Title: Above the Haze

Authors Note: This is it! The final installment to Above the Haze! Well, I won't keep you long here. Go on and Read! More from me later.

⇒Please make sure you heed the bolded font. Especially the are there for a reason.

Pairing: SasuNaru, hints of NaruSasu

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: AU, OoC, Yaoi (the usual things)

Summary: Naruto has been aiming for flight school since he was just a boy and was first entranced by the vibrantly blue sky he saw only once, thirty thousand feet above the earth, above the haze that covered the world. But is his dream alone enough to get him through the intense training to become one of the few thousand legal pilots in the world?

Disclaimer:

It's only natural for me to say no. So, 'NO'. I don't own Naruto. Kishi-sensei has all rights

Kiba had stayed with Naruto until he had to shoo the man away using breakfast as an excuse. He felt tired still, though a little less frazzled. When he actually fell asleep in class that day, though, he knew he was in trouble. Sasuke came to his room about an hour after, sat on his bed, and looked at him intently.

"I'm sorry," Naruto blurted out. "I know falling asleep in class is inexcusable. I … I'll try harder."

Sasuke blinked at him. "What? You fell asleep in class?"

"You're not here about that?"

"...uh, no," Sasuke hesitated and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, Kiba-kun ran into me in the hallway earlier and said that I should come talk to you. He wouldn't give me any details though. What's going on? You've been pretty out of it, lately."

"Nothing," he replied, sinking into his chair. "I mean. Nothing, really. I just. I'm having nightmares from all these damn emergency situations." He rubbed his face. "Can't sleep."

"We can get you some sleeping pills, you know. You should have said something earlier," he said wearily.

"Yeah," Naruto muttered thickly. "Yeah." He kicked his feet against the floor. "My nerves are shot."

Sasuke nodded. "I know. Your reaction times are either really delayed or you're over-anticipating in the simulator." They sat silently for a minute. "Is everything ok, other than that? … Your friend's been around a lot."

Naruto looked up at that to see Sasuke staring blankly in his direction. "He's a good friend. He's busy with school but still takes time for me."

Sasuke nodded and stood. "Alright." Then again, "Alright. I'll bring the meds around later." He left without looking at him.

He attended classes in a haze, dutifully taking notes but not processing anything. He pretended to a mockery of study for a few hours until, around eight, he let Sasuke in again. The man handed him a bottle and Naruto stared at it; rolled it between his hands and listened to the contents rattle around. "I hate taking pills," he said.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, abrupt.

"Hmmm?" He looked up.

Sasuke suddenly looked vulnerable and years younger than usual. "Maybe," he said, and licked his lips, "maybe I want to complicate things." And he stepped forward and wrapped his fingers around Naruto's arm and Naruto couldn't force himself to look away.

"I don't need a pity-fuck," he spat, voice low and gravelly, and Sasuke flinched.

"It's not pity. It's not." His grip tightened. "And it's not about sex, either. It's been so hard, watching you break down and knowing I couldn't even touch you, that me touching you just made it worse. I swear it. I just. I just want to be here with you. As your friend if nothing else. Let me?"

Naruto gently pulled his arm away and sat at his desk. "I don't know." He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "I'm not even in the right frame of mind for this conversation. I don't know what I want."

Sasuke picked nervously at his jacket sleeve and moved next to Naruto to lean against his desk. "Ok. Can we just … start over? Not pretend this never happened, just … I want you to be ok with me again. I want to be able to touch you normally without you flinching. I want to be able to do my job again where you're concerned. I feel like I've endangered your graduation with my selfishness." Naruto tried to interject but Sasuke rolled over his words. "And the first thing I've done as your instructor," he paused and looked at Naruto with soft eyes, "as your friend, is set up a session with the counselor tomorrow after your first class."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

Sasuke had the grace to look sheepish. "Kiba said you'd promised."

He couldn't help a watery smile at that.

Sasuke said good night, making his way to the door. But he stopped with his hand on the knob and looked back and said quietly, "I never did anything with her. …Just so you know." He left without waiting for a response and Naruto was grateful because he didn't know what to say even if he did feel a little lighter.

His counseling sessions over the next few weeks were more of a help than he'd imagined they would be. He'd gone into them skeptical, fulfilling a promise and nothing more. But as he talked, as the counselor drew things out of him, he slowly found his life coming back into focus. He rediscovered his youthful dream for flight, carefully tied the shreds of his study habits back together, came to accept his feelings of helplessness and frustration involved in the potential hazards of flight that he, amazingly, hadn't realized were the cause of his nightmares. It all seemed so obvious when he just stopped. Stopped and looked at the minutiae of his everyday life and what it all added up to.

At the same time, Sasuke was courting Naruto. Naruto was invited to poker games and random dinners with Sasuke's friends (who were disturbingly nice at first… he actually felt more at ease when Juugo started to verbally abuse him again), taken on day trips outside the city when he felt comfortable enough with his studies to take time away. But more important were the nights they spent together just sitting at the window in the lounge speaking in hushed voices about nothing in particular. Sakura stopped glaring at him and Konohamaru and Moegi seemed pleased that Naruto was so much less stressed.

The slow courting did what the flurry of passion could not – it evaporated the fog obscuring each to the other and laid them bare. Naruto was allowed to see the private workings of Sasuke's heart and thoughts through actions Sasuke had previously only let out in moments of weakness. He was forever touching Naruto now. Not the suggestive stroking of an inner wrist or promising brush of hips, but strong, sure, steady fingers resting along Naruto's thigh or the comforting press of shoulders, telling Naruto more than anything else that Sasuke wanted him. He decided that he was ready when Sasuke was.

