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A long day of shouldering burdens, endless paperwork and back to back meetings with the council. This was Naruto’s daily routine. He’d be in the office by the sunrise and leave by midnight, and sometimes, he’d never leave at all.
How could he abandon his responsibilities when there were people who needed him?
That all was until a rainy night—when Sasuke emerged from the doors of the Hokage’s office without any warnings—without any letters detailing his return. Naruto had been too exhausted to even sense his presence and that, for a high-ranking shinobi such as the Hokage, was appalling.
For a brief moment, their eyes locked and neither one of them spoke. Naruto, caught like a deer in headlights just stared at him with this faint confusion, then tenderness. Sasuke was the complete opposite; he always was. He glared at Naruto with fury and irritation that could easily be sensed by even a child. His eyes lowered to catch the dark circles under Naruto’s ocean eyes, and then took note of the dishevelled blond hair and the slightly slouched posture.
Slowly, he stepped forward until he reached the opposite end of the occupied desk. “Why are you still here? It’s past midnight.” His hand reached under his cloak to grab the scroll before placing it neatly onto Naruto’s piled desk.
“Good to see you, too, bastard,” Naruto’s voice was filled with exhaustion as he turned his attention toward the scroll, then back to Sasuke’s hardened eyes.
Smoothly, Sasuke fell into the step beside him as he leaned over to spectate the scene ahead of him. The reports sprawled onto his desk, full of useless information and neverending requests. “Get up,” he said with a sharp tone.
Naruto immediately felt a pull on his arm and the next second, found himself being dragged through the door by a terrifyingly infuriated Sasuke. “Teme!”
Within a matter of a second, they were sprinting down the wet streets of the village as the torrential downpour hovered above them. Naruto didn’t know how many corners they had turned, or how many times he yelled at Sasuke to be careful of the slippery ground. Only that they now stood under the shelter of the very home he hadn’t stepped a foot inside since Sasuke left for his mission.
Quickly, Sasuke pulled him inside and shut the door with force. He clipped the black cloak off him, and then Naruto’s before pushing him deeper into the long, narrow hallways of the Uchiha compound as he trailed behind, irritated..
Naruto didn’t utter a word, vaguely terrified of unleashing Sasuke’s wrath. He simply allowed Sasuke to push him around however he pleased; he was too tired to argue, anyway, as he assured his husband was, too.
It wasn’t until he stood in the bathroom, getting his hair dried with a towel by Sasuke. “Why are you like this?” He glared at the blond with furrowed brows. “It annoys me.”
“What does?” Naruto asked with a grin so wide and contagious that Sasuke couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth.
He grabbed the hairbrush on the counter, slowly brushing through the batch of blond hair. “You don’t take care of yourself. It bothers me.”
Naruto’s grin faltered slightly. “I know. I’m sorry, I just…wanted to do as much as I could. Everything is running smoothly for once and I can’t fall behind now.” His eyes lowered before he rubbed the back of his neck.
“You aren’t going to disappoint anybody by spending time on yourself,” Sasuke’s voice grew softer along with his gaze. His hand cupped the whiskered cheek as he closed the distance, placing a gentle kiss on his nose.
A soft laughter slipped from Naruto’s lips as he wrapped his arms around Sasuke’s waist and threw himself onto him. “You smell good,” he said as he shifted his nose in the crook of the pale neck. “Really good.”
Sasuke only let out an amused chuckle and buried his fingers deeper into the scruffy blond hair. “I’m sweaty and soaked.”
Naruto only inhaled deeper. “You’ve never smelled better, Sas.”
“You are disgusting.” He rolled his eyes, but the corners of his lips curved faintly.
Placing soft kisses on his neck and behind his ear, Naruto finally pulled away and cradled Sasuke’s face. “You love me.”
“Never said I didn’t.” Sasuke’s hand fell to his side as the blond kissed his face a thousand times. He grabbed Naruto’s hand and led him out of the bathroom, and into the bedroom. “I’ll heat up some leftovers.”
Shaking his head, Naruto only reached for the wardrobe in Sasuke’s room. “I’m not hungry,” he answered.
“I’ll set the table.”
Naruto stared at Sasuke’s disappearing figure in defeat. He slowly grabbed a comfortable set of a shirt and sweats before heading back into the bathroom for a quick shower.
As the hot water dripped down his body, he thought about the comforting strangeness of their relationship. It had been a long, long time since they’d gotten married—almost a decade and a half. He would turn forty in a month from now. Still no children because neither of them had really talked about adoption—they had too many responsibilities now to even care for a child, anyway.
Sasuke took on more missions because he insisted he was getting bored sitting at home and waiting for Naruto to come back. Naruto knew this, and reserved the list of missions—oftentimes he’d bring home a scroll for Sasuke to skim through and pick accordingly.
Naruto never minded him being away for long periods of time because he, too, knew Sasuke was not the kind of man to stay in a place longer than necessary. How could his heart belong in the very village that stripped him of family and degraded his presence? It was humiliating to even step a foot inside the tall heavy gates, but he did it for Naruto. Sometimes, he’d extend his stay when he felt he needed to spend more time with his husband, and other times he’d leave within two weeks.
Their friends had long stopped encouraging them to spend time together—Naruto had argued that they were not like normal couples, and everybody knew that to an extent but only the two of them knew the truth. They had been used to loneliness, knew it like the ache beneath their ribs. It was familiar. Comforting. Never-ending.
Their love wasn’t based on presence and affection—it was based on mutual understanding and trust.
Naruto knew Sasuke better than anyone, and Sasuke knew Naruto better than he knew himself. Their love, their bond ran deep. They were secure and happier than they had ever been.
