Hi! It's been two years since my last update, and I'm very sorry about that. The plans I had for this story didn't end up working out, and I've been struggling with what to write for so long. Finally, I concluded that I couldn't force myself to write something that didn't feel right.

Instead, you're getting the epilogue. The happy ever after. The ten years later that you can't really picture in your teens, and then suddenly you're already there. I was inspired by one of my childhood friends getting married to her high school sweetheart, and while I want to apologize for this chapter most likely not being what you expected, I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it.

Thank you to everyone who commented during the two years this was put on hold, it meant a lot to me. I'm very happy that I can, at last, finish this story in a way that makes me feel accomplished.

Oh, and this chapter lives up to the M-rating, though it's not too explicit I think.

Chapter 7: Epilogue

xxx

Naruto struggles with his tie. It's fancy and silky and a blue that supposedly matches his eyes, but he can't seem to make the damn thing work. He heaves a frustrated sigh, wondering if Karin will really care whether or not he's wearing a tie at her wedding. She'll be too busy ogling her soon-to-be wife, right?

"Not done yet?"

He twitches, sending Sasuke a look in the mirror. Of course Sasuke's tie looks perfect, just like his suit and his face and his whole entire being. Not that Naruto minds that – he's the one who gets to wake up to such beauty every day, after all.

"I think this tie is out to get me," he mutters, tugging at it uselessly.

"I know how to fix a tie, Sasuke," his dear boyfriend mocks him. "I'm a grown-ass man, ties are a piece of cake."

"Yes, okay! Stop making fun of me and fix it for me, please?"

Sasuke's mouth curls upwards at the corners, the I told you so left unsaid. His amusement stays all through the fixing of the stupid tie, but Naruto has to wonder if Sasuke truly needs to takes such a long time and stand that close.

"You look hot," he says, and Sasuke steps back with one last smoothing down of the lapels on Naruto's suit jacket.

"I know, it's sweltering in here."

Despite the quipped reply, Sasuke allows a small peck on the lips before leaving the bathroom, most likely to get rid of the cat hair covering his legs. Not that Naruto saw the hairs because he was checking out his ass, or something. He turns back to the mirror, pursing his lips. Sasuke pushed the knot just a little too high, but Naruto sighs and leaves it as it is. If he tries fiddling with it he'll just get scolded.

"Naruto, where did you put the card?" Sasuke calls, and from there on it's a rush to get ready and leave on time.

It's a bit surreal, arriving at the venue. His cousin is getting married. Some would call it a shotgun wedding; Naruto, who knows his cousin all too well, has to wonder what took them so long. Once Karin sets her mind to it there's no stopping her, really. He takes Sasuke by the hand, squeezing.

"How much are you going to cry?"

"I'm not going to cry!"

Sasuke's look of disbelief is ignored in favor of greeting family members and friends. They find Sakura quickly, Haku and Gaara arriving fashionably late. Karin's mother is already sobbing quietly, but other than that the mood is bright and the sun shines relentlessly down on them.

"I'm not sure if I'm happy or seething with jealousy," Sakura mutters, a pout on her lips. "At least it gives me an excuse to wear this dress."

"You're exceptionally bitter this afternoon," Haku notes cheerfully, and no one mentions the obvious – Sakura's recent break-up.

Still, Naruto can't help the warmth settling in his chest at the sight of them. High school might be way in the past now, but their friendship remains strong.

"Maybe if you catch the bouquet you'll have better luck finding love," Gaara adds, because he apparently has not caught on to the do not mention the break-up, and Sasuke has to go between to prevent things from escalating.

"Naruto," Sakura whines as they're allowed to enter and find seats, "am I really that unlovable? I'm too pretty to be single."

"I'm not going to answer that."

"Naruto!" Sakura's arm punches are as painful as ever. "You men are all such jerks."

He makes sure to sit down with Sasuke between the two of them. And, well. If the tears are streaming down his face for most of the ceremony, he's not the only one.

"I can't believe you're married now," he says to Karin afterwards, smiling at how much she glows.

"I can't believe I got married before you," she says back, and okay, she doesn't need to call him out like that.

"I'm working on it," he defends himself, huffing. "I just haven't-"

"Found the right moment to ask, yes we know. You've been saying that for two years now."

