Chapter 1 - Back for good

It all happened in a flash. He barely had time to think. Just act.

Naruto was taking a shortcut back through the territories when the woods came alive in front of him. Literally, came alive.

All of a sudden, rogue nins were everywhere. Stepping out from behind the trees, perched on the limbs, rising up out of the ground. And the at the back, behind it all stood Kabuto…but he looked like a snake. And that masked man…. What was his name? Tobi, that's right. He was there too.

He fought and fought. He tore through so many, but they just kept coming. It looked like it was the end for him. He was out of chakra, out-numbered, and he didn't know how he was going to make it—

When suddenly, out of nowhere, Sasuke showed up. He fought off Tobi and Kabuto, and Naruto was able to rally. They fought together, side-by-side. It was brilliant. Just like old times. And at the end of it all, grimy and bloody and exhausted, Naruto asked him to return. No questions asked.

Sasuke had saved him, so Konoha was honor-bound to offer him immunity. Shinobi-code, and all that. But even more, it was an opportunity he couldn't refuse. Sasuke wanted to make a fresh start. He was ready to come home.

Naruto panted at his own storytelling. In the center of the Hokage's office, he hooked his hands in his pockets and bounced on the balls of his feet.

Tsunade peered across her clasped hands at the two boys — really, men now at 17 and 18 — standing on the other side of her desk.

She had the look of someone who didn't quite believe what she was hearing.

But it didn't matter. Naruto had faith in her. The hows and whys were just technicalities. He knew she wouldn't let this opportunity pass to pull Sasuke back into the fold. No matter what she thought of his story.

Because that's all it was. A story.

Naruto promised he'd make it sound good. So he skipped over the part where Sasuke came out of the woods, tired and hungry. Where they shared a meal in silence, and then Sasuke dropped into a deep sleep by the small campfire, leaving Naruto to sit up half the night, watching Sasuke's chest rise and fall. Afraid to sleep because in the morning he'd be gone. And then Naruto would be left alone. Alone with only the lines of hope and reality blurring around him.

At some point in the night, Naruto's forehead dropped to his bent knees. He fell into a deep, dreamless asleep.

The sun was well up when the soft hush of fabric against ground broke the stillness. Naruto blinked at the sound, remembering….

He froze, head still buried in that dark pocket behind his folded arms. He confirmed to himself that last night was real, but now, Sasuke was had probably just left.

Get ready for it, he told himself. The empty campsite, the harsh sunlight, the still-warm spot on the ground where a body had been. Get ready. Because this was going to hurt….

Naruto raised his head slowly. Sasuke was still there.

Sasuke moved an arm, trying to find a more comfortable spot. Hair stuck to his cheek and blue circles welled under his eyes. His cheeks were faintly hollow from too much running and too few meals. Half-asleep, Sasuke breathed deeply and blinked. His slow, glassy gaze fell on Naruto.

Naruto stared back. And then he knew, just knew that it was over. Somewhere along the way, the fight had left him.

Without a word, Sasuke rolled over and went back to sleep.

Naruto blinked at him. There was no conversation about missions or vengeance, pain or loss. It was just them. The two of them understanding each other, beneath all their troubles. Naruto laid down on his side as well, his eyes trailing over Sasuke's form to where his ribcage moved gently in the sunlight.

Naruto felt strangely empty. Was this it then? Was this all there was? Was the search for Sasuke really over, without a whisper of a struggle?

But a quiet peace was seeping in to the hollow where all that pent up emotion had been. Hope was taking hold. Maybe…maybe it was really over…. Maybe now he was ready to come home.

Naruto let his eyes close on the soft white glow of Sasuke's shirt. His long lost friend had finally returned….

On the way home, Sasuke confirmed what Naruto already knew. That his lust for vengeance had abandoned him. That he had no more will to go on. He had seen a great many things and experienced more. Revenge and death. Sadness and abandonment. Was his pain any greater? No, it wasn't. They all had a burden to bear.

He didn't know when, but at some point he'd accepted his burden. And realized he didn't want to inflict any more pain. He didn't want to create any more orphans like himself. And Naruto.

So he left his new team and began wandering. He didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. He stayed away from everyone, shinobi and civilian alike. His eyes made him a liability. There was no safe haven for him.

Until he saw Naruto. Then he knew he'd be safe. If only for a little while.

"Konoha will be a safe haven for you," Naruto said stridently. "I'll make sure it is."

Sasuke shrugged and looked away. Naruto knew he didn't believe him. But Sasuke never turned back. Even after Naruto announced his plan to lie and cover for him, have him returned as a hero, not a prisoner, Sasuke just accepted it and kept going, keeping pace beside him all the way to the gates of Konoha. All the way to Tsunade's office.

Naruto grinned at her slack-jawed surprise at seeing Sasuke come through the door. And he knew it was his moment — he launched right into his tale. He didn't know if she'd bought it or not. He thought it was rather a good one.

Tsunade leaned back, considering them both. Sasuke simply stood a step behind Naruto, awaiting whatever fate was to come. His face was smooth and expressionless. Exhaustion had replaced the hard lines of anger.

If Sasuke was a picture of reserve, then Tsunade was the opposite. She watched Sasuke in silence, her focus sharpening, as if she were weighing scenarios about the rogue nin and possibly determining a punishment. Naruto thought she looked very much like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. Feeling nervous in the heavy silence, Naruto immediately launched into an explanation of what Sasuke was hoping for and how Konoha was honor-bound to treat him with kindness.

