Author's Notes:

First, I'd like to say sorry for the two-month delay. I encountered a horrible writer's block, exams, Beta getting sick and busy school schedule that unable-d me from writing. However, here I am and here it is, the last chapter of Tears of Glass. I love this story, because it was the first I made with a very wonderful and dear Beta to me, Fyrshi, who had done more than enough in editing every chapter to her best ability and encouraged me whenever I was down. Thank you a lot, dear, I don't know what I might have done without you around. ^_^

Also, my lovely readers, with my inconsistent updates and willful personality I've made you withstand a lot of fractions of the hell called 'waiting', and for that I'm very sorry, however, it was a pleasure to receive your words and feelings about this story, so thanks a lot for sticking with me 'til this chapter.

So now, I'll stop ranting and allow you to get to it xD. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy yourselves =3~

"So… you want to know about sex?"

Naruto nodded firmly as he planted his elbows on the glassy table, before he rested his head on his intertwined hands. "Yes. See, I've read everything that I could get my hands on, and they all say that the first three times hurt like hell for the one being done, and I just wanted to know if that was true or not."

"Well," Neji began slowly, after he'd placed down his hot cappuccino beside him, "the word 'hurt' isn't quite the right one to use here."

Naruto's blue eyes sparkled at the other's cheerful tone, and he visibly perked up as he exclaimed delightedly. "Really!?"

"Of course. 'Hurt' is an understatement; in fact, it should be called a 'near-death experience' or 'something akin to being skinned alive'. Frankly speaking, it's a bit like trying to fit an orange into a hole specifically made for a lemon and, even with the appropriate lubrication and foreplay, you'd still feel the intense pain. As a matter of a fact, I don't think I even enjoyed my first time… no, not even for a little bit. Now that I think about it, though, I must admit that I loathed it and broke up with my boyfriend shortly afterwards because of my abhorrence for it."

Naruto sweat-dropped at the harsh yet casually-delivered words and quickly attempted to offer up a reason for his initial pain. "Maybe he didn't have the right techniques to make you feel good… or he just didn't prepare you enough. It was probably his inexperience that made you hate it so much."

"It's true I was a mere fourteen-year old and that he was a foolish nineteen-year old, but he did have experience. The thing is… it's hard to make it not hurt. Pain is something that you'd end up feeling during sex, regardless of what you try to do to eradicate it. My fourteen-year old self couldn't handle the pressure though; I remember that I bled for three days and that I had to go see a doctor about it…" Neji frowned as he remembered the events following his first sexual experience. "The doctor even suspected that I'd been raped but, since it was consensual and I refused to report him, the subject was hushed up and dropped after a while."

"Wait, he was nineteen and you were fourteen… isn't that rape then? You were a minor."

"Naruto-kun, in this world, kids mature a lot faster than what adults give them credit for, and I was simply quite mature for my age; besides, if I didn't lead him on, that idiot wouldn't have the guts to initiate a simple kiss, let alone the whole act of sex."

"So… you asked him to do you?"

"I was curious at the time. I wanted to see whether I was more attracted to males or females – though, in the end, I realized I was interested in both – and he was the perfect person to help me at the time. He was lusting over me so obviously that it hurt to see, so I took my chances with him since he'd probably treat me better than someone who didn't care as much."

Naruto gave a small sigh and bit back the sentence that was about to break free from his mouth. As much as he was tempted to talk about how Neji's first time should have been with someone he loved and not just because he was curious about his sexuality, he knew that he had no right to judge anyone else, especially since his opinions were probably far removed from his own. Instead, he simply thanked God for the privacy of the café Neji had suggested they meet at and continued on with his questions.

"Then you're saying that, no matter what I or Sasuke do, our first time would be painful?"

"Exactly. However, you could always choose the second choice and avoid all that pain."

"Wait a moment… are you saying that there's a second choice that allows me to avoid all that pain?"

"There's always a second choice in life, Naruto-kun."

The blond sighed and elaborated on his statement. "Excuse me for asking… but, with the way you've been talking, I thought that there was only one path available to me."

"Well, that's not the case here… though, now that I think about it, I don't think you'd like this other option very much."

"Why do you say that?"

Neji allowed a little smile to appear as he started on his explanation. "The problem is that this path requires a lot of time and I'm sure that neither you nor Sasuke are the patient type… especially him, seeing as he's finally got you now."

"Well, it's true that I'm not fond of waiting but, you know, I'm willing to try this way if it means that we won't be hurting one another."

"No, I don't think you would. See, you'd first need to prepare the other in a very, very thorough manner. For example, you'd start with small penetrative sex-toys, which you'd have to insert with a great deal of care… in fact, if you did go with this way, I know of a wonderful shop that sells good and safe products for your enjoyment. When you prepare, there will obviously be a sense of discomfort, since that place isn't exactly an entrance to begin with, and there are even some occasions where the other partner would wish to stop the whole thing altogether."

"…Are you talking about me or Sasuke here?"

"I'm simply referring to whoever you two decide as the bottom in your relationship. In any case, though, the trick is not to give up. If you ever gave into the discomfort and the pain that comes with it all, you'd never have sex in your whole lives. Ever."

Naruto slumped into the welcome embrace of the comfortable chair he was sitting on and couldn't stop the whine that broke free from his lips. "Sex with women was never this complicated."

"That's because they were created with the right physical condition for this and, thus, have a proper entrance. Men, on the other hand…" Neji trailed off, as he picked up his coffee again.

"…Um, anyways… what do I do after I prepare then?"

"You should be asking something like 'how long should I prepare for?' instead, you know…"

"Oh, then how long should I prepare for?"

"Weeks." Neji paused and watched Naruto's jaw drop to the floor from shock and, when he'd gotten the satisfaction he'd been anticipating, he continued on talking in a conversational tone of voice. "I had a friend of mine who entered into a certain program, though the whole thing seemed silly to me. You see, this program aimed to prepare one's ass for intercourse with another male, so he'd spent about two months in it and eventually hooked up with his mentor afterwards. Basically, what I'm saying is that this is a process that takes time… and a great deal of patience."

Naruto supported his weak frame on his hands and scowled at both the random anecdote and the option that he'd been presented with. "We can't wait two months for sex."

"That's exactly why I said that you wouldn't like this idea."

"Wait, so you're telling me there's no other choice beside the painful choice?"

"If you wish to connect in this lifetime then I suppose that's a yes."

"…Holy shit. I came here thinking that you'd tell me something along the lines of 'it's not that hard' and 'those people online were just exaggerating about the pain' but, instead…"

"I would comfort you if I could, you know. However, you're focusing too much on the first time here, Naruto-kun, and the pain that you're initially going to experience is the only thing occupying your mind right now. I won't argue with you on that point, because it's only natural that you'd wish death upon yourself and the one who did it to you when your first time comes around… but after the fourth time, when your body's adjusted to it, you'd start to feel pleasure. Honestly, you've got to believe me when I say that the pleasure you feel when you realize you're now connected to the love of your life will overshadow all the pain that you'll feel the first few times you have sex."

The blond boxer felt his facial muscles twitch and form into a sulk as his mind digested his friend's words. "You want to brainwash me with all this 'love makes life dandy' crap so I'll allow Sasuke to ram into me, don't you?"

Neji smirked and sipped on the remainder of his cappuccino as he came up with an innocent reply. "Hey now, I didn't use such underhanded methods; I just wanted you to concentrate on the good aspects of your relationship, that's all."

"Yeah, and I'll totally do that after I allow him to tear me bloody."

"Exactly."

Naruto rolled his eyes and asked the beautiful waitress to bring him something sweet to get the bitterness of his mocha out of his system, before he turned back to the long-haired raven. "Tell me something, then. Is your sex life with Gaara filled with pain, or is it actually pleasant?"

"Naruto-kun, I just told you that I had my first experience when I was fourteen, which means that I've long since graduated from that hell. My days with Gaara are nothing but pleasurableness so sweet that you'd turn into a diabetic patient if you were in my position."

"That's… one way to put things, I guess."

Neji smiled like a content cat and glanced languidly at his watch. "Do you have any other inquiries beside those? I think it's about time I went back to work, so I suppose I should be going soon."

"Not really, no… I just wanted to know if all that pain was worth it in the end, that's all."

"Trust me, it does. When you look at the face of your love and you see how much he's filled with pure pleasure and bliss because of you... every single bit of the pain and agony that you're in would evaporate into thin air, and only his face would fill your mind and give you pure ecstasy." Neji stood up and took his coat from the chair, before he placed down some money on the table for their beverages. "And I'm not saying that to sway your thoughts either, Naruto-kun. It's the absolute truth, so you might want to consider it a little more…"

The blond watched the source of his information walk out the café with a parting wave to him, but only one thought was prevalent in his mind at that time.