Luckily for him she's soon distracted by others congratulating her, and Naruto groans on the inside. He really has tried, okay? There's just always something coming in-between, or it's not the right moment, or he changes his mind on what the perfect proposal should be like. Sasuke deserves only the best.

He spots his mother nearby, catching her eye. There's that glint in them – the why is my son not giving me a wedding? It's a constant topic whenever they talk. And it's not like the pressure is getting to him, but, well. Maybe it is getting to him a little. He gives her a strained smile, turning away to find Sasuke. He's standing with the rest of their little friend group, a few new faces having been added over the years. There's Ino, Sakura's gym buddy from university who actually introduced Karin to the love of her life. There's Suigetsu and Juugo, originally Sasuke's friends but now also Karin's. He's still not entirely sure how that happened.

There's also Haku's boyfriend Zabuza, who looks entirely too scary next to the sweet-looking Haku. A few of what Naruto thinks are Karin's work colleagues stand off to one side, glancing at them. Sometimes he can't help but feel a little giddy at how far they've all come; how, even if all their high school dreams didn't come true, he most likely has the best friends in the whole world.

Lost in thought he doesn't notice Sasuke sneaking up on him, poking him in the side and causing him to shriek.

"I know that look on your face," Sasuke tells him, one eyebrow raised. "You're making me feel old by reminiscing like that."

"Who says I was reminiscing?"

"I do, and I'm usually right."

Naruto leans into his side, comforted by his warmth despite the sweat gathering under his collar.

"I was just thinking that we have some really great friends."

"Sappy. I should probably not let you get drunk if you're already like this."

"Don't worry, I'll add it to my speech."

When Sasuke rolls his eyes, Naruto kisses his cheek.

"And you're sappy too, just not out loud."

"I admit nothing."

Smiling, Naruto decides not to argue.

"Hey! Lovebirds!" Suigetsu waves at them with his whole arm, as if they're not close enough to hear him at normal sound levels. "Time to head over to the after party!"

"When is he going to stop calling us lovebirds?"

"I thought you said we have the best friends in the world?"

"Suigetsu is your friend."

Sasuke gives him a look, Naruto's expression the very definition of innocence. As revenge, Naruto has to sit in the backseat crammed between Juugo and Gaara, Suigetsu in the front as they drive the short distance to a picturesque mansion complete with an old-fashioned outdoor dance floor.

"I'm not even the shortest here," he complains, which earns him an elbow to the ribs from Gaara and one of those infuriating smirks from Sasuke that always makes him bristle with a combination of irritation and arousal.

"If this is some kind of weird foreplay, I don't want to know," Suigetsu says with a bark of laughter, Gaara snorting along with the joke.

"It's not funny."

"It's a little bit funny," Sasuke says, and ugh.

He bangs his head against the headrest, wondering if he should say something in his speech about all their great friends except Suigetsu.

Karin would probably agree with him.

xxx

Naruto's speech is equal parts embarrassing and heartfelt. Karin looks increasingly exasperated as he goes on to explain how much of a useless lesbian she is, but she still hugs him tight when it's over. As spontaneous as parts of the speech sounded, Sasuke knows exactly how much Naruto had practiced. He'd spent days agonizing over what gift to give them, trying to find ways to help with preparations but mostly making a nuisance of himself.

Sasuke wouldn't want him any other way.

"Are you sure you didn't embarrass her so much she'll give you the silent treatment for months?" he mumbles when Naruto sits down again, reaching out to refill Naruto's now empty glass.

"I hope not," he replies with a grimace, but then he grins. "Ah well, she'll pay me back at our wedding anyway."

The whole world stops, Sasuke pausing with the wine bottle tipped over Naruto's glass.

"Our wedding?" he asks carefully, because despite all their years together, they haven't actually discussed that particular step forward in their relationship.

Eyes growing comically wide, Naruto's mouth opens and closes as he searches for words. Sasuke's chest burns, and he keeps his gaze focused on the empty glass. The air feels charged with tension, the murmurs of conversations around them bleeding into the background.

"I mean," Naruto forces out, swallowing. "You know."

No, Sasuke does not know. He didn't think Naruto had even thought about it. Sure, Karin is getting married after a relationship less than a third as long as theirs, but that's her. They've been doing just fine as is, and they're busy anyway. It's not like Sasuke has spent hours looking up engagement rings online.