Standing in front of Sasuke only proved that once more—him setting the table with his favourite flavour of ramen whilst his plate only had two onigiris and tomato soup.
“How was the mission?” Naruto asked, hovering around the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand.
Sasuke took a seat on the low table as he picked up the onigiri, taking a small bite. “I thought you looked over the report?”
Naruto shrugged as he sat down in front of Sasuke with a huff. “Didn’t pay attention,” he murmured, threading a hand through his hair.
A smirk plastered Sasuke’s face as he continued eating. “I ran into Kazekage and his brother.”
“Oh, Gaara and Kankuro? How are they?” His brow perked up as he sipped the miso broth.
“Fine from what I’ve seen. Apparently he’s adopted a son,” Sasuke answered, his voice smooth as he recalled the events. “Shinki.”
Naruto’s brows raised, a smile appeared on his face. “Shikamaru told me about him. He’s truly one of a kind,” he said.
Sasuke only nodded, continuing to eat as his eyes scanned Naruto’s slouched posture and the red eyes, threatening to shut the moment his head hit the pillow. His brows immediately furrowed at the sight as he picked up the spoon and slowly sipped his soup.
It was bad. Worse than the last time.
Last time, when Sasuke had returned from his mission he had come home to find Naruto sprawled across his living room in the middle of the night. He hadn’t said anything then, he only picked up his husband off the floor and brought him into their bedroom. He, too, had fallen asleep right on top of Naruto.
In the morning, Sasuke had woken up first and decided to let Naruto sleep whilst he completed his reports and did the chores. He didn’t note the time, figuring Naruto would awake on his own—he’d slept for fifteen hours that day. Sasuke shook him awake thinking the worst, only to be told that Naruto hadn’t slept for three days.
Sasuke was pissed.
He had personally gone to the Hokage tower and threatened every ANBU member into cooperation.Shikamaru had gotten a warning of his own, one he’d never forget. Of course, Naruto was not spared. He was the first victim of Sasuke’s wrath.
“Go to bed. I’ll clean up.” Sasuke stood up, clearing the table as Naruto looked puzzled.
“No. You cooked so I’ll do the dishes,,” Naruto argued, trailing behind Sasuke.
Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto with hardened eyes, which usually was a code for: Do not make me repeat myself again.
Naruto didn’t care. “Sasuke, go wash up. I got this.” He grabbed the dishes from Sasuke’s hand, and gently guided him out of the kitchen. “Hurry. We need to cuddle before sleeping.” He rushed the Uchiha out.
Sasuke was caught off-guard once again, heat rushing to his ears even though he’d heard Naruto whisper things so filthy into his ears that even the gods would start to spiral. “Seriously!—you absolute moron.” He huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose as Naruto winked at him and left with a chuckle slipping through his lips.
Sasuke did not purposely come out of the shower in a hurry. He also did not purposely wear a shirt with Naruto’s clan symbol imprinted on its back. And, he didn’t purposely try his best to show it off by wearing Naruto’s favourite colour: Orange. It all just felt like a coincidence. A big coincidence.
It wasn’t an unusual thing. Naruto and Sasuke always shared clothes even if Naruto’s were a little big on him. Sasuke was a centimeter taller but Naruto’s shoulders were broader, so ultimately his shirt hung loose on Sasuke.
Sasuke didn’t mind it, in fact, he loved when Naruto saw him like this—in his clothes. He loved how territorial and possessive Naruto became after he realized Sasuke was wearing the Uzumaki’s clan symbol. Those nights, Naruto couldn’t keep his hands to himself and the clothes would end up coming off, anyway.
Tonight was different. They were both tired, one more than the other.
Naruto was already in bed, eyeing down Sasuke with a familiar desire. “You look hot.”
Sasuke only rolled his eyes with a triumphant smirk on his face. “I always do.”
“Like, extra extra hot today.”
“Go to sleep. You can’t even keep your eyes open,” Sasuke chuckled as he turned the lights off before slipping under the covers.
Naruto sighed, almost pouting. “What? I can’t even compliment you?” He threw an arm around Sasuke’s waist. “Did all Uchiha’s look this attractive or just you? I seriously can’t believe you’re literally my husband. How did you even say yes—were you sober?”
“Shut up, you idiot,” Sasuke muttered, heat flaring through his cheeks. “I was the one that proposed—you said yes.” His hand found the back of Naruto’s and rested on top.
Leaning in closer, Naruto spooned him as his laughter echoed through the master bedroom. “I got lucky, huh? A perfect marriage and a perfect husband?”
“Hardly perfect,” Sasuke mumbled, sinking into Naruto’s chest.
Naruto placed a kiss on his neck, pulling him in more. “You’re perfect to me.”
“My instability—my scars are perfect to you?” Sasuke asked, almost mockingly and in disbelief.
“Yes, Sasuke. I’ve told you that a thousand times. Your flaws—your scars are perfect. You’re perfect no matter what you do or how you look.”
“You’re biased.”
“Maybe, but you’re mine,” Naruto said, his voice smooth like silk next to Sasuke’s ear. “So you can’t blame me for that, can you?”
“Tch. Shut up, you loser, clingy husband of mine.”
Naruto only laughed, nuzzling deeper into Sasuke’s neck. “You love me, though.”
The corners of Sasuke’s lips lifted as his fingers intertwined with Naruto’s. “I love you.” He tilted his head towards Naruto’s.
“Yeah,” Naruto smiled, moving to place a kiss onto Sasuke’s soft lips. “I love you, teme.”
Sasuke shut his eyes, shifting down to lay against Naruto’s firm chest. “You better.”