He wanted to see Sasuke's face twisted in ecstasy because of him, and he would do anything to see it with his own eyes.

Naruto slipped on the gloves that he was trying out and allowed Sasuke's wandering fingers to ruffle his blond locks as the raven used his other hand to flip another page from the document he was reading. He smiled and relaxed into the soothing touch as he made his head comfortable on Sasuke's lap and, when he saw the glasses that Sasuke used for work out of the corner of his eye, his smile widened still further at the other's suave look. Really, his boyfriend was just totally and absolutely handsome and, even if he wasn't wearing glasses, he would always be a sight to behold. As he gently undid the gloves' straps and slipped them off his hands, Naruto set them on the table beside him and opened his mouth.

"Sasuke, do you think we should have sex?"

The passive way in which the sensitive question was asked sent the raven into a mental paroxysm of surprise. Sasuke blinked and lowered the document in his hands so that he could lock gazes with the boxer in his lap, before he answered truthfully, as he knew that Naruto wanted him to.

"I only want to do it if you want it too."

A tender smile resided onto the boxer's lips and he voiced his thoughts. "I thought you'd say that… but, before we continue on, who's going to be bottoming?"

"…"

"You want to do me, don't you?"

"…I'm alright with going either way, Naruto."

Naruto returned his eyes to the forsaken gloves and elaborated on his thoughts. "I did some research and, from what I saw, the whole thing is completely different from sex with women, since it's far more intricate. I even asked Neji what he thought about it─"

"And?"

"He said that the first time would be absolute torture for the one being done."

Sasuke took off his reading glasses and set them aside on the table beside the long-forgotten document, before both of his hands came to rest on the golden locks he had previously been playing with. "You know, I don't mind being the bottoming one here if you fear the pain; after all, I can stand any agony for you."

Naruto felt his eyes shift sideways in embarrassment and, if he had a camera nearby, he would've taken a video to show Sakura just how much of a natural romantic his boyfriend was. The blond smiled slightly at his thoughts before he carefully answered the other. "Yeah… well, actually, I thought a lot about it… and I believe that I want to be on the receiving end instead."

"Is it because you don't want me to be in pain?"

"That's one reason, but the main reason is because… to be honest, I think that I wouldn't mind being on the bottom as much when it comes to sex. You said that it's fine either way, right? So… I want you do me instead, Sasuke."

The raven allowed a smile to show on his face as he lowered his face to capture Naruto's lips in a deep kiss. After he pulled away and beheld the soft blush on his beloved's face, his voice took on a loving tone as he asked a question. "Do you know why I want to have sex with you so badly, Naruto?"

"Hopefully, it's because you desire me to death~"

"That goes without saying, of course, but the main reason is because I want the both of us to feel good together. The process of choosing who gets to do who isn't a problem, since we're both men and there will be times in the future where one person might wish to take the lead, so I won't do anything until you think thoroughly about it and give me your honest decision. Please, Naruto, don't simply decide on being the receiver just because you don't want me to be in pain. After all, I don't want you to feel pain either, you know…"

Naruto lifted himself up from the warm lap he'd been reclining on and clutched tightly at one of the pillows on their sofa as he stared deeply into his partner's eyes. "What are you saying, Sasuke? Do you want me to do you instead?"

"I want you to seriously think about it so that, when the time's right, both of us will know what we want when we're finally connected."

"I already know what I want…" As he leant his head on the sofa and allowing his glowing golden locks to drop gracefully over his shimmering cerulean orbs, Naruto reached a hand to touch the pale cheek opposite him as he whispered a small riposte. "I want you."

Sasuke felt all his nerves short-circuit at the alluring picture that Naruto was drawing for him, as his body began to tingle in all the wrong places and his self-control began to fly out the window. While he sighed to himself and wearily shook his head, Sasuke traversed the small distance that separated them to huskily declare a warning into the other's sensitive ears.

"You only have yourself to blame for what's going to happen next… Na-ru-to~"

The blond found himself gasping in pure surprise as Sasuke jumped onto him and conveniently trapped his legs so that all they could do were dangle uselessly from the sofa. The raven's pink lips began to work their magic as they hungrily nibbled every part of his own and, in a matter of seconds, Naruto found himself panting for air when his erratic heartbeats raced to match Sasuke's frantically-pulsating veins. Two pale hands were holding his head in place so that the weird angle he was trapped in wouldn't hurt him while the other's tongue continued to lick and mark every place inside his mouth as his own.

Finally, when his swollen lips were eventually released from his lover's passionate hold, Naruto gasped and mewled as Sasuke moved to lavish his attention on his ears, jaw, and the nape of his neck. The youngest Uchiha was sinking his teeth into any exposed flesh that he could reach in a feral manner that boldly declared his sudden loss in reason and his inability to function on anything but pure instinct, and Naruto couldn't help the satisfied noises that escaped his mouth every time a mark was made.

Every small touch to his tan skin made the boxer feel like electricity was running inside his veins and the thought that Sasuke would do him on the sofa, right here and right now, was flashing like a warning sign inside his scrambled mind. The more animalistic part of his brain told him that he should just give into the pleasure and get this whole thing over with, while the more rational side argued about his physical and mental condition, and how he wasn't prepared enough to be penetrated just yet.

However, the pale beast that was licking and nipping him so hungrily was totally oblivious to the fight going on within Naruto's head, which caused the blond to roll his eyes at the instinct-driven man. Eventually, Naruto's reasoning fled his mind as it was overwhelmed by the strong sensations running through him when Sasuke's right hand left its place on his head and travelled rather dangerously low. The boxer bit his lower lip when he felt his arousal kick in as Sasuke toyed with the straining area over his zipper but, since he refused to open it and let Naruto reach the pinnacles of heaven, he had to endure the evil torment that the love of his life gave him with his suppression.

As he finally had enough of playing dead on the couch, Naruto took hold of Sasuke's wandering hand on his jeans and licked his lips as he sinfully murmured. "If you're going to do it, then let's do it properly and go to bed."

Sasuke's sexual hunger came and his lust fully devoured him as he digested the blond's words, and he smirked down at the disheveled man as he purred out his reply. "Tonight, you're not going to get even a minute to sleep."

Naruto suppressed the pleasant chill that ran down his spine and schooled his face into a mischievous expression, before he responded with equal anticipation. "Sleep's overrated anyway."

When the dead weight straddling him finally got off, the boxer leapt from the couch and padded towards their joint bedroom, then he leisurely sat on the bed to cast suggestive glances at his raven, who was taking his sweet time in catching up to him. However, upon sighting the lube and condom inside Sasuke's hands, the boxer couldn't help forming a smirk on his lips as the reason for the other's delay became evident to him.

"You were carrying those around the whole time?"

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly as he resumed his previous position over the blond. "Life Lesson 101: always be prepared for sex with Naruto."

"I doubt there's such a book available, Sasuke."

The smirking Uchiha began to kiss Naruto's neck as he whispered coyly. "I'll make that book, then."

"And the only one who'd read it and buy it would be you, right?"

"Of course."

Naruto grinned widely when Sasuke reached out to remove his clothes and, as his pale hands went under the boxer's T-shirt, he nearly managed to rip it apart in his impatience; in fact, the only reason why it was saved was because Naruto had calmed him down and started to take off his own attire by himself. He sighed playfully as Sasuke pounced back on him and began to lick the exposed tan skin that was his to lavish and bite to his heart's delight but, after he'd spent about five minutes trying to reason with Sasuke, Naruto gave up on his bid to make the other slow down and permitted the beast to act as he wished.

"…At least… take off… your clothes!"

The blond bit his lip when Sasuke sank his teeth into one of his nipples and refused to let go, until his teeth were sinking down hard enough to draw blood. Sasuke grinned at the mess he made of Naruto and finally obliged to his request. Before the boxer could even blink, Sasuke was stripped naked from his shirt to his pants and the only thing that was on his body were his boxers, which were removed not long afterwards.

The raven's fingers went to the zipper that Naruto had stopped him from unzipping back in the living room and pulled them down slowly as he finally started to remove the offending pair of pants. The glee that radiated from Sasuke upon seeing the blond's wet boxers made Naruto's gaze immediately flit elsewhere. He knew he wouldn't be able to live Sasuke's smugness down after all this was over and decided to explain the situation before Sasuke's palpable joy embarrassed him any further.

"It's been a long time since I've had any, okay!?"

Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards into a half-smirk as his hands continued dragging the jeans down. "I didn't say anything, you know."

"Well, you were thinking about it, at the very least!"

As Sasuke attempted to suppress the snicker that fought to burst out of him, he started to mouth kisses along the blond's legs. While he planted tenderly sensual touches along his invisible path towards the tanned thigh, he lovingly murmured. "I wasn't, Naruto… I was just happy that you didn't do anything behind my back, that's all."

Naruto reined in his emotions so that he wouldn't get too affected with the way his nerves were betraying him, before he sulkily countered the raven's comment. "Well, I was so busy worrying over a certain baka that I ended up neglecting myself."

The raven's pale hands cupped his growing erection as he huskily affirmed. "I know."

Naruto's gaze softened as the lustful raven pulled the band of his boxers down and allowed his member to meet the cool air without any restrictions. It wasn't like it was the first time Sasuke had seen his dick – after all, they had taken multiple baths together and Sasuke had played more than his fair share of sexual games during the weekend retreat that they went to – but it was his first time when it came to seeing it with the full knowledge that Naruto belonged to him… and something about that thought made the blond feel far too exposed.

"S-Sasuke…"

"Hmm…?"

Naruto's mouth stopped working because Sasuke abruptly decided that giving the blond a blowjob was the way to go. A startled yelp flew unbidden from his lips as the raven's hot mouth connected with his somewhat-cold member and, before he knew it, his panting filled the room and mingled with the obscene noises that his lover made while he played with his dick. Sasuke applied the techniques that he'd learned from a Chinese girl he'd previously dated at school — who, incidentally enough, was perfect at giving head — to his beloved, which earned himself a deep moan that resonated through his lover's privates when he gently drew the foreskin to the side and exposed more of the blond to his questing mouth.

"Nghnn… n-no…. Sasuke… not there…nnn…!"

The raven momentarily freed his lips so that he could speak coherently, before he smugly countered. "If you're saying that… well, I guess it means that I'm on the right track."

After he'd spoken, Sasuke dove back in and worked his tongue around the now-hard member skillfully. If Naruto didn't know any better, he'd say that Sasuke had been trained to suck dicks since he was a child… but the mere thought was quickly dismissed, especially since his stomach rumbled nastily in reaction to his musing. As the awkwardness of lying back and allowing Sasuke to pleasure him to sweet orgasm overtook his thoughts, Naruto placed his hands on the other's shoulders and pushed him back roughly. He would've preferred to use words, but he knew perfectly well that Sasuke wouldn't respond to them very well right now.

"Let…" He cleared his throat and tried to look decent, despite the fact that it was almost impossible to do so when he was too busy staring at his precum dripping from Sasuke's mouth. "Let me do it too."

"…You don't have to, Naruto. I'm fine, really… so let's conti–"

After he'd rolled his eyes at the expected response, Naruto swiftly flipped their positions before he put his hands on Sasuke's boxers and roughly yanked them down to expose the raven's throbbing and weeping member. To prevent further objections from escaping Sasuke's lips, Naruto rapidly put his hands on the raven's cock and started jerking him off with a gratuitous rhythm that sent shivers down his lover's back and made him accidentally release a moan in the ecstasy that ensued.

"Nnmnnn…!"

Naruto took a moment to triumph over the tiny moan that had left Sasuke's lips, before the competitive predator inside of him, which normally flared up during a match, began to resurface again. As he used one of his special techniques to make Sasuke pant harder than he already was, the blond put his other hand over his beloved's silky locks and watched in wonder as his pure emotions lit up like flames inside the other's dark eyes, then he smiled softly at the Uchiha.

Delicately, the young boxer pulled his lover's head up and caught the lips that had been assaulting his a moment ago in a deep kiss that Sasuke willingly surrendered to. While his heartfelt love poured into the kiss, the former ghost gave Naruto access to his mouth as he himself tried to taste the blond and his unyielding desire. He could feel the tips of his limbs grow colder when his body directed all its heat towards his pulsating erection, which was overwhelmed by Naruto's moves, and as those tan fingers started rubbing sinful circles around his rather flushed head, Sasuke had to hastily remove them before he reached his orgasm too early.

As he pouted at the rough way in which his hands were yanked away from Sasuke's member, Naruto whined confusedly. "Whaddaya do that for~?"

Sasuke brushed away the locks of hair that were blocking his vision, before he quickly explained himself. "It wouldn't do us any good if I came now."

"Yes it would; after all, I'd see your face twist in the embrace of heaven!"

"Embrace of heaven?" Sasuke stifled the laugh that had escaped in the form of a little snicker from his mouth. "Who taught you such words?"

Naruto's fist was quick to send a lazy punch his boyfriend's way at being made a laugh, before he stuttered embarrassedly. "S-Shut up! I heard it in a show! It fits my feelings perfectly, so what if I used it!?"

The rich Uchiha didn't know whether to smile or continue teasing the elated mess that was facing him yet, when Naruto swept him onto his back; he finally came up to the correct words to say and stopped his snickers.

"Baaaaka, it goes both ways, you know; I also want to see your face twist in the embrace of heaven. So you don't need to bother about me coming before you."

The boxer buffed his cheeks and countered. "I know all that, but I wanted to see yours first~!"

Sasuke was about to comment on that when suddenly, Naruto's tanned hands, along with his yearning eyes, began roaming across his milky flesh as he bit his lower lip in anticipation, before he dove in and mapped a trail of sweet kisses along Sasuke's soft neck, leaving his boyfriend no room to speak. When Naruto was done leaving his mark on there, he descended further down to come fact-to-fact with the raven's torrid pink nipples and began to fondle the left one as his mouth nipped softly on the right. However, he was so engrossed in tasting his lover that he was totally oblivious to the fact that Sasuke had smeared rather generous amounts of lube onto his long fingers.

When some time had passed, Sasuke used his left hand to tilt the tan face up towards his own, before he tried to speak with the sweetest and least unbroken tone he could voice. "I need to start preparing you now, Naruto, so if you would turn the opposite way…"

Naruto felt his blood run cold at the words but, after he'd nodded curtly, he flopped onto the bed with his head on the pillows and his front facing the raven, then slowly, he spread his legs slightly. A sense of exposure washed over him as he did so but, within a few seconds, he pushed the sensation to the back of his mind and focused on the brighter side of things. While Naruto's thoughts ran rampant in his mind, Sasuke raised himself up onto his knees and hurriedly suppressed the sudden desire to take hold of Naruto's dick and deep mouth him until he came, before he began his preparations.

After he'd used his non-lubricated hand to move Naruto's legs apart, the raven smiled as his eyes met his lover's. His other hand then, brushed softly over the tan-coloured balls on their way to the other's opening.

When Naruto felt cold fingers circling around his asshole, his body sent signals of alarm to his muscles to tense up and deny access to the intruder, but the only reaction he showed was that of a tiny gulp of nervousness and a faint plea. "Try to make it as pleasant as you can… okay?"

"…Certainly."

When Sasuke started inserting his index finger, his gaze settled on Naruto's face as he waited for a signal of pain to appear, which would be a sign for him to withdraw slightly. However, when the only indication from Naruto was a slight furrowing of his golden brows in reaction to his body's disagreement with the intrusion, he continued his way inside.

Sasuke tenderly played with the muscles that constricted Naruto's opening and kissed the knees that were closest to him with a burning passion as he sat on the soft mattress and brought Naruto's body closer to his. Between the time it took to spread the blond's legs further and to allow a faint blush to appear on both their facial features, the heat generating between them seemed to crash into them. Naruto had begun sweating a little profusely by the time Sasuke's second finger had introduced into him but, in an attempt to assure the raven that he was doing fine, the boxer gave a smile while the other fondled his balls as a distraction against the obvious discomfort of his situation, before he addressed his careful and highly affectionate lover.

"Sasuke… you k-know, you could move a little b-bit faster…"

The Uchiha smirked at this and, even as he kept his two fingers in place, he shuffled down slightly before he began to tease the area around Naruto's member with his lips. In no time at all, both his hands found a steady rhythm thrusting up and down the boxer's shaft and in and out of his puckered hole.

As pleasure started seeping into his cells and his limbs began to twist in reaction to it all, Naruto told his body to stop so that his mind could process what was being done to him. However, it was completely otiose, as the smithereens of desire, pleasure and his own erotic sounds — courtesy of Sasuke's touches — bombarded him with such ecstasy that he could do nothing but have his mental capacity tied down, along with his ability to reason properly.