Drawing in a breath, Sasuke pours the wine, thankful that no one else at the table seems to have heard their conversation.

"What, exactly, do I know?"

He keeps his voice low, putting the bottle away with slightly trembling fingers. If Naruto proposes right here he'll never forgive him, but if Naruto also doesn't think it's a big deal he might scream.

"I just meant that a lot of people expect us to get married, right? It's not like I've been, you know, thinking about it or planning anything or-"

Naruto falters, panic on his face.

"I have to go to the bathroom!"

As Naruto scrambles to get out of his chair, Sasuke's thoughts are spinning wildly in his head. Has Naruto been thinking about proposing? Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, but he would have thought he'd notice something in that case. Naruto is the most transparent person he knows, after all.

"Wow, look at your face," Haku drawls, pointing at him with a fork. "You didn't know?"

Thinning his lips into a line, Sasuke watches Naruto stumble through the dining room, bumping into people. How could he have missed it? How could Naruto have kept quiet?!

"How long has he been thinking about this?" he demands, annoyed at Haku's smug face.

"I don't kiss and tell," they say, popping a bite of salad into their mouth. "But long enough that you should push him a little."

Sasuke has considered proposing. He even talked to Itachi about it. Had his brother told him to wait because he knew Naruto was planning something? Naruto is the more romantic of them, but Sasuke had been starting to think that if he wanted a proposal, he would need to do it himself.

"I'll just go after him," he sighs, making his way past the other tables and towards the hallway, making sure to send Itachi a dirty look as he passes him and Shisui.

Naruto isn't outside, but the door to the men's restroom is locked.

"Naruto?"

He knocks on the door, hearing only a muffled groan from inside. It's either Naruto, or someone with a bad case of stomach ache.

"Come on, Naruto, there's more speeches left and you don't want to miss those."

"I can't," Naruto wails, and something thumps against the door. Possibly his forehead. "Just leave me here for the rest of the night."

Sighing again, Sasuke counts to ten. Just so he won't start rattling the door in frustration.

"You do remember that we live together, right? You have to face me sooner or later."

"Great, I choose later."

"Naruto. Come out."

Oh so slowly the door creaks open, his sometimes very blond boyfriend peeking out with narrowed eyes.

"Are you mad?" he asks, squishing his cheek against the edge of the door like it will make him look cuter.

"You're being ridiculous."

"Ah, so you're a little bit mad. I knew it."

"What I know is that you're acting like a little baby. Come back to your seat and we'll…"

He trails off, wondering how to deal with this. Naruto watches him, dejected; it's his kicked-puppy-who-thinks-he-deserves-it face. There's just no way Sasuke can be mad at him now.

"We can talk about this later, okay? Let's focus on Karin instead."

"Yeah…"

Naruto takes his hand, shuffling his feet on the way back. There's no helping it; Sasuke loves this man more than anything, no matter how silly he is at times. He's sweet and caring and clingy and cries easily, and he makes Sasuke feel like the most important person in the world. And never, in their ten years together, has Sasuke had reason to doubt the honesty of his feelings.

A wave of affection rises in his chest, warm and soft, making his body tingle all throughout the rest of the night. They dance, mingle, cheer for the happy couple – Sasuke feels the warmth turn into a sweet ache when Naruto pulls him close on the dance floor, whispering in his ear how much he loves him, how lucky he is. Even Itachi and Shisui making faces at them behind their backs can't ruin the mood.

"I wanted to surprise you," Naruto mumbles later, when they're in the car heading home. "That's why I never brought it up before."

"Oh."

What else are you supposed to say when the love of your life admits he's been planning a proposal? He keeps his eyes on the road, trying to push down the urge to grin like a maniac. Does this mean Sasuke is going to be a married man soon? He sure hopes so.

"It was going to be perfect."

"It can still be perfect."

Naruto sighs, sinking lower in his seat. His suit is all wrinkled now, top buttons undone and tie nowhere to be seen. Hopefully it's somewhere in the backseat because it was rather expensive.

"But now you know I'm thinking about it."

"So what? You're going to not propose to me because it won't come as a complete shock?"

"It's more romantic if you're not expecting it."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke switches lanes before sending Naruto a look.

