Summary: Sometimes, desire can last for millennia. (Naruto x Sasuke)

Sasuke = Death, Naruto = War/chaos, Sakura = Famine, Sai = Pestilence

Author's note: This is the final chapter! Thanks to Tandy_Hard for reading this over in advance! *hugs to her* I couldn't log into FF this morning, so it was posted on A o3 first, but I finally was able to sign in. FF seems to be having all sorts of issues these days... *sighs*.

Chapter 11 - Judgement

Naruto felt a subtle shift in the energy in the room… a presence that hadn't been there a moment ago. He shakily forced himself to sit up, the blanket falling away from his chest. The bitter chill in the room notified him that one of the fireplaces had gone out, but he didn't even glance over to it. His eyes were locked on the being that was standing casually a few feet away from their pallet, watching them.

He was tall, with long black hair pulled into a low ponytail over a pale, perfectly sculpted shoulder. But it wasn't the bare chest that drew Naruto's attention.

It was the black wings that extended from the figure's shoulder blades. Naruto didn't need to use his powers to know that this man was not of the earth.

Naruto was frozen. He didn't sense hostility from the creature, but he wasn't sure he could really read such a being accurately. Naruto had never felt uncertainty about a possible enemy. With the exception of the man sleeping beside him, he had always thought there was not a creature on earth that was a threat to him.

But the winged man before him had a presence that Naruto knew instinctively not to underestimate.

Naruto wished he could conceal Sasuke beneath the blankets, but it was obvious that the man had already seen them both. And it would have been a futile effort in any case, since Sasuke's eyes were already opening.

"Itachi," Sasuke sat up, looking briefly over to Naruto, then returning his attention to the Angel of Death. "He can see you?"

Itachi shrugged. "It would appear so."

"You… you know him?" Naruto asked, not sure if that made him feel better or more on edge.

"Yes. He is the one who gave the Horsemen our orders in the past. The rest of you were never able to see him," Sasuke said, calmly reaching over and grabbing his cloak. He stood, drawing it around his naked body for warmth. Naruto looked over but his cloak was buried somewhere in the bedding. He grabbed a blanket and stood as well.

"Then why can I see him now?" Naruto asked, the feeling of foreboding somehow increasing.

"This is a Temple of Death," Itachi said, his black wings stretching slightly, seeming to draw the darkness around them. "Creatures of Death such as Sasuke and I are more fully part of the mortal plane here."

Naruto shot Sasuke a slightly unsure look.

"He means that the same way the temple is able to contain my powers, it also makes his physical form visible to other beings," Sasuke said.

There was a tension about Sasuke that Naruto had never observed before. If he had to name it, it would be… apprehensive.

"We were careful," Sasuke looked at Itachi, his voice challenging.

"Hm," Itachi glanced down at the rumpled bed, then looked at Naruto. "And did you tell your lover the potential consequences of your actions?"

Sasuke did not reply, but merely looked steadily at Itachi.

"Sasuke. What is he talking about? What consequences?" Naruto looked over to Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't take his gaze from Itachi. There was a stillness about him that had Naruto on edge—as though Sasuke were waiting for something to occur. The grim expression on Sasuke's face made it clear that whatever was about to happen wasn't good.

Without thinking, Naruto's power flared and he turned to Itachi, stepping between him and Sasuke.

"You will not hurt him," Naruto's voice came out in a growl, his eyes already blazing red. Ash blew from the fireplace, the glowing embers flaring hotter with the sudden wind.

Itachi turned an amused look to Naruto, arching a perfectly formed black brow. Wherever the wind touched the dark angel, it died. The embers were snuffed out as though doused in water. Itachi's gaze locked with Naruto's as he slowly walked towards him, cutting a path through the chaos that swirled in the room.

"You defend him against me?" Itachi asked, coming to stand directly before Naruto.

"Itachi -" Sasuke began moving forward to stand alongside Naruto, but Naruto cut him off.

"You. Will. Not. Hurt. Him." The walls shook, and Naruto mind reached out to connect with the being before him. If Naruto couldn't touch him physically, then he would touch him directly with his power.