"Unnmm… aahh… S-Sasu… hnn…"

When he finally felt like his boyfriend was relaxed enough for the next step in their lovemaking, Sasuke gently slid his fingers out and started to search for the condom that he'd had on him to continue. Unfortunately, upon realizing that the condom he'd taken such a care in bringing had disappeared just like that, Sasuke's nerves began to boil and threaten to overflow in rage. He sighed as his eyes sought out the blond's, who was currently lost in a sweet frenzy of joy, then he voiced.

"There's no condom."

It took a minute for the boxer to return to the real world and process what his love was saying with those delicious lips that he wanted to ravish more than anything in the world but, when he finally did, he propped himself onto his elbows and thoughtfully murmured. "Can't we do it without one?"

"…I don't mind, but wouldn't you rather have one?"

Naruto leaned up and gave the questioning Uchiha a soft kiss, before he purred softly. "Sasuke… there's nothing about you that I don't want, so I'd never need protection from you. Really, don't worry about it anymore… and let's continue what we were doing before."

The hesitant look inside Sasuke's eyes didn't disappear until Naruto rolled his own orbs and pulled the raven down with a deep kiss that spoke volumes of the frustration he was feeling towards Sasuke's indecision. Naruto didn't let go until the hesitancy inside Sasuke's orbs morphed into burning heat but, eventually, the Uchiha overcame his own inhibitions and formed a lusty grin on his lips.

"Well, since you seem so eager, we'll do it without one for today then, Naruto."

Before he returned to his previous position, Naruto nodded and nibbled a final kiss in the form of a red hickey onto the pale neck facing his, which caused him to grin mischievously to himself. Although confusion clouded his eyes in regards to his love's sudden joyfulness, Sasuke took hold of Naruto's legs again and adjusted himself appropriately, before he inserted a finger inside, followed by the second and the third. Naruto jolted as his body arched when the walls of his ass felt like they were being ripped apart by the accumulating pressure and, in a purely instinctive motion, his muscles began to try and push Sasuke's assaulting fingers out.

Sasuke bit his lower lip at the pain he'd inflicted onto Naruto, but there was no other way around it and he knew he'd just have to trust in his precious blond and hope that he could to take it. His lover was a strong human being, as well as a strong fighter, so he wouldn't be swayed by a passing pain, no matter how much it hurt. His past memories of the injures the blond had withstood in his hard profession were evidence enough for that, after all.

As he twisted his fingers inside the velvet walls to calm the peristalsis, the movement of the muscles trapping his fingers, that was working against his direction, Sasuke tried to find Naruto's prostate soon, so that Naruto's current pain would give way to blissful pleasure again. Although the blond did everything he could to mask his outward emotion, it was obvious that he was in severe anguish at the moment.

"Naruto… just bear with me for a little… I'm almost there, so just keep hanging on."

Since he didn't trust his mouth to work without releasing a scream instead, Naruto laboriously nodded as his right hand twisted into the mattress he was lying on. His pain-filled thoughts were abruptly cut off when Sasuke began to distract him by playing with his cock and, when some of the agony had subsided — thanks to the relaxation of some of his muscles —, the pleasure began to intertwine with the pain residing in Naruto's sensory nerves.

"Hmnnnnn…!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in glee when Naruto released a loud moan as he touched a spot inside of him, and a joyous grin appeared on his handsome features when he got the exact same reaction after he'd prodded the spot again. He'd finally found it; after all that pain, he'd found Naruto's personal heaven! His middle finger continued pressing and rubbing that spot, which made stars burst to life inside Naruto's eyes and caused him to grit his teeth as the foreign sensation began to coat his mind with a pleasantly thick haze. Sasuke stopped stroking Naruto's dick, since pre-cum was dripping copiously at this point, and removed his fingers from the hole in a slick movement.

While reaching for the lube to slather his own throbbing dick in the same slick substance that coated three of his fingers, Sasuke called to his boyfriend. "Naruto…"

"Hm?"

The handsome Uchiha positioned his aching member before the other's twitching entrance and continued with a soft tone. "Salmon."

Naruto's confused blue orbs looked up at him in a bleary semblance of a question. "Salmon?"

As Sasuke smiled and nodded, he softly explained himself. "Tomorrow, I'll take you out to a fantastic restaurant that makes the best salmon you've ever had. Since you showed me your favorite restaurant, it's my turn to show you mine."

Sasuke pushed inside as he finished the last of his non-sequitur with nary a heads-up or an alarm. Although he pushed inside with a very slow movement, Sasuke still bit his lip as the heat swiftly engulfed his hard cock. He supported himself with his hands on either side of the blond's head and smiled softly when the blond's tan hands flew up to clutch his forearms tightly.

The raven waited for a while until Naruto's single tear had traversed his cheek and his face had stopped scrunching in pain before he started moving… yet this time, he saw fit to give the blond some sort of warning.

"I love you, Naruto… we'll always be together from now on, in both the good and the bad times, and I'll do everything in my power to make you happy. I'm willing to receive all your pain and happiness… so please, receive all of mine in return."

Naruto felt his face heat up to his ears and, since he couldn't trust his heart to not rip itself out of his chest from the sheer embarrassment of Sasuke's words in such a situation, he turned his face away swiftly and gnawed at his bottom lip. If it was up to him, the raven would've just fucked him without bringing all these… these promises to the table but, for some reason, Sasuke thought that it was necessary to say them and embarrass the hell out of him at the same time.

They didn't have the perfect bed, the rose-scented room filled with red petals or the idealistic atmosphere that most people would want for their first time, but they didn't need any of that. They had each other… and, for Naruto, that was more than enough to satisfy him. They loved each other more than the physical fulfillments he'd thought about and, right now, they were sealing the sweet love that Naruto still couldn't handle and which he was probably going to drown in forever.

Although the throbbing pain was still coming from his ass, the boxer pushed his weight up and disregarded it through sheer will-power alone, before he took hold of one of Sasuke's pale hands and delivered a tender kiss to its back and palm. As the depths of his sparkling eyes revealed a smile to the smiling raven, the blond finally responded to Sasuke's request.

"…From the first time I saw you, I was captivated in both body and soul. You changed my whole life without me realizing it and, with you, I experienced things I didn't know I could. No, that's not entirely right, though… with you, I did things I didn't want to do — things that I would've avoided at all costs and had been afraid of — and you helped me through them all. Sasuke, you always say that I'm your light and all that stuff but, honestly… for me, you've been the fire that has always set me ablaze, from the moment that you started to call my name… and you were both the light of my life and the other half that I'd thought I'd never be able to find. You don't even need to ask for my permission and, in fact, you can do whatever you wish to me… because I'm all yours, now and forevermore."

Sasuke's smile became impossibly radiant as he brought Naruto into a deep kiss that made them both thump back softly onto the mattress. When they finally came back up for air, Naruto circled his forearms around Sasuke's neck and brought him closer so that he could touch and feel more of his boyfriend. As his hands began to mess up the smooth silkiness of his boyfriend's dark locks, the Uchiha heir gently drew his dick back a bit so he could see what he was doing and not hit something that would lead to an unfortunate accident in their first bout of sexual intercourse.

Sasuke's right hand laced itself with Naruto's as he started on a slow rhythm. Though Naruto bit his lower lip in an attempt to keep his voice from voicing the silly new sounds that had somehow integrated itself into his vocal chords, Sasuke simply kissed his abused lips and smoothly murmured.

"No, don't do that… I want to hear your voice… so let it all out, Naruto. Let everything out and allow me to listen to you."

When he saw Sasuke's face effused in such heavenly pleasure, Naruto nodded and stopped holding back on his sounds. In response, Sasuke picked up his speed and his thrusts continued getting harder and deeper, which forced Naruto to let out uncontrollable moans, since the intense sensations that bombarded him were simply too great for him to suppress.

"Ahh… nghh… Goddammit, nnnmm… Sasuke!"

Sasuke took pride in the music that flowed into his ears from Naruto's sweet mouth. Although he wanted to suppress his own, he realized that he couldn't do something that he'd asked Naruto not to do, so instead he endorsed his feelings and made them known to the blond.

"Hnn… mmnn…!"

The room was filled with the characteristic scent of gum and manly odors, but their sweat and the harmony of their moans and groans came to life around them as well. In the middle of their heated session, Naruto felt a laugh build up inside of him and, even as he lost himself in the sweet tangled mess that he'd gotten into, his lips flew open before his mind could get a say in the matter and a few jolts of unexpected laughs escaped from his throat. Even though Sasuke blinked at the blond's odd behavior, his eyes discerned the amount of happiness that was gushing out of his love and, after he had heard those peals of joyous laughter, he wasn't able to hold himself back from thrusting faster and harder into the boxer.