"You're the romantic one, not me. I can act shocked if it makes you feel better?"

"No." Naruto pouts, his elbow leaning against the door, cheek in hand. "I'll find a way."

"Alright," Sasuke says, shaking his head in mild amusement. "You always do."

"Damn right I do!"

"But if you do some kind of flash mob like my twenty-third birthday…"

"You liked that flash mob!"

"They were terrible at dancing. You're terrible at dancing."

"You know what? Maybe I'll get one just because you told me not to."

They spend the rest of the drive arguing over tiny, insignificant things, and by the time they step through the front door Naruto is riled up enough to push him against it and kiss him hard.

"You," he starts, each word punctuated by another kiss, "are so infuriating sometimes."

"Don't you mean sexy?"

"Ha!"

Naruto tugs at his dress shirt, hands sneaking underneath the fabric once it's freed from his waistband. It has Sasuke's heart pick up speed, his arms thrown around Naruto's shoulders to pull him closer. All the tingling anticipation he's felt now turns into an urgent need, and he moans when Naruto grinds into him.

"Come on," he groans, because as nice as it is to have Naruto mouth at his throat and drag his nails down his chest, hallway sex has kind of lost its appeal by now.

"Mm, I could get on my knees right here," Naruto offers, voice rough in Sasuke's ear. "Get you off even before you take your shoes off."

"Was that supposed to rhyme?" Sasuke teases him, pushing at his shoulders. "Just take me to the bedroom, I'm too tired to stand the whole time."

"Lazy," Naruto mutters, but then he grins that crooked grin that never fails to make Sasuke weak at the knees. "Alright then, shoes off."

Once both pairs of shoes are haphazardly thrown by the door, Naruto bends down and grabs Sasuke by the legs, hoisting him over his shoulder.

"What the fuck."

Is Sasuke ever going to admit he loves it when Naruto does this? No, no he isn't.

"You said you were tired!"

Sasuke refuses to dignify that with an answer, instead reaching down to push his hands down Naruto's pants, shamelessly feeling up his ass. It's probably lucky that it's a very short distance to the bedroom. Wincing as Naruto drops him on the bed, Sasuke barely has time to gather his bearings before Naruto climbs over him.

"You look way too good in suits," Naruto says, shrugging out of his own shirt.

You look way too good naked, Sasuke thinks, raking his eyes over Naruto's chest and hips. Naruto didn't gain a great amount of height after they first met, which means Sasuke is still taller (and smug about it). He did fill out rather nicely in other ways, however, and Sasuke is not afraid to admit that he enjoys randomly squeezing his biceps now and then, just because.

He is also not afraid to admit that he enjoys making Naruto do all the work, and so he squirms against the mattress and bites his lower lip, watching Naruto's eyes narrow with want. A warm hand lands on his thigh, stroking up along the inside of it and pausing just short of where Sasuke needs it to be.

"You know, sometimes you make me feel jealous of myself," Naruto says, leaning in to brush his mouth along Sasuke's jawline.

Letting out an ugly snort, Sasuke locks his hands behind Naruto's neck, pulling him in for a hard kiss.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It's because tomorrow," Naruto starts, kissing down his throat, "I'll remember present me eating you out and I'll be extremely jealous."

Does Sasuke want to marry this man and spend the rest of his life with him? Hell yes. Does he wish sometimes that his dirty talk was a little better? Also yes.

"Less talk, more work," he says, tugging Naruto's ear with a small grin. "If you're good, I might even decide to not tell Itachi about your little slip-up."

"Oh god." Naruto drops his forehead on Sasuke's chest, groaning out loud. "Anything but that."

All he does is hum, which of course has Naruto glaring at him a bit.

"Are you really going to make me beg for it?"

"Are you really going to make me wait?"

They end up taking their time, anyway, Naruto keeping his mouth occupied at all times with Sasuke's body and mouth as if afraid of another slip-up. And Sasuke loves when they go hard and fast, when Naruto drives him wild with pleasure, and yet there's something about sweet and slow that makes his heart slam against his ribcage for a wholly different reason.

Ten years, and Sasuke still wakes up sometimes wondering how he got so lucky.

"I love you," Naruto breathes into the hollow of his throat, hot against his skin.

