Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

Where the Heart Is
by Hime

When Sasuke gets back after a three-week mission, the home he shares with Naruto and Sakura is empty of all occupants. It doesn't bother him though, because he knows exactly where they are. Making his way from the kitchen, he passes by the dining room table and there laying in his place are a pile of letters addressed to him for everyday he's been gone. A few are written entirely by Sakura's concise writing. Even if she is a medic-nin, her writing still shows signs of an overachieving student. A few of the letters are written out in the dreadful chicken scratch that Naruto passes for writing. Only official paperwork of the Hokage has his neater tries at penmanship. The rest of the scrolls bear both of their writing. All of them start with "We miss you," all of them end with "love."

He doesn't pause to read them through, but just gathers them along on his way to the bedroom. There, he pulls out a fireproof safe that he hides underneath the floorboard under his side of the bed. Inside are all the letters he has ever received from them over the years. However, before he puts down the newest batch of letters, he takes out the last bunch he received from his supplies pack and puts them in the metal box first. The letters are hopelessly crumpled, having been shoved under various supplies in his travel bag, not to mention the dozens of times he's had to hide them away when he heard the sound of one of his teammates starting to wake up from their slumber while he was on watch.

After securing the safe back into its cubbyhole, he makes his way to the bathroom, shedding pieces of clothing along the way. He washes off the mud and sweat that he's been wearing for the past few weeks before he sinks down with a groan into the almost scalding bath he drew while he cleaned himself up. He sighs in pleasure. Sasuke always loves coming home.

"Rokudaime!" Konohamaru shouts in surprise from Naruto's office door. Naruto flashes his aid a grin and points at the fox-shaped clock hanging from the wall.

"It's four-thirty, I'm officially off the clock!"

"But-"

"Nope, don't want to hear it. You know the rules. After four-thirty, I'm outta here. You know where I live if something life or death comes up. See you tomorrow!" And with a loud yell, Naruto jumps out the window, landing on a convenient rooftop, before he quickly scales down its fire escape to the sidewalk below. Now that Naruto is free from paperwork, he walks along the street with a bouncy stride, full of pent-up energy. On a whim, he takes a detour through the market place, picking up fresh groceries for dinner tonight. He knows that he will end up cooking again tonight, as he will probably get home before Sakura, even though she gets off earlier from the hospital then him.

He chuckles a bit to himself, causing the vendor handing him his change and a bag of tomatoes to smile, thinking smugly that this will totally get him brownie points which he will then lord over Sasuke when that bastard returns home.

He's busy daydreaming about what he'll redeem from his "Sakura-chan" that he almost misses the fact that someone had entered the house and disabled the trap that he had set up that morning involving explosive tags and a piece of fruit, and had instead set up two wire traps in its place. Dumping his groceries onto the kitchen counter he makes his way quickly through the kitchen and when he sees the empty spot on the dining room table, he lets out a whoop of joy and races up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

Naruto grins with delight as he follows the trail of abandoned clothes to the closed door of the bathroom and throws it open it with enthusiasm. Naruto stands in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of a now clean and relaxed Sasuke before he's making his way towards the tub. Sasuke doesn't even have enough time to protest before Naruto jumps into the tub, still clothed in his Hokage robes and hat, sloshing the water out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor.

Naruto just waits until after Sasuke wipes his face clean of water before grabbing him for a kiss. "Welcome home, Bastard." Naruto murmurs as he pulls the other man to him. He laughs in joy when Sasuke tries to bite his tongue. Naruto always loves coming home to someone.

"Haruno-san, what're you still doing here? You got off at three didn't you?" Sakura glances at the watch strapped onto her wrist and swears under her breath. She thanks the intern, and begins to gather her things, ruefully shaking her head. Naruto was sure to have gotten home by now and probably already started dinner. He would probably also want a treat as well. As she made her way home, she wondered if she would have to play "doctor" with him in return. Oh well, she didn't mind. It was one of the reasons why she had brought her spare doctors coat home anyway.

When she opens the kitchen door, she notices the bags of groceries on the counter but no frilly-apron-wearing Naruto cooking anything on the stove. Entering the room, she casually catches the kunai flying through the air and just as easily disables the second trap. Sakura frowns a bit in thought. She was sure that today's trap had involved fruit somehow, but if it were wire traps now…Sasuke loved traps involving flying projectiles! Smiling widely, she makes her way through the kitchen, dumping her stuff on the dining room table, and upon noticing the absence of letters, hurries up to the bedroom. At the top of the landing she can hear the faint sounds of water splashing and grunts coming from the bedroom. 'Must be in the bathroom.' She thinks, and ignores the trail of dirty clothes to look cautiously through the open doorway. Sakura lets loose a loud laugh at the sight of Sasuke dunking Naruto into the bath, Naruto's arm up in the air above his head, protecting his Hokage hat from getting wet. Sasuke turns to her, a satisfied smirk on his face and tells her, "I'm home."

"Welcome back." She says as she makes her way closer to the tub to lean over and give him a kiss. By now, Sauke has let go of Naruto in order to cup the back of Sakura's head with both hands. They stay locked together for a stretch of time, separating only to catch their breath. Still even then, Sasuke hasn't let her go and they stare into each other's eyes, panting.

"Okay, enough of that," Naruto says and reaches over to pull Sakura into the tub as well, causing Sasuke to yelp in pain when her elbow collides with his head. Once more, the water splashes outside of the tub, completely soaking the floor. Sakura growls her displeasure, and pushes her wet hair out of her face. "Naruto!" she shouts but is silenced by Naruto's mouth on hers.

"Welcome home." Naruto mumbles against her lips. Sakura can feel Sasuke's arms steal around her waist as he leans forward, placing his chin onto her shoulder. She smiles with love as Naruto kisses her again and Sasuke breathes warm puffs of air against her ear. Sakura always loves coming home to her boys.

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.:fin:.

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…there's no place like home…