Happiness. That word held so many different meanings, depending on each individual's interpretation, yet they were all important to his heart. For his late mother, it was being with him and living a peaceful life… for his father, it was the joy he found in work and beholding the family's pride… and for Itachi, it was his safety and the health and well-being of his only kin. From the time he was little and all throughout his adolescence, he'd thought that he'd gotten the concept right and had even felt the real sense of the emotion once or twice, but right now, at this very moment… when his eyes were locked onto the magnificence that was Naruto and when he was connected to him in both body and soul… he felt that the meaning of 'happiness' was finally being inscribed into his core.

Finally, the scattered pieces inside of him and the mess that time had made of him were falling into place and gradually healing as his love allowed him to become whole once more. At that moment, as he expressed his love for his blond, Sasuke bravely took hold of everything that was dear to him in an iron grip and swore to himself that he'd never, ever let go again… even if it cost him his own life.

The laughter was abruptly cut off when Sasuke closed the pink lips with his own and sweetly smothered the love of his life with a heated kiss that Naruto sloppily tried to return. They were becoming one after all their trials and tribulations as they entrusted all that they had to each other and vowed to shield, protect and aid the other with everything they had, and they couldn't be happier.

"S-Sasuke…!"

The whispered name slipped out amongst the gasps and mewls that Naruto vocalized as the steady stream of pleasure that Sasuke was pounding into him turned into a tidal wave. Not a minute later, he felt his body arch as all his nerves told him that he was coming close to his second orgasm.

Naruto stopped Sasuke's movements before he could climax by himself again as he placed both his hands on the other's shoulders and pushed himself up so that he was in a sitting, rather than a lying, position that still allowed him to cling to the sturdy expanse of paleness before him.

He bit his lower lip as the pressure that came with the altered position sent shivers down his spine, before he leant forward to nip at the exposed flesh and to dreamily whisper into Sasuke's ears.

"…I've finally found you."

Sasuke pulled the blond closer after his soft words had reached his ears and shifted a little so Naruto would be sitting on his lap. When he was sure that he wouldn't strain the muscles of the boxer with the abnormal position he'd placed himself in, Sasuke allowed a grin to stretch all over his face in a carefree display of delight as he gave an equally-soft reply.

"And I love you too."

With that Sasuke picked up the pace again and Naruto buried his face in the crook of the other's neck, before he pulled his boyfriend closer and hugged the hell out of Sasuke with both his tanned arms. Due to the close proximity, he was able to hear all of Sasuke's pleasured pants and, when they intensified into slight moans, the change in the noises sent shivers erupting all over Naruto's body.

"Unn… ahh… fuck… Naru... aahh… I'm…"

The blond pulled his head back and kissed a trail all over his lover's face, after he wound up at his lips and inserted his tongue into the other's mouth and allowed the sensation to take them both to heaven.

"Mnn… ah… nmm… ah…"

As he thrusted deeper and faster into the blond, Sasuke bit softly on Naruto's tongue and felt his orgasm build up inside of him. Shortly, the boxer broke away from the powerful kiss and breathlessly exclaimed, before the sensations running through his system could swallow him whole and he'd lose all ability to talk coherently.

"I… I'm coming, Sasuke!"

The raven kissed the sweat-slicked neck before him and huskily whispered. "Then come for me!"

Just as Naruto realized that Sasuke could control his body perfectly, his will to withhold his orgasm before the other disappeared as soon as the sexy order was given and, without further ado, the pale hand fondling his throbbing dick was swamped by his lover's white sticky liquid that continued to spurt out from the blond until he was completely empty.

When he saw the way that his love had lost himself in the pure ecstasy that he'd brought to him, Sasuke swiftly reached his own orgasm and, with a final thrust, shot his load into Naruto's rapidly-clenching hole… only to realize afterwards that he'd come in his lover without permission. The raven contritely took his dick out, only to watch a trail of milky substance drip invitingly out of Naruto's convulsing asshole.

Sasuke swallowed thickly and shook his head at the perverse thoughts that threatened to reduce him into a sex-crazed beast again. Even if he was tempted to go another round, the blond slumped over him would probably not appreciate his horniness. This was his first time being lavished and opened to the max by another man, after all, and he really shouldn't be pushing his luck for a second round so soon. If he was lucky, though…

"…That was amazing, Naruto! It was the best sex of my life!" Sasuke exclaimed after the lingering after-effects of his orgasm had left his system.

The blond pulled himself off the other's lap and slid onto the comfy bed as he avoided putting any pressure onto his numb ass, before he groggily muttered. "Well, I'm glad one of us feels that way."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed together in concern as he quickly shifted into the blond's field of vision. "You… you didn't enjoy it?"

The disappointed tone caught the boxer's attention and, to a great deal of protest from his sore body, he shook his head and folded Sasuke in a loose hug. "No! Who said I didn't enjoy it? What I meant was that it hurt at the beginning, that's all! Don't misunderstand me, Sasuke; I wouldn't do it any differently if we did it all over again and I was really into it, you know! I was moaning at the top of my lungs, after all, so you should know how good it felt for me!"

Sasuke unhooked the tan hands that were slowly hugging him to death and gave the panicked blond a peck on the lips, before he smirked mischievously. "Yeah… you were moaning… and loudly too, if I don't say so myself. I bet our seventh neighbours would have heard your ecstatic cries."

His cheeky comment made a beautifully red blush appear on Naruto's face as he was playfully hit over the head for it. "Shut up, Sasuke. You should feel honored that I allowed you to do me!"

"I do~ Thank you, Naruto-sama, for the delicious treat~"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the wink and the sexy Sasuke that had magically appeared before him. He disregarded the comment and sat up as he ignored the alarm that went off inside his body, which had something to do with the pain that would immediately flare up if he even thought of doing anything stupid…. like moving, for instance.

"I'm going to take a bath now."

Sasuke sweat-dropped and questioned concernedly. "Don't you think you should rest first?"

"Baaaaka, muscles need to be trained after an exercise, you know. If I lay here like a dead tuna, I would regret it later when I try to walk."

"…Yeah, your senses in regards to sport doesn't work here, babe."

"It works anywhere just fine, and you know it."

"Seriously, Naruto, you should rest a little."

"Oh my God! Stop acting like I just gave birth! It's sex! Everybody has se–"

Unfortunately, that was the moment when Naruto fell face-down on the ground with his first step out of bed, which confirmed all of Sasuke's warnings and merely reinforced the idea that he should keep his ass on the soft mattress and rest for a goddamn hour before he began thinking of any sort of movement. As the self-satisfied snickers and a muttered of "I told you so" drifted from the amused raven, Naruto had to shush his fuming muscles at the act of pure torture he'd put them through.

With a soft sigh, he let his head thud against the floor and sulked in his undignified position.

"So, you've done it then?"

"Yes."

"From a scale of one to ten, how was it?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the excited girl facing him and shoved the ice-cream box into her hands in an attempt to distract her somehow. "You don't honestly expect me to answer that, do you?"

"Yes, I do. You've never had any problems talking about your sexual life with me, so why start now?"

"Because I'm starting to honor my privacy, thank you very much, and you don't need to know all the intimate details of my life anyway."

"Of course I do! Why do you think I've been rooting for the both of you to hook up ever since the first time I laid eyes on him? It was for this juicy info, of course; now spill, before I force you to!"

"Sakura…" He sighed his friend's name aloud and shook his head slightly. "I actually am against telling you this, you know, and had I not known you'd be a total pain in the ass about it, I wouldn't have told we had sex in the first place."

"Baka! You can't keep these things from me, even if you tried."

"Don't be so sure of that, Sakura; I have a lot of secrets that you've never heard from me."

"Oh please, go play the mysterious man to someone else who doesn't know you from the inside out." However, before Naruto could open his mouth and pierce a hole in her argument, she quickly changed the subject. "But really, tell me… was it passionate? Did it hurt? How did you handle the situation? Was Sasuke-kun hot – wait, why am I asking this; of course he was hot – but the most important thing! Who was the one being done!?"

"Sakura... you're really annoying when you're invading my privacy…" He commented as he turned up his nose and sniffed in exasperation.

The designer grinned as she bared the shiny teeth that she took such pride in, before she continued to press for more information. "You do realize that I'll continue being this annoying until you give up, right~?"

The blond sighed anew and began to speak again in an effort to dissuade her from pestering him any further. "Look, I'll tell you one thing… but after that, you have to forget everything about it and never ask anything related to this again, 'kay?"

