2 weeks later

Naruto was out on his daily walk around the ranch, enjoying the stormy day and the mountains hidden behind dark clouds. He’d put on his rain boots and grabbed an umbrella without thinking. 

He was a bit of a distance away, thinking about how things had gone with Sasuke living with them. Naruto found himself having more free time since Sasuke liked taking care of Itachi as well. Itachi had been over the moon and smiling so damn much Naruto worried his face was going to wrinkle. 

His relationship with Sasuke was… confusing. 

There were times he felt like Sasuke liked him. He’d caught him staring so many times, with this tender look in his dark eyes. There were smiles he only gave him, not even Itachi. Gentle ones, like the ones he’d seen in romance movies.

He wondered if Sasuke loved him. Yet the raven never did anything about it. He’d never once mentioned wanting to be in a relationship with the blonde, or any relationship for that matter. 

Just as easily as he’d caught those looks, Naruto would notice him covering them up.

But did he have feelings for Sasuke? 

Yes. He so did. He wasn’t sure when it’d started, there wasn’t a specific moment that he just fell. It grew and grew over time, slowly, and then one day he just started thinking what it would be like to hold him close, then kiss him, and then…

The rest made him embarrassed. 

He wondered if Sasuke was attracted to him. He’d never asked about Sasuke’s past. If he’d been with men or women or even dated at all. He’d definitely not asked Itachi. Itachi would just annoy him for months about it. 

Maybe he should… test the waters? 

But how? 

He loved romance, but he didn’t have any experience at all. Every time he pictured being in a relationship, he figured it would just come out like nothing. He’d be all effortlessly suave. Yet he was starting to learn that really might not be the case here. 

His heart quickened when he heard the unmistakable sound of the golf cart heading toward him. Unless a sheep learned how to drive it definitely would be Sasuke. He paused in his walk and turned his head, catching Sasuke stopping right in front of him. 

The brunette stepped out with his rain jacket hood over his head and dirty work boots. 

“You didn’t bring an umbrella?! You’re going to get sick.” Naruto scolded as he walked closer. His umbrella was huge and more than enough for the both of them. 

“It’s just a bit of rain.” 

Naruto huffed, “When you get sick you better not whine.” 

“Noted.” 

The blonde beamed, “Sooo, what’s up?” 

Sasuke paused, trying to think of an excuse. He’d just seen Naruto in the distance out the window and decided suddenly that he wanted to join him. 

“Just – it’s dinnertime.” 

Naruto looked down at his watch, “No it’s not. It’s 4.” 

Fuck. 

“You can just admit you wanted to hang out, you know.” Naruto joked and nudged Sasuke’s elbow with his. 

“Okay.” Sasuke looked around, “What were you doing?” 

“Hm, I was just thinking.” 

The brunette smirked, “I didn’t know you knew how.” 

“Go away.” Naruto lightly pushed Sasuke’s head away. 

“Tell me more about you.” 

Naruto’s mouth opened slightly then recovered, “Yeah – sure! Where did we stop last time?” 

Sasuke grabbed the umbrella from Naruto and held it for him, “You were telling me about how you tried to be cool by sneaking out in high school then fell into the bushes and cried.” 

“I didn’t cry! It just stung!” 

“Yes, of course. Didn’t cry.” 

The blonde pouted slightly then let out a soft laugh, “Okay so after that – “

Sasuke listened intently for the next 2 hours as Naruto spoke about his life. He found the blonde so fucking fascinating. He’d never met someone so expressive and feeling. He cared about everyone and every single thing. Sasuke wanted to know everything about him. 

Naruto asked questions about his life, and he felt extremely comfortable, so he had no problem responding. But his life felt so boring compared to Naruto’s. The blonde had traveled to incredible places and done the weirdest things. 

Sasuke had gone to college, graduated, and had a few friends. Hadn’t really dated, there wasn’t anyone he particularly liked. Sex was just a biological thing he did. He’d find someone he was attracted to, fuck, and then just go on with his way. He didn’t do it much, he hated being vulnerable. 

