xxxEpiloguexxx

Orochimaru hissed in discomfort as Iruka tightened the bandage around his ankle. "Ah! Watch what you're doing!"

Iruka's brow knitted and he glared up at the man; "Well if you keep squirming around, of course it's going to hurt!" He tugged at the appendage, evoking another groan of discomfort. The brunet sniffed at the man's attitude and tied the bandage. "At least now you know what it feels like to be caught in one of those horrible things."

They were sitting on Orochimaru's front porch, occupying two rocking chairs that sat facing each other. While Kakashi sat in a wooden chair between them and watched with an amused expression.

The pale man had his leg draped on Iruka's lap, since the man had offered to help with his wound and Kabuto had already returned to the city, Orochimaru didn't have many options if he wanted to keep his foot. He crossed his arms and turned his glare to the wolf. "Why does that have to be here?"

Kakashi frowned momentarily, but then his eyes scrunched right back up. Orochimaru might still be an asshole, but whatever happened in that forest had changed him for the better, as could be seen by the fact that he and the hunter were sitting mere feet from one another. So Kakashi raised a leg and lightly dropped it on top of Orochimaru's, making the man's eyes widen in pain and his body jerk with surprise.

"Now now pale one, I'm not a 'that', I'm your neighbor. And good neighbors like each other, don't they Iruka?"

Iruka smiled at the wolf's antics, as they reminded him of Naruto. "Yes Kakashi, they do."

Orochimaru snorted and looked out into the sunny morning; the rays brightening the small field of grass in front of his house.

He suddenly felt something tug at his cheek and quickly slapped Kakashi's hand away. "Knock it off!"

Kakashi chuckled, "You just look so serene, staring at nothing like that," he teased.

Orochimaru growled and snapped his eyes to Iruka. "If your damn animal continues to annoy me, I'll shoot it!"

He bit back a loud curse and dropped his head forward with gritted teeth when Iruka smacked his foot, sending a pain that rocketed up his leg. "Now that is not how we speak to neighbors, Orochimaru. We're all going to have to be spending a lot of time together if we're going to fix this sociopath problem of yours."

The man slowly glared up at him, sweat collecting on his brow from the pain of that smack. "And what if I don't want it 'fixed'?"

Kakashi grabbed Orochimaru's exposed big toe between his forefinger and thumb and wiggled it slightly, causing the man to bite his tongue to hold back another yell of pain. "Sorry to say, but you don't have much of a choice in the matter."

Orochimaru scowled at him after he let go, then rolled his golden eyes and looked away, while Iruka and Kakashi glanced at each with growing smiles.

x-X-0-X-x

Sasuke laughed quietly at the three men on the porch through the window. But his laughter died down when his eyes trailed to the forest beyond their property.

His ears flattened, and his claws slowly scraped into the window sill before letting it go completely and dropping to his sides. He turned gradually to face his brother, who was sitting in a chair by the crackling fireplace.

It had been two days since they returned from the forest. And they were surprised to find Itachi without the arm bandages when they came back, though it shouldn't have been a surprise, since Kabuto was a highly talented and noted doctor back in the city.

Unfortunately, he had been called away on duty before their return and had had to leave Itachi alone for about half a day or so.

But the dog was in much better condition now, able to move around himself, though his leg was still giving him some trouble.

He still hadn't uttered a word though, not one.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to make of this.

He sighed softly and pulled a chair away from a table, then went and put in front of Itachi before sitting down on it across from him.

The elder dog had his head back against the wall, staring off to the side with his arms loosely crossed over his stomach and partially resting on his lap, since he still did not have full control over them.

Sasuke placed his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, not sure if he had the strength to say what he wanted to say.

However, after giving it a moment of thought, he looked at his brother and opened again, "Itachi," he said.

He wasn't acknowledged, but he pressed on nonetheless, "I...I'm sorry...that I didn't avenge you..." His eyes lowered to the floor. "I couldn't...bring myself to hurt him...but still...what he did to you...it wasn't fair...and I'm sorry..."