"Yep, I got it! Now tell me already!"

He looked into the excitedly sparkling orbs and huffed slightly, before he started speaking. "It was corny as hell, and it was so clichéd and mushy that I wanted to die of embarrassment during the whole time. Sex never felt like that, even when I was with Hinata, but with him… every single line he spoke, every small gesture he took or a simple act he did… no matter what it was, it ended up making me feel embarrassed. I think Sasuke might have watched a lot of romantic movies before that night."

"Or he's just a really romantic guy~!"

"Yes… there's that theory, too. However, like I said, that's all there is to it. I spent the whole time trying to prevent myself from dying of embarrassment, and that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

"So, aside from that, what else was there that you wanted to share with me?" When a pair of puppy-dog eyes was directed at him, the blond felt his face transform into a scowl.

"Honestly… Sakura, I told you that I wasn't going to say anything more about this–" Naruto's words were abruptly cut off when two pale hands suddenly draped themselves over his shoulders from behind him and a soft kiss was planted onto his neck. Immediately, the boxer's frown melted into a happy grin as he turned his head around and uttered the other's name in a reverent sigh. "Sasuke."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the two kissing lovebirds before her and dug her spoon into the ice-cream while she waited for them to finish greeting each other.

"When did you get back?"

The raven moved back a little to allow Naruto enough room to look at him properly, before he answered his beloved's question. "A little while ago, you were too busy chatting with Sakura-chan to notice my arrival."

"Well, excuse me for taking your boyfriend's attention from you, but we were talking about a very important subject." Sakura annoyingly butted in before Naruto got the chance to reply, but all she got was a glare for her unwanted interference.

"Oooh, is this a topic more important than me returning home?" Sasuke nipped a little harshly at the tan flesh in front of him and continued. "I don't like it when you cheat on me, babe."

Naruto smacked the playful hand away and tried to compose himself, since it seemed like Sasuke and Sakura were under some sort of mutual understanding to tease his brains out.

"You," he pointed a sharp finger to the pink-haired designer. "Keep your trap shut! And you," he diverted his attention to his official boyfriend. "Aren't you back a little too early today? I thought you wouldn't be home 'til sometime in the evening."

Sasuke straightened up and ran a hand through his hair as he crossed the distance to the fridge, before he began to explain his early return. "A meeting was canceled when we discovered that the other party was about to double-cross us, that's all."

"Double-cross you?" Sakura scowled. "Shouldn't you be some big shot corporation that people should have the common sense to avoid double-crossing?"

"We are. However, sometimes there are companies that might seem legitimate but aren't, and they'd try their hand with us. Although we're always prepared, Itachi's on leave right now, and all the work is left to me. Other companies think I'm an easy fish to fry, so they're all trying to take their chances while I'm relieving Itachi of his duties."

Naruto smiled proudly and snatched the box of ice-cream back from Sakura's hands. "The problem is that you're not, since you're stronger than them."

"But they shouldn't know that, which is why they think I'm easy to trick."

"So… let me get this straight," The designer began, as she waved her spoon around for extra emphasis. "You allow these low-leveled companies to assume you're weak and let them negotiate with you under this presumption, just so you can yank the rug from under their feet whenever you feel like it?"

Sasuke took out a chilled bottle of water and sat beside the two. "Sakura-chan, I'm a businessman, so I wouldn't dare do anything against my best interest. When I give them a chance to meet with me, they'll show me all their strong cards under the presumption that I would be further terrified, and this allows me to see what I need to know in regards to the state of the market or what the other competing corporations are after. Do you see what I mean?"

As Sakura lifted up her nose in disgust, she put the spoon into her mouth and licked huffily at her ice-cream. "You're just playing the same dirty games as they are."

"There's no such thing as 'dirty games' in business. You either eat or get eaten in the corporate world."

"And that's why men are so uncivilized."

Before a feminist war could start across his kitchen table, the blond attempted to steer the conversation onto safer grounds with another comment. "Sakura, could you tell me about what you did with the new clothing collection they told you to launch this upcoming month?"

His plans seemed to work, if the spark of fire inside the girl's eyes were any indication of the matter, and they were confirmed to be successful when she opened her mouth to brag further about her designs. Naruto heaved a sigh of mixed satisfaction and relief when he was sure Sakura's mind was completely fixated on her work and not upon enquiring about his sex-life or picking an inevitable fight with Sasuke.

Upon losing interest in the conversation when it turned to different types of fabrics, Sasuke stood up and ruffled his boyfriend's blond locks in passing, before he headed off towards their joint bedroom. Naruto simply gave him a smile and continued conversing with Sakura.

About half an hour later, Sakura kissed her best friend goodbye and walked out the door, leaving the lovebirds alone in their apartment. The blond ran a hand through his golden locks and made to search for his love within the house, but it took him about two minutes to figure out the other was in the shower. After he'd gone to get some popcorn and juice, he flopped before the TV screen and began to watch a game while he waited for Sasuke to finish his bath.

He was so into the game and was so immersed in cheering the team he'd came to adore that he failed to identify Sasuke's silhouette behind him. It was only when the raven blew softly into his ear and sent chills down the boxer's back that he was finally aware of his lover's presence.

"Sasuke!" He shrieked, even as he clutched at his ear and tried to stifle down the beautiful red hue spreading across his face. "Don't do that again!"

The raven merely smirked at the boxer's discomfort. "Well, if you were paying more attention to me, that wouldn't have happened."

As he miserably failed in his attempt to come up with a reply, Naruto became far too aware of the fact that his love was half-naked and waltzing around the living room while exuding his naturally sexy body. He tried his hardest to control his nerves and prevent himself from going over to kiss every inch of his boyfriend's exposed hotness before he bothered to make a semi-decent comeback.

"…D-Don't you need to go wear clothes on or something?"

Sasuke traversed the distance between them as if he had returned to being a ghost once more and effortlessly trapped Naruto against the brown sofa. "Why? Do I need to have clothes on in my own house now?"

Naruto slapped a hand against the face that was getting closer to his and tried to look around his boyfriend in order to concentrate on the game. "Yes, you do, especially when I'm here."

"Well, I don't think so."

"I do, Sasu–"

When his lips were sealed with a kiss that Sasuke couldn't help but start, a sense of danger started to well up inside of Naruto; if they continued onwards, he wouldn't be able to actually watch the game that he'd waited so long to watch and record. The boxer pressed the pause button and pushed against the firm pectorals that Sasuke naturally had and forced him to move back. Although the raven obliged his unspoken demand, he did so with a pout and a petulant question.

"What?"

"Not tonight. I need to watch this."

"We're not going to have sex."

"Yes, we are. With the way that you're coming onto me and from what I know about that insatiable urge of yours, you'll be eating me alive at the first chance you get, so don't bother lying to me about it."

Sasuke's mouth tried to hide the smile that those unerringly true words had sparked inside of him as he sat beside the blond and admitted defeat. "Alright, so I want to do it with you. There's nothing wrong with that, though, since you're my boyfriend… aren't you?"

"I am, but my ass won't be able to handle any banging tonight. I have a match tomorrow and I need to wake up early for practice with Kakashi."

"You can't keep our sex life on pause until you finish with your boxing, you know."

"Then how about I drill into you for a change, hah? Let's see how your ass would be able to move after that!" Naruto snapped back at the sulking male, as he reminded him of the torture he'd gone through in the first week that followed their first time together.

"Fine, fine," Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and leant onto his shoulder with a soft sigh. "I'm not going to do anything to you, so please allow me to stay with you like this."

"As long as you keep your word, it's fine with me."

"I will, so stop doubting your man already. In any case, who's playing here?"

"Next week's opponent; they're pretty strong, though. I thought I would be able to win by just using my normal punches and my general diversion tactics, but… I think I'll get killed if I played nice."

"Getting killed is a bad idea."

"Tell me about it. Kakashi wants me on special training so I'd be able to, at the very least, not embarrass him any further with my lame-assed punches… too much. Those were his words, though, not mine."

Sasuke gave the blond a peck on the cheek, since he was forbidden from any behavior that would lead to anything pervy, and offered a few words of encouragement to his blond. "Yet you're the best boxer I've ever seen… so I'm sure you'd be able to win without shedding a single drop of sweat."

The blond smiled and stuffed his mouth with popcorn, before he tried to talk around the buttery food. "Thanks. Although it's not true, I appreciate the compliment."

Sasuke was about to roll his eyes and retort with a smartass remark when his mind recalled something and he bared his teeth in a wide grin. "Naruto! Let's go to a party!"