Itachi's eyes widened, but Sasuke placed a restraining hand on Naruto's shoulder, his own power snaking through Naruto's body, calming him and pulling him back.

"Let's discuss this first, shall we?" Sasuke's voice was calm and controlled.

Naruto's power strained, his fear driving it forward while his tie to Sasuke held it back.

Itachi stood, simply waiting.

Slowly, the air in the room stilled.

Itachi turned to Sasuke, his expression considering. "You were able to control his power. A power that was designed to be uncontrollable."

"Designed to be… who are you?" Naruto asked in frustration. "And will one of you tell me what the fuck the winged guy meant when he talked about consequences? What consequences? And of what actions?"

Naruto could feel the tension rolling off Sasuke in waves, but he still didn't reply.

Finally, Itachi spoke.

"If Sasuke won't be the one to tell you, I suppose it falls to me. Starting with your first question, I suppose most mortals would refer to me as the Angel of Death. Sasuke is the Reaper, who harvests the souls. I am the Ferryman, who carries them to the other side. We are, in a sense, brothers in Death. Two sides of the same coin."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, but he only nodded.

"So why are you the one who called us to ride in the past?" Naruto asked.

Itachi shrugged a perfectly sculpted shoulder. "I ferry souls to both heaven and hell. I am the… go-between, I suppose you'd say. And I can deliver messages back from either side as well."

Naruto shifted. "Ok, fine. You're the Angel of Death. But why are you here now?"

Itachi looked directly at Sasuke when he spoke. "Because Death was warned about losing control. When he first began to covet you, four thousand years ago."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he turned to look at Sasuke. " What?! " His mind raced back. "That was… that was before the battle in Egypt when I…"

Sasuke didn't break his gaze from Itachi. Naruto's mind reeled with even the possibility that Sasuke had wanted him as long as Naruto had wanted Sasuke.

"But… you never… you always pulled away," Naruto said, though as soon as the words were out, he realized the implications of what Itachi had really said. It was four thousand years ago that Sasuke had stopped sharing a tent with him… that Sasuke had begun shutting him out.

"Sasuke was only aware that he had difficulty controlling his powers in certain situations involving you. He didn't understand the reasons behind it."

Naruto could only look at Sasuke, who glanced at him only briefly before turning back to Itachi.

"It is interesting that Sasuke was never supposed to have emotions or lose control, and you have made him do both. You were never supposed to be controllable, yet Sasuke has been able to do so," Itachi said, looking at Naruto as though he were a curiosity. Which, Naruto supposed, he was.

"We balance each other," Sasuke spoke, his voice quiet but firm in the temple chamber.

Itachi considered for a moment. "Yes. I suppose you do. But that still leaves us the issue of what to do with you both now."

"I still don't understand what Sasuke did wrong," Naruto's confusion over how long Sasuke had felt something for him was replaced by his anxiety about the purpose for Itachi's visit.

"You mean aside from killing a building full of people when the two of you bumped into each other the other night at the club?" Itachi arched an eyebrow.

Naruto scoffed. "If you were going to make a big deal about that, it would have happened already."

Sasuke's lips twitched slightly, though he was equally curious as to Itachi's answer.

"Sasuke was warned what would happen if he lost control again," Itachi stated, finally turning his gaze to Death.

"And this temple controlled our powers," Sasuke returned calmly. "I don't see the problem."

Itachi's gaze shifted to the words carved in the stone walls. "Yes. It is an interesting room."

"You keep saying that Sasuke was told what would happen. What would happen? He's Death. I'm pretty sure even you can't kill him."

Itachi looked slightly amused at the irreverent tone of voice Naruto was taking with him, but he answered the question. "If Sasuke lost control of his powers again, he was to be sealed until the End of Days, to be revived only when the Horsemen were required again."

Naruto looked from Itachi to Sasuke. "Sealed as in… what?"

"Sealed as in put in stasis. Frozen." Sasuke didn't appear fazed by the idea at all.

