Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto.

Just some drabble. Everyone is still arguing if the chapters are real or fake, but whatever.

I don't think anything will ever change my mind about these two. No matter what I think Sasuke will love Naruto.

It always happens like this when they drink: Sasuke has too much and he'll move forward. Naruto always has to be the bigger person and push him away. Sasuke never remembers anything the next morning and his raging headache is the day's distraction. Naruto never says a word, but there are nights when he'll wonder what would happen if he let Sasuke lean into him. Would anything change? What would follow?

Naruto watches as Sasuke pours him another drink of sake. He takes it and sips slow as Sasuke downs his in one go. They're at the bar – the weekend's ongoing ritual. Sometimes Naruto wonders if he should cut Sasuke off, but he never does.

Naruto stares at the other man's parted lips. "Sasuke?" he says before glancing away. Instead, he stares down into his cup at the clear alcoholic liquid.

"Yes, Hokage?"

There's spite and a slight mock in his tone. It's quiet, but Naruto can hear it clearly. "How's Sakura?" he asks in an attempt to break the silence. "And your daughter?"

"Fine," he grunts. "They're both fine."

"You never talk about them," Naruto comments. No matter what he asks, Sasuke only gives him the slightest of details – unlike Naruto, who speaks freely and happily about Hinata and his own children. The love he feels for them is something he never imagined he'd have when he was little. He was so alone. Now he's anything but.

"I didn't think I had to," Sasuke tells him. "You have two legs. Go visit them."

Naruto sighs. Typical of the bastard. He never opens up, but he expects Naruto to open his legs. That's it, isn't it? That's what he wants? Naruto may be simple minded, but he understands Sasuke in a way most people don't. For some reason, this doesn't surprise him. "I do," he says. "They hate you being gone all the time lately."

"I'm gone because of the missions you send me on," Sasuke points out. "You're the one keeping me from my family."

Naruto smiles sadly. "I put you on these missions… because I know how much you hate being home." A pause. "Why is that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke pours himself another drink. "What are you trying to say, Hokage? That I don't love my family?" he asks. "I do. I love Sakura. I love my daughter. Isn't that enough?"

"Depends what kind of love it is," Naruto says. "Why did you marry Sakura?" he whispers the question, unable to bring his voice to sound louder than a hush.

"Because…" Sasuke starts with a bitter laugh. "I thought it would make you happy."

Naruto softens at that and his heart aches. "But what about your happiness?"

"I don't think I'll ever be truly happy," he admits.

"But why?" Naruto asks somewhat desperately.

Sasuke closes his eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. Instead of answering the question, he dismisses it. "I married Sakura because it was all I could do. I had sex with her on our wedding night. I was gentle. We had a daughter. I treat them both well. I care for them… provide for them… I give Sakura what she wants from me. I sleep with her when she wants me to sleep with her. I hold her when she wants me to hold her. I'm not doing anything wrong. I can't control the way I feel. I can't change the sort of love I feel for Sakura. When I see her, I see my sister."

"What about me, then? What kind of love do you hold for me?" Naruto wonders, but Sasuke only shakes his head. He stands up a moment later and exits the bar. Naruto pays the bill and follows Sasuke out into the dimly lit streets. It's late now, long past midnight.

"If I told you…" Sasuke finally starts, his voice a low murmur. "If I told you, I think you'd hate me."

"I wouldn't," Naruto promises. "I'd never hate you… I know I sometimes say stupid, offensive things… but I don't mean it. If – If you… If you didn't marry Sakura… and if you wanted to be with a man… I wouldn't have hated you."

"Even if that man was you?" Sasuke asks, glancing at Naruto.

"Yeah," he says gently. "Even if that man was me."

None of it surprises Naruto. Sasuke never showed interest in women, unlike every other boy. For a long time, Naruto simply thought it was because Sasuke was driven. He had but one goal and he let it consume him. He didn't have time for girls. But that wasn't it. He never showed interest, even after the war. He showed kindness and he showed love, but not of romantic nature. Naruto could sense it. Sakura never did, but Naruto knew she was happy. She is happy. He doesn't want to come between that.

He lets out a shuddery breath. He's getting emotional. He tries to force it back, but he can't. He pauses, putting the back of his hand over his face. When Sasuke notices that he's stopped, he turns around and gives Naruto a questioning look. "What now?"