The blond blinked at the non-sequitur but, before he could express his opinion or have the time to be baffled about the sudden call, Sasuke had dragged him away from his comfy sofa and into their bedroom, where he was promptly thrown into a neat-looking tuxedo. As Naruto gazed dazedly at his reflection in the mirror, his brain finally processed what was going on around him, before the thoughts left his hanging jaw with a dull, faint sound.

"Huh…?"

"I didn't think you'd be here."

Sasuke nodded to his friend as he entered the grand hall, before he uttered a dry response. "Yes, I wasn't planning on coming."

"Well… why are you here, then?" Neji urged, not satisfied with the excuse he'd gotten.

"He," Sasuke gestured to the blond, who was lost in awe at the wonderful scenery he was currently beholding, and continued on, "needed a breather from overthinking and doubting, so I thought–"

"What better than to allow him to loosen up in a party designed for fake appearances and sleazy smiles, correct?"

"You know me too well, Neji. It's starting to get annoying."

Neji couldn't help rolling his eyes at the raven as he dwelt on the previous matter and ignored Sasuke's cold comment. "Your hatred hasn't subsided in the slightest, I see."

"It hasn't given way at all." Sasuke took hold of Naruto, who was about to lose himself along another path in his pursuit of the sparkling lights, and continued walking to the interior of the building, though he took great care to tightly grasp his lover's tan hand in an effort to prevent him from straying away. "But that's enough about me, really. Tell me, are you here alone?"

Neji grinned like a satiated cat at the query. "Nope~ Gaara agreed to come with me."

"And where might he be, exactly?"

"He went ahead, since he didn't like the attention that the two of us were getting when we walked together, so he made up an excuse about reserving a table." Neji heaved a weary sigh. "Even though I told him it was already reserved, he refused to listen… sometimes, his attitude gets on my nerves."

"It's because you wanted to walk beside him."

"Isn't it obvious, though!? I mean, he's my boyfriend, so why the hell would I invite him to a party if I was planning on going by myself? His skull is thicker than Naruto-kun's at times!"

Sasuke smirked and gave his boyfriend a sideway glance, but Naruto was completely dead to their conversation and wasn't paying any attention to anything other than the surroundings. The raven decided it was a good thing that he was too enamored to be concerned with the people who were eyeing their locked hands with a raised brow and faintly whispering amongst themselves; at least it meant that the boxer wouldn't be paying any attention to them.

"Birds of a feather do flock together, after all."

"Tell me about it!"

As they neared the entrance to the hall where the banquet was held at, Naruto's absentmindedness subsided as he finally had his fill of ogling the adjoining architecture and majestic oeuvre, which allowed his mind to finally notice the warmth that was encircling his cold hand. However, before he could comment on it, Neji's voice cut off any retorts he had in mind.

"Good evening, Naruto-kun."

The blond's face lit up noticeably when he finally noticed the beautiful raven that had been talking to his boyfriend for the past few minutes. It'd been close to three whole weeks since he'd seen Neji, as he'd decided to quit the team and focus on his company instead, and he'd come to miss the other a fair bit. As happiness oozed from every cell in his mouth and into his words, he replied ecstatically.

"Neji! Hi! How have you been!?"

"Wonderful… and you?"

"I've been just awesome! But wait, is Gaara here with you? I haven't seen him around lately."

"Yes, he's here. As a matter of fact, he's waiting inside."

Sasuke smirked at the throbbing vein inside Neji's forehead that was about to pop and, when Neji abruptly picked up his pace and began walking about four steps ahead of them, he followed behind keenly while he mercilessly dragged Naruto by their intertwined hands. The blond tilted his head as he tried to think about whether he'd said something to upset the long-haired raven but, when nothing came to his mind, he gave up and asked his lover about the other's palpable anger.

"Sasuke… did I say something wrong?"

"He's not angry at you; if anything, it's your friend's fault."

"Gaara? Are they having a fight?"

"If Gaara doesn't correct what he's done wrong, they will."

As he blinked at Sasuke's cryptic answer, Naruto kept his questions in the back of his throat and vowed to voice them at another time. While he was doing so, the door to the inside hall was opened by two smiling males clad stylishly in black, who bowed earnestly and gestured for them to enjoy themselves by entering the confines of the grand ballroom. When Naruto was done thanking the two, he found himself being lost in a state of fascination again as his eyes roved across the elegance and class before him. The mahogany hall had a capacious feel that was emphasized through its large stage, open space and vaulted ceilings, which were at least fifteen feet above his head, and its large chandeliers, graceful trims and beautiful artworks made it one of the most luxurious halls that Naruto's eyes had ever laid upon.

He continued to marvel and wonder internally at everything while Sasuke continue guiding him to their designated table, which was the one that Gaara has left his boyfriend to secure beforehand. Upon reaching it, Sasuke sent a small and silent greeting in the redhead's direction and sat down, which forced Naruto to sit down as well.

"I'm glad to see that this is all to your liking, Naruto-kun." Neji was the first to take hold of the charmed blond and bring his attention back to Earth with his words.

"Y-Yeah… it's very outstanding. I mean, the whole place is, really!"

"That's good then."

"So, why's there a party? What's the occasion?"

Neji smiled, though there was a hidden smirk that lurked behind his politeness, which Naruto didn't sense. "There's absolutely no reason, really. People here have a lot of money and an equal amount of free time, so they throw parties from time to time for the hell of it. After all, in their eyes, that's what being rich is all about."

"Ooh."

"So, what brought you here?" Gaara inquired, when a lull in their conversation made it clear for him to join in. "I thought you hated social gatherings."

Naruto frowned at his friend and amended. "I don't really hate, I'd rather avoid."

"It's the same thing."

"No, it's not. Besides, Sasuke dragged me here before I knew what was going on."

The golden haired boxer pushed the blame on to his boyfriend with a grin, but he simply got an eye-roll and a correction for his efforts. "I didn't drag you here, because I don't drag. In any case, I thought that a change in atmosphere and scenery would do you some good… and…"

When the raven seemed to be caught up in an afterthought, Gaara decided to press for more information. "And…?"

Sasuke took hold of Naruto's tan hand and gently brought it towards his lips to deliver a chaste kiss to its back. "I wanted to introduce him to a part of my life. I don't feel like it's fair for me to be the only one who gets to see everything he has, so I guess I thought that he needs to see my world too, and this party just seemed like a good place to start him off."

Naruto's azure orbs glittered with hidden joy as he gently intertwined his hand with the pale one that was holding it. He desperately wanted to show his other half how similarly he felt about their situation, but the surrounding environment didn't seem to help him much, so he sufficed with a squeeze to his hand and a loving smile.

Neji couldn't help himself from snorting aloud at the loving display and, as he gave his own partner a sideway glance, he made a brief comment before he departed their table to greet an acquaintance he'd spotted in the crowd. "Idiots really do turn into the most annoying couples."

"Go after him, you worthless piece of wood!" Naruto viciously snapped at his best friend, as soon as the long-haired raven was out of earshot. "What the fuck are you still waiting for!?"

The redhead seemed to be taken aback by the other's words, but it didn't take long for him to ask for a reason. "Why should I go? He just went to talk to some rich dude… there's no need for me to follow him around like his shadow, you know."

The blond smacked his hand on his face and tried to explain himself to the jock that turned out to be worse than him in terms of hidden interpretations. "You are really an idiot, baka! He wants you to go over there and make up with him!"

"Make up for what!? We're not fighting to begin with!"

"Oh yes you are! Neji's seriously pissed, Gaara! How could you not see his anger when he left!?"

"Okay, Naruto, you're just looking too deeply into this; he's just fine right now. We came here together and he didn't seem to be angry or mad, so why'd you say that he's pissed?"

When Naruto was about to start throwing another heated cursing fit at his annoyingly calm friend, Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder and interrupted their conversation with a serene tone that would, hopefully, make the redhead understand the reasoning behind Naruto's animated words.

"Gaara-kun, listen to me; there's something you don't know about Neji."

"There's nothing I don't know about him."

Sasuke pursed his lips for a few moments, before he reopened his mouth and firmly insisted. "Yes, there is."

"I told you already, there–"

"He's a secretive person." Firmly, Sasuke interrupted. "Throughout our years as friends, he only brought one person to introduce to us, in another party much like this one, and that was the first girlfriend he'd ever had. He was totally in love with her, but they didn't have a fate together and afterwards, he never brought anyone with him ever again. Do you get what I'm trying to say here? Basically, Neji only brings the people he wants to spend the rest of his life with so that he can introduce them to us, his usual environment and his world. He wants you to see his world, too, just like how I want Naruto to see mine. However, from the moment you two had walked in here, you were dissatisfied with the place, the people and the general atmosphere of the place. To him, it's like you're dissatisfied with his world because, whether you like it or not, this is his world, and… deep down, he's more hurt than pissed that you didn't accept him the way he wanted you–"

Before Sasuke could hope to finish his speech, Gaara was already on the other side of the ballroom as he hurriedly searched for his sad boyfriend. A delighted and smug smile appeared on Sasuke's lips as he reveled in his success in helping his friend and repaying a small part of what the other had done for him.