He bit his lip, knowing that he had failed in his brother's eyes. But he couldn't control how he felt about Naruto. He had had images of killing him, holding his bruised and tattered body like a trophy in his hands. But when the opportunity presented itself, he...he couldn't bring himself to do it. The realization that Naruto still cared for him, even after all the shit Sasuke had given him, made it seem like nothing else mattered. He had only wanted to protect what he thought they had lost.

And that...made him weak.

Sasuke sighed again and buried his face in his hands.

A light scoff. "Foolish little brother."

"I'm not..." Sasuke paused, his eyes widening and his head shooting up to find his brother staring down at him.

He blinked in disbelief, wondering if it had been a hallucination. "Itachi...did you-"

"Your stupidity simply amazes me sometimes."

Sasuke said nothing to the insults. He simply stared at his brother, trying to grasp exactly what it was that was going on here.

"Why...why are you speaking?"

Itachi raised a fine brow. "Why? Well because I have something to say, obviously."

Sasuke's eyes shifted in confusion. "Why haven't you spoken before now?"

"Come now Sasuke, use that mind of yours. Because I had nothing to say."

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head. "Well what the fuck is so goddamn important that you decided to open your mouth now after how long I've been shitting bricks of worry over you?"

"Tell me Sasuke, if you were in the hands of a predator who was about to kill you, what you do?" his brother asked, completely ignoring his question.

"What the fuck kind of question is that?"

"Answer the question."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Obviously, I would defend myself, kill if need be."

Itachi nodded. "Good good, now, please tell me why this was such a bad reaction for Naruto to choose."

Sasuke flinched at the blond's name before narrowing his gaze and shaking his head. "I...don't understand what you mean."

Itachi sat as upright as he could without being uncomfortable. "Sasuke, do you remember the night your little fox friend came to see you?"

Sasuke couldn't help the heat that rushed up his cheeks. "Yes." His brow furrowed, "The same night he pushed you over the waterfall."

Itachi shook his head. "Do you honestly believe that boy is capable of such an act?"

Sasuke thought about it. "Well...no, but-"

"He was defending himself Sasuke, would you have rather I killed him?"

Sasuke held up his hands. "Itachi...are you saying none of this was Naruto's fault?"

"Does it sound to you like it's his fault?"

Sasuke shot up from his chair. "Cut the fucking questions damn it! You couldn't have told me shit before I left to go avenge your injuries which I'm now finding out were caused in Naruto's attempt to defend himself?"

"I blamed him at first as well, but I came to understand that anyone would have done the same thing, even you and even I."

Sasuke threw his arms up in frustration. "Are you defending him Itachi?! If I had known this was the case, I would have never gone after Naruto like I did! Do you have any idea how many things got fucked up between us because of this?!"

"Do you love him?"

Sasuke's whole body jerked, completely taken aback by the question.

Who the hell was this guy? Itachi wouldn't ask him something like that.

And that was when Sasuke caught it.

His eyes went impossibly wide to find that Itachi's eyes...were as black as his own.

The image was overwhelming. Since Sasuke's birth, Itachi's eyes had always been stained red...what the hell had gone through his mind while he was here recovering? What had dissipated his anger and ruthlessness enough to bring his orbs back to their natural onyx color?

Sasuke was pulled out of his musings by his brother's voice, "Well, do you?" he pressed insistently, growing impatient.

Sasuke stared at him, their eyes locked and unable to pull away. "...Yes." he answered, "I never stopped."

For the first time in so long, Itachi's lips curled into a devilish smirk. "Then why are you sitting here talking to me?"

x-X-0-X-x

Naruto awoke with a start, his blue eyes flickering quickly over the den that surrounded him. They calmed after a moment and closed slowly with a breath of relief.

He'd dreamt about the bear, that Naruto hadn't distracted it in time to save Sasuke.

