Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Words in bold are from Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Author's Note: Got this idea in the middle of Chemistry. Needed to write it down.

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Love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image... otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. ~Author Unknown

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I stared at Jean-Claude and it wasn't just the beauty of him that made me love him, it was just—him.

It was a love made up of a thousand touches

"On your feet, sunshine."

It shouldn't be possible to be that happy or awake this early in the morning. Sasuke tugged the blanket over his head. A toe poked him in the rib and he growls in the owner's general direction.

But then there was this very tempting smell not very far away. "I have breakfast. You have to get off your fat butt to get it though."

Sasuke cracked open his eyes. It was Sunday and he didn't like Sunday mornings, but Naruto was walking towards the door with a tray in his hands. "Since when do I have a fat butt?"

Naruto grinned at him. "Get your fat butt in the kitchen, teme."

Sasuke untangled himself from the sheets and followed the smell of breakfast. Naruto had more of a cooking talent than anyone could have ever believed, even if it had taken him a while to unearth it.

Naruto slides the plate of toast and eggs across the counter. Sasuke catches it and leans against the counter while Naruto pulls out milk (milk no longer seemed to spoil as quickly since they'd moved in together years ago) and tea for Sasuke. Pouring a glass for each of them, he hands Sasuke his tea and leans his hips against the counter just close enough so that their shoulders and knees touch, elbows bumbling occasionally and reading interesting headlines to each other.

A million conversations

It was the first time they'd seen each other in what seemed like forever, but logic and the calendar, told them that it must have only been a few years. But the worst part was looking at each other and not knowing whether to trust each other.

But of course, at times, trust wasn't part of the equation. Sasuke looked over Naruto's wounds. The blonde was a fast healer, yes, but it was kind of like a flower blooming. You knew it happened, but you never saw it. Every times Sasuke looked, there was one less wound. But the large, thick cut on Naruto's back was more concerning.

"I need to take a better look." Sasuke said. "Turn your back."

"Got a dagger?" Naruto quipped, but did it anyways.

"You're hilarious." Despite the displeasure in his voice, Sasuke's hands were gentle as they inspected the injury. "Pass me the kit." Naruto passed back the bandages. "Disinfectant too, Naruto."

Naruto grimaced, but obeyed. "Sometimes I think you like torturing me, teme."

Sasuke's hand froze in the process of getting the disinfectant. It had been a long time since he'd heard that nickname. But he forced his hand to unfreeze and a slow smirk somehow made its way onto his lips. "…You make it too easy, dobe."

Sasuke wasn't sure what it meant when he knew without seeing the whiskered face that Naruto was smiling.

A trillion shared looks.

"We need a distraction of some sort." Naruto said, swirling his glass of Coke.

"Agreed." They'd been at this party for hours, one they didn't really need to attend because it was Sakura's cousin's twice removed aunt's roommate's wedding and they could only stand the torture so long.

"Any ideas?"

"We could spike the punch."

"Too simple. And besides, I think Kiba's already gotten to it."

"Cut the rope holding up the chandelier?" Sasuke suggested, glancing at the various light fixtures.

"I don't think they do that anymore."

"Damn."

"I'm pretty sure there are some ladders in the storage rooms. We could recreate the scene from The Musketeer."

"Sakura would kill us."

"Well, there's always the classical last resort. Get drunk off our ass and pretend we're pirates."

Sakura saw the exchanged look and sighed. No good could come from those boys when they agreed on something when they were bored.

A love made up of danger shared,

"Duck!"

"What?!" Naruto felt the kunai pierce him in the shoulder and groaned as Sasuke tugged him to safety behind the tree.

"I told you to duck, dobe."

Enemies conquered,

"How the hell did you get me to agree to this?" Sasuke asked as Naruto handed him the water gun.

Naruto grinned and pecked the brunette on the lips. "It went a little something like that. Now come, we mustn't allow ourselves to be defeated by the others!"

"Have I ever told you that you're psychologically unbalanced?"

"Yes. Repeatedly so. And what does that say about you that you love me anyways?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, unable to believe he was about to get in a water gun war, but he supposed it couldn't be all bad.

A determination to keep the people that depended on us safe at any cost

"What possessed you to tie me to the chair?"

Sasuke arched his eyebrows at the blonde. "Your tendency to get yourselves into dangerous situations when you don't have to is what."

"You're overprotective." Naruto accused. "Sakura stole my ramen."

"And she'll clobber you half to death. You're calming down first."

"Fine." Naruto grumbled.

And a certain knowledge that neither of us would change the other, even if we could.

Naruto liked ham and peppers in his scrambled eggs. Sasuke liked them plain. Naruto liked to listen to soft rock and Sasuke liked to leave the radio on quiet jazz. Naruto liked to steal Sakura's shampoo and allow his stubble to grow a little before shaving and watch Psych, where Sasuke preferred House and always went clean-shaven. Sasuke likes Watson better than Sherlock and likes movies where the good guy wins. Naruto loves Disney movies and dances to the beat of the bad guy songs.

"Stop stealing the blanket, teme."

"Give me back my pillow then, dobe."

They steal each other's clothes and tolerate the quirks that annoy them.

"How do you take an hour in the bathroom, teme? You don't have that much hair."

"The same way you can somehow stuff an unholy amount of food inside that black hole that you call a stomach."

But somehow they manage to come home every day and make some sort of semblance of dinner while discussing their day. It was one of the more mundane parts of living together, but it was something they hadn't had because of years of living alone and they were teaching each other to appreciate the little things.