"For all intents and purposes, Sasuke would be dead until he was called again," Itachi provided.

"What?!" Naruto rounded on Sasuke, grabbing him by the shoulders and ignoring the power that surged between them at the touch. "You risked being sealed for this without telling me? What if the temple hadn't been strong enough? What if the scripts had only worked on my powers and not yours? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"And thus my presence here," Itachi gestured with an elegant hand, though neither man was paying him any attention.

Sasuke simply looked at Naruto, his dark eyes filled with a swirl of things that Naruto would take another thousand years to fully understand.

"It was worth the risk." Sasuke's words, the quiet resolution of them, nearly brought Naruto to his knees.

Naruto's grip on Sasuke's shoulders tightened. "I love you," Naruto's voice was soft, but the words carried to every corner of the temple. "I can't lose you again."

He didn't let go of Sasuke when he turned to face Itachi. "It wasn't specified if Sasuke had to maintain control himself, or if something else could help as long as his powers were not unleashed on mortals, right?"

Itachi tilted his head to the side, considering. "It wasn't really discussed. He was never supposed to lose control in the first place."

"Losing control implies that our powers were uncontained. That was not the case," Sasuke stated, his fingers gesturing to the Temple walls.

Itachi's lips curved into a slight smile. "I suppose… that could be considered to be true."

"Then…" Naruto looked between Itachi and Sasuke. "Then we're ok? No one needs to get sealed?"

Itachi didn't answer, and instead walked over to one of the walls, tracing an elegantly tapered finger along the ancient wisdom carved there. He turned to look directly at Sasuke.

"If this had occurred in any other location, the outcome would have been different."

Sasuke shrugged. "But it didn't. It happened here."

Itachi looked at him, his eyes glowing a piercing red that seemed to be able to look through to his very soul. "And can you guarantee that it will only occur in this location, if it is repeated?"

Sasuke looked at Itachi for a moment, then a slow smile appeared on his lips. "Are you wanting to know about the details of my sex life, Itachi? I'm not sure that's actually the purview of the Angel of Death. Unless the job description has changed?"

Itachi raised his eyebrows. "Given what I nearly interrupted, I don't think you are one to speak about what our roles are these days." The voice was flat, but there was an amused light in the angel's eyes.

"You mean…" Naruto glanced at Sasuke, but directed his question to Itachi. "... we would have to live here?"

Itachi gave a small shrug. "You would need to confine any… activities… that could result in the loss of control of your powers to this temple."

Sasuke looked thoughtful. "Or really any building that was similarly inscribed. The Egyptians had many tombs inscribed with versions of the Book of the Dead ."

"We're going to have sex in a tomb?" Naruto didn't find the idea totally unappealing, but it wouldn't have been his first choice.

"It would be warmer than here," Sasuke replied with a nearly imperceptible grimace. "We can figure something out until we get the walls in my home inscribed."

Naruto thought back to the cold, lifeless mansion that Sasuke lived in. "What about my place?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You are not living in the Hyuuga's estate anymore."

Itachi's wings shifted slightly, drawing their attention to him. "As interesting as all these… domestic issues are, I have other business this evening. I will leave you two to your discussion." He pinned Sasuke with a warning look. "But don't forget the restrictions. I will not be allowed to offer any leniency if you violate them."

With that, Itachi turned. And vanished.

Naruto let out a breath as he felt the powerful presence disappear from the room.

"Holy shit," he looked over at Sasuke. "So… that's who you were always looking at when the rest of us couldn't see anything?"

"Hn," Sasuke slowly felt the tension that had been building in his body leave. He hadn't been sure how the meeting with Itachi was going to play out.

He was surprised when he found himself slammed back against the wall, Naruto's red eyes glaring down at him.

"Don't you ever take a risk like that without telling me first! What the hell were you thinking?"

Sasuke's own power lashed out instinctively, sending Naruto crashing into the wall on the other side of the room. The two immortals looked at each other from across the temple.

"And what would you have done if you had been aware of the possible consequences?" Sasuke asked, his gaze unwavering.