"Then marry me," Sasuke can't help but say, fingers buried in Naruto's hair and legs wrapped tight around his back.

"Shit." Naruto hisses out the curse, hips stuttering and holding Sasuke tight as he comes. "You're so-"

Sasuke melts into the mattress and feels laughter bubble up his throat, Naruto smacking at him when it spills from his lips.

"Not funny," he mumbles, even though he definitely just orgasmed from Sasuke proposing to him.

"It's because I just remembered something funny."

"Huh?" Naruto forces himself up on unsteady arms, glaring down at Sasuke. "You told me to marry you and then thought of something funny? Is this a joke to you?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, pinching Naruto's nose and moving it from side to side. He feels light, like everything is falling into place.

"Just something Shisui told me, way back when we first got together."

"That sounds suspicious and vaguely ominous."

"Then I won't tell you, if it scares you that much."

"Sasuke!" Naruto splutters, looking comical with Sasuke's fingers still tugging his nose. "I'm only saying that from experience."

Well, fair enough. Sasuke does push at Naruto though, making him roll over instead of mostly crushing him with his weight.

"Hmm, I don't remember when it was, but you'd met him a few times I think." He tilts his head to the side, finding Naruto with a full-blown pout on his face. "I'd kind of forgotten about it until now."

Naruto huffs, but there's still some red on his cheeks, and Sasuke doesn't resist the urge to reach out and run the back of his hand down his chest.

It's a very nice chest, after all.

"Well? What was so funny about it?"

"So grumpy," he teases, and Naruto snatches his hand to lace their fingers together at an awkward angle, needing to touch even as their bodies cool down.

"Only for you," Naruto quips back, waggling his eyebrows until Sasuke laughs again.

"Anyway, he said something like, that boy looks at you like he wants to get married with kids and a picket fence, preferably tomorrow."

Naruto gapes at him, looking as if his entire life is flashing before his eyes. A few moments later he starts struggling for words, mouth working but no sound coming out.

"I don't know if I want to live in a house, though," Sasuke says, lips curling into a grin when Naruto smacks his head against his pillow with a groan.

"Why is Shisui like that," he grumbles, but his cheeks are pink and it has Sasuke suspecting things. "Why are you like that."

"One of life's greatest mysteries. Are we going to clean up before sleeping? I think the cats want more food, too."

There's some more mumbling, but it's muffled by the pillow. Sasuke figures he might as well make it to the bathroom and see if Naruto follows, but he's barely sat up before Naruto pulls him back.

"I have something to say."

He waits as Naruto clears his throat, still holding on to Sasuke's wrist. There's a violent blush on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and he's frowning as if debating with himself.

"I, um." Naruto grimaces, running a hand through his hair before peeking up at Sasuke. "I love you?"

Unimpressed, Sasuke sits up properly, giving Naruto a look.

"Why am I getting the feeling I don't want to hear the rest?"

"Okay look," Naruto starts, waving his hands around as he rambles, "I might have bought the rings two years ago and I totally meant to propose earlier and everyone's been nagging at me and Karin was like so annoying about getting married before us, and even my mom! But every time I tried to do it something came up or it didn't feel right, or I just completely chickened out at the last second."

He takes a deep breath, lying on his back and looking anywhere but at Sasuke.

"Like, my mom texts me once a week asking why I haven't proposed yet. Your mom texts me once a week asking why I haven't proposed yet. Can you really blame me for getting performance anxiety?"

For a moment, Sasuke allows himself to feel shocked. Did everyone know? And no one told him?! Or even made him suspect things? He's not sure if he should be upset or not.

"So uh, yeah. I wanted it to be perfect."

Sasuke stares at him. This perfect, beautiful man who made him happier than he ever dared to think he could be before they met. This dumb, precious idiot, who doesn't need to make it special at all because Sasuke will say yes anyway. And even so, even though he must know that Sasuke would never dream of rejecting him, he's been fretting over making it good enough.

"How about this," Sasuke says, shifting closer so that he can cup Naruto's face and force their eyes to meet. "There's bound to be drop-in weddings somewhere, right? We'll get married as soon as we can, and then post the pictures and no one's invited."

"What? Your brother would kill me."