The blond shook his head and stretched his arms out, turning his head curiously when he felt the empty space beside him.

Where was Kiba?

Naruto frowned and sat up, wincing only slightly as a light sting came from his still healing side. He got on his knees and crawled out of the den into the hot morning. Naruto stood up and looked around himself, not spotting the fox anywhere.

That was very strange. After leaving Sasuke, Naruto was found by Kiba halfway to the den, who promptly went off on him. The tired fox hadn't really listened though, only hearing something about 'trying to be a hero' and 'get yourself killed' before collapsing and passing out at the brunet's feet from fatigue.

He assumed Kiba must have dragged him back to the den, since the look on his face before he blacked out was utter worry. He remembered waking up momentarily yesterday, glancing at his friend who was sleeping beside him before falling back into sleep himself.

But then where was Kiba now?

Naruto tilted his head back, squinting at the bright sun. Then his eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind, and Naruto began to walk.

x-X-0-X-x

The blond fox knelt down and pulled the bushes apart, met with the sight of the white flower meadow. The morning light showered it with harsh rays, the kind that made your eyes narrow and bathed everything in a white glow.

He felt his lips spread out at what he found in the center of the field.

Kiba had his eyes closed, his hand cupping the back of Hinata's neck as he kissed her sweetly, her own hand caressing his cheek as she returned the intimate gesture.

Naruto chuckled softly to himself and stood back up, allowing the two their privacy as the bushes swished back into place.

He turned on his heel with a small smile and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Guess I gotta find a new buddy," he murmured.

He truly felt happy for Kiba, but sad for himself. Knowing this meant that the fox was going to be spending much more time with Hinata now, most likely even leave with her.

He stopped walking; now being far enough away from the meadow, and looked up to the sunlight poking holes through the canopy of trees. He bit his lip, "Maybe I should find a girl too," he muttered.

"And maybe I should chop your balls off for thinking that way."

Naruto gasped and spun around, coming face to face with Sasuke. His breath seeped out slowly, heart pounding in his chest. "Sasuke..." he whispered, shocked that he hadn't caught the dog's presence. "What...what are you doing here?"

Sasuke shrugged with a small smirk. "Turns out I'm in love with this fox, and..." his eyes flicked down to the other, "I owe him an apology."

Naruto shook his head, and stepped back when Sasuke began stepping forward. But he had to stop when his back bumped into a tree. "For what?" he asked, the other's proximity clouding his thoughts, assaulting his senses.

Sasuke smiled slightly and placed an arm over the blond's head, resting it against the tree and staring down at him. "Would you believe, that I nearly tried to kill him over something that I just found out wasn't even his fault?" He scoffed, "And then, I walked out on him a couple of days ago, even though all I wanted to do was take him over and over again in this river we were laying in. Can you believe that?"

Naruto shook his head again, his breathing increasing when he realized how close Sasuke's lips had drawn to his own. His tongue darted out to moisten them, tasting the other in the process. "Is that all?" the question came out hopeful.

"No." Sasuke whispered, "It can't just be words. I was hoping he'd let me stay with him, so I'll have the rest of our lives to make up for it."

Naruto's heartbeat rose dangerously in speed, his fingers coming up to grasp at Sasuke's hair and pull him down slowly, "What about Orochimaru and Itachi?" came out in a raspy murmur.

Sasuke shook his head as he was pulled down, "Who?"

Their mouths crashed, and Sasuke inhaled heavily as he crushed Naruto's body with his own against the tree.

Naruto jerked the other closer as a tongue was shoved into his mouth, touching and swirling along his own before pulling back along with Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke's mouth trailed the blond's jaw and fell to his neck, his teeth clamping down on a patch of skin and sucking vigorously. His hands moved to the fox's hips, grabbing them and forcefully rubbing them against his own, creating a delicious friction.