Naruto hesitated. He honestly… didn't know. "I wouldn't have put you at risk," he said finally. That much was true.

Sasuke scoffed. "It's not your decision what risks I choose to take, Naruto. I went through a thousand years without you, wondering why you left without a word. I wasn't going to lose you again. It was my risk to take."

"Sasuke," Naruto began, but Sasuke's glare cut him off.

"You don't think it was worth it?" Sasuke asked him.

Naruto had no idea how to answer that. Was he glad it had happened? Hell, yes. Would he have risked his own existence for it? Absolutely.

But he wouldn't have risked Sasuke's.

"Idiot," Sasuke said, clearly reading Naruto's thoughts—either in his expression or through their linked powers, Naruto wasn't sure. He supposed it didn't matter.

Sasuke was crossing the room, his hand fisting into Naruto's hair as he dragged their mouths together.

"My turn," he said low in Naruto's ear.

Naruto shuddered, feeling the all-consuming heat flaring inside him again.

He was glad they were immortal, because he would never get enough of this man.

The paintbrush that Sai held in his hand moved smoothly over the white surface of the thick parchment spread out on the easel before him. The black ink from his brush rapidly formed the contours of the mountains in the distance he was looking at with a skill that spoke of lifetimes' worth of practice.

A flock of birds abruptly took flight from a cove of trees nearby, and Sai stilled to see what had startled them. There was no sound, no sign that could be detected by the physical senses, but Sai could feel a strange fluctuation in the air. It was unlike anything he'd ever sensed, which—given how long he had lived—was amazing unto itself. The 'sound' was almost like a chime, and it seemed to ring from somewhere far away, a feeling of distant lightning and wind blending together to form a single note.

A small smile slowly appeared on his face. He set the parchment aside, and pulled out a fresh one. His brush dipped, then moved again. The paper soon filled with the image of two bodies twining together. He filled in the dark hair of one of the figures, then looked at the black ink and sighed, wishing he had brought his paints instead. He needed yellow.

Sakura walked through her research lab, reading a draft of the latest paper she would be submitting to the New England Journal of Medicine . She had another five or ten years before she would need to reinvent herself to not draw attention to the fact that she wasn't aging. She smirked a bit at the knowledge that most of her colleagues assumed she had simply become addicted to botox and plastic surgery. A convenient misconception of the modern age that she would not bother to correct.

Her footsteps slowed, then stopped altogether as she felt a strange echo within herself… a whisper of a hum that she couldn't quite place. The sensation intensified slightly, the faintest hint of two essences that she hadn't felt in many years. One had been absent much longer than the other. She closed her eyes briefly, feeling the way they blended and twisted together.

A wistful smile touched her lips as she walked over to the large window in the lab and looked out over the bustling city of mortals. She had found her place and was content. While she may have harbored dreams of other things… well, she had certainly lived long enough to know that not everything that was wished for came to be.

The handsome young man who was the newest addition to the faculty approached her, his eyes shining with admiration. Sakura returned his smile, and they went into her office to finalize the paper they were working on together.

Naruto woke up, his body feeling stiff and sore. And sticky. But he hardly noticed it compared to the electric feel of the energy running through him, particularly where his skin touched that of the man lying next to him. It amazed Naruto that they had managed to fall asleep with their bodies in such close proximity, but he supposed that physical exhaustion had played a large role.

A small smile played on his lips at the thought.

"You look happy," Sasuke's voice was low and intimate in the quiet stillness of the temple.

Naruto opened his eyes, and turned his head to find black eyes looking back at him.

"I am," Naruto's smile grew slightly with the statement. "Though… I would be even happier if this place came with hot running water." He turned to face Sasuke, their bodies tangled together in the blankets.

Sasuke smirked. "Heat wouldn't be bad, either."

Naruto chuckled. He really didn't want to get out of their bed. But they really did need to wash up. "Do you want to come to my place? I have a pretty amazing tub."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I believe we discussed my feelings on you returning to the Hyuuga estate."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You said you didn't want to live there. Not that you'd never set foot in the place again."