"What can I do?" Naruto asks wetly, letting his hand fall. "What can I do for you to be happy? I'd do anything…"

Sasuke forces a smile, nearing Naruto until they're face to face. He presses his forehead to Naruto's and says, "I could never ask you to give me what I truly want." His breath smells like alcohol – too much alcohol. Naruto knows it's not anything new, but he's never been this close to Sasuke before. Tentatively, he wraps his arms around him, keeping him as near as possible.

"What if I offered?" he whispers hoarsely.

"I wouldn't let you," Sasuke says, putting a hand on the back of Naruto's head. "You're too selfless, Naruto. You're too kind. I wouldn't take advantage of that."

For a minute, the two men are silent and still. Naruto lets out another shuddery breath and closes his eyes. This time, he's the one to lean forward and just as he suspected, Sasuke doesn't push him away. He opens his mouth, meeting Sasuke's tongue with his own. His lips are chapped, but soft. Just like that, it's over.

"What about your wife?" Sasuke asks once they part, staring at Naruto.

Naruto wants to please Sasuke, though it's against his policy. "I love her," he whispers. "I love her so much… and I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to see her in pain… but I don't want to see you in pain either. She'll never have to know."

Sasuke stares at him with stony eyes and a hardened expression. It's a look Naruto is used to seeing. "And you think by giving yourself to me… You think my happy place will be between your spread legs? You think this will make me happy?" He sighs and Naruto sees the tension lifting.

"I know it will," Naruto insists quietly. "Even if it's only for a short while, it will make you happy."

"But you don't love me," Sasuke murmurs, reading between the lines.

"I do," Naruto promises. "I do love you… I just… I love you like you love Sakura."

Sasuke closes his eyes briefly, nodding.

Tonight will end differently than every other night. Tonight, instead of walking Sasuke home, Naruto walks him back to the house he shares with Hinata. Perhaps it is cruel of them to do it under her roof, but that doesn't stop them. They move into his downstairs office and everything is perfectly silent. They share a look, both tentative. Naruto is the first to move. He reaches for the edge of his t-shirt, clenching it briefly before pulling it up over his head and tossing it to the floor. "I can give you this much," he says surely, slipping his fingers beneath the rim of his pants. He forces them below his hips, letting them pool around his feet. He steps out of them. "I should have done this a long time ago." It makes Sasuke feel guilty, but he can't find it in him to protest. Instead, he simply watches Naruto undress. When he's bare, he wraps his arms around himself unconsciously, gaging Sasuke's reaction but there isn't one. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke stares at him, the parts of the other man he never thought he'd get to see. He would have liked to be Naruto's first. He would have liked to be Naruto's only. But it's far too late for silly dreams. "Am I a bad person?"

"No," Naruto whispers without hesitance.

"Am I selfish?" he asks.

"No," Naruto repeats himself, taking more steps towards Sasuke until they're standing face-to-face. "You're not selfish. Love is."

"Perhaps there's little difference," Sasuke argues.

"I don't care about that," Naruto admits. "I care about you."

Sasuke stares at Naruto – splendid like the sun and faultless behind all else. He allows his pale hand to touch Naruto's darker flesh. Naruto slips a palm beneath Sasuke's shirt, touching his stomach before letting his hands travel down south. He touches Sasuke in a way he's only ever touched himself. He finds it foreign and strange to touch another man. After a moment, he undoes the tie around Sasuke's waist and begins undressing him slowly. His eyes are wet. Sasuke notices it. Any minute now, he'll start to cry.

When they're both bare, Naruto pushes his lips into Sasuke's once more. Their warm chests are pressed together and Sasuke brings his hand up to cup Naruto's face in his shaky palms. He wishes he could have Naruto like this forever and for always, but he can't. Naruto isn't his. He never was. But, in ways, Sasuke will always be Naruto's.

When Naruto draws away, he opens his desk drawer and gets out a bottle of lotion. "This will do," he decides, handing Sasuke the bottle before lying down. He spreads himself on his desk, not minding the paperwork. He feels shy doing this, but he brushes the feeling aside and opens his legs. He isn't going to regret this, he already knows that much. It's only Sasuke with him.

Sasuke moves and stands between Naruto's parted thighs, staring down at Naruto, naked and flushed. He has Naruto like this – in a position he only dreamed of. He makes sure to be slow and careful and comforting. "Does it hurt?" he asks as he pushes his way in.