"Naruto, where's your sense of adventure?" Shaking his head in mock disappointment, Sasuke then straddles Naruto's chest and leans over him, caging him in with his arms. "Or we could elope? Find a nice beach somewhere and stay long enough that Itachi will have time to forgive us."

"Um, okay, but my mom wouldn't forgive me."

"Does it matter?" Sasuke purses his lips, Naruto's hands coming up to lightly hold his hips. "I'm the one you're marrying, right? I think only my opinion should count. And I want a secret wedding as payback for being kept in the dark two whole years."

"Oh god," Naruto says, but he's laughing, all the tension fading away. Sasuke prefers this look on him, eyes glittering and smile wide. "I really was worrying for nothing."

Pressing a kiss to Naruto's nose, Sasuke eases off the bed and holds a hand out, pulling at Naruto hard so that he stumbles into his arms.

"I kissed you first," Sasuke reminds him, and Naruto groans into his shoulder. "It's only fair that I get to decide the venue for the wedding."

"You've really used that excuse too many times now," Naruto huffs, but he sneaks his arms around Sasuke's waist and pulls him closer, heart to heart and Sasuke will never get tired of this. "I shouldn't agree with you."

"Does that mean you do agree with me?"

Sasuke gives him his best, sultriest smile, playing with the fine hairs at the nape of Naruto's neck. He has learnt, over the years, every single one of Naruto's weaknesses. Unfortunately, Naruto has also learnt how to be immune when it suits him.

"It means we can talk about it tomorrow, you sneaky bastard. And I still haven't proposed."

"But you will," Sasuke says, turning up his nose and trying to keep his expression lofty even as Naruto pinches his cheeks.

"Only if you're nice to me," is the muttered reply he gets.

Later, when they're in bed again to actually sleep, Naruto latches onto him like he's his personal body pillow. He's going to snore right in Sasuke's ear like every other night, and they're going to wake up with the sheets tangled and most pillows on the floor. It took a while to get used to it, but now, sleeping alone is almost impossible.

"Hey, Sas?"

Sasuke hums, feeling sleep tug at his eyelids. It's almost early morning by now, which means it's almost time for the cats to wake them up for breakfast, and he's not entirely sure he'll say yes if Naruto asks about kids at some point.

"I love you."

"Mm. Love you too."

"Love you more."

He blindly searches for Naruto's mouth so he can smother him. Especially since he's giggling and shoving his cold toes into Sasuke's legs.

"You were supposed to be nice to me," Naruto protests, wriggling around until he's halfway down the bed, face shoved into Sasuke's stomach. "My future husband is a bully!"

Oh.

Sasuke freezes for a moment, and Naruto takes the opportunity to lick a wet stripe up his stomach until Sasuke shrieks at him.

"You're awful," he shudders, pushing at his head when Naruto clings to him even worse. "I'm not marrying you."

"No take-backs."

"You didn't even ask yet!"

Naruto lies between his legs, arms around his back and face rubbing into his stomach. It's not unusual, but Sasuke can tell that there's something still bothering him.

"What is it," he sighs, wondering if he'll get any sleep at all.

He lightly runs his nails up and down Naruto's neck, an attempt to soothe him. There are times when Naruto irritates him to no end, and Sasuke knows he's just as bad sometimes. Of course they have their arguments and disagreements, moments when things don't feel perfect at all. Those times, though, are nothing compared to how Naruto makes him feel completely, utterly safe and understood. Sasuke can only hope he does the same in turn.

"I'm too happy to fall asleep."

Closing his eyes, Sasuke counts to ten before releasing a breath through his nose.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. Please be quiet."

There's some huffing and puffing, Naruto shuffling around to lie plastered to his side instead. Sasuke takes his hand, squeezing it, and the last thing he remembers before falling asleep is thinking,

I want to be happy with you forever.

I know that in the previous chapter I promised to add Shisui's dog, and initially I wanted to write what happened shortly after they got together, like everyone's reactions. Not that anyone was surprised, really. But when I thought of writing this epilogue instead, things seemed to click. I think I've just been needing those happy endings in stories, lately.

Thank you so much for reading, both to new and old readers. I wish you all the best!

(Oh, and as for Muffin the cat, she's happy and healthy and lives with us most of the time. She sticks to cat food nowadays, luckily.)

You can find me on tumblr (fangirlandiknowit101) or twitter (katsudonforever)!