"Good job." Naruto nudged him with his elbow and beamed at Sasuke. "You make me proud."

"Well, I try."

Sasuke was about to lean in for a kiss and completely disregard their surroundings when a sweet voice uttered a single word and effectively froze him in his place.

"Naruto-kun…?"

Cerulean orbs turned ever so slowly towards the portion of his past that had suddenly appeared before the both of them, then Naruto stood up hesitantly and fully turned to face the kind, beautiful and deep lavender eyes that had been his once before.

"Hinata-chan…"

"So it really is you, Naruto-kun. I saw you from across the room, but I wasn't sure whether it was you or not. So, anyhow… how have you been?"

Naruto looked at the petite woman with her hair tied up in a bun that rested high on her head and cast his eyes over the silky blue dress that hugged her nicely curved body and accentuated her narrow waist and pale complexion with a delighted spark in his eyes. When he had finished observing her and had directed a real happy grin towards his ex-girlfriend, the heir to the Hyuuga household felt herself freezing in place.

"I've been doing fine, really. How about you?"

"I-I've been good lately." She stuttered out a reply and softly shook her head to get a grasp of herself, before she continued speaking. "I heard that the Uchiha Corp has bought out your team."

"Yes, they bought us a while ago, actually."

"Uchiha Itachi is a very good and strict businessman; I hope he didn't make it too hard for you in recent times."

"Naah, it was tough in the first five months, but we got used to it after a while. The training and all the other basic things have improved as well and our performance is evolving at a rapid rate. Anyways, what about you? Are you still holding up the family biz by yourself?"

Hinata smiled and shook her head demurely in response. "I was never by myself, Naruto-kun; I had a lot of people helping me throughout everything, and I'm ashamed to say that they are still."

"You were always a person to sell yourself short, Hinata-chan. I know for a fact that you've done more than your fair share to expand your companies and make the name of your family more famous amongst the leading corporations in the country."

As Hinata felt her soul elevate from that sheer happiness that she got from conversing normally with Naruto, she nodded shortly and mumbled in reply. "Thank you, you're very kind to me."

Naruto shook his head and continued joyously onwards. "Not at all─ ah, but before I forget myself, there's someone I'd like you to meet…" He tapped the raven, who had been trying his best to not disturb the two's conversation until Naruto could tell him that it was okay for him to do so, on the shoulder and introduced him with eyes filled with nothing but pure happiness. "Hyuuga Hinata, meet Uchiha Sasuke, the newly found brother of Uchiha Itachi… and the stoic bastard who's now my boyfriend."

Both Hinata and Sasuke's eyes widened at the introduction but, unable to stifle his thoughts, Sasuke started to question his other half. "Naruto… are you sure about introducing me like this?"

Naruto blinked at the black-haired male, before he quirked a brow in response. "Sure about what?"

"Telling her…"

At this, Naruto looked his previous love interest in the eyes, before he spoke in the gravest tone that he could muster. "Hinata-chan, I really loved you once. You were the center of my world and I know that a part of me would always miss the time we spent together… but it's for this precise reason that I don't want to lie to you about him. Sasuke… he's helped me through a lot and I've been able to make peace with myself because of him. Although I won't be saying anything corny like he's the love of my life… he's the only one for me, and I just really wanted you to know that."

Hinata's lipstick-glazed lips turned upwards as they gradually formed into a smile that reached her eyes, before she breathed a sigh of relief. "Naruto-kun, you don't know how happy I am for you right now. I've hated myself for what I've done to you ever since I broke up with you and I constantly wished for you to blame me, hit me or even curse my very existence for it, but you never did. My guilt increased with each passing minute and, to this day, I had always held my regret in my heart… so to know that you've finally moved on… to know that you've finally found your one true love… t-that's more than enough for me, Naruto."

Naruto couldn't hold himself back from giving a hug to the vulnerable girl to ease all her internal suffering and to allow her to let go of the past, like he did, and move on as well. With a soft tone, he whispered into her ear. "You don't need to hurt yourself anymore, Hinata. I'm sorry for the hell I've put you through and I'm pretty sure the future holds nothing but goodness for both of us… so lift up your head and smile to the world, because our time together was one of the best memories in my life and I'd never forget it, so you shouldn't let it go or dwell on it for too long either."

A smile lit up her features as she reciprocated his hug and whispered back. "Thank you, Naruto-kun, thank you for helping me… I'll always remember you."

"I will as well… and you're welcome."

As they parted with silly smiles all over their faces, Hinata bid the two a good night as she walked away to enjoy the rest of the party and deepen her connections with the other rich people in the crowd. Meanwhile, Sasuke waited for the blond beside him to break the lingering gaze he had on the silhouette of his ex-lover, heartbreaker, and all the pain and memories that he had held onto for the better part of his adult life. He waited for him to really let go of his past and clear a new slate for him ─ a clean one that had his initials alongside Naruto's as its eternal title ─ before he made his move. The Uchiha male suppressed the grin that fought to break through all his mental barriers at the happiness that the thought of spending eternity with Naruto sparked within him and chose to give a peck to his lover's oblivious cheeks when he was sure that everyone was too intoxicated or preoccupied to pay any attention to their public display of affection.

"What do you say to getting out of here, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded joyfully at the husky whisper reverberating through his ears. "I'd say amen to that."

With that, the two lovebirds abandoned the ongoing party but, instead of driving their parked car back home, Naruto pulled on the pale hand he was holding in a silent message that conveyed his unwillingness to go straight home. Sasuke smiled and allowed his boyfriend to walk aimlessly amongst the fancy buildings with him in the quiet stillness of the night. The surroundings clearly screamed of the world that they were currently waltzing through and how different it was from the boxer's shady neighborhood, yet he didn't feel any discomfort at its alien nature, thanks to the warm and pale hand that was tightly clutched in his tan one.

A cold sensation suddenly stung the tip of his nose, which effectively halted his movement as he paused and looked up at the sky. His lips widened completely as a huge grin appeared to greet the soft flakes of snow that were descending ever so gracefully to Earth and, when he glanced to the stoic male at his side, he got a soft nod in reply.

"It's snow, Sasuke!"

"Yeah… the weatherman did mention something about the possibility of it tonight."

Another flake fell on his tan hand and his grin brightened at the fleeting chill that ran through its nerves. "It's amazing!"

"I take it you like the snow."

"Like it? I love it, Sasuke!"

"Well then," Sasuke jerked on their connected hands and brought the blond closer to him, before he whispered softly. "Let's make this a memory you'll never forget."

Naruto's grin didn't leave his lips, even when Sasuke's tender kisses had finally alighted onto his eyelids, cheeks and nose. Though the air around grew steadily chillier, they didn't mind it in the slightest. In that moment, with the shared warmth that they were engulfed in and the serenity that grew with every single snowflake that descended upon them, the only feeling that they could sense was the pure and simple bliss that came with their all-consuming love.

Naruto closed his eyes and gave his all to the male who knew exactly how to take a hold of his heart, before he completely surrendered to the sweet and simple kiss that conveyed all that they were to each other.

"C'mon," Sasuke broke the kiss he'd initiated with a loving tone that nearly made Naruto turn to mush in the spot where he stood. "We should go home now, before you catch a cold."

He nodded joyfully at his boyfriend and spared one last look at the snow falling over them as his mind briefly recalled his first night in that apartment and how cold and lonely it'd been. Yes, he'd come a long way from that night, from all that heartache and from those painful memories, and now… as his eyes returned to the handsome male beside him, Naruto tightened up his grip…

Now he was finally setting along the right track, with the light of his life beside him. Hand in hand, they were carving their own happiness with a tender and unbreakable love, and nobody could ever take this away from them.

Thank you to everyone who had followed, favored, liked or reviewed this story, it made me very happy to see how much love my story was getting. It's been a long journey but we're finally here. Naruto's with Sasuke and both have healed their wounds together :D. This story was written from my sole desire to try my hand at a Naruto-ghost-fic and it turned out wonderfully! I'll miss you a lot, my lovely audience, thank you for everything once again and until another fic. Love you all! ^_^