His life was split into two. Before his parent’s death and after. Then after prison, it was split into three. The events marked changes in his life and suppressing his feelings more and more. His only living family was Itachi. That’s the only person in the world that had been in all the before and afters. 

Yet his heart didn’t fight to have Naruto in this after. There was someone other than his brother that made him feel something. Something other than just longing for something he didn’t know. 

“You know what sounds good right now?” Naruto perked up. 

“Hm?” 

He tapped his chin, “Tomato and basil soup with homemade bread.”

Holy fuck. “That really does.” 

The blonde questioned, “Have you ever made homemade bread?” 

“No.” 

He started pushing Sasuke towards the cart, “Well then I have to show you, duh!” 

They climbed into the golf cart and headed back to the house, Naruto’s mind buzzing with anticipation. They hadn’t cooked together yet, but he felt that somehow the act was so intimate. 

After they made their way in and took off their rain gear, they headed to the kitchen where Itachi was having a cup of tea. The older Uchiha didn’t say anything, but his eyes were dancing with mirth. 

“I’m going to teach Sas how to make homemade bread.” 

Itachi turned to Sasuke, “Naruto’s a really good cook, isn’t he?” 

Sasuke nodded, unable to deny such a true statement. Everything the blonde had made was utterly delicious. 

3 months later

Naruto was slightly frustrated. Okay, scratch that. Very frustrated. Because Sasuke was so insufferable and stubborn.

He saw the looks! He wasn’t blind. Sasuke might think he’s super suave and has an amazing poker face but jokes on him because he really doesn’t. He might look all blank-faced, but the slight blush would still be there. His mouth twitched when he was trying to hold in a smile and he wasn’t very good at looking away quickly, hoping Naruto didn’t catch him staring. 

The blonde had given him signs. 

Not so obvious at first. He didn’t want to call him out and have him get cold-feet. He’d watched all of his favorite romance movies and even asked Ino for ideas. Ino. That shit was excruciating. But he’d done it. 

He’d done the whole lean close thing. 

The subtle touches thing. 

The giving Sasuke openings to make a move thing.

But nope. Sasuke was a coward. That much Naruto knew. And he had a feeling it was because he probably felt that he wasn’t good enough for Naruto. 

Tonight, there was a meteor shower, and he hoped that the setting was romantic enough for Sasuke to do something before Naruto just lost his nerve and smacked him in the face. 

They lay in silence, looking at the star-filled night sky. Sasuke knew there was supposed to be a meteor shower any minute and he was waiting in anticipation. Naruto had insisted they grab a soft blanket and watch it all night. 

Itachi had long gone to bed and he felt content, laying in the grass next to Naruto. He turned to look at the blonde, moonlight reflecting against him, looking ethereal. 

Naruto felt eyes on him and he turned, giving Sasuke a shy gaze. There had been something blossoming between them. Sasuke knew it. He saw it in the way Naruto gazed at him. Like he was the embodiment of everything precious.

The wind blew Sasuke’s dark hair and Naruto smiled, lightly tucking it to the side. A tattooed finger trailed over his lips, as Sasuke stared at them mesmerized. His eyes were so full of want and despair. And Naruto knew. He knew he’d have to be the one to make the move. 

He leaned over and surprised Sasuke with a tender kiss. 

The brunette leaned back, eyes wide and borderline panicked. 

The blonde smiled and placed a hand on Sasuke’s beating chest, “I’m in love with you.” 

“Don’t.” Sasuke mumbled, eyes closing painfully. It was too much. It was everything he wanted and there’s no way he deserved this. 

“Stupid.” Naruto poked his cheek, “Let yourself be loved.” 

Sasuke looked away, unable to keep eye contact, “We can’t. I can’t.” He whispered, “I wouldn’t be able to handle you leaving me.” And it was true. He knew that it wouldn’t be forever.  

Naruto raised an eyebrow, “You’re divorcing us up already?” 