Sasuke had never spoken about any of this. He seemed to have given up, and been willing to accept whatever Konoha had in store for him. But Naruto hadn't. And the more he spoke, the firmer he stood in defense of his friend, until he felt like he was arguing it for himself.

Which was the only way it would work. Because it didn't feel right otherwise.

Naruto was keenly aware that he was dictating the events of Sasuke's life. Hiding his past and shaping his future. For so long it had been the opposite. His life had been governed by Sasuke's actions since the day he left. But having it the other way around left Naruto feeling out-of-balance. Just slightly. He did his best to ignore it by speaking even more stridently for Sasuke's return.

Ultimately, Naruto wanted everything to return to the way it was, as quickly as possible. Sasuke still said nothing, which was all the confirmation Naruto to continue on. So he confidently made his final point that Sasuke should be returned to Konoha without punishment.

Finally, Tsunade folded her hands on the desk and blew out a long, low breath as if she'd come to some decision—

The door flew open with a bang. Their third teammate stood stock-still in the door, cheeks pink, looking windblown. Naruto smiled tenderly. She must have run the whole way.

"Sa-Sasuke?"

Sakura looked to Naruto. He nodded, eyes soft. Naruto understood the twisting knife of joy and pain, surprise and distrust, in seeing him again. She thought she was dreaming. He had too….

But her open expression quickly hardened. Just like Tsunade's. Angry lines creased the corners of her mouth.

Sakura did not gush or welcome him. She did not even move. Instead she read his movements, scanning for weapons, before her eyes darted to Tsunade for confirmation that this was not some sort of trap.

Naruto had a sinking feeling: This wasn't how he planned this happy reunion of teammates.

Naruto realized she was assessing Sasuke like she would any dangerous criminal. They were all well trained, but Sakura had taken on more training after her last encounter with Sasuke. Dammit, he'd forgotten. Of course she'd be distrusting. He should have sent a clone to her the moment the returned, explaining everything—

"Sakura," Sasuke said, surprising everyone in the room. He'd barely uttered a full sentence since his return. But now his voice as warm as an embrace. "I am indebted to you. Your strength helped pull me from my hell." He tipped his head slightly. "I am so sorry I attacked you. But I am grateful you came after me. That I was still worth fighting was a lifeline, though you might never know it. Even as children, somehow you always knew…." He stopped, holding back some sudden emotion. "I understand if you can never forgive me. But I will always be grateful to you."

"Sasuke…" Sakura breathed shakily.

Then Sasuke did something even more astonishing. He smiled at her. It was earnest and humbling, as if he knew what he was asking. Of her. Of all of them.

It was Sasuke's first real smile in years, and it wasn't lost on any of them.

Sakura returned a watery smile. A few tears slipped down unchecked. "Sasuke-kun," she said again, more sure of herself.

The three of them stood, unmoving, in an odd-shaped triangle across from Tsunade's desk. Sakura and Sasuke were closer together. They looked at each other, taking in the changes. Nearest the desk, Naruto formed the point of their triangle. And from that vantage he watched the pair, savoring Sakura's restrained happiness.

This was what he wanted, he thought, the warmth of the moment flooding him. He wanted to see his friend happy. Safe. Home.

"I see what you are saying Naruto," Tsunade admitted quietly after several long moments. Naruto shoved his hands in his pocket and cleared his throat.

At the sound, Sasuke tore his gaze away from Sakura. A faint smile still lingered. The change in his face was dramatic, seeming to peel away the years.

Sakura turned as well, but her eyes never left Sasuke. She watched him as if she expected he might disappear. Naruto watched her watching him, and he couldn't miss the rosy glow to her cheeks or the shine in her eyes. Just then she self-consciously curled the soft pink hair back behind her ear.

Naruto blinked. The movement was so small. Childish even. But there was something familiar in it. And some long-dead emotion of his own was resurrecting, responding to it….

His smile fell. That strange, out-of-balance feeling that things were not quite how he expected them to be was creeping back in—

"Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade said, voice crisp with authority. "I have seen everything I need to. There will need to be a probationary period of course, but if this is what you want, then you three have made a good start."

"Yes, this is what I want," Sasuke said, slowly at first, but with more certainty in each word. "I am ready to return to Konoha. I want to change my life."

Tsunade laid out the different possibilities for his life ahead and Sasuke nodded, accepting them all with equanimity.

Sakura turned suddenly and beamed at Naruto, and that off-kilter feeling melted away. Naruto smiled back, his heart lifting. Between them stood the culmination of all their hopes and dreams. Everything they'd worked for. Sasuke had returned. The three of them were together again. It would be just like it was before. Better, even.

Sasuke was back. For good.

Author's Notes:

New story! Yay! NS, as always. This one will have some relationship angst. So get ready for that. Sasuke is a little different, and Sakura's story comes from the standpoint that her confession to Naruto was true. The story takes place in the Naruto universe, but alternate timeline. Itachi's dead, but the war is not looming on the horizon. Just an amorphous threat out there. So life in Konoha is relatively peaceful — well, as peaceful as it can be in a shinobi village! :) Hope you like it. Please read and review!