Naruto tossed his head back and pressed his thumbs against Sasuke's flattened ears, his body already rising in temperature. "Fuck," he growled and bucked furiously into Sasuke's touch.

Sasuke snickered, releasing the skin and bringing his lips to Naruto's temple. "We would've about three times already if you'd asked a few days ago."

Naruto's head fell forward, breathing heavily as he rubbed his cheek against Sasuke's. "I missed you so much."

Sasuke didn't even want to get started on missing each other. All he wanted right now was make this fox his again, since he noticed his smell had worn off the other.

He reached down and fumbled with Naruto's zipper, pulling it down while Naruto simply tugged roughly at Sasuke's jeans and got them down in one quick pull, exposing his erection.

Sasuke gasped as the air hit his member and hastily shoved two fingers in Naruto's mouth, but the blond jerked them out. "No, just do it. Do it now Sasuke," he ordered.

Sasuke hesitated a moment but nodded and turned the blond around, forcing one of his wrists against the tree and hissing when the other pushed back on him.

This was not love making like they'd done before, this was need. They would have time for slow and loving later, but this, this was quick and rough. He grabbed his dick and placed the head at Naruto's hole, smearing the pre-cum to make it a little easier to slide in. Just for extra measure, he spit in his hand and coated himself as well, then in a flash, entered with one deep plunge.

Naruto cried out with a loud curse, his muscles tightening around the organ as they tried to force Sasuke back out. His claws dug into the tree as he held his tears, knowing the pain wouldn't last too long but he hadn't really expected the onslaught to be that bad.

He felt Sasuke's head fall into the space between his neck and shoulder. "I'm sorry," he panted, and Naruto could hear the restrained pleasure in his words.

"S'kay," he managed and pushed back again, urging Sasuke to continue. He felt the other's clothed stomach stroke down his back as he pulled out before ramming back inside, then back again and push right in once more.

Sasuke's hips worked furiously, one hand coming down to hold Naruto's hip and drive him on his dick.

Naruto's breaths were erratic, and his free hand placed itself over Sasuke's on his hip as he met with the other's thrusts. His forehead pushed against the bark of the tree, "Shit...uhn...Suke..."

Sasuke's fingers let go of Naruto's wrist, winding into his hair instead to pull his head back so he could pant in a flattened red ear.

Naruto's body shook as he felt his climax approaching, "Hah...ahn – yes..."

Sasuke groaned throatily, his stomach arched into Naruto's back and he came with a shudder, shooting everything he had inside of the blond.

Naruto followed after, his toes curling into the grass as his mouth opened in a silent scream and his load splashed onto the tree. His legs suddenly buckled, but Sasuke was quick to catch him and they both dropped to their knees, fighting for breath.

After a moment, Sasuke leaned forward to the other's ear. "Is that a yes?" he asked playfully.

Naruto turned his head, still panting a little through a smile. "It just so happens -hah- that I need a new den mate." He paused. "We are mates...aren't we?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "What? You think I'm just marking you for the fun of it like a damn bush? Of course we're mates." He pulled out of the fox and flipped him so he lay on the ground on his back while Sasuke hovered over him. "And since we're mates," he growled softly, "I don't want you hanging around that other fox anymore."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Kiba and I never did anything, he's with a female."

"I don't care."

"Why do you think I need a new den mate? Kiba's probably going to be with her from now on anyway and wherever she is." He shrugged, "He won't be around much."

Sasuke scrunched up his nose, "He better not be...and I can't stay in that den Naruto, I don't fit through that hole."

Naruto couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped him and he shoved Sasuke's shoulder, "So what? There are a lot of 'holes' you can't fit into."

It took Sasuke a moment to get what the blond was hinting at, and he dropped his head with a smile, lips hovering over Naruto's, "And?"

Naruto laughed softly. "And yet you've always managed to squeeze your way inside."

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Cheesy ending and dirty jokes FTW 8D

Hope you enjoyed, reviews are more than welcomed.