The brunette almost choked, “Divorcing?” 

“Duh. I want to be with you. Not as a temporary thing!” 

He breathlessly said, “Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh.” The blonde rolled his eyes and squeezed Sasuke’s cheek because honestly, Sasuke was ridiculous sometimes.

“Come here.” Naruto leaned forward and placed his head on Sasuke’s chest. He grabbed his tattooed hand and played with each finger, starting with the F, M, then the Uchiha symbol, followed by an I and S. Naruto wanted to know the story about every tattoo. Every mark on his body. But he knew it would take time. 

“Why – do you want to be with me?” Sasuke asked, voice full of wonder and confusion. He just didn’t understand. 

Naruto wanted to look into the brunette's eyes, but something told him that it would be easier for Sasuke to be open if the blonde wasn’t staring into his eyes. Like they could speak freely in the dark. The first star shot through the sky and Naruto laughed in wonder before answering. 

“Because you feel so fiercely. You love so fiercely. You care so fiercely. You’re a wonderful person Sas. You’re so smart, like annoyingly so. And you look so at peace in nature like you don’t need all the material things in the world. You can see the beauty in the smallest things. Even if you’re not as open as I am. I can see how happy you are just drinking your disgusting coffee in the morning and looking at the sunrise.”

“You’re not even up at sunrise.” 

Naruto put his hand over Sasuke’s mouth and argued, “I was one time!” He felt Sasuke’s smile curl under his hand and Naruto removed it. 

“Anyway - and my favorite thing in the whole world is seeing you smile and laugh. Because you hold back so much, so I know that if you do smile, it’s because you’re so overwhelmingly happy that even your dumbass brain can’t hold it in.” 

Sasuke cupped Naruto’s cheek and made eye contact, letting the blonde stare deep into his eyes, to see the longing and how much he adored the blonde. How much he loved him but didn’t know how to express it. Because it was true. He loved Naruto so fiercely. Had for a long time but had no idea how to even begin to express it. He hoped that the blonde could understand by looking at him. 

“For someone who says they love me, there were a lot of insults in that.” 

Naruto let out a melodious laugh, “That’s how you know it's straight from the heart.” 

“That’s true.” He played with Naruto’s pink lips, his golden hair, and his chiseled jaw. He leaned in and kissed each eyelid, his cheeks, his forehead, and finally his mouth. It was gentle. He felt nervous. After a few seconds, he leaned back, determined to at least get the words out. “I – love you – too.” He wanted to close his eyes in fear. Because he was terrified of being happy. 

“About time you told me, stubborn asshole.” Naruto leaned in and kissed him again. “So will you finally stop fighting it?” 

He murmured, “Yeah. I’ll stop.” 

“Good!” He wiggled, “Now hold me and let’s watch the shower.” 

“You’re so bossy.” 

“Shhh, you already said you love me. Can’t take it back!” 

Sasuke stayed awake all night, long after Naruto had fallen asleep curled in his arms. He was terrified it was a dream. That it wasn’t real.

He didn’t dare voice it out loud again after Naruto pinched him, fucking hard, multiple times, and promised to do it countless more if Sasuke needed a reminder that he wasn’t dreaming.

The moment Itachi was in the same room as them, he picked up that something that had changed in the air. He narrowed his dark eyes back and forth between them, piecing everything together, until he uttered, “Did you guys fuck?” 

Naruto yelled horrified, “No!”

Itachi chuckled, “Then?” 

“We’re dating!” Naruto chirped and wrapped both arms around one of Sasuke’s. 

“About fucking time, geez.” Itachi threw his arms up and leaned over to get some orange juice. 

Sasuke’s eyes widened, “Excuse me?” 

Itachi shrugged, “You two have been pining for so fucking long. The anticipation was annoying us.” 

“Us?” 

“Yeah, Kakashi.” 

Naruto groaned, “Oh my god we’re going to be the new gossip.” 

“Oh, Naruto.” Itachi patted the blonde’s head, “We’ve been gossiping about you both.”