"Yeah," Naruto murmurs, "but I don't mind." He's crying by now, still willing to give Sasuke this much. Sasuke doesn't glance away from him. He wonders if Naruto even realizes he's crying. Sasuke knows he's not crying because it hurts. He's crying for reasons different than that. He's crying for Sasuke, who could never cry for himself.

"I love you," Sasuke confesses for the first time in his life. The words come out weak. He's felt this way for so long. He never thought he'd be able to gather the courage to say it out loud.

"I love you, too," Naruto says with a gentle smile.

Sasuke notices something clear fall onto Naruto's face. 'I'm crying,' he thinks to himself. He wonders why. Why now?

Naruto reaches a hand up and touches Sasuke's face and his tears. Neither of them dares look away. "It's okay," Naruto tells him sincerely, moving his hands from Sasuke's face to lock around his neck. He pulls him closer.

Love hurts. Sasuke has always known that. So has Naruto. They've both had love stolen from them. But things like this can be retrieved. Sasuke never used to be able to understand that. Naruto helped him see it. It's always Naruto. It always has been and always will be.

Sasuke finally starts to move his hips, pulling out halfway before pushing in again. Naruto emits the softest moans and Sasuke revels in the sounds. This could become his favorite sound, but he knows he'll never get to hear it again after tonight. He's okay with that. He has to be. Naruto has already given him so much. It's been this way since they were young. Because of Naruto, Sasuke has learned so much. He could never repay him.

Neither of them has fucked like this before. Then again, perhaps this isn't fucking. You don't fuck when there's love.

When it's over, Sasuke collapses onto Naruto, breathing into the crook of his neck. Naruto still has his arms locked around Sasuke, not yet willing to let him go. "Was it okay?" he asks timidly.

"Perfect," Sasuke whispers.

Quiet minutes continue to pass until, in mutual and silent consent, the two men decide to stand. They hurry to wipe themselves with tissues and throw their clothes back on. The sun is peeking in through the windows by now. It's no longer night. Morning is approaching. They walk back to the front door and prepare for goodbyes.

"I'd stay by your side even if you never gave me what you did," Sasuke says. "I'd never leave… Not again. Not after how much pain I put you through last time I left."

"I know." Naruto smiles softly. "Goodnight," he adds.

"Goodnight," Sasuke echoes, taking his leave.

Naruto shuts the door behind him. He is shaking again. He climbs upstairs and when he reaches the top he sees Hinata leaning against the doorway of their open bedroom.

"Was that Sasuke?" she asks quietly. She knows. She always knows.

Naruto can't lie to her. There's no way he can lie to her. So, he admits, "Yes."

She softens, nodding. "I knew this would happen eventually," she admits. "I expected it. I prepared for it long ago. He's different around you. He loves you as much as I love you. I always knew that. There were times I wondered why he married Sakura when he felt so strongly for you. But I suppose it's because you chose me."

"I love you," Naruto chokes out, "and I'm sorry."

Hinata smiles a small smile. "I know," she says, "and that's why I can forgive you. Come to bed." She holds out her hand, offering it to him.

Naruto swipes at his eyes before taking it, following Hinata into their bedroom. He removes his day clothes and puts on his night clothes – though he knows he won't be getting much sleep. He gets in bed with Hinata, who puts her arms around her husband.

"Sleep," she says gently. "I'm not mad."

Her heart is as kind as Naruto's.

Sasuke once again makes his way outside. The street lamps are off by now and the sun is slowing rising. He's alone in the empty streets. He makes his way home, opening the door slowly and hoping it won't creak. He walks down the hallway and checks on his daughter, who is sound asleep in her bed. For a moment, he watches her soft, quiet breaths. He stares at her – the life he made with Sakura. Sasuke always wanted a family. He has one now, he just never thought it would happen like this. When he was young, he'd think of Naruto and that was the only family he needed. He knew it was a silly dream. He expected it to be Sakura and Naruto… not Sakura and himself. But Naruto fell for Hinata. There was no room for Sasuke or Sakura in there, so they ended up with each other.

With a sigh, he continues down the hallway and into the room he shares with his wife. He undresses, putting on a pair of cotton pajama pants before getting into bed. Sakura shifts closer to him in her sleep. He allows it, putting his arm around her. There's an ache in his chest, but he buries it. Just like he always does.

Tomorrow is a new day. He'll see Naruto. They'll both exchange smiles. They won't speak about last night. It's nights like these Sasuke always pretends to forget.

For now, he'll shake away the bitter thoughts and he'll welcome the new day with relief.

Going, going, going… gone.

Fin.