to look up. His face matched his hair in color.

"Aren’t you supposed to put it on my finger?" Sai asked.

"That’s for if you say yes," Gaara mumbled.

"Wasn’t that enough of a yes? Well, I’ll be frank. Yes, Gaara, I’ll marry you."

Gaara swallowed hard and stood. He took the ring and slipped it onto Sai’s finger with a trembling hand. Sai kissed him hard. They stayed that way for several moments. When they pulled away, both looked across the street. The occasional car sped past them.

"I think we missed our signal," Sai whispered.

"I’m not pushing the button again," Gaara huffed.