Sasuke just looked at him levelly.

Naruto sighed. "I will have to go there to at least get my stuff if we're going to move in together. And I'm not just going to stop talking to them just because you've got your panties in a twist."

The temperature in the room dropped.

Naruto shoved his hand in Sasuke's face. "Stop it. You know that there's not a chance in hell I'll ever sleep with anyone else now. They are my friends. I'm not making you give up your horny vampire cult."

"My… what? " Sasuke sat up, the sandalwood oil that had worked its way into his hair made it stick up at odd angles. Naruto snickered.

"Who would have thought that the 'freshly fucked' look would work so well on Death."

Death gave an appropriately-named glare. "You were the one who got fucked the last time."

Naruto shrugged, giving Sasuke a lopsided grin. "Yeah, and I'm definitely not complaining." Naruto slid his hand up along Sasuke's thigh beneath the blankets.

Sasuke arched a brow. "Bath first."

He grabbed Naruto's wrist and—still holding the blankets—they disappeared from the temple.

Naruto glared at Sasuke as they stepped into his bathroom. Which was completely done in black granite.

"Seriously? Do you have any color in this place?"

Sasuke turned on the shower, then stalked out.

"Where are you going?" Naruto called after him as he stepped gratefully into the steaming stream of water. Naruto's tub was definitely better, but Sasuke's shower was pretty ok.

"Someplace where I won't accidentally trigger the apocalypse by watching you bathe," Sasuke said tersely, slamming the door behind him.

Naruto blinked, but then the implications of Sasuke's words sank in and he grinned. "See… you might be the all-powerful Death, but I can jack off in the shower and not get sealed for it."

"Fuck you," Sasuke's muffled voice came from the other side of the door. Naruto snickered as he began washing himself. He knew Sasuke must be craving a shower as much as he was, so he didn't linger in the warm water the way he would usually have done. Death had always been slightly prissy about his own personal hygiene.

Naruto toweled himself off, then realized he had no clothing to wear. He might have made fun of Sasuke about the whole sealing thing, but he really didn't want to be responsible for getting his lover sealed. Parading around in a towel was probably not a great idea until he knew exactly what Sasuke's control was.

He stood there looking at the closed door, wondering if he should just go to his place and get some of his own clothes, or if that would piss Sasuke off.

Before he had decided anything, the bathroom door opened and Sasuke walked in, his hair still damp from the shower and wearing fresh clothes, evidently having showered in another bathroom.

"Get dressed." He handed Naruto a stack of neatly folded clothing, then calmly turned and walked back out.

Naruto had to laugh a little at himself… he didn't know why he thought Sasuke would be unable to control himself after so many millennia of doing exactly that.

Naruto dressed quickly, noting that the clothes were all dark, though Sasuke had at least given him dark blue rather than black.

He stepped out of the bathroom and looked around. Sasuke was not in the room, but Naruto could feel his presence in the mansion. He looked at the spartan bedroom: bare walls, bare floors, and black sheets on a dark wooden bed.

He rolled his eyes. If they were really going to share a living space, there would have to be some changes.

He walked down the hall, feeling the pull from Sasuke guiding him down the corridor to the library.

Sasuke stood amongst the wreckage they had wrought the other day, but he was not alone. And Sasuke was looking rather annoyed at that fact.

"What part of 'get out of my fucking house' did you not understand?"

"We were worried, Sasuke," the vampire that spoke was nearly twice the size of the others, but his voice was calm… almost gentle. The three vampires turned to look at Naruto as he entered the library.

Two of the vampires Naruto recognized as being with Sasuke at the club. The female was the one who had tried to forcibly seduce him, but Naruto didn't hold a grudge. He was pretty sure she wouldn't have forgotten the lesson he taught her about pushing too hard when a polite rejection had been offered.

"Your harem miss you?" Naruto asked, giving an amused look to the annoyed expression on Sasuke's face. "I'm not sure I'm up for sharing, but I guess we could discuss ground rules if that's what you really want."