One night, as Sasuke walked him back to his room after one of their late night conversations in the lounge, Naruto laughed.

Sasuke looked at him curiously.

"Nothing. I just feel like a girl. That's all."

Sasuke hummed thoughtfully and, when they got to Naruto's room, he made a big show of gently pushing Naruto out of the way to unlock his door and open it for him, ushering the younger man in. Naruto giggled quietly, emptying the contents of his pockets onto his desk and sitting down.

Sasuke picked thoughtlessly at his jacket sleeve and moved next to Naruto to lean against his desk. "Naruto," he said lowly. "I know I was an ass. I know it and I'm sorry." He turned to face Naruto and Naruto could see the regret in his eyes so he shook his head.

"It's ok," he said. And he meant it.

"I liked the way we were together. I like you. And me. Together. We can try, right?" He reached his hand out slowly, giving Naruto enough time to move if he wanted, but he didn't. He ran the backs of his fingers lightly down Naruto's cheek and he leaned into it, closing his eyes. And when Sasuke's lips pressed softly against his own, he didn't pull back.

A week before the end of the third quartermester, Kiba invoked best friend rights.

"Naruto! I haven't seen you in three weeks! We're having dinner tomorrow night."

Naruto stared at his phone before putting it back up to his ear. "You act like we don't talk every night."

"Not the same," he huffed. "Digital Naruto isn't nearly the same quality as the real thing."

"Fine, fine."

"I'll meet you in your lounge at six." He paused. "And bring Sasuke. You've been spending so much time with his friends, it's only fair that he spend time with me."

Sasuke didn't seem too upset about the arrangement. "Mmmmm… so gooood," Sasuke practically moaned, mouth full of Kiba's mother's food.

Kiba smiled so hard his eyes almost disappeared and Naruto rolled his eyes but couldn't stop laughing.

For the most part, Sasuke seemed content to sit back and watch Kiba and Naruto talk, eating slowly and laughing often.

"You're quiet," Kiba finally said unabashedly.

Sasuke just shrugged. "I'm wondering if you guys actually talk faster with every uninterrupted minute or if it's just me."

"…We get that a lot," he replied.

"I believe it."

Naruto kicked Sasuke's foot under the table and got a wry smile in return.

Kiba kept asking all kinds of questions about flying and what Naruto would have to do when he had his first flight the next week and if there was anything Kiba could do to help.

Naruto was amazed at Sasuke's patience and took to stuffing food into Kiba's mouth to shut him up when he was getting particularly obnoxious which Sasuke found highly amusing and the way he scrunched up his nose when he laughed at them always distracted Naruto enough that he missed the chance to foil Kiba's retaliation attempts. But overall, he thought it had gone pretty well. Kiba and Sasuke seemed to get along well enough and that thought settled, warm, in his heart.

Naruto smiled fondly after Sasuke when the man took his leave of them, resting his cheek in his hand.

Kiba snorted. "You are totally gone."

"Shut up." But he couldn't deny it.

"But he is pretty cute," Kiba said slyly and had to duck a napkin. His next comment was half-obscured by cackles, but Naruto heard 'mile-high club' and pounced him anyway. Eventually they calmed down and relaxed back in their chairs.

"I'm glad," Kiba said.

"For what?"

"That Sasuke is the one going up with you. It's special isn't it?"

A contented smile spread over Naruto's face.

Naruto sat, elbows resting on his thighs, hands steepled against his lips, and his eyes closed. Every fiber of his being was tense and focused. Today, first day of the last quartermester, was the day he would realize his dream and finally fly himself up past the dense clouds to rise into the sunlight. Would it be the same? Would it be every bit as bright and beautiful and involve a clenching in his chest that refused to let go? He'd been building up to this moment for a decade, had he imagined it all? Put it up on a pedestal? He felt a lump form in his throat, panic rising and –

"Naruto," his name said in that soothing voice pulled him from his terrifying inner monologue and he looked up at Sasuke. The man had his hand held out to him with a smile on his face. "Today's the day. Let's go."

They settled into the cockpit of the small plane and belted in. Naruto unconsciously ran through the checklist, drilled in by intense training, and, before he knew it, he was taxiing down the runaway, feeling strangely calm. The day was a little windy and the plane rocked a bit in the current as the wheels left the asphalt. Takeoff wasn't smooth, though his actions were, and Sasuke murmured words of praise and encouragement. Halfway through the cloud cover, they hit a particularly rough patch of turbulence but it served only to enhance the anticipation which coiled tightly in his stomach.

He rode out the turbulence and rose into the brilliance of the sun, the blue so vibrant it caught his breath. He felt Sasuke's hand on his knee and he turned his head to smile at him, tears glistening at the edges of his eyes. It was exactly as he'd imagined, he thought as he turned to look ahead again, only better because of the man beside him smiling too, making sure he'd never get lost in the details again.

A/N: Guys, thank you sooo much for following and supporting this story until the very end! I really hope you enjoyed Above the Haze as much I did. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, followed, favorited, or even just spared a glance at this story. Tell me your thoughts in a review on how you felt about this story (Be nice, though. Flames will be returned to sender in the form of fists-to-face). I hope to see you again on another story!

Read, Review, and Move On!