"Shut up before I decide to see just how hard it would be to actually kill you," Sasuke said, though his lips did twitch slightly.

"So… are you gonna introduce us or what?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke sighted. "Naruto, this is Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo."

Naruto felt the three sets of eyes fix on him, and he waited for Sasuke to say something more, but it soon became clear that he wasn't planning on it.

Naruto turned toward Karin and Suigetsu, both of whom were eyeing him slightly apprehensively. "Hey. No hard feelings?"

"Nah, it's fine," Suigetsu said, grinning. "Actually it was funny as hell to see Karin get her ass handed to her like that."

Karin had stepped forward, offering her hand, which Naruto took, despite it being a human custom. She stepped closer, drawing in a deep breath. "He smells good in your clothes, Sasuke."

"Don't. Touch. Him."

Karin dropped Naruto's hand, her eye widening as she stepped back. She had never seen Sasuke react like that to anything.

"He doesn't share well," Naruto smirked, reaching over and threading his fingers through Sasuke's. The three vampires eyes latched onto the sight of the two hands joined together, clearly shocked. "You sure you don't want us to stay at the Hyuugas?" Naruto asked jokingly, slightly worried at how much power he sensed building in his volatile lover. Sasuke needed to calm the hell down before Itachi showed up again.

Sasuke didn't bother with a reply and instead gave Naruto's hand a slight squeeze before extracting it. He walked over to one of the older bookcases, pulling out a leather-bound tome.

"Karin. Since you are so interested in our sex lives, you can have the job of inscribing this on the walls of my bedroom."

Karin looked down at the book Sasuke placed in her hands. She frowned in confusion. "This is… the Book of the Dead . What does that have to do with sex?"

Sasuke didn't reply to her, and she flipped it open, looking through it, her expression thoughtful. "You are serious?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I can hire someone to do it. But next to Orochimaru, you knew the texts best."

"Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, the name unfamiliar.

"One of the Elder vampires. He took a fancy to Sasuke here, and Sasuke didn't fancy him back," Suigetsu snickered.

Naruto looked non-plussed. "So… that's why he can't ask Orochimaru to do the engraving? He's still hung up on Sasuke?"

"No," Karin said, looking up and meeting Naruto's gaze. "Orochimaru can't do it because Sasuke beheaded him. Of course, I'm sure Death could resurrect him if he really wanted to…"

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "Why would I resurrect him after I went through the trouble of killing him?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment, then laughed. "I guess I got off lucky if the last guy who tried to get in your pants lost his head."

Sasuke gave Naruto a long look, then turned back to Karin. "The inscription has to be exact. Start on the eastern wall, then work your way around the room."

"You can do it?" Naruto asked Karin, sounding slightly impressed.

Karin tossed her hair. "Of course. I know all the ancient writings on Death."

"How long will it take?" Sasuke asked.

Karin flipped through the pages. "Maybe a week."

Naruto tried not to let his disappointment show. He was definitely not going to be able to wait an entire week. And the temple was cold as hell. They would need more blankets next time.

"Hn," Sasuke looked at Naruto, amusement flashing in his dark eyes as he easily read Naruto's dismayed expression. "Let's go get your things. You're staying here."

Naruto suddenly felt his throat tighten. After a thousand years of loneliness, closing himself off from the one person he loved and telling himself he would never see Sasuke again, now they would be living together. As lovers. He tried to imagine what the next thousand years would be like for them. A slow smile spread on his lips. He glanced at Sasuke before turning to Karin.

"I want to see how you do the inscribing. After you finish the bedroom, we'll need to do the bathroom. And the kitchen. And probably the library."

Sasuke gave a soft snort.

But he didn't disagree.

The End.

A/N: We made it to the end! And the world is still standing! I know I had a lot of requests for a SasuNaru lemon in this universe, but I just felt like it would be really weird jammed in here as just sort of 'extra smut'. idk. Maybe if I ever write an epilogue, but at the current moment I don't know what else I want to say about these guys, so I don't have any specific epilogue thoughts.